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“Kookie, where do you want to shop next?” I ask.

“I have no idea,” he mumbles.

Janna moans, “These bags way a ton!!  Here,” she slams three of them into Kookie’s chest, “make yourself useful!  Would you please carry these for me?”  She bats her eyelashes at him in the most comical way.

“Janna!” I rebuke her laughing.

“What?  These are heavy!  And he’s not carrying anything.  And since we parked in the next universe, I’m getting tired of carrying all this stuff.”

“It’s not my fault you bought all this junk for your friends,” Kookie retorts as he clutches the three bags in an effort not to drop them as her hand falls away to distribute the rest of her bags evenly between her two arms.

“This is not junk!” she replies hotly.  “I’ll have you know I found some very nice presents for Emmie and Lyric!”

Kookie waggles his eyebrows at her.  “Oh-ho!  You bought a present for Lyric, eh?”  He bumps her shoulder with his own.

She tosses him an annoyed glance.  “Duh.  He is my boyfriend.  Well, sort of, anyway.  The real question is: what are you going to buy Emmie?”

He clears his throat and looks away from her as he hugs her presents closer to his chest.

“Do you want some help?” she asks, leaning towards him.  “I know all the stuff she likes.”

Now she’s backed him into a corner.  I can feel his discomfort.  

“I’m not buying Emmie anything,” he mutters.

She recoils as a wave of dismay flows across her face.  “What?  What do you mean?  You like her, don’t you?”

“Of course.  Emmie is a nice girl.  I’ve liked her for years.  Have I ever bought her a Christmas present?”

Janna narrows her eyes at him.  I’m feeling just a little distressed myself.

“Then, who were you shopping for this morning?”

“That’s none of your beeswax,” he responds airily.  Clearly, his great-grandpa was a beekeeper.

I clear my throat and decide now is a good time to interrupt this little exchange before World War III breaks out between a young man and his sister over her best friend.  And a Christmas present.

“I have an idea.  Nana, how about I take you and your fourteen bags home—”

“Mahhhhhhm, I only bought seven bags of stuff.”

“Excuse me.  Your twenty-one bags of stuff,” I respond with a teasing grin as Kookie guffaws.  “Anyway, I’ll take you home, and, Kookie, you can help me with my shopping.”

Truthfully, I don’t have much shopping, but I can tell he still wants to search for his elusive gift.

“Okay,” Janna huffs.  She peers down at the bags she’s carrying.  “Do we have enough Christmas wrapping paper left at home?”

I nod.  “I’ll grab some more while Kookie and I are out and about today.”

Thankfully, we arrive at the car before these two can begin sparring again.  Janna is content to ride in the back with her forty-two bags while Kookie sits silent in the seat next to me.  We accomplish the short drive home in virtual silence while Janna does a quiet inventory of her purchases.  I’m the only other one in the car who knows she did some shopping for her brothers too. 

I turn on some Christmas music, and we’re all happy.  That’s because my husband isn’t in the car.  Although, come to think of it, his rule is no Christmas music till after Thanksgiving.  And, technically, we have arrived.  Thanksgiving was yesterday.

Janna slips from the car a few minutes later juggling seven bags in her arms.  As she walks through the garage into the house, Abner and Alastair greet her at the door.  I see them both hold out two helpful arms as they each take two bags from her.  

Look at that!  Chivalry is not dead.  I’ve raised two gentlemen!  My eyes slide towards Kookie, and I must admit I’ve raised three.  Plus, Everett can be quite helpful himself when he wants to be.

I turn my smile on my eldest son.  “So, Kookie, where to?”  I take a deep breath as I try to decide if I should broach this subject or not.  “Is Emmie the one you were shopping for this morning?”  

As he and I walked through Wal-Mart, all he would say was, “I just want to look around, Mom.”

Slowly, he lifts his gaze to meet mine.  Those gorgeous, obsidian eyes seem a little sad right now.  He nods.  And I smile.

“You are such a sweetheart!”  I reach out and ruffle his raven hair.

“Mom!” he rebukes me, but I notice that he didn’t pull away from my touch.

I grin at him.  “Don’t worry.  Nobody was watching.”  He smiles ruefully at me before I ask, “So…why didn’t you want Nana to know you’re buying Emmie a present?”