Chapter 7
CHAPTER SEVEN
For the first time she could remember in her entire life, Vanessa was out shopping on a weekday.
If she was being honest with herself, she still felt a little as if she were committing a crime.
Having a weekday off, let alone Christmas shopping on that weekday, was something that she would have never done a year ago.
She hadn’t even taken weekends off back then.
But Imogen had wanted to go into the city to do some holiday shopping.
Mabel had assured Vanessa that she could handle The Toy Chest on a midweek day without issue, and Imogen had some part-time help that came in on the weekends during the holidays to handle the customer rush, and had been more than willing to work on a Wednesday.
So Vanessa found herself in a bustling coffee shop with Imogen, ordering their drinks before they started off on a day of working their way through their gift lists.
“This is growth, right?” Vanessa asked with a laugh. “I used to work through every Saturday and Sunday at the coffee shop just down from my apartment in San Francisco. Now I’m getting a coffee with my best friend on a Wednesday afternoon, so we can spend a leisurely day out shopping.”
“It is growth,” Imogen agreed. “And I’m so proud of you. Really, I am.”
“Thanks,” Vanessa said with a laugh. “Speaking of getting out of our comfort zones, have you heard anything from Lincoln?”
Imogen narrowed her eyes. “Other than him sending me the invoice for his weekly hot cocoa powder order? No. Why would I have?” she challenged, and Vanessa shrugged with a teasing glint in her eye.
“Oh, I don’t know. Just curious.”
Imogen shook her head, and Vanessa was interrupted from any further prying when the customer just in front of them finished her order and stepped aside.
“Two hot peppermint mochas, with whipped cream and chocolate shavings,” Imogen said, slipping her wallet out of her purse and waving Vanessa off when she tried to hand over her credit card. “I’ve got these. You drove us here, the least I can do is get us coffee.”
“That’s sweet of you.” Vanessa tucked her credit card back into the slim brown leather purse she was carrying, and followed Imogen to the counter to wait for their drinks.
“Honestly, I feel so much more relaxed,” she said looking around the coffee shop.
“I didn’t realize how tense I was all of the time until I made the decision to move back to Fir Tree Grove for good, and I could just…
breathe. And now, this is the best holiday season I’ve ever had as an adult.
Even last year, I was in the middle of quitting my job, and moving, and all of that.
But this year I get to just enjoy it. I even bought a Christmas tree from George,” she added with a laugh.
“Have you decorated it yet?” Imogen asked, and Vanessa scrunched up her nose.
“Not yet. I need to get some more ornaments, and things like that. It’s not like I have very many of my own, other than the ones Jackson gave me last year when we decorated that small tree out on my balcony at the bed and breakfast’s room.
That’s not enough to fill up a whole tree.
” Vanessa smiled. “They’re all my favorite ornaments though.
Maybe today I’ll get some more to fill it out. ”
“That sounds like fun. Is Jackson going to come over to help you decorate?”
Vanessa nodded. “I was going to invite him over for dinner this weekend and do all the decorating then. I thought we could order takeout from the tavern, decorate, and then watch a movie.”
“He’s going to want to watch a Christmas movie,” Imogen said with a giggle, and Vanessa laughed.
“Well, I can live with that. ‘Tis the season, right? Plus, if we watch Christmas movies at Christmastime, then I have an argument for rom-coms around Valentine’s Day.”
“And horror movies at Halloween.” Imogen laughed. “I think there’s something there. Seasonal movie dates sound like a lot of fun.”
“You could have those too,” Vanessa pointed out, and saw Imogen quickly glance toward the counter.
“Look, there’s our coffees.” She jumped forward, snagging them, and held one out to Vanessa. “Ready to go shopping?”
Vanessa knew Imogen was avoiding the subject, but she let it go. She thought there was definitely something between Lincoln and Imogen, but it was clear that Imogen wasn’t ready to admit it. And she didn’t want to push too hard—just nudge her friend along a little.
She cherished the bond she had with Imogen more than she could possibly describe.
For years, she hadn’t had any friends, and certainly no one as close as she and Imogen had become.
She’d been so focused on work that it had been difficult to meet and get close to anyone, and even the few female friendships she’d formed at work hadn’t blossomed, because she hadn’t made the time to keep them up outside of work.
She’d been so focused on her job that she hadn’t prioritized anything else.
Now she realized what she’d been missing out on all that time.
Her friendship with Imogen had become one of the most important relationships in her life over the past year, right up there with her grandmother and Jackson.
She always had someone to talk to now, someone to lean on, and she knew that Imogen felt the same way.
Having a close friendship was something she hadn’t realized how much she needed until she’d been lucky enough for Imogen to take the first steps in forming that with her.
She couldn’t imagine life without Imogen now.
“Katie needs some new outfits,” Imogen said, as they left the coffee shop and headed out toward the plaza of stores.
“I’m sure that’s not at the top of her Christmas list, but she does love clothes, so I think if I can find some things that are cute and practical, she’ll be excited.
Obviously I’ll get toys for Christmas too. ”
“Of course.” Vanessa grinned, thinking of the toy that Jackson had helped her track down for Katie the year before. “Does she still love the unicorn?”
“I think she might be growing out of her unicorn phase,” Imogen said with a laugh. “But she still has it in her room. And she loved it so much. I have no idea what the big gift that she’ll want this year will be.”
“Probably something equally hard to find. But I’m sure Mabel can help. She looked everywhere she could last year for the unicorn.”
“Katie hasn’t given me her list for Santa yet,” Imogen said as they walked into the first children’s clothing store. “She was very serious about writing it when she was working on it the other day. We had a whole talk about how to ask Santa politely for things.”
“At least she was worried about being polite.” Vanessa glanced through a rack of jeans that ranged from toddler to little-kid sizes. “How do you pick? They’re all so cute.”
“Right?” Imogen picked up a black and white-checked flannel shirt with small Western-snap pockets and a tiny eyelet frill on the edges of the sleeves. “Like this. Cute and practical, right?”
“If she loves unicorns then she’s technically a horse girl,” Vanessa said with a laugh. “So I think it’s a great pick. What about these to go with it?” She held up a pair of jeans with daisies embroidered on the pockets. “A pair of little boots would really round out the outfit.”
“You’re great at this.” Imogen draped the shirt over her arm, continuing to browse. “Have you and Jackson talked about kids?”
Vanessa’s eyes widened. “I don’t think we’re there yet.
We’re still deciding how we want to celebrate things like our anniversary, let alone big decisions like marriage or houses or kids.
” She chuckled softly. “I don’t hate the idea of those kinds of commitments, but I didn’t think about them for so long.
I’m still getting used to dating someone seriously.
Jackson is the first boyfriend I’ve had since college. So I don’t want to rush anything.”
“That’s totally understandable,” Imogen agreed.
“And smart. I love Katie to the ends of the earth, but raising her on my own isn’t easy.
And nothing is ever guaranteed, of course, but if you can make sure your relationship is as solid as possible before having kids, that’s the best way to do it.
” She picked up a t-shirt with wildflowers emblazoned across the front.
“This would be cute with those jeans, don’t you think? ”
“Absolutely. Oh my gosh, look at this.” Vanessa picked up a light pink denim skirt. “This is so cute. A little spring-like, but she could wear leggings or something with it, right?”
“She could.” Imogen added it to the pile. “I need to get her a new coat. Her old one is starting to wear out, and she wants a puffer so bad. She keeps asking me for a ‘puffy’ coat.”
“I saw a rack of them over to the right when we walked in.” Vanessa glanced back toward the door. “There were some cute colors. We can go look, if you like?”
Imogen nodded, and the two women started to head over to the rack of puffers. Halfway, Imogen stopped abruptly, seeing a table and side-by-side racks full of Christmas-themed children’s clothing.
“Oh my gosh, look at this.” Imogen reached out to touch the frilly taffeta skirt of a red-and-green tartan party dress.
It was absolutely gorgeous, with layers of taffeta and lace on the edges of the tiers, and silky green bows on the shoulder and neckline.
“Katie would feel like an absolute princess in this. She’d love it. ”
“She definitely would,” Vanessa agreed. “You should get it for her! Why not? It’s a perfect Christmas dress.”
Imogen bit her lip. “It is, but—” She chewed on her lower lip, considering.
“It would be cute for Christmas pictures, and maybe Christmas morning. But she couldn’t really wear it other than that.
It’s not like there’s anywhere fancy for us to go out, and it would just get ruined at the shop or around the house.
I really need to get more practical things for her. ”