Chapter 15
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Vanessa hummed along to The First Noel as she carefully wrapped a boxed wooden train set in shimmering red paper, creasing the lines with exact precision as she reached for the tape.
She glanced at the list next to her, making sure to note what color ribbon Agnes Henderson had asked that the gifts be wrapped with.
There was a list several customers long of custom-wrapping orders, and Vanessa had been put on that job while Mabel worked on fixing the shelf that had broken earlier.
The last customer had left fifteen minutes ago, the store was closed down, and now they could work on the after-hours tasks in the peaceful pine-and-cinnamon scented space with Christmas music playing quietly.
Vanessa couldn’t help but compare it to her old job—to the stress and constant rush, the endless micromanaging and the way she’d never really been ‘off.’ She could never have imagined a slower pace back then, had told herself that she thrived on always being needed, on being the most capable person in her office.
But now, she couldn’t imagine going back to that.
She’d be done here in about an hour, and then she’d be off work for the rest of the evening, with no thoughts about it until she came back to the store in the morning.
She’d grab takeout from the Maplewood Tavern, maybe have a hot bath at home with an eggnog-scented bath bomb that she’d picked up from the market, and wind down with a glass of peppermint tea before going to sleep.
She’d had no idea what she was missing, back then.
“I think that’s the last one for Mrs. Henderson’s order,” Vanessa said, tying a gold ribbon around the package with a flourish. “Her grandkids are going to be thrilled.”
Across the room, Mabel was perched precariously on a step stool, her silver hair catching the warm glow of the Christmas lights that adorned every corner of The Toy Chest. She was focused intently on the broken shelf that had given way earlier, her tongue poking slightly out of the corner of her mouth in concentration.
Vanessa shook her head, more than a little worried that Mabel might end up hurting her wrist again, the way she’d done last year.
Fixing a shelf was one of the excuses she’d used to cover up the truth—that she’d hurt it pranking George—after all.
“Are you sure you don’t want me to call someone to fix that properly?” Vanessa asked, unable to hide the concern in her voice. “George seemed like he would have helped if you’d asked.”
Mabel waved a dismissive hand without looking away from her project. “Nonsense. I’ve been fixing things in this shop since before you were born. Besides, George has his hands full with Rascal and the Christmas tree farm.”
“Who you’re supposed to be picking up in an hour.” Vanessa glanced at the snowman-shaped clock on the wall. “I was going to lock up when I was done with the gifts, remember?”
“Oh, I’ll be done in a minute.” Mabel tugged at the corner of a garland that she was attempting to tie around the broken bracket, and Vanessa frowned.
“I really don’t think that—”
Mabel shot her a look, and Vanessa shrugged, turning her attention to the next gift that needed to be wrapped—a racehorse figurine, requested to be wrapped in silver paper with blue glitter ribbon.
“Have you picked out Jackson’s Christmas gift yet?” Mabel asked, glancing over her shoulder as she discarded the garland and reached down into a box at her feet. “If you need some suggestions—”
“We’re actually not doing gifts this year.
” Vanessa bit her lip, reaching for a rectangle of silver paper.
“He suggested that maybe we just focus on time together this season as our gift, and not give ourselves the pressure of getting it right on our first anniversary.” She let out a sigh, and Mabel paused, turning to look at her granddaughter more fully.
“Well, that sounds nice,” she mused. “But it looks like you aren’t all that happy about it.”
“I was,” Vanessa admitted. “At first, it sounded really sweet. And I liked the idea of taking the pressure off. Gifts aren’t really my love language, and I would rather have a holiday full of happiness and memories than either of us be stressed out over buying just the right thing, or disappointed because we got it wrong. ”
“But…” Mabel prompted, her expression knowing.
Vanessa let out another sigh, folding a corner of wrapping paper over with slightly more force than necessary.
“But I keep seeing things that would be perfect for him. Like this ‘Overload of Christmas Spirit’ t-shirt, and a multi-timer cooking gadget that would have been perfect for him. It kind of made me wish that we’d just agreed to do small gifts, instead of no gifts.
Mabel laughed, pulling a string of Christmas lights out of the box at her feet.
Mabel laughed, the sound warm and rich like hot chocolate. “Well, it’s a good sign that you’re seeing things he’d like. Men can be so difficult to buy gifts for. It means you’ve gotten to know Jackson well.”
Vanessa felt a dreamy smile spread across her face.
She pressed her lips together, momentarily lost in thought over the past year of getting to know Jackson.
She should have known he was the one, she thought, as soon as he’d offered her endless coffee and then procured a special eggnog creamer just for her.
He was still always thoughtful like that, bringing her coffee and coming up with special dates for them, cooking meals for her and just generally spoiling her in a way that she’d never imagined a boyfriend would.
“Things are going so well,” she said, her cheeks flushing a little as she heard the way she sounded—like a teenager with a crush instead of a grown woman.
She couldn’t help it though. She did have a crush on Jackson, still, after a year of dating.
She hoped it never went away. “Honestly, I want to show him how much I love him any way that I can. I keep trying to think up special ways we can spend the holiday together, dates we can go on before Christmas, all of that. But it feels odd not to get him anything. I mean—I understand why we made the agreement,” she added.
“And the spirit of it is perfect for this time of year. I love that we made that decision… just not how many perfect things I’ve found for him since we agreed. ”
“I can see how that’s difficult,” Mabel sympathized.
“But it seems like it’s important to Jackson to focus on time together, instead of material things.
I’m sure he’d rather the two of you focus on what you agreed on, and show that you can keep your end of a deal in a partnership, rather than having a gift, no matter how perfect or thoughtful or special. ”
“Of course,” Vanessa agreed quickly, taping down the last of the silver paper and reaching for the blue glitter ribbon. “And I respect the agreement we made. It’s just one Christmas, after all. There’ll be plenty more for fun, meaningful gifts.”
Even as she said it, though, Vanessa couldn’t help thinking about what she’d found the day before when she’d stopped in at Cheerful Chapters on her lunch break, looking for a new thriller that she’d wanted to read.
Of course, the bookseller had just gotten in a special edition collection of a mystery series that she remembered Jackson reminiscing to her one night about reading as a child.
They were young adult books about a teenage detective and his loyal dog, and Jackson had said he’d been obsessed with them as a boy.
Vanessa could just imagine how thrilled he’d be to open those on Christmas morning, and own a special, limited copy of the series.
Pushing the thought aside, Vanessa glanced up to see Mabel threading a string of multicolored Christmas lights through the brackets of the shelf, winding them multiple times around the broken one to try to hold it in place.
Even with that, the intricate pattern that she was weaving around the shelf seemed to have no real logical purpose whatsoever.
“Well?” Mabel turned to look at her granddaughter as she finished looping the lights once more.
“Look at my masterpiece!” She stepped down from the short ladder, standing back to admire her handiwork.
The shelf now glowed with festive colors, the lights wound tightly around the wood and metal fixtures. “What do you think?”
Vanessa pressed her lips together, trying desperately not to laugh.
“It’s certainly… festive,” she managed. “But are you sure it’s going to hold all those dolls?
The Christmas lights seem more decorative than structural.
And I’m not even sure they’re going to sit right on the shelf with all those lights strung around and across it. ”
“These aren’t just any Christmas lights,” Mabel explained, patting the shelf with confidence. “They’re the heavy-duty outdoor kind. Strong as rope! Plus, they add a certain charm, don’t you think? The children will love it.”
Vanessa couldn’t argue with that logic—at least not the part about children loving it. The shelf did look magical, like something out of a storybook. “Just promise me you won’t overload it,” she said, reaching for another gift to wrap.
“It’ll hold just fine,” Mabel insisted. “And it’s much more festive than those boring brackets that George would have used.”
Vanessa couldn’t help but smile at her grandmother’s confidence, even if she didn’t share it. Mabel always did things in unconventional ways, though, and it usually worked out. Usually being the operative term.
“Speaking of George,” Vanessa said, returning to her gift-wrapping station, “it was awfully nice of him to agree to watch Rascal. I can only imagine what the little terror is getting up to over there.”
“He wanted to spend more time with the kitten and he knows it,” Mabel insisted. “He just couldn’t admit it, the old grumpy-pants. Having something small and fluffy around will be good for him.”
“Of course,” Vanessa agreed, a small, amused smile still on her face.
“I think he did it more for you though. I think he saw how attached you are to Rascal already, and wanted to help.” She paused, seeing her grandmother gearing up for an argument.
“You don’t see the way he looks at you when he thinks no one is watching,” she added.
“It’s sweet. Jackson thinks there’s something there too. ”
“Oh, hush,” Mabel said, rolling her eyes, although Vanessa thought she caught the smallest hint of a smile on her face too. “The whole town has thought there’s ‘something there’ for years. We’re just co-parenting a kitten, that’s all.”
“Mm-hm,” Vanessa hummed skeptically as she tied a bow on the present in front of her. “And I suppose that’s why you’ve been humming Christmas carols all day? Because of the kitten?”
“It’s my Christmas spirit,” Mabel said firmly. “Which is at its height right now, with the season going so well.”
“Mm-hm.” Vanessa smiled. “Well, you should probably get going and pick up Rascal. I can finish up here. You’re sure that shelf will hold?”
“Don’t question my innovation,” Mabel said tartly, but Vanessa could hear the note of teasing in her voice. She could also see how proud Mabel clearly was of her solution to the shelving issue—whether or not it actually held.
Vanessa went back to her wrapping as Mabel did one last turn around the store to make sure that all was as it was supposed to be, and then waved goodbye as Mabel headed for the back room to leave and go pick up Rascal.
She finished the last of the gifts—a dollhouse wrapped in shiny gold paper with tartan ribbon—and let out a soft sigh, pushing herself up from the floor to stack the gifts on the table for pickup and delivery tomorrow.
As she did, she couldn’t help thinking about all the gifts she’d seen for Jackson again—the silly t-shirt, the cooking gadget, the special edition mystery series.
She knew that it was important to stick to their agreement, but she couldn’t shake how much she wanted to get him something.
It just felt wrong to bypass so many perfect gifts that he would love so much.
The thought lingered with her as she locked up, heading out to her car to drive home to her apartment. And it stuck with her for the rest of the night too, no matter how hard she tried to shake it.