On the Horizon: Where the Wind Blows

Chapter Four

The next day began the Christmas shopping mayhem.

It's Saturday, and somehow my parents pulled some magical 'we're your best we get we want' strings and were able to come with us!

Opal and Ruthie's families, along with mine, flew down to the Gardens Mall first.

Opal's parents, Mr. and Mrs. Winter, though they ask me to call them Cheri and Don, seem really excited to finally spend time with Ruthie's and my parents.

Ruthie's older siblings, who are nineteen and twenty-one, went off on their own, along with her younger siblings, thirteen and fourteen.

So Opal and Ruthie and I went with our parents.

"I have to get something for Nate," I say, walking into Vans.

"Arwen you can't get anything in here." Ruthie snorts. "Everything is fifty to a hundred dollars."

"Nate can." I wince.

"He's rich?" they ask.

"His parents are a doctor and a lawyer." I explain. Then I get an idea. "But I wouldn't find anything in here. I'll shop for everyone else first."

"Then where would you go?" Opal asks.

I grin. "Oh just the sports store, maybe I'll get him a car freshener."

"Oh she's going with inside jokes." Ruthie laughs. "Do they all consist of cars?"

"No." I argue, and explain the Captain America and Falcon joke.

I take my sunglasses out of my pocket and put them on. "I'm the Falcon cause you know, I'm the one with wings."

As we walk I continue to name gift ideas. "Or maybe a camera, a camera stand? Any help?"

"We don't know him." Opal argues, moving her dirty blonde hair out of her face, and blinking her gray eyes.

"Ugh why is this so hard?" I groan.

"Go with the Captain America thing." Ruthie says. "And while I go into Athleta, tell us about your date."

"IT WASN'T A DATE!"

                                                           ***

We sat down for lunch in the food court, and Opal's parents went to grab Chick-Fil-A.

I promised I'd tell Opal and Ruthie about yesterday during lunch, and they won't stop pestering me now that we sat down.

"FINE!" I yelp. "Fine. Okay so after I changed I flew up to Port St. Lucie and to his Grandma's house. She's the one who married a Winged, did I tell you that?"

"No." Ruthie shakes her head. "Is that why Nate can see us?"

I nod. "We're pretty sure anyway. So I rang their doorbell, and waited kinda awkwardly cause they had a ring, and I had no doubt someone had looked at it. Then I guess Nate's cousins are doing what you're doing-" I glare at them, "and one shouted from inside that Nate's girlfriend was here."

Ruthie and Opal burst into hysterics.

I continue on, actually laughing with them, slightly aware that the parents are listening as well.

"Oh, and then I guess I accidentally got acai on my..." I trail off, deciding to leave that part out, although he memory makes my chest lurch.

"Uh uh uh," Ruthie says, grinning madly. "You're finally getting to the stuff we want to hear."

I glare at her. "No."

"Ooooooo!" Opal sings.

I glance at the parents. "Can you stop listening?" I ask.