Full Strength

Forty Four-Lillian ❤️‍🩹

        "We only have forty minutes before the party starts," I said anxiously.

        Logan was indignant. "Are you suggesting that I can't pick out two presents in forty minutes?" he asked.

        "Considering your brother lives ten minutes from here, no, I don't think you can do it in a half hour," I reminded him.

        He shook his head. "You know how important my nieces are to me, Lilli. I can't just leave them high and dry on their birthday."

        "What was wrong with the princess castle again?" I asked wearily.

       "I can't get one of them a literal castle. The other one would feel insignificant," he explained very patiently, as if I were the one about to turn three years old. "And I definitely can't get them one gift to share. That's like, the number one rule about twins."

        We were wandering the aisles of the local toy store in the mall. Logan had insisted multiple times that he knew what he was looking for, but I was convinced he was flying by the seat of his pants and had no idea what to get for Maisy and Rachel. He was also somewhat easily distracted, drifting towards the Lego sets and occasionally becoming smitten with newfangled toys that just hadn't existed when we were kids.

        "Aha. Here we go: for Maisy," he said triumphantly, bending down to grab a box off the shelf.

        I peered over his shoulder to read the label. "Princess heels?"

        "And a storage shelf to boot. She's been desperate to become as tall as Graham someday," Logan explained. "This should give her a boost."

        "Isn't he like six-four?" I asked, impressed by Maisy's ambitions.

        Logan grinned. "Yeah, but he doesn't have sparkling plastic shoes to help him. Sucker."

        "What about Rachel?" I asked as he tucked the five-pack of shoes under his arm.

        "Vague ideas," he replied, scanning the shelves. "Lately she's been into playing store, so I was thinking about getting her a cash register."

        The toy store had a wide variety of cash registers. Some were pink, some were red, some were customized to have the logos of real-life companies, while others showcased different kinds of pretend money or conveyor belts. 

        "Here we go," Logan said, reaching up towards a high shelf. "Pretend monitor, security camera, conveyor belt, telephone for making announcements, and a clerk's uniform. Everything a young child could want in a capitalist world."

        "That's a lot of security for a pretend store," I remarked.

        He shook his head, clearly unimpressed with my lack of imagination. "The cameras help you catch the guy who's had a warrant out for him for twenty years when he tries to buy groceries. Have you never played pretend?"

        "I played pretend doctor," I informed him as we headed for the real-life registers. "Everyone had Ebola or their limbs were amputated."

        Logan wrinkled his nose. "Glad I've faired better as your patient."

        He purchased the two gifts, along with two rolls of wrapping paper (one pink and one purple). I drove to Nick's house while Logan fought off a roll of Scotch tape in the front seat. 

        "You okay over there?" I asked, trying not to laugh.

        "Just fine, why do you ask?" he said around the piece of tape hanging off his lower lip.