Lacey's Christmas Journey

One: A Pine Centre Christmas

Lacey John
I was grateful to be out of the cold winter weather, but suddenly wished I was back outside when the warmth of Pine Centre Mall was flooded with all things Christmas.
     "Come on, Lace. We just have to buy all the Christmas gifts today and we have five weeks until all this over and done with," Brad dragged me into Cole's, one of Indigo's bookstore branches.
     "I'll stay and help you pick accurate gifts for the women of your family if you get me at least two books from here," I told him. Cole's was like paradise for me.
     He sighed. "Ugh, fine. And I suppose you want your large scary berry Booster juice too?"
     I smirked. "Well, actually, that hadn't even occurred to me until you brought it up. Thanks, Brad."
     Brad White was one of my childhood friends, and he'd been there for me through thick and thin. Even after the incident three years ago.
      His shoulder hunched and he sighed, "Me and my big mouth. Well, I'm going to go get some books for the girls and my brother. You can go pick out what you want."
      My hatred for Christmas forgotten, I skipped over to the very back shelves and scanned over the books. I only came in here once a month and limited myself to three books, and this was my second time this month and that fact had me dancing on my toes.
      I got too excited with many different books, and after half an hour, I settled for the hardcover of Looking for Alaska and The Fault In Out Stars, both John Green books, and both bound to make me cry.
      I met Brad at the register, where he wore an impatient expression. He'd cast his things aside so surrounding customers could pay for their things while he was stuck waiting. "Sorry," I said in a tone that said I really wasn't.
     "John Green? Really?" he sighed and gave the cashier the amount due. "You better not call me at 3am when you finish it crying about how unfair authors can be."
     The cashier laughed. "Have a good day, you two." He moved on to the next customer and we walked away with our bags.
      "Remind me to never bring you into a bloody bookstore again. God, I looked pathetic standing there for thirty minutes." He grumbled as we walked into Spencer's to get some hats for some of our cousins, and a couple for my tomboy cousin, Janelle.
      "Oh shut up, Braddy boy, you know you love me," I replied as I grabbed a few NY hats and a few Taylor Gang snapbacks. I made sure they were the right size and thought them to the register. I looked at the blankets and grabbed The Walking Dead and Sons of Anarchy blankets, three each just to be fair to my aunt and two cousins who loved the shows just as much as me.
     I paid for them and waited for Brad as he paid for his own gifts. I spotted a black mug that said "I'M THE BOSS" that had a gun's trigger for a handle, and smiled. His aunt Rena wouldn't like that, it would milk his uncle Kyle's ego.
     "So, princess, where are we off to next? Sears, for your sister's baby girl? Stucky's, for all your kiddy cousins? Black Sheep for your cousin Hailey?" he asked as we left Spencer's with four bags.
     "Actually, I think we should go to the Children's Place first. That place has got cuter clothes than Sears does, and that's also where Miranda shopped for Stace. I think she goes to Sears now that I think about it though, since she's a lot pickier on what she wants to put on Hals."
      Stacey and Halsey were my thirty year old sister's two daughters, and her son's name is Holland. Her son is the oldest, and Halsey is the youngest. Which meant Stacey was the real baby of that house.
      "Okay, but you're straightening it out yours if anyone asks what I was doing in there." He replied as we walked past Tim Horton's and into the children's store.
      I picked out three cute outfits for Halsey and paid up front for them. Stacey, an eight year old, would rather toys than clothes so I just bought her some Barbie dolls and a toy laptop.
      "I know Holland is ten. So, we'll get him a watch and new Xbox games and I'll even throw in some cash." Brad said as we neared HMV.
      "Holland is the last person I need to shop for," I replied. "How about you and I pick out his gifts and then we part ways to find each other a gift?"
     He nodded as we went into HMV. "That sounds like a great plan, I'm surprised it was you who thought of it."
      It's been what we've been doing since we were sixteen, it's hardly even my plan anymore, I thought as we looked at all the Xbox games.
     I grabbed Halo 4, Fable III, and Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare and paid for them while Brad browsed the movies. Lisa had texted me the short list of Xbox games that Holland had, and I forwarded it to Brad.
     I used to come in here for Casey's Christmas and birthday gifts, until he died in that car accident four Christmases ago. It still felt weird not shopping for him every year, but after his death, I hated the entire Christmas season. I only bought presents for mine and Brad's families, and that was the only part of the holidays I acknowledged.
     "Hello, ma'am, can I help you with anything?" asked one of the workers who'd just finished re-stocking a shelf.
     I gave her a polite smile to hide my irritated feelings. "Oh no, I've already bought the items of my choosing. I'm just waiting for my friend. He's the one in the brown leather jacket looking at the movies."
      She got a flirtatious twinkle in her eye when she laid eyes on him. "Well, I hope you enjoyed your service here. Have a great day and happy holidays."
      I watched as she flirted with Brad, and tried to force down the snarky remarks and bitter feelings. I couldn't describe what I was feeling, but I just wanted to take Brad and get him away from her ASAP.
      I texted him and told him I was going to go look for a Christmas gift for him and left HMV before I did something I would live to regret.
      I went into Sears and got him a pair of Big Bang Theory pyjamas and a cross necklace. I went to the food court and paid for my own scary berry from Booster Juice. I texted Brad that I'm waiting by the Booster juice in the food court and sat down at a nearby table.
     He appeared a few minutes later. "Why did you just leave me like that? I wanted to leave that chick, but I didn't want to seem rude and you couldn't read my body language. I was disappointed when you left."
     I shrugged. "I wanted to get the shopping over with. I was hungry and didn't want to wait." Liar, my mind told me.
     He sighed. "Well, I got Holland some movies and a few games and picked up his watch. I got you your presents as well."
      I stood up. "Well, that's great. I've tuned out this god awful music, can we go now? Before my ears and eyes start to bleed?"
      He chuckled and took some of my bags from me. "Of course, m'lady." He followed me around the two corners to the main entrance and we ran across to his SUV. He popped open the back door and stuffed the bags in, dividing his so that mine were on one side and his were on the other. He took the rest of my load off me and put some of them in the very back seat, since some didn't fit.
      "We did all our shopping in one day. Go us," I smirked. "I'm glad I got that out of the way. I've just got about a thousand kids to worry about and December's rent."
      He nodded, "And that's why I vowed to never work with anything that was even remotely related to high school students." Yet another thing he liked to flaunt around.
      "Well I like helping them relieve their stress," I replied simply as we pulled away from Pine Centre.