Accidental Attraction

8

My four week check up seemed to come up rather quick. I remember it was only a few days before Christmas, and I had been taking it a little TOO easy...at that point, I hadn't even gotten my Christmas shopping done. Sure, I didn't have that many people to buy for, but I always hated waiting until the last minute. Regardless, my health was more important and I was hoping that the news I was going to get that day was all good. Adam got stuck working mandatory overtime the day of my appointment, so he arranged for his mom to tag along so I wouldn't be alone. We didn't have to wait long for the nurse to escort me to an exam room, and the doctor followed shortly after.

"As you know, we had you come in a few days ago just for updated scans," he told me. "After reviewing your new scans, it is my pleasure to inform you that everything has healed nicely and you can go back to your normal activities."

"Merry early Christmas to me," I smiled. "Thank you so much, doc."

"I was just doing my job," he confessed. "The one who you should really thank is the young man who brought you in that day. He's the real hero here."

"He'll be excited to know that all is well again," Diane said. "Is there anything else we should look out for at this point?"

"I don't believe so," the doctor said. "As I inform any other patient, IF you experience pain or discomfort in that area again, make sure you come in right away."

"Yes, sir," I replied. "And thanks again."

After the doctor left the room, Diane turned to me and said, "So Adam told me that you haven't done your Christmas shopping yet?"

"I was trying to take it easy," I told her. "I guess I overdid it just a little."

"Why don't I take you to the mall so you can get your shopping done?" she suggested. "We'll have ourselves a girls' day."

"You sure you don't mind?" I asked.

"Both of our boys are at work today," she said. "I have all the time the world. Besides, I can't remember the last real girls' day I had."

"I would like that very much," I smiled.

We left the doctor's office and headed straight for the mall. Surprisingly, it wasn't as busy as I had expected it to be for only being a few days before Christmas. We were able to find a parking spot almost immediately, so Diane parked the car and we made our way inside. Before we did any shopping, she suggested we go to the nail salon and get manicures and pedicures to celebrate my clean bill of health. I had never gotten a mani/pedi before, but Diane looked so excited and I didn't want to be a Scrooge (so to speak). I actually had a great time, and the pedicure was so relaxing that I think I dozed off for a few minutes. After Diane paid, we thanked the crew and made our way back out into the mall to start shopping.

"Do you have any ideas as to what you want to get for those on your list?" she asked. "Maybe I can be of some help."

"Most of them are getting gift cards to their favorite stores," I admitted. "The only one I am getting an actual present for is your son. Any ideas as to what I could get for him?"

"He might not have mentioned this to you, but he always enjoyed star gazing," Diane said. "He always wanted a telescope, but we were never able to buy him one."

"Well then, I think I know what he's getting for Christmas this year," I smiled. "Let's go see if they have a sports store or maybe some kind of discovery store."

"I think I saw something like that on our way in," she said. "Let's head back toward the way we came and see what we can find."

The store Diane had seen was, in fact, a discovery store. It didn't take me long to locate the telescopes. I examined each one, and when I found the one I thought would be perfect for Adam, I called an associate for help. I paid the man and Diane helped me get it out to the car. I asked her if we could make a few more stops before we went back home, so we made our way to the outlet mall that was nearby. She decided to check out the shoe store while I went to find the perfect gift cards for the other three on my list. Paige was getting a gift card to Baby Gap, Luke would be getting one for Game Stop, and for Jamie, it had to be Coach. I remembered Adam mentioning how much his father loved Crocs, so I made my way over to the Croc store and picked up a gift card for him. When I finished, I made my way over to the shoe store to meet Diane. Unfortunately, according to one sales person, I had just missed her. I asked him if she had bought anything, to which he replied "no", but he showed me what she had been admiring. I thanked him for his help and brought the shoes up to the counter for purchase. I then made my way back outside and found Diane sitting on a bench waiting for me.