“To be continued,” I whisper.
She doesn’t smile.
“Ready to go?” he asks, his face bright and unaware of the weird mood his mother is in.
“I’m ready. Grab your coat.”
I squeeze her hand, wishing I knew what she was struggling with so I could fix it.
“Listen to Micah and behave,” Lucy says as we leave.
The ride to the shopping center is filled with little boy chatter, and I participate as much as I can, but the topics change so quickly it’s hard for me to keep up.
Prepared, Harley knows exactly what store he needs to go into.
“I saw her looking at this set,” he says, tugging on my hand, pointing at a pair of earrings and a necklace.
Once we arrive at the jewelry case, he digs into his pocket and pulls out a small wad of crumpled bills.
“I have enough to get them both.”
We spend a couple of minutes straightening the money before he hands it over proudly to the cashier, explaining that he had to sweep a lot of floors and wash a lot of windows for Mrs. Greene to earn this money.
Next, I take him to the gift-wrapping station in the corner of the strip mall and pay to have the items wrapped.
“You got her such great gifts, now I don’t know what to get her,” I complain as we window shop along the strip of stores. “Any ideas for me?”
Like he’s thinking incredibly hard, Harley taps his little finger against his lips. “She likes sandals. The strap on her purse broke last week.”
“Okay. Both great ideas. I don’t know if we’ll be able to find sandals in the middle of winter, but we can check.”
We head to a department store, and I was wrong. Apparently, sandals are always for sale in New Mexico. I find her a pair of the slip-on kind, praying she wears a medium and a purse that the salesclerk assures me matches because what the hell do I know about fashion? We head back to the wrapping store and have those wrapped in coordinating paper to the first two gifts.
Hoping she just needed a little time to herself, I try to waste as much time as possible in the shopping area, paying attention to what makes Harley’s eyes sparkle. Not once does the little guy ask for anything or even hint that he’d like a certain gift. He’s such a gracious kid. I know he said thank you a dozen times when I bought him a burger and fries the time I picked him up from school, and you’d think I handed him the world when I made those small purchases at the tree lighting ceremony.
I want to spoil his ass for Christmas, but I don’t want to show up Lucy. I want to spoil her too, but I don’t want him to feel like his gifts weren’t good enough. What a hard fucking place to be in right now. He worked so hard for that money, so it wouldn’t be right to give him more and tell him to buy her something more expensive.
Shit. I don’t know what the right thing to do would be.
“My dad is coming home.”
I trip over an invisible line in the concrete.
“What?”
“My dad. He’s getting out of prison.”
“Soon?”
“First week of January. We went to visit him yesterday.”
I knew this was why I didn’t get invited over. I don’t think she was hiding it from me, but it never came up in conversation either. We’ve had the month off from missions with Cerberus going into the holidays, and I’ve been completely focused on her. I just assumed that I’d spend the day with her. She never texted. I figured she needed some space since we spent every day this week together.
Did something change? Did they have a conversation about what that looks like, his getting released? Is that why she’s different this afternoon?
After making the circuit of the shopping center, we return to the truck, stopping to grab dinner before heading back to her house. I promise to keep the gifts safe and hidden in my truck until Christmas, and Harley seems satisfied with them in my care.
Her mood is no better when we get back, but Harley doesn’t seem to notice as he settles in front of the television to watch cartoons.
“Hey,” I tell her, pressing my hand to her back as she stands at the kitchen sink. “Can I stay the night with you?”
Her head shakes immediately. “I don’t think that’s something Harley needs to see.”
“What about staying after Harley goes to bed? I just want to talk.” She shakes her head again, her throat working on a swallow. “I can tell you’re upset, sweetheart. If we don’t talk later, just talk to me now. Whatever it is, I just want to fix it.”
“I’m just tired. I did a lot of driving yesterday. Everything’s fine.”