As the call began to dwindle down, Samantha popped her head in to remind January about the interview that they had scheduled in thirty minutes.
“I have to go Mom, but I’ll see you on Thursday. I promise.”
“I know, sweetheart. I’d love it if you had a special someone to bring with you. The more, the merrier.”
The little dig at January’s lack of love life stung. The last date she went on happened almost a year ago. It was slim pickings in Pineville. January supposed that she could try branching out to another town or attempting online dating, but neither of those seemed like a great choice.
Ignoring her mother’s jab, January ended the call after making another promise to be there Thursday.
Sliding her frame onto the cushioned chair behind her desk, January made sure to double-check her family countdown on the calendar. Since she was little, her parents had created their own countdown to Christmas, including everything from a day to make cookies and gingerbread houses, to family night with a Christmas movie, and going to the town Christmas parade.
She knew the schedule by heart – it never varied. You could always count on the list to remain the same.
A ping on her computer warned her of a calendar notification sent by Samantha. It was a preset alarm reminding her to pick out an ornament for her parents. It’s the fourth one; she had been ignoring the previous alerts.
Of course, she had purposely ignored them, but as the days slipped away, she now had even less time to find the perfect gift for her parents. When January had been five, she gave her parents a handmade ornament for Christmas, as did her siblings. Since then she has given them one every year for their tree. It was an easy gift to find, and it definitely seemed to make her parents happy when they unboxed a piece of metal or glass covered in filigree.
A dark brown head of hair popped in from around the doorframe, reminding January that they needed to leave for the interview.
“I’ll meet you out front in five. Oh, what is the name of that new shop in town with all of the Christmas things?” she questioned because she wouldn’t have time to order the gift online, which was her usual MO.
“Nick’s Knacks. We can stop by after the interview. It’s not far from where we’re meeting Ms. Davis and the volunteers for the Christmas Festival.”
“Okay, great.”
January thought about researching the shop online. It hadn’t been in town but a few years, and if memory served her right, the older couple that ran the store retired here because of how much they loved the Christmas Festival. She had never stepped foot inside but knew that it carried a bit of everything.
Just as her hands hovered over the keyboard she thought better of it. It seemed doubtful that a small shop like that would have an online catalog or store. She’d just have to grin and bear it for a few minutes inside the shop until she found something her parents would love.
Four torturous hours later, January and Samantha walked away from their interview, both sporting two completely different expressions. Samantha’s face was lit up as bright as a star tree-topper, whereas January’s face looked as if she had eaten something sour with how tightly her lips were pinched together.
They had been invited by the festival committee to walk in the Christmas parade as elves around Santa’s sleigh, a massive honor if Samantha’s expression was anything to go by, but January would rather not be present at all.
“I can’t believe we get to be in the parade!” Samantha joyfully exclaimed, her arms waving up and down as if she was about to take flight.
“Yeah.” January’s sarcastic tone earned her an eye-roll from her friend.
“You can at least pretend to be excited. No one will know it’s you with the costume.”
“And that should make me feel better?” January asked just as she stopped in front of a store with a wide window looking into a small Christmas village. “Is this the place?”
“Yep!” Samantha clapped her hands with a resounding cheer. “I can’t believe you haven’t been here before,” she added as she held the door open for both women to enter.
“I do my shopping online and get it delivered in a day or two. Why do I need to go to a general store?”
January paused as she looked around the shop taking in the bags of mulch and gardening supplies lining the left wall and then housewares scattered along the right side of the building.
“What kind of place is this?” she mumbled to herself as she followed the brunette sprite toward the back of the shop, the leader bounced on h
er toes with each step that she took.
“This. . .this is heaven,” Samantha explained with her arms open wide showcasing the area.
January finally pulled her eyes away from the stacks of trinkets lining the end caps of the aisles and focused on the creation in front of her. Even though she hated Christmas, she couldn’t deny the beauty of the wonderland fashioned at the back of the shop.
Fake snow fell from the ceiling, tumbling delicately onto the makeshift Santa’s Workshop and the tree line of Firs and Pines. On the other side of the room, there were twenty or so decorated trees, each one covered in lights and themed ornaments. Each tree was given its own personality.
“Wow,” the word dripped from her lips before she could catch them.