"There was a picture of Rachel reading this book to Jack and me on Dad's nightstand the night before he died." He turned the page, a smile curling the corners of his lips in soft remembrance. "I used to love this book."
I stepped closer, peeking over his shoulder. He brushed the picture on the page with reverence, and I knew he wasn't reading the book so much as remembering it.
"I would 'read' it to anyone who would listen." He looked up, making eye contact with me for the first time since we entered the store. "I couldn't actually read it, but I had the words memorized. Dad used to sit me on his lap and listen to me on nights he came home from the office."
I tucked my arm under his, leaning my head against his shoulder as he continued to thumb through the pages of his beloved book. I rarely got to see this side of Robbie.
"Your dad sure loved you," I said quietly. Robbie stiffened and closed the book, setting it back on the shelf.
"You sure?" His voice was cold and distant. "Just because he let me read some book to him... it doesn't mean anything."
"Robbie," I said softly. "I know he did. I saw it."
"You weren't there when it changed. After you left, it was all about Jack and the company. DS Oil and Gas was more of a son to him than I was. I got tired of the amount of times I heard him say, 'Why can't you be more like your brother and work for the company?'" Robbie shook his head and pulled away from me, heading deeper into the store.
I sighed. I knew the death of his father was still weighing heavily on him, but I had no idea how to make him feel better. I knew his father had loved him. His father had taken the two of us sailing and I had seen the love Daniel had for his son. I just wished there was a way to make Robbie see it too.
I hurried after him, catching up to him by a small tower of blocks.
"I'm sorry, Robbie. I didn't mean..."
"No, it's not your fault. I don't really want to talk about my dad right now though, okay?" His eyes held a depth of grief that made my heart ache. He took a deep breath and forced a smile. "Let's see what's in that castle over there."
I followed him, letting him lead me to an opulent golden castle filled with all kinds of princess paraphernalia. Pink and purple dominated, and I chuckled to myself. If Avery were here, she would have thought she had died and gone to heaven.
"Oh... My.... Gosh..." I said, staring at a row of the most amazing princess costumes I had ever seen. There were dozens of them, each in a different style and color. Every one of them was something that Avery would have committed murder with a gleeful look on her face to get.
"Isn't Avery going through a princess phase? The couple of times I’ve seen her, she's been wearing that princess costume," Robbie asked, following me as I looked at the dresses. I wanted to get her one so badly, but some of the dresses cost over a hundred dollars. I started looking for one that was more in my price range, flipping through the tags and trying to ignore the most elaborate ones.
"To say she is obsessed would be an understatement. It's a fight every morning to get her out of the costume and into her school clothes. She snuck out yesterday with the costume on under her uniform," I replied. I pulled out a beautiful golden ball gown, but made a face when I saw the price tag. Just because I was now financially okay didn't mean I should spend that much money on something so frivolous.
Out of the corner of my eye I saw Robbie walk over to a sales clerk and point toward the dresses. I groaned a little inwardly. If the clerk came over, I would be pressured to buy one of the more expensive ones. I turned back to the rack, hoping that she wouldn't actually come and try to help me.
"Hello, what size is the little girl you are buying these for?"
Crap, I thought, but I turned around and smiled politely.
"Well, my niece is five years and tends to fit the small size for most things," I said. I kept going through the rack, hoping I could find something less than fifty dollars.
"Excellent. Thank you," the woman replied, turning and then heading back to the counter. That was not the response I had been expecting. I frowned slightly and looked at Robbie. He was leaning against the clerk's checkout counter, a self-satisfied smirk filling his face. His green eyes danced with amusement. I stopped looking at the dresses and walked up to him.
"What did you just do?"
He puffed up like a satisfied peacock with a cocky grin.
"Robbie..." I put my hands on my hips and gave him my best no-nonsense look. It worked well on Avery and since he was really just an overgrown child, I hoped it would work on him too. He just grinned even more broadly.
"All right, sir. I have your order ready. It will be shipped and at the little girl's house by tomorrow evening," the clerk said, joining us at the counter.
"I'm really sorry, but what is his order?" I asked the young woman.
"He just got one of every dress we offer. Your niece is a very lucky little girl." She gave me a blinding smile. I didn't even want to think what her commission on this sale might be.
"Robbie, you didn't have to do that," I said once the clerk left to go help another customer.
"I know." His eyes twinkled with delight. "But you love that little girl and you want to see her happy."
"But, Robbie, it's so much money..." I stopped when the numbers in my head hit the thousands as I added it up.