Jimmy sets his hand on Eden’s shoulder. She allows his hand to stay, which surprises me. Normally, she has a strict no touching policy in public. “Your sponsors take care of you,” he tells her. “It’s important that you return the favour.”
“By winning?” she questions.
He shakes his head. “Winning isn’t everything, Little One. It’s nice and it’s often expected, but your mum and I want you to be the best you can be. The wins will come, just as they have previously.”
“I know, Dad. I just want to be number one.”
“You’ll get there,” I say with a wink.
We walk into one of the larger department stores and head to their winter section, which is scarce. I feel we’re going to have to buy a lot of stuff online and end up having to ship it to where we are staying.
The salesclerk comes up to us and asks if we need help. I nod and say, “We’re heading to Vermont, and it’s cold there.”
The clerk laughs. “I used to live there. Cold is an understatement. What are you doing there?”
“We’re going to Stowe to snowboard,” Eden chimes in.
“You won’t find much here to help you, but I can give you a list of places that definitely cater to the weather of New England.”
“That would be great,” I tell her.
She motions for me to follow her to the register where she starts writing things down on a pad of paper. She rips it off and hands it to me. There are at least ten websites for us to find what we need.
“Thank you.”
“Burton is the top choice. Best snowboards and gear, pretty much everything you’ll need. North Face too. Even though they’re from California, their colder stuff is in the Northeast. L.L. Bean has amazing flannel jeans. I used to live in them.”
“You’re a lifesaver.”
She smiles. “But I would be remiss if I didn’t show you what we have here. Let’s check out a few of my winter favorites.”
The three of us follow the clerk around the store, once again adding items we may or may not need. If we’re not careful, we’re going to end up taking so much stuff we’ll need a caravan to transport everything.
After we check out, Jimmy runs our purchases to the car and meets us in the food court which isn’t my favorite place, but it’s convenient, fast, and I’m starving. I just hope that once Jimmy sits down, he’ll be able to eat before the fans start clamoring for pictures.
Famous last words.4JosieI’m standing outside, admiring my holiday window display, when I hear the sound of a tire rubbing against the curb. It’s not the first time I’ve heard this, and it definitely won’t be the last, but it’s caught my attention none the less because Liam is giving Betty Paige driving lessons. I think every student driver, at one time or another, has hit the curb outside of my shop. I turn and look into the windshield and laugh at Liam’s wide-eyed expression and Paige’s scrunched up face.
As soon as Paige turns the ignition off, she and Liam are out of the car and rushing toward me. Both are speaking a mile a minute, and I can only pick up on a few things. I hear words like best day ever, I can’t do this, I can’t wait to go again, and I need a beer, which definitely came from Liam. I put my hands up; a silent way of asking them to stop.
“Breathe,” I tell them. I step forward and kiss Liam. Betty Paige pretends to gag. But she smiles when I pull her into my arms and kiss her on top of her head. I inhale deeply, loving the scent of her shampoo. She’s growing up too fast, and I’m desperately trying to hang on to every bit of her that I can.
“Come on into the deli. It’s quiet right now. I’ll bring us some pie.” Liam holds the door for Paige and me. We walk through the flower shop and into the deli, where my assistant manager, Trudy, waves to Liam and Paige. Trudy started working for me after she moved to Beaumont from the big city. She had retired and was bored most days and would often find herself sitting in the deli, reading a book. When I placed the “Now Hiring” sign in the window, she applied and has been a lifesaver ever since. Trudy not only runs the deli but the flower shop as well, giving me more freedom to travel with Liam and be home when Paige needs me. Not that she needs me often. She’s a thirty-year-old in a teenager’s body. “Needing” Mom or Dad is so uncool right now.
I cut three slices of pie and put each piece on a separate plate—pumpkin for me, apple for Paige, and blueberry for Liam. Paige and Liam get a scoop of ice cream after I heat theirs in the microwave. When I get to their table, they’re engrossed an in-depth discussion with fingers moving all over the table. To me, it looks like they’ve set up an obstacle course with the salt and pepper shakers and the condiment bottles. When I approach, they sit up and each reach for their pie.