of you and our group the other night when my son woke me up at three in the morning by turning on the light in my bedroom.”
“Um … okay. Can’t wait to hear all about it at group.” I pulled out of her grip.
“Ben used to do that. When he turned the bedroom light on at five in the morning, an hour before I had to wake up. I felt like he was silently asking for a divorce. It was a ‘lightbulb’ moment for me. And now his son does it and will someday drive his wife crazy. I hope he can at least put away his clean clothes. I would wash Ben’s clothes and put them on his side of the bed. He’d move them to the floor, where they’d stay for weeks until the dog made a nest of them, and they had to be washed again.” She laughed.
I kept my forward motion but shot her a smile over my shoulder. “I’m sure you miss that now.” Yay for me! I said the right thing. I reminded her to focus on the important things in life. Her inconsiderate bastard of a husband was dead. No need to keep dwelling on the past even if it had become the theme of our group.
“Ho. Ho. Ho … young lady.” Santa grabbed my arm as I budged in line, fighting my way to the entrance of What Did You Expect? Why did everyone feel the need to grab me?
Whipping my head back in his direction, I jerked my arm away. “I need to …” My eyes narrowed. “Dan?”
Kael’s father in the Santa suit winked at me. “Shh … it’s Santa.”
After a few seconds of hesitation, I nodded slowly. “I uh … need to get inside.”
“Kael wants me to spend the afternoon at your store. So I’ll see you in a few hours. Get ready for the crowd to shift to your place.”
Why? Why did that anger me even more? Since when did kindness irritate me so much? Oh yeah … since Kael Hendricks tipped my world on its side.
“Amie …” I whispered, turning and bulldozing anyone who tried to block me from getting into the store. But just as I reached the door, customers poured out of it like opened flood gates.
“Yuck.”
“Eww …”
“Gross.”
The herd of customers exiting the store forced me to step aside.
“Poor, Amie.”
“I know.”
“You think it’s really botulism?”
“I don’t know. That’s what she mumbled while she was doubled over.”
The passing chatter and incessant whispers filled the space as everyone scattered, even the lineup of children waiting to see Santa, dispersed in all directions. As soon as I found a tiny gap, I slipped into the store. And there she was, on her knees, close to the checkout counter.
Rachel wiped Amie’s sweaty forehead with a damp towel then handed her a glass of water while Kael and one of his other employees cleaned the vomit-covered floor.
“I sh-should … have shopped at Smith’s …” Amie’s shaky voice sent out a final declaration to the handful of remaining customers gathered around the crime scene.
Abandoned baskets of products littered the aisles like carnage.
“I’m very sorry, Amie,” Kael said as he shoved soiled paper towels into a trash bag before standing and clocking me with a look I knew I’d never forget. “Your friend is on her knees in misery. Why are you just standing there, Mrs. Smith?”
I tore my gaze from him before he saw right through me. Then I rushed to Amie’s side. Rachel wrinkled her nose and bit her bottom lip. Apparently Kael was the only one who wasn’t truly sympathetic.
“Let’s go.” I, too, wrinkled my nose from the sour vomit smell as I helped Amie to her feet.
She hugged her midsection, blond hair matted to her sweaty face. “I’m so sorry, Elsie. I … I should have known better than to try something that wasn’t from your store. I deserve this. I’m such a traitor.”
“Over-selling,” I gritted through my teeth next to her ear.
Amie wanted to be an actress before she settled on her career as a chiropractor. And there was nothing I could have said or done to stop her from finishing the scene in her once-in-a-lifetime role. All I could do was cower under the eyes of everyone around us.
“What did I expect?” she belted out.
I wanted to die.
“Not this! Save yourselves!” We hobbled arm-in-arm to the door.
“Um … Amie?”
We glanced around at Kael, holding up a phone. Amie’s phone. He studied the screen, lips twisted as he