Thanksgiving came and went in a haze of too much turkey and pie. Then it was Black Friday shopping with her mom, and now getting ready for another long day of Small Business Saturday shopping with Lincoln.
He pulled into the driveway a few minutes after her dad left with Abby. They were going to hang out at the arcade while Dory wrapped presents and probably took a nap.
She grabbed her purse and hurried outside.
Lincoln hopped out of the car to open her door. When they were both back inside the car, he asked, "Get any great deals yesterday?"
Gretchen buckled her seatbelt. "Yes. I got an amazing KitchenAid mixer for Jody that was like seventy percent off. I even snagged the raspberry color she's been eyeing for months. I found a model for my dad, and I got myself a new vacuum that was dirt cheap. Get it? Dirt cheap?"
Lincoln groaned and then laughed. "That was bad."
"It was, wasn't it? I'm going to blame it on lack of sleep and excessive amounts of caffeine over the past couple days."
"Just one problem. You always make jokes like that."
"I'm always tired and running on too much caffeine."
"Fair enough."
She rubbed her hands together. "Do we have an agenda for today?"
"Sort of." He slowed to a stop at the light. "I have a list of places I want to go, but we'll have plenty of time to go anywhere you want, and then at some point we'll go to Holy Guacamole and eat until we explode."
"That. Right there."
"What?"
"That's why you're going to make some woman a great partner. Food is always the right answer. Mexican food is the more right answer. You always do a good job of paying attention to what the people close to you enjoy."
"Not really. I'm just guessing based on your Nachos 4 Lyfe neck tattoo."
Gretchen cackled at the idea of having a giant neck tattoo dedicated to nachos. Although, if she were to ever get a neck tattoo, that subject was as good as any. "It matches the massive burrito tattoo on my back."
Lincoln laughed at that. "I would expect nothing less."
"What's our first stop?"
"Beth's Boutique."
Awesome. It was one of those places she'd been meaning to visit, but hadn't gotten around to yet. "Megan's friend opened that recently, didn't she?"
"Yes and no. She ran it out of her garage for several years. I think it was right before Christmas last year that she got the actual storefront. She shares that old Victorian with the bridal shop."
"Oh, that's right, now I remember Megan saying something about the location. Isn't it all wedding stuff though?"
"No, she has a lot of different things. My mom absolutely loves her handmade purses, so I get her a new one every year because she refuses to treat herself."
"That's really sweet."
He shrugged one shoulder.
A few minutes later, Gretchen found herself running a finger along a gorgeous handcrafted burgundy purse. She inspected the intricate stitching. "This is amazing." She wasn't one to be super "into" purses, but this one was the right size, the right weight, and the right color. She glanced down at the worn purse hanging from her shoulder. It had definitely seen better days.
Lincoln picked a sunshine yellow bag.
She noticed the style. "Wait. Are they the same? Just the color?"
Beth came out from behind the counter and smiled as she walked over. "Yes. Each year I do a new bag. Well, technically three new bags. A small, medium, and large. The design and colors are exclusive for the whole year."
Gretchen immediately appreciated the business savvy of that strategy. Exclusive, to encourage FOMO and drive sales, and smart, because only making one design would streamline the production and cut costs. Especially since each purse was handmade. "These are exquisite."
"Thank you so much. Let me know if you have any questions." She went off to help another customer.
Gretchen reluctantly put the burgundy bag back on the shelf and walked over to where Lincoln was browsing through a display of scarves.
"These are pretty." She let the silk run through her fingers as she read the sign. "'Each hand-marbled scarf is one of a kind.' These color combinations are lovely." She picked out a scarf marbled with several shades of blue and purple, with just a hint of yellow. "This would go perfectly with the purse you picked for your mom."
"You think so?" He looked skeptical.
Gretchen held the scarf against the purse. "The yellow is a perfect match."
He slowly nodded. "I think you're right. Now I need something for my Aunt Rose."
She glanced over and sucked in a breath. Another customer had picked up the burgundy bag.
Lincoln nudged her. "Once it's gone, it's gone."
"Yeah, but I'm supposed to be shopping for other people."
The lady walked away from the bag display. With the burgundy bag. "I'm too late anyway." She shrugged. "It just wasn't meant to be."
Lincoln found a green scarf for his aunt. It had colorful dots that made it look like an abstract summer field of flowers, like a Monet painting.
"Oooh, my mom would love this pink one." This scarf had about six shades of pink swirls, with a subtle thread of pale orange. She could easily envision her mom wearing it with her favorite blazer.
They paid for their purchases and after Beth handed over her bag with a smile, she said, "Megan mentioned you set up her new website. It's gorgeous. Are you taking new clients?"
"My team does have some openings. Let me give you a card." She fished a business card out of her wallet. "Do you have a pen? I'll give you my personal number."
"I probably won't have time to do anything until after the holidays, if that's okay."
"That's perfect. I can get you on the schedule for a consultation in January."
"Wonderful. Thank you so much."
Gretchen lifted the bag. "Thank you. My mom's going to love this."
They had to shimmy past a whole group of people to get out the door.
"I'll have to come back when it's not so busy. She had some really cute earrings but I couldn't get close to the display case."
"I got Aunt Rose a bracelet a couple years ago. It's really good quality." He popped the trunk and hesitated when he looked in his bag. "Oh, darn. I'll be right back."
Gretchen got in the car and waited for a few minutes.
Lincoln bounded down the stairs and over to the car, holding a slip of paper. "I forgot to get my receipt. I hate trying to reconcile the checkbook without receipts."
"Checkbook? I thought you used your card."
"Debit card. I don't use credit cards."
"What do you do if you need to rent a car or a hotel or something?"
He backed out of the parking space. "I have credit cards, but I don't use them unless it's absolutely necessary."
"I use mine for almost everything and then pay it off at the end of the month. I get cash back and airline points that add up."
"That's great. I got into some pretty major credit card debt in college–why they give plastic to students, I'll never understand. It took me too many years to dig out of that hole, so it's not something I care to repeat."
"Understandable. My parents always drilled it into my head to pay off my cards right away, but I can see how it would be easy to keep putting it off and all of a sudden the molehill is a mountain."
"Exactly." His fingers tightened on the steering wheel. "Can I ask you something?"
"Of course."
"What's it like not having to ever worry about money? I mean, I grew up without much money, so there were a lot of things we went without. I'm in a great stable place now, but I still have to sit down and do my budget every month and make sure I know where all my money's going." He grimaced. "Sorry, I'm not trying to offend you."
"I'm not offended at all." She'd definitely been asked obnoxious questions about her money that did offend her deeply, but she knew Lincoln was coming from a respectful place. And this was probably good practice for a money conversation with his future partner. "I have to credit my parents with instilling a healthy respect for money in me. My dad also didn't come from money, so I had his perspective that in some ways was completely different than my mom's, but in some ways, very similar. They both agree that you can't buy character, which was probably the biggest lesson."
"That's very true."
"I've always understood that there's immense privilege that comes with having money, and I'm fortunate to be able to organize my life and prioritize things in a way that a lot of people can't." She looked over at Lincoln and grinned. "And believe it or not, I also work on my budget monthly."
"Really?"
"Really. I always think about it. Like, am I being flashy and showing off? Am I making anyone uncomfortable? I don't want to put anyone in a position of feeling lesser, and I also don't want to be the 'rich friend' who's only along to pay the tab." She leaned back in her seat and sighed. "Money's complicated. When you have more of it, the complications are different, but it's still complicated."
"Do you worry a lot about people only wanting to be around you for your money?"
"Of course it's in the back of my mind whenever I meet people, especially after the situation with Abby's dad." She trailed off and stared out the window.
"You okay?"
Gretchen startled. She hadn't realized she'd gotten so lost in her thoughts. "Yeah, just remembering ancient history."
"Sorry for bringing it up."
"Not your fault." She looked out the windshield at the variety of storefronts occupying the historic buildings that lined Main Street. Downtown Hickory Hollow still looked like something out of a Norman Rockwell painting or an episode of The Andy Griffith Show.
He changed the subject. "I need to get a gift certificate at The Color Wheel, then stop in For Pet's Sake and grab some stuff for the shelter."
They got out of the car and walked along the sidewalk. Inside The Color Wheel, a paint-your-own pottery art studio, Lincoln got a gift certificate for his grandmother.
Gretchen browsed the shelves of ceramic mugs and picture frames and ornaments. Framed pictures of customers lined the top of the walls, showcasing smiling faces with their personalized treasures.
Lincoln walked over and touched a ceramic Christmas tree. "My grandma always says she has too much crap, but she loves painting. So I bring her here for a grandma-grandson 'date' in January. She loves it. It still gives her something to sit around, but the experience is the gift."
"That's awesome. I think Abby would like doing this." She went to the counter and took advantage of the Small Business Saturday offer of buy one, get one free gift certificates.
Back out on the sidewalk, Gretchen came to a dead stop in front of a large plate glass window where colorful yarn-shaped letters spelled out "Yolanda's Yarnery" arched over a cartoon ball of yarn with knitting needles. A bright pink sign announced upcoming classes.
"What?"
"Experience as a gift. That's perfect. My mom has always said she'd love to learn how to knit."
"There you go." Lincoln pulled the door open for her to go inside.
The yarn shop was as crowded as Beth's shop. Samples of afghan squares and baby blankets and hats and scarves and socks decorated the shop. Square bins were stacked six feet high, full of skeins of yarn in every color imaginable.
"I don't really know what I'm looking at."
"Yarn," he joked.
Gretchen shot him a look and chuckled. "You sound like my dad."
"Can I help you?" A pleasant voice asked.
Gretchen turned with a smile. "I'm not sure what I'm looking for. My mom has always wanted to try knitting, but I don't know the first thing about what she might need."
The woman nodded knowingly. "Is this for a Christmas gift?"
"Yes."
"I'd recommend a spot in our January beginner class. It's a six-week class where I teach the fundamentals for people who want to try it out. It's twenty-five percent off for Small Business Saturday and it comes with a starter kit that includes needles, a stitch marker, measuring tape, folding scissors, three skeins of yarn, and one of our project tote bags. Everything she'll need to complete a whole project."
"That sounds perfect." Gretchen followed the woman to the front of the store.
She set a starter kit on the counter. "You can take a look at what's included. The class runs on Tuesday evenings or Saturday mornings. There's information on how to get registered in the kit. I have a green kit, a tan kit, and…" she leaned back and looked at something under the counter. "A pink kit and I think that's it."
"Pink." Gretchen didn't have to think about it. Pink was her mom's favorite color, so that part was easy.
"Wonderful. Is there anything else I can help you with?"
"No, this is perfect. Thanks so much." Gretchen paid for the kit and followed Lincoln back out of the crowded store. She beamed up at him. "This was a great idea."
He nudged her arm with his elbow. "Told you so."
They stopped in For Pet's Sake and Lincoln got wrangled into helping his aunt with a bit of a situation.
"Ginger got out of her cage," Midge stage-whispered.
"Oh, no." Lincoln's eyes went wide.
Gretchen had to ask. "Who's Ginger?"
Lincoln leaned close to her ear. "Ginger's an albino ball python. About five feet long."
Gretchen sucked in a breath.
Midge waved her hands frantically. "Make sure Babs is secure."
Gretchen looked up at Lincoln questioningly.
"Babs is a rat."
"Ah. I think I'll browse while you help your aunt." Rats and snakes were just a bit too far outside her wheelhouse.
He followed Midge to the back of the store.
Gretchen picked out some toys for Walter and for her parents' cats. She'd almost forgotten about the escaped snake when someone screamed.