{ 5 }
Sandy’s parents had grown up in the depression and she’d been taught young the value of a nickel. She and her husband had lived frugally all their lives. The most expensive thing they’d ever bought was their home, and they then worked tirelessly to pay off the mortgage. The second most expensive outlay of money had been his funeral costs. They’d helped the kids too. Helping fund their educations and buy their first homes.
She didn’t make a fortune running the post office, but she didn’t need a lot of money to live, either, and she faithfully saved fifteen percent of each paycheck. She owned her house and she had a tidy amount of savings.
For years she’d been buying her underwear and night things at Wal-Mart. Why shouldn’t she splurge if she wanted to?
It wasn’t as though anyone need ever know. She glimpsed herself in the mirror of the lingerie store. The red silk felt heavenly against her skin. Sure, it wasn’t the firm, glowing skin of the models in the posters on the walls, but she walked to work every day, the house kept her busy gardening and cleaning. She ate sensibly. She looked, in fact, better than she would have imagined.
Why not? She thought.
Why the heck not?
“You okay in there?” the sales clerk called through the door.
“I’ll take it,” she decided, liking the happy blush on her cheeks and the gleam in her eye. “And I think I’m going to need some new underwear as well.”
“You won’t be sorry.”
“It’s a Christmas present for myself.”
While she was in the mall, she also bought a Lego set, something her boys would have loved when they were young. She had it gift wrapped and trudged back through the falling snow to her hotel.
She bumped into Earl as she was placing her gift under the tree. “Hello,” he said.
“Hello.” She felt a tiny bit shy around him, and oddly girlish for a woman who’d been getting senior’s discounts for more than seven years.
“Snow’s coming down like crazy,” he said, sounding a little grumpy. He held a much-folded newspaper in one hand and his reading glasses in the other.
“I know.”
“My car’s snowed in.” He seemed to hesitate then said, “Look, I’ve done the Times crossword, read the paper cover to cover – even my Horoscope, so you can see I was desperate – and I’ve finished the book I brought with me. Would you consider going out to a movie with me tonight?”
“Because you’re bored and your car’s snowed in?”
“No. Because I want to take you out to the movies. And we can walk there.” He sighed. Looked at her ruefully. “I really am rusty at this dating thing, aren’t I?”
“Yep.”
“Sandy, would you give me the pleasure of your company to the movies this evening?”
“All right then.” Since she’d been thinking of watching TV in her room tonight, no doubt Miracle on 34th Street or It’s a Wonderful Life, something about family that would make her nostalgic and miss her kids and grandkids, the thought going across to the theatre was a much better idea.
He seemed so pleased that she was glad she’d accepted.
They agreed to meet back in the lobby at 6 p.m. and then he said, “Well, all right then. I’d better go take a nap so I don’t snore through the movie.” He walked back to the elevator. She thought about going to the coffee shop for a cup of tea when the young gal at the front desk called her by name. There were so few guests staying here that she wasn’t all that impressed.
“Yes?” Sandy walked to the desk.
The young woman handed her an envelope. “This came in the mail for you.”
“Really?”
She took the proffered envelope and recognized Elspeth’s writing. The mail had either been super efficient or Elspeth had mailed the card before Sandy even left. Either way, she was touched.
“Thank you,” she said, and went to sit by the fire to open her mail. Inside, as she’d suspected, was a card. A Grandma card. And Elspeth and Bill’s two boys had each written a short greeting. “Have an awesome holiday, Grandma, I’ll miss you,” wrote 13-year-old Benson. His ten year old brother had penned, “Go Wild, Grandma.” She chuckled. If only they’d known, she seemed to be following both pieces of advice. Elspeth had written, “We will miss you very much, Sandy. Merry Christmas. (Please buy yourself something special from us). She’d included a hundred dollar bill in the card.
Sandy fingered the bill. Of course, it was reckless sending cash in the mail, something she told her customers never to do, but the money had arrived. And her daughter-in-law wanted her to spend it.
Well, Sandy had already treated herself to a night dress and new underwear, which felt wonderful on. But she had a date for Christmas dinner, and an order to buy herself something.
When was the last time she’d bought a new dress?
Or had a date?
Knowing the stores would soon be closing, she put her coat on one more time and stomped back out into the snow. She’d come to love the feeling of stepping out into a true winter wonderland. Since she didn’t have to drive anywhere or shovel the drive or worry about getting groceries, she could simply enjoy the feeling of stepping into a Christmas card.
The mall was now fairly thin of shoppers. A few harried looking men dashed down the mall aisles looking desperate, but otherwise it was calm. Storekeepers were clearly watching their clocks waiting to go home.
She’d seen the dress in the window of a women’s dress shop and paused earlier in the day. Knowing how much money she’d already spent on self-indulgent foolishness she hadn’t even stepped inside. But Elspeth’s gift was a sign. She walked in and the bored-looking clerk brightened up. “Can I help you?”
“Yes. Would you have that blue dress in the window in a size ten?”
“I think so. And we’re already starting our Boxing Day Sale,” she said. “It’s twenty percent off.”
Even at twenty percent off Sandy spent a little more than the hundred dollars, but she didn’t care. The dress brought out the blue in her eyes and looked elegant and stylish.
She’d wear her sensible black pumps with the low heel on her Christmas date. Date! She couldn’t believe how excited she felt. She was like a girl again.
“I’ll take it.”
“It looks beautiful on you,” the clerk said. “I hope you’re not cooking dinner in that dress.”
“No. I’m being taken to dinner by a gentleman.”
“Wow. You’re so lucky. Me, I’m cooking dinner for a seventeen, including my mother-in-law who only shows up so she can criticize every single thing I do. I wish I could tell her where to stick the turkey.”
“I know. I’ve been thinking that maybe people treat us that way because we’ve let them for so long. I’m beginning to believe that if you change, they’ll have to adapt too. It’s not easy, but why don’t you try telling your mother in law that if her way with mashed potatoes is so much better you’d love to come to her for dinner next year.”
The overtired clerk began to laugh. “Can you imagine the look on her face?” She rang up the purchase. “Maybe I will.”
“Happy Holidays.”
“Same to you.”
Sandy made one more purchase on her way out of the mall. She bought Earl a case for his glasses and had it gift-wrapped.
Sandy and Earl didn’t end up going to the movies after all.
When they checked the local paper and reviewed the movies playing at the theater across the street, there were two action films, two animated movies for children and a horror movie.
“I’d take you downtown for dinner but—“
“No, no. I wouldn’t want you driving in this.”
“Well—“ he seemed completely at a loss.
“You know,” she said, “There are pay-per-view movies in our rooms, and I’m sure the old standbys from when we were kids will be on regular TV.”
“You’d trust me in your room?”
“Yes, I believe I would.”
“I promise to behave like a perfect gentleman.” He brightened up. “And we could order room service.”
And that’s what they did. They ordered cheese pizza and salad and soft drinks from the room service menu and watched It’s a Wonderful Life on TV. She didn’t feel sad or nostalgic. She knew her kids would be fine without her and she, Sandy Dremen, was seventy-two years old and entertaining a single man in her bedroom. And they were having fun. Talking and laughing until past midnight when he reluctantly put his shoes back on and said, “I’d better go now or I’ll ruin your reputation.”
She rolled herself off the bed and stood. “That was much more fun than watching television alone on Christmas Eve.”
“I can’t even tell you how nice it was for me,” he said. “I look forward to our date tomorrow.”
“Me, too.”
He looked at her for a moment as though he might kiss her, then instead, reached out and patted her shoulder.
“Good night.”