Twenty-seven

Lelani

“Two more shopping days until Christmas,” said Megan as she rinsed her coffee cup and set it in the sink.

“Thanks for the reminder,” said Lelani. “Like I needed it.”

“Sorry.” Megan made a sheepish grin. “Couldn’t resist.”

Lelani sighed as she filled her mug with coffee. “I guess I should be glad. I mean, two days and the madness will be over.”

“Well, then you have returns day,” Megan reminded her.

“With friends like you—”

“Sorry,” said Megan. “I think that Vera is rubbing off on me.”

“You mean the Wicked Witch of the West?”

Megan nodded. “Yes, I saw a bumper sticker that I’d love to sneak onto her car.”

“What’s that?”

“It said, ‘I haven’t been myself since that house fell on my sister.’”

Lelani laughed so hard that she nearly inhaled coffee into her nose. “Thanks, Megan, I needed that.”

“Has Gil said anything about Anna?” Megan put on her coat. “Like whether she’s ever coming back?”

“No.” Lelani added a little more cream to her coffee. “Actually, I still haven’t heard from Gil this week.”

“So he’s taking your ultimatum seriously?”

“Either that or he’s fed up with me too.”

“Are you still up for the Christmas Eve party?”

Everything in Lelani wanted to say no as she followed Megan out through the dining room. But she’d already invited Mr. Green and a few other loners from work. Not that she knew whether they were coming. “We might as well do it,” she said. “I mean, the house looks great and we’ve already gotten some food and things. Besides, what else would we do for Christmas Eve? Just sit around and feel sorry for ourselves?”

Megan slipped the strap of her bag over her shoulder and nodded. “And it’ll probably be a lot of fun. We’ll make a big fire in the fireplace and sing Christmas carols and drink eggnog and the works.”

“Yeah.” Lelani forced a smile for Megan’s sake. “It’ll be great.”

“Uh-oh,” said Megan as she opened the front door. “Here comes Stinkerbell, the escape artist dog.”

“I’ll take her out back.” Lelani snagged the little white fluff ball as Megan went out the door. “Come on, you silly dust mop,” she said as she carried Tinkerbell through the house. “I don’t know why your mommy doesn’t get up and let you out herself, but at least you’re trying to be a good dog.” Lelani opened the back door and Tinkerbell shot out. Lelani watched as the dog attended to her business, and then she let her back into the house. “I’ll bet you’d like some breakfast, too,” said Lelani. Tinkerbell wagged her tail, which wagged her whole body, and Lelani followed her to the kitchen, where the doggy feeding station was set up.

“Oh, there you are, Tinkerbell.” Kendall walked groggily into the kitchen, then let out a long yawn. “Did you let her out already?” she asked Lelani.

“Yes. And she did her thing.”

“Thanks. I was coming, but I had to do my thing too.” Kendall poured a cup of coffee, then smelled it and made a face. “Does this smell bad to you?”

Lelani sniffed her own mug, then shook her head. “No. I was actually enjoying it, but thanks for pointing that out.”

“Oh.”

Lelani waited for her toast to pop up, then buttered it and even put on a thick layer of pineapple marmalade. She took it to the dining room to eat it with her vanilla-bean yogurt. She had exactly thirty minutes before she needed to leave the house and she planned to enjoy every second of it.

“Pretty busy at work this week?” asked Kendall as she joined her.

“That’s an understatement.”

“I hate to keep bugging you,” began Kendall, “but have you heard anything from Anna?”

“I don’t know why you guys think that I’d hear from her. She hates me more than anyone right now.”

“Well, it’s because of your relationship with Gil. I just wondered if I should put an ad in the paper for her room. I mean, I really do need that rent money.”

“There’s nothing I can tell you, Kendall. Why don’t you call Anna yourself?”

“Yeah. I’ll do that.”

Just then Tinkerbell dashed through the dining room and begged for Kendall to pick her up and put her on her lap. The pooch sat across from Lelani with what looked like a canine smile across her furry face. “Hey, little girl,” cooed Kendall. “Did you eat all your breakfast?”

Lelani couldn’t help but smile at Tinkerbell. “She’s really a good dog,” she told Kendall. “But if you don’t get up when she gets up, you can’t blame her for making a mess.”

Kendall groaned. “Yeah, I’m working on it. I just didn’t sleep that great. And then I really had to make a run for the bathroom myself.”

Lelani nodded. Actually, she thought that it was good for Kendall to have this dog to take care of. Maybe she’d become more responsible and grow up. At least she was getting out of bed a little earlier now, but Kendall still had a ways to go.

“I think we’ll dress you up in your lavender outfit,” said Kendall to her dog. “And then we’ll take a little walkie.”

“Sounds like you girls have a big day ahead,” said Lelani as she finished her last bite of yogurt and the final sip of coffee. “Have a good one.” Then she headed back to her room to enjoy her last few minutes of solitude and silence. She also used this time to meditate on God and to say a little prayer. She’d been trying to do this every day for the past couple of weeks. And on the days when she forgot, she regretted it. She knew that she needed that time—kind of a centering of her spirit.

Today she asked God to give her extra patience with those last-minute Christmas shoppers. Then, as she’d been doing the last few days, she asked God to help iron out the conflict between her and Gil and Anna. Then she took in a long, deep breath and said, “Amen.” She wasn’t sure if anyone else would think that her prayers were “real,” but they felt real to her. Besides, prayer gave her hope—not just for her day, but for her life in general.

“It’s going to be a busy day,” said Mr. Green after Lelani closed her locker.

She pinned her employee nametag in place. “Yes, but that’s good, right?”

He smiled. “Of course. But we might need you to double up some, Lelani. If you see accessories getting swamped, you might pop over and lend a hand.”

“Absolutely.” She nodded as if this was an original idea, but the truth was she’d been doing this for about a week now.

“Have a good day.”

She echoed this back at him, then headed to the floor, where the store was already buzzing like a beehive. The best part about the busyness of the holiday season was that it helped to pass the time more quickly. Lelani’s least favorite part of this job was standing around on a slow day—watching the minutes tick by like hours and wondering why she was working in a department store instead of attending med school. But when it was busy, she didn’t have time to wonder or think.

Before she knew it, it was nearly time for her lunch break. She was just getting ready to leave the floor when she noticed a middle-aged blond woman in a corner of the accessories section. Lelani blinked and looked again. It looked like the woman had just shoved something inside of her jacket. Was it possible that the woman was shoplifting? The weird thing was the woman was nicely dressed, had what appeared to be an expensive bag, and didn’t really seem like a needy person. But then Lelani remembered the profiles of shoplifters. They weren’t always as they appeared. So she moved near a post where she could watch the woman without being seen. Sure enough, this woman was shoving belts and scarves inside of her jacket and purse. With shaking hands, Lelani dialed security, then from her concealed position described the woman and waited. But before security showed up, the woman began making her way toward an exit. Lelani decided to cut her off.

“Excuse me,” said Lelani with a nervous smile. “Can I help you?”

“I don’t need any help,” said the woman. “I’m on my way out.”

“No,” said Lelani. “I think you do need some help.”

The woman narrowed her eyes. “And I think you are an obnoxious young woman.”

They were nearly to the door now, but Lelani put her hand on the woman’s arm. “Please, wait a—”

“Get your hands off me!” shouted the woman.

Lelani stepped back. “But I just—”

“I’m going to report you to the manager,” snapped the woman with one hand on the door. “I’ll file a complaint against you and—” She stopped when a security guard stepped between her and Lelani. The woman knew her game was over.

“Please, come with me,” he told her.

“But I—”

“You can come quietly or we can do it the hard way,” he said in a no-nonsense voice. “The police are on their way.”

The woman glared at Lelani now. It was a hateful, evil kind of stare, like this whole scene was Lelani’s fault.

“It’s okay,” the guard told Lelani. “I’ll handle it from here.”

Lelani nodded and backed away. But her knees were shaking so badly that it felt like she could barely walk in a straight line.

“Good job,” said Mr. Green as he joined her. Then he peered curiously at her. “Are you okay?”

“Just shaken.”

He actually put his hand under her elbow now, guiding her along. “It’s a nasty business catching a thief,” he said. “But unfortunately it’s becoming part of the retail business.”

“Right.”

Back in the break room, she still felt uneasy and her stomach was tied in a knot, although she wasn’t shaking so much. It was hard to forget that horrible look the woman had given her. Lelani looked around the crowded break room. Everyone was chattering, acting like it was just another ordinary day, but all Lelani could think about was that she’d sent a woman to jail just two days before Christmas.

She needed to get out of there. She grabbed her bag and coat and headed out, pressing through clogs of stressed-looking shoppers until she was finally outside and able to breathe. She walked down the street, trying to get her bearings, trying to remember why she’d come to Oregon, why she’d taken a job at Nordstrom, why her life made sense. Finally, she knew she just needed to pray again.

She stood in line at a deli and ordered a cup of vegetable-beef soup, which she ate standing because the place was so crowded. Just as she was finishing up, her cell phone rang. To her relief it was Gil.

“Oh, Gil!” she exclaimed happily. “You can’t believe how good it is to hear your voice.”

“Really?”

“Are you nuts?” She sighed as she tossed the disposable soup bowl into the trash, then went outside. “I have missed you so much.”

“Does that mean we can talk … even if Anna is still mad at you?”

“Is she?”

“To be honest, I don’t know. But I do have some good news.”

“What?”

“Well, it was good news to me, but I think you need to hear the rest of the story first.” Then he quickly told her how his mother had thought she had cancer and how their whole family had been derailed by this news. “I found out about it the day you and I went up to Hood.”

“Oh, no,” she said. “That’s horrible. Your poor mother. I’m so—”

“But wait. That was just the backstory. The good news is that it was a mistake.”

“What?”

“When my mom went back to the doctor, he told her that somehow the lab reports were wrong or mixed up or something. Anyway, she doesn’t have cancer. She’s perfectly fine.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Of course, it would’ve been nice if she’d told us about it sooner.”

“But how could she? I mean if she didn’t know.”

“She found out last week. And she didn’t tell anyone. Not Anna or me or even our dad.”

“Oh.” Lelani frowned.

“I think she was enjoying all the attention.”

“But it must’ve been so stressful for everyone. Maybe that’s why Anna was, well, you know, kind of overreacting about the thing with Jake.”

“You could be right. The fact is Anna has been under a lot of pressure from every direction. Not just from Jake and Mom, but according to my dad, her job’s been stressful too.”

“Poor Anna.”

“Well, at least she should be feeling a little better about our mom now.”

“Yes. That must be a huge relief.”

“And we’re speaking again,” he said. “That’s a relief too.”

“For me, too.” She wanted to talk longer and to tell him all about the shoplifter episode, but she knew it was time to get back to work. “I have to go, Gil. But it’s great hearing your voice.”

The store was even busier when Lelani returned. And she hadn’t been on the floor for more than twenty minutes when she saw another suspicious-looking woman in accessories. But as she studied the woman, she thought maybe she was imagining things. Just because the woman was dressed somewhat shabbily didn’t mean she was stealing. Lelani had seen a similar woman before, who had turned out to be a genuine shopper. On the other hand, Mr. Green had just informed Lelani that the shoplifter she’d turned in this morning had nearly two thousand dollars worth of merchandise on her. Unbelievable!

Still, Lelani couldn’t help but watch as the woman slowly meandered around the accessories department. And it seemed she was looking over her shoulder occasionally. Finally, Lelani decided to go check it out.

“Can I help you?” she asked the older woman. She was probably in her sixties, with kind eyes and faded brown hair tinged with gray.

The woman blinked. “Oh, I’m just looking, dear.”

Lelani smiled. “Well, let me know if I can help you.” Then she straightened up a stack of scarves and slowly walked away. Maybe the old woman was legit. Lelani went back to help a customer who was standing at her counter. She nearly forgot about the old woman, but just as she was handing the customer her bag, Lelani saw it. The old woman had slipped something—it looked like a wallet—into her purse, then glanced furtively around and started to make for the door.

Everything in Lelani wanted to pretend she hadn’t seen this. But she knew she needed to do her part. So Lelani cut the old woman off at the exit.

“Excuse me,” she said quietly.

The old woman looked scared now, her hands clutching her handbag nervously. Lelani was about to escort the woman directly to customer service, but stopped as the woman looked directly into her eyes. In that instant, Lelani felt this woman’s desperation, her fear, her regret, her sadness. And somehow Lelani knew she was not dealing with a habitual thief.

“I—I’m sorry,” stammered the woman. “I knew it was—”

“I just noticed that you may have accidentally picked up something that you forgot to pay for,” said Lelani. She knew this wasn’t what she was supposed to do, but it felt like the only thing she could do.

The woman nodded with wide eyes. “Yes, yes—I think you’re right.”

Lelani cleared her throat. “And if you’d just like to put it back, well …” She glanced over her own shoulder now, then turned back to the woman with a smile. “I think it would be okay.”

“Yes—yes—I would like to do that. Thank you!”

So Lelani followed the woman back to the wallet section, and she pretended to be showing her something as the woman fumbled to remove the stolen wallet from her purse and set it back down. Lelani could see that there was no other merchandise in the woman’s purse.

“I feel so ashamed.” The woman looked up at Lelani with tears in her eyes. “But my daughter-in-law Vivian … she has such expensive taste, and she always goes on about how Nordstrom is the best store. I could never afford anything from a place like this, or anything fine enough to suit Vivian. And this Christmas, well, money is so tight, and I’m on my own with only my Social Security.”

“And I’m sure you’ll never do anything like this again.”

“Oh, no.” The woman solemnly shook her head. “I’ve never stolen a thing before and I don’t even know what made me do it now. Besides desperation.” She sighed. “I thought if I had a lovely present to take to her, perhaps I would be more welcome in her house for Christmas. And it’s hard being alone, at Christmastime especially.”

Lelani felt shocked by this. “You mean you’re not welcome in her house if you don’t bring an expensive gift?”

“My daughter-in-law is, I hate to say it, but a bit of a snob.” The woman pulled a handkerchief from her purse and blotted her eyes.

“Well, she sounds foolish to me,” said Lelani. “And if you have nowhere to go for Christmas, I will invite you to my Christmas party.”

The woman looked stunned. “Really? You don’t even know me.”

“I can see that you’re a good person.” Lelani stuck out her hand now. “I’m Lelani Porter. And we’re having a Christmas Eve party over on Bloomberg Place.”

“I know where that is.” The woman still looked shocked. “I’m Frances Miller. And if you really mean it I would love to come. You seem like such a dear, sweet girl.”

So Lelani gave her the details, which weren’t many. “Now I should get back to work.”

“And I should get out of this store,” said Frances. “It’s far too expensive for me.”

“Me too,” admitted Lelani.