A Curvy Carol (A Curvy Girl Christmas #2)

16. Whit

16

WHIT

W e had two items left on our Christmas list.

Just two.

I could hardly believe it. These past few days with Carolynn had flown by, when all I wanted was more time with her.

The next morning, we met at the nail salon called Vixen’s in Garland.

“Ready for the best manicure you’ve ever had?” Carolynn asked with a familiar smile.

More like the only manicure I’d ever had.

“Ready,” I replied with a firm voice and a salute. That made her laugh, which I liked. I had a feeling my days would become dull without her.

I followed Carolynn inside.

It was a really nice place. Every surface shined, and Christmas decorations filled every corner.

Ladies sat in a long row of chairs getting their nails done. In another corner, one lady sat back with a thick red robe on and two thin slices of cucumber over her eyes. “I bet my mom would love this place,” I told Carolynn.

“Sounds like you need to bring her,” she said as we walked up to the front desk. A woman greeted us with a warm smile. “Welcome to Vixen’s. Do you have an appointment?”

“Uh…” I began.

“Yes, we do,” Carolynn stepped in expertly. “Ten o’clock for Carolynn.”

“Ah, yes, two deluxe manicures. Follow me, please.”

She led us to a table with two spots. We took a seat. “Can I bring you a beverage?” she asked.

A minute later, she was back with some juice and even some cookies.

“I could get used to this,” I told Carolynn. Breakfast had only been a couple of hours ago, but suddenly, I was starving.

She grinned. “I bet you could.”

In no time, a Vixen employee wearing a bright green apron sat down in front of us. She took my hands.

“What are we doing today?” she asked. She wasn’t my mom’s age, but she wasn’t our age either. Probably somewhere in between.

Carolynn jumped in. “Snowflakes,” she said. “Over clear polish.”

The woman nodded approvingly. “Matching snowflakes it is.”

Another employee joined her, and in no time, I had white delicate snowflakes painted on my nails. When they were done, they left us at our seats, saying we should let our nails dry for a few minutes under tiny fans.

“I knew you’d pull those off perfectly,” Carolynn told me.

I grinned. “Thanks. Although I’m surprised you’d be caught dead with Christmas stuff on you.”

She fought a smile. “What do you think?” Carolynn asked. “Have you ever been in a salon or spa before?”

“Actually,” I replied, “yeah. My mom’s big on self-care, so she has me and Dad accompany her all the time to get pedicures.”

“I like your mom already,” Carolynn said.

A few minutes later, we walked out of the salon. I noticed Carolynn kept looking at her nails, seeming pretty pleased. Maybe she was warming up to Christmas after all.

“Where to next?” I asked her.

She pulled the list out of her jeans pocket. “Let’s see.” She glanced at it. “Oh, yes. The Nutcracker. You’ll like it there.”

She took my hand. “Come on.”

When she let go of my hand a minute later, she didn’t say anything and neither did I, although I definitely wanted to reach back out for her hand.

We walked into The Nutcracker a minute later. It wasn’t too far from a bar called Make it Schnappy, which made me chuckle to myself. Garland had the best names for places.

The Nutcracker was a tiny shop filled from top to bottom with all sorts of home goods and decorations, mostly for Christmas. There were tons and tons of unique ornaments, wreaths, and even wrapping paper.

“Wow,” I said. “Garland has the best stuff.”

Carolynn smiled. “I thought we could each pick out an ornament. You know, to commemorate your first Garland Christmas.”

“Great idea,” I said. We began looking around together.

It took a while for each of us to settle on a favorite. I wanted to take home about five different ornaments, but I liked Carolynn’s idea of picking one that would always remind me of this year.

Finally, I held up a tiny but spectacularly crafted train. “I’ve got mine.”

She turned around and held up a tiny snowman. “Me too.”

We didn’t have to explain each other’s choices. That was the beauty of it. I knew what hers meant, and she knew what mine meant.

A charming old lady named Ms. Merriweather wrapped up our ornaments, and we were on our way.

“I guess this is it,” Carolynn said when we left. The way she said it made me think (and hope) that, like me, she was kind of bummed that this whole adventure was coming to an end.

“I guess you’re right,” I told her, trying to muster up the courage to tell her that I didn’t want this to mean that we would no longer hang out.

But before I could, she took something out of her crafting bag. “Here,” she said, handing me a cross-stitch. “I didn’t wrap it, but this is for you.”

I took it, holding it carefully so I could look at all the details on it. There was a train on there, with a mountain in the background. There were snowflakes all around. “Carolynn, this is great. Thank you.”

She shrugged, not quite meeting my eyes. “It’s no big deal. I’m glad you like it.”

It was a big deal to me though. I already knew where I wanted to hang it in my room. Another idea popped into my head too, though.

“Actually, there’s one more thing I want to add to the list, before we officially complete it.”

Carolynn’s brow furrowed. “What’s that?”

I grabbed her hand. “Come on.”