Why Not Now? (The Blue Vista Crew #2)

24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

Derek

I realize I’m moping halfway through Wednesday when Adalie sits across from me and says, “What’s going on?”

“Nothing,” I lie. I’m frustrated I won’t see Ava tonight or tomorrow because she’s working two shifts again, cleaning houses in the morning and waiting tables in the evening. I’ve talked to her a bunch over the last few weeks about how much she works, but she believes she needs to. Even though I’m sincerely worried about her mental and physical health.

I still haven’t told her about the car, but I’ve decided it can wait until after Christmas when things calm down a bit. When she’s not so worried about the electricity bill coming up or the presents she needs to buy.

“You’ve been down all day. Did your dad call again?”

“Not since yesterday.” I tap my pen against my desk, regarding my friend. “Would you be willing to do me a favour?”

She rolls her eyes. “That’s a stupid question.”

“Right. I’m taking Ava to The Nutcracker on Friday. I want to get her a new dress to wear, but I know shit about dresses. Would you help me choose something?”

Her eyes sparkle with excitement. “You want me to go shopping?”

“Yes?” I say, trepidation suddenly filling me.

“Let me see if Lis or Vic wants to come.”

She gets up and rushes out of my office before I can call her back. Spencer ducks his head in. “What’s going on?”

“I’m pretty sure I just created a monster. I asked Adalie to help me shop.”

“Oh.” He pauses. “Good luck with that.”

“Your girlfriend might be coming, too.”

“Ah. Well then. I’ll see you at your funeral.”

He leaves me and I try not to feel anxious as I finish my tasks for the day, but I’m also confident that, if anyone can help me find a dress for Ava, it’s Adalie. All she ever wears is dresses. Even when it’s cold outside, she wears dresses with tights. When I’m done, Adalie and Lis are waiting in the lounge.

“Vic said we could handle it, and three opinions might overwhelm you,” Lis says. “But we’re ready when you are.”

“I’m going to go thank her for not coming,” I say. “Then we can leave.”

The two women laugh at me, each linking an arm with one of mine, dragging me out the door.

“Come on,” Adalie says. “This is going to be fun.”

“That’s one word you could use.”

There’s a heated discussion regarding which mall we should go to, a discussion I completely stay out of. In the end, the experts decide on the bigger mall which is just outside Vancouver. I decide I’d rather drive than take transit so we don’t have to come all the way back here for my car, and we all pile in, though parking is going to be a fucking nightmare.

“What, exactly, do you need?” Lis asks.

“I was thinking a dress. She’s been upset she doesn’t have as many nice clothes as she used to. Maybe some shoes, too. Women like their shoes to match their dress, right?”

“True,” Lis says, drawing out the word. “But women often have very particular, individual styles. You know Ava enough to know what hers is?”

“Yes.” I may not be confident about choosing a dress on my own, but I am certainly confident enough to know if she’s going to like something or not.

We arrive at the mall, and I don’t bother trying to search for a close spot, driving to the furthest point in the parking lot where even here the pickings are slim. But I find one after only a few minutes, and we walk back to the mall. Lis and Adalie ask where we should start looking.

I hunch my shoulders, shoving my hands in my pockets, my hat pulled low over my eyes, like I’m trying to hide. I kind of am. I hate shopping at malls this close to Christmas.

“That’s why I brought you guys. I’ve never bought a dress before. I don’t know which stores to shop at. Where would you guys go to find a dress to go to the ballet?”

They grin at each other and drag me into a store, leading me to the women’s wear section.

“So what’s her favourite colour?” Lis asks, running her fingers along the dresses.

“Green,” I say without hesitation.

“Oh perfect,” Adalie says. “We can find something that’s her favourite colour and has a Christmas vibe to it. Long or short?” Adalie asks Lis. I’m glad she doesn’t ask me, because I have no clue.

“Probably not floor-length,” Lis answers. “If it were me, I’d want to get more than just one use out of it.” They chat and pull dresses off the racks, talking about sweetheart versus halter necklines.

“What’s a sweetheart neckline?” I ask, thinking about what I like to call her.

Adalie pulls a dress and holds it up. It’s a mint green, floor-length dress, made of some kind of shimmery fabric.

“Like this. See how it kind of looks like a heart?” She trails her fingers over the neckline to prove her point.

I nod. “I like that. But not that dress. Do the sweetheart ones come with straps?” I imagine Ava wearing a dress like that and needing to pull it up all night long.

Before she can answer, Lis gasps. “Adalie, look!”

“Is that what I think it is?” Adalie asks, moving closer. They pull a dress off the rack.

I can’t see it well, since they’re blocking it from view, but I hear the excitement in their voices.

“This is the one,” Adalie says with a decisive nod. They turn and hold it up.

I admit, it’s pretty. It’s a very dark green, almost black, shorter than the mint green one, probably falling to mid-calf instead of the floor. It has the sweetheart neckline with ribbon straps that tie at the shoulder. The skirt flairs out at the waist in a bell shape.

“With her frame and colouring, it’ll be stunning on her,” Lis says. “Pair it with a pretty necklace and earrings, put her hair up.” She nods. “Perfect.”

“It’s really nice,” I say, “and I like it. It’s definitely her style. But what’s so exciting about it?”

The women share a look, grinning.

Then Lis returns her gaze to me. “It has pockets.”

Apparently, that’s a huge deal and while we look at dresses for another thirty minutes, no other compares to this one, so it’s the one I buy.

“What about something to stay warm?” Lis asks as we leave the store. As a woman who is perpetually cold, I’m not surprised by this question.

“She has this sparkly green shawl she likes,” I say. “Her grandmother gave it to her. Even if I bought something new, she’d want to wear that.”

I notice I’m alone after a couple of steps and turn to face my friends who stopped in the middle of the mall.

“What?” I ask.

They look at each other, then back at me, stupid smiles on their faces. Adalie has a hand over her heart.

“You just know her so well,” she says.

I roll my eyes. “We’ve known each other for a long time.”

They catch up and we continue walking. Lis links her arm with mine again. “That’s true, but you haven’t actually been around her in over eight years. It’s sweet you still know her so well after all that time apart.”

We walk through the mall, overly crowded with Christmas shoppers, stopping to watch as a little girl bounces up to sit on Santa’s knee before we continue on. Lis has a look in her eye as we watch the little girl and I think to myself, it won’t be long until we need a new chef for a while when she takes some maternity leave.

We go to three shoe stores before we agree on a pair of low heels that match the dress, and Lis and Adalie tell me will be comfortable. Ava doesn’t wear heels often, so I want to be sure she’ll like these.

“So that’s it?” Lis asks. “You got what you need?”

We’ve walked around the mall a bunch today, and a few stores caught my eye each time I passed them, especially because of something Lis said when we picked the dress. I point to one of these now. “I want to go there next.”

The two women exchange a glance before turning back to me.

“Derek,” Adalie says. “How much are you planning to spend? That dress and those shoes weren’t exactly cheap.”

I don’t take my eyes off the sparkling store, the glitter not just from the decorations lining the display cases, though I don’t move toward it yet.

“We should never have broken up,” I say. “We should have been together for the last eight Christmases. During that time, she may have gotten a few presents from Lacey, but that’s it. For eight Christmases, she’s had to make the best holiday possible for her sister, but no one has tried to make it good for her.” I think again of the little black box I’ve kept in my dresser drawer for so long. I nod to myself, as though my words have convinced me. “I have a lot of time to make up for.”

I start toward the store.

“Are you sure about this?” Lis asks.

“What are you asking? About the relationship? Mostly. About the gifts? Probably. About what I feel for her? Absolutely.”

“Have you fallen in love with her again?” Adalie asks, standing next to me at the glass counter.

I shake my head. “Again implies I fell out of love with her at some point.” I look at my friends. “I’m not sure I ever did.”