Livvy (36 page)

“Hush,” I tell him tersely. “We don’t ever talk to strangers.”

“But they want my picture!” he argues, once again grinning from ear to ear. The photographers seem to close in on us. Jon eventually stops, impeded by the slow steps of our young brothers and their fascination with their newfound celebrity. He turns around and looks at me, clearly frustrated, handing me the shopping bag he was carrying.

“Will?” he asks.

“Yeah?”

“I need you to give Max a piggyback ride. Can you handle him?”

“He’s too big for that.”

“I don’t care. Suck it up.” Will nods as Max releases my hand and jumps on his brother’s back willingly.

“I want one!” Trey says out loud.

“Come on,” Jon says as he squats down. I help settle my brother on his back. “You’ve gotta hold on tight, Trey, okay?”

“Cool!” is his answer as he clasps his arms around Jon’s neck.

“Will, lead the way... I want to get them all out of here.” Jon’s brother nods and steps in front of us, walking quickly as he holds his brother securely in place. “I’ve got Trey,” he assures me, nudging me along ahead of him. I tuck my head down, watching the tennis shoes in front of me for guidance. In two blocks, the crowd has finally gotten the point and–one by one–they stop following us.

Max and Trey are both giggling, even after Jon and his brother set them safely down on the concrete.

“Your dad’s not gonna like this.”

“We’re fine,” I tell him. “They’re gone. Let’s just keep shopping.”

He bites his lip and nods, taking the bag back and slipping his hand into mine. We watch our brothers, eventually following them into the department store that I’d wanted to go to.

“You okay?” I ask Jon, sensing his lingering tension.

“I’m fine,” he says. “They just get so close. It’s getting to the point that I think you and I can handle these photographers, but with our brothers here... it just presents more of a challenge.”

“I know,” I agree after directing the kids to the third floor. “I don’t think Trey’s ever been my sole responsibility. It’s a little harrowing.”

“Yeah.” We both look around, and even though the store is packed, people seem to be ignoring us.

“Why don’t you take the boys to the electronics section? I don’t think they want to shop for a purse for my mom and aunts.”

He hesitates for a moment.

“Or I can keep Trey. Or you can all stay here and be bored,” I suggest.

“No, we’ll go.” I start to look into the various glass cases, looking for a handbag I think my mom will like. I overhear Jon telling his brothers to stick together before he turns his attention to Trey.

“You stay next to me, got it?”

“Got it,” Trey says, happy for Jon’s attention.

“You can talk to me and Max and Will all you want, but you can’t talk to anyone else, okay? What were you doing talking to those people back there? Didn’t Jack and Emi teach you about strangers?”

“Of course,” he says, fidgeting.

“Are photographers strangers?”

“No,” Trey answers coyly. I know he knows they are, and I suspect he’s just trying to push my boyfriend’s buttons. I walk toward them to offer assistance, but stand back, continuing to listen to Jon.

“They’re not?” he asks. “What was that one guy’s name then? The one in the weird red cap with the green ball on top. Who was he?”

“I don’t know,” Trey answers.

“What’s a stranger?” Jon asks.

“Someone I don’t know.” Although I can’t see him, I am fairly certain he’s rolling his eyes.

“Who’s the guy in the red cap with the green ball on top who had a camera with him?”

“A stranger,” Trey amends his earlier response, and emphasizes his annoyance by flailing his arms.

“Exactly. I know it seems like they know you, but the thing to remember is that
you
don’t know
them
. Okay?”

“Okay, I know!”

“Okay,” Jon says, standing up and waving me off, a self-satisfied smile spreading across his lips. “Let’s go play some video games.”

As I’m looking at the selection, my phone rings.

“Hey, Dad.”

“How’s it going, Contessa?”

“Fine.”

“You haven’t bought anything yet?”

“Dad, can you ignore the purchase notifications for today? They might ruin Christmas for you. You gave me a limit, and I promise I will stay well within that limit. Okay?”

“Jackson’s behaving?”

“Yeah, they’re all good. We had a little trouble outside of FAO Schwarz, but everyone escaped unharmed.” I continue talking over him as he starts to fire off a question. “Just casual photographers in the store and then some professional ones when we went outside.”

“I bet Will and Max were a little scared by that?”

“Scared?” I ask him. “Dad, they loved it. Are you kidding?”

“I hate it.”

“I know you do. Don’t worry about us today, though. Jon and I can handle this. Don’t you have some shopping to do?”

“I’m finished. Just cleaning the house for tomorrow. Are they doing okay at the loft? Do they need anything?”

“Dad, they’re fine. We’ll be home in an hour or two. And I mean it, please don’t panic about my spending. I want your gift to be a surprise, okay?”

“Alright, Contessa. Be safe.”

“We are, Daddy. Love you.” A saleslady approaches me as soon as I tuck my phone away.

“Your father?” she asks me.

I smile politely. “Yes.”

“Are you shopping for your mother?” she continues as if she knows my family.

I nod to her, a little apprehensive. She leans into me. “She was in here a few weeks ago looking at this clutch over here,” she says. She pulls out a plaid color block carryall from the case and hands it to me. I
love
it, but realize immediately that’s not my mom’s style.

“I’ll assume she was shopping for me,” I tell the woman. “She didn’t buy it?” The saleslady shakes her head, watching me as I admire the purse. “We’ll come back to that one,” I say as I set it down next to me and eye all of the options surrounding me. I finally see one with a nice shape and graphic style that I think Mom would love. “Can I see the striped tote? The black and white one? Oh, and the little cross-body bag next to it, too?”

“Of course.” She hands me both. “For the tote, we also have that in pink and red.”

I look inside, judging the space to make sure there’s enough room for a laptop since she likes to take it with her from time to time. The woman steps away for a minute to ring up another patron, but returns to me immediately after the sale is over. I’ve made up my mind. “I’ll take the pink and red one,” I tell her, “and this little one, too, for my aunt.”

“And what about this one?” she says, touching the plaid bag. Maybe Mom got it somewhere else. I shouldn’t be buying things for myself anyway.

“What’d you get?” Jon asks as he sneaks up on me. Our brothers are trying on women’s hats, laughing at themselves as they see their reflections in the mirrors.

“That for my mom, and that for Anna,” I say as I point out the two bags the saleslady is holding. She turns around and begins to ring them up, finding matching gift bags to put the purses in.

“What’s this?” he asks as he eyes the plaid bag in front of me.

I smile and shrug. “It’s cute.” He checks out the price tag and shakes his head.

“For a purse?”

“You know I like plaid,” I say. “I was just looking.”

“Will you be adding the color block bag, Livvy?”

“No, thank you.” I push it aside and get out my wallet to pay.

“What’s next?” Jon asks.

“I need to go to the Men’s department and find something for Dad.” I check my cash, making sure I have enough to buy him something nice. He’d always paid for his own Christmas gifts, but I had decided that I would get him something with money I had earned from a painting. I was doing the same for Jon. Hopefully next year, I’ll be able to afford Mom’s gift on my own, too. I probably could have today, had I not selected one of the more expensive purses in the case. I knew she’d like it, though, and get a lot of use out of it.

He leans into me closely. “I have to go back to the electronics department and get something for Will. Can you take them with you? I’ll meet you down there.”

“Sure,” I tell him, “go ahead.” He kisses my cheek and tells the other boys to go with me. I give Trey the smaller bag to carry.

Two floors down, I ask Will and Max to each pick out a shirt for their brother. If he hated the gifts, I’d have someone else to blame, but the ones they choose are nice and I think Jon will like them both. I find a cashmere sweater that I can’t stop touching, and decide he needs that, too. We finally make it to the wallet section, where I find something to replace the one he’s carried for as long as I can remember. Our last stop is the tie shop, where I go to work finding a colorful one for Dad.

Dad’s preference for ties is either something bold, which he calls his power ties, or something very subdued, which my mother typically picks out for him. It had always been my job to find the most colorful tie that he’d be least likely to wear. The tradition began with the tie Anna had bought him for the day of my final adoption hearing. Dad has kept every single one of them, and he wears them on special occasions. He insists they’re good icebreakers, and in turn, good luck. I find the tie and a nice pair of cufflinks, and amble up to the counter with my stash to pay. All of our brothers are clearly bored, my brother especially, who has now started whining.

Jon meets us just as the salesperson hands me the bags. Will leads the way back down the escalators, ready to go home.

“That’s quite a haul,” he says. I glance down and notice he’s carrying two small bags.

“What’d you get?”

“Some games. Mom is buying them a new system for Christmas. I had to pick out the games.”

“Let me see,” I say, reaching for the bags.

“No. Later. I don’t want them to see it.”

“They’re not even paying attention.”

“Still,” he says, reluctant to show me his purchases. “Oh, go ahead,” he says finally, handing me one of the bags.

“Good for you,” I comment, seeing both of the games are sports-related and nothing violent. “And in there?” I motion to the other bag.

“Nothing.”

“Did you get me something?” I ask him.

“Did you get me something?” he says as he tries to take one of my bags.

“Hands off!” I laugh. “Fine. You don’t have to show me yours because I’m not showing you mine.” He raises his eyebrows. I realize what I said and laugh as I nudge his arm with my shoulder.

“I say we take all the boys back to their homes... and we take a trip to campus. What do you say?”

“You have something to show me?” I ask coyly.

“I might,” he says. I let him take one of the bags from me when he promises not to peek, and we make two stops before finding ourselves at Columbia, where we spend the next couple of hours in the comfort and solitude of one another. If this was the only thing he gave me this Christmas, it would be fine with me.

It’s not, though. As we gather our things to head home, we both have moments of weakness and decide to exchange gifts while we’re alone. He likes all of his gifts, and immediately transfers his things to his new wallet.

“I have more to give you, but here,” he says, handing me the bag from the department store. The plaid pattern brings an immediate smile to my face. “The one you wanted was a little out of my price range, but–”

I cut him off with a kiss, which eventually causes me to drop the gift on the ground as we get a little carried away again.

“It’s okay?” he asks after pulling away. I lean back down to pick it up, admiring the small cross-body bag that will hold my essentials perfectly.

“I love it! I’ll get much more use out of this, thank you!” I gush. “I love you.”

“I love you, too, baby. And thank you.”

The following night, on Christmas Eve, Jon’s family comes to my house for a small dinner. My parents wanted to take some time to get to know Margie better, and to see how she was doing post-rehab. She and Jon’s brothers are coming to the big family celebration tomorrow, too, but this will give everyone more time to talk.

As we sit around the tree after dinner, I give his family the ornaments I’d painted for them over the past week at home.

“You have such a talented daughter,” Margie tells my parents.

“Well, we’re pretty impressed with Jon, too. They seem well-suited for one another,” Mom says.

“Yes,” Jon’s mom agrees.

“Margie, would you like some coffee?” Dad asks.

“That would be great.”

“Livvy, why don’t you and Jon go get some started? And boys?” he addresses our brothers. “You’re free to go downstairs and play some games or watch movies.” Will, Max and Trey all run to the basement, and Jon and I head to the kitchen.