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Those Two Again?

Ian figured he’d swing through the Zavijava for a cup of hot chocolate before he pressed on to the Tarlow’s.

‘Oh, boy. Those two again?’ He thought as he stepped away from the door. ‘The hot chocolate at Burger Heaven is twice as warm and half as expensive.’

He had already had enough drama for one week and it was only Wednesday.

Maybe it was a bad idea to try to line up a girlfriend during the holidays. People were already under a ton of pressure.

He didn’t have the best track record on dating but he’d never had anybody vomit on him on a blind date.

On his way back to his Blazer, he decided to duck into the grocery store for some snacks. These, of course, were tucked away near the back of the store to ensure that he’d have to pass by a wide selection of things he was running low on at home and stunning displays of holiday-themed impulse buys.

“Pretzels shaped like Christmas trees and ornaments? That ought to hit the spot.” Ian turned the bag around to check the nutritional info.

“Wow, still talking to yourself?”

Ian nearly dropped the bag as he turned to see who was talking to him. “Oh, hello. I thought you were still at the Zavijava.”

“Hmm.” She eyed him suspiciously.

“Not that I’m stalking you or anything. I was going to stop in for some hot chocolate-”

“You saw us and took off like a spooked pigeon.”

“Guilty as charged.” Ian shrugged. “Look, Christmas pretzels. Cool, huh?”

She took the bag and looked at the nutritional info before handing them back. “I guess so.”

“Where’s your friend?”

“She’s not my friend. She’s my sister.” Ivy glared at him. “Typical. Everybody wants to know where Holly is.”

“Whoa, I didn’t mean anything by it.” Ian held the pretzels in front of him defensively. “I’m just going to go.”

To his surprise, she went from furious to tears in an instant. “I’m sorry. It’s not your fault.”

“Okay. Sure. Hey, I just stopped in for a snack.”

Her expression hardened. “What’s your deal anyway?”

“Sorry?”

“You’re just out in the middle of the day shopping for snacks. Don’t you have a job?”

“Um, yes and no?”

“What kind of answer is that?” She planted her fists on her hips.

“Look, I don’t even know you. What’s with the third degree and what’s the big idea following me around?”

Ian mashed the bag of Christmas pretzels onto the shelf. “Since you asked, yes, I saw you and your sister and I changed direction instantly. Here’s a repeat performance.”

He turned hard about and stormed to the end of the aisle. He stopped at the end cap and peeked around the corner to be sure she wasn’t following him. Feeling certain that she wasn’t, he grabbed a pack of freshly baked cookies from the basket in front of the bakery window.

The big question was whether he’d be able to check out before she caught him again. Would that be so bad?

Yes, clearly she was crazy. She may be pretty but was that enough to offset a temper and a mood that changed radically from one moment to the next?

“No, definitely not.” Ian said as he pulled his debit card from the terminal. ‘She’s right behind me, isn’t she?’

She stood at the end of the conveyor with a bag of the Christmas pretzels, studying him with her big green eyes.

“Nice to meet you. Gotta go.” Ian said as he hurried for the door. ‘What did you say that for? Just don’t make eye contact and don’t let her see your license plate.’

Come to think of it, he didn’t even want her to see what he was driving, much less his license plate.
“Did you find everything you were looking for?” The cashier asked Ivy.

“Huh?” She looked down at the pretzels. “No, actually. Do you have any fruitcake?”

“There’s some in the seasonal aisle over there but I think the fresh made stuff from the bakery is much better.”

“I imagine it would be. Thanks. I’ll go take a look.” She grabbed a basket from the stack under the conveyor.

The cashier went back to whatever daydream she’d been having before that guy checked out.

Checked out is right. Practically jumped out of his skin to get away from her. How rude.

Ivy didn’t want a boyfriend anyway, especially one that ran from her like she had the plague.

She had a tiff with her sister and chased that guy away.

The least she could do was find a fruitcake for Chelsea. At least she’d be happy to see her Aunt Ivy.

She found the seasonal aisle disturbingly cheerful. All the colorful packaging and foil-wrapped chocolates stretched down both sides of the row.

The mesmerizing display raised her spirits almost as much as catching a glimpse of that guy driving past the window in a moss green SUV.

‘No, leave that poor guy alone. There’s no way to fix a bad first impression.’ She chided herself as she scanned the shelves for the packaged fruitcake. ‘He’s not that great, really. I mean, he looks better without his scruff but who likes rugged outdoorsy guys anyway? There it is.’

She picked up the brick of cellophane-wrapped fruitcake and checked the nutritional info. ‘Just like he did.’

She pondered the holiday treat for a moment before dropping it into her basket and another for herself.

‘Better find something for Kendra.’ She thought as she scanned the shelves for something her older niece would like.

“What are you doing?” Holly jarred her from her reverie.

“I found some fruitcake.”

“You are what you eat.” Holly rolled her eyes at her. “Chelsea doesn’t need any of that sugary junk.”

“C’mon, Holly. It’s Christmastime. Let the kid have a treat.”

“Well, if you’re going to spoil one, you might as well spoil them both. Kendra likes that peppermint bark.”

Ivy grabbed the package her sister was pointing at. “I’m going to get one of the fruitcakes from the bakery, too. We can have that for dessert.”

“That’s up to you. I’m getting a chocolate cake for the rest of us. You and Chelsea can have a little fruitcake festival.”

‘Well, that’s Holly for you. Always gets what she wants and then some.’ Ivy fumed as she followed her big sister to the bakery. ‘At least she knows what she wants.’