leave?” Elyce smiled back.
“That’s okay, I need to grab some lunch and get some things done back at work myself. I’l leave you to, um, compose yourself before your next meeting.”
Andrew couldn’t help an instinctive glance down at his lap, but then shifted his gaze instantly away with a rol of his eyes. “Thanks. I’d appreciate that.” Looking a little slaphappy, he leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes firmly against the sight of her leaving. “But I’l see you Friday, right? Christmas shopping? No seafood, no dog?”
“No seafood, no dog. That can be our catchphrase from now on.”
“We have a catchphrase? That’s pretty serious.” He waved her out the door with another wide grin, and as she made her way down the street to catch the BART train back to her office, Elyce once again felt the giddy buoyancy that only a promising new relationship can bring.
* * * * *
It was already ful y dark by the time shopping commenced that Friday. Wel fortified from an early happy hour with heavy hors d’oeuvres, Elyce and Andrew made their way to Ghirardel i Square, stopping first to admire the Christmas tree before proceeding to investigate what the stores had to offer. Having learned that Andrew’s mother kept a much-pampered teacup Poodle—purchased specifical y to avoid triggering Andrew’s al ergies—Elyce steered him toward a high-end pet boutique on the Square.
With her encouragement and the eager assistance of the sales clerk, Andrew was able to assemble a respectable gift bag of Poodle-appropriate items, including a smart pink-and-green fleece jacket with matching leash and an assortment of organic doggie treats.
Pressing on, Elyce coached him in taking advantage, since he hadn’t already done so, of the fact that his family didn’t live in San Francisco. This meant they might actual y appreciate San Francisco-related merchandise such as music boxes, smal model cable cars and even charmingly rendered watercolors depicting various wel -known local scenes.
“It’s only cheating if you resort to doing it a second time.
The first time you give the touristy gifts, it’s perfectly acceptable,” Elyce insisted. “By limiting yourself to gift cards and books in the past, you’ve actual y left yourself this one-time opportunity. No point in not using it.”
“This is sort of fun,” Andrew admitted, holding up a carousel-horse music box that he thought one of his nieces might appreciate. “I’m actual y kind of looking forward to everyone opening presents. At least until the inevitable tears start.”
Not for the first time, Elyce wondered how much of his family drama was real and how much was simply exaggeration or even outright storytel ing on Andrew’s part.
But the shopping excursion was entertaining, particularly as she had no pressure of her own to find the perfect gift for anyone at the last minute.
With a cold shock, Elyce realized that in fact, she did have one more present to come up with.
Karl’s.
She had finished her shopping weeks ago but, not expecting to see him over the holidays, and not feeling especial y inclined to give him anything these days in any case, she had deliberately left him off her list. Now she wouldn’t be able to purchase him a last-minute gift without engaging in some sort of subterfuge or flat-out lying to Andrew, which she wasn’t wil ing to do.
Resolving that she would simply have to find something after they had arrived in Breckenridge, she directed her mind back to the task at hand, which was helping Andrew finish his own shopping before the stores closed for the evening.
* * * * *
Elyce would wonder afterward why she hadn’t invited Andrew in. He’d expected her to, she knew. And in fact, she had original y intended to do so.
They had driven back to her house just a little before ten o’clock, unusual y early, with the unspoken agenda for the rest of the evening quite clear between them. But at some point, either on the drive
“That’s okay, I need to grab some lunch and get some things done back at work myself. I’l leave you to, um, compose yourself before your next meeting.”
Andrew couldn’t help an instinctive glance down at his lap, but then shifted his gaze instantly away with a rol of his eyes. “Thanks. I’d appreciate that.” Looking a little slaphappy, he leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes firmly against the sight of her leaving. “But I’l see you Friday, right? Christmas shopping? No seafood, no dog?”
“No seafood, no dog. That can be our catchphrase from now on.”
“We have a catchphrase? That’s pretty serious.” He waved her out the door with another wide grin, and as she made her way down the street to catch the BART train back to her office, Elyce once again felt the giddy buoyancy that only a promising new relationship can bring.
* * * * *
It was already ful y dark by the time shopping commenced that Friday. Wel fortified from an early happy hour with heavy hors d’oeuvres, Elyce and Andrew made their way to Ghirardel i Square, stopping first to admire the Christmas tree before proceeding to investigate what the stores had to offer. Having learned that Andrew’s mother kept a much-pampered teacup Poodle—purchased specifical y to avoid triggering Andrew’s al ergies—Elyce steered him toward a high-end pet boutique on the Square.
With her encouragement and the eager assistance of the sales clerk, Andrew was able to assemble a respectable gift bag of Poodle-appropriate items, including a smart pink-and-green fleece jacket with matching leash and an assortment of organic doggie treats.
Pressing on, Elyce coached him in taking advantage, since he hadn’t already done so, of the fact that his family didn’t live in San Francisco. This meant they might actual y appreciate San Francisco-related merchandise such as music boxes, smal model cable cars and even charmingly rendered watercolors depicting various wel -known local scenes.
“It’s only cheating if you resort to doing it a second time.
The first time you give the touristy gifts, it’s perfectly acceptable,” Elyce insisted. “By limiting yourself to gift cards and books in the past, you’ve actual y left yourself this one-time opportunity. No point in not using it.”
“This is sort of fun,” Andrew admitted, holding up a carousel-horse music box that he thought one of his nieces might appreciate. “I’m actual y kind of looking forward to everyone opening presents. At least until the inevitable tears start.”
Not for the first time, Elyce wondered how much of his family drama was real and how much was simply exaggeration or even outright storytel ing on Andrew’s part.
But the shopping excursion was entertaining, particularly as she had no pressure of her own to find the perfect gift for anyone at the last minute.
With a cold shock, Elyce realized that in fact, she did have one more present to come up with.
Karl’s.
She had finished her shopping weeks ago but, not expecting to see him over the holidays, and not feeling especial y inclined to give him anything these days in any case, she had deliberately left him off her list. Now she wouldn’t be able to purchase him a last-minute gift without engaging in some sort of subterfuge or flat-out lying to Andrew, which she wasn’t wil ing to do.
Resolving that she would simply have to find something after they had arrived in Breckenridge, she directed her mind back to the task at hand, which was helping Andrew finish his own shopping before the stores closed for the evening.
* * * * *
Elyce would wonder afterward why she hadn’t invited Andrew in. He’d expected her to, she knew. And in fact, she had original y intended to do so.
They had driven back to her house just a little before ten o’clock, unusual y early, with the unspoken agenda for the rest of the evening quite clear between them. But at some point, either on the drive
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