Page 69 of Tides and Tidings

Blythe turned towards me, “Do you think he was serious about us not having to pay him?”

I nodded. “I confirmed with him when you were walking around.”

“It just doesn’t feel right. You have the Christmas card with the cash, right?”

“Yes, ma’am.” I tapped my jacket pocket. “Right here.”

“Just leave it on the counter. Sneakily. Don’t let him see you do it.” Blythe wiped her hands on her jeans.

I grabbed her by the shoulders, forcing her to look at me. Her green eyes were massive. “Why are you being so weird about this?”

Her face scrunched and her eyes fell, “I feel like I’m stealing!”

I pushed up her chin with my pointer finger. “Bee, look at me.” Her eyes met mine. “We’re leaving him money for it. We did our research and know how much these are worth. He’s being compensated appropriately.”

Blythe pursed her lips, mulling over my words. “Fine. You’re right.”

“Oh—again, please.” I cupped my hand over my ear.

She playfully shoved my shoulder. “Shut up.”

I turned off the engine and double-checked that I had the envelope in my pocket. Blythe had come up with an elaborate plan after we left the toy store yesterday for how we were going to give Dickie, the owner, the money for the car, but it was going to be a lot easier just to leave it on the counter when he wasn’t looking.

We walked through the door and the bell chimed, alerting Dickie we were there.

“I’ll be right there!” He called from the backroom.

Blythe raised her eyebrows and nodded towards the checkout. “Put the card under that magazine.”

“What if he doesn’t see it and throws it away?” I countered.

“I hadn’t quite thought about that. I’ll distract him while you put the card on the magazine before we leave.”

“Done deal.”

Dickie came walking out of the back with a big purple bow in his hands. “Good morning! How are you both doing?” He looked at us, “Oh, you both look like you had too much fun last night.”

I wanted to be like this guy when I got old. The ability to say whatever you feel at any time seemed liberating.

“It was a great time. We’re just not used to going out that late. With our kiddo at home, a wild night usually consists of take-out, a bottle of wine, and attempting to watch a movie.” I answered honestly.

“As long as you had a good time, that’s all that matters.”

“We did…from what we can remember,” Blythe added.

“I’m glad to hear it.” Dickie looked around the store and pointed to the Barbie Jeep. “I brought out a bow for y’all to put on it when you get home.”

He extended the bow in his hand, and Blythe grabbed it. She didn’t have the best childhood, so I knew that being able to get the same toy for Wren that she had when she was a kid was a form of healing.

“Do y’all need any help loading that into your truck?”

Blythe and I shook our heads.

“We’re a well-oiled machine, sir.” Blythe smiled warmly at him.

Even if we needed help, we would not have asked this elderly man to help us hoist this massive thing into the truck.

“We can roll it right out. It’ll fit through the door.”