My Pete.
For once Claudia didn’t feel envious. She was too excited about the week ahead. Mostly she was relieved to discover her love of cooking hadn’t left her. It was like falling in love again. “Erica? What will you be doing?”
“Me? I’m going to keep Anna company on her shopping trip to make sure she buys a maximum of one sweater, then I’m going to write a letter to Santa,” Erica said, “and because I have no idea what I’m doing, Delphi has generously offered to help me.”
Claudia was so grateful to her that she stepped forward and hugged her. “Thank you for staying.”
“Oh, a public display of affection. My favorite thing.” But she gave Claudia a hug back. “You would have left for me, and I can certainly stay for you. And anyway, you’re not the only reason. Go and produce something that will make our taste buds explode.”
NINETEEN
Anna
Anna snuggled deeper into her wool scarf as she walked with Erica along the main street. The snow crunched under their feet, and each breath formed a cloud as it met freezing air.
“This place is so pretty.”
“Yes.” Erica paused outside the toy store and gazed at the window. “I should buy something for Delphi. But what? Obviously, I’m clueless. Will you help?”
“Love to.” Grateful for an excuse to escape from the cold, Anna pushed open the door and went inside before Erica could change her mind. Like Claudia, she was relieved to be staying but mostly she was relieved that Erica seemed to have formed a tentative bond with Hattie and Delphi. She intended to do everything she could to encourage that, and maybe she was a little interfering, but what were friends for?
Being with Delphi reminded her of when her own children were small.
Now, standing in the toy store, looking at the kaleidoscope of colorful toys, she felt a serious pang of nostalgia. In the middle of the store a train track circled a large Christmas tree, and a train chugged steadily past a stack of prettily wrapped toys. The corner of the store had been turned into a grotto and the staff were dressed as elves.
She watched as a young mother wrangled an active toddler while trying to entertain an older sibling.
The twins had loved visiting toy shops, particularly at Christmas.
“What’s wrong?” Erica looked at her. “You look sad.”
“I’m fine.” Anna forced herself to focus on the toys on the shelf. “Right. Let’s find something.”
“Yes, but what?” Erica made a gesture of despair. “What do I buy?”
“You’ve always been great at picking gifts for Meg and Daniel. We just have to think about the type of person Delphi is. She obviously loves painting, so you could buy her some art materials.” Anna picked out various items that she thought Meg would have loved at the same age and handed them to Erica. “Stay clear of anything with glitter or that’s your relationship with Hattie over before it has started.”
Erica stared at the corner of the store. “That drum kit over there is cute.”
“No. Nothing noisy. No drum kits, or electric guitars, or trumpets.”
“Those aren’t fun?”
“Not for the parents. You don’t want to give Hattie a headache. Unless you happen to have a musical genius in the family or a soundproofed room, they should be considered revenge toys.”
Erica picked up a jigsaw. “Revenge toys? Children think like that?”
“Not the children, the parents. One of the dads in Meg’s class gave his son a drum kit after his wife divorced him for having an affair with the nanny. She spent the next month wearing earplugs. The wife, not the nanny. This notebook will be perfect for Meg’s Christmas stocking.” Anna popped it under her arm and walked farther into the store. She stopped in front of a rail of clothes. “How about a dressing-up outfit for Delphi? Meg went through a dressing-up stage. On the other hand we don’t know what Delphi already has, so probably better to stick with art materials.”
“That’s not unimaginative?”
“Not if you enjoy art, which she seems to. I wonder what else she likes?”
“Sharks,” Erica said. “She likes sharks.”
“Good point.” Anna moved to the soft toy section and picked up a hammerhead shark in plush gray velvet. “This is cute.”
“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but it actually is cute and I happen to know that a hammerhead is her favorite shark. But she already has a dinosaur that seems to go everywhere with her.”
“Doesn’t mean she wouldn’t also like a shark.” Anna handed it to Erica. “And you should buy her books. She loves books.”
“We don’t know what she already has.”
“I’m sure that bookstore would change it if we buy a duplicate. How about this construction set? Both of mine would have loved that.” Anna added the box to the growing pile in Erica’s arms. “How much do you want to spend?”
“I don’t know. The right amount, whatever that is.” Erica looked lost and Anna gave her arm a squeeze.
“This isn’t an exam. You can’t get this wrong.”
“I can. I’ve never been an aunt before.”
“You’re godmother to my children and they adore you. It’s not so different.” Anna pushed her toward the checkout. “Just be yourself.”
“We both know that won’t work.” Erica stopped walking. “I don’t want to mess this up. I won’t mess this up. If I’m in her life, then I’m in it. No walking away.”
Anna tried to work out where this was coming from. “You have never walked away from anything.”
“I almost walked away from this,” Erica said. “And the stakes are higher. I won’t hurt a child.”
“The fact that you’re even thinking of that means that you won’t. You gave it a lot of thought, which is important. Now you need to stop thinking and just do.”
“What if Hattie wishes I’d never shown up?”
“Hattie is delighted that you showed up. I think Hattie is a very rounded person who understands that everyone is flawed. Apart from me, of course. I have no flaws.”
“Apart from your inability to resist buying a new sweater every week.”
“It isn’t every week, and that isn’t a flaw. It’s an endearing quirk.”
Erica handed over her purchases to the cheerful “elf” standing behind the counter, and added another couple of small items while she was waiting to pay. “Thanks for this. And now I need a few tips for this letter I’m writing with Delphi. What am I going to ask Santa for?”
“A long steamy night with sexy lawyer Jack? Two steamy nights, breakfast included?”
“There are children present,” Erica muttered, taking her credit card back from the elf. “You might want to keep your voice down.”
“It’s a letter. How hard is a letter?” Anna leaned against the counter. “I’ve never seen you this uncertain about things before.”
“Yes, well, I’m out of my depth and prepared to admit it.” Erica took the bag from another girl dressed as an elf and gave her a smile of thanks. “This is important. I’d really like to stay in touch. Build a relationship of sorts.” They walked back through the store to the entrance. “Maybe one day Delphi could come and stay with me in Manhattan and we can go shopping together. Not toys. Clothes. Do you remember when Meg did that?”