'Tis the Season to Get Married by J.P. Sterling

Author:J.P. Sterling [Sterling , J.P.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: anonymous
Published: 2023-11-23T16:00:00+00:00

seven

Charlotte

“We could start by finding some food for our best man.” I wandered down the narrow aisle that was completely bare on both sides. In college I’d spent some time working in retail and I knew the first aisle was always the most important to merchandise. It was odd that the storekeepers had failed to fill it with anything. I kept walking until I rounded to the next aisle. Everything was so crammed. I literally halted on my heel, the dog crashed into the back of my leg, but I barely noticed because I was scratching my head.

Why is this aisle so cluttered, but they had an empty aisle next to it?

Surely, they could spread out their stuff a little more. Shaking my head, I contemplated how small towns are peculiar sometimes. I continued to pace through the aisle, finding it seemed to hold a little of everything as most small-town general stores did. “Do they have stuff for animals here?”

“I’m sure they have a shelf somewhere.” Nick butted up behind me with a tiny shopping cart that reminded me of one of those child’s play ones. He had managed to stuff Rudolph into it, or well, he got the first two legs in the cart and then balanced the rest of it on top. I let out a small chuckle because it was one of those things that happened whenever I hung out with Nick. We could do the most mundane and boring things, like shop for dog food, and he always found a way to make me laugh.

His gaze scanned the bottom shelf with the largest bags and boxes of items. “I see birdseed down there.” He motioned to the very end of the aisle. “I’m guessing the dog food would be next to it.” He was already on it, and scooped up a huge sack and placed it in the bottom of the cart. “Got the dog food.” With the giant Rudolph still protruding out, the stuffed cart proved challenging for Nick to maneuver around the displays. “Now let’s see if we need to return this Rudolph.”

A lady stood behind the checkout stand, and I hadn’t thought about how awkward this would be to ask if we had stolen something. I mean, I’m sure we didn’t actually steal it, but I couldn’t imagine another reason for us having guardianship of the missing Rudolph. I waited until she looked up and then pointed to Rudolph. I wondered what she already knew but I held onto a squeamish smile, hoping she was nice.

“I, or we, found this and we’re pretty sure it belongs here.” I motioned to the front store window display, which had a near-life-sized Santa’s sleigh with six reindeer lined up. A spot in the front of the pack was open and obviously missing a deer.

She remained quiet, and stepped closer to the window, eyeing the display. At this point, I wish I hadn’t said anything. We should have just dropped the deer off and run. Is

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