Through the front window, the snow could be seen, softly falling, dusting the world in a thick blanket of pristine white.
Already, the branches of the lone pine in the front yard were
heavily laden. The fallow flower beds, devoid of the rampant growth of summer,
had, at least for a time, lost their forlorn and empty look in favour of a magical
coverlet.
The ‘White Christmas’ of Crosby and fellow crooners was a
reality.
And we could see none of it.
Well, the white stuff, obviously, because we were out in
that.
But our view was of it covering the windshield of the car as
we waited in yet another snarl of traffic, breathing in the fragrance of the
car exhaust of a thousand shoppers as each of them scurried in an equal number
of directions to find that last ‘perfect’ gift.
Sigh.
It hadn’t been so bad, really.
In fact, we had enjoyed it. We were together. We had just
filled—even overfilled—our tummies with Dim Sum eaten with several of our Chicks and Chicklets. Now
we had one last place to go before heading home to light a fire and spend the
rest of the day reveling in that view from the front window (see above).
And that one last place was Husby’s favourite store on earth—Lee
Valley Tools. The magical place that had made an inspired pairing of our two
loves—woodworking and gardening—under one roof.
He had gone ahead into the store while I, content with my
full tummy and a book on Kindle, waited in the car.
Then, as the minutes stretched, I began to think of all the
fun gadgets and possible stocking stuffers that Lee Valley had to offer.
I decided to join him.
Now Lee Valley Tools isn’t a large store, but there are
banks and banks of really good goods. The gardening department is to the right. Larger
woodworking tools to the left. Kitchen
curiosities and awesome toys further to the back. Order desks line the entire wall
on the far side.
A patient line of people clutching newly-acquired goods waited
for the ‘next available checkout’.
A masked greeter with merry brown eyes chirped out a happy “Good
afternoon!” to me as I walked in shaking the snow from my shoulders. “Is there
something I can help you find?” he added.
I smiled, hoping it showed above my mask. “I’m looking for a
husband!” I answered.
His eyes widened. “Ummm . . . we don’t get much call for
that,” he said. “I don’t know that I can help you.” He looked around the
socially-distanced, but still bustling room. “There are a lot to choose from .
. .”
I laughed. “I’m fairly particular. How about I wander and
just look for myself?”
His eyes smiled. “That’s probably best.”
Husby is not a short man and I could see his furry hat above
the racks on the far side of the room, in front of the order desks. I hurried
over.
“Don’t look!” he said, covering something he had just been
handed by the clerk.
I dutifully turned my back while said clerk obligingly
stuffed that ‘something’ into a thick, brown paper bag, then followed Husby as he
made his way one-customer-at-a-time to the checkout.
Soon, business transacted, we headed, once more, for the
doors.
I caught the eye of the greeter as we passed him. “I found
one!” I sang out. “He looks pretty nice. I think I’ll take him.”
“Glad we could help!” he answered. “Come back again soon!”
Soon we were back in the car and not long after that, seeing that view (see above--again) from our front window.
Yep. All in all, a good day.
Lovely story. We apparently quip the same language. :) I would have told the greeter something similar if not same.
ReplyDeleteYou are a quicker thinker than I am!
ReplyDeleteWhat joy to be able to go home with the one you love best on Earth after such a day.
ReplyDelete