Page 22 of Our Little Wedding

“Ainsley, am I going to be late for school?” Nikki asked from the backseat.

“No, babe, you’re not. We are on our way right now,” I said, glancing in the driver’s side mirror to make sure the lane was clear before I pulled away from the curb.

“Ainsley, did Daddy tell you I want a pink blanket for my new room?”

“He did. He even showed me the picture you showed him. It’s really pretty.”

“Do you think you could get it for me? Then I could be like my friend Haley, who lives across the street. She has one just like it, and I just love it so much.”

I did my best to keep a straight face. “Well, what did your dad say? Did you ask him?”

“He told me to put it on my Christmas list, but I know that if you got it for me, he wouldn’t be angry.”

I smiled. “Well, I don’t know. I think maybe I should talk to him about it first,” I said and glanced in the rearview mirror just in time to see her pout.

“Okay,” she said, letting out a huff and crossing her arms in front of her chest.

I did my best not to laugh at her actions as I drove down the freeway and pulled off at the exit for the mall, coming to a stop at the lights before turning into the large parking lot. I drove around, finally finding a spot, and shut the car off.

“Where are we?” Nikki asked, looking out the back window. “This doesn’t look like school.”

“It’s not. We are at the mall. You and I are spending the day together. We are going to get some things for your room at the new house,” I said, climbing out of the car and opening the back door.

“Yay! Can we get my blanket, please, Ainsley? I promise I will be a good girl.”

“Well, I wanted it to be a surprise, but yes, we can,” I said, kissing her forehead as I helped her out of the back of the car.

Nikki pulled on my arm as we headed into the mall, excited to get her blanket. I wasted no time. We made our way into the bedding store and right over to the kids’ section. Within minutes, she’d found the same one her friend had, and she also found three others she liked. Now we stood before four sets of bedding, two of them pink, and two light purple.

I watched as Nikki walked around each bag, looking at each one repeatedly. I glanced at my watch. We’d been standing here for the past twenty-five minutes.

“I just don’t know, Ainsley. I love this one…” she said, hugging the bag that contained the original blanket, “but I like the others too.”

“Well, sweets, you need to decide. You really seemed to have your heart set on the first one. I say we go with it, and perhaps we could also get you a new sheet set, only get that in purple. That way, you have a little of both colours,” I said, reaching up and pulling a set of purple sheets down from the shelf.

“Ohhh, I like that idea!”

“All right then. You take these sheets, and I will carry the bedding,” I said, winking at her, while I put the three other comforters back on the shelf.

I grabbed her hand, and we began walking toward the cashier when Nikki spotted a pink pillow. “Can I get this too?” she asked, letting go of my hand as we walked by to grab the heart-shaped pillow.

I took one look at her face. Her eyes said it all as she held the pillow to her chest. “Okay, fine.” I winked again.

We headed to the cashier where I paid for the bedding, then we took it all out to the car before continuing through the mall. Nikki walked beside me, talking a mile a minute about how excited she was to use her new bedding, and I had to remind her many times that she had to wait until we moved.

We walked the mall the rest of the morning, stopping at some of Nikki’s favourite stores. She showed me all the things she was going to put on her birthday list. She wanted me to make sure I knew what each item was because, according to her, Spencer had gotten the items wrong last year. I couldn’t help but laugh at her seriousness as I took a picture of a few toys she said she just had to have.

After lunch, we made our way back to the car. I now had a long list of items Nikki wanted for her birthday, and for Christmas. I pulled out of the parking lot and turned left, heading toward the bookstore.

“Can we get one of those special drinks at the bookstore?” Nikki asked as we made our way inside.

“What special drink would that be?” I asked, knowing full well she wanted a vanilla frappe.

“You know, one of those whipped-up drinks you bring home when you come here.”

“Ohhh, one of those. I think we can.” I giggled, pulling her close to me.

We stood in line, and when it was our turn, I stepped up to the counter and waited to place our order. Nikki pulled on my arm, wanting to show me something, and that was when I heard her voice.

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