Page 21 of Coming Home

Emily laughed. “I never understood that game at Christmas time. Christmas is supposed to be about love and giving. Not stealing presents from each other.”

David gave her a wicked grin. “It can be about both. Trust me, darling. With this crowd, the game will get dirty in more ways than one.”

“I cannot believe you let Dakota decorate a tree with nipple clamps.”

David shrugged. “They were all silver. It matched the theme. Now let’s finish our shopping. We have a party to get ready for.”

Yesterday and the party last night had been a blast for Emily. It really did feel good to be among friends for the holiday season. She hadn’t realized just how much she needed it.

As they walked through the mall, David’s cellphone rang. He sighed. “Sorry, baby. That’s Lydia, which means I need to take this.”

Emily squeezed his hand. “It’s alright. I’m going to go look for something for Isabelle in that shop over there.”

He nodded as he put the phone to his ear.

“I’m here, Lydia. What’s going on?” Emily heard him say as he walked away.

She hoped whatever it was wasn’t too stressful for him. Even though he seemed to have his health back, Emily worried about him and didn’t like how hard he pushed himself.

As she walked into the shop, a young woman approached Emily.

“Hi, I’m with Backpacks for Kids. I wondered if you had a moment to talk about helping foster children get some new clothes for Christmas. It just takes twenty dollars to fill a bag for a child in need. We can take card or cash.”

Emily smiled as she recognized the name of the organization. They were a national charity and David bought and personally delivered multiple backpacks in the San Francisco area, and he usually picked up any slack they had in funding.

“I would love to help, but I wonder if there’s another way I might pitch in. Do you know if you still have a need for getting bags delivered?”

The girl scratched her head. “I’m sorry. I really don’t know. I’m just a volunteer.”

“It’s OK. I have Jake Mason’s number. You’ve inspired me to make a phone call.” Emily glanced at the sign on the table. They had a goal of fifty bags donated for the day and so far had managed to procure ten.

“I’d like to sponsor a hundred bags if that’s OK.”

The girl’s eyes went wide. “Really? Oh my goodness. That’s so awesome. There’s a contest among the volunteers. Whoever gets the most bags sponsored in a day gets a fifty dollar gift card.”

Emily gave her a wink. “I guess we should make it a hundred and fifty bags just to be on the safe side then.”

She was often uncomfortable with David’s money, but in this one area, she had a good time using his credit card.

The girl was clearly flustered as she picked up a phone with a credit card processor plugged into it.

“OK. Can I just get you to fill out the little form on that tablet. I’ll get you a receipt for tax purposes and then we can run your card.”

Emily nodded and picked up the tablet the girl pointed at.

“Are you married to David Eastman?” the girl asked, her eyes like saucers as she swiped Emily’s card.

“She sure is,” a voice from behind her asked.

Emily grinned as David slid an arm around her.

“Mr. Eastman. It’s such an honor to meet you. You’re on our volunteer website as a VIP. It’s so nice of your wife to do this.”

“She’s the kindest woman I know. And you’re also very kind for spending your Saturday doing this. Can you tell me who your volunteer coordinator is? I want to do a little something special for the Colorado volunteers if I can.”

The young volunteer handed Emily her card back and pulled out a business card. “This is the number for the local office. You can ask to speak with Nadine Laslow.”

“Excellent. Thank you, Kelly. I hope you have a happy holiday and that you win the contest,” David said with a wink as he slid his hand into Emily’s.

---