Page 73 of Through the Snow Globe
“Are you okay?” Mrs. Pierce asked.
“Yes. Or actually, no. Not really. My friend Rochelle says I need to stop hiding my feelings and ask for help instead of trying to do everything myself. And I’ve finally decided that maybe she’s right.”
“That’s good advice. Is there anything I can help you with? You’ve helped me and Addy so much.”
Diana was about to say no, but she reconsidered. “Yes, actually. You’re going to get a call from someone today. You’re probably not going to want to answer, or if you do, you’re not going to want to listen. Just try, though. Life is too short for grudges and unforgiveness.”
“I’m not following,” Mrs. Pierce said.
“That’s okay. You’ll understand later. I’ve got to go.” Diana disconnected the call and drove to the corner of Main and Burgess Streets where Eloise’s Trinkets and Gifts was located. Then she got out and headed inside the tiny store. It was dimly lit by fairy lights inside that draped from one end of the wall to the next. Every spare nook and cranny held something unique and interesting. Diana could stay in this place for hours and not grow bored. She didn’t have hours, though. What had Mrs. Guzman said before? When a person realized that time wasn’t unlimited, their priorities shifted?
“Welcome to Eloise’s!” a woman called from the back counter.
Diana headed in that direction. “Hi, there. I was wondering if you could help me. I’m looking for a snow globe. It has a model of Snow Haven inside. Do you have one like that?” Diana asked, hopefully.
Eloise was a short woman with jet-black hair and a thick layer of red lipstick. She was younger than Diana expected a woman with such an old-fashioned name to be. “I had one, yes. But I sold it yesterday.”
“Yesterday, as in December third?”
The skin pinched between Eloise’s eyes. “I guess so.”
“Who did you sell it to? Do you remember?”
“Um, yes. It was a man. He was tall. I don’t know his name. He owns a toy store around here, I think. He gave me a gift card to buy presents for my daughter in order to get the snow globe down to twenty dollars. I was hesitant, but his gift card is worth more than the amount I took off the globe.”
Diana blinked. “That’s Linus. He’s my fiancé.” How many men owned a toy store in this small town? “You sold the snow globe to my fiancé?”
“I guess I did.” Eloise laughed quietly. “I think it was a gift for you, though. So you might need to pretend you don’t know about it. Would you like to get him something while you’re here?”
“No. Thank you. I’m in a bit of a hurry, but I’ll come back to shop,” she promised. “You have a beautiful store.” She backed away and turned to leave.
“Oh, I remember something else,” Eloise called after Diana.
Diana stopped walking and turned. “What is it?”
“The man told me he was starting a collection for you. He said you’ve never collected anything and that he wanted to fix that travesty. That’s what he called it. He said everyone should be a collector of something.”
Diana felt frozen for a moment. She’d told Linus once that Grandma Denny didn’t believe in collections. They were frivolous, costly, and took up too much space. She’d said that people developed silly affections for things that didn’t really matter in the long run. Of course, everything was frivolous in Denny’s eyes. “He’s starting a snow globe collection for me?”
Eloise smiled. “He said he’d order another one next Christmas. I’m ruining his gift, aren’t I? Act surprised, okay?”
Diana nodded. “I will. Thank you.” She started to walk out of Eloise’s Trinkets and Gifts when something caught her eye. She turned to look at a display of brightly colored tie-dyed scarves. A purple-and-gold one stood out to her and practically screamed Addy’s name.
“Find something you fancy?” Eloise asked with a hopeful rise to her voice.
“Yeah. I think one of these scarves would be just the thing to give one of my patients.” Diana reached for the scarf and carried it back to the register where Eloise was waiting.
“These are handmade by one of the locals in town. I try to purchase all of my items from locals.”
Diana inserted her debit card into the reader. “The snow globe too?”
“Mm-hmm. My husband makes them. The one I sold your fiancé is one of a kind.”
“Wow.” Diana watched as Eloise placed the scarf in a pink-hued paper bag.
“There you go.” The storeowner handed the bag over the counter. “Thanks for shopping and please tell all your friends.”
“I will.” With a wave, Diana turned and headed out of the store. She got into her car and checked the time. 1:45. Her meeting with Mr. Powell was in fifteen minutes. Everything would work out as long as she got to the snow globe before Linus left work tonight. She needed a chance to say goodbye. That’s what tonight was about—one last goodbye.
