Page 44 of Sean
Chapter 11
Jerk.
Four days later, the word still rang in Sean’s ears as if Monica had just said it.The passing days hadn’t made it sting any less.
Jerk.
Jerk.
Jerk.
Sean hunched his shoulders up around his ears as he walked out of his room on Thursday morning.He was a twenty-eight-year-old man.He’d been called far worse.Why was this insult so hard to get out of his head?
He entered the living room and found his mother on her hands and knees tucking brightly wrapped packages under the tree she’d decorated earlier in the week.
“Good morning, sweetheart.”She stood and surveyed her handiwork before turning to look at Sean with a wry smile.“Jace’s been doing a great job learning to leave the tree alone.We’re about to see how he does with shiny gifts.”
“You could leave the gifts in the closet until Christmas Eve.”
“Where’s the fun in that?Besides, a Christmas tree with nothing under it is pathetic.”She straightened a crooked ornament.“I have some more gifts to wrap later today.If you’ll put Jace’s presents on my bed, I’ll wrap them for you.”
Sean tucked his hands behind his back and looked down.The admission he was about to make wasn’t going to win him any points with his get-things-done-yesterday mom.“I appreciate the offer, but I haven’t done any shopping yet.”
His mother turned, her hands on her hips, and sent him a cold stare.“I have failed as a mother.”
Sean raised a hand to cover the grin that tugged at his lips.“That’s a little harsh, don’t you think?”
“No, I don’t think.Jace’s birthday is in ten days and Christmas is two weeks later.You’re interviewing for jobs, you’re driving all over Kingdom Come delivering food, you’re training for a marathon, and I know you hope to be in your apartment by Christmas.The days between now and then will melt away if you’re not careful, and my grandson won’t have the sort of Christmas he deserves.I didn’t raise a procrastinator.”
“I wouldn’t call it procrastination.Buying gifts before we left Ohio would have meant packing them in an already overpacked car.And as you just said, I’ve been sort of busy since we got here.”
“What are youbusywith today?”She put air quotes around the word.
“I’m dropping Jace off for a couple of hours at his new daycare.Then I’m signing the lease for my apartment and making arrangements for all the stuff I left in storage to be delivered.”Somewhere between his mouth and his mom’s ears, his busy day got boiled down to one thing.
“Oh, you’ll be childless for part of the day.Sounds like a perfect time to shop.”Before Sean could protest, his mom moved around him into the kitchen.“I’m making pancakes.Why don’t you go get the baby and we’ll have some breakfast before you leave?”
Three hours later Sean, pushed an empty basket through the aisles of the toy store, looking for gifts and enthusiasm.Of course, he wanted his son to have the best birthday and Christmas he could provide, but he’d never been much of a shopper, and feeling forced into it wasn’t helping.The problem was, Jace was too young to want anything, and Sean had no idea where to start.He had toys, but they were mostly things Brittany had bought when she was pregnant or gifts from family and friends.Other than one small wooden airplane he’d bought at the craft show, his toy buying skills were nil.
Thoughts of the craft show brought thoughts of Monica.She had a connection with Jace.She could give him some ideas.He unearthed his cell phone.
Jerk.
The memory knocked him back a step.He put the phone back in his pocket.Yeah, he’d burned that bridge.
He stopped in front of an overwhelming selection of toddler gifts like an accountant confronted with an equation for space travel.The numbers were familiar, but the sequence was foreign.
