I laugh as Nick drags me to another store.
“Oh, look over there!” he says, over and over pointing to every little thing, as if he’d never seen one like it in his life.
“Nick, I really don’t see why YOU need to shop at a discount mall,” I point out, as he checks the price on a Tommy Hilfiger shirt.
“Because its fun! Oh, look at that!” he grabs my hand and pulls me into a store called Paper Skyscraper.
“What is that?” I ask, picking up a funky glass bottle filled with blue liquid. It reminds me of an hourglass.
“It’s a love tester. You hold the hand of the one you love and in the other hand you hold the bottle in your palm. If the liquid goes to the top and boils, you’re in love.”
“I wanna try it,” I set the bottle in my left hand, squeeze it, and grab Nick’s hand with the other. Within two seconds the liquid floated to the top and bubbled like crazy. We laugh and I put it back on the shelf. Nick picks up another one, this one filled with green liquid, and holds it in his right hand still clasping his left hand to mine. Just like mine, it goes straight to the top and boils without hesitation.
“Guess that means we love each other,” he smiles and gives me a quick kiss. “But I didn’t need some test to figure that out.”
Just as I am about to hug him, something catches my eye. “Ooh! I’ve always wanted some of this!” I say, dodging his arms and heading over to a table full of Virgin/Slut soap.
“What is that?” he asks, laughing.
“See the red box? That’s the Slut soap. It smells sorta like cinnamon, really spicy. And the white one is the Virgin soap. It smells like regular soap I think.”
“God, they have it in everything. Shampoo, shower gel, regular soap,” he says, looking at all the items.
“Yup, and I have to get some.” He takes the box from me to hold it as my eyes catch something else. “Oh, this too!” I yell, running over to a box full of plastic tubes. The tubes are filled with an amber colour gel, and you rub it across your fingers and shake your hands and it makes it look like smoke.
“Fake smoke? I used to have some of that,” he picks it up and puts it on top of the soapbox.
After paying for our things, Nick and I leave the store to walk around the mall a little more.
“Nick, can we go in there?” I ask him, pointing to a Thomas Kinkade art gallery.
“Since when are you into art?” he asks, smirking at my eagerness.
“I’m not really, it’s just that his are so cool,” I state, dragging him into the gallery. “Isn’t that one beautiful?” I ask, and he shrugs.
“It’s a picture of a mansion, what’s the big deal?”
“Watch the lights inside of the house.” He nods as I find the dimmer switch. I lower the lights and he gazes at it amazed.
“Hey! It looks like the lights are on and it’s night time!”
“Exactly! That’s why his paintings are famous. I’ve always wanted one, but this one here is like $1,527,” I say reading the price tag. “And it’s not even the best one here.”
“What is a gallery like THIS doing in a discount mall?!”
“No clue!”
He chuckles lightly and I ask what he’s laughing at. “This would just go perfect above the Pink Monster back at your place,” he adds, and I burst out laughing.
“Classy art and a freaky sofa. It’d go perfect.”
We head into the next store, a perfume boutique.
“Oh my god, Nick!” I say, running over to a display.
“Oh…perfume…wow,” he answers sarcastically.
I hold the bottle up in his face. “Read that!” I demand, and he obeys.
“Calvin Klein. So?”
“Read THAT,” I say, taking the sign of the display and holding it right in front of his eyes.
“Ten dollars a bottle,” he says, then adds a yawn for dramatic effect.
“Ugh, men!” I say, turning my attention back to the perfume.
“Whatever,” he laughs then leans against the wall. His eyes drift from me to a shoe store, “Hey, Ali, babe?”
“Huh?” I ask, barely paying attention.
“I’m going to the shoe store over there, okay?” he asks, pointing but I’m not even paying attention.
“Uh huh,” I say, waving him off while trying to spray on the perfume. “Sure, whatever.”
He sighs and leaves the store.
Twenty minutes later, we’re in the Nike store. I hold up a pair of dark blue Airs with a silver streak down the sides.
“These are $40!”
“Get them!” AJ yells from behind a pile of shoeboxes.
I laugh and check them out further. “They’re b-ball trainers. I’ll get ‘em for Bri,” I throw them into my basket and follow AJ over to the corner.
“Red trainers!” he throws them into his basket. “I’m in heaven.”
“Honestly…” I roll my eyes but then spot a pair of yellow ones. “Yellow!” We both dive for them and throw a pair each in our baskets. “Aje… You ARE ok ‘bout me and Bri?” I look at him nervously.
“Sure!” he grins at me and then gets serious. “Ok, I WAS kinda hopin’ you guys would just run your course and then I’d be the guy you want. But after seein’ how he was when ya split up, I realised it wasn’t gonna happen. You make Bri happy. And I love him a LOT. I love you too, so I’m bein’ all mature and graceful about it.” I give him a long hug. “Me, graceful?! Amazin’.”
“You’re a lot of things AJ,” I tell him. “Amazing is just one of ‘em.”
“Aw shucks, I might cry… Hey, did I see purple trainers?!”
“Go get ‘em!” I yell as my cell phone rings. “Hey,” I answer.
“Yo Jady! Whassup?”
“Nothin’ much Nicky. Just wipin’ out my credit card in the mall. You?”
“Hey! I’m in this mall too. It’s outta town though.”
“Yeah?”
“Yup. And I’m in this excellent Nike shop and…” I giggle and start looking around for a tall blonde goofball on a cell phone, “I found these black Airs for $40 and I was wonderin’ what size you take?”
“Black Airs?” I head towards the back of the store and spot Nick standing in front of a row of black trainers. I smother a giggle and creep up behind him. “Y’know, I’m not sure. Maybe a size 34.”
“A 34? Lemme look.”
“Oh, over there, to your left,” I direct him.
“Oh yeah! There they are!” He starts to reach for them but suddenly freezes up, “Whoa, how’d you know THAT?!”
“I’m psychic,” I say tapping him on the shoulder. He turns round and starts laughing. We put our phones away and he hands me the trainers.
“Cool, huh?”
“Yup. Thanks.”
“You with Bri?”
“Nup, AJ. Where’s Ali?”
“I left her in the perfume shop. She was freaking over some Calvin Klein stuff bein’ $10.”
My eyes widen, “REAL Calvin Klein?”
“Looked like it.”
“Oh jeez!” I throw my basket at him. “AJ’s about someplace and I’ll be back!” I race out of the store and do a sharp left into a perfume shop. Ali is standing in front of a huge Calvin Klein perfume counter with about 6 bottles in her basket. “$10?!” I yell and she jumps.
“JADE! You scared me!” She shakes her head at me, “I almost broke the entire range.”
“Sorry, but $10?!”
“I know!” she agrees excitedly before looking confused. “How’d you know I was here?”
“I was in the Nike shop with AJ and Nick called me.”
“He CALLED you? But he’s in the Nike shop.”
“He didn’t know I was though. So I left him with my stuff and ran in here as fast as I could. I mean, $10!”
“Yeah, you already said that!” she laughs. “So, where’s Brian?”
“Playing golf with Kevin and 3 fans.”
“A tournament?”
“Nup, Kev talked me and AJ into partnering them but…golf…” Ali pulls a face and I laugh, “Exactly. So when these three fans came along, we talked ‘em into taking our places and ran. They were real nice actually.”
“Cool. So, AJ’s here too?” I nod and she grins. “Excellent. I’ve missed him lately.”
“Me too,” we both start looking through the perfume bottles and my wedding band catches my eye. I so want to tell Ali about last night, but I can’t. So I do the next best thing. “Oh, oh!” I yell at her, waving my hand in front of her face. “Look at this!”
She grabs my hand and stares at the ring. “Wow… You got engaged?! Oh my God JADE!” She pulls me close for a big hug.
“Ok, can’t breathe now.”
“Sorry,” she lets go. “But….GOD!” She hugs me again and then giggles excitedly. “You’re SUCH an old woman now.”
“Hey!” I tickle her quickly. “Less of the old!”
“Sorry,” she grabs my hand again to examine the ring. “It’s gorgeous Jade. But it’s pretty wide, I hope you can get a wedding band thin enough.”
“Maybe I won’t,” I shrug.
“Ya mean, have this instead of two rings? Hm, yeah. I think it looks perfect.”
“I do too,” I smile.
She giggles and grabs my hand, “C’mon, let’s buy the smellies and then go buy up the Nike shop!” I follow her to the cashier and we hand over our bottles and credit cards. “Ya think they do white trainers? Y’know, for weddings?”
“With a veil on?” I giggle.