Downtown, despite being close to his home, was not where Ryan preferred to do his shopping. To start, getting there required parking in a special lot, paying a few bucks to not get towed, and then taking a bus and paying that fare just to get to the shops. After that, he had to make sure the places he wanted to check out were actually open, as their hours were very precise and changed constantly. And to top it off, anything he did actually want to buy was going to take a large chunk out of his bank account. All in all, it wasn’t the friendliest place for someone with the wallet of a twenty year old. Even so, he and Simon stepped off the bus ready to find birthday gifts for Dani.
“Where did you want to look first?” Simon asked. He stopped next to a streetlight to zip up his puffy blue coat.
Ryan looked around to see if any store signs would catch his eye. “I have no clue what’s around here, you’re going to have to lead the way, man.”
“Ah, fair. I guess it was my idea.”
But it was a good idea, Ryan admitted to himself. I was just gonna take her to dinner and maybe give her a gift card.
What the shops downtown lacked in affordability, they made up for in charm and the unique things one could find. People who made their own jewelry or baked their own special goods from passed-down recipes. When Simon suggested they go pick out their gifts for Dani there, Ryan realized how bad he would look if he didn’t put thought into his present.
“Then how about we look at some clothing stores, first?” Simon said. “I bet she’d like a sweater. Or just something warm.”
Oh wow, she totally would. Ryan nodded his agreement.
The two made their way down the wide concrete walkway, passing a small cafe that focused on selling tea and sandwiches. For a moment Ryan panicked. It had slipped his mind that The Mug, where Dani worked, was also downtown. Thankfully his brain also recalled that it was on the opposite side of town where they were unlikely to go before his heart rate shot up too much.
Imagine we walked by the front window of her work with a bunch of shopping bags. I mean, she wouldn’t see what’s in ‘em, but it would still spoil things!
Calm again, Ryan followed wherever Simon led, walking past a ceramics store that displayed a beautiful selection of plates Ryan hardly looked at, more than one antique store, and a skate shop. It wasn’t until they saw a sign that said “Main Street Vintage” that Simon finally slowed down.
“This place looks like a good starting point,” Simon said with his hand already on the door. He pushed it open and the duo entered.
It was a cramped interior that made use of an already limited space. Clothes racks were overstuffed, tables that had folded items were on the verge of spilling over the edge. None of the clothes looked to fit any sort of theme. Men’s and women’s items were barely separated, with some of the round racks that sat in the middle of the store containing both. Ryan was pleasantly surprised that it didn’t have an off putting smell, and gave that credit to the two large fans running on full blast overhead along with a nice fragrance spray of which he couldn’t pin down the scent.
From behind one of the mountains of clothes, a soft voice spoke. “Please have a look around,” it said. It was gentle and relaxed, the voice of an older woman. “Anything with a yellow sticker on the tag is half off. Racks in the center are second hand, everything along the wall, as well as jewelry and socks, are new.”
There was some slight movement Ryan could make out between the hangers but it didn’t give him any insight as to what she looked like. He figured Simon could see her with how much taller he was but didn’t see a point in caring. Instead, he needed to find Dani the perfect gift.
I’ve done so many weird things this year. If I can get her something special then maybe it will at least make up for Halloween. If the year could end on a positive note…
Before Ryan could think of where to look first, Simon took off to one side of the store. He would have been impossible to spot through the forest of apparel if he wasn’t tall enough to stick out like a beacon. Seeing how he was looking through the women’s clothes, Ryan followed him.
He looked left and right down the narrow aisles, hoping that a shirt or anything would catch his eye. His history of gift giving was miserable. It started and ended with gift cards or cash. The few times he had tried to think hard and find a real gift for a girlfriend, it ended with an “Aw, thank you!” and a weak hug lacking any enthusiasm.
I’m changing as a person, so why couldn’t I get better at this too? I know Dani pretty well now, I know the things she likes.
To his right, he saw a pink shirt. She’s been trying to dress more feminine lately, and what’s girlier than pink?
He pulled the shirt out of the surrounding clothes keeping it held in place and looked at it closer. It was a hot pink t-shirt with a logo for Sherman’s Pub, the bar they frequented when nothing else sounded fun for the night.
“Hey,” Ryan said. He held the shirt up once Simon had turned around. “She might like this, right? I mean, we go there sometimes.”
Simon closed his eyes and turned his head, but Ryan could hear him stifling a laugh. “Oh, um. She might like that! But, honestly I’m sure there’s other stuff here she would like better.”
“Ah, probably.” His ears burned with embarrassment as he hung the shirt back up. “Damn, I’m bad at this.”
“Nah, don’t worry.” Simon gestured for him to walk over and look at what he was perusing through. “See stuff like this?” He pulled out a soft, peachy sweater with a wavy knit pattern going down it. “She usually wears pretty baggy clothes, so I look out for other things like that.”
He pictured her wearing both the sweater and then the shirt he had picked up and felt like an idiot. Obviously she would look cuter in this than a stupid logo shirt. She has a green sweater kind of like that, and she wears it constantly and obviously loves it. How am I so bad at this?
“Right,” Ryan said with a sigh. “No, that makes sense. I’m sure she would love that.”
Simon held the sweater’s hanger out toward Ryan. “You can get this for her if you want. I just started looking and I can find something else.”
I could just give her this and then I’m safe. He was a moment away from grabbing it when he grumbled to himself. No. if I don’t pick it myself then I’ll feel like an ass. God, this is so dumb.
“Thanks, but I want to pick my own.”
With a nod, Simon hung the sweater on his arm and resumed browsing.
Ryan wandered through the store, lost and frustrated. He looked at three other knit sweaters and none of them looked as good as the one Simon had picked up. Not to mention he wasn’t even sure if he should keep looking for sweaters. If he and Simon both gifted her one then it wouldn’t be a very interesting set of presents.
Why is he so good at this, anyway? I know he’s known Dani longer. A lot longer. But I’m the one dating her! I should have some idea of what I’m doing at least. And what’s he even doing, getting her clothes as a gift? That’s a relationship thing, right?
His search ended with him at the counter in the back with two merchandise spinners covered in earrings. The memory of noticing Dani’s earrings came back to him. This is it. I can get her a pair of earrings! It’s something she can wear, it’s cute and feminine, and it doesn’t overlap with Simon’s gift. It’s perfect.
He spun the racks around to look at all the different options. There was a massive range, from hoops, to dangly ornamental ones, to ones filled with gems or focusing on one bigger gem. The other rack had less formal ones, with little animal characters or artwork of food and plants depicted on them. Ryan looked carefully and thought about each item, how it would look on Dani, how it would make her feel to wear, how it related to her interests.
After careful deliberation, he had narrowed it down to two. One was a pair of small tuxedo cat faces, very cute if Ryan was being honest. The other, coffee cups. Two dimensional with a trail of steam coming up from them, a perfect way to show off her talent and job.
“Oh, those are good,” Simon said.
Ryan spun around to see that Simon was standing behind him with at least three hangers on his arm.
“Thanks.” He could feel the shame from earlier returning, but was secretly glad to have his roommate’s approval for this new choice. “Are you getting her all of those?”
“Nah, the others are for my mom and sister. Christmas is coming up too, you know.”
“Right,” Ryan said. “I haven’t even thought about what to buy my dad.”
“Maybe he wants earrings too,” Simon said as he left for the register.
Ryan chuckled and looked back at his two options. Cats. They’re small and cute… Like Dani. I mean all girls love this kitten stuff I think. But the coffee cups, maybe that’s more personal. It might feel like I thought about her instead of just a generic girl. Oh, but maybe she doesn’t want to think about work all the time. I swear, we needed a class on gift giving in school, this is a disaster.
In the end, he decided to purchase both. They were a bit more expensive than he would have liked, leaving him to wish his past self hadn’t lost so many games of pool to Elliot at the bar.
He got behind Simon in line at the register. The older woman checking their items looked sweet to Ryan. She had straight brown hair that was fading to gray and reminded him of his favorite middle school teacher.
While Simon struggled to find his wallet in his oversized coat, Ryan noticed something about the woman’s name tag.
It said Heather.
His thoughts were thrust back to the other day when he texted his forgotten cousin. He checked the date on his phone to double check. Four more days until I finally meet you again.
Downtown, despite being close to his home, was not where Ryan preferred to do his shopping. To start, getting there required parking in a special lot, paying a few bucks to not get towed, and then taking a bus and paying that fare just to get to the shops. After that, he had to make sure the places he wanted to check out were actually open, as their hours were very precise and changed constantly. And to top it off, anything he did actually want to buy was going to take a large chunk out of his bank account. All in all, it wasn’t the friendliest place for someone with the wallet of a twenty year old. Even so, he and Simon stepped off the bus ready to find birthday gifts for Dani.
“Where did you want to look first?” Simon asked. He stopped next to a streetlight to zip up his puffy blue coat.
Ryan looked around to see if any store signs would catch his eye. “I have no clue what’s around here, you’re going to have to lead the way, man.”
“Ah, fair. I guess it was my idea.”
But it was a good idea, Ryan admitted to himself. I was just gonna take her to dinner and maybe give her a gift card.
What the shops downtown lacked in affordability, they made up for in charm and the unique things one could find. People who made their own jewelry or baked their own special goods from passed-down recipes. When Simon suggested they go pick out their gifts for Dani there, Ryan realized how bad he would look if he didn’t put thought into his present.
“Then how about we look at some clothing stores, first?” Simon said. “I bet she’d like a sweater. Or just something warm.”
Oh wow, she totally would. Ryan nodded his agreement.
The two made their way down the wide concrete walkway, passing a small cafe that focused on selling tea and sandwiches. For a moment Ryan panicked. It had slipped his mind that The Mug, where Dani worked, was also downtown. Thankfully his brain also recalled that it was on the opposite side of town where they were unlikely to go before his heart rate shot up too much.
Imagine we walked by the front window of her work with a bunch of shopping bags. I mean, she wouldn’t see what’s in ‘em, but it would still spoil things!
Calm again, Ryan followed wherever Simon led, walking past a ceramics store that displayed a beautiful selection of plates Ryan hardly looked at, more than one antique store, and a skate shop. It wasn’t until they saw a sign that said “Main Street Vintage” that Simon finally slowed down.
“This place looks like a good starting point,” Simon said with his hand already on the door. He pushed it open and the duo entered.
It was a cramped interior that made use of an already limited space. Clothes racks were overstuffed, tables that had folded items were on the verge of spilling over the edge. None of the clothes looked to fit any sort of theme. Men’s and women’s items were barely separated, with some of the round racks that sat in the middle of the store containing both. Ryan was pleasantly surprised that it didn’t have an off putting smell, and gave that credit to the two large fans running on full blast overhead along with a nice fragrance spray of which he couldn’t pin down the scent.
From behind one of the mountains of clothes, a soft voice spoke. “Please have a look around,” it said. It was gentle and relaxed, the voice of an older woman. “Anything with a yellow sticker on the tag is half off. Racks in the center are second hand, everything along the wall, as well as jewelry and socks, are new.”
There was some slight movement Ryan could make out between the hangers but it didn’t give him any insight as to what she looked like. He figured Simon could see her with how much taller he was but didn’t see a point in caring. Instead, he needed to find Dani the perfect gift.
I’ve done so many weird things this year. If I can get her something special then maybe it will at least make up for Halloween. If the year could end on a positive note…
Before Ryan could think of where to look first, Simon took off to one side of the store. He would have been impossible to spot through the forest of apparel if he wasn’t tall enough to stick out like a beacon. Seeing how he was looking through the women’s clothes, Ryan followed him.
He looked left and right down the narrow aisles, hoping that a shirt or anything would catch his eye. His history of gift giving was miserable. It started and ended with gift cards or cash. The few times he had tried to think hard and find a real gift for a girlfriend, it ended with an “Aw, thank you!” and a weak hug lacking any enthusiasm.
I’m changing as a person, so why couldn’t I get better at this too? I know Dani pretty well now, I know the things she likes.
To his right, he saw a pink shirt. She’s been trying to dress more feminine lately, and what’s girlier than pink?
He pulled the shirt out of the surrounding clothes keeping it held in place and looked at it closer. It was a hot pink t-shirt with a logo for Sherman’s Pub, the bar they frequented when nothing else sounded fun for the night.
“Hey,” Ryan said. He held the shirt up once Simon had turned around. “She might like this, right? I mean, we go there sometimes.”
Simon closed his eyes and turned his head, but Ryan could hear him stifling a laugh. “Oh, um. She might like that! But, honestly I’m sure there’s other stuff here she would like better.”
“Ah, probably.” His ears burned with embarrassment as he hung the shirt back up. “Damn, I’m bad at this.”
“Nah, don’t worry.” Simon gestured for him to walk over and look at what he was perusing through. “See stuff like this?” He pulled out a soft, peachy sweater with a wavy knit pattern going down it. “She usually wears pretty baggy clothes, so I look out for other things like that.”
He pictured her wearing both the sweater and then the shirt he had picked up and felt like an idiot. Obviously she would look cuter in this than a stupid logo shirt. She has a green sweater kind of like that, and she wears it constantly and obviously loves it. How am I so bad at this?
“Right,” Ryan said with a sigh. “No, that makes sense. I’m sure she would love that.”
Simon held the sweater’s hanger out toward Ryan. “You can get this for her if you want. I just started looking and I can find something else.”
I could just give her this and then I’m safe. He was a moment away from grabbing it when he grumbled to himself. No. if I don’t pick it myself then I’ll feel like an ass. God, this is so dumb.
“Thanks, but I want to pick my own.”
With a nod, Simon hung the sweater on his arm and resumed browsing.
Ryan wandered through the store, lost and frustrated. He looked at three other knit sweaters and none of them looked as good as the one Simon had picked up. Not to mention he wasn’t even sure if he should keep looking for sweaters. If he and Simon both gifted her one then it wouldn’t be a very interesting set of presents.
Why is he so good at this, anyway? I know he’s known Dani longer. A lot longer. But I’m the one dating her! I should have some idea of what I’m doing at least. And what’s he even doing, getting her clothes as a gift? That’s a relationship thing, right?
His search ended with him at the counter in the back with two merchandise spinners covered in earrings. The memory of noticing Dani’s earrings came back to him. This is it. I can get her a pair of earrings! It’s something she can wear, it’s cute and feminine, and it doesn’t overlap with Simon’s gift. It’s perfect.
He spun the racks around to look at all the different options. There was a massive range, from hoops, to dangly ornamental ones, to ones filled with gems or focusing on one bigger gem. The other rack had less formal ones, with little animal characters or artwork of food and plants depicted on them. Ryan looked carefully and thought about each item, how it would look on Dani, how it would make her feel to wear, how it related to her interests.
After careful deliberation, he had narrowed it down to two. One was a pair of small tuxedo cat faces, very cute if Ryan was being honest. The other, coffee cups. Two dimensional with a trail of steam coming up from them, a perfect way to show off her talent and job.
“Oh, those are good,” Simon said.
Ryan spun around to see that Simon was standing behind him with at least three hangers on his arm.
“Thanks.” He could feel the shame from earlier returning, but was secretly glad to have his roommate’s approval for this new choice. “Are you getting her all of those?”
“Nah, the others are for my mom and sister. Christmas is coming up too, you know.”
“Right,” Ryan said. “I haven’t even thought about what to buy my dad.”
“Maybe he wants earrings too,” Simon said as he left for the register.
Ryan chuckled and looked back at his two options. Cats. They’re small and cute… Like Dani. I mean all girls love this kitten stuff I think. But the coffee cups, maybe that’s more personal. It might feel like I thought about her instead of just a generic girl. Oh, but maybe she doesn’t want to think about work all the time. I swear, we needed a class on gift giving in school, this is a disaster.
In the end, he decided to purchase both. They were a bit more expensive than he would have liked, leaving him to wish his past self hadn’t lost so many games of pool to Elliot at the bar.
He got behind Simon in line at the register. The older woman checking their items looked sweet to Ryan. She had straight brown hair that was fading to gray and reminded him of his favorite middle school teacher.
While Simon struggled to find his wallet in his oversized coat, Ryan noticed something about the woman’s name tag.
It said Heather.
His thoughts were thrust back to the other day when he texted his forgotten cousin. He checked the date on his phone to double check. Four more days until I finally meet you again.
