A Mrs. Miracle Christmas(25)

The saleswoman appeared to be waiting for his answer.

“Yes, I suppose.” Zach was beginning to feel uneasy. He wasn’t sure how to extract himself from this persistent woman. He wondered if the Macy’s staff was paid on commission, because she was certainly determined to make the sale.

    “At this price, it’s a steal, Mr. McCullough. I mean, really…this sale is something else. I’ve worked in this department for some time now, and I’ve never seen clothing discounted this much.”

“Yes, well…” Zach anxiously looked around for a means of escape and found none. Then he realized that she had used his name. How on earth did she know his last name?

“Would you look at this!” The saleswoman held up a tiny western outfit. It was a blue-jean jumper with a red-checkered shirt underneath, something Annie Oakley might have worn in a sharpshooting match.

Zach smiled awkwardly. He liked this one as much as the first, though he didn’t admit that out loud to the salesclerk. He feared he might be losing it. Then again, if an adoption did come through and they had a girl…

“How much is that one?” he found himself asking.

“It’s the same price as the first dress I showed you.”

“Nice,” he murmured.

“I’m sure you’ll want this one, too.”

Too? He hadn’t agreed to purchase the first dress. He had the feeling the only way to find his way out of this department was to buy the outfits and flee for his life. He looked around, surprised to find that he was the only shopper in the entire section. There’d been wall-to-wall people everywhere else in the busy store, but this department was all but deserted.

    “Would you like me to wrap these items for you?”

Zach hesitated. If Laurel found out he’d spent money on baby clothes, there was no telling what she’d do. “Actually…uh…no, thank you.”

The woman beamed at him, as if he was a brilliant shopper. She led the way to the checkout counter, chatting away like they were long-lost friends. Every now and again she’d pause and point out something else he was sure to need.

Zach politely refused each item, but she didn’t appear to hear him. By the time they reached the register, the saleswoman had accumulated a small pile of clothes, all for a baby girl. She quickly started to ring up his purchase while he worked up his nerve to have her put everything back. Then she announced the total. He was surprised to hear that it was little more than what he’d pay for a lunch from his favorite food truck on the street below his office.

Before he completely grasped what had happened, he’d given her the cash and she handed him the beautiful red shopping bag.

“Will this be all for you this evening, Mr. McCullough? Oh, look—the escalator is working again. What great timing you seem to have.”

    Again, the clerk appeared to know him. Zach couldn’t recall ever meeting this relentless sales clerk, but he must have, at some point, somewhere. He was too frustrated with himself to ask, and he quickly thanked her and headed down the escalator. He slowly shook his head, lost in the events of the past few minutes. He’d been in search of a gift for Nana and ended up with a large bag of baby clothes. He couldn’t have explained the last fifteen minutes if he’d wanted to.

On the sidewalk outside the store, Zach got a text from Laurel telling him the meeting with the parents was over and she was on her way home. He had no idea how he would explain to Laurel what he’d just done. He’d recklessly bought items they didn’t need because they were on sale. And to think that he was the one who repeatedly told Laurel, who had a hard time resisting a good sale, that one didn’t save money by spending money, no matter how good the price.

By the time he arrived home, he’d beaten himself up mentally to the point that his stomach hurt.

“I’m here,” Zach announced upon crossing the threshold, without a lot of enthusiasm.

Laurel stuck her head out from inside the kitchen. “Your meeting must have gone on longer than expected.”

Avoiding eye contact, Zach set the packages down on the floor as he removed his coat, hanging it up in the front closet. “The meeting let out early. I went Christmas shopping before coming home.”

    “It looks like you had success—why the glum face?”

“Where’s Nana?” he asked, trying to divert her questions.

“She went to bed early. Mrs. Miracle left soon after I arrived home.”

“Did you have dinner?” He was willing to talk about anything other than his shopping expedition. Tomorrow on his lunch break, he fully intended to return the baby clothes.

Laurel followed him into the living room. “Why aren’t you looking at me?” she asked, full of concern.

Zach shrugged. He sincerely wished that his wife didn’t know him so well. Unable to hide his regret, Zach’s face had been a dead giveaway. Laurel knew the moment he walked in the door that he was upset.

“Zach, what’s wrong?”

He wouldn’t be able to brush it off. Laurel had already guessed. Trapped, he knew there was nothing to do but confess.

“I did something really stupid and I didn’t want you to know.”

Her concern was immediate, as well it should be. He felt like an even bigger fool for his inability to hide it from her.