I nodded.
“Okay.” Joon cackled and ran to the back of the line, his mother peeling off from the family crew to join him.
Aunt Coral adjusted her bag. “Hello, Shelby.”
“Sugarplum.” I winked and put my hands on my hips, but darted a glance at the restless people in line who glared at my family for trying to cut ahead. “Hello, everybody. Doing some shopping today?”
“You and Zack took care of most of that," Aunt Coral said. "There are just a few last-minute things. Your mother should be joining us shortly.”
I smoothed my uniform. “Oh, where is she?”
My aunt smiled smugly. “Getting coffee.”
No.She had to be kidding. Mom wouldn’t ambush my date. What was she doing?
“I’m taking my ten.” I didn’t even know who I was telling. Hoynes and Santa? Aunt Coral? Chestnut? The rest of the line didn’t care. I bolted for the break room, snatched my jacket, and sprinted to the coffee shop. Harvey never kept his phone on him when he was working. I had to warn him in person or drag Mom away before she could embarrass me.
If Harvey met the rest of my family, he’d go running faster than I was right now.
The mall was so busy I had to dodge huge clusters of families and suffer the slow walkers blocking my way. Finally, I got to The Bern. Their line almost rivaled ours today. People spilled out into the main section of the mall. Instead of waiting to order, Mom was doing a full inspection: swiping a finger on thecounter to test the dust/crumb ratio, sniffing the air, etc.She eyed Harvey’s facial rings with distaste, then tapped the pickup counter. “Excuse me, young man, are you dating Shelby?”
He furrowed his brows. “Yes?”
“I’m her mother. Come here and talk to me, please.”
Mortified, I stumbled through the crowd, squeezing between people to get to them. “I’m so sorry,” I tried to tell him, approaching the counter.
“No cutting,” someone in line snapped at me.
“I’m not.” Was everyone hangry and desperate today?
Harvey sighed, wiped off his hands, and shook Mom’s. “Hey, nice to meet you.”
“Indeed.” She clasped his hand and pulled him closer to examine his forearm. “Oh, you have tattoos.”
“Just the one.” He yanked his hand back and glanced at me–probably because I was close enough he could hear my shoes jingling in alarm.
“I see.” Mom tilted her head and straightened her jacket. “Are you spending the holidays with your family? Because you’re welcome to our service. Though you may want to remove your piercings–”
“Mom.”Stop pushing things.
She started, then eyed my ensemble. “Aren’t you supposed to be working?”
I flapped my coat, fanning myself between heaving breaths. “I am. I took a break. Don't bother Harvey, okay? He’s also working.”
“They can spare you both for a few minutes.” She glanced at the glass case. “I didn’t know he baked. He should join us for Christmas cookies.”
I held the stitch in my side and gave him an apologetic look. “We make care packages for our neighbors and family. Thechurch people sort clothes and toy donations while the kids bake cookies.”
He slipped a sleeve over a cup and smirked. “We’dbothbe in the ‘kid’ category?”
I giggled, but Mom gave me a stern, confused look at the inside joke, so I pretended to cough. “Yeah. Most of the time is spent preventing my cousins from eating raw dough. But the decorating part is fun. You could take a box home as payment for all the treats you’ve given me. However, I’d also understand if you’re busy.” Especially if it meant doing anything other than entertaining my family.
He blasted foam into a cup. “When is it?”
“Tomorrow,” Mom said.
“I’ll see what I can do.” He lined an order up at the takeaway window.
