The mall was packed, people filling every open area of the walkways. Despite this, Sharon still tried to tug Andy through the crowd, her fingers tightly laced with his.
"Sharon, will you slow down?" He called, trying to tug back on her hand. She merely shook her head and kept pulling him forward. "The mall doesn't close for another few hours. Why the hell are we rushing?"
She finally stopped and let him catch up to her; he looped her arm through his so she couldn't run off again. "I want to make sure Mark and Charlie get that Teenaged Turtle thing they asked for. It was the only thing they both really wanted and since Nicole said she wasn't getting it, we will. Santa will." She gave him a look he had come to realize was her "Sense of Occasion, Don't Stop Me" look.
"I'm sure they'll have plenty, honey. Calm down." He squeezed her arm, but sighed as she resumed pushing her way through the people toward the toy store at the end of the aisle.
Andy was immensely relieved in the change in his wife's demeanor once they had two toy sets bagged up and they left the store. She loosely held his hand, smiling and leaning against him as they slowly made their way back through the crowd.
"Do you want to stop and eat?" He asked, looking down at her.
"No, it's too busy. I'd rather find something closer to home." She smiled and leaned up to kiss him quickly.
He nodded and squeezed her hand, looking around at the decorations and people. As they neared the other side of the mall they had parked at, quiet Christmas music started to make itself heard over the people.
"Andy, oh..." Sharon tugged on his hand again, but only a few steps. She pointed to a group of eleven children on the steps of the mall fountain, all playing silver flutes. "Eleven pipers piping!" She laughed and leaned against him, clutching their shopping bags close.
"But it's not Christmas Eve." He raised an eyebrow and wrapped his arms around her.
"You know the twelve days of Christmas start after Christmas, right? Not the twelve days leading up to Christmas."
She tilted her head and looked up at him, smiling at the realization crossing his face.
He shook his head and kissed her softly. "I had no idea, but I do now. Let's get closer so we can actually hear the music."
They picked their way closer to the musicians until they could clearly hear "Angels We Have Heard On High." Sharon's smile widened and she swayed a little to the music, his arms remaining firmly around her.
"It's beautiful," she murmured.
"You're beautiful."
She looked up at him, a rosy blush covering her cheeks, but looked away when the group finished the song. She clapped excitedly and pulled back from him to grab her purse.
"Do you have any cash, honey? They have a tip jar up there." She looked at him again, her face still lit up with a large smile.
"Yeah, I think so." He dug around in his wallet and pulled out a couple bills.
He followed her up to the group of students and watched as she dropped the cash in their jar. The closest student smiled widely.
"Thank you so much. Merry Christmas!"
"Merry Christmas!" Sharon murmured, her smile as wide as the student's. "You guys are amazing. Keep it up."
"Thank you, ma'am!"
Sharon turned her smile to Andy and he leaned in to kiss her. "You look happy," he commented softly.
"I am so, so happy. Now let's go eat so we can get home." She returned his kiss and took his hand again, this time allowing him to lead the way.
