I Caught Myself
THREE
"Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree, how lovely are your branches…" May and Nicola sung in perfect harmony. They were in behind a large department store which was still open. Yes, you guessed it. It was the Lilycove Department Store. Every year, the children would push their luck and carol behind the store, because most of the employees who would exit there would give them spare change.
The girls sang a little louder, trying to catch the attention of whoever was inside.
A while back, Brendan and his mom were on their way to the Department Store to buy chocolate and sprinkles to coat the cookies with. Brendan's mom had gotten so busy with Christmas shopping and decorating the house that she's forgotten to buy complete ingredients for the cookies. The last time she went shopping, the stores had already run out of the ingredients, and she had to wait for them to stock up once more.
They were now in front of the Department Store, whose glass double-doors opened automatically once Brendan hurriedly jumped on the black mat covering the electronics which were used to signal the doors that there were people, and that they needed to open up or else. Stepping on this mat had become a great joy of Brendan's childhood.
Delia smiled at her little boy, as she casually entered the Department Store once he ran in. Brendan directed his mother towards the path to the small Grocery Store on the ground floor, which was never expected because everybody thought the Lilycove Department Store was only a Department Store.
A little later, Delia was already picking out the ingredients she needed to finish the Christmas cookies. Brendan wandered over to the candies and noticed a door beside the wooden cabinet. He walked towards it and rested his ear on the door, hearing faint Christmas carols from outside. Being a curious little boy, he pulled the metal lever and heard the faint voices grow into loud voices. He kept the door open with his strength, as he watched the girls in the freezing cold, trying to sing their lungs out.
When they had finished the song, Brendan smiled and grew speechless. "Uh, hi."
"Hi." Nicola uttered. May stood there and gazed at Brendan. He noticed this and blushed red, but he decided to hide this.
"Uhm, you guys sing really well." Brendan answered, at a total loss for words.
"Thanks, but we're not guys, and our singing costs. You know, give us some breads." Nicola retorted sassily, May not moving a muscle.
"Breads?" Brendan asked, one of his eyebrows way up on his forehead.
"You know, cough up the dough."
"Oh, sorry. You're talking about food. If you want, you can go in here, and you can take all the breads you want."
May laughed at this statement, but Nicola just grunted. "May, you talk to this guy."
May nodded shyly, as if she didn't want to ask money from this young stranger. Well, he wasn't really that young for her, because they were practically the same age. "What she means is, you know, if you have any spare change…?"
"Oh!" Brendan replied in an outburst. He smiled at May, and at that moment, her heart started pumping fast. This rarely happens to her, since she barely had any adrenaline rushes. Before you knew it, her face was painted red.
Brendan inserted his right hand into one of his shorts' pockets, searching around for the money his grandmother gave him before they went to the store. She said he should buy himself something nice, but it wouldn't hurt to give a little of it, wouldn't it? After all, it was a full five-dollar bill. He had change in his pocket, though.
He took all the coins from his pocket and handed it to May. "Here you go."
"Thanks…" May smiled, pocketing the money. "This is the most we get from our caroling. I hope you know how much this means."
"Oh, I do. My mom always told me to give on Christmas." Brendan reasoned.
"Brendan!" He heard his mother call out from inside the store.
"Oh, that's my mom. I gotta go now, May. It was nice meeting you." Brendan said childishly, waiting for feedback before he let go of the door.
"Okay. Merry Christmas. And to your mom, too." May bid. At that, Brendan gently closed the door and trekked off to his mother. He had a wide smile and a red face, but he thought that it was all worth it.