She waited eagerly for the snow to stop. The snow was the only thing keeping her from going out and she wasn’t one to wait patiently.
“Do you have everything?” A strong male voice asked from behind her.
She turned around, the bunny ears sewn into the hood of her coat moving.
“Yep! I got my piggy bank!”
She picked up the porcelain pig and gave it a shake, smiling broadly when it jingled.
“Good. Look’s like the snow finally stopped. Let’s go.”
The two walked out into the clouded sky, their footprints leaving a trail for them to follow home. It didn’t take long for the girl to get sidetracked, laughing as she jumped into the snow. The man beside her smiled as he watched, carrying the pig so as not to have it broken. It took some time before they reached the mall, the warmth seeping into their chilled bones. She sat at a table as he bought two cups of hot chocolate, hers with extra whipped cream and marshmallows. The two drank their fill before getting up to wander around the building, listening to the merchants sell their wares. They stopped every once in awhile when she saw something that caught her eye and he had to drag her away from it with promises of warm cookies soon.
“Do you see anything he’d like yet?”
“Maybe a few things. But I don’t know if they’re right.”
“Well let’s find something quick before another storm blows in.”
She nodded and this time only looked for the perfect gift. It took some doing, but after several stores, she stopped to look in the window.
“It’s perfect!”
He looked at the present, then to her.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes!”
He smiled and went inside with her to purchase the gift. She gave the cashier her piggy bank full of quarters and took the present in her arms. The cashier looked at the man accompanying the small woman, sighing with relief when he held up a credit card. The two made their way to the food court for one more stop and then headed home in the dark.
“Thank you for coming Terror. It means a lot to me.”
“Anytime. Merry Christmas, Cat.”
“Merry Christmas.”