“She’s calling me now,” she told Regan, putting the phone back to her ear as she pushed herself to continue searching for the guitar.
“Great! Love ya!” Regan swiftly said before she hung up.
The entire situation was so jarring, it took a moment for Sutton to process it as she stared down at her phone.
Which was informing her that Charlotte was still on the line.
“Charlotte. Hi. Is, um, is everything okay?” There was a strange part of her that felt like Charlotte could justsenseSutton talking about her and their relationship.
She’d felt like that in the past, too.
“Darling”—yes, the swooping feeling was so damningly real—“do my eyes deceive me, or did you actually text me that you were in-person shopping in a mall on a Friday night, the week before Christmas?”
She laugh-groaned. “I wasjusthaving this conversation with Regan. Yes, I am. And?—”
She came to a stop when she saw the large display set up for the RealJam Guitar… completely empty. This time when she groaned, shemeantit; her stomach sank with frustration and disappointment.
“Is everything okay?” Charlotte asked, and Sutton could hear the genuine concern in her voice.
“No.” It would have been shameful, really, how pathetic her tone sounded even to her own ears. But she was beyond caring… and shewascomfortable enough with Charlotte that she didn’t care.
“What’s wrong? Do you need help with anything? I’m leaving the office now, so…” There was an urgency in Charlotte’s tone that alone was able to warm something inside of her.
Still, she turned, defeated, as she headed toward the exit. “No, but thanks. I’m okay, I promise.” She sighed, reaching up to rub her eyes. “Have you heard of the RealJam Guitar?”
Charlotte’s silence was very telling, even before she spoke slowly. “Is quote-unquote ‘jamming’ not whatallguitars are supposed to do?”
Sutton laughed as she walked out of the store. “No. I mean, I guess so. It’s—the RealJam is this new guitar designed for kids, or any beginner, I suppose.”
“Ahhh yes,” Charlotte hummed. “The guitar Lucy wants for Christmas. She was telling me about it a while ago.”
“She’s been talking about it for a while, yeah,” Sutton confirmed. “And it’s beenimpossibleto find. I called two stores today before my final class. They both received the stock this afternoon, but neither puts on-demand items on hold.”
Which was fair but stressful.
“Well? Have you checked the second store?” Charlotte prompted.
Sutton was already on her way. “Tell me something else to keep me from panicking if this doesn’t go my way?”
The low hum of Charlotte’s laugh in her eardidalleviate some of the stress. “Of course.”
“Tell me how your meeting went, with the senator from California?”
Charlotte paused. “Iwastrying to think of something to tell you that was actually entertaining. I think that would be the point of distraction.”
“I’m ente—well, I wouldn’t sayentertainedis the right word, but I am interested in hearing how your work is going.” And that was the truth. She never got tired of hearing Charlotte discuss what she was working on. Not only because her political views were topics of interest for Sutton but because she loved the passion with which Charlotte spoke.
Charlotte’s voice and story about work kept her entertained as she made her way to the second floor and checked the department store she’d called… only to find that they, too, were out.
She swore under her breath at the realization.
“No guitar?” Charlotte asked.
Sutton squeezed her eyes closed, trying to temper the worry that she wasn’t going to be able to get Lucy’s desired Christmas gift. “Not even the life-sizedadwas left up.”
She was faced with an empty stand, where the product had been set up earlier, only the price left to designate what had been here during the day.
“I’m sorry, Sutton. Truly.”