Page 2 of Say Hello, Kiss Goodbye
“If he uses up all my hot water, I’ll kill him. We’ve got appetizers to prepare, dishes to wash—”
“Sarah, it’s only one-thirty or—something. Why don’t you go to the gym? Burn off some adrenaline.” The two little boys scampered past, one bopping the other on the head with what looked like a stuffed dinosaur. “You’ve got hours before anyone shows up.” Leia sighed. And I thought I was a control freak. Sarah was taking her own rampant perfectionism to a whole New Year’s Eve level.
“I know, but Dad’s meeting Jordan for the first time, and my work friends are coming over. I need them on side for that promotion—you know what it’s like.” Sarah switched gears, rolling back into Type-A territory. “So, you got everything, right? Tea-lights, two black storage boxes, eight turquoise plates—the deep ones. Like a bowl, but not.”
Leia yanked on the straps of the loaded bag, deepening its groove in her shoulder. “Yes, Sarah.”
“They’ll be perfect for the mini portions of ramen you’re making—”
Yeah, only because you wouldn’t shut up about it. Leia shook her head. I hate cooking.
“IF you ever get out of there.” Sarah tutted.
Leia rolled her eyes and picked at the sloppy stitching on the lip of the shopping bag. I should’ve stuck with my original plan, should’ve rescheduled my flight to Italy. No New Year’s Eve party, no sister drama, no fending off guys she wants to set me up with. What doesn’t she understand about ‘I don’t want or need a boyfriend—ever’? She cleared her throat. “Look, you’re the one who said your back was too achy to shop and stuffed an Oyster card in my hand, sending me across London to satisfy your weird Swedish homewares obsession.” I love her and would do anything for her—but sometimes I could gladly give her a slap! “No good deed…” Leia muttered under her breath.
“Ley…” Sarah’s voice dipped. “I do appreciate it, you know.”
The store’s lights came alive, albeit dimmer than usual, eliciting relieved ahhhs from frustrated shoppers.
“Power’s back!” Leia blurted. “I’m near the checkout. I should be out of here soon.” She stood up straight, her words flying without pause. “I’ll text when I’m almost home, okay?”
“Great! Don’t get lost!”
Leia scrunched her nose. “I won’t get los—”
“Oh!” Sarah interrupted. “If you see slippers near the cash, grab me a pair?”
“Uh, sure. Gotta go!” Leia stuffed her phone in her pocket and stormed through the crowded self-serve furniture warehouse, her black combat boots and long, confident strides outpacing shoppers steering carts loaded with flat-pack bookshelves. She nipped around a cluster of high-backed Poäng chairs where the hide-and-seek boys—twins, maybe seven years old—slouched, waiting for their dad, and past bins boasting discounted Christmas baubles and colorful spatulas. Sarah’s coveted slippers were nowhere in sight.
Pulling her shopping bag against her hip, Leia reached the checkout first and unloaded her haul onto the conveyor belt. A lanky sales clerk, all oversized eyeglasses and carefully curated man bun, stepped behind the cash register.
Leia smiled. “Hi, how are you?” She reached into a coat pocket, digging for her wallet.
The clerk chuckled, revealing a gap-toothed smile. “Good, now the lights are back on.” He logged into his terminal and picked up the product scanner.
“You and me both.” Leia nodded as he rang up her purchases. I’ll be out of here in no time. Maybe I’ll fit in a swim before Sarah needs me. Behind her, a muffled movie soundtrack grew louder.
Ugh, the Star Wars theme. Leia wrinkled her nose and pulled out her credit card. Despite being named after one of Star Wars’ most beloved characters, she wasn’t a fan of the movies. Her sci-fi geek parents, on the other hand, couldn’t get enough, and named both their daughters after kickass female heroines, The Terminator’s Sarah Connor the inspiration for their second-born. Of course, Sarah lucked out—nobody asked annoying questions when they heard her name.
“Hazza! Can’t you text like a normal person?” A posh male accent bursting with playfulness drifted over her shoulder. Leia set down her card and snuck a peek, catching only a blur of white plush—a gigantic stuffed unicorn with a rainbow mane and silver horn—before the store employee claimed her attention again.
“Dammit!” The clerk chewed his cheek and glared at the terminal’s screen.
Leia tucked her long blonde hair behind her ear. “I’m sorry?” Something clattered along the floor, hitting her boots: a cell phone.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake!” the voice behind her muttered.
Leia turned, finding the smiling unicorn bobbing and swaying while the tall guy behind it wrestled with a kids magic kit, a stuffed green dinosaur, and a large shopping bag, its clinking contents threatening to join his phone.
He needs help. She bent down and her right knee bit back, pinching its dissatisfaction inside her tights. Ow! So stiff. Wincing behind her hair, she retrieved the unicorn wrangler’s phone and slowly stood up, placing the still-talking device in the free hand poking out from the mountain of plush.
“Here you go.” She half-smiled, her glance jumping from the silver ring on his left thumb to the few days’ growth of brown scruff framing his amused smile. Leia did a double take. Whoa. Flirty dimples, tall, handsome—someone won the genetic lottery.
“Cheers, love.” The guy’s appreciative grin grew wide and bright, and his green eyes glimmered with warmth as he lifted the phone to his mouth. “Harry, call you back.” He ended the conversation abruptly and reached under his wool coat, stuffing the phone in his trouser pocket. His intense gaze searched her face. “Hey, I’m—”
“Miss? I’m terribly sorry.” The clerk’s solemn tone yanked Leia back to her purchases.
“Uh…sorry for…?”
