Setting: I guess this would be a season six story, if there actually were a season six. The stupid mystery marriage is over-finally.

I would like to thank Carrie for taking time out of her busy life to beta my story. Her tireless efforts only improve my writing. I want to take a moment and thank Cheryl, Jan, and the rest of the women who work month after month to come up with ideas for the Challenges. I appreciate the work and enjoy both reading and writing challenge stories.

~~~SMK~~~

Finally, after working non-stop for the past two weeks, she had a few days off. Amanda decided to spend today with her mother. Since she and Lee married publicly, and with moving to a new home, and a baby on the way, mother/daughter time was scarce.

Spending the day at the mall seemed the perfect way to catch up. So while Lee and the boys spent the day painting the corral fence in the sweltering JULY HEAT, the women enjoyed a leisurely lunch at the food court.

Over chicken Caesar salads, she listened to her mother rehash yesterday's picnic and FIREWORKS spectacular hosted by the local little league team. As part of his summer internship for school, Phillip coached the younger kids in their fielding and base running, which led to the family's invitation to the summer blast. Amanda was sorry the low-level surveillance of the newest Soviet Embassy employees kept her from attending. Lee, on the other hand, enjoyed spending the afternoon with her mother and the boys.

Once they'd finished eating, she gathered up their purchases while Dotty toted the trash to the bin. Refueled by their meal, once again they ventured forth to tackle the retail jungle. 

Dodging the crowds, she slipped into the men's store and selected a few tokens for her hard-working fellas. Nothing too fancy, just a Washington Redskin's ball cap for Phillip, a Baltimore Orioles' t-shirt for Jamie, and new swim trunks for Lee. She looked forward to him modeling them for her.

She met up with her mother in one of the larger department stores. They'd slashed the prices on the summer wear, and Dotty managed to pick up a few blouses at a bargain prices.

Together, they strolled to the maternity department. There was NO TIME LIKE THE PRESENT, and Amanda took advantage of the great deals to acquire some additions to her wardrobe.

After spending several hours walking around the mall, and waiting on the checkout lines, Amanda's back ached. She rubbed her lower back with one hand while lugging her bags through the mall with the other. She couldn't wait to get home and put her feet up. On the way to the parking garage, they stumbled upon a new store dedicated to CHRISTMAS.

Curious as to the shop's offerings, Dotty propelled her into the shop. They ventured inside past a giant SANTA Claus sitting in a sleigh loaded with presents. White carpet, covered with flocking simulating SNOW, lined the floor under the vehicle. Green pine trees stood sentry along both sides of the main aisle. Standard carols and hymns playing over the speakers completed the holiday motif.

Different themed decorations adorned each tree. Beautifully delicate, crystal snowflakes and bell ornaments covered one pine, while another was devoted entirely to Disney characters. Blue and silver balls bedecked a giant spruce, while red bows and gold ribbons garnished a four-foot fir tree. They were exquisite, but didn't come close to the haphazardly decorated tree on display each year in the family room. Every mismatched ornament held a special place in her heart.

Together, mother and daughter meandered around the store, detouring down the aisle when an item captured their attention. Household bric-a-brac made up most of the merchandise on display.

Since she already had an attic full, Amanda bypassed that aisle. Her mother, on the other hand, wandered down, perusing the displays, picking up a decoration or two for her new cottage. 

The next row of shelves held dozens of Nativities ranging in size from three-foot, lighted, outdoor figurines to miniature mangers to hang on the tree. In addition to complete sets, the store carried individual pieces. While she didn't need a new ensemble, a few of her animals had seen better days. Her camel only had three legs, and the antlers had broken off on the deer.

Up until now, she hadn't found individual pieces, and took advantage of the windfall, and selected a camel, and two deer. She even chose a horse as company for Shelia-a pink and green triceratops Phillip added to the menagerie at the age of four.

She carefully placed her items in a shopping basket before meeting her mother in the last aisle. The storeowner devoted the last row of shelving and the entire back wall to a display of Christmas ornaments. Amanda found Dotty, along with several other shoppers, examining the vast selection.

Astonished with the way people loaded up on the ornaments this early in the year, Amanda stood mouth agape and arms akimbo taking in the crowd. Christmas was still five months away. At least, she had an excuse to shop early. Since she was due in early December, she'd be either very pregnant or taking care of a newborn, shopping early only made sense.

Her mother participated in the insanity. She held up two decorations. In the palm of her right hand rested a small white Cessna airplane with red and purple stripes along the fuselage. From the fingers of her left hand dangled a white bi-plane with red piping, and a candy cane striped propeller. Santa sat in the front seat, waving, while a reindeer sat behind seeming to toss presents out of the plane. When you pulled the string, the propeller spun and Captain Claus wished everyone a Merry Christmas.

She couldn't choose between the two, and held them out to Amanda for a decision. The choice was difficult to make, Amanda thought. The Cessna seemed perfect for Captain Kurt, but the Santa plane was adorable, and she told her mother she liked the bi-plane.

Turning to the display, Amanda searched for the perfect presents. She tried to get the boys something that would celebrate the year. Since Phillip would start drivers ed this September, Amanda selected the replica of a 1977 Trans Am, die-cast metal painted black complete with a gold "fire bird" painted on the hood, and gold accents on the wheel wells and tire rims.

She always had a hard time finding the perfect gift for Jamie. Usually, she ended up getting a Winnie the Pooh figurine. Jamie always loved Pooh. This year, however, she found the ideal ornament for him. Two penguins, one wearing a blue scarf and the other wearing a blue striped scarf, stood flanking a penguin snowman, while a third penguin-this one wearing a red stocking cap, peered through the lens of a camera. Ever since, Lee gave Jamie a camera, he spent hours taking and developing photographs.  

After a quick peek over her shoulder, Amanda spotted her mother on the opposite end of the aisle. She took the opportunity to select her mother's ornament. In all the years, she carried on this tradition; this was the first time she could remember an actual "mother/daughter" design. Of course, they had a "mother" ornament every year, and she purchased it but this year's was exceptional.

A red apron, white hearts covering the bib with green trim. The pocket held a miniature wooden spoon and a rubber spatula. A potholder inscribed with "memories made with love" and Mother and Daughter along with the date embroidered on the apron skirt. Quickly, Amanda placed the treasure into her basket, hiding it under the other items.

She needed two more ornaments. Moving down the aisle, she came upon the selection celebrating milestones: weddings, anniversaries, new homes, births, and even deaths. That felt sort of creepy, but people must buy them or else they wouldn't manufacture them. 

Studying the display, she frowned, although the designs were beautiful, none of the ornaments seemed to fit her and Lee. It wasn't their first Christmas together, the "Our Family" ornaments didn't suit her taste, and the "New Home" ornament was just plain ugly.

Since the trinkets had the date on them, the wedding frame wasn't appropriate either. They did have one titled "A Purr-fect Couple". Two fluffy cats sat on a red pillow with gold tassels, but she was allergic to cats and Lee was a dog person, so that didn't suit any better. 

She decided on a snow couple she could personalize. The snowman wore a green trimmed red hat with a blue scarf and lavender mittens. The snow woman sported a red hat trimmed with the same blue as his scarf. Her green scarf matched his hatband and she wore blue and lavender mittens. They stood cheek to cheek, and held a small red heart between them. In neat script, she penned Lee and Amanda on each hatband and Christmas 1989 on the heart.

While she waited for the ink to dry, she scanned the children sections. This year, the ornaments for son and daughter were the same, just blue and pink respectively.  There were two different designs to choose from; a polar bear wearing a hat, vest, and sneakers, and listening to a walkman or a snowperson sitting in a paper cone much like the scrape-ice sold at the ballpark. She looked them over, and decided her prior selections fit Phillip and Jamie best.

One shelf over hung the "baby" themed ornaments. Noah's Ark filled with colorful animals, a stuffed elephant carrying a pennant in his trunk, Winnie the Pooh pulling baby Piglet in a red wagon all boasted of baby's first Christmas. Then she spotted the most adorable ornament-a pink or blue stretchy with white polka dots, and a bear head proclaiming "baby boy/girl's first Christmas" each hung on a tiny hanger with a bow and the year painted on the hanger body.

Reaching out, she brushed a gentle finger over the pink fabric. She hoped this baby would be a girl and she had to resist the temptation to buy the pink one. Common sense rule out, and she opted for a beautiful porcelain rocking horse. Its hooves and tack in silver gilt, the year painted on the saddle while baby's first Christmas ran along the outside of the rockers. If Lee had anything to do about it, this baby would be riding horses before learning to walk. That made the choice of ornaments for her, but she loved the little stretchy and had a hard time leaving it. Maybe, she'd show her mother and if she had a daughter, Dotty would come back and pick it up for her.

By the time she picked out the last ornament, the ink had dried on the snow people. She carefully packed it back in the box before meeting up with her mother near the cash registers.

As she walked down the aisle, a snowman dress in an Uncle Sam hat caught her eye. Stopping, she picked up a few of them. Since she planned to invite the Colonel for the holidays, she could include him in the family tradition. The patriotic frosty also made a great gift for Billy and Leatherneck.

Not wanting to leave anyone out, Amanda walked back to the trees in the front of the store, and selected a delicate, crystal snowflake for Francine. Even if she didn't put up a tree, she could display the snowflake on her desk or hang in the window.

Since her mother had already paid for her purchase, she took Amanda's shopping bags, making it easier to wait in line, and pay for her selections. As the sales person rang up each item, she carefully wrapped them in tissue paper, the rocking horse and snowflake she added an extra layer of bubble wrap, before placing them in a shopping bag.

Once she paid for her purchase, she met her mother outside the store. After relieving her of some of the bags, the two women walked into the garage, and over to her Jeep Wagoneer.

Before they got into the vehicle, they stowed their bags in the cargo area.

Both women sighed in unison as they settled into the front seats. Simultaneously, they buckled their seatbelts, and they embarked on the short journey back home.

End