How to Shop for Women (Miranda)

[Linden McKay]

One thing Linden had never been particularly great at was shopping for the women in his life. Between his mother and all of his sisters, well more often than not he had to look up good ideas on the internet. Being a technopath, he always turned to technology for answers. Ceri's birthday was coming up in a couple of days and then next week was Valentine's Day, a holiday he hadn't really celebrated with anyone before, but now that he was with Miranda, well he had a reason to celebrate. Both of the most important ladies in his life, aside from his mother, needed presents for different reasons and what better time to shop than on a weekend when he wasn't bogged down with a bunch of school work?

Linden figured instead of going to his computer for birthday ideas for Ceri, he might as well ask a real woman which is one reason he'd invited Mira along. Ceri had taken a strong liking to his girlfriend so he figured maybe Miranda would know what was best to get for his sister. None of his other sisters were any help at this point. Ren refused to give up her ideas and Kierri and Deidra were both very different than Ceri so he had no intention of asking any of them again. When Miranda agreed to come along with him, he figured he might as well get her Valentine's Day outlook as well.

After picking her up at her dorm, Linden led her to the car and drove into town. Very rarely did he end up in Pilot Ridge anymore. Ceri was always busy, Deidra had school, and he hadn't gone truly clubbing since he stopped drinking. Besides, Vermont had more cities that had better restaurants anyway for his dates with Mira, not that they went to crowded places often. When he pulled up to the mall, he got out of the car, pulling his leather jacket closer and offered Miranda a hand to help her out. "Thanks again for coming with me, Mira. I'm terrible at this whole shopping thing usually."

[Miranda Suery]

Miranda wasn’t opposed to skipping Valentine’s altogether, but she knew Linden was excited about it, so she decided to entertain the idea. Never before had anyone treated her on this holiday, so she thought she could try and enjoy it. Besides, Ceri had been talking quite a bit about it with her, and obviously Linden, trying to coax him into buying the right thing for his girlfriend. Miranda wasn’t hard to please, and she certainly didn’t have any expectations.

She had no idea that he was going to ask for help in buying something for his sister though. Miranda paled at the cry for help, but she couldn’t say no. Being socially awkward herself, Mira would’ve bought a baking pan or something for Ceri and never leave the house. Why would you, when it was delivered right to your door? Or better yet, she could have it delivered to Ceri herself. It was the thought that counted.

At least she didn’t have to drive to the mall. But despite that, she was dressed for the weather. Mirand stepped out of Linden’s car, her little hat perched on top of her head, her jacket wrapped snuggly around her thin frame. After offering a smile that was mean to say ‘you’re welcome’, she hesitantly took his hand in hers. “Could we stop for coffee first?” She asked, before giving a yawn. The new semester had just begun, and she was damn tired. If they were going to find something suitable for his favorite sister, she was going to need every ounce of energy humanly available.

"Did you... Have any ideas for her gift?" Miranda wanted to know what she was working with here.