Merle read somewhere online the best department store sales happen between Christmas and the New Year, making it the perfect weekend for him to buy new jeans and flannel.

The store was still decorated for Christmas, but the spirit of the season had long since left. Picking out the clothes only took a couple of minutes since he didn't bother to try anything on. Gran had told him that was a suckers mistake because it kept people in the store longer. And the longer customers are in the store, the more likely they'll waste their money on something stupid.

Of the four checkout lanes, only one was open. He joined the line behind two customers. The first one had her four boys with her and was trying to hurry the cashier along. The disapproval displayed from behind the cashier's reading glasses went unnoticed by the mother, whose attention could only be split so many times.

The woman in front of Merle was someone he recognized from campus. Her golden highlighted hair rested perfectly straight on her shoulders and large hooped earrings swayed at the slightest turn of her head. Slung over her shoulder was a purse large enough for a pair of boots. Larger than one carried by the mother of four.

Her figure belonged in Southern California, on a beach, or in a boutique. Despite the cold and cloudy December, her summer outfit was showing off a tan.

For the amount of time he gawked at her, he should have been able to remember her name. But one did not come to mind, and he could not place how he knew she attended Riverfront.

One of the boys in front of the woman waved to capture her attention. She smiled at him as if he was an adoring fan. Then he picked a chunky green booger from his nose and stuck it in his mouth.

She spun around, poised to vomit but was able to hold it back.

Normally this isn't a face someone gets recognized for, but now he could place her. She was the one who had rejected his offer to escort her home from the library during finals week.

Hoping to avoid eye contact he looked towards one of the empty registers. He didn't want to be recognized, fearing he would have to relive the embarrassment from their brief encounter in the library.

"Next," croaked the cashier.

Still shaking off nausea, the woman placed a pile of items onto the counter to be scanned.

A new cashier was opening up a second register. The light for the aisle hadn't turned on yet, but Merle took a step towards it anyway, hoping to switch lines before he was recognized. On his second step, the classmate said something to him.

Her words floated on a single breath, and her gentle voice sang to him, but nothing he heard registered any meaning.

"S-sorry, what did you say?" he asked.

She repeated, "Do you have a few bucks?"

"Huh? Oh, sure." He pulled out his wallet, flush with cash.

"I'm like three dollars short," she flashed a gift card with a mild flush of embarrassment on her cheeks.

The cashier's eyes peaked above her reading glasses while correcting her, "Miss, it's not that you've exceeded the amount on your gift card; the problem is the card has expired."

The shopper's poise and patience vanished. Common courtesy and respect were stripped from her voice as she went on a verbal attack, "Like hell it is! My aunt gave this to me for Christmas!"

Merle could see her rage was only just beginning, and he feared where it would lead. The total amount due on the cash register was $203.45. He counted out eleven twenty-dollar bills on the counter and put the rest back in his pocket, and said, "No problem."

His classmate's scowl relaxed a bit when she saw the pile of money.

"You don't have to do this," she said, but her body suggested a small appreciation for coming to her rescue.

The cashier gave a disapproving glance to Merle.

He didn't care. An attractive girl had given him the first bit of attention since the real estate agent asked to buy the ranch. Peggy may have known how to run a ranch and spot a deal in real estate, but this girl knew how to make his jaw drop. So long as she looked at him like this, he'd give her whatever she wanted.

Then she said the words he would remember forever, "At least let me buy you a cup of coffee to say thank you."

Merle confessed to me that he didn't remember his response. He would like to believe he was calm but knows he stumbled over his words. He was preoccupied with figuring out if he agreed to a cup of coffee or a date.

She waited for him at the end of the counter while he completed his purchase, holding her giant purse and a collection of even larger plastic bags.

"So, where do you want to go?" she asked as they started walking to the doors.

"I don't go out much. Where do you recommend?"

Stepping through the door set off an alarm. Merle froze while his new friend kept walking into the parking lot.

A winded security guard ran out and commanded her to stop.

He may as well have asked her to start yelling because that is what she did. "Did that incompetent bitch forget to take off one of the security tags?"

Her question communicated two points of information. First, she thought she was innocent. Second, she was about to fucking lose it.

"Miss, I'll need to see what's inside your purse." the security guard held out his hand. His breathing was almost under control, but now he was beginning to sweat.

She shoved the oversized leather bag in the security guard's hand. Holding an explosion inside herself, she said, "Fine, I don't know what the problem is. We paid for everything."

She said we.

The security guard pulled a men's watch, still in the store packaging, out of her purse. His effort hadn't been wasted. He had caught her in the act no matter what excuse she was about to throw at him.

"May I see your receipt?" he asked with a condescending smile.

She dug around in one of the plastic store bags hanging off her arms until she found it.

He pulled the long slip of paper out of her hand. While the guard looked over the itemized list, Merle spotted the $75 price sticker on the watch.

Keeping his eyes on the receipt, the security guard said, "I don't see that watch listed on here."

"Then the fucking idiot who checked us out screwed up." Her voice crackled as she yelled. "We paid for everything!"

"Miss, we'll need to straighten this out inside."

She was losing a battle to hold back tears, "It's not fair."

The first sob slipped out. Her confidence had been shattered, and Merle saw she was headed for a place he knew well.

He stepped forward and said, "It's nothing. We'll just go back inside, and I'll pick this up too."

Her sobs reached their finale before they even started, and she smiled at her rescuer while wiping away the last of her tears.

Doubt was powerless against the satisfaction that filled his chest. A light tug at his elbow interrupted his moment. The girl had locked arms with him and whispered, "Thank you."

Only the security guard witnessed the beams of positivity radiating from Merle. At the time, Merle didn't understand the security guard's expression, but he later shared with me the phrase, "You're a special kinda stupid," would probably cover it.

With the ordeal at the department store resolved, the two went to a nearby coffee shop. She ordered something that sounded sophisticated and cost so much only sophisticated people would pay for it. The man taking orders rolled his eyes when Merle simply asked for "coffee."

Merle faced two mysteries. First, why did this girl need a men's watch? And second, were they on a date? While curious about the first one, he only cared about the second.

Solving either one would require mastery of the art of conversation, which he was practically unskilled at. Every word he weighed with burdensome consideration. Often finding the conversation moved on before he had settled on what to say.

The girl was comfortable with this one-way conversation. She eventually steered around to the incident with the security guard.

"The watch was going to be a late Christmas present for my boyfriend, Eric."

Definitely not a date.

Merle was waking to the fact that solving this mystery had answered several questions. Was this the start of something between them? Would they go out a second time? Did they have a future together?

They had all been a "maybe" in his mind, but now they were a firm "no."

She reached across the table and touched his hand. She hadn't hesitated. She was confident and unafraid of rejection. Everything he wished to be.

"I was planning on giving him a late Christmas present, but I'd like you to have it."

"Really?"

"Yes, silly. You paid for it after all."

Merle also paid for coffee when he took their empty cups to the gray plastic bin on the counter. This day was too good to be true. He had to prepare himself for it to go completely wrong. With his back to the table, he wondered if he would see an empty chair when he turned around or see her fleeing the coffee shop the same way she had the library.

But she was still at the table when he returned. Even though they had paid and were finished with their coffee, she wasn't done talking. This time he was the topic of conversation.

She asked where he was from, and he told his story with the help of her questions. He struggled with the words at first. Her constant interest in his answers wore down his natural hesitation. He opened up. About his grandmother, the real estate agent, and the banker's box of cash. He told her about the ordeal with his roommate.

The story fascinated her, and afterward, she asked if he would like to hang out with her friends when they all got back from break.

He didn't remember much about the rest of the conversation. Only that her name was Amber.

Amber wasn't a vampire, but she was the beginning of his trouble.