Cole heads to the library, hoping something will catch his eye for Picket. While Picket isn’t a reader, he hopes to get an idea for something to make. As he walks down the aisles of shelves, he notices Bailey sitting on the floor.
“What are you reading?” he asks her.
“Huh?” she says, jumping a little. “Oh, Cole, it’s just you. I’m reading Sherlock Holmes.” She shows him the cover. “What are you doing here?”
“Looking for ideas for my giftee,” Cole answers, looking up at the shelf behind Bailey. “You?”
“Same,” Bailey admits. “But then I saw Sherlock Holmes and got distracted.”
Cole chuckles politely. “Well, see you later.”
He walks off into a different section of the library, one all about stuff you can build. He spots a book called Simple Toys for Beginners. He pulls it down and flips through the first couple of pages. “Rabbit Glider and Slingshot,” he murmurs to himself. He runs his finger down the instructions. “Perfect.” He closes the book and goes to find Master Turner.
…
Caleb immediately heads to Aunty Charlotte’s room in the back of Guild Hall. Bailey would love something cross-stitched. She was constantly making stuff for him, and everyone else she knew. First, there was the quilt, then a picture of a Rubik's cube, and then… He couldn’t even remember what came after that. His room was full of her cross-stitch stuff. It was both nice and really annoying at the same time.
“Are you looking for something, Caleb?” an elderly doe asks, pulling Caleb from his thoughts.
“Hello Aunty Charlotte,” Caleb replies. “I’m thinking of making something for Bailey, so I was just looking at patterns.”
“Hmm…” Aunty Charlotte says, rubbing her chin. “When do you want to give this to her?”
“Christmas,” Caleb responds sheepishly.
“I’m not sure if you’ll have time to finish one by then,” Aunty Charlotte admits. Caleb frowns. “But, you could design a pattern for her and get the materials. I’m sure she would love that too.” She pulls out some graph paper and colored pencils. Caleb takes them to a table and starts sketching out ideas. “You could also have a card that says something about working on a project together,” she adds conspiratorially.
“That’s a really good idea,” Caleb says excitedly. “Wait, what?” He turns to find that Aunty Charlotte had already wandered somewhere else. He shakes his head, chuckling slightly, and gets to work.
…
Perk is about to head up to Guild Hall, but decides to take a quick nap. All the sugar from earlier is causing him to crash. He heads to his room and collapses into bed, asleep before his head hits the pillow.
…
Jo immediately heads to the Guild Hall. That is the best place to get gifts and find inspiration. “I’ll be done with this gift thing faster than you can say,” he pauses, “whatever it’s called.” He strides down the first row of the hall. “Now what would Heyna want?”
…
Picket heads upstairs to the Guild Hall, figuring Emma would like something crafty. He wanders around the halls but comes up with nothing. There is a lot of cool stuff, but none of it seems like something Emma would really like. He sighs and heads back towards the Savory Den.
Picket sees Jo wandering around and walks over. “You manage to find anything?”
Jo frowns. “No, I have no idea what Heyna would want. I’ve been here for two hours and come up with nothing! I might have to ask Cole.”
“I’m stuck on what to get too,” Picket admits. “Also, aren’t you not supposed to tell anyone who you have?”
“Did Caleb say that?” Jo says in way of defense. “Cause I don’t think he did. Besides, you aren’t Heyna or Cole, so it’s not like you are going to tell her.”
“Fair,” Picket agrees, shrugging. He picks up a tray and gets in line.
“So who do you have?” Jo asks, picking up his own tray.
“I can’t tell you,” Picket responds, grabbing a couple of cookies.
Jo grabs a couple of cookies as well. “Come on! I told you mine. Is it me?”
“I definitely couldn’t tell you if it was you. And no, no it’s not.” They go back and forth for a little bit and Picket finally concedes and tells Jo.
“So what do does like?” Jo asks, leaning back in his chair, satisfied with the cookies.
“Dresses?” Picket suggests.
“Do they really need another dress though?” Jo replies.
“Fair point,” Picket replies, rubbing his chin.
“Whatcha guys talking about?” Perk asks, coming around with yet another hot chocolate in hand.
“What to get the girls,” Jo responds, “Heyna and Emma are so hard to get gifts for.”
“Jo!” Picket exclaims, “What happened to not telling anyone?”
“Is Perk Heyna or Emma?” Jo asks and Picket just looks at him. “I rest my case.” Picket shakes his head and Perk laughs.
“I have no idea what to get Heather,” Perk admits, sitting down next to Jo.
“You guys are impossible,” Picket says, sighing. “I wonder if this is what Helmer feels like.”
“Exactly,” Helmer says from directly behind Picket.
“What!” Picket exclaims, falling out of his seat. He turns and Helmer has already walked off. Picket climbs back into his seat. “Since no one knows how to keep their mouth shut, we might as well look together.”
“That’s a great idea!” Jo exclaims, hopping up. “Back to Guild Hall!” He takes off running. Perk and Picket follow at a more reasonable pace. Jo is waiting for them at the bottom of the stairs. “You guys are so slow!”
“We just don’t feel the need to run everywhere,” Picket says, shrugging. “We got in trouble for that once already.”
“It was kind of funny though,” Perk admits.
“Well let’s get going!” Jo exclaims impatiently.
Here's the next chapter. I hope you like it! It was fun to write.