There were few things  that Luna disliked more than going to the mall on the weekend. She  didn't like the parking, didn't like how many people were there, and  didn't like the way she felt perpetually squeezed into things; in  stores, between people, herself... What was an enjoyable experience for  so many felt like going through the seven layers of Hell for Luna.  Except for her version of Hell consisted of the parking garage, the food  court, the mid-mall vendors that would reach out and touch her with  empty promises of their superior products.

Luna wasn't sure how  long she and Sam had been within the confines of the mall. He had  finally decided it was a good time for them to have lunch, and she  immediately found the closest table that was far enough away from people  just so she could breathe. Sam was more than capable of ordering for  them both, though Luna knew he would text her anyway asking what she  wanted.

The holiday season meant  that the mall was even more crowded than usual. Holiday music was  blaring over the radio, pop-style tunes intended to invite in the  holiday spirit. The food court was buzzing with noise, but not enough to  drown out the noises coming from the nearby mall Santa's booth. Small  children were wailing nearby, either terrified of Santa or upset they  had to leave the big-bellied, pink-cheeked man playing the very role of  Christmas spirit. Parents looked exasperated, either disappointed by the  quality of the photos taken of their children or the cost if the poor  teenager across the desk's face was of any indication. Brilliant green  garland was strung across the ceiling and filled with multi-colored  lights. A massive Christmas tree was set up in the dead-center of the  food court, silver tinsel and gaudy baubles hanging from the plastic  tree's branches.

Feeling entirely  overwhelmed by the sensory overload she was experiencing, Luna buried  her face in her hands. She took in a deep breath, trying to force her  shoulders to drop into a more relaxed state. Luna took in another deep  breath, letting it out slowly to try and quell her shaking hands and the  persistent tremble that racked her body. She took several more to try  and ease the spinning thoughts in her mind and the crushing feeling and  the –

The chime of Luna's  phone forced her to lift her head from her hands. She sat up straight,  reaching into her jeans pocket to pull out her phone. Luna was already  preparing to reply to Sam, reminding him of what she would eat, but was  surprised to see Erik's name instead.

| What's your favorite holiday?

Luna snorted as she  looked around at the gaudy decorations surrounding her. Once upon a  time, she would have said Christmas, but now she wasn't too sure.

| Depends on the year, I suppose.

| What is that supposed to mean?

| Exactly what I said – depends on the year.

| Luna that makes no sense.

| Never said that it did. I

"Who's Erik?"

Luna jumped, startled at  Sam's voice breaking through her thoughts and her half-written  response. She looked at Sam, taking in the scowl on his face, down to  her phone, and then back to Sam. She looked at the tray in Sam's hands,  wanting to comment that he decided she needed to have one of the few  things that made her sick but decided not to. It would be easier for her  to just eat what he chose to get for her. It wasn't as though it would  kill her, but she would certainly be uncomfortable for the next few  days. The scowl on Sam's face meant he was gearing up for expressing his  disappointment in her.

"A friend," Luna said vaguely.

"I've never heard of this Erik  before," Sam said, setting the tray of food down on the table and  sinking down into the seat across from Luna. His dark brows pulled  together as he stared at Luna, lips pressing into a thin line. "Where  did he come from?"

Luna could feel the back  of her neck heating up and her entire body growing impossibly warmer  than it already was. She hated when Sam put on an accusatory tone with  her like whatever she did was one of the worst things in the world. The  thrum of the people talking around them seemed to grow louder and  louder, drowning out all of her thoughts.

"I met him at the café,"  Luna finally said. "The other day," she added. "You know, when I  decided to go and meet Michael, and then he canceled when I was already  there."

Sam nodded slowly,  already tearing into the chicken sandwich he got to eat. His eyebrows  started to relax until he noticed that Luna hadn't touched the sandwich  in front of her. It seemed that the topic of Erik was forgotten for the  time being, Sam's confusion momentarily shifting to the new issue at  hand.

"Why aren't you eating?" he asked, an eyebrow raising.

"I...you know I can't  eat this," Luna said, looking around the food court and trying to pick  out what she would prefer. A salad would have been perfect for her.

"You can't...." Sam's  words trailed off as he looked down at the untouched sandwich in front  of Luna. He reached over to his fries and popped on in his mouth,  chewing even more slowly as he processed what Luna was trying to say.  "Oh, shit." Sam shot up from his seat and started looking around  the food court himself. "I totally forgot. I'll go get you something  different." Sam was quick to rush off with a quick kiss to the top of  Luna's head.

Luna sighed, watching as  Sam sprinted off back into the crowded food court in search of  something for her to eat. She was relieved that she didn't have to wait  too long for Sam to return to her with a salad that made her more than  happy. The moment she had been introduced to chopped salads that were  well-mixed with their ingredients, she was hooked. Luna loved a good  salad any day of the week, but the practically shredded lettuce mixed  with her favorite toppings made her overjoyed.

"Better?" Sam asked  before taking a bite of his food. He smiled when Luna gave an  appreciative hum as she popped a forkful of her salad in her mouth.  "Good. You know, it's nice to see you wearing your ring again," Sam  said, nodding to the ring on Luna's left hand. "Was starting to think  that you didn't love me anymore."

Luna snorted and shook  her head, lifting her hand and letting the lights reflect off the stone  set into her ring. The colorless stone reflected a kaleidoscope of  colors in brilliant, dazzling rainbows.

"No," Luna said with a  sigh. "But you know that it's been difficult to wear it." Luna started  to open her mouth to elaborate but clamped it shut. She thought about  what she wanted to say for a long moment and decided to take another  bite of her salad, giving Sam a small smile.

"I know," he replied with a sigh. "But you're wearing it now! Progress!"

"Oh, yes," Luna said dryly, her eyes flicking to the ring on her finger. "Progress."

"So, how was work?"

"It was...work. You know how it is, especially when Michael isn't around."

"Ah, right," Sam said slowly. "Forgot that you and Michael work at the same place now."

"It's different."

"Different? What do you mean?"

"Well, you know how Michael is. He takes one of my ideas and runs with it, and then all of a sudden, it's not my idea anymore, but his."

"Just like when he –"

"Yes," Luna said  sharply, cutting Sam off. She didn't particularly want to talk about  Michael just then, and she certainly didn't want to talk about work. Sam  stared at her with wide eyes, and he slowly lowered the sandwich in his  hand. Luna thought he would dare to question her further, the things he  wanted to ask her sitting on the tip of his tongue. But to her  surprise, he moved along.

"Have you decided what you're going to wear to dinner tomorrow night?" Sam asked, returning to his food.

"The same thing I always wear on the weekend?" Luna said, an eyebrow quirking. "I'm off, and I want to enjoy it."

"We..." Sam trailed off, looking confused. "We have my sister's birthday party tomorrow. Did you forget?"

"Oh, no," Luna moaned,  dropping her fork into her salad container and hiding her face in her  hands. She had completely forgotten about the long-awaited family and  friend's dinner celebrating Sam's youngest sister's birthday. Even  though Juniper was turning fourteen, his family decided to celebrate the  occasion as if she was turning fifteen or sixteen and having her coming  of age party. Luna didn't understand it, but if it was what they  wanted, then who was she to judge?

"You absolutely forgot," Sam said with a frown. "Junie's been looking forward to this for months. How could you forget?"

"I'm sorry!" Luna said  with a groan. "It's just work and everything, you know. And I've been so  sick lately. It just completely slipped my mind!"

Sam let out an  overdramatic sigh between bites of his sandwich. "I don't understand why  you always seem to forget everything," Sam said, shaking his head.  "Suppose it's a good thing we're at the mall, then, eh?"

Luna hummed in  agreement, returning to her salad and remaining silent as Sam talked  more about what the party would be like. She couldn't figure out how she  could have forgotten such a thing. It felt like all Sam talked about  half the time was Juniper's birthday – it was incredibly important to  his family. Even though his family saw each other frequently, it seemed  like they always found excuses to have some sort of get-together or  party just to see each other more. Luna didn't mind the events during  the week, but it felt like they were doing something nearly every other  weekend.

"Luna? Luunnaaaa?"

Luna snapped her head up to meet Sam's eyes, surprised at the amused expression on his face. "Yes?" she asked.

"I was asking if you  were done eating," Sam said, jerking his head towards the wild crowds of  the mall. "Thought we could start getting things done. Especially since  we need to get you something nice to wear for tomorrow."

Luna looked down at her  half-eaten salad and back up to Sam. She wasn't done eating but based on  the expectant look on Sam's face, it was apparent he was ready to  leave.

"Yeah, sure," Luna said,  placing the plastic lid on top of her salad container and dropping it  onto the tray in front of Sam. She took one final drink of her water and  stood, tugging her small backpack on. "Let's go."

Having to wander through  the mall was like playing a real-life game of Frogger, but instead of  cars, they were dealing with strollers and large, over-filled bags. Luna  was growing agitated with every bag that hit her and each hit of a  stroller wheel against her ankle. Her frustration only grew when they  went to store after store, and she couldn't find something to wear.

"All right, let's take a  break," Sam said, tugging Luna away from a dress that was made of an  alarming number of sequins that would make her look like a disco ball.  "Clearly, you need a bit of a breather."

"And where are we going to go?" Luna asked with a whine.

"We are going to go look  at shiny things because I know you like seeing things sparkle. And  then, after that, we are going to go see if there are any puppies that  we can see at the rescue through the window. I know they won't be open,  but at least we can still look at them."

Luna smiled up at Sam,  grateful for just the idea of a distraction. Anything would be better  than having to try and look through more racks of clothes that she  wasn't particularly fond of. She let Sam drag her off to Macy's with the  mention he would try to find himself something to wear as well. Luna  didn't think that he needed anything to wear, but at least it would buy  her some time to decompress and not worry for a moment. At least, once  they got past the smokescreen of perfume spraying salespeople, she would  get to look at the jewelry they had. The chances she would find  something she liked were often slim, but it didn't stop her from  appreciating the way the gemstones glittered in the light.

It was easy for Luna to  get lost looking at anything and everything sparkly. When she was  younger, she always had an appreciation for crystals and rocks. As she  grew older, that appreciation only grew, evolving into her current  fascination with jewelry settings. She enjoyed the artistry of how  jewelers could place gems into metal in ornate settings, and she wished  she could do it herself. Luna couldn't stop herself from mentioning it  to Sam, talking excitedly about the quality of one piece versus another  when she heard a softly spoken "Oh, how sweet" in front of her.

"Oh, hello," Luna said  sheepishly, looking up at the woman standing in front of her with a hand  pressed to her chest. Luna wasn't sure if the woman was being  overdramatic in the hopes of a sale or genuinely someone touched by  whatever display she was witnessing.

"Oh, the two of you look  like you've been together forever," said the saleswoman, eyes  automatically going to the ring on Luna's finger. "How sweet. Would be  nice to have a little something else to go with that beauty, right?"

Of course, Luna  thought to herself, biting back her sigh. She was going to comment about  how they were just looking, but Sam beat her to speaking first.

"Getting married next  year!" Sam said proudly, tugging Luna in a little closer into his side.  He talked excitedly to the woman about their plans and the venues they  had looked at until she was pulled away to another customer.

"Will we?" Luna asked quietly when the saleswoman walked away.

"Will we what?"

"Get married next year.  Pretty sure we've said it for the past few years," Luna sighed, lifting  her left hand to look at her ring and shifting it so the stone glittered  in the light. "I'm starting to think it'll never happen."

"Well, we've had a lot going on," Sam said, guiding Luna towards another display. "We had to move, for one."

"We did."

"Two new cars."

"Of course."

"Our fur babies?"

The mention of their  furry children at home brought a smile to Luna's lips. She had to admit  that she wouldn't trade having them for the world. They had pushed back  their wedding several times already for good reasons. Still, Luna was  beginning to question if they would ever truly get married. She was more  than content with just going out of state and eloping. Perhaps they  could go somewhere exotic or even more close to home in the mountains,  but Sam wanted something more significant.

He didn't want an  extravagant wedding, but he wanted a big one with their family and  friends within the four walls of a well-decorated banquet hall. He  wanted one moment in their lives to bring everyone together just to say  that they made it, and though Luna didn't feel the need, she could set  things aside for one day to make Sam happy.

"See?" Sam said, giving Luna a squeeze. "Next year, baby. I promise."

"You really promise this time?"

"Of course!" Sam huffed  out a laugh, kissing the spot near Luna's temple. "I'll even call the  venues we looked at tomorrow and check into their availability. And then  we can narrow down our choices and figure out what we can afford. How  does that sound?"

"That sounds nice," Luna admitted quietly.

"There we go!" Sam  replied, releasing Luna from his grip and making his way towards another  display further in the store. "Everything will be fine!"

Luna smiled at Sam's  back in response and let out a slow breath. Sam was right – everything  would be fine. Each and every delay meant that they could have the  wedding they wanted, the day they always dreamed of. It didn't matter if  it took a little longer than everyone else, right?

She reached into her  jacket pocket to pull out her phone to check the time and frowned  slightly when she opened her home screen. Luna had forgotten to reply to  Erik's last text, her response still barely an entire thought. Glancing  at the time, Luna wondered if it was even worth still responding. The  holidays meant the stores were open much later than usual, and though  she knew Erik would still be up at nearly midnight, did she want to  reply so late?

Thinking hard about what  she wanted to do, Luna sighed and pressed the backspace on her  keyboard. She could reply to him tomorrow and not be a bother. With  another sigh, Luna tucked her phone back into her pocket and decided to  find Sam, who had managed to get lost in the store.

Everything would be okay in the end; she just had to be patient.