Who: Nathan and Niki/Jessica ( one or the other ... )
What: So we meet again
Where: Some swanky clothing store
When: Sometime between opening and closing

Usually he was a last minute shopper, but this year he'd gotten Heidi a few gifts early. So what was he going to do with them now? Return them. Get his money back. You see, this is what happened when you tried to make preparations way ahead of time. Things came up. Marriages failed. Wives left with the kids, and then you were left with nothing. Well, if you could consider a mansion, half of their assets, and a good chunk of the family fortune 'nothing.' But for once he wasn't thinking about what he'd gained monetarily. He missed them. He'd tried to call, but Heidi wouldn't answer. Even after he'd signed the papers and brought them to her, she'd sent the boys out. Everything was all so cold now. She said that she'd learned it from him, and he couldn't exactly argue with her there. That didn't make it sting any less.

He hadn't gone all out or anything: just some perfume, a necklace, and an evening gown. Alright, so none of those items were very original, but he had people that would go out and do this sort of thing for him. Instead, he'd cleared his schedule to wander through hoards of people shuffling through racks of designer clothes trying to find something that he knew Heidi would like, spare no expense. Then, of course, once he bought her all these nice things, he planned on taking her out someplace fancy. She was always complaining about how she never got to go anywhere anymore. Guess he wouldn't be getting the chance to show her how much he was willing to change. She'd given up on him, and now ... now he was standing here listening to this lady at the counter telling him that they had a 'no exchange after fourteen days' policy.

Nathan attempted to explain the circumstances to her, but the woman was either not listening or completely non-sympathetic. So, he pulled the 'do you know who you're speaking to' card, because he'd had just about enough. His fuse was already short, and she was not helping.

She went to get the manager, which meant he had to start all over. He explained ( again ) that the dress had been a Christmas present for his wife whom he was now separated from, and that he wanted a refund. It wasn't really the money he cared about; it was the principle of the thing. He didn't want to have this lying around the house, so every time he caught a glimpse of it he was reminded that his own wife had left him right before Christmas, and he'd been stuck with this piece of cloth that he thought would help improve their marriage.

Eventually they took it back, and the manager apologized for the inconvenience, though he could care less about how sorry they were. He had two more stops to make.

As he turned, he spotted a familiar figure towards the back of the store. At first he thought she just held a striking resemblance to the woman he'd met in Vegas, but the closer he got, the more he recognized her. "Niki?" He'd been approaching slowly, but when he saw her face, he knew that's who it had to be. Unless she had a twin sister ... Although what she was doing all the way out here was undoubtedly an interesting story.

Frankly, he didn't care. She was the highlight of his day no matter what kind of business she had in New York City.