WHO: Emma Carstairs & Lance WHAT: Random meeting WHEN: recently WHERE: random shop WARNINGS: nope! STATUS: closed | matchup | complete
Lance wasn't sure what he was doing, but he knew when he'd stepped into the shop that he wanted to get something for Molly. Someone else from her family had been sent home and that wasn't ever an easy thing. He was doing his best to be a good boyfriend, to be supportive and distracting in turns, however she needed him to be. They did fun things, got to have a good time together by laughing and fooling around as much as possible. When she wasn't in the mood for that, he hoped maybe a gift would cheer her up, too.
"Hey, can you help me? Because I feel like all of this would be good for my girlfriend, but honestly? It needs to be perfect and I can't really afford everything in the store." It was a dilemma he wasn't fond of, since it admitted that he wasn't quite as great a boyfriend as he thought he was, as he wanted to be. But there was no reason to not ask for help. At least he wasn't asking Keith or one of her cousin/sisters. Some days it was one, other days it was the other.
Emma was meeting Violet for coffee, but since she had arrived early with some time to kill, she’d wandered into the gift shop to loiter.
It was when she was browsing the engravable knives section that the young man beside her asked for help. She turned to him, somewhat unsure about how she could help. She was pretty good at picking out presents for people she knew, but for total strangers?
Well, she always did enjoy a challenge.
“I could try,” she offered. “Tell me about your girlfriend.”
“Well, Molly’s been here for forever. Molly Barnes? Formerly Molly Walker but I think she’s been Barnes since last Christmas or the Christmas before that?” He honestly wasn’t sure. The important part was that she had been Molly Walker and was now Molly Barnes. “She’s great. She’s funny and sweet, smart in the lived through a lot sort of way. Super compassionate when it comes to the people she cares about.” It was clear that Lance was totally and completely smitten with her.
“Her dad’s wife’s sister just got sent home recently and she’s lost a lot of people over the years. I know I can’t promise that I won’t just disappear, but I want her to know I love her and that I’m here for her and stuff.” That’s what a good boyfriend was supposed to do. “I’m Lance, by the way,” he added, since he hadn’t thought to do that yet.
The name sounded familiar, but Emma couldn’t put a face or personality to it. And what Lance was telling her wasn’t very useful. It was sweet, but not useful.
There was something she got an inkling of in his description of his girlfriend, however. “Is she really someone who’d get cheered up by a gift? Or is she someone who’ll get more out of an experience? Like, with someone she cares about.” She featured at Lance. “Like you.”
Lance was beginning to suspect that he didn’t actually know anything about being a boyfriend. Which was probably a fair assessment since he had only dated in the kid way before now. The handholding and giggling and passing notes back and forth kind of dating. He definitely presented himself as a ladies man, but in the privacy of his own mind, he could admit that he was very lucky to have found someone who got him on a very real level.
“Yea, I guess she is. I mean, we have a ton of fun together, you know? And we always take tons of pictures. I’m only allowed to keep the approved ones, but I don’t mind.” Molly had her things and he had his. They got one another and it was pretty great. “Maybe a tchotchke isn’t the way to go.”
Emma nodded in agreement. “I mean, you could get her a picture frame for the pictures you’re allowed to keep, but she sounds like someone who’d appreciate the experience of taking more pictures, you know? Sharing something worth taking pictures of.”
She shrugged to indicate that she wasn’t entirely stuck on that idea. She didn’t know Lance or his girlfriend that well, and Lance would know what would work better than she did. But he’d asked her for advice, and that was what she had.
Lance considered it for a moment and then grinned widely. “I know! I’ll take her on a trip! One of those transporter destination things. We’ll go and have some fun and make new memories. I mean, we had a ton of fun on the cruise but not really any privacy because I was sharing with my friends and she was sharing with hers.” The plan was coming together in his head perfectly.
“I can get her a picture frame or maybe a blank photo album with the place where I’ll take her on the cover and surprise her?” Lance thought it was a great idea but he was hoping Emma would agree. She was a girl. She’d know if she wanted her boyfriend to do that for her.
Emma shot him double finger guns. “There you go, now you’re thinking outside the box.” She didn’t have a boyfriend at the moment - and that was a sore spot because she was cursed against being with the person she wanted to be with - but she figured most girls would prefer time with their boyfriends to just gifts. Unless they were totally materialistic and greedy, in which case Lance was probably better off without her.
“Anyone can buy a present,” she continued. “But most girls are going to want some extra thoughtfulness behind it. Not that it wasn’t thoughtful of you to want to make her feel better in the first place. Boyfriend brownie points for you.”
She was definitely now his fourth favorite person in Madison Valley. Finger guns were absolutely the best thing ever and he also totally preened at the brownie points thing. Now he had a solid plan so all he had to do was pick a location. There wasn’t any point in delaying that part either, so he turned towards the door and then stopped.
“Hey, thanks. You’re a total life saver. I am 100% going to call on you the next time I have a half-baked idea for my girlfriend. If you ever need any ideas? I’m totally not your guy but I’ll help you figure it out anyway if you need it!” Lance knew where his strengths were. They definitely weren’t in having a plan.
Emma laughed at his frankness and his excitement. At least she could help someone else in their love life even if hers was a mess. “Good luck!” she called. “Tell me how it goes. I’m Emma - Emma Carstairs.”