Chapter Fifteen
Willa did her Christmas shopping in ever-expanding circles. Today, she started in Old Town. She liked to browse, loved the thrill of the hunt, and the holiday crowds and decorations brought up the old joys of anticipation. In Liz’s household, where Willa was the only child, she knew to expect the expected. You got socks and underwear, and perhaps your “big gift” was a coat, perhaps even a dress that with an accessory or two could do for a party. You never shopped for yourself, and in particular you never bought anything for yourself around the holidays (as if you could afford to) because if you needed something, Liz probably would have thought of it first. There was never any sense of feeling needy or deprived. But then, the notion of luxury was for other people, people wh
