“Let’s eat strawberries,” Gael called to them.
“I’m going to head back to my place and give you guys some privacy,” Erik said, heading over to the table to pat Gael’s shoulder. “But whatever happens, I’m so glad I got to meet you, Gael, and it was great to catch up with you both.”
“It was nice to meet you too,” Gael said.
“Enjoy the dinner,” Erik said, smiling at the boy. “I know Trudy’s got something special in the works for you. And no pressure, but if you decide you want to move forward with… all this, I’m having a Christmas Day brunch at the Center tomorrow. I’ll text you the address. Get some sleep. You can let me know what you decide in the morning.”
Jenny handed him her phone and he sent himself a message and then gave it back and tapped his own screen a few times. A moment later, her phone buzzed with a pinned location.
“Thank you so much,” she told him, feeling a little guilty as she walked him to the door, but she really wasn’t ready to give him an answer yet. “For the ride, and the beautiful rooms, and the dinner.”
“It’s my pleasure,” he told her, his voice growing a little husky as their eyes met. “Whatever you decide, you made tonight so special for me.”
He was heading down the stairs again before she remembered that tonight was the night his actual fiancée had dumped him, and somehow he was not only holding it together, but he actually seemed genuinely happy to spend time with her and Gael.
What if we spent a lot more time together?
“These strawberries lookso good,” Gael said loudly from the little dining area, saving her from her own thoughts.
“Here I come,” she said, hurrying back to join him. “Thanks for waiting for me. And we’d better not fill up, since there’s dinner coming.”
“I like this place,” Gael said, piling his plate with strawberries and cream. “This is going to be the best Christmas ever.”
Jenny wasn’t sure about that, but it would certainly be one to remember.
A few hours later,Jenny was still wide awake, but Gael was sleeping peacefully on the cot Trudy and her husband Ward had brought up for him and placed in the office nook of the suite.
His mouth was slightly open, like he had fallen asleep mid-conversation, and the talkative little boy looked even younger than he was.
She thought about how eager he had been to play out this crazy scheme, not for himself, but to make the holiday nice for the soldiers he didn’t even know. And she couldn’t help thinking how amazing it was that after all the loss he had suffered, Gael put so much consideration into what would make other people happy.
She tucked his blanket more closely around him before hurrying off to the living room again.
Thankfully, there was a nice wall between the nook and the main living area, so even if Gael woke up, he wouldn’t see her setting up all their Christmas things.
He’d told her already that he didn’t believe in Santa. But she was pretty sure his grandmother had done a wonderful job surprising him on Christmas morning each year, with or without the help of the jolly old saint.
Unzipping her suitcase as quietly as she could, shepulled out the bag with his wrapped gifts and stocking stuffers.
There was an orange for his stocking, a deck of cards, and plenty of assorted candy, along with a great big candy cane to hook over the top.
For under the tree, she had a big stack of comic books, of course—some that he’d hinted that he wanted, and a few that made her think of him as she explored the shelves at the comic shop.
She had also picked up a popular board game that she thought he would like, and finally, there was the sweater she had made.
Gael was a nine-year-old boy, but something told her that a handmade gift that came from the heart would mean more to him than it did to the average kid. Jenny had been crocheting a sweater for him forever. It was blue, his favorite color, with a zigzag of red around each cuff and the collar, her own favorite color.
Once his gifts were laid out and ready to put under the tree, she pulled out another bag.
It was a little odd to stuff her own stocking, but she knew Gael would be sad if she didn’t have one. She smiled as she stuck in an orange and then followed it up with candy just like Gael’s, a small paperback, and a candy cane of her own.
When she checked Gael’s bag for the gift he had made and wrapped for her at school and it wasn’tthere, she panicked a little, knowing how proud he was of his secret creation.
But when she glanced over at the Christmas tree, she saw that the lumpy little package was already tucked under the branches. He must have put it there himself while she was putting on her pajamas.
She smiled at the idea of both of them having surprises for each other as she placed his gifts beside hers and hung up both stockings on the hooks by the mantel.
It was so quiet here, with only the occasional rattle of a window sash and the whistle of a radiator. She knew she should be exhausted after the long day of travel, the delicious meal, and the coziness of the rooms.
