Jenny did a quick mental calculation and then went ahead and booked a nice long stay. As she finalized everything, Gael scooted out of his seat and did a celebration dance around the kitchen, raising his hands high and silently pretending to whoop and yell.
“We’re going on atrip,” Gael sang out after she ended the call, wrapping his arms around her neck and giving her a squeeze. “We’re going on atrip.I can’t wait.”
The wedding is definitely going to be a little awkward,Jenny thought to herself as she squeezed him back.But it’s worth it to make my son this happy.
2
ERIK
CHRISTMAS EVE
Erik looked around the common room at the Center, feeling a deep sense of satisfaction. It was Christmas Eve, and all his efforts had clearly paid off.
When he’d first decided to build a veterans center in rural Pennsylvania, he’d gotten some dubious reactions. Some of the foundations he connected with for advice told him that he would have a hard time finding veterans for his organization to serve. Others thought it would be difficult to raise grant money for anything so far outside the city.
Thankfully, due to some lucky investments during his own service, Erik wasn’t relying on anyone else’s money to fund the project of his heart.
And it turned out that there were plenty of servicemen who preferred to be out in the beautifulcountryside, far from the noise and hectic pace of a big city, especially when Erik was offering housing assistance.
The Heroes Center hadn’t even been open a year yet, but here he was with a whole room full of men who had no place to go for Christmas. Some had left the service young, while others were a little older. There were even a few true old-timers from around town who had served in their youth and liked to stop by. Because they all had each other, the atmosphere was usually warm and upbeat, and it was doubly so tonight, with fresh snow on the ground and holiday spirits in the air all over the little town of Trinity Falls.
Someone had put the movieWhite Christmason the little television, and a couple of the guys were half-watching it as they joked around, feasting on amazing sandwiches from a new restaurant called Harvest, and pastries and pies from Mallory at the little bakery right down the street, all donated by the owners.
The men were also taking turns at the card table in the corner, stuffing stockings with donated items from the shops in town. The stockings would be picked up by a volunteer tonight and then delivered to a homeless shelter in the city.
Meanwhile, Erik had made sure each of the vets who planned to stick around for the holidays already had a stocking of their own hanging by the fireplace in the reception room and a nice gift under the tree.
“You still good, Cap?” one of the men asked him, looking up from an enormous meatball sandwich. “What time is her flight?”
“I should probably go soon,” he said, checking his phone. “I can’t believe she’s finally going to be here.”
That earned him some whistles and cheers, which he accepted with a smile.
He and Lydia had been engaged for what felt like forever. But now that he was home for good and her big project at the non-profit where she worked had finished up, they had decided it was finally time. And she’d had no problem with a New Year’s wedding that would be as much a party for his guys as it was a big event for the two of them. Lydia was a team player with a big heart.
It was his own heart he was worried about.
The spark will come when I see her tonight,he told himself firmly.
“You gonna wait outside for her?” one of the guys asked. “Do you have a little sign that saysGoldilocks?”
Erik smiled at the reference to his nickname for Lydia. He’d been calling her that since they first met. In fact, he used it so often that he doubted anyone here even knew her real name. But that didn’t really matter, they would all meet her in person soon enough.
“Nah,” Erik said. “I got a pass to go through security and meet her right at the gate.”
“No, way,” another guy said. “You can’t do that, not anymore.”
“Sure you can,” Erik said. “You just apply on the airport website.”
“Leave it to the captain to always be on the inside track,” one of the guys teased lightly.
“Cap’s just going in there to get us duty-free booze,” another one laughed.
Erik laughed along with them, pleased that everyone was in such a good mood on Christmas Eve.
“No booze,” he warned them with a smile. “But I can’t wait for you all to finally meet my fiancée.”
That won him another round of applause and teasing.
