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“It’s the thought that counts and if I knew you liked that I would have made it the same way you are.”
He had some chicken breasts in the oven. That was what she was smelling. He’d slice them when they were done. The water would be boiling soon and he’d drop the fettuccine in, then he’d pour it in another pan with the sauce to mix it up, the chicken with it. He’d made it before and it’d turned out well.
“It’s an easy enough dish,” he said. He moved to the counter and got the little bag with her gift in it. “For you.”
“Awww,” she said. “Thank you. You didn’t need to do anything.”
“Neither did you, but I see you did, so I’m glad I did too.”
Talk about being a loser boyfriend if he hadn’t.
And it was funny to him that he’d even considered himself a boyfriend when he hardly ever thought he was boyfriend material.
“Open it,” she said. She was looking into her bag and started to laugh. He wasn’t sure why and hoped it wasn’t because she thought it was a lame gift.
He pulled his out and got the joke. They’d done the same thing for each other.
“It looks like Fred,” she said, holding up the travel mug.
“I had a hard time finding one like him, that was close. Open the top.” She twisted it off and there was a gift card in there for the shop she stopped at with Fred on her walks to the park. “You can get your hot chocolate now before the walk so it keeps you warm while you’re there. Then stop and get him his treat on the way back.”
“That’s such a sweet thing,” she said. “Or I can buy it at the same time and then hide it away in my pocket and give it to him on the way home.”
“A new routine you can start,” he said.
“That’s right. I didn’t put a gift card inside your travel mug, but you’ll get coffee tomorrow. I know you love those dark roast ones and am having a big box of them delivered. The K-cups for it. I thought it’d be here today, but that didn’t work out the way I wanted.”
“Which probably drove you insane, didn’t it?”
“Only a little. I did order them at the same time and not sure why they were shipped separately. The coffee must have gotten held up at a different hub, but it is on the way the last I looked.”
“Thank you,” he said. “It will come in handy when I’m leaving in the morning.”
He never had his coffee before he left the house. He didn’t often have time to sit around and enjoy it. He got up, ate something quick after he was showered and dressed and then was normally out the door twenty minutes later. He’d bring a large coffee with him and drink it over thirty minutes. But it looked like this mug would keep the heat for a few hours. Even better.
“Do I get a kiss?” she asked.
“You do,” he said. “I was too busy being the chef.”
He’d just dumped the pasta in the water and opened the oven to check on the chicken. Looked almost done to him, which was good enough since it’d cook more in the sauce. He pulled that out and put it on the counter to rest too.
Faith went into his arms and gave him a kiss and a hug.
“Any more word from your grandparents?”
“No,” he said. “What about you?”
“Nothing from my aunt, but my mother did text me this morning that my aunt called her right after I did. We expected that. She’s predictable even when she doesn’t think she is.”
“My grandmother isn’t usually that way, but the past few years she has been. Not sure if your aunt is rubbing off on her.”
“Could be. What are you doing?” she asked when he was cutting the chicken. He pushed some of it aside.
“That is for Fred.”
She grinned at him. “If that isn’t the sweetest thing I’m not sure what is. You are putting some meat to the side so there is no sauce on it.”
He could feel the heat fill his face over that. She was the only one that could make him feel so small for doing something nice and he knew it wasn’t on purpose.
