Garrett was at the house at o’dark thirty and drove me to work the next morning. The roads were sort of clear so the manager decided that we would be open, but the temperature had plummeted into the mid teen so everything had that shimmer of ice all over it.
“I can get your bike home for you unless you want to ride it home. Now, if you ride it home, I am going to follow you in case you slip or something.”
“I appreciate your help,” I replied.
“Glad to be of service. Not a problem.”
I nodded as I looked out the side window and then out front.
“Did you still want to come tonight?”
“Sure,” I replied.
“Great! I mean, great. I can have someone to talk to you. Everyone in the family is so much older than me and I still get relegated to the kids table. Nineteen years old and I still have to sit with the kindergartners.”
“You could tell them a few good limericks.”
“Tried that once. It was about crows and my aunt did not appreciate it for some reason. You wouldn’t know why, would you?”
“Your grandfather can tell it better than I could.”
“I knew it! I knew he or one of the guys had something to do with it. I was born into the wrong side of the family. My dad has to move to the other side of the state and I missed out on all of the shenanigans.”
“Shenanigans?” I asked.
“Is tomfoolery a better way to put it?”
“It’s more West Tennessee, yes,” I replied.
“Well, I am hoping we can get into some tomfoolery. Sorry, that sounded right in my head but saying it out loud…”
“I’m for the tomfoolery, Garett.” I looked at him and caught his eye for a second—fortunately for the both of us he kept more of an eye on the road.
“Really?”
“Surprise me,” I replied with an actual smile.
We pulled into the parking lot near the back door.
“I wish you didn’t have to go work but, I know it’s important”
“It is.”
“Okay, well, I will get some folks together to retrieve your motorcycle and then, I can pick you up this afternoon, if you wish.”
“I wish it,” I replied as I handed one of my keys to him, “You’ll need to unlock the front wheel.”
“Will do.”
I hesitated opening my door. Garrett then placed the truck into park, opened his door, walked over to the side and opened the passenger side. He then reached his hand out to me and all I could do was look at his face for a few seconds before I reached out to him.
“I hope you have a good day.”
“Thank you.”
We stood very close to each other and I really wanted him to just reach behind me and pull me in, and as much as he probably wanted to as well, something held him back.
“Don’t break any dishes.”
“Haven’t done that in three years.”
Garrett looked everywhere expect in my eyes for a moment.
“Listen, Nikki, I don’t know how to say this…”
I tried to smile, but I felt cold—not because it was, maybe, nineteen degrees, but because hardly anything good comes after the phrases “we need to talk” and “I don’t know how to say this” so I braced myself for the inevitable “let’s be friends before anything really starts”. Sure, he would help me with my transportation problem and sure, he would be friendly, perhaps for Mr. Thomas’ sake. I was about to be friend-zoned. Maybe I had thought more into the flowers than I should have. It’s a southern thing to be nice and forward and Garrett was just being that.
“I’ve kind of liked you before even meeting you. My grandfather talks about you so much and I kind of thought that he was spinning another tall tale but, no, he was telling it to me truthfully that I had to meet you. And now that I have, I am willing to do anything you ask.”
“You don’t have to do anything for me.”
“How about for us?”
“Us?”
“Too forward? I knew that was too forward…can I start over with what I was going to do before I started over-thinking?”
“Okay,” I replied.
He leaned in and kissed me.
That was another surprise for the day. It was interrupted by the “whelp” of a police car.

We broke our embrace but stayed close as the patrol pulled into the lot.
The front door of the restaurant opened and Miriam stormed out, first toward the officers.
“It happened in the back!”
“The back?”
“Mmm-mm. Mr. Jones is inside for you.”
The officer nodded and walked towards the door.
Miriam bee-lined to us a moment later.

“What happened?”
Miriam turned her face away from us as the wind blew. I had forgotten that it was freezing.
“You need to come inside, girl.”
“I’ll see you later,” Garret said as he let go of my hand.
“No, you need to come in too."

Garrett went around the the driver’s side, turned the engine off, and we all walked inside the store.

The managers were talking with the police near the entryway to the dining area. I kind of expected a robbery—but Miriam stated it was all in the back. Perhaps the safe?
The manager looked at me and then pointed the officer in my direction.
“Do you own a maroon colored motorcycle?” The officer asked as Mr. Jones took a step back.
“Yes?”
“Do you know your plate number?”
“You are going to let her take the day off, right?” Miriam yelled to Mr. Jones. “See why you’re staying?” She noted to Garrett.

I turned around, ran back to the front door and went outside into the frigid air once again.
I wasn’t upset about the bike being stolen but that someone happened to break into the restaurant that night and simply take it. I mean, they cold have stolen thousands of dollars of Bob Ross dolls and all the salt water taffy their dentist could handle on their next dental appointment; but no, it had to be something sentimental. Something familial, a memorial…and at that time, all I left were the keys.
Sure, I could get another—and if Seth was there he’s state that royal purple would be a good color scheme too.
“Sorry about your motorcycle,” Garrett stood behind me.
“It’s okay. I mean, it’s just a thing.”
“But it was yours.”
“My brother’s. He gave it to me a few months before he died.”
“You okay?”
“No,” I replied as I looked at sun trying to come up from behind the clouds.
“Do you want to talk about it?”
I spun around and looked at Garrett, “Yes.”

We sat in the cab of the truck with the engine running.
“I used to love Christmas. Our family was, like, really big on it,” I said as I wrung my hands. “We would all go to church on Christmas Eve, hold the candle, sing some songs and be with others and each others. But the next year, everything changed.”
“What changed?”
“I did-or at least Adam said something like that. I was just thinking that I was being who I really was and…and Seth stood up to him. He cold-clocked Adam because of me and then everyone went their own way. Everyone went and did their own thing for so long and I…I…gave up on everything, Garrett.”

I bawled so much I think most of what I said was completely unintelligible and my face was running so much that I looked like Tammy Faye Baker.
Garrett held his hand out to me. “I’m here. I’m not going away.”
“Yes, you will. You have to go back to school.”
“School follows me now. Virtual classes. You could go too. We could take classes together, you know?”

“I have no idea what I want to do with my life. Been trying to figure that out. Every yea, when I thought Santa was real, I’d ask him what I wanted for Christmas and he asked me if I was asking him to bring what my heart wanted.”
“Tall order for a Santa.”
“Yea. He’d ask ‘what do you want Christmas?’ and I’d point at my myself and he said that.”
Garrett smiled for a second.
“What?”
“I’ve heard that story too. Was this at the old Fred’s store downtown?”
“Yeah.”
“You’ll never guess who that Santa was.”