On Christmas day, Charlene was so happy to see Tonya so happy as she unwrapped her presents. She had never seen Tonya so happy as she opened each gift and saw that she had gotten exactly what she wanted. She knew how Tonya felt because her father always tried to get what she wanted for her birthday or Christmas.

Thinking about her father, she realizes that this is the first Christmas he wouldn’t be with her. Tears form and leak from her eyes as she wishes her father was here. She wipes the tears away as she concentrates on Tonya instead.

Charlene unwraps the gifts Tonya got for her. She looks at the new cell case she has been wanting. It had a picture of her father and Tonya on it.

“I hope you like it.” Tonya looked at Charlene as she held the case.

Charlene looks into Tonya’s eyes. “I love it.” Charlene gives Tonya a huge.

New Year’s Eve:
Tonya, Charlene, Henry, Mary, and some of the guys from the garage drove to the park for the fireworks display that would be taking place at midnight. Mary brought a big pot of blackeye peas for everyone to eat to welcome the New Year. She also made sure none of the guys drove home after drinking.

Charlene had volunteered to drive everyone home should they become too drunk. Which they did, except Mary. Mary ended up carrying a sleeping Tonya back to the SUV. They came in and put her in the back of the SUV under a blanket while Charlene dropped the guys off.

Charlene was so tired that she spent the night at Mary’s and Henry’s. She shared a bed with Tonya and felt Tonya snuggle up against her. She held Tonya against her body.

The next few months, things were slow around the shop. Charlene and Henry had to cut people’s hours. However, they managed to give everyone at least twenty-four hours or more of work.

Around April, business started picking up, and everyone started getting extra hours.

One morning when Charlene came walking in with donuts for everyone, she noticed Henry and Jacob standing in the office. She knew Jacob owned a used car lot because he normally brought the cars he was selling to the garage to get inspected and worked on.

“Your right, Henry. She does buy donuts for everyone.” Jacob spots Charlene walking in with three dozen donut boxes in her hands.

“Told you.” Henry walks over and gives Charlene a hand with the boxes.

“Thanks, Henry.”

“No problem.” Henry sets the boxes down on his desk.

Charlene puts her purse away and looks at Jacob “what’s going on?”

“Well, Charlene, I’m moving, and I want to sell my car lot. I know that you guys have bought cars and flipped them. Also, you’re just down the street from me, and we have been doing business since your father opened this garage. I came down here with an offer for either Henry or the two of you to buy the lot.”

Charlene was stunned. She knew it would be a bonus to the garage, but she didn’t know if they had the money to purchase the lot and the inventory.

“Look, I know you are concerned about purchasing the lot and inventory. What I would do, is let you put half down and pay the rest in installments. That way, you won’t have to fork over the whole amount right away.” Jacob figures he could help Charlene and Henry out with purchasing the lot.

“How long is this deal good for?” Henry was thinking about the possibilities.

“I’ll give you two weeks before I move on to the next person.” Jacob had several people he would sell to.

“Who’s the next person?” Charlene was curious.

“Max Ronald. He’s been interested in expanding his reach.”

“Man, he sells junk cars and would give your car lot a bad rep.” Charlene knew how bad Max’s cars were, because of the work that have been done on them.

“Can we call you tomorrow?” Henry figures he, his wife, and Charlene need to talk about it.

“Sure, but don’t take too long.” Jacob turns to live the office.

Once Jacob walks out of the garage, Charlene looks at Henry. She could tell he was thinking the proposal over about the car lot.

“You’re ready to go for the deal, aren’t you?” Charlene could already see the answer in Henry’s eyes.

“You know me too well. I think it would help business and the customers who are buying the cars would know they are getting good service with us.” Henry could see all the advantages and disadvantages of owning the car lot.

“Talk it over with Mary and see what she says. I’ll go along with what the two of you think is right.” Charlene trusted her godparents.

Two Months Later:
Charlene serves hot dogs and hamburgers to the customers as they walk around the car lot. She spots Tonya giving out sodas to the customers. She was working with Mary as they did the grand reopening of the car lot.

Not only were they selling cars, but motorcycles too. Terry, Tammy, and Ralph were supplying motorcycles to the car lot. They had motorcycles that weren’t selling at the shop and put them on the lot. They would also take trade-ins to refurbish and resell.

As for Charlene and Tonya's relationship, every once in a while, a social worker would stop by to check up on Charlene. They would either inspect the house or ask about Tonya’s grades, medical records, and such. If Charlene wasn’t taking Tonya to the dentist or eye doctor, Mary would.

As for Tonya, she was making new friends at school, and with permission from Charlene, she would have sleepovers at the house or over at her friends’ house. One of her friends was trans and she became her friend. Some of the kids at school would pick on Prue, but she would stand up to the bullies and tell the teacher about them.

Sometimes, Tonya would bring Prue by the car lot or the garage. They liked helping out and Henry would treat them to lunch and pay them for the work they did. Since Henry wanted the car lot, he would work it and he hired a friend of Tammy’s to come in to help out.