Gloria

“You get the wine and some glasses,” she told him, “while I go grab something from the closet. T

hat okay?”

Franklin gave her a confused look, but he nodded anyway. “Sure.”

Jumping up from her place on the couch, Gloria bounded away. She waited for Franklin to disappear into the kitchen before she flung open the closet door and carefully wedged the massive sign out.

It was made of wood, about four feet wide and three feet high, not counting the optional stake that Maria said she could attach later if Franklin wanted her to. The talented artist had drawn the spitting image of Franklin’s beloved truck toward the bottom. In big block letters, she used white paint to write out the name of Franklin’s shop.

It was clean, boring, and featured his truck. If she knew Franklin at all by now, it would be perfect for him.

Good thing it took him a few minutes to figure out where she stored her glasses. Gloria just managed to drape one particular afghan over the sign and drag it halfway toward the front room before Franklin reappeared with the wine.

He hurriedly set them down on the coffee table, then bounded toward Gloria to help her with the afghan-covered block. She waved him off, Franklin fell back a little, and Gloria carried it awkwardly until she had propped it up against the couch.

“So, um, yeah. This is yours. Your real present was way too big to wrap it, so I covered it up with one of my Great Aunt Patti’s afghans. That’s for you, too, by the way. I thought the navy and gold thread would really match your brown couch.”

Franklin pretended to scowl. “You just want to put some more color in my place, don’t you?”

An impish grin. “Maybe.”

“Whatever’s underneath that blanket it pretty huge, though. I’ll carry the afghan back tonight, but I’m thinking I might want to bring the other thing home with me tomorrow after I drop you off. Unless you want me to bring it home tonight? I guess I could do that.”

Gloria was so excited to see his reaction at the sign that it took her a second to realize that she had no idea what he was talking about. “Tomorrow? Tomorrow’s Christmas, Franklin. What are you talking about? Aren’t you heading into town to see your family?”

“Well, yeah. But I figured it was kinda silly for the two of us to go separately. We can take my truck since, if I know my family, there’s gonna be pretty to bring back with us. Why? Would you rather go in your car? ‘Cause that’s fine, too.”

“Wait. You’re confusing me. Go where?”

“To see Dad, Vanessa, and Bailey. Christmas brunch is at noon, then we’ll open gifts, eat some pie. I usually manage to cut out by five. We can stay later if you’re having fun, or I can sneak you out if Vanessa’s chattering your ear off. God, I love that woman, and she’s perfect for my dad, but she can talk. Whatever you like. I’m just glad you’re coming with me this year.”

Gloria held up her hand. “Um. Am I?”

“Aren’t you?”

“Well, you never asked me, so I thought I was staying here.”

Franklin opened his mouth as if to say something, thought better of it, then stared down at her. He blinked, his dark eyes shuttering momentarily, his expression stunned. “I didn’t ask?”

Gloria shook her head.

“Oh. Wow. You know what? I didn’t. I, uh, I guess I didn’t think I needed to. Just always thought that, since you were my girl, you’d be coming with me.” He winced. “Ah, crap. You have plans tomorrow with your outsider friends, don’t you?”

“No, it’s not that. I… I thought it was a family thing. I was just gonna stay home tomorrow, maybe binge-watch all three Santa Clause movies.” A small smile tugged at the corner of her lips before blooming into a great, big grin. “Your girl, huh?”

“Yeah. I mean…” Franklin shrugged, a red stain creeping up his thick neck, his face turning slightly so that he was looking past Gloria. “For now.”

Gloria pointedly ignored that last comment. Instead, carefully propping “I’m happy you’re my guy, Frank. And I’d love to spend Christmas with your family tomorrow.”

Franklin gripped her chin gently, tilting her head back enough for him to lay a sweet kiss on her lips. “Remember what I said about Vanessa. I’ve got spare earplugs if you need them. Seriously.”

She couldn’t stop the chuckle from escaping as she slapped Franklin playfully in his hip. “Be nice.” Then, pulling away from him, beaming when she caught the look of disappointment that flashed across his face when she moved away from him, Gloria said, “It’s time for your present. We can figure out what to do with it and your afghan later, but first I really, really want you to see it.”

As he slowly tugged the afghan away from the sign, Gloria tried to explain. “It’s for your business, see? You do such great work there. You should be proud of the garage.”

Franklin folded the afghan up neatly, placing it almost reverentially on Gloria’s couch, before tilting the sign back, taking in Maria De Angelis’s painstaking design.

His eyebrow quirked, a smile pulling on his lips. “Maria?”