Chapter Ten

Candy

I wake up with the excitement of Christmas morning coursing through my veins. I roll over, wanting to wish the man I love a merry Christmas, but he isn’t there. Confused, I sit up and glance around the room.

The place is the same as when we fell asleep last night, save for an outfit folded on top of the dresser. I get up and shuffle across the floor. The clothes are clearly my size, but they aren’t nice in the same way that all of the things Ethan has picked out for me.

They look almost like the clothes I’d wear to volunteer at the shelter.

Next to the pile of fabric, there’s a note and a cellphone. The note is in Ethan’s handwriting, telling me to put these on, take the phone, and to go downstairs to meet his driver. I wonder what he’s got planned – he doesn’t strike me as the kind of man to plan a surprise on Christmas Day.

Excitement courses through me as I rush to get dressed. I throw my hair into a ponytail as I leave the room and head downstairs. The driver is waiting for me in the living room, nodding for me to follow him into the garage.

As we’re driving, I get a phone call from Ethan. I answer enthusiastically, not bothering to hide the way anticipation is building in my gut. He chuckles fondly, and it warms me from the inside out.

“Sounds like someone slept well,” he says. In the background, I think I hear some sort of work being done, but I can’t tell.

“I did,” I say, leaning my head back against the headrest and watching the scenery go by. “It would have been better if you were there when I woke up, though.”

“I know. I’m sorry,” Ethan sighs, sounding genuinely apologetic. “There was something I had to take care of.”

“Oh, and what’s that?” I ask, unable to veil my curiosity.

“You’ll see,” Ethan says, and just by the tone of his voice, I can tell that he’s smiling. “You’re in the car, right?”

“I am,” I confirm.

“Good,” he says before saying something to someone in the background. “I’ll see you soon, Candy. I love you.”

“I love you, too,” I say before hanging up.

The scenery becomes more familiar as we continue to drive. After a few minutes, I realize we’re on the way to the shelter. That doesn’t seem right, though. Why would Ethan go to the shelter? He might not have outright said it, but I know he doesn’t care about it as much as I do.

Still, we take roads that are now familiar to me. There isn’t a doubt in my mind where we’re going. The only place in this direction other than the dump is the homeless shelter, and I’m confident that he wouldn’t be asking me to join him at a landfill.

Sure enough, when the car finally comes to a stop, we’re at the shelter. Although, there’s something different about it. For one thing, there aren’t residents walking around outside like there usually are. Instead, there are men who look like they might be construction workers going in and out.

“What’s going on?” I ask the driver, leaning forward and trying to get a better idea of what’s happening.

“I think if I told you, that would ruin the surprise,” he says as he gets out of the car and walks over to my door to let me out. “Ethan’s inside.”

“Okay, thank you,” I say, buzzing with something that feels significant.

I lead myself into the shelter, the place that I called home for nearly a year. Inside, there’s still a significant lack of residents. There isn’t even anyone at the front desk. If it weren’t for the laborers shuffling around the place, it’d be a ghost town in here.

Once I get over the initial shock of the lack of people, I realize why all of the construction workers are here. Some of them are hauling out old, disgusting pieces of the wall while others are bringing in new materials. I try to wrap my mind around what’s happening, but it just doesn’t connect. This place isn’t closing, not on Christmas, and Ethan wanted me to meet him here. I don’t understand where the money to get this work done came from.

As I’m frozen in place, a hand lands on my shoulder. I jump slightly, whipping around to see who’s touching me. I’m greeted by Ethan’s smiling face. He’s wearing old sweats that are stained with dirt and paint.

“I’m glad you made it,” he says, pulling me toward him to kiss me sweetly. “Merry Christmas, Candy.”

“Merry Christmas,” I reply with a grin on my face. I glance around the lobby of the shelter before turning back to him. “What’s going on?”

“It’s your Christmas gift,” Ethan says, looking a little nervous. “After I saw you helping out yesterday, I asked the front desk what needed to be done. The biggest issue was money, so I talked to my accountant and arranged for the work to be done.”

“Wow,” I say, my mind running a mile a minute with that information. I’d seen the cost estimates for repair, and even though I know Ethan is rich, it’s hard to fathom just handing over that kind of money. “But… how’d you get all of these people to help out on Christmas? And where is everybody?”

“I’m paying them three times as much as they usually charge to come in today,” he says with a shrug. “I had enough people volunteer that everyone’s able to take shifts. No one will be missing too much time with their families. We’ll be able to finish almost everything today, I think.”

“Really?” I say as I begin to wonder if I’m dreaming. This seems way too good to be true. I can’t believe he would do this for me, for the shelter.

“Uh huh,” he confirms, squeezing my waist like he can tell that I can’t believe this moment is real. “Some of the shelter’s old residents are here helping out right now, getting paid of course. The rest of them, I imagine, are getting moved into their homes.”

“Homes?” I say, getting whiplash for what feels like the hundredth time since waking up this morning. “You…”

“I wasn’t able to buy everyone houses,” he says, and I think I detect genuine regret. Was he really planning on buying houses for everyone that was in the shelter? “But, I set everyone up with a house or an apartment. They’ve all been paid through for the year.”

“I–” I start, my brain completely blanking. I don’t think I’m wired for getting this much good news all at once. “That’s amazing. Thank you, Ethan. I don’t know what I did to deserve you.”

He plants a quick kiss on my lips before gesturing around the room.

“It’s the least I could do,” he says with a shrug, glancing at the people leaving with debris. I realize that I do recognize some of the people. True to his word, shelter residents are here helping with the renovation. “I haven’t gotten everyone placed at jobs yet, but it’s Christmas. All of that will be settled once all the offices open back up again.”

I’m struck silent. This is all too much for me to process. It’s more than I could even dream about. Maybe I could allow myself to want one of these grand gestures, but all of this? The fact that he’s done it all is the only way I know that I’m not dreaming.

“Hey, you okay?” Ethan asks, leaning down to make eye contact with me. “You look like you’re far away.”

“I’m okay,” I say, blinking rapidly and feeling wetness dripping down my cheeks. When did I start crying? “I just… I really can’t believe you did all this for me.”

“Well, I knew that you were worried about the work that needed done here,” he says, scratching the back of his neck. “And when I was thinking about what I could get you for Christmas, I realized that you’d probably rather I spend whatever I’d spend on you on everyone else.”

The breath leaves my lungs. This man knows me better than anyone else ever has. In the last few days, he’s accepted my love of Christmas and seen me for who I am. No longer does his declaration that he wants to marry me feel rushed. We’re perfect for each other.

“Ethan, it’s perfect. Truly the best gift anyone has ever given me. I love you so much,” I say, tears still streaming down my face. He reaches down to brush them away, pulling me into a crushing embrace and muttering how much he loves in my ear so only I can hear. He is the greatest gift of my crazy, messy, beautiful life.

“Would you like to see what we’ve done so far?” Ethan asks, breaking our embrace after a few moments of silence from me.

“Yes,” I say, taking his outstretched hand and letting him lead me toward the dorms.

There wasn’t much work to be done in this area. All of the residents took pride in the places that they lived, taking care of repairs as they came up. Still, the walls have been given a fresh coat of paint, and the flooring has been replaced.

“Even though there’s no one living here right now, we all wanted to make sure that these rooms were homey when someone needed one,” he says.

“That’s so thoughtful,” I say, still unable to process that these rooms are going to be unused from here on out.

Ethan smiles, tugging on my hand to take me back toward the cafeteria. It’s the place that needed the most work. I’m excited to see what’s been done in there.

“We’re still working on this,” he says, stopping to let a line of people squeeze by us and into the room. “It won’t be finished today, but it should only take a few more days.”

I nod, grinning when he brings me into the cafeteria. The walls where the mold was growing have been torn down, and there are people helping clear the debris. One section has been cleared, and construction workers are putting up new drywall.

“We’re also replacing the air conditioning unit,” Ethan says, wrapping an arm around my shoulders to pull me toward the door that leads to the kitchen – out of the way of everyone that’s working. “It was filled with mold. If we didn’t get that fixed, it would have contaminated the entire building.”

“I just can’t believe you did all this,” I say as the two of us stop in the doorway.

“Well, take all the time you need to process,” he says, tightening his hold on me before turning me to face him. “But when you’re done… I figured we could help out. That way we can get everyone home to their families on time.”

“I’d love to,” I say, tilting my head back in an attempt to keep the tears collecting in the corners of my eyes.

As I’m blinking away the mistiness, I spot something hanging above us. It’s an unassuming bundle of leaves with red berries in the center. I grin when I realize what it is – mistletoe.

“Would you look at that,” Ethan hums, pulling my attention away from the plant.

“You know what we have to do,” I say.

Ethan doesn’t reply, instead leaning down and connecting our lips. I kiss him back with everything I am, knowing that I’m going to spend the rest of my life with man.