Seventeen

Steve

I was afraid to move as I sat in my car and waited for Garrett to return to his truck. When I had gone to work, they were overstaffed so I volunteered to come back in two hours. It was just enough time for me to find Garrett and put another cake on his windshield. This time he was more suspicious and glanced around the area, but when he didn’t see anyone, he smiled and drove off.

Once he was out of sight I drove back to the mall because it had taken me over an hour to find him and then I had to wait for a chance to put the cake on his truck when he wouldn’t catch me doing it. This secret admirer crap was tougher than it seemed. Just as I arrived at the mall my phone signaled a text.

Hey, you’ll never believe it. I had another Christmas cake on my truck today.

Your admirer is back.

Whoever it is has great timing. I’ve been running nonstop today so they didn’t have much time to do it. I’m going to keep an eye out and see if I can catch them next time.

I chuckled as I read his text and hoped he didn’t feel creeped out or worried.

Are you worried about it?

No, not at all. I think someone I know is messing with me. Everyone knows I love Christmas so it’s probably someone who works at the Galleria and sees me when I’m in that area. I mean it’s not bad to get cake.

Okay well have a good day, I’ll talk to you later.

You too xo. ??

The day flew by filled with more kids, frazzled parents, and new elves that had no clue what they were doing. But all in all, it was a pretty good day and when Dale called as I was walking out, she even commented on how happy I sounded.

“I know you said you hated this job, but you sound way less stressed than you did at the electronics store,” she said.

“It’s not so bad, and there’s never a dull moment. What’s going on?” I asked hoping to bring her back to the reason for her call.

“Oh, I just wanted to see what you were bringing for game day.”

“I was thinking I’d make nachos. What do you think?” I wasn’t lying when I told Garrett I didn’t really cook. But I could make snack food and lately nachos were my favorite.

“With homemade cheese sauce?” she asked.

“And shredded chicken.”

“Yes! Do it, I’ll bring some mini tacos and guacamole.”

“Oh, that sounds good, we can use the guacamole for the nachos too,” I said. “Any idea what Mom and Dad are making?”

“Too much. They plan to go to Trader Joe’s and buy a variety of appetizers. I think Mom mentioned something about making a snack food charcuterie board,” Dale said.

“That sounds great. Hey, what would you think if I brought someone over for a little while?” The words were out of my mouth before I could stop them but then I didn’t really care.

“Wait! What? Who?” I laughed as she stammered and sputtered.

“Slow down, Dale. I’m not even sure he can go. His family has dinner, but I think they eat later in the day. I thought maybe he could stop by for a game or two earlier in the day.”

“Stevie, who is it?”

“His name is Garrett, he’s the guy I met the first day I worked here.”

“You better tell Mom, because if you just arrive with him, her head will probably explode.”

“What do you mean?”

“You know exactly what I mean. She’s been trying to marry you off for years and if you show up with someone, she’ll have lots and lots of questions. Better to prepare her now and let poor Garrett enjoy his day.”

“You could be right.” I thought of all the times my mom tried to set me up and all the times I turned it down. She wanted me to be happy, but she was very impatient with me finding the right person. “I really like him.”

“I know. But please tell Mom first.” I laughed at her dramatics that probably weren’t all that wrong and promised her I would. After hanging up I made my way through traffic and slowly toward home. It felt so different to be here now after staying with Garrett in his cozy little house with his cute dog and warm bed. All the things I never thought I’d want were the things I couldn’t stop thinking about as I unlocked the door and stepped inside the quiet house.