Fernando laughs.
“Maximillian! What have you done?” I groan.
“That’s a fancy name.”
“Growing up, I used to loveA Goofy Movie.Max is the name of Goofy’s son.” I incline my chin toward my chocolate lab. “This guy is full of mischief, so it seemed like the perfect name.”
“Hmm, I haven’t seenA Goofy Movie,that’s one you’ll have to watch with me. Maybe even today.” We start to unwrap ourselves. “Do you guys care to come over to Casa de Alvarez and warm up?”
“Please!” I reach inside my pocket for my keys. “Last time the power was out, it took forty-eight hours to restore.”
“Well, you’re welcome to stay with me as long as you’d like. I have plenty of room in my cabin.”
“Do you think I could use your oven too. I have these pies?—”
He holds up his hand. “Of course. Mi casa es tu casa.”
Free of the leash, I enter my apartment to grab my backpack and the bag of presents for my family. Fernando’s gift is also sitting under my little Charlie Brown tree. I’d planned to ask him to come over when he got back, but now that he’s here, I want him to have it. I add it to the top of the bag.
We pull up to Fernando’s cottage. It’s a two-story royal-blue structure with a small porch and a single window trimmed in gold Christmas lights overlooking the front. A white picket fence surrounds the front garden. Although it’s covered in snow, I can see a few pointed red hats peeking out.
“Are those gnomes?” I guess, stepping out of the car.
“Sí, they are. Good eye.” He opens the trunk while I open the door to the back seat. Max pops out and starts investigating the new territory. “My friend Tim gifted them to me. He collects Chia pets, but I wasn’t a fan. So as a gag gift for my birthday last year, he gave me a collection of garden gnomes. I thought they were funny, so I put them in the front yard.”
“Are any of them ice skaters?” I tease.
“If you’re asking. ..” He takes his phone from his back pocket and swipes until he finds a photo of the garden in summer. “Three of them are. The other two are sloths.”
“Sloths?” I scrunch my nose.
“Another one of Tim’s quirks. They’re his favorite animal. I’ll fill you in on the full story later.”
I study the image, then hand the device back to him. He helps me gather my stuff from the car, and we make our way inside. A long entryway leads to a cozy living room. There’s a TV, huge L-shaped couch draped with several blankets, rustic coffee table, and a six-foot-tall living Christmas tree near the fireplace.
“I’m impressed you had time to put this up! And it’s still alive. Considering you’ve been away.”
“I got it last night.” He places the bag of gifts down. “A part of my plan was going to be asking you here after dinner to help me decorate it while we ate dessert. But now it looks like I need to make a few changes to the agenda.”
Butterflies flutter in my stomach. I stare at him in awe, touched by his level of thoughtfulness. Not only did he spend the last two days traveling to be back in Sequoia Valley for the holidays, but he did it for me. Me. If that’s not one of the ultimate grand gestures, I don’t know what is.
Max barks and claims a place on the sofa, interrupting my thoughts. “Down, boy. This isn’t our home. You can’t just jump up onto Fernando’s furniture whenever you feel like it.”
Fernando laughs. “Aww, leave him. He’s fine. It’s not a home unless it’s lived in. I’m not the type of person who cares too much about keeping furniture clean. There’s already some coffee stains on it, crumbs in the cracks, and who knows what else hiding under the cushions.”
My heart grows even bigger.
“So do you want to decorate the tree? I have some hot chocolate and cookies we can enjoy to give us some energy.”
“Let’s do it.”
Fernando gets a cozy fire going, as I place my pies in the oven and send a quick text to mom.
Ava: Hi mom! Change of plans, I won’t be coming by at 1 after all. But will still be there for dinner. I’ll fill you in later.
We spend the next two hours having a blast hanging lights on the tree and trimming it with the leftover ornaments he picked up from the craft store.
“It looks like something a five-year-old would’ve put together,” he says with a sigh when we finish. “Nothing matches.”
