“Do you mind if we stop really quick?” Andrew asked, eyeing the most popular stall at the event. “I want to get something for my mom. My grandparents were from Germany.”
“Well, no wonder you were such a fan of Oktoberfest at school. And here I thought it was because of thirty-four-ounce beer steins.”
He laughed. “Yeah, her maiden name was Biegelmacher, can’t get much more German than that.”
While he looked around the stall I gravitated to the display of little wooden figurines and couldn’t resist the tiny ladybug holding a lily of the valley for Taylor.
“All set,” Andrew said, holding up a bag. “Mission accomplished,Schwein haben.”
“Wait, what? You speak German?” It wasn’t known for being a sexy language, but I sure liked the way it sounded coming out of his mouth.
“Ein bisschen,”he said with a shrug. “A little. Enough to bedangerous. I took it in high school, and my mom still speaks it now and then.”
It still came as a shock that Andrew Gibson contained multitudes. And that I liked all of them.
“Show me what you bought.” I pointed to his bag.
He reached in and pulled out a little pink pig with a gold coin in its mouth wrapped in cellophane. “It’s marzipan, it brings good luck in the new year. And this guy, for the Christmas tree.” He showed me an adorable wooden gnome ornament, then peered back into the bag. “Oh, and this too. It’s for you.”
Andrew handed me a dessert-plate-sized heart-shaped gingerbread cookie on a pink string decorated with German words in frosting.
I didn’t know how to respond. After all it was just a cookie, but it was aheartand it was from Andrew. A gift.
I finally managed to snap my mouth closed. “Thank you!” I read it phonetically. “ ‘Fur mane skats.’ What does it mean?”
He laughed at me. “Your pronunciation is a little off. I’m not going to tell you, and you’re not allowed to use a translation app. You need to find someone to translate it.”
“Challenge accepted.” I held my hand over my eyes and looked around the crowd. “Scanning for lederhosen.” I pulled the ribbon over my head so the cookie sat on my chest like an Olympic medal.
Andrew wrapped his arm around my shoulder and pulled me closer to him. “You’re such a dork.”
I loved the feeling of being pressed up against him, but his word choice struck a teeny-tiny nerve inside of me. We threaded through the crowd in step together and I pushed the uneasy feeling down.
“Did you get anything for your dad?” I asked.
I felt his body stiffen for an instant. “Not yet.”
“Maybe we’ll find something here tonight. Does he like art with dolphins swimming in outer space?” I pointed to a stall.
“Honestly, I have no clue what my dad likes.”
I looked up at him and it was as if thinking about his father had drained the happiness from his expression.
“Hey,” I said, stepping in front of him. “Can we talk about that for a second?”
His answer was a frown, but I ignored it.
“C’mere.” I took his hand and led him to a grouping of tables and chairs beneath a string of café lights. “Let’s sit.”
Andrew dropped into a tiny red chair that looked like it might break beneath his bulk. I sat down across from him and ignored the way the cold seat cut through my two layers of clothing.
“Full disclosure: your mom told me that things have always been rough between you and your dad. And then what happened at Thanksgiving...”
He made a frustrated noise and shook his head. “Yeah,thatwas fun.”
“It was awkward for everyone, and I’m sorry it happened.” I took a deep breath. “Now, what I’m going to say next is probably none of my business, but... maybe you guys should talk? Like, really talk.”
A pack of teenagers tumbled past us, laughing and shrieking.
