“Nolan, this is really special, man,” I choke out, feeling my eyes start to wet with tears. I place a strong hand on his shoulder and smile at him which he reciprocates. “Sam and Patti are going to love it.”
“It’s not the best but it’s a start, which is what they gave me, I guess.” He shrugs.
Hanna wipes her eyes quickly and clears her throat. “Well, hopefully this will make it everything you want it to be and more.”
She steps towards him and hands him the gift bag. He takes it with an apprehensive hand before setting it down on the ground to open. Pulling out the tissue paper one by one, he finally pulls out what she’s been hiding inside.
“No. Way.” He punctuates each word and pulls out a massive wooden box that has a gold name embossed on the front.
“What is it?” I ask, glancing between her and Nolan.
“Only the best set of sketching and drawing pencils on the market,” Nolan explains quickly. He rushes over to his table and sets the box down. Opening it, his eyes grow twice their size as he takes in his new tools. He turns quickly and crashes into Hanna, hugging her tightly.
“Thank you, Hanna. Thank you, thank you.”
She hugs him back in a way that’s almost maternal. “Of course. I believe in you and your art so much and I hope by having these, you can continue to grow and get better. I can’t wait to see what you make with them.”
He smiles up at her for a beat before walking back to the table and pencils, completely in awe of what’s in front of him. He pulls each one out individually and holds it in his hands before moving onto the next one.
“I don’t think we’re very entertaining anymore,” I say under my breath.
She laughs and shakes her head. “I don’t think we are either.”
“We’ll leave you to it, Nolan. Merry Christmas, buddy.”
He turns over his shoulder and quickly waves. “Merry Christmas, thank you again.”
Once out in the hallway, the door closed behind us, I pull her into another hug.
“That was the nicest thing I’m sure anyone has ever done for him. You have no idea what you did for him.”
“It was nothing. Everyone deserves to have someone believe in them. He’s a good kid with a lot of talent.”
I pull away from her and frame her face with my hands. “I’m seriously starting to believe you’re some kind of angel walking amongst humans.”
She shakes her head. “Not even close. I just like to take care of the people who matter to me. Like Nolan,” she pauses and grips the sides of my shirt a little tighter, “and you.”
“You matter to me, Hanna. A lot.”
“A lot,” she repeats, just above a whisper.
“Kissletoe! Time to kiss!” An excited voice calls down to us. Looking towards it, we see a younger girl pointing at the ceiling above our heads. Looking up, we notice that, sure enough, there’s a bundle of mistletoe hanging from the ceiling.
“Kissletoe, time to kiss,” I say with a smirk, holding her face and leaning in.
“Kissletoe, time to kiss,” she repeats with a smile that I press my lips to. Behind us, we can hear the little girl giggle with joy at our affection and run off. When we pull away from one another, I rest my forehead against hers.
“Merry Christmas, Hanna.”
“Merry Christmas, Miles.”
31
HANNA
Good morning, beautiful. I’m about to wrap up at the firehouse and head home for the day. See you later tonight?
I smile at my phone as I pull the door open to the coffee shop and step inside. Rae and I decided to grab a coffee since we’re both taking time off before the new year in a few days.
