The Forever Gift

by Simone Evans

  I’d be lying if I didn’t admit to a small amount of excitement about having a chance to go to a dance. But then reality set in.

  “I don’t have anything to wear for something like that. I’m sor—”

  “Already taken care of.” Franny chimed in. “Your grandma and I made you a dress. She knew your size from when she came out west and all we need is to do a final fitting.”

  “You made… what?” Shock filled me. My heartbeat raced and I began to wonder if I had been blown off course somewhere in Kansas.

  “We made the dress and we’ll just need to pop over to Montpellier to get you a pair of shoes and probably proper undergarments.” Amelia Wood’s face was lit up by her smile. The twinkle in her eye made me a bit nervous.

  “I don’t think I can stay that long,” I replied lamely.

  “Do it for Eli,” Franny urged.

  “For Eli…”

  “Yes. Don’t make that poor boy take an old woman to the ball.”

  A pepperoni smile filled my mind. There was more to the man than what everyone could see. Originally, I had thought he was just another player. But… now… I knew what it was like to lose someone and lose yourself in the process.

  “Fine. I’ll do it.”

  Chapter Four

  Three days had passed in a whirl of activity as my grandmother and her best friend fitted me for my dress, took me shopping for shoes, and today they dragged me to a small hair salon where a lady named Annette cut and highlighted my hair.

  Currently, my feet were in a small whirlpool tub attached to a massage chair. Grandmother had insisted on a manicure and pedicure, stating all of us deserved some pampering. Sadly, I wouldn’t know anything about any of this because I’d never been pampered in my entire life.

  “We’ll have to rush home in order to get Clara in her dress before Eli is due to arrive.” Franny chattered away from her seat beside my grandmother.

  “Are you sure he won’t flake out on the date?” I mumbled as I stared at the glittery polish in the shape of snowflakes on my fingers.

  The technician pulled my foot from the water and dried it as I waited to see if either of the older women had heard my question.

  “He wouldn’t dare,” Franny hissed.

  “The judge was adamant that he either did his community service or he’d find himself in a jail cell over the holidays.” Ms. Amelia’s voice was low and I almost missed her words.

  The question in my mind, which one of us is the pity date? My grandmother had guilted me into taking her place and Eli was being forced to attend due to his streaking the church assembly at the local hotel.

  Please, God, let him be the pity date.

  **

  At seven o’clock sharp I stood in my grandmother’s living room as the doorbell rang. Well, at least he’s punctual, I thought as I tugged at the sparkly dress my grandmother had practically poured me into only twenty minutes ago.

  Standing in front of the fireplace I stared at a high school picture of my mom. She was hanging on the arm of a handsome boy in a tux. Her face was alight with joy as she smiled and posed in a white floor-length gown. The Snow Ball… I’m standing in the house where this picture was taken and waiting to go to the same dance. When I was small, I’d always dreamed of visiting the place in my mom’s stories. She’d talked about this dance. Her voice was soft and full of the past when she’d stood in front of a dress shop one winter day when I was eight. She painted a picture of a princess being escorted by her prince. A fairytale. And, it filled my dreams.

  Now, I was waiting for my prince — albeit a slightly tarnished one.

  “Good evening, Ms. Amelia,” the deep masculine voice of my date drifted from the hallway. “You’re not going to the dance dressed like that are you?”

  “Of course not,” my grandmother chirped with a laugh. “You replaced your uncle and I’ve been replaced by my granddaughter.”

  “Oh… I didn’t know you had one,” his voice was full of curiosity.

  “Come this way and I’ll introduce you.” Grandmother’s steps came closer before I heard her yell for her best friend. “Franny, bring the camera. Quick.”

  “Eli Angelo” — I turned at his name — “this is my granddaughter, Clara Wood.”

  Our eyes locked together and my chest constricted. Eli Angelo had been sexy in his jeans and t-shirt covered in flour and tomato sauce stains… but in a tux, he absolutely stole my breath.

  “Well hello there, sunshine.” He smirked as he broke the silence and took a step forward. “I hope your day is better today.”

  “Yes…” I gasped as he reached to take my hand to slip a corsage onto my wrist.

  “Did you enjoy your pizza?”

  “It was very… smiley,” I smiled at him and he chuckled.

  “Shall we?” He asked with a wave of his hand toward the front door.

  Instead of replying, I place my hand on his arm and allowed him to lead me to the front door.

  “Wait… wait…” Franny came rushing down the stairs. “The pictures.”

  Everything was warm and buzzed with energy as we stood and allowed my grandmother to fuss over us as Franny snapped away with her camera. But, I couldn’t have said how long it went on for, my mind was focused solely on the man beside me. His earthy scent wrapped around me and made me feel woozy, so I leaned on him to make sure I wouldn’t fall over.

  His heat seeped into me and all I wanted to do was wrap up in him. Instead, my grandmother slipped the fur wrap around my shoulders and pressed a kiss to my cheek as she shooed us out the door.

  “My uncle loaned me his car,” Eli broke the silence as he opened my door and helped me to settle into the passenger seat. “All I have is an old farm truck. Constantly needs work, nowhere near a new car smell, but it gets me from point A to point B.”

  “Thank your uncle for me then. I’ve never been in a Lexus.”

  Eli quickly rounded the car after closing me into the warm car. It was frigid outside but had yet to see anything resembling snow. Yet, Franny had promised me a white Christmas. She’d said she could feel it in her bones. I sighed — I’d never seen snow.

  The door opened and I turned to watch Eli almost gracefully sit in the driver's seat. Slamming the door he shivered and grinned at me — “I’m glad I left the car running. I thought I was picking up your grandmother and wanted her to be comfortable.”

  “Are you disappointed?” I asked softly as insecurity took hold.

  “Absolutely… not.” The twinkle in his eyes and wicked grin had me laughing as I smacked his arm.

  “You’re mean,” I insisted.

  “You’re gorgeous,” he replied as he leaned forward over the console separating us. “You sure you want to go to the dance?”

  “I believe I’m dressed for a dance,” I finally answered as I ran my hand over the blue velvet of my mermaid style dress. The lights from the dash sparkled off of the sequence and glitter on the sleeves and the voluminous part of the skirt that began at my knees.

  “It would be a shame to waste that dress.” Eli’s voice was husky as he caught my gaze and held it.

  My breath caught in my chest as he reached forward and caressed along my jaw — “This face is all that got me through my incarceration,” he whispered then shook his head.

  “What?”

  “I wish you hadn’t seen Officer Jones drag me away in cuffs… but I can’t regret my actions… after all, they’re why I have you here in this car with me.”

  I chuckled uneasily as my fingers plucked at my dress nervously. Forcing my eyes to drop, I stared at my toes as they peaked out of the sparkly shoes my grandmother had insisted on buying me.

  “I hope the dance is well heated” — I shivered for impact and turned to smile at Eli — “Shall we go.”

  His gaze spoke volumes to me but my mind refused to accept any of it. Relationships had never been my thing. It had always just been my mom and I. Which was a huge reason I struggled so much with her loss — why
I was afraid to get close to anyone… especially my grandmother.

  The thought echoed in my head as Eli sighed. “Alright, Sunshine. Dancing and disco balls it is… for now.”

  **

  The Snow Ball was being held in the local high school. There was a disco ball — as Eli had mentioned — along with white and colored twinkle lights, cut out snowflakes covered in glitter, and streamers. It was nothing like I thought and everything I had dreamed. Cheesy, over-the-top, and spectacular. Eli allowed me to take in every detail while a DJ played a variety of music to keep the place hopping while giving all age groups something they knew.

  “Well, this is the Holiday City Annual Snow Ball,” Eli sighed as he waved at people as they passed us.

  Frozen in place, I hadn’t moved for at least ten minutes. Nerves filled me and I tugged at my dress. I never wore dresses, especially ones as fancy as the one my grandmother and Franny had made.

  “Stop fidgeting… you're gorgeous.” Eli whispered in my ear as he took hold of my hand. “Want to dance or would you prefer some punch?”

  “There’s punch?”

  “Of course… plus cookies and, of course, pizza.” He puffed out his chest and grinned at me. “Angelos always caters the Snow Ball.”

  Pride showed on his face as he led me forward to a table lined with a lot more than cookies and pizza. An array of holiday treats had my mouth watering.

  “You look hungry.” Eli reached out for a plate and added a slice of cheese pizza and cookies.

  When he offered the plate to me, I looked at the food and shook my head as my hands slid down my dress. I would drop something on the dress and ruin it.

  “You better stop doing that or I’ll show you the janitor's closet,” Eli husked into my ear as he pressed closer to my side.

  Turning a startled gaze in his direction, I took in Eli’s smile as he chuckled and led me over to a table with one hand at my lower back and the other carrying the plate of food.

  “Sit here while I go grab us a couple of cups of punch,” Eli ordered and quickly disappeared into the crowd surrounding the tables.

  In the short time since we’d arrived, the room had filled to capacity. People of all ages danced, talked, and smiled in the holiday finest. I chuckled when an older gentleman pulled two teenagers apart and waved his hands to indicate the need for space between. The girl’s cheeks turned bright red and the boy… well, he looked terrified of the man who was over twice his age and size.

  An awareness caused goosebumps to rise on my arms. I shivered and rubbed my hands up and down over them as I raise my gaze to meet Eli’s. He smiled softly and stepped forward with a shake of his head.

  Nothing was said for several long minutes as we settled in and I nibbled on the slice of pizza. Even room temperature as it was now, Angelo’s really did have the best pizza.

  “Where you from, Sunshine? I remember something about you being out west.” Eli shuffled his chair closer to mine and leaned forward to rest his chin on his hand.

  “Yes. Vegas,” I replied.

  “Sin City, huh?” he chuckled.

  “Not much sin… just a lot of hard work,” I grumbled.

  “Ah… no wonder you weren’t smiling the other day. There’s always time for a bit of sin… it helps you feel alive.” Eli moved in closer still and I could feel the heat from his larger body.

  It called to me. The warmth in his gaze, the promise in his tone, and the scent of his cologne as the spicy, musky scent wrapped around me, causing me to feel light-headed and uncertain. Nothing had ever caused me to feel the way I did at this moment… at a dance… just a girl with a boy… and lots of sinful promise.

  “Dance with me?” Eli stood and held out his hand.

  Not allowing myself any time to overthink the moment, I placed my hand in his. When he tugged me up from my seat, I lost my balance and stumbled into Eli’s firm chest. His arms wrapped around me and he held me tight.

  “Caught you,” he rasped against my neck then turned and led me to the center of the dance floor.

  The lights reflected off of so many surfaces as a slow song began to play. People shuffled around us as most of the younger crowd left the dance floor only for their spaces to be refilled with the shuffling gait of the older generation.

  “Are we old enough to be on the floor?” I asked with a grin.

  “Plenty,” Eli replied with an answering grin as he wrapped me in his arms.

  I felt his hands slip around my waist and pull me closer. Uncertainty filled me as I glanced around at the other couples.

  “What’s wrong, Sunshine?” Eli asked as he moved back a step and reached up to hover with his hand only an inch from my face.

  “I’ve never been to a dance before.” I felt the heat rise in my cheeks as embarrassment filled me from my freshly polished toes to the top of my professionally highlighted hair.

  “Ah,” he replied. “No worries… I lead anyhow.”

  Eli’s hands reached out to grasp my own. He lifted them so he was able to place them around his neck while stepping into my space. Eli’s hands slid down my arms and along my sides. A shiver I was quickly becoming addicted to ran through me as his strong hands landed on my hips and tugged me forward.

  “Just follow.”

  Chapter Five

  A week had passed since the dance. Eli had been a perfect gentleman, dropping me at my grandmother’s door just after midnight with a kiss to my cheek before urging me inside before I froze. He yelled over his shoulder that he’d had a great time and would see me soon.

  Soon had meant the very next morning with coffee and donuts. I was groggy and grumpy as I trudged down the steps only to stop when I saw his smile while he raised his offering in the air. My grandmother wrapped her robe around her while she laughed and waved him inside.

  The three of us had sat around the table while my grandmother and Eli shared stories of his grandfather the judge and his father who happened to be the mayor of Holiday City. My grandmother was soon telling stories of my grandfather and mother. I ached with both loss and joy as I learned about a man I’d never known and his daughter who was realizing I may not have known as much as I’d thought. I was beginning to realize that my mom had hidden a lot from me.

  After the pleasant morning, Eli had rushed off to work only to return that evening with a lasagna and garlic toast from the restaurant as well as several holiday movies he’d stolen from his mother’s stash. Ms. Amelia popped popcorn and we all wrapped up in blankets and joked around as we watched both old classics like Rudolph and newer Hallmark Channel originals.

  It was later that night — after my grandmother went off to bed — that Eli and I sat in front of the fire and shared about our loss. He told me about his brother and I told him about my mother. Both of us had a hole inside. A hole that for me at least was filling up with the energy and life created by Eli Angelo.

  Tonight I’d taken extra time to get ready. I was wearing black jeans and a silky green blouse. My grandmother had loaned me a pair of diamond-studded hoop earrings with a matching necklace. It was just the right touch of sparkle for a Christmas Eve date.

  “Gorgeous,” Eli husked as he pulled me close and pressed a kiss to my lips.

  A fire ignited inside of me at the slight press of his soft lips. When I’d first seen the pizza tossing dynamo, I’d thought him a bad boy but now… now, I was seeing the man beneath the constant smile and a wicked sense of humor. Eli, like myself, hid away from others. He distanced himself because of losing his twin.

  As for the player I’d thought he was… not so much. Other than a few kisses, Eli had remained a gentleman. And, I was pretty sick of it, actually.

  I chuckled and he looked across the seat of his truck as we pulled into the parking lot of a steak place outside of Montpellier.

  “What are you laughing about, Sunshine?”

  “Nothing, pizza boy. Nothing.”

  “Hmmm, I think I may need to tease the truth out of you. But, first, we eat.” Eli
rushed from his side of the truck and helped me step down on my side.

  The evening flashed by quicker than you could lose twenty dollars in Vegas. Dinner was delicious and as with all of the time I spent with Eli it was full of laughs. Being with him was easy.

  Comfortable silence filled his truck as we drove from the restaurant over to a bar in Holiday City. It was attached to one of the many hotels and was full of holiday guests. The hotel had decorated for the season and was throwing an impromptu party in the bar. A table was laden down with appetizers and drinks were half price.

  Everyone was dancing and chatting as the night grew later. I was drinking the last of what had to be my third… no, fourth… glass of Holiday rum punch when Eli tugged me to my feet and twirled me around the dance floor. My skin heated under the twinkle lights strung back and forth over the ceiling and I couldn’t help but tilt my head back and laugh with pure joy.

  The music dropped into a slow song which had Eli tugging me into his arms. He smiled down at me. His cheeks were flushed from his own cups of punch and the exertion of the fast-paced dance we’d just finished.

  “I have a present for you,” he whispered against my lips before he claimed them in a lingering kiss.

  Excitement filled me but was soon doused. “I didn’t get you anything.”

  “You gave me you.” Eli’s voice deepened as he slid his hands up my sides and along my arms where they wrapped around his neck. “It’s too crowded here.”

  Instead of taking me to his truck, Eli stepped up to a lime-green Prius. He leaned forward and waved at the bear of a man inside. The man had a beard a mountain man would be proud of along with a black leather jacket. He appeared to be more suited to a motorcycle than to the tiny hipster car.

  “My house, Gage,” Eli instructed as we crawled into the back seat.

  I found myself wrapped in Eli’s arms as he nibbled along my neck. I squirmed… not to get away but to get closer. Eli’s gentleman act had caused my blood to remain at an almost constant burn the past seven days. I was ready for us to do more than kiss.