Chapter 46

“Come in.” I wave Amy, Chase, and Luke inside.

Troy bounces up and down, screeching about his presents while Luke kisses me quickly. “Merry Christmas, Mary.”

“There are still three presents under your tree,” Amy says with a glint in her eye. “Who are those for?”

“You sly little thing,” I say. “One of them is for you.”

“Is it the big one?” She rubs her hands together and bounces up and down. “I hope it’s the big one.”

I remember being so small that I judged the worth of presents by their size. Vaguely. “It is, minx.”

She rushes across the room to grab it, but pulls up short less than a foot away and turns around. “Dad, can I open it right now?” She pointedly at Luke.

I make a shooing motion with my hands. “Of course, go ahead.”

She tears the wrapping paper off to reveal a painted, red wooden chest, with gold trim. The lacquer on it still shines.

“What is it?” she asks.

“Open the latch,” I say.

She fiddles with it a moment before she figures it out, but then she throws the lid back, and dresses and tiaras and gloves spill out. She coos in delight.

“I noticed the other day that you don't have a dress-up chest. It was one of my most beloved toys when I was a girl.”

“Are these your old dresses?” Amy asks, her eyes wide with wonder.

I shake my head. “No, my old dresses were yucky. I threw them out a long time ago. But that's my old dress-up trunk. I called it my Princess Wardrobe. I thought you might want to have it.”

I watch her mouth the words, “Princess Wardrobe” a few times, as if she's trying her best to remember it. Then she leaps up and runs over to hug me around the waist. “Thank you so much!”

“You're welcome.” I whisper my next words. “Think your dad will forgive me for how much space it's going to take up?”

Amy bites her lip, and Luke puts his arm around her. “We'll work something out, won't we?”

She nods.

“Chase?” I say, “You're next, sweetie.” I reach under the tree for the smallest gift and pass it over to him.

He rips the paper off like a pro. Once he's uncovered the nerf gun and extra darts, he hoots and pumps his fist in the air. “A gun, Dad, she got me my own gun!”

“Oh no,” I say, “are you a ‘no gun’ family?” I want to curl up in the corner and hide. I should’ve asked first. Why didn't I ask?

Luke puts his arm around my shoulder this time. “Not purposefully. It's fine, and clearly I'm behind on getting him the exact toy that he desperately wanted.”

I breathe a heavy sigh of relief. “You're next, then.”

Luke leans over and pulls out the last present. The wrapping paper couldn't look uglier. The present's a weird shape and I didn't want to ruin it, so I wrapped half a roll underneath, bunched it up, and tied it with ribbon at the top. Luke plucks the card from the top first.

He reads it silently, but I know what it says. It's a simple message, just one line.

'Merry Christmas, Luke. I didn't know what to buy you, but in spite of everything I've always done to keep people at bay, you're growing on me. Love, Mary.'

He unties the bow and the paper falls to the sides of the big, leafy, Philodendron plant I chose. I like that it looks happy, easy going, and full of life.

“It takes up a lot of space, but I figure once you reach your new job, you can put it on the little porch area most of the time.”

Luke sweeps me up in his arms and spins me around. “You're growing on me too, Mary.” He kisses the tip of my nose.

“Dad, can we give her the presents now?” Amy's grinning, with her hands balled into fists at her sides, nearly vibrating with excitement.

“Wait,” I say, “presents? Plural?” I shake my head. “I only got you each one small thing. I refuse to open more than one present.”

Amy takes my hand and her eyes plead with me. “We spent a long time on these. Please? Please open them all.”

“How many are there?” I ask.

“Only three,” Luke says. “One from each of us, and you had to get three for us. So it’s fair.”

I lift one eyebrow, and Luke pulls out a long, flat box. I take it from him and shake it. I'm really good at guessing things. “The shape is right for clothing, but the sound is weird. Too clunky.” I glance from Luke to Amy and back again. “You got me a book?”

He shakes his head. “Not exactly.”

“This one's from me.” Chase smiles for miles.

“Thanks, sweetie.” I pull the wrapping paper off and open the box. It's a stack of paper, folded in half.”

“Uh,” I say. “What is this?”

“Read it,” Luke says.

I glance over the paperwork, and as I do, my jaw drops. “This creates a foundation, Luke, funded up to a quarter of a million dollars.”

Luke points at the name on the paperwork. “My lawyer thought Santa's Aid Society conveyed the point, and that no one could come back and complain later. He said we can change it for three more days, if you hate the name or want to stick with Sub-for-Santa.” Luke unbuttons his jacket to reveal a green shirt with the words Santa's Aid Society printed across the front, alongside the of a stylized cartoon elf.

Amy unzips her jacket, and she's wearing the same green shirt.

Chase tugs his sweater up, nearly shucking off his shirt and sweater both. Luke laughs and helps him, and of course he's also wearing a matching green shirt.

“This is too much,” I say.

Luke sets the box down. “Oh come on, it's tax deductible.”

“Luke,” I say. “That's not the point.”

“Oh come on. Just say thank you, and then open mine next.” Amy hands me a tiny box, much narrower than the first, but just as long.

“We're not done talking about this, Luke.” I point at him until he meets my eye and nods.

His face is more sober than I've ever seen it. “Of course not. I named you the President, and I'm the Vice President. I imagine we'll talk about this a lot. Or that was my plan.”

I had no idea electricians made enough money for this kind of donation. I open the next box. It's a set of keys, one large and one small, both on a silver key chain that has the word “Winning” engraved on the oval plate.

“Uh, I think this one might need an explanation.”

“You need to sleuth better.” Luke winks. “There's a paper underneath it.”

I pull the paper out and start reading. It's a warranty deed for a house, and the address seems familiar. I flip to the next page, and there's a photo—of my dream house for the past twenty years. The house that wasn't even for sale. The one with a pool, a beautiful yard, the perfect floors, and mica flecked counters. The old, white, colonial home I've wanted my entire life.

I read the deed more carefully.

Now, somehow, it's mine.

“What? How?” I can’t formulate a good question. “It's way too much, Luke. I can't accept it.”

Luke hugs Amy and Chase and then whispers, “You two go play for a minute so I can talk to Mary, okay?”

I grab my jacket and Luke and I walk to the front porch. “I should probably have told you before the presents,” he says. “But I hate having this conversation.”

“Oh my gosh, you're a drug dealer or something.” My stomach feels like it's full of rocks. “Or a smuggler? A thief!”

He laughs, deep and loud. “Nothing of the sort, but I'm glad to know you went straight there.”

“Then what?”

He throws his hands up in the air. “When we were both young and stupid, my brother Paul and I wanted to start a business. I'd identify things that the world needed by working at real jobs. Paul would do research in a lab to try and make them. We collaborated on this one project that evolved into the main component of LED lights. That was our first success. Since then, we've created and patented more than a hundred new inventions, most of them electrical in nature.”

I recall him telling Foster he invented the LED light. I thought he was joking, so I didn't even think about it a second time.

“But. . .” I splutter. “You live in a trailer.”

Luke puts an arm around me. “After Beth died, I didn't care about money, or possessions, or houses. All I wanted was to feel numb enough not to think. But then you pointed out that big, white, columned house, and explained what it meant to you. When you told me why you loved it, I don't know. I just had to see it for myself. I called my realtor and set up an appointment.”

“But—it wasn't even on the market. You can't set up an appointment for something that's not for sale.”

He tsks. “Oh, Mary, everything's on the market for the right price. But as it turned out, the Bennetts had been thinking of downsizing for years. I didn't even have to pay much over the appraisal value.”

I don't even have words.

“Do you have any questions?” he asks. “Anything at all?”

“So you're like a billionaire?” I ask.

He laughs heartily again. “Not even that close.”

“What are you worth, then?”

He shrugs. “It fluctuates, you know, but somewhere around 600 million, last I checked.”

He could buy and sell Foster a hundred times.

My jaw drops.

I stand up and turn to walk back inside my modest little three bedroom home. Luke jumps up after me and slips on the step, falling backward on his butt into a bush. I shouldn't laugh, but I can't help myself. Mr. Richy Rich himself, bent double and stuck in a brown holly bush.

Once my giggling fit subsides, I offer him a hand and help him stand up. He doesn't let go of my hands once he's standing again. He pulls me close and kisses me until I can't think anymore. Numbers don't exist, money isn't real, and nothing matters except Luke, and me, and his darling children. When he finally lets me go, he drops to one knee and holds up a big black box.

If the box was small, I'd think he was proposing. As it is, he's handing me a big present in a really strange way. Maybe the fall damaged his brain.

“You've done way too much already,” I say. “What else could you possibly give me?”

He arches one eyebrow. “I'd hardly find the woman of my dreams, and the house of my dreams, and then buy her that house and drive away to a job in the Midwest.”

I take the box and unwrap it. “This bag says Prada.”

He nods. “There's a note.”

I pull a yellow post-it off the gorgeous black Prada bag: 'Perfect mom bag.'

My heart races. “You bought me a mom purse?”

He grins. “The bag is just to show that I have faith in you and your abilities. Look inside.”

I reach inside and pull out a little blue box that says Tiffany's on the top.

Luke pulls me into his arms. “If you hate this, you can go pick out something else, but I wanted to surprise you. You've never had the life you deserved, not even close.”

“I love my life.”

He kisses my forehead. “And that's what I like most about you. Life gave you a pile of crap, and you rolled up your sleeves and got to work. You've made the life you deserved for yourself, and as far as I can tell, you never even complained that you had to do it all alone.”

“Oh, I complained alright.”

I open the blue box and gasp at the enormous emerald inside, flanked by two large, sparkly, diamonds.

“Is this because of our joke?” I ask.

He frowns. “What joke?”

“Green eggs and ham?”

He laughs, and shakes his head. “I told the jeweler I wanted something that exactly matched your eyes. This is a little too green, but I figured you'd let that go.”

My knees feel weak, so I'm glad Luke's arms are still around me. He slides the ring on my finger, and I don't stop him.

“You've always taken care of everyone else, and never worried about yourself. I know it hasn't been very long for us, but I've watched you sacrifice and sacrifice and sacrifice for others. I've watched you care for your sister, your nephew, and hundreds of kids you don't know. I've watched you interact with my children, and I love you for all of that and more. Please, please, don't freak out about the money thing. Give me a chance, give us a chance, and I won't let you down.”

The door opens behind me, and Amy's head pokes out. A second later, Trudy's head pops out just above it. “Did he do it yet?” Amy asks.

Trudy shakes her head and whispers, “He's doing it right now.”

“Well, what did she say?” Amy asks.

“I haven't said anything yet.” I huff.

Amy squeals. “The ring's on her finger, though!” She ducks back inside, and after beaming at me, Trudy follows.

“They're excited, that's all.” Luke drops his hands. “So I know I slid that on there without you saying anything. Any chance I'll get some kind of answer out of you?”

I grab Luke by his shoulders and pull him up against me. I press my lips to his, and disappear into the feelings again. He's a good man, a hard worker, and a wonderful father. So what if he's sinfully rich and uses that money to buy presents that are way overblown?

Everyone's entitled to one flaw.

“Yes,” I say. “I'll marry you and move into a big, old, white mansion with your beautiful children. On one condition.”

Luke's smile nearly cleaves his face in two. “What's that?”

“You have to call and quit your job in Louisville.”

He exhales dramatically. “Oh, please. It's like you don't know me at all.” He winks. “I did that yesterday.”

My eyebrows rise. “Before you knew my answer?”

“You said you loved me. Even if you said no the first time, I figured I could work with that.”

I slug his shoulder, and he picks me up and twirls me around. The ring spins around my finger, weighed down by the enormously large emerald.

“Oh, hey,” I say. “Maybe we ought to take this off until we get it sized.”

“Sorry,” he says. “My brother's a hopeless bachelor, but he offered me one piece of advice.”

“What was that?”

“He said, 'make sure that ring's not too small. No woman wants to find out you think her fingers are fat.’”

I throw my head back and laugh. “I can't wait to meet your brother.”

Amy comes bouncing out of the house like a pinball. “I picked it, I picked it. Dad said if I did a good job, you might be my mom. Santa didn't bring me one, but I think it's because he knew I’d already picked you.”

Her eyes, desperate with hope, lock on mine. I don't tell her that Santa brought her a mom after all, my Santa, because I don't think she'll understand. No one else will. But before I can think of what else to say, Luke takes the ring back and slides it into the box.

Amy's lower lip trembles. “You didn't like it?”

I pull her into my arms and hug her tightly. “You did a wonderful job sweetheart, but the ring is a little bit big.”

She closes her eyes and sighs. “That's Dad's fault.”

I swing her around. “Yes, it is.”

“Dad says the white rocks are what girls all want, but I liked the green one cuz it matches your eyes and it’s different, like you. I didn't think you'd want what every other girl wants. We comzimized.”

“Compromised?” I ask.

“Yes!” She nods her head. “Exactly. What do you think?” She meets my eyes. “Also, not to push you or anything, but Dad says if you say yes, we don't have to move. We can live here in a house without wheels instead.”

I think about the absurdly large ring. “I think I love the ring.” And I can't wait to show it off to everyone I meet.

Chase comes running out next. “What does she say?”

Luke swoops me up in his arms and carries me inside. I whap his arm again. “You can't carry me over the threshold. We aren't even married yet.”

“I'm practicing. So sue me.”

Luke and his kids stay the rest of the day, and it's absolutely the happiest Christmas I've ever had. I tell Luke so.

“Oh, Mary,” he says, “I'm just getting started.”