“Merry Christmas Babe,” I whispered, running my fingers gently through Julia’s long silky light brown hair. “Is it morning already?” Julia whispered back. “Yeah,” I said. “That’s what the clock says, anyway.”
She giggled and asked playfully, “But you’re not sure?” I nodded as she lifted her head off my chest to look up at me. Then she said warmly, “I can see light through the curtains on the window. So, I think the clock is correct.”
She then put her head back down on my chest again saying, “This is nice. Let’s just stay like this for a while.” So… We did.
And… When we finally did get round, Julia got a surprise in the form of a key, sitting on the counter next to the coffee pot. “Babe?” Julia said curiously. “What’s this for?”
I chuckled and said, “I think that belongs to your car, doesn’t it?” “My car…” Julia said. “My car?” Julia repeated.
She then walked straight out of the house in her bathrobe and stood transfixed in the driveway staring at her car. “Try looking to the right,” I called from the doorway.
“I then heard Julia’s slippers moving in a shuffle towards where her new car was parked. Then, I heard nothing for at least three minutes if not a little longer before I finally said, “You’re going to freeze out here honey. Why don’t you come back in the house?”
When she came back inside, I gently guided her into the kitchen and poured her a coffee; placing it in her trembling hand before speaking again. “A little birdy told me you had been in a particular dealership parking lot a few months back looking at the vehicle that is now yours out in the driveway. They had informed me that you really liked the look of it and wanted to take it for a quick test drive, which you did. However, you had also told the birdy that you needed to think things over a bit before you replaced the car you presently owned.”
Julia said, “Yeah… I guess you know, too, that I took you for a ride in it one time too. But I didn’t say anything because I wanted to see what your reaction would be. But… You didn’t seem to notice.”
During our conversation, Julia moved to sit on my lap and put her arms around me as I said with a chuckle, “Oh… I noticed. I knew you’d been there the first time at that point, too. I didn’t say anything because… Well… As you already know… There’s a little bit of a trickster in me, too. So… I figured I’d let you have your fun.”
I then laughed, giving her a squeeze as she sat barely breathing in my lap finally devoid of her coffee cup. “The car is yours free and clear,” I said softly. “Merry Christmas.”
When Julia finally spoke, she said, “You truly are amazing. I don’t know what I was thinking playing that kind of a trick on you. I thought maybe once you noticed we’d talk about it and… But you never let on and…”
Julia then said warmly, “This is an Awesome surprise. Thank you.”