Things to remember:
- Gavin and Carol kissed at the winter carnival
- Leo is Oliver’s friend
- Paige is Leo’s girlfriend
- Chloe is Gavin’s ex-girlfriend who everybody hates
XVII: Ribbon Man Saves the Day
December 20, 2013
“I can’t believe it’s our last day here.” Gavin sighed, dragging his hand on the countertop. He looked doomed in the dim lighting of the café.
“Stop acting like it’s the end of the world, Gav.” I rolled my eyes as I tied my red scarf around my neck. “We’ll be back by mid-January.”
“Just let me be, Elle!” He sighed dramatically. He dreamily looked around the place as if it was the last time he’s ever going to see Gingersnaps. “I’m going to miss this place.”
“Yeah, yeah. Just go get your stuff.” Carol waved her hand dismissively. “We’re going to be late.”
Gavin gently shoved Carol to the side. “The movie won’t start without us. Stop worrying.”
Oliver and I exchanged a look. Carol and Gavin were so officially dating now.
“Are you guys ready to go?” Mrs. D asked when she came out of the kitchen with a tray of cookies. Jo gave an order to one of the people on the night shift then walked over to our little party.
“Just one more thing.” Oliver came out with a beautifully wrapped box with a big red ribbon on top. Gavin came just behind him with a gift bag that was clearly addressed to Jo and Mrs. D.
“Merry Christmas!” We all shouted.
“Oh, my. You kids shouldn’t have.” Mrs. D said when Gavin handed her the bag.
“We wanted to.” I told them.
We watched as Jo took the lid off the box and gasped. She held up one of the records and said, “Where’d you guys find these?”
Jo told us all about her vintage record player. She said her grandmother gave it to her when she was little. She had trouble finding good records though so that’s when Carol got the idea for our Christmas present. We would subtly ask her what her favorite bands were and find the records ourselves. It’s been going on for half a year, I think. I’m just surprised that Jo didn’t catch on.
“Oliver knew a place.” Gavin said, patting Oliver on the back.
“Thank you so much.” She gave each of us a hug. “I love it!”
“I absolutely love mine, too.” Mrs. D smiled at the gift we gave her. Gavin was the one who thought of giving her a framed photo of all of us. It was recently taken one on one of the many shifts we had this December. It was a great idea since Mrs. D was a sentimental person.
We all exchanged hugs and greetings before finally getting out of their hair. The four of us went our separate directions; Carol and Gavin to the cinema and Oliver and I to his car. I hopped into the passenger seat and buckled my seatbelt.
“You know, that was the first job I got that I actually enjoyed having.” Oliver said as we drove away.
“Maybe it was because you’d see me every day there.” I ginned teasingly.
YOU ARE READING
Learning to Love Christmas
Humor"Hey Elle," Gavin said in a low tone, wiping the counter clean. "I bet a month's worth of dirty dish duty that you can't turn Scrooge into Santa's head elf in three weeks." Noelle Winters loves Christmas. She loves catching snowflakes on her tongue...
