Owen made the decision in that instant. He was going to pursue the little yellow car. He turned the steering wheel right and turned down into the side street.

"Where are you going, dad?" Christopher questioned. "This isn't the way home. We're supposed to go straight, not turn right."

"Um, Christopher, just going to check out something, here and then, we'll go home. Okay?" Owen said, scanning the street for the yellow car. Whoever was driving that car was moving at a rapid speed. Why would she be driving so fast? Then, he spotted it. He was going to speed up to catch it but then two cars came out from the side and moved out in front of him.

"Come on, come on," he said. "Get moving, you two. You're taking forever to get out of there." Christopher gave his father a puzzled look. What was wrong with his dad?

Owen was getting anxious. The yellow car was now two cars ahead of him. He hoped that he would not lose sight of it. Then, he saw the traffic light turned to red.

"Hallelujah!" he yelled. He could at least pull up close enough to the car. He could see that the person in the car had long, dark hair. He was getting excited. Maybe, he could finally see her and not make a fool of himself.

Then, the light changed. Everyone took off down the road. One car turned off into a side street, so Owen was that much closer. Then, the other car turned off into a Walgreens parking lot. He was now directly behind the yellow VW Beetle and another traffic light was coming up. He could now pull alongside the vehicle, which he did.

He glanced across with a smile, only to be greeted with a face that not only had long dark hair but also a full beard and mustache. "Oh, jeez," Owen muttered under his breath. He turned into a shopping mall parking lot, turned around and began the trek back to his original route. He was really kind of peeved at that guy. Seriously, why would a burly man like that be driving such a girly-looking car?

What was happening to me, Owen thought. The woman was driving him crazy. Here he was, chasing down random yellow VW Beetles down the street. He desperately hoped he would see her again at the grocery store.


Alas, that was not going to be the case. Owen never saw his mystery crush at the grocery store, whenever he went there. He was sorely disappointed by it.

But there was a reason why he never saw her. Cristina was extremely busy with all of the school's extra-curricular activities, She no longer went to the grocery store at the hours that she had previously done before. She now shopped much later at night between the hours of 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. because that was the only time she could get there. By that time, Owen had already been there and gone.

She had written the play about a poor boy who asked a mall Santa Claus for a pretty dress for his mother for Christmas. The boy's mother, who worked cleaning tables in the food court of the mall, always admired a particular dress in the window of a store. The mall Santa was touched that the boy wanted nothing for himself so he bought the dress for the woman and left it for her at the food court outlet where she worked with a note, saying that it was from Santa Claus.

Cristina thought it was a good story because its main message was about giving for Christmas. She wanted her grade school children to know that Christmas was more about giving to others, rather than the receiving all of these gifts.

Other than the play, she also had band rehearsals with her little rock band. They had decided on Santa Claus is Coming to Town for their opening song and Feliz Navidad for their closing song. Both were upbeat, peppy songs and would go well with their rock vibe.

Whenever Owen picked up Christopher after his band rehearsals after school, little did he know that his grocery store dream girl was right there, just a mere hundred feet away inside the school. Their worlds often collided but neither knew that it was happening.


It was Thanksgiving. Owen was going to host Thanksgiving dinner at his house for his parents and Emmalyn's parents. It was the only time of year that all four grandparents got together with Owen and his family. Emmalyn's parents lived 50 miles away in another town, while Owen's parents also lived 50 miles away in another direction. It was at the Thanksgiving dinner that they would all meet and exchange stories about their lives at the moment. It had been a tradition that had started when Christopher was born and it continued every year after that, even after Emmalyn's death.

First, his parents, Carl and Carlene Hunt arrived. It was always a standing joke in the Hunt family that Carl and Carlene were always meant to be. They had met in high school and everyone had always made fun of the fact that they were Carl and Carlene, so on a dare, he had asked her out and sparks flew like fireworks on the 4th of July. It was because of them that Christopher had figured that he and Miss Yang were going to be together. Christopher and Cristina were two names that went together just like his grandparents, Carl and Carlene.

Then, Emmalyn's parents arrived. Daniel and Katherine Glassen were all smiles when they saw the children, giving each of them a hug and a kiss. The gatherings were always bittersweet. Everyone was very happy to be there but as always, Emmalyn's absence was always felt.

It was when everyone was seated at the dining table, when Owen was carving the Thanksgiving turkey that Katherine noticed that he was no longer wearing his wedding ring.

"Your ring! You took it off," Katherine said, almost accusatory in her tone. Owen looked at his finger. He had taken off his ring for more than two months, now. He was now used to not wearing it. He heard the tone in Katherine's voice and he knew she was upset. He was aware that she was thinking about Emmalyn.

"Yes, I did," he said, firmly. "I thought it was time that I moved on with my life. I am still a young man. I am only 32 and I do want to have someone in my life." He could see the tears filling in Katherine's eyes but it needed to be said. He could not mourn Emmalyn forever.

He continued, "I loved Emmalyn very much. She was my first real love and she was the mother of my children. I will never forget her and neither will the children. But I cannot continue like this. I want to be happy, too."

Carlene piped up, "We all loved Emmalyn, Katherine and we all have wonderful memories of her. But Owen is right. He needs someone in his life. He needs a companion as well as someone who can co-parent these children, who are all still very young."

Katherine wiped the tears away from her eyes with her napkin. "I am sorry, Owen. I know you are both right. You should have someone in your life. It is sometimes hard to accept that Emmalyn is gone. I know it has been more than two years but I still remember my beautiful angel."

"I do, too," Owen said. "I will always remember her."

"Thank you," Katherine said. "So that means you have been dating? Have you met someone?" Owen really did not know how to answer that question. Yes, he had been dating but none of that ever worked out when the women found out the existence of the children.

"Well, I have dated before but somehow, it never went anywhere," Owen said. "But there is someone, who has piqued my interest." Everyone looked up, expectantly.

"So where is she?" Carlene asked. She was very interested in any potential new love interest, who could become her daughter-in-law.

"Um, well, it is in the very early stages," Owen admitted. "I didn't want to bombard her with too much family togetherness." He didn't really want to mention that the relationship was really non-existent or that he had not caught sight of the woman in two months. He was glad that no one asked what was her name because he would not have known what to say.

"Well, okay, son," Carl said. "I know we can be a bit overwhelming but whenever you're ready, your mother and I would be happy to meet your young lady."

"So would we," Daniel said. "Especially if she is going to be around our grandchildren." Owen nodded. He knew it would be important for them to meet the person who would be a mother figure for Emmalyn's children. If only he could get the chance to ask this woman out on their first date.

"Well, let's just get started on our meal, shall we?" Owen said. "Molly has cooked us a fine feast here." The evening settled into one of great food, pleasant conversation and happy family times.


Cristina, too, was having Thanksgiving dinner but in Philadelphia with her parents and her brother's family. She, too, was being grilled about any potential boyfriends.

"So, Cristina," her mother, Helen said. "Any new boyfriends out there in California? I mean you broke up with Scott and I don't even know why." Cristina had never informed her family about the reason why she broke up with Scott.

"Um, not really," Cristina said. "Though I did see a guy that I kinda liked."

"Well, what's his name?" Helen pressed.

"Um, I don't know," Cristina said. "I have only met him twice at Whole Foods and we've spoken briefly."

"What?" her brother, Jude said. "You haven't even been out with the guy and you kinda like him. Cristina, that is just stupid."

"Oh, I don't know," Cristina said. "It just seems like there is some sort of connection between us, even though I haven't seen him at the grocery in a while, since I started shopping different hours."

Jude shook his head. "Stop wasting time on that dude, Cristina. You are a beautiful girl. You should be out there, dating and not bothering about some guy you barely met at the grocery. Since you don't even know his name, maybe you should stop worrying about him."

Cristina was silent but she also knew that her brother was right. She didn't really even know this guy at all.

"Okay, Jude," she said. "I think you're right. But I have been really busy at school, so there hasn't been much time for dating, anyway. My fifth grade is doing a play that I wrote and we're also doing music at the beginning and at the end of the play, so it is a lot of rehearsals. The Christmas pageant is in two weeks, just before school closes for the break."

"Well, okay," Jude said. "After that, you have to start dating, properly." She nodded. She couldn't be mooning over some guy with whom she had only a brief conversation.


The two weeks leading up to the pageant were very hectic. All three of Owen's children had to stay back in school for rehearsals for their presentations. Since Griffin was just a cow, his only words were "Moo, moo." Hayley had her dance rehearsals, while Christopher had his band rehearsal.

When the day of the pageant arrived, Owen was very relieved. This was the end of all of the late rehearsals. He and Molly had very good seats on the front row. He had paid the extra dollars for those seats so he could film his children's performances. After all, his three children were in the pageant. He was excited. So was Molly, who had her camera ready to take out pictures.

After Principal Lynch offered his welcome to all parents and families, he introduced the host for the night, Vice Principal Ferguson, who had gone formal and was wearing a magenta gown.

First up were the first graders who did the traditional Nativity play. Of course, Griffin was the cow, who mooed when the wise men came to the stable. Owen could recognize that moo anywhere. After the first graders, then came the second and then the third graders' dance with Hayley. Their teacher was the main dancer and all of the little girls danced around her. Hayley looked so pretty and she kept looking for her father to make sure that he saw her.

He sat through the fourth grade class' circus act, which he found to be highly entertaining. He wondered who came up with that great idea.

There was a break, as the fifth grade set up for their presentation behind the curtain. "So this is Christopher's class?" Molly asked.

"Yes," Owen said. "He was very nervous today but I am sure he will be okay." Then, the curtain rose to reveal the band on one side of the stage. As the first notes of the song started and Talia and Miss Yang began to sing Santa Claus is Coming to Town. Owen blinked. He could not believe his eyes as he stared at the young woman behind the keyboards. He had finally found her.


A/N Please leave your thoughts and comments. Thank you for leaving reviews. I do appreciate them.