Owen took Molly and the kids to the mall to buy Christmas presents for each other and Molly. He gave each of the children spending money for their presents. Owen went off on his own to buy everyone presents. His business clientele had already been taken care of by a personal shopper, so it was just for his family and Cristina.
He had already asked Molly what she wanted and he got it for her online. The children were easy to shop for. Christopher wanted an iPad, so Owen bought him the latest version at the Apple store. Griffin wanted video games, so Owen bought those for him. Hayley wanted her own private one-room girl-size cabin, so he was building that in the backyard. As the only girl, she wanted some place where she and her friends could have tea-parties and giggle, without the boys making fun of them. The workers at his company had already started building it. As she had explained it to him, it would be like a tree-house but on the ground. She had been very solemn, when she explained to him what she wanted.
As for Cristina, he wasn't sure what he was going to buy. He went into a lingerie shop but was overwhelmed by how heavily scented the store seemed. Plus the array of bras and panties had him totally confused. The sales lady was very aggressive and he backed out there, quickly enough. Still, it was too early in the relationship to consider buying lingerie, he reasoned. After all, they had only been on one couple date and one family date.
Then, he went into an electronic gadgets store but he realized he was more there for himself than for her. Then, he went to the jewelry store. Women always loved jewelry, he thought. The last time he had bought jewelry for anybody was for his wife. He wasn't sure what to buy. The customer representative, a young man, came up to him.
"How can I help you, sir?" the young man said. "I am Phil. I can help you with whatever you need."
"I want to buy something for a young woman," Owen said. "She is a teacher. Actually my son's teacher."
"Ah, so you want something for your son's teacher," the young man said. "How about a sterling silver bracelet?"
"Um, no," Owen said. "That would be a little on the low side in terms of the price range I am considering. I am actually dating her." The young man's eyes lit up like the lights on the Christmas tree behind him. He could sense a big commission.
"Oh," the young man said. "What about a lovely diamond tennis bracelet?"
"Um, I think that would be a little too much now," Owen said. The light faded in the young man's eyes as he saw his big commission flying away. Owen added, quickly, "Not that I can't afford to buy it but I mean it would be a little too much in this stage of our relationship. Officially, we've only been on one date and a family date, too. But it's Christmas and I really like this woman, so I have to get her a present."
"I guess diamonds are a bit much in this early stage of the relationship," Phil said. He looked around the store. "What about a less costly gemstone? We can go with garnets, aquamarines, topaz. Maybe a ruby or even pearls."
"Ooh, I like pearls," Owen said. "Pearls convey classic sophistication."
"Ah yes," Phil said. "Pearls would be good. Pearl earrings or a string of pearls," Phil said. "Or maybe both." His eyes lit up again.
"I think I will go with a string of pearls," Owen said. He was then shown necklaces of pearls in various lengths and colors, before deciding on a necklace with a double strand of pearls.
"Excellent choice," Phil said. "I will have this wrapped for you, immediately. Is there anything else?"
"Okay, just throw in a matching pair of earrings," Owen said, finally as he mulled it over in his mind.
"Excellent," Phil said. "I will have that wrapped for you." As Owen paid for the purchases, he felt it was a good gift. He hoped she would appreciate them. He had spent more than he thought he would spend. Somehow, he felt she was worth it.
He met with Molly and the children at the food court. They were all laden with shopping bags, as was he. "So have we all got everything that we wanted to buy?" he asked.
"Yup, yup, yup," Griffin said. "We even bought wrapping paper. Molly said she would help us wrap the presents."
"Thank you, Molly," Owen said. "You are such a gem." Molly blushed. It was always sweet to get a compliment from her handsome boss. Plus he always gave her a great bonus at the end of the year.
"So are you done, Mr. Hunt, with all of your shopping?" she asked.
"I certainly am," Owen said. "All done. Good thing, too, because this mall is starting to get crowded. It was a wise idea to come early."
"Mr. Hunt, are you going to invite Miss Yang for Christmas Eve dinner?" Molly asked. "I want to know if I need to put out an extra setting before I leave for the holidays." Molly always took Christmas to New Year's Day off every year.
"Um, I hadn't thought about it," Owen said. "Yes, I will ask her." He smiled. "Such a good idea, Molly."
After they had lunch at the mall, the Hunts and Molly went back home. Owen went to the quiet of his bedroom to make his call. He hadn't really spoken to her since their family date, a couple of days ago. He was very busy at the office, tying up loose ends, since the company shut its doors for the holidays. After three rings, she answered.
"Hey," he said. "How are you?"
"Hey, yourself," she replied. "I am doing great."
"Sorry I haven't called since the last time we met," he said. "But I was extremely busy at the office. Year end is always a hassle, trying to get all accounts settled."
"Oh, that's okay," she said. "I know how it is. It's like us at the end of a term, always hustling to get things done. So how is everyone?"
"We're doing fine. We just did our Christmas shopping," Owen said. "We got out of there, just in time. The hordes were starting to come in."
"Ah, that's good," she said.
"Um, I was wondering whether you would like to come over for Christmas Eve dinner," Owen asked. "It will just be the kids and me."
"Oh, I am sorry; I won't be able to make that," she told him. "I am in Philly with the folks." He was disappointed but he hoped that it wasn't going to show in his voice.
"That's a pity," he said. "But I am sure you are going to have a great time with your family," he told her. He wondered why she hadn't told him that she was leaving to go back to visit her folks. But he reminded himself that they were not a couple.
"So how long will you be gone?" he asked.
"Well, I am staying until the new year," she told him. "I will be back just before school starts." That meant he would not see her again for the entire holiday season. When would he give her his present?
"I have a present for you," he said. "I guess I will give it to you when school starts."
"A present? For me?" she said. "You didn't have to do that."
"I wanted to," he replied.
"Well, thank you in advance," she said. "I am sure I am going to love it."
"I guess I better go, now," he said. "Happy holidays! Merry Christmas! Happy New Year! Happy Hanukkah! Happy Kwanzaa."
"Yes," she laughed. "Yes, all that to you and the kids. So I will see you soon."
"Yes," he said. "Goodbye." As he hung up the phone, he felt strangely empty. He had been looking forward to having Christmas Eve dinner with her and giving her his present. He had wanted to see her face, when she opened it.
It was a quiet holiday for the Hunts. They did have Christmas Eve dinner at home and the next day, they drove to his parents' house for Christmas. They spent New Year's Eve and New Year's Day with Emmalyn's parents. He was actually looking forward to the opening of school because he knew that was when Cristina would be back.
It was the first day of school. The Hunt children were very excited to see their friends after the Christmas break. In Christopher's class, Miss Yang had everyone say what they did for their break. It was a lovely first day. Christopher knew that his dad was coming with Miss Yang's present after school. His father had told him what it was and he hoped that she would flip when she saw it.
After school, he, Hayley and Griffin were waiting outside of the school building for their dad. There were lots of parents around picking up their kids. It was usually a long and slow process, as a car would pull up and a kid would get in. Owen was already on his way but he got caught behind a traffic accident and was a little later than usual.
Cristina had come out of the building to stretch her legs. She was headed home, as soon as all of the kids were gone. She waved at the Hunt children. Just then, a flashy car pulled up. Christopher knew whose car that was. That was Cord's dad, Tom. As Cord headed to his dad's car, his father suddenly got out with a bunch of roses.
"Hey, Cristina, good to see you out here. I thought I would have to go into the school to find you," Tom said. "Since I didn't see you for the holidays, I thought I would bring you some roses to brighten your day." As he handed her the roses, he kissed her on the cheek.
"Why thank you, Tom. I trust that you and Cord had a wonderful break, together," she said.
"Yes," he said. "It was good. Cord and I headed to Mexico for a bit. Took in some sun."
"You look well," she said. Christopher observed this conversation with a bit of horror. Where the heck was his dad? He should get here soon, he thought, or else Cord's dad would get all of Miss Yang's attention.
Owen was in a traffic jam, re-considering whether to give her the double-strand of pearls. Was it too flashy? Was it too much? He wasn't sure what to do anymore. Would it seem like he was coming on too strong? He was worried. Maybe he should just give her the pearl earrings. Then, his phone rang. It was Christopher.
"Dad, you better get here soon," Christopher said, an anxious tone was evident in his voice.
"Why? What happened? Did one of you get sick or injured?" Owen asked, alarmed by the one in his son's voice.
"No, no. Cord's dad is here and he brought Miss Yang a bunch of red roses," Christopher said. "They're talking right in front of me, Dad. You better get here quick."
"Really?" Owen said. There was no way he was going to get around this traffic. He pulled off on to a side road and took a longer route to the school. By the time he got there, many of the children had left. He saw his three children, still waiting. Christopher gestured with his head to show him that Miss Yang was still chatting with Tom.
Owen reached into the back seat and pulled out the present for her. He got out of his vehicle and told his children to get into the vehicle. They did so but all eyes were on their father as he approached Cristina and Tom.
"Hello, Cristina," Owen said, smoothly.
"Oh, hi, Owen," she said with a smile on her face. The two men observed each other with distaste.
A/N Please leave your thoughts and comments. I do appreciate them very much. It gives me the incentive to continue my stories.
