Now with Martha gone, this actually gave him more time to work on his...special invention.
The Grinch sat at his work desk, a lamp placed on the table as he worked intensely on the small piece jewelry. He wore an eyeglass lens to carefully place the tiny pieces on the ring with a pair of tweezers.
"Almost got it-"
"Hi, Mr. Grinch!"
The What startled at the sudden high-pitched voice coming from behind. He whipped around to see the doll-like face of little Cindy Lou Who, who had just dropped by to say, well, hi!
"Geez, kid...don't you Whos know how to knock?!"
"I did knock, but you didn't come to the door. So Max let me in!" She responded, motioning towards the pup next to her.
Yellow eyes glared icily at the brown mutt resulting in a soft whine.
He sighed. "Well, since you're already here, I suppose you can stay for a bit just as long as you keep out of my way."
The child nodded in agreement and walked to where he was sitting at. "Are you working on your engagement ring for Martha?"
Grinch smirked proudly at the question. "That I am, Cindy Lou, and I'm nearly finished with it too," His eyes widened once he realized what he just said. "Darn it! Speaking in rhymes again!"
The little child giggled and stretched on her toes to get a better look at his invention. She gasped, "It's very beautiful! Martha will love it for sure!"
He smiled at that complement, though it didn't last for very long and a small, jaded frown crossed his green face as he let out a sigh.
However, little Cindy Lou saw her friend's change in emotion and it worried her slightly. "What's the matter, Mr. Grinch?"
He pulled away from his thoughts and looked at the girl, smiling reassuringly. "Nothing, Cindy Lou. I-It's just that I," He paused, contemplating on whether he should continue or not. He opened his mouth, then closed it. "….Never mind."
But Cindy could tell that something was truly bothering him, and she could guess what it was about. "You're nervous about proposing." She answered for him.
Grinch nodded as he lowered his head.
A small, gloved hand reached out and gently touched his arm, making the What look up.
"Don't be nervous, Mr. Grinch, Martha loves you! And I was there when she said it too!" Her words making the adult chuckle quite warmly.
"And what do you know about love, little girl?"
Cindy shrugged. "Well, I hear my parents talk about how much they love each other, and so do my brothers when they go on and on about their girlfriends."
Grinch gave a half, amusing smile at that, until his eyes caught view of something sitting on a table across from them. It captured his attention, and the talking from the child soon started to fade.
The little girl noticed she wasn't being paid attention to and immediately stopped once she saw him looking at something over her shoulder. "What are you looking at, Mr. Grinch?" She asked as her blue eyes simply followed his yellow ones until they landed on what he had been looking at all along.
There, sitting on a worn-out table, was a small picture frame that held a cherished picture of the Grinch and Martha skating together at the frozen pond in the park.
"Oh…" Cindy let out quietly, walking over to grab the picture and bring it towards the Grinch.
She held the frame in her tiny hands, smiling down as she looked at the couple's happy faces. They had their arms wrapped around each other while Martha was giving his green, furry cheek a kiss. It was one of the first photos she's ever seen where the Grinch looked genuinely…happy!
"This is when Martha took you out skating to the pond?"
He nodded. "Yeah. It was my first time learning how to ice skate, and I was nervous that I wouldn't get the hang of it…but Martha was patient with me, and before I knew it…I was skating along with her!"
The child smiled at the soft, reminiscent tone in his voice.
Grinch smiled and added, "She's always so patient and understanding towards me," but his frown soon returned. "That's why I'm so anxious about popping the question, because I want to be good enough for her…the husband that she deserves."
"But, Mr. Grinch, you already are good enough for Martha…you just gotta believe so!" Her red-mittened hand kindly reached and took his green one in hers. "And…Martha loves you."
A small beat of silence passed, dwelling on her words, before he looked up, meeting her innocent eyes. "You really think so?"
She smiled warmly. "I know so, Mr. Grinch." And that similar beam of genuine happiness spread across his face as he gently squeezed her hand.
"Thank you, Cindy Lou."
"You're welcome, Mr. Grinch."
A few hours passed and the little girl soon left for her home back in Whoville.
Grinch was still in his workshop, thinking about what the child has said. He looked down at his ring, the details finally beginning to come together. All that's left was the rhinestone and the polishing.
Suddenly, something crossed his mind that had him up from his seat and digging through his desk drawer, seemingly looking for something important.
What he pulled out was a cloth, drawstring bag that revealed to hold multiple small jewels of assorted colors.
They were leftover stones from when he had made that Angel topper for Martha when he was a child, keeping them in safe so nothing would happen to them.
He reached inside and chose an emerald gem for…obvious reasons, and began to assemble it into its proper place.
The picture frame was placed in front of him on the desk. He looked at it, smiled, and then returned to working on his special gift. Making sure everything was perfect.