Chapter Twenty-One

Rebecca opened the door to see a smiling Aaron in her doorway… dressed in a tuxedo. Frowning, she opened the door wider to see him fully. His grin stretched wider when he saw her amazement, and she nearly shrieked when he brought his hand from behind his back.

"Roses, Aaron?" Rebecca said, not sure whether to cry or to laugh or to hug him and was considering doing all three. "What's this for?"

"Well, if you would come out of that fortress of yours every once in a while, you would see that there are lights and snowmen around nearly every person's house. It's Christmas, Rebecca," he took her hand and bowed low over it, kissing it.

She was catching on. Taking the roses and smelling deep of them, she said in the most polite and high-pitched voice she could muster, "Won't you come in, kind sir?"

"I'd be delighted," he winked, stepping into her house. "I've just returned from the Christmas party at Anne and Don's. Everything's all cleared up."

"Have you gained your reputation back?" Rebecca grinned. She punched him lightly on the shoulder. "Not that you deserve it."

"You're right," he said, his eyes taking on a dark look. He grinned evilly and backed her into the wall. "I'm completely scandalous. Disreputable. Dishonest."

Rebecca was stunned for a few seconds, but quickly recovered. "Why, you scoundrel!" she with mock horror in her most dramatic voice, but she was grinning.

"Well, this scoundrel likes ladies that are hard to get best," he raised his eyebrows and came for her again. This time she let him encircle her waist with his arms. He looked her in the eye for several incredibly long seconds before lowering his mouth onto hers.

A number of moments later, he pulled back with a grin. "My goodness, for a lady who's so dignified and well thought-of, you can kiss quite well."

Rebecca laughed and put her arms around him, sighing. "And why exactly did such a scoundrel wear a tuxedo and bring flowers?"

"Because I'm taking you out to a nice Christmas Eve dinner."

She raised her eyes to look at his. "Did I just hear the word out?" She sighed and quickly kissed him. "I can't go out, Aaron. You know that."

He kissed her back. "Trying to take the sting out of your rejection?" He raised his eyebrows. "I should propose these sorts of things to you more often."

Giggling, she went over to sit on the couch. "Why would you even think that I'd go out with you on a date… in public?"

"Because I bought you something special for Christmas… which you will open before we go on that date I told you about," Aaron smiled, sitting down beside her and putting his arm around her waist. He set a medium-sized box down on her lap and took the roses from her, putting them aside while she slowly opened her present.

Inside was a silky, long brown wig. Tears filled Rebecca's eyes and looked over at Aaron. "Oh, Aaron…"

Quickly he enveloped her in a hug, just before she started crying. She squeezed him back and said over his shoulder, "Now you'll get to see me with hair again."

He drew back and took the hat off her head, and this time she didn't resist. He ran his fingers through her quickly-diminishing hair. "You're beautiful to me whether you have hair or not, Beck."

She closed her eyes with a small smile on her face, and then quickly opened them again. Pecking him quickly on the cheek, she got up and shouted for her sister. "Ruth! Come help me!"

Aaron waited on the couch for Rebecca to get the wig on. A few minutes later, smiles on their faces, the two of them emerged from the bathroom. Rebecca had put on a nice long-sleeved dress and some makeup. But what stunned him most was the shiny brown wig.

"Aaron, how did you get something so close to my own hair?" Rebecca asked, taking his hand and pulling him up off the couch. She touched her new hair. "It's almost exactly the same color and length as my real hair."

He ignored her question, exchanging a smile with Ruth and tugging on the sleeve of her dress. "Does this mean you're going on that Christmas Eve date with me?"

Rebecca nodded and smiled.