Chapter 9
Jim finished wrapping the packages late Christmas Eve. He started to take the packages down to the pickup truck. He was glad that he had had a fiberglass bed cover put on the pickup as they were predicting snow for later tonight. He had the cell phone clipped to his belt in case Jessica called. It took several trips to get all of the presents into the truck and he had to put the presents that he had bought Jessica, earlier in the day, into the front next to him. He went back inside and waited for Jessica to call.
It was after midnight before she called, "She wouldn't go to bed. She wanted to talk all night. You can come over now. I'll keep an eye out for you."
Jim drove over to Ann's house. He pulled into the driveway slowly to avoid making any noise. Jessica was waiting at the door for him. He started to carry in the packages, taking as many as he could each trip. Jessica held the door for him each time he neared the door. After the 4th trip she asked if he left anything in the store for other people to buy. He finally emptied the pickup bed. He started to carry in the presents from the front of the pickup and set them in a separate pile by the tree. When he had all of the presents in the house he walked by Jessica and whispered Merry Christmas and got in the pickup.
He drove home very proud of himself. He had gotten everything inside without waking Ann up.
Ann got up in the morning and made coffee. After the coffee was done she went to Jessica's bedroom to wake her up. She hadn't gotten Jessica many presents because she knew that she would have trouble getting them back to California. She intended to give her cash so that she could buy what she wanted when she got back to California.
When Ann and Jessica walked into the living room she stopped and put her hand to her mouth in shock.
"When did you have time to buy all of this. Jessica, you shouldn't have spent all of this money, you can't afford it."
"Don't blame it on me. I had nothing to do with it. I have your present from me in my room."
Ann started to pick up packages and read the labels. They all said the same thing-To Ann From Santa Claus. She looked at Jessica as if trying to see if she was lying about not buying the presents. Finally the light came on in her head. She went to the phone and dialed Jim's number. After several rings he answered.
"Hello Jim, you should see my living room. Santa Claus brought me a whole lot of presents. I was wondering if you would like to come over here and watch me open them." He laughed and told her that he would be there soon.
When he knocked on the door Ann greeted him with a hug and a kiss. She didn't looked at his vehicle. She took his hand and dragged him into the living room. After he sat down she went into the kitchen and got him a cup of coffee. She handed him the coffee and he told her that he wanted to see what Santa Claus brought her. He asked Jessica to make sure that the separate pile of presents went to the right person. Jessica went to the pile of presents and squealed when she saw that they were for her. The pair of them opened presents like two little kids. Jim had purposely put the larger present on the bottom of their pile.
Jessica opened her presents first except for the last one. Jim stopped her before she opened it.
"That's not really your present. That's just to show you what your present is."
She looked at him quizzically and then started to open the present. Ann had paused went she heard what he had told Jessica. Ann had no idea what he was talking about either. Jessica torn the paper off of the package. She put her hand over her mouth and gasped.
"It's a laptop. Are you serious?"
"You mother mentioned one time that you needed a laptop. That one is mine. A Dell laptop will be delivered to your home in California a day or two after you get home. It's powerful enough to be used as a desktop. I just hope you enjoy it."
Jessica ran over to him and put her arms around his neck. Ann watched the two of them with an amused look on her face. She had not noticed the package that had been pushed under the tree.
She picked up a package that was lying on the floor and handed it to him, "That's from Rolf Parameter for all you've done for us."
He opened the present. Inside the box was a gold Rolex watch with his name engraved on the back.
She handed him a large package, "This is from me.
He opened it and inside was a Coach briefcase with his initials on it. He smiled and went over to her and kissed her. Jessica watched them with a big grin on her face.
Ann started to get up off of the floor. She stopped when he pointed out the small package under the tree. The package was about the size of a man's wallet. Ann opened the package. She pulled out some keys and looked at him trying to figure out the meaning of the keys.
"Look in the driveway."
Ann went to the window. She looked back at him and back at the car in the driveway several times before she could speak. Jim took her hand and put a coat around her shoulders and led her outside. The BMW sat proudly in the driveway waiting for it's new owner to bring it to life.
"Jim, you can't afford this."
"How do you know what I can afford. You don't even know how much I make. I'm going to make a lot more than this costs by completing the project early. Your company is really paying for this.
He took her hands, "Seriously Ann, I want you to have this. Believe me I don't have any money worries. Besides I just can't stand to see you drive that old Buick any more. It's starting to give you trouble and I'll be happy to see you in a safer car."
She knew he was right, her uncle had given the Buick to her after she started working for him. It was a lease car and he gave it to her instead of turning it in because her car had gone up shortly after she started working and she was riding the bus to work. It had started needing frequent repairs.
She pulled him to her and kissed him passionately. Jessica watched from the window and knew that she didn't have to worry about her mother any more.
Ann had dinner ready by 2 o'clock in the afternoon. Ann took Jessica over her father's house and dropped her off. Jessica told Ann that she would not be home until the next afternoon or evening. When Ann returned home Jim was in the midst of cleaning up the kitchen. She pushed him into the living room and turned on the TV for him. She handed him the remote and told him that she dared him to get off that couch.
After the kitchen was straightened and the dishwasher was running, she came into the living room and sat next to him.
"You made quite an impression on my daughter. That was really nice what you did for her. I had no idea things were going bad out in California. You really made her Christmas special. You really made mine special too."
She leaned over and kissed him. He turned the TV off and they held each other until it got dark. They sat in the dark and occasionally they would kiss.
"You know, I don't have any transportation. I'm going to need a ride home tonight."
"I was hoping that I could talk you into staying with me tonight."
"Are you sure you're ready? I told you that I would give you all of the time you needed."
"Yes I'm ready and I was a fool to wait so long. The fact that you were willing to wait until I had things sorted out tells me volumes about you. Please stay with me tonight."
She stood up and took his hand and led him to her bedroom.