Page 7 of The Holiday Exchange
That’s true, I guess, so who am I to turn down a willing helper? “In that case, my next question is when do we get started?”
“I’m off all day on Saturday, so I can work on it then. But we’ll have to get the supplies first. How about you come back to the store one afternoon this week and I’ll help you get everything together?”
“That sounds perfect. I’m free Tuesday after school so I can be at the store around 4:30 or so. On Saturday…I might have to rearrange some things. What time were you thinking?”
“You don’t have to help with the actual building part. I can handle that.”
“No, I want to help.” I’m not sure how much help I’ll actually be, but I can at least hand him tools and keep him company, right? I don’t want him to feel like I dumped this on him. “I insist. Plus, it will give me a chance to work on my side of the exchange.”
He looks a little nervous now. “What are you going to do?”
“Help you learn to talk to people by giving you lots of practice on me.” I give him a grin and a cheesy thumbs-up.
“Oh, okay.”
“Don’t sound so excited,” I say drily. “I promise I’m not that bad.”
“I didn’t mean it that way. It’s just…you make me a little nervous.”
I raise an eyebrow and open my mouth to respond, but just then a server appears with our food. We arrange our meal on the table and the aroma of my soup kicks my hunger into overdrive. I’m so occupied with the first few bites that I almost forget to respond to his admission.
I put my spoon down and reach for my sweet tea. “Why do I make you nervous?”
Trevor wipes his mouth and glances up at me. “You’re just so…beautiful. And articulate. It’s intimidating.”
My mouth literally drops open. That’s the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me and it was delivered completely without guile. I haven’t known Trevor long, but I can tell he’s the kind of guy who means what he says, good or bad.
Now he’s looking at me like a deer in the headlights. Like maybe that just slipped out before he had time to think about it and he’s unsure how I’ll react.
“You’re not so bad yourself.” I flash him a teasing smile to lighten the mood. Hopefully, he doesn’t read that comment as flirtatious. Although, would it really be a bad thing if he did?
His shoulders relax and the hesitant smile I’m becoming very familiar with makes another appearance. He probably doesn’t know what a nice smile it is.
“Seriously, you’re doing me a huge favor here, deal or not. Now, I don’t know how much I can teach you about talking to people, but I’m going to do my best and your first lesson starts now.”
Trevor sits up a little straighter, his attention laser-focused on me.
“No matter what situation you find yourself in, I want you to remember that you deserve to be there as much as anyone else. You bring something to the table.”
He quirks an eyebrow at me. “You barely know me.”
“I don’t have to. Every person matters and every person brings a unique perspective to every situation, including you. Remembering that will help you come to conversations with confidence.”
He doesn’t look convinced.
“It’s true!” I defend against the argument he’s not making. “Let’s say…” I wrack my brain for a silly example to set him at ease while proving my point. “Let’s say I want to get a pet and I can’t decide between a cat or a dog. Which one would you choose?”
“Cat.”
I was expecting him to say ‘dog’. It takes me a moment to recover from the stereotype pit I’ve apparently tumbled into. “Why is your answer cat?”
“I like dogs, too,” he clarifies. “But cats are more my speed. My family had several pets when I was growing up and I enjoyed playing with the dogs, but I always loved how the cats were just quiet companions. They hang out without demanding constant attention.”
I nod along in understanding. “They don’t need you, so it feels like an honor when they want you.”
“Exactly. We had one cat, Otto, who would do his own thing most of the time. But if you sat quietly long enough, he would come curl up beside you. Otto and I spent many hours reading comic books together on the porch swing.”
My heart swells at the mental picture of little Trevor snuggling a kitty on a porch swing. If I was an emoji right now, it would be the one with the heart eyes.