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He shrugs.  “This doesn’t have anything to do with Nana.  I know Emmie has been her best friend forever, but I don’t want her messing this up.  This is just between me and Emmie.”

I stare at him.  “Kookie, are you thinking about asking Emmie to be your girlfriend?”

He shrugs again.  “I don’t know.”

“Why not?”

His eyes meet mine again. “I don’t know.”

Okay.  I understand “Back off” when I don’t hear it falling from my son’s lips.  I press my own lips together before murmuring, “Do you want my help finding her a gift?  Or would you rather shop for her by yourself?”

“I know what I want to get her.  I just haven’t seen one anywhere.”

Surprised, I furrow my eyebrows.  “You do?  What are you looking for?”

“Well, I wasn’t sure until after we walked through Wal-Mart, and I found absolutely nothing that would work.  The idea came to me when Nana shoved her bags at me.”

Still in the dark, I just blink at him. “Are you going to tell me?  Or did you want me to guess?” I ask with a grin.  “Because if you’re going to make me guess, we will most likely miss lunch.”  Which Kookie would interpret as a world catastrophe.

His shining, white teeth flash at me suddenly.  “A charm bracelet.”

“A charm bracelet?” I ask as though questioning why he’s going to buy her a tractor.

“Yeah.  Nana was wearing one, and I realized that girls really like jewelry.  Maybe I could find a charm that would mean something to me and Emmie.”

“That’s a brilliant idea!  Any clue what it would be?”

Instantly, the light of that grin doubles in my van and threatens to bounce off of every reflective surface surrounding us.  He bobs his head.  “Yeah.  A green hoodie!”

I burst out laughing.  “Indeed!  But I’m not sure you’ll be able to find such a charm.”

Then he frowns.  “Where can I buy her a charm bracelet?”

“For someone of your age and income, I would suggest Michael’s.  You can find a bracelet and pick out several charms, and you’ll spend less than twenty bucks.”

He perks up.  “Really?  Can we go now?”

“Sure.  And on Black Friday they usually have a coupon for a certain percentage off your total if you shop at the right time.  Let me check the ad.”  I rifle through the papers between us and find the one for the craft store.  “Yep.  If we go right now, you’ll save an additional forty percent!”

His eyes light up.  “What are we waiting for?”

—

An hour later, we check out.  Kookie is perfectly happy with his purchase, and I’m wondering if I really needed to fill a bag with last-minute Christmas preparation supplies.  Oh, well.  I spent less than fifteen bucks.  And now I have even more Christmas projects to complete.  I grimace as we dodge some traffic and a large puddle on our way to the van.

But I did leave the store with five very important things.  Now I’m all ready for the first Christmas gift I’m giving my children this year.  I found the perfect item at Michael’s.  Just in time for my favorite season of the entire year.

As I’m smiling at how easy the first step was, Jungkook suddenly speaks while he opens our van’s hatchback door so I don’t have to juggle all my bags.  Darling boy!

“Thanks, Mom, for helping me get Emmie the perfect gift.”

I smile at my adorable, eldest son.  “When are you going to give it to her?”

“On Christmas Eve.”

Every year on Christmas Eve, we invite Emmie’s family over for our big celebration dinner.  Nana and Emmie exchange gifts as do her brother, Noel, and Everett.  It’s always a festive and fun time.  But I can now see that this year it’s going to be even more interesting than usual…