Scooter

Chapter 1

Last Christmas, Scooter surprised me with a trip to Romania to see the town where my grandparents grew up. It was the single best present anyone had given me.

The trip itself was wildly romantic. We explored the country, went to a bunch of clubs in Bucharest, and spent a lot of time castle-hopping. On our last night there, when we were in the courtyard of the most amazing castle you could ever imagine, Scooter got down on one knee and proposed. The sun was setting behind the crumbling walls behind him, and his curly red hair was glowing so beautifully.

“Yes!” I screamed loud enough to spook the other tourists.

He held me in his big arms as a bunch of total strangers burst into applause.

Best Christmas present ever.

It was a short engagement. (We got married last May.) And now that Christmas was once again coming up, I needed to do something just as special. I’d been saving money like crazy.

The only problem was that I had no idea what he wanted. He said he wasn’t interested in another trip, and he already had everything he needed. I considered getting him some expensive gym equipment, but he already had more than enough. (Plus, gym equipment definitely wasn’t romantic.) He wasn’t interested in jewelry or clothes. We went out to fancy restaurants a lot, so that wouldn’t be special.

I was stumped. Then one evening, right after Halloween, I finally thought of something.

Scooter had just gotten home from work, and his cheeks were bright red. His shirt clung to his athletic body with sweat.

“You okay?”

He doubled over, trying to catch his breath. “I ran here… from the office… But then I had… to go back for my… backpack.” He limped toward the couch and collapsed.

Scooter and I worked at the same college. I was an art teacher, so I could reach my classroom in minutes. Scooter, however, worked in the science department on the opposite side of campus. Because of how our campus was laid out, it was impractical for him to drive all the way around the perimeter. That meant he had to walk a lot. And since he was constantly late, that usually meant he had to run.

He was an extremely athletic guy. (Hence all the home gym equipment filling up our house.) He focused on weightlifting, though, which gave him a hugely muscled body that I absolutely loved. But it also meant that he had a lot of weight to lug around. You know how some bodybuilders are totally ripped but can’t handle more than a few minutes on the treadmill? That was Scooter.

I sat next to him on the couch. I put my arm around him, but he was way too sweaty, so I pulled back. “Why’d you run, Scoot? You could’ve just walked.”

“Because I missed you,” he said.

My heart melted.

And that was the exact moment I realized what I’d get him for Christmas.

A motorized scooter.

It was perfect! He’d never have to race across campus again. He’d never be late for classes. And best of all, it even matched his name! (Well, his nickname. His real name was Terrance.)

As he told me all his crazy student stories for the day, I scrolled through my phone, looking for the best, most expensive motorized scooter on the market. I didn’t order the most expensive one (those things are not cheap), but I got the nicest one I could afford and scheduled to have it arrive on Christmas Eve.

It wasn’t as perfect as his gift to me, but it was definitely going to make his life so much easier.