The bell to end classes rang, and, almost immediately, the students in my class were moving to pack their things away, eager to leave school. I smiled wryly as I watched them, but since we were done with the class and I’d already assigned homework, they were fine.

I was leaving school early, for once. I planned to lock the room once everyone was out—the school had copies of all the keys, anyway—so I put my things together and stood up to wait.

“Everyone, take care,” I called out as they started to leave, one by one. “I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.”

There were shouts of agreement, and a few wished me the same. I stood by the door as they all walked out, Sophia being the last to leave the class, waiting for me outside.

“Hey there, Sophia,” I said as I closed the door behind us. “Did your dad tell you anything about today?”

She nodded her head as she held her hand out for mine. I took her little hand, and we made our way outside.

“Yeah. Dad told me you’d be coming with us today.”

I breathed a sigh of relief that he had told her. Though almost immediately I was anxious, wondering just what exactly he’d told her. She was acting like her usual self, so she probably still hadn't noticed things between Ross and me were a little different.

We’d discussed how to break the news to her, but we had yet to tell our moms. At least, I hadn't told mine yet, though she probably already had a good idea.

We met Mary outside. She waved when she saw me, and we moved closer to her. She was taking over for me for the day, making sure my kids were all picked up. She’d offered when I told her Ross would be picking me up at the end of the school day, and I’d accepted happily. She grinned at me, then smiled softly down at Sophia.

“Hey there, Sophia. Your dad hasn’t been by yet, but he’ll be here soon, all right?”

Sophia just hummed and nodded. “He said he’d be a little late, but he’s picking me up with Jessica because he has a big surprise.” She grinned up at the both of us.

Mary arched an eyebrow at me. I could imagine the images that were running through her mind, though, and I couldn’t help a roll of my eyes.

“We’re heading over to his garage,” I explained. “I took my car to his place to get fixed up ages ago, and he finally told me he was done with it a few days ago. So I’m going to check it out.”

I was a bit excited, and a bit nervous, to see just what he’d done with it. After all that time, I was expecting something good. Though I’d had to strong-arm him into adding some cash over what he’d paid out for parts for my car. I still wasn’t sure I was paying him enough for all that he put into it, but we’d arrived at a price that worked for the two of us.

“So you’ll ride in with a new car on Monday?” Mary asked, eyebrows arched.

“Maybe,” I said with a shrug. “I could always just leave it at home and keep walking. I’ve kinda grown used to it. Besides there's a car at home, but sometimes I just like the exercise, especially when the weather's nice.”

Having my car would be all sorts of convenient, though. I couldn’t have Ross driving me everywhere, after all, and I couldn’t always borrow my mom’s car.

“Can I at least come by over the weekend to see it?” she asked, looking curious. “I remember what it looked like when you came with it, so I’m wondering just how much it’s improved since then…”

“I’m expecting a miracle,” I joked.

Mary laughed.

I got distracted when I noticed Ross heading towards us. Mary turned to see what had me preoccupied, then sent me a smile and waved down at Sophia, then went back to her job for the day. I pulled Sophia with me to meet Ross half way.

“Hey, you two,” he said smiling. “Are you both ready to go?”

Sophia jumped up and down in place, yelling in her enthusiasm. Ross and I both laughed as we headed back for the car. He helped Sophia into her seat belt, while I got inside on my side to wait. After a moment, he got in and started the car.

“So, are you going to give me a hint?” I asked, feeling a little anxious. “You haven’t told me much of what you did, you know.”

Ross hummed. “If I did, then it wouldn’t be much of a surprise.” He glanced at the rearview mirror. “Isn’t that right, Sophia?”

“Right, Dad!” she called loyally from the back seat.

Then Ross put a CD on, and, when it played, I was surprised at the music for a moment. This was the first time I was riding in a car with him and Sophia, but, when she squealed in the back seat, I completely understood. She started to sing along with the children’s songs that came on, and all I could do was smile, because I should have expected it.

It wasn’t that far from the school to where he worked, even though he wasn’t driving particularly fast, and we made it there in under half an hour. He parked the car, and we stepped out. I let Ross help Sophia out of the car, and she bounded up to stand beside me.

“You already locked up?” I asked, surprised.

He shrugged. “I did. I always do, pretty much. Why?”

I frowned. I took hold of Sophia’s hand, and we followed behind him as he headed for the garage door. He crouched to undo the lock.

“You could have let someone look after the place for you while you picked us up. Or, better yet, told me to come here once school was over.”

He threw a smile at me over his shoulder. “I didn’t mind, though. And I don’t trust anyone to just leave them here alone. I don’t even have employees, just some guys I hire part-time when they have the time and I need the extra hand.”

With the lock undone, Ross tugged on the door, sliding it up as he stood, opening the garage.

I wasn’t sure what I was expecting. The inside was a little bigger than a two-car garage and could probably hold two cars and still have some space left. I could only see the shadow of one car, though, and, before he switched on the light, I was sure it was my car.

But then the lights were on, and my jaw dropped, because no way was that my car.

The car I’d brought to him was a rusting car with dull red paint that was falling apart. The car in there didn’t look brand new, but it looked way better than what my car used to look like.

“You can come in to take a closer look,” Ross called, already inside. “Check out the inside and let me know what you think.”

I heard him, but I couldn’t move to do as he’d asked. Sophia had to help me, taking my arm and pulling me along as she followed her dad. She brought me over to the car, and I was still gaping at it. I did release her hand so I could walk around it.

“A couple of your taillights were busted, and the back bumper was taped on,” Ross explained. “The front bumper wasn’t doing any better. They looked pretty rusted, so I replaced them. And, well… I fixed everything else.”

After I made a complete circuit around the car, I frowned at him. “Tell me honestly how much it cost you to pay for all of this,” I demanded.

“Uh-uh,” he shook a finger at me. “Maybe later, but there’s no way I’m letting you refuse the car now, and you’ve already paid for everything.”

I pouted. “I only paid before you let me see it because you insisted.”

But I didn’t argue further, partly because Sophia was there. Finally, I glanced inside and immediately choked on air.

“Ross!”

He laughed as he jingled a set of keys—my car keys. He opened the driver-side door, and I rushed around to get a closer look at the inside.

“You fu—you replaced the seats!”

I was so excited I almost blurted out a curse word in front of a child.

“Yeah. The ones in it were badly damaged. I’m pretty sure a rat chewed into the back seat or something, part of the seat cover and some padding on the inside had been eaten through. And the rest of the inside…”

I winced, pulling out of the car to send him an apologetic look.

“Yeah, sorry about that. I always tried to clean up, but I didn’t always have the time, and I didn’t always do it well.”

Ross shrugged. “You don’t have to apologize for that; I get what you mean. I’ve seen a lot worse over the years.”

“Hey, Dad?” Sophia called, interrupting.

Ross looked down at her. “Yeah, honey?”

“Can I get inside? Please!”

He arched an eyebrow at me, and I just waved my hand at him. He smiled back at his daughter as he patted her shoulder.

“Sure, go ahead.”

Sophia squealed as she scrambled to get inside the car. While she was distracted, I got an idea. I walked over to Ross and tugged him away from where she could see us easily. I reached up, throwing my arms around his neck to give him a full kiss on the lips in thanks.

When was the last time I was this happy?

It must have been a long time ago, because I couldn’t remember the last time that I felt this good and I didn't want it to end.