Helen did not want to get up the morning of Joaquin’s scheduled arrival. The thought of sleeping through Christmas was enticing. However, she signed a contract. She didn’t want to take six-hundred dollars right from under a man’s nose. She didn’t want to deal with any potential disputes. Helen got up.

Down in the lobby, shafts of sunlight speared Helen’s eyes, unfettered by the sheer curtains that covered the floor to ceiling windows. The polished tile floor bounced the light up over her body. The lobby did its best to warm her this brisk morning. Her fingers skimmed the hem of her burgundy wool coat as she peered at the passing blurs of people on the sidewalk.

Work went by without a hitch yesterday. It had been the last day before the gallery closed for the holidays and the showroom had been relatively empty of customers. The previous purchases of the month had already been delivered and installed in their new homes, so there was little that Helen had to coordinate. With little to do, she spent the day discussing holiday plans with her coworkers.

Having packed for the vacation early left a lot of room to simply breathe and relax. Helen had time to take a longer-than-usual bus ride to her favorite sweets shop to buy artisanal chocolates as fuss-free gifts for her family. All in all, it had been a restful few days leading up to this morning.

Helen had considered meeting up with Joaquin in a public spot so as not to disclose her address. But then he would be with her for days, her purse right in his vicinity. He could easily sneak a snapshot of her driver’s license if he wanted. So to save herself the trouble of driving to a spot early in the morning, she just gave him her address. At least her building had a night guard and security cameras posted. She did not disclose this detail to Desta over the weekend.

A clunky shape moved toward the entrance, catching Helen’s attention. It was soon revealed to be Joaquin. He hunched in front of the uncurtained door, bringing his hands up to shield the sun as he squinted into the lobby. Helen waved and let him in.

A wash of city air snuck in with the invited guest, nipping Helen’s face. She blinked away the sting and greeted her would-be-date.

“Good morning, Joaquin.” Helen awkwardly reached for a handshake, tilting forward to balance her stuffed backpack..

He pulled his hand out of his suede sherpa trucker jacket and grasped hers with a hearty shake. His palm was surprisingly warm. “Morning, Helen.”

“Thank you for being on time,” she said.

“No need to thank me for something I should do,” Joaquin replied as he adjusted the duffle bag hanging from his shoulder. “So, ready to do this?”

“Well, I guess I am.” Helen exhaled. “We’re really doing this!”

“Heck yeah, we are!” He chuckled.

Helen smoothed the denim over her thighs, letting out another sigh. “All right. Let’s go.”

She led him to the elevator to go down to the building’s garage. Her bootheels clicked on the stained concrete floor, chased by the thuds of Joaquin’s rubber-soled shoes.

“I outlined this in the instructions, but I’ll repeat myself.” Helen kept her gaze focused ahead. This recital was more to actualize it within herself than for Joaquin’s sake. This was really happening. “Ground rules: No physical contact unless I initiate, don’t lie to me in private, just be a generally nice person, and this is all a charade. No matter what I do, or how I act, I’m not developing feelings for you.”

Although out of her line of sight, Joaquin held his hands out in front of him, surrendering to her demands. “Got it.”

They stopped at a space with an old silver sedan. This was her parents’ previous family car, but Helen never used it aside from running it once in a while to keep the battery alive. She utterly despised driving in the city. Every driver was on edge and it further exacerbated her anxieties.

Once they loaded their luggage into the trunk, she tossed the keys to Joaquin. “You drive. I don’t want to be responsible for your life.”

Joaquin laughed and flicked his head her way. She stared at him with dark, glassy eyes and her mouth drawn in a firm line. She was serious. He cleared his throat, a flash of surprise passed over him before he rounded to the driver’s seat.

“All right, then!”

As Joaquin adjusted the seat and mirrors to accommodate his size, Helen settled into the front passenger space.

“I’ll navigate,” she offered, taking her phone out from her purse. She readied her aunt and uncle’s address.

Joaquin inserted the key into the ignition and the car came to life with a shudder. Despite its age, Joaquin handled it as smoothly as a current model. Once out of the garage and a signal was present, Helen began the navigation. They hit the road without issue. On the fringes of the city, they stopped by a drive-through coffee shop at Joaquin’s suggestion. Helen paid to thank Joaquin for driving.

A glorious morning shone down upon the sedan, Helen drinking up the warmth beaming onto her chest. She watched the landscape transition away from an urban metropolis into suburbia.

“I’m expected, right?” asked Joaquin.

“I told my parents and Aunt Lori that I’m bringing a guest. I left it at that. Even if I explained you to them over the phone, I would have to do it all over again anyway in person. I’d rather tell the story just once.”

“Gotcha. Er, how many people are coming? Who should I know?”

“I’ll give you a run-down of my family.” Helen sipped her drink. “We’ll be staying with my uncle, my dad’s younger brother, Chuck Haliday. His wife is Lori. They have two kids. The first is Melissa, she’s my age. She recently got married to Jacob McAllister. Her younger brother is Grayson.”

“Chuck, married to Lori. Their youngest is Grayson. And Melissa is married to Jacob,” Joaquin repeated.

“Yep. Also my grandpa—my dad and uncle’s father—is living with them. His name is Roy. But if you forget that, ‘Grandpa’ will do just fine.”

“Grandpa Roy. Got it.”

“Then last but not least are my parents. Roger and Iseul.”

“Roger and Iseul. You’re half-Korean?”

“Yep. Wow! Most people I come across don’t know Iseul is a Korean name.”

“Heh, Iseul’s the name of one of the servers at my favorite Korean restaurant,” Joaquin explained. “And, hey, fellow polyethnic! I’m half-Cuban myself.”

“Oh really!” Helen held her cup to her lips. “I guess ‘Joaquin’ should have clued me in.”

Joaquin flicked his head toward Helen and shot her a quick smile. “I mean I thought you might have been something based on your look—” He coughed, his grin quickly disappearing. “I’m sorry, was that rude?”

Helen snorted. “No offense taken. I’ve heard way worse.”

Joaquin wheezed a relieved chuckle. He cleared his throat. “All right, we’re staying with your uncle Chuck and his wife Lori. They got two kids: Grayson, the youngest, then Melissa who’s married to Jake.”

“Jacob,” corrected Helen.

“Jake. Then there’s your mom Iseul, your dad Roy and Grandpa Roger?”

“Roger’s my dad. Roy is my grandpa.”

“Roger, Roger. You know, you could have included dossiers in your e-mail. I could have studied up before we left.”

“Nah. It can’t be too perfect or else it would look suspicious.”

“Hm, when you’re right, you’re right.”

“My dad also has a sister, Carrie, but she and her family are at her husband’s parents’ place.”

“Oh, thank god.”

Helen chuckled. “That’s what we said. She’s nice and all, but she can get really dramatic.”