This Christmas

 Oh, what had she done? Bren couldn't get the water to stop. And the bathtub was clogged. Of course, she'd showered so gingerly earlier, thinking about a Christmas gathering with old friends at the University. Naturally, her life hadn't turned out as great as the rest. After all, she was still at the grocery store. And she'd been a little depressed...but just to wake up to this horrible catastrophe made it all the more terrifying.

She ran down the hall just in her towel and knocked on the door where the handyman guy lived.

At least, he was at home.

"Sorry," She was suddenly so cold. Why was the hall so cold? "I'm..I can't get the water shut off, can you ..please help me?" Her teeth chattered. And suddenly, she felt so under-dressed as he kept staring at her cherry red toenails.

He gave her a nod and went to get his toolbox and followed. Bren looked back at him wondering if her skinny butt was somehow showing. Truly, not her best asset, but she hoped he didn't think the worst of her.

"Really, I'm..I'm so sorry about this. I know it's practically Christmas..."

"It's not a problem," he smiled as if to put her to ease, but she felt as if she might be the worst tenant possible.

She nursed her bottom lip as he went to work. She wanted to leave and go to her room to get dressed but didn't. She waited. He had the water turned off in a matter of seconds, and it wasn't long after he had the tub drained.

"It's not that bad," he promised. Bren nodded, still shivering, thinking he must think of her as the dingiest of all. He told her it didn't flood. "Just in the nick of time." He said it was smart thinking.

"I'm glad you live just down the hall." She nodded with a grin, wondering how awful she must have really looked. Honestly, he'd seen her at her worst.

"You've never needed me before," his smile was open. He introduced himself. Mario. She did her best to shake his hand. She told him she was Bren.

"Really, I'm sorry." Although, she knew she really wasn't. Finally, she'd met the guy who lived in the apartment that Caitlin and Megan used to live in.

Mario wondered if he was smiling too much. He knew exactly who Bren was. Although, he didn't know her name until now. Yeah, she was the happy cashier who always cheered him up. He was always glad to see her. She was kind of funny, a little quirky and she lived just down the hall from him. How come he never knew.

It felt like an early Christmas present. Possibly more unwrapped than he'd ever want. Still, it was nice to know where she lived. He waited in the bathroom while she got dressed.

"Look, aren't you at the grocery store?" He winced trying to struggle with her name tag as he thought more about her. "Wren? Right?"

"No Bren!" She shouted back. "They just got it mixed up when I started there and never changed it."

She was back in her slouchy clothes. And he liked the idea that she hadn't dressed up for him. He didn't feel so nervous around her. It wasn't long until he met her black cat named Casper.

"It's just you and Casper?" He asked.

"Oh, I'll have a roommate after Christmas," She shrugged. "Liv, we work at the grocery store together." She said everything was going up lately and she needed a roommate.

"Why don't you come to Christmas dinner," he said.

"Oh, I couldn't," she smiled.

"But if you don't have anything going on, just come for a meal," he said.

"Sure, that sounds great," she smiled back as if she really did want to come to Christmas dinner.