Free Meant for Her by Amy Gamet

handiwork. The church basement had been greatly improved, but it was a far cry from “transformed”.
    “These lights have to go,” she said.
    Raising his head, Hank looked up at the fluorescent fixtures that ran the entire space. “The fluorescents?” he asked, raising his eyebrows high.
    “They’re horrible, aren’t they? I feel like I’m shopping in a discount clothing store, not enjoying a winter wonderland with my one true love.”
    “Maybe Kelly and Ron are a couple of tree huggers. Maybe they love fluorescent lights. Maybe,” he said, raising his index finger, “they’d be angry if you changed them.”
    “Just the other day,” said Steve, taking a break from arranging tables, “I heard Kelly talking about how she hoped to be married under LEDs. But if that’s not possible, I’m sure fluorescents are the next best thing.”
    “Marriage is all about compromise,” agreed Hank.
    Julie rounded on the men. Clearly, they were thick as thieves. “Do you two lunkheads think this is Kelly’s dream? To celebrate her marriage to Ron under lights that give everything the horrible glow of energy efficiency?” she shift her weight onto one hip and crossed her arms. “I think not.”
    Hank rubbed the back of his neck. “What do you suggest?”
    “How about candles?”
    “Candles to light the whole space?” He spun around, holding his arms out to his sides. “Do you know how many candles that would take?”
    “Is there a DJ coming? He might have some lights for the dance floor,” said Julie.
    “I don’t know if there’s a DJ, or a band, or the Boys Choir of Harlem.”
    “Who are you calling?”
    “My mother,” he said, walking to the far end of the room.
    Julie busied herself by decorating the last Christmas tree with red ribbon while she waited.
    “There’s a DJ, and he comes with his own light display. Including,” his eyes lit up, “his very own spinning disco ball.”
    “Oh, well, you have to have a disco ball to do the Electric Slide.”
    “Bingo.”
    “All right. The DJ’s lights should illuminate that half of the room fairly well, and the centerpieces each have one candle. We can bump that up to five or six…” her voice trailed off as she surveyed the large basement.
    “That’s still a hell of a lot of candles,” said Hank.
    “Sounds like a fire hazard,” said Steve.
    “Got a better idea?”
    Hank snapped his fingers. “As a matter of fact, I do.”
    Two hours later, Julie finished hanging her last strand of white Christmas lights and stepped back to admire the room. Gone was the drab and depressing basement, and in its place glittered a gorgeous, romantic setting for the beginning of Kelly and Ron’s life together. She also added four more candles to each centerpiece, not wanting to give up her idea completely.
    Steve had been summoned back to the house to help deliver food to neighbors’ ovens and refrigerators, and Julie was feeling his absence. He had acted as a buffer, and she wasn’t sure what to do with Hank now that it was just the two of them.
    He stood on a step ladder, connecting several strands of the twinkling lights to the center of the ceiling in a spoke-like pattern. Julie watched his beautiful body in silent appreciation, the muscles of his arms and shoulders clearly visible beneath his t-shirt. The gentle light that filled the room flattered him, glorifying his amber skin, and Julie savored the chance to observe him unnoticed.
    In a different time and place, she could have cared for this man. She knew it like she knew her own face in the mirror. Julie had been looking for Hank Jared in every man she had ever met, and now she understood why each of them had left her cold and unaffected.
    I never knew a man this good could care about me—know every skeleton in my closet and want me anyway.
    Hank stepped off the ladder to grab the last string of lights from the floor, climbing again to add it to the bundle. Raising his head, he caught her eye and