“First, it’s tradition, and second, where’s the fun in missing G tossing his arms up when I point to the first tree we looked at?”
“Tape it for me?” She laughed again, and I moved around to see another rack of trees in the back corner of the lot. “I’m stuck in a line at the market because apparently everyone and their mother needs milk two days before Christmas.”
“Got to love the holiday rush.” My words trickled away when I spied Kim in the parking lot.
“Look, honey, I have to go, but I’ll try to make the tree lot as soon as I can. If not, I’ll see you later.”
“Okay.” I hung up, and two seconds later, the phone rang again.
“Seriously?” Jaci hissed, “You hung up on me?”
“Sorry.” I felt like I was about to miss something good. “It was Lisa, and she was just checking in.”
“Spence?” G held up his hand as I approached as if asking which tree I wanted. I pointed to the one I had seen at the start of our search and watched his face pink up. “See? Every year!”
I chuckled and went back to my call. “Okay, girlfriend, be at my place at five. Bring whatever or don’t. Just remember, if you skip out on your cheesecake, the invite will be revoked next year.”
“I’m making my list of ingredients now.”
“And that’s why I love you.” She was a wonderful cook, and I took a moment to savor the idea of biting into her delicious cheesecake.
“Love you, too. Thanks, girl. I’ll see you soon.”
“I don’t know why Shannan doesn’t get it.” Kim threw her arms in the air as she approached us. She entered the tree lot at full speed, her little legs working a mile a minute to gain ground on us. “Look at all these options, big, tall, skinny, fat, but no, my wife insists on heading into the wilderness like a lumberjack to go get a shrub.” Her voice dripped with heavy sarcasm.
“Did you, by any chance, see her earlier?” I ventured, trying to keep my voice even.
“No, I refused to allow her to draw me into any part of trudging about the snowy woods in the freezing cold to hunt for a tree. I left after coffee.” She fudged her frustration, but I knew they loved the banter just like the rest of us did. “So, I’m here to get a backup.”
“Ah, yes.” I smirked at Blake, who was listening from a safe distance.
“This one will do. See how easy that was?” She turned to the kid wearing work gloves. “This one.”
“Do you have a truck you’d like me to put it in?”
“Nope.” She nodded to her Volkswagen. “We’re gonna strap it on that little baby, and I’m going to drive it home.”
“Ah?”
“What, you scared of a challenge?”
“No, ma’am. But I’m nervous you won’t be able to see out of the front windshield.”
“I can barely see over the steering wheel as it is, young pup. I’ll manage.” Kim winked at me and hurried the boy along.
Blake had to turn around to hide his smile when G marched the tree I had chosen over to the checkout, grumbling the whole way. We both smiled as we watched him hand the guy the money and wait to have the trunk trimmed and the tree netted up tight.
“Such a great time of year.” He wrapped his arm around me, and we joined G, who huffed at me but slapped a smile on when the fellow handed him the change.
CHAPTER 2
Shannan
“Oh, the weather outside sure sucks, but the fire is so delightful, and since my wife is so stubborn, let it snow, let me sweat, let me drink!” I sang and jammed the last metal pin into its trunk then waited a beat to see if it would stand up on its own.
“Yes!” I heaved and used my arm to dry my forehead. I sniffed when something strange passed by my nose. Odd.
I pulled out the photo once again and studied it for a moment. I held it up in front of the tree to see how all the white origami birds were situated on the branches.
Kim’s mother would decorate their tree differently every year. Ever since I met Kim, she had always said her favorite tree was the one from when she was eleven and her mother spent hours folding little white origami birds. She had dusted each one with silver glitter so they would catch the sparkle of the white twinkle lights. Her mother passed away a month ago, and I wanted to do something special for her.
“What the hell is that?” I sniffed again put couldn’t place it.
I checked the time, knowing Kim would be home from the store soon, and my hike out of the woods had taken way too long.
Rushing to the spare room, I climbed the ladder to reach the shelf and pulled down the hidden shoe box. I was very proud of myself that I had started this project early. I had thirty-four birds ready to go with little clips glued to the bottoms to easily hook onto the branches.
I held up the string of lights and started to put them on the tree. The fine branches made it hard to keep them there, and I was glad no one was around to see how much I struggled to get them on.
Sure, they weren’t on very evenly, and there were parts that were in clusters, but that was the first time I’d ever done the light bit, and I was pretty impressed.
One by one, I attached the birds, just like the photo, and even made sure they were all facing the correct direction. I was tempted to add a stuffed cat on the top with a mouth full of feathers, but I wasn’t sure if she’d see the humor in that, given this was a sentimental tree.
“Just a few more tweaks, and there we go.” I stepped back and admired my work. It wasn’t prefect, but hell, I’d bet Alfred Hitchcock would be proud. I thought it was perfect, and Kim was well worth the fuss.
“Okay, that’s finished.” I continued chatting to myself out loud, as it always brought me comfort, even as a child. “Oh, yes, the fire needs another log.” I carefully placed a log and moved to the kitchen to see if her beers were chilled. “Yes. Everything is coming together.” I held up my hands and saw the tips of a couple of my fingers were still white. Damn Raynaud’s. It always kicked in when my hands got cold, and the tree branches were only just beginning to thaw. I glanced at the still empty driveway and quickly placed the bakery cookies on a plate and felt like everything was as good as it could be. I reached to turn off the TV, just catching the weather guy gloating about the fact that we were getting more snow tonight. Of course, we were.
I struggled into my favorite oversized sweater, which was really just a size medium, but when you were as short as I was—well, I liked to pretend it was size huge. Stepping out on the chilly patio, I waited to hear her car.