Page 72 of Why Not Now?

“You’re a bit of a jerk dragging her into this.”

I wink. “I play dirty when I have to.”

She huffs and follows her sister.

“What about this one?” Lacey asks.

Ava shakes her head. “It’s too skinny. You want a nice fat tree with no bald spots.”

Lacey snorts and Ava rolls her eyes.

They pull out three trees before Lacey declares she’s found the perfect one. I stand aside as the sisters look it over with a critical eye, examining it from every angle before Ava agrees. “This is it.”

I pay before Ava can change her mind about letting me and the three of us strap it to the roof of my car. Back at their house, I park in the driveway, where Lacey has gotten a small hand saw out like I’d asked her to.

“I hope that one’s okay,” she says nervously. “It’s the only one I could find.”

“It’s great. You got the stand?”

She runs to get it while Ava stands by.

“You really think of everything, don’t you?” she asks.

“I like to be prepared,” I tell her, setting the tree up and sawing off about half an inch from the trunk. “It’s what makes me good at my job. We have so much shit at Blue Vista in storage that no one thinks we’re going to need until the moment we do. Then I get to be the hero.” I grin at her while she smiles and shakes her head.

Lacey brings the stand out and we get the tree set up, cutting off a few of the bottom branches before bringing it into the house.

“The next important thing,” Ava says, “is ensuring it’s straight and positioned correctly.”

“What do you mean?” Lacey asks.

“Well, it’s not going to sit in the middle of the room. So part of it will be hidden by the wall.”

I move it to the corner she points to, turning and adjusting until both sisters are happy. In the end, it sits exactly as I had it initially, but I don’t tell them and I don’t complain. If I’m being honest with myself, I’d stand here adjusting this fucking tree all day if it makes these two happy.

When it’s ready, Ava gets water for the base and Lacey opens the bins of decorations. While they get started, I head outside again to find the piece I’d cut off the trunk. I make a hole through the top with the drill Lacey found and thread a piece of twine through, which I’d brought specifically for this purpose. Then I take out a dark green Sharpie and write “Ava & Lacey” and the year in block letters.

I bring it inside and give it to Ava.

“Here. A new one for you. We’ll have to seal it, but we can do that after Christmas.”

“Where did you get this?” she asks, taking it from me.

“I just made it.”

Tears fill her eyes as she traces her fingers over the writing. “Dad used to do this.”

“I remember,” I say with a nod. “How do you think I knew you’d have a drill?”

Lacey looks at it over Ava’s shoulder. “You should put your name on it, too,” she says. “You helped.”

“Oh. It’s your tree, guys. I don’t need—”

“She’s right,” Ava cuts in. “Where’s the pen?”

I hand her the Sharpie from my pocket and she writes my name in a flowy script underneath my block letters. Finally, she hangs it.

Lacey turns on the Christmas music while we continue to decorate.

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