Page 15 of Christmas at Pine Ridge Inn
“I think I’m beginning to get the hang of it,” Lila said.
“Besides, if we found the tree too quickly, we’d miss out on the great tree debates,” Brady added, his tone lighter. “Wait until you see how seriously people tend to take the selection process.”
As if on cue, Kimberly called out from ahead. “Oh, what about this one?” She was standing beside a towering evergreen that had to be at least fourteen feet tall.
“Too big for the lobby,” Carol called back. “Remember, it has to fit through the front door.”
“And leave room for the star on top,” added Miles.
“Plus, it’s easier to decorate if we don’t need a ladder,” said Tom practically. “I don’t want to have to drive anyone to the hospital because they leaned a little too far to the left to hang the perfect ornament.”
Brady caught Lila’s eye and raised his eyebrows as if to say,See?
They continued deeper into the woods, the group stopping every few minutes to consider and ultimately reject various trees. Too sparse, too lopsided, too small, wrong kind of pine. Lila found herself getting caught up in the process despite herself, offering opinions about the symmetry of the trees and whether the branches were strong enough to hold larger ornaments.
After about thirty minutes of hiking and tree evaluation, they reached a small clearing where several promising candidates stood nearby.
“This is where we usually take a break,” Brady told the group, pulling a thermos from his backpack. “Anyone ready for hot apple cider?”
As the group gathered, passing around the thermos and paper cups, Sarah settled onto a fallen log with a wistful expression.
“Are you okay?” Lila asked as she sat beside her.
Sarah nodded. “This just brings back memories,” she said, scanning the trees around them.
“You’ve been here for past Christmases, right?” Ali asked.
Sarah nodded, her fingers absently tracing patterns in the snow beside her. “Yes, for many years now, but I was just thinking about my first time here, actually. I came with my husband during Christmas of 1990. We rented a little cabin in town for the week and decided we needed a tree to make it feel like home.”
“How romantic,” sighed Kimberly. “Did you pick a good one?”
“We found a beautiful little tree, about six feet tall with perfect symmetry.” Sarah’s voice grew soft with memory. “David was so particular about it. He said it had to be just right because we were going to make it a tradition, coming to Pine Ridge every Christmas and picking our tree out here together.”
No one said anything, waiting for her to continue. “We only had that one Christmas together though. David got sick and passed away a few months later.”
The group fell quiet, the only sounds the whisper of wind through the pine branches and the distant call of a bird. Lila felt her chest tighten with recognition of that particular kind of grief.
“I’m so sorry,” Ali said softly, and the others murmured their agreement.
“Thank you,” Sarah said. “It was a long time ago, but that Christmas here was so magical that I started coming back.”
“And we love having you,” Carol said, sitting beside Sarah and putting an arm around her.
“Well,” said Tom, clearing his throat gently. “Should we find ourselves a tree worthy of another special Pine Ridge Christmas?”
The group rose from their impromptu rest, but Lila noticed how Sarah’s eyes lingered on the trees around them, as if she was seeing more than just the present moment.
They resumed their search with renewed purpose, and it was Brady who spotted the winner. “What about this one?” he called from the edge of the clearing.
The tree he’d found was perhaps eight feet tall with full, evenly spaced branches that would hold ornaments beautifully. It wasn’t the biggest or most dramatic tree they’d seen, but it had a perfect, classic Christmas tree shape.
“Oh, it’s lovely,” breathed Carol.
“The branches are strong enough for heavy ornaments,” observed Tom.
“And it’s exactly the right height for the lobby,” added Miles.
Brady looked at Lila expectantly. “What do you think? Does this one pass the test?”
