Dani Reese didn't do Christmas trees. She didn't decorate her condo with gaudy, bright lights or moving figurines. No, she left the holiday cheer to others and usually volunteered to work overtime during the season.
So, understandably, she was dumbfounded to find herself standing beside a 10 foot tall Balsam Fir tree, a rope of white LED lights, unraveling it as her partner draped it around the tree. Which was located outside of his house. He had the whole thing transported and planted into the ground in his yard, so he could have a Christmas tree without killing a tree.
As their shift had ended that day, he had asked her for a favor, which she had agreed to without a thought and had thus spent several hours wandering around a crowded holiday themed store picking and choosing decorations with Charlie. Other than the ton of pretty, beaded fruit that he absolutely had to have, he had been typically content to let her make most of the decisions and despite her aversion to yuletide cheer, she felt she had done a good job.
The Swarovski crystal snowflakes were her personal favorites.
Charlie stepped back beside her to look up at the enormous tree. Even with his long limbs, he couldn't reach the higher branches and he cocked his head to the side. "I think there's a ladder in the garage."
Raising a brow at him, she said, "Well, go get it."
She watched him trot off in search of the ladder and smiled when he couldn't see her. His enthusiasm for the project, any project really, was cute, though she would never, ever admit that out loud.
Placing the lights down, she sat on a rock beside one of the boxes of new decorations. There were the snowflakes that she thought would sparkle so beautifully, creating prisms with their many facets. The colorful glass balls in different sizes and old fashioned tin ornaments would give it a bit of flare. There were bows of deep red ribbon and the boxes of Charlie's fruit.
There was also a box of big needles and thick thread, which Charlie had picked up with a grin, extolling the virtues of homemade popcorn and cranberry garland. She had tried to reason with him, pointing out the birds would eat it, but he would not be deterred.
Amidst the mass was a box she didn't recognize and, being curious, she pulled it onto her lap. Opening it, she found am angel tree topper tucked in protective paper. The angel herself wasn't much of a surprise, but it wasn't the typical fair, blond, blue eyes doll. Charlie had chosen a dark haired angel, with tanned skin and brown eyes….
She touched the tiny porcelain face gently and smiled before tucking it carefully back into the box. She looked up at the tree, then glanced over to the garage, where Charlie was exiting with an unwieldy ladder. Even at the distance, he saw her smiling, paused, then beamed back at her.
Decorating for the holiday's wasn't so bad after all.