One early December morning Hyde woke up to find the blankets pushed up on one side, letting the cold air in. He leaned over to his wife's side of the bed, and found nothing. Opening his eyes, he saw that Jackie was up and gone. Crawling out from under the blankets and yawning, he found one of her signature notes sitting on the dresser.
Steven,
I know today is the only day we both have off, but I've officially decided. We need a tree. There's only three weeks until Christmas, and we're not in the holiday spirit. So, I'll be home in a couple of hours, and with a tree!
Love,
Jackie
How's she gonna get it here?" Hyde wondered. He flipped the paper over. And saw what was written on the back. Oh, and I may have borrowed your car.
Now Hyde didn't mind Jackie using his car that much. He knew she was a great driver, and was the only other person he let drive it. It was just that she, the 95 pound 5'3 female was going to try to shove a tree into the back of his car. Not really her brightest plan.
Then it hit him. She's doing this to get me to help her. He had to admit, it was working. Just the though of the scratched up bed of his car left him trembling. He'd actually rather let her win than have his car damaged.
He sighed. They should both be under the covers right now, spooning for warmth. But here he was, braving the freezing Wisconsin winter, to go get a tree that would die in a few weeks. He grabbed a pair of jeans from the closet and began to get ready. "This better be worth it," he grumbled to no one in particular.
Soon he would know if it was. But, this was Jackie, and you could never tell with her.
T7S
The scent of pine overwhelmed her. The cool, crisp air filled her lungs, and she could see her breath in front of her face. I shouldn't be here, she thought. Only poor people shop here. Or the tasteless. Where was she? The Pricemart parking lot. She had pulled into the first place with trees, and hadn't given it a second thought. Now she was having second thoughts.
The trees were cheap, but they all looked a little…dead. She blew her hair out of her face, frustrated with her choice of stores. She knew this was one of the very few places in town that sold trees. Another was the lot of the elementary school. She had to try. The thing was, no one strong enough to load a tree was there, and she did not have the intention of lifting it herself. It's gonna be worth it, She told herself.
Hopping in her husbands car, she worked the unfamiliar controls. He wouldn't be that mad. Her goal was to get him to help her. And soon she would know if it worked.
Pulling into the lot of the elementary school, she saw trees everywhere. And a very familiar person leaning up against a very familiar car. She pulled in next Hyde. Hopping out, he looked as if he wanted to be mad at her. " You can be angry later." she told him.
" You took my car!"
"So? You took mine." she gestured to her car.
" I had no choice. Seriously, Jackie?"
" Mhm. Now, lets go get ourselves a tree!"
" We're not done with this." he said.
She tossed him his keys. "Now we are. It. Is. Christmas. Get in the spirit." she swept her hand around, gesturing to the happy people buying trees. Young children ran about, tugging at the sleeve of their parents coat to buy this and that related to Christmas. "See?" She dragged him over to the first row of trees.
Apparently she wasn't the only one with the intention of buying a tree, for there were quite a few other men unhappy with the idea of shopping there too. " First Christmas?" one man asked Hyde as his wife examined the branches of a tree.
"Yup." he sighed.
" Don't worry, she wont do as much until you guys have kids. Then it gets worse. Why does my one year old need 'the best' tree? She wont remember it…" The man turned at the sound of his wife's shrill voice. " Good luck," he said, and walked off.
Hyde shook his head. Jackie wouldn't be that crazed, would she? He already knew the answer, just by looking at her. She motioned him over. " What do you think about this tree?" She asked.
" It's… fine." He said. It looked like a normal tree.
" Fine's not good enough. The tree has to be perfect. Like me."
"Okay. How about this tree?" He pointed to another.
"Too tall."
" That one?" he asked.
"Not tall enough."
" That one."
"It's perfect!" She ran up to the tree, and examined it closer. "Nope. This one won't do." Jackie said.
"Why? It looks great." he said. She was getting frustrating.
"Well, it has that patch of needles missing. Its got a bald spot, basically."
" Jackie, we can just put that side up against the wall." he said, exasperated.
"No. We can't." She said firmly. " Ooh, I like this one!" she exclaimed. Hyde had to admit, it looked better than the others. Standing at around six feet tall, the rich green tree was the perfect tree. Jackie flagged down a tree salesman, and the next thing she knew it was in the back of the Camino, with Hyde making sure it wouldn't scratch anything. Of course, it was the most expensive tree she had seen that day, but she wasn't going to tell Hyde that.
T7S
Jackie walked around the tree, gently stringing the lights in her hand. She was back in her living room, with Hyde in the kitchen making lunch. She nestled the end of the string in the branches, and plugged the other end in. The whole room glowed with the soft light coming from the tree.
She started on the ornaments. Pulling the lid from the first box, she saw the ones she used to use to decorate the Burkhart tree. She had salvaged them from her old home. She hung the golden orbs on the tree, reminiscing about her past. Christmas was one of the very few good times in her house. The nanny made cookies with her, and she got lots of presents, and even her own tree to decorate. Not really a family thing though.
Covered in tree sap, she finished off the first box, and went to take a shower. She could finish later. Jackie let the hot water run over her as she combed the tangles and pine needles out of her hair. She never let herself get this messy.
Jackie turned the water off and wrapped herself in a towel. She slipped on a different pair of clothes, more casual, and stepped into the living room. There stood the tree, fully decorated, not that bad looking either. She gasped, and went to examine it. It was obvious who had done it. Jackie softly slipped into the kitchen, and while Hyde rummaged through the cabinets she stepped up behind him.
He turned, sensing her presence. She pulled him to her, and kissed him. "Thank you." she said softly.
"For what?" he said, trying to play it off.
" Don't try to lie to me," she said. "Besides, you smell like the tree, all piney."
" You like that, don't you?" he said. She giggled. " Well, lunch is ready. But before that, I have one more thing." He pulled a box and a paint pen from one of the kitchen drawers.
Gently opening the box, Jackie found a small glass tree sitting on the box. " It is our first Christmas, after all…" he said. Taking the paint pen from him, she knew what to do. In her loopy script, she wrote their names and the year. He nodded in approval, and both of them went into the living room and placed the final ornament on their now perfect tree.
A/N: I would've posted this last year, but I was super busy. It was Christmas! I have one more chapter, maybe two, and they should be up soon.
