Chapter 26
The next few months went by quickly. Gary very easily settled into his new life. Chuck and Jade had completed their relocation back to Chicago. Jade had taken a job as a production assistant for a local production company. When Chuck first moved back, he had no idea what line of business he was going to explore. Gary spoke with Marissa and they both decided to give him back a one-third share in McGinty's. That way, Marissa would have more time to spend with Emmitt and Gary with Kaitlyn and the girls.
On the first day in December the City of Chicago came to standstill when it received it's first major winter storm. Old man winter dumped 10 inches of snow on the Windy City.
Due to the snow, Gary had a full day with the paper. It was late afternoon as he made his way up the steps onto the front porch of his home. His thoughts were on hot chocolate and snuggling up on the couch in front of the fireplace with his wife and watching television with his family.
When he entered the house, he found Kaitlyn helping Casey put on her boots. Jessica had her coat on and was putting on her mittens. Kaitlyn turned and smiled when she saw him.
"Where are you going?" He asked as he took off his hat and started to remove his gloves.
"To get a Christmas tree." Casey said. Kaitlyn smiled.
"What?" Gary asked surprised. "There is 10 inches of snow out there." Gary said as he pointed towards the door.
"I have 4-wheel drive." Kaitlyn said as she helped Casey on with her coat.
"We are not going to get a Christmas tree tonight." Gary said as he unzipped his coat and took it off.
"Well you don't have to go if you don't want too, but I'm going. The girls are going to stay with my mother until I come back." Kaitlyn said.
"This is crazy." Gary argued.
"Gary it's December 1st. That's when we get our tree. It's a tradition that I'm not breaking because of a little snow." Kaitlyn said defensively. Gary stared at her in disbelief.
"Mommy are we not getting the tree?" Jessica asked disappointed.
"Jess, I'm going to go and get the tree. If Daddy doesn't want to come, he doesn't have to." Kaitlyn said as she put Jessica's hat on her head.
"I want Daddy to help you pick it out." Casey said with a pout as she walked over and grabbed Gary's leg. He saw the look of disappointment on her face. He looked at Kaitlyn who was busy putting on her boots.
"This is screwy." He said looking at her. "Where exactly are you going?"
"It's a place outside of town where you cut your own tree down." Kaitlyn said.
"It's almost dark out." Gary said.
"There is enough light left. It's not that far. Besides, I was waiting for you. Obviously, that was a mistake. I should have just left." Kaitlyn said angrily.
"So what you're going to walk, alone out into the woods, cut down a tree and drag it back to the jeep? Oh wait, and I have to add in almost a foot of snow!" Gary said sarcastically.
"It's a tree farm, I won't be out in the woods! Gary Hobson, for your information, for the past three years I have done just fine, thank you very much. I don't need your help with this and I definitely don't need your permission." Kaitlyn said angrily as she put on her coat.
"What are you sore at me for? I didn't make it snow." Gary said irritated. Kaitlyn looked at Gary. He could tell that she was more than annoyed at his last remark.
She grabbed her gloves off the step and then Casey's hand and said, "Come on girls." Then she stormed out of the house. Jessica followed close behind.
Gary groaned as he grabbed his coat and threw it on. He picked up his hat and gloves and headed out the door to follow.
They dropped the girls off at her mothers and headed out. Neither spoke during the ride to the tree farm. The roads weren't as bad as Gary anticipated they would be, so he felt bad that he had made such a fuss.
As they walked through the snow looking for a tree, Gary became more irritated. He quickly began to suggest trees, just so she would settle on one and they could head home.
"How about this one?" He pointed.
"That's too big." Kaitlyn said with her arms crossed.
"What about this one?" He said.
"Too small." She said quickly. He cleared his throat.
"What's wrong with this one?" He said.
"It's too bushy." She said irritated.
"Kaitlyn, I'm cold, I'm tired and I'm hungry. Will you just pick a tree!" Gary said angrily.
"Fine!" She said in a huff as she stormed over to the closest tree and said, "This one!"
Gary walked over and began to cut the tree down. When it fell to the ground, he dragged it to the wrapping machine. Kaitlyn walked over, got into the Jeep, and waited. After the attendant helped him tie it to the roof rack, Gary got into the Jeep.
"You could have started the car." He said annoyed as he started the car and blasted the heat. "Are you happy now!" He said as he pulled out onto the road. Kaitlyn didn't even look at him; she just stared out the window.
After they were on the road for about 10 minutes, Gary looked over and saw her wipe a tear from her cheek. He swallowed hard and then pulled over onto the side of the road.
"What are you doing?" She asked surprised.
"Stopping the car." He said softly. They sat in silence until Gary said, "What's wrong? Will you just talk to me, please." He pleaded. She looked over at him with her tear stained face.
"I'm sorry." She whispered.
"I know this obviously means something to you. I don't know what and I can't figure it out on my own. You have to tell me." He said sympathetically as he placed his arm around her shoulders.
"When I first moved here, I wasn't in the best of conditions, mentally. I was a basket case with my marriage ending and having to two babies to support. For the first few months of Casey's life, I was really depressed. The doctors told me it was normal for a new mother to go through what they called post pardom depression. But, it was so much more than that." She cried. Gary didn't know what to say. She quickly regained her composure and continued.
"On December 1st of that year, I dragged myself out of bed and came and picked out a Christmas Tree. I brought it home and I spent the rest of the night decorating it. Then I just sat on the couch and looked at it. Getting that tree was an accomplishment that I made on my own. That was when I knew I was going to be okay and that there was no where to go but up. So every year since then, I come on December 1st and get a tree." Kaitlyn shrugged. Gary wiped her cheek with the back of his hand.
"I'm sorry I made such a fuss." He whispered as he kissed her temple.
"It was me." She said looking up at him.
"I'm going to make you a promise. I don't care if we have 20 feet of snow on the ground, every year, for the rest of our lives I'll cut that Christmas tree down for you on December 1st." Gary said then kissed her softly.
"Thank you." She smiled.
"Come on, let's go home. We have a tree to decorate and I'm hungry." He joked as he started the car.