Ollie pointed at Mauve.
“That’s right. A therapist like Miss Mauve, only it was a long time ago,” Jason said. “It was hard, but I kept at it. Just like you’re doing.”
Mauve wasn’t sure how he’d so quickly assessed the situation, but it melted her heart to see him offering encouragement to a stranger.
“And now you’re an actor,” Ben said. “That’s very inspirational, isn’t it, Ollie?”
Ollie studied Jason for another moment, then gave a small, serious nod.
Meanwhile, the worker had disentangled Mauve’s tree and was wrapping it in mesh.
“Looks like our tree’s ready,” Mauve said. “But it’s great to see you.”
“Nice to meet you,” Jason said. “And thanks for watching our show.”
“Thanks for giving us so much joy through your work,” Sarah said before turning to her crew. “All right, let’s get our tree home too.”
Ollie waved goodbye as the entire family headed over to pay for their tree, then glanced back at them, a glimmer of hope in his big eyes.
“Thanks for that,” Mauve said. “You just gave him a great gift.”
“I feel for him.”
“He’s getting better every day.”
“Thanks to you.” Jason tugged at her cap with both hands, looking into her eyes. “It’s nice to see you in your world.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
He didn’t say anything further, although she had a feeling he wanted to. Instead, they headed out to the car with their tree, Christmas music fading as they reached the parking lot. Soon enough, Jason had it tied to the top of the car and they were headed back to her house, the scent of gingerbread making it all that more festive. Maybe Jason was right. It was time to embrace Christmas again.
Gettingthe tree into Mauve’s living room took more effort than either of them had anticipated. Jason wrestled it through the front door while she guided from inside, pine needles scatteringacross the hardwood. By the time they’d gotten it upright in the stand they were both slightly sweaty and laughing.
“That tree looked a lot smaller on the farm,” Jason said, stepping back to examine it.
“I love it,” Mauve said.
The smell of fresh evergreen spread through the house, warm and green and alive. She switched on the gas fireplace and lit a few candles for ambiance, then set out a plate with some of the cookies they’d brought home.
They strung the white lights first. Jason wrapped them around the top while Mauve handled the lower branches. Christmas music played from the speakers, and they occasionally sang along. When the lights were done, Jason plugged them in, then stepped back to stand with Mauve.
“How pretty,” she murmured. “I’m glad you talked me into it.”
“I’m glad you said yes.”
They unpacked the ornaments from the tree farm and hung them on the branches. When they stood back to look at their progress, Mauve started laughing. “We have more branches than ornaments.”
“Maybe we can pick up some more in town,” Jason said.
The doorbell rang, startling them both. She went to answer it, surprised to see a FedEx worker standing on her porch with a large box in his hands.
“Package for you. I’ll need a signature.” The delivery guy set the box at her feet and then handed her a tablet to sign.
“What is this?” Mauve asked, as if the poor man would know.
He didn’t answer, but by then Mauve had seen the sender’s address on the box. It was from her mother. How odd. They weren’t a family who exchanged gifts.
