Page 76 of The Marriage Rebound

I was glad it was a mildly cool day because Sasha had rejected nearly every tree we’d looked at so far. They were too short, too round, the needles too sharp—I wasn’t even sure what she meant by that one. But there was no rush. I was enjoying the time we were spending together. We were feeling like a regular couple without any of the frustration and burgeoning resentment that had been lingering between us.

Sasha let out a gasp when she abruptly stopped in front of a large tree. “I think this is the one.” She released my hand to walk around it, lightly touching the branches as she went. She clapped her hands while bouncing from side to side. “Yes, it’s perfect!”

Vuitton responded to her excitement by barking and jumping at her legs until she picked him up. “See? He agrees.”

I laughed, quietly approaching them both. “You sure this is the one, Goldilocks?”

“Yeah. Why? What’s wrong with it?”

I stood next to the tree that Sasha was set on. I was six-five, and her pick had to be at least two good, solid feet taller than me. “We only have nine-foot ceilings.”

“So?”

“So, I don’t think this is going to fit, baby.”

She frowned, and I hated raining on her parade. “What do you mean? Of course it will.”

I stood next to it again. “Baby, how tall am I?”

“Too tall.”

“Okay, well, if I’m ‘too tall’—” I craned my neck up to look at the tree. “This tree has got to be at least nine feet, and this is before you put it in a stand, Sash.”

She tilted her head as she examined me, then the extra height of the tree behind me. “But we have really high ceilings.”

“We have really high ceilings to you.” I laughed.

She set Vuitton down then put her hands on her rounded hips and frowned. “Are you callin’ me short again?”

“I’m not calling you anything. I’m statin’ a fact. To you, our ceilings are very high. To me, they’re average, borderline too low.”

She narrowed her eyes at me. “You can’t touch them.”

“I can if I need to,” I retorted, stepping closer to her.

“Not without gettin’ on your toes,” she shot back with a smirk on her full lips, and mischief dancing in her eyes.

I hooked two fingers into the pocket of her jacket, tugging her closer. “At least I can. You wouldn’t be so lucky even if on a stepstool.”

People moved around us, talking, laughing while we were locked in a playful battle of wills. Amusement lit up Sasha’s features, which betrayed the small pout she tried to adopt. If she was truly set on this one, I’d figure out a way to make it work, but I was hopeful she’d relent and see the truth of the situation.

“You ladies need some help?” one of the workers asked as he strolled over to us.

She shot a quick glance above my head, then rolled her tongue along her glossy bottom lip. “Fine,” she huffed.

“Not yet,” I answered. “We still have some searching to find the perfect fit.”

“Alright. Y’all come find me when you’re ready.” He gave Vuitton a quick pet between his ears before walking off to help another family.

We continued on for another ten or fifteen minutes, searching for a suitable substitute that had to be the right height, the right fullness, and with needles that weren’t too dry or prickly. I was about to suggest a different lot because I was sure we’d seen every tree they had available, but she found one that made her light up the same way the other had. And I tried not to grumble too much at the price tag of $150 for a tree that we’d have up for three weeks before it ended up in a landfill somewhere.

We found a compromise, and the only new decorations she would buy would be the tree stand we needed, because the fake tree she’d spent nearly $1,300 on had one that was attached to the pole, plus it wasn’t suitable for a live tree anyway because it wouldn’t hold water. The lot attendant got our selection wrapped up in netting and was kind enough to throw a piece of burlap on the roof of Sasha’s SUV before securing the tree.

“Will Big Mama be spending Christmas with us?” I asked as we headed back home.

Sasha stroked Vuitton as he curled up in her lap, sleeping as if the outing had taken a lot out of him. “Um, I don’t know. I actually hadn’t thought about it.”

“I just figured you like spending the holidays with her, and if you want us to be in our house, I just assumed you’d want her in our house as well.” I cut my eyes over at her, and she smiled.