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“We had one like this when I was a kid.”
Seeing what it is, I tell her, “The entire set should be in there.”
On a mission, Aubrey sits on the floor and begins searching. Piece by piece, she finds what she’s looking for and sets them on the coffee table in front of her. Once she’s sure she’s discovered them all, she assembles the train.
Lost in memories, she switches it on and watches it circle the track. “I see you found Carson’s favorite,” my mom says as she walks past us on her way to the bathroom. You’d think, with a family this big, we’d have at least two of them. Unfortunately, we don’t. Dad has talked for years about an addition, to which Mom has suggested hiring a contractor instead.
Dad is a great man. A wonderful father.
But he sucks at building anything.
He can’t even do Legos.
Though, God bless him, he still tries.
Some of his attempts are on display in the house.
They were too good, or maybe that’s bad, not to keep.
Thankfully, he has a great sense of humor and knows the teasing is only done with love.
He plays along, having fun at his own expense.
Actually, I’m surprised he hasn’t shown Aubrey one of them yet.
“Do you put it up at your place?” I ask Aubrey.
Her voice is quieter now, some of the happiness gone, as she tells me, “I don’t know what happened to it.” It’s on the tip of my tongue – which is a very weird idiom, as are most of them – to mention that maybe a family member has it. Mom waves at us on her return trip to the kitchen, allowing me the time to think. And saving me from a thoughtless, instinctive question that could’ve caused Aubrey more pain than she’s already feeling while staring at a remainder of all she’s lost.
Perhaps I can begin acquiring it for her. I would like to get her a Christmas present, as my parents and siblings might, too.
If they pitch in, we might be able to get her all of it in one go.
Then next year, we could have it at our own home…
“Where should we put it?”
“Where does it usually go?”
“Whoever puts it up gets to decide.”
“That’s a lot of pressure,” she says.
“Wait until it’s our turn for the elf.”
“Our?”
“Yeah. I think we make a good team.”
Aubrey looks around. “We haven’t done anything yet.”
“You did the train.”
“So, what you’re saying is, you’re going to take partial credit for it?”
“You wouldn’t have known it was all there if it wasn’t for me,” I point out.
“Except I would have eventually as I kept emptying the contents.”
