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I rub her hooded head. “Don’t knock it until you see it.”
“Giving me permission to knock your favorite Christmas movie?”
“Only if you stay awake this time.”
“Look, it was a long day. The fire was warm. The couch was comfy. I regret nothing.”
She gives me a look and then a light jab to my shoulder. “Let’s see this perfect spot.”
“This way,” I say, dragging the sled behind me.
* * *
“There she is,”I say, dropping my grip on the sled. The gray sky seems to part as we approach, spotlighting the nicest tree we’ve seen all day. The perfect tree. It’s a bit bigger than I’d wanted, and we might have to shave a little off the bottom to get it back inside, but it’ll do.
Besides, I don’t want Eva to freeze out here. I want to get her back to the cabin and warm her up.
“She?” Eva asks. “How do you know it’s a she?”
“I suppose it’s also a he. Douglas Fir have both male and female parts on them.”
Eva snorts. “I see you know your Christmas trees.”
I walk back to the sled and take out my axe, slinging it over my shoulder as I pause next to Eva.
“Spend enough time on the mountain and you pick up a thing or two.”
“Any other fun facts?” she asks, bumping my side with her shoulder.
I think for a few moments. “Mistletoe.”
“What about it?”
“It’s parasitic. Well, partially. They’re photosynthetic, but they also take their nutrients from their host plants. Enough mistletoe on a tree and—” I click my tongue. “No more tree.”
“Photosynthetic?” She bumps me again. “That’s a big word.”
“Big guys use big words too.” I bump her with my hip. “They also use big axes to chop down big trees.”
She sighs. “You’re telling me. How are you going to get this tree back? Because if you’re relying on me, we should cut our losses now.”
I smile as she glances up at me. “I’ve got the sled. Ropes. Muscles. Shouldn’t be more than half an hour’s work. You’ll be taking the first swing. Consider it your initiation.”
Eva hums, and then folds her arms across her chest. “You sure we can’t find a smaller tree?”
“That’s a twist.”
“What?”
“I thought I’d be the one trying to convince you to pick a smaller one.”
“It’shuge. We’re talking Rockefeller Center big.”
“It’s big, I’ll give you that. But this is our tree.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“I’m not the one picking it. The tree picked us.”
