A Little Christmas Spirit by Sheila Roberts

Author:Sheila Roberts
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: MIRA Books
Published: 2021-07-28T14:21:00+00:00

14

Over the years Stanley and Carol had all kinds of trees: ones so tall he had to saw off several inches once they got them home in order to fit inside, cheap ones, pricey ones, flocked, and bare. Some they found at tree farms and cut themselves, most they picked up at tree lots. One year Carol wanted a Charlie Brown tree, and they found a perfect candidate when they were snowshoeing in the Cascades.

“That one is perfect!” she’d cried. “It’s so scruffy and sad.”

There was an understatement. “It’s half-dead,” he’d pointed out.

“Then, let’s take it home and give it a purpose before it goes to tree heaven.”

Both families had teased them about it. “This the best you could do?” joked his brother-in-law, Jimmy.

Carol had jumped to his defense. “It was exactly what I wanted. You know, you don’t have to be perfect to be loved.”

Thank God for that, Stanley had thought. With his hermit tendencies he was hardly the perfect man for Carol.

They finally switched to artificial trees. Less hassle, but it was never quite the same as getting a real one.

The first Christmas tree they ever bought was at a tree lot that turned out to be run by one of Carol’s old boyfriends.

“Carol,” he’d greeted her as they walked onto the lot. “Merry Christmas. How are ya?”

“I’m good, Dan.”

“You look good,” he said, sounding way too friendly for Stanley’s taste.

She put an arm through Stanley’s and moved him front and center. “This is my husband, Stanley.”

Dan stuck out a mittened hand. “Nice to meet ya.”

“Same here,” Stanley lied as he took it.

Was this the jerk she’d told him about? Couldn’t be. The guy wasn’t as tall as Stanley, but judging from his shoulders and those tree-trunk thighs, he probably worked out. Stanley vowed to join the gym in the New Year.

“I heard you got married,” Dan said. “You’re a lucky dog,” he told Stanley. “Half the guys in our class wanted to date her.”

“You got to,” she said, her voice light.

“Yeah, for about two seconds. You happy? I’m still single,” he added with a grin.

Stanley frowned. Was that supposed to be funny?

“I’m ecstatic,” she replied and hugged Stanley’s arm.

“Well, darn. Guess I’ll have to settle for selling you two a tree.”

“That’s what we’re here for,” she said.

“You got any fresh ones?” Stanley asked.

“They’re all fresh,” Dan the Tree Man replied, insulted.

Stanley walked up to one, grabbed it by the trunk and gave it the old needle test, banging it on the ground. A shower of needles fell.

“Hey, not so hard,” protested Dan.

“Fresh, huh?” Stanley challenged.

The guy frowned at him. “Any tree’s gonna lose needles if you treat it like it’s a hammer.”

Carol moved on to another. “Here’s a pretty one. I bet it’s fresh,” she said, ever the diplomat.

Before Stanley could touch it Dan grabbed it and gave it a gentle tap. “See? Perfectly fresh.”

“We’ll take it,” Carol said.

“I think we got took,” Stanley muttered as he tied it on the roof of the GTO. “He could have at least given you a discount for old times’ sake.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.