Can't Love Christmas

Twenty Two

As soon as he was gone, Ash returned to her kitchen, pulled out her air popper and then went to find a needle and thread. The idea had percolated in her mind all day, and she was ready to enact it.

First she sliced some oranges, laid them flat on a cookie sheet, and dehydrated them in the oven. She popped a few large bowls of popcorn and sat down on the couch with her needle and thread to create an unreasonable number of popcorn strings. When the orange slices were dried, she poked holes in them and hung them on ribbons. Finally, she collected all her remaining plain plastic ornaments that hadn't found a home on her tree.

She tossed everything into a big plastic tub and headed to the bar. It was nearing the end of dinnertime, and she knew Rowan would be hard at work, giving her the opportunity to prepare his surprise.

She pulled up the driveway to his house and parked behind his truck. Her target was about twenty feet away from the house. There were three small pine trees. Ash was going to decorate the middle one.

She hauled her boxes out of the car and dragged them towards the tree. She started with the popcorn strings; she wound them around the tree so they were nicely draped. She didn't have quite enough to get all the way around as close together as she wanted, and she had to toss the last few rounds up, because the tree was a bit taller than she thought once she was decorating it.

She hung the dried orange slices on the branches she could, and added a few multi-coloured balls for fun. It wasn't perfect, but it was better than nothing and she really hoped Rowan would be pleased. If he was mad about it, she'd deny it until the  end of time.

At least all the decorations were safe for wildlife. They could eat away at the popcorn over a few days. Rowan hadn't mentioned a dislike of birds, but there would probably be an increase of feathered friends on the property. Good thing the tree was nowhere near his truck.

She gathered her boxes once more and headed back to her car, confident that her surprise would be tolerated by her Grinch.

_

It was almost midnight and Ash was lying in bed reading when her phone lit up with a text message.

The Grinch: 

What did you do tonight?

Ash: 

Not much

Immediately, her phone rang. She answered with a smile.

"Hello."

"Did you trespass and litter on my property tonight?"

Alarmed by his tone, she sat up straight. "What?"

"Did you trespass and throw litter on my property tonight?"

Time to play dumb. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Oh really. So you didn't drive over here when I was working and throw trash into my trees?"

"It's not trash. It's basically all biodegradable. Are you upset with me?"

"I mean, I don't know why you did it, but I'm not mad. If you were trying to be sneaky though, you really shouldn't leave ornaments with your name on them on the tree."

"Wait, what?"

"Did you now know one of the ornaments has your name and the year 2010 painted on it?"

"No I didn't! That's not supposed to be there. Shit, it's going to get ruined!"

"Don't worry. I already took it off the tree and brought it inside. It's safe."

"So what do you think?"

"Of the tree? It's fine. I'm glad it didn't get cut down. I also knew it was you as soon as I saw it."

"How?"

"It seemed just crazy enough to be something you'd do."

Ash scoffed. "I'm sure I'm not the most Christmas obsessed person in town."

"No, that's probably true. But I think you are the only one who would ever try to force it down my throat. And it was kinda obvious since we literally just decorated yours today. I didn't realize you were into popcorn strings."

"I'm not usually."

"Okay. Well, thanks for the outdoor decorations. I almost wish you'd let me help instead of sneaking around to do it yourself."

"Oh my god, are you falling in love with Christmas?"

"Nope, the popcorn is a bit wonky at the top and I have to go out and fix it. It cannot stay the way it is."

"You really hate it when things are messy don't you?"

"I like it when things are in their spot, that's all. But if something is on display, it should look good. Obviously, my tree is on display now."

"Fair enough. Well, I need to go to sleep. Early morning at work tomorrow."

"Okay. Goodnight Cinders. Talk to you soon."

"Goodnight." She pressed end call and flopped back onto the bed. It ended up being a perfect date after all. Finally.