MMH(Jenlisa Adaptation)

Part 16

"Where's Jennie?"

Lisa shifted uncomfortably in her chair, her hands clenched around the edge of the table as she sat with Wo Jin that night at dinner. "Why?" She asked tightly.

"Is she coming to Christmas?" He asked innocently, shovelling the tater tots from his plate into his mouth.

"I'm not sure, kid," she answered quickly. "But I was thinking we could go down to the yard and get a real Christmas tree."

She motioned over to the corner of the living room where their artificial tree stood, still bare as per tradition to wait until Wo Jin first day of break before decorating it. Today was his last day of school, and god, what a day it had been. Not only had he questioned her of her location that morning, but he was frazzled when she told him she was at the hospital getting stitches. His nervousness died down as the hours passed, but it clearly didn't remove his interest in where Jennie was.

"A real one?" He piped up excitedly.

"Yeah," she grinned relieved at the previous topic forgotten.

"Can Jennie come?"

Lisa's smile dropped. Or not. She gave a small smile before standing with her half eaten meal and placed it in the fridge. She answered him while her head was still in the confines of the cold box. "She's busy."

"Oh." Lisa didn't have to see him to hear the dejectedness in his voice. She had been on the receiving end of that one too many times not to know what it sounded like, and the words that Jennie threw at her that morning still stung. She hadn't even bothered to chase after the brunette after she had left. All she could think to do was slam a glass across the room in a mixture of anger and frustration before falling into a restless sleep, waking just in time to pick up Wo Jin.

She stood up straight and closed the door with her hip, crossing her arms over her chest as she leaned against the appliance with a thin smile. "So you want to get that tree?"

"You're in luck," the young teen employed at the Christmas tree yard said as he led Lisa and Wo Jin near the back, past the small and scrawny trees that no one had wanted. "There's at least one good one hidden in the back here."

Lisa sighed out relieved as she placed her hands on Wo Jin's shoulders from behind as they sloshed through the wet ground that had dampen from the evening's light drizzle of rain. She guided him through the sparse collection of trees until they were in front of a real Christmas tree, one that Lisa had always wanted since she was a child. It was no bigger than five feet, but it was full, healthy and alive. She inhaled deeply, a pine scent filling her nostrils as she squeezed Wo Jin's shoulders in confirmation. "This one?"

"Yeah," he grinned excitedly.

"Ow!" Lisa muttered as she pushed the tree into the corner in the tree stand after she and Wo Jin had disassembled their artificial one and placed it back in its box. "The damn twigs are poking me."

"They're called needles, I think."

"Yeah, well they're doing their job."

"I think you were supposed to keep the burlap on it before setting it up."

With a final push, the tree remained standing on its own, Lisa wiping her hands in satisfaction for a job well done. "Too late for that."

She wiped the thin layer of sweat that formed on her brow before catching Wo Jin looking up at the tree in her periphery. She nudged his shoulder lightly until he looked at her. "How about we break tradition for this year and start decorating early?"

"Really?" He asked glancing at the clock inconspicuously.

Lisa smirked. "Yeah, it's your break. Stay up and decorate with your mom."