Maybe It Can Be Real

Chapter 61

Ending of last chapter:

But no matter how hard I try, no matter how tired I am, I don't fall asleep. I stay awake until the sun rises, listening for the thief to return. I don't think Peeta falls asleep either.

I grab his hand, intertwining our fingers, and squeeze it once. He returns it, but neither of us say anything. And we lay there like that until we decide that we need to go see the damage in the sunlight.

****

The white snowflakes drift down from the clouds and land softly in the grass, slowly gathering into large piles. The icicles hanging from the houses make them seem like they're shimmering. The steam from my hot chocolate warms my face, and the mug warms my hands that are wrapped around it.

It couldn't be a better Christmas morning.

A laugh bubbles in my throat when I look at the thin tree standing in the corner, adorned with glittering lights and ornaments. It sure was an adventure to get that thing, an adventure filled with several blunders and a whole lot of laughter.

**

"Oh my goodness, it is freezing out! I didn't know it was going to be this cold, Peeta!", I exclaimed, burying my hands into my jacket pockets. By the end of this trip, I won't be able to feel my toes at this rate!, I thought.

Smiling, Peeta took off his hat and plopped it onto mine. "Here. It looks cuter on you anyway." Being too cold to give it back, I pulled it more snug onto my head and thanked him.

The rest of the walk to the woods was filled with nonsensical chatter, the topic jumping from here to there. During that time, it had started snowing a little bit, the soft flurries getting stuck in our hair and eyelashes.

"What kind of tree are you looking for? Tall, short? Fat, skinny?," I asked. "I don't have a preference; I like them all."

Thinking for a moment, he had responded, "We have a fairly tall ceiling, so I'm thinking more of a tall tree. Skinnier too, probably. I don't want it overpowering the rest of the room, you know?" I just nodded along with his words. Any type of tree is going to be pretty.

"I just hope we don't kill ourselves chopping the tree down," I mused, grinning a little bit.

"I'm sure we won't. We can handle a tree," he replied, but he didn't sound too sure. I knocked my shoulder into his, grinning up at him.

After an hour of searching, which may or may not have included us slipping on ice multiple times, we had finally found the right tree. Thank goodness, I thought, we can finally go home now where it's warm.

"Okay, so, do you know how to cut down a tree?", I asked. "Cause I don't, and that's kind of important right now."

Peeta blew some air into his hands to warm them up, bouncing on his toes. "I didn't, but then I went into the town and happened to come across someone taking home a tree, and I asked them. It's fairly simple, yet I don't know if I'll be able to accomplish it."

Giving him two thumbs up, I encouraged, "Well, I have faith in you. The baby and I will be standing over here, despite that." I backpedaled so I wouldn't be in the range to be hit by tree when it fell. With one hand across my stomach, I called out, "We love you!"

Chuckling, he replied, "Thanks for that vote of confidence, dear."

He finally put the saw to the trunk and -nothing happened. "Are you kidding me?", Peeta laughed. "It's so cold that I can't cut the tree!" In turn, I just laughed at the look on Peeta's face.