Ezra Lucas

Ezra-14-Lucas

And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. Matthew 1:21 KJV

"So, how was your Thanksgiving?" I question Madeline as we walk hand in hand through the numerous rows of trees.

"It was good. I ate so much. My aunts, uncles, and cousins came over." She pats her stomach and grins. "How was yours?"

"It was good. It was just Grams and I, but I like it that way." Madeline smiles and leans her head on my shoulder. I squeeze her side gently to reassure her that I am okay. We walk in a comfortable silence for a few minutes and admire the beautiful creation around us. "How big do you want the tree to be?"

"I want it to be around four or five feet tall, but when I'll know for sure when I see it." She answers while glancing around.

"Most of these trees look taller than that."

Suddenly she stops and turns to me. "You know what I just remembered?" I shake my head. "Real trees are a hassle. I'd rather just get one at Wal-Mart."

I chuckle and turn us around. "Let's go," I state.

"I'm sorry," she says.

"Why?" I question.

"I made us come all the way out here for nothing." She looks at the ground.

I nudge her shoulder with mine. "It wasn't for nothing. We got to spend time together and see this gorgeous tree farm."

She smiles and adds a skip in her step. "You are totally right, Ezra Lucas."

"That's right, Madeline Rome."

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"I like your truck," I state as we walk towards the left Wal-Mart entrance. Her truck is a shiny red, old model and it runs really well.

"Of course you do," she grins at me.

An hour later, my wallet is almost empty of cash. All her Christmas decorations were close to sixty dollars and I told her that was her Christmas present. She drives us to her house and I glance at her during the ride.

Once she parks in front of her house, I study Madeline's face. "Are you okay?"

She glances at me and smiles. "Yeah, you ready to help decorate?" I nod and get out of the truck. I carry the fake tree while she carries the two bags of decorations into the house. We greet her parents briefly and head up to her room. "Will you put up the tree and decorate it while I work on the rest of my room?"

"I can, but I won't promise that it will look good," I state and she rolls her eyes.

"You'll do fine." She says and starts gathering more decorations from underneath her bed.

She turns on Christmas music for us to work to. I finish in a little over half an hour. I step back and study the tree. There are red and grey ornaments all over the tree, a dark red star on the top, and a light grey tree skirt around it. "What do you think, Madeline?"

"That looks really good! Thanks, Ezra."

"You're welcome." I turn and see that she has a red plaid blanket on her bed as well as small string lights above her head board. I take a seat on her bed as she continues to decorate the rest of her room. I play on my phone for a while and then glance outside to see it beginning to get dark. "Madeline, I should probably go home. It's getting dark outside and I don't want Gram to worry."

"Alright, I'll drive you." She puts green her hoodie on and we walk downstairs. We step into the living room where her parents are decorating an eight foot tall Christmas tree.

"Madeline, do you want to put the tree topper on?" Madeline's mother asks.

"Can I get a lift?" Madeline requests and I nod while I bend down. She gets on my shoulders and puts the tree topper her father handed her on the tree. Her parents clap and smile. "Okay, I'm going to drop off Ezra at his house. I'll be right back."

"Okay, honey. Be safe."