“That tree looks fine, Jocelyn.” I say after rising to my feet. I give the tree a little shake, just to make sure that it’s stable in the base. “I’m glad we didn’t bring the taller one home. There’s just enough room for your grandmother’s tree topper, and it fits nicely between the windows.”

Jocelyn wraps an arm around my waist. “You mean it’s beautiful, Avery.” Jocelyn says, “That tree looks like it was grown for our house. Well, except for the front door.” Jocelyn squeezes my hip with her sideways grin.

“Yeah, I guess that was a challenge, wasn’t it?” I say with an arm across her shoulders. A backward glance sees our white carpet spread with few interruptions between grey-blue walls.

I feel Jocelyn roll her eyes. She says, “Well, hurtling a tree is a challenge, yes. I still don’t know how you fit between the tree and the door. Glad you did though; we needed the light.”

“I do suppose that this was one time that the darkness out here was a little much. I think you were just talking about that the other night.”

Jocelyn pats me on the back. “Yeah, the other night when we were stargazing. That was a fun night.” Jocelyn says, “Well, we need to get this tree decorated.”

I squeeze her shoulders before turning to our spare bedroom. We might have to move when our family grows, but this is a great spot for our first Christmas. I can’t believe it’s only been six months, yet, here we are. Now, is there one box of decorations for both of us?

No, I didn’t have enough to make a whole box, did I? So, perhaps I should only find two boxes total? The closet door slides smoothly across the grey carpet in the spare bedroom. Jocelyn and I stacked this closet full of boxes. Would the Christmas decorations be anywhere else than the bottom?

Uh oh, are they in two different stacks? We didn’t think that out well. Of course, moving-day was kind of a blur, so who knows what we were thinking? I pull the first box with “X-Mas” written on it in Jocelyn’s stylish writing. “Hey, Jocelyn, can I make two trips?” I call out to the living room.

I imagine Jocelyn drops her head into one of her hands. She says, “Yes, that’ll be fine. I’ll get started on whatever you bring out.”

I rattle the box on my way to the living room. “Sounds like the lights are in this one, but I can’t say that for sure. Could it be some of those round balls that go on Christmas trees?”

Jocelyn straightens a branch near the top with a single nod of her head. She says, “Then, don’t shake it. You could break something.”

“Did I shake it that hard? I didn’t hear anything break.” I place the box between Jocelyn’s feet and the tree. “But, will you make sure? I’m going to get that other box.”

Jocelyn doesn’t even look up. She dives into the box of lights like a three-year-old on Christmas Day.

I imagine my second trip took less time. Could knowing where the box was cut that much time? Maybe, I’m just feeding off Jocelyn’s excitement? Either way, I seem to be back in the living room in a flash.

She already has half the lights hung on the tree. I ask, “That looks nice. Did all the lights work?”

Jocelyn shakes her head. She says, “I don’t know. I just started hanging lights. I figured they would be fine. Just got to get our first tree decorated. This is going to be great.”

I gulp hard before saying, “But what if we have to pull the lights off the tree?”

“Ugh, don’t worry about it. This thing will be near perfect. I’ve been thinking about this for a week.” Jocelyn says, “I know exactly what needs to be done. I’m just going to spread these family decorations out a bit. Then, we’ll have a tree that’s the perfect combination of both families’ decorations.”

I tighten my lips together and place the box of decorations next to the one of lights. With the box open, I start holding up decorations. Jocelyn takes them with commentary about each one.

A sloppily painted candy cane brings a memory from every Christmas since the third grade. Jocelyn’s mother told every visitor about that candy cane. One of my decorations draws a couple questions. I confess that it belonged on my grandmother’s tree. Jocelyn gives me an “aww” before the decoration lands next to her candy cane.

“Should we put a couple of the decorations near the top?” I ask as the next five decorations find a home around the other two.

Jocelyn says, “Yeah, we’ll put some up there. Right now, these just seem really nice. We’ve got such great memories, so I want them front and center. Once we get to the bottom, I’m sure there will be some to spread around.”

She flashes from box to tree with a decoration in hand. Each one gets a full run down of where it came from. My memory struggles to keep up with hers, but Jocelyn reports on the first appearance of everyone. She places it in the precise location that such a story deserves.

Then, Jocelyn reaches into the box without finding a decoration. She says, “I guess that’s it. This is going to be magical. Do me a favor: go plug us in.”

I shrug walking to the plug. “Oh no,” Jocelyn gasps. I turn to see half the lights blown. One, single band of decorations circles the middle of the tree. Then, I catch one on my way back to Jocelyn. Another hops off the branch before I reach Jocelyn.

“Should we start over or simply spread the decorations?” I ask with an arm around Jocelyn’s shoulders.

She sighs with a nod of the head. “Let’s just start over.”

We get the decorations back in the box. I ask, “Hey, what if we put your decorations on top and my decorations on the bottom? Then could we leave the few that we’ve bought together in the middle?”

Jocelyn removes the last of the lights. She says, “I think that is a great idea. But, could we test these lights before we worry about the decorations?”

We both laugh while stretching out the lights across the carpet.

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