Chapter 24: Chapter 24
“You almost hit that old lady!” Michael shouted, and though the woman never even turned to see what was going on, Melody could just imagine what might have happened if the wayward projectile had knocked her over.
“I think that’s enough snowballs for now,” Reid said, walking over to them, cautiously, as Michael still held a snowball in each hand. “But,” he said putting his hand on Melody’s shoulder, “I owe you. And I never forget a debt.”
Melody broke into a sheepish smile. “It was his idea,” she said, gesturing at Michael with her head.
“Oh, I know. And he will pay, too,” he confirmed, eyeing his son in a playful, but menacing way.
“You’re silly, Dad,” Michael said, clearly not frightened by the threat.
“Why don’t you drop that snowball, tell your friends goodbye, and let’s go pick out a couple of trees, all right? One for us and one for Melody.”
“Two trees?” Michael exclaimed. “All right!” Without even going over to them, he turned and shouted over his shoulder, “Bye guys!” A few of the other kids shouted back, but most of them were so busy building their fort or tossing snowballs at each other, they didn’t even notice he was leaving.
“Michael, I’m assuming you want to pick out a tree and cut it down?” Reid asked as they began to walk toward the Christmas tree forest.
“Yeah!” he shouted, hopping up and down.
“All right. Why don’t the two of you head out, and I’ll go see if Payton has a saw we can borrow, okay?”
“Okay!” Michael exclaimed. “Come on, Miss Melody, let’s go!” He grabbed her hand, and Melody smiled at Reid before she found herself being dragged off into the rows of Christmas trees, Michael’s excitement starting to influence her as well. There was really nothing like the joy of a child at Christmas, and getting to experience his enthusiasm was one way to take her mind off of the difficult reminders the season had brought of late. Without a care in the world, Michael began his inspection of each tree the Taylor Christmas Tree Farm had to offer, and Melody wondered if they might just be there until next Christmas!
***
Reid borrowed one of the many saws the Taylors had on hand for their customers to use to cut down their trees and was given two tree tags, one for Melody and one for himself. Then, he set out to find his son and their new friend. It didn’t take him long to spy them only a few rows away from where he and Melody had been sitting watching Michael play. He knew his son well enough to anticipate a lengthy selection process.
He made his way through the snow, which was now deep enough to cover his boots, thinking about his conversation with Melody. She had been more forthcoming with information than he had expected, though he still wasn’t exactly sure what it was about Christmas music that made her so upset. It sounded like her father really loved this time of year, and being a musician, he must have had a great fondness for the holiday classics. Maybe that was one of the reasons why Melody was struggling today. The holiday season must hold a lot of memories for her.
Sitting on the bench with her chatting, watching Michael play, tossing snowballs at each other—all of that had been more fun than he would have expected. There was just something about her, an innate quality of goodness and light, it was difficult to see her disposition change from being so joyful to so disheartened with just the mention of a particularly sentimental phrase or a song on the radio. He wondered what she must have been like before her father died. She was probably one of those people who seemed never to have a care in the world. Now, she was able to hold that illusion most of the time, but he could definitely tell when she was thinking about her father. Part of him knew he wasn’t ready to pursue a relationship with her, or anyone, at this juncture in his life—but he also wanted to protect her and show her that the tragedy of losing her dad didn’t have to prevent her from making the most of Christmas or any of the other sentimental remembrances she had of special times with her dad.
Michael was holding her hand as he led her from one tree to the next, carefully inspecting each branch, every trunk, and Reid wondered just how long this infatuation would last. Whatever it was that had made Michael seek Melody out, would he keep wanting to spend time with her? How long would she continue to placate a little boy she wasn’t even related to? Then, there was the million-dollar question: if Reid did decide to allow his growing feelings for Melody to blossom, what would happen if things didn’t work out? He didn’t think Michael could bear to have another woman he loved walk out of his life. For that matter, neither could he.
Catching up to them, he pushed those thoughts aside and asked, “Well, have we got it narrowed down at least?”
“Not even close,” Melody laughed. “This one is too skinny. And that last one had a few bald spots in the front. The one before that wasn’t green enough.”
“I see,” Reid nodded. “Which one should we try next?” he asked his son who was still looking intently at the too skinny tree.
“That one,” Michael said, pointing at the next tree over, and he headed that direction, Melody following along still holding his hand and Reid bringing up the rear, wondering if there was anything he could do to speed this along.
“What type of a tree are you looking for, Mel?” he asked as Michael muttered that this tree was too green and moved on to the next.
“Well, my dad usually wanted a really tall, full tree. But since it’ll be up to me and Mom to decorate it this year, I don’t think I want anything much over my own height. I’ve got to be able to reach the top branches.”
“Do you have an aversion to ladders?”
She giggled. “No, but it’s hard to trim a tree from a ladder. I don’t like moving it around in a circle. I’d rather just be able to reach the top.”
“I see,” he nodded. “Any particular type you’re looking for?”
“Not really. Dad liked blue spruce, but I’m more of a ‘I’ll know it when I see it’ kind of a gal.”
“Yeah, Michael’s like that, too, except for he doesn’t want to take the chance that he’s missed out on anything, so even when he’s found the perfect tree, he’ll still want to look at all of the rest, just to be sure.”
Melody’s eyes widened. “Good grief. This is a big farm. We could be here a while.”
“I know,” Reid admitted. “So… it becomes our job to hasten the child along. This is how he usually ends up with a new toy or a treat he doesn’t need.”
Melody nodded, but since she was not a parent herself, he doubted she had any understanding of a perfectly timed bribe.
“Wow! Look at that one!” Michael exclaimed, letting go of her hand and running toward a very full Douglas Fir.
At about six and a half feet tall and nearly four feet across, the tree was nearly perfectly formed and a velvety green. Reid thought it looked like the perfect tree and it would fit exactly in the spot he intended to place it in the living room. “I think this is the one, buddy,” he said, bending to whisper in Michael’s ear.
“It’s awesome!” he said. “Santa could leave me so many presents under this tree.”
“Well, then, let’s cut it down, and then we’ll help Miss Melody find her tree.”
Michael pulled his eyes away from the tree and looked around the lot. “But… we haven’t looked at those trees down there yet. What if there’s a better one?”
“Then I’ll get that one. Or we can trade. But I think we better get this one before someone else comes by and snatches it up,” Melody explained, eyeing a couple walking along with their two daughters just a few rows behind them.
Michael looked at the two little girls and his eyes narrowed. “They’re not getting my Christmas tree,” he said, deliberately.
“All right then, let’s cut ‘er down,” Reid said, offering Melody an appreciative smile. “But remember, once we make the first cut, it’s our tree. There’s no fixing it.”
“Okay,” Michael nodded.