Winter's Warmth

by Ivy Ruthven

  “We never had a real tree back home in Edinburgh.”

  “No. Neither were we allowed to decorate it the way I wanted to,” said Sarah, frowning. “I want to go crazy this year.”

  I snorted. She was already planning things in her head. To keep her distracted, I said, “How about we go get a tree today and surprise James?”

  Sarah’s face glowed as the idea took root in her mind. “You know what? Let’s do it. I know the perfect place too.” Standing up, she said, “Eat some cereal and get dressed. We’ll head out in half an hour.”

  Draining my mug, I fixed a bowl of cereal. I ate fast and in the meantime, texted Ryan and told him about the upcoming trip with Sarah. There was no reply from him. He was probably in the middle of a class. I sent a small note to Stacie and Jenny too.

  But you can’t miss practice! - Jenny

  Jenny had texted back immediately. Chuckling, I put my phone away.

  After finishing breakfast, I ran to my bedroom to get changed. Since it was a rare day out with my mother, I decided to dress up well.

  When I went down to the living room, I saw Sarah wearing a red dress under a black frock coat. She smiled at me. I was wearing a red dress too, the same one I’d worn on Thanksgiving.

  “We look like mother and daughter!” she squealed.

  I laughed. “We are mother and daughter! Let’s go.”

  Sarah drove us through the town’s streets. Excitement bubbled inside me at the prospect of a new tree. Just thinking about it felt like Christmas was near. We passed through fabulously decorated front lawns and the feeling deepened.

  “Your grandfather always bought trees from the Red Pine Farm,” said Sarah, driving through a highway. “I wonder if they still have their shop. He always bought me a hot chocolate from there.”

  “Sounds nice.”

  “It was. They were helpful too. We just had to choose the tree and they’d handle the rest. Even setting it up after going home wasn’t difficult.”

  “I hope not. I can’t imagine handling an actual tree,” I said, looking ahead at the door. In the distance, tops of green pines and firs rose from a long fenced enclosure.

  “We’re almost there,” said Sarah, slowing the car.

  A large sign was painted at the front of the tree farm. It read “Red Pine Farm- specializes in Douglas Fir and Blue spruce”.

  We entered the lot together. Patches of snow were gathered at the base of trees and glinted brightly under the sun. The heady smell of pines was everywhere. I breathed in deeply as we moved in deeper. There were no customers other than us there. An elderly man in a red cap came towards us.

  “Mr. Stone?” said Sarah.

  “Yeah? You want a tree, ladies?” said the man in a gruff voice.

  “Yes. We’d like to look at the firs, please,” said Sarah.

  “This way,” he said shortly, taking us through one of the paths. “Each foot costs nine dollars. No returns, so choose carefully.”

  There were trees on both sides of the narrow walking path. To my eyes, they all looked similar. Sarah, however, was eyeing them critically, touching the leaves, bending the branches and giving them little shakes.

  “What are you doing?” I whispered while Mr. Stone kept an eye on us.

  “Checking the quality of the trees. We need one with springy branches. They shouldn’t shed too many needles,” chanted Sarah, as she walked slowly around a particular tree.

  “You know your trees,” said Mr. Stone wryly.

  “Of course. You taught me as a kid,” said Sarah.

  “Oh?” Mr. Stone looked at her with renewed interest now.

  “This one,” said Sarah, caressing the branches of a gorgeous tree. It was just a few inches over six feet and perfect for our living room corner.

  “Good choice. If you’re in the mood for hot chocolate, you can go ahead. I’ll have Mark prepare it and ready to take home.”

  “Thank you, Mr. Stone. I can’t believe you still have your little Christmas shop. It’s a shame you don’t remember me coming here.”

  “Memory fades with time. I am close to ninety now, dear.”

  “You look barely seventy!”

  Mr. Stone burst out laughing. It completely shifted his grim, moody persona. “Go on, now! Let me do my job.”

  Sarah led me through a series of crisscrossing paths and a small wooden cottage came in view. With snow piled on the edges of the slanting roofs and strings of golden light at the windows, it looked like an enchanted fairy tale hut. When we got nearer, I could see the glimmer of shiny ornaments through the glass in the windows.

  “It’s always a treat to look at the things on display,” said Sarah, following my gaze. “But your grandfather always felt they were too expensive.”

  We stepped inside the shop. It was a small space but filled with shelves of beautiful Christmas wreaths, painted ornaments and glass orbs with tiny houses and ballerinas in them.

  “I really love these wreaths,” I said, moving towards a shelf. They were large, bushy and decorated with sticks of cinnamon and dried clementines, all tied up with thick, red ribbons. “I can buy one for our door.”

  “They are lovely,” agreed Sarah.

  “What about some of these?” I asked, pointing at a row of small crystal angels. “For the tree?”

  “We have those in the loft and more. We could buy some streamers from the supermarket though. The old ones must have faded.”

  “Fine,” I said. “We’re getting the wreath though.”

  She chuckled and nodded.

  A young woman at the counter smiled at us. Going up to her, we ordered cups of hot chocolate. There were three tables with red plastic chairs crammed in the corner. We chatted while the woman prepared our drinks.

  I cheered up when we were served. It had been a while since I had some good hot chocolate. These came topped up with thick whipping cream and scattered with sprinkles. As I dug through it with my spoon, the marshmallows bobbed up. Taking a sip, I sighed at the wonderfully warm drink.

  “You should give Bramble a call,” said Sarah, wiping a cream moustache. “I hope she won’t be closed too long.”

  “Me too,” I said. “This is the best time for the restaurant to make money. At least, her mother’s all right.”

  “Yeah.”

  “Mother, can we invite Ryan for Christmas?” I asked.

  “Sure. He’s a good kid.” She gave me a meaningful glance. “I believe you two have gotten close?”

  “Yes.”

  “How close exactly?”

  “Mother, please,” I mumbled, feeling a blush coming over my cheeks. When she didn’t drop her gaze, I said, “We are yet to go on an actual date.”

  “Have you told him everything about…us?”

  I shook my head. “We’re taking our time, Mother. You have nothing to worry.”

  She nodded. “I know you’re smart enough but I’m your mother and the worrying just comes naturally. For what it’s worth, at least his face is not tattooed and his tongue isn’t pierced.”

  I choked on my hot chocolate mid-way through a snort. Coughing and spluttering, I grabbed a napkin.

  “Seriously, Mother,” I gasped. “What kind of guys do you think I’m interested in?”

  Sarah grinned.

  By the time we headed outside after finishing our second mugs of hot chocolate, the tree was securely strapped to the roof of our car.

  “All ready for ya,” said Mr. Stone, looking at us.

  “Thank you,” said Sarah, proceeding to pay him.

  I entered the car with the Christmas wreath I’d chosen earlier.

  “Ready to go?” asked Sarah.

  “Aye,” I said with a big nod. I couldn’t wait for James to get back home so we could start decorating our Christmas tree.

  Chapter 10

  A week had passed since the incident. Bramble’s teashop remained closed for a few days but as soon as the windows were fixed, she opened the restaurant. If it were possible, the place wa
s more crowded than before, with people coming in from other towns.

  “This whole thing has been rather good for business,” she said to me one day. “We’ve already made thrice of last year’s profit.”

  I was happy to see our boss go back to her usual bubbly, eccentric self. In the meantime, our Christmas tree back home was now fully decorated and took its pride of place in the living room.

  After waking each morning, the first thing I did was to walk into the living room downstairs and see the beautiful Christmas that now adorned the room. The fragrance from the pine never failed to freshen and energize me. The small golden and white lights that glinted among the branches always brought a burst of cheer in me.

  The tree was special to us. It was to be our first Christmas without our father among us. All our lives, the tradition was to be driven from school to home by our parents and be presented with an already decorated tree in the grand hall of our mansion. We’d pray in the family chapel on Christmas Eve with the rest of our family. On the main day, we’d sit down to a massive feast with cousins, uncles and aunts.

  This year, we all felt alternating waves of homesickness and gratitude for our new lives. Even Sarah sniffed while James and I decorated the tree from old boxes that had been up in the loft. It was difficult to completely imagine her grief. She probably missed both her parents and our father. Still, she persevered with a wavering smile while my brother and I bickered over whether to use the silver or gold streamers on the branches.

  As I looked at the tree, which had both golden and silver streamers scattered among its branches, a flicker of pride went through me. James and I had done well even though it was the first time decorating a Christmas tree for both of us.

  “Get dressed, Oli,” said James, walking into the living room. “The tree will be there when we get back from school.”

  “Thank you, James. I wouldn’t have known unless you told me,” I said, feigning surprise.

  He made a face at me. “Shouldn’t you be practicing or something? It’s the final rehearsal today. Me and my friends will be there and they all know you’re my sister. Please,” he begged. “Don’t embarrass me.”

  “No promises, little brother,” I said, ruffling his gel-slicked hair. He ducked and shouted for our mother while I ran upstairs to get dressed.

  Dressing in a green knee-length dress, I thought of the coming performance. If I was being honest, playing in front of the rest of the student body was not as intimidating as partner for songs with Jenny. My phone buzzed. Picking from my bed, I swiped at the screen.

  Good luck! –Stacie

  Smiling, I finished combing my hair, gathered my things for school and headed downstairs to the kitchen. Only Sarah was at the table, drinking coffee and reading the newspaper.

  “Hi, Mother,” I said. “Any more news about the break-in at the teashop?”

  “Nothing that we already haven’t read before,” she said, folding the paper. “What do you want for breakfast?”

  “Nothing, Mother. Just some juice today. We have the final practice today and it will be almost like performing for the competition tomorrow. Stacie said that even the Principal would be hanging around the auditorium this afternoon.”

  Sarah frowned. “That’s no reason for skipping breakfast. Miss lunch if you have to, but not breakfast!” Her eyes narrowed until I took a seat at the table. Then she smiled and bustled around bringing a plate out a plate of toasts. She buttered two slices with peanut butter and raspberry jam.

  “Eat this. I will get you some juice,” said Sarah.

  By the end of the meal, I felt much better. However, I was late.

  Hurrying out of the house, I jogged towards school. It was difficult to do so in the heavy boots and taking care not to skip in the snow.

  I made it to school on time. By the time, I reached the first class of the day (Math), I was panting heavily. Stacie fanned me with a notebook while I took my coat off.

  “Here, drink this,” she said, handing me a bottle of water.

  “Thanks,” I said, taking a swig.

  “How are you doing?” asked Ryan. He had come to stand beside my desk.

  “Good. Made it on time today,” I said, looking up at him.

  His eyebrows were raised at me, but he smiled back. “I’ll see you after class?”

  “Sure,” I said with a nod as the bell rang.

  Mr. Brown entered the classroom and promptly began writing on the board. It was a derivation of a particular problem but that morning, nothing was making sense. I copied things into my notebook, deciding to go through it later. Now that I was in school, the practice session of the afternoon weighed in my mind.

  When class got over, Stacie excused herself to visit Mr. Varner. With the competition being tomorrow, she was busy looking after the arrangements in the auditorium.

  “Library?” asked Ryan as we walked through the corridor.

  “No. Can we hide out near the soccer fields? I don’t want Jenny finding me.”

  “Had enough practice?”

  “Yeah. We’ll be fine but she nags too much. I wish she’d just trust us to do things right. We’ve all been slaving over the last few weeks.”

  “Yes,” said Ryan grudgingly. “You’ve barely had time for me. We’re a couple now and we haven’t even been on a proper date yet.”

  I smiled. This was the perfect thing to distract myself with. “How about this weekend? The competition will be over tomorrow and I can just relax.” The thought made me sigh with longing. “There’s this skating ring in Oakwood Park. Would you be interested?”

  “I haven’t skated in years,” he said. His eyes had a faraway look like he was reminiscing. “What if I can’t do it anymore?”

  We’d come to a stop by a line of trees near the soccer field. The area was deserted at that time of the day which allowed me to be bolder. Leaning my head against his chest, I said, “I’ll teach you again. Once you remember how much fun it used to be, you’ll remember.”

  His hands came around me. Looking down at me, he said, “I guess it’s time for a new memory.” Then he kissed me.

  Afternoon arrived all too soon.

  The music team was gathered in the back stage while the rumble of voices outside told us how full the auditorium was. Stacie waited with me, clutching a clipboard to her chest. Jenny shot irritated glances at me and the rest of the boys and girls. Everyone ignored, which probably caused her frown to deepen.

  “Why couldn’t we just practice in the music room as usual?” I whispered to Stacie.

  “People are even more excited about this than last time.”

  “Why?”

  “You know. Because of you,” she said, grinning. “And it’d be a hoo-oo-t if you guys can beat St. Paul’s tomorrow. Also, it was Jenny’s idea. She wanted the team to be prepared for the event in a similar atmosphere so there are no surprises.”

  I shook my head. “She is crazy.”

  Stacie giggled and quickly covered her mouth.

  “Ugh! This stress is awful. Wish it’d get over soon.”

  “Don’t worry. You and Jenny are up first. I thought you didn’t want extra stress over being late to work.”

  “Thank you!” I squealed, clutching Stacie in a small hug. “You’re brilliant.”

  “Can you two keep it down?” came Jenny’s annoyed voice from the corner. “I’m trying to meditate here.”

  Stacie and I grinned at each other.

  Within the next quarter of an hour, both Jenny and I walked to the stage. The piano which would normally be in a room on the second floor of the Franklin Building was standing in the centre of the stage. I took my position at the keys while Jenny stood near me.

  People were scattered throughout the hall. Tomorrow it would be more crowded with students of other schools coming to join the competition. The thought brought a heavy, fluttering feeling in my chest.

  Jenny cleared her throat, glaring at me. Nodding at her, I took in a deep breath and began playing the firs
t notes of the song.

  With that, the next ten minutes flew away like a breeze. Concentrating on my playing made me forget about the watching crowd. They were being noisy before we started but it all fell away when Jenny started singing, making me focus on my pacing.

  We got a cheering applause after we finished. Some hooted.

  Jenny and I bowed to the audience and went backstage where the others waited for their turn. Jenny turned to me with a fierce look on her face. My stomach dropped, fearing I’d made a mistake. The next second, she was upon me.

  “It was perfect,” she cried in my ears, hugging me tightly.

  I staggered when she stepped away from me. “G-great,” I said, still overcoming from the surprising display of Jenny’s sudden affection towards me.

  “You guys rocked,” said Peter who played the drums. He looked towards Stacie. “Can you see if the auditorium could have some decorations? It’d set off the ambience well.”

  “Oh,” said Stacie. Her forehead creased as she considered Peter’s suggestion. “I’ll talk to Mr. Varner right away before the principal leaves. I’ll be back soon.” She walked away.

  “Is it all right if I left now?” I asked, looking at my watch.

  “Sure,” said Jenny with a genuine smile. “Rest well and be prepared for tomorrow.”

  “I will,” I promised.

  Picking up my bag, I exited through a gate that led through the backstage. A cold breeze fanned my hair away from my face. I smiled, feeling my heart soar. All those hours of relentless practice had paid off. If Jenny could look that happy with me, then we were golden!

  I had a deep desire to skip all the way to Bramble’s teashop. The town was glowing with red and green lights. Even the trees that lined the avenues, now bare, were bedecked with strings of golden light. With snow gathered all around the brightly lit shops and cafes, Knightswood looked like an image out of a Christmas card.

  The teashop came into view. Before only tiny golden lights glinted on the windowsills, but Bramble had stepped it up with large wreaths and twirls of thick red ribbons that were artfully made to hang from them. The extra income had paid for the all damages and everyone had gained back their usual cheer.