It Started With A Christmas Tree - A Lizzie Fuller Christmas Novella

by Beth Prentice

  “Aren’t you going to help?” I asked Riley.

  “Sure. Just sing out when you need me,” he smiled.

  Humph.

  I filled the base with water and pulled over my decorations. Now first thing to go on the tree, as we all know, is the lights.

  Opening the box, I lifted the string of fairy lights— two hundred and forty of them to be precise, all on one continuous cord. Now, I should confess I’m not very good with cords. I always manage to get them into a big, knotted mess. In fact, Riley has almost banned me from putting the vacuum cleaner away for this very reason. But he seemed preoccupied with the telecast of a local cricket game, so I soldiered on alone. It didn’t take me long before I ended up tangled in amongst the lights, frustrated because they kept catching on each other. Seriously, next year, I’m going with a plastic tree with in built lights. Bugger this new tradition we’d started.

  I looked at Riley sitting on the couch, beer in hand. I think it was time to tell him I needed him. Thankfully, he didn’t tease me too much and he did manage to unravel me from my binds. And then, with the promise of later payment, he even helped me to get them around the tree. Don’t ask me how he managed to get all twenty-four metres in place without once getting into a knot. It must be a man thing.

  I opened my box of glass baubles, unwrapped them from the protective paper and found them the perfect spot.

  Walking to the other side of the tree, I stopped when I saw a shimmer coming from inside the branches. I can only think I hadn’t noticed earlier because I was so annoyed with the lights. I carefully moved them aside to get a closer look—real trees were a lot more prickly than fake ones—put in my hand and pulled out an ornament. It was round, about the size of a tennis ball and made of glass with lots of random etchings. It was actually quite beautiful. I held it up and noticed the colours dance around the room as it refracted the light.

  “Wow,” I whispered.

  “What’s that?” asked Riley as the colour danced across the television screen, distracting him.

  “I found it in the tree,” I replied, looking from the decoration in my hand to the tree and wondering how it got there. “Do you think they maybe decorated it on the farm?”

  I watched as Riley’s eyebrows moved closer to his hairline. “Maybe. I’ve never heard of that before, but who knows. I guess anything’s possible.”

  “Maybe it’s a gift. You know, buy a tree and get a decoration.”

  Riley nodded. “Sounds reasonable.”

  “Well, it’ll make a good addition to my collection,” I smiled, hanging the glass ball on one of the outer branches.

  Riley stood and walked closer to me. Looking into my box of decorations, he said, “I don’t like to be the bearer of bad news but there is no way you have enough decorations to cover this tree.”

  He was right. My previous tree was only a metre tall and my collection of glass ornaments and tinsel were plenty to fill it, but this tree was quite a bit larger.

  “Yeah. I know. I’m going to have to go into town and get some new ones,” I mused. My musings however, were interrupted by my phone ringing.

  I picked it up and looked at the caller display. Swiping it to answer, I said, “Hey Molly.”

  Molly is my older sister. She’s a bit taller than me, a bit smarter than me and has a hell of a lot more cleavage than me.

  “Lizzie, what are you up to?” she asked, getting straight to the point.

  “Decorating my new Christmas tree. Why?”

  “Do you want to come into the city with me tomorrow? I’ve got to do some Christmas shopping and thought it would be fun if we went together.”

  “Oh, that would be awesome. I have to buy some new decorations anyway, so we could make a day of it. I haven’t even started looking for presents yet.” I smiled, excitedly. Shopping with Molly could, at times, be quite stressful, but Christmas shopping with her was always fun.

  “Great. I’ll pick you up just before eight.” With that, she hung up.

  *****

  I knew, shopping with Molly, I would have to dress slightly better than normal, and I would also have to be prepared to walk a lot. Riley was still officially living at his house and I was still officially living at mine but we slept in whoever’s house was convenient at the time. The down side to this was that half my wardrobe was at his place. Not a problem I hear you say. Yes well, I’m not like a lot of other women. My wardrobe is actually quite limited, unless of course I’m looking for jeans and t-shirts—in which case I have lots of choices. Looking through my newly built wardrobe though, I did manage to find a dress. It was blue, had a fitted bodice with a nice scooped neckline, a flowy skirt, sat about two inches above my knee and was a throw out of Molly’s. Apparently blue isn’t the in colour this year, who knew?

  I did compromise and wear my flat sandals. I knew I’d be lucky if Molly allowed me a ten-minute lunch break.

  Hearing the toot of her car horn, I ran down the stairs, gave Riley a kiss and made my way to Molly’s car. I’m a little bit jealous of Molly’s new car. It’s a black, sparkling Lexus SUV. Well, it’s not actually new. It’s just new to her, but it is immaculate. It seemed that photography was doing well for her.

  “Hi Moll,” I said, opening the door and sliding onto her perfect leather seats.

  “Hi, Lizzie. You look nice,” she smiled.

  “Thanks. It’s one of your cast offs.”

  “Yeah, I know. I was very upset when I found out blue was last year’s colour.”

  “What does it matter anyway? You could still have worn it.”

  She answered me with a glare and shook her head, disgusted that I just didn’t get it.

  “I have to call into Mum’s first,” she said, reversing out of my drive and heading in the direction of Mum’s.

  “Oh really. How come?”

  “I have to pick something up.”

  I shrugged. “Okay. Do you know what you’re buying them for Christmas yet?” I asked, referring to my parents.

  “Yeah, I’ve been thinking about us all putting money together and sending them away for the weekend.”

  “That sounds really nice. Mum would love that. But what about Grandma?”

  Grandma had moved in with mum and dad about a year ago after she set her oven on fire. True, it was her pension money that went up in flames as the only thing her oven ever got used for was a safe. Apparently robbers only check under mattresses. Mum didn’t trust her to be alone after that, worried that next time she may lose more than some cash.

  “Well, surely one of us could have her for a weekend couldn’t we? I mean I get pretty busy over Christmas but you and Danny could work it out.” Danny was our younger brother and thankfully he was in a steady relationship with a man named Drew. Drew was what kept Danny grounded.

  I sighed. “What you really mean is Danny will get me to have her right?”

  Molly smiled. “Probably, but just think of Mum and how happy she’ll be to have a break for a bit.”

  “Alright. I’m sure Riley won’t mind. I know Grandma definitely won’t.”

  Molly laughed. “Yeah. He’s pretty patient when it comes to Grandma. Even when she is touching his backside.”

  “I can hardly blame her though. I touch it whenever I get the chance too,” I smiled.

  Ten minutes later we were pulling into Mum’s driveway. Dad had taken up residence in the garage, where he was building a doll’s house for the local animal shelter to raffle and hopefully raise some money. Now Dad does have a very generous spirit, but I think this project had more to do with him getting outside and away from Grandma.

  Dad was made redundant from his work as a storeman about two months ago and was having a hard time adjusting to life. Mum’s redecorating kept him busy for about a month there, but now he had nothing more to do than sit, twiddle his thumbs and listen to Grandma. So as you can see, this doll’s house was not all selfless.

  I gave him a hug and a kiss and followed Molly into the kitchen where
we found Mum baking and Grandma in her best dress complete with purple patent handbag. For her to have her purple bag out meant she was going somewhere.

  “I thought you’d never get here,” she yelled as we walked in the door.

  “I told you I had to pick Lizzie up first,” replied Molly, kissing Mum and sitting down at the table.

  I looked at Molly and comprehension dawned on me.

  “Picking something up, hey Moll?” I whispered, sitting down next to her. She smiled.

  “I knew you wouldn’t come if I’d told you.”

  “You know I have to be at the dentist at eleven. We’ll be late for my appointment now and I don’t want to miss it. I’m picking up my new teeth and I need them for tonight. I’ve got a date.”

  “Oh Mum, it’s only eight o’clock. You’ve got plenty of time to get there.”

  “Maybe I should drive,” replied Grandma, looking at Molly. “I drive faster than you and you haven’t let me take your new car for a spin yet.”

  Grandma Mabel hadn’t driven a car in about fifteen years, but every couple of years when her licence was about to expire, she queued up at the Department of Transport, medical certificate in hand and renewed it.

  I kept questioning Mum about the doctor who issued this medical certificate but apparently he knew our family well enough to know we would never actually let her get behind a wheel of a car, so he feels it’s in everyone’s interest to issue it to her.

  Personally, the only person’s interest it’s in is his. He knows that’s easier than arguing with her. Plus, he’s right. We would never let her be in control of any sort of vehicle.

  “Sorry, Grandma. Today is not the day you get to test-drive it. And the only reason you drive faster than me is because you don’t know where the brake pedal is.”

  “Humph,” replied Grandma. “I’ve done a lot more miles than you ever will, girlie and I’m not even going to begin to tell you what I’ve done in a car!”

  “Oh! There is a god!” said Molly sarcastically.

  “Yes…well,” interrupted Mum. “I think it’s time you got on the road. You don’t want to get the rush hour traffic.”

  I looked at my watch. If we left now, we’d be smack bang in the middle of rush hour traffic. Mum didn’t seem to care though, helping Grandma to her feet and towards the back door. I sighed and stood.

  Today was going to be a longer day than I thought.

  ****

  Shopping with Grandma and Molly was exhausting, and I don’t mean physically. I had a headache before we even got to the city. It probably had a lot to do with Grandma’s ramblings about her date tonight and how good she was going to look in her shiny new teeth. Molly was telling me the same thing but she was excited about how good she would to look in the new dress she would wear on the date. I guess with age our priorities change.

  Thankfully they allowed me to stop for a coffee and some aspirin before we went to the dentist. My headache had begun to pound. I’m thinking of buying Mum some earplugs for Christmas instead of a holiday. Although, I don’t think I could be that cruel, no matter how much the desire to survive became. Mum put up with Grandma’s constant chattering every day and I would only have to put up with it for a weekend. I sighed, closed my eyes and listened to their conversation about a dress that Molly had seen in Vogue. Lets just say that Molly is a lot more like Grandma than I am.

  The dentist was quite happy with Grandma and Grandma was very happy with her new teeth. After that we headed to the shops. After the aspirin had kicked in and my headache had eased to a dull thud, I will admit to having a lot of fun. When it came to Christmas shopping, Grandma was as big a kid as we were.

  Walking into our large department store, we headed straight to the Christmas shop. This was a section of the store only there for a few months of the year and dedicated to all things Christmas. I loved it!

  Judging by the decorations for sale, this year’s theme colour seemed to be hot pink and silver. So that’s what Molly loaded me up with. Lots of hot pink. Personally I was hoping for a slightly more traditional theme, maybe red and silver, but what did I know?

  I did indulge and buy myself a large ornament of a snow-covered village, complete with working train and fibre optic tree. Westport was always hot at Christmas time and on more than one occasion I thought a white Christmas should be on my bucket list. It always looked so beautiful in magazines.

  I nearly choked as I handed the cashier my credit card, but I did need these decorations, right?

  On the way back to the car, we passed a shop that advertised a psychic.

  “Ooh, I’ve wanted to get my cards read for ages,” said Grandma Mabel excitedly. “What about it, girls?”

  “I might go and put this all in the car whilst you’re in there,” I said, weighed down by my bags.

  “Alright, but don’t be long. We’ll all get our cards done. My shout,” she smiled.

  I sighed and left her with Molly. I’d only ever had my tarot cards read once and honestly, I didn’t believe a word of it. But I knew it would make Grandma happy, so I left everything in Molly’s car and made my way back to the shop.

  As I walked in the shop, a little bell tinkled somewhere, alerting everyone to my presence and the smell of incense filled my nostrils. Molly stuck her head out from behind a bookshelf loaded with tarot cards, angel cards, books on all things supernatural, and loads of unicorn and angel ornaments.

  “I thought you would have gone in with Grandma,” I said, approaching her.

  “I did go in. But when she started to tell Grandma about a man that was going to bring her lots of pleasure, I decided it was time to leave.”

  I smiled. “Fair enough.”

  Molly and I stood in silence flipping through books until the curtain opened and Grandma reappeared. She walked over to us as the psychic called my name.

  “How did you go?” I asked as she walked past.

  “Humph. All she said was to be careful of my hip. She must think I’m old or something!” I smiled and walked past her into the curtained room.

  It was pretty much what I expected—round table surrounded by chairs, lots of dark fabric lining the walls and the smell of incense so intense, it made my eyes water.

  “Oh my goodness!” exclaimed the psychic who, according to the sign on the wall behind her, was named Sapphire. I assumed Sapphire was not her real name, but I’ll give her marks for dressing the part. Her long flowing red hair fell down her back, blending with her red satin robe. Her face was deeply wrinkled and unadorned by make up and her fingers were stained by nicotine. And she looked crazy. I’m not sure why she dressed like that as the only psychic I could name was John Edwards and he dressed as regularly as everyone else, but I guess she thought it helped with authenticity.

  “I see you have company,” she said.

  “Pardon?” I asked.

  “You’ve bought someone with you today.”

  “Yes. That was my grandma, and my sister is coming in next,” I said smiling. “But being psychic you probably already knew that,” I joked, attempting to cover how uncomfortable I was feeling.

  “I was referring to the aura you brought in with you,” said Sapphire, her voice deep and gravelly, probably a result of years of smoking. I turned to see what she was talking about but all I could see was a deep blue wall with a stand holding a crystal ball.

  “I’m sorry. What?”

  “You’re not alone, my lovely,” she rasped. “There is an energy that accompanies you. It’s not very happy either.”

  “That’s probably Grandma’s energy you’re picking up. She didn’t like you referring to her as old.”

  “No. It’s not your grandmother. But it is a woman and she’s making me feel sad.” I looked at Sapphire thinking this woman really was crazy. “Sit,” she commanded. I looked at the chair positioned opposite hers and did as asked. I kept my eye on the exit though, just in case I needed to get out of here quickly.

  “Shuffle,” she said, tapping a pa
ck of large cards three times and then handing them to me. Once again I did as asked. Handing the cards back to her, she started to lay them down on the table, face up. Now I don’t know much about Tarot cards but these didn’t look good. For starters, the death card was first out of the pack. The second card was the lovers’ card.

  “Hmmm…” said Sapphire, continuing to lay cards. “There’s a man— a lover, a relationship. But it’s going to end. And you’ll be the one to do it.” See this is why I don’t come to stupid bloody psychics.

  “No. You must have that wrong!” I said, thinking of Riley and how I definitely would not be ending that relationship.

  “Sapphire never gets it wrong,” she replied, referring to herself in the third person. “Sapphire is always right. You mark my words. This will end. And happiness will prevail.”

  WTF? “Maybe I should reshuffle,” I said, grabbing the cards and pushing them together in a big pile.

  “You should never do that!” she yelled. “I had not finished your reading!”

  “That’s okay. Don’t worry. I don’t need my cards read today. In fact I don’t need them read ever. I’ll just tell Grandma that we had a very successful reading. She’ll pay you and we’ll all be happy,” I rambled, standing up and hurrying from the room.

  “Wait!” called Sapphire to my retreating back. “Take her with you!” She was pointing to the back of the room towards the crystal ball.

  “Grandma is out this way,” I said, looking back into the shop at Grandma.

  “Not your grandmother,” she sighed. “The woman who entered the room with you. She’s sucking all the energy out of me.”

  I looked around the room and then at Sapphire. Suddenly the fear and anxiety I had felt at her card reading disappeared. This woman was seriously delusional. I didn’t need to believe a word she said.

  “Of course. Come with me, woman,” I called to the empty room. “Let’s go home now.”