Little Tree
As they sat down for dinner, she put popcorn in the microwave. After dinner, he produced the five bags of cherry candies he bought and a box of cordial cherries.
“How long should we make the string?” He asked.
“How tall you think that shrub is?”
“Let’s find out.” He almost ran outside, across the road and stood by the tree. It came to his chest.
“What do you think?”
“If we make it as tall as you with your arm stretched over your head it should be long enough to wrap around the tree several times?”
About that time, Chet pulled up. “What’re you kids doin’?”
“Being neotenous,” Oscar laughed. Chet wrinkled his brow.
“Come over, I’ll feed you.” Esther suggested.
“She made the best chicken and dumplins.”
Chet sat down to a piping hot bowl of chicken and dumplins and a piece of corn bread. “Bell is going to be so jealous.” He moaned as he took his first bite. “You weren’t kiddin’ man, these are great. So what does that word mean?”
“Exhibiting retention of juvenile characteristics in the adult,” Oscar smiled.
“Thanks, I’m glad you like them.” Esther blushed. “You can take Bell some if you’d like. I made more than we’ll eat.”
Chet’s mind was going in a hundred different directions as he ate his dinner. That black hole in Esther’s past bothered him. But Oscar looked happier than Chet had ever seen him; and if Esther could get him to eat, good for her. His biggest fear was that his friend was going to get hurt.
Esther put a big bowl of popcorn on the table as Oscar poured the candy cherries into another bowl. She placed a roll of fishing line and needles on the table as well.
He opened the box of cordial cherries, “dessert?”
“Don’t mind if I do?” She giggled as she ate a piece of the candy.
He looked at Chet and winked, causing his friend to smile. “We are going to make a garlan out of popcorn and candied cherries to go around that little shrub by the garage.”
Chet nodded, “I am understanding now.”
“Oh, I almost forgot.” Esther went over to the freezer. “Check these out.” In a baking sheet, she had put six cookie cutters, filled with water, ribbon was coming from under each one.
“What do we have here?” Oscar asked as she put them on the table.
“I am hoping ornaments for the tree.”
As they sat there, they told stories about Christmases past. And what got the garlan project started. Chet took a picture of them and sent it to Bell. Then took another picture of the dumplins and told her what he was bringin’ home for dinner. Chet read her reply out loud, ‘It’s a good thing you’re bringin’ me some of them home. I’d hate for you to get divorced over a dumplin’. He laughed.
After the garlan was long enough (they hoped), they took it and the baking sheet outside. It was the right length. The ornaments turned out perfect and they had six decorative shapes to go on the tree. They posed by the tree for Chet. She took one of the two friends as well.
As Oscar was leaving for a meeting at school, he stood in his yard eyeing the tree as his SUV warmed up. It was a cute little tree. He was amazed at how much fun it was. He took a picture of it in the morning light, just in case the sunlight got hot enough to melt the ornaments away. He had to admit that was the most fun he had ever had decorating a tree. There were no fond memories of Christmas. Well, now he had one.
This time the word neotenous didn’t bother him. Was it just a matter of getting used to saying it?
Oscar was eating at his leftover dumplin’s when his phone vibrated. Chet had sent him the pictures from the night before. He had a great time and it showed on his face. Bell had also sent Esther a message that the dumplins were amazing. Oscar made the picture of him and Esther his Christmas screen on his phone. Then sent the pictures and the message on to Esther, with a message of his own.
‘I knew that I enjoyed last night. But I never knew how much until Chet sent me the pictures. Thank you so much. I feel like it’s a start in the right direction in helping me get Christmas back. It was so much fun.’
She replied, ‘I love you too’.
Poetry & More 
One thought on “Winter Season”