Page 34 of The Christmas Cottage
George was helping two customers when he walked in—Cindy and Neil Morrison, Jackson saw, the owners of the Holly and Ivy Market.
“Let me just finish ringing out the remainder of your total owed,” George said, taking a card from Neil. “And then we’ll head out and I’ll show you the tree so you can get to work chopping it down.”
“I’m so excited,” Cindy said, her cheeks flushed red from the cold and excitement. “Oh, hey there, Jackson,” she added, catching sight of him as he leaned up against the bench near the wall, waiting for George to be finished. “How are you?”
“I’m good,” he said with a smile. “Just belatedly picking out a tree for my house. I was so focused on getting the diner in the best holiday spirit possible that I ended up neglecting my own place.”
“Oh, well, that won’t do at all,” Cindy said with a laugh. “But I get it, really. I meant to pick up our tree last week, but the Market has been so busy I just haven’t been able to get away. Which is great, of course. But I’ve been all over the place.”
“She’s talked about coming out here to get it every day,” Neil said, chuckling as he took his card back from George. “Seriously, she’s been buzzing with excitement over it.”
“We picked it out last year,” Cindy explained to Jackson, a big smile on her face. “We were out here looking for last year’s tree, and even at the size it was then, it just looked so perfect. We came back and put a deposit on it right away. I couldn’t wait to see how it turned out.”
“Well, I’m ready to head that way, if you are,” George said, and Cindy nodded.
“Of course. Jackson, do you want to come see too?”
He chuckled. “How could I not come see this perfect tree?” He figured he could keep an eye out for one that he’d like for his house too, while he was at it.
They headed out to a section of trees near the back side of the farm, fairly far out. Jackson sipped his hot apple cider as they trekked through the snow, half-listening to Cindy and Neil talk about the theme for the tree this year—rustic birds—and half-looking for a tree he liked. There were a number of round, puffy options that he liked, a bit shorter but full, with plenty of room for ornaments. The ceilings in his house weren’t particularly high, so he thought a shorter tree was probably for the best.
“Here we are… ah.” George grunted as he stopped, and Jackson turned to see what had happened, only to see that George was staring at the couple’s newly purchased tree, frozen still with a stunned look on his face.
It only took Jackson a second to see what had thrown George for a loop. The tree was pre-decorated, but it wasn’t with rustic birds, or really anything else that sounded like what Neil and Cindy had in mind, so it was pretty clear to him that it wasn’t intentional. Instead, the tree was decorated with garland after garland of fake elves in Christmas colors, clinging to the tree with tiny plastic hands, big plastic grins on their faces.
George looked back at the couple. “I have no idea how this happened,” he said quickly, seeing the stunned look on Cindy and Neil’s faces, that matched his own a moment before. “I definitely didn’t do this. And we don’t sell pre-decorated trees, so I don’t see how this could be a mix-up?—”
Neil’s expression morphed into worry too, as he looked at his wife. But it only took a moment before Cindy’s lips twitched, andthen she burst into laughter, her shoulders shaking as her eyes started to water from laughing so hard.
“Oh my goodness,” she managed, breathless. “It’s just horrible, isn’t it? They’re just awful.” She kept laughing, shaking her head every time she looked at the tree. “Those are the tackiest elves I’ve ever seen. Maybe we should leave them.” She looked at Neil, who was laughing too, by then.
He shook his head. “We’d scare off all the customers at the Market. Better take those elves off. But maybe we’ll keep them for the house,” he added. “Scare the grandkids a little.”
Cindy snorted. “Do the elves come with the tree, George?”
“Well, since I didn’t put them there, you’re welcome to take them,” he groused. “Jackson, you mind helping with this?”
“Not at all,” Jackson assured. “In fact, you head back and warm up, George. See if anyone else has showed up to buy a tree. I’ll help Cindy and Neil out.”
The old man grunted, clearly unimpressed by the insinuation that he shouldn’t be out in the cold for too long, but he nodded. “Sorry about that,” he added, looking at Cindy and Neil, who both shrugged and shook their heads.
“Don’t even apologize,” Cindy insisted. “It’s hilarious. A funny Christmas prank—although I can’t imagine who would have done this?”
“Some teenager, I guess?” Neil shrugged again. “Just happened to be our tree they picked.”
Jackson helped the two of them unwind the elves, setting them in a neat pile of garland on the tarp that they’d brought to drag the tree back to Neil’s truck, before standing back as Neil got to work chopping it down. He looked around the lines of trees again, and an idea glimmered into his head.
Vanessa had said that Christmas trees hadn’t been a big deal for her growing up, which he still found hard to imagine. But he thought he had the perfect plan for their date now.
Once the tree came down, he helped Neil load it onto the tarp and drag it back to the truck. When it was all loaded up, he headed back in to where George was at the counter, finishing up a transaction for another couple.
“You see a tree out there that you want?” George asked as the couple left to go cut down their tree. “Getting close to closing, but I imagine you could get one cut and hauled out of here before then.”
“I did, actually,” Jackson said, thinking of one he’d walked by earlier that had been the perfect height, and had the fluffy, round shape that he liked. “I’ll go grab the tag and bring it in with the tree. But I did have a question for you. A favor, that I need, actually.”
George raised an eyebrow. “A favor, hm? Well, I’ll see what I can do. What’s going on?”
“Nothing serious,” Jackson promised. “I just need permission to come onto the lot near sunset, with one other person, to come pick out a tree. A different one from the one I planned to get today. I can pay ahead, if that helps.”
