Page 8 of Dreaming of an Omega Christmas
“Why wouldn’t you get there?”
“Thanks to the curse things just seem to… get in the way. Usually forcing us away from where we try to go.” I laughed sadly. “On my way here, for example, I was on a bus to New York City. I didn't plan to come to Vale Valley. But the bus had some engine trouble and stopped in a town nearby. Since I was so close, I ordered a car and hoped for the best. After I leave, it's impossible to say how quickly I could find my way back, even if I wanted to. I could end up on another bus that breaks down or get caught in a snowstorm. Who knows. It’s a very unpredictable sort of life.”
“It sounds lonely,” Travis said softly.
“It can be.”
“Well,” he said, forcing a smile. “I would love if you'd help me decorate for Christmas.”
“I'd like that too.”
~~~***~~~
I expected to go to a Christmas Tree Lot and was surprised when Travis led me across the street to Traviel and Elarian’s house.
“Are they coming with us?” I asked.
“No, I don't think so. I'm just letting them know we're getting a tree.”
Traviel answered the door and they talked for a minute, while I craned my neck and looked at the greenhouse. It seemed they had settled in quite a bit since my last visit. The greenhouse was absolutely bursting with greenery and it looked like they had done a lot of beautiful landscaping on their front lawn. I couldn't wait to see it in the summer and hoped I'd be back someday soon to check it out.
When Travis rejoined me, he had a saw and a pair of thick work gloves.
“Are we going to a cut-your-own tree place?” I asked in surprise.
“Sort of,” he said with a laugh. Instead of going back to the road, he went into the greenhouse and came out a moment later with a wagon.
“Where are we going to get this tree?” I asked curiously, as he beckoned me to follow him down a path that led into the woods.
“Traviel and Elarian have been growing some,” said Travis. Of course they had! Why was I even surprised? “They said they're ready to harvest, so we can pick whichever one we want.”
“That’s great!”
We walked down the trail through the woods for a bit and soon found an area full of trees planted in neat rows. The trees were all perfectly round and full, all various heights. Traviel and Elarian had clearly worked hard to make them perfect for Christmas trees.
“I think I like this one,” Travis said, standing near a particularly tall one.
“Me too,” I said, joining him. “Do we just…” I mimed chopping.
“I think we do,” chuckled Travis.
He pulled on the gloves, got down on one knee, and went to work sawing through the trunk. When it looked like he was breathing harder and his strokes were getting weaker, I offered to take over.
“Thank you,” he said, blowing out a breath. “I sort of expected a chainsaw.”
I laughed and helped him out of the gloves. His fingers brushed mine; they were warm and sweaty from the work and my hands felt oddly cold when he pulled his away.
“Yeah.” I blinked a couple of time, almost forgetting what it was he said. “A chain saw, right. Well, why bother cutting down a tree at all if you're not going to go old school?” I said quickly.
I pulled on the gloves and took over the sawing. Travis had gotten halfway through, so I adjusted where the blade was to take a slightly different approach as I worked. In a few minutes the saw came all out the other side and the tree began to topple. Right where Travis was standing!
I dropped the saw and instinctively dove to knock him safely out of the way. We both hit the hard ground and rolled, ending with me on top of him.
“I'm sorry,” I gasped, brushing some fallen leaves and pine needles out of his hair. “Are you okay?”
“I'm fine,” Travis laughed. “What was that all about?” His cheeks were flushed from the cold and his breath came out in little puffs of steam, mingling with the steam from my own breath. Our faces were impossibly close together. And it had been a long,longtime since I was this close with anyone.
“I just…” I stammered, suddenly embarrassed. “The tree was falling on you.”
