Epilogue
Currently playing: You Get What You Give by New Radicals
***
“So, how big is too big?”
“Is there really such a thing as too big?”
I considered it for a moment, looking out at the miles of rows filled with Christmas trees, any and all sizes to pick from. “Mmm, no.”
My hands fell to Adam’s, and our fingers locked together while we wandered through the aisles, searching for the perfect one.
I wasn’t kidding when I told Adam that I was going all out for Christmas this year. Our house was covered in bows, scented candles, tiny village houses, and fake snow all over. I kept waiting patiently for Adam to tell me to knock it off, but he never did. It almost made me want to take a bet with Layla on just how much glitter and tinsel I could add in this house before he gave up and asked for me to stop.
We passed some small Charlie Brown kind of trees that Adam didn’t even look at. He knew I was here for the minimum ten-foot showstopper trees. The crisp winter air filled their lungs, invigorating them with a sense of excitement and joy as they searched for the perfect tree.
Our breaths formed tiny clouds in front of our faces as we laughed and chatted, our cheeks flushed with the cold. With my hair half-up and half-down, tiny strands (my angel wings, according to Adam) kept flying in my face. I could fix them myself, but every time the wind blew them into my face, he’d brush them away, his touch gentle against my skin as we strolled through the rows of towering pines and fragrant firs. I just wanted an excuse for him to touch me. I think he did too.
“I think this one might be too small,” I eyed the medium-sized tree in front of me with a critical gaze. Too short and a little too wide.
Adam smiled down at me. “Pick whichever one you want, honey.”
I smiled so brightly to myself, and a little to him, that I swore it felt like a light echoed through the quiet forest around us. We kept walking down farther until I stopped in my tracks, eyes widening in awe as I beheld the majestic tree before us.
At ten feet tall, it stood proudly amidst the woodland around it, a beacon of comfort in the heart of the forest. Its branches stretched outward like open arms, welcoming the soft caress of falling snowflakes and the gentle whispers of the winter breeze. Our tree. For our house. For us.
“It’s perfect,” I breathed out low.
Its top reached toward the sky, as if yearning to touch the stars themselves.
Adam came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me close as we stood together beneath the towering evergreen. “I think you’re right,” He murmured, his voice soft with wonder. “This is the one.”
I smiled and leaned into his embrace, feeling the warmth of him enveloping me like a cozy blanket. At that moment, surrounded by the winter forest, I was so grateful for that night years ago. A night of stupidly ordering straight whiskey and somehow expecting to enjoy it, when I got so, so much more out of it.
We may have waited a long time to get to where we were, but it was worth the wait. I breathed in Adam’s scent and swayed with my back to his chest. So worth it.