"Laura, I'm freezing my tits off out here."

"You're the one that wanted to come out for a smoke."

"Yes, but I didn't know that you were going to follow me and then insist on snuggling on this bench. I swear I think my arse is stuck to the iron."

"It's not that cold," Laura said, looking over her shoulder.

"You're only saying that because you've got your cute little bum in my lap. Whilst your posterior is nice and cozy, mine is becoming one with this bloody bench," Toni said, shifting her bottom on the metal. "Seriously, Laura-"

"Please, just a few more minutes."

Toni sighed and wrapped her arms around Laura's waist. Resting her chin on Laura's shoulder, she looked at the smoke billowing from the house's chimney.

"What time's your dad bringing the tree?"

"Um...Mum said around five. Why?"

"No reason."

Again looking over her shoulder, Laura asked, "When was the last time you decorated a Christmas tree?"

"Probably when I was eleven or twelve."

"That can't be right."

"Why? Were you there?"

"No, but you said you didn't leave home until after university."

"True, but my parents liked to travel over Christmas, so normally they'd have the staff do all the decorating a few days before we were ready to go on holiday, and then it would all be gone by the time we got back."

"What about in your flat?"

"Laura, you saw my flat."

"No, not that one. The one where you lived before...before..."

"Everything went to shit?"

"Yes."

"Actually, I continued the Vaughn tradition, and as soon as Christmas break started, I'd get on a plane and spend my holiday touring ruins or...or walking on beaches. I did have one of those little ceramic trees back then. You know the ones with the tiny, colored ornaments, but one night it got...well, it got broken."

"How?"

"My girlfriend threw it at me."

Thinking for a moment, Laura asked, "Can I ask why?"

Smiling, Toni pulled her close. "She wanted long-term and I didn't, and when she gave me an ultimatum, I told her to have a nice life. Needless to say, it didn't go over too well."

"And how about now?"

"Stupid question, not worthy of an answer."

"Humor me."

"Ring finger, left hand. Need I say more?"

"Maybe," Laura said through a grin.

"How about...I love you."

"I love you, too."

"Good, and now that that's settled, can we please go inside? If we stay out here any longer, I won't defrost until spring."

"Wanna bet?"

Bill showed up with one freshly-cut Fraser fir just before five that evening. Following Eleanor's instructions, he chose neither the tallest nor the broadest tree in the field...or at least that's what he thought.

Taking into consideration the low ceiling in the lounge, he picked a tree slightly taller than six feet so when it was placed in the red metal stand, the top branch barely brushed the plaster. However, what the tree lacked in height it made up for in width and when Bill tried to push it back into the corner, he quickly discovered it had a bit more girth than he remembered.

"I swear, Ellie, it didn't look that big in the field," he said, standing in front of the wide-bodied tree. "Perhaps if you have some shears, I can trim it back a bit."

"Don't you dare," Eleanor said as she went over to stand next to him. "I love it. I absolutely love it."

"Are you sure? It does seem to own the room, if you know what I mean."

Stepping back, Eleanor surveyed the lounge. Seeing that the tree was far enough away from the hearth not to cause a fire hazard, she said, "It'll be fine, except I think we'll need more decorations. I didn't buy enough to cover this beauty."

"How about Toni and I run out and get some, and then we can pick up dinner on the way back?" Laura asked.

"Actually, that's a good idea, but you won't have to buy any decorations. There's more in the attic. If you two can go get dinner, your father and I can bring down the boxes."

"You game?" Laura asked, looking over at Toni.

"Sure, just let me get my coat."

"Shit!"

"Sorry, I forgot to tell you to watch your head," Eleanor called from the hallway. "You okay?"

"I'll heal," Bill said, flicking on the attic light. "Which boxes?"

"The ones with the big X on them...followed closely by M A S."

Peering down through the attic hatch, Bill said, "You know, I really thought I missed that smart-arse attitude of yours."

Smiling, Eleanor asked, "Changing your mind, are you?"

"Not a chance," Bill said as he turned around, promptly hitting his head against the next rafter. "Fuck!"

"Will you please be careful? I don't want you breaking anything."

"Don't worry, Ellie, I've got a hard head."

"I wasn't talking about your head. I was talking about my ornaments."

"Ha ha!"

Reaching up, Eleanor took the first of the three boxes, and by the time she managed to carry it downstairs, Bill was following with the other two.

"Be careful of your back."

"My back's fine, Ellie. You want these in the lounge?"

"Yes, by the tree. Do you want a beer?"

"You read my mind."

Disappearing into the kitchen, she opened a couple of bottles and was about to return to the lounge when Bill appeared in the doorway. Seeing the look in his eyes, she shook her head. "Sorry, sweetheart, but they won't be gone that long."

Bill took the bottles from her hands, and after setting them on the counter, he pulled her into his arms. "They'll be gone long enough."

"You know, I thought it was good idea that you wanted to learn the roads up here, but if you go any slower, we'll be late for Christmas," Laura said, watching the scenery slowly creep by her window.

"If you haven't noticed, there's snow on the ground."

"And if we were driving in that field over there, I'd be worried, but the roads have been dry for days."

"It's called being cautious."

Slowing even more so another car could pass, when she heard Laura's disgusted huff, Toni said, "Look, I'm just giving them some extra time."

"Who?"

"Your parents."

"My parents? What are you talking about? Time for what?"

Glancing to her left, Toni said, "You're the one that found the boxers. You figure it out."

"What are you-" Laura's mouth snapped shut. Scrunching up her face, she groaned, "Oh no, you don't...you don't think they're...they're-"

"We would be."

"Yeah, but...but...Toni, this is my mother we're talking about!"

"Yes, I know, and she's the same woman who had your father's underwear-"

"Okay! Okay! Okay!" Laura said, holding up her hands. "I get it, all right? Now, how about we just change the subject, shall we?"

"Does it bother you?"

"Talking about my mother shagging? Um...yeah!"

"Don't worry, Laura, they probably didn't have time to shag. Just a few healthy snogs, that's all."

"Toni! Enough!"

Laughing at Laura's horrified expression, Toni gave the car a bit more gas, and as the speedometer began to climb, she said, "Maybe you should call them on your mobile...just in case."

With their bellies full and coffee cups in hand, the foursome made their way to the lounge, and while Eleanor turned on the stereo, filling the house with the sounds of the season, Bill added another log to the fire. After unpacking the new sets of clear lights, Laura and Toni busied themselves at the tree, laughing more than once at the expletives coming from Eleanor and Bill as they worked to untangle the old multi-colored strands, and before too long, the tree was draped in a rainbow of color.

Ornaments were next, and the newly purchased decorations were slipped on hooks and hung from the branches, but as Eleanor had suspected, the two dozen shiny red baubles were simply not enough to cover the tree. Sitting cross-legged on the floor, she opened one of the old storage boxes and peeked inside.

Removing the tissue paper, Eleanor began pulling out the fragile ornaments that had been handed down through the years. Egg-shaped and shiny, the vintage reflector baubles were as pristine as the day they were purchased, and their surfaces still displayed designs of old amidst glitter applied over seventy years before. Carefully handing them up to Toni so a hanger could be attached, they were then passed to Laura, who lovingly hung them on the tree.

Lifting out a layer of cardboard, Eleanor smiled at the contents below. Removing a circle of plaster with a red ribbon threaded through the top, she handed it to Toni. "Laura and I made that when she was three."

At first, Toni didn't understand the emotion she saw in Eleanor's eyes, but when the disc spun on the ribbon, and she saw the imprint of a child's hand cast in the plaster, she grinned. "She was a small one, wasn't she, and apparently only had four fingers at the time," Toni said, examining the misprinted casting.

"What?" Laura said, grabbing the ornament from Toni's hand. "Mum, Toni's right. Where's my thumb?"

Laughing at her daughter's slack-jawed expression, Eleanor said, "You had hurt it a few days before we made that, and you absolutely refused to put it in the plaster. You were quite a hard-headed child, so I decided just to cast it like that. Now, I'm glad we did because I'll always remember you sitting at the table with this chubby-cheeked pout on your face. God, you were stubborn."

"Some things never change," Toni said under her breath.

"I heard that," Laura said, hanging the handprint ornament on a branch.

Eleanor returned to her discoveries, and pulling out a wad of tangled pipe cleaners, she said, "Laura found a package of her father's pipe cleaners in my desk. She was four, and she decided she was going to make every ornament for the tree that year." Holding up the tangled wad, Eleanor said, "Although I must say, this looks more like a pipe cleaner orgy now. Doesn't it?"

"Why don't we skip those," Laura said, walking over to look into the box. Reaching in, she pulled out a pale pink ornament and smiled. "I remember this."

Taking the sphere from Laura, Toni studied it for a moment and then scratched her head. "I have to admit that I've never seen a Christmas ornament decorated with bunnies before."

"That's because I made it," Eleanor said. "Laura was five and quite adamant about wanting a bunny for Christmas."

"A bunny?"