The Christmas Tree
She put the boxes on the far end of the table, several large clear plastic ones and an old cardboard one that once held a sound system for a long obsolete desktop computer. The table was littered with ornaments of all shapes, sizes, and materials. She opened the Sound Blaster box first and slowly removed the little boxes inside. She took the paper towel and wiped the dust off the ornament and placed it in the Hallmark box it originally came in. As she slid it in the box, her mind slid into the past. Hubby is a Jain, before he began dating her, he really hadn’t celebrated Christmas before. In the dating years they might get a live tree and decorate it. She couldn’t remember those trees, but the Christmas after their wedding they waited for the after Christmas sales. They went to the artificial tree store in the mall and found the perfect tree. Not too tall, but taller than them, not skinny, just full enough to spill into the room around it. It was 50% off and perfect for thei