Carmen approached the house, the house she’d planned on finally fucking her girlfriend in, but now… it was just a reminder that her girlfriend had less interest in her than her deadbeat jackass father. Still, she’d told Jenny that she’d be over to light some Channukah candles and decorate the Christmas tree (which Shane had promised she’d do before she left).

“Hey, Jenny, isn’t Channukah over?” Carmen asked, leaning on the table as she watched Jenny systematically light the first candle with a match.

“Yep.” She said, her eyes watching the candles flicker as she used the first candle to light the others.

“Then why are we lighting candles?” Carmen prodded.

“Because I said so. Now hush! Baruch atah Adonai, eloheinu melech haolam…”

Jenny’s chanting began to drown out as Carmen found herself focusing on the nine candles that burned brightly, those nine tiny raging fires that represented… well, she wasn’t actually sure what they actually represented, she’d have to ask Jenny later.

“… Shel Channukah.” Jenny finished her chanting and smiled a bittersweet smile.

“Hey, you okay?” Carmen asked, placing a hand gently on her friend’s back.

“Yeah. Want some Matzah ball soup?” Jenny asked, wiping a tear from her eye.

“Sure.”

Ah, Christmas trees. The scent of pine, the colors that brightened the cold snow, and the angel on the top guarding our world as if it were Jesus himself. Everybody passing by had to smile at the sight of it. Except for one.  The blonde journalist stared at it for hours, praying for the same thing everybody wanted during the holidays. Happiness. Family. Dana. Okay, so maybe not the same thing everybody wanted, but the same basic idea. The one thing she’d had on her list wasn’t yet under the tree. The one thing she wanted was probably at home, sitting in front of her fireplace (Alice had wanted a fireplace so she could roast marshmallows), sipping eggnog and dreaming of a white Christmas, while Alice was here, staring at a fake tree with empty boxes under it, with other people who have no family, no friends, no anything to spend Christmas with. The pure picture of pathetic.

“God, I suck.” Alice sighed, running a hand through her hair. “Suck, suck, suck, suck, suck, suck-“