“Bette, where did you go, I’ve been looking everywhere for you.”

Not wanting to let T know where I was so as not to spoil her surprise, I create a little white lie and tell her that I ran into someone I hadn’t seen in years and was talking to them. She appears a little annoyed at my disappearing act, but I think she bought the story.

We make our way into the theatre for the show.

Back home in LA……

We are home in LA and I am sitting in my office at the college. I pull out the phone number for the small jewelry shop from New York and place my call. Lucky for me the ornament is still in the display case and they agree – for a hefty fee – to have it shipped to me in LA. That is a relief as I thought I was going to have to make another cross country trip back to New York to pick it up!!

It arrives a couple of days later and I am so excited that it arrived on this particular day. Tonight is the night we have set aside to put up our tree. We have both taken the afternoon off, and Tina will pick up Angie from day care and meet me at the designated tree lot to select our tree. Yes, it is that same tree lot from years before, however I am much wiser than I was that first time. I now know that you do not select the first tree you see, and that you must wander aimlessly around the lot for awhile…..even if in the end that very first tree you saw ends up being the one you purchase and take home.

Angie is thrilled to be at the tree lot and we have a good time showing her the different choices. She and T pick out a tree, I pay for it and have them attach it to the roof of my SUV. Making our way home, I stop to pick up some groceries for dinner while Tina takes Angie home to put her down for a nap before dinner.

Arriving home I get the tree untied from my SUV and carry it into the house. Tina helps me get it situated in the corner and together we collect the decorations from the storage room and bring them into the living room.

Angie wakes from her nap, we have dinner together and give her a bath before starting our decorating task. It is a thrill to watch Angie as she carefully places some of the ornaments on the tree. We do not let her handle the more delicate ornaments on her own, but together we help her place them on the tree.

A short time later with the tree decorating complete we have a very tired young daughter. Tina takes her to her room, reads her a story which she falls asleep half way through, tucks her in and returns the living room.

Sitting on the coffee table I have placed a white box with a red ribbon tied around it and inside I have placed the new ornament. Tina returns to the living room and sees the box, the tag has her name on it, but I am not there. Instead I am watching from the doorway of the kitchen.

I watch as she carefully unties the ribbon and opens the box. She smiles her special smile and her eyes light up the room when she sees the crystal star ornament.

Present time………

Angie watches us carefully as we relay that story to her. She responds with “I always knew that star was special to Mama T, but I didn’t realize that it was from your first Christmas after you got back together.”

We smile at each other and say nothing. No words are necessary to relay the deep emotion that memory holds for each of us.