Indigo grinned and gave Jordan a nod. “Is her angel in there, Antee?”
“Well,” Theo said, unpacking the box. “I haven’t come across it yet, but do you want to be the one to put it on when we find it?”
“Yes!”
“Then, by all means,” Theo laughed. “Do your parents have all of your old family decorations?”
Ashley surprised her by laughing. “What old family decorations?” she asked. There was a bitterness in her tone. “My family really isn’t too much into keepsakes. At least my mom isn’t. We aren’t close. She and Dad got divorced when I was about eight. It’s kind of a miracle they stayed together that long.” She shrugged with one shoulder and hung a spun glass ballerina on the tree. “I guess I should say it’s a miracle Dad put up with her for that long. Faithfulness was never one of Mom’s strong suits. I haven’t actually talked to the woman since the morning of my high school graduation.”
Ashley went back to the box and sifted through it, pulling another ornament from the green tissue paper it was wrapped in.
“That’s been what, about five years ago?”
“You remember everything, don’t you?”
Theo glanced over at Jordan, expecting him to tease her, but he was holding Indigo up so the little girl could hang a bright gold ball on the tree.
“I do remember a lot,” Theo smiled.
“When I woke up that morning, Mom was on the couch, asleep. When I woke her up, she told me she would get ready and meet me at the school. I’m not sure if she was hungover, or if she was still drunk.” She waved the thought away. “Doesn’t matter. She didn’t show. Dad was there, though.”
“Are you and your dad close?”
“Very,” she nodded. “He got remarried when I was twenty-one. His wife is really nice. She doesn’t know me very well, which is probably why she likes me.” She smiled and Theo swatted her with a Christmas stocking she was holding in her hands. “No, really. I was Dad’s best man. I even wore a suit because he thought that was funny. She poured me some champagne and told me how fun it was that I was having my first drink at their reception. Dad winked at me when she said it, ‘cause he knew I’d been drunk more times than he could count on both of his hands, but neither one of us corrected her. She’s always been nice to me. I decided I’d just let her think I wasn’t a reprobate.”
“You’re so hard on yourself.”
“Am I?” Ashley asked. “I don’t know. I think maybe I’m just honest.”
“I think this will just be an ongoing debate.”
“Yeah, probably. You don’t give up very easily.”
“No, I don’t. Not on people who matter to me.”
Ashley grabbed the can of Coke sitting in front of her. She took two large gulps instead of responding.
“Does your dad live here in town?” Theo asked her.
“No. He’s in Texas. His wife is a flight attendant for United Airlines. That’s how they met. He’s a flirt.” She smiled. “He thought Celeste was pretty, so he laid it on pretty thick. It’s a good thing he’s also a sweetheart. One of United’s hubs is in Houston, which is where she was living at the time. When they got married she compromised and they moved to a nice condo about forty-five minutes outside of the city. I miss him a lot, but he’s really happy. That’s a big deal. We talk on the phone all the time.” She put the can of soda down and picked something else up from the box. When she unwrapped it she turned. “Hey, Indigo, I think I might have found the angel.”
Indigo ran toward her. “Thank you, Ashley!”
“No big deal, kid.”
Theo watched as Jordan lifted Indigo again and helped her put Glory’s angel on the top of the tree.
“Look at this place,” she said turning in a circle. “We’ve transformed it.”
“There are only a few more things in here,” Ashley said, digging into the last of the boxes.
“I’ll take all the rest of this and put it in the storage room,” Jordan said, closing up the rest of the boxes and stacking them.
“Anyone want any more to eat?”
“No thanks,” she heard from Jordan who was down the hall.
“I’m full,” Indigo said.
“There are leftovers. You want to take this home, Ash? There are a few garlic knots and four slices of pizza.”
“Yeah, that would be great, thanks.”
“There are still several strings of lights. Maybe we can hang them in the window downstairs.”
“Now?” Indigo asked.
“Make you a deal,” Jordan said, coming back into the main room. “I’ll bring some pine boughs from the farm tomorrow. We can decorate the handrail with them and some of these lights. And I’ll help you with the front window.”
“Deal,” Indigo said, smiling.
“There’s still the wreath for the front door.”
Ashley took the pizza box Theo had packed for her along with the brass hanger and the wreath. “I’ll hang it on my way out.”
“I know a kid who needs a bath.”
“You?” Indigo asked.
