I ate until I was stuffed, pleased with the company.I'd been putting off emptying the rest of the moving boxes, and Natasha had been the catalyst.I leaned back in my chair, covering my stomach with my hand.
"Dinner was so good.Seriously," Natasha said.
I raised a brow, considering her."Do you have energy to finish the tree?"
She bit her lip."We should do it now.If I sit on the couch, I'm going to fall asleep."
"That's what I always do after eating on Thanksgiving.I have to take a nap while my brothers play football."
She drained her wine glass."I've heard that turkey will make you sleepy."
"I eat a lot of it, so that makes sense."I stood, gesturing at the dishes."What do you say?Should we clean up?"
She stacked them."I'll clean up since you cooked."
I snagged the wine glasses and the bottle."You helped me cook."
Together, we had the dishes cleaned up in no time.Then we resumed our spot in front of the tree.
When Clara had packed the ornaments, she'd placed them in a nice storage box with trays that lifted out, so putting everything away would be a breeze.
Natasha handed me a powder-blue sports car."This is the last one.You should do the honors."
I placed it up high, underneath the star that was identical to the one on Natasha's tree."Now it's done."
"You're all decorated for Christmas."Then her brow furrowed."You could probably use some lights on the outside of your house."
I placed the now-empty boxes by the basement door.I'd carry them down when she was gone."Who'd see it?"
She ticked off the list on her fingers."You, me, maybe your family."
I stretched my arms overhead, leaning from one side to the next."Maybe next year.This is good for now."
Natasha sat on the couch."I'll help.I'm sure your whole family would."
I sat next to her."That might be a good idea.If I could get everyone here, then it would be easy.What were you thinking?"I pulled out my phone, scrolling to a few options.
"Regular white lights on the railings, maybe some garland.Wreaths on the windows and a larger one on the door."
"What about the fence that lines the driveway?"
Natasha's eyes lit with excitement."You could do that too."
"Sure.Why not?"I added everything to the cart, guessing at how much I'd need to cover the porch and the fence.
Natasha whistled when she saw the total."If you don't mind spending a ton of money."
"I saved a lot of money when I was in the army.I didn't have anyone to spend it on.Most of the other soldiers had families, a wife.But it was just me."The biggest things I'd bought were the truck and this house.
She sighed."It's a good use of your money.Lights always lift my spirits."
I raised a brow."And yet you didn't have a tree in your apartment?"
She rolled her eyes playfully."You changed my mind."
"You want to watch a holiday movie?"I was tired from the day, hiking, cutting down the trees, lugging them to our homes, then decorating both of them.But it was nice to spend the day with Natasha.Usually, I was alone on Sundays, catching up on work in my bathroom.
"Sure.Sometimes I feel like I'm building a business at the expense of my personal life.When I worked for someone else, I made sure to go out with friends for drinks or Sunday brunch.But now, I'm holed up in the inn most days of the week.Thanks for getting me out.It was nice."
