“Oh. That wasn’t just no sex?”
She shook her head. “Alex. I can’t let him get too close to you.”
“I’m sorry. I understand. I do. It just seems kinda lame to get a tree from the corner. But if you want, I can make an excuse and bug out.”
She sighed. Calvin was practically jumping up and down with excitement. “I don’t have the heart to disappoint him now.”
“I’m sure it will be fine,” Alex said, hoping that was true.
Alex and Julia walked to where Cal waited.
The super nodded to Alex. “Evening,” he said.
“Hey,” Alex said before turning to Calvin. “You ready?”
“You’re going too?” Kenneth asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Looks like it,” Alex said.
They took the elevator to the parking garage and piled into his SUV. He entered the address Mitch had given him into the GPS.
“This isn’t necessary,” Julia said. “But thanks for taking us.”
“How were you going to get a tree back to your place?” Alex asked.
“It’s New York City. They deliver, of course.”
She was right. There wasn’t much you couldn’t have dropped at your door.
Thirty minutes later, they pulled into a Christmas tree farm that looked like a winter wonderland. Colored lights lined the perimeter and reflected off the snow that remained from the last storm. A building nearby was decorated to resemble Santa’s Workshop and was surrounded by lit-up trees and wooden candy canes. Brightly painted signs indicated Santa and hot chocolate were inside.
“Hey, Santa’s here,” Alex said. “You wanna go see him?”
“It’s not the real Santa,” Calvin said as if he were breaking the news gently to Alex. “It’s just a helper.”
Alex looked at Julia, who used her fingers to hide a smile. “Oh, well, sure,” Alex said. “But he can relay your wish list to the real Santa, can’t he?”
Calvin seemed to think about it. “Yes, but my mom said I can write Santa a letter too. Maybe we could see the helper after we find a tree.”
“Good idea,” Alex said. “Then you cover all your bases.”
Calvin nodded seriously.
The three of them entered the giant maze of evergreens to search for the perfect tree. Alex hadn’t been Christmas tree hunting since he was a kid. His ex-girlfriend had a fake one that he’d helped set up last year, but he never bothered with one at his place. He lived alone and spent the holidays with his family, so he never saw the point.
Calvin ran from tree to tree, declaring each one perfect. Julia explained how it could only be so tall and so wide, because it had to fit in the house. Twice, she had to call him to come back and stay close to her.
“You didn’t have to do this,” she said to Alex as they walked side by side, lagging behind Calvin. “But thank you. Cal is having a blast.”
“I wasn’t doing anything anyway. I remember how excited my brothers and I got around this time of year and how much fun it was to pick out the tree with my parents.”
“I know your dad passed away. Where’s your mom? Did she ever remarry?” she asked.
“My mom lives on the Upper East Side.”
“Calvin. Stay where I can see you,” she yelled. “Sorry, go ahead.”
“She hasn’t remarried, but I hope one day she’ll find someone. What about you? What’s your family like?”
