I squealed with delight as I took in the small piece of jewellery. It was a skyscraper. No, actually it was a high-rise building. Looking closer I realised that in fact, it wasthehigh-rise building, the one that housed our new Classic Six apartment.
‘Oh my goodness, look at this, is this really our building? A model of the building we are moving into? How in the world … ?’
‘I had it made. After we made the offer, I knew that you would need a charm to mark this step in our lives. And I thought about how to represent it. I didn’t want to buy a house charm, because, well, our place isn’t a traditional house. And I found all these other skyscraper-like charms, but they weren’t right either. So I decided to take a picture of our building to a jeweller on Seventh and have a charm made. That way, it would be extra-special. Do you like it?’
I looked at the intricate design on the charm and my heart swelled. This was just so special, and of course he was right, our place wasn’t a normal house, and how do you really represent an apartment, even if it is a Classic Six? The picture he’d taken to the jeweller must have been a good one, because this was the work of a true artist.
‘Like it? I love it. It’s perfect.’
I clasped the charm tightly in my closed palm and wrapped my arms around my husband, getting up on my tiptoes to kiss his lips. I thought of the weeks ahead of me, and all that I knew I would have to do before moving, but at the top of my to-do list would be to get this charm added to my bracelet.
This made it official. We were moving in our new home. The charm in my hand served to acknowledge this landmark occasion that would take us into the next chapter of our lives. Who knew what the future held? All I knew was that right then, the present was perfect.
30
The following evening, as promised, Holly and Danny went on the hunt for their first proper Christmas tree.
After work, she picked him up from school and they scanned the nearby streets for Christmas tree vendors closest to home.
‘There’s one,’ Danny called out, pulling Holly in the direction of one of the bodegas renting out their sidewalk space to a tree vendor.
‘They look like they have plenty honey – slow down.’
Holly released his hand and let him spin away from her. She smiled as he raced ahead.
He was literally jumping up and down in front of a huge spruce tree when she finally made it up the block after him.
‘This is it, Mom, this is the one!’ he said excitedly, pointing at it.
She shook her head, ‘Danny, it must be seven feet tall. How big do you think the apartment is, let alone how wide …’
Suddenly, a young man appeared from the depth of the trees. He was covered and bundled up from head to toe in warm clothes so that only his frosted-up glasses showed.
‘Do you want me to pull it out for you, ma’am?’ he asked.
‘Yes!’ said Danny, ‘yes, yes yes!’
Before Holly could protest, the man had pulled the tree off the wooden bar it was leaning on and shook it out for them to inspect.
‘Perfect.’ Danny proclaimed.
‘Too tall,’ she insisted.
‘I can cut her down a bit for you and trim the top?’ the man asked hopefully.
Danny turned to her with pleading eyes. Holly looked from the tree to her son then back to the tree again.
‘Fine,’ she sighed, unable to resist that look. ‘Can you whittle it down at least a foot?’ she asked the vendor. He nodded and disappeared behind the others with the tree; they heard the saw start as he went to work.
Danny was so excited he was fit to burst. ‘Ornaments Mom, what about ornaments?’ he asked.
Holly hadn’t even thought of that; they really didn’t have any. Well, they had a few, to hang on a garland, ones that Danny made at school.
‘I guess we could stop in on Frank and see if he has any?’ she suggested. Encore really was more of a thrift store than a clothing store anyway, despite the spin Frank tried to put on it.
Danny nodded enthusiastically and Holly waited for the young man to reappear with the shortened-down tree. When he did so, the spruce did indeed look much more manageable and Holly was relieved. She paid for it and he agreed to hold it while they went around the corner to find ornaments.
She and Danny made the short walk over to Encore. Frank was rearranging some clothing racks and glaring at a pair of teenage girls who seemed more interested in trying on old clothes and laughing at each other than actually buying them.
