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That seemed to appease Erica.

Sage could hardly wait for the day to pass. She was excited to surprise Ricky with the Christmas tree. Frankly, she could hardly wait to see it herself.

December was flying by far too quickly. Christmas was less than two weeks away. Her goal was to make this the best Christmas possible for her nephew, despite the circumstances. From conversations with her sister, it didn’t seem likely Saffron would be able to leave Florida until after the first of the year. Sage hated to think about the men and women in the Army Reserve missing out on time with their families. Everything Saffron shared about the disaster in Florida was far worse than anything Sage had imagined.

When it came time to pick up Ricky from Lisa’s house, Sage could hardly wait for his reaction when he saw the tree. She’d considered the two of them decorating a tree themselves. It would be fun if she had any experience with that sort of thing. Sure, she’d help decorate the family tree as a child, but that was years ago. She’d never set up a tree all by herself, not to mention the fact that she didn’t own any decorations. With Christmas fast approaching, this seemed like the best option. Especially considering all the work that had been done to get the condo back in order. The cleaning crew had come in, and miraculously the condo was livable again in only two days.

“Are you ready for your surprise?” she asked.

He nodded eagerly.

“You might think it’s Santa, but it isn’t. Not yet.” She didn’t want Ricky to be disappointed that he wasn’t going to meet the real Santa.

“Have you contacted Santa?” Ricky asked, his face revealing his eagerness.

“No. Like I said, I’m working on it. Santa is a busy guy, especially this time of year.”

“This is really important, Auntie Sage.”

“I know, Sport. I’m doing my best.”

When they arrived at the condo, Sage hesitated before unlocking the front door. “You ready?” she asked again.

Ricky nodded. “Ready.”

Sage threw open the door and nearly gasped in awe. The church group had done a beautiful job. The snow-frosted Christmas tree was everything she’d hoped and imagined. A beautiful angel with her wings spread wide rested on the treetop. The silver and gold decorations were spaced perfectly. The skirt around the base of the tree was a silver blue.

It took Sage a moment to realize Ricky hadn’t said anything. “Isn’t it beautiful?” she said, clenching her hands to her breast. By far this was the most amazing Christmas tree she’d ever seen, let alone owned.

Ricky didn’t sound even a little impressed. “It’s real pretty,” he offered, without a lot of enthusiasm.

“I think it’s stunning,” she muttered. Ricky showed none of the delight she’d expected. In fact, his face was expressionless.

“Don’t you like it?” she asked, when he had nothing more to say.

“It’s too pretty,” he said.

“Too pretty?” Sage repeated, not understanding. “What do you mean?”

“It looks like one of the trees in the mall, all fancy.”

“Isn’t that the way a Christmas tree should look?” It was hard to hide her disappointment. She’d assumed Ricky would be thrilled. His lack of appreciation unsettled her.

“Mom and I made paper chains for our tree. We like to decorate it ourselves,” he said.

“Oh. We can do that if you’d like.”

“And Mom had a special ornament with my picture on it for every year since I was a baby.”

“I didn’t know that,” she said.

Ricky shook his head. “It’s okay.”

Sage wanted to cry. She’d tried so hard and had failed. “Maybe we can get a small tree and make our own decorations,” she suggested, remembering the small potted one she’d seen at the grocer. “A tiny one you can keep in your bedroom.”

Right away, Ricky brightened. “Could we?”

“Sure thing. We’ll head to the store right after dinner.”