“Merry Christmas,”
Kathryn Hayes said with a smile as she stood in the hall outside
of Cayden’s apartment. In her hands she held a small tree
and Cayden glanced at it curiously.
“It’s not Christmas
yet,” Cayden responded. “And what is that?” He
questioned as he pointed to the tree that looked like it came
straight out of a Charlie Brown cartoon.
“It’s your Christmas
tree,” Kathryn responded. “I noticed that you didn’t
have one, so I thought I’d spread a little Christmas cheer.”
“She practically wrestled
a five year old for it,” Jesse Martinez noted from where
he stood in the hall beside Kathryn. “You should have seen
it.”
“I’m sure it was
interesting,” Cayden remarked as Kathryn entered his apartment
and glanced around for a place where she could put the tree.
“I’m sorry,”
Jesse said with a smile as he stepped into the apartment, holding
a box in his hands. “We were just walking around looking
at all of the store fronts and the lights and stuff and she saw
the tree and thought of you.”
“She thought of me when
she saw that pathetic little tree?” Cayden questioned. “Thanks
a lot, Kathryn,” he said as he closed the door.
“Oh, don’t get offended,”
Kathryn laughed as she placed the tree on a table by the window
and stood back to admire it.
“Why should I be?”
Cayden responded sarcastically. “You find an ugly little
tree and you immediately think of me? Of course I’m not
offended.”
“Here’s the thing,”
Kathryn said as she turned to Cayden. “My Nana, God rest
her soul, used to say that Christmas trees were like people.”
“Was your Nana mentally
ill?” Cayden questioned.
“Shut up!” Kathryn
laughed as she crossed over to Jesse and took the box from his
hands and set it down on the table beside the tree. “She
was a sweet old lady. But anyway, she used to say that people
are like Christmas trees.”
Cayden and Jesse exchanged
a glance and smiled at one another as they realized that they
were going to hear another one of Kathryn’s crazy stories
about her family.
“All by themselves, they’re
just a trunk with branches,” she said as she reached into
the box and pulled out a small ornament. “You remind me
of this tree. You came to New York all by yourself, one small
person in this big city, just like this tree,” she explained.
Cayden glanced at her, then
back at the tree. He had to admit that, at times, he did feel
like that tree, naked and frail and alone. He remained quiet
and glanced at Jesse for a moment, then back at Kathryn.
“But then something interesting
happened,” Kathryn said as she turned and hung the ornament
from one of the branches. “You made a friend. Then you met
another friend,” she added as she hung the next ornament
and retrieved another. “You started meeting people and making
friends and experiencing new things,” she explained as she
decorated the tree.
Cayden and Jesse watched in
silence as Kathryn hung ornaments on the tree. A smile came to
Jesse’s face as he nodded his head, realizing what Kathryn
was doing. Cayden seemed lost as he glanced from Jesse to Kathryn.
“With each new experience
and every new friend, you gained another ornament,” she
explained as she stepped away from the three, “and now look
what happened.”
Cayden stared at the small
tree in disbelief. In just a few minutes, Kathryn had been able
to transform the tree into something beautiful. He glanced over
at Kathryn and smiled.
“Is that the same tree?”
Cayden questioned.
“That’s why my crazy
old Nana used to say that Christmas trees are like people. With
a little love and some experience, they can reach their full
potential,” she said with a smile. |
