�Ashley hurry up or we will be late!� said Stefan.
�Just a few more minutes.� she answered back.
Stefan had the perfect surprise to help ease Ashley from being homesick. It was Thanksgiving Day, and an American dinner she would have.
�I am ready.� she said as she enter the room.
Stefan was taken back by her beauty, locks of red curls cascaded around her face, eyes shimmering of emerald green and lips the color of red roses.
�You look so beautiful tonight.� he said as he helped Ashley into her coat.
�And you look handsome yourself I might say.� she said with a child like giggle. �So now are you going to tell me where you are taking me?� she said with a little plea in her voice.
Stefan stood there with a confidence look on his face, �Do you know what today is?� he asked.
�What today is, well of course I do�� Ashley hesitated for a moment in thought. �Oh my gosh, it�s Thanksgiving, I almost forgot.� she said.
�Well I didn�t my dear and we are celebrating tonight with an American dinner.� he said.
During the drive to the restaurant Ashley�s thoughts were of back home of family traditions and not for sure what to expect here in Germany. She always started decorating for the Christmas season the day after Thanksgiving, but now she had no ideal what Stefan�s traditions were or if he even had family traditions at all. She was about to ask him when Stefan announced, �Well here we are.� said Stefan.
Ashley cleared her mind and decided she would ask him later.
Stefan reached for Ashley�s hand as they entered the restaurant. Ashley�s eyes caught the lovely tree that stood tall, fully rounded covered from top to bottom in decorations and shining with clear bright lights. They were escorted to their table and dinner had been prepared and ready to serve once they were ready to begin the Thanksgiving festival. It was truly an American dinner with all the trimmings.
A couple of weeks later Ashley sat looking out the balcony window with people rushing through the big city, shopping for presents and decorations she looked at Stefan and asked, "Where is your Christmas tree?"
"My what?" he asked with a very astonished look on his face.
"Well, don�t you have an artificial tree?� she asked.
"Artificial? I don�t have an artificial tree! We buy a fresh, real tree every year!" said Stefan with a huge grin on his face.
�A real tree. I haven't had a real tree since I was a little girl� she said.
�Well this year me dear Ashley you will have a real tree that you pick out yourself.� said Stefan.
"When are we going to get it?" she asked already feeling a little impatience.
"Well, I am off work tomorrow and we can do it then if you want?" he said with laughter in his voice.
�What a question......of course I want to go. I never done that before in my entire life. Oh, this day will be something special to remember always ..... Tomorrow we will go and pick out our first tree together.� she said with excitement clasping her hands together like a little impatient child and wished tomorrow was already here.
The next morning Ashley got up earlier than usual, fixed breakfast and coffee then went to wake Stefan up. He wasn't to pleased to get up that early on his off-duty-day, but he finally did.
After having breakfast they got dressed and left for the tree-lots.
"Is it a long drive and how long will it be before we reach the tree lot? How do we get the tree home? How expensive are the trees?" she asked and Stefan could hear the excitement and impatience in her voice. He never answered and knowing him, she knew that she better stop bothering with any more questions. He always knew how to please her. After a about a ten minute drive Stefan stopped the car.
"Here we are!" he said and left the car.
She followed after him. She couldn't believe what she saw when they entered this lot. Hundreds of trees.. real trees...short round ones, tall skinny trees and even some looked scrawny with branches missing. People were rushing between them with their children running around giggling looking and checking them over. Ashley was running and looking between all the trees and didn�t know, where to look first. There were so many beautiful trees but still she couldn't decide, which one to take nor did they find the tree, that really caught their attention. In the far back corner there was a pile of paper, signs, boxes and branches, and on top of that pile laid a tree. Ashley�s eyes lit up for what she saw lying on top.
�Stefan come over her,� she yelled filled with happiness. �I found our tree. Isn�t it beautiful? I wonder why it is in this trash pile?� she said as she reached to stand the tree up to get a better look, but Stefan was by her side and stood the tree straight up. The branches were full with gleaming bright in green and a fresh scent of pine surrounded their nose.
�This is our Christmas tree it is perfect and beautifully grown.� she said full of excitement, with sparkling eyes and a smile from ear to ear.
"It doesn't have a top, Ashley." Stefan said.
Stefan was reluctant to buy the tree.
"No top!"... those words she heard ran through her mind. Was that all he saw in that tree, that she was broken without a top? Didn't he even take the time to look at the whole tree? Ashley�s mind was still on this tree and his blindness when he said, "Lets continue to look around". The smile left Ashley�s face as she nodded and headed for the car.
With Stefan looking for the perfect tree of all shapes and sizes, all she could think of was that little tree in the trash. She just had to have that tree. She didn't even pay to much attention to Stefan and his questions " Hey look at this one or what do you think about this tree here?" he asked.
"It is ok" she mostly answered, with her mind being on the tree without the top..
"Well I can see in your face that you don't like anything here. Lets check somewhere else". Stefan said as he headed for the car with Ashley slowly follows behind with her head hanging down.
They drove to three more places where trees were sold. Stefan showed her numerous trees, some of them were even really expensive, but really no tree caught her attention or was as beautiful as that little tree lying in the trash.
As they walked back to the car from the third lot she looked at Stefan and asked. "What about the tree in the trash from the first place, we were at?"
"What about it?" he said.
"I think it would be a beautiful tree for us." she said with the excitement once more in her voice.
"Yes, but Ashley it doesn't have a top." he said.
"So we could make one." she answered, having a little begging in her voice. But Stefan still didn't give that tree a thought. Finally she looked at Stefan with tears in her eyes and said "But that tree was only thrown away in the trash just because of the broken top. Just because someone else�s opinion of what they thought to be perfect means it is not perfect to anyone else?� she said firmly. Ashley couldn't stop talking and with thoughts of the tree she really wanted. She could see in Stefan's face that he too was finally starting to think about his own imagination of what he thought perfection meant.
Stefan looked at Ashley and she saw tears filling his eyes, but she kept talking about the tree anyway.
Ashley turned to Stefan again and asked, "Just because something is not perfect it just gets discarded and thrown away like it's nothing?" Stefan just stared at her as she continued to talk. "But that tree is still alive and so beautiful even without a top." she continued, arguing her point of view.
Stefan looked away with tears in his eyes and finally at last replied. "Yes, Ashley you are right, please forgive me for my blindness. It is a beautiful tree and it will be the perfect tree for us."
Stefan started the drive back to the lot where their tree was lying in the trash. During the drive she was hoping the tree was still there and Stefan looked at her with teary eyes and smiling. " I hope our tree is still there." he said.
As they arrived back at the lot, they both jumped out of the car and hurried to see if their tree was still there, surprise there the tree laid exactly where they left it earlier. Stefan once again reached for the tree and stood it upright looking and admiring the beauty. "This is our tree. It will be the most beautiful and perfect tree I've ever had." Stefan said.
Stefan carried the tree to the cashier and even though the tree was thrown away he still had to pay the full price.
While they were driving home she told him about her ideas of decorations and wanted to go shopping. Arriving home they carried the tree upstairs to their apartment and much to their surprise after unbundling it, it stood much taller and the branches fuller than what they saw at the lot. The smell of pine filled the room as though they were standing in the middle of a forest. They both were astonished as they admired the imperfect tree without a top. A little later after they ate lunch they went shopping for lights, bulbs, and something special to stand on top. Ashley found a Santa to sit over the broken top.
Stefan woke the following morning to the smell of fresh coffee brewing and breakfast cooking. Ashley had decorated the tree with tiny clear lights, new bulbs, old bulbs, and even tied little tiny red and gold bows to the end of the branches. Once she placed the Santa on top you couldn�t tell the tree was broken. Underneath she wrapped a soft red velvet cloth to cover the trunk. Ashley stood and admired how beautiful the tree looked.
Stefan walked in and said �That is the most beautiful tree
I ever had and you cannot tell the top is broken.�
Evening was approaching and darkness began to fill the room. Stefan plugged the tree lights in and the branches sparkled and gleamed brighter than ever. Stefan and Ashley looked at each other with tears of happiness in their eyes, for they had the perfect Christmas tree.
Ashley softly spoke to Stefan, �Just because something or someone doesn't look perfect, to what we think is perfect, does not mean it should be discarded.� she said. Stefan looked at Ashley ashamed and with tears and softly replied. "You are right Ashley, I have realize to fully see what is before my eyes instead of seeing what I imagine to be perfect only in my mind. Stefan reached for Ashley�s hands pulling her to her feet and stood there before their imperfect but yet perfect Christmas tree holding each other for they had shared their first perfect Christmas together.
Their tree was taken out almost three weeks after Christmas and to that day she didn't loose one needle, never dried out and stayed in the same shimmering green glow as on the day they picked it up from that bundle of trash. They both have learned a lot that past Christmas by choosing the imperfect tree. Even though it was broken and imperfect, it was beautiful and unique in its own special way.
Just like people who are sometimes different, impaired, broken hearted, but with a little love, patience and understanding, their beauty will glow in their own way for we are all unique and perfect in our own special ways. |
