Come in.

I have something to show you.”

He took my hand and pulled me toward the tree.

Lauren stood near the kitchen doorway with a towel over her shoulder.

She greeted me with a smile that was warm but no longer burdened by the shock of my arrival.

The cardboard star hung near the top of the tree.

Its gold paint had faded slightly, and the repaired corner still leaned left.

Mason had insisted on keeping it despite Lauren’s offer to make a new one.