Wendy was in one of the local grocery stories in the town of Biggs, Michigan. Wendy McCarey always stressed when the holidays arrive. Thanksgiving and Christmas were her favorite ones. As usual, Biggs would snow every year. Wendy always enjoyed winter. She even planned on inviting her friends to Biggs for Christmas.

Her friends mostly drove to Biggs, so they will do this again. Wendy was in a grocery store because she was looking for a tree. She wanted one that wasn’t big or too small, but wanted it just right. She hadn’t yet grab out her decorations yet. She will, but liked to wait until the day after the Christmas tree was in its place in the living room.

No, Wendy hadn’t started shopping for her friends and family. Her younger cousin of thirteen years was brining along her husband Greg McCarey, Jesse her father, Emma her mother and of course Allison and Marissa. Allison and Marissa McCarey were her nieces. The last time she saw Marissa and Allison was on Marissa’s birthday.

Wendy didn’t need any Christmas lists from her cousin, Brandi McCarey and her family and friends. Gift cards work best for her. Wendy always enjoyed spending time with her other friends, Elly Sanchez and her family, Sarah Thompson with her husband, Steve and her mother Florence, Traci Potpie and her husband, Joseph, and last, but not least Renee Griswold, her husband Travis, her father Johnny and thirteen – year – old daughter, Alexandria.

Everyone in this group always enjoyed their time with her and Wendy couldn’t argue with that. She didn’t mind someone she didn’t know help her decide what tree would be perfect for this year. She paid for the tree, put it on her car and drove back home. This should be a good tree for Wendy and her friends to enjoy Christmas. That she already knew for sure.

When Wendy parked in the driveway, she got out of the car and brought the Christmas tree inside with her. Like a lot of people, Wendy loved the smell of pine that came with the Christmas tree. At least it keeps the house smelling good with all of the pine. Wendy always liked the idea of buying the perfect Christmas tree before the good ones were taken.

She walked into her house with the tree, Wendy thought this tree would look its best if she put it next to the fireplace every year. Wendy had been celebrating Christmas in the past ten years since her parents, Anthony and Barbara McCarey passed away. They died while in an airplane crash, but Wendy didn’t know much about that story. Once she put the tree next to the fireplace, she said, “I wish you would be here to celebrate, Mom and Dad. It’s never been the same anymore.”

What she just said was true.

******

Wendy decided to call up Traci. The last time both of them talked, Traci was spending time with boredom, which is never fun. It looked like Traci was home, so both women were able to have a conversation.

“Hello, Traci,” Wendy greeted her friend.

Wendy lived in Biggs, Michigan, so there was a time difference between each other.

“Hi, Wendy. Joseph and I are looking forward to seeing you at Christmas. Since we’ll be flying to Michigan, we will have to send our Christmas gifts you through the mail instead.”

“That’s okay, Traci. I’m sure the others are going to be doing the same thing as you and Joseph plan to do by mail,” Wendy told Traci.

“Of course they will. I’ll bet you that your gifts from us and the others will be on time when we come to Biggs.”

“You could be right, Traci. This should be a good Christmas this year. Of course it’s not going to be the same without Mom and Dad.”

“I feel your pain, Wendy. As you already know, my parents are deceased also, so you’re not alone.”

“That’s for sure,” Wendy agreed.

“At least Elly is still lucky to have Jack.”

“True. Since she’s having one living parent left, so she really doesn’t have a hard time with no parents left, but it could happen soon, but since Jack is still healthy, which is good.”

“Yes, it is,” Wendy agreed.

“Brandi sent me a text earlier this morning, so Emma and Jesse still plan to join us. She said they wouldn’t want to miss it for the world,” Wendy added.

“Why wouldn’t they not miss it? If Mom and Dad were still here today, they would’ve been friends with the other folks.”

“I can’t argue with you on that, Traci. My father and mother wouldn’t want to miss this, but I do know is they will be with us in spirit,” Wendy remarked.

“You got that right, Wendy. By the way, Joseph and I decided to bring your Christmas card with us,” Traci told Wendy.

“Fine with me. I can handle that one. Are you bringing the cards you chose for the others?”

“Of course we plan to, Wendy. It wouldn’t be fun for them if you only had our card and they didn’t. What is Christmas without cards and gifts?”

“You have a good point, Traci. How’s Joseph doing?”

“He’s doing well, thank you. He recently got over a cold, which is no fun.”

“At least you didn’t catch his cold from him.”

“I know. I don’t like being sick over the holidays, but sometimes you don’t have a choice.”

“Listen, Traci, I have to go. I’d like to get this tree decorated before you show up. It was nice talking with you so we could catch up a bit.”

“Yes, it was nice. I can’t wait to see your tree.”

“You will. Talk with you when you arrive.”

Wendy hung up before Traci could say another word, so she did the same as Wendy.

2: Chapter 2

Meanwhile, Brandi and Greg didn’t have much going on. Marissa and Allison weren’t around, so she and Greg were able to find some time alone.

“What do you think Wendy’s tree looks like this year?” Greg asked.

“I have no idea. I was going to as the same question,” Brandi told him truthfully.

“I know you were, Brandi. Should we send her a message and see if she’s able to show us?”

“I can ask, but I do doubt she has the tree decorated yet.”

He saw Brandi had a good point.

“I haven’t thought of that. I already sent our package to Wendy a couple of days ago,” replied Greg.

“I was going to ask about that since you just mentioned it, I don’t need to ask.”

“At least I told you so you didn’t have to ask me.”

“I’ll send Wendy the message now,” Brandi told him.

“Good idea. Let me know what she tells you. I’m going to take a quick shower.”

Before Brandi could say anything, Greg already disappeared up to their master bedroom. He sure sounded like he was in a hurry, Brandi thought to herself.

She found her phone and sent her cousin the message.

‘Hi, Coz. Greg and I were just talking about you. I’m not sure if our other friends have asked if you could send us a picture of your tree. I did tell Greg you haven’t yet added decorations or not. I’ll look forward to your response.’

That’s when she sent the message. Sometimes Wendy didn’t answer right away, but Brandi had gotten used to it, and she wasn’t expecting to give any answers until her older cousin was ready to tell her. Brandi could also wait to see the tree in person when she arrived in Biggs. If Wendy didn’t want to send a picture, that was fine with her. She then saw Wendy was answering her question.

‘Hi,Brandi. I just walked into the house five minutes ago, so that’s why I didn’t see your message right away. I just got home from the grocery store and put them away. To answer your questions, the others have not begged for a picture of the Christmas tree or have decorated it yet. Any other questions you want to share with me?’

When Brandi finished reading that last sentence, she did think of something to ask her cousin. She answered saying, ‘When did you get the tree?’

Wendy replied immediately by answering: ‘I bought it at the grocery store. A shopper next to me and he was a big help by picking out the right Christmas tree for this year. He didn’t have to help, but with his help, I said thank you for your time. He sounded polite, even though he was a stranger to me.’

Then Brandi said, ‘That was nice of him indeed, Wendy. Do you think you will be able to have the Christmas tree decorated before we come out to Biggs?

Somehow she and Wendy often saw this as a tradition by celebrating the Christmas holiday in Biggs with their friends, and it somehow seemed to work.

Then Wendy answered, ‘I hope to have the tree decorated by then. Your package has already been sent in the mail yet?’

‘Of course. Greg just told me he dropped it off at the post office not too long ago, so my guess would probably arrive before Greg and I do arrive.’

‘Traci said the same thing. Have you talked with her recently?'

‘No, I haven’t, Wendy. I also haven’t yet talked with the others. If I don’t talk with any of them before we head out to Biggs, we could talk when we get to your place.’

‘I’m cool with that, Brandi. If I interrupted anything, I’ll let you go.’

‘I’m actually not interrupted by anything yet. Greg just got into the shower, so I’m alone for a while. What are you doing?’

‘I see Greg had a good idea. I think I will do the same thing. If we don’t talk later, I’ll see you soon.’

That’s when Wendy left their conversation.

3: Chapter 3

While washing her hair in the shower, Wendy thought about calling Renee and Sarah as she rubbed shampoo around her head.

“I think I’ll do that when I’m finished with this,” Wendy told herself.

She had long hair, but Brandi’s hair was a bit longer than her own. She thought about blow – drying her hair before she talked with either Sarah, Renee or Elly.

Out of all her friends, Wendy found Brandi was the easiest to talk with. They both agreed that talking with another. It didn’t take Wendy long enough to blow – dry her hair. She usually likes to blow – dry her hair first and change into the clothes she’d chosen. She thought to herself that Sarah would be the perfect choice to call first since she had Sarah on her mind before Renee and Elly.

Today Wendy chose to wear a ponytail with a red and green rubberband, red striped socks with holes added, a green pair of jeans with a zipper, a red T – shirt with a Christmas tree with snowflakes. This wasn’t her favorite type of outfit, but with Christmas coming, it made sense to wear this. She thought about wearing this again when her friends arrive to Biggs.

It did take Wendy a while to finish what she had to do while in the bathroom. She and her friends always preferred that you had to call so people could listen while you talk, but every once in a while they would send text messages. She hoped her friends would be at home while she called them. She hoped Sarah would be home today.

Wendy listened to the telephone ring for a few times. She finally heard Steve say, “Hello?”

“Hello, Steve.”

“It’s nice hearing from you, Wendy. Is Sarah expecting to hear from you?” Steve asked.

“Of course not, Steve. I just want to talk with her, that’s all. Are you looking forward to visiting Biggs?”

“Sure. Especially Sarah. Even Florence was looking forward to it also.”

Florence Thompson was Sarah’s mother, and Wendy seemed to get along with Florence when she and Sarah first met and became friends.

“I’ll go see if Sarah will be in the mood to talk with you, Wendy. So you’re calling about Christmas. Am I right?”

“Yes, you are, Steve. It was nice talking to you.”

“If we don’t talk again anytime soon before we come out to Biggs, I shall see you then.”

Wendy always found Steve Thompson friendly, but if Anthony and Barbara aren’t alive anymore, there was no way her parents would be able to attend to get – togethers, such as Christmas. Wendy hoped Allison and Marissa would enjoy the latest Disney movie, so she bought it for Christmas for both of them. Marissa and Allison almost always got along, and that was always a good thing, Wendy thought.

A few minutes later, Wendy was able to hear Sarah come on.

“Hi, Wendy. Steve said you wanted to call about Christmas.”

“That’s right. Since you and the other girls are coming here, I’m going to ship your package since you are flying with Florence and Steve.”

“Yours should arrive within the next day or so, but we decided to bring our cards along so we can open them together.”

“Traci told me the same thing, so it does make a lot of sense to bring something that’s light.”

“I know. I was text messaging with Brandi not too long ago today. She was telling me about how you bought your Christmas tree.”

“That story is true. Don’t tell me you’re thinking of seeing a picture of the tree on your phone.”

“That is exactly what I thought. Brandi said to me you haven’t decorated it yet.”

“I will soon. I was in the shower before I called you. I do miss Mom and Dad a lot, but I do know they would enjoy this Christmas season celebrating with all of my friends.”

“I understand how you feel, Wendy. My dad would have fun also, so you’re not alone.”

“I know Ann and Willie aren’t here either, so I do understand. I just thought of something we can do this Christmas.”

“What’s that, Wendy?”

Almost always Wendy had good ideas, but whatever Wendy was thinking of now would be a good idea.

“I thought we all could walk for a few blocks and check out the Christmas decorations. It was a tradition I had when I was growing up.”

“Good idea. Did you mention this to Brandi?”

“No, I have not. It wasn’t on my mind when I talked with her earlier, but I will be sure to pass it on.”

“I really can’t think of anything else to say, so we can talk when I come to Biggs. I’ll be in a rental car with Mom and Steve.”

“Duh. You and the other girls will get to see my Christmas tree when you arrive. Hope your mother is doing well.”

“That was nice of you to say that, Wendy. I will call you once I get to the airport.”

“I shall look forward to your call. It was nice talking with you,” Wendy said.

“Same here. Talk soon.”

Wendy and Sarah hung up the phone.

4: Chapter 4

Wendy saw time was running short since Christmas was coming very quickly. Early the next morning, Wendy went shopping at every store she could think of, and that included Hallmark. She loved Hallmark cards, so that was why she bought them for her friends and also Brandi, who was her cousin. She thought it made sense to give the gift cards to her friends while they were here in Michigan and sent the rest of the gifts to their houses.

Wendy checked her mailbox to collect that day’s mail on her way home. Flowers wouldn’t be a good gift because her friends were traveling, so flowers wouldn’t last long if she used them as a gift. Wendy wasn’t the only one who was doing some last – minute shopping for her friends and family. A lot of people here in Biggs worked a lot, so they mostly had to do their shopping on the weekends.

Wendy also needed to do some grocery shopping since some of it would be for cooking and the other half was for baking. Wendy was an okay cook, but she thought that buying some sugar treats would be a good idea in case her friends were in the mood to do some baking. Her mother, Barbara McCarey, was an excellent cook and baker. This was something she missed in the past ten years.

She saw there was a message on her answering machine from Elly Sanchez. She pressed PLAY and listened to what Elly had to say. Here’s what Elly’s message told her:

“Hi, Wendy. I’m sorry I missed you. I am calling to say Merry Christmas. I did send your Christmas gift the other day, so it should arrive before or after I leave.

“Before I forget, Wendy, Dad’s plans changed so quickly he decided to cancel at the last minute. I don’t know why he canceled, so Carter and Parker wouldn’t be coming with me to Biggs after all. Dad really never told me why he didn’t want to come, so I never asked. He did want to leave with a message with all of you that he said Merry Christmas. I’ll talk again once I arrive to Michigan.”

That was all Elly had to say. At least Wendy was told ahead of time that Jack wouldn’t be coming with the rest of her friends.

Here are all of the gift cards Wendy bought for her friends:

Toys ‘R US for Marissa, Allison and of course Parker and Carter. Even though Allison and Marissa were too old for that, but they still enjoyed visiting the toy store. For Brandi, Sarah and Steve, gift cards to Starbucks, Amazon, Khol’s, Barnes and Noble, iTunes, Applebee’s, and of course Pier 1 and Famous Footwear.

For the kids it was mostly music, books and games. None of the kids were interested in books, but they do learn a lot so she bought a few of those as well. She deleted Elly’s message as she put the groceries away. When she was through, she decided to call Elly and return her message while she was away. And that’s exactly what Wendy did.

Wendy listened to Elly’s phone ring before somebody or the answering machine could pick up. Elly wasn’t home, and Jack wasn’t around either, but she had no other choice but to leave a message.

“Hi, Elly and Jack. I hope you both are doing well. I was just returning your call, Elly. I was doing some shopping. I also bought food, but if you and the other girls can do some baking if you’d like.

“I will be able to arrive to the airport. Good – bye for now and be safe while on travel.”

That’s when she decided to leave her message. She was also planning to do housework while she waited for her friends to show up. She decided to vacuum first.

Before she got the vacuum cleaner out, she turned on the television to see what the weather was going to be like when Sarah, Emma, Greg, Renee, Elly, Florence, Steve, Traci, Joseph, Jesse, Alexandria, Allison Marissa, Brandi and Travis arrive. Everyone was friendly except when an argument appeared and then nobody would be friendly. Wendy sighed as she turned off the television.

There was no need to play any Christmas songs right now since she was going to do some vacuuming and it would be too noisy to do just that. She turned on the vacuum cleaner and let it do its job. This was going to take a lot of housework because of her friends coming. And she always looked forward to seeing her friends, and that was the truth.

5: Chapter 5

As scheduled, Sarah and her friends met at the airport that was near Biggs. Brandi and her family arrived first. The flight Brandi and her family took was packed, and Brandi was happy that her family was lucky to take a few seats on this flight. Renee, Travis and Alexandria showed up next. Travis, Alexandria and Johnny were able to get off the same flight like Brandi and her family.

None of them had seen Wendy yet, but they figured Wendy was either on her way to the airport or was finding a place to park. Wendy didn’t show up until Brandi, Allison, Renee, Greg, Marissa, Travis and Alexandria saw Wendy heading their way with Emma, Jesse, Elly, and Florence. They all had forgotten that Florence was on another flight, so she didn’t come with Steve and Sarah.

Wendy walked over and gave her friends a hug. They found Wendy welcoming and Brandi and her friends appreciated that from her. It wasn’t often Wendy was welcoming, but since it was Christmas, so today Wendy was wearing a Santa Claus hat, boots, red and green socks that had decorations of snow, a green shirt with Christmas trees, a red zipper from her jacket.

“You look nice today, Wendy,” Greg complimented her.

“Thank you, Greg. Since Christmas isn’t too far away, that’s why I chose this outfit.”

“Is that new, Wendy? I don’t think I’ve seen that outfit before,” Renee said.

“I ordered it last November, so yes, it is new,” Wendy answered.

“I like it,” Brandi agreed.

“Good. I thought you girls would enjoy it as much as I do.”

Brandi saw Wendy had a good point.

Once everyone else arrived, Wendy hugged them as well. Not too long ago, Elly found her friends. Elly wasn’t so sure if everyone was here, but she silently guessed to herself that it looked like everyone was here.

“Are you guys thinking of leaving yet?” Elly asked as she finished greeting her friends.

“We’re thinking about it, Elly,” Renee told her.

“Oh. I wasn’t so sure if everyone else was here or not. Sarah noticed Elly came to the airport without Jack, Parker and Carter with her. Sarah decided to ask it first.

“Elly, would you mind me asking you something?” Sarah asked.

“What’s that?”

Elly looked at Sarah so she could ask the question.

“Where’s Jack and the boys?”

“Oh. Dad had to cancel, but he didn’t tell me what he was doing, but he offered to watch Carter and Parker while I was visiting Wend and you girls. But he said to tell you all Merry Christmas,” Brandi heard Elly say.

“At least you were able to tell me at the last minute, Elly. How does going out to dinner tonight work for you?”

Everyone agreed to Wendy’s suggestion. It had been a while since Wendy went out to eat. No, Wendy never showed much interest in gardening, but she found ways to stay home and eat. She was happy she didn’t plan to do any cooking tonight, so it made sense to take them out to eat, since they might not be up to having a homemade meal.

“What do you have in mind for supper?” Wendy asked.

“You mean as going out to eat?” Steve asked.

“Yes,” Wendy answered.

“We’ll talk about it,” Renee said as Traci and Joseph joined them.

“What are we talking about?” Joseph asked.

Today that was his way of greeting, and that was normal.

Wendy was the first to look directly at Joseph and Traci.

“Since every one of you just arrived, I decided it was a god idea we go out to eat tonight and I won’t have to mess around with any pots and pans,” Wendy answered, and then added, “I haven’t been out to eat in a while, so that’s why I thought of it.”

“You had a really good suggestion, Wendy. Do you have any recommendations for tonight?” Sarah asked.

“Not this time,” Wendy answered.

“We’ll come up with something,” Travis replied.

When Travis finished saying that, everyone took the shuttle so they could rent some cars and followed Wendy to her house.

**********

And Wendy didn’t bother taking the shuttle with her friends, but they knew their way to her house, so they would see her when they arrived. And Wendy decided to pick up her mail on her way home. She didn’t bother thinking about that before she drove to the airport. One way or the other, Wendy never really cared about picking up the mail.

Brandi chose to ride with Wendy while Greg, Emma Jesse, and the girls find a rental car that was available, and Wendy didn’t seem to care if her younger cousin chose to ride with her. None of them had much of a conversation on the way to Wendy’s, but now seemed like a good idea to play some Christmas songs.

Both Brandi and Wendy decided to talk once they parked in her driveway.

“Is your tree decorated yet?” Brandi asked Wendy.

“You bet it is. It wouldn’t be a Christmas tree without a tree.”

“That makes a lot of sense to me. We decided to put a fake tree up while we were away, so that works out perfectly. We will talk about what would be a good choice of food,” Brandi told Wendy.

“That’s what I thought. This one is a real tree,” Wendy told her.

“That’s why I thought of it,” Brandi said.

After that conversation the two cousins said nothing more. It wasn’t often they had conversations while somebody was doing the driving, and Brandi saw that made sense about driving.

“We’ll let you know what we choose for tonight’s meal, so I’m sure you’ll probably be around when we decided.”

“Of course I will be there so I can hear what you have to say,” Wendy told her cousin.

“I do hope to pick out the right place to visit.”

“Take your time,” Wendy told her truthfully.

“How true,” she agreed.

They parked into the car when “White Christmas” started to play.

“Whatever you plan to do, I’ll be happy to go along with it.”

“I know.”

Wendy offered to help Brandi bring her luggage inside the house.

“I appreciate your help with my luggage, Wendy. I do have a card for you from all of us.”

“I know, Brandi. It would be a good idea we could bake some Christmas cookies and other treats.”

“I like the idea,” Brandi agreed.

Brandi and Greg were spending their time at Wendy’s house, and Wendy let them stay at her house during their visit, and Brandi saw that Wendy was welcoming. Wendy almost always like this when they were growing up, and that was something Wendy never changed. Brandi let Wendy go in her house first.

Wendy left the lights on the Christmas tree when she left for the airport, so there was no way she chose to turn off the Christmas lights in her house, so it didn’t make any sense to Brandi.

“I think this is the best tree I ever seen. I guess your shopper made a good choice.”

“He sure did. I happen to agree that last year’s tree was almost as this tree here was better last year, but it could always change.”

“That’s true,” Brandi agreed.

They both heard Wendy’s phone bring in a new message. It was Renee.

“Who is it?” Brandi asked.

“It’s only Renee. She thinks now is a good time to go out to eat. What do you think?”

“I think I agree,” Brandi answered.

That’s when they left Wendy’s house again. What Brandi said was the truth about the Christmas tree.

 

6: Chapter 6

Everyone agreed they should eat their first meal at Applebee’s and Wendy thought that sounded like a good idea. She hadn’t been to Applebee’s in a long time, so it sounded like a good treat to her as well. Once they ordered their meals and drinks, Renee said, “We could go to your house and stay for a while. I think we could see Wendy’s tree.”

Everyone agreed. It was Emma’s turn to say something, so that’s exactly what she did.

“Have you seen Wendy’s tree?” Emma asked.

She didn’t pay much attention Brandi didn’t ride the shuttle.

“Yes, I did. I saw it after we left the airport. It’s really nice,” Brandi answered.

“That’s why we thought tonight was a good idea we can check it out,” Florence said.

“Isn’t that why I wanted to do this?” Wendy asked.

“Of course. Brandi, since you’ve already seen the Christmas tree, do you think Wendy’s shopper made a good choice?” Elly asked.

“Yes, I’d say he did,” Brandi answered, looking at Elly.

“That’s good.”

Before everyone came to visit Biggs, their plan was they stay until the twenty –sixth, and Wendy was fine with whatever her friends wanted to do.

When Brandi answered her friend’s question, their waitress arrived with their drinks.

“Thank you,” Traci said.

Their waitress was already gone. Neither Wendy and her friends paid much attention to what their waitress looked like, and that didn’t matter to them on what their waitresses and waiters look like when they go out.

None of them said much while they ate. They decided to share a little something for dessert, and thought wasn’t a good time to start baking, and it was also late to do just that.

“Mom?” Allison said.

She, Marissa and Alexandria didn’t say a word until now. They usually weren’t like that, Wendy noticed.

“Yes, Allison?”

Brandi was looking at her daughter’s direction.

“Could we pretty please share something for dessert?”

Brandi looked at her friends to see what they thought of Allison’s suggestion. Steve decided to answer Allison’s question.

“That’s fine with us, Allison. Since it’s Christmas, that’s fine with us.”

That was fine with Brandi and Greg as well.

“You did read my mind,” Marissa said.

“Our minds,” Alexandria corrected.

Even she and Marissa were also quiet, Elly noticed, and so did everyone else.

“Maybe we can stay for a short while and then we can check in and think about going to bed,” Sarah said once their desserts arrived.

“Good idea,” Joseph said as everyone agreed to what Sarah just said.

Since everyone was on the airplane, Wendy saw it made sense for them to think about it and that was understandable. Everyone took their time to eat their desserts, so there was all of the desserts from the menu they shared. And Brandi thought Marissa, Allison and Alexandria could share, but the girls could easily get sick if they ordered for just themselves, and Brandi didn’t want that.

While everyone was eating dessert, their waitress came back to give them their checks. And they already knew taking their time was something the waitress was about to say. Once they left their checks when they paid, everyone left tips for her, and then they headed to Wendy’s.

It was about seven – thirty that evening when Wendy and her friends made it safely to her house. Everyone were seeing Christmas lights on her tree.

“I like your Christmas lights, Wendy.”

“Thank you, Jesse. I’m glad to hear that.”

What she just said was true. Wendy unlocked her door with the key and all of her friends walked hurriedly inside her house since it was cold and needed to use the restroom. Brandi decided to wait until after their friends left to go to bed. As planned, Brandi and her family stayed with Wendy.

“We’re not staying long, Wendy. Since we had a long day, we’re going to go to bed,” Joseph said.

“That does make a lot of sense to me, Joseph. You all can stay and look at the tree and then leave.”

“That was the plan all along,” Steve said.

He began to yawn once he finished saying that sentence.

“That sounds fair enough to me,” Traci agreed.

Once everyone made their trip to the restroom they saw that they agreed with Brandi. Wendy’s shopping did make a good choice. About three minutes later, everyone said good – night and Wendy would talk with them in the morning, which was the plan. So far this Christmas season had a good start.

7: Chapter 7

Christmas Day arrived. From what Wendy and her friends noticed, so they found the arrival of Christmas went by too fast. They decided to celebrate the Christmas holiday today until four – thirty to let her friends have enough time to pack up and be prepared for the long flight home.

As planned, Wendy and her friends did do some baking. Emma was the best cook and baker in Brandi’s family. She always loved Aunt Emma and Uncle Jesse. Wendy and her friends did all of the baking on Christmas Eve, which was just yesterday.

Every one of her friends wanted Wendy to go to the airport with them tomorrow, and Wendy was happy to go along and watch everyone get on the airplane safely. Her friends didn’t have to leave until eight – forty – five that morning and Wendy sometimes was an early bird. Tomorrow she was going to be one. Today she and her friends listened to some Christmas music, open gifts and ate the goodies they made, along with playing a game or two.

As they had scheduled, Wendy’s friends except for Brandi and her family left at the right time. Even Brandi and her family also had to be at the airport at the same time with their friends.

Until their flight was called the next day, Wendy kept hugging her friends and family and wished them a Merry Christmas and New Year. Before everyone left, Renee said, “This has to be one of the best Christmases I ever had.”

Everyone nodded.

“Glad you all had a fun time. Be safe. You all are good friends.”

What Wendy just said was true.

Note: I know this ending was a bit short, but I wanted to finish this in time. Glad you all were able to read this story without reviewing, but at least I know you were interested in checking it out. Have a Merry Christmas, everyone. Please don't forget to review and check out my other stories. Again Merry Christmas.