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Her tone struck me with traces of guilt, but I wasn’t giving in. “Ludicrous.”
“It hasn’t played in a hundred years, Boone.”
“You think I don’t know that?”
“It had to have started this year for a reason.”
“It’s fake!” I shouted, letting my frustration boil over. What did she think she was getting at?
A few guests passed by the front room, and when I shot my scowl in their direction, they ducked their heads and hurried on.
“Great. Scare all the guests away, why don’t you?” Junie frowned and stared me down. “First snowmobile tracks and now this.”
I knew she was trying to get me to ease up, but I didn’t want to. I’d had so much frustration boiling inside of me for so long. So much repressed emotion. It wasn’t fair to let it all out on her. I knew that.
“Sorry,” I muttered.
“What’s the matter? Is it because of Grace?”
My teeth clenched. “You had to bring her up.”
“Do you miss her?”
“I’m not talking about her right now.” How did Junie even know anything had happened between us? We’d talked about it a few times, I supposed, but that didn’t mean she had details.
I pulled at some of the ridiculous tulle on the tree. A few bulbs clattered to the ground but thankfully, they were new ones Junie had bought rather than the original glass ones belonging to our grandparents that were stored in the attic.
I waited for Junie’s reproach, but she strolled from the room and returned minutes later with one of her large totes. It was labeledChristmas Tree,and I chuckled at that.
The year she’d gotten those, I’d tried helping her label them. I’d marked the tote asX-Mas Tree,and she’d scolded me.
“Keep ‘Christ’ in ‘Christmas,’” she’d said, slapping a new label on the tote.
I’d never forgotten that. I couldn’t forget. But I could praise my Savior without all of this other nonsense. Nonsense that Junie and so many others insisted on.
That was why the fact that she didn’t stop me…stopped me.
She’d made it clear she wasn’t happy with me tearing things down so early. And yet, she was helping me.
Junie manned the other side of the tree and helped me untwine the tulle until it collected into a large, sparkly green wad in her arms.
“I think it’s not all fake,” she said from behind the wad.
I removed a few bulbs and placed them in the tote. “What?”
“The radio. The music. The magic. It’s not fake, Boone.”
Her comment sparked something inside of me. What did she mean by that? What had happened with her and Mason since they’d heard the radio play for them?
“Do you hear chiming every time the two of you get forced to be together?” My voice was low and sarcastic.
A few other guests passed by and peered in the living room, but they didn’t stop or complain that the tree was being taken down. Thank goodness. With the mood I was in, I’d probably lose it on them, too.
Junie’s mouth screwed in that little way she had whenever she was thinking. She tilted her head so one of the bells sticking up from the headband she wore jangled.
“I wouldn’t say it’s all forced. Maybe it was at first. I mean, I told you—we would end up standing here in front of the radio and not remembering the actual walking there. But we’re on day six. Now, we just wait for the radio to play to see what happens.”
A tickle of emotions pestered the center of my chest. My interest piqued. Mason was on board with this now? Had she explained everything to him?
