Jim clicked his phone closed and turned back to look at the sizable fir he had soaking in a bucket of water. That morning he had been out to the tree place, a week before he planned to go with Pam, to pick up the tree he planned to surprise her with at his place. Now, more than ever, he was excited about his idea.

An hour later he was at her door, with the bag of groceries he’d picked up for her when he shopped earlier. He knew her mom sent her home with leftovers but he also knew that she preferred a snack of mixed berry yogurt to stuffing and cranberry sauce and couldn’t have her morning coffee without cream, plus a dash of cinnamon.

The plan for the evening had already been established, and it did not entail leaving her apartment again until morning. On the agenda was Chinese ordered in from Shun Lee while they watched one of the movies she gave him for his birthday—he promised her they could finally watch Frequency— plus a whole lot of making up for the other things they missed while apart.

Couching it Thanksgiving night on the pull-out in the den, his legs uncomfortably hanging over the end because his mom insisted he stay having had had a little too much to drive himself home, he had to keep Pam from his thoughts as he drifted to sleep. There were kids in the house after all and he was surrounded by the toys they brought over in the den. Ironically, he knew his bed was free most of the night, Larissa’s boyfriend who was given his bedroom and thus his privacy, made his way to her bedroom after midnight when the rest of the family were all fast asleep.

Last night, out with his brothers until late he rang her when he got home but it went straight to voicemail. Hearing her voice on the recording was enough to get him wishing she were with him as she was every other Friday night.

She greeted him with an extra-long kiss to make up for the lack of them over the last few days before they brought the bags to the kitchen and put the contents away. Though she smiled at him as they unpacked the bags he brought, he noticed how her eyes were tinged red and the lush brown lashed lids were puffier than normal. 

“Okay, we’re going out. My girl needs some holiday cheer in the form of new stockings and all the tinsel we can find at Target. Grab a yogurt, this may take a while and you’re going to need some energy.”

This seemed to cheer her up. Her sad eyes lit up as did the corners of her mouth.

“Really? You don’t mind?” She was already back in the fridge grabbing one of the yogurts he just brought over but then swapped it out for one of the ones further back that was likely closer to the expiration date.

“Of course not. But this means we won’t be able to watch Frequency again tonight,” he spoke with a small mocking tone knowing how much she wanted him to see it. Truth was Pete mentioned he’d seen it when they were out last night, and said it was really good, one of those underhyped movies that never got the recognition it deserved. Jim was actually looking forward to seeing it now, cuddling with Pam as they shared egg rolls and chow fun and she chattered through the movie, but he knew it was more important that Pam get some holiday on ASAP.

They sat at her small kitchen table while Pam ate her yogurt, Jim focused on her once again happy eyes as they talked about the time they spent with their families.

“My mom can’t wait to see you again on Christmas Eve. And my dad can’t wait to meet you too.”

“I can’t wait to get to know them. While we are out you should help me pick out something to bring them for the holiday.”

“Okay,” she responded giddily, her cheer seeming to increase by the minute.

“Maybe we should even hit the tree place tonight if we can get there before it closes. The smallest trees always seem to go the fastest and we should try to snag one now while there are still some to snag.” Jim had spotted some nice minis earlier when he was there and hoped they were still available.

At this suggestion, Pam gulped down her last bite of yogurt, tossing the container into the garbage by counter as she bounced out of the room.

“Let me go change to a warmer sweater and jeans,” she called back to him as her voice trailed off when she rounded the hallway that led to the bedroom.

As soon as Pam was gone from sight, Jim was at the garage can, retrieving the container she had just tossed in it.

“Jim, don’t you think you want to change to…um what are you doing?”

Jim jumped back startled by Pam’s sudden reappearance in the kitchen, catching him with his long arms in her trash, the look on his face probably a lot like the one he had when he was caught as a young boy in the closet shaking wrapped boxes trying to figure out if he was getting the deluxe Lego set he wanted.

“Um, ah I dropped…ah I’m…”

Jim stumbled over his words for the briefest of moments before stiffening up and lapsing into a Dwight-like stance and voice.

“Dwight Is training me to be his Recyclopse sidekick. And you missy,” he held up the recently tossed yogurt container waving it over his head in one hand while waving a pointed finger at her with the other, “are in violation of illegally disposing of a plastic yogurt container.”

“You are crazy,” she said as she grabbed the container out of his hand and rinsed it off in the sink setting it aside on the counter. “Happy, even though I don’t think this is a recyclable plastic.”

Jim finally got a good look at the container. It was not her normal Yopliat with the iconic metallic lids, special to them in a way that would forever be symbolic of his homecoming, of her love and the thing that drew them together in the first place.

“Since when do you eat Chobani?”

Pam offered an encouraging smile, assuring him her choice of yogurt today meant nothing more than the new Greek style on the market was a little more filling and a nice change of pace from her regular mixed berry.

“They’re new and my mom thought I’d like them. They’re a little thicker so they fill you up more. Don’t worry, these are good but I still love my Yoplait. I only had this one today because I didn’t know when we would eat dinner and didn’t want to get hungry. I couldn’t ever give up my mixed berry, it would be like giving up you.”

Much as that was comforting for Jim to hear, it didn’t help that she was adding Chobani into her yogurt mix. The lids were all wrong. Not a huge yogurt eater himself, he would now have to become one in order to have his plan work.

He leaned in to kiss her hoping he could erase any superstition still lingering at having caught him rummaging through her trash.

“I’ll be in to change in a minute. I’m suddenly in the mood for a yogurt.”

He grabbed one of the Yoplaits and once again embodying Dwight, gulped it down in three bites, tossing the container but rinsing the lid and tucking in away in the pocket of his jeans.

An hour and a half later a large banner advertising fresh cut Christmas trees greeted them as they pulled into the farm's parking lot. Pulling his Saab into the space beside a silver minivan, Jim had the eerie sense of déjà vu, like he’d been here before, the only difference was this morning the minivan was blue.

Hand in hand they walked from the car to the verdant oasis where rows of Douglas and Fraser firs lined up like multi-sized soldiers of silvery green, filling the air with the fragrant smell of the holiday. As they drew closer to the pine-covered landscape the incense of cut trees assaulted their senses but with the happy aroma that brought on memories of hanging stockings, decorating cookies and opening gifts.  Only two tree wranglers were still working, where this morning Jim spied a half dozen, the both of them currently occupied helping other families.

On their own, Pam and Jim walked through a carpet of needles and a dusting of snow, admiring all the luscious jade evergreens, their sizes mostly alternating between average and grand, before they arrived at a mini tree, that seemed the perfect size and hopefully price.

As she spied it, she clasped her hands together in joy, the signature quiver that activated her hands matched the ways her eyes danced in delight. Soon she was looking around to catch the attention of one of the lumberjack types, the workers with whom they could haggle with over price and could wrap and help carry the tree to the car. Jim not worried about the cost and not unable himself to carry the small fir picked it up and together they walked with it back to the center of the lot to wait for the next available attendant. But when Jim noticed which of the two bearded, flannel clad men had just finished their last sale, he set down the tree and tried to whisk Pam into another row, only not in time.

“Hey folks, can I help…,”

Don’t recognize me, don’t recognize me, Jim pleaded silently

“Hey man, back so soon? Was there a problem with your tree?”

Jim shot him a look, begging with his eyes for the man play along.

“I think you’ve got me confused with someone else.”

“Well then you’ve got a twin out there, cause man there was a guy here who looked just like you this morning,” he said as he brought his leather gloved hand up to tug on the hair that covered his chin as Jim turned his back slightly to Pam while looking directly at him shifted his eyes towards her. Pam tilted her head quizzically looking first to Jim, back to the tree man and back at Jim again.

“But then don’t we all have a doppelganger out there,” he tried to autocorrect his earlier comments, “And after a while, I see so many people they all seem to blend into each other.  Anyway, what can I do for you?”

After the tree was securely tied to the tree and Jim had slipped him an extra $20 for his discretion and the good deal he gave them on the tree, bulk discount he whispered when Pam was out of earshot, they returned to the warmth of the car and drove towards the Target on the other side of town.

Pam brought up what happened with the attendant as they drove off, “That was kind of weird he thought you’d been there this morning. Don’t you think?”

Jim gulped hard before he answered and hoped she didn’t notice. “Well he probably does see so many people and we probably all start to look alike after a while. But who knows maybe my brother stopped by to pick up a tree there before he went back to New Jersey, today.”

“Except your brother doesn’t look that much like you.”

“With a hat he does.”

“Hmm”, she thought it over for a minute, “Still, no. I lucked out with the cute brother of the family.”

“You sure did. Don’t you forget it.” He should have suggested it was Pete, the brother she still hadn’t met in person, although even in pictures which she had seen enough of, he knew they never could pass for each other. A fact Jim knew from all the years he tried to use his brother’s license as a fake ID, most often getting turned away with a nice try, give your brother back his license, kid.

Reaching over to squeeze her knee and hopefully end the suspicion he tried to change the subject. “So, Target and then Pizza?”

“Sounds like a plan.”