Saturday morning, Lolly was pulled from sleep by Grandma Toady singing, “I’m dreaming of a white Christmas, just like the ones I used to know.” Grandma Toady had lived in Gulf Coast Texas her whole life, so she hadn’t known many white Christmas’s. Beside Lolly, Fluff shook his head in an effort to dislodge Grandma Toady’s off key singing. He took a dive under the covers. From the window, morning light spilled onto Lolly’s bed. She reached out her hand and splayed it in the light. The light looked tangible but it couldn''t be grasped. Grandma Toady''s singing grew louder. It seemed inspiration had finally hit. Most likely Grandma Today had already called Aunt Jessie. A glance at the clock told her, Aunt Jessie had not been thrilled with the call. It was 7:00 a.m. Grandma Toady rose early every day. Aunt Jessie did not. Still, decorating the Christmas Tree when the mood finally hit Grandma Toady was their one Christmas ritual. Lolly wished Pa could be there. Maybe next year. There was always next year, right?


    The novel Lolly had been reading when she fell asleep, slid onto the floor.The story was so good, she hadn''t been able to put it down. Sleep had insisted and she had succumbed. She got out of bed and picked up it up. The title was Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George. Lisa had loaned it to her. The descriptions were so vivid Lolly actually felt the cold as she read. The alienation that Julie experienced was something she understood far too well.


    The front door banged open and Mitzi sang out “Merry Christmas to all!” Max mumbled something. He was not an early riser on Saturdays either.


    Aunt Jessie said, “Well, Mama, what’s the theme this year?”


    Not even Lolly knew what the theme was and she lived with Grandma Toady.


    There was a rustling of tissue paper and boxes. Mitzi exclaimed, “Butterflies, the tree is going to have butterflies this year!"


    Grandma Toady said, “Yup, it is. What do you think?”


    Mitzi replied, “They are beautiful and Puccini wants one ever so badly.” Right, Mitzi wanted one.


    Lolly reached for her robe and went into the living room. This year, Grandma Toady had discovered an aluminum silver Christmas tree at a garage sale. There were lights at its base and a little wheel rotated causing the aluminum branches to catch and reflect the colors. It was not Lolly’s favorite kind of tree, but it was the one that had finally inspired Grandma Toady and that’s what mattered. As of last night, Lolly was concerned inspiration might not hit at all this year. Mitzi cradled one of the yellow quilted butterflies in Puccini’s paws. She looked up at Lolly and said, “Him loves his new bug.” Usually Mitzi was not one to give into baby talk, unless she thought it might help her achieve her objective, which was to kidnap a butterfly.


    Together, well, Max was a reluctant participant this year. Fluff had made off with a butterfly of his own and Mitzi had stuffed one in her pocket. Like it wasn''t obvious. Carefully they put the butterflies and silver ribbons on the tree. Grandma Toady had made a pale blue satin star to go on top. They turned off all the lights, closed the drapes and watched the light spin under the tree. It made the faintest creaking noise. It was pretty in its own way, but Lolly preferred real trees. Trouble was Grandma Today didn’t believe in taking the life of a tree. So there was that. Next year, there would be a real tree because despite or maybe because Mrs. Dutchendorph was an all natural vegetarian, they always had a real big tree with the antique ornaments Munch collected.


    For a moment, Lolly held the image of Mrs. Dutchedorph in her mind. The wedding was now seven weeks away and she still had no idea what in the heck she was going to call her when Pa married her. Gees, she really needed to figure that out.


    After the tree decorating they had a big breakfast of sausage, eggs, biscuits and white gravy. It was Lolly’s favorite meal. Max ate so much, Lolly thought he was going to pop.


    Though, she had already cleared this with Aunt Jessie, Lolly asked, “Who would like to go bowling tonight?”


    Max showed no interest. Mitzi, who spent many a Saturday night with her dad at the bowling alley said, “Me and Puccini would love too!”Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    Lolly glanced in Max’s direction and added, “We will be meeting, Trevor, his big sister and Munch at the bowling alley.”


    The light that suddenly spewed out of Max’s eyes was a wonder. He sat up straight and said, “Well, I think I’d like to go too."


    “Good. Be hear at six.” Lolly had to stifle a giggle. Max was literally glowing!


    *


    The sun was starting to get low in the sky. Soon, Lolly would be going on her second date-ish with Trevor. The plan was Aunt Jessie would drop off Lolly, Max and Mitzi off at the bowling alley. Since Bill was working, Amber, Trevor and Munch would meet them there. Taking Mitzi out in public was a risk, but at least Lolly could still threaten her with getting kicked out of the fashion show. So there was that.


    For this date, Lolly wanted to dress herself. She really needed to get some kind of hold on her fashion sense. Mitzi couldn’t, wouldn’t be able to dress her for the rest of her life. She chose her favorite pink sweater, hunter''s green corduroy overalls and the chucks Aunt Jessie had given her. As she looked at herself in the mirror, she actually thought she looked cute.


    The front door banged open. Mitzi shouted, “We’re here!” As if it weren’t obvious. Her little feet clomped down the hall to Lolly’s room and she burst through the door. Puccini was tucked in the carrier Grandma Toady had made him. It looked like Mitzi had tried to brush his fur. He was wearing a little sweatshirt with a heart on it. Mitzi gave Lolly a glance over. She said, “Pretty good.” This was high praise from Mitzi. She never hesitated to give her honest opinion.


    “Thanks.”


    With a twirl that caused her purple skirt to flare out, Mitzi asked, “How do I look?”


    “Beautiful.”


    Mitzi said, “I know, right. I thought this purple would go good with the little lavender dots in my tights and this sweater, oh my gosh, it is perfect.” She patted her short pixie hair cut and said, “Mama wanted me to wear a bow, but I said, no way. I don’t want Trevor to think I’m a baby.”


    Oh, my, thought Lolly.


    From the living room Aunt Jessie called, “Come on girls, we need to get going.”


    Lolly grabbed her purse and they were off. Grandma Toady gave them all a hug and a kiss as they went out the door. Max had not come in. He was sitting in the front seat of the Pinto waiting.


    When Lolly opened the back door, Max’s, ahem cologne, nearly knocked her over. She glanced at Aunt Jessie. Her eyes said it all. At least Max didn’t smell like he did when he was ten and thought baths were a waste of water, time and energy. He had the radio on at full blast. Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin was crooning as only he could, “I’m gonna give you my love/I’m gonna give you my love.”


    Mitzi climbed inside and Lolly followed. God, how were they going to make it all the way to Lake Jackson in this Old Spice cologne pollution. Mitzi said, “Mama crack a window before me and Puccini suffocate.” She lowered her voice and said to Lolly, “Max thinks he smells pretty, but he stinks.”


    Aunt Jessie cracked the window and turned the volume down on the radio.


    The ride to the Bob''s Bowling Alley was uneventful. Mitzi was on her best behavior which was a blessing. When they pulled into the parking lot, Aunt Jessie asked Max, "You got the money?”


    Max had his neck craned as he scanned the parking lot. Lolly knew what he was looking for, a red and white Mustang. He said, “Uh, yeah, I got it.”


    The Mustang pulled into the parking lot. Max sat bolt up right, grabbed the rear view mirror and checked his hair. Okay, thought Lolly, this is going to be fun. In an instant, Max was out of the car and headed across the parking lot. Aunt Jessie commented, “Keep an eye on him. He’s got it BAD. Poor kid.”


    “Okay.” Lolly honestly didn’t know what she could do. A crush that big and that hard, was going to end in tears at some point in time. She helped Mitzi and Puccini out of the car. Mitzi stood on the curb watching her brother.


    Aunt Jessie nodded in Mitzi’s direction and said, “I’ll be back at 8:30.” This was the part of the plan that Mitzi was oblivious to. How it would go was best left to the future. Lolly didn’t even want to guess what Mitzi might pull when she found out she had to go home before everyone else. Lolly closed the car door and led Mitzi to the entrance of Bob''s Bowling Alley. From where they stood, Lolly could see Munch, Amber and Max. Max looked like he was literally floating. Where was Trevor? Finally, Trevor climbed out for the car. A happy beat started inside Lolly’s chest. She didn’t feel as nervous as she did last Saturday.


    Mitzi tugged on her hand and whispered, "He is so cute. Are you gonna marry him? I think I''d like to have him for a cousin...or maybe a husband."


    What? Lolly started to remind Mitzi that she was only four a half years old and marriage was eons away. Marriage was also eons away for Lolly. She still had to finish two and a half years of high school, get her Bachelor''s degree and then her Master''s degree. But she didn''t say any of that. There was no point. In Mitzi''s opinion she was as big and smart as everyone else. Well actually, she thought she was smarter than most people. And honestly, she was. So, Lolly remained silent. The closer Trevor got, the more butterflies started bumping around in her stomach. She felt excited, scared and slightly nauseous. He smiled. The smile just for her. The butterflies inside her tummy swooped more gently but they did not go away.