Matt and Cassie had just left the Smythe/Anderson household after having a somewhat decent dinner there. Matt was happy that her parents had chosen to invite them, specifically her over for dinner. He knew how much it meant to her and he was glad that her parents were trying to have a relationship with her. He hadn’t been expecting to hear that his Grandpa had passed and truth be told, he was distraught about it. Up until he dropped out, family was always very close. He’d barely, if at all, had spoken to him after he dropped out because Matthew was never around. He hadn’t felt welcome after what he did.

He wanted to get his mind off of it. It especially bothered him that he had to find out from somebody other than his own family. So, he would continue with their original plans of finding and decorating the tree. He had been looking forward to it prior to finding out and he hoped that it would serve as a distraction to his current loss. As they drove to find a place that sold the fresh Christmas trees, he finally found one after not too long. He parked that car and got out, basking in the fresh scent of pine that surrounded him and looked over at Cassie. “Ready? I’d say not to big, but not like a charlie brown style that has nothing on it.” He smiled softly. He could tell that she was worried about him, but he honestly did want to be there doing what they were doing. It was helping him.