2023
present day

Julie Schumacher didn't want to put on the Christmas Tree, she could only look at the box, the ornaments were just beside it, but this year wasn't happy, or at least that's is how she felt. There wasn't a single thing to feel happy about, not even for her kid (a teenager but in Julie's eyes she's still a kid)

Thirteen year old Lily tried everything to make her mother get into the holiday spirit, the TV played a few times Grinch, The Polar Express and Elf, but not a single blink occurred, Julie would only move from the couch to her bedroom, locking the door behind her. The house didn't smell like cookies or nutmeg, Lily tried to bake them herself, but she quickly realized that baking wasn't her specialty when the red velvet cupcakes were burnt.

Both mother and brother tried to make their effort and pull the blonde out of the house, get some Christmas shopping, but when they arrived at some store, Julie would sit down someplace and just give her opinion to the "gifts" that were brought to her. The bright cheerful spark she had wasn't there, and all because of her husband, correction, ex-husband –new term into her life from five months back.

"Come on mom, I can't actually lift the Christmas tree box by myself, Uncle Mick is busy right now, just pull it out and I'll do the rest." Lily sighed standing outside the basement door shouting out the words, followed by a silence she added. "If you come help me, I'll do your laundry for the rest of the month."

"You don't have to it sweetie, just leave everything as it is and come help me pack some things up." Julie answered her daughter's suggestions, the blonde was in her room, boxes in bed and on the floor with belonging of her previous relationship, the memories she once treasured are now just a hurtful reminder of what she lost.

"What if we go to Miami for Christmas vacation next year?" The suggestion wasn't a terrible idea, Julie turned around looking at her husband. "I know you prefer the cold weather during that time but, it's not bad to change things around."

"Oh Chris, I love that but," Christopher sighed and sat on the edge of the bed. "Next Christmas Mick is getting married, I want to be there for them, we should be there." Julie walked over to her husband grabbing his hands tightly. "You don't want to?"

"With all respect love, but I don't, we spend almost everyday with a member of your family, it's getting annoying already, I do love them, don't get me wrong, is just, too much."

"We don't spend that much time together babe, and they love you, of course they want to spend time with us, I mean, we have been talking about moving so they will be missing us."

Moving to Spain has been on the talk for almost a year now, both Julie and Christopher had been there for their honeymoon and fell in love with Madrid, wanting to live there and start a new era in their relationship, but there's always been something that stopped it, Christopher said it were excuses as the obstacles that appeared came from Julie.

"Yeah, but Julie, we can't just stop put lives because of your family, if we did it a long time ago after your father's death, I'm pretty sure we would be living with your mother right now, or she would be with us."

With a knot in her throat Julie straighten her posture. "There's no need to bring my dad into this." Dropping her husband's hands she took steps back. "That time was different Chris, it was such a hard time for us family we can't compare that to anything else."

"God Julie we can, we were in that house for months, your mother and Mick we're done grieving, and Mick started doing his life, everyone moved on, except you, and if you stayed there you wouldn't be able to do it."

"Mom? Everything okay?" Lily stood on beside her mother gently touching her arm to get her attention.

Julie had in her hands a framed photograph of the family, the last Christmas before the accident, everyone was there with ugly sweaters, smiling, filled with joy in their eyes. That spark had been lost now.

"Yeah I'm great, I'm packing things of your dad, he needs them back."

"And why can't he be here to do it himself? Why you?" Lily questioned, a good question actually.

"He's busy in Madrid with some work, the complex development had some issues and he won't be here to do it himself." Putting the frame on the bed Julie continued to fold shirts and polos. "And I really don't want to see him right now sweetie, I'm sorry."

"Don't need to apologize about it mom, the sooner his gone the better, and the faster we can go to Uncle Mick's wedding." Lily began grabbing clothes of her dad and mimicking her mother she folded and placed them on a suitcase, her father's suitcase.

"Oh you're right, god I forgot it's next month and I have lots to do."

"Yeah like bringing that fake date you promised?" Julie's eyes widened in shock, her palm hit softly her forehead letting a few curses out in whispers "I have no idea why you even said you were seeing some guy mom, and I am actually very surprised they believed you."

"I can say he couldn't come or something, make an excuse."

"Or, come clean."

The fake boyfriend was created two months ago and all thanks to pressure from aunts and uncles who kept on bugging Julie about being a divorced woman at her age, comments of how she would help her daughter to grow up, Julie could make it happen all alone, but instead she opened her mouth and said she had been seeing a guy and that so far everything was going great, and as expected her family wanted to meet him.

"I can't do that Lilianne, I prefer hiring someone than become the family disappointment because of my lies."

"What a great message you're sending to your daughter, lie instead of being the laughing stock."

"Don't do that, don't give your sarcasm Lily, I know what I'm doing so, let me handle this."

With both hands both, the teenager didn't say another word as she continued to help her mother pack things up. There was no chatter for the rest of the hours, Julie had her focus expression on, and her daughter knew why, she was already planning on how to solve her issue.

When the night time creeped in and both women were downstairs on the living room couch curiosity peeked into the teenager when she noticed her mother on her phone typing intensely.

"Okay, now what?" Lily dropped her book on her legs sighing deeply.

"I really don't want to share this with you honey but I do need your help, you're still a kid but I know your generation knows more about this than mine." Julie shared her phone to her daughter. "How do I make this dating profile?"

"No you're not." Lily took the phone excitedly. "Mom, I do not support this idea that much, but you're truly being creative on getting a date this way."

"Oh god, don't make me regret this decision."

"Don't, I mean I'll help you of course, it will be so funny." Scrolling around her daughter studied the photos placed. "Okay, we need more recent pictures, not terrible the ones you chose." Pictures from a family trip where she's alone, another one with her mother and brother, one where's she's cooking, and the last one is a her in a business suit and a diploma. "Just so you know, the guys that watch Formula One, the moment they see Uncle Mick, your messages will be flooded."

"I'm gonna regret this am I?"

"Probably mom, but I mean, have fun while you're doing it, right? I guess that we can work on your information, take me out of these, don't say you got a kid just yet, that scares guys off."

"But then it might scare the guy when I introduce you to them." Julie added to her daughter's suggestion, earning from the teenager an approval nod.

"Well you can keep it and also be honest saying you need a date for your brother's wedding." Lily said and started typing it down on the profile. A few more changes like hobbies, answers to questions about coffee or what she does after a long day were typed down, Julie kept on looking from the side and helped her daughter on answering some more "personal" things, according to Lily, she had to be the one to type it down and make it sound more casual, as Julie's approach was formal, business type actually.

"Here you go, now you wait." Lily handed back the phone to its rightful owner, her mother only looked at the profile surprised at how her daughter managed to really do this, mental note, she would ask her how did she know all of this, but that would be for another day. "Okay now that I helped you, can you help me with the Christmas decorations, please?"

"Fine, we'll only put up the tree tonight, and that's all, I don't want to do all that this year."

"Fine, if that's what you want." Lily raised both hands, she wasn't going to argue, she knew her mother so well, that the moment she began with the tree, the rest of Christmas decorations weren't going to stop.