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“Two Christmas trees?” Sy eyed the full-size tree that almost looked like it belonged in a dollhouse compared to the tree that sat mere feet away.
“Yeah,” Emmit’s response was chipper and quick. “The kids thought this room felt empty compared to the hall, so..”
Immediately, Sy responded with a halfhearted nod, turning to face the larger tree positioned beside the staircase of the hall.
“Well, they wouldn’t be wrong.” The large tree stood roughly 12 feet, with over two dozen gifts under it. It was a spectacle, a new toy.
In its place the year before was an ‘extra’ tree, now taking up the corner of the lounge Sy stood in.
The ticking of a grandfather clock filled the silence.
It was 7 o‘clock.
Sy had come over to enjoy some drinks with Emmit while his family was out of town. Emmit could have gone with them for the week- yet was adamant he stayed, ‘for the business’.
Sy told him it’d be fine, Emmit could leave and Sy would take care of it. He declined.
There had to be more to it, but Sy didn’t want to pry. He knew there were small disagreements between Emmit and his wife from time to time, but they were a happy family.
There was definitely no other woman to stay for, either. Emmit wasn’t like that, and if he had happened to slip up, Sy would have known about it.
“Hot cocoa?” Sy turned to his friend and nodded. Hot cocoa sounded nice.
While Emmit turned towards the kitchen, Sy took a seat on the leather couch facing one of the many fireplaces within the home.
It barely seemed a moment before Emmit was carrying two mugs towards him.
Feltz’s moustache pulled up on the corners as he warmly smiled and accepted the mug Stussy handed to him before joining the man on the couch.
There are a few sips in silence, accompanied by the tapping of feet against the hardwood.
“I don’t know what to do, Sy.” Emmit breaks the quiet, quickly glancing over and glancing away, as if not wanting to meet Sy’s eyes. “Something just doesn’t… feel right.” As he speaks, Sy is watching the man’s face with his usual puppy-eyed understanding.
“What-“
“With Stella, there’s just…”
“Woah, Woah,” it’s a hushed assertion, and Emmit seems to calm a little at the gesture. “Did something happen? Before she left?”
“No. No, nothing happened. It’s not her, it’s… me.”
As if instinctively, Sy reaches out a hand and rests it on his friend's lap.
“You didn’t do anything, did you?” Sy immediately regrets asking, already knowing Emmit wouldn’t do anything to hurt his wife.
“No, of course not! I just meant, I feel like there’s something wrong with me, you know?”
“There’s nothing wrong with you, Emmit. You’re a leader, a good man. If you’re feeling something off, you can't blame yourself!” Stammering and eyes wandering all about his friend's face, Sy grips on Emmit’s thigh ever so slightly.
It seems like something changes in Emmit’s demeanour, and he softens.
“I’m sorry, I don’t know what…”
“It's okay.” Sy nods a few times as if reassuring himself.
Neither of them speaks for a moment, just soaking in the silence. Eventually, Emmit takes a sip of his cocoa. Sy does too.
Within a few moments, Stussy leans, resting his head on Sy’s shoulder.
Sy doesn’t move.