Chapter 11ANOTHER HOLIDAY TAINTED BY DISCORD
Snow covered the frozen ground on Christmas Eve and crystal-pointed icicles hung menacingly from the porch roof. The bare trees in the backwoods looked like icy skeletons.
Despite their long-standing conflicts, the Taylor family always celebrated Christmas together. Uncle Tommy, Aunt Hattie, and their two children joined Uncle Walter, Grandma, and Ivy at 4120 on Christmas Eve, like every year.
Grandma supervised as Uncle Walter carried the tree base and Ivy held the evergreen’s top. The rest of the family watched as they ceremoniously marched the fully decorated white-flocked tree down the attic stairs. They unwrapped the white bed sheet covering the tree. It was already fully decorated, with bird ornaments dangling from the branches. They pl
