Reggie was still impressed. “Wow,” he said, stepping beneath the arbor. He peered at the pine branches above us. “Is that real pine?” I was about to tell him that my aunt wouldn’t be caught dead decorating with fake foliage when he reached up and snapped off a handful of pine needles—and popped them in his mouth. “Gross,” he muttered, shuddering a little, before spitting them out into his hand. He glared at them like they’d just hit his dog with their car. I stared at him, incredulous. “Of course it’s gross.” Was this man an eight-year-old child? “Why the hell did you just try and eat them?”