This was written for the blog challenge on my space – posting it here – as it is a nice Christmas story. After I read what I wrote, it reminded me of Christmases past when we did get together with friends
This past week a bunch of us got together, as we usually do at this time of year, to catch up on current events in our lives, and reminisce about the past. This year the event was held at Peter’s house, a medium sized two storey home right here in London. Fortunately, we live in London so no travel involved - bonus! We are a group of former graduate students who somehow manage to keep in touch through the years and even though we are scattered to the winds, all over Canada, the U.S and old stodgy Mel over in the UK, some, if not all, of us arrange to get together during the Christmas holiday. Many of the group teach at university and enjoy long Christmas breaks.
The importance of maintaining this community is demonstrated by the fact that no matter where the annual meeting is held, we all manage to show up, or at least make our best effort to attend. On occasion several groups will meet in different locations and then do a tele conference so we can all speak to each other .regardless of where we are
We could barely get our foot in the door before Peter dragged us over to the Christmas tree urging us to admire it .He beamed with pride. It was a beauty all right - no fake tree for this man!! An 8 foot tree, green and well adorned with family mementos, some of which dated back to his grandfather’s day when he came to Canada from Malta bringing heirloom Christmas decorations with him to his new home
The evening was crisp, not overly cold, snow was on the ground, left over from the 4 foot dumping two weeks ago, but the roads were cleared and travel wasn’t a problem.
The house smelled of apple cider, cinnamon and evergreen. The buffet table was laden with a turkey, ham, cheeses, vegetables, sweet potato, mashed potato, Jello surprise and salads; in other words more food than we could eat. Desserts were pumpkin pies, blueberry (fresh frozen from the summer), apple and cherry. There might have been a coconut cream and a key lime pie thrown in just for variety
As everyone arrived they would look around to see who was in attendance and who might be missing.
This year we bemoaned the fact that Mel could not make it as he was stuck in Europe, due to severe weather conditions prohibiting flights from coming and going
After we settled into comfortable chairs, with beverage at hand, and snacks close by the conversation continued as if we had all been together just the week before, not the year before.
With all the weather talk - our recent record snowfall and the severe weather in Europe, Brad reminded us of the Christmas of 1976. We all remembered that particular Christmas. The group as a whole could not meet that year due to family concerns, deaths, marriages, births, and a number of health issues in our midst. The year is paramount in our minds because in February the blizzard of all blizzards roared into upper new York state and southern Ontario The winds in that storm made 12 drummers drumming sound like a piddly triangle ping That February some of us were scheduled to gather together to make up for the missed Christmas meeting. We never did get together that year.The storm with winds averaging 46-69 mph. tore out windows, iced up the roads and rendered visibility to zero. Yes, we remembered that one all right.
Congregated all around the Christmas tree we heaved a sigh of thanks for the calm evening, a warm house, good food a few steps away and wonderful friends near by.
Geeze it sure is slow here today, thought Gerry.Guess no one wants to buy paint on a Monday morning. At 10 am the paint dept of the Home Depot felt like the forest before the storm.
Just as the thought nested in his mind, Gerry heard voices and foot steps approach. Ah good some poor suckers to sell paint to. Wonder if my game will work today: sell some paint that they don’t want, He practically rubbed his hands in glee.
He watched as the couple walked toward him. Mousey seemed the best way to describe the woman. She looked tired and older than her age, he bet. The manwas a big fellow, not so much tall, but like he worked out a lot; he had a big jovial smile slapped on his face.
Gerry moved forward and introduced himself to the couple, asking how he could help.
The man said, “Good to meet you. We just have to get some paint for the reno for our dining room.†His hand shake felt painful with its hard grip. He told Gerry to call him Chester and pointing dismissively at his wife, “she’s Priscillaâ€.
“Now we know what we want so shouldn’t take up too much of your time.†Chester said. Gerry’s mindgrimaced since he wanted these people to stay as long as possible, otherwise it was going to be a verylong day.
“We want 2 gallons of Teal paintâ€.
Priscilla tugged at Chester’s arm and almost in a whisper said, “we agreed on the Persian Green dearâ€.
“Now, now just leave it to me honey. Our home office looks as good as it does because I picked out all those shades of beige, you knowâ€.
“But Chester, when we looked at the green paint chips, you agreed with me about the Persian. If we go with the Teal we’ll also have to get new carpeting for the roomâ€.
“So, we get new carpeting, big deal. Now just leave this to me†he said with a growl.
Gerry watched this display almost in awe. Oh oh, this may not be as much fun as he had hoped.
“Well let me show you what we’ve got. Our paint here is superior quality and even ourpaint chips appear inthe paint’s true colour.â€
Priscilla and Chester moved over to the paint chip area.
Priscilla pulled out the Persian Green paint chip while Chester grabbed the Teal one.
Priscilla nervously rummaged into her large carry all bag and produced a swatch of carpet.
“Hereâ€, she said to Gerry, “this is the carpet we have in the room now. We just want to re paint the wallsâ€.
Gerry looked at the piece of carpet and privately agreed with her that the Persian would better compliment the carpet.
“Ah, hon, don’t listen to himâ€, Chester almost bellowed, but with a tight smile to convey he meant no threat, “he just sells as much paint as he can to any poor sucker who walks in hereâ€.
Gerry almost belted the guy. How dare he! In fact Gerry had taken courses on colour, paint chemistryand design and indeed did know his paint and what colours worked and which ones didn’t. He took a deep breath and decided to get rid of this asshole as soon as he could. . He did feel sorry for Priscilla though. She must be in her mid 40’s, and he was correct in his earlier thought that she did look much older. Somehow she still managed, in Gerry’s eyes, to look like an abused little girl.
Priscilla looked resigned to letting Chester win - again.
“Ok Sir, just let me go into the store room and pick up 2 gallons of the Teal for youâ€. He did not even go into his usual spiel about selling them primer andbrushes etc as he just wanted this bozo out of his area.
The transaction complete, the couple walked out the door and Gerry breathed a sigh of relief. Better to be bored than deal with people like Chester. Note to self: Get out of retail.
When they reached home, Chester asked what was for lunch? Priscilla told him she had a migraine, and thinking about their future trip to the carpet store did not help her feel better.
That detail she kept to herself.She told Chestershe was going to bed and had lost her appetite for lunch.
Chester found something to eat and had himself a hearty meal. All the while gloating over how he had made it clear to that Gerry guy just who had the upper hand.
Priscilla had an appointment later that afternoon with a patient at the psychiatric clinic where she had her practice.
The patient received the full force of Priscilla’s anger with Chester.
For November, the evening breeze felt warm to the skin, no hint of Winter lurking around the corner getting ready to pounce. Priscilla and Chester serenely walked the two blocks to the local bistro for dinner
Priscilla looked better than she had in a long time. Her lips were not quite so pursed, her shoulders not so tense and she finally switched hair dressers; her hair did not have the usual limp wet towel look. Chester did not appear to be bubbling, like gravy, with anger and he too walked more calmly
Once seated in the restaurant with their drinks, white wine for her, Irish whiskey (single malt) for him, they reminisced about the way they were. “Wasn’t that a movie?†he asked “The Way we Were with Barbra Streisand and Robert Redford?†The memories lit the corners of their minds and just as quickly returned to the present, savoring how their lives had changed.“Remember the time in the paint store?†she asked “Yeah†he said “I should have listened to you about the paint colour for the dining room. You were right.â€â€œ Yes and I should have stood up to you because I knew I was correct†she said with a grin playing on her face.. With a sad smile Chester remembered how he had treated Leeza, the paralegal in his office. “In retrospect I was quite disgusting. She was just doing her job and I had no right to vent my anger on her. Gotta give credit to her though - she stood up to me. The sweaty tension was spilling off her forehead and I could see the tremors in her arm, but goddamn it, she stood her ground! Turns out it was a good thing the managing lawyer saw us and suggested I needed help.†Priscilla butted in,“and it was awful when my boss Deborah told me how the clients had complained about my unprofessional behaviour and then she too suggested I should get help coping. We didn’t ask for advice but they gave it to us anywayâ€
With each of them talking over the other and so animatedly, with hands flying and heads bobbing, the approaching waiter backed off feeling if he got too close to Priscilla and Chester their buoyancy would lift them off their seats and carry the waiter away with them
The surrounding diners smiled at the vivacious couple, totally unaware of the people they no longer were or the people they had become. In earlier circumstances patrons in a restaurant used to glare at Priscilla and Chester as they acted out their anger and frustration on each other
They each twitched their noses, inhaling the wafting aromas from the meals displayed around them and looked around for their waiter to order dinner, salmon for her, steak for him, some things just don’t change
Chester seemed lost in thought as they waited for their meals to arrive. Life is funny he mused, at the same time as we entered group therapy, Priscilla’s sister, Anne, returned to town, with her son, Charles. Was so sad about her husband’s sudden death. And somehow that 6 year old boy suckered me in and I realised I could not be as angry with him as I behaved toward the rest of the world. He was so lonely. And I knew that feeling well.
Priscilla had always protected her younger sister and now the nephew, in seeking a new male role model sets his sights on Chester. No one had just accepted Chester the way Charles did, so unconditionally, with no preconceived notions about him .Chester found all this very perplexing. The child’s innocence totally disarmed Chester
Their salads arrived while they continued to talk. They sure talked a lot these days. Was kinda nice.
“That group therapy was amazingâ€, Priscilla noted, â€now that we know each other’s foibles it makes life so much easier “ . “Insane is what we were, just insaneâ€, Chester blurted. Then he continued, “We had problems with each other, our professions, you as a psychiatrist, me as a lawyer, both stressful occupations - we were alone no friends because who wanted to hang out with two angry people with our insecurities - always needed to be perfect all the time “
Priscilla calmly stated, “Now we can tell each other when we are behaving with anger or like the “old†us and we learned how to handle constructive criticism.â€
They finished their meal and comfortably chatted about trivial matters. They simply chose to forget the past. Memories may be painful and yet what’s too painful to remember we simply choose to forget - wasn’t there a song something like that?
Written for Blogophilia 40.3
Topic: The Way We Were (Hard, 2pts): complete the phrase "Advice is what we ask for...." (Easy, 1pt): include the word 'insane'.
In moments like these, when not only did she think the world a mess, but herself as well; not feeling quite healthy, though not ill either, confused and conflicted about what she wants and what she doesn’t, that inspiration is called upon
Outside, a typical November afternoon: darkly dreary and cold.Indoors feeling too warm, comfortable in her old jeans and sweatshirt, her home comfy clothes,but no way does a window get opened to the cruelty it would bring in
The flu or cold or whatever it was left her feeling tired, as if she had run a marathon in the heated humidity on an urban summer’s day. The sticky discomfort, mental fatigue and emotional languor so deeply felt right through her bones made her question - just what the Hell was she doing?
Stress is one thing but one thing on top of another - the feeling of both feet stuck with crazy glue to the ground making movement impossible. These things just sneak up on you, one day all is fine and the next, knowing the myriad chores that must be done, not able to cope with any of them, even the simplest of tidying up the kitchen, had all become impossible obstacles
She knew at times like these, for they had happened before, many times, she had to busy herself doing something mindless that would lead her away from her life. Her eyes surveyed the surrounding room hoping to fix on something, anything that would distract her sufficiently in order for her focus to return to the†here and nowâ€. Seems a contradiction, to distract in order to focus, but that is the way it works, sometimes.
Her eye glanced at one of the many book shelves. And there on the top were two children’s books, no three actually. She had forgotten about them. One was a large hardcovered brightly coloured Madeline book About the little French girl "In an old house in Paris that was covered in vines, lived twelve little girls in two straight lines ...". She Googled Madeline just for fun and Oh My Goodness the books are still not only in print but as popular as ever. She opens the book noting the childish drawings in the front and recognizes them as her own As a child not only did she read the book - and the others in the series though this one seems the only survivor, but her mother also recited the stories to her. As an adult the subject came up one day and her mother told her that to this day she can recite all the lines to all the books. Turning the pages she remembers the enjoyment the stories gave her. On its own accord, her mouth formed a small smile.
Life seemed so much simpler then
I guess this is what is meant by self soothing, she thought. The mental equivalent of being swaddled up in blankets, cradled in loving arms knowing you and the world are safe and sound.
She will move in a minute or two, get dressed, apply make up, attempt to tame her unruly hair go to the Company dinner and smile, smile as she is expected to.
