Christmas

Bottle brush tree. Yep. That's what your pathetic little Christmas tree looked like; green bottle brushes pretending to be pine branches sprawling from a painted green wooden trunk. We forced the twisted coat-hanger like wire stems into drilled, angled holes that circled the trunk. Working from the bottom up, I can still feel the grimy, prickly, off-balance twigs as we struggled to get the staggered lengths into the correct rows.

And then you would bring out your prized 1950's glass ball ornaments to hang ever-so-proudly on those pitiful branches. How I teased you over your tree and ornaments. Move over garage sale pink, green, and navy blue. Here are some much nicer Hallmark ornaments. There. That looks better. Ha, not by much, really.

Remember when C.J. was just a toddler and twice he pulled the Christmas tree down, breaking several of your ornaments? At that time, he was afraid of the vacuum cleaner. Wouldn't go near it. So I positioned the vacuum on one side of the tree and snaked the hose around the front to the other side. It was the perfect barrier. He didn't go near the tree again that year.

We celebrated eight Christmases together, if you count the one in 1981 when we first started dating. I was working at the t-shirt shop at the mall. I looked up from pressing a transfer onto a shirt and there you were. You had a sheepish look on your face as you looked at a wall that was covered with transfer designs. I blushed. You caught my eye and smiled. You said you were at the mall to do some last minute Christmas shopping. We talked for a little bit and then you left.

A couple of days later you called and asked if I would like to go for a drive to look at Christmas decorations. It was dark out when you picked me up in your light blue Buick Century with white interior. The car was about ten years old, but was spotless and smelled new. You brought your camera along and we took pictures of decorated houses. It was really cold that night, but we had fun.

That Christmas I gave you some batteries for your camera. You bought a little something for me too, though I don't recall now what it was. It was unexpected that we each bought a gift for the other as we hadn't yet begun to date. Each having been through a divorce that year, we were feeling cautious. But it was becoming apparent that a mutual attraction was developing.

This year when I take out the holiday decorations, I will see your vintage ornaments nestled in their packing. I will think of you and the Christmases we spent together, and smile.