Spiral Bound Journal

Holiday Throwbacks

"If you'll give me a couple more minutes, I'll be right down to start the camera. Gotta clean up after the pup."

Gus looked up and craned his neck towards the stairs. "Sounds good, Fiona!"

Dana leaned back in the tan leather armchair. "I'm afraid to ask."

"Same. He does love snow, so he probably rolled around in it for a while. Hopefully he managed to avoid his own shit."

"For everyone's sake, I hope so, too."

Gus pointed to the stocking Dana fiddled with. "I've been meaning to ask first where did you get that stocking, and second, how has it stayed in such good shape?"

"This? A friend of my mom's got her mom to knit this, I think. That's how I remember the story, anyway. Her mom made a lot of Christmas things that have held up incredibly well. Along with this stocking, she made some plush fabric ornaments as well as knit ones. When my dad downsized his Christmas decor, he held onto those ornaments. There's a jack-in-the-box one that's a little off kilter, but it's been wonky for as long as I remember."

"Wow," Gus whispered. "Sounds like this friend's mom must have liked your parents to give them all that stuff."

"You know," Dana replied, "I'm not sure when exactly all these things came into the family. I don't think they were given all at once. It makes me wonder if some of them were given to my mom during her fist marriage."

"Your mom was married more than once?"

"Yeah. I don't know much about her first marriage, other than her ex-husband died a few years before she did. There's a lot I don't know, and I'm not sure I really want to know."

Gus nodded. "I can understand that. Regardless, it still seems like someone thought you and your mom deserved some handmade goodies."

"Sure seems that way, even if I kinda outgrew the Santa phase pretty early. The yarn she found for this thing is practically magical with our it still has a bit of stretch despite being from the 80s."

"I bet. I wonder if Fiona will be able to tell."

Dana bent the stocking in a wave-like fashion. "I dunno. It seems to be out of her wheelhouse decade-wise, but it's worth a shot."

"She'll probably still like it since it's a handmade item."

"That's true."

For a while, Gus and Dana sat in the basement, taking a moment to not talk. Once Fiona finished cleaning up after the dog, she'd be joining them to assist with filming a Christmas video. Indeed, two glasses of water sat a good distance away from the filming equipment so they could refresh their parched throats in between takes. Given the chill in the November air around Chicagoland, the water would at least stay cool for filming. Likewise, the crispness helped conjure up a bit of holiday spirit even though the turkeys had just gone on sale at the grocery stores.

Dana set the stocking on one of the chair's arms and stood up. Since Fiona still seemed to be busy upstairs, Dana figured now was as good of time as any to get some water. The chat with Gus did warm up her vocal cords a bit, but she still felt a teensy bit of fatigue. Just as she finished her sip, she heard footsteps plodding down the stairs.

"Finally," she heard Fiona huff. "I don't know how Chester managed to find mud under the snow, but he did. At least it was only on his paws and legs, so a full bath can wait a bit."

"Makes me glad I only have cats who would need to make a huge effort to get outside," Dana remarked.

Fiona cracked a grin. "You're not wrong. On that note, are you both ready to start filming?"

"I am. I suspect Gus has been ready for a bit."

"Yeah, and now you can tell me about that stocking on camera," Gus chimed in.

"And I'll tell that story at least 15 times before we can all agree on a take."

This got some chuckles out of Fiona. "For not being a YouTuber, you sure know how this works."

"I spend enough time around them," Dana tells her. "I've figured it out over time."

"Fair enough. Well, let's get going."

Dana took that as her cue to set down her water glass and rejoin Gus on the set.