Stay

21

EVIE

“It’s the most wonderful time of the year…”

Andy Williams plays throughout the mall. There was a hustle all around us of early Christmas shoppers running around buying everything and anything. It reeked of consumerism and materialism, and everyone seemed to be getting high off of it.

Christmas is and will most likely forever be the most talked about and highly anticipated holiday in the Jones household. Every year without fail, both mom and dad go all out. The house is always decorated with every form of Christmas paraphernalia imaginable.

Every year we would drive down towards the local tree farm and picked the best Christmas tree they had. However, once when I was in middle school I had the chicken pox. It was an awful time in my childhood. I don’t think I will ever be able to eat chicken soup without barfing…

That Christmas the family had been too preoccupied with my itchy redness that we had forgotten to buy a tree. It was the day before Christmas Eve that my father realized our predicament and quickly went to the trusty tree farm.

That year was the year I had my very own Charlie Brown Christmas tree. It was a great tree… we weren’t actually able to put any decorations on it because the branches would break, but it was still my favourite tree.

With November ending and December finally here, I had found myself walking aimlessly around Washington Square with a coveted red cup in hand. I bring the warm cup to my lips, smelling the delicious scent of my eggnog latte. Just one of the other many things I loved about this season. Red cups at Starbucks and eggnog everything. Eggnog lattes… eggnog cookies… eggnog cheesecake…

Andy Williams was right… it is the most wonderful time of the year.

“Now, I was thinking we could hit up Sephora first because I really want to pick up a new red lipstick,” mom tells me as she swings our arms back and forth.

“But you already have three red lipsticks,” I retort. “Why do you need another one?”

“Oh dear daughter of mine… have I taught you nothing? Red lipstick is a staple make-up piece! Every woman should have red lipstick in their collections. I just like to have options,” she explains.

“That seems acquisitive. If you already have one lipstick, why buy more?” I enquire.

“Acquisitive? Look at you, sounding all smart. My daughter is so a university student,” she teases and avoiding the question. She reaches out and squeezes my arm with her free hand. “I’m buying another red lipstick.”

I rolled my eyes, sighing because I knew that there was no point in arguing with Estelle Jones. If Estelle Jones wanted to have twenty shades of red lipstick, then Estelle Jones is going to have it.

“Fine… where after?”

“Then I was thinking we could hit up Nordstrom and smell all of their Diptyque candles. Why do we only smell them, you ask? Well you see, your father will be asking you what to get me for Christmas…”

“Because he does every year…”

“Exactly- this is why I am going to smell all of the candles that they have and tell you which three are my favourites. Then you will proceed to tell your father which ones I like and he will then go to the mall. But once he gets here he will forget where we told him go, become frustrated, give up and end up buying me a gift card to the mall so that I can buy them myself. This will then equal to me coming back to Nordstrom and buying all three,” she quickly explains.