Christmas Scams
A while back, Dennis assured me that if something happened to him, he owes Carrie money and that his money would be in an envelope in his jewelry box. I never gave it another thought.
Carrie’s family didn’t make it on the Sunday after Thanksgiving due to the weather. We set the date to the 16th, a Sunday. As always I was busy the week before making sure I had everything on hand and done.
It was great having everyone tramp into the house. Dennis’ orders “shoes stay on.” Our driveway was clear of snow and ice. Jeremy set about helping me in the kitchen. My two oven dishes were done, perfect timing for them to have arrived at noon.
I had not visited with anyone first hand since early summer. One by one I was able to ask questions and find out what had been going on. It’s not unusual for Megan and Nicholas to check out the patio porch to visit Harriet and Snuggles. I was eavesdropping on what Jeremy and Dennis were visiting about.
Without me realizing it, the kids were back in the house and I had a huge gift-wrapped box set in front of me. Dennis piped up “Merry Christmas Grammie, I bought you a present, and . . . you can open it now. Wait a minute, just where have you gone shopping, was my reply. Smirk, smirk. Go on . . . open it. Getting help from the kids with the wrapping paper and getting the box, I finally got a peek inside. There were multiple layers. First thing out of the box was a beautiful jacket, next came a knit top and last . . . a pair of dress pants. I was over-whelmed. Right across the table from me was Dennis with a grin from ear to ear. “I can still pull one over on you.” Yes he had.
When Dennis had gone out to the patio porch to have a cigarette feeling very smug, I was looking for more clarification. Carrie said one evening she got a call from Dennis and he was very clear in his request. The end result was that I would have a very nice “pant suit” as I had not shopped for clothes for a long time. He had apparently re-iterated “pant suit.”
I believe the last awareness that Dennis had even given a thought to about women’s clothing was the era of “pant suits.” And . . . when was that era?
I gave Carrie a lot of credit for not correcting or suggesting anything other than his request for a “pant suit.” She pulled off just what Dennis had asked for with perhaps a bit of a twist that he would not pick up on. Bless the ole cowboy. I had not realized that Dennis and Carrie had been in a huddle while I was in the kitchen. It truly was a surprise. Sweet.
The moral to the story: when Dennis is in his rocking chair with Snuggles on his lap in the patio porch there is mucky, mucking asunder, also known as Christmas scams.
With that I will take my leave. ♥