The Compromise Tree

Now

“Coming down!” I yell through the small opening in the ceiling.

“Okay, let go. I’ve got it.” I feel Dean catch the weight of the box as I balance it on the pull-down ladder to our attic.

I turn to descend myself and sneeze hard, stirring up even more dust. One of these days, I really should drag the shop vac up here and remove a layer or two of dust. It was a knee-jerk thought. There was no way I was going to attempt to drag a shop vac up into the attic.

“You know-” Dean begins in a know-it-all voice.

“Yeah, yeah, if I get rid of the cardboard box and store the tree in a plastic tote we could store it in the basement,” I finish for him.

“Or we could just get a new one" he mutters under his breath.

“Never! That tree is an antique.” I march down the stairs ahead of him, leaving him to wrestle with the box on his own as punishment for such an unseemly suggestion.

I can hear him muttering all the way, but instead of responding and starting our traditional Christmas argument, I take the high road and pretended I don’t hear. I know he hates the old aluminum tree, but for me, it is the heart of Christmas.

Then

Jerry pulls the car up to the curb while I wait with the sales clerk. I watch him jump out and run around to open the trunk, then the two of them wrestle the box into the car. As he snaps the lid shut, I open the door and sit down, adjusting my crinoline under my skirt. Jerry puts a hand on my doorframe and leans down to look at me. "You should have waited." I can tell from the grin on his face that he’s not actually cross.

"You're a true gentleman," I tell him and I lay a gloved hand along his chiseled jaw. To me, he looks just like Troy Donahue and I can’t resist him! He turns his face into my palm and kisses it before he stands up and shuts the door for me. I shudder with a little wave of pleasure.

All the way home, I can't stop talking about how excited I am about our purchase. "Just think! Julie Waverly will be absolutely puce when she sees what you've bought me!" I smile adoringly at my husband. We have been married almost a year and this is our first Christmas in our first home. Everything is going to be perfect and I can't wait to give him my Christmas gift! He’s going to be ecstatic when he finds out he’s going to be a father!

At home, Jerry places the box in the center of the living room floor and opens it. Inside are a number of brown paper tubes with glints of silver sticking out the end and a silver pole full of holes.

"What the hell am I supposed to do with this?" Jerry looks completely flummoxed.

He's not really a hands-on type of guy, so I say gently, "Oh look. Instructions. I'm certain those will have us straightened out in no time!" Jerry pulls out the instructions and I lean over his shoulder to take a look as well.

Now

Dean finishes putting the last of the branches into the holes on the pole and I pull out the color wheel and place it carefully on the floor beneath the tree and plug it in, ready for the magic to happen, but nothing does. "Crap. The lightbulb must have burned out again." I head to the cupboard to get a fresh one but when I screw it in, still, nothing happens.

"Dean, can you take a look at this? The color wheel isn't working."

He looks up from unpacking the ornaments and says "Can't we just use colored lights this year?”

"Dean, please” I wheedle. “It won’t be the same. Mom always had the color wheel under the tree. It wouldn’t look the same without it.” I pull a mock pout just to really press my case. I know he has the skills to bring it back to life, but he needs the incentive. I walk over and slide my arms around him and look up at him through my lashes. “I’ll be really grateful.”

"Fine,” he sighs and drops a kiss on my lips. ”Put it by the garage door, I'll look at it later. Right now, I just want to finish putting up the tree and then get this mess cleaned up."

"You’ve got it, Captain Scrooge!" I step back and mock salute him. I can see a smile tugging at his lips at the old nickname. I take the color wheel to the kitchen and as I come back into the room I say "Why don't we hang twinkle lights around the ceiling instead. Compromise?"

He heaves another sigh and then says "Compromise." I drop a quick kiss on his cheek to let him know I'm grateful and grab some ornaments to start hanging them.

Then

It's Christmas Eve and I'm setting out bowls of nuts and olives while Jerry is supposed to be getting the drink cart in order. I look around and don't see him, but the cart looks ready to go. A moment later he taps me on the shoulder. As I turn, he is holding a large-ish square box, wrapped in Santa Clause paper with a huge bow on top. "Open this tonight." His excitement is catching and I can't help but smile.

"Jerry! What is this? I thought you already got me a gift," I gesture towards the boxes already under the tree.

"I saw this at Sears and I knew you had to have it. Go on, open it!" He's as giddy as a kid in a candy store.

I can't stop grinning as I take the box and plop down on the sofa in a most unladylike manner. My skirt rides up and I’m showing a lot of thigh, but I don’t care I’m so excited. I see his eyes fix on my legs and I catch the lust that rises in them. "That can wait," I tell him coyly and rip the paper off the box.

Under the paper is a brown cardboard box with writing on it. "Penetray Color Wheel? For home and commercial use," I read.

I look up at Jerry and I can only imagine how confused I must look because he starts to laugh and says "It's for the tree!" I must still look confused because he takes the box from me and slices through the tape with an hors d’oeuvres knife from the coffee table.

"Jerry!" I protest but he is now lifting the item out of the box. It's about the size and shape of a small fan. There is a plastic lid that is made up of four colors - red, green, yellow, blue. He walks over to the tree and places it on the floor under the branches, then plugs it into the wall and I hear a small "click". Suddenly, the tree is glowing red! Wait, now it's glowing green! A moment later it changes again to yellow and then blue, then back to red again! I slap a hand over my mouth in shock.

"Isn't it great?" He’s smiling from ear to ear. He is clearly in love with the color wheel. "It really adds something to the tree, don't you think? What will Julie Waverly say when she sees this, huh?” He waggles his eyebrows at me in a Groucho Marx way.

“I’m not certain” I answer honestly. I can’t decide if it adds to the tree or detracts from it. I love the way the aluminum catches the light, but only one side of the tree is lit up and the colors keep changing. I decide after a moment that I am not in love with it, but I don't hate it either, and clearly, it means the world to him, so I nod and say "Jerry, it's perfect!"

Now

"Susan, I swear, I have tried and tried, but I can't get the color wheel to work. It's really and truly dead this time." Dean has just come from the garage. He’s been tinkering with it for a week, so I'm not surprised at this news, but I’m disappointed anyway.

"Damn. Okay. Well, I'll just have to look for a replacement.” If I can find a replacement. My disappointment is palpable and he drops a conciliatory kiss on my cheek and then heads back towards his shop.

I snap the lid of my laptop shut and stand up. "I'm headed to the airport now to pick up mom. See you in a couple of hours" I yell and grab my coat and purse to leave.

***

"Watch your step, mom," I say as I take her elbow to steady her. Dean opens the kitchen door for us. He must have heard the garage door. He helps me get my mother up the step and into the house then he rushes into the garage saying "Wait here" as he goes to get her suitcase out of the car.

"What? Why? Dean, come say hello." I can't believe how he's acting.

"Just wait, okay?"

"Fine. Whatever.” I’m trying hard not to be cranky, but I know how disappointed mom is going to be about the tree and I don't need Dean acting weird too.

“Mom, can I take your coat?" I ask trying to cover the awkwardness.

She shrugs off her outer layer and I look around then, drape it the back of a chair since there's nowhere to hang it.

"Oh sweetie, look at all the decorations! You always do such a beautiful job," she says as she looks around the kitchen.

In addition to the holiday trinkets scattered around the room, we have crisscrossed twinkle lights across the ceiling and hung ornaments from them. It has created a pretty magical touch and I smile as we admire it together.

Dean wrestles the large rolling suitcase through the door and then shuts it behind him. He quickly gives my mom a hug and drops a kiss on her cheek.

“How are you doing Kay? Good flight?" and without waiting for an answer he says, "Okay, come with me," grabbing my hand and leading me toward the living room. I look back at my mother and give her the "my husband has lost his mind” look. She chuckles softly and follows along behind us.

I hear her gasp and my jaw drops as we both catch sight of the tree. Dean has threaded colored twinkle lights through the branches of the old aluminum tree and it is positively glowing.

"Oh, Susan! It's stunning! Really stunning!” My mother sounds almost joyous. “I'm so glad you finally stopped using that old color wheel!"

I turn my stunned look from the tree and point it at her instead. "But, I thought you loved the color wheel.” I am so confused.

"Oh, no Susan, that color wheel was all your father. The same year we bought the tree, he saw the color wheel displayed at a department store and decided we had to have it. He gave it to me as a Christmas gift. He was so proud of himself. I wasn't really a fan of how it looked, but we were young and it was our first Christmas together. I couldn't stand the idea of hurting him by saying I didn't really like it."

I’m touched by this example of how much my parents must have cared for each other but I can’t help replying "But, you used it every year. My entire childhood! I can't remember a Christmas without it." I am having trouble readjusting my memories to this new information.

"Well, of course, I did. I loved your father very much and I enjoyed making him happy." She beams at us, proud of her ability to have been a good wife.

Dean walks over and lays a hand on my shoulder and says “Well, I guess you don’t have to worry about replacing the color wheel now.” I turn to look at him and I don’t know what my face is saying, but he quickly back peddles and says “I swear Susan, it wasn't fixable. And I really like how the tree looks without it. I promise to never give you a hard time about the tree again if you promise not to replace the color wheel.” He holds out his hand as if to shake on a business deal and I consider for a moment.

“Compromise?” I ask.

“Compromise,” He says. And I take his hand and then pull him down for a kiss.