O Night Divine

A couple of weeks ago, my critique group went to a restaurant for a holiday dinner instead of having a regularly scheduled critique session. We had a difficult time finding a mutually accessible date, due to the Black Hole of December, but we did. We had a lovely time.

We also scheduled the Friday-before-Christmas for our second critique session of the month. Christmas Cactus
wanted us to come to her house and see her tree. She bribed us with promises of homemade pierogi. And, after weeks of intense family time, particularly 7 nights of Chanukka, I was ready. But poor Christmas Cactus hurt her back, and pierogi are a physical-labor-intensive treat. The menu changed to take-out pizza and wings.

The rest of us chipped in with treats: a tray of fresh veggies with dip; homemade Italian Christmas cookies; sausage dip (a/k/a heart attack in a bowl); hummus and multi-grain crackers; and of course, Cactus's favorite ice cream, a limited-edition flavor that comes out only every couple of years, and even then is almost impossible to find. The Queen-A-Athena has the best luck and showed up with four half gallons of Perry's Zero Visability. Our evening had turned into a second holiday gathering.

We sat in Cactus's living room, in front of her gorgeous tree, sipping wine and enjoying the calm. Scented candles, a crackling fire, soft holiday music in the background, and much laughter: all of the ingredients for a perfect evening were there.

Sir Cactus arrived with the main course. We adjourned to the dining room, where Cactus had gone all out with her holly-festooned china, gold flatware, and a center piece of a small artificial tree bedecked with her grandmother's costume jewelry. Stunning. We laughed, we ate, we drank lots of hot tea, and three of us actually read something.

After cleaning the dining room, we returned to the living room. More talk, more laughter. Laughter until it pained my bronchitis-wracked ribcage.

The scene was like something out of a movie. A good movie. Since my life most often resembles one of National Lampoon's "vacation" movies, I basked in the ambience. I didn't want to leave.

It was indeed a holy night.