Catalogued Memories

Catalogued Memories

“Every year…every year, and I miss it.” Ed shook his head. “And now look at us. There’s just no spirit in it this year.”

“Ed, dear, what are you talking about? And shaking your head like that? You told me you had a wonderful day. Now you look like you lost your best friend. Supper’s ready, come sit down and eat.” Emily set the dish of mashed potatoes by the roast she had prepared for supper. “Now tell me what’s troubling you, dear.”

“Oh, it’s really nothing, Just an old man lost in the olden days. But tell me this, Em, when was the last time you saw a Sears Catalogue or an Eaton’s Catalogue? Here we are, stuck in the house with each other - that didn’t come out right - I love being ‘stuck’ with you. We’ve been at each other’s side for, what is it? 61 years?” Ed helped himself to a little of everything, adding an extra spoon of mashed potatoes and Emily’s delicious gravy. 

Emily folded her napkin on her lap. “Well, let me see. We always got the Sears Catalogue. My girlfriend on the other side of town got the Eaton’s Catalogue. We’d sneak them out of the house and meet at the skating rink. We did take our skates with us, but it was just for show. We’d get some hot chocolate on the curling rink side, sit at one of the corner tables and make our Christmas lists. She was my best friend and, I’m ashamed to say, we lost track of each other. But I remember those times at the skating rink. Now, we just go online and order whatever we like. We can send it, with out even seeing it, wherever we like.”

“You’d better eat your supper, Em. It’ll be getting cold” Ed chuckled as he swiped up the last strips of gravy on his plate with his bread. “It didn’t take you long to get lost in the olden days. You and your friend probably looked at all the pretty dresses and shoes…..”

“And the jewellery. Diamonds and emeralds and rubies that our parents never could afford. Too fancy for small town wear!”  Emily returned to her plate, a smile on her face. 

~~~~~

Supper over and the dishwasher washing, Ed and Emily had retired to the living room with their coffee. They pulled out old family photo albums of Christmas’s past ~ old black and white photos their youth, coloured pictures of their children growing up. If anyone was listening, they would have heard laughter and crying, whispers and shouts of joy. “Do you remember that, Ed?"  “Oh my, my - look at you, Em. The year you were Mrs. Santa Claus because Santa Claus was down with the flu.” Ed smiled and kissed his wife. “And here we are still waiting for a delivery man to come bringing Christmas presents to be wrapped. Even without our old paper catalogues - but they were so much more fun.”  Emily nestled her head on his shoulder, one arm around her as they kept paging through an album. “We may be stuck here together, Edward, but we’ve seen a lot of life.”

“The past beats inside me like a second heart.”

 ~ John Banville, The Sea