Accident Prone - Becoming Human

A Blue Christmas Without You

Staring at the newly purchased artificial Christmas tree with an odd sense of wonder, Connor stood idle and eyed the bare green branches with a strange need to cover them in brightly colored lights and various ornaments as if the urge was a natural part of his programming. Curiously Sumo sniffed at the new tree with a wagging tail and Connor wisely grabbed the large dog by the collar to lead him outside in the backyard for a few minutes to ensure no 'accidents' befell the poor tree. As Connor returned to the livingroom to resume his task Hank stepped out of the laundry room connected to the kitchen with a freshly washed red tinted tree-skirt in his arms.

The two detective hadn't splurged for any new decorations for the tree yet and agreed to take things slowly. It'd be best to start with the tree and making it look presentable, then if they still wanted to celebrate Christmas in a more elaborate way they'd return to the store together.

"Put this under the tree." Hank instructed as he handed the bundle of washed fabric to the deviant before he resumed his place before the tree to admire it and preconstruct how it might look once decorated. "It'll cover up the metal stand and make it look nicer."

Connor unfolded the round shaped skirt and knelt down on the floor to smooth it out evenly around the base of the tree to hide the dark green metal stand holding the tree itself upright. The age of the skirt was evident but it didn't make it any less decorative or pleasant to look at.

"This is very old." Running a scan over the material Connor discovered that the skirt was composed of pure cotton and thread that dated back to the 1960's. "A family heirloom?"

"Yeah, it belonged to my grandmother and she gave it to my mom." Hank pointed out the several names that had been embroidered with gold tinted thread that were just as old as the skirt itself and some names as young as twelve-years-old. "We were always a small family but she wanted to start a tradition where the family would add the names of every member with each passing generation. Being an only child I inherited it after my mom passed away, and then after I lost... Well, you know."

"You put it into storage for safekeeping." Standing up slowly Connor took a step back and eyed the names that had been sewn into the fabric neatly and almost perfectly by hand: Sophia and Harold - Hank's maternal grandparents, Patricia and Lucas - Hank's parents, 'Henry' - Hank's full name, Barbara and Cole - Hank's late wife and late firstborn son. "The craftsmanship in the design is exemplary. Was it taken to a professional seamstress to be embroidered?"

"No. My grandma put in the names by hand, then taught my mother how to sew. When the time came Barb managed to carry on the legacy our first Christmas together as a married couple and then did it again for Cole's first Christmas."

"The concept of family traditions is intriguing. It's as if the human mind compulsively needs to obey archaic rituals for a sense of grounding."

"Yeah, and one of the most common family traditions is the annual breaking of every damn glass ornament in the box." Motioning toward the laundry room with his thumb over his shoulder Hank let Connor know the condition of the other decorations. "Only a handful survived being in storage for so many years and I didn't keep any of the lights."

"I believe now would be the most opportune time to locate new ornaments and lights for the tree."

"How do you figure?"

"The area schools are still operational which means the parents will be in toy stores purchasing gifts for their children. Other stores will be less crowded until approximately three twenty four this afternoon."

"You're sure you want to go back out and buy more stuff?"

"Yes. I... I want to learn more about holidays and celebrations."