Through Her Eyes (JenLisa)

Christmas Memories

It was enough. Things were good.

"Christmas special," Lisa mumbled, flipping through television stations at impressive speed. "Christmas special, Christmas special, Christmas music, How the Grinch Saved Christmas..."

Lisa paused her channel surfing, eyebrows furrowed disapprovingly. The furry green creature on the screen was giving a small child a hug. "How the Grinch Saved Christmas? That's bullshit. The Grinch is supposed to destroy Christmas. That's why he's the Grinch!"

Jennie poked her nose out from her cocoon of fuzzy blankets, giving Lisa a curious look. "Why?" she asked, yawning and cuddling against the side of the couch, poking Lisa's knee with her socked foot.

Now that December had come it was a free for all on Christmas cheer. The only shows that seemed to be on anymore were reruns of past years' Christmas specials. Lisa's neighbors had started setting out big, inflatable Santas and glowing reindeer on their lawns.

At Cocoa's, Lisa and Jisoo had been forced to hang wreaths and lights and flimsy paper cutouts of snowflakes to be more festive. She'd hung the wreaths crooked and tossed all the lights onto one dead houseplant in hopes that it might catch on fire, to indicate what she thought of 'festive'. Jisoo never tried to stop her.

Even the wildlife looked like it was trying to join in. Granted, trees were generally green, but lately Lisa thought they looked a little too green.

"Why?" Lisa repeated, stroking Jennie's sock covered foot idly. "Because he's the Grinch, Nini. Don't you know the Grinch? He stole Christmas!" Lisa frowned. "And then he gave it back, I guess, but I really thought the movie lost its integrity in the second half."

Jennie snuffled softly and wiggled further down on the couch, taking her cocoon with her, to give Lisa better access for foot rubbing. Lisa obediently rubbed harder. "Want me to take your sock off?" she asked. When Jennie mumbled something agreeable, Lisa removed the silly, fluffy thing, tossing it aside and tickling the sole of Jennie's foot. Jennie gave the same funny, high-pitched giggle she always did when Lisa resorted to tickling.

"The Grinch is my favorite holiday icon," Lisa continued, going back to simple stroking before Jennie kicked her. "He's badass, he's realistic. And now, look." Lisa pointed to the television in disgust. "They made him into a cuddly green bunny!"

"I like cuddly bunnies," Jennie said, poking Lisa in the stomach with her toe.

"It's the principle of the thing," Lisa insisted. "Didn't you ever watch the original movie?"

Jennie hummed, sinking down further into her cocoon, so Lisa could only see her eyes, fluttering shut sleepily and taking longer to open again each time. "Yes," she mumbled in a tone that Lisa had come to learn actually meant, 'I have no idea what you're talking about you crazy, crazy person but I will agree with you anyway because I am also a crazy, crazy person.'

"Okay," Lisa said, voice quieting automatically as Jennie's eyes stayed shut. "We'll watch it tomorrow."

Jennie mumbled a sleepy thing, curling up tighter. Lisa stroked her ankle once before reaching down to find the fuzzy sock and pull it back over Jennie's bare foot.

——-

Jennie was impressed with the movie. She talked in rhymes all day, mimicking from the characters and making up her own as she went.

"You're way too excited," Lisa teased as Jennie sang a song about Whos from Whoville. Jennie flailed about the room in what she probably considered dancing. Lisa tried and failed to suppress a smile. "Bah, Humbug."