Standard Disclaimer: I own nothing and make no profit. "Peter Gunn" was created by Blake Edwards and produced by Spartan Productions.
A/N: This is a series of short Christmas-themed ficlets involving Peter Gunn and Edie Hart. All the action takes place during December 1960. There will be 31 entries, one for each day of the month.
Christmas Traditions: 1960
• Friday, December 2
Peter Gunn released a deep sigh, hoping it was mostly in his mind and not loud enough for Edie Hart to hear from where she stood at the other side of the living room. They had chosen to place the Christmas tree in the corner between the fireplace and the big glass doors leading out to the small patio. The Fraser fir, a masterpiece of dark green with a shimmer of silvery light green throughout, embraced the airy space with its outstretched branches and woodsy aroma. Unfortunately it preferred a rightward tilt in the tree stand.
"How's that?" He waited for another set of instructions – something in the way of "turn it a little more to the right and lean it forward about two inches... now tilt it to the left... maybe if you fan out the branches, it looks thinner than it did at the Christmas tree lot... move it another six inches toward the fireplace..." – but they never came.
"It's perfect!" Edie smiled delightedly. She crossed the room and slipped her arm around the PI's waist, her other hand coming to rest on his chest.
"You're sure?" Pete raised a skeptical eyebrow.
"Of course I'm sure. Why wouldn't I be sure? It's perfect, honey."
"It was also perfect an hour ago," Pete teased. "And two hours ago after I lugged it in from the laundry room and set it up over by the coffee bar." He rubbed his left side and winced and uttered an almost convincing groan of pain. "I think I feel a hernia coming on."
"Idiot." She poked him in the same spot. "Come on. Let's start on the decorations."
Earlier that morning following breakfast at Stanley's, a favorite diner just up the street from the apartment, they'd headed for Chadwick's, arriving just as the large department store opened. They had quickly found the Christmas tree stand they needed, as well as a green and red tree skirt, a big package of tinsel, several boxes of multicolored lights, an angel tree topper and a box of hooks to hang the ornaments. The only thing they hadn't found was individual ornaments. Boxes of six, ten, twelve, and even twenty-four shiny balls were abundant, but no single items. They ended up getting those at a small mom-and-pop store located at the north end of River Street. Now all the decorations, both old and new, were laid out on the sofa, each item awaiting its place on the tree.
Pete managed to get the multiple strings of lights wrapped around the top of the tall fir with a little help from Edie, and around the bottom with more help than he wanted from Thomas. The little feline, which Pete had given to Edie more than two years prior, had suddenly appeared from nowhere at the rustle of shopping bags and packing paper. After providing all the aid he deemed necessary he crawled into an empty box and promptly went back to sleep.
Edie plugged in the lights and they waited with baited breath for the big bulbs to come to life, Pete mentally kicking himself for not testing them beforehand. They flickered briefly, and then again, then finally stayed on, the blue, yellow, orange, green, red and white colors brightening the room.
Their personal ornaments were hung next, each piece finding the ideal bough in which to nestle or from which to dangle. For the most part the couple worked in companionable silence. If a bauble had a backstory – who it had originally belonged to, who had gifted it, why it had been purchased – it was related in muted conversation, evoking memories of bygone days.
"Every year Mama bought one new ornament for me and one for Jeff, until each of us was twelve years old." Edie held up a small lamb for Pete to see, its white paint fading to reveal silvered aluminum. "She got this for my first Christmas." She slipped a hook into place and attached the decoration to an upper branch.
"This one belonged to my Grandma Rose." Pete showed her a multicolored bird made from handblown mercury glass. "Pop's brother Benjamin gave it to her for Christmas in 1917, just before he shipped out to France. He was killed in the Battle of Belleau Wood. He's still over there, buried at the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery." His lips tilted in a half smile as he clipped the ornament to a sturdy twig. "Pop says I resemble him but I wouldn't know."
"That's so sad, Pete," Edie murmured.
"I'm told he was a very handsome young man," the PI teased, attempting to lighten the mood.
"You know that's not what I meant."
"I know. Here – "
Pete grabbed up the items they'd purchased at the mom-and-pop store, three small boxes, two slightly smaller than the third. He picked one and handed it to her, watching as she lifted the lid and carefully removed a deep red, spherical glass ornament. On one side – if a round object had sides – was a pastoral scene of cedar trees, snowflakes and a bright star, the images stenciled on with a frosty substance that resembled snow. On the other side was one word stenciled in the same manner. JOY. Edie had chosen it to represent their first Christmas. Short as their time together had been that Christmas, it had been joy-filled.
The second box held a similar ornament in a dark blue matte color. One side featured two lit candles embraced by a cluster of holly leaves. The opposite side proclaimed the word HOPE. They had chosen it together to represent the Christmas that never was.
At Edie's urging Pete had selected the decoration for this year. After much deliberation he picked a cone-shaped Santa Claus bell made of porcelain. Santa held a sign that read 'Merry Christmas' and the bell had an actual ceramic clapper that allowed it to be rung. And completely by happenstance he discovered Mrs. Claus on a shelf nearby. She held a sign proclaiming 'Peace and Goodwill'. As the proprietor had gently wrapped them in newspaper to fit into one larger box, Edie had asked Pete why he decided to get both. He'd winked and somberly replied, "They'd be lost without each other. Just like I'd be lost without you."
Pete looked on as Edie almost reverently placed the ornaments in what she declared were their perfect spots on the tree, making sure Mr. and Mrs. Claus were next to each other. Afterwards he placed the topper on the uppermost twig that extended vertically toward the ceiling and then together they tossed the silver tinsel to fall lightly among the branches. Finally they stepped back to admire a new Christmas tradition.
"Merry Christmas, dear heart."
Edie leaned back into her lover's embrace, his arms encircling her waist from behind as he placed a kiss in the gentle curve between her neck and shoulder.
"Merry Christmas, Pete..."
