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 Posted: Fri Dec 27, 2024 5:02 pm
Quote: Sounds of the Season (9) : Seasonal songs play constantly this time of the year, and between old classics and new hits, there’s always something for everyone on the quest for Holiday cheer. One song, more than all the rest, is hitting hard. It’s catchy and festive and even though you’ve heard it a hundred times, it’s still exciting whenever it comes on again. Something about this song fills you with such joy and merriment that it’s almost impossible to resist the urge to spontaneously dance or sing along with it. There’s something magical about it; it’s an instant mood lifter and can make even the chilliest winter days feel a little warmer.
The twelve-inch Captain America that Berlin had found at Goodwill had been a pure stroke of luck, honestly. For one thing, he was big enough to work as a cool display piece, since a lot of people didn’t think that dolls or action figures were cool or socially acceptable, past a certain age. The mechanic Berlin had in mind to gift this project to, he probably wasn’t that much older than Berlin? Maybe a couple years older? But he’d had some serious Cool, Slightly But Endearingly Douchey Older Brother energy about him that had made it seem like he might’ve been the type to not be super into an action figure that was too small. Further proof of Berlin’s good luck, this specific Cap had come with his little hood off, showcasing features that had very clearly been modeled after Chris Evans’s.
On top of that, the hair wasn’t stitched-in wig hair. Yes, Berlin had to strip off the blonde paint and redo it with a few mixed layers that created the right shade of bright, gingery red……but, like, he was already repainting the entire body anyway, right? Fixing up the doll’s hair color was nothing, compared to cleaning off all the red, white, and blue paint—and saying a prayer of gratitude to whatever angel or demon was watching over him that all of Cap’s stars and stripes hadn’t been molded on the body—and then repainting everything so he looked like he was wearing a tight, white t-shirt, a belt of mechanic’s tools, and the grayish-green pants that went with the jumpsuits that they wore at the shop where Berlin’s parents took their vintage cars if anything needed fixing.
To cap things off, Berlin had quickly stitched together a little jumpsuit top, complete with artfully tousled, rolled up sleeves and a little name-badge embroidered with the name Emmett.
Which was arguably way more work than was entirely necessary under the circumstances, but……oh, well. Emmett down at the shop had really come through for Berlin over the summer, and even if nobody else thought this kind of gift was sensible, Berlin didn’t care. After he’d finished up his work on the customization job and wrapped it up in a sparkly green bag, Berlin had thrown on some warm fleece leggings and a cute little skirt. He bounced into the shop, all bright and cheerful and not seeming entirely aware of the reality of his situation—but, like, “Last Christmas” was playing on the radio? Who didn’t love this song?
“Hey,” he said warmly, when the guy at the front desk got to him, “is Emmett Mahoney on shift today?”
……Maybe Berlin should’ve called ahead to check on that ahead of time, he abruptly realized. But……oh, well. He hadn’t. And apparently, Emmett was on shift, based on the guy telling another mechanic to send Emmett up front, so…… Berlin thought this all worked out perfectly. Freeing up space for the front desk guy to see other customers, he leaned against the wall, where he could bob his head and hum along with the song, while waiting patiently for the guy he was here to see.
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Posted: Sun Dec 29, 2024 3:28 pm
Emmett grunted, spinning the tire iron in his hands until the lug nut was nice and tight on the wheel. Sighing, he leaned against the car he'd been working on for a long moment, just taking a short break to breathe and re-center himself. Figuring out what was wrong with this one had been a headache and a half—at least a tire rotation was easy. He finished lowering the vehicle and stood, leaning back and groaning as his spine popped several times. He really needed a lunch break. Of course, it was at that moment that another mechanic told him he was needed up front, and he bit back a groan of frustration. So much for that. He took a few minutes to at least clean up a little in the small basin by the entryway between garage and front desk, scrubbing at his hands and face until he felt like he could talk to another human being professionally. "Hey, Emmett, what'd you mess up this time?" Charlie, the desk guy razzed as he came in. "Your mom," he shot back without thinking, rolling his eyes. "Damn, didn't know you were a necrophiliac," came the reply, and Emmett sighed. "Sorry about that," he said to Berlin, nodding to Charlie. "Some people forget how we should talk to each other in front of customers." Charlie shrugged, unrepentant, and Emmett ignored him, looking back at Berlin. "So what can I do for you? Wait. I know you. You're the guy with the vintage Jag!" he exclaimed, a hand going to his hip as he shifted his stance a little. "Oh, no, don't tell me something did go wrong with it! She's a beautiful little thing."
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Posted: Sun Dec 29, 2024 3:39 pm
By the time Emmett made his way up to the lobby, the song had since shifted away from “Last Christmas” and onto the Burl Ives version of “Holly Jolly Christmas” from the Rankin-Bass Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Berlin, however, remained bobbing his head in time to the Wham! song that had just switched off. He was so wrapped up in enjoying a song that wasn’t playing anymore—really!! it was a perfect holiday song!! anybody who said otherwise clearly didn’t appreciate good music!!—that he almost missed Emmett talking to him.
Fortunately, Berlin heard enough and could rush to reassuringly shake his head. “Oh, no, no, it’s nothing with the Jag! She’s doing great—I don’t think anybody’s ever fixed her up as well as you have before.” Pushing himself off the wall, he came closer to Emmett and smiled. “It—I know it was just a job and all? But it was a huge relief that you took such good care of her, and……I know it’s been a while? But it’s the holidays, and I was thinking about people for holiday reasons, and it really meant a lot to me that you fixed up the Jag and let me know that I didn’t break anything on her?”
He held up the sparkly green bag, proffering it toward the significantly taller man. “I don’t know what you celebrate? But……happy that. And if you don’t, then just……thank you?”
In addition to the customized doll, Emmett would find an envelope that contained a card and $200 cash, in twenties. Berlin had already given him a tip back when Emmett had originally worked on his parents’ vintage Jaguar, but……he figured it didn’t hurt to provide an extra tip, right?
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Posted: Sun Dec 29, 2024 3:53 pm
Emmett snorted a little when he realized that the guy—Berlin, if he remembered the name right—had been really into the Christmas music. Definitely not his kind of thing—he liked Christmas, but when it seemed like every radio station, grocery store, and shopping mall had the same six songs on loop? He wanted to strangle someone. At least they had a stereo in the back with good ol' CDs. Physical media couldn't let you down in the same way a human DJ could. "For real, man, I was just doing my job," he assured Berlin, taking the little bag anyway. "The Jag was a pleasure to work on. I'm glad to hear she's runnin' smooth. I would hate to see anything bad happen to her." He opened the bag and shifted the tissue paper, finding the envelope and the figure. He stared at it for a long moment, putting the now empty bag on the counter. "Are you serious? Did you make this? Or special order it or something? Dude. I look like a superhero or something," he said, carefully spinning the figure in his hands to get a good look at all angles. "A really hot superhero. Dude, I'm just your car guy, this is insane."
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Posted: Sun Dec 29, 2024 4:29 pm
Watching Emmett’s face light up as he found the figure, Berlin got the rush of warmth and pride that always came when he gifted somebody a custom and they liked it. There was always the risk that they wouldn’t, that Berlin would have put in so much work only to have made something that the recipient would feel was more of a burden than a gift. So, getting to watch a reaction like Emmett’s—getting to see somebody so genuinely touched by and appreciative of one of his customs—always made him smile.
“Yeah, I make customs,” Berlin said brightly. “I usually work on different kinds of figures? But I got a lucky find with a Captain America figure that I thought would work really well as a base for you.” He could just leave off the part where he mostly worked on My Little Pony figures, for now. People could get very weird (negative) about that sometimes. And Berlin hoped that Emmett wouldn’t be that sort of person, but you never know. With a shrug, Berlin added, “I know I didn’t have to or anything? But I really was terrified that I’d broken the Jag somehow while borrowing it and I really appreciated your hard work on her. So……I just wanted to do something.”
He could just……not mention the envelope. Emmett would find it sooner or later, and making a big thing out of a gift sort of undermined the idea of it being for the other person’s benefit rather than for your own.
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Posted: Sun Dec 29, 2024 5:02 pm
"That is seriously cool," Emmett said, impressed. "You didn't have to. But I love it. I look good." He laughed a little, ignoring whatever dumb face Charlie was making at him as he set the figure on the counter and opened the envelope. "No," he said almost immediately. Emmett was a selfish b*****d. He liked money. Normally, he'd never turn it down. But after receiving that lovely figure, which must have taken far more hours of work than Emmett even put into Berlin's car, he wouldn't take advantage of Berlin's kindness. He handed the envelope back to Berlin. "Look, you already gave me plenty. Don't do this," Emmett said firmly.
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Posted: Sun Dec 29, 2024 5:08 pm
“Don’t think of it as a gift for you, then.” Berlin held up a hand and mimed pushing back by way of indicating that no, he was not going to take the money back. “Treat somebody you love to a nice dinner out or something. Or in, I don’t know, maybe they don’t like going out?”
He shrugged, but gave Emmett an insistent smile. “It’s Christmas, right? Use the money for someone else.”
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