Everyone looks at things from different angles. And depending on the angle – you’ll find either a good or bad side to things. It’s all about how you look at it, how you embrace it, and what you learn from it.
Somewhere in any city – there is a girl that is just like Lily. She’s barely understood by anyone, but that doesn’t take away her optimism. It makes her more excited for whatever the future brings because she knows that somewhere out there – there is more for her.
And that’s part of what makes Lily so special. The people that see her know how special she is and the rest of the world – well they are in for a treat.
December 18th
TRADITIONS ARE MADE TO BE CHANGED
Lily doesn’t have a love story and claims that is okay. She says she doesn’t need one. But hey, everyone needs a love story, even when they don’t realize that they do.
Lily’s always had a fantasy about love – thinking she would fall in love at The Strand. That hasn’t worked out too well, which no shocker here. Her aunt says she’s an old soul, brother says she’s too cool for people her age.
But Lily is just Lily. And sometimes that’s a lot.
See, part of the reason that Lily loves Christmas is that everyone finds love at Christmas. Her grandparents, her parents, her brother – they all found love at Christmas. And she was a sucker for a good love story.
But who amongst us isn’t.
She’s not letting anything get to her, because what is waiting for her is all she wanted – food, Christmas, and family.
Only when she gets home her parents have decided to escape the city to Fiji for the holidays and her Grandpa is off to Florida to visit some girl friend whom isn’t a girlfriend. Ya, right.
That means that it’s just her and her brother. But as soon as everyone is out the door he’s already found a date on Grindr and asks her to go somewhere.
PLEASE KNOCK
I think we all know that we need to knock before entering a room, but sometimes it escapes our mind. Not because we want to be rude, but because we’re excited. And Lily, well she screams excitement all the time.
But when your brother has found a date on Grindr, you should probably knock, because interrupting anyone in the middle of sexy times is TRAUMA. So when she barges in – no surprise, her brother screeches at her to leave.
Me – I would never be able to look at my brother ever again.
But for Lily and her brother – they are so close that they act like nothing has happened. He comes to her room and asks her how her day was. Lily is excited to tell him that she’s formed a caroling troop. Her brother is worried that it is all adults but she says that they are easier to talk to.
Lily keeps saying she’s fine and I wonder who she is trying to convince. Herself? Her brother? She changes the subject quickly and asks her brother about boy in bed.
His name is Benny, he’s a dancer. He really likes him. You have to love Lily’s brother – he’s great at being himself and he’s great at meeting guys. Lily says she’s not amazing at meeting guys, she’s good at scaring them away. They are able to joke and he asks her for some tips. First tip – delete grindr.
And here’s where we find out how this all started. As she’s telling him what she writes in the notebooks, he decides that it’s perfect, grabbing the notebook from her hand and tearing out the page.
He’s going to help her devise a scavenger hunt so that she can find her soul mate. At first, she’s against it. Which, hey, living in New York I would be too. Well, living anywhere.
In walks Benny, who loves the idea. Both of them are so excited to help Lily possibly find love. And for Lily, the idea is scary. I get that. But sometimes that’s what we all need – something that scares us.
DECEMBER 18th
Lily is going to make Christmas as normal as possible, even if everything has changed. Why? Because maybe that’s what we all need. Normalcy in a time of chaos. And in the middle of it – she gets a text.
One thing that we learn quickly is that Lily has connections everywhere. The guy at The Strand? That’s her cousin. He tells her that she’s had a bite. I don’t blame her – I would have ran down to The Strand for answers, and asked my cousin for a description. Need to know he’s not insane. Cousin Mike is of little help, calls him annoying and that dued has commited to the journey.
Here’s what I don’t like – everyone is reading this notebook. I feel like it needs to be left between Dash and Lily. It’s personal, like a diary.
Cousin Mike lets her know that the kid has left instructions for her in the book.
SAY WHAT?
“Do I Dare? Not for just anyone, but apparently clue girl, I do just for you.”
dash & Lily
Well Dash has read the situation wrong, because he thought that the girl behind the book would hate Christmas like he dos. He was perfect to her until he said that he detested Christmas.
And who does she blame for it? Her brother. He seems to not care too much, but hey – she’s interrupted him in bed again. She says she won’t follow clues. He tells her to put book on shelf and have another chance. She can’t stop thinking about the book, but puts it in a drawer.
So Lily resorts to what she can find comfort in – the normal. Caroling. Writing back is scary. Caroling is cozy and safe. She sees people she knows from school and they all have boyfriends. She’s trying to hang, but carolers have to go. She feels alone. One of the carolers tells her to expand the bubble.
Going out of our bubble is scary. Hell, it’s terrifying. It’s one of those things that makes a person want to retreat, but for Lily it may be the only thing that helps her grow. This is the push that she needed to read the notebook and follow her life to adventure.
Dash has let her directions and she needs to return the book to – Two Booths Pizza – east village. It’s perfect, because it’s just outside her bubble.
BOOMER LIED
Remember how in the first episode – we thought that Boomer hadn’t caught the girl. Truth is he did.
And Boomer changed the trajectory of everything. As a friend we all have decisions to make – ones that can change our friends lives. Ones that can make everything different. Sometimes we have to look beyond what people can see for themselves.
And Boomer – well Boomer needs to be there for Dash. Sure, he is vomiting up information to Lily, tells her about sting operation and Lily is kind of sure that she doesn’t want to know him yet. She does know that she doesn’t want him to know who she is and asks Boomer to not tell him. She wants to get to know him and it’s easier in a book.
She asks Boomer what his friend is like, Boomer says he’s complicated, but once he lets you in he’s super loyal.
I have to admit that even though I was mad at Boomer for a hot second – it didn’t last long. Because he wasn’t doing anything for the wrong reasons. He was trying to make Dash see the world out there.
Lily asks Boomer if she can trust him and he proves that she can. He devises lunch rush, never saw her plan. Boomer says he’s gotta give him something or Dash will never forgive him. They devise a plan for Dash to earn her name.
I have to admit that I love Boomer. He sees the forest through the trees.
SANTA IS AN ASS
And now we get to see what happened inside Macy’s.
Dash thinks Lily wants him to suffer, because the dare has led him here – to Christmas hell. She has dared him to do one thing – to ask Santa for her name. But to get past the Santa guard he may have to be a little naughty. Elves can be assholes apparently, cause this one is one power mad elf. Elf keeps saying 12 and under and won’t make exception.
Boomer comes up and distracts the Elf, letting him know that he has seen him on SVU. Dash cuts the line while being distracted. He had been told to show Santa the notebook.
Let me be blunt – I would not fuck with a line of Upper East Sider Mama’s and make them wait for their time with Santa with their kiddos. Nope. I’d get that name and get the fuck out.
Santa is willing to give the name, but he tells Dash that he has to sit on his lap first. CREEPY. But hey Dash says okay because he wants something and so he does what he’s told. Santa wants to give him a warning and that he doesn’t want their mutual friend dating a punk. Santa wants promise that Dash wont hurt her, but Dash quickly lets him know he’s hurting him.
There’s the thieving of a hat and a run to make it past the elves. Dash is determined and for the first time you can see a sparkle in his eyes. He’s having fun. Even when he’s kicked out and Boomer makes his way out to him.
It’s all that Dash can do – smile, that is. He’s happy and he had fun and that’s what matters.
I’LL FOLLOW THE RULES
I can’t blame Lily for wanting to know what happened, cause I would have wanted to know too. And well, sometimes sitting on the stoops of New York City change everything.
Santa, aka Uncle Sal, comes around the corner and guess what – he’s got the notebook. He doesn’t like Dash (but what Uncle does) and tells Lily her Grandpa wouldn’t like him either. These are the things that you don’t tell a teenage girl. It will only make her want the boy more.
But I wouldn’t sit and listen. I would be running to read the journal.
You see sometimes what you want is easier to divulge when you don’t have to say it aloud.
Dash says he’s going to follow the rules, there will be no pressure. The two of them will communicate through the journal. Personal questions will be fair game, but have to be earned with a dare.
And what does he do? He asks her a questions that can be taken a few different ways.
What does she want for Christmas? Well, I have a feeling we’ll be finding out soon.
