It was too dark for decorating by the time we got home, so Mom spent the night asking the Witch for suggestions about interior design.
"See how cozy it looks with the fairy lights?" She held up a picture of human feet in front of a car's back door, open to the night and surrounded by a crowd of Tinkerbells.
"Will the fairies be able to breathe out there in those plastic bags overnight?" I asked. "Maybe we should invite them inside."
"They're not real fairies." Mom looked annoyed that I was ruining her fairytale. "That's just what English people call Christmas lights. Won't it be nice with a hot cup of tea and peaceful music playing over the speakers?"
"Christmas carols? In summertime?"
"Not Christmas carols. Like, I don't know, jazz or something."
"But you don't like jazz."
"That's not the point. I just want to feel like I think that people who listen to jazz feel. The important part is that I found an adaptor that goes from the cassette deck to my iPhone. Can you believe it? It's like a cable through time."
Mom turned her attention back to the Witch. "And I got a cute little carpet so we won't feel the grooves in the corrugated floor. And a fluffy extra-narrow mat to sleep on. And a 0º sleeping bag so we'll be warm in the wintertime. And a light-weight comforter with dinosaurs on it so we'll be cool in the summertime. "
"Dinosaurs!" I said. "Very cool indeed! All the bears are going to be so jealous of our bedroom."
The next morning, I followed Mom to the driveway to turn the Witch's suggestions into reality. All the decorating was her job, of course, but I tagged along in case she needed a man-dog to help her with tools or something.