I’m going back in time for this story. It actually took place at a New Year’s Eve party – the most recent one. Yesterday while looking through Facebook and putting on my coat, at the same time, there was a ‘like’ from our friend Tessa on one of my posts.
I have to stop at this point and give a little history on this coat…
The coat is not your average, run-of-the-mill coat. It’s one that I have been searching long and hard for. My requirements were simple; a pea coat, black, a little dressy but not over the top, warm but not thick, comfortable and above all, without that lint-attracting material that they all seem to be made of.
I believe the search lasted many years and many a salesman thought my search was akin to the search for the Holy Grail or at least an especially hard Where’s Waldo puzzle. “Just get one of those sticky roller things” they all said. I had almost given up when out of the blue… there it was… at an ‘outdoor’ store of all places. Could this be what I had been searching for?
It was a pea coat, no denying that. It was black, not too dressy, very warm (had some weird, shiny high-tech lining), very thin and comfortable and the lint (that I carry around for just such an occasion) couldn’t or wouldn’t stick to it. In short… a marvel.
So I’m putting on this coat, noticed the ‘like’ by Tessa and it brought me back to that party on New Year’s Eve.
The party started out at a nice restaurant downtown Guelph; The Raymond. After dinner we headed over to Kevin and Garry’s house to really get into the festive spirit. Of course there were many other people there so the coats had to be thrown in a heap in their basement. I took my essentials with me (wallet & cooler) and left the rest. The coat was a Christmas gift from my wife and that was the first time I had occasion to wear it.
The party went on into the wee hours, as they often do with this group of friends. People starting to leave around 2 am. We stayed a little longer so were among the last to leave. At some point, I went down to the basement to retrieve my marvel, my Holy Grail.
It was gone…
There was no mistaking my coat, it had that high-tech shiny lining that looked like tin foil. That’s what made it warm and thin at the same time. My car keys were in the coat pocket, they were missing too. I searched here and there but it was gone. Obviously, someone took the wrong coat, but who? I went back upstairs and asked if anyone had seen it… nope. Then back downstairs in case I was mistaken.
It was still gone… along with the keys.
Like a man being led to the gallows, I walked back up the stairs filled with dread when my cousin Pat walked up to me and whispered; “I think Tessa has your coat.”
Really??
Looking over at Tessa, there was no mistaking that high-tech liner, the thin yet warm material and of course… no lint. I asked for my coat back but she refused, saying it was her husband’s. Looking over at Alan, who was already wearing his coat, I asked if I could at least have my car keys from the right-hand pocket. I got the keys just as Alan came to my rescue; “Tessa, that’s Dan’s coat and he’s been looking for it.”
Tessa handed it over, with an apologetic smile. I couldn’t blame her, who wouldn’t want that coat.
And all was well.
The coat was made by Columbia, guess that’s how it ended up in an ‘outdoors’ store.
the dan blog 