In a series of diary entries, protagonist Ruth Young documents Christmas at home with her parents. She writes that a man called the house saying that he found a pair of pants hanging from a tree with the name “Howard Young” written on them. Ruth recalls her mother asking her to write her father’s name and phone number on all of his clothing the day before. This angered her father, who then took all the clothes and threw them in the trees lining their street.

Ruth is home for the holidays–a rare occurrence. For the last three or four years, Ruth has attended holidays at her fiancé, Joel’s, house. She and Joel broke up this year, so she has decided to celebrate with her parents.

Ruth remarks that everything is the same aside from her brother Linus’s absence. On Christmas morning, her father gives her a small notebook and explains that it contains letters he wrote to her throughout her life. He shows her an entry and then closes the book, suddenly angry

Annie, Ruth’s mother, asks her to stay after the holidays to help “keep an extra eye on things” (3), meaning her father, who is showing early signs of Alzheimer’s Disease.