Reni Usually Can't
The video Oliver and I had filmed on Sunday was edited at breakneck speed given the season, and it went up the very next Thursday.
On the day of the shoot itself everything had felt a little chaotic, with the two of us running around in circles.
But the footage he sent over beforehand came out clean and polished, so there was nothing more for me to request on my end.
And the truly surprising part was that a sponsorship offer landed in my inbox the very next week after the video went live.
It wasn't the ink brand Oliver and I had reviewed that day, either. It was a brand-new company that had only just launched.
Rosa Penette Ink Holiday Edition.
Greg eyed the box that had been delivered to the studio, eyebrows climbing in surprise.
"Wait, Jun. Didn't you tear that ink brand to shreds in Oliver's video? And you're still getting ink sponsorships?"
"When did I ever do that? All I remember is giving my honest impressions."
And those honest impressions had brought in ad money and a fresh supply of ink that would make the end of the year a good deal warmer.
The fee Rosa Penette offered was a little lower than the average for a YouTuber sitting on five hundred thousand subscribers.
But it was the first real ad to come my way that wasn't one of the many kids' product spots I had tearfully turned down to keep the channel's image from hardening into something I didn't want. I accepted without much hesitation.
I was still shooting monthly ads for Brown House Publishing and Evan's online bookstore, of course, but those felt different from this one, so I set them aside as a separate matter.
With a little flutter of excitement I turned the heavy, prettily wrapped box this way and that, and Cassandra spoke up in a slightly pleading tone.
"Jun. Rosa Penette must have been desperate for the promotion to reach out this fast. So for the Holiday Edition you just received, try to stick to good reviews if you can."
"I'll do my best. The packaging already feels like a gift, so I'm in a good mood. Can you check whether every Holiday Edition goes out wrapped like this?"
"Got it. Your honest take is great, of course, but Rosa Penette has to have its strengths, right? Let's highlight those as much as we can. Okay?"
"Yes, Cassandra. Don't worry. I actually think this brand is pretty solid."
With that, I stood up from my seat.
It was a Holiday Edition, after all. The video needed to go up as fast as possible.
To shoot with any kind of calm, putting the kids down for a nap was essential, so I headed into the playroom.
"Kids, it's nap time."
"Huh? Daaad, I'm not sleepy yet."
Reni said it while setting the train model he had been playing with Luca back onto the tracks.
"Santa still has to start his deliveries, you know."
"Hmm. Wouldn't it be nice if Santa took a nap before he left, too?"
"Huh…?"
Reni looked up at me with a completely baffled expression.
I was about to explain further when Greg suddenly appeared behind me.
He shoved me out of the room and jerked his chin toward the hallway.
"I'll play with the kids. You go do whatever you want."
I stared for a moment at the playroom door that had shut right in front of my face, then, with a slightly lighter heart, carried the ink box toward the workshop.
I finished filming the sponsored products I had received on Wednesday that same day, got the all-clear to post on Thursday, and uploaded the video that very night.
The whole process moved at a speed I never could have imagined under ordinary circumstances.
Rosa Penette must have wanted those Christmas sales numbers just as badly.
Thinking about it that way, I could start to picture how hard the smaller companies had to fight just to hold their own against the giants during this season.
Friday morning arrived. After I clocked in, I checked the views and the early reactions and let out a quiet breath of relief.
It hadn't even been a full day yet, but the response didn't seem bad at all.
"Christmas is already next week, but I hope people will buy one just for their own collections, at least."
"They probably will, don't you think? Looking at this edition, Rosa Penette really poured themselves into the design and the packaging. If you think of it as a gift to yourself, a day or two of late shipping past Christmas isn't the end of the world."
"That's true."
I gazed with quiet pride at the new ink bottles still wearing the ribbons around their necks among the others on the shelf.
"I hope this one does well. Then Rosa Penette will keep releasing new seasonal editions, and who knows—they might keep sending the ads our way."
Like that snack company that had been sending Oliver sponsorships every time a new product dropped since his kids were little. The more steady advertising partners we could build, the better.
"Somehow I've ended up only doing ads with literature-related places. A publisher, a bookstore, and now a company that makes ink."
"Now that you mention it, yeah. Must be because you look like a boring smart guy."
I gave Greg a solid thump on the shoulder for that completely unnecessary jab and stood up.
"Well then, I'm heading out for the day."
"What kind of boss clocks in and immediately clocks out?"
"Winter break starts today, so kindergarten lets out a little early. And I promised Reni we'd make the Christmas tree together the second we got home, so I need to go get things ready."
"Wait—Christmas is next week and you still haven't put up a tree?"
Cassandra asked, startled. Greg's eyes went round as saucers too.
Both of them wore the exact same look: This is a guy who lives and breathes his kids—how is this possible?
"There's a reason for everything."
Once December arrived and the glittering trees started popping up everywhere, of course I had sat Reni down and started browsing Christmas trees online with him.
And Reni, who had already seen multiple Christmas trees at the cathedral, at kindergarten, and even the little one in the studio, had declared with absolute conviction:
"Our house needs the most special tree in the whole world!"
The "most special tree in the whole world" the child had wanted took longer than expected to ship, and had only arrived just the other day.
"So what kind of tree did you buy?"
Cassandra asked now, curiosity lighting her face.
She looked like she was already weighing whether to make one for her own kids if it sounded good enough.
"It isn't a tree. I bought a kids' indoor tent."
"Huh."
Exactly. The "Christmas tree" Reni had chosen wasn't a tree at all. It was a castle he could crawl inside and sleep in.
"We were looking at unique Christmas tree images together and came across one where someone had attached tinsel and branches all over a kids' indoor tent to turn it into a Christmas tree tent."
"Oh, I think I've seen pictures like that somewhere too."
Greg searched the images as he spoke, and several different Christmas tree tents popped up on the screen.
"Oh my, these are adorable. The kids would absolutely love them."
"Right? I already got a little mattress, blankets, and a mountain of cushions to put inside. I have a feeling they'll be sleeping in there starting tonight."
"Even if it's small, is the tree big enough for a mattress?"
"Yeah. That's part of why the delivery took so long. It's a castle-shaped tent about twice as long as a regular kids' tent, and they only sell it on their own site, so shipping took a good ten days."
If it had been something I could order with points, we would have had it much sooner.
But Reni had insisted, with the absolute certainty of a four-year-old, that it had to be that exact tent no matter how long we waited. Which was why tree-making season had run so late.
"Still, you kind of have to give a kid what they want for this one. After their birthday, it's the next most exciting event of the year."
Cassandra nodded with a smile of complete understanding. Then, as if making sure I wouldn't forget, she added:
"Film the whole process of putting the tree together and send it over tonight—I'll edit and post it right away. Actually, no. Go up now and start filming from the prep stage."
"Got it. But it's Friday night—are you sure? Won't Charlie be upset if you're still working after you get home?"
"He's been playing really well with his dad lately, so I don't think so… But okay. I'll just shoot the prep footage first, edit that, and head out a little early. And luckily, time-lapses edit a lot faster than the regular videos."
Cassandra stared at the ceiling, counting on her fingers as she worked out the timing.
"If you send me the clips in order and get the finished tent to me around dinner, the video should be able to go up around ten tonight."
The sudden deadline snapped me fully awake. I needed to move as fast as possible.
"That works. Then I'm heading up right now. You—keep it up, and get yourself home properly."
I clapped Greg on the shoulder with the unspoken message that I wouldn't be coming back down. He gave me an okay sign and muttered with a faint note of regret:
"Still, after all that work putting it up, it's kind of a shame you'll have to take it down so soon."
"What are you talking about? This tree tent is staying up through Christmas, through the whole winter, until the spring flowers bloom."
I brought Luca upstairs with Cassandra.
Luca looked around with the bewildered eyes of a toddler who had no idea why we were home so early.
"Yeah, our Luca's all confused, huh? Home early today?"
"Yeah."
I set him on the sofa and he peered up at me with a faintly sulky face.
The playroom at the office had way more interesting toys, so a little grumpiness was understandable.
Deciding to fix his mood first, I fetched a cookie and opened the wrapper right in front of him.
It was a snack I had only learned about thanks to Oliver.
"Cookie."
"Yeah, it's the cookie our Luca loves."
I broke off a piece and popped it into his mouth.
The second the cookie hit his tongue, the baby's mood lifted. I gently leaned his back against the sofa cushions and set his comfort plush beside him.
"Luca is really sharp, isn't he? He's only a year old and his awareness already seems so good."
"Yeah. Even without me, Reni is always talking to him and playing with him, so I think that's helping him grow faster. The only words he can say so far are Dada, yum-yum, and cookie, but…"
"He's only a year old—that's plenty! He's got all the words he needs for himself."
Cassandra smiled that fond auntie smile of hers and started setting up the camera.
"Where are you putting the tent?"
"I first thought about putting it in the playroom, but the kids are definitely going to want to sleep in it, so I'm putting it in the living room."
If I left the bedroom door open, they would still be able to see me lying in bed from the living room, so it should be fine.
"At first I thought about spreading a blanket on the floor and sleeping right next to them, but this probably won't be just a night or two…"
"Smart call. Dad needs actual sleep too."
"Yeah. And if they want to come over to Dad in the middle of the night, they can always crawl over themselves."
As I said it, I nudged the sofa a little toward the terrace so there would be a clear line of sight between the tent and the bedroom.
The sofa rocked under him and Luca's eyes went round; he planted a hand on the cushion to steady himself.
"It's okay. You think Dad would shove the sofa hard while you're sitting on it?"
I slipped the rest of the cookie into the mouth of the child who was making a face like he was filing a formal protest.
"Eat that and sit here with Auntie Cassandra and wait, okay? From now on, Dad's going to build a house just for you and your big brother."