“I wasn’t talking about the party,” he says with a playfulwink.
“Oh, hellno.”
“Language, Eric! There are kids here, and you don’t need to be ruining Santa for them, doyou?”
“The folks from the shelters are going to have to explain why Santa is dancing with aman.”
“It’ll prepare them for when one gets adopted by twodaddies.”
“But what about Mrs.Claus?”
“We have ouragreements.”
I shake my head. “No way. I’m not sharing you with her. I’m not sharing my man withanyone.”
“The kids don’t need to know thatpart.”
He’s got me in stitches over this ridiculous scenario we’re talkingthrough.
As always, so veryamusing.
So veryJesse.
I’ve never wanted to be with anyone more in my life…and I can’t imagine ever loving another man the way I lovehim.
Marriage.
Would I really change my entire life, my whole world, and marry thisman?
In a fuckingheartbeat…
19
Jesse
It waswonderful having Eric participate in my event for theshelters.
With him knowing about my past, he must know how important that was to me, but I doubt he’ll ever be able to fathom how much his presence there meant to me, especially when he went out of his way to find Sandy herdoll.
He was my knight in shiningarmor.
Well, my knight in a little green hat, but just the same, myhero.
Cleaning is its own undertaking after the event, and fortunately, we have enough volunteers that it isn’t too overwhelming a task. After we finish up there, we meet at Charlotte and Stan’s for our Christmas Eve dinner, and Connie is as lovely as I imagined she would be. She even whipped out a special surprise for Eric, one he can’t stop looking at as we head to hiscondo.
“I can’t believe it,” hesays.
“Well, you can open it,” I reply as we headin.
He removes the lid on the tin container, which is packed with chocolate-chip cookies with pecans, and stares at them. His face quivers as he sets them on the kitchenisland.
“Come here, Eric,” I tell him, and in no time, he’s holding meclose.
“Crazy all the paths you wind up going down in life. The way they twist and turn and overlap. Those you leave behind and those who circle back around.” He’s quiet for a moment, then pulls away and takes one of the cookies. He breaks it in two, hands one half to me, and takes a bite of the other. A tear glides down his cheek as he chews onit.
I try mine, and he asks, “Aren’t they just the softest, most delicious cookies you’ve everhad?”
“They’re pretty amazing,” I reply as I devour the one in myhand.
