“Scheiße, it’s Christmas Eve! I need to call my dads.”
Marin chuckled. “I texted mom and she—” His phone vibrated and he looked at the screen. “She’s calling now.”
“Pick up, pick up!” I jumped to Marin’s side.
A string of words I did not understand came from the phone until Marin’s mom saw me and grinned. “Hello, Kert! Are you boys celebrating properly? Are you safe out there? What will you eat?”
Her dark hair flowed over her shoulders as she held the phone at arms length, showing a house full of people behind hershuffling around, setting the table, arguing. She moved to the kitchen which was quieter but still packed with family members.
Marin waved to someone passing by and a teenage girl who flipped him the bird. “This house was built for this type of weather so we’ll be fine. I can’t make all the Greek dishes I planned, but I can improvise from what we got. For now we have thekourabiedescookies and I left theavgolemonoon the stove.”
“The lemon chicken soup?”How early did he get up?“I love it.” I leaned closer to Marin to fit in the frame and grinned at his mom. “I don’t have Marin’s cooking skills, but I’ll make potato pancakes and mulled wine.”
“See? We’ll be all set. You have nothing to worry about.” Marin wrapped a tentacle around my waist, out of the camera’s view.
His mom sighed. “That’s not nearly enough for two grown boys, but as long as you’re happy and not going hungry, it will do. Say hi to your dads from me, Kert. Next year you should come visit. Bring your dads too!”
“I’ll drag him over, mom.” He pulled me closer and I snuggled into his warmth.
“Lovely. Marin, your brother wants to talk to you. The only one who helped me decorate the tree this year.” She glared at Marin. “Call tomorrow to tell me you’re okay!” She turned to the side and said something in Greek, then disappeared from view.
A younger version of Marin popped in the frame. The only difference between him and the man standing next to me was his sapphire complexion and darker blue hair. His exasperated expression turned to a smile when he saw me.
“Hi, Kert! Can you kick Marin’s ass for not coming down this year? I had to help with this insanity here!” He pointed at Marin. “I’ll get you for this. Or I’ll make you and Ner thow Christmas here while I fuck off somewhere fun. Ner is warming his tentacles on a beach in Miami and you are—wait, where are you?”
Marin chuckled. “Let me explain. And I actually need to talk to you. Oh, and a friend of mine, Gabriel, is thinking about renting his house in Chicago for next winter in case you really want to get out.”
I poked Marin in the abs. “I’ll get the potatoes ready for pancakes. Lovely seeing you, Spiros!” I snuck out to the bedroom and hovered my thumb over the contact list on my phone.
While Marin couldn’t hear me, I called my agent first.
“Buon Natale, Kert.” She picked up without video, and yelled over the ruckus of children.
“Merry Christmas, Bianca. Did you get my package?” Since she was Italian we communicated in English.
“You know which pralines I love. Thanks, Kert. Listen, I looked into the visa you asked about and you qualify for it. I’ll email you the details later.”
“Thanks so much. I really appre—”
A child yelled in the background, then another. “I gotta go, Kert. Merry Christmas.”
She hung up before I could say anything else, but the short exchange gave me a lot to think about. A few weeks back, when I’d looked into the possibility of staying with Marin, Bianca had checked if my recognition in the art world was enough to qualify for a O-1B visa.
Now, all I needed was for Marin to ask me to stay.
My mind raced, but I took a deep breath and called my dads.
“Kert, you’re alive!” Papa said in German, his long, blond hair pulled back as he munched on a cookie. “Fenix, the child is calling!”
I rolled my eyes. They’ve always been crazy energetic parents and being in their fifties hadn’t changed much. Fenix’s skin color was similar to mine—the dark shade of red made many people think he was my biological father but he and Sam had adopted me when I was a baby. Sam was as big a visual contrast to thetwo of us as one could imagine, with pale complexion, human looks, and light blond hair. But he wasn’t touching the phone while he talked to me, just using his telekinetic power to hover it in the air.
“Did you propose?” Fenix appeared in the frame.
“Shhh!” I looked at the door. “What the hell? No. Don’t give me ideas.”
They both made exaggerated kissy noises at me. “Did you tell him how you feel?” Sam asked.
“No. I thought that once I saw him it would fizzle out a bit. We haven’t spent time together in person for four years.”
