She’d settled next to Marta, who had lit right up when Lina said she was studying to become a primary school teacher. Marta had confessed she’d always wanted to teach kindergarten, but social work had stolen her heart, and now she couldn’t imagine doing anything else.
“I was only trying to improve you, Leen,” Oscar replied.
Aaron’s laugh echoed through him, passing from his shoulder to Oscar’s cheek. He couldn’t wait until they were lying in his bed skin to skin. He couldn’t believe that just a year before, he hadn’t even known Aaron existed.
“It was theworstsort of green. You could have at least gone for a teal! And it was uneven. As if Mom would have let me color it to even it all out,” she said, shaking her head.
Oscar kept his smile on, but Lina’s laughter died out. This would be the first Christmas she didn’t see their mother at all. Oscar hated that it was on his account. When he’d called to ask how much he had to pay her for the bar tab, Lina had refused his money, but she’d demanded to know what had happened. Eventually, after a long-winded back-and-forth, Oscar had conceded. And Lina had decided she wouldn’t be giving their mother anymore of her time either. Oscar still wasn’t sure how to feel about it. Ryan, now their mother, all because of him.
Aaron’s hand slid over his thigh, pressing.
“Who wants to taste that delicious pie now?” he asked.
With all the plates and dishes cleared away to the kitchen and the apple pie dish washed and ready for Grandma to take back home, they all sat with fresh coffee Aaron had proudly brewed using some fancy beans they’d bought for the occasion, and Marta had hot chocolate because she hated coffee. Grandma listened to Tobe and Marta talk about their non-profit and how many homes they’d found for young queer people, how many jobs, how many they’d sponsored therapists and other healthcare providers for. Riley told them about theirengineering course, and Anna and Joe told everyone the story of how they’d met, how they’d been at the same baseball game, and Anna had shouted at the top of her lungs tofucking run, and Joe had known from the moment he’d seen and heard her that he wanted to take her out.
TheSpace Invaderstheme overrode Michael Bublé’s “beginning to look—”, cutting it off mid-sentence, and Oscar slid out of his place at the edge of the bench and muted the TV, racing to his room to get his laptop. Philip and Lucas blinked to life on his screen, waving at all of them squeezed in on one side of the table.
“We just wanted to wish you all happy holidays and a wonderful evening! We just got back to the rental,” Lucas said.
“We got to spend the day with Maddie,” Philip added, eyes brimming with warmth.
“That’s lovely, Philip,” Aaron said.
“Has anybody collapsed from Spike’s cooking yet?” Lucas asked.
“No,” Oscar replied, frowning. “Because I cookrealfood, not your pressed vegetable smoothies.”
“Hey, I have been eating atonof real food while we’re here!” Lucas complained.
“His jeans aren’t buttoning up. That’s how good the food is,” Philip said, wrapping an arm around his shoulder and kissing him on the temple.
“More to love,” Aaron replied.
“Yes!” Tobe said.
“That’s what I’m telling him,” Philip added, pressing Lucas’s shoulder harder. “I’m going to have to start cooking with oil when we get home. I never thought food would make him this happy.”
“Food is the best thing in existence,” Grandma replied, and everyone nodded along to her wisdom. She glanced at Oscar and Lina, eyes scouring the rest of them gatheredaround the table. “Except for family, of course. May you all always find your way to each other.”
A soft contented bliss fell over their group then. Philip and Lucas signed off so they could have some dessert, and soon after, Joe and Anna announced they were going to Anna’s parents’ house for a drink. Her family didn’t celebrate Christmas, but they still liked to meet in the evening to mark the holiday together, and it was time for them to get going.
“Well, we have a party for our kids,” Tobe announced. “At the center,” they explained, turning to Grandma. “We could totally drop you off, Joe, Anna. Riley’s coming with us, right?”
“Yeah, I’m totally going to that!”
“Hey, Riley, take the lasagna leftovers with you,” Oscar said, heading to the kitchen to retrieve the packed up servings that remained. “Please. Here.”
“Oh…uh…how do I return the box?” Riley looked from Oscar to Aaron, sucking in their lips.
“It’ll give you all an excuse to come back to ours very soon,” Aaron said, and there was something about the way he’d said it that bellowed warmth into Oscar’s stomach, each soft breath whisperinghome home homeover and over again.
Grandma and Lina offered to help them clean up, but both Oscar and Aaron said no and ushered everyone out with the knitted gifts Aaron had made them. Lina lingered last, wrapping her arms first around Oscar, then around Aaron.
“It means a lot to me,” she said, running her thumb over theMINNIEAaron had embroidered onto the rim of her woolen hat. Her eyes shot up to Aaron’s. “He would’ve loved you, you know, our father.”
“Yeah, this one keeps telling me,” Aaron said, glancing at Oscar, dripping fondness.
“Good. You take care of him for us,” Lina said. And then she turned and left, taking Grandma with her.
