“Because it’s true.” Will smiled. As they began to eat, they caught each other up on their lives over the past week.
“I was talking to Jeremy, and he says he’d like to hire me full-time,” Melissa announced. In addition to her hours at Bradley House, Melissa worked part-time at No Place Like Home, a home-goods shop in town.
“Really? That’s wonderful,” Emily said. “You’ve been wanting to work there full-time, right?”
“Yeah, but it means cutting back at the B and B, or stopping completely,” Melissa admitted. “I hope Clay’s okay with that.”
“I’m sure he’ll be fine with it,” Will told her. “You know he only wants the best for his employees.”
“I know you’re right, but it will be difficult if I have to leave there. The Bradleys and the rest of the staff are like family.”
“I know what you mean, sis. I feel the same way. But I’m sure Clay will be open to anything you want to do even if it just means filling in once or twice a month.”
They finished eating, and both Will and Melissa helped Emily clean up the kitchen. They’d spend the rest of day watching holiday movies on TV and would open gifts later that night. Dinner would be another tradition—French meat pie, a nod to Emily’s French-Canadian roots.
Will thought back to past Christmases, some with his dad and some later. But it was memories of happy times—like singing carols together, drinking eggnog, and opening a small gift before bed on Christmas Eve—that brought a smile to Will’s face.
Christmas morning dawnedbright and cold. Puffy clouds dotted the azure skies. Will smiled as he gazed out his window. It was Christmas Day, and he’d get to spend some time with Tom. A week ago, his mom had talked to him about asking Tom and his mother to spend Christmas Day with them. Will had met Tom’s mom twice. The first time, he was picking Tom up for a date, and she had seemed nice although a bit standoffish. It was before Tom had spoken to her about moving out, so Will didn’t dwell on her reaction all that much. The second time was just last week, and she had come across as much friendlier. Will wondered if the counselor she was seeing was already having a positive effect on her.
When Will asked Alice and Tom to spend Christmas Day with his family, at first Alice was hesitant, saying she didn’t want to intrude. Will secretly thought part of it was that she still wasn’t completely happy about his and Tom’s relationship, but he didn’t say a word. After a few minutes, Tom convinced her to accompany him, explaining that he wanted to spend some time with Will’s family and really wished she would be there as well.
After breakfast, Will helped his mom get ready for the day. Emily put a turkey breast in the oven to roast and had prepared glazed carrots along with her famous—at least to her family—dressing with sausage, apples, and pecans along with another meat pie since Will was particularly fond of them.
“Merry Christmas!” Will greeted Tom and Alice at the door. They hugged, still too shy to kiss in front of both Alice and Emily at that point.
“Same to you,” Tom and Alice each replied as they entered the house. It was just past four, and Melissa had alreadybeen there for a couple of hours. They sat in the living room, reminiscing about past Christmases.
“I remember one Christmas before Dad died,” Will said. “He insisted we all get matching plaid pajamas and wear reindeer antlers and red noses on Christmas Eve.”
“Oh my, that was such fun,” Emily added. “But I had the hardest time finding extra-large pajamas that would fit your dad. It was worth it in the long run because we did look great.”
“Didn’t you take a photo of us and use it for our Christmas card the following year?” Will asked.
“I certainly did,” his mom said. “I still have a copy somewhere. I’ll need to dig it out and make a copy for you.”
“I don’t remember any Christmases with my dad,” Tom offered, his voice tinged with sadness. “But I remember so many when it was just Mom and me. Thinking back on them, I always felt loved and cared for. Thanks, Mom.” Alice smiled warmly and took his hand. She seemed too choked up to say anything.
They continued sharing memories for a while, with Alice, Emily, and Melissa sharing some favorite times. Emily and Alice appeared to hit it off rather quickly; Will hoped they would become friends as time moved on.
After a while, they exchanged gifts. Will and Tom had agreed to keep things simple this year since Tom was using most of his savings for the new apartment, and Will had already given him the used furniture as an early gift. Emily gave Alice a Jerusalem cherry plant in a gorgeous planter from her shop, and Alice gifted Emily with a set of linen placemats and matching napkins.
Will received a beautiful leather-moleskin notebook with a set of the black rollerball pens he loved, and he gave Tom a navy-blue Quincy College sweatshirt.
They ate, drank some wine, and had many laughs as they chatted throughout the evening. Indeed, it was a wonderful first Christmas together.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Tom
Oh my God,it’s New Year’s Eve!Tom opened his eyes and surveyed his new bedroom.
He’d slept in his new bed for the first time the night before, after he and Will had put the finishing touches on his new apartment yesterday.I can’t believe I’m actually living in my own place.
They had done all they could to the place although Tom still wanted to get a few more items, but they were more “want to haves” instead of “need to haves,” so they could wait. Their last task of the day had been to do groceries, getting a few staples for Tom’s fridge and cabinets as well as the ingredients for their New Year’s Eve dinner. Will offered to make a pasta-and-chicken-in-cream-sauce dish that his mother had taught him years ago. It also contained peas and mushrooms and had become one of Will’s favorite quick meals. Neither of them drank much wine, but Mitch had gifted Tom with a bottle of prosecco as an apartment-warming gift, so they’d open that at midnight.
Tom’s phone rang. It was a FaceTime call, so he hit the button and said, “Hey, handsome,” when he saw Will’s face.
“Hey, yourself,” Will replied. “It looks like you’re still in bed.”
