All I wanted for Christmas was my daddy.

Last year I was a good boy. Daddy said not to open any presents until he got there, and I didn’t. I spent all day looking at the tree, waiting patiently. Only Daddy never came. I feared the worst—scared that something horrible had happened to him.

How foolish I’d been. Daddy wasn’t in a car accident or one of the fifty million other scenarios I played out in my head. Nope. He was with his other boy, planning a New Year’s Eve wedding.

This year I’m doing Christmas on my own. I’m buying my own presents, decorating my own tree, and playing with my own toys…alone. At least that’s the plan until my new neighbor gets my package and discovers we have more in common than a shared driveway.

London lost his train and found his new daddy.

When I was growing up, I proudly proclaimed to all who would listen that I was going to be a train conductor. Somehow, that turned into going to dental school. It's a great job that allows me to help people, but the longing to ride the rails has never fully left me. When I see that Chained is doing a Little Day on the Train event, I sign up immediately. Who cares that I don't have a daddy? I'm going to get the chance to pretend to be a conductor on a very real train. It's going to be the best.

And it is the best day ever, right up until I reach into my conductor's vest pocket and discover my favorite toy train is missing. I have an hour left before the event is over to find it. When I hear an offer to help, I accept it immediately. It's only when I turn to him that I discover it's the daddy I've been crushing on. Maybe losing my engine was a good thing after all.

Reid lost his cap and found his new daddy.

When I inherit my house, I don't expect any feels. The house belonged to an uncle I'd met exactly one time over twenty years ago. But when I open the door to the spare bedroom, I'm hit with a time capsule, one that teaches me more about my late mother than I've ever known. There's even a baseball cap she bought for me when she was pregnant.

It's almost too much…and I need to escape for a little while. Thankfully, my membership at Chained is reciprocal with the local club here. I'll go, find a daddy to scene with, and be ready to face reality in the morning.

If only it were as easy as that.