CHAPTER FIVE

Frank

Frank set his gift in a place of honor in the center of the bay window at the front of their house. He’d purchase the candles in the coming week as Hanukkah wouldn’t be celebrated until the twenty-fifth of December this year when they lit the first candle.

“You’ve always been the owner of my heart, Lee, but you’ve outdone yourself this time,” Frank said as he joined his husband on the couch.

It was late, and Jacob had already been in bed for over an hour. They’d celebrated with a delicious spaghetti dinner. Lee and Jacob loved it when he made their favorite meal, and it happened to work out that he’d decided to cook it the evening he received his gift.

“That’s good. I promise to take good care of it,” Lee assured him.

“You always do. Travis must’ve been working on that piece for months.”

“Jacob and I went to see him shortly after we decided to stay home for the holidays.”

“I can’t believe Jacob was able to keep a secret from me for so long.”

“He knew how important this surprise was. He played a big part in deciding on the final design. I’m so proud of how hard he worked and took this responsibility seriously,” Lee said as he set his cup on the coffee table.

“It means a lot that the two of you worked so hard to give me something so special. Typically, we’re at my family’s house for most of Hanukkah, so it never crossed my mind that perhaps we’d need something a bit more special than my old college one.”

Lee pulled him closer, and Frank curled into his husband’s arms. From the beginning of their relationship, they’d often lie in this position while watching TV. It was comfortable, soothing, and familiar.

“You’re worth it, baby. We love you. You’re the heart of this family.”

“I am?” He’d never viewed himself that way.

“Of course you are,” Lee said, leaning forward slightly to look in his eyes. “You keep our family going. Without you, it all falls apart. I thought you knew that.”

“I guess I’ve never thought of it. I’ve always viewed you as the foundation.”

“Okay, well, that makes sense. If we look at our family as a home, I’d be the structure while you’d be everything inside. I’m not sure if this is coming out right,” Lee chuckled, “but that’s how I see it.”

“I understand what you’re saying. It’s like each of us holds a special position that creates a whole home when combined.”

“Right. You get it.”

“When do you want to start decorating the house?” Frank asked. “Jacob’s ready to go.”

“Let’s wait until we get the tree this weekend,” Lee said. “I don’t want to go crazy like my parents do every year.”

“You mean we can’t have twenty blow-up figures in the front yard?” Frank joked, knowing how much Lee cringed whenever he saw his father’s collection.

“No, please. I beg you. One is fine. Two at the maximum. I couldn’t take it if we went nuts like my father. You can’t see the grass, and when they’re deflated, it feels like there’s been some sort of massacre. It’s damn depressing in the daytime.”

“Okay, got it. Keep it to a sane level, no mass deflating.” Frank chuckled. “Anything else?”

“I’d like to put up lights on the house.”

“We usually do that.”

“Yeah, but I want to really up our game this year.”

“Right. No blow-up carnival but twinkle lights a plenty.”

Lee’s hands slid down to Frank’s sides moments before his fingers dug in, and the tickling began.

“Are you making fun of me, mister?” Lee laughed.

Frank couldn’t help but laugh and squirm. Lee knew how ticklish he was and used it to his advantage.

“No, no. I’d never do that.” Frank laughed.

Lee stopped tickling him and held him close.

“I didn’t think so. Ready for bed?” Lee wiggled his eyebrows.

“Definitely. Lead the way.”

***

Lee

Two weeks before Christmas, and he’d been on duty for the past forty-eight hours at the firehouse. Roughly thirty hours in, he’d received a call from Frank about what could only be considered shocking news. Their parents had randomly shown up on their doorstep, both sets. They’d decided to surprise them by coming to Brighton to spend the holidays.

Surprise wasn’t the word Lee would use. Shocked, confused, terrified, astonished that they thought to show up without calling. Without a hint of warning. His mother had reached out to Frank’s mother and together they’d decided if we couldn’t go to them, they’d come to us.

Holy shit.

Frank wasn’t able to talk for long, and Lee imagined the parents were taking over their house as he spoke. Jacob was thrilled that his grandparents, Safta and Saba in Hebrew, were there and everyone would be together over the holidays. Thankfully, they had two spare bedrooms, but the house wasn’t large enough to hold three families comfortably or sanely.

Lee wasn’t sure if this was a nightmare coming true, but imagined this was as close as it got. It wasn’t that he didn’t love his family because he did, but shoving them all under one roof could prove to be disastrous.

It was close to seven in the evening when he pulled his truck onto his street and realized too late that the glow ahead was coming from his house. As he got closer, the lights got brighter, and that’s when it hit him. People were standing on the sidewalk in front of his house.

His fear quickly turned to exasperation as he pulled into the driveway.

“Why me?” he asked the empty truck.

The singular snowman inflatable that Jacob had chosen and they’d set up in the yard was now joined by his many inflatable friends. There was a Santa, and, of course, his reindeer, a nativity scene, five-foot blow-up ornaments, a flashing North Pole sign, and a whole friggin’ sleigh. His father hadn’t wasted any time.

When he got out of the truck, his neighbors waved and commented on how they’d gone all out this year. Children stood smiling with their parents, watching the spectacle of inflatables and flashing lights. Lee thought he’d escaped the insanity this year. He was wrong. It followed him to Texas.

Lee waved back and smiled before reluctantly heading for the front door. He took a deep breath, reached for the handle, and prepared himself for the chaos within. However, when he pushed the door open, he was met with silence. Shocked, he took a few steps forward and looked around the living room. Empty. Where was everybody?

“In the kitchen,” Frank’s voice echoed down the hallway.

He followed his husband’s voice and found him sitting at the kitchen table with a bottle of beer in front of him. Yep, he’d had a rough day.

“Where is everyone?”

“Taking a tour around Brighton with Jacob.”

“How are you?”

“That’s a tricky question.”

Lee set his duffle down on the floor and sat in the chair next to Frank. “Start at the beginning.”

Frank picked up his beer and took a deep gulp.

“Jacob and I were sitting down for lunch when there was a knock on the front door. I open it to find my mom and yours standing on the front steps and our fathers unloading bags from an Uber they’d taken from the airport.”

“No warning.”

“None. Jacob shouted with the kind of glee only an eight-year-old would have the moment he saw them. They were laughing and hugging like it was some great miracle.”

“Miracle.”

“Yep. Then it began,” Frank said.

“What began?”

“The takeover.”

“Ah, yes. I noticed the front yard.”

“It’s not only your parents and the front yard,” Frank groused as he pointed to the kitchen counter where a new toaster oven sat beside their microwave. “And there’s a bar fridge in the dining room.”

“Why?” Lee asked, confused. “We have large appliances.”

“My parents are kosher.”

“Yeah, they are,” Lee said, remembering that just now. There’d been a lot going on.

Lee hadn’t thought of it because Frank wasn’t kosher. But when they went to New York, it wasn’t unusual to find double appliances in Jewish households.

“Couldn’t we have properly divided the dairy and meat in one fridge?” Lee asked. He respected their kosher adherence, and never wanted to offend them. As Frank wasn’t kosher, Lee wasn’t sure of all the rules.

Many aspects of being kosher must be observed. One was never to mix dairy and meat. And the one Lee knew for sure was no pork.

“Sure, with proper precautions, but my parents arranged for quite a bit of kosher meat to be delivered today to last them until the New Year, which is in the new bar fridge.”

“Um, okay. That makes sense. Wait a minute, new year? How long is everyone staying?”

“Exactly, New Year. Over three weeks. A box with new pots and pans is on the dining room table. Honestly, I didn’t see this coming. It wasn’t on my radar or bingo card.” He shook his head. “Also, your dad had a delivery from Home Depot. They used a lift truck to set the over-sized pallet on the driveway.”

“The Christmas decorations?”

“Yep. I’ve never seen that many extension cords hooked up at one time. Can you please make sure to have a look at it so that it isn’t a fire hazard, or that we don’t overload the entire town of Brighton and cause a blackout?”

“On it.”

“Thanks. While you’re at it, you might also want to look at your dad’s attempt to hang a Santa from the roof.”

“Shit, there’s a Santa on our roof. I didn’t look up.”

“Yep. He’s dangling up there with a couple of elves. It looks like dear old Santa chucked the pointy-eared buggers right off the roof.”

“Shit. Okay. Save the elves, got it. Um, do I want to know why a twenty-five-pound bag of flour is on the counter?’

“Baking. Lots and lots of baking and cooking. The grandmothers plan on baking. Tons. I’ve officially been extricated from my kitchen for the foreseeable future.”

“Oh.” Lee couldn’t think of anything else to say.

“On the bright side, Jacob’s having the time of his life,” Frank commented with his first smile since Lee arrived.

“I imagine he is having a ball.”

This would be great fun for an eight-year-old. What kid wouldn’t like to be fawned over by their grandparents, have their house lit up like a Christmas carnival, and their grandmothers baking up a storm just for him? Right now, life for their son was perfect.

“Mazel tov,” Frank said as he raised his beer and took another drink.

“Okay, I think you’ve manned this ship long enough. How about you go to our master bath and have a nice long soak in the tub? I’ll take over from here.”

Frank looked at him in what could only be described as massive relief.

“You mean it.”

“Yeah. Go. Relax.”

Frank stood so fast that the chair almost tipped over onto the floor. He was halfway out the kitchen entrance when he turned. “Come get me if you need help.”

“You don’t mean that.” Lee laughed.

“You’re right, I don’t. Good luck. I love you.” Then he was gone.

Now, where was the ladder?