Page 36 of A Dye Hard Holiday
“I see its more than just Kyle and Chaz’s affection that’s contributing to Mark’s remarkable turnaround,” I said cheerfully. “I’m so glad he made a fast friend with Daniel.”
“We’re pretty sure it’s more than friendship for Daniel,” John said with a rueful smile. “I don’t remember hugging my friends like that.” I expected Deanna to comment, but she remained silent. She had been open and loving to Mark the minute she met him, so I knew that her silence had zero to do with him being transgender. John looped his arm around Deanna’s neck and kissed her temple affectionately before he said, “Someone isn’t ready for her firstborn to fall in love.”
Deanna sniffed and briefly covered her face with her gloves. “I’m supposed to be the love of his life for another few years.”
“No one will ever replace you in his heart,” John said softly to his wife.
“I know,” she sniffed once more before smiling up at Chaz and Kyle. “At least he’ll have great in-laws.”
“Whoa!” Chaz said, covering his heart like she’d stabbed him in the chest. “We’re not ready for that either. Hell, we just got our first kid and you’re marrying him off already.”
“It’s not going to be easy for them,” Kyle said soberly as we watched the two boys interact. “I just want to protect them from the bullshit they’ll face outside our tightknit group.”
“Nothing worth having ever comes easy,” I remarked. “Besides, they have a soft, safe place to land with all of us.”
The line for the hot chocolate was long, but the two boys didn’t seem to mind. They talked nonstop, often over top of one another, as they waited. Two older boys, I assumed to be high school age, homed in on Mark and Daniel with disgust in their eyes. They started to step forward but a tall, dangerous looking man stepped in front of them before they got too close to the kids.
“Or, Jon can make them disappear,” Josh offered.
Jon stepped forward and the troublemakers staggered back a few steps. I couldn’t hear what Jon said, but I guessed it was very descriptive judging by the ghost-white expressions on the older boys’ faces. Emory shook his head slowly, but his smile said he heartily approved of his fiancé’s message.
Mark and Daniel worked their way to the front of the line without knowing that trouble had been lurking around them. We couldn’t always be with them, so their parents would need to sit them down and have a conversation about being aware of their surroundings. That made me irrationally angry. What kind of world did we live in? Why couldn’t those kids just be kids and not have to worry about bullies and beatings? I remembered how scarred Josh was when I first met him because of cruel idiots and that made me even madder. It didn’t help when I spotted my nemesis nearby with Dare on his arm.
“What the fuck is that?” I snarled, nodding my head in Doctor Douche’s direction.
“The reason why I had to cut Trent’s hair,” Josh replied. Sure enough, Wren wasn’t too far behind them, watching the couple walk slowly through the crowd. “I’m pretty sure Wren is going to need bail money.”
“Who said I would arrest him?” I asked. “I wonder if it’s too late to accept Jon’s generous offer to help relocate the doctor.”
“Gabe, stop,” Josh said in frustration. “And watch what you say around our babies. They’ll go to preschool talking like Tony Soprano’s grandchildren.” Okay, he had a point.
“You have to admit that his hair looks better after I got ahold of it.”
“I’ll do no such thing,” I replied.
It was obvious that the close call with the bullies dampened our Christmas spirit by the time we reached Mark, Daniel, Jon, and Emory. I didn’t think anyone was in the mood to tour through Santa’s remodeled village, so I made a different suggestion after looking at my watch. “Why don’t we all go back to our place and watchRudolph, eat some cookies, and drink milk or hot chocolate.”
The kids were all for it, but there were mixed reactions from the adults. Not everyone was a kid at heart when it came to Christmas movies. “Josh can lace the adults’ hot chocolate with brandy or make that boozy buttered rum beverage I found on Pinterest,” I offered without consulting my husband first.
“Pinterest?” Jon asked. I heard the censure in his voice, but he’d eat—or drink—his words after he tried one of those drinks.
“Yeah, you heard me, Silver.” I leaned forward and said, “You can find everything there from decorating, to cooking, to what gets blood out of—”
“Gabe.”
“I was going to say clothes, Sunshine. You know how hard I am on my baseball pants.” I tipped my head in Jon’s direction. “Doubtful he needs training on that particular skillset though.”
“I’ve learned that fire works wonderfully,” Jon said with a devilish grin.
Emory elbowed him playfully in the ribs. “He also thinks it’s a suitable way to kill spiders,” Emory teased. “I had to explain to him that our insurance company wouldn’t agree.”
“That spider was the size of my fistandit jumped.” Jon shivered hard as he recalled the incident.
Jon was afraid of spiders.That was good to know for future torment and gag gifts.
“What’s the name of that website again?” Jon asked after he took his first sip of Josh’s creamy, buttered rum drink. “This is ridiculously good.”
“And messy,” Emory said, wiping off a glob of cream that stuck to the corner of Jon’s mouth. Instead of wiping it on a napkin, Emory sucked it off his finger like he would if he got chocolate icing on it. He wasn’t intentionally trying to be sexy, but I could see it had the same effect on Jon.