Page 44 of A Little Christmas! 4: Song

“You’re right,” Gage said. “That one doesn’t count. Zachy, I hope you have them all out of your system now, because once you do climb in here, they will count, and your little bottom will spend the bulk of tomorrow on my lap.”

“Umm, Daddy,” Zachy said in that cheeky voice Gage loved. “Are you trying to warn me against eeping or encourage me to eep more?”

“We’re doomed,” Song moaned and yanked a pillow over his head.

Words too muffled for Gage to understand followed up his statement, while Gage slapped a palm to his face and groaned.

“How about no more eeps and no more talking? You just get your butt in here and go to sleep,” Gage said. “As in right now, Zachy, it’s bedtime.”

“Yes, Daddy,” our good boy replied, wiggling back beneath the covers.

Seconds later G heard the soft sound of him sucking on one of the binkies he kept beneath the pillow and knew it would help Zachy comply with his request. In hindsight, he probably should have just located one himself and stuck it in Zachy’s mouth when he mentioned Norway.

The problem with nights like this, where there were so many waves of adrenaline hitting one after the other, was that once one of us was unsettled, all of us were. Even sucking on his binky, Zachy was squirmy, while Cooper kept accidentally kicking Gage’s foot as he tried to find a comfortable sleeping position. Things went on like that for almost half an hour, as Gage tried to drop off into slumber, only to be reminded of the one place on their list that they hadn’t had the chance to take the boys to.

As long as there were no more eeps, they’d make it there before it closed.

If not, there was always next time.

“Fuck it, I’m putting a movie on.” Cooper grumbled, the bed flopping as he rolled off, likely to seek out the remote control they’d sent flying.

Rolling on his side, Gage couldn’t tell if that was daylight on the horizon or just the lights from the city creeping into the room. Either way, a movie might be just what they needed to help them drift off before they spent their final day in the city sleeping.

And the night wired, again. Shit. That would make the drive home a long, cranky one.

“Yeah, a movie might be a good idea,” Gage said.

It took the flashlight on his phone, some muttered curses, and Cooper tidying up the room some before he located the remote. When the television flared to life, Gage found himself blinking against the brightness, but as Cooper found Die Hard and put it on, Gage couldn’t think of a better holiday movie to drift in and out on.

Yippee-ki-yay, motherfucker, indeed. If the rest of their holiday season went the way this trip had gone, then they were fixing to blow the roof off the new year.

Chapter 17

(Zachy)

“It’s so pretty,” Zachy squealed as he stared up at the brightly lit tree beneath the fountain and golden statue at Rockefeller Center.

With their time in New York ending, coming here tonight had been the last thing on Song’s list of things he’d desperately wanted to do while they were in the city.

“I can’t believe how big it is,” Song replied, tilting his head back.

With their arms wrapped around one another, they tried to see the star at the top and nearly landed on their tushies as they wobbled on their skates. Daddy’s strong arms wrapped around them, steadying them while they took it all in.

“I can see why everyone talks about how magical it is here,” Song said, giving Zachy a squeeze. “I feel like I’m in a movie. We’re gonna watch lots of them when we get home, right?”

“Yup, and have plenty of cocoa too,” Zachy promised. “And wear footie pajamas and snuggle on the living room floor on all our fluffy pillows.”

“I love them; they are so super soft,” Song said, letting out a contented sigh that sent a poof of foggy breath into the air. “I can’t wait to sink back into them again, sprawl out, and not think about anything but which Christmas movie to watch next.”

“All of them,” Zachy said.

“Between streaming services and the collection we’ve acquired, there aren’t many we don’t have access to,” Daddy promised, as the sound of skates skidding on ice punctuated his words.

Papa stood there grinning as Zachy looked down to see shaved ice all over the side of his skates. “Don’t tell me you guys are tired already.”

“Not everyone can skate like they play for Toronto,” Daddy snarked with a big, goofy grin on his face as he eyed Papa up and down.

“Hey, it’s like you said at the bowling alley, everyone’s got to have something to pursue to help them unwind.”