Page 52 of A Little Christmas! 4: Song

“Well,” Nan began, “with how long the storm raged, six long days with wind and rain lashing the coast, then freezing at night to leave the residents’ doors and windows frozen shut, it was a good thing the candymaker and toymaker decided to ride out the storm together. By all accounts, they spent their days in front of the fireplace talking and telling stories, cooked their meals together, and shared their plans for upcoming treats and toys.”

She held the cocoa in her hands for a moment, then held it up in a salute to Cooper before taking a sip. “This wasn’t made from some powdered mix.”

“No ma’am, it was my grandfather’s recipe.”

“And what a wonderful recipe it is,” Ms. Lottie said.

“Thank you,” Cooper replied, wishing his grandfather was still alive; he’d have been thrilled to have Cooper pass their compliments on to him.

“When the storm ended, the town was in rough shape,” Nan continued. “Many of their neighbors hadn’t been lucky enough to avoid broken windows and damage to their homes the way the toymaker and candymaker, living over their brick shops, had been able to do. Boats limped in, damaged, with nothing in their hulls, but luckily, with every soul who’d left accounted for. There wasn’t much in the way of festivities as the townspeople found themselves cleaning up and drying out instead of celebrating.”

“Awe,” Zachy moaned.

While Cooper couldn’t see his boy’s face, he was certain Zachy was pouting.

“Yes, there was a somberness as people took to their beds on Christmas Eve, hardly anything in the way of decorations or gifts beneath their trees, for those who still had them and hadn’t had them wrecked when their homes were damaged. And yet, on that very special of nights, two lantern-covered wagons were seen rolling through town, drawn by four horses with bells on their harnesses. Their progress was slow, as their drivers stopped every block to deliver baskets to each house in the village. In them were toys and candy donated by the toymaker and candymaker, and bread, meats, and cheeses donated by the baker and the butcher whose shops were on the same block as theirs. The four of them had come together to ensure that everyone in the village was able to celebrate and put aside their worries for a day.”

“That’s so awesome,” Zachy said.

“Yes, it was,” Nan said. “And the start of a lifelong friendship. It just goes to show that sometimes the things you do for others will reward you in ways you could never imagine.”

“There is a special kind of joy that comes from creating something that brings a smile to someone’s face,” Ms. Lottie said. “Whether it’s sweets or paintings or crafting those darling little clay lemurs that are perfect for damn near everything. Oh, wait until you boys come and see the trailer. We’ve got one that holds toothpicks and another that serves as a napkin holder, and then there are the ones that we made with their tails in the shapes of hooks so they could sit on the edge of the shelves and give us a place to hang our tea mugs.”

“Yes, there are so many of them now we rely on them for everything; we even made ones to hold the cooking spoons, so they weren’t tripping all over the counter and a big one thatserves as a candy dish. After how many selfies we took with them at the Melbourne Zoo, we just simply fell in love with the adorable tiny clowns,” Nan said. “A little joy goes along way, especially out on the road.”

As Cooper moved around the room, collecting mugs for another round of cocoa, it struck him that he was more comfortable here than anywhere he’d lived since leaving home. They’d given him back the joy and sense of belonging he’d lost when his grandfather had passed away, and a somber pall had fallen over his home.

Here, everyone shared, everyone gave, and everyone reaped the benefits of a home where they tried their best to leave the bad things at the door. An oasis, a haven, a sanctuary, that’s what this house had morphed into over the course of the year that they’d lived here together. Now they were on the cusp of a new year, with the newest addition to their family cozied up in his beanbag chair, looking happy, healthy, and positively glowing as Nan smiled down at him, treating him the same as she did Zachy.

Like family.

Because Song mattered to Zachy; all of them did, and she was a true member of that fierce, relentless hippy generation who still proudly defended the belief that love was what made the world go round.

Chapter 20

(Gage)

“Good morning, sweet boys,” Gage chuckled as he stepped into the playroom in the Santa outfit Song and Zachy had left for him beneath the Christmas tree.

Because they hadn’t known company was coming, Gage had found his face heating up as he’d pulled out red assless chaps in front of Nan and Ms. Lottie. So much for his belief that not much could throw him, especially coming from his boys. When he’d lifted a red and white harness and a white beard with red-tipped points that reminded him of a flogger from the box, he’d felt like his cheeks were on fire. The red and white leather cap and matching flogger that followed were what finally made him dig through the rest of the box before removing everything else.

Holy shit, if they’d seen what was in there, Gage would have needed an Acme wormhole to provide a quick escape from the room because there was no way he’d have been able to look those sweet older ladies in the eye again.

Two sets of brown, fur-covered nipple clamps rested in a box lined with tissue paper, with two matching butt plugs with reindeer tails in another small box beside them. Three pump bottles of lube lined the side of the bigger box they were in, one gingerbread scented, one that smelled like ‘smores, and another that smelled like peppermint.

Merry fuckin’ Christmas to me, Gage thought as his boys snickered, then gave in to the urge to giggle like naughty little imps while Nan and Ms. Lottie snickered, then gave in to the urge to laugh up a storm. All the while Cooper had sat there on the couch gasping for breath; he was laughing so hard, while Gage just pressed a palm to his face and prayed for the universe to spare him from dropping dead of embarrassment before he ever got to try out the wonderful gifts his boys had gotten for him.

Gage was far more conscious of removing gifts from their packages after that and noticed Cooper digging around inside of every box, scrutinizing the contents before taking anything out, especially if the gifts had been from Zachy or Song. Their boys had gotten both creative and naughty in their gift-giving this year, resulting in several gifts being stashed beneath the coffee table instead of having their contents displayed where everyone could see them. They weren’t the only ones, though, and Cooper was forced to dive for one of the packages labeled for Zachy and Song before they could get their hands on it. By that point, Nan and Ms. Lottie were slapping their legs and laughing so hard tears dripped from the corners of their eyes.

“This is more fun than the Macy’s Day Parade,” Ms. Lottie declared. “These boys remind me of us when we were their age. Remember when we made Tomas turn several shades of crimson when we danced through the living room in those naughty elf costumes with half of his poker group in the room?”

“Now in all fairness,” Nan began, “that man had forgotten to tell us that he’d invited them over. He was always doing things like that.”

“We gave them a hell of a show,” Ms. Lottie said. “Parker Tolson told me that was the best present anyone had ever given him.”

“That man tried to steal you away from us more times than we could count,” Nan complained. “Tomas would love seeing the life you’ve made for yourself, Zachy. You remember how much he always encouraged you to follow your heart. He’d be proud that you have. Oh, he’d have loved to be outside tending the brisket with you, Gage, but he’d have been fussing up a storm too, warning you to be careful and not let the bark fall off or it would let all the juices escape.”

“I’d have welcomed the company,” Gage said.