Page 19 of Deck the Palms (An Annabeth Albert Christmas)
Nineteen
As a gentle winter break reminder, growing middle school brains need regular fresh air and sunshine! Don’t spend the whole break in front of a screen.
NOLAN
Any hassle in calling Merry for a favor was worth it because I got more time with him and because of the look on my parents’ faces when they met Barney and the twins.
“Is that a dog?” My mother somehow managed to sound and look like a Muppet—long neck, googly eyes, dramatic voice.
“No, it’s a chicken.” I rolled my eyes at her. “Yes, Mother, that’s Merry’s family’s dog.”
“Why is it heading to the pool?” She put a hand to her chest as Barney sauntered out to the pool area through a door the kids had left ajar.
“He likes the purple raft.” I shrugged. The dog had grown on me substantially since our first meeting. Besides, it was more than worth having the dog over to watch my mother’s horror.
“Dear heavens. The hair in the filter. Your poor pool boy.”
Cara snorted because they did most of their own maintenance with a service run by an elderly gentleman for the rest.
Leaning in, I whispered to Merry, “Wanna play pool boy later?”
“Thought we were playing elf right now.” He kept his voice similarly low, but his eyes sparkled.
“Hey, when it comes to you, I’m up for all the roles.” I delivered the line with a chuckle, but there was also a fair bit of truth there. I’d be up for whatever role he wanted to give me, including the ones that weren’t up for audition.
“Good.” Merry looked like he might kiss me, but my parents were right there. They knew I was gay, of course, but there were some things one simply did not do in front of Natalie and Harold Bell.
Once we’d made it safely to Merry’s car, though, I made sure to get that kiss. And a second for good measure.
“So tempted to drag you back to my place.” Merry pulled away with a grin. Despite his tease, he headed toward downtown Honolulu. “So…do your parents always dress like that?”
“Like Central Park West meets a country club?” I had to laugh. “Yes. Always. They’ve been here less than three full days and have already visited two tennis clubs. And they have golf tee times for their other days here. God forbid they take actual downtime or time with the kids.”
“How did you manage to grow up with them and not play either sport?” Merry asked as we zipped down the highway at his usual speed.
“A lot of time alone,” I admitted. “Luckily, I had my grandfather and Craig before he got older and got his own group of friends. And later I had friends to avoid tee times with. I’m considering escaping to North Shore when they golf.”
“Do it.” An eager smile swept across his face. I’d been worried he wouldn’t like the idea, but his expression and tone said otherwise. “I’m going to try to get some good surfing in before the New Year’s Eve party, but you should come. My folks love you, and we can get away with sharing a room there more easily than trying for a sleepover here.”
“Truth.” I grinned back at him, already loving the idea of some more private time. “And your mom can cook. Mine is where I get my ordering skills from.”
“Well, she seemed…efficient?” Merry’s forehead wrinkled like he was trying super hard to find something nice to say.
“You can be honest.” I barked out a laugh. “They are both stiffer than a cardboard box with about as much personality and warmth. Don’t get me wrong. I love them.”
“I know you do.” Merry’s tone was just this side of pity.
“They’re not bad people.” I exhaled hard. “They provided a good life for me and Craig, but warm fuzzies and tight hugs they are not. And today, I realized I get my perfectionist ways from them, and Lord, I don’t want to turn into them when I’m older. I don’t want to lose my ability to appreciate little things.”
“You? My eternal optimist? Never.” Slowing for traffic, Merry reached over to give me a fast pat on the thigh. “You’re a perfectionist because you care so deeply, not because you’re a hard-to-please grump.”
“Oh.” I sat with that proclamation for a moment, letting the compliment settle over me. I wasn’t sure I’d ever felt quite so seen. I did try hard to be optimistic, and having that appreciated was sweeter than a sugar cookie.
“What’s with the traffic?” I asked as Merry took the exit for downtown and immediately landed us in a thick jam of cars, buses, and pedestrians. “This is almost New York levels.”
“Welcome to Waikiki on Christmas Eve, baby.” Merry chuckled, but tense lines appeared around his eyes as he navigated the clogged streets. “And shouldn’t you feel right at home with these crowds?”
“Actually…maybe suburbia and base living is growing on me.” I looked out at the sidewalks where shoppers toting designer bags dodged each other and the slow creep of cars forward. “This is a lot of people.”
A large group of jaywalkers darted out between cars as Merry tried to turn into a parking garage. The attendant came out with a Garage Full sign before Merry could complete the turn, and he cursed low under his breath.
“Once we find a parking garage with room, I’ll get you a fancy bubble tea from this place I know down here, and you’ll get your city-slicker legs and holiday spirit back.”
Hmm. Maybe I didn’t want those city-slicker legs back, but I wasn’t sure how to express that. I did miss certain things about New York, but I also appreciated others about Oahu. A group of well-dressed women almost collided with a quartet of hipster young men, and each group continued on like they were in their own bubble, with no interaction. The shops were all luxury brands, same as ones found in most big cities, none of the quaint charm of North Shore or the welcoming feel of Cara’s neighborhood.
“Do you know the name of every kid at the school?” I asked Merry, mulling over the benefits of smaller places.
“Hmm. Good question.” Merry tapped his fingers against the steering wheel. “The ones in my classes, absolutely, and a good chunk of the others. Not on day one, but by the end of the year, I’ll know almost every face.”
“That’s kind of cool.” I continued to watch the sea of people on the sidewalks as we passed several other full parking garages. “I grew up with city anonymity. Some folks in my parents’ building have lived there forty years without knowing each other’s names or families. And as a substitute, I was never in one school long enough to memorize names.”
“Glad we could be a learning experience.” Merry’s voice was drier than sand, missing my point entirely.
“You’re not?—”
“Ah. A spot!” He zipped into an open street parking spot, and the moment for my deeper reflection vanished in favor of figuring out the parking meters.
On our walk to the electronics store, we stopped for the bubble tea Merry had promised, braving a slow-moving line, but we still had fifteen minutes to spare. However, as we arrived at the store, a young female clerk with dark hair streaked with blonde tips dragged the sidewalk sign into the store while another clerk ran a vacuum inside the store.
“Oh no, they’re closing,” I moaned to Merry.
“Hey, wait, we’re here to pick up an item,” Merry called out to the closest clerk as she attempted to close the heavy glass doors. Merry, though, was faster and managed to get a foot in the door.
“Sorry.” The clerk had a bored rather than apologetic tone. “We already shut down the register.”
“And swept,” the other clerk came up beside the first, glaring at us. “It’s Christmas Eve.”
“I know. And I just need?—”
“Sorry.” The clerk again tried to close the door.
“Do you know who this is?” Merry took on an entitled tone I’d never heard from him before. “This is the Nolan Bell, famous Broadway star and social-media influencer. Rich millennials love him. He’s practically New York royalty. Do you really want to risk a bad review from him ?”
“Well…” At last, the clerk waffled, glancing at her fellow worker.
“The item should have already been set aside.” I seized the opening, talking fast. “And paid for.”
“It’s just a pickup.” Merry’s tone was encouraging but firm. “And we’d so appreciate it.”
“Okay, but we better get five stars for this.” The clerk finally let us into the store, and in short order, we had the bag with Athena’s microphone. I made sure to offer profuse thanks to the clerks.
“That was so brilliant.” I bounced a little as we exited the store, glowing at Merry. He’d defended me, swooping in for the rescue like some sort of white knight surfer dude. “I almost believed you about me being rich and famous.”
“Hey, you’re a star and a prince to me.” He shrugged like he hadn’t pulled off a Christmas miracle.
“And you’re sweeter than you look. And fiercer.” I bumped shoulders with him as we walked back to the car. “Never knew you had a speak-to-the-manager voice.”
He gave a snort. “I was with Alyssa enough years that I developed one by proxy.”
“Do you still love her?” I blurted out the question before I could think better of it.
“Love? No.” Merry narrowed his eyes at me, shaking his head a little like he was trying to figure out my angle. Which was understandable because I was as well. “I’m working on the bitter part, but I’m always going to have strong feelings that she didn’t want to parent. However, she gave me two amazing kids.”
“Truth. They are pretty awesome. But she certainly soured you on relationships.” I continued to press for reasons I didn’t fully understand.
“I wasn’t exactly all-in on relationships before her either. My parents have a great one, but it’s hard to find that sort of lightning in a bottle. But you make me?—”
Merry cut himself off as he thrust an arm out to keep me from walking into traffic. Damn it, I’d been so wrapped up in talking that I’d missed the walk light changing.
“Whoa.” I took a deep breath to reset. “Thanks. And I make you… What?”
“Crazy. You make me crazy.” Merry harrumphed, with clearly no intention of resuming the previous topic. “You could have been hit.”
“I’m fine.” And I was, but I also wanted to be the thing that made him believe in relationships again. I wanted to hear that those chains around his heart were loosening, but he was already striding toward the car. I hurried to catch up. “And the present’s fine.”
“Let’s get you both home in one piece.” Merry unlocked the car. The present was indeed in one piece, but I wasn’t sure I could say the same for my heart.