Keep Me As An Apple of Your Eye - 22. December 22

Sunday, December 22

The First Night of Chanukah

Fourth Sunday of Advent, The Light of Peace

The earth was unformed and void, with darkness over the surface of the deep.

God said, “Let there be light;” and there was light.

God saw that the light was good, and God separated the light from the darkness.

God called the light day and the darkness he called night.

Genesis 1:2-5

Todd and Erick reveled lying in bed. Tim had called and said that Bobby was being released from the hospital on Monday and would stay at his house until school started again in January. College was out for the semester and Bobby had been staying in a cheap motel room while he worked through the holidays. Tim said he didn’t know if he was inviting the fox into the hen house but Bobby needed ongoing observation and had nowhere else to go. He had spoken to both boys about not having sex until Jeremiah was of age but he felt it went in one ear and out the other. They were all but pawing at each other all of the time. Tim sighed and said he couldn’t wait for Black to return home from Brussels. Apparently, everything was going well in Europe and the trip to Israel went off without any problems though he alluded to a major surprise. Black said he felt superfluous with Green, Yellow and Pink also there. He wanted to come back early but he also wanted to maintain his primacy in providing security for Matan and Yonatan.

“By the way, Yonatan and Matan said to give you big hugs for taking care of Jeremiah and Bobby at the theater. They already think of Jeremiah as a younger brother. Matan is especially concerned for him.”

Todd and Erick thanked Tim for the call and turned their attention back to each other. Both fellows were lying on their backs and smiles consumed their faces. It was bliss. They only had one thing to do outside of the apartment for the day and that was to go to church. Erick pondered for a brief second whether he wanted to stay home but realized that he and Todd were both enjoying the Sunday services in Advent. He weighed that against hanging around in just their briefs, enjoying the Sunday paper, consuming a pot of coffee and eating sufganiyot. He loved the jelly filled donuts that were traditional to eat during Chanukah and they had spent Saturday afternoon making a supply. It was a day early but he didn’t care, especially when the jelly filling ended up on their bodies and they had spent time licking it off of each other. They may have been somewhat liberal with the smearing of the jelly on each other but it was worth it. Erick said he wanted to use raspberry jam this year. His mother was the traditionalist and always used strawberry jam but he wanted to really celebrate with his boyfriend, now fiancé.

The fellows finished drinking their morning coffee and eating their donuts. They licked the powdered sugar from the other’s fingers.

“If we keep doing this we will not get to church this morning.” Erick had a lascivious grin on his face. “I could lick you all day long. Of course, if we eat sufganiyot every day during Chanukah there will be more of you to lick. We will cook some more this afternoon for the first night of Chanukah and then NO more. It is a good thing we are swimming.”

Todd said they would only eat one per day. They both knew he was fibbing.

Todd grabbed Erick’s erection and pulled him to the shower. They left a trail of powdered sugar through the apartment. Todd wanted to go to church because they would sing, “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” which was one of his favorite hymns. Since the 17^th of December, Erick had heard Todd humming the O Antiphon hymn around the house. It wasn’t quite like a broken record but the tune was now implanted in Erick’s brain forever.

When they were in the shower, Todd started singing, “O come, O come, O come.” Erick was startled by the sacrilege but then started laughing when he saw the grin on Todd’s face and felt the power building in his loins. Todd dropped to his knees and the first jet of cream hit his face. No more was wasted as his mouth found its target. Erick leaned over him when he finished. Todd stood and shared the cream.

“Perhaps I have found a new filling for the sufganiyoit.” Todd laughed.

“Maybe. There are many different fillings used now however I am a traditional kind of guy and prefer jam. I don’t think I have ever seen cum filled sufganiyot for sell though.” They both laughed at the absurdity of it all.

They finished dressing after Todd’s needs had been met. Todd wondered if having sex before going to church in the morning was sinful. Erick however gave thanks for the gifts of their bodies and that they so freely shared with one another. The church was full and they found seats on the back row. They were in a jolly mood as they shook the rector’s hand and walked into the cold winter weather. The skies were grey and heavy with moisture.

“Do you think it will snow?” Todd looked like an excited child.

“I hope not.”

“What do you mean? Snow is wonderful.”

“You’ve never lived in New England where you get sick of snow. The first snow may be wonderful but by the time you have four to five months of snow it loses its appeal.”

“We are making latkes tonight and it would be wonderful for it to be snowing.”

“As long as we don’t have to watch that Charlie Brown Christmas movie, I will be fine.”

Todd looked like someone had hit him with a wet towel. He had his traditions. It was obvious there was going to be give and take by having a Jewish husband.

By mid-afternoon it had started to snow. Todd ran outside and twirled around trying to catch snow on his tongue. Erick laughed at him like he was a lunatic but then joined in the fun. They were the youngest people in the apartment community and they saw people standing at their windows watching them. All of the people were smiling at their antics and most gave a wave.

They went back inside and Todd made them mugs of hot chocolate.

“We must hurry and fry the latkes.” Erick showed Todd the best way to cook the potato cakes. Hands were slapped as each would reach out to taste them when they came out of the hot oil. They were placed on a rack in the warm oven until they were ready to eat.

Todd had placed a Chanukkiah in the front window. He wanted Erick to know that the holidays were for both of them. Erick had tried to explain that Chanukah was not like Christmas but it was all lost on Todd. He was like a child. Erick smiled and indulged his boyfriend. The sun was setting and Erick was preparing everything for the first night of Chanukah.

There was a knock on the door. The guys looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders. They didn’t want company to interrupt their evening of lighting the first Chanukah candle and then lighting the fourth Advent candle.

Todd was surprised when he opened the door and found Tayloe and Eron standing there.

“Good, I was afraid we would be late. I drove like a madman from Norfolk General Hospital to get here in time. Luckily, I know how to drive in the snow as opposed to a certain other person in the room.” Eron looked at Tayloe and laughed.

Eron grabbed his brother and kissed him on both cheeks. He then kissed Todd. Tayloe kissed Erick on both cheeks and then kissed Todd on the top of the head, like he had always done.

The fellows shucked their coats and they gathered in the living room. Tayloe gave them an update on Bobby and that he would call Jeremiah’s case worker in the morning in an attempt to forestall any problems. Bobby was being released on Monday and in the meantime, Jeremiah had planted himself in the hospital room and would not go anywhere. They had met with Tim when he was bringing lunch back for Jeremiah. From a legal viewpoint, both Tayloe and Eron thought everything was okay.

Todd and Erick gave a sigh of relief and said it was time to celebrate. Todd had moved furniture from in front of the window so they could easily get to the Chanukkiah. He quietly lit the Advent candles in the dining room without making a fuss before he went into the living room. He turned off all of the lights in the apartment. They all looked out at the falling snow. It was magical. Todd leaned into Erick and kissed him. This felt perfect.

This was Chanukah time and Todd decided it would take precedence over Advent for the next two days.

Erick and Eron moved to take center place in front of the window.

Eron led off by offering a blessing for the Chanukah candles.

Blessed are You, Eternal One Our God, Universal Presence, Who sanctifies us with paths of holiness and give us this path of kindling the light of Chanukah.

Erick then lit the shamash or servant candle in the middle. Then Eron said another prayer.

Blessed are You, Eternal One Our God, Universal Presence, Who worked miracles for our ancestors in ancient days at this time.

Both boys took the shamash in their hands and lit one candle for the first night of Chanukah and returned the shamash to its central elevated place in the Chanukkiah. Then Erick said a prayer.

Blessed are You, Eternal One Our God, Universal Presence, Who keeps us in Life always, “Who supports the unfolding of our uniqueness, and Who brings us to this very moment for blessing.

They finished and Erick and Eron sat in silence looking at the candles. When they turned to Todd and Tayloe they were smiling but didn’t say anything. The only lights in the house were from the candles in the front window and the dining room.

Finally, Todd couldn’t stand it anymore. “Please tell me this is not like that Peggy Lee song, ‘Is That All There Is?’”

Both Erick and Eron burst out laughing.

“No baby, we are just getting started.”

Erick led them through a reading from the Book of Numbers and said that they would focus on the word ‘peace’ for the first night of Chanukah. Tayloe’s stomach growled and Todd laughingly said that they needed to focus on feeding the beast if there was going to be any peace in the house.

The latkes and sufganiyot were brought from the kitchen and placed on the cocktail table in the living room. Todd also grabbed bowls filled with sour cream and fried apples. They were feeding each other. Todd had purchased a white zinfandel declaring it the appropriate wine with latkes. He was full of it, but he enjoyed the pretention. The guys were eating and talking about the scripture reading and also the word peace. Actually, they were talking over each other and enjoying both the hilarity and the intellectual competition. The platters emptied very quickly. Todd looked at his brother and said he hoped that would satisfy him until he got home. Tayloe laughed and said he knew where McDonald’s was before getting on the Interstate.

“Next, next, next. Okay, calm down guys.” Erick was in charge and trying to control the unruly mob. “Next, we are going to do a short play. I only have two copies of the script so we will have to share. It is about why we celebrate Chanukah and the importance of oil.” They gathered near the window to try to read the script with lighting from the two candles. They did not want to turn on electric lights. The play had been written for teenagers and contained a great deal of juvenile humor (which seemed appropriate given their hilarity); it even had the appearance of Seymour the Pig. They were laughing at the silliness of the play while respecting its important message.

“Sometimes you have to find the humor to make a point. So that we have more humor, Erick and I are going to teach you The Dreidel Song.”

Erick brought out the dreidel and explained its meaning. They all got on the floor and started spinning the dreidel while singing. All of a sudden gold coins appeared and were awarded. Erick said they were called gelt. The boys scrambled to get as much gelt as they could. Todd realized they were being uproarious and needed to quieten down. He then went to the bedroom and returned with gifts. Erick pulled up the skirt of the sofa and laughed when he removed packages.

“I have to find innovative places to hide presents because somebody is this house is a real snoop.” Todd grinned and said he hadn’t thought to look under the sofa.

Eron reached in his coat pocket and pulled out three long slender boxes. Tayloe smiled and fetched tiny envelopes from the pocket of his top coat.

“We were going to surprise you today. Eron called and invited me into his plot and said I needed to bring a present for each person. Sorry, if they don’t measure up.”

Eron leaned over and said it was not Christmas where everyone was measuring the worth of the presents and making sure that Santa gave them everything on the list. He said it was just a fun thing to do to add to the celebratory nature of Chanukah.

Todd had handed out presents he had originally bought for Erick. Erick handed out three he had bought for Todd. They would go shopping again the next day to refill their supply of presents.

“Look, the candle is about to burn out. Let’s open the presents really quick.”

They tore through the wrapping papers. Todd had given everyone wildly colored socks. He thought they would be fun with the grey or black suits that Erick wore every day. They would certainly enliven their monochromatic wardrobe. Erick bought Todd a pair of colored silk knotted cuff links. Todd caught his breath because they were beautiful. Erick gave Eron and Tayloe the same thing in different colors.

They opened the gifts from Eron and said it was exactly what they needed.

“I know these are probably out of style, but we all do a lot of writing and it is worth it to have nice ink pens.” Eron had their names engraved on the barrels. It was evident that he had been planning for this visit.

Finally, Tayloe handed out envelopes. Inside were invitations to a cooking class at the kitchen store in Cary Town.

“The four of us are going to have our own private cooking class. We get to eat all of the food at the end of class. I pity the poor instructor.”

Just as they finished, they heard a spitting sound and the candles had burnt out. Perfect timing.

Eron said he was spending the night with Tayloe in Richmond and would catch the train to Newport the next day. Todd and Erick looked at each other but didn’t say a word.

The brothers kissed and hugged then Tayloe grabbed Eron’s hand and they departed. They stood in the snow talking and then Tayloe took Eron’s gloved hand, brought it to his lips and kissed it. Todd and Erick stood at the window watching. Eron got in the driver’s seat to take them to Richmond because a light snow was still falling. To Todd, it felt exactly like Christmas. To Erick, it felt like he was back home in New England. They glowed in their love for each other. They extinguished the candles in the dining room and headed to bed. The first day of Chanukah had started and it was good.

Suggested music:

“Chanukah, O Chanukah!”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxH0xF84h_0