Secrets 2: Looking Through Different Eyes - 37. Chapter 37 S2

Chapter 37 – Have a Very Merry Christmas

When we woke up on Christmas morning, Devin and I went downstairs to see what we were going to have for breakfast.

“Wow! This is different. You slept until 9:00 this morning,” Mom quipped.

“Come on, you said the same thing last year. I slept later because I was tired. Is there anything to eat?”

“We were tempted to wake you up earlier, like maybe 6:00 or 7:00, similar to what you used to do to us,” Pa added, “but you used to wake us up at 3:00 or 4:00.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know. Payback would have been a bitch. I realize that, but now I want to eat.”

“You mean you don’t want to open your presents first?” Dad teased. “You always did when you were younger.”

“No, I can wait until after I have breakfast. I guess that must mean I’m either getting old or I’m really hungry.”

“Well, you are getting older, and I hope you’re also getting wiser, and I don’t just mean book smarts.”

“And I think I’ve proven that to you already,” I challenged. “Now, can I finally have something to eat?”

“Yes, we’ve been waiting for you to wake up before we sat down to eat, even over your father’s protests,” Mom replied. “That’s why I don’t understand why he’s continuing to hold things up.” She then glared at Dad, hoping that would stop him from continuing to egg me on.

“Yes, your mother and I have everything ready to prepare breakfast for all of us,” Ma added to support Mom. “So, why don’t you all sit down at the table and well go out to the kitchen and get things started.”

“That’s a great idea,” Dad interjected. “I thought I was going to starve to death before Mickey and Devin woke up.”

“When pigs fly,” Mom shouted from the kitchen.

Her comment caused the rest of us, except for Dad, to stifle a giggle before Dad and Pa went back into the living room to chat privately until the food was on the table.

It wasn’t long before Ma came out of the kitchen carrying the first items into the dining room. “Here are the scrambled eggs and home fries,” she stated as she set two large bowls on the table. “Cindy is making the waffles and I’ve got to go back and check on the sausage links.”

Our dads didn’t have to be called to the table, because their noses led them back to the dining room. “I’m not sure what we’re having,” Dad said as he sat down, “but it smells wonderful.”

Almost as soon as he finished saying that, Mom came out of the kitchen carrying a stack of waffles and Ma was behind her with a platter of sausage links. After they’d set those items on the table, Ma spoke.

“As soon as Cindy gets the rest of the waffles and I fill the bowl up with more scrambled eggs, we’ll sit down and then you can all start passing the various items around.”

A minute later, Mom brought in another platter with waffles and Ma carried in a large pan and emptied it into the bowl that had contained the scrambled eggs earlier. After they sat down we started passing the various items around the table, and then we’d take our share and pass it on to the next person. We did that until each bowl and platter made a complete circuit around the table, and then we began to eat.

It was a very tasty meal, and Mom even got up at one point to make more waffles for Dad, Pa, Devin, and me. We even drained one bottle of syrup and had to open a second one, or else someone would’ve been unhappy that they didn’t have enough syrup for their waffles.

After Dad, Pa, Devin, and I had devoured everything on our plates, we finished eating everything else that was left in the bowls and on the platters, so there weren’t any leftovers to put away. Now that we were finished eating, we headed into the living room to open the presents.

Each set of parents gave Devin and me some really nice things, and they even remembered to buy clothes that were made with fabric that would stretch. They also bought us some other nice presents, and most of those items were things that Devin and I had mentioned to them when we were home for Thanksgiving, so we were both very happy.

Devin and I also gave presents to each of our four parents, and we also gave each pair a joint present from both of us. The idea for the joint presents came to us when we were at the mall at Fort Collins shopping for toys to give to the kids in the hospital.

As we were wandering around looking for stores that might have other types of items that the kids at the hospital would enjoy, we happened to spot a photographer’s studio. After talking it over, we decided to inquire about how much the various size photos would cost. Once we had that information, Devin and I talked it over, we decided to make an appointment for another time, since he was booked up for that day, so we could have our photo taken as another gift for our parents.

The photographer even had a scenic backdrop of the trial gardens on the CSU campus, so we chose that when we had our portrait taken. The photographer took several photos of us in different poses, and after he showed the proofs to us, we chose the two that we liked best and placed our order.

We now gave each set of parents an 8x10 photo of the pose we liked the best, and we placed it in a very nice frame. We also gave them two 5x7 photos of the second pose that we liked, and they could take one of those photos to work and place it on their desk, if that’s what they wanted to do. We also gave them two 2x3 photos of the first pose for their wallets.

“Oh, these are lovely,” my mom enthused as soon as she saw them. “Thank you very much and I intend to hang the 8x10 photo in the living room. I’ll take one of the 5x7 photos to place on my desk at work.”

“Yes, these are a very lovely photo of both of you,” Ma confirmed, “and I’ll hang the 8x10 photograph on the wall in the dining area. I’ll have to think about where I’ll place the smaller photo, since I’m only an aid and don’t have a separate work space at school. Maybe I’ll keep that one on my nightstand in our bedroom.”

“And I’ll put one of the 5x7 photos on my desk at work as well,” Pa agreed.

“And I’ll do that too,” my dad concurred.

We had an additional package made for ourselves, but our package contained two 8x10 photos, so we would each have one to place in our bedroom while we were still living with our parents. Our package also contained two 5x7 photos so we’d each have one for our desks when we eventually get a job. There were also 20 2x3 photos in our package, which was the two dozen we ordered, minus the four we’d given to our parents. This was so we’d each have one to put in our wallets, as well as a few more so we could give one to each of our grandparents and any other relative that wanted a photo of us. Who knows, maybe Aunt Linda, Uncle Ted, Ben, and Katy might want one of them for their wallets as well?

Devin and I also gave each other some really nice presents. Devin gave me a Herschel Little American backpack. It was made to be very sturdy and durable, and it was actually larger than the one I was currently using. He also gave me two CSU polo shirts, one green and the other white, and a pair of slip on Skechers shoes that were black with black souls.

“The backpack has a protective sleeve for your laptop,” Devin pointed out. “And it’s also large enough to carry your books or whatever else you’ll need for your classes, and it has a separate pocket where you can keep an extra set of clothes, in case something happens to the ones you’re wearing. The Skechers are slip ons and you’ll be able to take them off quickly or put them on easily. You’ll even be able to wear them with your suit, as long as you keep them looking nice. I got myself a similar backpack and an identical pair of Skechers as well, and I love them!

“Thank you, love.” And then I gave him a hug and a very passionate kiss.

In return, I gave Devin the things that I’d shown to my parents when I’d opened the packages that were delivered to the house. In case you don’t remember, they were the duffle bag, the three pairs of socks, and the money clip, and then I explained about each one to him as well.

“The duffle bag is larger than the ones we’ve been using and it’s designed to be durable enough to last you a long time. The socks are supposed to be very comfortable and they also have a special arch support, and if you like them I can buy you more for Valentine’s Day or your birthday. Oh, and I also bought a similar duffle bag and socks for myself. The money clip is so you can stop carrying your money around loosely in your pocket, and if you turn it over, you’ll see it has a special inscription.”

After he read it, he looked at me and spoke. “I already knew that, and I love you too, but it will be nice to have it to remind me of your love, because I’ll always carry it with me. Thank you very much.” He then gave me a hug and a very passionate kiss, just like I’d given him.

This wasn’t the end of the presents either, because now my dad passed out the presents that were sent by my grandparents. They not only sent presents for Mom, Dad, and me, but they also included a present for Devin as well. That’s probably because they got a chance to spend time with him for the first time in years when we were visiting them this past summer, while we were on vacation. They’d originally met Devin when he and I were younger, because he was at our house a lot when they came to visit on Thanksgiving and Christmas. They got to know him really well back then and always treated him like he was part of the family until he and his parents moved away.

Now that we’d opened all of our presents, we went up to my room until it was time for lunch so we could use the time to show each other how much we appreciated the presents we’d been given. And of course, we did it in a very intimate way.

We started off by kissing, and then we worked our way down each other’s body, removing the interfering articles of clothing as we went along. When we’d taken off our partner’s pants and underwear, we paid special attention to their genitals, and eventually we made love to each other.

My mom called us down to lunch just as we were finishing up, so we cleaned up quickly and hurriedly got dressed and headed downstairs. When we reached the dining room and sat down at the table, I’m sure we were both still a little flushed, either from making love or hurriedly trying to get presentable again. It probably gave each of our parents a good idea about what we’d been up to, but they didn’t say anything. However, they did keep glancing at us with slight grins on their faces that let us know that they’d figured out what we’d been up to.

When I finally got over thinking about that, I worked up the courage to ask my mom a question. “I know you told Ma and Pa already, but would you please explain to Devin and me what you’ve planned for New Year’s Eve?”

“Of course I will,” she replied. “I found a package deal at the Ramble Hotel in Denver, and the price per couple not only includes our meal on New Year’s Eve, but it also includes a room for the night, and a buffet breakfast in the morning. That reminds me, I have to talk to you about your meal choice for New Year’s Eve, because I have to call it in tomorrow.”

“Ok, we can talk about that after we’re done with lunch.”

“The package also includes two tickets for a free drink from the bar, and they will also provide each couple with noisemakers and a small bottle of champagne for the New Year’s Eve toast. The best part is that there will be live music so we can dance, and I’ve been told the band will play songs that will be appropriate for each age group. Oh, and both families have chipped in and paid for your and Devin’s packages, as an additional Christmas present.”

“Thank you for doing that,” we both replied, and then we took a few seconds to think about what she’d just told us. I was still thinking about it when Devin asked a question.

“Are you sure they’ll allow me and Mac to dance?”

“Yes, they said gay couples are welcomed to participate. And as I’ve already stated, the package also includes a room for the night, and they do that so no one will drink and drive. It will also protect the hotel from a lawsuit if any of their guests decides to leave, rather than spend the night there, and then is involved in an accident.”

“Since we aren’t old enough to drink anything from the bar, we’ll let you guys have our tickets for the free drinks,” I offered.

“You might want to rethink that,” Dad replied, “because the tickets can also be used for sodas, and you can get those from the bar as well.” .

“Yeah, ok, but I’m sure your drinks will cost more than a soda, so we’ll give you our tickets, and then each time you use the tickets to get your drinks, you can buy our drinks for us. I can’t wait until next New Year’s Eve, because Devin and I will both be 21 by then.”

“I hope you don’t plan on overdoing the drinking after you’ve turned 21,” Mom countered.

“No, but it will be nice not to limit our options.”

“By the way,” Ma began, “the four of us have already talked it over and have agreed to let you two share the bottle of champagne that’s included in the package to bring in the New Year.”

“Thank you, we really appreciate that,” we both replied, and then we talked a little more about the New Year’s Eve package. And then we thanked our parents again for the various presents they’d given us, including the New Year’s Eve package.

After we’d all finished eating, our dads got ready to go into the living room and to spend the rest of the day watching NFL games, but Mom stopped them.

“Before you get involved in your football games,” she stated, “what time do you want to have supper?”

“I think it will be safe to have supper at 7:30,” my dad answered.

“Yes, that should be fine,” Pa agreed.

Now that our dads had gone into the living room to watch their game, Devin and I remained at the table with our moms and talked about our choices for the New Year’s Eve meal. There were four choices: a New York strip steak, Chicken Cordon Bleu, Eggplant Parmesan for the vegetarians, and butternut squash stuffed shells for the vegans. And each of the meals comes with a side dish, a salad, and dessert, along with coffee, tea, or water. Of course, Devin and I went with the steak.

With that decision made, Devin and I went up to my room, but this time we talked about how we felt the New Year’s Eve package would work out. We also talked about what we thought we should take with us to wear that night and the next day. We had a feeling the New Year’s Eve meal was going to be at least somewhat formal, since it was going to be a sit down dinner, rather than a buffet, so we probably should take our suits. We also talked about the fact that our parents were going to let us drink the champagne that was provided with the package. We’d probably have done it anyway, but it was nice to have their approval.

We continued talking about a lot of different things after that, until we thought it must be getting time to eat supper, so we headed downstairs to see if we were correct. We found our moms were still in the kitchen working on supper, so we felt that was our cue to set the table. After we finished doing that, we went into the living room to join our dads while they were watching the end of the football game.

We went out during one of the commercials to let our moms know approximately how much longer it would be before the 2^nd quarter ended. They thanked us for that information and everything was ready when half time began, so we all went out to the dining room and sat down.

“It all looks incredible,” Pa said. “I don’t know how you two ladies manage to continue doing this.”

“It just takes a lot of hard work and plenty of practice,” Ma replied. “I suppose you two are planning to continue watching the football game after we finish eating.”

“Of course we are, because the game isn’t over yet! Why else would the teams play the third and fourth quarters, if the game was over at halftime?”

“I was hoping to watch a movie this evening,” my mom said while Devin and I were doing the dishes, and she sounded pissed. “But your fathers have been hogging the TV again.”

“You’ll still be able to watch a movie, because the football game shouldn’t last much more than another hour, an hour and a half at the most. That should allow you to watch a movie at 9:00.”

“Oh, I didn’t know if there would be another game after this game ended, like one being played on the west coast.”

“No, this game will be it for the day.”

“Thank god for little miracles,” she replied sarcastically.

As soon as the game ended, we looked through the cable guide and discovered there were a few movies to choose from and we let our moms make the choice. Once they decided on which movie they wanted to see, we all settled in to watch it with them.

When the movie ended, my mom turned off the TV and we all headed upstairs. Devin and I went to my room to turn in and he made a comment.

“Set your alarm so we can get up early in the morning, because I’m going to go to the cabin with my parents after we have breakfast.”

“You’re not staying here?”

“No, I thought I’d spend some time with them until we return to go to Denver so we can celebrate New Year’s Eve together, and then I’ll stay with you until we return to campus. Ok?”

“Yeah, that will be fine, so I’ll set my alarm.”

I then grabbed my phone and asked Devin what time I should set it for, and I did exactly what he told me. After I’d done that, we got in bed and fell asleep.

When the alarm went off, we got up and put on a pair of sweat pants and a sweat shirt before heading downstairs. “What’s for breakfast,” I asked when I saw both sets of parents sitting in the living room.

“Nothing, unless you two go upstairs and put on something better,” my dad answered. “Aaron has been so generous that your mother and I have decided to take everyone out for breakfast before they leave,”

“Ok, we’ll be right back,” I replied, and then Devin and I raced upstairs so we could wash up and put on something nicer so we could go to the restaurant with our parents.

When we returned downstairs, we put on our coats and followed Pa out to the SUV, and then my dad told him where to go. When we arrived at the Denny’s Restaurant, we all got out of the SUV and went inside.

After we were seated, we looked at our menus to decide what we wanted to eat.

“I think I’ll have the Lumberjack Slam,” Pa said.

As soon as my dad heard him, he quickly looked at the menu again. “I think I’ll have that as well.”

Devin and I went with the Original Grand Slam, and my mom chose the Strawberry Stuffed French Toast, and Ma opted to have the All-American Slam.

“I’m not as hungry as the rest of you obviously are,” Ma explained, since that was the smallest of the Slams, “but I think it’s kinda strange that I’m the one who went with the sports themed Slam.” The rest of us either chuckled or nodded our heads at her comment.

“I’m not that hungry either,” my mom responded, “but the strawberries sound good. You can try some of mine, if you want,” she said to Ma.

“I’ll let you know later,” Ma replied.

As we were eating, we talked about when Devin and his parents would be returning before we headed to Denver for the New Year’s Eve celebration.

If you don’t mind, we’ll return Saturday afternoon,” Pa stated.

“That will be fine,” my dad confirmed.

And we also talked about when they’d be returning home, after we got back from Denver.

“I’ve taken Tuesday off, because I don’t want to miss any of the football bowl games.”

“We’ll be football widows again that day,” Ma told Mom. “I just hope we get back in time to watch the parade first.” Now that this had been cleared up, we finished our meals.

In the end, my mom not only let Ma have some of her breakfast, but she gave some of it to Dad as well, and I think we were all satisfied when we were done. And now that we’d finished eating, my dad asked the server for the check. After he paid it, we went out to get in the SUV for the ride back to our house.

When we arrived there, Ma, Pa, and Devin went inside to get their belongings to load into their SUV. Devin was leaving his SUV for me to use until they returned, since he was riding to the cabin with his parents. He obviously would be riding back here with them when they returned before New Year’s Eve, so I would have some wheels to use while he was gone. I think it was his way of making me feel better that he wasn’t staying, but I’d rather have him than his SUV.

“I hate to see you go,” I told him when we got up to my room.

“I know, but I figured that if I spent the next week at home with my parents, then they’ll let me stay here with you when they go home next weekend. I’ll pack up everything I’ll need for the next semester and put it in the SUV. Then I’ll transfer it over to my SUV when we arrive here.”

“Ok, I guess I can live with that.”

After that, I helped them take their luggage down to the SUV, along with the presents they’d received that didn’t fit into their luggage. Devin didn’t have that problem, because he used the new duffle bag that I’d given him for the presents he’d received.

As soon as everything was in their SUV, Devin and I said goodbye to each other’s parent’s before we said goodbye to each other. I gave Devin a very passionate kiss goodbye, and then my parents and I waved at them as they drove away.

I was glad to have the SUV as the week went on. Even though Mom had purchased more than enough different items and I’d be able to fix a meal for them each evening, there were still other things I needed to get. This included items that I needed so I could prepare a special side dish for each night. During these trips I purchased cauliflower, butternut squash, fresh whole carrots, cabbage, and more bacon so I don’t use up Mom’s supply for breakfast, along with more parmesan cheese. I also purchased other things I would need, along with a different dessert for each evening to make Dad happy.

The side dishes that I’d prepared where recipes that I’d found online and this was the first time I was making any of them. They included garlic-parmesan carrots, green bean almondine, cauliflower au gratin, bacon fried cabbage, and parmesan roasted green beans.

And for dessert I bought 3 packages of Jell-O pudding mixes, and they were Cheesecake, Chocolate Fudge, and Butterscotch. I also bought two flavors of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream: American Dream and Cherry Garcia for the other two nights. I made the cheesecake pudding first, because it would go along well with the spaghetti and meatballs I’d prepared for supper.

“I hope you know you’re spoiling your father and he’s going to get as big as a house,” she chastised me Monday night when she saw what I’d done. .

“Come on, it’s still the holiday season, and that means lots of sweets.”

“Ok, but I’m going to put him on a diet after we celebrate the New Year.”

“What a spoil sport you are,” my dad shot back when he heard what she said.

“I just don’t want you to die of a heart attack. That’s a common occurrence for people that are overweight, along with other assorted maladies that cause them to die young.”

“Ok and I love that you want to keep me alive, even though sometimes I’m pretty inconsiderate, especially during football season.”

“That’s ok, as long as you lose some weight and don’t get carried away during basketball and baseball seasons, like you do during football season.”

“Ok, I promise I won’t do that. And I love you, even though I don’t show it some times.”

“I love you too.”

“I know, and you’re not only a terrific mother and beautiful woman, you’re a fantastic wife as well.”

I’m glad they’d worked all of that out before they went to bed.