A Christmas Coincidence - 10. Chapter 10

The sun hadn't risen when Ben woke up on Christmas morning. The teen sat up, stretched, slid his bare feet into slippers, and headed for the bathroom. He grabbed a pair of red satiny boxers decorated with Scooby-Doo wearing a Santa hat, a pair of tan jeans, a gray tank top, a garnet red polo shirt, and a pair of thin red ankle socks decorated with snowflakes and Happy Holidays written on the top, and Merry Christmas written on the soles.

The joyful teen put Christmas music on and walked into the kitchen, where he prepared a hearty breakfast of omelets made with diced ham, diced onions and peppers, cubed pieces of mozzarella and Monterey jack cheeses, homemade buttermilk biscuits, and sausage gravy for his family. As he cooked, his mind turned to thoughts of his first eleven years of life, how sad he was when the people at the orphanage told him his parents dropped him off on the doorstep of the facility as an infant, and all the time spent in and out of the orphanage. The years without a permanent family weren't all bad. The worst part was being sent back to the facility when one family or another would find something they didn't like about him, or a couple families fostered him with good intentions of adopting him until they got pregnant and decided to give him back because they didn't want two kids at the time. For the most part, Ben had given up hope about being a lifelong member of a loving family when Trevor Morgan showed up for the Big Brother program. He remembered watching the red-haired guy sitting down with about a dozen kids before being introduced to him. A smile crossed his face at the memory of feeling an instant connection to the man and the joy from knowing in his heart that the connection was mutual.

The teen was about to start the coffee and jumped when a pair of arms wrapped around him from behind, and when his stomach was tickled, he began squirming and giggling.

"Merry Christmas, my giggly nephew."

"Merry Christmas, Uncle Vince."

Ben turned to face his uncle, wrapped his arms around the man's waist, stood on his toes, and kissed his cheek. He giggled even more when he was lifted off the floor in a bear hug and kissed.

"Wow! Did you fix all this yourself?"

"Sure did. One of the things I learned at the orphanage was how to cook. They had a rotation and worked with all the kids, making the meals. Then, when we started spending time together, Dad taught me recipes."

"It looks and smells amazing. I can't wait to eat."

"What smells so amazing?"

The uncle and nephew duo turned to see Brett, Julie, and Trevor walking into the kitchen. Ben returned to the coffee and stirred the gravy while Vincent hugged and kissed everyone, and then it was his turn.

"You want me to take over, Son," Julie asked as she gathered mugs, the creamer, and sugar while waiting for the coffee to finish brewing.

"Nope, I got everything under control, and it's just about finished." Ben smirked and added, "You guys could set the table since I've been slaving away at a hot stove and oven." He giggled and held the spatula in the air, waving it back and forth when his dad and Brett wiggled their fingers at him as they approached, saying, "Back, back, I'm not afraid to use this dangerous weapon."

"We can wait, little man," Brett said, giggling as he ruffled the teen's hair.

The teenage chef blushed from all the compliments for the breakfast he'd made.

After eating, everyone helped clean up, and Julie fixed hot apple cider while Trevor lit the tree. Brett and Vincent were on the sofa, and Ben was sitting on the floor between them, waiting to open presents. Licking his lips and grinning, he pulled one of each of his uncles' feet into his lap, then tickled the festive sock-clad soles and toes. It took a second or two for the bodies to start squirming, followed by the boyish giggles and squeals, and finally, his name being called through the giggling. After a couple minutes of tickling, his redheaded uncle grabbed his ankles as his dark-haired uncle grabbed him under his armpits, and they lifted him onto their laps, keeping him pinned while he squealed and giggled.

"Looks like you got into quite a ticklish situation, Nephew."

"Umm, are those new socks? They look cute on you and Uncle Brett."

The men snickered as their captive squirmed and nervously giggled. Seconds later, five fingers tickled the soles of flapping feet, quickly followed by another five fingers that wiggled, kneaded, and prodded the ticklish ribs and stomach as the trapped teen's shrieking laughter flowed freely from his open mouth and mingled with the tickling adults' giggles.

"Mom, Dad, aren't ya gonna help?"

Julie chuckled and said, "I'm working on the cider, baby boy, and you know how important that is."

"Don't forget his belly button," Trevor said, giggling.

"One eye open, Mom and Dad," Ben said before squealing and giggling like crazy when his uncles took turns blowing raspberries on his stomach. "You guys win. I give! Uncle," He called out a minute or two later.

The teen was still giggling when his ticklers hugged and kissed him.

"Are you excited to see what you got?"

"Yeah, I am, Uncle Brett, but I'm more excited to see what everyone else gets. The best presents I've received are being with my Uncles and knowing the two of you will be moving here soon."

The sentiment of Ben's declaration brought tears to his parents' and uncles' eyes.

After opening presents, the family threw away the torn paper, placed the gifts under the tree, and then went upstairs to get themselves together for the ten-minute drive to Middletown.

Before leaving, it was decided that the family would ride together in Julie's Escalade since it was the roomiest and most comfortable out of the four SUVs. Trevor gave his future wife his adorable puppy eyes, and the playful redhead even whimpered while asking if he could drive the Cadillac, much to the amusement of Julie, Ben, Brett, and Vincent.

"Julie, you know my brother loves to barrel out into oncoming traffic, don't you? The day before yesterday, Trevor came out of his office and ran right into me because he didn't look both ways first."

Everyone chuckled when Brett's comment earned him a head slap and a noogie from his younger brother.

The mood at the Morgan's was festive and celebratory as the families blended together in the harmonious splendor of an expertly directed symphony. After the presents were opened, everyone split up. In the kitchen, Julie helped prepare the dinner. She got helpful tips from her Mom and future grandma-in-law and was soaking up the wealth of knowledge from their years of experience. In the den, sipping on a Malibu and Pepsi, Trevor was getting an education about the joys and challenges of parenthood from his grandpa and future dad-in-law. Ben was jumping between the two trios, like a butterfly visiting multi-colored flowers. Brett was showing Vincent around the house, pointing out various photos on the walls and decorating the surfaces of the end tables and the coffee tables.

"Oh, Wow! I don't remember seeing this picture before," Brett said.

Vincent looked over his boyfriend's shoulder at the photo of Brett when he was a very young boy hugging a dark-haired boy with a teddy bear in his arms. His eyes widened, and he gasped.

"What's up, babe?

"Umm, I don't know how, but that's me holding the bear."

Brett turned and gazed into Vincent's eyes, searching for some telltale sign of this being a joke. After not seeing any such sign, he called out, "Grandma, can you come into the living room for a second?"

"Be right there, baby boy."

"Where'd this photo come from? I don't remember it at all."

"Do you remember Viola Caraway from two doors down? She brought that over a few days ago. Vi used to babysit for some of the children from this neighborhood and a couple of the other neighborhoods that were close by. Anyway, she used to watch you when Grandpa and I were working. The day she took that picture, Vi told me and Grandpa about you stepping up and protecting the little boy in the photo when an older boy was bullying him and trying to take his teddy bear."

Brett and Vincent looked at one another and burst out laughing..

"What's so funny," Trevor and Trudy asked in unison.

When Brett showed everyone the photo, Juliet Wakefield said, "Vinnie, that's you when you were five."

"The other boy was Brett when he was six," Phillip Sr. offered.

Brett went on to share what Trudy told him and Vincent. Then, Vincent threw in all the coincidences he and Brett experienced since they left Boston. Everyone was laughing and amazed at how the two young men were randomly in each other's circles over the years.

That night back at the Cape Cod, Brett and Vincent held each other while they lay in bed.

"This has been the most interesting and amazingly wonderful Christmas I've had so far," Vincent gushed.

"For me too, my sweet love. I can't believe that we knew each other as kids and that I protected you."

"You're never gonna believe this, but I still have that same bear."

Brett turned and looked at his lover and said, "You do not."

Vincent nodded and grinned, saying, "I do so. He's on a shelf in my closet, wrapped in bubble wrap and boxed up. I never knew why, but I couldn't part with him. Maybe because you kept him from being taken from me."

"Merry Christmas, Vin."

"Merry Christmas, Brett."

"I love you," they said before sharing a love-filled kiss and closing their eyes for a restful night's sleep.

 Yes, @Paladin, there is a Santa Claus and he's brought the gift of a final coincidence with him. 
 
And, Yes, @Summerabbacat, I managed to mention one of Dolly's most iconic songs, "Two Doors Down." 
 
Hope everyone enjoyed this final chapter. I do have an epilogue on the way to bring this story to a very happy ending.
 
Thank you, everyone for reading, reacting, and commenting.
 
Love y'all