An Advent Calendar - 23. Door#23 - Cozy Christmas Socks

Cozy Christmas Socks

‘Rrowff, arf, arf, arf, rrowff’

“Sox! For fuck’s sake!”

Ren grinned when he heard Jonah’s irritated voice. Their big ball of fluff must be rearranging their shoes in the hall again—“You crazy noodle!”—causing Jonah to invent food-related pet names for him.

Two and a half weeks’ vacation. No overflowing schedules, emergency phone conferences and upset clients. Ren threw the backpack over his shoulder, grabbed the bottle of red wine he’d gotten from Jonah’s favorite wine dealer, and slammed the garage door shut. No annoying father either. Until Christmas Eve.

As soon as he had the door open, the wonderful aroma of Jonah’s special pasta sauce hit his nose, but incessant whining demanded his attention first. With his tail wagging frantically, scattering shoes and boots about the tiled floor, the Collie/German Shepherd mix waited impatiently for him to say the word. Ren quickly put the wine and the backpack safely away on the table beside the door, then tapped his chest once. “Come!” Because that was all the permission the ‘crazy noodle’ needed to jump him. Big paws landed on his shoulders and a wet tongue slobbered all over his face. “Yuck! Sox, how many times…mmpf…hmpf…Ew! That’s enough!” He turned his head away. “Down, crazy noodle.” Sox gave him one last incredulous look, as if he wanted to say, ‘You too?’, then trotted away in a huff.

“Sox doesn’t like his new pet name, babe!” Ren rubbed his face with the sleeve of his sweater. “He just gave me the cold shoulder!”

“Make sure you wash your face and rinse your mouth out before you attempt to give me a kiss, Lover!”

Ren took the wine bottle and made his way to the kitchen. “This is all your fault! You taught him that trick!”

“That doesn’t mean I want to kiss his smelly mouth by proxy!”

Just the sight of Jonah in his cooking outfit made most of Ren’s stress fade away. His man was gorgeous: Holey, paint-sprinkled jeans, a snug red t-shirt—so the tomato stains wouldn’t be so obvious—his dark hair held back by a red rubber band, and barefoot. Jonah couldn’t be bothered with socks since they had the underfloor heating installed. Standing in front of the oven, stirring a pan on the stove, he hummed and swayed along with Christmas songs.

“Hey, baby.” Ren kissed his cheek. “Did you finish your article on time?”

“Yup. Even sent it to Luis well ahead of the deadline. He’ll be so shocked.” Jonah held a spoon in front of Ren’s lips. “Matteo suggested adding capers. What do you think?”

“Adventurous.” Ren blew at the steaming sauce, before he opened his mouth to creamy, spicy goodness. “Wow. Delicious.” Sniffing the air, he peered into the oven. “Is that focaccia?”

“Yes.” He spread his arms in an all-encompassing Jonah gesture. “To celebrate your last day at work for what is left of the year, I made your favorite dishes.”

“I love you!”

“You love my cooking!”

“That too.” Ren wrapped Jonah in his arms and placed a tender kiss on his lips. “Hmm…oregano and rosemary and…Jonah.” He pressed his face in Jonah’s hair. “I’ll take a quick shower and change into something that doesn’t stink of office, and then I’ll set the table.”

“Okay, hurry. The pasta is almost done.”

Ren took the stairs two at the time with Sox right on his heels. “What? Am I forgiven? Do you want to shower with me?” The dog shook himself as if already wet, and jumped on the bed. Ren grinned. “You understood that too, huh?” He quickly stripped down and felt immediately better after shedding the first layer of work.

Standing under the hot spray, he wished he could stay longer, but he knew Jonah hated having to keep the food warm—something about slimy pasta and overcooked tomatoes. His hand ran along the different bottles until he found Jonah’s body wash. Tonight he felt like being wrapped up in his lover’s scent, by washing away the last remnants of the day.

Twenty minutes later, Ren entered the kitchen clad in a pair of plaid pajama bottoms and a long-sleeved, white t-shirt.

Jonah took one look at him and frowned. “Hard day?”

Ren grunted something unintelligible while he opened the wine bottle. “I got the Barolo you like so much. Even though Davide said it’s totally overrated and overpriced.”

“And he is probably right. I like it anyway. We have beer in the fridge and water on tap.”

“Ouch!”

“And I think I forgot where I put the Tirami sù.” Jonah grinned evilly as he grated the Grana Padano.

“Double ouch!” Ren held his hands up in a mock apology. “It’s the best red wine I’ve ever tasted. Fabulous! Unprecedented! Unmatched!”

“Thought you might say that.”

“Where do you want to eat? Kitchen or dining room?”

“Your call. This is your evening.” He waggled his eyebrows. “And night.”

Despite being his playful self, he knew Jonah’s concerned gaze was following him around the room. “Kitchen.”

Ren watched his frowning lover chasing an olive over the plate with his fork. By his standards, his man had been amazingly patient, but…this was Jonah after all, so his restraint couldn’t last forever. The olive was stabbed to death. And then came the question.

“What did he do now?”

Ren sipped at his wine. It really didn’t taste that bad. “Obviously, he thought I’d been joking when I told him last month I was going to take a little more than two weeks off, starting today. So, when I went into his office to tell him goodbye, he…let’s just say he wasn’t thrilled.”

“Ren, just because your father practically lives at his company doesn’t mean you have to also.” Jonah pushed his chair back and got up to collect their empty plates and used silverware. “The man has no life beside work. You do.” On cue, Sox pushed the napkin from Ren’s lap with his long snout, looking at him with soulful eyes.

His hand automatically found the dog’s head. “Well, he thinks I’m not invested enough.”

Placing a basket with foccacia in the middle of the table with a ‘thunk’, Jonah said, “He wasn’t this extreme when your mother was still alive…”

“I know.”

“So what did you tell him?”

“Nothing. I left the room and came home.” Ren lifted his glass and held it against the light coming from the flickering candle on the table. “After a short detour to ‘Wineskin’ of course.” He closed his eyes briefly. “He’s been invited by friends to spend the holidays with them in the Bahamas. His cousin asked him to go on a cruise with him. He said no. Instead, he will be at the office during the holidays, after the holidays, on New Year’s Eve and on New Year’s Day. The only exception will be Christmas Eve where he will be come home thirty minutes earlier, as he expects us to dine with him.”

Jonah toyed with his knife. “Yeah, about that.”

“Hmm?”

“What do you think about playing hooky?”

“What do you mean?”

Jonah leaned back in his chair. “You know I already had the pleasure of spending two Christmas Eve dinners listening to nothing but balances, credit rates, suggestions of what you could do to enhance the efficiency of your department, people I don’t know, parts of it even in Japanese….”

“Yes, I know. I’m sorry, Jonah. I already told him how incredibly rude this is. I—”

“He doesn’t like me.” When Ren tried to protest, Jonah lifted his hand to stop him. “That’s okay.” Ren frowned, but Jonah shook his head. “No, really. I’m difficult…and have the wrong parts to procreate his grandchildren.”

“Baby—”

Jonah grinned mischievously. “But he likes my mother, who invited him to my parents’ annual Christmas Eve bash.”

“Which he declined.”

“Which he accepted—after Mom told him she had invited this Japanese couple, who don’t speak English very well, and he just had to help her translate.”

“I can’t believe it. Wha—Why does your mother know a Japanese couple?”

“Well, they’re actually siblings and she knows them from work.” Jonah rubbed his hands. “Mom also said not to bother with Christmas Day lunch. She rescheduled for New Year’s Day.”

“Oh…and you had nothing to do with that, did you?”

“I had everything to do with that!” Jonah grinned proudly. “This is why tomorrow, you and I and Sox will be on a ten-day trip to a location-that-will-not-be-named, that only I and one co-conspirer know about.”

“We do?”

“Yes! The car is packed, give or take a few items. All what’s left for you to do is enjoy this meal and the after dinner er…celebrations.”

***

Ren was slumped in the passenger seat of Jonah’s Q7, his head leaning against the window as he yawned loudly. “I can’t believe you woke me at four am. JONAH. FOUR. AM.” There were two very large coffee-to-go mugs in the cup holder, and a white paper bag filled to the brim with homemade Christmas cookies was sitting in his lover’s lap. “Even all doped up on coffee and cookies, I never thought I’d ever see you voluntarily driving your car at five-fucking-am and be this chipper.” He groaned, burying his face in his hands. “This must be a bad dream. Just a bad dream.”

“I’m known for being chipper early in the morning once in a while…for the right reason.” Jonah winked at him, holding out a crescent shaped biscuit. “Want one of my mother’s Vanillekipferl with your extra-large cinnamon latte?”

Who could say no to that? “Do you have pine nut macaroons too?”

Jonah rummaged around in the bag. “Here you go.” Then he looked quickly back to the road.

“Honey cake?”

Jonah snorted then thrust the entire bag in Ren’s lap. “Knock yourself out. You just may as well feed me, it’s safer anyway.”

Ren pointed at the windshield. “Eyes on the road then.” He fished out a light brown cookie sprinkled with little black and white chocolate chunks. “What’s this?”

“Macadamia nut something or other. It has some fancy name I forgot. My aunt’s newly discovered find on allrecipe. Dad said Uncle Thom is addicted to them.”

“They’re good.” He crammed two more cookies into his mouth, “Not as good as your butter cookies though,” then took a sip from his coffee. “Where are we going again?”

“Nu-uh. Nice try though.”

***

Ren woke when his head bumped hard against the window. “Ow!” He carefully touched his temple.

“Sorry, sneaky pothole.” Jonah didn’t look at him. His gaze was focused on the road ahead. “The snow is becoming heavier.”

“Snow!?” Ren rubbed his eyes and looked around. White flakes were swirling all around them, slowly hiding the surrounding countryside. “It’s snowing!” The car slowed down as they’d turned onto a smaller road. Ren bent forward to have a better look. White, mullioned windows framed by dark red bricks greeted them with their warm, yellow light. “Where are we?”

“’The Knotted Spoon’.” They had stopped in front of a large cottage-like house that seemed to duck from the weather under its hipped roof. “I’m starving, and I’ve been told this place is famous for their stews, and the pies are to die for. They serve them with vanilla ice cream and/or whipped cream.” Jonah yawned. “The pies, that is, not the stew. Sox needs a walk, isn’t that right, boy?” A loud bark from the back answered that question.

“Yeah, I could use a break too. My ass feels numb.” Ren got out of the car and stretched before he opened the door in the back to find his coat and let an impatient Sox out.

“We can’t have that. Such a fine ass.” Jonah slapped him on said body part before quickly vanishing inside the inn.

Ren rubbed his backside with one hand, while struggling with leashing a dancing Sox. “Guess you’re not the only one who needs to go potty asap, huh?”

They had been driving south for seven hours, only stopping for gas and walking Sox. Ren had an approximate idea of where they were going. A romantic B&B somewhere in the mountains, or a cottage maybe. He already saw himself sitting in front of a roaring fireplace with a mug of spiked cocoa.

The food was as good as Jonah had promised. They even had another walk afterwards, letting the crazy noodle exhaust himself catching snowflakes before they were back in the car.

Searching for one last cookie, Ren asked, “How long until we’ll be there?”

“Two to three hours, depending on the traffic and the weather. We’ll be using mostly back roads from now on.”

Four hours later, Ren desperately tried to see past the part that was lit by the headlights. “Are you sure this is the right way and Aunty Google knows what she’s doing? We’ve been driving through this forest for god knows how long.”

Jonah laughed. “For forty minutes to be exact, and yes Aunty Google knows what she’s doing.” He turned into an even smaller path. “We’re almost there.”

They reached a clearing and Ren thought he briefly saw something reflecting in their headlights, before Jonah switched them off and searched through the glove compartment.

“Tada!” Illuminated by several lights inside and out, Ren recognized what he just saw was a camper. “My first idea was a tent, but knowing you, I thought it would be a bit much with these temperatures and the snow and all. Luckily, Michael offered his parents’ camper.” Then he saw Ren’s face and burst out laughing. When he had finally calmed down again, he leaned over and took Ren’s lips in a hard kiss. “It comes with hot water, heating, and a very large bed.”

“It does?”

“Yep.” Jonah opened his door to an eerie quiet–no honking horns, no people chatting or laughing–all they could hear was Sox’s panting and impatient whining and the clicking of the cooling engine. “Let’s just take the bags with our clothes and Sox’s stuff. The rest can wait until tomorrow.”

Ren inhaled the crisp, cool air while he watched Jonah wrestling with the lock of the camper. He shook his head. No cute cottage, no cozy B&B but a camper in a lonely, snowy clearing in the middle of nowhere. What was he thinking?

Jonah was inspecting the fridge when Ren stepped inside. “Come in, and close the door. I switched the heating on. It should be warm in a few minutes.” He nodded, obviously satisfied with what he’d found inside. “The bathroom is over there, shower too.” Next, he fished a ratty bath towel from his bag. “I’ll go and rub down Sox so he won’t getting everything wet when the snow in his fur melts.” With that he was out the door and Ren could hear him calling Sox.

The camper was much bigger from the inside than it looked from the outside. Ren snorted, thinking of the Tardis™, or the tents used in Harry Potter™ movies. The bed was large. It took up almost the whole back of the camper. Red satin sheets covered the mattress, and it had lots of green pillows and blankets. Very Christmassy. The kitchen was of a decent size, with a three-flame cooker, and a big fridge. Not what Jonah was used to working with of course, but knowing him, he’d still come up with the most delicious food. The driver and passenger seats were turned so they faced each other, with a small table in between them. Just enough for two plates and glasses. Then he detected the fir branch hanging above the table, decorated with gleaming, blue baubles and silver stars. Now that he looked a little closer, there were Christmas decorations everywhere: an angel perching on the shelf above the bed, rows of Christmas lights around the windows, even a few candleholders with scented tea lights. It was—nice.

Ren sat on the bed watching his lover putting away some last things. Jonah had been right; it was warm in no time.

“Do you want to take a quick shower? Water should be warm by now.”

“Naw, I’m just doing a quick wash up and brushing my teeth. I’m beat, even though you did all the driving.” Ren took his toiletries and opened the door to the tiny bathroom. When he came back, a nervous Jonah was waiting for him, already wearing sleep pants and a t-shirt.

“Are you disappointed?” For the first time that day, he looked a little wary. “I bet you expected a fancy hotel or at least a cabin with a fireplace and a hot tub.” He ran his hand through his hair. “I just thought…” He shrugged.

“You thought we could use some time to be just us, without the families or any other people hanging around, demanding our attention.”

“Yeah. And if we get cabin er…camper fever, the next town is only thirty minutes away. There are shops and restaurants and even hotels…”

Ren wrapped his arms around his lover. “Baby, this is better than any hotel. I have all I need, even the prospect of naked room service. It’s perfect.”

The heavenly scent of freshly brewed coffee and something frying woke Ren the next morning. When he stretched, his hands touched the back wall, his toes wriggling in the slightly cooler air outside the blanket.

“Did you sleep okay?”

“I slept like I haven’t in ages.” He sat up, wrapping the blanket around him, not yet ready to let go of its comforting warmth. “Breakfast in bed?”

“Of course. Look to your right; I found these nifty pull-out shelves where we can put the food and the coffee. I guess Michael’s parents must like eating in bed too.”

They took a long walk in the snow after breakfast. Sox ran around hunting things only he could see—or scent, while Jonah hunted down Ren’s troubles. With a little coaxing and clever questioning, Jonah finally made him realize all the little things that bugged him at work. Only, they weren’t little things really. Working with his father had always been difficult, but since his mother had passed away two years ago, it was bordering on unbearable. There was no compromising with the man; he determined when, where, and how things had to be done. He always had the last word. His father also practically lived at the company and expected the same from Ren. The resulting discussions were exhausting, to say the least.

Back at the camper, they took a hot shower to get warm again and then Jonah surprised him with a massage. His nimble fingers kneaded away every knot and tension, leaving Ren feeling like a huge puddle of goo, drifting back to sleep until he was woken again by a kiss. It smelled of food, and Christmas music sounded in the background.

A very naked Jonah, wearing nothing but a red plush hat with white fur trimmings, whispered against his ear, “You missed Santa. He ate all the cookies and drank all the milk.” Wiping a few crumbs and a milk mustache from his lips exaggeratedly, he gestured behind him. “But…he brought food and gifts in exchange.”

Ren looked over Jonah’s shoulder and spotted candles, a tiny tree, and a pile of presents. He had totally forgotten that Jonah and his family exchanged gifts on Christmas Eve, not Christmas Day. So, while he slept, Jonah had decorated the camper some more. He had cooked also. There was French onion soup, potato salad—the Christmas version with walnuts, small slices of apple, and egg—fried sausages, cold mini pizzas, pudding with hot raspberry sauce and, thank god, more cookies.

It was the best Christmas Eve dinner ever. They fed each other their favorite food, made just a little mess with the soup, but they had spare sheets, no biggie, and the pudding found curious places to be licked off of.

After dinner they exchanged gifts, and Jonah immediately put on the mokume-gane bracelet Ren had gotten him when he was in Japan. Ren got two barrettes from Jonah, a Celtic Spider knot made from sterling silver and a raven carved from ebony. There were other gifts from their family and friends: silly Batman and Robin pajama bottoms, cinnamon-scented lube, sweaters, shirts, and the mandatory cozy Christmas socks Jonah’s family did instead of ugly sweaters. They had fun trying everything out, and finally went for a midnight walk, all decked out in new clothes. It had stopped snowing, and the sky was filled with hundreds of blinking stars. Jonah was attempting to make snow angles and Sox followed an unseen track by dipping his snout in the snow every now and then snorting loudly. Ren realized he felt calm and relaxed for the first time in weeks, maybe months, all thanks to Jonah playing hooky on Christmas.

The next morning, after another nice, long breakfast, they did call their families. As expected, Ren’s conversation with his father was brief and stilted, while Jonah joked and laughed with his parents the whole time. An idea…no, a decision formed in Ren’s head. He would talk to his father as soon as he was home. He would leave the company. Whether his father decided to pay him out or give him the option of being a silent partner, were just details.

Later Ren watched Jonah playing fetch with Sox. When Jonah landed on his ass, Sox was all over him, burying him in snow. Ren grinned when he heard him laughing and admonishing the dog at the same time. There wasn’t really much he needed in his life beside what he already had.

Jonah’s Foccaia

INGREDIENTS

Biga:

100 g all-purpose flour

50 g of water

1/4 teaspoon dry yeast

1/2 teaspoon sugar

Final dough:

1 potato (around 100 g)

100 g of water left from cooking the potatoes

130 g of water

Biga

400 g all-purpose flour

2 g of dry yeast

30 g olive oil

11 g salt

Topping:

olive oil

1 large handful cherry tomatoes

1 small can of black olives

dried oregano

coarse sea salt

PREPARATION

Mix the ingredients for the biga and knead into a dough. It should be a dry and firm dough. Let rest overnight.

Peel potatoes, cut into small cubes and cook for about 15 minutes in water. Withhold 100 g of potato water.

Add cooled down potato water and water to the biga to soften the dough.

Add all the ingredients for the final dough except salt into a bowl. Mix carefully for 4 minutes. Add the salt and knead the dough for another 6 minutes. The dough is very soft. Allow to rise for about 75 min.

After 30 min fold the dough once.

Put non-stick baking paper on a baking try, add the dough. Do not pull out too flat. Then make a few dents with your fingers. The dough is sticky and will not rise so well.

Coat with lots of olive oil.

Cut the cherry tomatoes in half and spread them together with the olives.

Add Oregano and sea salt.

Allow the dough to rise for another 60-75 minutes at room temperature.

230° C/440°F for 20 minutes.

Jonah’s Special Pasta Sauce

INGREDIENTS

1 kg of ripe tomatoes

6 large onions

2 tablespoons of olive oil

100 gr butter

500 gr Ricotta

PREPARATION

Cut the onions into very fine strips. Heat the oil in a pan and fry the onions until they are golden brown.

Add the peeled, cored, and chopped tomatoes. Cook for 10 minutes, season with a pinch of sugar and salt to your taste. Add the butter and cook for another 15 minutes.

Cook the pasta in boiling salted water and drain well. Spread on a warmed plate, add crumbled ricotta and drizzle with the tomato sauce.

Christmas Potato Salad

INGREDIENTS

1 kg potatoes (waxy)

4 pickled sour cucumber

Vinegar (from the cucumbers)

4 (red) onions

1 slightly tart apple, diced

1 handful of walnuts, chopped

1½ cups Miracle Whip

1 tablespoon yellow mustard

5 hardboiled eggs, peeled and chopped

½ cup fresh, chopped parsley

Salt and freshly ground pepper

PREPARATION

Bring potatoes to a boil in large pot of cold water. Reduce the heat to medium high or a lightly rolling boil until the potatoes are easily pierced with a paring knife. Drain and let cool until just able to handle.

Peel the skins from the potatoes and cut in slices.

Transfer the warm potatoes to a large mixing bowl and allow cooling. Add diced onions, apple and chopped walnuts.

Mix Miracle Whip with the mustard, parsley, generous dashes of cucumber vinegar, salt and pepper. Add to potatoes, mix carefully, add eggs.

Chill overnight before serving.

Vanilla Kipferl

Honigkuchen