Secrets 2: Looking Through Different Eyes - 12. Chapter 12 S2

Chapter 12 – A Joint Christmas

When I woke up on Christmas Eve morning, my mom offered to fix breakfast for me, even though she and my dad had already eaten. It was comical watching her flutter around the kitchen as she prepared my meal while also getting things ready for the rest of the day. She was also singing along with the Christmas songs that were playing in the background and it even looked as if she was dancing a few times as she did these things. She was definitely in a great mood as she continued cleaning and getting things ready for our visitors.

The McCaskills arrived just before 2:30 and Devin asked me to go out with him to the SUV so I could help him carry everything inside. Not only did they have their luggage, but they had quite a few Christmas presents as well. We carried those inside and placed them under the tree with the other presents, and then I took their suitcase upstairs and left it in the bedroom they’d be using while Devin carried his bag to my room.

“Damn, I didn’t realize you and your parents gave each other so many presents,” I told Devin after we were alone in my room.

“Didn’t you read the names on the tags? They’re not all for us. My mom bought gifts for you and your parents as well.”

“I should have guessed that, because last night I noticed that my mom had done the same thing for your family. I guess they must have talked it over when they went out shopping together on Black Friday and it’s why they had so many packages when they returned here afterward.”

“Oh, and I talked to my dad last night about being able to increase my height, and he said it would be ok if I grew an inch (2.5 cm) over Christmas break and two more inches (5 cm) over summer vacation.”

“That’s great, and then you’ll be nearly as tall as I am.”

“Yeah, I’ll only be an inch shorter than you.”

“And then you can stop being so obsessed about your height. I guess I’ve always understood it in a way, but I thought you were taking it to the extreme as an issue.”

Devin looked down at the ground for a few minutes and then he looked up at me. I thought I saw a tear in his eye. “I never wanted to tell you this before, because I was ashamed, but now I guess I can tell you about it.”

“You should have always known you could talk to me about anything.”

“I know, but I was too embarrassed and wanted to forget it happened, so let me explain. My dad wanted me to be this height when I was in high school, because he didn’t think I’d be as noticeable. I wouldn’t be the shortest kid in school, or even my class, because there were a couple of guys and a few girls that were shorter, but that really didn’t matter.”

“Why not?”

“It’s because it was a combination of things. There was a group of guys that in my grade that would pick on me, but at first they only did it because I got good grades and it made them look bad. They said that it was because I busted the grading curve and it caused them to get lower grades, and that’s when they also started picking on me about my height. They were all six feet (183 cm) or tatter and they would call me ‘Gnome’.”

“Did they call the other boys that were shorter than you the same thing?”

“No, they said those guys were halflings, but I was a gnome because gnomes were supposed to be really smart, just like me. After that I ended up getting picked on even more by those guys. They even bought a pointy red hat that looked like the hats you’d see on the gnome statutes, and one day they made me wear it as school was ending. Of course, the other kids that saw me all laughed, and that made me feel even worse.”

“Why didn’t you fight back when they tried to make you wear that hat?”

“I was tempted to bulk up and make them pay for what they were doing to me, but I wasn’t allowed to transition. Gramps had warned me not to do anything like that because it would bring too much attention to myself, and in return to the family. I was frustrated because I could beome more muscular or taller while I was living with him and Faith. I think I told you that I lived with them while I was in high school.”

“Yeah, you did.”

“Gramps said we had to live with these people and they all knew who we were, so if I bulked up or grew sudde3nly it would raise a lot of questions.”

“So he wouldn’t let you fight back?”

“Oh, I could fight back, it just that he said I had to do it as I was. He and my dad both said that I had to learn to stand up for myself and fight back. And when I complained that I was too small to fight back, they would always tell me the same thing. ‘It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog, and that goes for people as well’. They said if I learned to fight back as I was, it would also help me when I transitioned into an animal, especially where I couldn’t transition into a larger animal if there were other people around. That would be the case if I was a dog and attacked by a larger dog there where oth er people nearby and might notice what was happening.”

“So, did you ever fight back?”

“Yes, I did. When the group of guys were harassing me one day, I punch one of them in the balls and stomped on another guy’s foot. When the third guy grabbed me from behind and wrapped his arms around my chest, planning to let the other two rough me up, I reached my arms above my he and slapped my hands over his ears really hard. It was enough to get him to let go of me, and then I spun around and hooked my leg behind his, and then I push him over.”

“Did that stop them from botherring you?”

“They would still make rude comments to me, but they wouldn’t attempt to rough me up or push me around, and they didn’t try to force me to wear that stupid pointy hat any longer. And word got around the school about what I did to them, because they had started picking on me when there were others around, so they were embarrassed when I got the better of them. I think it encouraged a few others to stand up for themselves as well, but it didn’t stop me from wishing that I was bigger. It just taught me I could fight back if I put my mind to it.”

“But you always fought back with the bullies when we were younger too.”

“Yeah, but I did that because I was protecting you.”

“Awww, how sweet, and that explains a lot, but it won’t be a problem for you any longer, now that Pa and Gramps have agreed to let you grow a few inches, so you’ll be about the same height as me.”

“Yeah, I know and I can’t wait so others won’t be tempted to tease me about my size.”

When we returned downstairs, we overheard our dads having a conversation. They and our moms were all sitting in the living room together at the time.

“Here, I want you to take this money,” Pa said as he handed a wad of bills to my dad. “It’s to pay for the food we’ll be eating while we’re here, as well as for everything we ate while we were here for Thanksgiving. I didn’t have enough cash on me to give you the money then, so I made certain to withdraw enough out of my account before we came here today.”

“It’s really not necessary. We didn’t ask you to join us for the holidays just to have you pay for what you and your family ate.”

“I know, but we don’t want to be a burden by having you pay for our food as well. We truly appreciate that you’ve included us for these celebrations, so please let us chip in.”

“I’m glad you enjoy being here with us, and we’re doing it because we’ll soon be one big family and this way the boys won’t have to split their holidays between two houses.”

“That’s very true,” Pa agreed, “but I still want you to accept this money.”

“And I want to help you prepare the meals again, just like I did the last time we were here,” Ma told my mom.

“That will be very helpful and I enjoyed working with you at Thanksgiving.”

“And Devin and I will set the table for the meals again and help with the cleanup afterward,” I offered. I thought it was something I should do, since I was the one who’d talked my parents into inviting Devin and his family to join us for the holidays.

“That will be very helpful as well,” my mom agreed. “I feel very fortunate that all of you are willing to help out.”

“Hey, you have enough to do,” I replied, and then I gave my mom a hug. “Have you decided what we’re going to have for the major meals yet?”

“Yes, I bought a large ham to for tonight’s supper and a turkey for tomorrow’s big meal.”

“That sounds perfect and I’m eager to help you put it all together,” Ma chimed in.

Devin and I then went upstairs again so we could spend some time with each other while our moms were working on the meal for Christmas Eve. When we left, our dads had settled the money issue and were now debating which college football teams were going to win the remaining bowl games, including the national championship.

“I can’t believe your dad just gave my dad so much money, especially since I know that your mom bought all of us presents too.”

“The money was just for the food. The presents are for inviting us and letting us stay here and for being part of our family. Your mom did the same thing for us, so it was only right for my dad to give your dad some money to pay for the food. And we both bought presents for each other, so we should all be getting a lot of nice things”

We stayed in my room and made out for a while, and then we went down to set the table for supper. Once that had been taken care of, we went to see what our dads were up to. They quickly told us which teams they’d agreed would win certain bowl games, starting with the one that would be played later tonight, and then they explained why they’d chosen opposing teams in each game. I thought they seemed to be taking this way too seriously, so I asked a question.

“Are you guys betting money on the games, because you seem to be more involved in this than I would have expected?”

“Oh, it’s possible that we may have bet a few dollars on each of those games, starting with the bowl game being played tonight and the NFL games that will be played tomorrow,” my dad answered. “It’s just to make them a little more interesting.”

“Maybe you shouldn’t tell mom or Ma what you’re doing then.”

“Don’t worry, we weren’t planning to,” Pa replied.

Devin and I stayed in with our dads until we were called out to eat, and then we all sat down at the table together.

“It looks incredible,” Pa stated. “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 on watching the football game after we finish eating.”

“Of course we are! After all, bowl season only comes once a year.”

“And it lasts for three or four weeks,” Ma spat back in disgust.

“Hey, I didn’t make the bowl schedule,” Pa countered.

“And then there are the playoffs and the Super Bowl for the pro teams.”

“Yes, but that’s completely different from the college bowl games.”

“I think maybe we should change the topic,” my dad chimed in. “I just want to let you ladies know that everything looks incredible.”

“And I’m sure it will taste great too,” Pa added.

“Thank you,” they both responded.

“It was truly a joint effort,” my mom assured us.

They were right and the meal was fantastic. In addition to the ham, sweet potatoes and other dishes, there were apple pies and vanilla ice cream so we could have the pie la mode for dessert.

As soon as the meal ended, our dads went in to watch the football game while Devin and I helped our moms clear the table and do the dishes.

“I was hoping to watch a Christmas movie this evening,” my mom said while we were doing the dishes, and she sounded upset.

“You can still do that when the game ends,” I responded.

“But that won’t be until 11:00 or later.”

“So, it’s not like you have young kids that are going to wake you up early in the morning,” I pointed out. “We can all watch whatever movie you choose and then we’ll just sleep in later in the morning.”

“That’s true, and it won’t matter if we have a late breakfast either, because we won’t be eating Christmas Dinner until later as well, seeing we’ll have to wait until the football games end.”

“So we’re not eating at halftime this year?” I asked.

“No, that’s always too hectic, so we’ll just wait and eat when the second game ends.”

“That’s perfect then and it will all work just fine.”

When the bowl game ended, we looked through the cable guide and discovered there were a few movies to choose from. We let our moms make the choice, and then we all settled in to watch it with them.

They had a choice between It’s a Wonderful Life, A Christmas Story, Miracle on 34^th Street, A Christmas Carol, and The Santa Clause, since nearly every channel had something Christmassy on. After talking it over, they agreed to watch It’s a Wonderful Life, since I believe they were all feeling a bit nostalgic, as well as the fact that it didn’t last as long as some of the other movies.

When it ended, we all prepared to go up to our rooms and turn in, but before we did that, Devin made a comment.

“And don’t forget that we can all sleep late in the morning and then open our presents after we wake up.”

“But we’ll eat breakfast first,” my dad quickly added. “It’s another one of the perks of not having little kids any longer.”

“It certainly is,” Pa agreed with a chuckle as we all headed upstairs.

Devin and I only slept until 10:00, and when we went downstairs we discovered our parents were already up and had eaten.

“What would you prefer for breakfast?” my mom asked when she saw us.

“I’m not sure,” Devin responded. “What are our choices?”

Mom told us the different things we could have for breakfast, and then we made a decision. My mom and Ma quickly scurried off to the kitchen to fix our meals, and when they brought the food in, we sat down to eat. Our moms went back into the kitchen to keep working on the various dishes for the big meal.

After we finished eating, we carried our dishes into the kitchen, but we didn’t wash them. Our dads wanted all of us to come to the living room so we could open our presents instead, so the process wouldn’t drag out and interfere with the pre-game show for the football games. Devin and I felt this meant they were betting on these football games as well and wanted to see who the experts were predicting to win.

Our dads passed out the gifts and as Devin and I opened them we would show our parents what was in the package. Thankfully, they had all remembered to give us clothes that stretched, as we’d asked them when we were home at Thanksgiving.

Our parents did the same thing when they opened their presents. They would show the item to all of us and explain who had given it to them, and this process continued until all of the packages had been opened.

Devin and I gave each other very special gifts as well. I gave him a 4 stone engraveable tag necklace with each of our birthstones in it. Once he opened it, I explained why I chose that particular item.

“I wanted you to have each of our birthstones to wear, and this one has room for two more birthstones, so if we each father a child you can add their birthstones later.”

“What a great idea! I wish I’d thought of it.”

In return, he’d given me a men’s diamond accent dog tag necklace with each of our names engraved on it.

“And if we have children, then you can have their names engraved on the reverse side,” he told me, “but I like the necklace you gave me better.”

“I like this one just as much,” I assured him.

It had been a great day so far. Not only did Devin and I receive some very nice presents, but I also got a lot more than I’d ever gotten for any previous Christmas. There was also a package from each set of grandparents that had been delivered earlier in the week, and each set of grandparents also sent something for Devin and his parents as well. That’s because my parents had told them that Devin and his parents would be coming to join us.

“I didn’t expect your family to buy presents for our family,” my dad told Devin’s parents.

“Why not, since it appears that your family did the same thing for us?” Pa responded.

“Yes, so I guess we might as well get used to this,” my dad added, “since it appears as if our sons will be together for the foreseeable future, or even longer.”

“Good point, Mike, and I don’t have a problem with doing this again,” Pa agreed. “Even though I miss being with my extended family, this has been one of the best Christmases we’ve had in the past few years. In fact, I look forward to doing this with you again in the future, if you still want to do it this way.”

“Of course we do,” my dad replied. “Otherwise, I’d probably be watching the Christmas Eve bowl game and Christmas Day NFL games by myself.”

“You mean Mac doesn’t watch them with you?”

“He watches some of the games with me, but we don’t watch all of them together. That’s why I’m going to suggest that we also celebrate New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day together as well.”

“Yes, that’s a great idea because we can go out somewhere,” my mom added, but then the phone rang. It was my mom’s parents calling to wish all of us a Merry Christmas, so she put the phone on speaker so we could all hear and respond.

“Did the package we sent arrive on time?” Grandma Harris asked.

“Yes, and we all thank you for the presents you sent us,” my mom replied.

“And we thank you too,” Devin and his parents added.

“Oh, I didn’t know you were all there right now, and we hope you all enjoy the things we sent you.”

“We do,” we all replied jointly.

“And we got your package and we like the lovely gifts you sent us as well,” she stated.

“And I’ll be sending you my package,” I chimed in. “I shopped for you and Grandpa while I was at college, but I was busy with finals and haven’t sent it yet.”

“That’s alright, dear, and you didn’t need to buy anything for us. Your parents sent us some lovely gifts from all of you.”

“I know, but I wanted to buy you both something from just me and Devin.”

Devin looked at me strangely, because he didn’t know I’d done that either, and then he smiled and mouthed the words ‘thank you’.”

“How’s the weather in Missouri?” Devin asked. “Do you have snow?”

“We’ve had some snow flurries at various times” Grandpa Harris replied, “but there’s nothing on the ground at present. The main thing we have to worry about is the possibility of freezing rain.”

“Yes, that can make getting around very difficult.”

We each chatted with them personally for a while and then we all wished them a “Merry Christmas” in unison before the call ended.

It was shortly after that when my dad turned on the TV so he and Pa could listen to the football pre-game show. However, Devin and I went out to the kitchen to wash the dishes we’d used for breakfast and our moms were busy working on the big Christmas Day meal.

After we finished washing the dishes, Devin and I went in to watch the football game with our dads. It wasn’t that we were interested in the teams that were playing, but we wanted to see what our dads were up to, because we suspected there would be some interesting interactions between them as the games progressed. Our dads didn’t disappoint us either and the banter was hectic at times, but it was always fascinating to watch and listen to them. They were a better show for us than the game.

At halftime, Devin and I were going to go up to my room so we could spend some time alone, but the phone rang and my mom informed us that it was my dad’s parents calling.

“It’s a good thing you called at halftime of the football game,” my mom joked, “or your son wouldn’t have come out to speak with you.”

“Believe me, that was planned,” Grandma MacPherson replied, “otherwise your father-in-law and brother-in-law wouldn’t have come out to speak with any of you either. They were also watching the game.”

Just like with my other grandparents, Grandma and Grandpa MacPherson asked if their presents had arrived, and we assured them they had and we all thanked them for the gifts they’d sent us. We also got to speak with my dad’s sister, Aunt Linda, and her husband, Uncle Ted, and their children, my cousins, Katy and Ben.

“How’s the weather in Florida?” my mom asked.

“It’s really nice here!” Ben answered. “We all went out for a walk a little while ago and none of us even wore a jacket.”

“Yeah, it’s pretty warm outside,” Katy added.

“How old is Ben?” Devin whispered to me.

“I’m not sure. I just know he’s younger than us.”

“You’ll have to ask your mom or dad when you get a chance, because he has a sexy voice.”

“Oh, are you thinking of trading me in for a younger model?”

“No, but I thought I should get to know my future cousin.”

“But you didn’t ask about Katy.”

“She sounds too young to be very interesting.”

We had a nice chat with them as well, and the call ended just before halftime ended. That left us enough time to use the toilet and get a drink, if we wanted, before the second half kickoff, and then we went in to watch our dads again.

The next game was starting on another channel before the game our dads were watching ended, but as soon as it did they changed channels so they could watch that game as well.

“I think our moms were smart to have dinner after both games ended,” Devin stated.

“Yeah, and if Grandma and Grandpa Harris hadn’t called before the games started and Grandma and Grandpa MacPherson hadn’t called at halftime of the first game, my dad probably wouldn’t have spoken with any of them.”

We stayed there so we could watch and listen to our dads again, because the new teams should elicit an entirely different interaction between them.

It proved to be just as entertaining and comical as their antics during the first game, and when it ended our moms hurried us out to the dining room to sit down and eat. The meal was very similar to the one we’d had at Thanksgiving, turkey with all the trimmings.

During the meal we’d been chatting, and now the conversation turned to what we might do on New Year’s Eve.

“First of all, I’ll make a reservation for six so we can all go out and have a nice supper first,” my dad offered.

“That’s a great idea,” Pa agreed. “I’m taking off work that day and my wife works for the school district, so she won’t have to work either, so we can get here early enough to chat for a while first, before we have to get ready to go out.”

“Yes, I like that idea,” both of our moms echoed simultaneously.

“And my company has already told us that we’re having a catered company luncheon and then we can go home after we eat,” my dad informed us.

“We’re not having a catered luncheon,” my mom followed, “but we were told we could leave at noon.”

“Then we’ll all meet up at the house before we go out,” my dad stated.

“I’m getting excited about doing this,” Ma told us, “because we haven’t done anything like this on New Year’s Eve in ages.”

“And my parents usually just stay home that night and watch the festivities on TV, and sometimes they even go to bed before midnight,” I revealed. “They’re real party animals.” Both of my parents glared at me.

“But we aren’t going to do that this year,” my mom said defiantly.

“Ok, then what else are we going to do after we go out for supper?” Ma asked.

“I heard that Jamesville is going to hold a big fireworks display at midnight to welcome in the New Year,” my dad stated.

“When did they start doing that?” Devin asked.

“It’s not exactly new, because they’re just reviving an old tradition that they haven’t followed since the 1980s, but they’re hoping it will draw a large enough crowd to start the tradition again.”

“So, will it be like the Fourth of July fireworks display?” I wondered.

“Not quite. It will be similar to the finale, but not the entire show they put on for Independence Day.”

“Ok, but that still sounds neat.”

“What are we going to do after we leave the restaurant and before the fireworks go off?” my mom asked.

“We could go back to the house and watch the activities on TV and throw our own little party in between,” Dad suggested.

“Or maybe we could find some place where we could listen to music and even dance,” Ma stated.

“They might have something like that in the bar at the restaurant,” Dad countered.

“But I’m sure they won’t want people just hanging out there unless they’re spending money,” Pa pointed out. “That might be ok for us and we could have a few drinks while we’re listening to the music and dancing, but the boys aren’t old enough to drink yet.”

“If they allow dancing and they’d let Mac and me dance with each other, then we wouldn’t mind drinking soda in between,” Devin offered.

“Yeah, that would be ok,” I agreed.

“Ok, but we’ll have to investigate the possibility, and I’m not sure we’ll be able to do it tonight.”

“We can all start looking into that starting tomorrow,” my dad suggested.

“Ok, that’s fine, so now would be a good time to take a break and have dessert,” my mom proposed.

“What did you ladies make for us tonight?” Dad asked.

“A cherry cheesecake,” Ma answered. “We didn’t think you’d want pumpkin or apple pies again.”

“The cheesecake sounds wonderful,” Pa replied, and we all went out to the dining room.

I got the cups out of the cupboard for the adults, since my mom said she’d make a fresh pot of coffee for them, and then I grabbed a bottle of ice tea for Devin and myself. While I was doing that, Devin got six dessert plates and six forks from the kitchen and carried them into the dining room as Ma carried in the cheesecake. She began serving it as my mom filled each cup with coffee.

After we finished our dessert, we began discussing what we were going to do next.

“Let’s find a movie to watch tonight,” my mom proposed.

“Yes, let’s see what’s on,” Ma concurred.

“For the most part, it seems that tonight the various channels are showing mostly comedies,” I said as I scrolled through the menu. “There’s Home Alone, Christmas Vacation, and Elf, and the only non comedy is Die Hard.”

“Let’s go with a comedy then,” Ma recommended, and the six of us then talked it over and finally agreed to watch Elf.

“I think Will Ferrell is really funny,” Devin stated.

“And it’s one of those movies you can watch a number of times and still laugh at it,” I followed.

“Yes, let watch that one then,” my mom agreed.

I enjoyed it just as much tonight as the first time I saw it and we were all laughing at Buddy’s (the elf) antics, since Ferrell is so over-the-top in his portrayal of the character.

When the movie ended, we all said good night to each other and headed up to our rooms to get a good night’s sleep.