Opposites attract - 16. Chapter 16

It was the day before Christmas Eve. Kev had insisted that we took his car, another quarrel about the gas, another round of reconciliation sex. Kev’s small car was loaded to the brim with boxes, bags and stuff. The ride would take us approximately six hours. We had left at 9am, so we should arrive by afternoon at my parents’ house. At the beginning of our trip Kev had been cheerful, chatting away, singing along the Christmas songs playing on the radio. But the closer we came to my parents, the tenser he got. When we had crossed the city limits, Kev was silent and his hands were trembling, almost unnoticeably, but they did. I put my hand on his arm and smiled at him.

“You will like them.”

“That’s not…”

“And they will like you.”

Kev’s smile was uneasy, but it was a smile. Of course, it was nerve-wrecking to meet the parents of your lover. Given the situation, I would never meet his parents. I wasn’t relieved about it. It made me sad forming a lump in my throat.

“Here, Kev. Here it is.”

Kev turned to the right and drove up the white gravel path that led to the house.

“You didn’t mention that your parents live in a mansion.”

I cackled. It wasn’t exactly a mansion. True, it was upper class; its size was luxurious for a family with two kids. Money had never been a problem, but we were not rich by any means.

“Laugh as you want. It is a mansion.”

Kev was grinning as we got out of the car. I was glad that his tension had eased though my elation had been a little early. With every step we made towards the front door, Kev sank in a little more. I took his hand and pressed it to reassure him. We rang the doorbell. The following scene had to be an almost exact reenactment of Kev and me meeting for the first time. Mom is around my height, my Dad is one head taller than me. When they opened the door, they were looking straight at Kev’s midsection. Shock written on their faces, they moved their heads up, till they were looking at his face. Kev was smiling at them. It took them some moments to recollect themselves.

“Mom. Dad. Meet Kev… Kevin Schneider. Kev, these are my parents.”

Kev extended his hand, still smiling. I had to suppress a chuckle. When they had seen the sheer size of his hand, the shock had returned. It was my Mom who came back to her senses first.

“Come here, Kevin.”

She moved past his hand, put her arms around him, not quite reaching around him, and embraced him. Now it was Kev who had to recover.

“Welcome, Kevin.”

Kev was returning the embrace now, watching not to apply too much strength.

“Nice to meet you, Mrs. Fitzgerald, ma’am.”

Mom let go of him and looked at him sternly.

“Don’t you dare call me Mrs. Fitzgerald or ma’am. My name is Dolores.”

She was beaming at him now. I had my mother’s eyes, I must have looked very alike when I was smiling.

“And I am Anthony.”

They shook hands, Kev once again adjusting is strength to a comfortable level.

After I had been hugged by both of my parents, they finally invited us into the house and led us to the living room. Tiffany and Marc were sitting on the couch, Christopher was playing on the ground with some building bricks. When Kev had entered the room, Christopher’s bright blue eyes had widened. He was staring at him in blatant, childlike curiosity. He got up, moved close to Kev and motioned him to come down. Kev was beaming at the little boy, went down on his knees and bowed down till they were on eye level. Christopher brought his mouth close to Kev’s ear.

“Are you a shiant?”

Christopher had tried to whisper, but like so many kids, he wasn’t good at it. We all had heard the question. I came to Kev’s rescue.

“Yes, Chris. He is a giant. But he is a good giant who is always nice to people.”

Christopher looked in astonishment at Kev who nodded in acknowledgement, still smiling at my nephew. A grin grew on the little man’s face.

“I like shiants.”

I introduced Kev to Tiff and Marc.

“Sorry for that.”

My sister had an uneasy look on her face.

“If me being a giant makes the little man happy, I am a giant.”

Marc and my sister laughed, but Tiff was still troubled. I could read it in her eyes.

“I am sure the two of you want to get your baggage and bring it to the guest room?”

My mom was looking at me.

“The guest room?”

I had expected that I would sleep in my old room, while Kev would occupy the guest room alone.

“Leon. We are your parents. But we are not off this world. You share a room at college, no need to separate you here. The milk has already been spilt.”

It took her some moments to realize how dirty a pun she had used without intention. Mom turned beet red. It was my Dad who burst out laughing, all of us joining in.

“Dolores, don’t give them ideas.”

When we all had calmed down of another fit of laughter, Kev and I left for the car and fetched our stuff. We took it up to the guest room, where a king size bed occupied most of the space.

“Was it that bad?”

“Your parents are awesome. And your nephew is adorable. As is his uncle.” Kev kissed me on the top of my head, I caressed his cheek in reply. We joined the rest of my family in the living room again. We chatted about all and nothing. After some time, my Mom asked Tiff and me to help her in the kitchen. Marc and Dad had left for some last pre-Christmas shopping. Kev and Christopher had started to play together. They had built some weird thing with the construction bricks, both of them chuckling time and again. The contrast between the high-pitched kid’s laughter and Kev’s low rumble was heartwarming. In the kitchen, Tiff was restless.

“What is it?”

I knew that something was on her mind.

“Is it such a good idea to leave him alone with Christopher?”

She made a gesture at the general direction of the living room.

“Tiffany Morton. What are you talking about?”

The voice of my Mom was harsh. But I took Tiff by her arm and led her to the door of the living room. Inside, Kev and Christopher had given up on the construction bricks. Christopher was riding on the back of Kev, who was holding him secure with one hand.

“Hold on, little bear. Big bear is in a hurry.”

Kev made jerky movements, like a rodeo horse. Christopher was giggling without a stop.

“I know he looks intimidating. But I assure you: he is the most gentle and caring man I’ve met in my whole life. Look at the two of them.”

I waved at Kev and Chris. Both of them waved back, still laughing.

“Trust the assessment of your little boy. Kids see with their hearts, a trick we adults have unlearnt.”

Tiff’s gaze was resting on me now.

“The way you are looking at him. You really do love him, don’t you?”

“With all my heart and soul.”

“I hope that little Chris won’t want us to be the horses, when Kev isn’t around.”

We laughed on our way back to the kitchen.

In the evening, we had dinner together.

“Kev, you are studying physical therapy and physical education?”

“Yes, Anthony.”

“And the bodybuilding? Are you planning on a career as a professional bodybuilder?”

“Oh, Anthony. Leave the poor boy alone and let him eat.”

Mom was glowering at my Dad.

“It’s alright. And no. I’m not planning to become a professional bodybuilder.”

“Sorry, Kevin. It’s my job. Sometimes I can’t stop the questioning, till someone raises objections.”

We all, with the exception of Kev, moaned. We all had had our fair share of paternal questioning. Dad laughed, because he knew how carried away he could get.

“Kevin, it’s Fitzgerald family tradition to buy a tree and decorate it on Christmas Eve. You will join us, of course.”

Mom hadn’t even bothered to put it in the form of a question. About the tree, she was adamant.

“Sure, Dolores. I’m really looking forward to it.”

Kev and I volunteered for the dishes after the dinner.

“Now, I do understand why you love your parents so much.”

“Believe me, sometimes their love is just a little too much.”

“I have a lot to catch up. It will take some time, before I get an overdose.”

I looked at Kev, fearing that the thought about what he didn’t have would pull him down. But he was smiling at me. For once, I was grateful that my parents were the loving pains in the neck they were.

We joined them in the living room. Kev and Dad talked about sports. Dad finally had found someone to share his interest in it. I talked to my Mom about the progress of my studies and the campus life in general. We called it a night soon. We would need our strength for the upcoming holidays. In our guest room, Kev stood before the bed.

“Oh. Looks comfortable. King-size.”

“It’s not the only king-sized thing in here.”

Kev looked at me with a sly grin, before he grabbed me and we put all the king-sized things in this room to a thorough test.

In the morning, Kev and I did our running training. Close to the home of my parents was a small park, which we circled several times. It was chilly, but it hadn’t snowed yet. The forecasts were predicting a white Christmas, so it was about time for the flakes to fall. When we arrived home, Kev and I had the idea to prepare breakfast for the family. We had put the dishes on the table, afterwards Kev made the coffee and I prepared the dough. I wasn’t much of a cook, but my pancakes were famous. Though, the lack of practice showed. I gave Kev one of the first pancakes, whose form only remotely resembled a circle.

“This is excellent. My boyfriend is a secret cook.”

He snatched another one from the plate, grinning like a bobcat.

“Hey. Leave some for the others… stop it!”

He had pilfered a third pancake, while I was talking. I threatened him with the spatula. He started to run around the oven which was at the center of the large square room. I followed him, still wielding the cooking device like a weapon.

“I surrender, I surrender.”

He fell to his knees. I lowered the spatula. A careless mistake. I had fallen for the ruse, because Kev grabbed me with both arms and pulled me to him.

“Kiss the cook.”

He announced to me, before lowering his lips on mine. I lost track of time, as always when Kev was kissing me.

My mother’s voice came from the door.

“Leon. I’m not an expert, but are those pancakes supposed to smoke?”

I jumped up, just to realize that I had fallen for another ploy. The pancakes were still alive and healthy. Kev and Mom laughed out. After glowering for some moments, I couldn’t help but join them.

“That’s sweet of you to make the breakfast. I’ll go and fetch the others.”

Having a meal with the entire family was always nice, at least for some days in the year. I got compliments for my pancakes.

“They have been made with love.”

Mom commented, exchanging a knowing glance with Kev and me. The three of us chuckled, leaving the rest of the family none the wiser.

After breakfast, Mom commanded my Dad, Marc and Kev to accompany her to buy a tree. Even the Pope speaking ex cathedra couldn’t have more authority.

“Good luck, soldiers.”

I yelled after them. Kev gave me a puzzled look. I only smiled, knowing what was expecting them. I watched as the car drove away. Tiff, Christopher and I spent the morning together, playing games. Tiff and I brought us up to scratch concerning the things that were happening in our lives. Kev was the biggest news in my life, pun intended, my growing interest in complex analysis the other thing I told her about. Marc had been promoted to lead accountant of the department he was working in. It meant more money for them, but also some overtime hours. Tiff had finished some freelance web design projects at home. Caring for Christopher was more important than work for her at the moment. Before we knew, it was past noon. The car was coming up the gravel path, causing that typical crunching sound. I looked out of the window. On the car’s roof, a giant fir tree had been mounted. Mom exited the car first, beaming over her entire face. Her three male companions followed shortly after. The trauma of shopping was written in their faces. They looked exhausted, their skin grey and deep dark rings showing around their eyes. I had to suppress a pang of gloating, biting on my lower lip. When the three had removed the straps securing the tree, Kev carried the tree into the house alone.

“No, Dolores. It’s not too heavy.”

Kev forced himself to smile. I could tell. I knew Kev’s smiles well.

“Let him alone, Dolores.”

Dad was beyond smiling.

“At least, we have one strong man in this house.”

Mom was looking directly at Dad, her smile not wavering a bit, though her eyes were shooting daggers.

Marc had the courtesy to keep silent and hugged Tiffany longer than a simple greeting would have warranted. The most critical phase of a Fitzgerald Christmas had been overcome, with a minimum of casualties and almost no collateral damage. I bit my lip harder not to burst out laughing.

It was part of the tradition to have coffee and a chocolate cake after positioning the tree in the living room. Tiff and I had the theory that one needed the endorphins from the chocolate to dampen the trauma of buying the tree to a tolerable level. Whatever the mechanics, it worked. The family members had calmed down and were chatting away at the table. The upcoming decorating of the tree would be real fun.

All of us participated in putting the ornaments on the tree. We had Christmas baubles in different colors and sizes, garlands and small figures made of straw. Mom wasn’t too fond about colored lights, so we had settled for using white ones. The tree was radiating a festive mood. But one thing was still missing: the angel sitting at the tree top. That special angel was ancient. It had been in my Mom’s family for generations. It looked like a doll dressed in a white gown. Two large wings were attached to its back, the golden plating almost completely gone. The porcelain face bore an eternal smile and friendly eyes were looking back at you. Light blond and long hair framed the delicate head. By family tradition, the youngest member of the family had the honor to place the angel on the tree. Christopher was holding the doll in his small hands, his face solemn. He may have been too young to really understand, but somehow he knew he was about to do something important. He looked up at Kev, his eyes bright. An idea had formed in his young mind.

“Kev, lift up?”

“Of course, Chris.”

Kev gently took up my little nephew and sat him down on his shoulders. Christopher could now easily reach the top of the tree and positioned the angel with great care. When Kev had put him down, Christopher motioned him to bow down and planted a kiss on his cheek.

“Shank you!”

“You are welcome, little friend.”

With an abrupt motion, my Mom left for the kitchen. I had seen the glistening on her face and followed her. She stood at the window, looking at the garden, dawn already draining its colors away. In the glass, I could see the reflection of her tears.

“What is it, Mom?”

“I’m just one lucky mother, dear. Both of my children have found themselves loving and caring men. What else can a mother wish for?”

I closed the distance and hugged her from behind, my chin resting on her shoulder.

“I love him, love him deeply.”

“I know, my son. I know.”

She patted my head.

“It’s time for an old, sentimental mother and her son to join their family.”

Her reflection was smiling at me.

We returned to the living room, but not for too long. Another tradition required the children to get one present on Christmas Eve, right after dinner. So we all dressed up for the evening. Dinner on Christmas Eve was always very simple, having in mind the upcoming days of feasting. This year it was potato salad, sausages and corn bread. Holding my hand under the table, Kev told us about the Christmas Eves he had spent with his family. Following German traditions, they had enjoyed a simple dinner on Christmas Eve, as well. Moreover, he had gotten all his presents on Christmas Eve. I was feeling a mix of proud and relief that Kev was able to speak about his parents so freely. It showed me how very much at ease he was with my family. I squeezed his hand and he understood.

After cleaning the table together, we all gathered in the living room. My parents wouldn’t allow us to give them any presents this evening, children and grand-children only. Kev and I had sat down on the sofa. Christopher was the first to get a nicely wrapped box. Another set of construction bricks, but by the look on his face you knew that those were the ones that had been missing so far. Tiff and Marc were next. They got a very nice set of silken bedclothes, which was shimmering in the dim light of the Christmas tree. Surprise was written on Kev’s face when he got a parcel, too. It had the same shape as mine, his being larger.

“But, I…”

“Hush. Hush. Santa delivered it for Kevin. That’s what the sticker read.”

Mom winked at Kev who beamed at her in reply. We both unwrapped our presents simultaneously and opened the beige cardboard boxes which we had found inside.

We produced identical pairs of running shoes, except for the size. I looked at Kev. He was in shock, his eyes staring at the trainers. I knew those shoes from advertisement posters you found everywhere. They had an innovative shock absorbing bed made of a gel-like substance. And I knew the price. Furthermore, I knew how Kev reacted to expensive gifts.

“But these are…”

“… the least we can give to the very man who made Leon do sports. Not to mention, the very man he is in love with.”

Dad was grinning at Kev who was now staring at my Dad.

“Anthony, you always go at the gate like a bull!”

But Mom wasn’t really upset. Her eyes had that gentle gleam when she was looking at my father. Dad just shrugged, still grinning.

“Exactly my size…”

Kev’s gaze had returned to the shoes.

“The Lord may bless Beth for being the orderly person she is. She filed away the note on which… quote… Your son had ordered a rental suit and shoes for this really big fellow student of his… unquote. It didn’t take rocket science to come up with that being you.”

Mom was smiling now. Dad had laid his arm around her. Kev’s hand had found mine. Like before at the table, I gave it a light squeeze.

“Thank you.”

Kev had muttered the words. But then he jumped up and swept both of my parents into one of his bear hugs. Tears had welled up in his eyes, but they didn’t start to flow. Eventually, he let go of them.

“You are welcome, Kev. It’s really not too much for a great guy like you.”

Dad caught the elbow of my Mom for this comment. She whispered one word only.

“Bull!”

It was Tiff who broke out in laughter first. It was contagious. Soon all of us were holding our stomachs of laughter.