Opposites attract - 17. Chapter 17

Next morning, Kev and I were awakened by the loud sound of small feet rushing down the stairs, accompanied by hearty laughter. Kev was looking at me.

“Merry Christmas, Leon.”

“Merry Christmas, Kev.”

We kissed, just a tender brushing of lips. I cuddled close to him and buried my face in Kev’s chest. I wanted to revel in his closeness. One small pause, before the activity of a family Christmas would keep us busy for the rest of the day. Kev caressed the back of my head.

“They are waiting for us.”

The comment was directed more at me than at Kev. I let go of him reluctantly. Kev just nodded. We got out of bed and dressed. With the bags full of our presents for the family, we descended into the living room. Christopher had already created a mess of wrapping paper. Games, children’s books and more construction bricks were lying around him in a small circle. In the center sat Christopher, beaming up to his ears. I had given money to Tiff to get something for Chris. But Kev had insisted to buy something of his own. Kev gave the gift to Christopher.

“Santa wanted me to give it to you.”

Though I had not thought it possible, my little nephew smiled even more. He tore away the paper. Inside was a stuffed rabbit with long, floppy ears. Christopher was a rabbit fan and I had told Kev so. The little man pressed the rabbit to his chest and closed his eyes. Only children could love that much.

“What’s his name?”

Kev had knelt down besides Chris. After thinking about it for a short time, the little boy looked at Kev.

“Kev.”

“That’s a nice name.”

Kev chuckled. From that moment on, Kev the Rabbit was the constant companion of Christopher.

Now the adults exchanged presents. Kev and I had teamed up on the rest. Mom was into everything that only remotely was feline and we had found a nice, semi-abstract black marble cat for her collection. For Dad, it was a signed copy of a book from one of his favorite authors, a lawyer writing essays on the history of law. For Tiff and Marc, we had been inspired by Mom and Dad. We had bought them silk sheets matching the bedclothes. From the looks on all their faces, no-one was disappointed.

Kev and I got presents, too. Tiff and Marc had gone for the funny present: “The Kama Sutra for Gay Men. A richly illustrated book of love”.

“There will be prep tests. So work with it.”

Marc had a special kind of humor which I liked very much. Kev seemed to share this liking, because he laughed out loud. Mom and Dad gave Tiff and Marc an envelope, having an identical one for Kev and me.

“Open them, children.”

Mom was as excited as little Christopher had been. Kev and I sat down on the sofa to open the envelope together. It was a gift certificate for a weekend trip.

“You can select time and destination yourself. The company has quite a lot of options to choose from.”

Dad explained to both the couples. Kev and I were looking at each other. Our first holiday together. We embraced each other first, before we remembered to thank Mom and Dad. I had hugged both of them and Kev had hugged all three of us.

Kev and I had taken seat again on the couch, before we finally exchanged the gifts we had for each other. I insisted on Kev being first to open mine. Kev burst out laughing when he had opened the small, flat and rectangular parcel. It was a DVD copy of ‘The brave Lioness’. I had found it on the web site of a small shop which had specialized in children’s movies of all decades.

“Look inside.”

I tried to keep my face as blank as possible. Still the smile kept creeping back on it. He did as I had told him. A silver necklace with a small “L” as a pendant was hidden in the DVD case.

“So you will not forget me, if I am not around.”

I allowed the smile to come to my face. Kev chuckled. It wasn’t quite the reaction I had expected. He handed me a small cube-like box.

“Open it.”

The well-known sly grin had grown around Kev’s lips. Inside that box was a silver necklace with a small “K” attached to it.

“So you will not forget me, if I am not around.”

Kev’s grin widened into a full smile. I started to laugh.

“Great minds think alike.”

After a short pause I added.

“Let me put it on you.”

I took the necklace out of the DVD case. Kev turned away from me and slid down a little bit so that I could reach his neck. I was pleased to see that I had chosen the right length.

“Now you.”

It was me who turned away from Kev now and there was no necessity to make myself smaller. With his gentle hands resting on my shoulders, he closed the tiny lock. I turned back to face Kev again and hugged him, whispering into his ear.

“As if I could forget you.”

“Or I could forget you.”

I realized with a start that the room was absolutely silent. Kev and I turned our heads towards the others. Everyone, including Christopher, was looking at us with a smile.

“Look outside!”

My Mom had noticed first. Snowflakes had begun to fall and covered everything with a blanket of white velvet.

Due to the snow, we had to postpone the first run with the new shoes. Instead the entire family went for a walk. Later that day, we fetched my old sled from the cellar and Kev, Christopher and I went for the park. It was the first time for the little man to slide down a snowy, little hill. He was scared at first. But when Kev told him he would hold him fast, Christopher agreed for the ride. I had forgotten how much fun a sled can bring. Like that afternoon, the rest of the Christmas days went by in a rush. We had wonderful meals together, talked in the living room and played with Christopher. Unfortunately, Kev and I had to leave on the day after Boxing Day. All of Kev’s team members were supposed to return, because training had to be resumed for the national college championships that would be in March. Kev had suggested that I could spend some more days with my family, but I didn’t want to leave him alone. The farewell had been as hearty as the welcome. Christopher was very sad that Kev had to go, but when Kev had promised to see him again soon, my little nephew was back to his cheerful self. Christopher’s good mood had infected Kev for the whole trip. I felt glad that Kev and my parents had gotten along just fine.

Kev and I spent wonderful days together at the college. We finally were able to break in our new shoes. It was like running on feathers. On New Year’s Eve, we had a little celebration of our own. This had been the best Christmas break I ever had. All too soon, the rat race of being at a college had started again.