Authors: Eden Winters
"You're still getting to know each other." Steve's alarm softened into sympathy. "Yeah, I know how that is. Afraid to introduce someone around in case it don't work out."
Is that why Otis hadn't brought Garret around? Did he secretly believe it wouldn't work?
About that time the front door opened and Danny called out, "We got a customer," voice brimming with amusement as he stepped inside.
Otis and Steve looked up at the same time. A vision wearing a dark wool coat stood in the doorway, clutching a Candy Kingdom box in one gloved hand.
"Hey, Otis. I know I should have called first, but I was in the neighborhood and wanted to see if I could take you to lunch."
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It gave Otis a bit of smug satisfaction to leave on Garret's arm, Danny and Steve's mouths hanging open while watching them leave. Imaginary boyfriend indeed!
***
His cheeks tightened as he smiled. An elderly couple smiled back.
Next he headed to the cold foods section to pick up eggs and fresh cream, backtracking to the meat counter to pick up a package of chicken breasts.
Oops, forgot the
remaining spices.
Looping back through the store, he found stick cinnamon and whole cloves. Pies always came out better if you ground your own, in Otis'
opinion.
Now if only I can match Nonna's.
He grinned and hummed to himself all the way home, and arriving at an empty house didn't bother him this time, for when he imagined a partner waiting for him, his fantasy man now had a face and a name.
After unpacking groceries he took a brisk walk, breath fogging before his face in the late November
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chill. Head clear and heart light, he returned home and reduced the pumpkins into bowls of cinnamon-scented mush, bound and determined to make Nonna proud.
The fragrant aroma of spices filled his kitchen while he set to work chopping, coating, and cooking the chicken and vegetables. He rolled out dough while they sizzled in a pan, carefully shaping two crusts.
He let the crusts rest while he sampled his first attempt at Moo Goo Gai Pan. The end results didn't exactly match the full-color picture on the card, but it didn't taste bad at all. After wolfing down two helpings, he resumed work on his crusts, filling them with pumpkin custard. Worried he'd forget to check on them, he avoided his game and the TV in general, waiting for the
ding
that would announce that his labors of love were done.
Placing them on a rack to cool, he breathed deeply.
They certainly looked and smelled like Nonna's.
He went to bed, tossing and turning instead of sleeping, worried about meeting Garret's folks. Would they like him? Would they take one look and tell their boy, "You could do better"? When he finally did go to sleep he dreamed he was in the kitchen, and every time he took a pie out of the oven, an alien horde stole it and he had to all start over again.
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"Hey, Otis. Got any plans today?" Barry asked.
Where once he'd have reluctantly lied, Otis proudly announced, "Garret's taking me home to meet his folks."
Barry grew quiet on the other end of the phone line.
After an awkward silence he spoke again. "Have fun.
Maybe we can catch a game when you get back."
Oh shit. Otis' happiness took a plunge. He'd never even considered that Barry, whose folks also lived out of town, might be alone for the holidays. Why hadn't he thought of asking? He wouldn't have had to be alone for his Thanksgiving feast after all, with Barry around, not that he had to worry about that now. "I thought you were going to your folks' for Thanksgiving."
Barry sighed. "The whole lot of them have the flu.
But don't worry about me."
"I loaded the last bag. You 'bout ready?" Garret asked, stepping back into the house, rubbing his hands together to warm them and shaking snow from his sweater.
Asking for a minute with an upheld finger, Otis dragged his attention away from his snow-covered lover and back to Barry. "Well, if you're sure." Otis knew Barry's, "I'm sure," to be a bold-faced lie, having told that particular falsehood himself far too often. But he also knew Barry would want him to be happy.
Fist squeezing his heart at the loneliness in Barry's voice, he hung up and locked up the house, trudging out to climb into Garret's BMW.
The next star I see I'll wish
for Barry a man,
he vowed,
'cause it looks like it sure
worked for me.
Even so, his stomach tangled up in knots at what the next few hours might hold. What would the Mims say? What would they think?
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"Um… What do your parents think of you being gay?" he asked, somewhat too late since they were only a few hours away.
Garret snickered. "They have absolutely no problem with it, I assure you. Oh, and I think I should warn you that you'll be meeting both sets of parents this trip."
Otis gasped and his heart attempted to claw its way out of his chest. "Both sets? Your parents divorced?"
Otis' mom and dad would soon celebrate their fortieth wedding anniversary, and while he knew people divorced, he found it odd that they'd all get together for the holidays.
Garret took one hand off the steering wheel to pat Otis' knee. "Trust me, they're all gonna love you, and you're gonna love them. And…" he added with a grin,
"they're gonna love the pies you're bringing."
"I sure hope so." He clutched Garret's hand, unable to let go of his fears. His own parents, as loving and understanding as they'd been, had gone through a brief cold period when Otis came out. With Garret having two full sets of parents, at least one of them was bound to have some objections, right?
He'd worked himself to near-hyperventilation by the time he arrived at the Mims' household. "This is Mother's house. My father lives one block over, close enough that I sorta grew up at both houses."
They strolled up a neatly kept drive, the display of pumpkins and scarecrows reminding Otis of his grandparents' house. Only, his grandparents lived in a brick townhouse, while the Mims' residence was a rambling wooden structure on the edge of a small town.
Hand held tight in Garret's, he was soon
overwhelmed with dozens of uncles, aunts, and cousins.
In no time various family members were amounting to
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so many he quit counting.... Finally, they found Garret's parents, sitting together in the living room.
"Hey, everybody, I want you to meet Otis." Four beaming smiles matched Garret's.
Otis looked from one smiling face to the next, trying to figure out who was who. Oddly, the two men sat together on the couch, the two women on the loveseat.
Wow! The couples really had remained friendly after their divorce! Garret stepped in to help sort everyone out. "Otis, I'd like you to meet Mother." An elegant lady in a pinstriped pantsuit held out a well-manicure hand.
"Pleased to meet you, Otis. I've heard so much about you."
"Y…yo… you have?" Otis stammered.
"Oh yes!" She winked at him, her blue eyes identical to Garret's.
"I'm Garret's father," a deep voice sounded behind him.
Whirling around and automatically extending a hand, Otis came face to face with a perfect representation of what Garret would probably look like in thirty years, and it wasn't a bad prospect. A strong grip squeezed Otis' hand.
Wow! They seemed genuinely thrilled, not at all what Otis had expected.
The other couple stood and crowded in. Otis shot a questioning gaze at Garret, who answered, "That's Mom," he nodded at a short brunette, hair lightly dusted with gray. Rather plain looking, she didn't come close to the beauty of Garret's mother. Then Garret stepped back, giving Otis a better look at the man who'd been sitting next to his father. "And this is Dad." A big bear of a man approached, dwarfing the "I've got a great bod at sixty"
Mr. Mims.
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He shook hands with them each in turn. His sister's kids called their step-dad "Dad" too. Got confusing to have two "Dads" he supposed.
Hmmm… a bear Dad? I can see why he might feel
comfortable with a man of my body type. I wonder how
long he's been in Garret's life, and how Garret feels
about having a stepfather. My nephew resented his new
parent for awhile.
"I think it's great you guys all get together at holidays like this," Otis offered, hoping he didn't sound silly.
"Oh, we all get together whenever we can," Garret's mother replied. "Just one big, happy family. We're so glad you could join us."
"So Otis, where are you from?" Mom asked.
Otis grinned. "Originally? Pemberton Township, New Jersey. I came out here for college, loved it, and stayed."
"Dad" nodded approvingly. "I have an aunt and uncle in Mt. Holly, a few miles from there."
"What do you do, Otis?" came from Garret's mother.
"I run an IT company." At her sidewise appraisal, he added, "You know, computers, software issues, that sort of thing." A small smile played around her lips, and she glanced slyly at Garret.
"Stop questioning the man to death and let's go eat!"
Garret's father said. The teaming mass of assorted gathered family fell silent, while Mr. Mims said a Thanksgiving blessing, then a line formed in the hallway, toward what must have been the kitchen, judging by the succulent aromas that grew stronger the closer Otis got.
"I'll get the pies," Garret said, leaving Otis alone with two sets of parents to impress. Regardless of how welcoming they'd seemed with Garret present, Otis half-A Lie I Can Live With - 51
expected their tune to change now that they'd gotten him alone.
Instead, Garret's mother said, "We're so happy to meet you. You know, you're the first man Garret's brought home since he moved away."
"I am?"
"Yes, you are," the man Garret called "Dad" chimed in.
The small talk continued, Otis growing so
comfortable that he no longer counted the minutes until Garret returned. Then, right there in front of everybody, Garret put an arm around his waist, as though it were the most natural thing in the world.
Eyes wide, Otis hissed, "Are you sure you should be doing that in front of your parents?"
Garret chuckled and pulled him tighter.
The dining room table quickly filled, as did the kitchen table. The teens flocked together into the den, where, judging by the familiar music, they planned to play
Invasion
while they ate. Otis felt the tug of the game, but followed Garret and his parents to the living room instead, loaded plate in hand. Garret insisted that Otis take the recliner, sinking to the floor beside it like he done it a million times.
Once more the women took the loveseat, the men, the couch. Garret's sisters and their husbands crowded in, as well as his brother, who'd come alone. Rapid-fire conversation ricocheted around the room between bites of turkey and dressing, calls of "Mom", "Dad", "Father"
and "Mother" making Otis' head spin. How did anyone keep track of who was talking to whom?
Toward the end of the meal, Mr. Mims said, "Okay, now it's time to name the one thing you're most grateful for this year. I'll start." He raised his tea glass in toast.
"I'm thankful for my wonderful family."
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One by one the family members repeated the
sentiment. Only Garret's youngest sister, hand rubbing her swollen belly, offered something different. "I'm thankful that the little one is healthy. I had quite a scare."
Otis' family had a similar tradition. He pictured Nonna and Grandpa Santino nodding their heads in approval, and said, "I'm thankful for my wonderful family..." Sneaking a sly look at Garret, he added, "And friends."
Though Garret's siblings made several teasing remarks about Garret and Otis, they were no different from the remarks made to each other or to Garret's younger brother. "When you gonna find yourself a keeper?" they asked the poor kid all afternoon.
"Last year it was me they were pestering like that,"
Garret side-whispered.
"And the year before, and the year before that," his oldest sister chided.
"Yeah, 'bout time you settled down," Garret's mother tossed in, focusing a slightly amused expression on Otis.
"Hey, I hear you work on computers. Got a minute to look at a laptop?" Otis glanced up in the direction the voice had come from to find a gangling teen standing in the doorway.
"Frankie, he's a guest, I told you not to…" one of Garret's sisters scolded. Otis only supposed she was Frankie's mother.
"No trouble at all," Otis replied, glad to put his skills to good use.
Otis fine-tuned the boy's gaming computer while conversation continued around him. Not knowing how it really happened, he found himself on the floor, shoulder to shoulder with Garret's nephew, Garret on his other
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side, passing the computer back and forth to play the kid's favorite game.
Frankie's mother dropped to the floor beside Garret.
"Oh,
Invasion!
" she exclaimed. "I love the Cyber-harpies, don't you?"
Otis cut his eyes sharply at her, expecting she was joking. She didn't appear to be, hooking her hands into claws and imitating the
"Hiss, hiss, hiss,"
of a harpy moving in for the kill. Otis shuddered. She was a little too good at that.