the tree. “Your gifts are over there, buddy,” he said. Noah didn’t believe in Santa Claus anymore. He’d asked Ed about it not long after Jake had been killed, and Ed had told him
the truth. Ed had wanted to wait at least another year, but Noah had decided for him. Ed
had a rule: when Noah asked him a question, he always told him the truth.
Noah’s gifts from everyone were toys and other things a ten-year-old boy would
like. When he was finished opening them, he thanked everyone and started handing out
his gifts for the others. He bought Jonathan a book about hot air balloons, because
Jonathan had once expressed interest in the subject. He bought Lisa a bottle of perfume.
Ed had taken him shopping for these things. Noah already knew she liked this perfume
because she had an almost empty bottle on her dressing table.
When Ed handed Jonathan a small, thin, perfectly wrapped package, he said, “I
hope you like this. Lisa mentioned you saw it at Gumps while you were both out
shopping, so I went back and got it for you.” Then he shrugged his shoulders and stared
into the fireplace. “I hope it’s okay.”
Jonathan opened it fast. And when he saw that Ed had given him a first edition of
How the Grinch Stole Christmas
, he fell back in his seat. “This is too much, Ed. I never
expected anything like this. I know how much it cost. I don’t know what to say.” He
pressed on hand to his throat and smiled. “I’m stunned.”
Ed shrugged. “Just say thank you, is all.” He was uncomfortable with these warm,
tender moments. But he was happy to see the thrilled expression on Jonathan’s face. He’d
wanted to make him happy with this gift. He would have paid twice as much if he’d had
to.
Jonathan looked him in the eye. “I love it. And, yes, thank you.” The rest of the gifts were the typical sweaters and articles of clothing people
usually exchange. But when it was time for Jonathan to give his gifts to Ed, no one
expected a surprise gift. He gave Ed the black leather sport jacket first, and Ed smiled and
thanked him. It turned out to be a perfect fit, and he liked the way it felt. Then Jonathan
pulled another gift out from the back of the tree and said, “I thought you might like this,
too.” It was a large, heavy rectangle, wrapped with the same gold paper and red ribbon
he’d used to wrap the sex toy.
Lisa stood up and put her hands on her hips. “Hey, no fair,” she shouted. “You
didn’t tell me about this one, and we went shopping together.”
Jonathan smiled and said, “I thought about this at the last minute, and forgot about
it.”
Ed took the gift and lifted it up and down. “It feels like wood,” he said. He
couldn’t even begin to imagine what it was.
He held it on his lap and opened it slowly. His eyebrows wrinkled and his lips
tightened. When all the paper was off, he sat there staring at it for a moment. It was a sign
for above the front door with the name of the house,
Mi Casa de mis Sueños
. The
background color was the same pale blue-green as the trim on the house in the Hamptons
and the lettering was done in real gilt. He smiled and said, “This is perfect. I can’t believe
how perfect it is. I’ve been staring at the outside of the house wondering what’s missing.
And this is it.” Then he rubbed his jaw and smiled again. “I love this.”
“Well, what is it?” Lisa asked. From where she was sitting, she could only see the
back of a wooden plank with a hook at the top. He lifted his eyes to Jonathan and said, “Thank you.” Then he turned the plaque
around so that Lisa and Noah could see it.
But just as Noah was about to say something about the color of the plaque, the
doorbell rang. He jumped up from the floor and shouted, “It could be Tucker. Maybe
someone found him.” Then he ran out of the room and into the front hall.
Ed looked at Jonathan and lifted his eyebrows. They both stood up from their
chairs and followed Noah to the front door. For a moment Ed’s heart raced with
excitement. Maybe it
was
about Tucker. Maybe someone had found him and brought him
home on Christmas Day. Ed had placed ads in newspapers, he’d posted signs all over
town with Tucker’s photo, and he’d posted information about him in the Internet.
But when he reached the front door, he frowned and placed his hands on Noah’s
shoulders. There was a delivery man standing in the doorway, a tall thin guy in tight jeans.
He was holding a large flower arrangement in one hand and a clipboard in the other. He
said he had a delivery for Lisa and that he needed a signature. Noah turned and shuffled
back to the living room with his head bowed. Jonathan followed him. Ed signed the
clipboard, handed the delivery guy a tip, and took the flowers.
It was such a large arrangement it hid Ed’s entire face. He had to carry it with
both hands. There were red reds and pinks mixed with oranges and purples. There were
three shades of blue and light yellows. Large exotic greens were layered with pale ferns.
The silver bow at the bottom was bigger than both of Ed’s hands put together. The
flowery aroma filled the room and masked the smell of the Christmas tree within minutes.
Ed slanted his head to the side so he could see Lisa and said, “These are for you.” He wanted to be more animated, but he couldn’t stop thinking about the look on Noah’s face
when he saw a delivery man standing at the door instead of Tucker.
Lisa stood and gaped at the flowers. Her mouth opened and she shrugged her
shoulders. When she reached for the card to see who it was from, she smiled and shook
her head. Then she read the card aloud: “Just wanted you to know I was thinking about
you. Hope you have a great holiday. I’ll call you…Joel.”
“Good old Joel,” Ed said. “I’m starting to like that guy a lot.”
“They are beautiful,” Jonathan said, “I’ve known Joel for a long time and I know
for a fact he never sends anyone flowers. He must really like you, Lisa.”
She was gazing at the flowers and smiling. “I’d better get them in water,” she said.
“I’ll get a large vase out of the garage,” Ed said. He knew there were several in
boxes. Jake had loved fresh flowers and he’d always placed them in large crystal vases.
He looked at Noah and said, “Do you want to come out and help me, buddy? I’m not sure
where to look.”
Noah was on the floor playing with one of his computer games. “I’ll be there in a
minute,” he said. “I want to put Tucker’s bowls out on the front steps first…in case he
comes back and he’s hungry or thirsty.”
Ed sighed and said, “Take your time, buddy.”
Chapter Fourteen
The day before New Year’s Eve, Jonathan received two interesting phone calls.
He was just about to leave the hotel to shoot more scenes at Ed’s house when his cell
phone rang. He had been hoping to get over to Ed’s earlier that morning. They hadn’t
been together since Christmas morning and Jonathan was horny. Noah had been around
the house all week during the daytime filming and construction, and they’d been keeping
him busy at night with movies and restaurants to keep his mind off Tucker.
The first phone call was from Jonathan’s producer in New York. He was calling
to tell him that his show
, Dream Away
, had been canceled that week. The network
wanted to go in a different direction, with new shows that focused on contests and high
energy competitions with huge giveaway prizes. They wanted a show with a higher
profile that they could promote aggressively. The producer said they wanted to talk to
Jonathan about a new show as soon as he finished shooting in San Francisco and returned
to New York. He assured Jonathan that he wouldn’t be out of a job and that even though
Dream Away
had been canceled, the network executives still had plans for him. They
liked him, they knew he brought ratings, and they wanted to keep him.
Jonathan didn’t reply. He wasn’t sure about all this yet.
Dream Away
had always
maintained a certain dignity, with respect to pure design and architectural integrity.
Jonathan didn’t want to wind up on a new show that was advertised as “wacky and wild.”
He didn’t even have time to process the news, because the second call came a
minute after he hung up with his producer. It was Mike calling from New York. He was
back in the United States for a meeting and he was flying out to San Francisco that night to spend New Year’s Eve with Jonathan. Mike didn’t ask if he could come. He didn’t
even ask how Jonathan was. Mike just told him when he’d be arriving in that no
nonsense, businesslike tone of voice he used with everyone. Then he said, “I feel like it’s
been years since I’ve been able to hold you in my arms, beloved. I can’t wait for us to be
together again, my love.”
Jonathan frowned and pressed his palm against his forehead. This was a perfect
example of the way Mike had always tried to control him. They weren’t committed to
each other and Mike knew it. First he spoke to him like he was an employee. Then he
spoke in that cheesy, overly dramatic way that turned Jonathan’s stomach into knots.
Who said “beloved”?
So Jonathan told him he already had plans for New Year’s Eve and that he
couldn’t get out of them. He wasn’t lying. He told Mike he’d been invited to Frank’s and
Greg’s house, along with Ed, Lisa, and Noah, for a small house party. “You should have
called earlier,” Jonathan said. “I’ve already made a commitment and I can’t very well say
no now. Maybe you should just stay in New York.”
But that didn’t stop Mike. This was just a small inconvenience to him. “I’m
coming anyway. I already have my ticket. I’m sure they won’t mind if you bring a friend
along to this sweet little party. Now I have to run. I’m late for a meeting downtown. I’ll
call you when I arrive in San Francisco.”
Jonathan tried to stop him, but he hung up so fast they didn’t even say goodbye.
This was another one of Mike’s control tactics. He believed that if he pursued anything
long enough, he’d get what he wanted. Jonathan also picked up on his comment referring to the “sweet little party.” This was Mike’s passive aggressive way of showing his
superiority…only he did it with a slight lisp and “sweet” sounded like “thweet.”
When Jonathan walked into Ed’s house a few minutes later, Ed was in the kitchen
sipping a cup of coffee and eating toast. There were crumbs all over the new granite
counter next to the refrigerator and he’d left the butter out at room temperature uncovered.
It was still early. No one else had arrived yet, and Noah was probably just waking up
over at the guest house so they had at last a half hour to talk.
Jonathan looked at the crumbs and the butter and shook his head. Ed could be a
real slob sometimes. Normally, this wouldn’t have bothered him. But that morning it
made the short hairs on the back of his neck stand up. “You should cover the butter,”
Jonathan said, “You can get sick that way. It’s not sanitary.”
Ed put down his coffee and walked over to him. He put one arm around
Jonathan’s shoulder and grabbed his ass with his other hand. He kissed him on the mouth
and said, “Let’s go upstairs.” Then Ed grabbed his own crotch and shook it up and down
a few times. He was still in his bare feet and he was wearing his camouflage shorts and a
white T-shirt. “All you have to do is drop your pants and bend over the bed. I’ll do all the
work.”
Jonathan sighed and licked his neck. He looked cute in his bare feet. Ed hadn’t
shaved and the rough stubble pricked his tongue and sent blood rushing to his penis. But
he pulled away and said, “I have to tell you something first.” He wasn’t going to mention
the show being canceled right away. He still wanted to think about that for a while.
“What?” “I just got a call from Mike,” Jonathan said. “He’s in New York for a few days
and he’s coming out here late tonight. He wants to spend New Year’s Eve with me.”
Ed rubbed his jaw a few times and stared at the counter. “Is this the same Mike
you were dating in New York for a while? The one who gave you that watch?”
Jonathan nodded yes. “But we’re not committed and we’re not a couple. I never
made future plans with him, and I didn’t ask him to come out here.” He suddenly felt the
need to defend himself, though he hadn’t done anything wrong.
“Did you tell him you have plans for New Year’s?” Ed asked. His fists were
clenched now and a small vein in his neck throbbed.
“Of course I did,” Jonathan said. “He insisted on coming anyway. This is how