Page 16 of His for Hanukkah

With his Da–, no, with Tate, he allowed himself to let it out a bit. “So, can we make my hanukkiah now?” Alright, maybe he was letting it out a lot.

“Of course, Little Star.” He playfully touched Adam’s nose. “I’m glad to see you so eager. How about you get the wine glasses down from above the sink and I’ll try to find something to fill them with.”

Adam rushed to the kitchen, then slowed down to avoid breaking the wine goblets. He lined them up on the kitchen table, the vision already taking place.

When Tate came back with a large bag of rice and a smaller bag of black beans, he decided to use the white rice for the Hanukkah candles and the beans for the shamash, the helper candle.

In the end, it looked surprisingly attractive. Classy, but fun. And it was cool that he’d made it himself.

No, he’d made it with Tate. His Da– Tate. He needed to stop thinking of him that way.

Tate had given him the idea and supported him in doing it, and that made it even more special.

“Alright, babe. I’ve got birthday candles or tapers. If you like the tapers, I can get more from the drawer.” He offered them both to Adam.

“You’re not supposed to blow them out, so we better use the birthday candles. I’ll fill the glasses higher.”

“Sounds good, sweetheart. That really does look good, doesn’t it?”

Adam took in the classy wine goblets with the jaunty, colorful candles. “Yeah, it really does. Do you have a match?”

“I couldn’t find one. Is it OK if we use the stove?”

“Yep.”

Tate flicked on the stove and Adam lit the shamash. Then, with Tate’s arms wrapped around him from behind, he ceremoniously sang the blessings. He lit the one candle, replaced the shamash, and then sang the shehecheyanu.

For the first time, in a long time, perhaps ever, it felt special. Like he was sharing a little bit of his world with someone who meant something to him. And someone who this experience meant something to as well.

“What did all that mean?”

“Um, more or less, God, you’re awesome, thanks for telling us to light the Hanukkah candles. Then, God, you’re awesome, you made some miracles a long time ago.

“The last one is just for the first night, and you say it any time something happens for the first time ever or the first time in a while. It’s something like, God, you’re awesome, thank you for sustaining us and bringing us to where we are right now.”

“They all start the same?”

“Yeah, there’s kind of a formula.”

“I liked that last one. I’m not particularly religious, but I like the idea of thanking God for bringing us to be in this special moment right now.”

“Yeah, I was thinking that, too.”

Then, Tate turned him around and gave him a sweet, gentle kiss on the lips. It wasn’t passionate, just sincere and right for the moment.

A real shehecheyanu.

Without breaking the quiet, Tate settled down in a kitchen chair and pulled Adam down next to him. Tate pulled Adam’s head onto his shoulder and together they watched the candles glow.

Tomorrow, he thought sleepily, they should set them up in the living room so that they could watch them burn down together.

Chapter 4.

The Second Night

Tate’s day couldn’t really get any better. They’d woken up to a lazy morning of snuggling in bed, and then he’d cooked Adam a proper breakfast of veggie and cheese omelets with toast.

Adam had explained that he didn’t really keep kosher in the way that Orthodox Jews would recognize, but he didn’t eat any pork or shellfish at all, the unclean animals. And he wouldn’t eat mammals with milk.