Page 33 of His for Hanukkah

Adam read them slowly, making a face at one of them. Tate wondered which one it was. “Any questions?”

“No, Sir.”

“I’ll be returning around three o’clock. Can you do all of this before then?”

“Yes, Sir.”

“Excellent. I know you’ll work hard for me.”

Adam beamed.

“Now, I have a question for you. And before I ask, I want you to know that any answer you give will be fine. It’s up to you.”

Adam didn’t look too worried when he nodded, so Tate continued. “This Friday is Christmas. I know that you hate the holiday and I completely accept that. However, it’s part of, well, I suppose it’s my family’s cultural tradition. I wouldn’t really call it a religious tradition. But at any rate, I’m expected to show up at my parents’ house for at least a couple hours.

“I can tell you right now that my parents are going to be pretty awful. They’re Republicans and they’re going to bait me about politics. They’re also going to deadname me and might say something homophobic. My mother will say it subtly, but my father will just spit it right out. Oh, and my sister and her husband are going to be there, so there also might be comments about my brother-in-law being Chinese American. It’s… pretty much a nightmare.

“But Cathy and Min are lovely people, and their two kids are pretty awesome. I basically go back for Christmas to see my nieces and because I’m hoping that if I show up often enough that they’ll figure out that I’m still the same person and they’re just assholes.

“So, now that I’ve done a great job of making you want to run far, far away, I wanted to ask if you wanted to come with me.”

Adam looked at him searchingly. “You just told me why I shouldn’t want to go. What are the reasons why I should want to go?”

Tate was impressed with Adam all over again. He was enjoying the way that Adam was falling into the role of naughty brat, pushing to get his needs met from a doting Daddy. When he turned that off, though, he was a mature, thoughtful, and compassionate person.

Tate took a minute to make sure that he could answer the question. “I think what it really comes down to is that it would mean something to me to have you there. I would feel less alone, and I’d like to show my family that I have someone in my life who makes me happy.

“It’s totally petty, but my mother kept saying that no one would want to date me after I transitioned. I knew it was bullshit, but, you know, it would still feel good to show her that she’s wrong.

“And if I can get past all of that, I actually really like Cathy and Min. They live in New York and only come down with the kids every other year. They agree that my parents are shitty, so they’ll also head out as soon as possible. They’re going to spend the rest of the break staying with one of my sister’s friends who has kids about the same age.

“Oh, and when I show up, I get to be a bit of a buffer for their family, too. Since, naturally, they can’t fathom why Min quit his job to take care of the kids when my sister makes three times as much.”

Tate forced himself to stop bitching. He tried to keep his parents out of sight and out of mind, but once he got started, he could go on all day.

“Could you see your sister’s family another time this week?”

Tate kissed Adam’s nose. “Yes, I absolutely could. Last time we went to the children’s museum, or we could just see them at my sister’s friend’s house or have them come over here.”

“But you want to be there for them when they’re with your parents. And you want to show your parents that they’re wrong.”

“Yes. I’m probably some kind of asshole for that.”

“No. You’re not. You’re the exact opposite of that. I just stopped seeing my shitty family when they made it clear that they didn’t have the time of day for me. But you’re standing up to yours. You’re giving them the chance to come around, while still setting good boundaries.”

Tate nodded. “I guess so. It doesn’t always seem that way.”

“I’ll go.”

“You will?”

“Yep. I want to be there for you.”

“Thank you, Little Star.”

* * *

The rest of Tate’s day was punctuated with pictures and texts from Adam. He got a picture of a full cereal bowl and an empty one, and sent messages of praise each time.