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“And then there was the amazing annual holiday party. My dad’s career military, as you both know, and we always attended this big celebration for all the kids and families. My favorite part was the variety show, which had musical numbers, and jugglers, and comedy skits. The best act was the magician. I was totally convinced everything he did was real.”
I glanced at Noah and Hudson and added, “I know this probably sounds super cheesy, but it was a big deal when I was little. We’d get dressed up, and they’d serve this huge buffet dinner beforehand. Then it was showtime. When I was six or seven, this was practically a Broadway-level form of entertainment.
“Then the grand finale was always Santa, of course, who’d bring every kid a present. Each year, he’d make his entrance on something different. I don’t remember all of them, but one time, he rode in on a fork lift with two leaping plastic deer mounted to the forks, so it looked like they were pulling it like a sled. Another time, it was a Jeep all strung with colored lights. And once, it was a fire truck. It was pretty hard to top that one.” I fell silent for a few moments before admitting, “I actually miss it. I moved out at eighteen and never went back to see the show after that. Maybe that’s for the best, though. It seemed so magical to me as a kid, but it probably wouldn’t be the same as an adult.”
We joined Hudson on the couch as he said, “That sounds like a great memory, though.”
I nodded. “It is. And you know what’s awesome? Right now, we’re making brand new memories and building our own traditions.”
Noah leaned against me and said, “We are, and it means so much to me. The holidays were always kind of depressing, just because my family never did much to celebrate. And once I moved out and it was just me…I don’t know. I guess it seemed like too much trouble to do the whole tree and decorations thing for one person. But now, I’m feeling inspired.”
“Me, too,” I said, as I grabbed my phone. “In fact, I’m going to call the professionals for advice with our lights, so we can make our first tree one to remember.”
I placed a video call, and Lark answered on the first ring with, “Are you calling to tell me you’re officially part of a throuple?”
I chuckled at that and told him, “I’m actually calling to get some tree decorating advice, but yeah, I am.”
Lark held the phone out and yelled, “They finally did it!” There was a lot of cheering in the background, and then two of my housemates crowded into the frame with him and offered thumbs up and congratulations.
“Thanks, everyone. Right now though, we need to know what you did to make the pink Victorian’s Christmas tree look so good. Here’s the current situation.”
I turned the camera around to show them the empty tree with the single strand of lights tossed on it, and Lark exclaimed, “For the love of gay, what happened there?”
“See? This is why we’ve turned to you. Help us, Lark Genardi, you’re our only hope.”
“I’m going to pretend I didn’t catch that nerdy sci fi reference,” he said. “Now pick up those lights and let’s do this up right.”
He walked us through winding the lights up and down the branches, and once we had the hang of it I said, “I knew I could count on you, Lark.”
He beamed at me and asked, “So, is it everything you hoped for?”
“Yeah, the cabin’s perfect.”
Lark rolled his dark eyes and said, “Because that’s obviously what I was referring to.”
“If you mean the first thing you asked me about, same answer—it’s perfect.”
“This is amazing news,” he said. “You got right to it, too, on day one! Good for you! Now, go have fun, and I’ll see you in a few days.”
After the call ended, I paused for a moment and took in the scene in front of me. Noah and Hudson were doing a great job on the lights while trying to remember the words to “Last Christmas,” and it made me smile.
I really didn’t know how I’d gotten this lucky. Those two kind, beautiful men were mine, and they were each other’s, and how great was that? I’d probably keep marveling at it again and again in the days ahead, because it was just so wonderful and amazing to me.
Not that I was completely naïve or anything. I was fully aware we’d face our share of challenges down the road. What relationship didn’t? Maybe we’d even face more than most, since we’d be three people trying to come to a consensus instead of two.
But still, I was optimistic, and happy—really, truly happy, and it felt great. There was so much love in this room—multiplied by three—and it filled me with gratitude.
I had to chuckle when Noah and Hudson moved on from “Last Christmas” to “I’m Your Man” and added some Wham-worthy choreography to their routine. Neither of them could be described as graceful, but they earned bonus points for enthusiasm. It got even funnier when Hudson began narrating the steps, “Shimmy, shimmy, shimmy, spin. One, two, three, clap,” as they moved left and right.
Then Noah hurried over, grabbed my hand, and pulled me into their chorus line. We jumped and spun and shimmied in unison, and we belted out our version of the lyrics by proudly proclaiming, “We’re your men.”
7
Hudson
I woke with a start the next morning. Kel and Noah were already up, and the smell of coffee and something baking filled the air, mingling with the fresh pine scent of our Christmas tree. I tried to focus on that, instead of on the remnants of the bad dream I’d been having.
After a stop in the bathroom, I joined my boyfriends in the kitchen. Maybe it was premature to think of Noah as my boyfriend…or maybe not, given the deep feelings that had led us to this point. I found I really couldn’t think of him any other way.
