Epilogue
TYLER WOKE warm and toasty. It had snowed during the night, judging by the white outside on the windowsill. He rolled over, and Anthony pulled him closer. “Do we have to get up?”
“It’s Christmas,” Tyler said, and Daisy jumped up onto the bed. Thankfully she had taken to sleeping in her own bed, but joined them in the morning as soon as she heard them talking.
“When do we need to be at your mother’s?” Anthony asked as he stretched.
“She isn’t going to expect us until about eleven.
Mom is going to want to rest and sleep in.
Some of her energy is coming back. I think she thought it would return more quickly now that she’s done with treatment, but at least she’s feeling better.
Give her a few weeks or a month and she’ll be a force to be reckoned with once more.
” He chuckled as his phone vibrated on the nightstand. “Speak of the devil….” He answered it.
“Aren’t you up yet?” Mom asked. “Geez, are you old men? It’s Christmas. So get up and get yourselves over here. I’m starting breakfast in five minutes.”
“What is with you? Did they change your meds and put you on speed or something?”
She laughed. “Just get up and come on over.” She hung up, and Tyler closed his eyes.
“I take it that was your mom,” Anthony said. “And here I was hoping for a little Christmas-morning nookie.”
“Yeah, that was her. Apparently she’s starting breakfast and we’re summoned.
But it’s okay.” He ran his hands down Anthony’s firm chest. “After dinner, we can come back here and carry on our own private celebrating well into the night. I promise.” Tyler kissed him and then bounded out of bed.
“Besides, I want to see what I got for Christmas.”
“You’re like a little kid,” Anthony said with a chuckle.
“You say that like it’s a bad thing,” Tyler countered, already pulling on his underwear. “She’s just going to call again in fifteen minutes, so we may as well get going.”
Anthony got out of bed, and Tyler couldn’t help watching him as he hurried to the bathroom.
Once the door closed, he finished getting dressed and got Daisy into her Christmas collar with the cute bow.
“We’re going to see Grandma.” He set her on the bed.
Daisy lay down, her head on her paws, and closed her eyes, like she had no idea what all the fuss was about.
When Anthony returned, he dressed, and they all went downstairs.
Tyler had planned for a gift opening between him and Anthony before going to Mom’s, but he didn’t want to hold everyone up, so he found large shopping bags and put all the gifts in them.
Then he made sure Daisy was ready before they put on their coats and got into his car, bags of presents filling the trunk.
The snow from the night before was just enough to make the roads slick, so he drove slowly as Anthony texted Mom using his phone to tell her they were on their way. Once they arrived, he parked and they carried everything inside.
Mom had turned the living room into a Christmas wonderland, just like she always had when he was a kid. There was a small tree, the mantel was filled with greens, and lights twinkled on the windowsills. “When did you do all this?”
“A little bit at a time over the past few days. I wanted this to be a celebration,” she said before hugging first him and then Anthony. “Now put your presents under the tree and come in for breakfast. I made pancakes, bacon, and eggs.”
“You didn’t have to do all this,” Tyler said.
“You can stop treating me like an invalid and sit down to breakfast. I’m feeling more like myself.”
“Well, let me get the food,” Tyler said and got his mom to sit down.
Then he dished up everything and brought it to the table.
There was nothing like his mother’s cooking.
She just knew how to make things tasty. Once everything was set, he joined them, and they all had an amazing Christmas breakfast before moving to the living room.
Tyler sat in the chair nearest the tree and began handing out gifts. There were some for everyone, including Daisy, who tore into her present to get the chew bone. She settled and worked on it while Tyler handed his mother his gift.
“You didn’t need to get me anything,” Mom said as she opened the small box.
“I didn’t know your size, but there’s a gift card to your favorite boutique for new clothes, and you have an appointment on the twenty-seventh for a facial, manicure, and massage at the Downtown Spa.
I thought it was time you started looking and feeling more like yourself.
” He smiled, and she lightly kissed his cheek.
“Thank you,” Mom said and handed him a package. “I know you don’t need much.” He opened the box and grinned when he pulled out a new game console and controllers. “But I always know you wear these out.”
“Thanks, Mom. It’s perfect.” He hugged her and then passed Anthony his gift, only to get one in return.
They had agreed to small gifts, so he was surprised when he opened the box.
“Oh my God… how did you get these?” It was two tickets to a sci-fi convention.
“I tried to get them, but they were sold out in minutes.”
“A client got them months ago and couldn’t use them. I sort of figured I’d go to check it out. But….” Anthony shrugged as though this was no big deal. Tyler stared at the tickets, unable to believe his luck. “I figured you and I could go and make a weekend of it.”
“And all I got you were a couple of ties for work,” Tyler said as Anthony opened his gift and grinned. They had dogs that looked like Daisy on them.
“Now I can take her to work with me,” he said as he gently petted Daisy, who barely looked up from her chew bone. “Thank you.”
Tyler was still looking at the tickets, and then he leapt at Anthony and hugged him tightly. “These are perfect.”
“I’m glad you like them.” He hugged him, and they sat together as Mom went to the kitchen to make coffee.
“Did you enjoy your Christmas, sweetheart?” Anthony had called him that before, though Tyler smiled at the endearment just the same.
It was too early for huge declarations, but he knew he was growing to care, and Anthony showed his feelings every day.
Tyler nodded as Daisy hurried over to join them. He lifted her, and the three of them sat together. “I did.” Then Daisy kissed him, and Anthony laughed before nosing her out of the way.
“He’s mine, girl.” Anthony kissed him hard enough to curl his toes. A boyfriend who liked and understood him for who he was, a dog who loved them both, and Mom on the mend. Best Christmas ever.