“Yeah, so how are they going to do Christmas? Should we get them a tree and some new decorations for it and the house?”
Charlie’s eyes lit up. “That’s such a great idea!”
That’s how Charlie, my grandma, and I ended up driving all the way to Plattsburgh to get some “proper ornaments” for them, because she took Christmas decorations Very Seriously. Luckily not in the insane “decorate every square inch of your house” kind of way though. I’d seen some of those TikTok videos and whoa boy did some people need therapy.
She insisted on treating us to lunch, and then, because she saw how I looked at the bookstore we were walking by, she practically pushed me and Charlie inside. It was good to see how comfortable Charlie was around her now, having seen how awkward he’d felt at first. Charlie and mothers weren’t the easiest combination, for sure.
We also visited a craft store and Charlie spoiled my Christmas present by getting me some yarn that I couldn’t get my eyes off but was a bit out of my price range at a local yarn store.
That was another thing that was new and exciting to me: having my own money. I saved most of it, of course, knowing better than to count on anything ever going my way long term. I never wanted to be in the situation I’d been when I’d started my drive from Utah, not knowing if my car would even last long enough to get to where I knew I’d be safe.
In the back of my mind, I was still kind of expecting for this family to reject me, too. I knew it was irrational; these people were all made of pure love and acceptance, but I’d studied enough psychology to get that even after all this time, I was scarred in the brain when it came to these things.
On the drive back home, we chatted about random things, until Charlie and Grams started to talk about something that didn’t interest me, and I leaned my head against the side window and stared out at the scenery passing by.
They mentioned Uncle Teague, and Grams teased Charlie about something or other, and his laugh was everything, suddenly.
I envied him so much. Both him and Uncle Teague. They were such great people and they deserved all the happiness and love they could squeeze out of life, but… yeah. I envied them.
Part of me still thought I didn’t deserve to have someone to love like that. Not because I was a bad person, I knew I did my best, but because I was gay. Which, if you asked people back where I’d grown up—I couldn’t bring myself to consciously think of that place as “home” anymore—was what made me a sinner. Someone not worthy of good things, especially happiness and love. Sometimes it seemed the only way I’d get that kind of loving forever was if I stepped through one of the fairy doors I’d collected.
I sighed, glad when the sound was hidden by the rumbling of the SUV. I didn’t need Charlie and Grams asking why I was feeling gloomy.
Instead of talking about it, I sat with it, surrounded by their conversation, the shopping bags that hadn’t fit in the back, and just… let my mind wander until it caught on to something happier.
It took a while, but eventually I was smiling again and could join the conversation. I made crocheting plans with Grams and cat-sitting plans with Charlie—he was going to take Uncle Teague to Lake Placid for a little getaway for a weekend after Christmas—and soon enough, we were home.
In the couple of weeks we had until Law and the kids would arrive, we worked every spare moment we could on the Yellow House.
We had a plan to make sure everything that needed to be ready, would be, so that they could just settle into their new home and then Law could take care of whatever else there was to do around the house.
There was a lot. I knew everyone would pitch in, because there were things like redoing the wallpaper, checking the roof, figuring out what to do with the downstairs floors, making sure the windows were all okay and so on and so forth, that we couldn’t really leave for Law alone.
But for now, the important bits were done. The kids had their bedrooms upstairs, Law downstairs, and the bathrooms in the house were all serviceable, though in need of an update.
The kitchen would do, as well. Uncle Teague called a friend who did a lot of kitchen renovations in the area, and the guy had some appliances from when they upgraded stuff for those clients who justmusthave the newest model every few years. That meant that we got an incredible deal on a very little used stove, dishwasher, and double fridge with a freezer.
“They aren’t quite as nice as the stuff they had in their place in Phoenix, but it’s damn close,” Charlie said as he watched Uncle Teague and the friend install the appliances.
Nic, being a carpenter, had helped where she could, too. She’d made a custom island that would work as a breakfast bar, too. She’d also dug out a bigger dining table from somewhere in the Inn’s storage, and Felix donated six chairs for it. He also worked the front desk a couple of days toward the end of our timeline, just so Charlie and Nic could finish up at the house.
By the time we were done, the house looked a bit scruffy but clean, and there were plenty of rugs on the floors—Charlie was right about those—to cover the not-so-nice bits and to provide cushioning for the kids to run on. Uncle Teague and Nic had triple-checked the staircase and fixed the banister, and the front porch was also safe for everyone.
The family room now sported a tall fir that had boxes of decorations underneath for the kids and Law to put up. There was a large second-hand sectional couch that was comfy enough that I’d fallen asleep on it once already.
The kids kept sending us messages from Law’s phone, asking for updates and photos, which we weren’t giving them, because where was the fun in that?
The day they were going to arrive, we stocked the fridge and the cupboards using money Law and his ex-wife had sent Charlie—they hadn’t taken no for an answer and finally Charlie had given in—and everything was… done.
“Come summer, we’re gonna have to paint this house,” Uncle Teague said thoughtfully as we stood outside, looking at the gorgeous, faded yellow house.
Charlie cuddled to his side and nodded. “Yup.”
Nic and Dana’s dogs were there, too. Cricket, because this was her territory and she made her rounds every day, and Steve, because he liked to be where things were happening. Salem was at my cabin, asleep after “helping” us all morning. The kitten adored the big house and knew every inch of it by now. Cricket sighed and lumbered away through her special shortcut through the woods and to my cabin. She’d go lie down by the front door to watch over her best friend.
“We have about an hour, and Dana has a late lunch ready for us,” Charlie announced. “Let’s go eat and prepare for the travel cranky, yet enthusiastic children invasion.”
Uncle Teague chuckled and kissed Charlie’s temple, then took his hand.
