The Christmas Gift II
 by: Hankster

© 2021 by the author

The author retains all rights. No reproductions are allowed without the author's consent. Comments are appreciated at...

hankster@tickiestories.us

Author’s note:  This story is a sequel to a story that was posted on this website on Nov. 21, 2014, The Christmas Gift.

My name is James Hartman and my husband is Jerome Harris, Jr.  We’ve been together for seven years and married for five.  We never hesitated for one second to arrange our wedding.  Our meeting was a Christmas miracle to begin with, and we knew that our love was forever.  Jerry was begging on the streets.  He was dirty and disheveled.  I was the only one who stopped to give him a handout.  Jerry is a multi-millionaire, and he hoped to reward anyone who helped him.  Little did we know that his reward would be himself.  We were so right.  Our love has never waned, and we love each other more every day.  Occasionally, I take it as a good luck sign that we have the same initials.  That’s ridiculous, of course, but I’m always looking for reasons why I have been so blessed.

Before I met Jerry, I was in a brief relationship with a guy named Gary.  Would you believe, I’ve forgotten his surname?  I forgot it immediately after I met Jerry.  The day I came out to my family was the day I told them that Gary and I were in love, and we were going to live together.  My dad, Nolan, is the biggest homophobe I have ever met, and believe me, I’ve met a few.  His reaction was hostile enough, but it was even more bizarre.

He pointed a pistol at us, and he cocked the safety.  He ordered us “perverts” out of his house.  He said that he would not hesitate to kill us if we didn’t leave at once.  I was convinced that he would do it, and we ran out as fast as we could.

Gary and I lived together for three years.  I never suspected any trouble in our relationship.  However, I came home one evening about a month before Thanksgiving to find all of Gary’s stuff, and some of mine, gone.  He left a note telling me that I was too stodgy, and too domestic, to live with.  He suggested I should find another homebody like myself.  He was determined to sow wild oats, and not have to look at the same cock every night.  I was heartbroken.  I could barely function.  I snapped out of my depression quickly when I met Jerry a few weeks after I got dumped.  It was just before Christmas, and the way we met was a real Christmas miracle.  As I told you, Jerry pretended to be a homeless derelict, and I was the only person he approached, who helped him.

Jerry’s widowed dad, Jerry, Sr., is retired and lives in Boca Raton, FL.  When we told him about our plans to marry, he was so unlike my dad.  He was happy and excited for us, and flew right back to New York to help plan our wedding.  It was a very small affair.  I had no family at all, and Jerry’s only family was his dad.  The guest list also included a very few good friends and business associates.  I thought about my own father’s homophobia, and I wept.  I never thought to invite my parents to the wedding.  I feared my dad might come with a semi-automatic weapon in his hand, intending to kill every “pervert” at the reception.

Jerry’s dad stayed with us for about three months.  He shacked up in our guest room, and boy did he surprise us.  Jerry, Sr. is just as handsome as my husband.   He had no trouble bringing home a trick a couple of times a week.  We never knew what to expect.  Sometimes he came home with a beautiful woman, and other times, he came home with some handsome stud.  More power to him, I say.

Ever since Jerry and I began to live together, his father has come home for Thanksgiving and stayed through Christmas.  He also comes to stay with us from July through September.  It is always a pleasure to have him.  Of course, Jerry doesn’t think so.  His father would go to the office with him occasionally, and he seemed to disapprove of every change Jerry had made since he took over.  I guess that would be true of all fathers who turned their businesses over to their sons.  He always goes back to Florida for his New Year’s Eve celebration, and the remainder of the winter months.  I am grateful that he was home this past Christmas.  I needed the strength of both of them to see me through the second most traumatic event of my life.  The prize still goes to the day my father pointed a pistol at me.

*****

On the Monday after Thanksgiving, included with my office mail, I received a letter from my father, Nolan.  I trembled when I opened it.  The note was short and terse.  I had hoped for some sign of reconciliation, but that was just a pipe dream.  It read: 

The only way I knew how to reach you was through the firm you worked for the last time I saw you.  I didn’t call your office.  I was afraid that you might not take my call, so I’m writing.  I hope you still work there.

Your mother passed away a couple of days ago.  She had cancer.  The funeral service is the Wednesday after Thanksgiving.  It will be at Lawrence Funeral home on Lexington Ave. in Manhattan, at 10 AM.  If you wish to attend, please do not talk to me, and I promise not to make a scene. 

There was no “Dear James” and no “Love, Dad.”  Why did I expect that?  I was dead to my father.  He wished I had never been born.  Jerry and his father wanted to attend the service, but I asked them not to.  I was afraid that my dad would go ballistic. 

My father and I both sat in the first row which is always reserved for the closest family members of the deceased.  However, he sat on one side of the aisle and I sat on the other.  My father tried to hide it from me, but I did catch him taking furtive looks at me.  I wondered what he was thinking.  My first shock of the day occurred just before the service began.  My father rose from his seat, and sat down right next to me.  He looked like he desperately wanted to say something to me, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it.

My mother was being cremated, so there was no procession to the cemetery.  My father and I were the only two people on the receiving line.  We stood about eight feet apart.  I was shocked, and nearly ran out, when I saw my father-in-law.  He was talking to my dad.  Jerry, Sr. spoke loudly so that everyone in the room could hear him.

“Hello, Mr. Hartman,” he said.  “I’m sorry for your loss.  You don’t know me, but I’m your son’s father-in-law.”   

For one second a smile appeared on my father’s face.  When he heard, “I’m your son’s father-in-law,” he let himself believe that I was married to a woman, I guess.   

“I wanted to let you know what a fantastic individual James is, and how proud I am when I introduce him to a friend,” Jerry Sr. continued.  “He’s respected by all his peers and by everyone who knows him.  And you, sir, are a first class schmuck.”

When he was called a schmuck, my dad’s face reddened.  He realized that I had married a man.  He probably thought that it was Gary.  Jerry, Sr. grabbed my hand and we rushed out of the mortuary.   He kept laughing, but I was too shocked to do or say anything.  I was just glad it was over and I didn’t have to see my father ever again.

*****

About a week before Christmas, it was beginning to look a lot like Christmas as the song says.  Even Jerry and I modestly decorated our apartment.  We had someone to decorate for now.  Jerry, Sr. always helped, if he wasn’t out somewhere lining up a partner for sex.  Jerry and I kept hoping, he’d meet someone, male or female, and settle down.

I went into my office that Tuesday morning, and had barely hung up my overcoat, when my secretary buzzed me.

“There’s a gentleman out in the reception area who says his name is Nolan Hartman.  He has no appointment, but he claims to be your father, and he needs to see you for a few minutes.”

“I was too shocked to say anything, so she chided me, “Shame on you James.   Why didn’t you ever tell me that your father was still alive?”

I’d see him, of course, but not alone in my office.  I feared he had murderous intent, since I ran out on him after the funeral.  I knew he wanted to talk to me about something that day.  I figured he finally got up his courage.  I didn’t dare hope he wanted to reconcile and ask my forgiveness.

I finally found my voice.  “Ask the switchboard operator to tell him to wait in the reception room.  I’ll meet him there,” I mumbled.

I found him sitting on a sofa, and I sat down right next to him.  Neither of us spoke.

“Why did you run out on me at the funeral?” he finally asked.

“I was embarrassed by what my father-in-law said to you.  I had no idea he’d come there.  I specifically asked him and my husband not to come.”

My dad winced when I said, “my husband.”

“It’s not important,” he said.  He looked around.  “Pretty posh office you have here.”

“Yes, Nolan,” I said.  I purposely called him Nolan instead of Dad.  I wanted him to know that I was very pissed that he was here.  “My firm has been very successful, and when a new client comes in, we want them to know that.”

Nolan had no comment, so I went on.  “What did you want to see me about?” I asked.  “How can I possibly help you?”

“I’m in trouble, Jimmy,” he sobbed.  Nobody had called me Jimmy since I was a child.  I let it slide.

“What kind of trouble?  Talk.”

“Not here.  Couldn’t we go into your private office?”

I saw no way out of it, and I took him to my office.  I sat behind my desk, and buzzed my secretary to ask her to hold all calls.  I had my father sit in a chair facing me.  We just stared at each other for a while, and finally, he began to talk.

“You know, Jimmy, I always made a good enough living to support our family very well, but I never made enough to build up a nest egg..   When your mother got sick, I found myself without insurance.  We had always been so healthy, the two of us, I never thought about spending money for health insurance.  To cut to the chase, her medical bills and funeral expenses totaled over a quarter of a million dollars, and I don’t have the means to pay them.  I’m twelve years shy of getting social security, but that won’t go far.   I sold our house and moved to a very small, furnished, efficiency apartment, but that only netted me about a hundred thousand.”

I was shocked, and I became nasty.  “So you want your perverted faggot son to lend you the money, when all I want is for you to rot in hell.  In all the years I lived at home, did you ever love me, even once?  As you found out at mom’s funeral, my husband’s dad never stopped loving him.”

I stressed the words, “my husband,” instead of saying Jerry.  Whenever I said that, I could see the pain on my father’s face, and I was getting a terrible joy in seeing his discomfort.  I really didn’t want to be mean to him, but I just couldn’t help myself.

Nolan began to sob.  “Of course, I loved you.  I always did.  In spite of everything, I think I still do.”

“You threatened to kill me,” I spat out.

“I swear it was an empty threat.  There were no bullets in the gun.”

Finally, I asked, “What makes you think I have that kind of money anyhow, and if I did have it, why should I give any of it to you?”

He couldn’t answer me.  He shrugged his shoulders, turned his hands palms up, and said, “Sure, why should you?  It’s just that after the funeral I checked you out on the net.  You’re a partner in this firm, and you earn a million dollars a year, give or take a few bucks.  I also found out that your husband (he said it without flinching) and his father are multi-millionaires.”  He grabbed his coat, and started to leave.

“Sit down,” I commanded him.  “We’re not finished.  If I loaned you the money, how would you have the means to repay me?”

“Truthfully, I wouldn’t.  I had hoped you would pay the medical debt, as a favor to your mother’s memory.”

“I don’t want to give you a penny,” I said, “but I’ll pay the bills.  Send them to me, and I’ll pay them for you.”

Nolan started to cry uncontrollably.  I couldn’t bear it, and I was suddenly filled with compassion.  I stood him up and enveloped him in my arms.  I could swear he whispered in my ear, “I’m so sorry.”  Perhaps I heard wrong.

When he calmed down, I asked, “Would you like to meet my husband?  I know you’ve met his dad?  I’ll call them and ask them to meet us for lunch at our city club.”

“I’d like that,” he said, “but I don’t think I’m dressed for a fancy joint like that, I mean fancy place.”

“You’re dressed just fine,” I assured him.  Lunch is very informal.  Dinner is a lot fussier.”

I called Jerry in his office, and I called his father, wherever he was.  As briefly as I could, I filled them in on what my dad and I had agreed to, and they, in turn, agreed to meet us at the club at noon.  The way Jerry put it, “I wouldn’t miss this for the world.  I never went through the trauma of meeting the parents, and now it’s going to happen.”

*****

When we got to the club, dad and I found Jerry and his father at the bar.  They jumped up when they saw us.  Jerry planted a sloppy kiss on my lips, I was too busy kissing back to see what kind of reaction that got from my father.  When I introduced him to Jerry, they said simultaneously, “It’s nice to meet you.”

On the other hand Jerry, Sr. pumped my dad’s hand, and said, “I’m so sorry for what I said at the funeral, but when James told me how you treated him when he came out, I’ve always wanted to tell you off.  Can we forget about it and start fresh?”

“Yes, I’d like that,” Nolan said, “but don’t be sorry.  I deserved it.”

When my father said that he deserved it, I almost passed out.  Perhaps he had changed, but if he did, I couldn’t believe he was sincere.  Maybe he was acting, because I agreed to pay his substantial debt.

The luncheon turned out to be one of the most interesting I have ever had.  My father-in-law’s friends kept coming over to say hello, and he introduced Nolan as his son-in-law’s father.  They all said how nice it was to meet him.  One of them actually said, “Your son is the most ethical man, and the finest human being I have ever met.  You must be very proud of him.”

Nolan was flabbergasted, but he got himself together and said, “Yes, I’m very proud of him.”  I nearly choked on my shrimp cocktail.  I was not a stranger to Christmas miracles, and I began to wonder if this wasn’t another one in the making.

Some friends of mine came over to say hello also.  I introduced them to my father, but all they said was that it was nice to meet him.

Nolan and Jerry, Sr. started talking non-stop.  I couldn’t imagine what they could possibly have in common, but their conversation was very animated with lots of laughter.  I guess my dad was feeling very jovial, knowing that he was out of debt.

About half way through lunch, Nolan visited the men’s room.  Jerry, Sr. said to Jerry and me, “Nolan and I are going bar hopping tonight.  He doesn’t know it yet, but he’s shacking up in your guest room with me.  Fortunately, you furnished it with two queen-sized beds.  He’s on bereavement leave, and doesn’t have to go back to work until after the new year. I’m sure it’s okay with you guys.”  Jerry and I remained speechless. 

Finally, I said, “Dad (I always called Jerry, Sr. Dad), you better go to a straight bar.”

“Not on your life.  I told Nolan that we were going to a gay bar.  I want him to see that gay men are just ordinary people.  He didn’t mind at all.  In fact, he said that he was looking forward to it.  He has never been to a gay bar before.”

All I could do is repeat over and over again, “Unbelievable.”

Jerry asked, “Did you tell him that you swing both ways?”

“Of course.  I’d never take him to a gay bar unless he knew the truth.  He thinks it’s kind of interesting.  I have a feeling that he would have said ‘cool’ instead of ‘interesting’, but he’s not ready to drop his homophobia just yet.  By the time I’m through with him, he’ll be fighting for gay rights.”

“Good luck,” I said, “and how do you intend to do that?”

“Why, I’ll sleep with him, of course.  He’s really hot, James.”

*****

Jerry, Sr. took Nolan to a bar called The Hideaway.  It wasn’t very crowded on a work night.  It catered to more mature men, and it was quite civilized.  It was just like a typical cocktail lounge on Madison Avenue.  There was no raucous music, no half-naked young boys gyrating to the music, and there was plenty of breathing space.  The bar even had a cloak room.  They checked their coats and found an empty table.

“I prefer a table where we can get table service,” Jerry, Sr. said.  “It beats the mobs at the bar.  This place gets really very crowded on the weekend.”

Although the bar wasn’t very busy, Jerry, Sr. met several friends there and once again he introduced Nolan as his son-in-law’s father.  The reaction was usually the same, “James is a great guy,” they all said.

Finally, Nolan found himself answering, “Don’t I know it?” 

He had no idea that he was also being cruised, until Jerry, Sr. said, “You’re making quite an impression.  Most of these guys are flirting with you.  You seem not to have noticed.”

Nolan panicked.  “What should I do to let them know that I’m not interested?”

“Well, you can continue to ignore them, or a better ploy would be to take my hand and hold it tight.  They’ll think we’re a couple.”

Nolan grabbed Jerry, Sr.’s hand, and held on for dear life.

“Why wouldn’t you be interested?” Jerry, Sr. asked.  Aren’t you even the least bit curious?”

Nolan didn’t answer.  He just hunched his shoulders, and Jerry, Sr. wasn’t sure what his answer was, but he had opened the door to sex, and he wasn’t about to drop the ball.

“Well,” he said.  “I’ve had plenty of gay sex, and even more straight sex.  I enjoy riding up and down both streets, but if I could only go one way, it would be gay sex, hands down.”

“Why is that?” Nolan asked.

“Because gay sex is so much more intense, so much more passionate.  A guy knows what a guy likes, and can give his partner a lot more pleasure than a woman can.  For me, the best part is that I don’t have to spend an hour in foreplay arousing a woman.  A man is always aroused.”

Jerry, Sr. squeezed Nolan’s hand tighter.  “Nolan,” he said, “you and I really hit it off.  I like you a lot, and now that you’re reconciled with James, we’re going to see a lot of each other.  I’m no different than the rest of these guys.  I’ve got serious hots for you.  I could even pursue a relationship with you.  Would you experiment with me?  I promise you won’t regret it.  I’ll do all the work, and I’ll bring you to paradise.  If it grosses you out, I promise we’ll stop, and never speak of it again.  It’ll be our secret.”

“I don’t know,” Nolan said.  “Let me think about it.  I like you too, Jerome.”  The Christmas miracle was blossoming.

“Good.  Now let’s go to the piano bar, and socialize with the other guys.”

They did just that, and both men had a wonderful time.  During the evening somebody whispered in Nolan’s ear, “Boy, did you pick a winner.”  Almost simultaneously, some guy whispered the same thing in Jerry, Sr.’s ear.  Neither of the two men realized it, but they held their hands, even when it was no longer necessary.

In the cab driving home, Jerry, Sr. said, “Christmas is the day after tomorrow.   Don’t go home.  Spend it with us.  We’re your family now.  You and I are about the same size, and so is James.  We can lend you clothes to wear.  We even go to church on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, if you were wondering.”

“That sounds like a plan,” Nolan said. 

Jerry, Sr. wanted to kiss Nolan, but he was not about to kiss him on his lips.  They were still holding hands.  He raised Nolan’s hand to his lips and he kissed it.  Nolan smiled, and Jerry, Sr. took that as a yes answer to having sex that night.

When they got home, Jerry and I were fast asleep.  “Would you like a nightcap?” Jerry, Sr. asked Nolan.

“I’ve had plenty to drink, but I’m really nervous about what’s going to happen, so one more will help me relax.”

“Nolan, listen to me,” Jerry, Sr. said.  “Nothing I do will hurt you.  My goal is to give you so much pleasure, you’ll float into the seventh heaven.  Trust me; you can relax.”

They went into the living room and had their nightcap.  Then Jerry, Sr. took Nolan’s hand and led him into his bedroom.  The Christmas miracle was getting stronger and stronger.

Jerry, Sr. undressed rapidly.  Nolan started to undress, but slowly.  His heart rate had considerably increased.  When they were naked, they smiled.  They were both uncut.  Jerry, Sr. was erect and about seven plump inches.  Nolan was still flaccid, and he was about four inches.

They were standing at the edge of the bed, when Jerry Sr. threw his arms around Nolan, and placed his cheek on my dad’s.

“Kiss me,” Jerry, Sr. commanded.  “It’s the hardest thing for a straight man to do the first time.”

Jerry, Sr. expected Nolan to balk, but Nolan looked at him, smiled and put his closed mouth against Jerry, Sr.’s.  They kissed that way for a while, and then Jerry, Sr. opened his mouth and forced Nolan’s mouth open with his tongue.  My dad was terribly love starved.  He hadn’t had sex for almost two years prior to my mother’s death.  Much to Jerry, Sr.’s surprise, Nolan responded immediately and their kisses became passionate.

They fell into bed, and my dad lay flat on his back.  He didn’t know what to do, and was awaiting instructions from my father-in-law.  Jerry, Sr. lay down on top of Nolan and, once again, the passionate kissing began.  Little by little, centimeter by centimeter, he began to work his way down Nolan’s body.  He nipped at his neck, and Nolan had a hickey the next day.  Then he sucked both of Nolan’s nipples.  He took plenty of time, and Nolan was beginning to moan and groan and wiggle his ass.

He bypassed Nolan’s cock and balls, and instead, he sucked both of his legs on the inside, and finally he kissed and sucked his toes, one at a time.  Nolan was writhing in ecstasy.  At last, Jerry, Sr. approached his target.  It was to be Nolan’s first experience ever with oral sex.

Very gently he ran his tongue up Nolan’s cock.  He was hard now, and slightly larger than my father-in-law.  It only took a few swipes and Nolan’s balls started to shrink, so Jerry, Sr. aborted his blow job instantly.

“You bastard,” Nolan cried.  “Why did you stop?  I nearly came.”

“Patience, my handsome novice.  I’ve got even better things in store.” 

He opened the top drawer of his bedside table, and removed a condom and a tube of lube.  Gently, he rolled the condom down Nolan’s cock.   He began to rim Nolan’s crack, and my father almost went wild.  Then he put a glob of lube up his ass.  He coated Nolan’s rubberized cock with plenty of lube, and once again, Nolan started to cum.  Jerry, Sr. stopped to let Nolan simmer down.  Then he straddled his bedmate, and sat on him slowly, allowing Nolan’s cock to invade his ass at a snail’s pace.

Nolan began to wail like a banshee.  He didn’t care if Jerry and I could hear him or not.  When he was all the way in, Jerry, Sr smiled at Nolan.  Nolan was frenzied.  He started to pump his cock and Jerry, Sr. joined in.  Nolan was stimulating my father-in-law’s prostate and he came all over Nolan’s chest.  As he came his ass involuntarily opened and closed, and Nolan came.  He gushed into the condom, but there was so much semen it dripped down and out.  They lay still for a long while.  Nolan’s cock was taking its sweet time to soften, and he was still firmly implanted in my father-in-law’s ass.  My two dads just kept smiling at each other. 

Finally, Jerry, Sr. said, “Please Nolan, don’t freak out.  I mean it.  I’m begging you again not to freak out, but I’ve got to tell you that I think I’ve fallen in love with you.  Our first time was way better than the first time with my wife or any trick I’ve ever been with.  In time, it’ll get better and better.  I’d like us to do this every day of our lives from this day on.”

Nolan didn’t answer right away, and Jerry, Sr. looked at him anxiously.  At last Nolan smiled at him.  He opened his mouth to speak, but a little sob escaped instead. 

“I’m not freaking,” he said when his voice returned to him.  “I agree.  It was better than the first time with my wife.  In fact, it was better than every time I made love with my wife.  It would be an understatement to say that I’m confused and very frightened, but I think I love you too.  I feel that I want to be with you all the time.   In fact, I hope there’ll be a next time, because I want to switch roles with you, but not now, I need some recovery time.  That was so intense, just like you promised.”

“Don’t sweat it,” Jerry, Sr., said.  “I just came also.”  He scooped up some semen from Nolan’s chest, and he ate it.  Then he gave Nolan a taste also.  He hesitated for a moment and then ate what Jerry, Sr. offered him.

“I know you just came,” my dad said.  “How did that happen?  I never touched you.”

“I’m too tired now.  I’ll teach you about the birds and bees tomorrow,” Jerry, Sr. said.

He lay down side by side with Nolan, and the two men wrapped their arms around each other.  They were so tired they didn’t even clean up the excess semen.  Jerry, Sr. took Nolan’s hand and laid it on his cock.

“Feel free to fondle it now,” he said.

Nolan wasn’t reticent at all. He rolled Jerry, Sr.’s cock in his hand.  “I didn’t expect it to feel so nice,” he said.  And they both fell asleep.  The miracle had fully happened.  A miracle had brought me to my love, and now a miracle had blessed my two dads.  My dad had just completed a total one-eighty.

*****

I woke up in the morning.  Jerry was still sleeping, snoring lightly.  I leaned over and started sucking his cock.  His flaccid member, sprung to life in a second.  He put his hand on my head and pushed gently.  He wanted to make sure that he was in as far as I could take him.  When he was fully awake, he twisted around and we brought ourselves to nirvana with a luscious game of sixty-nine.

While we were basking in the afterglow, something occurred to me.

“I didn’t hear our fathers come home last night,” I noted.  “I’m worried.”

“I didn’t hear them either,” Jerry agreed.

I jumped out of bed, and ran to the guest room.  The door was ajar.  I opened it a little more.  My two dads were lying uncovered.  They were wrapped up in each other’s arms so tightly, I couldn’t even see their cocks.   One of the beds had not been slept in.  I freaked out, and ran back to Jerry.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.  He could see the panic in my eyes.   I couldn’t answer him, but I gestured for him to follow me.

When he saw the scene that I had just witnessed, he grabbed my hand, and pulled me back into our bedroom.

“What do you make of it?” Jerry asked me.

“I sure don’t know, but when your dad said he was going to get my dad into bed, I laughed so hard, inwardly, I lost my breath.”

Let’s get dressed and make breakfast. If they aren’t awake by the time it’s ready, we’ll wake them,” Jerry said.

“Damn right, we will,” I sputtered.  “I need to know what’s going on.  Do you think your dad hypnotized mine?”

“We’re going to find out.”

As it turned out, we didn’t have to wake them.  It was the day before Christmas, and the servants were off, so Jerry and I were still in the process of making breakfast.  They smelled the wonderful aroma of bacon frying, and coffee brewing, so they came into the kitchen.  Jerry, Sr. was naked, but my dad was more modest.  He had on a pair of boxers.

Nobody said anything more than, “Good morning.”  We were half way through breakfast when I exploded.  “What the fuck is going on?” I screamed too loudly.

The two fathers turned to each other and kissed.  Finally Jerry, Sr. said.  “We’re in love boys.  I know it’s unexplainable, but God does indeed work in mysterious ways, especially at Christmas time.”

“Dad,” I said more calmly.  “You made it very clear to me how much you hated homosexuality, in fact, how much you hated me and my life style.  How could you change so quickly?”

“James,” he said and grabbed my hand.  “I’ve never believed that two people of the same sex could fall in love, but it happened to Jerry and me.  Nobody can explain it.  I have always been homophobic.  I was so ashamed of my friends finding out that you were gay, I covered it up by being even more of a homophobe.  I’m pretty sure I loved your mom, but we weren’t good in the bedroom.  That’s why you’re an only child.  After you were born, we hardly ever made love.  When you came out to me, I was happy for you and Gary.  I was surprised that I really didn’t care.  I was just exhibiting my homophobia out of habit, I guess, and out of fear of what people might think.  Perhaps you got your gay genes from my latent ones.”

Jerry, Sr. interrupted, “No wonder it was so easy for me to seduce you,” he said.

“Are you sure it wasn’t I who seduced you?” my father said, laughing.

He looked at all of us, and started to cry.  “Jerry, your father made me realize last night what a fool I’ve been.” 

“I know it’s some sort of Christmas miracle,” Jerry, Sr. said, “but Nolan and I are madly in love.  I want to settle down, and he wants to pursue his true nature, so I’ve asked him to live with me.  The day after Christmas, we’re going to his furnished apartment.  We’ll pay off the landlord, and bring his personal stuff here.  I’m going to try to get him on my flight back to Florida.  If I leave him alone here in New York, I’m afraid he might want to experiment further with his sexuality.”

“Not to worry, honey,” my dad said as he grabbed Jerry, Sr.’s hand again.  “I’m all yours.  Nobody could have shown me better than you, what I’ve been missing.  And in case you’re all wondering, I’d love Jerry even if he was a pauper.  His money has nothing to do with this.  I swear.”

“I think this calls for a celebration,” I said.  “Let’s have dinner at the club, and then go to church for their Christmas Eve service.  There are a few angels I’d like to thank for giving me a Christmas miracle twice.  They brought you to me the first time, Jerry darling, and now they have given me my father back.”

I couldn’t hold back and I started to cry with happiness.  My beloved husband enfolded me in his arms, and all was well with the world.  It was the best Christmas ever, excluding the Christmas Eve when Jerry and I first made love.

Posted: 12/03/2021