24
The almost-perfect Christmas
The four of us spent a glorious Christmas together, along with all of our pets. It was a love-filled, joyous time. I had been incredibly relieved when Van had announced that he wouldn’t be going to his parents’ house for the holidays. He felt it didn’t make sense to drive there, since he had to work until noon on Christmas Eve as well as the entire day after Christmas. In light of that, he decided it would be better to go for a long-weekend in January or February to celebrate with them. I wasn’t ready to face my parents or their harsh judgment for my recent decisions, so Van’s plan to stay home worked out well for me.
Derek offered to be on-call at the fire station, so the guys who had children could spend the holiday at home with them. His parents had go
