SNOW FELL around them, and Charlie ran all over to try to catch the flakes before they landed.
“Are you sure this is what you want?” Dwayne asked. “We could get an artificial one.”
“No. Stan never allowed a real tree, and my dad had allergies. I want Charlie to have the things I couldn’t.” Robin took Dwayne’s arm, trying to hold down his own excitement. “Let’s go look at the trees,” he said to Charlie, extending his hand. Charlie raced over to take his hand, and they entered the brightly lit lot.
Charlie ran up to each tree, looking it over before going to the next and the next. “This one!” He jumped up and down, pointing.
“I don’t think our living room is tall enough for that one.” Of course he’d picked out the tallest tree on the lot. “We can get this one,” Dwayne offered, and Charlie’s finger went to his lips and then he nodded and bounced to give it his seal of approval. The tree was still tall, but the living room in the house that Dwayne had closed on a month earlier would accommodate it. They both thought it best that, at this stage in their relationship, Dwayne buy the house himself.
They had been initially looking for a larger apartment or a house to rent when a home two doors down from Carter and Donald came on the market. Dwayne and Robin managed to see it and met with the owners, who were friends of Donald and Carter’s, and they came to an agreement on price. They had just moved in a week ago, after spending three weeks working on the house. They had removed the old wallpaper, repaired the woodwork, and cleaned and did some minor floor repairs before adding a fresh coat of finish. Robin could hardly believe he and Dwayne had a home together. It was a dream come true.
Dwayne put an arm around his waist, tugged Robin closer to him, and Robin leaned against him, walking slowly as Charlie raced to the register so they could buy his tree.
“Are you sure we want to get something that tall?” Robin asked. “We don’t have much to decorate it with.”
Dwayne leaned closer, chuckling. “You always worry about things. Charlie wants the tree, so we’ll get it, and we can make things to decorate it. I have lights we can put on it, and then we can go from there. I think there are a few boxes of decorations in the things we got from your mother’s.”
“I know. But I don’t want to use them. They hold too many memories, and—”
“If we put them on our tree and make them part of our family’s celebration, then they lose their power. Charlie will love them.”
Robin nodded. “True. I can’t avoid everything that was my mother’s.” He didn’t like to talk about either her or Stan much. Robin had testified against Stan, his mother, and Harvey, and Dwayne said he’d been a powerful witness. Robin had been too nervous to be sure of that, but even the DA had said he’d been amazing. All three of them had been found guilty, and their attorney had argued that this was their first offense as mitigation. The fact that the criminal activity had gone on for years seemed to negate that argument, and all three of them were given the maximum sentence of nearly ten years.
“Don’t try to. They have no hold on you any longer.” Dwayne smiled at him, and Robin knew that was true. He’d been able to move on, and his life with Dwayne and Charlie was bright and full of life and love.
“What will your mother think about our homemade tree?” Relations had thawed considerably. Robin knew it was the fact that Dwayne was now a parent and they had a grandchild, which seemed to please Dwayne’s mother immensely.
“She’ll love it.” Dwayne smiled.
Robin was nervous about meeting Dwayne’s family. They were coming in five days for a visit over the long weekend.
“Can we get it now?” Charlie asked as he bounced near their legs.
“Yes. Dwayne is going to pay the man, and then we’ll load it on the car.” Robin took Charlie’s hand, missing Dwayne’s warmth and closeness as Dwayne went to pay for the tree and get one of the men to help load it. “We’re going to make our own decorations.”
“Yay! I can make chains and stars and snowflakes and…” Charlie was off like a shot, and Robin listened as he listed everything he was going to make. Robin figured it would take weeks, but that was fine. Charlie could make all the decorations he wanted. “Can we put the tree up when we get home?”
“Yes, but we’ll decorate it tomorrow after Uncle Dwayne and I get home from work.”
“Can Alex help?” The older boy had become Charlie’s idol, and Alex had done worlds for Charlie, who wanted to do anything Alex could, including read on his own. Charlie was in kindergarten but was already reading at a second-grade level.
“Of course. I’ll ask Mr. Donald if it’s okay.”
Charlie pulled him after Dwayne and supervised the loading of the tree onto the car. Then they got inside, and Dwayne slowly drove them home and somehow muscled the tree into the stand and inside the house to the corner of their living room. Charlie danced and sang “Jingle Bells,” already excited for Christmas, which was still two weeks away.
“What do you think about having a Christmas party?” Robin spoke to Charlie, but also Dwayne.
Dwayne stepped back from the tree. “If you’d like to. We could do it next Sunday. I think it would be good for my parents to see that we have a real life with real friends. It would need to be simple, but we could invite folks over. Red and Terry will be back from what Terry assures Red is his last promotional gig. You can invite your friends from the Y. It will be fun.”
“It will be an amazing way to thank everyone for all their help. We have a great life together with incredible friends, and I want to do something for them.”
“Then we will.” Dwayne finished getting the tree close to where they wanted it and stepped back. It was straight, looked good, and was already filling the house with the scent of Christmas. Dwayne stood next to him, and they quietly gazed at the tree as Charlie played around it.
“My family,” Robin whispered to himself as warmth spread out from his heart to the rest of his body.
“You’re shaking,” Dwayne said as he pulled him closer.
“I keep wondering how long this can last.” Sometimes he had dreams where he was alone and scared, with Stan chasing him. Each time he woke with a start to find Dwayne right there, holding him.
“Forever,” Dwayne answered without hesitation and turned to him. Robin put his arms around Dwayne’s neck and pulled him closer. That was all he’d ever wanted. “You’ll be mine forever, I can promise you that.” Dwayne leaned closer to kiss him hard.
“Ewww, kissing,” Charlie said from where he sat with his cars by the tree.
Robin smiled into the kiss and Dwayne did the same. Then he slid his fingers into Robin’s hair and drew him closer once again.