That's A Lie
Christmas isn't Christmas
It was December 25th.
Christmas.
Three weeks after Gerard came out.
The short boy made his way slowly to the lighted house at precisely 7.01 pm. The ground that was covered in snow made it hard for him to move but he pushed on. His hands were laden with presents, five in all. His long, red fringe covering one of his eyes made it hard to see but he was determined.
All around him, the once dull houses were bathed in twinkling lights. The quiet streets were filled with joyous laughter and Christmas carols. It was a blessed occasion.
His pace quickened. Just the thought of seeing him again made the man’s breath quickened. Its been so long. Yes, they’ve talked on the phone but he always seems distant. Answering questions with a just a grunt or maybe an ‘ok’ once in a while. It was like a stab in the heart for this young man.
Finally he arrived at his destination. The door opened and Donald greeted him. The aging man had on a jumper, some old jeans and reindeer horns on his head. The boy smiled. It must be Mikey’s doing.
“ Frank, come on in,”
“Thanks Mr. Way. Is Emira here yet?” before Donald could answer, the space behind them gave a shriek of surprise and Donald was pushed aside by an excited Emmy.
“ Frankie! Its been so long! You brought presents!” she screamed out shrilly before giving him a bone-crushing hug. Mikey stood behind her smirking. His heart skipped a beat; maybe two. He set down his presents and gave Mikey a hug. To be that close to the man he loves almost killed him but he pushed aside whatever thoughts he had for later.
The atmosphere during dinner was one of forced glee. Donald, Mikey, Frank and Emira tried to keep it light and jolly but Donna just sulked and glared daggers at Gerard while the man in question kept flinching every time Mikey spoke. Frank was clueless to all this happenings and got frustrated that they were all acting like this.
No one could blame Mikey. Ever since the fight, Gerard has been evading him like a plague. Even in school, he avoided his brother. Gerard would leave for school hours before Mikey even got dressed. He would come back a while before his younger brother and lock himself up in his room until dinner time. Donna could not drop the whole matter. She kept rambling on to Donald about their sons’ “sinful ways”. Donald of course, found out soon enough he could just nod his head and let her keep on ranting without listening. This got her more agitated and the tension in the house more pronounced.
“ What the fuck went on just now? It was like Twilight Zone times ten,” posed Frank to Emira whom he was walking home with. That was, in both their minds, the most awkward dinner they have been unfortunate enough to sit in.
“ I don’t know. Donna still can’t drop the incest subject.” said Emira, her voice muffled by the winds. Frank stopped short.
“The what subject?! What are you talking about?” This time, it was Emira who stopped walking.
“ You mean, you don’t know? I thought he told you! He must have told you!”
“ Well apparently not because I know nothing about this. Are you gonna be the one to tell me or do I have to come up with my own conclusions?” feeling as though she had no choice, she told Frank everything.
“…and so, she thinks they go all incest on each other and she doesn’t believe I’m Mikey’s girlfriend which is true I mean, I’m not. And Gerard keeps avoiding him so he feels all bad about it and he doesn’t know who to talk to. And Donald doesn’t really care does he? I mean he was like work, work and work twenty-four seven. The whole family’s going crazy really,” Frank was silent through out her whole enlightenment. Only one fact played in his mind over and over again.
Mikey didn’t tell him. They were supposed to be best friends and Mikey didn’t tell him. Maybe he couldn’t, Frank tried justifying. How could he not? We talk on the phone. He could have told me then.
Too caught up in his musings, he didn’t hear Emira’s goodbye as they pass her front door. Back at home, he toyed with the idea of calling Mikey straight out and asking him but went against it. Who needs a teenager pestering you at eleven at night anyway?
Back at the Ways household, the scene took on a more twisted scene. Locked up in his room, Gerard took out a folder from underneath his bed. It’s the one folder he took pride in. The one folder where all his feelings were hidden in. It was the one folder that could ruin his life.
He slipped the unfinished drawing delicately, afraid of creasing it. There, a sketch was made. The pencil lines betrayed the pose. In it, you could almost feel the amount of effort he put into it. Each line was made with care, wanting to depict exact movements, contours.
Each curve, each shade was done with love. It showed a man, leaning against a book. A lanky man. A lanky, bespectacled man.
It was Mikey.
Christmas.
Three weeks after Gerard came out.
The short boy made his way slowly to the lighted house at precisely 7.01 pm. The ground that was covered in snow made it hard for him to move but he pushed on. His hands were laden with presents, five in all. His long, red fringe covering one of his eyes made it hard to see but he was determined.
All around him, the once dull houses were bathed in twinkling lights. The quiet streets were filled with joyous laughter and Christmas carols. It was a blessed occasion.
His pace quickened. Just the thought of seeing him again made the man’s breath quickened. Its been so long. Yes, they’ve talked on the phone but he always seems distant. Answering questions with a just a grunt or maybe an ‘ok’ once in a while. It was like a stab in the heart for this young man.
Finally he arrived at his destination. The door opened and Donald greeted him. The aging man had on a jumper, some old jeans and reindeer horns on his head. The boy smiled. It must be Mikey’s doing.
“ Frank, come on in,”
“Thanks Mr. Way. Is Emira here yet?” before Donald could answer, the space behind them gave a shriek of surprise and Donald was pushed aside by an excited Emmy.
“ Frankie! Its been so long! You brought presents!” she screamed out shrilly before giving him a bone-crushing hug. Mikey stood behind her smirking. His heart skipped a beat; maybe two. He set down his presents and gave Mikey a hug. To be that close to the man he loves almost killed him but he pushed aside whatever thoughts he had for later.
The atmosphere during dinner was one of forced glee. Donald, Mikey, Frank and Emira tried to keep it light and jolly but Donna just sulked and glared daggers at Gerard while the man in question kept flinching every time Mikey spoke. Frank was clueless to all this happenings and got frustrated that they were all acting like this.
No one could blame Mikey. Ever since the fight, Gerard has been evading him like a plague. Even in school, he avoided his brother. Gerard would leave for school hours before Mikey even got dressed. He would come back a while before his younger brother and lock himself up in his room until dinner time. Donna could not drop the whole matter. She kept rambling on to Donald about their sons’ “sinful ways”. Donald of course, found out soon enough he could just nod his head and let her keep on ranting without listening. This got her more agitated and the tension in the house more pronounced.
“ What the fuck went on just now? It was like Twilight Zone times ten,” posed Frank to Emira whom he was walking home with. That was, in both their minds, the most awkward dinner they have been unfortunate enough to sit in.
“ I don’t know. Donna still can’t drop the incest subject.” said Emira, her voice muffled by the winds. Frank stopped short.
“The what subject?! What are you talking about?” This time, it was Emira who stopped walking.
“ You mean, you don’t know? I thought he told you! He must have told you!”
“ Well apparently not because I know nothing about this. Are you gonna be the one to tell me or do I have to come up with my own conclusions?” feeling as though she had no choice, she told Frank everything.
“…and so, she thinks they go all incest on each other and she doesn’t believe I’m Mikey’s girlfriend which is true I mean, I’m not. And Gerard keeps avoiding him so he feels all bad about it and he doesn’t know who to talk to. And Donald doesn’t really care does he? I mean he was like work, work and work twenty-four seven. The whole family’s going crazy really,” Frank was silent through out her whole enlightenment. Only one fact played in his mind over and over again.
Mikey didn’t tell him. They were supposed to be best friends and Mikey didn’t tell him. Maybe he couldn’t, Frank tried justifying. How could he not? We talk on the phone. He could have told me then.
Too caught up in his musings, he didn’t hear Emira’s goodbye as they pass her front door. Back at home, he toyed with the idea of calling Mikey straight out and asking him but went against it. Who needs a teenager pestering you at eleven at night anyway?
Back at the Ways household, the scene took on a more twisted scene. Locked up in his room, Gerard took out a folder from underneath his bed. It’s the one folder he took pride in. The one folder where all his feelings were hidden in. It was the one folder that could ruin his life.
He slipped the unfinished drawing delicately, afraid of creasing it. There, a sketch was made. The pencil lines betrayed the pose. In it, you could almost feel the amount of effort he put into it. Each line was made with care, wanting to depict exact movements, contours.
Each curve, each shade was done with love. It showed a man, leaning against a book. A lanky man. A lanky, bespectacled man.
It was Mikey.