You Had Me At Hello

“Hey, wake up, guys!” I opened my eyes to see Mikey kneeling beside the bed.

“Dude, what the fuck?” Gee groaned. I sat up and rubbed my eyes.

“It’s Christmas,” Mikey exclaimed. “Mom and Dad are already up.” I couldn’t help but smile at how excited he was. He reminded me of a small child filled with joy, anxiously awaiting time to open the gifts from Santa.

“We aren’t kids anymore,” Gee mumbled as he pulled a pillow over his face. I threw my legs over the side of the bed, but as soon as my feet hit the floor, a wave of nausea washed over me. I ran to the bathroom, slamming the door behind me. The acid burned my throat with each retch. I rested my head against against my forearm. There was a faint tapping on the door before Mikey entered. His face held a combined emotion of concern and sympathy.

“Are you okay? You’ve been getting sick more often, even though I rarely see you eat anything. Not to mention, you’ve been sleeping a lot more and still don’t seem to have any energy.” I looked up at him as tears formed. The confusion in his eyes grew. “What’s going on?” I just looked back at the floor. “Wait…” I glanced up to see his eyes widen as he put two and two together. “Are you…”

“Yeah…”I said quietly. He knelt down in front of me.

“How long have you known? Have you been to a doctor yet? Have you told anyone?” I sighed.

“I’ve only known for about two weeks, although I’m a little over a month. I’ve been to the doctor once, just to be sure, and the only ones who know are Frankie and now you. He found out when I did. I wanted to tell you, but I didn’t know how. I was afraid that you would be disappointed in me.” He put his arms around me and pulled me tight against his chest.

“You’re my best friend. I’m here for you, no matter what…” I started to sob uncontrollably into his chest. He just held me as I cried. He waited until I stopped before he spoke again. “So, you haven’t told Gerard yet?” I shook my head. “Well, that’ll be one hell of a Christmas present.” I chuckled quietly at how calmly he reacted.

“I just didn’t know how to tell him, you know? I didn’t know how he’d react…”

“Are you serious? He is going to be ecstatic. He’s great with kids. He’s always wanted one.” I felt a bit of relief. “You should definitely make this one of his presents. Hell, maybe even for the whole family. I’ve got the perfect idea.” I looked at him with confusion, but he waved it off. “You’ll see later.” He helped me off of the floor and led me back to the bedroom where Gee had gotten up and was getting dressed.

“I was beginning to wonder if you were coming back,” he said as he slipped a shirt over his head. I nodded.

“Yeah, I was talking to Mikey. Listen, I need to talk to you about som-”

“After presents!” Mikey interrupted. He smiled at me before turning and bouncing off down the hall. Gee laughed to himself as he stepped towards me.

“Merry Christmas, angel.” He leaned down and kissed me before grabbing my hand and leading me towards the living room, where everyone had already assembled. We all sat around, laughing and talking, as each person opened their gifts. Gerard was very excited about his new art supplies. He gave me a beautiful picture that he had drawn of the two of us. Mikey was overjoyed by the stuffed purple unicorn that I had gotten for him. After everyone had opened their gifts, Mikey set up the camera for a family picture. We all assumed our positions as he set the timer. He hurried back and sat in front of me.

“Alright. One...Two...Gee’s gonna be a daddy!” I felt my eyes grow wide as I realized what he had done. Donna stood in front of Don, cooing as she held her hands against her heart. Both of them had a huge smile on their faces. I looked over at Gerard, who was staring blankly at the wall.

“Gee?” I put my hand on his arm. He looked over at me with tears in his eyes.

“Is he telling the truth?” I felt a knot in my throat.

“Yes…” He stared at me for a minute before a gentle smile crept across his lips. He pulled me into his arms and held me tight.

“How long have you known?” I heard his sniffle as tears escaped.

“About two weeks…” He pulled back and looked into my eyes. I saw the tears falling silently.

“So, did anyone besides Mikey know?”

“Well, to be fair, Mikey didn’t know until this morning, but Frankie knew. We found out on the same day.”

“Oh, grandparents! We’re going to be grandparents! Can you believe it, Don?” I heard Donna gushing from the corner. Mikey pulled Gee and I into a hug.

“I solemnly swear to be the most bad ass uncle ever!” He proclaimed. Gerard and I laughed.
“Well, I’m glad everyone is taking the news so well. Especially you,” I said as I turned to face Gerard. He smiled and put his warm hands against my face.

“Are you kidding? This is the best gift you could ever have given me.”