Christmas Spirit: with More Christmas Spirits by Connor David

Author:Connor, David [Connor, David]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Published: 2015-09-29T16:00:00+00:00

8

While I drove around the block, I called my dad on Bluetooth. He’d called me eleven times in twenty minutes. It was the least I could do. “Don’t judge Aidan by what he just said.”

“What exactly should I judge him by?” Dad asked.

“Through my eyes.”

“Your eyes may not be wide open when it comes to him.”

“Don’t judge him at all.”

“There’s a lot of baggage there, Matthew.”

“He’s lost everyone, Dad. His mom died when he was a kid, his grandmother too, in the same car accident, two days before Thanksgiving. His dad abandoned him two weeks later, and his grampy, who raised him, died just about a year ago, only a few days before Christmas. The holidays aren’t the best time of year for Aidan, Dad. He’s no doubt feeling all of that right now.”

“I didn’t know.”

“Plus, he left out all the positives. He just started going to AA. He’s going to cooking school, has his license back, and he loves me.”

“It’s still a lot. If I were counseling one of my parishioners, I might say, with all that going on, it might not be the best time to enter into a new relationship. They can be tough on their own, Matthew. Why not give Aidan some time to iron out his life before you become a part of it?”

“No.”

“If it’s really meant to be, it will be a year from now.”

“A year!”

“I’m suggesting you step back and revisit the thought later on.”

“What about the church, Dad?” It was probably not the time and place to go there, but as I circled the block and passed Aidan’s house, I did, to deflect, maybe.

“The church is changing,” my father said. “Too slowly in some regards. People are changing faster. There may be fallout, but I won’t deny you. How public you are is up to you.”

“I plan on being as public as anyone else in love.”

“Then there is my answer. I’ll stand beside you, Matthew. Beside you and Aidan or anyone else.”

“Wow.”

“Thought you had me all figured out, didn’t you?”

“Guess I was wrong,” I said.

“No way on God’s Earth will I ever turn my back on you. You’re my son and I love you unconditionally. When you left here yesterday morning, however, you headed out the door with a chip on your shoulder.”

I started to object.

“And I let you. The fault is on both of us.”

“Yeah.” I couldn’t debate that. “I’m sorry.”

“Me too. So, were you wrong about Aidan?”

“I drove away from him. I left.” I was back on Aidan’s street. “I’m wrong now. I shouldn’t have.”

“Then turn the car around and go back,” my father advised.

I didn’t—not right away. I went back, but I parked across the street and stayed in my car until it got dark outside. Then I waited some more, until all the lights inside went off. When the kitchen light came back on, I knew Aidan couldn’t sleep. It was pouring buckets outside by then. The wind was howling, but still I stood on the back porch a few minutes more, wondering if I should go inside, getting drenched while I wondered.

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