Title: Christmas Lights and All that Jazz
Author: Amended by Alex
Pairings: O/C Nelson/Zach, Vic/Ben
December 2003


“No.” The word hung heavily in the air all by itself, with no supporting dialogue surrounding it to give further explanation or rationale for its use. It’s a word with only two letters: a simple little thing with the same definition in many languages. And, probably the shortest word in the English language, except for “a”, which might not even be a real word, Zach thought. But, he knew the small size was no indication of the power behind it, and balked at feeling the finality of the tiny word’s punch.

An audible grunt escaped Zach’s lips and he demanded, “Why not?!”

Nelson looked at him levelly from beside him at the table and said, “If ‘because I said so’ isn’t enough, then because it’s dangerous.”

“I won’t fall! I’m good at balancing.” The sandwich Zach had been eating was momentarily forgotten, the issue at hand taking precedence over his stomach.

“I’ll help you get them hung on the lower level later this week. We will NOT be putting lights around the dormers.”

“But, they’ll look good around the dormers. And, I’ve already waited a week for you. We NEED to get the Christmas lights up. Ben will help me, won’t you Ben?”

Ben wasn’t given a chance to answer as Nelson cut him off, leaving his mouth hanging open in preparation to respond. “I said no, young man, and I mean it,” Nelson said, then turned his eyes to Ben, who was sitting across from Zach at the table. “That goes for you, too, Benjamin.” Ben nodded silently and turned back to his sandwich, uncomfortable with Nelson’s firm gaze. He was grateful when Nelson’s attention was turned from him and back to Zach. He said, “I’ll help you get them done later. We have plenty of time.”

“We do not,” Zach disagreed. “It’s already after Thanksgiving.”

“Zachary, that’s enough,” Nelson said with a look. It told Zach “this conversation is over”.

He bit back an angry “FINE!” and glared at Nelson with his own look. Nelson’s eyes were unwavering and Zach soon gave in and looked away. He huffed then stormed out of the kitchen as angrily as he thought he could get away with, and curled up on the sofa in the den. Ben was a mere millisecond behind him, quietly following Zach’s lead, but not before grabbing the last quarter of his PB&J sandwich.

While they were out of earshot, Zach began to complain fiercely about Nelson’s lack of understanding, his ridiculous rules, and his lack of trust in Zach to hang lights on dormer windows. His friend supported him wholeheartedly with nods and words of empathy around the remainder of his sandwich.

“It’s not like I’m some kid who can’t do a simple thing like hang lights,” Zach complained.

“I know,” Ben agreed.

“I mean, what is the big DEAL?”

Ben shrugged, “Who knows?”

“It’s so STUPID,” Zach said, punctuating the last word with a kick to the coffee table.

Ben nodded and said, “You’re right; totally stupid.”

“It’s JUST lights, damn it.”

Ben took another bite of his sandwich and said around the mouthful, “Yeah, just lights.”

Their conversation abruptly ended when they heard Nelson approaching, and they saw him stick his head around the door. “I have some stops to make then I’m going back to work. You two behave yourselves this afternoon,” he said. “Zach, don’t forget we have Christien’s play tonight.”

Zach didn’t say anything and kept his eyes off Nelson, deliberately ignoring him. Nelson wasn’t about to put up with Zach’s obvious attitude, so he walked fully into the room stopping in front of Zach.

“Pull the lip in, Zachary. You can be mad at me all you want, but you’d better do it without the attitude. I want you in one piece whether you like it or not.” Ben watched the two of them as if they were playing a tennis match, eyes from one to the other. The ball was in Zach’s court, but it lay lifelessly on the blacktop since Zach refused to engage. Nelson pulled out a spare ball and lobbed it back onto Zach’s side of the net by asking, “Do you need a spanking, Zach?” he asked with a glance at his watch. “I need to get going, but if I have to take the time, I will.”

Zach’s face flamed red at having been threatened with a spanking in front of Ben. He rapidly masked the attitude before Nelson decided it would be worth his time to be a little late. He answered with a quick, “No, sir, I don’t need a spanking. But you obviously need a lobotomy. ”

Ben, not wanting to be a witness to Zach getting spanked, was just as relieved as Zach to hear Nelson relent and say, “I’m glad to hear it because I really don’t have the strength to spank you today. You and Ben enjoy your afternoon off and behave yourselves.” He leaned down to kiss Zach goodbye and Zach tried to return the kiss without complaint.

“See you, Nelson,” Ben said.

“See you later, boys,” Nelson said with a wave, and left to go back to work.

As soon as he was gone, Ben shoved Zach’s shoulder on the sofa. “Nice going, dope. You came about this close,” he said holding his fingers a hair apart, “to getting your ass spanked over Christmas lights. Is it that important to you? ”

“Hey! Whose side are you on, anyway?”

“I’m on your side. I didn’t say I agreed with Nelson, I’m just trying to tell you it’s not worth getting your butt toasted over it.”

“But, I got new lights. I want to put them up NOW. He’s been saying for a week he was going to do it. There’s more of a chance of them hanging themselves than of Nelson hanging them. I’m sick of waiting.”

“Looks like you don’t have a choice,” Ben pointed out then added to support his friend, “even if it’s not fair.”

Zach looked at him thoughtfully and said, “Don’t I?”

Ben’s mouth dropped open. “Are you nuts? You’ll get it for sure if you hang those lights. It’s not exactly like you can hide them.”

Zach weighed his options and decided he wanted to hang the lights, and Nelson could just get over it. “It’s stupid. I’m not so lame I can’t hang Christmas lights. I need to make a point. I’m hanging them; I don’t care what he says. He is being totally irrational and I won’t stand for it!”

“It’s not so much what he’ll SAY that you should be worried about. You’ve got to be crazy to even think about hanging them.”

“I’m hanging them and you’re going to help me.”

Ben’s eyes grew to a size that rivaled saucers and he said, “Well, of course you are right, but…”

Zach looked at his friend and changed tactics, going directly for his sympathy button. He tossed in a little reason to boot, figuring it couldn’t hurt. “Don’t you care that I might fall? I need your help. Nelson won’t do anything to you and besides, he won’t know you helped me.”

“The hell he won’t do anything! He’s spanked me before and frankly, I don’t want him to do it again. Across his lap is not a place I want to be.”

“But, Vic wasn’t around when he did that. He had to spank you.”

Ben leaned down and looked under the sofa, looked over both shoulders then back at his friend. “And, Vic would be where, now?”

Zach locked eyes with Ben, not laughing at all. “He was hundreds of miles away at the time. He’s just across town now. It doesn’t matter anyway because Nelson won’t KNOW you helped. I won’t give you away. Come on, please?” Zach said pleadingly. Ben looked warily at Zach, not fully convinced he wouldn’t be implicated. Zach could sense Ben was on the brink of crumbling so he grabbed his hand and cast a pitiful look his way. “Pleaaassee? Pretty please??”

Ben grunted and rolled his eyes, rising from the couch. “All right, all right. Let’s do it if we’re going to. But, if I get in trouble…”

“You WON’T,” Zach said, grinning broadly with the thrill of the win. He jumped to his feet to join his friend. “I’ll get the lights and stuff.” He jogged off through the house to gather the lights, some nails and a hammer.

Zach reappeared triumphantly carrying the items and held the bag of lights high for Ben to see. “These are going to look so good,” he said with a broad grin. “Come on.”

Ben followed Zach to the garage and helped get the ladder, and they carefully propped it against the ledge of the steep roof.

Zach went up first, determined to cover the dormer windows with the dangling icicle lights, and Ben followed him up to the roof. Ben stepped off the ladder and carefully peered over the edge of the roof, backing up in a hurry. “You were SO right. This isn’t very high at ALL.”

“That’s what I told Nelson. It’s just the second floor,” Zach said as he dislodged lights from the hateful plastic thing holding them hostage. He added with a twinkle in his eye, “If you fall, try to aim for the bushes.”

“Kiss my ass,” Ben said.

Zach laughed at his friend then pulled a nail from the container, holding it in place. He turned to Ben and said, “Hand me the hammer.” Ben was passing the hammer over and mistakenly thought Zach had it when he let it go. They watched it slip from their hands and slide in slow motion down the angled roof, tipping end over end after hitting the gutter before landing on the ground.

“Damn,” Zach muttered. He stepped over toward the ladder without hesitation, obviously not nervous about meeting the same fate as the hammer.


Ben followed Zach back to the dormer, holding the lights while Zach wielded the hammer. They were so totally engrossed in what they were doing that they didn’t hear the car pull in the driveway below them.

They jumped a mile high with Nelson’s sharp voice calling to them from below. “What the HELL are you two doing??”

At the sound of Nelson’s voice, Zach whispered under his breath to Ben, “God Almighty. Where did he come from?” He turned slowly and saw his angry partner with his hands on his hips, staring up at the two miscreants. Zach noticed the car door was hanging open and the engine still running, evidence that Nelson obviously exited the vehicle in a hurry.

Zach said as casually as possible, somehow managing to keep a tremor out of his voice, “Nelson. What are you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be at work?”

“I forgot the checkbook and had to come back; I’m glad I did.”

Zach took a seat on the roof since he no longer trusted his legs, and peered down at Nelson. “We’ll be down in a minute, as soon as we’re finished,” he said stubbornly, but he had to swallow hard before he spoke to wash down the cotton in his throat.

Nelson said through clenched teeth, “GET down here right now.”

“But, we just got started,” Zach explained, as he continued to pound in nails. Ben wasn’t sure what to do, so he continued helping Zach. Nelson was obviously displeased and Zach wasn’t making a move to go down. He anxiously waited to see how many lights they could hang before Nelson had a coronary.

“NOW!” Nelson said, raising his voice another notch, pointing in front of him. Nelson’s sharp response to Zach’s comment broke Ben’s train of thought.

Zach’s eyes went wide and he realized only too late just how serious Nelson had been about the lights. Zach had wanted to make a point, and Nelson obviously got it. Unfortunately, from the look on his face, he had a point to make as well. The only problem was he would try to make it on Zach’s ass – if Zach allowed it. Nelson had raised his voice and Nelson NEVER yelled. Knowing how mad Nelson was, Zach had no intention of going down the ladder and getting within swatting distance of him. Instead, he reasoned, “We aren’t going to fall. We need to stay up here and finish since we’re already up here.” Zach gave a knowing nod to his co-conspirator and they proceeded to each grab a side of the ladder and pull it up quickly to balance on the roof beside them.

Nelson spoke slowly, his finger remaining on the invisible spot in front of him. “I said to get down NOW. That means both of you. If I have to come up there, I’ll swat your butts all the way down! MOVE!”

Zach said nervously, “Now, THAT might make us fall, Nelson. Besides, how do you plan to get up here?”

Nelson wasn’t the least bit amused. He started to count, “ONE!”

“Hurry,” Ben whispered to Zach. He decided he didn’t want Nelson coming after him on the roof whether Zach wanted to go down or not. He also knew things disintegrated quickly when Vic started counting, and he had a sneaking suspicion it would be the same way with Nelson.

“Ben!” Zach said in hushed tones, hoping to keep his friend from descending. “Don’t go!”

“I’m not. Don’t worry. I’ll help you finish up here, Zach.”

“Zachary Adam, you’d better get your butt moving.” Nelson saw no activity from his partner and he said, “TWO, Zachary. Ben? That includes you!”

“But, Nelson, you were NEVER going to do it,” Zach argued, as he and Ben continued to string across the lights. “We had to get the lights hung.”

Nelson looked up into his partner’s face, which was peering at him over the ledge. “Do you want the belt, young man?”

“No, sir, but you’re insane. I am not coming down until I am done here.”

“Do you think disobeying me further is making me any less angry?”

Zach considered it, but it just wasn’t reasonable. They were almost done. “Three” wasn’t necessary since Nelson’s words of insanity were obviously lost on the rational young men. By the time Zach had pounded in the last nail and Ben had strung across the final strand of lights, they had had more than enough. Nelson’s face was a deep shade of red, and Zach had a fleeting moment of concern, as he and Ben worked to lower the ladder back into place.

Ben did not really want to be the first one down the ladder, but since Nelson was Zach’s partner, he wasn’t as fearful for his behind. He decided quicker was better, though, and placed each foot on the outside of the ladder and slid quickly to the ground. Nelson recovered quickly from his pseudo-heart attack and reached quickly to try to grab Ben by the upper arm. Ben, having long since mastered the art of evasion, ducked the attempted grab, and made his way toward the house to fetch the additional extension cord. Nelson decided to let him go for the moment and stood watching Zach’s similar descent, eagerly waiting to clamp onto his arm once he reached the bottom of the ladder.

As soon as he was within reach, Nelson tried for a grip on Zach’s arm, and was averted by his partner, as well. Zach headed for the front door, getting inside as quickly as possible and turned his back away from Nelson.

“Have a seat. I’ll be right back,” Nelson said to them, indicating the sofa.

“In a minute, Nelson. We have to make sure all the lights WORK now,” Zach replied as the boys headed to connect the extension cord. Nelson followed them quickly, and was just as enthralled at the sight of the fully-lit dormers as the younger men were. Zach glanced at Nelson’s face, and was pleased to see it reverting back to its normal coloring. Ben released the breath that he had been holding since he first heard Nelson’s angry voice call out from the ground beneath them. He looked anxiously at Zach and Nelson, and breathed a sigh of relief as Nelson was forced to admit that they had done an admirable job.

Zach looked at his friend and smiled. He turned his gaze back to his partner and stated, “See, Nelson! I TOLD you it would look so much better this way! And, of course, we never even came close to falling. You need to just chill and realise that I know what I am doing when it comes to Christmas lights!”

Nelson smiled at his brat, “You were right, Zachary. You boys did a fine job. I guess I underestimate you sometimes, don’t I?” Then he turned his gaze to Ben, “And you, young man, are calling Vic. You’re going to tell him exactly what happened today.”

While Ben was relieved to know Nelson didn’t plan to spank him, he wasn’t keen on having to tell Vic what had happened. Ben said, “Please, Nelson. Don’t make me tell him. Please? Just ask him to come over here so he can be surprised!”

“Well, I guess that would be only fair – since you both surprised me. I’ll call him and make sure he can stop by after work.” Nelson picked up the cordless and dialed Vic’s work number. He asked for Vic and he was soon on the phone. Vic wasn’t given time to say anything more than his name and a greeting before Nelson said, “Vic, it’s me. Ben and Zachary have been up to their usual tricks today. Could you stop by when you are done at the office?”

Noticing no true sound of annoyance in his friend’s voice, Vic casually replied, “I can be there in about a half an hour. I have almost cleared my schedule for the day anyway.”

Nelson rubbed the tips of his fingers across his forehead. “We’ll be here. Just let yourself in.”

“Will do. I’ll see you in a bit.”

“See you soon,” Nelson said.

Ben and Zach were sitting on the couch replaying their recent endeavor, and congratulating themselves on their accomplishment. Movement in the doorway caught Ben’s eye and his lover suddenly appeared there with his arms crossed. Vic’s stern demeanor changed immediately as his face lit up and he asked, “Did you boys hang those lights today? They look wonderful!”

Ben’s worried look changed to one of extreme satisfaction as he replied for the both of them, “Yes, actually, we did. Nelson has been so busy that Zach asked me to help him get it done today to surprise him”

“Oh, really? What did Nelson say?” Vic asked.

Ben hesitated, not wanting to admit that he had disobeyed Nelson. He knew without Vic telling him that he was expected to obey Nelson, the same as he would obey Vic. “What did he say, Benjamin?” Vic asked again.

He said with a voice barely above a whisper, “He said ‘no’.” Vic had been speaking in a voice that was gentle yet firm. Ben couldn’t help but notice the role reversal of the two Tops. Nelson had been uncharacteristically loud and Vic was surprisingly calm.

Vic said, “When you’re at Nelson’s house, you follow Nelson’s rules. You know that, young man.” He continued to finger Ben’s hair, pushing it back from his forehead. “Don’t you?”

Benji nodded his head and his eyes wandered again toward the kitchen where Nelson was off fixing drinks. “I was just trying to help.”

Vic’s eyes were on Ben and he said, “Look at me. You need to do a better job of choosing the right thing to do if helping means disobeying. Don’t you?”

“Yes, sir. I’m sorry. But we knew we could do a good job!” Ben said, sincerely meaning every word.

“And you did,” Vic said. “I am so proud of you both! It isn’t easy to stand up for yourselves when you are being treated unfairly, and in this instance, it would appear that you two were absolutely right.”

Vic took hold of Ben’s arm and tugged him into his lap on the couch. When Nelson reappeared, Vic said, “Well, that was quite some surprise! I am sure you are as proud of Zach as I am of Ben – although I AM sorry they had to go about it the way they did. I guess we should really give them a little more credit, Nelson.”

“Well, I am now. At first, I wasn’t so sure…” started Nelson. He took both Zach and Ben in his gaze when he continued, “And I’d better not ever catch you doing anything so dangerous at my house again,” Nelson said with a mock-frown. “Until January, that is, when you go up and take those down!”

“Yes, sir!” replied both boys gleefully.

Nelson continued with the mini-lecture, “You know, I didn’t say you couldn’t hang the lights just to be mean. You two could have been severely hurt. I’ll remember in the future that you are two very capable young men.”

Vic took a deep breath and ran a hand across Ben’s shoulders, squeezing the one opposite from him. “It’s time for us to go,” he pronounced. “Thanks for inviting me over to see the lights, Nelson. But right now, Benji and I need to head home and get into the holiday spirit, ourselves,” he finished, with a leer toward his blushing partner.

Nelson nodded, having had the exact same thought only moments before as he saw Ben cuddled in Vic’s lap. He stood to walk his friends to the door and followed them out, waving goodbye as they got into their separate vehicles and headed for their romantic rendezvous.

Back inside, Nelson gathered Zach to him and stroked his back. His hand moved to Zach’s head beneath his chin and he said, “I don’t know what I’d do if anything happened to you. But you did a really nice thing today, Zach.”

“I’m sorry I disobeyed you, Nelson,” Zach said.

“Thank you, but all’s well that ends well. I love you, Sweetpea.”

Zach cuddled against his partner, and he was happy to be so cared for. “I love you, too, Nelson.”

Nelson patted Zach’s back and said, “I have to get back to work.”

“Nelsoooon, don’t goooo,” Zach whined.

“I’m sorry, Sweetpea. I have to go back work. I’ll be home in a few hours.” He pushed Zach off his lap and stood with him. Zach threw his arms around Nelson and hugged him fiercely. Nelson wanted nothing more than to stay home with Zach, but unfortunately, he had afternoon appointments.

Nelson brushed the hair back from Zach’s forehead and kissed him, “I have to go. Are you going to be okay until I get home?”

“I guess, but I’ll MISS you, my kind, understanding Top.”


***********

A few hours later, Nelson returned home to find a refreshed Zach lying on his side on the sofa. Nelson squeezed in next to him, and Zach got comfortable with his head in Nelson’s lap. Nelson asked, “How are you feeling, sweetie?”

“Bored,” Zach responded truthfully. “I don’t want to go tonight and sit through that play.”

“I think you’ll survive. Why don’t you go up and take a shower first, then I’ll get ready?”


Zach rolled his eyes, but gave in. He really didn’t want to miss the play; he just didn’t want to sit for it. The two of them quickly got dressed and headed for the school auditorium to watch Christien’s performance. They only expected to see a performance on-stage but they saw much more than that by the time the evening was over. They walked in and scanned the crowd, picking out the other Jamesons sitting on the front row with seats saved for Nelson and Zach.

“Hey, Dad,” Nelson said as he sat beside his father.

“Nelson!” Max replied, clapping a hand to his son’s back. “Hi, Zach.” Zach looked up at the greeting and pulled his eyes away from the metal folding chair with his unwritten name on it. This was going to be a miserable hour. “Have a seat,” Max said.

Zach looked at Nelson who simply looked back, patting the seat of the chair beside him. Zach sighed and slowly sat down, squirming in boredom already. Their family filled the row except for a lady sitting on the end next to Zach. Mary leaned up and made introductions. “Boys, this is Christine. She’s Timothy’s mom.” Timothy was Christien’s best friend and co-conspirator in class; the two of them shared a time out bench quite often from what the couple had heard.

“Oh, nice to meet you,” Nelson said with an extended hand. “This is my partner, Zach and I’m Justin’s brother, Nelson.”

The play commenced just as Christine was returning the greeting. The entire front row swelled with pride as Christien and Timothy’s class came out first to perform. The best friends made up two-thirds of a trio of kings bearing gifts for the Christ child. The group of angels, kings and shepherds began to sing, and the Jameson portion of the front row watched in awe when Christien stepped up to the lowered microphone to sing a solo. Their digital cameras hovered expectantly with flashes of light going off randomly to capture several moments in time. Smiles burst out all around on the proud faces sitting in the front, as Christien sang his part like a Christmas angel.

Once the solo was over, Christien stepped back into the group of kings and managed to behave fairly well, with the exception of an occasional goofy facial expression worn to elicit giggles from his fellow kings. Once the song was finished, the little ones climbed down from the stage and were ushered to waiting parents and family in the audience to clear the stage for the next group of children.

Christien ran directly to his family, getting to Zach first with Timothy close behind. “Hey, Uncle Zach!” Christien exclaimed, throwing his arms around Zach’s neck. Zach gleefully leaned forward and returned the hug. Christien turned his attention to Nelson who pulled him into his lap for hug.

Nelson whispered in his ear, “You made me so proud, do you know that? You sang beautifully.”

Christien grinned from ear to ear with the compliment then quickly jumped down to be with his friend. With no row in front of them, the boys had plenty of room to spread out. Christien stood slightly in front of Zach and Zach’s face dissolved into a scowl as a pungent odor, thick enough to slice with a knife, wafted up to his nostrils. “Oh, man,” Zach groaned. “Christien, what did you do?”

Christien burst into uncontrollable giggles at being found out and he promptly pointed at Zach and said aloud, “EWWWW! I think it was Uncle Zach!”

Had the auditorium been lit, anyone would have been able to see Zach’s face glowing in response to the comment. In fact, he was surprised his face didn’t light the room judging from the heat he felt there. The odor left no question about what it was Christien had accused Zach of doing. He had said it loud enough for Timothy’s mother to hear and Zach was sure her olfactory senses had been graced as well. Zach could have easily melted into a puddle from embarrassment. Nelson was privy to the sounds and smells coming from Christien, and he uttered a disapproving, “Christien.” The trouble was, he couldn’t manage to say it without chuckling himself, after seeing the look on Zach’s face.

Zach looked to him and whispered, “I am SO embarrassed.”

Nelson put a reassuring arm around his shoulders and said through a smile, “No one thinks it was you, Zachary. I’m sure of it.”

“I don’t care. It’s embarrassing.”

While Zach was recovering from being mortified, Christien turned his attention to Timothy. He saw Zach watching them and he said, “Uncle Zach, this is my friend, Timothy. He’s got broken teeth, but I still like him. He’s my best friend.”

Zach had noticed the child had a problem with a couple of his teeth, but he would have never pointed it out within hearing distance of the child’s mother like Christien had just done. He could feel the heat rise to his face once again since he was certain Timothy’s mother had heard the comment. Zach tried to recover quickly and said, “You and Timothy did a really good job tonight. You were great kings.” He hoped a change of topics would keep the teeth issue from coming up again and prevent Christien from elaborating more. The boys smiled with pride and decided to spend their time playing in the floor.

Zach was grateful when the boys were distracted, although that was distracting in itself. Neither understood the concept of a whisper, and they talked and giggled incessantly from their prone positions on the floor. Nelson’s mother was trying to shush them. but she was making as much noise as the children in the process. At one point, Nelson leaned over to Zach and whispered, “I think I’m going to have to take them both out,” referring to Christien and his mother.

Zach grinned at the picture knowing what it meant to be “taken out” by Nelson. He whispered back, “I think you might.” About that time, Mary started talking to Christien aloud again, and Nelson and Zach exchanged looks. They each worked to keep giggles from erupting as the conversation between Christien and Mary continued. Finally, they quit talking and the surrounding guests could turn their attention back to the play on stage and away from the drama on the front row.

Every once in a while, Jordan and Justin would offer their own “shush” and get about five seconds of silence. Once, when the boys got particularly loud Nelson uttered Christien’s name with a snap of his fingers toward the boy. Christien turned a pouting glare his way but remained quiet at Nelson’s unspoken request. Zach looked at his partner and wondered how he performed such magic, but was soon disappointed minutes later when spell wore off, and Christien and Timothy began to chatter again. A woman directly behind them began to hiss several “shhhhh” sounds and although Zach couldn’t agree more, he bristled at her nerve to shush his nephew. He turned around in his hard metal chair and gave her a disapproving glare before turning back to the play.

Justin had had enough long after Nelson had, and beckoned Christien to him. Christien went, but protested – out loud, of course – the entire way to his father. Justin pulled him into his lap and began whispering something to Christien that he obviously took issue with. Zach’s mouth fell open as Christien promptly went into a mini temper-tantrum while sitting on his father’s lap. He kicked and fussed, making sure anyone near him knew he was displeased at having to sit with his parents instead of his best friend. Zach’s eyes grew in surprise as he watched the small form writhe on his father’s lap, trying alternately to get down and grunt his displeasure at his father. Nelson glanced at Zach’s surprised expression and Zach caught his eye. Nelson just shook his head with a weary frown, obviously not at all impressed with Christien’s latest performance. After several long minutes of tantrum, Christien finally surrendered and settled down on his father’s lap.

Trapped on his father’s knees, Christien managed to behave through the remainder of the play and soon enough, the house lights came on and Zach immediately stood. He had squirmed almost as much as Christien, trying to stretch out his knotted muscles.

Christmas goodies were offered to the friends and families of the play participants, and Zach stood with Nelson’s family, munching on punch and cake. Justin came over and stood near Nelson and Zach, rolling his eyes when he looked at Nelson. “I don’t know what gets into him sometimes,” Justin said, referring to his errant son.

Nelson responded, “You should have taken him out, little brother. He knows better than to behave like that.”

“I thought about it but he would have made even more noise on the way out than he was making in my lap.” Nelson raised his eyebrows and shrugged indicating that wouldn’t have bothered him at all. Zach listened as the brothers discussed discipline and wondered, not for the first time, why Nelson couldn’t be more lenient like his brother. But at least, like earlier that day, he was learning.

Nelson said, “He’s your son, Justin. If you don’t mind it, it certainly isn’t any of my business. I just wouldn’t put up with it for a minute.”

Justin sighed and changed the subject slightly. “He did a good job, though, didn’t he?”

Zach jumped in and said, “He did a great job! I didn’t know he could sing like that.”

“He DID do a wonderful job,” Nelson agreed. The conversation wore on and time slipped by. Finally, Nelson glanced at his watch, took in the late hour, and asked Zach, “Are you ready to head out?”

“Any time you are.”

“In that case,” Nelson said, turning back to his family, “I think Zach and I are going to go on home. We have work and school tomorrow.” Hugs of goodbye were delivered all around and the couple got in the car to leave.

Zach was saying as he buckled up, “Christien did act pretty bad tonight, didn’t he? I KNEW you would have taken him out.”

Nelson slipped the key into the ignition and said, “I expect him to act like that at times, especially if he’s with a friend, but what surprises me is that my brother lets him get away with it when he does misbehave. I would have hauled his butt to the bathroom in a heartbeat if he were mine.”

“Yeah, you guys aren’t very much alike,” Zach pointed out dismally. He knew Nelson wouldn’t put up with that sort of behavior and could easily imagine him taking Christien to the restroom to let him know it wouldn’t be tolerated. “I wonder why Justin puts up with it.”

“I have no idea, but I think he has a little brat in training sometimes.”

“I don’t,” Zach disagreed. “Christien doesn’t need any training.”

“True,” Nelson said. “Speaking of brats, you’re not still bored, are you?”

Zach tried to sound and look as sad as possible, to elicit at least a little sympathy, and said, “A little bit. Do you have something in mind to relieve my boredom?”

Nelson gave him a knowing look and responded, “I think I can figure out something for us to do tonight…”

Zach grinned happily, knowing he was headed home for some holiday frolicking. He glanced at all the cars around them and pouted briefly, “Well, sitting in this traffic jam makes no sense. Can’t you drive any faster?”

Nelson smiled at his partner’s frustrated comment, laughed and reached over for Zach’s hand as they drove toward home. “Speeding makes no sense. It is dangerous and I could get cited for it. We’ll get there soon enough, Zach. I am as eager as you are, I assure you, my little brat,” he said with a wink to Zach. “I love you. Does that make sense to you?”

“Now, THAT makes perfect sense. We can definitely agree there. I love you, too.” He leaned over and kissed Nelson’s cheek as they traveled home.

The End