Yes,There Is a Santa Claus
It was approaching eleven o’clock when the guys settled themselves down in front of their fake fireplace. It was late but it was what both of them wanted to do – a fitting climax for a climactic day. The annual Christmas party in the loft for Gus and his friends had ended two hours or so earlier and the last of the clean-up crew had departed just a few minutes previously. So Brian and Justin were finally alone in the loft – Brian still clad partly in the Santa Claus suit. The discussion and review of the evening’s activities did not begin right away but it did eventually begin.
“It was another great party, Bri,” Justin said. “The kids were thrilled. They love our Christmas party.”
“I bet they’ve never seen decorations like you and Malcolm and Hunter put up,” Brian agreed. “I don’t think I have either. But it’s probably too much work.”
“Nothing is too much work for our kid,” Justin assured him. “Or for us. Or for you. We all like Christmas and the decorations put us in the proper mood. And you forgot to mention that Jason helped this year too.”
“Well maybe I should help more,” Brian volunteered. “I don’t really do too much except sit around and watch you guys.”
“You are our inspiration, Brian,” Justin informed him. “We couldn’t do it without your inspiration. But we don’t think you should help any more than you do. We’re not at all sure we could get it done if you actually helped with the nuts and bolts.”
“I can see you have the genuine Christmas spirit,” Brian groused, suppressing a smile but telegraphing his feelings with a gentle squeeze whose message was not lost on Justin.
That brought a lull to the conversation, which lasted quite a while.
“The kids loved the presents you had for them, Bri,” Justin finally broke the silence. “You and Cynthia did a great job picking them out. I don’t think I could have done as well.”
“So maybe you should come with Cynthia and me next year and we’ll teach you how to shop,” Brian offered. “How does that sound?”
“We’ll talk about that next year,” Justin decided. “If that’s all right with you.”
“OK,” Brian agreed, “But by next year, you’ll probably forget what a good job I did this year. Anyway, how was I as Santa Claus this time around? Say what you think.”
“Gee whiz, Brian,” Justin countered. “That’s a dumb question. You were perfect as Santa Claus. Just like you always are.”
“I don’t think you really thought that,” Brian told him. “You looked at me kind of funny when I told that one red-headed kid….”
“Well you scared him a little bit, Bri,” Justin opined, “But I don’t know what else you could have told him when he asked you if bad kids got gifts from Santa Claus at Christmas just like good kids. I don’t know how I would have answered that.”
“I would like to have had your advice right then,” Brian smiled, “But then again, you’ve never been Santa Claus so maybe you wouldn’t even know. You know, Baby, when a guy becomes Santa Claus, he takes on a big responsibility to all other Santa Clauses, past, present and future. He has a tradition to follow. He can’t just decide what to do or say on the spur of the moment. He can’t just change the age-old Santa Claus traditions”
“You handled a tough situation very well, Bri,” Justin commiserated. “You’re not going to get any complaints from me. Maybe you could have been a little more diplomatic though I’m not sure how.”
“The tradition is pretty clear, Twink,” Brian declaimed. “Good kids get presents and bad kids get coal. I did tell him that it wasn’t too late though – that he could still be good between now and Christmas Eve and redeem himself if he thought he had been bad.”
“Yeah, you did, Bri,” Justin caressed Brian’s cheek with his hand. “You were great. You really were. Nobody could have handled that situation better than you did.”
“Somehow I figure that you think that you could have done better,” Brian grinned. “Hell, you probably could have.”
That brought another pause to the discussion but it was definitely not over.
“I guess little Goody-Two-Shoes Justin Taylor always got everything he wanted for Christmas?” Brian surmised, reopening the conversation.
“Yeah, he did. But Justin Taylor was always good,” Justin replied. “Justin Taylor was the perfect son until one night he took a walk in the rain on Liberty Avenue and fell in with bad companions.”
“Yeah,” Brian agreed. “That was a real misfortune.”
“Cut it out, Brian,” Justin laughed. “You know darn well that was the greatest thing that ever happened to me. You’re just fishing for compliments – but that’s OK because you deserve them. I love you, you know.”
“Well I guess you did have some tough times back then but you did get to be the perfect son again after a while,” Brian recalled, “And you never got coal for Christmas – not even once.”
“And I really hope I’m not going to get coal this Christmas either,” Justin smiled contentedly.
“Like I told that kid with the red hair,” Brian smiled back at him. “It’s not too late to be good between now and Christmas Eve if you think you might be getting coal.”
“Coal will be all right, Mr. Kinney,” Justin responded. “If it comes from you. I love anything that comes from you, so you can’t scare me like you scared that kid.”
“I can’t scare you under any circumstances,” Brian laughed. “I’ve tried.”
There was another pause in the discussion at this point, which did not seem to scare Justin in the least.
“Did you ever get coal for Christmas, Bri?” Justin eventually reestablished the chat.
“Nah,” Brian remembered, “But I never got much of anything else either. I didn’t even much like Christmas except we usually had a good time over at Mikey’s – and we got time off from school.”
“Do you remember the best Christmas present you ever got?” Justin resumed the questioning.
“Yeah I do,” Brian told him. “The best Christmas present I ever got didn’t come at Christmas time at all. I came out of Babylon one rainy night and there it was, not under a lit –up tree though – it was under a….”
“Brian,” Justin interrupted urgently. “I think it’s time to put the fire out and go to bed.”
“And just which fire are you talking about?” Brian smiled at him suggestively.
Justin chose not to answer that, but Justin knew what to do. He knew precisely which fires to light, exactly which fires to put out, and most importantly, which ones to keep blazing. Justin did not intend to get coal for Christmas either. Not at all. He definitely knew what he wanted for Christmas - and it was Santa Claus.
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