O Christmas Tree

"Sunshine," Brian laughed, "That is the ugliest excuse for a Christmas tree I have ever seen. Where the hell did you pick that up?"

"It was at that lot down the street where the volunteer firemen are selling real trees," Justin replied. "They were going to throw it out, I think, so they sold it to me for fifty cents."

"A fool and his money are soon parted," Brian exclaimed, "With your artist's eye, I hope you can see that it's less than three feet tall, the trunk is bent and it only has about ten branches on it. I don't know how it even got onto the lot. You got gypped, Sweetheart. I'll bet Mikey was with you and helped you pick it?"

"Well it's a Christmas tree, isn't it," Justin defended himself, "And it will look nice when I get done with it. You don't mind if I keep it and add it to our display, do you? I want to."

"Baby," Brian concluded, "Thanks for asking me, but if you want to keep that thing, there is nothing in the world I could do to get rid of it. I think you know that as well as I do." He put his arm around the twink and made the kid himself light up when he continued, "And there is nothing in the world I would want to do to get rid of it, if you wanted it. I think you know that as well as I do too."

Brian felt Justin quivering in his arms so he tried to get things back to normal. "How many times have you watched that Charlie Brown Christmas special, Baby," Brian teased, "I'm sure that's where you got the idea for saving that weird piece of greenery."

"I watched it every year from the time I was a little kid until I moved in here with big old bad unsentimental Brian Kinney," Justin responded, "And I should have watched it last year too, but I was still afraid then that you'd laugh at me. I'm interested in animation, you know."

"You did watch it last year," Brian remembered, "You thought I was asleep and you watched it. You even clapped at the end. Probably because the animation was so good. I had to pretend I was asleep because if I were awake, I would have had to laugh at you, and I didn't want to laugh at you. You're so cute when you're just a little kid."

"You say I'm always just a little kid," Justin shot back.

"So?" Brian wanted to know, "I stand by my statement.

What Brian had said made Justin feel that maybe Christmas had already arrived, but he could still see a problem with the new tree. "Where can we put it, I wonder?" Justin asked.

"Seeing as you have our eight foot artificial tree, which I must say looks like a tree, already half filling up the loft," Brian saw the problem, "And all those other decorations up all over the rest of the place, I can't say as I know where you're going to put it, but you'll find a place. The loft is beautiful, Honey, You've done a great decorating job, but the place is already more Christmassy than Kaufmann's Department Store."

"Gus is coming, Brian," Justin told him, "Your son is coming, and I want him to have the best Christmas display ever."

"Well your new tree will cap the display for sure," Brian laughed as he took a second look at Justin's prize.

"Only God can make a real tree, Brian" Justin insisted, "I read that somewhere and I believe it."

"Some woman poet," Brian assured him. "But, Sunshine, doesn't God make artificial trees too? I think he does his best work with artificial trees."

"I love you, Brian. I always will, but, Honey, there are times when you are no help and even a bit of a pain," Justin said as he smiled at Brian.

"OK, I'm helping," Brian said as he picked up the new tree and held it at arms length. "I'll put it wherever you decide. But, I still have to say you aren't the best picker in the world." Brian was laughing. So was Justin.

"I knew that from the time I picked you, Sweetheart," Justin told him, "But I'm going to make this tree into exactly what I want, just like I did with you. So there."

"Shit," Brian exclaimed, "That is scary."

Justin found a spot for the tree and went to work on it. Brian stayed out of it but he was impressed with the young artist's work. He often marveled at Justin's talent and sometimes he even told Justin. If Brian would have had to comment on how Justin had transformed the monstrosity into a not-so-bad looking Christmas tree, he would have had to be complimentary. What he did though, as Justin was finishing up, was to light the fireplace, and get himself into position on the floor.

Justin noticed him there and the final touches to the tree were hurried a little, and soon Justin was next to Brian on the floor in front of the fake fireplace. They always spent some quiet time there before they started on whatever was to be the topic of conversation. Then something that was very unusual happened. The doorbell rang. There had been a time when Justin and Brian were interrupted almost every time they were doing something together, but that had not been the case lately so they were both surprised.

"Who the hell?" Brian asked.

"I don't have any idea," Justin answered as he moved toward the door to answer it. It was Mikey.

"Sorry to bother you guys," Mikey said after noticing the not-so-welcoming look on Brian's face. Then he turned to Justin and said "I just had to stop by to see how the old Grinch here reacted to that little tree we picked out. Then looking around, he spotted the now decorated tree. "That's beautiful, Justin," Mikey told him, "You really are a Boy Wonder." Then he turned back to Brian and said, "Well, what do you think, Old Grinch?"

Brian did not want to laugh. He tried not to laugh. He tried hard. But nevertheless he laughed. Eventually he was able to tell Michael, "I love the little tree and I love the little twink - my own personal Charlie Brown. But as talented as he is, I don't believe he could have found that particular tree without your help."

"Well he knows I'm always ready to help," Mikey responded, "Just like he knows you aren't." Then turning to Justin he said, "Boy Wonder, as good a job as you did with that tree, I think you did a better job with the Old Grinch here. I never thought I'd ever see him really laugh - and act like he enjoyed anything - much less Christmas. You are the best thing that ever happened to Brian."

Michael turned to leave but Brian had a question to ask," When's the Charlie Brown Christmas special on this year, Mikey?"

"Next Tuesday at 8:00. It's always on at eight on a Tuesday. Don't you know anything?" Michael told him. Then turning to Justin, Mikey asked him, "You still coming over to our place to watch it?"

"I don't think I need to," Justin explained, "The Old Grinch here wants to see it too so maybe we'll just stay here and watch. Can I bring him along if I come? He's interested in animation like I am."

"If you can keep him in a Christmas spirit, he'd be welcome - and I'm sure you can, Kid," Michael said as he departed.

When they got themselves back into their usual positions watching the electric flames dart here and there, Justin began the conversation in a very strange way to begin a conversation. "Don't say anything, Brian," he warned.

"OK," Brian replied, "There isn't anything I need to say. Go ahead and talk. It'll be interesting just to sit here and listen to what you have to say to yourself."

"Well what would you say if you were allowed to say something, Old Grinch?" Justin laughed.

"I'd say that I used to like the Charlie Brown Christmas special when I was a little kid, and please don't say something about how television isn't that old." Brian confessed, "If you ever tell anybody what I'm telling you now, your life and limb will be in jeopardy, Sunshine. I always dreamed of doing what Charlie Brown did - going out and saving a Christmas tree."

"You know what, Honey," Justin replied, putting his arm around Brian, "You're really cute when you're a little kid. Really, really cute. So I made that dream of yours finally come true for you, did I?"

"You made all my dreams come true for me, Boy Wonder," Brian told him. "Every single one of them."

Christmas had really come early for Justin Taylor.

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