One Bright Star Read Online Free PDF Page A

alone on Christmas day!”
    “It’s not as much fun as you might think,” Dan said cautiously.
    “It’s not about fun, it’s about experience .” Tat nodded wisely. “I need to feel it.”
    “You’re all crazy,” Evan said. “But, fine. Merry Christmas to all, and to all, a good night.”
    They stood in the doorway and watched their guests leave. “This is our first Christmas with just the three of us,” Dan said.
    “And the baby.” Jeff closed the door and turned to look at the other two. “It feels kind of weird, doesn’t it?”
    “We need to experience it,” Evan said. His imitation of Tatiana had been honed by years of practice and was now dead on. He started walking back toward the den as he said, “We need to feel it. There are people in this world who have never woken up next to two other men on Christmas morning. Never walked down the hall…”
    “Of their huge mansion,” Dan interjected, and Jeff braced himself for the new-house conversation, but Dan didn’t persist.
    “Never walked down the hall of their huge mansion,” Evan amended graciously, “to go and rescue their perfect baby from a horrible prison…”
    “He’s not going to stop fussing in his crib if you keep reinforcing the attitude,” Dan interjected. “He’s not in prison, he’s in a safe, warm place.”
    “A horrible prison,” Evan emphasized, but he seemed to have run out of steam. “Just us,” he said quietly.
    “This has been a hell of a year,” Jeff said. “Good and bad.” He walked to the bar and poured three glasses of Wild Turkey, then handed them out. “Let’s remember the good and forget the bad.”
    They raised their glasses and sipped their drinks, then walked in unison to the long leather sofa. They’d found various positions and combinations over the years, but this always seemed to be their favorite: Jeff at one end of the sofa, one leg on the cushions the other on the floor, and Evan mirroring his position at the other end, their feet and calves touching in the middle. Dan stretched out between them, his head on Jeff’s chest, his feet nestled under Evan’s ass.
    They relaxed in silence for a while, then Dan said, “I couldn’t have done it without you guys. Or… I don’t know. Maybe I could have, but it would have been way, way harder. Too hard. And RJ… I need you for him, too. Want you for him. Whatever. I love you guys, but it’s more than that, now, you know? We’re a team.”
    “A family,” Jeff said quietly. “We’re a family.”
    Dan nestled in to Jeff’s chest, a sure sign that he approved. And Evan smiled at both of them. “For better or worse,” he said. Then he squirmed a little. “Actually…”
    He rose abruptly and crossed the room to the drawers beneath the built-in bookshelves. When he turned around, he was holding three small boxes in his hand, two of which were carefully wrapped in silver and blue paper. “I don’t know how you feel about this,” he said. “I wrapped them like presents, but they’re not… if you don’t want to do it, that’s cool. But… we’re a family. We’re parents, together.” He handed a wrapped box to Dan, then to Jeff. “Just a thought,” he finished, and sank back down onto his end of the sofa.
    Jeff wasn’t sure if he wanted to open the box or not, but it was obviously the same as Dan’s, and Dan was opening his, so one way or the other, Jeff was going to see the contents… he ripped the paper and found a jeweler’s box inside. He glanced over at Dan, who was looking at Evan with trepidation.
    “Okay, fuck, you guys, you don’t have to!” Evan’s smile was forced. “If you can’t even open the boxes…”
    There were two quiet clicks almost in unison as both Dan and Jeff pushed the lids up.
    The rings were simple, but beautiful. A thick rounded band, almost certainly platinum, with three diamonds arranged in a triangle and set deep into the metal. The effect was a strange mix of delicacy and