The weeks before break pass slowly and are filled with preparations for the holidays and quiet nights in the desert. Vinny and Heather spend the day with us on Christmas Eve while we make cinnamon rolls and gingerbread cookies. Mom has edible liners to decorate the cookies with once they’ve cooled down and we end up with goopy blurs of color on all the cookies. We also make gingerbread and lemon sauce, which is Mom’s favorite holiday treat. When it gets late we open our new pajamas, a Christmas tradition we’ve had since I was a baby.
We watch A Christmas Story and Rudolph and all the other Christmas classics. After The year Without a Santa Claus I go to my room and fall asleep, Mom and Dad go to their's while Vinny and Heather sleep on the couch.
At around five in the morning I wake up and sit living room. There’s something about the tree glowing in the darkness that makes it feel whimsical, even at sixteen. Vinny and Heather are already awake, watching more Christmas movies. We watch them together until Mom and Dad wake up.
I get the new System of a Down album, Hypnotize. I’ve heard some of the songs on the radio but I can’t wait to listen the whole album. I also get some new shirts, a couple of pairs of pants, and a new pair of shoes. We spend the day making turkey and pie and the rest of Christmas dinner. It even snowed a tiny bit, not much stuck but we’ll take what we can get.
We eat dinner and dessert and watch a few more Christmas movies, then we go to bed in the pajamas we never changed out of. Tomorrow, Oscar and Kelly will pick me up and we’ll be off to their Christmas party in Fresno.
The Madrid’s are very festive, their house has hundreds of dollars’ worth of lights up, even their snakes’ tanks are decked out with lights and tinsel and they have a Nativity set and a little Christmas town. They even have mistletoe hanging above their fireplace.
When they pick me up, their car has a wreath on the door, inside there’s tinsel, and Christmas music is playing on the radio. Benjamin hands me a candy cane, he has one in his mouth already. So do Oscar and Kelly.
He shows me a picture his dad took of Betty with a tiny Santa hat on. They put hats on all the other snakes too, a beard on Cooper. All the other pictures are hung in the reptile room. I’m not surprised Benjamin is wearing a Santa hat now.
“How was your Christmas?” He asks as we head to Fresno.
“It was good, how was yours?”
“Incredible, we got a new snake.”
I laugh. “Of course you did, what is it?”
“It’s a snow bull snake, he’s beautiful.” He hands me a picture. “And tiny, I always forget how tiny baby snakes are. We don’t have him set up yet, he’s in quarantine.”
“What’s his name?”
“Chris Kringle. Obviously.”
“Obviously.” I laugh.
Benjamin falls asleep after an hour, I doze off a little while later. I wake up when we stop at a gas station and go to the bathroom. Benjamin doesn’t wake up until we’re in Fresno. We get there just as I’m about to fall asleep again. “Six o’ eight, not bad timing.” Oscar says as we drag ourselves out of the car. “Anybody hungry?” He asks.
Of course, we all are, so we drop our stuff off in our rooms and walk to a McDonald’s down the street. Benjamin is apparently starving because he eats two Big Macs, a large fry, and drinks a large Coke.
“You could be a professional eater.” I say, laughing as he wipes ketchup off his chin.
He nods. “I would love to eat for a living.”
Kelly laughs, she also got a burger, Oscar got a salad because he’s lame.
“I have to lose some Christmas dinner weight.” He says.
I get chicken nuggets, which are okay, but the fries are the real star so I eat loads. McDonald’s also has the best barbeque sauce, it’s a great combination.
We go back to the hotel room and Benjamin closes the door between our room and his parents’. We play war because all he brought was a deck of cards and there aren’t very many games you can play with two people. I beat him two out of three and we decide to look for a movie.
We find The Wedding Singer which is absolutely perfect. I know all the words to all the songs. Benjamin laughs at me as I sing Robbie Hart’s original. We fall asleep as the end credits play.
The next day, we have to go meet Benjamin’s family at some high-end restaurant for lunch. It’s the reason I was told to bring something nice to wear. I don’t have a lot of nice clothes so I’m wearing a black button-down with slacks and a red tie.
“Your hair is a mess.” Benjamin says before I’ve changed out of my pajamas.
“Yeah, I need a haircut.”
“And a shave.” He says, laughing.
“I’m growing it out.” I say, stroking my patchy stubble.
That really makes him laugh. I shower and shave after that. I do my best to make my hair look nice, but it doesn’t like to cooperate. When I walk out of the bathroom Benjamin says, “Wow, you look handsome.” Which seems like an odd thing to say.
“Okay.” I say. “Thanks.”
He’s wearing a new-looking suit he probably had to get for this occasion. As he pulls his jacket on I get the feeling I should tell him he looks nice but it feels like a weird thing to say to a friend.
When we go into Benjamin’s parents’ room, Oscar is in panic mode. “You boys sure look dapper.” He says as he’s struggling to adjust his tie. There are bags under his eyes and his hair's wild. Kelly walks up to him and ties the knot then smooths down his hair.
“You’re fine, Ozzy.” She says as she pets his head.
He nods and looks back at us. “Are you ready to go, we don’t want to be late.”
“We’re ready.” Benjamin says.
So we head out, the restaurant is called The Annex Kitchen, it’s Italian food. Kelly finds her family, who must have gotten there pretty early since we got here ten minutes before the agreed upon time and they all already have wine in their glasses.
“Kelly! My little girl!” One man exclaims, getting to his feet and wrapping Kelly in his arms.
“Hello, Dad.” She says. He lets her go and gives a curt nod to the rest of us.
He spots me—a stranger—and glares. “Who’s this?” He asks.
“Grandpa Howie, this is Leo. He’s a friend of mine.” Benjamin says, standing straighter.
“You didn’t tell us you were bringing a guest, Kelly.” Howie says before I get the chance to greet him.
“Norma and Elliot bring someone every year, we assumed anyone could bring guests.” Oscar says with a tight smile.
Howie glares at him but doesn’t comment. We take our seats. Thankfully, I'm at the edge next to Benjamin so I don’t have to sit next to any strangers. I thought he was exaggerating when he said the whole family hates him and Oscar but, if anything, he was underselling it. Even the little ones don’t like them. There’s one little boy that keeps spitting food through his straw at Benjamin and nobody says anything to him.
A piece of chewed up bread hits Benjamin on the cheek, his face goes red and the people sitting around us chuckle. When none of the adults say anything, I stand up, walk around the table, and pluck the straw from the little boy’s hand.
“Hey, you can’t do that.” He whines.
I roll my eyes and ask a waiter to throw it away.
One of the women stands and yells at me. “How dare you touch my son!”
“I didn’t touch him.”
Her face is almost purple in rage. “You little punk, how dare you talk back to me.”
I don’t say anything else to her, instead I sit down to peruse the menu. I glance at Benjamin and he’s smiling. He catches my eye and mouths Thanks. I smile back at him. Nobody talks much after the woman calms down and when everyone’s finished eating we head back to the hotel.
When we get there Kelly tells us we’re going to her parents’ house at six.
“Thanks for that.” Benjamin says once we’re alone. “My parents totally approved.”
I laugh. “Yeah, that kid was a douche bag and I didn’t think anyone else was going to say anything about it. Do I have to wear this to the party?” I ask, loosening my tie and undoing the top few buttons of my shirt.
“Unfortunately.” He says, removing his jacket and doing the same. I sigh because really don’t feel like seeing them again. “It’s alright, though. Their property is huge, so we can just wander off until it’s time to go. It’s no Nevadan sky, but it’s not a bad view out where they are.”
I nod. “The desert in California just isn’t the same as the one in Nevada. Different vibe.”
"Very different vibe." We laugh. Desert vibes.
How strange.
His grandparents’ property is huge, they have over 100 acres, with this crazy exotic garden. A lot of his little cousins are playing out back, but we go past them into the garden and the forest beyond.
“This place is insane.” I say as we head farther into the property.
“I know, I wish they weren’t assholes, I would come here all the time.” He says. “I thought you liked the desert.”
“A guy can like two things.” I say, punching his arm.
Benjamin laughs and nods, we wander around for a while. Most of the garden is dormant or covered for the winter, but he takes me into a greenhouse and tells me the different kinds of plants and flowers in it.
We walk on the cobbled paths through the desolate garden and on the crunchy fallen leaves of the forest floor. He tells me stories about the awful things this family has done to him and how he’s been lost out here more than once. He tried to run away a few times into the woods when he was little, one time the police had to be called to help find him. He doesn’t sound too unhappy telling the stories but there’s an undertone giving me the hint he’s more resentful than he’s letting on.
Soon, it’s dark and fluffy snowflakes are falling from the sky so we decide to go back to the house.
When we get back Oscar looks like he’s been through the ringer. Kelly looks like she’s been pampered and is trying to hide the fact that she’s enjoying herself. “You boys want dinner?” She asks. “Or dessert?”
“That cake looks pretty good.” Benjamin says. Since the family’s gathered around it, I go in to get us a couple slices. I don’t have much consideration for any of these people so I can shove my way through the crowd without feeling guilty.
When I get back Kelly already has one and her dad is standing with them. I hand Benjamin his piece and take a bite. Store-bought. These people are filthy rich and they couldn’t have sprung for something better than a cheap Walmart cake?
I feel awkward with Benjamin’s grandfather standing there. He keeps shooting glares at the three of us. Him and Kelly are chatting but I tune them out and munch on my cake. Soon a couple of others join us, they look closer to Benjamin and my ages.
Benjamin sighs. “You want to go back to the greenhouse?” He asks.
“Sounds good.” We throw our plates away and wander through the garden towards the building. We go inside and sit on a bench backed by large flowering bushes. I hear the doors open and close. I recognize the kids that showed up when we left. Benjamin sees them too and slumps.
“Hey Benny.” One of them says, he’s tall. Caramel skin and dark hair.
“Hey Oliver.” The way he says it I can tell he’s not happy.
“Who’s your friend?” Oliver asks.
“I’m Leo.”
“You fucking him?” He sneers, the other kid giggles. Benjamin slumps further and his face goes red. His reaction makes Oliver laugh, it makes me furious. “I’m guessing it’s a yes.” He looks at me. “Is he any good?”
“Fuck off.” I tell them.
“Ooo, tough guy. What’re you going to do?”
I stand up, I’ve got maybe an inch on him, but he’s got at least twenty pounds on me. I try to make myself look bigger. I feel like a cat puffing my tail.
He laughs. “You going to protect your bitch?”
I swing as hard as I can and knock Oliver square in the jaw, hard enough to make him stumble and knock over some flowerpots. So hard my knuckles hurt. He recovers and wipes the blood off his lip. I didn’t know I had it in me, I’ve never been violent before. I’ve always thought about it but never acted.
We stand there for a moment glaring at each other, waiting to see who’s going to make the next move. Benjamin looks scared, I grab his hand and pull him to his feet. I feel like I have to drag him through the garden to his parents. He keeps looking behind us but they don’t follow.
Oscar and Kelly are pretty much where we left them. Benjamin won't look at me and his lips quiver. When they see us they can tell something’s wrong. Kelly says quick goodbye’s and we leave, no questions asked.
When we get back to the hotel Benjamin goes to his parents’ room for a while and keeps the doors closed. I change and wait on my bed. After almost an hour, he comes back and closes the door.
“You okay?” I ask.
He nods and slumps into his pillows, looking completely exhausted. I wish I knew how to help him, he looks so miserable and exhausted. Just as I’m working out what to say, he says, “Thanks. For what you did.”
I shrug. “No big deal.” It does feel like a big deal though, I’ve never actually hit anyone before. My knuckles still hurt.
“It is a big deal. I really appreciate it.” He doesn’t look at me as he talks.
“He was an asshole, somebody probably should’ve hit him a long time ago. We got a couple in my family too.” I think about Monty, maybe I should hit him too.
He sighs. “You know, Oliver and I used to get along.” He looks like he might cry and I’m praying he doesn’t because I have no idea what I’d do if he did.
I swallow. “What happened?” He frowns and opens his mouth a few times, like a fish gasping for air. “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”
He relaxes. “Thanks, I don’t think I’m ready to talk about it.”
I nod. “That’s alright.”
“Thank you, Leo.”
“No problem.”
We
don’t turn on a movie or play cards. Instead we lay in our silent hotel room until we
fall asleep.
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