The Chrismukkah Crisis

by Ryan Taylor

  Mom took his hand and studied it. “There’s an excellent jewelry store not a mile from here. I’m sure they’ll get it done the day after tomorrow, if you want.”

  “It’s a beautiful ring,” Matt said, when she gave him back his hand. “It looks old.”

  Ben walked over and picked up Matt’s hand to take a look. He glanced at Mom, then me, a bright smile on his face. “It’s Opa’s ring.”

  Mom trailed a hand over Ben’s back. “We always said you’d have Oma’s ring for your bride. Aaron using Opa’s seemed like the perfect thing to do.”

  “Opa would be so proud,” Ben said, wrapping his arms around my fiancé. “Mazel tov, Matt. I couldn’t be happier for all of us. Welcome to the family.”

  When Ben let him go, Matt looked around, confused. “Who’s Opa?”

  I took his hand and fingered the ring. “Opa was my grandfather, Mom’s dad.”

  “Opa is German for grandpa,” Mom told him. “And Oma is grandma. My parents came here from Germany in the 1930s, and Ben and Aaron always called them Oma and Opa.”

  “Wow.” Matt pulled his hand loose and held it up to look at the ring. His face was glowing when he met my eyes again. “This was your grandfather’s ring?”

  “He brought it with him from Germany,” Mom said. “Besides his watch, it was the only piece of jewelry he ever wore, and he never took it off. Mama gave it to him when they married.”

  Matt ran his finger over the engraving. “What does this writing mean?”

  I took his hand once more. “They’re letters from the Hebrew alphabet. They spell netsah', which means forever.”

  After we all wiped away some happy tears, Mom led us over to the table in the front window, where she had put the nativity scene and the menorah. “It’s time to light the first candle.” She ran her hand lightly over the silver menorah, a faraway look in her eye. “This was Mama’s, too.”

  Matt looked at me, his forehead wrinkled. “Should I leave the room while you do this?”

  Mom turned her head. “Why? Hanukkah’s a festival for everyone. No one’s left out, and besides, you’re family now.” She looked at Ben and me. “Benjamin, I checked my notes, and it’s your turn to light the candle, but first, let’s let Aaron explain what’s happening to Matt.”

  I looked at him and my heart flipped. He’s going to be your husband! “This candleholder is called a menorah. There are eight nights of Hanukkah, but only two candles are here tonight. Each night an additional candle will be added.” Matt smiled at me, and I pushed back a damp strand of hair dangling over his forehead before I turned back to the menorah and pointed at the candle in the middle. “This is the shammash, or helper candle. We always light it first and use it to light the other candles. Tonight, Ben will light the shammash, then use it to light the first candle.”

  Matt stared at the menorah, and I thought his eyes might have been getting a little wet again. “This is so cool. We don’t do anything like this.”

  Ben smiled at both of us. “I’ll say three blessings before I light the candles. Aaron, do you want to translate for Matt after each one before I go on to the next?”

  I nodded, and Ben picked up three caps. “This is called a yarmulke. Men wear them on our heads in a synagogue or for religious ceremonies.” He handed one to each of us, and we put them on.

  Opa’s prayer book was already open on the table. Mom nodded at Ben, and he began the first blessing. Baruch atah, Adonai Eloheinu, Melech haolam….

  I squeezed Matt’s shoulder while I translated. “Praised are You, Our God, Ruler of the universe, who made us holy through Your commandments, and commanded us to kindle the Hanukkah lights.”

  We gazed into each other’s eyes while Ben said the other two blessings and lit the candles. When we were finished, Matt looked around at everyone. “That was beautiful.” His eyes found mine again. “Please tell me we can always do this.”

  “Forever, just like your ring says.” Though I was still a bit dazed, I managed to wink at him. “Husbands celebrating Hanukkah.”

  Mom said she and Ben would get dinner on the table, and Matt and I went upstairs. He wanted to call his mother, and we sat on my sofa while they talked. She got his dad in the room, and Matt put them on speaker so I could hear. They both seemed happy for us.

  “This isn’t the usual timetable,” his mom said, “but as long as you two are in love and this is what you want, we’re thrilled for you. Congratulations, and welcome to the family, Aaron.”

  Matt turned off speaker, and while he and his mom talked, I thumbed out a text message.

  AARON: HE SAID YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  LIAM: Congratulations! Had a feeling he would. :) I’ll tell John, brb.

  LIAM: Actually, can I tell everybody?

  AARON: Go for it.

  LIAM: Cool, brb.

  Matt was having fun talking to his mom, and I enjoyed holding him while they jabbered.

  LIAM: CONGRATS from the whole Macadam clan!!! :)

  I couldn’t keep a goofy grin off my face. Matt cocked his head and mouthed, “What?”

  “Liam,” I mumbled. “They all send their best.”

  “Hold on, Mom.” He put his phone down. “Tell him to thank John for me. John will understand. And tell John I’ll call him tomorrow.”

  AARON: Matt says thanks to everybody, and especially John. He said he’ll call John tomorrow.

  LIAM: Cool, cool.

  AARON: Thanks, Liam. Especially for telling me I wasn’t crazy and to go for what I thought was right. You’re a good friend.

  LIAM: Hope you still think so after I kick your ass with work next month. :-p

  AARON: Thanks for the jobs, too! We’re both super excited. You’ve made this holiday a lot jollier than it could’ve been.

  LIAM: We’re gonna to have a lot of fun saving the world together.

  AARON: Damn right! :) Merry Christmas and best to John.

  LIAM: Same to Matt. See you soon.

  Matthew

  Dinner was great—beef brisket with all kinds of delicious sides. There were jelly donuts for dessert, which seemed a little strange but was only the best thing ever. Not long after dinner, Louise went upstairs. Aaron and I cuddled on one of the sofas in the TV room and watched A Christmas Story with Ben. Apparently, that movie was another of their brotherly traditions, and we all laughed so hard my stomach hurt. When it was over, Ben went upstairs, and Aaron led me back into the living room.

  “When Ben and I were little, we used to sit under the tree for a while before we went to bed. Want to make that our tradition now?”

  He wants to make our own traditions already! “We’re a little big to sit under the tree, but maybe we could sit next to it?”

  We snuggled up on the floor, beside the tree, the menorah, and the nativity scene, and talked about our dreams. He pulled me in and we made out for a little while. “When are we going to get married?” he asked, when we stopped to breathe.

  “Hmm….” It still didn’t feel real and I smiled at the thought of marrying my man. “Mom was thinking this summer. That sounds good to me, if it works for you.”

  Aaron grimaced. “Not if we have to live apart until then.”

  I rolled my eyes. “You ever heard of living in sin?”

  “Is that a Catholic thing?” he asked, laughing.

  “I think so.” I chuckled too. “What if we just move in now and have the wedding when it’s time?”

  “Now that’s a plan!”

  Aaron

  We went into the kitchen to get a few bottles of water before going upstairs. I planned on quite a bit of exercise before we went to sleep, and I suspected we’d get thirsty in the process.

  “Why so many?” Matt asked, eyeing the four bottles I had.

  I waggled my eyebrows at him. “If you want to know the truth, I’ve got a big old bone for my fiancé. Might take a while to get it down.”

  He got a sly smile on his lips and lowered his head, looking at me from under his long eyelashes. �
�We might just have to see who gets a bone, Mr. Roth.”

  “I….” How did he always manage to get me breathing hard? “I know who’s getting a bone. He’s going to be my husband, and he’s going to be begging for it in about ten minutes.”

  “Fresh!” He struck, faster than a speeding bullet, smacking my jaw. “Ass!”

  He took off running toward the stairs, and I was close on his heels. I heard some water bottles hitting the floor behind us and couldn’t have cared less.

  Saturday, June 10

  Long Island, NY

  Matthew

  The weather was perfect, seventy-three degrees and not a cloud in the sky. We were on top of a hill at Wulfstan Abbey, an Anglican monastery on Long Island that welcomed same-sex weddings. It was beautiful up there, but nature was no match for my blindingly handsome fiancé, who was chugging a bottle of water.

  “You better watch out or you’ll wet yourself in the middle of your vows.”

  I thought for the millionth time about how lucky I was. It was hard to believe that six months earlier, I was so depressed I was ready to join a nunnery. Now, in less than an hour, I was going to be Matthew Kennington-Roth.

  “I can’t help it if being insanely excited to marry the most awesome guy in the world makes me thirsty.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Like I told you six months ago, you are the most amazingly smooth, full of shit guy I’ve dated… well, married, in a long time.”

  “Ass!” What? He slapped my cheek before I saw it coming. When did he get so good at that?

  Aaron

  “You guys good to go?” It was Ben, my best man. “Everybody’s ready.”

  “Let’s do it!”

  The groomspeople were all lined up and ready to march. We had a rabbi and an Episcopal priest performing the wedding, and they stood at the other end of the lawn, next to the musicians we’d hired. Ben flashed a thumbs-up in their direction, the rabbi nodded at the orchestra, and the ukulele player started his song.

  I took Matt’s hand and my laugh was sheer happiness. “Come on, baby. We’ve got a rainbow to cross.”

  Despite an offer from Herbert Townsend to refer them to an attorney and testify on their behalf, Matt and Aaron decided not to sue Craig Swan. “I don’t want to let them take up even one more day of my life,” Matt said, and Aaron agreed.

  Aaron provided the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia with his evidence against Suzanne Martin, who was subsequently arrested and charged with blackmail. Given the physical evidence and the potential testimony of Earl Liswell, as well as Matt and Aaron, Suzanne agreed to a plea bargain. She was put on probation for thirty months and required to pay a fine of five thousand dollars. Craig Swan fired her as a convicted felon. Aaron and Matt did not sue her.

  The U.S. Attorney determined that there was no evidence against Suzanne’s ally, Demetria Wilson, except Suzanne’s potential testimony. Who would believe a blackmailer?

  In severe financial trouble, Craig Swan, LLP, agreed to a takeover by a German law firm that was looking for an increased presence in the United States. The German firm did a complete reorganization, and Earl Liswell and John Macombe were in the first wave of terminated employees. The new firm made Herbert Townsend the managing partner of the DC office.

  Aaron and Matthew Kennington-Roth love their new jobs at Macadam Lawton. You can absolutely watch for more news from there. There’s still a lot to tell.

  Please Read

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  Other Books by Ryan Taylor and Joshua Harwood

  No Brief Affair

  Have you ever known your life had to change but weren’t sure it could?

  Liam and John are both starting law school, and both need big changes in their lives. Liam is a bright young college graduate, and John, eighteen years older, is a burned-out professor pursuing a longtime dream. They are instantly drawn to each other, but can they overcome the challenges posed by their age difference and previously broken hearts?

  This sizzling hot May-December tale follows Liam and John as they wind their way through joy, missteps, and false assumptions in search of a life together. It is chock-full of flirtation, romance, adventure, and steamy hot times. This is the first book of the Beyond Courtship series.

  Legally Bound

  Love can’t protect you from a psychopath.

  Law students Liam Macadam and John Lawrence are madly in love, and everyone knows it. Granted, John is eighteen years older, but so what? With the end of law school in sight, they’re busy planning a wedding and a life together.

  Unfortunately, not everyone is happy for them. Somebody is determined to tear them apart, and when the situation spirals out of control, Liam and John have to find a way out before it costs one of them his life.

  Legally Bound, the second book in the Beyond Courtship series, can be read as a stand-alone novel. It is a sexy May-December romance full of suspense, adventure, and heat.

  About the Authors

  Ryan Taylor and Joshua Harwood met in law school and were married in 2017. They live in a suburb of Washington, DC, and enjoy travel, friends, dogs, and advocating for causes dear to their hearts. Josh and Ryan love writing, and the romance they were so lucky to find with each other inspires their stories about love between out and proud men.

  You can write Ryan and Josh here.