by Hank Edwards
“Here’s your beer, love,” JoAnn said, setting his Guinness before him as well as a plastic cup of ice water. “Food will be up in a jiff.”
“Thanks.”
The beer was foaming and chilled the perfect temperature. He licked the foam off his mustache and turned his attention back to the snow outside. A new Christmas song started overhead—“All I Want for Christmas Is You,” one of Will’s favorites, but sung by someone other than Mariah Carey—but even that couldn’t push out Rex’s song.
That morning he’d packed up the last of his things and left the 250 dollar Amazon gift card on a pillow for Doreen along with a note wishing her a merry Christmas. He’d checked out at the front desk but skipped the breakfast buffet in order to leave early for the airport. Once he’d hit the highway, he’d found the roads so slippery he decided to get to the airport first and eat second. Unfortunately, eating had taken a backseat to checking his luggage, getting through security, and waiting through each delay. With his stomach running on empty, the Guinness made quick work and sent a wave of calm through him. He was so relaxed he sat back in his chair and hummed Rex’s song as he looked out at the snowy scene.
Will was lost in his own world and Rex’s lyrics, so he didn’t realize someone was listening to him until that person quietly sang the chorus.
Can I pretend you’re mine for Christmas?
Can I wish for you this Christmas Eve?
All I want from Santa is your kisses
Can I pretend you’re mine for Christmas?
Will turned in his chair. Rex sat at the table behind him, brown eyes wide and bright as his smile.
“Will Will Johnson,” Rex said. “As I live and breathe.”
“Erp,” was all Will managed to say in response.
“You’re a tough man to track down. I think my first assumption was spot-on, and you are a spy. Did you hear me singing for you in the courtyard last night?”
Words had fled Will’s mind, so he simply nodded. He realized his mouth was hanging open, so he closed it with a click of his teeth.
“Here’s your burger and fries,” JoAnn said, setting Will’s food on the table. “Oh, do you two know each other?” Before Will could answer, JoAnn smiled at Rex. “You can move over here if you want, honey. Free up that table for someone else.”
“Huh?” Will managed to say but was cut off by Rex’s exuberant response.
“Thanks, JoAnn, I’d love that.”
Before Will could really comprehend what was happening, Rex had taken the seat across from him. Will sat and stared at Rex Garland sitting on the other side of his small table. To his surprise, he saw Rex had a Guinness as well and a plate piled high with nachos.
“Good taste in beer,” Rex said and held up his glass. “To song lyrics, snowstorms, and flight delays.”
Will lifted his own beer and blinked when Rex touched their glasses together. He took a long drink as Rex did the same, both of them regarding each other. The beer seemed to lubricate the wheels in his brain because he heard words come out of his mouth.
“Your flight’s delayed too?”
Rex nodded. “Yep. I’m trying to get to Boston to stay with my sister. How about you?”
Will’s heart stuttered through a couple of beats. Had he heard Rex correctly?
“Boston?”
“Right,” Rex said. “Boston. My sister lives there, and I travel so much I don’t really have a base.”
“Boston,” Will said.
Rex casually slid Will’s Guinness a little farther away from him and leaned in over the table. “You okay there?”
Will sat back in his chair. He looked Rex in the eye and took a long, slow breath. Maybe this was fate or luck or coincidence, but if he didn’t do something right now, if he didn’t take a step forward and grab the chance when Rex was sitting directly across from him, he would never be able to face himself in the mirror again.
It was now or never. He had to take a risk.
Also, if Carter found out he hadn’t managed a coherent conversation with Rex, he’d never hear the end of it.
“It was me,” Will said.
“What?”
“I left the song lyric notes.”
Rex grinned and looked confused. “Yeah, I know. I busted you at The Side-Eye. I just didn’t know what room you were staying in.”
“327,” Will said. “Directly across from your patio. My heating unit was stuck on Hellfire setting or something, and I had to keep the window open.”
Rex sat back, and this time his smile was softer and not accompanied by a look of confusion. “That’s how you heard me.”
“I’ve been a fan for a long time,” Will confessed. “I couldn’t believe it when I heard you out there. When I realized you were having trouble with the song, I almost didn’t drop off the lyrics. I mean, who am I to tell you how to write a song?”
“Everyone needs a little help now and then,” Rex said. “Don’t you think?”
Will thought about Carter, and Doreen, and, God bless her, even JoAnn the waitress, as he nodded.
“I travel a lot,” Rex said. “Like, a lot. All of my stuff is either in boxes in my sister’s basement or in a storage unit near my mom’s condo in Palm Springs.”
“You’re not going to be with your mom for Christmas?” Will asked.
“She’s got a new boyfriend, and they’re going on a cruise,” Rex said.
“That’s too bad.”
Rex shrugged. “It’s all right. Palm Springs is nice, but I like having snow for Christmas. Although this…” He looked out the window, and Will did as well, both of them watching the blizzard in silence for a moment. “This is a little too much.”
“Burger not done to your liking?”
Will looked up at JoAnn, who stood beside the table, her Santa hat at a jaunty angle.
“Oh, I totally forgot about it,” Will said, blushing.
“Yeah,” Rex added before he picked up a chip loaded with toppings. “Me too.”
“Two more Guinness?” JoAnn asked.
Rex raised his eyebrows as he looked at Will. “What do you think? We’ve probably got about three hours to make our flight.”
Will grinned. “Yeah, two more Guinness, please.”
Once JoAnn left, he looked down at his burger and fries. He was hungry, but he felt really self-conscious eating in front of Rex. It suddenly looked like a lot of food, and Will was embarrassed at the huge burger between the two big buns as well as the heaping pile of fries.
“I really appreciate your help with the song,” Rex said. “I haven’t had much luck with dating lately. Too many losers or shallow guys who only want to be able to brag that they scored with me. Anyway, because of all that, I haven’t really been in a romantic frame of mind, you know? At least, not until I started finding notes with lyrics from my longtime fan.”
“Oh my God,” Will said, face burning from a blush as he put his head in his hands. “I’m so sorry.”
“Sorry? What for?”
“For all of it. I have no idea what I was thinking.”
Rex tugged one of Will’s hands away from his face and held it tight. “Look at me, Will.”
Using every ounce of energy he had left, Will lifted his gaze and met Rex’s eyes.
“What you did was sweet and caring and really kind. You nudged me out of my songwriting funk and gave me back hope that somewhere in this crazy, messed-up world, I might find a guy who was kind and funny and humble and genuine.”
“You don’t know me,” Will said quietly. “And I’m so…”
“What? Handsome? Big enough to put my arms around and not feel like I’m going to break you in two? Strong enough to keep both feet on the ground even when you’re in the middle of some whacked-out gay version of a Hallmark Christmas movie? And kind enough to the hotel housekeeper that she convinced me to stand out in the courtyard and sing to you even though I don’t know what room you were staying in? Yeah, how do I know what kind of person you are?”
“Wait, Doreen told you to sing last night?”
Will tried to keep his brain from focusing solely on the fact that Rex still held his hand. His palm was starting to sweat, and he didn’t think he could stand it if Rex let go of his hand and wiped his own palm on his jeans.
“Yeah. She caught me in the lobby as I was hanging around trying to catch you coming or going.”
“You were trying to catch me?”
Will swallowed hard. Was this actually happening? Or had he been in an accident on the way to the airport, and this was all an elaborate coma dream?
“The hotel clerk wouldn’t give out your room number. I guess I should put that in my Yelp review, huh? That plus one of the better breakfast buffets I’ve seen in a while.”
“You were waiting for me?”
He couldn’t get past the idea that Rex had been waiting in the lobby just to talk to him. How could that be? How had any of this actually happened?
“Hey, Will.”
Rex squeezed his hand and tightened his grip a bit, as if trying to pull Will into the conversation. It worked, because Will suddenly found himself able to focus on Rex and what he was saying.
“I felt more of a connection with you through those lyrics than I have with any guy I’ve dated in the last couple of years. My manager warned me I was going to get into some legal shit if I used your lyrics, but I didn’t think that was your angle.”
Will shook his head. “It wasn’t. I swear. I only wanted to help.”
“Right. So I used your lyrics, and I think we wrote a pretty kick-ass Christmas song. Don’t you?”
“Yeah, I do. I really loved hearing you sing it last night.”
“That courtyard’s got some great acoustics, I gotta say. So, come on, we’ve got a long wait ahead of us. Let’s get over this ‘I’m a singer and you’re a guy who left me song lyrics to get me out of my funk.’ Let’s just be two guys who might have some kind of connection. What do you say?”
“Okay, that would be great. I mean, if you want. I’d like that.”
Another squeeze of his hand. “So no more blanking out and staring at me?”
A fierce blush burned in Will’s cheeks. “I don’t know if I can promise that.”
Rex laughed and released his hand. To Will’s relief, he didn’t wipe it on his jeans or even on his napkin. Instead, Rex used that hand to grab another chip loaded with toppings and stuff it in his mouth.
“I love to eat,” Rex said as he crunched his food. He gestured to Will’s plate. “Come on, don’t let me sit here eating alone.”
Will cut his burger in half and took a bite. It was perfect, and he looked away from Rex as he chewed.
“You never told me where you’re flying to,” Rex said, then laughed. “Or trying to fly to.”
“Boston.”
Rex’s eyes went wide. “Are you kidding me?”
“Nope.”
“You live in Boston?”
“Yeah, in South End.”
Rex stared at him as a smile slowly lifted one corner of his mouth. “My sister lives in Back Bay. You might as well be neighbors.”
“I didn’t know that. Wow. And you’re going to be there over Christmas?”
Rex had some more of his nachos, which encouraged Will to take another bite of his burger and sample some of the fries.
“Until just after New Year’s,” Rex said. “I’m doing a series of west coast shows starting in mid-January.”
“Do you like traveling so much?”
Rex shrugged one shoulder. “It’s been great to see so many different places, but it does get tiring. And lonely.”
Will ate a few fries as he looked out at the snow. “I always thought you’d be surrounded by hot guys and had your pick of them.”
“Well, as shallow as that makes me sound,” Rex said. “It’s not the case.”
“Oh my God, I didn’t mean that,” Will said, that burning blush back now and even stronger than before. “I know you’re not shallow. I’m sorry.”
“I’m teasing you, Will, relax.” Rex smiled and took a long draught of his beer.
“Okay, that’s good. I’m really sorry.”
“No need to apologize. I know the romanticized vision of life performing on the road. Hell, I dreamt about it all the time when I was growing up. But the reality of it is a lot different. Have I hooked up with some guys? Absolutely. Am I proud of that fact? Not really. I’ve always wanted someone permanent, you know? Someone to keep me grounded. Someone to share all the moments, big and small.”
“Yeah, that does sound good.”
Will was surprised to find he’d eaten half of his burger. He felt better and was able to focus more on the fact that he was sharing a meal and conversation with Rex.
“Have you written any other songs?” Rex asked.
“No. Never. I wrote some poetry in college, but it wasn’t any good.”
“I bet that’s not true.”
Will laughed. “Oh, it is. It was all angst-ridden stuff about being gay and someone who was bigger than most other guys.”
It was out there now. Will had thrown the thing neither of them had touched on right into the center of the table. Now he would see how Rex reacted.
“I think you look great,” Rex said. “Strong and husky and like a friendly bear. Your beard is amazing.”
A half smile propped up one side of Will’s mouth. “You like my beard?”
“Dude, your beard is sexy as hell,” Rex said, leaning in over his nachos and lowering his voice. “It’s thick and dark blond and looks soft and well-groomed. I’ve always liked stocky guys with full beards.”
“Holy shit,” Will whispered. “Is this real?”
Rex reached over and grabbed his hand again. “Will, this is real. Okay? Just sit back and relax, and let’s get to know each other. Wait, you’re going to Boston? What’s your flight number? How crazy would it be if we were on the same damn flight?”
They each checked their phones and laughed when they saw the same flight number. Rex sat back and stared at him. Will shifted uncomfortably. Finally, when he couldn’t take it any longer, he leaned in over his plate and said in a low voice, “What?”
“We were destined to meet, Will Johnson,” Rex said. “I feel it. You and me, we were brought together by the universe for some reason. I don’t know if you believe in anything like that, but I do. There’s an energy to the universe, you know? A power that helps bring people and events together. Sometimes it’s for good, and sometimes it’s for bad, but it’s always out there. And it was working hard to get us together.”
Rex waved a hand and made a face. “I know I sound like Yoda or something, talking like this, but I really believe it. Your room at the hotel with the broken heater, me staying right across from you with the little patio. That Christmas song I was dreading and you deciding to give me some help. Then we met in the breakfast line and at the rib joint and at my gig. Plus, Doreen stepped in to give us a nudge as well. We were supposed to meet. Don’t you think so?”
Will nodded, eyes wide and staring at the beautiful man before him. “There have been a lot of coincidences.”
“The universe, I’m telling you.”
“Yeah. I could see it.”
Rex finished his beer and lifted the second glass in a toast. Will looked down, surprised to find he’d finished his own beer and had a fresh one already waiting. When had JoAnn dropped that off? He lifted his glass and clinked it against Rex’s.
“To snowstorms and song lyrics,” Rex said.
“Hear, hear,” Will said and took a long draught of his beer.
This might have been the best Christmas Eve ever.
Rex paid for lunch, joking that it was just a start of the royalties Will would earn for his share of the sales of their song. They wandered around the airport after that, talking about their childhoods and families, movies, books, and TV shows they liked, as well as favorite foods and vacation spots. Will was surprised with each similarity, but Rex just sm
iled and said, “That’s the universe for you.”
Back at their gate, Rex managed to get most of the other passengers waiting for their flight to sing Christmas carols, and Will was glad to see that even the harried employees joined in. At one point Rex sang their Christmas song and introduced Will as the song’s co-writer, which produced a loud round of applause that made Will blush furiously and smile so wide his cheeks hurt.
Will hadn’t thought at the beginning of the day that he’d ever think his flight boarded too soon, but after spending the hours in between with Rex, that was how it felt. Even though Rex had a first-class ticket, he stayed with Will and waited in line with him, both of them still talking and laughing. Once inside the plane, they parted ways, Rex going to first class and Will shuffling along the narrow aisle to his own window seat.
He smiled through the smooth takeoff, then looked up in surprise minutes after the seat belt sign went off to find Rex standing by his row. Rex offered his first-class seat to the woman in the middle seat next to Will, and she immediately got up and practically ran up the aisle. Rex dropped down into her seat, his knee pressing against Will’s, and smiled at him.
“So, where were we?” Rex said.
Will thought his heart might explode right then and there. He sent a little prayer to God or the universe or whoever was in charge that he would live long enough to savor this interaction a little longer.
The plane landed in Boston what felt like minutes later, and Will and Rex took their time getting to baggage claim. In the past, Will had always hurried to baggage claim to grab his luggage and get the hell home, but now he practically strolled past the shops and eateries. Rex seemed to be in the same mindset, and Will had to convince himself again that this was all really happening.
Once they’d collected their luggage, they found a uniformed driver holding a sign with Rex’s name on it. They followed the man outside to where a black Lincoln Continental waited at the curb.