Tingle Bells

by Mardi Ballou

  Just like that, she agreed. Painful as the conversation had been, Ramon realized they’d won. But victory had never felt so anticlimactic before. “And afterwards?” he asked both Clancys.

  Justin shrugged.

  “I suppose I’ll just go back to plodding through the rest of my life.” She smiled weakly. “Witch’s honor, Justin, no more hexes.”

  “That’s a relief.”

  “Can you forgive me, Justin? Though I didn’t realize it, you were the one I hurt most.”

  Justin took a deep breath. “Now that I know your reasons casting the spell, I can begin to understand. But for all the grief I’ve had, the hex is what brought Ramon and me together. So not only can I forgive you…in a way I want to thank you.” He planted a kiss on her cheek, which caused the lady to blush. She hugged him.

  “And at least I’ve gotten to meet both of you. So, sorry as I am that I cast the spell, I got something, too.”

  “Louise, there’s a lot more. You should go all the way, reach out to the rest of your family. It’s Christmas—and Solstice and all those other holidays—the perfect time for reconciliations.” Ramon cleared his throat.

  “Do you really think they’ll take me back?” she asked. “Now, especially after what I’ve done?”

  “Justin, why don’t you go to the house and talk to everyone. Tell them everything, and I mean everything. About Louise. About us. Let’s make this a real holiday gathering.”

  “It’ll feel great to be able to bring the family good news,” Justin said.

  Louise sighed. “If they don’t want me, Justin, don’t be afraid to tell me the truth. I can handle it.” She didn’t look as if that were true. Fortunately, though, Ramon felt confident the Clancys would want their prodigal back. He wished he felt the same confidence about how they’d react to his presence in Justin’s life.

  While Justin went back to talk to the Clancys, Ramon would stay with Louise, who would perform the necessary ritual to remove the hex from the Tingle Bells.

  Ramon walked Justin to the door. “Good luck, man. What you’re about to do is really important for your family, for all of you. And for us.”

  “How about a kiss for good luck?” Justin asked.

  “Here?”

  “You’re here, so am I. I’m about to go and tell my family about Aunt Louise and see if they’ll accept her back. I’d say that warrants some luck.”

  “Sounds great to me,” Ramon murmured. Strange, he felt at ease sufficiently here in Louise’s house to openly display his affection for Justin. That level of comfort was not easy to come by.

  Justin cupped Ramon’s chin in his hand and tilted his face to the side before drawing him closer for the desired kiss. Ramon put his arms around Justin and, for a moment, wished he could make this moment last forever. Before the kiss had grown very deep, Ramon felt his cock grow hard and Justin’s corresponding erection.

  “I want you so much,” Justin whispered.

  Ramon moaned in response.

  The two kissed again and rubbed their hard, clothed dicks together. Then, both remembering where they were, they awkwardly moved apart.

  Justin scrubbed a hand over his brow. “Another moment, and I’d have said to hell with them all and just taken you right here on the floor.”

  “Timing is everything.” Ramon touched Justin’s cheek then straightened the lapels on his jacket. “Later.”

  “Later. That’s the story of my life,” Justin grumped.

  “A lot’s going to happen today. But just think, we’ll be able to be together with your family.”

  Justin nodded.

  His cock aching with frustrated need, Ramon watched Justin leave.

  Justin’s head was spinning as he drove back to the family house. Hell, Aunt Louise’s was now a family house too. So much had changed in such a short time, he almost felt like he’d stepped into someone else’s life.

  Bottom line. He had to keep his eye on the bottom line, which was that Aunt Louise had agreed to remove the hex from the Tingle Bells. With several weeks still to go before Christmas and the merchants hand-selling the product, Justin knew they’d make enough money to keep things afloat—and better—for the foreseeable future.

  As to Aunt Louise’s life story. It was devastating to think she’d stayed away all those years because she feared the family’s reactions to her lover. He exhaled hard. He’d been planning to come out to the family soon and tell them about him and Ramon. He just hadn’t made a firm decision yet on when “soon” would be.

  Hell, Ramon was so amazing, so out of his league. He’d figured the family would be thrilled for him to have found such a great guy. Nothing about the Clancys could make him believe they were homophobic. Still, the most tolerant people might draw a line when it came to members of their own family. It was one thing to be accepting in the abstract, another altogether to deal with a concrete case.

  Justin had always assumed the family somehow knew without him telling them. Now he reexamined that belief. Aunt Louise certainly knew her father and her sister better than Justin did. Maybe she’d read them right and had been justified in staying away all those years. He shivered at that prospect.

  Whatever. Dealing with the return of Louise to the fold was so huge, he couldn’t dream of confronting them with his being gay and with Ramon being his lover at the same time. He’d just have to postpone that big announcement, though his gut and all available evidence told him Ramon would not be happy about the delay. Well, Ramon would just have to wait. After all, Justin had to wait too.

  Nuts. Was Justin being a great big coward? After all, nothing much would change for him if he postponed coming out. But Ramon was chomping at the bit to be part of the whole family scene, and Christmas was coming fast.

  The more he thought, the dizzier he got. He parked the car and rehearsed exactly what he’d say to his uncle and his aunt to announce the return of the family’s prodigal. Then he’d deal with the rest…later.

  * * * * *

  “Is there any way I can help you with your ritual?” Ramon asked.

  Louise paused in her bustling around the room and grinned at him. “Thank you, Ramon, but no. I’m a solitary practitioner by choice. But I’ll tell you what. Here’s a set of the bells. You can keep testing them to see when the ritual has worked to remove the hex and they’re returned to their original sound.”

  Waiting didn’t satisfy his need to take action, but Ramon figured that was about the best he could do. A slight tap on the bells as he took them from Louise produced the teeth-grinding noise he’d heard previously. He didn’t want to spend the next hour or so ringing them every five minutes until the sound stopped being painful. At least he had his BlackBerry with him, so he could check email and get some other work done while he waited for Louise to complete her ritual—and Justin to get back to him.

  Ramon figured today would turn out to be a real milestone for both of them. Surely, in light of Louise’s story and the coming reconciliation of the family, Justin had to realize it was the perfect time for him to come out—about being gay and about Ramon.

  The thought of being able to have a relationship with Justin—to be free to be together, to have his family as their family—felt like every Christmas wish he’d ever made coming true. From appearing dismal, this end of year was starting to look like the icing of every birthday cake he’d never had.

  He tapped a bell. Still awful. He got involved in his email and caught up on business he’d been ignoring since Justin first came into his life. Still engrossed, he looked up in surprise when Louise came back into the kitchen. She wore a beautiful robe of fine black velvet decorated with gleaming silver stars, moons and other planets as well as some abstract designs. A huge, gorgeous silver pentacle hung suspended from a long silver neck chain. A large, smug-looking black cat hovered at her ankles. He put down his BlackBerry.

  Louise appeared to be glowing, her cheeks flushed and she seemed far younger than her years. “Have you tried the bells in the past fe
w minutes?”

  Ramon realized he hadn’t, but he remedied that situation quickly. This time, the sound brought pleasure. At long last, the Tingle Bells lived up to their name and made him tingle with their very sexy, aphrodisiac chime. Considering where he was and the present company, he felt a most inappropriate jolt to the crotch and promptly crossed his legs.

  “Oh, my! Those have a most amazing effect,” Louise announced. Her eyebrows shot up and her mouth quirked up into a big smile. Ramon chuckled.

  “They should sell very well,” he said. “Justin will have to get the word out. I’m sure once merchants and customers experience the Tingle Bells, sales will go through the roof.”

  Louise sat down at the table with Ramon. “I hope so. Now I feel so very regretful about what I almost did.”

  Not a big believer in the efficacy of guilt, Ramon waved off the sentiment. “As long as everything got fixed in time—in fact, you were the one who fixed the bells—there’s no point in feeling bad.”

  Louise took his hand. “Dear Ramon, you are an exceptionally understanding and generous person. I hope my newly discovered nephew appreciates you and shares you with the rest of the family. I have a feeling your presence will add a lot to the Clancys.”

  “Me, too. And vice versa. I’d love to be part of your family. But Louise, I’ve learned not to take anything for granted.”

  “I believe you have. I suppose I’d be wise to do the same. After all, there’s been a lot of pain on both sides. My father and my sister may just feel I’ve stayed away too long and done too much to the family. They may tell me to stay the hell away.”

  “I don’t think that’s going to happen,” Ramon said. “But, on the off chance that for some reason the reconciliation doesn’t happen right now, I hope you’d allow me to call and visit, Louise. In fact, I’d love it if you’d give me permission to call you ‘Aunt Louise’.”

  She had just wiped her eyes when Ramon’s phone rang.

  * * * * *

  “Justin, what’s happened? Bad news about the Tingle Bells?” He’d barely set foot in the door when Aunt Claire, who’d been writing out holiday cards, blurted out her question.

  Justin rushed over and pulled up a chair to be near her. “No, actually it’s great news.”

  “You mean Louise is willing to take the hex off.”

  Justin nodded. “And more than that. You see, she put the hex on the bells to get our attention. She wants to come home, back to the family.”

  Aunt Claire gasped. She dropped her quill and the envelope she’d been addressing. “Louise wants to come back after all this time. I can’t believe it.”

  Justin took her hand, which was like a block of ice, in his and rubbed it to restore some warmth. “She does, but she wants to know if she’ll be welcome.”

  Tears now shone in Aunt Claire’s eyes. “Welcome? Of course. She was always welcome. We’d never have excluded her, even if she brought that awful man along with her.”

  He figured it was up to Aunt Louise to clarify that point.

  “But Justin, we need to consult Dad on this too. Oh, I hope he says yes.” She snorted. “If he doesn’t, we’ll convince him. I’ve missed Louise so much, especially recently.”

  He forbore asking why she hadn’t done anything to remedy that. Meanwhile, Uncle Fred turned out to be even more amenable to Aunt Louise’s return than Aunt Claire.

  “Ramon is with her,” he told both of them. “I’ll phone him now to tell her to get ready.”

  “Ramon?” Uncle Fred asked.

  There was his cue. But Justin couldn’t bring himself to say more, not right now. “You remember. The detective who was helping me.”

  Justin noticed the look that passed between them at this but chose not to follow up.

  When Ramon picked up, all he said was, “They said yes. I’ll drive over to pick you both up and bring Aunt Louise back here where she belongs.”

  “We’ll be ready,” Ramon responded.

  * * * * *

  “Have you told them yet?” Ramon whispered to Justin the moment he returned to Aunt Louise’s house.

  “Told them what?”

  “About us?”

  “Not yet. It’s just not the right time.”

  “When is?” Ramon hissed back.

  Justin couldn’t deal with his insistence right now. Aunt Louise’s return on top of the Tingle Bells’ being okay was more than enough. He’d work something out with Ramon later.

  It was hard to tell who was weeping more by the time they brought Aunt Louise to the Clancy house.

  With Patrick looking on in some bewilderment, Aunt Louise, Uncle Fred and Aunt Claire joined in a group hug. Justin had tears in his eyes and, when he snuck a look, he saw big, macho Ramon surreptitiously brushing at his own.

  “Thank you for this welcome,” Aunt Louise said when they pulled apart for air. She gestured to Justin and Ramon. “I owe a lot to these two wonderful young men.”

  Aunt Claire took her hand. “We all do. Louise, we have so much to catch up on. I want to hear everything that’s happened for the last thirty-six years.”

  “Everything?” Aunt Louise asked dubiously.

  Aunt Claire nodded with more energy than Justin had seen her demonstrate in years. “And, before I forget, we’d be honored if you’d celebrate Solstice, Christmas, Chanukah, Kwanzaa and New Year’s with us—for starters.”

  “Are you sure?”

  Aunt Claire hugged Aunt Louise again. The sisters clung together for a long moment.

  “I’m sorry about what I did to the Tingle Bells. This was the only way I could think of to get your attention after all this time.”

  “Me, too,” Justin said. “I’ll always be sorry that messing with the bells was the only way you could come up with.”

  Aunt Claire frowned at him. “Be respectful.”

  “I am,” Justin mumbled. “Really. That’s the last of my grumping. I really have forgiven Aunt Louise.” To illustrate his point, he hugged her.

  “Lou, I’m so glad you’ll be here with us. I have to admit, the holidays have never really been right without your version of rutabaga fantasy and broccoli gelatin.”

  Justin figured he could be gracious even about the bizarre concoctions mealtimes included. Even his realization that his twin aunts shared a predilection to strange food combinations couldn’t rattle him now. “I can’t wait. Thank you, Aunt Louise, for coming through on removing the hex. Finally, we have the family all together. It looks like it will be a great Christmas after all.”

  Pat joined the group hug. Everyone was in on it—except Ramon.

  Ramon. Justin looked around, and coldness gripped his heart. Just as he’d expected, Ramon was gone.

  Damn it, he wanted Ramon with him to savor the triumph. Then he remembered Ramon had his own work, his own life. Not to mention Ramon’s pressure on him to come out to the family. Despite Ramon’s protestations of valuing family, Justin knew the whole package must have been too much for him. The Clancys in toto would have undone him, bless his fastidious, designer-obsessed soul.

  Though Justin wanted to go after Ramon, to get closure and pay his bill, he didn’t even have time to do this now. He needed to contact the distributors to spread the word among the merchants. Tingle Bells were better than ever. Pat offered to help him. Glad to be busy, Justin headed off to his office-lab-studio with Pat. This Christmas, lots of happy lovers would get to experience the particular magic of Tingle Bells. Unfortunately, Justin wouldn’t be able to count himself among their numbers.

  * * * * *

  Once he left the Clancys’ house, Ramon didn’t look back. After all, the case was closed. Everyone had what they wanted, except him. He stopped at his office on his way home, checked email and phone messages. A new case had come in. Great. He figured the best way to get through the coming holidays was to keep very busy.

  He reached into his pocket and his hand closed around a set of Tingle Bells. The prototype Justin had given him at their first meeting.
His touch now set them off, and the sound set him off. Instant turn-on. Great. He had a hard-on and nowhere to go with it. He remembered how he and Justin had parted at Aunt Louise’s house, with their promises of “later”. Much, much later. Actually never. With a sigh, Ramon dropped the bells in a desk drawer. They jingled slightly as he slammed it shut.

  Somehow, the following days and nights crawled by, and he managed to spend a very productive December, throwing himself into his work. Ramon would have been willing to work on Christmas Day, but he’d wound up all his cases including the paperwork by Christmas Eve. It was too late to fly to Bermuda or somewhere for the holiday. Anyway, he didn’t fancy being the only loner at whatever resort he landed at.

  Justin had mailed his payment—in full—before it was due. Ramon had clung to the hope there’d be a note, an invitation making room for him in Justin’s family, some personal touch, but all there’d been was a check drawn on the business.

  Ramon figured the unwanted day off would be a perfect opportunity for him to paint the guest bedroom. Restful blue with a spark of personality would be perfect. He had his breakfast, read the paper. That got him to nine a.m. On the way upstairs he stopped in the master bath and his eye snagged on the bidet. Would he ever be able to look at it or use it without remembering the image of Justin there?

  Shaking his head to clear the cobwebs, he changed into his sloppiest clothes. He readied the room he’d paint today by meticulously applying masking tape to the windows and spreading a drop cloth on the floor. Then he brought up the supplies. He’d painted half a wall and just dipped the roller into the pan again when his doorbell rang.

  Muttering about interruptions and the roller drying, he raced downstairs and flung open the door. No one there. Shit. Pranksters were annoying enough on normal days, but there should be a cosmic law against them bugging people on Christmas.

  Once he opened the door, Ramon realized it had snowed. Perfect. A white Christmas. He was sure everyone’s family celebration would be wonderful, the stuff of memories. He took a deep breath and was about to slam the door to shut out the loneliness when he thought he heard a strange noise. He looked again, but he still didn’t see anybody. As soon as he reached to close the door, he heard the sound again. A bell.