DECEMBER
As the cold rushed into their home, Antonio quickly closed the door and turned on the heater to let the home warm up. He had finished the last of his exams and could now rest, knowing he made it through the first semester of college.
All that was left was Michael’s final few exams. But he had a few more days until they finished. For now, Ant was going to do everything in his power to make sure that his lover received the best care in preparation.
Once the home was heated to its right temperature, Ant went towards the phone and called his brother.
“Hello? Who is this?” He heard Manuel answer.
“It’s me, Manny.” Ant replied.
“Ah! Tonio! How was class? Did you ace those exams?” His brother asked.
“I won’t know until next week when the scores come out.” Ant replied. He could hear the cries of a baby on the other line. “And how is Enrique? Is he behaving well?” Ant asked, regarding his nephew.
“He’s calm most of the time. I think he takes after you. You were so quiet as a baby. He’s been having some fun with the toys you sent over. Dolores is going to send some pictures over.”
“That’s great. Mike and I will make sure to visit at least during Christmas.”
“We’ll be waiting for you. We set up your room as we wait for your arrival.” Manny said. Ant smiled to himself as his older brother now began to speak normally without the use of strange words.
Ever since Manny had abolished his gang, he’s been more focused on school and being a great dad. He still has some ways to go, but waking up to his wife and his son in his arms brings him joy. He did everything right.
“How is Mike treating you? I hope that man isn’t hurting you.” Manny warned. Despite meeting Mike many times, he doesn’t exactly have a perfect picture of him. He’ll always worry about his younger brother.
“Mike is treating me amazingly. No need to worry. How are Rafa and the others doing?” Ant asked.
“Since the Saints are no more, they’ve focused their efforts on restoration. Rafa has begun to get along with some of the easterners. The others are still weary, but we’re getting there. They’ve even begun to rebuild a few homes that were demolished a while back.”
Ant smiled to himself, knowing that his hometown was slowly starting to rebuild itself. After a few more updates, Ant and Manny hung up with the promise of another phone call soon.
Now bored, and knowing that he was going to wait another hour until Mike comes home, Ant decided to walk around the house for no reason. He walked past by a room that he never really entered.
This specific room is Mike’s office. It isn’t much, just a simple room with a desk and some books and documents scattered around.
Ant entered the office, hoping that maybe he could clean it up. All he saw was a mess of papers on the desk. He sat on Mike’s chair and grabbed one of the papers to read.
“Pennsylvania Expansion Project.” Ant read. He already felt bored looking at the paper. But as his father-in-law, Edmund Lexington, told him, Ant would need to start learning the ropes of the company.
If he was going to be Michael’s secret husband, then he was also going to learn how to work at the corporation.
He saw another paper with what looked like the Lexington Family seal in the corner. He knew this seal all too well, because it’s engraved onto the ring Mike bought him.
The paper had many paragraphs about something he couldn’t understand. While squinting his eyes, since he forgot his glasses, he didn’t notice Michael leaning against the doorway.
“Find something interesting?” Mike asked. Ant jumped and quickly smiled upon hearing his lover’s voice. He stood up from the seat and ran to Mike, jumping into his arms.
“Welcome home.” Ant said, littering Mike’s face with kisses. “But I thought you didn’t come back until much later. What happened?”
“The economics professor is an ancient man. Everyone was just waiting for him to kick the bucket eventually. It just so happened to be on the day I had my exam for his class.”
It was grim for Mike to find enjoyment in his professor’s passing. But he did not care when he remembered that this same professor called Ant Mike’s ‘accompanying servant’ on orientation day.
“Want to go get some coffee down the street?” Ant asked.
“In a bit. What were you reading?” Mike asked.
“Oh. just some papers. I couldn’t understand it, though.”
Mike grabbed the paper that Ant had been squinting his eyes at. He looked at it and read it outloud. Ant titled his head like a confused puppy, still not understanding whatever was said.
“It’s essentially an addition to our family. The Normantons are joining our family.” Michael explained.
“Joining? The family? You’re not making any sense.” Ant said.
Mike patted his lap for Ant to sit on. He did as was told and felt quite uncomfortable at how small the chair was.
“My family is a part of a branch family. We’re at the top, the Lexingtons, and there are small branches. We aren’t blood related. Basically, when a family becomes influential enough, they get asked to be invited to join our family.” Mike explained.
“And I’m assuming the Normantons are joining the branch family.”
“Precisely. But when a family joins, they must follow with the suffix that all other branches have. Example, the main one, us, are the Lexingtons. But there are also the Barringtons, Covingtons, Arlingtons, and so on.”
Mike held up the paper for his lover to see. “And as you can see, the Normantons are joining as the Norringtons.”
“Oh…” Ant muttered. “That’s so cool!” His face brightened up. Mike chuckled seeing the excitement of his boyfriend.
“Which leads me to a question I’ve wanted to ask you.” Mike said. Ant put the paper down and turned to his lover. “Would your family, the Garcia’s, consider joining the Lexington branch family?”
“Mike, that’s incredibly sweet,” Ant said. “But my family has no money. We don’t have property or a business. Hell, we didn’t even own our home until your parents bought it and signed over the deed to Manny.”
Mike just chuckled and brought Ant to lean into his chest. “Silly boy. I never said you had to be rich. I said you had to be influential. And last I recalled, you, Antonio Jose Garcia, have influenced me, the future heir to all of this.”
There was silence in the room as Ant thought to himself. Then an idea came into his head.
“I guess we could join. But I have one unorthodox request.”
“Name your price.” Mike said.
“I’ll talk to Manny about all of this. But is it possible that we keep our name, Garcia, as is. I don’t want to change my heritage and lose our identity.”
All Mike could do was nod quickly. “Of course. Your family will always be the Garcias. And our future children will bear the name Lexington-Garcia.”
Ant leaned down and kissed Mike on the lips.
“Thank you for everything, Mike. Sometimes, I feel like I’m not worthy of such amazing things you and your family have given me.”
“You deserve it and so much more. Don’t push yourself down and instead, start putting yourself on a pedestal. Look at yourself as the king you're meant to be.”
The two got off the chair because their legs were starting to turn numb. They left the office and put on some coats, getting ready to head out into the snow.
“Wait.” Ant said. He pulled his boyfriend in for a long kiss. “For the road.”
Mike nodded. They have a saying, “For the road.” Because they can’t kiss in public or around anyone that doesn’t know their secret, they must use the moments before stepping out in public to kiss. It’s for the road, meaning it’s for the entire time they’re out. Then, when they step back into their garden of Eden, they can kiss however much they want.
The two exited the apartment and immediately shivered from the cold. But they walk side-by-side down the street.
“How is Caroline?” Ant asked.
“From what my dad has told me, she’s doing pretty good.” Mike replied. “It still feels weird, being 19 and having a younger sister that I’ve yet to meet.”
“We made plans for Christmas, Mike. Then you can meet her. I hope she has the same blue eyes as you.”
“I’m sure she did. It’s a signature of our family.”
“And me?” Ant asked.
“Big, brown eyes and curly light brown hair.” Mike replied. “Trust me, you, Manuel, and Enrique have those features.”
“Do you ever wonder how our child would look?”
Mike stopped in his tracks. “He better have your eyes! Cause your’s are too beautiful not to pass down!”
The other boy just smiled and let out a chuckle. “Can’t argue with that. But I think light brown hair and blue eyes would be a great match.”
“Or black hair and big brown eyes.” Mike replied.
The two finally made it to the coffee shop. As soon as they stepped inside, they felt the warmth around them.
“Get us a table. I’ll order.” Mike told Ant.
“Got it! You know my order, right?”
Mike nodded. “Cappuccino with extra sugar and a croissant on the side. Don’t worry, I’ll always remember.”
Ant left Mike to find a table. The cafe was mostly empty since the cold was too frigid to walk in. But even with all the empty places, Ant chose the spot that was under a mistletoe. It was a secret way of telling people they were together.
The outside was picking up as more snow began to fall. “Here’s your coffee.” Mike said, placing a cup in front of Ant.
“Thank you.” Ant said. Mike took his seat next to his lover. “It’s getting more snowy.”
“Damn. Guess we might be stuck in here for a while.”
Ant reached into his backpack and pulled out a book. “Want me to read to you?” He asked Mike. Mike nodded quickly.
“I’ll always listen to you read.”
Ant smiled and opened his book and began to read where he had left off. As he read, he felt Mike place his head on his shoulder and begin to fall asleep. He let him sleep there, vowing to always be his shoulder for anything.