Page 45 of Tommy

“One minute,” I called out from the fort. On the page of rushed comic panel sketches, the largest was occupied with the Teddy King’s hand as it broke the barrier of the box it was drawn inside, giving it the appearance of him reaching out of the page at the reader.

“Come on,” Hardin said. “Otherwise you’ll miss it.”

“Wait! What?” I scooched out from the blanket fort in my bear onesie. I had a pair of velvet plush deer antlers on a headband over my head, forgetting about them when I was leaving the fort and nearly pulled the entire structure of it down on my way out.

Daddy Hardin stood at the front door, he had one of the Santa hats on, and a big smile. “You only get to see me in this once,” he said, and as he moved slightly, something caught my eye above the door.

“What’s that?”

“Oh. Come a little closer and see.”

Mistletoe! I jumped into his arms and wrapped my legs around his waist. “You went to get a tree?” I asked, planting the biggest kiss on his face. “You didn’t tell me you were going to get a tree.” In fact, he’d told me he was going to exercise the horses, a job I had refused because I didn’t want to get anymore of those nasty bruises on the insides of my thighs. “Where is it?”

“Hold up now,” he said, carrying me across the lounge to the sofa. He held me over it to fall off on my own. “I need you to make a little room inside. Where do you want to put it?” he asked, and almost tin the blink of an eye, he’d removed the Santa hat and replaced it back with his firm Stetson.

“Over there!” I pointed, right by the blanket fort.

“Now, you know we can’t do that. That’s a fire hazard.”

I gestured wildly, pointing in all directions. “I don’t know.”

“How about we move the fort? I know you don’t want to move to, but it would be easiest.”

“Yes!” The only thing that mattered was getting a tree. There was only so much tinsel I could fix to the window sills and random places around the house before I could see it annoy Hardin, and it also looked a lot like trash when it wasn’t on a tree, but I wasn’t going to admit that to him.

“Perfect,” he said. “You need help pulling the fort down, or can you do it alone?” he asked. “I’ve got to unstrap the tree from the cart outside, and trim it a little more with a saw. But if you can handle this job alone, I’d be able to get it done a lot faster.”

I was already convinced. “Leave it to me!”

The fort would have to go somewhere else, like his bedroom, which was already a fort of its own in many ways. As Daddy went back out, I looked through the window behind the sofa to look at the large green pine tree on the cart. Pip and Rusty were beside it. I wondered how he’d gotten it back, but I recalled him mentioning how the horses were sometimes used for transportation.

I cleaned away the fort faster than he’d gotten the tree ready. I was beyond excited to have a real Christmas tree. I hadn’t needed to do much convincing once we’d discovered a shared interested, that was making me happy. I collected stray bits of tinsel from around the house, maybe another reason he wanted the tree here sooner rather than later since it would definitely clean the place up a lot.

“You got the space ready?” he called out to me as I was busy collecting every last ornament I’d distributed from the box of so-called Christmas tat.

“Yes! Yes!”

He brought the tree in all by himself, flexing his large muscles and strength. It almost took my breath away. I fawnedover him dramatically, telling him how big and handsome he was for being able to get a full tree inside the house.

“Bring that box over here,” he said. “As much as I love you being a cheerleader, I’m gonna need just a touch of help with this part.”

From the box of things, there had been a stand for a tree which he used to stand the tree upright in the corner of the lounge. It fit perfectly, with just enough room on the top for a star. Once it was erected, we both took steps away from it and looked it up and down. It blocked a little of the natural light coming in from the far window, but it would soon be alight with colorful fairy lights and I’d already tested them out to know they even had a twinkle setting.

“A couple things you need to be wary about,” he said. “This is a real tree, so it will shed pine needles. You’re gonna have to be very careful getting close and stepping on the floor, those things can really prick ya. Got it.”

“Got it!” I said and stood to attention.

“Good boy,” he said, leaning in and kissing me.

Just as the affection started, a loud horn beeped approaching up the road. From what I was told, we were going to be alone together until I was set to leave. I looked up at Hardin to see who it could be.

“Oh, June’s just swinging by,” he said with a smile. “Don’t worry.”

“But I don’t want—”

“It’s fine,” he said, placing his cool hand against my face. “I told her I needed a couple things from town. She might stay for a tea, but you’re gonna like what she’s brought.”

I’d known Hardin for a week, I couldn’t be sure what people knew and didn’t know about him. But I knew that he was secretive about his sexuality, and I didn’t want to be the reason he was outed.

---