Daniel and Jonah Part 16

Chapter 16

I was invited to Thanksgiving dinner at the Johnson's. When I asked if I could bring anything, Angie, in her usual fashion replied, "Just bring yourself, that's plenty."

I knew from past dinners at their house that there would be more food than one family could eat in one day, but I'd been brought up never to go empty-handed when invited to someone's house, so I asked Dan what a typical Thanksgiving dinner at his house looked like. As expected, his mother had thought of everything. Despite that, I thought long and hard and finally came up with an idea I thought the family might like. I spent two nights hard at work making a selection of cookies and brought the laden tray to the door.

Once again, Freddie, shirtless, answered, peeking around the door at me with his usual grin. When he saw the tray of cookies his eyes widened and cold weather and no shirt notwithstanding, he came into full view and relieved me of the tray, which I was sure he was going to drop. To my surprise he made it into the kitchen without mishap, immediately untied the bow holding the covering of orange-red cellophane together and grabbed a cookie before his mother could stop him.

She advanced on Fred with her hand raised but instead of looking the least bit scared, the boy grabbed another cookie with an impish grin and ran to his room.

"Put on a shirt while you're up there!" his mother called to him as she took the tray, restored it to its original condition, minus the two cookies, and put it more securely on the counter. She looked up and me and grinned, much like her youngest son had, and said, "He's spoiled. Not my fault! I blame his father. Mostly because Seb's not here to defend himself," she laughed, "thank you for the cookies!" she added as she drew me into a bear hug.

I could tell now where Dan got his hugging skill from and I happily hugged her back.

"Oh!" she exclaimed, "the turkey!"

"Let me help, Angie," I grinned as I released her.

Dan came in just then and gathered me in another bear hug. I smiled when his mother said fondly, "His nonnie always said he was the best hugger."

"Yep," I agreed, "he definitely is."

As though to prove me wrong, Freddie, finally in a shirt, came up behind me and tried to get his arms around both Dan and me, his head tucked firmly between us. I tousled his unkempt mass of hair and smiled down at him. He scowled back at me and brushed his hand through his hair as though it would somehow become neat before turning toward the living room to play on his PS4.

I half expected his mother to say something, to tell him to do a chore or something, but she merely turned toward the oven to baste the turkey while Dan busied himself washing the used bowls and utensils. Once the table was clear Dan opened a drawer and took out a tablecloth. It was clean, but obviously well used. He began to unfold it and handed one end to me. After we put the cloth down he handed me plates to put out while he gathered up utensils and we set the table. It suddenly dawned on me that I was helping in the kitchen, just as if I'd been doing it my whole life. I felt totally at home and couldn't suppress a grin.

One by one, we put out platters and bowls of food. His mother hadn't been kidding when she'd told me that they were potato fiends. There were three different styles of potato on the table and I wondered if there would be room for anything else.  I had nothing to fear, however, as Dan called Fred, then went to retrieve his father from wherever he'd been, and his mother placed the most delicious looking turkey I'd ever seen at the center of the table. As his father carved the turkey I could hear the skin crackle, and more than once Freddie had to be told to keep his hands off.

I personally had no problem with the Johnson family having all the skin. It had never been my favorite part of the bird to begin with, but Dan encouraged me to take just a bit and so I did to please him. 

My eyes widened in surprise. It was good. It was really good! I glanced at my plate, then Dan's, then mine again. He took the hint and gave me a little more with a huge grin. I closed my eyes as I bit into the crispy, seasoned piece. I didn't realize that I'd made any sound until Freddie piped up, "Yep! It's that good!" before crunching down on the pieces on his own plate.

He then took a hearty portion of the mashed potatoes, and one half of a twice-baked potato. I had to chuckle when I saw him ignore the sweet potatoes altogether.

"Thanks, Freddie-boy!" his mother cheered as she took one from the plate which was noticeably fuller than the others, "more for me!" I had the feeling that Mrs. Johnson was the only one in the family who liked them, and I saw her pleased expression as I took one as well.

"Finally, someone with good taste!" she joked.

"You put sour cream on your baked potatoes, so I don't know if you're qualified to determine what's good taste or not," Seb said with a sideways glance at his wife.

Without missing a beat she replied, "Well, I married you, that should have been your first warning signal."

I'm pretty sure that my expression told all as I glanced back and forth between them. They never yelled, but yet they also never seemed to have a kind word for each other.

Angie gave me a soft smack on my arm. "Don't let us fool you, we kind of like each other, more or less," she said blandly, "right, Seb?"

"Yeah, I guess," he shrugged before taking another bite of his dinner.

Angie winked at me and began to eat her own dinner, unashamedly taking the sour cream and adding a large dollop on her second baked potato before cutting into it and humming with pleasure as she took a bite.

Later on, after Freddie had disappeared into his room, and his parents had gone to lie down in their bedroom for a bit after the cleanup, I took Dan aside and asked him, "Look, it's none of my business, but... I'm dying to know... if they really can't stand each other why do they stay together?"

Dan grinned, rolled his eyes, and winked, "Be grateful that you don't have to hear them at night when they think everyone's asleep. C'mon, let's watch a movie before you have to leave," he suggested as he led me by the hand into the living room.

We sat on the couch, nibbling on the cookies that were left after Freddie had finally decided he'd had enough, and watched a movie until I realized that Dan had fallen asleep. I moved as gently as I could so that I wouldn't wake him, propped his head on a pillow, and covered him with the blanket that was there. I turned off the television, left Dan a note that I'd talk to him tomorrow, and one for his folks, thanking them for a lovely night before I let myself out and headed home.

***********************

We spent Christmas at my parent's house. I'd warned Dan that things could become very loud and asked him if he'd be ok with that.

"I guess," he replied uncertainly, "it depends on how loud everyone is, I suppose."

"And don't be surprised if any of my aunts come to you to pinch your cheeks. It's just something they do, it's just a friendly thing, ok? They won't hurt you."

He'd nodded his head and we continued on our way.

Even though I'd told my family that Daniel was autistic and what to look out for, and told everyone to try to be a little more quiet than usual, Christmas was unbelievable. It seemed as though every member of the family was there. All of my brothers and sisters, and all of their kids, aunts and uncles and cousins, and half of the neighborhood had no problem dropping in to say Merry Christmas, leaving behind a stack of fruitcakes that even the birds wouldn't eat afterward.

I could tell that he felt overwhelmed, not only by the sheer number of people but by the noise level, so we went outside for a walk before dinner, which my mother promised would be exactly at 2 and not to be late or else.

I laughed at the ultimatum. Even with that many people in the house, going without having any dinner was not a possibility, even with one of my brothers in law, a retired Army sergeant with a huge appetite, in attendance.

"I don't want you to miss out on dinner just because of me," Dan said worriedly.

"No one is going to miss out on anything, hon," I assured him, "my mother is like yours and makes enough to feed the neighborhood during the holidays. Even if we only got leftovers there'd be so much that we'd be full before we got to the pies, cakes, and cookies," I laughed.

Dan glanced at his watch and then back toward my house nervously. We still had over an hour, but I knew that dinner would be even noisier than it was now. I saw the frown crease his forehead as he turned away and stared at the sidewalk as we moved along.

"I don't..." he began, "Jonah... I don't... think I can..." he stammered.

I hugged him around the shoulders and he leaned into me. I loved that we'd gotten to the point where I could touch him without him drawing back, but I felt bad at the same time. I now understood why even holiday dinner at his house consisted of only him and his immediate family. And myself, I added, feeling both proud to be included in that number, and a bit saddened that there were only the six of us now.

Suddenly an idea struck and I led him toward the little plaza that was near my folks' house. Thankfully the supermarket was still open so I pulled him inside even though the sign on the door said they closed in ten minutes. I ignored the somewhat disgruntled looks we got as we ran through the store to the health needs aisle. Luckily I found what I was looking for and led a confused looking Daniel through the checkout with five minutes to spare.

"Here," I said with a grin, "when we get back to the house..."

He took the little bits of foam rubber out of my hands and looked at me as though I'd gone completely crazy.

"What are these?" he asked curiously.

"Earplugs," I answered with a huge grin. I remembered reading that some people with autism had an enhanced sense of hearing, and all of that noise in my folks' house must have sounded like the middle of a big city street at rush hour to him. I'd read something about sensory overload and I didn't want my Daniel to be uncomfortable in any way. If it was only the noise level and not the logjam of people there, then hopefully these would help.

"When we get back to the house, just roll these up a little bit and put one in each ear. It should help decrease the volume, and you'll be more comfortable. And if you're not," I continued before he could ask, "we'll eat, clear our plates and say our goodbyes, ok?"

"Ok," he agreed with a smile. He allowed me to put my arm around him and we walked back home. We could hear the noise from the house more than half a block away and I wondered why none of the neighbors had called to complain about the racket yet.

Just before we walked in I handed Dan the two plugs and he put them in his ears. I could see the relief on his face as the din was diminished even by a little. 

We were greeted by one of my aunts as we walked in. "There you are!" she cried as she scooped me up into a hug, "I thought you guys had left!"

"Nope, auntie, just took a walk," I explained, hugging her back.

Her eyes focused on Dan and her expression changed from happiness to pity. "So, is this the retarded kid you're going out with? Hi," she continued, speaking slowly and drawing her words out as though Dan couldn't understand otherwise, "my name is Millie. Miiiilllllliiiiieeeee. And your name is Daniel? It's nice to meet you," she said slowly, as though he wouldn't understand her if she spoke normally.

I could feel his body stiffen up under my arm and when I looked at him his mouth was open, his eyes wide with disbelief. I realized that I was probably wearing much the same expression before I turned on her, my eyes narrowed, and I knew that I was gritting my teeth. I wished that the earplugs had been strong enough so that he wouldn't have had to hear that. I wished that I hadn't had to hear that.

I still managed to speak as I drew Dan closer to my side. I could feel him shaking with anger.

"Dan is not retarded, Aunt Millie. He understands and speaks English very well so you don't need to talk to him like that. And I'd hazard a guess that he's a hundred times smarter than you are."

"What on earth?!" she exclaimed, "how dare you talk to me like that, Jonah! I'm going to tell your mother!"

I laughed at her last statement and invited her to go ahead but then became deadly serious once again.

"And how dare you speak to Daniel like that, or treat him any differently than you would anyone else in the family!" I demanded, "I dare you to talk like that to dad, or Uncle Bob," I said, referring to her retired Army husband, "don't ever disrespect him like that again," I said as I tightened my hold on Dan's shoulders and pulled him away before she could say anything else.

We left her there with her mouth hanging open just as Dan's had been only a moment before.  I brought him into my old bedroom where the coats were piled on the bed moved them over and sat down with him. He looked stunned as he took the plugs out of his ears.

"Dan," I began, "I'm so sorry,"

"Does your whole family feel that way?" he asked as though the breath had been knocked out of him, "Do they all think I'm..."

"No! No, Dan! Of course not. Aunt Millie doesn't think before she talks. She can be a bit of an idiot. When she asks about my friends she refers to them as 'Your black friend, Jack,' or 'Your Jewish friend, Martin,'. She's in her 80s now and grew up in a whole different time. I'm not saying that what she did was right, not by a long shot," I assured him, "I'm only explaining why she talks and thinks the way she does,"

"She's an asshole," Dan said quietly.

I tried not to laugh, "Yeah, she can be. Look," I said more seriously, "if you don't want to stay, I'll understand and we can go back to my place. It won't be ham and everything for dinner, but I'm sure we can scrape something up."

Dan sat and thought about it for a minute before pulling his shoulders back and sitting up straight. Looking me straight in the eyes he shook his head, "No, I'd like to stay. I like your folks and so far no one else has said anything like that to me, I hope they don't think it... can't control it if they do, but I don't want you to miss out on dinner with your family. I can't take you away from that. Besides," he added with a little grin, "that ham smells too good to pass up."

I couldn't help but pull him into a hug. At first, he was a little stiff in my arms from the suddenness of the move, but he returned the hug, tucking his head into the area between my shoulder and neck.

"But if she says anything else stupid I might tell her where to get off, is that ok?" he asked quietly.

"You and me both," I smiled, "you ready to head back out there then?" I asked cautiously.

"Yeah, I'm ready," he smiled as he put the plugs back into his ears.

God, I loved his smile.

I gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and led him back out to where the rest of the family was gathered, making sure to keep as much distance between us and my Aunt Millie as available space allowed.

Dinner turned out to be as amazing as it smelled, and luckily Aunt Millie had either taken the hint or was purposely ignoring us. Either way was fine with me and I didn't hear Dan complain about it. Dinner chat was lively, filled with fun and funny stories, many of which had been supplied by Dan himself as he related amusing things from his childhood and even from his job. The story about a woman who looked to be heavily pregnant and suddenly went into labor only to deliver a huge frozen turkey had the lot of us in hysterics.

Later that night, when I dropped him off at home, he invited me in for a little while. His parents and little brother had apparently gone out for the holiday to visit one of his uncles and we had the house to ourselves.

I took that opportunity to take the present I'd brought him from under the seat of my car and give it to him once we were inside and comfortable in the living room.

He opened it carefully, even though it was only a brightly colored box with the bow attached, and then just as carefully unwrapped the tissue paper that was surrounding the item. When he took it out, I knew I'd gotten him just the right present and it made me happy knowing that I'd made him happy.

He carefully took the book I'd chosen for him and read the title, "The Great God Pan, by Arthur Machen," he read.

"Look at the frontispiece," I suggested.

It took a moment for him to read the small print and eventually made his way to the publication date.

"1890?" he asked softly, looking up at me as though I were going to yell 'April Fools!' When I didn't he asked again, "Is this really from... 1890? Really?"

"Really," I grinned, "Merry Christmas, Dan," I said quietly.

He threw his arms around my neck and hugged tightly, thanking me over and over. Finally, when he let go, he asked, "Is it safe to read?"

"Yep, I checked it over. I think you should still be careful with the pages when you turn them but otherwise," I shrugged, "it's not a bad book,"

"You read it?" he asked, excited, hoping that we could compare notes afterward.

"Only the first few pages, to make sure they were in good condition, but if you'd like, once you're done with it, you can loan it to me and then we can talk about it."

I was rewarded with a wide smile and another hug, "I'd love that," he replied. 

When his expression turned sad I made him look at me and asked him what was wrong.

"My present is a piece of junk," he replied sadly, "trash even,".

"Dan, if it's given with love, then it's not junk or trash," I assured him with another hug.

An impish smile that looked eerily like Freddie's touched his lips and eyes and he asked, "Even if I go out into the kitchen and bring you the trash bin with a bow on it?"

"Is it empty at least?" I replied with a grin.

"I couldn't give you an empty container as a gift!" he replied as though scandalized.

"Oh, little boy, you're so asking for it," I laughed as I hugged him to me.

"Asking for what?" His confusion was so evident that it took all I had not to laugh.

"A spanking. A good one too," I replied, whispering in his ear.

Dan pulled away and at first, I thought I'd pushed things too far, but he looked at me from beneath his long, thick lashes with a shy smile.

"For my birthday," he said, his voice a little husky.

I'd been doing my best to take my time with him, going slowly, getting to know him, letting him get to know me, allowing a trust to grow on both sides, but those words, in that tone... I took a deep breath and moved slightly to adjust myself in my jeans without him noticing.

He stood up and led me toward the front door. At first, I thought he was escorting me out. His cheeks were flushed but he didn't seem angry to me. I was about to apologize when he stopped us just in front of the door and put his arms around my neck. He looked deeply into my eyes, I could see the amusement in his, just before he pulled me down into a tentative kiss on the lips.

Seeing my absolute surprise he smiled again, but he didn't remove his hands from around my neck. He looked up and motioned me with his head to do the same.

"Mom says that's mistletoe," he said, "she says that it's a tradition when you stand under it that you have to kiss," he said, looking at me uncertainly.

I tightened my arms around him and bent slightly to make it easier to reach his lips. He pressed his body against mine, for the first time that I can remember, and I could tell that I wasn't the only one enjoying it.

(End Part 16)

To Be Continued...