~ Dinner, and Other Social Casualties ~

The next morning, Danny woke up with a smile on his face. It was the first time in a long time he hadn't had an alarm to wake him up. Also, he loved his comforter. It was very warm, but it wasn't heavy at all. He remembered when when was little and he would visit his grandma, and how heavy the quilts had been. He hadn't been able to move freely. Danny loved his grandma, but he dreaded having to sleep there during winter.

He took a deep breath and could smell cinnamon baking. That was always a good sign. Danny lay in his bed a little while longer, relishing in this beautifully mundane moment of waking up.

Once he was fully awake, he got out of bed and put on some loose knit pants and a long sleeved t-shirt and, after brushing his teeth, headed downstairs. He saw his sister first, wearing roughly the same thing as him, only the colors were different, and she was wearing socks. At that thought, Danny wiggled his toes.

"Hey Danny." His sister said, gently, before taking a sip of what appeared to be tea.

"Hey you." He said, walking over to see which section of the paper she was reading and to steal a sip of tea.

Danny's mom popped her head around the edge of the window that divided the living room from the kitchen.

"Oh, good morning, Danny!"

"Hi mom."

"Did you rest well?"

"Oh yes. Always."

"Good! Your father's up in the attic getting all of the Christmas stuff down, are you going to help him put them up this year?"

"I do every year."

"You certainly do!"

And Danny's sister smirked a bit at him, and he rolled his eyes to her the moment his mother popped her head back into the kitchen. When they were little, Danny always got suck with the job of untangling the Christmas lights and holding them as his dad secured them to the house. Danny always hated this job. It took forever and was boring, tedious work. And it was always freezing cold.

It was compounded by the fact that Danny's sister always got the task of putting trinkets around the house where it was warm. Though, Danny learned from a very young age to never complain about the assigned jobs, because any sort of complaining would be met with a torrent of overly sarcastic comments about his status as the resident Grinch. It wasn't that Danny didn't like the holidays, he just didn't like the holidays being crammed down his throat every day for a month. That, and he hated the cold.

Danny's sister realized this a few years ago, and it had kinda helped to release some of the pressure. However, she was still crazy about the holidays.

Danny heard a loud noise coming in from the back door.

"Hey! Danny's awake! We can get this show on the road now!"

"Uh, I was thinking maybe we could eat lunch first? I haven't eaten anything yet..."

Danny's sister cleared her throat and Danny shot her a look and she smiled at him.

"That sounds great! I'm always up for food!"

"Well, we've got a ton of leftovers, I'm sure you guys can make something good..."

Danny's dad went into the kitchen, but Danny stayed in the living room.

"Aren't you hungry?"

"Oh, just a little. I'll get something before going out."

"So you're just trying to stall? Impressive..."

"Just delaying the inevitable."

"But still impressive.

"Yeah, well, just wait until I go get changed..."

"Hey Danny! I made you a turkey sandwich! Come get it!"

"Aww... nice try on that one, Danny..."

"Oh well. At least I still have changing..."

Danny went and ate his sandwich while his dad told him all that they had to get done that day. His mother was all over the kitchen baking up a storm.

"Mom, what are you baking for?"

"Oh, our ladies group is doing a bake sale, and last year, we ran out of stuff, so I'm trying to make sure we don't do that again."

"Where is it going to be this year?"

"Well, for the first time, we're doing it at the tree lighting ceremony."

"Oh, that's cool. You finally get to go."

"Sure do. You going this year?"

"Honestly, I hadn't thought about it until just now." Which was true.

"Well, if you're not busy, we could probably use some help getting everything set up, if you don't mind."

"No, I don't mind, I'll go..."

"Thank you, Danny!" His mom half sang, half spoke to him.

About that time, a hand hit him hard on the back and almost caused him to choke.

"C'mon now Danny, we gotta get these light up."

Danny had kind of forgotten his dad was even there.

Danny stuck the last bit of his sandwich in his mouth and mumbled something. He swallowed, and then repeated what he had said.

"Sure thing, let me change first, and I'll meet you outside."

Danny's dad left and Danny walked back through the living room, said hi to sister again, and stole another sip of tea. He then went upstairs and changed clothes, not slowly, but deliberately. He took out each piece of clothing and laid them out on the bed, in order of layer. He found it better to do several smaller layers than to put on a heavy coat. It was easier to untangle lights and to keep his father from falling off of ladders. He then meticulously and purposefully put on each layer. By the time he finished, his dad was calling for him with a hint of impatience hidden in his voice.

Danny rolled his eyes and grabbed his hat and fingerless gloves and headed downstairs. He smiled at his sister as he went out of the door.

He looked at the yard and was astonished. All of the lights were neatly wound into coils and arranged by size. The yard art was also put in the correct spots and were read to be staked to the ground. His dad was on the ladder already.

"Since when do you organize the lights before hand?"

"I thought you did that... Last year when we took them down?"

"I've done that every year, but you always seem to ignore this and get them tied together anyway..."

"Well, this is the first year I haven't touched the Christmas stuff until Thanksgiving. But, I must say, this is a lot easier than previous years."

"Uh, yeah. That's why I've been doing that all these years, and why I've been so frustrated every year with having to untangle everything again."

"Well, I can see why! Well, let's get these up and we can be done."

So they got to hanging the lights. It went a lot faster than every other year, and Danny was still in a good mood by the time the house lights were done. Next, as always, was putting all of the yard stuff out. Danny's job was getting all of the stakes and everything positioned and Danny's father would come behind and pound the in the ground. They always tried to get this done before sunset so they could see, but this was the first year it actually happened. After they finished that, then it was time for shrub lights. These were smaller, and generally easier to put on, so they were last to go on. That, and by this time it was dark, and they could plug in the lights and see instantly how they looked. This year, they got to it just as the sun was setting.

Danny and his dad were almost done with the tallest shrub when they heard a voice behind them.

"Looks great, guys!"

Danny involuntarily smiled. He recognized the voice. He turned to see Zane walking down the path, looking at all the lights.

"Hey you. What are you up to?"

"I was bored, so I thought I'd stop by early. I hope I'm not interrupting..."

"Pssh. Hardly. I stand here and hand lights."

Zane chuckled. "We're still on for dinner, right?"

"Uh... Yeah... But I'm not sure how long this is going to take..."

"Danny, if you have plans, you can go ahead and go. I can finish up here by myself." The shrub spoke.

Danny looked up. "You sure, dad?"

"Suuuuuuure! I'm done on the ladder, anyway, and that's what I really need you for."

"Oh, ok." Then he turned back to Zane and nodded for him to follow. "I've got to change." Danny offered, even though Zane hadn't asked.

They both walked in, and both stopped short. The house had been transformed. Reds and greens and silvers and golds were everywhere, and there was the scent of cinnamon and apples.

"Danny! Oh. and...boy..."

Danny's sister appeared in a light blue turtle neck fuzzy cashmere sweater and wrapped in sliver and green garland and a string of lights.

"Hey, looks great."

"Thanks. It's pretty much just been me with mom in 'Martha' mode. What are y'all two up to?"

"Going to dinner."

"Dressed....like that?" Danny's sister said with a smile.

"Noo... Came in to change."

"I taught you well." She said, patting Danny's stomach.

"Ha. You better get finished before you singe."

"Ack! Bye, guys! Have fun!" And she disappeared again.

"Bye..." Both the boys said, and they went upstairs.

Zane took off his coat and sat on the bed. Danny noticed he was wearing a fairly nice sweater, so he decided to wear something comparable. He wasn't exactly sure where they were going, and he figured that would be a good guide. He pulled off his shirt layers and set them as a unit on the chair by his closet. He opened the closet door and Zane coughed a little. Danny turned around and Zane's face was bright red. Danny couldn't tell if he was blushing or just flushed from having come in from outside. He couldn't decide which one it was, so he just asked, "you ok?"

"Uh, yeah..." Zane trailed off. So Danny just looked at him. "I, uh, don't think I've ever seen you without a shirt on..."

"Oh." Danny said, looking down at his bare chest. "Yeah, I guess you were always in football and stuff, and I just took general p.e. ..."

"Well, you look good..." Zane said, at which Danny raised his eyebrow and cocked a smile. Zane's face got redder. "I mean...!"

"Heh. I know what you meant. And coming from you, Mr. Muscles, I'll take it as a compliment."

Danny had been a skinny kid for forever, but he had put some weight on in college, but he had been in a pretty active health and fitness class, so it had started to shape out into a decent form. Thinking about it, Danny put his hand on his stomach, but couldn't figure out why he had done it, but made no effort to move it.

"Mr. Muscles?" Zane said, under his breath, but Danny had heard it in the quiet room.

"Well, yeah... Have you seen yourself without a shirt? I know of like, twenty guys personally would kill to look like you..."

"Really?"

"Uh, yeah. I'm one of 'em, too."

"Why? You look good the way you are. Though, I never would have guessed with the baggy clothes you wear. No matter what size I buy, I always feel like I'm busting out of the seams..."

"Pssh... If i looked like you, I'd wear one size smaller, just to show off what I looked like."

"Really?"

"Ok, no. But I certainly wouldn't try to hide it either."

"I was about to say..."

"Hmm... Well, I better put on something before I catch a cold..."

Danny thought Zane looked a little disappointed, but couldn't figure out why he would be, so he figured he had just read him wrong, and turned back to his closet and pulled out a dark turtle neck sweater and put it on.

"You ready?" Danny said, grabbing his fingerless gloves and nicer jacket and scarf.

"Sure!" Zane said, standing up, gathering his things, and they walked out the front door to Zane's car.



The hostess seated them in a two-person booth about halfway through the restaurant, but against a wall. Danny took off his coat, gloves, and scarf and shoved them between the wall and his body. Once he got settled in, he looked across at Zane. He looked to Danny like he was trying to shrink and hide in the seat. Danny was going to say something, but their waitress showed up to take their drink orders. Zane seemed mildly awkward about the whole thing. After their waitress left, Zane was staring at the table and trying to not make eye contact with anybody, including Danny. After a few attempts at starting a conversation and having them all fall flat, Danny finally looked at Zane in the eyes until Zane finally looked back at him.

"What?" Zane asked earnestly.

"Ok, captain awkward, you wanna tell me where my friend Zane is?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, you've been super awkward since we've been here. What gives?"

"I don't know. I just feel... Like everyone here is looking at us."

Danny glanced around. "Zane, no one is looking at us."

"Well, not at that moment, but I've seen them. And then they start whispering..."

"So?"

"I think they're talking about us."

"Again. So?"

Zane leaned in, so so did Danny. "I think they think we're a couple."

"Oohh...." Danny sat back in his chair. "You're afraid they think you're gay."

"No! Well... Yeah, kinda..."

Danny paused before continuing. "Zane, are you gay?"

"What?"

"Are you gay?"

"Bwa wah... sluh..."

"Because if you're not, " Danny said, interrupting what was evidently a painful brain moment for Zane, "then people think something about you which isn't true. And so what? They're wrong about you. And if you are, then, oh my God, they assume something about you which is true."

Zane considered this a moment before continuing. "But it's not that simple."

"Sure it is."

"But...it's not..."

"Why isn't it?"

"Because... it's not as simple as whether or not I'm gay or not. I mean, if they assume that I am, whether or not it's true, they still hate me. For no fault of my own."

"Ah. You're worried about being hated for what you're not."

"Um, sure."

"Well, once again, so what?" Zane just looked at Danny, so he continued, "So someone you've never met and will probably never see again momentarily hates you. That's not your fault, or even your problem. Even if you see them again, you won't remember them, and even if they remember you, they're probably too cowardly to do, or say, anything to you."

Zane smiled a little. And feeling empowered, Danny continued again. "I'm serious! If they're so back wooded, closed-minded, and bigoted, then, by nature, they're too cowardly to do anything to you in public."

"Which is why there are no more hate crimes against gay people."

"Well, I don't really see any of these people as being the actual gay-bashing type outsides the safe and agreeing confines of their church."

Zane smiled more.

"The most you'll probably ever get is something muttered at you under someone's breath. And really, anyone can live through that. In fact, it becomes very amusing to make fun of them later."

At this point, the waitress showed back up with their drinks, and took their orders. Zane already seemed more relaxed.

"Danny, how did you get so smart about stuff like this, and why is this so hard for me?"

Danny stopped smiling. "You really don't want to know that answer."

"Sure I do."

"Well, I spent most of high school defending who I was and killing what people thought I was, but wasn't, that ultimately, I had to just accept that just because someone thought something about me didn't make it true. And, honestly, you spent most of high school being perfect and maintaining that perfect image. But now you're out here in the real world where no one is perfect, and everyone judges everyone else for everything. And the sooner you stop letting what other people, especially complete strangers, think about you bother you, and let it slide, the better off you'll be."

"I'm sure I'm mostly responsible for you learning that lesson..." and Zane looked a little despondent.

"And now I'm helping you learn it too. ...But in a far more pleasant manner."

Zane smiled again. "Thank you."

Danny smiled back. "You're welcome. Don't worry, you will survive this too. Now let's eat!"