May-December | Chapter Twenty-eight

It was in the middle of a light drizzle of snow that a black Jeep parked in front of the small bungalow house.

Otis started to bounce up and down as he held on to Chaska's hand on the porch.

"Mummy!" he said in a giddy voice when a lean woman stepped out of the car and shut the door behind her. She was wearing sunglasses, and her brown hair was tucked under a heart.

She was lean, and even though she was wearing a coat that swallowed her figure she still looked stylish.

Beautiful.

She made even Chaska's heart skip a beat.

"Otis!" she said, looking over at the porch. "My baby!" she said, and Chaska let go of the boy's hand, letting him go down the stairs before making a wiggle run for his mother.

The woman lifted him up and smacked a kiss on each side of his cheek before hugging him to herself. She swayed from side to side with him, before stopping and looking back to the porch. Kyle and his mother had come out to the porch too.

"Hello," Anastasia greeted, walking over to the house before climbing up the stairs to the porch.

"It's nice to see you again," she said in a soft voice as she looked at Kyle. Her gaze moved to Chaska, and her brown eyes lingered on the younger man until a light bulb lit up in her head. "You must be Chaska!" she said, making the man nod. He was a bit taken aback. He had expected her to maybe say something snarky, but she seemed so friendly.

"Ma'am," she said, turning her attention to Kyle's mum. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you," she said with a grin, holding on to Otis with one hand before reaching out her other hand to shake Kyle's mother's hand with.

The two women bickered with each other for a while. Kyle went up to Anastasia to take the young boy before he and Chaska made their way back into the house.

"She seems nice," Chaska muttered when they both took a seat on the couch. "She's also very pretty."

"She's great," Kyle said, "but not as great as you," he added, reaching out to pinch Chaska's cheek. The dark-haired man chuckled, swatting Kyle's hand away before staring towards the front door.

Meeting Anastasia hadn't been as worried as his anxiety had made him fear.

The house was sparsely decorated, but there was a small decorated Christmas tree in the corner of the sitting room so that Kyle could continue the Santa myth for Otis. At first, he didn't want to do it, but Chaska insisted that letting kids in on celebrations and events like this to the fullest was good for their imagination and hope.

They both had not been sure what to get him, but they settled on a rocking horse since he had enjoyed the farm ponies so much. Kyle's mother had knitted her grandson a sweater, and Kyle and Chaska were too busy thinking about moving to get anything for each other.

Being together through the year was enough of a present.

"This is such a cute place!" The two men looked up when Anastasia's voice filled the room. She had just gotten in with Kyle's mother and was now making her way to the dining table to grab a seat.

"It's nice to see where you tee up Kyle," she said as Otis left the man's lap and wandered off to his mother, showing him a toy that Chaska had bought for him about a month ago.

Looking at the woman when she was out in the snow hadn't given Chaska a full picture of her, but now that she had taken off her coat, glasses, and her hat, Chaska had a better look at her.

She was breathtaking, and that was enough to make Chaska's whirling insecurity grow.

He wondered why Kyle would pick him over her. The woman loved him. She had said so herself on a phone call while Chaska listened in. She wasn't a bad person, Kyle confirmed that—Chaska just didn't understand it, but he kept his feelings to himself, putting on a smile when Kyle turned and asked him if he would like to eat anything in particular. There was turkey, rice, and stir fry. Kyle's mother had made a Christmas feast. She had been excited about it. She had been alone for Christmas for almost twenty years now, and she was happy to finally have people to spend the holiday with.

Kyle's mother served food and let Christmas carols play on the radio as they ate. Otis stuck close to his mum, deciding to eat whatever she had Chaska sat next to Kyle, but the two didn't talk much because Chaska had retreated into his own mind, growing cold and reserved.

"Is something wrong?" Kyle asked in a soft voice, leaning close so that the man could hear him.

"No," Chaska muttered, forcing himself to drink from the wine glass by his lap plate so that he didn't break down in front of everyone.

Why was he so worked up about Kyle's ex-wife? He didn't know. He hated himself for being so childish about it.

"Let's do karaoke like we used to!" the woman said when an instrumental instead of a song started to play on the radio. "We sang this together of you remember."

No, Chaska did not remember because he was not Kyle. So, watching as the man nodded at the woman and proceeded to talk about memories that he knew nothing of and wasn't there to experience with him made Chaska's chest squeeze up.

Anastasia was beautiful, a good woman by Kyle's on admission, and she knew Kyle longer than Chaska did. They only ever broke up because she wanted them to.

"Come on, sing with me," the lady insisted, getting up from her seat before walking over to coax Kyle out of his. The man got up, following her to the spot where she demanded they sing together. Otis followed along, standing under his parents as the two broke into a Christmas carol with smiles on their faces.

Chaska watched from his seat. He noticed how the woman would reach out to push hair away from Kyle's face. Kyle did something similar, helping the woman clean a bit of lipstick that had smudged at the corner of her mouth.

Otis beneath the two of them, using his hands to hold on to both his parents sealed the deal.

Chaska couldn't take it anymore.

He got up.

"Sorry," he said when Kyle and Anastasia stopped singing to look over at him. "I'm going to take a break outside. The living room's too hot," he said, making up the quickest excuse he could think up.

He stepped away from the dining table before walking in the direction of the exit.

He got out, but not in time not to hear, "what's wrong with him."

His eyes pricked with whirling tears, but they never found their way out of his eyes. Stepping outside had helped. His heart rate slowed down, and he was breathing more comfortably. The sold made him fold his hands under his shirt. He had been so desperate to leave, that he had forgotten to pick up his jacket on the way outside.

He stared out into the road, noticing the Christmas lights in the closest house to them that was a good distance away.

Chaska sighed, looking up at the moon. "They'll get back together," he told himself. He was sure of that. He couldn't help feeling like it was the past all over again when he was a man coming between a happy healthy relationship. He knew that Kyle would choose her eventually... only time would tell.

He shivered, shitting his eyes. He wanted to get warmer, but he didn't want to step back into the bungalow. Everyone's eyes would be on him, including Otis.

Otis.

The boy probably wanting his parents to be together again, or at least that was what any child would want—what Chaska assumed the boy would want.

Chaska sniffed, reaching to rub his eyes dry before letting out a sigh.

What would happen when he and Kyle broke up? He could move in with Gabbie for a while—

"Chaska!"

The young man looked towards the door at the sound of his name. He felt his blood run cold when he spotted Kyle at the door. The man had a frown on his face. He looked concerned. Chaska's heart sank.

"Chaska why did you just leave?" Kyle asked, marching towards the direction of the man. He took hold of Chaska's shoulders before turning the man so that he could look at him. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing..." Chaska's voice was small but audible. "You seemed to be enjoying yourself, why did you come out?" he asked, trying to change the topic.

"Don't play dumb now," Kyle said, making Chaska's eyes widen. The older man's voice was shaky. "I know why you left. I understand how you feel, but it hurts when you show me that you don't believe how much I love you," Kyle added, giving Chaska a little shake.

"What do I have to do to make you understand that I'm serious?" he asked, and Chaska remained mute, not saying anything.

Here was Kyle, shaking and asking him to believe that he loved him, but Chaska's anxiety always won over. He felt terrible.

The two stood in silence for a bit. Kyle let go of Chaska's shoulders as his eyes went wide.

"You're cold," Kyle said, looking at Chaska shiver. Kyle let out a sigh, before taking off his jacket and draping it over Chaska's shoulders.

"Give me a few minutes. Don't go anywhere," he said. pushing a stray strand of Chaska's hair behind his ear before turning and heading back into the house.

Chaska did what he was told and waited, guessing that Kyle had gone to pick out another jacket for himself, but the man came back without one, and instead, he was holding on to a little box.

"I was going to do this when we were settled down in the townhouse," Kyle started, watching Chaska as the younger man's lips parted. "But I'm going to do it now because I don't want you to leave me because you think you're not as wonderful as you are," Kyle continued, getting down on one knee.

He opened the box, revealing a ring. It wasn't fancy or anything—Kyle couldn't afford that, but its significance spoke volumes and Chaska felt like he might faith from shock.

Chaska began to panic at how fast his heart was racing. "Kyle—"

"Please, marry me Chaska. I don't know what I'll do with myself if you don't let me love you," Kyle said, cutting the man off before he could say another word.