Make a Circle
Page 4
“What are you talking about?” Kyle asked from the other end of the table. There were people set up in the kitchen, dining room, and outside on the table that previously held mahjong tiles. The backyard door was wide open, people and the dog—whose owner Lucas still didn’t know—walking back and forth as they pleased.
“How you and your boyfriend need to adopt a dog so Mom can have grandkids!” Oliver shouted. Kyle made a face. “I’m a vet; I worry enough about other people’s pets—I don’t want to go home and worry about my own. I’ll even give your dog a free checkup once a year,” he continued. His smile was looking more like a smirk.
“Maybe if you get a dog, Ollie will see us more than once a year,” Sammy teased.
“Honestly, brother. You need to come to family events more. You don’t live that far away,” Kyle said.
“Do you want to pay gas money?” Oliver asked. Kyle rolled his eyes, and Sammy lightheartedly smacked Oliver’s shoulder. “What? And besides, I’m not going to drag Lucas to every single family thing. We’d barely be in California if I did.”
“I dunno, if they all have good food like this, I think I’m game,” Lucas said. Oliver gave him a look of betrayal as Sammy clapped her hands together. “What?” Lucas asked, ignoring Sammy saying something about how nice it would be for the family to not be so old.
“I’m old, but I’m not deaf!” Uncle Yun cried from the kitchen. “Tell Li-Li that she needs to bring her boyfriend around more. And he needs to dye his hair different colors—that’ll really confused my mother.”
“Dad, it’s Oliver’s boyfriend.”
“Right, right. I’m old, remember!”
“Aiya, what do you mean we’re almost out of dough?” Daphne said, looking at Alice, who held her hands up apologetically. Daphne put her hands on her hips and shook her head, going to the fridge. “I knew I should have made more—the grandkids always put more on their fingers than in their mouths.”
Her tangyuan were beautiful, set on a small glass plate and balanced in a pyramid shape. There was a dozen there, not enough for everyone to have one, but Oliver had explained that judgment on taste was done by the older members of the family. Everyone got to argue about which was the prettiest, but because everyone knew whose plate was whose, it largely turned into each section of the family arguing with one another.
Daphne, apparently, almost never won because hers weren’t sweet enough.
“My mom isn’t a huge fan of adding sugar, unlike Serra—that’s Mikey’s wife,” Oliver had explained.
Currently, Serra was the reigning champion. She was about Lucas’s age, maybe a bit older, with a kind smile and blistering blue eyes that made it hard to forget who she was. Before Serra’s inclusion in the family, Mei had been the best, so Mei always was working on ways to usurp Serra.
All Lucas knew was that his were a bit lumpy and the dough probably did have a grudge against him, but it was clear how happy Oliver was, and that made Lucas happy.
Plus the tangyuan were rather delicious, even if Lucas thought that they could all use a bit more sugar.
IT FELT like everyone left just like they had arrived—suddenly and carrying large plates of food, though significantly less food than before. While some people were spending the night, those who lived in the same state or had another place to stay left for their own beds. There were a great deal of hugs—almost all of which included Lucas, much to his bewilderment and Oliver’s entertainment—including one from Grandbai.
She told him something in Mandarin but didn’t wait for a response, turning away and letting Yun lead her to the car. Lucas glanced at Oliver who was bright red and refused to translate. Considering the amount of importance the Hans put on family, Lucas could only guess what Grandbai had said.
Cleaning up was also a family affair, though smaller, and Lucas was put in charge of drying dishes before handing them to Lao, who apparently was at the house regularly enough to know where everything went. Lao was a big fan of music, even if his taste was a bit more rock than punk, but the two bonded over a mutual appreciation for good guitar riffs and drum rhythms.
Lucas politely ignored Jeffrey, largely because the man refused to speak in English if he didn’t have to, but also because it was the best way for Lucas not to lose his temper and start throwing fists. Now that the celebration for the day was over, Lucas felt like getting into a fight was not a good idea.
Well, that and Oliver had made Lucas promise to try to get along with Jeffrey, even if it was just a mutual “we aren’t going to talk to each other” understanding.
The next few days passed in a bit of a blur. Christmas rushed up on Lucas and tackled him from behind—the celebration was both more and less exhausting than the Dōngzhì one was, since Lucas sort of knew everyone and there were gifts involved.
Oliver gave Lucas a new pair of boots, except he knew that Lucas had an aesthetic to keep up, so they were clearly secondhand and probably one step above “dug out of a dumpster.” They were covered in paint, ripped in several places, and would need new laces. Lucas loved them.
Lucas had gotten Oliver a few adult coloring books and a new set of colored pencils. Oliver had been trying out a few different stress- and anxiety-reducing techniques, and the books were all abstract designs, the kind of thing someone could get lost in. Of course, Lucas made a comment about how he should have gotten Oliver a Captain America poster instead.
“Oh shut up,” Oliver mumbled before kissing Lucas. “I’m not fifteen anymore. I have much better taste in men now.” Lucas decided to take the compliment.
The adults did break out the Red Star, but except for Mikey, no one really drank enough to be concerning, and Mikey still held his alcohol better than most people Lucas knew—still he was relieved when he heard Mikey wasn’t driving back home.
The food was delicious, the company was half-decent, and Lucas still couldn’t speak Mandarin, but it was nice. It really was.
That didn’t mean Lucas wasn’t more than ready to go home.
He said as much to Oliver the night before they left, the two of them cuddled up on Oliver’s high school bed, Captain America in a dramatic pose above their heads. Oliver nodded, not at all surprised.
“They like you, you know. I’m pretty sure my mom is going to start bugging me about wedding dates and baby showers.”
“You don’t want to get married or have kids,” Lucas pointed out.
“Yeah, but they think I’ll change my mind.” A moment passed. “Do you want to get married or have kids?”
“Fuck no,” Lucas replied. “Listen, I love you, and right now, I want to be with you until I’m old and gray and breathing through tubes. But I don’t need rings or kids.” He shuddered.
Oliver laughed, running a hand through Lucas’s hair. “You’ll never go gray. You’ll keep dying it weird colors to throw people off.”
“Damn straight I will.” Lucas hummed as Oliver played with his hair, the strands still damp from his shower. Usually the gel prevented anyone from touching Lucas’s hair—it took a lot to get it to stand the right way—but it was moments like this that convinced Lucas to keep the gel out if he wasn’t doing much that day. “You know, I was pretty nervous about all this, but I’m glad you invited me along. This was nice.”
“I’m glad you decided to come. It’s way more enjoyable with you, especially since everyone can’t ask me when I’m bringing someone home.” Oliver rolled his eyes.
“Well, now you can tell them that you’re bringing Lucas with you.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah. For—for next year.” Lucas kissed Oliver on the nose. “I only have one condition.”
“Mm-hmm?”
“When my mom wants to know if I have plans for Easter, you’re coming with me.”
Oliver laughed and pressed his forehead against Lucas’s. “Deal. Guess you’re stuck with me and my crazy family now. Sucks for you.”
“Nah,” Lucas replied, thinking about Oliver’s niece who had shoved a wh
ole tangyuan in her mouth and couldn’t even make one of her own, “I think your family’s pretty normal. And besides, I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
ELLIOT JOYCE is a social-media-obsessed, selfie-taking millennial and he’s proud of it. He can usually be found in his room playing D&D or in a theater lurking on the catwalks. Sometimes he even writes.
Other notable facts include the fact that he’s bisexual, he cannot juggle, and he regularly trips over thin air. Catch him on tumblr or really any social media, he spends enough time on it.
Tumblr: theonewiththewords.tumblr.com
Twitter: @eleldelmots
By Elliot Joyce
In the Desert
Make a Circle
Published by Harmony Ink Press
Harmonious Hearts 2017 Anthology
Published by DREAMSPINNER PRESS
www.dreamspinnerpress.com
Published by
DREAMSPINNER PRESS
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of author imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Make a Circle
© 2018 Elliot Joyce.
Cover Art
© 2018 Brooke Albrecht.
http://brookealbrechtstudio.com
Cover content is for illustrative purposes only and any person depicted on the cover is a model.
All rights reserved. This book is licensed to the original purchaser only. Duplication or distribution via any means is illegal and a violation of international copyright law, subject to criminal prosecution and upon conviction, fines, and/or imprisonment. Any eBook format cannot be legally loaned or given to others. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the Publisher, except where permitted by law. To request permission and all other inquiries, contact Dreamspinner Press, 5032 Capital Circle SW, Suite 2, PMB# 279, Tallahassee, FL 32305-7886, USA, or www.dreamspinnerpress.com.
Digital ISBN: 978-1-64405-053-8
Digital eBook published December 2018
v. 1.0
Printed in the United States of America