A Small Miracle Happened Read Free Page A

it go to voice mail, but when he recognized the ringtone, he jerked away, straightening his clothes as he rushed to accept the call. “Did she have the baby?” The words burst out of him in place of a more conventional greeting.
    He sagged as his mother’s voice responded in a soothing tone. “No, not yet. She had a doctor’s appointment today, though, and they said she’s starting to dilate, so it should be soon.”
    The only kind of dilation Dan was familiar with in a medical sense involved the eye doctor, and he was sure that wasn’t what his mother meant. Since he was also sure an explanation would appall him, he didn’t ask for one. “Okay. I hope she doesn’t go into labor in the middle of Thanksgiving dinner.”
    “So say we all. Your father’s right here. He wants to talk to you.”
    Dan glanced at Chris, who was standing in the corner, tugging his sweatshirt down to hide his stained clothing. He ducked his head and moved toward the door, mouthing, I’d better go.
    “Just a second.” Dan held the phone to his chest. “You can stay.”
    Chris shook his head. “I have to change.” He was whispering. “But…do you have someplace to go tomorrow? For Thanksgiving dinner, I mean.”
    Dan almost wished he didn’t, because it sounded like Chris was about to ask him along to wherever he was going. But he nodded. “A coworker invited me to have dinner with his family.”
    Chris nodded back, then left by the front door as Dan went back to his conversation. Damn . He loved his parents, but they could have had better timing.

Chapter Two
    Second night—Thursday
    Chris left Terry and Warren’s house before dessert was served. His face had hurt from the effort of smiling even before the turkey made an appearance. He finally bailed when Terry started arguing with his father. Everyone else had seen the verbal brawl coming and fled to the kitchen, leaving Chris sitting in the middle of a fight about some construction job. Terry was a good friend, but he and his father were always having screaming matches fueled by the stress of the family business. No one could explain to Chris why they continued to work together.
    Terry’s husband, Warren, didn’t even try. When Chris slipped into the kitchen to say his farewells, Warren just rolled his eyes. Terry’s mom apologized, handed Chris a plastic plate covered with plastic wrap, and thanked him for coming.
    He thanked them for having him before escaping, feeling guilty. But he wasn’t used to that level of acrimony and didn’t know how to cope with it. His own family was well behaved to the point of being pathological, which was why he hadn’t been invited to their house this year. His father was sorry, but sharing dinner with a homosexual would make most of the Parsons clan uncomfortable. His mother assured Chris he was welcome to Sunday dinner as long as he checked first to make sure Uncle Martin and Aunt Debbie weren’t coming too. Apparently Uncle Martin was incapable of digesting green bean casserole if there was a sodomite in the vicinity. Since the sight of Uncle Martin gave Chris heartburn, he tried not to let the situation bother him.
    He wondered if any family found a happy medium between those extremes, or if Thanksgiving was just an ironically named joke, an opportunity for people to make their nearest and dearest as unhappy as possible.
    Next year he should boycott the holiday. Find something else to do. He smiled, remembering the unexpected celebration he’d enjoyed with his neighbor last night. But from what Dan said, it was unlikely Hanukkah would coincide with Thanksgiving the following year. He’d have to make the most of the distraction it offered now.
    When he'd found the package on his doorstep the day before, Chris’s impulse was to shove it in a corner of his foyer until he could find time to take it to the post office and have them return it to the sender. But then he noticed the guy who lived across from him had just come home.
    Chris