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    Always Have, Always Will
    Always Have, Always Will
    Always Have, Always Will
    Ebook114 pages1 hour

    Always Have, Always Will

    By Amelia Mann

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    About this ebook

    A story from Boughs of Evergreen: A Holiday Anthology

    ALWAYS HAVE, ALWAYS WILL
    by AMELIA MANN

    Jay thinks official commitments aren’t necessary in a relationship. For the last fourteen years, he has loved waking up beside Gabriel, watching their two adopted kids grow up—even enjoyed painting the fence once in a while and paying his part of the mortgage on their New Jersey home. To Jay, that’s a family. No papers or ceremonies will make their relationship better than it already is...though Gabriel has a different opinion. Their lives are turned upside-down a month before Christmas, when he collapses in the plumbing aisle of the store. In the aftermath, Gabriel discovers that Jay’s only legal next of kin is his long-time absent father, and later Jay has to confront the painful memories of growing up, and the real truth behind his parents’ divorce. But perhaps now Jay might be ready to give Gabriel a Christmas gift he will never forget.
    * * * * *

    ABOUT BOUGHS OF EVERGREEN

    Boughs of Evergreen is a two-volume collection of short stories celebrating the holiday season in all its diversity. Penned by authors from the UK, the USA, Scandinavia and Eastern Europe, these are tales of the young and the not-so-young from many different walks of life.

    Themes of family, friendship and romance take readers on a journey through some of the major holidays, both past and present, including Thanksgiving, Advent, St. Lucia Day, Hanukkah, Saturnalia, Winter Solstice, Yule, Christmas and New Year. In each we find at the very least hope, and often love, peace and happiness.

    Proceeds from sales of this anthology will be donated to The Trevor Project. The Trevor Project is the leading national organization [USA] providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) young people ages 13-24.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBeaten Track Publishing
    Release dateDec 1, 2014
    ISBN9781910635100
    Always Have, Always Will
    Author

    Amelia Mann

    "Better the illusions that exalt us than ten thousand truths." - Alexander PushkinSince author Amelia Mann lives in the cold, dark North, her characters must be warm and bright. The men in her stories live their own lives in her head, sometimes letting her in on their secrets. Amelia believes all things must come to a happy end, or it is not just finished yet.

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      Book preview

      Always Have, Always Will - Amelia Mann

      Boughs of Evergreen

      A Holiday Anthology

      ALWAYS HAVE, ALWAYS WILL

      by

      Amelia Mann

      SMASHWORDS EDITION

      * * * * *

      Copyright 2014 Amelia Mann.

      This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

      * * * * *

      This novel is a work of fiction and the characters and events in it exist only in its pages and in the author’s imagination.

      * * * * *

      Jay thinks official commitments aren’t necessary in a relationship. For the last fourteen years, he has loved waking up beside Gabriel, watching their two adopted kids grow up—even enjoyed painting the fence once in a while and paying his part of the mortgage on their New Jersey home. To Jay, that’s a family. No papers or ceremonies will make their relationship better than it already is...though Gabriel has a different opinion. Their lives are turned upside-down a month before Christmas, when he collapses in the plumbing aisle of the store. In the aftermath, Gabriel discovers that Jay’s only legal next of kin is his long-time absent father, and later Jay has to confront the painful memories of growing up, and the real truth behind his parents’ divorce. But perhaps now Jay might be ready to give Gabriel a Christmas gift he will never forget.

      * * * * *

      Table of Contents

      Chapter One

      Chapter Two

      Chapter Three

      Chapter Four

      Chapter Five

      Chapter Six

      Chapter Seven

      Chapter Eight

      Chapter Nine

      About the Author

      Boughs of Evergreen – A Holiday Anthology

      * * * * *

      Commitment is an act—not a word.

      Jean-Paul Sartre

      * * * * *

      CHAPTER ONE

      A gap of 0.5 millimeters. It sounds so small. There’s hardly enough room for a grain of sand to pass through. But still, the space is large enough to change your life. Literally in a heartbeat.

      It began at Walmart in Banks, New Jersey. I wished it had at least happened in some fancy place, like the Prada store on Fifth Avenue in NYC, which Gabriel and I had visited years ago. Somewhere fashionable and fabulous. Instead it had to happen in Aisle 28, Plumbing & Fixtures, between the drain stoppers and the toilet repair parts.

      Christmas was already up and running in the store and music blared from the loudspeakers; Bing Crosby singing White Christmas in the middle of November was a bit surreal.

      I examined two different kinds of hair clog tools, one in each hand, trying to decide which would be the most effective. I’d tried the Sewer Snake we had at home already without any result. The shower was still clogged, so I needed something more heavy-duty.

      Can I help you, sir? A young store assistant came up to me, smiling helpfully.

      I’d popped out of our house in my oldest, most comfortable jeans and a T-shirt washed so many times that the print was hardly readable—I’d just grabbed the clothes that were nearest this morning—so I probably looked like a bum. The kids were at school, Gabriel was at work, and I had one of those very unusual days off where I was home alone. It was compensation for working overtime, finishing a project at the building department in Banks; I was a drafter and assisted the city architects. But drawing sewers for a blueprint and our clogged shower drain were two very different things.

      Which one is the most efficient? I asked, holding up both packages, wanting the store assistant to decide so that I wouldn’t have to. Gabriel was normally the expert in plumbing and, while I knew my way around the house, I had no idea what the difference between Sewer Magic and Easy Clean was.

      I’m sorry, sir, he said with a troubled gaze. I don’t understand. Could you repeat that?

      Either he was hard of hearing, or clearing drains wasn’t his specialty. I completely understood his aversion to going into detail about blocked pipe dissolvent: nasty, black, stinking goo filled with half-rotted strands of hair wasn’t for everyone’s stomach.

      Which one of these would you recommend? I asked.

      His brows furrowed worriedly. Are you feeling okay?

      Yes, of course I am, I said. I was quite all right and my only problem right now was a humungous clog in the shower drain waiting for me at home.

      I think you’d better sit down, sir. He took a step forward and grabbed me by my elbow. I wasn’t all that comfortable with strangers touching me, and he had no reason to. As I tried to break free from his grasp, I noticed, with surprise, that my arm didn’t want to follow my command.

      I’ll help you to the outdoor furniture section. There are some chairs there. Steady yourself on your cart.

      With one hand supporting my elbow and the other hand steering my shopping cart, he led me towards a group of patio furniture displayed at the end of the aisle.

      I noticed my feet felt different. It were as if I was walking on one of those gym mats I remembered from high school, and not on the linoleum-covered hard concrete floor in the store.

      That was odd.

      Maybe he was right. Sitting down wasn’t such a bad idea after all. I felt kind of…strange.

      All of a sudden, my vision tunneled and the way to the outdoor furniture seemed endless. My brain failed to understand the situation, but realized it was impossible to make it that far. After two steps my right leg wouldn’t carry me any further, went weak, and I lost control of most of my muscles. Staying upright became an impossible task. I desperately looked for support and grabbed the side of the cart, trying to keep from collapsing to the floor. Nothing could stop me from falling. The whole world tipped over and I went down.

      I felt ridiculous. From my position lying on the floor, I looked up at the store assistant. He already had the walkie-talkie in his hand.

      Donna, could you call for back-up? We have one down in aisle twenty-eight.

      I think that was what he said, but maybe I’d just seen too many movies about cops. Something in my brain felt like a terrycloth towel wrapped around fragments of glass, and I could barely keep it together.

      I tried my hardest to get up again, only to find my right leg and arm weren’t in on the deal. I gave up. Stretched out, I was lying with my back against the hard floor. Strangely enough, I wasn’t in any pain. It was just that I’d lost control over my body.

      The assistant went down on his knees beside me.

      What’s going on? I heard a female assistant approach us. From my angle on the floor her colorful sneakers were enormous. Is he drunk? Have you called for security?

      I think there’s something wrong with him. He can’t speak. When he tries, it sounds just like some kind of ‘la-la-urgh,’ the man said.

      The female voice snorted before she spoke. We had another customer last month, and it was just like this. Fell down, and he even peed himself before he cashed in his chips—that was so disgusting. You know, it’s a bitch when they die here. Bad mojo.

      Even though I couldn’t move, I heard and understood her perfectly. My mind started spinning.

      Oh, my God. I’m going to die.

      My next thoughts worried me more than the first.

      Gabriel.

      Gabriel will be crushed when he hears that I died on the floor at Walmart.

      The kids.

      My heart appeared to be beating strangely. It raced. Then it skipped beats. Then it raced again. I tried to breathe evenly through the experience, trying not to panic.

      What the hell? I’m a thirty-seven-year-old man in a long-term relationship, blessed with two beautiful, smart, extraordinary kids. I work out, I eat my vegetables. I’m not supposed to die.

      Not at this point in my life, anyway.

      The world turned a bit darker. All the edges went softer, all the colors…strange. My limbs were heavy and I couldn’t move. I could hear, and feel. But I couldn’t move.

      I closed my eyes. Panic was just around the corner. I tried to breathe slowly, to calm myself down.

      Gabriel and our two fantastic children. I had never

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