Greeting Cards Read online

  His heart sank. Rick loved to get presents but he hated shopping for them for others. Ben and Jason hadn’t been together long enough for him to know if Jason would give a gift or a gift card.

  “Come on, babe. Open it!”

  Well, whatever it was, he’d make sure Jason knew he loved it. Even if he was disappointed.

  He opened the envelope and took out the card. It was all white, with a big red “Ho” on it, and a small green “3” high and to the right of the “o”. He stared at it for a minute, and then he started laughing. “Ho, ho, ho?”

  “Yes!” Jason looked so pleased.

  “I’m not smart, but I remember what a three in the upper corner means.” He’d actually heard one of the radio personalities on the station his mom listened to introduce the Paul McCartney/Michael Jackson song “Say, Say, Say” as “Say Cubed”, and he’d been curious enough to look it up.

  “Stop putting yourself down, Ben!” Jason scowled at him.

  “Sorry.” He’d never understand why Jason wanted him. Rick was smart, but Jason’s IQ was way beyond Rick’s.

  “Read the card.”

  “Okay.”

  Dear Ben,

  Roses are red,

  Violets are blue,

  This Christmas will be the best

  Because I’m with you!

  And here’s to the first of many Put on Your Own Shoes Days together.

  Yours,

  Jason

  Ben felt himself tear up. Jason had drawn a little kissy face after “together”.

  “So. Where’s my card?”

  “You’re so sure I have a card for you?”

  “Well, that’s what started it all.” Jason suddenly looked uncertain. “It’s okay if you don’t….”

  “Of course I do. I’ll go get it.”

  Jason had set up a workstation for Ben in the study on the lower lever, and he hurried there to get the card. He’d made this one rather than buying it. On the front was a basset hound puppy. Eddie, Jason’s twin, had e-mailed him the photo. Troilus and Cressida had had a litter earlier in the fall, and this cutie was going to be Ben’s present to Jason, although Jason didn’t know it yet. His mom was keeping the pup until Christmas, when Ben would pick her up. It was only a five-minute drive to Jason’s parents’ house, and Ben thought he’d tell him they were low on milk and he was making a quick run to the nearest 7-Eleven.

  He ran back up the stairs. “Here you go, Jason.” It had taken him a while to come up with what he wanted to say. Ben held his breath as he waited for Jason to open the card and read it.

  “What a cute pup!” Jason took his time, admiring the puppy on the cover.

  “Isn’t she?”

  “How do you know she’s a girl?” The puppy was on its stomach, obviously asleep, a little Santa hat sitting on its head at a jaunty angle. The pompom at the end hung beside a floppy ear.

  “Good guess?” Ben gave him an innocent look.

  Jason tilted his head, his expression confused. God, Ben loved secrets like this!

  “Read it!”

  Dear Jason,

  Sending Rick’s card to the wrong address—

  “Only it turned out to be the right address.” Jason looked really happy about that.

  Well, so was Ben. And of course Ben had to kiss him. “Yes, it did, sweetheart,” he murmured against the lips he could kiss for the rest of his life. “Now go back to reading the card.”

  “Yes, sir!”

  —was the best piece of luck I’ve had in a lot of years. Thank you for taking the time to answer it.

  Thank you for coming into my life.

  Thank you for loving me.

  And most of all, thank you for celebrating Thank You for Everything Day with me!

  Always,

  Ben

  “I’m sorry, it isn’t very clever—”

  Jason kissed him. “I love it! And I love you too. Now, let’s have our cocoa before it gets cold.” Jason snuggled up to him on the couch.

  Ben picked up a remote, aimed it at the sound system, and pressed a button. Mariah Carey’s voice came out of the speakers, singing about all she wanted for Christmas.

  He grinned and rubbed his cheek against Jason’s hair. All he wanted was right here beside him.

  About the Author

  TINNEAN has been writing since the third grade, where she was inspired to try her hand at epic poetry. Fortunately, that epic poem didn’t survive the passage of time; however, her love of writing not only survived but thrived, and in high school she became a member of the magazine staff, where she contributed a number of stories.

  It was with the advent of the family’s second computer—the first intimidated everyone—that her writing took off, enhanced in part by fan fiction, but mostly by the wonder that is copy and paste. While involved in fandom, she was nominated for both Rerun and Light My Fire Awards. Now she concentrates on her original characters.

  A New Yorker at heart, she resides in southwest Florida with her husband and two computers.

  Ernest Hemingway’s words reflect Tinnean’s devotion to her craft: “Once writing has become your major vice and greatest pleasure, only death can stop it.”

  She can be contacted at [email protected], and can be found on Live Journal: http://tinnean.livejournal.com/ and on Facebook. If you’d like to sample her earlier works, they can be found at http://www.angelfire.com/fl5/tinnssinns/ Welcome1.html.

  By TINNEAN

  NOVELS

  Bless Us With Content

  SPY VS. SPOOK SERIES

  Houseboat on the Nile

  Not My Spook!

  Forever

  NOVELLAS

  Call Me Church

  Greeting Cards

  No One Should Be Alone

  To Love Through Space and Time

  Published by DREAMSPINNER PRESS

  http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com

  Novels by TINNEAN

  http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com

  Also from TINNEAN

  http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com

  Also from TINNEAN

  http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com

  Copyright

  Greeting Cards ©Copyright Tinnean, 2012

  Published by

  Dreamspinner Press

  5032 Capital Circle SW

  Ste 2, PMB# 279

  Tallahassee, FL 32305-7886 USA

  http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the authors’ imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Cover Art by Paul Richmond

  http://www.paulrichmondstudio.com

  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. This eBook cannot be legally loaned or given to others. No part of this eBook can be shared or reproduced without the express permission of the Publisher. To request permission and all other inquiries, contact Dreamspinner Press at: 5032 Capital Circle SW Ste 2, PMB# 279 Tallahassee, FL 32305-7886

  http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/

  Released in the United States of America

  December 2012

  eBook Edition

  eBook ISBN: 978-1-62380-107-6