When Jonathan woke up, everything seemed normal. The lamp was now on his bedside table, the cord dangling off the side and nearly touching his arm. He grabbed it and shoved the plug into the outlet just behind the table, even though he didn't intend on using the lamp. He just figured it would be easier to plug it in now, while he was right there.
The sun was peeking in through the curtains, and Jonathan guessed that he'd gotten at least ten hours of sleep. Which was very good, because he no longer felt tired. He still stretched and yawned as he hopped out of bed, though, because that's just what he always did.
He quietly stepped downstairs and walked past the living room. He stopped and walked back a few steps, and noticed that both of his parents were in there, watching TV.
“Morning, Jonathan,” Randall said. For someone who had stormed off in a fit of rage the night before, Randall was surprisingly chipper this morning. “Sleep well?”
“Uh, yeah,” Jonathan lamely replied.
“Oh, sweetheart,” Penny said to Jonathan, “Chris is going to be here in a few minutes, I suggest you get yourself ready.”
Jonathan froze. Chris? Why would Chris be coming over, and why would Penny sound like this was nothing out of the ordinary?
“Chris is coming over?” Jonathan repeated in shock. Penny nodded and returned her attention to the television set.
“Jonathan, don't you remember? We asked him to visit so we could meet him,” Randall said, furrowing his eyebrows. “Are you feeling OK?”
“Yeah, I feel fine... I guess I'm just still a little sleepy.” Jonathan shook his head. This wasn't right. He tried to understand what was going on, but his thoughts were interrupted by the door.
“Good morning, Jay,” Chris smiled as Jonathan opened the door. “...Jay?”
Jonathan was staring, quite wide-eyed, at the jaw-dropping sight before him. It was Chris, all right, there, at his house, but he looked different. His hair wasn't curly and all over the place, it was short and well-kept. He was also wearing black-rimmed glasses, which, rather than hiding his piercing blue eyes, intensified their hypnotizing power. His torso was decked out in some random band t-shirt, which made Jonathan realize that he'd never seen Chris wearing anything apart from their school uniform. He still wore the same charcoal pants as he always did, but his dress shoes had been replaced with worn-out trainers. Despite this odd combination of clothing and accessories, Jonathan still thought Chris looked absolutely stunning.
“Hi,” Jonathan finally said. He stood for a moment longer, then shook himself back to reality. “Uh, come on in.”
Chris smiled as he entered the threshold. He looked all around- at the walls, at the ceiling, at the floors, even at the coat rack beside the door. “This is a really nice house.”
“Why thank you,” Penny said as she rushed in to greet Chris. “We've worked very hard to make this a nice home for Jonathan.” She put her arm around Jonathan and pinched his cheek, which he thought was very odd. “Our little boy deserves only the best.”
“He certainly does,” Chris agreed and smiled lovingly at Jonathan.
“Oh, Penny, you're embarrassing him!” Randall laughed as he walked up next to Jonathan. “Besides, he's not a boy, he's almost a man.”
“He still has a few years left before that. We wouldn't want Jonathan to grow up too fast, would we?”
“I suppose not. In any case,” Randall turned to Chris and spoke, “Welcome, Chris, it's nice to finally meet you.”
Randall held out his hand, and Chris graciously shook it. “It's nice to meet you guys, too. Jonathan talks about you all the time. He's always telling me he has the greatest parents. It actually makes me a little jealous sometimes.”
“Jealous, really? But isn't your dad the mayor of that one town?” Randall inquired, and Chris nodded.
“Yeah, but that seems like nothing compared to what I've been told about you guys.”
“Well, Jonathan has certainly said some very nice things about you, too,” Penny said. “It seems like every other word that comes out of his mouth is 'Chris'.”
“Is it really?” Chris asked Jonathan, lightly blushing. “You're too kind, Jonathan, no wonder everyone loves you.”
“Do you love him?” Jonathan looked up at his father in surprise. It definitely wasn't something he'd expected Randall to ask, and he held his breath as he waited for Chris's reply.
“Yes.” Chris blushed even deeper, and lowered his head a little to hide his smile.
“Wonderful! Shall we sit down then?” Randall gestured to the living room, and the group migrated. Jonathan began to take a seat in one of the armchairs, but Randall insisted that he and Chris take the couch. “Those are some mighty fine glasses, Chris,” Randall began.
Chris chuckled and said, “Thank you. I think they make me look ridiculous, but Jay told me they look nice.”
“They do,” Jonathan said without thinking. Chris looked at him and smiled.
“Well, I agree with Jonathan,” Penny kindly said. “You look very handsome, Chris.”
“Oh, you're all much too kind,” Chris replied. “Really, I think they make me look like Urkle.”
“Urkle's glasses were a lot bigger,” Jonathan laughed. Chris playfully shoved Jonathan's arm and Jonathan crinkled his nose at Chris. He was surprised at how relaxed he felt. It was very strange not having to hide his feelings, but it was certainly wonderful.
The four chatted for hours, and Jonathan was greatly relieved to find that his parents really liked Chris. Unfortunately, the time came when Chris had to return home, even though it seemed like he'd only been there for a few minutes.
“Well, Chris,” Randall said as he walked Chris to the door, “it's good to know that our son has chosen such a lovely boy. And thank you for coming to see us.”
“Oh, thank you for having me,” Chris said. “I had a great time.”
“You're welcome to drop by any time you like,” Randall smiled, and he motioned for Jonathan, who was being held up by Penny, to join them. “Jonathan, come over here and say goodbye.” Jonathan held his hand up to his mother to tell her to pause for a moment, and he ran over to Chris.
“Bye, Chris,” Jonathan said as he wrapped his arms around Chris. Chris did the same, and he kissed Jonathan on the cheek.
“Bye, Jay.” Jonathan felt a surge of bravery course through him, though, and as he pulled back a little, he kissed Chris full on the lips. Chris was a little taken aback, but he smiled as he looked into Jonathan's eyes before he left. Jonathan watched him walk away, and his heart raced with excitement. He was a bit sad as he closed the door, though, and turned back to his father.
“Jonathan,” Randall said, “Chris is such a great boy.” He took a step and placed his hand on Jonathan's shoulder. “I'm very proud of you, son.”
Then Randall did something totally unexpected. He hugged Jonathan. Jonathan was almost completely unsure of what to do, but after a second of pure shock, he returned what he realized was the first hug he could ever remember receiving from his father. They stood like that for several moments, until suddenly there was a huge bang that shook the house. Jonathan thought it could have been an earthquake or something, but the second bang made him realize what was actually happening.
Jonathan opened his eyes to see his father standing at his door, his composure lacking in balance.
“You know, you should really keep your door where people aren't going to walk into it,” Randall slurred, and Jonathan rolled his eyes.
“OK, dad,” Jonathan replied, looking over at his alarm clock. The glowing red numbers said it was a quarter past one in the morning.
Well, at least Randall made it home all right.
