Page 71 of Karma Kitty Christmas
Isaac felt his face—hell, his entirebody—light up. “You have no idea,” he said seriously. “I-I mean, not to speak ill of the dead,but I swear his cock’s stiffer now that he’s a corpse than it ever was when he was a living human.”
Luca’s jaw dropped open in amused horror, and Isaac clapped his hand over his own mouth.
“I can’t believe I….”
“Oh my God, did you really…?”
And then, whether it was the exhaustion (which probably prompted the comment in the first place!), or the end-of-the-semester celebration, or that giddy, brilliant happiness that came with Christmas and a baby and a stoned miracle in orange-boi fur, but the two of them burst into muffled giggles.
They couldn’t howl with laughter—theycouldn’t—because the baby was happy and content and adorable, and the cat was still buzzing off whatever high he was riding that had prompted this glorious little reprieve from the colic gods, and it wasabsolutely imperativethat nobody wake the baby.
But they couldn’t hold it in either. Luca buried his face against Isaac’s shoulder, and Isaac bit his own fist as they giggled, snorted, and sputtered as quietly as possible.
Which of course made the giggles last longer.
Finally, they slid exhaustedly down to the floor, their backs to the kitchen island, their breath still coming in bursts as the wave that had crashed so hard receded, leaving them tired and happy and the teensiest bit high from the endorphin burst of a really good laugh.
“I’m sorry,” Isaac said in all sincerity. “That was unforgivable of me. I just… I had a really good day today, and I’ve, you know, put some of the bad stuff in my heart away in the appropriate cupboard. It’ll still come out sometimes, because it’sthere, but it’ll also get dusty and forgotten a lot because… time.” He turned to smile at this glorious gift of a man. “And better memories blocking the cupboard.”
Luca took his hand, lying limply on his own thigh, and kissed the back of it.
“Isaac,” he said, “I know this is sort of a weird question, but what was your wedding like? I’ve only seen one picture of the two of you—it’s on the tchotchke shelf by the TV.”
“That’s the wedding photo,” Isaac said, thinking about the two of them, looking sober and awkward in their best suits. Isaac only wore that suit for other people’s weddings and funerals. Todd wore them all the time, since he worked in banking. For Todd, it had been another Tuesday. “We made an appointment with the justice of the peace, and he brought his friend from work as a witness. Roxy and I weren’t tight yet—friends, you know, but not ‘Hey, come witness my wedding’ level tight, so that was it. We had a wedding, went out to lunch, and then he went to work, and I came home because it was summer vacation.”
Luca was frowning, his eyes a little glossy. “I want ours to be big,” he said simply. “Not formal—not suits—but I want everybody. Like Allegra’s birthday.”
“It should be in early June,” Isaac said dreamily. “And Allegra and I can learn to sew. We can make you and me matching Hawaiian shirts, and the kids, Roxy’s too, can wear the same thing. Summer dresses for the little girls—”
“Hell, summer dresses for Allegra and Roxy!” Luca said, getting excited too.
“And we can have some sort of kiddie pool in the back so Roxy’s kids can splash and get wet when it’s over.”
“I’ll get us a barbecue as a gift,” Luca said, “and we can roast dogs and burgers—”
“And guests can bring salads and potluck stuff instead of gifts!” Isaac added.
“And the guys from the shop—”
“And other teachers. I can invite Paula, because she’s a friend now—”
“And we can have a party,” Luca finished, nodding. “And we can celebrate it like we’ve been celebrating birthdays and babies and cats and people, like, from the beginning.”
Isaac smiled, feeling boneless and hollowed out and filled with light. “It will be amazing,” he said simply. “God, Luca. I love you.”
“You’ll marry me, right?” Luca said softly, like there was any doubt.
“In the sunshine with the kids and the sprinklers and the babies—”
“And a dog,” Luca said.
“A dog?” Isaac asked, surprised.
“That cat is way too sure of himself,” Luca said, nodding. “We need to get a dog.”
And Isaac could see it, a big ugly brute of a dog with sweet eyes and a heart of mush and gold. “Of course we do,” he said. “A big good dog.”
“Yeah.” Luca smiled and kissed the back of his hand again. “And you and me and cats and babies and dogs. It’ll be a good life, Isaac. I swear. We’ll have fun, and we’ll have family, and we’ll laugh and smile and make love. I promise. We’ll put a whole lot of boxes in front of that cupboard, because I want to fill us both up with memories.”
