"Damn! I have so much to do before Christmas, And I want to get home early to see Rory," I thought.
My son Rory is nineteen years old and a freshman in a large Ivy League university. Rory is an only child and has always been his father's and my pride and joy. A gifted student and a tremendous swimmer, we were so proud when he was accepted to college and asked to anchor the school's swim team. All of the years of getting up at four-thirty in the morning every day to take Rory to swim practice had paid off. He is an exceptional young man, outgoing, personable, athletic, and hard working. And, of course, he is gorgeous, but, then again, as his mom, I'm a bit biased.
I have missed him so much. We dropped him off at college in August and I have not seen him since. He could not come home for fall break because of swimming practice and studied through Thanksgiving. Five months has seemed like a lifetime. But at least tonight he will be home, under our roof. He phoned us last week to tell us that he was coming home after his last exam of the semester and to ask if we would mind if his roommate, Greg, stayed with us.
Greg was a nice, quiet boy from Florida. Physically, he is the complete opposite of Rory. Rory is six foot three with broad chiseled shoulders from years of swim competition. Greg is five foot six and thin, almost petite in his build. Rory has Nordic features, a strong chin, ice blue eyes and cropped blonde hair. Greg has doe-like brown eyes and brown hair that he wears a bit long. I was relieved when I first met him on move-in day. Rory's swim coach arranged for Rory to room with Greg, the freshman manager of the swim team. I was happy that I did not have to worry that Rory would be rooming with a party-boy "Animal House" type. I knew that Greg's parents lived far from school and had no problem with him staying with us during the holidays.
I hurried through my day at the bank, completing my tasks as quickly as possible, so that I could leave early. I rushed to the mall for some last-minute gifts and to the supermarket to pick up the last few items for Rory's favorite dinner. As rushed as I was, I still took time to enjoy the decorations in the stores. Christmas was always my favorite holiday -- a time of happiness and joy, a time for family, and being with loved ones. Rory had inherited my love of the holidays. Even as a boy, he would snuggle under warm blanket near the fireplace downstairs in our home and watch the twinkling of the lights on the Christmas tree for hours.
I made it home and smiled to myself when I saw Rory's Jeep, a graduation present from my husband and me, parked in the driveway. My heart skipped a beat knowing that my baby was home.
I quietly unlocked the door and brought the groceries to the kitchen. As I unpacked the bags, I could smell the faint aroma of burning hickory. I giggled. It didn't take long for Rory to get the fireplace going. I imagined him curled up on his favorite blanket, watching the fire and enjoying the Christmas tree.
I finished unpacking the bags and started down the stairs. As I made my way down the stairs, I found a trail of clothing. Sneakers. A red sweater. A blue sweater. Two pairs of jeans. Four socks. A pair of striped boxers that I recognized as belonging to Rory. And a pair of pale blue boxers that I didn't recognize at all. I was completely confused. What were these clothes doing on the floor?
My confusion cleared as I stood at the bottom of the stairs. As I thought, there was a raging fire in the fireplace and Rory's favorite blanket was laid out on the rug in front of the fire. But to my surprise, I saw Rory and Greg naked on the blanket, locked in a loving embrace. My jaw dropped open and I was frozen, unable to move or make a sound. Rory was lying on his back and Greg was on top of him. They were kissing. Their mouths were tight and I could see the outline of Rory's tongue swirling in Greg's mouth, his strong hand gently holding the back of Greg's head, his long fingers stroking Greg's soft, brown hair. They were moaning softly, lost in the moment.
