Sray Cat Chronicles (Novella)

Bringing a Stray for Christmas

"Dad," Leslie said into his phone. "Um, so I'm bringing home someone I've been seeing for Christmas this year..."

"Oh, you are? Who is she, my son?" his father, Blake, asked immediately.

"Um, well, his name is Aaron..." he started.

There was the expected silence on the other end of the line. His father cleared his throat. "Him? You're bringing home a boy, are you?"

"Yeah, we've been dating a while now, and it's as good of a time to meet everyone as any. He's got nowhere to spend the holidays and I told him that you'd welcome him. Right, Dad?" Leslie asked.

"Of course, of course," Blake said. "He's more than welcome, but if you stay the night he'll have to sleep on the floor in your old room or on the couch."

"I think the floor is more comfortable than the couch, Dad," Leslie quipped.

"That's true, my son. Your mom, Beatrice, and Hailey are looking forward to seeing you then. So, we'll see you Christmas evening, then?" Blake asked, and Leslie could tell he was trying to keep his voice even.

"Yeah, I'll see you Christmas. We should be there by around four. We're taking his motorcycle from the city as long as the weather holds out nice," Leslie explained.

"Motorcycle?" Blake said, sounding a little unsure. "Well, uh, just be safe, okay?"

"Always, Dad. See you Christmas!" he said and clicked off the phone.

He stood there, standing beside the bed staring at the phone in his hand for a long while.

"That didn't seem to go as bad as you thought," came the rough, deep voice of Leslie's boyfriend, Aaron.

He turned around, smiling at him. "Yeah, it did go pretty well. He was surprised, but I gotta wonder how he'll react to seeing you, he's a doctor after all."

Aaron was taller and a little broader than Leslie, but Leslie only stood five feet eight inches. He had a sleeve on his left arm from shoulder to wrist that featured panthers, skulls, bones, and grim reapers. He had piercings in his ears, including small gauges, his eyebrow on the left side, and his tongue. He tended to favor t-shirts and ripped jeans with riding boots and leather jackets.

"Does being a doctor mean that he has a thing against tattoos and piercings?" Aaron asked with an arched brow.

Leslie sighed and looked at him. Meanwhile, Leslie was Aaron's opposite. He wore button down shirts or polos with slacks during the winter. The exception was he did have a pair of jeans now that he went riding with Aaron now and then, as well as a thick leather jacket. They often rode, even when it was pretty cold, as long as there was no snow on the ground. This year had been especially good for riding because it had stayed relatively warm and snow-free.

"No, it just means he expects things, and he might be a little put off because of your appearance. But I'm sure once he gets to know you, that'll change," Leslie said, sitting down on the bed.

"You think he's going to think ill of me just off m'looks, huh?" Aaron said with a smirk.

"Well, you are scary to people that don't know you," Leslie said as he crawled over into Aaron's arms. "I know you, though."

"Hmm. We staying the night there?" Aaron asked, running a hand through Leslie's hair.

"Yeah, dinner won't be until late, so we'll have to stay there the night. I hope that's alright?" he said with a glance above him at Aaron's face.

"Of course, Leslie-babe, of course."

* * * * *

Blake was a little nervous Christmas evening. Everyone slept in, of course. There was no reason to get up early without little kids around to open presents first thing in the morning. The girls were seventeen and nineteen this year, with Beatrice being the older of the two. She'd already started university like her brother, and Hailey would be going next fall. Their brother. He hadn't told the girls that Leslie was bringing home a guy. He was honestly surprised, but he wasn't going to say anything. Whatever his son wanted, he would support him. He wandered into the living room and saw the girls sitting on the sofa watching a Christmas special. Their mother, Georgina, was snoozing in the chair beside them. Of course, she already knew about this.