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The foot traffic has been nonstop all day, giving neither David nor Patrick a chance to stop for a sip of their once-warm beverages, let alone grab a bite to eat. The chaos reminds Patrick of their semi firm store launch. Except instead of ending this day with a hug disguised as friendship, he will be free to kiss David’s exquisite face and tell him he loves him over and over. Still, Patrick realizes that the overstimulation from all the noise, mixed with the family stress that Johnny Rose added to the day, means all of that will have to wait. Patrick doesn’t love that Johnny piled so much unnecessary stress onto David’s day, but he has to admit he is grateful to be included in on family time.
When Ted walks in and approaches David at the counter, Patrick decides this is the perfect opportunity to let David have some time to regroup. As much as David likes Ted, sometimes his puns can be a little over the top when he is uncaffeinated. Patrick slides behind David, his touch subtly lingering on David’s hips for a second longer than strictly necessary, before whispering, “Why don’t you go meet up with Stevie to set up for the party tonight. I can finish up here.” He finishes squeezing by David, and nods a smile in Ted’s direction as a greeting. Patrick asks “What can I do for you Ted?” at the same time that David asks “Are you sure?”
Ted smiles awkwardly between the two of them before responding cheerfully, “I couldn’t find any more of those mini-holiday baskets on the floor that I’m using for my gingerbread cookies. Are you sold out, or have you been holding out on me?”
Patrick’s eyes widen slightly, and his smile becomes more forced.
“You know, because baskets hold things?” Ted adds tentatively.
David turns to Patrick. “On second thought, Stevie probably does need my help. Besides, I'm going to need to change into something more festive if we're going to the Wobbly Elm tonight so I can try all four holiday martinis.”
“Okay,” Patrick chuckles.
As the door closes Ted follows his gaze. “I guess he isn’t planning on drinking a tini amount. Wait, so are you guys missing Mr. Rose’s party, too?”
“Oh no, we're definitely going to the party. David just does good deeds the way most people experience the five stages of grief. Except his anger stage is usually fake, and he replaces the depression stage with sarcasm. Wait a second, are you and Alexis not going tonight?”
“Well, we already have plans scheduled with my vet friends. I offered to cancel, but Alexis told me twice not to. That's actually why I am here. I baked an extra batch of gingerbread people to stand in our place.”
“Huh.”
“You know because gingerbread cookies have legs so they can stand.”
“Got it.”
“Man, I must be off my game. You’re one of the few people that at least pretends to laugh at my jokes.”
“No sorry Ted, it’s a good one. I’m just a little tired. Tell you what. Hang tight for two seconds while I check the back room. I think I might have one basket left behind the shelf.” Patrick scurries to the back room, as he hears Ted call out, “Thanks, pal.”
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When Patrick knocks on the door to David and Alexis’s motel room, it isn’t David or Alexis who greets him.. It’s Ted. Well greet might be a bit too strong of a word. The moment Ted opens the door wide enough for Patrick to enter he quickly backs away towards Alexis who is pacing frantically holding both hands to her temple. Patrick’s heart instantly aches for both of them. For Alexis because he can instantly recognize a Rose in distress, and for Ted, because there is nothing worse than seeing the Rose you love in pain.
“Oh my God! I hate this. I really, really hate this!” Alexis rants.
Ted has his arms wrapped around Alexis before she even finishes the last sentence.
“Hey, it’s okay. We can skip the party with my friends,” Ted says reassuringly.
“No Ted! I know how important it is to you, and I really don’t want to mess anything else up today!”
“Well, maybe we can do both.”
“Ugh how?”
Ted looks lost for words, so Patrick takes this opportunity to cut in. “Sorry to interrupt, but is David here?” On cue, Patrick hears a shriek from the other room.
“Well, this is a complete disaster!”
Alexis and Ted do a synchronized awkward point towards the open door to the adjoining rooms. Patrick nods and whispers at them, “Yeah, got it. Thanks” The three of them make their way through the open door to the next room. David rushes towards him the moment he enters.
“Patrick! You’re here! I need you to fix a tree. You can do that, right? With superglue or something? You can fix anything. And I am sorry you have to spend your Christmas doing something pointless for my family, when you can’t even see your family, but I-”
Patrick cuts him off with a chaste kiss and pulls David into the corner. It’s a poor mirage of privacy with Ted, Alexis, Moira, and Stevie in the room with them, but Patrick doesn’t care. He only has one concern at the moment. He rests both hands on either of David's shoulders, and looks him in the eyes.
“Okay, slow down for one second.” Another kiss. “I definitely can't fix everything.” Kiss. “But I can try to fix a tree?” Kiss. “If it means something to you and your family, then it’s definitely not pointless.” Kiss. “And if I can’t spend the holidays with my family,” kiss, “then I am honored to get to spend time with yours.” Kiss. David looks up, and bites his bottom lip in order to fight back a smile. He feels the tension leaving David’s shoulders. Patrick smiles wide, before turning to face what may at one point have been a tree. "Yeah… I can't fix that."
Patrick immediately feels David tense back up. "Let me talk to Ray," he quickly adds. "I'm sure he has at least one decent tree left. If not, maybe I can convince him to let me buy the one in our living room." Patrick glances around the room. "Stevie, why don't you head to the shed to see if there's any superglue. Ted, you're with me on the tree hunt."
"No, thank you. I'm happy just drinking my wine," Stevie replies.
"And I'd be happy to charge you for it, too."
"I'll go check on that superglue," she says as she quickly escapes from the room.
Ted, looking confused (because he obviously realizes that the tree is unsalvageable, even with the wonder that is superglue), asks, "What do we need superglue for?"
“Because 'tis the season to tell white lies for the greater good.”
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“So tell me again why you need my help to get a tree from your roommate? Landlord? ” Ted asks from the passenger seat.
“I don’t. We just needed to give the Roses a moment alone so they can pull off a last minute, but no less lavish Christmas party,” Patrick explains.
“But shouldn’t we do more to help?”
“In this case, staying out of the way is helping. David and Alexis are way stronger than most people give them credit for. Sometimes, no matter how tempting it is to jump in and save them, the best thing you can do is let them be their own hero.”
“Wow. That’s really good advice. Is that why you sent Stevie to get the superglue?”
Patrick shugs, “Partly. And I’m not telling you anything you don’t already know. Charity, or anything that could be seen as charity, is not something that the Roses are able to easily accept. So 'fixing' the tree Mr. Rose bought will be more comforting than buying him a new one. ”
“Yes, I have some experience with that,” Ted agrees. “Still it’s nice to have someone to talk to about this kind of thing. Don’t get me wrong, I love Johnny and Moira, but sometimes they seem to forget that they are the parents and not everything revolves around them."
Stopping at a red light, Patrick turns to face Ted. "I definitely know what you mean. But really Johnny in his own poorly executed way just wants to make new memories with his kids, and I can’t blame him for that. Wouldn't you be a little selfish if it meant you could spend more time with Alexis?"
Ted nods his head as the light turns green and Patrick continues driving towards Ray's Tree Lot.
Ted's phone buzzes and he pulls it out to see a text message. Patrick glances over quickly asking, "Everything okay?"
Ted smiles, “More than okay. Alexis is asking for the numbers of my vet friends so she can invite them to the impromptu Christmas Eve party. God, she’s amazing. I would be way too intimidated to reach out to people I knew didn’t like me, especially to ask for a favor.”
“Alexis’s bravery knows no bounds,” Patrick agrees.
Ted looks over at Patrick again and says, "You knew, didn't you? That we weren't going to make it to that party with my friends. That's why you didn't laugh at my gingerbread joke."
Before he can reply, Patrick feels his own phone vibrating. He assumes Ted’s question is more rhetorical anyway, instead of answering he awkwardly shifts to pull out his phone from his back pocket and passes it to Ted. “Can you read that for me? The passcode is 7283.”
“Sure bud. It’s from David. All it says is ‘our inventory is fucked’. Wait, he is typing more. Huh, angry face emoji, sad face emoji, loudly crying emoji, and a coffee emoji?” The phone buzzes again. “Three more loudly crying emojis."
Patrick chuckles, “It’s an espresso emoji. Or at least that’s what it’s supposed to be.”
“Awwww. I love that you two can communicate just by using emojis. HEY! Maybe we should come up with our own emoji system for whenever one of us needs some advice or if a situation comes up.” Ted suggests.
“Like for emergency purposes?"
"You mean for emojency purposes."
Patrick laughs, shaking his head. “Why not?”
“You know, you seem really happy for a guy whose inventory is in trouble.”
“What can I say, David Rose is my hero.”
The End.