“Oh, yes please. Could you stir the soup for me please? I think I left the heat a bit high and I’m worried the potatoes will stick.”
“Sure.” Nick went to the cooker and took the lid off a large saucepan, releasing a waft of fragrant steam. “Smells good. Is this for lunch?”
“Yes. It’s nothing fancy. Just leek and potato.”
“Nice.” Nick stirred. It was catching a little on the bottom, but he’d got there in time. “Look at you, cooking soup and stuffing turkeys singlehanded. It’s like real-life MasterChef in here.”
His father gave a surprised chuckle. “Ha. I’m not sure about that. But hopefully it will all be edible, at least. If not, I’ll probably be fired as head chef and your mother will take over again next year.”
“Well, the soup is safe. I’ve turned it down now. Do you need a hand with anything else?”
He glanced up and gave him a quick, warm smile. “No thanks, Nick. But I appreciate the offer. Go and tell Mum I’ll be there in a few minutes.”
“Will do.” Nick noticed it was starting to feel natural using Mum and Dad for them again, the old familiar names for them slipping out more easily.
Once they were all gathered, they began opening gifts.
Nick received predictable stuff from his family, typically unimaginative but useful things like gloves, a scarf, and a nice pen. And Jackson was given similar things. In some cases they got joint gifts, such as a bottle of gin from Pete. His parents had also given them a £200 John Lewis voucher as a joint gift. “I know it’s terribly boring, but I had no idea what to get you,” his mum said apologetically.
“No, thank you. That’s really useful. We can buy something nice for the flat, can’t we?” Nick said to Jackson, putting a casual hand on his thigh. “We were talking about getting a new sofa, so it could go towards that maybe.”
“Yes, that’s a great idea.” Jackson smiled at Nick’s parents. “Thanks.”
Nick had bought boringly safe gifts for everyone in his family and had labelled them from Nick and Jackson, which had felt very odd to write when he’d wrapped them the day before Christmas Eve. Yet as his family opened them and thanked them both, it felt strangely natural to be addressed as a couple.
The gifts he received from Jackson were much more personal: the next book in a series he’d been reading, a DVD box set of the Iron Man movies, and finally a five-pack of boxer briefs that were the same as some that Jackson owned—only in different designs and colours.
“Oh, brilliant. Thanks. I love this brand.”
“I noticed. That’s why I’ve bought you your own set in the hopes that you’ll stop borrowing mine all the time,” Jackson said.
Nick grinned. “I can’t promise, but it might help.”
“That’s one of the downsides of being in a same-sex relationship I’d never thought about,” Maria said. “Thankfully I don’t have to worry about Adrian borrowing my favourite knickers.”
“How do you know he doesn’t?” Nick asked. “Maybe he just washes them and puts them back before you notice they’re gone.”
“Oi!” Adrian protested. “I’ll have you know I never borrow her knickers. They’re too small for me, so I had to buy my own.”
Everyone fell about laughing at that, even Seth, although he clearly had no idea what the joke was.
Nick had picked gifts for Jackson that he knew he needed or wanted. A new game, a stainless-steel water bottle for the gym, and some running socks because Nick had noticed his old ones had holes in.
“Perfect, thank you. I’d been meaning to get some for ages but I kept forgetting.”
“You can finally bin the old ones now.”
It didn’t take long for everyone to finish opening all their presents. Seth had more gifts than anyone else, but he had his parents to help. Predictably, Seth was more interested in the wrapping paper and boxes than their contents.
“Right.” Nick’s dad stood. “That soup should be ready by now. I’ll go and blend it. Can someone set the table for lunch?”
“I’ll do that.” Nick’s mum got up too. “Please can you lot tidy up in here? Make sure you put the paper in the recycling.”
After lunch there was a lull in the day. The turkey was in the oven, and there was nothing else that needed doing immediately for dinner. Seth got taken upstairs for a nap, and Maria and Adrian disappeared along with him and never came back.
“I expect they’re napping too,” Nick’s mum said with a yawn. “I don’t blame them. He was up early, the little monkey.” She yawned again. “Golly, I’m going to end up falling asleep on this sofa if I don’t move. I fancy some fresh air and a stretch of the old legs. Does anyone want to join me for a walk?” She stood.