Hey guys, don't get too excited about this. It's not really an update. This was originally a pert of chapt 55. After speaking with Flynn Christian calls Jose'. I felt like it went on too long and cut it, but with the Christmas season upon us, I thought it would a fun read. There may be a delay in actual updates. My mom was diagnosed with cancer of the uterus. Sounds worse than it is, it's in the early stages so a hysterectomy is all she'll need, but things will be a little busy for a while. I'll do the best i can to keep things rolling.
Christian on the terrace
The night of graduation.
"Oh yes, Annie doesn't cry often, but when she does... it's a flood. I suppose I should have seen it coming. She's not one to let things out, you know. And what with graduation and the billionaire kinky sex..."
"WHAT?"
"Now, sugar-buns, there's no need to get freaky. I am gay."
Shit, Grey willed his blood pressure back down and worked up the nerve to ask Jose' what the fuck that was supposed to mean.
"As I told Annie, We're the ones who made kink chic."
Ah hell. He pressed the heel of his hand to his left eye where the muscle had started to twitch.
"And just so you know, Annie didn't say anything. I overheard her talking to that hunk-a-boo, Stan Wyatt..."
Hunk-a boo? Thinking sugar-buns wasn't so bad, he attempted to direct the runaway chatter, "Fine..."
"You know I suspect one of his brothers is gay." Jose' ran right over him, "Which one is the composer... you know... he did the soundtrack for that kinky movie with Hugh Jackman..."
"Jose..." he tried again...
"I have to say..."
With zero success.
"...for having Hugh and that other hottie, it was pretty forgettable, but the music was fabulous. I have the sound-track..."
"Jose'!" His shout finally succeeded in derailing the runaway train of pain inducing babble, "Can we please stay on topic."
"Oh, well certainly," Haughty indignation colored Jose's voice. Damn if that had him smiling, "I just want you to know your secrets are safe with me. You just get me one of those NDA thingys to sign."
"Fine," he agreed, it was easier to give in, "I'll have Jensen send you one."
"Good, now as I was saying before you got all hot under the collar, not that you aren't already hot under that collar and everywhere else..."
Shit, his other eye started twitching
"I've only seen Annie cry once. Our freshman year, Annie insisted on having a Christmas tree in her dorm room, and not one of those handy pre-lit Martha Stewart specials, no sir. Annie dragged us out to the sticks to this hell on earth called Big Bob's Christmas Wonderland and Tree Farm. We trekked for milesI tell you, miles through the forest. In the cold, at night."
"Really?" He felt his lips twitch.
"It was horrible, the stuff of nightmares."
"Nightmares?" Half a chuckle escaped before he could stop it.
That earned him another sniff, "Kate broke three nails, and ruined her Gucci boots, and I swear I got hypothermia. Now I know what you're wondering..."
"Uh..." what he was wondering was what any of this had to do with Ana crying, but reining Jose' in was more trouble than it was worth.
"...just where in the hell was Big Bob?"
"Ah yes, where was Bob?"
"Hell if I know, probably inside with heat and a nice warm fire, sipping on white lightnin' and decorating his Martha Stewart pre-lit special he bought with his tree farm blood money, but I can tell you for sure where he wasn't..."
"Out in the cold, dark forest?"
"You got it. Never saw hide nor hair. Not a Big Bob, or a Billy Bob or a Bubba Bob, hell not even a Tiny Tim. Nobody. Just two hags, a fag, and a saw...a saw." Jose's voice rang with righteous outrage. Grey had to remove his hand from his eye and slap it over his own mouth to silence his laughter, "We had to cut the tree down ourselves and drag it through the forest. I mean, I like celebrating the yule tide as much as the next Christmas Queen, but I draw the line at Daniel Boone reenactments. I have no desire to go back to a time when coon-skin caps were a fashion statement."
Shit! Grey bent double on the lounger, shaking, his diaphragm burning.
"It was barbaric. Never again. I love Annie but I am way too young and beautiful to die in a frozen wasteland a la Donner Party."
He couldn't hold it in a second longer, laughter exploded out of him in a barking shout.
"Oh, you think it's funny now, but wait until she drags you through a Persian hell to get a tree, and sugar-buns the hell doesn't end there.
He got himself under control enough to sputter out a "No?"
"No. Annie gets nutty about Christmas. She loves, loves, loves it. And getting the tree is just phase one of Annie's Christmas Nightmare. After we went though the ordeal of putting the tree in the stand, Annie pulled out the Christmas Music, and do you think it was Lena Horne, Nat King Cole, Tony Bennett maybe?"
"I have no idea." His laughter died down enough for him to string words together.
"Hah!" he had to pull the phone from his ear at Jose's shout, "NONE of the above. She pulled out the soundtrack from that Charlie Brown Christmas special."
"I didn't know there was one."
"Well, there is, and I recommend you go ahead and purchase it off I-tunes and learn to love it, because it is the official soundtrack of Anastasia Rose Steele's Christmas from Hell."
He tried for solomn, "You're a good friend."
"Oh, you have no idea. Annie loves that song the Brownians sing in the beginning, Knows every word by heart sings it loud and proud.
"Really?"
"Really, so after I tunes, you should head on over to Radio Shack and get those Bose Noise eliminating headphones cause Annie can't sing a note.
"Ah.."
"She is completely tone deaf." he heard another shudder, "I heard sounds come out of that girl's mouth that are not made in nature. I thank the Good Lord above every night for creating women with a weakness for chocolate. I must have made a gallon of hot cocoa that night. I swear to you, if not for my superior hot chocolate I'd be deaf today."
"Perhaps you could give Mrs. Jones the recipe."
"Good idea, I'll write it down. Anyway we made it through the lights and Annie got to her collection of ornaments. The first one she pulled out was a clear hand blown blue glass ball. She hung it the tree, then collapsed – just fell right down in the floor and started shaking, choking sounds coming out of her. I thought she was having some kind of seizure."
"Holy Christ."
"Holy Christ is right. It about scared me straight. I grabbed the phone to call 911, but Kate stopped me. She said Annie was crying. At first, I didn't buy it. I've seen people cry before it didn't look anything like that, but Annie sort of nodded her head." Jose's voice dropped to a haunted whisper, "Sweet Mother Mary, the sounds she made. My Annie just sat there and sobbed, her whole body convulsing. Kate and I got on either side of her and wrapped our arms around her. This may sound crazy, but she was shaking so hard, I was afraid she'd hurt herself. "
Hell no, it didn't sound crazy. He'd been scared of that very thing.
"It lasted over an hour." Jose continued in a husky rasp, "When it was over she told me my Mom had given her the ornament. She'd admired it on our tree and Mom just plucked it off and handed it to her. Mama was like that. We were living next door to Annie and Ray when mom got sick. Annie was an Angel. I mean an Angel. She'd sit with Mama and read to her. She cooked for us, cleaned... and then when mama passed, she and Ray took care of us. Pops was just so broken up..." Jose's voice broke
"Damn, I'm sorry..."
"It's okay, really..." he heard a throat clearing and Jose' went on, his voice thick but steady, "And here's the thing. Annie loved my mom, but didn't hardly shed a tear until that night. She was strong for me and papa. I'd never seen her cry before that night."
"Damn..."
"I know, it broke my heart."
Jose' stopped speaking. Grey lay back in that chaise lounge staring at the quarter moon and seeing a girl huddled in the floor, surrounded by ornaments and hot chocolate, her heart breaking, harsh shuddering sobs tearing through her body.
He rubbed his own aching chest.
When Jose' broke the long silence, his voice steady, "Sugar-buns, I know you love my Annie, but more important, she loves you. And I like you, but if you should know, if you hurt her, well hell hath no fury like a pissed off fag protecting his hag. You got me?"
He gave Jose' the absolute undiluted truth, "I wouldn't survive hurting her."
"I'd make sure of it.."
"Good. I'm glad Ana has you for a friend. Thank-you Jose'." he disconnected and tossed the phone on the table that was supposed to be great for morning coffee.
