Visitors badges in place, Trent and Ted made their way to the second floor of the facility. Trent knocked extra loudly on room 204 and gave Ted a small smile. Ted grinned back and Trent realized the other man still had his Santa hat on.

"You're still wearing a Santa hat," Trent whispered loudly as they waited for the door to open.

"It's still Christmas, last time I checked," Ted replied.

The door swung open and Ted's eyes lit up in delight when he and Trent were face-to-face with someone who was easily identifiable as a Crimm, as far as Ted was concerned. Granddad Crimm's hair was nearly as voluminous as his grandson's, only all gray with a glorious streak of white.

"Trent, my boy," Trent's granddad, cane and all, threw his arms around his grandson. Ted stepped back slightly so as not to get hit or be in the way of such a touching moment as Trent hugged his granddad back. It was fun for Ted seeing this different side of Trent Crimm, The Independent when he wasn't working. When they let go, Trent's granddad made a beeline for Ted, arms open. "That's some mustache you got there, Isaiah."

Ted was confused, but took full advantage of a free hug. Trent's granddad smelled like peppermint—both candy-wise and muscle rub-wise.

Trent's eyes slammed shut as he tilted his head toward the ceiling of the hallway outside of room 204. "Isaiah's with Maddy. Remember? This is Ted, Granddad."

Trent's granddad took a step back and gave Ted a once-over. "You Trent's new beau?"

The question should have seemed out of left field to Ted, but oddly enough it wasn't taken that way. Ted could see Trent's body try to melt into the floor, so he chuckled good-naturedly and went with it, not asking any questions. "I do not have that honor, sir. No, I know Trent through his work. I coach the Richmond soccer team. I mean football team, sir."

Trent's granddad's eyebrows slid down to almost meet each other above his rather large nose. "Oh yes, the American chap who didn't know anything about football."

With a smile, Ted nodded. "Yes, sir."

"Do you love coaching, Ted?"

"I do, sir, yes. With my whole heart."

"Call me James, son. We only call men 'sir' here if they've been knighted."

Ted nodded. "Yes, sir. I mean James. It's a real pleasure to meet you."

An announcement sounded over a loudspeaker in the hallway announcing a bingo tournament in the game room. James looked at his grandson and Ted. "Would you boys like play some bingo? I'll grab my flask so we can make it a bit more interesting if you want."

Ted and Trent looked at each other. Bingo at the assisted living facility was not at the top of Trent's list for the day, but Ted looked excited and James looked amused at Ted. "Get your flask. I'll try and explain to Ted how British bingo works," Trent replied.

James went back into his room and located the flask his late wife had given him for his birthday decades prior. As he went to the kitchen and filled it with his favorite whiskey, he smiled at the inscription: To Jim. With my whole heart.

"Ninety balls?!" Ted said loudly enough for James to hear. James laughed to himself, thinking there was something special about this Ted fellow.

"I can't believe they just let him run the game," Trent muttered to his granddad as the two Crimm men glanced at their bingo cards to see if they had 51. James did. Trent did not.

"Well, he is kind of a local celebrity," James replied, using his blue marker to put a dot over 51. When Trent scoffed, James added on, "Of which you are too, obviously, but Ted's still new. Plus he's American. I think the old folks are getting a kick out of his accent. It doesn't sound real, but it is, isn't it?"

Trent chuckled and shook his head, waiting for Ted to call the next number. He looked up and Ted waved at him from across the room. Trent's cheeks burned without his consent.

"So… if he's not your new beau, why is he here with you on Christmas?" James asked, watching Trent wave awkwardly back at Ted.

"He was alone today," Trent said softly. "Just like me. He couldn't be in America with his family because of the Richmond game tomorrow."

"His family?" James asked in a leading way, much like how Trent would do when interviewing someone he needed more information from.

Trent knew what his granddad was doing. "Yes, his son. And his ex. He's recently divorced."

"Like you…" James said.

"No, not like me, Granddad. He was with his wife for about 20 years."

James looked up at Ted and Ted gave him a wave too, mouthing, This is fun! James grinned and waved back at the mustached man who looked like he was, indeed, genuinely having a good time.

"So are you two in some Divorced Dads club? Is he a friend? You cover his team, Trent. You've written some nasty things about him."

"FOURTEEN, FOLKS. AGAIN, THAT'S FOURTEEN. ONE. FOUR. THAT'LL BE IN YOUR SECOND COLUMN ON THE LEFT IF YOU HAVE IT."

"We know, wanker," an old woman in the crowd shouted.

"That's my bad," Ted called back. "You folks have been playing this version a lot longer than me. I appreciate you, ma'am."

The same woman tossed two fingers up in the air, eliciting multiple peels of laughter from other bingo participants.

Trent shrugged, not quite knowing how to answer his granddad's question. "We're friendly, I suppose? This is only the second time we ever actually spent substantial time together. And the first time was for work."

"So you're spending Christmas together, even though you're not friends or together-together?"

"Did you not just hear me tell you that he had a wife?"

"Not every divorced man who had a wife only likes women. For fuck's sake, Trent, you of all people should be the more open minded person here."

It always made Trent laugh when his granddad swore at him, because it didn't happen often. But when it did, it was because it was something important.

"OKAY, FOLKS, THIRTY-FIVE. THAT'S THREE FIVE."

"Ooooo, yes! Another one," James said with glee as he marked his card which was filling up quickly.

While James was busy with his marker, Trent snuck another look up at Ted. Despite being continually heckled by the crowd, Ted looked downright giddy to be calling the bingo numbers for everyone. He had such a big heart and Trent couldn't help but feel warmth in his chest from seeing how happy this other man was by doing something as simple as leading a game for a bunch of elderly strangers.