Christmas Eve, Barry came over to help me decorate my tree, then I went to his house with him to do the same there. Neither one of us were all that festive, but needed to honor the holiday, and show the family that we were recovered enough from our losses to bear the sight of such reminders of a happiness neither one of us felt that year.
I had given up my now customary wine coolers in favor of eggnog spiced with a lot more than nutmeg and cinnamon. Then moved on to some wickedly dry martinis Barry was a wizard at mixing. My old friend had been downing two drinks to my one, sometimes three in the time it took me to consume a single one. Needless to say, both of us were well beyond merely tipsy by the time we'd finished trimming his tree and setting out other Christmas knickknacks Lisa had insisted on having.
Barry playfully flipped my hair, which I had allowed to reach past my ears and collar recently, "Needing a haircut there my friend."
"I'll get around to it one of these days." I moved slightly out of his path, then raised my glass. "Since we'll have to put on the old happy face for the family tomorrow, here's to companions we'll never see again."
"They will be missed, " he raised his own, then gave me a sober look over the rim as he drank. "I miss one terribly right now."
"I know," I responded. "What can we do?"
"Something," he returned, glancing out the window through the still open drapes. "Starting to snow. You sure you want to try driving home this evening?"
"Probably shouldn't," I agreed, peering outside at the thickly falling snow. "But if I get stopped on the way, I happen to know a good lawyer."
"Do you?" he chuckled. "Wouldn't it just be easier to spend the night here, then share the ride and our hangovers, to Aunt Renee's in the morning?"
"I'd imagine it would," came my agreement, conscious of him getting closer by tiny increments. "Cheaper than a DUI, too."
"I really got off on the way you looked at Dalestrom's Halloween party, you know," he changed the subject, evidently plunging into something he'd been planning but hadn't been so sure of having the nerve to to go through with. "I really meant that kiss"
"I know," I glanced upstairs, at the bedroom. "What do you want to do now?"
"Ask you for a real big favor," he hesitated, then joined me in staring at the stairs. "Do yourself up for me this one time. Nobody else will ever have to know."
"I can't be Lisa for you," my answer held no heat or anger, it was simply the truth.
"I don't want you to be Lisa," he answered. "Just give us the illusion of a family here for a while."
With me in the feminine role. For reasons I'd been discussing with Megan for over a month, that idea wasn't all that repugnant to me any longer.
"Okay. I guess I could give it a try for tonight. To make it feel more like a family time, I mean."
"It would mean a lot to me," his hand had sneaked up to stroke first my hair, then furtively slid down to my cheek. "Especially tonight."