Six months after his wife leaves him, Bob Jansen finds himself spending the holidays with his parents in the town where he grew up. With him is his seven year old daughter, Jenna, who sometimes seems to be handling her mother's absence better than Bob is himself. But he's worried that, in her letter to Santa, Jenna has asked the jolly old elf for something Bob knows he can't pull off. He's afraid she wants her mother back for the holiday.<br><br>While shopping for his daughter's Christmas presents, Bob runs into Dave Knarr, an old friend. They used to be best buds in high school, before Julia, Bob's soon-to-be ex-wife, came between them. The two men catch up over drinks, and before the evening ends, Dave makes his real feelings for Bob known.<br><br>If Bob is shocked to learn Dave has always been attracted to him, he's more surprised by his own reaction. Even if he's willing to take another shot at romance, what will his daughter think of his old friend?

A Present for Daddy

That sets me snickering again. He stands and claps me on the back. “We’re halfway through the tour now, folks. Don’t forget to stop by the gift shop on your way out and pick up a souvenir to commemorate your visit. If nothing else, let the girl behind the register validate your parking.”


I laugh at his goofiness. “My car’s at the mall.”


“No problem,” he says. “The shuttle bus runs every half hour. If you want to see the rest of the place…?”


Off to the right is a tiny closet which houses an artificial Christmas tree, a vacuum cleaner, and not much else. Beside that is a small bathroom. “Have to keep the door open a crack or I forget which is which,” Dave says. He leans in to click on the light, showing me white tiles and a stainless steel sink. “Don’t want to piss in the Christmas tree in the middle of the night.”


“Why isn’t the tree up?” I want to know.


“It is,” Dave argues. “I never take it down. It’s easier that way.”


Chapter 12