Santa’s big surprise: Family visit

It’s been a year since Jeremy had his whole life turned on its head. First he finally met that man he’s been obsessed with since he was 6 years old, Santa Claus, and turned him into a muscle fetish fantasy, then he got a “supplement” from him to gain the confidence to talk to his crush, an Italian bodybuilder named Marco that was training for three years at the gym Jeremy worked at, which changed him from an ordinary man to an overly muscular colossus, and to top everything off Jeremy was turned into a hyper muscular man himself by the very guy he admired after they exchanged their love for each other. It all seemed like a surreal experience and if he hadn’t had lived through this by himself everyone would have thought him an insane person. All thanks to Jeremy’s best friend Dan, who’d initiated all of this by giving him a drink that “accelerated muscle growth” to help Jeremy gain the confidence to talk to his crush.

Every day Jeremy woke up next to his boyfriend he still couldn’t believe any of that happened. He was truly in love with Marco. And it wasn’t just him.

Marco had been overwhelmed with joy when Jeremy told him that he “liked” him. Living in that small town for three years knowing hardly anyone and then being told by the person he also “liked” when he first laid eyes upon him that he loved him was the best thing that ever happened to him. Even better was when Jeremy asked him if they should move in together. Of course Marco said yes—why wouldn’t he? Living with a partner was one of Marco’s many life fulfilling dreams. They always woke up together and ate breakfast together… they had to shower separately, however, since the shower cabin was too small for the two giants, but after each of them cleaned themselves they went to work together. Well, for Jeremy it was work, for Marco it was his usual work-out day.

Marco did try to get a job at some of the stores in town but due to his freakish proportions nobody was interested in hiring him. Partly because he might scare potential customers, partly because the employers were scared of Marco as well. Luckily ever since Jeremy and his partner obtained those unreal bodies, the gym where Jeremy worked gained quite a few new guests. In fact, it was because of the two of them that it was now the most visited place in the entire town. Articles had appeared in some newspapers (“More than just ‘Gains’?” “Gym Grows Giants” “Unreal: Two extremely muscular men take over town”) and there’d even been a TV interview that had quickly ended up online and gone viral. “Fans” were waiting in front of the building every morning just to see these two guys in action, and the two lovers were taking photos with them, doing some work out routines side by side with new guests, and sometimes—if they felt generous – they let them feel their biceps. The two of them raised so much money because of all those people coming to the gym that Jeremy was able to upgrade all of the equipment and start and expansion, and there was still enough left he even donated some of the money to the town so that the roads could be renewed and some of the buildings could be renovated. The gym had even become one of the main locations for bodybuilding competitions, starring Marco as the audience warm up before the actual pose downs. Life was incredible for them—but even the greatest feeling can’t last forever.

Marco suggested that the two of them invite their families to their home and celebrate Christmas together, and while this idea seemed cute at first Jeremy had a feeling it would cause more trouble than joy. He gave in to Marco’s request after countless times of him pleading Jeremy to reconsider inviting his family. The thought of facing his father tied up his insides and the closer Christmas came the tighter the knot got.

It was noon the 24th of December and the gym already closing early for the holiday. There were a couple of disappointed “aww”s from the fans and the more die-hard new regulars whose efforts were already showing impressive results, but playful disappointment was always happening whenever Jeremy finished everything up and was ready to close.

“Jeremy? Are you okay? You look so… distant?” Jeremy stared at his hand, not letting go of the knob to the entrance. “Are you listening?”

“He will be here… I haven’t seen him since I was 19.”

“Hey…” Marco put his right hand under Jeremy’s chin and gently moved his head up a little. However, Jeremy was still not looking at Marco. He rested Jeremy’s head on his pecs, closing his arms around him as best as he could. “I will be there, and your mamma is going to be there too, no? And you will like my parents, especially my papà, and my sorella too! Who knows… maybe your papà isn’t the same man he was before.”

“No… He’s still the same.” Jeremy was muffling through Marco’s pecs. “I talk to my mom regularly. I know for a fact that he doesn’t get what I’m doing. And when he’ll see that you are my boyfriend…”

“Still… you don’t know what can happen, hm? Maybe there will be a Christmas miracle and your papà changes in a way you never thought is possible, eh?”

Chuckling Jeremy slapped Marco’s right pec. “I love that silly side of yours. Maybe he’ll change in a big way and grows some… kind of understanding. I would wish that…” Finally looking into his boyfriend’s eyes, his own a little wet because of his fear of meeting his father, he gave Marco a kiss on his lips. Holding hands, the couple went home to their shared apartment and set up some more decorations before the storm was about to unfold.

At 8 p.m. someone was ringing at the door to Jeremy’s and Marco’s apartment—it was none other than their expected guests, at least some of them. When Jeremy opened the door, the first thing he saw was his father. Short white receding hair, a wrinkly forehead from the years of frowning at him, and a thin long nose—just like he remembered him before he left his parents’ house to attend college. He was wearing a red sweater with some Christmas-tree-patterns, his jacket over his right arm. He had an absolute blank expression on his face while he scanned his son from head to toe. It felt like knives were rammed deep inside his flesh and moved up and down when his father looked at him. Jeremy desperately wanted this to end. Why did he listen to this stupid idea? Before all this he was joyful but now he simply wanted to drop dead.

“Jerry! Aww, it’s so good to finally see you!” His mother standing next to her husband went ahead and hugged her son – well, it was more like clinging to him than actually hugging, Jeremy’s wide upper body making it impossible for any human being to put their arms around it. “Look at you! I… didn’t expect you to be so… ehmm… you know when you told me that you put on some more weight? And when you showed me that photo?”

“Karren…” Jeremy’s father grunted and then went inside as well. But there was also a man Jeremy has never met before. From the looks of it he could be mistaken for an older version of his boyfriend, Marco. He had long black hair, which he tied into a ponytail, with some white streaks in it, thick sideburns, and lots of wrinkles around his eyes indicating that he enjoyed a good laugh or two. This could only be Marco’s father, Jeremy thought. But where is the rest of his family? Didn’t he say he got a mother and sister as well?

“Ciao, Marco!”

“Ciao, papà! Piacere di vederti.” Marco’s father went in for a hug but didn’t know how he could wrap his arms around his bigger-than-he-used-to-be son, so it came across as more of a dance. Marco saw the confusion in his father’s eyes and simply snickered at this silly “performance”. To cut this short Marco’s father patted his son’s big, round shoulder and gave him a smile, the wrinkles around his eyes creating deep creases.

“Sembri diverso, Marco. Così largo e muscoloso! Mi piace.”

“Grazie, papà.” Jeremy only understood some few bits, but he was certain that Marco’s father was happy to see him and that he liked how he looked, Marco’s big smile and flushed cheeks confirming his assumption. However, Marco soon looked at his father as if he was expecting something.

“Hm? Che cos’è?”

“Dov’è mamma? Isabella?”

“Ehhh… Devo dirti una cosa…”

Jeremy’s mother hung her coat on a hook and joined her son’s side. She kept her voice low so that neither Marco nor his father heard her talking about them. “What are they saying, Jerry?”

“Huh? I… uhm…” Jeremy listened to the conversation between the two. “I’m not so sure. Marco and I have been living together for a year now but I wasn’t learning Italian as hard as he did English. We practised a bit everyday but… well…” Jeremy was able to make out some phrases and if he understood correctly it appeared that both Marco’s mom and sister didn’t come because his mother didn’t like her son. “Uhmm… he said something along the lines of ‘your mother doesn’t like what you did and doesn’t want to see you’.”

“Oh, that’s horrible. Poor, guy… I hope he’ll be fine. And his sister? You said there was a sister coming?”

“Their mom didn’t want her to go. I’m not sure why his dad is here, though. I didn’t understand that part.”

Marco’s father put his hand on Marco’s left cheek caressing it. “Mi dispiace, Marcolini…”

“Va bene… Nessun problema…” Marco was clearly crushed. He was eager to introduce his parents and sister to his boyfriend but now that plan was nothing more than a popped bubble.

“Is there an issue?” Jeremy’s father had made himself comfortable on the couch listening to the entire discussion with what was still a blank expression.

“Not really, signore.”

“Harrison! Don’t be so insensitive! They obviously don’t want to talk about—”

“Oh, no no, signora! It is all good! Don’t worry, please! Haha, it looked bad, eh? It was just some… personal thing. My son and I are okay. Haha.” Marco’s father extended a hand. “I am Cordelio. It’s nice to meet you, signora.”

Jeremy’s mother offered her hand, but Cordelio, instead of shaking it, touched it to his lips. “Ooh, what a gentleman. It’s also wonderful to meet you, sir. I am Karren, mother of your son’s boyfriend.”

Jeremy’s dad glared at his wife, he took quite the issue with that statement. “Couldn’t you have said ‘This is my son’ instead?”

“Do you have to start this again? Ugh… this is my ‘charming’ husband by the way, Harrison.” The two men shook hands stiffly, Cordelio’s expression one of concern, while Harrison continued to show no emotion at all.

Jeremy went to the kitchen already thinking about how he could possibly escape this mess. Maybe jump out of the window? That would definitely leave him with some broken bones… Marco followed him, and they went about preparing the dinner for their guests.

“Well? What do you think?”

“I regret everything…”

“No, no, hahaha! I meant my papà. What do you think?”

“Oh… he’s… great. Very much like you actually. Or you are like him?”

“Haha, many people say I remind them of him. It’s a shame it took some years to make him understand my passion…”

“What do you mean?”

“Well… there was a time my parents loved me for just being their child but… when I got interested in bodybuilding they were disappointed. They said what I wanted to do has no purpose. I am wasting time… I felt hurt. But I knew that I should not give up. At that time I wanted to understand what I truly like and want. And if it weren’t for bodybuilding I would have never met you, amore mio. When my papà realized that and saw how happy I got when I started bodybuilding he said sorry and wished me a great future. I am glad he decided to come here on Christmas. It’s… making me sad that mamma still thinks bad of me.”

“Oh… what’s with her? I overheard you and your father talking about her not liking you and your sister not being here. Sorry, I didn’t mean to eavesdrop but…”

Marco took a breath to gain some time to find the right words. “It’s fine, Jeremy. You should try to practise your Italian more, haha, then you don’t need to ask me about what I am saying. So… as I said before my parents didn’t like that I was interested in building muscles. My mamma was even stricter than my papà. She always said only stupid and superficial people focus on their body. So imagine her reaction when she figured out I wanted to become a bodybuilder. She stopped talking to me. My dear sorella, her name is Isabella, was always a supportive person. I am glad she is part of my life. Whenever I was sad she was able to make me smile again. And it was because of her I didn’t give up my dream. But she is also very obedient. She always did what she was told. So now you know why she is not here today—because my mamma told her to stay. Why my mamma isn’t here is because… eh… I know she did ignore that I am a bodybuilder for some time. And I thought that this would be an opportunity to talk but… when she saw us on TV and saw how muscular we were she was disgusted again and did not want to come.”

“She saw that interview of us from 4 or so months ago? Wow… I never thought that we are actually this popular.”

“Hahaha, why are you surprised?” Marco did a quick double bi pose, his biceps stretching the sleeves of his green sweater so tightly around his arms that the fabric was close to tearing apart.

“Oh stop it, you.” The two kissed each other. “Love you, Marcolini.”

“You heard that? Oh mio dio…” The couple laughed and continued preparing dinner for their invited guests. Marco baked some duck meat and cooked a sauce based on a family’s recipe. The smell was heavenly, the duck was baked until it had a deliciously and crispy golden-brown skin. Jeremy couldn’t wait to eat what Marco was making for all of them. The first thing Jeremy learned about his boyfriend was that he was an insanely talented cook. Cooking and eating together as a family was always a big part in Marco’s life when he grew up and he kept this as a hobby. It helped him to calm down since it reminded him of all the good times he had as a child, so naturally he was looking forward to serving this to his guests—especially his papà.

The evening was seemingly perfect, everyone sitting at the table silently enjoying their meal. “This is absolutely delicious! Who cooked this?” Jeremy’s mom couldn’t get enough of the duck meat. It was crispy on the outside yet tender on the inside, the sauce complemented the taste of the meat.

“Don’t look at me. Marco is responsible for all this here. He’s the chef.” Marco laughed nervously.

“You are such a great cook! This tastes wonderful!”

“Calm down, Karren.” Jeremy’s dad was obviously annoyed by his wife’s enthusiastic behaviour, although he couldn’t deny that Marco did an absolutely fantastic job at making this dinner. “What is it now, Harrison?” “Just leave them be for a moment. Ever since we came here you were constantly in their neck.” “So? Unlike someone else that didn’t care for a certain someone he’s the father of I wanna know how he’s doing.” “Don’t start that again, Karren…” “Start what, Harrison? You not showing any kind of feeling toward your own son? Being bitter all day long? Whenever Jeremy and I talk on the phone you sit in your corner impaling me with your eyes. I know what you want to tell me—”

“To stop,” Harrison said. “Don’t bring that up. Let it be. I accepted everything when he went through that door and didn’t come back. I don’t wanna hear or see anything about him.”

“Know what, Harrison? I’m done. I’ll go home. And you. Will stay. Here. Until you get along with your son again. I can’t believe you are this stubborn.” Jeremy’s mother pushed her seat back, got up, and rushed to her coat. Jeremy quickly went to her side to talk her out from leaving but to no avail. “Sorry, dear. It’s really not you. But your father needs to learn that he can’t do this any longer. I accepted your invitation because I hoped he’ll get along with you.”

“It’s okay, mom. I’m still happy that you came.”

“Love you, Jerry.”

“Love you more, mom.” And with that she left the apartment.

Marco and his father exchanged looks in hope of maybe understanding what just happened.

Jeremy tried some faux cheer. “Soooo… anyone want some more meat? No?”

“No. I just want to sleep now. I have to stay with you for a while, unfortunately. So I better get used to it.” Jeremy’s dad got up from his seat and went to the couch. “You got a blanket and a pillow?”

“Sì, signore.” Marco moved to the bedroom fetching some things for his boyfriend’s father. “Here, signore.” Jeremy’s dad grunted, which was his way of saying thanks.

“I guess we should all go sleep now, no?” Marco’s dad suggested. He got a blanket and a pillow from his son too so that he could set up a bed on a couch in the couple’s bedroom.

When Jeremy lay down next to Marco he reflected on what happened that evening. If only his father weren’t so stubborn then they all could have had a great dinner but, alas, that was not the case. He wished that his father would just try to understand. Exhausted he closed his eyes and moved in closer to his boyfriend.

It was 11.40 p.m., he discovered later, when Jeremy awoke to something tickling his nose. “Hm…?” He slowly opened his eyes, his vision blurry from the sleep, he wasn’t quite sure about what he saw since there was no light in his room, except for the streetlights from outside shining through the windows, but it looked like there was a massively muscular man standing in front of his bed.

“Hohohoho, still asleep, sonny?”

“Santa?”

The alluring old man laughed again but not too loud because he didn’t want to wake Marco and his father that were sleeping in the same room. His hgandsome face bent close to Jeremy’s, and Jeremy felt a rush of muzzy arousal. “It is in fact me. It’s so good to see you, sonny. How are you, my buff friend? I see you gave Marco my gift I left behind, hohohoho!” Santa grabbed Jeremy’s bulge and squeezed it.

“Uhuh… I’m sorry I don’t wanna sound rude but… what are you doing in my room, especially right now? If you’re looking for the Christmas tree it is in the living room.”

“Oh, it’s quite simple, son. I’m here because I wanted to inform you that I left a present for your father in the fridge. It was your wish that he’ll understand you… and when he drinks it, he will ‘gain’ all the understanding, hoho!” Jeremy was confused but he was too tired to try to wrap his head around what he was just told so he simply nodded. Santa went in for a kiss pushing his tongue down Jeremy’s throat. “I modified your present a little bit. It was quite the fun milking me out for that, hmhm… Now then, Jeremy. Merry Christmas and hopefully we’ll meet again.” The old man left through the window he came in from. Jeremy closed his eyes, already forgetting that beefy Santa was in his room telling him about a present for his father and making out with him, and went back to sleep.