Review: Beautiful Christmas story
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 12 9, 2013
What can you do when the man you love has no comprehension of being cared for, or about, and pushes you away? When he resists all of your attempts to have a relationship and accuses you of smothering him? When he never asks for help? When he refuses to admit he enjoys being with you and wanting you around? When the instant he fears he might have opened a crack in his defenses, he lets loose with cruel and venomous statements designed to hurt and shred your heart? This is the struggle Ringo has with Gavin, and it takes Gavin's dog, Bird, to bring them back together.Ringo misses Gavin. It's been a month since they officially parted ways, although sometimes alcohol will bring them back together for a night. No matter where Ringo is on the resort's property, Gavin's music will pull him in, and it almost seems as if what Gavin can't say with words, he does with his music. Ringo is a basic guy, not simple, who saw enough blood and death in his years in the Army and is happy now to head up security at a large RV resort on the coast. He's in love with Gavin, but Gavin is hiding behind walls ten feet high and four foot wide with iron rebar and, just in case, barbed wire strung along the top. Ringo would love for Gavin to admit, just once, that he wants Ringo around, that he likes having him around, and that he needs him.On the day before Christmas Eve, Bird disappears from the dog run, while the intern whom Ringo was having exercise Bird while Gavin is hobbled after knee surgery, was dealing with an emergency. Gavin is frantic and explodes all over Ringo. "Get your useless a** out of here and go find my goddamn dog." Ringo makes the decision that he isn't going to allow this anymore, he's drawing the line in the sand, creating The New World Order. So, he makes sure Gavin understands that he can yell and scream all he wants, but if he ever lifts a hand in anger, Ringo is done and walking away, and Gavin better not try and test that unless he really, really wants Ringo gone. Of course, Ringo also lets him know that the way he speaks to Ringo isn't kosher either, just in case Gavin wasn't clear on that point. "Gavin needed a whole lot more than an understanding boyfriend. He needed anger management therapy--an arsenal of techniques he could use to calm the f*** down--for when he started getting overwhelmed, so he'd stop lashing out and running off at the mouth. So he'd stop trying to drive away the people who loved him."I love that Ringo takes Gavin to his mom's for Christmas Eve dinner and midnight mass. Ringo has an enormous Hispanic family and what better way to introduce Gavin? Sink or swim, baby. I loved that everyone worked so hard to find Bird, and that he came back on his own. Of course, by then, Gavin had blown his top and got evicted from the resort by a corporate big wig who was there for the holidays. I loved, loved, loved it that Gavin came back to Ringo for him, not even knowing Ringo had found Bird, and that finally Gavin opened up a little about his trust issues and he agreed to see a counselor for his anger problems.I thought this was a beautiful Christmas miracle story and one I can most definitely re-read. Thank you, ZAM, for bringing home to me the importance of patience, trust, and love.NOTE: This book was provided by Riptide Publishing for the purpose of a review on Rainbow Book Reviews. The reviewer has also bought a copy to support the Ali Forney Center.