“‘Feliz Navidad.'”
“Okay.”
“Oh, ‘Snoopy’s Christmas!'”
“Sure.”
“‘Merry Christmas, Darling’ next.”
“Yeah, nice.”
“How about ‘All I Want for Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth’?”
Hutch rolled his eyes but complied.
“Geez, never realized you had so many Christmas albums, Hutch.”
Hutch just smiled ruefully. The music and songs of the season had always somehow felt less tainted by the commercialism that marked the rest of the holiday, or so he had wanted to believe. It was the only part of Christmas that he’d truly enjoyed celebrating.
Well, it used to be the only part. Looking at Starsky, sitting cross-legged next to him with a garland of tinsel draped over his shoulders, he felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude. There was so much more to celebrate now.
Starsky started to offer him yet another record, but Hutch held up his hand.
“My turn.”
He flipped through the box until he found what he wanted, drew the vinyl out of its sleeve, and set it on the turntable. Bing Crosby’s golden voice filled the room:
“Silent night, holy night…”
When the song ended, Starsky, whose head had found its way to Hutch’s shoulder, looked up at him and nodded approvingly.
“Can’t go wrong with a classic like that.” He began crooning, “All is calm, all is bright…”
Hutch hummed along as he put the record away.
“Calm and bright. Like us, huh? You’re calm, and I’m bright.”
Hutch knew by Starsky’s teasing tone that he was supposed to rise to the bait, argue about which of them was the bright one in their partnership. But seeing Starsky there, caught in the festive glow of the tree lights and lit up from within with love and happiness, Hutch could only nod. It was true, after all.
“Just like us. Merry Christmas, babe.”
