Seth's Master Plan - Chapter 2
Thanks to all for reading a Chrismukkah story in June. As for all of your theories, Ryan's reaction probably won't be as monumental as you expect, so apologies there. But I hope getting there will be enjoyable just the same.
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Getting Ryan in the Right Mood - Chapter 2
Seth woke up in the morning with a strong sense of purpose, accompanied by a equally intense sense of dread. He was so excited that the plan was falling into place. But he also knew that Ryan would be difficult. He could only hope that he could convince him. He wanted to convince him on his own as a point of honor. But he always had Taylor in reserve as his last resort. Ryan might agree to just about anything, as well as enjoying whatever inducement she would try. He wanted to give it his best shot first, though.
He dressed quickly and headed for the kitchen, where his parents sat in the breakfast room with Sophie. He poured himself a travel cup of coffee and told them that he was going to go see Ryan today, since he had no classes.
“Be careful,” Kirsten said.
“Good luck,” Sandy said.
It was interesting to Seth how they each had a different take on the day to come. Kirsten seemed worried that Seth would push too hard and make Ryan angry, and Sandy appeared convinced that Ryan wouldn’t give in, no matter what.
He saluted them both smartly, left the house, and jumped in the Rover for the quick drive to campus.
He pulled up to Ryan’s dorm, parked and was headed down the path to the front door when he spotted him sitting under a tree with a book.
He always was a reader, he thought. But… On his day off. No classes. No work. And he was reading a book. Sheesh. Should I try to surprise him? No, better not to piss him off right off the bat.
“Hey, bro!” he greeted him as he approached.
“Hey,” Ryan responded with a grin. “What are you doing here?”
“Well, I knew you were free today, so I thought we might hang out. It’s been a while.”
“Seth, we hung out last week.”
“Yeah, but it seems longer. Maybe it’s ‘cause you’re a college guy now.”
“You are, too.”
“It’s not the same. I haven’t really taken any of my main courses yet.”
“Okay, Seth, if you say so. So what did you have in mind for our hang?”
“Well, I thought we might do a little Chrismukkah shopping. I need to get a few more gifts, and I’m guessing you do too.”
Ryan sat a minute considering Seth’s suggestion.
“Yeah, I do,” he admitted. “I’ve been considering gift cards to avoid picking out presents. I always worry I’ll get the wrong thing.”
“Now you don’t have to worry,” Seth said. “We can go together. We can formulate our plan of attack on the way, maybe even chip in on a few gifts, and it’ll be done before we know it.”
“Okay, sure,” Ryan agreed. “Wait here, I’ll go get my wallet.”
Seth knew that Ryan wasn’t a fan of the shopping, so he was relieved that Ryan was so agreeable. Phase one of his plan included a trip to the video store for both of them, with a gift for Sophie in mind. So far, so good.
They drove to the mall in the Rover, with Seth throwing out ideas, and Ryan giving his thumbs up or down. They arrived at the mall, mapped out their plan of who was to purchase what at the directory and headed in separate directions, agreeing to meet back in front of the video store in an hour.
“Divide and conquer, Ryan,” Seth said as they split up.
“Yep,” Ryan said, “the sooner we start, the sooner we’ll be finished.”
They both did their shopping, although Seth’s mind was elsewhere, as he thought about how he would approach Ryan with the idea. The hour passed quickly, too quickly, and before he knew it, it was time to meet him in front of the store. He said a silent prayer to Jesus and Moses right before Ryan arrived.
“All done?” Seth asked.
“Yep, that was a good idea,” Ryan admitted. “Now there’s only the wrapping.”
“No worries there, bro, I am the expert on the Chrismukkah trimmings,” Seth promised. “We’ll store everything in your room, and it’ll only take one evening to get it all done.”
“Cool,” Ryan said. “So what do we need to get in here?”
“Well,” Seth began, “we have to start Sophie’s cartoon education. The crap that’s on TV now won’t cut it. She needs some classic stuff.”
“I don’t know that much about that,” Ryan said wistfully. “I mean, I watched cartoons, but I had to watch without sound so that I didn’t wake my mom.”
“That’s fine,” Seth said. “I was raised on them. The Sandy and the Kirsten were always working on Saturday mornings, so the cartoons were my babysitter. Allow me to handle this.”
“Okay,” Ryan said, following Seth’s lead into the video store.
Seth led him to the children’s section, and proceeded to explain to Ryan the ins and outs of good and bad children’s videos.
“You’ll be all set if you ever have kids,” Ryan commented. “You probably know more about most of this stuff than kids do.”
“Yeah, I guess I do,” Seth said. “I do love my cartoons.”
They came upon a kids’ classics section, and Seth paused.
“K,” Ryan said. “Are these really classics?”
“Yes, my brother, they actually are. This store must have changed managers since I was in here last.”
He reached for The Wizard of Oz.
“This is definitely one,” he pointed out.
“That one I know,” Ryan said sarcastically.
Seth picked a few more, then settled in front of the holiday movies.
“We should get a few of these,” he decided out loud. “Even though there aren’t any Chrismukkah ones.”
“Are there even any Hanukkah ones?” Ryan asked. “I don’t think I’ve heard of any.”
“I don’t think they ever made their way to TV,” Seth admitted, picking up a lone Hanukkah one that he’d never seen before. “But she needs a rounded education, so that she can make the same educated choice I did.”
“But you didn’t make a choice,” Ryan pointed out. “You kept both.”
“And so will she,” Seth determined. “But she needs exposure to both so that she gets why she needs both in her life, and understands the true meaning of Chrismukkah.”
“Agreed,” Ryan said. “So which Christmas ones are the best?”
“Well, since we only have one Hanukkah one to give, we should be equal opportunity gift givers,” Seth said. “Besides, there’s only one that really matters to a little kid, anyway.”
“Which one is that?” Ryan asked. “Enlighten me.”
Seth picked up Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.
“This one,” he stated firmly, “is the quintessential kids’ Christmas movie.”
“I remember that one,” Ryan said wistfully. “It was on every year, and my mom liked it, so we got to see it.”
“Yep, it’s number one on my list, always has been,” Seth agreed.
Seth wanted to bring up the party, but it wasn’t time. Yet.
“So, I think this’ll be enough,” he concluded. “With all the other gifts she’ll get, she’ll be plenty occupied.”
“Agreed,” Ryan said. “Let’s get out of here.”
“Okay,” Seth said, “I’ll drop you off at the dorm and bring these home, unless you want to pop in and see the family.”
“I’ll come with you,” Ryan decided. “I can help distract them while you hide the packages. After all, you are known for the stealth.”
“So true,” Seth agreed. “Then I’ll take you back to the dorm.”
“’K.”
They drove to the Cohen home. It was lunchtime for Sophie, so Seth instructed Ryan to go around the back and surprise them while he went through the front and up to Ryan’s room with the packages. He heard loud squealing from Sophie, so he knew that the family was sufficiently occupied as he stashed the gifts. His plan was to broach the subject with Ryan on the way back to the dorm, after he had been exposed to a little bit of Cohen togetherness. He hoped that it would put him in the correct frame of mind.
previous here
Getting Ryan in the Right Mood - Chapter 2
Seth woke up in the morning with a strong sense of purpose, accompanied by a equally intense sense of dread. He was so excited that the plan was falling into place. But he also knew that Ryan would be difficult. He could only hope that he could convince him. He wanted to convince him on his own as a point of honor. But he always had Taylor in reserve as his last resort. Ryan might agree to just about anything, as well as enjoying whatever inducement she would try. He wanted to give it his best shot first, though.
He dressed quickly and headed for the kitchen, where his parents sat in the breakfast room with Sophie. He poured himself a travel cup of coffee and told them that he was going to go see Ryan today, since he had no classes.
“Be careful,” Kirsten said.
“Good luck,” Sandy said.
It was interesting to Seth how they each had a different take on the day to come. Kirsten seemed worried that Seth would push too hard and make Ryan angry, and Sandy appeared convinced that Ryan wouldn’t give in, no matter what.
He saluted them both smartly, left the house, and jumped in the Rover for the quick drive to campus.
He pulled up to Ryan’s dorm, parked and was headed down the path to the front door when he spotted him sitting under a tree with a book.
He always was a reader, he thought. But… On his day off. No classes. No work. And he was reading a book. Sheesh. Should I try to surprise him? No, better not to piss him off right off the bat.
“Hey, bro!” he greeted him as he approached.
“Hey,” Ryan responded with a grin. “What are you doing here?”
“Well, I knew you were free today, so I thought we might hang out. It’s been a while.”
“Seth, we hung out last week.”
“Yeah, but it seems longer. Maybe it’s ‘cause you’re a college guy now.”
“You are, too.”
“It’s not the same. I haven’t really taken any of my main courses yet.”
“Okay, Seth, if you say so. So what did you have in mind for our hang?”
“Well, I thought we might do a little Chrismukkah shopping. I need to get a few more gifts, and I’m guessing you do too.”
Ryan sat a minute considering Seth’s suggestion.
“Yeah, I do,” he admitted. “I’ve been considering gift cards to avoid picking out presents. I always worry I’ll get the wrong thing.”
“Now you don’t have to worry,” Seth said. “We can go together. We can formulate our plan of attack on the way, maybe even chip in on a few gifts, and it’ll be done before we know it.”
“Okay, sure,” Ryan agreed. “Wait here, I’ll go get my wallet.”
Seth knew that Ryan wasn’t a fan of the shopping, so he was relieved that Ryan was so agreeable. Phase one of his plan included a trip to the video store for both of them, with a gift for Sophie in mind. So far, so good.
They drove to the mall in the Rover, with Seth throwing out ideas, and Ryan giving his thumbs up or down. They arrived at the mall, mapped out their plan of who was to purchase what at the directory and headed in separate directions, agreeing to meet back in front of the video store in an hour.
“Divide and conquer, Ryan,” Seth said as they split up.
“Yep,” Ryan said, “the sooner we start, the sooner we’ll be finished.”
They both did their shopping, although Seth’s mind was elsewhere, as he thought about how he would approach Ryan with the idea. The hour passed quickly, too quickly, and before he knew it, it was time to meet him in front of the store. He said a silent prayer to Jesus and Moses right before Ryan arrived.
“All done?” Seth asked.
“Yep, that was a good idea,” Ryan admitted. “Now there’s only the wrapping.”
“No worries there, bro, I am the expert on the Chrismukkah trimmings,” Seth promised. “We’ll store everything in your room, and it’ll only take one evening to get it all done.”
“Cool,” Ryan said. “So what do we need to get in here?”
“Well,” Seth began, “we have to start Sophie’s cartoon education. The crap that’s on TV now won’t cut it. She needs some classic stuff.”
“I don’t know that much about that,” Ryan said wistfully. “I mean, I watched cartoons, but I had to watch without sound so that I didn’t wake my mom.”
“That’s fine,” Seth said. “I was raised on them. The Sandy and the Kirsten were always working on Saturday mornings, so the cartoons were my babysitter. Allow me to handle this.”
“Okay,” Ryan said, following Seth’s lead into the video store.
Seth led him to the children’s section, and proceeded to explain to Ryan the ins and outs of good and bad children’s videos.
“You’ll be all set if you ever have kids,” Ryan commented. “You probably know more about most of this stuff than kids do.”
“Yeah, I guess I do,” Seth said. “I do love my cartoons.”
They came upon a kids’ classics section, and Seth paused.
“K,” Ryan said. “Are these really classics?”
“Yes, my brother, they actually are. This store must have changed managers since I was in here last.”
He reached for The Wizard of Oz.
“This is definitely one,” he pointed out.
“That one I know,” Ryan said sarcastically.
Seth picked a few more, then settled in front of the holiday movies.
“We should get a few of these,” he decided out loud. “Even though there aren’t any Chrismukkah ones.”
“Are there even any Hanukkah ones?” Ryan asked. “I don’t think I’ve heard of any.”
“I don’t think they ever made their way to TV,” Seth admitted, picking up a lone Hanukkah one that he’d never seen before. “But she needs a rounded education, so that she can make the same educated choice I did.”
“But you didn’t make a choice,” Ryan pointed out. “You kept both.”
“And so will she,” Seth determined. “But she needs exposure to both so that she gets why she needs both in her life, and understands the true meaning of Chrismukkah.”
“Agreed,” Ryan said. “So which Christmas ones are the best?”
“Well, since we only have one Hanukkah one to give, we should be equal opportunity gift givers,” Seth said. “Besides, there’s only one that really matters to a little kid, anyway.”
“Which one is that?” Ryan asked. “Enlighten me.”
Seth picked up Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.
“This one,” he stated firmly, “is the quintessential kids’ Christmas movie.”
“I remember that one,” Ryan said wistfully. “It was on every year, and my mom liked it, so we got to see it.”
“Yep, it’s number one on my list, always has been,” Seth agreed.
Seth wanted to bring up the party, but it wasn’t time. Yet.
“So, I think this’ll be enough,” he concluded. “With all the other gifts she’ll get, she’ll be plenty occupied.”
“Agreed,” Ryan said. “Let’s get out of here.”
“Okay,” Seth said, “I’ll drop you off at the dorm and bring these home, unless you want to pop in and see the family.”
“I’ll come with you,” Ryan decided. “I can help distract them while you hide the packages. After all, you are known for the stealth.”
“So true,” Seth agreed. “Then I’ll take you back to the dorm.”
“’K.”
They drove to the Cohen home. It was lunchtime for Sophie, so Seth instructed Ryan to go around the back and surprise them while he went through the front and up to Ryan’s room with the packages. He heard loud squealing from Sophie, so he knew that the family was sufficiently occupied as he stashed the gifts. His plan was to broach the subject with Ryan on the way back to the dorm, after he had been exposed to a little bit of Cohen togetherness. He hoped that it would put him in the correct frame of mind.