When Jim woke in the morning, the room was blindingly bright. The illumination was practically surreal. He almost forgot, for the cruelest and tiniest of seconds, that he was alone. For just a moment, his sleepy, dream-altered wakefulness conjured up Barry’s head on the pillow beside him, his dark and curly black hair a sharp contrast to the crisp white linen of the pillowcase.
Jim snorted with grim laughter as his head became clearer and he realized he was alone. On Christmas morning. Cut it out, now! You’ll eat some cookies. Drink too much coffee. Go over to Mama and Pop’s and spoil them with the video recorder you got for them.
The reminder of his bachelor status on Christmas didn’t really lighten his mood. Yeah, maybe that vision of Barry’s head on the pillow should be with the head
