Celebration

21th of December 2021

"Hazza! The groceries are here. I'll let them in." Louis shouts from the hallway and opens the door.

Ten people come inside carrying at least four bags each.
"Hi, you can put them in the dining room. This way." Louis smiles and walks first.

He pays for the delivery and follows them out before he goes back to the dining room and looks around, not knowing where to start. Harry comes, carrying a clipboard.
"So, we have already packed blankets, flashlights, hats and gloves, underwear, socks, and a change of clothes. Get the soap and I'll take the bags with shampoo."

Louis looks in the bags and finds the one with soap. The dining room table is filled with bags as well and he starts putting a soap each in all of them. Harry walks after him and puts a bottle of shampoo in every bag. Then they proceed with toothpaste and toothbrushes. Harry marks everything on the clipboard.

Three hours later he checks the list and reads it out loud.
Blanket
Flashlight
Socks
Underwear
T-shirt
Sweatshirt
Sweats
Gloves
Hat
Soap
Shampoo
Toothpaste
Toothbrush
Toilet paper
Pads for women
Waterbottles
Twenty cans of food/bag
Crackers
Dried meat
Dried fruit
Vitamins
Spoon
First aid kit
Holiday candy
A pocketbook

"Did we forget something?" Harry asks and looks at Louis.

"I don't think so. I mean, we could buy thousands of items and it still wouldn't be enough." Louis replies.

"Yeah." Harry says, looking sad.

Louis gives him a hug and a kiss.
"It's something."

"Yeah, okay, let's make soup." Harry smiles.

"Alright. What do you need me to do?" Louis asks.

"We have already peeled and chopped most of it." Harry smiles. They've spent their evening in front of the tv peeling and chopping carrots and onions for days now.

Harry gets the gigantic pot that he bought earlier this year for this occasion. He fills it with water and crushed tomato and broth. They add meat, onions, carrots, salt, and garlic. While they wait for it to boil they start to load the van they bought a couple of years ago for this occasion. It's already full of winter clothes, shoes, sleeping bags, tarps, and a triage kitchen. They do this every year and have been since they started earning money.

Harry checks on the soup between rounds. It takes them some time to load 500 bags. They eat a bowl of soup to test that it's okay and to get something in their stomach before they carry the big pan out to the van and put it in the backseat, making sure to wrap the seatbelt around it so it won't tip over. Clifford and Bruce are spending the day with Eleanor.

They drive to a special location, a homeless commune where they know people are waiting for them to show up and they are welcomed by smiling faces.
"So many." Louis says as they park the car.

They get out and a man in his fifties walks over to greet them.
"Louis! Harry! Welcome! God bless you."

"Hi Clive, how have you been?" Louis smiles and shakes his hand.

Clive is the man in charge.
"Fantastic! I have a job and an apartment now."

"That's wonderful! Congratulations." Harry smiles.

"Thank you. I'm here to help you out anyway." Clive grins.

"We appreciate it." Louis says.

They open the back and take out the triage kitchen to set it up. Harry finds plastic bowls and Clive helps them.
"So we have about 50 winter shoes and jackets, 50 tarps, and 50 sleeping bags. Please help us distribute it to the ones who are in desperate need. Then we have 500 goodie bags."

There are 464 souls here tonight." Clive informs them.

Clive stands on a rock and yells.
"Everyone, get in line!"

After everyone has managed to form a line he walks around and pulls 50 people to a new line. Newly homeless people who don't have sleeping bags or tarps. Harry heats the soup while Louis hands out bags. Clive takes care of the ones who need shoes, clothes, and sleeping bags.

It takes them three hours to make sure that everyone gets a bag and a bowl of soup. A young woman is staring at them.
"Wait, you're Louis and Harry! Together! Here, I... Oh, my God."

"Sophie, around here they're just called Christmas angels. Understand?" Clive says.

"Of course." Sophie says but she's smiling happily.

Clive has made sure that the ones who are in desperate need of new outdoor clothes or shoes get prioritized. Then he hands out sleeping bags and tarps to the ones who need them the most. He promises to be there next year as well and Harry and Louis are relieved. They wish everyone a Merry Christmas before they get back in the van and drive off after leaving the remaining bags with Clive who promises to give them to people in need.
"Remember the first time we did this? You were eighteen and I was twenty. We had like twenty bags and neither of us had thought about basic hygiene products." Louis says.

"Yeah, and we drove all around London looking for homeless people. Thank God that we met Clive!" Harry smiles.

They slip into their Christmas pajamas as soon as they're back home. Louis gets his present of the day, a mug with the text the world's greatest husband and his favorite tea along with a picture of himself at age 27. They make a midnight snack and tea and sit down in the living room to watch a movie.