#America business visa

[jubaer01]

United States American ESTA Visa Service Online - USA Electronic Visa Application Online

Innflytjendamiðstöð fyrir vegabréfsáritanir í Bandaríkjunum

Address : Lagmuli 7, 108 Reykjavík, Iceland

Phone : +354 520 1230

Email : info@usaestavisaonline.com

Website : https://www.online-usa-visa.org/is/visa/ 

Business Hours : 24/7/365

Owner / Official Contact Name : James Charleton Gibsons

Description : Hvaða einstaklingur ætti að sækja um USA Visa Online. Ef þú ert ríkisborgari í landi sem hefur sáttmála við Bandaríkin um undanþágu frá vegabréfsáritunaráætlun, og þú ert líka EKKI með neina heimsóknavegabréfsáritun til Bandaríkjanna, þá ertu gjaldgengur. Ferðin þín er í minna en þrjá mánuði. Ætlun þín að heimsækja Ameríku er vegna viðskipta eða afþreyingar. Þú þarft að sækja um nýtt leyfi eða USA vegabréfsáritun fyrir einn einstakling eða hóp. HVAÐA skjöl eru nauðsynleg til að sækja um USA Visa Online Gild vegabréf frá Visa Waiver Program. Landið þitt ætti að vera á listanum yfir lönd með undanþágu frá vegabréfsáritun, þú þarft lögmætt netfang til að fá bandarískt vegabréfsáritun á netinu. Neyðartengiliður gesta snjallsími og tölvupóstur. Þegar þú fyllir út og setur upp eyðublaðið og borgar vinnslugjaldið færðu ESTA umsóknarnúmer sem hægt er að rekja á netinu fyrir bandaríska vegabréfsáritunarumsókn. Hvert leyfilegt einstaklingsbundið vegabréfsáritun í Bandaríkjunum gildir aðeins í 2 ár og leyfir margar heimsóknir til BANDARÍKJA Ameríku. Ef vegabréfið þitt rennur út á innan við tveimur árum mun USA vegabréfsáritunin þín á netinu aðeins gilda þar til vegabréfið rennur út. Mörg lönd eru leyfð USA Visa Online, sum þeirra eru Ísrael, Portúgal, Þýskaland, Lettland, Holland, Grikkland, Liechtenstein, Svíþjóð, Andorra, Finnland, Frakkland, Írland, Brúnei, Króatía, Sviss, Ítalía, Eistland, Ástralía, Kóreu , Suður, Japan, Ísland, Spánn, Belgía, Litháen, Noregur, Ungverjaland, Slóvakía, Danmörk, Lúxemborg, Taívan, Slóvenía, Austurríki, Pólland, Bretland, San Marínó, Nýja Sjáland, Singapúr, Chile, Mónakó, Tékkland, Malta . Ef tilgangur ferðarinnar er ferðaþjónusta eða fyrirtæki þá  Which person should apply for USA Visa Online. If You are a citizen of a country which has a pact with USA for Waiver of Visa Program, and you also DO NOT have any Visits Visa to USA then you are eligible. Your journey is for less than three months. Your intention to visit America is for business or recreation. You need to apply for a new authorization or USA Visa for one individual or a group of person. WHAT documentation is needed to apply USA Visa Online A Valid passport(s) from a Visa Waiver Program. Your country should be in the List of Visa Waiver Countries, you need a legitimate e mail address to get US Visa Online. Visitor emergency point of contact smartphone and email. When you complete and put up the form and pay the processing charge, you will get an ESTA application number that can be tracked online for US Visa Application. Each permitted individual US Visa Only is for 2 years validity and allows multiple visits to the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. If your passport expires in less than two years then your USA Visa Online will be valid only till the passport expiration date. Many countries are allowed USA Visa Online, some of them include, Israel, Portugal, Germany, Latvia, Netherlands, Greece, Liechtenstein, Sweden, Andorra, Finland, France, Ireland, Brunei, Croatia, Switzerland, Italy, Estonia, Australia, Korea, South, Japan, Iceland, Spain, Belgium, Lithuania, Norway, Hungary, Slovakia, Denmark, Luxembourg, Taiwan, Slovenia, Austria, Poland, United Kingdom, San Marino, New Zealand, Singapore, Chile, Monaco, Czech Republic, Malta. If the purpose of the trip is Tourism or Business then.

Keywords : Urgent America Visa, Tourist American Visa, America Business Visa, Fast Track American Visa, Business Visa fyrir Ameríku, American Visa fyrir Ísraelsborgara, American Visa fyrir Portúgalsborgara, American Visa fyrir Þýskalandsborgara, American Visa fyrir Lettlands ríkisborgara, American Visa fyrir Holland Ríkisborgarar, amerískt vegabréfsáritun fyrir ríkisborgara í Grikklandi, amerískt vegabréfsáritun fyrir ríkisborgara í Liechtenstein, amerískt vegabréfsáritun fyrir borgara í Svíþjóð, amerískt vegabréfsáritun fyrir borgara í Andorra, amerískt vegabréfsáritun fyrir borgara í Finnlandi, amerískt vegabréfsáritun fyrir franska ríkisborgara, amerískt vegabréfsáritun fyrir írska ríkisborgara, amerískt vegabréfsáritun fyrir ríkisborgara í Brúnei, Amerískt vegabréfsáritun fyrir ríkisborgara í Króatíu, amerískt vegabréfsáritun fyrir svissneska ríkisborgara, amerískt vegabréfsáritun fyrir ítalska ríkisborgara, amerískt vegabréfsáritun fyrir ríkisborgara í Eistlandi, amerískt vegabréfsáritun fyrir ríkisborgara í Ástralíu, amerískt vegabréfsáritun fyrir Kóreu, suðurborgara, amerískt vegabréfsáritun fyrir japanska ríkisborgara, amerískt vegabréfsáritun fyrir íslenska ríkisborgara, Amerískt vegabréfsáritun fyrir ríkisborgara Spánar, Amerískt vegabréfsáritun fyrir Belgíuborgara, Amerískt vegabréfsáritun fyrir ríkisborgara í Litháen, Amerískt vegabréfsáritun fyrir ríkisborgara í Noregi, Amerískt vegabréfsáritun fyrir ungverska ríkisborgara, Amerískt vegabréfsáritun fyrir slóvakíska ríkisborgara, Amerískt vegabréfsáritun fyrir danska ríkisborgara, Amerískt vegabréfsáritun fyrir borgara í Lúxemborg, Amerískt vegabréfsáritun fyrir ríkisborgara í Taívan, amerískt vegabréfsáritun fyrir borgara í Slóveníu, amerískt vegabréfsáritun fyrir ríkisborgara Austurríkis, amerískt vegabréfsáritun fyrir borgara í Póllandi, amerískt vegabréfsáritun fyrir borgara í Bretlandi, amerískt vegabréfsáritun fyrir borgara í San Marínó, amerískt vegabréfsáritun fyrir borgara í Nýja Sjálandi, amerískt vegabréfsáritun fyrir borgara í Singapúr, amerískt vegabréfsáritun fyrir borgara í San Marínó Vegabréfsáritun fyrir borgara í Chile, amerískt vegabréfsáritun fyrir borgara í Mónakó, amerískt vegabréfsáritun fyrir ríkisborgara í Tékklandi, amerískt vegabréfsáritun fyrir borgara frá Möltu Urgent America Visa, Tourist American Visa

[telugutimesdigimedia]

Issuance of business visas in India hastened: America

The United States has announced that it intends to bring certain types of visas and green card processes into premium processing. The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) clarified that this decision was taken to reduce the burden on its immigration system. In March this year we will start premium processing for Optional Practical Training (OPT) F-1 and Stem OPT F-1 students with I-765 application in Pendirug.

[kick-a-long]

ok, im making this a new post because im pretty tired of people saying "white jews" are "from europe after the holocaust." um no they are not.

I’m an American Ashkenazi Jew and the American Jewish population is much much older than immigrants from the holocaust. My father’s grandmothers family came from Eastern Europe in the 1850s and my father’s grandfather’s side came 1. some few generations before the civil war and 2. At least the 1840s for unknown reasons because we’ve been here so long my family forgot.

My grandmother personally started a business in her basement in the 20s and 30s to get European Jews work visas in the US so they could escape during and after the holocaust. Huge socialist.

Jews were arrested for union drives in 1909 America waaay before the holocaust. Jews were excepted from prohibition in America because of wine at Shabbat. That whole religious freedom thing in America? It’s always been attractive to Jews fleeing Russia and Europe and the Middle East since the us rolled the constitution out in 1776.

So, like, most Zionist Jews (because American has the second largest Jewish population in the world) are Americans who were here for hundreds of years.

Very few Jews escaped the holocaust. Very few Jews escaped Europe. very few living jews are European or "Escaped" the holocaust at all if you just look at the numbers. Jews only escaped Middle Eastern ethnic cleansing because of Israel. That was the entire reason for Israel. A place to escape the 70 year cycle of Jewish genocides.

6 million isn’t just a big number. It’s an indicator that there are very few “white European” Jews who escaped. When you say European Jews who escaped the holocaust, you are talking a very small number of people. It’s estimated at 240,000 “white European Jews” lived compared to 6 million who were killed.

i'll repeat that. 240,000 European people (340.000 escaped germany but 100,000 stayed in europe and were recaptured and sent to be killed leaving just the 240,000) lived. 6 MILLION DIED.

240,000 lived and 6 MILLION WERE KILLED. IN EUROPE. THE PLACE WHO IS CURRENTLY ELECTING SIMILAR GOVERNMENTS TO THE 1930S.

[incorrectbatfam]

Alfred's biggest US culture shocks?

[first day in America]

Alfred, walking into a diner: Table for one, please.

Waitress: Of course, follow me please.

Waitress: *seats him and brings a bowl of biscuits*

Alfred: I'm sorry, I didn't order any scones.

Waitress: The biscuits are free with your meal. Anyway, can I get you started with anything to drink?

Alfred: I'll try your sweet tea.

Waitress: Sure thing, I'll be right back.

Waitress: *brings a cup of 95% ice and 5% Lipton*

Waitress: Are we ready to order?

Alfred: I'll have the strawberry pancakes.

Waitress, refilling his drink for free: Great choice, it's my personal favorite.

Alfred: And where is your restroom?

Waitress: Just down the left.

Alfred: *goes to the bathroom*

Alfred: *sees someone through the stall gap*

Alfred: *sees a power outlet*

Alfred: *sees advertisements on the walls*

Alfred: *sees a bearded shirtless guy wearing American flag boxers and Crocs*

Alfred: Never mind, I don't need to go that badly.

Alfred: *goes back to his table*

Waitress, bringing a stack of pancakes: Here you go.

Alfred, who was thinking of crepes: ...Thank you?

Waitress: You enjoy that, hon.

Alfred: Oh, I'm flattered, but I'm here purely on business. I can pay with my manager's card, though.

Waitress: Sure thing.

Waitress: *takes his card and walks away*

Waitress: *comes back with a bill asking him for a tip*

Alfred: *reconsiders his visa*

[odinsblog]

Elon Musk is abusing foreign workers who depend on H1B visas to stay in the country legally, and he isn’t the only one. Sadly, this kind of extortion—take my abuse or get deported—is a very common practice for many businesses in America.

[paper-mario-wiki]

Do you do farm stuff Scout? Or would you like to? Like owning chickens or tending an outdoor garden, that sort of thing?

From ages 7 to 19 I lived on farms, and was made to be an active participant in maintenance and usages of the facilities I don't know why the fuck I'm typing it like this, but I grew up on a farm. I was kinda in charge of everything, but slacked a lot and my brother had to cover for me. That said, I still spent a LOT of time doing chores.

At one point or another I've been responsible for most every farm chore you can really think of. All the basics like raking leaves, milking goats, collecting eggs, feeding chickens- but also the big stuff like moving tons of hay, herding flocks, caring for large animals such as llamas, alpacas, horses, and cows, as well as delivering babies, gutting and plucking fowl (only chickens and turkeys, though I've also cared for ducks and geese), dehoring, hoof cleaning, corpse transportation, crop maintenance, winter ice removal by breaking up frozen water troughs in 10 below weather (thought this was usually circumvented by anticipating the cold and setting up water heaters beforehand), constructing enclosures, slaughtering pigs, and etc etc etc etc etc all that shit. Bunnies snakes mini horses donkeys. All that shit. Farm stuff. Ya know.

Moved away when I went to college and immediately plunged into a mixed-zoning district in the Fushimi district in Kyoto. This was a really good transition from rural living to city living, because mixed zoning districts have blocks dedicated to apartment complexes and family homes right next to blocks of rice fields and ponds, which was behind the 7-Eleven I bought most of my food from.

Now I live in a SHITTY mixed zoning area in SHITTY America where we never stop hearing cars because there's a massive parking lot nearby and constant police sirens, not because the area is particularly dangerous, but because there's like 2 police stations nearby.

My ideal housing goal, which also happens to be my current goal in life, is to reach a slightly more rural version of the Kyoto living situation. The goals are very distinct:

0. I'm editing this one in after the fact to note that while I've used Kyoto as an example a few times in this post, I'm just looking for an area that feels right and would happily live in any prefecture that fits my needs.

I want to not be tied directly to a visa which would draw me away from doing whatever work I really want to do, like my student visa did later on when school started getting worse as professors were struggling to learn digital classroom mechanics. The visa I'm shooting for is dependent on a few ideas I have for businesses, but that's still kind of a long shot.

I want to be in a position of relative financial freedom so that I can spend enough time genuinely living there instead of just being tied to a computer all day, limiting me to the world I already know. This one's the big one, so I'm still workin on that. That said, recently I've been taking some pretty massive steps towards making this a more tangible circumstance. Fingers crossed.

I want to have a home that I own instead of renting, and I'd like to work with a Japanese architect to actually construct it. Again, these are big big plans, but I think a life goal is a thing worth thinking big about. And it's not like I'm trying to build a mansion, or even a family-sized house, I think I'd be content with three bedrooms, a kitchen, and common room. Of course, in keeping with the "dream big" spirit, in a world where I've got enough money to have a nicer, slightly bigger home, I can imagine as many as 5 bedrooms. It's nice to imagine in this "perfect" outcome that I've got a reason to have enough space for guests to sleep over. A local community, or an otherwise tangible, real-world web of relationships would be nice. Like, Real Adult Socializing Shit.

I want to have a significant emphasis on self-reliance on this home. As far solarpunk as I can reasonably go, without biting off more than I can chew as someone who's kinda limp-wristed. In a gay way and a feeble way. I figure this will come down to solar panels, water filtration, a well, and a garden (or at least the space to have gardening stuff like pots and soil). Some chickens would be nice too, but I don't know that I'd ever take on livestock proper.

I want to be properly submerged in trees without being more than a 5 minute bike ride from a train station. Somwhere like Yase-Hieizanguchi Station in north Kyoto is a good example of station that's on the edge of a metropolitan area and the forest. There was an apartment there I almost got, but backed out when covid hit cuz I decided moving across town would be a whack decision.

This is a BONUS goal, but I think it'd also be nice to not compromise on a single location, and instead have a home out in the inaka, while also having a small apartment rented in the city I can go between whenever I need to. In a world where I can afford a plot of land out in the country, but would still need to travel into town for business, that would be nice. Though in that scenario I'd likely need to also take on the arduous task of getting a Japanese drivers license. If I know far enough in advance that I want to take this specific route then I could bypass that last one by getting an international license before moving to Japan, but after moving to Japan you're barred from getting an international license.

I couldn't tell you in honesty that I'm a Salt of the Earth, Red Blooded American Farmer in my heart, and in fact I could not WAIT to move away from the farm. I hated that I didn't have a say in living on a farm, and was made to take care of animals. But what I DID enjoy about that life was the stillness. The opportunities of perfect silence. The stars unobstructed by light pollution. The ability to explore. Those things I was incredibly grateful for. And as such, in my perfect world, I would like to live on something like a farm again one day, just on my own terms.

[seat-safety-switch]

There's a small burger joint near me. It's not one of those chains, which is sort of uncommon these days. Most of them are owned by some kind of insanely large corporation the size of a planet. This small place is good: it's not the best I've ever had, but it's cheap and it's on the way to the bad junkyard, and the owner is nice.

Here's what I like about it: it's still like one of the old-school drive-ins, at least in aesthetic. Those were all destroyed long before I came into this Earth, and nobody roller-skates up to your car to serve you the burger. It's more egalitarian, nowadays, and you gotta hoof it into the restaurant yourself or pay a dude $25 ($7 of which he keeps) to drive it to your house in his leased Mercedes.

Because it's a drive-in, though, it gets rid of the ugly decor that clogs most restaurants. Replaced by cars. In fact, some shadowy figure has begun an all-night, every-night classic car show there. Lots of fantastic Mopar products from about 1974 to 1983, when things started to get real bad in the heart of America. Cars are parked there every night, a mysterious judge issues a "best in show" award, and everyone has a good evening.

Of course, I can't guarantee that this translates to sales. Sure, it looks very busy, and I'm sure that convinces passing non-classic cars that "the burgers must be good there," but I'm no marketer. You'd have to ask my cousin, who conveniently is unavailable at the moment due to some legal complications with his work visa.

Hell, I'm not even involved. I just love a good burger, and approximately 35-1/2 parking spaces' worth of places to shove old cars for a couple hours without the fuzz getting too interested. It's really hard to find swap space these days, what with all the neighbourhood streets bulging with hoopties. Why don't you stop asking those questions and come on by the burger joint? It's authentic and real, not at all like the mysterious offshore corporation that owns and self-insures all those decrepit cars.

[polyhexian]

Isn't it crazy that you can sell blood in America? Like that blood clinics give money for blood. And the first time they give you a decent amount but then they give you less every time after that. Did you know they don't hand you cash? They actually give you a reloadable visa card so they can just put money on the same card every time you come back. Because you're coming back. They know you're coming back. Because you're poor and hungry and willing to sell your body for $20. A lot of places will limit you and say you can only donate once a month, once every two weeks, but they're not affiliated with the government or anything, they're private businesses and they don't talk to each other. Growing up my dad went to three different blood centers in a loop to make as much money as he could because we were poor. In the past I've even suggested to people. Hey, this could kill you, but starvation will kill you faster, so here's an exciting life hack to try and survive in a system specifically built to kill you. Is this not insane. It is not insane that this is barely or footnote of madness in a greater world of inexcusably evil madness

[onboardsorasora]

I can mostly confidently say, that I found my peace with this being Daniels last race, because he has so many things going on for him. Also fuck toxic work places.

BUT with that said, I cannot imagine RB fucking up that badly with the sponsors and the marketing value.

Like people say he is there for PR, Daniel Ricciards LAST RACE could be THE PR event. They could milk it to the gods. Merchandise, fan events, sponsors getting photo/pr opportunities, people watching to see his last race and support him. Like the opportunities lost are insane. Also HUGO just published a big campaign and there is still the Visa Cash App crying guy. And America is basically Ricciardos second home race. Like not letting him race one last time in Austin and Vegas is just stupid.

Adding to that, implying it's Daniels last race could potentially avoid a penalty and is a valid argument for getting fastest lap.

Another thing, Horner "saving" Ricciardo is like his one good quality and I think his public persona would take severe damage if that's really the case.

Like all the "old' journalists saying, they always knew. How? Because how can they know, if the people directly involved don't even know.

So even though I found my peace, I would be so surprised if that's really it.

EXACTLYYYY

Because quite literally, its all down to money and marketing. And Daniel Joseph Ricciardo is a marketing gold mine.

LITERALLY. To quote a post I did years ago F1's popularity soared because of Daniel. Yes Schumy was pretty much a household name, yes Lewis has been known in pop culture for forever. All of these other drivers who've crossed over have done things for the sport but they were all niche. Theres a lot of people who only know Lewis' name because they saw him at the Met Gala, theres a bunch of people who only know Schumy because he was The Stig on Top Gear.

DTS never would have happened without Daniel signing on first. Fact. The producers have said this. Daniel Ricciardo is the first voice and then face you are introduced to in S1E1.

As you so so eloquently said, Daniel's retirement will be a literal event in itself. That every track is gonna want to profit off of. You think the AUS GP wouldn't want to deck Albert Park in Daniel's face and smile one last time??? You think COTA won't try to get this man to drive in in that longhorn convertible?

Let us be for fucking real for one second. If ONLY for the marketing value and money of it all, this cannot be it. Not when RBR worked so hard to cultivate that prodigal son narrative and their Daniel Ricciardo Rehab Program. for them to dash it all away like this?? with some butter finger style clumsiness?

I don't know whats going to happen but marketing wise, PR wise, business wise? that can't have been 'it'.

full disclosure, I haven't made peace with shit. so if that was his last race then expect like the angstiest fics ive ever written. And thats a threat. (I've been holding off on delving into a 'something in the orange' vibe fic for months now)

[jubaer01]

FOR UAE CITIZENS - United States American ESTA Visa Service Online - USA Electronic Visa Application Online

مركز هجرة طلبات التأشيرة الأمريكية

Address : Bldg no. 11, 14th floor. Al Khaleej Al Arabi Street, UAE

Phone : +971 02 777 8000

Email : info@usaestavisaonline.com

Website : https://www.online-usa-visa.org/ar/visa/ 

Business Hours : 24/7/365

Owner / Official Contact Name : James Charleton Gibsons

Description : من هو الشخص الذي يجب أن يتقدم بطلب للحصول على تأشيرة الولايات المتحدة الأمريكية عبر الإنترنت؟ إذا كنت مواطنًا في دولة أبرمت اتفاقية مع الولايات المتحدة الأمريكية بشأن برنامج التنازل عن التأشيرة، وليس لديك أيضًا أي تأشيرة زيارة إلى الولايات المتحدة الأمريكية، فأنت مؤهل. رحلتك أقل من ثلاثة أشهر. نيتك لزيارة أمريكا هي للعمل أو الترفيه. يتعين عليك التقدم بطلب للحصول على تصريح جديد أو تأشيرة الولايات المتحدة الأمريكية لفرد واحد أو مجموعة من الأشخاص. ما هي الوثائق المطلوبة لتقديم طلب تأشيرة الولايات المتحدة الأمريكية عبر الإنترنت؟ جواز سفر (جوازات سفر) صالح من برنامج الإعفاء من التأشيرة. يجب أن تكون بلدك مدرجة في قائمة الدول المعفاة من التأشيرة، وتحتاج إلى عنوان بريد إلكتروني شرعي للحصول على تأشيرة الولايات المتحدة عبر الإنترنت. نقطة طوارئ الزائر للاتصال بالهاتف الذكي والبريد الإلكتروني. عند إكمال النموذج وتقديمه ودفع رسوم المعالجة، سوف تحصل على رقم طلب ESTA الذي يمكن تتبعه عبر الإنترنت لطلب تأشيرة الولايات المتحدة. كل تأشيرة فردية مسموح بها للولايات المتحدة فقط صالحة لمدة عامين وتسمح بزيارات متعددة إلى الولايات المتحدة الأمريكية. إذا انتهت صلاحية جواز سفرك في أقل من عامين، فستكون تأشيرة الولايات المتحدة الأمريكية عبر الإنترنت صالحة فقط حتى تاريخ انتهاء صلاحية جواز السفر. يُسمح للعديد من الدول بالحصول على تأشيرة الولايات المتحدة الأمريكية عبر الإنترنت، وبعضها يشمل إسرائيل والبرتغال وألمانيا ولاتفيا وهولندا واليونان وليختنشتاين والسويد وأندورا وفنلندا وفرنسا وأيرلندا وبروناي وكرواتيا وسويسرا وإيطاليا وإستونيا وأستراليا وكوريا. ، الجنوب، اليابان، أيسلندا، إسبانيا، بلجيكا، ليتوانيا، النرويج، المجر، سلوفاكيا، الدنمارك، لوكسمبورغ، تايوان، سلوفينيا، النمسا، بولندا، المملكة المتحدة، سان مارينو، نيوزيلندا، سنغافورة، تشيلي، موناكو، جمهورية التشيك، مالطا . إذا كان غرض الرحلة هو السياحة أو العمل  Which person should apply for USA Visa Online. If You are a citizen of a country which has a pact with USA for Waiver of Visa Program, and you also DO NOT have any Visits Visa to USA then you are eligible. Your journey is for less than three months. Your intention to visit America is for business or recreation. You need to apply for a new authorization or USA Visa for one individual or a group of person. WHAT documentation is needed to apply USA Visa Online A Valid passport(s) from a Visa Waiver Program. Your country should be in the List of Visa Waiver Countries, you need a legitimate e mail address to get US Visa Online. Visitor emergency point of contact smartphone and email. When you complete and put up the form and pay the processing charge, you will get an ESTA application number that can be tracked online for US Visa Application. Each permitted individual US Visa Only is for 2 years validity and allows multiple visits to the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. If your passport expires in less than two years then your USA Visa Online will be valid only till the passport expiration date. Many countries are allowed USA Visa Online, some of them include, Israel, Portugal, Germany, Latvia, Netherlands, Greece, Liechtenstein, Sweden, Andorra, Finland, France, Ireland, Brunei, Croatia, Switzerland, Italy, Estonia, Australia, Korea, South, Japan, Iceland, Spain, Belgium, Lithuania, Norway, Hungary, Slovakia, Denmark, Luxembourg, Taiwan, Slovenia, Austria, Poland, United Kingdom, San Marino, New Zealand, Singapore, Chile, Monaco, Czech Republic, Malta. If the purpose of the trip is Tourism or Business then 

Keywords : تأشيرة أمريكا العاجلة، التأشيرة الأمريكية السياحية، تأشيرة الأعمال الأمريكية، التأشيرة الأمريكية ذات المسار السريع، تأشيرة الأعمال لأمريكا، التأشيرة الأمريكية للمواطنين الإسرائيليين، التأشيرة الأمريكية لمواطني البرتغال، التأشيرة الأمريكية لمواطني ألمانيا، التأشيرة الأمريكية لمواطني لاتفيا، التأشيرة الأمريكية لهولندا المواطنين , تأشيرة أمريكية لمواطني اليونان , تأشيرة أمريكية لمواطني ليختنشتاين , تأشيرة أمريكية لمواطني السويد , تأشيرة أمريكية لمواطني أندورا , تأشيرة أمريكية لمواطني فنلندا , تأشيرة أمريكية للمواطنين الفرنسيين , تأشيرة أمريكية لمواطني أيرلندا , تأشيرة أمريكية لمواطني بروناي , تأشيرة أمريكية لمواطني كرواتيا , تأشيرة أمريكية لمواطني سويسرا , تأشيرة أمريكية لمواطني إيطاليا , تأشيرة أمريكية لمواطني إستونيا , تأشيرة أمريكية لمواطني أستراليا , تأشيرة أمريكية لمواطني كوريا ومواطني الجنوب , تأشيرة أمريكية لمواطني اليابان , تأشيرة أمريكية لمواطني أيسلندا , تأشيرة أمريكية لمواطني إسبانيا , تأشيرة أمريكية لمواطني بلجيكا , تأشيرة أمريكية لمواطني ليتوانيا , تأشيرة أمريكية لمواطني النرويج , تأشيرة أمريكية لمواطني المجر , تأشيرة أمريكية لمواطني سلوفاكيا , تأشيرة أمريكية لمواطني الدنمارك , تأشيرة أمريكية لمواطني لوكسمبورغ , تأشيرة أمريكية لمواطني تايوان , تأشيرة أمريكية لمواطني سلوفينيا , تأشيرة أمريكية لمواطني النمسا , تأشيرة أمريكية لمواطني بولندا , تأشيرة أمريكية لمواطني المملكة المتحدة , تأشيرة أمريكية لمواطني سان مارينو , تأشيرة أمريكية لمواطني نيوزيلندا , تأشيرة أمريكية لمواطني سنغافورة , أمريكا تأشيرة لمواطني تشيلي , تأشيرة أمريكية لمواطني موناكو , تأشيرة أمريكية لمواطني جمهورية التشيك , تأشيرة أمريكية لمواطني مالطا Urgent America Visa, Tourist American Visa, America Business Visa, Fast Track American Visa, Business Visa for America, American Visa for Israel Citizens , American Visa for Portugal Citizens , American Visa for Germany Citizens , American Visa for Latvia Citizens , American Visa for Netherlands Citizens , American Visa for Greece Citizens , American Visa for Liechtenstein Citizens , American Visa for Sweden Citizens , American Visa for Andorra Citizens , American Visa for Finland Citizens , American Visa for France Citizens , American Visa for Ireland Citizens , American Visa for Brunei Citizens , American Visa for Croatia Citizens , American Visa for Switzerland Citizens

[blackstarmylove]

Game ask:

Why Kei doesn't want to be owner? Mostly only shady or strong people be owner like Iwami and Haseyama to protect Starless from inside and outside. Now it is just some little guy who barely knows depth of Starless and doesn't have any trace of shadiness (like being mafia, spy, influence in black market, etc) become owner. This is honestly very uncanny.

There are many reasons he wouldn't want to be an owner (and is better off not being the owner).

Kei lives in America, so legally he doesn't have the right to take over the business. For most countries, you have to be a legal resident or a special kind of visa, but that requires you to stay in the country for a decent amount of months each year.

Kei has an established career in the USA, which he put on hiatus to be in Japan. So, if he wants to keep the business in Japan, he would have to divert his focus from his main career as an actor.

There are people in the BSTS fandom who say Kei is just a small theater actor, but since we are on this topic, let me explain something. Since the beginning, Kei has been hated by most BSTS fans - some didn't like his rich man personality, some thought he was too arrogant (but were fans of characters who were far more arrogant), and so on. Being his fan, this was one of the reasons why I couldn't connect to the BSTS fans and actually stopped talking to many of them. If anyone said anything about other characters, it was (and still is) considered disrespectful, but if anyone hates on Kei, "It's only a joke, guys. He is not a real person." Convenient, right?

Anyway...so when Kei came to Starless, Kokuyou, Rindou, and a few other cast members recognized him as 'a well-known actor.' If Kei was not well-known, why would the people in Starless recognize him? Secondly, when Kei was in America, Kasumi was on his phone checking various USA new outlets, and he said that Kei was on the front pages of those websites. Why would a 'small' actor make it to all the headlines of those websites? So, my point is that people still tend to hate Kei and try to down him as much as possible. The other point is his career is at its peak, so he would not leave it behind to maintain an establishment like Starless.

As you mentioned, Starless's owners are connected to shady organizations. In one chapter, Haseyama mentioned, "The Yakuza is cute compared to Kei," which says Kei has powerful connections, and/or he himself is that powerful. If he took over Starless, that would draw a lot of unnecessary attention from other organizations because his name would be connected to the restaurant in concrete.

If Yakou is the temporary owner, the organizations that are keeping an eye on Starless would not be alerted. They wouldn't see Yakou as a threat, but if Kei were to take over, that would alert them and create a battlefield-like atmosphere.

[starlightshadowsworld]

I love how a widely accepted head cannon in the Fnaf fandom is that William Afton is British.

For those that don’t know it comes from Sister Location, we hear William Afton speak for the first time and apparently he sounded British.

(I don’t personally hear it. We hear other members of the family talk too and I think Elizabeth does sound it, but that’s besides the point.)

I would love to see that story, just young bright eyed Billy Afton coming to Hurricane, Utah and building a business with Henry Emily.

I mean the origins of Freddy’s are something I’d love to see regardless but especially if we’ve got William immigrating to America.

We could’ve prevented all of this had you guys not given that man a Visa.

[mariacallous]

Old Bay — the zesty, saliferous, burnt orange spice synonymous with seasoning shellfish — was invented by Gustav Brunn, a German Jewish refugee who landed in Baltimore after spending two weeks in Buchenwald concentration camp.

There are few spice blends as ubiquitous as Old Bay. Packaged in the classic yellow, blue, and red tin can, Old Bay has grown from a Baltimore favorite to a pantry staple across the United States. 

Before Old Bay was invented in the 1940s, steamed crab, the dish most associated with the blend, was absent from regional cookbooks, including Mrs. B.C. Howard’s Fifty Years in a Maryland Kitchen and Mrs. Charles Gibson’s Maryland and Virginia Cookbook.

How did Brunn, a man who miraculously escaped Nazi-occupied Germany, revolutionize the way Americans eat crab?

The story begins in 1906 in the town of Bastheim, Germany, when Gustav Brunn was 13 years old. He quit school because it was too expensive and began working as a tannery apprentice. In 1923, the value of the German mark plummeted and in turn, the fur business collapsed and the tannery closed. Brunn bought the store and began selling cases and spices to sausage makers, the beginning of his career in the spice industry. 

Brunn’s spice business was a success. That was, until 1933 when Hitler came to power. According to the Baltimore Jewish Times, as anti-Semitism grew, Brunn lost customers and his bookkeeper resigned out of fear that the Nazis would punish him for working for a Jew. To protect his family and his livelihood, Brunn moved his shop to Frankfurt where there was a larger Jewish population.

In 1937, Brunn and his family applied for visas to the United States. The plan was to leave by the end of 1938, but that changed on the night of November 10, 1938, Kristallnacht, the mass pogrom that destroyed synagogues, Jewish business, and schools, and the first time the Nazi regime arrested Jews on a massive scale.

The next day, radio announcements called for all Jews to surrender their firearms to the nearest police station. Brunn, an avid hunter with eight rifles, complied. Upon arriving at the police station, he was told that he couldn’t leave. Within hours, Brunn was taken to Buchenwald concentration camp.

Remarkably, after two weeks, Brunn was released, bearing a shaved head and suffering from pneumonia. Brunn’s early release was arranged by a Frankfurt lawyer for 10,000 marks, a hefty price at the time, who bribed the Gestapo. Within a week, Brunn, his wife, and their two children sailed for America, bound for Baltimore, with his hand-crank spice grinder in tow. 

Brunn struggled to find work in Baltimore and finally landed a job at McCormick & Company, the world’s biggest spice maker. According to The Baltimore Sun, Brunn’s son Ralph recalls that after only a few days, McCormick learned that Brunn was Jewish, and fired him, directing him “to go and see the Jewish charities.”

Brunn did not give up on his career in the spice industry. He opened his own store, the Baltimore Spice Company, on the second floor of 26 Market Place, across from the bustling fish market. Soon, seafood vendors were stopping in his store, searching for spices for steaming crabs. Brunn took note of what they ordered — a mix of pepper, salt, and mustard — and began experimenting with his own blends.

Enter Old Bay, a kitchen sink of 18 spices, including mustard, paprika, celery salt, mace, nutmeg, cinnamon, bay leaf, red pepper, cardamom, celery seed, cloves, laurel leaves, mustard, salt, pepper, and ginger. Ralph told the Baltimore Jewish Times that, to his father’s amazement, “Those minor things he put in there — the most unlikely things, including cinnamon and nutmeg and cloves…had nothing to do with crabs at all — gave a background bouquet that he couldn’t have anticipated…Old Bay, per se, was almost an accident.”

Brunn gave samples of his new spice blend to the seafood vendors across the street, who offered Brunn’s sample to customers. Over time, Brunn’s blend caught on. 

With a popular product, Brunn needed a catchy name. His friend in advertising suggested “Old Bay Seafood Seasoning” after the Old Bay Line, a well-known Baltimore steamship company. Brunn trademarked “Old Bay,” giving his spice blend an instant feeling of tradition and a strong regional identity.

McCormick, intimidated by Old Bay’s rising demand, began packaging their crab seasoning in identical cans. Then, when Brunn attempted to join the American Spice Trade Association, McCormick threatened to leave. Over the years, McCormick tried to buy the Old Bay brand, but Brunn rejected every bid. 

Since McCormick couldn’t buy Old Bay, they were determined to copy it. The spice conglomerate relied on a law that required companies to declare the ingredients on the back of packages. Brunn, aware of this possibility, kept his recipe  safe by omitting his four main ingredients.

In 1985, Brunn passed away at 92 years old. In 1990, after a fifty-plus year rivalry, McCormick bought Old Bay for between $11 million and $14 million.

There are few, if any, spice blends with a fandom like Old Bay. It can be found tattooed on people’s arms, printed on socks, swirled into the caramel ice cream at Maryland’s The Charmery ice cream shop, mixed in the tartar sauce on McDonald’s fish-filet sandwich, and infused in Old Bay Summer Ale from the Maryland-based Flying Dog Brewery. Last year, Old Bay even released a limited-edition hot sauce that sold out in one hour.

Old Bay is more than just your favorite spice — it’s a story of the discrimination that Jewish immigrants faced, their perseverance against such hate, and their contribution to the American identity and kitchen.

[beardedmrbean]

Thousands of Chinese migrants flew into Ecuador last year in hopes of walking into the US.

But Ecuador is now cutting its yearslong visa-free access to Chinese citizens after a surge in migrants.

The number of Chinese people detained at the US border in 2023 surged to 10 times compared to 2022.

Ecuador is suspending visa-free access for Chinese travelers starting July 1, closing off a popular arrival spot used last year by thousands of Chinese migrants trekking to the US-Mexico border.

Since 2016, Ecuador has allowed Chinese nationals to enter its borders without a visa and stay for up to 90 days.

But in a statement on Tuesday seen by Business Insider, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Human Mobility said it was ending the program "due to the unusual increase in irregular migratory flows of Chinese citizens" who overstayed their 90 days.

It is only one of two nations in the Americas that offers visa-free access to Chinese nationals. The other is Suriname, a smaller country of about 618,000 people.

The Ecuadorian ministry noted that about 50% of all Chinese arrivals "have not left through regular routes and within the times established by law."

Many people have used the country as a "starting point to reach other destinations in the Hemisphere," the ministry added.

The Niskanen Center assessed in May that Chinese travelers entered Ecuador 48,381 times in 2023 but only left the country legally 24,240 times that year. The deficit was "by far the highest number of any nationality," the US think tank wrote.

It comes amid a surge in Chinese arrivals that year, with a 235% increase compared to the previous five-year average, per the Niskanen Center.

The visa-free access recently made Ecuador a major entry point into the Americas for Chinese migrants looking to travel through Central America and reach the US-Mexico border.

In response to Ecuador's Tuesday decision, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said the country "firmly opposes any form of smuggling activities."

"In recent years, Chinese law enforcement agencies have cracked down on crimes that hinder national border management and have maintained a high-pressure crackdown on various smuggling organizations and criminals engaged in smuggling activities, achieving remarkable results," the spokesperson said.

How Chinese migrants use Ecuador to get to the US

Thousands of migrants fly into Ecuador before traveling through Columbia, where they undertake a grueling trek through a perilous, cartel-run stretch of jungle called the Darién Gap.

If successful, they emerge in Panama. Over 15,500 Chinese migrants were counted exiting the Darién Gap in 2023, per Washington-based think tank The Wilson Center.

"This figure is nearly eight times as many from the same period in 2022 and more than 40 times that of 2021," wrote Joshua Peng, a program associate in refugee and displacement research at The Wilson Center.

Many migrants then travel to Mexico, attempting to reach the US through its southern border.

US border officials said they detained 37,000 Chinese migrants attempting to cross the border in 2023, or 10 times the number detained in the year before. The true number of those attempting to cross the border is likely higher.

The flow of Chinese migrants continued to surge in 2024, with CBS reporting in February that it observed 600 migrants, many of whom were Chinese, entering the US in a single day.

The House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations, and Accountability said in May that the number of Chinese nationals encountered by authorities at the US border in March had jumped 8,000% from the same period in 2021.

Illegal immigration from the southern border has been rising in political prominence in the US, with Republican leaders pushing for increased border security and saying southern states are unable to cope with a surge in migrants.

Data on Chinese arrivals in Ecuador give some clues to the demographics of migrants reaching the US. According to the Niskanen Center, Shanghai is the Chinese region with the highest per-capita rate of people leaving to reach Ecuador, with 274 arrivals for every 1 million people in Shanghai.

Hong Kong is second, with 257 arrivals per 1 million people, followed by Beijing, with 161 arrivals per 1 million people. Xinjiang is sixth, with 24 arrivals per 1 million people.

[princess-of-the-corner]

Has it ever been confirmed if Audrey's like. full American and she met Andre and them in adulthood while in France or if she's fully French and she just. doesn't live there most of the time?

I'm not sure.

I usually write her as being French and then left to do business stuff in America. But it could be the other way around.

Not sure what the legal status is on citizenship by marriage vs. work visa vs. dual citizenship but it really doesn't fucking matter because she's rich af and no one would dare try to deport her.

[gatheringfiki]

The following ficlet was written by @abradner1 based on this photoset.

DarkHawk, Explicit

You might also be able to read this story on AO3.

If you’ve enjoyed this story, please leave a comment either in replies or on AO3. :)

I’ll be Home for Christmas

---

Jim has been working like mad to get his home ready for Ross’s arrival from England.  The candles in the bedroom were ready to be lit, and there were fresh linens on the bed.  The bathroom had been scrubbed spotless.  The living room has been dusted and vacuumed, and there was a stew in the slow cooker.  Ross finally received his work visa and was able to move to America and move in with Jim.  And now it was two weeks before Christmas and Ross was on a British Airways plane and will be landing at Dulles International Airport in Washington, DC in four hours.  There had been a snowstorm the day before that had worried the couple that it would delay his flight, but luckily the snow had stopped before Ross’s plane departed from Heathrow.  Jim had held off putting up a Christmas tree, wanting to share the experience with Ross for their first Christmas together! 

Ross had been fidgeting the whole flight.  He was just a few hours from landing in Washington to DC to begin his new life with one James Hawkins.  The couple met in a Royal Army field hospital in Afghanistan after Jim was injured as a photojournalist.  He was brought into the hospital where Ross was a doctor that treated him in triage. Jim had started flirting right away with Ross and wouldn’t stop until Ross finally caved and gave Jim his number.   The couple became serious after Ross’s medical discharge and eventually had been forced into a long distance relationship after Jim was reassigned back to the DC area as a photojournalist, and Ross was still in London and had to wait for his visa to come through so that he could make the move to DC.  But finally, finally Ross was on a plane headed for a new life in Washington DC and more importantly, with the love of his life.

*********************

Jim was beginning to pace around the house now, looking for something else that he could do to get ready for Ross.  He double checked the bedroom again, fresh linens, candles ready to be lit, and plenty of lube in the bedside tables.  He had cleared out part of his closet for Ross to put his clothes in.  Jim stopped in his tracks.  “Oh fuck!  This is actually going to happen!  Ross is moving in and I’m going to be sharing my home with him!  My closet, my dresser drawers, my bed.”  He looked around the bedroom again.  He wished that he had a second closet to give Ross, but Jim rented an older duplex and there wasn’t much storage space.  He looked at the dresser and realised that the top was littered with his personal things, so he removed half of the stuff and crammed it in one of his drawers.  He looked at his watch and saw that it was getting close to the time that he needed to leave for the airport.  He felt like his heart was going to pound out of his chest, “For fuck’s sake Jim, quite acting like an idiot!  You’ve been waiting for this for so long.  Get your shit together!”  He took one more look around the bedroom and didn’t see anything else that he could do to help Ross feel welcome and at home, so he headed downstairs to get ready to leave.  After one more peak at the stew he threw on his coat and headed out the door.

***********************

Ross woke to the plane landing at Dulles International Airport.  Ross was more than ready to get off this plane, and he wasn’t alone on that thought.  He could hear the sighs of relief from the others around him.

Ross had made his way through the busy customs lines and was on his way to find Jim.  The airport is a pretty compact airport, so it didn’t take him long to finally spot him standing off to the side holding a red rose and with a gorgeous smile that reached his beautiful blue eyes.  Ross was still using a cane since his last knee surgery, but he walked as fast as he could with his luggage cart to get to Jim.  There were so many people in the terminal that he had to dodge around with the luggage cart. He finally reached Jim and they were both standing, grinning at each other.

Finally Ross spoke first, “Hi!”

“Hi!”

Ross pointed at the flower, “Is that for me?”

“Um yeah it is.  I guess it’s probably stupid to bring you a rose, but I felt like I should bring somet…” 

Ross quickly leaned down and put his hands on Jim’s face and kissed Jim on the lips.  At first it was a tender kiss that grew in intensity, Jim grabbing at Ross’s collar, neither one caring what others around them might think of two men kissing.  They did hear one lady say, “Aww that’s so sweet.”  Jim finally broke the kiss and they were forehead to forehead.  “C’mon, love.  Let’s go home.”

Ross closed his eyes, “I love the way that sounds.”

*************************

The couple managed to fit all of the luggage in Jim’s Jeep Wrangler.  Ross had previously mailed over seven boxes of stuff before he left but he brought with him two large suitcases, a carry-on and two more boxes.  “Bloody hell Jim I thought your Jeep was bigger than this!  I thought we were going to have to call an Uber to bring some of this with us to your house.”

“Our house,” Jim corrected his partner.  

Ross’s face had that huge smile on it, “Our house.”

Luckily it was evening time and with the recent snow,  the highway didn’t have its usual traffic.  “Look at all this snow!  Jazsus Jim I don’t think I’ve ever seen this much snow!  Do you have much trouble with sliding around in this thing?”

“Nah, I’ve got good winter tires on, and there’s some sand bags in the back.  And they keep the main roads pretty well plowed,”  he looked at his British boyfriend,  “ Ross, I can’t believe you’re finally here!!  I can’t wait to get you home.  I hope you’re hungry, I’ve got a stew simmering.”

Ross’s eyes were sparkling even in the dark, “Actually I am quite hungry.  My stomach has been in knots so I didn’t eat much on the plane.  Is it lamb?”

Jim chuckled, “No it’s beef, you’re going to have to get used to that.  We don’t use lamb much over here.  I did check for some but the grocery store didn’t have any lamb stew meat, and I really don’t know much about the cuts, so you’ll have to teach me.”

“Oh that’s alright, we’ll figure it out.  All these Christmas lights!  I could see some of them from the plane when we got closer to landing.  Have you decorated for Christmas?” Ross was rubbing his hands together to warm up.

Jim looked at Ross, “Nope.  I’ve been waiting for you, so that we could do it together for our first Christmas.  Here I’ll turn the heat up for you.”

Ross put his hand on Jim’s knee, “Aw thanks for waiting for me.  I did swipe a few Christmas decorations from my parents house when they weren’t home.  Just the few that meant anything to me, like the ones that Claude Anthony and I made when we were kids.  They were still in boxes in the attic so I doubt that my mother has seen them in years.”

“Did you say good-bye to your parents before you left?” Jim was hoping that the relationship between Ross and his parents would thaw even a little bit at some point before he moved to the states.

Ross’s face lost the smile it had, “Well I informed them that I was moving.  If you were hoping for a tearful goodbye from them, you’re out of luck.  I think it did shock my father more than my mother.  He did at least shake my hand when I left, so I guess that’s something.  Oh and I do have the check from Aunt Agatha.  I had her make it out to you so you would have less hassle depositing it than I would.”  Ross’s Aunt Agatha had insisted on giving Ross and Jim some money to help them as part of Ross’s inheritance.  Ross really didn’t want to take it, but she had told him that she would rather him have it now when it would be useful to his situation with having to do a residency all over again.  Ross had been told that he would not be able to transfer his doctor’s licence to America, so he has to do a residency program all over again.  So Ross was going to have to find a lower paying job in a hospital, plus go back to school.  

Jim shook his head, “That old bird, she is something else. How much is it?”

“Jim, it’s 40,000 bloody pounds!  I couldn’t believe it!  I really did try to give it back to her but she was adamant about it since my parents have disowned me.”

Jim’s eyes got as big as saucers, “Holy shit Ross! I didn’t think it would be that much when you told me what she wanted to do.”  Jim exited off the freeway, “Okay it won’t be much longer now.  I bet you’re tired.”

Ross shook his head, “I am.  I think exhaustion is starting to settle in.  I’ll probably just bring my carry-on bag in for tonight.”

“That sounds like a good idea.”  Jim noticed that Ross was quieter and looked over at him.  He was dozing off.  JIm just smiled at him.  He drove another 15 minutes before he pulled into his driveway.  He turned the car off and just stared at Ross for a minute before he woke him up.  He touched his shoulder, “Hey baby, we’re home.”

“Hmm.”

“Ross, baby, we’re home.”

Ross raised his head, “What?  Oh shit, we’re here?”

“Yep, we’re home baby.”

Ross looked at the house and smiled and then looked at Jim and leaned over and kissed him, “I love you.”

“I love you too baby.  Let’s get you inside,” Jim said.

They got out of the car and Ross grabbed his bag and followed Jim to the front door.  He couldn’t really see much of it in the dark, just that it was grey.  Jim unlocked the door and took Ross’s bag out of his hand and set it inside the door and turned on a light, then he turned around and picked Ross up in his arms, “Jim what the fuck!  Put me down!” Ross was laughing at the situation.

“Nope, not until I carry you across the threshold!” Jim had a cheshire grin.  

Ross was laughing, “But we’re not married!”

 “Close enough for now!”  Jim crossed the threshold and then put Ross down.  

Ross was still laughing, “You wanker!” He pulled Jim close to him by his coat and gave him a very passionate kiss that went on forever. “Oh feckin hell Jim, I’ve missed you so much.  I can’t believe that I’m finally here.”  Jim could see the wetness in Ross’s eyes.  “I’ve missed you too Ross.  I know it was only four months but it seemed like forever.”  Jim reached up to kiss Ross again.  He wanted to kiss Ross’s neck, but it was impossible with his coat on.  “Shall I give you a tour of your new home?”

Ross was running his fingers through Jim’s golden hair, “Only if the tour starts out in the bedroom.

Jim was trying to concentrate but it was hard with Ross’s tongue in his ear. “Um, what about the stew? I thought you were hungry?

Ross kissed Jim again, this time with his tongue exploring Jim’s mouth, “Fuck the stew we can have it later.  Let’s start this tour of the bedroom.  Now please!”

Jim pulled away from Ross and went into the kitchen and turned the slow cooker off, and then came back to grab Ross’s hand and pulled him up the stairs.  

************************

Jim guided Ross into the bedroom while the two men removed their heavy coats. It was an older home with lots of hardwood floors, original woodwork and built-in shelving. Jim had painted the bedroom walls a beige.  Behind the bed, the wall was floor to ceiling built-in bookshelves that were filled to the brim with books. This bedroom was more masculine than the one in Jim’s London home.  In one corner was an old globe on a stand, with some antique nautical items in various spots.  The duvet was navy blue plaid.

Jim was walking around the bedroom lighting candles, “So I’ve cleared out half of the closet for you to use, and half of the drawer space in the dresser.  If you need more space, we can figure out something in the other bedroom.  There is a small daybed in the other bedroom that mom uses when she comes for a visit, but for the most part, I use the spare bedroom for my photography things.  Sorry it’s on the small side.”

“Bloody hell Jim, all those books!  I knew you read a lot but I didn’t realise you had a library full of books!  Have you ever heard of Kindle?”

Jim chuckled and ran his hand through his hair, “I do use a Kindle.  A lot of these are first editions.  My dad read a lot too, so a lot of these were his.”  Jim made his way back to Ross.  “No en suite here, but the bathroom down the hall is a decent size.  Meaning…”

“Meaning that two people can fit in the shower?” Ross brushed his hand down the side of Jim’s face.  

Jim cleared his throat, “Mmm yeah and maybe the bathtub as well.  If you want to change anything just let me know.  We could repaint or change the bedspread, whatever you want to help you feel at home.  I went with a lighter colour of paint because of the dark woodwork… and I’m rambling aren’t I?”

Ross removed his jumper and smiled at Jim, “Yes you are.  Are you nervous?”  He moved in closer to Jim and started unbuttoning his shirt.  

Jim cleared his throat again, “Oh maybe a little.  Part of me was worried that you would change your mind and not get on that plane.”  Ross removed Jim’s shirt and started unbuckling his jeans.

Ross sucked in his bottom lip and shook his head, “Hmmm, no way in hell, love.  You’re mine and I’m yours, remember?  I’m in this for the long haul, baby.”  He ran his fingers over Jim’s nipples causing Jim to drop his head back in a moan.  Ross gave a low chuckle.  He ran the back of his hand gently over Jim’s cheek, “This is the first night of the rest of our life together.  I don’t really want to talk about paint colours,” he leaned down and pulled Jim in for a long soulful kiss, making his way down to Jim’s jawline.  He whispered into Jim’s ear, “Take off your jeans, love.  I want to make love to you now.”  Jim felt a shiver go down his spine and removed his jeans while Ross removed his.  

Jim ran his hands through the beautiful brown curls on Ross’s chest,  “I love you Ross.”

Ross looked down into Jim’s brilliant blue eyes, “I love you too, baby,” and pulled off the rest of his clothes.

Jim looked down at Ross’s cane, “How’s your knee?”

Ross immediately let his cane drop, “What knee?”  Jim chuckled.

Both men’s chests were rising quickly from breathing fast.  Jim slowly moved his fingers over Ross’s pink nipples, pinching them gently and then leaning into him and running his tongue first over one nipple, teasing it until it hardened and then biting it gently.  Then he moved over to the other nipple, giving it the same attention.  Ross wrapped a hand to the back of Jim’s head, holding him close to his chest.  “Mmmm yes my love, that feels so good.”  Jim finally let go to rub his face and cheek into Ross’s chest hair, letting his hands caress over Ross’s back and his ass, and Ross enclosing Jim even more in his arms.  “Ross, promise me that you’ll never let me go.”  

Ross pulled back from Jim and put his hands back on Jim’s face and looked deep into Jim’s blue eyes, “Never.  I will never, ever let you go.  You are my forever, love,” Ross planted an eager kiss on Jim’s lips.  Suddenly he picked Jim up as Jim wrapped his naked legs around Ross’s waist, and walked them over to the bed and laid down on top of him as he set Jim down on the bed.  It wasn’t long before arms and legs were tangled together, lips and tongues were kissing and licking everywhere they could reach, teeth were clinking together eliciting laughing.  

Ross’s hands were running through Jim’s golden curls, “Oh fuck man, I love that your hair is longer.  I love how curly it has gotten.  There’s more me to run my fingers through ,”  he nuzzled into Jim’s hair, smelling it.  He kissed Jim’s forehead and kissed each of his eyes, then his cheeks and then his lips again.  “God Jim, I can’t get enough of you.”  Jim’s eyes were closed as he laid there and just took it all in, tears trickling down his cheeks.  Ross reached over to the nightstand and pulled out the lube that he assumed was in the drawer.  Jim heard the familiar sound of the flip of the cap, and spread his legs a little.  Ross poured some lube on his index finger and found Jim’s path and started loosening him up.  Ross knew that he would be a little tight since it had been a while so he took his time loosening Jim’s channel. Jim raised his hips and moaned.  Ross raised an eyebrow when he heard the moan, “Does it feel good baby?”  “Oh fuck yes, Ross.  Please, I need you.”  “Jim, are you sure?  Are you ready?”  Jim opened his eyes to stare at Ross, “Oh God yes, please Ross.  I need you so much.”  Ross could hear the need in Jim’s voice.  He rubbed some extra lube on his cock and lined himself up and slowly pushed in, eyes on Jim’s eyes the whole time.  It was so intense, both men moaned at the same time.  Jim was shaking his head yes at Ross letting him know that he was good.  Ross laid his head into Jim’s neck and nuzzled against him, kissing him, nipping at his neck, sucking on the thin skin causing a purplish bruise.  Jim wrapped his arms around Ross, caressing his sweat slicked back, the tear drops still falling down his cheeks, “Ross, I feel so full of your love.”

At that, Ross raised up on his arms and looked into Jim’s eyes once again and started moving his hips into Jim.  At first they rocked into each other slow and deliberate, but it didn’t take long for the heat to begin pooling in both of their bellies.  Ross had wrapped a hand around Jim’s cock to stroke him in the same rhythm that he was moving.  Jim raised up to pull Ross down for some heated kisses. Jim reached to grab Ross’s arse to pull him in closer and deeper.  “Oh god yes Ross, ngnnng!”  Ross’s eyebrows furrowed, mouth slack open, his hips were becoming erratic the closer he got to his end.  He could feel Jim’s body getting closer to his orgasm which was spurring him on.  It only took a few more strokes for Jim to achieve his shattering high, letting out a yell.  Ross yelled out a few strokes later at the orgasm that he had waited four months to have.  He laid his sweaty body down on top of Jim, breathing hard.  Jim wrapped his arms around Ross and kissed him lovingly on his lips, both men taking their time, not in any hurry to stop.  Both of the lovers showed each other the fierce love in their faces and hearts.  Words could no longer say what they felt.  

**********************

A few days later, Ross and Jim were hiking around a Christmas tree farm to cut down their first Christmas tree.  Ross was so excited about this trip to the tree farm that he was bouncing around like a little boy. They had decided that they were men and that they didn’t need to go to a corner lot full of Christmas trees that were cut down weeks ago.  They could go cut down their tree and didn’t need anyone’s help…  Except they didn’t have a saw, so they did need to borrow a saw from the farm owners. 

The couple were arguing over which tree was the best one.  Ross kept picking out trees that were way too big for the ceiling height in the house.  “It’s my first Christmas in the states, so I should get to pick out the tree.”  Ross’s voice had a childlike quality to it and was starting to pout!

“Well that would be fine, except you keep picking out trees that I know aren’t going to fit!  I don’t have 15 foot ceilings!”

They were starting to bicker over the trees and were getting laughs from other people looking for a tree.

Finally, Ross found a tree that was acceptable to Jim’s height requirements.  “Okay, I think this one will do,” Jim said, “I’m going to be on the bottom sawing the tree, you hold onto the tree so that it doesn’t fall over.  Got it?”

“Got it,” Ross replied.

Jim was laying on the ground, sawing back and forth on the trunk, while Ross was whistling, looking around at the other people picking out trees.  Some were families, some were younger couples like he and Jim.  Some even brought their dogs with them.  “Hey Jim, have you ever thought about getting a dog?”

“What?” Jim yelled.

“I said, have you ever thought about getting a dog?”

Jim stopped sawing, “Ross are you holding the tree?”

Ross quickly put his hand on the tree trunk, “Yeah, yes of course I am.  Are you about done?”

Jim growled, “You weren’t holding onto the trunk were you?”

“Yes I was, am.”

“Leave it to you to pick the tree with the double trunk!  Okay, pull gently on the tree and give me more room to saw,” Jim told Ross.  Ross started pulling on the tree, and Jim went back to sawing the last little bit.  Finally the tree gave way causing Ross to fall down with the tree on top of him.  Jim was still lying on the snow covered ground cracking up at the sight!  It didn’t take long before other tree hunters were smiling at the scene as well.  Jim finally got up and pulled the tree off Ross.  Jim handed Ross a hand to get up, “You okay Ross?”  Ross started laughing at himself while he brushed the pine needles off his clothes.  Jim put his hands on Ross’s cheeks and gave him a kiss.   “We did it!” Ross cheered.   “That we did mate.”  He was enjoying how excited Ross was at their first Christmas tree experience.  The first of many experiences for the couple.  “Alright, let’s drag this sucker back to the barn and pay for it.  Man, I’m getting too old for this shit,” Jim was moaning.  Ross chuffed, “Well I’ll just have to give you a massage when we get home!” 

******************************

Ross and Jim made it home with their tree and were untying it from the roof of the Jeep, and Jim was asking Ross where he thought they should put the tree.  “Well, where do you normally put it?”

“Usually in front of the window so I don’t have to move too much furniture, but we can put it anywhere you want.  Just don’t have me move it 50 times.  My mom used to do that to my dad every year, and he always got pissed off at her.”

Ross was looking at the house and the front window, “The window is fine with me.  I can carry it into the house if you want to grab the tree stand.”

“Sounds like a plan Stan,” Jim said, quoting a song.

“Huh?”

“Never mind, it’s from an old song.  Let’s get inside.”

*****************************

Ross held the tree in the tree stand while Jim laid on the floor and tightened up the bolts going  into the tree trunk from the tree stand.  Jim noticed that he was laying on the ground again, “Hey there’s something wrong here.  First I laid on the snowy ground to cut the tree, and now I’m laying on the floor tightening up the bolts into the tree trunk while you hold the tree again.”

Ross let out his big laugh that lit up his whole face, “Well, I think you just have more experience doing this than I do.”

Jim finally stood up, “Really?  Did you not cut the tree down in the Poldark mansion?”

“No.  It was an artificial tree and the servants put the tree up and had it ready for us to decorate.  Pretty sad now that I look back on it,” Ross was remembering his family’s holidays.

“That does sound pretty sad.  Okay, I’ll go find some scissors so we can cut the binding and let the branches fall down.  This is one of my favourite parts, actually,” Jim went to the kitchen to find his scissors while Ross was left standing looking at the tree thinking back on all of his past Christmases.  They were always fun until Claude Anthony died, and then everything changed.

“Hey, you alright?”

“Hmm? Oh yeah, I’m fine.  Cut away!” Ross said.

Jim started cutting through the binding and then pulled it off so the tree could unfold dramatically.  

Ross took it all in, “Hey that is pretty cool!”

Jim nodded his head, “See, I told you!”  Jim wrapped his arms around Ross’s waist and nuzzled into his neck, “I’m so glad that you’re finally here, babe.”

Ross wrapped Jim up in his arms and softly said, “I am too.”

During one of their phone conversations prior to Ross’s arrival, Ross had asked if they could use coloured lights instead of white lights because that’s the colour his mother always insisted on using.  Of course Jim said yes.  He rarely could tell Ross no, especially when it came to things like this.  He wanted Ross’s first Christmas with him to be special and one to replace the sad Christmas memories that were in the back of his mind.  

The blonde and brunette had decided on stringing popcorn for the tree’s garland, so Jim had popped a huge amount of popcorn for them to string.  That endeavour had taken a lot longer than what either one of them had imagined.  The popcorn fight that they had didn’t help matters. Not to mention how much the lovers had eaten.  

Ross was excited to see the lights and the popcorn garland on the tree.  “We could leave it just like that and it would be perfect!”

 “Yeah, we could do that I guess, but didn’t you say that you brought some ornaments with you?  And I have some that we can put on.” 

Ross’s eyes got wide, “Oh yeah, I forgot!  I’ll go find them.”  He ran upstairs to find the ornaments that were still in his luggage, while Jim pulled his box of ornaments out.

Ross ran back in the room, “I can’t get over how good the tree smells!  Sooo, I just have a few ornaments.  I took the ones that I made when I was younger, and the ones that Claude Anthony made, and then just a few sentimental ones.  Do you think they look stupid?”

Jim’s eyebrows furrowed, “No, no not at all!  They’re beautiful.  I love the handmade ones that you and your brother made.  Do you think your mom will realise that you took them?”

Ross just shook his head, “I doubt it, she just uses pretty ornaments now.  I know it’s silly but I couldn’t part with these, and it makes me feel good to have something of Claude Anthony’s here.”  Ross’s voice got quiet and a little sad in remembering his brother.  

Jim walked over to Ross.  “Hey, I’m so sorry about your brother.  I can’t imagine losing my sister.  We don’t talk everyday but it would kill me if I lost her.  She can be your sister now.  She’ll fall in love with you when you two meet.  And my niece will squeal at how good looking you are!”  

Ross raised an eyebrow and smiled, “She will? Even with this scar on my face?”

Jim’s eyes crinkled with a smile, “Oh hell yeah, she’ll be fawning all over you! And stop worrying about that scar on your face!  I don’t even notice it anymore!”

Ross squinted his eyes, “Really? You don’t?  It still bothers me when I look in the mirror.”

Jim put his hands on Ross’s face, “I wouldn’t lie to you.  Now, let’s finish decorating this tree.  I’m going to turn on White Christmas!”  Ross smiled and went back to decorating.  

**************************

All of the decorations were on the tree.  Jim had red and gold round ornaments that they used to fill in where they didn’t have other personal ornaments to fill in.  Jim spoke up, “Do you want to put the angel on top?” He handed Ross the angel that he has used ever since he’s had his own Christmas trees.

Ross gasped, “Look at her!  She’s so pretty!”  He looked at Jim and smiled and then he reached to the top and put her on the top branch that stuck up.  Ross barely had to reach up on his tiptoes to reach the top.  “There, now it’s finished.”  Ross looked at Jim with tears in his eyes, and pulled him in close, “Thank you so much!  This day has been wonderful! For the first time in my life, I feel loved, and I have hope for the future, and it’s all because of you, Jim.”

Jim swallowed hard, “It’s because of both of us, Ross.  We are going to have a wonderful life together.  Thank you for making this move.  I know that you don’t get along with your parents, but I know that it was still a huge move and a big sacrifice, especially when it comes to your career.  And I just want you to know how much I appreciate that you did that for me, and for us.  Let’s go to bed.  We can clean up this mess tomorrow.”

Ross smiled, “Sounds good.”  He took Jim’s hand and led him upstairs.

*************************  

Chapter 2

The next few days before Christmas, Jim had to work, so Ross was home alone puttering around the house.  They had both agreed that he could wait until after the holidays before he seriously started looking for a job, although he had been working on his resume to ‘Americanize’ it.  While Jim was at work he had put up more Christmas decorations and had purchased greenery to decorate the archways in the house and added the extra popcorn and lights to the greenery.  He even put lights up outside on the trees and bushes!

Now he was going through some of his boxes to try to organise his things and figure out a place for everything when he received a phone call from Verity.

“Verity!  Oh my gosh how are you!!!”

“I’m good, but missing your face.”

“Oh Verity I haven’t been gone that long, but I do miss you too.  How’s Andrew?”

“He’s doing well.  I think that visit with Aunt Agatha really boosted his confidence.  Father has even asked about him if you can believe that.  How’s Jim?  Has he had enough of you yet?”

Ross laughed, “No he hasn’t thank you very much.  He’s wonderful.  He’s at work right now, so I’ve been bumming around the house unloading some of the boxes and trying to find a place for things.  It’s a bigger space than what he had in London, but it doesn’t have a lot of storage, so I guess I’m going to have to be creative and figure some things out.”

“I love your pictures of your holiday decorations, especially the ornaments you stole from your parents house.”

Ross rolled his eyes, “Grace hasn’t used those ornaments in years, she probably hasn’t even noticed that they’re gone.  She didn’t appreciate them anymore, and I do.  So, fuck her.  I don’t really care if she figures out that I have them.  Just don’t show her any pictures of them.”  They both laughed at that remark.

“Did you put them on face page?”

“No, actually, I cancelled my account. I’m starting out my life here a little more private.  If I do start a new page it will probably be under a different name, so I’ll let you know if I do that.”

“Well be sure that you do let me know.  So is Christmas going to be just the two of you?  Snuggled up in each other’s laps?”

“No, we are making the trip to Ohio to spend Christmas with Jim’s mom and sister.  I’m kind of nervous about it.  I’ve never met anybody’s family before.”

“Oh you’ll be fine, just be yourself.  Look, I’ve got to go, but call me when you get back from Ohio and let me know how it goes, yeah?”

“Of course I will.  You and Andrew have a great holiday!  Love you Verity.”

“Love you Ross.  Take care.”

Ross hung up with Verity and let out a big sigh and took a look around him.  Now after talking with Verity he felt kind of lonely.  “Stop feeling sorry for yourself Ross, you’ve got a wonderful life here, and it will keep getting better,” he was telling himself.  “Come on, get back to work on these boxes.”  

By the time Jim got home from work he had made his way through half of the boxes and had started on some kind of supper for Jim.  Jim yelled when he came through the door, “Honey, I’m hooome.”  He walked into the kitchen and found Ross cooking, “Look at you, all domesticated and cooking and everything.”  Jim leaned up to give Ross a kiss.  “So what’s for supper?”  Jim was getting turned on by seeing Ross cooking and let his hand rest on Ross’s ass.

“Well, I’m still not used to this stove, and directions not in the metric system, soooo we’re having bacon and eggs for supper!  This is the second batch of bacon that I’ve cooked after burning the first batch, not to mention the burnt toast in the bin, but I’m trying.  Hopefully I won’t burn the eggs.  But if you keep rubbing my ass like that, I can’t guarantee that I won’t burn them.”

Jim chuckled at Ross, “Awwww baby, do you want me to cook the eggs?”  He squeezed Ross’s ass some more.

Ross turned around and put his hand on the bulge in Jim’s jeans causing him to moan, “No, just stop doing shit like that for just a few minutes until I have this done,” Ross leaned down and thrusted his tongue into Jim’s mouth for a hard kiss.  He pulled back and moaned, “Now please go sit your beautiful ass down!”

Jim raised his hands up, “Alright I will! Jazsus, don’t get your knickers in a twist!”

Ross finished the eggs and plated the food and sat down, “So honey, how was your day?” Ross was smirking now.

“It was good.  I got a lot of good shots at the Capitol building, then later at an inner city school for a story that a co-worker is working on.  And how was your day, great love of mine?”

Ross took a couple of bites of his eggs, “Verity called. We talked for a while.”

Jim’s eyebrows raised, “Oh how is she doing?”

“She’s doing well.  She and Andrew are doing goodl.  So um, about this trip to Ohio…”

“What about it?”

Ross put his fork down, “I’m kind of, nervous about it.  Your mum seems very nice, it’s just..”

“I don’t understand, I thought you were all for going to mom’s for Christmas?  Is it too much too soon?” Jim was a little concerned now.

Ross was starting to get fidgety, “It’s just that I’ve never met anyone’s family before, and I don’t want to intrude on your family traditions, and, and, I …”  Ross sighed and started scratching at his beard and face.

Jim rolled his eyes, “Is it the sex part?”

Ross was so surprised by what Jim said he nearly spit out his food, “What are you talking about?  What sex part?”

“Well not that we’d be having sex, but sleeping in the same room.  I thought maybe that’s what worrying you,” Jim said.

Ross pushed his chair back, “Christ Jim!  I wasn’t before, but I am now!  What are you talking about sleeping together?  We can’t sleep together under your mother’s roof?”

Jim started laughing, “Why not?  We’re grown adults, mom won’t mind.  Is that what you’re stressed about?”

Ross’s eyes grew wider, “Bloody hell Jim! I’m not sleeping in the same bed as you in your mother’s home!”

“Well, then I’m afraid you’ll have to sleep on the couch. My mom turned Pat’s old bedroom into her craft room.   Look, Ross, it will be fine.  If you want to sleep on the couch that’s fine, but please come with me.  I promise it will be low key.  You have to get to know them at some point.  It might as well be now because I don’t know when I’ll be going back again.  Please?”  Jim was trying not to beg, but he was really wanting Ross to come home with him to meet his family.

“What about the drive?  I won’t be able to help you drive yet,” secretly Ross couldn’t stand the thought of a seven hour drive but he would do it for Jim.

Jim wrapped his arms around Ross’s waist, “I’ve driven it by myself lots of times, so I’m not worried about it,” he stuck out his lower lip like he was pouting.

Ross smiled, “Alright, but there’s something about me that you don’t know.”

“Oh fuck please don’t tell me that you’re really straight!”

Ross gave one of those laughs where his whole face is glowing, “No, I can assure you that I’m gay.”  Then Ross’s face became serious again, “No, my problem is that I get car sick, so I’m not really sure that I can ride in a car for seven hours straight, mate.”

Jim started laughing and then stopped when he realised that Ross was serious, “Oh man, you are serious aren’t you?”

Ross shook his head yes.

“Oh man.  Well, isn’t there medicine for that?  I know there is.  I don’t remember what it’s called but I know it’s out there… and people wear those dots behind their ears.  You could get some of those!”  Jim was trying to think of anything that would make this trip happen for Ross.  

Ross was still shaking his head, “Yeah, I’ve used those bloody dots before, but they’re prescription and I don’t have a doctor yet to prescribe them for me.  Do you have a doctor that would write me a script?”

Jim was thinking about his doctor, “Well yeah I do, but I haven’t seen him in forever.  I could call the office and see if I could get you in.  Don’t worry mate, we’ll make this happen.  And if we have to stop a couple of times that’s no big deal.”

***************************

Ross was having his first experience with the American healthcare system.  Jim did have a primary physician, but unfortunately, it was the holidays and he didn’t have openings for a new patient even if he was a referral from an established patient.  So, he tried an urgent care and waited for four hours to see a physician’s assistant who luckily had the same problem that Ross did with car sickness and was willing to write him a prescription for medication to help with nausea. 

The car was packed with their bags and the Christmas gifts for the family, the snacks and drinks were in the car, the roads were clear from snow, and Ross had a pillow and had taken his nausea medication.  

Jim looked at Ross, “You ready Freddie?”

“Ready as I’ll ever be.  Wake me up when we get there!” Ross said

“Will do,” Jim replied.

*************************

Four hours later Jim was pulled off at a rest stop to let Ross get out of the car to throw up. He had managed to sleep for the first four hours but then he woke up with the urge to throw up.  Luckily Jim was able to pull over just in time.  Jim looked at his watch and the maps app on his phone to figure out home much longer he had to drive before arriving at his mother’s.  He’d made the trip countless times, but he thought he would just double check for the sake of double checking.   They were about half way through the trip, with about another four hours to go.  Ross made his way back to the car wiping his mouth with a kleenex.  He opened the door and got in the car.

Jim looked at him, and noticed that Ross was pale and a little clammy, “You alright?”

Ross shook his head, “Yeah, I just took another one of those pills for nausea so hopefully that will do the trick for the rest of the trip.  How much longer do we have to go?”

Jim tilted his head feeling bad for his partner, “About four more hours.  Will you be okay for the rest of the trip?”

“Yes, let’s just get back on the road,” Ross said quietly.

“Okay, Ohio here we come!”  Jim normally played the radio on these road trips, but Ross asked to leave it off so that he could try to sleep, so no radio.

Jim finally pulled into his mom’s driveway after six more hours and three more stops.  He turned the engine off and let out a big sigh and unbuckled his seatbelt.  Ross was sound asleep.  He felt sorry that Ross had such a miserable time.  He gave his boyfriend a light shove on his shoulder, “Babe? We’re here.”  No response.  “Ross, love, time to wake up… we’re at my mom’s.  Come on Ross, wake up!” 

“Hmmm, wha?  Where are we?”

Jim smiled, “Ross, we’re at my mom’s, time to wake up.”

Ross looked around, “Oh shit I missed the drive into town didn’t I?  Damnit!”  

“It’s okay Ross, we can drive around to look at the town later..” Jim and Ross jumped at the sound of someone pounding on the driver’s door window.  There was a woman with her hair wrapped up in a towel like a turban, screaming at Jim!

Ross’s eyes were wide, “Who the fuck is that?”

Jim rolled his eyes, “That would be my mother.”  Jim raised his hands to try to calm his mother down.

“Come on sugar, come on, get out of the car so I can hug you!  Is that Ross?”  Jim’s mom was so excited, she couldn’t contain herself.

Jim finally opened his door so his mother would quit screaming, “Mom calm the fuck down, you’re scaring Ross!”  Jim wrapped his arms around his mom in hopes of calming her down.  She wasn’t normally quite this nuts when he came home, so it must have been the thought that Jim brought Ross home to meet her.    

Ross deemed it safe to open his door and stepped out of the car with a careful smile on his face.  He walked around the car to meet Jim’s mum, still feeling a bit queasy.  He was starting to get a kick out of the scene playing out in front of him between Jim and his mum.  

Jim finally freed himself from his mother’s hug, “Mom calm down now, okay?  I want you to meet Ross.  Ross, this is my mom April.  Mom, this is my partner, Ross.”

Ross held out his hand to shake April’s hand, “Hello Mrs. Hawkins, it’s lovely to meet you…”

April grabbed Ross in a hug, “Oh we don’t waste time shaking hands in this family!”  Ross wasn’t able to return the hug yet because she was squeezing so hard.  Jim noticed the shocked look on Ross’s face and was trying not to laugh.  Ross finally reciprocated the hug and backed away from this excited woman with her hair still wrapped in a towel.  

April pulled back, her hands still had a firm grip on Ross’s arms.  “Oh my goodness let me get a good look at this beautiful man!”  She raised her hands to touch Ross’s cheeks, “My son done found himself a beeutiful doctor!!!  How exciting is that!”

Jim intervened before Ross hitchhiked his way to the nearest airport, “Mother!  Please calm down and stop holding Ross’s face!”  Jim looked at Ross’s face to see his reaction, but by this time, Ross was smiling with his whole face which was a good sign to Jim.  “Ross, I’m sorry, she’s not usually this crazed.”

Ross laughed, “It’s fine, I don’t mind.  It’s wonderful to meet you April, I’ve heard a lot about you from Jim.”

“Aww you’re so sweet.  Let’s all go inside before we catch a cold.  Jimmy, you get all of the bags while I show Ross the way.  Are you hungry Ross?”  She wrapped her arm around Ross’s while they walked into the house.

“Oh no, I couldn’t eat a thing.  My stomach is still upset from the trip.  But I would take a cup of tea if you have some,” Ross was laying on the charm now.

“Oh my Ross, I love your accent!  So very posh!” April replied.  Ross’s face had another shocked look on it.

Jim’s face cringed when she heard his mom call Ross posh.  She didn’t realise that could be taken as an insult.

*********************************

Jim and Ross were sitting at the kitchen table having some tea.  After April’s introduction to Ross, Jim was now the one feeling nauseous.  “Mom, are you going to take that towel off your head?”

April gasped and raised her hands to the towel, “Oh shit! Jimmy, why didn’t you tell me it was still on!”

“I tried, but you wouldn’t stop talking long enough for me to tell you!” Jim was now laughing at his mom.

“Ross, please excuse me while I go wash my hair.  Make yourself at home, and I’ll be back before you know it!”  Ross watched her rush out of the room.

Jim let out a huge sigh, “Oh my god Ross, I am so sorry about that whole scene outside.  She’s not normally that crazy when I come home.  I don’t know what’s gotten into her!”

Ross waved his hand at Jim, “Don’t worry about it Jimmy!”  Ross was chuckling at Jim over his mother calling him Jimmy,  “It must be my ‘posh’ accent!”  He started laughing at the expression on Jim’s face.  “She’s certainly full of energy.  Are you sure she’s your mom and not your sister?”

“Oh Christ I’m sorry about the whole posh thing.  She has no idea that it could be considered an insult.”

Ross just shook his head, “Stop!  It’s fine!  Really!  At least your mom means well, and isn’t afraid to show her love for you.  But I have to ask, what’s with the towel on her head?”

Jim started laughing, “She colours her own hair.  She must have had a towel around it to catch the dye from dripping.  But don’t ask me what colour it will be.  It could be orange under that towel!”  He got up and went to the fridge and pulled out two beers and handed one to Ross, “She means well.  She really does.  And she works really hard at the bar.  My sister keeps after her to retire, but I think if she ever did, she would die from boredom.  Let’s go sit down in the living room and relax.”  

They both stretched out while sitting on the couch.  Ross noticed how tired Jim was, “Hey I’m sorry for all of the times you had to pull over.  Those pills don’t seem to last very long.”

“Hey don’t worry about it.  Do you think the dots behind your ears would work better?” Jim asked.

“Yeah, that’s what I’ve always used before.  I should’ve pushed harder for that doctor to prescribe those for me.”

Jim looked at him, “What I don’t understand is, how did you handle it in the army? Or when you’re on the tube?

“The tube never bothers me.  I don’t know if it’s because of the speed or what.  And in the army, I very seldom had to travel for a long time in a jeep or truck, and if I did, I used those dots.  I wasn’t the only one, there were a few other soldiers that had to use them also.”  Ross patted the couch with his hand, “So is this the couch that I’m crashing on tonight?”

“What?  You’re not sleeping on the couch!” April walked in on them talking and scared them both.

“Mom, you scared the shit out of us!  Ross wants to sleep on the couch.  I told him he doesn’t have to but that’s what he wants to do,” he noticed her hair colour was back to the honey blonde that she had when he was growing up, “I like your hair colour, it looks nice on you.”

“Oh thanks sugar.  I just needed to touch it up a bit, not that I have any grey hair,” April confidently replied.

Jim smiled, “Oh of course not, I didn’t think you did.”  He took a large drink of his beer to keep from laughing.

April gave her son the side eye, “Now Ross, I will hear none of you sleeping on the couch.  It doesn’t bother me in the least if you and Jim sleep in the same bed.  And feel free to have sex because the walls in this house are pretty thick.”  Ross choked on his beer with her statement.

Jim rolled his eyes, “Mom, I know you mean well, but tone it down a bit.  Ross grew up in a very conservative house.  I don’t think they even talked about sex.”  Ross was still trying to recover from choking on his beer.

April looked at Ross and tilted her head, “Oh is that right Ross?”

“Um yes, I’m afraid so.  Sex was never discussed and I was never allowed to have someone spend the night, male or female,” Ross quietly added.

“Oh, are you bisexual Ross?” April asked.

Jim let out a sigh, “No mom, Ross is gay.  But his parents have just never accepted his sexuality.  They didn’t even contact him when he was injured in the war,” Jim thought maybe it would be better if he explained a few things to his mom instead of making Ross re-live everything.

April got up to sit next to Ross, “Oh that’s horrible Ross, I’m so very sorry.  I don’t understand how parents can do that to their children.  But don’t you never mind.  I want you to sleep in the same bed as Jimmy, and be comfortable with it.  Think of yourself as my son too.  I might be a little ditzy at times, or a little loud, but from now on, you’re one of mine sugar,” April leaned in to give Ross a hug, and started to rub his back to soothe him.  

Ross was a little taken aback by April’s hug, but hugged her back. Ross cleared his voice, “Thank you April, I appreciate that.”

Jim had a tear in his eye witnessing the scene between his mom and the love of his life, “Well, I guess that means that I’ll be taking all of the luggage upstairs then.  Nobody’s sleeping on the couch.”

Ross pulled back from April and wiped his eyes, “I’ll help you take the bags up, Jimmy.”  Jim gave Ross a dirty look for calling him Jimmy!

“Right.  I have some potato soup simmering that we can have for supper and some good crusty bread and cheese,” said April

Jim stopped in his tracks, “Ohhhh mom I love your potato soup!  You really need to teach me how to make it.  You’ll love it Ross, it’s so good.”

“It smells delicious if that’s what I’m smelling,” Ross said.

April got up, “It is.  I love spoiling Jim when he comes home and cook him his favourite dishes.  It’s the best way I have to make sure he comes back again and not chasing some dangerous criminals somewhere.”

“Oh maahhh.”

*******************************

Jim took Ross for a spin around town to see some of the sights and the Christmas lights.  He parked the car in the centre of town so that they could get out and walk around.  It was a clear night and the stars were bright, but that also made it colder.  Ross was already zipping his coat up and pulling his gloves on.  Jim started telling Ross about his hometown, “It’s an older town with local businesses passed down from generation to generation.  We’re set on Lake Erie, so tourists are the main source of income for the locals.  In the summer it’s boating and fishing, ferry boats going back and forth to the islands where there are more tourist attractions like wineries.  In the winter time there are snowmobile races and ice fishing.” 

Ross noticed that there was a long pile of snow down the centre of the entire length of the street.  “Hey Jim, what’s up with all of the snow in the middle of the street?”

“Oh that’s where they plow it if they’ve had a large amount of snow.  Then they dump it in trucks with a front end loader and take it somewhere the town can dump it.”

“Really? That’s interesting,” Ross said.  

Jim went to grab Ross’s hand but Ross moved it away.  Jim gave him a weird look, “It’s okay you know.  Everybody here knows that I’m gay, and they don’t care.”  He held out his hand and Ross looked at it and smiled, then took his hand.  

All of the store windows were decorated with lights and different winter scenes painted in the windows.  There were white lights hung high from one side of the street to the other, angels in lights were everywhere.  Ross’s eyes and smile kept getting bigger as they walked down the sidewalk.  He pointed to the real mini Christmas trees with coloured lights adhered to the telephone poles on both sides of the street.  Poinsettias filled large planters on the corners of the streets.  

Ross noticed a large star at the end of the street, “What is that?”

Jim saw where he was pointing, “Oh that’s the best part of the town’s decorations.  Come on, we need to drive down there and get closer.”

Jim parked at the end of the street so they could get out to give Ross a closer look.  The street dead ended into a park with a street that continued on all sides of the park.  But at the end of the street between two large poles, was a huge star that was hung near the top of the two poles.  It was bright and brilliant.  Underneath the star was a large lit sign that said ‘Merry Christmas’ and underneath that was another lit sign with a large painting of an open Bible that said ‘Peace on earth, goodwill toward men.’  

Ross’s face was completely lit up with happiness, “That is bloody brilliant!  Incredible!”

Jim smiled at Ross’s reaction, “That sign has been raised at Christmas every year for 80 years.  The only year that it wasn’t lit up was one year during  WWII.”

Ross’s eyes got wider if that was possible, “You’re kidding!  That’s absolutely incredible.  What a wonderful tradition this town has.”  Ross turned around to see main street all lit up in its glory.  Ross was the one to grab Jim’s hand this time.  “Thank you so much for bringing me here to your home town, love.”

“Is it worth the car sickness from DC?” Jim asked.

Ross’s eyebrows raised and his mouth wide with laughter, “Definitely worth the car sickness!”  He pulled Jim close to him and gave him a long kiss, “I love you James Hawkins.”  

“I love you Ross Poldark!”