"Advent Candles"
Thomas gazed wearily around the gathering hall, mentally urging his parents to finish up with their endless chatting so they could leave. It was boring being a teenager in a group of so many adults, and his patience was past gone. He didn't really care to listen to how Old Lady Martha's third cousin twice removed was having hip surgery on Wednesday, or how so-and-so's daughter-in-law's sister was getting married to some guy from Michigan, and he definitely didn't want to discuss today's sermon with Pastor Brianna (mostly because he hadn't particularly been paying attention at the time). He just wanted to go home.
His father laughed loudly off to his left, and Thomas looked at him, hoping that it signaled the end of the conversation and the beginning of the farewells, but it seemed he wasn't so lucky. He watched, somewhat amused and somewhat embarrassed, as his father's gestures grew more and more animated and wild, which caused his blushing mot