Chapter Thirty Four – A Lernier Family
Christmas
David sat near the rear of the science classroom. It was his habit to sit where he could
observe everything that was going on.
He loved watching people. He
didn’t always enjoy interacting with them; because most of them were so
illogical. He loved watching the
original Star Trek series because he could so relate to his favorite character
– Spock. His teachers often thought he
wasn’t paying attention in class; however, they quickly learned that he had an
amazing memory and that he missed nothing.
He could repeat verbatim every conversation he heard and could answer
any question they may throw at him.
Because he already knew the academic material being taught in his honors
classes, he kept himself from being bored by watching his fellow students. He tried to figure out why each one acted
the way they did. It was like being
Sherlock Holmes to him as he tried to deduce what was behind the behaviors he
observed. Sometimes, he would go up to
his classmates and ask them random questions.
They thought he was odd; but he was actually very meticulously filling
in holes in their individual profiles that he had built in his mind.
He had spent a lot of time with his Dad;
since Purev had started seeing Idree.
David was trying to make sense of the feelings of rejection he felt, and
had confided in his Dad that he wasn’t sure who he was anymore. He had been so sure of himself until Purev
had entered his life. David had started
off his conversation with his Dad by telling him about his favorite
pastime. Dad had listened intently to
David’s explanations about how he observed people and why he did it. He had opened up about his dreams for his
future, including finding Mr. Right. He
had expressed his fears of rejection if he approached a guy (other than Purev). He felt so much better now that he had been
able to talk about his feelings. Dad
had helped him work through his emotions and had shared some of his own
experiences. He was glad his Dads had
adopted him. He couldn’t imagine living
with straight parents who couldn’t relate to him as a gay teen.
David’s attention was drawn to the front
of the classroom when he saw the new kid enter the classroom and approach the
teacher with his paperwork. Mr. Rogers
had looked it over and then had said, “Class, please welcome Mark
Henderson. He’s just moved here from
Texas. Mark, please take the seat next
to David.”
Mark was tall, blond and lithe of
frame. He had dark brown eyebrows over electric
blue eyes, a cute smile, and a smallish, round nose. He wore a blue muscle shirt that matched his
eyes, and jeans that hugged him in all the right places. David was trying not to stare at the
handsome stranger as he moved down the aisle and sat down in the desk indicated
by Mr. Rogers. He looked over at David
and extended his hand. “Hi, I’m Mark.”
David shook Mark’s hand and replied,
“Glad to meet you. I’m David.” Mark didn’t release his had right away. Mark stared into David’s eyes almost as if
he knew David’s innermost secrets. David
liked the feel of Mark’s hand in his, and didn’t attempt to break Mark’s grip
on his hand. The teacher started his
lecture, causing Mark to let go of his hand and turn back to the front of the
room.
Mark pulled out his note book and
started taking notes. David was glad
the teacher had started his lecture; because he was feeling really
confused. When he shook hands with
Mark, he felt a shock of electricity, or something like it. Mark had held his hand a little longer than
necessary; but the thing that really had him shook up was how Mark had gazed
into David’s eyes. Those electric blue
eyes had peered into his soul, making a connection between them. David was so unnerved by what had happened
that he couldn’t concentrate on what was being said in class.
The bell rang and Mark turned to
David. “What’s your next class?” David didn’t answer; so Mark repeated his
question, “What’s your next class?”
This time David said, “English with Ms.
Hardy.”
Mark looked at his class schedule and
said, “I have the same class as you do.”
He passed his class schedule to David and asked, “Are you in any of my
other classes?”
David glanced over the classes and said,
“Yes, you’re in my Tech Tools class, as well as my history class; and we have
the same lunch schedule.” He handed
Mark his schedule. As his hand brushed Mark’s, he again felt that
shock of electricity pass between them.
Mark noticed David’s reaction to his
touch and grinned at David. “Do you
mind if I hang out with you during lunch?
I don’t know anyone here and you seem like a great guy to know.” David had blushed at Mark’s statement. Mark saw the color rise in David’s cheeks
and said, “You don’t need to be embarrassed.
You’re handsome and cute at the same time. I think we’re going to be great friends.”
They stood up and moved toward the
classroom door. David’s mind locked
onto Mark’s statement. He had said
David was cute. He wondered if Mark was
gay. As he followed Mark out of the
room, David noticed they were exactly the same height, and that Mark had a nice
butt. It was one that he was sure his
Dad would’ve said it just asked to be fucked.
When he asked his Dad to explain what he meant, his Dad had replied that
David would know it when he saw one.
Well, now he knew what his Dad had been talking about! More importantly, he could relate to the
strong physical attraction that existed between his Dads. Dad had explained that his attraction to his
husband had nearly overwhelmed him at first.
He had added that it was still as strong as it was when they first
met. David wondered if the serious
attraction he felt for Mark would be something that would last as long as what
he had witnessed between his parents.
Mark turned and saw David staring at
him. He met David’s gaze and
smiled. “Do you like what you
see?” David didn’t dare speak; but he
nodded his head in the affirmative.
Mark’s smile widened and his eyes sparkled with delight. “That’s good because I like what I see as
well. We are going to get along
famously.”
They walked side by side down the hall,
their arms brushing against each other, as their fellow students pushed past
them on their way to their classes.
David asked, “Where do you live?”
“I live in Kingstowne. My house is a couple of blocks from
here. Maybe you could come over after
school today. We could do our homework
together,” Mark said.
“I would like that. I’ll have to call my Dads during lunch,”
David said. Mark had come to a dead
stop as if he’d been hit by a freight train.
The kid who had been following behind him swore at Mark as he swerved to
keep from running into him. David
turned and asked, “Is something wrong?”
“Did you say you were going to call your
Dads?” Mark asked, staring hard into David’s eyes.
“Yes, I did,” David said. “Why?”
“Are they gay?” Mark asked.
“Yes, they are and so am I,” David
said. “Is that a problem?”
Mark’s smile was huge and his eyes
danced with excitement. He replied, “No, it’s not a problem; because
I’m gay, too.”
David grinned at his new friend. “Thank you for telling me. It will be nice to have someone to talk to
who understands me.”
Mark said, “Yes, it will be good to have
a gay friend. I was afraid I was going
to have to pretend I was straight to have any friends here.” Then his expression changed to one of
worry. “But you have to promise not to
tell anyone else. My parents would
throw me out of the house if they knew I’m gay.”
David frowned and said, “Don’t
worry. I won’t tell anyone; but may I
tell my Dads?”
Mark thought for a moment. “Yes, you may tell them; because they’re
gay, they will understand why I can’t tell my parents.”
“Dad’s family disowned him when they
found out he was gay. He wants to be
reconciled with them; but I don’t think they will ever change,” David said,
feeling sad for his Dad.
They entered their English class and sat
down together. Mark pulled out his
schedule and presented it to the teacher.
They spent the rest of the day together, moving from class to class. At lunch, they had a table to
themselves. David had no other
friends. He ate lunch with Ashley when
she had the same lunch period; but today she had an earlier lunch period.
Mark asked, “Do you always eat lunch
alone?”
“No, I eat lunch with my sister on
orange days. On white days, I eat lunch
alone,” David said.
“How old is your sister?” Mark asked.
“She’s 12. She’s in 7th grade,” David
responded.
“My sister, Michaela, is the same age as
your sister,” Mark said.
“That’s really cool,” David said.
“Michaela is in the 7th
grade, too. Maybe they have met each
other like we have,” Mark said.
David said, “Maybe.” He doubted it, but didn’t want to contradict
Mark.
Mark saw the look of doubt on David’s
face and said, “Even they haven’t met, do you think your sister would like to
come over to our house and meet Michaela?”
“I can ask her,” David said. He actually felt better about going to
Mark’s house, now that he could ask Ashley if she wanted to go, too. He had been feeling a little anxious about
going with Mark; despite his desire to get to know Mark.
They finished eating their lunch and
moved out into the hallway with a group of other teens who were heading to
their next class. David spied Ashley
walking with her friends. He zigzagged
across the hall to catch up with her.
Mark managed to keep up with him and came up beside him. David said, “Ashley, this is my new friend,
Mark. He and his sister, Michaela, just
moved here from Texas. Mark has invited us to come over to his house
after school.”
Ashley looked at Mark and smiled. “Hi Mark.
I think I’ve met your sister.
She’s the new girl in my gym class.
She has long blond hair and the same blue eyes as you.”
Mark replied, “Hi.” He suddenly felt shy, which was unusual for
him. He hadn’t expected Ashley to
comment on his eyes. “Yes, that sounds
like Michaela.”
Ashley said, “She seems nice.” She looked at her brother and asked, “Are
you going to call Daddy?”
“Yes, I’ll call him right now,” David
said. He pulled out his cell
phone.
It rang once before I answered. “Hello, David,” I said.
“I’ve met a new friend today. He has invited me and Ashley to go over to
his house after school. He has a sister
the same age as Ashley,” David said.
“Do you have their parents’ phone
number? I’ll call and make sure it’s
okay with their parents,” I said.
David turned to Mark and asked, “What’s
your Mom’s phone number?”
Mark gave it to David and he repeated it
to me. “Okay, I’ll call and then I’ll
send you a text message to let you know if it’s okay or not.”
“Okay, Daddy,” David said. “I love you.”
“I love you, too,” I said.
David ended the call and looked at
Mark. “Daddy will call your mother and
will leave me a text message.”
Mark smiled and said, “I’m sure Mom will
say it’s okay. She wants us to make new
friends.”
Ashley said, “I’ve got to get to class
and so do you guys.” She left with her
girlfriends and the boys walked to their next class.
*** ***
I called the number David had given to
me. The phone rang three times before
someone answered. The female voice on
the other end of the line said, “Hello, this is the Henderson residence.”
“Hello, this is Glenn Lernier. Your son, Mark, has invited my children,
David and Ashley, to come over to your home after school today. I’m calling to verify that you are okay with
having them in your home.”
Mrs. Henderson said, “Thank you for
calling. Yes, I’m okay with them
visiting with us. I’ve encouraged Mark
to reach out and make new friends. We
have just moved from Texas and it’s been hard on the children. They really miss their friends.”
“Where do you live?” I asked.
“We live in Kingstowne, not far from the
school,” she answered. She gave me the
address.
“We will pick them up just before 6 PM,”
I said. “Is that okay?”
“That will be fine,” she replied. “Thank you for giving them permission to visit
our home. I’m glad you called. It lets me know that you’re watching over
your children. I know that one can’t be
too careful these days.”
“I agree,” I said. “It’s nice to talk to you. We will see you this afternoon.”
“I look forward to meeting you and your
children,” she said.
I sent a text message to both David and
Ashley, letting them know of the arrangements I had made with Mrs. Henderson.
*** ***
David felt his cell phone vibrate in his
pocket. He knew his Daddy had sent him
a text message. He surreptitiously took
his cell phone out of his pocket and read the text message. He slipped the phone back into his pocket
and turned to Mark. “It’s a go for this
afternoon.”
Mark grinned and said, “Great!”
David couldn’t concentrate the rest of
the afternoon. He didn’t handle change
well and this was a big deviation from his routine. It was a change he had initiated; but it
still made him nervous. The school day
ended and they met Ashley and Michaela near the football field for their short
walk to Mark’s house.
Ashley and Michaela seemed to hit it off
and were talking animatedly about some of the boys in their physical education
class. After listening to them talk for
a few minutes, Mark said, “I think they will be great friends.”
David had to agree. “Ashley makes friends easily.”
Mark looked closely at David. “But you don’t. Is that it?”
David nodded his head. “You are the first friend I’ve made at this
school. I have a friend that goes to
Edison High School.”
“How many friends do you have?” Mark
asked. His curiosity was piqued.
“Other than my family, two; you and
Purev,” David said.
Mark smiled, “Then I guess I must be
extra special; because you became my friend the very first time we met.”
David nodded his head. “Yes, I think you are wonderful.”
“And good looking,” Mark said, grinning.
David laughed, “Yes, and good looking.”
They arrived at Mark’s home and were met
at the door by Mrs. Henderson. Mark
introduced them to her, “Mom, this is David and Ashley Lernier.”
“Welcome to our home,” she said.
Michaela said, “Mom, Ashley and I want
to make cookies. May we make chocolate
chip cookies?”
“Certainly,” she answered. “Go right into the kitchen. Michaela, you know where the ingredients
are.”
The girls disappeared into the
kitchen. Mrs. Henderson turned to the
boys and asked, “What are your plans?”
“We’re going to finish our homework, first. Then, we are going to play some video
games,” Mark answered.
“Okay.
That sounds like a plan,” she said.
Mark said, “Follow me.”
Mark led David upstairs to his
bedroom. “This is my room,” he said.
David looked around with great interest. Mark had several Marine Corps posters on his
walls. On the shelf over his bed, Mark
had put his model tanks and airplanes on display. There was a photograph of Mark and someone
dressed in fatigues on his dresser.
Mark noticed David’s interest in the photo and said, “That’s me and my
Dad. Dad is in the Marine Corps. He is stationed at the Pentagon.”
David said, “My Dad works at the
Pentagon as well.”
Mark flopped down on his bed and said, “That’s
cool! But how can he work at the
Pentagon if he’s gay? Is he in the
military?”
“He’s a civilian contractor,” David
replied. “He was in the Marine Corps
when he was younger.”
Mark said, “That is really awesome. Let’s get our homework done.”
David sat on the other side of the bed
from Mark. He pulled his homework out
of his backpack and spread out his textbooks on the bed. Mark followed suit and they soon were
comparing notes and helping each other to finish their assignments. Later, they played videos games until it was
time for David and Ashley to go home.
Mark said, “I wish you could sleep
over. I haven’t had so much fun in
ages.”
David grinned, showing his braces. “I had a great time, too. I’m glad I can just be a normal teen and not
have to watch what I say about how good looking some of the guys are at
school.”
Mark nodded his head in agreement. “Best thing of all is that we’re friends.”
Mark and David came downstairs and
joined Michaela and Ashley in the kitchen.
Ashley said, “You should try some of the cookies.”
Mark heard the front door open and said,
“Dad’s home.”
Lt. Col. Clayton Henderson closed the
door and dropped his briefcase on the floor under the coat rack in the
hallway. He entered the kitchen and was
surprised to find strange teenagers sitting at the breakfast bar with his kids,
eating chocolate chip cookies. He
smiled at the group of them and said, “Hello!
Mark, will you introduce me to your friends?”
Mark said, “Dad this is David and Ashley
Lernier. We met them at school today.”
Clay said, “It’s nice to meet you. I’m glad that Mark and Michaela have made
friends so quickly.”
Michaela said, “Dad, Ashley has invited
me to join her Girl Scout troop. Is
that okay?”
Clay said, “Sure it’s okay. I think it would be a good way to make new
friends.”
Ashley said, “The girls in our troop are
wonderful. They all come from good
families and we are really good friends.
Michaela will fit right in. We
meet at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church on Tuesdays.”
Hearing that the Girl Scout troop was
affiliated with a church confirmed to Clay that he was right to give his
permission for his daughter to join the troop.
He was a staunch Baptist; but he was accepting of other Christian
denominations; even if he didn’t agree with their doctrinal views.
He was pretty steamed about being
reprimanded by the general about his remarks about homosexuals. Seeing that the children had finished their
cookies, he said, “I need to talk to your mom for a few minutes. Will you wait in the front room for David
and Ashley’s parents?”
“Sure,” Mark said. He led the way into the front room and took
a seat on the couch. The teens were
soon engaged in an energetic conversation about who was better at video games: boys or girls.
Clay sat down on one of the stools at
the bar and started to vent his frustrations.
“You wouldn’t believe what happened to me today.” He proceeded to narrate the events of his
day.
*** ***
Clay had met his team for the first time
today. The retiring officer, Garth
Bachman, had briefed him on the project and then had introduced him to the
staff. He had taken time to review the
profiles of each member of the team. He
had been very pleased to see that he had a very capable team; however, he had
been informed by a member of his new team that two of the contractors were
homosexuals. He had thanked the guy for
informing him who they were, and had made a mental note to make sure he got rid
of them as soon as possible.
After meeting the team, he had gone to
lunch with Lt. Col. Bachman, and had made a derogatory remark about homosexuals
and expressed his opinion about the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. He had been surprised to be met with stone
cold silence.
Lt. Col. Bachman had quietly said, “I
wouldn’t be so vocal about your prejudice against gays if I were you.”
He did a double take and asked,
“Why? The faggots don’t belong in the
military. Not only that, they shouldn’t
be allowed to work for the military in a civilian capacity. Homosexuals will contaminate the military
with their evil ways.” His voice had
gotten louder and had carried across the room.
He hadn’t noticed General Tanaka and his staff sitting at the table
behind him.
General Tanaka stood up and approached
their table. He said, “Gentlemen please
accompany me to my office.” It was a
quiet voice, but it carried the authority of command. The two men stood and followed General
Tanaka to his office. He opened the
door to his office and indicated that they should take the seats in front of
this desk.
As soon as they were seated, he said,
“Lt. Col. Henderson, I will not tolerate that kind of derogatory language from
members of my staff. Let me remind you
that we have many civilian contractors who do great work for us, and some of
the best happen to be gay. If you
endanger your project by driving away the talented gay men who are developing
your programs, I will hold you personally responsible for the failure of your
project. Do I make myself clear?”
Lt. Col. Henderson said, “Yes, sir.”
“Good.
Make sure you treat every member of your staff with dignity and
respect,” he said. “If there is any on
your team who has a problem working with gays, I want to see them in my office
first thing tomorrow morning. I will
find them an assignment they can be comfortable with; like a listening post in the
middle of the Egyptian desert. You’re
dismissed.”
They got up and left the general’s
office. Lt. Col. Bachman said, “I tried
to warn you.”
Lt. Col. Henderson said, “That you
did. I’m sorry I ignored you. Who are the fagg...I mean gays on my team?”
Lt. Col. Bachman said, “You have their
files on your desk. I suggest you read
them thoroughly. Besides, I saw Hagman
bending your ear. I’m sure he has
already complained to you about them.”
He left Lt. Col. Henderson standing in
the hallway. He knocked on Rick’s door
and then entered. “Rick, I would get
your things packed. I don’t think you
will like working for the new guy. He’s
about as anti-gay as they come. Hagman
has already been filling him full of shit.”
Rick nodded his head. “I gathered that from the way he acted during
this morning’s meeting. I’ve already
packed all of my personal belongings into a box that I will take home with me
tonight. I’ve written my letter of
resignation and left it on the desk for Lt. Col. Henderson. I have called the Pentagon personnel office
and arranged to turn in my laptop and badge when I leave. I called our human resources people and
informed them that I will no longer work on this contract for them. They tried to convince me to stay; but I
said I could not tolerate working in such a hostile environment.”
“Have you told Glenn?” Garth asked.
Rick shook his head and said, “No, I
haven’t but we have already put contingency plans in place. He will begin full time work with Todd’s
company the week after Christmas, and I will stay home with the children until
I find a new job.”
“If you need anything, please let me
know,” Garth said. It pained him to see
Rick leaving the project; but he had expected this very thing to happen when he
discovered who was taking his place.
Rick’s cell phone rang and Garth said,
“I’ll catch you later.” He left,
closing the door behind him.
Rick answered the phone, “Hey, Babe.”
“Hey yourself, sweetheart. Can you pick up David and Ashley from their
friends’ house?” I asked.
“Sure, what’s the address?” Rick asked.
I gave it to him, along with their phone
number, just in case he got lost. “I’ll
see you when you get home.”
Rick said, “I love you.”
“I love you, too,” I said.
Rick broke the connection and sat down
at his desk to finish the paperwork that had shown up on his desk that
morning. A few hours later, he looked
up at the clock and decided it was time for him to leave. He looked around his office one last time,
and then picked up the box he had filled with his things. He took the keys to his office out of his
pocket and left them on the desk next to his letter of resignation. He turned in his badge at the security
office and was escorted out of the building.
He sat in his car in the Pentagon parking lot, staring at the big office
building. He was sad to be leaving his
job here; but he was relieved at the same time. Glenn was very supportive of his decision
not to work for someone who was prejudiced against gays; so it wouldn’t come as
a surprise to Glenn when he told him he had resigned from his job.
He put the key in the ignition and
started the car. He drove to the
address he had been given by Glenn. He
parked on the street in front of the house and got out of the car. He walked up to the door and rang the
doorbell.
The door was opened by Mark. “Hi, I’m Mark. You must be David’s Dad.”
Rick smiled at the handsome young man
who stood before him. “Yes, I’m David’s
Dad.”
“Please come inside. My parents wanted to meet you,” Mark said.
Rick was shown into the front room,
where he joined the other teens. He had
taken a seat in an armchair when he was surprised to hear the voice of his new
(now former) boss at the Pentagon.
Clay’s voice had risen as anger and
indignation blossomed in his chest. “I
hate faggots and I’ll drive every one of them out of the military if I have my
way; no matter what General Tanaka says.
They are vile sinners and shouldn’t be allowed to live.”
His wife said, “Clay, please control
yourself. We have company,
remember? I believe that the children’s
parents are here to pick them up. We
should go out and meet them.”
Clay had forgotten there were visitors
in his home; but he didn’t care who heard his opinion about gays. He looked at his wife and then stood up from
the stool and walked towards the front room.
Mark had been about to apologize for his
Dad’s remarks, when his Dad walked into the room. Instead, he said, “Dad, this is David’s
Dad.”
Rick had gotten to his feet and gave Clay
a steely eyed stare. “Thanks for the
introduction, Mark. I believe that your
father and I have already met. I’m
sorry that you feel so strongly about gays.
I believe that David and Ashley won’t be returning to your home where
such hatred toward gays exists. My
husband and I have raised our children to treat everyone with respect and
dignity; even if we disagree with their views.” Rick turned to Mrs. Henderson. “Thank you for your hospitality, Mrs.
Henderson. I know the children have had
a great time. David and Ashley, it’s
time for us to be going.”
David and Ashley followed their Dad out
of the front room and out the door to their Dad’s car.
*** ***
A few weeks later, David sat
cross-legged on his bed, listening to his music while he finished his
homework. Tomorrow was the last school
day before winter break, and he was looking forward to sleeping in every day
during the break. He completed his last
math problem and closed his textbook with a satisfied sigh. He put away his homework and stretched out
on his bed.
He stared at the ceiling as he thought
about what he wanted to get Daddy for Christmas. Dad was easy to get gifts for; because he
liked the same things David did. David
knew if he liked something, his Dad would, too. Daddy, on the other hand, was more of a
challenge. He thought about his
parents, and their little idiosyncrasies.
He smiled as he remembered his Dad’s way of winning an argument with
Daddy. David had watched his Dad in
action earlier in the day as they were having a discussion about where to spend
the holidays. They were in the family
room and didn’t know he was watching them.
*** ***
“I think we should spend the holidays
with Grandpa and Grandma,” I said.
“But we should spend some time with your
parents in St. Catharines,” Rick had insisted.
“I hate spending all of that time
driving,” I said, hearing the whine in my voice.
“Glenn, you know we don’t have to
drive. We can fly between the two
places,” Rick said.
“That will cost too much money, Babe,” I
said, trying not to give in to Rick’s logic!
“If we fly, we can also spend a day or
two at the beach. You know how much
everyone loves the beach. I’m sure if
you talk to Grandpa and Grandma about it, they will gladly make arrangements
for all of us to rent a house on Tybee Island,” Rick said. He put his arm around me and started
caressing my inner thigh and he leaned in to kiss me.
“Mr. Lernier, don’t think you’re going
to win this argument by distracting me with your charm and good looks,” I said,
knowing I was going to give in to him if he continued his seduction of my
senses.
Rick laughed and said, “You know you
can’t resist me.” He continued his
assault on my defenses. My body
responded to his touch and I moaned with pleasure. I tried to resist the urge to give in to
Rick, but failed miserably.
“Okay, you win. Just don’t stop what you’re doing.” Rick put his hand behind my head and kissed
me deeply as his hands roamed my body.
*** ***
David had nearly started to laugh when
he realized what his Dad had done. He
and his Dad had spent some quality one-on-one time together the day
before. David had asked him some pretty
pointed questions about his parents’ relationship. Dad hadn’t ducked the questions and had been
very candid about things. David really
admired his Dad’s direct approach to life.
He knew he could ask his Dad anything and he would get a straight
answer. He had drawn closer to his Dads
over the last few weeks since Purev decided he didn’t want to be his
boyfriend. Everything had been so
perfect before his world had been shattered.
His Dads had helped him regain his equilibrium, specifically Dad. Not that his Daddy wasn’t great because he was,
but Dad was so much more logical.
One of the things his Dad had shared was
a tactic he used sometimes that could win his Daddy over to his point of
view. Watching his Dad put the moves on
his Daddy made him smile. He quietly
backed away from the doorway and tiptoed up the stairs to his room. He closed the door and laughed at the
thought that his Dad could get his way so easily by distracting his Daddy. He knew it was because his Dads loved each
other very much and worked hard at making each other happy.
David loved his adopted parents and
wanted to have a loving relationship like theirs when he found his life
partner. His thoughts moved to the hot
looking new guy that he met in his math class who had just moved to the
area. His name was Mark. He had sat next to him in class his first
day at Hayfield Secondary. David’s thoughts
about Mark were interrupted by Purev’s arrival. He sat up and asked, “How’s Idree?”
Purev sat down on his bed and burst into
tears. “His parents have forbidden him
to see me. They met my father at a
party and he told them I was gay.”
David stood up and crossed over to
Purev’s bed. He put his arms around
Purev and said, “I’m so sorry, Purev.”
Purev clung to David and put his head on
his shoulder as he cried. After a while,
Purev pulled back and said, “I’m sorry.
I shouldn’t be crying on your shoulder.”
David said, “It’s okay, Purev. That’s what friends are for.”
Purev gave him a watery smile and said,
“I don’t deserve such good friends.”
“Yes, you do, Purev,” David said. “You’re part of this family and we love
you. You’ll find a new boyfriend. Just wait and see.”
Purev nodded his head and said, “I know
you’re right; but it just hurts like hell right now.”
David held Purev in his embrace until
Purev seemed to be fully recovered. He
released him and asked, “Are you okay, now?”
Purev nodded and said, “Yeah, I’m
okay. How are you and Mark doing?”
David smiled, “We’re good. Dad has relented on his edict that we were
forbidden to go over to Mark and Michaela’s house. Ashley convinced him that just because their
Dad was a bigot and someone to be avoided that didn’t mean we couldn’t
associate with his kids. Mark and
Michaela are okay with our Dads being gay.
In fact, Mark is gay; but hasn’t had the courage to tell his Dad.”
“I can imagine his Dad would disown him
just like mine did,” Purev said.
David nodded his head in agreement. “That’s why Mark hasn’t told his Dad. We have most of our classes together and we
have the same lunch schedule; so we spend a lot of time together. Mark wants us to be good friends. He thinks that if we’re still good friend
after high school that we can talk about becoming romantically involved with
each other.”
Purev smiled. “Did you have the same discussion with him
about not having sex until you’re 18 as you did with me?”
David nodded his head and said, “Yes, I
did. He agreed with me. He doesn’t want to risk being found out.”
Purev said, “Do you want to play video
games?”
David laughed. “Are you sure you want to play with me? You haven’t been able to beat me yet.”
Purev said, “I’m going to beat you on of
these times and you will have to admit that I’m a better gamer than you!”
David punched Purev in the
shoulder. “Yeah right!”
The two boys left their bedroom and made
their way to the living room and turned on the flat screen TV and the game
console. They were soon concentrating
on their efforts to keep the other from winning.
*** ***
It was Christmas Eve and Rick and Glenn
gathered their family around the Christmas tree to read the Christmas
story. Rick said, “Okay, everyone. Who is going to be Joseph?”
Kyle raised his hand, “I am and Ashley
gets to be Mary.”
Ashley said, “That was obvious.”
Kyle grinned and said, “I’m good at
stating the obvious.”
Cameron said, “We want to be the
shepherds.”
Rick said, “Okay, you and Skye can be the
shepherds. JJ and Josh, what do you
want to be?”
JJ said, “I want to be one of the
sheep.”
Josh said, “I want to be a camel.”
“Good, we have one sheep and one camel,”
Rick said.
Zach said, “I get to be the angel.”
Todd said, “I think you’re already an
angel.”
Zach smiled at his husband and leaned
over to kiss him. “So are you.”
I said, “Then we’ll have two angels.”
Todd laughed and said, “I’d love to be
an angel. Growing up, I always had to
be a shepherd or a wise man because Adam wanted to be the angel.”
“We need three wise men,” Rick said.
Purev looked at David and asked, “Do you
want to be a wise man or a shepherd?”
“Let’s be wise men,” David replied.
“Okay,” Purev agreed.
Rick handed me the last Christmas
present from under the tree. It was a
small beautifully wrapped box. He sat
down next to me and put his arm around my shoulders. “Go ahead and open it.”
The children watched me, as I unwrapped
my gift. I opened the box and stared at
what lie on the tissue paper. Kyle
leaned over to see what was in the box.
“It’s a set of keys.”
“I can see that,” I said. I reached inside the box and lifted out the
keys. They were on one of those cheap
tourist key chains that you find at the beach.
This one said, ‘Malagá.’ I
shifted the tissue paper around in the box and noticed there was a card
underneath it. I pulled it out and
opened it. A folded piece of paper fell
out on my lap. The card read, “Merry
Christmas, Glenn! Love, Rick
8-3-1-4.” I unfolded the piece of paper
that fell out of the card. As I read
it, my eyes got as big as saucers.
“Rick, you didn’t”
“I did,” he said.
Ashley said, “What did Dad do?”
“He bought us a house in Malagá,
Spain. It’s a villa on the beach,” I
said.
Rick smiled and said, “Joey and Tyler
called me about two months ago about a house that was for sale next door to
their parents’ home in Malagá. It’s a
large home with a swimming pool and 8 bedrooms. I thought we could live there this summer
and tour Europe.”
I gave Rick a hug and a kiss. “I love you, sweetheart. Thank you so much.”
Kyle asked, “So does this mean we’re
going to Spain next summer?”
“Yes, is does,” Rick said. “Joey and Tyler have a house there as well;
but it’s a couple of houses over from ours.
We can spend a few weeks on the beach before touring around the
continent.”
I looked around the room and said, “This
means we need to redouble our efforts to learn Spanish.”
Zach laughed and said, “I knew you were
going to say that.”
Ashley said, “We already speak Spanish,
Daddy. You’ve been teaching us Spanish
for years now.”
Purev said, “I’m going to need extra
lessons to catch up with everyone; since I have only lived with you for a
month.”
I looked over at Purev. “I think I can tutor you one-on-one if
you’re willing to take the time learn it.
You already speak two languages; picking up a third should be easier for
you than for most people.”
Purev smiled at me. He and I had developed a close friendship
over the last few weeks. He admitted
that Rick intimidated him and he wasn’t sure where he stood with him. I had tried to reassure him that he had
nothing to fear from my beloved husband.
Rick definitely is a man’s man; but he has a heart of gold. Purev would agree with me, but I could see
he wasn’t convinced. I have talked to
Rick about softening his approach to Purev and we agreed we would work on it
together. I looked over at Rick and
nodded me head.
Rick understood me and said, “Purev, I
would like to help you improve your Spanish skills, too.” Purev looked at Rick in surprise; but he
didn’t say anything. Rick saw his
expression. He smiled and said, “Don’t
look so surprised, Purev. I’m not the
big, bad wolf or something like that. I
love you, Purev, and I want you to reach your full potential.” Rick held his gaze and Purev’s eyes began to
sparkle with unshed tears as the realization that Rick didn’t hate him or
despise him for his behavior with David and Idree. “Just because I don’t necessarily approve of
something you’ve done, doesn’t stop me from loving you. I’m not like your natural father who hasn’t
figured out that you are the most precious thing he has in this world.” Rick saw a single tear escape and run down
Purev’s cheek. He stood up and crossed
the room to Purev. He took Purev by the
hand, pulling him to his feet and into his embrace. He held him for what seemed to be a long
time. Purev’s tears watered his shirt
as he clung to Rick.
Finally, Purev pulled back and said, “I
love you, Dad,”
Hearing those words brought tears to my
eyes, knowing how far Purev had come in order for him to be able to say those
words to Rick. Rick ruffled his hair
and said, “I love you, too, Purev.”
Purev laughed and escaped Rick’s embrace
as Rick gave his ‘evil dude’ laugh.
Purev knew that laugh and what it meant. He had seen Rick in action with the other
boys and knew he would end up being tickled if he didn’t make good his escape.
Rick grinned and asked, “Why did you run
away so fast?”
Purev put the armchair between himself
and Rick before turning to answer. He
grinned and said, “I know what you are up to, Dad.”
“What do you think I’m up to?” Rick
asked, giving an evil laugh.
Kyle said, “You’d better run for it
Purev!”
Rick laughed and said, “I won’t get you
this time; but beware. I’ll get you
when you least expect!”
David said, “We’ll help you escape,
Purev.”
Rick looked at David and asked, “What’s
this, mutiny among the crew?”
I nodded my head and said, “Yes, it is,
Babe!”
Rick returned to my side and said, “I
guess we’ll have to deal with the whole lot at the same time then.”
I laughed and said, “I suppose you will
because I’ve already dealt with it.”
“How’s that?” Rick asked.
“I’ve already told them that I’ll help them
tickle you next time you start to tickle them,” I said.
Rick gave me a look of surprise. He said, with mock sadness, “I’ve been
betrayed!”
“No, we’ve just decided that we love you
enough to tickle you back,” Kyle said.
I nodded my head. I decided that we needed to get back to the
subject of learning Spanish. “If we’re
going to live in Spain, we need to learn how to speak like Spaniards.”
Ashley nodded her head. “I remember how you taught us to listen to
how people speak; so we could identify where they are from by how they
pronounce certain words.”
I smiled at Ashley. “Do you remember what to listen for?”
“Yes, I do,” she replied and proceeded
to recite from memory everything I had taught her.
Rick laughed and said, “I think she’s
got it. You had better watch out,
Glenn. She will learn to speak Spanish
better than you do.”
I looked at Ashley and said, “I would be
perfectly happy to see you learn to speak better Spanish than I do. It would make me very proud.”
Ashley beamed and said, “I’ll try.”
David asked, “May we invite our friends
to stay with us in Spain?”
Rick looked at me and I shrugged my
shoulders. He turned back to David and
said, “If you mean you want to invite Mark, I think that would be okay.”
Ashley said, “Then may I invite Michaela?”
“Yes, you may,” I said. I turned to Kyle and asked, “Do you want to
invite anyone?”
Kyle smiled and said, “Yes. Her name is Catharine.”
I looked at Rick with raised
eyebrows. “I think that would be okay,”
I said. “However, we need to make sure
it’s okay with her parents.”
Todd asked, “What about Caroline?”
Kyle said, “Caroline is a good friend;
but I wanted to date Catharine.”
Zach asked, “Is Catharine better looking
than Caroline?”
“Yes, she is. Her mom is really cool and thinks that my
Dads are wonderful,” Kyle said.
Rick smiled. “Of course, she does; because we are very
wonderful.”
“How will Caroline react when she finds
out you want to take Catharine?” I asked.
“She’ll be okay with it, since she knows
Catharine and I really like each other,” Kyle said.
“I’m not so sure that’s true,” Rick
said.
Kyle shook his head in
disagreement. “Caroline introduced
us. She wanted me to get to know
Catharine. She said we would make a
perfect couple.”
“So when do we get to meet your new
girlfriend?” Zach asked.
“Well, today, if it’s okay with my
Dads,” Kyle said.
Rick laughed and said, “Yes, it’s
okay. I’ll take you out driving so you
can get some time on the road.”
Todd asked, “How many hours of driving
do you have now?”
“15 hours. I have to have 45 hours of driving time
before I can take the Behind the Wheel class and get my driver’s license,” Kyle
said.
Zach said, “It’s a good thing. It’s a wonder your Dad has any hair left
since you got your learner’s permit.”
Kyle laughed. “It helps that Dad keeps his hair
short. It makes it harder to pull out.”
Rick said, “Kyle’s a pretty good driver
most of the time. My only complaint is
that he tends to drive too fast sometimes.”
Zach guffawed. “As if you never speed!”
Rick gave us his ‘who me look,’ and put
his hand on his chest. “Not me! I never speed!”
Kyle laughed. “Dad!
You have your fingers crossed!”
Rick grinned and said, “Not only do I
have my fingers crossed; but my legs and arms as well!”
We all laughed at that, especially since
we all know that Rick has a lead foot when it comes to the accelerator! I said, “There’s a reason we make it from
here to Atlanta in record time!”
Kyle nodded his head. “That’s true. I hadn’t thought about it that way before.”
“Rick can’t be any worse than Zach,”
Todd said, jabbing his husband in the ribs with his elbow.
Zach laughed and admitted, “Guilty as
charged!”
Todd asked, “When are you flying down to
Atlanta?”
“The day after tomorrow,” Rick
said. “We’ll spend 5 days with our
grandparents and then well fly to Toronto to see Mom and Dad.”
Kyle said, “And we’re going to the
beach. Grandpa called last night to
tell us about the beach house he rented for all of us.”
“It won’t be very warm; but I like being
on the beach,” I said. “In fact, it’s
almost better to be there when everyone else is at home. It’s so peaceful without all of the
tourists.”
Zach said, “We like the beach as well.”
“Why don’t you go with us to Spain? We would love to have you guys,” I said.
Todd looked at his husband. Zach said, “I think we could go for a month
or so. That way I can be back in time
to begin training for our next season.”
Todd said, “That sounds perfect.”
We continued to talk about our plans for
the summer and enjoyed our time together.
*** ***
Garth and Phil were on their honeymoon. They had chosen to spend the week in between
Christmas and New Year’s Eve in Hawaii.
Tomorrow would be the last day of the year and they had planned to
celebrate New Year’s Eve on the beach, to be followed some awesome sex to ring
in the new year. Garth loved Phil’s
youthful exuberance. Everything was new
to him and he shared the sense of awe at nature’s wonders with Garth. Phil was so excited to climb Mount Kilauea,
and see the lava bubbling below them.
Garth had laughed at Phil’s inability to contain his excitement. It was like a kid in candy store.
Garth smiled as he watched his new
husband as he snapped photographs of everything. Phil returned to Garth’s side and took his
hand in his.
“Isn’t this great?” Phil asked, his eyes
shining with joy. “Thank you for
bringing me here, Garth.” He gave Garth
a quick kiss on the lips.
The tour guide smiled and said, “You two
must be newlyweds.”
Garth laughed and asked, “How could you
tell?”
She replied, “It’s kind of obvious. You both have that special glow about
you. Only newlyweds have that aura
about them.”
Phil smiled and said, “That’s because we
are so happy.”
She nodded her head. “I can see that. In fact, I’d dare say that you are very much
in love with each other.”
Garth said, “That’s true.”
There were three other couples with them
on the tour; two younger couples who looked to be Phil’s age and one older
couple who looked to be in their sixties.
The elderly couple looked on Garth and Phil with disapproval, while the
two younger couples congratulated them on their recent marriage. Garth chose to ignore the older couple, and
let himself be carried along with his husband’s excitement.
Later, at their hotel, Garth received a
phone call from Lt. Col. Henderson.
“Hello, Clay.”
“Sorry to bother you, Garth,” Clay said.
Garth responded, “Not a problem. What can I do for you?”
“Can I ask a favor of you?” Clay
asked. He had thought long and hard
about how to approach Garth with his request, before actually making the
call. When Rick had resigned, Phil had
also decided to leave the project. Clay
had celebrated with his staff that day.
He bragged loudly about his accomplishment, and he hadn’t been shy about
making sure that General Tanaka knew how happy he was that he had managed to
rid his project team of the two gay men.
General Tanaka had called him into his office to put Clay on notice that
the project had not better slip any deadlines, or reduce the scope of its
deliverables.
It took about two weeks for Clay to
realize that his project was sliding downhill fast. His assertion that any straight man could do
the job much better than any homosexual, caused three more of his project team
to resign and leave their employment with the government. When he had tried to recruit replacements
for his vacant positions, he was bluntly told that he would have to find
military personnel to fill them, because word had gotten out to the private
sector regarding his prejudice against gays; and the discrimination he
practiced towards civilian contractors.
He had taken his staffing problem to
General Tanaka who told him to fix his own problem, since he had been the cause
of it. When his project missed its next
deadline, General Tanaka delivered an ultimatum. He gave Clay two weeks to remedy the
situation or he would be replaced. He
was nearing the end of the two weeks, and he was growing desperate. He had heard through the grapevine that
General Tanaka had already recruited his replacement, and was only waiting for
the allotted time to expire.
Garth replied, “It depends on what you
are asking me to do for you.”
Clay asked, “Would you be willing to
talk to Rick and Phil about returning to work on my project?”
Garth thought for a moment about how to
respond. “Clay, let me tell you
something first, before I answer your question. Phil and I were married last week, and we
are on our honeymoon right now.” Clay
was stunned. He couldn’t even
articulate how shocked he was. When he
didn’t say anything, Garth continued, “Yes, I am gay and I married the most
wonderful man in the world. Now, think
about what you just asked me to do.
Knowing how you feel about homosexuals and faggots, as you call us, do
you honestly think that I would willingly ask my new husband to work for
someone as homophobic as you?” Clay
tried to respond, but still couldn’t get a word past his lips. Garth didn’t wait for an answer. “The answer is absolutely not! I won’t ask Rick to work for you
either. Both Rick and Phil are
wonderful, hardworking individuals who would give you the shirt off of their
backs. You managed to run them both off
of your project, and bragged to everyone who would listen to you about how you
got rid of the faggots. I’m sorry,
Clay. I think you will need to look
elsewhere for a solution to your self-inflicted staffing crisis.”
Garth ended the call and turned to his
lover. Phil said, “Let me guess. That was Lt. Col. Henderson.”
Garth’s expression softened as he looked
into Phil’s eyes. “Yes, it was.
The poor fool has got himself into a real pickle. He wouldn’t listen to me or to General
Tanaka. He let his prejudice against
gays rule his life, and, as a result, he is paying the price for his bigotry.”
Phil said, “As will all those who carry
hate in their hearts. Let’s not talk
about him anymore. I want you to fuck
me before we go out to the pool.” He
wrapped his arms around his husband’s waist and ground his crotch against
Garth’s. He kissed Garth deeply.
Garth’s body immediately responded to
Phil’s touch. He said, “My wish is your
command!” Garth loved the feel of his
young lover’s body under his hands as he gave in to the passion building in his
loins.
*** ***
Clay still hadn’t recovered, when Garth
ended the call. He sat at his kitchen table in silence. His wife and children were downstairs
playing board games. They had invited
him to join them; but he needed to find a way to rescue his project, before his
career came to a dead end.
He had tried calling Rick’s cell phone;
but hadn’t been able to reach him. He
had called Phil’s cell phone with the same result. When Garth had answered, he thought his luck
had changed. Hearing of Garth’s
marriage to another man had left him feeling like he had run into a brick
wall. It had taken a lot of soul
searching before he could bring himself to even call the two faggots. He hated to admit that he needed them to
keep his project afloat. Then, to learn
that his predecessor was a faggot, and was married to a faggot had been too
much to for his brain to process.
He sat at the table, trying figure out
what his next move was going to be. He
couldn’t think of anything; so he finally stood up from the table and made his
way downstairs to join his family. He
found them watching a DVD. He noted
that Mark was busy sending text messages.
He sat down next to his son and asked, “Who are you texting?”
Mark looked up his father and said,
“David.”
“I thought his father had forbidden him
from having any contact with us,” Clay said.
Mark sent his text message and put his
phone in his pocket. “No, that’s not
true. He specifically said they
couldn’t come here; because of your prejudice against gays.”
Michaela said, “We don’t hate gays like
you do, Dad. You have judged Ashley’s
Dads to be horrible people without even knowing them. You are breaking a commandment, Dad. Jesus said, ‘Judge not, that ye be not
judged.’ You are always preaching to us
about being good Christians; but you are actions don’t mirror your words.”
Clay’s first reaction was to get angry
at his daughter; but he found himself thinking that maybe she was right about
his less than Christian behavior toward gays.
He pushed such thoughts out of his mind. He refused to acknowledge that he was wrong
about gays. He had hated them for so
long that hatred had become part of his very being.
Mark watched his father’s expression
change as he struggled to maintain control of his anger. Mark watched as his father’s face turn into
a mask of hatred, and knew he could never admit to his father that he was
gay. He got up from the couch to put
some distance between him and his father.
Just being near him made his skin crawl, despite the love he felt for
his father. Mark hadn’t noticed that
his mother was closely observing her son and his reaction to his father. She had begun to suspect that Mark was
attracted to other boys, and worried about him, especially if his father ever
found out.
Clay’s temper was legendary in his
family. His mother had warned Janelle about
it and had given her advice about how to handle it. Janelle feared that Clay would do physical
harm to her son if he somehow found out Mark’s secret.
She said, “Let’s go upstairs and have
some pie and ice cream.”
Michaela said, “That’s sounds good.” She got to her feet and started up the
stairs, followed by Mark and his mother.
Clay sat there staring at the television screen, thinking that maybe he
could get Mark to send a text message to David, asking Rick to call him.
He stood up and followed his family
upstairs. He sat down at the kitchen
table and asked, “Mark, would you send a message to David, asking his father to
call me.”
Mark asked, “Why?”
“I need to talk to him about coming back
to work on my project,” Clay said.
Mark eyebrows shot up in surprise and he
asked, “You’re joking, right?”
“No, I wish I were. You know how much I hate faggots. If I weren’t desperate, I wouldn’t even
consider calling him,” Clay said.
“Yes, I know how much hatred you have
toward gays, and that is why I wasn’t sure you were serious about sending David
a text message for his father,” Mark said.
“I’m serious. Now, please send David that text message,”
Clay said, impatiently.
Mark sent the text message. A response came back immediately. He read the message and responded. He looked up and met his father’s eyes. “His Dad said that unless you want to
apologize for your homophobic behavior, that there is nothing to more to be
said.”
Clay swore and then he said, “I’m not
apologizing to anyone.”
Mark sent back a text message stating
his Dad’s position. He read the message
that came back in reply.
“Mark, stop acting as a go between for
your father. He needs to be man enough
to do his own work instead of asking you to do what he’s is incapable of doing for
himself. I’m handing David back his
phone so you can continue your conversation.”
Mark texted back, “Thanks Mr.
Lernier.” He put his cell phone in his
pocket and finished eating his pie and ice cream. Mark said, “Thanks, Mom. The pie was fantastic.” He kissed her cheek as he passed her on the
way to the sink. He rinsed his plate
and loaded it into the dishwasher. “I’m
going to bed. I’ll see you in the
morning.”
He left the kitchen and climbed the
stairs to his bedroom. As soon as he closed
the door, he stripped off his clothes and jumped into his bed. He sent one last text message to David. “I miss you. I can’t wait until you get home from
vacation.”
David responded, “I miss you, too. I wish you were here at the beach with us.”
*** ***
In the kitchen, Janelle looked across
the table at her husband. He had
changed so much from the carefree young man she had married so long ago. She wasn’t sure she knew him at all
anymore. He had served in Iraq and
Afghanistan several times now, and she feared that his experiences had hardened
him. She found herself shut out of his
life. The passion and warmth that had
characterized their relationship prior to his deployment overseas had
evaporated into thin air. It was like
living with a stranger. The hatred that
he exhibited toward gays, single mothers, blacks, Hispanics, and or any other
minority seemed to rule his life.
She met his gaze and she said, “The hate
you carry in your heart will drive all of us from you, Clay. You need to find a way to purge it from your
soul. I don’t know who you are anymore;
because you have changed so much. I’m
afraid that if things don’t begin to change for the better that I will have to
take the children and leave you.” Clay
gave her a baleful stare which she returned in equal measure. “You can glare at me all you want, Clay; but
nothing you do or say will convince me to stay if you can’t get your temper
under control. I have contacted your
commanding officer about your violent temper and the irrational hatred you seem
to have for everyone.”
What control Clay had, vaporized as he
realized that his wife had called his commanding officer. He went completely berserk. When reason finally reasserted itself, his
wife lay on the floor in a pool of blood.
He heard the footsteps of his children on the stairs and fell to his
knees, sobbing as he realized what he had done.
That is the scene that Mark and Michaela
saw as they entered the kitchen. Mark
pulled out his cell phone and called 911.
The dispatcher answered and Mark described what he saw and gave his
address. The dispatcher said, “An
ambulance is on its way.”
*** ***
David looked up at his Dad and said,
“I’m sorry, Dad. I know how you feel
about Mr. Henderson.”
“Don’t worry, son,” Rick said. “It’s not your fault that Mark’s Dad has
issues.”
Grandpa asked, “Rick, have you decided
what you’re going to do about a job?”
“Yes, I have. Garth and I are going to start our own
consulting company. Garth thinks we can
bid on some of the military contracts at Quantico,” Rick said. “If we win the contract, I can work from
home most of the time. That will allow
Glenn to work with Todd, while I’m home with the children.”
I put my arm around Rick’s shoulders and
said, “Rick has volunteered to watch the children while I go to work.”
Grandma smiled and said, “Good for you,
Rick. I think it will do the children
good to have you stay at home with them.”
Rick said, “I’m looking forward to
it. Glenn and I have worked out a
schedule that will allow him to keep teaching the children their language
lessons. I could teach them, but I
think it’s important to keep them in touch with their Daddy.”
I leaned over and kissed my
husband. “It also gives Rick a break
from having to be the one teaching them all the time. We’ve also worked it out with Todd to do the
same for math. It’s going to take some
getting used to, but I think we can make it work; at least for the short
term. Todd thinks we’ll be able knock
out this project in short order, despite the 12-month contract we have with the
company. Once we get the new program
installed, it will only be a matter of making maintenance visits until the
contract has expired.”
Their attention turned to David when
they heard him cry out. Rick stood and
walked over to David. “What’s wrong?”
David’s voice shook as he said, “Mark’s
Dad attacked his mother. They just
transported her to the hospital and his Dad has been arrested. The police are calling social services. Mark doesn’t know what is going to happen to
them.”
A shocked silence settled over the
room. Rick sat down next to David and
took him in his arms. He said,
soothingly, “I’m sure that Mark will be alright.”
David looked up into his Dad’s
eyes. “Is there something we can do to
help?”
Rick said, “Yes, there is. We can call Mrs. Evans and ask her to check
on Mark and Michaela. She has contacts
with Fairfax County social services. We
can ask the General and Mrs. Campbell if they would be willing to take in the
two teenagers until their mother is out of the hospital.”
David’s lower lip quivered as he said,
“Can we do that, please?”
Rick looked across the room at me. I said, “Yes. I’ll call the Campbells first and then we’ll
call Mrs. Evans.”
I made the calls as promised. When I had finished, I looked at David and
said, “David, Mrs. Evans will let us know what she has been able to do. Meanwhile, we can pray for them and ask God
to watch over them.”
David nodded his head. Rick tightened his embrace and asked, “Are
you going to be okay?”
David nodded his head. “Yes, I’ll be alright. May I tell Mark about Mrs. Evans and the
Campbells?”
“Yes, and make sure to tell him to ask
the social workers to call her. This is
her cell number.” I gave it to him and
he immediately started texting with Mark.
*** ***
Mark read the David’s text messages and
stood up to go get a pencil and paper.
The police detective noticed him and asked, “Where do you think you’re
going?”
“I’m getting a piece of paper and
pencil. Do you have a problem with
that?” Mark said. “I do live here, you
know.”
The detective bit back a harsh
reply. He had a son the same age as
this young man. He was pretty amazed
that he was holding it together given the circumstances. He followed Mark into the kitchen where Mark
retrieved a paper and pencil. Mark
started writing down the information David had sent him. Then he dialed Mrs. Evans number.
She answered her cell phone on the first
ring. “Hello.”
“This is Mark Henderson.”
“Mark, I’m glad you called me. I’m on my way over to your home right
now. The Fairfax County social workers
should be there right now. Please don’t
say anything or do anything until I get there,” she said.
“Okay,” Mark said. He ended the call and walked past the
detective, who had been trying to listen to Mark conversation.
Mark returned to the front room and sat
down next to his sister. A few moments
later, two women entered the house, escorted by a policeman. The officer introduced them to the
children. “This is Mrs. Shelton and Mrs. Carlton. They will be making arrangements for you to
stay with a foster family.”
Mark didn’t acknowledge them but waited
in silence for them to speak. Finally,
Mrs. Shelton said, “I’m sorry about what has happened.” Mark gave her a hard-eyes look and said
nothing. “We’re here to see if we can
make things better.”
“You can’t change the past, Mrs.
Shelton,” Mark said with an edge to his voice.
“No, we can’t,” she acknowledged. “Do you have any family in the area?”
Mark didn’t respond, remembering what
Mrs. Evans had said. His phone vibrated
in his pocket and pulled it out of his pocket.
He read the text message and looked up at Mrs. Shelton. “No, but I want to talk to Mrs. Evans who
just arrived.”
Mrs. Shelton looked puzzled. “Who is Mrs. Evans?”
Another police officer appeared in the
front room and announced, “This is Mrs. Evans.”
Mrs. Shelton said, “Nice to meet you
Mrs. Evans.”
Mrs. Evans smiled and said, “Thank
you. It’s nice to meet you, Mrs.
Shelton and Mrs. Carlton.”
Mrs. Shelton’s cell phone rang and she
answered it. She listened for a moment
and then ended the call. She looked at
Mrs. Evans and said, “Apparently, you are to take the children to stay with the
Campbell family.”
Mrs. Evans smiled and nodded her
head. “Yes, that is why I have come
here.”
Mrs. Shelton looked relieved. She really hadn’t looked forward to trying
to place two teenagers in foster care, especially given the circumstances. “Thank you for taking care of the children.”
Mrs. Evans replied, “You’re welcome.”
Mrs. Shelton turned to her
companion. “Our work here is done. I’ll let the detective know that the
children will need to go upstairs to get a few things to take with them.”
She left the room and then
returned. “It’s okay for you to go get
your things.”
Mark and Michaela both stood up and did
as they were told. They returned to the
front room to find that Mrs. Evans sitting on the couch, waiting for them. She gave them a smile and said, “Thank you
for being so quick. Let’s get you two
away from here.”
They followed her out of the house and
climbed into her car. She didn’t talk
to them on the drive over to the Campbell’s home. She knew that both of them had to be in
shock. She pulled into the Campbell’s
driveway and announced, “Here we are.”
They got out of the car and walked to
the front door. It opened before they
reached it. Mrs. Campbell stood in the
doorway and said, “Welcome to my home.
Please come in, Mrs. Evans. It’s
nice to see you again.”
They followed her into the kitchen. She said, “Please leave your things by the
kitchen door and take a seat at the table.”
She soon had cups of hot cocoa on the table along with bowls of homemade
chicken soup. “I hope you like chicken
soup. I have canned soups in the
pantry; but homemade chicken soup is so much better.”
Mark smiled at her and said, “Thank
you. I love homemade chicken
soup.” The teenagers made quick work of
the light meal.
Mrs. Campbell said, “I’m sorry that the
General isn’t here to meet you. It’s
past his bedtime and he’s been asleep for over an hour now.”
Michaela said, “That’s alright. I’m sure we will meet him in the morning.”
Mrs. Campbell smiled and said, “That’s
correct, dear. I know you’ve had quite
a shock with everything that has happened tonight. I want you to know that you are safe
here. If you need to talk to me, please
don’t hesitate to tell me you need me.
David has spoken very highly of you Mark. In fact, if I didn’t know better, I would
think he has a crush on you.” Mark
blushed. He knew what she said was
true. David had tried to hide his
feelings from him, but Mark knew David liked him a lot. The feeling was mutual, but like David, Mark
had been a little shy about sharing them with David.
Seeing the color rising in Mark’s
cheeks, Mrs. Campbell smiled. “I’m
sorry if I embarrassed you. David is a
sweet young man. I hope that things
will work out between you two.” She
looked at Michaela and said, “Ashley tells me you’re a good friend. She called me a while ago to tell me that
you like to make cookies. Would you
like to help me make cookies tomorrow?”
Michaela smiled. She was reassured by Mrs. Campbell’s gentle
manner. “Yes, I would love to help
you.”
Mrs. Campbell said, “Good. That’s settled. Mark, the General has a shooting range in
the basement along with a large collection of guns. I think I remember David telling me that you
are interested in the military.”
Mark looked at Mrs. Campbell and said,
“Yes, I am. I would love to shoot some
guns on the shooting range if the General will let me.”
Mrs. Campbell laughed. “Oh, the General will be more than willing
to let you shoot guns with him. He
loves showing off his gun collection.”
Mark smiled and said, “Thank you for
taking us in on such short notice.
David said he calls you Grandma.
May we call you Grandma as well?”
“Yes, you may; but never call the
General, ‘grandpa.’ He’s the General
and will always be the General,” Mrs. Campbell said.
Mark said, “I’ll remember that.”
Mrs. Evans said, “I’m going to leave you
two in Mrs. Campbell’s capable hands.
If you need me, you have my cell number.”
Mark said, “Thank you for coming to get
us before they decided to ship us off to some foster home.”
“You’re most welcome,” Mrs. Evans
said. “I hope you realized that you’ve
been adopted into a wonderful family.
The Lerniers always take care of their own. They are good people, as are the Campbells.”
Mrs. Campbell smiled and said, “Thank
you, Mrs. Evans.”
They stood up from the table and Mrs.
Campbell saw Mrs. Evans to the door, promising to call her in the morning. She returned to the kitchen and said, “Let’s
get you two settled. Please bring your things
and I’ll show you to your rooms.”
The teenagers followed her upstairs and
she showed them their new rooms.
“Michaela, I hope you won’t mind staying in Ashley’s room. She said you would like it.”
Michaela walked into the room and looked
around. She said, “It’s really
nice. Thank you.”
“The bathroom is through that door and
you’ll find fresh towels on the rack. I
will see you in the morning. Breakfast
will be served at 8 AM sharp. The
General is a creature of habit and insists on breakfast at 8; so don’t be
late.”
Mark hugged his sister and said,
“Everything will be okay. I promise.”
Michaela had been holding out pretty
well until he hugged her. She lost
control of her emotions and cried. She
asked, “Why did he do it?”
“I don’t know, Michaela,” Mark
answered. “I don’t know.”
“Do you think Mom will be okay?”
Michaela asked.
“I don’t know that either,” Mark
answered. “Mom looked pretty bad; but
the paramedic said she looked worse than she was. I overheard him talking to the hospital. He thought she might have a broken neck.”
Mrs. Campbell had stood in the doorway
listening to their conversation. She
said, “We will go over to the hospital in the morning. That way you can see for yourselves how your
mother is doing.”
Mark looked at her and said, “Thank
you.” He hugged his sister and asked,
“Are you going to be okay?”
“Yes,” she answered.
Mrs. Campbell said, “Mark’s room is
across the hall from yours. If you need
him, you can knock on his door.”
She crossed the hall and opened the door
to Mark’s room. “This is David’s
room. He asked that I put you in his
room.”
Mark walked in and immediately saw that
it was indeed David’s room. There were
posters of robots and spaceships on the walls.
The entire room was decorated with stars, moons, and planets. There was a mobile of the solar system hanging
from the ceiling as well as a model of the spaceship Enterprise from the
television series. It was so David that
Mark laughed. “I can tell this is
David’s room alright.”
Mrs. Campbell chuckled. “Yes, you can. With everything he has put on the walls in
this room, it isn’t hard to figure that out.”
Mark put his bag on the floor and collapsed on the bed. “I’ll see you in the morning,” she said and
closed the door.
Mark kicked off his shoes and stared at
the ceiling. It was then that he
noticed that there were stars on the ceiling.
He looked closer and realized they would glow in the dark. He got up and turned out the light. He climbed on the bed and looked up. Sure enough, they glowed brightly against
the dark ceiling. He saw they had been
arranged into the constellations just like they were in real life. His eyes followed the outlines of each of
the major signs of the zodiac. His
eyelids grew heavy and he soon drifted off to sleep.
*** ***
horrible, and wonderful all at the same time! You really know how to put together an emotional story, and I can't wait for more!
ReplyDeleteSo beautiful! Thank you.
ReplyDeletethis chapter was well worth the wait....thak you
ReplyDeleteMore please, can't stop reading!
ReplyDelete