I couldn't believe I was fixing to turn eighteen. I mean, it wasn't anything, really. I would just be another day older on July 4th. But legally it meant a whole lot. I would officially be an adult. I couldn't be a foster "child" anymore, and that kind of hurt. I wanted Kevin and Rick to be my foster fathers. I wanted to be their son, but that couldn't be anymore after my birthday. I could vote, and that was good, I guess. I'd vote for whoever the people I trusted told me to vote for, but I'd vote. I could buy cigarettes. I had been smoking since I was fourteen, but it would soon be legal for me to buy them. I could go into bars and clubs, but I couldn't drink. I had been in several of those places with my family in New Orleans and New York, and I hadn't once been carded. I could no longer have sex with Brian, since he would be a child and I wouldn't be, after my birthday. The fact that we were in love, and had been for more than six months, didn't matter. That was the law, although Craig had told us we could just go right ahead loving each other. Kyle was unbelievably good to me that weekend. He loved to give a party, and that fact didn't have anything to do with me. But he didn't have to work as hard as he did. He basically threw three parties for me: Wednesday night, Thursday night, and all day on Saturday. I knew he wouldn't have done it if he hadn't wanted to, but the fact that he wanted to just blew me away. I had known them just a little over a year, and Kyle was the best friend anybody could ever have. At first, he held me to a strict code. Once I figured that code out, though, and decided to live by it, I knew he would support me in anything. "Are you excited about your birthday," he asked me at work on Friday. "We're going out to eat tonight at the best place in Emerald Beach," he said. "Yeah, but it won't be your cooking. Nothing could be better than that," I said. He sort of cocked his head at me when I said that. "You really liked what I cooked, didn't you?" "No, Kyle. I loved what you cooked, man." "Well, I loved doing it for you," he said. * * * Saturday was my party. "I'm so proud of you," Brian said, after we had made love that morning. "Proud? Why? 'Cause I lived long enough to turn eighteen?" "Stop it. You know why I'm proud of you," he said. "Because I love you?" "Yeah, that's part of it. But it's really because you are who you are. You're smart, hard working, funny, good looking, and so incredibly stable and loyal," he said. "I ain't really all that stable," I said. "Yes, you are. Kiss me. Make love to me," he said, and we did it again.
I woke up at the butt-crack of dawn on the Fourth of July. I looked at Tim next to me in bed, and he was so damn cute and so damn good looking. I wanted to wake his ass up and just have my way with him, but I knew that wasn't fair. I had my cameras ready, though, and I snapped some more pictures of him sleeping. Then I showered and shaved and dressed for the day. I figured I'd be in and out of different clothes all day long, but that morning I dressed patriotic: white tee shirt with an American flag on it, navy shorts, white socks, white tennis shoes, plain navy baseball cap with a flag insignia. I guess I could have painted red, white, and blue stripes down my dick to be dressed more patriotic, but I didn't think that was necessary. The only one up that early was Arnie. I knew he wanted a cup of coffee bad, but he hadn't turned on the machine. It was all set up, and all he had to do was turn the switch to "on." He hadn't done it, though. We told each other good morning when I went down there. I turned on the coffee maker and sat down at the table with him. "Kyle, this dog is so incredibly teachable," he said. Trixie was up and wide awake. "Yes, sir. She's real smart," I said. "She's more than smart, Kyle. This dog has an instinct for tricks. She wants to please her people much more than dogs of her breed usually do," he said. "You and Brian taught her some tricks last night, didn't you?" "Yes, we did. That Brian is a fine boy, Kyle." "Yes, sir, I know he is. He's like my brother, you know?" "I think all of you guys are fine boys," he said. "Thanks. We're okay, I guess," I said. "Why are you up so early," he asked. "I don't know. It's just a habit when we have a big party," I said. "I've got to do some shopping pretty soon." "May I go with you when you go shopping? I'd like to see some more of the area." "Of course you can," I said. Arnie and I drank coffee. We didn't say that much to one another, though. I went out and got the paper, thinking he might want to look at it, but he just glanced at the headlines in the front section and in the sports section. Arnie and I each drank two cups of coffee. He kept fooling around with Trixie, and I could tell she really liked him. After two cups, I was ready to go to the store. I wanted to get the shopping over with so we could get on with the day, but you couldn't get there too early because they wouldn't have the fried chicken cooked yet. I had ordered the birthday cake a couple of days before, so I knew that would be ready. We left for the grocery store around 6:45, and, of course, Trixie wanted to go with us. I decided to take Tim's Wrangler so she wouldn't be cooped up in my car while we were in the store. If she got out while we were inside, she always managed to get back in before we came out with the groceries, so I wasn't worried about her running away or anything. Arnie and I did the grocery shopping. I knew just what I wanted, so it didn't take a very long time to load up two carts. Plus, there wasn't really anybody else in the store at that hour. I knew the girl who was on the check-out, and we flirted a little bit. "She was cute," Arnie said, as we were loading the stuff in the Wrangler. "Yeah," I said. "Kyle, I don't get it. You're gay, right?" "Yes, sir," I said. "So how can you think she was cute?" "Have you ever seen a guy that you thought was good looking or cute," I asked. "Of course I have," he said. "I think you guys are all cute and good looking." "Does that mean you're gay?" "No." "Well, thinking that girl was cute doesn't mean I'm straight. There's really not all that much difference, you know. Between gay and straight, I mean." "Kyle, this is very personal, and I'm asking this because I'm trying to understand, not pry," he said. "I know that, Grandpa," I said. He really liked it that I called him Grandpa. "Are you attracted to girls at all? I mean, could you ever, er, like, er, . . ." "Have sex with a girl? Sure. I'm curious as hell about it, too, but I don't think I could ever be in love with a girl like I'm in love with Tim. I couldn't be in love with another guy like I am with him, either, though," I said. "So why have you chosen . . ." "I haven't chosen to be gay. I am gay. It's who I am," I said. "It's like choosing to have sex or not to have sex. I could choose not to have sex with anybody at all, but I'd always want to. It would be a constant struggle for me not to have sex. Do you see what I mean?" "So if you chose to be, er, straight, it would be a constant struggle not to be attracted to guys? Is that what you mean?" "Exactly. I know I could do it, but I don't want to. You know? Just like I know I could not have sex. I just don't want to because everything in me wants me to," I said. "I used to think gay guys were weird and strange, but now I know they aren't. I'm learning a lot, Kyle. Be patient with me, okay?" I grinned at him. He was being really honest, and I knew that wasn't easy for him. "Did you think all gay guys wanted you," I asked. He laughed. "That's it, isn't it," I said. He laughed some more and nodded. I knew he was a little embarrassed by that attitude, but he was being honest. "Arnie," I said, laughing a little, "I love you to death, but . . ." "But you don't want to jump my bones," he said. "Not even a little bit," I said, still laughing. "I think straight guys are afraid of gay guys," he said. "Why?" "Because of that. I think most straight guys think all gay guys want them, and they're afraid that if the gay guys put a move on them, they'd want it, too." "You said you're learning, but I'm learning a hell of a lot from you, too, man," I said. "So you think gay people and straight people maybe ought to talk to one another about this kind of stuff," he asked. "Definitely. That might save a life here and there, you know?" "Is there a GSA at your school," he asked. "Yes, sir." "There are in our schools, too, but one of our school board members wants us to disband them," he said. "Are you active in the one at your school?" "No. I'm not a member." "You're not? Why not?" "I probably should be, but everybody at school knows I'm gay. If all the out gay kids were in GSA, then it would discourage straight kids from joining, I think. I mean, the club would look like it was just for gays and lesbians, you know?" "I see your point. But you're going to be SGA president next year, right?" "Right." "Was being gay your platform when you ran," he asked. "No, not at all. I talked about tolerance for gays and other minorities in my campaign speech, but mostly I ran on the platform that I'm just a normal, ordinary guy. The kid who ran against me is super smart and sort of arrogant. I'm smart enough, I guess, but I'm not the best of students. I'm just middle of the road, I guess." I could tell he was thinking. We had long finished unloading the grocery carts, and I was ready to get going. "Are you ready to go," he asked. "Yes, sir." He didn't say another word riding back to the house. It wasn't uncomfortable, though, because I knew he was thinking. He was the deputy superintendent of schools back home, and he probably had a lot of power and influence in the way they ran their schools. If I had helped him understand a little bit, then maybe the kids in Sarasota would be a little better off for it. I hoped so, anyhow. * * * They were all up when Arnie and I got home with the groceries. I did a head count. It was Kevin and Rick, Kyle and Tim, Justin and Brian, Jeff and Tyler, Seth and Cody, Alex, Chip, and Sarah and Arnie. Fourteen hungry people. I put out a couple dozen doughnuts still in the boxes for them to nibble on while I cooked. Tim, Rick, and Justin helped me, while Brian and Jeff set the table. I scrambled up thirty-six extra-jumbo eggs. I had bought pre-cooked link sausage and pre-cooked bacon, and those went into the microwave. We had a ton of cheese grits left over from Thursday night, and I warmed those up in the second microwave. The biscuits I had bought at the grocery store were still warm, but I popped those in the oven to heat up a little more. In twenty minutes, it was all ready to eat. "Kyle and I had a very interesting conversation this morning," Arnie said, mostly to Sarah but really to everyone. "Oh? What about," she asked. "Sex," I said. I watched their reactions. Rick and Kevin busted out into grins, and so did Arnie. Sarah looked a little puzzled. "Did you give him the 4-1-1, Stud," Justin asked. "The 4-1-1," Arnie asked. "That's the phone number for information," Jus said. "The 4-1-1 isn't a problem," Sarah said. "It's that other number I would be worried about." I didn't believe this lady was sitting there talking about 69, and I was afraid to laugh, like I wanted to. It finally dawned on Rick what she was referring to, though, and he howled. I laughed hard, too, then, and so did Tim. Finally the rest of them caught on, more or less. "Mom, I think you just got everybody last," Rick said. She grinned smugly. "How do you know about that," Arnie asked. "Probably the same way you do," she said. "Hmmmm," Arnie said. He was pretty damn cute when he said that. "Chip, do you need the 4-1-1, buddy," Jus asked. "I think I must because I don't know what you guys are talking about," Chip said. He was pretty damn cute, too. "Kyle and I will catch up with you later on the 4-1-1," Jus said. "Okay?" Chip smiled. I could tell he really liked us, and we liked him a lot, too. "Who's skiing," I asked. Pretty much everybody wanted to. Chip said he'd like to try it but we'd have to teach him. "How long have you lived here, Chip," Kevin asked. "Four years." "None of your friends taught you how to ski," I asked. He kind of hung his head a little bit. Then I realized he probably didn't have any friends. He had a houseful now, though. "We'll teach you, Chip," I said. "Who wants to help me move the traps?" "What are you trapping, Kyle," Arnie asked. "Crabs. Do you like 'em?" "Yeah. I saw you had some out the other night, but I didn't get a chance to eat any. Did you catch those," he asked. "Yes, sir," I said. "I'll help you," Arnie said. "Me, too," Sarah said. "Should I put on my bathing suit first?" "No, ma'am, you can go like that." She had on shorts, which were fine for what we were going to do. "Sometimes Trixie goes in after the traps, and she shakes off when she gets back on board. We can leave her home this morning, though." "How often do you check the traps," Arnie asked. "Just once a day now," I said. "I've been getting about two dozen a day. I have eight traps." "Does anybody ever rob your traps," Arnie asked. "I don't know, but I don't think so," I said. "You know it's a felony to rob crab traps in this state, don't you," Arnie asked. "Yes, sir, I knew that," I said. "They arrested some people down our way recently for doing that," Sarah said. "It was in all the media, too." "I could see how some kids might do that, not knowing it was illegal," I said. "These weren't kids. These were adults," Arnie said. "Well, are y'all ready to go?" We went and moved the traps. I didn't bother checking them, and Trixie stayed put in the boat, for once.
We had been there in early May for Tim's sixteenth birthday party, and every time we went we had a better time than the time before. Craig and I loved Kevin and Rick more than anybody else but each other, and their kids were just unbelievable. You hear a lot about parents having problems with adolescent boys, and I'm sure Kevin and Rick had their share with theirs. But there was a peace, a sense of rhythm and routine to their lives, that we coveted in our own. It was mostly due to the fact that they were just good kids to start with, but Kevin and Rick treated them like young adults, which they were. I wondered if a lot of the problems parents had with their late adolescent children weren't related to the unreasonable demands and expectations they set for their kids. Kevin and Rick had rules, of course, but only a few. They knew what they were dealing with, though, and the kids responded beautifully. Matt Adams had come to me with a real dilemma. He had an opportunity of a lifetime to teach at one of the Inns of Court in London for the summer. That was probably the most prestigious law education program in the world, and it would do Matt's career, not to mention our firm's reputation, an awful lot of good if he could do it. The problem was Seth, his son. Seth had undergone quite a transformation from Mardi Gras to the end of the school year. He had met Kevin and Rick's boys at Mardi Gras, and, quite literally, I think, had fallen in love with them. We saw the first part of his transformation over the Mardi Gras weekend, but that was only the beginning. He had plastic surgery to correct some cosmetic issues over his Spring Break from high school, and, despite Seth's complaint that it hadn't "worked," it did wonders for his appearance. While I'm not prepared to go as far as to say he had been ugly, he had been pretty close to that before the surgery. After, though, he was an ordinary-looking kid. He wasn't gorgeous, and people weren't going to turn in the street to stare at him, but he looked all right. Money can buy you things, including a new appearance, if that's what you wanted. The big change, though, was in his personality. He actually got one, for example. He had been shy, quiet--hell, almost catatonic--before the change had begun. Now, though, he was outgoing, making friends at school and in the neighborhood, doing stuff with other kids--all for the first time in his life. He came out to his parents that he was gay. That was no big surprise to them, and they were as accepting of his sexuality as any parents could be. That helped, I was sure. He was well on his way to becoming the kind of leader of people that his dad was. "He doesn't want to go," Matt had said, "and, quite frankly, Cathy and I would enjoy the time away from both kids." He was talking about the London gig. "Could he make it on his own at home," I asked. He was seventeen. A "young" seventeen, admittedly, but they would only be gone eight weeks or so. "Well, that's what we're thinking about. How much of a burden would it put on you and Craig to be his backup?" "None at all. We'd love that," I said. "Are you sure? This is a lot to ask of you, Cherie," he said. "It's not all that much. Believe me. We'll be happy to do that." "He's going to try to find a summer job," he said. I thought for a minute. "You know what would be really neat?" "What," he asked. "If we ship him to my brothers-in-law in Emerald Beach for the summer. They can give him a job in their company, and he can hang out all summer with all those boys they have," I said. "Oh, that would be wonderful, but it would be such an imposition," he said. "Are you kidding? They're always taking in kids off the street for indefinite periods of time. You know they like Seth, and you know he likes them. You know Seth won't be any trouble. I think it's a deal made in heaven," I said. He thought about that for a few moments, and his smile got bigger the longer he thought. "Cherie, that would be absolutely perfect," he said. "Seth would be ecstatic if that happened." "What you really mean is, he'll cream his jeans, right," I said. He laughed hard at that one. "You and I might not ever know if that literally happened, but my money is on it as a definite possibility," he said, still laughing. I got right on the phone to Kevin. I called his office, but he was already gone for the day. I decided not to call him at home because I wanted to make sure he didn't have any distractions when I asked him. Matt and Cathy flew out that night, and I had Kevin on the phone first thing the next day. He said he would have to talk to Rick and the others, but I knew it was a done deal even then. He called me at home that night, but we were out. He told Seth he was welcome, and Seth left the next morning. The Bubbas came through for a great kid, just like I knew they would. * * * I met Seth's boyfriend when we got there Thursday night, and he was a hunk, with a capital hunk. His name was Cody Mitchell, and he was as nice and polite as he was good looking. Seth was positively euphoric over the whole summer situation, and we were all having way too good a time that night for us to talk. They had to work on Friday, so talking privately was out of the question that day. Friday night we went out to eat, and we didn't get to talk then, either. In fact, it wasn't until mid-morning on the Fourth of July that I finally found time to get with Seth. "So, how's the summer going," I asked Seth. He and I were on the dock waiting our turn to ski. "Cherie, I've been here less than a month, and this has already been the best time of my entire life. Ever. Really." "I'm so glad, Seth," I said. "You set it up, didn't you?" "Well, I had a small part to play," I said. "It was your idea, wasn't it?" "Well, sort of," I said. "I knew it," he said. "Thank you so much for doing that." "This Cody dude seems pretty . . ." "Hot? Yeah!" We both laughed. "I was going to say 'cool,' but 'hot' will do, too," I said. More laughter. "We're not in love the way some of them are, but we really care for one another. We're being pretty realistic about it. We know it won't work long distance, but knowing him and dating him is absolutely the best thing that has ever happened to me," he said. "Is it, like, platonic, or what?" "You're a nosey little thing, aren't you," he said, laughing. "Now that I think about it, that was pretty nosey," I said. "But you still want to know, don't you?" "Yeah! I want details," I said. "Oh, Cherie, his penis is just so . . ." "Not those details! I just want a 'yes' or 'no' to whether it's platonic, and I think you've just told me it isn't," I said. He hugged me, and we laughed some more. "How's the job," I asked. "Well, I don't want to be a bellhop all my life, but it's fun. Cherie, these people have, like, this huge empire here. Kyle's family. These people have mon-eeeey. I mean, really big money. I'm thinking maybe hospitality administration might be the field for me. Not with them, necessarily, although when Kyle's running it . . ." "You like him, don't you?" "Who doesn't? He's, like, the real boss around here, at least of the kids. Brian even slips and says 'yes, sir,' and 'no, sir' to him, sometimes. Nobody else does that, that I've heard, but that's how we all feel about him," he said. "Yeah, I can see that," I said. "He's pretty charismatic." Seth and I continued talking for a while until it was our turn to get in the boat to ski, but I had heard what I had wanted to hear. He was happy, and they were taking very good care of him.
Plain and simple, we needed another boat. That's all there was to it. I mean, some of them had to wait for hours to ski. I knew they were having fun doing other things, but I could ski twice as many people with another boat. Kevin and Rick made a lot of money, and they could damn sure afford a second ski boat. I was going to have to start on that as soon as we got Tim and Doc on the plane the next day. I had been skiing people for three hours at that point, and I needed a break. Jus and Jeff wanted to take over, so I got out of the boat. Who should be waiting for me there but Craig. "Hey, Bubba," he said when I got off the boat. "Hey, what are you doing, fool?" "Just hanging out. Are you finished driving?" "Yeah. For now, at least. I'm so thirsty my tongue is sticking to the roof of my mouth," I said. "Here." He handed me his drink. I took a big gulp and almost spit it out. "What is that," I asked, after I had swallowed it. "Bourbon and Sprite," he said with a grin. "There's Sprite in there," I asked. "A little bit," he said. "How you been? I haven't had a chance to talk to you yet." "The summer's been great, so far. We had a little bit of an incident with Tim's car a few weeks ago, but since then it's been great," I said. "Yeah, Kevin or Rick told me about that." "That didn't really have anything to do with Tim, you know? It was a man with a problem, and we hope he's getting better," I said. "So what's all this with you and the pictures," he asked. "This gallery in New York's selling my stuff. I'm doing all right with it, I guess. The United Cerebral Palsy people want to use a few of my pictures of our buddy Chris in a national ad campaign. I'm going to let them use it, but I'm going to make it a donation. The gallery will get its cut, but I won't." "That's pretty damn nice of you," he said. "The UCP is going to set up a Chris Uhle fund with the money they would ordinarily pay me for the pictures. It's going to be like an endowment, so it'll just grow and grow over the years, hopefully. We'll add to it, of course," I said. "I saw the jar on the patio with the sign that said UCP. I didn't know what it was for, though," he said. "It's for UCP. United Cerebral Palsy, and you damn sure better put some money in it," I said. "You've turned into a little beggar-boy, haven't you," he said. I laughed, and he laughed, too. "How have things been with you? You getting any?" He laughed. "You shithead," he said. We both laughed. "Craig, I have to tell you something, but you can't tell him I told you this, okay?" He looked a little doubtful, but he said okay. "Justin told me he wouldn't mind being straight if he could get him one like Cherie," I said. He processed that a second or two. "Wow! That's really quite a compliment, isn't it?" "That's about the biggest one you'll ever hear out of us," I said. "Notice, he ain't interested in your sorry ass, even though he's gay." "Yeah, that did cross my mind," he said. "I, on the other hand, think you're very cute, Craig," I said. "You shithead," he said, and we both laughed hard. "So when are we going to get us a baby for me to spoil," I asked, joking. He got real serious, all of a sudden. "That's a problem, Kyle. It looks like we might not be able to have kids," he said. "Are you shitting me? What's the problem?" "Well, in simple terms, it looks like she's allergic to my sperm," he said. "What does she do? Vomit?" He laughed. "Very funny," he said. "No, it's like this fundamental incompatibility thing between us. Mom and Dad have researched it, and they've tried to find a solution to it, but their fields are different from that, you know? Nobody seems to know how to correct the problem." "So, what about adoption?" "That's of course what we're going to do. We've already registered with all seven adoption agencies in New Orleans. We'll have children for you to spoil, Uncle Kyle, no question about it. We just don't know when," he said. "You need to get you two little boys, one named Kevin and one named Rick," I said. "How about one named Kyle and one named Tim," he asked. "Naw, you couldn't do that," I said. "We could if we wanted to," he said. Cherie came over to join us, and they put their arms around each other's waists. "I've just been talking to Seth. He's having a fabulous time this summer," she said. "How's he working out, Kyle," Craig asked. "He's working out great. You met his boyfriend, didn't you," I said. "Yeah. He seems really nice. Is he a nice kid?" "Yeah. I've known him, sort of, for a long time. He came out to his family the night of graduation this year," I said. "And?" "And they're fine with it," I said. "I don't think they're that many prejudiced people here." "Have you and Tim talked any more about college in New Orleans," Cherie asked. "Not too much, but some," I said. "I'm thinking about working for a year before I start college. That way Tim and I will be in the same grade." "If you went right on, would you come to New Orleans without him," she asked. I must have had a stricken look on my face because they both laughed. "As it is, he's going to be gone all next week, and I'm already dreading it," I said. "George mentioned a trip to see his parents," Craig said. "Yeah, but I'm going the next week. We're going to have a week in Boston. His grandpa has to have hernia surgery, and Doc's going to be with his parents that whole week. Tim and I are staying in a hotel by ourselves," I said. "Some place called the Swisshotel, all one word." "That's a nice one," Cherie said. "I haven't stayed there, but I've passed it several times. It's very close to the theater district and Chinatown, too, I think." "Cool," I said. We made chit chat for a while, and then we drifted toward the pool to get something to eat. That's pretty much the way the whole day went. There were a lot of people there, in and out. Tim and I went down to my house to swim for a little while, but nobody else was there. "I want to make love," Tim said. "Right here," I asked. "Yeah. In the water," he said. I had thought about doing that a bunch of times, but we never had done it before. It was like a little experiment in physics, or something. We kissed a lot, and we were both ready pretty quick. "I want you," he said. Tim put his legs around my body, facing me, and it turned out to be a lot easier than I had thought it would be. I lasted a good bit longer than usual in that position, and it was very good for both of us. We kissed a long time after we were finished, too. "I wish I didn't have to go on this trip," he said. I was rubbing his chest and just looking at how beautiful he was. "I know, but it's only for a week. You'll have fun. Who are you going to see in Maine?" "Cousins," he said. "They're actually my dad's cousins and their kids. I know a few of them, but not many." "Do they know you're gay," I asked. "I don't know. I kind of doubt it, though," he said. "It's a big Irish family. I'm sure I'm not the only gay one in the bunch." "You know something? I think we've both grown up a lot in the last year, don't you?" "Physically?" "Yeah, that, but sort of in maturity, too," I said. "I know you have. We're bigger physically, too. Take these bad boys," he said, touching both of our dicks. "These are bigger, Kyle." I laughed a little bit. "Yeah, I guess they are. It's from stretching 'em out so much." That made Tim laugh. We stayed in the pool like that for a long time, enjoying each other's company. Sometimes we talked, and sometimes we didn't. Tim and I could be happy just being in the same room with each other. We didn't have to touch or talk, even. Just being together was really all that mattered. "What would you think if I became a Catholic," I asked. "Do you want to," he asked. "I've been thinking about it a lot lately. I know the Catholic Church isn't officially tolerant of gays, but every Catholic I've met has been. I'm sure there are plenty who aren't, but that doesn't matter." "Have you talked to anybody about it," he asked. "My parents some. They're all for it, if that's what I want to do," I said. "Why don't you talk to Jerry. He knows what you'd have to do." "I might try to talk to him tonight," I said. "Or soon." We went back to Kevin and Rick's house for the rest of the party. |