I stayed really busy all fall. I had wanted to do some hunting with Trixie that fall, but there just never seemed to be any time for it. Labs were bred to be hunters and retrievers, but even a natural-born gun dog needed to be worked with. I talked to my daddy about it. "Dad, what would I have to do to get Trixie to hunt?" I asked. "Do you think she's old enough?" he asked. "That's it, Daddy. I don't know. How do you know?" "We'd need to get a good dog man to work with her. Somebody else trained every dog I've ever hunted. I'm not a dog man, son. What are you interested in hunting?" he asked. "Well, deer, I reckon. Birds, too," I said. "You ain't going to hunt deer with that dog. She might prove to be an excellent bird dog, but she's probably not going to do you any good hunting deer just by herself," he said. "I've never hunted deer with a dog," I said. "They don't use 'em that much around here, except to find wounded deer. Bow hunters use single dogs much more than gun hunters do in this part of the state 'cause they tend to wound more deer than gun hunters do. If I'm not mistaken, you can only have the dog on a leash, too, when you're hunting wounded ones. I could be wrong about that, though. We can check the rules. That's how little I know about hunting deer with dogs. I think mostly they use hounds, like blue tics and beagles, and you need a pack of 'em, not just one like y'all got." "What exactly do the dogs do, Daddy?" I asked. "Well, they round up the deer and chase him toward the stand. That's why you need a pack. If the dogs are trained right, they'll bring the deer right up to the man with the gun," he said. "Do the dogs ever get shot?" I asked. "Oh, yeah. All the time, Kyle," he said. "That's it. We ain't using Trixie to hunt no deer, that's for damn sure. If that dog got killed, they'd kill me," I said. He laughed. "I don't blame 'em," he said. "Bird hunting's a lot safer for the dog, though, especially if they just retrieve the bird after it's been shot. You've hunted birds with a dog, haven't you?" "Yes, sir, but it's been a while," I said. "We've got a man in the maintenance department that's a first-rate dog man. I'll get him to meet Trixie and work with her some to see what he thinks. Will she go after stuff you throw?" he asked. "Yes, sir. She's real good at that," I said. "She'll still need to be trained, though. You don't want her eating the bird before she brings it back to you," he said. I laughed. I had this picture in my mind of Trixie with bird feathers all around her mouth, just a-wagging her tail. "Have your boys got shotguns?" he asked. "I know you've got one." "Not a one of 'em, as far as I know. Kevin or Rick might, but I doubt it. I've never seen one, if they have 'em," I said. "Well, you've got one, Clay had a couple, I've got five or six. I reckon we could arm y'all, if you're serious about it," he said. "Will you go with us, if we go?" I asked. "You couldn't keep me away," he said. "I cherish the time me, you, and your brother spent in the field together, son. I'll be there. We can hunt ducks, too. You like duck, don't you?" "Yes, sir, I love it," I said. "Do you remember when we used to go up to Dead Lakes after the ducks?" he asked. "Yeah. We had great times, didn't we? Do you remember the time Clay shit his pants?" I asked. "Oh, my God! Yes! That was one of the funniest things that ever happened to us hunting," he said. "I can still see the look on your face when you smelled it." "I thought he had farted, which he used to do a lot, but the smell didn't go away. It just hung on him," I said. "How old were we?" "I think he was about eight and you were about six. Something like that," he said. "We started hunting young, didn't we?" I asked. "Absolutely. That's when you got to start 'em, son. I thought you had lost interest in hunting. You haven't been in a couple of years, have you?" "No, sir, I haven't lost interest. I still love it. So many things have happened, though, you know?" "Yeah, I know how that is, Kyle. When I think about me out there with my two boys, I get a little choked up," he said. Tears were streaming down his face, and I knew he was thinking about my brother. I started crying, too. He pinched his eyes with his thumb and index finger to get rid of the tears. "Come here," he said. I got up and sat next to him on the sofa. He put his arm around my shoulders and pulled me to him. We were quiet for a long time. "Kyle, you and your brother are our pride and joy. He's gone now, but you've given us Tim. George Murphy is the finest man I have ever known in my life, son. If you don't already know that, know it now. From everything I can see, Tim is just like him. Don't ever lose him, son. Don't ever lose Tim, because if you do, you won't ever find his equal," Dad said. We sat there for a long time, it seemed like. It felt real good to have my daddy's arm around me, and what he had said about Tim made me feel even better. "I'm going to have a drink before dinner. You want one?" he asked, eventually. "Yes, sir, I'll take a drink," I said. "Where's Tim?" "He was in my room doing homework," I said. "Go get him, and get your mama, too. I feel really close to you right now, Kyle, and we've got to share that with the people you and I care about the most," he said. "Blow your nose before you leave the room. The snot dripping down your chin is ugly." I busted up laughing, and he did, too. I don't think I ever had a better time with my parents than I did that night. We talked and laughed and carried on. They told story after story of stuff Clay and I had done as kids. I remembered most of them, but there were some I had forgotten, too. We were hellions. I told them some stories they didn't know about, too. I knew there was no way we could get in trouble now for what we had done, and they enjoyed them and laughed, especially my dad. My mom was a little bit shocked by some of them, but those were the very ones my dad loved the most. After dinner they called Doc and Sonya to come over for drinks, and the six of us had a great evening. I couldn't get out of my mind what my dad had said about Doc and Tim. What a great way to lead into the holidays, I thought. * * * And holiday fever came to Emerald Beach, sure enough. We were having Thanksgiving at Kevin and Rick's house again that year, only it was going to be bigger than it was the year before. Maybe we had more to be thankful for. I counted up, and it was going to be Kevin and Rick, Justin and Brian, Alex and Cody, me and Tim, Jeff and Tyler, Denny, my parents, Doc and Sonya, Grandma and Grandpa Foley, Craig and Cherie, and Sarah and Arnie. That was twenty-one people. We'd need three seven-tops, and that was no problem. Kevin and Rick didn't have enough fine china and crystal for everybody, so we would just use the stuff we had in the clubhouse for parties. It wasn't fine tableware, but it wasn't bad, either. We had a half day of school on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving Day, and that's when me and the boys got the clubhouse ready. The four Foleys from New Orleans came in around two, and Sarah and Arnie got there a little later. All of them had driven. Once we got the clubhouse in shape, we started a pool tournament. Justin, Alex, Cody, Jeff, and Tyler were all working, but Doc and Sonya had taken the afternoon off and they were there. My parents weren't there, but everybody else was, including Chip. Everybody shot pool. We all put up ten bucks. Chip had to borrow five from me to make his ten, but everybody else had enough money. We played five at a time for thirty minutes, continuous pool. The rest were playing ping pong or darts, or just watching the table or talking when they weren't playing. Grandma Foley got ole Denny off to the side to talk to him. I knew she had been aching to do that the whole time we were in New Orleans in October, but there just never was an opportunity. They were evidently hitting it off real good, too, because they were both laughing a lot. That lady could work a number on a kid so he felt like he was the most important person in the world when she was finished with him. I noticed Brian looking over at them now and then, and I wondered if ole Bri was a little bit jealous. She loved me and Tim, but Justin and Brian had definitely been the favorites before Denny made the scene, especially Brian. After a little while, it was time for Denny to shoot. He got up and came over. Brian hauled ass over to her, and they were talking and laughing and playing in no time. Brian and Denny were good friends but not good enough yet to share Grandma equal. Why Denny wanted to shoot pool was beyond me. He was such a spaz when it came to pool that he would miss hitting the damn cue ball. Two or three times he scraped that cue stick over that felt, and my heart almost stopped. Boy, I thought, if you tear that felt, I'm going to tear your nut sack. He didn't, though, so I didn't have to mess with his scrotum. How's that for a happy holiday thought? Justin and them came home, and he wanted into the game. We were just about to let the last group start their shift, and he got in on it. Alex and Cody were busy visiting with everybody so they didn't play. By the time we were ready to have drinks and open oysters, the five top shooters were me, Rick, Justin, Craig, and Grandpa. That was exactly what I wanted it to be, too. That tournament was going to go on all weekend, and if we needed to, we'd start another one. I wish my dad had been there to play, but if he had, I might not have been in it. He had a good eye and a steady hand. Believe it or not, except for the oysters, the Foleys had brought dinner for Wednesday night. I knew that Miss Odille had cooked every damn bit of it, but Cherie actually made the Caesar salad right there in front of us. It was good, too. We ate in the clubhouse because that was the only place big enough for all of us, and everybody really liked the table settings. I had gotten some nice flowers from--where else?--the grocery store, and they looked good. I was hoping we wouldn't mess up the table cloths, although we did have more if we needed them. Chip stayed for dinner, and that boy wanted to be with us the whole weekend so bad he could taste it. Alex and Cody were going to be with us for our dinner around one the next day, and then they were going to Cody's house for dinner Thanksgiving night with Cody's family. Those boys were going to be well fed. After dinner we didn't continue the pool tournament. Instead, we sat around talking. After a little of that, we started dancing, and then I pulled out the karaoke machine I had borrowed from Gage for a little singing. We made a fire in the fireplace because it was cool enough to do that, but we had to open the doors and windows to the clubhouse to keep it comfortable. That place must have good insulation. After dinner Wednesday night, Brian and Arnie were fooling around with Trixie. I noticed my dad go over to them, too. I wanted to hear what he was going to say about what the dog man had said, so I went over there, too. We were all on the floor, sitting yoga style, and Brian was making Trixie do the tricks he had taught her. "Trixie spent part of the day yesterday with a man I know who trains bird dogs," my dad said. "He fell in love with her." "What do you mean?" Brian asked. "He was highly complimentary of how well trained she is, Brian. I told him you were the man responsible for it, and he said you sound like you're a dog man," Dad said. "He's a dog-man, alright," I said, ruffling Brian's hair. "Speak, boy." They laughed at my foolishness. Brian seemed very pleased that somebody thought he was a dog man, though. "He asked me if I thought you'd be interested in learning how to train dogs," Dad said. "What'd you tell him?" Brian asked, all excited. "I told him I'd have to ask you? Are you interested? This man's about the best I've ever seen, Brian. You could learn a hell of a lot from him, son," Dad said. Brian was grinning so big I saw teeth I had never seen before. "Yes, sir, I am. I want to learn," he said. "I figured you would, but I didn't want to say till I had talked to you," Dad said. "He wants to work with her a couple of hours every day. Can you do that?" "Yes, sir. After school?" "Yeah. This man trains five or six dogs a year, and he's got a long waiting list, too," he said. "How did you get to the top of the list?" Arnie asked. "The man works for me, and training Trixie and Brian are going to be part of his regular duties until Brian is fully trained," he said. "I'm going to pay him for training Trixie, too. He'll just get time off to train other dogs, and Brian, once Trixie's trained." "I don't think you're going to find a better deal than that, son," Arnie said. "I know. I'm excited," Brian said. "Thank you, Gene." Trixie was lying down next to Brian with her muzzle on his thigh. She kept cutting those eyes back and forth like she knew we were talking about her and Brian. Now and then she'd raise her ears a little bit. That was a smart dog, if ever there was one. "Kyle, tickle me," Brian said. "What?" "You heard me. Tickle me," Brian said with a little bit of emphasis. I didn't know where the hell he was going with that, but I did what he said. I jumped on him and started tickling. Then I saw what was up. Trixie growled low, and Brian said, "Friend" softly. Before I knew it, she was in there with that nose, trying to tickle him, too. "Kyle! Stop!" Brian said loud. Justin walked on over to see what we were doing. "What's going on?" Justin asked. "I was showing them how Trixie protects me but will listen to me when I say 'friend,'" Brian said. "Oh," Justin said. "You thought you were missing out on an orgy, didn't you, Stud?" I asked. He blushed a little bit. "Shut the fuck up, Kyle," he said, and everybody laughed. He sat down with us, and Brian told him what my dad had said. Justin was beaming with pride at his boy, and that made me feel good. "You gonna hunt you some gators, Trix?" Justin asked, rubbing her ear. She barked one time. "I think she just said 'yes,'" Justin said. "I want some gator-skin boots. You get me a gator, you hear me?" He was pointing at Trixie when he said that, and she was wagging that big ole tail like she understood every word he said. "Brian, this is going to be a fine adventure for you," my dad said. "Yes, sir. Thank you," Brian said. "Don't thank me, Brian. Thank the good Lord. He gave you the knack, son," Dad said. "We're going to have us a first-rate bird dog pretty soon, and a dog man in the family." * * * The sleeping arrangements were sort of complicated. My mother was desperate to have the four Foleys and the two Jacobses sleep at our house. They were fixing to move the week after Thanksgiving, but everything was still in place, so that's what they did. Jeff and Tyler were sleeping at Kevin and Rick's house up on the third floor. They didn't want to miss a thing, and I was really glad. Alex and Cody spent Wednesday night there, too, and me and Tim slept there. Justin, Brian, and Denny didn't have a choice, so, of course, they were there. Doc and Sonya went home, but I didn't know where "home" was. I hoped they spent the night together, but I didn't ask. Thursday morning the four of us made breakfast for everybody in the clubhouse. And I mean everybody, including Chip. He rode over on his bicycle to be with his friends. We had invited him to eat the Thanksgiving feast with us, but his parents had said no. They wanted him with them, which was understandable, but ole Chip knew where he wanted to be. His parents were hosting two other couples--but no other kids--at the restaurant at the Laguna, and I knew it was going to be a great meal. Only thing is, Chip wanted to be with us. We did it up big for breakfast. It was simple, but it was a lot of food. I made sausage gravy for the biscuits and redeye gravy for the grits, and I thought people were starting to get used to that. My dad ate a couple of biscuits and gravy, and he complimented me on the redeye. I knew I had done good. Kevin and Rick had given strict orders that they were doing dinner that day. They got me aside and said this was their party and for me to stay the hell out of the kitchen. I wanted to get in there so bad I could taste it, but I didn't. Tim and I, and Justin and Denny, reset the tables for dinner. I had to teach Denny where everything went, but we had fun doing that. With four, it didn't take very long. Brian, Arnie, Trixie, and my dad went out into the yard to play with the dog. Some were watching the parade on TV, some were just talking, and some were playing ping pong. It was a house full of people who all felt right at home with one another, and we all found good stuff to do. Brian eventually got out his planes, and they played with those. The kites came out, too, and several of them played with them. Cherie and Craig got into a kite battle on the dock, and it was fun watching those two, so much in love with each other, fight with the kites. Craig's went down first, so Cherie won. Dinner was great. There were many courses, and everybody was really too stuffed afterwards to make much of a dent in the dessert tray. That would come later. After dinner, everybody was sort of lethargic. I had read that turkey makes you sleepy, anyway, and it sure did us that day. When everybody finally revived around four o'clock, Kevin suggested we all go to my new condo to see the sunset. The ones who hadn't seen it all loved the place. "This is a lot of house for you, dude," Craig said. "I know, especially since I'm still going to spend time at Tim's house and at Kevin and Rick's," I said. "Why'd you buy it, then?" he asked. "I didn't. My parents gave it to me. This was their idea, Craig, not mine, man," I said. "Kyle, I'm not trying to drum up business, okay? You got that?" "Yeah, I think you just made that clear," I said. "You need a lawyer, Kyle. You're an adult now. You ain't a kid anymore. I know your parents have a lawyer, but you need to consider getting one, too," he said. "Why?" "I don't know this for a fact, but I suspect you have a lot of money. It's probably in trust, so you probably can't get to it. But you need somebody who can interpret all that for you. Trust funds pay dividends, you know? And now that you're legally an adult . . . " "You're scaring me, Craig," I said. "I don't mean to, Bubba, but you need your own CPA and your own lawyer," he said. "Won't my parents think I'm betraying them?" I asked. "If I do that, I mean." "Not at all, Kyle. Your father and I have discussed this a couple of times on the phone, and we talked about it last night. He wants you to do this, Kyle," Craig said. "Why hasn't he said anything to me about it?" I asked. "I don't know, but he asked me to talk to you about it, and he's right," Craig said. Shit, I didn't want to think about stuff like that. I was a kid, and kids aren't supposed to have lawyers and that C thing he said. "Will you be my lawyer?" I asked. "I want Cherie to be your lawyer, not me. She likes you better than I do," he said. "You fuck," I said, and we both busted up laughing. "You know I'm teasing, but she does more of this kind of work than I do. She's better at it than I am," he said. "Okay. So what's a CSA?" "CSA is Confederate States of America. CPA is Certified Public Accountant. You want a CPA, not the CSA," he said, laughing. "Can you get me one of those?" I asked. "Easily," he said. "But for now you need one here. If I thought you were going to have any legal business, I'd recommend you get a lawyer here, too." "I don't think I will. Damn, Craig, this is sort of blowing my mind, you know?" I said. "You're grown now, man. At least legally. You can even buy lottery tickets and cigarettes," he said. We both laughed. * * * We played the pool tournament that night, and it was down to three of us: me, Craig, and Justin. The way we did it was to play for thirty minutes, and the low scorer at the end of that time was out. Grandpa went first, followed by Rick. That sort of surprised me because Rick beat me pretty often. Not that night, though. "Hey, Craig, you want to play for blowjobs," Justin asked him, teasing. "Okay," Craig said, just that quick. "I was just teasing, Bubba," Justin said. "You ain't sucking my dick." "I figured the winner would get the blowjob, not the loser," Craig said. "Very funny," Jus said. I actually thought it was funny, and I laughed. "Do you think I could turn you on, Craig?" Jus asked. I didn't know where that was coming from, but it sure kept my interest. "Haven't we been through this before?" Craig asked. "Not that I remember," Jus said. "Yes, Justin, you could turn me on. And so could Kyle and so could most of the guys in this room, my father being a major exception. But I happen to be married, so it's not going to happen, okay?" "Don't get mad, man," Justin said. "You're the only straight guy I know I feel comfortable talking about this kind of stuff with, and I'm just trying to learn. Almost all of those guys I sucked off or who fucked me were straight. Married with kids. Some of them even showed me pictures of their families. I'm just trying to understand." The look on Craig's face went from something like, "What the fuck's up" to "You poor baby," and it was a sincere look. "Let's play the game later, guys. Let's go outside and talk," Craig said. We got our jackets and went outside. We usually smoke all we want to in the clubhouse when it's just us, but with the grandparents there and my parents and Doc and Sonya, we hadn't been smoking inside. In fact, all three of us lit up once we were outside, but that wasn't the main reason we were out there. "First off, I want you guys to feel like you can ask me anything you want to about sex, okay? I hadn't really realized that you all don't know many straight guys you'd feel comfortable talking to about this stuff. I should have thought of that. You're curious, aren't you?" "Well, yeah, I am, you know? I mean, Kevin and Rick have answered every question about sex any of us has ever had, but they don't know shit about straight sex," Jus said. "Are you thinking about switching?" Craig asked, joking. "Shit, you know I'm not. I can't. I'm the way God made me, and I can't do anything about that," Justin said. "I know, Bubba. You won't find a stronger ally than me, except maybe Cherie," he said. "Let me ask you this, then. Do you get hard when you see a pretty girl?" Jus asked. "I'll let you answer that for yourself," Craig said. "Do you get hard when you see a really cute guy?" "Sometimes," Jus said. "It happens less and less, though." "Well, I'm the same way with girls. When I was in high school, I'd pop a boner in a heartbeat over a pretty girl, especially a sexy model or something. It almost never happens any more, though," he said. "Right now, the only boy who makes me hard just looking at him is Tim," I said. "I never did do it all that much, though. I mean, get hard just by looking at a guy." "Well, let me ask you this, Craig. Have you ever gotten hard looking at a boy?" Justin asked him. "I knew you were going to ask me that, and the answer is yes, I have. Only a few times, but it's happened," Craig said. "Yeah, I've done it a few times with girls, too," Justin said. "So have I," I said. "I never thought I'd be telling anybody about that, though." All three of us laughed. "Craig, one thing Brian and I like to do we call 'doing the finger.' We stick a finger up each other's butts and massage the prostate. Do straight guys ever do that?" Justin asked. "I know we've had this conversation before. At least I think I know. Maybe I had it with Kevin or Rick. Anyway, yes, they do, and it feels every bit as good to a straight boy as it does to a gay boy," Craig said. "Do their partners do it to them, or do they do it to themselves?" I asked. "I can't speak for everybody, Kyle, but that's one of the things Cherie and I do occasionally. I also do it to myself when I masturbate sometimes," he said. "Cool," I said. "Now let me ask you fellows something," Craig said. "Are you guys still trying to figure out why you're gay? I mean, trying to understand what is the essence of being gay?" Neither one of us said anything, but that was exactly what I had been thinking since this conversation started. "Let me tell you something, guys. There's no point in trying to figure that out. You just are. That's all. I've thought a whole lot about what is the essence of being straight since Kevin and I first talked about him being gay, and I can't get to it. I'm just straight, and you're just gay. Period. Neither one of us can help it, and you don't do yourselves any good trying to analyze why you are the way you are," he said. "Cherie and I have read everything we've been able to get our hands on about homosexuality, and nobody knows for sure. I think gay people tend to be analytical about their sexuality a lot more than straight people do, and for obvious reasons. People don't get killed just for being straight, but sometimes they do get killed just for being gay. I understand the need to analyze, but I don't think it does any good." "Do you think you took a risk letting Kevin donate his sperm?" Justin asked. "If my child turns out to be gay, I'll be just as proud of him or her as I am of my brothers," Craig said. "All of my brothers." "You really don't care, do you?" Justin asked. "Jus, I don't know what more I can do or say to prove that to you guys, short of having sex with you. But I won't do that. Not because I couldn't or because I wouldn't enjoy the hell out of it, but because I'm married," Craig said. "You have a way of making people feel pretty good, you know that, Bubba," Justin said. Justin put his hand on Craig's chest and started rubbing his nipple. "Justin, don't do that, Bubba. You heard what I just said," Craig said. Craig knew he was just playing. Justin laughed and pinched Craig's nipple hard, which was exactly what I knew he was going to do. "Ow! You little shit," Craig said, only he was laughing, too. Craig put an arm around each of us and hugged us sideways like that. "Come on, let's go get a drink," he said. "Thanks for talking to us, Craig," Jus said. "Any time, Bubba. Any time."
On the Friday after Thanksgiving, we decided to go on an outing to the state park in Marianna. There were caves there, and I had never been in a cave. You could rent horses for riding, too, and I wanted to try that, also. I was starting to realize more and more how much I loved animals. We had talked about camping at the park, but the ladies didn't want to do that. I didn't understand why the guys couldn't, just because they didn't want to. "Gene told me about you learning how to train dogs, Brian," Kevin had said to me that morning as we were getting ready to go. "Yeah. I'm really excited about that," I said. "He said the man said it sounded like I was a natural dog man. I guess you could take that more than one way." Kevin laughed. "Yeah, but we're only taking it the good way," he said. "Kev, how come the guys can't camp?" I asked. "Because the ladies don't want to, son," he said. I loved it when they called me "son." "But couldn't they go back to the house?" I asked. "They're our guests, Bri. We can't just turn our guests loose," he said. "I guess that would be pretty rude, wouldn't it?" I said. "Yes, son, it would be very rude," he said. "We'll go camping before long. Don't worry. We've got a lot of friends who love to camp, and now that it's cooler we can do it and still be comfortable." The cave at the park was awesome. There were a whole bunch of them, but only one was open for tours. It was huge, though, and it took us about an hour to go through it. The guide told us to make sure we didn't accidentally rub against the walls or touch the limestone formations because they could easily be damaged. I imagined what it must have been like to be a caveman and to live in a place like that. They had electric lights down there so you could see it, but I knew it would have been very dark all the time in caveman days. There were bats hanging from the ceiling. They were asleep when we were down there, but every once in a while you could hear one of them making a noise, like a little chirp. I wanted to see one of those things up close, but I didn't have a chance to on that trip. After the cave, we had a picnic. Justin was hanging out with Craig and Kyle and the other older guys. He loved Craig almost as much as he loved Kevin and Rick, and the two of them got along really well. Just like Kyle and Rick had a sort of ESP between them, I think Justin and Craig had the same thing. They were like they were twins separated at birth or something. I ended up hanging out at lunch with Denny and Chip. Denny and I were a lot alike. We both loved to read, although he liked it more than I did, and both of us were sort of quiet compared to Justin and Kyle. He and I were the only real foster sons in the family at the moment, so that was definitely something we had in common. He was on the debate team at school, and, evidently, he was good at it. "You and Justin are in love, aren't you," Denny asked. "Yeah," I said. Duh! "I thought so. You look like you are," he said. "I wish I had a boyfriend. You guys seem so happy." "Aren't you happy, Bubba?" I asked. "I'm happy for the first time in my life, but a boyfriend would make me happier," he said. As we were talking, I was thinking about something we had studied in school, in psychology class. There was a psychologist named Abraham Maslow who had a theory that he called the Hierarchy of Needs. He thought that people were at different levels on a pyramid, and each level of the pyramid stood for some kind of needs. The lowest one was physiological needs, and that included having enough to eat, a place to live, clothes, and stuff like that. From what Denny had told us, those physiological needs weren't met all that well when he was with his mom. Some days they didn't even have food in the house, and he ate most of his meals at school, for free. I mean, those needs were met enough that he didn't die or anything, but he really never knew where his next meal was coming from or when it was going to be. I saw the clothes he had when he first came to our family, and they were awful. I don't just mean not stylish. I mean awful, as in torn, faded, full of holes, and too small for him. Those needs were totally met in our family. We lived in a great house, had all the food we could eat, and had nice clothes. Denny's physiological needs were met the minute he walked into our house. The next set of needs were for safety. He didn't feel safe where he used to live. He's never said this, but I'll bet the trailer they lived in was a fire trap. Not only that, he was picked on constantly by some of the rednecks at his school. Even when he started school at Beachside, some guys were picking on him and Chip. Kyle took care of that, though. His needs for safety were met. The third level up on the pyramid was the need for love and belonging. He got that from us. He was in a household where he was accepted and cared about. He was loved, too, but he didn't have a special love, like the rest of us did. He and Chip were best friends, and I knew they loved each other the way best friends do, but he was wanting romantic love like the rest of us had. "Have you met anybody you think you would like to have as a boyfriend?" I asked. "Yeah. Him," he said, pointing his thumb toward Chip. "But he's got a girlfriend." "Shut up! I do not! She's not my girlfriend," Chip said. "Brian, they hold hands, they kiss, they sit close to each other every chance they get. Doesn't that sound like a girlfriend to you?" Denny asked. I laughed. "Yeah, it does, Denny," I said. "Well, maybe she is, a little bit," he said. They punched each other, but they were grinning like fools. Those guys were very cute. They weren't that much younger than I was--we were all fifteen, after all--but I felt older than them. I felt like they were my little brothers. "See, I told you," Denny said. "You guys are great," I said. "It's fun having a best friend, isn't it?" "It's fabulous," Chip said. "I never even had a real friend before I met you guys. Now this dude is my best friend. We know everything about each other." They made little kissy faces at each other, and I laughed. "You guys realize you love each other, right?" I asked. They both kind of blushed a little bit, but they didn't say anything. "Oh, come on. Denny, you know you love him, and Chip, you know you love Denny. It's okay to say it. I'm not going to think you're fags." They laughed. "But I wish I was," Chip said. "But you're not, and you're going to be best friends for the rest of your lives. And you're going to support each other and love each other and be there for each other," I said. "Yeah," Chip said, nodding. "I'd say that's true." "Me, too," Denny said. "Denny, being in love with somebody is the best thing that has ever happened to me, and I wish that for you, too, man. But right now, you've got the next best thing. You guys are like total opposites attracting, and that's the best." "What's going on here?" Justin asked as he walked up, speaking of total opposites. "We've just been talking," I said. I'd tell him all about it later, in private, but I didn't want to embarrass those boys by telling him then. "I know. I've had my eye on you, Brian, the whole time," Jus said. "Spying?" I asked. He laughed. "No, just keeping an eye on what's mine," he said. I laughed at that. I liked the sound of it. "Are we going to rent horses this afternoon?" I asked him. "Yeah, that's what I came over for. You're in, right?" "Absolutely," I said. "What about you guys?" "Not me," Denny said. "Yeah, I want to ride," Chip said. "Well, let's go," Justin said, and we walked over to the others. |