Every girl dreams of her wedding day, and I was no exception. I would lie awake at night, trying to picture myself in my flowing white wedding gown on the arm of my father, as the love of my life waited for me at the altar, young, handsome, and beaming with pride. The music would begin, and Dad and I would proceed slowly and gracefully down the aisle. The people in the congregation would be transfixed by my radiant smile as the glow of my happiness touched every heart and transformed it. I had assumed I would meet the man of my dreams in college. I mean, isn't that what people do? Well, that didn't happen. I was a driven student, and I was determined to earn the grades that would enable me to be admitted to dental school. Not only did that goal consume the hours I might otherwise have frittered away flirting with boys in the student union coffee shop, but it also tended to intimidate quite a few young men. Oh, I had lots of friends, including many male friends, and I dated casually, too, but I never had a boyfriend I would have even considered marrying. Not that any had asked for my hand. Surely things would improve in dental school, I thought. There the men would at least be on my intellectual level, and I assumed they would admire and appreciate my determination. Well, dental school was even more frantic than undergraduate school had been because of the volume of work , and I found myself with even less time to devote to my social life. Not only that, a goodly percentage of the men in dental school were already married, and most of the rest had serious girlfriends or were gay. After dental school, I received an offer to join a dental practice in the town of Emerald Beach, Florida. I was from the mid-west, and I knew nothing about the South in general or Florida in particular. After a couple of visits, though, I fell in love with the place. Even though my office was in town, I bought a condo on the beach proper, made a circle of friends which included a larger-than-usual number of single women--teachers, lawyers, an optometrist, business women, and another dentist. I joined the Emerald Beach Women's Club, which accounted for most of my friends, and I lent a hand at various fundraisers for worthy causes in the community. I had been fascinated with orthodontia since I had braces myself as a child, and I investigated training programs that would enable me to become one. There aren't many of those programs around, and the ones that do exist typically take only two or three candidates a year, usually men. After applying to several for two years in a row, I was finally accepted to the program at the University of Alabama, Birmingham--UAB, as they call it. I did the full program, received a master's degree, did a residency, and passed my national boards on the first try in three years. I went back to Emerald Beach. I hadn't sold my condo, although keeping up with the payments hadn't been easy when I couldn't rent it, and I moved back into it. I worked for six months for an ortho in town, and then I opened my own office on the beach proper, west of the bridge, as we say. George Murphy and his partner were the only oral surgeons west of the bridge, and many of my patients had to have oral surgery of one kind or another before I could get started on them. It was natural for George and me to meet professionally, and I liked him immediately. Not only was he extremely competent, but he was also incredibly kind and gentle. He was also a man of deep culture and learning in many fields. He was divorced, which was an automatic red flag for me, but when he told me about his former wife's mental illness, that red flag was lowered. He invited me to a classical music concert for our first date, and I had a wonderful time. After that, we spent more and more time together. I was falling in love, and I suspected he was, too. Even though I'm Catholic, I would not have let his former marriage stand in my way of marrying him. George wanted an annulment, though, and I respected that. I mean, what alternative did I have? I was completely in love with the man, and there wasn't anybody else around clamoring for my attention. I had heard horror stories of annulments taking years and costing thousands, but, once again, the adage about it being who you know and not what you know proved true. George was the good friend of a priest on the beach that he had met through his son, Tim. The priest, Jerry Taylor, took the matter in hand, and George had his annulment in six months. Finally, my wedding day was approaching. The ceremony would be a simple thing, befitting a couple our age, but it would be every bit as beautiful, and probably a good bit more meaningful, than the wedding of a twenty-five-year-old ingénue. In marrying George, I was also marrying a family. His son, Tim, was sixteen, and Tim was gay. George had been very up-front about that from the beginning, and, of course, I couldn't care less. I didn't know much about homosexuality and had never really been interested in the subject. I suppose I had subconsciously bought into the stereotype of limp-wristed, lisping effeminacy that the media so often portray, so I was a little shocked when I met Tim for the first time. He met none of the aspects of the stereotype. He was extremely good looking, and he was big, muscular, and quite athletic. A few weeks later, I met Tim's boyfriend, Kyle, and Kyle was the same way. Eventually I met Kevin, Rick, Justin, Brian, Jeff, and a number of other gay men, and none of them met the stereotype, either. A couple of the boys I met were rather effeminate and flamboyant, but they were decidedly the exception in that crowd. And, like the boys, I accepted them, too. In time I came to love Tim and Kyle as step-sons. They were clearly in love with each other, and they were very open about the fact that they intended a lifetime commitment to each other. When George and I talked about that, he expressed reservations because of their ages. He said that several friends had pointed out that many heterosexual couples who live happily married lives together start out as high school sweethearts, and that made him somewhat more at ease with their situation. He still had reservations, though. I didn't think it was my place to take a position on the matter, but it was perfectly obvious to me that those two young men were deeply in love. Why shouldn't they plan on a lifetime together? It wasn't like there was the danger of an unwanted pregnancy, after all. They were a happy, loving, and very well adjusted young couple, and I thought, more power to them. George asked Tim and Kyle to be his best men, and I was thrilled. The next logical choice would have been Kyle's father, Gene Goodson, George's closest friend. Gene had agreed to present me at the altar, though, and, as it turned out, Kyle was the official legal witness because Tim, at sixteen-and-a-half, was still too young to do it. Kyle had already turned eighteen, so he signed the form with my sister as one of our two official witnesses.
All my life it had just been my dad and me. He had been father and mother to me, and we were extremely close. He was great when I came out to him, but I think he was a little jealous of Kyle at first. He never said anything directly, but I could tell he was nervous with the idea that Kyle and I were in love. Actually, he only met Kyle one time, and then only for a couple of minutes, before he had to leave for his ship with the Navy, and during the five months he was gone, Kyle and I changed from liking each other to being seriously in love with each other. Kevin and Rick saw that happening on a daily basis because it all took place while they were my guardians, but Dad missed out on that. I know he decided to get out of the Navy and to go into private practice because of me. He loved being in the Navy, and I know he was able to get more training, and to work on more interesting cases, in the Navy than in civilian life. If he had stayed in, we would have been transferred again, though, and I would have had to leave Kyle. I guess I didn't realize what that would have meant while it was all going on. The thought of that happening now, though, makes me panic. The wedding was very, very nice. Jerry did a great job with the ceremony, and the party afterward was first class. "That's the first time I ever went to a wedding," Justin said at the reception. "I've been to a couple," Kyle said. "First time I was ever in one, though. I thought it was pretty neat." At Kyle's suggestion, they had hired the photographer who had taught Kyle how to do darkroom work, and the two of them were both shooting away at the reception. Kyle had been pissed off that he couldn't take pictures during the ceremony, too, but that was just out of the question. When we compared the pictures that the two guys had taken, Kyle's were far and away the better ones. He and Jeff had a whole section of the family Web site devoted to the wedding up by the afternoon of the next day, and the pictures were terrific. The wedding had been at three o'clock in the afternoon. They would have preferred to have an evening wedding, but the church had Mass at six o'clock on Saturday night, and we had to be out of there in plenty of time for Mass. As a result, the reception lasted until around 8:30 or nine Saturday night. Kyle and I were spending the night at Kevin and Rick's house, and my cousins were leaving to go home to Boston first thing the next morning. Kevin's relatives were all staying at Kyle's parents' house that night and would leave from there first thing, too. We had had a great time with all of them, and we all sort of cried a little when we said good night and goodbye to them before we left the hotel to go home. My cousin Paddy and I had talked some right before they left. "Tim, you've got to be the luckiest guy in the world," Paddy said. "What do you mean?" I asked. "Well, to have somebody like Kyle, for one thing. And all your other friends. Besides you guys, I only know one other boy that I know for sure is gay, and he's only out to a few people," he said. "Is he your boyfriend?" I asked. "I wish. I'm still a total and complete virgin, Tim, and I'm not out to anybody but my family and you guys," he said. He seemed pretty sad about that. "You know, we were talking about you guys coming to visit us next summer. I really hope you'll do that. I don't think we could handle everybody for the whole summer, and the rest of them might not want to live full time in a gay household anyway, but we could get you a job at one of the hotels or at a gift shop if you wanted to come for the whole time. You could live with Kevin and Rick, or with me and Kyle in the condo, if you wanted to," I said. "That would be wonderful. I'm going to have to work anyway, that's for sure. I'm transferring to U Mass next year, and it's a lot more expensive than the community college I'm going to right now. For one thing, I won't be able to live at home, and the tuition is higher, too," he said. "I'll talk to Kevin and Rick about it, but I know what they're going to say. Even if they surprise me and say no, I know Kyle will let you live at the condo. You talk to your parents about it, too. You're eighteen, though, aren't you?" "Yeah, but that doesn't mean squat as far as them treating me like a full-fledged grown up," he said. "I could never defy them, if they were against it. But I will talk to them. They really like Kevin and Rick, and the fact that it would be with you, and all. Also, the fact that your dad is right here doesn't hurt my chances any, that's for sure," he said. It looked like he was really warming up to the idea, and I hoped he didn't get shot down. "It looks like they want me to go," he said. "Goodbye, Tim. I love you, man." "I love you, too, Bubba," I said. We started out shaking hands, but in a second we were hugging. * * * We all went to North Lagoon Drive. We changed out of our tuxes and gathered up all the stuff we had to return to the store on Monday. I had my dad's tux also. Each one had fourteen individual pieces that had to be accounted for, and we had five of those suits to handle. Kevin himself supervised us getting that stuff organized to take back. When we were all comfortable in the den, Kyle let loose a rip-roaring fart. It was so loud that Trixie barked. "Jesus, Kyle," Rick said. "I'm sorry. I didn't do that on purpose," he said. "You had that much gas, and it just slipped out by accident?" Rick asked. "I thought it was going to be a silent one," Kyle said. Everybody in the room thought the whole thing was funny as hell, but we were having fun giving Kyle a hard time. "You better go wipe your ass after that one," Justin said. "Pew, that thing was ripe, too." He fanned the air in front of his nose. "Justin, he does that in bed and pulls the cover up over my head," I said. He had actually done that a couple of times playing with me. "God, how gross, Kyle," Jus said. "I'm glad I've got me some refinement." "Yeah? Refine this," Kyle said, grabbing his crotch. "Did you say 'find this?'" That made us scream with laughter. "Okay, you got me last, asshole," Kyle said, then he laughed along with us. "I was talking to my cousin Paddy about him maybe spending the summer here with us. What do you guys say about that?" I asked. "He's the gay one, right?" Justin said. "Yeah. He said he only knows one other boy, besides us, that he knows is gay. He's not out at all, except to his family and us, and I think he's pretty sad about that," I said. "Well, we've got the room," Kevin said, "for now, at least. I wouldn't mind having Paddy around." "Does he fart?" Rick asked. "Yeah, like you don't," Kyle said. Rick ruffled Kyle's hair to show him he was just teasing, like Kyle didn't already know that. "So, can I tell him it's on from this end?" I asked. "Yeah. I don't see why not," Rick said. "But we've got to talk to y'all about something." "Yes, we do," Kevin said. I could tell from the way he said it that this was going to be something serious. "My mom talked to Rick and me yesterday about taking in a boy from New Orleans. She said Kyle and Justin met him when he was in the hospital after his dad hit him with a bottle," Kevin said. "We said we would, and he'll come back with us after Mardi Gras." "He's a real nice kid," Kyle said. "His name is Rob, or something like that." "His name is Ron. Ron Grisham. He's fifteen, and he's gay. He's been very depressed, and Grandma hasn't been able to do anything for that with her medicines," Kevin said. "She thinks he needs out of where he's staying now." "Where will I go when he gets here?" Denny asked, all worried sounding. "You're not going anywhere, son," Rick said. "Did you think you'd have to leave?" "I didn't know," Denny said. "Denny, this is your home until you're grown, baby," Kevin said. "We're not ever putting you out, and Tyrone Williams isn't going to pull you out of here." Denny got this real relieved look on his face, and he was grinning. He was a cute kid. "Unless he starts farting, right?" Justin said. "Shit," Kyle said, pretending to be disgusted with the conversation. The fact is, Kyle loved getting that attention, and everybody knew it. "Kyle's right about Ron being a nice kid," Justin said. "He's your age, Denny. Maybe you're going to get you a boyfriend, stud." Denny blushed hard, and that was cute. "Ron's got a boyfriend. Don't you remember that other kid that was in his room in the hospital?" Kyle asked Justin. "Oh, yeah. Everybody doesn't need a boyfriend," Justin said. "Brian was saying that just the other day," Kyle said. Justin sat there silently. "Did you hear what I just said?" Kyle asked him. "Yes, I did," Jus said. "Well, aren't you going to say something?" "I thought you wanted us just to ignore it when you fart," he said. "Oh, my God! Did he get you last or what, Bubba?" Rick said, pounding on Kyle's shoulder. Kyle was on the floor right in front of Rick. He moved away from him when he did that. "Kyle, you're not mad, are you, Bubba?" Justin said. "No, but I'm getting fitted with a cork first thing in the morning," Kyle said. That made us all laugh, and that felt good. "I'm pretty excited about getting a new brother," Brian said. "Me, too," we all said, more or less in the same words at the same time. "And I'm pretty excited about maybe having Paddy here next summer," I said. They all said they were, too. That evening of family time slowly came to an end. Kevin and Rick were sprawled against one another on one of the sofas, Kyle, Justin, Brian, and I were lying on the floor, and Denny was stretched out on the other sofa. It hardly ever took Kyle more than a few seconds to go to sleep, especially after all the activity of the last three days, and he was out like a light before anybody knew it. One by one, we all went to sleep right where we were. Around one o'clock in the morning, I woke up. I was cold. Kyle and I were the last two in the room, so I woke him up and we went up to bed. I didn't say my full prayers that night because I was so sleepy, but I did ask God to bless my dad and my new mom.
It sure was nice having my own car. Denny had started riding with me to school, and he and I stopped every day to pick up Chip. I hadn't seen Chip in a few days, and when he came out of the front door of his house when I blew the horn, I could have sworn that boy had grown over the weekend. I had grown a good bit, too, and I was now as tall as Justin. He never said anything about it, but I think he wished I would always be smaller than him. I had grown down below some, too, and I thought I was now bigger than he was. It was possible Justin would grow some more, too, but it didn't matter one bit to either of us. That afternoon after school I went home to get Trixie, as usual, and we went to Mr. Mack's house to work. I had mentioned to him that we wanted to get a black Lab puppy, and he had one there that day. It was a little female, and she was magnificent. "That pup's about ten weeks old, Brian. She's a cutie, too, ain't she?" "Yes, sir," I said. The puppy was making friends with Trixie, and it was so cute watching the two of them. I picked the puppy up while I was squatting down, and Trixie got a little jealous. She started nosing me, wanting some attention. "I think Trixie fears a rival," Mr. Mack said. That man was more country than Justin, but he was as nice as he could be and knew everything there was to know about dogs, I think. Trixie started whining. "Yes, sir, I think you're right," I said. I put the puppy down, and she started jumping up on me when I started scratching Trixie behind her ears. "You're always going to be my dog, Trixie. I'm not going to love this one as much as I do you, if we get her," I said. The puppy got up under Trixie and started going for her teats. "That puppy misses her mama," Mr. Mack said. "Is she not weaned yet?" I asked. "Oh, no, she's weaned, but Trixie looks just exactly like the mama dog. The pup might be a little confused, and instinct's taking over," he said. Trixie did something incredibly cute. She started licking the puppy like she understood what it needed. "Now that right there is instinct, son," Mr. Mack said. "I know Trixie's been spayed, but she's still got mothering in her. Look at that." We watched the two dogs play for a little while. "How much does the man want for this dog?" I asked. "He's asking a hundred and fifty for her. At first he said two hundred, but I told him you was just a kid and one of the most natural dog men I had ever seen. That's when he come down," he said. I felt real pride when he said that about me. I knew he liked me and respected me, but he had never said that before. I grinned at him, and he knew he had made my day. "You want this dog, don't you?" "Yes, sir, I do. We're going out of town Saturday, though, and we won't be home until Wednesday afternoon. We're getting a new boy then, too," I said. "Well, break in the dog and the boy at the same time, Brian. You can do it, son," Mr. Mack said. At that moment the puppy was licking my face, and I knew there was no way I could leave there that day without her. "Can I take her home with me today?" I asked. "Yes, sir," Mr. Mack said. "Bring me some money tomorrow, though, okay?" "Oh, yes, sir, I will," I said. I was so happy. That puppy was pure joy, and I knew the rest of them were going to love her as much as I already did. Mr. Mack and I spent the rest of our time that afternoon playing with the puppy and trying to teach her simple commands. We also talked about housebreaking her. "Trixie's probably going to help you out with that, Brian," he said. "When a puppy does something wrong, do you know what the mama dog does to it?" "No, sir. What?" "The mama dog grabs it in her mouth by the scruff of the neck and shakes it a little. Not enough to hurt the puppy but enough to make it know it's done wrong. I'm betting Trixie will do that if she sees the pup mess in the house. And you do it to. And say 'No' loud enough for it to get the message. Do y'all have a crate?" "We've got one for Trixie, but she doesn't sleep in it," I said. "A dog is naturally a pack animal, and packs have dens. Get you a crate that's big enough for the pup to lie down in but that's all. Put a couple of toys in there for her to play with, and keep her in the crate most of the time. It'll become her den. Every time you let her out, first thing you do is take her outside. She won't shit or piss in her den. They keep 'em clean. You've got to get it fixed in the dog's head that she'll get to go when you let her out, and always take her outside. "Another thing, feed and water her on a regular schedule. Then, as soon as that last mouthful is down, take her ass outside. No long walks or playing around outside right then. That's crapping time, and it don't last long. Always take her to the same place, too, so she makes the link in her head for why she's there." "How long will it take?" I asked. I was thinking of us leaving for New Orleans in just a few days. Of course, I didn't really have to go to New Orleans. I could stay home and train the puppy. "I've housebroke a dog in as little as three days. With a smart one like this, and Trixie around to help out, I don't think it'll take much more than that," he said. "Mr. Mack, thank you so much," I said. "I know it's early, but I want to go buy her a crate before the pet store closes. I think I need to go." "Wait a minute. I'm sure I have a crate for her around here. Let's go look." We went into his--what? workshop?--and he had a ton of stuff to use with dogs. We found a crate that was just the right size for her. "Let's put her in it now," he said. "But first, let's spray some of this stuff to get rid of any piss or shit odors that might still be in there from other dogs. You need to get you a can of this, Brian. Don't use regular household cleaners or sprays if she happens to mess up and shit or piss in the house. Those have ammonia in them, and that's the odor that draws them to that spot. If they find a place where they, or another dog, has already shit or pissed, they'll want to do it there, too. This stuff neutralizes odors you and I can't smell, but the puppy can." He showed me how to make her get into the crate using a couple of pellets of food. Then he found a collar and leash for her in all his stuff, and he gave me those, too. "Use that leash when you take her out so she don't run. And take Trixie out with her so she can help you with the pup," he said. "Mr. Mack, thank you so much for all your help," I said. "My pleasure, son," he said. "Have you trained other boys like me?" I asked. "Nope. You're the first. You're like I would have wanted my son to be, Brian," he said. "Do you have a son?" I asked. "No. Just you. Now you best get home and get started on that pup. What are you going to call her? Do you know?" "No, sir, not yet. That'll be a family decision," I said. "Well, I'll see you tomorrow then, okay?" "Should I bring the puppy?" I asked. "No, not until she's housebroke. We want her to think outside is only to shit and piss right now. We'll start working with her next week," he said. * * * The first thing I did when I got the puppy home was feed and water her. It was about four o'clock, and she ate good but she didn't finish it. I dumped that food in the garbage. I picked her up right away, snapped that leash on her, put her down, and out we went. And she did it! I praised her big time, and Trixie licked her, which the puppy seemed to like better than the praise. I took her back inside and put her away in her crate. I put it in the laundry room right off the kitchen because that's where Trixie's bed was. Trixie lay down in front of that crate on the floor instead of in her bed, and she didn't move a muscle. It was like she was guarding the puppy. When everybody got home and had gotten their evening snacks, I brought the puppy into the den. They all went wild over her, and it was so much fun watching them. Every last one of them was on the floor playing with her. "Yuck! That dog licked me on the face," Kyle said. "Brian, you need to do something about that." Justin got furious at him. For real, not for play. "Jesus Christ, Kyle! We've had the fucking puppy four hours. Don't you be getting in Brian's face because that puppy licked you, like it's his fault, cause it ain't. That's what puppies do, asshole." That wasn't teasing or joking around, and everybody knew it. "Back off, Bubba. You're right, and I'm wrong," Kyle said, holding up his hands open to Jus. "Brian, I'm sorry I snapped at you. I didn't mean anything by that. Really. You've done a great job with Trixie, and I know you'll do a great job with this one. Please don't be mad at me." "You didn't offend me, Kyle. But thanks. He was the one who was yelling at you, though, not me," I said. "I'm sorry, Justin," Kyle said. "I know. Me, too," Justin said. Everybody was quiet for a few minutes after that outburst. Those didn't happen all that often in our house, but when they did, they sort of put a damper on things. But that can't last long with a puppy in the house. She was all over the place, licking and nosing and jumping up on people. I was watching Trixie, and she was watching that puppy with full concentration. Trixie knew everything about what a dog could and could not do in that house, and she demonstrated that for us. The puppy needed to shit or piss or something, and Trixie grabbed it up by the back of its neck, shook it a time or two, and carried it to the back door. She dropped the puppy and barked. I was Johnny on the spot and took the puppy outside, with Trixie right behind me. Trix watched that puppy shit, and then she was all over her with her tongue. I praised the puppy, too, but, once again, her mama had praised her more than I ever could. When we went back inside, I took the puppy back into the den and put her down. Trixie picked her up and carried her into the laundry room. I was right behind them, and Trixie put that puppy to bed in her crate. I was just standing there in awe of my dog, but she barked. I squatted down to pet Trixie, but she barked again. Then it dawned on me. She wanted me to close the crate. When I did it, she wiggled and wagged and nosed me to reward me for my intelligence. "I love you," I said to Trixie. I kissed her on her head, and she looked so happy and proud of herself. Happy tears started coming down my face, and she licked them away. I let her do it, too. I wasn't like Kyle. I didn't care where that tongue had been. * * * When I went back into the den, they all wanted to know what had just happened. So I told them. "Is Trixie training that puppy?" Jus asked. "I think so, Buddy," I said. "Mr. Mack thought she might, and I guess she is. He said it might not take more than three or four days to do it, as smart as the puppy is and because we have Trixie." "Are we going to be able to leave her with Mary Ann when we go to Mardi Gras, Bri?" Kevin asked. "Kevin, if she's not trained by Saturday, I want to stay here. Is that okay?" I hadn't had time to even bring that up with Justin, and I knew he really wanted to go to Mardi Gras. But I also knew he wasn't going to leave me here by myself, no matter what I said. "I think you'll get it trained, Little Buddy," Justin said. "I think I will, too, Buddy. I'm staying home from school tomorrow to work on it," I announced. I had absolutely never been that defiant before in my life, but I felt that strongly about it. "I think that's a good idea, and I think you'll need some help, too," Kyle said. "I don't think I need any help," I said. Kyle looked for every excuse to miss school. "I don't think you realize the magnitude of the problem," Kyle said. "Kyle, you're not missing school tomorrow," Rick said. "Brian makes straight A's in the hardest courses the school offers. What do you make?" "I see that my generosity isn't appreciated by the very people I consider my own flesh and blood. Very well, then. I shall go to school tomorrow. But Brian, you call me on the cell the second you need some help, you hear?" "Kyle, I will, but just know the puppy's going to lick you on the face. Maybe the lips, too," I said. "Forget it. Call Tim," he said. Everybody howled with laughter when he said that. Trixie barked from the laundry room to tell us she was with us in spirit, but she was right there with the puppy, and she wouldn't leave. "Let's talk about a name for her," I said. "She's going to be AKC registered, so her official name is going to be some long thing. But what are we going to call her?" "I'm empty," Justin said. "You got any ideas?" "Well, it's Mardi Gras time, and they have Krewes. We also have the Crew of The Clay. Why don't we call her Krewe, with a K?" "That's a nice name, but it's not very feminine, Brian," Kevin said. "How about Krewella? Also with a K." "That's too long. I like Krewe," Justin said. I knew he was always going to side with me. "I like Krewe, too," Kyle said. "I think a dog needs a short name like that. I mean, most of the time we call Trixie Trix because it's short and easy for us and for her." "Well, Krewe is meaningful, too," Kevin said. "I was actually just teasing about Krewella." "I think the puppy's name is now Krewe," Rick said. "We need to use that a lot around her so she gets to know it as her name," I said. "You all don't go anywhere. I need to get something," Tim said. He pounded up the stairs to his room. He was back in just a minute. "This is some email I got from my cousin Anne Ryan today. Let me read it. "Dear Tim, "Going to your dad's wedding was probably the most fun thing I have ever done. That was only the second time I had ever left Massachusetts, and it was the first time I had ever flown on a plane. Florida is wonderful at this time of year, and I wish I lived there. "Your friend Brian is the hottest boy I have ever known in my life. I'm a virgin and hope to be so until I marry, but boys like Brian make me want to rethink the whole concept. I'm just kidding, but not really. If my mother sees this email, I will have hell to pay, so I better cut it off. Please tell Brian that I love him. "Your cousin, "Anne." That was embarrassing as hell, but it also made me feel so good. I knew there would never be any payoff to that, but it was nice to know that a girl as beautiful as Anne liked me. "We need ice cream after that," Kyle said. That night, I got the banana sticking straight up with the two scoops side by side covered with coconut. I honestly never thought that would happen to me.
I felt really bad about getting so mad at Kyle. I knew he wasn't really criticizing Brian, after I thought about it, at least, but when he said that about Brian needing to do something about the puppy licking, it just got all over me. I love Kyle, but I also love Brian. I knew everything was all right between us after we both apologized, so I didn't say anything else about it. Kyle needs to learn to think a little more before he opens that mouth sometimes. Speaking of the puppy, I knew Brian was in hog heaven with that thing. She was really cute, and I knew she was going to be a beautiful dog. Brian said something about her being a pedigree, which I guess was a good thing, but she looked just exactly like Trixie to me, only smaller. And that Trixie was something else. She was damn sure going to help Brian train that puppy, and that was the cutest thing I had ever seen. I never dreamed when I was a kid that I'd ever love somebody the way I do Brian, and then him turn out to be a dog man on top of it. I really didn't know what being a dog man was all about, exactly, but I was as proud as I could be of my Little Buddy for being one. Brian and I had gone upstairs to our room after he took care of the puppy for the last time that night, and he had walked down to Tim's room to ask him something about homework. Denny knocked on our door, and I said come in. I was lying on the bed reading something for my English class, and I was in just my briefs. "Hi, Justin," Denny said. "Hey, Bubba. What's up?" "Can you talk to me for a minute?" "Sure. What do you want to talk about?" I asked. If it's homework, I thought, you'd best wait till Brian comes back. "The new boy and what Kevin and Rick said tonight," he said. "What about 'em?" I asked. "Were they really serious when they said I could stay here until I grow up?" he asked. "Yeah, they were serious. What do you think? They're going to put your ass out?" "I was worried about that," he said. "Well, that's your last worry, little brother. They ain't ever going to kick you out of here. They didn't Jeff, and they didn't me. They didn't Alex, either. They love us, Denny," I said. "They sure are nice," he said. "They ain't just nice. They're the best, dude," I said. "Thank you, Justin. I love you," he said. God Almighty! I thought. This kid needs us bad. "Come here. Give me a hug," I said. He came toward me, and I sat up on the edge of the bed. I grabbed him and hugged him hard. Then I gave him a sweet little kiss on his cheek. "Thanks, Bubba," he said softly. "I love you, too, Denny." |