I cried my eyes out when we went to the airport to put Chris and Dave on the plane. There was a part of me that wanted him home right away so he could get back to his PT, but there was a much bigger part of me that wanted him to move to Emerald Beach. "What are you doing after you graduate," I asked him one day. He and I were by ourselves on the boat. I loved my brothers to death, but I felt like I needed some time alone with Chris. I had killed the engine so we could talk, and we were just drifting in the bay. "I'm going to college," he said. "Did you think I wasn't?" "No, I knew you were going to college. Where, though?" I asked. "I just figured it would be UM," he said. "University of Montana?" I asked. "Yeah. Why don't you come up there?" he asked. "No, we can't do that. We have to go to college in New Orleans. But what I was thinking was, why don't you come down and go to college there with us?" I said. "What's the name of the college?" he asked. "Tim and Brian want to go to Tulane University, and Jus and I want to go to the University of New Orleans," I said. "You could go to either one, and there are some others there, too, I think. In fact, I know there are." "That would be sort of cool, wouldn't it?" he said. "Oh, man, it would be way cool," I said. "Would you live in the French Quarter?" he asked. "Naw. We're thinking about living with Kevin's parents. They have a nice apartment over their garage. It's got three bedrooms. Only one bathroom, though," I said. "That would be a lot of people with only one bathroom," he said. "Would you have a problem with taking a shit while two of us were in the shower?" I asked. "No, not a bit," he said. "Not you guys." "You wouldn't have a problem living with two gay couples, would you?" I asked. "Kyle, I'm not even going to answer that, you asshole," he said, grinning. "I didn't think you did, but I wanted to make sure, you know?" "Well, now you know for sure. I would not have trouble living with four of the people on this earth that I love the most, even if they are an abomination to all that's holy," he said. "If I have to push you in, just know I'm starting up the boat and backing over you," I said. "Yeah, right," he said. We both laughed. "What are you thinking you're going to major in?" I asked. "Believe it or not, I'm actually thinking about physical therapy," he said. "At least I've been there, you know? Either that, or maybe hospital administration. I think that might be fun." "Hospital administration must be a lot like hospitality administration. A hospital is sort of like a specialized hotel, in a way," I said. "Yeah, a lot like one, without the bellhops," he said. "They got the orderlies, though. We serve room service; they serve bed pans," I said. "They serve room service in hospitals, too," he said. "True," I said. "To all the guests, I guess." "Have you ever been in a hospital?" he asked. "Of course I have," I said. "No, I meant as a patient," he said. "No, thank God. I know you have, though, huh?" "Yeah, I have, for my surgery. It was just a couple of days, though. You know, the more I think about it, the more hospital administration appeals to me," he said. "Hell, I don't know what I want to do when I grow up." "I really think you ought to think about coming with us to New Orleans, though. We'll find you a major, and we'll get you a job in a hotel when you're finished, if that's what you want," I said. "Whatever you major in." "I know you're teasing me, but I really do feel like I have a safety net under me because of you guys," he said. "I wasn't teasing you. You're part of the family, man. You'll always be," I said. "I wish you didn't have to go home." "I know. Me, too, but I do. I'm kind of anxious to get back to my job. I'm saving up for a car, you know," he said. "Yeah, I know. How much have you got?" I asked. "Not much. I figure I'll have about eight hundred because of this trip and working at the Laguna, but I figure I'm going to need about four thousand. My parents said they'd put up half, but I have to put up the other half. Up front. No financing. And there's insurance, too. They said they would pay that, though," he said. "Do you think you'll get it by Christmas?" I asked. "That's what I'm counting on. That'll be my Christmas present, too. That's a pretty good one, though, don't you think?" "A car is a good present any time you get one. I wish I could give you my old car, but it's a lease. My daddy just let me keep it for the summer so you and Paddy would have some wheels. It's got to go back just as soon as Paddy leaves," I said. "Kyle, I love driving that Mazda," he said. "I like that little swinging air conditioner vent thing." "I know. That's good. Chris, I'd give you that fucking car in a heartbeat, if my daddy would let me. But I know he won't let me give it to you. I got my big-ass new car for my graduation, and I really like it, but stuff like that doesn't mean that much to me. I would have been content to keep the Mazda," I said. "I appreciate that. You're rich, aren't you?" he said. "I'm not going there. That is never, ever going to be an issue between me and my friends, and I mean that, now, you hear me?" "But you are, aren't you?" "Goddamn it, Chris, I'm going to have to fling that ass of yours right off this boat," I said. He was laughing at me. "No, you're not," he said. "No, I'm not," I said. "But really, Chris, please don't ever bring that up again. Let's just say, my family has resources a lot of families don't have, and leave it at that, okay? But, see, you're part of my family, so you got 'em, too." I looked at my watch. "Let's go in. We've got time to check the crab traps one more time before it gets too dark to see what the hell we're doing." And we went in. * * * Driving the boat back, I kept thinking about Chris and that car. I just knew there was some way I could give it to him, but it wouldn't come. Then, all of a sudden, it hit me. I could buy the lease and then turn around and lease it to him. I knew my daddy would never let me give somebody a car. He had a strong belief that if you give your friends major gifts like that, you'll lose that person as a friend. Of course, you could say that he basically gave Kevin and Rick their house. He made them sign over their old house to him, and he called the difference their signing bonus. That's how he got around things like that. As soon as we got home, Chris went outside with the others. I got busy on the Internet. I found out that to buy out my lease, it would cost me about nine thousand dollars. If I financed the nine thousand over five years, it would be just a little over two hundred dollars a month. I could lease it to him for what the payment would be, or I could sell it to him over five years for the same amount. It seemed totally doable to me. I called his daddy. "Hey, Ralph. It's me, Kyle," I said. "Is something wrong?" Ralph said. "No, it's all good. I just wanted to talk to you about a car for Chris," I said. I outlined my idea, and he seemed to think it would work. They would put up half the money, like they told Chris they would. "The only thing is, Kyle, I wanted him to pay his half up front," he said. "Why?" I asked. "I think it would help develop his character," he said. I took a big chance. "Mr. Uhle, . . . Dr. Uhle, I mean, I'm all about character, sir, but you've got the character king on your hands with him." "Kyle . . . " "Sir, let me finish, okay? I know you want Chris to work so he can appreciate what he gets for his money. My daddy is the same way when it comes to working. He put me to work in the summer four years ago, and I've worked every summer since then. And I believe in work, too. But Chris is going to have to work to come up with his half of the payment, don't you see? Mr. Uhle, that boy has more courage and more character than anybody I've ever known in my life. Don't you see that from what he's done?" I said. There was a long pause at his end. "Dr. Uhle, are you still there?" I asked. "Yeah, I'm here, Kyle. I've just been thinking. Go for it, son," he said. "Well, it ain't a done deal yet. I gotta get my daddy to agree to it, and it's too late tonight for me to drive over there to talk to him. It'll be tomorrow before it's final, if it's final at all," I said. "Okay, but keep me posted, all right?" "Yes, sir, I will. Every step of the way," I said. "And Kyle, thank you for loving my son," he said. "This ain't love. This is a business deal," I said. "Bullshit, Kyle," he said. "Okay, maybe a little bit of love, but more business than love," I said. "Whatever," he said, laughing, and we said goodbye. * * * I went out to the pool after I talked to Dr. Uhle. "Where the hell have you been?" Justin asked. He had caught onto the EBG, the Emerald Beach Grumble, and he was using it. "I've been having a bowel movement, that's what. What's it to you?" I grumbled back. "You must have stunk up the whole house, taking that long," he said. "I'll give you the details later," I said. "That's all right. I don't really need 'em," he said. "Kyle, watch this," Brian said. He got Trixie up on the diving board. He did something with his hand, and she did a backward flip into the pool. "Damn, Bubba," I said. "That was awesome." Brian grinned. He knew Trixie was cute, and he loved it when we praised her. The next morning I went to see my daddy. He doesn't do business over the phone. He wants to see you face to face, man to man. I had called ahead to make sure he could see me, and he seemed pretty excited I was there. "Let's go meet the people here," he said. "You haven't been here before, have you?" "No, sir, I haven't." "Well, it's about time they found out who 'and Son' is in 'Goodson and Son, Inc.,'" he said. I wasn't really sure what he was talking about, but he paraded me around to meet all of the people in the office. We met the desk clerks, the bell captain, all of 'em. "This is Kyle Goodson, the 'and Son' in 'Goodson and Son,'" he said. If he said it once, he said it fifty times. It was so obvious he was so damn proud of me he could bust. I didn't say anything. I just shook hands with every one of them and grinned my face off. I noticed the bellhops had on shorts and deck shoes without socks. That was damn sure an innovation we could use at the Laguna. I made a mental note of that. They didn't do their job any less better than we did, either. That was actually a bigger and nicer hotel than the Laguna, which was our biggest and nicest one in Emerald Beach. No wonder my daddy wanted it. "Let's get some coffee. You want to?" he asked me. "Yes, sir," I said. Sure, Daddy, I thought. Let's waste the whole damn day, so I'll be sure not to make a cent in tips today. But I had it to do. We got a table with the Director of Sales, the Catering Director, and the F & B Director. They were just as pleasant and nice as they could be, but that catering guy was so gay. When we finally got into his office, he was all business. "What can I do for you, son?" I explained my deal with the car. "How are you going to get it there?" he asked. Shit, I hadn't thought of that. "Could it be shipped?" "Sure, but that costs money. Who's going to pay for that?" "Daddy, I hadn't thought about that, but I guess they'll have to," I said. He got all excited, but in a good way. He wasn't mad, or anything. "See, Kyle, that's a detail, and you need to think of all the details in a business deal, son," he said. "Yes, sir," I said. "Son, it sounds to me like you got most of this thing covered. Did you talk to his daddy about it?" "Yes, sir, last night. He thinks it's a good plan," I said. "Have you talked to Chris about it?" "Not specifically about him buying it, or leasing it, but he loves the car. He told me so on the boat yesterday afternoon," I said. "That's when I got the idea to do it." "I say lets go with it. It's good business, Kyle. He gets a car. We don't lose any money. And you don't lose a friend. I'd like to see us make a dollar or two, but that's not important," he said. "How about if I sell it to him for a dollar more than it'll cost me?" I asked. "That satisfies the urge to make money, Son. Do it, Kyle. I guess I'm going to have to sign something, right?" "Yes, sir. You're the leaser, not me," I said. "I think maybe you'll be selling the car to me, but maybe not." "Get it worked up. Go through the dealership. They know how to do this kind of thing. Can you stay for lunch?" he asked. I didn't want to, but I knew he wanted me to stay. "Yes, sir, I can stay, if you'll have me," I said. He stood up. "Come here to me," he said. I walked over to him, kind of scared because of the way he had said that. He grabbed me in a huge hug. "Kyle, I'm so fucking proud of you, I can hardly stand it, Son," he said. "You're a natural-born businessman, sure enough." I didn't know about that. He was hugging me hard, and it hurt a little bit. But that was okay. I hoped that what he said was true. We had lunch at a really nice restaurant in Destin, and four other guys joined us. He did the "this is the 'And Son'" thing again, and those guys laughed politely. One was a judge, one was a doctor, and two were businessmen. Every one of them was wearing a business suit, and I was wearing my uniform. I did okay in the table-manners department, though, but that damn lunch lasted an hour and a half. I was glad I had told Rooney on the phone that I had some personal business to attend to with my dad. He understood. * * * "Where the fuck have you been?!" Justin said when I got back to the Laguna. "I had some business with my daddy this morning, that's where I've been," I said. "And you couldn't call? Tim and I have been worried to death about you," he said. "Tim knew I was going to Destin this morning," I said. "Yeah, we knew you were going to Destin, but it's two o'clock in the fucking afternoon, Kyle," he said. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize it was that late, and I should have called. I'm sorry," I said. "What were you doing, anyway?" he asked. "I was setting it up so Chris can have my car, that's what I was doing," I said. "The Land Cruiser?" "No, the Mazda," I said. "I thought it was going to be a half hour, but I had to meet all these people and then go out to lunch with him and some of his friends. I'm sorry I didn't call. I'll do better next time. Where's Tim?" "If he ain't at the bell desk, he must be on a call," Jus said. Tim came down to the bell desk just as I got there. "Hey," he said. "You got hung up, didn't you?" "Yeah, I did. I'm sorry I didn't call," I said. "I knew where you were. Your dad paraded you all over, didn't he?" Tim asked. "Yeah," I said. "I figured he'd do that. I wasn't worried," he said. "Justin was all over my ass for not calling," I said. "I know. He loves you, Kyle, and he was worried about you. He doesn't understand how it is, though," Tim said. "But you do, don't you?" "Yeah. I understand. And he will, too, in time. So, do you want to move to Destin?" he said. "That is a damn fine hotel. Better than this one. We need to go over there to eat one night. Maybe even check in," I said. "I can do that. Kyle, I want to kiss you so bad right now," Tim said. "I know. Me, too. Later, though, okay?" "Definitely later," he said. I was hard as a rock, and I was pumping out pre-cum. Damn, I thought. I need to get my dick under control. The last one I had to convince about the car was Chris, and that took, like, thirty seconds. He was totally happy with the deal. "Now remember. You owe me money every month," I said. "I know, but what if I don't pay?" he asked. "I'll have to fly up to Montana, spend a few weeks evaluating the situation, and then decide what to do," I said. "I'll pay," he said. "I know. I guess I don't get a trip to see you. Shit," I said. "You can always come up to make sure I'm taking good care of it," he said. "That's an idea. I might have to schedule quarterly maintenance trips to check on it," I said. He laughed, and I did, too. "Kyle, you're incredible. Thank you so much," he said. "Don't thank me? It's a business deal. That's it. Bottom line," I said. "Yeah, right," he said. * * * While Chris and Dave were here, we took some extra time off. Jeff and Ty were real good about working extra so we could get off early a few times. We took them to Gulf World, ZooWorld, and the water park during the day. Denny was the pool boy at the Laguna. One of three, actually, so he could get off whenever he wanted to. Trouble was, he didn't get paid when he was off, so he almost never came with us. We didn't get paid, either, and we missed out on tips, too, but Tim and I were willing to do that to be with Chris and Dave. Brian and Justin always managed to be off when we were, too. Plus, I didn't really need the money, and, because I didn't, Tim didn't, either. "I got hit on today," Chris said on one of our adventures, while we were eating lunch. "Boy or girl?" Justin asked. "Girl. Woman, really. Probably old enough to be my mother," he said. "So, did you get laid?" Justin asked. "Does a blowjob count?" Chris asked. "Hell, yeah, it counts," Jus said. "Did that really happen?" Tim asked. "No, but it could have," Chris said. We all laughed. "I get hit on all the time," I said. "Usually by real faggy men, though, not women. Now and then a woman, but not usually." "I do, too, now and then," Justin said. "Is there some movie out about hotel workers being easy scores, or something?" "Not that I know of," I said. "I guess we just have so much sex appeal they can't resist us." We all laughed. "Jeff told me that one time he had to deliver room service, and the guy was just in a bathrobe. The robe was open, and he didn't have on underwear or anything. He said the guy sat in a chair and opened his legs. He showed Jeff the goods. He wanted Jeff to put the napkin in his lap," Tim said. "What did Jeff do?" I asked. "He told the man 'no' and got the hell out of there. He didn't even get a tip for his trouble," Tim said. We laughed. "Did y'all ever walk in on somebody naked?" I asked. "I mean, they were naked, not you." "I've done that a few times," Tim said. We all said we had, too. "Why do they open the damn door?" I asked. "'Cause they want some of you, that's why," Justin said. "Why else would they do it?" "My dogs don't ever come on to me," Brian said. "Woof, woof. I guess not. I don't know why, though. You're a cute little doggy, Brian," I said. I ruffled his hair. "Kyle, I'm going to doggy you if you don't stop messing with my hair," Bri said. "Brian, I love it doggy style," I said. "You love it any way you can get it," Justin said. "Ain't that right, Tim?" "I'm not saying a word," Tim said. "Leave me out of this." If we had as much sex as we talked about it, they'd have to open a special Raw Dick Clinic at the hospital just for us. It was fun playing and joking about it, though.
The atmosphere in the den the afternoon that Chris and Dave left was positively funereal. It was a Monday after a big holiday weekend, and that would have been bad enough. But I knew they were all missing the Montana boys. "Come on, boys. We need to perk up," I said. "This silence is starting to get to me." "Sorry. I'm just thinking about Chris," Kyle said. "Did you and he get it all worked out about the car?" I asked. "Yes, sir. We're going to ship it at the end of August, right after Paddy leaves," Kyle said. "It's all taken care of." "Good. And his dad was satisfied with the price and all?" I asked. "Yes, sir. I came down a little bit on the price, though," Kyle said. "Did Ralph negotiate, or did Chris?" I asked. "Neither one. I'm the guilty party. Don't tell my dad, though, okay? I figured it was mine, once I bought out the lease, and I could take a few bucks off the price," he said. "How much did you take off?" I asked. "Enough," Kyle said. He said that with a certain finality that let me know he wasn't interested in discussing it any further. "Can we call Rob?" Brian asked. I thought that was a great idea. Rick had talked to Craig several times, and I had talked to Cherie every day since she had gotten home from the hospital, but we hadn't talked to them as a family since we had talked to Craig the morning Rob was born. I noticed Brian had said "Rob," not "Cherie and Craig." Rick dialed the number, and Cherie answered. We had her on speaker, of course. She was happy to hear from us, and she had Rob in her arms. "Pinch him so we can hear his voice," Justin said. "Justin, I'm not going to pinch this baby," she said, laughing at his foolishness. "Well, make him talk to us," Jus said. "He's actually nursing right now," she said. Justin looked at Kyle, and they both grinned. There was devilment on those two faces. "Don't say it, Justin. Kyle," Rick said. "You guys are awful," Cherie said. "No, we're not. We're cute," Kyle said. "Yes, you are, actually. Your cousin is going to worship you guys," she said. "I know, and I can't wait to see him. We've got two damn weeks to wait, too," Kyle said. "When are you coming?" she asked. "A week from this coming Friday. Brian has his summer school exam on that Thursday, and we're heading out on Friday morning," I said. "Great. We're eager to see you guys," she said. * * * The two weeks passed quickly. The boys went to work every day, just like Rick and I did, and, in the evenings, we all pursued our interests. We didn't stay up late because we were all tired from our days, but we had our usual evenings in the den. We watched a lot of Braves baseball on TV, and it was rarely riveting. When you watch the same team, over and over again, you learn a lot about them, but you don't get many great plays. Those only come on highlights. The only major diversion during that time was the arrival of the advance copy of Kyle's book. They had made a mistake and had spelled his name "Godson" on the dustjacket. He was on the phone to his editor in an instant, and she assured him that the mistake had already been taken care of. The book was magnificent, and Kyle was proud. He and Tim drove over to Destin that afternoon to show his parents, and they stopped at George and Sonya's to show it to them on the way home. "I'm sorry, but I cannot believe this. Somebody I know wrote a fucking book?" Justin said. "I know. It's pretty amazing, isn't it? And the sad part is, I can't even read it," Kyle said. "I know. Me, neither," Justin said. "But it's got some good pictures." "Find the one of you naked eating the watermelon. That's one of my favorites," Kyle said. "Is that one in here?" Jus asked. "You signed the permission thing," Kyle said. "I signed a bunch of those. I didn't read 'em," he said. "It's a good picture. They've got that one on the wall in the gallery," Kyle said. "For real?" "Yeah, for real. And when it sells, you're going to get a model fee," Kyle said. "Cool. I can always us the money. Who they going to sell it to?" Justin asked. "I don't know. Whoever wants to buy it, that's who," Kyle said. "How much?" Justin asked. "It's priced at three thousand," Kyle said. "Three thousand dollar? No way!" Jus said. "No. Three thousand pennies. Yeah, three thousand dollars, asshole. You think I work cheap?" Kyle said. "Nobody's going to buy it," Jus said. "I don't know about that. They've bought some others that were that much. A big stud horse like you naked? Shit, they could get twice that much for it," Kyle said. "They would, too, if it wasn't in the book. Do you know how much this book is going to sell for?" "No. How much?" Jus asked. "Eighty-five dollars." "I'm sorry, Kyle. Your pictures are good, man, but that's way too much for me to pay for a book," Jus said. "I wouldn't buy one, either," Kyle said. "But that's what it's going to cost." "How much of that do you get?" "Not all that much, really. Ten percent of the wholesale price, which I guess means I get $4.25 a book. That's about what it usually is, anyway. So if they sell all three thousand copies, I'll get somewhere around thirteen thousand dollars," Kyle said. "Is that all?" I asked. "That's what they told me, Kevin," Kyle said. "I was surprised, too, because the total retail on that is $225,000.00. I had my shyster check it out, and she told me that was right. I trust her, too." "Your shyster? What the fuck is that?" Justin asked. "My lawyer. Cherie, man," Kyle said. "Kyle, I think the word 'shyster' means 'dishonest lawyer,'" Kevin said. "Oh, I didn't know that. I thought that was just another word for lawyer. Shit, she ain't a shyster, then, that's for sure," Kyle said. "So, what's the difference between a lawyer and an attorney?" Justin asked. "They use both of those words." "I don't know, but Cherie is both. So is Craig," Kyle said. "Guys, the word 'attorney' means somebody who has the legal authority to act on somebody else's behalf. Rick and I have durable power of attorney for each other, which means that we can act on each other's behalf if we're ever disabled or sick or something, and can't act for ourselves. A lawyer is somebody who has been trained in the law. Anybody can be an attorney, as in power of attorney for somebody else, but only people who have been admitted to the bar can be lawyers," I said. "Admitted to the bar? I've always heard that, but what does that mean?" Kyle asked. "Kyle, I don't know where the term comes from, but the bar is what lawyers have to be admitted to. They have to go to law school and pass a major exam to be admitted," I said. "I guess this ain't like a drinking bar," Justin said. "That's highly debatable," Rick said. I laughed, but the kids didn't. "No, it's not a drinking bar, Jus. I think it actually refers to the courtroom. When I've watched trials on Court TV, they have side-bar conferences, and that's when the lawyers huddle around the judge's bench, kind of on the side and not open to the people in the courtroom. I assume the 'bar' is the judge's desk," I said. "Guys, one thing that Kevin just said is very important to you all," Rick said. "What?" Kyle asked. "Well, he and I have a springing durable power of attorney over the other one's affairs, including medical stuff and the property we own. We consider ourselves married, but we don't have the legal rights that straight married couples have. The closest we can get to married status in terms of the law is a durable power of attorney. Kyle, I know your dad knows about all of this, and he has springing durable power of attorney over you. But just as soon as Tim turns eighteen, that needs to be transferred to him, if that's what you want. The same with you, Justin and Brian," Rick said. "Who's got that for me now?" Justin asked. "Nobody, Bubba," Kevin said. "We need to talk to Craig and Cherie about that for you the next time we see them. That's important." "Rick, what does springing durable power of attorney mean?" Kyle asked. "I've heard of power of attorney, and I even had to sign that when I turned eighteen. What do you mean by 'springing durable?'" "You're going to have to get the lawyers to explain it fully, Kyle, but what I understand is an ordinary power of attorney expires as soon as a doctor certifies that you're incapacitated, like in an accident or sickness or something. A durable power of attorney doesn't end when that happens. The 'springing' part means it only springs into action when you are incapacitated. In other words, as long as Kevin can act for himself, I can't make him get circumcised, let's say. Not that I ever would, mind you. But that's just an example," Rick said. "I'd never make Tim get cut, either. That's my little play toy," Kyle said. "I knew I had picked the wrong example as the words were leaving my mouth," Rick said. "But do you understand the concept?" "I think so. I was just cutting up about cutting him," Kyle said. We laughed. "If you have one of those things, will they let you see him, if he's real sick or dying or something? I know they sometimes keep the partner out," Tim said. "That's right, Tim, they do. Ours say point blank that we each have the rights, privileges, and responsibilities of spouses toward each other, as soon as it goes into effect," I said. "Another thing you have to do, if you're going to be partners for life, is figure out how the property is going to work." Kyle got very interested in that, all of a sudden. "What I mean is, you have to decide what the two of you are going to own jointly, with survivor's rights, and what you're going to leave to other people," I said. "In most states, the spouse automatically inherits all the property, unless there is a will that says otherwise. That doesn't work for gay couples. Kyle, if you want Tim to have your property when you die, you have to expressly say that in your will." "Cherie has already talked to me about that," Kyle said. "Evidently, your will can change over your lifetime, too, can't it?" "Oh, sure. They call those changes codicils," I said. "Kyle, for argument sake, let's say you and Tim decide you're going to be together for the rest of your lives." "That's already been decided, Kevin," Kyle said. "I know, but I'm trying to come up with a hypothetical case to make some points, okay?" I said. "Okay. Sorry. Go ahead," Kyle said. "All right. So, you and Tim have a formal, or even informal, commitment to one another, and you write your will so that everything goes to him when you die. Let's say you do that when you're twenty-five years old. Then, when you're thirty, y'all adopt a baby. Or--and this is probably going to be more likely--y'all take in a twelve-year-old foster kid to raise. You love him. You consider him to be your son. And then when the kid's twenty-two, Tim dies. You can't leave your property to Tim anymore. You want to leave it to this boy. That's when you can change your will to leave everything to him, if that's what you want to do," I said. I could tell from the look on his face and from his general demeanor that this was making Kyle think. He was the only one of them who actually had anything to leave to anybody, at that point, at least, and what we were talking about was obviously important to him. "I never thought about him dying before me," Kyle said. "You know who I'm thinking about, don't you?" "Clay and Jeff?" I asked. "Yeah. My daddy had to lie to the people at the hospital so Jeff could go in to see Clay. That's just wrong," Kyle said. "He had to tell them Jeff was his brother." "I didn't know that, Kyle," I said. "Yeah," he said softly. "This money shit is so fucking complicated, I could scream every time I have to think about it. Kevin, you know I love Cherie to death, but she is fucking relentless with this shit, man. I'm on the phone with her every week, it seems like, about this kind of shit." "That's her job, Kyle. That's why you pay her, Son," Rick said. "I know, Rick. But it still ain't easy. I thank Jesus Christ it's her, but it still ain't easy thinking about Tim dying. Especially after what happened to my brother," he said. "You thank Jesus Christ for lawyers? I thought we were supposed to hate 'em," Justin said. "Let me ask you something, mister. Did you hate her and Craig when they came over here and got you ready for that goddamn trial? Huh?" Kyle asked. "Kyle, don't get mad, man. You know I love them as much as you do," Justin said. "That was a bad joke, okay?" "Okay, but it pisses me off bad when I hear lawyer jokes like that. Yeah, they're the devil, until you need one. Then you're happy to have 'em," Kyle said. "Guys, let's calm this down, okay," I said. "Everybody loves Craig and Cherie, and what Kyle said is right. They know how to do things legally, and we can't get by without lawyers. Why don't we all take some deep breaths to calm down, go outside, get undressed, and play in the pool?" "That's a good idea," Rick said. "I just want to make one more point, though. When Chuck's house burned down, we were able to get to all the important papers because they were in a safety deposit box at a bank. What we've been talking about--powers of attorney, wills, all that stuff--are documents. Pieces of paper. They need to be in a safety deposit box in the vault of a bank. You guys are going to need those. Let's go swim." The boys went ahead of Rick and me out to the pool. "Whoa!" I said. "I know. It got pretty intense, but they need to know this kind of stuff, Babe," Rick said. "Oh, I know they do. Every gay couple needs to know this stuff, and they're not too young to hear it," I said. "Cherie must be a damn good lawyer," he said. "If you ever say this, I'll kill you, but she's better than my beloved brother, and that's a fact," I said. "I agree, and Craig's my best friend," he said. "I know." |