On my first day back at the office after my black eye episode, I decided I wanted to be fully out at work. Jeff, I believe it was, had made the point that nobody was going to approach me unless I explicitly came out because of the fact that I had been married. I knew he was right, and I decided to go for it. "Hi, stranger," the receptionist said when I walked into our office. "Were you sick, Ken? The board said you were out last week on sick leave." "Hi, Sandi. I had an accident, and I had a bad black eye. So, I guess you could say I had a medical condition but not really an illness," I said. "I wouldn't have noticed it if you hadn't said something, but now I can see a little shadow or something," she said. "What did you do this weekend? Anything interesting?" She was single, and she knew I was single again. She took more interest in me than she did in some of the other guys. "Yeah, as a matter of fact, I did," I said. "I came out to my parents on Saturday." "Came out? What do you mean?" "I told my parents that I'm gay," I said. "But you're married. Or were," she said. "Yeah, but that was just a big mistake. Listen, it's a long story, and I need to check my work orders. I'm sure there are a bunch of them," I said. "Okay. Talk to you later," she said. I figured that was all it would take. I went back into the secure area of the office and sat at my desk in my cubicle. Just as I had predicted, there was a stack of work orders from the Help Desk. None of them were Priority 1's, though. Those would have been taken care of by somebody else, if there had been any while I was out. We ran a good shop in Information Services, and I was happy to see that Tony Miller was keeping up the standards. Before I left the building on any service calls, I always phoned the person who had put in the work order to make sure the problem was still a problem. Sometimes people call before they try the obvious things, like rebooting the machine. I eliminated four work orders just by making those calls. Then I got my tool box and set out to fix computers. I was actually a network service consultant, so most of the time I worked on servers and switches and such. We also had responsibility for things like the telephone systems and fire alarms, but that day it was only computer network problems. I spent my day working through the work orders. As usually happened, I had several, "Oh, while you're here . . ." requests, but we weren't supposed to handle those unless it was a Priority 1 emergency. They were supposed to call the Help Desk so the problem could be properly logged and assigned to one of the consultants. By the end of the work day, I had taken care of about a third of my work orders. When I got back to the Goodson Building, there were more work orders on my desk. I had my own desk area, phone, and computer, but I shared the cubicle with another network consultant, a guy by the name of Dan Rutland. "I missed you last week, buddy," Dan said. He was about my age--twenty-five or so--affable, well built, and a knockout in the face department. I had worked side by side with him for a couple of years, but I really didn't know anything about him. I knew he wasn't married, but beyond that he was a mystery man to me. "Thanks, Dan," I said. "Sandi said you had a black eye. Is that right?" he asked. "Yeah. I had a little accident," I said. "She also told me something about you coming out to your parents," he said. "Yep. I finally bit the bullet. They were fine about it. Very accepting," I said. "Are you doing anything after work?" he asked. "Not really. What do you have in mind?" "Why don't you and I grab a beer and have a little chat about it?" he said. "I'd love to have a beer with you, but I'm really fine about the whole announcement thing," I said. "Cool. Let's go. Are you about finished?" "As finished as we ever are," I said. He chuckled. It was a standing joke in Information Services that it was impossible to ever truly get caught up. I met Dan at a sports bar near our office. They had a nice deck across the back where you could watch the Gulf and see some spectacular sunsets. It was still pretty hot, but we chose a table out there anyway. Dan was also a smoker, and, while it wasn't illegal to smoke in bars, a lot of places frowned on that. Outside was a different story. We ordered a pitcher of draft beer and two glasses. Dan ordered some potato skins to munch on, and I ordered nachos with chili. It was understood that we'd share the food. "So, you took the big step with your folks," he said. "And you said they accepted it well." "Yeah, they did. I think they would really like to see me get back with my wife. At least they did before I told them. Now I guess they know why Carolyn and I split up," I said. "I don't know how my parents would take something like that," Dan said. Would it ever come up? I wondered. "Is that an issue?" I asked. I didn't want to pry, but I felt as though he wanted me to ask. "Yeah," he said. "I'm gay, too." I didn't know what to say, and I suddenly felt very awkward. "I've known it all my life. I've never told them, though, because I didn't think there was a reason for them to know it. I mean, if I ever got a boyfriend, I'd tell them," he said. "So, you've never had a boyfriend?" I asked. "I dated some in college, and I have a good friend who's gay. But I've never had a serious relationship," he said. "Did you ever date girls?" I asked. "Of course. I suspect you and I are a lot alike in that regard. I've even had sex with a girl," he said. "I've only had sex with one girl, my ex, and with only one guy, and only one time with him," I said. "It sounds like we're about equally matched in the experience department," he said. "Yeah, I guess it does." We didn't dwell on our gayness after that, but we did get to know each other. I learned that he was my age, twenty-five, and that he had two younger brothers who were straight, as far as he knew. He grew up in a tiny town about fifty miles north of Emerald Beach, and his parents still lived there. He had an apartment that he shared with a roommate, who also happened to be his one gay friend. He liked to work out, which was obvious from his physique, and he went to as many movies as he could, often alone, but sometimes with his roommate. He had a delightful sense of humor. He was pretty quick witted, and he reminded me of the boys on North Lagoon Drive when it came to clever puns. The bottom line on Dan was that he was a hell of a nice guy. I told Dan about my family and that I had lived all my life in Emerald Beach "east of the bridge." He asked me if I had an apartment. "No, but that's going to change soon," I said. "I'm staying with some friends temporarily. Before that I was living with my parents, and before that, of course, I was living with my wife." "I tried living alone, but I couldn't take the loneliness," he said. "I get pretty lonely now, and I've got a roommate who is also a good friend." "Well, I've never lived alone. I lived at home until I got married. I went to college here," I said. We finished the food and the pitcher of beer, and then we both headed home. I decided I'd like to spend more time with him. He was friendly and likeable. I felt an attraction to him, but I wasn't ready to start dating him yet. * * * Dan and I started doing things together as friends. He called me a few times to go to movies, and we went out after the movie for something to eat. It turned out he rarely drank, for the same reason Rick Mashburn didn't drink, which made his invitation to have a beer that first day all the more significant, I thought. We drove up to Chipley, his hometown, one Saturday to see his parents. "Shit," he said, as we turned into the drive. "What's the matter?" I asked. "They're not here. I forgot they were going to Tallahassee this weekend. It's Parents Weekend at FSU, and that's where they are. Do you hate me?" he asked. I laughed. "Of course not. I enjoy your company, and I didn't have anything else to do today," I said. "Well, this is where I grew up," he said. The house was old, but it was large and obviously well maintained. It was on the outskirts of the town, and it appeared to have a good bit of land that it sat on. The lawn was deep green, and the azaleas around the house were enormous. Inside, the house had obviously been renovated and redecorated fairly recently. The kitchen was modern and sparkling, and the other rooms were nicely furnished. He showed me the room that had been his. There were posters on the wall and trophies on a couple of shelves. It wreaked of masculine adolescence, which certainly wasn't unappealing. We were standing in front of a display case examining a collection of little lead replicas of famous buildings. Dan turned to me, took hold of both of my shoulders, and kissed me. It was very soft and tender, tentative almost. I had wanted to do the same thing on several occasions, so I returned the kiss. "You aren't angry at me for doing that?" he asked. "No. I've wanted to do it, too," I said. "I didn't bring you here to seduce you, you know," he said. "I really did forget my parents wouldn't be here. Hell, they're always here." "Dan, I'm not ready to be seduced yet, but you'll have first shot at it, when I am," I said. He chuckled. "Do you consider what we've been doing together dating?" he asked. I hadn't thought of it in those terms, but that's what it was. "Well, yeah. Sort of," I said. "I certainly like you well enough to date you, and I hope you feel that way about me." "Yeah. Isn't it obvious?" he asked. "I've had a crush on you for two years. When you got married, I thought whatever chance I might have had with you was gone forever." "You never once came on to me. In fact, I didn't know you were gay until you told me you were," I said. "You had a serious girlfriend or were engaged. Then you were married. How would you have reacted if I had made a pass at you?" he asked. "I don't know. That might have been what it took to help me avoid the mistake of getting married. I knew I was gay when I did it; I was arrogant enough to think I could 'beat' nature," I said. "Did you think I might be gay before I told you?" "Not for a second," he said. "That's why I didn't try anything." We didn't stay long at the Rutland home. We went back to the town and cruised some of the shops on Main Street. Honest to God! That's what they called it. Main Street. The merchants down there had spent a good bit of money on downtown redevelopment, and there were three or four blocks of quaint and interesting shops. There weren't many people around for a Saturday, but we noticed several cars with out-of-state license plates parked along the street. It wasn't Emerald Beach on the Fourth of July, but there were a few tourists about. That evening Dan grilled steaks for us at his apartment. His roommate had plans, but I did get to meet him. Really, "greet him" would be a better way to put it. I actually already knew the guy. His name was Cory Smith, and he worked for Goodson as a programmer. We had a leisurely dinner, and the steaks were really very good. After we ate, we watched the DVD of True Lies, which had been one of my favorite movies since it came out. I loved the action. "This has been a great day, you know?" I said when the movie was over. We were sitting side-by-side on the sofa, not touching, but close. He took my hand in his, and that felt totally natural and totally right. "It has been a good day," he said. "Do we each have a boyfriend now?" he asked. "I do," I said. He smiled at me, and I smiled back. Then we kissed. It wasn't heavy make-out kissing, but it was a lot more than you might do with your father, say. It was the kiss of two men who were at the beginning of a relationship. "I really like you, Ken, but I'd like to take it slow," he said. "I was just thinking those exact words," I said. And we did take things slowly. Over the course of about six weeks, we became very close friends. We weren't lovers yet, but our kissing became more and more passionate. It was just a matter of time before we gave our bodies to each other, and there was something exciting and delicious in the build-up to that. * * * "There are some people I'd like for you to meet," I said. It was the middle of the afternoon on a Saturday. We had been out to a movie and to eat the night before, and we had just finished playing racquetball that afternoon. "Sure," he said. "Do they know we're dating?" he asked. "Yes, and they're dying to meet you," I said. "Damn. Who are they?" he asked. "Do the names Kevin Foley and Rick Mashburn mean anything to you?" I asked. He thought for a second. "Those names are familiar, but I'm drawing a blank," he said. "They're a committed gay couple that I've been staying with for the last couple of months. They run a foster home for gay boys. Right now there are ten of us living there, and there's a townhouse with two other gay couples that Kevin and Rick consider 'sons,'" I said. "Wow! That's incredible. I didn't know there was anything like that here," he said. "There is. Kevin and Rick are the two executive vice presidents of Goodson Enterprises, and one of the kids in the house is Kyle Goodson, the owner's son. Not only that, one of the guys in the townhouse is Tony Miller," I said. "Shit! You're kidding, right? The two EVP's of this place are gay?" he asked, almost in disbelief. "Yes," I said, "and they're not much older than we are. They're both twenty-seven." "And Mr. Goodson has a gay son? Did he kick the kid out, or something?" "Not at all. Gene Goodson had two gay sons, only the older one is dead. Some kind of medical accident. Gene and his wife are going to New Orleans with all of us next weekend for the baptism of Kevin’s nephew." I invited Dan to go with us, but he declined because of some kind of homecoming at his home church in Chipley. It happened every year in the fall, and he had said his parents considered his appearance at that thing to be a command performance. Naturally, though, he would have preferred to go with us. "Somebody said they thought Tony Miller was gay, but I can't remember who it was," he said. "Ken, you've just about rocked my world, man. How did you get to know these people?" I told him how it happened. "Damn. What an incredible set of coincidences," he said. "I can't wait to meet them. When can I?" "How about right now?" I asked. "I'm game, but I need to clean up first," he said. "Let's get a shower." The racquetball club had a shower room, and he and I had come prepared to use it. That was the first time we saw each other without clothes on. Naked, Dan's body was as impressive as I had thought it would be. He had played high school football and had been in wrestling, too. He was about six feet tall, and his pecs and abs were sharply defined. He had a good bit of hair on his legs and butt, but his upper body was smooth. "Do you shave your chest?" I asked. "Yeah," he said, grinning shyly. "It's a vanity thing." "Well, it looks damn good," I said. The whole time we were talking and checking each other out, our penises were lengthening and thickening. The place was deserted except for us and the girl at the desk out front. It occurred to me to be embarrassed and to try to hide my arousal. Then I thought, No, he's doing this to me, and I want him to know about it. We showered side by side, both of us fully erect. I was tempted to touch him, and once he looked like he was about to touch me. If he had, I wouldn't have objected, but I really wanted our first sexual encounter to be in more romantic circumstances than a shower at a gym. So instead of giving each other relief, we just washed our bodies under the hot spray of the shower. Our erections slowly went down. After we were dressed and ready to go, he took me in his arms and kissed me. "Thank you," he whispered. That was the moment I had been building to for two months. "I love you," I whispered. I hadn't intended to say it, but it was as though I couldn't hold it in any longer. "Oh, Ken. I love you, too," he said, and we kissed again.
When he told me in that locker room that he loved me, he unleashed a flood of emotion that was almost overwhelming. I had longed to hear those words, and I was certainly eager to say them to him. In the two months we had been dating, Ken had occupied my thoughts most of my waking hours. He was the first thing I thought of in the morning and the last thing I thought of at night. I wanted to see him every night, to spend all my time with him, in fact. We had said we wanted to take it slowly, and I didn't want to spook him by hovering too much. I could tell he was falling in love with me, though, and that Saturday at the racquetball club was the culmination of my dreams. We were in his car that afternoon. Neither of us said anything on the way to where we were going. It was a companionable silence, but I was thinking non-stop about him. I hoped he was doing the same about me. "Don't be surprised if a lot of them are naked when we get there," he said. "What? Where are you taking me?" I asked. He laughed. "They have a big pool in the yard, and it's definitely 'clothing optional' for swimming. I don't know who's home, but I'm sure some of the boys will be skinny dipping," he said. "Hmmm," I said. "You realize I'm probably going to get a hard-on again," I said. "If you do, that's okay. They'll ignore it. They know it happens," he said. Sure, I thought. Everyone knows that in theory, but it's one thing to ignore somebody else's hard-on, and another thing to ignore your own in a crowd of strangers. "Of course, we don't have to swim," he said. "Or we can wear suits. They have plenty around there." That eased my mind. The house was damned impressive from the front. There was a fleet of cars parked in the huge circular driveway in front of the house and up and down the straight driveway that led into the garage. I recognized Tony Miller's car. "It looks like Tony's here," I said. "Yeah, probably. The Townhouse Boys spend a good bit of time here," Ken said. "The Townhouse Boys?" "Yeah, that's what we call the ones who live in the townhouse. The ones who live in the house itself are Kevin, Rick, Tim, Kyle, Brian, Justin, Denny, Murray, Sean, and me. The Townhouse Boys are Tony and his partner Chuck, and Jeff and his partner Tyler. The Townhouse Boys are getting ready to have a double commitment ceremony right after Christmas," Ken said. "I won't be able to remember all those names," I said. "I know, but you will eventually. Those are all your new brothers," Ken said. "How do you figure that?" I asked. "Well, it's really metaphorical. They consider any gay guy to be their brother. I guess they consider lesbians their sisters, too, but that hasn't really come up. I don't think they know any lesbians. So you're a brother by default. But anybody who has ever lived here is also a brother, and that person's boyfriend is a brother, too. This is a really neat group of people, Dan," he said. I could tell he was excited about my meeting them, and that was very cute. The front door of the house was open, and we just walked right in. We entered a foyer and were immediately greeted by two huge Labrador Retrievers. They were both wagging their tails a mile a minute, and they both barked a short bark, as though they were greeting us. "Girls, this is Dan. He's my boyfriend," Ken said. They got so excited when he said that, you would have thought they knew what he meant. I got down to their level to greet them, and I expected to have wet dog tongues all over me. They didn't do that, though. They both nudged me with their snouts, but that was it. Somebody who knew what they were doing had trained those dogs. "Back, girls," Ken said, and they both sat down. "Wow! These two are amazing," I said. "I know. Aren't they? Brian is the dog master," Ken said. "Trixie, come and shake hands with Dan." The slightly larger of the two came forward, sat down, and put up her paw to shake with me. I shook it, and she went back to where she had been. "Krewe, it's your turn. Come and shake hands with Dan." The other dog did exactly the same thing. "I'm not believing this," I said. "I know. It's amazing, isn't it?" "Yes. It is definitely amazing," I said. He led us into a room that looked like it must be a den or family room or something. It was huge, and it had what looked like an incredible entertainment center on one wall and a big stone fireplace on another. There were two large leather sofas and other occasional chairs. There was a baseball game on the TV, but nobody seemed to be watching it. There were four guys in there, and they were all reading. "Hi, Bubba," one boy said when we went in. That attracted the attention of the others, and they all looked up. When they realized they had a new guest, they all sat up from the various reclining positions they were in to read. "Guys, I want you to meet my boyfriend. This is Dan Rutland. Dan, this is Murray Schultz, Denny Morgan, Jeff Martin, and Brian Mathews. Brian is the 'dog man' around here," Ken said. They each stood up, and I shook hands with each of them. We exchanged the usual introduction pleasantries. "Those dogs are well trained," I said to Brian. "Thank you," he said. "They work hard." The one he called Jeff was older than the rest of them. It was difficult to tell ages, but Jeff looked like he was about twenty-two or twenty-three. Brian looked like he was in his twenties, too, but it might just have been the fact that he had hair on his chest and heavy stubble on his face. None of them were wearing shirts, but everybody but Brian was smooth. "We know a good bit about you," Jeff said to me. "And I noted the term 'boyfriend,' guys. Congratulations." "Jeff lives at the townhouse with Tony and Chuck and Tyler," Ken said. "They're all outside waiting for you guys, Ken. Kyle and Justin are about to squeeze milk out of their nipples, they're so excited about meeting Dan," Jeff said. Whoa! No pressure on me there. I wondered what Ken had told them about me. "Let's go," Ken said. "Don't be nervous, okay? They already love you because I do." "What have you told them about me?" I asked. "That you're the greatest guy I've ever known," he said. He took my hand and squeezed it. He didn't let it go. Ken opened one side of the French doors that led onto a patio. The pool was just beyond that, and there were a bunch of boys and young men in it. From what I could tell, every one of them was naked. "Hey, look who's here," a kid with black hair and the face of a model said. He and a dirty blond Adonis jumped out of the pool and started toward us. They were stunning looking, but my eyes went immediately to their dicks. They were totally soft, but each one must have been five inches long. I forced myself to look at their faces. The rest of them started getting out of the pool to meet me, too. "Hi, I'm Kyle Goodson, and I'm Justin Davis," they each said in turn. I shook hands with them. "Dan Rutland," I said. "Dan, we've been waiting to meet you, man," Kyle said. They seemed totally at ease in their nudity. I, on the other hand, felt my dick put on weight. Tim was next to introduce himself, and I noticed he was uncircumcised. Kevin and Rick were right behind him, and Kevin was uncut, as well. The other guys were behind them: Sean, whose penis was definitely distended, Tyler, Chuck, and, finally, Tony Miller. "I know you," Tony said, grinning and laughing. "Did you ever think you'd see me naked?" "Mr. Miller, I don't know what to say," I said. "Well, first of all, lose the 'Mr. Miller' shit. I'm your brother here. I'm just plain 'Tony,'" he said. "I don't know if I can say that," I said. "Yes, you can. Say it. To-ny. And you can call me that at work, too. Most people do," he said. "The rest of them at work ain't seen this thing, though. Or have they?" Justin said, pulling on Tony's dick. "Leave that alone. That ain't yours," Tony said. "I don't want it. What is it, anyway? It looks sort of like a dick, only smaller," Justin said. It really was only about half the size of Justin's, but I knew some grew more than others. "You're looking for an ass-kicking, Justin," Tony said. "You might be able to do an ass kicking. I don't know about an ass fucking, though," Justin said. "He got you last big time on that one, Bubba," Kyle said. "I know," Tony said. "Justin, I'm going to kill you." "You might could with a gun, but not with the gun swinging between your legs," Justin said. They all laughed and got back to the volleyball game they had been playing. "These people are incredible," I said to Ken once they were back in the pool. "I know. Aren't they? The joking and the teasing never stop," Ken said. "It's the way they express affection for one another," Ken said. "Yeah, I can see that. Those two older boys. Kyle and Justin. Are they a couple?" I asked. "No. It's Kyle and Tim, and Justin and Brian. Brian is the one who trains the dogs. Kyle has actually published a book. I have a copy of it, and I'll show it to you. It's a book of photographs," he said. "That's unbelievable," I said. "I know. Wait till you see the book. It's mostly pictures of the boys in this house. And some of their friends, too. Kyle is represented by a gallery in New York City, and at least one of his pictures is in a museum. He's eighteen years old," Ken said. "Incredible," I said. "There's more talent on this half acre of land right now than there is on any hundred-acre plot in Northwest Florida. Maybe a thousand acres," Ken said. "You'll see." * * * I eventually worked up enough nerve to get naked and get in the pool, and Ken did, too. It wasn't new to him, though, like it was to me, so he had a much easier time doing it. I have to admit, it was more like taking a bath than anything else. There wasn't any sexual content to it at all, and I felt very much at ease. Getting from the bench where we left our clothes to the pool was the hardest part, but none of them even noticed us doing it. After a while, it seemed perfectly normal and natural to be naked with those guys in that pool. It appeared to me that Kyle and Tim, and Justin and Brian were in charge of dinner. They got out of the pool and put on Speedos to cook and get dinner ready for us. Rick made drinks for anybody who wanted one. The kids all drank cokes, but the older guys had liquor drinks. I had a coke. I think it was actually a Pepsi and not a real Coke, but we in the South call every soft drink a coke. "Well, what do you think?" Kevin asked me. It was Kevin and Rick, Tony and Chuck, Jeff and Tyler, and Ken and I at a table. We had a fairly large platter of snacks in front of us, and Kevin, Ken, and I were smoking. The others weren't. "I think this whole place is incredible," I said. "Tony, you really do have a full life, apart from Novell and Microsoft, don't you? And AS400." "I have a very full life, Dan. And now you're going to be a part of it," Tony said. "Are you boss types going to want your subordinates hanging around?" I asked. They laughed. "Of course, Dan. You and Ken might be the subordinates of some of us at work, but here you're our brothers, man," Kevin said. "You need to explain that to him, Ken." "I did," Ken said. "Kevin, there's a little bit of an adjustment to go through, you know? I've done it already, but Dan needs a couple of days." "Did you even know who Rick and I were?" Kevin asked. "No," I said. "Well, see. We're just friends and brothers. How can we be your bosses if you didn't even know we existed?" Rick asked. "True," I said. "Tony's the one I really think of as my boss." "No, I'm not," Tony said. "I'm Lee's boss, and Lee is your boss. How often do you talk to me?" "Never. This is really the first conversation I've ever had with you," I said. "That's not going to change at work. We're going to be brothers and friends in our personal lives, but we're not going to interact at work," Tony said. "I mean, we might occasionally hug or kiss each other in the parking lot, but nobody will notice that." We all laughed. "Yeah, right," I said. "Seriously, Dan. Nothing's going to change at work, man. Has it changed for Ken?" Tony asked. "No. Not that I can tell," I said. "The two of you might get the odd raise, the odd bonus, but you can't talk about that, anyway. That's cause for firing, and you know it," Kevin said. "Okay, the food is ready," Kyle said as he came up to our table. "It's grilled lobsters and grilled steaks. I caught the lobsters, and Rick caught the bull that the steaks came from by sticking his ass up in the air. Luckily, it was a gay bull. There is plenty of food, so please eat all you want. We always say grace before we eat at something like this, and I'm going to ask Mister Rick Mashburn to pray for us tonight." "You little shithead," Rick said. "Say the prayer so we can eat," Kyle said. "All right. Bow your heads, please. Heavenly Father, you have graced us tonight with a new brother, Dan Rutland. And you have graced Dan and Ken with a new relationship. We thank you for Dan, and we thank you for their friendship. We thank you for this family and for these, your gifts, which we are about to receive from your bounty, through Christ, our Lord." "Amen," they all shouted. "That was pretty damn good. For you," Justin said. Rick and Kevin laughed. "Yeah? You're going to have to say it, sooner or later," Rick said. "I hope it's later," Justin said. Everybody had either put on shorts or a bathing suit, or had a towel wrapped around themselves, for dinner. They formed a buffet line, and they let me go first because I was the newest member of the group. I took a steak, a lobster, a baked potato, some broccoli casserole, and a little salad. Ken was right behind me in line, and he sat next to me at a round table. We waited for others to join us, and the same group that had been at that table before came back to it. "This looks good, doesn't it?" Ken said. "Yeah, and it smells wonderful," I said. "Did those boys cook all of this?" "Yeah. They might have bought the casserole already prepared, but they're certainly capable of making it themselves. The food around here is pretty amazing, although the only real meal they eat together is breakfast. At night, it's more or less a snack," Ken said. When everybody was back at the table, we started eating. The lobster was especially good. I had never had grilled lobster before, but I knew I would in the future. "Ken told me you guys are planning a commitment ceremony," I said. "Yeah. We're excited about that," Tony said. "Kevin and Rick are sort of our inspirations in that." "You guys had a ceremony?" I asked. "Yeah. It was pretty private, though, not like the one these guys are planning. It was just my parents and my brother and sister-in-law. And the priest, of course," Kevin said. "A priest?" I asked, somewhat surprised. "Yeah. An old family friend," Kevin said. "He did a nice job with it." "Is yours going to be in a church?" I asked. "No. A priest will perform the ceremony, but even he's a little skittish about doing it in the church building," Jeff said. "It's going to be at a hotel, followed by a reception." "Ours wasn't in a church, either," Rick said. "It was at Kevin's parents' house." "I don't see that it matters where you do it," Ken said. "Exactly," Tyler said. "And really, having a priest is a nice touch, but I don't really think that's necessary, either." "I like that, though, Babe," Jeff said. "I do, too," Tyler said. That was the way the meal progressed. We talked about work a little bit, since everybody there was connected to the company in some way, but our jobs were so different that we really didn't have much common ground for conversation. We ended up talking about the new airport that was being debated in the county. "Gene Goodson's in favor of it," Kevin said. "A lot of people aren't, though, because they don't want this place to grow any more. I think that's kind of short sighted." "I don't," Rick said. "We have about 150,000 permanent residents here now, and the streets can barely handle the traffic as it is." I didn't really have an opinion on the topic, but the conversation underscored an important point to me. Here were these gay men, all of whom had important, responsible jobs in the community, talking about the kind of thing any group of straight friends would discuss. They were just normal, ordinary guys, interested in normal, ordinary things. That was pretty amazing to me. I could tell by the tone of voice, the body language, or whatever, that those guys deeply cared about one another. Love was almost palpable in that house among all fourteen of them, or whatever the hell the number was. I was already lucky to have Ken, but now I had them, too. |