This is a story about some young gay men and their families, and what they experience learning about gay life. Thanks to Tim Mead for all his help. Comments welcome to Cgard43@hotmail.com
THE OTHER BOYS OF SUMMER
-10-
I knew that Eric's appointment with his pastor was that evening; I didn't know when Drew's was. Still, I felt on pins and needles for Eric and couldn't wait to hear from him.
Rafe called me just after I got home from work that afternoon.
"Andy, I've got to say I was just about blown away last night. Your folks are so awesome."
"Yes they are," I answered, "And what really amazed me was that they'd actually planned it out as they did so that they could each talk to you alone. God, I feel so lucky." He just laughed.
"This morning was pretty special, too," Rafe said and it was almost a whisper. "I love you, Andy; I really, really do." I agreed with him and then chuckled, mostly to myself.
"Now, how do we get Eric into that happy column so I can have you all to myself?" I laughed.
"Believe me, Rafe, you already have me all to yourself," I answered. "I think we're gaining on the finish line though." I brought him up to date on stuff and he felt as positive as I did.
"I admit, I feel like there's just one final hurdle, and I don't know what it is," I said, "It actually scares me." He told me to relax and I admit that helped a lot. Well, so did the hot talk we had on the phone.
"Rafe, where do you buy a dildo?"
"Why?" he asked in the strangest tone.
"Because I want a 'Rafe-sized' one of course!" I said with a laugh.
"Don't bother," he said, "You don't need that."
"The hell I don't," I countered, "If you can...."
"Stop it, baby, I'm all you need. Trust me, Andy; I'll always be all you need." His laughter was contagious and we laughed and made kissing noises until we hung up the phone.
The next day I saw Drew, who seemed to have made walking out to talk to the lawn crew something of a habit. He was grinning from ear to ear.
"I know you don't want to hear details so I won't do that, but I have to say I've never known anyone I like as much as Eric. It's been almost like magic.
"We've been together several times now, and to tell the truth I've been walking on air and with the biggest smile on my face the whole time. It's really been wonderful." I just smiled at him.
"I'm so glad. It's turned out really well, hasn't it?" He grinned.
"Eric even told me your suggestion about how we deal with things when he goes back to school. I think I can cope with seeing him every other weekend. I mean, assuming we both work things out." He stopped, like he was gathering steam.
"Which reminds me, I mentioned to my parents that I'd met someone. I wasn't trying to upset them, but I wanted them to be happy for me. To my surprise, they actually seemed to be."
"Terrific," I said, "Parents can really be very good sometimes." He didn't know that much about Rafe and me so I just let it go at that." He grinned.
"Rafe?" he asked. I just smiled and nodded.
"Eric told me," he said. "He's a bit jealous that your parents are so accepting, but he's also thrilled for you guys." I know I smiled big time.
"It'll happen for you guys too, trust me," I said. I knew that was a bit of bravado, but I had to keep encouraging them.
"Actually, the surprising thing was that my folks were very supportive. They want to meet Eric, but I'm not really sure how to do that." I laughed; now we were back in my ballpark.
"As usual," I said, "A neutral place and a nice quick hello. Then you decide how you want to go on from there." Drew laughed.
"Ah yes, the Starbuck's encounter," he said with a chuckle. "I should have guessed that was your idea." Then he pulled himself up taller and went on.
"Actually, I had a similar plan in mind," he went on, "There's this fundraiser thing that they're doing here for the orphan's place. I know my parents will go because they always do all of that sort of thing, but I thought if Eric happened to go, I could introduce them easily."
"Great idea, Drew," I said. "Always let people meet in a place where they'll be comfortable. And don't worry about Eric; his manners are fine."
The event he was talking about was about two weeks away, and I admired his craftiness in figuring out how to engineer that. I'd always thought he was a good guy; now I was sure of it.
The next day Eric called me very early and asked if I could get away from the crew to go to lunch with him. I laughed.
"Only if you meet us at our third job site and help me with weeding. That's a huge lawn and it takes both Willie and Pedro a long time, but there's lots of weeding too."
"You've got it," he said, "I'll bring a lunch so we can talk somewhere privately." I agreed and made sure I had a good lunch.
So he met us and helped me weed and then we sat under a tree and ate our lunch while Willie and Pedro were finishing up their tasks.
"Drew has this idea about introducing me to his parents," he said and he went on to explain the plan. I shrugged. Just then Eric's cell phone rang and he answered it and talked for a few minutes. It was clearly about work. Once he'd hung up though, I couldn't stop myself from commenting.
"I know that was work and that's fine," I said, "But don't ever answer your cell phone when you're on a date. Understood?"
"Sure, I guess," Eric answered with a bit of a puzzled look.
"I'm serious, Eric," I went on, "I think that's one of the worst things anyone can do. I see it all the time and it is incredibly rude." He nodded to let me know that he understood.
"So, what's the problem?" I asked, "Are you afraid of meeting his parents?" He dropped his eyes and I knew that was the case.
"Buddy, you've got nothing to worry about. Remember me? I've watched you meet all sorts of people. This will not be a problem." He kind of shrugged again.
"I've never met a boyfriend's parents before," he whispered.
"So how many guys have, well, other than Jim and Ted and Rafe? Duh?" I answered and we both laughed at that somewhat clever reply.
"But you like the guy and you have to have figured out that nice guys often have good parents. Relax and go with it. Don't worry." He looked at me and grinned.
"You're not nervous about this for me?" I shook my head firmly.
"No, Eric, you're a good man and you can do this. Just think of it this way: Drew likes you enough that he wants his parents to know you. What does that tell you, huh?" Suddenly Eric smiled one of his best smiles.
"Yes," he said with a huge smile, "I know I can do this for him."
"Changing the subject," I said, "Tell me about your meeting with your pastor."
"It was surprising as a matter of fact," Eric said. "He already knew about the conditioning sessions and told me he'd been one of the people who persuaded them to drop that plan. My folks had told him what they were doing and he was totally opposed to it. So, that wasn't an issue for me last night.
"He pretty much agreed with Frank Robinson's assessment of the situation. He said my Mom's reaction was much more like her being guilty or ashamed than her religious beliefs. He offered to meet with both me and my parents when they get back and said he'd try to get them to understand that this is not a decision I made or even wanted, and that there's no guilt or even embarrassment involved."
"Sounds like a pretty good plan," I said.
"Well, I told him about Drew and that we'd been dating some. Then I told him that I'd like my parents to meet Drew too," Eric said. "He encouraged me to be patient on that score for a while until the folks were more accepting."
"That's fine, so that's not the issue. Meeting Drew's parents is an issue. He wants you to do it, and you should be pleased that he does." He didn't look completely placated but his own determination to please Drew was winning him over.
So the next couple of weeks passed and Eric's parents came back home. The first couple of days after that, Eric didn't show up at any of our job sites, and I was a bit concerned. Then on Wednesday he was there at the first one of the day.
"You won't believe how friendly my parents are being," he said with a big smile. "My Dad has been terrific and my Mom, while not saying anything particularly accepting about me being gay, has seemed very pleased that I'm happy and the house was in good shape when they got home. Of course, Drew and I spent most of last Saturday cleaning up the house and emptying the trash and stuff." He chuckled and then he blushed. It made me laugh.
"Oh, so we had a bit of party, did we?" I jokingly asked. He just laughed, but he was still blushing.
"It was so wonderful," Eric gushed. I decided not to push the point.
"So, have you set an appointment for you and your parents to meet with your pastor?" I asked.
"Yes, but it's not for a couple of weeks; he's going to be out of town and I decided I definitely want to meet with him and not with his assistant pastor." I nodded that I agreed.
"So, when's the orphanage benefit?" I asked. He kind of grimaced.
"It's Friday and get this, my parents are going to go as well."
"Interesting," I said, "That could work out very, very well. Is Drew still planning to go with his parents?" Eric nodded. I suggested that he and Drew try to work out a timetable and select a place to casually 'run into' one another.
I saw Eric at the shop on Friday afternoon when we returned the truck.
"I'm scared out of my mind, and I'm so freaked," he whispered to me in the shop. The look on his face was pure panic.
"What am I going to do?" he asked in the most pained tone I'd heard from him in a long time. I put my hands on his shoulders, turned him to face me and spoke very quietly.
"What you're going to do, Eric, is to just be yourself. You're a nice guy with good manners, and you're going to remember how to introduce people properly and you're going to be polite when you meet new friends." He looked startled at my tone, but he clearly took it all in. I could feel his shoulders relax under my hands.
"Okay, tutor," he said with a wan smile, "You've always been right before so I guess I'd better trust you this time too." I grinned at him and nodded.
As he turned to walk away and head out, I playfully smacked him on the butt with my job notebook. He turned to me, smiled and giggled. I was sure I was right about this evening!!
I didn't hear from Eric until late Saturday morning.
"Well?" I asked when he called.
"Oh, it worked and it worked well," he said with a laugh, "We all met everyone else but the funniest thing happened. It turns out that both our Moms belong to a couple of the same clubs together. They know each other pretty well." I couldn't help but laugh.
"Small world," I said.
"Sure is, and I think things are going to go a lot better at my house. My folks were impressed by Drew and said he seemed very nice. I told them we were friends and later on my Dad asked just how friendly we were."
"And?"
Eric's Story
"I told him we'd met at that counseling session and that then we'd met again because of my summer job. Dad seemed so genuinely interested that I just blurted out that Drew and I had gone out several times. He seemed fine with it.
"Is he gay?" my Dad asked. I just nodded, but it was okay. He smiled at me.
"Well, that's okay. He's from a good family and that means he has good values as well."
"What do you mean, Dad?" I asked. "Drew's a great guy regardless of who his parents are." My Dad grimaced a bit but then explained quietly what he meant.
"Son, you have to know that sometimes guys try to get young men like you into trouble and all that."
I admit I looked at him like he was an idiot.
"Not Drew, Dad," I said, "He's one of the finest people I've ever known." Suddenly my Dad smiled and touched my arm very gently.
"Yes, I know, son, and I'm sure that's not a problem in this case. Please don't be upset with me for worrying about you. Remember, your Mother and I love you very much."
Andy's Story:
"Well," I said. "That's a bit of an old fashioned idea, but what it shows me is that your Dad cares a lot. Parents are by nature concerned for their kid's welfare." Eric nodded, admitting that he understood what I'd said.
"It also sounds to me like the meeting was more than just a little productive," I went on, "Your parents are pleased that you're dating the 'right' sort of man."
"Yeah, but in a way it pissed me off too," Eric said. "I mean, like Drew had to prove himself...."
"But he did fine, didn't he?" I countered. Eric grinned.
"Oh yeah, he was super, he's the best," he whispered, his voice full of pride, "I just didn't want to see him put to that test."
"I can relate to your point, I have to admit," I said, "But it still all sounds like good news to me, man." Eric smiled one of his best smiles.
To be continued.