Chance Encounter, Chapter 10
On the way home from the airport, Seth sat in back next to his mother while Gavin rode shotgun.
"Wow, I'm surprised you don't have Gavin back here with you. Did you miss your old mom that much?" Karen joked. "You are dating, aren't you? Or, am I using the wrong term? You'll have to clue me in so I don't say the wrong thing and embarrass you."
"Yeah, we're going together, but he thought he should share me since he's had me all week."
"We have something to tell you, and I thought you might want to hug your son when we do. I hope you won't be upset with me for not sharing this sooner, but we had our reasons." I said.
Then Kip started to play back the recording we'd made. My occasional glance in the mirror to read her facial expressions revealed her tears, as she did, indeed, put an arm around her son and squeeze him.
I had purposely avoided the expressway in favor of a slower route through town so that she'd have time to hear all of it before we arrived home. It ended about three blocks from our condo.
When it was over, she hugged her son tightly. Then she leaned forward to embrace Gavin as best as she could with the headrest in way.
"I hope you'll still have dinner with us tonight," I said quietly.
"I'd love to! Thank you for watching over my son and taking care of everything!"
"I'm glad you're not upset at me for withholding information," I let out an audible sigh.
"How could I be angry? Seth and you were protecting me from being distraught while I was so many miles away and couldn't have done anything. He was very brave, as well as thoughtful, to do that. Naturally, I hate to think that my little boy can get by without me, but I know he's not a little boy anymore."
"I still need you, Mom," Kip sniffled.
"Of course you do, but not in the same way you did when you were small. I've seen you mature, especially lately. You're almost totally grown up!"
"Sometimes I don't feel like it."
"Ah, but then you look at your boyfriend, and you know you are."
"M-o-o-o-m!"
"What? Are you going to tell me that you aren't more than just casual friends who go out occasionally?"
"No, but are you okay if it's more serious than that?"
"If he makes you happy, it makes me happy," she smiled.
Both boys let out sighs similar to the one I'd done a few minutes earlier.
Our dinner casserole went over well, but getting her tummy full, on top of jet-lag, made Karen sleepy. Kip gathered his things to go home with her. He was quieter than usual, and appeared to be sad. She noticed, and came up with a cure.
"Why don't you invite Gavin to sleep over tonight? I think it's our turn to play host."
Kip brightened up immediately, while Gavin looked at us hopefully. When Chance and I nodded, he grinned from ear to ear.
I figured another night of togetherness would be great for both of the boys. I wondered what would happen once school started. Could they get used to sleeping alone again? Would they have to?
According to Karen, it was Gavin who suffered from bad dreams when he slept over that first night after her return. She might have missed it if it weren't for the fact that her body was still on English time and she'd been awake, reading.
Gavin had cried out in his sleep, but had settled down by the time she got up to check on him. She didn't go into the room, but overheard her son saying words of comfort. She hadn't been disturbed that the word "love" was among them; only pleased at the gentleness he showed.
Kip told us the next week that his mother's first priority upon arriving home had been to obtain a no-contact order against his father. She had hesitated to do it in the past on the remote possibility that Kip would want to see him, but that had all changed with the attempted kidnapping.
As for Kyle Kipps, because of the possibility that he might be a flight risk, his bond had been set high enough that he couldn't make it. On top of that, his rantings made the court question his mental stability. It might be a while before his case came up, but it was unlikely that he would be free until it did.
By the middle of the week, the boys were again running on the trail. They had decided the best way to get past their bad experience was to face their qualms head-on. In the beginning, I biked behind them at a short distance as their guardian. There was no way I could match their pace on foot when they ramped it up! However, I wanted them to know, in a very physical sense, that I had their backs.
If the boys had bonded because of their recent scare, Chance and I had done it even more so over his near-death experience. I felt like I couldn't do enough to show him what he meant to me. He, in turn, doted on me because I'd hardly left his side during his hospital stay. We had no doubts about wanting to spend the rest of our lives together.
Chance had always been a sweet, unselfish guy, so I wasn't surprised when he said he wanted to buy us matching suits with coordinating ties. There was a sale at a local department store where he felt we could find good quality at a sensible price (he was generous, but thrifty).
Since the suits were sold as separates, we could choose the best-fitting jackets and pants without having to have them altered. We were proud that our waist sizes were smaller than the slacks that were normally paired with jackets that fit us.
We chose ties which went well with our black suits and also looked good together. As we stood looking into the multiple mirrors outside the dressing rooms, one of the other customers remarked on how good we looked.
"You men must be dressing for a wedding dance!"
"That's the general idea," Chance grinned.
Then, he got down on one knee holding a little box in his hand.
"Will you marry me, Matt?"
I reached out to pull him to his feet, and quickly answered that I would.
The lady started to laugh at what she thought was joking around, but then realized it was a serious proposal when I kissed him. For a moment, she looked perplexed. Her expression tuned into one of benevolence as she wished us happiness.
Chance and I both had tears in our eyes as the reality dawned on us. We had done something that was still considered an in-your-face expression of our love by any number of people, but it had been met with acceptance. It made our day.
Gavin was the first person to hear the news of our engagement. He grinned, saying that he had figured we'd be tying the knot soon. He made some smart-ass remark about our headboard banging into the wall, and then looked chagrinned that he'd gotten carried away and had said too much.
Chance tried to keep a straight face and glare as his little brother, but he couldn't hold the pose, and broke into a fit of laughter.
"Maybe you need to make love more quietly," Gavin snickered, feeling emboldened as well as relieved, no doubt.
Gavin's remark earned him a noogie from his older brother. Both of them ended up on the floor laughing.
"So, do I get to be in the wedding," Gavin asked.
"Yes, we want you to be the flower girl!" Chance teased.
"Be nice to the kid!" I exclaimed. "You can be Chance's best man, and maybe Kip would consent to be mine."
"He would love that! Too bad we're not old enough to have a double wedding."
"Don't grow up faster than you have to," I cautioned. "There are a lot of stresses and responsibilities involved in being old enough to get married."
"Evidently you don't have to be mature," Gavin continued to tease. "if you did, that would leave Chance out!"
From that day forward, we began to plan for our wedding. The first assignment was to find a venue which was both beautiful and affordable. I didn't mind spending a little extra to have it special, because I didn't expect to get married more than once.
I called Landon Brooks for his recommendation, and he suggested the chapel at St. Stephen's. He was certain that Fr. Mills would conduct the ceremony for us if our date didn't conflict with his study leave.
Our next task was to decide on the time. Chance said he'd like to get married right after the second term of summer school ended so we'd have a bit of free time before he started the fall term of his senior year. That way we could have a honeymoon trip without feeling rushed. It made sense to me, but it meant that we'd have to really push to get everything in place for the ceremony!
After consulting Fr. Mills' schedule, we set an arbitrary date that would work for him and for us. We didn't have many people to invite, and we had no idea if they would come or not. Karen and Mimi said that they'd be there for sure, whatever we decided.
Once the major requirements had been worked out, we began to look at the details. We decided it would make more sense to have our reception in a room at a restaurant which would hold our handful of guests rather than some other location. The church parlor had already been booked for that day anyway.
Then we got down to our rings and ties. We found stunning rings on the `net which suited our style. We also looked at ties. The boys thought we should go for rainbow ones, or possibly lavender. Neither of those options fit with our personalities, so we decided to use the coordinating black and white ones we'd purchased with the suits. Gavin was a little disappointed because he wanted an excuse to have a rainbow tie. Chance decided to purchase both boys one of those as favors for being in the wedding.
I got on line, and found a gay nude resort in Key West for our honeymoon. Chance agreed that it would be fun, but insisted that he didn't want to include anyone else in our intimate moments. I guaranteed him that I didn't either. I planned to be monogamous, and I was very pleased that he did too.
There would be no problem of what to do with Gavin in our absence. Karen wanted to do a payback for the week Kip had stayed with us. That was a relief for us, and a win/win situation for the boys. They had become comfortable holding hands and sharing an occasional kiss at either house.
Finally, our big day arrived. Between us, we had invited a couple of dozen guests. I had a few clients that I was close enough with to want them to share my special day. Chance had a couple of people from work, and several students whom he felt a kinship with. We both wanted Mark Hanson, Mimi Hague, Landon and Michael and their little ones if they chose to bring them.
Father Mills conducted a beautiful ceremony. It wasn't a long one because we didn't have a host of attendants and parents to include. We also kept the music down to the basics. However, the good priest didn't rush through to rites, and didn't stint on the homily. It felt, for all intents and purposes, like any number of hetero weddings we'd attended.
Our two best men looked adorable, and quite grown up. Some of the guests assumed that they were in college. That brought big grins to their faces!
Chance and I beamed at each other through the first part, but began to feel emotional when we got to our vows. As we repeated our promises of love and faithfulness, it really hit us how much we meant them. We had already been through the traumas that sometimes tear relationships asunder and had come out being closer than ever.
After Father Mills blessed our rings and reminded us that their circular shape speaks of eternity – with no beginning and no end, our tears flowed freely.
We placed them on one another's finger as a symbol of our union. While our relationship had had a beginning, we didn't want it ever to end.
Then Father Mills pronounced us to be spouses in the eyes of God and the state. We beamed again as we walked the short distance to the back of the chapel.
The boys stayed to dismiss each row, starting at the front as we formed the world's shortest receiving line in the back of the chapel. Our guests shook our hands, or hugged us, as they wished us long life and happiness together.
At our buffet luncheon, I proposed a toast to my new husband toward the end of our meal.
"My spouse knows what a terrible punster I am. I love to play with words, especially his name, so why should today be any different? I grinned.
"Here's to the love of my life. In the beginning, I thought we had met by CHANCE, but now I feel it was part of a great plan for our lives together. I can't imagine being married to anyone else. I love you, Chance!"
We all lifted our glasses and took a drink.
"Two can play this game," Chance grinned, as he stood up. "Here's to the guy who MATT-ers the most to me! I can't imagine living without his awful puns. I love you too, Matt!"
Gavin stood up next.
"Here's to my brother and brother-in-law. I propose that we whisk them off to the airport before it gets any deeper in here!"
And with that, we were off for our honeymoon and the start of our new life together.
---------------------------------End-----------------------------------
Author's notes: Thanks to John D, John M, Peter M, Dick M, Randy M, (Yes 4 M's on a row.), Ott H, Wayne, Jim W, Geoff S, Hotrod, Paul F, Jim M, Bill K, JCH, Mark W, Jeremy R, Mendy D, Ryan H, Tom A, Larry S, Walt S, Peter M (2), "B," Vern, and Robert L who emailed in response to the last chapter.
Thanks for reading my stories, and commenting.
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I have some other possible stories in the offing which I will probably begin posting in a few weeks. If you are on my "alert" list, then you'll be notified.
David