Love that Dare Not Speak its Name, Chapter 3
Len's trust in his wife was at an all-time low. He could hardly wait, until she returned, to hear her latest fabrication about Aunt Clara. Harvesting soybeans was a job he could do on autopilot. Therefore, he had many hours to contemplate how he should proceed. He figured it would be best not to let her know that he was aware of her ruse. Perhaps, he could learn a lot more by playing dumb and keeping his ears open.
On Monday, he took an extended lunchbreak and drove into town to move the bulk of the money from their joint savings account into one which was connected with farm operations and was in his name only. He also called an old school chum who was doing private detective work parttime. His friend, Don DeWitt, suggested he also contact his lawyer in case there was enough evidence that Janice was cheating on him and he wanted to divorce her. Len could at least get advice on how to protect his finances if he did file. It never hurt to be prepared.
Having done everything that he could do at the moment to safeguard his assets, Len went back to the field feeling better about how things might transpire. He would have to work later into the evening to make up for the time lost while he was in town, but it was worth it.
Janice was home preparing dinner when he came into the kitchen at the end of his long day. She was more talkative and pleasant than she'd been in months. This aroused his suspicions immediately.
"So, how is Aunt Clara doing," he asked.
"It's not good. I fear we may lose her."
Len wanted to ask if someone was likely to misplace her ashes, but he resisted making a snarky comeback and put on a sympathetic face.
"That's sad. Will you have to return soon to attend her funeral? Should I try to hire additional help so you don't have to go alone?"
"Um, no Dear. Everyone in the family knows how busy harvest-time is, and they wouldn't expect you to neglect the farm. You hardly know her anyway. You're needed here more."
"Okay, but please let me know if you change your mind."
At bedtime, Janice acted like she was interested in being romantic (for a change), but Len didn't respond. He was tired. Also, he had real qualms about having sex with her if she was seeing someone else. He certainly didn't want to chance picking up a disease!
Len didn't relay any of his suspicions to his son because he felt the kid had enough on his mind with his studies. There was no reason to add another distraction.
It wouldn't have mattered to Cy, because he didn't let his mother's strange behavior divert his attention from his coursework. He was having a great first term and was determined to come out with a 3.5 grade average, or better, if possible. He had a stable relationship to keep him on track.
Rooming together was good for both boys. Beau was doing equally well in his classes. They didn't need to go out partying because they had each other and, the pair across the hall, to fulfill their social lives.
Since Beau and Cy were on the same wavelength on matters of intimacy, they weren't wasting time hunting for a love-interest. Having enrolled in mostly the same core courses, they could study and review together. They were a team.
In talking to their buds across the hall, it looked like the Illinois kids were also functioning as a unit. Three of the four young men were in the same writing class together. Chet marveled at how much more advanced his Iowa friends were than he was at expressing themselves. Beau explained that they'd both taken an AP class in 11th grade which was more rigorous than their current one. At the time, they'd felt Mr. Hopkins was a hard taskmaster. Now, they were thankful that he hadn't let them off easy.
Midterms can be a reality-check for freshmen. Some realize that they need to buckle down for the rest of the term. A few will be overwhelmed and decide to drop out and go to a junior college to improve their grades.
The four dormmates weren't among any of those. They had all done well so far. Of course, they wanted to improve in some areas, but all in all, they were happy with their progress.
Thanksgiving break was on the horizon. Cy and Beau planned to leave as soon as they could on the Friday before their week off. It wouldn't be a time of total idleness because there was still some corn to harvest. Beau might be helping Cy's family part of the time, depending on what his father's schedule was.
Derek and Chet were lamenting that their mothers wouldn't be able to pick them up immediately and they might be stuck in the dorm until it officially closed on Sunday afternoon. They might have hopped a plane, but the cost of a last-minute ticket would be prohibitive. Cy had an idea for them if they wanted to spend a couple of days working on his family's farm again. It would put the pair about two hours closer to home, and he thought they might even be able to meet up with their mothers at some town in Illinois which would make the trip for the ladies that much shorter.
Arrangements were made all around, and the minute their last classes ended, the four of them were on their way to Beau's home.
"It's great of your mom to put us up again," Derek said.
"Well, it's not a lot of extra work. She didn't have any company coming since we were there, so she left the same sheets on the beds. Now, as long as you don't mind sleeping together again, it isn't a problem."
Cy glanced in the rearview mirror in time to see Chet grin and Derek blush. He was more convinced than ever that both couples were on the same team.
Interestingly enough, the day before Cy was scheduled to come home, Janice said that Aunt Clara had taken a turn for the worse. On Friday morning, she headed for the Chicago area saying she hoped to get there before her aunt died.
On the way, she would stop at the bank to withdraw a bit of money. When she did, she would be in for a shock.
The minute her car was out of the drive, Len called Don DeWitt's car phone. Since Len had alerted him the night before about Janice's plans, Don was already nearby.
Because he wasn't someone Janice knew, Don took the chance of going into the bank right after she did. He stood at one of the tall tables and pretended to be making out a withdrawal slip, so he was near enough to overhear her dismay when she found she couldn't take out more than $3,000. The teller offered to call to get Len's approval for transferring money from another account, but Janice quickly said it wasn't necessary to bother him. She would make do.
Don shook his head, tore up the form he'd been pretending to use, and slipped out before Janice or anyone else took notice of him.
Janice followed Route 30 until she could connect with 88 in Illinois. Because exits on the tollway are far apart, it was easy for Don to follow her bright red sedan without getting too close. His car was a rather nondescript, beige one, so it wasn't likely that she'd take note of it anyway.
At the tollbooths, he stayed back a couple of cars just in case.
About 25 miles west of Chicago, she took an off ramp into Naperville. At that point, Don had to stay closer lest he get cut off at a traffic light. Luck was with him, and he was still on her tail as she turned into a driveway in a rather nice residential section. He continued to the next block and turned around quickly to stop on the opposite side of the street.
The garage door went up immediately, giving Janice access. Don suspected she had a remote for it and didn't need to be let it, but he did see a man enter the garage from what must be the kitchen door. With his digital camera, Don snapped a photo before the door went down, hiding the embracing couple.
Before leaving, Don hastily wrote down the address. Then, he went in search of the library to see if he could access public records which might list the owner of the property.
It took him a while but, within an hour, he had the name and age of the owner. It was a Robert Cooke, aged 45. The man he had seen would fit that description.
Before he drove back to Iowa, Don enjoyed a late lunch at the Greek Islands restaurant in Lombard, just a few miles closer to the city. It was his reward for making the nonstop trip. In the middle of his meal, he ordered two full carryout dinners to reheat when he got home. His wife would appreciate having the night off from cooking and Greek was among her favorite foods.
He phoned to let her know of the plans the minute he got to his car.
Cy didn't have the luxury of a car phone, so he didn't receive word about his mother's absence until he arrived at Beau's home. However, he wasn't surprised.
"Your dad called me to let you know she won't be here," Jen told him. "I'm sorry to be the one to break the news."
"That's no problem, Jen. I feel more like YOU are my mom these days anyway."
"In that case, give your mom a hug!"
Because of going back to standard time, it got dark a lot earlier. Len could have continued to work for a while by the headlights on his corn-picker, but he would rather start as soon as the sun was up the next morning. Therefore, dinner wasn't as late as it had been last time they were at Beau's house.
The weekend passed rapidly with everyone busy in the fields. By sunset on Sunday, almost all of Len's corn crop was under cover. What was left, the boys and he could take care of at a leisurely pace before Thursday.
So, on Monday morning, the four college guys got up at a reasonable hour and drove to Peoria. The place they were meeting up with Derek's and Chet's mothers was the McDonalds just south of town on the bypass. That meant they could have an unhurried lunch and not have to worry about timing their connection precisely.
The guys were just finishing their meal when the mothers arrived. So, the moms got carryout which they could eat while the boys took turns driving the rest of the distance to their homes. It all came off like clockwork.
Monday night, Beau and Cy slept in the Airstream. It wasn't that they were self-conscious about making love in Beau's house, but it was a trip down memory lane. This was the spot where they'd first played around as tweens and the site where they'd confessed their love for each other. Keeping the heat on low, they snuggled nude under a pile of warm covers. It had a lot of meaning for them, reminding them of how they'd survived a very cold night as WEBELOS.
Needless to say, the feelings they expressed on this night were far more physical than those of their childhood.
Knowing that if the Stepanek family was going to have a real Thanksgiving dinner a lot of the burden would fall on Molly, Jen called her on Monday to invite them over for the holiday.
Molly was delighted. She had started buying things for dinner but hadn't thought about the time it would take to thaw a frozen turkey. Now, she was panicked. Jen suggested she leave it in the freezer for a future meal. She was welcome to bring the green bean casserole she had planned. Jen's turkey had been slowly thawing in the basement fridge for several days already and it was more than adequate to feed them all.
Between them, they divided up making some of the other sides and desserts. It would be a festive occasion without having the burden all fall on one person -- especially a young adult without a backlog of experience.
During their time together, Molly told Jen about the young man she'd begun to date recently. His name was Aaron, and he was working on a master's degree in accounting. He hoped to become a CPA in a couple of years.
"I thought you'd possibly find a guy in your own field," Jen remarked.
"I did date a couple of them, but they turned out to be weird! Some students in psychology are in dire need of counseling themselves. I think it might be better to marry a guy in a different profession."
"You might be right," Jen agreed. "As long as you're both educated, you'll have a lot in common."
The following week, with his kids back at school and his crops in, Len had more time to figure out what to do about his wife. He spent part of Monday morning with his lawyer planning how to proceed.
Len shared with him the evidence his private detective had gleaned. Between them, they worked out a way to serve the divorce papers.
Back at the university, the four friends continued to study hard and socialize with each other. The more time they spent together, the more comfortable their association became. Chet was confident that Derek and he could come out to at least two of their dormmates. The prospect still frightened Derek.
Cy thought it might be good for Beau and him to tell the other couple about their relationship. There would be a certain sense of security in knowing someone might have your back in an emergency.
Shortly after they'd talked about it, an incident came up that made Cy and Beau suspect they might need true allies. As they were waiting for the other two to join them at dinner, a guy who roomed down the hall came to their table posing a question.
"Do you guys get the feeling we have queers on our floor?" Kevin said.
"Whom did you have in mind?" Beau asked, wondering if Cy and he were targets.
"Those two you're hanging around with. You may not have noticed, but I think they've got the hots for each other. You might want to stay away from them or you could get labeled too."
"Well, I guess if they're gay, it's none of my business," Cy said. "I mean, who would they be hurting?"
"Man, you must be one of those fuckin' liberals! I know queers can get married in places like Massachusetts, but this is Iowa, for God's sake. We don't do that shit here! Everyone knows they're out to recruit others to be like them."
Cy frowned, trying to think of a comeback, but Kevin left abruptly just as Derek and Chet headed their way.
"Can you guys stop over for a few minutes tonight?" Beau asked.
"Sure, we're all caught up on our work other than reading a few pages in our biology text," Chet said.
In their room later, Cy let Beau take the lead in approaching the conversation they'd had with Kevin. He felt his boyfriend was better at relating such things than he was.
"Guys, I don't want to alarm you, but I would feel guilty if I didn't let you know about this and have someone get hurt," Beau began. "Before we delve into the subject, I think Cy and I have something to share."
Cy nodded, and Beau continued.
"He and I have known each other since third grade. We bonded immediately and have steadily grown closer over the years. I'm part of the reason his mother hates him. She blames me for coming between his girlfriend and him."
"Tell it like it is," Cy grinned. "She hates it that I love you."
"Cool!" Chet enthused, putting an arm around Derek's shoulders. "I've been wondering if you were like us."
Derek shed a few tears, and no one could tell if they were expressing relief or anguish at Chet's reaction.
"See, it's gonna be okay, Baby," Chet soothed. "Don't you feel better?"
"Yeah, I guess so. You guys aren't just trying to out us, are you?" Derek feared.
"Absolutely not!" Cy insisted. "We know how dangerous it can be. Actually, we felt like there might be a threat right on our own floor. That's why we decided to come clean with you."
They went on to discuss the conversation they'd had with Kevin in the cafeteria. The news didn't make Derek feel great, but he did appreciate the heads-up and the fact that they had two associates they could count on.
It didn't take long before Derek experienced the harsh reality of homophobia. Sadly, it came in the form of the dormmate they'd discussed.
Kevin Pearson had had failing grades in several of his courses at midterm. Today, he got the news that he'd flunked another test in the math class he needed as a foundation for his major. Naturally, he was sure it wasn't his own fault. He'd heard a rumor about the professor's orientation, and he was certain that the man was out to get him because he was an outspoken straight dude. Queers were like that!
Derek was in the same class and had been asked to stay after the period was over. Probably he was bending over for Dr. Isenhart to get a better grade.
Kevin was pissed and bent on destruction.
Derek had stayed talking to their math teacher a little longer than he'd intended. He'd received the highest score in the class on the recent exam. Professor Isenhart had encouraged him to sign up for a higher level next semester. Derek was really pumped. Although he wanted to use the men's room on the way out of the building, he decided to put it off until he got back to the dorm. He could hardly wait to share his good news with Chet.
The chilly weather didn't do anything positive for Derek's bladder. He needed to hit the toilet the minute he got to his floor. Kevin had been waiting in the lounge a few yards away to waylay him when he came in.
Derek was standing at a urinal feeling blessed relief when Kevin stormed into the room.
"I suppose you passed with flying colors. I could do that too if I was willing to suck old Isenfart's cock! You queers are all alike," Kevin shouted at the top of his lungs.
"Unlike some students," Derek replied, quietly, "I haven't spent the term partying. I did well because I studied hard. You ought to try it sometime."
Obviously, Kevin didn't like his answer or his attitude. He took a swing at Derek's face but missed because Derek dodged too quickly. The second punch was to the gut and Derek folded on the tile floor. Kevin attempted to kick his ribs but hit his butt instead. Just as he was about to make another try, Beau burst through the door and slugged Kevin as hard as he could. Kevin went down with a thud.
"You stay put or I'll stomp your guts!" Beau yelled.
Kevin might have rallied. However, seeing Cy and Chet come in as well, he knew he was outnumbered.
"Somebody go see if you can find Rob," Beau commanded.
"I'm on it," Cy replied.
A couple of minutes later, Cy returned with their RA in tow. Rob listened to Derek's side of the story while Kevin tried to talk over him. Rob finally ordered him to shut up and Kevin ran out of the room instead.
"Hey, Derek, I believe you completely. You've been a model student and Kevin has been written up before. I'll write him up again. I can't promise what the dean will do, but I'm not going to let this rest."
"Thanks. I should probably just let it go. At least nothing's broken."
"I don't think you should do that," Beau said. "If he keeps getting away with crap like this, he'll only get worse."
"I'll contact Dean Harmann tonight, even though it's Friday," Rob assured them. "I'll try to get him to see Kevin on Monday. In the meantime, I think you shouldn't go anywhere alone."
Derek really appreciated having the support of his new friends and he expressed it over supper.
"God, Beau, I always thought you were a gentle guy. You really laid Kevin out!" Derek exclaimed. I think my grandpa would call that a `haymaker' punch."
"That's funny; it was MY grandpa who taught it to me. He said if I led with my left, it would distract a guy and I could land a good one with my right when he didn't expect it. I only used it once before on a kid who tried to bully me in middle school. He never messed with me again, and we actually ended up being friends. I'll teach it to you if you like."
"Please do. Either way, you've made a friend of me for life."
Derek had managed to escape his attack with no lasting physical effects. With some Motrin and a little TLC from Chet, he got over the pain quickly. However, he would still have some bruising for a week or so.
The four of them hung together when they went anywhere beyond their rooms. They even took their showers as a group. There was safety in numbers. Despite their concerns, they didn't see Kevin for the rest of the weekend.
When Kevin's roommate, Paul Dennis, came back from visiting his family for the weekend, he was livid. Kevin had packed up and left, taking even the little microwave they'd purchased together.
Paul came down the hall to vent and hopefully gain a bit of sympathy. He felt betrayed, but he was philosophical about it.
"Well, it wasn't an expensive one. Maybe I'll ask Santa for one like yours with enough wattage to pop corn decently," Paul said. "It will be worth it to be rid of him!"
"I thought you guys were buds," Cy ventured.
"We were acquaintances and classmates in high school, and I figured we would be more comfortable at a big school with someone we already knew, but he's turned out to be different than I thought he was. He's become extremely homophobic and he doesn't want to do anything but party. He even had booze hidden in our room. It made me nervous that I'd be in trouble too if someone found it.
"It's also been difficult for me to concentrate. I've had to go to the library to get anything done."
"Hey, you're welcome to use our microwave when you need to," Beau offered.
"Ours too," Derek chimed in. "I certainly don't hold you responsible for his attack on me."
"What did he do?"
The guys explained how Kevin wasn't passing math and took his recent failure out of Derek because Derek had scored high. Paul was thankful his Friday schedule had been shorter than Kevin's and he'd missed the scene.
Later, Paul came down to Beau and Cy's room with three bags of Jiffy Pop. He joked that he wanted to borrow a few "waves" and share the snack with them and the guys across the hall. Cy pulled cans of soda out of their fridge and they ended up having an impromptu party.
The guys felt like they'd gained a new ally. While they had no plans to share their deepest secrets with Paul anytime soon, they figured he wouldn't turn against them if they did.
With Kevin gone, their first term was looking better and better.
Author's notes: GC D, Andy R, Chandra B, Ash, Peter S, Mendy D, Ott H, Geoff S, Geoff (2), Tony C, Tommy G, George D, Rob Y, Gordon, Bill T, Stan, Brad W, Jim W, John L, Frank K, Paul R, and Paul F sent emails since last posting. I appreciate your responses and encouragement.
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