A Good Year at Linwood High, Chapter 5
Ashton didn't consider it an imposition to share the second floor with Terry and Joaquin, as well as Griffin. However, he did feel that the adult guest should have the exclusive use of the modern bathroom. So, on Monday morning, Griff and he took turns squatting in the tub, using the hand-held wand to hose themselves down before getting dressed.
"Do you think your dad would let us build a makeshift shower?" Griffin asked.
"He probably would if it didn't do any damage to the room. We're not allowed to make any major changes to the old part of the house. But, how would we do something like that?"
"I saw one in a do-it-yourself magazine once that used a shower curtain attached to a hula-hoop. The guy hung the hoop from a hook in the ceiling with three equal lengths of plastic chain."
"That sounds cool! We should do it."
In his third hour class on Monday, Griffin was reminded of his mother's attitude toward him when Ms. Batchelder passed back their first assignment. He was pleased to see that he'd received an "A." She had made several positive comments in the margins and he read all of them. In her eyes, he had done an excellent job of facing his doubts and fears and accepting his orientation in a rational manner. Her observations were even more meaningful to him than the grade.
At the end of class, he tarried a couple of minutes to thank her.
"I haven't always been able to express myself. I'm glad you gave us an assignment that made me introspective."
"Good. I think you have more ability than you've allowed yourself to believe. By the way, may I ask how it all came out?"
"It's better than I'd hoped! Mom threw me out and I'm staying with Ashton for a while."
"Getting thrown out is good news?"
"Yes, it is. My dad's in town looking for a place for us to live. I'm reconnecting with him, and it's great!"
"Well, in that case, congratulations. I hope it all works out for you."
Griffin's buds in the LA class were also happy with the feedback they got from their teacher. Levi had shared his feelings of having relocated several times in his formative years. He expressed a strong desire to have roots in one place and felt he might be finding that at Linwood.
Ms. Batchelder complimented him on how he'd handled his problems without becoming depressed or turning to drugs to escape them. She told him he was a very mature young man and that his experiences had likely helped him in the long run.
Rhett and Ashton had shared some of their adventures at Havel House over the summer. Their teacher praised them for covering the subject from different points of view. It was evident that they'd had the same experiences, but it was also obvious that they'd not copied each other's work. She suggested that it might be the basis for a screenplay someday.
All of the boys agreed that the assignment had been a good one.
Levi was waiting for Griffin when he came out of the classroom. They headed toward the cafeteria while discussing the results of their first assignment.
Rhett and Ashton had gone ahead to hold their usual table. Since all had carried their lunches that day, they wouldn't have to worry about the length of the serving line.
Having cleared their makeshift shower-stall design with William, Ashton, Griffin, and Rhett convinced Carson to take them to Walmart to get the supplies for their project at the end of the school day. Carson was happy to do it, especially after Kathryn loaned him her car which was big enough to take Brianna along as well.
They found everything they needed in the one store which saved them a lot of time and effort. With the three boys constructing it together, the project was finished before suppertime. They were proud of their accomplishment and Ashton made sure that everyone knew it was Griffin's idea. Griffin positively beamed at the praise he received for being so cleaver. His whole day had been a winner!
Griffin was content with how things were going, and his dad and stepfather were particularly thankful he had the Havel's to watch over him until they could purchase a new home. The only one who was bummed out about the arrangement was Nolan. He didn't begrudge his brother of any good things coming his way. However, he hated being left out from seeing their dad. Having kept in contact with Griffin through his secret email account, he knew Terry was in town and only a few miles away. Evidently, Tiffany didn't know it because she hadn't warned him to stay away from his father.
In their email correspondence, the brothers were piecing together the reason their mother seemed to hate her ex so much. Now that they knew he was gay and married to another guy, they suspected she couldn't stand the idea that he preferred to be with a man instead of her.
"It could be why she got so angry with you for being gay," Nolan ventured.
"Yup, I'll bet you're right, Bro."
"I think I'll be gay too, so I can live with you guys too!"
"It doesn't work that way. You don't choose it?"
"Hey, I might be for real. I loved having you watch me jerk off the first day of school."
"Lots of boys do stuff like that with other kids growing up, from what I've heard. It's different from wanting to suck another guy off!"
"Have you done that?"
"I didn't say I did it!"
"Okay then, swear that you haven't!"
"I'm not saying anything either way."
"I knew it! I'll bet it's that new kid who moved here just as school started. Wow! You work fast."
"Jeez! I don't ask about your sex-life!"
"That's because I don't have one except with my right hand!"
"You're crazy, LOL!"
"How am I gonna see you and Dad? There's gotta be some way."
"Here's a thought. Can you go bike-riding without raising any suspicions at home?"
"Yeah, I do that a lot."
"Remember when we used to ride to Donnelly Park? It's not too far. If you can go there tomorrow after school, I'll bet I can get Dad to take me there in the car they rented."
"Cool! Let me know for sure so I can tell Mom that Jace and I want to go riding after school. She doesn't know him well enough to quiz him about where we went, and I think he'd lie for me if she did."
On Tuesday afternoon, Terry, Joaquin, and Griffin all showed up at the appointed place in the park. Nolan ran toward them and practically went airborne in the last few yards, leaping into his father's arms. If Terry had had any doubts about how his younger son felt about him, those evaporated like a drop of water on a hot griddle.
"Son, you've grown up since I last saw you."
"Nah, I'm still a little kid next to Griffin. He's the big boy."
"Nope, you're the big boy and he's a young man. I'm proud of both of you."
"Dad, can I come to live with you?
"Would it be okay with you, Joaquin?"
"I'd love having two sons," Joaquin smiled.
Nolan immediately hugged him, nearly as tightly as he had his father.
"Your mother will put up a big fight," Terry surmised.
"Not if I'm gay! I think I may come out to her soon."
"I don't think you can turn gay at will," Terry admonished, with a smile.
"That's what I told him, Dad," Griffin shook his head.
"Yeah, and I told you that I might have been for a while already."
"Maybe there's another way," Griffin said thoughtfully, "I read a story about a kid whose mother had kept him away from his father because he was gay and hadn't given him any visitation rights. His dad got a better lawyer, and another judge said the boy was old enough to make up his own mind. He was 13 just like you're gonna be."
"That would be cool! But I still might be gay anyway. I like seeing naked boys."
"Either way, I'll try to get at least joint custody," Terry vowed. "I'm not going to lose touch with my kids ever again!"
Luis got a call from "Aunt" Dolores in Postville about a box of papers they'd found while cleaning out the attic of their garage. There seemed to be a lot of old receipts that had his grandparents' names on them. She didn't know if they meant anything to Luis or if she should recycle them. In talking it over with Sabrina, the guys thought they should try to make the trip up there to retrieve them. They weren't sure how they could work it into their schedules until they remembered there was a teacher in-service meeting coming up the following week.
"I don't know if it's worth the four-hour round trip," Luis shrugged. "It may just be stuff that needs throwing out."
"You don't have much in the way of family artifacts," Raymo reminded him. "So, it might be worth it. Didn't she say there were some old photos as well?"
"Yeah, she did, but it will cost gas money as well as time."
"Luis, I'll drive my car. I can afford the gas, and it would be cool to take a road-trip to see Delores and Geraldo and the kids. We might even drop in to see Mr. Bulgarelli for a few minutes."
"That would be great. He was always good to us and he wrote me a great recommendation!"
"You earned it!"
"Yeah, but you know how some people are about recommending us `wet-backs!'"
"And neither one of us fits that category."
"You know it's often a slur applied to anyone who's Latino and brown."
"Sadly, I do, but I've rarely had that happen because of my Dad's money and position in the town. No one's done that to you at school, have they? Because I'll bust some heads!"
The village of Marion, which had become like a suburb of Cedar Rapids over the years, liked to think of itself as a town. That sounded more important. Teenagers within a large part of it went to Marion High and there was a friendly rivalry with Linwood where kids on the edge of the town attended. The population growth was on the side toward Linwood, out in the county, and Marion was kind of landlocked as far as new housing development was concerned.
In looking for a house to purchase, Terry and Joaquin had to be sure they stayed on the correct side of the line because Griffin was set on remaining at Linwood. That requirement, along with the availability of properties, limited their choices. It was Wednesday already, and the men had yet to find anything promising.
The Havel's knew their predicament and did their best to network with the friends they'd made. That evening, they got a call from Rhett's uncle Ken who thought he might have found something for them.
"Hello, Kathryn. This is Ken. Have your houseguests had any luck finding a home?"
"No, they haven't, and they're getting frustrated. Joaquin will have to leave on Saturday, but Terry may need to exchange his ticket and stay longer. Since he can work from our house on the Internet, that won't pose a big problem, and we certainly enjoy having him here. However, they'd like to have things settled."
"No doubt! I may have a lead. I handled the estate of an older lady who passed away this summer. It was just settled today and her nephew would like to sell it rapidly so he can get back to Ohio where he lives. It's a vintage house not very distant from where you live."
"Is that a polite way of saying it's old and out of date?"
"That depends on one's outlook," Ken chuckled. "You like your vintage home, and it's older."
"True. Is it in the Linwood district? That's a non-negotiable issue."
"It is. If Mr. Orman is interested, we could work out a deal without a realtor. Both parties could save money because my fees for title search and the like would be quite small. I think Bob Hughes will let it go for a song."
"Hang on a minute, Ken. I'll carry the phone into the parlor and you can talk to Terry yourself."
It was going on 7:30 PM when Terry and Joaquin pulled into the driveway of the house Ken had told them about. Obviously, Griffin was along to give his input, and he had wanted his best buds, Ashton and Rhett to check it with him. Unfortunately, Levi had other obligations.
The lights were on in the house when they got there, but Ken and Bob were standing on the porch.
Ken facilitated the introductions, and the whole group took a short tour of the yard so they could inspect the outside of the house while it was still light enough to see. Some of the trees and bushes were badly in need of trimming, but the lawn wasn't out of control because it was one of the places Rhett had been hired to keep up.
The house was about 70 years old. Rather young in comparison with Havel House, but old enough to have been well-built. It was a brick story and a half home with a porch on the front and a three-seasons room which had been added on the back. The other addition was a master bedroom suite with a large bathroom. It was also clad in brick which matched the original pretty well, and the sunroom was glass and metal with a ceramic tile floor.
There was a freestanding two-stall garage, also in brick. The trim on both buildings needed painting, but the masonry was all sound and had been tuck-pointed fairly recently. Nothing stood out as needing major repairs.
Inside, the walls definitely needed repainting and the dining room wallpaper would have to go. The original wood floors had never been carpeted, but they would need refinishing to bring them up to their original beauty.
The main floor consisted of a spacious kitchen, dining room, den, parlor, and half bath as well as the bedroom suite and sunroom. It had a lot more room than the little starter homes they'd looked at.
Upstairs were three bedrooms and a full bath with tub and separate shower. The gables all had plenty of windows to allow for light and there was abundant storage under the slope of the roof as well as in the built-in closets. All of the windows had been updated with triple-pane ones which closed securely to keep out the weather.
Griffin fell in love with the largest upstairs bedroom and could see himself living in it. It currently contained a queen-sized bed that he could picture waking up in with Levi by his side.
"Um, I've looked at what houses in this area are selling for, and I realize Aunt Gwen's place will need work. I also know it's full of old furniture that no one will want," Bob apologized. "I don't have time to deal with it because our baby is due very soon. I'd like to get $100,000 for it. I think that's fair."
Terry tried to maintain a poker-face as he thought it over. He knew it was a good deal because he'd seen several houses in the area and knew what they were going for. While he wasn't going to try to get the man to sell it too cheaply, he didn't want to appear overly eager until he discussed it with his husband and son.
"I'd have to make sure there aren't any mechanics' liens on it, and that the taxes are up to date," Terry said. "How long do I have to decide?"
"I'm leaving on Sunday either way," Bob told him. "I guess it's not absolutely necessary for me to know by Saturday, but it would be a relief if I can go home without having it hanging over my head."
"Okay, I'd like to see it again in the daylight if you can give the key to Mr. Kurt."
"I'll give you one right now so you can come anytime you like. The HVAC system is only three years old and should be perfect. If you want to have your own inspector check it out, please feel free to do so."
"Are we gonna get it?" Griffin asked excitedly after they got into the car."
"I think so," Terry smiled.
"How come you didn't give him a deposit tonight? What if someone else gets it first?"
"Your father doesn't rush into things. It took him awhile to consent to marry me, and I'm perfect for him," Joaquin teased.
"Yeah, you are," Terry nodded seriously.
"Well, Son, I do want to see it again in the morning and I have to calculate how much it will cost to make it like we'd want it to be. We have enough saved up to put a good sized down payment so we can get a low interest rate. When our place in Arizona sells, we'll have the cash to make the improvements. Possibly, you could help us do some of the work to save money on labor."
"Yeah, I'd do that! I can paint stuff. I painted my own room and helped Nolan do his. It's so cool that there's a master bedroom with a bath downstairs so I can have my own bathroom upstairs."
"Maybe you'll have to share it with your brother."
"That would be even better! Do you think we can get him?"
"I discussed that with Mr. Kurt this morning when I had some free time. He thinks I got screwed in the divorce and his partner in the firm is willing to look into it."
"YAY!
Terry and Joaquin went back to the house early on Thursday morning. It looked even better to them in the daylight because some of the rooms were painted in dark colors which felt dingy at night. They figured with new lighter hues, the house would feel fresh and inviting.
Looking at the furniture, they felt that the hardwood pieces could be made usable without a lot of expense. Some might need to be stripped and refinished, but most wouldn't need more than cleaning and waxing. If they kept the sofa and easy chairs, those would need reupholstering.
"Instead of getting a dumpster parked in the driveway to throw away stuff we don't want, I'll bet we could have a tag-sale," Joaquin suggested. "And we can sell whatever we have in Arizona and don't want to keep. Then there'd be less to move."
"True. We can't give up our new reclining sofa. It would be perfect in the den. Too bad we didn't wait to buy it!"
Given the men's excellent credit rating and the amount they had for a down payment, they were able to secure the promise of a loan quickly. Once they had the go-ahead, they called Bob to set up a meeting with Ken.
"Um, I've decided to offer you an incentive to get this over," Bob said. "I'll knock off $5,000 for redecorating. I know the floors should be re-varnished, or you might want carpeting. It won't cover your total cost, but it could make a dent in it."
"I guess I don't need to make a counter-offer then," Terry nodded. "We'll take it."
The contract was signed and Bob was thrilled that he could head for home earlier than he'd planned. Since he'd driven, he could leave right away.
Of course, there would be papers to file and various details. However, Ken could take care of those the following week without either party being present.
When Griffin and Ashton came home from school, they found Terry in the parlor playing a melancholy song on the piano. It made them suspect that the deal had fallen through. Terry smiled wanly.
"Oh, Dad, did he sell it to someone else?"
"No, but there was a price change."
"I suppose we can't afford it."
"It wasn't an increase; we're getting it for $5,000 less than we'd expected because he wanted to get it done. He's giving us a discount for redecorating," Terry grinned. "I had to tease you a bit."
"Dad! How could you do this to me? I could have had a heart attack!"
"I'm sorry, Griff! I didn't mean to upset you."
"It's okay; I'm teasing too."
Griffin was wound tighter than a garage-door spring. His father could empathize. He'd been stressed for several days too. To help his son unwind and pay back his hosts, he insisted on taking them out to dinner at Red Lobster. He invited Rhett and Levi along since they were coming for a sleepover. As an afterthought, he included Brianna since she and Carson were becoming an item. Terry was in a generous mood.
Everyone enjoyed sharing Terry and Joaquin's good fortune. Levi was planning to have a private celebration with Griff on Friday night when he came for the sleepover at Ashton's house. Rhett had clued him in on the perks that came with a bathtub which gave easy access to his boyfriend's toes.
On the way home from dinner, Terry and Joaquin gave everyone a tour of their new digs. Kathryn could see why the men had fallen in love with the place. She agreed with Joaquin's assessment of the older furniture, suspecting it had a much longer history than the house. When she opened the drawers in the buffet, her eyes widened.
"Is he coming back for anything, or do you get it lock, stock and barrel?"
"Bob said it was all ours," Joaquin responded.
"There's a beautiful set of sterling in here. It must be worth a fortune!"
"I mentioned the silver and he said his wife hates it because it would need polishing. They have stainless and Corelle dishes."
"Well, I'd say you lucked out. If you don't want it, you could sell it at melt-down price and be ahead. But the pattern is so beautiful, it would be a shame to do that."
"We'll keep it and use it occasionally, I think," Terry nodded. "When we get settled, we'll have to host a big dinner!"
Author's notes: Thanks to Joe w (2), Mark M, Tom K, Randy Mac, Walter S, Ott H, Ray M, Allen, Charles G, Brad, Jim M, Vinnie D, Tony C, Al N, Paul R, Ken McC, Frank K, Hotrod, Gordon, JJ R, Bill T, Jim W, Rob D, and Paul F who emailed this past week. I appreciate your comments.
Thanks to David (Boxerdude) for editing this chapter.
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