Welcome back, everyone. With Thanksgiving rapidly approaching, it's time to meet the rest of the family.
This story deals with adult themes, primarily same-gender sexual relations. Such relations have their basis in love and commitment, rather than sex for the sake of sex alone. In some cases they will use protection; at other times they will not. You and I should always use protection because we do not live in the world of fiction.
If you are offended the idea of homosexuality or if you are under the age of consent or if you reside in an area where such things are considered illegal or immoral, then you should seek entertainment elsewhere.
Comments may be directed to the author at thornado5@netscape.net
This story is copyright 2004 by Mike Williams. All rights reserved. Thou shalt not steal.
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A Thousand Rainbows by Mike Williams
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The next few days were filled with activity at the Connor-Larkin household, getting ready for the Beckers upcoming visit and the preparations for the Thanksgiving feast.
True to his word, Tyler had easily located Brenda Maxwell, who, while still mourning her lost boyfriend, graciously accepted Paul's condolences. She was unable to visit Paul in person, but called the very next day. She told him of the memorial service that had been held at Franklin High School. It was a beautiful service, attended by the entire student body. The football team had served as pallbearers, and the school band had performed a special rendition of the Franklin High School fight song. Paul told Brenda that Alan's last thoughts had been of her. After sharing a few tears they agreed to get together after the holidays.
Paul's injuries were healing rapidly, thanks in part to daily visits by Jason and Josh. Tyler was also a regular visitor to Paul's hospital room. Their friendship grew stronger with each day, and they spent several evenings studying their history notes together. With his jaw still wired shut for another two weeks, Paul was released from the hospital Monday afternoon, nearly a week and a half after the fateful game against Franklin. To his great surprise he received a standing ovation in his home room when he returned to classes on Tuesday morning. He smiled at Tyler, thinking that the swimmer might have had a hand in arranging his reception. And he was right.
Tyler just beamed and applauded with the rest of his classmates.
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When classes ended in the afternoon, Brian and Bjorn were in the parking lot, ready to pick up the twins. Jason and Josh climbed into the minivan's back seat and strapped themselves in for the ride to the airport, to pick up the surrogate mother they had not seen in twelve years, along with her husband and adopted son.
As they drove along Interstate 5, Brian pushed a button on the stereo, and classical music ... an opera ... came to life. Jason and Josh recognized the music of Bizet's "Carmen."
"Turn it up," Jason requested.
"Yeah," Bjorn agreed. "It might help with your Spanish lessons."
"That's not it at all," Josh said.
"Then why the interest?" Brian asked.
"It's the aria that's coming up," Jason explained.
"Yeah," Josh, chimed in, winking at his brother. "The part where she sings about how hot the soldier looks in his uniform ... you know ... `Hubba Hubba'."
Brian laughed so hard, he thought he might drive the minivan right off the interstate. When he regained control, he said, "I think you mean `Habanera'."
Bjorn reached for the stereo and selected the appropriate cut on the CD. As the orchestra began, the boys smiled at each other and knew what was coming, a little game the family had been playing ever since the boys were old enough to appreciate the classics. The singer began her aria, and each line of her song was punctuated by a `pfft' from someone in the van. As the aria continued, the fart noises continued, woven into the fabric of the orchestra and the soprano. The farts became louder and louder until they threatened to drown out the music on the stereo altogether, matched only by the laughter from the twins and their parents.
Brian glanced at his partner. "Y'know, I always thought of `Carmen' as a very tragic story."
"Oh, it could be," Bjorn said. "But, then, it could be a comic opera."
"How's that?" Brian asked.
"Cause if Bizet was around today to hear us do Carmen' ..." Jason began.
And Josh finished the thought. "... He'd probably die laughing."
And laughter erupted once again as the minivan sped along the interstate highway.
After a few more pieces from the opera, they arrived at the airport, well ahead of the Beckers' scheduled arrival time. They headed for the café to enjoy a snack while they watched the airplanes arrive and depart. Even though they had all traveled by air in the past, they always enjoyed watching the activity down on the tarmac.
About fifteen minutes before the Beckers' arrival the two men and their boys made their way to the gate where they would meet their friends from Southern California. The mighty jet taxied up to the terminal, and people began disembarking within just a few minutes. Among the first group to step into the waiting area were Sarah, Will and Todd.
Brian and Bjorn both noticed how little Sarah had changed since they had last seen her. Will's hair seemed to be thinning, and he was now wearing wire-framed glasses. And then there was Todd, their adopted son. He had certainly inherited Jill's dark hair, which he wore in a ponytail under a black cowboy hat. And his eyes were dark blue, not at all like Jill's dark brown eyes.
There were hugs all around, even for Will. He held out his hand to Bjorn, who looked down at it, then looked up at Will's face with a smirk. He took Will's hand, then drew him into a tight hug. As the adults greeted each other, Todd stood off to the side, taking in the scene. He was approached by the twins.
"Welcome to Oregon, half-bro," Jason greeted him. "I'm Jason."
"And I'm Josh."
"I'm Todd. Yeah, you're the twins." Todd said, looking from one to the other. "I've seen your pictures. How can I tell you guys apart?"
"It's real easy," Jason explained.
"Ya just gotta remember ..." Josh continued.
"... He's the ugly one," the both exclaimed in unison, pointing to each other.
"Okay." Todd's face broke into a wide grin. The twins recognized that captivating smile from the pictures of Jill Mason they had seen. There was no doubt that this was Jill Mason's son.
Sarah had been watching the exchange between the boys. "Oh my god! My babies."
The twins turned and walked into the embrace of their birth-mother. "Hi, mom." And they all exchanged a big hug.
Todd watched from the side, and Bjorn thought that something might to be troubling him.
"Something on your mind, big guy?"
"Well, Uncle Bjorn ..." Todd stammered.
"Hold it right there, Todd," Bjorn interrupted with a smile. "It's just Bjorn. Alright?"
"Bjorn." Todd seemed a little more at ease. "Bjorn. Okay. Well ... it just seems so strange to hear someone else call her Mom'. She's Mom' to me, but ..." His voice trailed off.
"When we all lived together, back when we were in school, Brian and I often thought of her that way."
At that moment Brian stepped up to the two and put one arm around his partner and the other on Todd's shoulder. "I think we actually called her `Mom' once or twice. Welcome home, Todd."
Todd smiled up at the two men. "Thanks, Uncle Brian."
"Uncle Brian?" Brian raised an eyebrow and glanced at his partner. "Well, despite the fact that you witness our sons wearing jackets and ties ... school uniform, you know ... I think the first order of business is to teach this young gentleman that we in Oregon are not quite as formal as they might tend to be in San Diego. What do you think, Mister Larkin?"
Bjorn fell right into Brian's joke. "Oh, Mister Connor, sir, I couldn't agree more." Then he turned to Todd. "What say you, young Master Becker?"
Todd felt just a little overwhelmed, looking first from Brian to Bjorn, both of whom could barely contain their laughter. Finally, he gave in and laughed along with them. His laughter was a pleasant sound. "Okay, I get it. We're all family, right?"
Brian turned to Bjorn with his eyes wide. "I think he's got it!"
"This is gonna take some getting used to," Todd said to no one in particular.
Jason and Josh came to rescue Todd from their fathers' antics. "You'll get used to it pretty fast, Todd," Jason said.
"Ya just gotta stay on your toes around those two," Josh finished the thought.
After more hugs they all walked to the baggage claim area, where they retrieved their suitcases, before heading out to the parking lot. The minivan was roomy enough for all seven people and their luggage. Brian strapped himself into the driver's seat, with Sarah in the other front seat. Will and Bjorn sat in the center section with the three boys in the rear, Todd sitting between Jason and Josh, who pointed out various sites along the drive homeward.
"There's something missing in this ride," Sarah noticed.
Brian did a quick head-count and cast a quick glance at his partner in the rearview mirror. "We're all here," he said. "We collected all your luggage. What could possibly be missing?"
"I seem to recall that you guys never drove anywhere," Sarah said, "not to the airport, not even to the grocery store, without music. This ride just seems so quiet."
"Oh?" Bjorn asked innocently.
Sarah continued, "And I also recall that it was always classical music you played in your cars and at home. Oh, those were the good old days."
"Oh, we still have music playing most of the time, Mom," Jason said.
"That's right, Mom," Josh said innocently. "Just this afternoon on our way to the airport we were listening to ... what was it, Dad? Some kind of opera?"
"You're quite right, Josh," Brian answered, just as innocently. "That was an opera we were listening to."
Sarah looked at Brian with an open-mouthed expression of horror. "Oh, my god, no. Please tell me it wasn't `Carmen'. You know how I love that opera. Will, please don't let them do this."
Bjorn's face was a mask of innocent surprise. "Carmen' is your favorite? No kidding? I could have sworn your favorite was The Marriage of Figaro' or something by Mozart."
Having been witness to all of this before, Will hid his face behind his hand, his shoulders shaking with silent laughter as he anticipated what was to come. Todd looked askance at the twins, wondering if the center of the rear seat was the safest place for him to be.
"Maestro?" Brian said.
With a fiendish smile Bjorn pointed the remote at the stereo, and the speakers came to life with `Habanera'. Sarah hid her face in her hands, but she too was laughing uncontrollably as the men of the Connor-Larkin family punctuated each line of the melody with fart noises. Even Will joined in. And after a few moments Todd, whose taste leaned more toward country music, pulled a Jew's harp out of his pocket and added a few twangs.
As the aria came to an end, Brian pulled the minivan into the left lane to pass a sedan driven by an old man and his wife. Through her laughter Sarah clawed at the side window, yelling, "Help me! I'm being held prisoner by a bunch of people who murder the classics!"
Laughter filled the minivan. The joke they had started as college students so many years earlier had lost none of its humor.
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to be continued in Chapter 18