Welcome back! Well, pizza has been delivered ... with anchovies ... and we have met the star quarterback of Bridgewater Academy's football team. We'll get to know more about Paul Miller in the near future. But first, there's some family business to take care of.
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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As they closed the door, Bjorn asked, "Where do we know him from ... beside the football team?"
Brian turned to his partner. "Paul was entered in the Junior Photo Shoot-out last year. I hope he sticks with it. He shows a lot of promise."
"That's right," Bjorn remembered. "He did that series of action sports shots. Didn't he receive an award for his entry?"
"Several awards, actually," Brian answered. "Best Action. Best Human Interest. Best black- and-white. People's Choice Trophy. Probably a few more."
Brian took his lover's hand, and they walked toward the family room, while they talked of Paul's talent with a camera. Paul had done a series of photographs on one student in particular, a swimmer named Tyler Garrison.
By the time they got to the family room, Jason and Josh had already set out the plates, beverages, and lots of napkins. The pizza and cheese-sticks were on the coffee table, waiting to be consumed. The stereo system played classical music, and a burning log in the fireplace cast a warm glow throughout the room. The boys were wearing clean, white shorts and blue-and-silver t-shirts of Bridgewater Academy. They had kicked off their sandals. They stood behind the coffee table, holding hands and waiting for their dads. Brian and Bjorn smiled at the scene before them and followed suit, kicking off their shoes before entering the room. The boys held out their free hands to their parents, who gladly took them. With smiles of love and gratitude they looked around their circle, into each other's eyes. Bjorn improvised a blessing.
"We give thanks to the Creator, and we accept this gift with open hearts and minds. Our energy shall be a beacon to all the world. Blessed be."
"Blessed be," came the response.
"Let's dig in," Brian said, as he and Bjorn reached for the cheese-sticks. Jason and Josh sat on cushions in front of the fireplace and leaned forward to load their plates with pizza. The conversation was light as the boys told all about their day at school, particularly about their music class.
Jason began. "Mr. Cabelli listened to the latest revision of ^XA Thousand Rainbows' today. He said he really liked the horn section we added ..."
"... But now he wants us to come up with some words." Josh looked a bit dejected. "I don't know. We didn't write that song for voices, just orchestra. It should stand on its own ..."
"... Just like it is." Jason finished the thought. They both looked at the adults.
"Think about Beethoven's ^XOde to Joy' for a minute ... from the 9th Symphony." Bjorn knew a little about music history. "He actually thought about tossing out the words of Schiller's poem and leaving just the music to stand on its own. That would still have been a masterpiece. But he left the words in there, and other people have since written their own words. And the words don't take away any of the beauty of the music. So that's the challenge, guys, making the words and the music complement each other."
"If anyone can do it, we know you guys can," Brian encouraged them with a smile.
Jason looked at his brother and speculated. "I'll bet it was Mrs. Wilson's idea."
Josh caught on. "Yeah, she said we'd be studying poetry in our English composition class real soon."
"Yuck!" Both boys grimaced; English composition was not their favorite subject.
"Just keep an open mind," Bjorn suggested. "And you might want to keep a notebook handy. Inspiration doesn't strike on a set schedule, y'know."
Brian agreed with his partner. "That's right. That's why Bjorn and I always keep our cameras with us ... because that award-winning photo could happen at any time." He reached for a slice of pizza. "As for adding the horn section in your song, I think it sounded great. It was like ..." He paused. "What?"
Jason and Josh had been raising pizza to their mouths and froze just as they were about to take a bite.
Jason knew what was coming and laid the slice of pizza back on his plate. "Dad, there's no way you could have heard the horn section."
"What do you mean?" Brian asked.
"Dad," Josh answered, laying down his pizza, "we added the horn section this morning, in the music lab at school. The only other time we've played it with horns was ..."
Jason finished the sentence. "... This afternoon ... after we got home from school ... before we went outside to play soccer."
Brian looked from Jason to Josh to Bjorn, then back to the boys. There was a momentary silence. "Not exactly how I had thought to segue into our next topic of conversation. Yeah, I heard it with the horn section ... after I finished my bike ride. I was coming down the upstairs hall, and I was going to congratulate you guys on the terrific job you're doing with your music, and I ..."
"Dad," Jason interrupted, "we know you poked your head into our room ..."
"... And you saw what we were doing," Josh finished the thought.
"Busted, eh?" Brian raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah," Jason answered. "I guess we're all busted."
Brian looked to his partner. "Since you're the only one not busted, would you act as referee and judge?"
"I accept. The court is now in session," Bjorn responded. It had become their custom to talk openly about situations within the family, together, and often having one member of the family moderate the discussion. Everyone felt that it saved a lot of nerves and hard feelings. It also sharpened the boys' debating skills, forcing them to think things through quickly, rationally and thoroughly. He smiled and turned to the twins. "You will present your case first. Good luck, gentlemen."
Jason and Josh looked at each other, sharing a silent communication. After a moment they turned back to their parents, and Jason took the floor.
"Dads, we are special in this family, all of us. Here we are, two teenaged boys, being raised by two gay men who have been together for 25 years, who don't hide their love for each other and for us. The spirit of love and good humor and playfulness is alive in this house, and it touches everyone. Josh and I have been together since the day we were born. It would be hard for us not to know each other's mind. Even when we're apart, I can still feel him with me. I can't imagine what it would be like to be without him. And now that ... well ... things ... are happening to us, the closeness and togetherness we've always had is changing too. In the last couple weeks we have started thinking of each other differently." He turned to face his brother, then back to the adults.
Josh took the floor. "We've read all the stuff we could find on how homosexuals are made, whether they're influenced into it or born with it, and we don't really care what the reason is. We believe that Jason and I were born to be together. I guess what you saw this afternoon was just one way that we show how much we love each other." He turned to his brother. "I love you, Jason."
Jason looked back at this twin. "I love you too, Josh."
They turned back to their parents. Bjorn turned to his partner. "Brian?"
Brian was silent for a moment, formulating his reply.
"When Bjorn and I first starting talking about having a child, we knew it wouldn't be easy. We had to look at it from many different angles, not the least of which is the skyrocketing rate of divorce in this country and its effect on the children. We had to be certain of our own relationship first. Technically Bjorn and I are not married, but we are just as committed to each other as any married couple. Most of society just isn't ready for something like this. But we were determined that we could do it successfully. You two are the result, and we couldn't be more proud. You're talented, healthy ... you have impeccable manners ... you show kindness and consideration to everyone you meet. Now that, as you say ^Xthings are happening' ... things, I might add, that cannot be reversed or stopped ... our role as parents has to change as well. Even though you are still minors in the eyes of the law, it's up to us to support your choices, not to mold you into the people we think you should be. We did not set out to raise gay children. But, if that is who you are, then to prevent you from discovering and being who you are would be wrong. We hope we have been ... and will continue to be ... an influence for good in your lives. We love you, and we will support you in all your decisions; that's one part of this family that has never changed and never will."
Brian turned to his partner and nodded. Bjorn nodded back and turned to the twins. "Rebuttal? Questions?"
The boys smiled and shook their heads. "No rebuttal or questions," Jason replied. " But a request."
"Name it," Brian said.
Jason thought before continuing. "If Josh and I are to find new dimensions to our relationship, then we're going to need your guidance and advice in .... uh ..."
"... Sex," Josh finished the thought.
Brian looked at his partner, then down at the floor with his hands folded, deep in thought. Then he looked up the two boys, seeing them more as young men than as teenagers.
"Two very important things. First is safety; you know all about that. Second is discretion. There are still a lot of people out there who would hate you and try to hurt you simply because of your choices, people who you might think of now as friends. As for the rest of it ..." He turned to Bjorn. "Your Honor, may we have just a moment's recess?"
"Granted. I'm still hungry."
Brian rose and left the room. The others could hear him walking through the kitchen and jogging up the spiral staircase. In his absence Bjorn polished off another slice of pizza while the twins attacked the cheese-sticks. When Brian returned, he was carrying a book.
He sat down on the couch and continued, directing his comments to the boys. "We've told you how Bjorn and I met, how we told each other how we felt about each other. The first time we had sex wasn't until eight months later, during the summer break. We've been faithful to each other ever since. We knew we would spend the rest of our lives together, but we didn't know the first thing about what we were doing sexually. Then we found this." He held up the book ^XThe Joy of Gay Sex'. "Over the rest of summer break we read it, studied it, tried some things. We fumbled our way through the chapters. But by the time we went back to school, it was too late." He look at Bjorn with great affection. "While it was fun ... and still is ... the sex became secondary. We were in love." He took Bjorn's hand and looked back to the boys. "And I guess that is the best advice we can offer ... not to let the sex get in the way of everything else that's important. Enjoy it, have fun with it, but don't let it dominate your lives."
He laid the book in the table between the pizza and the cheese-sticks, smiled and turned back to his partner. "I rest my case, Your Honor."
As judge and referee, Bjorn rendered his decision. "Brian mentioned two key points: safety and discretion. Those two points apply no matter where you are, no matter what you do. We hope you will exercise safety and discretion at all times. As parents we can find no greater satisfaction than seeing our children grow up and become productive members of society and leaders of the community. As your relationship moves forward you will discover new challenges and new rewards, as well as new questions. We are here for you; we have always been here for you. That's not to say that we have all the answers. And there will be questions that we will find ... umm ... awkward or unsettling. But ask your questions anyway. And together we'll find the answers." He turned to face his loving partner, then back to the boys. "This doesn't mean that any of us have the freedom to engage in sexual activities whenever and wherever we please. Being discrete means what goes on in private stays private. Case closed."
All four were quiet for a moment, reflecting on Bjorn's decision. Jason broke the silence. "We love you, Dads. You are the most important people in our lives."
"We couldn't have asked for better parents. Thank you," Josh added.
"It's us who should thank you," Brian said. "We knew that raising children was a real challenge and a lot of blood, sweat and tears. With you two the job has been a real joy."
"Well, we had good genes to begin with," Jason quipped.
As usual Josh finished the thought. "So it came natural to us."
Bjorn tapped Brian on the shoulder. "And I think you had a little help, eh?"
Brian turned and gave his partner a cheese-flavored kiss. "That's right, lover. And I couldn't have done it without you."
"Thank you, and, well, we did have some other help too. Y'know ... Sarah."
"Well, of course, we couldn't have done it without Sarah. I'm mean, she ... SARAH! Shit! I totally spaced it." Brian smacked himself on the forehead.
"FOUL!" cried the twins.
Brian looked quickly at the boys. "What?"
"Cussin' in front of the kids," Jason accused.
"That's a 75-cent fine," Josh declared the penalty.
"Pay up." They both faced Brian with their palms up.
Brian's mind raced back over the conversation of the last few seconds. He conceded and reached for his wallet and pulled out two one-dollar bills. "Guilty as charged. I haven't got any change."
The boys took the bills. "Don't do da crime ..." Jason began.
"... If ya can't do da time," Josh finished.
Brian put his wallet away, somewhat bewildered. He looked to Bjorn for help. "Now I've completely lost my train of thought."
Bjorn brought him back on course. "Sarah Sterling-Becker."
"Oh, yeah." Brian was back on familiar ground, as he turned back to the boys. "I got a call from your mother this afternoon. She and her husband and their son are coming up from San Diego for Thanksgiving, and they'll be staying with us for about a week and a half."
Jason and Josh both brightened at the prospect of seeing the Beckers. Although they had seen pictures over the years, neither could remember them, having been so young when the Beckers moved from the Willamette Valley to Southern California.
"We know we've heard it before ..." Jason requested.
"... But could you tell us about them again?" Josh again finished his brother's sentence.
"Well," Brian began, "we met Sarah when we were freshmen at the university. She was a photo arts major, like us, with a minor in marketing. Then in our second year Will transferred from the community college, and we all became real good friends. After about a year Will and Sarah got married." He paused and turned to Bjorn. "Their anniversary is coming up, isn't it?"
"Yeah, on the 29th. It'll be fifteen years," Bjorn replied. He could see Brian's mind working. "What have you got in mind?"
"Let's talk about that later." Brian turned back to the boys. "Anyway, long story short, we all lived together in this big house. Bjorn and I started talking about raising a family. Will thought we were both nuts, but he and Sarah agreed to surrogate a baby for us. I provided the ... uh ... y'know ... and Sarah did the rest. All five of us were in the delivery room when you guys were born. And we all lived happily ever after." He moved to get up from his seat on the couch.
"That story just keeps getting better. But, Dad," Jason protested. "There's you and Bjorn and Will and Sarah. That's four."
"Who was five?" Josh asked.
Brian resumed his seat. "Did I say five?" He turned to Bjorn. "Did I say five?"
Bjorn nodded. "You said five."
Brian continued gazing into his partner's face. "I haven't thought about her in such a long time."
Bjorn smiled and returned his Brian's loving gaze. "Neither have I. Why don't you tell them?"
This time Brian was successful in getting up from the couch. He walked to the bookcase where he picked up a photo album. He brought it back to the couch and sat down. "It's no secret. It's just something we've never talked about with you guys."
He opened the album to the first page of photos and continued. "Yes, there were five of us in that old house. And here we all are." He turned the book so the twins could see the picture, pointing to each person as he spoke. "This picture was taken about a month after you guys were born. In the center that's Sarah, and Bjorn and I are on either side of her, holding you in our arms. Will is standing behind us, and the woman seated on the floor in front of us ... that's Jill Mason. She was Todd's mother. I think she was about four months pregnant with Todd at the time."
Brian pointed to a woman with dark brown eyes. Her knees were drawn up, and her head was tilted, almost resting on her knees, her long dark hair falling nearly to the floor. Her smile was captivating.
"Wow, she was pretty," Jason observed.
"Yes, she was," Bjorn agreed. "She was an art student, a free spirit with excellent taste in men. There was a carriage house on the property, and the landlord helped us turn it into a studio for our various projects and masterpieces."
"And what masterpieces they were," Brian said. "You guys know the painting hanging in the living room." The twins nodded. "Well, that is a Jill Mason original."
"I think there's another photo of her on the next page, Brian," Bjorn said.
Brian turned the page to reveal a picture of Jill with a sleeping baby at her breast. Again, there was her captivating smile, her long hair loose about her shoulders. The photo looked like a "madonna-and-child".
Brian brought his hand to his mouth and appeared choked up. "Oh, my god, I had forgotten about that picture." He quickly turned away.
Bjorn quickly laid a hand on Brian's shoulder. "I'm sorry, babe. I shouldn't have brought it up. Are you alright?"
Fighting back the tears, Brian replied, "I can't look at that photo without ..." He broke off, sobbing.
Bjorn took the album and closed it as the twins looked on with concern. Without taking his hand from Brian's shoulder, Bjorn turned back to the boys, seeing the questions in their eyes.
"Since we were all friends, living in this big house together, we helped each other in our studies. So we each took turns modeling for each other's projects and babysitting each other's kids." He paused and pulled Brian closer to him.
"What happened to her?" Josh asked.
Bjorn rocked Brian quietly. "The day after that photo was taken Jill was leaving the house to go to class, and Brian was just getting home. Jill was hit by a drunk driver in the middle of the afternoon right in front of our house. Brian saw the whole thing. Before the paramedics could get there, Jill died in the street, in his arms. She had named Will and Sarah as Todd's god-parents, so they adopted him and raised him as their own son."
By this time Brian was recovering; he took a deep breath, turned back to the boys and resumed the story where Bjorn left off. "That was the last photo of Jill, and it was displayed on her coffin at her funeral. You gotta understand that Jill and her step-mother had never gotten along. So when she saw the photo of Jill and the baby, she just went into hysterics and threw a screaming fit. She stormed out of the chapel. Jill's father ran after her, trying to calm the woman down. But it was no use. She was screaming horrible things about her grandson, and what a floozy her step-daughter was, and how we were all going to hell. I think she even punched Jill's father a few times." Brian was almost laughing through the tears at the memory.
Bjorn smiled. "Yeah, she caused quite a scene; it was really embarrassing." He took a deep breath and continued the story. "A couple days later Will and Sarah received a letter from the woman's lawyer, in which she and Jill's father completely disinherited Jill and Todd. As far as we know, they packed up and moved to Pocatello, I think, and no one has ever heard from them since then. It's sad, really."
Jason wondered aloud. "Does Todd know he's adopted? Does he know who his parents were?"
"Yes," Bjorn answered. "Will and Sarah have told him everything. They want him to know who his family was. He knows Jill was his mother. But no one knows who his father was."
Josh spoke up. "How could Jill's father do something like that? Sounds to me like he's really, really pussy-whipped."
Brian raised an eyebrow. "Now I could call a foul on you for cussing in front of your parents. But, in the light of everything that's been said over dinner tonight, I think we can overlook it." He took Bjorn's hand from his shoulder and held it tightly in his own. He turned to look into his partner's blue eyes. "I think I'll skip dessert, babe," Brian whispered. And he closed his eyes and leaned in to lay his head on his lover's shoulder.
The boys gathered up the leftovers and the plates, and quietly left the room.
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to continued in Chapter 8