Cheddar's, Chapter 15
Dan had an invitation to see the space museum with Taylor's family on Friday. They had rented an SUV for their stay in Florida, so there was plenty of room to take him along. He felt like maybe he should forego the trip and stay at Grandma and Grandpa's to see Adam and Parker off. The guys quickly let him know that they wouldn't be offended if he explored everything he could while he was in Florida.
"Besides, Taylor will be sad if you're not with him. I'm not sure which one of you has the bigger crush," Parker teased.
"Having seen them naked, I'd say they both have big crushes," Adam smirked.
"Jeez! That's really bad!" Dan laughed.
"I think having a big one is really good!" Adam replied.
Once again, Parker was reminded of how much he appreciated his boyfriend's sense of humor, and how much happier his life was than it had been before their first meeting. Adam had a way of keeping him from being so serious that he forgot to have fun. Parker had grown up being too earnest and contemplative. He felt closer to his real age in the presence of his lover.
"Since we won't see you again before you leave, Dan, I should give you the condoms and lube. I really bought them for you."
"Awesome! But, you should keep some of them because I probably won't have a chance to use them before their expiration date. I'm not planning to be fucking like a bunny."
"Okay, I'll keep a few, but remember, you can use them on things like carrots and cucumbers if you want to play around."
"Oh, yeah, that could be fun."
"You and Taylor might do that together, so you'd better keep all of them. Adam and I aren't embarrassed about purchasing more."
"Okay, thanks! I know just where I can hide them."
"How are you going to smuggled them into the house without getting caught?"
"I'll put them in a plastic bag with my dirty underwear. Mom has this thing about me doing my own laundry so I'll know what to do when I'm in college. Like I need five years of practice! I think she's too lazy to do it. She'd rather be off having coffee with her friends. Or maybe hosting a bible study where they all sit around a gossip about half the time."
When the Cornell family came to pick Dan up at 8:00 a.m., Taylor got out and hugged both Parker and Adam. He really appreciated how they had "adopted" him during the Florida trip. They seemed like big bros.
Grandma drove Parker and Adam to the airport right after Todd pulled out of the driveway. They hugged her before going to check in. It was a little early, but they didn't want to worry about how long it would take to go through security.
Their flight home was fun. Sitting in first class, they were waited on hand and foot. The downside to that was the constant presence of a flight attendant, so it looked like they might not be able to sneak into a toilet at the same time without being seen.
Their chance came after everyone had been served, and the staff retreated to relax for a few minutes about halfway into the flight. Most of the other passengers were either napping or engrossed in a movie.
Then, the two of them hastily entered the small restroom. They were so excited, that it didn't take any time at all to get hard. Adam sat down first, and lovingly gave head to Parker who stood in front of him. As soon as Parker was taken care of, they switched places.
It was a quickie that wasn't as satisfying as when they spent time edging, but the excitement of doing something naughty helped make up for that.
Adam peeked out to see if anyone was around, and finding the coast clear, he went to his seat. A couple of minutes later, Parker joined him. Both grinned at what they'd been able to get away with.
Parker pushed the call button and asked if they could have another snack. After they'd finished it, they napped for a while.
As much fun as they'd had on their break, it was good to be back in their own little apartment. Since there wasn't much in the place for making dinner, they went to Cheddar's for their evening meal.
On the way home, they shopped for enough groceries to see them through the next several days. Then, they caught up on the laundry. Before they knew it, it was time to go to bed.
Having the whole weekend back in Iowa City before going to classes on Monday was a Godsend. Both guys took care of a few details that might have been put off, but which would impress their teachers if they were done ahead of schedule.
Since they were rested up, they had no excuse for not attending church. They saw several people they knew, including Carl Novotny, Adam's lawyer. Adam breathed a sigh of relief that his classmate, Dave, hadn't shown up. He supposed that was unchristian on his part, but the boy made him uncomfortable.
Mr. Novotny sought him out during the fellowship hour.
"I suppose the Lord's house isn't the proper place to conduct business, but I want to let you know about a development that took place in your absence. I didn't want to send news that might upset your vacation. It's not a big glitch, but it will take time to sort out. Your paternal grandparents filed a lien against your parents' house. They claim to have loaned them the sum of $40,000 as part of the down payment several years ago. They are demanding repayment of it plus interest. Until that has been satisfied, we can't sell the property, though you could live in it, or you might lease it to someone long-term. From now until autumn would be the prime market time for selling, so they feel they have us over a barrel."
"I suppose I'll have to give it to them to move things along. I do have it in the bank."
"In my opinion, we should tough it out. I don't think the claim is legit, and I believe we might be able prove it if I have my assistants go over a large file cabinet of papers that was left in the house. I'll need your permission for that.
"You have it! I don't want them to have anything they're not entitled to.
"Oh, by the way, I've been thinking about what you said regarding management of the dealership. Obviously, I don't have the expertise. I have someone in mind," Adam said.
"Okay, who is it?"
"Kyle Pearson who's the sales manager. I've known him since I was a little kid, and I trust him completely."
"I think that's a wise decision. I've dealt with him in buying my last two cars, and I was impressed. I'll run the usual background check on him to make sure he's properly vetted, and then you can make the offer."
"That would be great!"
"In the meantime, I'll contact your other set of grandparents to feel them out about the supposed loan. I got the impression that they weren't entirely comfortable over the `disappearing will' scenario. I don't think they were involved, other than not ratting out the Baxter's."
In an attempt to take his mind off of the problems his grandparents were raising, Parker took Adam out to the park to play disc golf on Sunday afternoon. Adam figured out what he was doing, and loved him for it. In truth, he wasn't stressing over the prospect of a court battle. If he ended up paying out over $40,000, it wasn't the end of the world. How ironic that he'd obsessed over a couple of hundred dollars back in October when it was about all he had to his name. Now, that sum seemed like pocket-change.
It was Wednesday when Adam received a text from his lawyer that it was all systems go on hiring Kyle to manage the company. Adam was rather excited about it, and drove to Baxter Motors as soon as school let out.
Kyle was working with a customer when he got there, so he went into the service area lounge and scooped up a sack of popcorn to chew on. A couple of the employees looked him over, wondering what this boy was doing there, but they didn't question him after Terry Bartlett, the salesman who'd dealt with him on the Fit, came over and shook his hand.
"Hey, Dude! How's the car running. I hope you're not in for a repair job already."
"Nope, it's great. I came in to see Kyle, but he's busy."
"He's finalizing the offer I made to a customer a few minutes ago. I'm pretty sure it's gonna go through. I've been having really good luck since I `sold' you that little red car."
"Kyle said you were an up and coming salesman. He's a good man."
"Yeah. Oops, I need to run. I see they're coming out of his office."
"Hi, Boss. Are you here with concerns?" Kyle asked.
"No, I'm here to feel you out on a proposition. Do you have a minute?"
"Sure, if you don't mind that we may have an interruption or two."
"I can deal with that. Do you know of anyone who you'd promote to take over your job?"
"Um, I can think of one person in particular who could handle it well. Are you planning to fire me?"
"I was thinking about kicking you upstairs. I think that's what they say."
"Oka-a-ay..."
"Would you be interested in becoming the general manager of the company? You would be running it as if it were your own, and you'd only have to answer to an 18-year-old punk kid who thinks you're the greatest."
"Seriously?"
"Seriously. Of course, there would be a raise in pay appropriate for the added responsibility. My lawyer would be involved in the negotiations."
"How quickly may I accept?!"
"We can shake on it right now."
Kyle shook Adam's hand, and then pulled the teen into a hug. It was obvious that he was thrilled.
"There's been a bit of a shadow over the place since your father passed. Like everyone else, I've wondered what would happen to the dealership. It's a profitable, going concern, but we have worried that it might be sold to someone who would bring in their own people. This is news that everyone will appreciate. How soon may I tell the other employees?"
"Whenever you feel it's right. You might want to talk to your replacement before you do, so that's all settled."
"Good point! You're sure you don't want to hold off on college and manage it yourself?"
"Definitely! All I know about the car business is what I've seen in the movies, and dealerships aren't the main subject matter of many of them."
"That's for sure. Oh, I see Spencer isn't busy with anyone now. Why don't you stay here, and I'll bring him in to see if he wants my job?"
"Spencer, I'd like you to meet Adam Baxter, the owner of this place. He's here to discuss a few changes. Adam, this is Spencer Brown."
"Mr. Brown, may I address you by your first name?"
"Of course."
"Good, I'll expect you to do the same with me. I've just asked Kyle to become the general manager of Baxter Motors, and he has a proposition for you."
"I think you're gonna like this, Spencer," Kyle began, "with Adam's permission, I'd like you to take over my job as sales manager. You have the skills, and the personality to deal with customers in a good way. I know you've felt like you were at a kind of dead end with nowhere else to go. This could be the stimulation you need."
"Are you in agreement with the plan, Adam?" Spencer asked.
"Absolutely. I have complete faith in Kyle's ability to handle the personnel as he sees fit."
"Yes, I'll take it! Will I get a raise with it?"
"Sure. It will be more than what you're making, despite the good commissions you've earned. Now if that's settled, I think we should make the announcement to the rest of the gang. Adam, would you like to get on the PA and do the honors?"
"I can if you like."
"Hello everyone, this is Adam, the owner of Baxter Motors. I understand many of you have been concerned about how the company will run since the unexpected death of my father. I'm just a punk kid without the skills to do it. I don't want to sell the dealership to a stranger, so I'm keeping it and I've asked Kyle Pearson to be the general manager. Spencer Brown will assume his current responsibilities as sales manager. They'll work out the transition on their own schedule. We aren't planning any other changes at present. Your jobs are secure. Thank you."
Cheers went up throughout the building. Salesmen came to shake hands with the men. Service advisers came in from the shop, when they were free for a few minutes, to congratulate Kyle and Spencer, and to thank Adam for not selling the dealership. Everyone seemed elated. Several of the employees remarked about Adam's excellent choices of people for the top positions.
He left a few minutes later, feeling very good about the afternoon.
The time between spring break and the end of the school year seemed to go much more quickly than the rest of the semester. Both Adam and Parker were busy with their classwork – Adam a bit less so because of taking a lighter load his last term, but his classes were rigorous. It seemed like no time before high school graduation was only a few weeks away.
Parker wanted to host a party for Adam to mark the milestone properly. He thought it would be fun to do it at Baxter Motors. They could use the extensive lawn at the dealership for volleyball and other games. The sales-event tent could provide a dining shelter to protect guests from too much sun, or from rain if the weather didn't hold.
When he contacted Kyle about it, the latter was all for it. He wanted to help provide the kind of party that every kid should have upon graduating. He said he would have his secretary phone the caterer who provided food for their sales events, and use company entertainment funds to pay for it.
Adam was touched by the number of people who became involved in the preparations. It seemed that everyone at Baxter Motors wanted to make up for the fact that he had been orphaned. He wondered if they would be doing the same thing if they knew he'd already been alienated from his parents a few months before they had died. He got an inkling when talking with Kyle about the plans.
"Um, did you know that my parents kicked me out when I turned 18."
"Yes, your father confided in me that he was upset because you were gay, and he hoped that you'd become desperate enough living on your own to come back willing to do anything they wanted. He had looked into reparative therapy at some organization in Missouri which had a money-back guarantee for changing kids' orientation. It hadn't been legal to force you to participate when you were still a minor, but since you were an adult, you could be pressured to sign yourself in."
"Wow! That's scarier than the prospect of trying to survive on the street!"
"Yes," Kyle agreed. "I was trying to figure out some way to intervene, but then he told me that you'd been taken in by a college student after they'd made sure you couldn't stay with your friend who was trying to help you. As cold-hearted as this sounds, I know that you're better off with your parents out of the picture. I don't believe they would've ever changed their minds. And, Parker seems to be a loving replacement."
"Man, do all the people here know about it?"
"No, I'm the only one. I felt really awkward that your father continued to confide in me while I was trying to find a way to thwart his plans. I'm sure he believed he was doing the right thing for your eternal soul, but he was wrong."
"So, you don't think I'm hell-bound for being gay?"
"Certainly not! You are what you were intended to be."
"Thanks, Kyle. Could I have a hug, or would that look too gay?"
"I don't give a damn what it looks like," he answered as he embraced Adam. "We've always hugged, since you were a little kid."
Kyle Pearson wasn't the only one who might hold the opinion that Adam could possibly be okay, whatever his orientation.
Adam's maternal grandparents, Fred and Arlo Hinson, contacted his lawyer to see if the no-contact order could be set aside long enough for them to meet with their grandson. With Adam's okay, it was permissible so long as a court-appointed mediator was present. The meeting was scheduled to occur a week before graduation.
Adam experienced a wide range of emotions in the days leading up to seeing them again. At times, he looked forward to it, but then he'd begin to feel a sense of panic.
Of course, Parker did his best to ease his mind. When the day at last arrived, Adam was a bundle of nerves. Parker took him into a restroom in the courthouse and held him tightly.
"I'm here for you, Babe. I'll sit right beside you and we can leave any time you feel like the walls are closing in. You know I love you more than anything. Whatever the outcome is, you'll always have me."
"Thanks! May I have a kiss?"
Parker kissed him gently, wiping way his tears when they finished. Then Adam kissed him back with a passion that made them both start to firm up.
"Damn! When this is over, I want to strip you naked and have my way with you," Parker exclaimed.
"Okay, it's a date!"
It was a confident-appearing Adam who strode into the small hearing room. His grandparents were already seated at one end of the table, and there was a mediator, Judge Cyrus Walters, sitting near the middle. Adam and Parker took their seats at the opposite end, Parker on his left so they could hold hands without being obvious.
"I assume by your presence that you are meeting here of your own free will, and are agreeable to temporarily suspension the no-contact order," Judge Walters began.
"I am, but I reserve the right to leave on a moment's notice if things turn ugly," Adam nodded.
"That is your prerogative," the judge agreed. "Do you have anything to say as we begin?"
"Yes, I'm curious about the motives that the petitioners have in coming here."
"We don't want to be cast out of your life," his Grandfather, Fred, answered.
"Isn't it a bit late to be thinking about that? Where were you when I was thrown out by your daughter? Did you offer me a place to stay, or food to eat? Why couldn't you have at least contacted me later when my parents were killed?"
"We were blinded, and we were wrong," his grandmother joined in. "I can't put all the blame on your other set of grandparents because we are, hopefully, old enough to think for ourselves. But, they did lead us in the wrong direction."
"As I recall, it was you who yelled something at me about `having rights too' when we last spoke. You seemed to be in control of your own mind."
"I'm very sorry for that. I said it in the heat of the moment, and I've regretted it ever since."
"Do you know the meaning of the word `epiphany.'" Fred asked.
"If you're testing my vocabulary, you needn't bother. I scored off the charts on the SAT's in that area. But to answer your question, it means an eye-opening experience, a revelation, a sudden burst of insight."
"Precisely, and that is what your grandmother and I experienced when we took a class at our new church. It was based on a book written by Jack Rogers who's a biblical scholar, and it's called, Jesus, the Bible, and Homosexuality. He started out trying to create a curriculum for teaching against homosexuality. He went back to the earliest texts, which he can read in the original languages. During his research, he did a complete turn-around. He became convinced that through mistranslations, the church has twisted what was meant in the Bible passages dealing with same-sex attraction."
"So, what do you believe now?" Adam asked.
"We believe that the Old Testament prohibition of male to male sex had to do with rape, not love. In those days, it was the practice of victors to use the conquered leaders like they would use a woman to humiliate them so their men wouldn't follow them anymore. That's what the original sodomites did to strangers in their midst.
"What about the `abomination' pronouncement in Leviticus against two men lying together?"
"We have learned that the original term meant, `not our custom' instead of being a condemnation, as such. That's a major error in the King James version of the bible. It applied to eating shellfish and wearing clothes made of different fibers, too.
"Also, that part of the Old Testament was written when the Israelites were captives of the Babylonians, and they were trying to preserve their cultural identity, and be different from those around them."
"What about Paul's writing in the New Testament?" he persisted. "Those are often brought up and used against gays. How do you explain his position?"
"There he was preaching against temple prostitution and the practice of adult men buying sexual favors from boys by giving them gifts. It was pedophilia and was encouraged by the parents of some of those kids. Arlo and I no longer believe that being gay is a sin and we'd like to be family again."
"That's a lot to think about," Adam acknowledged. "Your desire to be part of my life is so sudden that I can't help but wonder what's behind it. I assume you know the meaning of the word `skeptical.'"
"We can't blame you for doubting our motives, but we ARE sincere. We just hope that you'll consider giving us a second chance. Thanks for hearing us out. We'll leave now; you know how to get in touch with us if you want to."
"Young man, you handled that well," Judge Walters complimented him. "I'm not sure I could have held my temper as well as you did when I was your age."
"I guess I was more surprised than angry," Adam said. "They actually seem to have changed their minds about gays."
"Are you going to welcome them back with open arms?" Parker wondered aloud.
"I'm not doing anything hastily," Adan said. "They've had something like eight months to make amends, and I'd sorta crossed them off in that time. I'll have to see something concrete in their actions to be able to know that they've changed. It's all so sudden, and I have to wonder what they want from me. `Once bitten, twice shy,' as they say."
"That sounds realistic to me. I'll bet this has been exhausting for you. How about we go home for a nap and go out to eat. I don't think either of us feels like cooking tonight."
"Good plan!"
Autor's notes: Thanks to the following who contacted me since last posting: Paul R, Paul F, Wayne, Douglas and Peter, JW, John L, Bill T, Walt Sz, Skip, Tom A, Nala, Larry S, Dick M, Randy McC, Tony F, Bill K, Jim W, Ray K, Walt S, Tony, Ott H, Peter M, Steve C, John D, and Jeremy R.
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I thought you might like to look at this link: It's never too late to escape the closet!
http://mashable.com/2017/03/02/95-year-old-comes-out-as-gay/#z9Ufi7Zu1qqJ
Peace and love,
David