Thanks again for reading the story. The guys will be back in 3 weeks. Feel free to drop me a line with comments, it's always great to hear from people. connectwriter@yahoo.com.
Brad got up early Monday morning just before dawn, half exhilarated and half anxious. The night before with Mrs. Kovar couldn't have gone better. But they still had Part Two to get through, dealing with Mr. Kovar. She hadn't talk about his possible reaction at all last night, and it became the unfinished piece of this puzzle to try to discover what it would be.
Mike was still sleeping, as he usually was this early. Brad didn't' need a lot sleep, but always insisted his partner get as close to 8 hours as possible so Mike was sill in the sack.
Knowing that Mr. Kovar went to bed earlier than everyone else, even though he was taking the day off, Brad guessed that he may still get up early, too. He would try to avoid any awkwardness, hoping that someone else was around the house downstairs to deflect attention. Good sense told him that he should have probably stayed upstairs until he heard activity in the kitchen, but he was such an active guy that he always had a hard time laying around in bed in the morning. Unless there was sex, of course.
But with Mike still asleep he had come down the stairs as softly as possible, hoping to grab a quick snack and take a look, while it was still quiet, at one of his history essays again. He glanced into the kitchen from the bottom of the stairs. The coast looked clear. He'd dive in quickly, grab some orange juice, and slip into the living room to study.
He wasn't paying attention as he came around the corner of the refrigerator when he practically ran down Mr. Kovar, who was quietly making some oatmeal on the countertop. More nervous that he realized, Brad practically leaped back onto the stairs.
"Oops, oh, sorry Mr. Kovar. I didn't expect you there. I thought you were all still asleep." Brad said, a little nervously. `These kitchen surprises would be my undoing,' he thought to himself.
"Not a problem, Bradley." Mr. Kovar said, absolutely calmly, just the opposite of Brad's clear nervousness.
Brad had no idea if he had spoken with Mrs. Kovar yet, and his heart was pounding in his chest. But he did his best to sound nonplussed himself. "Good...." He said. Then he didn't know what else to say. It was another one of those silences that shook the room, until Mr. Kovar spoke.
"Are you hungry? Mr. Kovar asked.
"Um, yeah, a little. I thought I'd get a little snack before everyone else was up and then do some project work. I have an essay problem that's been bugging me and I want to try to solve it this morning." Brad said. It helped to shift the subject to his studies. He could get worked up about his project, and it distracted him from the awkwardness at hand.
"Let's see here what we can get you for breakfast," Mr. Kovar said, reaching up into the cupboard.
"We have oatmeal and cereal up here..." Mr. Kovar went through a description of all the various and sundry breakfast items in the cupboard, and then moved over to the refrigerator, listing what was in there." Brad was too nervous to object to the hunt, in fact he really only wanted some juice, but even that was rapidly receding in his list of priorities.
"Anything sound good?" Mr. Kovar asked.
"I can have what you're having, Mr. Kovar. Don't do anything special for me." Brad said, not wanting to put him out in the least. There'd be time for that later.
"It's no trouble at all, Bradley. Here, try some of these," Mr. Kovar said, as he reached into the back of the cupboard, the same place that Mrs. Kovar had pulled the kolachy out of last night."
"Mrs. Kovar thinks she's hidden these, but it can be our secret," he said to Brad, with a big smile underneath this moustache.
"Thanks, sir. I guess I have to admit that I do like them." Brad replied with a sheepish grin as he accepted a piece and took a bite.
Mr. Kovar casually took his dish of oatmeal over to the table, and motioned Brad to come over and sit with him. Brad shook his head and took a chair opposite Mr. Kovar. The both sat silent for a moment before Mr. Kovar spoke.
"Did you like it as a snack last night?" he said, looking down at his bowl. Brad practically choked on his food.
"Um, uh, yea,.." Brad stammered. Mr. Kovar obviously knew, but just kept stirring his oatmeal.
"Bradley?" Mr. Kovar asked, then stopped stirring and put his spoon down. Brad noticed him swallow, then look down again at the table.
"Do you know it's not going to be easy, easy for Mirek, or easy for you?"
Brad took a moment to recover his composure. He'd been through this the night before, and there was no point in being evasive about this, not again. He didn't know Mrs. Kovar well, but knew that he would never respect him if he backed down about this. And he wouldn't respect himself. So whether Mike's Dad liked it our not, Brad was going to speak his mind.
"Mr. Kovar...I really don't know what's going to happen. I know about the epilepsy, and I know what it can do." He paused and looked out the window at the backyard, where some green was definitely appearing on the trees. He then looked back at Mr. Kovar.
"It scares me, sir, to be honest. Watching him suffer and not being able to do anything about it will kill me. But to make a long story short, as I told Mike, It scares me a lot more to think of my life without him. I don't know any other way of saying it. I don't won't to offend you, or shock you, but that's how I feel...I..."
Mr. Kovar raised his hand and smiled, cutting off Brad. "I know, Bradley. I didn't take long to figure out. The way you watch his food, make him sleep. The time you just about jumped off the couch when he knocked down that stuff in the shower. And just watching you guys. You look out for each other,"
He continued. "I just wanted to ask you that question, to see how serious you are, Bradley. Your answer was good to hear."
"Two guys don't bother me. It doesn't make any difference, as long as they care about each other. We can talk more about this sometime, I can tell you and Mirek about some people in our family, but not now. Later."
Brad was so relieved he just about collapsed in his chair. But Mr. Kovar wasn't done with him yet.
"Mirek tells me you're a really good cook."
"No, that's not really true. I try, but I'm still an amateur," Brad replied.
"Well, let me, as you people say here, be the judge of that." Mr. Kovar said, with a completely blank poker face. Brad wasn't sure what was going to come next, but waited anxiously.
"You know, it's really not proper in our country to allow your partner's father to eat cold oatmeal in the morning, especially when you know that he likes eggs, like his son. You could get a lot of credit if you were to make one of your famous omelets for him.. Not that you have too, of course, but..."
A great big smile came across Brad's face. "Coming right up!" He declared as he jumped out of the chair. "What would you like inside? "
"You decide, Bradley. Make your specialty."
Brad got up and started to check the refrigerator for eggs and all the other stuff that he would need. Mrs. Kovar was a pretty active cook, so he hoped she would have what he needed. Nothing super fancy, but he did want to spice it up a just a little bit, maybe put in some green onions, chives. He found those, and some olives, too. And if they had some ham or other meat, that would also be good, he thought.
"Do you like olives?" Brad asked, hoping he would.
"Yes, very much. Feel free to make it as fancy as you want. I like a lot of, how do you say, complexity in my food." Mr. Kovar said. That got Brad real charged up.
If he hadn't noticed it earlier, Mr. Kovar couldn't help but see how intense Brad was when he worked, a picture of total concentration. Brad wasn't one to make small talk when he focused on something, he was almost in a world of his own. Mike was like that too, which made studying together for them easy. No one interrupted the other, they just both went about their work, secure in the knowledge that the other was close by.
Mrs. Kovar came into the kitchen about an hour later and found her husband and Brad talking over the breakfast table, with their emptied plates and used knives and forks between them. Also noticing the used pan on the stove and mixing bowls on the countertop, she eyed her husband and immediately demanded his attention.
"Benedikt! She called out. Then she said something in Czech, which Brad of course didn't understand, but then he heard. "Did you really get Bradley to cook for you?!" She looked like she was about to smile, but she had to make a point first.
"Yes, and it was delicious! I think with proper training from you, he will make a fine addition to the family and contribute greatly to our future" Mr. Kovar said. Brad just smiled shyly, not exactly knowing what was happening but nonetheless amused by the exchange.
"And the biggest contribution will be to your stomach! How could you use him like that?!" She gave him a mock slap to the back of the head. Brad was beginning to realize where Mike got his mischievous streak.
"He's our guest, and we need to treat him like one. You should be cooking for him." She said
"Yes, dear, I thought about that. But, to be honest, if we assume that he's part of the family now, and I thought that he might enjoy, uh, what is the English expression, "diving right in." And what better way than to pamper his friend's father."
Mrs. Kovar just chuckled and put her arms around here husband, then released him and went over to Brad.
She held his face as he looked up at her, beaming. "How did you sleep last night, Bradley".
"Great, Mrs. Kovar. And thanks for everything including the kolachy. It really hit the spot. It think that Mike slept pretty well too. He was sound asleep when I came down." She was beginning to notice Brad's habit of almost always switching attention from himself to something or someone else, preferably Mike.
"We have much to talk about and learn about each other Bradley, and with time it will come. But we both want you to feel welcome in this family. And you're under no obligation to cook for Mr. Kovar to be part of it." Brad gave a slight chuckle, but understood exactly what she meant.
"It was no problem at all." Brad replied, not wanting to get Mr. Kovar in too much trouble. "In fact, I would be really happy to make you one, too, since you've been so nice to me this weekend. It wouldn't take much work at all, but I don't want to mess up your kitchen either, at least more than I already have," he added, catching himself. He knew that it was still a bit early to presume he could invade her kitchen space at his pleasure, and wanted her to know that he still respected the fact that it was her kitchen.
"Well, I might like that, Bradley, but right now I'd just like some coffee. And Mr. Kovar can get that for me, now that he's had his breakfast." They all laughed again.
When Mike finally woke up and got downstairs he found his parents and Brad still chatting around the breakfast table. Mike himself was anxious, like Brad was earlier, about his father's reaction but couldn't tell what, if anything, had transpired that morning. Whatever was going on though, they all seemed in a good mood.
He paused at the entry to the room for a moment, and at the same time noticed his Dad, as his Dad noticed him. The conversation stopped.
Mike couldn't move, he was just stuck there. Maybe they were just making nice with each other, he thought. Or maybe his Dad doesn't even know yet. How will he tell him? How will he react?
When Mike saw his dad slowly, deliberately get of the chair, his heart almost dropped. As Mr. Kovar approached, it was as if Mikes whole life was going to change, in what way he didn't' know, but he almost just shut his eyes, waiting for a crash that he couldn't do anything about.
Hi dad paused before him, looking straight at Mike, into his head, into his heart. When he put his arms around his son, pulling him toward him,, Mike knew it was all right. For the first time since his bad time a few months before, and only the second time since high school, Mike wept. But this time for happiness.
As Mr. Kovar held his son he felt again the strong connection that he always had with him, and almost cried himself. He know that his acceptance was important, and wanted to make it absolutely clear that nothing would come between them. He had a habit of always lightening the serious times with humor, however. It wasn't only that it was his natural style, but, like Brad, was always concerned about Mike when he was stressed.
Moving his mouth over close to Mikes ear, he whispered, "he can even cook, too, so hold on to him." In spite of the tears, got a laugh and smile out of him.
Hana entered the room just as they released their grips on each other. At first she was a little confused, but, seeing everyone else and the room and their obvious smiles, rapidly put the situation together. Not willing to cede her brother his moment in the sun, however, she quickly changed the subject.
"It looks like someone's had a nice warm breakfast this morning, so where's mine?" She demanded, but of no one in particular.
"If her ladyship would deign to partake, I'd be happy to provide her one of my humble omelets." Brad retorted, getting up from his chair and going toward the fridge to start to put more of them together for Mrs. Kovar, Hana and Mike."
"She would, though thine impertinence in addressing me directly is noted," she replied in the third person. It was beginning to look like the Kovar mischievousness wasn't just handed down to Mike.
"Humbly accepted, your worship. Now, if you would take the royal hands and start chopping some onions, your most undeserving servant would be in eternal debt," Brad said, handing her a knife and onions but adding a conspicuous bow at the end. This drew a smile from the Kovars. Mrs. Kovar thought that if Brad wasn't' gay he would really have hade a good match for her. He was just the kind of guy she needed, one that would put her in her place, but in a nice way.
They all laughed, including Hana, as she took the utensil and food and started chopping at the counter. Mike also pitched in and started getting plates and settings for the rest of them. He was keeping his distance from cooking omelets for a while, though, and figured he'd do the least damage this way.
It seemed like Brad had only just started cooking when he and Mike began passing out he newest omelets to Mrs. Kovar and Hana, and with Mike then getting his. Feeling the newfound freedom to be relaxed and affectionate with Brad around his family , he mussed his hair and thanked him as he got his own food. At home he would have given him a kiss, and maybe a hug, but he thought it would be best to just ease into the situation right now.
"Wow, this is excellent, Bradley. Thank you," Mrs. Kovar said. She was a proud cook herself, but wasn't one of those who was stingy with compliments or jealous of others in the kitchen. It would be fun to teach Brad things, almost the daughter-in-law she would never have, she mused herself.
"I'm glad you like it, ma'am. You had really good ingredients, so it was easy." Then he turned to look at Hana.
"Your grace, is it to your liking?" he said, giving another bow.
"It will do. Your life has been spared, as has that of your wretched concubine," she said, subtly nodding toward her brother.
Mike about spit out his food laughing at that comment, but for once couldn't think of a witty retort to Hana. She just gave him an evil grin and went back to eating.
After wrapping up breakfast, which didn't happen until mid-morning, Mike brought in a big black plastic bag full of laundry that the guys had left in his car, a beater that he had gotten after he got rid of his motorcycle. Sheepishly approaching his mother, he asked if he could use the washing machine in the basement.
"You're doing his laundry?!" she exclaimed.
"Um, uh, yea, well I'm doing laundry for both of us. Actually, we fold the stuff together, but since he cooks I feel like I should ..."
Mrs. Kovar interrupted him with a big, very theatrical kiss to the cheek. She had a mischievous side, too. "My son, doing someone's laundry. This really is serious!"
She took him by the hand and led him downstairs, slowly, as if danger and treachery lurked with every step, speaking to Mike in a conspirational voice, in Czech, about the mysterious things that go on in the basement. Mike was seeing a side of his mother he had seen few times before, and could hardly contain his laugher as she pulled him into the laundry room.
When they got to the washing machine, she slowly stroked its top. Ordering him to stand back, that it was too dangerous for her dear son to draw near, she slowly opened the lid, revealing the white agitator blades.
"Be careful around this machine, my son" she said, switching to English. "It could kill you."
Mike just laughed again. "Yea, it could. Luckily I've always stayed away from this monster. But if I don't get this done, that's about what I'll deserve. So, now that you've had your fun, just show me how it works!," he pleaded.
Smiling at him, she got serious again and walked him through the steps of using both the washer and the dryer. One of the practical benefits for Mike of coming home so often was that his Mom had continued to do his laundry, but for a lot of reasons it couldn't go on this way with Brad.
It wasn't only that he didn't want to burden her with the extra laundry for Brad, though. He was a little embarrassed by all the dry, stiff spots on their clothes. Especially the rag that they referred to as their "CT" or "come towel, for use continuously during hours of raucous sex. And the dry spots on the sheets. And tee shirts. And of course, underwear.
Mrs. Kovar was reading later on when she watched Mike bring up the dried clothes into the kitchen, placing the overloaded basket on a chair as he cleared off the breakfast table for folding. With Brad joining him, the guys spent the next few minutes folding clothes together, chatting laughing, teasing each other.
They seemed to be having a great time doing the most mundane kind of things. While her and Mr. Kovar had a somewhat typical roles in a marriage, the guys were clearly setting up their own way of doing things. It fascinated her to watch them interact, the 2 guys forming a relationship with few precedents for roles or responsibilities.
After folding the laundry, the guys then got down to some serious studying in the living room, not surrendering their books until late in the afternoon. Then is was time for Brad's soccer lesson.
In spite of his activities as an athlete, Brad was a more or less typical American guy in that he knew almost nothing about soccer. In spite of its popularity in the U.S. for young kids, it wasn't really promoted in his hometown, so he grew up with the traditional American sports -- basketball, baseball and (American) football. He also liked tennis and volleyball, sports that took skill and teamwork. He wasn't much for just running, thought he was getting into lifting weights with Mike.
Mrs. Kovar watched them out the back window as they kicked the ball around. She was actually a big fan herself, at least before she came to America, and knew the rules and what a good player looked like. She was amused to watch Brad struggle with the ball, as Mike would continuously steal it from him and kick it into the fence at the end of the yard.
She saw how Mike would explain to Brad each time what he was doing wrong, and after a few minutes could see that Brad was visibly improving. He really was a good athlete, she thought. And she wasn't fooled by either of them as they fell into a heap of tangled arms and legs all over each other numerous times, laughing and carrying on, taking much longer than normal to get back off the ground each time.
She just rolled her eyes when the ball went out of bounds behind the garage and they seemed to disappear back there for a rather longer time that it should have to retrieve the ball. When they did emerge she noticed that Brad's shirt had dirt all over the back of it. Feeling a bit voyeurish, she chuckled to herself and moved to the countertop space with no view of the backyard and continued to prepare dinner.
It seemed like the whole house shook when the guys both came in together. Mike forgot to catch the screen door as it slammed shut behind him, getting him a reprimand from Hana, now in the kitchen helping her mother. It took them both a moment to switch from plodding and stomping outside to getting back to normal inside, though they were both still breathing heavily from the workout.
They decided that Mike would take his shower first, so Brad chilled out in the kitchen with Hana.
"Oooh, nice musky smell. I like that in a guy." She said quietly to Brad, who turned bright red.
"Hana, there's some guy out there who can really tame you, and I can't wait until you meet him!" Brad said to her, smiling.
She looked at Brad, and suddenly got quiet for a second. "Me too." She said softly.
After dinner, the guys went upstairs to pack their things. They each brought up a load of folded clothes that they then placed on the bed, ready for packing.
"How are you doing, guy?" Brad asked as soon as he got rid of his load, wrapping his arms around Mike.
Mike just grinned. "I'm so happy. This couldn't have gone better," he said, returning the hug. "They both seem to really like you, which is great. How do you feel?" Mike asked in return.
Brad paused for a moment, and just looked at him, into those beautiful blue eyes. "I feel like I just got a new family, the best one anybody could have. Thanks, pup." He said as he kissed Mike on the forehead.
They just stood there, again just holding each other, savoring the moment. Both of them knew there would be tough times ahead, but were safe in the knowledge that they had family to support them, and who they could support in turn, along the way.
It was getting late when both the guys were about ready to go. Mike wanted to avoid a long farewell, if for no other reason than they would be back again in just a couple of weeks, but that would be futile, knowing his folks.
Even though they were both sitting nonchalantly in the living room, his mom appearing to be reading and his dad listening to a German-language news broadcast, they were each in fact like sentries at the gate, not allowing anyone to pass anonymously by.
The guys had finally loaded up the car and came back in for the last few things when both the parent's got off their chairs to say goodbye. They gave each of the guys a hug and whispered something in Mike's ear. Not wanting to make it any more emotional than it was, since he was on the verge of tears himself, Mike led the way out to the car to head back to school.
"You still doing OK,?" Brad asked, concerned, as they got into the car and buckled up.
"Yea, I'm still fine. How about you?" Mike replied.
"Yea, I'm still on bit of a high, actually. I hope I can sleep tonight, the drive here should help." He reached over and put is hand on Mike's thigh, rubbing it gently.
"By the way, what did they say to you, there?" Brad asked. "I couldn't hear."
"You really want to know?" he replied, smiling.
"Yes," Brad replied and chuckled, wondering why Mike would ask him that.
"They told me to take care of you."
"They did?" Brad asked, stunned.
"Yup. Your really part of this family, you know. Welcome aboard!" He said, pulling Brad toward him and giving him a big smacking kiss before they hit the road.
As the guys drove away, the parents' gave them a wave goodbye.
"I can't wait until they come back" Mrs. Kovar said, with great enthusiasm.
"Me too." He replied. Then they went inside together for the night.
Neither of them parents would ever tell Mike how stunned they initially were by this revelation. Not so much that Mike was gay, or any kind of moral judgment like that. It was just that he had to go uphill so much in life, with having epilepsy, moving when he was very young, and so much else and now having to face a world that would not totally accept him for who he was.
What brought them comfort, though, was the clear devotion of Mike's friend to him, and from Mike in return. As they got to know Brad better, they both began to realize how totally in love he was with Mike. but not just in the dreamy romantic sense, but in the practical, day-to-day slog that is what a relationship is really about. Brad seemed focused on the not-so-fun, maintenance kind of stuff, like making sure Mike ate well and got his sleep, that would be the bedrock of their relationship for years to come.