David's Initiation

Disclaimer: The following is a work of fiction and any resemblance to real people or events is purely coincidental. The story contains graphic descriptions of sex between men. Anyone who is forbidden by law to read such material must stop now. This story is being posted to the Nifty Archive solely for the enjoyment of its readers.

David's Initiation: The Recovery 10

Dave located all the W2's he had received and FedEx'ed them to Art. He readjusted his workout schedule as he planned and the change seemed to help him refocus on his studies. His new attitude also seemed to help him develop more active relationships with his classmates. The next meeting of the Phylos Foundation was on campus and Dave felt right at home, greeting men he'd met at the last meeting.

A few days later, when the package with his 1040A tax forms inside arrived Dave sat down at the dining room table and began to examine them. He was shocked at how much income the estate investments had generated and when he saw the taxes he paid he was beyond shocked. He went ahead and signed all the forms and sent them back to his accountant but vowed to have a detailed conversation with Adam King, his future `brother-in-law'. Dave laughed at that connection.

One of Dave's objectives was to visit a local card shop to find something he could send to Dan, who would be getting out of the Navy in a couple of months. Dave wanted to recognize the event with a card. He couldn't find one that fit the precise situation so he chose a card with a really neat photo of the Golden Gate Bridge on the front with no inscription inside. Later at home Dave sat down and wracked his brain for the right words to write inside the card. He was beginning to wish he'd looked a little harder for a card containing some neutral thought, he'd never done anything like this and it was hard to do. He wrote several really bad inscriptions, then settled on the following:

Congratulations, Dan,

Jump for joy, scream and shout,

After four years in the Navy, Dan is out.

Just remember as you roam,

You'll always have one good friend here at home.

Your best bud,

Dave

He placed the card in the envelope, sealed it, wrote his return address on it and added a stamp. Dave then placed it on top of the chest of drawers to be mailed later.

The Phylos Foundation meeting for May was again down town. As Dave stood chatting with an acquaintance, he looked over the man's shoulder and saw Sam Matthews approaching with a smile on his face. Dave was the first to speak when Sam was close enough.

"I didn't forget, Sam, I've just been very busy." And he extended his hand in friendship. Dave had forgotten Sam's invitation go get together some time but he didn't want Sam to know that.

"That's okay, Dave, I've been pretty busy myself. Rather than agree to some indefinite meeting in the future, how about we go to dinner tomorrow night? It's Friday and I'll be free."

"Deal. I'll put my books aside for the evening and join you. Where?"

"Would you accept an invite to my country club?"

"Sure," Dave accepted.

"Excellent. I'll pick you up; just tell me where." Sam offered Dave one of his business cards and Dave wrote his address and phone number on the back.

Friday, when Dave got home from class he found a message from Sam on his answering machine. Sam said he'd pick Dave up at around 6:30 and dress would be golf business casual. Dave showered and donned dress slacks, a polo shirt, and a sport coat. He could always remove the sport coat if he wound up over dressed. Sam arrived at 6:35, apologized for being late, and they left.

On the drive to the club, Sam asked about Dave's courses and Dave asked Sam about some of his construction projects. When Sam drove into the entrance of the country club Dave recognized it immediately; it was the same one where he and Paul had played golf during Paul's last visit. During dinner Dave let Sam lead the conversation.

"How did you get interested in becoming an architect?"

Dave finished chewing, swallowed and answered, "Between my freshman and sophomore year in high school one of Dad's friends gave me a job in his construction business. I was too young to actually work at a construction site so I became a `gopher', you know, the kid that goes for things." Sam chuckled' he knew exactly what Dave meant. "While I was doing that I found time to watch the architect, a man named Joe Krug, work on the house plans. When he saw I was interested he kind of took me under his wing and taught me how to read blueprints. After that, I was hooked. The next summer I was able to work on real construction and got to see how the blueprints came to life as a house. That was a lot of fun. The following summer I got to spend more time working for Joe. He's a really great guy; I owe him a lot for all the help he gave me." Dave paused before continuing. "Everyone at Phylos seems to know you, you must be a long time member."

"You might say that, I actually helped found the organization." Sam took another bite of food.

"Gee, that must be an interesting story. If you don't mind, I'd like to hear about it."

Sam put his fork down and began his story. "I'll try to make this short. A number of years ago I had a friend who was an early AIDS victim. It was really painful to watch him die. He had no support system, no place to stay, and limited medical support, almost no meds; the whole scene was very bad. Then another friend caught it and I watched him die too. I felt really helpless. I wanted to do something to help but didn't know what to do. While trying to support and comfort my friends, I met other men in the same boat I was in. We kind of formed a little support group and began tossing out ideas about what we might do to help future victims. We added some money to our ideas and eventually came up with what is now the Phylos Foundation."

Dave had stopped eating right after Sam began his story. He sat quietly, watching as Sam told his story. Dave felt really touched as Sam stared into his plate. He was really moved by Sam's story. Both men were quiet for several minutes.

Sam picked up his fork and began eating again. After swallowing a bite, and taking a drink of beer, Sam continued. "If my memory serves me, you said you are a sophomore at school. You seem much too mature to only be two years out of high school, how old are you?"

"I'll be twenty-one next month. Ya see, I spent two years in the Army. I just got into college last fall and I'm pushing hard to catch up." At that moment the waiter came by and cleared the plates from the table and refilled their coffee cups.

"That's an impressive tale, Dave, have you made any plans for the summer?" The emotional impact of Sam's story had passed and the two men were moving on.

"Well, I've decided to take a couple of classes to keep me busy without being too stressful."

"What if you had an opportunity to work as an intern for a local architectural firm?"

"Intern? How does that work? How does one do that?" Dave straightened up in his chair.

"I have a contact in one of the best firms in the country, right here in the city. If you're interested I can get you an interview and practically guarantee you'll be hired."

"Wow! That's almost too much to dream for. Of course I'm interested." Dave said emphatically.

"I hoped you'd say that," Sam reached into his coat pocket and handed Dave a business card. "I've taken the liberty of talking to an old friend at this firm and he wants to talk to you. All you have to do is call his secretary and make an appointment next week."

Dave looked at the card; he'd heard of the company. Then he looked at Sam. "I don't understand, Sam, why are you doing this? It's awfully generous."

"Lots of reasons," Sam began. "I'm not sure of the best place to start so I'll just start this way." Sam hesitated for moment, then he picked up his coffee cup and took a sip and sat it back down. "You're set on becoming an architect, right?"

"Right."

"And you're gay, right?"

Dave hesitated; he was almost startled. Nobody had ever approached him that directly before. Sam could sense Dave's uncertainty about how to answer that question so he jumped in.

"Okay, that was unfair of me. I'm sure you've already figured out that I'm gay and I've seen how you relate to the other young people at Phylos so I just assumed you were too." Sam could have continued but decided to wait for Dave to digest that bit of information.

"Yes, I am," Dave replied. "But what does that have to do with any of this?" Dave was beginning to feel uncomfortable. `Is Sam trying to hit on me?' he thought.

Almost like Sam was able to read Dave's thoughts, he responded, "I'm not trying to hit on you, Dave, I'm trying to help you. Let me explain." Sam repositioned himself in his chair as if trying to get more comfortable. "I have two daughters. My wife and I separated several years ago. None of them know I'm gay. After the girls left home, my wife and I just grew apart. It was an amicable separation and we still function as a family. I always wanted a son but the Lord never blessed me with one. So if I can't have my own son, there's nothing preventing me from helping a gay young man become successful." Sam took another sip of his coffee and held it up toward a waiter to indicate he would like a refill. Dave wasn't about to interrupt Sam's story; it was too interesting.

"A couple of months ago, when you stood up at the Phylos meeting and said you were studying architecture, I saw an attractive, mature and apparently intelligent young man and knew I wanted to help you." Sam looked Dave squarely in the eyes and said, "I couldn't say at that time you're the son I wished I'd had but the more I hear the more I like. As for anything, ah... intimate happening between us..." Sam began to smile, "Hell, Dave, I couldn't keep up with you. At my age I'd probably kill myself trying to keep you satisfied." Sam laughed and Dave joined in the laughter.

Dave was beginning to like Sam with every minute. He really appreciated Sam's direct approach, no bull, no games, everything was right up front.

"Sam, I'm not sure what to say."

"Hell, son, you don't need to say anything. Back when I was your age there was nobody to help me. Thank god society has changed. Back then we queers had to hide our interests. I believe a lot of us suppressed our desires, got married like society expected, had kids and suffered in private. Now it's not as difficult. Oh, don't get me wrong, it's still not a piece of cake but at least you have choices I never dreamed of. There are gay bars, gay clubs, even the Phylos crowd is open."

"If you don't mind my asking," Dave began, "are you still... alone?" That was about as delicately as Dave could phrase his question.

"Well... not exactly. I have a good friend about my age and we're able to see each other from time to time, he's still married." Sam looked directly at Dave again. "See what I mean? Some things don't change."

The conversation continued but Sam avoided asking questions about Dave's love life. Just after 9:00 PM Sam asked Dave if he was ready to go, he had to get up early and check on some of his contracts.

Saturday morning Dave heard the doorbell ringing. He dragged himself out of bed and went to the door.

"Mike?" Dave exclaimed when he opened the door and found Mike standing outside. "Why are you ringing the bell? You should've just come on in, don't you still have your key?"

"I came over to see if you wanna go for a run? Yeah I still got my key."

"Yeah!" Dave was excited, it would be great to run with Mike instead of running alone. "Let me get dressed. C'mon in. And next time use your key, you're no stranger here."

That was the first of many regular Saturday morning runs the two men enjoyed together; it was good for both of them.

The end of the semester was fast approaching. Term papers were due and final exams were soon to follow. In spite of that, Dave made time to follow up on Sam's proposal. The following Wednesday afternoon he went downtown for his appointment with the gentleman Sam had opened a door for him to see. The man, Howard Hastings, the Managing Partner of the firm, seemed genuinely interested in meeting Dave and offered him an internship on the spot. They agreed on specific terms and salary, and Dave would even be able to continue with his plan to take two courses during summer school.

Dave remembered to mail the card he'd bought for Dan. The semester ended and Dave immediately began his internship during the two-week break before the beginning of the summer session. The first Saturday of June, Dave was lounging around the house just relaxing and taking time to think about things he needed to do over the next couple of years. He knew his first commitment was next weekend when he needed to go to Dallas for another AANCF Board of Directors meeting. The doorbell rang and he walked across the room and opened the door.

"Mom!" he exclaimed with excitement. "C'mon in." He stepped back and opened the door wide. "What's that?" he asked, noticing the box she was carrying in her arms.

"I baked you a birthday cake. Here, let me set this down on the table." Nancy crossed the room and carefully placed the box on the dining room table then turned and hugged her son. Dave hugged his mother back and kissed her on the cheek.

"You know, I completely forgot. But you didn't have to do that."

"Oh yes I did!" Nancy shot back. "My son has to have a proper birthday cake. Now let's get some plates and glasses and forks."

"What for..." Dave had no sooner started his question than the doorbell rang again. He walked across the room and opened the door. "Kate! Oh! The whole gang is here!"

"Hi, Uncle Dave!" Mark and Matt shouted in unison as they rushed into the house and Kate handed JD to him then kissed his cheek. John followed right behind and managed to hug Dave without squishing JD. The house was immediately filled with chatter as the family, minus Dave's dad, tried to all talk at once.

The doorbell rang again but the door opened immediately before Dave could get to it.

"Happy birthday!" Mike and Todd shouted as they walked through the front door. Mike was carrying a couple of brown sacks, which Dave soon discovered contained a bottle of Champagne and a container of Pepsi. The party began and John pulled out his camera to capture the event. The party was Kate's doing; she, John and the boys were visiting her and Dave's parents, a secret she'd kept from Dave, and she'd contacted Mike to help her get things set up. The party lasted for about two and a half-hours until Nancy, Kate, John and the boys had to leave. Mike and Todd stuck around and took Dave to Shaughnessy's for sandwiches.

Once they were seated in the booth, Dave on one side and the two lovers on the other, the waitress approached and asked what they wanted to drink. Each ordered a beer but then the waitress turned to Dave and asked to see his ID. For a moment Dave seemed stunned. He'd been there many times and had never been questioned about his age but he dug his ID out of his wallet and handed it to her. She examined it with a frown then, with a smile handed it back to Dave.

"Happy birthday, Mr. Baker, your first drink is on the house." The waitress said as everyone burst out laughing, Dave included. He could tell that Mike and Todd had set this whole thing up just as some sort of initiation for turning twenty-one.

The following Friday, Dave went straight to the airport from work and caught a flight to DFW. He was almost relieved to find that Art and Beth were not having another party. They visited for a short time over some coffee and a piece of cake. Dave had eaten on the plane, the meals in first class aren't that bad.

Dave was up early Saturday morning and went to the AANCF complex; he was interested in learning as much as possible about its operation and the staff was very helpful. He figured that if he focused on one department at each visit he could, over time, acquire the depth of understanding he desired.

By 3:00 PM, Dave was on his way to the Roehl ranch and dinner with Alex and Steve. Alex greeted him at the door with a hug and a kiss on the cheek and instructions to hurry and get cleaned up; they were having a party which would begin about 7:00 PM. The party turned out to be a rather big deal. Men wore suits and ties and the ladies were in cocktail dresses. Dave almost croaked when he saw Maggie burst through the door; the woman seemed to be everywhere. However, Dave was ready for her this time and avoided getting trapped. Dave was astonished at the different types of people in attendance. He met a couple of members of the Texas Legislature, a Texas Supreme Court Judge, several oil tycoons and cattle barons, as well as lawyers and investment bankers. Dave could almost feel himself being sucked out from his humble beginnings. He was learning how to smile and laugh at bad jokes and boring conversation. For the most part he kept his mouth shut and his eyes and ears open -- a great way to learn.

Around 8:30, Steve began striking a ballpoint pen against a glass to get everyone's attention.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this little gathering has an added treat. (LITTLE!' Dave thought, There are more than fifty people here.') "Dave step over here, please." Dave crossed the room and stood between Steve and Alex. `What the hell is he doing?' Dave thought. "Folks, Alex and I are very proud to introduce you to Dave Baker, a fine young man whom we consider a member of our family. Last year, when we lost Paul, we discovered Dave, a close friend of Paul's and we've practically adopted him. Now the exciting part is that tonight we are helping him celebrate his twenty-first birthday, which was a week ago today." The entire house erupted in polite applause and cheers. Poor Dave had been surprised again and he was at a loss as to how he was supposed to react. He allowed himself to look a little embarrassed, which he was, and a very honored, and he was that too. While Steve had everyone's attention, Alex handed Dave a box that was about 30 X 24 X 6 inches, and told him to open it. When he did, Dave discovered a brand new pair of cowboy boots, his very own. He hugged Alex and kissed her on the cheek and shook Steve's hand and Steve pulled him into a hug. Now that he owned his own boots he was an honorary Texan. After everyone sang "Happy Birthday" the party continued.

Sunday morning Connie and Adam arrived just in time for breakfast, then the entire family went to church. After lunch, Steve, Adam and Dave saddled their horses and took out across the ranch. It seemed to Dave that riding horses around the ranch was really nothing more than an excuse to have engaging conversations, and today was no exception. He watched and listened as Steve and Adam covered a multitude of issues from Texas politics to international business affairs. Dave was being exposed to a level of education he could probably not get in any university. Occasionally they would bring Dave into their discussion and ask his opinion just to show they valued his contribution. When the two men disagreed they were polite and civil about it. Each showed respect for the others views.

Monday morning, Dave said goodbye to Alex and Steve and thanked them for the boots, which he left there, and for another great weekend. As he was about to get into his car, Alex asked him if he owned a tuxedo. Of course he didn't so she asked him to buy one and bring it with him on his next visit. Then he drove to the AANCF Board of Directors meeting.

The Saturday morning following the Fourth of July weekend, Dave went to the Phylos Foundation to stuff food baskets and returned home to study. As he parked in front of the house he could see someone sitting on the front porch. He got out of the car and as he walked up the steps he started to run.

"Danny!" he shouted as Dan jumped up from the chair and they hugged each other tightly. "God, it's good to see you! What're you doing here? How long have you been waiting? How long can you stay?"

"Whoa, Dave, one question at a time, please." They released their embrace and stepped back to get a better look at each other. "Gosh, you look just as good as you always did. I sure have missed you, guy." They embraced again.

"C'mon, let's go inside," Dave suggested as he unlocked the door and led the way inside the house. They went straight to the kitchen where Dave poured them some iced tea and they sat down at the table to talk.

"Hey, I gotta thank you for that card, that was over the top. You're the only one who wrote." Dan seemed a little sad at that moment. Then, looking around, "This is a really nice place ya got here, Dude. How can you afford it?" Just that quickly Dan changed the subject.

Dave explained his arrangement with Joe, whom Dan remembered, and admitted it was a real blessing. "So! When did you get here?" Dave asked.

"I flew in last weekend; I've been down home all week. Things seemed to be going well until this morning. Dad's been pestering me all week about moving back here to live. Well, that ain't gonna happen and I told him so. This morning he more or less demanded to know why I was so hot for California so I told him. I said the job opportunities for my specialty were better out there and I had a lot of friends. I would probably have been okay at that point but then I was so fed up with his attitude that I told him I was gay. Man was that the wrong thing to do! He got really mad, told me I was no son of his, and called me a queer and a faggot. I kind of expected that. But I wasn't ready when he took a swing at me. Remember when I swung at you in high school? Well, I did what you did and ducked under his arm then planted my fist in the middle of his chest and knocked him on his ass. I wish I hadn't done that," Dan said into his glass of tea; there was true remorse in his voice. "He yelled at me to get out of his house and never come back."

Dan sat quietly for several seconds running his thumb from the top of the glass to the bottom, wiping the condensation from the side as if contemplating his situation. Dave sensed Dan wasn't finished so he remained quite until Dan was ready to continue.

"I shouldn't have done that, Dave." Dan paused. "I grabbed my stuff and went to Marty's house, you remember Marty. Anyway, he gave me a ride here." Dan looked up from his iced tea. Dave thought he looked lost.

"You're welcome to stay here if you need to," Dave offered in a soft voice.

"Thanks, Bud, I got a flight back to the Bay tomorrow so it'd be only one night. What about your roommate?"

"Oh, Mike moved out a few weeks ago. He found a really good man and moved in with him. I'll put some sheets on the bed in the extra room and you can sleep there.

"You're not gonna invite me into your bed?" Dan asked with his left eyebrow raised above the impish smile on his face.

"No, Dan," Dave replied quite directly with sadness, "I'm..." He was about to say he wasn't ready to be with anyone yet but the words weren't there.

"I'm joking, Dave," Dan tried to recover. He could see how moved Dave was by his suggestion. "I guess I'm on a bad roll here, I seem to keep saying all the wrong things."

"That's okay, I'm getting better. Say, I'm supposed to meet Mike and Todd, that's Mike's partner, for dinner at 6:00, why don't you join us?" Dave said, trying to change the subject. It worked. Dan accepted the invitation and Dave called Mike to make sure there wouldn't be any problems. Dave and Dan spent the rest of the afternoon sharing some of their life experiences, many of them humorous, while they laughed and howled. Dave got out some clean sheets and together they made up the bed in Mike's old room.

At 6:00 PM, Dave and Dan met Mike and Todd at Shaughnessy's. Mike was anxious to meet Dan because he'd heard Dave talk about him so much and Dan wanted to meet Mike for the same reason. They all had a great time but didn't stay too late because Todd had to get up early for work. The next day, Dave drove Mike to the airport. Dan promised to keep in touch through e-mail and then he disappeared through the sliding glass doors.

The rest of the summer went well. Dave's efforts at time management were really put to the test by his class schedule and his intern activities. He and Sam went to dinner several times and their relationship began to strengthen into one that seemed to be a cross between father-son and big brother. His mother would visit about once every two weeks and bring something good to eat so he would invite Mike and Todd over to help him get rid of it.

The break following the summer session was short but Dave took time to visit Kate, John and the boys. The fall semester began in late August and Dave, remembering a piece of advice Paul had given him, enrolled in a course of Business Law. That class was on a section of the campus that was affectionately referred to as the `Snake Pit' because that was where all the law students were.

On Wednesday of the second week of school, Dave exited his business law classroom and was walking down the hall toward the main exit when he heard someone call out, "David!" He ignored it because nobody on campus knew him by that name. Just as he extended his arm to push against the exit door he felt someone tap him on his right shoulder. He stopped, turned around, and looked up, and up, and up. He stood still, looking up into the face of an attractive African-American man who was at least 6 ft. 6 in. tall. He had a strange feeling he should know this man but his database seemed blank. Then the man smiled.

"Markus?!" Dave exclaimed in disbelief. "Is that you?!"

"Hi, David, what a great surprise to see you here." Marcus said as he placed his hands on Dave's shoulders and held him at arm's length.

Dave was awe struck for a moment. "What kind of hormones your mama and papa been feed'n you, boy?!" Dave was perhaps the only white person who could get away with using that word with Marcus. "Look at you! Damn, what happened?!"

Marcus let out a hardy laugh. "You got time for a cup of coffee? I'm buying."

"Hell yes, never turn down a free cup of coffee." As they turned to leave the building Marcus stood to Dave's left and placed his huge hand on Dave's right shoulder. They began to walk and talk.

"So tell me, are you going to become a lawyer?" Marcus asked.

"Not on your life, Mr. Richardson, I'm studying architecture; I'm over here taking a course in business law. How's your family?" Dave wanted to direct the conversation away from himself for a while until he learned as much about Marcus as he could.

"Hey, they're all just great. But before we get too far into this conversation I think you should know that I now go by the name of Walt. You know Walter is my middle name; it's also my dad's first name. One of my professors suggested I changed it to be "M. Walter Richardson;" it has a more professional sound to it. Whatta ya think?"

"You're right, it does. I like it... Walt," Dave tried out the name to see how it fit. "Do I have to call you Walt, because if I do, you have to call me Dave."

"I don't care, what would you rather call me?"

Dave thought for a moment, "I think I'd rather call you Marcus. But I'll only call you that in private so that I don't put a dent in your image." Dave chuckled and threw his elbow into Marcus' ribcage. "And you can still call me David if you like.

"I think we've negotiated a successful out of court settlement. I'll be Marcus and you'll be David... in private, that is." They both laughed.

As they walked to the student union coffee shop, Walt, formerly Marcus began bringing Dave up to date on various events in his family. They got their coffee and found a booth and Dave took over.

"So tell me, how did you wind up here? And how in the hell did you get so big?!"

Walt began to chuckle. "It seems like just after you left for the Army I began to grow. And I grew and grew and grew." He laughed. "Mama and papa were going crazy trying to keep me in clothes. It was really weird. But here I am."

"And you're in law school? How did that happen?"

"That's almost too weird to believe. After you left, Mr. McCracken called me in and said he could see that I wasn't real good at the construction stuff. I was sure he was gonna let me go. I knew the only reason I was there was because of you and you were gone so he could let me go. But then he shocked the hell out of me. He asked if I'd be interested in working for a friend of his, in his law office. Long story short, it was an absolutely unbelievable match. I never knew what lawyers did and once I began to see it first hand I knew that's what I had to do. One thing led to another and here I am in pre-law. I'll be finishing here next spring and looking for a law firm where I can intern while complete my studies for my J.D." Walt took a sip of his coffee. "That's my story and I'm sticking to it. What's yours?"

Dave began telling about his travels that led him to this point but he left out certain potentially controversial personal information. When Dave was o bviously finished, Walt picked up the conversation.

"Hey, you gotta see my lady. She is a real gem. She's... hell David she's taller that you are! Her name is Tonya and she..." Marcus went on to tell Dave about the light of his life. When he finished, Marcus looked at Dave, "How about you? You must be fightin' the girls off three at a time."

Dave recognized a turning point when he saw it. Last year he had promised himself that where people he really cared about were concerned he was going to be completely honest. This would be his first test. He knew the risk; he might loose Marcus, and so soon after finding him again. Now was the moment and Dave gathered his courage.

"Marcus, I don't have any girl friends... and I'm not likely to." Marcus could see the serious look on Dave's face as he lowered his eyes to his empty coffee cup. Dave looked up, "You see, Marcus, I'm gay." Dave waited for Marcus' reaction and after a moment of shock it was swift in coming.

Marcus' hands became fists; the expression on his face became almost hostile. Dave could see his jaw begin to tighten and the blood vessels on his neck began to pop out as his eyes glared at Dave. The first image that popped into Marcus' mind was that initiation scene in the shower after track practice just a few years ago. He'd let Dave touch him. A faggot had touched him and he was incensed. He sat glaring at Dave and taking deep breaths.

"I'm sorry, I'm late for an appointment." Marcus said coldly as he turned and slid out of the booth. In an instant he was gone.

Dave looked back into his empty coffee cup. How can things be so happy one minute and so sad the next?' he asked himself. Well, it's better to get it over with now than keep on playing charades for months or years.' Dave slid out of the booth and went home. He would let it go.

The next Wednesday, Dave left his business law class, walked down the hall and out of the building. Walking down the steps he looked up and saw Marcus standing at the bottom of the steps facing him as if he were waiting for him. Dave continued down the steps and stopped about three feet in front of Marcus, looking up at him. He wasn't going to take any shit and he steeled himself for whatever Marcus might have in store.

"David, I want to apologize." The first words out of Marcus' mouth were filled with contrition. "I'm sorry. Will you let me buy you another cup of coffee?"

Dave looked at his old friend without speaking for several seconds. "No." Dave replied sternly. He could see Marcus' shoulders almost droop in defeat. "You bought last time; it's my turn to buy." Dave smiled. Marcus seemed to light up like a Christmas tree.

"Okay, you buy than," Marcus agreed with joy in his voice. Marcus turned and they started walking in silence toward the coffee shop.

"Dave, I'm really sorry about last week," Marcus began, "that was pretty shameful behavior on my part." Dave could sense that Marcus had a lot to say so he remained quiet and let him talk. "When I saw Tonya later, she could tell I was struggling with something and began to pull it out of me. Sunday afternoon she straightened me out by making me realize that if it weren't for you I'd probably be back home and in trouble. I owe you a lot more loyalty than I showed last week. Tonya asked me if you'd ever hit on me and I had to admit you hadn't. So there was no reason for me to feel threatened." Marcus, who had been staring into his coffee cup, looked up at Dave. "Can we start over, like this is last Wednesday? Tell me about it." Marcus asked.

Dave smiled. He was glad to have his friend back. "Marcus, my friend, I really must meet this Tonya girl, she sounds pretty bright." They smiled at each other and Dave continued. "I was pretty confused when I was in high school. But there was one thing I knew and that was that I liked you as a friend, not as a target. Sure, you're a hot looking dude; anybody can see that. But to me you're my friend. I'm not into conversions; you are what you are and I am what I am. You don't have anything to fear from me. You won't see me in any parades or carrying any signs in front of buildings. It's a private thing with me. If you decide you don't want to see me anymore that's okay, I understand. But I want you to know I still like you as a friend."

Marcus extended his hand across the table. "Hello, friend," and he smiled as he said that. "I'm really glad you're back. And when can you find some time to meet Tonya?" The two young men began to laugh and soon they were talking like old times. The following Friday, Dave joined Marcus and Tonya at a local restaurant and shared an enjoyable dinner.

In late September, Dave made another trip to Dallas for an AANCF Board Meeting. This time he went straight to the Roehl ranch because Art was out of town and he didn't think it would look right if he stayed in the house alone with Beth and the girls. At breakfast on Saturday morning Dave learned why he needed a tux, he was going with Alex and Steve to the annual fundraising gala for the Dallas symphony orchestra. By now, Dave was beginning to function quite naturally in the highest levels of Texas society. As a result of parties at Beth and Art's and also at Alex and Steve's houses, he recognized many people at the gala whom he had met previously and felt quite comfortable in that setting.

Dave's next visit to the Dallas area came during Christmas break and he had more time to visit. One afternoon he joined Art for lunch at the downtown club. At one point, when their conversation reached a lull, Dave asked a rather unusual question.

"Art, does your law firm employ any African-Americans?"

"Funny you should ask. Just last week I was discussing that with one of the partners and he indicated we ought to do something about that. What prompted your interest?"

"I have a very good friend at school I'd like to recommend... if I may. We've been friends since high school and I have a lot of respect and confidence in him. Is it possible your firm might have a look at him."

"I gather he's black," Art asked for confirmation.

"Yes. From what he's told me he has excellent grades, like a 3.89 GPA, and he would like to get on with a respected firm."

"What's his name? I'll look into it."

"It's Marcus Walter Richardson; he goes by M. Walter Richardson. He's about six and a half feet tall and quite attached to a very charming woman; I expect they'll want to get married as soon as he gets an internship."

"He sounds impressive. Tell you what, I'll e-mail you some detailed questions and we'll see where it goes from there. I assume he'll be going through the recruiting process on campus and that might provide just the opportunity we need to have a closer look at him."

"Oh, there's one more thing," Dave looked directly into Art's eyes, "I would prefer he not know I'm involved in this. I don't want him to think he owes me anything, if you get my drift."

"If things work out, I'm sure that won't be a problem," Art assured Dave.

Dave visited Kate, John and the boys at their home for several days before Christmas but since they were going to spend the holiday with their parents, Dave went back to his place and had Christmas with Mike and Todd. He also spent some time with Sam and Marcus and Tonya.

The rest of Dave's junior year sailed by. Art came to town to conduct recruiting interviews and he stayed with Dave. Art set up ten interviews but he was only interested in one. Upon returning to the house that evening he told Dave how impressed he was with Marcus and was sure the firm would be sending him an invitation for an office interview in Dallas. Dave was really pleased and he had to exercise tremendous restraint to prevent telling Marcus.

Just before the end of school and Marcus' graduation, he received an offer of an internship from Art's firm on the stipulation that he enroll in a prestigious law school in Dallas and complete his J.D. degree. Continued employment at the firm would be contingent on his success in school and passing the bar exam. Marcus was ecstatic and he and Tonya got engaged. Dave, drawing upon his experience of attending some big shindigs in Texas organized a party at his place and invited Marcus and Tonya's entire families.

During the summer session Dave not only returned to his internship at the architectural firm but they invited him to maintain frequent contact throughout the entire year. He and Dan exchanged e-mails about once a month but early in September of Dave's senior year Dan stopped responding to Dave's e-mails which worried Dave. Due to time constraints, he continued to limit his volunteer work with the Phylos Foundation but Sam had other ideas. Although Sam and Dave grew closer, Dave still missed his father.

(To be continued.)