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THIS WORK DEALS WITH A FICTITIONAL RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TWO MEN. IF READING ABOUT HOMOSEXUAL RELATIONSHIPS OR SEXUAL CONTACT BETWEEN TWO MEN IS EITHER ILLEGAL IN YOUR AREA OR OFFENDS YOU, PLEASE DO NOT READY ANY FURTHER.
ANY SIMILARITIES TO ANY PERSON LIVING OR DEAD ARE PURELY COINCIDENTAL. THIS WORK IS ENTIRELY FICTITIONAL.
DYLAN'S HOPE
Michael Raburn
Chapter 1
"Dad, there are a few things we need to talk about before..." my daughter trailed off. I was about to escort the light of my life down the center aisle of the venerable old St. Martins Cathedral. Robert, the groom, and his five best buddies were already standing at the altar with the minister. Everyone who had ever been special to my daughter and me was seated in the pews waiting for our grand entrance.
"Andrea, there will be plenty of time to talk after the ceremony. We'll get some time in that blasted receiving line." I countered, not wanting to distract her from her day's glory. My only child looked absolutely radiant in her white gown. I reached up to adjust her veil over her face.
"Daddy, we won't ever be able to talk like this again. After today I'll be moving away to Seattle and I'll be Mrs. Robert Parker, not just your daughter anymore." She said as she adjusted my bow tie.
"Honey, you are not just my daughter. You are a wonderful, brilliant person that everybody loves. You'll always be my daughter though, no matter who you marry or where you go." I said pulling her into a hug. It still amazed me that we had made it this far in life, especially after what her mother had done. Andrea had not even mentioned her name during the planning of her wedding; I wondered if Mona had even entered her thinking. Parents should be there for important events in a child's life. Mona had missed all of them, well, except for her birth.
"Look Father!" she said. I always knew I was in trouble when she called me by that formal title. "It's time for you to move on in your life. You've sacrificed your whole life to raise me and now I think you need to find yourself someone to love, that loves you, and make a life together." She had brought up this topic several times in the past few months. Every time I would find some way to change the subject or deflect her to another detail of the wedding preparations. But, she was right. It was time for me to move on. My obligations as the sole caretaker of this wonderful child were ending. Her husband-to-be was a kind, loving man and would take good care of my baby. During their long courtship, Robert had become almost the son I never had. I never doubted that he would do anything to make Andrea happy.
"Andrea, I don't know anything about dating. I only ever dated one person in my life and look how that turned out." Mona and I had been high school sweethearts and married during our sophomore year of college. The pressure from our families to go ahead and get married and provide grandchildren as soon as possible was unbearable at times. My father had needled me at every occasion to hurry up and get Mona pregnant. I think that he suspected that I might be homosexual and was trying to "help" me by pushing so hard. Even then I knew at some deep, dark, hidden-away level that I felt no real attraction to women and that the marriage would be a sham. I was determined though that I would life a straight life and would always remain faithful to my wife. No one in my family would have had anything to do with a gay son. I was not strong enough to ask them to accept me as I was. My father and his clan were so hung up on appearances that any potential blemishes on the family name had to be erased, so my secret desires to love a man were sublimated.
Mona and I had made it through all the rigors of Emory University, being married and having a baby in the house. It had not been easy, but the part-time jobs and a little assistance from our families had helped us through the financial difficulties. Our futures were bright, especially with my degree in business management and hers in accounting. We were offered very lucrative jobs with a software company in Atlanta, our hometown. As we left the commencement she handed me the baby and a large envelope with a bow attached. She told me that she had to catch up with a couple of friends before we left campus. I handed Andrea to my mom and began to open the envelope as Mona got into a car with several of her friends. It was the last time I saw her. My graduation present was divorce and custody papers.
"Daddy, it's time. It's time for you to find someone and I think I know the perfect man for you." Andrea jabbed at my ribs, clearly enjoying my discomfort.
She had figured out by the time she was fourteen years old that I preferred men to women. The videotape that I had forgotten to remove from the VCR one night when she was staying over at a friend's house helped her in her discovery process. Thankfully she was alone when she turned on the player the next morning and was educated about gay male love. Instead of being upset at my choice of entertainment she accepted it as just the final bit of evidence in trying to understand her father and his strange behavior. After that incident she stopped hassling me about meeting a nice woman and relentlessly teased me about finding myself a husband.
"What?" I almost yelled. Realizing where we were I lowered my voice, "Playing matchmaker are you?"
"Well, yes, I guess I am. Seeing how you won't do anything about asking him out I'll just have to get involved." Who was she talking about? Who had I not asked out?
"Honey, who are you talking about?" I asked.
"Nope, I'm not telling. Wait and see." She giggled back at me. "I can't wait to see the look on your face when you find out." She clearly loved teasing me and was having a great time at my expense. I looked up just as the last of the bridesmaids made their way out of the vestibule and down the aisle.
"Andrea, it's time to go." I whispered as I heard the first bars of the music she had chosen for our entrance. "I love you"
The service was little more than a blur. I remembered to say the appropriate things at the right time to fulfill my duty of giving my daughter away to the man of her dreams. Still, I felt that I was outside of myself during the entire ceremony. Tears were streaming down my face while they recited their vows to honor and cherish each other for the rest of their lives. Memories of our lives together, the stitches she had to get in her knee after a bicycle accident, endless trips to all sorts of after-school activities, her graduation from high school and college, came flooding back to me. After what seemed like only a minute the minister pronounced them married and I glanced up to see my daughter and her husband leaving the church. She now belonged to someone else; my work was finished. I was beginning to come unglued, I felt the sobs begin deeper in my chest when a hand fell on my shoulder. I turned to see who it was and looked into the opalescent blue eyes of Dylan Sommers.
"Andrea said you didn't look too good and that I should find you." He whispered to me, pulling me into a hug. "It's okay daddy, your little girl will always love you. You can be proud of all that you've done for her." He was stroking my back, trying to calm me.
"Dylan." I sobbed. "I am proud of her and I love Robert as a son. Why is it so hard to let go?" I leaned my head on his shoulder and cried. All the years of tears that I had bottled up in the name of being strong came flooding out. Dylan's strong arms held me tight to him as he caressed my back and stroked my hair.
"Come on Jon, we need to get you cleaned up. Can't have you greeting everybody looking like this, can we?" Dylan guided me towards the restroom, his arm around my shoulders, supporting me.
Dylan ushered me towards the sinks where he pulled paper towels from the dispenser. Wetting them he began to wash my face as if I were a child, cleansing me of the tears I had shed. The water helped and I began to retain some sense of composure. How had I let myself get this way? The strong control I had maintained on my emotions for almost twenty years had crumbled and I felt like a complete fool.
"Dylan, I'm sorry..." I started.
"Jon, it's okay, I'm here for you. You obviously needed to get that out of your system. I'm just glad I could help." He pulled me in for another hug. "We'll get through this." He stroked my brown hair back from my eyes as he released me then reached up to wipe some water droplets from my beard.
"Come on, there's a reception waiting. And you're an honored guest, aren't you?"
"Actually, I'm the host. God, how rude! Come on, we've got to go." I pulled him out of the restroom by his hand and sprinted towards the assembly hall.
We eased into the reception line beside Andrea and Robert and began shaking hands as the guests passed. Most of them I either knew or had met the previous night at the rehearsal dinner. Robert's family was from the Seattle area and had been in town during the last week. The lively bunch of Andrea's university buddies were having a great time laughing and joking with the new bride and groom. Most of the employees of my consulting firm were in attendance as well as several of my favorite clients. As the line began to diminish I noticed my first customer, old Mrs. Simmons approach us.
"Well, Jon, great wedding you've thrown here. Is this your companion?" she asked, pointing to Dylan. "I see you've got great taste in men." She winked, laughing.
"Mrs. Simmons, no, this is Dylan Sommers. He's one of Andrea's friends from Emory." I blushed at her comment.
"Pity, he's cute." She whispered to me.
Dylan's hand was caressing my back. "You know, Jon, all you have to do is ask me." He whispered as he slipped away to join his friends. What was he talking about?
Dinner was a blast that night, lots of great food, plenty of fine wines. No expense had been spared in the honor of this wedding. After several toasts by friends and family, my daughter and her husband rose to have their first dance together as a married couple. Later when it was my turn to dance with Andrea she wasted no time in beginning to tease me.
"So, what do you think of my matchmaking now?" she giggled.
"What, umm, you mean Dylan?" I stared at her incredulously.
"Yeah, Dad, he has been in love with you since we were in the fourth grade. Remember the time he broke the fence with his bicycle and you spanked him? All he ever talks about is you, what you are doing, how the company is going. He's got it bad."
"Okay, he is incredibly handsome and smart. I also found out earlier how kind and caring he is. I'm too old for him and why does he want me?"
"Daddy, you can be so blind some times. He's looking for someone to take care of him and take charge of his life. He wants to give himself to you, totally. He wants to be the center of your universe and for you to be the center of his."
"Can we cut in?" I looked up to see Robert and Dylan standing beside us. Robert took Andrea from my arms and danced away. Dylan's eyes were blazing that unearthly blue of his
"Will you dance with me, please?" he asked quietly. Shyly his eyes met mine.
"Yes," I stammered.
I was not sure what the guests at the reception would think and at that moment I really did not care. I had to answer to no one except my clients. My company was very successful and if they did not like me dancing with this handsome man then they could get over it. Dylan melted into me, he athletic body feeling so right against mine. I felt his erection pressing into my thigh so I pushed mine into him.
"You like this?" I asked, still unsure about myself and my own feelings, but sure that he felt right in my arms.
"Oh God, Jon, I'm so close." He whimpered.
"No you don't. We can't have you embarrassing yourself." I laughed.
"I'll try not too." His eyes seemed to glaze over as the passion took control of his body then he pulled back a little from our tight embrace.
"Dylan, I'm not sure what exactly is happening here, now, with us." I stammered.
"We'll figure it out." He leered at me.
We danced together for two more songs then broke away from the dance floor and back to our guests. No one appeared to have been shocked by the spectacle they had just witnessed if they even noticed what was going on. I never released my hold on Dylan's hand. Several more toasts to the couple's happiness were issued as the evening wore on. Andrea offered a toast to me in thanks for being her father and for my future happiness with Dylan. Again, no one seemed particularly concerned by this obvious mentioning of our budding relationship. Eventually the crowd began to thin out and it was time to usher the bride and groom off to their honeymoon. Dylan was at my side throughout the entire night. We escorted Andrea and Robert to their car, tossing rose petals after them. Sensing that I felt lost again he pulled me in for another hug as they drove away.
"Is it time for us to go home?" he asked, rubbing my back.
"Dylan, come on, let's go." I pulled him towards the limousine that was waiting to take me back to the house. "We'll pick up your car tomorrow."
TO BE CONTINUED