THIS WORK MAY BE COPIED OR REDISTRIBUTED BY ANY MEANS WITHOUT THE EXPRESS CONSENT OF ITS AUTHOR.
THIS WORK DEALS WITH A FICTIONAL 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 FICTIONAL.
THANKS GUYS FOR THE ENCOURAGEMENT...
DYLAN'S HOPE
Michael A. Raburn
Chapter 7
We were having breakfast Friday morning when I heard a car pull into the gravel driveway. Dylan quickly rose to look out the breakfast room window to catch a glimpse of who was visiting. It is impossible to see the full driveway from that vantage point so he turned back to me perplexed then headed to the front of the house. I was glad that at least he had gotten dressed so he wouldn't freeze when he opened the door. Most days he puttered around the house in running shorts and socks but then again we did keep the cabin pretty warm. And, of course I rarely complained about his choice of dress.
"Andrea, Robert!" he yelled. "Come on in. Your dad will be so pleased that you're here."
"Dylan, I'm so glad to see you. How's everything going with you and Dad?" she asked as she hugged him.
I had forgotten that the couple was due back from their honeymoon so quickly. We had been so busy with exploring our relationship that the time had slipped away. We had settled into a quiet routine, quiet mostly because I was hobbling around. He had helped keep me busy enough to not feel so lost that Andrea was not around anymore.
"Daddy!" She screamed as she came running into the breakfast room. Three large strides and she was again in my embrace. "I missed you so much. What the hell happened?" She stepped back to look at the bandage on my leg.
"I missed you too, pumpkin. How were the islands? How did you know we were up here?" I stroked her loose hair back from her face. She was considerably tanned, with just a couple of patches of sunburn on her nose. Reaching a hand out, I pulled Robert into our embrace. "Did ya'll have a good trip?"
Dylan returned from the kitchen with two more coffee cups, plates and flatware and encouraged Andrea and Robert to join us in breakfast. We sat around the table leisurely eating omelets and exchanged stories of what we had done over the past weeks. Andrea took particular glee in teasing me about how young and relaxed I looked and about how it was about time. She was of course concerned about the accident and had to check out Dylan's first aid skills.
With an embarrassed face, I thanked her for pushing me in the right direction. Dylan told them the story about the crazy trip to the hospital. They told us all the funny stories of their honeymoon in the Virgin Islands.
"So, when are you two getting married?" Robert asked, seemingly out of nowhere.
"Uh, yeah. I can't wait to plan another wedding." Andrea gushed.
"It's just about all she's talked about the past two weeks."
"Um, we haven't talked about that yet. Let us think about that for a while. We have only been together a couple of weeks." I glanced over to smile at Dylan's handsome face, grasping his hand and interlacing our fingers.
"Not that our feelings will change for each other, whether we have a ceremony or not?" He smiled, his finger caressing the back of my hand.
Changing the subject I asked: "How long are you staying?"
"Just the weekend. We need to get back to Atlanta and start packing." Andrea answered.
As happy as I had been the last few days, the inevitability that she was leaving was again thrust upon me. I turned my eyes and caught a glimpse through the window of snowflakes falling outside. I knew they were moving to Seattle on an intellectual level, but it now seemed like it would happen for real. They had made an offer that had been accepted on a great starter house, both had jobs lined up, yet somehow I thought it would never happen. My little girl was grown and was about to truly start her own life, away from me.
"Daddy, how did you know what you wanted to be when you grew up?" she asked out of the blue.
We were watching television in the den that evening. She was paying little attention to the program as she finished the book she was reading. Often I wondered how she could concentrate on both things, but then again, I was working on a proposal for a client and still following the show.
"Andrea, I don't know that I ever figured that out. I took the courses that I was good at and eventually I got a degree. We...ah, I had it all planned out by the time you were born." Why had I said that? Did I have to drag up that memory?
"I don't understand. Don't you like what you do?" her face turned to me.
How do you explain to a thirteen year old about the choices that you don't get to make in life? About the path that you get thrust upon? That not making a decision is making a decision? That you wake up one morning and don't know how you got there?
"Of course I like what I do. If things were different, I'd probably have done something else. But, this is what I know." I answered, more perplexed by my own answer than by her question.
"What would you have done?"
"Sugar, I'm not sure. I might have been a minister, like my grandfather. Or I might have taught, like mom. Who knows, maybe I'd have been an artist or a sculptor. I took lots of art classes in high school but your grandfather made me stop."
"Why?"
"He wanted me to be an engineer. He felt that art classes were a waste of time and his money." I mused. "What do you think you want to do?" I asked, knowing she would change her mind a thousand times before she actually entered the workforce.
"I want to be just like you." She stated.
"What?"
"I want to help you run Reynolds Consulting when I'm old enough."
She had grown up at the office with me. Money was tight in the beginning so rather than find a baby sitter, I took her with me. She played under my desk with her toys and entertained clients with her jokes and stories. Many times she seemed to understand the negotiations and contracts better than I did, probably from hanging around with so many people that treated her like a peer and not the boss's daughter.
So, it really wasn't a surprise when she entered college that she chose a tract that would lead her into the business. She excelled in all the areas that I had struggled with.
"Daddy, what were you thinking?" She asked, pulling me back into the conversation. "You seemed so far away." She patted my hand.
"Just remembering." I mused. "Will you two excuse us? Dylan will you take a walk with me?" I asked.
"Of course. You can walk, can't you?" He teased, curiosity evident in his face.
"Andrea, Robert, we'll be back." I leaned over to kiss my daughter, ignoring my lover's snide comment.
"We'll be here." They both answered. "We'll start dinner if you're gone too long." Andrea said.
Bundled in our parkas, we walked down the steps and across the side yard. The snow I had glimpsed through the windows earlier was getting heavier; still not enough to worry about, but pretty to look at, anyway. We'd gotten our gloves on the way out but found out quickly that we couldn't feel each other's hand with them on. I pulled off my right glove, shoving it in my pocket. Dylan got the idea and mimicked my movements. We'd have to keep each other warm as our fingers caressed our partners'.
We wandered along, not saying anything, enjoying our silence. As we neared our favorite spot overlooking the valley we stopped to look through the bare branches. It was so quiet, peaceful there, far from the city and it's hectic bustle. Dylan stepped in front of me and leaned back into my arms.
"Honey, what is it?" He asked.
"Baby, I'm not sure, really. What do you want to do with the rest of your life?" I asked, not certain that it was the best way to approach the ideas forming in my mind.
"To be with you." He answered without pausing to think.
"Thank you." I whispered into his soft blonde hair.
"Jon, she will always love you, you know. No matter where she is."
"I know." The words caught in my throat.
"What do you want?" He asked, turning so he could wipe away my tears. He shifted our positions so he was holding me against his chest.
"I've got what I want." I looked into his eyes. "I never knew I could feel this way." I moved my trembling lips to touch his.
"They'll be so disappointed." He smiled.
"Huh?"
"Well, husband, if that wasn't a commitment ceremony, I don't know what it was." He moved to kiss me again.
I gasped at the pure emotion that surged in me as the full realization of his words clicked in my brain. Pulling him fiercely to me, we met in a kiss laden with love, affection, and need. I slid my hands down his back, grasping at his bottom. I pulled him forward by his butt, pushing his hardness into mine. We continued to kiss and grind into each other, oblivious to the snow, the view or how cold we were.
"I want you so badly." I moaned into his mouth.
"Oh, Jon, I know. Honey, I know. But, they're watching us." He pointed towards the house. I only got a glimpse of the curtain falling back into place when I looked.
We moved to an outcropping of granite stones further down the trail. Dylan sat between my outstretched knees, inching back to lean into my embrace. I felt the cold of the rock through my jeans and knew we would not be able to stay long. Maybe long enough for me to explain my plan and get him to agree before we headed back.
"Dylan, I don't want to go back." I started.
"It is nice here."
"No, baby. I mean it. How do you feel about staying here?"
"What about the company? Oh, duh, I get it." He grinned that famous lopsided grin, his eyes twinkling. "Well, they're a formidable pair. Do you think they'll do it?" He asked.
"Don't know. But, you're right about them."
"Can we do it?" He asked, his use of the plural sounded so natural.
"Maybe. I've got a little saved up." I grinned back at him.
"Yeah, right." He laughed. "I've got some stashed away too. Insurance from my parents."
"What about your career in banking?"
"Maybe I'll take up gardening. Somebody's got to feed us, you know."
"You know, I think we could do this." I leaned over to kiss his cheek.
"Haven't you figured it out yet? Together we're unstoppable." He returned the kiss. "Come on, we'd better go tell them that we've planned their future."
"Brace yourself. You know how she gets when you push her." I laughed, poking him in the ribs. "Let's go, I'm freezing."
We walked back lazily, holding hands, stopping occasionally to share a kiss or a cuddle. We shook off the snow and stomped up the steps to the cabin. I opened the door and wonderful smells from the kitchen greeted us.
"We'll spring it on them during dinner." I whispered.
He nodded to me, snickering.
"Hey guys, how long till dinner?" I asked, roaming into the kitchen.
"At least a couple of hours, daddy." Andrea answered.
"I think we're going to go take a nap."
"A nap? Is that what you call it these days?" Robert asked, grinning at us.
Andrea backhanded him in the belly before ushering us out. "We'll call you when it's ready."
Dylan grabbed my hand and led me to the bedroom. I closed the door behind us and met him in the middle of the room. Slowly, lovingly we undressed each other then crawled into bed together, meeting in the middle. Holding each other close we whispered of our love and commitment, celebrating with our bodies the passion we felt for the other. I held him in my arms after our orgasm, petting his body as we drifted into sleep.
TO BE CONTINUED