All rights reserved. Copyright held by the author. If you are underage or are offended by gay fiction, containing graphic sex and explicit language, please exit now.
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"Echoes from a Wishing Well"
Copyright Ritchris, 2007
A Story
by
Ritch Christopher
literary enhancement
by
Les Martin
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chapter fourteen
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It was nearly 5:30 in the morning and the opening night party was finally over. All the reviews were in and all were raves---one hundred percent positive notices. All the critics loved it!
Art and his party, Trent, Angio, Dean, and Cyrus, were among the last to leave. Art's rented limo was still waiting outside Luchow's to take them back to the apartment on W.74th St.
On arriving home, none of them had any desire for a nightcap before retiring for what very little was left of the night. Art went, still grinning foolishly, to his bedroom, Cyrus and Dean headed for the guest bedroom, and Trent and Angio went to Trent's room to carefully take off their rented Brooks Brothers' attire, hanging it up to be returned later Friday afternoon.
Art had anticipated the party being an all night affair and had given Trent permission to stay home from school to sleep late and Angio had already cleared it with his family. The two boys had been allowed one symbolic glass of champagne each during the celebration, but for the rest of the evening, they had to stick to drinking fruit juice or soda. Angio had gorged himself on lobster and hors d'oeuvres, most of which had been new and totally foreign to Trent's taste buds, but, setting aside his birdlike appetite, he'd managed to taste each one.
Before going to bed, Angio asked Art if he had any Alka-Seltzer. Art laughed and complied while taking one himself, but only after he had given two to Cyrus who was grunting like a stuffed hog in the guest room.
While taking the antacid as a defensive measure, Angio found himself alone in the bathroom with Art who, it seemed, had no inhibitions about peeing in front of Angio since the two had grown closer.
"Ah! That hits the spot!" Angio said, drinking down the last of the fizz and delivering a mighty belch .
"I don't suppose Trent needs an Alka-Seltzer?" Art asked.
"Are you kidding? That'll be the day when Trent overeats anything! Sometimes I wonder how he stays alive!"
"Trent told me he's always eaten lightly even when he was a small child."
"Maybe we can gang up on him at his Granny Dee's and stuff him likea turkey...just once!"
Finished emptying his bladder, Art sighed in relief, zipped up his trousers, flushed the toilet, and scooted in next to Angio at the lavatory to wash his hands. "You know, with the opening occupying nearly all of my time, you and I haven't really had a chance to talk...just the two of us since you and Trent got serious in your relationship, Angio."
"You do still approve, don't you, Uncle Art?"
"One hundred percent! I couldn't have found a better mate for Trent if I had looked the world over to audition for a lover for my son."
"That sorta makes me your other unofficial 'adopted' son now, doesn't it?"
"As long as your real dad doesn't object!"
"Aw, my dad doesn't care. We get along fine, but I think he's glad that I have some place to go to get out of his hair."
"So if you're sure he doesn't mind, how do you feel about elevating me to 'Daddy Art' instead of 'Uncle Art'?"
"You're serious? That would really please me...Daddy Art!"
Art hugged Angio and held him close to his chest. "I guess, in spite of my huge loss of losing Ronnie, I'm about the luckiest guy in the world. I've got a hit show which'll make me financially secure for a long time...and I have two grand sons!"
"Daddy Art, have you ever thought about marrying again?"
"Oh, no! If I got another wife like my first one, I might turn gay myself. Oh, I date, I'm not without female companionship when I want it, but at the moment, I don't need it. And once all the wannabe stars read my reviews, my office will be jammed with girls, with all kinds of sexual favors being offered to me, all of the girls looking for a role in my next show. But, Angio, I'll never cast anyone who doesn't have the talent, the spark, and who isn't right for a show merely for some sexual tryst...a blowjob...or a quick fuck on my couch."
"Daddy Art, I have no doubt that Trent'll be a big star one day, but what chance do you think I have?"
"A big one, Angio. You have a good singing voice and Trent won't be the only one to tell you how handsome you are. On top of that, you have a certain charisma that will reach across the footlights, That I'm sure of."
"It sounds so great to hear that, coming from you!" He paused a moment, then spoke again, but with an uncertain tone. "Can I get something straight between us, Daddy Art?"
"Angio, I hope you'll always feel that you can come to me and be straight with me. So what's on your mind?"
"You do know, don't you, that I fell in love with Trent before you became a big director?"
"Angio, I suspected that in Boston when you were trying to hide the fact that you two had slept in one bed, not two."
"I just didn't want you to ever get the idea that I love him because of what you could do to further my career."
"You know what? I should take that bar of soap there and wash out your mouth for even thinking such a thing. I should knock you in the head for thinking it or even suggesting it!"
"Thanks! I feel a whole lot better knowing that."
"You know, Angio, Trent is not the only guy in this house who loves you." Art's voice had taken on a quiet, serious tone.
Angio's face lit up on hearing this. "You mean that?"
"I shoot from the hip, Angio, and I never lie. I sure as hell mean it! I love you, you little clown!"
"You know, that that's something my real dad has never said to me?",Angio asked, his eyes averted.
"But you do know he does love you, don't you?"
"Sure, but...well, I'd like to hear him say it, just once...just like you did!"
"Have you ever told him that you love him...I mean, using words?"
"Now that you mention it, I...I guess I never have..."
"Then maybe you should, what'd'ya think?"
"Yeah, you're right. And maybe I should tell you right now that I love you before it's just understood between us."
"All right...but only say it if you mean it! This is not an acting exercise, Mr. Stanislavski!"
Angio turned to Art and looked him squarely in the eye. "Daddy Art...I love you and I want you to hear me say it out loud..."
"Thank you, Angio. You know, the more I'm around you, the easier it gets to see why Trent loves you. Sure, you might be...well, you are gay, but it takes a real man to look at another man, especially a straight man, and say what you just said to me."
"Neither Trent nor I look like fags, do we?"
"No, but even if you were drag queens, I'd still love you. But that was a strange thing to ask."
"I guess I was just trying to find out if I came across effeminate and would appear that way on stage?"
"Don't worry. You don't have to broadcast your sexual preference, but you could play a love scene convincingly with any actress on Broadway without giving the slightest hint you're gay. So could Trent...or even Ronnie, God rest him, had he ever wanted to be on stage. Do you have any more questions you'd like to ask while it's just the two of us?"
"Maybe one..."
"All right, shoot!"
"Well, being Trent's new lover and your new son's lover, would that come into play if I ever auditioned for you?"
"You're worried about nepotism?"
"I just didn't want Trent, or my relationship to him, to stand in the way of getting hired..."
"Angio, if the role was right, I'd hire my wife, whom I hate, or her mother, whom I despise. It wouldn't matter as long as they're right for the part. Believe me son, when the time is right, and when the role is right for you or vice-versa, I'd hire you in a New York minute!"
"You know, Daddy Art, I was born in New York and lived here all my life and I've never known what a New York minute was."
"I'm not really sure of its origin, but I heard that a guy in Texas came up with the phrase after he had visited New York. It seems that some friend of his in Texas asked him about his trip and he said that the worst thing about New York was the traffic. He said that, in New York, a minute was the shortest time in the world...faster than half-a-second. He was referring to the time it took for a New York taxi driver, sitting behind his car in traffic, to blow his horn at him as soon as a red light turned green...and that split mini-second is what he called a New York minute!"
"Is that for real?"
"I don't know for sure, but that's the story I was told."
"Makes sense!"
"Hey, little man, shouldn't you be going to bed? I'll bet Trent's wondering what you're doing!"
"What if I tell him that I was in the bathroom with you, letting you decide if you were gay or not!", Angio's grinning face said.
"Ha! You tell him that and you'll be sleeping in with Dean and Cyrus or in my room on the floor!"
"Heck! You know I was just kidding, don't you?"
"Of course I do. However, if I were gay, I might fight Trent for your affection. I told you how handsome you are, but what I didn't say is how sexy you are, as well!"
"Sexy? Me?"
"You sure charmed the pants off Trent in two weeks, didn't you?"
"I was trying to....since he'd already charmed my pants off me! I'm sure you remember how guys fantasize when they want to get off...?"
"They still do, Angio, they still do!"
"Well, I think I rubbed blisters and calluses on my hands, jerkingoff every night fantasizing about Trent! Thank God I charmed him before somebody beat me to it!"
"He said something about getting jealous while you were spending the week with your friend, Rick!"
"Ah, shoot! I did spend four nights at Rick's place but he had some girl in his bed every night and I was on his couch dreaming about Trent. I think I probably left semen stains on the Yesso's sofa! I just made up that story to get Trent jealous. But it worked, didn't it?"
"And that'll be our little secret, yours and mine!"
"OK. Good night, Daddy Art! And thanks!" Angio said, kissing Art on the cheek.
"Good night, son...". As Angio turned to leave the bathroom, Art said, "Hey!"
"What?"
"You two are being safe, aren't you?"
"Totally!"
"Do you need any condoms?"
"Nope---got a drawer full of 'em!"
Angio walked out, leaving Art laughing out loud.
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Back in Trent's bedroom and finding Trent already undressed and lying nude on the bed in a purposely coy pose, Angio quickly began removing his clothes, more than ready to hop in bed with his lover.
"Darn! What took you so long? I almost got up to look for you for fear you had fallen in the toilet and drowned!" Trent joked.
"Well, I did have to go...a lot!" Angio joked back.
"I'm not surprised, you ate so much shit at the party!"
"Hey! You saying that I'm full of shit?"
"Well, not now, I guess!"
"Daddy Art was in there and we had a little chat."
"'Daddy Art'? Not 'Uncle Art'?"
"Well, now that we're...heck, I don't know what we are or what we should call ourselves, but since you and I are now a couple, 'Uncle' Art said I should call him, 'Daddy Art', now." Angio replied, proudly.
"I'm so glad to hear that, Angie. It just means you're part of our family now and that he loves you the same way he loves me."
"He first asked if he thought my real dad would mind and I know for sure he won't, but the idea that Daddy Art thought about that...He's really a great guy, isn't he?."
"You know, since we've become a couple, I haven't been over to your place. I don't know how your real dad and your mom feel about me."
"Trent, they'd''ve been pleased if I'd chosen a kangaroo!. They know I'm gay and they've wanted me to find a lover or a steady partner for a long time. They didn't care if it was a boy, a girl, or even a rhinoceros, just as long as it was someone or something that they could trust so that the two of them could stop worrying about me getting AIDS or HIV. As a matter of fact, both of them have had private talks with me about you...hoping we'd take our relationship to the next level if that's what I wanted. I'm sure they're pleased."
"Ha! They're not half as pleased as I am."
"Trent, I hate to keep asking you this over and over, but it is me you love and not Ronnie?"
"Come here and get into bed and I'll try once more to prove that it is you that I love."
Angio, now having achieved a state of nudity to match Trent's, not to mention his state of erection, got into bed and Trent pulled him close, looking into his eyes before leaning down to kiss him.
As their lips parted, Angio whispered, "Trent, I still can't believe all this is happening! My God, I got the only guy I wanted and now I have a second dad who's now the envy of Broadway!"
"Wasn't tonight wonderful? It was like some 1940's movie with a happy ending. Daddy Art's show is perfect and it'll probably run for years! Who knows, it might run long enough for us to replace the cast in a few years?"
Looking up at Trent's face, as if he hadn't heard a word Trent had said, Angio blurted out, "My God, you're sexy, Trent!"
"That's bull! OK, so it's sex now? How do you want it?"
"Neither for the moment. I just want to look at you, at your body and worship it!"
"Oh, yeah? You like it better than Rick's?"
"You can answer that better than I..."
"Me? I've never seen Rick naked or gone to bed with him!"
"Neither have I, Trent..." Angio's voice was low.
"What?"
"You heard me. I've never seen Rick naked and I sure never had sex with him!"
"But....all the things you said to me when I asked you when you were staying at his apartment...?"
"Lies...just lies, hoping to make you jealous, I guess!"
"You asshole! You tricked me!"
"It worked, didn't it? We're a couple now. I had this funny sensation in my stomach when you said you lay in your bed thinking about what Rick and I were supposedly doing...and how jealous it made you. I felt so guilty, but that's when I first got an inkling that maybe you loved me."
"You're damned right. I was jealous as hell!"
"And now that you find out that you didn't have any reason to be jealous......?"
"All right, since you swallowed truth serum while you were in the bathroom a few minutes ago, let me ask you an important question!"
"Go ahead. I swear I'll tell you the truth!"
"The other night when we made love...was I the first guy you'd ever...well, entered anally?"
"Yes. The very first!"
"And was I the first to ever do it to you?"
"Again, yes, you were the very first!"
"But you seemed so confident...so sure of what you were doing...as if you'd done it before with someone..."
"Trent, sweetheart, pardon my being so blunt with my words, but all the nights I dreamed how it would be to fuck you...what I would do...how slow I'd go so as to not hurt you...I fucked you a thousand times in my mind until I knew exactly how I wanted to do it!"
"Yes, but when I entered you, you hardly flinched. You acted as if I didn't hurt you at all...as if you'd done it before with other guys!"
"I knew if I showed the slightest bit of resistance or hesitation, it would have ruined your first experience and I would've bitten my pillow in half to keep from letting you know I felt any discomfort...and I didn't. I kept lying here, telling myself, that it was you inside me, that you were making love to me. You were my first, and it was just as I always hoped it would be...with someone whom I loved....and someone who loved me!"
"It did hurt some, didn't it? I mean, please don't tell me that my dick is so small that you didn't feel any pain at all!"
"Trent, don't worry about you being small. When you first went inside, it felt like you were trying to shove a brick up my butt...a large, very hard brick!"
"Don't overdo it!"
"I told you that I wouldn't lie. But the next time you did it to me, I knew what to expect and it really felt wonderful. I damn near got off just knowing I was pleasing you!"
"Wanna know something? That's exactly how I felt! After the first time, it's been heavenly ever since!"
"It's so great that we can finally open up and tell each other all our thoughts, all our secrets now."
"I swear to you, Angie, there'll be no more secrets ever between us from now on!"
"I swear, too."
"Look! It's after seven in the morning and I still want to make love with you. So again, I'll ask...which end to I get?"
"How about a little of both? We aren't going to school today. Uncle Dean and Uncle Cyrus' plane back to Tennessee doesn't leave until six tonight, so we can sleep, we can make love, or we can just stay in bed all day, doing whatever we want!"
"I'd like that!"
"Oh, by the way, Daddy Art asked if we were running out of condoms!"
"You're kidding! He didn't"
"Nope! And I told him that we have a whole drawer full of them!"
"If we stay in bed all day, I guess we may have to shop for some more tomorrow!"
"Well, right now, why don't you put one of 'em on, lie me flat on my back and you crawl on top of me?"
"Good idea! I hid half-a-dozen condoms under my pillow!"
"Then what are we waiting for?"
"A kiss! I want you to kiss me a lot before anything else!"
"I'll go turn out the lights while you pucker!"
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Jody was glad that his first day at Weston High began during Thanksgiving week. He'd only have to go three days and then he'd be out for the rest of the week. It'd be tough finding his place in this school. He and Laurie had changed schools so often since being left without parents, schooling for both of them had suffered from lack of continuity. New schools, different teachers, but the hardest adjustments had been to a completely new set of classmates. It seemed they were never in one place long enough to make any friends.
The classes, too, at Weston were a bit more difficult for them since the last school they had attended was in a lower social status with poorer kids and not as much was expected of them. Jody soon discovered that he was 'lost' in second year algebra and now wished that he had elected General Math or, as Weston called it,'Business Math`.
They both were grateful that they 'fit in' with their new clothes, whereas before, it had been embarrassing for Jody, having to wear the same jeans and same flannel plaid shirt every day; sometimes the shirt had been stained with food or dirt and there was no time to wash and dry it before the next day of school.
Laurie was more confident than Jody. With her singing, she hoped she'd be accepted by her ninth grade peers as soon as they heard her voice.
Jody had a talent for drawing, but had never had the chance to develop it due to his lack of drawing materials in the past on top of constantly changing schools. At the last shelter, he'd often sketch on a piece of newspaper with a worn down pencil, but his ability to draw portraits was his forté. If only he'd had a way to store his artwork, he would have had pictures of Laurie which he had drawn since she was six and he was seven. Anyone would have seen how his art had improved over the past eight years.
Thanks to Mr. Bush and his federal budget cuts, Weston High was one of the only high schools in the state which still offered art as an elective. During his Washington administration's occupancy of the White House, art, music, drama, and other subjects allied with the arts had found their budgets cut and these subjects had usually been replaced with more sports. However, fortunately for Jody and Laurie, as well as Trent when he had attended Weston High, the school put forth an emphasis on the arts due to the fact they didn't really have a gym. The tables in the cafeteria were moved aside to use the room as a basketball court. The athletic field, such as it was, was used for all outdoor sports. The football field became a baseball diamond or a track arena, depending on the time of year.
On her first school day, Laurie was still in the junior high section, but when the music teacher heard her sing in the ninth grade chorus, she was immediately elevated to the varsity choir, usually made up of juniors and seniors, and this on her very first day at Weston! She was so excited, she couldn't wait to tell the news to her brother.
Jody's had news to tell that was almost as good. During the third period when he had his first art class, he had quickly drawn a sketch of the art teacher, Mr. Chadwick, who was so impressed by Jody's portrait of him, he had given Jody a box of charcoal and a large sketch pad to take home to see how Jody would do working in an unfamiliar medium. Mr. Chadwick was also eager to let Jody try his hand with watercolors and, later on, oil and brushes.
At 3:15 when the final school bell of the day rang, Jody and Laurie met on the front steps of the school to walk home together. They were both laden down with books and homework, but they were both bubbling with news to relate. Jody could hardly wait to show his new art materials to his sister. A few of the new girls with whom Laurie had made friends said goodbye to her as she and Jody began the walk back home to Granny Dee's.
As they left, each took a turn telling about his good fortune in choir for her and in art for him and they both rejoiced inwardly in each other's happiness.
"Did I tell you how nice you looked today?" Jody asked shyly.
"Yes, you did, this morning when I told you how handsome you looked in your new clothes," Laurie replied.
"I still can't believe this is happening to us! Gosh, Laurie, we're so lucky!" Jody exclaimed.
"I know. All this weekend when I went to bed, I had to pinch myself to see if all of this wasn't a dream," Laurie replied.
"Gosh, I hope nothing happens and we won't have to leave Granny Dee's!" His dismay was apparent as he considered the possibility.
"Me, too! Maybe if we just behave ourselves, she'll let us stay."
"Laurie, when in your life have you ever misbehaved? You're as good as gold."
"We've never been treated as good as we are now, Jody, even when Mommy and Daddy were alive."
"I know. I've always missed them, but since we met Granny Dee and Uncle Dean and Uncle Cyrus. it's like we have a new mother and two new dads! A whole new family, folks who really care for us! They really like us!"
"I know. And don't forget, Trent will be here day after tomorrow! I can't wait to meet him."
After a silent moment, Jody whispered, "Laurie---what if he doesn't like us?"
"He'll only be here until Sunday, Jody."
"Yes, but if he doesn't like us, he might tell Granny Dee to ask us to leave."
"Why should he?"
"I...I'm having a problem I can't talk to you about..."
"Why not? We've always told all of our secrets to each other."
"Well, not all our secrets..."
"Can you, at least, give me a hint of what you're talking about?"
"Uh...I could, but, well, I...I just can't!"
"Is your secret a bad secret? One bad enough that it might make us have to move?"
"I don't know. It might, Laurie, unless I can find a way to get over these crazy feelings I've been having."
Laurie stopped dead in her tracks and turned to her brother. "Jody! You'd better tell me!" she said, almost ready to cry.
"Laurie, you've seen me in the morning when I first wake up and have to go pee?"
"Sure, your 'thing' is usually sticking out."
"That's the problem I've been having. It's been sticking out more than usual."
"Why? Are you drinking too much water or cider, making you pee a lot?"
"No. Laurie, you don't have to be so coy. I know you've watched me when I was in bed when I.....when I played with myself."
"You knew I was watching you?"
"Yea. I even heard you giggling sometimes while I was doing it."
"I knew what you were doing, Jody. I seen lots of boys doing the same thing at many of the places we've stayed. I even asked Sarah Crenshaw, one of my friends, what they were doing and why they were doing it."
"What did Sarah say?"
"She told me to watch but not get too close because I might get pregnant!"
"Ah heck! And you believed her?"
"No, silly. I'm not that dumb. I knew that a boy had to put it inside a girl to get her pregnant. I just figured that you and the other boys were just practicing for when you get married...but, boy! Y'all sure do practice a lot!"
"Now you've embarrassed me, Laurie, and made me self-conscious..."
"Why? We don't have to sleep in the same room any more, so you can practice all you want without me seeing you."
"Did Granny Dee have a talk with you about sex diseases and such?"
"Yes, but I told her that she didn't have to worry, that I wasn't ever going to have sex until I was married."
"Well, just remember that, will you?"
"Jody, I don't think I'd ever let a boy put his thing inside me! I mean, what if he got an urge to pee?"
At this, Jody laughed. "I don't think peeing would ever cross his mind, Laurie. You'll probably change your mind when you get older."
"But, Jody, why should playing with yourself maybe get Granny Dee to ask us to leave? You won't do it in front of her. I'm sure if you do it, you'll keep your bedroom door closed."
"Well, when a boy's thing sticks out when he goes to bed, it's for another reason than wanting to pee. Then he has to find a way to make his thing go down."
"I know, Jody. I've seen you."
"Then you...gosh, this is so embarrassing, talking to you about this."
"If it could get us kicked out of Granny Dee's, I want to know everything, Jody."
"Okay, then, you probably saw a milky stuff on my hand or my stomach when I stopped playing with myself...?"
"Sure, you peed some sperm!"
"You know about sperm?"
"Jody, I'm fourteen years old, I'm not a baby. I know where babies come from. I've known since I had my first period and old Mrs. Campbell told me about why I bleed and what gets a girl pregnant. A tiny egg comes down a tube inside me and when some sperm gets on it, it fertilizes the egg and becomes a tiny baby."
"Yes, but do you know why a boy's thing sticks out when he doesn't have to pee?"
"I guess it's just a way of getting your sperm out or otherwise, you'd explode!"
"Usually, it's dirty thoughts! If a boy thinks of doing something dirty, his thing sticks out."
"And you've been having lots of dirty thoughts?"
` "Yeah, I'm afraid so..."
"And the dirty thoughts are the things you can't talk to me about?"
"Well, yeah."
"Then I don't need to know. You just keep your dirty thoughts to yourself and Granny Dee won't know about them either...and we won't have to leave!"
"Oh, boy! I think Uncle Dean should have a talk with you. I don't think Granny Dee told you enough!"
"Like what, Jody?"
"Well, suppose I have to share my bed with Trent while he's here, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday?"
"Oh! You're afraid your thing will stick out while you two are in bedtogether?"
"That's exactly what I'm worried about!"
"Can't you just roll over and sleep on your stomach? Wouldn't that solve your problem?"
"Laurie, if I tell you something, will you keep it a secret between us for the rest of your life?"
"I guess so..."
"Laurie, these dirty thoughts I've been having involve Trent!"
"You haven't even met him yet! Why is that worrying you?"
"My thoughts aren't natural!"
"No dirty thoughts are natural."
"I...I've been looking at Trent's picture on my dresser and thinking dirty thoughts....about him..."
"You've been having gay thoughts about Trent?"
"You know what gay means?"
"Jody! Of course I do. I know what gay boys do to one another. I've seen them!"
"You what? When? Who?"
"You want me to name the whole list?"
"Jeez! I've been so careful trying to talk to you and you know more than I do! What do you know and who did you see?"
"Well, it was Sarah at the Lynchburg shelter who first told me about gay boys. Used to, late at night, Tommy Reynolds and Larry Shroyer used to slip into the boy's bathroom and Sarah and I would go into the girl's bathroom and peek at them through the crack in the wall."
"Oh, gee! I won't ask what you saw!"
"They did some strange things to each other."
"I bet!"
"Jody, are you saying that you might want to do some of those things with Trent? What if he's not willing?"
"I doubt he would be, Laurie. It's just I don't want Trent to know that I want to do them with him!"
"Do you mean you want to do them with Trent?"
"I...I don't know, Laurie!"
"Jody, do you think that you might be gay?"
"I don't know that either...but I might be..."
"You know that Uncle Dean and Uncle Cyrus are gay, don't you?"
"Laurie, how did you know that? I didn't know. I had to ask Uncle Dean!"
"I guess it's something girls are born with that boys aren't..."
"What?"
"It's called 'woman's institution'. All women have it!"
"What is it, for goodness sake?"
"It's the ability of a woman to know something without having to ask."
"Laurie, that's called 'women's intuition', not 'institution'!"
"There! See how little you know about it, Jody?"
"Forget it!"
"So let me see if I understand you. You're worried about your thing sticking out and that Trent might see it?"
"Well, yeah..."
"Well, if you think that that might cause us to have to leave Granny Dee's...Jody, you'd better tie it down until Trent goes back to New York!"
"If that's the only solution, I guess I'll have to!"
Walking while they talked, they'd reached the dirt road leading to Dee's house now.
"Jody, if you have any more problems like that, you just come to me. I'll see if I can work them out for you!"
"I'll remember that, Laurie...I'll remember that!"
Jody shook his head in disbelief. As they approached the house, they could see Dee on the porch waiting to greet them.
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If someone had invented something called an excitement meter, the needle would have been swinging off the dial with overload, trying to decide who was the most excited about the coming Thanksgiving holiday. All day Wednesday, Granny Dee, Jody, and Laurie had been making preparations for tomorrow's feast and all had high expectations. Dee would get to see her grandson for the first time in almost three months! Jody and Laurie would have their first real Thanksgiving dinner in several years, but this time as part of a family.
Trent was coming home to visit his grandmother, bringing his lover and his new 'dad'. Angio was delirious about going to Tennessee and spending Thanksgiving with his new partner. Art was looking forward to taking a break from his hit show, knowing it was in good shape, but he relished the idea of getting away from New York, if only for a long weekend. Dean and Cyrus were ecstatic over having Art, Trent, and Angio coming to their house. With the two boys staying at their home, it had been decided, Jody's newly found privacy wouldn't be interrupted. It was going to be a frantic weekend, but everyone was happy and everyone had something huge to be thankful for.
The flight from New York arrived in Knoxville at four-thirty Wednesday afternoon. Cyrus had stayed home in Weston while Dean drove to the Knoxville airport to transport the three guests back to Weston. The Tennessee temperature as they left the aircraft felt fifteen to twenty degrees warmer than it had been when they left New York.
Trent was the first to spot Dean waving his arms high above his head to attract their attention. After several hugs, kisses, and the usual 'how was your flight?' type greetings, Cyrus' old LaSalle was loaded up with baggage and passengers for the short drive home.
When they arrived at Cyrus and Dean's, they stopped only long enough to unload the luggage and then piled back into the car to head toward Granny Dee's.
Dee heard the car coming up her drive and hurriedly tossed a bowl of fresh cranberries into the sink as she ran to the front door to meet Trent who hardly waited for Dean to stop the car before hopping out and making a mad dash to embrace his grandmother.
She held his head in her hands while she kissed him all over his face, getting her lips wet from the tears running down from Trent's eyes. Angio, Art, Cyrus, and Dean stood by the car watching Dee and Trent greet one another while Jody and Laurie stayed on the porch, silent and unsure.
"Lord, have mercy on my soul!" Dee exclaimed. "Just look at you! You've grown a foot taller since you been gone!" she exclaimed to Trent.
"And you look ten years younger, Granny Dee!" Trent replied.
"Aw, go on, boy! There's no sense in lying. Tomorrow's Thanksgiving and you'll have to ask forgiveness before you can give thanks!"
"Who's that on the porch, Granny? The two who are taking my place?"
"Shucks, Trent! You know no one can ever take your place. But, yeah, that's Jody and Laurie. I told you all about them over the telephone. Come on, I want you to meet 'em."
"Well, I have some people I want you to meet too, Granny!"
"Well, bring 'em on in the house and everybody can meet everybody at one and the same time."
Wrapping his arm around his grandmother, Trent looked over his shoulder and yelled, "Well, don't just stand there like wooden Indians---come inside and get acquainted!"
Dean smiled at Cyrus. then put his arms around Art's and Angio's waists and led them to the porch and on into the living room.
"Well, let's see now," Granny began, "Trent, that tall boy is Jody and the pretty young thing there is his sister, Laurie. Kids, this is my grandson, Trent!"
Trent put out his hand to Jody who shyly put his hand into Trent's. "It's great meeting you, Jody...and Laurie. Granny has had some awfully nice things to say about both of you!" And Laurie, as expected, curtsied nicely.
"We've heard lots about you too, Trent!" Laurie replied. Jody remained silent. His eyes were transfixed on his fantasy, now turned into real life.
Trent went to Art and Angio, taking their hands and dragging them across the room. "Granny, this is, as I call him now, my 'Daddy Art'!"
Art put out his hand toward Dee and she looked at him and said, "I'm not gonna take your hand. We have too much in common! I won't settle for anything less than a big hug!"
Art smiled at her warmth and embraced her, so much so that he literally lifted Granny off the ground. "I've waited so long to meet you, Granny!" Art said warmly.
"My, my, you sure are strong---for a Yankee! It takes a strong man to pick me up without sufferin' a hernia!", at which Art laughed loudly and comfortably, immediately relaxing with this welcoming woman. "You know, I expected you to say something like that!" Art said.
Through this exchange, Jody's gaze had turned from Trent to the mysterious handsome young boy Trent was about to introduce.
"Granny, this is Angio!"
"Oh, I know all about you, Angio!" Granny said. "Now let's don't make the same mistake twice, you give me a hug to begin with and we'll start out on the right foot!" She went to Angio and hugged him next to her ample bosom. "Let me get a good look at you, Angio!". Dee stood back to give Angio the 'once-over'. "Well, it's easy to see how you captured my grandson's heart! Angio, you are one handsome young fellow!" Then,turning to Trent, she asked, "Just what are you two to one another? Boyfriends? Lovers? Husbands? Partners?"
"It's funny, Granny," Trent replies, " but Angie and I were discussing that very subject just this past weekend."
"So what did the two of you decide?"
"Right now, we just call ourselves a couple!"
Only Dean saw Jody's expression change from anticipation to disappointment. Jody's night-time dreams had just come to a dead halt. His fantasies would never come true now. All the dreams he had stored inside his heart were suddenly shattered. Laurie slowly looked at her brother as she knew what he was probably thinking.
"A couple, huh? A couple of what? A couple of young boys in love?"
"I guess that's the best way to describe us, Granny!" Trent responded.
"Angio, before you go back to New York, you and I will have to have a long talk, just the two of us!! We got to get to knowin' each other!" Dee said.
"I'd love that! Should I call you, 'Granny Dee'?"
"Well, you'd better if you're gonna be part of my family!"
"I hope to be, for a long time!" Angio said. Trent hugged Angio and pressed his cheek against Angio's.
"Now I want everyone to sit down and talk about show business or whatever Broadway people talk about. Jody, Laurie, if you'll give me a hand, I'm going to drum up a little supper. I know you didn't eat on the plane. I heard that the airplanes stopped serving meals to keep the terrorists from poisoning the food!"
"Is that their excuse? We did have some peanuts!" Angio said. "I ate Trent's. He didn't want his."
"You mean to tell me you still don't have an appetite?" Dee asked Trent. "Land's sake! I'm gonna fix your plate tomorrow and you don't get up from the table until you've finished every bite!"
"Granny Dee, is there anything I can do to help you?" Art asked.
"Lord-a-mighty! I heard how big your show is in New York. What would my neighbors think if I let a millionaire help me in my own kitchen! No! Now you sit there with the boys while I get you some lemonade or something."
"You got any of your cider handy?" Cyrus asked.
"Cyrus, I have some special cider I put on the back porch...just for you. It's been fermentin' for two weeks and I'd say it's about ninety proof by now!"
"Dee, I love you!"
"Enough to leave Dean?"
"Probably...since Dean doesn't know how to make homemade cider the way you do!"
"Oh, Lord! Can you imagine the scandal we'd create if I took you away from your husband?"
"It might be fun, if only to find out what everyone would say!" Cyrus replied with a chuckle.
"It just might be, at that!" Granny laughed. "Come on, Jody, Laurie, we've got work to do! Lemonade for the boys, but hard cider for the rest of you men!"
Jody and Laurie followed Dee into the kitchen while the 'men' sat down in the living room. "She's everything I thought she'd be and more!" Art said.
"When Dean and I first met her, Art, we decided that Dee was a cross between Marjorie Main and Elaine Stritch!" "God, now there's a combination! Someone should write her into a show!" Art replied.
"What did you think of Granny Dee?" Trent asked Angio.
"She's like no one I ever met! I never knew any of my grandparents. My dad's folks lived in Italy and my mom's parents died in France before I was born. I've never had a grandmother, but she's the kind I always wished I had known. I...I didn't know what to expect. I've heard lots of things about how gays weren't accepted too friendly in Tennessee...but she accepted me as if I were her own grandson!" mAngio said.
"From now on, you are her own grandson, Angio," Dean said.
"Wow! I've been in Tennessee for less than two hours and I already love it!"
"Come on outside and I'll show you the wishing well!" Trent said.
That's right! "I want to see that too before I go back to New York, son," Art said.
Trent took Angio by the hand and led him outside. Once they were out the door, Dean looked at Art and said, "I've never seen two boys so suited for one another!"
"They're a perfect match, all right!" Cyrus added.
"With Ronnie gone now, it's so comforting to know I have Trent, and sometimes Angio, to come home to. I don't dread coming home any longer." Art said.
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"So this is your famous wishing well?" Angio said, looking down into it's depths.
"Say something to it!" Trent said.
Angio yelled, "Helloooooo!" and the well echoed, 'hellooooooo'n back.
"Say something else..."
"I love Trent!"...and the well replied, 'i love Trent..."
Smiling broadly at Angio, Trent said, "That's how I practiced getting rid of my Tennessee accent. I wasn't aware how bad it sounded until the well echoed it back to me."
"Well, it really worked. You've practically lost all of your accent! Your wishing well did wonders!"
"I still slip occasionally...certain words, like, 'catch'. Sometimes it still comes out 'ketch'!"
"If I hear you slipping, I'll correct you--- if that's all right?"
"If I slip doing anything, Ange, , please correct me. I won't be offended. How could I be when I love you so much?"
"Tell me, Trent, if we ever got famous and made lots of money, would you want to move back down here to Weston and live like Dean and Cyrus?"
"Only if you wanted to. Heck, I'd go with you to the North Pole if that's where you wanted to live."
"You really love me that much?"
"But at the North Pole, You do all the snow-shoveling! Angie, quit questioning my love for you. You'll never have a reason to ever question it."
"I get scared sometimes..."
"Scared? About what?"
"That if you become a big Broadway star and I don't...maybe you'd leave me for somebody as famous as you."
"Angio, if becoming a Broadway star meant losing you, I'd choose you over everything in the world!"
"God! If I could only believe that!"
"You will, in about twenty years!"
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In the warm kitchen, Granny was frying some corn in a skillet while Jody was slicing some fresh tomatoes he'd picked that morning and Laurie was cutting cucumbers and scallions. On the back eye of the wood-burning stove two chickens were frying. A pan of cornbread baking in the oven filled the room with its mouth-watering aroma.
Granny Dee had sensed a change in the atmosphere in the kitchen. "Jody, you seem awful quiet," she said. "Is something wrong?"
Jody was silent and Laurie, to gloss everything over, broke in to say, "Jody's always quiet when he meets new people. He's always been shy that way."
Jody looked up from the tomatoes to give Laurie a dirty look.
"Well, don't you worry, Jody. By the time all of 'em go back to New York on Sunday, you'll know them all like family!" Dee said.
Jody didn't look up. Only Laurie noticed the tears in Jody's eyes and she quickly handed him some scallions to clean so that Dee would think that the green onions had caused him to cry. But Laurie knew the real reason.
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(To be continued in "Echoes From A Wishing Well", chapter fifteen...next week).
ADDENDUM:
The above note was written long before Ritch passed away. I'll do what I can in his memory. -Les
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