Lawn Boy, Chapter 12
Kellan had texted his mother on the way home to let her know how things had gone. Cindy met them at the kitchen door, extending the love that Perrin should have received from his biological mother.
"Would you like something to eat?" She asked.
"No, I'm not hungry, just exhausted. But thanks for caring."
Liam led the way to their room where they undressed to their underwear and crawled into bed. For a few minutes, he cuddled against his boyfriend's back, but then, Perrin turned on his other side to face him. Liam lay on his back, and Perrin scooted down enough so his head could rest on Liam's shoulder.
"Have I told you how much I love you?" Perrin asked.
"The subject's come up now and again," Liam teased, as he gently traced the outline of Perrin's shoulder.
"Seriously, do you know what you mean to me?"
"Yes, because I feel the same about you."
"Good!"
Liam felt drops of sorrow and joy mingled together falling on his chest. It reminded him of Holy Water, and he was honored to be the recipient. In those moments, the depth of their relationship hit him like the beauty of a sunrise. It was an awareness that they were truly soulmates and their two hearts beat at one.
As Perrin's body relaxed, the flow ceased and his breathing pattern changed. Liam knew his lover was getting much-needed rest. He stayed awake a little longer, Madeline's word echoing in his head. How could she be so hateful right at the time when Perrin had hoped she was changing? It was a mystery to him.
About 45 minutes later, Liam was awakened by the sensation of his nipples being bathed by Perrin's warm, wet tongue.
"If you keep that up, I'm gonna bust a nut!"
"Cool! I think I'll turn around so I can enjoy the warm nut-milk."
"You're so naughty! How will I ever get you straightened out?"
"You could suck my dick," Perrin giggled. "That will make me better, but not straighter."
No more words were exchanged from that moment until after they had both experienced the benefits of the great, natural stress-reliever. Then, they exchanged sticky kisses in the afterglow.
"Will you marry me?" Perrin asked.
"You know I will. Is this a proposal?"
"Yeah, I need to know that I have someone who won't desert me."
"We don't have to tie the knot to belong to each other. I'm yours for as long as you'll have me, but I'm willing to make it official whenever you want. I'm not going anywhere."
"I guess that's all I need to know for right now."
"There might be too many complications with university housing and all that stuff if we're legally married. They might not let us live in the dorm."
"But, then they'd have to let us live in student housing or be guilty of discriminating."
"True, but they might conveniently run out of apartments for married students."
"Let's take a quick shower and discuss it further."
After they got cleaned up, Perrin remembered the envelope from his grandmother. He got it out of his coat pocket and opened it. Again, there was a sizeable check as well as a Christmas card with a personal note.
"Well, we know she's in our corner for sure," he said to Liam. "I'll put this in our account and we might use it toward our honeymoon."
"Or married housing," Liam joked.
Clay's Christmas was eventful too. Garth's parents made him feel like part of their family, but his mind was preoccupied at times by his problems. If he never saw Richard again, that would be too soon. However, he did love his mother, and had concerns for her safety.
He wanted to contact her, but was afraid Richard might force her to tell where he was, and he didn't want to cause trouble for Garth's family.
It was on Christmas Day, after dinner, that he received a text message from her. What she told him would have seemed like fiction had he not known what his stepfather was capable of doing.
Clay immediately called his mother and got the rest of the details, at least the ones which had come to light so far.
Richard had arrived much later than she'd expected, and she was watching by the door when a cab pulled into the drive and he got out. After he'd paid the driver and come in, he began his tale of woe.
"Your son was nasty to me, and his little boyfriend attacked me! I gave up trying to reason with them and left to come home. When I got to the visitors' parking, my car was gone. I'd left it running to keep it warm, but must have failed to lock it. Probably one of Clay's hooligan friends made off with it. Anyway, it took me forever to find a cab."
He told his story so convincingly that Jen might have believed it if Clay hadn't forwarded Austin's video, along with details of how he'd run into another car in his haste to leave.
Instead of revealing that she knew he was lying, she played along.
"Oh dear! Sit down and let me make you a drink. You can relax while I run next door to leave a spare key with Sue so she can water the plants. If I wait until tomorrow, I may forget it, and I'd hate to lose that beautiful orchid you bought me."
Richard smiled to himself after she went next door. So far, he'd been able to cover his tracks. In a few days, when they got to the lodge, he'd figure out a way to disappear and start over.
Jen seemed to be taking her time. Sue must be talking her ear off again.
The warmth of the room and the alcohol made him drowsy. He lay back in the recliner, popped the footrest up and took a short nap. The next thing he knew, he was being arrested.
Jen called the resort immediately to cancel their suite, and the next day, she drove to her mother's house instead. She would stay there for the rest of the week, until she knew what the police had done with her husband.
When second semester began, several changes took effect. Garth and Clay were happily cohabitating in Austin's old room. Austin was pleased to be sharing with Liam, and didn't hesitate to undress in his presence or do anything different than he would have with a straight roommate. Perrin was elated that Mike had left school and Thad had tamed down considerably.
Fifth floor in Donley would be a happier, and calmer place for the rest of the school year. Perrin had more than earned his keep already.
Clay soon had further news about his former stepfather, and it was like the stuff from a soap opera. Jen had posted his picture on Facebook when she mentioned the breakup of her marriage. She hadn't slandered him in any way, but several women found his picture through friends or relatives, and they contacted Jen and the police saying that he was their husband who had disappeared under mysterious circumstances. It turned out that Jen's marriage to him wasn't valid because he'd never divorced his previous wives. Now he was being charged with bigamy and conning several women out of hundreds of thousands of dollars in addition to his traffic violations and attack on Garth. Fortunately, he hadn't been able to cheat Jen out of her savings because she'd been too savvy.
After Richard's arrest, Clay's relationship with his mother had taken a 180-degree turn, and she was even supportive of his romance with Garth. The new year was starting out wonderfully!
Other things were afoot in Perrin's former world. The ouster of his father, Peter Prichard, and the trial of Theodor Bachmann had the effect of splitting the congregation of the Gospel Tabernacle right down the middle. There were probably more members who believed they were charlatans than there were who still maintained that they were men of God, but each side stood fast. To add to the muddle, some backed Prichard but felt Bachmann was evil, and vice versa.
It all resulted in dwindling church members, and donations. The once influential mega church began is descent from power with the ending of its weekly broadcasts. That in turn, reduced funding further, hastening the downward spiral.
All of this didn't have a huge impact on the life-style of Perrin's family because his father had landed on his feet in another church, and was required by law to take care of them. Of course, for the family, getting at those funds took considerable effort. However, Peter Prichard didn't dare look like he'd abandoned his responsibilities to his family lest it jeopardize his job at the new church. So, in the long run, Madeline and the children wouldn't go without.
On the other hand, it didn't take long for them to suffer the effects from the social fallout. At the outset, some members had felt sorry for the family, as they were victims too. But others blamed Madeline for not blowing the whistle on her husband's excesses. Still, there were those who reasoned that she had no choice, as an obedient biblical wife, to do other than what she had done.
While she felt a good deal of stress over the situation, her headaches had lessened. The tension of living with an unreasonable man on a daily basis had been more detrimental to her health than she'd realized.
She began to distance herself from the Gospel Tabernacle congregation, and to look for another place to worship. Perrin told Max that First Lutheran was great, but he didn't especially want his mother to come there. He knew she couldn't align herself with a denomination that didn't require baptism by immersion, and that was fine with him.
Max decided to go to church with his brother, and Pennie chose the path of least resistance, accompanying her mother to wherever she went. They were destined to bounce from one house of worship to another until Madeline eventually settled on an independent Baptist congregation that held at least some of the same beliefs she did. Many of the members in her new church weren't in favor of same-sex marriage, but didn't believe that all gays were going to hell automatically.
Their new young pastor, Timothy Brandt, was less conservative than the older people in the church. He had recently read a book called, "God and the Gay Christian," by Matthew Vines and had several copies that he lent out to people who wished to read it too. He particularly recommended it to those who might be conflicted over the "gay-issue," especially when it impacted someone it their family. Some parishioners wanted to know what it said so that they could disprove it. But Madeline was truly curious.
In it, the young author discussed and debunked the traditional arguments against same-sex relationships. He did so, not based on his own interpretation of scriptures, but from a lot of scholarly research.
Madeline read it from cover to cover on a Sunday afternoon, marking places she wanted to come back to. For her, it was like an epiphany. Her attitude toward her firstborn began to change.
In January, both of her younger children enrolled in public school. The transition was smooth because they were reasonable bright and outgoing. Pennie proved to be smarter than Perrin gave her credit for. She still got distracted by cute boys, but not to the point that her grades suffered.
It was a whole new world for Perrin's siblings. Max, especially, loved the new environment with actual science classes. Pennie was happy that Kellan asked her to the Valentine's Day dance.
"Do you ever feel like we've been riding on a space ship as far as we've come since last summer?" Perrin ask, as Liam and he cuddled in the afterglow on Valentine's Night.
"Or how many times we've cum?" Liam giggled.
"Be serious," Perrin swatted his butt, playfully.
"Okay, if I must. Um, for me, my sexuality has been an evolution that began a long time ago, back when I first grew pubes - possibly before," Liam replied.
"I can see how that could happen with parents as open-minded as yours. In my case, I've gone from being the last American virgin to becoming a consummate cock-sucker in record time," Perrin joked.
"You're an expert in using your mouth to give me, but I wouldn't have used those words. There's nothing demeaning about what you do."
"Yeah, I guess 'demeaning,' like 'evil,' is in the eye of the beholder, as they say, but are we headed for a life where we're always craving a new thrill?"
"I can't speak for you, but the most important sensation I have isn't the ecstasy of orgasm; it's knowing I'm loved by you. There's a oneness that I've never experienced with anyone else. I don't need something novel all the time to keep me satisfied."
"Wow, I like the way you expressed that. I feel the same but haven't put it into words. You have been the one stabilizing factor in my life this year. I don't know how I would have faced my mother's rejection if it hadn't been for you."
"Without me, maybe you'd have stayed in the closet and not been rejected."
"No, I'd have had to come out pretty soon anyway. I would have been just another lonely guy facing the unknown by himself."
In an attempt to repair her relationship with her son, and get acquainted with his boyfriend at the same time, Jen took Clay and Garth to Florida for spring break. Since she didn't have Richard to support, and didn't have to spend money to divorce him, she was feeling flush.
She knew they would probably enjoy a day or two on a nude beach without her, so she worked it out to do some sightseeing at times when they could have the freedom to do it. She told them which places were clothing optional, so they wouldn't have to keep any secrets. They blushed a lot, but appreciated her frankness.
On another day, she dropped them off on the north end of Playa Linda Beach and sunned on the south end, so they wouldn't have to worry about her seeing them naked.
Since she treated them as adults, they all got along fine. The guys weren't planning to go to any rowdy drinking events or try to get laid by some chicks, so having a parent along wasn't a hardship. Besides, she was paying for everything, including their private room.
Liam and Perrin didn't go away to a warmer clime for spring break in March. Neither wanted to part with the money badly enough to do it. They stayed with Liam's family, but did connect with Perrin's kin during some of the days.
Perrin, Liam, and their two younger brothers ran on the trail for a bit most days. Kellan and Max were becoming fast friends because of their older siblings. Kellan had taken Max under his wing to help him settle in high school, and that had strengthened their bond. They assumed they'd be brothers-in-law someday, and that was fine with them.
In the middle of the week, Madeline texted Perrin that her views on homosexuality were changing. As much as she hated to admit it, his questioning of why some of the Levitical law applied in modern times while other parts didn't, got her thinking on the subject too. She had always simply accepted Peter's views without examining their validity. Now she'd read a book which turned some of her previous beliefs upside down.
Perrin was mildly optimistic by what she said. He would reserve judgment until he saw proof.
He thought back to the talk Grandma had had with him about trying to understand his mother's viewpoint. She had reminded him that Madeline's faith taught her homosexuals were bound for Hell.
"Don't you see that she literally felt your eternal soul was at risk. She was willing to make you angry for the purpose of saving you!"
"But, you didn't teach her that." Perrin had countered.
"She was married to your father for 23 years. They dated for two years before that. She's had a quarter of a century of brainwashing! It will take time to undo that."
Madeline's divorce was proceeding faster than she'd expected. Once Peter realized that she would never change her mind, he wanted to put the whole matter to rest. Obviously, she hadn't been committed to their union in the way God intended. He put the blame on her instead of himself.
With the procedure speeding up, she would be looking for a place for the children and her to live, with far less upkeep. In anticipation of selling the house and moving into a condo, Madeline was in the mood to pare down some of the household items she had. She offered various family heirlooms to her children if they wanted to keep them. None of them had the means to store them for a long period of time, so they chose only small keepsakes. Perrin treasured an antique writing desk that Grandma Flo said she would keep in her garage for him. She made the same offer to his siblings, but neither wanted to keep anything large.
Perrin, Liam, and their siblings, along with Grandma, helped tag the items that were to be sold, and aided with a garage sale on the last weekend of break. The weather turned out to be warm and dry, so there were a lot of people who turned out looking for a bargain. Everything went for close to what they were asking.
The homeowners' association fussed at them for holding a "common sale" in the neighborhood, but couldn't put a stop to it before everything was over. The wording in the covenant wasn't specific enough to hold water.
When the last few unsold items were boxed up to give to charity, Madeline sent out for pizza to reward her mother and the kids who had helped. She invited Cindy and Loren to join them.
Having grown up within far-right religious circles, Perrin had learned to be suspicious of just about any gestures of that sort, no matter how they appeared on the surface. He was concerned about what her motives might be, but he relaxed when it turned out to be a big party. Everyone seemed to be having a good time. After most of the pizza had been consumed, Madeline asked her mother to bring out the dessert.
There were plates of brownies and chocolates, but the thing that shocked Perrin was when Flo opened a large bottle of champagne and poured it into little flutes on two trays. She asked Perrin and Liam to distribute them among the family and guests.
"I want to propose a toast to my son, Perrin and his soulmate, Liam. Here's to a long life of happiness together!"
If anyone wasn't moved by her gesture, they disguised it well. Perrin's tears flowed freely as he kissed his soulmate in front of his family for the first time. Then, the two of them set their drinks on the coffee table, so as not to spill on the carpet, as they both hugged Madeline.
Next, they hugged Grandma Flo.
"See, I told you," she whispered.
Perrin couldn't remember a time when he'd felt so much at peace with the whole world. He wasn't officially married to Liam, but he was already experiencing the "happily-ever-after effect.
All too soon, the week was over, and the kids were back to school. At least, they'd had a good break from their studies, and summer wouldn't be too far in the offing. Perrin and Liam were still walking on air. It would take a major catastrophe to change that.
Perrin's RA job continued to be much easier from what it had been in the fall. Spring weather made some of the freshmen squirrely, but it amounted to a little harmless craziness. Life was good.
As is often the case, the part of second semester which followed spring break flew past quickly. In no time, students were finishing course details and studying for finals.
To help break the tension for the guys in his wing, Perrin ordered a bunch of pizzas and had them delivered at 9:00 on the night before their first final exam. It was a welcome diversion for the guys who had been slaving away reviewing for hours. It gave them the stamina to work a while longer, and it certainly didn't hurt his reputation as an RA.
Needless to say, Perrin and Liam found other ways to release stress as well. Doubtless, Clay and Garth did too.
Memo: I'm gone and my editor, David, is posting. I won't have email access until after Jan. 27th.
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