Liam's Journal, Chapter 4
April 11th:
Tony and I spent last night at his grandparent's place, and we'll stay tonight as well. Poor Ed isn't doing well. His lungs were damaged by the virus, and he may have to be on some oxygen for the rest of his life. He's made out a living will. It sounds more like a dying will to me. It states that he wants no "heroic" measures to be used if he goes into cardiac arrest. Adelade said he's also updated his other will. She didn't say what changes he'd made.
On the bright side, Tony and I had an extremely hot encounter last night. In deference to Adelaide's sensibilities, we shower separately when we're here. It doesn't make sense to me, but that's how it is. Anyway, I insisted that he take his shower first, so when I came into his bedroom after mine, I found him lying face-down, nude on the bottom sheet with his yummy butt sticking up in the air. You could tell its effect on me by the way my towel projected in the front!
Since his dick and balls were showing beneath his buns, I couldn't resist crawling up behind him on the bed and licking them. He must have been hoping I'd do this because his sac was freshly shaved. If his moans were any indication, I was driving him crazy! Anyway, he asked me to stop before he went over the edge, and he did the same to me. Boy that area between the root of a guy's dick, and the other private place we're not ready to lick, is way more sensitive than I imagined!!!!! We barely made it to the usual 69-position before nearly drowning each other. What a way to go!
April 12th:
It's Easter, but it doesn't seem like it. We did online church and there were lilies and the traditional hymns for the occasion. Still, not being there made it feel more like a movie than a spiritual rite.
In the afternoon, we did a zoom thing with Grandpa Fred and Grandma Caroline. That was kind of fun. We had Adelade and Ed here for part of the day so they didn't have to cook and so they could relive parts of their Egyptian tour with my grandparents. They all loved it! Ed seemed exhausted by the time Tony and I took them home.
April 15th:
This was a special day, but not because of income tax. That deadline has been extended. No, today is Tony's birthday. He's officially an adult. He's been teasing me about being older and wiser, singing some lines from Sound of Music that his old school preformed when he was there. Since I'm also 17, and going on 18 before long, I'm not impressed with his supposed "maturity."
Adelade supervised me in making his favorite chocolate cake from her recipe, since she's still feeling weak. It starts with a name-brand mix to which she adds vanilla and almond flavoring, so I'm not sure she couldn't have done it without my help. I think she's passing along her secrets so I can please him when she's no longer around. That gives me a mix of emotions! I'm pleased that she accepts our relationship but sad that her life could pass.
Oh, wow! Her frosting isn't from a can, and it has a whole stick of real butter in it. You spread some on the bottom layer and sprinkle miniature chocolate chips before adding the top layer and coating the whole thing with the rest. It's special, alright.
April 16th:
Two workers at the Tyson poultry processing plant died of Covid. That's scary. I've been trying not to react to all the bad news about the pandemic, but I guess I need to document some of these things in order to write about them for our class assignment.
Speaking of Mr. Fiala's class reminds me to note that he's started doing karate club online. It's cool to have the contact with other members. We have been going to Benji's house to practice some already, so this makes it all the more special. We get training as well as socializing!
When we're not doing the zoom-thing, Travis wants us to practice in just our jockstraps. He's full of hormones. I must admit it's stimulating!
April 18th:
Ed must have had a premonition that he wouldn't be here today. Last night, he asked us to gather around the hospital bed they'd set up in the family room for him. He had Tony put a hand on his upturned left hand and then had me put mine on Tony's, and Adelade, on the other side of the bed, put hers next. Then, he struggled to raise his right hand and placed it on top.
"I love you all. We're family," he pronounced is a voice barely above a whisper.
Tony and I both fought back tears. It reminded us of a biblical patriarch blessing his children before dying.
When Adelade went to check on him this morning, he wasn't suffering anymore.
April 19th:
We're staying on with Tony's grandma for a while at least. She seems better but we aren't taking any chances. As much as she'll miss Ed, I think she is relieved knowing he's at peace.
Tony is being brave for her, but I felt his tears on my shoulder last night. I'm doing what I can to ease his pain. God, I love this guy!
April 25th:
Ed's service was in the chapel at the Gay and Ciha Funeral Home (Ciha is pronounced kinda like the seeds they use on chia pets). Yup, Gay is part of it too; I'm not making this up. The crowd was small. Tony's parents were here, and we all wore masks and socially distanced. Tony was touched that our close-knit group of boys all showed up to support him. I think it surprised his father, Lloyd, that he had made so many loyal buds in the time he's been here.
Since Adelade had her daughter, Patrice, for support, Tony chose to come home with me. He still doesn't want to be around his father more than necessary. They're civil to each other, but I don't feel the sense of love I feel from my dad. It's sad!
April 26th:
Tony's parents went back to Chicago after lunch. His mom insisted that he spend the morning with them. She included me in the invitation, so I went. It wasn't my first choice of things to do. However, I knew my guy needed me there.
It was only the five of us. Tony's mom had given Ms. Sacket the day off. She's the lady they hired to help take care of Ed. She will be staying on parttime until Adelade feels well enough to take care of the house. I think that will be awhile.
Lloyd made some comment about having Tony come back to Chicago with them. That didn't go anywhere. Tony told him that he's happy here with his boyfriend. I think his father was going to pursue the matter, but Patrice gave him a death-glare and he shut up. I'm so relieved that they're gone!
We're staying with grandma tonight, so she won't be alone.
Oh, speaking of grandparents, mine have recovered well! I've tried to remain lowkey about the good news around Tony because it's so opposite of his situation. He let me know that he's happy for me.
April 30th:
The President has invoked the Defense Production Act to force meatpacking facilities to remain open during the pandemic. Owners are happy, unions are questioning how workers will be kept safe. God forbid our fearless leader should be in danger of missing his cheeseburgers due to a beef shortage! I guess I'm giving away my political views.
May 1st:
Benji had a party for his best buds, and of course I was invited because I'm Tony's boyfriend. Yeah, we're official. It hasn't exactly been a secret in the past several months that he's been sleeping in my bed, as well as staying at our house.
This is a special day in a number of cultures. In the Amana Colonies, they usually have Maifest. It's a traditional German celebration of the beginning of spring. It's cancelled this year, like everything else, because of Covid. So, Benji's dad thought we should have a party to honor the occasion.
We had two different kinds of bratwursts, cured and uncured, which Mr. Lewis fried up and served with homemade hot German potato salad, red cabbage, and specially seasoned cottage cheese. He said it was as close to an Amana meal as he could get. He promised to serve it sometime when we were all old enough to have a beer with it. It was delicious! I love the uncured brats. Benji's dad said they were like ones he'd eaten on a boat cruising up the Rhine years ago.
Tonight, we've having a sleepover as well. It's so good to be with people!
May 5th:
According to the news, 1,400 Tyson workers have tested positive to Covid 19. The toll on employees there is heavy. It kinda takes the joy away from Cinco de Mayo, especially since a number of the workers are of Mexican descent.
Dad got carryout from a Mexican restaurant, and we had it with margaritas. Okay, the adults had those with tequila in them and we kids got virgin ones.
Our governor is adamant about the necessity of keeping the meatpacking plants open for the sake of having enough food to go around. I think it's more that the owners have her in their pockets through donations. I feel like the owners are more concerned about their bottom-line than they are about the health of their workers.
May 8th:
Well, today I officially became an adult! We had a party and sleepover at my house and invited the four guys we're closest to. Gio's family offered lasagna at cost! Tony made Adelade's special chocolate cake, and my parents made salads and provided ice cream. They insisted on staying in the kitchen out of sight, unless serving something. They were going to have Collin eat there with them, but the rest of the guys insisted that he join us. I know he appreciated it. He's cool.
The other guys brought their sleeping bags and zipped them together, as couples, on spare beds, so there wasn't any extra laundry for mom. She appreciated that.
May 9th:
Tonight, would have been prom. It's one of a host of things that would have marked our senior year if times were normal. I guess it's okay. We won't be spending money on formal wear, and we'll end up in bed together anyway.
Tony and I are sleeping over at Adelade's again this weekend. She seems to appreciate the company, and we try our hand at making food that she likes. She seems to be getting stronger!
May 11th:
We got back our big term papers from Mr. Fiala's class today. Tony and I both got an A+ on ours. Of course, we don't know what the other kids got, but we do know that all the writing was excellent because we all have copies of each other's essays. Mr. Fiala is entering them as a group to the National Teachers of English Association. They usually accept only individual pieces but made an exception in this case. We won't be awarded any prizes. However, they are going to publish the whole compendium in their magazine which comes out twice a year. It's a great honor for us and for our school! I hope the district realizes what a great teacher he is.
May 13th:
A lot of our online classes have involved reviewing for finals. We don't have one in English because our paper covered that. Tony and I feel good about all of our classes. Still, we're taking it seriously and doing our best to make sure we're ready.
May 18th:
This is the beginning of finals week for seniors. Then, it's off to graduation! Oh wait, that's been cancelled too. I'm not sure what they're going to do about distributing diplomas without the usual rituals. No Pomp and Circumstance this season...
I was just looking back to my January 11th entry in which I said this was going to be the best year ever. Boy was I wrong!!!!! Well, in some ways it's been good. At least I have a fiancé. That's right, I have asked Tony to be my husband, and he's agreed. Now, we have to decide when and how to do it. I'm sure a lot of people are going to tell us we're too young. My parents won't because they got married really young.
May 29th:
Yes, this is graduation day. Our school did a cool thing. Every senior homeroom teacher delivered the diplomas to their kids. So, it happened at about the same time for everyone. Ms. Gorman got off easy because six of us from her ELP homeroom gathered at my house to get ours together. My parents provided a cool party for us to celebrate, and the other four slept over like they had for my birthday.
When Ms. Gorman came to the door, we were all masked like she was. She had a recording of the traditional Elgar music on her cell phone which she played as she handed us our diplomas, so she tried to give it some class. We appreciated her efforts.
I should have included her as one of my favorite teachers, but I forgot to since I'm not in any of her classes.
June 1st:
Tony and I have been working on our finances. I have an inheritance from my maternal grandparents which will help with our living expenses. If we both get parttime jobs, we can get by. I'm not sure where we'll get jobs with almost everything closed down. I still want to get married soon!
We contacted Father Winkler today about having him marry us. I made a big faux pas! I had heard he was gay. Not true! That was Father Jerry Martin who serves another congregation nearby. But it's all good. He wasn't offended and he said his wife and children could vouch for his orientation. He's willing to do the ceremony or he's okay if we want to contact Father Jerry. Either way, we will have to take a compatibility evaluation. Mom is highly in favor of that. She feels we're as well-suited as most couples heading for the altar, but as a psychiatrist, she's all for ironing out any glitches before a union rather than after.
We have just enough time to complete our premarital counseling before the July 1st date that we'd like to use.
We have a choice of three venues in the area which range in price and services. We could use the church, a chapel in a rustic setting near a lake, or a restored mansion which was the home of one of the state's early governors. The church is the cheapest but has the fewest amenities. The lakeside chapel is elegant but costs more because it can include lunch and a honeymoon suite. Anyway, the date we want is already booked. The mansion, Stone Manor, isn't booked and can provide a reception and a honeymoon suite, and we can get an incredibly good deal. The owners are in the same general profession as my mom, and they'll give her a serious break on the cost! They all hold each other in high regard. And get this, the young owners are a gay married couple! I think we've made our choice. We plan to give them a deposit tomorrow.
June 4th:
We had our first premarital counseling session with Fr. Jerry tonight. It was good. We did two different assessments which are supposed to indicate whether or not we're a matched set. Our answers were so close that the priest joked about us having ESP or something. We were greatly encouraged.
Earlier in the day, we had sat down with Adelade to make sure she's onboard with our getting married. It isn't that we'd cancel if she's opposed, but we wanted to get a feeling of how much "selling" we'd have to do.
We were amazed! She's quite supportive. She said that the thing which tipped the scales was Ed's blessing the night he died. If he, as a conservative life-long Catholic saw us as a family, she had no problem with it either, despite what the Church might say. Wow!
We are also welcome to live with her, rent-free.
Tony's mother is okay with whatever makes him happy. He doesn't give a rat's ass what his father thinks!
June 11th:
Tony and I got another boost today. Besides doing well in our counseling sessions, Tony found out that Ed had created a sizeable trust fund for him when he changed his will. It won't cut Adelade out of whatever she needs, but it will leave a bit less to Tony's mom. Adelade says Lloyd will be "fit to be tied" when he hears about it. She thinks it's funny because she never cared a lot for him anyway.
We have a couple of housing options. Mom and Dad will be happy for us to live with them because they already think of him as another son, so we won't be a pair of struggling students trying to make ends meet. Mom says financial problems are what disrupt many marriages in the first few years. She doesn't want it to happen to us. Talk about support!
June 12th:
Tony and I have parttime jobs! We signed on to unload semis and stock shelves. It will all be done at times when the store isn't open to customers. We feel that will be our safest option. Adelade isn't afraid that she could catch the virus again because of the antibodies she's built up from having it. However, she will get vaccinated if/when something becomes available. In the meantime, we will be careful to observe all protocols. We remember how that kid in Tiffin fell ill from working in a grocery store.
June 15th:
Every once in a while, reality hits us. The administration in D.C. thought the numbers would go down once summer got underway. Well, the summer solstice is a little over a week away, and new infections and deaths are still on the rise. It makes Tony and me all the surer that we want to have the official seal on our relationship. If something should happen to either of us in the future, at least we'll have had the present.
June 23rd
We had our last premarital counseling with Fr. Jerry. The rents have paid the balance for the rental of Stone Manor, including the luncheon and honeymoon suite. Now, all we have to do is count the days.
Oh, yeah, we still have some, um prep-work to continue for the consummation of our union. What's cool about renting this facility, in addition to the obvious, is that the gay couple who own it have a pamphlet they provide for their gay male customers which is like a guide to pain-free coupling. Now, that's service! They gave it to us when we set the date, so we'd have adequate time to prepare.
June 24th:
Tonight, was our last time for fooling around until we're legally hitched. We both agreed that it could make our honeymoon more intense. Right now, it sounds fine. I wonder how we'll feel after a few days of abstinence. Of course, we can still cuddle, and we will.
July 2nd:
Yesterday was so fine that I couldn't break the spell to write about it until now. Tony and I are officially wed, and we've consummated our union. How's that for recording it without any naughty words?
The setting in the restored mansion was perfect. There were fresh flowers in addition to the potted greenery which made it look like something from a fairy tale. Cinderella would have been pleased.
Add to that, the music and ritual, and you have a wedding to remember. We recited our vows without any mistakes.
The catered lunch was perfect too. Of course, it was all done on a small scale. Our only guests were members of our families, our best buds, and Mr. Fiala and his husband, Neil McVey.
We asked Fr. Jerry and his husband to join us at our table. Everyone was compatible. Lloyd had stayed on Chicago because he "couldn't leave his business" that weekend. His absence was an additional blessing!
When our party wound down, we ascended the stairs to a large bedroom on second floor which had an equally commodious bathroom attached. The sheets on the bed were red satin. There were roses and scented candles. It was perfectly romantic, right down to the ice bucket chilling the wine.
We both lost our virginity in all the ways gay boys can.
Later, we reflected on the whole concept of losing one's virginity. When a boy makes love to a girl and deposits his seed, he loses his virginity, and she loses hers. With gay guys, does the receiver lose his in that act, as well as the giver? Or must one deposit his fluids in another body to achieve that status? Of course, it really doesn't matter since we took both roles that afternoon and evening.
It was nice to soak in the big tub together before we went to sleep. We had done our prep-work but were still a bit sensitive from the experience.
Author's notes: Thanks to Tony C, Drew M, Hayde O, Paul R, Charles G, Gordon, Frank K, Mendy D, Allen S, Jim W (2), Bill T, John L, David W, Ott H, and Dick S who emailed since last posting.
It looks like the next chapter will be the last one in this series. However, I can't guarantee that Liam and Tony won't show up again. One never knows. These characters take on a life of their own.
Thanks to David for editing even while traveling with his husband.
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David