This story contains explicit sexual activity between men. Please read no further if you are offended by such or if you are a minor. Any resemblance to actual persons or activities depicted is purely coincidental, but actual places and events are mentioned to add a sense of reality to the story.
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SAM CALDWELL'S FURTHER ADVENTURES
by Macout Mann
Chapter 17
Eleven's Better than Ten
It was just going to be a simple party in Sparta. A few friends, dinner and drinks. Maybe some friendly sex afterward.
It all starts to change, when Christian contacts Merritt. "Let's make it a surprise party. We can have it at the Georgian Terrace. Remember that's where you and Vernon and I got together after you discovered I was in the symphony."
Once the decision to move the party to Atlanta is made, the event grows exponentially. It is decided to hold it the weekend exams are over at Georgia Tech, so Win can come. If Win is coming, Myra and the other boys should be invited. Mason had come to Sparta for Spring break, and Win tells Jim that Sam has become fond of both him and Ron, so they both should be invited.
Win also tells his father about David, and what all Sam has done for him. So David is added to the list. Mrs. Caldwell is invited but says she doesn't really feel up to traveling to Atlanta.
As the invitation list blossoms, Merritt thinks about Aris. Over the preceding months they had met and had gotten together both with and without Sam. Merritt knew Christian, Vernon, and Jim didn't have the resources he had, so he had had them agree to put up a fixed amount that they would each contribute; and since the Atlanta get-together would be more expensive than the one being planned in Sparta, he would pay for the rest. Being the hustler that he is, though, Merritt figures that if Aris is invited, he will insist on paying a share. And Merritt is right. So both Aris and his father and mother are added to the list.
Finally, Ron learns that, rather than having to ship his stuff back to Houston, his father is driving to Atlanta to get him and his belongings. So Mr. Masterson is also included. Sixteen in all, for cocktails and a buffet. Ten of the group are known to at least some of the others to be gay or bi.
Meanwhile, Curt Abramson has invited Sam to join him on the book tour, but to the relief of his friends, Sam declines, saying "I don't want to horn in on your glory." Actually he has heard that book tours are exhausting.
One of the smaller function rooms at the Georgian Terrace is beautifully laid out for the event. The buffet table is spread with a host of tempting dishes, ranging from crudité to Crab Newberg. The guests are all well met, despite the variety of social and educational statuses represented. The professors are fascinated by David's mixture of grace and street smarts. Mrs. Kanteres and Mrs. Hart are completely compatible. And Mr. Masterson isn't the ogre that Sam expected him to be.
"I know that you are not Win's real uncle," Masterson tells Sam, "but it's great how you've obviously made him comfortable at school here. And my Ronald seems happier than I've seen him in years."
"He and Winston seem to have been well matched as roommates," Sam tactfully replies.
Later, Ron and his father are chatting. "Almost all the men here are bachelors," Masterson says. "You don't think they're faggots, do you?"
Ron is tempted to come clean, but instead answers, "Do they look like it? An Olympian? Two full professors at one of the best schools in the country? Sure, you might say that a professional violinist or an artist might be gay, but....no, dad, these guys are some of the most masculine guys I've ever seen. Some men just never find the woman of their dreams or just aren't interested in marriage. I'm beginning to think I might be that way."
"Oh, you've got lots of time," his dad replies. "But that young boy over there--David is his name?--There's something about him....I'll bet he has girlfriends aplenty."
Ron almost chokes.
Christian taps on his glass to get the attention of the group.
"Hello, everybody," he begins. "I think I've talked to everybody I didn't know beforehand, but I'll admit I can't put a name to every face, so if you're in the same condition, I'm Christian Ballard, chairman of the Art Department at Sparta University.
"Commencement at Sparta is next weekend, so it was eleven years ago almost to the week that I made a talk like this to a group like this on the occasion of the graduation of a boy named Sam Caldwell. Sam came to Sparta as a freshman the same year I started teaching there. And a couple of my friends, Vernon Ramsey and Jim Hart, were first to take a special interest in Sam. As a result I did too. And over the next four years, we saw Sam grow not only in artistic talent but in so many other ways, that when he graduated, we and many others in the Sparta community felt he was destined for great things. And it turned out he was.
"We should have had this tribute last year, on the tenth anniversary of his graduation, but as one of our number has said, `eleven is better than ten,' so Sam....Congratulations on all your successes. We're still proud of you, and wish you even better things to come."
There is applause, then Vernon speaks up.
"As a physicist, I, unlike Christian, had no academic oversight over the young Sam. It fell to me to oversee his physical development. Forcing him to go to the gym twice a week. I must say that I am glad that he has kept in shape all these years. But, Sam, I can still take you down anytime."
"Wanna try?" Sam says. Lots of laughter.
"I guess I'm next," Jim says. "I'm the redneck' in the crowd, and I guess I was in charge of teaching Sam everything his father had failed to tell him. I did take him to his first redneck bar.' And as a result of that, he produced the set of prints that made him his first fortune."
"Yeah, and there were some other things that happened that night," Sam blushed. More laughter.
"Can I go next, Dad?" Win asks. Then he says, "I was four when Sam came into our lives. He's been like an uncle to me and my brothers. He started helping me when I first posed for him. I was a kid jumping into a swimming hole. Dad told me I shouldn't take money for posing for Sam, so Sam started putting my fees into an account for my college education. Now I'm able to go to Georgia Tech, in part because Sam gave me the will to go to college and the dollars that account has provided has made a big difference....and Sam, you know nobody gets sitting fees that size!"
"And I want to say that if you hadn't done those things, Win wouldn't be my roommate, and I'd never have gotten to know you, Mr. Caldwell." It was Ron speaking. "I was pretty full of myself when I came to college, and I was pretty nasty to Mr. Caldwell, when we first met. He wasn't kind to me either. But over the last nine months, both he and Win have helped me to understand things about myself, and I'll be forever grateful."
Everyone who wanted to say something spoke. Aris spoke of his remarkable talent. Merritt reminded him that he had gotten him extra work while he was in college. Mason told about his admiration for Sam's work as a child and how proud he was that through Win he had been able to meet him. The last and most hesitant speaker was David.
"My name is David Williams, and I've known Mr. Caldwell for less time than any of you, I think. And yet he has had a bigger influence on my life than anybody else. I got out of high school without any idea of what to do. I was headed nowhere.
"His father had just died, so he was in Columbus. He was just walking around and ran into me. Somehow, he sensed that I was in need. Oh, I didn't think of myself that way. I thought I was pretty hot shi....stuff. But after talking to him just a few minutes, I realized that I needed help and here was somebody that wanted to help me.
"He hired me for six months to look after his mom. And she's such a wonderful lady. And then he helped me get a job here in Atlanta that pays enough for me to help support my mom and my kid sister and I'll still be able to start college next fall like these guys. And I owe it all to Mr. Caldwell."
There isn't a dry eye in the room.
Finally Sam gets up.
"Well this was some surprise. Christian mentioned the party he and the guys gave at my graduation. I got up then and gave a speech, and ended up crying my eyes out. Well, this time I'm just going to say thank you' and sit down. But I do mean thank you' for all your help, and friendship, and love."
And then he bursts into tears.
When the party breaks up, Jim and his family drive back to Sparta. Sam will be alone at the Habersham. Christian, Vernon, and Merritt remain at the Georgian Terrace. They want to relive the night they had spent there when Christian and Vernon discovered that Merritt was in the symphony. Since Win is not staying at the dorm, Mr. Masterson decides to bed down in Ron's room.
As they are driving back to the dorm, Masterson is very talkative. "Those guys said they were going to stay at the hotel tonight. Yet doesn't one of them live at the same building that Caldwell does? Sounds gay as hell to me.
"And what did you mean about them helping you understand yourself?"
Ron decides that the time has come. "Yes, Dad, they are gay. And I needed to understand about myself, because I am too."
EPILOGUE
"The Steel Skeleton" was published and sold well, but it didn't reach its vast intended audience, so it was the first and last graphic novel in that format.
Sam's portrait commissions continued to come, and he found himself spending a greater amount of time doing portraits than illustrating books.
Aris placed fourth, out of the medals, at the Atlanta Olympics, but he was still a star, particularly in Greece. So a Greek museum convinced Kanteres to sell Aris' portrait to it, which gave Sam something of an international reputation.
The centenary of the Spanish American War was not celebrated with great fanfare, but an organization calling itself "The Remember the Maine Society" commissioned Sam to do a group of scenes depicting events on the Maine just before it exploded. They had been impressed by Sam's Pirate Canvas at the Whitney Museum. The Fogg Museum at Harvard, which Theodore Roosevelt attended, had agreed to display the oils during the centenary, and both the society and the museum would sell lithographs of the pictures to raise funds. This project made Sam even more famous.
Sam, Merritt, the Harts, Christian and Victor remained close throughout their lives.
Both Win and Ron got degrees in Civil Engineering. Mason in Information Technology. The three of them formed a company which became a leader in using IT to solve problems arising in infrastructure construction and repair. Mason married a girl in his class at Tech.
David also got his bachelor's degree, but he proved so adept in his work for Jackson Hardaway, that he ultimately advanced to become president of one of the Hardaway enterprises. And early on for several years he was also able to amass a small fortune pleasing Hardaway and his compatriots.
As to Ron's father's reaction to his dramatic revelation at the end of the story, dear reader will have to decide for himself.
AUTHOR'S NOTES
So....you have read all through the Adventures of Sam Caldwell. Please let me know what you think. It means so much to hear from you. I'm at macoutmann@yahoo.com.
And oh yes. How do you think Mr. Masterson reacted to Ron's coming out? I'd like your take. Same address.