Second Chance, Chapter 29
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Chapter 29
Garret's night with Luc turned out to be all he'd hoped for and more. They couldn't leave each other alone. They drained each other nearly dry before they were satiated enough to enjoy the simple pleasure of cuddling. Even then, it took a while before they went soft.
Somewhere in the midst of their Marathon of lust, Garret realized that his crush on Rob had been just that – a crush. He felt the same desire for Luc. In fact it was stronger because he was getting to try the things that he'd been curious about. Luc was a considerate lover who seemed as eager to please as he was to receive pleasure at the hand of another.
Garret was beginning to understand his orientation. He knew that he enjoyed girls as friends, but that he yearned for sex with boys. He realized that Rob wasn't going to be his boyfriend because he had a man in his life. Rob was mature beyond his years and wasn't going to be interested in a naive boy – even though he was only half a year younger.
Garret, however, had no problem hanging with a guy a year younger than himself. Luc had the same dark hair and beautiful blue eyes as his big brother. He also seemed to love experimenting with Garret. It might not turn into true and lasting love, but it satisfied Garret's needs for the time being.
He still wished that he could have fooled around with Dylan, but he didn't see that happening – ever. The good thing was that he had a car to drive and a buddy to get off with. Life was looking a lot brighter than it had a couple of months ago. He wouldn't concern himself with finding never-ending love just yet.
In Monday's mail there was an envelope addressed to Josh. He did a double take when he saw the return address.
"Who's Roger Mills?" he asked Eric.
"Isn't that the guy who's married to Colt's dad? Open it up and see."
"It is. Listen to what he has to say. They couldn't come to the opening of my show because Ethan had to go to the emergency room for stitches after falling on the front steps. But they did go the following week and bought my painting of Eddy Falls. They want us to come over on Saturday, if we're available, to see where they've hung it in their foyer.
I didn't even know they'd planned to attend my opening. I guess Colt must have told them about it. He was excited for me."
"We'll talk to the `old guys' to see what's up for this weekend," Eric said. "I'm sure at least you and I could get there."
Luc and Rob saw each other for a few minutes between their lunch periods on Tuesday. Garret and Luc had become almost inseparable since the weekend. Rob grinned at how close they seemed to be. He suspected that they had done something more than sleeping in their shared bed, and he hoped that they'd remain good buds at the very least.
Luc had more news than he could share fully and promised to email Rob the details later. For starters, their mom had kicked their father out of the house and was filing for divorce. She'd already contacted a lawyer on Monday morning.
(That evening in Luc's email, he would find out that she had searched the web for articles about gay teens and was scheduled to attend her first meeting with the local chapter of PFLAG later in the week. She had also found a priest in another parish who believed in including all of God's children in the church.)
"I've never seen her more peaceful and `alive'!" Luc exclaimed. "It's like she's a new person. You're gonna love it!
Oh, here's your cell phone back. Mom wants you to have it so you'll call her sometimes. She's gonna pay for it like when you were home."
Rob didn't get teary, but his heart felt warmed by the news. Eric and Josh could feel the emotion in their friend. It made them happy, and nearly tardy for their next class.
Rob's mood was bright and breezy as he relieved Scott of his babysitting duties that afternoon. There might be a chance of becoming reconciled with his mother. She had never really been a nurturing person to Rob because of being emotionally screwed up after the birth of the younger children. Rob had often felt more like the parent. Yet in the recesses of his heart, he still loved his mom even though he had felt betrayed when she didn't stop his father from throwing him out. Since she'd grown a spine and dumped his father, maybe, just maybe, things would get better.
He was holding Robbie in his arms looking out of the nursery window when he saw something that cut like a knife through his euphoric mood. Reese was standing in the drive with his arms around Blake. From where Rob stood, it looked like they were kissing. His heart felt like lead as he turned away from the sight. He didn't want to look again, but he couldn't resist taking another peek. Blake was now standing alone and Reese was hurrying toward the street.
Rob looked at his son with sad eyes. He talked to the baby in an effort to keep his spirits up.
"Well Robbie, I may have been premature in telling you that you have another daddy. I didn't consider that Reese might try to get back with Blake or that Blake might want him. They weren't together for that long, but I guess they were really close. I'm afraid that I could lose him. What am I gonna do?"
Robbie smiled and babbled as if he were trying to cheer up his father. He was like a warm, lively Teddy bear. Rob held him close, trying to keep his mind off of what he'd just seen.
Rob tried to keep from showing his internal turmoil during dinner, but his dads noticed that his appetite was not what it should be. They didn't pry because they assumed that he would talk to them if he had a problem. Perhaps he was merely tired. He didn't have much time to relax and be a teenager after all.
Josh and Eric noticed too and thought that they might try to talk with him before bedtime. It wasn't like Rob to look so glum – especially since he'd come to live with them.
After dinner, the back doorbell rang and Rob went down to answer it because everyone else was upstairs at the moment. Blake stood there looking stressed. Rob was tense too.
"Aren't you going to let me in?" he said.
"Oh, sorry. Of course I am. What's up?" Rob said feigning a casual attitude.
"I need to talk to you in private. I don't want to hurt you. You're never going to believe what happened today."
"Try me," Rob answered, afraid of what he might hear.
"Reese wants me to take him back. He's called me several times today. That twink I caught him with recently threw him out when he cheated on him. He says that he hooked up with this third guy because he looked like me. He claims that he's still in love with me. He says that he's learned his lesson."
"So, what did you say?" Rob asked, holding his breath until he heard.
"I told him to get the hell out of my life and to stay out! He kissed me and begged to come back. It made me want to puke! I didn't want his lying lips on me. There's no telling where they've been."
The tension drained from Rob's body and he smiled at his distressed lover.
"Let me kiss you and make it all better."
"Not until I go wash my face one more time to make sure it's clean. I'm not gonna give his germs to you. What if they spread from us to Robbie? We need to protect our baby from stuff like that."
"Our baby," Rob repeated in Blake's absence. "Did you hear the Robbie? He does love us!"
Blake returned from the bathroom a few minutes later with a clean face and sparkling eyes.
"Rob, do you have any idea how much I love you?"
"I think I'm beginning to have an inkling, Babe."
They went up to Rob's room and lay on the bed with Robbie between them. Every now and then one or the other would lean over the infant to give his boyfriend a kiss. Robbie babbled and kicked his feet in the air assuming that the attention was all directed toward him.
Josh happened by the open door with his camera in hand and recorded the scene for Robbie's memory book.
"Let me take the young `un up to the studio with Eric and me. We're done with our homework and would love to play with him so that you can play too," he said with a smirk.
"Thanks, but I think he needs changing."
"Can do! You two have a little quality time while we enjoy our nephew. I think Rob could do with some cheering up."
"Rob I'm sorry, but this will have to be a quickie. I've got to finish a term paper and get the last of my stuff ready for the University of Minnesota so I can transfer there in the fall. As soon as I fill out this last form and get it in, it's a done deal."
"I don't even care if I get off," Rob said. "I'll be content to have your naked body next to mine and know that you ARE mine."
"Did you ever doubt it?"
"I saw him kissing you when I looked out this afternoon."
"Shit! I would have called the club and canceled swimming lessons if I'd known! All this time you probably thought I was cheating on you. Damn him! He could have screwed up everything!"
"Don't damn him; feel sorry for him. How could anyone not want to be with you? I'm sure that he still loves you on some level even though he can't seem to be faithful to anyone. But if he still wants you, he's not going to get you. I'll kick his ass if I have to."
"Like you said to me once when I was worried that you'd be attracted to younger guys, `there is no contest'! I'm in love with you for the duration. Now let me help you out of those clothes..."
Blake and Rob emerged from the bedroom about 15 minutes later looking a bit disheveled and very happy. When they got up to the studio, the other boys grinned at them knowingly. Whatever Rob may have said about not caring if he got off, he was pleased that Blake hadn't taken him at his word.
"I'll see you tomorrow, Babe." Blake said as he began to descend the stairs.
"I'll see you to the door. Feel free to come back to tuck me in bed if you get your paper finished."
"If I tuck you in, I won't be able to leave."
"That's okay too."
"Okay, I'll work extra hard on it and you can proof-read it in the morning.
They kissed once more at the back door and Rob bounded back up to the third floor.
Rob had barely put Robbie down for the night when he saw Blake coming across the lawn. He hurried down to let his boyfriend in.
Blake hugged him tightly, pulling him up so that his feet left the floor.
"Zac was so grateful for having the apartment to himself that he offered to proof my paper after the first draft and again after I'd finished. It's all done and I have time to tuck you in bed."
"Will you sleep with me? It would really make me happy to have you lying next to me."
"See this?" Blake asked holding up a small bag with clean clothes and shaving kit. "I was hoping that the offer still stands. I'm beat and I'll bet you are too, so I was thinking that we might cuddle like old married folks. I mean, we should probably be content with having made love earlier this evening."
"That would be cool," Rob agreed. "I'll be up early with our son anyway."
And it was cool. Blake lay on his back, and Rob lay on his side with his head on Blake's shoulder. It felt very natural. They both fell asleep quickly.
Auditions for roles in the spring play were held that week. The theater department was planning to stage "The Foreigner" and Eric was hoping to get a part in it. He had landed a major role in his former high school and was eager to tread the boards again. He didn't feel that his singing voice was good enough to be in a musical, but he could act.
Josh liked being on the stage too. Oddly, he was more comfortable in front of a large audience in a darkened auditorium than he was in a small group when he was the focus of attention. Of course, he had gotten over most of his anxiety after having to glad-hand a lot of strangers in the gallery. He had always been pretty outgoing when meeting people one on one as Eric had noticed the first time they met. Eric thought it was too bad that the school wasn't doing "Winnie the Pooh" because his vivacious Josh would be the perfect Tigger!
Several of their friends also auditioned. Eric got the lead part of Charlie Baker who was the shy person pretending not to understand English. Josh got to play the part of David Lee, the innocent acting minister who had a darker side.
Damian was going to try out for something until he found out the plot revolved around a group of racists in Georgia. He told the director that he understood that there wasn't a spot for him, but he'd like to help with scenery.
"I'm sure that a guy with my superior tan couldn't play someone like that red-neck `Owen Musser' who discriminates against everyone. It's fun to see him outwitted by a halfwit boy.
I'd still like to read for you so that you can see what I can do."
When Damian got through, the director looked impressed.
"You've got me thinking. I would like to do "A Raisin in the Sun" next season. You'd be great as Walter Lee. Do you think you could interest enough other kids with your `superior tan' so that we'd have a full cast?"
"I'll do it! I'd bring in my cousins from Alabama in order to make it happen. It's an awesome play! But, I'm pretty sure there are enough brothers and sisters in this school to fill up the cast. Could we stage it in February in conjunction with Black History month?"
"I see no reason why we couldn't. That would almost guarantee us a full house. Let's plan on it!"
Rob made several false starts at phoning his mother before he eventually let the call go through. He wanted to talk to her, but he really didn't know what he'd say.
"Hello Mom, it's Rob."
"I know, dear, I saw your number come up. How are you and how is the baby doing?"
"We're both fine. He had a great three-month checkup. The pediatrician was happy with his gains. He's grown several inches and put on several pounds, but he's still kind of long and thin. He eats like a horse; it's not that I haven't been feeding him."
"He sounds like a chip off the old block. You were the same way. Luc says he looks just like the baby pictures of you. That young painter, Joshua, must have captured him perfectly. When I saw that painting I knew the baby had to be yours."
"Uh, Ben and Scott, my guardians, said if you're free on Sunday afternoon you'd be welcome to come over to visit for a while. I mean, if you don't have something else planned."
"I'd cancel an audience with Pope Benedict to see my grandson!" Sophia Mancini exclaimed. "May I bring your sisters and brothers?"
"Oh yeah, they're invited too. Gloria and Theresa will probably want to hold him the whole time, but he's beginning to become a bit leery of strangers. He's fine with everyone in the house, of course."
"I hope your son will take to Nicky and Mickey. They may be boys, but they love little kids just like you always have. You wouldn't believe how often they've come to my room to see the painting since your father's gone. Luc did tell you, didn't he?"
"He told me. I have no feeling toward the man, but you didn't have to get a divorce on my account. I'm not coming back to live there regardless. I have a new life."
"No, I did it for me and for the family. Your father has always been difficult to live with – very demanding and verbally abusive at times. I didn't realize how bad it was until after he was gone. I feel so liberated."
"Okay, well Robbie's fussing and I have to go. Plan to stay from about 2:00 to 4:00. Luc can show you how to get here. Pull right into the drive and park in back."
"Thanks Son! I love you!"
"Okay, bye Mom."
Rob put down the phone to pick up his son. Knowing the love he felt for this little guy made him feel guilty that he hadn't been able to say to his mother that he loved her. She must care for him in some way like he did for Robbie, so why couldn't he believe it and respond in kind? He wondered if he'd ever be able to.
On Saturday afternoon, Ben, Scott, Josh, and Eric drove over to see Roger and Wade. They had told Rob that he was welcome to come too, but he said he and Blake were going to do laundry.
"Oh I do wonder what they'll find to occupy their time while the dryer is running," Josh said in an exaggerated, campy voice.
"Probably what you and I would do," Eric snickered.
"Boys, behave back there!" Ben laughed.
"What? I was picturing them spraying stain remover on what's going in the washer next," Josh countered innocently.
"Yeah, probably working on the stains on Rob's sheet," Eric added.
Scott was going to admonish him, but ended up laughing too hard to sound convincing.
Josh was surprised at how great his painting looked on the foyer wall in the Johnson/Mills period home. If he hadn't done it himself, he might have mistaken it for the work of an established artist. Fortunately, he'd brought along the camera so that he could photograph it in this perfect setting. Mr. Hadley had encouraged him to keep a record of his best pieces to put in his portfolio in case he decided to go to art school or study art at a university.
Roger had made a double batch of excellent brownies that he said were from his mother-in-law's recipe. He was pleased at how well they were received. He had planned to freeze the extra ones for later, but decided to send home a dozen with their guests.
Wade and Roger's son, Ethan, managed to sit politely long enough to eat a brownie and drink a glass of milk. Then, he tugged at Eric's left hand and Josh's right insisting that they should go up to the attic and play trains. He even offered them his favorite one to play with if they'd come.
The boys were delighted that he liked them well enough to suggest that they could use his much loved toy. So, they accompanied him to the toy room while the men visited.
About 45 minutes later, Roger came up to tell his son that the boys had to leave because their fathers were going home. Ethan was disappointed, but cheered up when they promised to come to see him again.
Author's notes: As always, thanks for emailing me. I think the list is complete: Rad, Mark H, Rutabaga, Ash B, Pete R, Bill K, Polar, Jim C, Mike DeW, Karserus Jim We, George, Dave J, Devin N, Paul R, Carroll, Anein, and Tim E.
I'm in sunny Kansas. It's going to be 101 F again. Oh boy!
David