Tel Pere, Tel Fils, Chapter 2
"Whoa! Had we known this was going to happen, we'd have given you guys the Pacifica to drive," Kevin said. Did you get everything?"
"I think so," Peter nodded. "Thank God for bungie cords. What are we going to do with all my crap?"
"I'll give you the remote for the 4th garage door and you can pull in there. There are extra hooks on the wall for hanging bikes. You can bring in your essentials immediately and leave the rest for later if you want. I'm sure Nate will help."
"I'm on it, Uncle Kevin. The two of us will get him settled in no time."
Around 3:00 p.m., the boys stopped for a break and a snack. As they were sitting at the breakfast bar, Glenn came in to check on them.
"I'm glad to see Nate's playing host. As soon as you get acclimated to the house, you'll be able to find your own snacks. We expect you to make yourself at home."
"Thanks, I feel welcome already."
"Are you guys all finished?"
"Nope," Peter replied. "I think we have less than half an hour's worth left."
"I'm planning to marinate some chicken breasts and thighs in lemon juice and olive oil with a few herbs. I have feta and kalamata olives to put with it. Do you like Greek food?"
"I love it. Don't ever worry about what I like. I'll eat about anything that doesn't eat me first, or so I've been told," he joked.
"Just like your Dad, I see."
"Um, do you think Kevin will be willing to let me call him that?"
"Let you? He'll be thrilled. He's been obsessing over whether you'd be comfortable with it."
"Cool!"
Dinner was delicious. Kevin had made a horiatiki salad and lemon seasoned potatoes to go with Glenn's chicken. There was rice pudding for dessert. The teens complimented them on their cooking, most notably, Peter who claimed he couldn't remember ever enjoying a meal more.
"You guys are amazing," he said.
"Kevin and I only cook on the weekends - to be honest. Nate does too sometimes. Our housekeeper, Ella, is a far better chef than I am. She has a lot of recipes and I tend to stick to a few basic ones that you might find repeating after a couple of months."
"This is more than basic! If you fed me this once a week, It would be fine with me!"
It hadn't been a terribly taxing day, physically, but it had been exhausting emotionally, especially for Kevin and his son. As a result, no one wanted to stay up too late. Having chatted after dinner until around 9:30, Kevin said he was ready to have a shower and go to bed.
When they all stood up, Peter approached his sire with his arms outstretched.
"Thanks for everything, Dad."
That opened the floodgates of Kevin's emotions. He remained for several minutes intertwined in an embrace with his newfound son. It made him even more determined to make up for the years he'd lost with the boy.
Nate laid out a clean towel for Peter and gave him first shot at the large walk-in shower. Peter carried his toothbrush and a pair of boxers to put on when he finished.
A few minutes later, Nate took his turn.
Despite their stressful day, the teens were too wound up to settle down immediately. So, they stayed awake talking for a while.
"You're a big hit with everyone already. It's like having a new baby," Nate observed as the teens got settled into their beds.
"I hope you don't think I'm trying to displace you in this family."
"Nope. I'm not jealous. In this household, there's plenty of love to go around. You deserve all the affection and attention you can get. I can empathize about the loss of parents. In my case, they didn't abandon me intentionally. Icy roads and a semi that was going too fast did that."
"I'm really sorry! I didn't know you'd been orphaned."
"You had no way of knowing. It happened several years before we met and I'm sorta used to it now. I was still pretty young. Uncle Glenn is my godfather and he and Kevin brought me into their home immediately after the crash. They got me counseling too. My emotions were very raw at first, and I'll always miss Mom and Dad, but Glenn and Kevin have given me all the love anyone could ask for. Back then, they let me snuggle between them when we watched TV, and crawl in their bed if I woke up and was scared during a bad storm. We've become a real family. I call Glenn `Papa' sometimes and I know he likes that. Most of my friends think he IS my dad since we have the same last name and he's just enough older than I am for it to be believable."
In the master suite, Kevin couldn't settle down either. Like his son, he was still reeling from the events of the day. After their shared shower, Glenn offered to give him a massage, hoping it would relax him and allow him to go to sleep soon.
Having Glenn's hands caressing his body was good therapy. However, instead of putting him to sleep, it ignited his fuse. Their lovemaking was the perfect remedy for his stress.
In the afterglow, they discussed the implications of having another teen in the house.
"What will your reaction be if Nate and Peter should happen, um, get together? I know Nate has never come out to us, but I don't think my gaydar's broken. In my opinion, he has a crush on your son."
"I suppose there could be some drama involved if that happened while they're under the same roof. I certainly couldn't forbid them from having a relationship if they do. It would be hypocritical to deny them what you and I have. They're both nice kids. I couldn't ask for anyone better for my son if he's destined to be like me. I just hope no one gets his feelings hurt."
"Cool! I feel the same."
"I knew you would."
Peter woke up fairly early on Sunday morning with the sun shining in his face. He hadn't thought to close the blinds and evidently Nate hadn't either. He'd still had about eight hours of sleep which had been more restful than anything he'd had in recent weeks. When he turned on his side, he became aware of the sticky spot in his sleepwear. Then, he remembered the awesome dream he'd had in which Nate was making out with him in his bed. Peter chastised himself for thinking of Nate in that way. After all, Nate was going to be like a brother. It seemed kind of like incest to feel that way about a family member, even if they weren't related. Besides, he had no reason to believe that Nate was gay.
After peeing and brushing his teeth, Peter came back into the bedroom just as Nate was getting out of bed. The projection in Nate's boxers suggested that he was well enough endowed. It brought a smile to Peter's face as he climbed back into bed to rest a little longer.
"Do you want to go to church with our papas? There's still time to get dressed and make it. If not, I'll stay home with you," Nate said.
"I've been in the habit of going, but if it's all the same with you, I'd like to take a rain check. I've been so restricted for so long that I'm not excited about the whole concept of religion. I've heard so many sermons on the `culture wars' and how the acceptance of gays and lesbians led to the attacks on the Twin Towers back in 2001 and the climate changes which have brought natural disasters recently. The whole subject was repulsive to me but I kept my mouth shut until I got disowned. In fact, I've still kept it shut and played along because it's safer."
"I can see your point, but I promise that where we go it's not like that. I'll stay home with you today. I hope you'll give it a chance sometime in the future."
"Okay, it's a deal; if you stay home with me this week, I'll go with you next Sunday. But I won't promise beyond that."
"Cool! Let's eat breakfast and then go skinny-dipping in the pool. That will feel naughty, and it's totally private."
"I like that idea! Being naked outside on a Sunday morning can be part of my rebellion against how I've been repressed all these years."
Swimming nude in the large pool was an exciting venture for Peter in more than one sense. He had heard other kids talking about doing it, but he'd never experienced it firsthand. When they stripped off their boxers, he began to firm-up immediately. He would have been embarrassed about getting hard in the presence of another guy in the past, but today, he felt free and rather proud. Part of that was because Nate had the same reaction. Both grinned, sheepishly, as the dived into the deep end quickly. The shock of the cool water caused them to begin to soften almost immediately.
They swam a few laps before climbing out and heading for a couple of loungers where they had placed their towels.
"Boy, I really shrank up in that cold water," Peter laughed.
"It doesn't look that small to me," Nate blushed.
"It's cool we both have our skins. I just realized that we've been pretty modest since we met, even in the showers at school. I guess I was always a big prude about letting anyone see me. Part of it was because of how I've been brought up and part was because I was afraid that I'd pop a woody and everyone would think I was gay," Peter said.
"I used to worry about that in the locker room too. I always tried to find a shower in the corner where fewer guys could see me. And I usually pulled my foreskin back so I'd look more like the other boys if they did catch a glimpse," Nate agreed. "I've never felt uncomfortable here in the pool because we never wear suits unless we have company."
"Wow! I wish I'd grown up like that. Paul and I both got paddled when we pulled down our pants and peed together in the backyard. We were told never to show off in front of another boy again or we'd get double."
"My papas said going nude was natural and nothing to be ashamed of. I'm glad I grew up with them!
"We better be careful not to burn our skin. Could you rub some sunscreen on my back and I'll do the same for you."
The application of lotion made the teens both firm up to half-mast but neither attempted to hide his condition. Both grinned.
"You have a darker tan than I do," Peter observed.
"I swim nude a lot, but it's not all from exposure to the sun. Part of it is my natural skin tone."
"Oh, do you have some Latino blood?"
"Nope, it's Romini, and I have only a little."
"Romini?"
"Yeah, like gypsy, but that word's kind of a slur, like the `N' word for Black people. My mom's grandmother was from Romania, but our ancestors probably originated in India."
"Wow! That's fascinating. My ancestors are mostly northern European, if Ancestry has it right. I think your color is perfect, it complement's your chocolate eyes!"
Peter's compliment made Nate very happy. Ever since their first meeting a couple of years ago, he'd been hoping to get closer to this young stud.
When the adults returned about an hour later, they found the boys asleep in the sun. It appeared to them that the teens had fewer secrets now than they'd probably had earlier in the day.
Peter was awakened by the sounds of someone jumping into the pool. Looking toward the lounger beside him, he realized it couldn't be Nate because he was still asleep. As he sat up, he could see that it was Glenn and his father who were swimming. Remembering he was naked; he was considering how to get the beach towel wrapped around him without drawing too much attention. Then he noticed the flash of bare butts. The adults were also nude. He decided that he didn't need to be self-conscious.
"We're going to dry off and put out some lunch stuff," Kevin called. "We stopped and got watermelon on the way home to add to what we served yesterday. If you guys are hungry, throw on your boxers and join us."
Nate roused, and they both got under the shower in the pool house to rid their bodies of sunscreen and sweat before donning their boxers and joining the men to eat.
"I see that Nate explained the dress code for swimming. I hope you're okay with it. I realize it's probably not how you were raised," Kevin said.
"I'm fine with it. I feel really free without any clothes on under God's blue sky. I don't know why some people get so hung up about our bodies."
"That's our philosophy," Glenn added. "We never put on swimsuits unless we're having company, though we don't usually run around the house naked."
"Do you two have anything planned for tomorrow?" Kevin asked, changing the subject.
"I'm scheduled to work from 8:30 to 5:00 at Fareway and I have a couple of other things I need to do, but I may be able to take care of both by phone. I want to update my contact information at school, and I need to tell the man who was going to rent me his basement apartment that I'm no longer interested in it. I haven't put a deposit or signed a lease, so I'm not obligated. However, I don't want to keep him from renting it to someone else while the market is good, with university students coming back soon" Peter explained.
"I'm pleased to find that my son isn't afraid to work and that he's considerate and responsible as well."
"Maybe I could get a job there too," Nate said. "Are they hiring?"
"Yup. We have some guys leaving for college in other towns soon, and some families are taking vacation before school starts, so there's always a need for replacements. You should go with me tomorrow and apply. You could drive my car home and pick me up later."
For a bit of recreation away from home, the teens went to the park to play disc golf while the men said they were taking a nap instead. On hearing that, Nate and Peter exchanged meaningful looks. They suspected the adults were more interested in a little wrestling than resting in bed.
"This is a fun way to spend a Sunday afternoon," Peter commented. "We were never allowed to play on the sabbath. We had to either rest or read the bible or some other religious writings. Of course we couldn't work."
"Seriously? I thought those `blue laws' disappeared before our parents were born. I've only read about them in history books."
"My adoptive family was very 19th century in attitude. That's how I ended up working where I do. I couldn't take a job anywhere that I'd be asked to work on a Sunday – even if it was only once a month. I usually work Saturdays, though. I took yesterday off to find Kevin."
"Man, how did you stand those restrictions without rebelling?"
"I'd been programmed since I was a tiny infant. I didn't know any other way of life. But I do now, and I'm glad to be free. I'm not going to go wild or anything. It's more like I'm evolving."
As they continued to play, their conversation turned to other subjects.
"Jees!" Nate exclaimed. "You're really good at this. Were you fibbing when you said you hadn't done it before?"
"Nope, I haven't played this game, but I've thrown a Frisbee a lot."
Nate wanted to bring up the subject of more personal things Peter had been denied but thought better of it. He was curious about a lot of details of Peter's life. He decided that he'd better wait for another time when the subject might come up. If he started it, Peter might think he was a pervert.
Author's notes:
Boy did I screw up. I tend to spell by ear and spellcheck doesn't always catch me. Dr. Jekyll's name was incorrect in chapter 1, as was the title. It should have read Tel Pere, Tel Fils which is Like Father, Like Son in French. Since the "l" in "fils" is silent, I messed it up despite my college French classes of long ago.
I heard from the following about the story: John L, Johnny K, Pup, Tony C, Bear P, Nicx, Jim M, Chandra B, Ott H, Charles G, Allen S, Peter S, Kevin K, Tim T, Gordon S, Paul R, Si R, Rod R, Frank K, Lance C, and Paul R. Your emails keep me plugging away at this.
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Thanks to David S for editing. He finds typos and missing words! He also makes valuable suggestions.
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