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The New Apartment part 8
I didn't know very much about farming but at least was able to understand what David was saying, it turned out that Ben was almost as knowledgeable as his father, which I suppose was only to be expected having been brought up on a farm.
The soup for lunch was delicious and almost certainly home made and the bread was really crispy. The sausages were apparently hand made by a local butcher.
As we finished eating and relaxing over a cup of tea, David said "Surely you aren't driving back tonight, why don't you stay"
"I must admit it is a long journey so if it's convenient I would love to stay, also it will give you more time with Ben" I answered.
"Is my sleeping bag still in the cupboard upstairs?" Ben asked.
"I should think it is, but Dick can share your bed, I feel certain it won't be the first time you have shared" said Mary.
There was silence for a short while, Ben was staring at his tea cup, then Mary said, "Is Dick your boyfriend?"
Ben nodded as he burst into tears.
Mary quickly stood up and stood beside Ben and drew his head onto her chest. My hands were on the table and David put his right hand on my left and squeezed.
Slowly the tears dried up and Mary said, "Don't be upset, we aren't"
"But I've disappointed you" whimpered Ben.
David was a man of few words, he normally let Mary do the talking, but hearing Ben say that he said, "Don't ever say that son, you have never disappointed us in your life. You have always done as we asked, you have worked hard and by your own efforts got yourself to college and you have always been a loving son"
"Let's go into the parlour and get comfortable" said Mary.
Once we were seated Mary said, "We may live in the back of beyond but we do know what goes on in the world. Most young men grow up and get a girlfriend but you grew up and got a boyfriend, what difference does it make. The most important thing is that you are both happy and love each other, and most of all look after each other"
She paused to get her breath then continued, "Ben, as long as you are happy, Dad and I will be happy, and from what we have seen of Dick you couldn't have a better boyfriend"
She looked across at me and said, "Dick please look after our son and don't ever hurt him"
"Thank you" I said, "We have our disagreements but we couldn't intentionally hurt each other, we love each other too much"
Mary stood up and came to where I was sitting, I stood up to face her and we hugged, as we parted she gave me a kiss on the cheek. Then David hugged me.
"Ben, why don't you and Dick go for a walk, I imagine you need to talk while Dad and I go and check your bed and put out some clean towels."
I don't know where we walked to, I was too concerned about Ben, but I imagine it was in a circle as we arrived back at the cottage.
As we walked I didn't speak, I judged it best to allow Ben to sort his thoughts out. "I can't believe it" he said eventually, "How long have they known, and they aren't even worried about it"
"I'm not suggesting you need it, but surely that is concrete proof that they love you more than you can imagine" I said.
"We have always been a close family" said Ben, "I think my sexuality is the only thing I've never talked about"
As we entered the front door, Mary called out, "Sit yourselves down I've just put the kettle on"
When the four of us were comfortable with a mug of tea each Ben said, "How long have you known?"
"About half an hour" said Mary.
Ben and I immediately looked up at Mary. "Half an hour?" said Ben
"Dad and I have suspected it for some time" said Mary, "But it was only confirmed today. When you were in your mid teens you sometimes went out with girls, but you weren't in the least worried when they moved on to somebody else. Your main interests have always been study and the farm. That changed when you moved in with Dick, you were obviously so happy. Whenever we talked on the phone it was never, My friends and I did this or that' it was always, Dick and I did something'
"I didn't realise" said Ben.
"When you arrived today we only had to watch the way that you looked at each other, and also I can't imagine a `landlord' lending a car to his lodger's family"
"Dick I guess we have been rumbled" said Ben with a smile. I was so pleased to see that my boyfriend was recovering from the shock.
"While we are all being honest" said David, "You aren't expecting us to get a new car, are you?"
Both Ben and I both looked at his Dad and Ben said, "Well no, not really, it's yours to keep"
"Young man, the car isn't yours to give" retorted his Mother.
"Yes it is Mary" I said, "We share everything, but if it makes you feel better I will keep the car in my name and we can say it is on permanent loan."
"You can't afford to just give a car away" said Mary.
"Well actually I can, and what better way to use my money than to help out my partner's family"
Mary very soon went back to the kitchen and David went out to do the milking, my boyfriend joined him as soon as he had changed his clothes.
I wandered into the kitchen to keep Mary company; and we chatted.
"If you are in a position to give us your car, why did you take in a lodger, you clearly don't need the money" she asked.
I gave her the full explanation of wanting company and then seeing the students.
"When Ben first came to you were you looking for a boyfriend?" was the next question.
"No" I replied, "I've never had a boyfriend before, at first Ben was just a nice polite boy, or perhaps I should say man, who I thought would prove to be good company. Another thing is he wasn't the usual party and drinking type of guy. The rest came upon us gradually"
"Dick, can I be honest with you" she asked.
"Of course, I prefer things that way, and I will do my best to be honest with you" I replied.
"David and I have suspected for some time that Ben was different to most of the other boys around and it had crossed our minds that he might be gay, as they call it these days. Naturally we would prefer that he wasn't but whatever he may be he is still our son and we love him very much"
"We told Ben earlier that we weren't upset and that is perfectly true, it is so obvious that the two of you are in love; and from what we know of you, we are sure he couldn't have chosen a better partner"
"That is very kind of you to say so" I replied. "As I said just now, I've never had a boyfriend before, I have had one or two friends that I have slept with, but that was all it was"
"I liked Ben from the moment he stepped through my front door, and once he had agreed to be my lodger I was happy. It was only when he moved in the next day that I realised that there was something more, at least as far as I was concerned, but I didn't know how he felt."
"It wasn't until after your visit that anything changed"
"We were talking one evening and Ben asked questions about my earlier life and we slowly realised we felt the same"
I think both Mary and I realised that we needed to digest what we had said, so I left her and drifted out to the milking parlour to watch Ben and David.
What I knew about farming could be written on the back of a postage stamp but I was immediately impressed. It was so clear that they were Father and Son and they worked as a team, barely speaking.
I was so fascinated watching them that I stayed until they had washed down and finished, then the three of us walked over to the house. When we were back in the kitchen I looked at my boyfriend and said, "Ben, you smell like a pigsty"
He laughed and said, "No, I smell like a cow shed, we don't keep pigs, Mum how long have I got to shower?"
"Is twenty minutes long enough" she replied.
Both Ben and me were reasonable cooks but it was nice to have a meal cooked by his Mum. Later we all watched TV, Mary and David made a point of sitting in the armchairs leaving the couch to Ben and me.
It wasn't very late when we went to bed, life on a farm starts very early in the morning. As we settled in bed Ben said, "It's been a pretty eventful day, I don't think I could have got through it with out you"
"Ben, you have nothing to worry about, let's face it, if it wasn't for me you wouldn't have had anything to explain, your Mum is a really nice person, we had quite a chat when you went to help Dad. They have been very understanding haven't they?"
"Yeah, I couldn't have better parents" Ben replied.
When I woke in the morning I was alone, I thought at first they he must have gone to the bathroom, but when he didn't appear I guessed he must be helping with the milking again.
We left soon after breakfast as it was quite a long drive, also Ben still had some work to complete before Monday morning
That evening when we went to bed we weren't interested in sex, all we wanted was to hold each other, and in a way we were more relaxed than usual now that our relationship was in the open to his parents.
Ben and I settled into a very happy routine, it didn't revolve around sex, although our sex was very satisfying, and it was very much a fifty, fifty partnership, neither was the dominant partner. In our daytime life we always made decisions together
The next thing of note occurred when Ben brought another student home one evening to work together on a project.