This is a story about some young gay men and their families, and what they experience learning about gay life. Thanks to Tim Mead for all his help. Comments welcome to Cgard43@hotmail.com
THE OTHER BOYS OF SUMMER
-11-
I got a call from Eric that surprised me. He had been very busy that last week, meeting with my uncle and the other crew foreman to rearrange schedules for the continuing lawn services with a reduced crew.
But, he had called to tell me about a date he'd had with Drew the night before. They'd gone out to dinner and then went back to Drew's place to, in Eric's words, 'play around.' He said with a giggle that he'd made it home just on time. I laughed along with him.
But, that wasn't really what he wanted to talk about. Before he'd left to go out with Drew that evening his father had asked him to sit down in his den and talk. The bottom line was that Eric's Dad had asked his son if everything was safe between him and Drew.
"Oh yes, Dad," Eric told me he'd replied, "We're both adults and we're behaving like adults. We wouldn't do anything to put the other at risk, believe me." When Eric told me this he had the most self-satisfied tone in his voice.
He reported that his father had then hugged him and said, "I promise I'll never ask you for details, but I want you to know that we trust both you and Drew and that we love you. Thank you, Eric. You're the best!"
Needless to say, Eric was totally blown away! He was obviously proud of himself and of his relationship with his Dad. I have to admit that I was as well.
So, it was the beginning of the last week of my summer job. I hated thinking about it coming to an end, but I'd decided to take Willie and Pedro out to lunch on Thursday rather than Friday and told them at the beginning of the week
Pedro corrected my pronunciation of the Spanish word for Thursday just slightly and then gently touched my arm. I knew it was a sign of affection and accepted it for what it was. There was suddenly a sort of stilted silence between us as we were stopped at a stoplight.
"You and Senor Eric," Pedro asked finally, this time in English, "You are a...uh, couple?" I must have looked shocked because he and Willie both grinned.
"I'm sorry," Willie said in Spanish, "You know, about calling anyone a maricon?" He looked so sincere that it made me laugh.
"Non," I explained in Spanish, "We are just friends." They both looked very puzzled, but I knew I was at a loss to find the words in a foreign language to explain what I'd been trying to do over the summer to help Eric learn about being gay.
About an hour later I got some help from a most unexpected source.
I had just finished the weeding and was loading my bags of debris back onto the truck when a young, very attractive Latina walked out from the office building where we were working. She waved to each of the guys and then approached me.
"I know you're the interpreter on this crew, but the guys have questions that they don't know how to ask. They're also not sure you know how to answer them in Spanish," she said. Then she smiled, and I'm sure I looked startled.
"I don't understand," I stammered. She just smiled at me.
"Pedro is my half brother," she said, "He was born in Mexico; I was born here. He's very puzzled about something and has implored me to explain it to you and ask you to explain." I'm sure I still looked puzzled.
"He and Guillermo think that you and your foreman Eric, is that his name, are having an affair of the heart and they want to wish you well, but they don't know how to do that." Now, I cracked up and laughed aloud!!!
"No, no, no," I explained, glad to be able to do so in English, "Eric was having some trouble finding himself (how's that for a euphemism?) Since we met this summer, I have been trying to help him and talking him through the problems he was having. Beyond that, he's just a good friend." She nodded and then she grinned and laughed.
"See, this is why there are soap operas on TV! Things get so confusing, don't they? What do you want me to explain to them?"
"Tell them that our friend Eric is doing just fine now and that I am doing just as well with my own guy." Suddenly it felt awkward to have said that, but she was still smiling.
"I hope that doesn't embarrass you." She laughed, and then grinned at me before she spoke to the other two in some of the fastest Spanish I've ever heard. Willie and Pedro laughed and we all said thank you to our special translator.
As we walked around to the back of the truck, hidden from view, both of them hugged me singly.
Pedro whispered something to me that, if I understood the Spanish correctly, told me that Willie was his guy too! I couldn't help but laugh, especially later on as I was driving home and thought it all through.
So much for their sex just being getting relief They were both as gay as I was. I still wondered if Pedro ever got to top Willie. That put a big smile on my face.
That week, we were working again at Drew's building. I didn't really expect him to come out to talk, but he did.
"I know they say that things happening at the same time is just a silly bit of serendipity, but imagine what last Friday evening was like for me?" he asked. His face had the biggest grin I'd ever seen on anyone, but I just smiled at him.
"Okay, and you know this as well as I do. I met Eric's parents and they met mine. Eric met my parents. Have you figured out the irony yet? Turns out our Moms already know each other." I just continued to smile.
"My parents are glad I've met a guy from a good family and his parents are glad he has too! How idiotic is that?" I chuckled but wasn't going to give him an inch.
"And what did you think?" I asked finally. He looked puzzled.
"Weren't you glad that your boyfriend has nice parents?" I asked, "And don't you think Eric was glad his boyfriend does too?" He looked at me like he was surprised.
"I never thought about Eric that way," he said. I just laughed.
"Of course you didn't, Drew. You met Eric one-on-one. It's just that parents often seem to worry about that other sort of stuff. Well, some of them do anyway." He grinned and I realized that he'd understood.
"So, if you're Eric's tutor, how about becoming mine?" I laughed.
"Sorry, Drew, I'm about to turn in my chit for that job," I said. "I've got to go back to school, remember?" He laughed with me.
"I'm nominating you to take my place for Eric here locally, Drew," I said. He smiled very big and for a moment I thought he was going to hug me. Fortunately he remembered where we were and just smiled and shook my hand.
The next day I called Rafe and asked if he could join my crew and me for lunch on Thursday.
"You mean that? You want me to meet them?" he asked.
"No, actually Rafe, I want them to meet you. Is that okay?" I answered. I could hear him laughing.
"Why is that, my darling Andy?" he asked.
"Just to clear up a mystery that I want to help my pals understand." Rafe laughed but said he'd figure out a way to do it.
I wasn't really sure why this whole deal with having these guys on the crew meeting Rafe was so important to me. I understood that they thought I'd been getting it on with Eric and while that didn't really bother me, I wanted them to know the truth about me. And I guess maybe it's also that I'm so proud of Rafe and care so much about him that I want the guys to know that truth also. How about that for logic?
Eric called me on Tuesday evening in something of a panic.
"Andy, Drew's mother called my Mom today and said we were all invited to dinner next week," he said, "How weird is that?" I laughed.
"It's not weird at all, Eric," I said, "It's what straight people do. Well, gay people have dinner parties too, but there is this tradition; as I remember the old rule, I think the groom's parents call on the bride's, but I don't think that really matters in this case." Eric absolutely howled.
When we'd both quit laughing at that, I tried to explain how I saw it to Eric.
"I think Drew's parents are actually trying to give both of you some sort of permission to continue dating. They're inviting your parents to join them in letting both of you guys know that they're fine with your being together. Doesn't that seem logical?" Eric almost audibly relaxed.
"Oh God, Andy," he said in a whisper, "You always know how to make sense of these things. You're my brilliant tutor." I just chuckled, glad for those old etiquette book lessons I'd read.
"But here's a catch you might not know," Eric went on, "Drew told me that you and Rafe and your parents are going to be invited as well." He laughed. I was sure he'd gotten the wrong end of that one. None of us had ever even met Drew's parents. The whole idea was absurd.
But it was me who was wrong. Just a day later a lovely invitation arrived in the mail addressed to my parents, Rafe and me. It was to a dinner party at Drew's parents' home the next week. It was quite a swanky address (quite near Eric's parents, by the way) and my Mom had lots of questions when she showed the invitation to me.
"Oh dear," I said, "You remember I told you about that guy Eric I'd been trying to help this summer?" She nodded but waited for me to go on.
"Well," I was struggling now, "This invitation is from his new boyfriend's parents. Sorry Mom, I didn't know this was coming." She gave me a quick grin.
"Oh Andy," she said with a smile, "So, we get invited to a nice dinner party because we've got a great son. How wonderful is that? I'll call and respond tomorrow." I'd expected her to be upset, but instead she just hugged me.
"You really are terrific, Andy." And that was all she said. I felt myself starting to get nervous.
Later, when my Dad got home, I tried to explain it all to him. He took it all in stride, touched my shoulder gently and smiled.
"Of course we're going: you, your Mom and Rafe and me." I was stunned.
"Why, Dad?" I said quietly. "You and Mom don't even like these sort of things."
"Who says?" he chided me. "I like parties. I enjoy being well fed and entertained. And in this case, I think I like being well respected because I've got a terrific son. How about that?" I felt sunk, although that last part went right over my head.
"But we don't even know these people, Dad," I went on. Surely somebody would understand why I felt so frustrated.
"Actually, that's not true, Andy," my Dad said quietly, "I've met your friend Drew's father several times in business. But it was just business, not social." I didn't know what to make of that.
When I told Rafe about it he just laughed.
"See what all this talent of yours gets you?" he said with a chuckle.
"Oh really?" I countered, "Well, you're gonna be the boyfriend on parade. How does that make you feel?" He giggled again which surprised me.
"In this case, Andy, it makes me feel very proud. I will be glad to be known as the wonderful Andy's boyfriend. Okay?" I was lost. He'd been my last hope. So then I called Eric.
"Eric, you don't really think we should all go to this deal, do you?" I asked.
"Oh yes, Andy, you have to. I mean you're my tutor and you've helped me with all this stuff this summer. I couldn't deal with it if you weren't there."
"Oh, Shift," I said, using one of my favorite expressions. "I don't want anyone paying attention to me."
"Oh, they're not going to, Andy," Eric said, "This is just a party for Drew because he got a big promotion at work. I thought you knew that."
"Oh, thank you God," I said. "In that case of course I'll be glad to be there."
On Thursday Rafe did meet us for lunch and I got the chance to introduce him to Willie and Pedro. Rafe knows a bit of Spanish from school and coped pretty well. He also taught me the look to get on your face when you want someone to go back and explain something they've just said. But, hey, remember that in my world Rafe doesn't do much of anything wrong.
The guys were fun to watch. They seemed a bit reticent at first but once I'd introduced everyone ands we'd been seated, they both seemed to be fine with things.
I'd insisted we go to my favorite Mexican restaurant. Willie and Pedro had obviously been there before because the waitress spoke to them by name and in Spanish and then to Rafe and me in English. Then she asked if we wanted the hot or the mild salsa. I just said "picante, por favor" and my Mexican friends nodded and smiled. She looked surprised and Rafe just grinned.
"Am I going to die from all this hot stuff?" he asked. We had a good laugh.
Lunch was fun and delicious, and I felt great hosting it. I'd explained (without details) about how close Willie, Pedro and I had gotten over the summer and Rafe joined right in with the fun. Rafe even managed to explain, with a little help from me, about his own summer job with computers. After a few minutes I could see Willie and Pedro's eyes spinning in their sockets. Ah well, computer science is not for everyone.
Toward the end of lunch, Pedro pulled a piece of paper from his pocket and read in very careful Spanish.
"Now we comprehend. We thought Andee was dating el Jefe, but now we see he's got another handsome friend. Very nice to meet you, senor." Rafe understood and he looked pleased just as did the rest of us. My eyes met Pedro's and he winked at me. I knew what he was thinking and we both chuckled.
I reached under the table and found Rafe's hand and held it up in a salute. We all laughed and finished our soft drinks. It was fun! I felt somewhat sad on the last day of work when I said good-bye to Willie and Pedro but I promised them I'd be back next year, and we all hugged amicably.
to be continued.