Date: Mon, 9 Jul 2007 17:07:03 -0700 (PDT)
From: crispin emrys <crispinemrys@yahoo.com>
Subject: Crispin-and-Zephyr/Part-1-Crispin/Chapter-8-revised

While these fictional stories are the product of my imagination, nothing
happens in a vacuum.  Like most fiction, it is based on real people I
have met, places and events I have seen.

The Prologue and Chapters 1-13 appeared on Nifty this winter.  They have
been extensively revised (especially Prologue and Chapter 13) and Chapter
13 has been completed.  I will post two per week then continue with
Chapter 14.

It may be against the law to read where you are because of its content or
your age.  Or you may feel uncomfortable reading it because of the belief
systems you have accepted.  Follow the dictates of your heart.  If you do
read this series, I hope you enjoy it.

When this five part story is completed, it will have told the tale of one
boy and one man and how their intimate relationship and love for each
other led to the creation of a modern day legion of boy knights. These
knights errant became young champions of human and social rights and
defenders of the weak and the downtrodden.  These Boy Knights of the
Green Republic reveal the true meaning, purpose and power of boyhood.

You may be aware of the etymology of the word knight, that it is derived
from the Old English cniht, meaning page boy, or servant, or simply boy.
Knighthood, as in the Old English cnihthad, had the meaning of
adolescence, that most intriguing period between childhood and manhood.
In this sense every boy is a knight, and in my estimation a potential
knight errant.

Copyright 2007  Crispin Emrys.  All Rights Reserved.

This series may be displayed on any website so long as no money is
charged for access and attribution is retained.  Just ask permission
first.  Thanks.

This project is dedicated
    to Guy Davenport, a gentle genius and unsurpassed writer of short
stories who died in 2005,
    to every Crispin and Zephyr in this or any other world,
    and to you the reader that you may be encouraged by it.

I am Crispin Emrys at crispinemrys@yahoo.com.   Please feel free to
contact me.  I always enjoy hearing from readers.

Index for Part I ^Ö Crispin -- What has happened up to this point:
    February 1999
Chap 1 -- Robbie 1
Chap 2 -- Robbie 2
Chap 3 -- Call to Crispin from Gwen Powell-Jones
Chap 4 -- Crispin agrees to visit
    March 1999
Chap 5 -- Plane Boy ^Ö Cody Clarke
Chap 6 -- Crispin stays with Gwen, visits various schools and takes the
position
Chap 7 -- Cris and Cody 1

Because of the large cast of characters, I thought it would be helpful to
the reader to have a list.  Ages are for March, 1999.

    Crispin Emrys Wydham
    Chipper Sutherland

    Anna (Annie) Rothko
    Aleksey Rothko (Alex, Alyosha, Alyoshka) -- 13
    Mikhail/Michael Rothko (Misha, Mishka) [1983-1996]

    Robbie -- 15
    Summer -- Robbie's mother -- 32
    Tanner [1984-1998]
    Adam -- Tanner's brother -- 10

    Gwendolyn Powell-Jones
    Cullen "Cully" Powell -- 23

    Major Theresa (Terri) Clarke -- 35
    Jonathan Cody Clarke -- 11
    Uncle Billy Clarke -- 33
    Paul -- Uncle Billy's partner -- 22


Crispin and Zephyr
Part 1 - Crispin
Chapter 8 -- Revised

March 1999
Indian Peaks Wilderness, Colorado

    The weather was perfect.  Cris had to admit it.  It was just before
nine on a lovely Sunday morning.  Cris found himself looking back into
the rear view mirrors so that he could watch the sun play across the
mountains to the west.  The great plains to the east made the horizon in
front of him nearly flat as Cris made his way once again from Gwen's to
Cody's.  The air temperature was not terribly cold, maybe crisp, though
still chilly if measured by San Francisco standards.  The cloudless sky
offered a continuum of blues, beginning with a rich cobalt in the west
over the mountains and ending in a feathery light sky blue tinged with
pale yellow in the east closer to the sun that was still low in the sky.
Cris was enjoying this solitary drive, a lovely Sunday morning excursion
on an almost vehicle free highway.  Soon his mind stated to meditate over
the events of the past week.

    As he drove into the warm sunlight, Cris let his thoughts go.
Thoughts began to bubble up into his consciousness quite without effort
or game plan.  Each one led not to a conclusion, but to another thought
or question, which in turn pointed to another conundrum to noodle
through.  However, this was not typical of Cris's thinking pattern and he
began to feel a bit anxious.  He lived a life of relative tranquility,
the majority of time remaining conscious of life's flow and quite adept
at adjusting his personal affairs so that they flowed with it, at least
in the end.  While not aggressively ambitious, Cris was quite assertive
and confident when it came handling life's daily problems, whether his
own or others.  But now, quite suddenly that peaceful flow had been
shifted dramatically and his tranquility unalterably disturbed.  He found
himself being bombarded with something he had not often experienced in
this season of his life: worried thoughts.  He recognized that all the
anticipated changes in his pretty routinized life, job, home,
relationships, occurring all at one time were the root cause of this
fretting.  In spite of knowing this, he seemed unable stem the steady
stream of thoughts.  No matter.  He would just go with their flow.  It
was almost like some sort of mid-life crisis, he laughed to himself.  The
idea was so ludicrous, especially given that he was already well into his
50s.  'Maybe it's never too late to have one,' Cris thought half
seriously to himself.

    Now that he had made this decision to move to Boulder, he was facing
what appeared to be an almost overwhelming legion of large and small
decisions that had to made, questions that had to be addressed.  Most
obviously taking the position with Boulder schools entailed moving to
Boulder, which of course meant moving away from San Francisco.  Cris did
not like packing and moving in general, but more than that he was feeling
somewhat melancholy about leaving the city he had called home for so long
and had truly come to love.  Beyond the obvious physical considerations
of packing and moving, were his young clients, both paying and pro bono,
to whom he was personally very committed.  He hoped that it would not be
traumatic for them as he helped them to make the transition to other
psychologists.  He thought about each one and a possible match from among
the network of counselors and therapists he knew well enough to favorably
judge their work and the level of care and concern they offered their
clients.

    Then there was Robbie.  That relationship by itself was becoming very
complicated.  Cris would certainly miss him and felt his heart swell up
with both love and sadness at the thought.  At the same time he just knew
that Robbie was ready to stand on his own, and needed to in order to
experience a true healing. Cris moving out of town would serve to force
that issue, which might not be a bad thing.  At the same time he just
knew that their relationship should not end with this move.  So he began
to rehearse some of the possible rationales for Robbie to visit, both
short and long term, maybe even some reasons for Robbie to live with Cris
on a more permanent basis.

    Thinking about Robbie living with him naturally led to the question
of where he would live once he moved.  Probably in Boulder, at least
initially.  But how to find something suitable?  Gwen suggested that she
would be able to help there.  He hoped so.  Then he began to picture the
physical act of moving.  Maybe he should get rid of most of his things
and take only the essentials that he most valued.  He could ship his
jeep, which would be great to have in the mountains, and could drive the
pick up.  He was certain Robbie would help pack and that Cody would love
to help him move in.

    Ah, yes, and now there was Cody.  He began to replay some of the
things they had done together.  There was the initial meeting on the
plane, and now the remarkable events of yesterday.  It wasn't much in
terms of time elapsed.  Hard to believe it had been barely a week.
Nevertheless, he really liked the boy, liked him a lot.  Cris was certain
that a bond had developed, one that seemed to be reciprocal.  From a
spiritual perspective, because both he and Cody were a party to this
intersection of life paths, it was right; perfectly in keeping with the
Tao's flow.  But how would his moving to Colorado affect this growing
relationship?  He was still thinking about Cody, especially his words on
the porch last night, when he pulled into the Clarke driveway.  As he
climbed out of the Range Rover, he realized that all of this thought had
resulted in one, and only one clear conclusion:  his life was never again
going to be the same.

    His arrival at the Clarke's was a replay of the previous day, with
Cody rushing out the door and imprisoning Cris in a boy bear hug, as Cody
threw his arms around his waist.  He kissed the boy first on his blond
mop of hair and then on his  forehead, hugging him in return.  They
remained entwined for several minutes as they spoke to each other quietly
about the day ahead.  To say that Cody was excited was a gross
understatement.  Finally, Cris placed his hands on Cody's shoulders and
firmly rotated him around, leaning him back against his stomach.  Cris
loved to hold boys with their backs to him, able to feel their bodies up
against his own while his hands massaged their chests.  But, move on they
must, so placing his arm carelessly over the boy's shoulders, Cris guided
Cody into the house.

    The plan was to drive into the mountains, snowshoe, eat, then head
back somewhere in the early evening, since they would probably leave when
the sun dipped behind the mountains, which was still pretty early in the
day at this time of the year and this far north.  But that time frame was
not an imperative, since Cody was on his spring break the next week.  In
reality Cris wanted to keep his options open.  He was flying back to San
Francisco on Tuesday and wanted to spend as much time as possible with
Cody in the meantime.

    There were just a couple of ways to get to Nederland from Denver.
They selected the closest, Coal Creek Canyon, rather than going all the
way into Boulder and up Boulder Canyon.  While not quite as
breathtakingly beautiful, it was still very scenic.  As they exited the
canyon they turned onto  Peak to Peak Highway and drove into Nederland,
stopping for breakfast at Annie's Bakery, one of the local breakfast
eateries.  This was actually Cris's second trip to Ned in a week, as it
was the location of one of the middle schools he had visited, so the
layout was becoming more familiar to him.  Not that it was a very large
town.  They rented some high tech stainless steel snowshoes at a bike
shop that turned to winter gear rentals with the season in order to keep
afloat financially, and purchased a handy topo map of the wilderness
area.  The store was uniquely housed in several old passenger railway
cars that were connected together in a T shape.

    After getting some up to date information on the current snow
conditions in the Indian Peaks they headed back up the highway they had
traveled for about a mile to the Eldora turn off.  This road was paved
for about five miles and then became a dirt track which dead ended in the
mountains.  It was the way to the Eldora Ski Resort, the one closest to
the Denver area, and especially popular with teen snowboarders from
Boulder.  This was due in part to its somewhat primitive amenities and
challenging wind conditions and in part because it was the last stop on
the convenient bus route out of Boulder.  They would drive past the
resort turn off  to their chosen objective, the Hessie trailhead, which
is one of the major hiking portals into the eastern portion of the Indian
Peaks Wilderness area.

    The fifteen minute drive took them west through the lovely valley in
which Eldora was situated, past the Nederland Middle and Senior High
School, past the turnoff to the Eldora Ski Resort, and then through old
and very quiet Eldora.  It was once a thriving mining town, boasting
several thousand people at the turn of the century, but now was an odd
assortment of of summer and year round cabins.  Some of these were very
old and others more recent.  Because Eldora is at 9,000 feet, and the
winters are pretty hard, it had far fewer residents in winter than in the
summer.  It was still untouched by developers and planned to remain that
way if the locals had any say in the matter.  Cris was very impressed
with the almost storybook beauty of the village nestled in this lovely
narrow valley, most reminiscent of an Alpine Swiss village, but without
all the gingerbread kitsch, thankfully.  It was on this trip that Cris
first entertained the thought of seeing if there might be a cabin here to
rent or buy.  It seemed like a wonderful place to just get away from the
never ending bustle of civilized living.

    They continued up the road, now dirt covered with snow and some
patches of ice, to the Hessie trailhead turnoff.  There the road branched
to the right and continued for several miles up to the tree line and and
the trails to Arapaho Pass and Arapaho Glacier.  Because the left hand
spur to the trailhead appeared to be passable, Cris and Cody drove down
the ridge to the creek and through the original Hessie town site, now
amounting to a forest service sign set off by a barbed wire fence.  The
rugged road ran parallel to the Middle Fork of Boulder Creek, which in
summertime meant driving through up to a foot of water that seeped onto
the roadway.  It was the local beavers who were responsible for this,
having damed the creek in several locations creating a number of ponds
right next to the jeep road.  However, the water was still frozen at this
time of the year, and since it was covered by snow that had been packed
hard by other vehicles, it was easily traversed thanks to the four wheel
drive and the large  tires of the Rover.  They found that they were able
to drive all the way to the creek at the end of the road where they
parked.  This creek was a branch of the main one.   It came from the
valley heading to Arapaho Pass and joined the larger creek a little ways
downstream.  The trail the boys would be following paralleled the main
creek.

    They now donned layers of warm clothing, layered because it allowed
them to take some off as their bodies heated up from the exertion of
hiking.  They put a double layers of socks on each foot, the outer being
wool, the inner synthetic to act as wicking, and changed into their
boots.  Lastly they put on and adjusted their day packs in which they
carried maps, first aid supplies, water and snacks, camera, still leaving
room for their coats and other gear.  They walked across the creek on the
narrow log bridge and once on the other side put on their snowshoes.

    Snowshoeing requires a peculiar way of walking.  It begins with
putting all the weight on one leg, then slightly lifting and then
dragging the other foot forward, then setting it down firmly, and only
then shifting weight to that leg, and then lifting and dragging the other
foot.  One also has to be careful not to smack the ankle of the standing
leg with the edge of the oversized snowshoe as it is brought forward.  It
takes practice, although after a few good hits, it seems easier to
remember.  Snowshoeing takes not only balance and rhythm, but endurance.
It is a strenuous activity, and more so at high altitude where there is
less oxygen to breathe.  Cody was a quick study and was soon hiking like
a  pro.  It helped that he was already used to living at high altitudes,
growing up in mile high Denver, and that he was quite the athlete.  Also,
being a boy, he was full of boundless energy.

    They soon developed a steady rhythm.  They would walk several hundred
yards and rest, really more for Cris's benefit than Cody's, since he was
still not fully acclimated to the altitude even after a week in Boulder.
During several stops they removed some of their winter clothing layers.
Scarves came off first and were placed in their packs.  Then coats, which
were strapped to the outside of the packs.  Eventually they were down to
their heavy long sleeved shirts, under which both wore tee shirts.  They
were also careful to drink sufficient water so they would not suffer from
dehydration and altitude sickness.  In a climate with low humidity it was
easy to miss the signs of thirst and thus not keep the body sufficiently
hydrated.  And altitude sickness was something no one wanted experience
even once.

    The beginning of the trail led through the snow covered conifers and
was level for about fifty yards.  It had already been heavily traveled
since the last snowfall and nicely packed by other snowshoers, which
allowed Cris and Cody to move with greater speed.   Then the trail became
very steep as it climbed up the ridge and deeper into the mountain
valley.  As they reached the top of the ridge, they stopped to take in
the magnificent view behind them.  They had an unobstructed view of not
only where they had hiked, but they could see down the valley quite a
distance.  On the right they could see many of the ski runs of the Eldora
resort, and were able to pick out snowboarders as they came down shooting
down at terrific speed.  Cody remarked how much fun it would be to do
that, which Cris parked in his memory banks for future use.  This was
just one of many beautiful picture post card winter scenes in the
mountains they encountered throughout the day.

    As they continued on, the trail became less steep and entered into
the forest again.  To their left they could see  the now frozen cascades
of Boulder Creek in the steep, rocky gorge.  The shapes of the cascading
water, now quick frozen in time, were amazing.  In fact everything had an
ungodly beauty to it.  The dense confers covered with snow.  The absolute
quiet that was almost deafening.  The cold, clean, crisp air in which you
could see your breath.  The rich blue azure sky that was still cloudless
above, although they could see some clouds forming along the Divide up
ahead.  The sun shooting its rays through the snow covered branches of
the firs and pines creating patterns of dazzling reflective light that
alternated with dark somber shadows.

    As they gained altitude, the going was slower.  They were walking up
a grade that felt like forty-five degrees on the ankles and knees, but
was surely less than that.  You just can't run up hill in snowshoes, or
really run much at all, for that matter.  To run long distances even on
level surfaces you have to be in outstanding shape.  As they trudged
uphill, because the snowshoe walk took a lot of exertion, they made
frequent rest stops.  As the trail rose less sharply it finally leveled
off and they found themselves hiking next to the frozen creek.  At this
point they came to a fork in the trail.

    One part went to the right, and climbed steeply up into the dense
woods.  According to the sign, it was the Devil's Thumb Bypass Trail,
which reconnected with the main trail after a mile or so and led to
several lakes and the Devil's Thumb Pass that crossed over the
Continental Divide.  The other fork was called the King Lake Trail and
crossed over the creek on a very substantial bridge and then followed it
for some ways.  It also led to a number of alpine lakes and the
Continental Divide and to trails that traversed  it.  They took out their
map and studied it carefully, then took the the trail to the left.
Primarily this was because it was easier to hike in snowshoes, since it
followed an old wagon road and was at least that wide.  In addition the
trail had already been broken by previous snowshoe hikers.

    So on they trudged, resting every so often, not speaking much to
conserve their energy, but generally getting better at the rhythm needed
to walk with what amounted to giant tennis rackets lashed to their feet.
Soon the trail was climbing again.  When the trail finally leveled off it
opened into a breathtakingly beautiful treeless meadow about a quarter of
a mile long and maybe a hundred yards wide.  The openness gave them a
commanding view of the snowy mountain peaks of the Divide that lay just a
few miles ahead.  Here they stopped and just soaked in the amazing
artistry of mother nature.  By this time they had been hiking almost
three hours and had traveled maybe a little more than two  and a half
miles from the Rover.

    As they stood looking at this peaceful winter scene, Cris broke the
silence.  "Well, its nearly 2:30.  I suggest we eat something, explore
the meadow a bit, maybe look for some animal tracks in the snow, then
head back.  I for one am getting pretty tired.  And the cold is starting
to seep into my bones.  Of course, I am a lot older and more feeble than
you are my young friend."

    Cody smiled and said, "That sounds like a good plan to me,
granddad" as he simultaneously pulled off his pack and pointed to a
couple of fallen tree trunks of huge girth that had been down so long
they were free of obstructing branches.  "Let's sit on those trunks and
eat something."  Cris looked over to the trees and nodded agreement, and
followed Cody to the spot.  The snow must have been about three feet
deep, as only the very tops of the horizontal trunks could be seen.

    They brushed the snow off the trunks so they could sit and proceeded
to eat some trail mix, energy bars and cookies, washing it down with
Gatorade.  Just as they were finishing, a huge bird almost silently
swooped over their heads and then continued up the meadow, before it
wheeled to the right and continued on until lost to sight among the trees
far up the side of the valley.  All they had heard was the mighty swoosh
of its massive wings as it passed right over their heads.

    Cody was ecstatic.  "That was so cool.  Do you know what that was?"
he asked excitedly, though not actually waiting for an answer.  "It was
a Great Horned Owl.  At least I think it was.  They are huge, but I guess
you saw that.  And you usually don't see them during the day like this."

    Cris smiled, knitted his brow slightly, and tilted his head slightly
so that it was on a diagonal and looked closely at Cody with wonder more
than incredulity.  "I must say I am very impressed with your powers of
observation."  He paused for emphasis before going on.  "And
appreciation of the natural world, not to mention your wealth of
knowledge.  Well done, my young friend."

    Cody smiled, "Aw, it was nothing, really."  Then he grew silent for
a time while his face took on a more serious look, as if gathering some
important thoughts.  Cris waited for him to speak again, as it was clear
he had something more on his mind.

    "Cris?  What does it mean that I am your young friend?"

    Cris raised his eyebrows in response.  "Gee, Cody, I guess it means
that you are young and we are friends."

    "Is that all?" Cody asked, in a slightly disappointed tone.

    Cris sensed that this was becoming a little emotionally charged, so
he collected his thoughts before he answered again.  "I have never tried
to define it but I guess it means that you and I have a special
relationship and we like each other and because of that we spend time
with each other, talking and doing things together."

    "But you said I was your young friend, like you possessed me or
owned me or something," Cody responded emphasizing the word your.

    Cris smiled at this, saying, "Well, yes, you are my young friend,
but not like I own you.  More like we are really close friends and have
some kind of special bond with each other.  Kind of similar to medieval
chivalry where relationships had obligations.  Like a two way street."

    Cody seemed to take this in and thought for a bit longer.  "You
treat me differently than anyone else does."  He paused again.  "Um, so
you think that we have a special relationship?"

    "Yes, I believe we do," said Cris.  " I like you a great deal,
even though we have only just come to know each other as friends."

    Cody smiled.  "I like you a lot, too, Cris.  I like it when you
spend time with me and when we can talk and you don't just treat me as
like I'm a young kid, or something, like most adults do.  Except maybe my
mom, but she's my mom."

    "Well, it's like you said yourself.  You are a kid, and you are,
indeed young, which I like, but you are certainly are not a stupid young
kid.  You are a person whom I greatly respect and admire.  I like you
precisely because of who you are:  You," said Cris with pointed emphasis
on the last word.

    Cody narrowed his eyes and  looked at Cris with real intensity but
again remained silent for a few moments  "How much do you like me?"

    "Gosh, Cody, that's a hard thing to measure, and even harder to put
into words" Cris said in a gentle voice, but maybe hoping to redirect
Cody a little so he would change the subject.

    But Cody was not to be sidetracked.  "Do you like me more than most
of your other young friends?"

    "I like you differently than most of my other friends, young or
old," Cris replied honestly.

    "What do you mean differently?" asked Cody.

    It was clear to Cris that Cody was not to be put off, so he decided
to share his feeling openly and honestly.  "Well, I guess I find you
very attractive as a person.  I like your intelligence and wit, your
personality, which is very kind and caring, things like that.  You are
also incidentally a very good looking boy, cute if you will allow it."

    "So you like how I look?"

    "Cody," Cris said in somewhat of a gruff tone that seemed to
express exasperation.  Then he stopped.  He realized how ridiculous it
was to get peeved at Cody for asking some very honest questions. After a
short pause and in a quieter voice Cris continued, "Cody, yes, I like
how you look.  You are a very handsome boy, very attractive.  So I guess
the answer to your questions is a definite yes, I do like the way you
look.  I guess I just wanted you to know that I like for other things,
too."

    "I could tell that you did.  Like how I look I mean."  Then he
added with an almost imperceptible wink of one eye, "And for other
things, too."

    Cris pursed his lips and was quiet for some time, then said, "Cody,
does that bother you?  I mean does it make you nervous that I like you
and how you look, that I find you very attractive?"

    "No way, Crissy.  I want you to.  I like it when you tell me that.
I like it when you hug me and hold my hand.  I just like you and I am
happy that you like me, too."

    Cris sat for a minute looking at Cody straight in the eye, who sat
looking back at him, smiling.  Then, without ever taking his eyes off
Cody,  Cris slid over so that he was resting against him.  Turning
slightly to that hid body was directly facing Cody, Cris reached over and
placed his hands on either side of Cody's head, and looked him directly
in the eye.  "Cody, I like you more than I can put into words.  I really
don't know what that means exactly, but I do."

    The emotional atmosphere was electric.  Cris wanted so much to kiss
Cody as a way of sealing their discussion and their confessions, but was
very hesitant to press things too far.  But Cody seemed to understand
Cris's equivocation.  He reached up and slowly pulled away Cris's hands
from his head. Cody sensed that Cris interpreted this action as his,
Cody's, desire to step back from this highly charged precipice, but that
was not his intention at all.  And in order to prove it, he nervously
leaned up toward Cris's face, wrapped both hands around Cris's neck and
drawing him down to his head level, bravely placed a very gentile kiss on
Cris's lips.  After doing this he leaned back, and as he did so removed
his arms from Cris's neck.  The look in Cody's eyes said it all.

    Cris's eyes grew misty and he placed the fingertips of his hands onto
his lips, but never took his eyes off of Cody's.  He could see in Cody's
eyes an amalgam of emotions: hope, fear, excitement, doubt, joy,
anticipation, love.  He knew that his next action was a critical one.
Cody had made himself incredibly vulnerable to him just now.  He knew he
had to do the same in return.  So he reached over and placing his arms
around the boy, gently pulled the boy into his body, and looking fully
into his gorgeous green eyes and kissed him back.  He continued kissing
Cody while at the same time using his hands to rub Cody's back and
shoulders.  Cody melted into his arms and  responded with mews of joy and
contentment.  After what seemed to each of them like an eternity, Cris
pulled back.

    Cody's eyes had taken on a dreamy, far away look.  As Cris continued
to look at him, Cody's mouth slowly became a smile and then broke into a
huge grin.  "Wow.  I liked that, Cris," he said in a voice that was a
little broken by emotion.  "I guess that is what it means to have a
special relationship.  Or at least that's part of it."

    Cris smiled and nodded.  "That's part of it."  He paused and then
continued in a very quiet voice.  "Cody, I now know that I was not
really honest when I said that I like you a lot."  He paused, again
before going on.  "This is hard for me to say."

    Cody remained frozen.  His eyes were now wide and riveted to Cris's,
unblinking, not moving, as he listened intently to every word Cris was
now saying.

    Cris cleared his throat.  "Um.  Well, OK, I just need to say it.
Last night on the porch when I was leaving you told me..., you said that
you loved me.  What I wanted to say to you then, I didn't."  Cris paused
again and exhaled deeply.  "I guess I was afraid to say it, because I
wasn't sure how much you loved me.  And I didn't want to force myself on
you.  And, well, for some other reasons, too.  So now I want to say what
I didn't.  Cody, my feelings for you go considerably beyond liking you."

    He paused again to clear his throat, as Cody's eyes began to tear.
"Cody, I love you.  I think I have from the very first time I saw you."

    Cody's body relaxed as his eyes lighted up and seemed to dance in
their orbs.  He quickly threw his arms abound Cris hugging him with all
his strength.  "Cris, I love you.  I love you," he said in a quiet
voice.  "And I am so happy that you love me back."

    It felt so good that they continued hugging each other until they
both began to feel the chill from sitting on the frozen tree in the
frigid winter air without coats high up in a mountain valley.

    Cris sighed.  "I guess we better put some things on and start
heading back down to the Rover," Cris said, as he released Cody and
planted another kiss on the boys lips.  "Is it OK if we look for animal
tracks another day?"

    Cody sighed, too.  "I guess so," he answered in a happy and dreamy
tone.

    Given the nature of snowshoeing, the trip back was not that much
shorter in time than the trip up, although going downhill they took fewer
rest stops.  It seemed to demand the use of different leg muscles.  They
were both pretty exhausted and did not talk much, saving their energy for
the trek down.  They reached the Rover a little after five, having made
very good time.  They hurriedly loaded things up and jumped in so they
could start the engine and get the heat going.  This part of the valley
was already in shadow as the sun was beginning to drop behind the
Continental Divide.  And without the sun things chilled very quickly.

    "Cody, it's getting sort of late, and we are both pretty tired."
Cody nodded his head.  "I was wondering if you might be interested in
spending the night with me at Gwen's house in Boulder.  She has lots of
room.  And she desperately wants to meet my young friend with whom I have
such a special relationship and about whom I have talked incessantly.
Would you be interested?  I am pretty sure it would be OK with your
mom."

    "Wow, Cris, that would be so great.  I really want to.  I'll call my
mom and ask her."

    "Do you think that it is sort of weird for us to be planning this,
like she might get suspicious?"

    "No, Cris.  My mom trusts me and I know she likes you.  She won't
mind.  Anyway, I think she knows how we feel about each other already."

    Cris looked at Cody in surprise.

    "But I know it's OK with her.  At least I think it is," Cody added.

    Cris exhaled deeply.  "OK.  Let's head back into Ned and we can
phone from there.  If she says no I can run you back to Aurora through
Boulder and we can still let you meet Gwen."

    So, once the Rover was warm inside, and they had taken off their
boots and put on dry socks and footwear that was more comfortable, they
headed back into Ned.  They returned their snowshoes, and since the
rental shop also had a coffee house and bakery, ordered something hot to
drink and snack on.  There was a pay phone across the street in the
municipal parking lot, so they headed over there.  Cris gave Cody change
and he called his mom.  Just as he had predicted, she was very agreeable
to their plan, although much credit had to go to Cody and the manner in
which he discussed all of this with his mom.  Cody gave her a brief
summary of the day's trek and said that Cris was leaving on Tuesday, and
that he was really going to miss him.  When he asked about staying at
Gwen's his mom readily agreed.  He said that he would call her tomorrow
and that he did not know what he and Cris would be doing yet..

    So, having successfully made these arrangements they joyfully jumped
back into the Rover and headed down Boulder Canyon into Boulder and on to
Gwen's.