Date: Thu, 27 Feb 2003 10:41:46 -0500
From: Jeff Allen <jeff_allen15@hotmail.com>
Subject: "Love of a Lifetime" Part 37

This is a fictional story dealing with love and consensual sexual
activities between males.  If you are not of legal age, reside in an area
where viewing such material is illegal, or are offended by homosexuality
and/or homosexual themes, leave this site now.

The author retains all rights to this story.  No reproductions or links to
other sites are allowed without the permission of the author.

Note: I owe a special thanks to Robb for doing the final proofreading and
catching all those silly little errors that I missed.

LOVE OF A LIFETIME


PART 37

     I got a plane out of Charlotte to San Francisco in the early
afternoon.  That gave me just enough time to pack, tell the Williamses
where I was going, and get down to the airport in time to go through the
security checks.

     I tried to nap on the plane, but my mind was racing with the new
responsibilities in Andy's and my lives.  I prayed we would be good
parents.

     Andy and Greg met me at the airport.  I got a hug from both of them.
I expected it from Andy, but Greg's openness surprised me.  He looked more
like a little version of Andy in person than he did in the photographs.  He
had Andy's dark brown hair and eyes and easy going manner.  He was one heck
of a cute kid.

     I expected that Greg would be a little shy around me and cling to Andy
at first.  After all, the poor kid had lost his mother, grandmother, and
grandfather all within about a year.  Now he was faced with a father he'd
only known for a month plus me, the "uncle."  However, Greg was open and
accepting and by bedtime that night he had won my heart.

     The service for Tom Beach was held the next day.  It was simple and
quick.  Afterwards we went back to the house.  Greg played out in the small
back yard as Andy filled me in on what had to be done in the next few days.

     "Tom was a careful planner.  As soon as I came out here, he placed all
his property in a trust fund for Greg.  Tom's lawyer is the temporary
trustee for the fund.  As soon as the real property is sold, the will has
gone through probate out here, and all the taxes paid the full amount of
the trust will be transferred to a bank back East with a bank officer and
me as co-trustees.  There should be enough in the trust to take care of
Greg's education and the other expenses of raising him and still have a
healthy balance left for him when he reaches twenty- five.  Tom's
instructions are that we submit all receipts for clothes, books, medical
expenses, and so on to the trust for reimbursement."

     "The financial stuff has been the least of my worries."

     "Yeah, I know what you mean.  I'm real new at this daddy stuff, and
I'm real nervous.  I already love him to death, but I'm still nervous."

     "Me too, Andy, but we'll make it.  Most everyone does make it when
they become parents.  This is a real 'learn on the job' kind of process.  I
expect there'll be some rough spots along the way, but we can do it."

     "Like you said before...we don't have a choice."

                       **********

     We wrapped up everything in California, and flew back to North
Carolina on August 1.  I'd driven Andy's truck down to the airport and left
it in the long term lot.  As soon as we loaded all of our luggage in the
back and got Greg strapped into the jump seat in the extended cab, both of
us realized that we needed more passenger room.  The two of us plus Greg
and Larsen would be squeezed into the cab of either Andy's truck or mine.
One of us needed to get a bigger vehicle...at least one with a real back
seat!

     We had a greeting committee waiting for us in Adams.  Larsen was the
first.  He was waiting for us on the big wrap-around porch of the house.
As soon as I opened the passenger door he had his head inside distributing
doggie kisses to me and Greg who giggled in delight.

     The rest of the greeting committee came out of our apartment as Larsen
was washing us with his big tongue.  All of the Williamses were there as
were Doc, Matt, Justin, Megan, Jason, Cory, Brian, Sergei, and Stephen.
Mike Hernandez was still up visiting his parents near Washington, DC.

     We asked Gary Williams to take Greg around and introduce him to all of
the other people.  Poor Greg was looking a little lost, but Gary took him
by the hand and started making the rounds of all of the adults with Greg in
tow.  After meeting the adults, Gary took Greg out to the back yard of
their house to show him the swing set and sand box.

     At dinner time Kevin and Doc barbequed a bunch of chicken.  We all sat
around in the backyard eating, drinking beer or ice tea, and catching up
with good friends.  It was a wonderful welcome home for Andy and me and our
new son.

     Greg and Gary really hit it off well.  That evening Greg asked if Gary
could spend the night with him in his new room.  When we checked on them
before we went to bed, the boys and Larsen were all tangled together in the
double bed.  The guys had started out the night wearing pajama bottoms, but
those were now gone.  I'd figured that Gary would shed his like he always
did, but Greg had stripped his off as well.  His p.j. bottoms were on the
floor next to Gary's.  We gave both boys a good night kiss and pulled the
sheet up over their naked bodies as they slept.

                       **********

     Greg didn't seem to have any trouble adjusting to his new life.  A
couple of times he said he missed his grandfather, but one of us was always
there to reassure him.  He was an easy child to love.  I saw a lot of
similarities between Andy and him.  Both were easy going, curious,
independent, and affectionate.  Although he was only five years old, Greg's
developing sense of humor was similar to Andy's as well.

     Andy registered Greg for school, and both of us went to the parent
orientation meeting for kindergarten.  The teacher, Ms. Putnam, kept
glancing at us as she went through her orientation program.  I couldn't
decide if she was curious about us or disapproving.  I don't know who was
more excited about the first day of school Greg or Andy.  Greg allowed Andy
to take him to school that first morning, but he insisted on riding the
school bus home in the afternoon under the watchful eye of Gary Williams.

     Despite the age difference, with Gary in third grade and Greg in
kindergarten, the two boys were almost inseparable.  Greg tagged along
after school and on weekends with Gary and his third grade buddies.  They
slept in the same bed four or five nights out of the week.  Most of the
time it was at our place in Greg's room, and I suspected that there were
three reasons for that.
  First, Larsen was at our house and slept with the boys.  Second, Greg was
an early riser like Gary.  When he woke up, he was fully awake and ready to
go.  Third, Andy and I let the boys sleep naked.  Kathy insisted that they
at least wear underwear to bed because of Heather and Allison being in the
next two rooms.  At our house it was normal for all four of us to wander
around the house in the mornings naked or in our underwear until it was
time for all of us to go to school.  Sometimes all four of us would be in
the bathroom at the same time, and it wasn't unusual for any combination of
two of us to be in the shower at the same time.  Like Andy and me, Greg had
been circumcised.  He had a lot of initial curiosity about the differences
between our penises and Gary's, but after a couple of explanations from us
and probably a few nocturnal explorations between the two boys his
curiosity seemed to be satisfied.

     Doc helped us solve the transportation problem.  He bought himself a
new 4Runner and sold his old one, which was only three years old, to Andy
for the trade-in value.  Andy sold his truck, and put that money back
against the cost of Doc's 4Runner.  We ended up with lower monthly payments
than before.

     The fall semester was hectic.  With the added responsibilities of
parenthood combined with track practice and meets, the demands of classes,
and preparing my applications for medical schools for the next year.  I was
a busy boy.

     Justin, Mike Hernandez, and I studied together because we had a couple
of classes together.  Justin and I also spent time working on our personal
essays for our applications to medical schools for me and dental schools
for him.  Andy usually hit the books after Greg went to bed.  He was still
doing the bookkeeping for Jamal's business.  When Jamal opened his sporting
goods store in Adams he had an office made for Andy at the back of the
store.  That meant we didn't have all of the paperwork for Jamal's business
along with our own school work cluttering up the apartment.  We tried hard
to get all of the studying and school work done during the week so we could
spend time with Greg (and usually Gary as well) on the weekends.  That
didn't always work out, but we tried.

     The county recreation department had an active youth soccer league
beginning with eight-year-olds.  Gary Williams signed up.  Practices were
after school one day a week, and the matches were Saturday mornings.  For
most of the matches we had a big "cheering section" for Gary which included
his parents, sisters, Greg, Andy, Larsen, me, and often Justin, Brian, and
Stephen.  Larsen had a hard time understanding that he couldn't go out on
the field and chase the soccer ball with the kids so we had to keep a tight
hold on his leash.

     The first Saturday in October the entire cheering section, including
Doc and Matt, was there in force for Gary's morning match.  The little guy
was one of the best players on the squad having inherited some of Kevin's
athletic ability.  Justin and Greg were sitting close to the sidelines when
a wild ball slammed into Greg's head.  Poor Greg was sort of stunned for a
second or two before he started to cry.  Of course Andy, Larsen and I
rushed up to check on him.  Justin was already cradling him and trying to
calm his tears.  There was a big red spot on his cheek but nothing that
looked too serious.  He stopped crying in just a couple of minutes and went
back to watching the match as if nothing had happened.

     By evening he had a well developed black eye along with a bruise on
his cheek and a smaller one on his jaw.  The ball had hit harder than we'd
thought.  None of us thought too much about the black eye.  In fact, Greg
was kind of proud of it.

     Ms. Putnam, Greg's kindergarten teacher, wasn't as blase' about it as
the rest of us.

     We had just finished eating dinner on Monday evening when the phone
rang.  Since it was my turn to do the dishes, Andy answered it.

     "Hello......Speaking......Yes......He got that black eye at a soccer
match on Saturday.  I don't understand your concern......You say that the
call came from the school?......Yes, I understand that you have to
investigate.  I'll be home at 4:00 tomorrow afternoon.  Would that be
convenient for you?......Ms.  Anderson, I'm a student, and I have a class
at that time......No, Ma'am, I'm not trying to be uncooperative.  I was
hoping we could schedule a meeting at a time that would be convenient for
both of us......All right, I'll be here at 2:30.  I understand you have a
very tight schedule......Yes, Ma'am.  Good night."

     I had stopped doing the dishes as soon as I detected the concern in
Andy's voice.  By the time he hung up the phone I was standing next to him
waiting for an explanation.

     His face was flushed with anger.  "That was a woman from Social
Services.  They got a call from the school raising questions about how Greg
got his black eye.  The social worker wants to talk with me about it
tomorrow."

     "It's just a black eye."

     "She said that they're bound to investigate every concern.  I'm sure
there's nothing to it."

     "Andy, it doesn't seem logical that Social Service would make a home
visit every time some kid shows up at school with a black eye.  The
Williams kids have had lots of scrapes and bruises, and I don't remember
them having a social worker show up at their doorstep."

     "You're right.  I'm going to go over and talk with Kevin and Kathy.
Can you get Greg ready for bed?"

     "No problem."  I gave him a quick kiss on the lips before he headed
out the door for the Williams' house.

     That night was one of the rare times when Greg and Gary weren't
spending the night together.  I supervised Greg's bedtime preparations.
  Peeing, washing face and hands, brushing teeth, picking up discarded
clothing from the bedroom and bathroom floors.  Preparations completed,
Greg wiggled his naked body under the covers, and I read a chapter out of
"Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" before giving and receiving a good
night hug and kiss.

     When Andy returned from talking with Kevin and Kathy we talked briefly
about the telephone call from Social Services.  Our conclusion, backed up
by Andy's conversation with the Williamses, was that the teacher had
overreacted to Greg's black eye and that the matter would be quickly
cleared up when Andy met with Ms. Anderson the next day.

     How wrong we were!

                       **********

     When I got home after track practice the next afternoon Kathy Williams
was sitting with Andy in our living room.  Andy was clearly upset.

     "What's wrong?"

     "That damn social worker thinks we've been abusing Greg."

     "What?  That's ridiculous!  How can she think that?"

     Andy began relaying the gist of his "meeting" with Ms. Anderson.
First off, she was late to the meeting.  After insisting that Andy skip his
afternoon class to meet with her at 2:30, she hadn't shown up at our door
until nearly 3:30 and provided no reason for being late.  She had insisted
on having Larsen closed up in one of the bedrooms before talking with Andy,
and then she had launched into here "concerns" about physical abuse of
Greg.  She had cited the teacher's concerns about an "unwholesome" home
environment because of Andy's "unnatural" relationship with me.  At that
point Andy had asked her to leave.  She did, but only after informing him
that since he was being so "uncooperative and hostile" that she would be
recommending the termination of Andy's parental rights.

     I was too stunned to be angry.

(To be continued)