Date: Thu, 6 Sep 2001 12:15:47 -0400
From: Michael Raburn <mraburn@bellsouth.net>
Subject: Daniel's Love Chapter 12

THIS WORK IS FULLY PROTECTED BY U.S. COPYRIGHT LAWS.  NO PORTION OF
THIS WORK MAY BE COPIED OR REDISTRIBUTED BY ANY MEANS WITHOUT THE
EXPRESS CONSENT OF ITS AUTHOR.

THIS WORK DEALS WITH A FICTITIONAL RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TWO MEN.  IF
READING ABOUT HOMOSEXUAL RELATIONSHIPS OR SEXUAL CONTACT BETWEEN TWO
MEN IS EITHER ILLEGAL IN YOUR AREA OR OFFENDS YOU, PLEASE DO NOT READY
ANY FURTHER.

PLEASE HEED THE WARNINGS OF THE MEDICAL COMMUNITY AND USE CONDOMS, THEY
MIGHT JUST SAVE YOUR LIFE. RESEARCH SHOWS THAT MORE AND MORE PEOPLE
HAVE MADE THE DECISION TO PRACTICE UNSAFE SEX—-PLEASE RECONSIDER THIS
DECISION IF YOU HAVE CHOSEN THAT PATH.

ANY SIMILARITIES TO ANY PERSON LIVING OR DEAD ARE PURELY COINCIDENTAL.
THIS WORK IS ENTIRELY FICTITIONAL.


***Guys, sorry that it's been so long since the last posting.  It's
been a torturous summer for me with the normal grind and then the
breaking up with my significant other.  No promises, but I'll try to be
more regular in the postings.  Again, thanks to all that have been
moved by Paul and Daniel's story.***


The saga continues...



DANIEL'S LOVE


Michael A. Raburn

Chapter 12



Daniel stepped forward to stand between me and this rude, little woman.
"Ma'am, we're not here to make anybody change their sexual orientation.
We only want to help prevent these kids being beaten and abused."

"That ain't what my preacher says.  He says you're trying to get in these
boys' pants and have your way with them.  That this group'll turn all the
kids in Atlanta into flaming homosexuals." She rebutted.

I stepped around Daniel and extended my hand to the woman.  "I'm Paul
Jamison and this is my husband, Daniel Scott, ma'am.  What's your name?"
I asked as she tentatively extended her hand to me.

"Velda Sims.  Why do you want to know?" she looked puzzled as she met
my gaze.

"Mrs. Sims, I presume you're a parent?"  She nodded.  "Well, these are our
sons and they and their friends here are the organizers of the Gay Student's
group.   I don't know if you've seen the news a few months ago, but I was
shot and can't stand for very long and can't walk without this cane.  I still
get tired easily and need to sit down.  We would like to invite you and your
group to come on inside the school so they can get to work.  Then we'll find
a classroom and Daniel and I will talk to you about your concerns."

Warily she looked back at me, turned to look at the others standing around
her, then nodded back in my direction.

"Thank you Mrs. Scott.  I'd appreciate the chance to get off this bad leg.
Can I ask another favor?"

She raised her eyes skyward, shrugged, then nodded again.

"Would your group mind leaving these placards outside.  We don't want the
students to find them lying around."

Margaret had been busy ushering the students towards the building and away
from whatever might have happened with the protestors.  The last of the
twenty or so kids were just entering the building when I turned to Mrs. Sims
and offered my arm.  Amazingly she took it and we walked towards the
steps, the little group blindly following behind.  When we reached the top of
the stairs she hesitated then placed her sign beside the door.  I caught a
glimpse of Daniel's astonished face out of the corner of my eye.  His gaze
met mine and he slowly shook his head in disbelief.

"I hope you know what you're doing." I sensed.

"It'll be okay." I thought back at him.

We passed the library just as Margaret and a parent were closing the doors.

"Mrs. Johnson, will you send Kyle down to see us in a few minutes?" I
asked.

She nodded in reply.  Her grim face relaxed a little when she saw that we
were passing by and headed for another room down the hall.  I nodded to her
when I turned to open the door to the dark classroom and leaned in to turn
on the lights.  I glanced back to see her shaking her head and giggling to
herself.

Mrs. Sims and her little ragtag group seemed to remember what to do when
entering a classroom.  Before I got fully into the room they were all seated
towards the front of the room, settling into the desks that would be filled
with children in a few more weeks when classes resumed.  Daniel moved the
teacher's chair from behind the desk and I eased into it, laying my cane on
the floor beside me.

"Now, Mrs. Sims, you said you were a parent?"

"Yeah, got two grown boys." She answered.

"So I'm to understand that your children do not attend this school?" I asked.

"No, we're not from Atlanta, besides, they're already out of school."

"How about the rest of you.  Do any of you have children in this school?"

Most of the grim group continued to stare at me; no one nodded or raised his
hand to indicate an affirmative answer.  Storing the information away if we
needed the ammunition, I looked back at Mrs. Sims.

"As you probably know, there have been several incidents of violence in
school systems across the country in the last few years.  The shootings in
Colorado, Kentucky and here in Georgia are evidence that there is a problem
with children feeling left out and shunned by their peers.  Now, I'm not
saying that any of the children involved in causing so much havoc were gay,
but we do see more gay and ethnic kids being attacked every day.  I'm sure
that Mrs. Johnson can give you the statistics if any of you are interested."

"All faggots should be beaten till they're dead." A little man in the back of
the group stated, hate and violence evident in his voice.

"Why do you think that sir?" Daniel asked.

"Cause you're all an abomination.  That's what the Bible says." He retorted.

"If you've read that passage you'll also remember that wearing clothes of
mixed fibers is an abomination, that eating some foods is an abomination."

"Yes, but those are different." Velda interrupted me.

"How are they different?" I insisted.

"Well, my preacher says..."

"Mrs. Sims, what do you think?"

"You're just trying to confuse me."

"No, ma'am, I want us all to understand what you're saying."

"You're just trying to get us all to leave you alone so you can take more kids
away from their families and make them homersexuals like yourselves." She
almost spat at me.

"Mrs. Sims, I have taken no one away from any family that truly cared for
them.  Jason and Kyle came to live with Daniel and me only after their
fathers abused them."

"They was just punishing them.  God says we're to punish our children."

"By killing them?" Daniel asked.

"They wasn't trying to kill the boys, from what I heard on the news."

"Well, that may or may not be true, ma'am.  Right before he aimed the gun
at me he told Kyle that he would be next.  If that's not a threat to kill him, I
don't know what is."

"Well, he was wrong to try to kill you both.  But I'm sure God was telling
him the right thing to do.  And the boy was wrong to kill his father.  The
Bible says to honor thy father and mother."

"How was I supposed to honor a man that was about to kill me and my
daddy?" Kyle asked, stopping just inside the doorway.

"He ain't your daddy."

"Paul's been more of a father to me in six months than that man ever was in
fourteen years of living in the same house.  He didn't care for me, he only
cared about his reputation."

We spent the next hour arguing back and forth with members of the group,
mostly Mrs. Sims and the little man in the back.  I could not see that any
major progress was being made to come to some sort of agreement.  The
rhetoric was calmed down a little and nobody quoted any more scripture, but
they were not having any part in seeing our side of the matter.  Their stance
continued to be that they would picket any meeting that the Alliance had and
would actively try to recruit students to carry their message.

Daniel sensed that I was hurting badly and called a halt to the meeting so he
could get me back home and get some pain medication in me.  As we were
standing to leave, Margaret Johnson, the school principal and two police
officers entered the room.

"I'm going to have to ask you all to leave the premises."  the principal
stated.  "You have no legal reason to be on school property unless you have
children that attend this institution."

"You can't do that." Velda stood and shouted.

"Ma'am, I can and I will.  If you insist on protesting the meeting of a club
sanctioned by the school board then you will have to do it from across the
street.  You cannot be on campus any more and you cannot harass any
students, faculty, or advisors that are here."

The group was ushered towards the doors by the policemen that had entered
the classroom.  They were grumbling and arguing among themselves on the
way out.  Margaret Johnson overheard bits and piece of what they were
saying and kept repeating to them as they passed that they could take it up
with the school board.  Daniel and I trailed along behind them down the
hallway.  Kyle ran ahead to meet his Jason then they joined us as we neared
the front doors.  We all stood back giggling when Velda and the crowd
exited the school and found their placards were gone.  It seems that a few of
our new activists had decided to clean the front of the school.



"Honey, what are you doing?" I asked after I heard loud banging from the
kitchen area.

"Paul, I just dropped a box.  I'm trying to make room on the shelves for all
these cookbooks that Ralph gave us."

"Need help?"

"Nah, I can handle it.  You alright in there?"

"Surprisingly yes, I am.  Love you."

"Love you too, Daddy Bear."

Turning back around on the new stool Daniel had bought, I picked up the
brush to return to work.  Over the past week I had finished the portraits that I
was working on before we found Kyle.  I had been so weak during my
recovery that little had been done on them before my husband had the
brainstorm that just because I could not stand for long did not mean that my
painting career was over.  He remembered that Matisse towards the end of
his life worked lying in his bed and searched the home furnishing stores until
he found a stool that was adjustable enough and comfortable enough to use
for extended periods of time.

Nina was pressing me for new work, to get my lazy butt back in gear, as she
kept saying.  She had presented me with several commission offers during
the past month and we evaluated them together and rejected them all.  Not
that they would not pay well for the paintings, but they did not interest me.
If I was ever going to do another large-scale installation it would have to be
one that absorbed me totally.  How do you continue after something as large
and involved as Garland and not feel that you have backtracked?  That
question bounced around in my head for quite a while until I decided that it
was not the scale of the work, it was the content and purpose that was most
important.

"Okay, good to talk to you too.  I'll get him."  I heard Daniel saying as he
wandered in from the kitchen.

"Mom's on the phone." He said as he leaned in to kiss me.  Handing me the
phone he turned to go but I grabbed him around the waist and pulled him to
me.

"Cornelia, honey.  What's up?"

"I only had a few minutes before Robert is dragging me off to another casino
so I thought I'd give my sons a call.  How are you all doing?"

"We're fine.  They boys are back in school so the house is a little quiet.
Classes start next week at the college so I'm trying to tie up a few loose ends
before I hobble back.  Daniel's unpacking boxes and I'm trying to paint
again.  How are you both doing?"

"God, this man.  Where he gets all the energy?  I think he's going to wear
me out."

"Not you." I laughed.

Mr. Garland as I predicted had yet to return to the helm of Garland
International.  When we got back from the islands he appointed one of his
lieutenants to oversee everything and he and Cornelia headed out for a world
tour.  We were always getting phone calls from whatever location they
settled in for a few days and Cornelia being herself had no concept of the
differences in time zones.  Daniel and I were woken up regularly in the
middle of the night whenever the spirit moved her to call.  It was a regular
occurrence around our house to see the package delivery service roll up out
front with another big box of goodies from their trip.  The kids always got a
big kick out of the whimsical items that Cornelia would send them.

"Where are you now?" I asked

"Malaysia, I think.  We should be back in a few more days.  I'm about ready
to hit Atlanta and wind down for a while and spend a few days with my
grandkids." She laughed.

"You know you're welcomed any time.  It might be a little noisy around
here though."

"Why, what's happening?"

"Bob and his bunch started the construction a few days ago.  It should be
complete in another month or so.  And the boys are making lots of noise
about their upcoming birthdays."

"Wow, that quick?"

"Yep, that big complex is on hold for a few weeks so he had the time and the
crew to get on it now."

"Speaking of birthdays, did Daniel get our birthday gift?"

"Yes, he did.  He's not quite sure what to do with it yet, but he did get it." I
giggled.

The freight truck that pulled up front the day before Daniel's birthday
delivered a large wooden packing crate.  I guess Cornelia was feeling a bit
Auntie Mame when she found the bronze goddess and sent it our way.
Currently it had an honored place in the corner of the studio until we found
the right spot for it's final home.

"Can't wait to see you, my love.  Give the kids a kiss for me and tell them
I'll be home before the celebration."

"I will.  You two have fun."

"Any more fun and I'm not sure I'll live through it."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah.  I can tell by your voice that you're having a ball.  See
you soon, mom.  I love you."

"Love you too.  Bye."

I clicked the phone off then snuggled into Daniel's neck.  Intending to just
kiss him, I was overwhelmed by the scent of my lover and continued to kiss
and lick at this neck, then moved up to nibble his earlobe.

"What time will the kids be home?"  I whispered.

"We've got time."


We were awakened from our post-lovemaking snooze by the slamming of
the front door and Kyle's crying.  I jumped, well actually more like crawled,
from the bed and grabbed a robe and my cane.  Rushing towards his room, I
found my son face down on the bed crying his eyes out.

"Honey, what's wrong." I asked as I sat beside Kyle and pulled him into my
lap.  His wrapped his arms around my neck and continued to sob on my
shoulder.  "Where's Jason?"  His crying grew worse at my question.
Something must have happened to Jason.

"Kyle, baby, where's Jason?  What happened?"

It took a few more minutes for him to calm down enough to get the words
out.

"I, I don't know.  After school I went to meet him out front like we always
do and I couldn't find him."

"What do you mean, you couldn't find him?"

"Well, I found him alright, he was behind one of those big trees in the lawn
kissing Andy Bonner.  He looked up and saw me and I ran here as fast as I
could." He croaked out, burying his face back in my shoulder.

"Oh honey, I'm so sorry.  Maybe it's just a misunderstanding."

"Daddy, how can I misunderstand what I saw?"

"Baby, I don't know.  I just don't know."  I realized tears were running
down my face in sympathy for my little man.  I glanced up to see Daniel's
stricken face.  His whole body jerked at the sound of the front door opening.

"Mister, get in my office now.  We've got some serious talking to do."
Daniel yelled.

Kyle stiffened in my arms then went limp as a rag doll as he passed out.