Date: Thu, 21 Feb 2002 11:48:47 -0500
From: Michael Raburn <mraburn@bellsouth.net>
Subject: Dylan's Hope Chapter 1

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.

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



DYLAN'S HOPE

Michael Raburn


Chapter 1


	"Dad, there are a few things we need to talk about before..." my
daughter trailed off.  I was about to escort the light of my life down the
center aisle of the venerable old St. Martins Cathedral.  Robert, the
groom, and his five best buddies were already standing at the altar with
the minister.  Everyone who had ever been special to my daughter and me was
seated in the pews waiting for our grand entrance.

	"Andrea, there will be plenty of time to talk after the ceremony.
We'll get some time in that blasted receiving line." I countered, not
wanting to distract her from her day's glory.  My only child looked
absolutely radiant in her white gown.  I reached up to adjust her veil over
her face.

	"Daddy, we won't ever be able to talk like this again.  After today
I'll be moving away to Seattle and I'll be Mrs. Robert Parker, not just
your daughter anymore." She said as she adjusted my bow tie.

	"Honey, you are not just my daughter.  You are a wonderful,
brilliant person that everybody loves.  You'll always be my daughter
though, no matter who you marry or where you go." I said pulling her into a
hug.  It still amazed me that we had made it this far in life, especially
after what her mother had done.  Andrea had not even mentioned her name
during the planning of her wedding; I wondered if Mona had even entered her
thinking.  Parents should be there for important events in a child's life.
Mona had missed all of them, well, except for her birth.

	"Look Father!" she said.  I always knew I was in trouble when she
called me by that formal title.  "It's time for you to move on in your
life.  You've sacrificed your whole life to raise me and now I think you
need to find yourself someone to love, that loves you, and make a life
together."  She had brought up this topic several times in the past few
months.  Every time I would find some way to change the subject or deflect
her to another detail of the wedding preparations.  But, she was right.  It
was time for me to move on.  My obligations as the sole caretaker of this
wonderful child were ending.  Her husband-to-be was a kind, loving man and
would take good care of my baby.  During their long courtship, Robert had
become almost the son I never had.  I never doubted that he would do
anything to make Andrea happy.

	"Andrea, I don't know anything about dating.  I only ever dated one
person in my life and look how that turned out."  Mona and I had been high
school sweethearts and married during our sophomore year of college.  The
pressure from our families to go ahead and get married and provide
grandchildren as soon as possible was unbearable at times.  My father had
needled me at every occasion to hurry up and get Mona pregnant.  I think
that he suspected that I might be homosexual and was trying to "help" me by
pushing so hard.  Even then I knew at some deep, dark, hidden-away level
that I felt no real attraction to women and that the marriage would be a
sham.  I was determined though that I would life a straight life and would
always remain faithful to my wife.  No one in my family would have had
anything to do with a gay son.  I was not strong enough to ask them to
accept me as I was.  My father and his clan were so hung up on appearances
that any potential blemishes on the family name had to be erased, so my
secret desires to love a man were sublimated.

	Mona and I had made it through all the rigors of Emory University,
being married and having a baby in the house.  It had not been easy, but
the part-time jobs and a little assistance from our families had helped us
through the financial difficulties.  Our futures were bright, especially
with my degree in business management and hers in accounting.  We were
offered very lucrative jobs with a software company in Atlanta, our
hometown.  As we left the commencement she handed me the baby and a large
envelope with a bow attached.  She told me that she had to catch up with a
couple of friends before we left campus.  I handed Andrea to my mom and
began to open the envelope as Mona got into a car with several of her
friends.  It was the last time I saw her.  My graduation present was
divorce and custody papers.



	"Daddy, it's time.  It's time for you to find someone and I think I
know the perfect man for you." Andrea jabbed at my ribs, clearly enjoying
my discomfort.

	She had figured out by the time she was fourteen years old that I
preferred men to women.  The videotape that I had forgotten to remove from
the VCR one night when she was staying over at a friend's house helped her
in her discovery process.  Thankfully she was alone when she turned on the
player the next morning and was educated about gay male love.  Instead of
being upset at my choice of entertainment she accepted it as just the final
bit of evidence in trying to understand her father and his strange
behavior.  After that incident she stopped hassling me about meeting a nice
woman and relentlessly teased me about finding myself a husband.

	"What?" I almost yelled.  Realizing where we were I lowered my
voice, "Playing matchmaker are you?"

	"Well, yes, I guess I am.  Seeing how you won't do anything about
asking him out I'll just have to get involved."  Who was she talking about?
Who had I not asked out?

	"Honey, who are you talking about?" I asked.

	"Nope, I'm not telling.  Wait and see." She giggled back at me.  "I
can't wait to see the look on your face when you find out."  She clearly
loved teasing me and was having a great time at my expense.  I looked up
just as the last of the bridesmaids made their way out of the vestibule and
down the aisle.

	"Andrea, it's time to go." I whispered as I heard the first bars of
the music she had chosen for our entrance.  "I love you"



	The service was little more than a blur.  I remembered to say the
appropriate things at the right time to fulfill my duty of giving my
daughter away to the man of her dreams.  Still, I felt that I was outside
of myself during the entire ceremony.  Tears were streaming down my face
while they recited their vows to honor and cherish each other for the rest
of their lives.  Memories of our lives together, the stitches she had to
get in her knee after a bicycle accident, endless trips to all sorts of
after-school activities, her graduation from high school and college, came
flooding back to me.  After what seemed like only a minute the minister
pronounced them married and I glanced up to see my daughter and her husband
leaving the church.  She now belonged to someone else; my work was
finished.  I was beginning to come unglued, I felt the sobs begin deeper in
my chest when a hand fell on my shoulder.  I turned to see who it was and
looked into the opalescent blue eyes of Dylan Sommers.

	"Andrea said you didn't look too good and that I should find you."
He whispered to me, pulling me into a hug.  "It's okay daddy, your little
girl will always love you.  You can be proud of all that you've done for
her."  He was stroking my back, trying to calm me.

	"Dylan." I sobbed.  "I am proud of her and I love Robert as a son.
Why is it so hard to let go?"  I leaned my head on his shoulder and cried.
All the years of tears that I had bottled up in the name of being strong
came flooding out.  Dylan's strong arms held me tight to him as he caressed
my back and stroked my hair.

	"Come on Jon, we need to get you cleaned up.  Can't have you
greeting everybody looking like this, can we?" Dylan guided me towards the
restroom, his arm around my shoulders, supporting me.

	Dylan ushered me towards the sinks where he pulled paper towels
from the dispenser.  Wetting them he began to wash my face as if I were a
child, cleansing me of the tears I had shed.  The water helped and I began
to retain some sense of composure.  How had I let myself get this way?  The
strong control I had maintained on my emotions for almost twenty years had
crumbled and I felt like a complete fool.

	"Dylan, I'm sorry..." I started.

	"Jon, it's okay, I'm here for you.  You obviously needed to get
that out of your system.  I'm just glad I could help."  He pulled me in for
another hug.  "We'll get through this."  He stroked my brown hair back from
my eyes as he released me then reached up to wipe some water droplets from
my beard.

	"Come on, there's a reception waiting.  And you're an honored
guest, aren't you?"

	"Actually, I'm the host.  God, how rude!  Come on, we've got to
go."  I pulled him out of the restroom by his hand and sprinted towards the
assembly hall.


	We eased into the reception line beside Andrea and Robert and began
shaking hands as the guests passed.  Most of them I either knew or had met
the previous night at the rehearsal dinner.  Robert's family was from the
Seattle area and had been in town during the last week.  The lively bunch
of Andrea's university buddies were having a great time laughing and joking
with the new bride and groom.  Most of the employees of my consulting firm
were in attendance as well as several of my favorite clients.  As the line
began to diminish I noticed my first customer, old Mrs. Simmons approach
us.

	"Well, Jon, great wedding you've thrown here.  Is this your
companion?" she asked, pointing to Dylan.  "I see you've got great taste in
men." She winked, laughing.

	"Mrs. Simmons, no, this is Dylan Sommers.  He's one of Andrea's
friends from Emory."  I blushed at her comment.

	"Pity, he's cute." She whispered to me.

	Dylan's hand was caressing my back.  "You know, Jon, all you have
to do is ask me." He whispered as he slipped away to join his friends.
What was he talking about?



	Dinner was a blast that night, lots of great food, plenty of fine
wines.  No expense had been spared in the honor of this wedding.  After
several toasts by friends and family, my daughter and her husband rose to
have their first dance together as a married couple.  Later when it was my
turn to dance with Andrea she wasted no time in beginning to tease me.

	"So, what do you think of my matchmaking now?" she giggled.

	"What, umm, you mean Dylan?" I stared at her incredulously.

	"Yeah, Dad, he has been in love with you since we were in the
fourth grade.  Remember the time he broke the fence with his bicycle and
you spanked him?  All he ever talks about is you, what you are doing, how
the company is going.  He's got it bad."

	"Okay, he is incredibly handsome and smart.  I also found out
earlier how kind and caring he is.  I'm too old for him and why does he
want me?"

	"Daddy, you can be so blind some times.  He's looking for someone
to take care of him and take charge of his life.  He wants to give himself
to you, totally.  He wants to be the center of your universe and for you to
be the center of his."

	"Can we cut in?" I looked up to see Robert and Dylan standing
beside us.  Robert took Andrea from my arms and danced away.  Dylan's eyes
were blazing that unearthly blue of his

	"Will you dance with me, please?" he asked quietly.  Shyly his eyes
met mine.

	"Yes," I stammered.


	I was not sure what the guests at the reception would think and at
that moment I really did not care.  I had to answer to no one except my
clients.  My company was very successful and if they did not like me
dancing with this handsome man then they could get over it.  Dylan melted
into me, he athletic body feeling so right against mine.  I felt his
erection pressing into my thigh so I pushed mine into him.

	"You like this?" I asked, still unsure about myself and my own
feelings, but sure that he felt right in my arms.

	"Oh God, Jon, I'm so close." He whimpered.

	"No you don't.  We can't have you embarrassing yourself." I
laughed.

	"I'll try not too." His eyes seemed to glaze over as the passion
took control of his body then he pulled back a little from our tight
embrace.

	"Dylan, I'm not sure what exactly is happening here, now, with us."
I stammered.

	"We'll figure it out." He leered at me.


	We danced together for two more songs then broke away from the
dance floor and back to our guests.  No one appeared to have been shocked
by the spectacle they had just witnessed if they even noticed what was
going on.  I never released my hold on Dylan's hand.  Several more toasts
to the couple's happiness were issued as the evening wore on.  Andrea
offered a toast to me in thanks for being her father and for my future
happiness with Dylan.  Again, no one seemed particularly concerned by this
obvious mentioning of our budding relationship.  Eventually the crowd began
to thin out and it was time to usher the bride and groom off to their
honeymoon.  Dylan was at my side throughout the entire night.  We escorted
Andrea and Robert to their car, tossing rose petals after them.  Sensing
that I felt lost again he pulled me in for another hug as they drove away.

	"Is it time for us to go home?" he asked, rubbing my back.

	"Dylan, come on, let's go."  I pulled him towards the limousine
that was waiting to take me back to the house.  "We'll pick up your car
tomorrow."


TO BE CONTINUED