Date: Thu, 02 Mar 2006 23:07:33 -0600
From: David J <boricuaholandes@hotmail.com>
Subject: The Senator's Son -- Part 4

See other parts for disclaimer information.  This chapter has a soundtrack
and a request from the author.  See the end of the chapter for information.
~~~David~~~

Part 4 --

	Something stirred me.  I didn't know what it was, but something stirred me.
  The process of waking up, though, was slow.  First my left eye, then my
right eye.  The haze of semi-consciousness settled over me like a fog over a
field early in the morning.  `The sleep,' I thought, `must have been deep.'

	As I looked around, I realized that I didn't know where I was at first.
The bed I was laying on was a large king size one.  I lay, still virtually
motionless, on the left side of the bedI surveyed my soundings as carefully
as I could at this crucial time.  Across the room was a large chest of
drawers.  Atop it were a small TV, DVD player, and a digital cable box.  One
of the drawers was open.  It was obvious that someone had disturbed the
contents, as something white was hanging from it.  To the right of the chest
was a chair.  It wasn't anything too special, just a simple wooden chair,
covered in simple fabric.  A flower hung from the corner immediately to the
right of the chair.  The window was on this wall.  The shades were opened,
which revealed to me that the night had either crept in or crept out like a
thief in the night.

	I continued my survey by looking up at the ceiling.  A ceiling fan with
blades in the shape from palm fronds turned just enough to circulate the air
in the room, which was sticky from the humid conditions in the room.  `Damn
it's hot,' I thought to myself as I pulled the covers off of me, only to
realize that I was half naked.  I was wearing only boxers: tight white
boxers that might as well have been a tent from the hard-on I was sporting.

	My attention was taken from my body, though, as I realized that there was a
light coming from the bathroom that shone so brightly.  How could I not have
realized this a moment ago when I was surveying the room to get my bearings?
  If I'd noticed this before, I would have realized that I was in my bedroom
at Maya's (my mom's) house.

	"No existe un momento, del día.  En que pueda partarte de mi.  El mundo
parece...distinto...cuando no estás junto a mí..." I heard a voice singing
from the bathroom.  It was very bad.  I wanted to yell at the person to let
Luis Miguel have his song back, but for some reason was unable to utter the
words. "...en parte de mi alma...ya...nada me consuela...si no estás tú
también....ooh ooh ooh...," my crooner continued, not aware that I was
taking in his concert.  "Más allá de tus labios...del sol y las
estrellas...contigo en la distancia....amado mío...estoy...contigo en la
distancia...amado mío...estoy..." the chanteur concluded.  It was finally
over.  This person sung so horribly bad that I wanted to scream, followed by
shoving him straight from my second story window in the yard below.
(There's not a moment that goes by...that you could ever part yourself from
me...the world seems...distant...when you're not here with me...........in a
part of my soul...now...nothing consoles me...if you're not here too...oh oh
oh...........Farther away than your lips...from the sun and the stars...with
you in the future...my love...I am...with you in the future...my love...I
am...  [This is taken from a Luis Miguel song, "Contigo en la distancia."])

	`God,' I thought to myself, `I'm as crabby as Simon Cowell when I first
wake up.'

	I pulled myself up from the bed and walked around the room for a moment.
Slowly the surroundings were becoming more obvious for me.  I walked to the
window, gazing outside as the neighbors dog ran in circles beneath a street
lamp they'd installed to annoy the neighbors on the other side of them.  I
chuckled slightly as the water in the bathroom stopped.  I looked toward it
not knowing who or what was in there.  I only remember feeling comforted as
the person very badly sang his rendition of a Luis Miguel song.

	I turned again to look at the window.  The sky was an odd shade, somewhere
between night and the breaking of day.  The freshness of everything outside
only served to accent the freshness that somehow permeated my room.

	Without provocation, a hand softly touched my waist, then another.  Then
the two moved to meet each other on my abdomen.  I could feel a gentle
breath on the back of my neck, then another, then a light kiss.  I was in
heaven, wanting this moment of bliss never to subside.  A million love songs
couldn't contain enough words to describe the things going through my mind.
The hands moved up to my chest, which was more than ready to be fondled by
the massive hands that this man had.  They were perfectly shaped, with nails
that were perfectly groomed.  His skin, at least from what I could tell were
a nice hue of caramel.

	Without saying a word, he moved his hands back to my waist, and then to my
back, which he rubbed.  I was relaxing to the prospects of this going on for
a little while.  He moved to shoulders, rubbing and caressing them before
slowing rubbing my own sculpted arms as he moved his way to my hands.

	His fingers interlaced themselves with mine.  This feeling was far nicer
than what even what I'd been feeling for a while.  The feeling of being
loved by someone, both physically and emotionally was very appealing to me.

	The figure took his right hand from mine, and with a twist, turned me to
face him.  He took my free hand and again intertwined his fingers with mine.
  He was perfect in every way.  His body was tight and muscular from years
of playing soccer and from working out for at least an hour daily.  His face
was one of his most alluring features.  His chin was cleft; his cheekbones
were defined.  His smile was his best feature by far, as it was inviting and
clear.  His teeth were perfectly white.  His nose was big, but not
obtrusive.  His eyes were crisp, clear, and as green as the most perfect
emerald.  His hair was brown, with chunks of blond randomly placed across
his head.  He didn't have a single hair on his body.

	I took my right hand from his and rubbed his chest.  He didn't utter a
sound, instead opting to stare at me with all the intensity his eyes could
muster.  I moved my hand to his face, touch as much of its right side as I
could.

	"Hi," I said quietly and meekly.

	"Hi, yourself," the figure responded.

	"Good shower?" I asked.

	"It would have been if you'd awoken to join me."

	"Good line, babe."

	"You are the one who taught me how to properly flirt," he said to me,
flashing the smile at me and making his dimples appear in his face obviously
sculpted by God himself.

	"Yeah.  I do have to give myself that one."

	"Yeppers," he said with a wink.

	I sighed deeply, realizing what was going on.  "I'm dreaming, aren't I?"

	"Yeah.  You are," he said matter of factly.

	"Why?" I asked.  "Why can I only dream of you?"

	"You will one day, babe."

	"I know, Josh." I said before he started to move away.

	"Josh!" I tried to stop him as he backed away, keeping his eyes firmly
planted on me.

	"I love you, Dave," he said.

	"Oh God!  Josh I've got a million things that I want to say to you.  Please
don't leave me," I begged as I walked toward the diminishing figure.  "God!
Don't leave me again, Josh.  Josh!  Josh!  Please come back," I shouted
pointlessly as the ghost of my former lover faded into obsurity.

	"David Jansen!" I heard someone screaming.  "Dave!  Wake up!  You're having
another bad dream," Pedro screamed as I fought to see Josh one more time.
"It's just a dream.  Come on Dave!"

	"NO!" I said as I jumped from the bed.  I was completely unaware of my
surroundings.  Pedro jumped up after me, grabbing me before I could run from
the room crying, waking up everyone in the house.  He held me so tightly as
I sobbed.  "¿Por qué tengo que revivir este sueño?"  (Why do I have to keep
reliving this dream?)

	"Está bien papi.  Todo está bien," he said reassuring me.  "Cálmate, baby.
Todo está bien."  (It's OK papi.  Everything's alright.  Calm down, baby.
Everything's alright.)

	I was continuing to sob when I noticed a small-framed shadow enter the
room.  "¿Qué pasa?" said the small Latin woman in her husky, worn voice.

	"Todo está bien, Abu.  Era una pesadilla," he advised.  (All is OK, Abu.
It was a nightmare.)  (Abu is Pedro's grandmother.  We'd come to her house
to help her decorate for Christmas.)

	"Ah.  Entiendo.  Les preparo un chocolate, ok?"  she started.  "Tráele a la
cocina en un momento," she instructed as she walked out of the room and down
the stairs.

	As I realized what was going on, I began to feel ashamed by my actions.
`Why can't I control these bursts?' I thought to myself as Pedro picked me
up and set me on the bed.

	"You think I'm crazy now, don't you?" I asked, half expecting him to say
yes and half knowing that he would say no.

	"Only on Thursdays," he said, flashing a smile at me.

	I took his face as I'd taken Josh's in my dream, touching as much as I
could from the angle in which I sat.  "I'm so sorry you have to live with my
baggage," I said to Pedro, who was looking as lovely as ever watching me.

	"We all have our things, Dave.  It's not a big thing," he said, trying to
reassure me that he was there for me.

	"I know.  But how many twenty-five year olds live with this shit?"

	"It's not a big thing, Dave.  I promise you that.  Well, let's go have some
hot chocolate."  He took me in his arms as we stood, hugging me as tightly
as I could stand.  I put my arms around his back, begging in the back of my
mind that God not force him to leave my life.

	We walked with him holding my hand down the hall the down the back
staircase that led into the kitchen.  When we went in, the main light
illuminated the kitchen.  A smaller light offered brighter lighting over the
stove where Abu was working.  She was a short Latin woman.  She was somewhat
portly, and spoke in a heavy accent when she spoke in English.  Even though
I'd only met her two weeks ago, over the course of Thanksgiving, I'd already
grown to respect and appreciate this woman for what she'd sacrificed and
worked for in life.  She finished the hot chocolate and walked two cups to
us before returning to get one for herself.

	The three of us sat in silence at the table for some time, as each of us
contemplated what, if anything, we could say.

	"Pedro," Abu said, interrupting the silence, "go into my study and get the
red, leather-bound journal while I talk to David for a second."  From the
tone, I knew that this wasn't going to be a pleasant conversation.  I
worried that she was going to ask me not to see Pedro anymore, forcing him
to choose between her and me.

	"David," Abu started after Pedro was no longer in earshot, "when my Ernesto
died a few years ago, I thought I would soon follow him.  But even though I
prayed for God to take me to Ernesto, he never did.  Then one day, five of
my grandchildren, including Pedro and Maria, asked me to tell them a story
about Papu, as they called him.  I'd resolved a long time before that I
wouldn't ever talk about him again.  I didn't want to share my memories with
anyone.  I wanted to keep everything bottled inside me, and that, David, is
what almost killed me."  I couldn't help but cry, since I knew that the
words this sage old lady was saying to me were total truth.  She took a
moment to let her words sink in.  "Now, you and I are different in the
respect that you're young enough to find someone else.  You can never forget
the past, but you can always start anew.  I've never seen Pedro light up the
way that he does when he talks about you or walks into a room that you're
in.  He loves you."`

	"I know, Abu," I said complacently.

	"Trust him," she instructed as she stood and walked away.

	I stayed behind to finished my chocolate and think about what Abu had said.
  Pedro returned, carrying Abu's book.  "Abu, I've got..." he trailed off as
he realized that Abu wasn't here anyore.

	"She went to bed," I said, holding my head downcast.

	"Are you OK?" he asked as he returned the to sit directly across the table
from me.  I extended my arm across the table.  Pedro picked up on the clue
and put his hand out to meet mine.  We interlaced our fingers, and I looked
at him.

	"I'm fine, Pedro," I went on, only half convincing my lover of my honestly.
  We sat in silence for a few minutes.  I contemplated how I was going to
tell him what had happened.  "Pedro," I started, finally mustering enough
courage to talk about my past with him, "your grandmother told me something
a few minutes ago that are weighing on me.  She told me about how she moved
past your grandfather's death."  Pedro smiled at me, knowing what I was
talking about.  I pulled out a picture of Josh that I kept in my wallet and
handed it to Pedro.

	"He's almost as hot as you, Dave.  So tell me how y'all met," Pedro said.

	I couldn't help but smile as I recalled in my mind the first time I saw
Josh.  "We were at a party.  My friend Isabel had invited me to come, even
though I wasn't much of a partier.  I was standing at the bar in her kitchen
when I noticed this hot man dancing with some chick.  I couldn't help but
stare at him.  He kept looking at me and smiling.  I remember thinking `what
if this guy is straight and he wants to beat the shit out of me for
staring.'  So I went to Isabel's room in the apartment, just to give myself
a chance to calm down," I continued.

=====

	"Hey dude," Josh said as he came into the room.  "You OK?"

	"Uh...yeah man...I'm fine.  Thanks."

	"I noticed you looking..."

	"I'm so sorry for that dude," I interrupted, trying to keep him from
starting a fight with me.

	"Don't apologize," he said, looking offended that I would apologize for
staring.  "I've been checking you out all night, albeit a tad more
discreetly," he said with a smile on his face.

	I was at a loss for words.  This fine man was checking my ass out too.

	"I'm Josh," he said, extending his arms.

	"Uh.  Hi.  I'm David," I said taking his hand.

	"Nice to meet you," he said.

	"Likewise dude...uh Josh...uh...yeah...likewise," I stammered.

	"So let's go dance," he said, putting his arms around my shoulder and
leading me into the living room to dance with him.

=====

	"For the rest of the night," I continued telling Pedro, "he and I danced
together.  It was awesome.  We talked every night for two weeks, and then we
had our first date.  He had me from there."

	"AWWW!" Pedro said, casting a smile in my direction.

	"Pedro.  I'm sorry for having the baggage and that you're having to deal
with it." My hand was firmly connected with his from across the table.  "I
know you didn't sign up for all this."

	"David, can I ask you a question?"

	"Yeah."

	"If the situation were reversed, where would you be?"

	"Here."

	"OK.  That's the way I feel about things.  There may be a time when the
situations are reversed," he stated, taking my hand into his and kissing it
lightly.  "El amor está hablando," he said smiling.  (Love's talking.)

	For the next two or three hours, we sat at Abu's table talking about
various thing, but Josh wasn't again a topic of conversation for the
evening.  We retired for the evening, Pedro holding me in his arm as we
slept motionless in the room he'd slept in as a child.

	The next day we slept late; I was awoken only by the smell of the breakfast
being prepared by Abu downstairs.  The sweet aroma permeated all throughout
the house.  Without disturbing Pedro, I sneaked out of the room and down to
the kitchen.

	"Good morning, Abu," I said quietly, trying not to startle her.

	"Good morning, David.  How did you sleep?" she said, smiling as I walked to
the counter where she was working on breakfast.

	"I slept great.  Thanks."

	"You and Pedro were up late."

	"Yes ma'am.  We had a night talk," I said, a smile brightening my face like
the first late of day.

	"Good."

	"I'm sorry for upsetting you," I said after a moment.

	"Baby," she said, walking over to me.  "You did not upset me.  It's just
that I know what you're going through.  It is very hard.  But, like I said
last night, you are still young enough to find love again.  Pedro loves you
so much, and I can tell that you love him.  It's just that you won't be able
to completely love him until he knows about your past and you know about
his."

	"Yes ma'am."

	"Don't yes ma'am me.  It makes me feel old," she said, a smile coming
across her worn face.

	"But you are old, woman," Pedro said as he walked into a room.

	"Don't sass me, mijo.  I may be old, but I can still find someone to give
you a good spanking," she said, giving him a stern look.

	"Oh David took care of that earlier this week," Pedro blurted.  My face
turned a bright shade of red.  I couldn't believe that he'd said that to
her!  Abu felt for me, telling Pedro that he would be in trouble if he
didn't stop.  I, likewise, gave him a stern look.

	"I'm sorry, Dave," he said as he came over and gave me a hug.

	"It's OK, babe, I'll forgive you later."

	"Que bueno para mí!" he exclaimed.  (Woo hoo hoo for me!)

	"Breakfast is ready," Abu said.  Pedro dug into the bacon, fruit, papas
fritas, danishes, eggs, and the few other things that Abu had prepared.
Breakfast, he always said, was his favorite meal of the day.  I could see
why.  Pedro inhaled three plates before declaring he was full.  I was barely
able to finish one plate.  All the food was so delectable.

	As the day went on, we completed the tasks that Abu had asked us to do for
her.  We raked the leaves, cleaned the gutters, put the lights on the house
and on some of the trees in the front yard.

	"Hey Pedro," I said as we walked back into the house.

	"Yeah, babe," he said turning around.  I walked up the steps to where he
was standing.

	"I love you, Pedrito."

	"I love you, too, David," he said as he kissed me on the cheek.

=====

First off, I'm sorry that this part is so short.  I was writing along and I
found that I had two different stories, but the transition between the two
wasn't strong enough to tie them into one story.  The second part is not
complete yet, but hopefully it will be over the next few days.

At the first, I said that this chapter has a soundtrack.  When I sat down to
start writing it, I went through my iTunes and found several songs that I've
been listening to as I write.  Some are in Spanish; some are in English.
Whether you understand the words or not, they're still good songs to listen
to.  Here goes the list:

1. "Contigo en la distancia" Luis Miguel (Christina Aguilera also has a very
good version.  This is the song that "Josh" was singing in the shower.)
2. "Born To Try" by Delta Goodrem
3. "Lost Without You" by Delta Goodrem (Both 2 and 3 are on iTunes.  She's
supposed to release her first US CD soon.  She's awesome.)
4. "Good is Good" by Sheryl Crow
5. "Nada es para siempre" by Luis Fonsi
6. "Jesus, Take the Wheel" by Carrie Underwood.  (Even though she beat Bo
last season, I still have to give her props for the song.  It's nice and
sweet.)
7. "Rie y Llora" by Celia Cruz  (Celia is the oldest person to ever have a
Thunderpus remix.  But that's not important.)
8. "Make it Go Away" by Taryn Murphy  (To find this song, you actually have
to google search for the "Wisegirls" soundtrack.  It's an awesome song,
though.  [It's played in the scene in Wisegirls when Rachel (played by
Mariah Carey) is visiting Meg's grave.]
9. "Para obtener un si" by Shakira
10. "Dance, Dance" by Fall Out Boy  (I listened to this song, but it has
more of an influence on the second part.)
11. "Celos" by Marc Anthony.  (Again this one is more for the second part,
but I wanted to go ahead and include it here, since I'll probably forget to
add the soundtrack to the next installment.)

Second.  As I write the chapters of the story, I have a clear perception of
what the characters look like.  When people are reading it though, they have
totally different perceptions of how the characters seem.  So here's the
proposition.  I would like for everyone who reads this story to pick three
characters, other than David and Pedro, and find a picture of them.  Send
them to boricuaholandes@hotmail.com.  I will pick the two or three of each
character that come close to how I think the characeters look and post them
to a website.  If your picture(s) is (are) selected, you will get an advance
copy of Chapter 6!  Feel free to send pictures of David and Pedro, but they
won't be used in consideration of the contest.

Also, I would like to say a special thanks to Jake and Jason for helping me
out with editing.  I really appreciate it!

OOH!!!  Congratulate me on being one month smoke free as of 1 March 2006!!!
;)

David