Date: Sun, 13 Aug 2006 21:35:18 -0700 (PDT)
From: John Gerald <connectwriter@yahoo.com>
Subject: connections 10

Thanks again for reading the story.  The guys will be back in 3 weeks.
Feel free to drop me a line with comments, it's always great to hear from
people.  connectwriter@yahoo.com.

Brad got up early Monday morning just before dawn, half exhilarated and
half anxious.  The night before with Mrs. Kovar couldn't have gone better.
But they still had Part Two to get through, dealing with Mr. Kovar.  She
hadn't talk about his possible reaction at all last night, and it became
the unfinished piece of this puzzle to try to discover what it would be.

Mike was still sleeping, as he usually was this early.  Brad didn't' need a
lot sleep, but always insisted his partner get as close to 8 hours as
possible so Mike was sill in the sack.

Knowing that Mr. Kovar went to bed earlier than everyone else, even though
he was taking the day off, Brad guessed that he may still get up early,
too.  He would try to avoid any awkwardness, hoping that someone else was
around the house downstairs to deflect attention.  Good sense told him that
he should have probably stayed upstairs until he heard activity in the
kitchen, but he was such an active guy that he always had a hard time
laying around in bed in the morning.  Unless there was sex, of course.

But with Mike still asleep he had come down the stairs as softly as
possible, hoping to grab a quick snack and take a look, while it was still
quiet, at one of his history essays again.  He glanced into the kitchen
from the bottom of the stairs. The coast looked clear.  He'd dive in
quickly, grab some orange juice, and slip into the living room to study.

He wasn't paying attention as he came around the corner of the refrigerator
when he practically ran down Mr. Kovar, who was quietly making some oatmeal
on the countertop.  More nervous that he realized, Brad practically leaped
back onto the stairs.

"Oops, oh, sorry Mr. Kovar.  I didn't expect you there.  I thought you were
all still asleep."  Brad said, a little nervously.  `These kitchen
surprises would be my undoing,' he thought to himself.

"Not a problem, Bradley."  Mr. Kovar said, absolutely calmly, just the
opposite of Brad's clear nervousness.

Brad had no idea if he had spoken with Mrs. Kovar yet, and his heart was
pounding in his chest.  But he did his best to sound nonplussed himself.
"Good...."  He said.  Then he didn't know what else to say.  It was another
one of those silences that shook the room, until Mr. Kovar spoke.

"Are you hungry?  Mr. Kovar asked.

"Um, yeah, a little.  I thought I'd get a little snack before everyone else
was up and then do some project work.  I have an essay problem that's been
bugging me and I want to try to solve it this morning."  Brad said.  It
helped to shift the subject to his studies. He could get worked up about
his project, and it distracted him from the awkwardness at hand.

"Let's see here what we can get you for breakfast," Mr. Kovar said,
reaching up into the cupboard.

"We have oatmeal and cereal up here..." Mr. Kovar went through a description
of all the various and sundry breakfast items in the cupboard, and then
moved over to the refrigerator, listing what was in there."  Brad was too
nervous to object to the hunt, in fact he really only wanted some juice,
but even that was rapidly receding in his list of priorities.

"Anything sound good?"  Mr. Kovar asked.

"I can have what you're having, Mr. Kovar.  Don't do anything special for
me."  Brad said, not wanting to put him out in the least.  There'd be time
for that later.

"It's no trouble at all, Bradley.  Here, try some of these," Mr. Kovar
said, as he reached into the back of the cupboard, the same place that
Mrs. Kovar had pulled the kolachy out of last night."

"Mrs. Kovar thinks she's hidden these, but it can be our secret," he said
to Brad, with a big smile underneath this moustache.

"Thanks, sir. I guess I have to admit that I do like them."  Brad replied
with a sheepish grin as he accepted a piece and took a bite.

Mr. Kovar casually took his dish of oatmeal over to the table, and motioned
Brad to come over and sit with him.  Brad shook his head and took a chair
opposite Mr. Kovar.  The both sat silent for a moment before Mr. Kovar
spoke.

"Did you like it as a snack last night?"  he said, looking down at his
bowl.  Brad practically choked on his food.

"Um, uh, yea,.."  Brad stammered.  Mr. Kovar obviously knew, but just kept
stirring his oatmeal.

"Bradley?"  Mr. Kovar asked, then stopped stirring and put his spoon down.
Brad noticed him swallow, then look down again at the table.

"Do you know it's not going to be easy, easy for Mirek, or easy for you?"

Brad took a moment to recover his composure.  He'd been through this the
night before, and there was no point in being evasive about this, not
again.  He didn't know Mrs. Kovar well, but knew that he would never
respect him if he backed down about this.  And he wouldn't respect himself.
So whether Mike's Dad liked it our not, Brad was going to speak his mind.

"Mr. Kovar...I really don't know what's going to happen.  I know about the
epilepsy, and I know what it can do."  He paused and looked out the window
at the backyard, where some green was definitely appearing on the trees.
He then looked back at Mr. Kovar.

"It scares me, sir, to be honest.  Watching him suffer and not being able
to do anything about it will kill me.  But to make a long story short, as I
told Mike, It scares me a lot more to think of my life without him.  I
don't know any other way of saying it.  I don't won't to offend you, or
shock you, but that's how I feel...I..."

Mr. Kovar raised his hand and smiled, cutting off Brad.  "I know,
Bradley. I didn't take long to figure out.  The way you watch his food,
make him sleep.  The time you just about jumped off the couch when he
knocked down that stuff in the shower.  And just watching you guys.  You
look out for each other,"

He continued.  "I just wanted to ask you that question, to see how serious
you are, Bradley.  Your answer was good to hear."

"Two guys don't bother me. It doesn't make any difference, as long as they
care about each other.  We can talk more about this sometime, I can tell
you and Mirek about some people in our family, but not now.  Later."

Brad was so relieved he just about collapsed in his chair.  But Mr. Kovar
wasn't done with him yet.

"Mirek tells me you're a really good cook."

"No, that's not really true. I try, but I'm still an amateur," Brad
replied.

"Well, let me, as you people say here, be the judge of that."  Mr. Kovar
said, with a completely blank poker face.  Brad wasn't sure what was going
to come next, but waited anxiously.

"You know, it's really not proper in our country to allow your partner's
father to eat cold oatmeal in the morning, especially when you know that he
likes eggs, like his son.  You could get a lot of credit if you were to
make one of your famous omelets for him..  Not that you have too, of
course, but..."

A great big smile came across Brad's face.  "Coming right up!"  He declared
as he jumped out of the chair. "What would you like inside? "

"You decide, Bradley.  Make your specialty."

Brad got up and started to check the refrigerator for eggs and all the
other stuff that he would need.  Mrs. Kovar was a pretty active cook, so he
hoped she would have what he needed.  Nothing super fancy, but he did want
to spice it up a just a little bit, maybe put in some green onions, chives.
He found those, and some olives, too.  And if they had some ham or other
meat, that would also be good, he thought.

"Do you like olives?"  Brad asked, hoping he would.

"Yes, very much.  Feel free to make it as fancy as you want. I like a lot
of, how do you say, complexity in my food." Mr. Kovar said.  That got Brad
real charged up.

If he hadn't noticed it earlier, Mr. Kovar couldn't help but see how
intense Brad was when he worked, a picture of total concentration.  Brad
wasn't one to make small talk when he focused on something, he was almost
in a world of his own.  Mike was like that too, which made studying
together for them easy.  No one interrupted the other, they just both went
about their work, secure in the knowledge that the other was close by.

Mrs. Kovar came into the kitchen about an hour later and found her husband
and Brad talking over the breakfast table, with their emptied plates and
used knives and forks between them.  Also noticing the used pan on the
stove and mixing bowls on the countertop, she eyed her husband and
immediately demanded his attention.

"Benedikt!  She called out.  Then she said something in Czech, which Brad
of course didn't understand, but then he heard. "Did you really get Bradley
to cook for you?!"  She looked like she was about to smile, but she had to
make a point first.

"Yes, and it was delicious!  I think with proper training from you, he will
make a fine addition to the family and contribute greatly to our future"
Mr. Kovar said.  Brad just smiled shyly, not exactly knowing what was
happening but nonetheless amused by the exchange.

"And the biggest contribution will be to your stomach!  How could you use
him like that?!"  She gave him a mock slap to the back of the head.  Brad
was beginning to realize where Mike got his mischievous streak.

"He's our guest, and we need to treat him like one.  You should be cooking
for him."  She said

"Yes, dear, I thought about that.  But, to be honest, if we assume that
he's part of the family now, and I thought that he might enjoy, uh, what is
the English expression, "diving right in."  And what better way than to
pamper his friend's father."

Mrs. Kovar just chuckled and put her arms around here husband, then
released him and went over to Brad.

She held his face as he looked up at her, beaming.  "How did you sleep last
night, Bradley".

"Great, Mrs. Kovar.  And thanks for everything including the kolachy. It
really hit the spot.  It think that Mike slept pretty well too.  He was
sound asleep when I came down."  She was beginning to notice Brad's habit
of almost always switching attention from himself to something or someone
else, preferably Mike.

"We have much to talk about and learn about each other Bradley, and with
time it will come.  But we both want you to feel welcome in this family.
And you're under no obligation to cook for Mr. Kovar to be part of it."
Brad gave a slight chuckle, but understood exactly what she meant.

"It was no problem at all."  Brad replied, not wanting to get Mr. Kovar in
too much trouble.  "In fact, I would be really happy to make you one, too,
since you've been so nice to me this weekend.  It wouldn't take much work
at all, but I don't want to mess up your kitchen either, at least more than
I already have," he added, catching himself.  He knew that it was still a
bit early to presume he could invade her kitchen space at his pleasure, and
wanted her to know that he still respected the fact that it was her
kitchen.

"Well, I might like that, Bradley, but right now I'd just like some coffee.
And Mr. Kovar can get that for me, now that he's had his breakfast."  They
all laughed again.

When Mike finally woke up and got downstairs he found his parents and Brad
still chatting around the breakfast table.  Mike himself was anxious, like
Brad was earlier, about his father's reaction but couldn't tell what, if
anything, had transpired that morning. Whatever was going on though, they
all seemed in a good mood.

He paused at the entry to the room for a moment, and at the same time
noticed his Dad, as his Dad noticed him.  The conversation stopped.

Mike couldn't move, he was just stuck there.  Maybe they were just making
nice with each other, he thought.  Or maybe his Dad doesn't even know yet.
How will he tell him? How will he react?

When Mike saw his dad slowly, deliberately get of the chair, his heart
almost dropped.  As Mr. Kovar approached, it was as if Mikes whole life was
going to change, in what way he didn't' know, but he almost just shut his
eyes, waiting for a crash that he couldn't do anything about.

Hi dad paused before him, looking straight at Mike, into his head, into his
heart.  When he put his arms around his son, pulling him toward him,, Mike
knew it was all right.  For the first time since his bad time a few months
before, and only the second time since high school, Mike wept.  But this
time for happiness.

As Mr. Kovar held his son he felt again the strong connection that he
always had with him, and almost cried himself.  He know that his acceptance
was important, and wanted to make it absolutely clear that nothing would
come between them.  He had a habit of always lightening the serious times
with humor, however.  It wasn't only that it was his natural style, but,
like Brad, was always concerned about Mike when he was stressed.

Moving his mouth over close to Mikes ear, he whispered, "he can even cook,
too, so hold on to him."  In spite of the tears, got a laugh and smile out
of him.

Hana entered the room just as they released their grips on each other.  At
first she was a little confused, but, seeing everyone else and the room and
their obvious smiles, rapidly put the situation together.  Not willing to
cede her brother his moment in the sun, however, she quickly changed the
subject.

"It looks like someone's had a nice warm breakfast this morning, so where's
mine?"  She demanded, but of no one in particular.

"If her ladyship would deign to partake, I'd be happy to provide her one of
my humble omelets." Brad retorted, getting up from his chair and going
toward the fridge to start to put more of them together for Mrs. Kovar,
Hana and Mike."

"She would, though thine impertinence in addressing me directly is noted,"
she replied in the third person.  It was beginning to look like the Kovar
mischievousness wasn't just handed down to Mike.

"Humbly accepted, your worship.  Now, if you would take the royal hands and
start chopping some onions, your most undeserving servant would be in
eternal debt," Brad said, handing her a knife and onions but adding a
conspicuous bow at the end.  This drew a smile from the Kovars. Mrs. Kovar
thought that if Brad wasn't' gay he would really have hade a good match for
her.  He was just the kind of guy she needed, one that would put her in her
place, but in a nice way.

They all laughed, including Hana, as she took the utensil and food and
started chopping at the counter. Mike also pitched in and started getting
plates and settings for the rest of them.  He was keeping his distance from
cooking omelets for a while, though, and figured he'd do the least damage
this way.

It seemed like Brad had only just started cooking when he and Mike began
passing out he newest omelets to Mrs. Kovar and Hana, and with Mike then
getting his.  Feeling the newfound freedom to be relaxed and affectionate
with Brad around his family , he mussed his hair and thanked him as he got
his own food. At home he would have given him a kiss, and maybe a hug, but
he thought it would be best to just ease into the situation right now.

"Wow, this is excellent, Bradley.  Thank you," Mrs. Kovar said.  She was a
proud cook herself, but wasn't one of those who was stingy with compliments
or jealous of others in the kitchen.  It would be fun to teach Brad things,
almost the daughter-in-law she would never have, she mused herself.

"I'm glad you like it, ma'am.  You had really good ingredients, so it was
easy."  Then he turned to look at Hana.

"Your grace, is it to your liking?"  he said, giving another bow.

"It will do.  Your life has been spared, as has that of your wretched
concubine," she said, subtly nodding toward her brother.

Mike about spit out his food laughing at that comment, but for once
couldn't think of a witty retort to Hana.  She just gave him an evil grin
and went back to eating.

After wrapping up breakfast, which didn't happen until mid-morning, Mike
brought in a big black plastic bag full of laundry that the guys had left
in his car, a beater that he had gotten after he got rid of his motorcycle.
Sheepishly approaching his mother, he asked if he could use the washing
machine in the basement.

"You're doing his laundry?!"  she exclaimed.

"Um, uh, yea, well I'm doing laundry for both of us.  Actually, we fold the
stuff together, but since he cooks I feel like I should ..."

Mrs. Kovar interrupted him with a big, very theatrical kiss to the cheek.
She had a mischievous side, too. "My son, doing someone's laundry.  This
really is serious!"

She took him by the hand and led him downstairs, slowly, as if danger and
treachery lurked with every step, speaking to Mike in a conspirational
voice, in Czech, about the mysterious things that go on in the basement.
Mike was seeing a side of his mother he had seen few times before, and
could hardly contain his laugher as she pulled him into the laundry room.

When they got to the washing machine, she slowly stroked its top.  Ordering
him to stand back, that it was too dangerous for her dear son to draw near,
she slowly opened the lid, revealing the white agitator blades.

"Be careful around this machine, my son" she said, switching to English.
"It could kill you."

Mike just laughed again. "Yea, it could.  Luckily I've always stayed away
from this monster.  But if I don't get this done, that's about what I'll
deserve.  So, now that you've had your fun, just show me how it works!," he
pleaded.

Smiling at him, she got serious again and walked him through the steps of
using both the washer and the dryer.  One of the practical benefits for
Mike of coming home so often was that his Mom had continued to do his
laundry, but for a lot of reasons it couldn't go on this way with Brad.

It wasn't only that he didn't want to burden her with the extra laundry for
Brad, though.  He was a little embarrassed by all the dry, stiff spots on
their clothes.  Especially the rag that they referred to as their "CT" or
"come towel, for use continuously during hours of raucous sex.  And the dry
spots on the sheets. And tee shirts. And of course, underwear.

Mrs. Kovar was reading later on when she watched Mike bring up the dried
clothes into the kitchen, placing the overloaded basket on a chair as he
cleared off the breakfast table for folding.  With Brad joining him, the
guys spent the next few minutes folding clothes together, chatting
laughing, teasing each other.

They seemed to be having a great time doing the most mundane kind of
things.  While her and Mr. Kovar had a somewhat typical roles in a
marriage, the guys were clearly setting up their own way of doing things.
It fascinated her to watch them interact, the 2 guys forming a relationship
with few precedents for roles or responsibilities.

After folding the laundry, the guys then got down to some serious studying
in the living room, not surrendering their books until late in the
afternoon.  Then is was time for Brad's soccer lesson.

In spite of his activities as an athlete, Brad was a more or less typical
American guy in that he knew almost nothing about soccer.  In spite of its
popularity in the U.S. for young kids, it wasn't really promoted in his
hometown, so he grew up with the traditional American sports -- basketball,
baseball and (American) football.  He also liked tennis and volleyball,
sports that took skill and teamwork.  He wasn't much for just running,
thought he was getting into lifting weights with Mike.

Mrs. Kovar watched them out the back window as they kicked the ball around.
She was actually a big fan herself, at least before she came to America,
and knew the rules and what a good player looked like.  She was amused to
watch Brad struggle with the ball, as Mike would continuously steal it from
him and kick it into the fence at the end of the yard.

She saw how Mike would explain to Brad each time what he was doing wrong,
and after a few minutes could see that Brad was visibly improving.  He
really was a good athlete, she thought.  And she wasn't fooled by either of
them as they fell into a heap of tangled arms and legs all over each other
numerous times, laughing and carrying on, taking much longer than normal to
get back off the ground each time.

She just rolled her eyes when the ball went out of bounds behind the garage
and they seemed to disappear back there for a rather longer time that it
should have to retrieve the ball.  When they did emerge she noticed that
Brad's shirt had dirt all over the back of it.  Feeling a bit voyeurish,
she chuckled to herself and moved to the countertop space with no view of
the backyard and continued to prepare dinner.

It seemed like the whole house shook when the guys both came in
together. Mike forgot to catch the screen door as it slammed shut behind
him, getting him a reprimand from Hana, now in the kitchen helping her
mother.  It took them both a moment to switch from plodding and stomping
outside to getting back to normal inside, though they were both still
breathing heavily from the workout.

They decided that Mike would take his shower first, so Brad chilled out in
the kitchen with Hana.

"Oooh, nice musky smell.  I like that in a guy." She said quietly to Brad,
who turned bright red.

"Hana, there's some guy out there who can really tame you, and I can't wait
until you meet him!"  Brad said to her, smiling.

She looked at Brad, and suddenly got quiet for a second. "Me too." She said
softly.

After dinner, the guys went upstairs to pack their things.  They each
brought up a load of folded clothes that they then placed on the bed, ready
for packing.

"How are you doing, guy?"  Brad asked as soon as he got rid of his load,
wrapping his arms around Mike.

Mike just grinned.  "I'm so happy.  This couldn't have gone better," he
said, returning the hug. "They both seem to really like you, which is
great.  How do you feel?" Mike asked in return.

Brad paused for a moment, and just looked at him, into those beautiful blue
eyes.  "I feel like I just got a new family, the best one anybody could
have.  Thanks, pup."  He said as he kissed Mike on the forehead.

They just stood there, again just holding each other, savoring the moment.
Both of them knew there would be tough times ahead, but were safe in the
knowledge that they had family to support them, and who they could support
in turn, along the way.

It was getting late when both the guys were about ready to go.  Mike wanted
to avoid a long farewell, if for no other reason than they would be back
again in just a couple of weeks, but that would be futile, knowing his
folks.

Even though they were both sitting nonchalantly in the living room, his mom
appearing to be reading and his dad listening to a German-language news
broadcast, they were each in fact like sentries at the gate, not allowing
anyone to pass anonymously by.

The guys had finally loaded up the car and came back in for the last few
things when both the parent's got off their chairs to say goodbye.  They
gave each of the guys a hug and whispered something in Mike's ear.  Not
wanting to make it any more emotional than it was, since he was on the
verge of tears himself, Mike led the way out to the car to head back to
school.

"You still doing OK,?"  Brad asked, concerned, as they got into the car and
buckled up.

"Yea, I'm still fine.  How about you?" Mike replied.

"Yea, I'm still on bit of a high, actually.  I hope I can sleep tonight,
the drive here should help."  He reached over and put is hand on Mike's
thigh, rubbing it gently.

"By the way, what did they say to you, there?"  Brad asked.  "I couldn't
hear."

"You really want to know?" he replied, smiling.

"Yes," Brad replied and chuckled, wondering why Mike would ask him that.

"They told me to take care of you."

"They did?"  Brad asked, stunned.

"Yup.  Your really part of this family, you know.  Welcome aboard!"  He
said, pulling Brad toward him and giving him a big smacking kiss before
they hit the road.

As the guys drove away, the parents' gave them a wave goodbye.

"I can't wait until they come back" Mrs. Kovar said, with great enthusiasm.

"Me too."  He replied.  Then they went inside together for the night.

Neither of them parents would ever tell Mike how stunned they initially
were by this revelation. Not so much that Mike was gay, or any kind of
moral judgment like that.  It was just that he had to go uphill so much in
life, with having epilepsy, moving when he was very young, and so much else
and now having to face a world that would not totally accept him for who he
was.

What brought them comfort, though, was the clear devotion of Mike's friend
to him, and from Mike in return.  As they got to know Brad better, they
both began to realize how totally in love he was with Mike.  but not just
in the dreamy romantic sense, but in the practical, day-to-day slog that is
what a relationship is really about.  Brad seemed focused on the
not-so-fun, maintenance kind of stuff, like making sure Mike ate well and
got his sleep, that would be the bedrock of their relationship for years to
come.