Date: Mon, 17 Dec 2001 10:51:41 -0500
From: Sequoyah <sequoyah@charter.net>
Subject: The Oberlin Five, Chapter Five

		    ASP--The Oberlin Five--Chapter Five

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				 Comments

Again, many thanks to SAH and JT for their efforts which make the story
better reading. Special thanks to the fan who first suggested that Ohio,
though in the North, is not a bastion of liberalism. Also thanks to the fan
who wrote about the terrain in the Lorain area.

     A note is always appreciated: sequoyah@charter.net. Also check out the
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ASP--The Oberlin Five--Chapter Five--Luke

In spite of being awakened by the nightmare, I had slept well afterwards
and was awake early. Matt was sleeping soundly beside me, but as soon as I
got up to go to the bathroom, he was right behind me. "Ok, this morning,
Luke?" he asked as we stood side-by-side, relieving ourselves.

"Sure. Yea. I'm fine. Feel like a run on the beach?"

"Sounds great." We went back to the room and put on running shorts and
shoes. Just as we stepped into the hall, Kent poked his head out of his
room. "'Morning. How are you two doing this fine Sunday morning?"

"Fine," I answered. "Want to go for a run?"

"Sure. Give me a minute to get dressed and I'll join you downstairs."

When we reached the kitchen, Paula was putting on coffee. "Want to go for a
run before you do that?" I asked.

"Sounds good. Give me time to get dressed. Meet you on the beach."

Matt and I walked down to the lake. The house sat on a bluff twenty or
thirty feet above the beach which gave us a fantastic view of the lake, but
which meant getting to the beach involved a walk down a steep, zigzagging
path. Fortunately, the beach was sandy for a couple miles in both
directions because much of the shoreline in our area was too rocky for
running.  When we reached the beach, Matt and I started doing some
stretching and warming-up exercises. A few minutes later we were joined,
not by just Paula and Kent, but by Eugene and Larry as well. "Well, well,
well," Matt said, "guess we don't have a lazybones in the bunch."

"I'm not lazy," Paula said, "but I'll not make an attempt to keep up with
you five."

"Ok, let's run," Larry shouted and we took off. We ran about an mile, I
guess, down the beach and then turned and started back. Paula wasn't far
behind and fell right in with us as we ran back to the house.

We all quickly showered and got dressed in one thing or another and I
reminded Matt and Eugene that it was their turn to start kitchen duties. It
wasn't long before we had a big breakfast on the table but, as large as it
was, it vanished quickly. "Kent, we'll take my car this morning and you can
take either the truck or the Jeep," Eugene said. "Paula, if you want to
look around, take what Kent leaves."

"Think I might just do that," she responded.

"Sunday dinner at 2:00," Matt announced as we went upstairs to get dressed.


ASP--The Oberlin Five--Chapter Five--Matt

It took me a while to go to sleep after Luke's nightmare. Fortunately, he
drifted off to sleep quickly, snuggled against me. I wondered why he had
the nightmare. Maybe it was just left over from before. Finally I fell
asleep. I woke up when Luke got up to go to the bathroom and realized I
needed to go too. When I asked Luke how he was doing, he kinda brushed off
the question by saying he was fine. As I looked at him, I thought, "Luke,
Babe, you may say you're fine, but I've been around too long. What's going
on?" I wanted to ask him but didn't.

After a run and a big breakfast, It was time to go to church.

We had found a church, St. Anne's, not far from our place. It appeared to
be a bit larger than St. Mary's, but not so large as to be impersonal. As
we started up the walk to the church, I said to the other three, "I hope,
oh how I hope, they have a decent organ!" As we got closer, I could hear
the organ. Inside, I could see that it was much smaller than
St. Mary's--and much older--but the sound was great!

The service was less formal--I guess Episcopalians would say it was Low
Church--but the priest, who was in his thirties I think, had a decent
sermon about caring for those others reject. He talked about all the times
Jesus refused to judge and condemn people others considered outcasts. The
four of us kept looking at each other and agreeing.

After the service, we introduced ourselves to the priest, Father Manville,
although he didn't use the title Father. Luke told him we were used to it
and asked if was ok to call him Father and he said it was. Several people
welcomed us and asked if we were just visiting, and we told them we were
Oberlin students so they asked us to come back.

When we got back home, Eugene and I finished preparing Sunday dinner and
were just about ready to serve it when Kent came in. "Well, how do you like
that?" he asked. "My family has always sat in the same pew and this morning
when I got to it, Dad sorta wouldn't let me in. I mean, he wasn't nasty or
anything, he just pretended I wasn't there. After church the pastor asked
if there were problems at home and I told him there were. He made an
appointment for me later this afternoon. I sure need to talk to him about
what's going on."

Dinner was a fun time. We talked about all we had gotten done in the past
week and laid out the week to come. Monday, Wednesday and Friday, Kent
would go in to Case Western Reserve by himself. He, Larry and Luke had
classes there Tuesday and Thursday and, of course, I would be going to
Holtkamp.


ASP--The Oberlin Five--Chapter Five--Kent

Just before we finished dinner, remembering I had an appointment with
Pastor Jensen, I asked if I could borrow transportation. "Kent," Luke said,
"I told you before, you don't borrow a vehicle... if you have a need for
it, it's yours--and you have a need for one. Think you should take my truck
because, should we decide to do something this afternoon, Eugene's car or
Matt's Jeep would hold the rest of us. The truck would not."

"Thanks, Luke. I'm having a hard time getting used to the idea that I am as
much a part of this as anyone else. Thanks for reminding me."

My appointment was for 3:30 and I arrived a few minutes before. Pastor
Jensen was waiting for me in his study. "Sorry to have to have you come out
Sunday afternoon," I said as I shook hands with him.

"Must admit that I usually spend Sunday afternoon flaked out. May not seem
like hard work but by the time I have finished the Sunday service, I am
just wiped out. But I ate lunch and took a nap rather than just
half-watching TV so I'm ok. Tell me what's going on. I couldn't help but
notice you weren't sitting with your family. I spoke to your father about
it and he said there was no problem."

"I guess he thinks there's not and maybe he's right, but I don't agree. I
have left home and won't be going back. I guess that's not a problem for
him but, to be honest, it is a problem for me." I then told Pastor what had
happened and why. "So he has forbidden me to come home and so long as I can
see Mom and Derrick, I don't care."

"You don't care? Are you sure?"

"Why should I care? Dad has never been a father to me. He has always
rejected me, put me down. Nothing I ever do pleases him. He didn't want me
from the beginning and that hasn't changed. No, I don't care." That's what
I said but, inside, I know it was a lie. I wanted more than anything for
Dad to put his arm around me and tell me he approved of something I had
done, that I had made him proud, that he loved me. Strange, I knew I had
tried to get my dad to approve of me but, for the first time, I really felt
how very much, how very, very much I wanted that. I felt hot tears welling
up in my eyes and fought to keep them back.

"Big boys and real men don't cry," I heard Dad's voice as clearly as if he
was standing beside me. "You'll never be a real man, Kent, because you're
nothing but a crybaby," the voice continued. Well, I tried to hold back the
tears but, as had always happened for eighteen years, I failed and heard
Dad's voice saying, "See, I told you". That did it. Hot, scalding tears
flowed down my face in spite of all my efforts to stop them. I hung my
head, ashamed, because once again my dad was proven right. I wasn't even a
big boy, much less a man.

"Let it out, Kent, let it all out," Pastor Jensen said softly.

"But big boys and real men don't cry," I said, still crying in spite of all
I could do to stop.

"I don't know about big boys and real men, but I tell you one thing: human
beings, real human beings, cry when they hurt and I sense you are
hurting. Only unfeeling people don't cry. Let it out."

That really broke the floodgates. I was crying so hard I was shaking all
over. Great sobs escaped my throat. Pastor Jensen got up, walked over to me
and put his arm around me. "Let it all out, Son," he said. His calling me
son brought fresh tears and I was boohooing like a little kid. "That's
right," he said, "let it out from the time you were just a kid."

I don't know how long, out of control, I cried in great sobs. Pastor handed
me a tissue and then passed the box to me. When I had finally cried myself
out, I looked at him and said, "I have never cried like that my whole
life. I think I might have gotten control, but when you called me son, I
couldn't handle it. I have never heard my father call me son or, if he has,
it has been a put down."

"Kent, your father has a real problem which he is going to have to work on
and solve himself. Neither you nor I can do that for him. I will, if he
will allow it, help him all I can, but he has to do the work himself. Same
with you. You'll have to work through your hurt and anger and forgive your
father if you are ever to have a good relationship with him. I'll work with
you both if you and he will permit it. If he won't, I'll work with you."

"Thank you, Pastor. I would like to do that." We set up a series of
appointments--one a week--for the next six weeks.

As I got up to leave, he hugged me to himself and asked, "How do you feel,
Kent?".

"Better than I have in a while," I answered, shook his hand and left.

When I got back to the house, I told the gang what had happened. "Good,
glad you are getting help," Eugene said. "Gene and I have really been
helped by therapy."

"Yea, but we still have a ways to go," Larry said.


ASP--The Oberlin Five--Chapter Five--Matt

Monday was Labor Day and we decided we'd make it a real holiday and not
just a free day at home. We urged Kent to call Christine and ask her to go
with us for a boat trip to an island in the lake and to an amusement park
afterward. Luke suggested he also call Derrick and ask him to join
us. "I'll pick him up so you won't have to go to his place," Luke added.

"He has a girl," Kent said, "would it be all right if she comes?"

"Sure," Luke said.

Eugene and I packed a picnic while Luke called a boat rental place and made
arrangements for a cruise on the lake, having found out we didn't have time
for a trip to the island. We knew the amusement park would be crowded, but
we thought that would just add to the fun.

Luke left for the Glaze place about 9:00 and came back with Derrick and a
very attractive young girl, Judy Duvall. While Luke made that trip, Kent
went to pick up Christine. We were finally ready to go at 10:00, arriving
at the boat dock at 11:00. We planned to have the picnic on the boat since
we had asked for a three-hour cruise.

The cruise was really fun, something those of us from Concord had never
done. Judy was really fun, reminding us of Mary Kathryn. She was witty,
bright and very determined. It was obvious, however, that she and Derrick
were just good friends and not lovers as were Michael and Mary Kathryn.

Christine was fun, but not nearly as alive as Kent. She just didn't seem
his type. A clinging vine, she hung on Kent all the time. I just didn't see
them as a couple. Of course, Kent had said they were just friends. As the
day wore on, she made more and more effort to have Kent make out with her
and I thought he was resisting more and more.

It was mid-afternoon before we got to the amusement park. As we had
thought, it was crowded. In fact, it was so crowded that there were lines
waiting for all the rides. By 5:00, we had all had it with waiting in line
for very short rides. I was sure the operators kept making the rides
shorter and shorter to make more money. "How about going home and cooking
out?" Paula asked.

"Sounds good," Larry said.

When we got home, Eugene and I got food ready for a cookout while the
others were playing on the beach. The guys had gathered wood for a bonfire
later and they were playing catch on the beach. Paula and the two girls
were sitting watching and talking. As soon as the food was ready, Eugene
and I went to the beach and joined in the game.

"Luke, have you renewed your sunscreen?" I asked, shortly after Eugene and
I had joined the game.

"Thanks for reminding me," Luke said, "as a matter of fact, I haven't." He
brought me the bottle and asked that I do his back. As I did, he said,
"Matt, you keep your hands moving like that and I may jump your bones right
here in front of God and everybody!" He looked over his shoulder and
smiled.

"We'll discuss this further tonight, alone," I smiled.

"Not sure it will be a long discussion," Luke said. "I want action, not
words!"

Eugene called to me about sundown and he and I got the grill and charcoal
and took them to the beach where he started the fire. We went back to the
house for the food and, as soon as the grill was ready, started cooking.

Kent left early enough to get Christine home before her midnight curfew and
Luke took Derrick and Judy home at the same time. Those of us left behind
cleaned up and put things away. Luke and I took a long shower together, the
beginning of long, drawn-out foreplay which ended with wonderful
love-making. When we had finally exhausted ourselves, I cuddled in Luke's
arms, kissed him softly and drifted off to sleep.

Tuesday morning we all started in the routine of classes and daily
responsibilities at the house which would be ours for for the fall
semester. Tuesdays and Thursdays were rough for me--and for Luke, Larry and
Kent--since I found I needed to stay at Holtkamp until five, and by the
time I picked them up and we got home, it was close to 7:00. That first
week, Eugene and I still had to prepare supper, so it was close to 8:30
before we could eat and then I had to prepare for next day's classes. Of
course the others who had been in Cleveland had much of the day to prepare
there. It was long after midnight before I got to bed. Luke said he would
wait up for me, but I urged him to go on to bed. Both nights he was sound
asleep when I got in bed. Thursday night he had another nightmare--not as
bad as the earlier one, but bad enough to get me really worried.

The next couple weeks followed the same pattern of work and school. Of
course I wasn't cooking but, nonetheless, my schedule left me very little
time for anything except school and Holtkamp. I felt I was short-changing
Luke, but he assured me the schedule would lighten up. I sure hoped so.

By the time we got home Friday afternoon of the third week of school, I had
pretty much had it. When Eugene suggested the guys take in a movie, I
started to say I didn't want to go, but Luke said it was a good idea before
I said anything, so I went along.

The theater was almost full so we couldn't find five seats together. We
finally found four together in the middle of the theater and there was one
in front of the four. The two couples took the four seats, of course, and
Kent sat in front of us. There were six guys a few rows down and, when he
saw them, Kent turned around and said, "Now there's trouble looking for a
place to happen," but didn't elaborate.

The movie wasn't particularly good and, since we were surrounded, Luke and
I couldn't even make out. We did hold hands and once I laid my head on his
shoulder, but then thought better of it. As we got up to leave, the six
guys were walking up the aisle. Kent said, "There go six number one
assholes. They are into everything. Their leader is Shawn Hendrick. His
brother Sim is a policeman and rumor has it that he covers for Shawn."

As we walked toward Eugene's car, we saw the six by it. As soon as we got
closer, it was obvious the six were spray-painting something on it. "Hey,
what the hell do you think you are doing?" Eugene shouted as we started
running toward the car. Spray-painted several times on the car was
"faggot".

As soon as the six saw us, they quickly formed a line. "We're making sure
everyone knows you are all fucking faggots," one of the said with a
sneer. "Want to do something about it?"

"As a matter of fact I do," Eugene said, walking toward them.

"We all do," Kent said.

"Heard you were a cocksucker, Glaze. Not surprised to see you hanging out
with these shitpackers. Saw them a week or so ago, smooching like lovebirds
in the back row of the theater. We don't like having queers around here."
As he spoke, the six had been slowly moving toward us and when he finished,
they rushed us. Each time I had seen Eugene in action, I couldn't believe
how fast he was. Kent sure could move was well. Before I got a chance to
get into the action, each had put one of the thugs on the ground. The one
Eugene sent down didn't try to get up, but the one Kent had sent to the
dirt was ready to jump Luke from behind in seconds. I grabbed him by the
collar, spun him around and landed a good one on his nose. It immediately
started bleeding and he grabbed it and started running.

Larry and Kent had taken care of two more who decided to run, leaving
three. Kent and Luke grabbed one, put him on the ground and Luke put his
knee in his back, holding him down. Kent, Larry and I started toward the
other two when one of them pulled a long knife. "You three take care of the
unarmed one. This asshole is mine!" Before he knew what hit him the
knife-carrying jerk was on his knees, crying, and his knife had sailed
through the air some distance from him. "Well, we have half of them,"
Eugene said as he shoved the guy to the ground and placed his knee in his
back.

"Don't worry about the three who got away. I know them," Kent said. "And
there they go," he said as a car screamed out of the parking lot. As the
car left, a police car drove up. It had to slow down as a crowd had
surrounded us, watching the fight.

The car stopped and two officers got out and walked toward us. "Shawn,
what's going on here?"

"There five guys jumped us when we came out of the theater," the guy under
Luke's knee said.

"Guess you five need to come with me," the officer said.

"Don't think so, Sim," Kent said. "Your darling brother and his five
buddies were spray-painting my friend's car when we came out and, when we
walked over, they attacked us. They are the ones going downtown.

"You're lying, Glaze. You and your faggot friends attacked us for no
reason."

"We'll settle this downtown. Shawn, get up and go home. You four step over
here. Glaze, you're a local boy so I think you just better hit it on home
yourself. Why don't you just hop in that fag car and get the hell out of
here before I run you in too?"

The two officers had the four of us lean against their car, patted us down
and then used plastic ties to tie our hands behind our back. "Shawn, I told
you to go home," the officer said.

"I can't, Sim. Lewis took my car.'

"Well, call him and tell him to get back here. You don't need to be
around. Jack, you can take two of these faggots downtown and I will stay
here with the other two until you get back." I looked at Kent and indicated
that he should go by swinging my head around.

"Officer, why are you arresting those four? They didn't do anything except
defend themselves. I saw it all," a woman in the crowd called out.

"You don't know what the fuck you saw, old bitch. Shut your mouth or you'll
be keeping these four company."

"Ok, Glaze, get gone. Shawn, you better get out of here as well. You two,
go with Jack," the officer said to Eugene and Luke, shoving them toward the
patrol car. As he went to put them in the patrol car, Larry said, quietly,
"Kent, go and call everyone you can think of. I think we are in really big
trouble." Kent nodded, took the keys Eugene tossed to him and drove off.


ASP--The Oberlin Five--Chapter Five--Larry

As we started walking toward the car, Matt started shaking as tears ran
down his cheeks. "When will it end? he asked. "We hurt no-one or anything
and we were attacked and we get arrested. And, except for the one elderly
lady, the crowd stood by and did and said nothing. When will it end?"

I put my arm around him and said, "Matt, they attacked us for no reason and
that pisses me off but, to tell the truth, the crowd didn't have time to do
much. It was all over almost before it started. That Kent is one fast
dude," and laughed.

"Yea, he is almost as fast as that Eugene dude," and Matt smiled weakly.

The crowd had disappeared except for an elderly couple. The woman was the
one who had spoken up earlier. She walked very close to us and, as she
passed, slipped a piece of paper into my pocket, looked at me and smiled.

Sim Hendrick walked back to where we were and as he swaggered up said, "You
faggots talk like hillbillies. We don't like hillbillies in our town and we
don't like queers, and we really don't like hillbilly queers." As he spoke,
he grabbed Matt by the chin, forced his head back and half-talked,
half-spit in Matt's face. Matt lost it and started struggling. I knew at
once that was a mistake as Officer Hendrick kneed him in the balls. Matt
collapsed on the ground, drew himself into the fetal position and moaned. I
wanted to bust the son of a bitch one, but knew that with my hands behind
my back I could do nothing.

Jack finally came back and took Matt and me to the police station and
tossed us into a dirty, filthy, smelly cell. Luke and Eugene were in the
cell across the narrow passageway. The other two cells in the small jail
held Friday night drunks whose cheap booze was in evidence as they kept
throwing up. A couple leaned against the wall and pissed on the floor,
adding to the stench which was already terrible. I was surprised we had not
been searched, but in case they decided to make up for overlooking it, I
took the paper from my pocket and tucked it under the edge of the filthy
mattress resting on a steel shelf attached to the wall.

The jailor came back and did pat us down, taking what we had in our pockets
and putting it in envelopes. When he left, we started talking quietly and
Matt was just still pretty much out of it--he was incoherent, he was so out
of control. The jailor came back and told us to shut up and dimmed the
lights. It seemed hours, but it was just 1:00 when Kent and a very
distinguished man came back with the jailor. "I'm Lem Aldridge," the man
said. "For the time being, I'm your lawyer. It took some doing, but we have
you released without bond so you can go home and get some sleep. I'll come
out to your place in the morning around 11:00. We've got a real mess on our
hands, but maybe it's for the good."

When we got home, Paula was waiting for us, as upset as I had ever seen
her. She grabbed all of us and kept hugging us and crying. We went over and
over the night, trying to make sense out of it. Matt had gotten very quiet
and just sat staring, occasionally saying, "When will it end?". Luke held
him close and stroked his hair, soothing him.

"Look," Kent said, "there's nothing we can do tonight and it's almost three
in the morning. Now let's see if we can get some sleep." We all nodded and
slowly dragged ourselves to bed. "Damn," Luke said to Eugene, "what the
hell did we do to deserve this?"

"Just who the hell said we deserved it?" he asked as he kicked the
wall. Needless to say, none of us slept very well.


ASP--The Oberlin Five--Chapter Five--Luke

I had never seen Matt in the condition he was in. I had been told how he
was when he learned about my second suicide attempt, but hadn't seen it. I
could hardly believe the shaking, sobbing man in bed with me was Matt. I
guess he finally wore himself out because finally he was--about 4.00 or
so--asleep. I was able to get to sleep shortly afterward, but it was
certainly not peaceful sleep. I kept dreaming I was in that filthy cell as
months passed.

It was 10:00 the next morning when Paula came upstairs and called us,
telling us we needed to get up and get dressed. Matt was a wreck, and I was
little better, as we got up. There was a tap on the door and Kent said,
"Guys, I have finished with the bathroom if you want to come across the
hall."

"Thanks, Kent," I said and guided Matt across the hall. By the time we had
showered, he was in better shape but still not at his best but, then,
neither was I. We dressed without saying very much. When we were ready to
go down, I took Matt in my arms, held him tightly and kissed him
tenderly. "Remember, Sarang Hanun Pomul, we can handle anything life throws
our way so long as we have each other."

"Yonghon Tongmu, just how much more can life throw our way?" I had no
answer so I just kissed Matt again, took his hand and we walked downstairs.

The four sitting around the kitchen table did nothing to lighten my
mood. All were drinking coffee and had not bothered with anything
else. There was no talk and everyone was just sitting, blank looks on their
faces, staring with unseeing eyes.

When the doorbell rang, Eugene got up and went to answer it. He came back
to the kitchen with Mr. Aldridge. As he entered the kitchen he smiled
weakly, "I guess 'Good morning' wouldn't go down so well today. Wish I
could tell you everything's ok, but I can't. We need to do some serious
talking and get to work."

"Coffee?" Paula asked and, when Mr. Aldridge nodded, she poured a mug and
asked, "Cream and sugar?".

"Black. And I hope it's strong."

"Well, at least you'll find that's ok, I suspect," she said as she set the
mug down before him.

"Is this ok, or do we need to go somewhere else?" Eugene asked.

"I think this is fine," Mr. Aldridge said. "I can spread out anything I
have to right here. Ok, I guess you know that you have gotten yourself in a
real mess. Clearly, the six attacked you, but you have learned how things
operate in Waterside. Stay out of there. Go somewhere else. It may be a bit
out of your way, but you'll be going to Oberlin and can do shopping and
movie-going there or somewhere else. Bypass it on your way in to Cleveland
if you have been going through it. Under no circumstances are you to go
back except under my direct instructions. It is very important that you
understand you do not go back to that town or even drive through it. Kent
told me that you four are gay and I don't know how that was accepted where
you came from..."

"We had some problems in the beginning, but they didn't last. Sure there
are still some people who don't like it, but they're no real problem,"
Eugene said.

"You are lucky then. A lot of people think, since it is in the north, Ohio
is more liberal than the 'bigoted south'," he looked up and smiled, "but I
can tell you Ohio, especially the small towns, is about as close-mined as
you can get--and Waterside ranks at the top of the list. By the way, you
were sure lucky that Sim Hendrick let Kent go. I'm not sure why he did,
other than the fact that he saw him as one of the local boys. Kent called
Pastor Jensen, who knows what's going on, and he called me, otherwise you'd
still be in jail and I'm not sure what shape you would have been in. People
have been badly hurt who shouldn't have been in jail, but were. I want to
be very up front with you and ask for your help and hope you will give it,
although I can see why you might not."

"Right now, the town is under the control of a bunch of white racists. They
hate four groups: in their words, hillbillies, niggers, wetbacks and
faggots. There has always been a small black community on the wrong side of
the tracks, but a few years ago middle class African-Americans left the
inner city and came to the suburbs. A new group of African-Americans were
showing up in the more up-scale communities, shops and other places. They
were resented because they have made something of themselves. Most have not
stayed. I mean if you move out of the projects to escape gunfire, why spend
half a million for a house and learn you can expect gunfire and
cross-burning?"

"Southerners, all of whom are called hillbillies, have also been a presence
in the town, having come here in the fifties looking for work. They pretty
much kept to themselves for a generation, by then they looked and talked
like the natives but were still resented because they had 'invaded' the
town. The latest group arriving is Hispanics, mostly Mexicans. They are
resented because they are different. Like the hillbillies, they talk
funny. There are complaints about them taking jobs, but that's not true--or
wasn't--because no-one would take the jobs they took. Now, of course, they
are working their way up the ladder and those they are leaving behind
resent it. Gays? Well, there's two things going on there. First there are
the churches--and I hate to say this--which preach hatred of gays. You've,
no doubt, seen the slogans and maybe even heard the
diatribes. Unfortunately, the churches which accept--or at least
tolerate--gays are in the minority. The store-front churches and so-called
Christian Right are definitely in the majority. Additionally, they have
been, and are, manipulated by cynical politicians."

"The outcome of all this was a very dirty political campaign four years
ago, which played the race and hate card very well--sometimes openly,
especially when aimed at the poorly educated and the Christian Right. At
other times it was much more subtle. The result was a group, who might as
well wear white sheets, gained control of the town..."

"I thought that was the shame of the South," Matt spoke for the first time.

"As much as some would like to think otherwise, the South has actually been
more tolerant of difference than a lot of other places," Mr. Aldridge
continued. "So a group of racists is in control. They control the police,
the city council and mayor. Not only are they stirring up hatred all the
time, but they are also busy lining their pockets and, of course, have
police cooperation. You have experienced one of the results of a town being
run by a hate group. There have been plenty of complaints, but those who
have complained have often become victims of those in control. Few, now,
dare speak out. But complaints have finally been heard by the state police
and they have called in the FBI for help. Pastor Jensen has been involved
from the first in the investigation. He has--Kent, do you know this?--found
a few trusted teenagers to purchase liquor from convenience stores that
have paid off the police so they can sell alcohol to minors. He knew I was
working behind the scenes and called me when Kent called him last
night. Sooo, I'd like to do two things if you agree. First, I'd like to
handle your case. I'll expect my regular fee, which will be $200 for each
of you. Sounds stiff, but that's actually less than most would charge. I'll
do what I would do in any case such as yours and the fee proves it's on the
up and up. Can you handle that?"

"I'll write a check if that's acceptable," Paula said, since we had made
her house treasurer and bookkeeper.

"Sure, when you get around to it. Now that I am officially retained by you,
I'll file some charges. In regard to the police treatment of you, I will
draft a complaint charging your civil rights have been violated and file it
with the right people--that's a federal charge. I'll also file charges
against those who attacked you--for assault with the intend to do bodily
harm and for damaging your personal property, the car. I think the latter
would be better handled as a civil case since what we want out of it is
money to repair the car plus money to pay your attorney's fees and for your
suffering. By the way, Matt, there will be a separate civil rights charge
against Sim Hendrick, one of police brutality, for his treatment of you. He
may have given you a knee in the balls, but before the federal boys are
through with him, he'll wonder if he has any left--balls that is.  These
charges will all be filed, but when and with whom is up in the air right
now because of the situation in Waterside. To file them openly right now
would jeopardize the ongoing investigation I mentioned."

"The second thing is I'd like to have you help getting the evidence we need
against the police and one judge. There is a young honest judge working
with us, but the old judge is a part of the bunch controlling the town. I
will be honest, there is some danger involved, but I think we can offer
protection to keep you safe."

We looked at each other and it was obvious that all six of us--Kent was
very much with us--were suddenly alive. "I don't think you could stop us if
you wanted to," I said. "I'll tell you as well, we are a pretty good team
when it comes to a fight like this."

"Great! For now, I'll take you in to see the chief of police and ask that
the charges be reduced to disturbing the peace. If necessary, I'll find
some excuse to leave if he doesn't ask for a pay-off, so you suggest
it--but be careful. If he agrees, he'll take you to see the judge. They
will discuss your case and the judge will, if he follows his usual
practice, hint that he is looking at jail time for you. The chief will
suggest a fine and the judge will ask what is in it for him and, sooner or
later, will suggest he give you a small fine instead of jail if he receives
a pay-off. I don't need to be there since I am an officer of the court but,
if I am, I'll file the complaint and have it held until we are ready to
move. We need all this on tape, so all four of you will be wearing a
wire. We're also trying to get a video so I will have a hidden camera in my
briefcase. I'll take the briefcase in and if I don't get to go to the judge
with you, you might pick it up to bring to me. Are you game?"

I looked around and saw that all of us were aching to go since we had all
half-risen from our seats.

"Hold on, wait just a minute," Mr. Aldridge said. "I'll have to check out
some things first." Having said that, he took his cell phone from his
briefcase and dialed a number. "Hi, Chief, how's it going? ... Well, I'm
here with my clients from last night. Appreciate you letting them out of
jail... Well, Chief, I was wondering if we could discuss their
case... Sounds great. Meet you in your office at 4:30. Think Judge Harrison
might show up in his chambers as well? I'd like to get this out of the
way. Doesn't pay very good money, you know, and it could take up time I
could be making a lot more. Yea, they came up with my fee. They are college
kids, but I think they have money... Well, not enough to give me a huge
fee... I know... see you at 4:30."

"I'm doing a balancing act there," he said as he folded his phone. I wanted
him to know you weren't broke, but also didn't want him to think you were
rolling in money or he would have upped his price. Actually, from all we
have found out, he and Judge Harrison might as well have a price list
posted on their wall. This is going to cost you plenty, but the alternative
is jail. The chief will expect $250 from each of you--minimum, I
suspect--as will the judge. Can you come up with that?"

"Well, we can, but that's sure going to take a bite out of our budget,"
Paula said.

"And it will need to be cash," the lawyer said.

"That will be a problem since it's Saturday," Larry said, "and the ATM will
only give out $300 per person per day."

"Get what you can," Mr. Aldridge said, "and write me a check for the
balance. I can get the manager at one of the banks to get the cash. He's in
on the plan to overthrow this despotic reign we're living under. It really
cuts into new business and housing. As a matter of fact, you just write one
check for the whole thing if you can and don't bother with the ATMs."

"Separate checks ok?" Eugene asked.

"Better. And make each one include my fee. That way, should anyone question
it, it is my fee. Ok, I'll run back to town. Here's my card, I'll meet you
at my office at 3:30--that's an hour and a half from now. If I could get
the checks, I'll get the money. I need to do that and get things set up."
While we wrote the checks, Mr. Aldridge make a phone call to the manager of
the bank and arranged to meet him in half an hour. "Well, I've done all I
can do here," he said, as he pocketed the checks. "See you at 3:00. Paula,
I suggest you and Kent stay here and man the phone should we need
anything. By the way, don't drive the car in since it is known. Hope you
got the paint off at least."

"I got most of it off last night," Kent said, "but it will take
professionals to complete the job."

"I hope we get money to do that out of the bunch who did it when this is
over," Mr. Aldridge said. "Well, I'm on my way," he continued as he shook
hands all around.

"Oh, I forgot," Larry said. "While I was standing around after the police
arrived last night, a woman who had spoken out put a note in my
pocket. Here it is. I haven't looked at it."

He opened the note and read, "We saw everything. Contact us."

He looked up, puzzled, "That's all. No phone number or way to contact
them. Not much help I guess."

"Not surprised there's no way to find out who wrote it," Mr. Aldridge
said. "She knew you were going to end up in jail and couldn't risk
exposure."

"Who gave that to you?" Kent asked.

"The woman who spoke out," Larry replied.

"I guess she hoped I would know about the note," Kent said. "Mr. Aldridge,
it was Lucy Metcalf. Jim was with her. She spoke out, but was told she'd be
in jail if she didn't shut up."

"I'll give them a call. Maybe we've got more going for us than we
thought. Well, I've got to get to town."

When he had gone, we finally got something to eat although no-one really
felt like it--but Paula insisted. "Man, this is going to put a real dent in
the budget," Larry said.

"Sure will," Matt agreed, "but I don't think we have a whole range of
choices. I'm sure sorry we got you two into this," he said, looking at Kent
and Paula.

"We're in this, as everything else, together," Paula said.

"Agreed," Kent added.

"Think we should call the family?" I asked.

"Not yet," Eugene said. "Let's see what happens first. If we called now
they would just worry and there's nothing they can do."

"Sounds right," I agreed. "Don't know about the rest of you, but I think I
need to shower and shave." There were nods around the table and the four
jailbirds went upstairs to take care of that.

We found Mr. Aldridge's office after making a couple wrong turns, but
arrived at 3:00 nonetheless. When we walked in, he was on the phone and
motioned us to sit down. "Everything's in place?" he asked and then
nodded. "Ok, the kids are here so I'll get them briefed while you come
over."

He hung up the phone and said, "Agent Perkins of the Ohio Bureau of
Investigation and Agent Haines of the FBI are on their way over. They will
get you wired and make sure the wires and the hidden camera are
working. Things have been moving faster than we expected. Seems the Ohio
Bureau got a tip that the Metcalfs might be roughed up. They stationed some
of their people at the Metcalfs' house and, sure enough, your two cop
friends showed up. The Bureau people had time to get the Metcalfs wired so
the whole threatening conversation is on tape. When things looked as if
they might get rough, a couple of the agents went to the house, pretending
to be visitors from out of state, and the two cops left. Agents Perkins and
Haines think we've got enough and want to move in at once before someone
gets really hurt, but I urged them to hold off a while. Here they are now."

A very well-built black man and a tall, good-looking red-headed woman
walked in. "Agent Haines," Mr. Aldridge said, indicating the woman, "this
is Larry, Eugene, Luke and Matt. Guys, Agent Sharon Haines of the
FBI. She's in charge of their part of this operation. And this is Agent
Albert Perkins of the Ohio Bureau of Investigation."

We shook hands all around and Agent Perkins said, "Luke, you look
surprised".

"I guess I shouldn't be, but I'm surprised a woman agent is heading up the
FBI's operation here."

"It has its advantages," she smiled. "Ok, let's get you wired and checked
out." She and Agent Perkins went to work and soon had us wired. The devises
were much smaller than I thought. They would be hard to find unless the
person doing the search was very careful. Agent Haines then opened a case
about the size of a briefcase, picked up a pair or headphones and had
Mr. Aldridge and Agent Perkins speak as she turned a dial. "Ok, the wires
are working fine. Guess we're set to go."

"I've got the money," Mr. Aldridge said as he opened a desk drawer. "I have
a list of the serial numbers which I have recorded. You can all witness
that I have the correct numbers," he said, and began calling them out as we
checked the bills he had given us.

"Before you put it away," Agent Perkins said, "I'd like to dust it. I have
powder that won't be noticed, but glows under UV light." He spread the
bills on the desk and sprinkled a powder over them and then returned the
bills to us.

"It's 4:20," Mr. Aldridge said. "Time to go." We rode in his car to the
police station.

When we walked in, the policeman on duty barely looked up and motioned us
to the chief's office. As soon as we were inside, the chief said, "Close
the door. Well, I see we have the four who attacked some innocent boys and
resisted arrest last night. I have a string of charges against you four."

"Now, Chief, I don't think we want all those charges against such young
people. Perhaps we can compromise a bit. How about reducing the charges to
one count of disturbing the peace and seeing if Judge Harrison won't impose
a fine."

"Don't know about that. The city gets the fine and I get nothing for having
my officers risk their lives. Hear there was a knife involved."

"Don't know where that came from, Chief," Mr. Aldridge said as he set his
briefcase down on a table beside the door. It had a clear view of the chief
and his desk. We all sorta stepped aside to make sure we weren't blocking
the view. "Hated to ask you to come down Saturday afternoon to discuss
this, taking up your valuable time."

"My time is valuable and I'll have to spend more rewriting tickets. It's
not worth my while just to do you a favor, Lem. Now if there were some
money to appear here"--he tapped his desk--"then it might be worth my
while."

I was amazed at how brazen the chief was. He had all but asked for a bribe!

Mr. Aldridge turned to us and held up a finger and mouthed, one
hundred. The four of us each took a hundred dollar bill from our wallets
and laid it on the desk, making sure we kept clear of the camera's
view. "You must think my time's not worth much," the Chief said and held up
two fingers. We each added another hundred on the stack. When we had done
that, the chief swept the money into his pocket. "You know, I think I have
lost the tickets my boys wrote last night and will have to write new
ones. You were charged with a misdemeanor, disturbing the peace, right?" We
nodded and the chief pulled out a ticket book and wrote four tickets,
handing us the originals.

When he finished, he said, "Lem, I think Judge Harrison happens to be in
this afternoon. Why don't we go to his chambers and see if we can get this
all straightened out today so these young people can go home and not come
back to Waterside. I don't think the atmosphere here is healthy for their
kind."

Mr. Aldridge picked up his briefcase and we walked across the street to the
town hall. When the Chief opened the door, we walked into the judge's
chambers. Sitting behind a huge desk was a grossly obese man. Little pig
eyes, almost hidden by the bags and wrinkles, looked at us from his puffy
face. His red bulbous nose was a clear indication that the water glass on
his desk didn't hold iced tea.

"Judge, these four guys got into a little fracas at the theater last night
and got themselves charged with disturbing the peace. They came by today to
get it straightened out; here's the tickets."

The judge seemed to rouse himself enough to glance at the
tickets. "Disturbing the peace, huh? We like our town the way it is and
don't like outsiders creating a disturbance. A few days in jail will teach
you all a lesson."

"Judge, these young men are college students and time in jail would be a
hardship. How about a fine?" Mr. Aldridge asked.

"Don't know about that, Lem. I mean they disturbed the town's peace and
mine as well. I had planned to spend the afternoon sitting by my pool just
relaxing peaceful-like but, no, I had to come down here. My peace was
disturbed. My time for relaxing and being peaceful is valuable."

"Just how valuable, Judge?" Lem asked. I noticed he had set his briefcase
down on the edge of the judge's desk--getting a perfect shot, I was sure,
of what was going on."

"How valuable was your time, Chief?" the judge asked, looking at the chief
and smiling.

"Well, Judge, there are four of them and I think my time was worth about
$200 each," and laughed.

"Seems reasonable," the judge said. "A fifty dollar fine each and two
hundred for my time."

"And the fine will show up in the court record?" Lem asked. "Where's the
court recorder?"

The judge pulled a book from his desk, wrote in it and signed
it. "There. That's taken care of."

"You signed the recorder's name?"

"Sure. Do it all the time. Saves her a trip on Saturday. Young men, I don't
want to see your faces in my court or my town again. Understand?"

The four of us all said, "Yes, sir."

"Well. Judge, maybe you can get in a few hours relaxation," Mr. Aldridge
said. "Guys, let's go."

We left the town hall and went back to Mr. Aldridge's office, where the two
agents were waiting. "Lem, you couldn't have staged that better. We got
every word on tape. Let's check the video," Agent Haines said.

Lem opened his briefcase and took out the camera, then the tape. He popped
the tape in a VCR and, unlike most hidden camera tapes I had seen, the
picture and sound were perfect. Mr. Aldridge and the two agents were
ecstatic as they watched. "Good job, guys, Agent Perkins said. "Let's get
the wires off you and we'll follow you out of town to make sure you're not
followed or anything. We really appreciate what you have done. You should
be proud of yourselves."

"Thanks," we all said.

"I'm worried about that elderly couple, the Metcalfs," Matt said. "After
what we've seen, I don't think any of those running the town will like
having their gravy train derailed."

"I must say, your concern makes me think even more of you," Agent Haines
said, "but not to worry. We have two agents assigned to their home until we
are sure they are safe. Lem, I think we should move now."

"I don't. Why not wait until tomorrow afternoon? You have to get warrants
for arrests and we want to make sure we get all of them at once, otherwise
some will slip through the net. If you wait until everyone's relaxing
Sunday afternoon, you'll have to time to get the warrants, get extra agents
in and strike at the same time. You'll need agents to be watching the whole
rotten bunch so, when the signal comes, you get them all."

"He's right, Sharon," Agent Perkins said.

"I see your point, Lem. I guess I just wanted the whole rotten mess over as
quickly as possible. Again, guys, we really appreciate your cooperation
and, by the way, don't worry about your record. The charge will be erased
as soon as we get the operation over. Al, let's get these young people
home."

"Before we leave," Larry said, "we need to call Paula and Kent and let them
know we're ok."

"Sure," Mr. Aldridge said. While Larry was phoning, we talked with the two
agents about why we were in Ohio and what started our involvement in
Waterside.

"We just have to get hate crime laws on the books," Agent Haines
said. "Until we do, people and groups are going to be fair game for
bigots."

Agent Perkins nodded in agreement and added, "Just because we root out the
official bigots in Waterside, we won't get rid of the prejudice and hatred
sowed here. I hope you realize that and that Lem has warned you to steer
clear of this place even after the arrests are made."

"He has warned us," I said, "but I guess I thought that would change with
the arrests."

"Nope. It won't change until the good people of the town decide it has to
change. Stay away is my advice."

"By the way," Lem said, "these four have a pretty stiff investment in the
rotten police and judge here, although they got by with less than I
expected. Don't know why."

"Could be you aren't trusted as much as you might think," Agent Perkins
said, "but, guys, you'll get your money back in time--except, I guess,
Lem's fee."

Mr. Aldridge laughed, "I guess I owe them that for the job they did," as he
took bills from his pocket and gave them to us. "I and Waterside owe you a
lot more than that," he said. "Well, time to go. I'll lead you out of town
just to make sure you're not followed."

When we got home, Paula and Kent ran out to meet us, hugging us as if we
had been gone for a month. "We were so worried about you," Paula
said. "Kent says the guys who attacked you are real trouble and, with the
police behind them, well, I was worried."

"I must admit I was worried too," Kent said, "but nothing like Mother
Paula." Kent laughed and hugged Paula. "I thought I was going to have to
hold her down a time or two to keep her from driving in and cleaning up
Waterside single-handed."

Paula laughed and said, "If I don't look after all you wild guys, who
will?"

When we sat down to supper, we went over the entire afternoon with Paula
and Kent. "I guess we'll find out the outcome on tomorrow night's
news. Sure hope they get the entire bunch and get them good," Eugene
said. "And I also hope we get our money back. It's not going to be cheap
getting my car back in shape."

"Won't your insurance take care of that?" Kent asked.

"I guess it will, except for the $500 deductible. But I sure saw a lot
going out the window today and I just hope we do get it back--although I
guess it is worth what it cost to get the town cleaned up."

"Yea, but it's not cleaned up," Matt said. "You heard what Lem and the
agents said. They may get the town leaders who give a kind of official
approval to bigotry and prejudice, but the townspeople have got to get rid
of bigotry and that's not easy. You can't arrest someone for being a
bigot. And what did we do to get into the mess? We held hands and exchanged
a few kisses in a movie, for God's sake. Big crime! Paula, you and Kent
could have been sitting exactly where we were and done everything except
fuck like bunnies and no-one would have said a thing. Hell, I could have
picked up a girl outside the theater, paid her to neck with me and no-one
would have said anything." It was easy to see Matt was really
enraged. "Here we were, Luke and I married--as married as society will let
us be--and Eugene and Larry forty times as committed to each other as half
the people living together in Waterside, and we sit in the back row of a
movie and make out, pretty calm and discrete--at least we damn well thought
it was discrete--and what happens? Couple weeks later, Eugene has his car
vandalized and the four of us--well five, because Kent was right in there
with us--are attacked by six asshole bullies--one with a darn frigging
knife."

I reached out and took Matt's hand and said, "Babe, it's a damn rotten
shame, but that's the way it is. You've got to learn to let it slide off
your back if you can't do anything about it. And we did do something about
it. I think society's attitude is, generally, shitty and I hate our love
being the butt of bigots' jokes and hatred but, today, because of our love
and because we are willing to stand up and be counted, a town stands on the
threshold of becoming a better place. Maybe, just maybe, our putting
ourselves on the line will encourage others to be like the Metcalfs and
make their town a decent place for all kinds of people. But hearts have to
change, not just laws and leaders."

"Yea, but good laws can change hearts," Eugene said. "Look at what has been
accomplished by civil rights laws. Now we need to have those laws to cover
us."

"Kent, if you haven't figured it out, Matt can't cuss worth a damn, but his
heart is in the right place and he's his father's son in a lot of ways--in
good ways," Paula laughed.

"Yea," Larry added, "and you may as well know, this bunch has fought
prejudice since we have been together and it looks like it's a part of us."

"I kinda got that idea," Kent laughed. "Well, so much for a peaceful
Saturday. I think we all need to relax after being so uptight for
twenty-four hours. How about a movie?" Kent started laughing, but stopped
short when all four of us got up from the table and put him on the
floor. We wrestled around for a bit and then helped each other up.

"Glad you children broke it up before Mother Paula had to take control,"
Paula laughed. "But, guys, I think you need to call home now that you have
something to tell your parents. Kent, in case your name gets brought up in
the news, you might better call as well."

We all went into the family room and put on some relaxing music and then,
one at a time, called home. After I had talked to Mom and Dad, I got
Michael and Mary Kathryn on the speaker-phone and Matt and I both talked
with them. Seems they had their hands full getting things going at school
and Michael was still having problems with Christopher.

When we finished talking with parents, we sat listening to music and
talking about nothing in particular until 10.00, and then we went off to
bed.

Matt and I undressed each other, taking our time so we could get in a lot
of kisses. When we were undressed, I lifted Matt and put him on the bed. As
I held him, I could feel the tenseness in his body. "Matt, Sarang Hanun
Pomul, you are wound up tight, Babe."

"Luke, I was scared all afternoon when I realized just how big a thing we
were involved in and what that police chief or judge might do--could
do--and, well, I am still so angry. Yonghon Tongmu, people may say that
words don't hurt, but 'faggot', 'queer'--even those words make our love
sound cheap or dirty. They brand our love as wrong. But, Luke, how can love
be cheap or wrong? And even if they think so, what business is it of
theirs? What are they afraid of that they have to put us down?"

"Babe, you know the answers or the lack of answers as well as I do. I wish
it were different but it's not, and it's the only world we have to live
in. I guess we'll just have to try and make it a better world. But, right
now, I'm going to do something about you, Dark Angel." I got up, threw on a
robe, grabbed the massage oil and headed downstairs and nuked it. When I
got back, Matt was lying on his back staring at the ceiling. This latest
adventure had really upset him, a lot more than it had me and a lot more
than I would have thought it would Matt. I got a beach towel to cover a
place on the bed and lifted my Dark Angel and placed him on it. I massaged
his back and shoulders for several long minutes before I could feel his
muscles gradually relaxing. When I turned him over, I kissed him softly and
started massaging his neck and chest, his shoulders and arms. He was still
very tense but, gradually, I could feel his muscles relax.

By the time I finished, my hands and fingers were very tired, but Matt was
so relaxed he had fallen asleep. I lay beside him, kissed his forehead
gently and rested on an elbow looking at my sleeping Dark Angel. His body
glistened with the oil, his black hair was a cloud on his pillow and his
handsome face was relaxed and at peace. As long as I had known Matt, I
could recall very few times he had been as upset as he had been that
night. I really didn't understand it. I was pissed at what had happened. I
was angry at the bigotry we had encountered--again--but it ran deeper than
that with Matt. Maybe later I would understand it, but right now I was just
tired and wanted to snuggle up to my beloved Matt. I turned out the light
and lay close to Matt's oiled body, drinking in the fragrance I loved so
well, the fragrance of my Dark Angel, the reason I had for living. In the
warmth of his body and of his love, I fell asleep and, unlike the night
before, I slept peacefully.