Date: Thu, 05 Dec 2002 15:09:12 -0600
From: Kevin Mac <farscape20@hotmail.com>
Subject: RA Adventures chapter 17

RA Adventures
(C) KV 2002

If you're offended by sexual activities between men, or if you're younger
than 18, you're not supposed to be here.  If you're over 18 and meant to be
here, please, kick back, relax and enjoy!  The author reserves all rights.
Individual copies of this story may be downloaded for personal use, but may
not be reproduced without the author's express consent.

Also, this story is rather void of gratuitous sex, so if you're looking for
a quick wank, you'd probably be more satisfied reading elsewhere -- just as
a warning.

-----------------------------

Chapter 17

     We pulled into the airport grounds and I rolled down the window to
retrieve a parking ticket from the machine that barred our entrance to the
parking lot.  In the time it took me to punch the little button, grab the
ticket and pull my arm back into the car, my sleeve was completely soaked.

     "Good grief!" I said, trying to decide how I was going to dry myself
off.  My mind flashed to the hand dryers in the restrooms.  They should do
the trick.

     "Did you happen to bring an umbrella?" Clint asked hopefully.

     "There should be a couple under your seat," I said as I pointed to the
floorboard.

     "A couple?" he asked, grinning.

     "Shut up.  Yes, a couple.  I thought I had lost the first one, so I
bought another one.  When I put the second one under the seat, I found the
first one."

     "Why didn't you check there for the first one?"

     "I thought I had put it under **my* seat, so I didn't look under the
passenger seat."  He just chuckled as he fished out the two umbrellas.

     "Hey dry boy, you better shut up.  I'll use 'em both," I said.  "Don't
think I won't!"

     We both laughed as we conjured up images of me actually walking down
the sidewalk with two umbrellas.  Fortunately, though, we didn't end up
needing them, as I was able to park in the lower levels of the parking
garage, meaning we could take the covered route in to the terminal.  We
each did grab an umbrella, though, in the off chance that one of the rental
cars was not as strategically parked.  There would, after all, be three of
them.

     I had called ahead to Avis and double and triple checked that
everything was in order.  Even so, I still fought the urge to go to the
counter and check again when we walked in on the ground level.  I
concentrated, instead on finding the restroom.  I left Clint waiting in
line at the ticket counter to ask for more information.  The monitors had
displayed nothing but a most unhelpful 'delayed' when we had looked the
flight up.  We hadn't been able to get a good enough signal in the car to
get through all the automated prompts on Delta's system...and Lord knows
it's impossible to get anyone at the front desk in the actual airport.
Cell phones sucked sometimes.  Clint had tried with both of ours before we
finally gave up and opted to just ask in person.

-----------------------------
     Clint was waiting on me when I walked out of the restroom with my
now-dry sleeve.

     "All better?" he asked.

     "Yup.  Nice and dry.  I just hate that less than fresh feeling," I
said with a wink.

     "God," said Clint as he laughed and rolled his eyes.

     "So, what's the bad news?" I asked.

     "Well, they said the plane is circling around.  They can't land
because of the weather."

     "Great.  Did they have any kind of an estimate?"

     "No," he said.  "It could be a while.  If it takes too long they'll
usually land the plane at some other airport close by."

      There really wasn't much of a 'close by' around here.  There was also
the whole transportation issue.  It made me wish for a van, though I
doubted the rest of them would be too keen on the idea.  Then again, maybe
they wouldn't be picky.

     "Hey!" Clint said.  "You coming?"  I shook my head to clear it and
followed him over to a waiting area.  We couldn't go to the gates now for
security reasons, so we opted for the worn-looking maroon sofas that didn't
even have the decency to be comfortable.

     "You okay?"  Clint asked.  "You seem like you're preoccupied about
something."

     "I guess I was just trying to figure out what we'd do if they end up
having to go to another airport.  Maybe I should call Avis and give them a
heads-up."

     "Kev, loosen up, bro," he said, big grin spreading across his face.
"You're worse than me, and it's my folks!"

     "Sorry.  I just want everything to be smooth and perfect."

     He smiled again and clapped me on the leg.  "Just relax.  It will be."

     I nodded and sighed, consciously trying to let go of the tension.  I
looked up at his face, and I just wanted to run my fingers through his
hair.  His eyes were always so bright.  Every now and then he would move
some way, or do something that would remind me who I was with, and how
spectacular he was.  I just had to stop and smell the proverbial flowers
occasionally, and this was a great one to smell.  His smile softened a
little as I looked at him, but he didn't look away, didn't break eye
contact.  Finally he reached over and put his hand on the back of my neck
and kneaded my tense muscles a bit.  My skin loved his touch...recognized
it as his and my whole body would respond.

     "Thanks again for helping - hell, for pulling everything together.  I
really don't know what I would have done."

     "Really, man, it was nothing.  My pleasure."

     He gave my neck a soft squeeze and slowly drew his hand back.  I
missed it instantly.  Great.  This was not the time to start this all over
again.  We didn't have time.  No, we just couldn't do this now, here, like
this.

     "I'm gonna go check again," I said, standing up.

     "Why? I just checked a couple minutes ago.  I'm sure they'll announce
any changes."

     "I know.  I'm just going to ask them what they think and where they'd
take them if they don't land here."  Clint chuckled as I walked off.

     The pasty man behind the counter seemed to be no more well versed in
meteorology than I was, and he looked at me like I was positively insane
when I brought up the possibility of landing in another airport.  He was
unpleasant, ignorant sounding and had bad breath. I wanted to reach over
and grab his little clip-on tie and explain that I was not an idiot and
furthermore that **I* actually flew places as opposed to sitting stupidly
uninformed and ill-mannered behind a counter.  Then I decided that maybe I
should just switch to decaf instead and walked back to Clint.

     Clint just laughed when he saw my expression.  "Um, I guess dude over
there didn't give you the answer you wanted to hear."

     "I'll never understand why they let such incompetent people anywhere
even remotely close to something like my travel and its fates."

     Clint found this even more amusing and kept trying not to laugh.  I
finally gave up the pissed-off act and laughed with him.

-----------------------------

     The flight didn't actually arrive until an hour and a half later, at
which point we were quite tired of overhearing other peoples' conversations
as well of people listening in on ours.  The announcement over the
loudspeaker jolted us awake from our stupor and we quickly stood up and
check ourselves to make sure we still looked half way presentable.  I
didn't think it was possible for Clint to look bad.  He could crawl out of
bed in the morning, hair tussled, eyes puffy, and still look fitness model
good.  And yet, he never acted like it.  He never carried himself like some
aristocratic snot.  He was always just Clint.

     I scanned through the crowds approaching the age for a familiar face.
All at once I felt excited and pointedly out of place.  I spotted Mister
Tucker and Aunt Liz first, before I had time to dwell on the out of place
bit.  They were chatting away with an older gentleman as Dan and Uncle Mike
quickly caught up with them.  So far I had met four out of five...not too
bad.  Martina and an entourage of other Mediterranean complected people
brought up the rear.  I really didn't know who all would be here as I only
had numbers and not names.  I would have felt a lot more comfortable if I
at least knew who was who, but when I turned to ask Clint, he was already
walking up to his family.

     He hugged his father while Dan bypassed him completely and walked up
to me.  I stuck out my hand and smiled only to be laughed at and wrapped in
big hug.

     "That kiss you gave and you're just going to shake my hand?" he
whispered into my ear.  I was three shades of crimson before I could catch
myself, and had no recourse but to laugh.

     "It's great to see you, man," I said.

     "You too, Kev."

     Aunt Liz greeted me next, and this time it was a handshake.  She was
very warm and Uncle Mike was no different.  I was going to enjoy this
weekend.  It really was a cool family.  Mr. Tucker walked up next and
firmly grasped my hand and held it.

     "Kevin, Martina has told me how much you've done and I just wanted to
let you know how much we appreciate all your trouble.  You're a good
friend."

     "No trouble at all," I said, smiling up at him.  His green eyes
carried the same weight and intensity of gaze as his sons.  He really was
an extremely handsome man, age notwithstanding.

     Martina walked up, hugged me and kissed me on both cheeks.

     "Ah, it's wonderful to be on the ground again.  We thought we might
never land," she said.

     "We were beginning to wonder, too," I said.
     "Oh you poor dears.  Thank you so much for coming to meet us."

     "We wouldn't have it any other way," I said.  She smiled and put her
hand on my shoulder, turning us around.

     "Allow me to introduce my family to you," she said.  The greeting
paused long enough to let everyone turn around and direct attention at me.
The spotlight was not my favorite place to be.  I plastered a smile on.
Much to my relief, however, many friendly yet unknown faces smiled back at
me.

     "The gentleman on the left is my father, Dr. Angelos Petridis, and
beside him my mother, Sofia," she continued.  Dr. Petridis was a very
distinguished appearing man in his seventies, I would guess.  His hair was
salt and pepper, and he was very robust and active looking - definitely the
patriarch in that family.  His wife was all elegance and charm.  She also
had Martina's friendly demeanor.

     "Next is my bother Andreas along with his wife Vanessa.  The young man
is their son, Nikos, and beside him is Ellie.  Also," she said, turning us
back toward the Tuckers, "I don't believe you met Adam's father,
Mr. Charles Tucker."  I nodded and tried to file the names away as best I
could.  I knew I'd have to ask again eventually, though.  That's what Dan
and Clint were for: my very own 'mnemonic' devices.

     I smiled and welcomed them all, after which the chatting quickly
resumed.  Clint made his way around the group and hugged everyone.  At some
point I became conscious of the fact that we were a rather large group and
rather spread out across the walkway.  I mentioned it to Dan, who had taken
a place beside me again, and we began walking toward the baggage claim
area, hoping everyone else would catch on.  They followed without so much
as even turning their heads or missing a beat in the conversation.

     Dan winked at me and nudged me.  "See, I know these people.  You just
gotta start moving or they'll talk all day."

     I laughed.  "Yeah, my family is the same way," I said.  "So, fill me
in.  What's the family like?"

     "You already met Uncle Mike, Aunt Liz and Gramps at Thanksgiving,
right?"

     "All except for your grandfather.  I don't remember him being there.
Then again, there were a lot of people I didn't know, so who knows."

     "Oh yeah, you're right.  He was sick.  I forgot," he said.

     "It's mainly the Greek side I haven't spent any time around."

     "Have you ever been around Greeks before?" he asked.

     "No, not really," I said.

     "Oh, you're in for it, dude!" he said, grinning mischievously - a grin
I knew all too well from Clint.  It was the just-you-wait-and-see look.

     "They're cool, though," he went on.  "Grandpa Petridis is a
cardiologist in Athens and Yiyia Sofia is the socialite of the pair.  She
tries to keep Grandpa in line and connected to the right people at the
right times."

     "Wow," was all I could come up with.  Dan said it all so casually.  My
social standing suddenly felt very teeny.

     "Uncle Andreas is Mom's younger brother and he married Aunt Vanessa
who's from Spain.  Nikos is seventeen and Ellie is, geez, like, fifteen or
something.  They're pretty decent.  We used to do a lot of stuff together
when we were kids and Clint and I would go over to Athens for the summer
with Mom and Dad."

     "Clint never said anything about Athens," I said.  It was odd thinking
of my roommate as this well-traveled cultural elite kind of guy.  It wasn't
that I didn't think highly enough of Clint, just that this was as totally
different direction.  This was the guy that was 'Mr.  Football' in my head
before I had met him.  Book by the cover syndrome.

     "We got to where we try not to talk about it too much.  We got to go
'cause we have family there, but most people don't really understand.  It
makes us look stuck-up."

     I smiled.  "Yeah, just pop on over to Athens.  Like it's Alabama or
something!"

     He chuckled.  "Exactly.  Anyway, have you ever traveled?"

     "Not to Athens, but some, yeah," I said.  "I lived in Argentina for
several years and we'd go to Brazil, Chile and Paraguay a decent amount."

     "You're kidding," he said. "You grew up overseas?"

     "Who grew up overseas?" Clint asked, putting an arm across both our
shoulders.

     "Kevin did.  You never said anything about that," Dan said.

     "Oh yeah.  Well, you never asked."

     "So you knew?" Dan asked suspiciously.

     "I knew he had lived overseas for a while.  How long were you there,
Kev?" Clint asked.  It occurred to me we had never really had this
conversation.  Anything Clint had picked up must have been from Christi.  I
couldn't remember ever having talked about it with him directly.

     "Fifteen years," I said.

     "What?  Fifteen years?!" Clint said, his eyes going wide.  "You never
talk about it!  Ever."

     "You don't talk about Athens either," I said winking.  "I used to
really bore people a lot.  Anyway, I've been back for seven years," I said.

     "Sure, but still..." Dan said.

     I laughed.  It was funny to actually see either of them surprised at
anything concerning travel.

     "So what's the coolest thing you ever got to do there?" Dan asked.

     "Dan, he **lived* there.  It's not like us just going for the summer.
He did tons of stuff.  That's kind of a stupid question," Clint said.

     "I got to go repelling of the Andes in Peru the year I left.  That was
a rush," I said, answering before Dan had time to formulate something
snappy to retort back with.

     "Smooth, dude!" Dan said.

     Everyone managed to get their bags and to get them in one piece.  We
were pleased, to say the least.  We then trotted over to the Avis counter
where I was quite relived as they found our reservations and had the cars
in a lot.  They even offered to bring them around because of the
rain. This, of course, earned them big kudos in my book.  Everything was
going smoothly to the point that I began to wonder what would go wrong.  My
luck just wasn't that good.  Hi, my name is paranoid.

     Soon enough, they had pulled the cars around.  Three new Tauruses
waited in line.  How very rental.  I laughed to myself and rolled my eyes.
Uncle Mike, Aunt Liz and Gramps Tucker all took the first car.  Andreas, Dr
Petridis, Nikos and Mr.  Tucker took the second car, which left all the
Greek women - Martina, Vanessa, Sofia and Ellie in the third.  Dan would,
naturally, ride with us since he was also staying at our apartment.  Whose
room he'd be in we hadn't discussed, and I tried not to linger on the
though either.  The possibility of ending up in bed with either of the
Tucker boys was enough to send blood rushing through my body in any
weather.  We left them and went to get my car before driving by to lead the
caravan to the hotel.  -----------------------------

     The only place short of the Econo-6 that had rooms open had been the
Hilton.  This was a very good thing in terms of the quality of the rooms,
but a not-so-good thing in terms of geographic location and convenience.
The college was actually in a suburb just outside the city and I wasn't
sure how we were going to make sure the right people got over to our side
of town in time.  I pointed it out when we got to the hotel.

     The Hilton was one of the newest buildings in town.  Our skyline was a
far cry from impressive, but this building definitely added to it.  It's
glass sides looked like black mirrors from the road.  All the bushes and
shrubberies were strung with white lights, and I was reminded of how close
Christmas actually was.  I really needed to squeeze one last mall trip into
my itinerary before going home, but I had no idea when that might fit in.
Fortunately enough, this year I had finally done what I'd been saying I
would do for years: I bought most of my gifts in advance.  By Thanksgiving
I had all the major purchases out of the way.  Not it was just going to be
filler stuff...stocking stuffers, as my dad called them.

     We all pulled into the parking lot and I was relieved that the rain
had stopped.  A bitter wind bit into my skin when I got out of the car.  I
shot a cursory glance to the wet streets and said a quick prayer that the
roads didn't ice.  The thing about the deep South was that winter weather
came so infrequently that people were ill prepared to handle it.  Give us a
little ice or snow and the roads turned treacherous because of bad drivers.
School would also let out nine times out of ten so that the kids could
enjoy either time with the family or a little fun in the snow.

     "Hope the roads don't ice," Clint said as he shut the car door, his
breath clearly visible like smoke billowing from his mouth as he talked.

     "Yeah, I was just thinking the same thing," I said.

     "I wish we had better hotels over closer to us."

     "I know," I said.  "I looked into them and they were kind of crappy.
Not that it mattered much anyway, because they were full."

     "No, I'm glad you got reservations here.  It'll just suck if it ices."

     "I can come get them in the morning," I offered.

     Clint smiled and put his arm around my shoulder as we walked over to
everyone else.  "Nah.  They probably have a lot more experience driving in
it than you do.  It's the morons from around here that worry me."  We both
laughed at that.

     We all went inside and rubbed our hands together to warm up.  At least
some of us did.  Clint's parents looked like it was downright warm.  We got
everyone their keys and room assignments before we huddled around to get a
game plan.

     "Okay, listen up," Clint said rather loudly, attracting all the right
people's attention.  "Kevin's going to tell us what's going on tomorrow."

     My eyes widened.  "Oh, okay."  I quickly switched mental gears.  "The
ceremony is at four o'clock and we will all have dinner at eight.  Aside
from that, the day is yours.  The best shopping is all within a few blocks
of here along the main road here," I said, gesturing toward to mall and all
the other places around.

     "Wonderful," Martina said.  "Shall we all meet for an early lunch,
then?"

     I nodded.  "That would be great.  We can meet you here around 11 and
go from there, if you'd like," I said.

     "Eleven o'clock downstairs, everyone," she said, adding a few more
comments in Greek that were absolutely beyond me.  "Now go and get some
sleep," she resumed in English, "especially you," she said, winking at
Clint.

     Everybody wished us a good night and started filtering out to their
rooms.  Martina pecked Clint, Dan and me on the check and shooed us along.

     "Now what?" Clint asked as we walked back to the car.

     "I have no clue.  I figured you'd be tired," I said.

     "No plans?" Dan eyes wide in mock horror.  I laughed and punched him
in the arm.

     I glanced down at my watch and back to Clint.

     "Oh please," he said.  "It's not like you have to work or be up early
tomorrow," he said.

     "What do you want to do?" I asked.

     "What kind of clubs do you have around here?" Dan asked.

     "Really lame ones," Clint answered.  At least Clint and I agreed on
this one.

     "Aw, no laughing at rednecks?" Dan asked, feigning disappointment.

     "You don't have to go to a club for that," I said, poking my thumb
over at Clint.  In the car, Dan had been giving his older brother a hard
time about picking up some of the southern accent.  My comment put him in
stitches and Clint just grinned at me.

     "I know where you sleep," he said.

     "Ooh baby!  Don't make me get moist," I said.

     "Ain't nothing wrong with a littler moistness, now," Clint answered
back.  We laughed our asses off while Dan decided out loud that we had
really finally lost our minds.

     We ended up deciding to stop by Blockbuster and the liquor store on
the way home to stock up on entertainment for the weekend.

     "You think we should have invited Nikos to come with us?" Clint asked
Dan as we walked the movie aisles.

     "I didn't think about it too much," Dan answered.

     "Poor guys' probably bored stiff.  Maybe he can come over tomorrow
night," Clint said.

     "He'd love us.  We'll ask him at lunch."

     We picked a few DVDs, some more promising than others, got some Vodka
and an assortment of beers and coolers for the fridge.  I think the general
idea was that we would have a movie going to give us something to entertain
ourselves with...something we could laugh at, or at the very least, make
fun of.  Needless to say, serious dramas were out, as were most action
flicks.  Comedy was the word.

     After mixing a couple screwdrivers, a drink I'd been too long without,
we popped in one of the movies.  I had always had a tendency to get sleepy
when the activities started winding down, but I was determined tonight
would be different.  If nothing else, I tried to keep myself awake thinking
about whom I might get to share the bed with, while trying to concoct some
story or suggestion that would turn the tide in my favor.  In the end I
decided that drinking really did destroy all sense of premeditation that I
could have had.  In truth, I remember no more than the first thirty minutes
of the movie.  I woke up to Clint gently shaking me and suggesting I might
be more comfortable in my bed.  I was immediately embarrassed, but had to
agree with him, so I nodded sleepily and walked back to my room.
-----------------------------

     My alarm woke me up at eight even though I really could have slept
later.  The first thing I noticed was that, just like when I had gone to
sleep, I was alone in my bed.  I was almost disappointed when I decided
that even if I had been accompanied, I wasn't anywhere near conscious
enough to enjoy it anyway, so what difference did it make anyway?  I had
wanted to be up early to make sure everything was smooth and, if for some
reason it wasn't, I'd make sure we had plenty of time to correct it.  Kevin
being anal?  Absolutely.

     What came to mind as I was toweling off after my shower was Clint's
cap and gown.  We hadn't talked about it at all, and I didn't remember
seeing it, so I naturally assumed he hadn't remembered to pick it up.  I
didn't want to believe that I was really that skeptical, but my churning
insides were totally convinced he had forgotten, the dummy.  I finished
getting dressed and opened my door.  Nobody else was awake yet, judging by
the sound of things.  I walked to the kitchen for a glass of water and
spotted Dan on the couch as I walked past.  Sleeping arrangements were no
longer a mystery.  Clint had pulled out one of our old comforters fro the
closet and had found sheets and a pillow.  That was one thing about leather
couches - they could get hot.  You definitely wanted sheets.  I was glad
Clint had thought about it.

     Dan was sleeping soundly.  He was so different from Clint, and yet
there was something about them that made you know they were brothers.
Dan's light brown hair was sticking up in weird places and his full lips
were parted.  The lips were a common feature.  I smiled as I thought about
those lips a little more.  I still couldn't believe I had kissed Dan.  It's
amazing what alcohol and frustration will do to a guy's inhibitions, or in
Dan's case, curiosity.  I caught myself staring and rolled my eyes.  How
very freakish.

     I walked back to Clint's room and tiptoed in.  If his cap and gown
were here, surely they'd be visible.  If they weren't in plain sight, I'd
wake my roommate up.
  Clint was sleeping contentedly on his side, his torso uncovered up to
just under his pecs.  I wondered if he wasn't cold, and the very thought of
his skin being so warm sent blood rushing to my crotch.  Mr. Happy was
feeling very ignored.  I wanted him so much.  I almost regretted seeing him
that morning, because I knew that image would be burned into my brain, that
I'd remember it in the middle of some banal conversation with him and that
my eyes would glaze over as I daydreamed about the man sitting in front of
me.  He'd know too, of course.  He just always seemed to.

     I took a deep breath to clear my head and began looking around for
what I had come in to get in the first place.  I guiltily spotted both cap
and gown neatly lying on the dresser in their plastic wrappings.  I picked
them up, trying to be quiet, and took them to my room.  I pulled them out
and assessed the damage.  The gown was pretty wrinkled, so I grabbed my
iron and steamed it.  When I got finished, it looked pretty damn nice.  I
hung it and the cap on a hanger and hooked it to the top of Clint's door.
Ahh, the neat little tricks one picks up from having worked retail.

     I decided French toast would be nice for breakfast and whipped some
together.  I just couldn't help but laugh at myself as I put it in the oven
to keep it warm.  This was getting ridiculous.  Hi, my name is Martha.
Yuck.  I was being **way* too anal and domestic, even by my own standards.
I resolved to take a major chill pill - just as soon as I got home from
Christmas.

     I pulled out the syrup and put it on the table as Dan was folding up
his bedding.

     "Smells good," he said.  "I was expecting lunch to be brunch."

     "Don't get used to it," I said and grinned.  "I'm having a really
freaky domestication fetish thing going on right now."

     He laughed and I noticed how built his torso was.  It was just as
smooth as I remembered it being, which set everything off quite nicely. I
also knew those pecs felt as good as they looked. I wondered sometimes if
there would be weirdness between us after that night, but I really didn't
even get a chance to know.  I might now.  Dan spotted me quickly looking
him over.

     "You should see me naked," he said.  I blushed.  I was really going to
have to get a grip.

     "Been there.  Seen better," I said, smirking.  Two could play at this
game.  He laughed at me.

     "I've missed hanging around you, man.  You're finally loosening up a
little."

     "Yeah, well, tell your brother.  He tells me all the time..."

     "What do I say all the time?" Clint called from his room.  Dan and I
looked at each other and cracked up.  He came down the hall in shorts and a
tight tee and repeated his question.

     "You tell me to loosen up a lot," I answered finally.

     "Yeah, no kidding.  What's with you lately?  Thanks for ironing my
robe, by the way."

     "You're welcome," I said.  "Anyway, I don't know what's up.  I need to
slap myself."

     "We call it 'spanking it' up north," Dan said, trying not to smile.

     "Yeah, yeah, that too," I said.  "Breakfast is ready, if we want to
eat."

     Clint just shook his head at me and grabbed me by the shoulders.
"When I get back from Christmas, we're gonna cure you of this."

     "No shit.  I need help!" I said, chuckling.

     They didn't complain about the quality of breakfast, though.  Then
again, maybe they were just afraid I'd cook something else.  Me?  Cooking?
When had **I* gotten abducted by aliens?

     "You guys clean up," I said when we were done.

     "You're banned from the kitchen for the rest of the weekend anyway,"
Clint said.

     "Deal.  We need to leave in about an hour, too."

     "Did it ice?" Clint asked.

     "I don't know.  I'll check the weather."

     "Who cares about a little ice?" Dan asked.  Clint and I exchanged
knowing looks and Clint began to explain as I flipped on the TV.  The
weather channel was absolutely no help, so I tried the local channels in
hopes they would have some notice if the roads were icy.  They reported low
temperatures, but an all-clear on the roads, much to the school kids'
dismay.  There was also talk of a white Christmas, not that either of us
would be in town.  I loved snowy Christmases, though I'd only experienced a
couple at best.  I suppose that's what I got for living in a country for so
many years where the seasons were reversed.  This year wouldn't be my lucky
year either, evidently, unless the snow made its way to the southwest, and
how likely was that?

     The Tuckers called a few minutes later to double check that we were
awake.  Dan informed his mom that they were in good hands. Clint and I
laughed at the innuendo and he went off to take a shower.

-----------------------------

     We pulled into the hotel parking lot about fifteen minutes early.
Clint and I tried to decide on a place to eat for lunch.  We hadn't talked
about it at all the night before.

     "What sounds good to you, dude?" Clint asked.

     "I have no clue.  It's your big day.  You should decide."

     "Right, but I want to go somewhere you want to eat, too."

     "I don't know.  Do you think we should take them some place that they
definitely don't have up north?"

     "We're having Greek tonight, right?" he asked.

     "Yeah.  Assuming they get it right."

     "Okay, so let's go somewhere that we went in college."

     I really didn't know how nice of a place to suggest or not suggest.  I
just didn't know his parents well enough.  I didn't want to suggest
somewhere too nice or insult Clint by asking if another was too common.  I
knew he'd be peeved if the knew I was thinking along those lines.

     Dan left us to decide and went upstairs to start rounding up everyone.
Clint knotted his brow.

     "What's the matter?" he asked me.

     "Nothing.  I just can't figure out where we should eat."

     "You're not usually indecisive.  What's eating you?"

     "What do you mean?" I stalled.  I really didn't want to have to
explain.  Finding another reason should be simple enough.

     "You have less than five minutes, so talk."

     "I don't know what your parents and family are used to," I said.

     "Why don't I think you're talking about Chinese or Italian?"

     "I don't want to go somewhere that's going to make them
uncomfortable," I said.

     "Kevin," he said and sighed, "Do you really think we're rich snobby
people?"

     "You are rich.  I don't think you're snobby."

     "Then why are you suddenly so insecure about your tastes?" he asked.
"Of all people, I would expect you to be fine with it.  You're the one that
was doing all the wine tasting and hoity-toity stuff in college.  What
makes you think they'll be uncomfortable with something you choose?"

     "Because I really don't know what you're used to.  I mean, I know what
**you're* used to, but you know what I mean.  I come from a different
world.  What if what I think is nice is stupid or mediocre?  I've been
through that with other people."

     "Do I ever make you feel like that?" he asked.  He had a point and I
knew it.  It was one of those typical times when you just can't make
yourself shut up.

     "No."

     "My parents aren't gods that only eat ambrosia on a gold plate.  We
order pizza like anybody else.  Stop second-guessing yourself.  I never
do," he said, a tender smile curling his lips.  "Now, where do you want to
eat?"

     We settled on a steakhouse that was very typical of the South, if
perhaps slightly more Texas than where we were.  I was finally starting to
relax a little and just treat them like the normal people they actually
were.  Money doesn't make people, people make money, Clint told me.  It
gave me a lot to think about.  I felt absolutely ridiculous for making such
a big deal out of it, but in my experience, it **had* been a big deal.
Clint talked about money so casually, and I had to realize it was a totally
different mentality.  It wasn't that he didn't appreciate his surroundings
or took things unnecessarily for granted.  Quite the opposite.  Clint had
rather prided himself on not riding on his parents' coattails.  It was
still foreign to me.

     Everyone loved the quaint atmosphere of the restaurant and joked
around like anybody else.  Also, having a table full of Greeks raised our
conversational volume level quite a bit.  We had a very good, very loud
time of it.  I missed the big family-like dinners from South America.  Ahh,
how funny the strange places we sometimes find a taste of home.

     Another fun bit was that I also got to talk to Vanessa about Spain.
She was from Barcelona and we chatted in rapid-fire Spanish, much to
everyone's astonishment.  She said she never got to practice anymore and I
was thankful for the opportunity as well.  Most of the people I came across
were Mexican, so it was kinda nice to have a different accent to hear.
Clint just looked at me with a smile and a gentle shake of his head.  I
expected this would be a weekend when I would find out much more about
Clint, not the other way around.

     I also got quite an earful of Greek from smaller conversations here
and there.  The very Irish Tuckers sat on one end of the table, and they
were too far for me to eavesdrop on.  Clint leaned over and whispered into
my ear.

     "You seem to be holding your own okay."

     "Yeah, it's a blast even if I have no clue what anybody's talking
about."

     "Nothing interesting, from what I can pick up.  I'm rusty," he said.
"Thanks for being here, bro."

     "Wouldn't miss it.  Thanks for inviting me."

     "Couldn't do this without my best friend."  He pulled away and looked
me in the face.  The look in his eyes made me wish for so many things.  I
had been wrong.  Being around Clint wasn't painful; it was the level of
restraint I had to use that was painful.  Being with him was intoxicating
and I could never get quite enough.

-----------------------------

     Clint, Dan and I drove back together while his parents, along with the
Petridises and Gramps Tucker, took another car.  Dan would meet them at the
school.

     "You about ready?" I asked as I walked into Clint's room.  He finished
zipping up the gown and looked over at me, arms extended out.

     "How do I look?"

     "Perfect," I said, smiling.  "You'd better get going.  Remember to
take pictures with your folks beforehand.  They'll make you hand in the
gown right after you're backstage and you won't get another chance."

     "I wish you could come," he said.

     "I know.  Me too."

    He walked over to me and surprised me by wrapping me in his arms.  I
hugged him back strongly.

     "Congratulations," I said, my head over his shoulder.  "You made it,
man."

     "Thanks," he said, "for being here."

     "Always," I said as we pulled away.

     He nodded and I smiled at him.  "Get going or you'll be late."

     "See you in a couple hours," he said, grabbing his cap and heading
down the hall in long strides.

     "Knock 'em dead, Tiger," I said and we both laughed as he walked out
the door.

     I gave Dan the keys to my car and gave him directions.  We lived all
of three blocks away, so it was not that complicated.  He left to go get
seats, which left me a couple hours to get ready for that night and make
sure the last big thing was ready.

     I piddled around for a little while, not doing much of anything.  The
truth was, I really wanted to be in that coliseum.  I never let Clint know
that I was disappointed, but I had to admit that I was.  My graduation had
been so different because it was in the summer and we weren't restricted to
certain numbers of tickets.  The actual ceremony was just under an hour
away.  I had time to take a nap and get a shower before anyone even thought
about coming back over.  I straightened up a couple things first.  If
Clint's parents were going to come over, it would most likely be after the
ceremony.  Besides, they hadn't seen the apartment yet, and I didn't want
their first impression to be a lousy one.

     I was just about to untuck my shirt when my phone rang.  I didn't
recognize the number and I picked up rather hesitantly.

     "Hello?"

     "Hey babe.  Did you save me a seat?" Christi's voice came back.  I
grinned into the phone.

     "I wish."

     "Are they that full?  Crap.  I knew I should have left earlier."

     "No, I don't know, honestly. I'm at the apartment," I said.

     "You're going to be mega late."

     "Um, yeah.  Actually I'm not going."

     "What?!  Why??" she asked.

     "He only had enough spots for some of his family.  You remember how
December graduations are."

     "Well, I hope you're dressed.  Katie gave me two tickets and I'm about
two minutes from your apartment." My heart skipped a beat and my face
flushed.  I ran to the mirror.  Fortunately I hadn't gotten wrinkled
cleaning up.  Pull on a tie and I'd bee good to go.

     "Yeah, I'm decent.  Who is Katie?"

     "Katie Hayes.  You probably don't remember her.  Anyway, she'd love to
have us there.  I would have told you sooner but I thought you'd already be
there.  Anyway, we'll have to sit close to Clint's family.  I at least want
to see what they look like."  If it was possible, Christi had gotten
chattier since moving to Boston.

     "Babe, let me go.  I need to pull on a tie."

     "Oh, okay.  I'll see you in a sec," she said and hung up.  I raced
down the hall and looked through my ties.  I settled on a gray-green one
that matched my shirt.  It made my eyes look very cat-like, but it'd have
to do.  I had just spritzed some cologne, just in case, when Chris knocked
on the door.  I grabbed my coat and keys and we ran down to her car, which
was fortunately quite warm.

     We walked into a packed coliseum with about twenty minutes to spare,
which was not nearly enough, and I scanned the crowds trying to find the
Tuckers.  I was usually really bad about spotting people I knew.  Tonight
was no exception.  As early as Dan was there, I guess they'd be in the more
comfortable seats, so I concentrated my search there.  Sure enough, they
were on the second row with not a seat in sight.  I pointed them out to
Chris and we decided to sit in the bleacher seats farther above them and
nab them on the way out.

     The speech was canned and plain, but did have a few good phrases here
and there.  I tried to think back to mine and could barely remember where
the speaker was from, never mind her name.  I leaned over and asked Chris
about hers.  She just shrugged.

     "I really have no idea," she whispered back.  "All I remember is I
kept wondering if they were going to actually give us our diplomas or if
they'd just mail them to us.  Oh, that and I was praying I wouldn't trip on
stage."

     "They gave us ours," I said, thinking back.

     "Us too." We smiled and then straightened up when someone behind us
cleared her throat accusingly.  It's not like we could understand half of
what was being said anyway, but I guess it was the principle of the matter.
I had spotted Clint earlier and now he looked as bored as I was.  He began
looking around the auditorium and finally found his family.  I saw Dan make
some hand gesture to which Clint smiled broadly.  He then looked toward our
direction and began scanning faces again.  This time I wasn't sure whom
for.  He had no clue I'd be here.  Not that it mattered, my heart still
sped up.  Nevertheless, just as sure as if he'd known I'd be there, he
locked eyes with me and smiled again before looking over at Chris and I was
sure I saw him wink.  I looked over at Christi and raised my eyebrows.

     "Did you really think he'd just leave you hanging?" she said, giving
me the look that told me I really should have known better.  Clint, to his
credit, had been terribly good at hiding this from me.  He had known me
well enough to know this was the only way he'd get me here.  With any
warning, I'd have given up my spot to another family member, but this way I
had no idea, so I could just sit back and enjoy.  The thought that he had
put into it blew my mind.  This boy was good.

     I leaned back over to Chris.  "Did Katie Hayes really invite you?" I
asked.

     "Yeah, but she didn't have extra tickets.  Clint has had your name on
that one since the beginning."  It occurred to me finally that I had never
bothered to find out how many tickets he was actually given...I just had
asked how many family members we could include.

     "I'm not even going to ask," I said.

     She smiled.  "Yeah, don't."

     They finally got around to calling names, and when Clint took his turn
on stage there were more than a few of us that cheered and whooped, even
though it was 'out of order'.  He smiled from ear to ear as he sat back
down and I couldn't help but do the same.  College was now officially over.
My life had remained in touch with it through Clint, but this was the
official farewell.  It was an interesting feeling.  That chapter had closed
quietly and I hadn't noticed it coming until it was already gone.

     After the benediction the crowd pressed down and out.  Chris and I
found the Tuckers and I introduced her.  Everyone there seemed pleased to
see me.  I half worried that Clint hadn't spoken to them about her, but I
needn't have.  Martina was as nice and responsive as ever.  Dan clapped me
on the shoulder, not the least bit surprised to see me.  I wondered if I
was the only one who wasn't 'in on it'.

     Clint finally caught up with us and made the rounds as we all
congratulated him.  I think the bulk of the football team, or at least
those that got in the ceremony, stopped by to wish him well, too.  As in
any function like this, everyone was introduced to everyone.  So, what
could have taken fifteen minutes ended up taking much longer.  I took
advantage of the moment and found a quiet hallway to make a phone call.

     A heavily accented "Hello?" greeted me.

     "Kostas," I greeted him.

     "Ah, Mister Kevin.  Ti yinese?" he asked before I could introduce
myself or tell him why I was calling.

     "So far so good," I answered.  I actually had made an attempt to learn
a little Greek, and what I did know was courtesy of Kostas Papadopoulos,
the man I had hired to cater tonight's event.

     "I was just calling to make sure we're good for tonight," I said.

     "Of course.  Everything will be ready by seven o'clock.  You Americans
always eat too early!  Is not healthy for digestion."

     "I wasn't aware that seven pm qualified as early for Americans but I
decided not to press my luck.  "Early bird gets the worm," I said.

     "Yes, but early bird is very boring."

     I had to laugh.  "Yes, yes.  But when in Rome..."

     "Until tonight."

     "Good bye," I said, before hanging up.

     I was walking back to meet up with everyone else when Clint ran into
me in the hall.  I smiled at him and shook my head.

     "Glad you could make it," he said.

     "You're too much.  Thanks for working it out."

     "Wasn't easy.  You're so stubborn.  No telling you to just
come...nooooo.  Have to be complicated."

     "Congratulations again," I said.  "Did everybody leave us?"

     "Pretty much.  I told Mom and Dad to follow Danny home and said we'd
meet them there in a few minutes."

     He smelled good in the confined space of the hallway.  I wanted so
badly to just pull him close, to give him a kiss instead of a smile.  I
wanted to share the intimacy that moment could provide, to be so proud of
him.  We were at a point where we frequently enjoyed each other's successes
as if they were our own, letting the emotional barriers down, looking at
life together.  I wanted him so bad it tightened my throat.
  I immediately tried to cover my emotions as I had so well learned to do.
What I didn't know anymore was whether he bought it or not.

     "So, what do you want to do to celebrate?" I asked.

     "I don't know how much time we'll have after dinner tonight."

     "Nikos is coming over, right?"

     "Yeah, I think so.  I can't remember if Dan asked him at lunch or
not," he said.

     "I didn't plan much of a party or anything, to be honest."

     "Kevin, relax!  We'll just see what happens.  I've got all the
important people around and I just want to take it easy," he said.  "And
you," he said, putting his hand on my shoulder, "you need to have a drink
or five."

     I laughed.  "Okay, fine.  I'll chill."

     "Do that."

     "Guess we'd better go catch up with everybody, huh?"

     "Probably so."

-----------------------------

     "Oh wait!" I said.  "I need to call Ryan and get the tape." Ryan had
agreed to tape the ceremony since I 'wasn't going to be there'.  He had
undoubtedly done a better job than I would have anyway.  His dad was a
videographer among other such media-related talents.

     "Just call him on your cell on the way home.  I'm sure he's gone by
now."

     "Good idea," I said.  I fished out my cell phone and punched in Ryan's
number as we walked toward the parking lot.  Ryan picked up after the first
ring and agreed to meet me at the apartment in about half an hour.  He was
transferring the footage to a regular VHS tape so we could play it on a
standard VCR without having to worry about any additional connector cables.
It wouldn't have been that difficult, but there was no need to make things
more complicated than they had to be - especially when I didn't know what
decade Kostas' VCR was from.  We got down to the parking lot and began
looking for my car when my phone rang - Christi this time.

     "Hey! What are you doing?" I asked.

     "Trying to figure out what you're doing," she said.

     "What do you mean?  We're about to head home." I was confused and
finished my sentence before I could catch myself.  All the pieces began
falling quickly into place when it occurred to me that I had absolutely no
memory of having parked my car.  I began looking around the parking lot
embarrassedly.

     "You boys want a ride?" she asked knowingly.

     "Yeah.  That'd be great," I said and hung up.  I was still giggling
and blushing stupidly when she pulled back up.  Clint cocked his eyebrow at
me questioningly.

     "I didn't drive," I explained.

     "Good one!"

     We both got in the car and I quickly plugged my ears with my fingers
and told them both repeatedly to shut up as they made fun of me.  The
guffawed ad we all got a nice laugh out of it, even if it **was* at my
expense.  The kept on and on about "Mister Together" walking around looking
for my absent car.  Ah, well, nothing like a brain fart to keep you humble.

     The Tuckers were still huddled in the car when we pulled in and I felt
guilty about having taken so long.  Then realization dawned on me as I saw
Dan walk toward the car, smirk firmly in place.  It was Clint's turn to be
embarrassed.

     "Please tell me you gave Dan your keys," I said.

     "Sure.  Yeah, absolutely.  I'm sure he just dropped them," he said.
Clint invited Christi to join us for dinner, but she politely declined and
informed us that she already had a previous engagement, much to our
disappointment.  She drove off and we were confronted with a smirk on Dan's
face and his tapping his foot as we got out of the car.

     "Glad you showed up, bubba," he said.

     "Shut up.  I'm sorry," said Clint.  The laughter continued.

     We walked up the stairs and into a toasty apartment.  Normally I turn
the heat way down if I'm the last out, but I had left so quickly that I had
forgotten.  Now I was rather glad I had.  The temperatures had been rather
lower than we had been used to in the past month.  There is one underlying
characteristic that makes every season in the South more unbearable:
humidity.  It doesn't have to get cold to chill you to the bone.
  It's penetrating.

     Clint gave his family the obligatory tour.  Everything was as
presentable as it was going to get, so I just crossed my fingers.  They
approved, of course, and complimented our cleanliness.  Martina teased her
husband about his flat at Oxford when they had met.

     "Oh now, it wasn't really **that* bad," he said, trying to defend
himself.

     "How quickly you've forgotten.  I dare say even Daniel would have been
appalled," Martin said, patting his lower back.

     Dan grinned and crossed his arms proudly.  "Like father, like son!" he
said.

     We sat around the living room chatting and enjoying cups of coffee or
tea.  It really was enjoyable and I got to see a little bit more of where
Clint came from.  I've always thought that a person is best understood in
the context of their family.  With them, so much falls into perspective and
it simultaneously makes you appreciate the achievements and personality of
the individual while also understanding that apples rarely fall very far
from the tree.

     Clint's family seemed just like any other family.  Take away the
houses that seemed to defy gravity in their splendor and there were just
people who remembered they are just people and life isn't defined by
possessions.  Maybe people with money didn't always live in ivory towers
trying to prove something to the rest of the world.  Maybe being rich
didn't mean only the finest silk touched your skin or that you never step
foot in Wal-Mart.  It didn't put you above the fray of human emotions, and
it didn't make you immortal or inerrant.  Those thoughts and questions
actually brought me a lot of comfort and put me much more at ease.  I
resolved to check my preconceived notions and be as na‹ve as I wanted to
be without feeling guilty.

     I looked up from my mug, as though my thoughts had condensed in the
bottom, and was pleased the conversation was still going strong.  I looked
up to see Martina looking straight at me.  She smiled warmly and knowingly
and resumed the conversation.  It was a trick my Mom used, and, if Martina
meant the same thing by it, it mean 'we'll talk about that later' -
whatever 'that' happened to be.

     A knock at the door went almost unnoticed.  I got up to get it without
disturbing the conversing Tuckers, who were into a rather deep discussion
of colleges and finances.  Ryan grinned at me as I opened the door.  I
invited him in and quickly introduced him to everyone.  They greeted him
and resumed the conversation.  Ryan handed me the tape.

     "You're the best, dude.  Thanks for doing this."

     "No problem.  Sorry we haven't gotten to see each other much lately,"
he said.

     "I know.  I haven't even seen Keith in months.  We need to all get
together."  Though Ryan and Keith were twins, they didn't spend very much
time together.  Ever since we were little I had been on a mission to keep
their relationship as close as possible.

     "Yeah.  It'll have to be after Christmas, though.  I'm flying out
tomorrow."

     "Miami?" I asked.

     "Yup.  I'm going on a cruise with some other people for New Year's,
but that's about it.  I'll be back when school starts back up."

     "Give me a call when you get back into town.  I should be back before
then.  Us graduated people have to work, ya know," I said, smiling.

     He gave me a quick hug and left.  I quickly looked at my watch and
noticed that we were going to be late by the time we picked everyone up.  I
inserted this into the conversation as unobtrusively as I could and they
all laughed and got up.

     "You have to be more aggressive with this group," Clint said, everyone
else smiling and nodding in agreement.

     "Well, I didn't want to be rude.  I also figured that if Greeks were
anything like Argentines, it wasn't really going to matter if we were right
on time."

     "He's catching on!" Dan said and rubbed my shoulders from behind me.
We laughed and grabbed coats before heading back out into the cold.

     Ten minutes later we were on the road.  We drove across town to pick
up everyone we were missing.  Kostas' place meant backtracking a little,
but it was downtown, which was roughly halfway between our apartment and
the hotel.  We were all caravanning with me in the lead.  I had Clint read
me the directions as we got closer.  Though Kostas and I had spoken a lot,
we'd never met in-person and I'd never seen his place.  I had chosen him
because he came highly recommended by the Greek man who owned one of my
favorite coffee shops.

     It was a rather unimpressive building from the outside, but I could
hear music as I walked up and rang the buzzer.  My mind flashed back to the
European homes I had visited when I was growing up in Buenos Aires.  It
turned out to be a good comparison as soon as the door opened.

     A rather large, very Mediterranean man opened the door with a big
smile on his face.  It hadn't occurred to me that our Greek population was
so low that he'd consider tonight a personal treat.  I was glad he was
happy and stuck out my hand.

     "You must be Mister Kevin," he said before I could get my name out.

     "Kosta!  Good to meet you, finally," I said, shaking his meaty hand.

     "Come in, please.  Everything is ready.  You have the video?" he
asked.

     I fished it out of my coat, handed it to him and led the way in.  We
walked into Kostas' place and the air was filled with foreign sounds and
smells.  I felt like I'd gone through some sort of wormhole and that we
weren't in Kansas anymore, Toto.  Ellie began chattering loudly to her
brother and giggling, not that I caught a word.  Teenagers were hard enough
to understand in English, let alone a language I could scarcely say "hi"
and "bye" in.

     That night was also host to my first exposure to Greek music and it
was an experience like none other I'd encountered.  It had a definite beat
that, had I not known better, I'd have called more eastern or even Gypsy.
It reminded me of Flamenco music from Spain, though it sounded less
immediate.  Either way, it added to the sense of being in another country,
and I was instantly drawn to it.

     The room was nothing if not Greek, which was the idea, after all.
Pictures of key places in Greece hung tastefully on the walls along with an
assortment of baskets and other things I couldn't identify.  A long table
was the main focus of attention covered in a stark white tablecloth and was
perfectly set.  A large screen stood at a somewhat favorable viewing angle
along with an LCD projector that was much more sophisticated than I had
expected.  The catering business was doing rather well, I guessed.

     We all took our seats, Clint insisting I sit beside him.  Dan took the
other side.  Everybody else chose their seats and the video started
rolling.  The music changed and was now dominated by a deep, sultry
feminine voice.  I still couldn't understand the words, but the music
carried the same emotions as the variety I was used to.
  Dan leaned over to me.

     "Good choice on the CD.  This is Haris Alexiou and she's one of my
mom's favorites."

     I smiled.  "Awesome, only, I didn't pick it."

     Clint snorted.  "Kev wouldn't have known Haris from his ass," he said.

     "You better shut up," I said.

     Dan just laughed at us.

     "Or what?" Clint asked.

     "**Or*..." I said, and trailed off.  I cursed myself for my untimely
lack of comebacks.

     "Yeah," Clint said, "Thought so."  This, of course, elicited more
laughter from Dan, and this time Clint and I joined in.

     "What are Hughey, Dewey and Louie on about?"  Mr. Tucker asked Uncle
Mike loudly enough for us to hear.

     "God only knows, Adam.  Think we should tell them we need them to shut
up so we can serve dinner?"

     "Nope.  They'll figure it out.  Eventually."

     The three of us quieted down, now giggling from embarrassment.  I
hadn't felt that way since I had been reprimanded as a kid at the dinner
table or in church.

     We all helped ourselves to the sadziki on the table.  That was a menu
item, at least, I was familiar with.  Of course, this batch tasted
different to what I was used to, and probably more authentic as well.  Next
Kostas brought out plates of a variety of different things.  Dolmades, the
stuffed grape leaves, filled with rice, onions and ground beef were next.
After that came the kotopoulo tis skaras, as I was informed, which was, as
far as I could gather, chicken on the grill.  Souvlakia, a beef dish
followed and big plates of patates tiganites, or fried potatoes, were set
on the table.  They beat the hell out of McDonald's, for sure.

      About mid meal we all paused and directed our attention to the screen
to see a close- up of Clint walking across stage and taking his diploma
from the president of the college.  It was a far better view than I had in
the coliseum and I was thankful for the zoom feature on Ryan's camera.

     The video continued rolling and Dr. Petridis stood up at the end of
the table.  He smiled proudly and held up his glass of wine.  We all
followed suit.  He said several things in Greek that I didn't understand,
but I guessed I probably knew the gist of it.  He eventually picked back up
in English.

     "You make your family very proud.  Congratulations.  Upon touching
sand, may it turn to gold." We all raised our glasses and toasted to that.

     Mr. Tucker stood up next.  "Clint, as your pappous said, we are very
proud of you.  You have taken this opportunity and maximized it.  You have
always demonstrated a strength of independence all your own and have known
how to make your ventures work for you.  Your mother and I are anxious to
see where your next one will take you."

     We toasted to that as well, and when the congratulations were
concluded, Kostas brought out a very un-Greek dessert: cheesecake.  It was
an instant hit.  The bottles of ouzo were next.  I had been informed that
ouzo drinking was almost an art form in parts of Greece, and furthermore,
that it was not a short process.  Since we were relatively far from Greece
I hoped tat serving it after dinner wouldn't break all the rules of
etiquette, and if it did, **I* wasn't Greek.

     Kostas brought out the bottles of the clear liquid.  After asking
around I had settled on the Mytilini brand.  I was told that ouzo is ouzo,
but Mytilini was the best.  I had been confused, of course, Mytilini
sounded far more Italian than Greek in my book, but whatever.  I imagined
comparing Grey Goose to Taaka, and the difference to me was big enough to
where I went with the best.  I could only imagine what the stuff tasted
like, especially since we were only going to dilute it with water.  If it
was anything like scotch, this wine drinker was going to be in trouble.

     We poured glasses and everyone added water.  I followed suit.  No need
to try to act all macho and drink it straight if not even one of the Greek
men was going to attempt it.

     We toasted Clint again with a chorus of 'yasou' and with an 'opa' it
went down.  Everybody took them like shots.  The pungent smell and taste of
licorice filled my mouth.  I thought I was going to be sick.  Licorice and
I did not mix.  Never candy, never a treat for me, I hated the stuff.
Usually it had the good grace to be black and let me know of its flavor in
advance, not so with the ouzo.  I glanced over to Clint who was glancing at
me with the same expression on his face.  I tried really hard to pretend it
wasn't so bad.

     "I hate that shit," he said to me very quietly after setting his glass
down.

     I smiled a very fake smile.  "Yeah, I can see why."

     We both laughed and went back to the cheesecake, appreciating the
sweetness and not-licorice of its flavors.  Dan, on the other hand, seemed
to like the ouzo a good bit.  Clint leaned in front of him to tell me that
Danny boy was the one who ate the black jelly beans when they were kids.  I
patted Dan on the shoulder and commended his strength of palate.  I heard
at least four more rounds of 'yasou' and 'opa' and had a chance to wonder
about everybody's driving ability.

     The conversations, fittingly, livened up a bit.  We stayed chatting
another couple of hours.  I had to defend my position on licorice a couple
of times, which was much simplified by the fact that Clint didn't like it
either.

     Fortunately, nobody ended up drunk, and we all made it back to the
hotel just fine.  We said good night to the adults, then Dan, Clint, Nikos
and I all headed home.  By the time we walked into the apartment, it was
almost midnight and I was wiped.  I didn't know how awake Clint was, so I
didn't want to poop out before Clint was ready to.

     Dan and Nikos immediately went over to our DVD collection and picked
out one of the newer ones that Nikos said hadn't even made theaters yet in
Greece.  I had forgotten how delayed movies could arrive overseas.  They
put it in and Clint followed me into the kitchen.

     "What are you doing?" he asked.

     "Well, just uncorking the bottle of Asti I got for tonight, if that's
cool with you," I said, grinning as I pulled down a couple of wine glasses.
Champagne flutes hadn't made it into my assortment of glasses yet, so those
would just have to do.

     "Awesome.  Anything you didn't think of?" he asked.

     "If there is, I haven't remembered it yet," I said grinning.  Clint
just smiled.

     "That's my boy."

     I pulled out the cork and poured the glasses.  We didn't even bother
for Dan and Nikos.

     "You think they want some?" I asked Clint, gesturing at them through
the wall.

     "Yeah, but they're not in here," he said and winked.

     "I don't know if I can think of a better toast than the ones from
earlier," I said, bringing the subject back to the event of the night.

     "My turn for a toast," he said, lifting his glass.  "To best friends
who save our asses and keep us sane."

     "Here, here," I said as we clinked glasses and drank.

     "So, what do you want to do?" I asked.  "You want to see the movie?"

     "Man, I'm exhausted," he said.

     I smiled.  "Me too.  I was thinking about going to bed, actually."

     "I might join you," he said.

     "Ooh, baby!"

     "Only if you're that lucky."

     I laughed and walked down the hall and changed into Umbros and a
t-shirt.  The movie was almost halfway over by the time Clint and I
finished talking and polishing off the Asti.

     "Hey," I said to him.

     "Hey."

     "What time is everybody's flight tomorrow?" I asked.  If it was an
early flight, I was screwed.  I was getting so sleepy I could barely see
straight.  Plus, I was a little intoxicated after the wine, ouzo, and Asti.
Then again, couldn't really count the ouzo, or at least the little bit I'd
had of it.

     "The flight's at ten, I think," he said.  "I'll as Dan to make sure.
What time do you think we should have them there?"

     "No later than 9, for sure.  Are the Petridises making connections
straight back to Greece from here?"

     "No," he said.  "They're going back with Mom and Dad for a few days
before they head back.  So we at least don't have to worry about
international flight times on top of everything."

     "Cool."

     "So I guess we should pick them up at 8:30, or so?"

     "Yeah, which puts us leaving here no later than 8 to beat traffic."

     "On a Saturday?!" he asked incredulously.

     "Yeah, the crazies go to the mall early, especially this time of year.
I sat on County Line road an hour the other day just to get to the mall."

     "Oh yeah, I forgot about that."

     "You going to call your folks, then?"

     "In a couple of minutes," he said as he glanced down at his watch.
"Maybe we should just call them in the morning early.  Mom never sleeps
later than six, anyway."

     "That'll work," I said, rubbing my eyes.  "I'm going to sleep, dude."

     Clint smiled and clapped me on the shoulder.  "You look like I feel.
Sleep good, bro."

     "Thanks, man."

     After saying goodnight to everyone, I brushed my teeth and wandered
sleepily back to my room.  I stripped off my shorts and shirt and chunked
them into the clothes hamper and was just pulling back the covers when
Clint knocked lightly on the door.
  I could always tell it was him from the way he knocked -- loud enough to
be heard, but not annoying.  He cracked the door open after I told him to
come in.

     "Hey, would you mind if I stayed in here with you?" he asked.  "I was
going to let Dan and Nick share my bed."

     My pulse quickened noticeably and I tried not to let it show in any of
my other actions.

     "Yeah, that's cool," I said.  Not overeager and not reluctant.  Bully
for me.

     "You sure?" I just stared back in response.  I think the sleepiness of
my expression finally got to him and he smiled before continuing.  "I knew
I should have asked earlier," he said.  "I'll brush my teeth and I'll be
right back."

     I lay in bed and tried my damndest not to fall asleep.  I felt like I
needed to prop my eyelids open and my brain was starting to almost dream
and I kept fighting it.  I finally decided to just shut my eyes for a
second while I waited for him to come back.  The two minutes of teeth
brushing finally proved to be too long for my sleepy body and my last
conscious thought was that surely I'd feel the bed move when Clint got in
and I'd wake up.  I didn't.

     I did finally, briefly, come back to consciousness at some ungodly
hour when I felt Clint snuggling close to me.  He was totally asleep and I
can only guess he was cold.  We usually kept the heat pretty low at night.
We both would rather be cold than hot.  He was so close to me that I could
feel the heat from his skin.  I drifted back off dreaming of how nice it
felt to be so close to him.  If ever there was a goner, I was it, and I was
totally and completely unable to deny it to myself anymore.

-----------------------------

     I didn't get to wake up next to him, much to my disappointment.  When
I woke up, Clint was already in the shower.  I glanced at the clock and saw
we had loads of time still, so I just lay there comfortably, letting myself
wake up gradually.  On a whim, I pulled the pillow Clint had been using and
just brought it close, sniffing to see if there was any remainder of his
presence.  A very light scent that I could imagine was his was on the
pillow and I just held it.

     Eventually, however, my bladder caught up with me and made it clear,
in no uncertain terms, that the bathroom was going to be used in 30 seconds
or less.  I got up and knocked on the door.  Clint evidently didn't hear me
with the water running, so I just opened the door.  I simply couldn't stand
there waiting.

     He must have heard the door open because he poked his head around the
shower curtain and smiled when he saw it was me.

     "Sorry, dude," I said groggily, "I've got to take a wicked piss."

     Clint laughed as he ducked back behind the curtain.  I raised the lid
and sighed as my aching bladder got release.

     "It's okay, bro," Clint finally said.  "I was just whacking off.  I'm
almost done anyway."

     I cracked up and had to really concentrate to not pee all over the
place.  "Need a hand?" I finally asked.

     "Got two, thanks," he said.

     "I was wondering what was taking you so long in here."

     "So what?  You decided to come investigate?!" he asked, laughing.

     "Well, there was a chance you were into watersports."

     "Water what?"

     "Golden showers...please tell me you know what I'm talking about," I
said, hoping I really wouldn't have to go into a detailed explanation of
what it was, much less why someone would do it.

     "Aww nasty.  That's messed up."

     We both laughed as I finished up.  "Just thinking of you, bud," I
said.

     "You're still in here?!" he asked.  I just laughed as I let myself
out.

     After getting everyone cleaned up, we loaded the car and went back in
to toast some bagels before we left.  I was just spreading cream cheese on
mine when it occurred to me suddenly that I hadn't heard Clint call his
mom.

     "What'd we forget?" Clint asked, seeing my expression.

     "To tell your parents when we're leaving."

     "Oh shit!  I meant to call right after I got out of the shower."

     "Damn it.  I hope they're ready.  I'll go get the number," I said as I
set down my plate on the table, chewing fast so I could talk on the phone.

     "Hey Kev?" Clint called after me.

     "Hmm?" I mumbled.

     "Gotcha."

     I turned around with one of those you-had-better-not-be-kidding-me
looks.

     "Oh you didn't," I said, swallowing the last of my bagel.

     "Yup.  Sure did.  I told you to relax.  I called while you were in the
shower.  They packed last night anyway.  Wasn't like they didn't know their
flight was leaving this morning."

     "I am going to kill you when my pulse gets back to normal."

     "I told you I was going to cure you," he said.

     "**After* Christmas, Tucker, after Christmas."

     "Minor details.  Besides, why procrastinate?" He just grinned at me.

     "You're just terribly pleased with yourself, aren't you?" I asked.

     "Uh huh."

     I rolled my eyes.  Clint being Clint.  What else could I say?  We did
still have to hurry somewhat, but not nearly with the same speed as I had
thought.  Things were much simplified by the fact that once we got to the
hotel the crew was just finishing packing up everything into the rental
cars.

     I always envisioned good-byes as more emotional than they often were.
Time frequently made things simpler.  Today was no exception.  Add to that
the fact that this was more of a 'see you in three days, son' and it went
really smoothly.  The Petridises were returning to Greece, though, so
bidding them farewell was more careful, slow and tender.

     It was hugs all around for me from just about everyone.  Martina was
last to say good bye and I had a feeling I knew why.  She hugged me,
thanked me over and over, and then clasped both my shoulders, the 'focus on
me for two seconds' kind of body language moms manage so well.  I grinned
knowingly.

     "Here is our number in Florida," she said, handing me a card with a
list of numbers on it.  "We'll be there the beginning of next week on out.
I at least expect a call to say hello."

     "I haven't forgotten," I said.

     "You also haven't taken me up on the offer yet.  It's good to the last
day.  Really, we'd love to see you.  You're a special lad."

     "Thank you," I said, tucking the card into my wallet.  "I **will* be
in touch."  Her response was just to wink at me before joining the rest of
the family at the security checkpoint.  Clint and I waved for a little
while.

     "Mom just being Mom?" Clint asked as he walked over to me.  I could
see the curiosity in his eyes, but that he didn't have any idea.

     "Mmm hmmm."

     He chuckled.  We waited until they were out of sight before going back
to the car.

-----------------------------

At long last, here is the next chapter.  Believe it or not, it's been
written for a while now.  Life has taken me on my own twists and turns
outside of the lives of my beloved characters and has only now permitted me
to get it all done.  I hope you'll enjoy it, and I certainly hope the next
chapter will be far less delayed.  Happy Thanksgiving to you all!

Kevin
Farscape20@hotmail.com