Date: Thu, 01 Jul 2010 08:09:41 -0400
From: Barry Mattison <stories@barrymattison.com>
Subject: Friends or What-Chapter 7

Friends or What?-Chapter VII
AUTHOR: Barry Mattison

WEBSITE/EMAIL:	http://storiesbybm.webs.com     stories@barrymattison.com

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INTRODUCTION:

This is a fictional story about how two young guys grew up as friends since
3rd grade and are now in their Junior year ready to end the year, planning
summer vacation. One likes the other and has had a crush on him for some
time, but doesn't really know what that means, the other has a girlfriend
and doesn't really see anything beyond his childhood friend other than
their friendship.

The characters in "Friends or What?" are all fictional and any semblance to
real persons--living or deceased--is purely coincidental.

DISCLAIMER (VERY IMPORTANT-PLEASE READ):

This fictional story and others written and published by this author are
written for the gay reader in particular and describe scenes of male nudity
and sexual acts between two or more guys that some readers may find
inappropriate and/or unsuitable for their reading. Please do not read any
further if you find such reading offensive or if it may become property of
anyone under the age of 21. "Friends or What?" is copyrighted by Barry
Mattison under the Registered Trademark Foxstories® and published as
StoriesByBm© with exclusive permission to publish given to the Nifty
Alliance Archive only. Anyone wishing to use any stories published under
either copyright may go to the web site listed above and read the
information posted there for legal limitations. Copying, distribution or
re-publication of this writing in any other web site, private or otherwise,
without written permission of the author is a violation of local, national
and international copyright laws and will be pursued to the fullest extent
allowable by applicable laws governing that country.

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

Chapter VII

It seems that the boys have finally consummated their relationship without
going into the details. Something about that "secret spot" in the mountains
has cemented their future and bonded them together for life.

Jason and Todd lay in their tent late that special night, cuddled together
against the evening coolness, unable to put words to what they had just
shared between them; the intimacy that was reserved for those who wait, for
those who truly love, this was the moment they had given up much for as
young men with raging hormones. They were not only proud of themselves for
being true to each other, but also for being honest and for securing that
bond on solid ground with a commitment that nobody could break...ever.

Jason was the first to speak up as he pulled the blankets over the two of
them and kissed Todd on the cheek.

"How did you feel babe?"

"I felt like the heavens opened up and the sun shone down on just this
spot, just on us as we made love to each other. I'm glad we waited because
it made my love for you much more special. I loved you before tonight, but
now, I love you in a much different way. We became part of each other when
we made love and came inside each other. No matter what happens now we'll
always be part of each other; it's a very new feeling for me that I feel
has made our bond not only stronger but will help me stand against those
who have always used me as a punching ball. It's like there's two of me
now."

"You are so special sweetie. You have a way with words...I know that
tonight was the beginning of a long and wonderful life for us
together. It's funny in a way but I can't even remember being without you
in my life much before coming here for the summer. Now, I never want to
leave this place, granny, and especially be separated from you for another
year of school."

"You would have to bring that up," I mumbled as I elbowed him in the
stomach lightly.

"You know that school starts in another month or so don't you?" Jason
reminded me.

"Keep rubbing it in. Let's not talk anymore about it tonight. That's a
conversation we need to have with granny."

"Okay, here...I moved my legs, curl yours and pull in closer so we can warm
up a little more. I don't think I can have any more sex tonight so you're
safe, but I want to be close to you."

"I slid back into the familiarity of Jason's muscular body and together we
shared the warmth of our nakedness as the sounds of the night slowly took
over the rhythm of our bodies and we nodded off together."

The next sounds we heard were the morning birds singing to their mates, and
the horses telling us to get up and take care of them. I woke Jason up when
I slid out from under my nice, warm, human bed warmer.

"Morning babe. You're up early," Jason mumbled.

"Yeah, the crows woke me up,I have to pee, and I want to check on the
horses. They probably need a drink and let loose for some
grass. Brrr...it's a little chilly this morning. Maybe I'll throw on my
jeans. Could you throw them out to me please, and my boots."

"No problem. I'll join you and help with the horses. I have to pee
too. Here, here's your jeans and boots and a shirt sexy."

"Thanks, I'll wait for you to get dressed. First I need something though."

"What's that?"

"A big, sloppy , tongue tied kiss."

"Gladly honey, anytime you want one you just wink 'cause I'll be there
before that eye closes."

I bent down, leaned into the tent and got my kiss and a hand around my
hard-on as well. That would have to wait though. Seems as though my dick
had a problem of control around Jason now. School was going to be more
embarrassing than I suspected I thought to myself. How was I going to
explain all those wet spots all day.

"Okay, let's get the horses taken care of. They like the little stream
where that mossy bank is. Let's walk them over there and then hobble them
in the meadow for a while.

We untied the horses, walked them around to loosen their legs up, then
walked them up the stream to the mossy pool. This was one of my favorite
places on the creek. During the summer there wasn't much water flowing so
the pools were about the only places to get a good drink of water; during
spring run-off and after rainstorms you could catch a few fish out of
nowhere from these little pools. Many days I'd spend hours chasing crawfish
and little crawly things up here when I was younger.

While the horses grazed we started a small fire in the pit, made some
coffee and breakfast, then started to pack up the rolls, tent and the rest
of the supplies. It was starting to warm up so we shucked our jeans and
shirts and walked around naked. It had become so normal for us to be
without clothes on once we were away from people that we didn't even think
of being naked.

Today we stopped in another secret spot I knew of just short of the last
field near home and fooled around a little bit to wear off the hard-on''s
that riding a horse seems to always entice out of our young bodies. My cock
had a mind of it's own and Jason always had the knack of knowing what to do
to satisfy my cravings. He had the most perfect butt for learning how to
fuck and today I took my time in preparing him by loosening up his hole
with some lotion and a few fingers before slowly entering him. At first he
whimpered in pain, so I stopped. After a minute I slowly pulled out, then
slowly back in again, each time pushing in deeper and deeper until my balls
were slapping against his butt; soon his whimpering turned to sounds of
pleasure as he pushed back against me harder and harder until I couldn't
hold back any longer.

"I'm coming...ahhhhhh."

"Me too," Jason tried to say as the cum pooled in my hand I'd been jacking
him off with. I finally pulled out, exhausted, expended and all sticky with
Jason's cum all over my hand. I brought it to my mouth and began licking it
clean; Jason sat up, grasped my hand and helped finish it with me. We'd
trampled down the grass pretty good and once had to hide in the bushes when
we heard a noise on the trail.

After resting for a bit and cleaning up in a close by stream we put the
jeans and shirts back on that we'd worn yesterday. They weren't really
dirty because we had spent very little time in them.

As we walked into the stables that evening and began to strip down the
horses and take care of them, we started talked about the upcoming school
year, where was I going to live, Jason's coming out to his parents...in
other words, it was time to get serious about what we were going to do. As
far as we were concerned we could just keep on living here and forget about
the rest of the world, but we both knew that granny would not approve of
such a thing. Education was important to her and she would be very
disappointed in me if I didn't finish high school and get some kind of
college education. She would also hold Jason to those same standards now as
well, considering him as another grandson of whom she was very proud. We
decided to hang around the next day and spend some time with her talking
about our concerns and seeing what she thought we should do.

With the horses fed, walked and bedded down for night and the tack cleaned
and hung up we headed up to the house; Once again the sun was just setting
and we slowed down to watch it fall below the edge of the tree tops and see
the rays climb high into the sky, lighting up the blue sky with the
oranges, reds and yellows of the setting sun visible in some unknown place
farther west of us. We continued walking up to the porch and into the
house, hand in hand and hungry as old cow pokes after a cattle drive in the
dusty, hot desert.

"Granny," I called, "are you still up?"

"Of course I am. Do you think I'd let my favorite grandsons go without a
good dinner after such a long night riding herd?"

"Granny, you're such a crafty 'ol gal, and a softy as well. We both love
you you know."

"Well I wasn't sure there for a while, took you forever to get from the
barn to the house."

"We stopped to watch the sunset. It's always so beautiful, especially when
you're sharing it with someone you love. It's funny that I never noticed
them as much before Jason was around to bug me."

"You should be so lucky"

"Your grandfather and I used to sit and watch the sunset almost every night
that it was visible, holding hands on the porch rocker. He'd whisper sweet
things in my ear and I'd giggle like a little girl. How I miss those days
and how much I miss the companionship of your grandfather. It's awful quiet
here when you're not here either."

"I'm sorry I mentioned something that made you sad" I said. "I didn't mean
too. I can't imagine what it would be like without Jason around. Which
brings up some questions that we would like some input from you on. We
wanted to spend some time tomorrow and get some feedback on some issues
that will come up soon and see what you think. Do you have the time
tomorrow?"

"I do for you two scallions. Let's talk in the morning after breakfast. We
can sit out on the porch after it's warmed up and before it's too hot. For
now, let's have some dinner."

"Sounds good to me, how 'bout you Jason?"

"Great! I'm starved. There wasn't much grass left after the horses were
through eating."

"I didn't cook up any grass, but I do have some steak, potatoes and
vegetables ready for the table. I also baked Apple pies today for desert
just in case you boys might be extra hungry."

"I'll set the table," Jason said. "Can you help Todd?"

"Of course honey, I'm starved too."

"Listen to you two talk...you'd think you were married. It makes my heart
warm to watch you boys together and listen to how you treat each other..."

As granny kept talking we set the table and brought out the milk and stuff
from the fridge for the steak and desert. Granny was still talking when we
sat down at the table.

"...and keep that love going. One thing that your grandfather always told
me that no matter how mad he would get over something, he would never let
that beautiful sunset pass by without reconciling our differences before
the day ended. He held true to his promise and we never let an argument
come between our love for each other. Oh, we had plenty of disagreements
alright, but that swinger out on the back porch saw many a disagreement
settled. Yes it did alright..."

"Granny, you're talking to yourself now," Jason said.

"Oh, sorry boys, I was just thinking back to the old days. You'll do that
some day too, don't worry. Jason, would you mind saying grace?" Now, let's
eat."

After dinner was over we cleaned up the table and washed the dishes, said
good night to granny, gave her a good night kiss and hug and headed up to
our bedroom.  After a nice warm shower to get off all the overnight dirt,
grime and other sticky stuff one accumulates on an overnight stay in the
woods we crawled into bed and talked about what we were going to ask granny
the next morning.

"One of my biggest problems is what to do about a place to live," I said as
I crawled under the covers and faced Jason, looking into his mesmerizing
eyes. "There's no way I'm going back to that foster home again."

"You may have to if social services can't find another place for you or you
can't get emancipated. Even that presents it's own problems because you
have the additional problems of money, food, all that stuff."

"Yeah, I know. It all seems over whelming right now. I know that granny
would let me stay here, but then we would be separated. Plus I don't know
how much money or whatever it would take to hire a lawyer to make it
official for me to live here all the time. I'd have to finish school here
too."

"At least someone cares about you and knows whether you're alive or
dead. My family has changed. I don't even know where my parents are right
now. During school it's the same thing. They send money for me to get by on
and have a little extra for school trips. Everyone at school thinks I'm
some sort of rich, jock-snob, but you know I'm not that way. If they only
knew that all I really want is to be in their shoes when their parents come
to their games and cheer for them, or that I hang around the locker after
the games or in the library late because I have to walk home."

"Oh babe, I'm so sorry. If people didn't put so much pressure on each other
to be this or be that it wouldn't be so hard to grow up. I'm sure the guys
on the teams put an awful lot of pressure on you to pull them out of the
hole when they screw up, yet I'm sure they give you grief when you have an
off day and don't meet their standards. I can't understand why we do this
to each other. I'm really sick about the future and what's going to happen
after vacation. I hope granny has some ideas for us to work on."

"I hope so too." Jason said as he reached down and scratched his leg, the
scratching sound giving me goosebumps. "Granny is a pretty wise lady and I
have a lot of respect for her opinion; I know you do too."

"She's never let me down. Anyway, I'm tired and want to get some sleep so
I'm awake enough to talk to her in the morning...okay babe..."

"You're right...goodnight. Before you fall asleep would you look at my leg
and see why it itches so much?"

"No problem. Which one?"

"Actually, both of them below the knees."

Jason pulled the covers open and and sat up, lifting his knees up and
wrapping his arms around them as I sat up and crawled down the bed to look
at his legs in the light. Right away I knew what the problem was, The
expression on my face must have scared Jason because his face turned white
before he leaned over to try and look at his outer legs. They were covered
with red pock marks and a rash, the signature of poison ivy. I quickly
looked at my legs and body. I usually didn't react to it for some reason,
but in this close contact I might. I didn't have any marks, at least not
yet.

"What it is Todd?, what are they?"

"We must have gotten into some poison ivy at that spot where we stopped
today on the way to the barn. Remind me not to stop there again. I'll go
ask granny for some lotion to put on the spots, but DON'T pick at them or
scratch them anymore, no matter how much they itch. It will only spread it
around...and one other thing, don't scratch your nuts or take a piss
without going to the bathroom and washing your hands with hot soap and
water, several times. Wash up your arms too. So far there's nothing showing
there so it must be only your legs that got it. I'll be right back with
something that will stop the itching a little. If you want to take a cool
shower while I'm gone go ahead, but just the legs, cool water, and don't
touch your legs for any reason or it will spread wherever you touch
yourself."

Jason sat there, dying from the itching. This was the first time he had
gotten into poison ivy before and had never seen what it looked like. He
was really scared and couldn't wait for me to come back. He was also
curious as to why I didn't have the same problem?

I soon returned with a bottle of pink lotion and some ice bags.

"What's that stuff?"

"It's Calamine lotion and ice compresses. Calamine will help dry up the
spots a little and the cold will help with the itching. First thing, did
you take a shower?"

"Yes, like you said to do."

"Okay. We need to put this lotion on each spot...every one. I put these
plastic gloves on and you need to put on a pair too. While you start
putting the lotion on I need to change the sheets and also, where are the
clothes you wore today?"

"Right here on the floor. I usually put them on the chair, but I was so
tired I just dropped them here."

"Whew, that's good. Poison Ivy is covered with an oil that easily spreads
by touch, clothes, just about anything. So you don't want to touch anything
you've already touched since we got home...including me unfortunately. I'm
not allergic to it so I don't react like you have, but there's always a
chance that I could. I brought some more rubber gloves for both of us to
pick all this up and to change the bed clothes with. I'm going to put an
old sheet over the chair and let you sit there while I put the lotion on
the spots and then you can hold the ice packs against your legs if they
start to really itch again. Heat is what makes it itch more."

The next week or so was a combination of playing nursemaid on my part and
intense itching and oozing sores for Jason until the Calamine lotion
finally did it's job and the sores stopped their slimy, festering and dried
up. Another lesson learned.

Following that night of discovery we did talk to granny the next morning
about all of our concerns and problems. It was made a little more humorous
because Jason sat over in the corner with granny's homemade poultices
wrapped around his legs while we kept an appropriate distance. I felt sorry
for him, but poison ivy is poison ivy. As it turned out, granny was way
ahead of us in the thinking department. She had broken down all the
problems into priorities and had secretly been making visits to her lawyers
office. The way she explained it to us was that both of our fates after
summer vacation rested on several things happening. Sort of like a stack of
dominoes. But she couldn't say much more about how it was helping us. Her
advice was for both of us to go back to school at the end of summer as
usual, but not to worry as she would be with us. That was it.

"What in the heck does she mean by all that. I'm more confused than I was
before talking to her," Jason said as I helped him up the stairs.

"Well, I'm not sure if I understand what she means either, but I totally
trust her decisions and will do as she tells me to do. I hope you'll do the
same for the sake of both of us. She knows what she's doing and has the
best interests of both of us in mind."

"You know that I'll do whatever it takes to be with you, but it's going to
be rough starting back at that school. What if Linda did go ahead and
spread the word and we get back to school and both get beaten up?"

"You'll have to find a bigger locker. Mine won't hold both of us."

That broke the ice and we finally drifted off to sleep, a blanket between
our lower bodies, but skin to skin above. I was glad he hadn't scratched
his dick at all. I was horny that night.

We had only a few more weeks to go before it would be time to head back to
school. We had decided to cram as much into that time as possible. The days
were long, the sun hot and time was short, so we rose early every day and
stayed out late as much as possible. We had been together all summer,
almost every minute, every second. We'd come out to each other and become
inseparable lovers, so close that neither of us could imagine ever being
apart again. That was a scary time in both of our lives, but in looking
back it was a natural process and well worth the uncertainty of not knowing
what the other would do.

"So, what's up for today?" Jason lazily asked as we sat on the dock,
swishing our feet in the lake. I hadn't been swimming since those dreams,
or rather nightmares, had stopped, and I missed swimming each day for
exercise.

"You know that I haven't been in the water since that day."

"Would you trust me to help you overcome that fear? I'll be right with you
all the time holding onto you every second. I promise nothing will happen
to you. You've been swimming all your life; you can't let one incident
scare you away from something that you love doing. What do you say? Let's
walk over to the beach there and go in."

"I'm not sure. I mean I know you won't let anything happen to me and all
that, but it does scare me still. But let's walk over to the beach and I'll
think about it on the way."

"That's my babe. No fear. Who the one that told me to get right back on the
horse when I fell off?"

"Me. You're right. Let's go. Just stay with me please, and no fooling
around."

I slowly waded knee deep into the water with Jason by my side. Looking at
Jason, then back at the water we both took a deep breath and dove
in. Almost instantly I could feel the cold water in the deeper depths
surround me. For a few seconds it brought back the memories of that day and
I panicked when I kept sinking, but, determined to stay in control, I
opened my eyes and there was Jason beside me with a big smile on his face,
blowing big bubbles out his nose. We slowly rose to the surface, watching
each other as we ascended.

"You did it! I knew you could."

"Thanks to your support and a little push. How 'bout a swim out to the raft
and a little sun for a while? We can't go back to school without great
tans. The guys in the locker room will have more to gawk at besides that
nice cock of yours and the girls will be hanging all over you. You probably
have never even seen a few of the guys looking at you in the shower have
you. Just remember, it's okay for them to look, but no touching allowed."

"You're a jealous little mate aren't you?"

"You bet, and just like a mountain lion when it comes to protecting my
property."

We had been trying to talk while swimming out to the float. Once we reached
it and climbed up the ladder we stripped our speedo's off and lay down on
our backs. The sun was overhead, bright and hot and it didn't take long
before we both decided to jump in for a cool down. Holding hands we jumped
overboard and relaxed as we looked at each other underwater. Jason swam
closer and tried to kiss me underwater, but it was hard to do because you
had to hold your breath and try to open your mouth for a little tongue
action. It turned out to be more of a match than a kiss, but we had a blast
trying. The rest of the day passed quickly and before we knew it the sun
was beginning to set, again. Once again we found ourselves walking up from
the horse barn, holding hands and watching the sunset.

"I'll never forget this summer and all the special things we did
together. My heart has never been lighter and my spirits never brighter
since we have been together. In a few days summer vacation will be over and
we have to go back and face everybody. I've made the decision, if I can
find them, to come out to my parents. They're usually around about now,
just before school starts. I'm going to try and call them tonight and see
if they will drive out here, see the farm, meet you and granny, then I'll
tell them. What do you think?"

"I'm up for it, let's ask granny at dinner."

After dinner that evening Jason asked granny what she thought about having
his parents come to the farm before we left for school and see the farm,
meet me, and for the real ending, allow him to come out to them and show
them how much we were in love and what it meant to both of us.

"It's a big step young man, for both of you. Plus it's a risky one. Put
some thought into it before you make the decision to tell them. Of course
you're more than welcome to invite them here, that's not what I'm concerned
with. Think about the different reactions they might have. What if they
disown you...how will that affect you? What if they insist on taking you
with them and splitting you two apart forever? When will you be eighteen?"

"In September of next year."

"So until then they can pretty much make you do as they say unless you
apply for emancipation."

"They don't even care about me, why would they want to mess up my life
now?"  "You never know how people are going to react to news like you are
about to spring on them, especially parents. I suggest that if you plan to
go ahead with this that you both do it together as one united front so they
can see that you are committed to each other and that being separated is
not an option for either of you. I'll help with what I can of course. I
love you both and I know how deep your love is for each other. I watched
both of you grow from teenagers into fine young men this summer who have
demonstrated a high level of honesty and responsibility that your parents
should be proud of. It's unfortunate that life has not placed either of you
in a position to have the kind of parents that care enough to see what an
example you've set of what real commitment to one another really means. An
example they should have followed themselves."

When she said she would help she gave us both a little wink. I barely
caught it, but it did register in the back of my mind that granny had more
going on than she was letting on.

When we got into bed that night after a nice warm shower, we propped up
some pillows and put the remote phone between us in preparation to call
Jason's parents.

"Well, it's your nickel Jason. Are you ready to do this?"

"Yes. I have to. No more hiding, no more lying to anyone. If they don't
approve then I have to accept it and move on from there; I don't think I
could do this without you though by my side."

I held his hand, leaned over and kissed him, told him I loved him over and
over, then handed him the phone. Once he started dialing I leaned into his
warm, inviting body and wrapped both arms around him, listening to his
heart beating fast as the phone began to ring.

"Hi mom, it's Jason. It's nice to hear your voice. How was your summer
vacation? uh huh...uh huh..oh, that's too bad about the room, but I'm glad
they changed you so you had a view of the ocean. Why am I calling?
Well...um...I was wondering if you and dad would like to come up to the
farm for the afternoon one day next week before our summer vacation ends
and see where I spent the summer, see Todd again, meet granny, and let me
show you around. I never get to see you and this is my last summer before
college somewhere. This will give us a few minutes to talk about that as
well. My grades are great and I expect to be able to get a full athletic
scholarship offered this year. So what do you think...can you and dad make
it for an afternoon, say next Tuesday? Yes...I'll hold while you ask
dad...oh great then, we'll see you Tuesday. I'll send you the address in
the mail with some pictures. Thanks mom...I lo....click."

"Well, at least they will come up. That's a start. Is that you shaking or
me?"

"It's both of us. Are you afraid? I am."

"Yes, but we'll be together and frankly, I don't care whether they disown
me or accept me. I prefer they accept both of us...in fact it's an all or
nothing deal. I come out of the closet into a perfect relationship with the
perfect guy and they either accept that or walk away. I know they're rich,
but they've never showered any of it upon me. I've always felt that they
never even wanted me, like I was an inconvenience or something. I've never
told anyone that."

"We sure are a screwed up couple of guys, aren't we? At least our parents
are anyway. I think we turned out pretty good. They're the ones that need
the work."

I looked over at Jason and saw that he was in tears thinking about what he
had just said. To stumble upon the realization that you were a mistake and
probably never even wanted to begin with is quite a load to bear for
anybody. Somehow I had always visualized Jason as being this big, strong
guy up on a pedestal; able to leap tall buildings in a single bound, faster
than a locomotive and all that stuff. As I pulled his sobbing head onto my
chest I realized that my knight in shining armor was hurt to the very core
of his being. My parents were just inconsiderate, lousy druggies who had no
interest in accepting responsibility for their actions, including having me
around after they divorced. Jason had it in his mind that he was never even
wanted to begin with, and to him, the way he had been treated all his life
bore out that thought. He was sobbing so hard in my lap that I couldn't
even console him. All I could do was keep running my hand through his hair
trying to comfort him. Tears were streaming down my cheeks because my honey
was hurting so much. Finally I slid us both down and for the first time we
switched positions. I lay more on my back and let him lay on my chest,
moving around until we were both comfortable. I wrapped both my arms around
him and pulled him up tight against me until the top of his head was just
under my chin. He was getting sleepy now from crying so much and so was I,
so it didn't take long for us to fall asleep. Later that night I felt him
stirring, trying to get more comfortable. I curled up and let him slide
back into me as I raised my one arm up and over him, pulling him tight to
my body. He was still sobbing occasionally and my heart was broken that he
was hurting so much. I lifted up my head and kissed him on the cheek, told
him he was safe and I loved him and to try and get some sleep. In a few
minutes I could feel his body relax as he feel into a deep sleep; I soon
followed him, wondering how we were going to resolve this one.

The next morning, except for a quick run to the bathroom, we slept in
late. Finally I slid out of bed, slid on some shorts and made my way
quietly downstairs to talk to granny about what happened.

"I don't know how to handle this granny or what to say to him to ease his
mind. I know that this is a serious thing to him and that it's going to
have an affect upon him for a long time unless he gets some professional
help...at least that's what I think. What are you thinking?"

"I agree with you that it is a serious thing to think that your parents
never even wanted you from the beginning, but look at the obvious, they did
keep him when he was born, they did raise him for whatever reason, and they
have managed to get him through school. They're even coming in a few days
to see him, so maybe things aren't as bad as Jason thinks. Sometimes the
mind leads us in the wrong direction with only a few thoughts before we
work through all the real facts and come to a solid conclusion. Would you
like me to talk to him?"

"Would you please, to both of us so we understand together. It affects us
both and I need to understand it too at the same time, plus I want to be
there to support Jason."

By the time she talked to both of us Jason realized that maybe he had
over-reacted a little bit, but it still was very hard for him to grasp the
concept that his parents might not have wanted him to begin with. Granny
did point out that many children are born "by mistake" and are
unplanned. Just because they are born that way doesn't mean they are not
wanted. That seemed to calm him down some and he actually smiled a bit
then. We told granny that his parents were coming Tuesday afternoon for a
little while and that he was going to come out to them and have them see us
together as a couple, see the farm and all that. They wouldn't be staying
for dinner so granny needn't be worrying about that. She was very proud of
both of us for being so open and for Jason for being ready to talk to his
parents about his relationship with me and how happy he is now. He also
wanted to talk to them about college.

It seems like time sped up after that. Before we knew it Tuesday was here
and there was a car pulling up the driveway and parking in front of the
house.

"Mom, Dad, it's great to see you," Jason said as they opened the car
doors. With one big leap he flew off the top step and landed beside his
mother, giving her a big hug. She have him one in return, although I
noticed that she seemed somewhat distant, almost pushing him away. Jason
went around to hug his dad, but got a handshake instead. I felt the pain in
my heart for him, but he kept moving on.

"Come on mom and dad, meet granny, and you remember Todd."

"Nice to meet you," granny said, "you have a very special young man here
and should be very proud of him. He's considerate, kind, sincere and such a
pleasure to have around."

"Well, we've done the best we could with him given the circumstances."

"Would you like to see the horses, especially mine that I've been riding
all summer?" asked Jason.

"We don't have much time, but we can take a walk down and talk about school
and college while we walk. You mentioned something else you wanted to talk
about with your mother and I?"

"Yes, come on with us Todd, let's go since they don't have much time."

As we started down the road to the barn Jason reached out and grabbed my
hand. This motion certainly didn't go unnoticed by his mother.

"Why are you guys holding hands may I ask?"

"Well, um...this is part of the reason that I wanted to see you and dad
face to face. I've kind'a known this for a long time, but this summer I've
come to the realization that I'm gay. The rest of the story is that Todd
and I have fallen in love and plan to spend the rest of our lives together
and were hoping that you would understand and support not only me as your
son, but us as a couple."

Suddenly it was as if the sky grew darker and a storm rained down from the
heavens. Jason's father started yelling, screaming and calling us both
faggots, queers...just about every name you could think of. There was no
way that he was going to allow such a disgusting person, or persons, have
anything to do with his family. We both started running back to the porch
where granny was sitting, rocking. Jason's parents came huffing and puffing
up the stairs...

"and furthermore, if you don't change, leave this so-called friend of yours
who turned you into a queer fag and come back with us right now, you are no
longer a part of this family. You are a sick embarrassment to this family,
and have been since you were born. We always knew something was wrong with
you and no longer will support you in any way if you don't comply with my
orders...now!"

"First mom and dad, you've hardly ever recognized me as your son. Neither
of you ever have been to my school, to my games, nothing I ever did could
please you; you're always taking off traveling and leaving me alone at home
to get to school by myself and cover up for you in front of others;
finally, I can't change being gay any more than you can change being
straight or being assholes. I am what I am and you are what you are. The
life you gave me was no life. Everything I learned I did so on my own
without either of you, so don't threaten me with anything. It's about time
I stood up to the both of you and told you just the way I feel, even though
you never cared to know anything about how I felt."

"You're right, we don't care, but as long as you are under age and our
responsibility you'll do as we say. Now get in this car and Todd, we never
want to see or hear from you again. You've obviously made Jason gay by
being around him this summer and we'll have no more of it. I think the
military will straighten you out in a hurry mister. Now GET YOUR ASS IN
THIS CAR!"

Granny stopped her rocking and stood up. Suddenly all eyes focused on
her. Granny always is smiling, hospitable and cheery, except for right at
this moment. Her demeanor had changed to one that I'd never seen before and
Jason and I stepped back slightly, watching her face.

"As parents you are an embarrassment to the human population. I suspected
that this might happen based upon what the boys have been talking about,
but I had to hear it for myself. I have a hard time listening to two grown
adults talk so selfishly about their petty lives while telling their own
son that he was never even wanted to begin with. You think of him as
nothing more than another of your material possessions. As I said, I
anticipated such a response and have had my attorney's prepare these
documents giving me power of attorney over Jason and relinquishing you both
of all parental rights and responsibilities over Jason forever and
ever. Both are signed by the local probate and family court judge. All you
both need to do is sign it and leave. However, if you choose not to, the
Department of Social Services, through the work done by my private
detective, will be in contact with both of you by the end of the day to
file criminal charges for child neglect and abandonment going way back to
when he was a child and you left him alone and at home while you went off
on trips around the world. So...take your time...think about it...don't
rush now...I know how much you love him and what a hard decision this must
be."

"Where's those paper's?" You can have the brat and we're off to the
airport. You'll be sorry having this worthless waste around after a
while. We'll sign those papers to be free forever and you two fags can do
whatever you want."

"It's funny," Jason said quietly to his ex-parents, "but I hardly think
I'll miss either of you for some reason. In fact, you were never parents to
me so I can truthfully say that there's no loss on my part. In fact, now
I'm free to be really loved by people who want me. Have a nice life... and
don't ever call."

As one last got'cha, after waiting for his mother to get in he slammed the
door so hard I thought it was going to fall off it's hinges. As the car
spun out of the drive, the second one to do so, both of us turned to granny
in surprise.

"You're a bag full of surprises when you want to be. I don't think I would
ever want to cross you. Thank you so much for doing something like that for
Jason, and for me. I still can't believe you have Power of Attorney over
Jason. How did you do that? Who do you know? Where's Jason going to live
now?"

"Slow down there young man, there's more to this story. I'm not done yet
with some of these people and the way they've treated you boys all your
lives. That was just the beginning. I know school is coming right up, but
everything will be taken care of by then, I promise. Just trust me. Plus we
still have a lot to talk about now that Jason is in my care."

"Of course we trust you, and we both have a million questions. But we love
you so much for helping us both out."

Jason and I grabbed her in a big hug and kissed her many times, happy that
we were free of his parents and any threats they could impose on Jason to
tear us apart. Now we were also sort of brothers in a way as well as
lovers.

On our way back upstairs to our bedroom, we wondered what could be next. It
was fantastic what granny had done, almost superhuman, something I never
had believed she was even capable of doing. But in retrospect there was a
lot I didn't know about granny, like what she had done during her working
life, who she knew, and what she was capable of accomplishing. I guess it
did explain all those days that she had been going away for part of the
day.

"Shall we do something before dinner?" I asked Jason, "or shall we sit
around and watch the paint dry?"

"What paint?"

"Oh no, it's happening already!"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Thanks to everyone for staying with this new story. I'm enjoying writing
it.  There might be a slight slowdown, meaning it might take longer than
three or four days to pump out a chapter as I tool a header on my bike and
broke a bunch of bones, like a collarbone, ribs, ripped muscles in my neck,
etc. So typing with one hand is tedious. I'll keep at it though and go as
fast as the pain permits. There may be an operation at some point, but I
hope not.