Date: Sat, 2 Jul 2011 08:44:56 -0400
From: Alan A. <eastcoastasulax@gmail.com>
Subject: Jake Grimke Chapter 11

NOTE:  This is the fictional coming of age story of Jake Grimke as he
matures through high school, into college and eventually into
adulthood in the Baltimore, Maryland region.  It contains and embraces
accurate representations of life in Baltimore and its suburbs;
Maryland's traditional sport of lacrosse and the career path a
firefighter might follow in his profession.  All of the characters in
this story are fictional and resemblance to any one person whether
dead or alive is purely coincidental.  If you liked this installment,
please send me some feed back; I got a rough idea where this is headed
but I am always open to some suggestions. Needless to say, if you are
offended by handsome athletic young men growing up gay and the
obstacles they will encounter as well their personal triumphs, you
should use the BACK button on your browser forthwith.

Several hours after Lt. John Grimke, Jr. left for his Christmas Eve
shift at Truck Company 19 in the northwest corner of Baltimore, the
elder John Grimke and his wife Margaret arrived at their son's house
in the Highland Heights neighborhood of Anne Arundel County Maryland;
having driven up from Richmond, Virginia just after that city's
morning rush hour tapered off.   Jake was racking his brain on what to
get his new friend Will for a Christmas present just as the older
Grimkes arrived and began to unload their small SUV freshly branded
with a new University of Virginia decal in the corner of its rear
window, a symbol that their son had once attended and new enough to
show that they were equally excited that Jake would be attending UVa
in the fall.

Emma greeted her in-laws with open arms, taking a short break from the
kitchen preparations.  Jake helped them carry the luggage to the guest
room on the second floor after having cleaned up the bathroom they
would be sharing for the next 24 hours before Jake's grandparents
continued their journey on to Pennsylvania to visit his father's
sister outside of Philadelphia.  Downstairs, Margaret Grimke added a
few more gifts to the growing mass of presents under the Grimke tree
located in the family room.  After an early lunch, John Grimke Senior,
found Jake and said, "Hey, how about a road trip up to see your dad,
you can drive since you know how to get there."

Jake just about always jumped at the chance to visit his dad at work,
proud that his father worked at one of the busiest truck companies in
the Baltimore Fire Department and equally as proud to know that his
dad would be earning a promotion to captain in the not too distant
future.  And with John Senior being a retired firefighter from the
city of Richmond, it was natural for him to want to see his own son on
the job, even if it wasn't in Richmond.  John Senior handed over the
keys to Jake and after asking the ladies if there were any last minute
items needed, they left, promising to be back before Baltimore's rush
hour started.

The conversation on the trip was pretty predictable, grandfather
asking grandson all about how school was going and was he excited
about attending the University of Virginia.  And Jake was very happy
to talk about all those things and  how he and Evan formed a band and
now they volunteered at Children's Medical Center.

The ride and traffic into Baltimore were easy enough that they arrived
at the firehouse just as the tiller Seagrave was being expertly backed
into the apparatus bay with John Junior standing in the middle of Park
Heights Avenue to stop the traffic long enough to complete the
maneuver.  As soon as John walked in the big open doors, Jake turned
slowly into the alley way that led to the firehouse's rear parking lot
and the youngest and oldest Grimkes walked in looking for a
middle-aged Grimke.

"Hey Pop," John Jr. said with open arms and a hug for his father, "we
knew you would probably pop in; I told the guys this morning at
breakfast that you can't keep an old fire horse from the fire house
too long!"

"Son, good to see you, looks like everything is going good here," his
father replied.

John Jr. went around the crew introducing each member and their riding
position to his father and Jake gave them all a firm handshake since
they were his father's extended family outside of the Grimke family
tree.  Curt Sullivan, the long-time driver in the company remarked,
"Damn Jake, how big are you now?  Is Severn ready to take on Dulaney
this spring?"

Jake knew where the conversation was headed, Sullivan's son played
attack for Dulaney High School in one of the suburbs north of
Baltimore, answering "6'-1", about 184 pounds, sir.  We're not too
worried about Dulaney, we got to focus on beating Port Deposit in the
state finals this season after they came from behind last year to beat
us."

"Well, you better watch out for those Dulaney guys, I heard they have
a pretty good kid there named, named, name escapes me now....oh, yeah,
that Sullivan boy, " Curt mused, proud that his son had been featured
in the past spring's Baltimore Sun  All-Metro High School lacrosse
special, on the same pages that featured Jake and Evan from Severn.

"How good's his face-off?" Jake asked.

"Not bad, not the best but he can hold his own," Curt said.

"Well, maybe he'll be facing off against me then," Jake replied,
watching his own father and his father's father walk around looking at
the equipment.  Before long, there were some neighborhood kids in the
firehouse with their parents, begging to look at the fire trucks as
well as the train garden that had been meticulously assembled weeks
before and now set up behind the pumper which was miraculously
re-activated after the double fatal fire 24 hours before.

The bliss of the afternoon was interrupted by the sound of the house
bells ringing and the speakers announcing, "Local alarm, Engine
Company 24 and Truck Company 19 respond for the investigation of an
automatic fire alarm.  2322 Ford Road, near Park Heights Avenue, those
units switchover to Channel 2."

Jake gave his dad a quick hug and John Senior watched the nine firemen
scramble to get on their rigs, reminiscing about his bygone days in
the fire service as the units turned out, mechanical sirens winding up
over the throaty roar of the Detroit Diesel engines punctuated with a
few blasts from the air horns.   Jake knew the drill and made sure the
neighborhood kids and parents were gone, that the big stove in the
kitchen was turned off and that the big bay doors were closed before
they started the drive home.

"Miss it don't you Grandpa?" Jake asked,trying to steer the
conversation away from the current events in his own life.

"Sure do, but don't miss some of the other stuff that comes with the
job; and listening to your dad, it sounds like the job is getting
harder and harder to do.  He told me about that fatal fire the other
day. It's sad when cities have to play roulette with firehouses on the
wheel, close a company and just hope the fire doesn't land on that
number that day," the retired fireman explained from is point of view,
"but, let's hear about you, what's new in your life Jake?"

Jake cringed a little but sucked it up as he drove his grandfather's
SUV. "Not sure if Dad told you but he and I had a talk about a year
ago," Jake started, "I told him I thought I was gay and over the last
year or so, I pretty much confirmed it to myself that I am; so, don't
be expecting any great grand-children soon on my account."

John had told his father about the talk they had but neither let on to
Jake that it had occurred.  The grandfather listened without judgement
and concluded with, "listen, I don't know much about all this homo
stuff; but, don't let it define you.  It's gonna be a part of you,
just like lacrosse is or that you are a smart kid.  Don't let anyone
of those things or anything else define you Jake.  Just be the best of
all those parts.  You'll see there's a time and a place for all of it
and it will all come together for you."

Continuing on, John told Jake, "Margaret and I always knew you were a
great kid, and continue to be.  And if this gay thing is bugging, for
God's sake, get somebody to help you; it's not the end of the world as
you know it."

Jake nodded, "I know.  Mom and Dad have been pretty cool about it and
well, I found out just the other night that most of the people at
school are cool with it too.  Just got to take it a day or two at a
time until I know what to expect out of all this, if that makes any
sense."

"You've always had a good head on your shoulders Jake," John Senior
added, "and we have always supported your mother and father so you can
count us to support you too."

"Thanks Grandpa, it's reassuring to hear from one more person each day
that I still got friends and family," Jake said before detouring the
conversation, "mind if we stop at the mall for a minute, I want to get
a last minute present."

"Sure," John said double checking his watch, "I think we got a little
extra time since your Dad and all had to run the bells call."

Jake piloted the car into the crazy shopping center traffic and parked
at a seldom used mall entrance, and; with his early sixty plus year
old grand dad keeping up with the lacrosse player, they walked apace
into Annapolis Mall  headed for the Brooks Brothers store.  Jake
quickly got his bearings in the store and found the men's accessories
and a beautiful cashmere muffler and took it to a young college-aged
man working the register.

"For your father?" the clerk asked, not sure if the man with Jake was
his father or some other paternal figure.

"No, for a friend," Jake replied with a bit of a smile, adding, "a
special friend."

"Lucky friend," the clerk said the smile, putting a gift box and other
wrapping material in the bag with the scarf while Jake completed the
transaction with his bank card.

Less than an hour later, Jake and his grandfather were home and about
3 hours later, John Grimke, Jr. was home from his day shift on Truck
19.  They ate an early ham supper and then all headed early to St.
Michael's for the 11:00 pm Christmas Eve service.  Of course, Evan and
Annie Harmes sat with all the Grimkes except for Emma who had organ
playing duties for the high holy.

The service ended with "Hark, The Herald Angels Sing" for the
traditional Anglican recessional and was followed by a movement from
Bach's Christmas Oratorio for the postlude as the rest of the
parishioners streamed for the solid red wood doors in the back of the
nave.  Standing in the back of the church waiting to shake the
rector's hand was Carson Whitelaw, deputy chief of the Special
Operations Command within the Baltimore City Fire Department.
Whitelaw, a large athletic black man waited with his wife, Charlotte,
just ahead of the Grimke clan who were straggling as they waited for
Emma to close up the organ and gather her belongings after slipping
out of the traditional robe she wore while playing.

"John Grimke," Carson said, "how's one of my favorite recruits doing
on this Christmas Eve, how's the rest of the family?"

"We're good, chief," John replied, "how's Nathan doing in law school?"

"It's been a little bit of a shock at first for him but he's starting
to get it right now," Whitelaw said before continuing, "I got a
proposition for you."

Charlotte Whitelaw sensing where the conversation was headed quickly
interjected, "for the love of God, can't you two just leave the fire
department alone for one night?"

"It's okay, dear, I just want to plant a bug in John's ear and give
him something to think about as his name moves up towards the top of
that captain's list," Carson said to his wife.

Whitelaw turned to Grimke, "Lon Whitmer on Rescue 1's got a bad
ticker, had some sort of arrhythmia when they did his last stress test
at the clinic a couple weeks ago.  He's going to work light duty in
Special Ops for me until he gets his twenty five or gets
medically-retired.  Anyway, I want you to think about coming back to
Rescue 1 as the boss, that's all."

John Grimke thought about a response, he wanted to go back to Rescue 1
a while back when there was a lieutenant's vacancy but got into a good
gig when he was transferred to Truck 19.  "Let me think about it for a
day or so and talk it over with my family.  I know it's going to mean
some more off-duty training and meetings and stuff but I got it pretty
good where I am at now."

"John, we can skip a few names on that list, reach down and get you
for that job," Carson embellished his offer, "you got an impressive
resume, street cred, and prior time on that company; just say yes and
boom, you are Captain Grimke."

John Senior and Jake smiled as the accolades were heaped on John
Junior by the deputy chief. "Chief...Carson, I promise I'll call you
with my decision before we go on days off."

"Fair enough John, fair enough," Whitehall concluded, "and Jake, this
is going to be a big year for you at Severn, going to be starting this
spring?"

"You bet sir, me and Evan on the front line," Jake said with a nod to
Evan who was standing behind him.

With a final nod, Chief Whitehall bid a happy Christmas to all the
Grimkes as he strode out with his wife clutching his arm in the
tailored suit he wore rather than a uniform.  Emma slipped out a side
door and met the rest of her family waiting to pile into the SUV that
John's parents drove up from Richmond for the ride back to  Anne
Arundel County.

John Grimke's work schedule dictated when the rest of the family would
gather by the tree to open the presents.  Most of the time, they were
opened on Christmas morning but an occasional workday falling on
Christmas Day necessitated opening them after church on Christmas Eve.
 All of the Grimkes were tired and headed directly to bed right after
they got home from church.

Jake did too, right after he finished wrapping the beautiful cashmere
muffler for Will.  He had remember hearing Will say he lost his scarf
and thought this would make a nice replacement.  Soon after, Jake fell
asleep, in just a pair of soft nylon mesh lacrosse shorts without a
care in the world; just a recurring vision of Jose Valdez in his
Christmas dream.

Down the street from the Grimke's on Lakenheath Way lived Naomi
Lindsay, a widow who tediously kept her prized flower gardens up very
neatly, year after year.  Jake cut the lawn for her and sometimes
together, with his father, occasionally helped her with yard tasks she
couldn't complete on her own.  Not long after the death of her
husband, her Parkinson's disease worsened to the point where she was
no longer able to drive.  She eventually gave away her late husband's
car to one of her children and the garage sat empty save for her
gardening equipment and trash cans.

Jake's parents had persuaded the widow Lindsay to help them hide
Jake's big Christmas present.  John and Emma, under the ruse that the
old Saab had seemed not be running right, had taken Emma's car to
their favorite mechanic for the necessary work.  Weeks before, they
took the car to him and ordered all the parts necessary for the
mechanical and body work:  Overhaul the turbo and brakes, new canvas
for the roof, new leather for the seats, new wheels and tires, new
paint and of course, a new stereo.  It wasn't exactly going to be a
"Pimp My Ride" moment but Jake really did love the quirky car and John
and Emma had agreed to purchase themselves a new car and hand this one
down to Jake.

All the work had been completed and the mechanic had dropped off the
car to the Lindsay house while all the Grimkes were cooking or in
Baltimore.  Emma contacted Naomi and she quickly stashed the car in
the neighbor's garage and brought the keys home to hide them from
Jake.  Just before 6:00 am, John slid out of bed, quietly dressed and
walked five houses down to the Lindsay's house, let himself into the
unlocked garage and started up the Saab and pulled it up their own
long drive way a few minutes later.  With the mission accomplished,
John started to make a pot of coffee for everybody that would be
waking up soon to open their presents.