Date: Fri, 15 Aug 2008 14:43:33 +0000
From: Jeffrey Fletcher <jeffyrks@hotmail.com>
Subject: Jonathan 5

This is a work of fiction and in no way draws on the lives of any specific
person or persons.  If there is any similarity to any real persons or
events it is entirely coincidental.

 This work is copyrighted by the author and may not be reproduced in any
form without the specific written permission of the author. It is assigned
to the Nifty Archives under the terms of their submission agreement but it
may not be copied or archived on any other site without the written
permission of the author.

My thanks to John and Nicholas who have read this through for any details
that may need explanation for transatlantic, or non UK readers, and made
several corrections.  Any remaining errors, grammatical, spelling
historical or whatever are entirely my fault.

If you wish to comment on the story then do contact me on
Jeffyrks@hotmail.com.  I aim to reply to all messages.


Jonathan 5.


Resume:- Jonathan and his friend Robert [Bob] have discovered they both
have the same sexual orientation, and are enjoying expressing it whenever
they can.  They have left school, and are awaiting the results of the
public examinations.  Both are expecting to go up to University in the
autumn.  But first Jonathan has his eighteenth birthday to celebrate.

1st - 11th August 2008

There was a great deal of debate as to how and when Jonathan's eighteenth
birthday should be celebrated.  The date was the 6th of August, but this
was a Wednesday, not the best day for a gathering of all the family.  His
father wanted it to be on the following Saturday, but Jonathan was vocal in
his complaint about missing a cricket match.  The other possibility of
celebrating on the Sunday was absolutely ruled out by his parents on
religious grounds, not only for inappropriateness on the Lord's Day, but
also because they intended to get in outside caterers, and this would cause
unnecessary labour on a Sunday.  Eventually Jonathan agreed to forgo one
cricket match.

There had also been a lengthy debate about how it should be celebrated.  It
had been decided that the celebration should be in two parts.  He would
hold one celebration with his friends on the Friday evening, 8th August;
and another with the family on the following evening.  The Friday evening
would be with music, food and restricted alcohol.  The following evening
would be a sit down meal.

Both events were to take place in a large open-sided marquee (tent) in the
Pridham's garden on the outskirts of Luton.  The neighbours were warned
about the considerable noise for the Friday evening, but they were
guaranteed the music would stop at 11.00.  As a number of the neighbours
had young people of Jonathan's age who would be attending, and the Pridhams
were respected members of that community, there were no problems on that
score.

The Friday evening was a noisy, joyful occasion.  Many of his young friends
from school and church were there.  The school friends were uninhibited in
dancing and drinking, right from the start.  They got away with as much as
they could.  Some of the more restrained Church friends were slightly
open-mouthed to begin with, but soon they too were joining in the fun.

When it was over, Robert hung behind, as ordered by Jonathan.

"I'm not going to have a celebration of my birthday without a special
celebration with you."

"I suppose you're wanting my cock up your arse, yet again?"

"How did you guess?"

They had left their bicycles where they could be removed without being
spotted.  They did enough assisting in the clearing up to be noticed, and
win approval, and then unobtrusively disappeared. Their going was not
noticed.

They cycled as fast as they could to their private place in the woods
between the disused railway track, and the much used main line.  Though
there was little light they made their way to their usual place.  Few words
needed to be said.  After a few kisses, and gropings, Jonathan produced the
tube of KY and prepared himself.  Robert greased his own cock.  Very soon,
with no problem, Robert's cock effortlessly made its familiar way into
Jonathan.

"Happy birthday, Jon.  This is my special present for you.  A special
private gift, my love juice, specially saved to be shot deep inside you."

He had possibly been saving it for too long.  He had intended it to be a
drawn out fuck, yet it only lasted ten minutes.  But it was a copious load
that was shot into Jonathan.  While his cock was still inside and beginning
to soften, Robert's hand brought Jonathan to his climax.

"Thanks Bob.  That was the best birthday present of them all."  He turned
to face Robert.  Their trousers were round their ankles, and their T-shirts
pulled up as high as possible so their cocks were able to press together,
and they kissed and whispered together.

"We mustn't be too long, or I'll be missed.  I hope I've not got your cum
smeared too much on my clothes."

"I doubt if it'll matter. We've been eating and drinking at the party.  I
don't think our Mums will be getting the stains on our clothes analysed."

They made their way through the undergrowth, and collected their bicycles
from the bushes where they had hidden them.  Robert went straight back to
his home.  Jonathan was able to get back in time to help with some of the
finishing touches of clearing up.  He had not been missed.  It was nearly
two o'clock when he made his way off to bed.

The celebration the following evening was a totally different affair.  The
marquee (tent) had a large table along one side, with individual round
tables seating eight people elsewhere.  The food was laid out on the long
table.  There were flowers, and everything looked fine.

This was an occasion for family and family friends.  Jonathan's immediate
family were all there.  Three grandparents were there, his mother Lois'
parents, and Gramps Pridham, and his uncle Stephen, and some aunts and
uncles from his mother's family, as well as cousins.  His other Pridham
uncle, Kevin, was in New Zealand, and there was no way Michael Pridham
would have allowed that brother to contaminate the proceedings by his
presence.  Jonathan had been baptised as a baby in the Church of England,
so he had two godfathers and a godmother.  They were there with their
spouses, and some of their children, several of whom were older or close in
age to Jonathan.  Then there were that miscellaneous collection of family
friends who had initially been called 'aunt' or 'uncle'.

Jonathan welcomed his guests.  He shook hands with the uncles and kissed
the aunts.  When Gramps arrived the two of them stood looking at each other
for a fleeting moment.  Shaking hands was far too formal, and a kiss now
reckoned too juvenile.  Malcolm broke the deadlock, and grabbed Jonathan,
giving him a hug.

"This is a very proud moment for me, Jon.  I am so glad to be here to see
you reach your eighteenth.  My only regret is that Janet didn't live to see
it."

"I know, Gramps.  But you're here.  And I hope you going to be around to
see many more.  I'm looking forward to being with you when you celebrate
your hundredth."

"Hold on a moment, I've still got a number of years to go to my eightieth."

They laughed.

Pastor Willis was asked to give thanks, which he did at some length.

Then there was the food.  Michael had not spared over this celebration, it
was a lavish spread.

Then came the toasts.  Michael stood up, and banged the handle of a knife
on a table.  "First, I would like to say how good it is to see you all
here.  It is not often families get together, and that this is such a
joyful occasion makes it all the better."

"It is a proud moment for me to be able to propose the health of my son and
heir.  I am proud of Jonathan.  He has done well at school; at least we
have good reason to believe so, though we await the results of his final
set of examinations.  He has done well at sport, on the Rugby field,
playing for his school, and especially this summer on the cricket field.  I
learnt not to make him rash promises when he went and scored his maiden
century for the school against my own side, the Old Boys XI.  In fact it
was for me an expensive lesson."

There was laughter as everyone knew about the rash promise he had made
before that match.

"Not that he has been perfect.  I did have to reprimand him once for
climbing out of his bedroom window, and down over the garage roof."

"One reprimand after many such exits," muttered Jonathan in a voice most
could hear. This was greeted with further laughter.

Michael went on to tell a few other amusing anecdotes about Jonathan's
earlier years.

"But today we not only look back, mostly we must look forward.  Our son
Jonathan now stands at the threshold of adulthood.  On Wednesday he became
of age.  We all look forward to seeing his life develop and his growing in
maturity and stature.  Lois and I have trained him in the way he should go,
in the fear and admonition of the Lord.  We have endeavoured to train him
in the way that he should go by our teaching and example.  But chiefly we
both hope and pray that he will continue to walk in the right paths growing
in the love and service of the Lord.  So I ask you to be upstanding, as I
propose a toast, to Jonathan and his future."

All the guests stood and raised their glasses, "To Jonathan and his
future."

Jonathan stood up, with a slight blush of embarrassment upon his cheeks.
"I want to begin by thanking you all for coming.  Many of you have known me
from day one.  I want to thank you all for your love and kindnesses over
the last eighteen years.  I have found the generosity of your birthday
gifts to me to be a humbling and heart warming experience.  Thank you all
again.  But chiefly I want to thank my immediate family.  To thank Abigail
and Thomas who have had to put up with me as an older brother.  We have had
our ups and downs."

Two young voices interrupted, "You can say that again."

"But most of all I want to say thank you to Mum and Dad.  Thank you, Dad,
for your words just now.  The first child is the sort of prototype, the
test model on which lessons are learnt.  I want to thank them for bringing
me up in a happy and secure home.  I have always known that I have been
loved, and the psychologists say that is more important than anything that
money can buy.  Not that we have ever gone short when it come to the
essentials and many of the good things of life.  Also I want to thank them
for giving me freedom.  When a business has been in the family for a number
of generations, and Pridham's was founded by my great great grandfather,
there is quite a lot of pressure on the eldest son of the eldest son to go
into the business.  But from early on Dad has made absolutely clear that it
should be my choice what I did with my life.  I was not to feel under any
moral compulsion and family obligation.  So thank you again Mum and Dad.
Thank you for everything."

His face now crimson, he sat down.  There was a good round of applause.  He
looked across at Gramps, who gave him a wink and a surreptitious thumbs up.
That was the sign of approval that Jonathan most valued.

***

During that summer holiday Jonathan continued to work at one of the
family's shops.  He was paid by the number of hours he worked, so he was
always free to go off and play cricket, or meet up with his friend Robert.

He had volunteered to help on some work that needed doing to the cricket
pavilion out in Whitgest.  He cycled over there, as both family cars were
being used by parents.  He enjoyed cycling.  He had perfected a route that
avoided most of the busy roads, even if at times it involved cycling down
bumpy, and in wet weather muddy, tracks and footpaths.  So on the afternoon
of Monday, the 11th of August Jonathan made his way over to Whitgest.  His
work on the pavilion only took a couple of hours, so he decided to call in
on his grandfather while he was there.

Gramps offered him a variety of drinks, and he chose a beer, which he drank
from the can.

"Make sure you're not stopped for being drunk in charge of a bicycle."

"Gramps, one can won't make me legless."

They stood in the kitchen for a while, before going to sit outside on the
patio.  They talked of cricket.  Jonathan was just about to leave when
Simon appeared.  Simon was his grandfather's friend.  They had met before
at his Grandmother's funeral earlier in the year, so no introductions were
necessary.  He too was handed a can of beer.  The three of them discussed
cricket, local, county and national.  Little did Jonathan even begin to
guess the full nature of the friendship between his grandfather and Simon.
After about half an hour Simon left.

Gramps offered Jonathan a meal, but he said that he would need to clear it
with his mother first.  A quick phone call soon settled that, so Jonathan
stayed.

It was just before eight o'clock when Jonathan left Whitgest.  The journey
took him just over half an hour.  It was a beautiful evening, and the
Hertfordshire countryside looked unusually bright and clean for the time of
year, because of the heavy rains of the month before.  He made his usual
way along tracks and minor roads where ever possible.  He arrived home and
placed his bicycle in the garage, and went in through the back door.

"Hi folks, I'm back," he called as he went through the kitchen.

His mother and father met him in the hall.

"Will you come in here, Jonathan, we need to have a word," said Michael.

This seemed strangely ominous to Jonathan.  First, his father rarely called
him fully by his name, unless it was serious, and 'having a word' used to
mean a sound telling off in his younger days.  His father led the way into
the dining room.  He and Lois sat on one side of the dining room table, and
signified that Jonathan should sit on the other side.

"Mr. Fox called round earlier this evening."

"What for?" asked Jonathan.

"Have you been looking at any DVDs round at Bob's?"

"Yes, you know I have. Bob's got all the Star Wars and Harry Potter ones so
far out, and, plus many others, you know I have!"

"Any very different DVDs?"

Jonathan's heart missed a beat.  "What do you mean?"

"Any DVDs of a sexual nature?"

Jonathan presumed that something had been discovered.  He also presumed
that Bob had been interrogated and probably divulged the fact that they had
seen the offending DVD together.  He nodded.

"Did you watch the whole of it?"

He gave another more reluctant nod.

"Mr Fox discovered a pornographic DVD in their player.  It was not the
usual porn, but far, far worse, it showed sexual acts between two men."

A thought flitted across Jonathan's mind as to whether Mr. Fox had watched
the whole of the offending DVD as it contained far more explicit material
than just sex between two men.

"I presume the DVD belongs to Robert?"

Jonathan nodded.

"Why didn't you stop watching it, or get up and leave?"

Jonathan remained silent.

"You know that watching any sexual material is wrong, but to watch the
whole of a DVD, - of what, ninety minutes? - showing the abominable sin of
sex between two men!"

There was a further silence.

"Have you watched it more than once?"

Jonathan nodded.

"Why, Jonathan?"  After another long silence, his father asked again,
"Why?"

"Please answer your father," interjected Lois.

"Yes, Dad, I've watched it more than once," replied Jonathan with a strong
note of resignation in his voice.

"Let me ask you a further question, have you ever done anything of a
homosexual nature?"

"Yes, dad," whispered Jonathan.

"The sort of things seen on the DVD?"

Jonathan nodded.

"With Robert Fox?"

"Yes, Dad."

"Oh, no," muttered Lois.

"I don't know how to word the next question in the presence of your mother.
All the way?"

Jonathan nodded.

"How could you?  Why?"

Slowly and softly Jonathan answered.  "Because I like it."

"How can you like it?  It is an abomination in the sight of the Lord.  It's
unnatural."

"I don't think it's unnatural for me."

"Of course, it's unnatural.  God made human kind to have sex, a man with a
woman in the context of a loving marriage.  The last thing he wants is two
young men doing what is an abomination in his sight.  For how long have you
been doing this evil thing with Robert?"

"Since February."

"How often?"

"Whenever we could."  Now that it was out in the open a new feeling was
coming to the fore within Jonathan.  He was beginning to feel more defiant.
He determined to be open with the truth whatever the cost.  There was
nothing to be gained by trying to conceal what had taken place between him
and Robert.

"Have you done anything with any other male?"

"No, Dad."

"I suppose that's something to be thankful for," murmured Lois.

"If you had been doing similar things with a girl, a girl from school or
wherever, that would have been understandable.  But thinking about it,
you've never brought any girl friends as such home to the house.  Friends
who are girls may be, but not girl friends as such."

"I don't feel that way about girls.  I'm not attracted to them."

"But you must be.  All boys are attracted to girls, I know I was when I was
your age."  Michael glanced briefly towards Lois, remembering the strains
and stresses of their courting days.

"You are like the majority, Dad.  You may have been attracted to girls.
But I'm not.  I'm in a minority.  I never have been attracted to girls in
that way."

"Have you thought about what other people think if they find out you are
that way?  What will Abigail and Thomas think?  What will Gramps think?"

That remark hurt Jonathan.  What would his grandfather think?

"For how long have you been attracted to boys, and to Robert Fox in
particular?"

"For about two or three years, I suppose."

"Why did nothing happen for those two or three years?"

"Because we didn't know we both felt the same way towards each other."

"Who made the first move?"

"Dad, I want to be honest and open with you.  I've told as much as possible
about Robert.  I don't want to blab about him any further.  It's not fair
on him."

"Fair enough.  Are you sorry for what has happened?  Are you repentant
about your grievous sin?"

Jonathan thought for a moment.  It would be easy to say 'yes', but that was
the easy way out, and the dishonest way out.  His essential honesty was
forcing him to acknowledge his feelings towards Robert.  He knew that not
saying he was repentant would lead to no end of trouble.  "No, Dad.  It
meant a lot to me."

Michael turned towards his wife.

There were tears in her eyes.  "What are we going to do with him?"

"What are the choices open to us?"  Michael sat thinking.  "I don't think
you should go up to University in October, Jonathan."

Jonathan gasped with shock at this suggestion.  "But, Dad!"

"Pastor Willis was saying at the Men's Meeting a few months ago that our
Universities are now seething with homosexual vice.  In all of them there
are societies, called Gay Societies, that openly push and encourage gay
sex, and many young people are led astray and are caught up in this web of
evil.  He also said that there were organisations that could heal young men
of their homosexuality.  Unfortunately, the most efficient and with the
best record of healing are in the States, and are very expensive."

"We need to get Jon cured, whatever the cost.  We must put an end to this,"
said Lois.

"I don't want to be cured."

"Don't you want to marry, and have children?"

"I know I don't want to marry.  The very idea of sex with a girl is
distasteful to me."

"Distasteful?" said Michael and Lois in unison, their voices raised.

"How can what God has planned and given be distasteful?  Your mother and I
always find it something beautiful and fulfilling."

"It just is."  Later Jonathan realised that this was the one and only time
either of his parents had mentioned their sex life to him.  The use of the
present tense came as something as a surprise, that the older generation
actually made love.  "I believe that my relationship with Bob has been
beautiful and fulfilling.  I feel a more fulfilled person as the result of
what we've done together."

"How can you say that?  You know nothing.  You are still a youth," said
Michael with a mounting note of anger in his voice.

"Dad, I only know what is true for me.  I've always liked Bob.  We've known
each other, as you know, since our early school days.  I know there have
been times when we've fallen out, when we've fought.  But Bob has always
been my best friend.  During the Winter half term we discovered that we
were both wanting sex with each other."

"You were lusting after each other!"

"No Dad.  We had both been drawn sexually to each other.  But both of us
were afraid of saying anything, and certainly of doing anything.  Then we
found out the extent of what we were feeling for each other.  That
discovery, and our expression of it has been for me a great personal
revelation.  I think I now know more of who I am."

"You talk about your feelings, and your discovery, you even dare to use the
word beauty.  Isn't that what the Apostle Paul talks about when he speaks
of the 'deceitfulness of sin'?"  You're been led astray.  You're deviating
from the paths of righteousness."  Michael was speaking with mounting
anger, and his voice was beginning to rise.

"Dad, can't you understand I love Bob."

Michael jumped to his feet, and glared down at Jonathan.  "What can you
know about love, you're a mere boy?"

As his father was speaking Jonathan too stood up, lent on his hands across
the table.  "But Dad I lo......"

He got no further.  Before Jonathan could even see it was coming, his
father's fist landed on his left eye.  The force of the blow knocked him
backwards, he stumbled into his chair and fell onto the floor.

Lois too jumped to her feet.  She pulled at Michael's shoulders, and made
him sit down.  "Jonathan," she said, "I think you'd best go to your room."

Jonathan got to his feet, and quickly left the room.

Michael collapsed onto his chair, put his head in his arms on the table,
and wept, as the full realisation of what he had done swept over him.  He
had rarely smacked the children, and had certainly not laid any hand on
Jonathan for at least ten years. He had lost his temper.  "I hit him.  I
hit him," he wailed.

Lois sat alongside, and put her arm across her husband's shoulders.

That sat there for several minutes, as Michael got control of himself.

"What are going to do?"

"Yes, what are we?"

"I know I shouldn't have hit him.  But for him to talk of loving in a
sexual way young Bob!  Hasn't he even heard anything about Platonic love?"

"I think there are a lot of things involved that we do not understand."

"You can say that again."

"But what are we to do now?"

There was again a lengthy silence.

"I think we should find out more about getting him cured."

"He won't like that.  He's set on University this autumn."

"He's got to see sense, be made to see sense.  What future is there for him
in life as a gay man?"

"We have had a gay man as a cabinet Minister.  Ian MacKellan is gay.  There
is even a gay bishop in the States."

"Yes, a Cabinet Minister in a Labour Government; the bishop, in the
equivalent of the Church of England, that's not saying much, and well,
actors are actors." said Michael contemptuously.

"Yes, dear."  Lois drew a deep breath.  She now thought Michael might be
prepared to turn to the more immediate issue.  "What do we do about
Jonathan now?"

"I did wrong, punching him like that.  I lost my temper, something I've
never really done with any of the children."  He sat thinking.  "What do
you think I should do?"

"You're his father.  The Lord made you the master of this household, you
must do what you think you should do."

"I suppose I need to go up and apologise."

"Yes, dear."

Michael stood up.  Slowly he made his way to the door, across the hall way
and upstairs.  The door to Jonathan's room was closed.  He knocked on it.
There was no answer.  He pushed at it and it did not move.  He knocked
again, a little louder this time.  There was still no answer.  He opened
the door and looked in. The room was empty.

***

Jeff at jeffyrks@hotmail.com