Wolf was staring at me, open-mouthed. His mom was trying hard to stifle a chuckle. His dad just looked gobsmacked. Once she got herself under control, His mom said, with a smile, “Walter, I believe you have met your match and, in this round, lost.”

 

Dr. Lancaster make a harrumph and finally said, again with a sheepish grin, “Derek, I don’t know what kind of diver you are, but if you are as good at that as you are at presenting an argument, you must have a roomful of medals.”

 

“Oh, it’s not quite full yet, Dad. Anyway, Derek is too shy to display them.”

 

“Sir, how good an argument is, is judged by the outcome and I haven’t heard the results of my excellent, logical and rational argument against your rather narrow defense,” I said. I was perfectly serious.

 

“Well, I could say I’m deliberating on my decision, Derek, but that would not be truthful. Belle and I were delighted when we were finally given a child after long since giving up hope of that happening. He was a delight the day he was born and we have always been proud of him. Do I wish he wasn’t gay? Well, I know he will have struggles in life he would not have if he were straight. We would like grandchildren, one of the usual things parents think about when they learn a child is gay. Do I wish he were not gay? No, because if he were not gay, he would not be Wolf and we are proud of him, love him and want, above all, for him to be happy. Everything Wolf has ever tackled, he has done well. He has fallen in love and, to be honest, once again I think, he did well. Derek, I am proud of my son Wolf and I am delighted by his choice of a mate.” Dr. Lancaster extended his hand.

 

Before I took his hand, I asked, “Does that mean Wolf will be at OCU this fall.”

 

“Any way I could prevent that?”

 

“Yes, sir, if you forbid it. Dr. Lancaster, you don’t know how fortunate you and Wolf are having the relationship you do. Many of those of us who are gay do not.”

 

“He has my permission to be at OCU this fall, Derek. Love him and take care of him.”

 

I shook his hand and said, “I’ll love him always.” I didn’t add I’d take care of him because Wolf didn’t need someone taking care of him.

 

What I’d expected to be a long, drawn-out session in Elizabethton was behind us. However, the Drs. Lancaster did quiz me at length: about my family, especially how I ended up with two white dads, what I was planning on doing, how I ended up with the fantastic apartment and a whole lot more.

 

Wolf had called Justin on the way down. Justin had asked, “Why don’t you come by our place for coffee and dessert. Marc and I don’t get off work until after 5:00. Come by around 8:00. That will give us time to shower and have dinner. I’ll call Marc and he can tell Adam as they work together. I’ll try to talk to Michael. I know he’d love to see you, but may not get to come as he is still in hiding. Mr. Thurman, Sandy’s dad, is still working on protecting him from his family. Legally they couldn’t do anything with him since he was eighteen, but Michael -- and all of us -- fear he will be kidnapped.”

 

After a wonderful dinner -- both the food and conversation were excellent -- Wolf drove us to Marc’s place. Inside, Wolf got a hug from Clarisa, the African-American woman who had actually raised Marc. “So,” Clarisa said, as she reached for me, “you must be the man who captured our Sissy’s... Wolf’s heart.”

 

“Derek Wilson, Ms. Clarisa.“

 

“Just Clarisa, Derek.”

 

“Call you plain Clarisa and have my mama skin me alive? No, thanks!” We both laughed. “I sure hope I have captured his heart as he has mine.”

 

“Well, he really went for a looker and I hear you have good sense. Wolf, your friends are waiting for you two upstairs. You and Derek take the trays up as you go and save me a trip.”

 

Upstairs, we barely managed to set the trays down before being embraced by Marc and Justin. A few minutes later a young woman in loose overalls with a baseball cap pulled low over her eyes came up the stairs. “Michael! Good you could come!” Marc said as the ‘young woman’ took off the cap and overalls and pulled a tee shirt with falsies off over his head.

 

“Glad to be here,” he laughed, then hugged Wolf and me. “Good to see you two. How’re things going?”

 

“Michael, good to see you. Still running around in drag, I see. Things couldn’t be greater,” Wolf said, a huge grin on his face.

 

We had just greeted Michael when Adam came up the stairs. “Okay, what’s going on?” he asked.

 

We exchanged hugs and Wolf and I told them about our time in Florida after they left, about Wolf’s interviews and offers at OCU and our conversation with Wolf’s parents.

 

“Mom said Dad had met his match in Derek, but she was just being nice. Derek took Dad’s ‘I want him to have the black experience, to be where he can be who he is’ argument and turned it right back on him. Dad didn’t stand a chance.”

 

“So you will be leaving us?” Marc asked.

 

“Sorry guys, but as much as I love you, you can’t hold a candle to what I have with Derek. We have this beautiful apartment -- well, it’s Derek’s, but I’ll be sharing it with him.”

 

“Photos, Wolf, photos,” Michael said.

 

“I just happen to have a few here,” Wolf laughed and popped a CD into the computer and we narrated photos of the apartment -- our apartment.

 

“Wow! Some place, Derek,” Michael said.

 

“Yeah, it has become that thanks to Auntie.”

 

“Auntie’s house, money and your hard work,” Wolf said.

 

“So there’ll be Marc, Justin and me at ESU this fall. You doing summer school here or at OCU, Wolf?” Adam asked.

 

“I signed up for a couple courses at ESU, but if Dad will swing it, I’ll do two courses at OCU instead.” How about you, Michael? What are you up to this summer?”

 

“I wish I knew. Mr. Thurmond made arrangements for me to stay with an older couple out in the country and when I’m outside, I wear what you saw tonight. It wouldn’t bear close inspection, but I think it’s enough to get by. I am working to pay for my room and board. This is the first time I have been out other than doing chores around the farm. The guys have come out to keep me company when they can.

 

“There’s another court hearing next week and in the meantime, there is a restraining order against my parents and members of the church and anyone associated with Brother Fitzsimmons, but of course if I am kidnapped, it would be by the staff of another one of those places. I have an implant so I can be traced anywhere in the world but, still, I’d like for it all to end. Until then, I don’t know.”

 

“And Sandy?”

 

Michael beamed. “This past weekend the school opened an exhibition entitled ‘Five Young Artists.’ Sandy was one of the five and had six paintings on exhibit. The others were spending their third or fourth summer in Sarasota. He was very happy and excited especially when one a professor priced at $2,500 sold within an hour after the exhibition opened.”

 

“I’m surprised the whole state of Florida wasn’t bouncing up and down from his excitement,” Wolf said.

 

No-one had heard from John or Susan, but the Elizabethton crew agreed that was as expected. Adam said he heard from Bobbie occasionally and seemed unconcerned about that. There were more questions about Wolf’s experience at OCU, my apartment, study groups and other things -- just talk and enjoying being together. Michael left at 11:00 since he had to get up early to help with milking. “Never thought I’d be so intimate with a bovine,” he laughed. Wolf, Adam and I left a few minutes later after being admonished to keep in touch.

 

It was quickly evident the things Wolf needed -- and wanted -- to take to Norfolk wouldn’t fit in the car. We discussed a trailer from U-Haul, but Dr. Lancaster advised against it, suggesting we rent a small truck instead. The truck was much larger than we needed, but we had to take what was available.

 

By noon we had made progress packing boxes to go to Norfolk, sorting clothing to take, discards for the dump and good and serviceable things for Goodwill. Wolf sorted and I packed. When we finished with the clothing, the hard part began: deciding what personal items would go and what would stay. His mom reminded him that the room was his and he need take only what he wanted and leave the rest in place. We debated taking his computer and finally decided we could use it and taking it would save the tedious process of copying files.

 

We finally finished packing and showered and dressed in fresh clothes. We had started at 7:00 and were finished by 1:30. When we were ready to take things to the dump and Goodwill, Dr. Lancaster told us he would take care of that. The truck was packed and we were ready to leave at 3:00 after having had a leisurely lunch.

 

Wolf had no experience driving a truck and I had very little, but very little was more than none, so I drove the truck and Wolf drove the car. We took it a bit slower than we would have, especially until I got used to the truck, so it took an extra fifteen minutes to get back to my place and start unloading. That job would have taken a while had not Levi, Jeremy and Telvin helped. “Philip sent his regrets,” Jeremy said. “He’s in Richmond with you know who.” With the five of us working, we had the truck and car unloaded and Wolf’s stuff upstairs quickly, ready to be put away.

 

“So tell us, Derek, is Wolf also a neat freak or will a divorce be in the offing shortly?” Levi asked. He had made fun of my ‘a place for everything and everything in its place’ attitude as he called it.

 

“I am not a neat freak,” I retorted, “just neat.”

 

“Well, you must have trained Levi well,” Telvin said, “because he is a borderline neat freak. My mom would have loved to know his secret for getting me in shape.”

 

I left Wolf with them and took the truck back. Jeremy drove the car to pick me up after I turned in the truck. On the way back I asked Jeremy how he was enjoying OCU.

 

“Very much. I like the freedom I have and enjoy living at the house. Levi and Telvin did a splendid job selecting tenants. There is a good mixture, just no available women.”

 

“In your classes?”

 

“I have my eye on a couple, but I wanted to get settled in before I got involved in the dating scene. I enjoy the freedom, but it is going to be hard to get used to being my own disciplinarian. There is no universal study time and no-one to remind you that you need to study, but discipline will come, I’m sure.”

 

“Best thing to do is get in study groups. There will be one here for all my classes and you, of course, will be welcome. For each class I don’t have with you, start one of your own. I guess Levi will post a schedule for the library at your place.”

 

“I’m sure. So Wolf is the one?”

 

“Wolf is the one. I can’t imagine life without him. Jeremy, when I saw him for the first time, it was like I was struck by lightning. I couldn’t move; I couldn’t speak for several seconds. I felt as though my heart had stopped and I couldn’t breathe. He is a fantastic guy -- kind, gentle, loving, smart. Well, I said it, he’s fantastic and I love him so very, very much and more every day we’re alive. Yeah, he’s the one.”

 

“I’m glad,” Jeremy said as we pulled into the garage at the house.

 

Levi’s house quickly became known as Levi’s Place and unlike the previous year when my place was called various names, it became Derek’s Place. When I complained that it was Auntie’s house, she said she thought it should be called Derek’s Place and that settled that.

 

There was a session with Louis open to undergrads at my place to make sure we had the good classes for the fall. Summer school was pretty hit or miss because of the visiting professors and the professors not teaching in summer school, but since the classes were pretty relaxed, no-one had a really terrible one. We all advised Jeremy and Wolf to get Western Civ out of the way and they did. I took an anatomy class and Spanish. I wanted to keep up my Spanish which was much improved from my having spoken it while Levi was with me. Wolf was almost as good. He also spoke and, for heaven’s sake, wrote Japanese. That I could wait on forever.

 

In addition to doing well in summer school, we had some grand times on the beach, staying in training, having picnics in our backyard. After they had gotten Levi’s yard in shape, the residents put up a volleyball net and marked off a court and we played some spirited games.

 

Summer school was finally over and we had a two-week break before the fall semester started. Again, visiting relatives would take over my duties in regard to Auntie and I was free for the full two weeks. Since Wolf’s parents were only an hour away and we had spent a weekend with them at the midpoint of summer school, we decided we’d spend the two weeks with my parents. As soon as our grades were posted -- we both did well -- we, and Jeremy, headed for Alexander County.

 

My dads were home and Mom was at Grace House when we arrived. All had taken off the afternoon to make sure we didn’t arrive to an empty house. After much hugging, I introduced Wolf. “Dads, Mom, this is Wolf Lancaster, the man who owns my heart. Wolf, my mom, my dad Brad and my dad Sam.”

 

Wolf shook hands with the three and said, “It’s nice to see flesh and blood versions of people I feel I know like old friends. I hope you know your son loves you to pieces and never fails to let people know that.”

 

“Seems he’s kinda stuck on you as well, Wolf,” Brad laughed.

 

“He better be!”

 

We all were soon sitting around the kitchen table having a late lunch and bringing each other up to date with our lives.

 

It was now Wolf’s time to be on the hot seat and he handled it well. Mom was amazed that his parents had been so accepting of his being gay and asked a lot of questions about that. Brad was interested in his knowledge of martial arts. “You should see him and Jeremy going at it,” I said. “Should we ever need to draw a crowd, all we have to do is have them start. I want Sergeant Major to see him.” Wolf was blushing. “By the way, Mom, learned a real advantage of being dark. Look at Wolf blush! You have to be really close to see I’m blushing.” Wolf punched me on the arm.

 

“So you have two weeks before you have to go back,” Sam said. “What’s on the agenda?”

 

“Showing Wolf around town, time at the Center, seeing Mr. Manning, time with my mom and dads and definitely skinny-dipping.”

 

“After sitting in the car for three hours, skinny-dipping would sound good to me,” Brad said.

 

“What are we waiting for?” I asked.

 

“Maybe cleaning up the table and kitchen?” Wolf said.

 

“Go on,” Mom said. “I’ll take care of that.”

 

Wolf liked the pond and did dive off the low practice board once, but that was the extent of his diving. He was a passable swimmer but definitely not swim team material, just as I was not martial arts material. In fact, I couldn’t even dog paddle in the martial arts.

 

While resting after series of dives, I was watching Sam and Wolf play together when Brad swam up to me. “Never in a hundred years would I have picked Wolf as someone you would be attracted to,” he said. “You love him?”

 

“Maybe not as mature as my dads’ love but, yes, I love him so much it hurts at times. I know now why, when I asked you how I’d know I was in love, you’d say, ‘Oh, you’ll know it.’ Funny thing is, as much as I loved him yesterday, I love him more today.”

 

“I guess this is more your dad Sam’s area, but how about sex?”

 

“I think we’ve done all the usual except anal. We keep putting that off...”

 

“Whoa! There is no law that says, ‘You’re gay. You have to have anal sex’. Some couples never do.”

 

“We both want to at least try it. We decided we’d wait until we could talk with you and Sam, having assumed, I see now, that you two have anal sex.”

 

“I’ll affirm we have and let it go at that. We’ll be happy, of course, to talk with you when you are ready.”

 

“Speaking of sex, how’s DeAngelo doing? I have heard nothing from him since I left.”

 

“You wayward brother and his friend must have been struck by lightning in Florida. With the short time they had left in the semester after spring break, both managed to bring their grades up from Cs and Ds to Bs and Cs. Unless Angelica and Katrina are sleeping with them, they are being celibate.”

 

“Or bringing each other off while moaning ‘Angelica’ and ‘Katrina.”

 

“They can moan ‘Hail Marys’ while jerking off if it keeps their cocks under control and their grades above C level!” Brad laughed. “They should be getting here this afternoon. They did early exams and left a couple weeks ago for Joe’s dad’s place. After he and Joe’s mom split, his dad moved to Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri. Apparently he has a really nice place there.”

 

While we were talking, Sam and Wolf swam over to us. Wolf grabbed me and planted a hot kiss on my lips which I returned. Soon we were in an intense make-out session standing in the pond. At first, Sam and Brad just looked at us and grinned but then they, too, started making out.

 

Breaking a kiss, Brad said, “How about we move this to our rooms?” We took his suggestion.

 

Wolf and I had played around enough in the pond to assure quick release when we reached our room. Later, after our second climax -- each -- I lay beside Wolf and said, “I asked Brad about fucking....”

 

“Derek, I don’t like to hear what they do or what we may do called fucking and you know it.”

 

“Bet you end up like one of those porn movie stars shouting ‘Fuck me, Derek. Fuck me,’” I laughed.

 

Wolf got one of the Lancaster trademarked sheepish grins on his face and said, “Likely.”

 

“Anyway, Brad said he and Sam would talk with us. He also said some gay men do not have anal sex.”

 

“Misled by porn again, I guess.”

 

“Yeah.”

 

The exercise in the pond and the bed was enough to tire us a bit and we had been up since 6:00 getting ready, checking grades and all, so it was no surprise that we pretty quickly drifted off to sleep.