Flipping the Coin
CHAPTER 11
CHANGES
Patrick must have been listening for me, because as soon as I stepped into the corridor, he came out of his room to meet me. Patrick was a bit shy, and since Dad was with me, he didn’t speak up right away.
“Hi,” I said. “How was your vacation?”
“Okay,” he replied. He glanced up at my dad and then back at me before asking quietly, “Could I talk with you in private for a minute?”
I had no idea what was coming, but I unlocked the door to my room for Dad to go in and put my stuff down. I told him I’d be right back and then went to Patrick’s room. He closed the door, and I asked, “What’s going on?”
He fumbled around for a bit, trying to find the right words to say. Finally, he said, “Keith has dropped out of school, and I wondered if it would be possible for me to move in with you.”
“I can’t think of any reason why not if you can get approval. I think I’d enjoy having you as a roommate,” I replied.
Without waiting to get permission, he picked up some of his belongings and followed me to my room, saying that he wanted to get moved before Bill showed up. When we entered my room, I said, “Dad, this is Patrick Donovan. He’s going to be my new roommate.”
Shaking Patrick’s hand, Dad said to me, “Well, I could see that you’d lost your old roommate because everything of his was gone. I hope that wasn’t because of anything you did or said.” He was smiling as he said that, and I knew he didn’t really believe it. He reached out and shook Patrick’s hand and said he’d help Patrick move. It only took us two more trips to do that and we did get him moved out before Bill arrived. Then, Patrick went to find the dorm administrator to get the permission he needed to move. He quickly received it, so his move was a done deal.
Dad was nice enough to take us both out to a late lunch before he drove home. Before he left, Dad gave me a big hug and shook hands with Patrick again.
After Dad left, we both sat on our beds without speaking for a time. I was feeling a little homesick, and I didn’t know what Patrick was feeling. Finally, he said quietly, “Thanks so much. I’m not sure I could have endured another semester of Bill without ratting him out.”
“It’s fine, and who knows who I would have wound up with if it hadn’t been for you.” Laughing I said, “It might have been another Bill.”
In the days that followed, Patrick and I got to know each other better. I have said that he was shy, which was very true. We had several classes together, and he almost never raised his hand in class. If we ate lunch in one of the university dining rooms and we were joined by others, Patrick seldom said a word.
What I didn’t tell you was that he was quite strikingly beautiful, or handsome if you prefer that word. His most noticeable feature was his wavy, auburn hair, which he wore quite long, nearly down to his collar. His eyebrows were the same color and they set off his green eyes beautifully. He had a luscious smile, and, as I observed when we were getting ready for bed at night, a fine body, not muscular, just well-proportioned and smooth. I wondered what he thought of my build, which had filled out a lot. I had no idea if he was straight or gay, and due to his shyness, I wasn’t about to ask. So, for a long time, I just admired him from a distance.
Once again, we were quickly immersed in our studies, although we took time out from time to time for a walk or for a game of chess, backgammon or cribbage. During the games, we chatted amiably, mostly about our studies and our families. I learned that he was an only child with a single mother. He didn’t tell me why she was single, and I was reluctant to ask. I told him about Mother and Father and Carl. I told him about how Father had abused me and how I was finally invited to join the family I lived with now. I told him about Mom and Dad, who were so kind to me. And I told him about Roshan, who was my age and an excellent musician studying in New York. I said nothing about our nighttime activities, but I did tell him about us being beaten up by thugs who assumed we were gay. Patrick then had the opening to ask if we were or not, but he just said that he was sorry it happened.
In April, spring fever hit us both pretty hard. We seldom cut a class, but sometimes, instead of studying in our room, we enjoyed going outside with our books and pretending to study, while we just lay in the sun on the grass and soaked up the rays.
One of the things we talked about was renting a little apartment off campus instead of living in the dorm. There were distractions in the dorm. I don’t mean that anybody was intentionally distracting, but guys played their music, sometimes too loud, and they were often loud in the hallways.
The university had an office that handled resources for students who wanted to live off campus, so we went there and looked at the available listings. We found a few that looked interesting. Of course, the ones nearest the university were out of our price range, so we started to look at ones that were farther away. I told Patrick that I really wanted to be able to bring Orion to school next fall. Pending a meeting with Orion, he agreed, so we weeded out those postings which said no pets. I didn’t expect we’d find any that said pets were allowed, but we picked out the ones that didn’t say anything.
We went back to the dorm and called a few places. When the phone was answered at the first place we called, I said, “Hi. I’m at the university with my roommate and we wondered about the apartment you have for rent.”
“Well,” a man said, “it’s a nice place with a good little kitchen and two beds in a quiet part of town.”
“That sounds interesting. Could I bring my dog?”
“Oh, no,” he said, and with that the conversation was over.
In most of the calls, people sounded friendly and open to seeing us, but when I asked about Orion, they said no. I did find two that said a dog was okay if it was well-behaved, but our deposit would be higher, in case there was damage. So, we set up appointments with those two for Saturday.
The first apartment we visited was in a small farming community on a secondary road. It was nice enough. It was furnished with two beds, a couch, a couple of chairs, and a table. At the far end of the room, there was a small kitchen. We thanked the lady very much and said we had a couple more places to see before we got back to her.
The drive to Greenfield, where the second apartment was, was a quick one from the university onto a major highway heading south for a few exits, and then another short drive into the city. As we drove to the apartment, we talked about what we had seen in the first apartment. We wondered about whether the beds being in the same room with everything else would make it difficult for one person to sleep while the other was studying. We also wondered about the secondary roads and whether they would be plowed soon enough in the mornings for us to get to the university for morning classes.
The apartment in Greenfield was in a residential section. The area looked a little run down, but it certainly wasn’t a slum. There was a small parking area beside and behind the house. The house had living quarters on the first floor for the owner. The second floor had been divided into an apartment with its own little bathroom and two individual rooms which shared a bathroom. The owner, an older, somewhat garrulous woman, took us to the apartment. It was furnished similarly to the first apartment we had seen. Here, the two beds were in a little alcove which had a curtain across it, giving more privacy. The living room was like the last apartment, but the small kitchen was set off from the living room. It had a tiny stove, a small sink, and an under-the-counter refrigerator. There was no dishwasher, but we didn’t consider that a deal-breaker.
The landlady asked us about my dog, so I showed her a picture of Orion. I told her that he was nearly 13 years old and that, after his initial housebreaking, he had never done any damage to either the carpets or the woodwork. She told me that the deposit would be an extra $300, and I said that was fine. Patrick and I had already agreed that I would pay whatever additional costs there were because of the dog.
After talking some more, we agreed to her price and signed a lease which would begin on September first. The two of us gave her checks for the deposit and the first month’s rent, said goodbye, and happily drove away. We took some time to drive through downtown Greenfield, looking for stores, restaurants, the post office, and other necessities before driving back to Amherst.
On the way back to the university, we congratulated each other on our find. Attending the university had been our first step of independence, and we were excited to try out our second step in the fall.
May came with its warmer temperatures, and we spent more and more time outdoors. My final exams were difficult, but I thought I had done well on them. I was actually pleased with my math exam!
When it was time for Patrick and me to leave for the summer, we packed up all our belongings. Dad arrived early, so he helped us both. When we finished loading our things into the cars, Patrick and I had a gentle hug before Dad and I drove off.
As we rode, Dad and I talked easily together. He said he had thought about bringing Orion so Patrick could meet him, but he decided that there wouldn’t be room in the car for Orion and all my stuff. Glancing back at the over-full backseat, I had to agree with him.
When we talked about Roshan, he told me that he and Mom had gone to New York to hear Roshan’s quartet in a concert. He said they had played very well together and seemed to be a close group of musicians who enjoyed each other. He told me that, for one piece, the quartet had been joined by a piano, played by a boy named Dylan, who was also Roshan’s accompanist when Roshan played his final cello exam that year. The two of them had given Mom and Dad a little private concert and Dad said they both played beautifully, and he and Mom both liked Dylan. Roshan had decided to stay in New York for the summer. In addition to studying more, he and Dylan hoped to take in some concerts together.
Once again at home, I was greeted ecstatically by both Orion and Mom. At dinner that evening, I told Mom all I could about Patrick, and Dad added a few words, but I realized I had more questions about him than answers. I knew he was very smart, but I also sensed a certain sadness about him. And of course, I had no idea if he were gay.
I had found a job as the nature counselor at a summer camp for boys in New Hampshire. I knew I had some studying up to do on reptiles and mammals, but I thought that most of the time I could keep ahead of 9- to14-year-old boys. The good news was that I could take Orion with me so long as he didn’t bite anybody. I told that to Orion, and he looked very serious.
I had just time enough to gather some clothes for camp before it was time for me to drive up there, so I bundled my clothes in the backseat and Orion in the front passenger seat with his safety harness on, and off we went.
The counselors had three days of orientation before the boys arrived for the summer. First, I was assigned a cabin with one other counselor. We would have twelve 14-year-olds, who were the oldest boys in the camp. The camp would move the counselors around from one cabin to another during the summer, so I eventually worked with boys from 9 to 14. Perhaps I enjoyed 11- and 12-year-olds the most. They were fun, smart enough to do a lot on their own, and mostly not yet fired up enough by hormones to distract them.
I, on the other hand, did have difficulty with my hormones. All the toilets were in one building which seemed constantly busy, so all I could do was go off into the woods at night, hoping that nobody would come by. I always wondered how many of the counselors were doing the same thing.
On the day the boys arrived, they hit the ground running and were soon engaged in the many wonderful activities of a summer camp. It was great fun and one of the good things about it was that kids could not bring iPads or computers or phones or any other technology to the camp. At first some of the boys went through withdrawal about that, but as they got more involved in the camp, they forgot about it. This way, everyone was forced to socialize and make friends.
Throughout the summer, I wrote to Roshan. Even though he wrote back, he somehow seemed distant. He told me about concerts that he and Dylan had attended, and he said New York was sweltering in the summer. I on the other hand told him how comfortable it was in New Hampshire, except that sometimes it got cold enough so we needed jackets and extra blankets on the beds.
I also wrote frequently to Patrick, who was a faithful correspondent. Towards the end of the summer, he said he had a question to ask me, but it was something he thought he had to ask in person. Of course, I was curious, and I wrote back asking for a hint, but he wouldn’t give me one.
All too soon the summer ended. I drove back home and crammed my belongings into the car, leaving the front passenger seat for Orion.
All the way to Amherst, I wondered about two things: first, what was going on with Roshan? I’d hardly seen him for what seemed like ages. And second, what did Patrick want to ask me? I discussed these questions with Orion, but he couldn’t give me any clues. So, he and I agreed that we just had to wait to see how things turned out.