The Knights of the Round Table

Part III

School inevitably began the Wednesday after Labor Day. As a sophomore I felt much more comfortable than I had the year before. I watched the freshmen as they flowed around me searching for their rooms, and I marveled at how young they looked and sounded. Had I been like that just a year ago?

I had actually grown some over the summer. My arms and legs had begun to fill out and, more importantly as far as I was concerned, my cock had grown a bit and I had a few pubes.

That year, with the assistant principal’s permission, I was taking an extra biology class in addition to the required physics class, so I was very busy and didn’t have a lot of time to hang out with friends after school. But I did still occasionally join The Knights at our table in the coffee shop. Somehow, I always wound up sitting next to Liam.

One day Howie asked, “So, Liam, why aren’t you coming to Dylan’s anymore? Did we wear you out?”

Embarrassed at first, Liam blushed a bit, but he finally told Howie and Dylan what he’d told me, that he’d decided to save sex for when it meant more. “I miss it sometimes,” he said, “but I think I’ve made the right decision. After all, we’ll have years, decades even, to enjoy sex with a partner. Why rush it?”

“Okay, so what are you doing with your time?” asked Dylan.

“Well, I’m still taking an extra math class and that keeps me pretty busy.”

“Hmm,” Dylan said, nodding, “but my spies tell me that you’ve been at Wally’s with Teddy but without us. Why is that? Are you mad at us for some reason?”

This time Liam truly blushed bright crimson. He almost matched my hair. He stumbled around for an answer before mumbling, “No, of course I’m not mad at you. I was just trying to get to know Teddy better.”

“Uh-huh,” Howie grinned, “are you talking physically?”

“No,” I said, trying to take some of the pressure off of Liam, “we’re just enjoying each other’s company.”

I decided to change subjects quickly. “Sometimes I wish I had brothers like Liam does. He knows they’re always there for him, and I have no siblings in my family. Kids often say to me that it must be easy to be an only child because you get all the parental attention and money. I’ve bought stuff I didn’t even need and then learned I didn’t really want it. We’re not rich, but we have plenty. But what I don’t have is siblings, and I often think I’m missing out on something. So I guess you could say that you guys are the only brothers I have, and while I feel close to you, I feel closest to Liam, maybe because he’s nearest my age.”

They were very quiet for a bit. Then Howie said, “You know, all those times I’ve gotten pissed off at my brothers and sisters? I guess I’ve never thought what it would be like without them. Most of the time we’re really close.”

“Well, as you guys know,” Dylan said, “I’m an only child and I live with just my father. I think if I could have my wish, I’d have a mother.”

Howie, Liam, and I were silent, taking that in. Liam said, quietly, “Dylan, you said one time that you’d tell us about your mother. Can you do that now?”

Dylan looked at us all and then gazed at the table. “Yeah, I guess this is as good a time as any.”

He sighed. “My mother left when I was about five. I barely remember her. She and Dad had a huge argument. I’ve no idea what it was about. I just remember I was sitting on the living room floor crying and crying. Mom walked out of the house that night. Dad assured me that when she got over being angry, she’d come home. She never did. Dad tried to find her but couldn’t. We have no idea where she is or what happened to her.”

With tears in his eyes he said, “Even though I don’t remember her very well, I miss her. We’re still trying to find her. If her family knows where she is, they aren’t telling us. She closed out her bank account and her credit cards and got a new phone number. It’s pretty clear she wanted to disappear.” By then tears were running down his face.

Very quietly, Liam thanked him for telling us. Howie reached over and held Dylan’s hand. His story seemed to draw us all closer, and I felt a little guilty for not spending more time with The Knights. In the weeks that followed, I made it a point to be with them at least two days a week. Of course, usually our conversations were a lot lighter than that one.

What Liam and I didn’t tell the others was that when The Knights weren’t meeting, he was spending nearly every afternoon at my house. He brought his laptop so he could work on his school assignments while I worked on mine. Often, when one of my parents came home, they talked with him a little. He was always polite and interested in them and what they did. That was so like him.

As Liam and I had agreed, we took our relationship very slowly. At first, other than the occasional hugging and kissing session, we didn’t go any farther. But as we sat working side by side on my kitchen table, his hand often found his way to mine, and we worked with joined hands. It was a close and intimate time, even though nothing sexual was happening.

When Thanksgiving came, since my parents were both working, Liam invited me to his family dinner. What a wonderful time it was! At one point I turned to Liam and asked, “Do you realize how lucky you are to be in this family?”

There was dead silence. I’d meant for only Liam to hear me. Everyone was looking down at their plates. After a long pause, Liam’s mom said, “Teddy, I think he does. I think we all do. I want you to know that you’re welcome here anytime, and you can become an honorary member of our family if you want.”

I saw everyone nodding and smiling. I was in awe. I’d have brothers, even if they weren’t birth brothers. It was that day when I really felt I belonged with a family.

From then on, when my parents were busy, I always found a welcome for me at the O’Connor family table. Sad to say, I almost looked forward to the times when neither of my parents would be home for supper.

********

The week after Thanksgiving, as Liam and I were doing our homework, Liam asked, “Ted, what are you thinking about for Christmas?”

That was the first time anyone called me Ted instead of Teddy. I liked it. But I didn’t really know how to answer his question. I knew that my father didn’t have to work that Christmas. I was planning to join him at the hospital during the day on Christmas Eve. Of course, we never knew whether my mother would have to work or not.

“Well, Christmas isn’t really a big day for us,” I answered, and then went on to tell him what we usually did.

“Would you consider coming to our house for Christmas and maybe for Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve? You could sleep over and we’d all celebrate together.”

I was thrilled that he’d invited me. I was pretty sure he’d checked with his family first. I told him I’d love to join them, but I’d have to ask my parents before I could accept. I wondered what Christmas with his family was like. Go to Mass? I didn’t really know what that would be like as I’d never been to a Catholic service and seldom been to any other service, but I thought it would be interesting.

That night, as it happened, both my parents were home, so I told them about Liam’s invitation. I told them I thought it might be fun to celebrate Christmas with other kids. They agreed, although Mother said she’d like me home by supper time that day. I asked her if Liam could join us and sleep over. She agreed.

When I told Liam I could accept, he beamed, hugged me and exclaimed, “That’s great!” Then I told him he was invited to my house for Christmas night and a sleepover. He was delighted. I asked him what I should do about presents. Since my family wasn’t big on gifts, I had no idea how it worked at Liam’s house. He told me they didn’t buy presents for everyone. The boys drew names and only bought a present for that brother. He told me he’d be happy to include me in the drawing. He said they all got gifts for their parents, but they weren’t big, expensive ones. They looked for things that would have meaning for them and their mom and dad.

A week before Christmas, I was present at the O’Connors’ home for the drawing. Mr. O’Connor wrote names on seven slips of paper and put them in his hat. I asked what would happen if one of us drew our own name. He said that had happened once, and all the boys had put the slips back in the hat for a second drawing.

I drew Tommy’s name. I had no idea who drew mine.

The next day I consulted Liam about Tommy and his parents, and for the next few days I thought about what to get. When I’d finally decided, I went to town and made my little purchases. I also bought something for Liam, which I thought I could give him Christmas Eve or maybe at my house on Christmas Day.

Following supper with my parents on Christmas Eve, I walked to the O’Connors’ house with my backpack containing the gifts and a few extra clothes.

I was nervous when we all walked to the Midnight Mass. I had little idea of what to expect and hoped I wouldn’t embarrass myself or my adoptive family. When I told Liam I was nervous, he said, “Don’t be. Fortunately now the service is in English so you can follow it. And watch me. When I stand, stand with me; when I kneel, kneel with me. When we go up to receive the Eucharist, you can kneel and cross your hands on your chest. That’s the signal for the priest to give you a blessing instead of the wafer. The only thing you shouldn’t do is take the wafer, because you have to be a confirmed Catholic to do that.”

When we entered the church, I was immediately engulfed in the wonderful scents of pine and candles and incense. We found a pew which would hold all of us, and we knelt while they prayed. Sitting back on our pew, Liam whispered, “I never thought of this. You’re not allergic to incense, are you?”

I grinned and whispered back, “I don’t think I’ve ever smelled incense before. I guess we’ll find out.”

The service was beautiful, and I had no reaction to the incense. I was able to follow the service in the missal which Liam handed me. I loved the hymns we sang, beautiful carols which I knew and could join in on. When it came time to go forward, I nervously followed Liam, knelt, and crossed my hands on my chest. The priest laid his hands, palms down, on my head, and said a short blessing. When the others rose, we all filed back to our pew.

At the end of the service, we shook hands with the priest on the way out. He held mine for a moment, saying, “Thank you for coming. Is this your first Catholic service?” I nodded shyly. “Well, I hope we’ll see more of you in the future.” Then he let go of my hand and I joined the others as we walked home.

Liam reminded me that last Christmas Eve it had been snowing when they came out of the church, and I was a little sad that it wasn’t snowing as we walked, but only a little sad. Mostly I was happy, feeling like I really belonged with this clan.

I didn’t know how the sleeping arrangements would go. I knew that Liam shared a room with Tommy. That night, Liam insisted on sleeping on the floor while I used his bed. I really didn’t want him to do that, but he persevered, and I finally gave in.

I was awakened with cries of “Merry Christmas,” as Liam pulled me out of bed. I was surprised that I had slept soundly and had not heard when Liam and Tommy got up. We all trooped downstairs in our pajamas, Liam whispering that he thought this was the only day of the year when all the boys wore pajamas. We both giggled.

In the living room, there were nine stockings hanging along the mantlepiece. According to their custom, the parents took their stockings first, and then Mikey, as the boys worked their way down by age. Liam was the last of the brothers, but he told me to come with him. There were two stockings left hanging and he pointed to one, saying, “That’s yours.”

I hadn’t really expected a stocking, but I took it, sat on the floor beside Liam, and began emptying it. It was full of fun little things, a tiny diary, a few pencils, some candy, a rolled-up pair of Christmas socks, and, in the bottom, an orange. Liam told me that the orange in the toe of the sock was an old tradition. If there wasn’t an orange there would be a piece of coal. Even I knew what that meant, that the recipient had been bad. I asked him if he’d ever gotten one. He laughed and said no, but Mikey had once. He added, “There was also an orange under the coal, so it was only a joke.”

After the stockings, we all trooped back upstairs, put away our stocking gifts, got dressed, and went downstairs for breakfast. Liam explained that their Christmas breakfasts weren’t big ones because they had to save room for dinner, which we’d have around one o’clock in the afternoon.

Following breakfast, we settled in the living room to wait for Mam while she put the turkeys in the oven. She and Mr. O’Connor had insisted that I call them Mam and Da and said those were the only names they answered to.

Liam told me about their custom of the youngest passing out the presents and invited me to join him. Even though I was younger than him by nearly a year, he always treated me as an equal. We passed out the gifts while everyone waited to open theirs until all the gifts under the tree had been given out.

I watched Tommy as he opened his from me and he smiled when he saw a couple of new CDs which had just come out. ‘Thanks,” he said, looking at me. “I haven’t heard either of these yet.”

Liam looked at me and told me to open my gift. When I looked at the tag, I saw it was from him. I removed the paper and found a small box. Opening it, I saw a ring inside. Mouth agape, I took it from the box and looked at it.

“It’s a friendship ring,” Liam said. Then he confided quietly, “I didn’t draw your name, but I told the others I’d trade the name I’d drawn for yours. Fortunately, Mikey had drawn you and agreed to trade. My father said he didn’t know if that was really legal, but then he laughed and said to go ahead.”

Inside, the ring was inscribed, “Ted/Liam,” and the date. Liam gently took my hand and put the ring on my finger, finding that it fit well. I hugged him, hard, and to my surprise, he kissed me, right in front of everyone. There was a little silence and then the whole family clapped and whistled.

I went rapidly from very embarrassed to very happy, and I hugged and kissed him back to more clapping.

“They all knew about this, didn’t they?” I asked, smiling at everyone.

“Yeah,” he answered. “Welcome to the family. I stood up and went around the room, hugging each of them. The tears in my eyes were happy ones.

When I got back to Liam I asked, “Does this mean we’re boyfriends?”

“Yup,” he answered, and kissed me again.

Like the Thanksgiving dinner, the Christmas one was a merry affair. Some of the family wore their new Christmas presents, mostly shirts or sweaters. Liam was wearing a new cardigan sweater from Mam. He told me he liked cardigans best because he didn’t need to put them on over his head. There were constant jokes flying around, some of them topical which I didn’t get. Liam explained them to me so I could join in on the laughter.

After we’d eaten all we could, Mam and Da went out for their Christmas walk, while we boys spread out on the living room floor, groaned, and dozed.

********

Liam and I left the O’Connors’ around 4:00 and walked to my house. When we arrived, we learned that Mother didn’t have to work, and we’d all have dinner together. I think inwardly both Liam and I groaned because we were still full, but we smiled before going up to my room, where we left our backpacks. Eyeing my double bed, Liam grinned, saying, “Nobody will have to sleep on the floor tonight.”

I’d thought about the possibilities for the night when I’d asked if he could sleep over. I had no idea what would happen beyond, perhaps, a bit of hugging and kissing, but I was hopeful that perhaps we’d progress a little in our lovemaking. By then I was quite certain I loved Liam, and I believed that he loved me. We would see later.

Dinner was turkey with all the fixings. I ate all I could and so did Liam. Fortunately, we hadn’t indulged in dessert at his house, so we managed to gulp down a little apple pie and ice cream.

My parents wanted to hear about Christmas at the O’Connors’, so we filled them in. When we’d told them all we could, Mother said she was glad I’d asked to go and enjoy a big family holiday. She was almost apologetic, but Liam and I both assured her that she didn’t need to be, that we were happy being with them and, as Liam said, “Slowly debriefing from the day.”

Father and Mother gave me presents and I gave them theirs. They apologized that they didn’t have anything for Liam.

“That’s okay,” I said. “I have something for, him.” I went up to my room and brought back a wrapped package.

Taking it, Liam looked questioningly at me. “Open it,” I said, as I stood beside him.

He carefully removed the wrapping paper and looked at the shoe box. He smiled. “This doesn’t feel heavy enough for shoes,” he said.

“I’m reusing the box,” I explained.

He removed the box top exposing a lot of crumpled up newspaper. Tossing the paper aside, he eventually found something and took out a small box. He grinned at me and opened it, removed the ring inside and slid it on his finger.

“You gave him a ring? What does it mean?” my father asked.

“It’s a friendship ring, like mine,” I explained, showing them the one on my finger. Then, feeling very daring, I said, “They mean that we’re now boyfriends.” And I bent to Liam, hugged him, and kissed him.

Silence. Mother looked at Father; Father looked at Mother. Then, simultaneously, the broke into big grins and hugged us both.

When we were all sitting again, I told my parents more about Liam than they’d known. I told them how kind he’d been to me when the Triumvirate found me with Ryan. I told them how he’d helped me my first day of school as a freshman. I told them about how we usually did our homework together and how we’d begun to grow closer. Finally I said, looking at Liam, “I know I’m young, but I think I love you.”

That was the first time I’d said the word to him. Very seriously, he kissed me again and said, “Yeah, we’re young, and we have no idea where this will take us, but I love you too, Ted.”

Liam and I helped clear the table and put away the leftovers. Then we insisted on doing the dishes. Most of them went into the dishwasher of course, but there were some cooking dishes that needed to be scrubbed and put away. As we worked, we joked and giggled. I think it was a reaction to how serious the day had been for us and how relieved we were that everyone had accepted us. When we finished, we watched a Christmas show on TV and then excused ourselves and went to bed.

********

Well, we went up to my bedroom, but we didn’t have sleep was on our minds.

Liam used the bathroom first while I got naked. He returned to the bedroom, looked at me, and grinned. When I emerged from the bathroom, there was Liam, naked and as hard as I was. I held his hand and guided him to my bed. That in itself was sexy and exciting.

He lay face up on the bed and I lay beside him. We remained there for a bit, enjoying the feeling of our sides touching and anticipating what might come. At last he turned on his side, facing me. He began to touch me very lightly on my chest, moving his hand around at random. When he touched one of my nipples I shivered, so he began to massage it until it was hard. Then he moved to the other nipple, and I shivered again.

Leaning over me, he turned my head towards him and kissed me, gently and slowly. I responded, returning his warm, wet, sweet kisses. When I felt his tongue, my mouth just naturally opened up.

Liam eventually broke the kiss and began to lick my ear, sticking his tongue in and wiggling it around. From there he licked and kissed my neck before moving on to my chest and then my stomach.

When he got down to my crotch, he took my cock gently in his hand, saying, “I so love your willy.”

I turned on my side towards him and took his cock in my hand. “And I love yours,” I said. It was both similar to and different from Ryan’s. It wasn’t as big, but I could feel the silky skin and the familiar pulsing of the veins in his shaft. I lay there, just looking at him and admiring him as we began to move our hands slowly up and down on each other’s shafts, massaging them.

It wasn’t long before I came, shooting a rope of cum onto his stomach and the bed. I kept moving my hand on him until he too came and shot onto me.

I turned, lying on my back as Liam hovered over me, licking the cum off my belly and then licking up to my mouth, where he again kissed me very softly.

Running his fingers over my chest, he asked, “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” I answered with a breathy little gasp.

“Remember,” Liam whispered in my ear, “we don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do or think you’re not ready for.”

“Thank you. You’re so totally understanding,” I responded, “but I knew that the first time we met. You were the one who helped me with my fear and just gently talked to me. I’ll never forget that. You’re the one who invited me to The Triumvirate, but you never insisted on sex.”

Liam smiled and kissed me again. Then we lay back and tried to go to sleep.

My heart was beating way too fast for sleep. We both tossed and turned for over an hour before Liam finally said, “This isn’t working. Maybe this will help.”

I felt him move in the dark, and then I felt his lips and his tongue on my mouth. I responded and then pulled back and began to lick him as he had done for me earlier. I began with his ears and worked my way down to his chest, giving special attention to his nipples. When I got to his privates, I licked the insides of his thighs, enjoying his boy scent. I didn’t allow my tongue to touch his privates, well, maybe his balls a little, just by accident (because that was for later, perhaps much later). I took his hard cock in my hand and began to masturbate him again.

I felt his hand on my cock, just slowly moving up and down. In no time, we both moaned and came, squirting our cum. We moaned again, then licked the cum off each other. I’d never tasted his before. It had a nice little tang to it which I really loved.

Without saying a word, we turned onto our other sides and were soon asleep.

We awoke again during the night and repeated our lovemaking.

When we awoke in the morning, we were both hard. We brought each other off and then showered together. It was a bit tight, but that meant we were constantly touching each other. I didn’t hear any complaints.

********

On the first Saturday in January, I rode with Father into Boston and to the hospital. I’d done that enough now that I knew a lot of the patients. I remained rather shy, and it took me time to form a relationship with a new patient, but they always seemed to enjoy my visits.

Father had begun telling me more about the treatments and the many different kinds of cancers, saying that because of the different types, there probably would never be a single cure for all of them.

“I’m afraid that when you become a researcher, there will still be plenty we don’t know about cancer. There will still be more than enough for you to do.”

As we talked about the various cancers and their treatments, I soaked up the information. Each time, when we returned home, I wrote in my journal about all I’d learned. That was the first of many, many journals I kept; I’ve never stopped doing so.

During the return trip home that first Saturday, Father asked, “Teddy, I need to ask you about what you did with Ryan. I’m not sure we got the whole story before.”

I froze and said nothing.

“I assume you had sex with Ryan. Did it include anal sex?”

Ouch! I really didn’t want to answer that question, but I quietly mumbled, “Yeah.”

“Unprotected?”

“Yeah.”

“And can I assume that Liam also had sex with Ryan?”

“Yeah.”

He looked at me and smiled a little. “I’m not trying to embarrass you, Teddy, but I ask because I think you both need to get tested for STDs, including HIV.”

Shoot. Why didn’t I think of that? I knew better than to have unprotected sex with someone like Ryan.

I nodded. He gave me the name of a clinic near home where we could get tested.

When I talked to Liam, he said it was probably a good idea, so on the next Saturday, he borrowed his mother’s car and we drove to the clinic. The whole battery of tests didn’t take long, and we were told we’d get the results online in a few days.

The test results came back negative across the board for both of us, and when I told Father, he thanked me for doing it.

Meanwhile, The Knights had met at our usual table in the coffee shop. As we talked, Dylan suddenly stopped and asked to see my hand.

“What’s this?” he asked, pointing to the ring.

“It’s a friendship ring. Liam gave it to me.”

Howie checked Liam’s hand and asked, “And did you give this to Liam?”

I nodded.

“So what do they mean?” asked Dylan.

I was uncomfortable and didn’t answer, but Liam did. “They mean that we’re boyfriends…with benefits.”

“No wonder you stopped coming to Dylan’s house,” said Howie. He smiled, looked at us both, and said, “Congratulations.”

“This calls for hugs,” Dylan added, and soon he and Howie were both hugging us warmly.

When we weren’t at the coffee shop, Liam and I were usually at my house. We continued to work on homework, but each afternoon before we began, we stripped and made love on my bed. We spent a lot of time exploring each other’s bodies. I think I licked nearly every square inch of Liam at one time or another. We both found places on our partners where they especially liked to be touched.

For some reason, I really loved Liam’s feet. I thought they were very sexy. I don’t know why, and in those days, I thought it was weird, but I liked it anyway. The first time I sucked his toes, he moaned and said softly, “Oh, yes. Oh, yes. Keep doing that.” So that became a regular part of our lovemaking. When he did it to me, I didn’t respond as he had, so he tried other things instead.

One afternoon he asked, “Should we worry about stains on your sheets?”

“No. I almost always do my laundry myself and sometimes I do it for my parents as well. There’s no problem.”

He smiled and returned to hugging and kissing me.

On an afternoon in early February, as we engaged in our usual loving, Liam kissed and licked me down to my crotch. Then, for the first time, he held my cock and began to lick it.

“Are you okay with this?” he asked.

“Oh, yeah,” I groaned.

He continued to lick as I grew harder and harder. He took my cock in his mouth and moved up and down, using his lips and his tongue to stimulate me. I could feel the tension rising in my groin, and it wasn’t long before I came, shooting gobs of cum into his mouth.

When he pulled off and swallowed, he looked at me questioningly. “Okay?”

“Yeah. That was so much more exciting than jerking me off. Can I do it for you?”

He nodded and I got to work, licking, and then sucking until he too came.

When I pulled off, swallowed, and lay back, we remained side by side as we slowly came down off our high.

After that, oral sex became our new default activity.

********

Winter turned into early spring. Trees were just beginning to bud out and there was a fresh, new, yellow-green color on the branches. I think it might have been my favorite time of year, with everything coming alive.

On an afternoon in late April, while Liam and I lay in bed anticipating the pleasure to come, I asked hesitantly, “Liam, would you fuck me?”

“Are you sure you’re ready for that?”

“Yeah, I think I am.”

“Do you have any lube?”

“I just happen to.” I reached over to the drawer in my bedside table and pulled out a tube. Liam laughed quietly and held it up.

When we were both fully aroused, he told me to lie on my back and he began to move between my butt cheeks, eventually working his tongue on my sacred portal. I lay in my favorite position, with my legs resting on his shoulders, where I could watch his face as he moved.

After putting lube on his fingers, he slowly inserted one in my ass and moved inside me. Then he used multiple fingers before lubing his cock and placing it gently at my opening. As he pushed it in slowly, I grew increasingly excited, and when he touched my prostate, I moaned and nearly came right then. But I didn’t. He moved slowly and lovingly inside me, and I don’t think I’d ever been so turned on.

He took hold of my cock and began to pump it as he moved. It seemed no time at all before we both came. I groaned and Liam cried, “Aaaaaaah,” as he spewed his cum into my ass.

Later, as we lay side by side, I said, “God, Liam, I love you so much.”

“And I love you too.”

I thought back to when Ryan had said the same thing to me. I knew this was different. When Ryan had fucked me, he was a little rough, especially after the first time. Liam was gentle and loving, and I knew he always would be.

“Do you want me to fuck you?” I asked at last.

“No, unless you really want to. I think I like it just the way we did it.” I agreed. In the months ahead, it was always him doing me, not the other way around.

Spring moved towards summer. The trees greened, the flowers blossomed, and I think I was the happiest I had ever been.

********

When it grew warm enough, we opened the pool and resumed our playful fun. Often, when Dylan and Howie left, Liam stayed behind and we went to my bedroom. I was certain that my parents knew what we were doing, but we all maintained the fiction that they didn’t.

That summer was absolutely blissful. And when school resumed in the fall, Liam and I knew that we weren’t going to let anything separate us. He had decided to study physical therapy. One of the schools he applied to was Tufts, in Boston, which had a good pre-med program. Liam promised that he’d come home every weekend during my senior year in high school and that the next year we would room together at Tufts.

Yes, there was the little matter of college applications and acceptances, but we firmly believed that all would go as we planned.

In my senior year, when Liam was a freshman at Tufts, he did come home nearly every weekend. Although there were people around at both our houses, we managed to find private time alone and in bed.

Liam talked a lot about his courses, which were those required for freshmen, but more than that, he filled me in on what life was like at Tufts. The more he said, the more eager I was to join him there.

In April I received a thick envelope from Tufts. I had been accepted! I immediately emailed Liam, who responded with congratulations.

Liam was able to come to my high school graduation. After the ceremony he gave me a big hug and kissed me in front of everybody!

We had another wonderful summer. The Knights reassembled at the coffee shop and swam in my pool. Liam and I spent many hours on my bed, experimenting and exploring each other.

In September, my parents drove me to Tufts, where Liam was already ensconced in our room.

The years flew by at Tufts and beyond.

We had many happy years together, until death claimed Liam when he was 75. I lost the love of my life, but I took solace in the fact that life had been very good to us.