Willy

CHAPTER 10 – A NEW BEGINNING

Thrilled that I finally had a ticket to Florida, I immediately went to the library to email Dexter.

Dexter returned the email, saying how delighted he was that we were going to be together again. He was appalled that I considered prostitution, but understood why I did it and praised our “angel” for caring for me.

Jack had decided to return to school in the fall, accepting that he would not be able to get a decent job without either graduating or earning a GED. He had encouraged me to join him, but I couldn’t see much point in it knowing I’d be leaving in November.

From time to time Jack spoke enviously about my going to a warmer place for the winter, saying he wished he could do the same but he didn’t see how that was possible. We did agree to e-mail each other frequently in the hopes that one day we might meet up again.

Once Jack returned to school in September, I spent the long days alone with nothing much to do except forage for food. I e-mailed Dexter nearly every day and Adam at least once a week. I didn’t tell Adam anything about my plans to head south but I did tell him I was doing well and had enjoyed the summer of freedom. Using a little of the money I had saved for the trip, I bought a few clothes in thrift shops.

A few days before I left, I emailed Dexter, telling him I’d arrive at about 12:15 in the afternoon of the 27th. I told him I was actually leaving Grantham on the 25th because the trip would take more than a day and a half, with three transfers en route. I suggested that I walk to his condo building and meet him outside when he came home from school. The next day, I received an email from Dexter.

On the 21st, I woke up feeling a little sick. Jack suggested that I go to the hospital, but I insisted that I was probably just tired and I certainly wasn’t sick enough to walk across town to the doctor. By the 23rd, I knew I had a fever. My nose was running and I ached all over. Still, I refused to go to the doctor. I shoplifted a small bottle of aspirin and the pills seemed to help a little.

On the 25th, when I stood up in the morning, I felt dizzy. I didn’t tell Jack because I didn’t want him to worry. We had a tearful parting when Jack left for school, knowing that we would not see each other for some time if ever again.

I knew my fever was up, so I went to the drugstore and got some more aspirin, then returned to the park and spent the middle part of the day sitting in the sun alternately shivering and sweating. By the time I walked shakily to the bus and boarded it at 4:30 I was worried but I was determined to get to Ft. Lauderdale.

The trip seemed endless. My first transfer was in Cleveland, where I had an hour layover and my second was in Cincinnati, where I had a three hour layover. Using a little of my meager funds, I bought a sandwich and a bottle of juice before realizing that I wasn’t hungry and was, in fact feeling nauseous. By the time I arrived in Atlanta I was feeling hot and shivering at the same time. I managed to make it to the restroom before I vomited, throwing up twice more before I left on the final leg of the trip. After another three hour layover the bus departed for Ft. Lauderdale.

Finally arriving at the terminal in Ft. Lauderdale, I got directions to Dexter’s condo, which, as Dexter had told me, was right across the road from a beach. I took my time walking, sitting every so often because I was feeling weak. I had never seen a Florida beach before, and thought it was beautiful. I sat on the beach in the sun and, knowing my stomach was empty, I tried to eat my sandwich and drink my juice but about halfway through I threw it all up again.

At last, about 4:00 in the afternoon, I saw a boy with a familiar blonde head of hair walking towards the condo building and looking about. Getting up from the beach, I walked unsteadily towards the road, waving and calling Dexter’s name. Just as I got to the road, I saw Dexter wave back. Then my head began spinning and I felt myself falling forward.

I awoke slowly, hearing a siren which sounded as though it was right next to my ear. I was aware of a terrible pain in my head. Slowly opening my eyes, I saw a young black man leaning over me, a worried expression on his face.

“What?” I asked, looking around, puzzled.

“Y’all are in an ambulance on the way to the hospital. Man, I wasn’t sure you was gonna wake up ag’in.”

“What happened?”

“Your friend said you passed out and hit your head on the curb. You’ve got a nasty gash back there. The needle in your arm is just for pumpin’ a little fluid into you.”

“What’s wrong with me?”

“Well now, you’ll have to ask the doctor that question. Even if I knew, I’m not allowed to answer you. I just give first aid and see that you’re as comfortable as possible ’til you get to the hospital.”

With that, and without any warning, I threw up again. Fortunately, I had eaten nothing since the last time I had vomited so not much came up, but I felt as though my stomach was going to come up my throat and out my mouth and meanwhile my head was being pounded by a pile driver.

When we arrived at the hospital, I was wheeled into the ER, transferred along with my IV onto a gurney in a cubicle, and the nurse brought warm blankets for me. She gave me a cup with some chipped ice in it, telling me to put a chip or two in my mouth to keep from feeling dry. Taking my blood pressure and my temperature she tut-tutted before saying the doctor would be there in a few minutes.

Five minutes later, a familiar face framed by blonde curls appeared around the curtain of my cubicle. “Well, Willy Evans, that was dramatic!” said Dexter, walking to my gurney and giving me a gentle kiss.

I smiled weakly and said, “I didn’t really plan our meeting to happen this way.”

The doctor came in and Dexter had to leave while I was examined. “Well, young man,” said the doctor, “you seem to be in pretty rough shape. We’ll need to do an X-ray of your head to see how much damage you did, but, in addition to that, you’re quite sick. You probably have a nasty case of the flu, although I won’t be sure until we get blood tests back. Your temperature a few minutes ago was over 105 degrees, so it’s no wonder you passed out. How long have you been feeling sick?”

“About five days.”

“And why didn’t you go to a doctor?” he asked.

“Because I was determined to get to Ft. Lauderdale.”

“From where?”

“From Grantham, New York. I came by bus.”

“And how long did that take?” I told him. “If this had gone on much longer you could have died, you know.” I was surprised. I really hadn’t thought it was that serious.

“OK,” the doctor said. “I’m ordering some medicine for your fever. I’m going to send you for an X-ray and then you’ll be admitted. You probably won’t come back here, but I’ll see you up in your room later.” With that he left.

Two orderlies wheeled my gurney down the hall to the X-ray department, where I had to wait for over an hour before being taken in. I spent the time trying to count the dots in the ceiling’s acoustical tile but had to give up when they became blurry. After the X-rays I was wheeled onto an elevator and up to a room from which I could see the beach. The orderlies transferred me and my IV from the gurney to a hospital bed and a male nurse gave me something for my aching head and my temperature.

When I was settled in bed, Dexter appeared again. We hugged each other gently but didn’t kiss because I didn’t want to give Dexter the flu. “Oh, God,” I said, “I’ve missed you so.”

“Me too,” replied Dexter. We talked a long time, although I kept dropping off in a doze. Dexter told me that I was really crazy to have tried prostitution and again I explained I thought it was the only way I would be able to make the trip.

“Well, thank God for your angel,” said Dexter.

The nurse returned, took my temperature and blood pressure again, and shook his head. As he was leaving, an orderly brought a tray with some clear soup, some juice, and some crackers. “Y’all enjoy your feast,” he joked as he left.

I wasn’t very hungry, but I tried to eat some, only to throw it right back up again as Dexter held the basin.

When visiting hours were over, Dexter gave me another hug and this time kissed me on the forehead, saying he would be back in the morning.

In the evening, the doctor returned and told me that my X-rays showed a hair-line fracture in my skull. He said that it should heal in time with no action on our part except that I needed to not move around very much for awhile. “Remember,” he said, “you’re still very weak and we don’t want you falling again.”

“Don’t worry,” I said. “I don’t feel like moving at all.” The doctor smiled. He told me that the blood test confirmed I had the flu and that he was ordering some more pain medication for me as well as more medicine to bring down my fever. Before he left he reminded me that flu was not something to fool around with.

When I awoke in the morning, I supposed that I must have fallen asleep right after the nurse had given me my medication because that was the last thing I remembered. Breakfast was not much more imaginative than supper had been, but this time I managed to keep it down. When a new nurse took my temperature I asked what it was. “104.4,” she replied.

The doctor arrived about 9:15. He said that he was pleased the temperature was down a bit. He added that once I was feeling better I was going to need to eat a lot because I was undernourished in addition to being dehydrated.

An hour later, Dexter appeared. “Why aren’t you in school?” I asked.

“Because it’s Saturday. And if it wasn’t, I would’ve skipped school to come and see you anyway. So tell me what the doctor said.”

I told him about my skull, which still throbbed despite the pain medication, and about my temperature and my eating.

Dexter shook his head. “I had no idea you were so sick. You should’ve gone to a doctor in Grantham and postponed your trip.”

“No way! I’ve waited over a year to see you. I wasn’t going to wait another day.”

“So now that you’re here, we need to find a place for you to stay. Unfortunately, I’m sure my father won’t let you stay at our place. He doesn’t even know you’re here. I’ve done a little asking around but I haven’t found anything yet.”

I nodded, but could make no suggestions unless I found some homeless kids to stay with, an idea which Dexter rejected out of hand.

Dexter stayed all day. I asked him where his mother had gone, and he replied that he had no idea where she was but he didn’t much care. We talked, watched TV, and I dozed. I managed to keep some lunch down and some supper as well. When Dexter left in the evening, he leaned over and gave me a chaste kiss on the forehead. “That’s just a promise of things to come,” he said, smiling as he left.

After the nurse gave me my nightly meds, which I suspected included a sleeping pill, I stretched out, enjoying the feeling of being in a real bed, and quickly dropped off to sleep.

In the morning, after my breakfast, Dexter arrived, entered my room, strode over to my bed, gave me a long kiss, and said, “Well, I’ve finally done it.”

“What?” I asked.

“I told Dad you were here. I told him I’d been visiting you in the hospital and I’d been emailing you ever since you left. When he exploded and said I couldn’t leave the condo again without his permission, I told him I loved you and I fully intended to live with you. Then I walked out the door. So now we’re both homeless.”

“Are you sure you should’ve done that? Being homeless isn’t an easy life, believe me.”

“I’m sure it’s not, but I have some resources. Don’t worry for now; I’ll tell you about them later. What I want to hear about is all you’ve been through since you left my loft.”

Although I had written much of what had happened in emails, I told Dexter in detail where I had gone and how I had lived. I told him about my father slapping me and throwing me out, I told about deciding to go to Grantham, I told about being raped, about being rescued by Jack, about the tainted meat, about the fountain water, about the people I had met, about the blizzard, about Evan dying, about how I had gotten the money from George, and about my trip. Nearly two hours later, Dexter was sitting on my bed with tears in his eyes.

“Good God, Willy, I don’t know how you survived!”

“I probably wouldn’t have if it hadn’t been for Jack.”

“Tell me about him.”

So I told more about how Jack had shown me where to find food and shelter, how to find extra clothes, and finally I told again about the sex we had had. “In case you’re wondering, I do love him, but only as a wonderful friend. In fact, he’s straight so neither of us had any illusions. We only did it for release and for sharing the warmth and friendship we felt. You,” I went on, “are the only one I love. You don’t hold what we did against me, do you?” I asked anxiously.

Dexter replied quickly, “No. I don’t and I won’t. I told you before that I didn’t, although I must admit I’m a little jealous of what you were doing when I couldn’t. But, we’ll soon find a place to stay and then we can do whatever we want.”

At that point a nurse arrived to give me a sponge bath, so Dexter went to the cafeteria for lunch. At first I was embarrassed to be naked in front of the nurse, but she was very professional and I realized she probably saw naked people all the time.

When Dexter returned, my lunch had arrived, so he sat down beside my bed and helped feed me as we talked.

“Dexter,” I said, “I’ve been wondering if there’s some way we could get Jack down here. He hates the Grantham winters so much I’m pretty sure he’d come if we could find a way.”

“Well, I still have the money I saved for your ticket, but how would we get it to him?”

“OK. I thought of a plan. We could write to my angel, George, and ask if we could send the money to him for Jack’s ticket.”

“Do you know his address?”

“I do. I remember it from the time I was at his house.”

“That sounds like it’d work if he’d be willing.”

Dexter went down to the gift shop for stationery, a pen, and a stamp, while I composed the letter in my mind. When he returned, I dictated it to him and told him to include our e-mail addresses. Then we both signed it before Dexter sealed the envelope and put the stamp on it. He said there was a mailbox outside the gift shop and he had noticed that the mail got picked up at 4:17, so he went back down to mail our letter.

He returned quickly and again remained in my room until the end of visiting hours, promising to return in the morning. When I asked him where he would stay, he told me he was sleeping on the beach.

The next morning, after the doctor examined me and looked over my record, he announced that my fever was nearly gone and I was almost over the flu, but that I needed to gain strength and at least twenty pounds. “Right now,” he said, “you’re so weak and unfit that you’ll catch anything that comes along. So our job is to give you lots of good food and your job is to eat it. Understood?”

I nodded and told the doctor that my head was finally feeling better. The doctor said I could sit up in a chair for awhile but not to try to unless there was somebody there to help me. I settled back to await Dexter, who arrived on the dot of 10:00 o’clock. After giving me a long kiss, which I happily returned, he asked, “Willy, would you mind if I called you ‘Will’ instead of ‘Willy’?”

“No, it’s probably time I changed to that anyway. But you do know where the name comes from, don’t you?”

Dexter laughed and said, “Oh, yes. I got the connection right away. Now I can’t wait to play with Will’s willy again.”

I asked Dexter to help me into a chair, assuring him the doctor had given permission. We talked again for the rest of the morning before I decided I needed to lie down for awhile. Again Dexter returned after lunch and stayed until the end of visiting hours.

Two days later, the doctor announced that I had gained four pounds and that, when I put on another four, I could leave if I would promise to eat well and not overdo. Although I didn’t know where I would get sufficient food, I promised.

Again promptly at 10:00 o’clock, Dexter walked into the room and gave me his usual kiss which had now progressed to tonguing. Knowing we were both very hard, he said, “Will, I can’t wait until you get out of here.”

I told him what the doctor had said, and then Dexter announced that he had some news. “I’ve rented a little two-room apartment for us. It’s nothing great and it’s not in the best part of town, but it should do until we find something better. I went back to the condo when Dad wasn’t there and got clothes, my bank account stuff and my computer.”

“How did you rent an apartment? Are you that rich?”

“Gosh no, but I have an aunt who is. I called her a few days ago and told her what had happened between me and Dad. Even though she’s his sister she’s not very fond of him, so she suggested that she stake us to food and a small apartment until we got on our feet. She lives here in Ft. Lauderdale, so sometime after you’re discharged, we’ll go visit her. You’ll love her. In fact,” he added, smiling, “I’m pretty sure she’s a lesbian.”

“Outstanding!” I laughed.

“Will, would you like me to email Jack and Adam and tell them where you are and that you’re OK?”

“I guess I’m safe enough now, so go ahead. When you email Jack tell him about our plan.” Then I gave Dexter the two email addresses.

“There’s something else we should talk about,” continued Dexter. “After the Christmas holidays, I think you should go back to school. You need to graduate or get a GED or something so you can go on to college. You’re too smart to just take minimum wage jobs.”

I had been thinking along the same lines so I agreed.

The following day, Dexter said that George had emailed, saying not to send the money, that he would do for Jack what he’d done for me in exchange for the same promise.

“I also got an email from Jack,” he said, “who is ecstatic with the idea of coming down here. So all I have to do is arrange for them to meet.”

Three days later, I was discharged. The doctor told Dexter to be sure to feed me well and to see that I took it easy until I regained my strength. My clothes had been ruined when I bled in the street, so Dexter had brought me some new ones.

Because I was still pretty weak, we took our time walking to the apartment, which was in the attic of a four-story building. We paused several times to sit on convenient benches so I could rest. It was a beautiful day, warm and sunny, with puffy little clouds in the sky, gulls flying and calling overhead, and just enough breeze off the water to be comfortable. I sat on the benches, happily inhaling the aroma of the sea and wondering why anybody ever lived anywhere else.

By the time we arrived at the building I think Dexter was beginning to worry that I might not make it up the stairs, but after resting a bit I assured him that I could. Puffing as I went up the stairs, I remarked, “Well, I should get into shape pretty quickly living up here.” I did make it, although I had to sit on the third floor landing to rest a bit before going on.

The apartment had a good-sized room with a little kitchen counter and sink on one side, a small refrigerator, a two burner stove with a small oven, a microwave, a table and two comfortable chairs, a wardrobe, a small TV, a window air conditioner and a sleep sofa, where Jack would sleep. I was happy to see there was a coffee pot as I had learned to like black coffee in the past year. The double bed took up almost all of the little bedroom, but it was fine for our needs. Off the main room there was a small bathroom, just big enough for a little sink, a toilet, and a tiny shower, the kind where you had to be careful not to drop the soap because there wasn’t room to bend over and pick it up again.

“This is wonderful!” I exclaimed. “It’s more luxury than I’ve had in over a year!”

At Dexter’s suggestion, I lay down for awhile to rest.

When I got up, Dexter fixed some lunch for us while I sat at the computer to check my emails. Both Jack and Adam had written, saying they were happy I had arrived but were worried about me being sick. They were glad to know where I was and asked me to let them know how I was doing. I replied to Adam, telling him I was weak but out of the hospital. I told him about Dexter and the apartment and said I would write again soon.

There was also a more recent email from Jack, sent just that morning, saying he had met George, who was indeed an angel, and that he had a ticket to Florida for the day after the school Christmas holiday began. He sounded very excited.

I wrote back, telling him how happy I was that we’d be seeing each other much sooner than either of us had dared to hope. I told him we’d meet him at the bus station and bring him to the apartment.

After that I wrote to George. I told him all that had happened and thanked him for helping Jack as well as me. I told him that we all called him “Our Angel,” and that we would never forget his kindness.

We had lunch and then went out to buy some more clothes for me. “Is this in our budget?” I asked.

“Yup. It’s all being paid for by my aunt.”

Returning after the shopping, I decided I needed to rest for awhile, so I lay down while Dexter took a shower and then read. When I got up I took a shower and put on some of my new clothes.

We went to a quiet little Italian restaurant nearby for dinner and I realized I hadn’t eaten in a real restaurant for over two years. On the way home we stopped off at a market to stock up with food.

Returning with the food, we put it away and then, simultaneously, turned and eyed the bedroom. Without a word, I reached over and removed Dexter’s shirt. We continued to undress one another until we were standing naked beside the bed, hugging and kissing, our rock-hard erections pressing against each other. Still not speaking, we lay down on the bed and began to run our hands gently over each others’ bodies.

An hour later we lay back, completely satisfied, cleaned ourselves off, then embraced again.

In time we slept contentedly. For the first time in years, I did not fear the future. I awoke briefly a couple of hours later. Smiling, I turned toward Dexter and lovingly put my arm around him. I kissed him gently on the lips and went back to sleep, still smiling.