Chapter Twenty-three
For the most part, I'll be summarizing the rest of Elliott and Seth's affair, because they started acting like newlyweds and wouldn't let us in on hardly anything.
Even if we were fairly sure that Seth was more than just 60% gay by Sunday night. I mean, it could have been nothing more than Seth wanting to experience as much sex as he could before we were on our way again, and asking Elliott if he'd rather spend the night in his room instead of sleeping on that couch almost certainly had everything to do with that, but still, if it was only about sex, then you'd figure that either Seth or Elliott would have been giving us the details about it.
`Course, we only saw Elliott for a few minutes the next morning, and that was only because he wanted to change into some clean clothes, and then he was off with Seth to a nearby mall. Just the two of them, even though Seth asked if the rest of us wanted to go.
Only Elliott had already mentioned that he'd ask, but just for the sake of appearances, and we were to politely decline. Then he added anxiously, “You'll do that for me, right?”
So we did. Even if I still had to ask how it had gone the night before.
“It was a trip,” he replied. He was even worse than Carlie had been after his first time with Earl.
I bet they didn't go to a mall, though. Or, if they did, I'd still be willing to bet that they didn't spend much time there.
But whatever, they were back by early that afternoon, and then we played more Canasta.
And we also got a status report on Elliott's car. They couldn't find a u-bolt for it in Bakersfield, but they'd finally found one in LA, and it would be shipped by Fed Ex the next day. So they'd be getting it sometime Tuesday afternoon, but they wouldn't be starting on putting it in until Wednesday morning.
Only by then Elliott was agreeing that he shouldn't be thinking about any more long trips. … Even if we could camp out at places not too far away, starting with nearby Breckenridge Mountain the next afternoon, because Ian would drive us up to the top and then leave us there until sometime Thursday. All six of us.
But there were still no more details about their love life until we were camped out atop Breckenridge Mountain, when Elliott said he hoped he wasn't putting the rest of us out, but he'd decided to stay in Bakersfield. One way or another, he was.
So at least we knew that he was seriously smitten, but when Seth added that, one way or another, he was going to talk his dad into letting Elliott move in with them... until he could get his feet back on the ground... and if he was going to the community college, it probably wouldn't be until after he'd finished, because at best he'd only be able to work part time... which was just as well, because in Bakersfield, most full-time jobs were hard to come by right then...
Well, the rest of us were figuring that we'd really done good. We'd gotten them together. So I was still thinking that we deserved a few more details for our efforts. I mean, seriously!
But I needn't have worried, because Seth's pup tent wasn't exactly soundproof. At around four o'clock the first night we were there, we couldn't help but hear Seth's yelping. “Oh, oh, oh, OH!!” And so on.
And so on some more.
Then once we were up and about the next day, Elliott said he and Seth wouldn't be hiking with us that day. He didn't say why, but I'm guessing Seth was a bit indisposed. From what I've heard, it's only a temporary thing...
But we still needed to be adult about it, so we didn't say anything until we were off with Carlie and Earl.
Then we asked if they'd heard what we'd heard, and they most definitely had, so it was good that we were at a primitive camp site, because we were the only ones up there.
But... while we were happy for them, it was also a problem.
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The biggest problem was Stephan. If in wanting to do the right thing, it came to Ian getting in touch with John back in Oxmar, Carlie and Earl were okay. Yes, he'd given his permission to Carlie and yes, Earl was his best friend. And he'd also vouch for me, but, it was entirely possible... probable even, that in discussing me, some untruths would be coming to light. “Stephan's his half-brother and their mom's unemployed? And all the time I was under the impression that she... Hey, wait a minute. Did you just now say...”
No. That would never do, and needless to say, we wanted Ian talking to my mom even less.
So obviously, Stephan and I needed to soon be on our way towards Seattle again, but...
Aside from his sister's, we had no place to stay. My mom was planning on flying out to Seattle for about a week sometime in the very near future so she could line up a house and all, but once that was taken care of, she'd be back in Orlando until around the end of the month, so for about three more weeks...
“Why don't you try calling her now?” suggested Carlie. “For all you know, she might already be there, so she might have a place lined up, and-”
Then Stephan interrupted with, “And then, once she's back in Orlando, you could call her again and say that we've just had some major car trouble, so we're... I mean you're going on to Seattle, and I bet she'd let you stay in the new house and you could ask if it's okay for me to visit, you know?”
“Well, maybe,” I said, “but we were planning on Carlie and Earl being with us at least until we're in Seattle... and to be honest, if we still have to camp out for awhile longer, it would help if they were with us because they know what they're doing, and we don't... always...”
Or, in other words, while the idea of it being just me and Stephan for a couple of weeks sounded awfully appealing, I still knew how much Carlie and Earl had been looking forward to the trip, and that included Seattle.
And besides, once my mom had a house lined up, if she'd let me stay there on my own, it would be easier to ask about letting Carlie and Earl stay for a few days than it would be for Stephan. In fact, I wouldn't even have to ask about him until later, but we'd be in one room and Carlie and Earl in another, so...
“That sounds good,” Stephan said. “I've been looking at the map again, and it looks like there are at least five state parks with camping close to Seattle. We could get to them on a city bus or on a ferry-”
“I want to go to one you have to take a ferry to,” interrupted Earl, “ferries are cool! … And I haven't ever been on one before.”
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So we planned some more and decided oh what the hell, we'd all take a Greyhound. Stephan had made “our” mom poor, so we needed to act accordingly. And besides, I'd never been on a bus for close to 24 hours. I'd almost not ever been on so much as a city bus, so I certainly hadn't been on one for that long, but still, it would help me appreciate what Stephan had endured when he was on one all the way from New York to Dickinson.
So with that much settled, I gathered my courage and called my mom. It was easy to get out from where we were, but...
When I discovered that she was in Seattle and closing a deal on a house at that very moment, I just said we were all doing pretty good and having lots of fun in the middle of the desert. We were near Bakersfield, and so far, we'd had no problems.
So of course, Stephan, Carlie and Earl were looking at me with... well, I wouldn't quite put it at consternation, but they did seem to be a bit concerned, so I quickly explained that I'd chickened out, that I was afraid of getting our stories mixed up and not only that, I'd already talked her into moving to Seattle – which I didn't expect – and I'd also talked her into letting me go on our road trip and sending me more money, so all at once, I was afraid to push my luck any further.
That explanation only resulted in their looking at me with a good deal more concern, though.
So I tried again. “Right now, I think the best time to call her about us having trouble would be after she's not in Seattle. After all the paperwork's taken care of. See, once we're at that state park you have to take a ferry to-”
“Illahee,” cut in Stephan. “Right now, that looks the best.”
“So okay,” I continued, “but see, right now I'm thinking maybe we shouldn't say anything about car trouble. My mom doesn't know Elliott and she'll probably never meet him, so I think I'll just say that he wasn't as responsible as we thought. That he met some college girl and he decided to stay with her for awhile... partying and all, but that leaves us sort of stranded, right? And my mom, she'll be glad to hear that we're not partying, but anyway, we're at Illahee State Park - not far from Seattle, but we're getting tired of sleeping in a tent, so then I could ask if it's okay to move into our new house a little early and I'll ask about Carlie and Earl while I'm at it, and...” (glancing at Stephan), “we can work out what I'm going to say about us later. … Except I'm assuming that the realtor has a key, so after talking to my mom, and her telling him... or her that I'm her son and I have two friends from North Dakota with me... well, once I have the key, then I can invite in whoever else I want to, right?”
So after a few moments of silence, Carlie started snickering. “Between you and Stephan, you sure can come up with some wild-ass stories... but I kind of like it. So okay, when are we leaving?”
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After Ian and Seth said they'd be glad to take care of Squeak and Alexander until we could have them shipped up to us – probably in about a week - we left Bakersfield at 11:56 Sunday morning and arrived in Seattle at 1:40 Monday afternoon. And I do not ever want to...
Well, never mind, because at least Stephan had a winter coat handy. If not for that, I probably would have caught pneumonia or something, because the driver kept that damn air conditioning going full blast all night long!
Both of us sharing his coat was comforting, though. (Carlie and Earl both had fairly heavy sweat shirts.)
But once in Seattle, we took the 3:00 ferry to Bremerton, then after walking about three miles to the park, we discovered that there weren't any more camp sites available that day, so... at 4:20, we were on the ferry going back to Seattle.
If nothing else, though, that allowed me to sound stressed out when I called my mom, who by then was back in Orlando. Even if I would have been feeling some stress no matter what, but...“Hi mom, it's me.”
Then after she asked how we were doing, I said, “At the moment, not too good.”
Then after she asked why, I told her. How at that very moment we were on a ferry in the middle of the Puget Sound heading back to Seattle after discovering that the state park we were going to camp out in was full up, and we were sort of stranded, because Elliott turned out not to be as responsible as we'd thought. He was with some college girls, and they were drinking and we – me, Carlie and Earl – didn't want to have anything to do with it, so... “Do you think maybe... I mean, they'll be flying back home this coming weekend because of their school starting, but anyway, do you think there's any chance of us staying... um... I mean, it's not like we're going to trash the place or anything, so do you think...”
“I'll call you back in less than five minutes. But I want you to know that I'm proud of you. … Even if you should have called as soon as this Elliott... well, you're all right, so we'll not worry about it, but I'm assuming you're wanting to move into our new house tonight? You do realize I'll not be back until the 29th, so you'll be on your own for awhile, but I'll give Ms McKnight a call, and then I'll call you back.”
Then I pumped my right fist, and, “Yes!” … and after a brief victory dance, I looked smug. Not guilty, I could worry about that later. Even if I did feel a twinge when she said she was proud of me.
But honestly, I really would have been wanting to get us all away if the circumstances had been the way I reported them... and besides that, we certainly weren't going to trash the place. Shack up, well, duh, but still...
Well, it really doesn't matter if they're conservative or liberal, most parents don't want their children having sex until they're ready for it, and almost without exception, they do not think they're ready when they're thirteen.
But then on the other hand, most thirteen-year-olds think that they are too ready, so therefore, if push comes to shove, we usually just fib about it.
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Our new house was in the Capitol Hill neighbourhood. Two bedrooms, one and a half baths, hardwood floors, covered porch, fireplace, sun-filled kitchen with granite counters, fantastic views of Lake Washington... and so on to the most important feature, it was almost fully furnished. And as it turns out, in Seattle, Capitol Hill is the neighbourhood to live in. It's the center of LGBT life and also pretty much the counter-cultural center.
But anyway. Wednesday, I called my mom again and asked if I could invite Stephan over. I hadn't seen him since we were in New York, after all... and she said she guessed it was all right as long as we behaved ourselves. Then she added that she was assuming that I knew what she meant.
So in reply, I said if she was talking about... well... sex, we'd never really reached that point in New York, and even though we'd discussed it since then, we'd both agreed that there was no rush, so she didn't need to worry.
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If you'll look closely, then you'll see that this time, there was nothing in my reply that was entirely false, but at the same time, there was a possibility of some more guilt. I'd prefer being honest, but thinking that she wasn't likely to understand... or that she'd say absolutely not...
I misled her. Just a teeny weeny bit, but I told myself that as soon as possible I'd be completely honest with her. As soon as I thought she'd be able to accept it, then I would.
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For the rest of that week, we behaved ourselves admirably. We were two couples enjoying each other's company, and it was really was cool.
But then came Sunday morning, and Carlie and Earl were on their way back home. We were going to miss each other a lot. Even if...
Well, we decided we'd let them borrow Stephan's laptop until the next summer. We only needed one – Stephan and I - so why not? We'd be able to stay in touch that way.
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We were reunited with Squeak and Alexander the next day. Monday, August 18th. They were very glad to see us. As in: “Get us out of this cage! Now!”
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We'd been with each other almost constantly for more than six weeks without any adult supervision to speak of, so we should have been thankful for that much. And we were thankful that we'd actually gotten away with it, but with school not much more than two weeks off, we started plotting again.
Stephan's sister lived in a trailer park in Rainier Beach. So Sunday morning after seeing Carlie and Earl off, we decided it was time for a little reconnaissance.
Well, there really aren't any slums in Seattle, but Rainier Beach still isn't on most people's lists of highly desirable neighborhoods. We could have accepted living there if we'd just been in the same school district, though. We might have even come to like it, because we would have felt a little more street tough that way. Sort of like us actually being from Brooklyn, you know?
Only, we weren't going to be in the same school district, so I would have always been worrying about him being mugged, and we'd both be worried about the other breaking some zero-tolerance rule and maybe being cuffed and hauled off to juvenile. Google “idiotic zero-tolerance abuses” and it isn't long until you'll find yourself imagining all sorts of things.
Problem was, though, we hadn't really thought about asking my mom if she minded adopting Stephan, or even having him living with us permanently. Frequent overnight house guest, of course, but beyond that, not really. Because, realistically, we didn't think she'd ever go for it, unless maybe life was absolutely intolerable at his sister's. Irreconcilable differences, that's what we were looking for. So, step one, once we were back home Sunday afternoon, Stephan called his sister and with all the nonchalance he could muster, he said, “Hey, it's me.”
Then it was her on the other end, and then he said, “Oh.” He looked to be in shock... or at least surprised, but before much longer, there was: “Well, maybe. I'm not sure right now, but you want to talk to Natty about it? ... You know, Nathaniel. ... You do? Well, hold on a second,” and with that, he handed the phone to me with, “Ashley wants to ask you something.”
So of course I was giving him a look...
Well, he said later it was a deer-in-the-headlights look, even if I'm thinking it was probably a cross between that and a WTF, but I took the phone and after a second or so, I managed, “Hel..lo?”
And I never would have believed it, but she was actually nice.
Even if she had a reason. They didn't have room for Stephan. They'd been having some trouble with their finances, so they'd decided to share expenses with another couple. Then another friend of theirs... some guy named Shane... had just recently been laid off, so until he could find something else, he was sleeping on their couch. Five irresponsible young adults were living in that trailer.
We weren't going to be judgemental about it, though. One should never cast stones, and that's especially true in the case of a co-conspirator.
Even if I did mention that, for appearance's sake, Stephan and I would have to act as though we were a little put out when we brought it up with my mom. All along, we'd been thinking he was going to be staying with them, only now if he couldn't stay with us, he'd be out on the street... (Disquieting thought.)
So very carefully: “Well, okay, but I've just now thought of something. I'm sure you know that we're good friends. So we'd like to be going to the same school, and I don't mind him staying with us if we can work it out with my mom, but see, I'm sure she'll bring this up, so I'll just ask you first, all right? What if she asks, `Well, why can't he just go back to New York and live with his mom?”
So after a pause,“Well, in the first place, she's not going to be in New York much longer, because the way it looks, dad's going to get at least two years and they're thinking it'll be in North Carolina. Probably Butner. Federal Pen somewhere near Raleigh. So mom's going to be moving down there too, so she can be near him. So Stephan would be better off here. That's the...” (short laugh) “considerate me talking. The part who's interested in his welfare and him not having to change schools too many times. And you can tell the little twerp that I really do care about him, all right?
“But the part of me that thinks we should cover our asses, that part says mom doesn't need to know any more than I can help. Not about my life, and she also doesn't need to know that Stephan hasn't been in Seattle all summer and she doesn't need to know that I was covering for him. You agree?”
And I certainly did, so...
One: She would continue telling their mom that Stephan was living with them.
Because two: Stephan's mom still wouldn't think highly of him living with my mom.
So three: We had to make sure my mom didn't talk to his mom and we finally decided she probably wouldn't want to because I'd already told my mom that Stephan's mom... O, what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive...
Well, it didn't come out all at once, but I admitted that I'd already told my mom that Stephan's mom had pretty much given her full custody anyway. But since my mom was supposed to think that Ashley wasn't very responsible... (deep breath), I'd sort of implied that as well. Just sort of. But the only reason I said that was because Stephan would have trouble studying.
So I didn't know how well that bit of information would go over, but... “Yeah, I guess he would have some at that,” she laughed, “and since the idea's supposed to be that I'm not responsible enough to take care of him, I guess we have that much covered. Just don't go spreading it all over town, all right?”
And so on. Really, it's fun plotting with a young adult, even if she's irresponsible. We had no way of knowing if our plans would actually work, but at least there was some hope.
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So that finally brings me to the day my mom arrived. Not at the airport, but by car. I knew she had a license, but her driving across country came as a surprise. She's not a particularly good driver. Fortunately, though, she called first. As in, “I should be there in about ten minutes.”
So we hurriedly made the house presentable... along with ourselves, of course... opened the windows in what I hoped would be our bedroom, and remembered that now we probably shouldn't be going commando. Or, at least, not as often as before.
We'd decided it would be nice if we were to take her out to eat and there was a good Italian restaurant not too far away, almost within walking distance. And all right, I was really taking her out with her money, but I still had some left from what she'd sent for our road trip.
So. Where to start, where to start. Should we drop a hint first? Sort of let it slip out that Stephan's home situation was less than ideal? Dire, in fact?
Finally we decided we'd probably wait until a little later. Once we were absolutely sure we could sound convincing.
Neither of us had much of an appetite at the restaurant and it had nothing to do with her driving, which was actually better than expected.
But anyway. Back to the big question because, after all, there was no way it could be avoided. So once back home, I started, “Mom, right now, Stephan's sister has some extra people staying at their place. ... `Cause, see, they're having trouble meeting expenses. ... So first it was just another couple and then it was another guy who's out of work right now, and he's sleeping on their couch. And, see, that's where Stephan was sleeping. On their couch.”
Then she interrupted with, “Oh dear.” I wasn't sure if that was encouraging or not. So I shrugged sort of hopelessly. Even if I was still trying to look hopeful. Apologetically so, though.
So I have no idea what I was looking like, but I finished with, “So if it's okay, Stephan's staying here for awhile.” Except, I wasn't really finished, of course. I was just barely started, in fact, but...
My mom looked at Stephan and asked, “So what does your mom think about this? She can't be happy, I know I wouldn't be, because honestly, if this situation continues, once school starts, I don't see how you can possibly study the way you should. So does your mom know about this?”
That didn't sound good at all, because it occurred to me that whether he had to change schools or not, living with his mom was starting to make a lot more sense than staying with his sister. And I knew that was the direction she was headed. I just knew it! Unless...
Stephan cleared his throat.“Well, I haven't mentioned it to her, because she has enough to worry about as it is... because it looks like she'll be going to prison too. Probably only for about a year... and maybe not until late this Fall, but... well, it's just not possible for me to live with her now.”
“I have to use the bathroom real quick,” I said hurriedly. If you're in hurry to go, of course you'd say it hurriedly, but the real reason was that I was afraid I was going to start laughing. That came out of nowhere! Prison? Jeez!
But it didn't take long to straighten myself out. It might have been irrational, but it seemed to me that at the rate things were going, we might soon find ourselves behind bars. And, fortunately, it also occurred to me that I needed to ring Ashley up real quick.
“Hey, Ashley, Stephan just told my mom your mom's going to be in prison soon, so um...”
“He what?”
“Well, as long as she doesn't know about it... I mean, it's a good excuse for him not being able to go back and live with her... you know...”
“Oh, my God!” Then she started laughing her butt off, but she managed, “Okay, I got it. Not a... problem! Hey, guys... you're not going to believe this, but... oh my God!”
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My mom said she'd have to think about it, so I was pretty sure she would end up letting him stay, and sure enough, Sunday morning she said he could.
Only, she still thought we were way too young to be thinking about having sex. So she wanted us to promise that we'd wait until later. But she saw no harm in us sharing the same room. She'd get some bunk beds Monday. So...
Well, she didn't say how much later, now did she? But at least we decided we'd go all the way only on special occasions. Just whenever we knew she'd be gone for awhile. And sometimes, we restrained ourselves even when the opportunity was there, because the truth is, we often felt some guilt. There was hardly any way we weren't going to be feeling some, because of our not being entirely truthful. So in an attempt to make up for it, we helped all we could around the house, and we also helped out with several charitable causes. My mom really is a chronic do-gooder, but honestly, she means well.
As for school, Stephan still couldn't attend one in my district because Ashley couldn't just sign him over, so of course, my mom didn't have legal custody. But then, I wasn't too keen on public school either. I'd never attended one before, after all, and with all those zero-tolerance policies...
Only my mom had read quite a few horror stories too. But while there are several very good private schools in Seattle, in every case, you need to apply for admission almost a year before.
So that just left home-schooling, and after a little investigation, we discovered Mr. Lafferty's home school, only a few blocks away. In Washington, home schooling is a great alternative. For one thing, you don't have to worry about living in the wrong school district, and for another, you can progress at your own speed. Way cool. So Ashley told their mom that most of the schools in their district lagged behind when it came to academics, but she'd found a good home school for Stephan that wasn't really all that expensive and everything was wonderful.
Mr. Lafferty is a gay activist, by the way. This wasn't brought up until about two weeks later... and then only in passing... so it wasn't like charge the ramparts or anything like that, but if we ever needed any help in coming to terms with our gayness...
Um, well, we'd already come to terms with it. Two of the others were still struggling, but not us. But it was still nice that we could be open about it. Because after all, all seven of us were gay. Small class size. That's another good thing about home schooling.
Then once we were all open about it, we had lots and lots of orgies. So that's another advantage over regular schools...
And I hope you realize that I'm kidding about the orgies. We didn't have any, all right? Not one! Mr. Lafferty kept stressing that our sexuality shouldn't define who we were and that we needed to be able to interact successfully with society. And Stephan and I were in complete agreement. That's why we're enrolled at Mr. Oiwa's Academy of Martial Arts.
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So that ties up most of the loose ends except for this. We finally admitted the truth to my mom in early February. We still felt some guilt about it, though, because one of our biggest reasons was that we were hoping she'd buy a hot tub.
But even though she didn't, we both felt better after we told her most of the truth. And seriously, she didn't want to know all of it anyway. But you know, at our age, sometimes it was hard to resist the urges we were constantly having, so we admitted that we'd given into some of them. A few times.
Only, she said while she'd assumed as much, there was no sense in looking a gift horse in the mouth. Charity work, remember?
But oh well, we felt pretty good about that as well. And I guess it also helped negate the small amount of guilt we still felt over Stephan's mom. Her facing the possibility of prison, I mean. We thought that was one untruth we didn't need to correct any more than we already had. (Just before Christmas, Stephan announced that she was going to get off with a suspended sentence.)
So in conclusion to this story... the one that's mostly about me and Stephan... except for Carlie, Earl, Elliott and Seth...
Oh, yeah, Elliott and Seth. How could I forget them?
I didn't, I just decided to stop mentioning them for awhile. But we're still keeping in touch, just as we are with Carlie and Earl. We really do enjoy sharing our experiences.
But anyway, as far as this story is concerned, I guess that's all there is. In fairy tales, happily-ever-after lasts forever. Well, we can accept that we're not in one of those fairy tales, because we're very happy with the here and now, and there's no end in sight.
I'd like to once again say thanks to my two proofreaders, David Clarke and Tracy Nagurski, for their help in making this story better than it would have been if left to my own devices. I'm always coming up with ideas, but not all of them are really good ones.
And finally, thanks to everyone who continued reading this story to the end, and in the end, I hope it was mostly worth it.