WATCHING BRAD
Part 153
"I had planned for this to be a little more personal, Brad," I began, "but it seems more fitting all of with our family and friends here with us." I paused to take a deep breath before continuing. "One year ago today, I moved into this house, and you moved into my life. This past year has been more that I could ever have dreamed. More than I could ever have wanted. I still remember that moment when I was struggling with that dresser, trying to beat the rain, and I felt the truck moving. I looked up and there you were, in the truck bed lifting the other end of the dresser. I can still see you as clearly as though it had happened yesterday. You didn't even ask if I needed help. You just jumped right in and started helping me. If it hadn't been for you, so much of my Grandmother's treasures would have been ruined in that storm. For that alone, I don't think I could ever thank you enough.
"It didn't take me long to fall in love with you, Brad. At first, it was just the love of a friend, but you worked your way into my heart and made me fall in love with the man that you are. Life is full of surprises, and you are one of the biggest surprises life has ever thrown at me. Ever since my divorce, I had dreams of meeting a nice woman and falling in love again and getting married and being a happy family again. I could never have dreamt that I would fall in love with a man, but you made me do it. And now, here we are, a year later and we're getting married next weekend. Now, I can't imagine a happier family without you in it.
"We've been through so much together, Brad, and so many things have changed. I've learnt more about life in one year than in every year which came before it. You taught me that I can love life again, and you taught me that I can live my life in love with you. I know I'm not the easiest person to live with all the time, but you've stood by me through everything when anyone else would have given up on me a long time ago. Sometimes I think you're the only reason I'm still here today. I don't know how I would have made through this past year without you.
"This has been the best year of my life, Brad. I have my beautiful daughter and I have two beautiful sons, but, most of all, I have the most beautiful, the most incredible, the most loving man in the world to share my life. I've known you for only a year, but I feel like I've known you for a lifetime, and I want to spend the rest of my lifetime with you. I love you so much, Bradley Hayes."
I let go of his right hand and reached into my back pocket and pulled out a small, flat, rectangular box, holding it out to him. "Happy Anniversary, Tiger."
Brad stared at the box for a long, silent minute, then glanced into my eyes before looking back at the box once more. I released his other hand and he reached out and took the box from my hand. He flipped open the small, metal clasp with his thumbnail and slowly opened it, turning the box lengthwise away from him and looked inside. The index finger of his right hand moved to the box, running slowly over the object inside.
"What is it, Brad?" Jeremy shouted, but I doubt if Brad even heard him.
He caressed it one more time, then he looked up at me again. His eyes were filled with tears and I could see him fighting desperately to hold them back. He swallowed deeply several times and I knew he wanted to speak, but dared not. His eyes dropped to the box once more as I reached into it, grasping the chain in my fingers, and lifting it out. Holding the silver ball chain in both hands, I slipped it over Brad's head and let it settle around his neck, the pendent falling against his chest. I placed my palm over it and pressed it tightly to him, holding my hand there for several very long and silent moments. Our heat combined, warming the cool metal and bringing us together inside it to keep us there forever.
The pendent was rectangular, about the length of a matchbook. An interior rectangle of brushed sterling silver was set in a vertical row with three small diamonds near the base and surrounded by a polished sterling outer rectangular frame. Brad's hand moved to his chest after I removed my own hand, his fingers gracing the base of the pendent as he looked down at it. I removed the empty box from his hand and tossed it onto the sofa beside us.
"It's engraved," I told him.
He grasped the pendent tenderly in his fingers and lifted it away from him so he could read it. He read it out loud, his voice cracking more with every word.
"Brad. I'll love you forever and always. Ted."
He looked up at me again, finally losing his battle against the tears. They overflowed his eyes, running down the smooth cheeks of his handsome young face and leaving trails of moisture behind. His lovely green eyes sparkled like the pendent. He dropped the necklace to his chest and grabbed me in his arms. I don't believe I have ever felt a more crushing hug from Brad, nor have I felt a deeper, more passionate, more intense, more loving kiss than the one I received that afternoon. He held me as if he would never let me go again, as if he were trying to draw me right through his clothing, right through his skin, and inside him where he would hold me and keep me safe forever.
"You remembered," Brad sobbed quietly and I hugged him harder.
‘Forever' didn't last very long, though. Before long, I became aware of the applause and cheers and whistles filling the room and I reluctantly ended the kiss. Brad still held me close, though, as he stared into my eyes. His voice, when it came, was filled with the tears he still had in his eyes. "Please don't ever stop loving me, Ted."
I sealed my promise that I wouldn't with another quick kiss and, when we finally managed to disengage ourselves from each other, Barry and Nathan were standing beside us, ready to hand the boys over to us. Lindsay was there, too, and as Barry returned to the sofa and Nathan disappeared out of the livingroom behind us, Brad proudly displayed the new necklace to our children.
I used the fingers of my free hand to wipe the tears from Brad's face and maneuvered him back to the sofa and we sat down again.
"
That was worth the trip," David said softly. I glanced quickly at him and his eyes were filled with tears as well, but I wasn't certain if they were for us or for himself.
Moments later, there was a very loud gasp from the twins as Nathan entered once more, carrying a cake with a single burning candle on top of it. He carefully set it on the coffee table in front of us before fetching the paper plates, plastic forks, and slicing spatula. The cake looked almost identical to the pendent now hanging from Brad's neck except that it was frosted with white icing. Inside the inner rectangle, written on two separate lines in blue piping, were the words ‘Happy Anniversary Bradley and Ted'.
Brad laughed. "That's Mom's cake. No-one else would write ‘Bradley'."
The twins had other more important things on their minds. "Can we blow out the candle?"
"No," Brad said, "but you can help me, okay?"
"Okay!" they shouted as one. Justin scrambled into Brad's empty arm and Brad slid forward on the sofa so they would all be closer to the candle. "Get ready," he said and the boys sucked in a breath. "Now, when I say ‘blow', you can blow, o. . ."
He didn't even get the ‘kay' part out before the twins blew. The candle flame disappeared in two little boy breaths.
"Hey!" Brad laughed. "I didn't say ‘blow' yet!"
"Yes, you did, Brad," Jeremy said. He and his brother suddenly looked decidedly confused and frightened that they had done something horribly wrong.
"No, I didn't." Brad glanced at me and I nodded. "I did?"
It was David who offered the explanation. "You mixed it up with a few other words, but you said it." He quoted Brad, emphasizing the give-away word. "When I say ‘blow', you can
blow."
Brad started laughing and hugged the boys to him. "You sneaky little devils," he chuckled loudly.
"We're sorry, Brad," Justin told him.
"That's okay. We can light it again and blow it out together, okay? But, this time, we'll
all wait until your Dad tells us to."
They nodded.
"I'll get the matches," Nathan said as he began to stand.
"Stay put," David said. "I've got it." He stood up and reached his hand into his front pocket and pulled out his key chain. Attached to it was a small lighter. He flicked it, bringing its flame to life, and relit the candle. "Bought this thing years ago in case someone came up to me and asked if I had a light. This is the third time I've used it and the second candle I've lit with it." He tucked the key chain back into his pocket and returned to his seat.
Brad held the twins and leaned forward again and nodded at me.
"Okay," I said. "Get ready. . . Get set. . . Blow!"
All went perfectly this time and three breaths blew as one and the candle flame was extinguished in fine fashion. The twins began to bounce and applaud as they usually did following such exciting and fulfilling accomplishments. Justin then scrambled back into my lap, awaiting his second round of dessert.
Nathan handed Brad the spatula and, with my hand over his, we sliced the cake down the middle. Our friend graciously took over for us, slicing and serving the pieces. He cut a corner piece and placed it on a paper plate along with a plastic fork.
"That's a good size for both of us, Nathan," I told him. "We'll share with the twins. Cut another one like that for me, cut one half that size for Lindsay, then however big the others want."
He added another fork and handed the plate to Brad. Jeremy immediately stuck his index finger into it, pulled it out, and licked it off. "Mmmmmm!" he hummed through his happy grin. He stuck it in again and held it out for Brad. Not to be outdone, Justin did the same with me after Nathan handed me our piece. It was, indeed, yummy. Grandma Hayes at her best.
"Daddy, I want a bite!"
"Just a minute, my Sonskyn," I told Justin. "We have to wait for the others to get their cake, too."
"What was that, Ted?" David asked from his chair. He'd returned there after the banana splits. Andrew was now sitting between his parents on the loveseat.
"What was what?"
"That word you said."
I tried to remember what I said. "I don't know. What did I say?"
"I think he means ‘Sonskyn'," Brad offered.
"Yeah, that was it."
"It's Afrikaans," I told him. "It means ‘sunshine'."
"I like that," David said. "Say it again."
"Sonskyn."
"Sonskyn," David repeated to the floor, then nodded. "Yeah, I really like that." He looked up at me again. "What was that language you said?"
"Afrikaans. South-African Dutch."
"Wow," David said as he sat back in the chair, planting his hands on his knees. "Is that where you're from?"
"My father is. I was born in Nova Scotia and my mother is British."
David laughed light-heartedly. "A British South-African Dutch Canadian!"
"But we live
here now." Justin said it innocently enough, and it wasn't meant to be particularly funny, but it brought roars of laughter from all the adults.
By the time the laughter died, Nathan had sliced a piece of cake for himself and Barry to share and had taken his seat beside his partner.
"Now, Daddy?" Justin asked.
"The first bite is for Brad, okay?"
Justin nodded, but it was clear he wasn't very happy about it. I cut off a corner, speared it with my fork, and held it out to Brad. He cut and speared a corner of his own cake and held it out to me and then, together, we opened our mouths and took the offerings into them. As we chewed, smiling at each other, Brad leaned forward for another quick kiss. Our probing tongues shared some of our cake with each other.
Apparently, our kiss went on far too long for the twins. A few moments later, I felt Justin's finger hooking into the corner of my mouth and pulling my face away from Brad's. He almost choked on his piece and I almost spit mine all over him as we laughed as hard as we could with our mouths closed. I chewed as quickly as I could and swallowed. "You have to learn to be patient, Justin."
"But we're hungry, Daddy."
"Hungry? How can you be hungry? You ate all my sandwiches and you had banana splits and cookies and TimBits. . ."
"But we didn't have cake yet," he said.
I gave him a big smacker on the cheek, but he was too busy digging into the cake with his fork to really notice it.
* * * * *
"I envy you guys," David said.
"Who? Me and Brad?"
"Yeah."
We were standing in the back yard, watching the twins swinging on their glider and watching Andrew sitting on a swing and being pushed by his father. The squeals of laughter coming from all three made me think of Warren and how I wished he had been well enough to come down here and see it for himself. Perhaps later on in the Summer.
Lori stood beside her husband, smiling at her son's screams of delight. Nathan and Barry stood beside us. Lindsay was sitting in a lawn chair on the patio, completely absorbed in the story she was reading.
"I mean, you hug and you kiss and you're always holding each other," David continued. "Even in front of the kids. I could never think of doing anything like that back home. Especially with family around. It was bad enough having a queer for a relative, but they'd have my head if I even mentioned my boyfriend let alone bring him along to family gatherings. And going out? Lori said you guys can walk around town holding hands and hardly anyone bothers you."
I nodded.
"She's told me a lot about Canada, but I didn't really believe her. Now I'm beginning to wonder."
"She doesn't seem to have a problem with you being gay," Brad observed.
"Who? Lori? Hell, no. She's such a sweetie, that one. I'd do
anything for her. She's the only one in the family who even talks to me anymore. Maybe because we're so close in age and grew up together. I love her to death. She always sticks up for me and worries about me, and she's the only one in the family who doesn't tease me because I'm so short."
"Come on, Dave," Barry said. "Stop putting yourself down like all the time. You're not
that short."
"Oh, yeah, Copper? Watch this." David stepped right up to Barry, chest to chest. Or, should I say David's chest to Barry's belly. His crown rested against the base of Barry's chin, his own chin resting in the top of the valley between Barry's healthy pecs. He stood there for a second or two, then looked up at Barry's handsome face. "I'm looking at your Adam's apple, pal, and your dick's sticking me in the belly button. I barely even have to bend over to give you a blowjob. That's
short!"
David stepped back again, looking up into Barry's handsome face. There was an anger and determination in his own face that alarmed me. "Do you have any idea what it's like to be to be so short? To get carded every time you go into a bar or to have to shop for clothes in the boy's department? Do you have any idea how hard it is to find underwear that fits me and doesn't have pictures of Spider-Man or Scooby Doo on them? Do you have any idea what it's like to have people walk right past you and not even notice you? To have guys in a bar pat you on the head and say, ‘Go away, little boy'? It's bad enough being short, but it's worse being gay, too. Other guys are always treating me like a little kid, even when I'm years older than they are. They all look at me and think ‘little man, little dick'. Well, believe me, Copper, I can handle my own in
that department. And what in hell are you grinning at?"
"I like you, David," Barry replied, "but you don't have to get so defensive around us."
"Yeah, well," David said as he backed down and relaxed noticeably. "Where I come from, I have to be tough or else I get my ass whooped."
"You don't have to do that here," I said.
"Yeah, I'm beginning to see that."
"I don't believe any of us have even mentioned it," Barry said. "You're the one who keeps reminding us."
David dropped his head. "Sorry, Barry. I didn't mean anything by it."
"Nothing taken," Barry said quietly.
"May I ask how tall you are?" Nathan asked curiously.
"Five-three and five-eighths, but I like to say I'm five-four. I don't know what that is in that metric stuff."
"Neither do I," Nathan replied with a smile which David returned.
"My point is," David continued, "guys don't even take the time to get to know me. I can't even make it off home plate let alone get to first base most of the time, especially since my boyfriend left me. I've spent most of my life sitting on the bench."
"But you've got such a great personality," Brad observed. "You're funny and you're good looking. . ."
"Guys don't want ‘funny' in bed, Sweetie Pie. All they want in bed is a real man, and I don't measure up."
"Don't be so hard on yourself, David," Brad continued. "You'll meet someone some day."
"Not very likely," David objected. "But, you see? That's why I envy you. Not because you're tall or anything. I can't do anything about being short. It's because you can be yourselves here. Out there. You don't have to put up with a lot of crap from other people all the time."
"We get crap," Barry said.
"Oh, yeah? Have you had to wash ‘die faggot' off your house twice a week? How many times have you had rocks thrown through your windows? When was the last time you walked down the street together wondering if someone isn't going to try to pop you off?"
"It's not as bad as that back home, is it?" Brad asked. Not only was his voice filled with disbelief, but with concern as well.
"I'll tell you, Brad. I've only been here for a
day and I'd move here in a New York Minute if there was something to keep me here. You're getting
married for Christ's sake! That's something that's
never going to happen back home. Trust me. You really have no idea how lucky you are to be living here. And you've got this age thing going on that nobody seems to care about."
"Ouch," I thought to myself. "Watch yourself, David."
He looked from me and Brad to Nathan and Barry. "
Both of you. I bet no-one even gives you a second glance." Then he sighed and shook his head. "Kevin was only four years younger than me and you wouldn't believe the razzing we got. And, to top it off, he was over six-two. That's why he left me. He couldn't take all the shit we always got anymore. I tell you, I was born on the wrong side of the Lake."
I'm sure David didn't mean to make it sound like a pity party, but he succeeded in making me realize just how lucky we really were.
* * * * *
Justin and Jeremy came running up to me with Andrew close on their heels. All three were still dressed in their swimsuits even though hadn't been near the swimming pool.
"Daddy, we're thirsty," Justin announced as he reached to be picked up.
I opened my mouth to respond when Nathan's voice beat me to it. "How about some nice, cold Ginger Ale?"
Three happy smiles bounced on three rapidly bobbing heads. I picked up Justin as the two Brads picked up Jeremy and Andrew.
"I'll get it, Ted," Nathan said.
As he disappeared into the house, Brad Smith asked, "Are they treating you well, Dave?"
"I haven't had my foot massage yet, but, yeah, they're treating me pretty good. Oh, Lori, I've got something for you." David turned to his niece, placed his hands lovingly on her shoulders, and stretched up to kiss her on the cheek."
Lori smiled shyly and asked, "What was that for?"
"For talking me into coming up here for a visit," he replied with his own smile. "You were right, Punkin. These guys are the best."
"I thought you would like it here," Lori replied. "
We do."
"We're thinking of applying for immigrant status," Brad Smith replied.
"Really?" David sounded very surprised.
"I like the job here and the people I work with. We've made a lot of new friends, the schools are great, and we think it's a safer place for Andrew to grow up." Brad Smith paused and a wide smile swept across his face. "Besides, both Andrew and I have fallen madly in love with Habitant Pea Soup."
"With ham, Daddy," Andrew added.
"Yes, indeed, Andrew. With ham."
* * * * *
Despite the heat, we didn't make it into the pool that day. The kids played on the swings and played with the toys, Lindsay kept her nose in her book for the most part, and the adults sat around talking. We used up a lot of sun screen that day. David made plans to build a sandbox for the kids and Barry promised his help.
Lori called an end to her afternoon around four o'clock, despite an invitation for supper, and went home with her son and husband. David decided to stick around until later. Fortunately, Lori and Brad lived just down the street and near the end of the block to the right. David shouldn't have any problems getting back there by himself.
Nathan left us to prepare a barbeque for us as we sat in the shade of the back yard and talked. The sugar rush the twins were on from lunch had finally worn off and, before long, they were curled up in our laps and sound asleep.
I don't remember how we got to the point where Barry and David decided that it might be fun to have a friendly arm-wrestling match, but they did. I went into the house to get the telephone book so David could put it under his elbow to sort of even things up between himself and Barry. They hooked the fingers of their left hands together on the patio table and planted their elbows. They held up their forearms and locked their thumbs and fingers together in the traditional grip. I stood there beside them with a sleeping little boy in one arm and my other hand on their raised hands. When I yanked my hand away, the battle began.
I totally expected Barry to win easily, but he didn't. David may have been small, but the man was a powerhouse and he had a lower centre of gravity, and that took Barry totally by surprise. Barry took an early lead and got David leaning dangerously low to the right, but David gritted his teeth, tensed up, and took control of his entire body. He was out to prove something. With one enormous groan and with temples pulsing, the muscles in his arms and shoulders knotted, David countered. With sweat pouring down his face from the effort, David pushed Barry's arm upright once more and held it there. He didn't gain much after that, but neither did Barry. I couldn't see David's biceps from where I was standing, but I could clearly see Barry's, and it was stretching the sleeve of his T-shirt almost to its limits. It quickly became a game of ‘not losing' rather than a game of ‘winning'. It began as a friendly game between the two of them but soon became a matter of pride for both of them.
Barry gave it the old college try, and waited for his moments to attack, but David locked his gaze on Barry's eyes and never took it away. It was like he could see in them what Barry was going to do and when, and he prepared himself for it. Mind you, David did a whole lot of grunting and groaning and sweating, and his jaws worked as much as he did, but he held on and wouldn't give quarter. Still, the strain on him was enormous. I could see that, and I could see the pain and effort in his face. He refused to allow Barry to get the best of him. Barry was, by far, the bigger man, but David was equal to him in strength. Or, at least, a match for him with all the adrenalin flowing through him. Within minutes, David's sun-bleached hair was soaked with perspiration and laying flat against his head. Sweat was dripping from his nose and chin. The sweat which soaked his underarms quickly spread to his chest and back as well, the cotton becoming translucent and clingy. Barry was faring little better.
I decided to call a ‘tie' and clamped their hands in mine until I felt them relax their grip. When I removed my hand, they let go and fell back in their chairs. Barry was panting heavily in the heat and flapping the bottom of his T-shirt in and out to cool himself, but David scared the hell out of me. He slumped back in his chair, practically sliding right out of it and falling to the patio beneath the table. His mouth hung open and he was gasping for breath. His eyes closed and his arms fell limply to his sides.
"David?" I called. "Are you okay?" When he didn't respond, I placed the back of my hand against his cheek and called his name again, louder this time. His skin felt abnormally cool despite the tortuous heat of the afternoon. I placed my palm on his chest. His heart was pounding hard and fast and a shockwave of fear slammed into me. I pulled my hand away and called his name again, much louder this time. Still he didn't respond.
"Gee-sus, Murphy," I cursed and practically threw Justin to Barry before returning to tend to David. I put my left hand back onto his chest and slapped his cheek with my right. "David!" I yelled. "Open your eyes! David!!"
To Be Continued
And will tar & feather Ted instead ](/images/smilies/bang.gif "Brick wall ](*,)")
Is it FRIDAY, yet??? 
