The Preacher's Kid: High School - 14. One More Night and Home Again

Oh yeah, let me just say this—while being on national television is a total trip, the hours after you’re on national television are fucking insane!

When we finished in the studio, Celia took us back to the green room to get our stuff. Our phones were exploding! Dad told us to wait until we were in the car to check the messages, so we grabbed them and headed to the limo.

It was pretty cool when we left the building. A large group of people stood in front, and they all cheered as we headed into the car. We waved in their general direction, and the cheers got bigger. Wow! I mean, the recognition was nice and all, but I don’t see how celebrities can deal with this shit all the time, basically 24/7.

Once we were in the car, and Dad told the driver to take us back to the Hyatt, I opened my phone and started reading messages. Holy Shit! There were already over 200 messages, and all but three were totally cool. I just deleted the three.

We weren’t even in the car two minutes when Matty’s phone rang with an incoming call.

“Oh God, it’s Dad. I guess he saw the show, too.”

Dad told Matty he didn’t have to answer it. He said Mr. Jordan would call him if he didn’t get an answer from Matty. Matty went for that option and let the call ring out. Sure enough, not even thirty seconds later, Dad’s phone started ringing.

“This is Pastor Clay.”

“Yes, we’re in New York.”

“Oh, you did? What did you think?”

“Well, that’s good.”

“You do? I think we can arrange for that. But don’t you think it would be better to have a face-to-face visit? It’s been long enough, don’t you think? That is if Matty is up for that. It needs to be his decision.”

“Of course. I’ll sit down with him when we get back to the hotel. I’ll let you know what he says.”

“Yes, I’ll let him know. He would appreciate that a great deal.”

“I’m glad you’re doing well, George. I truly am.”

“It’s good hearing from you, as well. We’ll get back to you soon. Bye.”

Dad looked at Matty and said, “Your father is in a good place now. He would like to see you when we get back to Charlotte. Do you think you would be up for that?”

“I guess so. I mean, I don’t want to fight with Dad about my life. He has to accept me as his son—first and foremost.”

“He wanted me to tell you he was proud of you for being so brave. It sounds like you’re about to get your old dad back.”

“Does this mean he’s coming home?”

“I don’t know what the hospital has in mind. I’ll have to talk with them and see what their plans are for your father.”

“I do want to see him. I kinda miss him. But at the same time, I’m kinda nervous about being alone with him.”

“Would you like me to be there with you and your dad?”

“Yes. Eddie, too.”

“Do you think that’s a good idea?”

“Look—he’s going to have to get used to seeing Eddie and me together. It’s not like we’d be making out in front of him or anything. I would just feel a lot better with both of you there.”

“Eddie?”

“Wow. To be honest, it makes me a little nervous thinking about that, but I’d do anything Matty needs. I love him. I think that’s the kind of thing you’re supposed to do when you love someone, right?”

“Wow. I think I’m probably the luckiest boy in the world right now. I mean, I have never felt so loved—not just by Eddie—but by this entire family. I mean, I never meant for my silly promposal thing to get so out of hand. But every single one of you took on this craziness with purpose and dedication. You didn’t have to do that. You easily could have left Eddie and me to deal with all this, but y’all have been there the entire way. I just—”

Nate leaned over and hugged Matty. “Dude, you’re a part of this family now. No matter what happens with you and your dad, you’ve got us. But you already should know that since that’s the way it’s been the whole time.”

“Nathan Daniel Hamilton—when did my little boy grow up to be such a wise young man?”

“I don’t know, Mom. I guess it was when Si—”

Matty interrupted Nate with, “That’s okay little bro—you can’t tell all your secrets! Ya gotta keep the parents guessing. It keeps ‘em on their toes and makes ‘em better parents.”

Thank God we pulled up to the hotel before things got any deeper! I was beat. I needed a nap. But I was also horny as fuck and needed to be doing all sorts of dirty stuff with my naked boyfriend!

Dad said we should all take naps so we wouldn’t be falling asleep during the show tonight. He said we would have dinner at a restaurant near the theatre, and we’d straighten all that out after we napped.

Mom and Dad went into their room, leaving Matty, Nate, and me in the sitting room. I told Nate that he should use the bathroom now because we were going to lock the door.

“You guys gonna do sex stuff?”

“None of your business.” That’s what I said at the same time Matty said, “Hell, yes!”

I just blushed and elbowed Matty’s side. “Figured. I’ll just turn on the TV, so I don’t have to hear all the stupid noise you guys make.”

Nate went to the bathroom and left the room. Matty locked the door and turned around, announcing, “Last one naked bottoms!”

I don’t think two horny boys could have taken their clothes off more slowly. Apparently, we both need to feel some dick sliding into our asses! When we were both finally down to our underwear, I walked up to my hot-as-fuck boyfriend and pressed my body against his. “How about you fuck me first, then we switch off, and I’ll cum deep in your ass?”

“Oh, Goooddddd!” That’s about all Matty could get out before my tongue made its way into his mouth. He pulled me across the room and into the bed, where we were soon kissing, grinding, moaning, and leaking pre into our now-soaked boxer briefs.

I reached over to the nightstand and pulled out the bottle of lube we had stashed there. I rolled Matty onto his back and buried my face in his navy blue boxer briefs, taking in the sweet smell of his precum while sucking as much of it out of the fabric I could. I slipped his underwear down to his knees and was thrilled at the sight of his cock bouncing on his abs with every pulse of his heartbeat.

I stood up on the bed and pulled my briefs off. Matty reached out for them and put them up to his face, smelling and sucking on them. God in Heaven, I’m hot for this boy! I grabbed the lube and applied a good amount to my ass. I was afraid to touch Matty’s cock. I mean, my boy was already on the verge of exploding!

Grabbing Matty’s cock at the base, so it stood straight up, I slowly lowered my lubed ass and took him in. It’s my favorite position with Matty. His cock hits my spot perfectly, and I nearly always nut hands-free as I bounce on his pole. As soon as I hit bottom and my boy filled me up, I looked into his eyes and told him not to worry, I was definitely gonna give him a nut shower, but I would most definitely stay hard so I could pound his tight quarterback ass!

I whispered to him, “Are you ready, boyfriend?”

“Fuck yeah!”

“You gotta be quiet. I don’t want Nate hearing us!”

Matty gave me that dirty look he has and stuffed my boxer briefs into this mouth. He started pumping his cock in and out of my hole, and I groaned as I threw my head back in pleasure. I had to grab Matty’s briefs and stuff them in my mouth.

I took over the pace of our fucking and began bouncing on Matty’s cock like a crazy banshee! Holy Jesus! It’s been a whole day since I had that cock inside me, and I was getting close to the edge faster than I ever have. Matty’s cock was stroking my prostate every time his cock passed by. I knew that the moment I leaned back, it would trigger my nut.

“You ready, baby? You might want to close your eyes. Cum burns like hell!”

I leaned back, and in just three strokes, my cock exploded with a powerful shower of nut that covered Matty’s face and chest—along with the sheets around him and the headboard above him.

Matty wiped my nut from his face and licked his fingers. God, I love when he does that. Next, he gathered up the nut from his chest and abs. Instead of eating it, he slathered it on my still-hard cock and whispered to me, “Fuck me with your cum-coated cock, baby. I need you inside me!”

Holy fuck! My teen cock throbbed and bounced as I slid back on the bed, pulling Matty’s legs up. I scooted him to the edge of the bed and stood on the floor. Yes! Perfect height!

Matty pulled his legs back to his chest, exposing this twitching hole to me. I bent down and gave it a couple of good licks, knowing it would drive my quarterback fucking insane.

“Fuck me now, Eddie! Pleeeeeease?!?”

I aimed my cock at Matty’s pucker and slowly eased into my idea of pure heaven. Once I was buried to the hilt, I grabbed his legs and held them straight up in the air, making a perfect “V” shape. Then I pounded. Oh, fuck! I pounded my boy’s ass so hard I forgot all about the noise of my hips slamming into his rock-hard glutes.

I think what I love most about fucking Matty’s amazing ass is the way he uses his muscles to squeeze and release. It fucking drives me insane! Okay, there’s another thing I love most—there’s something about the way Matty totally loses himself in feeling my cock pound his ass. His head rocks back and forth, and his eyes practically roll back into his head. He pants, moans, and makes the hottest sounds.

I know when Matty grabs the sheets into his fist, he’s about ready to nut—and since his hands are busy with the sheets, I also know his nut is going to fly all over the room!

“It’s comin’, baby! Gonna nut now! Ahhh! Ahhhh! Ahhhhh! AAAAAAAHHHHH!”

As Matty nuts, his ass squeezes my cock with each pulse, causing my cock to dump my second load deep into his hot-as-fuck ass.

Holy crap! I think we just stayed where we were for a half-hour, even though I’m sure it wasn’t even a minute.

“Eddie?”

“Yeah, babe?”

“How come each time we make love, it’s the best it’s ever been?”

“Yeah—I know. If it gets much better than this, it might just kill us.”

“But what a way to go! Right?!”

I chuckled and looked into Matty’s eyes, “Hey, I love you. You were my hero today. I’m so fucking blessed that I get to spend the rest of my life beside such an amazing boy.”

“I love you, too. You know, I know in the deepest part of my soul that I’m a better man for having you beside me. You complete me, Eddie Hamilton.”

I released Matty’s legs and leaned down to kiss my beautiful boy.

“Jesus! I love you, Matty Jordan, but you and I are a sweaty, cummy, hot mess!” I pulled him up from the bed, so he was standing with me. “We need a quick shower.”

“And a quick nap.”

“Bingo!”

We hopped into the shower and quickly helped clean each other. No playing around this time since we both had just experienced two mind-blowing nuts!

We dried each other off and headed back into the bedroom. Before climbing back into the bed, Matty unlocked the door. “In case Nate needs to—”

And right on cue, Nate opens the door—closing it behind him.

“You guys need to figure out how to fuck without making so much noise!” He didn’t even bat an eyelash at seeing Matty totally naked in front of him.

Shit! I just looked down at the bed and blushed. Matty just laughed and crawled into bed with me.

“It kinda got me horny, though—hearing all that slapping and moaning. I squirted twice, and now I have to piss like crazy! Is that normal?”

“Yes, little bro. Totally normal. And we’ll try to be quiet if we do it again here at the hotel.”

“Either that, or you have to let me watch!”

“What the—you little perve! Go piss and get out of here!”

Matty and I laid in the bed with our arms wrapped around each other and started to giggle as we heard Nate making funny little noises. The little perv was stroking off in the bathroom!

When he walked out of the bathroom, I couldn’t resist. “Nate, you need to figure out a way to stroke off without making those noises!”

“Eddie!” He ran out of the room and shut the door behind him.

“You know, your little bro is turning into quite a little horndog—just like his big brother!”

“I don’t hear you complaining, Mr. Jordan!”

“And you never will, Mr. Hamilton—you never will!”

The next thing I knew, Mom was knocking on our door, telling us to wake up. We were going to walk to the theatre and stop at this Italian restaurant on the same block as the Music Box.

We kissed and climbed out of bed to get dressed, and thirty minutes later, we were walking down Times Square, heading to Carmine’s Italian Restaurant.

We got to the crowded restaurant, and Dad gave our name to the host. Bam! We were seated right away—some of the people in the lobby weren’t too happy about that, but I figured the TV people had a hand in that.

We were seated at a large round table and found out that they served everything family-style. That meant that they bring out the food in large dishes, and the whole family shares. We all decided that we would have lasagna, and then Dad ordered fried calamari for an appetizer.

I don’t think I’ve ever had that before, but I figured it was probably good since Mom got this big ol’ grin on her face.

Nate asked the question we all wanted to ask—“What’s calamari?”

Dad smiled at him and told us it was an Italian seafood appetizer. Sounded good to me!

Damn! The plate of calamari was fucking huge! We all put a few pieces on our plates and spooned out some spicy marinara for dipping.

Well, here goes! I dipped a piece of the calamari into the sauce and popped it into my mouth. Yesss! It was awesome! A little chewy, but then so are clams, and I love them!

It didn’t take long for the family to wipe out the appetizer, and about ten minutes later, a giant fucking dish of lasagna was set down in front of Dad. He portioned it out for each of us, and it hit me that this place wasn’t much different than at home—except it cost a helluva lot more!

The lasagna was fucking insane! So much better than Mom’s—but I wasn’t going to say a thing about that! It was Mom who said it was better than hers. She looked through it with her fork and discovered that there was spinach worked into the layers. She said she would try that the next time she made it at home.

For dessert, we all had tiramisu. Damn, it was pretty damned perfection. I asked Mom if she knew how to make it. She said she had the best tiramisu recipe. Nate told her we needed to have it the next time she made her lasagna. She smiled and told us it was on.

It was a fucking miracle that we all made it through dinner without splashing anything on our clothes. We got the check, and Dad signed it and handed it back. He’s never done that before!

“What? You look confused. Hey, the studio took care of dinner for us one last time.”

We got up and headed over to the theatre. Dad walked up to the box office and got our tickets. Thirty minutes before showtime, the doors opened, and we were taken to our seats. Wow! We were in the middle of the third row—right in front of the stage!

The show—oh my God, the show! Andrew Barth Feldman totally blew me—well, all of us—away! It was like he completely lost himself in the character of Evan. Every emotion he felt on that stage hit me deep in my heart. Every one of us—including Mom and Dad—was in tears more than once. And that was just in the first act!

When Andrew started to sing “You Will Be Found” at the end of Act One, Mom took my hand and squeezed it while Matty held my other hand. When the song ended, the entire theatre lept to their feet and cheered. I knew we were only at the halfway point of the show, but I felt like we had seen an entire musical at that point.

The second act was filled with even more tears. It was strange how when things started to crash around Evan, it felt like they were crashing around me. It broke my heart. By the time the show had ended, I was emotionally drained. I don’t think I’ve ever been so moved in my entire life—and I’ve been through plenty of shit that moved me!

As the audience was leaving, Dad said we were supposed to stay where we were. Sure enough, an usher came to us and said to follow her. She took us out to the lobby and through an unmarked door. We walked through a hallway that led to the backstage area, and we were taken to a room marked “Blue Room.” She said to wait, and Mr. Feldman would be with us shortly.

So, in the world of theatre, “shortly” means twenty-five minutes. It was all good, though. When Andrew walked into the room, he smiled from ear to ear and gave each of us a hug. We talked about the show for a few minutes and posed for some pics and selfies.

Andrew gave us a tour of the backstage area and told us a few people wanted to meet us. We met Alex Boniello, the dude who played Connor Murphy. He was so fucking sweet—totally opposite of the character he played. Alex told us how much he loved the video and how he was glad to see a couple of good-looking dudes get the attention we deserved. He told us that we made life so much better for hundreds of high school kids.

As we walked out of Alex’s dressing room, someone down the hall yelled, “Oh my God! It’s the promposal guys!” It was Gabrielle Carrubba, the girl who played Zoe. She ran up to Matty and me, giving each of us a hug. She looked down at Nate and asked, “Who’s this little hottie?”

Oh my God! Nate started blushing twenty different shades of red as Gabby hugged him. Matty told her he was the one who filmed the video, and she looked into his eyes and thanked him. She was totally sincere. “You know, because of what you did, one of my best friends is still alive today. He was totally down on himself—he hated himself because of who he was. When he saw your video, it gave him hope. He is looking forward to the time he has a relationship like the one your brother has. So—thank you for filming that amazing video, Nate. You’re a hero in my book.” She hugged and kissed Nate on the cheek while he hugged her back.

I looked at Mom, and she was wiping tears from her eyes. Dad? I don’t think I’ve ever seen him look more proud in my entire life.

Gabby and Andrew told us they needed to head out to the stage door and sign some autographs. They thanked us for coming to the show while we thanked them for the tickets and letting us see the most amazing thing we’ve ever seen.

We eventually made it back to the hotel. Dad reminded us that we were leaving for the airport at 9:00 in the morning, so we should pack as much as possible. He didn’t want everyone running around like crazy before the car arrived to take us to the airport.

Wow! We were both exhausted. It had been an incredibly long day. At the same time, it was a day filled with so many amazing things. I know I’ll never forget it.

We got the VIP treatment all the way home. I have to admit it was kinda nice to be treated like royalty—that is, until we landed. Then we were on our own. Dad went to get the car, and we waited out on the sidewalk for him to pull up.

We finally made it back home around 4:00 that afternoon. Just before we got home, I got a text from Eric saying that the gang would like to come by to welcome us home. Mom said it was fine, but we would order in for dinner, so the visit couldn’t last too long.

We were all sitting on the back deck talking about prom, the baseball team, how everyone at school was talking about us being on television, blah blah blah. I was so looking forward to getting back to school and baseball.

Mom ordered Chinese for dinner and had Diner Dash deliver it. While we were eating, Dad told Matty that we would see his dad on Saturday afternoon. I could tell Matty wasn’t looking forward to the visit, but Dad reassured him that his father has had a complete change of heart and would soon be released.

“What happens to me when he comes home? I don’t know if I’m ready to move back into the house with him.”

“Matthew, let’s not worry about that until after the visit. No matter what happens, you will still be a vital part of our family—no matter where you live. You’re my third son. We all love you as much as any other person in this house.”

“Thanks, Mr. H. It’s just that I’ve really gotten used to being with Eddie all the time. It will be horrible not being here with him all the time.”

Nate looked at Matty and said, “But you were here all the time before. Nothing will be any different.”

“Yeah, I guess. It’s just that I’ve really loved being part of a whole family. I haven’t had that in such a long time. I feel closer to you than I ever felt with Dad. It’s just going to be hard, I guess.”

Mom took Matty’s hand in hers and said, “Matthew, dear. You will always be a part of our family. You always have been. And I might add that the changes we’ve seen in Eddie since you’ve been here have been miraculous.”

“Mom, I haven’t changed all that much.”

“Son, your mother and I have noticed huge changes in you. You’ve become a young man who has become compassionate for those around you. You put others first. You even get along with your brother better than you ever have before.”

Nate just grinned. “Yup! You’re pretty cool now. I like you a lot better.”

Well shit. I’m not used to this kind of crap being said to me. Fuck! Here come the tears. What’s with that??

As soon as Matty and I climbed into bed, it was like our dicks knew we were home again and immediately got hard for each other. Matty fucked me silly and filled my ass with his hot nut. I nutted between our bodies, and after Matty licked me clean, I returned the favor. We slept deeply in each other’s arms until the alarm went off at six in the morning.

We showered together and jerked each other off before drying and getting dressed. We went down for breakfast, and each had a bowl of Raisin Bran before we climbed into the Rav4 and headed to school.

School was strange as fuck. Everywhere we turned, we were getting slaps on the back and getting congratulated for the Good Morning America thing. Yeah, there were a few “faggots” thrown our way, but for some reason, it just didn’t matter anymore. After all, isn’t that what we are?

By the time Friday rolled around, things were getting back to normal, and it was time for another baseball game. We had already made it into the playoffs, and this game would determine whether we were going to be the first or second seed in the tournament.

It was a pretty awesome game, and I think I played better than I ever had before. I caught a line drive and threw the ball perfectly to first for a double play, had two base hits, and best of all, in the bottom of the ninth, I hit a three-run homer and won the game for the team—and that put us in the first seed for the playoffs!

Mom let us sleep in Saturday morning. We got up and had waffles and sausage for a late breakfast and got ready to see Mr. Jordan. Matty was a nervous wreck, so I gave him a deep-throat blowjob in the shower. That seemed to calm Matty down, and it quenched my need for some Matty nut. Hehe—I love the taste of my boyfriend's cum!

We got to the hospital at 2:00. After we checked in, Dad, Matty, and I were taken to a small room. It was kind of sterile, with a couple of sofas facing each other.

A few minutes later, there was a light knock on the door, and this woman brought Mr. Jordan into the room. Dad stood up and shook Mr. Jordan’s hand while Matty and I stayed seated on the sofa.

“Hello son. Hello Eddie. It’s good to see you both.”

We stood up, and Mr. Jordan took both of us in his arms. It was weird being hugged by the same person who beat the shit out of my boyfriend not too long ago. I know Mr. Jordan felt how uncomfortable we were, especially since neither of us returned the hug—our arms just hung to our sides.

The woman who brought Mr. Jordan to the room told us that she would be sitting outside the door and that if we needed anything, just let her know.

Dad sat next to Mr. Jordan while Matty and I sat across from them. Dad broke the ice by speaking up. “So, George. How are you feeling?”

“I’m good. I can’t say it’s been easy, but I know I’m an alcoholic now and need to make sure I start attending AA meetings and taking much better care of myself—and my son.”

“Dad—I—I—”

“It’s okay, Matthew. You don’t have to say anything. I’m the one who has a lot to say. The first thing is my apology—an apology from the deepest part of my heart—for the things I said and did that hurt you. I’ve had a lot of time to think about everything, and all I feel is regret for the damage I’ve done to our relationship. I love you, son. You are my only child—you’re all that I have left in this world. Whatever it will take to earn back your love, I will do it—and then some.”

“But I’m still gay, Dad. And I’m in love with the most amazing boy in this world. Before anything can be fixed between you and me, I have to know that you accept me—and Eddie—for who we are.”

“I understand, Matthew. I truly do. You know, before your mother died, she and I would have arguments about you. She would tell me that deep in her heart, she knew you were in love with Eddie. She knew you were gay and insisted that I understand and accept it.”

“She knew?”

“She would always say ‘mothers know these things,’ and I would just scoff and change the subject. So—at the very least, I owe it to your mother’s memory to treat this relationship you have with Eddie the way she would—with acceptance and unconditional love. I’ll admit, it’s not easy for me, but the fact that Eddie is here to support you and be with you tells me more about your relationship than I ever thought I could understand.”

“Mr. Jordan, my relationship with Matty is the most important thing in my life. There is absolutely nothing that I wouldn’t do to make sure he is safe and loved.”

“Dad, we’re going to turn eighteen in a few months. No one can keep us apart after that. But I want you to accept us as a couple before then. Surely you could see how I feel about Eddie from the interview you saw.”

“Yes, I saw that. And can I just say this? I surprised the Hell out of myself when I found these feelings of pride and happiness when I saw you boys on television. But when I saw the rest of Eddie’s family sit with you and accept the two of you as a vital part of their family, that’s when I realized that I have to—no—get to do the same.

“Eddie, you’ve always been like a second son to us. And yes, I can see in your eyes that you don’t trust me very much right now. But I want you to know this—you make my son happier than I’ve ever seen him. Whatever it is that makes Matthew this happy, then that’s the reason I get to be happy.”

“Dad. It means a lot to hear this stuff from you. But deep down, if I can be totally honest—a part of me still doesn’t trust the words. I have to see it in the way you act around us—around me.”

“I understand, Matthew. And for the rest of my life, I will do everything in my power to show you my love and respect. I know it might take a bit of time, but I won’t stop until I see the love you used to have in your eyes.”

“So when are you coming home?”

“They tell me I should be released in seven to ten days. I’m looking forward to getting out of here and starting my life again.”

“I want to believe you, Dad. I really do. I want to love you again without having to think about it—the way Eddie and Nate love their dad. Please let that happen.”

Mr. Jordan stood up and held his arms out. This time Matty stood up and joined his father, wrapping his arms around him. Both of them were sobbing. It was like this massive release of tension and emotion. Dad looked over to me and smiled while slowly nodding his head.

Mr. Jordan let go of Matty with one of his arms and held it out to me. I stood and joined them.

As Mr. Jordan hugged Matty and me, he said, “I’m so happy that you boys have each other. I love you both.”

Well, fuck! I started crying, too. I couldn’t tell if Dad was crying since my face was buried in that three-way hugfest, but soon enough, there was a light knock on the door, and the woman came back into the room to tell us that our time was up. It seems Mr. Jordan had a therapy session coming up, and he needed to get ready for that.

On the way home, Dad asked Matty how he felt about things. “I guess it was good. I mean, it was nice hearing Dad say some of that stuff, but I still don’t know how much I trust him. But I do know that I want my Dad back in my life—so I guess that’s a good thing.”

“Of course, it’s a good thing, Matthew. I can tell how much your father loves you—and how much he wants to make things right again. Just promise me that you’ll let him do that. He’ll need your support just as much as you need his.”

“Yeah, I’ll try my best, Mr. H.”

So, as much as I was hating the idea of Matty moving back home to be with his dad, I knew that it was for the best. Matty and his dad needed each other, and that had to happen if they were ever going to get their relationship back to the place it needed to be.

The only thing is, the shit hit the fan when Matty and I came home from school Tuesday afternoon.

When we walked into the house, Mom took Matty in her arms and hugged him. I could tell she had been crying about something. She told Matty that Dad wanted to see him in the study. He took my hand and took me with him.

When we got into Dad’s study, we saw Dad praying. Damn! It looked like he’d been crying, too!

“Dad? What’s going on?”

Dad looked up at the two of us. Yep, he’d definitely been crying.

“Matthew. Eddie. Please have a seat.”

We sat on the sofa, and Dad sat across from us on the other one.

“Matthew, I don’t quite know how to say this. About a half-hour ago, I got a call from the hospital.” Dad took a big sigh. “Son, it’s your father.”

“Is he alright?”

“I’m sorry, Matthew. He isn’t. He passed away unexpectedly earlier this afternoon.”