Stephen - 9. Chapter 9

The morning went quickly, breakfast, followed by Church, and then they separated. But Stephan knew that they were united in a way that meant he didn’t need to fear about Nohr being away at school.

The term began to come to an end, the boys from the village decide to have a party for those leaving, and for those starting the Upper Secondary. Each of the boys added some money to the pot and made arrangements to have an afternoon party at the Tavern. The boys in Nohr’s class took the money and met with the Tavern owner to have a small room set aside with food and drinks. The party would start at one and end at six when the regular patrons would begin to come in for dinner and drinks.

When Stephan and Nohr walked in holding hands, a few of the larger boys noticed and smiled at them. One of the boys came over and asked if they were boyfriends, Nohr said yes. One of the girls heard this and made some rude remark, Stephan looked at her and smiled. That made her even angrier when Nohr noticed he put his arm around Stephan’s shoulders.

“May I have your attention, Stephan and I are boyfriends and have committed to each other for life, you may not approve, but it isn’t anyone’s business. We just wanted you all to know as you are our friends. There are times when words are used to hurt; that’s wrong. We want you to be happy for us, but if you can’t, we understand.”

I looked around the room. The boys just looked at us and went back to what they were doing. The girls looked like someone hit them with an electric shock; their mouths were open. Nohr and I walked over to where the boys were playing a game and watched. No one said a word in anger. They just smiled, one boy said good, that leaves more girls for us. A chuckle and then everything returned to normal.

The summer seemed to pass fast. We fished whenever we wanted. There were walks into the hills around us, that was after chores. There was plenty of kissing on those walks. We had a group of young boys who always asked us to go fishing with them, and we usually did. Not that we’d fished, we’d bait their hooks for them and help them clean their fish. We helped them with the crabs as well. One of the villagers got an old pot. The boys would gather wood. We’d add seawater to the pot. When the water was boiling, we added the crabs. Then we’d all sit down and eat crabs for lunch. The kids loved it, and so did we.

“Oh hi. Pastor. Did you come for the fish or the crabs?”

“I came to see you and Nohr. Some of the villagers said you and Nohr are in love, is that so?”

"Yes, that’s true, we are gay and plan on living our life together.”

“The villagers are concerned that some of their boys might also turn gay.”

“Pastor, as a man of God, you should know that God loves us, he made us this way just as he made you and the villagers. We aren’t sinning, a man told me that God loves us and made us as we are, God doesn’t make mistakes, and if he made us gay, then He meant for us to live our lives in sincerity and honestly. Nohr and I are committed to each other as any couple would be.”

The pastor just looked at us and walked away. Nohr looked at me,

“Where did that come from?” I told Nohr my story of being in the hospital and being visited by a man named Michael.

“Michael told me that and has reminded me several times that God is love. If he created me, and Micheal said he created me like I am, then there’s nothing wrong being gay. I think that as long as you and I devote our life to each other, then God will be happy with us. Maybe Michael should visit the Pastor.”

I gave a lot of thought to what the Pastor said.

That evening at dinner, “Aunty, this afternoon while we were at the fishing place, Pastor came and saw me. He said that the villagers were concerned about Nohr and I being gay. Have you heard anything about that?”

“Yes, a few of the girls that were at your party were talking about you and Nohr being gay. I don’t think they liked it as you two were being looked upon as husband material.”

“I hope nothing negative comes from this. I don’t want a repeat of what happened in the States. I certainly don’t want Nohr to get beat up or in trouble.”

“I think it’ll quiet down.”

I wasn’t as sure. That evening lying in bed, “Michael, can you hear me.” There was no answer but I continued anyway. “Michael, I’m sure you know that I love Nohr. You also know the reason I’m here in Denmark. You said God made us this way and He loves us, I’m happy with Nohr, and I want to spend my life with him. But the gossip will try and put a strain on our relationship. I talked with our pastor today, and I’m not sure he believes that God made us as we are. I know you’re listening, you said you or someone would watch over me, can that person also help Pastor. If he can’t see that God made us, then there will be no hope for us in this village.”

I silently said a prayer to God thanking him for making me as I am and allowing me to love Nohr.