And A Child is Born - 18. Prom Night

It was as if Matan had forgotten how to swim. Each day he needed Yonatan to help him learn to stay afloat in the pool. Matan would cough and spit water until Yonatan would jump in the pool to “save him.” It only took Yonatan a couple of days before he caught onto Matan’s tricks. Matan was perfectly fine helping Nash in the water but would become hopeless when he was on his own.

“I am onto your tricks.”

Yonatan whispered the phrase into Matan’s ear as he steadied his partner in the water. Matan had worn his skimpiest bathing suit. Yonatan saw the tumescent and lost his last bit of control. Matan was lying on his back, turned his head and sucked in some water, then started coughing and spitting.

“Help me, Yonatan. I am choking. I need some mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.”

Like the good Boy Scout that he was, Yonatan immediately started helping the scout who was in trouble. Neither cared about anyone else as they consumed each other’s mouths. Matan then flipped his body and climbed onto his partner. His legs were wrapped around Yonatan’s waist as they continued to explore each other’s oral orifice.

“Take it to the showers!! We can’t go anywhere with the two of you.”

Just as they heard the admonishment, both of their bodies shook with explosions that surely registered on the Richter scale. They pulled their heads back and looked at each other in amazement. Neither would have predicted the eruptions that had occurred. Yonatan held onto Matan’s torso as he slowly sank into the water.

“Ooohh, we’re not getting in that pool until it is sanitized.”

Yonatan and Matan didn’t hear what was being said. They were totally enraptured with each other. After starting with swim therapy to help Nash, they realized that their lives had become overwhelming, and they had missed the sexual component that was central to who they were as a couple. School, babies, art exhibits, helping their friends, and trying to maintain some semblance of a home life had robbed them of their primal needs, which had brought them together initially.

Their heads were barely above the waterline as they quietly talked to each other. The gushy words of love would have provoked a joking reaction from their friends, but they looked deeply into the eyes of the other and could see their endless love for each other.

“I love you so very much, Matan. You are my reason for living. Thank you for bringing me back to you.”

“You weren’t far away, but life has been crazy. I realized we hadn’t had time for just us in months and months. This is our time. Just us in this pool. You and your boy.”

“Oh God, I love you so much.”

They both reached down and realized they were hard again.

“Race you to the showers.”

Yonatan gave Matan a foot-hold to springboard out of the water before he ran to the showers. Yonatan took his time as he strolled across the deck. He grabbed his junk and smirked at his friends. They laughed. Then Yonatan ran like all get out because he didn’t want to keep Matan waiting.

Yonatan was pulling down his swimsuit as he walked through the doors to showers. His prodigious appendage led the way. He chuckled as he thought about what was going to happen. Matan was already under the spray with his torso leaned against the tile wall, and his perfect butt was sticking out, offering an invitation. Yonatan stepped under the water and let nature take its course. Once they had both reached satisfaction, Yonatan leaned into Matan’s body and crushed it against the wall. Matan looked over his shoulder and started giggling.

“You look like some carnal animal who has finished one round of rutting and is ready for another, but we both have classes today.”

Their usual hasty departure was delayed from their lethargy after coupling twice. They sat on the bench while trying to put their clothes on but were caught up in looking at each other, touching each other, and kissing. When Erick rolled Nash into the dressing room, they realized they needed to get their asses in gear. Their physical lovemaking, which they didn’t realize had taken a back seat to everything else in their lives, was suddenly reignited. That night at dinner, they rushed through their meal and ran upstairs to their bedroom. Black stood back and laughed as Nash and Jan had quizzical looks on their faces.

“Ahh, the boys I first met have returned. We won’t see them again until morning. One more day until the weekend, and then I don’t think they will resurface until Monday. Jan, I hope you are planning to work long hours this weekend.”

When Yonatan came bounding into the house after his Friday classes, Black handed him a piece of paper.

“I overstepped my boundaries, but I think you will thank me afterward.”

The note stated that Pate and Timmy were loaning them an oceanfront beach house for the weekend. The note further said that Black knew where the keys were located. Black was taking Tim for the getaway weekend.

“We will have a weekend of make-up sex. I haven’t had a chance to be with Tim very often, so we are making up for lost time. Tim is leaving the bookstore to Jeremiah and Bobby to manage. Green and Pink will stay here with Jan, the babies, Nash, and Griff. I have an order of food to pick up on the way to the beach. Plus, there will be a nor’easter, so it will be stormy and raining all weekend. We plan to stay in bed or in front of the fireplace. As an aside, with the wind howling and it raining buckets, we won’t be able to hear the two of howling like mating wolves so that you can go at it.”

Yonatan grinned and said he needed to pack.

“Too late; I came home early and have everything packed for the weekend.”

Matan was standing at the foot of the stairs with his sexiest look going. He had on a pair of running shorts, a wife-beater tee-shirt, and his worn-out jogging shoes. He looked like sex on a stick. Yonatan swore his partner was going commando.

“Everything is taken care of. Let’s go, Yonatan. Your boy needs attention.”

Black assured them he would be fifteen minutes behind as they left the house and started navigating the Friday afternoon traffic. After managing the bridges and tunnel, they slowly worked their way down the coast until they reached the Outer Banks. Matan’s navigation skills were good, and they reached the house with no problem. They decided to walk across the dunes to look at the ocean before the storm arrived later that night.

Black and Tim were on time and started hauling in bags of groceries. Before the sky darkened, Black said they needed to prepare their Shabbat dinner. The man was organized and had picked up prepared food. After dinner, they built a fire and cuddled. Each couple on their own sofa. Yonatan was the first to fall asleep. Matan grinned at Black and Tim and then woke Yonatan and told him that he needed ravaging. That was the catchphrase for the weekend.

In Williamsburg, Erick dropped Griff off to stay with Nash, and then he and Todd headed home. Normally, Todd would find an excuse not to go into the house, but because Yonatan and Matan were gone, Todd and Erick accepted an invitation to stay for dinner. As soon as they finished eating, Jan excused herself and said it had been a long week. The children had been fed earlier and were already in bed.

“How is it living in this mansion?”

Todd was trying to goad Nash into saying something about his friends.

“I am lucky that people care enough about me to take me in. Yonatan and Matan are very kind. Matan is especially helpful in making sure that I get all of my therapies. Yonatan has his attorneys working on the case where I was dropped from the football team and lost my scholarship. They are nothing but extraordinary.”

Griff weighed in and repeated the kind things they had done for him also. He then told Nash that he would take care of his football player when they moved to London. I will introduce you to real football like we play in England and not this American football. Actually, it isn’t even American; it is just that the U.S. has its own version. Erick took that as an opportunity for them to leave. Erick told Griff what time they would see him on Sunday before leaving for the airport.

Griff rolled Nash to the bedroom and closed the door. Once they were alone, Nash said he had something he wanted to give to Griff. Nash made Griff stand by the bed while he sat in the wheelchair just inside the bedroom door. Griff looked on in wonder as Nash arose from the wheelchair, balanced himself, and then slowly walked across the room into his lover’s arms. They were both crying in joy.

“When? How? Why didn’t you tell me? Does anyone else know?”

“Oy vey, questions, questions, questions.”

They both laughed at Nash’s fake Yiddish accent and speech pattern.

That weekend Nash made Griff let go of his inhibitions and make love like they had the first weekend they met. Griff would continually ask Nash if he was okay until Nash said he would be okay when he felt Griff’s fat English sausage in his bum. Griff then gently turned Nash on his side; Nash said to quit treating him like an invalid and to have his way – rough and ready. The next morning at breakfast, both were grinning from ear to ear.

Yonatan and Matan walked into the kitchen at the beach house in their briefs. Black and Tim looked at them and smiled.

“Yonatan, you are looking better since you started swimming. Some of that fat is disappearing. You were getting chubby, fellow.”

Yonatan pinched an inch and said that Matan had fucked the fat off of him during the night. Matan grinned from ear to ear.

“Yep, I plucked that ripe butt of his. It isn’t often that I get to delve into those waters, but I did last night. I am surprised he can walk this morning.

Black and Tim were both amused at the banter and wondered if Matan had actually tapped Yonatan’s butt the night before. Yonatan rubbed his ass cheeks and said he hadn’t ridden cowgirl in a long time. He then grinned and smacked Matan’s ass. That led to a bout of kissing until Black coughed and told them to take it to the bedroom. They did. All day. They finally appeared a dinner time and said they were starving. The storm was in full rage, so they decided to stay in the house instead of going to a restaurant. Tim made a fish etouffee and salad for dinner and a chocolate mocha cake for dessert. Then again, they cuddled on the sofas watching television until it was time for bed.

Todd decompressed after being at Yonatan and Matan’s house, and those two names were not spoken in his presence again the entire weekend. Tayloe and Eron drove down from Richmond, and they all went to Gloucester for Saturday night dinner. They caught up on all of the events in their lives and life at the farm. James and Stephen had given notice because their services weren’t needed. Tayloe knew not to mention that they were going to work for Yonatan and Matan. After talking extensively with the two men, Yonatan had agreed to hire them to help with the Williamsburg house and the apartments in Brussels and Paris. The pair were willing to travel and asked for a reduced work schedule in Europe to explore various countries. Yonatan did not expect the two men to work for them very long. They wanted to work in a posh setting, and Yonatan did not view their life in that way, but he was the only one who didn’t see it that way.

The storm was still raging when it was time for the foursome to leave the beach and return to Williamsburg. Black recommended an alternate route further west, which moved them away from the shoreline and the storm. They were surprised by the difference in the wind velocity by traveling 30 miles inland. Yonatan decided to take a more scenic route back to Williamsburg and drove through Isle of Wight County to Scotland Wharf, where the ferry to Jamestown took them across the James River and then to Williamsburg. When they arrived home, Black was unhappy that they had taken that route without letting him know.

“It’s okay, Black. We are fine. We were just two young men in love on a leisurely Sunday afternoon drive.”

Black nodded his head. It had been a wonderful weekend, and he didn’t want to spoil it by reminding Yonatan of their safety protocols.

Monday started as usual with time in the pool; Matan helped Nash with his therapy and classes. On Tuesday, two unrelated things happened which brought their logical family even closer together. First, all of the football team members were excited to see Nash at lunchtime and talked about the upcoming Athletic Department dinner and dance. Only, Nash had not been invited. They tried to cover their faux pas by saying they were sure his invitation was in the mail. They felt terrible looking at their friend and seeing him crushed by one more exclusion because of his injury. Nash smiled while his eyes glistened with tears and said it was a wonderful event the year before when he and Jan went. He pulled the picture from his wallet to show everyone. The football team members decided that once again, their friend had been screwed over.

That night, at dinner, Nash was quiet at the table. When Jan asked him about his day, he mentioned the upcoming dinner and dance, and he was not invited. Nash then turned in his wheelchair and headed to his bedroom. He had not touched his food. No one knew what to say.

Yonatan and Matan went to the LGBT meeting that night, where it was decided to hold a spring prom for college students, alumni, and high school students who were not able to attend their proms because of their sexuality. Yonatan put his hand over Matan’s mouth before Matan could offer to pay for the entire event. People in the room laughed, knowing that Matan would get his way. Matan did ask if supporters of LGBT people could attend. There was much debate, and finally, it was decided straight people could attend if they joined the LGBT campus group. Matan had a plan.

The next morning at breakfast, Matan mentioned that there was much discussion about the spring LGBT prom. He casually threw out the date – the same night as the Athletic Department dinner and dance. Nash laughed and said his friend was devious, but he wasn’t gay, and he apparently wasn’t an athlete either. Matan then said he was now a member of the LGBT campus group and therefore could bring a date to the dance. He pointedly looked at Jan.

“Jan, you need to get yourself a new dress. There will be lots of women there, and you want to look your best.”

“Yeah, there will be lots of women, but I ain’t looking for one. I like men.”

Nash looked across the table and asked Jan to be his date.

“I want to dance with you that night.” Nash’s statement drew a shocked response from the sleepy contingent at the table. “If you go with me, Jan, I will dance with you.” Jan started crying and said yes, she would be honored.

Matan set to work. Quietly.

Prom night was filled with excitement as Matan had purchased rainbow cummerbunds and bow ties for them to wear. Tim arrived with Jeremiah and Bobby in tow. Matan made them remove their boring black accessories and put on rainbow-colored bowties and eyeglasses. Yonatan did not bother to ask where Matan acquired everything rainbow. Matan also had green carnation boutonnieres for everyone to wear except Jan, who had a corsage. They were all in a giddy mood.

Todd and Erick had politely declined the invitation for dinner. They said that Eron and Tayloe were coming and they were going to the Williamsburg Inn. Griff was in fine fiddle though he joked with everyone that he, Jan, and Nash were a threesome for the evening. Nash laughed while Jan looked slightly uncomfortable. She hadn’t realized that she would be a plus one to Nash and Griff. Jan’s grandmother was at the house to babysit Juju and Ossie as she considered them her great-grandchildren. She told everyone as they were leaving that they were all beautiful and not to stay out partying all night long. She was acting in loco-parentis.

Black drove the Yukon, and Tim drove his Escalade to the hotel where the prom was being held. Matan was excited and on edge the entire time. Yonatan knew that Matan had been busy with a secretive project and figured that he would find out the details at the prom. They arrived at the hotel, and Griff grabbed Nash’s wheelchair. Outside the door to the ballroom were three additional wheelchairs with a sign that read they were reserved. Nash wondered who else would be in a wheelchair besides him. He had promised to dance with Jan and with Griff and figured that would be the extent of his energy for the night.

Matan checked in and was given a table assignment at the edge of the dance floor in front of the stage. They thought they were lucky to get such a table, but Yonatan saw Matan whispering to Charlie, who was in charge of the prom. Charlie was giving Matan a thumbs-up sign. People kept arriving and immediately went to a photo booth where their prom pictures were taken. Matan insisted on photos of couples and a group picture. They went to their table, and programs were at each place setting. There was much discussion about who would be crowned King and Queen of the prom. The two people who sold the most advertisement for the program, sold the most prom tickets, and raised the most money for the youth emergency fund would be crowned. Yonatan noticed a full-page advertisement for the Jenner-Ward Family Foundation, which was established to help youth operate the facility at their former home in Suffolk. He knew that Matan had the ad placed in the program.

Yonatan was surprised when Ayal and Zeke walked in. They came up and said they were at the table next to Yonatan and Matan. Eron, Tayloe, Erick, and Todd arrived and were seated at that same table. There were two more tables in front of the dance floor that were empty. Anytime someone would approach the tables as if to sit, Charlie would suddenly appear to tell them the tables were reserved. There was a great deal of speculation about who had reserved the tables but not arrived. Music started, and the dancing commenced. Matan was having a great time though Yonatan could see him sending visual signals to Charlie. Jan and Nash danced a slow dance. Griff was close by with the wheelchair in case Nash needed to sit. The ballroom was packed, and people were enjoying themselves when Charlie approached the podium. He thanked everyone for attending and said it was time to crown the King and Queen. He asked everyone to fill the dance floor leaving a center aisle for the queer royalty to process. Charlie reminded everyone that they were to bow to a queen. Everyone immediately started bowing to everyone else, which caused Charlie to laugh at the mayhem. Matan sat at the table with Yonatan and their guests. Charlie reviewed the criteria for how the King and Queen were chosen. Charlie said that over $50,000 had been raised to help youth in need. People gasped and then cheered at the amount raised. The planning committee had hoped to clear $2,000.

“And the King and Queen for the LGBT Prom are………..Nash Gillette and Jan Chamblee.”

A spotlight found Nash and Jan at their table. They were both stunned. Matan prodded Griff, who started pushing Nash forward in his wheelchair. Nash asked him to stop. Nash stood and grabbed onto both Griff and Jan, and then walked between them through the mass of people to the stage. People were yelling and screaming approval. People were crying. People were hugging. Nobody expected this to happen, especially Jan and Nash, as neither had done any fundraising. They had not even bought their tickets to the prom.

The crowns were put on their heads, and suddenly there was a commotion in the back of the room. The two co-captains of the football team wearing tuxedos were in wheelchairs and were being pushed forward by two more football players. One empty wheelchair was being pushed forward by another player. Griff helped Nash back into his chair, and a tall, good-looking football player escorted Jan to a wheelchair. People moved back as the music started, and the wheelchair attendants moved the chairs in a choreographed pattern to the music. The four chairs moved in a synchronized fashion across the floor, with Nash and Jan beaming in delight. Griff was grinning from ear to ear because he had learned the routine in Atlanta from watching a videotape that had been sent to him. As the music was ending, the rest of the football team came into the ballroom, lifted Nash and Jan on their shoulders, and carried them around the room. When the team members finished their routine, they lowered Nash into Griff’s arms, and Jan was lowered into the football player’s arms who had maneuvered her wheelchair.

The music cranked up, and everyone started dancing. The football team took over the two tables that had been empty all night. One by one, they came to pay homage to Matan for ensuring that Nash was honored. They had been at the Athletic Department dinner and dance before coming to the prom and had coordinated with Charlie when they could arrive. They decided the LGBT prom was a team event, and their dates went their separate ways. Many of the young gay guys had their first opportunity to dance with a football player that night. The players realized they were having a much better time than they would have at the Athletic Department event. Photos appeared in the school paper the following week. The Athletic Director was unhappy that his event was upstaged, but the football team members were clear about their preference.

Yonatan looked at Nash and realized that he was exhausted and needed to go home. He signaled Black, who brought the Yukon to the door for loading the crew. Jan was still dancing and said she would find her way home later. Griff was exhilarated because all of the planning had paid off, and his lover had the best night since they had met in Atlanta. Nash was loved and validated by his teammates.

The next morning at breakfast, there was a blow-by-blow post-event review of what had happened the night before. It quickly became evident that Matan had worked behind the scenes to make it all happen. Ossie and Juju were excited and babbling in baby talk away while everyone was speaking. James was refilling coffee cups, and Stephen was bringing out more food when the front doorbell rang. Black immediately went into safety mode. They were not expecting anyone. Black said for everyone to stay put and he would be back. He closed the doors to the breakfast room. They all stopped talking while waiting to find out who had arrived.

Faise Felton, the tall good-looking football player from the night before, walked into the breakfast room, followed by Black. He was very nervous, and Black was not giving him a reason to relax. The man looked around the room, and when he saw Jan, his face lit up. Jan was enjoying his discomfort as he had been a little too full of himself the night before. She told him more than once to calm himself down if he wanted to see her again. He reminded her that he was a football star and could get any woman on campus. Jan told him that he should do that, but she wasn’t just any woman on campus. When Jan arrived home, he tried to kiss her and put the moves on. She thanked Faise for the ride and said that he needed to come to breakfast and meet her family if he wanted to date her. Jan didn’t expect to see him again, yet here he stood.

Jan started by introducing her grandmother.

“Ma’am, I am very pleased to meet you. You have a beautiful granddaughter.”

That did not impress granny.

“Yes, she is beautiful. But she is brilliant, and her mind will take her places her beauty and charm will not.”

“Yes, ma’am. She is a lady. She proved that last night, and I am honored that she invited me to breakfast.”

“Well, pull up a chair and have some breakfast. If you plan to date my granddaughter, then we need to talk.”

Nash chuckled, remembering the grilling he had received the year before.

Faise was affable and enjoyed the conversation. He was still full of himself and his achievements. Nash rolled his chair next to Faise and said they should talk outside. Everyone watched through the windows as Nash ripped the footballer a new one. A humbled man walked back into the house. Jan knew that her gay brothers would look out for her.

Yonatan said there was only one thing he hadn’t figured out. He wondered aloud how Nash and Jan had managed to raise so much money. He asked if Jan had pushed Nash, in his wheelchair, through the neighborhood going door to door collecting money. Perhaps, he suggested, they had put signs around campus to raise funds, but he hadn’t seen them. Maybe, just maybe, they had pooled all of their cash reserves to donate to the LGBT group. Somehow, he said none of those ideas made sense. He then looked at Matan.

“You know I did it, so quick badgering them. I came up with the scheme, and I had lots of supporters helping me. I wanted something good to happen. Our lives have been too challenging this past year, and I thought if I did something selfless, then the bad vibes would go away, and nothing bad would happen to us again. Plus, I wanted Nash and Jan to have a wonderful night. They were the perfect King and Queen.”

Everyone at the table was smiling.

“You, my husband, are goodness and light. With you, no darkness or evil can penetrate our lives. You are fixing our lives and the world. What you did was selfless and will help kids in need. You helped the football team recognize what a gift Nash is to them. You made the LGBT group realize they can achieve more than they ever imagined. You made me fall in love with you even more than I thought possible.”

Tears were running down Matan’s face as he looked at his husband.

“You are my sun and moon and stars. You are my life, Matan.”

They excused themselves and ran up the stairway.

Black stood back and smirked.