The Boy on the Porch - 9. A Return to Normalcy, a Change, and Discussions

Once again, the day-to-day became mundane, without too much out of the ordinary happening. Brendan was getting used to being 'single' again, and the kids were content. About the only thing that could be considered interesting in the near term was a trip to the phone store. Jill and Steve were allowed to get basically full function phones. Brendan felt Nick, however, shouldn't have unfettered access to the Internet, so he got a more basic phone, one tailored for younger children. The salesperson set up apps for Brendan to track their usage and location. All of them had parental controls to some extent. This was something Jill and Steve were not tremendously happy about. Brendan gave them one option that wasn't really an option, the controls get installed, or they could leave the store with nothing. Neither one chose the 'no phone' option. Before they left the store, they all had each other’s new numbers as contacts.

The following Friday was the next scheduled visit from CPS. Stephanie Lawson, however, was no longer their caseworker, it seemed. Skylar Lewis appeared at the door at three-thirty, ready to inspect the premises and meet the children. He was a tall, slim man with dark brown, almost black hair, hazel eyes, probably in his late twenties, and a passing resemblance to a younger John Cusack. Brendan took note of that, because 'Runaway Jury' was one of his favorite movies, and books. Brendan gave him a tour of the house, and introduced the children. Skylar wanted to question the children without Brendan present. Although Brendan hesitated, he complied. His hesitation was two-fold. First not knowing what he would ask and how the kids would answer was the top reason. The second reason was on a more personal level. He simply didn't want to leave his side. But this man also made him feel uneasy. He felt uneasy because he had the same kind of reaction to Greg, upon first meeting him, and pretty much every more serious boyfriend he'd ever had. A relationship with their caseworker didn’t seem like a good idea to him.

After he called Brendan into the living room to discuss his findings, he found himself staring at Skylar. Granted eye contact was useful during a conversation, but he realized he was going overboard more than a little. But every time he looked away, he couldn't bear to look away from his eyes for more than a few seconds. He never connected his behavior with Lanny's around Jill.

"Are you okay, Mr. Nelson? You seem distracted."

"Um, no. I mean I'm fine. I can't stop thinking about yo... using the latest application at work. I struggled with it all day today."

If Skylar noticed the slip, he let it slide, "Ah. Okay. Well, please try to pay attention."

"I will. Sorry."

Before Skylar could continue, the doorbell rang. Brendan got up to open it, greeting Nick's friend Wayne. He had forgotten about the postponed sleepover. He called Nick, who quickly disappeared with Wayne up to his room. Brendan didn't want to be rude, so he spent a moment talking with Mrs. Kane. She thanked him for letting Wayne come over and said she'd be back around two tomorrow to pick him up.

"Sorry about that, Mr. Lewis."

"That's fine. It gave me a chance to watch you interact with the parent of Nick's friend."

Skylar completed his completely positive report and got up to leave, taking the copies of the emails from the doctors and the summary from Jill's psychologist's visit that Tuesday, which fortunately went well, although follow-up visits were recommended. When they shook hands to say goodbye, neither man was apparently eager to let go. Finally, breaking contact after just enough time to become uncomfortable, Skylar took his leave. Brendan stared at the door as if he could see Skylar walking to his car. Unbeknownst to him, Skylar struggled to not look back. He failed and glanced back twice. Neither time did he see Brendan. He decided he had to make an excuse to come back sooner than his next scheduled visit in two weeks. Being their caseworker could make things tricky, if those things went as Skylar was imagining. Skylar was initially afraid to take that risk.

Jill saw him staring at the front door, "He's hot, huh, U.B.?"

"What? No. I, um..."

"It's okay. Your secret's safe with me."

"You sure you're only fifteen?"

"Nope, I was held back six times, I'm really twenty-one."

"I liked it better when you were a little shy."

"Um, I kind of need to be a little shy again. Can we talk? Upstairs?"

Brendan knew that meant; his office, "Sure."

Once upstairs, with his office door closed, "What's up?"

"Um, you remember I mentioned Andrew?"

"Yes, I think you said he was a boy in your class."

"And you said he was in a chicken suit. Well, he lost the beak and feathers."

"Okay. That means what?"

"He asked me to a movie tomorrow night."

"Kind of short notice."

"No. He asked me Tuesday. It just took me this long to work up the courage to ask you."

"Ah. I see the shy reference now. You were afraid I was going to say no."

"Yeah, kind of. You know what my father did, so adult males are still a sore spot for me."

"I understand. Like I said when you first mentioned him, as long as I get to meet him beforehand, I don't have a problem with you dating. You're quite mature for fifteen, I think."

"So, I can go?"

"Yes. Why don't you see if he wants to come over for dinner first? I'll grill some steaks, and break out the ice cream afterward."

"Um. Okay. But if he can't or won't?"

"He has to come inside to pick you up, or, how are you getting there?"

"Can you drive us?"

"Yes. I think I can leave Steve in charge for a short round trip to the Regal theaters."

Uncharacteristically, Jill jumped up and hugged Brendan, "Thank you. I knew you were great from the first time I talked to you on the phone."

"Well, you did meet me about ten years ago, when I lived in your guest room for almost a week."

"I don't remember much from when I was five, U.B."

"I guess that's true. I don't either."

"Can I go call him?"

"How else is he going to know you can go? Yes, go call."

Brendan figured since he was in there, he'd check his accounts. It was only a little more than a week until he'd need to write a check to Rich for thirty-thousand dollars. It would have been three days, but the sellers needed another week for some reason. He wanted to know how deep that would cut. Interest and stock prices recovered a little of the funds he withdrew to pay for the motel. His checking account was bigger than it would have been with a two-week motel stay, and his savings account was a little bigger than it was after the withdrawal. He felt he'd be in good shape. He was just about to get up and leave when there was a knock on the door.

"Yeah, come in."

"H-hi Uncle B-B-Brendan."

"Hi Steve. You haven't adopted the U.B. shortcut your sister came up with yet?"

"N-no. I j-just f-f-forgot it."

"No problem, what can I do for you?"

Steve looked around for a bit, "It's k-k-kind of a p-p-personal k-k-question."

"Don't ever be afraid to ask me anything, Steve. The worst that will happen is that I'll say I can't answer it."

"Ooooo-kay. How d-d-did you n-n-n-know your wa-were g-gay?"

"I think you should sit down."

Steve sat, but was obviously very nervous.

"So where is this coming from?"

"You're n-n-not g-gonna answer, th-then?"

"I will. I just want to have an idea why you're asking. Is it because you think you might be?"

"N-no. I g-g-guess I w-want to n-n-know how to d-d-deal with soooomeone th-that I think m-m-might b-be."

"Okay, I'll answer first, then we'll talk about this hypothetical someone. I guess I was about your age, maybe a little older. My friends were all starting to get girl crazy. I just didn't have any interest. I was happy hanging out with the boys. As more and more of them started having girlfriends, I found myself getting jealous. But not of my friends. I was jealous of the girls, because they were probably doing some of the things I had recently started thinking about doing with my friends.

"But then I noticed one of my friends, Danny, seemed to be as uncomfortable around those girl discussions as I was. I knew I was taking a big chance, but I was essentially starting to lose friends to girls. I wanted to make sure I could at least hold on to Danny as a friend. I told him I noticed his discomfort, and admitted my own. He looked at me for a few moments, then asked if I liked boys. I said I did, I had a few friends that I liked. He took it a step further, and clarified. He said he meant 'really liked them, like boys shouldn't like other boys.' I saw how nervous he was and took a leap of faith, and told him yes. I liked boys that way. He surprised me by hugging me and kissing me on the cheek, saying 'I hoped so. Thank you.' As we hugged, we faced each other, then we really kissed. It was the best thing that had ever happened to me up until that point. I was sure after that first kiss."

"W-wow. How d-d-did your other f-friends t-treat you after?"

"Well, it's not like Danny and I ever did anything flagrantly gay around the rest of our friends. They did notice that Danny and I seemed to be acting differently. I think some of them seriously suspected, and they kind of distanced themselves from the two of us. A couple others also suspected, and even made a point of saying they didn't care what we did. As long as we didn't do it with them."

"S-so, the ones th-that st-stuck with you, th-they j-j-just acted p-pretty m-much how they always d-did?"

"Yes, pretty much. They'd occasionally make jokes about us and called us names, but we could tell they weren't being mean, just trying to, like you said, act like they always did."

"Th-thanks."

Steve got up to leave, Brendan stopped him, "Whoa, hold on a second now. I don't care who it is, but did something happen that made you think this friend was gay?"

"Y-yeah. B-but if I s-say wa-what, you'll f-figure out h-who it is."

"I already have an idea. It's Lanny, right? You've been a little, I don't know, different this week, since your sleepover."

"Yes. I'm n-not really s-sure, b-because he was d-d-drooling over Jill, so what he d-did do, co-confused m-me. I d-don't want t-t-to say wa-what happened, th-though. Is th-that ooooo-kay?"

"Sure. As long as it wasn't something he did to you that you didn't want."

"N-no. N-n-not ex-aaaaactly to m-me."

"Okay. But back to your initial concern. Treat him like you always have. If he does something that you don't like, be honest. Tell him you don't care if he does things like that, but you don't want to. Make sure he knows that you’re still friends no matter what. If he is gay, he’ll need your friendship more than ever. Don’t abandon him.”

"I wa-wouldn't d-do that. I m-mean, you're gay and ya-you don't d-do anything t-to make m-me un-c-c-comfortable."

"I'm glad to hear you say that. Both that you'll stick by your friend and being comfortable with my being gay."

"Okay. Um, Nick and Wa-Wayne want t-to g-go swimming. Is th-that okay?"

"Yes. I had an extra key made, it's hanging on a hook by the back door. It will stay there as long as you all let me know you're going swimming. I don't want any surprises."

"G-got it. We'll t-tell you."

"I'll probably come out myself in a little while, soak up some sun."

"K. S-see ya."

Brendan sat back in his chair, considering how he handled the two disparate situations. He concluded that he did a pretty good job. He powered down his laptop and headed out. As he passed Jill's room, he could tell she was still on the phone. He didn't try to listen in, although he did wonder if it was Andrew or maybe one of her female friends she was talking to. He changed into his bathing suit, grabbed a towel and a book, and headed to the pool. For some reason, he wanted to read 'Runaway Jury' once again. Of course he knew exactly what that reason was. About ten minutes after he parked it on a lounge chair, Jill came out as well.

"Steaks on the grill it is. Andrew's dad will drop him off at five tomorrow, will that be okay?"

"Sure. That'll give us some time to visit. Will he need a ride home?"

"Yes. That's okay, right?"

"Yeah. I can drive him home. Depending on the time, your brothers may have to tag along. I don't want to leave them alone if it’s too late."

"That'll be cool. He'll know them from dinner."

Jill dropped her towel and dove into the pool. Gay or not, he knew that Jill was a very pretty girl. He'd have to keep a close eye on Andrew. Little did he know at that time that Andrew wouldn't be the problem, and that Steve was dead wrong about Lanny.

**********************************

Saturday came. Jill was nervous about her date, and about Andrew meeting her uncle. They all had gone out earlier in the day to do some shopping after Wayne was picked up. Brendan wanted to make sure he had enough steak. Having another teen-aged boy added to the mix meant what he had in the freezer very likely wouldn't be enough. They brought home snacks, potato and macaroni salad as well. Brendan was sitting in the living room reading when the doorbell rang a few minutes to five. Jill came crashing through to answer it. Brendan had to chuckle as he was getting up. He figured, correctly, that Andrew's dad would accompany him to the door. He told Jill to let them in. The four of them went into the living room.

After introductions, Brendan queried, "Can I get you a beer, or a soda, Jack?"

"If you're having a beer, sure, I'll join you."

"Great. Jill take Andrew into the kitchen and let him choose a soda."

"Okay. Can we sit in there while you and Mr. Markson talk?"

"Sure."

Brendan came back with two bottles of Stella Artois.

"Stella. I'm impressed. So, Andrew tells me you're Jill's uncle."

"Andrew speaks the truth."

"If you don't mind me asking, what happened to her parents?"

"Got a week? Just kidding. The short version is my sister and her husband were abusive and are currently resting their bones in jail cells."

"Holy shit."

"Yes. Although something more colorful would be just as appropriate."

"She seems to be adjusting well, from what Andrew tells me about her."

"I think she is. All three of them, actually."

"It was very fortunate you had a big enough house for them to move into."

"Actually, when the shit hit the fan, pardon my French, I was renting a two-bedroom house. My brother is helping me buy this one. I actually close on it a week from Monday. We knew we had to do something fast to keep the kids out of foster care."

"You must have been very close to them to take that on so suddenly."

"Believe it or not, I hadn't seen Jill or Steve for about ten years. And Nick, hell, him showing up unannounced on my doorstep one day started the ball rolling. I'd never even met him and didn't immediately know he was my nephew. But then the family relationship kicked everything into high gear."

"Wow. I'm impressed. You're obviously a very caring man."

"Thanks."

"Well, thanks for the beer, I should be going."

"You can stay for dinner. I'll be grilling a few steaks and have some salads. There's plenty."

"Well..."

"Wife and kids at home, I get it."

"Uh, no. It's just Andrew and me. His mother passed away a couple years ago."

"Oh. I'm sorry to hear that. But, then you have no excuse. Stay, please."

"If you're sure."

"One hundred percent positive. If you don't mind standing over a hot grill in eighty degree weather, it's time I cranked up the grill."

"Don't mind at all."

"Another beer?"

"Sure, but I think I'll work on the next one slower."

"I hear that. No need to get that B.A.C up too high."

Brendan and Jack continued talking at the grill. Jill and the rest of the kids, Andrew included, helped gather up the extras, drinks, and set the table out on the patio.

"Nice pool. Yours?"

"Yes it is Jack. The fence is there for safety reasons. I believe the previous owners had children at one point in time. They're retired now and downsized. If you want to come back with Andrew tomorrow, it's supposed to hit the mid-eighties. Might be the last hurrah for the summer."

"Can we dad?"

"If you're sure you don't mind, Brendan."

"Not at all. The more the merrier. The other two will have friends over, so it'll kind of pair everyone off."

"Sure, why not. Any particular time?"

"Steve, what time was Lanny coming by?"

"He s-said h-h-he'll b-be here after lu-lunch."

"Nick, what about Wayne?"

"I told him noon, is that okay?"

"Sure. So, Jack. I'd say any time after noon would be fine."

"We'll be here. It'll be nice to hang out with another single dad, sort of. All the friends are married. Visiting them, I feel like a third wheel."

"I can imagine that. You're welcome any time. I'm completely single at the moment, just had a relationship end."

"That's too bad. I have an off and on girlfriend. She's a flight attendant. We only get together once in a while, when she's in town."

"Whatever works for you. Jill, excuse me. Have you mentioned, um, my status to Andrew?"

"Status? Oh. Oh, no. I don't think I've told any of my friends."

Jack and Andrew looked confused.

"I hope it doesn't bother you Jack, but I'm gay. That relationship that just ended was with another man."

"Holy shit. I would have never guessed. You don't act... um..."

"Fruity?"

"Well, I wasn't going to say exactly that, but I guess it's close. No I don't mind. I'll just make sure I keep my alcohol consumption down around you."

Jack said that with a smile, so Brendan toyed with him a bit, also smiling, "Oh, you're safe around me. I like the tall, skinny type. Like Andrew over there."

"Um. I..."

"Jack, I'm kidding. First of all, I don't go after kids. Never had a boyfriend less than a year younger than me. Hell, the one that just broke up with me is ten years older. And I know not to go where I'm not wanted, if you know what I mean. If you ever got drunk around me, I'd only take off your shoes and throw a blanket over you."

"I will say, you have a pretty good attitude. The couple gay men I have run across, well, let's just say, they fit the stereotype well."

"Loud and clear. I try to keep my personal life as closed off to the world as I can. I don't hide it, nor do I flaunt it. I just thought you should know, seeing how our kids may start seeing more of each other. I didn't want you to be surprised and find out some other way."

"Appreciate that. No, I can tell you're a good man. Who you date doesn't matter."

"Good. Because I can't wait to see you in a Speedo,' Brendan leered.

Jack gave it right back, "Hell, if it wasn't for Jill, I'd swim nude."

Jack tried to hold back a laugh, but failed. That caused everyone else to join in, laughing.

Jill spoke up next, "I think I'll go in and start getting ready for the movie. I'll come back down in a few, okay, Andy?"

"Yeah, sure."

"Well, I think that's my signal. Andrew says you'll bring him home?"

"Yes. I may have a full car depending on the time. I don't want to leave Nick here with just Steve if it's too late."

"Makes sense. Thanks for dinner, and I'll see you tomorrow. I'll try to remember my Speedo."

"Oh, God dad, don't be gross."

"Goodbye Jack."

After Jack left, Andrew was curious, "You're really a, f... um..."

"Yes, Andy. I'm really a gay man. That would be the term you were looking for."

"Um, sorry. I didn't mean to be rude."

"Well, at least you didn't say it. I can't stop you from thinking it. And I really was kidding before about you being my type. I may like a man that way, if he was also gay. But when I told your dad I don't go where I'm not wanted, I meant I don't hit on straight guys, regardless of age."

"Okay. I... I guess I just need to get used to the idea."

"If I can help you learn to be more tolerant, we both win."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Thanks."

"No problem."

Jill came down, looking like a model.

"Whoa. You look awesome, Jill."

"Thanks, Andy. Are you ready to go?"

"Yeah."

"U.B.?"

"My services as a chauffeur are required. Steve, watch your brother. I'll be back in a little while and we'll clean this up then."

"Ooooo-kay."

Jill and Andrew went on their date. Steve surprised Brendan by he and Nick cleaning everything up before he returned. Jill and Andrew hung out with friends for a little while after the movie, then called for a ride. Steve and Nick went for the ride, as Brendan expected. At Andrew's house, Jill walked with him to the door, looked toward the car, Brendan looked away, thinking she may have wanted to give him a kiss, which she did. That was proven to Brendan by Nick's 'ewww.'

Next Up - “Pool Party and A Bit of Trouble”