Travels - 11. Local Hero

Sunday, 10 August 2014

“CJ!” The shout from the first floor was followed by stomping on the stairs.

“That’s Brad.” CJ glanced at Owen who lay sprawled out on the couch next to him. The Aussie reached between the cushions for the remote control and muted the TV before standing up.

“Oh, man, it’s good to be back. And this place rocks. I saw it before we left for Boston but it was empty. I like all the furniture and shit in it now.” Bradley’s face opened up into a broad smile when he noticed the tall blonde standing partially behind CJ. “Hey, Owen, I’m Brad. Welcome to the U.S. and Washington. Sorry we weren’t here yesterday when you got in. We went back to Massachusetts to get the last of our stuff.”

“No worries, mate. Yesterday was a slow day. We went to a concert Friday and had a late night. Since we were up early to visit with CJ’s grandparents until it was time to catch our flight, all we did once we returned from Miami was rest. Today we’ve just been sitting around waiting for you guys to get home.”

“How was Boston? And where’s Patrick?” CJ took a spot on the couch, next to where Owen had been sitting.

“He’s back at our place, should be over in a few.”

“And home? How was it?”

“You got it wrong, CJ.” Brad dropped himself into one of the recliners. “I keep telling everybody Boston’s not home anymore. Washington is. But it was good. Mom liked JP. I think he helped calm whatever fears she may have still had about us moving. And when she found out about Owen, she said it was good Paddy and I would have him and you close by. Dude, she’s never met you and she thinks you walk on water. What the fuck?”

“Yeah, CJ has a way of fooling people into thinking he’s this nice sweet guy. He pulled the same shit with my family. They all love him. Although my sister’s still upset he’s gay. She wanted him for herself.”

“Asshole!” CJ tried to go after Owen but the guy jumped out of the way and ran for the stairs.

“I need to get up there and say hello.” Halfway up, Owen stopped when he met up with Patrick. “Hey, mate! You must be Patrick. I’m Owen.”

“Hi, damn you’re tall. Nobody told me you were so big.” Patrick and Owen were at eye level but only because the Aussie stood a couple of steps below the boy.

“Your dad’s taller than me. You’re still growing and you have his genes in you. I wouldn’t worry about it. Are Tom and JP here or at your place?”

“Yeah, but right now that means I’m the shortest one around. Dad and Pops are coming over. We saw your luggage by the back door and figured you’d be here.”

“This is a sweet setup, CJ. Where’s my cocktail?” Brad lifted the recliner's footrest and stretched his legs out as he glanced around the basement while his brother and Owen chatted. “We’re gonna be watching a lot of games here. This is like the ultimate man cave. And whoever thought up the idea of putting a urinal in the little guest bathroom’s a genius.”

“It turned out pretty good, didn’t it? Papa thought up the urinal. He said the pisser would be used mostly by guys anyway. It ain’t all done yet, though. I need to run over to the art shop tomorrow to have some family pictures framed. Dad wants them up before the party. And they’re coming over to set up the pool table tomorrow too. After that, we can start playing.” CJ looked away from Brad as Patrick finally came into the room. “Hey, bud.”

“Hi, CJ, how was Australia? And Miami.”

“Both were good. You guys saw some of the pictures from Australia when I posted them. I have them all on my iPad now. We can look at them later. How are you guys liking the move?”

“I love it so far. Already told ya D.C.’s home for me now,” Bradley replied.

“I like it too,” Patrick added. “It’s a little scary and I know I’m going to miss Mom. While you were gone I walked over to Holy Trinity and met the priest―”

“Is that the one on N Street?” CJ ran past the place now and then during his morning jogs; he was familiar with the Federal style structure, having admired the four large columns in front but had never been inside.

“Yeah, you’ve been there?”

“Nope. I don’t do churches. Especially Catholic ones. I hated having to go to chapel during my last year at school in Miami. By then I’d admitted to myself I was gay and all the preaching against sex and stuff used to piss me off. But I realize other people find comfort in religion so I don’t look down on anyone that does.”

“It’s a nice place. And I found out when President Kennedy and his family lived in Georgetown, that’s the church they went to. They have a plaque in front of the building commemorating it. Kinda cool to see my last name there. Anyway, I’m looking forward to starting school. I was really hating it at my old one towards the end of the last term.”

“Are you going to miss your friends?”

“Some. And I’ll miss a few of my teammates. But it’s good to get away from most of the family.”

“Did your grandfather give you a hard time about moving?”

“We haven’t told him.” Bradley chuckled when he jumped into the conversation.

CJ’s eyes shot open in surprise. “Really?” He knew Old Man Kennedy had a temper thanks to his previous encounter with his friends’ grandfather. “Isn’t he going to figure it out?”

“He will soon enough.” Bradley shrugged his shoulders, apparently not overly concerned with his grandfather’s possible reaction. “So far he thinks we’ve been in Washington for the summer. He’s bitched enough about that already. But once school starts and we’re not there, the word will get back to him.”

“He’ll prolly shit a brick!” CJ shook his head, remembering how the old man had blustered and tried to intimidate him during their altercation.

“I’m hoping he doesn’t start giving Mom a hard time. She says she can handle Grandfather, but I told her to let us know if he starts any shit up.” Brad sounded like he was itching for a fight. “I swear the more time I spend with Dad and Pops the more pissed off I get with the old fart. I can’t believe he kept us away from our father because he couldn’t handle having a gay son. How can people just throw their kids out like that?”

CJ smirked and shook his head again. “You forget who you’re talking to, bud? I went through that shit last year. But like I told my mother when I saw her in Miami, getting exiled to Washington was the best fucking thing that could have happened to me. And I’m pretty sure your father’s feeling about the same about his own exile from Boston, now that he has you two living with him.”

Tuesday, 12 August 2014

“Bruh, what up?” Harley threw his skateboard in the backseat and offered up his fist for CJ to bump.

“Dude, it’s like crazy at home. Dad’s gonna be working a lot to make up for being on vacation last week. Papa’s running around like a headless chicken trying to finish his separation from the marines and get his new business going. Yesterday, I had to stay home and wait for the people to come set up the pool table. And this afternoon I have to be there when the caterers come over to figure out the layout for the party.”

“Wanna trade? I’ll take your problems and you can have my sisters. I have to stay home the next few days and watch them while Mom spends time at some conference with Dad. I mean, what the heck? She’s a housewife!”

CJ laughed as he shifted gears and pulled out on the road. He and Harley were headed out to lunch at a new Ramen joint in Virginia César and Brett had mentioned being cheap and tasty. In reality, it was a pretext to take the Jeep for a ride, an excuse for both to get out of their houses, and an opportunity to catch up since they’d last seen each other in Milwaukee.

“I wanna hear all about Sturgis. How was it riding all the way out there? What’d you and your dad do?”

“Bruh, it was sick! I ended up doing most of the driving while Dad rode bitch. All he did was tell me when to stop and wave at riders coming toward us. I’m stoked to go back. But you have to come too. And when we do, we’ll need to be on our own bikes. Hey! Maybe your dads will decide to go with us. It’d be cool to have a fathers and sons trip.”

“I’m not sure when they’ll let me get a scooter of my own. Papa already told me once I have a full license with the motorcycle endorsement we’d talk about it. But who knows with those two? Look how they surprised me with the Jeep for my birthday and then letting me travel alone this summer.”

“Your dads are the best! Anyway, we left the farm early in the morning and rode through Wisconsin and Minnesota the first day. It was about eight hours and we spent the night in Sioux Falls. It was all on the highway and you shoulda seen it, bruh, there were almost more motorcycles than cars on the road. All headed in the same direction.” Harley was in constant motion even though he was belted in. His feet, hands, and head didn’t stop moving. “And the second day, when we were already in South Dakota, there were definitely more bikes. And it was all like farms everywhere. The only trees were little clumps of them always with a house in the middle. So we got to Sturgis around lunch and went straight to the hotel to check in and drop off the luggage. We didn’t have a lot but we also wanted to clean up a little. That first day we skipped all the bike things and went to Mount Rushmore instead. In-sane, CJ. In-sane. We stopped on the side of the road when we first saw the monument and there were riders all over the place, joking, taking pictures, and laughing. Everyone was having a great time. I ended up taking some for a bunch of Germans who’d flown in just to…”

As Harley rambled on, CJ could not keep the grin off his face. He was feeling extremely content at the moment. There was something special about having his best bud chattering away beside him. He realized as much as he had enjoyed his time with Owen―both in Australia and South Florida―and with Brad and Patrick the last two days, he had a soft spot in his heart for Harley, the first friend his age he made in Washington.

“Hey! Stop the Jeep! Check it out. They have food trucks in that parking lot.”

“You wanna forget the Ramen and eat here?”

“Yeah! They have a taco truck! I love tacos.”

“What the fuck, Harley? You love food. Period.”

“True dat. But tacos are special. ” Harley wagged his finger at CJ. “I wish we had a taco truck on every corner.”

Thursday, 14 August 2014

“Che! Gracias por venir a buscarnos.” Chipper slapped CJ’s hand, slid his palm along his friend’s, and grasped his fingertips before they bumped fists.

“Look at you, man. You look great. A couple of months in Argentina and you’re babbling away in Spanish and look entirely different.” CJ completed the greeting by giving his buddy a bro-hug before turning his attention to the girl standing next to him. “Hi, Cristina, it’s great to see you. How long are you in town for?”

“Hi, CJ. I’ll repeat what my brother said: thanks for coming to get us. And I’m here just two nights. I’ll be on my way to New York on Saturday.”

“Damn, that means you’ll miss the party my dads are throwing on Sunday. But we’re all having dinner together tonight, so we’ll get to catch up. I wanna hear all about you guys in Buenos Aires.”

“It was awesome, CJ. Man, do I have stories to tell.” Chipper hefted the suitcases he and his sister had flown with and walked towards Defiant.

“You can start with why you’re flying into National instead of Dulles. I thought all international flights went there.”

“We’ve been in the US for a few days,” Cristina said as her brother climbed into the back seat of the Jeep, leaving the front for her, while CJ slammed the rear gate and ran over to the driver's side. “We flew in from Tampa today.”

“Tampa?” The surprise in CJ’s voice caused brother and sister to chuckle. “You guys went to see Chip?”

“Yeah, my big sister here convinced me to be nice. It was alright except for meeting the boyfriend. The guy’s an idiot and a total waste.”

“You met with your dad’s boyfriend?” CJ asked, taking a glance in the rearview mirror at Chipper.

“We went out to dinner together two nights ago. He’s a nice guy. A little young, but he was okay. Chipper’s just not willing to give him a chance.”

“Screw him, sis. The guy’s a gold digger. Not that I care too much ‘bout it, but why can’t Dad be with someone his age?”

“Both of you made comments about the guy’s age. How old is he anyway?”

“I’m not sure, CJ,” Cristina replied. “But he’s a graduate student at the University of Tampa.”

“Wow, that’s the same as Ian was.”

“Who’s Ian?”

“Ummm, that’s the guy Uncle Chip was fooling around with here in Washington.”

“You met him?”

“Yeah, unfortunately.” CJ shook his head. “I told Chipper about it before. Guess he didn’t share. The guy was a graduate student at Georgetown. I actually met him at the gym there. The dads and I have a membership. But I’ll say one thing for Ian, because of him we met his brother Sean, and that guy’s solid.”

“What is it with you men?” Cristina was smiling but she sounded frustrated. “You hit a certain age and you go find someone younger.”

“Don’t look at me,” CJ replied chuckling. “I usually like them a little older.”

The ride to Doc’s place in Georgetown was short and after parking in one of the guest spots in the garage, CJ helped carry their luggage up to the apartment. Chipper showed his sister to the guest room and then dragged CJ into his own on the excuse he wanted to chat while sorting through his luggage. Cristina instructed them not to bother her for a couple of hours; she wanted to take a bath and rest before Doc showed up.

“Dude, what made you bleach your hair and pierce your ears?” CJ sat on the desk chair while Chipper upended the contents of his suitcase on the bed. His friend had not cut his hair since they’d last seen each other, and it was now almost white and tied up into a bun on top of his head. He also sported gold hoops in each ear, something they’d talked about doing before but which CJ had not dwelt on for a while. “I thought we’d decided to wait until school started and get the other guys to join us in getting earrings.”

“I don’t know. I got a wild hair up my ass and went for it. The summer was insane, CJ. Met this girl at a coffee house I spent most of my time in. Playing music and drinking wine. Which reminds me, my mother says hi. She’s sending over a case of wine for you and your dads next time she has some delivered for Doc.”

“That rocks. Between Australian and Argentinian wines the dads will be real happy. So tell me about this girl.”

“She’s gorgeous! A year older than us, about to start her senior year. Plays field hockey and has the body of an athlete. You shoulda seen her tits!”

CJ’s guffaw made Chipper look up at his friend and shake his head, probably realizing what he’d said. “Nah, thanks. I’ll pass.”

“Yeah, guess that was a stupid thing for me to say.” Chipper stopped sorting through the mess on the bed, stared at CJ, and smirked. “But I bet you’d love her boyfriend’s dick. Not as big as yours but―”

“Say what? She has a boyfriend and you saw his dick?”

“He, he, he. I did more than see it. I sucked it a lot and even had it inside me a few times.”

“You got fucked? Dude, you gotta rewind and start from the beginning.”

“Okay, so I met the girl, we became friendly, and she eventually introduced me to her boyfriend. One night I ended up with her at his place, drank a lot, and then she wanted to see him and I make out. One thing led to another and the three of us ended up naked in bed. I spent the rest of the summer fucking around with them. The best part was being inside her pussy while the boyfriend was inside me.”

“Fuck me!”

“Sure, if you want. But I thought you were all top.”

“Asshole! That wasn’t an invitation. And I’m not one all the time but I think I’m definitely more of a top than a bottom.”

“And how does Owen feel about spreading his legs for you regularly?”

“We didn’t have any sex while I was in Australia.” It was CJ’s turn to smirk when his friend gave him a doubtful look. “We did enough of that last trip. I wanted to spend time with him just doing regular stuff.”

“So you fucked like rabbits while you were there with your dads, but didn’t when you guys were alone? That’s whacked.”

“Not as crazy as you spending time in Florida with your dad.”

“Yeah, well. Cristina spent the entire time in BA trying to convince me. She pointed out he might be a cheat and screwed over first Mom and then Uncle Matt, but he’d never been a bad father. And she does have a point. He’s still helping support the two of us and agreed to let me come live here in D.C.”

“So, are you going to see him again?”

“Probably… But I’ll let my sis plan any future reunions. I’m not going out of my way to see him.”

Friday, 15 August 2014

“Homie, you sure this is okay with your dads? I mean, they normally know ahead of time when I’m coming over and spending the night.”

“Fuck yeah. Especially now that we have all those guest rooms in the basement. I could invite all our friends to stay over if I wanted to. Plus, you know they like you anyway.” CJ adjusted his gi as he and Thiago walked out of the dojo and headed towards the bus stop.

“If I’m going to spend the weekend, you’ll have to run me home at some point tomorrow, so I can get clothes for the party Sunday.”

“Not a problem. You can borrow a clean shirt from me tonight. If we go out later, it’ll be somewhere in the area so shorts and sneakers’ all you’ll need. I’m glad you’re not working again until after school starts. We haven’t had much time to hang out this summer.”

“Not my fault. I’ve been around,” Thiago replied, smirking. “The rest of you just up and left me as soon as classes were over.”

“Well, I have no plans for any trips until Christmas. Since the family’s getting together here in D.C. for Thanksgiving, we’re going down to Miami in December so I can see my brother. Wanna come down with us? The dads will pay for it.”

“Right. And have my mother go all crazy on me for taking advantage of my friends? No thanks.”

“I’ll have my ’rents call your ’rents. We’ll do Florida.”

“Funny man.” Thiago gave his buddy a friendly shove, making CJ stumble and grab onto the other boy to maintain his balance. “At least I won’t be working as many hours this fall. I’ll have more time to spend with the gang.”

“That’s awesome!” CJ was genuinely happy to hear the news. Thiago usually had limited free time since he’d started working at Walgreens. His hours had increased as he tried to save money for college. Being a year ahead of the other guys meant he would be applying to universities this year. “How come?”

“Remember that scholarship I mentioned? The one I was going to be the first person to apply for?”

“Yeah! You got it?” CJ tried to act interested and surprised even though he knew the scholarship was Thiago’s from the start. His dads had shared the update reports Mrs. Edwards and Mr. Rupple provided them.

“Looks like it,” Thiago replied, beaming. “I don’t have all the details, but Mr. Rupple assured me as long as I was accepted to an accredited program it was mine. He said it’ll cover tuition, fees, and supplies. And since I want to stay in Washington and live at home, I’d be getting an allowance for personal expenses instead of room and board. Now it’s up to Howard University. I’m applying for early admission so I should know in early December.”

“Congrats, bud. That sounds like perfect timing. You can come to Florida with us to celebrate.”

Saturday, 16 August 2014

CJ and Thiago looked up from their game of pool when they heard stomping on the stairs. Brad exploded into the basement with Patrick and Owen following closely behind. The Aussie carried a bottle of wine in each hand. “That better be Liston wine you’re carrying, Owen.”

“As if I’d bring anything but the best,” Owen replied, placing the bottles atop the ledge attached to the side wall of the room. He ran a hand over one of the surfboards hanging just above it as decorations and smiled. “I bloody love your dad using his old boards like this, CJ.”

“Yeah, I thought that was a pretty cool idea too.” The basement's rear alcove had been set up to resemble a sports bar with the pool table as the central focus; its non-traditional orange felt illuminated by a Harley-Davidson rectangular Tiffany-style lamp above. The rack holding cue sticks and chalk had been mounted between the two surfboards while the opposite wall was still empty at present.

“Hey, Owen, how did your meetings go?” Thiago had briefly met the guy the previous night after he and CJ had returned from practice. Owen had spent most of Friday at orientation for new George Mason Law students, and earlier in the day had gathered informally with some fellow first years.

“Good. We set up some tentative group study plans and at least I’ll have some people I know when classes start in ten days. I can’t wait.”

“Yuck! How the hell can you be so happy about school starting up?” Brad asked. “Hey, are we gonna open some of those wine bottles or what?”

“Jesus, Brad,” Patrick said, shaking his head at his older brother. “Is that all you think about? Drinking?”

“Nope. Only half the time. The other half I’m thinking about pussies and tits.”

“Gross!” CJ said, sticking a finger in his mouth, before leaning over the table and taking aim at the cue ball. “Watch your language, straight boy. This is a gay household.”

“And that’s the way I like it,” Brad replied laughing. “The more of you around the better. It means more girls available for me.”

“You’d think he’d be satisfied after spending the entire day with Cristina,” Patrick said. “He had a goofy look―”

“Shut up, Paddy!”

CJ was surprised at the use of Patrick’s nickname, but the boy was giggling. “No man, I wanna hear. How’d your date go with Chipper’s sister?”

“It wasn’t a date. We just walked around the waterfront and stopped for lunch. Then I drove her to the train station. Borrowed Pop’s car and I’ve decided driving in this city is crazy. Fucking tourists all over the place who just step out of nowhere to gawk.”

“Stop trying to change the subject, Bradley. I wanna hear what the heck you were doing with my sister.” Chipper’s arrival had gone unnoticed while the boys were talking and paying attention to the pool game.

CJ looked up from lining up his next shot and smiled when he realized his friend was also carrying a bottle of wine in each hand. “Dude! More wine, yeah.”

“You better not be doing anything nasty with my sister or I may have to ask CJ and Thiago to beat you up.”

“No way, man. I like your sister. She’s smart, sweet, easy to talk to… The fact she’s smoking hot doesn’t hurt either.”

“Fuck you!” Chipper replied, laughing. “That’s not what I want to hear about Cristina. And what are you laughing at, Thiago?”

“Me? Nothing much, homes. I think it’s funny to have one of my friends drooling over the sister of another one. Not to mention how weird it is to have a bunch of underage guys hanging out on a Saturday night, drinking fancy wines. What the hell happened to Four Loko?”

“Is the pizza here yet? I’m hungry and I’m ready to destroy some slices.”

“HARLEY!”

“Hey, bud,” CJ called out. “Get in here. You’re the only one who’s yet to meet Owen in person.”

The new arrival dropped the backpack he was carrying at the foot of the stairs, kicked off his flip-flops, and headed for the front of the room where his friends were now gathered. “What up, bruh? Good to finally meet you,” he said while bumping fists with the Aussie.

“Great to meetcha, mate. CJ’s told me a lot about you. I heard you guys had a good time earlier this summer during your trip.”

“Yeah, it was sick. I’m hoping next time we go on a road trip we get to do it on motorcycles. CJ learned how to ride when we were at my grandparents’ farm. Now he has to take the training class so he can get the endorsement when he scores his full license.”

“That reminds me. CJ said you were the guy to talk to about motorbikes. I want to buy one this week before classes start on Friday. Maybe you can help me find one?”

“For sure, bruh. We can ask my dad for help tomorrow when he and Mom come over for the party. He knows a lot of people. But you better not even think about a jap scooter. Friends don’t let friends ride rice-burners.”

“Snob!” Chipper high-fived Owen who seemed ready to burst out laughing.

“Hey, Harley,” Thiago called out. “Where’s your dress clothes for the party? You couldn’t fit all that in your backpack.”

“Damn! I forgot the garment bag at home! I’ll worry about it tomorrow. Right now, I’m hungry. I brought brownies for dessert. At least I didn’t forget those.” Harley walked over to his backpack and extracted a plastic container from it.

“Are you a cook?” Owen asked.

“Nope. These are from my grandfather. He’s the family baker.”

“I sure hope those are the special ones.” CJ rubbed his hands in anticipation, reached out for the container, popped open the lid, and sniffed the contents. “Hell yeah! All hail Harley, our local hero.”