The Modern Love Waltz - 3. Chapter 3

3: The First Night

I spent the day before my grandmother's funeral with my parents finishing up the chores left over from the previous day.

"Sam, I'm so sorry that her funeral is going to fall on your birthday," my mom said.

"Don't worry about it mom," I replied. "I can't think of a better way to celebrate then to celebrate the life of such a wonderful woman."

"Oh Sam," my mom said smiling. Seeing her smile made me feel better. "And it's your twenty-first birthday no less!"

"Ehh, again, not a big deal!" I shrugged.

"Well maybe you can celebrate at Teeny and Joe's or something," my mom continued.

"That sounds great," I said smiling.

The rest of the day played out similar to Thursday. However I left before my parents went to bed. I told them that I was going to see Zach and they understood. My parents loved Zach.

*~*~*

We met at Teeny and Joe's however we didn't go inside, instead Zach and I drove in tandem to the rental house.

As we walked up the front steps to the house, I saw a note on the door. "Stocked the place up with the money you left!" It was signed "LauraJ"

I chuckled. We walked into the house and headed straight for the kitchen. There was cereal and sandwich makings and in the fridge beer and sodas. There was no way that my forty dollars paid for all of this.

"Jeez! You'd think that someone actually lived here," Zach said reaching for a beer. "Do you mind if I have one?"

"Go for it," I chuckled, "and grab me one too! Ms. Woods must think I never stop eating! I'm only here for one more day."

"Well, that's a shame," Zach said handing me the bottle of beer he had just opened.

"Thanks," I said. "You wanna turn on the game?"

"Sounds great." We each sat on the couch that has a good view of the TV. "Who's playing?"

I turned on the TV and saw an MLS (Major League Soccer) game. "D.C. United and Columbus Crew."

"Nice!" Zach had been into soccer ever since I had, though he didn't really play it. He had come up to visit a couple times in the last three years to see me play with my university team.

I swallowed a gulp of beer before deciding to break the news about D.C. United to Zach, "So Zach, some scouts from D.C. United said that they want to start talks about having me play striker for them."

"No way!" Zach's face lit up with excitement. "You got ta be kidding me! That's great!"

I sighed nervously, "Yeah. But I don't know. It's a big decision.

"But it's your dream right?"

"Yeah, it really is."

We managed to catch each other upon our lives while the game played on. After about two hours the game ended, D.C. beat Columbus five to one. We were cheering and between us we had finish close to eight beers.

I turned to Zach, something was strange. He was looking at me differently. He leaned towards me and our lips met. We shared a soft kiss.

After about thirty seconds he released from me and sat back. We stared at each other briefly, no words could even form in my head as to what had just happened. Till this night I had never considered sexuality. I was straight as far I knew, I mean I'm the captain of the soccer team, but it just felt right. Zach was special.

Zach shook his head, "I should probably go."

I looked at him, his sudden change of subject confused me even more. "You've had too much to drink. You can stay here."

"Thanks, I can just sleep on the couch?"

"I mean the bed is big enough for both of us," I said realizing how that must sound. "I mean..." I didn't know how to correct myself, I didn't want Zach thinking that I'm gay.

Zach seemed upset with himself, "The couch will be fine. I'm kind of tired.

*~*~*

I awoke to the sound of Zach's truck starting. As I got out of bed, through the window I could see his truck pull away. I looked at the alarm clock next to the bed: 6:00AM.

I spent about an hour lazily preparing myself for the service. After a warm shower, I slowly pulled out a black suit and tie. At this point the entire experience seemed fake, a dream.

*~*~*

The funeral was nice. It felt like sleepwalking. Like my subconscious was in control of my body. I was a pallbearer with my father and a few cousins.

During the reception my mom came up to comfort me. It was then that I told her I'd be staying in town. The decision was like my actions, it seemed guided by my subconscious rather than a lucid choice. I told her I was sticking around to keep Pops company. She seemed grateful. "Take as much time as you need," she choked. She had been crying throughout. "And get your mind off of things. Hang out with Zach while you're down here. You two are good friends." She smiled.

"I will mom," I said putting on a fake grin.

I saw Zach solemnly approach. He hugged my mother before coming up to me. He stood with me in silence. He knew me well enough to understand that I did not want to talk. Just his presence helped me to calm down inside.