Daydreamers - 29. Chapter 29

Sam parked his car in front of the gate of my grandma's ranch in Acton, California. Acton is about an hour north of Los Angeles. It's a little hillside town full of horse ranches and upper class homes. I had to talk to him before we went inside. There was something really important that I needed to get off my chest.

"Before we go in, I have to tell you that my parents and my sister are really the only ones that know I'm gay and a few of my cousins."

"What! What the hell, Travis? Why are you just telling me now?"

"I wanted this to be my coming out to the family and I was afraid that if I told you that ahead of time that you would change your mind and not come. I need you here, Sully-just in case things go wrong."

Sam sighed and looked out to the gate. "Why would things go wrong?"

"My grandma-she's a bit old fashioned. My cousin April got pregnant last year. She was sixteen. My grandma still doesn't talk to her. She won't even acknowledge her great grandchild. I'm really scared that-that she'll never talk to me again or something."

"You should've told me, Travis. But I guess there's nothing we can do about it now."

I smiled and kissed him on the cheek. "I'll open the gate."

I got off opened the gate and got back into the car. Sam drove up and parking in the driveway alongside the house. When he turned the engine off, he looked at me and I looked at him. We took deep breaths and got out of the car. I took his hand and we walked up to the front door. I knocked. My father opened the door.

"Travis! My boy!" He squeezed me in a hug and it seemed like he was never gonna let go. He finally did. He looked at Sam and smiled. "You must be Sam."

"Y-Yes," said Sam nervously.

"It's good to meet you."

"Is everyone here already dad?" I asked.

"No, it's just me, your sister and your grandma."

I looked at Sam and took a deep breath.

"Maybe, ah...Sam and I could take a walk. I could show him around the ranch," said dad.

"Sure," I said. "Is that okay with you?" I asked Sam.

"Yeah," said Sam. "I'll see you later."

Sam and my dad walked off. My dad gave me a good luck smile. I walked in and met my grandma who hugged me tighter than my dad. She's a small thin woman with a long gray braid going down her back. She usually wore plaid shirts and jeans with cowboy boots, but she was in a summer dress today.

"Travis. I've missed you so much since you went to live with Nancy. How are you?"

"I'm good grandma. How are you?" I asked.

She walked me to the kitchen table where I sat next to her and turned my chair to face her. "I'm doing well. I'm doing better now that you're here."

"Grandma, I have to tell you...I brought someone with me from Stone Lake. I met someone and...I've fallen in love."

My grandma smiled. "Oh, where is she? What's her name? Bring her in here so I can meet her."

"Sam," I said.

"Oh, I always loved the name Samantha. I almost named your aunt Nancy that, but I named her after my mother instead."

"Actually, grandma..."

"What is it?"

"Sam isn't short for Samantha. It's short for Samuel."

She looked at me seriously and I thought I was gonna cry. I could feel my heart beating and I could hear it in my head. My entire body started to shake. That was it. I just ruined my relationship with my grandma forever.

"Well...I always liked boys better than girls, too." She smiled.

Happiness that I can't really express flooded through me. Somehow, she made me even happier than the moment I realized I loved Sam.

"Are you kidding me?" I asked. "Is that all you have to say?"

"What do you expect me to do? I'm not gonna disown you because of who you love. That's one of those things that we can't do anything about." She smiled and tapped my knee. "Well, where is he? I wanna meet him."

I smiled and shook my head. I still couldn't believe her. "Um...he's outside. Dad's giving him the tour of the ranch."

"What is he doing that for? It's my ranch. That's my job."

My grandma got up and started to walk to the door. I spotted my sister who was hiding in the hallway, eavesdropping on our conversation. She smiled at me and I just kept following grandma outside. We stopped on the porch.

"Jackson!" She called once she got outside. That's my dad's name. "Get over here and let me meet this boy!" It was amazing how much ground her holler could reach.

"Grandma, you don't have to shout. I could go get them," I said.

"No don't do that. Look," she pointed to the stables. "They heard me."

Sam and my dad were walking out of the stables. I smiled and felt my whole body tingle when I saw Sam. My grandma looked at me and grabbed my arm.

"You really love him don't you, Travis?"

I looked at my grandma and smiled. "Yeah, I really do."

She sighed. "Love is a beautiful thing, Travis. You need to care for it and work at it, but make sure that it doesn't consume you."

I sighed with her. "Thanks grandma. I'll do my best."

Sam and my dad reached the porch. "Hey," said my dad.

"Hey," I said. I looked to Sam. "Hey," I said with a smile.

"Hey," he said back.

"Sam, this is my grandma Ava," I said. "Grandma, this is my boyfriend Sam."

Sam put his hand out to shake.

"Oh, what is that?" Grandma asked. "Give me a hug. You're practically part of the family." She put her arms out and rushed Sam with a hug. He looked as if he was overwhelmed.

I was entertained at my almost unnaturally small grandma overwhelming the six foot tall Sam, and taken by happiness. But I was also worried about what the other family members would think. I hope they will take the lead from my grandma and be cool with it.

"Are you two hungry? It was a long drive wasn't it?"

"Mom, I think maybe the boys want to get settled in their room, ya know, put their stuff up," said my dad.

"Oh, right," said grandma. "Forgive me. I'm just so happy that you're here, Travis."

"It's fine," I said. "What room are we staying in?"

"I'll help you with the bags," said my dad.

"It's cool, dad. There's only two."

Sam and I walked to the side of the house to the car while dad and grandma walked back into the house.

"I thought you said that she would have a problem with it?" Sam asked.

"Well, I thought she would. All she could say was ‘I always liked boys better than girls, too'. I couldn't believe it."

"Wow, that's really cool," said Sam.

"Yeah," I said.

We grabbed our bags and walked back into the house.

"You know where the guest room is, Travis," said grandma.

"Yeah," I said.

I walked up the stairs which were in a small hallway, Sam followed. We walked into the guest room and put our bags on the floor inside the closet. I turned to him and I smiled. He smiled back.

"I love you smile," he said. "You have little dimples." He put his hand on my cheek.

I felt myself blush and he pulled me into him and kissed me, but that didn't last for long because my dad walked into the room-without knocking.

"Travis you-oh, sorry."

"Dad, haven't you ever heard of knocking?" I asked.

"Sorry. Your grandma sent me up. She insisting on feeding us lunch before the whole family gets here."

"Okay, um...we'll be down in a minute," I said.

"Okay...sorry for interrupting."

My dad left and closed the door. Sam and I went back to where we were. He took my waist and kissed me softly. "I love you," he whispered in my ear.

I hugged him tightly. I didn't want to let go. "I don't wanna go down there. I wanna stay here with you," I said.

"Come on, Travis. We'll have plenty of alone time later."

"Yeah, but you don't know my family." I said smartly.

He smiled and we walked back downstairs. We walked into the kitchen. My sister Grace was setting the table.

"Sam, this is my sister-Grace."

Grace gave Sam another overwhelming hug. "I feel like I know you already. Travis never shuts up about you when we talk on the phone."

Sam smiled. "That's funny, because he's hardly told me anything about you."

"Whatever," said Grace. "We can be best buddies without him then."

Grace took him by the arm and sat him at the table. She sat next to him. Grandma came in with her famous roast beef sandwiches. There was something about them that just was delicious. She made them on toasted rye with lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, onions, and her special sauce that she puts instead of mayonnaise. That sauce is probably what made them so good.

"I'm sorry there isn't more, but I didn't know you would be here so soon," said grandma putting out plates in front of us.

We were just about to eat, when my Uncle John, Aunt Pauline, and their families arrived. We didn't even get to take a bite of our sandwiches. I introduced Sam to everyone properly-as my boyfriend-and no one blinked an eye. It was pretty much the best day of my life so far. Actually, not including the first time I made love with Sam.

My Uncle John is a really rugged guy who wears plain t-shirts of different dark colors and usually jeans that look like he's been wearing the same ones for thirty years. He usually has a five o' clock shadow. His wife Tamara is a sweet woman, totally his opposite. She's a girly girl. She likes to wear makeup and spend hours molding her hair into the perfect shape. Their kids are Kali, Peter, and baby Michele. Kali is just a few years younger than me.

As for my Aunt Pauline-she's been a bit of a tomboy since birth. She'll wear an occasional dress or wear makeup every now and then, but it doesn't really fit her personality. She has a son, whose father isn't in the picture anymore. My cousin Ryan and I have always been really close. We're about the same age so we've always been more like brothers than cousins.

When all of the introductions were over, Sam and I went back to our sandwiches. Sam took a bite and his eyes lit up in amazement. He kept chewing and groaning in pleasure. I smiled.

"This sandwich is delicious," he said after he swallowed his bite.

"They're famous around these parts," said Uncle John.

Sam took another bite, but all of a sudden his eyes opened wide and he spit out the sandwich. He started struggling to breath and gasping for air. He grabbed at his throat, trying to breathe.

"Oh my God! Sam!" I yelled. I turned to my grandma. "Grandma, do your sandwiches have olives?"

"Um...olive oil...in my sauce."

"Shit! He's allergic to olives!" I turned to Sam. "Sam did you bring an EpiPen?" I asked in a panic.

He nodded his head, still gasping desperately for breath and pressing his hand against his chest. I ran upstairs to the guest room and almost tripped on the stairs. I ravaged through Sam's suitcase trying to find his EpiPen. When I found it, I ran back downstairs. Sam had taught me how to use it in case of emergency about a week ago. I knelt in front of him and stuck the EpiPen into his thigh. He immediately started to feel better.

"Oh my God, Sam...I'm so sorry," said Grandma.

"It's okay," said Sam taking deep breaths. "You didn't know."

"Shit, Sully. I've never been so scared in my life," I said to him with my hand on his cheeks.

"Don't worry about me," he said with a smile.

I pressed my lips against his in desperation. "Don't you ever scare me like that again," I said after the kiss.

"I'm fine. I just gotta get to the nearest hospital. The EpiPen won't last forever."

"Okay," I said. "I'll drive you. We'll be back everyone."

"Maybe I should drive you two," said dad.

"Okay," I said. "Let's go though. We don't have much time."

My dad drove us to the hospital emergency room and he and I waited in the lobby while the doctor saw him. I was still worried about him, even though I knew he was gonna be okay. I started to pace the lobby.

"Would you stop that," said dad. "You're making ME nervous."

"I can't. I know he's gonna be okay, but I can't stop worrying about him until he out here where I can see him and touch him."

My dad got up and physically stopped me from pacing. He put his hands on my shoulders. "Son, he's not going through brain surgery. He's gonna be out in a few minutes and he's gonna be right as rain."

I took a deep breath and sat down. My dad sat next to me, but as soon as we sat, Sam came out. I got up and went to hug him. He giggled.

"I'm okay, Travis. It's not a big deal. He just gave me some medication and prescribed me a new EpiPen."

"I don't care. You still scared me to death."

"We should get back. Lots of people have probably arrived at the ranch already," said my dad.

When we got back to the ranch, everyone was asking Sam if he was okay. Sam would tell them all yes. My grandma apologized once more, but Sam insisted that she didn't have to. But when she insisted, he finally accepted her apology.

Once everyone got there, my Uncle John started to barbeque. There was chicken, burgers, hot dogs, and even veggie burgers for my cousin Sherry, who decided that eating meat was contributing to animal cruelty. Therefore, she decided to become a vegetarian.

Sam and I walked up to my uncle John who was flipping the burgers with one hand and holding a beer in the other. He looked at us, took a sip and hollered a big howdy.

"How you doing Sammy? You like the family so far? No one's giving you grief are they?" He asked all of these questions in a very fatherly way, which was awkward for me, because he isn't my father.

"The family's great. Everyone's been really nice."

"That's good. Oh, Travis-I put some bacon on the grill especially for you. I know you like bacon on your burgers."

"Oh, can you put some more on for Sam? It's his favorite too."

Uncle John smiled. "Sure thing."

I've never seen Uncle John so friendly with people who weren't a part of the family before. He usually interrogates people who are trying to come into the family. When I had a chance, I took Uncle John aside and talked to him.

"What's up buddy?" he asked.

"I just wanted to know-Why are you being so nice to Sam? You usually have an interrogation that never ends when someone brings someone to meet the family."

"That's because I like him, and I already know all that I need to know from Sam."

"What's that mean?"

"Well, the purpose of the interrogation I give is to see if that person's for real. No outsiders gonna come in try to break the hearts of any of my family. I'll die before I let that happen." He smiled. "And I already know that...you love Sam and he loves you. I can see it. There's no need for an interrogation. As far as I'm concerned; Sam's one of us-a Parker."

My day was going pretty well, and my Aunt Nancy and Uncle Martin finally arrived. But the downside of that was that Jared was with them. I had warned Sam about Jared just in case, but wasn't sure if Sam understood how much of a little shit Jared can actually be.