Montana High - 4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

We pulled into the yard and parked in front of the house, noticing that my mom’s car wasn’t there. I looked over to make sure all the horses were in the barn and not in the turnout.

“Let’s go in the house and wait for her to get here,” I suggested.

Gavin got out and waited for me to come around the front of the truck. He grabbed me, giving me a big hug and whispered in my ear. “Everything will be ok, babe. Just remember that I fell in love with you and that we will take care of each other no matter what happens.”

“I know, I just wish we could live here and help mom take care of this place. I have always loved this land, knowing it was my grandparents and seeing what they did to make this a working ranch. I don’t want the old man destroying everything they worked so hard for, and ruining everything my mom and I have done to keep the place going. I just know if I leave, that drunken old man could hurt Mom or make it so she loses this place.”

“I know, but you know he is not going to change and we cannot live like that. I want you in our bed every night and I want to wake up seeing your beautiful smile,” Gavin said.

“I know, I want the same thing. It’s just wishful thinking. In three days we can leave, I will just keep in close contact with Mom, which I know will help me adjust to not being here.”

We went into the house and, I grabbed some sodas for us out of the icebox. We sat down in the living room to wait for Mom to get home. I put my head on Gavin’s shoulder and just thought about how much I was going to have to move out of here. I’m wondering if could get Mom to take Dad somewhere so I could do it without him being here. He would probably try stopping me from taking anything with me, even if it was mine.

Dad started getting really bad after grandma passed away two years ago. Dad got so mad at the reading of grams’ will, he stormed out and disappeared for two days, coming back staggering drunk. He accused Mom of having grams change her will, so she could have something to control him with. But Mom knew why grams changed her will and she was not telling dad why.

“Hey, somebody just pulled into the yard.” Gavin shook me to get my attention.

“Probably mom.” I got up and went to the door to see if it was her. As I got there she was coming in looking at me with tears in her eyes. “What’s wrong Mom?”

“Let’s sit down and I will tell you everything I know. Hi Gavin, you doing ok, sweetheart?” Mom asked, looking over my shoulder seeing Gavin standing behind me.

“I’m doing ok, Mrs. Oliver,” Gavin said, and then he grabbed my arm pulling me back into the living room. We sat back down on the couch, waiting to see what mom had to say.

“Ok, your dad is really sick. The doctors think he has cirrhosis,” Mom told me as soon as she sat down in the recliner.

“What is that?” I was naïve when it came to medical words. So hopefully she could explain this to me.

“Seth, your father is dying. He will probably need a liver transplant.”

I was still confused about what she was saying. “Ok, explain what cirrhosis means, so I can understand what is going on.”

“Cirrhosis is a late stage of liver disease. They are going to do an ultrasound and a CT scan to see how much of his liver is damaged. They ran blood work on him when they got him in the ER. It came back with high levels of toxicants which shows his liver is not functioning right,” Mom told me with tears in her eyes.

“Mom, is he going to die?”

“We don’t know what the outcome will be yet. Until we get the test results back, we don’t know. I know you have been planning on leaving when you turn eighteen, but I’m asking you to stay and help me here, please. I need you here to help me with this place.” Mom got up and sat next to me on the couch giving me a hug.

“Mom, you know I can’t stay here if he is in this house. I will not live my life looking over my shoulder wondering if he is going to hit me again. Gavin and I have been saving to get our own place. Mom, I haven’t told you this in fear of you telling Dad, but since he isn’t going to be back before I leave, I’m going tell you now. Gavin and I have been seeing each other for almost two years now; we have keep it hidden pretty well since everybody thinks we are just really close friends. Mom, I’m gay and Gavin is my partner. I love him so much; he has gotten me through all the crap that dad has done to me. If it had not been for him I wouldn’t be here right now.” I looked at my mom wondering what she was going to say or do. I grabbed Gavin’s hand and gave it a squeeze looking at him sitting next me. He gave me a smile and squeezed back.

“I know, I have known for a long time. Why do you think I let Gavin stay here when he has needed a place away from his parents’ house? Seth, I have known for a long time that you were gay, I was just waiting for you to come to me and tell me. I don’t have a problem with it. You and Gavin can stay here for as long as you want.” She smiled at me and touched my cheek. “I’m so proud of you, both of you are welcome in this house so you can be together.”

I started crying and Gavin grabbed me in a hug trying to calm me down. I put my head on his shoulder and threw my arms around his neck. “What do you think? Think you can handle staying here and helping to keep this place going?” I looked up to see his reaction and, he had the biggest smile on his face.

“I would love to stay here and help you and your mother. As long as we are in the same bed when we close our eyes for the night, I will be a happy man. I love you and I don’t want to be away from you.” Gavin gave me a kiss and, then looked over at my mom.

“If this is alright with you, I would be happy to stay and help both of you. But what about your dad, Seth? I will not stay here with him in this house.”

“Gavin, his dad will probably not make it out the hospital. Your father is dying, Seth. The doctors told me with the results from the blood work show that his liver is shutting down. He probably can’t even be put on the transplant list because of his drinking. I know he will not quit and that is what I told the doctors. So he is not coming back here, I’m putting him in a nursing home if he does make it out of the hospital. They will be able to care for him. I can’t physically take care of him and everything around here too. So you do not have to worry about him getting to you again.”

“Mom, you know I didn’t want to leave, but you also knew the reason I was going. If you know for a fact Dad is not coming back, Gavin and I will stay here with you.” I turned to Gavin, smiled and gave him a kiss. “Are you sure you want to do this, because the town is going to find out about us being here in this house together. You know our friends will find out that we are together. Make sure Gavin, because I don’t want to lose you because people are talking about us. You know this town is small and we will not be able to keep this hidden long.”

“Seth, I love you and I know we can make a go of this partnership here in this house. I am not going anywhere without you by my side. I will see about getting my hours cut at work that way I can be here to help. So ya, let’s stay here with your mom and help her, I know you didn’t want to leave this ranch and your mom,” Gavin said with a smile, giving me a hug.

“Gavin, you don’t need to work in town. If you two stay here, working on the ranch is going to be your full-time job. I have three guys right now working here for me full-time. But with you two here I can start some of the things I have always wanted to do that Seth’s father looked down on. He told me they were only a pipe dream. I will pay both of you a salary just like the other workers get. So neither one of you have to work off the ranch. How does that sound?” Mom said looking at both of us boys.

“Mrs. Oliver, I can’t live off you. I need to pay my way if I’m going to stay here. It would not feel right for you letting me stay here for nothing,” Gavin said.

“Gavin, you won’t be living here for nothing. You’re staying here to help me and to be with my son. That’s all I want from you. You have made it so my son is not leaving this ranch. His grandparents would have been heartbroken if he had left this place. So what I want you to do is take the money that I’m going to pay you both and put it in a savings account for your future.” Mom was sitting there with a big smile. “I was just sitting here thinking you both might want to build your own home on the twenty acres that Seth has. His grandparents left it to him when they passed away.” Mom looked at me.

“Mom, why didn’t you tell me this?”

“Because I didn’t want you to slip up and say something and have it to get back to your father. It was bad enough around here with him knowing he wasn’t getting anything from this ranch. That is why I would not leave him, Seth. He would have sold everything off and then what your grandparents went through to make this ranch what it is today would have been for nothing. So how about we get some sleep and talk more tomorrow?” Mom got up and walked to the fireplace looking at her parents’ pictures.

“Mom, I love you.”

“I love you too, Seth. Go get in bed and I will see you both in the morning.”

I got up and walked over to my mom putting my arms around her from behind. “Mom, thank you. We will get through all this together, I promise.” I squeezed her neck kissing the side of her head.

“I know we will, hun. Now take your man and go to bed, we have an early day ahead of us and you both need some sleep.” Mom kissed my cheek. “Gavin, I want you to move your things in here tomorrow. We will talk later about bedroom arrangements.”

“Ok, Mrs. Oliver. Thank you for what you are doing for us, and I will pull my weight around here to do what needs to be done.”

“I know you will, sweetheart. And please call me Mandy or maybe Mom would be ok, if you want to. This Mrs. Oliver stuff will get pretty old sooner or later,” Mom said smiling at Gavin.

“Will do, Mom.” Gavin laughed. “I like that, thanks.”

Gavin and I went upstairs to my room.

“I love you babe, so damn much,” I told Gavin when I shut my bedroom door.

“I love you too,” Gavin said putting his arms on my shoulders pulling me into him, kissing me.

As the author, I take final responsibility for all parts of the story, including any errors.