Second Chances - 3. Chapter 3: To the Neighbor’s House We Go

Jesse woke up around 10 o’clock in the morning on Friday. He had a headache and his stomach was tied in knots with nausea. He also had a strong urge to urinate. He dragged himself into the bathroom to relieve himself. After that he looked into the mirror. His eyes were bloodshot and his skin was pale. He wondered why he had gotten so drunk the night before. Jesse decided that getting drunk wasn’t really his thing. It wasn’t either. Jesse had always preferred smoking weed. He remembered that he had smoked a blunt and ate pot brownies for the first time the night before. He noticed that while he was hung over, he was still high at the same time. This was unusual. Brad told Jesse all about the wonders of eating pot brownies and space cakes. The thoughts of Brad reminded Jesse how he had wasted something precious. ‘Does the guilt ever go away?’ he asked himself.

Jesse decided to take a shower. As the water poured down onto his beautiful young body, his thoughts wandered. He thought about how delightful it would be to scrub every inch of Marcus’ sweet swimmer’s body. Within seconds, his member rose in all its glory. His thoughts drifted into how wonderful it would be to pleasure Marcus. Jesse furiously stroked himself until he shot his precious seed all over the wall in front of him. As he was satisfied, Jesse thoroughly cleaned his body and climbed out of the shower.

Jesse dressed and went down stairs. He cringed as he poured some Cinnamon Toast Crunch into a bowl and added 2% milk. He was not sure if breakfast would be in agreement with him as he felt as if he could spew at a moment’s notice. He fetched a spoon and sat down at the dining room table. He sluggishly consumed his meal, hoping that he would not taste the contents returning to his mouth. He was pleasantly surprised as the cereal actually made him feel better.

Jesse’s thoughts returned to Marcus. He was already missing him enormously. He decided he would go over to Marcus’ house in the afternoon. He felt a strong connection with Marcus. He wanted to know everything about Marcus.

Around 1:00 in the afternoon, Jesse left his house and ventured across the quiet street. He rang Marcus’ doorbell, hoping he would answer. “Hi Jesse,” Marcus said enthusiastically. “How are you feeling? I have a headache from hell.”

“Hello,” Jesse replied with equal gusto. “I’ve had better mornings but seeing you makes me feel better.”

Marcus felt more alive than he had in months. He had only known Jesse for a day and he was already much more capable of facing the world. ‘Wow, there is something really special about him,’ Marcus thought. Marcus had yet to tell Jesse about Zach. Jesse knew that Marcus had lost someone dear to him, but he was not about to push the issue. Jesse knew Marcus would tell him about his lost love when he was ready.

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“Did your plan work, Alison?” Douglas McPherson asked of his young daughter. “Did you sleep with him?”

“Yes daddy, I slept with him,” Alison sneered. “It’s too easy. I’m the master. He is my puppet. Our plan will work.”

“Excellent work my dear,” Douglas complimented with a radiant yet evil smile. “I have the special mix CD ready for implementation of phase two. He will be a robot by the time we’re through with him. We will destroy that filthy faggot who besmirched our family’s honor by touching you.”

“Daddy, I’ve never felt so violated in my life,” Alison pouted. “Why did he have to use me? I think I’m going to puke again.” Alison ran into the bathroom and practically barfed her socks off. Poor Alison… she slept with a young man who was confused about his sexuality. Instead of empathizing with Jesse’s situation, she wanted to destroy him.

Once Alison regained her composure she drove to Chad Nelson’s house. She was wearing a tight black leather mini-skirt, her black spaghetti strap, and her favorite black stilettos with 6-inch heels. Her attire left little to the imagination just as her father wanted. Alison rang the doorbell and snickered in exuberant delight as she waited for Chad to answer. Her laughter ceased before Chad answered the door a minute later.

“Hey Alison,” Chad said affectionately. “I was hoping you would come over.”

“I’m here,” Alison replied sensuously. “I made this CD just for you.” Alison handed Chad the mix CD with a seraphic smile upon her face that concealed her wicked reason for presenting Chad with the gift. Douglas had insisted upon his daughter giving Chad the gift, for he wanted Alison to make Chad feel “special”.

“Thanks Alison. I will listen to it every day.” Chad, being oblivious to the McPherson’s trap, reveled in the fact that Alison had given him a gift. Alison was far from finished with providing Chad with what he desired as she led him into his bedroom.

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

Lexis lay in her bed, unable to face the world. Guilt and sorrow consumed her every thought as she pondered Madison, Marcus, and Tyler. In one evening, Lexis Gordon had managed to lose both of her lovers. Marcus had become her ex-best friend. Alejandro, Jamal, and Jesse were not pleased with her either. Lexis felt alone… abandoned, yet she was responsible for the alienation she felt. She decided to turn to the only person who might speak to her, Sarah Delmar. Lexis picked up her phone and dialed the Sarah’s cell phone number. “Hello,” Sarah’s familiar sweet voice purred.

“Hello, Sarah is that you?” Lexis asked redundantly.

“Yes Lexis, it’s Sarah,” she replied. “How are you, hon?”

“Sarah, my life is over,” Lexis bellowed. “Madison will never speak to me. Tyler thinks I’m annoying, and Marcus despises me. What am I going to do?”

“Lexis, they don’t hate you,” Sarah said assuringly. “I’ll be right over. I’ll bring Sammy. You’re going to be fine Lexy.”

“Thank you, Sarah. You’re totally saving my life,” Lexis uttered dramatically.

Twenty minutes later, Sarah Delmar arrived at the Gordon residence with her brother, Sam. Lexis answered the door and greeted her guests with a faux grin, attempting to conceal her unhappiness. “I’m so glad you’re here.”

“Lexis, we know you’re having a bad day,” Sarah said respectfully. “We’re here to take care of you.

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

Marcus showed Jesse into his living room. The room featured a beautiful and recently refinished hardwood floor. The stone fireplace caught Jesse’s eye. ‘Too bad it’s summer instead of winter,’ he thought to himself, dreaming of snuggling next to the fireplace with Marcus. “You can sit wherever you like,” Marcus mused. Jesse thanked him and sat in the black leather chair across from Marcus’ favorite sofa, propping his feet upon the convenient ottoman almost immediately. “Would you like anything to drink?”

“Water is fine.”

“Cool, I’ll be right back.” Marcus rushed into the kitchen and grabbed two bottles of water from the refrigerator. He walked briskly into the living room wearing a delightful smile upon his face as he gave Jesse one of the bottles.

“Thanks,” Jesse whispered.

“No problem.” Marcus sat down on the sofa across from Jesse’s chair. “That was quite a party last night.”

“Yeah, Lexis didn’t have a good evening. I don’t think she has any friends left.”

Marcus knew his friends quite well. He knew that Lexis would need someone to comfort her. “Jesse, she’s still my friend. I’m just pissed off. Madison is also a good friend. She has been so good to Lexis. She has been more than understanding of Lexis’ relationship with Tyler. Madison sometimes has one of the guys from school, but she loved Lexis enough that she doesn’t start an actual relationship with any of the guys. Madison and Tyler often struggled to keep Lexis’s attention. Madison does not like threesomes or the idea of being watched. Lexis should know that by now. She actually told Tyler that he could watch just before she rushed Madison up the stairs to her bedroom. Sarah and Sam are probably there consoling her right now.”

“She doesn’t deserve consoling,” Jesse spat in indignation. “I guess I have no right to be mad, but…”

“You’ve learned from your mistakes,” Marcus interrupted empathetically. “You never did tell me their names.”

“Brad was my best friend,” Jesse mused. “I hurt him more than I’ve ever hurt anyone else in my life. He was a great guy, but I was too busy hiding from my sexuality to realize it. Now it’s too late. Alison and I had already broken up, but I decided to come clean. She felt so betrayed and used.”

“Jesse, you have to let it go.” There was a moment of silence. Marcus was walking on eggshells, knowing this was still a sensitive subject. “Obviously, it took some time for you to accept your sexuality. I understand what you went through. I also know what it’s like to lose someone you love.”

Tears began trickling down Marcus’ slightly reddened cheeks. Jesse soon followed with a stream of salty tears of his own, but not because he was thinking of Brad. Jesse may not have known Marcus for an extensive period time, yet he hated to see the tears flowing from those beautiful green eyes. Marcus rarely outwardly cried, though secretly he rarely stopped crying on the inside. Zach was his first love, and Marcus felt empty, as though joy were stripped away from his very soul. Though summer it may have been, Marcus’ heart was frozen into a winter-like state, hoping that someday spring would come again.

Jesse could take no more. He stood up and walked over to the sweet, tearful Adonis, wrapping his loving arms around Marcus. Marcus welcomed Jesse’s warm embrace, placing his arms gently around Jesse. The tears of sadness slowly faded away, warmth and security replacing their forlornness. “Thank you,” Marcus whispered. Jesse said nothing, opting to hold Marcus more tightly instead.

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Though it was only midday, Lexis decided that she would have a beer in which to drown her sorrows. Her parents were still out of town on business, as they most often were. They were supposed to arrive at KCI later in the afternoon. Lexis often hosted parties out of loneliness and insatiable desire to be the center of attention. Sarah and Sam always seemed to be kind-hearted, or gullible, enough to give her the attention and adoration she required, even when others would prefer a visit to a gynecologist or a proctologist.

“Lexis, you don’t need to drink any more beer,” Sam grumbled. “You’ve had two already, and it’s not even 5 o’clock.”

“Sammy, you’re not my mom,” Lexis replied in disgust. “My life is over.”

“Your life isn’t over, Lexy,” Sarah said gently. “You just have to give them space, especially Madison. You really should have known better.”

“I thought…” Lexis started to scream. Sam knew she was about to say something she would regret later. Sam knew that Lexis would not be able to take being completely isolated. He did not want her to end up jumping over a bridge. Sam would have felt responsible for her death. Besides Marcus, he knew her better than anyone else did. Sam had introduced Lexis to his sister five years previously. Things had not been the same since Zach had died. The five of them had always been close. JP and Richard were welcome additions as well.

“Sis, let’s go to the kitchen for a minute,” Sam insisted. Sarah rolled her eyes and reluctantly followed her twin brother into the kitchen. Sarah’s patience was far from infinite. Sam could sense her frustration. They had been at Lexis’ house for an hour, but Lexis had yet to open up at all about her feelings. Lexis had called Sarah because she supposedly needed someone to talk to. “Sarah, I think she just wants some company.”

“I thought she just wanted to talk, Sam. I don’t want to watch her get drunk again. She drinks every day. She is such an obnoxious drinker. You should know that by now.” In the distance, Sam heard a door slamming.

“Great, I think she heard us.”

“She’ll be fine.” Sam knew Lexis well enough to know that she had gone to her bedroom. He also knew Lexis would not be coming out of her room for a while. Lexis was definitely depressed. She had a tendency to push people away when she was depressed. Other times she seemed to be the life of the party.

“We should go check on her, Sam.”

“No, let’s leave her alone. She’ll be fine. Besides, you’re all worked up. I love you too much to allow you to make yourself sick. I know you like to take care of people, but you need to put yourself first sometimes. Besides, I don’t think you’ve seen JP today. Maybe we should take a step back and leave for a while. We can always come back later.”

“You’re right, Sam. I think I need to spend some time with JP. I miss him.” Sarah and Sam left the Gordon house and went to see JP and Rick. Meanwhile, Lexis decided to wash a couple of Valiums down with her beer and go back to sleep.

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

Kendra Tavner decided to make a delicious roast with plenty of potatoes and carrots. Kendra was happy that Marcus was finally spending time away from his room. Since Zach died, Kendra felt as though she had lost her son. He barely said anything at all. If not for the fact that Kendra insisted upon therapy and an occasional meal, Marcus would not have left his room at all, except maybe for dinner. She felt guilty, because she had to spend her days at work. She would have preferred spending time with her heart-broken son.

Kendra’s husband, Greg, enjoyed helping with the evening’s dinner preparations. He was good at setting the mood for gatherings and chose a delightful, light-blue tablecloth. In the middle of the dinner table were candles, which were ready for lighting before dinner began. He chose a simple, yet elegant set of plates. They were white with gold trim.

One of the Tavners’ guests had arrived during the day and had not left. Jesse and Marcus were playing videogames in Marcus’ room. They took turns playing The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask, one of Marcus’ favorite games. They had been playing Mortal Kombat 4 for quite a while before they began playing the Zelda game. Jesse was quite proficient with his favorite character, Scorpion. Marcus, on the other hand, preferred switching back and forth between Sub-Zero and Liu Kang. More often than not, Jesse prevailed, using Scorpion’s Sting fatality. Occasionally, Marcus would win, either using Sub-Zero’s Deep Freeze Uppercut fatality or Liu Kang’s gory Dragon Fatality.

Eventually the boys grew tired of playing videogames. They decided to go downstairs to find out how well dinner preparations were progressing. The enchanting smell of pork roast led them into the kitchen where Kendra and Greg were at the table discussing the day’s work-related events. A patient at the clinic in which Kendra worked had caused a huge ruckus. “That guy had some screws loose. He actually attacked Dr. Schmidt.”

“Oh my God! What did he do, dear?” Greg asked astoundingly.

“He pulled a f**king knife!” Kendra was still shuddering in disbelief. She was relieved that she had started dinner in the morning, because she might not have been able to finish dinner otherwise. Despite the horrifying events of the day, she was determined to have a successful dinner party. “Dr. Schmidt is never going to forget it, and neither will the rest of us. He had the knife at Dr. Schmidt’s throat, ready to slice at a moment’s notice unless he received a refund. Luckily, Kelly was able to call 911. They had to send in a swat team. I’ll never forget seeing the man fall to the ground in a pool of blood. They had no choice but to shoot him in the head.”

“Mom, that must have been awful,” Marcus said squeamishly. “Why was he angry?”

“Well, he didn’t like the doctor’s diagnosis. I don’t even know what he found, but the man didn’t take the news very well. In any event, he’s paid for his actions.” Before anyone could respond, the doorbell rang. Marcus decided to answer it. His parents would have asked him to answer it anyway. Marcus was expecting Jesse’s parents. He had almost forgotten that they were expecting other guests as well.

“Hey Marcus!” said the familiar man with his wife in tow. Connie and Philip Lindsay had been friends with the Tavners for over 20 years. They were a few years younger than the Tavners, but they were all good friends, especially Greg and Philip. The two often enjoyed weekend camping trips. They liked to go to bars in Westport as well. Occasionally, they would take their wives, but it was usually just the two of them. They liked the atmosphere as the quintessential “work hard, play hard” types of men they were. Marcus decided to give both of them a hug, first Philip and then Connie. He also gave Connie an affectionate kiss on the cheek.

“It’s good to have you back, Marcus,” Connie cooed tenderly. “Dinner smells wonderful. What are we having?”

“Mom made a pork roast in the crock pot with lots of carrots and taters,” Marcus gleamed. “She’s in the kitchen.”

“Let’s get to the kitchen,” Connie suggested warmly. Connie looked up, noticing her husband’s absence. “Where did Philip go? He was just here a minute ago. Men!” She followed that statement with an audible sigh to compliment her annoyance.

Marcus led Connie into the kitchen where Kendra was putting the final touches on the evening meal. All at once, the three noticed Greg and Philip’s absence. Kendra had not even noticed her husband had left the kitchen. “Those two love making themselves scarce.” Connie’s annoyance increased with every passing moment. Connie was clingy with her husband most of the time. She preferred him to be at her side at every moment.

“Oh, they’re probably just talking about guy stuff.” Kendra was unusually optimistic considering the day’s events. “We don’t want to hear their rantings about the Chiefs and the Rams anyway.”

Alice Wilhelm sat in the chair in front of her vanity. She had already applied her make-up, but she wanted to make sure her hair was flawless. After a seemingly boundless day of work in Cass Medical Center’s ER, Alice wanted to feel beautiful once again. She wanted the Tavner family to notice her beauty, and her husband’s opinion was exceedingly important as well. “Are you about ready, sweetie?” Jack Wilhelm’s voice rang enchantingly, still in awe of his beautiful wife after 21 years of blissful conjugality.

“I’m just touching up, dear.” The sound of her husband’s voice still endowed Alice Wilhelm with boundless enthusiasm. Alice continued picking her hair until she was satisfied with her beautiful strawberry locks at last. She stood up and hastened downstairs to greet her husband with a warm grin and a delectable kiss. The happy couple exited through the door hand in hand, advancing towards the house across the street with a gentle stride.

Greg and Philip stood in front of the house, speaking in hushed tones as they spotted the Wilhelms approaching. “Hello,” Alice said warmly. Unsure of her host’s identity, Alice hesitantly shook Philip’s hand. “I’m Alice Wilhelm.”

“Philip Lindsay,” the handsome ash blond replied gracefully. “It’s nice to meet you, Alice.”

“Likewise,” Alice beamed. “This is my husband, Jack.” Jack shook Philip’s hand as Greg introduced himself to Alice. After shaking Jack’s hand, Greg opened the door, allowing the quartet to enter the Tavner abode. Jack led the Wilhelms and his pal into the living room, calling his wife and Connie into the room promptly thereafter.

Connie and Kendra entered the living room in record time. “Hello Alice! This must be your husband.” Kendra took a moment to examine Jack visually. ‘He’s definitely a looker,’ she thought to herself. ‘Alice is a lucky woman.’ She had no idea just how right she was. The Wilhelms were soul mates. Not even Kendra and Greg had such a deep level of love between them. After 21 years of marriage, Alice and Greg still had an unusually active sex life. Most would be astonished after hearing about any couple that had sex every day, let alone twice a day or more. On the other hand, Kendra was lucky if she had sex with her husband twice or thrice a week.

“Yes, this is my husband, Jack,” Alice said with an abundance of pride. “We’ve been happily married for over 20 years, and I couldn’t imagine my life without him.” Alice longed for the “good ‘ol days” when she was happily married. She still loved her husband, but he had been distant for the five previous years despite her awesome skills in the bedroom and despite the fact that they rarely fought. ‘Maybe he’s just not as vibrant as he was 25 years ago when I married him.’ Alice kept her disappointment in her own thoughts, never complaining outwardly about her desire for more time with her husband.

“It’s nice to meet you, Jack.” Kendra turned to Alice and said, “You have great taste indeed.” Kendra took her marriage vows seriously, but she was far from above innocent flirtation. “Dinner will be ready soon.” Kendra pulled her husband aside and suggested that he entertain their guests while she lit the candles and placed the food on the table. Greg obliged and offered everyone places to sit in the living room.

“Jack, what do you do for a living?” Greg said in hopes of sparking good conversation.

“I own Wilhelm Construction in Harrisonville. It’s a tough job, but somebody has to do it. What about you, Greg?”

“I’m a civil rights attorney. I work for the ACLU.”

Jack was rather conservative with a dim outlook on the ACLU. He simply nodded in and said, “That must be an interesting job.”

“Yes, I love my job. There are so many people in need of protection. Last week, I won a case about a school that still made the students say the Pledge of Allegiance.” Jack was certainly passionate about his views. Greg didn’t care to express his disagreement, as Alice would more than likely be displeased since she was a staunch liberal in her own views. Politics seemed to be the couple’s only source of disagreement.

“Dinner’s ready,” Kendra said gleefully. Greg quickly led his guests into the dining room. Jesse and Marcus were already seated at the table. Alice and Jack were especially impressed by the tasteful decoration in the dining room. Jesse, on the other hand, was more interested in the food he was about to consume.