HELLO GUYS AND GIRLS! I hope that you guys enjoy this chapter of the story as well as y'all have in the past. Y'all can email me or join the yahoo group (ca.groups.yahoo.com/group/futurecanadiansgroup).
David... -----
All Good Things Chapter 10 -- Fireworks and the Beast
"We're gonna be late if you don't hurry," Tony warned as I rummaged through my dresser looking for a specific pair of shorts.
"I'm hurrying babe. I can't find my shorts."
"Which ones?" he called from the living room.
"The khaki ones."
"Yeah. Check the closet. There were hanging up in there yesterday."
"Why would they be in the closet?" I asked aloud, but low enough so that Tony wouldn't hear me. I searched around for a moment before finding them, hanging upon a green plastic hanger. "I must have been drunk when I did the laundry." I quickly pulled them over my hips, buttoning and zipping them in a hurry, so that we wouldn't be late. I quickly pulled one of my t-shirts that I knew would get comments. It was a black one that the graphics of an eye, a heart, and an 11-point maple leaf to symbolize my own homeland. Tony had told me that it would be to celebrate "The 4th of July," but I still felt the need to show my patriotism for my own homeland. I grabbed my wallet and keys and headed out of the bedroom.
"Hey Jake!" Josh, Tony's pledge from the previous year said, greeting me. Several of Tony's brothers had asked if I thought he was gay, but it was hard to tell.
"Hey man. You the DD tonight?"
"You know I am," Josh said.
"Thank you. I'll pay you for gas."
"Ah...No problem, Jake."
"Babe," I said, turning to my boyfriend who'd stood up from his seated position on the couch. "Do I have time for a quick shot of tequila?"
"You do," he said, getting up and coming into the kitchen with me. I pulled the tequila from the shelf as he pulled two shot glasses down from the cabinet. I fixed each of us a shot and placed the bottle on the counter. "Cheers babe," he said, lifting his glass.
"Yes sir," I said as our glasses met and we downed the shot, without what are called in Auburn, "training wheels," or the salt and lime that are traditionally served with a tequila shot.
"One more," he insisted before we left.
"OK," I said, grabbing the bottle and pouring another in each of our glasses. We downed them just as quickly and headed back into the living room, where `Freshman Josh' was standing waiting on us.
"Alright Josh. We're ready," Tony said, smiling at the man who'd been his pledge the previous year.
We walked down the stairs to Josh's car and piled in. As we drove the through campus to their frat house, I thought about the previous six weeks. We'd spent time in Puerto Rico. I'd met Tony's parents, and was less than thrilled by the condescending tone on his mother. I'd started teaching my first class, and was pleasantly surprised by the ease at which I'd settled into that task. I thought about my sisters wedding, which we'd attended just three weeks before. Everything about it was beautiful, but the most surprising thing happened when she asked Danny and me to walk her largely pregnant self down the aisle to her husband-to-be. I smiled at the memory as we drove, but in that moment, I was in tears. At the reception, Tony danced with Mom for several dances, until she got tired and insisted that he and I dance. Of course the Harpers made comments, but not loud enough for the entire group to hear. When we got home, there seemed to be something renewed and re-energized about our relationship.
Then came the morning of the party: 1 July. In the US, it's more often than not, just another day. It's the third day before their nation's own national holiday, but in Canada, it's much, much more. Even when we lived in Cuba, we would come home on 1 July to see family and to see the fireworks over either Ottawa or Toronto in celebration of Canada Day. The most amazing thing I have ever seen were the fireworks over Parliament Hill in Ottawa, and hearing the National Anthem being played over some random radio station. One feels so patriotic as kids all around run and play, waving their Canadian flags with pride while their parents socialize with friends and relatives.
We pulled onto the street where the majority of the fraternity houses are and made our way to one with a large amount of people standing outside. Something stood out, though. There were no American flags flying over the building, as I was expecting. It looked like any other party that I'd attended at the house over the last year. People were out front, drinking their bottled and canned beers. Josh parked the car in the lot immediately behind the house. Three of the brothers were out there waiting on us to finally arrive. We talked for a few minutes before we went into the house for a drink. In the common area of the house, there was a lot of red and a lot of white...but no blue. The bar was stocked with Canadian Mist and Crown Royal, two whiskeys produced in Canada. There was Labat and Molton's.
I began to smile as I thought for a second that this might not be a `4th of July' party, but I dismissed the thought quickly. Auburn isn't the place that normally would be known for its Canada Day celebrations. I was sure of it.
I'm not a fan of mixing liquors, so I stuck to the beers. The icy Molton's beer washed down my throat.
"Have fun?" Tony asked, slyly.
"Sure. Would there normally be no blue streamers at a 4th of July party?"
"Only if we couldn't find them!" Tony said, smiling at me.
"Tony!!!" two of the other brothers yelled at seeing him.
"What's up, guys?" Tony asked as they walked over and shook our hands.
"Not much. We got that stuff you wanted," they said.
"Good! Is the band here?"
"Yeah. They're getting set up outside."
"Cool. We're gonna get another and head out there, if that's cool with Jake."
"Yeah. That's fine with me," I said as we grabbed another beer and headed outside. We talked to several people as we made our way through the crowd. Despite the fact that I'd been around most of these people a million times, I still found myself staying close to Tony. Several people joked about my t-shirt as we walked around.
Around 9, the band got fired up. It was a hot local band that I'd heard several places around town. They started with a few of their songs and continued to play without stopping until around 9:45. They took a few minutes break and could have been found downing several of the beers inside.
By 10, they were ready to go again. Tony brought us back another beer, making my eleventh by that time of the night.
"OK, y'all," the lead singer of the band said before the rock trio started again, "we've been asked to play a song that I have never played in public before." A few of the drunken sorority girls cheered, not even knowing what song was about to be played. "Yeah...Thanks girls!" He laughed once as he picked a couple of notes on his guitar. He began showing his guitar playing prowess in a moment when he began to play a song that I'm sure not many people there had heard before: O! Canada. The way he picked the notes reminded me of how Jimi Hendrix might have played the song, were he still with us. I wildly cheered as fireworks began shooting off over the house. Red and white pyrotechnics are always fun!
By midnight, I was drunk. I'd had more beers than most all the brothers there, and I was feeling the effects. Tony was getting a good laugh at my expense, but I didn't care. Who would care after 19 beers? To make a long story short, Tony, with the assistance of Josh, took me to the car and drove me home.
"So how did you like the party? Was it like being at home babe?" Tony asked as we drove through campus.
"I did. It was an amazing good time, eh!" Josh giggled. "Did you arrange this, Toñito?" Tony didn't respond the question with words, but took a moment to turn around and give me a quick grin. "Woo hoo hoo!" Tony laughed as he turned back around in the front seat of the car.
"This is so weird," Josh said, "to have my Spanish teacher drunk in the back of my car!"
"Ooh. Shit. That reminds me, Josh. You've got an A in my class. The only way you're gonna bring it down is to really fuck up the final."
"Yes!" he cheered. "Is it cause I've done really well or because you don't want anybody else in class to know about tonight?"
"Both." The three of us laughed at my drunken comment. When we got home, Tony had to support me as we walked up the stairs. "I'm sorry I'm so drunk, Tony."
"No worries babe. You're cute when you're drunk."
"You still really cute when I'm drunk, too." He laughed as he opened the door to the apartment and guided me to the bedroom. I got undressed and climbed into bed. I was asleep before I knew it, and don't even remember Tony coming back into the bedroom to get into bed.
I might should have mentioned this earlier, but his birthday is on 2 July, so the next morning was packed full of things that I'd planned for him. As the day opened, I was running a little slowly because of the alcohol that I'd consumed the night before, but had the plan of action in place and ready to go. I wanted to start things off romantically, so I fixed breakfast in bed for him. Omelets with Southern-style biscuits (from a can), along with fresh orange juice were on the menu. I cooked as quietly as I could, but still found myself making more noise than I'd intended to make. A short time later, I carried the meal, atop a wooden tree into him.
"Tony baby," I said as I held the tray in my hand.
"Huh? Wha?" he asked as he came to.
"I made your fine ass some breakfast in bed, baby."
"You did?" he said, half surprised.
"Yep."
"You didn't have to do that babe," he said, sitting up in the bed and looking greedily at the tray.
"I know. But I wanted your birthday to be really special."
"That is so sweet," he said as I gently set the tray across his lap. He took his hand and set it gently on my face. He pulled me into his and kissed my lips. "This is part of why I love you."
"Well. Last night was part of the reason why I love you so much, babe. That was amazing. I just don't know how you kept it a secret from me."
"Well. I just wanted you to have a good time and since we couldn't go to Toronto this weekend and stuff, I wanted to try to make you feel at home."
"It was so cool. I can't wait to tell Danny."
"I wish I could have invited him down, but that might have given it away."
"He's not very good with the secrets, sometimes."
"Yeah."
"Although he did keep your birthday present under wraps."
"You bought me something?"
"Yeah. It's not very big or anything, but I wanted to get you something for your birthday and to say thanks for being so good to me over these last few months. I'm sure that a lot of guys wouldn't have been as understanding as you when my Dad died."
"And a lot of guys would have crapped out when my family drama started. So things balance each other out."
I kissed him on his cheek as he chewed a piece of the omelet he'd placed in his mouth. "So what else do you have planned for today?" he asked.
"I was going to give you your gift, and then give you a thank you gift for last night."
"Don't worry about tomorrow. Remember that you're going to have to deal with my mother on the 4th."
"I'm not worried about her. Maybe she won't be so evil."
"I wouldn't put any best on that one, if I were you, Jakey."
"Oh I'm not, but I can hope for the best, though."
"I wish I had that patience."
"You will, babe." I scooted onto the bed and snuggled up to him.
"Did you taste this?"
"Why? Is it that bad?"
"Here. Try it," he said, taking a forkful and handing it to me. It tasted like eggs with cheese and spinach. It wasn't spectacular, but I'd had worse. Hell, I'd made worse than that.
"It's OK."
"You underestimate yourself, babe. This is amazing. Will you make these for the family on the 4th for breakfast."
"Sure. If Nani will let me use her kitchen."
"I'm sure she will once I tell her HOW good this is, babe."
"You flatter me."
"You make me horny," he said, grinning at me after taking a forkful of the omelet. I had to laugh at him.
"Well. That was actually part of your birthday present."
"You're going to make me horny?"
"Well. It depends on you actually being horny more than me making you horny."
"I'm always horny, Jake."
"This is true."
"So why don't you tell me about it?"
"Why don't I just let you finish your breakfast and then I'll do it?" He thought for a second.
"Hmmm...I'm full," he said, leaving half of his omelet on the plate. He winked at me as he took the glass of juice and downed it completely. He put the glass back on the tray. "Ah! That tasted good." I laughed and took the tray back into the kitchen. As I returned to the room, he was lying down on the bed with his muscular arms behind his head.
"My God. You really are horny," I noted after seeing the tent in the sheet.
"Like I said, I always get horny around you."
"Which can't be a bad thing," I added as I lay beside him. I wanted to look at him for a second and explore his body with my hand. Working in a gym had done him a lot of good, as his abs were developing nicely. Of course, with Tony, it wouldn't have mattered if he'd been without the ripped torso, he was an honorable man, who was nice. He took the initiative and leaned his head up and kissed me on the lips. I didn't stop him or tell him that this was my thing. It was his birthday, after all, and I wanted him to get as much pleasure out of the moment as he could. I'd planned on sucking his balls dry and then making him fuck me until his he shot a creamy load in my ass, but that wasn't to happen. He wouldn't let my lips go. It was almost as if they were his captives. Not that I minded, he kissed with a passion almost indescribable in words. For two hours, we just lay there making out. His dick was dripping precum. Gushing is a more appropriate word to describe what his throbbing penis was doing.
"What this what you had planned?" he asked as my hands began to massage his ample nutsack.
"Nope. But I'm not going to complain..." I said as he kissed my lips again. I moved my hands from his balls and slowly massaged his hard penis. I used the copious amounts of precum as a make shift lube, an action that he thoroughly enjoyed. I pulled back the foreskin and ran my hand along the head for a moment. He had to pull away from my mouth and moan.
"Damn baby," he said as I continued to stroke his massive penis.
"You like?"
"Uh huh," he said, nodding his head. "I'm........"
"You OK?"
"I'm gonna cum..." he said between heavy breathes as his chest heaved.
"Go ahead babe." His muscular midsection began to contract. His breathing became more erratic and heavy.
"Oh God!" he said, banging his head against the wall. Volley after volley of cum shot against my face and arm, and on his chest. He moaned as the final few loads seemed to only drip out of the head of his penis. I squeezed and pulled up on his dick to get every last drop of cum out of him.
I was tired and spent, even though I wasn't the one that had gotten off.
"Enjoy this part of your birthday present?"
"Yeah." He smiled and ran his hand across my head.
"Good. I'm glad. Get cleaned up, and I will get the other part of your present ready."
"In a minute. I just want to lie here with you for a few minutes."
I snuggled into him, letting his wrap his arm around me. From my face, there was a single gob of cum, which I greedly licked off him. "I can handle that."
He closed his eyes and enjoyed the moment of pure relaxation that had engulfed him. For a good half hour, we lay there close to each other. "You know, Jake?"
"What?"
"That I have enjoyed this birthday more than any other in the past."
"I'm glad, my love."
"Alright babe. As much as I would love to stay here, I have to get the cum off me."
"Alright babe. Take a shower, and I will get the other part of your present ready."
"OK. I love you, Jake."
"I kinda like you, myself." He smiled as he walked away from the bed, butt ass naked to the shower.
I pulled myself off the bed and pulled on a pair of gym shorts and a tshirt quickly. As I walked to the door, I put on each of my flip-flops and ran down the stairs to the car. I pulled out the wrapped box and ran back up to the apartment, in time to hear the shower turn off. "That was fast," I said out loud.
He came out of the bathroom drying his hair. The natural curl had returned, and looked so cute atop his head. He dried the rest of his body as we chatted about the most random and mundane of things. He quickly walked into the bedroom and returned wearing a pair of boxers with little birthday cakes on them that one of his brothers had given him more as a joke.
"So here you go, babe," I said, handing him the box.
"So I know it's not a cat!" he joked.
"Nope!" I joked.
He carefully ripped the paper away at the seam. "OH WOW!" he exclaimed as he opened the paper a little bit more to realize what it was that I'd been hiding in my car for him since the day before. "This is amazing! Oh my God!"
"Do you like it?"
"I do like it. It will come in handy with some school projects," he said as he gazed on the unopened box containing his new computer. "That and my old computer is about to bite the dust."
"I know."
"And I was thinking of buying a Mac anyway."
"I know. You've been talking about it since April."
"Yeah...sorry about that, babe. I swear I wasn't trying to drop hints."
"Damn. I would have never bought a Powerbook for myself. This was way too much money, Jake."
"No it wasn't, Tony, and I don't want to hear another word about it."
"Yes sir!" he jokingly responded. "Thank you so much, though."
"I'm glad you like it," I added, watching him gaze at the box like a child on Christmas.
He looked at me and smiled again before ripping open the box and plugging the computer into a wall outlet. He giggled as he booted it for the first time. "This is so cool."
For the rest of the day, we sat in the apartment while he played with his new toy. He seemed so excited about learning all of the inner workings of the device and such. He played around with the software that was preloaded onto it and spent the whole afternoon exploring around the hard drive's inner workings. That evening, we packed our things for the holiday. We were taking a short drive up to Charlotte for the holiday to be around his family. With what he'd said earlier in the day, I was excited about seeing his Dad, but less than enthused about seeing his mom. We settled into the bed that evening earlier than we normally do. Of course, Tony was still horny. He kissed the back of my neck as he held me in his arms. He rubbed my abs and legs, which was the usual way to got me to give up my ass. It's not like I wouldn't have, but it was kinda fun to watch him squirm a little bit, with his non-verbal begging for what he wanted. He hit the spot, though. His touching quenched a thirst that I had inside. With my own moaning, he knew that I was ready to take what he was offering. He reached over and grabbed the lube from the table beside his bed. Since it ended up that I took him for the most part, it was a good place for the lube to be. He pulled the sheets back and lubed up his dick and my ass. Slowly and gently he pushed inside me, and with slow, deliberate strokes of his hips he sought to bring himself to the brink of explosion.
"Oh yeah, babe," I said as we continued to make love.
"I love you, Jake."
"Likewise, Mr. Cisneros."
"I'm close," he whispered.
"Oh yeah, papi," I responded.
"You want it?"
"Every drop."
He moaned a couple of times as he pushed harder into my ass. He exhaled deeply and that's the when the flooding of my ass began. I felt him warm, gooey goodness inside me. He stopped pushing and pulling for a moment and simply rest himself inside me. He wrapped his hand around my waist and cupped my dick in his hand. He slowly stroked me, knowing that I was close to explosion myself.
He pulled himself out of my ass, leaving a void inside me as he continued to stoke my penis. Instinctively, I turned onto my back as he set up and propped himself on to his arm. He kissed me, drops of sweat that he'd encountered during our sex dripping onto my face. He kissed once more before positioning himself differently. His face went directly toward my cock. His lips found their way to the head of my cock. He kissed it twice and then took almost the entire thing in his mouth.
"Oh God!" I moaned quietly. He sucked it like a champ. It didn't take but a moment though to get me to the point of no return. "I'm gonna cum, babe."
He gave me a thumbs up and continued sucking. I tried to hold back as long as I could, but it was no use. My dick had a different idea as it shot two wads violently into the back of his mouth. The amount of cum was too much for him to handle and he backed off my dick as he swallowed, allowing the rest of my jizz to flow onto my abs and into my pubes. He licked away at the white spots that warmed my heaving abs. Before long, he had completely licked me clean. Not a single spot remained as he kissed my chest before coming to my lips. I could taste the hot cum on my lover's breath as we turned to snuggle with one another to fall asleep for the evening.
The next day wasn't anything spectacular. Tony and I lounged around the house as we finished the last of the laundry that we needed to do before our trip. Tony played with his new computer, or rather, I should say his "toy."
By three, we were ready to start the five hour trek to Charlotte. The drive was pleasant, except for getting stopped in South Carolina for driving in excess of the speed limit. We finally arrived at Nani's house well after the setting on the sun. Nani and Martín were pleased to see us when we arrived, with Nani making us sit down to eat at bite of something before we did anything else. Martín and Tony went off doing something outside, but left me to tell Nani about the Canada Day celebration. She smiled, as if I were one of her grandchildren.
"It sounds like an amazing time," she said.
"Oh it was! I had a blast, especially when the band started playing O Canada!" Nani laughed at my enthusiastic recounting of the story. "And Tony did all of it for me. He planned it, had his brothers get Canadian liquor, everything."
"He really does love you a lot, Jake."
"I know. And I love him so much."
"It's an amazing thing when you find someone who truly loves you. It was that way for me and Jorge. The first time I met him, I thought he was the most annoying person on the planet. He kept asking me to go to a dance with him, and I kept refusing. Well, one day, I finally gave in and went to a dance with him. With the first whirl around the dance floor, I knew that I wanted to marry him and live in love with him forever."
"I wish I could have met him."
"In a sense you have. If you take Gui's stubbornness, Martín's niceness, and Tony's heart, you have him," she said, losing herself in thought for a moment.
"Hey Nani," Martín said. "It's ready."
"Gracias baby," she said as she stood from the table. I looked at her in amazement. I hoped in that moment that when I was her age, I could think so highly of Tony, the man who had, more than anyone else, captivated me, my thoughts, and my dreams. She went to the fridge and pulled a large container out. "Jake. Will you go get the box out of the freezer."
"Yes ma'am," I said standing and heading to the large freezer in her garage. It was heavy. It took up an entire shelf. It must have weighed at least75 pounds. As I carried it back into the kitchen, Nani had cleared a space on her counter to prepare the whole pig that was in the box for the barbecue.
"Right here," she said, patting the large metal pan in on the counter. I set the box down and began to open it.
"Can we put on some music?" I asked.
"Well. There is a record that I usually put on when I am doing this. Go find the Celia Cruz one and put it on." The moment it started, I felt like I was back in Cuba. There is a certain way that Cuban music affects the soul. It makes you want to dance. It makes you want to smile. It makes you want to be around family and loved ones. I returned to the kitchen. "This reminds me of being a girl in Cuba," Nani said with a smile and certain swing in her step.
We talked as Nani split the backbone of the pig to get it ready for the roasting. She seemed happy, in a way that I hadn't seen in the whole time I'd known her.
The front door creaked open in a second, but then stopped. "Nani's roasting a pig!" Gui exclaimed as he came into the house.
"Yes. She is roasting a pig," Nani answered as Gui came into the kitchen from the front door. Gui hugged his grandmother as he continued to prepare the pig for the mojo that it would marinate in over night. "Actually, you, Tony, and Martín will doing it in the morning."
"Nice," Gui said. "Hey Jake."
"Hey man. How's it going?"
"Good. Do you remember María?"
"Yeah."
"She's coming tomorrow."
"Really?"
"Yeah. She couldn't make it home for the holiday, so she's coming down to visit me."
"Who is this María?" Nani asked.
"She's a girl that I met when we were on vacation. She's really sweet," he told his grandmother with a sparkle in his eye. I recognized it. Nani recognized it. He was in love.
"I'm sure she is a wonderful girl."
"She is great, Nani."
Tony and Martín came back into the house as Nani was spreading the mojo over the pig. We talked about random things until Nani was finished with the pig. Gui said that was staying that night, if it were OK, and Nani said it was fine, but warned him not to stay up too long, since the three of them had a long day tomorrow with the preparation of the pig. Tony and I went to bed shortly. We were both tired from the day, and I wanted to be well rested when Tony's parents and some friends that Nani had invited got there.
I slept soundly next to Tony that night, but I didn't dream, which was odd. Nani woke us all up around 5:30, since the pig had to be roasted for five to six hours before lunch. We dragged ourselves out of bed. Gui and Tony got the fire started as Martín and I finished helping Nani get the pig read for roasting.
Around 7, the other Cisneros, Magda and Jorge (Tony's father) reared their heads. Jorge was quick to greet everyone there, including me, with loving father/son hugs. Magda coldly greeted Tony, but acted as though here other children were angels. Nani was another person that seemed to be on her hit list. I, in her eyes, wasn't even there. Tony was pissed by the way she was acting, but for the sake of his grandmother, didn't say anything. Later that morning, a host of other family members from the Charlotte area began arriving. Nani's sister, Elena, arrived along with her grandsons around 11:30 after a short flight from Miami. Her grandsonds, Mario and Nestor, were around mine and Tony's age, and were very accepting of the situation, despite Magda's obvious disgust with my very presence. Elena, Nani, Magda, and I ended up in the kitchen as Jorge gave the others a quick lesson on how to properly roast a pig. The lot of them were crowded around the makeshift caja china (a grill customarily used to roast pigs for special occassions), drinking beers or sodas or something. Elena and Nani were getting along well, standing at the counter fixing a dish known in English as Moors and Christians, a mixture of rice and black beans. Magda quietly stood over the stove making plantain chips. Elena and Nani were including me in the conversation, or at least trying to. They joked with me, telling me about when Tony was a little boy. One funny story from his youth involved him, on the beach in Miami with the family, taking off his diaper and running into the water, completely naked.
"Why don't we talk about something else?" Magda asked as she stood over the stove, refusing to face them. Elena made a face where Magda couldn't see.
"We are just trying to tell him about his boyfriend. I'm sure he could tell us stories about himself if you would be more comfortable with that," Elena said and Nani agreed.
"I don't want to hear them," she stated. "Es tanto que tengo que estar aquí en el mismo cuarto que él." (It's enough that I have to be here, in the same room with him.)
"Magda...¿Por que no te lo gusta?" Nani asked. "He has always been polite, nice, and very good to your son. He flew him to Toronto when you through him out of your house. He even took the expense to fly his grandmother and brothers to Toronto so that he could see them on Christmas day." If there is anything that I've learned in life, it's that you don't purposefully piss off a Latina, even if they're wrong. It's just something that's not done...or at least that shouldn't be done. "His family has been better to your son than you have over the last six months..."
"Stop it!" Magda siad, turning around to face Nani and Elena. She was pissed off. She walked over to Nani and put a finger in Nani's face. "Cállate vieja." (Shut up old woman.)
"Magdalena, I may be an old woman, but you might want to consider taking that finger out of my face. I will rip it off your body."
"If I were you, I would be more concerned about where he is going to go after he dies. If they go on, the two of them will rot in hell." She looked at me. "You made him this way, your punishment will be even worse." She pointed and looked at me. "Te detesto. Eres demonio!" (I hate you. You are a demon.)
I didn't know what to say. In my life, I had never encountered someone who felt so strongly about homosexuality in regard to their religion. Sure, there were the Harpers, but they would have never said something like that within a mile of my mother. "Jacob. Take another round of beers out to the men, please," Nani instructed.
"Yes ma'am." There was no way that I was going to argue with her. I grabbed some beers for the six men outside and placed them on a tray. I grabbed three miniature bottles of tequila as well, for myself an whomever else might want one. I carefully carried the tray to the sliding door, which the men had left open. I set the tray on the table.
"This is why I love my boyfriend..." Tony said upon seeing me carrying the tray. I smiled as I walked back to close the sliding door leading into the house. As the door clicked, it all started. I heard Nani yelling at Magdalena, and the latter trying to argue with her. "Did you bring one for everybody, babe?"
"Yep," I said as he came over and gave me a hug.
"It'll be OK. I promise," he whispered in my ear, seeming to know why I'd come outside.
"Who's the tequila for?" Gui asked as he came over to get the beers for everyone.
"They're for me," I answered honestly.
"Oh!" he said, noticing that I'd closed the door.
"So she's being a bitch," Gui said as I came over to the place around the faux caja china where they were all assembled. I swallowed the liquor in one of the miniatures and set the bottle on a table where their empty beer bottles were. I opened the second and then looked at Jorge.
"It's OK. You can say it," Martín said. "I could tell she was going to be trouble because of the way she was treating you and Nani this morning. That's part of the reason why I stayed out here.
None of us saw María come around the side of the house in the backyard. "Hey fellas!" she said.
"Hey babe," Gui said as he broke from the circle as he went up to his girlfriend, who looked ravishing in a summer dress with silver shoes with heels and her long, flowing black hair.
Jorge, Nestor, and Mario each said "Damn" under their breath as the two of them hugged and kissed gently. As their kiss broke, I made sure to notice her facial expression. She kissed him and then looked deeply into his eyes. I was so happy to see that she felt the same way about him as he obviously felt about her.
"So how did you know we were back here?" Gui asked as they continued to stand with each other.
"Well. I walked up to the front door, and there were two women screaming at each other, but I saw your car, so I assumed that it was like when my mother and grandmother argue and all the men go outside." She giggled. "If I ever act like that, you have my permission to tell me."
"I wouldn't though," Jorge joked as he walked over to the couple.
"Babe. This is my dad, Jorge."
"Mucho gusto, Jorge. Me llamo María."
"El gusto es mío," he said, kissing her hand very gallantly.
"And babe. You know Tony, Jake, and Martín."
"It's good to see you all again," she said, smiling and waving at us.
"This is my cousin, Nestor."
"Mucho gusto."
"I don't speak Spanish, but I don't think you cussed me."
"No. I just said it was a pleasure to meet you."
"Oh! It's nice to meet you too," he said, shaking her hand.
"And this is Mario."
"Mi María," he said, extending his hand and smiling. "Nice to meet the one that finally tamed my cousin."
"Oh. He's still in training," she joked.
"Would you like something to drink, babe?" Gui offered, willing to put himself in the middle of his grandmother and mother to get her something to quench her thirst.
"Can I have a beer?"
"Of course," he smiled at her as we walked inside. As he slid open the glass doors we heard the women still going at it. Gui returned quickly with two beers in hand: another for himself and one for his girlfriend. "Don't be surprised if my mother comes out here in a second and tries to act like you're her best friend," he warned María.
To Gui's credit, he correctly predicted his mother's next move. She walked outside after wiping her eyes and fixing her hair. She looked at me and then raised her nose as she walked over to María.
"I am Magdalena Cisneros," she said, taking María's arms and gently kissing her cheek.
"María Carvallo. Mucho gusto, señora," María politely said.
"Oh! Llámame Magda!" Magda insisted. "Tuviste buena vuelta?" (Oh! Call me Magda. Did you have a good drive?)
"Sí Magda." (Yes, Magda.)
"Bueno. Me alegre de oír éso." (Good. I'm glad to hear that.) María chuckled and smiled.
Nani and Elena made their way outside after a moment. Nani had been crying, which pissed me off a bit, since I knew that she'd been defending me. She didn't say a word to Magda, but introduced herself and carried on a brief introductory conversation with María. María knew with whom she was going to ally herself as soon as Magda began to try to pull her into the family foray.
"Do you like roast pig?" Nani asked María.
"Sí. Pero no he tenido puerco tan rico en mucho tiempo," she exclaimed as Nani cut a piece of the pig to hand to her. She was enthusiastic about the food, as if it were something she'd been used to in the past, but hadn't had a chance to savor in so long. (Yes, but I've not had any pork this tasty in a long time.)
"Bueno. Tambien tenemos muchas cosas más para comer. Vas a comer con nosotros, verdad?" (Good. We're also having a lot of other things to eat. You are going to eat with us, right?)
"Claro, señora, si está bien contigo." (Yes ma'am, if it's alright with you.)
"Claro que sí bella. Pero me llamo Nani, OK?" (Of course, beautiful. But my name is Nani, OK?)
"Sí, Nani." She was much more courteous to Nani than she had been to Magda. After a few minutes, Nani cut large portions of the pig off, but left most of it on the grill. We found ourselves piled into her dining room and living room. The `jovenes' as we were called all planned on sitting in the living room, while putting the adults in the dining room. It was nice to simply laugh and drink and hang out with Tony and his family. María even got into the whole thing when the boys started talking about football. The beast didn't rear her ugly head except to offer everyone some of her banana and chocolate empanadas, everyone that is, except for Tony and me. Her ugliness was getting on my nerves.
"So we're going back to my place later to watch the fireworks," Danny announced, "would you all like to come over and see them?"
"Sure," Tony said as `La bestia' (the beast) came into the room. There was a resounding affirmative response from the rest of the people in the room.
"Hmmpf...avec les pédés..." Magda said as she returned to offer everyone else another empanada. I was getting angrier and angrier as I thought more about the word that she'd used. (With the faggots...)
"Did you say something Mom?" Gui asked innocently.
"Oh no. I didn't say anything...." she said, looking at me for my reaction.
"Gui. Pédé is the French word for fag," I said, looking directly at her. Everything in the room stopped. For a moment, there was no eating. There was no speaking. Everyone was amazed that she'd said that. Between the two of us, there seemed to be a staring contest.
"That was uncalled for, Mom," Gui said as he got up to throw out his plate and the remaining empanada. Tony was so pissed off that he looked like he was about to cry. Martín returned to the empanada, quietly chewing as he tried to stay out of the staring contest between his mother and me. I'd had enough of her shit, and I wasn't about to stand for her condescending tone around me anymore.
She slapped María's shoulder as if looking for an ally in the room. "Él está enojado porque no le ofrecí una empanada." She laughed as she looked at me. Was this going to convince me to say something to her? Was this going to provoke me into action?
"There really not as good as my mother's," María said. "She uses a more bitter chocolate, which is more what me and my gay brother prefer." She put the remainder of the empanada down on the plate, and stood. "And furthermore, if it hadn't been for Jake and Tony inviting their brothers on their vacation, I probably wouldn't have ever met Gui." She looked at Magda, "I should at least say thank you for the attempt."
I was impressed. Tony was, too, though, letting loose a slight chuckle that didn't please his mother. María stood there in pure Puerto Rican style and waited for Magda to respond. When she didn't, she walked past her to put her plate in the kitchen. "I think it's time for us to go home, Magda," Jorge said, wisely pulling his wife toward the door. We all stood up and gave him a big hug as she stood in the doorway with her purse. As when they had arrived, he made the rounds giving everyone a hug. I made my way to the door, where Magda stood, looking at me.
"May I talk to you outside?" I asked, opening the door and stepping onto the porch. She followed me out.
"Well are you happy? You've turned my entire family against me."
"No ma'am. I'm not responsible for that. That's your fault," I said as she shut the door behind her.
"If you hadn't come into Tony's life, none of this would be happening. Tony might have found a good girl or something," she stated in a snobbish tone.
"I doubt Tony would have found a girl, Mrs. Cisneros, but I do know that you're treating him like shit. I can handle you talking to me any way you wish. I have an uncle that is exactly like you, and I've been dealing with him for years. But your son, Tony, is one of the greatest men alive. He is kind, charming, romantic, beautiful, and thoughtful. Did you know that he gave me a portrait of me that he'd done himself for Christmas? Did you know that when my father died, he was there to hold on to me until I stopped crying? He is one of the greatest men that I have ever known, and you're going around treating him like he's less of a person than you are. That's not right."
"He is less of a person. He's a fag."
"Look lady. I don't know you; you don't know me, but we both love Tony for the man that we know that he is." She looked away, angrily. She knew I was right, but wouldn't have ever admitted it. "And you will never have to worry about seeing me again, because if you're gonna be there, I won't. Like I said, I've dealt with people like you all my life, but I won't deal with you ever again."
"Stupid faggot," she said as she grabbed a cigarette out of her purse and lit it. "You don't get it. You are going to hell, straight to hell. The minute you lured my son into your bed, you condemned him to hell too, so forgive me if I'm not going to bend over like my senile mother-in-law and kiss your ass." She turned away from me again and started to walk down the stairs. My muscles were tensing, and I felt my face flushing with a bright red color. I was so angry at her that I could have pummeled her into the ground, but that wouldn't have solved anything, and I probably would have been deported instantly. I couldn't think of anything to say in response.
"Ma'am. I never expected you to kiss my ass, but I do expect you to treat your son like the man that he is. If you can't do that because you're too petty to realize that you're wrong about him and his fate in the afterlife, then you can go off and fuck yourself." I turned immediately and walked inside the house. Jorge was right there at the door, about to come out himself. He hugged me once more and then let me go. I ran right to Tony, who dragged me into the room we'd slept in the night before.
He rubbed my back as I cried into his chest. "It's OK, baby."
"I have always tried to be nice to people. I've always tried to treat people with respect and courtesy. I just don't understand why she's such a bitch to me. I know she's your mom, and I'm sorry for calling her that. I just can't understand why she acts like this around me."
"It's OK. You summed it up. She's just a bitch."
"I'm so sorry for all the drama. You know I detest situations like this."
"I know, baby."
"She makes me so angry though. It's almost like I'm a firecracker."
"Here, Jake," Nani said as she and Elena brought a drink into me. "Tengo orgullo en tí." (I'm proud of you.)
"Gracias."
"Lo que hiciste toma mucho coraje." She kissed my forehead and left the room. Elena smiled as she followed Nani out and left Tony and me in there for a few minutes alone. (What you did takes a lot of courage.)
"Ugh! I said as I downed the soda."
"What? You OK?"
"Yeah. I'm just ready to go watch fireworks."
"Your discussion with my mom wasn't enough?" he said, smiling and winking at me.
"I love you, Jake. And thanks for defending my honor. This is what I really love about having you as a boyfriend." He kissed my forehead.
"I love you, Tony, and you would have done the same thing for me."
"A million times over."
He hugged me for a few seconds more. Gui and María invaded the room next, though, after a minute, to tell us that everyone was leaving for his apartment to watch the fireworks from his apartment complex. We drove ourselves and Nestor in the BMW, while Gui, María, Martín, and Mario rode in Gui's SUV. As we set off from Nani's, the plan is that we would go back to Gui's apartment, watch the fireworks, and then bring Mario and Nestor back to Nani's house for the night. After we got there, though, the drinking began, and I soon found myself in a drinking contest with Nestor, to see how much tequila could be consumed over the course of the evening. Before we were too drunk, but well after the setting of the sun, the fireworks began. Fiery streamers of red, white, and blue flooded the sky. Despite my level of inebriation, I could still enjoy the fireworks, in the arms of my beautiful boyfriend.
The day had been one filled with anger and resentment, but ended on such a good, positive note. As I looked into the Tony's eyes, they reflected the fireworks in the sky. The day ended just as the month had begun, with me in the arms of the man that I could have sworn in that moment I would be spending the rest of my life with this amazing man before me. As we went to sleep on Gui's air mattress that had been set up in the living room, I hugged him greatly, thankful that we had each other to get through those rough times that couples often face.