A Shift in the Universe Christian Mitchell Copyright 2004
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO:
The following night we invited Tyler, Paul and Jordan over for dinner. It was the last time that the five of us would be together during the summer. Paul was going to move to Phoenix over the weekend and Jordan planned to go to San Francisco the following week.
Having very limited skills in the kitchen, I managed to cook lemon chicken, pasta and a tossed salad. No one complained about the food so I was pleased. I also assumed that it was possible no one had anything bad to say about my cooking because they were trying to be polite.
"You guys fixed this place up nice," Paul stated. "I'm surprised."
"Well, we had to throw it together before my mother played interior decorator."
"Yeah, it looks good," Tyler smiled.
"Thanks. All in a day's work," Kyle joked.
Jordan pushed Kyle's shoulder. "Shut up, bitch. Anything is an improvement over your old bedroom."
"Well, having your own apartment is a big improvement," Paul said. "The two of you are finally growing up."
"Yeah, the rest of us will be in dorms," Tyler said.
"Not me," Paul objected. "I'll be in a frat house."
"Of course," I laughed. "No big surprise there."
Following dinner Paul helped me load the dishwasher while the others watched ESPN. When we finished cleaning up the kitchen Paul and I joined them in the living room.
"Hey," Tyler coughed then cleared his throat. He turned the volume down on the television. "We're not going to lose touch with each other, right?"
"No," Paul answered. "We'll always be together."
"You really believe that?" Jordan asked somewhat somberly.
"Yeah," Paul replied. "I don't plan to forget about my buddies back home."
"I don't either," Tyler smiled.
"I think we'll stay in touch and remain good friends," I said.
"I hope so," Kyle beamed. "You guys are my family, man."
"That's right!" Paul exclaimed. "So snap out of the funk. This isn't going to be the last time that we see each other."
"Yeah, there's holidays and vacations," Tyler responded. "We'll see each other more than we think we will."
Jordan put his arm around my shoulder and leaned in to nudge me with his elbow. Within seconds all five of us had our arms around each other for a group hug. Then we lowered our heads toward the floor. It was as if we were huddled on the football field.
"This is the last night that we'll be together for a while," Tyler finally said. "I love you guys."
Each of us said, "I love you" then hugged each other harder.
"My boys!" Paul exclaimed. "Always and forever, man."
Everyone repeated "always and forever." Then we started to push, hit and pull on each other until laughter filled the room.
We continued to talk for nearly an hour. Paul was the first to leave. Jordan followed him out the door about five minutes later. Tyler was about to leave when I noticed him quietly talking to Kyle on the sofa. The only words I heard clearly were eleven o'clock.
"What's the whispering about?" I asked.
Tyler stood up. "You'll find out soon enough."
"Oh, will I?" I teased.
"Yeah, you will. So don't worry about it right now," he replied then hugged me.
"You leaving?"
"Yeah, I have to get up early."
Kyle rose from the sofa and gave Tyler a hug. "Good night, buddy."
Tyler walked toward the door and put his jacket on. "Good night, guys. I'll be seeing you soon."
"Better," I responded. "We still live in the same city."
"See, you can't get rid of me that easily," Tyler laughed as he shut the door.
Kyle grabbed my hand and pulled me with him to sit on the sofa. "I'm kin d of sad that everyone is gone."
"Me, too."
"It's weird that we're not going to be seeing each other every day."
"Yes, it will take some getting used to," I replied.
"I keep thinking about my brothers and their friends," Kyle said. "After high school that started to lose contact with each other. Now they only hang out with a few of the friends they had in high school."
"I think our group will do a pretty good job of staying in touch," I replied. "But if not, that's part of life, I guess. It would totally fucking suck. But that's life."
We watched television for a while then we got ready for bed. Lycus lay between us as we talked about the apartment. She continued to purr for quite some time before she finally fell asleep.
"You don't have a lot of stuff to do tomorrow, do you?" Kyle asked.
"No. Why?"
"Because I want to take you somewhere. We have to be there at eleven o'clock."
"Oh, does this have anything to do with what you and Tyler were talking about?"
"Maybe," Kyle smiled. "You'll have to wait until tomorrow to find out."
"Now I'm curious," I replied.
"It's all good," he said.
"Let me check my schedule," I teased.
Kyle reached over and started to tickle my sides.
I struggled to pull myself away from the assault. "Hey!" I protested. "Be careful with the baby!"
Kyle stopped tickling me and glanced at the kitten. She was looking at us with an unhappy expression on her face.
"See, you woke her up and now she's totally pissed," I said.
He started to pet Lycus on the head until she purred again. "She's fine."
We ate breakfast at home. Then we officially unpacked everything that still needed to be put in its proper place. Soon after ten o'clock Kyle informed me that it was time for us to leave.
"We need to be there by eleven o'clock," he said.
"There's that time again," I teased. "This better be worth it."
"Come on. It's worth it," Kyle said as he grabbed his car keys and tossed my cell phone to me.
It wasn't long into the drive that I realized that we were driving to Westwood.
"Don't tell me that you still have stuff to pick up and take back to the apartment."
Kyle laughed. "No. Relax and enjoy the ride."
"You just want me for my muscles so I can carry stuff," I joked.
"No. Now be quiet."
We drove through our neighborhood. Now that we were no longer living in Westwood it seemed like we were tourists. It was strange to see the familiar buildings and houses as an outsider.
It was not long before Kyle pulled into the parking lot of the elementary school we attended as children.
"We're here," he smiled.
I'm certain I looked confused. "Here?"
"Yeah," he replied as he opened his door and got out of the car. He walked to the sidewalk and motioned for me to hurry up. Then he pointed at his watch. "It's eleven o'clock."
When we reached the entrance I recognized Tyler's aunt waiting for us at the door. She was a slightly overweight woman in her later forties. She taught first grade at the school. When she noticed us approaching she smiled and opened the door.
"Good morning," she greeted.
"Hello, Mrs. Thompson," we smiled.
"You boys are right on time," she grinned. "Follow me."
I immediately started to reflect on images from my past. Visions of running through the hall and playing ball on the playground flooded my mind. The building still smelled exactly as it did when I attended school there. It was as if I had suddenly stepped back in time.
When we reached the lunchroom Mrs. Thompson unlocked the door and pushed it open for us. "Here you go," she smiled. "You have about fifteen minutes."
"Thank you," Kyle replied. "Fifteen minutes is all we need."
I was confused but I said," thank you."
Mrs. Thompson walked away and left us alone at the door.
Kyle grabbed my hand and pulled me into the dark cafeteria. He fumbled for the switch to turn on the lights. Soon the room lit up and I noticed a dozen cream colored roses on a table near the far wall.
"Come on," he smiled.
I held onto his hand and followed him to the table. He pulled away and told me to sit down on the bench. I did as instructed and laughed because the seat was so close to the floor that my knees touched the underside of the tabletop.
Kyle quickly walked around the table and sat across from me. The roses were between us, which he pushed to the side. Then he grabbed both my hands and squeezed gently. He lowered his head for a moment then looked up at me.
Kyle took a deep breath and exhaled heavily. "Man, I hope this isn't really cheesy."
"What?"
He glanced about the empty lunchroom. "Remember this place?" he asked.
"Of course," I replied.
"This is where we first met, remember?"
My smile widened and I felt my eyes start to burn and become watery. "Yes, I remember. You and I became friends in this room on my first day of school here."
"Now we're here ten years later," he grinned. "We're still best friends. But now we're also lovers."
I wiped a tear from the corner of my eye.
"I wanted to bring you back to where it all started now that we're starting this new phase of our lives together."
I really did not know how to respond. It was the sweetest thing that anyone had ever done for me. I couldn't fight the few tears that started to roll down my cheeks. I was embarrassed by my reaction and I could feel the increasing warmth of my cheeks.
"I am so grateful that you are a part of my life," he continued. "I can not think of anyone that I'd rather spend my life with, Marcus. I love you very much. And I want us to be happy together forever."
"So do I," I replied. "I love you, too."
Kyle wiped a tear from his eye then reached over to wipe a tear from my c heek.
"You're so beautiful and loving. I appreciate everything that you do for me," he smiled. "No one understands me like you do. You give me so much hope that we're doing the right thing. I know that we belong together."
"I believe that as well," I said.
"You make me so happy," he replied. "And I want to be able to make you happy and keep you satisfied. I want to protect you. I hope I can give you everything you need."
"You do make me happy and keep me satisfied," I responded. "I know you would never do anything to hurt me. I feel safe with you. I look forward to every new day with you."
"I want us to promise each other that no matter what the future brings we will not let it destroy our love."
"Of course not," I smiled. "I will love you until the day that I die."
"I feel like I've always known you. Even before we met," he said. "I just feel like I've known you forever. Maybe we knew each other in a different lifetime or something. I don't know how to explain it. But this feels right.
It feels like it was meant to be this way. And that makes me feel good. I feel like I can conquer anything that comes our way because I have you by my side."
He softly squeezed my hand.
"I know we're young," he continued. "But I want to grow to be an old man with you. I want and need to have you by my side because I love you so much.
And I could never love anyone more than I love you."
"You've said everything so perfectly, Kyle. I wish I could have said the same words to you long ago. You don't have to wonder if I feel the same way about you. I love you very much. I also want us to be together forever."
"I know," he replied. "That's what makes this feel like fate or something."
"I'm looking forward to living together, starting college together and making a life for ourselves," I said. "I know we're going to be successful because we want each other to succeed."
There was a moment of silence.
Kyle smiled and once again looked around the cafeteria. "If we ever have kids, maybe they'll go to school here."
"If they do, I hope they become friends with great people. Like we did."
"Or as extraordinary as you," he beamed.
I leaned across the table and kissed him on the lips.
He glanced at his watch. "We're running out of time. We better get out of here. I think they have summer classes or something. We might scare the little kids."
I laughed. "Or inspire them."
Kyle grabbed the roses and walked around the table to help me stand. "Can you believe we were tiny enough to sit at this table?"
"No," I replied. "These tables are so small. For a second I thought I was stuck."
Kyle laughed out loud and pulled me away from the table. "Come on. Let's go home."
"Yeah, I'm getting hungry."
"Oh, poor baby," he teased. "Should I make you lunch?"
"At home?" I questioned in disbelief.
"Well, one of us needs to learn how to cook. We can't always eat out. It's too expensive."
"We can take turns cooking," I said.
"I make a killer peanut butter and jelly sandwich," Kyle smiled.
"I know," I grinned. "Remember, I've known you forever."
Kyle pushed the exit door open. The warmth and light of the sun greeted us.
Once we were seated in the car Kyle grabbed my hand. "I love you."
"I love you more," I smiled.
We really didn't talk much during the drive home. It didn't seem like sentences were needed. Just two guys smiling and happy to be together.
True to his word, once we arrived home Kyle made me a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
Kyle had started training for the upcoming football season with UCLA. I was pretty much working out at the gym alone. Because Kyle often returned home exhausted and starving I did my best to make sure that he was comfortable and well fed. I certainly had not been much of a cook before we moved in together. Yet, I had taken it upon myself to learn how to cook more than just my famous lemon chicken and rice dinner.
It was not long before Kyle and I had grown accustomed to our new routine at home. We both cleaned the apartment and took turns cooking dinner. I was usually the one that remembered to clean Lycus' litter box, but Kyle made up for it by always being the one to take all the trash out.
Tyler would visit us at the apartment once or twice a week. Roger would meet us for coffee and conversation every once in a while. On Sunday nights we had dinner with my family then with Kyle's family the following Sunday.
The summer passed more quickly than I had anticipated. Kyle and I had a lot to do to prepare for classes and our life as college students. Before we knew it, the start of the semester was suddenly upon us.
It was time to initiate the next chapter of our lives.
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