My New Life chapter 70
Stories by James
on Nifty
This is the story of the last concert in *Nsync's No Strings Attached Summer Tour. And what happens when they meet one of their fans, late that night in the hotels hot tub. This story pairs Joey with one of their fans.
Is our history written in stone? What would happen if one thing in a person's life could be changed. See what happens when the Backstreet Boys take a ski trip that change their lives, for ever.
My New Life
by James
Disclaimer:
This story is the sole property of its author and may not be copied in whole or in part without the permission of the author. The posting of this story on any web site must be with the author's prior knowledge and permission.
This story deals with the fictional relationship between the members of the musical groups *Nsync, Backstreet Boys (And who ever else shows up in the story.) and a male fan. The sexual orientation of the members of *Nsync or the Backstreet Boys are not known by the author and what is depicted in the story came from the imagination of the author.
If you are not 18 years old or it is illegal in your area to view such material please read something else.
These stories can also be found on my web site
Boy Band Fan Fiction
More stories
This ia a story that spans the generations. Lance finds love and romance with someone he feels he has known all his life.
This is my newest short story I posted just before Christmas. Lance has returned home after not being able to complete his life long dream, going into space. He feels his life has no meaning and he struggles to regain his self worth. He finds what he is looking for in the form of an abused little boy and his friend Ethan
Last Time:
Lance was right the little boy next to Marc was Ryan. And for some reason Justin couldn’t see him.
Ryan smiled up at Lance before giving him a small wave.
Lance’s smile grew. “See, Justin. Didn’t I tell you it wasn’t anything,”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” Justin said as he rubbed the back of his neck. “You coming back in?”
“Yes, I’ll be back in a little bit.”
Justin went back to the sun room.
Marc looked at Lance. “What are you looking at?” Marc asked.
“I think I’m looking at your little brother.”
“You can see Ryan?”
“Of course he can,” Ryan giggled. “Hi, James.”
“Hi, Ryan.”
“You can hear him too?”
Lance nodded.
“Can you see anyone else?”
“Just you, love. Should I see something else?”
Marc looked at Uriel. ‘Can I tell him about you?’
Ural nodded as he stood up.
“Well, there is someone or something else here. He said his name is Uriel and he said he is an angel.”
“Son, I think it best that your partner sit down,” Uriel said to Marc.
Marc reached out taking Lance’s hand. “Sit with me James.”
Lance sat next to Marc on the bench. Ryan had moved around so he was standing in front of them. “What’s going on?”
“Uriel said it was best that you be seated before whatever is going to happen, happens.”
Before Lance could ask what was going to happen an man appeared behind Ryan. Marc felt Lance jump when Uriel appeared.
“Hello, James,” Uriel said with a smile. “I hope you don’t find my appearance too upsetting?”
Lance gawked; wide eyed at the man before him. The slight squeezing of his hand by Marc helped get his brain working again. “Take a deep breath James,” Marc said softly. “It’ll help.”
Lance looked at Marc, “Did you say Uriel?”
Marc nodded.
“Wow! This is big.”
“Yeah, meeting an angel is kind of big,” Marc agreed.
“Boo, he’s not just an angel. He’s an Archangel, one of the top guys.”
Marc looked at Uriel with a raised eyebrow.
Uriel, shrugged. “I have many jobs.”
“And which one brings you here?” Marc asked.
“A job as a guardian angel.”
Marc looked across the garden at the sun room. “You’re Susan’s guardian angel, right?”
“No. I’m yours.”
“Are you the reason I didn’t die with my family?”
“No son, I’m not allowed to interfere with HIS plan. You didn’t die that day because HE has plans for you.”
“HE had plans for me! What about my family? What kind of plan did HE have for them?”
Uriel frowned, “That’s not for us to ask. But if you must know their existence continues according to HIS plan.”
“He’s right Boo,” Ryan said. “When you cross over you don’t just float around on clouds all the time.”
“What kind of job do you do, Ryan?” Marc asked.
“I’m still in training,” Ryan said with pride. “I’m helping Mr. Uriel.”
“You’ve been watching me?”
“Not all the time. Just when Mr. Uriel checks in on some of his other charges. Davey was the luck one. He became a guardian angel real quick.”
“Really? With no training?”
“You might say he got on the job training,” Uriel said.
“Yeah,” Ryan giggled. “He got, on the job training.”
“What aren’t you telling me little brother?”
Ryan looked to Uriel. Uriel gave a slight nod of his head.
“Davey, is Shawn’s guardian angel.”
Marc didn’t know what to say. Lance could see that Marc’s eyes were misting up. Lance tightened his grip on Marc’s hand.
“We need to go,” Uriel announced. Turning to Marc, “I know how much you want to help Susan. There’s nothing you can do to change what is meant to be. The best thing you can do for her is to let her know that Shawn will be loved and taken care of.”
Marc nodded, “I can do that.”
“We can do that,” Lance corrected Marc.
“Yeah, we can do that.”
Uriel nodded then vanished.
“I got to go Boo.”
“I know Ryan, it’s been cool talking to you again.”
Ryan gave a little wave the vanished too.
“You ready to get back to the party?” Lance asked.
Marc nodded, “I want to spend some more time with Susan.”
Chapter 70
Lynn put the last box into the trunk of her car. Shutting the trunk she turned back to gaze at the building that use to house her office. Twenty feet down the block a large U-haul truck was loading the last of the furniture from the old Wright Enterprise’s offices.
“You got everything?” Johnny asked.
“Yes. The furniture will be picked up this afternoon by the leasing agency.”
“You know there’s room in my new building for you, if you want.”
“Thanks for the offer Johnny, but I think I’ll be based at home for a while. I realized that almost all my meetings take part outside the office.”
“I understand. With out the overhead of a office it should make the bottom line look better," Johnny said. "There is some advantages to a small operation,”
“How close to completion was your new offices?” Lynn asked.
“The new offices are complete. There’s still a few weeks work on the rehearsal studios and some of the support facilities. This trouble with Lou, just moved up my plans.”
“I’m sorry the boys got you in the middle of their problems.”
“Don’t be. The way Lou does business is the problem. I had already planned this move. Lou would give me nothing but grief when I started working with the Backstreet Boys. He tried to limit who I could take on. And that just didn’t set with me.”
“I know what you mean,” Lynn said as the motor of the big truck started up. “It looks like their ready to go.”
Johnny nodded, “Have you heard anything from the boys? They rushed out after the last meeting without saying where they were going.”
“Only a message from Justin, saying they were heading up to Marc’s cabin.”
“If you hear from them, be sure to let them know about the move, and my phones wont be hooked up till Tuesday.”
“Will do,” Lynn said as she got in her car.
Lou stood at his office window looking down on the street below as the moving van pulled away from the curb. He'd been in an unpleasant mood since his trouble started with *Nsync. And now to top it off, two of his tenants have vacated their offices. Losing Lynn wasn’t that big a deal; she only had a small office suite. But Johnny’s operation leaving meant he now had a whole floor to lease out.
There was a soft knock at his door, “Come in.” Lou called out.
His secretary came in with his mail.
“Have you been able to contact Marc Newman?”
“No sir. There was no answer at his home. Word in the break room is he was called back to Wisconsin.”
“Any idea why?” Lou asked.
“No. The only other thing was, he stopped by to talk to Lance about something before he had to leave. Bev didn’t hear what was said but after a short exchange Lance stomped into a meeting and Marc didn’t look at all happy.”
“Could there be trouble in paradise?”
“Don’t know. But it seemed Mr. Newman went to see Lynn Harless right after.”
Lou gazed back out the window as a small smile formed on his face.
Have you ever dealt with a five year old who has had nothing but cake, ice cream and soda all afternoon. Shawn was bouncing off the walls when they got home. Luckily for Marc, Justin was almost in the same condition. Banishing the two of them to the backyard to burn off some of their energy, was Nana’s brilliant idea. She would chuckle every time she looked out the window to see them running and wrestling. By the time supper was ready the two of them were laying on the grass looking up at the clouds. First one then the other would point out shapes they saw in the sky.
“Marc, what do you want to drink?” Sara asked.
“Ice tea,” Marc answered while looking out the window.
“What should I give the boys?”
Marc and Nana looked at each other then said in unison, “Milk.”
Nana, lived in a big old house, so sleeping arraignments wasn’t a problem. The guys took the two open bedrooms upstairs while Sara was put in the small bedroom next to Nana’s on the ground floor.
“Come on son, it’s time to get ready for bed,” Marc said.
“Do I have to?” Shawn whined. “I wanted to play with Uncle Justin some more.”
“You can play with Uncle Justin, in the morning.”
“Hay Sport, we can play some more in the morning.”
“Well, okay.”
Marc held out his hand to Shawn. Getting up Shawn threw his arms around Justin’s neck. “Good night, Uncle Justin.”
“Son, you can come back down to tell everyone goodnight, after we get you into your pajamas.”
Lance smiled as Marc guided Shawn up the stairs.
“He’s a doll,” Sara commented.
“He wore me out,” Justin said as he laid his head on the back of the couch.
Chris chuckled, “I’m worn out, from just watching you two.”
Marc had just placed a pile of towels on the counter when Shawn came scampering in. He had his pajamas and clean underpants in his arms.
“Do you get undressed before coming into the bathroom when Nana gives you a bath?” Marc asked.
Shawn nodded. “But I have to go down to Nana’s bathroom because she doesn ’t like climbing the stairs.”
Marc chuckled as he imagined Shawn running through the house naked. “What will it be tonight? Bath or shower?”
“Can I take a shower? Like last night?”
“Sure son.” Reaching in Marc adjusted the water temperature. “Okay son, it’s ready.”
Shawn looked up at his dad.
“What’s wrong?” Marc asked.
“You have to take a shower with me.”
“I do? I thought you were a big boy now. Can’t you shower alone?”
“There are parts I can’t do. Nana always washes my back and makes sure my ears are clean. I can’t reach my back and I can’t be sure if I’m getting my ears clean.”
“I guess it is kind of hard to look in your own ear,” Marc chuckled as he got undressed.
Shawn watched as his dad got undressed. When Marc dropped his underwear Shawn’s attention was drawn to his dads penis. “You got a big pee pee.”
“When you grow up you will have a big one too,” Marc said as he ushered Shawn into the shower.
“Will I get as big as you?” Shawn asked looking up at his dad.
Marc was not ready for this type of questions. Talking to a five year old about the size of your dick was something Marc felt uncomfortable with.
“I don’t know son,” Marc said as he crouched down to Shawn’s level.
“I hope so. I want to have big strong muscles like you,” Shawn said as he reached and squeezed his dads biceps with his little hand.
Marc let out a sigh of relief. “You can have big muscles like me if you eat all your vegetables, get plenty of sleep and give your old dad a little love’n every chance you get.”
Shawn threw his arms around his dads neck, hugging him tight. “Like this?” Shawn asked before giving his dad a kiss of the cheek.
Marc held Shawn tight to him. “Yeah, . . . just like this.” Marc turned them both into the spray, getting them wet and to hide the tears running down his face.
Everyone looked up when they heard the stampede coming down the stairs. Shawn was in his pajamas and Marc in T-shirt and lounging shorts.
Lance gave Marc a questioning look about his attire. Marc shrugged; giving him a what could I do, look.
Shawn made the round of the room telling everyone goodnight, with a hug and an kiss.
Then once again Marc ushered him back up the stairs.
“How long can you all stay?” Nana asked.
“I have to be back at work day after tomorrow,” Sara said. “We’ll probably leave late tomorrow afternoon.”
“We don’t have anything until next week I think,” Joey said.
Lance nodded, “That charity dinner in New York.”
“We’ll probably head back with Sara,” Josh said. “Lance, do you know what Marc’s plans are?”
“I’m not sure. I know Marc promised my mom we would visit for a couple days.”
Marc knelt next to Shawn’s bed tucking him in. “You had a pretty big day today, Sport.”
Shawn grinned, “Mommy had a good time at her birthday party.”
“She sure did,” Marc agreed.
“And I got a lot of new family.”
“Yeah, you sure did. What do you think of them?”
“I like Aunt Sara a lot. She smells so good. I think Uncle Josh likes the way she smell too.”
“He does? Way do you say that?”
“He’s always sitting next to Aunt Sara and I’ve seen him sniffing her.”
“He what?”
“He sniffed her. He keeps sniffing her neck.”
“Oh, is that all he does?”
“Some time he kisses her too.”
“You seen him kiss her?”
Shawn nodded, “And some times she kisses him. I think she likes him.”
Marc chuckled, “It kind of looks that way.”
“At first I didn’t like Uncle Chris. He seemed to be a big grump. He seemed to be picking on Uncle Joey a lot. When Uncle Joey looked like he was getting mad Uncle Chris would say something really funny.”
“Chris likes to make people laugh.”
“He, he can make Uncle Joey laugh,” Shawn giggled.
“So you like Uncle Chris now?”
Shawn nodded, “He’s so funny.”
“What about Uncle Joey?”
Shawn thought for a while then a smile spread across his face. “Uncle Joey is a teddy bear. He’s a good hugger. I like it when he hugs and holds me.”
“I feel the same what about your Uncle Joey. When ever I’m feeling a little scared I know I can go to your Uncle Joey and his hug will make me feel better.”
“You get scared?”
Marc nodded, “For a long time I’ve felt that I was alone. I could not remember where I came from. I didn’t remember my family. I had no memory of my life before I woke up in Grandpa Tom’s hospital. Your Grandpa Tom and Aunt Sara helped me make new memories. They became the family I couldn’t remember.”
“Didn’t you remember Nana?”
“No son, I didn’t remember Nana. But thank god she remembers me.”
“Will you ever remember?” Shawn asked.
“I’ve been told in time I’ll remember. Remember the other day when we first met?”
“Yes, you looked at me kind a funny.”
“The reason I looked at you funny was I had seen you before.”
“Really, where?”
“In a dream. I even drew a picture of you. I didn’t know who you were at the time.”
“Can I see the picture?” Shawn asked.
“It’s hanging in my studio in Florida. You will see it when you come and visit.”
“Is Floor ada very far?”
“It’s Florida. And yes it is very far away.”
“Can we drive to Florida?”
“Yes you can drive to Florida. It would take a few days to drive all way.”
“Oh, that’s a long drive.”
“It’s a lot quicker if you fly to Florida.”
“You mean, like on a plane?”
Marc nodded.
“When can we go in a plane?”
Marc thought for a minute. “How about Thanksgiving? You will be out of school for the week. We’ll go visit your Grandma Diane and Grandpa Jim for Thanksgiving then go to Orlando for the rest of your vacation.”
“I’ve heard of Orlando. That’s were Mickey Mouse lives.”
“That’s right,” Marc chuckled. “And that’s were James and I live.”
“You live with Mickey?”
“No son. Mickey lives at Disney World. We live not too far from there.”
“Can we go see Mickey?”
“I thank that can be arranged.”
“Goody, goody, I’m going to go see Mickey,” Shawn sang as he jumped up and down on his bed.
Marc caught him in mid air and put him back under the covers. “You’re not going to go right now.”
“When did you say we could go?”
“On Thanksgiving vacation.”
“How long to Thanksgiving?”
“Almost twelve weeks.”
“Is twelve weeks a long time?” Shawn asked.
“How about tomorrow we get you a calendar. I’ll show you how many days it is to Thanksgiving. Each night when you go to bed you can cross off each day until the day we fly to Florida.”
“I can do that,” Shawn said with a grin.
“I know you can son. Right now how about you get some shuteye.”
“Dad.”
“Yes son.”
“I was wondering.”
“Wondering what son.”
“Monday is parents day, at school. Would you come to school with me?”
“I’d love to son.”
“I want everyone to see I’ve got a dad too.”
Marc leaned in close, “I’m sorry it too so long to find my way back home, son.”
“It’s all right, Daddy,” Shawn said as he wrapped his arms around his dads neck. “I love you, Daddy.”
“I love you too, son.”
Marc made his way back down to the living room.
“Is he asleep?” Lance asked.
Marc nodded as he sat next to Lance, snuggling up to him.
Lance could tell something was up. Putting his arm around Marc’s shoulder he pulled him closer.
Nana could see something wasn’t right with her grandson. “Marc how are you holding up?”
Marc shrugged, “I don’t know.”
Lance hugged Marc tighter. “Is there anything I can do?”
“You’re doing it now. Just hold me.”
“Can you tell me what brought this on?” Lance urged.
“As I was getting Shawn ready for bed. I started feeling so guilty for not being here for him.”
“Boo, we may never know why you were taken from us,” Nana said. “But I thank the Lord every day, for you finding your way back into our lives.”
“It’s like God had a plan for you,” Justin said. “And part of that plan was for you to come into the life of that boy up stairs, when he really needs you.”
“Wow, little brother. That’s really deep. Where did that come from?”
“It’s just something I believe. I believe God has plans for us.”
Lance looked down at Marc giving him a knowing look.
“It’s getting late,” Nana said as she rose from her chair. “Church service starts at nine. Will anyone be joining us?”
Marc looked to Lance. Lance gave a slight nod. A quick look around the room gave Marc their answers. “We’ll all join you, Nana.”
Church service went well. Joey, Chris, Josh and Sara sat in the pew behind the others. Before the service started the guys felt it may not have been such a good idea to accompany Nana and Marc to church. The last thing they needed was to cause a scene at church. But the looks they were getting wasn’t coming from the young people. The looks were coming from the older church members. And they were directed toward Marc.
“Your brother may not remember any of the people here,” Josh whispered to Sara. “A lot of them seem to recognize him.”
Luckily, the service started and all heads turned to the front of the church.
The sermon that day was a long one. As it usually happens Chris’ mind started to wonder. His eye fell on Marc in the pew in front of him. Marc didn’t seem to be paying attention to the sermon either. Something seemed to have caught his attention off to the side of the church. A smile crept across his face when he figured out what Marc was looking at. He nudged Joey. When Joey looked at him he nodded toward Marc. Joey caught on quickly what Chris meant.
“Do you think he’ll do it?” Chris asked in a whisper.
Joey thought for a moment then shook his head, no.
“Fifty, he does it,” Chris said softly.
“Your on,” Joey replied.
The service had ended and everyone stood stretching their legs as they waited for the front of the church to empty. Marc slipped out of the pew and moved to the front of the church. Lance followed Marc with his eyes wondering where he was going. He smiled when he saw where Marc was headed.
Chris nudged Joey again and pointed to Marc. Joey looked and his shoulders slumped in defeat.
“We might as well take a seat,” Lance said to everyone.
“Why?” Shawn asked looking up at Lance.
“Your Daddy thinks we need more music this morning.”
Marc had reached the organ console.
“We haven’t had an organist for years,” Nana said. “I’m not sure if it still plays.”
Marc threw the power switch and slowly the instrument came to life. Marc caressed the polished wood finding it familiar, in a way. Setting the controls he started to play.
“Oh!” Shawn said in surprise. Nana closed her eyes as the sounds of a hymn she hadn’t heard in years filled the small church.
Nana had put a roast in the oven before they left for church services. As they opened the front door the heavenly smell of the roast greeted them. Nana and Sara went to the kitchen to finish preparing dinner. Lance and Joey offered to set the table while the rest of the guys went out into the garden to sit; staying out of everyone’s way.
Shawn crawled onto his dads lap giving Marc a hug around the neck.
“What was that for?” Marc asked with a chuckle.
“For playing for us. I’ve never heard so beautiful music.”
“Yeah, thanks bro,” Chris said with a grin. “You made my wallet feel better.”
Marc gave Chris a questioning look.
“Joe was foolish enough to bet me you would walk away from the organ.”
“How foolish was he?” Marc inquired.
“Fifty.”
Marc just shook his head.
“You play real good,” Shawn told his dad.
“Thank you, son.”
“I think the minister wanted you to came back and play every Sunday.”
“He was hinting at that, wasn’t he, son?”
“It was like old times,” Nana said as she came out the back door. “You were the organist for almost four years before the accident.”
“Maybe that was why everyone was eyeing you,” Chris noted.
“Most of them thought they were seeing a ghost,” Nana chuckled. “Word hasn’t gotten out about your return.”
“I know I was real uncomfortable, after we left the church,” Marc said in reflection. “It was like, everyone wanted to come up and say something, but they didn’t know how to approach it.”
“Yeah, they all stood back and let the minister do all the talking,” Justin added.
“Come on, everyone, dinner is on the table,” Nana announced.
After dinner Shawn and Justin got to spend some time playing together in the back yard. Bags had already been loaded in the van when Marc told Shawn it was time for Justin to leave.
“Do you have to go?” Shawn asked Justin.
“Yes, I’m afraid so little buddy. We have a plane to catch in the morning.”
“Come on son,” Marc said. “Let’s go say goodbye to everyone.”
Shawn had hugs and kisses for everyone. Shawn’s mood perked up when Sara told him she would be back next week with his Grandpa Tom.
Nana, Shawn, Marc and Lance waved as the van pulled out of the drive and headed down the street.
Marc felt the bed shake. A small body was crawling up between Lance and himself. Opening one eye he could make out Shawn moving up the bed. Marc scooted over to make room for the boy.
“Why are you awake?” Marc asked. “Another bad dream?”
“No, I just couldn’t sleep,” Shawn said as he slipped under the covers. “ I’m excited about school.”
Marc glanced at the clock on the night table seeing it was only two thirty. “It is still a long time before we have to get up son. Let’s try to get some sleep.”
Lance rolled over and pulled Shawn back against his chest. “Your dad is right,” Lance said in a sleepy voice. “Try to get some sleep.”
Marc leaned over and gave both of his men a kiss on the cheek. “Goodnight loves.”
Marc rolled over desperately searching for the button that would kill that blasted alarm. Somehow he made contact with the right button. Rolling over he found Shawn laying half on top of Lance. His heart jumped with pride as he looked down on his two sleeping angels.
Lightly rubbing Shawn’s back Marc said, “Come on son, time to wake up.”
“Do I have to?” Shawn mumbled sleepily.
“Well, you can stay here, and sleep all day, or you can come to school, with me.”
Shawn raised his head, “What?”
“Today’s parents day. Remember?”
Shawn’s eyes shot wide open. Parents day, yes!”
Lance wrapped his arms around the boy. “You could just stay here with me.”
Shawn squirmed out of Lance’s embrace. “It’s parents day. I can’t miss, parents day.”
Lance yawned, “Who am I going to snuggle with if you both go to school?”
Shawn looked at Lance then looked down at his stuffed dog. “I’ll let you snuggle with Mr. Wiggles.” Shawn held out his dog.
“Well thank you son,” Lance said as he took the offered dog. “And thank you Mr. Wiggles for letting me snuggle with you.”
Chewing his lower lip for a second Shawn added, “Take good care of Mr. Wiggles. I want him back.”
“I promise to take good care of Mr. Wiggles,” Lace said as he snuggled with Mr. Wiggles.
“Have fun at school, you two.”
Marc was dragged into the classroom by Shawn. The room was filled with twenty, five year olds, with at least one of their parents. Shawn showed him the picture tacked to the wall, that he had drawn. Next he showed his dad, his desk.
Shawn had to introduce his dad to Mr. Ears, the class rabbit.
Shawn’s teacher, Mrs. Carter, was moving among her students and guests talking briefly with each parent. As she approached the rabbit cage she saw Shawn showing a man, Mr. Ears.
“Good morning, Shawn.”
Shawn turned smiling, “Good morning, Mrs. Carter.”
“Who have you brought to parents day?”
Marc stood up and turned to face Shawn’s teacher.
“This is my dad,” Shawn said proudly.
The shocked expression on the teachers face told Marc he had been recognized. Reaching out Marc was able to take the teachers arm as she began to sway. “Are you feeling all right?” Marc inquired.
“Why, yes. It’s just you remind me of someone,” Mrs. Carter said regaining her composure.
“May I ask, who I remind you of? ”
“Well, two of my high school class mates,” she said looking into Marc’s eyes. “David and Booth Stevens. They were brothers. By any chance, could you be related to them?”
Marc chuckled, “Yes, I’m related to them.”
“How? Are you a cousin?”
“No, I’m a little closer than a cousin. David was my brother.”
Mrs. Carter gave Marc a strange look, like what he as said didn’t make any sense. Then a light came on in her eyes. “My god. Booth?”
“I’ve been told that’s the name everyone use to call me. Now days I go by Marc.”
“I don’t understand.”
“It’s a long story. When the accident happened I was thrown from the van and survived. I have very little memory of anything in my life before four years ago. Nana saw me on television not too long ago and got in contact with me.”
“Nana, found my daddy,” Shawn bubbled.
“And I found you, son,” Marc said as he rubbed Shawn’s back.
“Then you probably don’t remember me?”
“The worst part of finding my family is I still don’t remember my past.”
“Well, let me introduce myself,” she said offering her hand. “I’m Pam Carter, it use to be Pam Green back in high school.”
“It’s nice to meet you Pam. I go by Marc Morgan these days.”
Shawn gave his dad a funny look.
“What’s wrong Shawn,” Pam asked.
“I think I know,” Marc said. “My name has been evolving over the last couple months. When my new life started I took the name, Marc Newman. That’s the name I use professionally. Last month, I got a new family and have added Morgan to my name.”
“Kind of like me becoming a Carter,” Pam added.
“By any chance should I know your husband?”
Pam laughed, “No, I met Paul when we were in collage.”
Marc let out a sigh of relief as the bell rang.
“Show time,” Pam said under her breath.
Marc let out a chuckle.
“Let’s take our seats,” Mrs. Carter called out.
“Lance, I’m going to go visit awhile with Susan,” Nana said.
“Is it all right, if I come along?”
“Sure,” Nana said. “Susan would love to see you again.”
Parents day, in a kindergarten class was a eye opener. Marc felt a little out of place being the youngest parent in the room. And the stares he was getting from the other parents was a little unsettling. The story time, art time, snack time, and play time was all neat. But Marc’s, and most parents, favorite part was quiet time.
When the kids got out their mats Shawn came over to his dad. “Come on Dad, it’s quiet time.” Shawn took his dads hand and led over to where all the kids were putting down their mats. Taking the mat from Shawn, Marc spread it out next to the wall. Marc sat down on the mat with his back against the wall. Shawn climbed onto his dads lap leaning back against his dad. Marc enjoyed this time the most because he was able to spend one on one time with his son.
The other parents talked quietly on the other side of the room. The topic of most of their discussions was the young father interacting with his son. Every time Marc would glance up someone was smiling his way.
Kindergarten was only a half day session. When class was over Marc asked Shawn, “What do you want for lunch?”
“McDonald’s,” Shawn shouted out.
Marc chuckled, “I should have known.”
After a lunch of Happy Meals® and a half hour in the play land, the two of them went to visit Susan.
When they pulled into the parking lot Marc spotted Nana’s car and pulled in next to it.
“Nana’s here,” Shawn announced as he got out of the car.
“I see,” Marc said as he took Shawn’s hand.
They looked around the sun room for Susan before heading down the hall to her room.
“Hi, Mama,” Shawn called out as he burst into the room.
Susan held out her arms to her son. Shawn climbed into her lap, giving her a hug and a kiss.
Marc stood in the doorway watching.
Lance got up and went to Marc. “How was class?”
A smile spread across Marc’s face. “The greatest.”
“Being in a room full of kindergartners was the greatest?” Lance asked.
“Yeah, I had a lot of good training. After spending the summer with *Nsync, a room full of five year olds was a piece of cake.”
Lance, gave Marc a playful punch in the arm. Everyone else laughed.
Everyone visited for another hour until it became evident that Susan needed some rest. Marc walked with everyone till they got to the front door. Placing his hand on Lance’s arm he asked him to take Shawn back to the house with them.
Lance knew Marc needed some time alone with Susan, so he didn’t question his actions.
Susan looked up when the door opened.
“Hi,” Marc said softly.
“Hi, did you forget something?” she asked.
“No. I just wanted to talk to you alone,” Marc said as he moved to the chair next to her bed.
Susan looked at Marc. His expression was serious and she wondered if he was having second thoughts about Shawn. “What about?”
“Shawn and what you are doing.”
“Is there a problem with Shawn?”
“No, there’s nothing wrong with him. He’s the perfect kid. You did a great job with him.”
“Thank you. But I didn’t do it alone. I couldn’t have done i, if it wasn’t for Nana. I don’t know what I would have done without her help.”
“She loves you both.”
“And we love her. What is it about Shawn we need to talk about? You’re not having second thoughts are you?”
“No! There’s no way I’d ever let him out of my life,” Marc stated. “There’s just something I wanted to ask you.”
“What’s that?”
“Today when I took Shawn to school I was stopped from entering the school because I wasn’t on his list of approved adults to be with him.”
“Oh, my.”
“A quick call to Nana got everything straighten around.”
“Good.”
“Susan, what I want to ask is if it would be all right if I had my attorney come and talk to you about making arraignments for Shawn’s care.”
“You still want to take him, don’t you?”
“Yes, that will never change. What I’m concerned about is what legal right do I have to take him?”
“You’re his father, you’re on his birth certificate,” Susan pointed out.
“Booth Marcus Stevens, is on that birth certificate. And legally, he is dead.”
“Oh! That’s right. What do we have to do?”
“I’ve already taken a DNA test to establish that I am Booth Stevens. I will summit that test to the courts to recognize me as Booth Stevens and legally recognize my name change to Marc Newman-Morgan.”
“Would that be all you need?”
Marc shook his head no. “We’ll need to have a DNA test done on Shawn.”
Susan looked troubled.
“There’s nothing to it. All they do is take a swab of the inside of his mouth. I’ll ask my dad to do it when he comes to visit next weekend.”
Susan visually seemed to relax. “Will that be enough to prove you’re his dad?”
“I think so. It’s just going to take some time.”
“Time that I may not have,” Susan said softly. “Is there anything I could do to speed things up?”
“Yes, you can name me as Shawn’s guardian.”
“I’ve already given Nana guardianship of Shawn.”
“I know. My attorney will want you to amend that guardianship to include me as his legal guardian. It is a quick fix I know. But it will give them time to get all the legal matters taken care of in case . . ..”
“I don’t last that long,” Susan finished Marc’s thought. “How soon can you get your attorney here?”
“His name is Mr. Andrews. He’ll be here to see you tomorrow afternoon.”
“You’ve already worked this out.”
Marc nodded.
Susan reached out and took Marc’s hand in hers. “I’m glad you thought about this. It never occurred to me there might be some problems.”
There was a long silence.
“What else did you want to talk about?” Susan asked.
“Your decision to stop your treatments.”
“How, how did you know?” Susan demanded. “Who told you?”
“No one had to tell me. I could see it in your eyes. You’ve given up.”
“I haven’t given up. There is nothing they can do for me. I want to spend what time I have left enjoying Shawn and Nana’s visits. The treatments makes me ill and I sleep a lot. Please, don’t try to talk me out of it.”
“I’m not going to try to talk you out of your decision. I understand your feelings and you have my support.”
Susan studied Marc’s face. All she could see was compassion and understanding.
“How can you understand all this, so easy?”
“It’s not easy. I want you to stay around as long as you can, for Shawn’s sake. But it was pointed out to me, what I want doesn’t matter.”
“Marc, I have to do it this way,” Susan pleaded.
“I know. I just wanted you to know I’ll be here when the time comes.”
Susan nodded as a tear slipped down her cheek.
Marc reached down and wiped the tear away. “I’ll ask Nana to bring Shawn by every day after school. You get some rest, you hear?”
“Thanks,” Susan said softly.
“Dad!" Shawn called out when he saw his dad come in the back gate. Jumping into his fathers arms he hugged his dad and gave him a kiss. Marc took the opportunity to steal a kiss of his own.
“James, said you will be leaving soon.”
“That’s right, son. We both have to go back to work.”
“I wish you could stay. I’m going to miss you”
“I’m going to miss you too son. I’ve given Nana my cell number and my home number at Big Bear Lake and Orlando. If you need me for anything just call.”
Nana got a worried look when Marc talked about calling.
“Nana, my attorney, Mr. Andrews will be stopping by late tomorrow afternoon. I’m having him set up a special checking account in your name. I realize my showing up alive will put an end to the states support payments you get for Shawn. Pay your phone bill out of that account and any other bills that pertain to Shawn’s care. I’ve also made arrangements to take care of Susan’s medical bills also.”
“Son, how can you afford all this?” Nana asked.
“It’s not a problem. I’m doing well with my music.”
“But Susan’s bills. Have you seen them?”
“Yes, I’ve seen them. When I made the arraignments this afternoon I got a full accounting. Nana, almost four years ago I met someone that changed my life completely. He was one of my professors, he became my mentor, I had hoped, some day my lover.”
Nana shot a quick glance to Lance. But his expression hadn’t changed, he must have heard all this before. “You hoped?”
Marc nodded, “It was never meant to be. I didn’t know at the time, Marcus was HIV positive.”
“Oh my!”
“Marcus would never let me get close to him. A couple months into our friendship, Marcus wouldn’t let it become a relationship, he told me about his condition. A few weeks later he was dead.”
“I’m so sorry to hear that,” Nana softly said.
“Marcus administered a fund that gives financial help to budding musicians. When he passed away, he named me to succeed him.”
“How large a fund are you talking about?” Nana inquired.
“Very large, multi millions.”
“Oh my!” Nana said with a grin.
Marc smiled, he could see dollar signs floating in her eyes. “Nana, the money is not mine. I receive a generous living allowance. All my schooling is paid for and any expense related to my musical career is also covered. I’ve invested most all of my allowance and along with what I’m making with my work, I’m doing very well.”
Nana looked to Lance. He confirmed with Marc was saying with a nod.
The drive back to the cabin was a quiet one. Lance knew having to say good bye to Nana and Shawn was harder on Marc than he let on. They just held hands most of the drive home.
As they drove through town Marc pulled into the Dairy Queen go get a bite to eat before going out to the cabin.
It was just before sunset when they arrived at the cabin. There was no lights on in the cabin, the guys had flown out earlier that afternoon. Grabbing their bags, they dropped them in the living room before heading out the patio door, to the lake.
They stood at the end of the dock. Lance stood in front of Marc, wrapped in his strong arms gazing across the lake at the setting sun.
“That was awesome,” Lance said as he snuggled against Marc.
“Sunsets over the lake are always spectacular,” Marc said before nuzzling Lance’s neck.
Marc stopped nuzzling when a thought struck him. “Damn!”
“What’s wrong?”
“I just realized. We’re alone.”
“Yeah!” Lance said in wonder. “How long has it been?”
“It feels like it's been weeks,” Marc said as he pull Lance tighter against him.
A smile spread across Lance’s face when he felt Marc’s hard on, pressing against is butt. “Hello, someone is awake.” Lance rubbed against Marc, making him moan.
“Boo, you up for a walk along the beach?”
“I’m up. But not for a walk. I want you James. I want you, so bad.”
Lance turned around in Marc’s arms. Their lips met and the world around them melted away.
“Come on, son, it’s time we leave them alone.”
Ryan looked up at Mr. Ural, “Do we have to?”
Mr. Ural sighed, “I’m afraid so.” Mr. Ural and Ryan turned to walk down the beach.
“We always leave when it’s starting to get good,” Ryan complained.
Mr. Ural just laughed as they stepped into the mist.
TBC
I know. Like Ryan said. We always leave when it’s getting good. I’m bad. Just use your imagination.
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