The following story was originally written for a german website and later printed in my first book "Der Neuanfang". After I translated my story "Never saw a miracle" into english and getting lots of good feedback, I decided to translate this story, too. Some readers wrote me that I don't have to apologize for my English -- so I won't anymore g.
The story is set in Germany, so of course there are a few things unfamiliar to people from other countries. As example temperatures are given in degrees centigrade: 0 C are 32 F, minus 5 C are 23 F and so on. If there are any things you don't understand, please feel free to ask me about it. I love getting emails anyway, and I'd like to say my thankyous to all of you who already wrote me.
There are two other stories of mine published here on niftys:
"Never saw a miracle" in the gay/highschool section
and
"Different" in the gay/no-sex section
If someone is interested in reading the original german story, it's here:
http://www.nickstories.de
Look for "Peter's Stories". And if some is interested in buying my books (in german language, of course): they can be bought directly from me, even with my signature which will be worth millions when I'm a Nobel prize winner someday -- lol...
But now let's the play begin...
--*
A new beginning -- Part 4
Copyright 2001-2005 by Peter Conrad, Peter_Co@web.de
Now, Danny, now was the time to be strong! You can't be a sissy now. What could happen anyway? But as much as I repeated in my mind that I was safe, as often as I thought about the statistics, there was still this bad, unsure feeling left. Of course this had an impact on my overall wellbeing, and slowly I fell back behind the others. Reinhardt noticed this and joined me.
"Everything okay, Danny?"
"Yes, great, everything is just wonderful."
"You're a bad liar."
"I know. But I had to try."
"Come on, let's go. Everything will be alright."
He layed his strong right arm around my body, and together we went through the small tunnel to the Airbus, which would take us to Orlando. Now I guess you know what had me in shivers of fear. Okay, I was looking forward for our vacation in Florida, but as the day of our departure came close I more and more realized, that this would mean that I had to step into a plane. That's something I never did again after the death of my father. Mom did, even though it wasn't easy for her the first few times, but over last two years she flied all over Germany and europe. But speaking about me ... oh yes, I knew that flying is a very safe kind of transport. And of course I knew all the physical basics about flying -- but still there were these nagging doubts. I mean, all these turbine powered wannabee birds are extremely heavy and can only fly through tricks -- tricks scientific basics, but still tricks, at least in my eyes. And what if those tricks decide to not work anymore? The way down was quite long, and the impact on earth quite hard and final. But wait, I had to pull myself together now. I couldn't spoil the others well deserved vacation just because I was such a coward (even if my being a coward was understandable). It was much to late to jump off anyways. Jump off? What an apt choice of words...
Putting all my inner strength together I walked into the plane on Reinhardts side. I meant, there even was a big reward waiting for me! What better could happen to a chilblain like me than two weeks without the freezing german temperatures? Two weeks of running around in shorts and t-shirts? Now that is what paradise means to me!
Okay, okay, I hear your questions! One minute ago the poor guy was laying half dead in a strange bed -- and now he is on his way to the land of the BigMac? Well, I decided to spare you all the heartbreaking details of my suffering over the last two weeks. With daily, slight improvements everyday went almost the same as the day before at the Bergners home. Thankfully a few days ago our family doctor gave her okay for the trip to Uncle Sam, even though I still wasn't as strong es before I cauht the flu. The week I spent with Tim and his dead had a very positive impact on our relationship, we were much closer now, much to the joy of my mom when she came back from the croissant capitol. By the way, she even brought me a real Pariser! Well, not one of flesh and blood but one packed in foil. And this Pariser joined me on my trip to Florida -- not that I had much hope to put it to good use there. ((Pariser in Germany is used for rubbers g.))
But back to the present and into the plane. When Reinhardt at the check in allowed us a first look on the tickets I was shocked. Business Class! I checked my memory, but there was nothing about Reinhardt winning the lottery. Okay, I knew that he was doing fine in the financial department, but spending so much money only on a few hours of flight? That's a little too much, isn't it? Of course I wouldn't complain, but I was a little relieved when he told us how he got the tickets. For a few years know he was translating manuals and other technical stuff for the airline. That's why he himself had free business class tickets on the airline, and everyone in his company could get those tickets for the price of tourist class tickets. I had to ask him sometime if he happens to work for Lincoln, too. In a few months I'd be 18 and could get my drivers license -- and a Lincoln Navigator for an discount price would would make my luck complete. Well, not really complete, but I'd find myself a cute passenger for the Lincoln someday! I just had to...
Aboard the plane we were showed to our seats, and I generously gave Tim the window seat. This way I hoped to not see to much from the start. I slumped back into my seat, waiting for the things to come. For a while I watched the other passengers, then I read the information material which the owners of the flying tin can provided us with. A brochure, printed on glossy paper -- containing the safty instructions. Now that I call reassuring! Seeing the pained look on my face Tim giggled.
"SO bad?"
"Ehm ... yes. Do they have to remember me about all the things which could happen?"
"Yes, I guess they do. Just think about the possible actions for damages if they didn't and something happend."
Nice. I read on and found some more suitable things like the radio and video program and what to buy in the onflight duty free shop. I calmed down a bit and didn't even realize how the time went by and the moment of truth came nearer and nearer. I was dragged out into reality when the captain came over the speakers and announced that the cabin personal would now start with the safety instructions. I sighed.
"Not that..."
My mother, who sat together with Reinhardt behind Tim and me, bent over to me and whispered reassuringly in my ear.
"It won't take long, Danny."
Like the proverbial sheep being guided to the butcher I stoically endured the procedure -- and when it was over I suddenly wished it to go on! I realized that it's ending meant nothing else than one thing: that we were now heading for the start. The cabin personal provided candy to better stand the pressure compensation (I'd rather had an anesthesia), then the plane started rolling. I made myself as small as possible in my seat, and my fingers grabbed the arm rests. Now Tim wasn't as amused anymore and gave me a worried look.
"We're not starting yet, we have to roll to the runway first."
The degree of my tensing up lowered a bit down to 99%. Tim smiled at me reassuringly, his left hand found my right one. 98%. We rolled on and on, and a crazy thought raced through my mind: We'll roll to Florida! 97%. We took some turns on the airfield. 96%. The plane stopped. It's broken, flight cancelled! 25% and still dropping down! (I know, I know, it's absolutely stupid, but he! I was deadly afraid of the flight, so you have to excuse my mad thoughts!) A sudden roar, and the plane moved again, getting faster and faster -- I was at 100% again! I guess the airline would need to change the arm rests of my seat after the flight, looking how strongly my fingers pressed into them. The plane went faster and faster and started to shake, and I didn't want to see anything of it, so I closed my eyes. I didn't lose my consciousness, but I wasn't far away from it.
I don't know how long I spent motionless, but when I woke up from my stupor, the loud roar of the engines had quieted down and the plane didn't shake anymore. I felt more like in a very fast but comfortable car on brand new highway. Carefully I looked around and discovered nothing but relaxed faces. I guess nothing went wrong with the start and we really were on our way to Disneys dreamland. I turned my head right, from where Tim looked at me with a grin which almost burst the borders of his face.
"I see you survived."
"I guess..."
"Take a look at this."
My brother pointed his finger at a monitor infront of us. I don't know why he did this, but the climbing numbers of our altitude wasn't very calming. But what the hell, there was nothing I could do about it. I grabbed the book I brought with me, and surprisingly a few minutes later I was totally caught in the story.
A while later -- the mysterious killer from my book had just hit for the third time -- I was called back into reality. A stewardess provided drinks and snacks, and while we helped ourself to it the captain came over the speaker, announcing that we were just above the nightly Hamburg. This view was great! (Tim was sitting in the window seat, but of course he invited me to share the window with him -- what I hesitatingly did.) I never thought that we could see so much from so far above! A football stadium and even single cars -- great. Meanwhile I was covering my little brother with my whole body to have a better view, and our heads were pressing against the window. A few minutes later the spectacle was over, and we sorted our bodies back into our seats.
"Wasn't this great, Danny?"
"Absolutly. Is it always this way?"
"No, I never had such a view before. Sometimes we were flying at daylight, and sometimes clouds were blocking the view. You're really lucky."
"Well, I guess I deserve a little luck from time to time. Do you think we'll have other views like this today?"
"Depends on the weather. The next big city is Glasgow, and after the big water Washington."
"Great!"
"Hey, where's your fear of flying?"
"What fear of flying?"
"Haha. If it's so easy to cure you from your fears, I'll have you swimming with me in deep waters next summer without any problems!"
"Ugh, don't remind me. I'm busy enough at the moment to survive the idea of being 10.000 meters above ground, without safety net or parachute. To top it of we'll fly over one of the biggest and deepest waters soon."
But Tim was right. I was much more relaxed now, leaning back in my comfy seat. But there was one thing.
"Is it always that cold on a plane?"
"Look at the outside temperature: minus 55C. More heating inside costs more kerosine, and the airlines don't want to spend so much money. But they give out blankets -- you want one?"
"Not yet, thanks. But when I decide to sleep a bit later I guess I'll take one."
At least now I knew why we went on the plane not in our summer clothes for Florida but still in our thick winter stuff.
The time till the flight over Glasgow I spent reading. Again we were lucky and had the same breathtaking view like over Hamburg. Shortly later dinner was served, which was ... well ... let's just say it was eatable. After the stewardess took care of the dishes it was video time, and we watched how mankind tried to survive in "Armageddon". Not bad, but I'll never understand why the girls in school are so mad about Ben Affleck. He was SOOOO not my type!
After the movie I took a blanket and slept for two hours. This way at least I could dream about being on safe ground. But, of course, nothing good can last forever -- I was awakened by someone shaking my shoulder.
"Wake up, Danny."
I tried to sort my thoughts, and after a few moments of confusion I was able to answer.
"What? Are where there already?"
"No, but you have to fasten your seat belt. The captain announced turbulences."
Great, exactly what I needed for my first flight after years. I sat upright and fastened the belt, and shortly later a very nerv wrecking shaking started. The plane moved into every possible (and I guess quite a few impossible) directions, and sometimes I felt like going down a few hundred meters within seconds. The mood in the cabin was tense, you almost could cut the air with a knife.
Our martyrdom went on for some 15 minutes, and when it was over the flight attendends had their hands full with collecting the well know brown bags. Surprisingly I didn't need mine -- in contrast to my oh so cool little brother! But wait, I won't make fun of him, I mean I was ready to face my lifes end more than once over the last 15 minutes.
Thankfully not only the good things in life come to an end -- the bad things do, too. Our plane was again in safe air. Tim was looking a bit pale, and I guess now he was able to understand my feelings about flying a little better. Mom and Reinhardt weren't looking so good, either. It took half an hour before everything aboard was in normal order again. The video programm started again and we were provided with little snacks.
The remainder of the flight went by fast, and around 10.30pm we landed in Orlando. Only 90 minutes later we were through with all the formalities, had found our baggage, changed into some lighter clothes and just wanted to get a cab, when suddenly the name Bergner was called out, so we went to the information desk, where a guy in the airlines uniform was waiting for us. I guess the airline was really happy to have Reinhardt working for them, the guy was our driver, who took us to the hotel in a minivan.
Even though it was past midnight, the streets were still far from empty, and it took us a while to get to our destination: a resort directly at Magic Kingdom. We found ourselfs in a big suite with living room and two bed rooms, both of them with own bathrooms and a whirlpool. Big screen tvs in every room -- okay, not in every room, for some incomprehensible reasons there weren't tvs in the bathrooms! Of course the complete suite was air conditioned. With two easy words: pure luxury.
Because of the late hour we decided to not take a closer look at our surroundings yet. We grabbed the necessary items from our baggage and minutes later were in our beds. Even though the last hours were quite exciting I was asleep within minutes...
..*
Only 8am and I was awake already. In my holidays! And I only needed half an hour to realize where I was. Okay, it wasn't that bad, but still I was a little confused finding myself in a bed big enough to get lost in it. A bed in a (in my eyes) typical american room, just a bit too kitschy. Before I could analize this further, I was dragged out of my musings.
"Hey sleepyhead, you're finally awake?"
An unpleasant awake and cheerful Tim grinned at me from the bathroom door, wearing only skintight boxerbriefs. What a view for my lonely heart, and for the thousandth time since knowing him I cursed the fact, that -- in contrast to the well known prejudices against gays -- it wasn't possible to turn a straight boy gay. This cute brother of mine would be worth every effort to do so!
"Why are you up and running already? I thought little kids need their sleep."
"If I wouldn't need all my energy for the day ahead I'd show you who the little kid is!"
"Don't make promises you can't keep, little Timmy."
"Now I'll show you!"
With these words he stormed through the room, just to stop abruptly just out of my reach. With a questioning look he stared at me.
"Wait a minute. You know karate, don't you?"
"You can count on it!"
"Okay, I accept your apology, you're in luck this time. But don't wear this luck out, if you're not out of the bed fast, you'll get trouble with our old folks. We have a long day ahead."
Normally such pushing would go on my nerves, but this time I was looking forward to what lay ahead of us, so I got over it fast. Throwing my blanket away I was happily surprised by the warmth -- back in Germany I would be in shivers of cold now.
"Tim, you found a thermometer already?"
"Yes, 18 C. And the temperature should go up to 25 C today."
"Halleluja! Where do you have this great news from?"
He pointed to the tv, which was on without sound, showing the actual weather data. Now I just could hope that the american weather prophets knew their job!
After my turn in the bathroom I was back in our room, wearing almost the same as Tim when I woke up, only I didn't like the skintight look as much as Tim, wearing normal boxershorts. Tim himself had completed his wardrobe for the day with a t-shirt and well worn blue jeans cutoffs. This seemed to be a good choice for the warm day ahead, so I donned a quite similiar outfit. Tim switched off the tv, and we went to the living room, where Mom and Reinhardt were already waiting for us.
"Look, Maria, the little ones are finally awake."
Mom grinned.
"Let them be, Reinhardt, the day will be hard enough on all of us."
"I was just kidding. Good morning, everyone."
It really looked like it was a good morning. It would be even better if my stomach wasn't rumbling from hunger.
"What about breakfast?"
"We were only waiting for you. Everyone who's hungry: follow me!"
He didn't have to ask us twice, and after a long walk through the hotel corridors we found ourselfs at a nice table in one of the restaurants. Ten minutes later we had our plates full with a breakfast which was quite different from the we knew from home. Toast, ham and eggs, coffee (not very good coffee, as our parents said) and tea. At home I was a fan of sweet breakfast with rolls and jam, but I guess I could get used to this american style.
After our most urgent need was satisfied we started to plan our day. Tim of course was the most impatient of us.
"Dad, what will we do today?"
"We'll stay here in Orlando for four days, so we can visit a different Disney park every day. Maria and I thought it would be best to visit the MGM studios today, we won't need the whole day, and we still need to get used to Florida a bit."
I checked what I knew about this theme park -- now I was thankful that I spent hours at home collecting informations on the internet. Hm. StarTours and Tower of Terror. I guess today would show just HOW brave my little brother really was!
Everybody agreed with this plan, and after being fed we went back to our suite. There Reinhardt showed us a few things he found on the table: Disney tickets, maps and the keys to a rental car. We prepared the camcorder and cameras, then it was time to get moving! We took the shuttle bus to the theme park.
At the gates we took some park maps and decided on a meeting point in case someone would get lost. There weren't that many people around yet, but this would surely change with time. Reinhardt took the camcorder, mom our small analoge camera and I got the digital camera. There wasn't anything left for Tim, and that didn't sound fair to me.
"Want to take the digicam? It's yours after all."
"No, thanks, I'm not that much into photography."
"Okay, if you say so."
We decided to walk through the park clockwise, and that brought us first to the Indiana Jones Show. We were in luck, they just started to let the audience in for the next show, so we found some good seats. Ten minutes later, and we'd have to wait for the next show. The show was great, but a little loud -- so if you happen to go there: bring ear plugs!
Our next stop was was Star Tours, and I was totally amazed about the great special effects. I guess the next four days would be some of the most exciting days of my life.
When we were back in our own galaxy we deciced on splitting up. Mom and Reinhardt wanted to take it a little slower, while Tim and I couldn't wait to get to the next attraction.
"Boys, we'll meet again at 5pm at the big christmas tree, okay?"
We all had seen this giant thing already -- typical american: everything had to be bigger and brighter than anywhere else. You just have to love the americans for it :-)
Reinhardt gave both Tim and me 50 dollars.
"You don't have to spend all of it within the next minutes, okay?"
Well, at the StarWars shop I'd seen quite a few things I'd like to have -- but I guess they would be too much both for the money and for the space at our plane home.
"Now move, you two. Please keep together. And Tim? Danny is responsible for you, so you do what he says, okay? Now have fun!"
I wasn't sure if I really liked this role of big brother. I mean, it was fun taking care of "the little one", but on the other hand I wanted him to see me as his friend and brother, not only as a person of authority over him.
Mom wished us much fun, too, then we were finally released. Okay, I liked the old folks, but exploring Disneys was much more fun only with Tim! My brother seemed to think the same way, he couldn't get away from our parents fast enough.
"Finally alone! I thought they'd never let us go."
Yes, he WAS thinking the same way."
"What's next?"
After a look at our map we were on our way to the Muppets 3D show. At the entrance we were handed special glasses, then we were seated in a real theater. The show was spectacular, and with the 3D effects we often thought that the stuff from the screen was coming directly at us! Once a car was coming directly in my direction, I was startled and squat down. Not a good idea. Tim had the same one, so our heads crashed together.
"Ouch!"
"Yes, ouch!"
Thankfully it didn't hurt that much, so we still could enjoy the rest of the show. There were more startling effects, but we didn't hurt ourselfs anymore.
The show again was quite loud, and I was fearing for my hearing a bit. Okay, you get used to the loudness, but in the long run this can't be good for your hearing abilities. I mean, that can be quite good if your better half snores at night! But therefore you'd at least have to have a better half -- and here we are again about poor Danny and his lonely nights.
After this show we decided on regenerating some of our spent powers. The Disney folks knew that starved to death guests are no good publicity, so we soon found a hot dog booth. A quite expensive one! We bought hot dogs and two bottles of water, then we sat down on a bench and made short work with the food. After that we leaned back and watched the colourful activity around us. Meanwhile the park had filled with people, amongst them quite a few boys I'd call eye candy!
Tim was watching me watching the people, then he got bored.
"See someone you like?"
I grinned.
"There are quite a few I wouldn't kick ouf of my bed."
"Bad boy! You're not a good role model for your little brother!"
As if he needed one.
"What kind of boy do you like, anyway?"
"Hm, let me think about it. Blonde hair, lean body, fit -- but not in the bodybuilder kind, more like a soccer player or swimmer --, intelligent, funny, my age..."
Of course there would have been a much shorter description, but I just couldn't say to my brother "just look into a mirror". To be honest, I had lost my hopes about him being a potential boy friend. Don't ask me why, it was just a feeling.
"Now don't fall in love with an american boy -- or do you want a vacation flirt or one night stand?"
"No, I want someone for the long run. I want the guy I fall in love with not only share my bed but my life, too. Maybe that sounds old-fashioned, but that's the way I am."
"It doesn't sound old-fashioned, it sounds romantic. I can't imagine myself in a simple sexual relationship without real love. Well, at the moment I can't imagine myself in any kind of relationship yet. By the way, why are we whispering? Here's nobody around who'd understand us."
"I wouldn't be that sure, boys."
To say that we were shocked would be an understatement. Here we were, thousands of miles away from home, and somebody talked to us in our mother tongue! I wouldn't be so surprised to hear Japanese -- but German? And of all possible places in the park directly from the next bench?
When we came down from our shock we looked in the direction where the familiar language came from. On the next bench sat a (heterosexual g) couple, maybe two or three years older than we, grinning at us happily and just a little guilty.
"Sorry, boys, we didn't want to scare you. Bernd is a bit impulsive sometimes."
"Haha, sorry, I just couldn't resist. By the way, this is Sandra, and you already know my name."
"He... hello. I'm Danny, and this is Tim."
How long did they follow our conversation?
"Nice to meet you. You're on your own?"
"Our parents set us free, I guess we were a little to hyper for them. Or they were a little to slow for us."
Bernd laughed.
"I know this situation. We are here with Sandras parents, and we decided to better split up, too."
"They were afraid that Bernd would drag them into the Tower of Terror, so they gave us some money and sent us on our own way."
Tim and I grinned.
"Sounds familiar..."
I took a closer look at our new acquaintances (of course more at the male part :-). It looked like Bernd was quite tall, if I saw it correctly from his sitting position at least as tall as Reinhardt -- and Reinhardt was 1.95m! Short, black hair and a goatee, silver hoops in both ears. Because of the dark sunglasses I couldn't see the color of his eyes. The nose was ... well ... prominent. Not ugly, but it dominated his face. His mouth was wide, as if it was made for the big smile which showed on his lips. He was wearing a white t-shirt and black dennim dungarees. Did I mention already that I find boys in dungarees really sexy and erotic? Okay, time to look somewhere else...
Sandra wasn't much shorter than Bernd, I guess she was at least 1.85m. Long, red brown hair, brown eyes, stup nose and thick red lips, inviting to be kissed. If you're into kissing thick red girl lips, that's it. Red Jeans and white t-shirt completed the picture.
While I explored the couple, they did the same to Tim and me. We silently assessed each other, then this silence was broken by the only female of our little group. (I know, it's a cliché, but girls are usually much more nosy and chatty than boys.)
"Ehm... We overheard quite a bit of your conversation before, and I hope you're not mad at us, but ... well I'd like to know ... are you a couple? I mean, you don't look like brothers."
Tim looked at me grinning.
"Are we a couple?"
"Nope."
I was able to stop the "unfortunately" before it left my lips.
"Danny really is my brother. Step brother, to be exact. His mom and my dad fell in love with each other, and we'll move in together next year."
"I'm sorry I jumped to a wrong conclusion. But for the record: we wouldn't care if you were together."
"Good to hear that. Even though Tim and I aren't a couple, I'm in fact gay. And it looks like this little brother of mine wants to play matchmaker, or where does this interested in my preferences come from?"
Tim smiled.
"It's only logical for me to ask this question. How could I point out cute guys to you, if I didn't know what a cute guy looks like for you?"
"Hold back a little, would you? Bad enough that mom is always pointing at every cute boy, asking me if I like him."
"Okay, okay, I'll try. But don't complain later that you missed the love of your life because of it."
"Could we please talk about something else than my non existing love life?"
Thankfully, Bernd jumped in.
"What have you seen here, yet?"
I told him about the adventures we had til we met them, and to our surprise they did exactly the same, only in a different order.
"Want to join Sandra and me? I think it will be more fun together."
Tim and I looked at each other. Why not?
"Sure. Where did you want to go next?"
"Let's look at the map."
We did exactly that and decided on our further way through the park. "Honey, I shrunk the kids" wasn't that interesting (I guess we were 10 years to old for it), but next came the Studios Backlot Tour which was much better (and wetter!). Highlight was the tour through the Catastrophe Canyon with an exploding tanker truck.
We slowly moved through the theme park to the biggest attraction, the Tower of Terror. We could hear the panic cries from the passengers from far away, and when we reached the entrance I wasn't that sure anymore if going in was such a good idea! But of course I didn't want to show my fear, and I guess the others felt the same, so we stepped in.
It. Was. TERRIBLE! Being in an elevator which is falling down 13 floors in seconds -- oh my god! The feeling was indescribable, it felt as if all my innards wanted to leave my body through the mouth, and it took quite a while for them to get back to their usual places. Does weightlessness feel this way? I was really glad that I only had a single hotdog and that we decided to have our next snack AFTER the tower!
We left the tower on unsteady feet, and our pale faces showed, that the Tower wasn't called "of Terror" for nothing. I didn't need it again! I made it once, I now could talk about it, but never again! I guess I wasn't alone with this opinion.
"Bernd, never again! Understood? Oh my god, just thinking about the elevator in our hotel makes me sick."
"You could walk the stairs, it's only 15 floors."
"Going up the stairs are no alternative, but believe me, down I'll take them from now on!"
I looked at Tim, he was pale, too. At least as pale as I was. Well, at least we didn't piss our pants!
After this adventure we needed a little break, and our stomachs were empty, too. We found a food court and bought snacks and drinks. I guess the tower made me extra hungry, so I took not one but two hamburgers. While we were eating, the typical female curiosity broke through.
"How old are you? And where are you from?"
I was much to busy with my hamburger to answer, but thankfully Tim had inhaled his already.
"Danny is 17, and I'll be 17 in March. We come from Leipzig. And you?"
"We're both 20. I was born in Berlin, Bernd is from Hannover, but is now at the university in Berlin -- where we met each other."
I decided to not hold it against them that they were Prussians, even though the rivalry between Prussians and Saxons is well known in Germany. And Bernd was only a wannabee-Prussian anyways.
"And you're here with your parents, Sandra?"
"Yes, they gave us this trip as a engagement present. But they wanted to come with us. It's not really bad, we have our own rental car, and our room is in a different part of the hotel than theirs."
"Sounds like cool parents."
"They are really great, they took me into their family instantly."
"And what about your own parents?"
Bernds face distorted painfully.
"Oops, sorry, hot topic. Forget my question."
"It's okay. Yes, it's a hot topic, but I think you should know about it. Especially you, Danny."
Me? Why that?
"My parents don't exist for me anymore. It's a long story, but to make it short: I have an older sister, and she's a lesbian. When she came out to our parents they threw her out of the house and the family. They said they didn't have a daughter anymore. Well, I left with my sister, so they also have no son anymore. And as long as they don't reconcile with Antje, I don't have parents."
Wow. Now that's what I call siblings bond. And now I knew why they didn't have a problem with me being gay. Okay, I wasn't afraid of Sandras reactions, most girls have no problems with gay boys, but straight boys on the other hand... A short look at Tim showed me, that he was staring at Bernd with big eyes, too.
Time to switch to a less traumatic topic.
"Since when are you here in Florida? And how long will you stay?"
Sandra was happy about the topic change.
"Today is our last day here in Orlando, we were here for a whole week. Tomorrow we'll drive down to Key West. And you?"
"We'll stay here for four days, then we go to the Kennedy Space Center and then we'll also go down to the Keys. Maybe we'll meet again there!"
"I don't think so, we'll stay for only two days, then we have three days for the gulf coast, before we fly back home."
"That's too bad. But when you're here already for a week, you surely can tell us about the best things to visit?"
Meanwhile Bernd had calmed down from his emotional story and jumped in.
"Well, I liked Epcot best, especially World Showcase. You'll roll on the floor laughing when you see what the americans think is typical German. For the americans, Germany is the same as Bavaria. Every good german wears Lederhosen, drinks beer from a tankard and yodels. But the Bratwurst with Sauerkraut is quite good."
"But stay away from the brass band! They always grab ^Ûvolunteers^Ë who have to Schuhplattel with them. They caught my careless fiancé and where totally shocked to learn that he as German was soooo clumsy at it."
I made a big red notice in my mental notebook -- that was something I surely could live without!
"And what did you like best, Sandra?"
"That's easy. Animal Kingdom. Real life animals for a change, not only puppets. And in the Tree of life is a great 3D cinema!"
When she mentioned this cineastic feat Tim and I broke out in laughter. Sandra and Bernd looked at us questioningly.
"Tell them, Tim."
My brother was quite happy to do so, with the result, that this time our two new friends laughed out loud. When they calmed down a bit, Bernd showed us his right forearm.
"Look, these scratches are from Sandras fingernails -- she scratched my exactly at the same scene your heads collided."
Now all four of us laughed, and the little emotional breakdown because of Bernds story was forgotten. Meanwhile we had eaten and walked slowly through the park, watching the people enjoying themselfs. At one corner a two men comedy group worked, and again they dragged bystanders into their performance. So, Danny, always remember: never stand in the first row!
The weather was perfect for exploring the park, only a few clouds, not to hot, not to cold. Because of this I had quite a lot to see, I just say: cute boys with not that much clothing! Especially I liked the cute cleaner boys who skated through the streets to pick up every little bit of waste. Not a job I would like to do, but the tanned boys were real eye candy.
Slowly we wandered to the point where Tim and I would meet our parents. On the way we took some easy rides, and when we were at the big christmas tree it was almost time to say goodbye to our new friends. Tim and Bernd went to a souvenir shop where luminous necklaces and such things were sold. Sandra stayed with me.
"It was really nice to meet you and your brother, Danny. Have a nice vacation, and good luck with Tim."
I guess I looked quite shocked about the last part. Sandra laughed quietly.
"Don't you try to deny it, you're in love with the boy, I can see it from a mile away."
Was it really that bad?
"Okay, I guess I'm guilty as charged. But I'm afraid nothing will come from it, he is straight as an arrow, as the natives here say. Or did you notice him being in love with me, too?"
"Hm, that's a really difficult question. He likes you, and very much so. But it's hard to say if he likes you as a brother or more. Just don't give up hope to soon. Now, where are the two? Ah yes, over there. Come on, let's join them. My parents are waiting, we have to leave soon."
We went to the mentioned souvenir booth, where Bernd gave his girlfriend a flashing plastic rose. Then they said goodbye and went there way.
My little brother bought a flashing necklace, which he put on now, then he gave me a similiar ring, only mine was blue and his red.
"What's the time, Danny?"
"Quarter to five. But where's your watch?"
"I guess I've lost it, the bracelet was already a little broken this morning. It was a cheap thing, anyway. I'm a little thirsty, let's get something to drink."
Good idea, only a few meters away was a beverage booth. I gave Tim a 5 dollar bill.
"Bring me a coke, please, I want to have a look at the souvenirs."
He took the money and left me alone, and I looked at the shop displays. I was looking for something I had already seen a few times in the park -- yes, there it was! I took it, then my eyes stopped on another item which I bought, too. When I was done I searched for Tim and found him on a bench directly under the tree. I went over to him and sat down. He looked at me.
"Bought yourself something nice?"
"Nope."
He looked puzzled.
"But you bought something?"
"Yes. But not for me, it's for you. Give me your left hand."
Still confused he did as I asked -- the next moment his jaw dropped down when I put the new dark blue watch on his wrist.
"Now you know what time you're living in again."
"Cool, Danny! Thank you! But you didn't need to buy me a watch."
"Oh yes, I did. And now give me the other hand."
Still a little dazed he gave me his right hand, watching what I did with it -- then his eyes became big as saucers!
"You're not serious, are you?"
"Oh yes, I am!"
"I'm not a little child!"
"Your dad gave me responsibility over you, and it wasn't easy to not lose you even in daylight. Now when it's dark I won't take any risk of losing you. So no talking back!"
What did I do to him? It's easy: during the day I noticed quite a few parents who had their little kids on a lead which was fixed to a bracelet. It were colourful plastic spiral leads, like from a telephone, and they had a loop at the parents end. This way the little kids couldn't get lost, even in the heaviest crowds. And such a little childrens lead I had just fastened on my brothers right hand!
"Now nobody can say that I didn't take good care of my little brother. Now get up, let's see if we can find mom and Reinhardt."
I got up, but Tim was still in a daze and didn't react, so I could test the new device -- I pulled on the lead.
"I'm coming! Don't pull my arm out!"
That was all? I expected at least a loud protest -- but nothing. Good. I scanned the crowds, and really, some 100 meters away I recognized the large body of Reinhardt. He too was scanning the area but hadn't discovered us yet. I pointed him out to his son.
"Where? Oh, there they are. Come on, we sneak up on them!"
And off he was. I mean, he wanted to run off, but he now had an appendage: me! This appendage he dragged along with all the power of his swimmers legs to a point behind Reinhardt. I couldn't do anything else but follow him. In some way this contradicted the objective of the lead, doesn't it? But I gave in to my fate.
Three minutes later we made it, we stood behind mom and Reinhardt. Tim squeezed himself between the two adults.
"You're looking for someone special?"
Startled they winced and promised him a cruel revenge. I hold back, so I guess I wasn't in any danger.
When everyone calmed down we discussed what to do next. Reinhardt showed us a schedule.
"Look, half past 6 there will be a big lights and laser show. You want to see it?"
Everyone agreed.
"Good, then we should go there to get good seats."
"Boys, if we get separated in the crowds, we'll meet again here at the tree at 8pm."
"Don't worry, mom, Tim can't get lost."
"What do you mean?"
I pulled on Tims lead, raising his right arm. For the first time mom and Reinhardt realized what Tim was wearing on his wrist. His dad broke out laughing so hard that he almost choked on his own spit and my mom had to help him with a few slaps on his back. I was very satisfied with myself, Tim looked a little embarrassed but still had a smile on his face.
It took the parental units a few minutes to calm down, then a still panting Reinhardt spoke to my mom.
"Looks like Danny had the right idea. But now we're back together, so maybe we should change this arrangement a bit."
Ohoh. What had he in mind? It sounded quite suspicious, and I gave him a questioning look.
"What do you mean, Reinhardt?"
"Well, Maria, I guess we should buy a second lead, so you can take care of Tim and I'll take Danny."
Oh no! I knew Reinhardt good enough already to know that he was able to do exactly that! And mom wasn't any better, I only say "bucket of cold water". Thankfully I didn't see a souvenir booth selling such leads in our area. Still I had to make myself clear.
"That won't be necessary, Reinhardt. I contrast to Tim I'm old enough to watch out both for him and myself."
"I don't know, Maria. Can we trust him?"
"Well, he hasn't dissapointed us yet. I guess we could at least try to trust him."
Thanks, mom!
"But I think we should get a move, or we'll be late for the show."
She was right, so we walked off to the arena were the show would happen. Tim was walking close beside me, I guess he didn't want the people to see just how confined he was to me g. It was getting darker, so he didn't need to worry too much.
Around half past five we had reached the arena and found some good seats directly at the stairs. Reinhardt took the seat on the end of the row -- he didn't know it yet, but this wasn't a good idea!
We had a little time on our hands til the show would start, so we told each other about what we did over the last hours. The rows of seats filled quickly, and 30 minutes to the show every seat was taken. Suddenly something happened behind us. I turned my head and discovered two of the street comedians Tim and I had already seen earlier in the day. They now came down the stairs, carrying a chair, a ladder and a flashlight. On the stage they started a little pre-show, heating up the audience.
For some 15 minutes they made jokes, then they packed up their stuff again and walked up the stairs. It was a slow way up, because they had to stop often for photographs, and they had to carry all the stuff with them. But not for long! When the guy who carried the ladder reached our row he took a closer look at Reinhardt -- and the next moment Tims dad was hired as pack mule! Reinhardt was at least one and a half heads taller than the comedian -- and 50 kilos heavier, so wearing the ladder was nothing to him. Reinhardt gave in to his fate, made a brave face and carried the ladder all the rest of the stairs, he even got an applause for it. I guess now he knew to NEVER be in an exposed place at Disneys! The rest of us enjoyed this show, especially Tim was laughing tears.
Our "volunteer" was just back at his seat when the lights dimmed down and the show started. Again it was extremely loud, but the colorful show was simply great! This show alone was worth the trip to Florida.
Half an hour later the show was over and we left the arena, and I tried to get my ears working again. After a while I was able to understand normal spoken words again.
"Wasn't that great, boys?"
"WHAT? SORRY, DAD, I CAN'T UNDERSTAND YOU!"
I guess I wasn't the only one with hearing problems. My mom looked at Tim worriedly.
"Is everything okay, Tim? Can you really not understand uns?"
"Everything is fine, Maria. But that's something I don't need everyday, this loudness spoils the whole fun of the show."
I was afraid that we would have to survive similar performances over the next three days at Disneys.
We looked at the map and went to New York Street, which was full of christmas decorations, even with 3D effects. And it was snowing! Okay, of course it wasn't real snow, but still it looked nice. The best was Osborns Wonder of Light -- I didn't even want to know how much they had to pay for the electricity!
A little after 8pm we left the park and I freed Tim from his lead. The shuttle bus brought us to the hotel, where we went directly to a nice steak restaurant. While we were eating we told our parents about meeting the german couple, and they found our shock about being overheard quite funny.
"Why were you so suprised? Half of the world is visiting Disneys. I hope it wasn't to embarrassing?"
"We survived. And I'm used to such situations because of you, mom."
"What?"
"Well, Tim was just asking me what kind of boys I like when Sandra and Bernd overheard us. That reminds me of similar situations in coffeeshops with you, pointing out cute boys to me. If you get my drift."
Reinhardt and my mother laughed again, but Tim looked at me apologizing.
"Danny, I'm really sorry, I didn't want to embarrass you. Are you mad at me?"
"Come on, Tim, why should I? It isn't a secret that I'm gay. If I had problems with people knowing about me I would never told it somebody. Everything's okay, little brother. It was quite funny, wasn't it?"
I grinned at him, and now he grinned back. And this way he looked twice as cute!
After the supper we went to our suite, and both Tim and I decided to only take a quick shower and go to bed. Tim went first, I zapped through the tv channels. Some 15 minutes later my brother showed up in his pyjamas and I went to the bathroom.
When I came back Tim was sleeping already -- he was out like a light. No wonder, the day was very strenuous, I guess I wouldn't have problems with falling to sleep, too. I switched off the tv and Tims night lamp, then I layed down in my own bed. I started to think over the events of the day, but after a few minutes I was asleep, too.
..*
To be continued in part 5
I wish all my readers a merry christmas!