Disclaimer: The following story is a work of fiction. If you are offended by descriptions of homosexual acts or man/man relations, please exit this page.
TALES FROM THE RANCH Copyright 2008 by Tulsa Driller. All rights reserved.
This is a story of men who have two common interests. You will see that they love the land where they live and work, but it is also the story of young men who love other men and their coming of age in a culture of prejudice and misunderstanding. It is a story, which deals with difficult and often disturbing issues but, nonetheless, issues which must be confronted in today's society.
This is a work of fiction and in no way draws on the lives of any specific person or persons. Any similarity to actual persons or events is entirely coincidental. This work is copyrighted© by the author and may not be reproduced in any form without the specific written permission of the author. It is assigned to the Nifty Archives under the terms of their submission agreement but it may not be copied or archived on any other site without the written permission of the author.
PLEASE: In a perfect world AIDS doesn't exist. My characters have unprotected sex. I hope you use proper precautions because I'd like you to be around to read the last chapter of this story.
Tales from the Ranch Book 2, Chapter 12: Move In, Move Out
Coby Cantrell had moved into the Bar-W crew quarters just prior to starting work there on February first. Since only Michael and Pat were living there and sharing a room on the second floor, Coby decided to take the vacant room on the first floor. He knew that two more men would be living there starting the first of March. He hoped they would bunk in the same room upstairs and he would have a certain amount of privacy and maybe his own room for quite a while.
He thought it was odd that Michael and Pat were sharing a room when there was room for each of them to have their own space, then he realized that there were two beds in one half of their room and they had the other part of their area set up with two comfortable chairs, lamp tables and a large television set. They were generous in sharing their TV set with Coby and he appreciated that. He had found a folding chair that was comfortable to sit in, buying it and putting it in their room after receiving permission to do so.
They seemed to like the same type of programs: The Learning Channel, The Discovery Channel, National Geographic and several others of the same type. The three young men got along well. Coby was from Lubbock and had played high school football, resulting in a scholarship offer that wasn't forthcoming due to budgetary cuts at Texas Tech. He did the next best thing, enlisting in the U.S. Army and starting his higher education while in service. He planned to take night classes at Western JuCo and then pursue a four-year degree as he could attend offered classes. Western JuCo provided classroom space to the University of Texas in exchange for their instructors teaching some Junior College level classes.
Coby had started attending Faith Assembly Church as the Reverend Milton Brockle was the pastor. He had acted as a pastor to a small church in Lubbock prior to being called to shepherd his present congregation in Williamsport. Coby hadn't visited other churches in the area, but somehow felt that Rev. Brockle had changed a lot from when in Lubbock and was out to promote himself instead of preaching salvation to his congregation.
Thad Wilson remembered Coby from when all of them lived in Lubbock. His mother had married Rev. Bockle shortly after Thad's father died. The wedding had taken place "a little too soon," as Coby's mother had said. Thad, of course, thought that Coby was a football hero and wanted to be in his shadow. So, it was a surprise to find out that Thad was attending a Christian School, although Thad didn't tell him that he had been suspended from Davy Crockett High School in Williamsport.
In the short time he'd been attending church, Coby had gotten acquainted with Eric Howell, whose nickname was "Scooter". Eric taught math at Dumont Academy in Lampasas, a college prep school and his mother played the little Baldwin spinet organ that was used for the services at Faith Assembly. But, she was becoming unhappy with the so called "Christian Music" that seemed to be invading the little Pentecostal church. Besides, she was beginning to think that Rev. Brockle was too preoccupied with things that were way beyond his sphere of influence. Eric and his mother had attended Victory Temple for a short time before deciding that Rev. Jimmy Bob Jones was way off target in his ranting and raving from the pulpit. They had moved to Faith Assembly as a result and now were beginning to believe that Rev. Brockle wasn't the solution to their journey in faith, either.
Eric Howell was 24 and had finally admitted to himself that he might be gay, but thought he had no one to talk to about it. Sure, he had several friends whom he was pretty sure were gay, but it wasn't something he felt he could discuss at this point in time. Eric had never met Dale Richards and Craig Bastian, but knew who they were and had followed the tales of their life together; the most important things being the opening of the Saber Computer Store and the story of their adopting Joey Sullivan and Forrest Ross. He admired the two men and wished that he might meet them someday.
So, it was with this admiration for them that he called Lt. Marilyn Kolb, telling her of the impending protest of their commitment ceremony after Rev. Brockle asked for volunteers to make protest signs. Then the group was expected to stage a demonstration march in front of the Carriage House condos on the afternoon of the commitment ceremony for Dale and Craig.
Eric didn't think the protest should take place. After all,' he thought, a protest wasn't likely to keep invited guests away and it wasn't anyone else's business.'
Eric's mother had gotten ready to go to the church the morning of the commitment ceremony to help make signs and attend the protest. Eric was sitting in their living room reading a couple of new magazines that had arrived that week.
"Do you want to go help make signs and carry them in the protest march for those two men who are going to get married today?" she asked her son.
Eric's voice trembled a little as he replied, "I don't think so, Mom, they've never done anything to hurt anyone and they own a thriving business that contributes to the economy of Williamsport. Why can't Rev. Brockle do something constructive instead of causing problems where he's not involved?"
Faye Howell had wondered the same thing. She answered her son, "I think you are right. Like Jimmy Bob Jones, Milton Brockle is wading in and making a fool of himself. I was never able to get a straight answer as to why all of a sudden Thad Wilson was attending a Christian School in Fredericksburg instead of Davy Crockett High School."
"Because he was suspended for accosting Joey Sullivan and threatening him with bodily harm after the article came out in the paper about Rev. Fred Phelps coming here to protest the opening of Saber Computer Store. Joey's picture was in their newspaper ad and I suppose that Thad thought Joey was probably gay since he was supposed to be a target of the protest led by Rev. Phelps. That wasn't the first time that Thad had roughed up another student and there were others who were victims of Thad's self-righteous rage."
"That doesn't surprise me in the least. I think that whole family has lost track of their Christian calling," she said. "I wonder what they will try next?"
"I don't know what they might do next, but I think I'm going to look for a new church to attend. I'm tired of listening to endless sermons about how the liberals are taking over the country, when in reality it's the Christian Right that seems to be gaining in strength and not always for the best, either. I love it when one of them gets caught up in a compromising situation. They are no more holy than we are and they are supposed to be our shepherds? I don't think so."
Faye Howell decided at that minute that she had better things to do than Rev. Brockle's bidding... * * * * *
When Rev. Brockle arrived back home shortly after 2:30, his wife was surprised to see him so soon. "What happened?" she asked him.
"We were set up by the damn liberal police department." He went on to tell of the van being stopped by two patrol cars, discovering that the brake lights didn't work, no insurance on the van, no current registration stickers and then the signs in the back of the van being discovered and torn up and put in the dumpster. "I'm going to get even with the police department. They are too liberal and all of these faggots seem to stick together."
He was becoming more and more outraged. "I wonder who in our congregation leaked information about what I'd planned to do this afternoon? If I find out, I'll get even with them, too," he declared. * * * * *
Ray and John decided to go to Austin on Saturday night. A friend of Ray's had recommended a great new steakhouse where you could choose your own steak and watch them grill it the way you wanted it cooked. After dinner they planned to go to a gay bar called "Piggy and Kermit's Place" close to the University of Texas campus, so they put on their Levis and western boots. Each wore a nice western shirt that completed their attire. Since the temperature was in the high 40's, they carried light jackets for later in the evening.
The steaks were great but the vegetables on the steam table lacked for something. Maybe they had been overcooked by the time they were ready to serve themselves. Still, the baked potatoes were tasty and it was someplace different to eat, along with the prices being reasonable.
They were through with their dinner about 9 o'clock and although it was early, headed to the bar. They didn't plan to stay too long, anyway, as it had been a busy week and they were both tired. But, the novelty of going to a gay bar appealed to both of them. It was nice to be with other kindred souls.
They found a table close to the dance floor and ordered a pitcher of Coors beer from one of the scantily clad young men who were tending the tables. The fellow, who brought the beer and mugs, along with a bowl of pretzels and mixed nuts, told them his name was Shane.
Neither had danced before, but observed those on the dance floor while nursing their first beer. It looked easy so they decided to give it a try. They signaled Shane that they were going to dance so nobody would take their table.
The first tune was a Texas two-step that had them really moving around the dance floor. They loved it, but weren't sure they were doing the steps right. Regardless, they were having fun being with each other. They danced another dance, and then returned to their table for a second mug of beer. Pretty soon the mood of the music changed. A live combo had taken the place of a DJ. The first three sets were for a gay men's square dance club to show off. It was announced after the third set that for anyone interested in square dance lessons; the bar would open on Sunday at 3 p.m. All were welcome to join them for free lessons.
The next number was a slow dance with all of the men dancing close together. Ray held out his hand. "May I have the honor of this dance?" he teased.
"Sure," John replied. He was definitely looking forward to the experience.
They danced to three slow numbers and enjoyed pressing their bodies into the other with the expected results. Then the tempo picked up; some dancers left the floor to be replaced by others. Ray and John danced to one more number, enjoying being together. They returned to their table to finish the pitcher of beer which by then was starting to get warm.
On the way out, Ray noticed the clock above the bar. The time was 11:00 and the bar was starting to fill up. Ray spoke to two men he sort of knew. One had worked for him a couple of years ago and he had followed the other home from another bar about a year ago. They'd had sex, and then Ray stayed the night, joining together for a repeat performance again the next morning. For some reason, although both enjoyed the experience, neither had asked for the others' telephone number.
As they were riding back to Ray's house (John hadn't moved all of his stuff, yet) he reached for John's hand. "Did you enjoy dancing this evening?"
"Yeah, it was fun. I'd like to learn to dance, but I don't think I'm interested in the square dance club, although the shirts the guys were wearing were really pretty," John answered.
"Well, we can certainly go buy some pretty shirts without having to join their club. The Farm Supply Store has a lot of shirts of that type and Shepler's has a big store in Austin. We can check out both of those places to see if we can find anything we like," Ray told him.
"That would be neat," John replied.
They held hands all the way back to Williamsport while discussing the commitment ceremony they had witnessed that afternoon. Ray was thinking that maybe he and John could have the same ceremony if they made a commitment to each other. He hoped they would. Ray parked his company pickup in the driveway. The pickup John drove was parked at the curb. The big project for tomorrow was to clean out the garage so they could move the rest of John's furniture and other items he wanted to keep. Then they could decide what to do with those items as there were a few things they could use in Ray's house they would be sharing; but that was something they would agree on after John's apartment was vacated.
When Lt Marilyn Kolb finally finished with the domestic disturbance call and went back to the Williamsport Police Station, Jerry Pennington was telling other officers about stopping the van from Faith Temple. The other officers loved the story as it was seldom they had a chance to enforce the law without making some citizen mad. Little did they know that Rev. Brockle was planning other problems for them – and for everyone who didn't think as he and his family did.
The other officers knew that Marilyn was a lesbian in a committed relationship and that didn't cause any problems as she was always cheerful and treated everyone as the best of friends. Jerry Pennington was also gay and seemed to "fly under the radar" of the other officers. He was treated as an above average rookie. The funniest occurrence he'd been involved with up to this time, was the "sack of shit" found on Coach Dennison's front porch on a Saturday morning, several months before.
The issue of being a public safety officer, and also gay didn't exist in the Williamsport Police Department. There had been other gay officers through the years and a former Police Chief had made it known that his department was "gender blind" as well as "color blind". This was the accepted norm for the present department and current Police Chief.
Gay men and women of the town were generally known by the police, but were not treated any differently than any other citizen if they got out of line. Many times the police went out of their way to help them avoid being arrested for lewd and lascivious behavior to avoid a possible problem. A line of mutual respect had been established.
So, Marilyn and Jerry enjoyed the laughter of their fellow officers as they each added more details about the protest which hadn't come about. Motorcycle patrolman Clive Skinner told about Miles Truby from Channel 36 in Austin arriving with a camera crew to film the protest, then leaving as it appeared the story wasn't going to happen.
One of the other officers spoke up. "I don't care who Richards and Bastian sleep with. Those men work hard, are well-respected in the community, own a thriving business that is growing and also providing jobs for a number of people in the area. Together they've taken in two fine young men who are honor students and provided a home for them when the boys needed help to keep from disappearing into the foster care system. They have my vote for Citizens of the Year. I know we don't have that award, but I'll back a proposal to help make it happen."
There was applause and some whistles before the squad room got quiet again.
Sergeant Sean McCrenna spoke up. I don't believe in police harassment, but what happened today with Rev. Brockle was something he brought upon himself. My first thought was that maybe he should have been allowed to make an ass of himself, but by the same token, why ruin a special day for Dale Richards and Craig Bastian and their friends? It was the same thing where Rev. Fred Phelps was concerned. There wasn't any police harassment involved there. The citizens of Williamsport decided that he shouldn't be at the grand opening of Saber Computers and ran them off and back to their vehicles. No harm done, but we did have a grand time removing their distributor caps so they couldn't go anywhere, didn't we?" He laughed and the others joined in. Hands were slapped around the squad room.
Discussion continued for another 20 minutes until Squad Seven got a call to a domestic disturbance. The address was the same as where Marilyn Kolb had been a little over a half hour ago.
"If the guy's name is Bodean Bixler, I told him if we had to come back out tonight, he was going to occupy a bed in the jail. I hope you and your partner make it happen because that neighborhood deserves a night of uninterrupted sleep. I think officers have been out there for the last five nights," Marilyn told everyone.
There were sounds of agreement among the officers.
Jerry Pennington had thoughts about people who made life miserable for everyone they came into contact with. The officers of the Williamsport Police Department seemed to know all of them. * * * * *
About 8 p.m. the telephone at the Howell residence rang. Faye Howell answered it, and then told her son that the call was for him.
"Hello," he said hesitantly.
"Scooter, this is Marilyn Kolb."
"Hi," he said. "How are you ladies this evening?"
"Doing well. Trisha is catering a dinner at the store this evening. I had to work a little later because of a domestic disturbance. I got the call about 15 minutes before I was due to get off and, of course, had to answer it."
"Bummer," Scooter told his friend.
"So, I just got home and changed out of my uniform. I'm going to have a well-deserved drink and then hope Trisha has some good leftovers to bring home for our own dinner this evening."
"Hope you get a good surprise," he told her, wondering why she was calling. He soon found out.
"The reason I called is to give you a report on the days' activities concerning the Rev. Milton Brockle and to thank you for one of the most fun days I've ever had at work," she said, laughing at the memory.
"What happened?" he asked. It already sounded interesting.
Marilyn related the activities, starting with Jerry Pennington finding that the church van was unlocked and pulling the brake light fuse, then pulling the van over to the curb and what transpired after that. By the time she got to the end of the story, telling about tearing up the protest signs and telling the minister to take the rest of the day off and resume the "Lord's work" tomorrow, he was sitting there laughing and tears were running down his cheeks. This was the funniest story he'd heard in a long time, especially knowing he was probably responsible for making it come about.
His mother was sitting in her favorite chair, knitting and wondering what was so funny that her son was almost crying while laughing. She hadn't seen him this animated and amused in a long time. She wished that her son was always this upbeat.
Marilyn invited Scooter to the next meeting of the Dignity/Integrity group before hanging up, telling him that "he needed to meet some new friends and that it might be a good way to find a boyfriend, too."
He thanked her and told her that he would consider it, and then hung up the phone.
His mother put her knitting aside. "I haven't seen you laugh like that in a long time. Care to share the story?"
I don't know if you will like this,' he thought, but here goes, even though I may out myself.'
His mother knew who Marilyn Kolb and Trisha Sutton were as her bridge club had held a monthly luncheon at the restaurant the previous month, shortly after they opened in their new location.
"Well, I'm glad you didn't go to the church to help with the protest today," he told his mother.
"Why, were there problems?" she asked.
Eric launched into the story as Marilyn had related it to him. By the time he was through, they both had tears running down their cheeks from the laughter.
"I can just see him sitting there, blinking his beady eyes at the police," she said as she was able to get her breath and calm down some.
"I think that Marilyn and Jerry Pennington aren't too popular at that house tonight," Eric said, laughing some more.
His mother finally gathered herself together. `That was a funny story,' she thought. "You know, Eric, I think I've about had enough of Rev. Brockle and his whiny wife and pushy son. I'm going to look for another church to attend and I hope you will feel the same way."
Eric smiled – big time. "I'd already made up my mind about that, but kept going there because you play the organ for them. I didn't want to embarrass you by going elsewhere."
"I have to go tomorrow because Kathy Serolde is singing a solo and I can't walk out on her at this late date," she said.
"I'm going with you because I want to hear his sermon. I'll bet anything it will be his version of this afternoon's ill-fated activities and he'll complain that the police department is too liberal," Eric laughed.
"For sure," she told her son.
They sat there in silence for a little bit. She picked up her knitting, and then paused for a minute to think about what she wanted to say.
"Eric, I have two questions. First, do you have any idea as to why Marilyn and another officer were involved with this today?"
His red face betrayed his knowledge. "Do I have to answer that?"
"No, you don't have to," she giggled. "Okay that's solved. Question number two."
"Ask away."
"Some pieces of the puzzle are starting to fit together. Eric, are you gay?"
Eric sat up in his chair, like a deer caught in headlights. `She can't be asking me this,' he thought.
He didn't want to answer the question because he really didn't know the answer for sure. He'd never had sex with anyone else, but thought he wanted to try it with another guy. He gulped... big time. "I have some thoughts that I might be, but I've never acted on them," he told her.
"Eric, that's not a problem with me. I'd rather see you happy than not and if you like other men, that's fine. I love you, regardless of your feelings. Okay?" she asked.
Eric had tears in his eyes and got up from his chair to kneel beside his mother. "Thanks for the support. I didn't think it would be easy to tell you, but it seems you had it figured out all along."
Faye kissed his cheek. "Scooter, honey, be happy and enjoy life. Make lots of friends and you will meet the right person to make a good life together."
"Thanks, mom!" Eric was elated at his mother's attitude. He didn't think it would turn out to be this easy. * * * * *
Jason and Kevin went to bed at their regular time, Brandy and Ginger sleeping on Kevin's bed, as always, while he and Jason shared the other.
Kevin was all wound up as both of them had helped with the mass at Dale and Craig's Commitment Ceremony. Also, they were going to start new Acolyte duties at church in the morning. Usually the Acolyte's were assigned to a rotation of three months, then moving up the ladder into new duties. But, no new young people had been trained to be a backup Thurifer. Jason had performed in several functions, carrying the incense boat, ringing the Sanctus Bell and lately being the Thurifer. He was tall enough now that he could carry one of the candles flanking the processional cross. He was looking forward to that new task.
Earlier in the day he and Kevin had assisted in the mass and were proud to be involved in some way with the service for Dale and Craig. So, naturally their conversation turned to church duties, as they were getting ready for bed.
"Are you all excited about doing something different at mass tomorrow morning?" Jason asked his brother.
"Yeah, I hope I don't flub it up," was the reply.
"You can read and you can count?" Jason teased.
"Well, duh." Kevin acted like he was insulted.
It's all printed on the card. Just follow the words and ring the bells according to the number of bells that show on the card. If there is one bell, you ring them once. Three and you ring them three times."
"I know," Kevin said. "I just don't want to ring them in the wrong place."
"You will do fine." Jason was standing up and gave Kevin a hug as he started toward their bathroom.
Kevin followed his brother to pee, wash his face and brush his teeth. He was looking in the mirror at Jason's reflection. "Hey, bro, you're growing more pubic hair. It's starting to show up real good," he announced.
Indeed, it was darker than the blond hair on his head and he was getting a respectable amount that he was very proud of. Only a couple of the other boys in his Phys Ed class were showing signs of growing pubic hair and they were both a year older than Jason.
"See, there's a little bit of hair starting to grow in my armpits, too," he told Kevin.
"Neat, but I still have two years to go though." Kevin was happy for Jason, but wished he were growing up faster.
"You'll get there. It just happens," Jason reminded his brother.
They finished in the bathroom and crawled into bed from opposite sides, each turning off the lamp on their side of the bed. They found each other in the middle, spooned together and soon went to sleep.
The telephone woke Joey and Forrest about 7:40 on Sunday morning. Joey had to go to the kitchen to answer as the line in their bedroom was a different number and was usually plugged into the computer modem. It was Fr. George Tikker from St. James, wanting to speak to Forrest.
"Hello," a sleepy Forrest said, after Joey went to awaken him.
"Forrest, this is Fr. George. Are you still interested in learning to be an Acolyte?"
"Yeah, sure," he answered, becoming more awake. Joey was pouring orange juice for the two of them. He decided to wait a minute to see if Forrest wanted coffee.
"Drew Herrington was taken to the hospital in the middle of the night. The doctor removed a hot appendix and he's getting along fine. But, he was scheduled to be the Crucifer this morning. Your name came to mind as a replacement. Can you do it? I'll have someone work with you if you can be here about 9:45."
"Sure," Forrest said, the excitement showing in his voice. He was now fully awake.
"Fine, I'll tell Fr. Whyte you'll do it. Meet him in front of the vesting sacristy at that time and wear dark trousers, black socks and black shoes," he was told. Fr. Tikker added, "Thanks, Forrest. I appreciate your helping us out. Nothing like `on the job training' as you do it," he laughed.
"Thanks, Father. Joey and I'll be there in plenty of time," Forrest replied. They said their good-byes and hung up the phones.
"What's going on?" Joey wanted to know. He'd only heard one side of the conversation and there wasn't much hint.
"Drew Herrington had to have his appendix removed in the middle of the night. They need someone to be Crucifer this morning and Fr. George knew I was going to start training, but they need someone this morning. I have to be at the church by 9:45."
"Way cool," said Joey, giving him five.
"That job looks fairly easy," Forrest said.
Joey agreed. "Yeah, and there will be somebody to prompt you, too. You'll enjoy the experience."
Joey started setting up the coffeemaker. "Dude, do you want some coffee? I'm going to have a mug."
"Sure, make enough that I can have two."
"Not a prob," Joey said.
"Wonder if our Dads got to the Bed and Breakfast okay and had a good dinner at that French place Craig wanted to go?" Forrest said.
"Probably."
"Wonder what else they did last night?" Forrest grinned.
"That, too," Joey giggled.
"Hey, what we tried last night was great. I'm sorry that I couldn't last longer. It felt so good," Forrest said.
"Dude, we are horny teenagers with raging hormones. It felt good to me, too, and we'll have to try it again," Joey agreed. "Everything we've done with each other has been awesome, `cause you're a sexy stud, Dude."
"So are you, bro," Forrest said, picking up his juice glass and draining it.
"We have apple muffins and some of grandma's cinnamon rolls. Do you want one of each?" Joey asked.
"Mmmmm. Dumb question," Forrest teased. He was hungry.
"Joey put the rolls on two small plates and nuked them for 20 seconds each to warm them slightly. Forrest poured them some coffee when it was ready.
About that time they realized that Mitsy needed to go outside so Forrest let her out and retrieved the paper at the same time. He realized that he was naked and remembered the morning he first saw Joey letting Mitsy out and getting the paper he was delivering. He never ever dreamed he would be living here with new parents and a younger brother. Life was good to him.
After they shaved, Forrest suggested they try the awesome shower in their Dads' bathroom again. That, of course, was fine with Joey. After the water was turned on and the temperature regulated to their comfort, they used bath gel to stroke each other to a roaring climax, kissing each other passionately while making the other feel good. It didn't take long before they emptied themselves onto each other's chests, stomachs and groins.
They made hasty work of getting clean so they could dry off and dress for church. The boxer shorts from the night before were only slightly damp and Forrest carried them to the laundry hamper in the bathroom he and Joey shared.
Frank and Doris had seen the yellow Camaro in the church parking lot, but Forrest wasn't in the regular "family seats" when they entered the nave to sit down. They didn't think anything about it. `Maybe he was in a Sunday School class,' Doris thought.
When the procession moved down the aisle, she realized that it was Forrest who was carrying the processional cross. Looking a little closer, Jason Williamson was carrying one of the torches flanking the cross. She didn't know who the Thurifer was, or the young boy bearing the Incense Boat. Then Kevin Williamson was in the procession, ahead of the clergy cross. Doris later found out that he would be ringing the Sanctus bells at the appropriate places in the mass.
She was proud to see Forrest assisting with the mass and wondered why he hadn't said anything about what he was going to do.
The flowers from the commitment ceremony had been rearranged and placed either side of the altars in the Mary Chapel and St. Joseph's Chapel. During Lent no flowers were used at the high altar. The bulletin note said: "The flowers on the side altars are a Gift of Thanksgiving from Dale Richards and Craig Bastian in honor of their family."
Those in the know would understand why the flowers were given.
Joey and Forrest joined their grandparents and also Chuck and Susan, along with Becky and Doug for the brunch at the Best Western out on the highway. Becky and Doug would leave from there to drive back to Dallas.
The main topic of conversation at brunch was the commitment ceremony. Doris told the boys that she would stop at the condo to get the top layer of the wedding cake and prepare it to be frozen so the men could serve it on their first anniversary. That was fine with Forrest and Joey as the only plans they had were to change clothes, then go to the ranch to feed the horses and ride them for about an hour.
Since Frank and Doris had been busy on Friday and Saturday; they hadn't been to Kawarce to check on the progress of their house. As soon as Doris had prepared the cake and put it in her freezer, she and Frank changed clothes and drove to the building site. They were amazed at the progress since they had seen it on Thursday evening. At that time the men were setting the forms in place for the short stem walls. Those had been filled with the appropriate amount of rebar and the concrete had been poured on Friday afternoon.
"I expect when we come out here tomorrow evening, that we may see some of the floor joists in place," Frank said.
"This is exciting," Doris said. Our house in Arlington was almost completed when we bought it."
Frank agreed, "Yeah, all we had to do was decide on paint and wallpaper, the kitchen appliances and lighting fixtures for all of the rooms. We were moved in two weeks later, after they completed all of that work."
They reminisced about their good fortune in finding that house and the work they had done as they could afford to upgrade things and put in the great landscaping they had in the lawn.
Craig had suggested some big berms be built in front of their new house, being a showplace for lots of flowers, trees and shrubs. That would enhance a pretty serpentine walk to the front door as well as providing a changing display of blossoms and color throughout the year. The garages were at the back of the house and access was from the next street. This allowed them to have a front patio that was accessible from the kitchen and living room.
Right now it was hard to envision the floor plan. Certainly by this time next week, the walls should be framed. It was going to seem strange to live in a smaller, but similar dwelling after years of having four bedrooms on the second floor and a basement under the house.
As soon as they heard the car enter the property, the horses were at the barn. Joey had a big baggie full of quartered apples for treats after they ate. He broke open a bale of hay to put in the trough while Forrest measured out a mixture of oats and dried pellets in their individual bins. Although there was plenty of forage to graze on, they loved the grain mixture. Joey, when finished with the hay, opened the faucet next to the horse tank to allow it to fill almost to the top. He and Forrest started getting out the things they would need to prepare the horses for riding. About the time the horses were through eating, the water tank was full.
The young men saddled their own horses, Sabra and Socks, and then checked each other's work. This was, after all, only the third time they had gotten them ready to ride without Dale being present. It didn't take long; they were getting better at this task.
The horses were frisky today. They hadn't been ridden since last Wednesday when Dale and Forrest had come out to exercise them. Craig had a meeting that ran late and Joey had gone to choir early to work on a solo Paul had given him to learn. The other two horses, Cutter and Lancer followed them out of the barn, and then ran ahead. They stopped and waited, then ran a little ways again, as if to ask, "Well, don't you want to run with us and have a good time?"
"Do ya wanna let `em run?" Forrest asked, sensing that his horse wanted to join the other two.
"Okay by me. Do you want to lead?" Joey asked.
"Whatever, I'm sure they'll make their own contest with the others along."
"Come on, Sabra," Joey said, kicking his hells into her side, gently giving the horse the signal to run. The horse didn't need any encouragement and Socks was right with her. Both young men were having a great time. The horses could be controlled with no problem as both made them slow down as they approached the place they would have to turn to follow the back fence to the pond and creek.
After riding around the property for about 45 minutes, they decided to ride up to the construction site to look at their new house. Joey got off Sabra, opened the gate to let them through and closed it behind him. Cutter and Lancer were standing at the gate, probably wondering why they had been left behind. Joey remounted and they rode out to the road and then up the driveway together. He loved the hill they had named "Saber Peak". They dismounted and Forrest tied the reins to metal rings in the retaining wall. A series of rings had been installed for that very purpose.
They entered the first level through what would be the garage and looked in the three big rooms on that level; Joey pointing out the workshop next to the garage, the storage area and the room that was going to be used for the large electric train layout that Frank was giving to Joey. Everybody was excited about the fact that the layout could be set up as it presently was displayed in his grandparent's home, although Joey and Forrest had only seen pictures and a video that Frank had made.
They went back to the garage and climbed the stairs that would take them into the utility room off the kitchen on the ground floor. The joists for that floor had been set in place and the plywood sub floor had been glued and nailed down. There were splotches of red paint in various areas, probably to mark something for the framing crew. Several 2x6 outside wall assemblies had been nailed together, ready to be erected and secured in place.
"Kinda like putting a big jigsaw puzzle together," Forrest said.
"Something like that. This is really interesting," Joey agreed. Both of the young men were impressed, although it was hard to tell where the various inside walls would be. Joey explained that some of the walls, both inside and out would be made up of used brick and stone.
"This place is going to be huge," Forrest remarked.
"It is," Joey replied. "Dad Craig said that there is twice as much square footage on just one floor than in our whole condo."
"It's awesome," Forrest agreed.
They located the area where the kitchen was going to be and Joey tried to describe how there would be access to the brick patio from that room, as well as the living room. "It's built so that when we have a large party, people can circulate from the kitchen, to the patio and back into the living room. It's going to be so neat," he enthused.
Forrest agreed. He was anxious to see the progress made the next day when they came back out to feed the horses after school. After they were through looking at the house, they went back down the stairs, untied their horses and rode back to the barn to groom them and put the tack away.
Joey, of course, couldn't drive because of his restricted license, so Forrest drove them back into Williamsport. They decided they wanted a malted milk, so stopped at the A&W Drive-In where Dale's mother had once worked. Of course the car drew a lot of attention and they had to drive up and down the street several times, sometimes letting some of their many friends ride with them. * * * * *
Dale and Craig, along with Bart and Wilmer, went to Christ Church for the morning mass. The service was totally different than St. James in Williamsport although they had a good organist and choir. But, the parish was lacking in the elaborate ceremony they were used to and it made them appreciate their own unique parish all that much more.
The four men walked back to the Inn together while having a good visit. The other men were the same ages as Dale and Craig and had been together for two years. They had been impressed when both told them about Joey and Forrest and had more questions.
"Wow, you guys had just barely gotten together when you had to start sharing your lives with a third and forth person. But, it's so neat that both of your boys have accepted your lifestyle and don't have any problems with it," Bart said.
"Joey has been exposed to the gay lifestyle for a long time," Dale told them. "Our father was gay, although he never had a long-term lover. Joey has an open mind about everything. He's only fourteen, but sometimes acts more like 25, so who knows where his sexual preference will end up."
Craig continued. "Forrest and Joey are playing around with each other, but we don't know how much exploring they have done. Dale and I have both told them we would answer any and all questions they had. If they are going to be sexually active, then they need to know certain things."
"Yeah," Dale said. "I just wish that I'd had someone to talk to 10 years ago when I was Joey's age. My teen years would have been a lot more enjoyable had I known I wasn't the only person out there who liked other guys."
"I agree," Wilmer said. "We are fortunate to live in a university town where there is a greater tolerance of gays than in many cities. On campus, it seems to be a non-issue with most, as long as we don't flaunt our gayness."
Bart agreed. "We have an active Integrity group that meets monthly for a pot luck dinner and a program of some kind, or maybe just a social evening. One of the Curates at the cathedral will celebrate a Eucharist about every three months. The bishop didn't hesitate when we approached him about finding a priest who was comfortable doing it for us."
"In our case the Dignity and Integrity groups have merged as there is no support for it from the local Catholic priest. When we have a Eucharist, some of the Catholics take communion and others don't. It's offered and available for those who want to take part," Craig affirmed with Dale agreeing.
By this time they were back at the Inn and the four went to their rooms to put on clothes that were more casual for their afternoon activities.
When Dale and Craig returned to the sitting room, Dwight was just pouring the first round of Bloody Marys and Linden had put out cheese, crackers and bowls of mixed nuts.
"Don't load up on too many of the snacks," they were admonished. Linden told them they were going to have a brunch casserole with several Mexican condiments to go with it. That statement brought sounds of approval from everyone.
The eleven men had a good visit about a wide range of subjects, finding that they had many areas of mutual interest.
Dale was thoroughly enjoying himself, as was Craig. It was exhilarating to spend time with other men who were gay and it seemed relaxing at the same time. Maybe it was because they could say what they wanted without having to keep their guard up. He thought to himself that he and Craig should take the initiative of having their growing group of gay friends in for Sunday brunch every once in a while. Certainly after they were moved into the new home, they would have plenty of space, along with a beautiful outside patio and pool. Unbeknownst to him, Craig was thinking somewhat along the same lines.
The brunch casserole was a big hit with the men, who all ate like they were hungry. The Mexican side dishes of salsa, guacamole, sour cream, tossed salad and fresh fruit complimented the main dish.
Lloyd and Allen announced that they were going out to take a stroll down the River walk and invited anyone who wanted to walk to go with them. Robin and Jon agreed that a walk would be great and Dale and Craig decided to join them. The day was beautiful, clear and sunny with a temperature of about 62 degrees. Everyone carried a jacket, as the buildings would block the sun on most of the walk.
Later Dale and Craig broke off from the group to visit the Alamo. As they were standing outside the building, Dale said, "It seems strange that so much happened here and yet the place seems tiny compared to what I think it should be."
"You are right about that. Did you know that this place was almost torn down several years ago? It was in private ownership and wasn't being maintained. Finally a big dose of civic pride forced a group to be formed to save the building and the site, too. Otherwise, this would either be a parking lot or the site for a tall building."
"That would have been too bad. It's such an important part of Texas history," Dale agreed.
After making their way to the Visitor's Center, they looked at the building from both the inside and outside, marveling that so many people had died here to protect their freedom.
They returned to the Visitor's Center to pick up a walking tour map and then walked around the downtown area, looking at the architecture of new buildings as well as going inside several old mission churches that were still being used. They took plenty of pictures of each other and a couple of times asked another tourist to snap a picture of two of them together.
The morning church service at Faith Assembly was its usual hodgepodge of this, that and the other, nothing fitting together.
The minister and choir took their places while Faye Howell was finishing playing the gathering music on the little Baldwin spinet organ that had to be at least 35 years old and didn't work very well. Her thoughts were that she wasn't going to be playing there anymore, she wanted to visit some of the other churches in Williamsport and hear some of the pipe organs they had.
The first hymn was "Morning Has Broken" and the two guitars, electric bass and drum set drowned out the organ. The song leader kept trying to increase the tempo, urging the congregation to clap, which was hard to do when you were holding a hymnal. `All the more reason I don't need to be here,' Faye thought.
Rev. Brockle stood up, welcoming the small congregation of about 40 people. He launched into the announcements, the last being that a Christian Political Action Committee was being formed and their first meeting would be on Monday evening at 7 p.m. Everyone was urged to attend as it was vital to the well-being of the community.
It was time for the second hymn, which was "My Hope Is Built..." Again the guitars and drums covered the organ and the song leader kept trying to make the tempo faster.
The scripture lesson followed, which was from St. Luke 11:14 and was the story of Jesus casting out a devil. Eric wondered how Rev. Brockle was going to preach on that topic.
After the lesson, it was time for the youth choir to sing – and it was a rousing version of "You Light Up My Life". Hearty applause followed that rendition.
The offertory music was a vocal solo by Kathy Serolde. The piece was called "On Eagle's Wings" and was her version of it. Faye followed her with the best accompaniment she could play on the small, out of tune, grand piano.
It was time for the sermon. Rev. Brockle paraphrased the scripture lesson as best he could, but the real meat of the sermon had nothing to do with the Bible lesson.
Instead, the congregation heard the story of two men who belonged to that bunch of sodomites which inhabited the cathedral down the street. He ran through a litany of the sins of that congregation, starting with them not believing what was written in the Holy Text and the fact that the rich people in that church owned most of Williamsport and spent their ill-gotten money for their own pleasure and self-gratification.
Then he went on to the story of the wedding of two faggots getting married against the teachings of God's word and making a mockery of the laws of the United States of America and Texas. He described how the two men had recruited two teen age boys to be their sex slaves and had even managed in some way to adopt them so they could hold them captive. Of course, the liberal judiciary was blamed for that mistake.
Eric was sitting in the congregation with a big smile on his face, suppressing laughter and having a hard time believing all the tripe that was being spewed from the pulpit.
Then Rev. Brockle took on the groups that were way too liberal, having been hand picked by the Williamson family. That included the school board, the teachers in the schools, and then the police and public safety departments were mentioned, too. By the time he was through "naming names" he had a list that included people from all walks of life who lived in Williamsport.
"We have to do something about this," he said while pounding on the pulpit. "This is the reason we are forming a political action group. We have to get rid of the perverts in this town and replace them with Christians like us who won't tolerate the actions of these people."
"Amen," was shouted by several people in the audience.
Eric was getting fed up with what he was hearing. He wanted to stand up and walk out. Rev. Brockle had been talking and screaming for almost 35 minutes and so far no two sentences had been put together to make any sense. He knew that any Bible references either had to be made up or were snippets from several different passages that had been made to say what Rev. Brockle wanted to convey to the congregation. Eric noticed that he had not made reference to any specific verse, but just "quoted" these as he thought of them. Eric thought this was worse than anything he'd ever heard Jimmy Bob Jones preach about.
After the sermon had gone on for 45 minutes, the minister was starting to run out of steam and had drunk all the water in the glass sitting on the pulpit. He had more that he wanted to say, but the congregation didn't seem as enthusiastic as usual.
Finally, he bowed his head to ask that God be with them as they set out on their new mission.
He picked up his hymnal and asked the congregation to stand and sing hymn 387, "Leaning on the Everlasting Arms". Again, there was no need for Faye to be at the organ console.
As per their usual method of doing things, Rev. Brockle, his wife and step son were all standing in line to greet people as they walked out the front door.
Eric and his mother went out the side door to go home. Coby Cantrell was standing on the sidewalk talking to another young man that Eric and his mother had seen at church recently. Coby greeted them and introduced Wayne Rickie, who was new to Williamsport. He had moved to the city to take a job as a service technician for Saber Computer Company. He worked in their new ISP Department that was called SaberSonic. The new service was in test mode with about 50 customers who were using the Internet access for free. They expected to be fully operational in two weeks time.
Coby and Wayne had quickly discovered they both worked for the two men who had been trashed by Rev. Brockle this morning. Coby worked at the Bar-W Ranch and Wayne worked at Saber Computer Company.
"I don't know about you," Coby told Wayne, "but I have no problem with my boss being gay and if the minister here is going to run them down, I'm not coming here for church. None of my hard earned money is going into the collection plate to support his half-baked endeavors."
"I agree," Wayne told the group. "He won't get any of my money, either.
Eric and his mother were listening to the conversation as they were standing with the men.
"You both work for Dale and Craig?" Eric questioned.
Both men nodded their heads in the affirmative.
"Do you know them?" Coby asked Eric and Faye.
"I know who they are and I admire them for what they've done, but I've never met them."
His mother agreed, saying, "This is my last Sunday to attempt to play the organ here. They don't need the organ anyway because the guitars and drums keep getting louder and drown out the organ. We're both disgusted with Rev. Brockle and his family. Eric and I are going to look for another church to attend; one that embraces good solid music.
The four people visited a little longer, and then Eric suggested that all of them go to the Holiday Inn for the Sunday buffet. Eric and his mother went in Eric's car and Coby rode with Wayne.
On Sunday night Dale and Craig went to the top of the Tower of the Americas for a drink. They were in the bar at the top and struck up a conversation with another young fellow. His name was Edgar Troope and they discovered that he was an architect, also. Within a few minutes another fellow joined them. His name was Rob Fowler and it was obvious that the two locals were more than casual friends.
Craig and Dale didn't know the history of the tower, so Edgar and Rob filled them in.
"Construction of the tower began in the summer of 1966 and it took about 18 months to complete. That was just barely in time for the opening ceremonies for the Hemisfair in April of 1968. The tophouse of the building was constructed at ground level and hoisted to the top of the poured concrete shaft. As the tophouse was being hoisted into place some of the cables used to hoist the tophouse snapped. It left the tophouse resting on and precariously tilted on the Tower's shaft. Eventually, oil field pipes were used in lieu of cables to complete the job of raising the tophouse to the top of the shaft.
Rob went on to add, "The tower was the tallest observation tower in the United States from 1968 until 1996, when the Las Vegas Stratosphere Tower was completed."
"I remember something about that when I was in architectural school, but I was only about 4 years old when this was built," Craig said. They all had a laugh about that.
The men had a good visit and exchanged business cards before Dale and Craig went on to dinner at Zitti's, an Italian restaurant that had been getting high marks from the San Antonio dining public. Craig drove to the restaurant entrance and received a valet claim stub. When they walked to the desk, they were told there would be about a 15 minute wait. That was okay as they were a bit early, so they went to the bar to order martinis.
As they sat in the lounge, discussion followed as to what they wanted to try to see the next day. Craig suggested that they skip Seaworld of Texas and bring Joey and Forrest with them to experience that venue. Certainly they would have enjoyed it by themselves, but it was billed as a "family park" and that's what they wanted to do... share it with their family.
Instead, they were discussing the other attractions on the tour map. There was so much to do they really needed three or four days to see just the highlights. Craig expressed interest in the San Antonio Botanical Gardens while Dale thought the description of the San Antonio Zoo sounded like fun. "After all," he suggested, "I can see all of my cousins in one place." They both laughed. Craig said, "I like you better as a cowboy," referring to himself being dressed as Cinderella.
They did decide that the King William Historic Area would be interesting, so planned to visit that area. * * * * *
They enjoyed their martinis – sans vermouth – but with a lime twist. Soon their pager went off and they made their way to the desk where the host took them to a table where they could see most of the dining room. The menu was not extensive and they decided to each order the Chef's choice, Dale opting for seafood and Craig ordering chicken.
The meal started with a small bowl of minestrone soup and then a small Caesar salad with an exceptionally creamy house dressing. It was excellent.
When the entrée was presented, they understood why the soup and salads were small. One entrée would have been enough for them to share. Dale's entrée was sea scallops and shrimp served with penne and a light sauce that was full of basil and parsley with just a hint of curry. The accompanying vegetable was broccoli with a sour cream sauce. It was excellent.
Craig's entrée was also a double with chicken thighs in a Hunter Sauce with lots of vegetables and a diced chicken breast served over spinach noodles with a light lemon sauce.
Of course, they had to sample each other's entrees. A pitcher of house wine was just enough to finish out their meal. Dessert was pears poached in port wine and served flambé.
"I'm going to have to go back and load a wagon load of hay bales," Dale announced as they finished their meal.
"Do you have room for me to help, too?" Craig questioned. "Between my mother, her kitchen brigade and a few meals like this, I could pack the pounds on pretty quickly."
They laughed and agreed that Joey and Forrest could be quite happy with meals like that everyday – then agreed that they could, too.
They reclaimed the car and drove back to the bed and breakfast. Wilmer and Bart, along with Linden and Dwight were in the living room relaxing. They motioned for Dale and Craig to join them for a nightcap and they each asked for a small glass of Tawny Port wine.
The two newlywed couples gave a report of their dinners, Bart and Wilmer having gone to LeMondulet, the French restaurant on the River walk where Dale and Craig had eaten on Saturday night. They pronounced the restaurant excellent and agreed with Dale and Craig that they had been eating too much good food.
Craig had an idea. Addressing Bart and Wilmer, he asked, "Do either of you know a banker in Shreveport by the name of Lawrence Thomas?"
Both men immediately responded that they did. "He's one of the younger Vice-Presidents at our bank," Bart said.
"He's head of the real estate investment department," Wilbur added.
"I haven't seen him since we were both just out of college, but he's my cousin," Craig replied.
"It's a small world," Bart said.
"Well, we haven't had any contact since he told his parents that he was gay. His mother is my mother's older sister and she went off the deep end at the news. She told my mother what he'd said and my parents told her that I had come out to them and they had no problems with it. My parents urged her to do the same and she severed contact with our family. My mother and her sister might as well have been from two different planets, I don't think they ever agreed on anything."
"I don't know him that well, but he does attend the Cathedral parish and I know that he has a partner. We run into them at symphony and other musical concerts on campus. They also go to plays at the college as well as the community theatre," Wilmer related.
"He's on the alumni committee at Centenary College," Bart added.
"I'd like to establish contact with him, but there's no telling what his mother told him. Knowing her, she probably told him that none of us wanted any contact with him. The last we knew, his parents lived in Little Rock, but there has been no contact for about 5 years. I'd love to see him and his partner and introduce my husband and our two boys," Craig said.
"I know him well enough to call him at the bank. Give me a couple of your business cards and I'll give him a call later in the week after we get home," Bart told them.
Dale and Craig immediately gave them each a couple of cards from the Bar-W, Craig's company and also Saber Computers." * * * * *
Later, in their room Dale and Craig had stripped down to nothing, wearing only their new short robes. They were sitting on the love seat, idly caressing each other and exchanging small kisses.
"That's exciting that you might be able to meet your cousin again," Dale said.
"Yeah, it will be. He'll probably be surprised to hear from me – and especially that we made contact through another newlywed gay couple. He's a nice guy, always out-going and into everything. He was somewhat of a jock in school, but was more dedicated to his studies. We never spent much time together because we always lived a couple hundred miles apart. His mother tried to plan his life and wanted him to be an attorney, so probably that and the gay issue caused them a really big conflict."
"Do you have any other cousins?" Dale asked.
"Yeah, actually Larry has an older sister by the name of Paula. She and Becky could be sisters. Both are very independent and march to a different drummer than the rest of us kids."
They both laughed.
"There are some other cousins, but Dad didn't have any first cousins. My mom has contact with a great aunt, who actually is only about three or four years older than she is," Craig told him. "What about you?"
"It would have go way back because I don't know of any. Both of my grandparents had some cousins, but I don't think we ever saw them. I wouldn't have any idea where to begin looking because I don't even know their last names," Dale said quietly.
"Don't forget that your Dad had some family in Oregon. Doesn't Joey have some of that information from your father?" Craig asked.
"Yeah, I forget about them. By not having any contact with my father all those years, I'd forgotten about that. When we get home, I'll ask Joey to dig out the information he has and we'll see what we can find out. But, I hope you can reestablish contact with your cousin, Lawrence."
Making love was slow and sensuous tonight. Together, they pushed each other's buttons to the max and enjoyed making the other feel like it was their own special night. Indeed it was. Sex was never a pre-defined ritual for them. They each enjoyed the loving attention the other gave.
They became a well-oiled machine when Dale finally entered Craig. Dale brought Craig to the brink four times before Craig went over the edge and painted their fronts with the hot fluid of their love. As Craig fired shot after shot, his sphincter muscle gripped Dale's cock, causing the same response in him. Craig could feel Dale's cock muscles pushing the fluid up and out into his willing love channel. Life just couldn't get any better.
They lay in each other's arms for a while, then they realized that they were stuck together. It was time for another shower and they were tired enough that all they did was to wash each other, rinse off, and dry the other and go back to bed for the night. They settled together in the middle of the king-bed and were asleep as soon as they exchanged goodnight kisses.
The next morning they slept until almost seven o'clock. It seemed that they awoke at the same time and for the same purpose; go empty their bladders. Craig peed while Dale brushed his teeth and then they traded.
They went back to bed, but not to sleep. By eight o'clock they had made love, then shaved and showered. After dressing casually, they went to the kitchen for breakfast. Linden was ready to fix Belgian waffles with fresh fruit, orange juice and plenty of black coffee.
While they were eating, they had a nice visit with Linden and Dwight alone. All of the others had gone home except for Wilmer and Bart, who were staying over another day and would leave about noon on Tuesday to drive back to Shreveport. They had eaten early and had gone off to explore Fredericksburg and the LBJ Ranch.
"We have four more guests coming in late this afternoon," Dwight told them. "Two of the men, I guess a couple, are from Salina, Kansas and the others are from Corpus Christi and Tyler."
They discussed the Inn, finding out that the men had owned it for about ten years. "When we bought this place, it was in pretty poor shape. We ended up gutting it because of the necessity of bringing electrical and plumbing up to code, plus installing air conditioning on each floor. We were lucky that some large old houses were being torn down for freeway construction, so we were able to salvage all of the insides and install them in this place," Linden said.
"You've done a beautiful job of it," Craig said, admiring the work.
"Craig has been involved with two restorations in Williamsport," Dale told them.
Immediately the men were interested as Craig gave them the short version of rebuilding the rectory and the current project for the Garnoski's in restoring the old Beauford property. "That sounds kinda like what we went through," Linden told them.
"We had a good architect. His name is Steve Bass and he was extremely easy to work with."
"I know him," Craig told them. We were in architectural school together." Craig didn't tell them that he had doubts about some of his abilities, but it looked like he had done a good job for Dwight and Linden.
Their discussion continued about the Inn. Dwight told them that they were almost always full on weekends and advised that they should make reservations as far ahead as possible. He went on to say that they seldom had more than one or two rooms filled on Tuesday through Thursday nights.
"You are excellent hosts," Dale told them.
"Thanks," Dwight said. He went on to tell them that he had worked a full time job until about a year ago. Their two boys were in school in Houston. Ron was majoring in business at Rice and Logan was majoring in English at Texas Southern University. They shared an apartment about half way between the two schools.
Craig asked about their adopting the boys and was told they had gotten the two boys at the age of three when they lived in New Jersey. They had a friend who worked for Children's Protective Service who had helped the process along. Then a year later, Dwight's job brought them to San Antonio. Lance had quit working full time and worked for a temp agency up to the time they bought the Inn and started gutting it.
Dale finally glanced at his watch. It was almost 10 o'clock. They discussed their planned activities for the day before going to their room and freshening up before leaving.
Joey and Forrest went to school on Monday morning. Their "gang" ate lunch together. All of the boys had been told several weeks ago about the upcoming commitment ceremony and were cool with it. Even Bryce hadn't made his usual remarks and had been amazingly quiet about it. That surprised Joey and he wondered if Bret had put him in his place again. It seemed that Bret was the only one in the group who would call him on some of his smart remarks.
"How did the big ceremony go on Saturday?" Daniel asked as they were eating.
"It was awesome," Forrest said, Joey agreeing.
"Yeah," Matt agreed. He was the only one of the group that had been invited, not that the others wouldn't have been welcome, but they had kept the guest list to close friends and Matt's parents were Tom and Eddie.
"Did they actually say vows to each other, like a man and woman?" Hal asked.
"Yes," Joey answered. "Except, that Texas law keeps two people of the same sex from actually getting married. The church really doesn't recognize it as a valid rite, but some clergy will quietly allow it."
Forest continued, "It's something that our Dads wanted and it meant a lot to them, so why not?"
"I'll bet they stay married to each other a lot longer than some men and women do," Barry said.
The others agreed. Joey and Forrest were glad that their friends were accepting of their Dads' commitment to each other.
Monday morning was staff meeting at Saber Computer store. Frank, Leland, David and Dennis were in attendance.
As they finished the items on the informal agenda, David spoke up. "That was a wonderful commitment ceremony that Dale and Craig had on Saturday. It makes me really proud to know them."
The others agreed and it made Frank proud of his two boys. Dennis hadn't been able to attend due to a previous commitment he had to help his parents, but he wished he could have been in attendance. Of course, the other men in the meeting didn't know that Dennis was gay, but he had discussed it with Dale, Craig and Joey prior to going to work for the company.
Williamsport was a great place to live, but there were still plenty of bigots in town.
Author's Note: I have appreciated all of the emails you sent regarding the continuance of "Tales from the Ranch". I know that a lot of you thought I had given up writing, but the year as a resident in "Chicagoland" was a terrible mistake and I'm still licking my wounds and going through a long healing process. It's nice to be back in Oklahoma, although because of job opportunities, I live in Oklahoma City instead of Tulsa. Someday, I'll be back up the road 90 miles.
My special thanks for proofreading help to Paul Daventon ("Dukes of Windsor"), who has taken time to help me catch obvious errors. Also to two other people named David who generously offered to help me out. Thanks guys, for your great suggestions to making the story read more smoothly. I guess I can say that his chapter was written "by The 3 David's" and be correct. Any comments are appreciated; you can reach me at TulsaAuthor@hotmail.com.
Thanks, David.