Three Voices 2
This is a fictional story dealing with love and consensual sexual activities between males. If you are not of legal age, reside in an area where viewing such material is illegal, or are offended by homosexuality and/or homosexual themes, leave this site now.
The author retains all rights to this story. No reproductions or links to other sites are allowed without the permission of the author.
Note: Thanks to Tim and Rock for feedback on the draft chapters. I owe a special thanks to Robb for doing the final proofreading and catching all those silly little errors I missed.
Send comments to: jeff_allen15@hotmail.com
THREE VOICES
by Jeff Allen
CHAPTER 2
MARTY'S VOICE:
At first I pretended to be asleep in the car because I didn't want my father to ask any more questions about why I'd been kicked out of my home and sent to him. But it wasn't long before I was asleep for real.
I woke up when the rattletrap car my father was driving came to a stop.
"Wake up, Martin, we're home."
Man, I couldn't believe my eyes. `Home' wasn't much better than a shack. It was basically a small cabin or cottage with some weird green color on the siding. Not only was it small and run-down looking, but it was out in the middle of nowhere! I couldn't see any neighbors. Where in the world was I?
Suddenly, this big brown and white dog jumped up and stuck its face against the car window. It damned near scared the piss out of me.
"What's that?"
My father...Patrick...Pat...Dad...I wasn't sure what I would be calling him...just laughed.
"Relax, that's Marlene. She'll lick you to death if you're not careful."
I opened the door, and the dog stuck her nose right in my crotch. "Stop that!"
She scooted away and went over to greet my dad with her tail wagging a mile a minute. She flopped over on the ground and my dad rubbed her belly. "Come over here and say hello to her."
I knelt down beside her and patted her stomach. Her fur was short but very soft. Her tongue rolled out the side of her mouth as I rubbed her belly. I wasn't very comfortable around big dogs. Mom and Gavin didn't like pets, so I'd never had one. Some of my friends had cats or dogs, but the dogs were mostly smaller type house dogs. Marlene seemed friendly enough as I was rubbing her, maybe she'd be okay.
"Grab your backpack, and I'll show you around the place. It's not much, but it's rent free, courtesy of the State of North Carolina. This is the ranger station for the Carter River Wildlife Refuge. That's part of my territory."
I followed my dad inside the `house.' It was even tackier on the inside! The walls were all paneled with real wood...sort of like an old beach cottage. There was a small kitchen to the left of the front door with an eating area. The main room was to the right of the door. My dad showed me his office at the back of the house next to the bathroom (the only bathroom in the house!) and then took me upstairs. There were two small bedrooms there. Only one of the rooms had a bed. The other was almost empty except for a few boxes and an old pair of boots.
"You'll sleep up here tonight. I'll sleep down on the couch. Tomorrow or the next day we'll clear the stuff out of the second room and get another bed. Let's put your bags in my room for right now. Looks like we'll need to get a chest of drawers for your new room, too."
I dropped my backpack and sat down on the bed.
My dad sat down beside me and put his arm around my shoulders. "I know this is a lot to take in all at once. Right now, you must be tired. I know I am. I'll go downstairs and get the couch ready. I'll wait to use the john until after you've finished in there. Okay?"
I nodded.
Suddenly I was so tired I wasn't sure I could walk down the stairs to the bathroom and back. I found my toothbrush in my backpack, did my business in the john, went back upstairs, and climbed into my dad's bed. I think I was asleep before my head hit the pillow.
The next morning I woke with my normal morning woody and an urge to piss so bad it almost hurt. It took me a couple of moments to realize that I wasn't in my bed in the big house in Chicago. I didn't know if I'd ever see that house...or my friends...again. I wasn't sure what time it was. I tried to be quiet going down the stairs in case my dad was still asleep.
I shouldn't have bothered being quiet. Marlene gave a big bark as soon as I hit the bottom step. Damn near made me pee in my pants.
"Good morning, Martin. Glad you could make it up this morning." My dad was sitting at the kitchen table looking at some papers.
I quickly ducked into the bathroom and relieved the pressure on my bladder.
"Do you want some coffee?"
"Mom doesn't like for me to have coffee."
"Your mother isn't here...so do you want some coffee? What about breakfast?"
"Thanks. I'd like some coffee. Do you have milk and sugar to go in it? What kind of things do you have for breakfast?"
"I've got milk and sugar, but I don't have any cereal or stuff like that. How about some toast and jelly? I wasn't planning on having a guest so I wasn't fixed much for food. We'll go into town later today and pick up some of the things you like."
Suddenly my dad got a funny, concerned look on his face, "Martin, please understand, I wasn't complaining. I'm glad you're here." He pulled me into a hug.
I didn't remember the last time I got a hug from my mother, and I'm pretty sure that Gavin had never hugged me. It felt good. My dad was at least a head taller than me. My face was buried in his shirt between his pecs. His arms around me felt so good. I totally lost it. All the emotion of the last day came up to the surface and I started sobbing.
I was sure my dad would be revolted. I tried to pull away. He held me closer. I gave into the emotions.
He held me until my tears were gone. God, I made a mess. There were snot trails all down the wet front of his shirt.
He kissed the top of my head. "Now that you've gotten that out of your system, how about some coffee and toast?"
"You must think I'm a huge baby."
"Why? For crying? What I think is that you've been through a lot in the last twenty-four hours. You're entitled to be a little emotional."
He put a mug of coffee in front of me before sticking some bread in the toaster.
"When you've eaten, we need to go into town to get you registered for school. I talked with your mother this morning. She's going to have all your school records faxed over to the high school. She said she'd send your medical records and stuff like that down by express mail. The rest of your clothes should be shipped down by parcel post."
He put the toast and a jar of grape jelly in front of me before sitting down across the table from me.
"Now, would you care to tell me just what happened that got you sent down here?"
Oh shit, here it comes. If I tell him the real reason he'll kick me out. This place is the dumps, but where else can I go?
"Uh...Mom and I had a disagreement."
The corners of his mouth moved upward. "I think that's pretty obvious. What was the disagreement about?"
"I...I really don't want to say."
"Martin," he reached across the table and took my hand, "we haven't had a normal father-son relationship. Your mother thought that if you spent much time with me it would interfere with your relationship with your stepdad, so I was never allowed much time with you..."
"Mom said you didn't want to see me."
"Oh, Martin, that's not true. Your mother moved up to Chicago. I was in the Marines and then in college. I tried to see you when I was on leave or had a break from school, but most of the time your mother said it was inconvenient for me to come visit. Later she said that I would interfere with your relationship with Gavin."
"You could have written or sent me something on my birthdays or at Christmas."
"I did write. The letters were returned unopened. I sent presents at Christmas and for your birthday."
"I don't believe you. What did you send for my tenth birthday?"
"That was a ten speed bicycle."
I was stunned. Gavin, my stepdad, had told me that the bike was a gift from him!
"I'll be right back." My dad bounded up the stairs. He was back down in a couple of minutes and put a packet of envelopes on the table in front of me. They were the unopened letters he'd sent to me. "Return to sender" was written on each of them in either my mom's or Gavin's handwriting.
"Can I read these?"
"Yes, you can, later. Right now, let's get back to why your mom suddenly sent you to live with me. If you're going to be living here with me for the foreseeable future, we need to be completely honest with one another. If I do something that bothers you, you need to tell me. If you do something that concerns me, I'm going to tell you about it. As for what brought you here, I don't care if you robbed a bank. You're my son, and I love you. Nothing's going to change that."
"This would."
"Martin, trust me."
Here it goes, and I haven't even finished breakfast. "Okay...I'm gay."
He sat back in his chair. "She sent you away because you're gay?"
"Yes." The tears were welling up in my eyes again. I thought I already used up all the tears I had.
"Well, your mother was never very open minded."
"Are you going to kick me out, too?"
He looked stunned. "Is that what you think? Martin, not being able to see you grow up has been a constant source of pain and sadness for me. You're here. It's a gift I never expected to receive. If I've received this gift because you're gay, then I'm glad for it."
The tears started again. And once more I found myself enveloped in my father's loving embrace.
I think he cried some, too.
PAT'S VOICE:
I was angry and thankful at the same time. I was angry that my bitch of an ex-wife had rejected our son simply because he said he was gay. On the other hand, because of her rigid nature my son was now going to be living with me. For that I was thankful.
It was a stressful morning. Martin had two emotional meltdowns before breakfast. The first was probably a relief from all the crap that had happened to him the day before. The second meltdown, about four or five minutes after the first, was when he told me that he's been sent down to live with me because his mother couldn't accept having a gay son.
That was her loss and my gain.
After two cups of coffee with milk and sugar and four pieces of toast laden with jelly for breakfast and a shower, Martin was ready to start the day. One of our stops would have to be the grocery store. With a fifteen year-old in the house, I needed to have a lot more food on hand.
We had several other stops to make including getting Martin registered for school, trying to find a bed and mattress for him, and doing my weekly washing at the laundromat.
We loaded up the car. Marlene tried to claim her usual spot in the passenger seat, but I made her move to the backseat so Martin could sit up front. She gave both of us an ear bath with her tongue when we got in.
The car wouldn't start...
My work truck was already in position from the night before, so getting the car jump started wasn't that much of a hassle. It did mean that our first stop of the day would have to be to get a new battery for the old Saturn.
How did I feel about the fact that Martin was gay? It was never something that I'd considered before. Did it bother me? No. I'd met a couple of gay guys when I was back in college after my stint in the Marines. One was a little flamboyant, but he was still an okay guy once you got to know him. The other was a guy who I met playing racquetball. I was a pretty good racquetball player. Tom was better. He regularly cleaned my clock on the court. We'd been playing once or twice a week for a year before I found out he was gay. We continued to play racquetball the rest of the time I was in college. It just didn't make any difference to me.
Okay, actually I was kind of curious about it. I mean, Tom and I talked a couple of times about what it was like for him to be gay. I'd always thought I was a little weird. I mean, I never thought too much about sex when I was in high school, unlike my friends who seemed to think about sex all of the time. Sure, I figured out how to jerk off by listening to some of the hushed conversations of my older brothers. That was pretty neat. I jerked off so much the first couple of weeks that I actually rubbed tender spots on my dick. As far as stuff with girls, I never dated in high school. First, I wasn't all that interested in the girls at my high school; and second, I really didn't have the money to spare. When I got to college it was a whole new ball game. I met Whitney the first week on campus, and we started having sex soon after that. I wasn't her first lover, but that didn't matter to me. After she got pregnant with Martin and we were married, she wasn't all that interested in sex anymore. In the Marines, I had a few rolls in the hay during leaves, but basically it was a lot easier to take matters into my own hand than to go to the trouble of convincing some woman that she should go to bed with me. And once again, I really didn't have the money. Almost everything I earned went right back out to Whitney for child support. At 34 I still jerked off on a regular basis, but I didn't have any desire to find a woman. I had long before decided I was asexual. I wasn't much interested in women...or men.
First stop of the morning was at Michaeux's Auto Sales and Service to replace my dead battery. When I'd arrived in Carterville two years before, I'd asked around for a reputable mechanic. Everyone I talked with recommended Donnie Michaeux. They said he was honest and good with cars. I needed that. Surprisingly, Michaeux's Auto was in a newer building on the edge of town. I'd expected a one or two bay operation. The first time I went there to get something fixed on my Saturn, I was treated courteously and the bill was much less than I'd expected. It wasn't until my third oil change that I met Donnie Michaeux. He was a good looking Black guy about my age or a little younger. He walked through the service area when I was getting ready to pay for the oil change. He introduced himself saying he was glad to see me back again and asking if everything was done to my satisfaction. Several things surprised me. First, he was Black; second, he was so young; and third, he was so personable. We'd chatted briefly a few other times after that when I was in the service area. I was always impressed that he knew my name.
It didn't take long for one of the mechanics to install a new battery in the old Saturn. I'd been pushing my luck with the old battery. The darn thing had to have been at least six or seven years old.
Donnie Michaeux came over while I was writing a check to cover the new battery.
"Hello, Pat. I understand that your old battery finally died."
"Yup. It picked a good time to do it, too. I was late getting down to the airport yesterday to pick up Martin here."
Michaeux extended his hand to Martin. "Hi, Martin, I'm Donnie Michaeux. You must be Pat's brother."
"Actually, he's my son."
"Whoa, my mistake. I didn't know you had a son, especially one as mature as this young man here. You must have started early like I did."
Martin blushed as he shook hands with Donnie.
"Martin's going to be living with me."
"Great! What grade are you in, Martin?"
"Uh, tenth grade, Sir."
"Then you may be in some of the same classes with my older boy, Grant."
Suddenly it occurred to me that I'd need to find a lawyer to get legal custody of Martin and end the child support payments that had been taking half my paycheck. I'd heard that Donnie had been divorced.
"Donnie, could I talk privately with you for a couple of minutes?"
"Sure. Martin, do you mind if your dad and I talk for a bit? If you go into the employee's break room just down the hallway, there's some chocolate cake that one of the customers brought in. There should also be some milk in the fridge. There should be some colas in there, too, if you prefer that over milk. Pat, let's you and me go into my office."
Martin's eyes lit up with the news about the chocolate cake. He headed in the direction of the break room, and Donnie ushered me into his office and closed the door.
He indicated a chair in front of the desk and sat down in another chair beside it.
"This is about Martin, right? I don't think you want to talk about finally replacing that old car of yours with one of the great used cars I've got sitting out on the lot." He smiled broadly, showing perfect white teeth.
"Right. I'm sorry if this seems too personal...Martin's mother has had sole custody ever since he was born, but she and Martin had a real falling out. She's told me that she wants him to live with me. I've heard through the grapevine that you're divorced, right?"
"Yes."
"Can you recommend a good lawyer? I need to make sure this change of custody is recorded by the court. Now that he's here, I don't want my ex to change her mind and demand that Martin go back to her."
"I understand. My situation was a little different. My wife walked out and left the boys with me."
He picked up a framed photo on his desk and handed it to me. It showed two handsome early teenagers with much lighter complexions than Donnie's dark chocolate skin. The two boys were each flanked by a dog. In the center of the picture between the two boys and the dogs was good looking white guy about Donnie's age. He had his arms around the shoulders of the two boys.
"That's Grant on the right and Micah on the left. And before you ask, the guy in the middle is TJ Ladd, my partner."
"As in Ladd Brothers Lawn and Property Services?"
"That's the one."
"He's your partner? I've never seen him here."
Donnie smiled, "He's my life partner as well as one of my business partners."
"You mean...?"
"Yup, we're gay. We're pretty open about it. I'm surprised that you haven't heard anything in town."
"No, nothing. Folks just say that you're the person to take a car to."
He smiled again. "That's one of the things I like about this town. People around here are pretty accepting. Back to your question, I do know a few lawyers. I'd recommend Teresa Cannon. She handled my divorce. My wife left when Micah was just a baby. We didn't hear anything from her for five years; then she showed up and wanted the boys. Teresa helped me out. She's also done some work for some other friends of mine. She's honest, and in a custody situation, she's most concerned about what's best for the child involved."
"Thank you. I'll try to get in touch with her later today. Right now, we've got to get over to the high school to get Martin enrolled for classes."
I thanked Donnie again for the information. Martin was still in the break room with the remains of the chocolate cake and a glass of milk.
With the new battery, the old beast started right up, but the dark cloud coming out of the exhaust reminded me that I was going to need to overhaul the engine pretty soon.
As we headed over to the high school, I pointed out some of the local landmarks to Martin.
His response was a muttered, "This town is so small."
The high school principal, Dr. Eileen Bergman, was a kind-faced gray haired sixtyish woman. She handled getting Martin registered for classes with an efficiency that comes from years of experience.
We had lunch at Miguel's Mexican Café and then sat in the park for a bit while Marlene chased squirrels and did her business. After that we hit the laundromat and then the only furniture store in town to look at bedroom furniture. The second bedroom at the ranger's house wasn't very big. We found a good single mattress and box springs, a Hollywood frame and an inexpensive chest of drawers. The furniture would be delivered the next day, which was Saturday. I'd bunk on the lumpy couch for one more night.
The last stop of the day was the grocery store. That was almost as expensive as the mattress and furniture! My eating habits were pretty simple. Sandwiches and salads mostly. If I was going to be responsible for a growing fifteen-year old boy, I needed some better food in the house...and lots of it.
MARTY'S VOICE:
Man, Carterville was small! Everyone was nice and all, but it was just so small.
My dad got me registered for school. My records hadn't arrived yet, but she put me into classes that were pretty close to the ones I was supposed to be taking back in Chicago.
We bought a bed and dresser for me, but it wouldn't be delivered until the next day. Maybe when I had my own room I'd start to feel a little more at home, but I missed my friends.
My dad showed me around the area. He was the wildlife officer in charge of the district and the Carter River Wildlife Area. The house we were living in was the ranger station for the wildlife area.
Did I say that I missed my friends? Dad let me use the phone to talk with a couple of them on Saturday night. That helped some.
Sunday morning I saw my dad out of his clothes for the first time. He was coming out of the bathroom after shaving in the morning. He had just a towel wrapped around his waist. I can't believe I was perving on my old man. He did look pretty good. He was taller and more muscular than me `cause he was older, but he had a well muscled chest and a flat stomach for an older dude. That Black guy at the car place had thought that dad and I were brothers. I guess we did look a little alike. Both of us have blue eyes. My hair's a medium shade of brown while dad's is dark brown hair with reddish highlights...I think it's called auburn color. He told me that's from the combination of Irish and Italian. His father was pure Irish. His mother is half Irish and half Italian. Like I said, dad's a lot taller and more muscular than I am. He also has a lot more hair...well, that's not saying much. I've got a bunch of hair in my armpits, crotch and legs but nothing on my chest yet. He has a lot of dark brown-red hair on his chest and belly. Judging from his calves below the edge of the towel, he had more hair on his legs than I do.
Sunday afternoon, I got around to reading the letters my dad had sent me. I started with the oldest and worked to the most recent, which was when I was about ten. I remembered that was when my dad had shown up for a visit, and I'd told him that I didn't want to see him. In each letter, Dad told me that he loved me and missed me. He wrote a little about his life in the Marines and in college, but mostly he wrote about how much he missed me. I cried a lot while reading the letters.
My mom and Gavin had been lying to me for years!
Monday morning, dad dropped me off at the high school. Later I'd be riding the bus, but the bus route hadn't been adjusted yet to pick me up.
I found my way to the office. Dr. Bergman had said she'd have another student there to help show me around the school. God, I hated being the new kid! I didn't know where anything was. This was only the third week of August. Schools didn't start up in Chicago until September. I didn't understand why they started so blessed early in the South. I wish I was back home at my old school.
I walked into the school office.
"Hi, you must be Martin. I'm Grant Michaeux. I'm supposed to show you around the school."
The voice came from the most beautiful, handsome, good looking, drop dead gorgeous boy I had ever seen in my entire life. Just looking at him almost caused me to pop a boner.
Maybe I'll like it here after all.
(To be continued)
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Some of the characters who play parts in this story were previously introduced in "When Love Comes" (last posted in the College section on Sept. 6, 2001), "Love of a Lifetime" (last posted in the College section on May 19, 2003), "Finding Family" (last posted in the College section on June 5, 2008), "Construction Job" (last posted in the College section on July 24, 2008), or "Swamp Rat" (last posted March 15, 2010 in the High School section). While not necessary, readers may find it useful to read the earlier stories posted on this site. All of the Adams State/Carterville stories listed above as well as my other stories are also posted at www.crvboy.com.
Send comments to: jeff_allen15@hotmail.com