Tim - Chapter 18
The following is fiction. It contains some scenes involving gay sex. If reading such material is against the law, please do not read this story.
I have been enormously gratified by my readers’ response to my first two stories, 8th Grade and Prom. Your comments to me have been exceedingly generous and deeply appreciated.
I have had several requests asking for the location of my two previous stories. They can be found as follows:
8th Grade: Nifty Archives, Gay Male, Young Friends, April 1, 2005
Prom: Nifty Archives, Gay Male, High School, May 15, 2005
What explicit sex is included in this story is intended to further the story; I do not write gratuitous sex scenes. The story is not principally about sex, and if your objective is to read about sexual activity, you will find this story disappointing and uninteresting in the extreme.
Those of you that have read my first two stories know that I like writing romantic tales of young teens learning who they are. This story has a somewhat darker and more troubling theme, and may have a message that is objectionable to some. I think the majority of you will enjoy it, but I’ve been known to be wrong in the past. Please be forewarned.
This story is copyrighted by the author. His permission must be secured before any copying or use of this story is permitted.
I love hearing from readers. It’s the reward I get for writing these stories. Any comments will reach me at colepark@gmail.com
T I M
by
Cole Parker
Chapter 18
Mr. Tuckman opened the door, looked a little surprised to see us but, recognizing the serious look on Dad’s face, didn’t hesitate to invite us in.
We went into the living room and were invited to sit down.
My dad spoke first. “Robert, I’m really sorry to barge in on you like this. We need to talk, and it would be best if Betty could join us. I think Jed should, too, but it will embarrass him, and probably you and Betty too, and even more if he’s here. It’s your call. Maybe you could just ask Betty to join us, and then we could get Jed later if you want to, after you’ve heard what this is about.”
Mr. Tuckman’s eyes were full of questions, but the tone of voice my dad was using made him decide it might be best to go along with what was being said, so he went into the kitchen and we could half hear a muffled conversation. Then the two of them returned. Dad stood up when Mrs. Tuckman entered, and she smiled at him, and me, and gestured with her hand for him to sit back down.
“Hi, Betty. I told Robert I was sorry to come tonight, and I’ll tell you the same thing. You’re not going to like to hear what I have to say, but you need to, and then we need to talk about it. I hope we can do that, because we’re all parents who want the best for their kids. I want that. I know you want that too.” He stopped and looked at them both. I could see worry begin to show on both their faces.
I felt miserable, and at the same time so very, very happy my father was with me, and that I didn’t have to do this alone. Knowing he was here, and that he supported me, made all the difference in the world.
When no one else said anything, my father continued. “There isn’t any easy way to get into this, so I’m just going to tell you what happened.” He paused, looked at each of them, then went on. “I just learned that for some time, Jed and Tim and been experimenting sexually with each other.”
My face immediately turned about four shades of red, and I dropped my eyes. I couldn’t look at either of the Tuckmans. I felt about two inches tall.
“I don’t know how either of you feel about that. I’ll tell you how I feel, but it’s just that, my feelings. What I feel is, boys do this, and we shouldn’t make too big a deal over it. When I was a boy, I fooled around with other boys. Then I grew up. It happens. So it doesn’t bother me a lot. It’s certainly embarrassing, but it happens. Why I came over to tell you about it wasn’t because of what they were doing, but because of what else happened. But before we go farther, I’d liked to know what you feel about what I just said. It’s a fact, it’s been happening, and if that’s going to be a huge issue here, I’d like to know about it now. Robert?”
I had the courage to slowly raise my head and look at Mr. Tuckman. He was looking at me. One of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do was not immediately drop my eyes again. I didn’t. I wanted to, but I didn’t. I met his gaze.
I looked at the expression on his face, and was surprised, then relieved, to see it was relatively neutral. He didn’t look happy, but he didn’t look outraged, either. He simply looked at me, then shifted his gaze to his wife. I did, too.
Mrs. Tuckman was having a problem knowing what to look at. She was embarrassed, that was clear. She was blushing, she was clasping and unclasping her fingers, and she was not meeting anyone’s eyes. Finally, with her husband staring at her, she looked back at him. And, she spoke.
“I’ve heard and read that boys do that. I guess, if you ask me my opinion, it would be, I’d rather not know about it. Girls don’t do that, at least not that I’m aware of, but if boys do, they do. I guess if I could ask a question, it would be, does this mean Jed’s gay? I’d like to know that. I also want to know why you’re telling us this, Sam?”
The question was asked in an inquisitive manner, not as a challenge, and there was no anger in her voice, just dismay. My father nodded at her, then again said, “Robert?”
Mr. Tuckman again was silent as he thought about his answer. Then, looking somewhere over Dad’s head, said, “Hell, Sam, I messed around myself, and once when I was even older than these guys. Betty’s right, boys do it, some longer than others, and it’s just the talking about it that seems strange. But I guess I’d say, neither of us has a problem, and we’re both curious why you’re telling us. You say there’s more to it. What’s the rest?”
“I can’t tell you how relieved I am to hear you both say that. I’m not surprised, I always thought you both were very open-minded people, but I am relieved. I now think we can work out of a tough situation better than we might have. However, before we go on, can we call Jed in? He’ll be embarrassed, but I think he needs to be here, and I think you’ll agree when you hear the rest of it. Before he gets here, let me try to say something about Betty’s question.” He turned to her, still with a serious look on his face.
“Betty, if you want to know if Jed’s gay, you need to ask him. He needs to answer that. But, if I can reassure you a little, I’ll tell you this. What he’s done doesn’t mean he’s gay, and I’ll break a confidence a little by telling you that Tim doesn’t think he’s gay. I hope that helps, but you really need to discuss it with Jed. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised at how mature he is, and find that he can talk about it with you.” Then he swung his head back around and asked, “Robert, can you get Jed now?”
“Sure, if you think that’s best. I’ll get him.” Mr. Tuckman stood up, walked to the bottom of the stairs, and called up to Jed. I could hear him answer in a very tentative voice, and then, a couple minutes later, he was sitting next to me on the couch, looking as uncomfortable as I’ve ever seen him look. He knew what was going on.
My father talked to him first. “Jed, I’m sorry about all this. Tim told me basically what went on this afternoon, as he told you he would. No details, just what happened. I’ve told your parents that you and Tim have been experimenting with each other for some time now. They’ve both now said they’re OK with that.”
Jed snapped his head around to look at his father, who smiled at him. At that point, Jed looked like a ton weight had been lifted off him and his eyes got a little watery and the look of severe pain that had been on his face eased up. He quickly looked at his mother, and she smiled too.
My father then looked back at the adult Tuckmans and continued. “OK, now the next part. It’s hard. I don’t have to tell you about the antipathy that exists between your two children. I’m sure you’ve tried your hardest to curb it, but it’s still there, it still exists, and it’s why we’re here tonight talking. I’d like to have either Tim or Jed tell you their feelings about how Jed and Missy interact, but Tim told me neither of them want to, so I guess it’s left to me.” He paused and looked at both of us with his eyebrows raised, and we both quickly shook our heads no, emphatically.
“All right then. Here goes. Tim says, and Jed agrees, Missy has given Jed a difficult time for a number of years, and has been able to recruit support from you, Betty, in doing this. This probably seemed like kid stuff to you, but Jed felt it, was sometimes punished, and Tim, being his friend, felt it too. Last year, they found a way to get back at her, they did it, and they thought it was all over with because since then, she’s left Jed alone. However, evidently she was just waiting to get back at Jed, and probably Tim, too. Well, today she did.
“Today, she burst in on them when they were engaged is some sort of sexual activity, and she took a couple or three quick photos, then ran before either of the boys was able to grab the camera. Tim says the pictures would absolutely destroy them at school. I think you can agree, we need to get the film from her before she can get it developed, and we need to convince her not to tell anyone what she found them doing.”
He stopped, and took a deep breath. “I’m sorry I have to dump all this on you, but you can see now why I had to tell you about Tim and Jed, and why I had to talk to you about this. We need to get that film, and without telling you this, demanding Missy give it to us wouldn’t make any sense. This is really serious business, it can affect both these boy’s lives in this town, maybe for the rest of their lives. Do you agree with me, we have to have the film?"
I’d been watching Mrs. Tuckman, and the emotions on her face had been changing throughout Dads recital. Now, she said, her voice filled with shock and not a little embarrassment, “But surely Missy wouldn’t do that! Yeah, the kids bicker a lot, but that would be, well, she wouldn’t do it. I know she wouldn’t. She’s a wonderful girl. That would be, mean!”
Jed spoke up. His voice was hollow and sounded more like a 10 year old than what he was. “Mom, you’ve never believed me when I’ve tried to tell you what she does. You’ve always believed her side of everything. But she’s going to show everyone those pictures. She’s hated me since I can remember.” There was sadness on his face, and in his voice. He looked down at the couch, and I could see tears. I didn’t know if they were because of his sister’s feelings for him, or for his mother’s long time disbelief in him and lack of support for him.
“Jed!” she cried, and rushed over to the couch and hugged him. I got up to give her room, and she sank down next to him. He put his arms around her and buried his face in her neck, and hugged her tightly.
No one spoke for a minute, and then Mr. Tuckman asked her if she knew where Missy was.
“She left right after dinner, said she had something to do.”
“Well, we all know what that was. She’s getting the film developed. Does anyone have any idea where she might go to get that done?” My father looked at everyone, and all he got was blank stares back.
I thought of something. “Dad, the ones she took of us, well, I guess you could say they were pornographic. Will a photo shop print those? I thought that was illegal.”
“You’re probably right. If I had to guess, she’d take the film to one of those kiosks where the film gets processed and printed automatically and no one even looks at them. If she did that, she wouldn’t get the prints back till tomorrow. What we have to worry about is the 1-hour places, but you’re right, they might not print them, if they looked at them. The problem is, all those photos get done by machine too.”
We all looked at each other. It seemed, all we could really do is wait for Missy to come home.
Wait, and worry.