Waiting for Vince

END OF PART 10

Adam pulled into the Montgomery Airport and stopped in front of the passenger drop-off area. I thought he would just pop the trunk from inside the car so I could get my luggage out, but he got out and walked around to shake my hand. He even managed a smile.

"Thanks for the ride, Adam. I'll see you in about three weeks if all goes well."

"Good-bye, Drew. Good luck with everything."

"Bye."

I stayed on the curb until he drove away. This unexpected conversation with Adam had been just what I needed to move ahead with my plans.

PART 11

I had a lot to think about and do over the next few weeks. I gave up my apartment in Indianapolis, which was by then on a month-to-month lease basis, and gave notice to my employer that I'd be leaving. He wasn't very happy about it, as I had been a valued employee there for over 15 years, but at least I could walk away with a sizeable 401K, if not a lifetime pension.

Luckily I had never been a pack rat, so it was relatively easy to empty out my apartment. Vince had a houseful of beautiful furniture and accessories -- enough to meet all our needs. I donated most of mine to friends and charity just to get rid of things quickly. It wasn't worth enough to bother trying to sell any of it. I just kept my clothing and a few boxes of personal items.

I felt a little like a college student myself as I rolled out of Indianapolis on the day after Independence Day with a small U-Haul trailer behind my car and no prospects for employment. But the future looked rosy in my mind as I headed back down South to live permanently with my man Vince.

"My man." I liked the sound of that. No longer would I be alone and unloved, as I had been for most of my adult life. I had a smile on my face the whole 12-hour drive to Montgomery.

I didn't try to drive the whole way in one day. I made it as far as Cullman, 140 miles north of Montgomery, and rolled into Montgomery late the next morning. I was home -- home at last!

My timing was good. Having kept a key to Vince's house, I quickly emptied my car and the U-Haul trailer of my possessions and stashed them in the house in time to return the U-Haul by mid afternoon. I hadn't told Adam or Vince exactly what day I was arriving because I wanted to surprise Vince at the rehab center.

I took a quick shower, changed my clothes, and then drove over to the center, but the surprise was on me -- just down the hallway, within view of the lobby, Vince was on his feet! Well, sort of. He was standing with the aid of a walker, with a hunky young male attendant by his side.

"Drew!" he said with surprise when he spotted me. "When did you get back?"

"Just today. How are you doing?"

"Well, at least I'm vertical now -- more and more of the time. That's progress, I guess."

"It sure is. Who's your friend there?"

"This is Jacob. Jacob, meet my friend Drew from Indianapolis."

Jacob shook my hand while keeping the other one on Vince's arm.

"Is Vince being a good patient, Jacob?" I asked. If I had Jacob fussing over me, I'd be in no hurry at all to leave this place.

"The best, sir. I'm making him get out of bed more than he really wants to be."

"Jacob is a tough taskmaster, Drew. No pain, no gain, he's always telling me."

"Well, Vince, you're not going to get your strength back lying in bed all the time -- right, Jacob?"

"Yes, sir -- that's what I tell Mr. Paulson every day."

"It's Vince, Jacob. How many times do I have to keep reminding you?" he said with a smile.

"Yes, sir. Would you like to sit or lie back down while you talk to your visitor?"

"Take me back to my room. Drew and I will sit and talk a bit. Then you can get me back up for more torture."

After we were back in Vince's room, Jacob got him safely into a chair and left us alone for a while. Thoughtfully, he pulled a curtain so we couldn't be seen from the door.

"Vince, I've missed you so much," I told him, reaching over to give him a hug as best I could. He hugged me back the best he could, and then we kissed soulfully.

"I've missed you, too, Drew -- more than you can imagine. I want so much to get out of here and go home with you. Did you really move all your stuff down here from Indy?"

"It's all in your house, my friend. I'm afraid you're stuck with me now."

"That's the best news I've had in weeks."

"What's the latest prognosis?"

"Well, they tell me I badly bruised and damaged some muscles, even though I didn't break any bones. The muscles will take time to heal, but the torture, er `therapy' as they call it, seems to be helping. They said I should be able to go home by the first week of August -- maybe sooner."

"That's wonderful! Your house and I will be thrilled to have you back."

Jimmy continued to work in the yard twice a week, and every time I saw him he would ask about Vince -- and of course about Trevor. I called Trevor every other week or so, and we always chatted for at least 30 minutes. Working part-time as a stocker in the same grocery his mother worked at, he was bored and restless and was eager to return to Montgomery for the fall semester. The dorms opened on August 24, but I told him he could return sooner if he liked and stay with me -- and Vince if Vince came home on schedule. He seemed to really appreciate that, but I was under no illusions that he was interested in coming back just to see me. I knew that a certain backyard gardener held some interest as well because he would ask me every Sunday if I'd seen Jimmy that week.

I sent Trevor a card and a check for his nineteenth birthday in late July. I visited Vince every day and watched his progress with satisfaction. It was remarkable from week to week, and -- pretty much as predicted -- he was ready to move back home on August 4.

Adam offered to call the cleaning agency and rehire Gerry, and I didn't object. The house needed a thorough top to bottom cleaning before Vince came home, and I wasn't really up to doing it myself. Even with air conditioning I was having trouble re-acclimating to the Alabama summer heat and humidity and felt lethargic much of the time. Gerry cleaned all day on the Friday before Vince was released, so he was able to come home to a sparkling clean house.

Adam helped me get his dad into the car and back into his house for the first time since his accident in May and stayed long enough to be sure he was comfortable.

"We'll have you two over for dinner one night next week if you're up for it."

"Sounds wonderful, son. I can't wait to see my grandsons again."

"And they can't wait to see you either, but they'll wear you out in minutes."

Actually Tyler and Todd had been allowed a couple of brief visits with Vince in the rehab center, but they had had to sit still there and not run around, which was like telling a fish not to swim.

Right after Vince moved back home, Trevor announced his intentions to make the long bus trip back to Montgomery on August 15. But before he could get there Vince and I faced our first real interpersonal crisis -- and it was one that rocked me to my core.

The first Sunday after he returned home, Vince needed money to pay Jimmy, and he went to his bedroom to retrieve some from a hiding place that even I was not aware of. He came back empty handed to the patio where Jimmy and I were talking.

"Jimmy, I'm going to have to go to an ATM before I can pay you. Are you okay until Wednesday? If not, we'll go get some while you wait."

"I'm okay for now, Vince. You can pay me Wednesday. I know you're good for it," he said with a smile before turning to leave. Jimmy was the strong, silent type, but he was unfailingly polite and undemanding.

I had never seen Vince look so distressed when we were alone again.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"I always keep a stash of cash in my bedroom for times like this, and it's not there anymore."

"Maybe you ran out before your accident."

"No, I specifically remember replenishing it right before that happened."

"How much did you think you had there?"

"It was $200."

"That's a lot to have around the house."

"I know, but I don't like to go to the ATM very often, so I keep my cash in a hiding place in my closet. Unless you moved it, Drew, it's missing, and I think I know who to blame."

"Do you mean Gerry? She cleaned the day after your accident, before I got here, and then again the day before you came home from the rehab center."

"Gerry's been cleaning for me for the past five years and she's never stolen a thing from me. As much as I hate to say it, I think it has to be Trevor. Didn't you say he was strapped for cash?"

My heart sank as I heard Vince implicate my Trevor of something I knew he was incapable of.

"There's no way Trevor would have done such a thing. I know we haven't known him long, but we became very close while you were still in the hospital and I know he would never have done what you're suggesting."

"The fact remains is that my money is missing, and you had a virtual stranger living here who didn't have a dime to his name, according to you."

"I don't like what you're implying, Vince. Trevor is almost like a son to me," I said, shaking with dread.

"Did he have any visitors while he was here?"

"No, just Jimmy." I realized as I said Jimmy's name that Vince and I had never discussed his relationship with Trevor. I was going to wait until Vince was back home, and then I forgot.

"Jimmy? What do you mean? Jimmy's no visitor around here. In fact he's never been inside my house as far as I can remember."

"Well, actually, yes he has. I came home the day you woke up from your coma and found Jimmy in the shower. He'd just helped Trevor with his sponge bath. They were both naked and about to have some fun together in Trevor's bedroom when I interrupted them."

"Fun? Jimmy's not gay."

"Well, if he's not I don't know what they were doing behind closed doors twice a week the whole time Trevor was living here, but it sure looked like they were enjoying it."

"Well, whatever, but Jimmy's been working for me for well over a year now. He wouldn't steal from me."

"No, I don't think he would, but I know Trevor and he wouldn't either."

"Well, I want you to call and ask him. I can't have him coming back here until this gets resolved. He might do it again."

"He never did it the first time, Vince. It has to have been Gerry or Jimmy. No one else has been in here, as far as I know."

"I'm tired," Vince said, getting up suddenly from his chair. "I'm going for a nap."

Vince retired to his own bedroom and left me stewing in my own juices. I couldn't believe a situation like this had reared its ugly head. Trevor had absolutely not done this, and I couldn't insult him by asking, especially since he was due back here in only a few days. And yet I knew he would not be welcome here by Vince if he thought Trevor had stolen money from him. It was a dilemma like I had never experienced.

Vince was still icy toward me when he got up. We occupied our time sitting apart and ate dinner together in near silence. I absolutely hated the chill that had sprung up between us, but I didn't know what to do about it.

Finally I spoke up.

"Vince, is it really worth it to you to give me the cold shoulder over a measly $200?"

"It's the principle of the thing, Drew. You brought a stranger into the house, and now you're not willing to admit that you may have misjudged him."

"Let me remind you that inviting Trevor here was your own son's idea. Adam was just as trusting of Trevor as I was. Are you going to stop speaking to him, too?"

"No, of course not. Neither of you could have known what Trevor was capable of after knowing him as briefly as you did. I know you were trying to do something nice for the kid, but I can't have him coming back here unless it's proven beyond any doubt that he didn't do it. It would be extremely awkward for all of us. I'm sorry if I appeared to be taking it out on you, but I just find the whole thing very upsetting."

"So do I, Vince. So do I."

We slept together again that night, but the strain still sat in the room like the proverbial elephant.

Adam stopped by the next morning on his way to work and quickly picked up on the fact that there was a chill in the air, despite the August heat.

"Is there something wrong, Dad? You don't look very happy today."

"Well, I'm not. Something very disappointing has happened here, and I guess you should know about it."

Vince proceeded to tell his son about the missing money and that he felt the likely culprit was Trevor.

"Dad, I took that money out of the house the day after your accident. You'd told me a long time ago where you kept your spare cash in case anything ever happened to you. To be honest, I'd forgotten about taking it since that was such a stressful time and was almost three months ago. Your money is over at my house. I'll give it to you tomorrow night when you guys come over for dinner."

Vince's mouth fell open. I suddenly felt like a lead weight had been lifted from my shoulders, and I took in a deep breath and let it out.

"I totally forgot I'd ever told you about my stash of cash," he said to Adam. "That must have been years ago."

"Yes, it was shortly after Mom died."

Turning to me, Vince said, "Drew, I am so sorry. I jumped to conclusions and just assumed that Trevor had done it. Have you called him yet about it?"

"No, I couldn't bring myself to do it. Even if he'd denied doing it, I would've always wondered if I'd been wrong about him. I'm relieved to know the truth, and I hope you are, too."

"Absolutely," he said, reaching across the table and placing his hand on my arm.

"I think I'd better let you two get on with your day," Adam said, rising from his chair. "We'll see you tomorrow night for dinner."

Vince hung his head in shame as he once again told me how sorry he was -- and how wrong he'd been to jump to conclusions.

"Please don't tell Trevor about this," he said. "I don't want him to know. I'm sure he's a fine young man."

"Don't worry," I said, standing up and going around back of my lover to rub his shoulders.

After a few minutes, he stood up, turned around, and gave me a tight bear hug.

"I'm taking us out for dinner tonight, and I don't care if we blow the whole $200," he said.

"I accept," I replied. "And then I think we should see if we remember how to make love to each other like we did last March."

"I thought you'd never ask."

"I wasn't sure if you were ready yet."

"Try me."

The spirit was willing, but the flesh was weak as Vince tried to summon the wherewithal to make love to me after dinner. Perhaps it was the bottle of wine we'd shared over dinner, or the fact that he was still exhausted after weeks of grueling physical therapy.

"Don't worry about it," I tried to assure him. "I'm tired, too, and you don't need to prove anything to me just yet, as long as I know you love me."

"I love you more than words can express, sweetheart. I'm just sorry I can't prove it."

"I love you, too. If this keeps up, so to speak, we'll ask the doctor for some Viagra to jump start you again."

"I see you aren't having any problems in the blood-flow department down there."

"I haven't been recovering from an accident all summer either. Why don't you just stroke it a bit for now? That's all I need -- really."

Vince put some lube on my erection and stroked it gently, gradually increasing his hold and his speed until I was moaning out loud with pleasure. I shot even sooner than I expected to and covered my belly with weeks of pent-up release. Vince cleaned me up and then crawled back in bed beside me as we both fell into a long and contented sleep.

Trevor was coming "home" on August 15, and I was even more excited about seeing him than I thought I would be. Since Vince had been home only a few days by then, I tried to prepare him for Trevor's temporary return to the house since Vince and he had only spent a few minutes together in the hospital. I told him it would only be until the dorm at Huntingdon reopened a week or so later.

I didn't want to go too overboard in describing my fatherly feelings toward Trevor in case I had misread Trevor or in case his feelings toward me had cooled over the summer, but I did feel compelled to tell Vince that Trevor and I had gotten along extremely well in late May and early June and that Trevor had been demonstrably affectionate with me -- in a non-sexual way, of course -- and that he often went around the house with little on.

I also reminded Vince what I had said about Trevor's short but intense sexual relationship with Jimmy. Jimmy was still in Vince's employ and frequently asked me about Trevor. I asked Vince how he would feel about Jimmy likely disappearing into Trevor's room after his gardening was over each time, after Trevor was back with us.

"Well, boys will be boys," Vince said. "I guess we could make ourselves scarce to give them some privacy, especially since it's only going to be for a few days."

"If I know Trevor, he'll be likely to show up here every Sunday from now on for a visit with us -- and a little `afternoon delight' with Jimmy, if they're still hot for each other."

"Well, we'll take things a day at a time. You'll have to give me a chance to get to know Trevor and see what it's like to have him around the house. He seems like a delightful young man, not to mention rather good-looking."

"Yes, he's got a lot going for him in a lot of ways," I said. "I've become rather attached to him."

What an understatement that was!

Vince went with me to the bus station on the day of Trevor's planned arrival. As soon as he spotted us, he waved enthusiastically from his bus window. Always the polite young man, Trevor allowed several elderly people to get off the bus first. When he finally bounded down the steps he ran to me and threw his arms around my neck.

"Hi, Drew! I'm so happy to be back. How are you?"

"I'm great, Trevor. I missed you. Welcome back. You remember Vince, right?"

Disengaging himself from our hug, Trevor held out his hand to Vince.

"Hello, Mr. Paulson. It's good to see you on your feet again. How are you?"

"I'm doing well, Trevor. But remember -- you should call me Vince."

Trevor picked up his new bag from the driver, who had unloaded it from the storage area of the bus, and he put it in the trunk of my car and crawled in the back seat -- carrying on a stream of one-sided conversation all the way home about his summer in Virginia and his long bus ride back to Montgomery. I barely got a word in edgewise, and Vince grinned at me in silence.

"How's your mother?" I finally managed to ask.

"She's fine. I think I told you that she went back to work right after I got home in June. She got an insurance settlement for her accident, and I helped her find a used junker. At least she's got transportation to work now, such as it is."

"Well, that's good. It would be nice to meet her sometime. Give her our regards when you talk to her."

"Will do. Hey, I sure could use a burger on the way home. Doesn't that sound good?" he said with a big grin.

"Sounds like the Trevor I know," I said as I pulled into one of Montgomery's finer burger joints.

"Does Jimmy still work for you guys on Wednesdays and Sundays?"

I stifled a laugh as I looked up and saw Trevor trying to look nonchalant as he asked about Jimmy. I winked at him.

"I think tomorrow is Wednesday, isn't it? Does that mean you'll be up early to check on the garden?"

"I just might."

"Have you two been in touch during the summer?"

"We might have -- what do you think?"

"I think Vince's garden is going to get a lot of attention for the next week or so, until you move into the dorm."

Trevor blushed and laughed at me, and I laughed back. Vince blushed, too.

Having Trevor around the house for the next few days was fun, but I think Vince found his non-stop chatter a bit draining. Still, it was important for me to see Vince and Trevor getting to know each other better and for Vince to see how connected Trevor and I were.

As for Jimmy, he now had his own small apartment, and Trevor would often disappear shortly after dinner was over (he never missed a meal, even for sex) and not return until late at night -- or even the next morning. Vince preferred that to having Jimmy and Trevor disappearing for hours at a time in Trevor's room. The only sex he really wanted in his house was between the two of us, of which there would be an increasing amount as he started feeling more like his old self.

On August 24, we loaded up the car with all of Trevor's stuff, including what he had stored in Vince's house over the summer, and drove him over to Huntingdon, where he moved back into his old dorm room with his roommate Nathan. Knowing that Nathan had introduced Trevor to gay sex last school year, I had to wonder what Trevor would tell him about Jimmy, but I figured that was really none of my business.

He hugged both of us, and we told him he should come over any time for a home-cooked meal, which he would do several times over the fall semester.

With Trevor ensconced back in his dorm, Vince resumed his job on a part-time basis, and I continued to look for one of my own. We were both still too young to retire. It took me a while, but I finally found something. It didn't pay what I was making in Indianapolis, but at least it would be less demanding.

At the same time we also set about making his house more "ours" than "his." I had already bowed to subtle pressure from him to drop the idea of selling it and finding one of our own. By then most of his neighbors had us figured out, and he didn't want to give up the house he had lived in for nearly all his adult life.

In September and October we replaced a lot of the rather dated furniture in the house, starting with a new set in the master bedroom. At least I never had to sleep on the same bed he had shared with Anne all those years. Before we replaced that furniture, we had slept together in "my" bedroom.

If we weren't going to buy a house together, I decided that I wanted to us to at least have a getaway of our own, so we made a trip down to the Florida Panhandle and found a condo overlooking the Gulf of Mexico. I bought it with my own money so it would be my contribution to our relationship, and we spent a couple of nice fall weekends down there before the weather cooled.

On Halloween, Vince's grandchildren, Tyler and Todd, showed up at our door -- with Adam and Sarah a few steps behind them -- for trick-or-treating. Although we saw them often, it was touching for me to see how truly affectionate and attentive Vince was with them as they collected more "loot" to add to their little bags.

With Halloween behind us, it was time to decide how we would celebrate our first Thanksgiving together. We decided that we wanted to have it at our house, and Vince planned the menu and the decorations for the next three weeks. It would be a feast. We of course invited Trevor and Jimmy, who were still seeing each other, and Adam and Sarah and the boys.

When the big day came, I slipped away from the house before the other guests arrived to run a special errand. Jimmy picked Trevor up at the college and brought him over in his pick-up truck. Adam and Sarah and the boys were already there, and Trevor wanted to know where I was.

"Oh, he'll be right back -- I just sent him to the store for something I forgot," Vince told him, winking at Adam.

As they were all mingling in the living room before dinner, I called Vince on my cell phone from a block away and told him to ask Trevor to go into the kitchen to help him with something. On his way past the dining room, Trevor noticed that the table had been set for nine.

"Who else is coming?" he asked Vince.

"Oh, just a neighbor friend of ours."

As Trevor was helping Vince with the mashed potatoes, I called out to him from the living room.

"Happy Thanksgiving!" he heard me say as I walked in the front door. He ran to greet me and got the surprise of the day.

"Hello, sweetie -- Happy Thanksgiving."

"Mama!"

I never saw anyone looked more incredulous as he swept her into his arms. Adam and Sarah knew this would be happening, but Jimmy did not. I had sent her a plane ticket two weeks ago and picked her up at the Montgomery Airport early that afternoon to surprise Trevor. It succeeded -- he was speechless, something that didn't happen very often, to be sure.

"Thank you, Drew, thank you," he said with all sincerity as he drew me into a three-way hug with his mother. "This is the best Thanksgiving present I could ever have."

Trevor had already told his mother about Jimmy several months ago, so when he introduced him to his mother she opened her arms and greeted him with a kiss. Then we introduced Adam and his family to her, and she shook their hands warmly.

As our Thanksgiving dinner began, Trevor raised his glass. His eyes brimming, he said, "I want to offer a toast to Drew and Vince, who took me in when I had no place else to go last spring after my surgery -- and to Adam, whose idea it was to begin with. Because of you guys, I met Jimmy -- whom I'm proud to call my new boyfriend. And because of Drew I get to spend Thanksgiving unexpectedly with Mama. I love you all, and I feel like I have a new family."

Hardly an eye was dry -- especially mine -- as we clinked our glasses together and began our meal.

Families come in two kinds -- the ones who give us life and the ones who give us love. If we're fortunate, they are one and the same. But if we lose the ones who gave us life, as I did long ago, we sometimes are lucky and find another one who gives us a second chance at family love.

When I came to Montgomery last March, my only hope was to spend an evening reconnecting with my old and dear friend Vince. I did that, but I got a lot more in the months that followed. Vince and I became lovers and soul mates, and then because of his accident I was lucky enough to find Trevor, whom I now loved as much as a father can love a son.

I looked around the table and realized how much I had gained in the past eight months. My days of spending holidays with casual friends and co-workers were behind me. This was my new family now, and I loved them all dearly.

Under the tablecloth I squeezed Vince's hand, and we looked at each other silently. He knew exactly what I was thinking and squeezed back.

THE END

AUTHOR'S NOTE: As I mentioned when I started this story, it has a basis in reality. "Vince" is a real person, and we were close friends in Montgomery decades ago but lost touch with each other. Writing this story gave me the incentive to try to get in touch with him after all these years, and I'm happy to report that I succeeded. He responded positively, and we plan to have a little reunion in Montgomery in early April 2012. But he's married and I have a partner, so it will be platonic. I just hope it goes well -- I'm excited and optimistic that it will.

Thank you for reading "Waiting for Vince." I have appreciated all the good feedback many of you have sent me as the chapters have been posted for the past two months. If you have any last comments after reading the conclusion above, I'd be happy to hear them. Please put "Vince" in the subject line so I know your message is not spam.

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Love and best wishes,

Damian nvtahoeus@yahoo.com