A Helping Hand
By: DL
(Copyright 2007 by the Author)
The author retains all rights. No reproductions are
allowed without the author's consent. Comments are appreciated at...
dl@tickiestories.us
As I stood there watching Stella, she stepped forward and past me, pushing me aside as she knelt down beside Julian and pulled the duvet down slightly. I was about to say something when Stella started to sob and then leant forward and kissed Julian's forehead, gently brushed his hair back and then pulled the duvet back over him.
Without saying anything, but still quietly sobbing, Stella brushed past me again and headed back to the lounge. I stayed and watched the boys for five minutes not that there was anything to see other than a pair of teens at rest but simply to give Stella a chance to compose herself.
Eventually I thought enough time had elapsed and headed back to the lounge. Stella had made herself at home LOL on the bed/settee at the dining table end, and as I appeared through the doorway she looked round at me inquisitively. "Would you like a cup of coffee?" I asked, searching for a means to break the inevitable stony silence. "Yes, thank you very much. That would be nice." Stella responded, and I took my opportunity to make a getaway to the kitchen.
I didn't emerge from my funk hole in the kitchen before the kettle had boiled and I'd made Stella a coffee [and no, I hadn't offered her any of my precious Camp!; it was Nescafι Gold Blend I kept a jar in case of visitors!]. I returned to the lounge with Stella's coffee and a can of Diet Coke for myself. Having placed the tray with her coffee and a biscuit barrel on the coffee table I sat down on the other end of the bed/settee and mentally girded myself for battle.
I was shocked however, when Stella opened hostilities (or not as it happened!) "So Julian really is in love with this boy " and as Stella obviously hadn't retained his name I supplied it for her: "Juan. Yes, I honestly believe he is; and I warned him against getting involved with Juan when he came with us for a meal." I replied.
"Julian went for a meal with you?" Stella rejoined and I blushed as I remembered that Julian had allegedly spent the evening with a friend (and I wasn't ashamed to think of him as one). I debated what to say as Stella sat there waiting expectantly; eventually I thought that I had better give her the barebones of the story so far: "Juan was thrown out by his dad after their maid found a couple of gay magazines in his bedroom and gave them to his dad. Juan was wandering homeless for five days before I happened to find him being badly beaten by a gang of traveller's kids. He was in a bad way and very distrustful and I couldn't get him to talk until I took him to MFI to get a bed for him and Julian managed to get Juan to tell him the whole story. I asked Julian out for a meal to find out what Juan had told him. Somewhere along the way since they first met, Julian fell in love with Juan. I warned him that he needed to give Juan time to rebuild his life before he could reach out as he'd been badly affected by his misfortune; but it had eventually become obvious to me that they were attracted to each other: I think Juan needed someone to be strong for him and Julian filled the need. Anyway, Julian didn't take kindly to my offering him advice and neither did Juan. Julian spent this weekend moody and unsettled and when I talked to him about it Saturday night, we eventually talked him through it and he asked if I would take him back to talk to you. The rest you know."
"What exactly do you mean by 'talked him through it'?" Stella asked after I'd blurted out my brief LOL summary of the events so far.
"Simply that Julian, despite realising years back that he was gay, had never felt able to talk to you about it. But he'd realised over the past couple of days that if he was to be able to share his life with Juan or any other man that he'd have to talk to you at least about his sexuality. And he was afraid of talking to you about that because he was unsure of what your reaction would be."
Stella sat and sipped her coffee quietly for nearly five minutes, but her demeanour and composure changed slightly as she did so she appeared (to me at least) as if she was processing the facts and trying to come to terms with the conclusion.
"So what exactly did you say to Julian last night?" she finally enquired.
"I pointed out that if he wanted to share his life with Juan he would have to explain where he was going as you would hardly just allow him to disappear completely without some explanation. He eventually accepted that point and then started worrying about whether Juan felt about him the same way as he felt about Juan. After I had managed to make him accept the evidence he didn't want to believe, that Juan did love him, he asked if Juan and I would come with him to meet you and give him moral support when he told you about his sexuality and his love for Juan."
Stella visibly straightened up as I said this last part and almost interrupted me before I'd finished with "Are you seriously suggesting that my son asked for 'moral support' from you to talk to me?"
I grinned [inappropriately] and straight facedly replied "Julian did indeed ask for moral support when he talked to you about his sexuality and love for Juan, and in fact said it was the hardest thing he'd yet had to face up to doing in his life."
Stella appeared shocked by this revelation that her son had really found it difficult to talk to her. "Well, believe it or not it's true." I said in answer to her visible disbelief.
Any further progress in the conversation was postponed by the hall door opening quickly and a naked and excited Juan [not sexually, LOL] rushed through saying "Dave, come quickly, Julian's waking up!" It was funny, sitting where I was, facing Stella [and thus the hall door] to watch Juan's reaction as he realised that Stella was in the room! Juan's face was a picture he'd been both excited and happy as he'd barged through the door with his news but as he'd appreciated the fact that Stella was in the room his jaw had dropped whilst his face had flushed a vivid crimson [presumably caused by his nudity in the presence of an unfamiliar female!]
Juan hastily stopped in his tracks and quickly turned and retreated with alacrity down the hall back to the bedroom. Stella had started turning round when she'd heard Juan sharing his news, and as a result must have caught sight of his bruised, naked body, disappearing down the hall. I got up and said, "Would you excuse me for a few minutes?" and hurried for the still open hall door without waiting for any answer.
I hurried down to the bedroom and arriving, found that Juan had resumed his place between the sheets and alongside Julian. Julian was indeed awake insofar as his eyes were open and he was looking intently at Juan, and he swivelled towards me as he heard me enter the room. I stopped at the doorway, studying him intently and then moved slowly down the side of the bed towards him. I hadn't gone more than a couple of steps when I saw his eyes widen and a kind of apprehensive and haunted look appeared on his face. I turned and saw that Stella had obviously followed me down the hall and was standing once more in the doorway.
Things were different this time though Stella was showing the emotions of a distressed mother with her young as she lost no time in forcing her way past me, reaching out towards Julian, and crying his name emotively "Julian!" She dropped to her knees beside the bed and didn't wait for any reply from Julian before reaching out towards him and pulling him towards her. She was unmistakably quietly sobbing as she clasped him to her and gently swayed back and forth with his head in her arms.
I stood and watched silently as this tableaux unfolded before me; and I noticed that Juan used the fact that Stella had raised Julian up to insinuate his arms around his lover's torso. A short while after he'd done so, I noticed that Julian struggled in his mother's arms and she, realising he was awake and responding, relaxed her grip on him and he twisted free and turning on his side towards Juan grasped him closely in a hug which Juan wasn't slow in responding to and reciprocating with a protective embrace, leaning forwards and kissing him passionately.
Their embrace lasted for several minutes, and was finally brought to an end by Stella quietly saying "Julian?" Both boys reacted: Juan relaxing his hug of Julian [but keeping his arms around him] and Julian sinking back onto his pillows and turning towards his mother, but making no move either towards her or to extricate himself from his lover's embrace. For me the best part was that Julian seemed as if he'd recovered himself there was life once more in his eyes!
"Julian, love, I'm sorry for losing my temper and slapping you. It was just that you took me completely by surprise and I'm ashamed that I lost control of myself like that; can you forgive me?"
I watched Julian with bated breath to see how this attempt at both apology and rapprτchement would be greeted. Julian lay still in Juan's arms and studied his mother unmovingly for what seemed like an age, before finally, he spoke! "Mum, I really meant it when I said I loved Juan; you'll have to accept that it isn't going to change."
Stella accepted the olive branch swiftly: "Oh Julian, I can see that now. But when you told me in the kitchen, it took me completely by surprise, you'd never given me any cause to question your sexuality and it came as a total shock but I'm sorry that I reacted the way I did."
Julian flushed slightly as he replied "Its OK; I know that I hadn't at least I'd tried not to given you any reason to wonder about me as I wasn't sure how you would react. But when I fell in love with Juan I really didn't how to go about approaching you about it."
Stella reached out towards Julian as she said, "Its OK, I'm truly sorry for my reaction, but you're my son just the same I just needed time to accept the truth of what you said." I watched as Juan quietly but quickly relaxed his grasp on his boyfriend without being asked; and Julian leant towards his mum and was once more cradled in her arms.
Stella let Julian go after a couple of minutes and he dropped back onto his pillows and was quickly embraced once more by a protective Juan. He flushed as he looked towards Juan and then turned back to his mum and said "And this is my boyfriend Juan."
This seems like a good place to leave the story for now especially at this traditional time of Goodwill to all.
I would like to wish all my readers, as well as my fellow authors and our webmaster the very best for a Happy Festive Season no matter what religion you may profess; and I hope all of you enjoy a healthy and Happy New Year!
Finally I would like to say that whilst I regret the delays during the past year in the appearance of episodes of this tale, the delays were usually occasioned by disruptions in my life some good, some bad and I hope the New Year will see a new beginning and a happier life for me just as Juan and Julian managed back in the dark days of 1984 [sorry to have spoilt it all by revealing that there really was a Happy Ending for the 2Js!]
This tale will be continued in the New Year.
To be continued . . .
Feedback always welcome: dl@tickiestories.us
Posted: 12/21/07