Homefront

By: David H
(© 2011 by the author)

The author retains all rights. No reproductions are allowed without the author's consent. Comments are appreciated at...

Chapter 9

The next morning, after having showered the night before, Nick and Matt slept until around eleven in the morning. When they rose, they found they had the place to themselves. They cuddled and lounged for a bit until they had to get out of bed and go about their lives. They both had errands to run, but while Nick was headed toward Jackson, Matt was going toward Memphis. After putting on some other clothes that they'd brought with them, they left Seth's house and headed in their respective directions. Since it was the bye weekend for the Patriots, no one was in town to keep them from getting away and back without problems.

They didn't see each other until the next afternoon, when Nick joined Matt and his parents for the revival of a tradition that had all but died when Dan did: the Sunday Family Dinner. Each of them was responsible for something, and Nick had been instructed to bring a side dish. His choice was mashed potatoes with gravy. He'd bought a can of gravy, though, and when Linda saw that, she joked with him until he asked her to show him how to do it from scratch. Seeing that he was serious, she agreed and the two went into the kitchen and made what Ron and Matt agreed was the best that had ever been made in the house. After dinner, they sat around the table playing cards. It was a nice evening, very relaxing.

The week ahead of that, though, wasn't so easy. Nick found out that he wasn't doing as well in Chemistry as he'd hoped, and he wasn't sure if he was going to be able to reach his goal of a 4.0 for the term. While most people would have loved to have a B at that point, it wasn't enough for Nick. After meeting with his professor on Monday afternoon, he found out that as long as he got an A on all the lab assignments, a C on the next test, and then a B or better on the final, he could have an A in the class. It would more than likely be an A-, but that didn't matter: an A was an A.

Matt, on the other hand, spent his week struggling to do something that he should have done earlier in the semester: find a song for Senior Concert. His advisor wasn't pissed, as they'd had people turn in their song selections literally the day before the performance, but he did say that Matt should have at least been looking for something to perform. On Monday, as Nick was meeting with his advisor over their usual lunch time and Jenny had a closing at her bank, Matt and Seth got together at a sandwich place downtown and spent the hour doing what they hadn't done in a very long time: just hang out and be their old goofy selves.

"So have you decided what song you're doing for concert yet?" Seth asked.

"God no. I have no idea what I'm going to do for that. Any suggestions?" Matt inquired.

"Actually," Seth smiled. "You feel like being sneaky with me?"

"Of course," Matt said without thinking.

Seth explained what he wanted to do, and how their mothers and Janelle were already involved in a grand conspiracy to make sure that it was a night that Jenny would never forget. Seth even had even decided on a cover story involving Nick that she was bound to believe without question. That evening, Matt mentioned something to Nick, who found himself overcome with happiness for her and the whole situation.

The next day was Election Day, and Matt and Nick each went to their polling station earlier than any other college student, according to the old ladies working the polls. Since they were the only ones in the station at the time, the ladies got a laugh as Matt joked about how his man was going to lose; Nick held up his ballot a moment later, and, with a loud "HA", he proved to Matt that he'd just cancelled out his vote by voting for Howard Reynolds.

As they got their 'I VOTED' stickers, they walked out and went about their days, sharing a quick kiss before climbing into their respective cars and going about their business. All excited, though, Seth called with news about 'Operation Happiness', as Seth was calling it. He'd gotten a meeting for them with someone that would make the night all that much better.

Apparently, Seth's mother knew Dr. Olga Scott, a Spanish and Portuguese professor at the University of Montevallo, in Alabama. Her son was Ian Scott, an internationally known recording artist. Ian Scott was Jenny's favorite singer, despite the fact that he'd come out of the closet a few months earlier. She owned and had on her iPod everything he'd ever recorded, in both of his languages: English and Portuguese. Seth told him that, for a donation to his Timor Leste charity, Ian had agreed to play a huge part in the whole evening. He actually sent word to Seth via their mothers that he thought it was the sweetest thing.

The catch was that they would have to meet him in Birmingham. While he didn't mind being a part of the whole, if he was going to play for someone, namely Matt, he had to hear his voice first, in person. Trying to figure out a way to get them out of the house without Jenny getting suspicious, Seth consulted the high priestesses of covert activity: the Moms. They, along with Janelle, would take Jenny to a casino in Biloxi. A girls' weekend, none of the guys would be permitted to come along as they boozed it up and lost a ton of money.

To give the whole thing an extra level of credibility, the Dads came up with a scheme, telling the girls that since they weren't invited to come along, they were going to go to the football game that weekend against Auburn University. Matt and Seth quickly agreed as Nick said that he was going to stay home and get some sleep.

That night, as everyone sat at Jimmy and Becky's to watch election results on the big screen that was usually reserved for sporting events and, when Becky was mad at Jimmy, movies on Lifetime. Nick found himself to be the only Republican in the room, cheering more loudly than everyone else was booing when Howard Reynolds won a couple of the Southern States right out the gate. While Georgia and South Carolina went to the Republican candidate, North Carolina, Florida, and, most of the Northern states fell quickly to the blue wave that was Michael Jansen, Alabama's Senior Senator. By the time polls closed on the West Coast, it was a dead heat. In California, polls were indicating that the election, in that state at least, was going to be a nail biter. As the polls closed on the coast, Washington went to Reynolds, and Oregon went to Jansen. It was a couple of hours or so before the California elections were called for Jansen, resulting in rapturous applause inside the Bentley home from most of the people there. The only Southern Liberal in the US Senate was, in January, going to become the nation's next President, ending what Democrats called the Reign of Terror that was the Bush presidency.

"It's time, Nick," Matt told him as the two sat on the love seat.

"OK," Nick said as he stood, took off his shirt, turned to Matt and sang "I'm A Little Teapot". As everyone applauded him, he did a little bow after putting his shirt back on and sitting with Matt on the small settee. It didn't go unnoticed that Nick, as he sat, put his left arm across Matt's shoulders, making everyone wonder when they were going to just announce that it was all over but their wedding.

The rest of the week went well, and the weekend passed greatly. Jenny was the only of the ladies to come out ahead, and the meeting in Birmingham went along well. Seth made his donation to Ian's charity, and Ian agreed to play as Matt sang during his senior concert. They returned to Eudora that evening, and Seth had a smile on his face that made the Dads joke about what had happened between Matt and Seth as they were away. Nick, who'd ended up hanging out with the Dads that day, made a joke about how he always smiled that way when Matt was around. Ron and Jimmy, two of the coolest straight men around, laughed their asses off as Matt blushed and shook his head.

Sunday came, and they had another one of the family dinners. Seth and Jenny, along with Janelle, came up, making the event a success for the second straight week. The next afternoon, though, Nick found himself nervous. Part of the reason why Janelle had come up was to bring him his dress uniform, though he wasn't sure if he was going to wear it or not to the Marine Corps Birthday Ball that was being hosted by the University.

By the time he got out of class, he hadn't decided. He walked to Parsons Hall and spoke to Dr. Bishop about it, who advised him to wear it, reminding him that he'd earned the right to wear such a respected piece of clothing. As he walked from the building, into the sunlight, he felt his hair. As odd as it sounds, he could feel that his hair was too long. It was almost to the point of bothering him. By the time he got to his apartment, he couldn't bear it anymore. He put down his bag and left for a barber shop that Matt and Seth had both recommended when he got there. He had his hair trimmed every other week, but he needed more right then. He walked into the old shop, filled with old men that he'd grown to know by name.

"What today?" the barber asked. "The usual?"

"Not today. Will you cut it to regulation?" Nick asked as he sat in the chair.

"Yes sir," the guy smiled as he did Nick's hair. When it was done, Nick felt better. It almost felt right for his hair to be cut so short on the top of his head. Walking outside after paying the barber's bill, he could feel the breeze running across the almost exposed skin of his scalp. It felt good.

Returning home, there was a moment of peace as he showered, washing his body completely with the worn, half-used bar of soap. Clean, he grabbed some shaving lotion and a three-blade disposable razor and removed what little hair was on his chest and arms. He smiled as he thought about shaving his armpits, knowing that Matt wouldn't like it too much if he removed the sprinkling of jet black hair whose shade matched that on the rest of his body.

Climbing out, he toweled off and put on a pair of gym shorts as he went into the kitchen to start dinner for him and Matt, who was expected there around five o'clock. For some reason, in the previous couple of weeks, Nick had found that he really liked the process of cooking, of creating something that could nourish both the body and the soul. As he worked away on something, Matt found himself sifting through things at his parents' house.

There was a box that he was looking for that had pictures and things that Dan would have wanted him to take that evening. He already wasn't happy, and when he couldn't find the box, that was just the end of things. Inside that box were some of the things that Dan had cherished most in the world, and he couldn't find them.

Distraught, he walked upstairs and went into his parents' office. There was a safe in there that he wasn't supposed to know the combination to, but he did. When he opened it, there sat the small wooden box that contained Dan's metals and some pictures that were taken of friends that had fought with him in the Pacific. There was also a little black book, a journal of sorts that contained names and addresses of people. It wasn't until he was thumbing toward the end that he realized that Dan had kept a list of every Marine who had lived within a hundred miles of Eudora from the time he got back from the War. Matt had never known about that book, and probably only a few people ever had.

Having found the things, he was relieved. He was enough so, in fact, that he wrote his parents a note telling them that they needed to change the combination and put it inside. With the box in hand, he went upstairs to his room and showered. As he got out, he walked into the closet and started putting on some clothes. Unlike Nick, who was still debating what to wear to the event that evening, Matt was planning to wear a black suit with a red tie. A crisp white shirt would contrast with both colors, and connecting it and the tie would be a tie clip that was his grandfather's, one with the Marine Corps emblem.

Grabbing the box, he left his apartment at around 4:45. There wouldn't be time for him and Nick to get their groove on before Seth and Jenny got over there. The two heteros with whom they most identified had gotten off work early, and at around the same time, they were headed to Nick's house.

They all arrived at around 5. Matt had little trouble getting there, while Seth and Jenny fought traffic in town the whole route between their two homes. When they got there, Matt was stepping from the Buick, carrying his coat on a hanger. He stood there for a second and waited on them to climb out.

"You look so hot with a suit on," Jenny told him.

"Thank you," Matt smiled.

"I really hope Nick wears his dress blues," she said. "You won't be able to handle it," she winked as Seth made it to where they were.

"That's why I wear loose pants!"

"From what I hear, though," Jenny grinned, "that's not gonna matter!"

"Jenny!" Seth blushed.

"What? I like a big dick as much as the next girl," she said as they reached the stairs, in her regular tone, as if it were nothing.

"Then what are you doing with him?" Matt fired back as they climbed the stairs.

"Just wait..." Seth said as they walked into the apartment to find Nick slaving over the stove.

"It smells so good in here!" Jenny commented.

"I know. If I weren't straight, I'd do you," Seth noted.

"Fuck!" Jenny and Nick said, together.

"You and Matt would so be together," Jenny pointed out.

Matt and Seth looked at each other and grimaced. "Yeah. He'd so be the bottom," Seth said as the others laughed. "Nick. I got to respect you for... that!" Seth continued to joke.

"Seth!" Matt started.

"What?" Seth asked.

"Shut up, or I'll kick your ass!" Matt told him.

"As long as you don't pull it out and beat me with it!"

"Watch it, or I might!" Matt continued as Nick and Jenny howled with laughter.

A moment later, Nick slipped into his bedroom for something and then came out wearing a t-shirt. With all the others dressed so nicely already, he was starting to feel uncomfortable about wearing just a pair of gym shorts. They ate dinner a little while later, though, and afterwards, Nick went into his bedroom to get ready.

He'd reached a moment to where there was no turning back. Did he take the simple black suit out, or did he don the uniform of the branch of the military that had given him so much of who he was? Standing there for a moment, he knew what he had to do. "Once a Marine, always a Marine," he said to himself as he took the uniform from the closet and removed it from the plastic wrapping in which the dry cleaners had placed it.

It felt good to put it on again; it felt right. A hole that had been in his soul for months was, with the simple action of dressing in that uniform, slowing beginning to refill. As he put on the coat, it wrapped him in something, a feeling. The Marines had been almost like a family to him, and while he'd not been completely able to focus on the project that he was working on for Becky's class, he knew, in that moment, what she wanted to know. He wrapped the belt around his waist and, with a simple breath, fastened it in the front. Grabbing the cover but not putting it on yet, he opened the door to his bedroom and stepped out.

Matt's jaw dropped. Never, in his life, had he seen a man as hot as Nick was, in that moment. Nick was no other man, though. He was Matt's man, dressed in the uniform of a United States Marine. In Matt's experience, there was no group of men more honorable than that group of jarheads and leathernecks. And Nick was among them. He wore the uniform correctly, with pride. The honor that those red, white, and blue articles engendered was represented, in that moment, in one man.

"You OK, Matt?" Jenny asked.

"Yeah. I'm good," Matt smiled. "I need a drink, though," he added as Nick smiled.

They left a while later, and, before they knew it, they were arriving at the Parsons University Inn ballroom, where the event was taking place. Nick looked around as they walked in. The place was filled with people, and he knew that he only knew a handful of them that were there. A lot of people, especially older men, knew Matt. Three, in particular, gave him hugs before introducing themselves to Nick, who was standing with them. He gave one of them, a man he knew as Mr. Cleckler, the old wooden box. As they walked away with it, Matt explained that those three men, along with Seth's grandfather and a couple of men that had already passed, were all fought with Dan in the Pacific.

A few minutes later, Dr. Bishop came over to them, greeting Nick, Matt, and Seth equally. Being the romantic that he was, he took Jenny's hand, and told her that she was far too beautiful to be there with Seth, who just smiled and shook his head. "So Corporal. How old are you?" he turned to Nick.

"I just turned 25, sir," Nick responded.

"OK. You might be the youngest Marine here," he said as he thought for a second. "Be prepared to be."

"Always," Nick smiled.

"I'll find you in a few minutes," Dr. Bishop said as he walked away.

"Why would it be important that you're the youngest Marine here?" Jenny asked.

"Tradition," Nick smiled. "The highest ranking Marine cuts the birthday cake. He hands the first slice to the oldest Marine present, who then hands it to the youngest."

"It's meant to symbolize the continuance of the Marines from one generation to another," Seth finished the thought as Nick smiled. As it turned out, Dan would have been the oldest Marine there by a few days. Nick missed being the youngest Marine there by a couple of months.

The thing about that night was, though, that Nick was able to meet other people with a common experience. There were a few veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan there, each of whom could understand Nick and each of whom Nick could understand. Matt ended up talking about Dan more than anything else. It was good, though, to hear about the memories that people had of him.

At the end of the party, well after the cake had been put away and guests had begun to depart, Nick found his way back to the table where Matt was sitting, alone. Jenny and Seth had left earlier in the evening, and Matt just felt like sitting, looking at a photo that was found in the box of pictures.

"You ready to go?" Nick asked.

"Yeah. We'll have to walk back to your place, though," Matt informed him, since Jenny and Seth had taken his car back to their place. Seth had told Matt to call him, but Matt wasn't having anything of it. They both had to work the next morning, and Matt knew that when Seth didn't get his sleep, he tended to be on the cranky side of the things.

"That's fine. I could actually use the fresh air," Nick smiled.

"Cool," Matt smiled as he stood, placing the picture in his coat pocket.

They stepped outside the ballroom after Matt asked Dr. Bishop to make sure that he got the pictures back. For one reason or another, Matt was waking more slowly than usual.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong," Matt answered, hoping that the raised inflection in his voice would deflect the concern in Nick's.

"No sir... you're not getting off that easy," Nick told him.

"I was five when I came to my first Birthday Ball," Matt confessed. "Ma was already sick, and Pa didn't want to go. She insisted that he take me, and he convinced Granddaddy to bring Seth."

"Granddaddy being Seth's grandfather?"

"Yeah," Matt said.

"Well. Mr. Cleckler decided that the moment of our first Ball deserved commerration."

"OK..."

"Well. The picture that he took of me and Pa is in my pocket," Matt said. Getting emotional, but trying to stop it all, Matt continued, "I have so many memories that I wish were captured in a picture or on a video. Nick..."

"Yes?" Nick asked.

"He would have adored you. Tonight, he would have been parading you around as his future-grandson-in-law," Matt said.

"Seriously," Matt confessed. "He told me once that every American deserved to live in an environment that was free from prejudice. He would always say that that was the reason he joined the Corps. When I came out to him, he told all his friends and such, and I have never been more welcomed by a group of straight men. I know that's not how people would normally act, but it was nice."

"So your grandfather wasn't a fan off DADT?"

"No. He abhorred it. He said that it was still discrimination, just in nicer clothes," Matt said.

"He sounds like he was a great man."

"You remind me so much of him," Matt told him.

"I'm going to take that as a huge compliment."

With a smile, Matt put his arm in Nick's as they walked through campus toward Nick's apartment. Quietly, they both realized that it felt nice to be able to show their affection for each other in public. As they walked inside, Matt quickly disrobed as Nick took a moment to respectfully put his uniform up, putting it back in the plastic from the dry cleaners and hanging it in the closet.

The next morning, Matt didn't have concert singers' practice, so Nick just let him sleep. There were three people that he trusted in his house when he wasn't there, and Matt was, by far, at the top of that list. Knowing that Matt hadn't taken the picture from his suit, and that it would, more than likely lay where it was for a couple of days. When he finally got up, Matt knew he was going to be late for a meeting with Dr. Eric Brady, the coordinator for Senior Concert. He rushed to get dressed, throwing on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt, slipping his feet into some flip flops and heading out of Nick's apartment.

He walked across campus and into the music building just a moment before Dr. Brady came into the classroom where the seniors were meeting to discuss the final project. When he asked what everyone's plans were, Matt explained his performance, in as many details as he could without giving away any important information, like that Ian Scott was going to be there. All the girls, and most of the guys that were in the room, including Dr. Brady, fell in love with his idea. Stephanie, one of the girls from the choir, was so moved by the story that she suggested that they all scrap their ideas and do an Ian Scott song. Everyone thought it was a good idea but Brad, the only straight guy among the senior vocal performance majors. It took some convincing, but he eventually agreed to do an Ian Scott song himself, warning them all that if his frat brothers made any gay jokes, that he would never speak to any of them again. The girls responded that they wouldn't let that happen. Those in that major were, after all, a sort of fraternity of their own.

The rest of the week went by, but Matt found himself too busy to even remember the picture. Over the weekend, they went to the football game, but the relaxation was short lived, as Matt had far too much work to do to prepare. Ian came from Birmingham one day that week to get a feel for the place where he'd be performing. He and Matt spent most of the day in one of the soundproof practice rooms, getting the sound of the song down just right. And then, the Friday before the performance, they all officially turned in the songs they were performing, along with the music. Even though Matt wouldn't be using the CD that Ian had prepared for him.

That weekend, he and Seth took a weekend to themselves. They told Jenny and everyone else that they were going on a hunting trip. Only Nick knew that they were going to get Jenny's present. It was the final piece of the plan for "Operation Happiness", and Nick directed them right to it. In New York, they had no problem finding Tiffany and Company. Seth knew the ring as soon as he saw it, and even though it wasn't the one that she'd picked out on her trip there with Nick in the summer, it was the perfect ring.

They returned to Mississippi, complete with some wild stories of their trip to woods or Northern Mississippi, to a piece of property that Matt had, until that weekend, forgotten that he'd inherited from his grandfather. It was all a part of the story, and all created for Jenny's benefit. There were gaps in their story, though, and it made her wonder what was going on. Seth had been acting sneaky for a few days, and she began to wonder if her initial assumption about him, that he was a decent guy, was going to be soon brought into question. Nick tried his best to persuade her that nothing was wrong, but she couldn't completely believe him for some reason.

Monday of that week came and went, and on Tuesday morning, the morning of the concert, they all went about their lives as normal. Jenny and Seth went into work; Nick went to class. Matt, after waking up at Nick's house, dressed and immediately went to Nutt Hall to practice. At around eleven in the morning, he got a call from Ian that he was in town. Matt gave him directions to the Parsons University Inn, the nicest hotel in town. Matt got over there before they did and checked into the room, though, in his name. That way, it would be less conspicuous, or so they thought. As it turned out, though Ian was wearing a cap and carrying his own suitcases, with his man close behind him, and more people recognized Joey from the pages of tabloid magazines than they did Ian. Ian joked with Matt that it was because he was so hot, but not even the amazing beauty that was Dr. José Ruiz could compare to his Nick.

At around three, Matt showed Ian back to the music building as Joey was going to take a walk around campus. It would give him a chance to practice and warm up while Matt was getting ready for the evening. When he got back, Ian left to go take a shower while Matt ran through his performance for a solid half hour in the Landry Auditorium, where the performance would take place that evening. Seth, nervous, walked in during the middle of his rehearsal and sat on the front row.

"You ready?" Matt asked as it came to an end.

"Yeah," Seth answered, honestly.

"So what's the story?" Matt asked.

"I told her that I was going to be late because I had a closing and to keep a seat for me," Seth told him.

"She buy it?"

"Yeah. She did," Seth smiled. "So the dynamic duo is changing," Seth told him as the sound guys came in to get their thing started for the evening.

"It's becoming a quartet, though," Matt smiled.

"Damn right..." Seth smiled. They talked for a few more minutes before they had to go get things ready for that evening. As they walked out of the building, a couple of the seniors who were performing that night, hugged Seth and congratulated him. Matt explained that a few people had to know and that all the seniors were giving them their own little gift that evening. Seth just smiled, feeling his knees growing a little weak as he got nervous about that evening.

At five o'clock, Jenny, thinking she was going to catch Seth in something, went to his bank when she got off work. She found him, though, setting up for a closing as if he normally would. Being that the people that worked with him knew what was going on, they'd managed to get a couple of people to come by and pose as clients, conveniently arriving at 5:15 along with Seth's father, who was posing as their attorney. She walked home and began getting ready for the evening, assuming that Seth would come straight from work to the concert. When Nick sent him a message that she was at his place, another part of their plan, Seth went home to get showered and dressed. He knew from another message from Nick that she was wearing a blue cocktail dress that made her look, as Seth put it, all kinds of sexy.

It wasn't until around six o'clock that the rest of the seniors knew the rest of the plan. When Ian Scott walked backstage, some of the girls began to cry as Brad, along with a couple of other guys, finally understood how it was that Matt's best friend got any girl he wanted. He went above and beyond to make even the simplest moments special. Of course, that, along with Seth's amazing tongue, made him quite popular with the fairer sex.

They all asked Ian to play for them, but he was forced to decline, telling them, though, that he was going to enjoy the show. It wasn't until then that he found out that everyone else in the choir, upon learning of things, had chosen a song of his to perform. A couple of people tried to tell him their song of choice, but he asked them not to, saying quite sincerely that he was sure that he'd enjoy their performances. We left them, though, after wishing them all broken legs, and joined Joey in the back of the auditorium as he sat with all of Seth's, Jenny's, and Matt's families. Joey was in his element talking to the ladies, all of whom were educated and slightly sharp tongued, all at the same time.

For Vocal Performance Majors, Senior Concert was the biggest of big deals. For one, it could quite literally make or break them. A few years earlier, a senior failed Concert and wasn't permitted to register for classes the next semester. She was forced to change her major and spend another two years in school studying something else. Then there was also that the person with the highest score from that evening, as they were graded on the performances, would, in the Spring, receive the Harper Solo in the Spring Concert. Since it had been created by his grandfather the year he was born, Matt had recused himself from consideration from that part, but it was obvious that everyone else was in the running, for it meant that that person was somehow deemed the best in his or her class.

At seven, a couple of the seniors sneaked to look through the curtain. The place was filled, but Jenny and Nick weren't there yet. It was a part of the plan that they wouldn't arrive just moments before the concert was to start. Seth got there, though, just a moment before Bethany Carvalho, the night's first performer, was to go on stage. Standing backstage with the rest of the choir, Matt was, as always, there to give him all the support he needed. At 7:23, just two minutes before Bethany was to go on stage, Jenny and Nick arrived and walked down the stairs to take their seats on the front row, in the middle section, seats that Seth had reserved for the three of them. He'd wanted her front and center to make things easier for himself.

As they took their seats, Dr. Brady introduced Bethany's performance, telling them that she was performing Ian's Scott's "Deixa a voz me levar". Being Brazilian on her father's side and 'white trash' on her mother's, she had always felt close to her paternal roots. Like Ian, she'd spent many a summer in Brazil and spoke fluently both English and Portuguese. Wearing a long white dress, she walked onto the stage, standing in the center right before the music started. An alto, with a voice leaning toward the operatic, Ian was moved by the cadence of her accent, the smoothness of her voice as she sang the very first song in Portuguese that he'd recorded.

Jenny recognized the song instantly. The English version was still riding high on the charts, and she looked at Nick and smiled. She was allowing herself to get lost in the music, and it was a good thing. She would be relaxed when it came time for Matt's performance and genuinely surprised when the plan that was so carefully orchestrated came to fruition.

Bethany finished and accepted the audience's applause. With a gracious smile, she nodded a little bit and walked off stage. The professors were given a moment to finish their comment cards before the next performer, Brad Aki, was called to the stage to perform. The guy who'd initially been wary of performing an Ian Scott song had chosen "Home Sweet Home", the song that would be used on the next season of American Idol on elimination nights and that had been put, at the last minute, on Year of the Een, Ian's most recent full-length release. The song was a cover of a timeless classic, and his low deep voice, fit it perfectly. Ian was impressed by the way he carried himself while he was on stage.

As before, the professors, who were sitting in various places all around the packed house, were given a moment to finish their comment cards before the next person came to the stage. She was introduced as Sherice Antoinette Moreau, and the leggy, vixen of an African goddess came to the stage wearing a short, purple dress and some shoes whose heals that added a good 4 inches to her 5'1" body. She had attitude on her face as the music to Ian's song "Hello", with a soulful twist, she belted out a tune that he'd written, on the fly, one day when he was particularly impressed by something that Joey had done for one of his students. The music was different; the way she sang was different. Ian was surprised as he sat up in the seat, allowing his body to move in time with the music.

Jenny pulled out her phone about halfway through her performance and typed out a message to Nick, handing him her cell phone rather than sending the message to him.

'If you don't tell me what's going on, right now, I'm going to rip off your nutsack,' she said, just that bluntly.

'Why do you think something's going on?' Nick responded, passing the phone back to her.

'They're all performing Ian Scott songs,' Jenny typed back.

'Really?' Nick tried to play stupid, getting a look from her as if she were telling him not to play dumb.

'Serious. IDK if anything is going on,' he lied. He knew everything.

Jenny, not satisfied with his answer, turned her attention back to the stage as Sherice finished her performance. Just as she had with Bethany and Brad, she applauded.

Several other performances passed as Jenny's mind began to race. There were about six more before Seth looked to Matt, telling him that it was time. With that, Matt gave him a big hug as Seth walked away, out the building and around to the front, so that Jenny would have the idea that he'd just arrived.

As he passed the group at the back, Ian knew that it was show time. It had become a tradition for him to kiss Joey before a performance, and that moment was no different. The two exchanged a simple peck on the lips, and Ian walked from the auditorium and to the door where Bethany and Brad were waiting to let him in. He told everyone how great they'd done with his songs, as Sherice sent all the professors a text asking them to be patient with Matt's performance. In a moment, a curtain in front of the stage was closed, giving a couple of the seniors a moment to move the Steinway Grand Piano that had been donated to the University into a position right in the middle of the stage.

"You ready?" Ian asked, smiling, as Matt stood just off stage, his thoughts in another place as he attempted to calm nerves that had never acted up on him before.

"Yeah," Matt said as he opened his eyes and smiled.

Sherice got a text from Dr. Brady, telling him that they were ready for Matt's performance. She walked over and told him, smiling. Behind the closed curtain, Ian walked to the piano. Matt walked to the side of the stage, where the microphone stand had been placed, at his request. A CD with all the music except the piano was placed into the sound system and started on track one, but it wasn't until Ian started playing the piano that the curtain was opened.

Ian was the first person that Jenny saw, and she knew, in that moment, what Seth had spent weeks planning. A single tear came rolling down her face a moment later as Matt began singing his song "Halo." It was Jenny's favorite song from his most recent CD, and that's why Seth had asked Matt to perform it.

"Remember those walls I built, well baby they're tumbling down...they didn't even put up a fight. They didn't even make a sound. I found a way to let you in, but I never really had a doubt. Standing in the light of your halo, I got my angel now..." he sang as his nervousness shown through his voice. "It's like I've been awakened, every rule I had you breakin'... it's the risk that I'm takin'... I ain't never gonna shut you out," he went on, his nerves settling a great deal. As the first chorus opened, Matt had found his mojo again, making the previous moment seem as though it had been planned to be that way. "Everywhere I'm looking now... I'm surrounded by your embrace... Baby, I can see your halo... You know you're my saving grace. You're everything I need and more... It's written all over your face... Baby I can feel your halo... Pray it won't fade away."

Between the first and second verse, Seth took her hand and stood. She stood with him, not thinking as he pulled her to the stage. It was only eight inches off the main floor, but he still lifted her up before stepping up himself. As Matt began the second verse, Seth took her to the opposite side of the stage. By that time, also, all the seniors had walked around to the back of the auditorium so that they could see the product of all their own hard word come to pass.

"Hit me like a ray of sun... burning through the darkest nights... you're the only one that I want... and I'm addicted to your light. I swore I'd never fall again, but this don't even feel like fallin'... gravity can't forget... to pull me back to the ground again. Feels like I've been awakened... Every rule that I had you breakin'... The risk that I'm takin'... I'm never gonna shut you out. Everywhere I'm looking now... I'm surrounded by your embrace... Baby I can see your halo... you know you're my saving grace."

After the second chorus came an extended piano solo, when Ian broke it down for everyone there. All around the room, women were crying as they had figured out what was happening. The moms, all three of them, were holding hands as they sat next to each other. Jimmy was getting emotional, as he realized that his son had found the one he was supposed to spend his life with. Ron was manning the video camera with one hand and holding Linda's free hand with the other.

After the solo was over, Matt gave it everything he could find within himself. For him, though, it had stopped being about Seth and Jenny. It was just about him and Nick. All the words that he was singing were what he wanted to say to Nick; all the notes that came from his mouth were powered by the confidence and love that he had for this man whom he'd only known a few months. As the final chorus, the push to the finish of the song, was upon him, Matt found himself unable to hold back his own emotions anymore. The power of his voice was breaking down the last remaining barrier between him and happiness. As Ian played the last notes of the song, all the eyes in the place were on Seth and Jenny, except for Nick's.

He had moved Nick as much as he'd moved himself with that performance. The only people who weren't staring at Jenny and Seth as he pulled out the five carat yellow diamond set in a platinum ring Ron and Linda, who knew that Matt was telling Nick so much with those notes and lyrics. A couple of seconds that seemed like an eternity to Matt passed, and eventually, he and Nick broke their visual embrace and turned to Seth and Jenny.

"Will you take me off the market forever?" Seth asked after the song was over, dropping to one knee in front of her, right there on the stage.

Jenny was bawling at that point, a smile on her face as she sniffled a couple of times. She wanted to shout to him that she loved him more than life itself, but she couldn't in that moment. Instead, she just nodded as he placed the ring on her finger. The seniors were especially happy that she'd said yes, yelling from the back of the auditorium as they applauded along with everyone else. Becky and Janelle had stood and were hugging each other as the people around them assumed correctly that they were somehow related to that moment.

Seth stood and kissed her on the lips, and, as Dr. Brady stepped onto the stage to end the evening's program, Matt and Ian walked off the stage. Ian patted him on the back as the seniors came back into the room and started hugging him. On the floor, everyone in the place wanted a moment to congratulate Seth and Jenny. When Janelle got up to them, she hugged her baby, who was still smiling through tears of such immense joy.

Dr. Brady, though, after congratulating them personally, walked backstage and looked at Matt. He motioned for Matt to follow him, and the two walked into one of the changing rooms backstage.

"Matt. I have to say that that was one of your best performances ever," he started. "I've never heard you sing with such power, such passion."

"I feel a but..."

"But, you technically broke the rules of Senior concert by having someone on stage with you."

"I know, and I'm... willing to take the consequences," Matt looked him dead in the eye, caring about his future but not so much in that moment. Emotionally, it was almost as if he were exhausted.

Dr. Brady smiled. "I'm going to talk to the other professors, though. You didn't sing with anyone. You just had an accompaniment, musically and visually."

"You know how I feel about special treatment," Matt said, remembering his Freshman year, when one of the professors said that he'd only passed Matt in a class because of who his grandfather was and who his parents were. Matt threw a fit, wanting the grade changed to reflect what he'd actually earned. He won out in the end and his grade was changed from an A+ to an A-.

"I know," Dr. Brady said. "Now go. Congratulate your friends, and be done with this evening."

"K..." Matt said as Dr. Brady shook his hand and the two walked from the small room.

By that time, everyone had gone back into the auditorium. As Matt walked out, Jenny was giving Ian a huge hug, crying. "Thank you... so much..." she said as Matt walked up to Seth.

"It was nothing. Joey better propose as romantically as Seth did!" Ian jokingly looked at his man, who was just shaking his head.

As they all talked together, Matt left Seth, stepping on the stage for just a second to walk over to where Nick was standing, behind and away from everyone. "Can we talk?"

"Yeah," Nick said as he and Matt both walked up the stairs to the exit opposite where everyone else was. They stepped into the lobby and then out the front door, which was weird on several levels, since Matt never came through that door. On the main steps of the two-story building, facing University Avenue, Matt took a seat.

"What's wrong?" Nick asked as he sat beside Matt.

"I'm tired," Matt said as he set his head on Nick's shoulder.

"You did a great job," Nick told him.

"I might not pass Senior Concert, though, according to Dr. Brady," Matt closed his eyes as he rested there.

"What?"

"The rules are that we can't have anyone else on stage with us as we perform, and I broke the rules," Matt told him.

"But Matt... you were amazing. I've never heard anyone sing like you did," Nick told him. "I had a stiffy the whole time," Nick smiled, hoping that Matt would pick up on the joke that he was trying to make to lighten the mood.

"You always have at least a semi when I'm around," Matt fired back, making Nick smile a little bit.

"You'll be OK, though," Nick told him. There was a moment of silence between them before Nick continued, "So was that all you wanted to talk about?"

"No," Matt told him after a few seconds. "I need to say something to you, and I'm not sure how it's gonna be received," Matt explained after the butterflies in his stomach started again.

"We're not breaking up are we?" Nick inquired.

"God I hope not," Matt said as Nick, with his left hand, took Matt's right hand, weaving their fingers together.

"Then what is it, Sweets?"

"I realized about halfway through the song that I wasn't singing for Seth and Jenny anymore," Matt started.

"You were singing to me, weren't you?" Nick said as Matt kept his head on Nick's shoulder.

"Yeah..." Matt found himself simply saying after a moment.

"Then I should say thank you. It was the most amazing gift I've gotten in a very, very, very long time," Nick turned his head just far enough to give Matt's forehead a sideways kiss. He took Matt's hand and wrapped their fingers together.

It was that simple gesture that calmed any fears inside Matt's soul. He knew that he could say what both of them longed to say and that he wouldn't be rejected. It took him a moment, though, to get the energy to say anything, though, to this man he held in such esteem.

"I'm in love with you, Nicholas Dante Russo."

"As I am with you, Matthew Daniel Harper," Nick said just a second before someone came from inside the building, yelling for them to come inside for post-performance pictures.

The pair stood and walked, side by side, back into the building. They walked into the auditorium where Sherice had her camera ready to take snapshots of the event. She wanted a few pictures of Matt: one of him and Nick, one of him with Seth, and one of him with Ian Scott. After that was done, most of the people there agreed to go to a party to celebrate the end of such a stressful term for them. Matt and Nick went along, but they didn't stay at Blind Jim's very long, leaving shortly after Seth and Jenny, who'd been invited as honorary members of the department.

That night, there wasn't any earth-shattering love making going on at Nick's place. Matt was drained, physically, and both of them could stand a good night's sleep. So with that, they disrobed. Matt left his clothes on the floor beside the bed, while Nick put his things away neatly. Naked, they cuddled up against each other, sharing warmth and the strong, strong emotions that were running inside and outside of the other.

To be continued...

Posted: 07/22/11