The Chandlers
 by: Hankster

© 2012 by the author

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Chapter 10
Confessions

On the last evening of Vincent and Rudy’s visit, Jane suggested that it would be very nice if Harry and Vincent had a father/son night out with their boys.  Both fathers and sons thought that it was a great idea.

“What would you guys like to do?” Harry asked.

“Would you like to go any place special?” Vincent asked.

The boys were silent for a moment, and then Daniel said, “Yes, We’d really like to go someplace very quiet, where we can talk uninterrupted.  Rudy and I need to talk to you about a very important matter.”

“Sounds serious,” Harry said.  “I have an idea.  Let’s go to my office.  There’s nobody there now, and we won’t be disturbed.  Even the cleaning crew is gone by now.”

The four of them entered Harry’s office and he locked the door behind them.  They all took comfortable seats in the waiting room, and sat quietly for a moment.  Daniel looked concerned and Rudy looked downright scared.

“Well, Daniel,” Harry said, “The floor is yours.”

“There’s no easy way to say this, so I’ll come right out with it.  Rudy and I are gay, and we’re in love.”

Harry and Vincent were too shocked to speak.  The silence was long and foreboding.  Finally, the silence was broken by the sound of Vincent sobbing.

“Please don’t hate me Dad, and don’t be disappointed in me.  I couldn’t stand it if you were,” Rudy also sobbed.

Vincent grabbed Rudy in a bear hug.  “Never, never,” he sobbed.  “I just want you to be happy, and to be who you are.  Don’t ever pretend to be anyone else.  It hurts too much.”

Harry was still sitting and staring at Daniel in total disbelief.  Finally Daniel asked, “What about you Dad?  Are you going to disown me?”

“Christ, Danny,” Harry protested.  “I grew up in a house full of gay men.  Did you ever know me to give less love to any of them than if they were straight?”

“No, Dad, but I was afraid it might be different with me, your son.”

It was Harry’s turn to stand up and embrace Daniel.  The two men hugged each other as tightly as they could.  Vincent then said, “Let’s make it a four way hug,” and the four men hugged each other.

When they calmed down, and the tears were turned off, at least for the moment, Harry asked, “What do we do now?”

Daniel had never intended to confront his father or Vincent with the knowledge that he and Rudy knew that they were having sex together, but some demon came out in him.  “What about you and Vincent, Dad?  Isn’t there something you would like to tell us?”

Harry turned white.  “What do you mean?” he asked.

“Do you know a couple of guys named Henry and Victor?”  Harry had completely forgotten his story, and he answered truthfully, “No.  Who are they?”

“What about a story called ‘Ten Days’?  Do you remember that?”

The light dawned in Harry’s brain.  “Good Lord, Danny.  How do you know about that?”

“When we borrowed the movie projector from your closet, Rudy and I found the book you wrote the story in.  We read it, and we had no doubt that Henry and Victor were you and Vincent.”

Harry kept staring at Vincent.  He was speechless and had nothing to say to anyone.  Finally Vincent said, “Boys, we can’t explain it.  We certainly don’t know how it happened.  Both of us always believed we were straight.  We may still be, but not with each other.  We love each other so much, but we know we can never be together.  That’s why we are so happy for you two boys.  Don’t ever hide in the dark like us.  Be like your grandfathers and your uncles.  It’s easy for you to see how happy they are.”

“Do any of them know about you?” Harry asked.

“Yes,” Danny said.  “We confided in Uncle Gerry and Uncle Frank.  We needed some guidance in making love.  They gave us a movie to watch, and that’s why we borrowed the projector, and accidently found the book.”

“We don’t have to tell you boys how important it is for you to keep our secret,” Vincent said.  “Your father loves your mother, Danny, and we don’t want to hurt her.”

“Your secret is safe with us,” Daniel said.  “But I sure wish you two could be together forever instead of occasional stolen moments when Vincent visits.”

“We wish the same thing, but we fell in love too late,” Harry said.  “That’s why we’re so happy for you two.”

“We better go do something that we can tell Jane about so she doesn’t wonder,” Vincent advised.

“How about we go to Howard Johnson’s for some ice cream?” Rudy asked.

“Great idea,” Daniel agreed, and off they went.

They tried to kill as much time at the ice cream store as possible, but eventually they came home.  Harry was surprised that the house was dark and Jane’s car was not in the driveway.  He drove directly into the garage and they entered the kitchen through the garage door.  He saw it right away.  All the little pictures, notes and magnets had been removed from the refrigerator door.  In their place there was one sheet of note book paper.  Harry ripped it free of the magnet holding it, and started to read to himself.

You bastard.  Who do you think you are kidding? How long did you think you could hide your sordid affair with Vincent from me?  You two practically make love in front of me.  To confirm it, I discovered the book you wrote your love story in.  I went to put clean underwear in Daniel’s drawer, and when I went to rotate his jockey shorts, there it was.  Did you think that I would not recognize your handwriting?  What was the damn thing doing in Danny’s drawer anyway?  Is he a co-conspirator?  I’ll bet something is going on with him too.  I should have known you were a faggot.  The fruit doesn’t fall far from the tree.  Now it’s clear why you didn’t ever protest fucking me in the ass all these years.  Another husband would have insisted on vaginal sex.  Things are really coming clear.

I have an old friend, recently divorced, who now lives in New York.  I am going to stay with her until I can find a job and get a place of my own.  I’ll contact you when I need to, probably when I file divorce papers.  Now you can continue to fuck your brains out.  Ha, ha, still in the ass.

The note was unsigned.

“What is it?” Daniel asked.  “You’ve turned white?”

Harry knew that he couldn’t let the boys see this letter.  “You and Rudy go off to bed now.  I’ll tell you everything in the morning, but right now, Vincent and I have to go out for a little while.”

Daniel could tell from Harry’s tone of voice that he should not argue, and he and Rudy went off to bed.  As soon as they were gone, Harry handed Vincent the note, and called his father’s house.  Frank and Gerry still shared the old oversized place with John and Ron.

“What’s the matter, Harry?” John wanted to know.

“I know it’s really late, but do you think Vincent and I could come over.  I sorely need to have one of our old time family conferences.”

“Of course, we’ll wait up for you.”

When John told the rest of his household that Harry and Vincent were coming over for a family conference, Frank sniggered.  “If he tells us that he and Vince have been corn holing each other for years, are we supposed to pretend to be shocked?”

“What are you talking about?” John asked.  Frank realized that he and Gerry had never confided their suspicions to anyone, and he shut up quickly.

“Nothing, Dad, honest,” Frank said.

When Harry’s father, uncle and two brothers read Jane’s note, they were stupefied, especially John and Ron.

“Is it true about you and Vincent?” John asked incredulously.  Harry could only nod his head.

“I guess history does repeat itself.” Ron said.

“I know this is a big shock,” Frank said, “but have you given any thought to what you’re going to do?”

“I don’t know about Harry,” Vincent said, “but I have something to tell you.  When I met with the Canton Urban Planner, he told me that he was retiring in three months.  I applied for the job, and he says I’m a shoo-in to get it.  I’ll know next week.”

He turned to Frank and Gerry.  “You guys know about our sons.  Harry, you better tell John and Ron.”

“Tell us what?” Ron asked.  “I don’t know if I can take any more shocks tonight.”

“Harry, tell them, and I’ll put up a pot of coffee,” Gerry said.

When Harry finished his narrative, and they were all having a cup of coffee with a donut, John said, “I think this is the end of the Chandler clan.”  Everyone agreed, but they were all wrong.

Twenty five years later, Rudy and Daniel were practicing law in Columbus.  They had joined George’s growing law firm.  George was getting ready to retire, and his partner, David, had already retired.  They had been looking at condos in Boca Raton for some time now.  George’s father, John, and his Uncle Ron had retired there years ago.  They were both in their early eighties and doing just fine.

John had sold his drug store to Walgreen’s in the mid 1970’s.  Independent drug stores could no longer compete with the large chains.  Gerry and Frank now worked for Walgreens.  They worked less hours and made more money, so they weren’t complaining.  They too were talking about possibly moving to Boca, as were Carson and John, Jr.  Harry and Vincent had not given a thought yet to slowing down.

Rudy and Daniel desperately wanted to have children.  They had heard about a foster care program that placed gay teen-agers in gay households, where they would have good role models, and be mentored by steady hard working, good citizens.  Rudy and Daniel were certainly all of that.  They applied to The Agency to foster just such a child.  After months of filing reams of paper work, and being investigated by no less than seven social workers, they were called to The Agency’s office. 

A stout, matronly woman greeted them.  She looked like a very masculine Lesbian, so they were stunned to be introduced to MRS. Stoltz.  She greeted them warmly.  Her grip was stronger than any man’s hand either of them had ever shaken.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” she said.  “I believe we have the perfect young boy for you.  Let me give you some of his background.  He’s fourteen now.  Last year, his father discovered him having sex with a young friend.  He didn’t throw him out on the streets as so many others have.  Instead, he got a lawyer, and legally had the boy declared a ward of the state.”

“How could a parent do that?” Daniel asked incredulously. 

Mrs. Stoltz just shrugged her shoulders.  “I don’t know,” she said.  “He’s such a beautiful boy.  I’m afraid he hasn’t been well nourished this past year, and he’s a little below average in height.  I’m sure with the proper care he will be restored to full health.”

“When can we meet him?” Rudy asked.

“Right now.  Do you have any questions before I bring him in?”  Daniel and Rudy shook their heads.  “Then let me remind you of the rules.  You will have three separate, supervised visits with the boy at this facility.  After that you can take him home for an afternoon to show him where he will live, and what his room will look like.  If he agrees, you can take him home twice more after that for one afternoon and one overnight visit.  After the final visit if you men and the boy agree, then you will be appointed his foster parents.  Do you accept these terms?”  They both nodded.

Mrs. Stoltz pushed a buzzer on her desk.  “Bring Manuel in now, please,” she recited into the intercom machine.  Mrs. Stoltz’s secretary brought in a shy, young boy.  He gripped her hand so hard, she practically had to pry him loose.

The boy would not look up, but kept staring at the floor.  “Manny,” Mrs. Stoltz said pointing at Daniel, “this gentleman is Daniel Chandler.”   Then she pointed at Rudy.  “This is his partner, Rudy Hutchinson.  They would like you to be their little boy.”

Finally Manny looked up and into the eyes of his soon to be benefactors.  He smiled broadly at them, and it was love at first sight.

Manuel Sanchez was of Venezuelan descent.  He had very light brown skin and very dark brown eyes.  His hair was straight and dark brown like his eyes.  He needed a haircut badly.  He was a little small for his age, and far too skinny.  Rudy thought that he could remedy that quickly enough.  The smile he flashed at his two potential fathers was infectious.  His teeth were straight and pearly white.  At least he didn’t need orthodontics.

“Both Rudy and Daniel are lawyers,” Mrs. Stoltz said.  They have indicated in their application, that they would like to be responsible for your education.”  Manny’s smile evaporated, and he began to cry.

Both Rudy and Daniel could not restrain themselves.  They ran over to the boy and embraced him.

“Thank you, Mr. Chandler,” Manny said.  “Thank you Mr. Hutchinson.”

“Why don’t you call us Danny and Rudy for now and someday if you’d like, we would love it if you called us ‘Dad’.”

Manny looked hard at his benefactors.   They were at least as old as his father, but his father looked old.  These guys were handsome and young looking.  Manny thought, “I’d rather call you lovers.”

To be continued...

Posted: 12/21/12