The Future Awaits
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Chapter 29
The next morning I take Mike and Tommy shopping for the few things they say they need. Mostly we just enjoy each other while prowling the mall. I ask them if they want to invite their girls to have lunch with us, but both insist this is a guys only day. Stephan joins us in the cafeteria, then we head for the old stadium.
The game is a tough one. Stephan is delirious each time Luc makes a goal, and Mike and Tommy are cheering him on. At half time, Mike and Tommy go to get us Cokes.
Someone taps me on the shoulder. "Never thought I'd see you at a game, Drew." It's Tom Langford.
I grin sheepishly. "Caught me. The guys wanted me to come. Luc Wade is their suitemate."
"Fine player. I didn't know he was rooming with Mike and Tommy."
"Yep. This is Stephan Wolf, their other suite mate. Stephan, this is Doctor Langford."
"Nice to meet you, sir. Will you join us?"
"Thanks, but I'm with some friends."
The team pours it on during the second half. Luc presents such an imposing figure on the field it's easy for me to see why Stephan is so in love with him. At the end, our team has a hard won victory, three to two. Luc comes running over to us and gets a hug from Stephan, acceptable under the circumstances. I shake his hand. "Nice playing, Luc."
"That was a tough game, but that's the way I like 'em." He punches Mike on the arm. "Now if this guy would play …"
Mike shakes his head. "Too late, now. You were great."
"See you guys back at the dorm. Thanks for coming, Doctor Torrence."
"I enjoyed it. I'll be leaving in a few minutes, so you guys take care. Remember what I told you, Luc."
"I will, sir."
Mike and Tommy have asked if they could invite their girls home with them for Thanksgiving, so I'm surprised when they turn up alone. I finally worm it out of them that the girls' parents have refused because there's not a woman in the house.
"Damn! What difference does that make?" Mike complains. "After all, they let 'em come for that weekend in August."
"They stayed in a hotel, if you remember. I'm sorry you guys are disappointed, but it seems to be a matter of propriety. If Tor and I have occasion to meet Carol's and Andrea's parents, perhaps it will help smooth things out."
"Not fair," Tommy grumbles.
"Cheer up, guys, it's just a long weekend, so enjoy."
"We going over to Dave and Martha's for dinner?" Mike asks.
"Don't we always?"
Friday, Tor puts Mike to work in his lab on a project his class will be beginning when they start making working trips on the boat spring semester, and Tommy helps us organize our personal library of books and journals. Both Tor and I have a bad habit of using books then leaving them lying around. To our amusement, Tommy becomes positively bossy as he tells us to return books to their proper place on the shelves after we've used them. Yep, this kid's going to be a librarian for sure.
The next weekend, Luc and Stephan show up at our door. "Hi, guys. Come to report on the trip?"
Stephan grins at us. "Yes, sir. Hope you don't mind."
"Not at all. Come on in. You know where your beds are." Fortunately, I have fixed plenty for dinner, half way expecting them to appear. At times I'm tempted to agree with Tor that we're running a home for wayward boys.
"Notice anything different?" Stephan asks Tor and me at the table.
Tor looks them over then I see his eyes widen. "You've gotten rings."
Luc grins. "With Stephan having a hook like you, sir, we decided to do it like you did."
"You didn't have 'em when you went home Thanksgiving, did you?" I ask.
Stephan nods. "My old man growled something about us being hippies, whatever they were, but we didn't tell him what they mean to us. He was impressed with Luc, because I had sent him a bunch of clippings about Luc being a soccer player, so he didn't even ask if Luc's gay. It was hard, but we played it cool like you told us, Doctor Drew. I think my mom's guessed, but she was pretty good about it."
"She sure was. She even thanked me for being your roommate and helping you. I got along okay with your dad, too." Luc adds. "Now comes the hard part."
"What?" Stephan asks.
"Taking you home with me. Wanna make it next weekend?"
Stephan shrugs. "Might as well. Can't put it off forever."
"If you guys use the same good sense you used with Stephan's parents, Luc, it will probably go okay."
"I hope."
Stephan helps me clear away and put the dishes in the washer after dinner. "Doctor Drew, would you let me try your peg-leg?"
"It'll be short for you, but if you want. Why?"
"I'd never seen one before yours and you seem to like it a lot. I mean a lot of times here in the house you use it instead of your leg."
"I do like it. It's more comfortable than my leg when it's hot. It's also more stable than the leg when I'm on board the research boat and there's some roll. Come on to my bedroom and give it a try."
He takes off his leg and I help him put the peg on properly, then show him how to walk on it.
"Feels kind of funny, but I think I could get used to it. Let me show it to Luc."
Luc lets out a long whistle when we go to the living room, then grins. "Sexy, love!"
"If I'd had this and a straight hook, I'd have gone to the Halloween party as a pirate. You really like it?"
Luc jumps up and hugs him. "Like I said, seeexy! If you want one I'll get it for you." He grins. "You use a peg-leg and I'll bring my crutches from home, and we'll have some fun."
"You've got some crutches?"
"Yeah. Broke my leg when I was in high school. I used them some after."
"Oh, hell," I say to Tor, "it's going to be Mike all over again."
"What was with Mike?" Stephan asks.
"He used crutches when he broke his leg a year ago. The girl he had at the time wanted him to keep using 'em after he was okay. They broke up after I made him stop. She was one of those who gets off on amputees."
Luc grins broadly. "Guess my secret's out. Why do you think I fell for Steph? I mean that was the first attraction, but when I found out what a super guy he is, that was it."
Stephan leans over and kisses him. "And I like hunky studs like you. Never thought I'd be lucky enough to have one fall for me. Hell, I'll get a peg-leg if you want."
"Do, if Doctor Drew will tell you where he got his."
"The guy I got mine from is right there in town, so it'll be easy."
"Look, guys, stop calling Drew and me Doctor Torrence. When you're here, it's Drew and Tor, okay?"
Luc smiles. "Thanks, sir."
"You can knock off the sir, too."
This proves to me that Tor likes these two guys, as much as I. They are quiet and pitch in so willingly when I'm fixing a meal or need help with anything, they are no trouble at all. Both of them spend the rest of the weekend in study and talking with us as if we were their age.
"Be sure to let us know how things go at home next weekend, Luc." Tor says when they're ready to leave.
"Will do, sir. And thanks for having us."
I spend the next week supervising the lab portions of Tor's classes. The kids have had the basics, but Tor doesn't feel comfortable letting them work in the lab alone, with justification. I have to call one of them down several times for horse play, getting him to cease completely only when I threaten him with an F if I have to speak to him again. I'm afraid that sooner or later he's going to learn how dangerous it is to play around with items like microtomes and scalpels, and I certainly don't want him hurt in labs I supervise.
Saturday evening I'm typing on the final manuscript of my new book, when the doorbell rings. Tor's up in his lab, so I answer to find Luc and Stephan. Luc looks absolutely wasted and Stephan's face displays his anguish. "Good Lord! What's happened? Come in guys." I yell up the stairs for Tor to come down.
"I took Steph home with me like we planned," Luc says. "It wasn't so bad, until this morning. Mom asked me how I could stand rooming with a poor boy as badly crippled as Stephan and that started it. I told her Steph's a great guy and not a poor cripple. Then dad went ape when he saw my earring and said I looked like a queer. That's when I lost it and told him I am, and Stephan and me are in love. I got so pissed off we got our stuff and left. I'm sorry, sir, but I couldn't think of anywhere else to go."
Tor hugs him. "God, I'm so sorry, Luc. You guys sit down and have a drink. We'll talk after dinner when you're calmer." Tor hands Luc a Canadian and ginger, he gulps it down and holds out his glass for another. Stephan has barely touched his instead he keeps his arm around Luc, trying to comfort him.
After a mostly silent dinner, I pour coffee and Tor asks, "Is there any chance your parents might be more objective after they calm down, Luc? You did hit them hard with all the truth at once, instead of working up to it."
"I don't know, sir. I … I just lost it."
"Oh, Jesus! I was afraid of that. I'm sorry we didn't prepare you better," I say.
"It's not your fault, sir. I thought I could handle it, but I couldn't, not after they called Steph a cripple. Damn it, I love him."
"We know that. Let's get to the important things," Tor says gently. "Is this going to affect your education? You said they were supporting you."
"I … I don't know, sir. We left before they could say anything else."
"There's not much more we can say until you have some word from your parents."
"I don't give a damn what they say!" Luc blurts. "I'm not giving up Steph."
Tor reaches over and squeezes his hand hard. "Cool it, Luc. As I was saying, there's no way to know how this is going to affect you until you hear something from them. Let them calm down and have some second thoughts. When you hear from them, let us know and we'll try to help you figure out what to do. Now you and Stephan relax and do what you want for the rest of the weekend."
"You can start by bringing in your things. We're here if you need us," I add.
Stephan goes out and brings in their bags, then both of them go up to their room and don't come back down.
"I feel like we're partly to blame," I tell Tor.
"Knock it off, love. It's not our fault Luc blew it. We both told him to take it slow."
"I know. Mike's right, life is so damn complicated at times."
"The thing I'm sorry about is that the kids are so in love with each other. It's got to be wonderful for Stephan having someone like Luc in love with him."
"You can see that from the way Stephan looks at him. Damn, I hope things work out. They're great kids."
Since neither of us is in any mood to continue to work, we make it an early night. It's nearly ten when the guys come down for breakfast. Tor and I had coffee and some pastry earlier on while we read the morning paper. Luc looks a little better, but he doesn't say anything as I hand him and Stephan mugs of coffee.
Just as I'm about to start fixing them something to eat, the phone rings. It's Mike asking if Luc and Stephan are here. When I tell him they are, he says Luc's parents called to see if he was at school and want him to call home immediately. I tell him I'll pass the message along and he's not to tell Luc's parents where he is if they call again. When I relay the message, Luc's face turns angry, his fist hits the table hard enough to jar our coffee mugs. "I haven't got a damn thing to say to them!"
Stephan pales, but Tor scowls at Luc and grabs his shoulder. I see Luc wince from the grasp. "Knock that off right now, Lucas. We're trying our best to help you, and nothing is going to get solved with that attitude. I want you to calm down. When you can be rational and civil, I want you to call your parents and see what they have to say. As soon as you've talked with them, I'm going to call Eric and make an appointment for you and Stephan to talk to him as soon as you get back to school. He's a fantastic guy and a trained counselor. He's also a priest, so you can tell him things you might not want to tell us."
Luc still looks stubborn, so Tor nods at me to feed them. Thank God, Tor and I have eaten, for looking at Luc I know anything I ate would knot in my stomach. They both eat in silence. I can tell Stephan is worrying about Luc. When they've finished eating, Stephan says, "I'll always love you, Luc, but I'm not coming between you and your family." Tears are rolling down his cheeks. "I'll move out."
Luc jumps up and jerks Stephan to his feet. "The hell you will! I love you, Steph, and nobody's splitting us up." He kisses Stephan as if he was offering life itself. "I'm coming out the minute we're back at school and anybody doesn't like it can go to hell."
"Please don't, Luc. Don't risk your standing on the team, specially with the final game coming up. I know what it means to you."
"Fuck the team. You're all I need, Steph."
"Both of you sit down," Tor snaps. "I haven't finished."
They pull apart and look at him, then slowly sit. Luc's hand holds Stephan's, so Stephan holds his coffee mug with his hook.
"I'm glad you guys have each other, but nice as it is, you can't live on love. You graduate at the end of this semester, Luc. You might find a job, but to get the kind of job you said you want, you're going to have to have a masters at a minimum; a PhD if you want a good one. It's pretty much the same for Stephan. Now simmer down and be practical. Until you both know how things are going, it's better if neither of you comes out on campus. You're going to finish your coffee, Luc, and when you can be objective you're going to call home. If you want, I'll get on the extension."
An hour and two more cups of coffee later, Luc seems reasonable. He asks Tor to listen in on his call and waits for Tor to get our cordless before he dials from the kitchen phone. "It's Luc, mom." He listens for a while, then asks, "What about dad?" A few moments later he says, "I didn't want to tell you that way." He listens a while longer before saying, "I love Stephan, mom. He's a great guy and he's not handicapped; he does anything he wants. His folks know we're gay and they welcomed me in their home. That's all I'm asking of you and dad, because I'm not giving him up." He listens again, before saying, "I'll think about it. I want to talk to you and dad when we're not mad at each other. Give me a call and I'll come home for a weekend when he calms down." She must have asked if he's at school, because he says, "No, Stephan and me are with a couple of professors we know. We're going back to school in a little while." … "Okay, mom." He hangs up and Tor switches off the cordless.
"You handled that nicely, Luc. Try to stay that objective when you talk with your mother again."
"Yes, sir." Luc dashes from the room.
When he comes back, Tor asks, "Problem?"
Luc gives him a sheepish grin. "Too much coffee. Guess Steph and me'll be going."
"Want me to call Eric?"
"Please, sir." He glances at the clock on the microwave. "We should be there by five or a little after. If he can talk with Steph and me tonight, give him our number. It's the same as Mike's."
"Mass should be over by now, so let me see if I can get him in his office."
"I've got his card in my desk." I find it and hand it to Tor. He calls while the guys are getting their stuff together.
"Okay, guys, it's set. I told Eric it was urgent, so he'll see you in his office at the church at seven. You know where it is?" When Stephan nods, Tor says, "Be sure you're there."
Stephan hugs Tor, then me. "I wish I knew how to thank you properly. We didn't know where to go. I knew we couldn't go back to school."
"You guys know you're welcome here any time. I hope we've helped."
"You don't know how much. Thanks," Luc says.
Tor shakes his head as they're driving off. "Poor guys. I'm damn glad I got hold of Eric. I hope he can get them straightened out."
"He can if anybody can. Luc's got a rough time ahead. I hope it doesn't affect his exams too much. Speaking of which, we've both got to get started on them."
Tor grins. "Got mine made up."
"Bull! You haven't done any more than I have."
"Pulling an old one from the files. When are you going to learn?"
I smile at him. "Starting now. I'll do the same."
"About time, babe."
To be continued...
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