Birthday Dare

By: Rick Masters
(© 2014-2015 by the author)

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

Chapter 46

On the way home dad said to us, "I really think you should take the opportunity to go back to the advice centre and chat with Simon. Not to find out what happened to him, but to learn what else you can do to support yourselves and any others you might come across who are struggling. Both of you have that caring nature and I think it might help you to find a calling in life. Or, if not, to eliminate one option."

"Oh yes, I agree entirely and if you guys need a ride to get there I am sure we can work a plan between us to help you until one of you has got their licence and can drive yourself there." Dan agreed.

"Drive ourselves?" You mean you would let us loose with one of your cars?" Mike asked.

"Once we know you are competent to drive and legally licenced we trust you to be responsible with our cars just as you have shown your responsibility in other ways these last couple of years." Dad said.

"Wait a bit. What's with this 'we' stuff? Have you two already discussed this sort of thing with each other?" I asked.

"Steve, we have not really discussed letting you drive our cars without us in them as well, but it is amazing how much your father and I think alike and we can tell what the other will agree to without having to ask so we find we can use the plural form; especially when it comes to our two sons." Dan explained and dad just sat with a grin on his face.

"Well, perhaps that explains why we know what the other is thinking without having to ask. We got it from our fathers!" Mike suggested.

"That you might have, son," Dan said.

"How is it then that we aren't able to know what you two are thinking most of the time?" I asked.

"Possibly because we have more life experience than you two and so think things through differently." Dad said.

"Yeah, okay, I'll buy that." I added.

"Changing the subject, dad why did you tell me to be quiet about the tape equipment? Surely you can help them out there even if only to supply one set?" Mike asked.

"Mike, when he told us about not being able to tape it, I was already thinking along the lines of what you were going to ask me, but I cannot make the decision myself and need to talk to my partners first. I did not want to get his hopes up and then find that my partners are totally against it and we don't do anything. But believe me; I will do my best to get what I can for the centre." Dan said.

"Now that is another of those things we can't explain." Dad interjected, "I decided when I heard of their problem to go and speak to my directors and see if they would not make a donation towards acquiring some of this sort of equipment. I know one of my directors is gay even though most people do not know that and he might be sympathetic towards the centre. Dan maybe if I can swing it we could help offset the cost to your company a bit." Dad said.

"Or if my partners agree to it, we can supply it all and your company can make a financial donation to the centre to use for other needs they might have." Dan suggested.

"Fine by me. I will get back to you as soon as I know how my directors are moving." Dad said.

"And I will let you know how the partners take to my idea." Dan concluded that part of the conversation.

We fell into a calm silence for the last part of our journey back to the pizza shop where dad and I parted company from Mike and Dan and got back into our own car which we had left there to travel together to the advice centre. Once we were on our way again, dad told me once more how proud he was of both me and Mike and said that he really would let me use the car to visit the advice centre once I had got my license and he was sure he had no need to worry about how I would behave with the car. I took a while to reply to that as I let it sink in.

"What if I told you we were not quite as responsible as you might think we are?" I asked.

"Steve, I trust you and even if you have been more irresponsible in the past that I am not aware of, I trust you to recognise the responsibility you hold when sitting behind the wheel of a car and to act accordingly." Dad said.

"Thank you dad. I hope I never you let your trust down." I responded.

"I don't think you have anything to worry about on that point." Dad told me as turned into our drive way.

Once we got inside we discovered that mum was not yet home because it was actually earlier than we had thought, but I was whacked and asked dad if he minded if I just headed off to bed. Of course dad said it was ok and that all he was going to do was to turn on the telly so that he could doze in front of it until mum got home.

I took a step toward my dad and flung my arms around him and gave him a kiss on the cheek, "Thank you for being the best dad any guy, gay or not, could want. Goodnight." The kiss surprised dad but he quickly returned the hug and also gave me a kiss on my cheek.

"Goodnight son. I hope you sleep well tonight knowing you have done the right thing by Jay and by your parents and by Mike and his folks too. I love you." Dad said and I had to turn away quickly because I got a tear in my eye and a bit choked up. I knew I was one of the luckiest gay kids in the world.

The following Friday was a teacher training day so we did not have school and Mike and I decided to get together early and get the work we had been set by our teachers done as quickly as possible and then we would catch a bus into town and drop in on Simon for a chat. Mum offered to drive us in but I told her that we wanted to experience the bus trip to see how long it would take and how far we had to walk from the bus stop. Dad had asked me to join him in telling mum about what had gone on with Jay and all that followed because he said it was not right that she should be kept in the dark anymore now that some action was being taken. Mum was a bit upset that we had not included her from the start and dad bravely said that it had been entirely his decision because he needed some time to work it through himself first and then it had moved on to include Dan but that Michelle had also been left out of it initially and might even still be in the dark but also that Dan was going to tell her too. Once mum had calmed down a bit, she began to think about it logically and came round to how happy she was that Mike and I had made a stand and refused to be a part of molesting a ten year old and had also taken further action with the help of our fathers. Mum was also quite pleased that we had decided to go and visit Simon because she felt we needed to have somewhere that we knew we could turn to in a time of crisis.

We rang the intercom bell at the door to the centre and got the tinny voice we recognised belonged to the very person we wanted to see and so Mike simply answered by saying, "Hi Simon, have you got a few minutes for a couple of guys to visit with you?"

"I think I recognise that voice. Even if I didn't have time I would make it. Come on in." he replied and the door buzzed.

We pushed it open and before it had clicked closed Simon was approaching us down the passage.

"Don't worry, we haven't bunked school to come and see you. We have a teacher training day and so have taken the opportunity." I advised Simon.

"I am glad to hear that, but to be honest I couldn't care either way. I am so glad you came to see me." Simon answered.

"Well our dads encouraged us to, but to tell the truth they didn't really need to. We wanted to come and learn a bit more of what the centre does and is all about." Mike told him.

"It doesn't matter to me, what matters is that you have come and that makes me happy." Simon said. "Now while the centre has been set up and is largely run by gay people, it is not exclusively for gays. Anybody in a crisis can come to us and we will help them in whatever way we can, but our main aim is to help younger people, like yourselves so that they don't have to go through what I went through."

"What … no it's ok, we don't need to know that. Your dad said it was pretty horrible so it must be hard to talk about it too. Please forget I was about to ask." I said.

"Actually it helps me to talk about it now, but some of it is pretty gruesome and it might upset you. But I would like to share some of it with you in case you find someone who is getting it rough and you can help them with what you learn from me. So if you want to hear it, I'll talk but if you find it too hard to take then say so and I'll stop. Okay?" Simon said.

"Okay so long as it is helping you and not making it harder for you get through it. And we promise that we will tell you if it gets too tough for us." I said.

"Great, but first something to make it easier to talk. Would you prefer tea, coffee, juice or two glasses of water?" Simon asked and smiled as he looked at me with the last option.

We all laughed and then opted for the water anyway. Simon had led us by that time into a smallish room set up with easy chairs and a central coffee table. He invited us to sit and then went through a second door in the room and we heard the clink of glass and rush of water as he filled a jug from the tap and then rattled some ice cubes into the jug. He poured us each a glass and sat down opposite us as we were sitting side by side on a small settee and holding hands.

Simon smiled and asked us how long we had been dating. We told him how we had known each other for some years but that we had only been dating and out to our parents and a select few others for just a couple of months.

"You are the lucky ones. Your parents have accepted you are gay and are supportive. There are so many teens whose parents cannot or will not do that. We have on average two contact this centre every week with the need for help because their parents have either kicked them out of the house or are refusing to accept they are gay and are trying to force them to be otherwise." Simon told us.

"What do you do for those who have been kicked out of their homes?" I asked.

"We have a place where we can put them up for a few days while we try to contact and negotiate with their parents and if that fails we have to hand those that are minors over to the social services who try to get them into foster care; but there are so many kids in need of foster care or adoption that social just can't help all of them and some end up in child-care institutions. But it is not all doom and gloom. There are some who are reconciled to their parents and both parents and kids come here for counseling which helps them to rebuild their relationships and come to terms with each other." Simon smiled again as he finished that sentence.

"What happened to those kids before the centre was started up?" Mike asked.

"That is a sad story. Some kids tried to live on the streets and either became prostitutes to earn a bit of money to live with, or they ended up dead in some dark corner or doorway. A lot of them got an STD and it was left too long before it got treated and had done enough permanent damage that the kids did not have a chance and died an early death in a hospital somewhere. We don't have any proof but we are reasonably sure that some of the kids got kidnapped and hauled off to some foreign land to be pimped out as sex slaves. But now we tend to get more of them than what slip through the fingers. The police will often bring us a kid that has either been kicked out or has run away from home because of the way they have been treated to give us a first shot at helping them because they know the social services are basically overwhelmed with cases; so it is either us or they get taken back to their parents who just kick them out on the street again. And those that don't sometimes end up like I was." Simon stopped talking and reached for his glass of water.

To be continued...
 

Posted: 05/29/15