The Man from Swift Current
By: Russ Nielsen
(© 2011 by the author)

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

Chapter 5
Ian

The week after Thanksgiving, Ian asked me if I wanted to spend the weekend at his house with his exchange family.   I checked with Uncle Dave and Aunt Mary who said that would be okay.   So after school, Ian’s family picked us up and stopped at my house so I could get my things.   I gave Aunt Mary a quick kiss on the cheek on my way out the door.  

She smiled and said, “Make sure you behave yourself and let us know when we need to come pick you up.”

Ian is staying with the Wall family.   Gene and Pat are a nice older retired couple.   They have a very beautifully appointed home not to mention that it’s huge!   Ian has the whole basement to himself with his own sitting room, bathroom, bedroom and small kitchen.   Gene and Pat are very formal people.   They always eat in the dining room with all of the fancy dishes, crystal and silver.   They also have a housekeeper who cleans and cooks for them.   It is quite different from any family I have ever known.   They don’t have any children of their own and enjoy hosting young people from other countries to have the experience of living in Canada.

Pat greeted at the door and said, “Dinner will be at 6 sharp.   Please remember not to be late.   You know how upset Gene can be if we don’t start on time.   It’s his military training coming out you know”

We did know….we had been late to dinner once before when I visited Ian and Gene had been very vocal in his displeasure at the disruption of his schedule.   Gene has very set schedule and expects everyone to abide by it.   He has a big heart and is very kind to everyone but also expects discipline and personal accountability to be the order of the day.

As we entered the basement, Ian said, “Set the timer on the microwave so we won’t be late for dinner.”   I walked over to the microwave and set it.

We then sat down in front of the big screen TV and started to play our favorite video games.   I was winning and beating Ian pretty soundly when we heard the alarm go off.   We both jumped up and ran up the stairs.   We entered the dining room just as Gene and Pat were getting ready to sit down.

Gene said, “Perfect timing boys.   I’m glad to see the younger generation can still tell time and be prompt for their appointments even when video games demand their attention!”

Pat said, “Yes, these boys seem to be much more mature than their peers, Gene.   Amy, let’s begin serving dinner.” Amy, the housekeeper, came in with the first course.   Oh, did I mention that every meal was very formal.   Well, it always starts out with soup or a salad and moves on from there.   Dinner is at least an hour long affair.   I always come away from the tabling feeling like I have just eaten Thanksgiving dinner with all of the trimmings.   Gene is a wine aficionado and likes us to try out different wines with every course.   For the most part, the wines are terrible, at least to me.   I don’t drink alcoholic beverages and just tasting them reinforces my dislike of them.   Ian, on the other hand, enjoys the wine.   Tonight was no exception.   By the time dinner had ended, Ian had drank several glasses of wine, one too many if you ask me.   We thanked Gene and Pat for the meal and said a special thank you to Amy for her work in the kitchen as we passed through on our way back downstairs.

Ian suggested we watch a video in his room so we picked an action flick and popped it into the DVD player and climbed onto his bed.   As we sat there next to each leaning against the head board, Ian put his arm around my shoulders and pulled me close to him.   I wasn’t sure how to react so I just sat very still waiting to see what Ian would do next.  Memories of what my cousin, John, had done to me kept popping into my head causing me to stiffen in Ian’s embrace.   After a few moments, I managed to relax and put away my feelings of panic.  

It wasn’t long before I heard Ian whisper in my ear, “Do you mind if I hold you close to me?"

“Yes, I do.   I was raped by my cousin when I was twelve and since then I don’t like to be touched,” I said trying not to shrink away from Ian.

Ian removed his arm, “I’m sorry.   I didn’t know that.   Glenn, I really like you and would like to have sex with you.”

I was in total shock hearing Ian tell me he wanted to have sex with me.   “Are you serious?”

Ian nodded his head.   “Yes, I am.   We can take it as slow as you want.   I know you are attracted to me.  I’ve known since I first saw you in our PE class.”

“I’m okay with taking it slow and you’ll have to be patient with me,” I said.

Life couldn’t be better!   I finally had a boyfriend who cared about me and wanted me as much as I wanted him.  What I loved about Ian most was the fact that we could talk about anything.   We spent many long hours talking through the night snuggled together in his bed.  

The only thing that bothered me sometimes was the phone calls he would get from his friend, Sonja.   His cell phone would ring at all hours of the day and night.   They spoke in Norwegian so I didn’t understand any of their conversations.  

One time when Ian hung up the phone after talking to her, I asked, “Who is that?”

Ian said, “It’s my friend, Sonja, from school.   She is a good friend and keeps me up to date about what everyone back home is doing.   She keeps me from being so homesick.   I miss speaking Norwegian.”

“Why don’t you teach me how to speak Norwegian?” I asked.

“Okay, do you really want to learn it?”  Ian asked.

“Sure, it would be fun!”  I said

“Well, let’s start with the basics then.”  Ian said.    Ian proceeded to teach me how to count and say “hello” and other simple bits of dialogue.

Later that night, I lay in my bed listening to Ben snore wondering if Sonja were really more than just a friend to Ian.   Ian had never mentioned having sex with girls but he sure did like to flirt with them!   I will have to remember to ask him sometime.   Maybe I really don’t want to know the answer. 

To be continued...

Posted: 04/22/11