January 1, 2016

 

“I can’t believe this fucking government is forcing Australia to be one of the countries in this world that’s still in the dark ages where marriage equality is concerned,” Dan said, as he looked up from his laptop.

 

“Dan, it’ll happen one day soon enough so stop worrying about it,” Jake replied.

 

Dan slammed the laptop closed in frustration and said, “Jake, it’s not right that we had to go to Canada in two thousand eight to get married and it’s certainly not right that our marriage of seven years doesn’t mean shit in our own country.”

 

“Dan, at least we got married earlier than most. Some gay guys still aren’t married when they want to be married desperately.”

 

“For fucks sake, Jake, after huge amounts of legal wrangling, eventually we were allowed to legally adopt a son but still we’re not allowed to be legally married as his parents in his home or country. It’s the ultimate hypocrisy.”

 

“True but we’ve got our boy and we are married, even if there are some loose ends that need to be tied up,” Jake said.

 

“Loose ends? How can you call them loose ends? A portion of the people in this country still think that what we’ve achieved is a mistake and until the laws are changed, our lives will be viewed as little more than a fantasy. It’s not right. Now, this fucking Liberal government is standing in front of our human rights. It’s not even about marriage equality and everyone knows it. It’s about nothing more than narrow-minded bigots and homophobes who want to maintain their opinionated sense of superiority.

 

“People like to believe that who they are, what they think and how they exist is the only way that’s right. Empowering the self by disenfranchising others, self-deceptively confirms their superiority in their minds. There’s little difference between these archaic attitudes of segregation and Hitler’s desire for a master Aryan race. The only difference is Hitler wanted to create a race while these modern politicians think they’ve already got one in the straight, white, upper class they exist in. The rest of the world is finally moving forward and countries everywhere are changing the laws but still this country, which was always quite forward thinking, appears to be going backward instead of forward.

 

“Jake, it’s fucking bullshit and you know it is. You and I have been having sex since the night before you turned sixteen and that was thirty-seven years ago. We’re fifty-two, we’ve been working, paying taxes and supporting our countries economy for all these years and still we’re treated like alien citizens,” Dan bellowed.

 

“Fifty-two? That means you’re both going to be fifty-three this year. Shit Dads, you both are really old,” Rick said as he walked into the room.

 

Both Jake and Dan lifted their heads and looked at their son’s approach. Rick had been an adorable boy when they first brought him into their lives but now, the adorable boy had grown into an exceptionally handsome, young man.

 

One hundred seventy-eight centimetres or five foot ten inches tall, Rick had a thick mane of naturally blonde hair. His eyes were sensitive though deep blue and were a captivating feature. Physically strong and very well built; he was a woman’s and a gay man’s fantasy.

 

“Don’t you start, you little shit. You’re not too old for me to put you over my lap and give you a good wallop,” Jake said.

 

“Dad, I’m twenty-two and yes I’m too old for a spanking. I can’t believe you called it a good wallop. Isn’t that something the Americans in the south of the United States use to say? Shit, not only am I the son of two ancient men out of time but now it seems that at least one of my dads is in the wrong country as well.”

 

“We should give him back,” Dan suggested, as he glanced over at Jake.

 

“Aw Daddy D, don’t be like that, you know you love me,” Rick said.

 

“Daddy D? You haven’t called me that for years,” Dan said.

 

Rick asked while grinning with bemusement, “Is it working?”

 

“Me? Love you? Ricky, you’ve been a pain in my posterior since the day you arrived and the only reason I didn’t leave you on some random doorstep, was because you were too big to leave swaddled in a basket and Jake would have denied me my deserved marital bliss,” Dan said.

 

“Oh please. First up, stop calling me Ricky, I’m not a little boy.”

 

“You’ll always be our Ricky,” Jake chimed in.

 

“Secondly, posterior? Why can’t you just say arse like everyone else?”

 

“Tell that to the Americans,” Dan interrupted.

 

“I can’t even finish a statement or a rhetorical question without one or both of you budding in. Anyway, are you serious? Deserved marital bliss? You could’ve committed murder and Dad still would’ve given you anything you wanted. Dad was incapable of denying you anything because even after all your years together, he still exists within the delusion that you’re someone and something special. I’ve never understood his need to place you on some pedestal? One day I’m going to sit down with him and explain to him who you really are,” Rick said and smirked at Dan.”

 

“Jake, please, can’t we take him back and get a refund? He’s been so costly in so many ways and he has absolutely no respect in spite of everything we taught him. He really was a bad purchase and we probably would’ve been better served if we’d bought a Beagle. Surely twelve years isn’t too late to drop him back at the store,” Dan quipped.

 

“Ricky, what grew between Dan and I wasn’t based on physical attraction alone. It also wasn’t based on sexual prowess, although, you have no idea what it was like when we got all hot and sweaty...”

 

“Please stop, I’m feeling nauseas,” Rick interrupted.

 

“Don’t interrupt your father when he’s speaking to you, especially when he’s about to give kudos where kudos is rightly due, regarding how capable I am in the naked department,” Dan said.

 

Rolling his eyes at Dan, Jake said while returning his focus to Rick, “As I was about to say if you’d let me finish, Son, your father and I were brought together from love. It was true love and everything else came later and was just icing on top.”

 

“Yeah, yeah, I’ve heard all the stories about the greatest love of all. Tell me something, were the two of you the inspiration behind that Whitney Houston song?”

 

“Actually...” Jake began while nodding yes but trailed off purposely to watch Rick’s reaction.

 

“No, that’s enough. I can’t take anymore of listening to your romantic fluff,” Rick said.

 

“So, you unlovable brat, where are you off to tonight,” Dan asked.

 

“I’m not going anywhere. I partied pretty hard last night for New Years Eve and so I thought I’d spend the evening at home with you guys.”

 

“There goes our sex on the couch,” Dan said.

 

“Dan, stop it and Rick, you stop it too. Honest to the non-existent god, I’m so over listening to this constant banter between the two of you. I swear it’s not normal for a father and a son to speak to each other the way the two of you do. Wipe that grin off your face, Dan. You were the one who taught our beautiful boy to carry on like this. You couldn’t just let him grow into the normal, intelligent and sensitive man he is. No, you had to contaminate him with all this verbal diarrhoea,” Jake said.

 

“Oh please, Jake, Ricky is far more interesting like he is. If we’d let him become a man like you wanted him to be, no one would want to be around him and he’d never find himself a wife. Not that he seems to be having much success at that. He’s twenty-two and he still has never brought a girlfriend home to meet us,” Dan said, suggesting it was time Rick got himself a girl.

 

“Probably because the women don’t like what you turned him into. He’s probably a smartarse with them like he is with you,” Jake replied.

 

“You do both know I’m in the room, don’t you? Please stop talking about me like I’m not here. Sometimes you make me wonder if the two of you are not suffering from dementia? If that’s the case then I’ll never bring someone home for you to meet,” Rick said.

 

“My mind is still as quick and clear as it always was,” Dan defended.

 

“Maybe but the way you think, well, there like ideas from centuries past. You do know where in a new millennium, don’t you?”

 

“That’ll be enough of that sort of ageist talk, Ricky,” Jake said.

 

Rick laughed and asked, “So what were you old guys going to do tonight? Apart from sex on the couch?”

 

“A dinner, at the table, not that people your age would understand something like that. You’re father and I haven’t eaten McDonalds since the nineteen-eighties,” Jake said.

 

“Dad, there’s nothing wrong with Macca’s. It’s nice and quick and it’s relatively filling for plastic food. Anyway, a homemade dinner sounds great. I think I’ll join you for dinner and then we can have coffee and talk. A nice, old fashion, family dinner,” Rick said.

 

Dan looked up at his son with curiosity and asked, “What’s wrong?”

 

“Nothing’s wrong. I’ve honestly been thinking that I don’t spend enough time with my dads and I’d like to share some time with you guys and maybe reacquaint myself with the home lifestyle you raised me in, at least somewhat.”

 

“Jake, check the boy and make sure he doesn’t have a fever. Ever since he turned eighteen he’s spent more time away from home than at home and now, suddenly he wants to stay home and have dinner with us? Something’s definitely wrong.”

 

“Dan, leave him alone. I think it’s nice that he wants to share time with us. He’s our special boy and excluding you, I love him more than anything in the world and so yes, he’s going to have dinner with us and yes, we’re going to talk,” Jake said firmly.

 

“Jake, it’s been so long since you got all assertive with me like that,” Dan quipped.

 

“Oh please,” Jake replied while rolling his eyes again.

 

“Anyway, it sounds to me like Rick’s going to take off to the other side of the world for good or maybe, he’s got a terminal disease and he wants to break it to us in a comfortable setting or maybe, he wants us to pay for a shotgun wedding because he got some girl pregnant,” Dan said.

 

“Show a little faith, Dad. I’m not going anywhere because I’m sticking around for the inheritance, which shouldn’t be too long now. I love this house and the sooner you guys are gone, the sooner I can make it look modern. I’m definitely not dying, so you’ll just have to put up with a son who is better looking, smarter and with a more polished wit and finally, there’s no pregnancy, no shotgun wedding and no girl,” Rick said and grinned at Dan.

 

“I really don’t like him, Jake. Please, I’m begging you, let’s give him back.”

 

Jake rolled his eyes before Rick said, “Dad, that smells so good, what are you cooking?”

 

“Roast lamb in red wine, it’s your father’s favourite,” Jake replied.

 

“What’s he done to deserve that?”

 

“He doesn’t have to do anything, Ricky, his life spent with me qualifies him for anything he wants.”

 

“Eat shit,” Dan said under his breath to Rick while grinning victoriously.

 

Rick looked back at Dan and gave him a sincere smile and then he stood up and said, “Well, I think I’ll go upstairs and get cleaned up for dinner.”

 

Dan lifted his head and watched his son ascend the stairs. He then turned to Jake with a concerned look in his eyes and said, “Promise me you’d tell me if you knew there was something wrong with my boy.”

 

“Dan, of course I would. I really don’t know if anything’s happening or wrong but I doubt very much that there is. I think we should just be happy that he still wants to spend time with us. Most kids his age are already gone and their parents hardly ever see them.”

 

“I suppose. It’s just that I feel like he’s hiding something and I don’t know why he’d be afraid to talk to us or tell us anything.”

 

“Babe, don’t worry. I’m sure our boy is perfectly fine,” Jake reassured.

 

“You’re probably right, Jake. I’ve just always wanted to be a really good dad to Rick. I’ve tried so hard to do everything right. I didn’t want to be like my father. I wanted Rick to see me the way you saw your dad. I wanted Rick to be able to talk to me the way you talked to Brad. In my eyes, Brad was like this magical father from a fairytale while mine was… Well, he was an arsehole I could never talk to because he just expected me to do as I was told and be what he wanted me to be. I swear he never stopped to think there was actually a person inside my body. I was just a robot he wanted to program to do, say and think what he wanted me to.”

 

“Dan, you’re a great father and let me tell you, honestly, though I didn’t know you were trying to base yourself on my dad, sometimes I look at you and think you remind me of my father so much. So, if that’s the case then you’ve succeeded in your objective.”

 

“I miss Brad and Maggie and Mum so much,” Dan said.

 

“So do I,” Jake replied.

 

“I really miss the family get-togethers,” Dan continued.

 

“Especially the way Mum and Dad and Carol used to dote on Ricky and spoil him so outrageously. They loved him so much and Mum couldn’t have been more pleased when we took their grandson over to meet them that first day,” Jake recalled.

 

“Yeah,” Dan said and chuckled nostalgically. “Shit, I hate the thought of not being here for Rick before he finds a wife,” Dan added with concern.

 

“Dan, we’re not dying and we’ve helped mould Rick into a truly wonderful, young man. When the time is right, he’ll meet a good woman, they’ll fall in love, get married and have a family. We raised him right and he’ll do the right thing and I know he’ll be happy and have a good life, even after we’re gone.”

 

Dan stood up and walked over to a cabinet topped with family photos. As always he glanced at the large, rear-centre photo of he and Jake, side-by-side in suits on their wedding day in Toronto. They both looked so clean and crisp and handsome and happy, as they turned their heads slightly and looked into each other’s eyes. He then looked at the surrounding photos of Maggie and Brad and Carol and Thomas, all of whom had flown to Canada to share the day with them.

 

“At least Mum ended up with a friend for her last few years,” he thought.

 

Allowing his eyes to move forward, he focused on the many photos of Rick. A ten-year-old new to their life, a smart and handsome eleven-year-old beginning high school and a fourteen-year-old with the brightest face amidst many friends at his birthday party in the back yard. Dan picked up the photo of Rick and his best friend, Ben. They were always together like he and Jake had been, except that Ben did not reside next door. Dan smiled and put the photo back.

 

Allowing his eyes to move, Dan looked at the photo of Rick that was in front of the wedding photo. It displayed a blond, tanned hunk in a green and gold Speedo, walking out of the water at the beach. Ben had taken the photo and had it framed for he and Jake as an anniversary gift. Instantly Dan felt pride rise up inside. He had taught Rick to swim and to surf and to love and not be afraid of the water.

 

Lifting another frame, which showed Rick being crushed between he and Jake, Dan smiled. They were all laughing and once again Dan reaffirmed to himself he had a perfect family.

 

Silently, Jake had risen from his seat and moved to Dan’s side. Unexpectedly, Jake’s hand slid around Dan’s waist and Dan wrapped his arm around Jake, pulling him closer.

 

“You can’t deny what’s right in front of your eyes,” Jake said.

 

“No, I can’t,” Dan replied.

 

“Everything was good and everything is still good,” Jake said.

 

“Yeah, it was and it is,” Dan agreed.

 

“So why are you acting out of the ordinary? Stop worrying about something that you created in your mind a few minutes ago. Everything’s fine, you and I are fine and Rick is fine as well,” Jake said.

 

Dan put the photo back and then turned and pulled Jake into his arms, wrapping around him before he said, “I love you so much” and then he kissed him deeply.

 

Following a quick shower, Rick walked out of the bathroom and as he walked toward his bedroom, he looked down the stairs and saw his fathers hugging and kissing. He stopped, watched them for a few moments and he felt such strong feelings of love and respect and belonging. He turned, started to walk again and called out, “Get a room. Fuck, don’t you ever get enough” and then he laughed and disappeared, as they turned and looked up at him vanishing down the hall.

 

“A fucking good wallop,” Jake yelled loudly and the two men looked back at each other and chuckled, as they heard Rick laughing as well.

 

Later, at the dining room table, Rick said, “Damn Dad, you’re such a good cook.”

 

“Thank you,” Jake replied.

 

Dan said suspiciously, “Rick, your father’s been cooking for us for years. Why the sudden urge to finally compliment him? Are you buttering him up before you ask for a lone?”

 

Rick looked at Dan and grinned in amusement and said, “No but I was hoping he might teach the person who ends up with me.”

 

Turning his attentions back to Jake, Rick asked, “How long did it take you to learn to cook as well as you do?”

 

“Ability comes with practice and experience, Rick. I was a terrible cook at first but soon enough you start to get the hang of it and you start getting better the more you do it. They say the key to your lover is his stomach and so I thought if I wanted your father to keep satisfying me, I better learn to satisfy him,” Jake said and smirked at Dan.

 

Dan rolled his eyes and said, “It wasn’t your dad’s cooking that satisfied me, so don’t you believe a word of that. Your dad satisfied me because I loved him more than I understood. Everything that he was and everything that he added to the portrait of the man he was, simply made me love him more.

 

“Rick, I could never fully explain in a detailed way, why I was so drawn to Jake and why I could never walk away from him; not that the latter ever entered my mind. Truly, Son, as much of a pragmatist as I am, what I’m about to say to you is the truth. It’ll sound wishy-washy but I believe that Jake and I were born for each other. To this day, I still love him to the depths of my soul.”

 

Smoothly, Dan’s head turned and he smiled at Jake. His hand reached and lightly touched Jake’s hand but as he turned back to Rick, he saw his eyes were shimmering with unshed tears. Instantly, Dan thought he had been right and that something was terribly wrong with his son. He jumped from his seat and moved swiftly to Rick’s side.

 

“Ricky, what’s wrong? Why are you holding back tears?

 

“Dad, please, go and sit back down. Honestly, I’m fine. It was just what you said and how much you guys love each other. I’ve wanted to have with someone what you’ve got, ever since I turned about fifteen. You’ve both told me all of your stories and there isn’t a story either of you tell that doesn’t in some way involve each other.

 

“Dad, you’ve been together since you were babies. You were best friends for years and then you stepped it up to blood brothers. Lots of boys do that but it doesn’t mean quite what it did to the two of you. By the time you were fourteen, both of you knew you loved the other, even though you didn’t know for sure if the other loved you as well. Then, after all the shit that happened, still nothing could pull you apart.

 

“Now, here you both are fifty-two years later and you’re still together and just as in love as you’ve always been. It made me emotional because it’s those little touches and gestures. They’re random but you both do them everyday. It seems to me that you never stop feeling the way you do toward each other. I want that with someone.

 

“Every time I’m with the two of you I can see it, I can hear it and I can feel it. It makes me wonder if the two of you are even aware of what you have. It’s so easy for me to think you could take what you have for granted but then in the simplest way, most often silently, you reaffirm your absolute importance to each other like you just did with that soft touch to Dad’s hand.

 

“I can’t help but think how lucky I was that you chose me and that you extended your love for each other out to me. It’s due to your love that I have this incredible life, which seems like a blessing. I really am grateful but I also believe I’ll never be able to have something like you guys do,” Rick explained.

 

Dan was stunned. He had returned to his chair and he turned and looked at Jake. He shook his head in astonishment and Jake raised his eyebrows in reply. Rick’s words filled Dan with such pride yet disbelief. He smiled at Jake and shook his head again, before he turned his attentions back to his son.

 

“Rick, Jake and I didn’t extend our love for each other to you. Here’s a story I’ve never told you. Maybe Jake told you but anyway; on the day we walked in to begin adopting a child, we had no idea. What I mean is, we didn’t have an ideal of a child or whether we wanted a boy or a girl, we just wanted a child to love. We were shown these booklets with photos of many different children but the truth was, they were just faces next to names and it sort of felt like we were looking to buy a new car. It all seemed so wrong. Jake and I kept looking at each other and shaking our heads. We both wanted to just get up and leave and eventually that was what we did. We didn’t even see a photo of you, did we Jake?”

 

“No, we didn’t,” Jake replied.

 

“Rick, it was about a month later, on a second visit, when we felt we should try again. Do you remember the first time you saw me?”

 

“Of course, Dad, I was on the steps outside, sitting in the sun and you came over to me and knelt down beside me and started talking to me. It was two thousand four and I was ten. Most people didn’t want a boy my age or even show boys my age any attention.”

 

“Yes, that’s right but what you don’t know is that I was following Jake and he walked inside but I saw you and stopped. I saw it immediately, something inexplicable in your eyes and no matter what I thought or what preconceived ideas I had about finding a child, still I knew that you were the one. I don’t know how I knew but I knew it. Meeting you reminded me of a feeling I’d always had about Jake. It was a sense that there was no one else. It had to be you, Rick.

 

“Son, you weren’t going to share my love for Jake because that love was for him and him alone; you were going to receive my love for you. It started growing the moment I saw you, it was flourishing after I started talking to you and by the time you were our son, you already had your own little room inside my heart.

 

“So anyway, when I went inside and found Jake, I told him I’d found our son. At first he looked at me strangely and asked when we’d decided on a son but then I told him to come with me and that’s when Jake returned with me and met you.”

 

“Rick,” Jake cut in, “I didn’t feel anything quite so ethereal as Dan did but when I sat down beside you and we started talking, it only took a few minutes before I knew Dan was right. It was you and it was the way you were and the way you spoke to us. It was just right. We went inside and spoke to the person we were dealing with and told them we wanted you. She asked us why and Dan simply said, “Because we know he’s right and we can give him the home, the security and the love and support you’d need to grow up into a fine, young man.”

 

Dan leaned across the table and rested a hand on one of Rick’s hands in one of those similar gestures. He smiled warmly at Rick and said, “Can’t you see we were right?”

 

Rick stared at Dan and then glanced at Jake who nodded in agreement. He turned back to Dan and asked, “So what does that have to do with what I’m concerned about?”

 

“Rick, it means that Jake and I have been given something that’s lasted fifty-two years so far. Maybe you won’t find someone for the same period of time but you’re our son and you share our life, our fortune and our love. You also have a heart that’s good and filled with love and so if you meet someone and you know the person’s right, you can have what we have and feel what we feel and there’s no reason why you can’t be as happy as we are,” Dan explained.

 

“I always thought you’d be disappointed with someone if I brought them home. I always thought no one would meet the standards that you’ve set for me. I was so afraid I could never have something as pure and good as the two of you have.”

 

“Rick, Jake and I have no standards that you have to meet. We hold no expectations for you to match or exceed. We only want for you to be happy and if possible, to find someone that you can love and be loved by. Rick, we trust your judgement and we trust that you’ll know who is right for you,” Dan elaborated.

 

“You mean you wouldn’t care what type of person I fell in love with?”

 

Dan looked at Rick with an expression suggesting he thought something was odd but Jake said, “European, American or Australian, black, white or red, male or female, young or old, as long as it’s someone who loves you, who makes your heart beat and makes you feel like you’re on the right track. Rick, it’s all we want for you, to be happy.”

 

“Shit,” Rick said and shook his head, as his eyes flicked between his two fathers. “I let my own perceptions of your words, create expectations I thought you had. You always talked about me finding a girl, falling in love and eventually getting married and having kids. I thought that was what you wanted from me, not an example of what you wanted for me,” Rick explained.

 

“So now I’m assuming you’ve met someone and that you’ve been afraid to tell us about them or introduce us to them,” Dan said.

 

Rick did not answer out loud; he simply nodded yes and then dropped his head as if he had failed.

 

“Shit,” Dan thought, as a light suddenly switched on in his mind, which caused him to swallow hard. Once again, Dan left his seat and he walked around to his son. He lifted Rick’s head with a finger beneath his chin and as he looked into his eyes he said, “So, are you in love?”

 

“Yeah Dad, I think I am.”

 

Dan pushed, “You think or you know?”

 

“I’m certain, Dad.”

 

“And you thought that if you and this person didn’t somehow mirror what you took for granted Jake and I wanted for you, we wouldn’t accept them?”

 

“Yeah Dad, I guess that about sums it up.”

 

“So don’t you think it’s about time we met this girl,” Jake asked.

 

Dan turned and looked at Jake and shook his head before he said, “That’s the point, Jake, it’s not a girl like we always thought it would be. We kept saying girl and Rick thought that’s what we expected of him, even though we were gay as well.”

 

Jake said amidst a gasp of surprise, “You’re gay?”

 

“Yes Dad, I am.”

 

Dan pulled Rick out of his chair and onto his feet. He wrapped his arms around Rick and hugged him tight and said, “I’m so sorry, Rick. I’m so sorry we put pressure on you with our assumptions. I guess we sort of thought that if you were gay you’d just come out to us. We also assumed that because we were gay, if you were, then it would be simple for you to admit. Ironically, we assumed you’d be straight. Shit, talk about fucking up. Here I thought we’d been such great parents and we put you through all of this by just assuming you were straight. Oh Ricky, I really am so sorry.”

 

“So it’s really okay with you guys?”

 

“Of course it is,” Jake said. “What sort of hypocrites would we be otherwise?”

 

“It’s wonderful,” Dan agreed.

 

“So, would it be okay if I invited him over,” Rick asked.

 

“Of course,” both of his fathers said in unison.

 

Jake asked, “What’s his name?”

 

“Ben,” Rick replied.

 

“Ben? You’re not talking about…” Dan queried but trailed off.

 

“Yeah, Dad, it’s Ben.”

 

Jake asked, “You’ve fallen in love with your best friend?”

 

“Yeah, Dad, just like you did with yours,” Rick said.

 

Dan turned and looked at Jake and Dan’s face was both astonished and disbelieving. Jake’s expression was much the same but then a grin formed and he shook his head before he looked back at Rick and smiled broadly. He then turned his smile on Dan and said, “Like father, like son.”

 

Twenty minutes after Rick had made a phone call, the doorbell rang. Dan had not moved faster in the last decade, as he did when he stood up from the table, pushed Rick back down in his seat and said, “I’ll get the door and you stay right where you are.”

 

Pulling the large, front door open, Dan looked at the young man he thought he had known so well. Now twenty-two also, Ben was a brown-haired, brown-eyed, handsome, young man, about six centimetres shorter than Rick. Generally Ben had been a quiet, well mannered and an easy-going kid but as the years had flown by and due to Rick’s influence, Ben eventually came out of himself and had become a happy and sociable young man.

 

Ben had visited their home a million times and he was a bit like a second son to he and Jake. After the conversation that afternoon and after learning his son was gay, it already seemed to Dan that Rick spending the night at home and having dinner as a family, had been about a setup to bring the truth out into the open. Dan immediately noticed the subtle expression of embarrassment and uncertainty on Ben’s face.

 

Dan reached out the door, dragged Ben inside and closed the door without releasing his hold on him. Though it was not in any way obvious, Dan suspected Ben was the Jake in the relationship. He wrapped his arms around Ben and as he held him close, he turned his head to his ear and whispered, “I believe you’ve corrupted my innocent son and manipulated him into having sex with you?”

 

“What? No! Mr Murphy, it wasn’t like that and he’s the one, I mean, um… He loves me, I mean, I love him, I mean, we love each other and…”

 

Dan laughed and as he released Ben he said, “It’s okay, Ben, I’m just pulling your leg. I couldn’t be happier with my boy’s choice. Welcome to the family, Son.”

 

Wrapping his arm around Ben’s shoulders, Dan led him toward the dining room and as they walked, Ben said with absolute relief, “Shit, Mr Murphy? You really had me going there.”

 

“That’ll be enough of that Mr Murphy crap. From now on it’s Jake and Dan. Isn’t that right, Jake?”

 

“Hello Ben and yes, absolutely,” Jake replied before standing and going to get Ben a meal from the kitchen.

 

Rick stood and gave Ben a hug and a kiss and they smiled at each other. It was a happy, a relieved and a knowing smile and then they sat down side-by-side at the table. Dan returned to his seat and looked at the two young men while sporting a huge grin on his face.

 

“Dad, what? Why are you looking at us like that?”

 

“I should’ve seen this. I can’t believe I missed it,” Dan explained.

 

“Well, I thought we had to go to great pains to keep it hidden but I guess you know that now,” Rick replied.

 

“When did you know Ben was the one?”

 

“There was a connection between us the moment we met in high school. I don’t know if I thought of him as the one back then but I definitely knew I loved him at sixteen, maybe seventeen,” Rick replied.

 

“What about you, Ben? When did you know how important Rick was to you?

 

“Around the same time, Mr Murph… I mean, Dan.”

 

“So what you guys are telling me is that you’ve been together for around six years?

 

“Yeah and I’m sorry, Dad. I wanted so much to tell you but I thought, well, you know what I thought,” Rick replied.

 

“So why tonight?”

 

Rick looked at Ben and Ben turned to Dan and said, “First day of a new year and I told Rick he had to trust you and let you know who he really was. I’d been telling him for ages that he was wrong but he just couldn’t get past what he thought.”

 

Dan chuckled and said, “Here’s a piece of parental advice for both of you. When your boyfriend can see something that you can’t see, listen to him and follow his lead. He’ll always lead you in the right direction.”

 

“So true, so true,” Jake said, as he walked out of the kitchen and put a meal in front of Ben.

 

As Jake sat down, Dan stood up and excused himself from the table to use the bathroom. Hungry eyed, Ben sliced a piece of meat, added some vegetables and slid the helping into his mouth. Immediately following, Ben released an extended, “Hmm” suggesting the taste was wonderful.

 

“Oh Jake, you have to teach me how to cook like this,” Ben said and Rick looked at his father and grinned.

 

“I’m no master chef but I suppose I could give you a few tips,” Jake replied and then looked at Rick and rolled his eyes. A moment later, realising he had forgotten something, he stood up and returned to the kitchen to get another wine glass for Ben, as Dan returned to the table.

 

As Dan sat and looked at his son, a perceptible expression of concern filled his eyes and he said, “Rick, I’m sorry but I need to know something. When did you know you were gay?”

 

Hours later, as Dan stripped naked beside the bed, Jake looked up at him and said, “You’re still as beautiful as you were on that night I watched you through the window.”

 

“You need glasses, Jake. My body is getting flabby, I’ve got cellulite on my arse and sometimes I feel like every part of me is sprinting into a state of decay. Fuck, I hate getting old,” Dan said.

 

“You’ll always be perfect in my eyes, no matter what my eye’s state of health,” Jake replied.

 

Dan looked over at Jake and shook his head and said, “I feel the same about you.”

 

Jake asked, “So, what did you think?”

 

“About what?”

 

“Rick’s best friend, being his boyfriend,” Jake clarified.

 

“It’s funny how a change in perception can change the way you look at someone, isn’t it? I always looked at Ben as just the good friend that Rick could always count on. I used to think he was just a sweet guy who would always be in Rick’s life. Now, tonight, I saw a really good-looking, intelligent and amusing, young man. I suspect Ben is going to be perfect for our son. I think he’ll be a great addition to our family. I think he’s a great guy.

 

“I’ve also got to say, the fact that Rick’s gay, somehow made me feel even happier than I know it should’ve. I’m just really angry with myself for making assumptions that I never should’ve made and for making Rick feel for so long that he had to be straight and marry a woman. I didn’t mean to do it but I did and it pisses me off something severe.

 

“Jake, it’s been on my mind ever since he told us and I know why I did it. When we adopted him, I had this thought in my head about how so many of the straight community think that gay parents will turn their children gay. It was that reason and that reason alone that I always said girl and woman and marry and kids. I was trying to do the right thing but I had no idea I was doing the wrong thing.

 

“Jake, when you were in the kitchen, I asked Rick when he knew he was gay and he told me he was already fairly certain before we even found him and adopted him. He told me he wanted to come out to us at sixteen and that means that I’ve held my son back for six years. Shit, what a fuck-up of a gay father I turned out to be. I always thought I was so open and flexible and yet there I was hurting Rick, instead of helping him,” Dan said self-admonishingly.

 

“Dan, we both share that responsibility and I was just as much to blame and I know it was for the same reason. Sometimes it seems that no matter how far we’ve come, the heterosexual attitudes still influence and hold us back. Anyway, it doesn’t matter now because we know Rick’s gay, he knows we accept him and right now, our boy is in his bedroom making love to his boyfriend. Everything’s fine and this is wonderful,” Jake said.

 

“Yeah, I get that but...”

 

“No, Dan, no buts. Okay, we made a mistake but what’s done is done and it’s already fixed. There’s no point dwelling on it or carrying guilt around about it. We both need to get on with it and to keep supporting Rick and making sure he’s happy for as long as we can. Now stop pacing the floor, get your hot body in this bed and remind me of a couple of the reasons why I remained in love with you. Oh but before you do, open the curtains to the balcony so we can look at the ocean and the stars. I forgot to do it before I got in bed.”

 

Dan pressed a button on the wall and as a low, monotonous motor droned, nearly twenty feet of curtains drew back and revealed a magnificent, ocean view. He walked back to the bed and lowered his body onto the cool, clean sheets and leaned against the headboard. He stared out at the night, gazed at the lights reflecting on the ocean surface and focused on the sounds of the repetitive thrashing of waves.

 

Years before, when Jake and Dan decided to buy a home, it had been Jake who insisted that they buy beside the ocean. Dan had argued to the contrary because of the expense but Jake had argued that Dan would be happier if he were by the water. As usual, Jake had been right and not a day or a night had gone by, when Dan did not look out one of the windows and feel at peace with the world in which he lived.

 

“I suppose for the most part, we did a good job,” Dan said softly but Jake heard the underlying tone of a question within the statement.

 

“Dan, we did really well. Rick is a great son, he’s a good man and after tonight, I suspect he’ll feel free and his choices will reflect that. I suspect he’ll be happier and we’ll see a marked difference in the way he expresses himself from here on out.”

 

“You’re probably right, Jake.”

 

“Dan, he’s so much like you but to this point he’s only shown glimpses of it and now I understand why. I’ve been waiting for him to really present his personality and now I think he will. I know how proud you are of him, I know how much you love him and I know he adores the ground you walk on. It’s why he’s chosen to emulate you. All you have to do is be open, honest and supportive of him like you’ve been doing all along and he’ll take every leaf out of your book and become and even better man than he already is. You’ve got nothing to worry about,” Jake said while answering Dan’s insecure thoughts.

 

“Holy shit, how do you manage to do that? How is it you can get so deep into my head and heart?”

 

“Dan, you indirectly answered that question tonight when you were talking to Rick. It’s because we were born for each other, we evolved for each other and we fought every block and battle that stood in our way for each other. Whether it was fighting with our fears and insecurities, fighting the people around us or even fighting the circumstances that confronted us, we never lost faith in our love and our respect and our trust in each other. Dan, you even stood up to the ocean for me. I’ll also never forget that dream you told me, about how you broke down that door to find me,” Jake said.

 

“I’d do it all again, too,” Dan replied.

 

“We did good, Dan, in every way and not just for Rick.”

 

“We did,” Dan agreed and then he leaned over and kissed Jake.

 

“My heart still races when you kiss me like that,” Jake said.

 

“Here’s hoping that I can make your heart race until my last breath,” Dan replied.

 

“I have no doubt that you will but speaking of how you effect me, how’s your old fella tonight? Is he up for a bit?”

 

“Jake, my old fella, as you so endearingly refer to him, may take a little longer to get up but he’ll always get up for you. Now turn off the lamp, scoot over here and let’s pretend for tonight that we’re back in the tree house.”

 

The room slid into darkness and Dan and Jake made love once more. The years of frenetic humping were now only a memory but their lovemaking was as honest and passionate as it had always been. It was no longer every night and sometimes only a couple times a week, however, both men knew the insignificance of that. What they had was what they always had, just a variation on a theme. As long as they had each other and as long as they could love each other and as long as Rick was happy, everything, it seemed, was fine. Theirs was a bond that could only be broken by death but even death, they both believed, might not be capable of conquering the love they shared.

 

The End