Chapter 15
by Dan Kirk
It was amazing what a simple apology could do. Some people have made a science of apologizing, both now and in the future. Certainly for anyone in the public spotlight knowing how to give the correct apology at the correct time was an important thing to know.
Sometimes a bouquet of flowers with a simple note saying “I’m Sorry” would heal over a spat between lovers. It could be a box of chocolates, or a special trip including a favorite activity of the person being apologized to would work. Other times, giving a good apology required a complicated series of events, or endless repetition. There were people who didn’t want to hear a simple “I’m Sorry.” They want to hear you explain why you’re sorry, and what you did wrong first, and then the words. Still others wouldn’t listen to any apology at all, but rather required a long series of actions before they would accept the apology.
David Jones Sr. had a lot to apologize for in this timeline, and he had a lot of people to whom he needed to apologize. Each of them required a different style of approach, a different form of apology, and none of them were inclined to forgive him anytime soon. The little stunt with the aborted attempt to get some of Sandy’s lottery money had only made the hurdles higher, and I was both surprised and pleased when he started making overtures right away.
The next Saturday after Davey confronted him, he walked over to Pete and Monta’s house. Dad and I had been invited by Pete to join him and Davey on a fishing trip. It had been a good trip, and we’d come back in the late afternoon with the legal limit of fish. Davey’s father showed up just as we finished unloading the van, and Pete tensed up, as did Davey, but it was Davey who went to confront his father while Pete watched warily.
“What do you want?” Davey asked sternly.
“I… I would like to speak to your mother.” David Sr. said in a cautious voice.
“Why?” Davey’s voice dripped with suspicion.
“These are the official papers dropping the lawsuit.” His father answered while holding up a sheaf of papers in his hands. “I’ve also got papers filed for starting the divorce proceedings, if she wants. This way she doesn’t have to pay for anything.”
“Okay.” Davey said with a hint of anger in his voice and he turned back to look at his grandfather who stared at the two of them for a long moment before nodding.
“I’ll go get her.” Pete said gruffly and walked into the house. Sandy came out a few minutes later with an apprehensive look on her face.
“Pete says you have something for me, Dave.” She said frostily and her husband handed over one set of papers.
“Here’s the papers dropping the suit.” He said to her. “It was wrong of me to file them. I have no right to any of that, and I’m sorry.”
“You’re damn right you have no right.” Sandy snarled, but she also relaxed a bit as she took the papers. “What made you do it?”
“My mother.” He said with a heavy sigh and she actually laughed briefly before shaking her head. “That doesn’t make me any less responsible. I’m the one who did it, even if she was pushing me. It’s my responsibility.”
“It’s about damn time you took responsibility for your mistakes.” Pete grumbled from where he stood behind Sandy. David Jones Sr. just nodded, agreeing with Pete and forcing a look of surprise to the older man’s face.
“I… I also have papers here to start the proceedings for a divorce.” David Sr. said and Sandy gasped slightly.
“You want a divorce?” She said in a voice that sounded horrified.
“No, I don’t, but you might.” He said softly. “I’ve made so many mistakes, done so many things wrong I can’t blame you if you want one, but I know that before you couldn’t afford one. You can now, but I am the one who’s brought us to this point in our relationship, I’m the one who destroyed our family, and I’m the one who should take this step, or at least offer it to you if it is what you want. You’ve done nothing wrong. In fact, you’ve been doing things right, the way I should have. You’ve put the needs of the kids first, and put a stop to–to the things that I was doing that were wrong.”
“I… put those away.” Sandy said to him with a weak voice. “I’m not saying I won’t want a divorce, but not right now. You’ve never… you’ve never accepted responsibility for what you did before. Your daughter needs to hear you say that.”
“She will, whenever you and she are ready.” He replied in a voice that shook only a little bit.
“Thank you, Dave.” She said in a quiet, but clear dismissal.
“You deserve it, and more.” He said before turning to go. He took two steps before stopping and turning back. “Sandy, I almost forgot. Bev wanted me to say she misses you and Jenny. Would it be okay for her to come and visit?”
“Anytime.” Sandy replied evenly and he nodded before resuming his course back to his mother’s house. When he was out of sight, Sandy turned and buried her head against Davey’s chest while she shook with her sobs. Dad touched my shoulder and nodded towards the house. I followed him and Pete inside while Davey comforted his mother.
As spring turned into summer, that day marked a turning point for Davey and his family. It took another three weeks for them to move into the new house. During that time, Davey would stay with us during the week, and my room often reeked of the sex we would have in there at night, but on Friday night he’d go back to Pete and Monta’s house and not return until Sunday night.
I found that I was okay with that, because it gave me time to rebuild my friendship with Brandon and Trevor, as well as to continue getting to know Todd better. The weekend where Sandy, Davey, and Jenny moved into their new home saw all of us showing up to help out with the move.
Sandy had bought a bunch of new furniture for the house, and had spent the last few weeks totally revamping not only her wardrobe, but her childrens’ as well. Davey looked quite good in the matching outfits she bought for him, as did Jenny. To my surprise, David Sr. was also there, helping out with the move, as were Bev’s son Bryan and Bev herself – although she spent much of the time in her wheelchair directing everyone where to put things.
When our Junior year of high school ended, Davey had a big party at his house with most of his friends, and several of mine. Sandy wasn’t there that weekend, and Davey shocked me when he told me that she was in San Francisco for the weekend with his father. I knew that they had started going to counseling with Jenny’s therapist as a family, but I hadn’t known things were going in the direction of his parents getting back together.
I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing, but both Davey and his sister seemed to be happy with that development.
In July, Davey got to spend two weeks with Brandon, Trevor, and me at a football camp in Minnesota. At first he was the worst player at the camp, but by the end of the two weeks, he had progressed so far that I was confident he’d make first string on the Varsity team at school. We made a good team on defense together, and while I knew he’d never been into baseball the way it was in the last timeline, I could see the abilities that had made him a good player shining through with some concentrated training and attention.
It was a few days after we got back from football camp that things changed yet again. His mother had bought some excellent weight equipment and put it on their spacious back patio just like in the last timeline. Three days a week, I’d go over and we’d work out together. Most of the time, Brandon, Trevor, and Todd would meet up with us as well, and we’d go out for milkshakes or just hang out after the workout. That day, it was just the two of us until Todd opened the sliding glass door and walked out on the patio, followed by a familiar face.
“Hey!” Davey called happily from where he stood spotting me on the bench press. While I put the bar back on its rest, he crossed over to meet Todd and hug him tightly. “We didn’t think you were coming!”
“I had a guest come over.” Todd said and stood out of the way as I stood up and went to stand by them. “Davey, you might remember Sean from La Loma.”
“Oh, yeah, hey Sean!” Davey said with a genuine smile as he held out his hand. Sean looked uncomfortable, but shook Davey’s hand. “I haven’t seen you since before we moved to Nevada. How ya doing?”
“I’m okay.” Sean mumbled before looking at me with a look that wasn’t exactly pleasant.
“Sean, do you know Brian?” Todd asked and Sean hung his head slightly.
“Yeah.” He mumbled.
“Hi Sean.” I said as cheerfully as I could. He looked so young. While he wasn’t as tall as I seemed to remember him being in the last timeline, he was still taller than he had been our freshman year. His face was paler though, far more freckled, and he had almost no muscle on him at all. In fact, he was as slender as a bean pole.
“Hi.” Sean mumbled back.
“I think I owe you an apology.” I said in as soft a voice as I could. Davey looked at me sharply while Todd nodded politely and Sean looked at me with bewilderment.
“What do you mean?” Sean mumbled in confusion.
“Back in Freshman year, you got stuffed in a trashcan at school.” I stated carefully, mostly because “I” had not been there, but the “me” of this timeline had been there. “I didn’t stop it from happening, and that was wrong. No one should be treated like that.”
“Oh man, I’d forgotten about that.” Davey said sympathetically and he looked back at Sean. “Sean, I am so sorry I didn’t do anything to stop it either. Brian’s right, that was wrong of us.”
“I deserved it.” Sean mumbled. “You don’t have to apologize to me.”
“Bullshit.” Todd snorted.
“No Sean, you’re wrong.” I said firmly. “No one deserves to be treated like that, and I hope that one day you might be able to forgive us for that. I just hope we can be friends from now on.”
“You don’t want to be friends with me.” Sean mumbled and then he looked angrily at Todd. “You brought me here on purpose, didn’t you? You set me up.”
“Hold on, Sean.” Davey said as the smaller guy started to walk away. Davey went up to him and put his hand on Sean’s shoulder. The guy flinched at that, but he stopped and turned around.
“What?” Sean snapped angrily.
“Why do you think you deserved what happened back then?” Davey asked him calmly and Sean’s shoulders slumped.
“You’ll probably hear about it anyway.” Sean mumbled and then hung his head, probably trying to hide the tear that dripped down his cheek. “Dad already warned the pastor at the church and he told the youth pastor so by the time school starts everyone will know. I’m queer.”
“So?” Davey asked in a voice that didn’t sound anything but confused. Sean had stiffened as he said the last part, and now he was staring at Davey in total confusion.
“So, I’m a fag.” Sean snapped angrily. “I’m a fudgepacker. They’ve sent me to all sorts of quacks to make me straight but it doesn’t fucking work!”
“Of course it doesn’t work.” Davey shrugged. “If you’re gay, you’re gay. Shame on those quacks taking your parents’ money for something they can’t change.”
“Then again maybe his parents deserve to lose their money like that for trying to make him change.” I added and now Sean was staring at both of us with wide eyes while Todd practically split his face in two with his smile.
“I… you… you’re all crazy!” Sean exclaimed.
“I told you that you’d be better off back here in Modesto.” Todd said with an I-told-you-so expression on his face.
“What are your friends going to say if they see you hanging around me?” Sean muttered. “You don’t even know me!”
“We used to know you years ago, Sean.” I said in a gentle tone. “You were a good guy back then, and I’d be downright shocked if you weren’t still a good guy. If any of our friends have a problem with you, they have a problem with us and aren’t worth being our friends.”
“Brian’s right.” Davey said firmly before looking back at me with a smile. “You think we’re done, Brian? I could use a milkshake. It’s getting hot. Then maybe we could come back and go for a swim.”
“I don’t have any money for a milkshake.” Sean said.
“It’s on me.” Davey said firmly. “I was your friend back in Freshman year and I totally dropped the ball on being a good friend back then. I’ve got a lot of making up to do for that.”
“I don’t have a swimsuit.” Sean mumbled.
“Then I’ll get you one on the way back.” I said firmly. “It’s the least I can do…”
“You don’t have to do this.” Sean mumbled.
“No, we don’t, but we want to do this.” I said firmly. He just shook his head, which Davey and I took as consent.
When we got to the Snowy’s that made the best milkshakes in town, Sean had started to come out of his shell just a bit. I wasn’t surprised to see Brandon and Trevor there, and when they came over to join us, Sean started to go back into his shell a bit. Trevor didn’t remember him at all, but there was something in Brandon’s eyes that told me he remembered Sean. My two oldest friends joined us in heading back to Davey’s pool, even stopping at the sporting goods store to get Sean a set of swimming trunks. To my surprise, Brandon had whispered something to Trevor while we were walking into the store, and the two of them came up to Sean and apologized to him for the incident in Freshman year.
Then they both pitched in for Sean’s swimsuit.
“I can’t wear this!” Sean muttered as he looked at the dark green Speedo that Brandon was holding up for him.
“Dude, it’d look good on you.” Brandon insisted and I caught the look in his eyes. So did Davey, who gave me a little smile while Sean continued to protest.
“We all should get Speedos.” Todd suggested with a bright grin as he looked at Trevor. Oh yeah, I knew what the red head was thinking, wanting to see the school’s star quarterback in a Speedo.
“Okay.” Davey said with a leer of his own.
“No way.” Sean protested weakly, but his eyes almost bugged out as Davey held up a pair of white Speedos with red stripes on the hips. It was very difficult for me not to start drooling right then and there. Regular workouts had helped Davey shed those extra pounds and the thought of him in that was absolutely worthy of a bucket of drool. I was starting to laugh until Davey threw the white Speedos at me.
“These are for you.” Davey said emphatically while pulling out another white Speedo, although this one had blue stripes. “These are for me.”
“Cool.” I said while Brandon picked out a blue Speedo. We all paid for our Speedos, with Trevor having picked out a black pair and Todd a red pair that was going to clash madly with his hair. All of us pitched in for Sean’s over his continued protests. Then we set off for Davey’s house.
“Let’s get changed!” Davey’s voice showed his excitement as we all rushed up to his room and started to change. Sean turned white and fled out of the room, down the hallway to the bathroom.
“What’s his problem?” Brandon said in an offended tone.
“He’s shy.” Todd said defensively with a warning look at Davey and me. “He’s not a jock like you guys.”
“We’ll get him over that by the time summer’s out.” Brandon said confidently. When Sean reappeared with a towel wrapped around him, no one said anything. By the time we reached the pool, he was a lot calmer, and although he waited until he was next to the pool before taking off the towel and slipping into the water.
At first he hung back while Davey and Brandon got into a splash war, but soon he was swimming around and playing like the rest of us. It was good to see that, as my conscience was screaming at me. Sean had been a good friend in the last timeline, and had sacrificed much over the years, as much as Davey had, if not more. He deserved to be happy now, even if he didn’t remember those times.
Seeing the way Brandon reacted to him was another good thing as far as I was concerned. It was very obvious to me, and probably to Davey that Brandon was interested in Sean as more than a possible friend. Watching them dance around each other was going to be fun.
The weeks that followed were as close to perfect as anything could be in life. Every day I was over at Davey’s house, and Sean was there almost constantly with Todd. Brandon was there quite a bit too, and while Trevor was still spending time with his newest girlfriend, he was there more days than not.
Mom and Sandy were moving along with their Event Planning business as well. They had three clients already, and were deep in working with those people. Two of the clients were weddings, both referred by Sandy’s family members, and the third was actually a political fundraiser for a City Council candidate that my mother knew from one of the local charities she worked with. Sandy had even ‘hired’ Davey’s Aunt Bev to help with the planning and arrangements. The woman may have been confined to a wheelchair, but she was ecstatic with the work, and was over nearly every day, forcing her husband, or Davey’s father to get her ready and drive her to the house.
On the phone she was a living terror to the different vendors they were using. Her quick wit, and ample vocabulary meant that anyone who didn’t perform up to her expectations got a tongue-lashing they would not soon forget. Whoever was over when she started in on someone over the phone would gather outside the office she used and listen. After she was done, she’d start in on us for giggling while she was on the phone.
Like all good things, though, it eventually came to an end when Sean’s father paid a visit Davey’s mother while we were out on a day trip to Sonora. On the way back home, we’d dropped Sean off with Todd at Todd’s house, and Davey and I had gone back to his house. We’d planned on spending the night since Pete was coming by the next morning to take us fishing up in the mountains.
“Davey, Brian, I need to talk to both of you now.” His mother said in a stern voice as we walked in the front door. It was obvious she was pissed about something, but we shrugged and put down the bags filled with the things we’d bought for our mothers, and Davey’s sister. She shut the door behind us as we entered the office that had been President Jones’s in another timeline. There were three desks in here, and while it was still wood-paneled, it had a much more feminine feel to it now.
“What’s up, Mom?” Davey asked in a slightly nervous voice. Both Bev and my mother were in the room, and while they didn’t look happy, their looks were directed more at Sandy than at us, which made me even more confused as to what was wrong.
“What do you know about that Sean boy?” She asked and everything suddenly made sense. It was with a sinking feeling in my stomach that I guessed what had happened.
“We went to La Loma together, and Downey until we moved to Nevada.” Davey began after a quick look at me. “He’s a good guy.”
“How do you know that?” His mother asked sharply. “Did he tell you why his family moved to Southern California? Did he tell you that he’s been seeing a therapist for years now?”
“Mom, Jenny’s been seeing a therapist for years, and for that matter, we’ve been going with her!” Davey retorted hotly. “What does that have to do with Sean?”
“We’ve been seeing a therapist to help your sister recover from what was done to her.” His mother shouted. “He’s seeing one because he’s the one who’s perverted! Has he tried to touch you?”
“What do you mean ‘has he tried to touch me’?” Davey asked with a sharp edge to his voice and I almost winced. “We goof around all the time, but then again so does Brian and me.”
“Don’t try to play coy with me!” His mom shouted while my mom turned a bright pink and tried to suppress a bark of laughter. I had a sinking feeling in my gut as Beverly looked over at her, then at Davey, and finally at me. Her direct gaze caused a slight blush to my cheeks while Sandy kept yelling at her son. “You know damn well what I mean! Has that boy tried to touch you sexually?”
“Not that it’s any of your business if he had, but no, of course not.” Davey said with a snort and the room reverberated with the sound of her slapping him.
“Don’t you dare talk to me like that!” His mother shouted. “His father came over and told me what a little pervert he is! You’ll have nothing to do with him any more, and I never want to see him over here again. People like him should be locked away from the rest of society…”
“Sandy!” Bev shouted as my mother’s face began to grow red, not from the earlier humor but from real anger.
“What is it?” Sandy snapped as Bev turned on her electric wheelchair and maneuvered herself to Sandy’s side while mother stood up.
“What’s wrong with you?” Bev snapped as she hit Sandy in the side with her arm. Davey’s Aunt had been crippled from the neck down in an auto accident years ago, but she was still able to move her arms. Her hands she really couldn’t do much with, but she was deadly when she lashed out with her arms like that.
“What’s that for?” Sandy growled, rubbing the spot where Bev had hit her.
“How dare you talk about Sean that way!” Bev snapped. “He’s a good boy and you know that.”
“I thought my husband was a good father and you see where that got me!” Sandy snapped back. “I’ll not have my son put in danger that way.”
“Please tell me you don’t really feel that way.” Mom said sadly. Her anger was gone, replaced by a deep sense of sadness. “What does it matter if Sean’s gay?”
“What?” Davey’s mother nearly squeaked with her surprise. “How can you say that Brenda? Homosexuals are perverts, one and all! It says so in the bible! What’s more, they’re all sick! Look at that AIDS thing! All homosexuals get AIDS and they die. If that Sean boy is a homosexual, he’ll have AIDS and I’m not going to risk my son being infected by him!”
“Brian, get your things.” Mom said with a note of finality and I knew better than to argue with her right now.
“What’s going on?” Sandy demanded imperiously.
“I’m sorry, Sandy, but I cannot associate with someone who believes those things.” Mom said with a strong hint of sadness in her voice. “My brother Rich died of AIDS, and I will not listen to you insult his memory.”
“You see!” Sandy said in a triumphant tone. “He probably got infected by homosexuals! That was his apartment, right? The one mom stayed at? He probably got it from them! Those homosexuals deserve every last bit of suffering God delivers to them.”
“My Uncle Rich was the kindest, most caring person I’ve ever known.” I said through gritted teeth, remembering this woman caring for a young boy named Jeremy in another timeline. Suddenly I was homesick for that timeline, and I didn’t blame Sean one bit for not wanting to come back to this world.
“I’m sure he was, but that’s what happens when you associate with homosexuals.” Sandy said.
“I am ending our business relationship effective this moment.” Mom said through gritted teeth.
“Why?” Sandy demanded with narrowed eyes.
“Because Uncle Rich was gay, mother.” Davey said with a snort. “You can be so dense at times.”
“I… um… look, I’m just overreacting.” Sandy began in an insincere apology.
“Save it, Sandy.” Mom said angrily. “Right now I’m so angry nothing you can say will make a difference.”
“But can’t you see that this is for the good of our boys?” Sandy asked in almost a whining tone. “We can’t have them perverted by that boy…”
“Stop right there, Sandy.” Bev practically snarled, cutting off Davey’s mother who looked at her in shock.
“Bev, you know that…” She started to protest.
“I know that you’re not thinking, just reacting.” Bev snapped at her. “If you were thinking you’d have noticed something.”
“What’s that?” Sandy snapped at her in frustration as she crossed her arms over her chest and glared at her sister-in-law sitting calmly in the wheelchair.
“Doesn’t it strike you as odd that your son isn’t reacting in surprise at hearing that his friend is a homosexual, or that he knew that Brian’s uncle was one?” Bev asked and I cursed for not remembering how quick Davey’s aunt was. Sometimes I think he got the ability to think so quickly from her, instead of his mother or father.
“What?” Sandy exclaimed in surprise while she turned to face her son who had gone slightly pale. “You knew about this and kept it from me?”
“I… it wasn’t any of your business.” Davey said weakly and I had to flinch at the reaction on Sandy’s face. Part of me wanted to jump to his defense, but I knew this was his battle to fight, and I knew that I would not have been all too happy if either of our boys had spoken to me like that.
“What do you mean it wasn’t my business?” She shouted and Davey did flinch in a major way this time. “How dare you say it isn’t my business? You’re my son and if something puts you in danger, it damn well is my business.”
“I haven’t ever been in any danger, mother.” Davey said with sarcasm dripping from his voice. That did not bode well either.
“Go to your room.” Sandy ordered. “I’ll deal with you later.”
“No.” Davey said in firm, and flat, voice.
“What do you mean no?” She demanded angrily. “You’re my son and as long as you live in my house you will do what I tell you!”
“I’m seventeen, mother.” He said flatly in a voice that I knew foretold a lot of trouble. Unfortunately, his mother was so angry she probably didn’t recognize the tone. “If you want to go down this road, fine. I can leave.”
“You leave this house and you’ll be cut off!” She shouted, growing flushed in the face.
“Davey.” My mother said in a calm voice. Her face showed her worry. As she spoke the single word, she gathered the attention of everyone in the room.
“What?” Davey asked in a harsh tone. It was obvious he was trying to not snap at her, which was a good thing.
“I think everyone needs to take a deep breath.” My mother said in a slightly calm voice.
“I thought you wanted nothing to do with me?” Sandy snapped waspishly at her.
“I don’t, but your son and his relationship with you is a little more important than my anger at you for the moment.” My mother replied.
“I don’t need your help to manage my son, Brenda.” Sandy sneered at her.
“Don’t talk to her like that.” Davey snapped at her and she turned back to him and opened her mouth to deliver a tirade when Bev ran over her foot.
“Ow!” Sandy shouted as she hopped around on her other foot, glaring at Bev who shrugged her shoulders. Davey had a tough time not bursting out in laughter, but he was hiding a big smile behind a hand.
“I swear, Sandy, I get enough of this at home from my mother.” Bev said with an exasperated sigh as Sandy hopped around for another moment. She was glaring fiercely at Bev now, but her mouth was staying shut.
“I’m sorry, Aunt Bev.” Davey said in a slightly meek tone.
“You need to apologize to your mother.” Bev told Davey sharply.
“For what?” His voice almost cracked and he looked stunned. “I thought you were on my side!”
“I’m on no one’s side.” Bev retorted. “No matter what, she is your mother and deserves more respect than you’ve shown her tonight.”
“You’re right.” Davey said after a long moment of thinking. He stood a little straighter and turned to face his mother. “I’m sorry for the way I spoke to you.”
“What about what you said?” His mother retorted in a voice that sounded just as angry as before.
“I’m not going to apologize for that.” Davey said firmly and she looked like she was about to go off on him again before Bev moved her wheelchair in a warning gesture.
“We’re all intelligent people in this room.” Bev said softly and then she looked over at me with a penetrating stare. “Brian, you’ve been awful quiet. What do you have to say?”
“I don’t know if anyone wants to hear my opinion right now.” I said with a shrug, trying to stay out of this mess.
“I do.” Davey said softly.
“I’d like to hear what he has to say.” My mother said just as softly and everyone turned to look at Sandy who stared at me for a long moment before also nodding.
“If I was your parent and you spoke to me like that, I’d be pissed as hell.” I said to Davey and he looked hurt for a moment, before nodding slightly. Sandy looked triumphant until I turned to stare at her. “If I was your son, I’d be ashamed to be related to you.”
“What?” Sandy gasped in surprise.
“Have you given any thought to what Sean’s father hoped to accomplish by coming over here?” I asked her and her eyes widened in surprise. “Have you given a moment to think that there might be more to this story than you’re hearing from the man? If you had, you might have started this by asking some questions instead of assuming you knew everything you needed to know. If you’d done that you might have realized you were being played by that man.”
“What do you mean?” Sandy asked with a hint of anger in her voice, but her eyes told me she was at least thinking.
“Davey and I know a lot about Sean and what he’s been going through for the last couple of years.” I said softly. “Did you know that his father had him committed to a mental institution? Did you know that at that place they put electrodes on his penis and shocked him every time he showed any reaction to a picture of a man instead of a woman?”
“That… that’s barbaric.” Sandy said with a shudder.
“That’s what his father had done to him, and that was the nice stuff.” I continued mercilessly and she shook her head in disbelief. “He’s been kept isolated, he’s been forced to do so many disgusting things I don’t even want to think about them. That man hates his son and won’t rest until he’s made every minute of his son’s life miserable. In the last few weeks, Sean has actually had a few happy moments, most of them over here, and his father is trying to take that away from him.”
“But… but the boy is a homosexual.” Davey’s mother protested.
“Does that mean he deserves to be treated badly by his own parents?” Davey asked her and she looked at him for a second before turning back to me.
“They realize that Sean’s old enough now that they don’t have long to control him.” I continued. “If he ran away again, and he’s done that a few times, they’d end up in trouble because Child Services down in Southern California investigated them. That’s one of the real reasons they moved back up here, so they wouldn’t be watched so much by the government for abusing their son.”
“You’re kidding.” Sandy commented, but her voice showed she was believing me.
“No, I’m not.” I stated.
“Mom, Sean hates his parents now as much as they hate him.” Davey said in a much calmer voice. “The day he turns eighteen, he’s leaving their house. He doesn’t care if has to live on the street to get away from them, but the second he’s of legal age he’s walking out their door with nothing but the shirt on his back.”
“And he’ll be better off for it despite having nothing.” I added and she looked horrified.
“He’s just a boy, though.” Davey’s mother said.
“It happens all the time, Sandy.” Brenda said softly. “Young men like him get thrown out of their homes, or leave because the situation is so unbearable, like it is for Sean, that they would prefer to be homeless than to live in that horror. Sean’s lucky, though. He’s got friends who are willing to stick up for him like Davey and Brian.”
“But he’s a homosexual.” Sandy protested again, looking at her son. “I can’t have him putting you in danger.”
“I’m in no more danger from him than Brian is from me.” Davey said and I had to do my best to not react to the implications of his words. Unfortunately, his mother caught them too, and the look on her face was filled with surprise, horror, and disbelief.
Oh shit.
