"Spring Break" 1
By Gaedhal
This story is a continuation of "The Angel Stream":
http://www.fortruthis.net/gaelmcgear/angelstreampage.html
"Spring Break" -- Part 1
Pittsburgh, March 2005
"Hey, Mom."
Jennifer Taylor stared, open-mouthed, at her son,
Justin, who was sitting at the kitchen table drinking
a glass of milk.
"Justin! What are you doing here, honey?" Jennifer
set down a bag of groceries on the counter. The last
person she had expected to see on that sunny March
Saturday was her son.
"I came down from Dartmouth for the weekend," said
Justin, getting up to refill his glass. "I needed to get
something from the house, so I thought I'd wait for you
to get home. Is Dad at the store?"
Jennifer nodded as she began to put the groceries away.
"He'll be so surprised to see you!"
"Well, if you don't mind, Mom, I'd rather you didn't tell
him I was here. It... it might be too hard to explain," said
Justin.
"Explain?" Jennifer frowned. "What do you mean? Why
didn't you call before you came home? Is something the
matter, darling?"
"No," said Justin. "Nothing's the matter. Far from it.
Everything's great." Justin smiled to himself. "Really,
really great."
A cold feeling crept through Jennifer as she began to
realize what was going on. And why Justin was home
from college in the middle of the term. "Did you get a
ride from New Hampshire with someone?"
"No, actually," Justin replied coolly. "I flew. From
Boston. And I'm flying back on Monday morning."
Jennifer swallowed. "How can you afford to fly from
Boston to Pittsburgh, and then back again, just for the
weekend?"
"I can't," said Justin, looking directly at his mother.
"But Brian can afford it. He bought my ticket."
"Brian," Jennifer repeated. A man who Justin had been
seeing over Christmas Break. A man more than 10 years
older than her son. Jennifer knew that Justin had slept
with this man -- in fact spent every night of his vacation
with him after they had met on Christmas Eve. But
Jennifer had assumed that when Justin returned to
school that would be the end of it. Obviously, she had
been mistaken.
"Brian paid for my ticket and that's where I'm staying,"
Justin drank down the rest of his milk and rinsed the
glass out in the sink. "At Brian's loft. That's why I came
home this weekend -- to be with my boyfriend."
Jennifer winced when Justin said that word. Boyfriend.
"Justin, please think about what you're doing," Jennifer
pleaded. "This man is... he's in his 30's! He's much too old
for you! What would your father say if he ever found out
about what you're doing?"
Justin licked his lips nervously. "He will find out, Mom.
If not now, then as soon as I graduate. Because right after
Commencement I'm moving in with Brian. I'm going to
live with my boyfriend and I don't care who knows it. So
I'm telling you now. If you want to tell Dad, that's fine. My
tuition is paid up until the end of the year. Which means
that Dad can't pull me out of school. Winter Term is almost
over, and all I have to do is finish up my final credits for
Spring Term and I'm done. Finished. Finally! Then I'll
have my precious Dartmouth degree, just like Dad
wanted."
"And what you wanted, too, darling," Jennifer added.
Justin turned away from his mother and gazed out the
kitchen window. The sun was shining brightly and it
really looked like spring was on its way.
"No, Mom. It isn't what I wanted -- and you know it. I
wanted to go to the Institute of Fine Art here in Pittsburgh.
That was my dream. But Dad killed that dream. And you
helped him. But you two are not going to kill the rest of
my fucking life! I'm moving in with Brian and there's
nothing either of you can do about it. I'm 22 years old.
I'm not a child. I'm a man. A gay man. That's the reality.
And if you don't like it, you can fucking lump it!"
Jennifer recoiled at Justin's rudeness. He had never
been confrontational. Far from it! Justin had always
been a quiet, well-behaved child. The perfect son. It had
to be the influence of this Brian person that was turning
her beautiful son into a stranger!
"I better get going," said Justin, reaching for his coat,
which was hanging on the back of the kitchen chair. "I
got what I needed. Here's the number of Brian's loft."
Justin jotted itdown on his mother's shopping list. "You
know my cell number."
"You said you came here to get something," said Jennifer,
trying to keep Justin there, as if holding on to him for
five more minutes would make a difference. "Do you
need more clothes, honey?"
"No," said Justin. "I have plenty of clothes, Mom. I came
to get my passport. Brian is taking me on a trip over
Spring Break."
"A... a trip?" Jennifer's heart was skipping. That man
was taking her son out of the country!
"Yeah, to the British Virgin Islands. We're going to a gay
resort," Justin smirked. "Nothing but sand, sun, and
wall-to-wall gorgeous guys -- all clothing optional!"
"Clothing... op... optional?" Jennifer stammered. "You
mean... a nudist colony?"
Justin rolled his eyes. "Nudist colony? Jesus, Mom!
That is so fucking 'breeder'! It's a resort for gay men!
What do we need clothes for? Brian and I are going to
have our own cottage with a deck and a pool and 24-hour
room service! We're going to do nothing but lie in the
sun and swim and eat and drink big cocktails with fruit
in them -- and fuck our brains out! In other words,
the perfect vacation."
Jennifer sat down at the kitchen table. She suddenly
felt lightheaded. "Oh, Justin! You can't be serious!"
"I'm very serious, Mom," Justin countered. "This is
my first real vacation with my boyfriend and I'm
planning to enjoy every minute of it! And I don't
care what you, or Dad, or anyone else thinks!"
There was a soft tone and Justin pulled his cell out of
his pocket. "Brian? Yeah, I'm ready. I got my passport.
And I told my mom about the big plans. Okay, I'll meet
you in front of the house." Justin put away his cell.
"Brian's turning down our street, Mom, so I have to go.
I'll call you when I get back to Dartmouth. Bye!"
And before Jennifer could respond her son was out the
back door and down the driveway, on his way to meet
his boyfriend.