Barbara finally looked up with damp eyes and reached over to put her hand on Bobby’s arm, trying to find the right words.
“Bobby, I love you with all my heart – just like I love all my boys. Only you know what’s best for you, and – even though I don’t understand – I won’t stand in the way of your happiness. I don’t know Grant very well yet, but if you love him enough to bring him here with you, I think I can learn to love him, too. He seems like a fine man.
“And if I’m crying, it’s only because I wanted so much to be a grandma someday, and now it doesn’t look very likely. Kenny came out to us a few weeks ago – did you know that? And of course Max won’t be able to…” She excused herself and left the table to get some facial tissue but was quickly back in her chair.
Raising their eyebrows, Kenny and Bobby looked at each other silently, as if to say “You, too?” Grant, not having been privy to Max’s earlier comment to Bobby, was gob-smacked by this revelation.
“I have something to say,” Max announced. “The only thing that’s kept me going all these years in this damn wheelchair – sorry, Mom – is the love that I feel from my family. I have the two best brothers in the whole world, and I don’t give a hoot who they love as long as they keep loving me, too. And I know they wouldn’t bring anyone home with them who would come between them and the rest of us. And that includes you, Grant. From what I’ve seen so far, I think you’re a heck of a guy.”
“Thanks, Max. I appreciate that,” Grant said, his eyes misting up.
The elephant in the room at that point was the silent father at the head of the table. Everyone was waiting to hear what he would have to say about all this.
“Well,” Al finally said, “most dads don’t expect to have even one gay son, much less two, so you’re going to have to give me some time to adjust to this news, Bobby. You boys all know that your mother and I love you, and I know you love each other, too. I was just hoping that all of you – or at least one of you – would be able to bring home as fine a woman as I brought home when I fell in love with your mother nearly 30 years ago.”
He smiled at Barbara on the other end of the table.
“But I guess that’s not in the cards now. I think we should take this a little slowly at first, but as far as I’m concerned, Bobby, you and Grant are welcome to come up here as often as you can, and I think your mom and I would appreciate whatever help you can provide. If Grant is the kind of man he appears to be, I think he’ll take good care of you, Bobby, and that he won’t do anything to come between you and this family.
“I think right now we just all need to take a deep breath and sleep on this. Tomorrow is Bobby’s birthday, and that should be the focus of our day. I’ve made reservations to take us all out for Sunday brunch, and then we can come back here and Bobby can open his presents and blow out the candles on the cake that I’m sure your mother baked for him today.
“I’m not a church-going man – much to your mother’s eternal dismay – but I’d like it if we all joined hands for a moment and just said a silent prayer of blessing on this family.”
This was not an uncommon thing for the Rushton family to do, and they had their unique way of doing it – one hand at a time in a circle around the table. While looking Max in the eye, Al reached out his right hand to Max’s left, who did the same to Kenny. Around the table the joining of hands continued, to Barbara, then to Bobby, then to Grant, and finally back to Al. After a few seconds of silence, they all raised their hands above their heads with a hearty “Amen.”
Silently, Mom’s box of facial tissue found its way around the table, and the conversation quickly turned to more routine topics.
Bobby and Grant squeezed each other’s thigh under the table. The cat was out of the bag now, and it was a huge relief to both of them.
CHAPTER 16
Later that night, after everyone else had gone to bed, Bobby and Kenny had a chance for a little heart-to-heart talk out on the front porch swing.
“So, little bro – you, too?
“Yeah, me too,” Kenny said.
“What made you say it? Do you have a boyfriend?
“No. I’m not entirely sure why I did it. I haven’t even had sex with anyone yet.”
“No one?”
“No one, unless my right hand counts,” Kenny said with a grin. “I guess I was just getting tired of the family asking me why I wasn’t dating anyone.”
“You dated girls in high school, didn’t you?”
“Yeah, but not since then. I’ve made a couple of gay friends in the past two years, and that made me think it was maybe okay to admit my own leanings. I’m still looking for the right time to lose my cherry, but that opportunity hasn’t come up yet – no pun intended.”
“Well, even with your looks you should be able to find someone soon.”
Kenny started playfully pummeling his older brother on the arm for that remark.
“I don’t look much different from you, and you found someone, didn’t you?”
“I sure did. I still pinch myself every day. Grant and I get along remarkably well.”
“I can see that. He seems like a great guy. Does he have a younger brother who’s gay, hung like him, and available?”
“You wish! No, he’s an only child, and I think he’s envious of me because I’m not.”
“I know. I don’t know what I’d do without you and Max. It would be a whole different dynamic.”
“I’ve missed you these past four years, Kenny. You’ve grown up a lot.”
“Not half as much as I’ve missed you. No one’s been around to wash my back in the shower.”
“Is that the only reason?” Bobby said with a mock pout.
“No, you lunk,” Kenny said as he pulled his brother into a tight hug. Then they went off to their separate rooms – Bobby with Grant and Kenny with Max.
“Happy birthday, sweetheart,” Bobby heard as he slowly came to consciousness the next morning. “Come over and lie on top of me.”
His morning wood leading the way, Bobby managed to crawl on top of his lover, and they kissed while Grant rubbed his hands over the birthday boy’s back and buns lovingly. Nothing much was said at first, except for the sweet nothings that they whispered in each other’s ears every few seconds.
“For the next few months, you’re only nine years younger than me. Remember that.”
“Okay, but that’s as close as I’m going to get. And by the way, this feels great, but I need to pee. I don’t hear anyone in the shower, so why don’t you come and give me a birthday shower?”
Grant and Bobby padded naked to the toilet and peed together, then stepped into the large shower stall and washed each other’s body from head to toe. Their erections stood tall and proud as they enjoyed the feel of the soap and warm spray down their bodies. They were hoping Kenny wouldn’t come barging in, and he didn’t – until they were drying off.
“Oops – thought you guys were done.”
“We’re outta here, bro. Nice wood!”
“Cock jockey!”
“Fruit loop!”
“I wouldn’t be one if you hadn’t made me shower with you all those years!”
“You were the one who always wanted to shower with your big brother!”
Grant had to laugh at the good-natured interplay between the two brothers who were newly out to each other – as well as to the whole family. It was an unusual situation, to be sure, but it hadn’t seemed to do anything to shake the closeness of this amazing family as far as Grant could tell.
Seeing the two naked cuties taunting each other had turned Grant on again, and he dragged Bobby back into bed with him after they shut their door to the bathroom, leaving Kenny to shower alone.
“I think you deserve your first birthday present of the day right now, don’t you?” Grant said, reaching for Bobby’s crotch and pulling lightly on his sensitive balls.
“Shhh – Kenny might hear you.”
“Not with the water running. Besides, w
hat do you think he imagines we do in here?”
“Good point.”
Getting into a “69” position, Grant took Bobby’s cock deep into his throat, expecting that Bobby would do the same with his. He was not disappointed. Both lovers devoured the other with their mouths while playing with each other’s ass and balls with their hands. Neither had been this turned on for days, and they were lost in lust and love for each other as they made love like never before.
Grant’s body tensed for a long time as he enjoyed the delicious buildup toward a sensational orgasm. He was turning Bobby on in the same way, and both felt the sexual tension build throughout their bodies as they sucked each other hungrily and touched everywhere they could reach.
Usually the point of no return was over for the pair almost as quickly as it began, but this time the tipping point froze as the moment of orgasm held off a few seconds while they reveled in the prelude to the inevitable. Both stopped their furious thrusting and just let their erections rest on the tongue of the other before sliding them one final time as far as they would go. They nearly blacked out as spurt after spurt of hot semen blasted into each other’s throat at nearly the same time.
“That was out of this world, baby,” Bobby finally whispered, when they lay next to each other in the afterglow of their best sexual experience to date – and they had had some mind-blowing ones in the past two months.
“I think Kenny’s out of the bathroom now. Maybe we’d better get dressed and brush our teeth so we don’t smell like you know what at brunch,” Grant said.
“Good idea, love, but I want one more birthday kiss before we get up.”
Grant was happy to oblige.
“That was a nice one – thanks,” Bobby said, after Grant had kissed him tenderly and soulfully. “I love you so much.”
“I love you, too, birthday boy, but I know some other people are waiting to show you their love, too – in a different way, of course. Shall we go join them?”
“Sure, but not quite yet. I’m still in my birthday suit, and so are you. I’d rather be in your birthday suit – literally – maybe later on tonight – huh?”
“You just never get enough, do you?”
“Not so far. Check with me in 50 years or so.”
Barbara had decorated the house with streamers and balloons, like she had always done whenever her boys had a birthday. Bobby and Grant strolled out to the front porch, where Barbara and Al were enjoying the morning air. It looked like they were already dressed to go to brunch, so Bobby and Grant were glad they had done the same thing already.
“Good morning, boys – and happy birthday, Bobby!” Barbara chirped, getting up and giving her middle child a hug and a kiss. Bobby had used some mouthwash, at Grant’s urging, and he hoped it was enough to mask what they’d just finished doing with each other.
“Happy birthday, son,” Al added, setting down his Sunday newspaper briefly. “Good morning, Grant. You boys sleep okay?”
“You bet,” Bobby replied. “Where are Max and Kenny?”
“Kenny’s giving Max a quick sponge bath and helping him get dressed,” Bobby’s mom said. “Would you boys like a cup of coffee before we go to brunch?”
Ever prepared for anything her family might need, Barbara had brought out a tray on the porch with the morning java and accouterments.
“That sounds wonderful,” Grant said. “Thanks, Barbara. Bobby and I both drink our coffee black.”
It was a pleasant 75 degrees and sunny, and Bobby and Grant enjoyed their morning wake-up brew sitting together on the porch swing while Barbara carried on about all the comings and goings of the neighbors and brought Bobby up to speed on what he’d missed since the last time he was there at Christmas. Usually he had come home for spring break, but this year he and Philip and some dorm friends had spent the week crammed into a small motel room in Pensacola, which of course had allowed them no chance to partake of their usual “experimentation” activities.
Bobby and his family had spent many hours on this porch since moving to this house over 12 years ago. After living in a similar house in nearby Tell City, until it burned, they had not even considered purchasing one of those tract homes in the Evansville suburbs where people drive straight into their garages and never speak to their neighbors. From the vantage point of this wonderful screened-in porch, they could see their neighbors coming and going and wave or talk to them. It made for a wonderful sense of community.
Before long, Kenny and Max joined the rest of the family outside for a quick cup of coffee. Grant decided right then and there that if they were ever able to get a house of their own it would be one with a porch like this one.
At 9:45 they left for the short drive to the restaurant. Al had bought a van that easily accommodated Max’s wheelchair. Everything Max needed for normal living had been provided by his family – the van, a ramp from the house to the driveway, a first-floor bedroom with a special bed and pull bar, an accessible shower, and his own computer. But it was always a concern in the back of their minds as to what would happen with him after they were gone.
It wasn’t really fair to expect Kenny or Bobby to take Max in, but it would be challenging for him to live independently. Like the other boys, he was also an extrovert and needed to be around people – especially his own family. He had never learned to drive, but that would have required a special vehicle with hand controls, and that just wasn’t in the family budget. They had a hard enough time maintaining two vehicles, not to mention the service trucks that Al needed for his business.
It was all a little overwhelming, and Al felt the pressure to hold it all together. Even though he was now 55, he could see no retirement in his future. In a perverse way, he even entertained the thought of how much easier it would be for everyone if he could outlive Max so that Barbara and the boys wouldn’t have to meet Max’s needs alone if Al went first. But of course, he couldn’t bear the thought of losing any of his sons in his lifetime.
Everyone enjoyed Bobby’s birthday brunch tremendously. They sat at a big round table in the outdoor courtyard of one of Evansville’s premier restaurants and enjoyed eggs Benedict, heaps of fruit salad, and Bloody Marys and Screwdrivers. After a short drive around town to show some of the sights of the city to Grant, they all went home for an afternoon of relaxation. The four young men played a rousing game of cards while the “old folks” took a well-deserved nap.
Barbara went all out preparing an amazing spread for Bobby’s birthday dinner, followed by birthday cake, singing “Happy Birthday,” and showering the middle child with cards and gifts. Nobody ever went this crazy over birthdays in his home of origin, Grant was thinking – envious once more that Bobby had been able to grow up in a family like the Rushtons. His parents and he would usually go out to eat for their birthdays, but it was never a tumultuous all-day celebration like the one he had witnessed today.
Most touching to Grant, however, was the way that the Rushtons were already treating him like a member of the family, even though he’d only met them two nights ago.
Grant had brought his camera and took a lot of shots of Bobby celebrating his birthday with his family, and Kenny made sure that Grant got in some of the photos as well. By 10 everyone was exhausted and ready to call it a night. Bobby and Grant sat outside on the porch for a while with Kenny, having a nightcap.
“Kenny, do you have a boyfriend?” asked Grant, once the three had settled on the large porch swing. Bobby sat between his lover and his brother.
“No, not yet. Vocational school isn’t exactly a hotbed of homos – or if it is I haven’t figured out where they are yet. I’d take half dibs on you if Bobby would share,” he said with a grin.
“Ain’t happenin’, bro. Find your own guy. You’re only 20 – someday your prince will come.”
“Yeah, I suppose, and I’ll keep him coming every day, if you catch my drift.”
“Got it,” Bobby and Grant piped up, in unison.
“Seriously, dude, what’s going to happ
en when you do find one and want to ride off into the sunset with him? Can Mom and Dad really take care of Max and this house without you?”
“Well, I’ve thought a lot about that. In fact, I lie awake nights thinking about it. I just don’t see a way to leave. But I don’t think I’d even want to. I’m very content living here, and I’d miss the folks and Max if I ever moved out. I guess all I can hope for is to find a boyfriend who’ll be willing to live here, too, and help me take care of Max. But that may be asking too much of any guy.”
“You’re a great brother, Kenny,” Bobby said, putting his hand on his brother’s. “It looks like I’ll be able to come and help out more often, now that I’m out of school and have someone like Grant who understands the need and supports me in what I feel I have to do – want to do, to be more accurate.”
“Thanks. I don’t know what I’d do without you, Bobby. And, Grant, I’m really glad you and Bobby found each other. Looks to me like you’re a keeper. But if Bobby kicks you out, you know where to find me.” Kenny smiled and wiggled his eyebrows.
“I’ll keep that in mind, Kenny, but don’t hold your breath. I think your brother is kinda hooked on me.”
Grant got a well-deserved but gentle punch in the ribs.
Kenny sat quietly for a few minutes and then said that it was time for him to hit the hay. Bobby and Grant stood up to get a goodnight hug from him and then sat down again for a few more minutes in the swing with their arms around each other. The crickets were chirping happily, and the fireflies announced their presence in a much quieter but just as enticing a manner.
“Did you have a happy birthday, Bobby?”
“It was wonderful, sweetie. Thanks for coming here with me and being a part of it. Don’t tell the others, but the time in bed with you this morning after our shower was the ‘best-est’ part of all. I think I could sleep like a rock all night long, as long as you’re holding me.”
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