Class Reunion

"Harley did tell me that you were an architect and I would like to have your input on the ideas that I have for the hotel," Chris confessed with a sheepish grin.  "Perhaps we could meet tomorrow morning for a tour of the place and then discuss the plans over lunch.  That is if you didn't have anything planned."

"Tomorrow is perfect," Colonel answered.  "He's free all day tomorrow."

"That's great, see you later," Chris called and hurried away.

"Why did you tell him that?" Jeff asked his son.  "You knew that I wanted to spend the day with you tomorrow."

"Well, this way you can talk to your Chris, and I can go watch mine play soccer," the boy answered quickly.  Jeff caught the statement faster than Colonel anticipated, but the boy kept going.  "Please Dad?  His mom said they could stop and pick me up on the way to the game."

"Your Chris?" Jeff asked with a raised eyebrow.  Colonel blushed from head to toe.  "Let's go back to the room.  I think we need to talk."

Jeff led the boy back upstairs where they began to talk. 

"But, Dad, he grabbed me first," Colonel defended.

"What do you mean?" Jeff interrogated.

"Well, we were swimming around in the pool and his little brother got out so he could dive off the side," Colonel explained.  "When he came out of the water, his swim trunks didn't.  I caught them and tossed them to Paul, that's his name.  I kinda watched him get dressed again, and that's when Chris swam up beside me.  He yelled out at his little brother that Paul had a nice butt.  I said yeah, and that's when he did it."

"He touched you?" Jeff asked.

"Yeah, he grabbed my butt under water, and he whispered in my ear," Colonel answered as he blushed profusely.  "He said he bet mine was nicer."

"What did you do then?" Jeff continued to question his son.

"I was kinda embarrassed, because his mom and dad were right there, so I pulled away," Colonel explained.  "He looked at me real funny for a minute, like he was scared of me.  Then he just jumped out of the pool and ran for the bathroom.  He looked like he was crying, so I ran after him.  He was crying, Dad.  He said he was afraid I was going to hit him."

"Well, you must have gotten things settled," Jeff observed.  "You got an invitation to the soccer game."

"I told him that I don't know if I like boys or not, you know that kind of like," Colonel tried to explain.  "I know I don't like girls, though."

"That could change, son," Jeff cautioned.

"I told him that, too, just like you've always told me," Colonel told his father.  "Then I told him I knew a way that might help me decide.  I told him if we kissed, we might find out for sure.  Then I kissed him."  Colonel blushed as he continued.  "He kissed me back, and it was so cool, Dad.  I felt tingly all over."

Jeff couldn't help but think back to the first kiss he shared with Kyle.  A slow smile spread across the man's face to match the one his son wore.  They both sighed at the same time, and then they each giggled.  Jeff suddenly grew serious.

"Do his parents know?" Jeff asked.

"No, he's afraid to tell them that he likes boys," Colonel confessed.  "His dad came into the bathroom and asked if we were ok.  I said I had to pee, and Chris said that he had to… you know, do the other.  Mr. Sam and I went back to the pool then."

"What about Chris?" Jeff asked his son.

"I just told you, he had to go," Colonel answered in childlike exasperation.  "So can I go?"

"Of course you can, the bathroom is right over there," Jeff teased.  Colonel was not amused.  "Yes, you can go to the soccer game, but only if you promise to let me spend some time with you tomorrow.  Don't run off and get married in Massachusetts just yet, ok?"

"Dad," the boy whined, but gave his father a big hug.

"Promise me you'll be my little boy for a little while longer?" Jeff asked.  "You're so young."

"I'll be ten tomorrow," Colonel pointed out.  "How old were you when you started liking boys?  Was Pop your first boyfriend?"

"Yes, Colonel, Pop was my very first boyfriend, but I knew that I liked boys a long time before I met Kyle," Jeff admitted.  "I was too afraid to do anything before him."  He paused in thought for a moment, before confessing, "I guess I was about your age.  I'm glad you're not a chicken like I was.  You and Chris have fun tomorrow, but remember what I said.  Be careful."

"We will, Dad," Colonel assured him.  "You have fun with your Chris, too."

"Stop that," Jeff commanded softly.  "It's just business."

"Ok, Dad," Colonel agreed, but he was still grinning.

"Let's get busy," Jeff announced.  "It's almost time for the family dinner."  He clasped Colonel's shoulder, then added, "Yes, you have to take a shower."

"I'm clean, I've been in the pool all day," the almost ten year old defended.

"No, you haven't," Jeff corrected.  "But the pool is the reason for the bath.  You have to wash off the chlorine."

"Aww, man," the boy whined as he headed for the bathroom.

When Jeff and Colonel went downstairs to the restaurant, they discovered that they were sharing a table with the Gerdemans.   Colonel complained as soon as he sat down that if he hadn't had to take a bath, they wouldn't have been late.  Jeff reminded him that they weren't late and took his seat next to Jennifer, who leaned over to say something.

"Can we talk later?" she whispered.

"Sure," Jeff agreed.

Jeff was surprised to see how many of his old classmates came up to speak to him.  Nearly everyone who was attending the reunion had visited by the time the meal began.  Chris Doss was the last to make an appearance.

"Sorry I haven't made it by sooner," he apologized.

"That's all right Chris," Jeff told him.  "I assumed you were busy with the business end of things.  I've had plenty of other people stop by."

"I told you everyone would be glad you came this time," Chris reminded him.

"I'm afraid I might have misjudged a lot of people for a long time," Jeff confessed.  "I honestly never thought that I was very popular."

"Being popular doesn't mean that you are liked for who you are," Chris said somewhat sadly.  "Popularity is based on what others think you to be.  There were people in school who cared a lot about you, more than you ever knew."

"That was our fault, not yours Jeff," Jennifer added.  "We never told you what a good friend you were."

"I guess we thought you already knew, Jeff," Sam contributed.  "Jennifer and I wouldn't have ever gotten married if it weren't for you."

"How did I get credit for that?" Jeff laughed.

"We were ready to break up during our junior year, but you talked to both of us at separate times and convinced us not to give up on each other," Sam explained.  "Here it is twenty years later, and just as happy together as we were in high school, and it's thank to your advice."

"Folks, can I have your attention, please?"  Jeff turned around to see Chris speaking into a microphone.  "I'm going to ask a favor of all of my classmates tonight.  I am supposed to go around to each table and have you tell about your families and lives since the last reunion.  Instead of doing that, I'd like to ask you to help cheer up someone we all think is pretty special."

"I understand that Jeff Beckman almost didn't want to come to the reunion this year because this is a very depressing time for him," he continued.  "You see some of you may remember that he skipped the last reunion.  The reason for that absence is sitting at the table with him tonight.  Wave to your fans, Harley."  The boy blushed profusely and sunk into his seat.  There were good-natured giggles from all over the room.

"What I just learned today was that Jeff's wife died immediately after the birth," Chris announced quietly.  The smiles around the room faded in sympathy.  "This last year, he and his son lost someone else very close to them on this very weekend.  What I would like everyone to do is this, let's all tell Jeff how much he meant to us back then.  Could we do that for an old friend?" Chris asked, looking around at his high school classmates.  "Remember folks, and I don't think you ever knew this Jeff, but we voted on class favorites ten years ago, just as we did at graduation.  Jeff Beckman was elected the most respected member of our senior class."

"Sam and Jennifer have started things off by pointing out that they would have broken up in our junior year, but Jeff showed them the path to romance again," Chris told everyone. "I would like to tell Jeff that he taught me how to respect myself.  That may sound strange to some of you, but it's true.  I was so insecure in school because I always felt like everyone expected me to be perfect."  His voice grew quiet as he continued to talk.

"I believed that no one would like me if I didn't live up to their expectations," Chris said softly.  "Don't worry, I know better now.  The point is, back then, I knew there was one person who saw more to me than the star football player or the kid with the keys to the only hotel in town.  That person was you, Jeff.  I could always be myself and be comfortable around you.  Thank you."

Jeff was already near tears, and Jennifer was openly crying.  The rest of the class each in turn said something similar.  Blake, the school bully explained that he had beaten up a lot of his classmates and had always seen fear or anger in their eyes.  Jeff looked at him with sympathy.  Jeff had helped him realize that he was continuing a pattern of violence set by his abusive father.  Blake got help and was able to end the cycle of terror that had controlled his family for three generations or more.  Leslie thanked Jeff for being the inspiration for her to move beyond being the easy cheerleading dumb blond.  She told Jeff that without his influence she never would have made it to where she was.  She thanked him on behalf of the fifteen people who worked for her in her law office.

Maise told Jeff that his fondness for her stories had encouraged her to keep writing.  She added that when her latest work was aired as a made for television movie, it would include a dedication to him, as did the novel on which the film was based.  Robert explained that without Jeff's tutoring him in Math, he wouldn't have been able to graduate and would have been stuck working in someone else's garage as a mechanic for the rest of his life.  Instead, he owns a chain of garages around the state.

The stories lasted for some time and by the time they had all finished, Jeff was crying openly.  He stood up and thanked everyone, apologizing for losing out on twenty years of friendship.  The dinner began to break up as there were a few people with young children, and others with young grandchildren, all of whom were ready for bed.  It was as everyone was leaving that Jennifer pulled Jeff aside.

"Jeff, my son Chris is really excited about meeting Harley today, and he would like to invite Harley to spend the night with him tomorrow night," Jennifer said quietly.

"I think that would be alright, but maybe they could stay here in the hotel instead," Jeff suggested.  He knew the boys would want to do things that could get them into trouble if they were caught by Sam, Jennifer, or Paul.  The older son he had learned was away at band camp.

"There's something you should know, though," Jennifer told him seriously.  "Chris is gay."

"How do you know?" Jeff blurted.

"Chris is a very sensitive boy," Jennifer answered.  "I also know that he learned how to hack the parental controls on my computer at home to look at gay sites on the Internet.  I've corrected that with stronger programming, but I am still waiting for him to tell us, and I think that's what he plans to do tomorrow night.  He probably thinks Sam and I won't kill him if there's a witness, the poor little guy.  He has no clue that we already know."  She paused and looked at Jeff.  "We are ok with Chris being this way.  I am a nurse, after all.  He can't help the genetic coding he was born with.  I wanted to tell you because I wasn't sure how you would feel about it."

Jeff couldn't help it.  He started laughing.  His sides ached from laughing so hard.  Jennifer stared in a mixture of shock, puzzlement, and annoyance.

"I'm sorry, Jennifer," Jeff finally gasped.  "It's just that Colonel had a discussion with me about this today after we came back from the pool.  You see, he's pretty sure he's gay as well."

"Oh, that's so sweet," Jennifer gushed.  "It's their first case of puppy love."  She too began giggling.

"Jennifer, there is something else I want to tell you," Jeff said seriously.  "In the case of Colonel, it is an inherited trait.  The special person we lost a year ago was my lover, Kyle.  Colonel called him Pop."

"This is a surprise, I have to admit," Jennifer confessed.  "It doesn't change what you did for Sam and I, and it doesn't change how we feel about you."  Just then Chris Doss walked up and their conversation ended.

"Jeff, I would like to do something special for Harley for dinner tomorrow, but I wanted to ask you first," Chris began.  "I know, I know, I didn't ask tonight, but this is different.  I want to throw Harley a birthday party.  I'm asking because he seems to somewhat depressed by the occasion.  I don't want to hurt his feelings, but the little guy has captured my heart."

"Yours isn't the only one," Jennifer interrupted with a giggle.

"What do you mean?" Chris asked her.

"I think you'll figure that out tomorrow," Jeff answered, smiling warmly.  "I think the party is a good idea, but let's keep it very small.  You, me, and the Gerdemans, if that's alright?"

"Ok, I have to know," Chris demanded.  "Why do you call him Colonel?"

"As you have already guessed, he is named after my grandfather, Harlan Beckman," Jeff began to explain to Chris and Jennifer who was just as interested.  "His middle name is in honor of my dearest friend and college roommate, Kyle Sanders."  He saw their blank looks as he continued.  "I didn't like the sound of Harlan Kyle."

"You didn't?" Jennifer exclaimed.  "That poor boy."  She couldn't help her giggles.

"It was Kyle's idea to call him Little Colonel," Jeff told them.  "It was eventually shortened to just Colonel, but only family calls him that now."

"You didn't think about it until after he was born, did you?" Chris asked with a grin.

"It was already on the birth certificate," Jeff confessed.

"He must be really close to your friend to put up with it," Chris mused.

"Kyle was... Kyle was Colonel's extra father," Jeff whispered.  "They adored each other."

Chris was about to speak, but Jennifer stopped him. Chris excused himself and went back to supervise cleanup.  Jennifer said her goodbyes, but handed Jeff a small pamphlet before she left.  She had circled something, but Jeff didn't see what it was until he and Colonel were back in their rooms.

"What is that, Dad?" Colonel asked.

"Well, it appears to be a report from the ten year reunion," Jeff answered.  "The list of class favorites and the names of the people who died before the reunion," he mumbled.  "Now why would they list Chris as the person most changed?"

"Are you mentioned, Dad?" Colonel prodded.

"Yes, besides the most respected, I was elected most missed at the reunion," Jeff told his son.  "I believe that now, but I wouldn't have then."

"Why did Chris' mom circle the thing about Mr. Chris?" the almost ten year old wondered aloud.

"I don't know, son, but I'm going to find out," Jeff affirmed.  "Go get ready for bed, and I'll be in there in a couple of minutes to say goodnight."  Colonel ran to his room just as there was a knock on the door.  Jeff opened it to see Chris standing there holding a yellow rose.

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