Date: Mon, 8 Jun 2009 10:04:57 -0700 (PDT)
From: Agent Orange <agent.orange_stories@yahoo.com>
Subject: Fun Stop 4

Disclaimer:

This story is a work of fiction.  Names, characters, places, and incidents
are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously.  Any
resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is
coincidental.  This work contains homosexual acts that take place between
an adult and a minor.  The author does not condone sexual activity with
minors.  If this is illegal in your area by local, county, province, or
national law, please stop reading now and go elsewhere.


Fun Stop 4
The Final Chapter


It all came crashing down two weeks ago.  I lost the one and only person
I've ever really loved.  I don't mean, loved like you love a friend, no.  I
mean love, like you love the person that's sitting right next to you
because you've been together for the past 70 years.  That's what it felt
like with him.  I know that's kind of hard to understand, hell, it's hard
for me to even sit here and write it.  But that's the easiest way I can put
it.  I guess, I should probably fill you in on what happened after he threw
this phone in to his locker.  Well, I just sat there, stunned.  My mouth
was moving, but nothing was coming out.  I felt like a fish that jumped out
of water and landed right in the fucking boat!  My stomach was heaving, and
my heart was practially beating out of my chest.  I knew that sitting there
wasn't going to do anything, so I got up and started pacing.  I saw myself
in my dresser top mirror, and the sight scared me.  My hair was strewn all
over my head, and covering half of my face, I was unshaven, for at least
two days.  My eyes were sunken in a bit, and had bags beneath them.  I
looked like someone who was just told that they were homeless, or someone
who didn't care.  I felt like both to be honest.

The morning sunlight was shining through each of my windows, begging me to
come outside, or swim in the pool.  No matter how much I wanted to, I
couldn't.  I wasn't ready for the world to see me like this, or for the
world to see me at all honestly.  My apartment had become my own private
jail cell hell.  There was no escape, not from this, and not from knowing
what I did.  I think that's what hurt the most of all... is knowing what I
did to him.  Granted, we didn't know each other for that long, but in that
short period, I had grown closer to him than to anyone I have ever known.
Even while I was pacing, my heart was aching because it wasn't near him.  I
wanted more than anything to call him back apolozing, begging for him to
forgive me and take me back and to forget everything that had just
happened.

I couldn't look anywhere in my apartment and not see him.  My bed still
smelled like him, and often, I'd lie there with the pillow that he used
pressed against my face breathing deep, extracting that quickly fading
scent.  I couldn't tell you how many tears were soaked into it, it didn't
matter.  To say that I fell into a bout of depression during those weeks
was a severe understatement.  It seemed fairly constant that there was a
bottle, or glass in my hand.  Most times, I didn't even remember pouring
the liquid, or picking anything up.  Even now, my hands shook as I tipped
the glass and drained the contents into my mouth, swishing it around,
feeling the bite but tasting nothing.  I walked to the bedside table for my
pack of cigarettes, extracted one, lit and inhaled deeply.  My ragged
breathing eased, and my hands steadied.  I made my way back out to the
couch in the living room, my somewhat perminent perch.

For the past two weeks, I had talked to no one, and refused to answer my
door, though that didn't stop people from trying.  It seemed that everyday
someone was trying to get me to join the outside world, to be normal again.
No matter how hard I tried to get them to leave me alone to let me deal
with this, nothing worked.  I guess that's what friends are for, you know,
to not let you fall into depression this deep.  Any minute now, I was
expecting a pounding at the door.  I glanced at the clock, watched it for a
full two minutes before I heard the light tapping begin.  Right on time.  I
was debating on what to scream through the door when I heard a soft voice
call out to me, a voice that I hadn't heard for two weeks.  The only voice
in the world that I knew I'd never forget.

"I'm not leaving till you answer this door, Jentsen."  he called.

My heart started pounding and my hands got sweaty in an instant, I couldn't
move.  It was an unintentional stalemate caused by shock.  I had done
everything I could during the past fortnight to move on, try as hard as I
could to forget him, even though I knew THAT was futile, and now he was
here, standing on the other side of my door, waiting and calling out for
me.  Just as I was ready to stand up, my cell phone started chirping on the
table next to me.  I glanced down at the caller ID, and didn't recognize
the number.  I knew it wasn't anyone that had any sort of importance in my
life, because all of their numbers were still in my phone.

Slowly I scooted myself to the edge of the couch, and let my feet hit the
floor.  My eyes kept glancing at the door, silently willing him to go away.
I knew it was pointless, and that even if it took me hours to open the
door, he'd still be there, sitting in the hallway, staring at my door,
waiting.  I let out a sigh and stood, wobbled a bit due to the alcohol, and
made my over to him.  My hand rested on the door knob, but it wouldn't turn
it.  "Is it really you?"  I couldn't stop myself from asking.  My voice
felt rusty after not being used in so long.

"Yes, it is."

I let my head fall to the door and rest against it.  The tears were coming
faster now, silently betraying my existance.  The metal felt cool against
my warm skin, slippery from sweat.  My fingers curled around the handle and
turned it slowly.  I didn't know what I was getting myself into, and part
of me didn't care.  The only thing I cared about was seeing him again.  I
swung the door open, still hidden partially behind it in case my brain was
playing tricks on me and I needed to slam the door quickly.  I felt all the
air in my body leave it as if I had been punched in the gut.  The image in
front of me was so beyond perfect I found myself unable to speak.  The
blond hair was still short on his head, his eyes just as piercing as I
remembered, if not more so.  He wore his baseball t shirt with the cut off
sleeves, and navy blue basketball shorts.  His small feet donned orange
thong sandals.  Neither of us spoke for several minutes until he broke the
silence: "So are you gonna invite me in, or do I have to stand here all
day?"

My brain still wasn't functioning properly and not allowing me to form
words, so I just extended my arm toward my living room.  He shook his head
with a small smile on his lips, lowered his head and walked past me to the
couch.  The door clicked closed behind me, and I was reminded of the last
time he was here.  The time then much more jubilant.  By the time I reached
the couch, he was already perched in the same seat he used last time.  His
head was down and he was looking at his legs, his hands rested on his
thighs.  The same thighs I had worshipped two weeks ago.  The images came
flooding back into my memory and attacked with a force I'd never
experienced before.  I stumbled a bit from the force of them and grabbed
the arm of the couch.  I slowly lowered myself on the opposite end.  I
wasn't sure I could trust myself if I moved any closer to him.  But I'm not
sure it would have mattered, everything I had accomplished in the past two
weeks crumbled away as soon as I opened that damn door.  We sat in silence
for a while, until I broke it this time.  "So, how've you been?"  I asked,
genuinely curious.

"Oh, so now you're gonna be all nice?"

"I deserve that..." I let myself trail off.

"No, you deserve a hell of a lot worse than that, and believe me, you're
going to hear it."

I was a bit shocked at his amount of anger, but then again, I probably
would be just as mad at me if I was in his position.  "Okay."  I waited for
him to continue.

"First of all, I don't need your permission to say what I'm going to say.
Secondly, you're an asshole."  The look in his eyes was fierce.  This was
no joke, he meant every word of what he said.  There was no way I was going
to inturrupt him and risk making this any worse than what it was already
going to be.  "Thirdly, who the fuck do you think you are?  I mean, ok, you
got fired, big deal.  But just because you're not at Fun Stop anymore means
we can't see each other.  You said that it would be too noticable for us to
be together without Fun Stop.  Who would be watching?  Who would be paying
attention to you?  What reason would they have?  Do you really think you're
THAT important that everyone else in the world watches you where ever you
go?"

"No, I -" I couldn't help myself inturrupting.

"Shut up.  I'm not done.  You'll be able to say whatever it is you want to
say when I'm done.  You know, when I met you, it was like I fell into an
odd gay version of Romeo and Juliet.  Only it was more like, Romeo and
Julio.  But I thought what we had was something different.  You know, it
wasn't just sex, that there was feeling behind everything we did.  I guess
not.  Do you know what it's like," his voice cracked, "to be thrown away?
That's what it feels like."  His eyes were welling up and a tear threatened
to fall.  He looked back down at his legs.  "It- It's like you don't want
me anymore."  He sniffed, and brought a hand up to wipe at his eyes.

I waited for him to continue, my heart pounding in my chest, not from
anticipation, but from anxiety.  I never thought of how he would view the
whole situation, and now I know.  I expected anger, rage, malice, and while
he showed those, he also showed something I didn't expect, hurt.  I watched
as he pulled his knees to his chest and rested his now non clad sandaled
feet on the couch, his head resting between his knees as the tears rolled
down his legs, wetting the hem of his shorts.  My heart broke all over
again.  I wanted nothing more than to reach out and pull him close to me,
to hold him.  But I knew that attempt would be rebuffed, or it would send
signals that I didn't want sent.

"So now you're not gonna say anything?" he asked.

"I'm not sure what I can say.  I guess I'll start with the most important
first.  It's not that I don't want you, or that it was "just sex" as you
put it.  You're right, there was feeling behind everything."  God, how was
I going to explain this?  "Kale, I don't think you'll ever know just how
much I love you."

"Then why are you leaving me?  If you loved me, you wouldn't leave me."

"That's not fair, and you know it.  If you knew how bad I wanted to stay
you wouldn't say that.  But you don't."

"Then tell me."

"It's not that easy man.  God, if it were, then we wouldn't be in this
situation."  I decided to throw caution to the wind and stretched out my
arms.  "Come here."

He looked at me slowly, his shoulders still shook with his crying, the
bottom hem of his shorts now saturated with tears, had turned almost black.
His eyes were rimmed red, and swollen.  Anyone looking at him would know he
had been crying, or think he had been punched in the face.  He let his legs
down and scooted over to me.  I opened my legs and patted the couch between
them, telling him where I wanted him to sit.  He moved into position and I
reached out and turned him, so his back was resting against my chest, my
dick against his ass.  My arms went around him and pulled him close to me,
as close as I could without hurting him, physically.  I forced my hands to
stay still, and not roam all over him.  My head bowed and rested on his.
"Kale, I know you don't understand what's going on, but it's what needs to
happen."

"Why?"  He chocked on a renewed sob.

I was getting ready to answer him when a knock sounded at my door.  It
wasn't the knock of a friend trying to rouse me out of funk, it was a
professional knock.  I yelled for the person to come in.  I already knew
who it would be, and this was something I had been waiting for.  From the
corner of my eye, I could see the door open and Zack walked in.  Kale made
to get up, but my grip around him tightened.  "It's ok, he knows."  I
whispered.

Zack wore some new fancy suit he had probably just bought for this
occasion, and matching loafers.  He nodded to me, then to Kale, there was a
look on his face that I couldn't read that well.  It was either a slight
smile, or a grimace, but your guess would be as good as mine.  "So, I see
someone has been allowed to bring you back to the world, huh?"

I looked up with a smile on my face.  "Yeah, he wouldn't take no for an
answer."

Zack still wore that look on his face, and I decided it was a grimace.
"Well, I've just got some papers you need to sign.  I can leave them here
if you like.  As soon as you've gone through them and made sure everything
is going to be handled the way you like, then you can just get them back to
me."

"No, it's alright.  I'll sign them now.  I trust you to have all of my
affairs in order."

That statement made Kale jump a little.  "Affairs in order..." he trailed
off.

"Are you sure this is a good idea Jentsen?"  Zack asked.  I knew he
questioned my methods sometimes, but I didn't need it right now.  I had
other things to worry about.

"Whether it's a good idea or not, it's going to happen.  And I'd prefer it
happen sooner rather than later."

"Alright, where do you want this to happen?"

"Let's move into the kitchen."  I replied to Zack while lifting my leg over
Kale.  When my feet hit the floor I looked at him and smiled, "Don't go
anywhere."  We made our way into the kitchen and I positioned myself in a
place where I could look out of the breakfast window and still see Kale
sitting on the couch looking back at me.  I had been without him for so
long, I didn't think I could go without looking at him even a little bit
while he was in my presence.  I smiled at him again, but his expression was
hard to read.

Zack and I talked in hushed voices while he pointed out the various
different places I needed to sign and initial to make everything official.
There was a section of the paperwork that I needed to read, and did so as
quickly as I could.  I signed that document and started on the next.  After
reading, signing and initialing, Zack deemed it important to explain that
document to me, making sure everything was as it was supposed to be.

When I looked back into the living room Kale was still looking at me, but
again had tears streaming from his eyes.  He was standing up now, hugging
himself.  I quickly put the pen down and made my way around Zack and stood
in the doorway to the living room when he spoke.  "You're dying."  It
wasn't a question.

"What?"  I asked, not sure I heard him right.

"You're dying aren't you?"  The tears were coming stronger now, his whole
body racked with his loud sobs.  I saw the terror in his eyes.  I didn't
know what to say to what he was asking.  I stood where I was, staring at
him.  "I'm not stupid, you know.  I can put two and two together.  Zack's
here with legal documents.  You're putting your affairs in order.  You're
taking quietly so I can't hear you.  You've been hiding from everyone.  You
look sick.  You look like you've been sick for a while.  What, do you have
AIDS or something?"

I felt Zack move beside me and put his hand on my shoulder, giving it a
slight squeeze.  "You've got to tell him what's going on, man."

The tears built in my eyes before I could blink them away.  I wasn't ready
for this.  Everything seemed to be happening so quick.  At that moment, I
wished it would all go back, to before I had ever started working at Fun
Stop, before I even moved to this place.  I moved towards Kale and reached
out for him.  He jumped back "Don't touch me."

"Kale, you can't get AIDS from someone touching you."  Zack said, adding
fuel to the fire of Kale's panic.

The silence that followed Zack's statement was so deafening that when Kale
screamed, both Zack and I jumped.  I looked in time to see Kale fall to the
floor, and I ran to him, my arms out, ready to pull him out of where ever
he was mentally, to safety in my arms.  Kale's eyes were wide, the tears
never ceasing their downpour, saturating his shirt.  No matter how much I
tried to hold him, he fought me off, punching, kicking, screaming.  I could
hear his voice going hoarse, and I clamped my hand over his mouth.  I
wasn't worried about the neighbours hearing what was going on, I was more
worried about the boy who was on my floor in the midst of a panic attack.
His heart was beating so furiously, I could see it moving his shirt.

All I could think about was getting him to calm down so he could hear me.
So he could listen to what I had to say.  I pulled him closer to my chest,
and rocked him, while crooning non sensical sounds.  "Shhhhh.  It's ok
sweety."

"No it's not!" Kale wailed, and punched me in the face.

"Yes it is.  Just breathe.  I'll explain once you've calmed down.  I've got
ya.  Deep breaths... there you go."  As his struggles lessened, I was able
to draw him closer to me.  I couldn't stop my hands from stroking his back,
despite knowing I shouldn't.  I looked at the clock above the TV and
realized more time had passed than I thought.  I turned my head looking for
Zack to ask him a question when I realized he was no where in sight.  He
had let himself out quietly during everything that was going on.

As his breathing eased, his struggles with me lessened until his arms had
wrapped around my midsection and he was holding me as well.  I took my hand
and lifted his chin up so he would look at me.  "Are you ready to listen to
me now?"

"Only if you're going to tell me I'm wrong."

I couldn't help but smile, "You're wrong.  Let's move to the couch."

Kale turned and started walking, not releasing my hand.  His grip tight,
but not tight enough to hurt.  It was almost as if he was making sure that
I was really there.  I sat down next to the arm, and Kale sat down on my
lap, resting his back against the arm.  He cuddled himself into my chest,
while looking at me.  My arms wrapped around him again, as he layed his
head on my shoulder.

I knew that I'd be regretting this later because of the pain that it would
cause me, but I just couldn't stop what was happening.  My desire to hold
him and store up memories couldn't be denied.  I found my hands rubbing up
and down on his arm, which was wrapped around my chest.  I sighed knowing
the inevitable was just around the corner, no matter how much I wanted to
put it off.  I walked away from this boy once, and it nearly killed me, and
I knew, no matter how much I didn't want to, I'd have to do it again.  This
time for good.  My heart beat in my chest with every passing moment,
knowing that time was only getting shorter.  I breathed deep, letting his
smell of vanilla and orchids fill my sinuses.  I knew I'd miss that smell,
second to having him in my lap, with my arms surrounding him, just like
this.

Kale looked into my eyes, "Tell me what's going on."  As he spoke, I
shivered when I felt his breath caress my neck and face.

I sighed.  "Ok, I want to say first that I don't have AIDS, and I'm not HIV
positive either, so you can get that out of your head.  You said earlier
that I look sick," I smiled when he looked down at his lap, "I have been
sick.  When you called and I ended things, I said some bad things had
happened."  I stopped, waiting for acknowledgment from him.

"Yeah, I remember that.  I asked you if someone had found out about us, you
said no."

"That's right.  No one has found out about us.  But the day before you
called, I had gotten a call from Zack."  I paused trying to figure out how
to word what I was going to say next.  "My Uncle William was dying.  I
never thought we were close, but evidently he thought differently.  Wait,
I'm getting ahead of myself here."  I sighed again.  "I ended things
because I wasn't working at Fun Stop anymore.  You see, I could use Fun
Stop as an excuse to see you, and have contact with you.  But if people
from there saw me with you still, they might think that something was up.
After I told you that we couldn't see each other anymore, and you said to
me what you said," my face crinkled with the memory, "I spent the next four
days drunk.  I couldn't have told you what day it was, or what season it
was outside.  I couldn't deal with the pain of what I had done, I didn't
Want to live with it."

"Okay..."

"Don't you see Kale, ending things between us was the hardest thing I've
ever had to do.  I said some things that day that I shouldn't have said,
and even though I'm sorry, there is no way I can even begin to apologize
for them.  Then on the fifth day, Zack called me and told me that my Uncle
William had died."

"But what does that have to do with us?"  He implored.

"I'm getting there."  My hands were still rubbing his arms, absentmindedly.
"Uncle William liked me more than I thought he did.  You see, he left me a
bunch of money.  But in order for me to get this money, I have to go live
in his old house and take over his business.  That's the reason that Zack
came over today.  For the past week, I have been trying to get all of my
affairs here in order, so that way I can go move into his house."

"Where does he live?"

"It's an old vinyard in California.  I have to keep the business up and
running.  While trying to take care of everything else, I've been cramming
my brain with how to make wine and studying the business papers he left for
me."

"C- California?  But that's all the way on the other side of the country!"
he nearly shouted.

"I know.  That's why things have to end between us."

"But I'll just come with you."

"You can't Kale.  You have a life here.  And besides, what would your
parent's think, you moving across the country with me to stay in my new
house?  You're 13.  You have to stay here and be a kid."

"But."

"But what?"

"I don't want to be a kid if you're not going to be here.  You're what
makes being a kid fun, Jentsen.  I may as well be a grown up and move out
there with you."

I couldn't help but laugh at the little guy's sentiment.  "You'll do fine
without me.  Trust me when I say that I don't want to do this.  Not at all.
If I had the choice, I'd stay here with you forever.  But unfortunetly, the
choice isn't mine.  I mean, I could always turn down the money and let the
government take it.  They'd be happy to recieve six million dollars."

Kale's mouth opened and closed as he mouthed the amount.  "That's a lot of
money."  He whispered.

I nodded.  "Yeah, it is.  So you see why I have to take it?"

Kale looked at the clock and jumped up.  "Oh shit.  Can I use your phone,
I've gotta call my dad."

"Yeah, sure."  I reached over and handed my cell phone to him and watched
as he dialed his phone number.  As much as I wanted to offer the boy
privacy, I was curious, so I eaves dropped.  Not that he made it hard,
since he crawled back into my lap, just like he was.

"Hey dad!  Yeah, it's ok.  Everything's fine.  No, seriously, it's ok.  Ok,
yeah, I'll be home in a little bit.  Ok, love you too."  He closed the
phone and handed it back to me.  "Thanks."

"Not a problem.  Mind telling me what that was about?"

Kale's face went a shade of red I had never seen before.  "Well, when I
decided to come over today, I told my dad where I was going."  As he
talked, his words sped up till they were almost unintelligable.  "You see,
when you ended things with me, I was pissed, and hurt.  I told my dad
everything that had happened between us.  Surprisingly, he was pretty OK
with it.  But when I told him I was coming over here, he demanded to know
where you lived, and what time he should expect me home.  I told him where
you lived, but said that I didn't know what time.  It all depended on how
things went, but that if I wasn't home by 9 o'clock to call the cops and
have them come over here."

"Th- The cops?"  I asked.

"Yeah, it was my insurance."

"Insurance for what?"

"To make sure that nothing happened to me.  I may be a kid, but I'm not an
idiot."

My laughter was inturrupted by the chirping of my cell phone.  Without
looking at the display I opened it.  "Hello?"

"Jentsen?"  It was a voice I had never heard before, I stiffened.

"This is he, how may I help you?"

"This is Mr. Tennison.  Kale's Father."  I could feel the blood drain from
my face.  My heart was beating so hard in my chest I thought I was going to
have a heart attack.  "Kale just called me.  He said everything was better
now."  I could hear a smile in his voice.

"Yeah, it is."

"Good.  That makes this a lot easier.  Do you think Kale could stay with
you tonight?  I can pick him up tomorrow morning.  It's just that the wife
and I had a date planned and it would be nice if we could come home to an
empty house, if you know what I mean."

I don't think I've ever blushed so hard or so fast in my life.  "Well, sir"

"None of that sir bullshit.  If not, don't worry about it.  Send him home,
The lady and I will get a hotel room for the night.  He's old enough to
look after himself."

"Well, it's not that.  It's just that I'm leaving tomorrow."

"What time is your plane?"

"Ten AM."

"Ok, don't worry about it.  I'll figure something out.  So you'll probably
be heading out at what, around 8ish?"

"Um, that sounds about right."

"Consider it taken care of.  Thanks again. CLICK"

---

"Well, I'm bushed.  I'm gonna hit the sack."  I said after Kale and I had
continued talked for 2 more hours.

"Alright.  Well, you're leaving tomorrow, and I probably won't see you."
He reached out and wrapped his arms around me in a tight hug.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"Home, where else?"

"Un huh.  Not tonight."

The smile that lit Kale's face threatened to break his face in half.  He
followed me into the bedroom.  The room was messy, but it was all stuff
that I was going to throw into a carry on in the morning.  Everything else
was either being picked up by Zack, or just staying in the apartment for
whatever the manager wanted to do with it.  My bed was already on it's way
to the newly renamed "Kale Vinyard" along with my dresser, TV, movies,
books, and other important unmentionable paraphanalia.  I had an air
mattress blown up in the middle of the floor with sheets and pillows.  We
both stripped down to our underwear and got under the sheets.

Kale slid close to me and bundled himself up in my arms.  I felt myself get
hard at the intimate contact.  He turned his head and whispered "It's ok.
You can if you want."

I shook my head.  "Not tonight.  Tonight is just for us, for memories."  I
pulled him close to me, breathing in his scent.  I lay awake several hours
after he had started his light snoring.  Not once did I move, or lessen my
grip on him.  I dreaded the morning, and bargained with God to make the
night last as long as possible.  I begged him to make it last forever, even
though I knew the world had to go on.  My heart was breaking more, the
longer I stayed awake, but I couldn't force myself to go to sleep.  I
wanted to savour every moment with him I had.  My tears silently ran down
my face sideways and soaked into his hair, and his pillow.  I don't
remember drifting off, but when I opened my eyes, the sun was shining
through my windows.

Kale was still in my arms, snuggled up close to me.  He had turned around
and had an arm draped over my arm, practically hugging me.  I scooted out
from his grip and went into the bathroom.  It was 7am.  I had an hour to
throw my stuff together, rouse Kale, and get on my way.  I was midway
through washing when the shower door opened and Kale joined me.  Neither
one of us said anything.  It was strictly business.  I washed his back, and
he washed mine.  When the shower was done, I did help him dry off, but
there was no extra play.  We went through my bedroom and grabbed the
various items that I was taking with me and thew them into a backpack.

We went outside and got into my car.  Still no words had been spoken
between us.  I don't know what was going through his head, but it was
obvious he was thinking.  I decided to let him think in silence and not
interrupt his flow.  I had my own thoughts to tend with.  The fact that the
airport traffic was horrendous, and that in just a few hours, I would be
leaving Kale for the last time.

I checked in at the airport at 8:10, then took a seat, with Kale next to
me.  Still we sat in silence.  This was the home stretch.  There were a lot
of things I wanted to say to him, but wasn't sure if this was really the
place to do it.  My thoughts wandered until I heard his voice.  "Will you
call?"

"I'm not sure if that would be a good idea."

"Okay."  We fell back into silence.

The sounds of the airport were humming all around us.  The baggage carousel
clicking and clanking as luggage was thrown onto it.  The bags bumping
against each other as they waited to be picked up by their respective
owners.  Kids could be heard, screaming and yelling above all the other
noises.  As people walked by, you could hear snippets of their
conversations, but only enough to want to hear more.  I jumped a bit as I
felt a warm hand fell on top of mine.  The fingers squeezed.  I turned my
hand over and intwined my fingers with his.  His head fell on my shoulder.
I reached across my body and ran my other hand down his cheek.

We sat like that until they called over the loud speaker that my plane was
boarding.  We stood, together, as one and walked to the gate.  Our hands
never broke contact.  I'm sure it looked like father and son to many
people, but they were wrong.  At the security check point we stopped.
There was no going further together.

I kneeled down in front of him, and let my fingers trail through his hair.
The tears in his eyes evident.  The tears in mine made everything blurry.
"I love you, Kale."

"I love you too.  Don't forget me, please."

"I don't think I could, even if I tried."

I could feel myself getting choked up, and my heart was begging me to stuff
my Uncle William's will in the garbage disposal at home.  I was sure that
nothing in the rest of my life would ever hurt this bad.  I honestly
believed that I could feel my heart breaking, and droping into the pit of
my stomach.  I rested my forehead against his, just for those last few
moments.  When I pulled away, I let a kiss fall on each of his eyes.

I looked up and saw an older man, with salt and pepper hair staring at us.
When he saw me looking, he nodded, then walked towards us.  When he reached
us, he held out his hand.  I stared at him dumbly.  Kale answered my
question.  "Hey Dad."

He made no move to get up, and neither did I.  His dad asked us if we would
like to be left alone, and I shook my head.  If his dad already knew about
everything that had happened between us, then there was no reason to hide
it now.  I leaned my face close to his and pressed a small kiss on his
lips.  "Don't forget me, ok little guy?"

He nodded.  Then gave me a kiss back.

A flight attendant came over and laid a hand on my shoulder.  "It's time to
go, sir."

I nodded at her and stood.  I brought Kale's hand to my lips and kissed it.
"I love you.  I really do."  The tears in my eyes still blurring
everything, no matter how furiously I blinked them away.  Kale's father
reached out his hand, and I shook it.  Then I moved to get into line to go
through the metal detector.  The line seemed to move faster than normal.

When I was on the other side, I looked back for the last time.  Kale was
still standing where he was, holding on to his father's waist.  His tears
still visible to me.  He yelled at the top of his lungs.  "Check your
pocket when the plane takes off!  I Love You!"

I fought everything in me to turn and keep walking.  When I was sitting in
my seat, I reached into my pocket, and extracted a folded piece of paper.
It was hard not to open it then, but I knew I had to honour Kale's last
wish to me.  As the plane taxied down the runway, my hands grew sweaty.
Soon, the front tires were off of the tarmac and we were in the air.
Slowly I unfolded the note:

Jentsen: I know you're on the plane right now, flying to California, and
there's no way you can come back.  But when you get there, I left you a
surprise in your carry on bag.  Don't open it on the plane.  I love you.  I
always will, Kale

When we were in the air and allowed to move around, I couldn't wait any
longer to know what he had left me.  And I was pretty sure I already knew
what it was, but I had to be sure.  I stood and got my carry on from the
compartment above my seat and pulled down my orange bag.  With no one
sitting next to me, I didn't have to worry about anything being seen.  I
zipped open the bag, and there, right on top, was the pair of Kale's undies
that he was wearing last night in bed.

--Fin--

Authors Note: Thank you for taking the time to read this story, all of it.
I do hope you enjoyed it.  Especially this last part.  I know that I've
probably disappointed a lot of you by not having any sex in it, but to me,
this story was more about love than anything else.  I hope I portrayed that
well enough.  Any and most comments would be appreciated, after all, it is
my only pay.

If you enjoyed this story, please let me know at:
agent.orange_stories@yahoo.com