Date: Fri, 22 Feb 2002 05:06:57 +0000
From: Jonathan Cain <mercedesjaguar@hotmail.com>
Subject: Josh and Nate 3

Disclaimer:  All the usual disclaimers apply.  Do not read if you are not of
age (18, 21 in some places).  Do not read if homosexual activities offend
you.  And lastly I want to say that none of the following actually happened
nor are any of the characters real.  Now on with the show!
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Part III

	And with that I opened the door.  While Josh was at work, I spent the day
rearranging the furniture.  I even made a trip to J C Penny's and bought
some special red satin sheets.  I even went as far as buying several dozen
red roses and rose petals.  The floor was littered with rose petals and
every surface area had a vase of roses on it.  I called a friend while at
the restaurant and had him stop over and light several candles (of course he
thought it was all for a girl).  (thank god the RAs were on vacation cause
candles aren't allowed)  So it was all a very romantic setting.
	"Now I hope you don't mind, but I moved the beds together."
	"Oh Nate!!! it's beautiful!  Of course I don't mind!" Tears were streaming
down his face.  Just the sight of him crying made my heart do a flip.
	I directed Josh to sit down on the bed and I went to the closet and got out
my bottle of Sangria (for those that don't know it is a sweet, fruity red
wine) and two crystal wine glasses that I found in a second hand shop.  I
poured us both a glass and gave Josh his.  I put my fireplace screensaver on
my computer.  As a final touch I put on Chopin's Nocturne in E Flat Major.
(So sue me, I am romantic by nature!)
	I sat down facing Josh.  Oh boy was this tough for me.
	"Before we go any further, I think we need to talk for a few minutes."
	"About what?"
	"As you know, my life hasn't been all that easy.  I know you know about my
family dying and about the divorce, but there is one thing I haven't told
you yet."
	Josh was looking at me with so much concern in his eyes, I hope I am not
wrong about him.
	"Growing up, I had a best friend.  His name was Nick.  We met in
kindergarten and had been inseparable since.  He, too, had had a somewhat
hard life as his father died when he was young.  His mom and my mom had been
friends in high school and she knew my grandmother well.  After my father
left, my mom moved in with my grandmother, only a couple of houses from
where Nick lived.  Since his mom worked nights as a nurse, Nick was able to
spend a lot of nights at my house.  After my mother died, Nick stayed with
me for almost a month.  After that I began to notice a change in him, almost
as if he was afraid to be around me.  I mean, we still hung out and all, but
he wasn't his usual self.  By the time we were seniors in high school, I was
pretty much Nick's exclusive friend.  Neither of us really dated...
Actually, I would have to say that he never dated.  Sheila and I started
dating around Thanksgiving.  After that, I saw less and less of Nick.  He
was always doing something, like studying, and was too busy to hang out very
much.   By the time Christmas came, we only saw each other in school.  A
couple of days after the new year, his mom stopped by to see if he was at my
house, which he wasn't.  It seems that he had been missing for a couple of
days, but she only just noticed since she hardly saw him working nights.
When I told her I hadn't seen him, we both became worried.  After she left
to call the police, I went looking for him.  I searched our old hangouts,
but couldn't find him.  I finally got the bright idea to search in an
abandoned house we used to play in.  I found him there."
	I paused to study Josh.  I could tell he was following me, but I don't
think he had grasped where this story was headed.
	"He had been staying there for a couple of days, there was a sleeping bag
and empty food wrappers littering the floor.  I wish I could say it was a
happy reunion, but it wasn't.  Like I said, I found him there, or at least I
found his body.  He had hung himself in the stairwell.  I don't know how he
knew I would be the one to find him, but he left a note addressed to me.  I
never told anyone about the note, because I wanted them to remember Nick as
he was, and because I never really wanted to face the reasons why he felt he
had to do what he did."
	With that I pulled out of my pocket a yellowed piece of paper.  "It's well
worn, but I want you to read it," I told him.
	Josh took the note and began to read:
		Dearest Nate,
			I don't know where to begin in explaining to you why.
		I love life, but not nearly as much as I love you.  Seeing you
		with Sheila made me realize that I can never offer you what
		you want.  Being friends isn't good enough for me.  I want
		something that I can't have, nor can I live without.  Please
		do not be angry with me.  I love you, remember me always.

	"Oh Nate! You mean to tell me...?"
	"Nick hung himself because he was in love with me.  I never forgave him for
that.  He just assumed I could never love him the same way.  He never gave
me the chance.  Anyhow, after that I was a mess.  Sheila stuck by me through
it all and after graduation, I asked her to marry me.  The rest you know."
	We sat in silence for several minutes.  Me staring off into space and Josh
staring at me.  I didn't even notice Josh get up until he started rummaging
in his desk.
	"I was waiting for the right time to give this to you, and I hope you agree
with me when I say the time is now."
	Josh handed me a box wrapped with brown paper and tied with twine.  I wish
I could say I knew what it was when he handed it to me, but I didn't have a
clue.  I sat there holding the box, mesmerized by the beauty in the
simplistic wrapping.  I was debating ruining the wrapping by opening it when
Josh prodded me to open it.  Reluctantly I unwrapped it as carefully as an
archeologist might unwrap a mummy.  The box itself was plain white, about
3x3x3, with no markings stating what was in it or where it came from.
Inside I found wrapped in beautiful purple tissue paper a silver egg.
	At first I was confused what the big deal was when I noticed the egg came
apart the way plastic Easter eggs do, you know the kind that parents usually
put small toys and sometimes money in.  When I opened it, it kinda popped
open, spilling silver and purple confetti everywhere.  In the bottom of the
egg, there was a simple silver band.  I looked at Josh with tears in my
eyes.
	"Please say yes," he said to me.

To be continued...

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Well, what do you guys think so far??  Let me know:
mercedesjaguar@hotmail.com

Till next time,
Jonathan