Date: Mon, 10 Oct 2005 16:53:00 EDT
From: RitchChristopher@cs.com
Subject: all-my-tomorrows-1

All rights reserved. Copyright held by the author. If you are underage or
are offended by gay fiction, containing graphic sex and explicit language,
please exit now.

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****AUTHOR'S NOTE: This story is a continuation of two characters (David
and Luke) from my Nifty Story, "As I Remember Him". The first part will be
an exposition leading up to the present or the next day after "AIRH". If
you want ALL the details I suggest you read "AIRH" first. Two other
characters (Chris and Andy) appear in the middle chapters of my Nifty,
"Briarwood". I had not planned a sequel, but due to the amount of mail I
received at the conclusion of "AIRH", I acceded to the demands of my
regular Nifty readers and friends. Most of my stories are approximately
twelve chapters in length. I hope this one lives up to your expectations.
                   R.C.

                               <><><><><>


			    "ALL MY TOMORROWS"

			  Copyright Ritchris 2005

                      sequel to "As I Remember Him"

                               A story by

			    Ritch Christopher

                                <><><><><>


                               CHAPTER ONE

                                *  *  *  *

                  "Today I may not have a thing at all
                   Except for just a dream or two.
                   But I've got lots of plans for tomorrow
                   And all my tomorrows belong to you.

                   Right now it may not seem like spring at all.
                   We're drifting and the laughs are few.
                   But I've got rainbows planned for tomorrow
                   And all my tomorrows belong to you.

                   No one knows better than I
                   That luck keeps passing me by...that's fate.
                   But with you there at my side
                   I'll soon be turning the tide...just wait.

                   As long as I've got arms that cling at all,
                   It's you that I'll be clinging to.
                   And all the dreams I dream, beg, or borrow
                   On some bright tomorrow they'll all come true.

                   And all my bright tomorrows belong to you.

                  "All My Tomorrows"
                   From UA picture 'A Hole in the Head'
                   Lyric by Sammy Cahn
                   Music by James Van Heusen.
                   Barton Music Corp., Copyright 1959.

<><><><><><><><><><><>

	The flight from Atlanta to Richmond, the nearest airport to River
Oaks, Virginia, was smooth and not at all turbulent, but the butterflies in
the stomachs of two passengers, David Stanley and Luke Sparks, made it feel
to them as though the plane was flying through a tornado at Mach 2
speed. The two young men had reunited only a few days ago at the funeral of
Mark Curtis, David's brother and also Luke's teenage boyfriend.

	Only the couple sitting across the aisle across from David and Luke
could see clearly when Luke reached over to the arm rest and took David's
hand to hold it. The woman saw it first and elbowed her husband to look
over and see for himself...two men holding hands in broad daylight on
public transportation. After they both had an eyeful, they turned away from
David and Luke, David didn't notice the couple, but Luke did and laughed
out loud.

	"Your hand is like ice," Luke said, quietly so that only David
could hear.

	"It must be the altitude of the plane. Doesn't your blood get
thinner the higher you go?" David asked.

	"Supposedly, but it could also be nerves and anxiety," Luke said.

	"Now just what would I be nervous and anxious about?", David
replied in half-jest. "Let me think if I can come up with a number of
reasons. I had my first gay sex last night with my late brother's one-time
teenage boyfriend... after which I told him I loved him. If that wasn't
enough to complicate my life, I now have to go back home to Virginia and
explain to my fiancée, a very beautiful southern belle, I might add, that
I'm breaking up our engagement because I've fallen in love with a
guy. How's that for starters?"

	"Sounds intriguing! Tell me more," Luke said, squeezing David's
hand harder.

	"I have to tell my mother and father that Mark, their son and my
brother, died last week in Atlanta. I left the university to go to attend
to his funeral...none of which either of my parents knows about. I had my
brother cremated and still don't have him buried yet. How am I doing?"

	"Famously!"

	"My father threw Mark out of the house when he caught Mark in bed
with you, causing Mark to move overnight to Atlanta, and now here I am,
folks---with my new lover. Yep, Dad, the same one you had a fit about
before. Oh, that will be a good one when I say, 'Oh, by the way, Mom! Dad!
I'm gay, also."

	"Your dad'll have a coronary for sure!"

	"I'll face that when it happens. I'm certain that if he lives,
he'll disown me, as well as cutting off paying for my tuition at UV...BUT
that's all right because my new lover told me not to worry about money. His
Aunt Delia died and made him a millionaire!"

	"That's right, I did!" Luke exclaimed, "I'll pay for your tuition
at UV or at any college you want to go to."

	"You know, Luke, it might be better, as well as less scandalous,
for me if I DID transfer to a different university."

	"David, we can move to any city you like. I'm free as a bird, or at
least I was until I flew down to Atlanta and met you. You know my dad
hasn't spoken to me since I got kicked out of VMI."

	"Your dad was desperate to try ANY and EVERY thing to keep you from
being gay, wasn't he?"

	"Psychiatrists, psychotropic medications, military school...ha,
that was a joke! There were more boys doing each other after taps every
night than on Collins Avenue in Miami's South Beach. Heck, no one had to
jerk off in military school, there were blow jobs available in every room,
not to mention the showers and toilets. The strict regimen of turning me
straight at the academy was more like, how straight could I make my dick!
Then there was VMI...I won't go into that only to say that the main
difference between military high school and VMI was that the boys were
older and the dicks were bigger! I was just one of the unlucky few who got
caught and kicked out on my ass."

	"Jesus! Had I known you'd had that many gay encounters, I might not
have gone to bed with you last night. Hell, I must have seemed like a rank
amateur to you. I mean, I didn't even know that Mark was gay! I knew NO ONE
who was gay in River Oaks. At the university, I spent hours at the library
reading about homosexuality. The only experience I had before I met you,
other than the oral sex performed on me by Randy, one of Mark's old
boyfriends in Atlanta, was what I learned about in books."

	"Sweetheart, you were great! I mean, I knew you weren't gay, but I
was sure you'd at least had intercourse with Jenny or one of your other
girlfriends. There's not much difference if you're experienced in making
love," Luke said, with reassurance.

	"Yes, but Jenny never prodded my lower intestines with a throbbing,
turgid, organ the way you did."

	"Did it bother you?"

	"Hell, no! Once I got used to it, I found myself fascinated by the
feel of it rubbing up against me. It really turned me on!"

	"No regrets...still?"

	"No regrets...now. I'll confess I was somewhat sore this morning
when I went to the bathroom. This is sort of embarrassing, but when I
started to go, I felt as if I had no control over my sphincter. Let's say,
you 'enlarged' my anal opening, so to speak."

	"Does it still hurt?"

	"'Hurt' is not the way to describe what I feel now...more like
'empty'."

	"You're hungry?"

	"No, Luke, I'm trying to say I want you inside me again."

	"God, how I wish we had flown first class and I could kiss you, but
I'm afraid if that couple across from us were to see us kissing, they'd
both create such an uproar, the pilots and flight attendants would swear
the plane was being hi-jacked by terrorists!"

	David laughed, then looked quietly at his companion. "Luke, I did
mean it when I said I love you."

	"I still can't believe you said it. I thought my heart would
stop. For years I've fantasized you saying that, but in my wildest dreams,
I never thought it could happen."

	"It did."

	"You know, David, maybe I don't believe in God, but I do believe in
fate."

	"What do you mean?"

	"The way we came together two days ago after all the years of
separation. I mean, the way I accidentally ran into Jenny in the
supermarket and she told me about Mark's death and where you were. Then I
called you, took the next flight to Atlanta, we met, talked, went to
Randy's apartment where we learned we were going to share a bedroom. I was
nervous as hell, wondering what you would do if you saw me get aroused. You
knew I was gay and I was sure you were straight...and then, when you asked
me to shower with you, I almost fainted."

	"But the shower is where we actually got to know one another!"

	"Boy, I'll say! Can I tell you something?"

	"Luke, if we plan on spending the rest of our lives together, you'd
better tell me everything."

	"When I saw you naked in the shower, I knew you were the most
handsome, most beautiful man I'd ever seen!"

	"I suppose I should say the same thing to you since you're the
first and only guy I've ever taken a shower with."

	"When I cried in your arms, no one had ever held me closer or more
tenderly than you did."

	"I just couldn't see you blaming yourself for Mark's death. You
can't be sure you gave Mark Hep C. You didn't know you had Hepatitis C when
you went to bed with him. Mark didn't find out about it until months
later. He could have gotten the germ from any number of guys in
Atlanta. When I was doing my 'gay' research at the UV library, I read up on
HIV, AIDS, STD's, including Hepatitis A, B, and C. One can catch Hep C from
a door knob or from a dirty glass or eating utensil."

	"Yes, but with all the money Aunt Delia left me, I could have paid
for Mark to go to Cole Institute in Briarwood or some comparable medical
facility. He could have gotten cured just as I did."

	"But you DIDN'T know he had it. I was his brother and I didn't
know! Hell, if I'd known, I could have gone to see him in Atlanta to be
sure that he was getting the right treatment and was cured...but NEITHER of
us knew. I could blame myself, but looking at it objectively, I'm no more
to blame than you are. Mark could have told us. Mark could have told me he
was gay and that that's why he fled to Atlanta. It was only months later
when he called me that he told me about you and him. I had no idea where
you had gone. You just disappeared in 'that good night' as Mark had. In my
deepest dreams, I hoped you two would find each other and reunite. Little
did I know that it would be I that you reunited with!"

	"Have you thought about what you're gonna say to Jenny?"

	"No. Are you any good at writing a script?"

	"I've never tried. Since I left my dad and Aunt Delia made me rich,
I've no longer had to lie to anyone about anything. I became my own
person."

	"Look, Luke, I know you must've had lots of boyfriends and I
promise never to ask you about any of them...but..."

	"But am I sure that I love you? Is that what you were going to
ask?"

	"Yes."

	"David, even as a kid, when I came over to your house to see
Mark. I realized I was actually there to catch a glimpse of you. When I
went to bed at night to fantasize, it wasn't Mark or Brad Pitt or Tom
Cruise I was dreaming about. It was always you. Sure, I may have gone to
bed with lots of guys, but last night is the first time I've ever said
those words...and yes, I DO love you!"

	"It almost seems like we acted too quickly. I mean, meeting and
having sex that same night, and falling in love inside of two days."

	"David, like I said...I've been in love with you for years. I've
ejaculated enough semen to fill the Grand Canyon thinking about what it
would be like making love to you."

	"Jesus! What if we HADN'T met two days ago! How long would you have
carried your fantasies? I mean I was supposed to go back and marry Jenny
Fairbanks and live happily ever after...which would have meant never seeing
you again, most likely."

	"No...because that's where fate stepped in. We were meant to get
together some time, somewhere. It was meant to happen---and it DID!"

	"Luke, needless to say, I DO feel guilty about my money
situation. I mean, tuition, dorm..."

	"You're not going to live in a dorm. You're living with me and if
you decide to go to Harvard or Oxford in England, that's where we'll live."

	"I could get a part-time job to help out..."

	"You have one. Make love to me twice a night."

	"Wouldn't that make me a prostitute?"

	"I don't want you to ever say that again...but if you think of
yourself that way, at least you'll be a college-degreed prostitute with a
full time husband!"

	A long sigh and smile passed between them until Luke said, "Oh,
fuck it!" as he leaned across the arm rest and kissed David on the
lips. The man and woman across the aisle from them looked at the two men
kissing. She gasped while her husband coughed and sputtered. Then they both
turned their heads straight ahead, never looking back twice.


<><><><><><><><><><><>


	After the plane landed in Richmond, Luke rented a car at the Hertz
counter for David and him to drive the rest of the way to River Oaks. On
the trip to Atlanta, David had only taken a back pack with two changes of
clothes and fresh underwear. Returning to Virginia, the back pack had been
replaced by three large pieces of American-Tourister luggage, each crammed
to its capacity with all the new clothes Randy had bought David in bigger
and better men's stores of Atlanta to modernize David's appearance. With
the three bags was a smaller one about the size of a woman's makeup case,
containing a cardboard urn with Mark's ashes. At the last minute David had
decided to bring Mark's remains home for the ashes to be scattered at a
chosen place and time.

	Not only was David trying to show respect for this brother, but it
seemed only fair that his and Mark's mother be given the chance to
memorialize her late son. David was almost certain that his father would
remain unforgiving to Mark and more than likely couldn't care less what
happened to Mark's remains.

	The mountains of Virginia involved a chillier temperature than the
Georgian metropolis. It only took a couple of minutes, though, for the car
heater to warm up. Luke drove while David sat close enough to Luke to
occasionally hold Luke's hand or pat Luke's upper thigh...which caused Luke
to lean over toward David to kiss him on the longer stretches of straight
highway.

	"David, do you want to go straight to my apartment and face your
folks fresh in the morning?" Luke asked.

	"I've been straddling the ideas of what to do since we
arrived. Tomorrow would be better, but I have so much to tell Dad and
Mom. They're going to be surprised by just seeing me home and not at the
university. Then I'll have to break the news to them about Mark. I'm not
sure if I'm daring enough to tell them about us all in the same sitting."

	"But you ARE going to tell them, aren't you?"

	"Luke, you know better than to ask that. Of course I am. I mean I
really DO love you and whatever happens at my folks' house will just have
to happen, I guess. I'm not giving you up or leaving you out of my life
from now on."

	"You want to just wait until after breakfast in the morning and
I'll just casually drive by..."

	"Just in time to see my dad throwing everything he sees that
belongs to me, out on the front lawn?"

	"You think he'd do that?"

	"I'd bet next semester's tuition on it!"

	"Would you like me to come inside and we'll tell them together?"

	"No, my dad asked you to leave his house once when he caught you
and Mark in Mark's bedroom. I don't want to see him hurt you again."

	"Look, babe, you have my cell number. If, after you tell your
parents about Mark, and if things get TOO unbearable, just give me a ring
and I'll come over and pick you up."

	"More than likely, I'll be spending tomorrow night at your
apartment, no matter what happens."

	"...and the night after...?"

	"And the YEARS after, you mean...as long as we're in River Oaks,
we'll be together."

	"Just remember what I said...River Oaks or any place in the world
you choose."

	"I won't forget!"

	"You know, David, I won't be able to sleep a wink tonight. I'll be
worried about what kind of hell your dad's gonna put you through...PLUS,
I'll be wishing you were in the bed beside me and I'm holding you."

	"Dear God, I never thought I'd get used to sleeping next to a naked
guy, but right now, I don't even want to think about sleeping alone. My
whole life has changed in a week...but mostly, in the past forty-eight
hours!" David exclaimed. "Last night, when you were asleep...or at least
when I THOUGHT you were asleep, I...took another exploration of your body."

	"Oh?"

	"Yeah, I had felt every inch of it while we were making love, but
suddenly, I wanted to smell every part of you."

	"You WHAT?"

	"I started at your face, sniffing your cologne and over to your arm
pits where I got a whiff of your matching deodorant, then I observed your
various scents all the way to your toes. I wanted to memorize every aroma."

	"Jesus! I MUST'VE been sleeping!" Luke said. "I hate to ask, but
did you find any part of me offensive? I mean the two of us sweated a lot
during our love-making session."

	"Nothing was offensive. You were wonderful! You smelled so manly!
So masculine! I swear, all I wanted to do was crawl up inside you and
become your inner self. I wanted to breathe the same air you breathe, taste
the same things on your tongue, let my blood flow through your heart until
we were one entity."

	"Damn, David, I used to do that in my bed when you weren't
there. All I've dreamt about for years is being beside you in the same
bed."

	"Soon, I'll be there for as long as you'll have me."

	"We, or rather you, still haven't said anything about telling
Jenny."

	"Damn, Luke. So much to do in so little time. It's like I've become
the River Oaks bearer of bad tidings. I know I have to tell Jenny...the
sooner the better. It's just that I know she's not going to accept this
quietly. Being jilted is one thing. Hell, I broke one engagement before she
and I started going steady, but I'm not so sure how any girl would react if
she finds out that her fiancée goes away for a week and comes back home in
love with a guy!"

	"I have a pretty good idea, David. I mean, when I heard that you
and Jenny were engaged, I actually hated her by knowing she'd have you
forever and I'd never get the chance. I was MORE than jealous of Jenny."

	"You won't ever have a reason to be jealous of her--or anyone else,
for that matter!"

	"Wanna know what I'm thinking right now?" Luke asked after a brief
silence.

	"I want to know what you're thinking ALL the time."

	"I'm thinking that there's a Ramada Inn about ten miles down the
road. We could stop and check in for a couple of hours before we continue
to River Oaks."

	"Then you're thinking exactly what I'm thinking...and I think it's
a good idea!"

	Luke placed his foot more firmly on the accelerator and the two of
them were at the motel in six minutes. Luke went inside, rented a room
where they made hot and heavy love for over two hours. Then they showered,
got back into the rental car and soon entered the River Oaks city limits.

	Fifteen minutes later, Luke stopped the car in front of the Stanley
residence. He helped David get the three suitcases and the smaller case,
containing the ashes, and set them on the sidewalk. David leaned inside the
car to give his new lover a 'good-bye-for-now' kiss and Luke drove
away. David struggled but managed to tote all four pieces of luggage to his
parent's front porch. Normally, David would just barge on into his house
since it was his home, too. But for some reason, David opted to ring the
doorbell for his mom to answer.


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	It was eight o'clock. 'Jeopardy' had just finished and Neil Stanley
reached for his remote control to switch over to Fox News for 'The O'Reilly
Factor' when the doorbell sounded. Meg knew that her husband never wanted
to miss a single dribble from the ultra-conservative's news report, so she
opted to answer the door. To say she was surprised to see her older son,
David, standing on the porch surrounded by three suitcases would be a gross
understatement. 'Had David quit the university?' 'Had he had a fight with
Jenny?' 'Was David seriously ill and had come home to get better?' All
these thoughts ran through her mind before she actually spoke to David.

	"Mom?" David said.

	"David? What on earth are you doing here? Is everything all right?"

	"It will be as soon as I get inside, out of this cold autumn
weather," David replied, reaching down to pick up the two heaviest pieces
of luggage.

	"Here, son, let me help you," Meg said. The third suitcase was too
difficult for her to lift. However, she did manage to pick up the one
containing Mark's ashes with no idea of what she carried.

	"Leave that big one, Mom. I'll set these two inside and get that
one."  David set down the two and picked up the third and placed all three
in the foyer.

	"Who was it, Meg?" Neil shouted from the living room."

	"It's me, Dad," David said, entering the living room.

	"David!" Neil exclaimed, "Well, for heaven's sake! This is a big
surprise! Why are you home?"

	"Well, this is still the place which I refer to as home when I'm
not here."

	"Oh, I know that son," Neil said, rising from his lounge chair to
give his son a hug. "I'm so glad to see you. It' just that..."

	"I know, Dad, I didn't call first."

	"Well, yes. Come on and sit down, son, and tell us to what we owe
this sudden visit."

	"Dad, I see that Bill O'Reilly is on TV. Would you rather wait for
my explanation after his show is finished."

	"Oh, his show is repeated later on in the evening. I'll just throw
a blank tape in the VCR and view it early tomorrow evening."

	"Well, if you're sure, Dad?"

	"Of course your dad is sure," Meg said.

	Neil picked up the remote and turned off the TV and the room was
silent while David's parents awaited to hear the reason for his coming home
from school in the middle of the week."

	"How's Jenny?" Meg asked, encouraging David to open up the
conversation.

	"Oh, she's fine, Mom...prettier than ever."

	"I don't suppose you two have set a date yet, have you?"

	"No, Mom, we haven't."

	"She is such a lovely girl, David. You chose wisely when you asked
her to marry you," Meg said."

	Neil interrupted, "Son, I don't want to seem anxious, but I...well,
I'm sure your mother and I are eager to learn why you're here."

	"Dad, I almost don't know where to begin. I have so much to tell
you... so many things...I just don't know which news to break to you
first."

	"You're not sick, are you?" Neil asked, very concerned.

	"No, Dad, I'm not sick."

	"Well, that takes one load off my mind. I'm glad to hear that!"

	"I...I...uh...Dad, Mom, I got a call at school six days ago from
Atlanta, concerning Mark..."

	"Who?" Neil sneered.

	"Mark, Dad, my BROTHER! YOUR son!"

	"I'd rather not have his name mentioned to me, David!"

	"Dad, you're gonna get angry, but you're just gonna have to listen
to me."

	"What is it, David?" Meg asked, a bit fearfully.

	"Mark's dead!" David blurted it out.

	"Oh, Lord!" Meg gasped as she sank down to the sofa.

	"GOOD!" Neil said. "That's ANOTHER load off my mind."

	"Oh, Neil..." Meg said, breaking into tears.

	"DAD, PLEASE!"

	"I guess God finally got around to punishing him with that
homosexual disease!"

	"No, Dad, Mark didn't have HIV or AIDS," David replied, earnestly.

	"Then I suppose God struck him down with a bolt of lightning! God
doesn't approve of queers and I won't have one for a son."

	"Well, Dad, you don't have him any longer."

	"What...what happened to Mark, David?" Meg asked, sobbing.

	"He...he caught hepatitis and died from the infection."

	"Oh, my Lord, I've heard that can be so painful..."

	"I'm sure it was, Mom. It must have been even more painful for
Mark, feeling that he didn't have a family around to help him through his
illness."

	"Oh, I'm sure he had dozens of boyfriends all huddled around him!"
Neil added.

	"Quite the contrary, Dad. There were a few people who helped him,
one of whom was a priest."

	"I should have known! Priests are just as much faggots as your
brother was. Only they love to molest small boys."

	"Dad, I met Father Chris and I don't believe he's the type to
molest small boys."

	"So you left your college education to go to Atlanta to see
about---him?"

	"Mark, Dad! His name was Mark!!"

	"Whatever..."

	"Yes, I got a call from the Atlanta coroner's office. Mark had
given my phone number at the university with his roommate, to call if
anything should happen to him."

	"Son, why didn't you call us?" Meg asked.

	"I was afraid of the way Dad might take the news and now I see it's
just as I expected."

	"Meg, for crying out loud! You haven't heard from him for nearly
three years. I thought he was gone forever and out of our lives! So why are
you blubbering now?"

	"Because I LOVED HIM. He was our son, Neil...OUR flesh and blood."

	"Diseased flesh and tainted blood...not ours!"

	Meg tried to calm herself down. "So, David, what did you do?"

	"I flew down to identify Mark's body since he had named me next of
kin. I met several of his friends and got to know them. Mom, they were
really wonderful guys. Mark had lots of nice friends!"

	"So...did they and you arrange a..a funeral service for him?" Meg
asked.

	"We had a memorial service for him...actually, two more of Mark's
friends had died and the service was for all three of them!"

	"See, it's like a plague. No one homosexual dies unless he's
infected half a dozen others. It spreads faster than a fire from match to a
track of gasoline!"

	"Was it a nice service, David?" She tried not to hear her husband's
bitterness.

	"Yes, Mom. There were over a hundred friends of Mark's there."

	"David, did you bury him in a casket and if so, how did you pay for
it?"

	"I hope to God you didn't put his casket on the credit card I gave
you to use at school!" Neil said.

	"No, Dad, I didn't use your credit card...well, I did charge my
airplane ticket."

	"Oh, I can't wait to see that on my credit card bill next month."

	"You won't, Dad. I'll see to it that it's paid before the bill
arrives."

	"Oh? And just where are you going to get the money to pay for it?"

	"Luke..." David spoke too soon and regretted it instantly.

	"Luke? That other faggot? You mean he and Mar... he and YOUR
brother were living together after I threw them both out of this house?"

	"No, Dad. Apparently, the night you got angry with both of them,
Mark went to Atlanta and he and Luke never saw each other again...ever!"

	"Well, at least I did break up one of Mar...one of your brother's
relationships!"

	"Dad! How can you sit there and be so goddamned cruel?"

	"Don't you dare take the Lord's name in vain if front of your
mother or ME!"

	"Damn it! It was pointless for me to stop by and tell you about
Mark. I should've just gone back to UV and never let you know anything."

	"Perhaps that would have been best!"

	"David, you didn't say...but did you put Mark in a nice casket?"

	"No, Mom. One of Mark's friends, a very nice guy with a lot of
money, offered to buy Mark's casket...but... Mom, I had Mark cremated."

	"That's the best thing you've said!" Neil said. "I'm glad you
burned his body...God knows his soul is burning in hell right now!"

	"Jesus Christ! I can't take this! Mom, I'm sorry but I have to go!"
David said, rising to go toward the door.

	"David, you can't go." Meg said. "It's almost nine o'clock! Where
are you going to go? This is your home. Your room is still upstairs where
it's always been."

	"Mom, I'm sorry that you had to learn about Mark this way. At least
you showed compassion. I wish I could say the same about Dad."

	"And you won't EVER hear it from me...not about your queer brother,
anyway. I have no compassion for boys who...who do what he did."

	"Mom, can I use the phone?"

	"What a silly thing to ask! Of course you can."

	"Thanks!"

	David went to the telephone on the side table by the sofa and
dialed Luke's cell phone.

	"Hello?" Luke answered.

	"Hey...can you drop over and pick me up?"

	"It didn't go so good, did it?"

	"Worse than you can imagine."

	"I'm not far away. I should be there in less than ten minutes."

	"I'll be waiting."

	"I love you, David."

	"I love you, too..."

	David hung up the phone.

	"Was that Jenny, dear?" Meg asked.

	"No, Mom."

	"But whoever it was...you just said, 'I love you'..."

	"Yes, Mom, I did! Oh, by the way, I need that small suitcase you
brought in."

	"It's in the foyer beside the others."

	"For what it's worth, Mom. I brought Mark home for the last time to
say goodbye."

	"What do you mean?"

	"Mark's ashes are inside that case."

	"Oh, dear Lord!"

	"GET HIS ASHES OUT OF MY HOUSE!" Neil screamed.

	"I will, Dad, just as soon as my ride gets here."

	"David?"

	"Yes, Mom?"

	"Whom did you say, 'I love you' to...'?"

	"That was the next thing I had to tell you..."

	"So who was it?"

	"It was Luke, Mom! Luke Sparks!"

	"You love Luke?"

	"Yes, Mom. I love him more than I ever loved Jenny OR Sandy!"

	"Oh, my Lord! David are you saying that you're like Mark?"

	"That I'M GAY?"

	"Yes."

	"THROUGH AND THROUGH! Just like Mark! Only I'm going to spend the
rest of my life with Luke...something that Mark never got the chance to
do!"

	"ANOTHER FAGGOT?" Neil shouted.

	"Yes, Dad, you had TWO faggot sons!"

	"Then you can go to hell with your brother, but first get out of
this house! I never want to see you or hear from you ever again!"

	"I'm glad you made that so plain, Dad. Of course there was never
any doubt about the way you would react."

	"And you can forget about next semester's tuition. I've spent my
last cent on your education!"

	"That's OK, Dad. The rest of my education is already paid for!"

	Luke drove up and beeped his horn twice.

	"Goodbye, Mom. I'll call you when I think Dad's not at home."

	"Oh, Lord! What am I going to do? Losing both sons in one evening!"

	David kissed her on the cheek and struggled to get all four luggage
pieces out the door where Luke was awaiting for him.

	"MARGARET! WOULD YOU SHUT THAT DAMNED DOOR? YOU'RE LETTING ALL THE
HEAT OUT. IT'S TIME FOR 'HANNITY AND COLMES'!"

	Meg stood on the porch as she watched David and Luke embrace, pack
the suitcases in the car, and drive away.

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(To be continued in "All My Tomorrows-2".)