The Pellegrine - Friendships 4

Date: 16 July 2671, Sunday

It was a lazy Sunday for Jacques. He knew he had to study for his coming exams but he was feeling lazy. There was a bang at the door. It was strange. Usually his terminal would announce the arrival of visitors. A few government security men appeared at the Robinson doorstep requesting Jacques to go with them. He arrived at the Williams’ mountain lodge with them. He was ushered to an office. There were a three people in the room. One was seated behind a desk. Jacques recognised the one seated as George Williams, Heath’s father. The man standing on the right of the minister moved up and attached a small silicon chip on Jacques temple. He nodded to Williams who gave a small smile. Jacques knew that the chip was a polygraphic sensor.

“Please sit down, Mr. Robinson.”

“Thank you sir,” Jacques said. He was a little nervous.

“Don’t be nervous, Jacques,” said the woman standing on the left of Williams.

“Well, I think the experience of being escorted by two government agents and led here wasn’t a nice experience, was it, Jacques?” Williams asked.

“No sir, it wasn’t,” Jacques answered truthfully.

“I take it that you know why you’re here,” said Williams.

“Not exactly sir.”

“You know about my son Heath, don’t you?”

“Yes.”

“You met him at a pub two Thursdays ago, right?”

“Yes.”

“Then he brought you here?”

“Yes.”

The man on the right put his hand on the table.

“He’s angry,” said the woman. The man nodded and removed his hand.

Williams smiled. Jacques could see that it was forced.

“I don’t like to be under surveillance sir,” Jacques offered.

“I quite understand. However, there’s a little complication that has surfaced. Can you please explain this?” Williams handed a piece of paper to the woman who promptly gave it to Jacques.

A very unusual scene unfolded in Merry’s Pub in Nuovo Firenze some weeks ago. Witnesses claim that the gay son of Conservative Minister, George Williams, was prevented from smooching a young man by his lover. Some witnesses claim that there were some strong words before the young Williams left with the young man. The younger Williams who was outed in a university newspiece …

“That’s a newspiece that is due to be published tomorrow. I was asked to respond to it. I want to know what your version of the story is.”

The man put his hand on the table again. This time the woman kept silent.

“I wasn’t smooching him. I was hugging him. I was upset because he was very cold to me in class that afternoon and he explained why. I was happy that it was not because he had decided not to be friends any more.”

“You’re gay, aren’t you?”

“Yes, I am.”

“You’re in love with my son?”

“I’m attracted to him.”

“Are you in love with him?”

“I think so,” replied Jacques.

“Either you are or you aren’t?”

“He’s telling the truth, minister. He’s confused over his feelings,” the woman said.

“All right. Are you having a relationship with my son?”

“Please define relationship, Mr. Williams.”

“You think you’re being smart aren’t you?”

The woman spoke up again, “Sir, he has the right to ask for clarification.”

“Are you sleeping with my son?!”

“No.”

“You’re close to my son, aren’t you?”

“We call each other bro, which means brother. I’m the eldest in my family and Heath’s like my older brother and I’m like a younger brother that he never had.”

“Here’s the situation, Mr. Robinson. I know that your father’s a famous scientist. You’re a smart man, Robinson, so I think you know what I’m capable of. I’m going to ask you to leave the Academy on your own. If not, I’ll make sure you leave and even your Father’s position will be severely affected …”

The door behind Jacques suddenly threw open and a voice from behind said, “I’ve heard enough George.” Jacques turned back and saw another familiar face. It was the Minister of Order, Robert Forrest, the secretary-general of the Conservative Party. “Get the young gentleman out of the office,” he told his security man, “… and get rid of that polygraph chip.”

Jacques was led to another room where he saw Heath. Heath had been weeping. When he saw Jacques, he looked relieved. Jacques moved quickly to Heath and held his hand. Jacques remembered Heath’s advice about hugging.

“Did he hurt you?” asked Heath.

“No, did he hurt you?”

“Not physically. He was almost prepared to disown me. I would’ve taken that but he decided to do something to you. I couldn’t accept that. That’s when I was brought to this room. I was kept in here during your interrogation. Then suddenly, a group of security men appeared with guns at the door and took away my father’s men. Then, you appeared. Do you have any idea what’s going on?”

“No idea. I’m just as in the dark as you are.”

Another guard appeared in the doorway. “Get the two of them out!” he called out. Jacques and Heath were led to the office. George Williams’ face was pale and he was seated in his chair looking very dejected.

“Shall I tell then, or will you?” asked Robert Forrest.

George Williams looked at the two of them and shook his head.

“Gentlemen. I’m sure you know who I am. This morning, your father, Mr. Williams, fired one of the security men … Rick Collins, I believe. Then he sent his men to get Mr. Robinson here. I’d been warned of your father’s high-handed ways of handling things for a while and I was monitoring his activities. Mrs. Robinson contacted her husband and told him what had happened. Of course Professor Robinson didn’t know what was happening but he has friends in high places. I couldn’t just let this go on. I had to step in. George wasn’t at the office nor at home. The safest bet was here. We were right.”

“Mr. Williams, I don’t exactly approve of your lifestyle choice but I also can’t approve of the taking away of your right to choose. Your father’s a very good statesman and a good friend. However, he’s gone too far this time. His action has put into jeopardy the integrity of the Conservative Party. He should’ve just disowned you but he didn’t want his line to end. Sigh! His pride got in the way of good sense. At the most, forcing you into treatment would’ve been seen as justified by our supporters. However, this manipulation of the Academy and getting the son of one of the top scientists involved was just too much. I’ve advised him to resign his portfolio as well as politics.”

“Of you, Mr. Robinson, I ask only this favour: that you refrain from telling your father what happened here. Mr. Williams is already a defeated man. Please don’t grind his face in the sand.”

Heath spoke up, “Aren’t you just trying to keep the good name of the party?”

“Yes, Mr. Williams. The truth won’t hurt the party much. You forget that I personally took charge of this operation. This actually defends the integrity of the party. There will be some disturbance if the truth comes out, but it wouldn’t hurt the party much. Your father’s political career, or what’s left of it, will be gravely affected if this comes out. I’m still your father’s friend.”

Jacques felt sorry right now for Mr. Williams. He couldn’t bear to be the cause of the total destruction of this man’s dignity, no matter how he was treated. “Mr. Forrest,” he spoke up, “you have my word. I just want to know how this incident will affect Heath’s situation in the Academy.”

“You’ll have my promise that he can choose to stay as Heath Mills or Heath Williams at the Academy. I won’t press the Academy to continue keeping him if his grades fail, but I’ll make sure that his graduation certification and records reflect his real name.”

“You mean I’m free from living a lie from now?” Heath asked in surprise.

“Yes, Mr. Williams. Who you are is your choice now. You’re an adult and should be treated as such.”

“Yes, I’m free,” mumbled Heath.

Jacques spoke to Heath in a soft voice. Heath did not seem to be happy with what Jacques had said but he nodded in the end.

“Mr. Forrest. I wish that my father would still accept me as his son and allow me to be with him unless he wishes to disown me.”

“Are you saying that you’re willing to forgive your father?” Forrest asked in surprise.

“Yes.”

Forrest turned to Williams. “George, your son has placed this decision into your court. I’d like to hear what you’d say.”

Heath’s father looked at his son with a shocked expression. Then he broke down. He bowed his head and cried for some moments. Then he looked up and said amidst the tears, “Heath, my son. You don’t deserve a father like me. You love me more than I love you …”

“So, is it a yes or a no? Are you willing to let him stay with you?” Forrest asked impatiently.

Williams nodded.

¤ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ¤

Heath and Jacques stepped out into the sun together. Their smiles were not so much of joy but of liberation.

“We’re now free, little bro,” said Heath. “I’m going to come clean at the Academy and start living my life and not be hiding from others. I’m going to try to make friends with anyone who wouldn’t mind being friends.”

“Yes, we’re free from secrets.”

“Not exactly, little bro,” said Heath.

“What do you mean?” asked Jacques looking puzzled.

“When you were interrogated by my father, I heard everything. I know that you’re gay.”

Jacques’ face went pale.

“I’m not angry with you, little bro. I know how hard it is to come out to a friend. So don’t panic,” said Heath.

Some colour came back to Jacques’ face.

“I also heard the part that you’re attracted to me.”

“Oh,” said Jacques sadly.

“Don’t take this wrongly, Jacques. I like you a lot, really I do,” Heath explained,

“But?”

“But I’m still recovering from the hurt of that first love. I don’t want to make you his substitute. I’m still on the rebound.”

“I don’t mind being the substitute, really I don’t,” said Jacques earnestly.

Heath laughed. “I’m sure you don’t, for now. Being a substitute means that you’re loved for being someone else. I think I wouldn’t be fair to you if I’m expecting you to be someone else. Please give me time to heal and to get to know you.”

“I see.”

“I’m not rejecting you, bro. You’re still my little bro and I want to be your big bro. Let’s still be good friends. Like me, you should start making more friends. There’s no need for anyone to know that you’re gay right away. You gave quite a good show for the girls back at the Academy and I’m sure you could still keep yourself in the closet. When we start mixing around more, we widen our choices. When we know what our choices are, then we can make better choices. I’m doing this for our benefit. I know you may not think so now, but I’ve the experience.”

“It sounds that you’ve decided for us both,” complained Jacques.

“Look bro. I don’t have any experience with gay sex. I only know that I fell in love with a boy. Who knows? I may not be even gay at all. I may be bisexual. How do you know that you’re definitely gay?”

“Get the test done.”

“What for? So that some instrument’ll decide for us what we are? We decide what we are. I’ve just been freed from my father’s way of doing things, I don’t need to enslave myself to some genetic category. I’m free. You’re also free. If you choose to come out, I’ll still be your big bro, but I’m telling you, you’ve got time to discover for yourself who you are. You don’t need to jump the gun. I know that Nancy has the hots for you. So are you going to reject the possibility that she might be the one for you?”

“Nancy? Oh no!”

Heath laughed. “Well, at least I know that you don’t have the hots for her.” Then Heath became serious. “Look Jacques, I’ll be lying if I said I wasn’t attracted to you. I’m not shutting out the possibility that we can be soul mates but I want to open up possibilities for both of us. Let’s not make that decision until we graduate from the Academy. When we graduate and still feel that we’ve a shot at being with each other, then we’ll make the decision. If I’ve learnt anything from the past is that we shouldn’t make rash decisions but really search all possibilities before deciding. I know that’s what I need to do. The question is whether you can do it?”

“I can, I know I can.”

“Now, I don’t want you to be a celibate nor a slut. I promise I won’t be jealous if you want to experience stuff with others and you’ve got to promise me that you won’t be jealous if you see me trying to befriend others.”

“I’ll promise if you’d be my first experience,” Jacques said.

“You’re quite a horny guy, aren’t you? Tell you what. I’ll be your second experience. We’ll fool around after you’ve found someone to give you your first experience. I’ll also choose carefully who’ll be my first experience. That way, we can compare notes and our experience together better, because right now I’m also a virgin.”

Jacques was a little disappointed but he did not show it. “All right, you’re on.”

“Just make sure you make a careful choice who you’ve your first experience with, okay?”

“I promise.”