Date: Sat, 9 Mar 2019 17:22:57 +0000
From: Douglas DD <thehakaanen@hotmail.com>
Subject: Aiden 2 Chapter 70 (Revised)

Welcome back. The big Thanksgiving Feast finds a mix of people ready to
give thanks. It also unveils a lot of surprises as some of the guests dig
deep to be honest about themselves.

Please give to the Nifty Archive to reveal your thanks to this source of
stories.

Emails welcomed. Thehakaanen@yahoo.com
Douglas

CHAPTER 70
THANKSGIVING FEAST

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 22

The three Miller boys were up by eight in the morning. They showered
together in the basement shower area. Logan and Aiden shared a shower head
while Chase enjoyed looking at his sexy cute brother and cousin showering
together while he stood under his own shower head.

After eating breakfast, the boys would spend the morning helping their
parents and grandparents along with a few other volunteers setting up the
lunchroom for the Thanksgiving feast taking place at the park rec
center. The rec center was situated in the old high school. With around 70
people expected, there was a lot that had to be done, from place settings
to placing the tables and chairs, to putting up name tags, and to
displaying the decorations created by Aiden and his crew of friends.

The previous Tuesday, Larry had received a call from Mikey Jones asking if
he could bring Peter Astor to the Feast – after some consideration and a
check with Phil, Larry had agreed. Before they left for the rec center,
Larry reminded Aiden that Peter and Mikey would be there and to expect them
at the door.

"I'll do it because it's Thanksgiving, but I won't like it," Aiden
groused. "Peter Astor is an asswaffle first class. I shouldn't have to deal
with him and with that Keegan dude."

Larry gave Aiden his best teacher glare. "The only two things you're being
asked to do is greet Peter and Mikey at the door and seat them, if it's
your turn to be the greeter, and be grateful that you were given the
opportunity to be of service to someone who needs some love and
understanding on Thanksgiving Day."

Aiden knew he had no rebuttal, so he nodded and walked away.

When he left for the Thanksgiving feast, Aiden brought Horace with him. He
was thankful Horace was in his life, plus he knew Marty was going to bring
Mortimer.  At Aiden's suggestion Chase agreed to bring his stuffed bulldog,
Hercules. Logan followed the lead of his big brother by bringing Virgil,
his stuffed cobra. The twins brought their unnamed Teddy bears. Cole and
Davey Vance brought a smile to Aiden's face when they brought Andy Panda
and Megrez the penguin. Nobody had said anything to them about bringing the
little stuffed animals, but they thought it was the right thing to do. They
were disappointed to learn that Gordy wasn't there to enjoy seeing Andy.

When Nolan arrived he received a tight hug from Aiden and came close to
getting a kiss. After the hug was finished, he took Casey II, his bear, to
the table and then grabbed Aiden and gave him an even tighter hug.

The collection of stuffed animals was located at a group of empty tables at
the edge of the room. Those tables were going to be where the kids would
eat their dessert if they so desired. Aiden told his dads when they were
all making plans that it would be cool if the kids could have an eating
time together and what better time than dessert. There was plenty of room
to set up the dessert tables.

Marty's little brother, Drew, who was five, arrived with his parents. He
brought Oliver, his Teddy bear, but he refused to give it up. Connor's
toddler daughter and infant son had their own little stuffed animals that
stayed with them as well.

The caterers were due to arrive at one o'clock and the guests were expected
to arrive at two. Dinner was slated for three. Tim McKnight, who was in
charge of the catering team, would make sure all of the food service was
taken care of. "You guys just need to make sure everybody is sitting in the
right place," he told Phil and Larry when they hired his company to do the
catering. Larry and Phil had told Tim that he and his team could enjoy
dinner with their families at the feast. Tim and his three assistants were
extremely grateful since such an invitation was rare. Their families would
be arriving at serving time.

Lenny and Lance came with their mother to help out. The twins were so happy
to see Logan and talk with him that their moms had to remind them that they
came to the lunchroom early to help with the setup.

Marty and Rich arrived next and got right into putting the tables in their
proper places and getting the right number of chairs set up at each table
or set of tables. By the time everybody had completed their tasks, the
lunchroom looked festive and ready to receive guests.

Everyone left at noon. The custodian would let the caterers into the school
at one (he and his family were also invited to partake in the feast). Larry
had stopped by a little after one to answer any questions the caterers
might have. A half hour later Troy and Susan brought the three Miller kids,
who would serve as greeters and seaters. They were ready for the fun to
start.

Among the first to arrive were Mason, his mother, and Chrissy, a sixth
grader at Richard Ainsworth Middle School in Centralia, and her
mother. Chrissy's mother and Mason's mother were friends, having met at
children's music events. Chrissy and Mason would provide entertainment as
the guests arrived. Chrissy would play the violin and Mason the piano. They
had played together in front of an audience before.

When Aiden learned that Phil and Larry were looking for music for part of
the feast, he suggested Mason. "We were looking for something instrumental,
not singing."

"Mason plays the piano real good," Aiden retorted.

"We were thinking along the lines of a couple of high school students."

"But Mason is one of us. I mean, he's coming with his mom to the turkey
dinner. At least listen to him and give him a chance."

Even though Phil and Larry were skeptical, they agreed to give him an
audition. In their minds Mason might be a great little singer, but no way
would he be good enough on the piano. When Mason's mom heard about what
Larry and Phil were thinking, she suggested adding Chrissy. The two sixth
graders didn't have to play very long to convince Larry and Phil that they
had struck gold.

Now they were wowing the incoming feasters with their playing. Their
program had been picked with the help of Mason's piano teacher, who
happened to be married to Chrissy's piano teacher.

Aiden felt a surge of happiness when he saw Darnell and his father come
in. Just before ending the phone call the afternoon before, Aiden told
Darnell he should bring his stuffed lion, Luther, if he could. Darnell had
just enough time to run up to his room and grab it. Aiden showed Darnell
where the stuffed animal zoo was being set up and Luther joined the animals
that were already there.

The smiles and good feelings gave way to tension, however, when Keegan
arrived at the entry to the cafeteria with Drake and Natalie. Keegan was
met by Aiden, even though Chase was the next greeter in line. While it
hadn't been discussed, Chase had no doubt that Aiden would have to be the
one to greet his father at the door, even if he had been on the other side
of the room seating someone else. Chase was thankful that hadn't been the
case.

"Hello, son. Happy Thanksgiving," Keegan said with a sincere smile. Keegan
wanted to ruffle Aiden's longish hair but decided neither he nor Aiden was
ready for that gesture yet.

"Hi," Aiden replied with uncommon shyness. He didn't make a move to seat
his father because he felt uncomfortable doing so. Phil and Troy had
insisted that Keegan should sit at the family table. Aiden was worried that
if he escorted his father to the family table there could be a problem,
especially from Grandpa Al who hadn't kept his dislike and distrust of his
son, Keegan, a secret.

Troy had seen Keegan come into the room. He watched Aiden approach his
father and sensed his nephew's discomfort. He walked to the entry and
greeted his younger brother.

"Welcome to the big feast, Keegan," Troy said with a forced smile. He
couldn't help but wonder why Phil and Larry consented to inviting Keegan
and speculated how big an asshole Keegan was going to be before the
Thanksgiving dinner was over.

Keegan stuck out his hand and the brothers shook. The greeting was a far
cry from the hug Troy and Phil had exchanged the day before. "Thanks,
bro. I admit I'm surprised to be here, but here I am. You know Natalie,
right?" Troy nodded and Natalie smiled. "And this is her nephew, Drake, who
for some reason thinks of me as Uncle Keegan."

"That's because him and Natalie are gonna get married and because they've
got custody of me." After he spoke, the thought crossed Drake's mind that
he may have shot off his mouth when he shouldn't have but it was too late.

Troy gave Keegan a look that said, what the fuck is going on here?
"Married?" he finally asked. "You, married?"

"Last I heard it was legal," Keegan replied. "It will be after the first of
the year. I even brought you and Susan an invitation."

Troy shook his head and gave Natalie a glance. She was a looker and he was
certain that was the only thing Keegan saw in her. He felt sorry for the
poor woman, and even sorrier for Drake. Troy wondered how often Keegan and
Drake sat around getting drunk and stoned together.

Aiden watched the byplay between his father and his uncle. He could tell
that Troy did not like Keegan. He could also see that Keegan was doing his
best to be nice to Troy.

"So, in which corner of the room will I be hiding?" he asked Troy.

"Aiden is the guide," Troy answered, even though he knew where Keegan and
his little entourage would be seated.

Aiden opened his mouth for the first time since Troy had walked over to
greet Keegan. "You're sitting at the Miller table. Follow me."

Keegan was surprised at his seating location and was in for another
surprise; Aiden would be sitting to his right and Phil to Aiden's
right. Keegan speculated that the seats were arranged that way so Phil
could protect Aiden from his evil father. Still, he was pleased that he
would be able to eat Thanksgiving dinner next to his son. What he did not
know was that Aiden had asked to sit next to his father and his dad. Phil
was being seated where he was because Aiden wanted an escape valve next to
him, not because Phil had requested it in order to keep an eye on his
brother.

Drake would be sitting to the left of Keegan and his Aunt Natalie would be
to his left. Also sitting at the Miller table, which was three tables
placed together, would be Larry, Chase, Logan, Al, Tony, Art, Jennifer,
Troy, and Sue. The way the three tables were placed together they could
seat sixteen.

Since people were still arriving, Aiden went back to his greeter job. The
next group for him to seat was the Bednarzyk family. Aiden checked the
seating chart to see where their table was and guided them to that
spot. They would be sitting with Mary Polk and her family (son Gage,
daughter Gretchen, and husband Lloyd) and Paul Moyer's family (son Nolan,
wife Vivian).

Marty spotted his sponsor and mentor, George Bednarzyk and his wife Lois,
coming into the room. He and Rich walked over to greet them. They shared
handshakes and hugs.

"Hey Mr. B," Marty greeted.

"Hi Marty. Hi Rich. How's everything going?"

"Well, it turned out to be a pretty good summer for both of us. Things went
well for me on the baseball diamond and Rich is a better teacher every
day."

"Sounds good. That's what I like to hear."

"I think about you every day, Mr. B," Marty admitted. "I owe you a lot."
George looked at the two young men facing him. "You know what, Marty? What
you've done with your life has repaid anything you've ever owed me –
including the interest.

"Many people think class refers to the way a person dresses or acts or
speaks. To me, when someone makes the kind of sobriety commitment you made
and then sticks with that commitment through thick and thin and makes his
life what you've made of yours... well... THAT'S class."

Marty felt his eyes moisten. "Thanks, Sparky."

Lois looked at Rich with a twinkle in her eye. "How are his cooking skills
holding up?"

Rich grinned. "He can still put a fabulous dinner on the table. And his
desserts are classics. We've got you to thank for that."

"We'd better go get seated," Lois said. "Always great to see you. Please
stay in touch."

Marty and Rich assured them they would, and George and Lois made their way
to their seats.

Chase had just finished seating Coach Fitzgerald and his family (son David,
wife Donna) and was heading back to the entrance to meet another family
when Drake spotted him. He recognized Chase right away; after all, how
could he forget a boy whose dick he'd grabbed? Drake left his seat and
stopped Chase.

"Hey, remember me?" Drake asked.

Chase thought the teen looked familiar but wasn't able to place him. "I
gotta help finish the seating," Chase told Drake. He decided to avoid
answering the question so he wouldn't look dumb. "Everybody's coming in at
once."

"I'll give you a hint. Fourth of July—Carkeek Park."

"Oh, yeah. You're Dan...um...Drew...um..."

"Drake."

"Drake. That's right."

"I sure hope it is," Drake grinned. "I'll talk to you later, okay?"

"Yeah, that would be great." Chase thought Drake was sexy and the feeling
was mutual.

Aiden was at the door when Peter Astor and his sponsor Mikey arrived. He
knew Mikey was Marty's brother-in-law. He'd met him before but didn't know
him well, and there was no love lost between Aiden and Peter. Nevertheless,
he greeted them with a smile and showed them to their table. Judging by the
look on Peter's face, Aiden could tell he didn't really want to be at the
feast and he couldn't help wondering if Peter would end up being a
troublemaker. At that point he had no way of knowing that Mikey, Keegan,
and Aiden's big bro, Marty, would later in the day each be a part of
teaching Peter some serious lessons about life.

While the boys were busily seating people, Keegan chatted with his
brothers, Troy and Phil. "Thanks for letting me attend," Keegan said. "I
know you guys don't think much of me."

"And for good reason," Phil said bluntly.

Troy knew that Phil wasn't happy about Keegan's shenanigans when it came to
getting visitation rights for Aiden, and his attitude showed right
then. "How about we just enjoy the festivities of the holiday and be
thankful the three of us can be together," Troy said as he tried to smooth
feathers. Both Phil and Troy were surprised that Keegan hadn't blown a fuse
after Phil's comment.

Phil ignored Troy's attempt to smooth feathers. "I have to remind my
brother that he is here because Aiden requested it. We're required to honor
that, so don't go getting a big head thinking we love seeing you here."

Troy was certain that this time Keegan was going to blow up for sure. But
Keegan did what Natalie along with his new AA sponsor, Marco, told him to
do—he took a deep breath and paused. That was an unnatural act for him,
but he managed to pull it off. As he felt his anger fade, he said, "Maybe
the fact that I'm here says something about the job you and Larry are doing
raising Aiden—it takes a big man to actually invite his deadbeat father
to a party."

Phil looked at Keegan wondering where this version of his brother had come
from. Just a few months ago he was an active alcoholic, barely employed,
treating Aiden like crap, and being an overall asshole—which pretty much
summarized his entire life. Now, almost overnight, he was driving for Seth
McCall's trucking company, he was soon to be married, he'd been sober for
over six months, and he was actually behaving. At that point Drake walked
up and Phil could see that for whatever reason Drake looked up to Keegan.

Aiden sat next to Keegan wondering what to say to him. He had seen his
father talking to Phil and Troy. He was pleased that a fistfight hadn't
broken out. But now, he was at a loss for words, something unusual for
him. What Aiden didn't know what that Keegan was as nervous as he was. It
was Keegan who broke the ice.

"I hear you're playing basketball." From what Keegan had learned about his
son he figured bringing up sports was a good way to break the ice.

"Yeah, I'm on the JV team at school," Aiden replied, happy to have a
subject he felt comfortable with.

"How's it going?"

"We've won both our games. I don't start, but I've played a lot. I've
scored five points and I have nine assists."

"Nine assists? That is impressive. Getting the ball to your teammates is
important." Keegan loved sports and could speak knowledgeably about the
major sports. He'd had dreams of playing in high school, but was too busy
being drunk and high to follow through on those dreams.

"Coach Meeker says I see the floor really well. I hope I get to play more,
but we have some pretty good seventh graders at guard."

"Is your team pretty big?"

"Well, you can tell that I'm not," Aiden grinned. "But Blake is five-eight
and pretty big for a sixth grader. My friends Gordy, Trent, and Miles are
on the team. Blake, Scott, and even Barry are becoming my friends too."

"What do you mean by even Barry? Sounds like you didn't like him."

"I didn't. He was a bully and smoked pot and stuff even in fifth grade. But
he's way different now."

Keegan nodded. "People can change, you know."

"I know. Can I ask you a question?"

"Ask away."

But Aiden didn't get a chance to ask since at that moment Larry stood up to
address the crowd of over seventy people. The boys had been very efficient
at getting everyone seated as the last of the guests arrived.

Larry thanked everybody for coming to the Thanksgiving Feast. "This started
as a fairly small gathering for friends and family and it became a large
gathering of friends and family. It's great to see you all here. The
caterer tells me that the buffet will be ready in about ten minutes." Larry
went on to explain how the buffet lines would be formed to enhance
efficient serving and avoid chaos. When the caterer gave the signal, the
serving at the buffet tables would commence.

Once the signal was given the procedure went smoothly. When Aiden sat back
down next to Keegan he dug right into his turkey dinner while it was still
hot. Keegan understood and started eating as well. He had no doubt that
Aiden would ask his interrupted question as soon as he was ready.

As he chewed a mouthful of turkey, Aiden decided it was time to ask his
question. "I'm ready to ask my question," he said after swallowing.

"Like I said, ask away," Keegan told his son. Phil slowed down his chewing
so he could fully listen in on Aiden's question.

"What should I call you?" he asked.

"That's an interesting question," Keegan replied diplomatically. "I suppose
you could call me father. Or maybe Keegan. What do you want to call me?"

"I heard Drake call you Uncle Keegan, but you're my father not my uncle, so
that won't work. Besides, he took the name first. And I don't think a kid
should call his parent by their first name." Aiden was echoing a mantra he
had heard from his dads more than once.

"You call Larry and Phil daddy and dad, right?"

"No, it's pop and dad now. I'm in middle school and daddy is a name little
kids use. So, I use pop because it sounds more grown up."

And still carrying around a stuffed donkey is grown up? Keegan was on the
verge of saying. But, once more, pausing stopped him from inserting his
foot deep into his mouth. He glanced over at the menagerie of stuffed
animals and thought about how most of them belonged to pubescent boys who
could easily be described as "all boy". He couldn't give his son grief for
doing what his friends were doing. Keegan realized that while he wouldn't
have been caught dead with a stuffed animal when he was in middle school,
there was a different mentality among Aiden's friends.

"Father sounds too grown up, at least to me. It's weird how hard this is."
At least I didn't ask if I could call him asswaffle, Aiden thought.

"We'll come up with the right thing and when we do, we'll know it. Just as
long as it isn't, I think the word is asswaffle," Keegan grinned. That
surprised Aiden who didn't think his father had a sense of humor.

While the issue of what Aiden should call his father wasn't resolved,
neither Aiden nor Keegan noticed Drake taking in every word of the
discussion.

As people finished their dinner they left their seats for fellowship. It
was announced that dessert would be served in about a half-hour. Larry
would make the announcement when the caterer told him everything was ready.

Mike the Donkey and his husband Ryan walked into the dessert area and
admired the variety of stuffed animals on display. Aiden saw him and came
over with Nolan and Miles.

"Hey, Donkey," Aiden grinned.

Mike gave Aiden a big donkey hug. "Aiden! I was hoping we'd have a chance
to hug and chat. This animal collection is amazing. What inspired it?"

"I kind of told my friends who still had their stuffed animals to bring
them. It's like a way where we can say we're grateful for all of the good
things and good people in our lives."

"That was an incredible idea. When you think about it, every one of these
animals has a story behind it. I would imagine that each animal gave its
owner some kind of comfort and joy when they were little. And I know Horace
has done that even with you all grown up in middle school."

"Or maybe they give comfort even now," Keegan said. Keegan had wandered
over to the tables to see exactly what had been deposited there. When he
heard what Aiden had to say he felt his own surge of gratitude in having a
son who was turning an into incredible young man. For a moment he felt a
twinge of self-pity because his presence in Aiden's life had caused nothing
but pain and he'd had nothing to do with molding the boy into the person he
was becoming—that job was being done by his brother Phil and his
brother-in-law Larry. Then he remembered what Marco, his sponsor had told
him about the futility of dwelling in self-pity.

Keegan looked down at Aiden and totally understood that his son was where
he belonged. He had known since going through all of the Twelve Steps that
there was no way he would become the custodial parent. And why should he?
He hadn't earned that honor while Larry and Phil had. But in his talks with
Marco, whom he had the utmost respect for, he also knew that when he was
with Aiden, he could help reinforce what Aiden's dads were teaching his
son. No, their son—the son of the three of them. Self-pity wasn't going
to help Aiden, but making living amends by living a life of integrity
would. He looked at Drake who was sitting at the other end of the tables,
who was busily chatting with his nephew Chase. He felt love and fondness
for the sometimes recalcitrant teen and understood that the same principles
applied to being a part of Drake's life.

Drake and Chase were talking about how they met at Carkeek Park on the
Fourth of July and how they enjoyed wrestling as well as groping. "That was
crazy, what we did," Drake said to the younger boy. He and Chase didn't
know it then, but they both had May birthdays and the difference in their
ages was ten days short of one year. "Would you do the same thing again?"

"Yep," Chase replied. "Only I'd pull your pants down to make grabbing your
dick easier. I wish there was a place we could be private and I don't mean
the bathroom. I'm hard as a rock and I bet you are too."

"Look carefully at me and you can tell," Drake leered when he saw the bulge
in Chase's slacks. "Too bad you're not spending the night around here."

"Oh, but I am. At some motel in the next city over, Kent something or
other."

"Kentburg. Well, I'm staying at Aiden's. I bet if you told Uncle Keegan and
your Aunt that you'd rather stay the night with your new friends instead of
them, they'd let you. I mean, if you're not there, they get to have some
Thanksgiving fun, so I bet they'd say yes like instantly. You talk to them
and I'll work on Aiden and his dad." Drake grinned and went looking for his
Aunt Natalie.

Peter Astor enjoyed his dinner better than whatever he would have had at
home. After all, how could one argue with turkey carved from the bird fresh
out of the oven being dropped on your plate. And as much as he appreciated
Mikey trying to include him in his group, he didn't feel part of the
party. Sure, having dinner with a celebrity like Marty Carlson was
special. He appreciated how nice Marty had been to him as well as Mikey's
brother, Rich and their families, but whenever he was around any of the
kids at the Feast they made him feel as if he didn't exist. Aiden and his
friends and relatives were the prime offenders in his mind—it was like
they thought they were much better than he was. As they waited for dessert,
he told Mikey how he felt.

"I don't think it's being done in a malicious way. But, remember, you were
the big bully in some of their lives and that's how they look at you—as
a big bully. It's gonna take a lot of effort on your part to change that."

"It would take less effort for me to go home and get drunk. I've eaten so
why not? I don't need to stay around here and take their shit."

Mikey knew that Peter was feeling exactly as he had felt when he was a
fifteen-year-old drunk and druggie. All of the shit he got from his
teachers, his coaches, and his family was because they all had it in for
him, not because he was a total asshole.

Sammy was chatting with David Fitzgerald and saw the serious talk going on
and, knowing the relationship between Mikey and Peter, thought it might
have to do with drinking and recovery. He told David he'd be right back and
wandered over to see if he was right and to see if he could help.

He heard Peter's statement about getting drunk as he approached them. A
thought hit him and he decided to stick his nose into the chat. Doing
Twelfth Step work to help somebody stay sober made this his business as he
saw it. "Maybe after dessert we should see if some of us can have a
meeting," Sammy suggested without fanfare.

Mikey gave Sammy a look that said, hey, that's a good idea. "Hmm, we just
might have time to set something up," Mikey said. "I'll see what Marty
thinks, because he knows all the right people who could get us a room."
Peter didn't care much for Sammy. As far as Peter was concerned Sammy
thought his shit didn't stink because he was sober.

"I like the idea. I like it a lot. But, does it just have to be you kids?"
Marty asked Mikey. "There are a lot of us here who are in recovery, or
maybe interested. I think talking about gratitude would be a perfect reason
to get together."

"I ain't grateful about nothing," Peter grumbled. "I just want to get
drunk."

"Well, if you want to get drunk, then go home and get drunk," Marty told
him. "There's nothing any of us can do to stop you."

"Isn't he supposed to stop me?" Peter asked as he pointed at Mikey.

Mikey shook his head. "Nope. All I can do is say you can go home and get
drunk or you can join us and talk about being grateful. But you need to do
something instead of standing around talking about it. If you want to do
it, do it, and quit yapping about it."

"But you're supposed to stop me."

"Nobody but you can do that," Marty said. "But we can be here to help you
when you want to be helped. If you don't want help, we can't help
you. You'll just have to go home and wallow in your shit by yourself."

Mikey was surprised at his brother-in-law's bluntness, but he didn't
disagree. He knew that until Peter really wanted to quit and to get help
there was nothing anybody was going to be able to do to stop him from
getting fucked up.

"Whether you take part or not, I'm going to talk to Coach about us getting
one of the meeting rooms." Marty looked directly at Peter. "But, if it
helps to know what I want, I'll tell you. What I want is for you to join
us. Like I said, though, in the end it's totally up to you."

Many guests went past the tables where the stuffed animals were sitting to
admire what children of all ages had brought, not to mention the adults who
were still children at heart.

Right about then, Larry announced dessert was ready. There was a choice of
pumpkin, apple, or pecan pie, or any combination of the three. There was
also plenty of whipped cream and ice cream. The kids' section quickly
filled up with kids from preschool age to teenager.

Marty ushered his five-year-old brother, Drew, to the seat on Aiden's
left. Darnell was sitting to Aiden's right. "Take care of the little rug
rat, bro," Marty told Aiden. Aiden gave Marty a stunned look that said, I
have no fucking idea how to take care of a five-year-old.

"You're gonna do great, bro. I'll be back in a bit." Marty left to join
Mike the Donkey, Scott, Connor, Jeffrey, Nick, Eric, and Noah.

Aiden quickly learned that most of keeping watch on little Drew was
instinctive. He had to be willing to listen to almost endless chatter
("Marty says you're his little brother so now I'm your little brother
too. Only now, I'm his littler brother, Marty plays baseball and he's the
best baseball player in the world", and he had to have an endless supply of
napkins to wipe ice cream, whipped cream, and pumpkin pie off of the little
boy's sweet face. Aiden found that he was pretty good at the big brother
gig which was why Marty left Drew under Aiden's care. He wanted his little
bro (as opposed to his little brother) to learn that he could handle
surprise situations.

Kalie and her cousin were the only girls at the Feast. They took seats
across from Aiden and watched with interest as he worked to keep Drew happy
and clean. Aiden quickly introduced them to Darnell as he picked a section
of pie crust off of Drew's lap.

"You're really good with him. You'd make a good babysitter," Kalie
observed. She pulled out her phone and took a picture of Aiden and Drew.

"Babysitting is for girls," Aiden grumbled. "And you better not post that
picture anywhere."

Kalie grinned and said, "Babysitting is for anybody who can keep a little
kid like him happy and can clean up the mess. Plus, when you babysit you
get paid for it. And it's now on Facebook."

Aiden shrugged and changed the topic. "Where's Ian?" he asked referring to
Gretchen's brother. Kalie pointed to where the teens were sitting and Aiden
saw Ian next to Drake and Chase. He was partially hidden by Drake which was
why Aiden hadn't spotted him.

"I wish Gordy could have come," Kalie lamented.

"He's having fun with his cousins," Aiden reminded her.

"I suppose." I know he'd have more fun with me, Kalie thought.

Gretchen ate quietly as she and Darnell flirted across the table, something
Kalie had picked up on. Aiden was too busy dealing with Drew to notice the
little looks and grins flashing between the two.

"Can you switch with Darnell?" Gretchen asked Kalie. Kalie gladly
complied. After Darnell sat next to Gretchen, Aiden quickly picked up on
the byplay between them just as Drew finished his pie.

"You're nice, Aiden," Drew said. "Marty yells at me when I make a mess."

"I'm glad he does, because I think you're too old to be so messy," Aiden
said, although he wasn't sure just how neat a five-year-old was supposed to
be.

"Marty says I am a little piglet. Oh, here he comes," Drew grinned. He got
down from his chair and wrapped his arms around Marty. His broad smile made
it obvious that Drew worshipped his big brother.

"Thanks for helping out, bro. I hope he wasn't much of a problem," Marty
told Aiden.

"He was good. He likes to talk a lot...,"

"You noticed?"

"...and he's a messy eater."

"Only when he wants to be. I'm positive he was doing it to get your
attention. I looked over a few times and saw you wiping his face. I could
tell by his mischievous grin that he had you right where he wanted you. He
likes you."

"Cool, and I like him, too, but next time he wipes his own mouth."

"Oh, he knows how," Marty laughed. "I'll take him to his mom now. I think
she's had plenty of recovery time." Marty took his little brother's hand
and they walked to the main eating area.

"Do you want to kiss me?" Kalie asked Aiden.

Where did that question come from, Aiden wondered to himself. "Why would I
want to kiss you?" he answered.

"Because I think you want to. It's Thanksgiving and you should be giving me
a Thanksgiving kiss."

"I never heard of a Thanksgiving kiss."

"Well, now you have. So, you should give me a kiss to show that you're
thankful I'm your friend."

"Wait, I think I have heard of a Thanksgiving kiss. At Christmas you kiss
somebody under the mistletoe and at Thanksgiving you kiss somebody under
the wishbone."

Aiden looked up at the ceiling. "Darn, I don't see a wishbone up there."

Before Kalie could reply, Nolan walked up to the table and sat in the seat
Drew had occupied. "Hey, Nolan, I'm glad you could finally make it over
here." He looked around Nolan's neck. "Yep, looks like the leash was
removed." Aiden knew that Nolan's mother had insisted he have dessert with
her and his father, even though his father said earlier he had no problem
with Nolan eating with his friends. Nolan knew Aiden was just teasing with
his leash comment.

"Sometimes my mom makes me so mad," Nolan said. "I left as soon as I
could." Aiden surprised him by scooting closer and planting a quick kiss on
his cheek.

"What was that for?"

"It's because you were sitting under a wishbone."

Nolan looked up and saw nothing but the ceiling. "Say what?"

"Oh, rats, it disappeared," Aiden giggled as Kalie glared at him. Suddenly,
Aiden tapped Nolan on his leg and nodded toward two young men sitting side
by side at a nearby table.  "Those are the two guys we saw kissing in the
theatre when we went to see `Wonder'", he whispered. "The dark haired one
is Hunter and the other one is Kraig."  "Damn," Nolan gasped. "Hunter is
one hot dude."  "Yeah," Aiden replied. "Kinda like you."  Across the table
Darnell and Gretchen were getting to know each other.

"I think you're cute," Gretchen cooed.

"Me? Really?" Darnell was surprised as to how quickly Gretchen got on the
topic of cuteness. Under some conditions he might have found it strange
that a white girl living in what was predominantly a white town would have
found him cute. But he'd had sexual experiences with quite a few white boys
in Mayfield as well as with four boys in his hometown of Bellingham, so the
fact that Gretchen found him cute didn't surprise him as such. What he
didn't know is that Gretchen actually lived in Eugene, Oregon and not
Mayfield. Eugene was a college town much like Bellingham.

"You look pretty cute, too," Darnell said shyly.

"Have you ever kissed a girl?" Once more Darnell was surprised. Gretchen
truly thought the African-American boy was cute. She had become experienced
at flirting with boys as well as girls, and she knew there wasn't much time
to bring up the topic. Since she would probably never see Darnell again she
figured she had nothing to lose by getting right on the topic.

"Once. But it was just like a peck on the lips." He didn't want to delve
into the level of kissing he'd experienced with boys.

"Do you want to kiss me?"

"Maybe, but not here." Darnell saw Nolan sit next to Aiden and received
another surprise when Aiden gave him a peck on the cheek.

"We could go outside and kiss," Gretchen suggested. She gave him a kiss on
the cheek which mimicked the one she had just seen Aiden give Nolan.

Darnell wasn't very comfortable with Gretchen's aggressiveness. He was
trying to come up with a diplomatic way to say no when his father, Tyson,
approached. "I hate to break up this get acquainted session, but if we
leave now we have a good chance of getting home by midnight."

"Can't we spend another night around here?" Darnell asked plaintively. "I
mean you could visit with your friends and I could visit with mine."

"Feel thankful we made it down for this much, son. However, I will try to
see about us getting together during Christmas break."

"For real?"

"No promises. A lot of things have to fall into place, but I'll work on
it."

Darnell faced Gretchen. "Sorry, but I've got to go."

"I'm sorry, too." Gretchen ignored Tyson's presence and gave Darnell a
quick kiss on the lips. "I don't live in Mayfield. Kalie is my cousin, but
I will probably be back here then. I hope you can come, too."

Tyson looked at Darnell with pride as they said their good-byes and
left. He hadn't realized that his son was such a ladies' man. The boy
worked quickly.

Larry, Phil, and Aiden were at the doors as the guests started to
leave. They were amazed that 75 people, including them, had attended the
Feast. It had grown into something more than they had ever imagined.

The Millers thanked everyone for coming and listened to the praise at how
smoothly the Thanksgiving Feast had gone and how delicious the food had
been.

Cole and Davey Vance recognized Larry and Phil. The two young boys proudly
held their stuffed animals. "This is Aiden Megrez," Cole beamed as he
proudly called the penguin by the two-part name he'd given it.

"Can I hold him for a sec?" Aiden asked.

Cole handed the little penguin to Aiden who gently petted it. "I'm happy he
has a good home," Aiden said. Davey then handed Andy Panda over. The little
three-year-old almost jumped out of his shoes and socks with excitement as
Aiden petted the panda as well.

"It's good, except it don't have any icebergs," Cole said as Aiden handed
the penguin back.

"We were all very grateful today," the boys' mother said. "Thank you for
what you and your friend did for my boys. They love those animals more than
you can ever imagine."

After the departing guests had left, Aiden grabbed Nolan by the hand and
almost dragged him to where Marty, Rich, Eric, and Noah were sitting.

"This is my boyfriend, Nolan," Aiden said proudly. "And this is my big bro,
Marty, and my other big bro, Eric." Eric and Marty then introduced their
husbands Noah and Rich.

Marty stood up and gave Nolan a quick hug. "I know you're very special,"
Marty told Nolan in a quiet but strong voice, "or Aiden would never have
fallen in love with you. You be good to my little bro or I will hunt you
down." Marty sat back and laughed at the shocked look on Nolan's face.

"Oh, don't worry, I will because Aiden is pretty special, too." He looked
at Aiden with fondness. "And I love him." Marty grinned as he saw Aiden
beam with a brilliance that lit up the room.

For Nolan, meeting two married gay couples who were young men who had been
varsity athletes in high school and college gave him chills. And to have
Aiden introduce him to a professional baseball star as his "boyfriend" may
have been the best moment of the day.

Nolan's parents approached and said they were ready to head for home.
Aiden introduced them to Marty and Rich. Aiden escorted the Moyers to the
door. Nolan and Aiden each wanted badly to repeat the little kiss they'd
shared during dessert but didn't think it would be a good idea in front of
Nolan's parents. They did share a long hug, however, which caused some
stirring inside the pants of the two tweens.

"Your big bro Marty is a great man," Nolan whispered with a smile, "and his
husband is beautiful. You know how I love blue eyed blonds."

Aiden nodded. "I know you do. I love you so much." He tightened his hug and
briefly considered telling Nolan about the times he'd seen Marty naked in
the locker room after batting practice but decided now was not the right
time.

"I'll be spending the night soon," Nolan promised as they held their hug.

"I can't wait," Aiden responded. "Be sure to text me when you're home
safely."

"I will. I'll even text you if I end up in the Sahara Desert instead of
home."

"You're silly," Aiden grinned.

Not all the crowd had left, however. When Marty asked Larry about getting a
room for a meeting, Larry suggested that those who wanted to meet could
wait until the Feast was over. "I'll get a meeting room for us. As you
know, the custodian is an AA member and I'm sure he'll open one up for
us. The rest of us can wait here in the lunchroom and sip coffee and work
on our part of the cleanup." Marty agreed that was a good idea.

Eric stopped Aiden as the group started for the meeting. "Before we leave
for the meeting, I want to ask you something." Aiden listened intently to
what Eric had to say and nodded his head. "Yeah, I think I can do that."

"I'll text you the details later tonight," Eric told him.

<The Gratitude Meeting>

Marty and Sammy named it the Gratitude Meeting and started telling others
about it during and after dessert. While it was intended for the youth in
recovery, it was not restricted to them—it was open to anyone who wanted
to express gratitude for their sobriety or to simply be at the meeting to
support those who were in recovery.

Before they had started around the lunchroom to spread the word about the
meeting, Sammy told Marty he wanted to tell him something and that it
wouldn't take long. "Go for it, dude."

"First, thanks for being around for me. Our chats on the phone and online
helped me a lot."

"It's what all of us do. Wrap the present of sobriety with a nice bow and
give it away to somebody else who needs it," Marty told him.

Sammy nodded. He'd learned first-hand how important that concept was and
how his sobriety was a gift he had to appreciate and be grateful for every
day. "I wish Mel could have come today," Sammy said, referring to his AA
sponsor. "I think you two would really like each other.

"Anyway my second thing..." Sammy paused and looked around to see if
anybody was close enough to hear. "Second, Jeffrey really wants you to fuck
him. I mean he wants it bad."

Marty laughed at Sammy's audacity and then answered quietly, "As you know,
there are two things standing in the way. Jeffrey isn't eighteen and I am a
married man."

"Well, Jeffrey turns eighteen in a month and I bet you and me can convince
Rich to let you give somebody who loves you more than you'll ever know a
nice Christmas present. I mean you taught him all about sex from scratch
back when you were both little boys."

"I think I was thirteen, which I guess might be considered little." Marty
laughed. "I love Jeffrey. I've loved him since I first met Hurricane
Jeffrey. Thanks for letting me know that the old Hurricane still has a
thing for me. I'll take it under consideration, but I doubt anything will
happen."

"I can tell you this much. Jeffrey thinks so much of you he won't ever ask
you to do it, which is why I'm asking you."

"You're a good brother, Sammy. Now let's start talking up our meeting."

The custodian opened up a conference room. It was furnished with four large
tables set up in a U and more than enough chairs. Nineteen boys and men
along with one girl came to the meeting. Of course Marty and Sammy were
there. Peter Astor, Mikey, Drake, Chase, Aiden, Ian, Gretchen, Rich,
Connor, Jeffrey, and David Fitzgerald were the young people attending the
little meeting. Peter, Mikey, Drake, Sammy, and Marty were in
recovery. Keegan, Troy, Al Miller, George Bednarzyk, Phil, and Jerry, the
custodian, were also in attendance. Larry decided not to participate
because of his position of authority over most of the kids as a teacher and
coach. He spent the time chatting with Coach Fitzgerald about how the
football season had played out. The Mustangs had finished 7-3, losing their
District Playoff game 16-7. They also talked about baseball, which would be
starting in about three months.

Aiden, Rich, Jeffrey, and David Fitzgerald were there as friends, although
Aiden had reasons to think he might belong there as more than a
friend. Aiden was surprised to see Ian and Gretchen sitting in until he
learned that when she and Ian were home in Eugene they often got high on
pot with their friends. They also got stoned with each other when their
parents weren't home and raided their liquor cabinet when they could. While
they weren't in any kind of a program, they thought they would check out
what was going on.

They told their parents they were interested in what the gratitude meeting
was about and would call them when it was finished. They invited Kalie to
join them, but she said she wasn't interested. Kalie knew what the meeting
was about—there are few secrets among the kids of Mayfield. She also
knew the real reason Ian and Gretchen were going; they had confessed their
sins to her the day before and she was still a bit upset with them, which
was the biggest reason she went home with her parents. She simply didn't
want to feel grateful with her cousins.

As they walked into the meeting, Sammy tapped Chase on the shoulder. "Did
you see what I meant when I told you on the phone the other night to keep
an eye on that Nolan dude at the Thanksgiving Feast?" he whispered. "I know
damn well he and Aiden kissed at least once before he had to leave."

"Yeah, I think we got us a new pair of boyfriends," Chase agreed.

"Must be that Mayfield water again," Sammy said with a laugh.

"Yeah, right."

Sammy and Marty had agreed that Sammy would open the meeting. He started
with the Serenity Prayer, which some of them knew but most of them
didn't. After the group fumbled through it, Sammy patiently went over it
with them—it was short and easy to learn. The second time through was
better.

"First thing we need to decide is who's going to chair the meeting. Anybody
interested?" Sammy asked.

"I thought you decided to chair this," Peter said with more than a little
venom in his voice.

"I'm just opening it because somebody has to. It's up to all of us to pick
a chair."

"I nominate Sammy," Drake called out. "Um...if he's interested that is."

"Yep, I'm interested. Anybody else interested? You don't need to be
nominated, you just need to say you want to do it." Nobody volunteered, so
the group told Sammy the meeting was all his. Sammy thanked them and
explained that in the meeting all the stories and comments people offered
were called "shares".

The meeting went quite well as those who wanted to share volunteered to
tell what they were grateful for. Everyone worked at being positive until
Peter spoke.

"The only reason I'm here is because Mikey told me to be here because he
thinks I need this shit to quit drinking. But maybe I don't want to quit."
He looked over at Phil and said, "No offense coach." Phil remained
impassive and wished he'd stayed with Larry. "I'm no alcoholic and
everybody knows it. I mean you either know it or you don't and I know I'm
not. So, I'm not grateful to be here."

Marty shared next. He looked straight at Peter and said, "I'm grateful to
be here and to be sober today. I'm grateful to have so many people in my
life to keep me sober—and I'm very grateful that there were people in my
life when I was fifteen who were willing to share with me their experience,
strength, and hope.

"Before I got sober, I got kicked off the football team, I almost died of
alcohol poisoning, I hated myself and everybody else, and a couple of times
was serious about killing myself but was saved by one of my best friends in
the world. Oh, and I didn't have a problem either—I was a victim of my
ego running wild. I'm grateful for those people who cared for me and got me
to admit I was powerless over alcohol and that my life was a fucking
mess. Today, I have a life beyond my wildest dreams because I was taught
the humility to admit I needed help and to get the help I needed to
surrender and admit defeat. You're not alone, Peter. Hang around with those
of us who have been there and you'll eventually hear your story."

"Bullshit," Peter muttered. "Nobody has a story like mine." Yet as he
looked at Marty he saw a man who was no doubt the most famous personage in
Mayfield at that moment. He saw somebody who was willing to get help to
drag him out of the morass. He saw somebody who had been exactly where he
was at that moment.

Aiden said that he had never chosen to drink or use drugs. He said he knew
kids in middle school who did and that he was grateful he wasn't one of
them. He didn't mention his father getting him drunk at least twice when he
was seven since he didn't choose to drink at the time but was forced to.

Keegan kicked in next and surprised Phil, Troy, Al, and Aiden. "I was like
Peter most of my life. I didn't have to stop because I didn't have a
problem. My problem was my dad, not me." He looked at his father, Al, who
gave him a slight nod which said he knew where Keegan was going and he had
no problem with him going there.

"I used to get drunk with my dad, going back to when I was ten." Many of
the boys looked at Al who sat impassively, but the men either knew Keegan's
story or had heard one like it. "And by drunk, I mean wasted, passed out
and blacked out. I don't know how my brothers stayed away from that
bullshit, but they did. It all made me feel worthless as a kid, as a
teenager, and as an adult. And when I became a worthless father, I tried to
do the same thing to my son when he was seven or eight and got him drunk."
All eyes went on Aiden. "That's the kind of father I was."

Keegan's story caught Peter's attention. Marty had been right about someday
hearing his own story—the story of drinking with his dad until he passed
out.  But neither he nor Marty thought it would be couple of minutes
later. Peter realized for the first time that he was not alone.

Keegan directed his next comments at two of the boys in the room. "Son, I
know I've said this before, but this time it truly comes from the
heart. I'm sorry for those things I did when you were young. And Drake, the
same apology goes to you. I am going to work to be the kind of person who
doesn't do shit like that.

"I wanted my son to myself. I was going to do whatever it took, legally or
illegally, to make him mine and take him away from the horrible place he
lived in. There was no way anybody could be the father I was going to
be. Well, with the help of some wonderful people like Marco, my sponsor,
Natalie, my fiancée, Drake, who is becoming like a son to me, and my
Higher Power, I realize that Aiden is exactly where he belongs. Watching
him play sports, listening to him tell me about his accomplishments at
school, seeing the kind of person he is growing into has made me very
proud. It has also told me that because of the way I chose to live my life
by denying my responsibilities and my addictions, I had next to nothing to
do with it.

"I love you, Aiden. And I understand now why you have been given control of
when I can visit you and I respect that. I understand why you feel you
can't always trust me—I earned that lack of trust. All I ask of you is
that you give me the chance to earn that trust from you. I am so very, very
grateful to have you in my life, even if it is under your terms and not
mine, because that is how it's supposed to be."

The room was silent. Keegan sat back, exhausted. He'd had no intention to
give a speech, but his feelings came pouring out of him and he couldn't
stop them. It was in the next moment that he saw many in the room fight
back tears. Aiden left his seat, walked over to Keegan, wrapped his arms
around the man he called his sperm donor, and said quietly but sincerely,
"I love you, father."

"I love you, too son," Keegan whispered as tears ran down the faces of
father and son.

There were other shares that were anticlimactic after the emotion of
Keegan's share. One share was Al Miller commenting on how proud he was that
Keegan was finding the wonders of sobriety and saying how he, too, was
still paying the price at times for his behaviors as a father. "We should
neither regret the past, nor wish to shut the door on it," he said, quoting
from the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous. "That's not always an easy thing
to do."

The last share ratcheted the emotional level back up. Chase stunned
everyone with what seemed an inadvertent confession but may have been
intentional. Chase told about how he too had never consumed alcohol or used
drugs. He told how he had learned from his father to ask for the strength
to stay away from drugs and alcohol each day. "I know you guys who are
like, recovering, do things one day at a time. I guess I do the same
thing. So, I'm grateful that I stayed clean today. I'm grateful that when
my friend Braeden wanted to smoke weed with me at my birthday party I
kicked his ass out of my house."

Then came Chase's dramatic moment, one of many that occurred at the
gratitude meeting. "I'm grateful that when my boyfriend Hatcher started
getting into alcohol and drugs, I broke up with him instead of following
him. And I'm grateful that Dillon came into my life to be my new
boyfriend."

Chase held his breath as he observed his father to see his reaction to what
he'd just said, knowing that he'd not only come out, he'd come out in
public. When he received a smile and a thumbs up he was able to breathe
again. "And I'm grateful my dad loves me for who I am." The meeting paused
with another tearful father-son hug. Sammy then brought it to an end with
the Serenity Prayer.

As the meeting broke up, Keegan approached Marty and spoke to him
quietly. "You love my son more than anybody except for his dads. I know
you're young, but that you also have around ten years of sobriety. How did
I do in there?"

"You did fine, Keegan," Marty said. "Just be sure you stay aware that TIME
is the critical element. Amends take time. I spent months making amends to
some of the people I hurt badly – and one of them was my husband. It
won't happen overnight. Some people will accept quickly – others
won't. Be prepared to have to take baby steps and to have to pause and
accept a setback now and then. Remember, you can't make Aiden like
you. That's something you're going to have to work at every time you see
him.  But you did great today. Don't give up. Stick with it. Keep in touch
with Marco. Trust me – it'll all be worth it."

Keegan looked at Marty silently for a long time. "Thanks, Marty. That means
a lot."

"You're welcome. And don't kid yourself. Making amends is hard work –
damned hard work. It's one of the hardest things you'll ever have to do."

"Yeah," Keegan said softly. "I'm finding that out. You said I can't make
Aiden like me. Right now, I'd just be happy if he respected me."

"Today, was a good start." Marty flashed Keegan a sly grin. "Oh, by the
way, my stuffed animal is named Mortimer. He's that brown teddy bear over
there on the table."

Keegan smiled as the two men shook hands – they realized they had just
gotten to know each other a lot better. For the first time, Marty had
gained some respect for Aiden's father.

Nobody had expected what they'd seen, heard, and learned at the gratitude
meeting, but they were all grateful they had been a part of it.

Next: Celebration

THE SERENITY PRAYER

God, grant me the Serenity to accept the things I cannot change, Courage to
change the things I can, and Wisdom to know the difference.