Date: Fri, 27 Sep 2019 01:33:56 +0000
From: Douglas DD <thehakaanen@hotmail.com>
Subject: The Mayfield Episodes  Episode 19

Greetings and welcome back.

In this chapter, Aiden is fighting puberty as well as demons from his
past. Is he willing to listen to reason?

Please give to the Nifty Archive and help the stories keep rolling.

I love email. Thehakaanen@hotmail.com
Douglas

EPISODE 19
THE FOURTH DIMENSION (Part 3)

SATURDAY, JUNE 28

"I'll find a way to get to your party," Aiden told Mac and Russell.

"Aiden, have you lost your mind?" Scott screeched. "Aren't you the guy who
set up everything so Marty would see my cousin?"

Aiden shrugged. "I just told him to send Ronnie a picture, Marty did the
rest."

"So? I mean, really, you get credit for being Marty's friend and getting
things started..."

"What does this have to do with me wanting to try something different to
see if I like it?"

"It's got everything to do with it because it shows you're better than some
dude wondering if being drunk is cool."

"I never said anything about getting drunk." Although that's what I plan on
doing, Aiden told himself. He knew he was going against everything Marty
had taught him, but he was sure that Marty was wrong this time. Marty
simply didn't understand how everything was going wrong. The way Aiden saw
it, he had played shitty for three straight games and his team had lost all
three. He remembered how he felt when his father gave him alcohol. He kind
of liked the sensation but hated his father for giving it to him.

It was those two times at the Muncy's that made him wonder if that was the
way to go when he felt down and his brain kept telling him he wasn't as
good as everybody thought. He wanted to see for himself if booze helped him
better than having gratitude. Aiden wanted to see if maybe Marty had it
wrong all along.

On the ride home, Aiden sat in the back of the minivan saying nothing, not
that Muddy had much to say after a disappointing week of baseball. The
Goats had lost their league game on Wednesday 4-3 and then went two-and-out
of the Tri Cities Tournament. Aiden was happy that the rest of his best
friends were riding home with their own parents so he wouldn't have to talk
to them. Mason was the one who wanted to talk to somebody, so he drove
Larry and Phil nuts with his chatter about baseball, music, school, the
desert scenery followed by mountain scenery and anything else he could
think of. Aiden wanted to stuff one of his dirty baseball socks into
Mason's mouth, but he kept his cool.

That evening while he was waiting for Larry to cook up dinner, he called
Nolan. Just talking to his boyfriend made him feel much better, but his
mind was still spinning sporadic negative thoughts.

"Damn, I can't believe you only got two games in," Nolan said.

"Yeah, it sucked. Just like I sucked. We've lost three in a row and I've
sucked majorly in all three games."

"We all have bad streaks, but that isn't why you guys lost."

"Yeah, it is."

Aiden heard Nolan take a deep breath. "That doesn't sound like you at all,
Aiden."

"Maybe it's because I forgot something about myself."

"Like what?"

This time Aiden paused. He didn't know what to say. Was he going to tell
Nolan what he remembered about those nights when he was eight? He decided
not to. What happened then was going to be his secret forever, although he
had to admit the more he thought about it the more he realized it meant he
was just like his father. He conveniently forgot how different his father
had become since he got sober. Aiden knew he never wanted to be like his
father had been, and yet the party was calling him. He would go to see what
it was like, but that was all. He could call it a pre-birthday party; he
was going to be twelve in a couple of months after all, which was much more
grown up than eleven. Even now, he was no longer in the sixth grade, the
"baby" class in middle school.

"Aiden, are you there? What did you forget?" Nolan asked after what seemed
like a long silence.

"Nothing," Aiden said in a tone of voice that almost every pubescent boy
perfects.

Nolan was stunned by Aiden's attitude. This wasn't the boy he was in love
with. Sure, Aiden can get a little snarky sometimes, Nolan thought. We all
do, and when we figure things out, we apologize. But this was something
much different than a normal bad mood. Nolan could only think of one thing
to say.

"Have you tried calling Marty?" he asked.

"I already know what he's going to say—he's going to tell me not to go
to this party I want to go to, so why should I talk to him?"

"What kind of party?" Nolan asked in a concerned tone of voice.

"Nothing. Just a party."

Nolan knew Aiden was bullshitting him. He was certain the party was not one
Aiden should be going to, but he wasn't sure how to handle the situation,
so he went back to Marty. "Well, you could ask him because I love you and
don't want you to do something stupid."

"It's not stupid, it's something I need to do. I really have to do this."

"I don't get it. Maybe if you tell me what you don't want to tell me, it
will help me figure things out."

"Like I said, it was nothing." Aiden heard Larry call from downstairs. "Pop
is calling. It's time for dinner. Thanks for trying to help and I love
you."

"I love you, too," Nolan said lamely. He cut the connection feeling like
somebody had punched him in the gut.

"Feeling any better?" Phil asked when Aiden sat at the table. Phil knew the
answer was no both by the look on his son's face and by the fact he was
fully dressed.

"I would if I didn't suck at baseball so bad."

"You need to get over it, son. You and your team hit a bad streak. You've
been there before, and you know what to do. Sulking about it has never been
a solution." As he spoke to his son, Phil tried to maintain a tone of voice
that offered understanding and tough love simultaneously.

"I'm not sulking. I really do suck."

"I'm willing to bet that Scott and Connor will improve everybody's attitude
in practice on Monday," Larry said. Larry felt that Aiden not hanging
around with Mac would help his attitude as well. His practiced coaching eye
saw Mac as a cancer on the team. He was a talented player, but nonetheless,
he was a cancer.

Aiden shrugged and started in on his macaroni and cheese with spicy
sausage. The talk was minimal, which was unusual for one of their family
meals. Larry couldn't even get a game of Twenty Questions going.

After dinner, Aiden went up to his room. He wished the party was that
night. He wished he could have the numbness he remembered from those nights
at the Muncys. He wondered if he really felt that numb, or if he was just
imagining it. When he decided to quit playing his video games and go to
bed, he ignored Horace. Stuffed donkeys were for little kids, and on
Tuesday night he was going to join the big kids.

He did hold to the ritual of telling his dads goodnight. But he didn't want
to be read to, a tradition that still happened most nights, or tucked
in. He returned to his room thinking that might never happen again. He
pulled the covers over him without stopping to think of what he had been
grateful for that day.

At 2:00 am in Meadow Park, Nolan Moyer lay naked on his bed. The Pandora
music service was playing quietly on his phone. Nolan was sick with
worry. He was truly frightened about the way his boyfriend was acting and
wasn't sure how to deal with it. He had considered talking with his dad but
decided against it. Tears came to his eyes as one of his and Aiden's
favorite songs began to play. Nolan shut off his phone, took a deep breath,
held Casey II, his stuffed bear, tightly, and consoled himself with the
thought that his boyfriend would call in in the morning and they would
talk. He squeezed Casey II tighter as he told himself he shouldn't be
worried, that he and Aiden would work things out as he finally fell asleep.


SUNDAY, JUNE 29

Aiden spent the morning in the TV room watching the Mariners getting
clobbered by the Red Sox in Boston. Larry and Phil thought he might be
coming back around to normal since he was sitting in his/Phil's recliner
wearing just a pair of red briefs with blue trim.

Gordy, Miles, and the twins showed up just after lunch for some
swimming. While Aiden didn't really want to play around with his friends,
he couldn't think of a good reason to cancel the little swim party, so he
decided to let the afternoon plans stand.

He surprised himself by forgetting his issues and having a good time with
his four friends. The best thing was that all he had to do to be ready was
pull off his briefs. With that group, it went without saying that they
would be skinny dipping.

As much as he didn't want to have fun, he found it was hard not to with
four of his best friends. He wished Nolan was there too. If he hadn't been
in a pissy mood the night before he was sure he would have invited him. It
bothered him that his moodiness had resulted in him slighting his
boyfriend.

The boys got a game of keep away going with one of the small rubber
balls. The game included laughter, wrestling whoever was "it", along with
grabbing cocks, balls, and ass on occasion.

"Gordy's getting a lot of hairs," Lenny said when they stopped swimming to
get some ice-cold lemonade.

"And he's making more and more cum," Miles added. "He's going to catch up
to Muddy if he keeps this up." Other than a few teeny strands, Miles and
Aiden were still hairless, as were the younger twins.

Pool time after lunch was more about the grab dick and ass than about keep
away. Everyone sprouted a boner at one time or other and Aiden remembered
how much fun it was to have a twin's boner in each hand.

Aiden and his company showered and dressed before dinner. Lance and Lenny
wanted to see all the extra cum Gordy was supposed to be making. Since they
all had to be home for their dinners, that wasn't going to happen.

"Maybe next time," Gordy told them. He didn't really want to show off his
sexual growth, but he also knew that his group friends considered showing
their maturity a routine part of their friendships. He did know that Kalie
and Brittany had liked watching him shoot his sperm last Thursday. Still
that was showing it to girls which was different than showing off to his
friends.

"You look like things have brightened up," Larry observed at dinner.

"A little. Can I stay overnight with Miles on Tuesday?" Aiden responded.

"As long as his parents are good with it, you know we are, too."

Aiden had no plans to spend the night with Miles. He needed a way to get to
the party and spend the night there without his dads knowing. When it came
to spending the night with his friends, his dads never checked up on
him. They had no reason to think he would go somewhere other than to his
friend's house.

After dinner and cleanup, Aiden retired to his room to watch his own
television. He lowered his little railroad's drawbridge and started his
train going. He lay on his bed staring at the ceiling. Eric had told him
that when he was feeling down, he would toss a baseball to help him focus
his mind away from what was bothering it. Aiden was following his other big
bro's example.

He looked up at Horace but decided to leave him on his shelf. He picked up
his phone to call Nolan, but something made him remember Nolan asking him
to call Marty—not telling him but asking him. He punched in Marty's
number instead of Nolan's.

"Hey, little bro," Marty said when he answered the call. "Long time no
hear."

"Yeah, I've been busy. How did the Rainiers do today?"

"We knocked off the Aviators 7-4." The Aviators were the Las Vegas AAA
team.

"And you?"

"I was three-for-four with a walk, two doubles, three RBI, and two runs
scored."

"Great game. I sucked at baseball all week and so my team did, too."

"How bad was it?"

Aiden told him about his horrible three games, and about the Goats losing
all three, including their two games in the Tri Cities tournament. "I
couldn't do nothing right."

"And because you couldn't do nothing right, the Goats lost, correct?" Marty
laid a tiny bit of emphasis on the word `nothing' just to let Aiden know
he'd picked up on his sloppy grammar.

"Well, not exactly, but it's close. If I only had got some hits and not
made two errors that let a ton of runs in, we wouldn't have been two and
done in the tournament."

Marty could hear the hurt in the voice of his little bro. "Well, then, how
do we fix the `if onlys' in our lives?"

Aiden lay silently. He knew that this was where the conversation would be
going. He wished he hadn't listened to Nolan and called Marty. He wished
he'd told Marty that life was awesome, and he was glad Marty had a good
game and then ended the call. If only he'd thought about the Tuesday night
party instead of what Nolan had said. Aiden suddenly realized he'd just
brought another `if only' into the whole discussion.

"I don't remember," he finally said.

"Yes, you do—you just don't want to say it."

Trying to sound as uninvolved as he could Aiden said, "When we say if only,
if only, if only, it means we're not being grateful."

"And is that true at this moment? Are you being grateful?"

"I don't have anything to be grateful for," Aiden said with more force in
his voice. He was ready to hang up. Aiden waited for Marty to ream his ass,
which would give him all the excuse he needed to hang up.

"Indeed," was all Marty said.

Aiden kept waiting for Marty to chew him out, or to start a list of things
he should be grateful for. He had not been prepared for Marty to utter just
one word. The silence was almost making Aiden sweat. Then Aiden came up
with what he thought was a great idea. He would shock Marty into chewing
him out which would give him an excuse to break the connection. That way he
could say it was all Marty's fault.

"I got invited to a party on Tuesday. Kind of a before Fourth of July
party."

"Great. Which one of your many awesome friends invited you?" Marty had
heard enough from Aiden to make him a little leery of the pre-Fourth party.

"Oh, this party is with different friends and is going to have beer, but I
won't drink any, I swear."

"Hmm, a beer party."

"Like I said I won't drink any."

"I take it your dads are okay with this."

Marty was still staying cool, so Aiden decided it was time to drop the
kicker. "They think I'm spending the night at Miles' house."

"Interesting."

Aiden felt himself starting to get pissed. He climbed off his bed and sat
in his desk chair. "Is that all you got to say...indeed and interesting and
shit like that?"

Aiden's question was met with silence. One of the things Marty had learned
when helping alcoholics he knew from his meetings was that sometimes being
quiet and listening led to more information than asking a string of
questions.

Aiden's shaking finger reached for the off icon to end the call. He wasn't
sure if he was shaking because he was mad at Marty or because he was
afraid. Maybe the path he wanted to take wasn't the one he really wanted to
take.

"Are you still with me, bro?" he heard Marty ask.

He doesn't sound like he's mad. He called me bro, Aiden thought. He decided
to take one last try at getting Marty mad. "You drank when you were eleven,
so why can't I?"

"I thought you said you weren't going to drink at this party." Even while
Marty was calling Aiden on his shit, his voice stayed calm and
reasonable. He was trying to let Aiden sink his own ship.

Aiden thought about his secret. He thought about how he wasn't going to
tell it to anybody. Not his dads, not his father, not his friends, not his
boyfriend, and certainly not Marty. While he didn't express it in those
terms, the reality was the secret was weighing heavily on him and was a big
reason he wanted to go to Mac's party.

"Marty?"

"Yes sir?"

"What was it you told me once about secrets?"

"I've said quite a few things about secrets, but the big one, the one I
think you're thinking of, is that you're as sick as your secrets."

Once again Aiden sat silently. He wished he could see Marty face-to-face
right then, while at the same time he was glad that his big bro couldn't
see the tears flowing down his cheeks. Aiden was at what would be one of
many forks in his developmental road; forks where he could follow the siren
call of pubescent rebellion or he could dig into the moral and ethical
standards his dads, Marty, even his friends had built in him since he
arrived in Mayfield. He was not the first young adolescent to sit at this
junction and he would not be the first to take the wrong road.

"Marty," Aiden whispered hoarsely into the phone as he worked hard to hold
back his sobs. Secrets, he thought. Secrets are why I feel so
shitty. Secrets are why I hate myself. Marty said secrets were why he was
sick.

"Yeah, bro?" Marty could feel the emotion in his little bro's voice, even
over the phone.

"I have a secret that I forgot for a long time and now I need
to...well...Marty, please don't get mad at me." Without waiting for Marty's
reply, Aiden let out his three-year secret that he had all but forgotten
and was now an unintended consequence of his new relationship with his
father. It was the story of losing his mother, of getting drunk with
Parker, of getting drunk in his room more than once, of wanting to get
drunk more, and then of forgetting it all when Larry and Phil came into his
life and finally, of remembering it after Keegan offered him amends for
giving him booze when he was even younger. He told Marty the secret of how
good it felt to be numb and forget how bad it felt to lose his mother and
how now he wanted that same feeling because he couldn't focus into his zone
and played shitty baseball. As he told his story, Aiden had gotten out of
his chair and laid back down on his bed.

"I was so bad and I wanted to be bad again. Do you hate me now?" Aiden
asked after finishing his story and choking back one of many sobs.

"I love you Aiden. I love your courage for telling me your experience. And
you need to know that you did nothing wrong."

"What if I still want to go to the party on Tuesday? What if I still want
to be bad?"

"I can think of three things that could help you, if you truly want to be
helped. Because if you don't want to be helped there is nothing I can do
for you, and by that I truly mean nothing. This is all on you."

Aiden sniffed back a final sob. "I want to be helped but I want to go, too,
and I don't know what to do."

"The first thing you need to do you have done. You talked to somebody about
it, namely me. Talking about your troubles and not sitting on your secrets
is a huge help all by itself."

"And the second thing?"

"Talk to your dads. Tell them what you told me."

"They'll be mad at me, I know they will."

Marty switched to his tough love tone of voice. "Aiden, there are times you
have to admit to yourself that you don't know shit. This is one of those
times. Your dads are going to be there for you. They're going to love you
for being honest. They're going to be proud of you for being honest and for
admitting your dishonesty about staying overnight with Miles."

"Are you sure?"

"Totally. I've known them far longer than you have. They trusted you and
you were about to violate that trust. If you confess and make amends, you
will be able to maintain that trust."

Marty was throwing a lot of information at Aiden, but it was being done in
a way that made Aiden think. Marty had a pretty good idea of how to push
the right buttons on the young boy.

"What is number three?"

"I understand from two boys who have been talking to me a lot lately that a
youth AA meeting has been started in Mayfield."

"Yeah. Sammy and Peter got it started during the school year. It's called
the Fourth Dimension, which sounds like some kind of weird science fiction
movie or something." Aiden had regained a measure of control of his
emotions and was sounding closer to the ebullient boy he so often was. "Do
you know what it means?"

"I do, but I think it would be better if you asked one of the members that
question when you attend your first meeting."

"But that meeting is for kids who have, like, a problem with alcohol. Why
should I go there when I don't drink?"

"I think you qualify for membership."

"Okay, but that was, like, a couple of years ago when I drank that shit."

"And the party on Tuesday is a couple of days away. Let me tell you what
the only requirement for membership is, and then you decide what to do."

"I know I don't belong but go ahead and tell me because you're going to
tell me no matter what I think."

Marty didn't let Aiden's sassiness get to him – he kept his
cool. "Listen very carefully, with the key word being listen. Our Third
Tradition says that `Our only requirement for membership is a desire to
stop drinking'."

"But I don't need to stop if I never started. That doesn't make sense for
me." Aiden adjusted himself on his bed, so he was sitting up, with a pillow
between him and the wall.

Marty knew from his past experiences with Aiden that once Aiden thought he
didn't make any sense he was on the verge of figuring things out. While it
seemed like paradoxical behavior, it seemed to fit how Aiden often worked
his way through issues.

"When you got drunk at the foster home the first time, how did it make you
feel?"

"Like I didn't miss my mom and like I wasn't lonely and I liked it when
Parker hugged me."

"Did you want to do it again?"

"Yeah, I told you I did it the next weekend and I did it again even after
they caught me."

"How do you think it would make you feel if you drank at the party on
Tuesday?"

"Numb and like my shitty playing and us losing because I was played bad
wouldn't matter. Mac and Russell and Muddy and them would think I was cool
because I was drinking."

"You didn't mention Muddy was going."

"Well, he said he was. It surprised me, too."

"Do you really want to drink at that party on Tuesday? I mean do you
really, truly want to do it?"

"Not really, but I really think I want to get the feeling."

"Did you listen to what you just said?"

"Yeah, kinda, I guess. I want to stop doing what I did when I was eight
even though I'm going to do it now, but I still want to go to the party."
Aiden stopped there but Marty said nothing. It was time for Aiden to make
the connection. "Wait," Aiden said suddenly. "I don't want to go, but I
want to get the feeling and I want to stop before I started what I did
before. That means, I have the desire to stop drinking like the rule says
and it means I can be a member."

"You're a very sharp young man, bro. I am proud of you."

"Let's see. I talked to you, I will talk to my dads, and I will talk to
Sammy, and I won't go to the party on Tuesday."

"What will you do to keep from going?"

"I guess I just won't go. I can't call you because you have a game. I could
sit with my dads all night. Or I could really do an overnight with Miles,
or maybe Gordy."

"You're looking too far ahead, bro. Think about what you will do today that
will help you on Tuesday. That's as far as your thinking needs to go."

"I can talk to my dads today and I can call Nolan."

"Great ideas." Marty had been impressed by Nolan's solid maturity the
couple of times he'd talked to Aiden's boyfriend. "When does the Fourth
Dimension meet?"

"I dunno. I'll find out from Sammy. Thanks for talking to me. I feel way
better now. How come I keep arguing with you and then when I listen to you
I feel better?"

"Because when you talk to me you don't hold back, at least not by the time
we finish. You are honest and open and, like I keep telling you, that makes
you feel good inside."

"Good night, bro. Thanks again." Aiden broke the connection. He then took
Horace down from his perch and set the stuffed donkey next to him. He
petted his soft, furry exterior and cooed an apology for ignoring him, and
told him that now he wanted him on the bed. "You've always been my loyal
friend. Always, no matter what." Aiden then called Nolan.

"I am so happy you called," Nolan said after the boys exchanged
hellos. "You can't believe how worried I was about you."

"I'm sorry," Aiden said. "I have a lot to tell you."

As soon as Aiden told Nolan he had talked to Marty, Nolan felt good. After
Aiden told Nolan his story, Nolan felt even better.

"Marty said keeping what I did a secret was the thing that made me feel
bad, not actually doing it. I'm sorry I was mean to you, Nolan. I don't
ever want to be like that again."

"We all get that way, I think," Nolan replied. "Dad says part of growing up
is learning what to do when we have bad moods or get pissed off about
stuff. I love you, Aiden, and I am happy you're feeling better."

"I love you, Nolan. Thanks for being my best friend in the world when I got
nasty and for being my boyfriend."

Aiden told Nolan he would call him on Tuesday. He lay back with Horace and
started jerking off. It was the first time he'd been really horny in a few
days. He thought about humping Horace, then decided to cuddle the donkey in
one arm while jerking himself off. He had visions of him with Marty, Rich,
and Nolan in a bedroom having fun together when he shot his clear emission
over his belly.

After cleaning himself off and brushing his teeth, he went downstairs and
asked for a tuck-in and a reading session. Larry said he would be right
up. As he watched his naked son's perky ass disappear up the stairs, Larry
looked at Phil and said that it looked like Aiden had been talking with
Marty.

"I think you're right. Where would we be without that amazing
relationship?" Phil said. "I think he should be named an honorary third
parent."

Larry agreed and went upstairs to read the next chapter of "My Side of the
Mountain" to Aiden.

MONDAY, JUNE 30

<Aiden and Sammy>

Aiden called Sammy after breakfast. "I need to talk to you," he told the
teen.

"Talk away, I've got time to listen," Sammy said.

"No, I mean face-to-face. Like, live."

"I'll be around all day until after dinner when I have baseball practice."

"I've got practice tonight, too. Let me ask my pop if I can come now. I
wanted to check if you were home before I asked. I'll call you right back."

Aiden knew his pop was out on the dock doing some maintenance on the
boat. He slipped on a pair of shorts and walked out to talk to him.

"Are you coming out to help?" Larry asked.

"No, but I'll help you tomorrow if you need it."

"Fair enough. What can I do for you?"

"Can I ride my bike into town and visit Sammy? I need to ask him
something."

"I thought that's what we bought you that fancy phone for," Larry chuckled.

"It is and I just did talk to him, but I need to TALK to him, you know,
like to his face," Aiden said in an annoyed tone.

"What did he do wrong this time?" Larry sounded concerned knowing what the
past history between his son and the teen was like.

"Nothing. It's just that this is important. It's about what's been bugging
me. I promise to tell you and Dad about it tonight. Deal?"

Larry knew when to push and when to back down. This was back down
time. "Deal. When are you going?"

"Now."

Larry yelled at Aiden to ride carefully as his son took off for the
house. Nothing annoyed Aiden like being told to do things like "ride
carefully". How else do they think I'll ride? he'd fume to himself. He
called Sammy and told him he was coming right over. He put on his shoes and
a t-shirt and headed to the garage to get his bike. His helmet was strapped
to the handlebars. Slipping it on, he rode out into the warm, sunny
morning.

"Hey, dude, how's it going?" Sammy said when Aiden rang the front doorbell.

"Hi, Sammy. Thanks for letting me come over."

"It sounded a little urgent. Come on in and we'll talk about what's on your
mind."

After Sammy poured sodas for the two of them, they went out on the patio
and sat at the picnic table. Aiden was thankful for the big umbrella
providing them shade; the day was turning into a hot one. Both boys pulled
off their t-shirts. Aiden was stripped down to his cargo shorts and Sammy
to a pair of gym shorts.

Aiden worked to get the butterflies in his stomach into formation. "I
wanted to talk about your meeting, the Fourth Dimension," he finally
blurted out.

"What about it?" This sounded like something much more serious than Sammy
had imagined. Up until that point he had been looking at Aiden with lust,
hoping that the purpose of his visit was because he wanted to have sex with
a teen stud. As soon as Aiden mentioned the Fourth Dimension, Sammy did his
best to wipe his lustful thoughts out of his mind.

"Am I allowed to go there?"

"Serious?" Aiden nodded. "Do you understand what it's about?" Aiden nodded
again. The intense look on Aiden's face erased the last lustful thought
from Sammy's mind.

"I talked to Marty last night."

"So what you're saying is you're dealing with some real serious shit."

Aiden took a deep breath, and for the second time in two days, he spilled
his secret, convinced that Sammy would laugh him out of the house. When he
finished he was surprised for the second time in two days.

"You've got balls kid. I mean you've got serious big ones. It took balls to
do what you just did and do it with somebody who's like a stranger. I mean
you and I didn't get along at all when we first met, and here you are
telling me why you want to come to the Fourth Dimension."

"Do you really think I was brave? I thought you'd laugh at me or
something."

"Dude, a couple of years ago I'd have laughed my ass off. Maybe even a year
ago I might have said, `whatever', even though I was sober. But now I take
all this shit super seriously." Sammy didn't know that in a couple of weeks
his thinking would begin to stink like Aiden's had been and he would come
within a bumped cup of beer of going back out into the world of booze.

"You sound just like one of us Fourth Dimensioners and you're more than
welcome to come to our meetings. The next one is tomorrow at seven-thirty
at the Lutheran church."

"Whoa, I didn't know this was a religious thing. Marty never said anything
about that. I mean I know he talked about God and Higher Power and stuff,
but not religion."

"We're not. We just rent their little meeting room two times a week. Noon
Saturday is the other meeting."

"You must have to pay a lot for rent. Who gives you the money?"

"We give ourselves the money. It's all in the Seventh Tradition. We use
half of our contributions to pay the rent each month."

"Marty told me about the third tradition. How many are there?"

"Twelve. Just like the steps."

"I guess I have a lot to learn. Like, can you tell me what the Fourth
Dimension means?"

"You can learn that tomorrow, kiddo."

"It's weird that my first meeting will be the same night as Mac's
party. What if I end up there instead?"

"If you find yourself heading for his house stop what you're doing and call
me. And I mean RIGHT THEN. No bullshit. Call."

Aiden said he would be coming to the meeting, but if he did end up going
the wrong way, he promised he would call.

After Aiden left for home, Sammy stripped off his shorts, sat on the couch
in the sunroom and jerked off, thinking about what he wanted to do with
Aiden knowing he now could never do it.

<Aiden, Larry, and Phil>

That night after baseball practice, Aiden stripped naked in his room and
went downstairs where both of his dads were reading. It was time for him to
have his talk with them.

For the third time he told his secret to someone. This time he had no
preconceived notion of what the reaction would be. He told his dads about
Nolan chewing his ass, about talking to Marty, about the lie to them about
going to Miles' house, about seeing Sammy, and that he planned on going to
the Fourth Dimension meeting the next day.

The dads praised Aiden for his honesty, his trust of them, and for his
willingness to tackle his issue. They both thought of asking why he didn't
come to them when he was so depressed in the Tri Cities but decided his
finally turning to Marty was one more reason for them to see Marty as an
honorary parent for Aiden.

"Just one more reason to be glad the Muncy s got their asses kicked out of
foster parenting," Larry said, as much for Aiden's benefit as their
own. They knew how much their son despised them, especially Mr. Muncy.

Phil told Aiden about the drinking history of Larry and himself. "We drank
more than you, obviously, but your pop and I quit really young and, as you
know, still attend meetings when we can." Phil was the more active in AA
because he had no doubt, even with his short drinking history, that he was
an alcoholic.

"I hope that you get active in the group," Larry told Aiden. "You saw how
close you came to maybe getting yourself into serious trouble. The fact
that you lied to us reveals quite a bit, and the fact that you came clean
to us reveals even more. You're a good kid—a good person. But it looks
like you have the family disease."

"Well, tomorrow I'm going to the meeting. I want to find out what the
Fourth Dimension is."

Later, after Larry read to him, Aiden lay in his bed with Horace thinking
about his day. He thought about Sammy being so helpful and never saying
sexy things like he often did. He thought about talking to Nolan during the
afternoon and confirming that Aiden would be staying overnight with Nolan
on July third and fourth. He thought of Mac reminding him at practice of
what time the party was and Mac's one-word reaction when he told him he
wasn't going.

"Pussy!"

Aiden got out of bed and went to the clothes hamper to pick out his
underpants for the day. He opened the hamper and decided he didn't want to
put on the same underpants he'd worn at practice. He was about to pull out
the next pair when he said, "Fuck it," picked up Horace, and went
downstairs naked.

His dads were still awake. Aiden squeezed into the recliner with Phil,
setting Horace on his dad's lap.

"You're naked," Phil observed.

"Tell me something I don't know," Aiden replied. His tone was assertive
without being disrespectful.

"Your pop and I will be going to bed in fifteen minutes or so."

"Horace and I will be there with you."

"Dressed like that? Or should I say not dressed like that?"

"That's my plan."

Phil looked at Larry who shrugged. As Aiden moved into puberty his dads
weren't surprised that his nocturnal visits had become fewer. What they
didn't expect was that one of his infrequent visits would be in the
nude. Considering what their son had been dealing with, they silently
agreed to go with the flow, but would be wearing underpants as was always
the case when Aiden slept with them.

And so, for only the second time, Aiden slept with his dads in the
nude. Aiden cuddled up to Phil, pleased that he wasn't getting a boner and
that his dad wasn't naked. What pleased him the most was the feeling of
safety and security that washed over him. It was something he hadn't
enjoyed for too long and something that he desperately needed.

TUESDAY, JULY 1

<Aiden>

Larry dropped Aiden off at Sammy's house just before seven in the
evening. Jeffrey then drove him and Sammy to Aiden's first Fourth Dimension
meeting. Aiden and Sammy entered the church annex and walked into the
meeting room. Grant Foster was setting up the Twelve Steps and Twelve
Traditions shades along with books and meeting material. The new job
rotation started that day, and Grant had been elected opener. Like Aiden,
Grant would be entering seventh grade in September.

Grant's jaw opened when he saw Aiden walk in. "Whoa, I never expected to
see you here, Aiden."

"Well, I'm here," Aiden said uncomfortably. "But I guess I never expected
to see you here, either."

"Well, I'm here, too," Grant grinned. Grant had learned enough in his sixth
months in the group to know he shouldn't pry into people's business; Aiden
would tell his story when he was ready to tell his story.

Grant proceeded to help Aiden feel comfortable by explaining what his
opener duties were. "You have to be six months sober to be the opener and I
just made it. I plan to be here every meeting to have everything set up."
Grant, who was a shy boy with glasses and the reputation of being a nerd,
felt important as he talked to Aiden. Aiden was a big-time jock, a school
leader, and the coolest of the cool, and for the first time in his life he
was talking to him as an equal.

Peter Astor, who would be the new meeting secretary, was the next person to
walk in. He wasn't surprised to see Aiden. With Aiden's permission, Sammy
had given Peter a heads up. Peter and Aiden had a rough history, which is
why Sammy thought it would help to let Peter know what to expect. Aiden had
reluctantly agreed. When Peter went out of his way to make Aiden feel
welcome, Aiden was glad he had allowed Sammy to advise Peter he was coming.

There were fourteen members at the meeting, including three Kentburg
boys. A third boy, Gregg, had joined Shannon and John Wilson, the other two
Kentburg boys, in late May. His mother provided transportation to the
meeting. She was ecstatic that her son was hanging with boys who were
battling the same problem. Aiden knew Shannon, since he was Keith's best
friend.

The only problem Aiden ran into came from Barry Bender. Barry complained
that Aiden couldn't be a member of the group because he didn't drink. His
complaint drew a quick reply from Everett Baker, who was now a graduate of
Mayfield High School. Barry held the star football player in awe,
especially since he had been recruited to play football by Boise State
University.

Everett looked directly at Barry. "I do believe the Third Tradition tells
us that `The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop
drinking'. If Aiden says he wants to stop drinking that's all we need to
know." He looked at Aiden. "Welcome to the Fourth Dimension, Aiden. Trust
me, nobody is going to ask you if you have a desire to stop—you're here
wanting to be a member. None of us came here because we thought this was a
cool place to be and it would be party time; we came here because we were
desperate." He returned his gaze to Barry. "And that's all we need to
know."

"Sorry," Barry said humbly. "I shouldn't have said anything, so, yeah,
welcome Aiden."

Peter, who was the new meeting secretary, got the meeting started. When he
asked if anybody had a topic suggestion, Sammy raised his hand. "Since this
is Aiden's first meeting ever, I think we should discuss the First Step."

Peter agreed. "Aiden, if you look at the Steps we hung on the wall you can
see that the first step says, `We admitted we were powerless over alcohol
and that our lives had become unmanageable'. We're going to share our
experience, strength, and hope so you can see what happened to us, how we
got here, and what our life is like now."

Aiden still wondered what the Fourth Dimension meant, but it sounded like
what the group would be sharing was for him, so he elected to keep quiet
and listen. And listen he did. He listened to the members honestly sharing
their stories.

When Peter shared his, he admitted to having been a bully and included his
harassment of Aiden. As Aiden listened to Peter, he was amazed at how much
the older boy had changed, even more than Sammy had. He listened intently
to Grant's story and decided he might have a new friend at school when the
school year started. He already knew Sammy's story. But overall, the story
sharing sounded a lot like, "Blah, blah, blah, blah," but Aiden stuck it
out. He elected not to share his story, at least not yet.

After the meeting was over, Aiden and Sammy helped Lonnie Stevens, the
closer, put things away. Lonnie was a senior, but Aiden didn't know much
about him.

Jeffrey was waiting outside when Aiden and Sammy came out of the annex. On
the way to Aiden's house, Sammy asked what Aiden thought of the
meeting. Aiden said it was confusing.

"Yeah, it will be like that for a while. My first meeting was when I was in
rehab. It was mostly adults, but they were really good to me. And even with
it being all confusing and shit, I hope you thought being there was better
than being at that lame party."

"I never did find out about the Fourth Dimension," Aiden said.

"Yeah, I forgot about how we share on the First Step when somebody new
comes in. Everett is really good about all that stuff. I bet he and Marty
would get along great. He's been huge for our group, and I'm not talking
about his physical size.

"But, real quickly, it's in the Big Book in two places, and it means being
in a dimension where there's no time, and no limits, and no boundaries. It
is the realm of the spirit, where if we become spiritual, with the help of
our Higher Power we can do anything we need to do so we can stay
sober. Does that help?"

"I guess," Aiden said insincerely as the car turned into his
driveway. "Thanks for the ride, Jeffrey, and thanks for helping me, Sammy."

Aiden went into the house wanting to see his dads and to touch Horace and
to talk to Marty. He managed the first two.

"Do you think you'll go back?" Phil asked.

"That's what everybody told me to do," Aiden replied. "Just keep coming
back."

"And?"

"And, I don't know. I hope you and pop and Sammy and Marty and everybody
can help me figure out what's going on."

"You will, just work hard and give it time."

"I'm glad I went though. Sammy said he hoped the meeting was better than
the party would have been."

"Was it?" Larry asked.

"I wasn't at the party, so I guess it was. I know that going to the meeting
meant I didn't lie to you and Dad and I didn't get drunk and do anything
stupid like Marty and the kids who talked at the meeting used to
do. Everybody at the meeting said they were powerless over alcohol. Maybe I
am too, since without Marty and Sammy, I would have lied and gone to the
party. I guess I have a lot to learn."

Aiden headed upstairs to his bedroom. Larry looked at Phil, shrugged his
shoulders, and shook his head.

"Well, I guess we didn't see this one coming," he said.

"That's for sure," Phil replied. "I'm tired and ready for bed now but we
need to talk and be sure we're both on the same wavelength as far as how we
deal with it."

"I agree," Larry said. "And I think we'll do fine."

The two men shared a kiss and went into their bedroom.

Aiden slept in his own bed that night, cuddled with Horace. At first, he
thought about tossing his baseball, but he drifted off to an untroubled
sleep, instead.

Next: Welcome to the Big Leagues