Summer of Jonnor

We Sail at Dawn

Jude's eyes fluttered open and, being careful not to disturb the still-sleeping Connor, he sat up on the edge of his bed. Yawning, he stretched his muscles and wiped the sleep out of his eyes. He sprung out onto the floor, landing lightly on his feet. He stretched and flexed in front of the window, watching the sun rise, flooding the room with light.

"Today's the day," he whispered to himself. He dashed to the bathroom to get himself ready, thinking it was a day for singing in the shower and spending plenty of time in front of the mirror. When he was finally done he came out and got dressed, picked up his phone and texted Taylor, knowing that she'd probably been awake for hours already, even though it was only seven a.m. Sure enough, she answered right away.

Jude shook Connor awake. "Get up, love, we've got a big day ahead of us."

Connor's eyes smarted as he struggled to wake up. "You're up and dressed already? How late did I sleep?"

"It's only seven a.m., but we have to get going! There's gonna be a press conference at eight and we've been invited to it."

"For the Ronnoc party? Why would we be invited? Did Mariana get those armbands for us?"

"You might say that we have V.I.P. Passes," Jude answered. He looked at Connor's puzzled reaction. "You really haven't figured this out yet, have you?"

Connor looked like a dog that had done something wrong. "Figured what out, cakes?"

Jude grabbed a pen and paper and wrote 'Ronnoc' on it, but with the letters flipped so they were backwards. He grabbed Connor's hand and pulled him out of bed. Connor followed him into the bathroom and Jude held the piece of paper up so its reflection showed up in the mirror.

Connor stared at his own name in the mirror. "What does this mean?" he asked Jude.

"It means, Ronnoc is Connor spelt backwards. This party of the year that you've been excited to go to is a party for you, Connor. Taylor and I set it up. Actually, I just gave her the idea, she did all the work. In fact, she sort of elaborated on my idea-a lot. Anyway, it's a party for you, babe."

Connor looked like he'd been hit by a bus. "Why would you do that?"

"Because you're amazing, I love you, and I wanted to do something really special for you."

"Wow," Connor said. "Really?"

"Yes, really, and you need to get that hot ass of yours ready so quit stalling!"

Connor grinned at him. "Help me get undressed?"

Jude laughed. "Like you need help with that." He undid Connor's pants.

"No, but maybe I want help with it. I wish you hadn't showered already!"

"Yeah, well I gotta go make us breakfast or we'll be late!" He slapped Connor's bare ass and winked at him before leaving.

***

Taylor hugged Connor and Jude and ushered them over to some reserved seats in the front of the news conference. They were outside a building Jude had passed before, but he didn't know what it was-as he could recall it had been empty the whole time he'd lived with the Fosters. A number of chairs had been set up, and Jude recognized Chief Roberts and the Mayor sitting further down the row from them. TV cameras were also rolling already, with reporters announcing that the press conference was about to start.

Jefferson Selfridge came out of the building and buttoned his sport coat. He came up to the podium and was lit up by flashes as the news photographers took pictures. He was evidently used to this, as he waited for a long moment before starting. He was an old man, his face weathered and wrinkled and his hair silvery grey. His light blue eyes, however, seemed youthful and full of energy.

"Good morning, everyone. I hope you're having a wonderful Friday morning. You've by now seen our campaign for The Ronnoc Project, and some of you have correctly guessed that it has something to do with equality. This might surprise you, since I'm sure that many of you remember that I was actually a staunch opponent of equality some years ago in the Proposition Eight fight. I'm here today to tell you that I was mistaken, and I've changed my mind."

There was scattered applause as he paused.

"Today I'm going to demonstrate my commitment to equality and to the protection of our lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and transgender youth by unveiling The Ronnoc Foundation. I've made a generous starting contribution and I'm encouraging everyone I know to donate either online or at any Bank of America location. We'll share all the details with you in the press kit. One of the things The Ronnoc Foundation will be funding is the construction of a state-of-the-art LGBT youth facility, really the first of its kind anywhere in the country. The Ronnoc Center will feature comprehensive services for our kids, including a shelter. As you know, there are times when families kick out or disown kids when they find out they are gay-a horrible practice that I personally find repugnant. You might find it surprising to hear that coming from an old white Republican's mouth."

There were some laughs.

"Here to tell you more about The Ronnoc Center are our newly-hired co-directors, Adam Stevens and Ella Rogers."

Jude watched Connor's mouth drop open. He whispered to Jude. "My dad and Ella are gonna run this place?"

Jude nodded and he whispered back. "Yeah, they'll be overseeing the construction and then run the Center once it opens."

Adam and Ella gave details of the Center and the various services it would provide to LGBT youth. Then Adam gave the podium back to Selfridge, who began, "Finally, I'm sure you all want to know the details of tonight's event at the Selfridge Estate. I'm pleased to say we've lined up some top talent for it. There will be dinner and a concert. We'll be starting with some local talent, Someone's Little Sister. They'll then be followed by Katy Perry, Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga and Ed Sheeran. I'm afraid all the armbands are already sold out, so if you didn't get one you're missing quite a party. Thank you for coming and I appreciate your support of The Ronnoc Foundation. If you'd like to stay for some light refreshments we'll be happy to tell you more about it. We'll be starting demolition first thing tomorrow morning. So have a good time tonight and enjoy yourselves. We sail at dawn."

Applause and more picture taking wrapped up the press conference. Jude and Connor walked over to where some artboards had been set up showing various elements of the Ronnoc center design. "See," Jude said to Connor. "This place is going to have your name on it. It's nautical themed-I bet Taylor contributed that idea, in honor of our ship."

"I still can't be believe you did all this," Connor said.

"Well, like I said it was really all Taylor." Jude called out to her and she came over.

"What do you think, Connor?" she asked.

"It's amazing," Connor said. "All this stuff-a foundation, a center, a huge party. I'm overwhelmed to be honest. Don't even know what to say." He gave Taylor a big hug.

"Well, you boys ready for a big party tonight?" she asked, looking up at Connor.

Jude smiled and nodded. "Yeah. Totally ready." He took Connor's hand and looked into Connor's eyes. Connor was clearly struggling to take all of this in, and he looked like he didn't know whether to smile or cry.