Ohio U. Bobcat Battalion ROTC training.
**
"Fuck. Do I ever need a drink."
Johnny reached across the table and grabbed his uncle's scotch and soda. He pulled it back toward himself, picked it up, and chugged down what was left of the drink before slamming the glass back down onto the table.
"Dammit, Uncle Ted. Tell me what happened. I want to know."
I pulled my hands down from his shoulders. People around us were beginning to look. But then I placed my hand on his thigh and held it there so he'd know I was with him, right at his side.
"It's what your dad wanted," his uncle said, a somber expression on his face. "Your mom always planned to go back to El Salvador. He wanted her to leave you with me if anything happened to him in Afghanistan and she did go back. He wanted you to be raised as an American, here in the States."
He cleared his throat and I could see he was still nervous. "I'd been managing the auto parts store here in Athens for a few years when I first met your dad. He'd come to Ohio University on a scholarship from the Dayton area where he lived with his grandfather. He was a cadet in the Army ROTC battalion and he was working toward a military career.
"We met because he'd come into the store to buy parts for his car, a vintage '67 Chevy Impala sedan, a black one, like those Winchester boys on TV drive. An interest in classic cars was only one of the many things we had in common, Johnny. The biggest, of course, was our last name. He was Johnny Sands, I was Ted Sands. It's a pretty common name, but we knew it was fate that had brought us together. We even looked like brothers. He looked almost exactly like you, just not quite as dark complexioned. That you got from your mom. Your dad was a few inches shorter than me and I was ten years older."
Johnny looked pretty much amazed. "He was a customer at the old store down on Main Street here in Athens?"
Uncle Ted nodded. "Yes, he just sort of walked right into my life there. And it wasn't long before I realized he was coming into the store to see me, talk to me, not just to buy auto parts. He was only eighteen, maybe eight or nine months older than you guys are right now. I knew what he wanted, and I wanted it too, but I was hesitant. This was back in the mid-nineties, the stigma of AIDS was still riding high. It wasn't a good time for being gay. And your dad was in the Army ROTC, not a particularly gay-friendly organization."
Johnny chuckled at that, but I groaned. "Damn, doesn't sound very promising," I said.
"It wasn't," Uncle Ted agreed. "But nature has a way of finding its own, and before we even realized it we were in a hot intense relationship the likes of which neither of us had had before. It pretty much freaked me out. Johnny too. We weren't just two guys fooling around. We were fucking in love. And it opened up a big can of worms for us both. Same as it would today, and does, as you two boys are finding out now.
"Johnny had to live with the other cadets in a dorm, and some of them were girls. He was really hot stuff and, of course, the girls wanted him. I used to tell him, date the girls, fool around with them, keep them happy, act a little bit normal and it'll keep the peace. But no, he didn't give a hoot about them. He had me and that's all he wanted."
I snorted and punched Johnny's arm. "See dude. Like father, like son," I laughed.
Silly as it was, I was so fucking proud of him. I could've kissed him right then and there in front of everybody. He was just like his dad!
"Soon enough, things started kicking up," Uncle Ted continued. "I'm sure you boys know what it's like. When you're a hot stud, shit just happens. The girls were getting pissed. Johnny had no interest in them. The gossip started. Some of the male cadets joined in. Jeez, give the girls a tumble, they'd tell him. The girls were all lusting after him and the other guys were getting jealous. But Johnny wouldn't listen. Your dad was as hard-headed as you are, Johnny. He just didn't give a fuck."
Johnny smirked. "He had a lot of balls, let me tell ya. He didn't care what they thought. Even in the Army."
"I couldn't help admiring him for it," Uncle Ted admitted, "even though it was making things a little bumpy at the time. His fellow cadets saw us together a lot. I had a small apartment near campus and Johnny stayed there when possible. But because we looked alike and had the same name, we passed as brothers and got away with it. That is, until your mom came into the picture, Johnny."
Uncle Ted shook his head and laughed. "Maria Sanchez was one little hot tamale and she was going to get her way with Johnny Sands no matter what. She was the daughter of a high-ranking Salvadoran general and she was here at Ohio University studying military law. She was in the ROTC, one of the cadets, and Johnny lived with her in the dorm."
Johnny shook his head in disbelief. "Man, I didn't know any of these crazy details. I thought they just met at college and fell in love."
Uncle Ted laughed. "Yah, it was love all right, but not the kind you were thinking of. There was a gay bar here in Athens at the time, just a small joint with a jukebox, not a big club like they have today. Johnny and I would go there now and then, hang out a little, dance with each other. Especially to the slow songs. It was great to get a little romantic somewhere else other than the apartment.
"One night we saw Maria there and that's when it all started. She'd already had the hots for Johnny but seeing him with me, dancing with me, drove her pretty crazy. She was one of those women who love gay men, and love gay men together. She'd been suspicious of Johnny like some of the others and, now seeing the reality, it made her even crazier about him."
I punched Johnny's arm again. "She was like Ginny. Your mom was a fangirl shipping your dad and Uncle Ted."
Johnny agreed. "Right. Damn, that's awesome. This is all so amazing." Then he explained to his uncle's questioning look, "Mark Rydell's sister Ginny is like that. She loves gay guys and she's nuts about me and Jason together. She's our number one fan. She had the rally for us on the square earlier this week."
"Then you understand what Maria was like," Uncle Ted said. "She was also a real looker and her dark Spanish beauty went well with Johnny's striking good looks. She kept our little secret because she wanted to be a part of it. From then on she was our best bud, always with us, always on Johnny's arm whenever there was an event to attend. It did him a lot of good socially. That was the era of Don't Ask Don't Tell. It was illegal to be gay in the military. With Maria hanging all over him, even home in the dorm, the rumors stopped. He got a reputation as a ladies' man. It made our lives a hell of a lot easier than things could've been."
Johnny was definitely over his initial shock. Now he was gung-ho interested. He leaned forward and asked, "So how did I come into the picture, Uncle Ted?"
The older man couldn't help smiling. "It made everyone happy when you came along, Johnny. Your dad moved in with me the summer before his junior year. The cadets weren't required to live in the dorm after their second year. Maria got her own apartment nearby. And she wanted a baby. She knew she could never have your dad, so to have a baby with him would be the next best thing. Some women are like that. Raising the child of the man they love is an awesome wonder to them." Then he suddenly blushed, adding, "Same as it was for me, Johnny, having you all these years. It's kept your dad alive for me in my heart and in my mind."
He had to take a deep breath before he went on. "Johnny liked the idea of being a father, and so did I. I was with him a hundred percent on that. He and Maria discussed it for a while and then came to an agreement. If the child was a girl, Maria would take her back to El Salvador when she returned after acquiring her law degree. If it was a boy, she'd leave him here for your dad and me to raise as an American. Then they began the business of making a baby."
Johnny looked at me and shook his head. "This sounds like one of those Hallmark movies, but with a gay angle they'd never put in one." Then he turned back to his uncle. "Was it just that one time they were actually together? To get me goin'?"
Uncle Ted shrugged. "I don't know. Your dad and I never talked about it. Whatever happened was between the two of them, the way it should be as parents of a child. It was a few months before Maria became pregnant, so they may have been hard at work at it. I was very happy at the possibility of raising a son with your dad. It was a very exciting time in our lives."
I knew what he meant. The idea of Johnny ever having a son and my being able to help him raise the boy was totally awesome. I wondered if we'd ever be able to have children, the two of us.
"You were a big hit with the cadets, Johnny," His uncle went on. "Oh sure, it was a scandal, but it was the Nineties and nobody cared about straight scandals. All those lady cadets, some were just itchin' to be moms too, and you had more 'aunts' than any other baby in southeast Ohio. I was your 'uncle' and I couldn't have been happier about it. Needless to say, your mom and dad were overjoyed.
"It was a great time for us, Johnny. You made us all very happy. But then time marched on like it always does, and it brought along change, so often the hardest thing to deal with in life."
I could see the emotion on his face, so intense and raw, and I actually looked around to see if others were listening, the story was so riveting to me. But the other diners were all eating, drinking, talking, and laughing at their own matters worlds away from ours.
"What happened?" Johnny asked.
"Graduation."
Uncle Ted said it like it had been a death sentence. Sure. I knew how life worked. College graduation could change everything.
"Johnny became a commissioned officer and was sent off to Fort Lee in Virginia," Uncle Ted said. "And that just about killed me. We knew we'd eventually be parted, but it still came as a fucking slam in the face.
"Maria moved up to Columbus to attend law school at Ohio State. And, of course, she took you with her, Johnny. She planned to eventually work as an Army JAG lawyer or, with her degree, go back to El Salvador and work in the military there.
"Suddenly I was alone, and it was really difficult after those eventful years together. I went to visit Johnny as often as I could and we had some great times together, a couple times up to D.C. to do the tourist thing or out to one of the nearby beaches for a weekend. I went up to Columbus more often to see you and your mom, Johnny. It was closer. And you were getting big, kiddo. A boy now, no longer a baby. And I really missed you.
"The years went by, boys, and Maria stayed in Columbus, eventually working as a lawyer at an Army installation there. Johnny was shipped with his unit for active duty to Afghanistan. It was a very unsettling time. I couldn't relax at all. Sometimes I couldn't sleep for days. Always fearing that fateful knock on the door, that news you feared and couldn't stop worrying about ...
"When it came, it wasn't even a surprise. More like the dreaded event had finally happened and the suspense was over. Yah, killed in action." Uncle Ted shook his head and sucked in a breath. "The worst thing is that you don't know how it happened. How horrible it was. How much he suffered. You can only wonder ... and then have nightmares about it for the rest of your fucking life."
I squeezed Johnny's leg reassuringly. I knew this was really hard for him. He didn't remember his dad at all and he had only vague memories of his mom.
"So they weren't married, my mom and dad?" he asked.
Uncle Ted shook his head. "No, and they weren't lovers. Your dad and I were the lovers."
Johnny smiled and let out a little laugh. The palms of his hands flew up to his forehead and he held them there a minute. "This is all so freaking amazing. I never pictured it anything like this. How did my mom find out about his death? And what did she do?"
"I drove up to Columbus and told her," Uncle Ted replied. "We sat there a long time just staring at each other as if our lives had been totally crushed beyond repair. You were just about to turn seven, a big boy now, and you were playing on the floor with a truck and tractor as if you didn't have a care in the world. I wanted to take you right back home with me there and then. But Maria wanted to talk to her dad before making any decisions.
"She called me a few days later and told me her plans. Because she was an alien here in the country temporarily, the time limit was approaching when she had to become a citizen or be discharged from the Army. She'd decided she was going back home. With her law degree and experience, and her father's connections, she could get a terrific position in the Salvadoran military. And she intended to keep her promise to your father, Johnny. She asked if I wanted to become your legal guardian and take care of you."
I couldn't help asking, "Did you have to think it over?"
"Hell no, Jason. I told her 'yes' right that moment. It took a few weeks to get it all settled. I bought the house in Kenton and transferred to manage the new store we were opening up there on the Columbus Road right across from Strike's garage. I wanted you to have as typical an American boy's life as possible, Johnny."
"And I did," Johnny agreed. "But I still turned out queer like my dad anyway."
Uncle Ted winced. "Queer? Ugh, I can't get used to that word the way you boys use it today. It was a very bad word when I was your age. You didn't want to be called 'queer' back then. No way!"
"That's how you defuse a bad word," Johnny told him. "You upgrade its meaning and use it to death. Then people get used to hearing it in a better light. So my dad wanted you to masquerade as my uncle if it turned out he wasn't going to be around?"
Uncle Ted nodded. "Right. We'd discussed all the possibilities before he went overseas. Everything I've done is exactly what he wanted."
"And so you lived the life of a priest all these years just so you could raise me?" Johnny asked.
Uncle Ted laughed at that. "From what I've seen and heard, I should be so lucky to have had all the action most priests have. But no, not really. My generation calls it Being Discreet. I've had lots of friends along the way."
I couldn't help but ask, "Like Strike, Sammy, Vinnie, maybe Detective Romano?"
Uncle Ted's eyes widened. "Don't expect me to out others, Jason. It's way more than I ever thought I'd have to do outing myself to you two boys."
Johnny was frowning. "But what about the old photographs you have in the house? Those framed ones of you and my dad when you were boys. And those of your parents and the old house in Athens where you grew up?"
Uncle Ted really looked embarrassed now. "I don't know who those people are or where that old house is, Johnny. I bought those photographs at an antique shop when I was furnishing the house. They fit the story I was going to tell you as you got older."
"And my mom?" Johnny continued to question him. "I don't know her at all. I seldom even get to speak to her."
"She wanted it that way. It broke her heart to leave you behind. Really. She didn't give you up willingly. She kept a promise to the man she loved. Maria's a very important person now in El Salvador. A powerful attorney in the Army, she married the general who took her father's place when he died. And she inherited most of her dad's fortune. She's a very wealthy woman and she's sent me a lot of money over the years for you. It's all invested in a trust fund. That's why I've been telling you not to worry about college. You can go anywhere you want. There's enough for that and far more. She also has funds invested for you in El Salvador. She's hoping that when you're older you might want to go visit her."
Johnny shrugged. "Maybe I will, if I can take Jason with me."
Uncle Ted laughed. "You and Jason together, your mother would love that. So would your dad, of course. He'd be so proud of you, Johnny. Both of you. And he'd be proud and amazed that you're going to get married, and of the way you announced it to everyone on Facebook and Twitter. Same-sex marriage wasn't even in the national conversation twenty years ago. We didn't even think of it as a possibility. It wasn't legal anywhere in the world."
Johnny had a final question. "And when were you going to tell me all this, Uncle Ted?"
"I would have told you about the money before school starts this coming term so that you'd know the possibilities for college. But had you not been gay yourself, I'd probably never have told you about your father and me."
Johnny looked thoughtful for a moment, then nodded his head slowly. "I guess I can understand why you might not have. But thanks for telling me. I'm so happy to know about it, Uncle Ted. It makes me feel ... uh ... proud ... to be a part of such a story."
Johnny grabbed my hand off his thigh and pulled it up onto the table with his. He looked expectantly at his uncle. "Is there enough money for Jason and me to go to Ohio University here in Athens for four years while we live at the house in Kenton, then go on to law school up in Columbus?"
The man didn't even have to think about it. "Yes, there's that much and more. There's plenty. But since when are you interested in law?"
Johnny squeezed my hand. "It's always been in the back of our minds," he said. "But lately Jason's been wanting to change the world. We can't do much now the way we are, but as lawyers we can advocate for LGBT people and specialize in LGBT law." He turned to look at me. "You're right, dude. Fuck football in college. We have more important things to do. And with that money behind us, we can do it."
"And like I said," Uncle Ted reminded him with a smile, "there's plenty more for you down in Central America."
Johnny hooted. He really looked happy as he said, "I'm gonna have to give my mom a call. Let her know I'm soon gonna have a husband to support and he's used to everything the very best. If she liked you and my dad, Uncle Ted, she's gonna flip over me and Jason. Why," he paused and winked at his uncle, "she'll absolutely die. We're way the fuck hotter than you guys were!"
**
Thanks for reading, everyone, and all your votes and great comments.
Next chapter - the jock-over at Squaw's Leap, and then Pride weekend in Columbus, Ohio.