A Tale as Old as Time

Our sex life was awesome. In the six months since our wedding, we had more than made up for lost time. For the first time in our lives, we felt free to explore our sexual sides. We bought books and used the internet to guide our explorations.

We made love almost every morning, almost every night, and often in the middle of the night. Typically, I was under Luke. I liked when he was in and over me, rocking gently back and forth, dripping sweat on me, and finishing just when I was certain I couldn't take any more.

He sometimes begged to be under me, which was fine. I liked staring into Luke's eyes as I delivered myself to him.

But, he preferred being over me, and I preferred being under him. I loved how full and loved I felt when he was inside me. I also loved watching his face as he finished, his eyebrows arched and eyelids fluttering.

As we grew more comfortable with the idea of sex, we got more adventurous. We sheepishly bought aids. We timidly tried different positions and different acts. We liked the things and the ones that felt more intimate. We eschewed the things and the ones that felt more base.

About halfway through the season, Luke wanted to tell Coach Grantham about our marriage. I was opposed. I had an NSA background, and I understood the importance of keeping secrets (the NSA even keeps secrets from the President and his team). Luke thought Coach Grantham would keep our confidence, would be supportive, and might be able to help us navigate the path through the rumor mill and out into the light.

I gave in to Luke. I always did.

We told Coach Grantham together. We showed him our pictures and our necklaces. He was stunned, to say the least. The rumors had not penetrated his office.

He thanked us for our candor and pledged his discretion to us. Then, he stood up, walked from behind his desk, and wrapped me and Luke in a big, warm embrace. He pressed his cheek to Luke's and said "Congratulations, Son. I'm very happy for you." He then pressed his cheek to mine and said "Congratulations, Evan. I'm very happy for you, too." It was one of the most affirming moments of my life.

As we were getting ready to leave, Coach stopped me. "Evan, you take care of your husband. He's very important to me."

"Don't worry, Coach," I said, reveling in his use of of the word "husband." "He's more important to me."

Coach smiled at me and answered "I guess that's right."

Telling Coach was one of the smartest things we did. To our knowledge, he didn't tell a soul. But, he became very interested in us, and he helped arrange a meeting for me with George Leonard, the General Manager of the Astros. Leonard had guided the Cardinals into the 21st century and was now trying to do the same for the Astros. He liked my mathematical mind and familiarity with baseball, we hit it off, and I left with a year-long internship in the Astros' analytics department. I'd be staying in Houston after all.

*****

Rice made the NCAA tournament, but - for the second year in a row - did not make it to Omaha. The media was circumspect, as everyone thought Luke would be enough to drag the Owls home. He wasn't.

Once Rice was eliminated, we spent the summer devouring each other. My tongue found its way into every nook and cranny of Luke's chiseled, hot body, and his tongue found its way into every nook and cranny of mine.

I learned that I liked rimming more than I liked being rimmed. In the yin and yang that was us, Luke learned he liked being rimmed more than he liked rimming.

I preferred to bottom. Luke preferred to top.

I liked when Luke was in my mouth. Luke loved when I was in his mouth. As soon as he finished inside me, he'd finish me with his mouth.

I liked to be left alone after I came. Luke liked be wrapped up.

I liked the smell of Luke at the end of the day, especially after practice. I'd bury my face in his crotch and his pits.

He liked me to be clean.

We complemented each other perfectly. When I was up, he was down. When he was down, I was up. We were a teeter-totter.

Chapter Eleven

Luke's Senior year was a whirlwind. I was working with the Astros, and he was the darling of amateur baseball. He desperately wanted to wind up a Cub, and, if they wanted him, they might get him. The Cubs' 2012 was a catastrophe, so they were drafting early. Luke might be there when they picked fifth, but only if the first four drafters lost their minds.

They did. So did the Cubs. And the next 13 teams.

The Cardinals picked Luke 19th. They were thrilled. They celebrated like they had just won the World Series. They had rated Luke as the top overall pick in the draft, and they had gotten him with the 19th pick. Everything worked out for them.

Luke was upset. The team he hated most - with their Cardinal Way and Best Fans In Baseball arrogance - had claimed him. With the claim, his singular purpose would be to help the team he hated to the core of his soul continue to oppress the team he loved the most.

When Luke met with the Cardinals, his mind changed They told him they had rated him one overall and were going to bonus him based on that rating, regardless of his 19th overall selection. They told him other teams had passed on him because there were rumors about his sexual orientation. They assured him they didn't care if he was gay or straight. When he acknowledged he was gay and married, they promised they would help him come out if and when he chose and they would be standing next to him when he did and behind him after that. They explained the essence of the Cardinal Way, including the culture it imbued throughout the organization, especially in the clubhouse. They assured him there was no room in that culture for homophobia or intolerance. No Cardinal would betray him. They'd embrace him.

******

We had an elaborate coming out plan drafted. We worked with Luke's agent, Sean Cora. We also worked with Rice's coaches and the Cardinals' front office.

Once the CWS was over, Luke would sit for an interview. If the subject of love came up, he'd out himself. If they pressed him on prior statements, he'd defer to the transcript and insist he had not deceived.

Our plan was good, but fraught. We had to thread a lot of needles to get home.

We didn't thread any of them.

*****

Rice marched into the finals of the CWS to face Florida. Luke started the first game. As Mother Black, Mr. Black, and I watched from the first row, Luke dominated the Gators. Florida had only five baserunners (three hits and two walks), and none of them reached second based. Luke struck out 11. Rice scored three, two more than it needed.

Florida turned the tables in game two, scoring four in the first inning and four more in the second. With a rout on, Rice saved its powder for the decisive final game.

Game three seesawed back and forth. When one team punched, the other counterpunched. Rice scored in the top of the ninth to take a 7-6 lead. Florida countered with a one-out home run in the bottom ninth as Luke warmed up. He should have been in to save the game. Rice had surrendered the win with its best weapon still in the bullpen.

Rice's second baseman led off the tenth with a double. A sacrifice bunt and a sacrifice fly later, Rice was again 3 outs away from its first CWS Championship in a decade.

The Jet sauntered in from the bullpen. He erased the memory of 2010 in nine pitches. Florida hitters fouled two of them. They flailed at the other seven, all strikes. The game was over. Rice had won the CWS.

After the Owls celebrated on the field, Luke made his way to the stands. He hugged and kissed his mother, two seats to my right.

He hugged his father, one seat to my right.

He hugged me. I hugged him back. The hug lasted too long. I pulled back, and Luke pulled me to him. He kissed me hard, and I kissed him back. The kiss was captured on the Jumbotron and broadcast on ESPN. Our secret was out, and so were we.

Susan Colbert, ESPN's roving reporter, was right next to Luke as he kissed me. She was waiting to interview him, and a scoop was thrown into her lap. She pounced.

"Luke, congratulations on pitching Rice to the championship."

"Thank you, Susan. It's good to be back here and come through for my team. I failed the last time, and it's good to purge that demon."

"Will you introduce me to the fans in the stands?"

"Sure," Luke said, turning to his stunned parents. "This is my mother, this is my father, and this is my husband."

"Husband?"

"Yes. We got married last Fall."

"Congratulations."

"Thank you."

The interview was over. It was very matter of fact. Luke mouthed "I love you" to me and headed to the locker room with his team.

Luke's parents marched out of TD Ameritrade Park without a word.

My telephone blew up. Texts poured in. My mother called over and over. So did my sisters. I suspected they were reacting differently to what they had seen. I turned my telephone off. I needed to digest what was going on.

*****

I got accosted as I made my way toward the Owls' locker room. I wanted to wait for Luke, but a handful of reporters swarmed me. I pleaded for privacy. When Rice's SID finally opened the door to the locker room to welcome reporters, he spied me and my plight. He pulled me in and closed the door behind us.

"My gosh," I said.

"I think you're in for a lot of that."

"I think so."

When Luke spotted me, he beelined over and wrapped me up. We don't know who started it, but the Owls' raucous celebration turned into an ovation for Luke and me. The locker room swarmed us.

Coach Grantham refused to allow anyone in. The team surrounded Luke and me as it made its way to the waiting bus. No one could get to us, much less talk to us.

It did the same when we got to the hotel. Once there, Coach Grantham ushered Luke and me into a room to meet with him, Luke's agent, and the Cardinals' Assistant GM. Luke's very public display of affection meant we needed a new plan.

We flew to Atlanta the next morning. We were going to sit down together with Anderson Cooper. The Cardinals insisted we wear Cardinal ties and belts with our blazers and slacks. We did. They also insisted Luke wear a Cardinal hat. He did, but he pulled it off before the interview started.

The Cardinals' owner flew in for the interview. He was going to join us halfway through.

I was as nervous as a whore in church. I needn't have been. Anderson was awesome. And, the world had changed.

To our surprise, Anderson started the interview with questions about the CWS, especially what Luke was thinking when he wasn't brought in to save the game in the ninth. Luke, of course, backed up Coach Grantham, supporting the use of the regular closer in that situation, and reminding Anderson he had pitched 9 innings only two days before.

Anderson next asked whether the kiss was planned. Luke assured him it was not. He knew he wanted to share the moment with his parents and me, but he had no intent on kissing me. He thought he'd just embrace me, but he got caught up in the moment.

I got my first question. "Were you surprised by the kiss, Evangel."

"Please call me Ev."

"What does Luke call you?"

Luke interjected, laughed, and told Anderson the story of Bennie and the Jet.

"That's supposed to be between us, Luke," I insisted.

"Well, now America knows," Anderson said. "But, were you surprised?"

"Of course," I said. "We had never talked about coming out to our parents on national television."

"Your parents didn't know?"

"No. No one did, except Coach Grantham and the Cardinals' brass."

"How have they been?"

"Awesome. Just awesome. Coach Grantham has been like a father to us, and the Cardinals have been incredibly supportive."

"How did your parents not know?"

Luke took over. "We both come from very conservative, Christian families. We love them very much. We weren't sure how they would react, and neither of us could bear the idea that our families might reject us. So, we decided we would wait to tell them. I'm very sorry they found out the way they did."

"Speaking of Christianity, Luke, you've been kind of a poster boy for the religious right, especially in its support of abstinence and your avowed commitment to it in your interview after the 2010 CWS heartbreak. Can you comment on that and whether you feel like you've been dishonest."

"Sure, and I don't. Ev and I waited until we were married. When I was asked about it three years ago, I said I wasn't dating because I wanted to wait until I got married. I was truthful. I wasn't dating. And, I wanted to wait until I got married. The media assumed I was talking about a girl. Their assumption is on them, not me or us."

"Ev?"

"Well, it's true. We waited until we were married. Luke's the only person I've ever even kissed."

Anderson next asked about the marriage, and we told him about our simple ceremony. He had asked us to bring a picture, and he held it up for the camera, pointing out that Cardinal Nation likely was going to be unhappy about our shirts.

Luke jumped in. "Anderson, I loved the team from Chicago with all my heart growing up. I wanted them to draft me. They didn't. You can ask them why, but I think it has something to do with what we're talking about here today. The Cardinals weren't scared away. They drafted me, bonused me like I was the first pick I should've been, and then embraced me and Ev. I will love the Cardinals forever, especially because the way they've treated Ev. And," he added. "I can't wait to no hit that team from Chicago."

At that point, the Cardinals' owner joined us and assured Anderson the no-hitter would happen sooner than anyone expected. He also assured Luke that Cardinal Nation would love him forever, that St. Louis really had the Best Fans In Baseball, and he was certain they'd prove it the first time Luke took the mound in Busch Stadium and every time thereafter.

When Anderson asked the owner about the Cardinals' manager, who was very publicly and very devoutly Christian, the Manager surprised us by joining us onstage. He, too, assured Luke there was no room for intolerance in the Cardinals' clubhouse, that he would be embraced by his team and its city, and that the way of Christ was one of love and acceptance, not intolerance and judgment. He smiled at Luke. "Your Cardinal brothers will not only accept you, they'll embrace you."

The interview was a huge hit nationally, but not with our parents. I talked to mine first, and they were cold. They understandably felt like they had been broadsided and lied to, because they had been. Miss Lily, in particular, was wounded. She didn't understand why I had assumed the worst about her, and she assured me she loved me no matter what, and she made a point of saying she was disappointed to have missed my wedding. She asked me to bring Luke back for a visit as soon as I could. I asked my father if that would be okay, and he said "he guessed so." It was an olive branch or, at least, an olive twig.

Luke talked to his parents second. To clarify, he talked to his mother. His father would not come to the telephone, which crushed Luke. He had been far closer to his father than to his mother growing up, and his father's cold shoulder crushed him. I could see it on his face as he asked his mother to put his father on, but it didn't happen.

It never got better. Luke's mother took the "he's our son" view. His father took the "it's a sin" view. When Luke's mother would not relent, his father told her she had to choose between him and her son. She chose her son, and they divorced. He and Luke were and are estranged.

My parents are not okay with us. But, they deal with it the best they can. For the most part, they pretend it's not there. They wont' leave Texas, so we see them only when we visit them. We stay in a hotel when we do.

To our surprise, Luke's mother is much more okay with us than my parents are. She even stays with us when she visits.

"I knew it" was all Chastity said. When I challenged her, she reminded me of the sinister smile she had given me over our locked doors during Luke's first visit.

Chapter Twelve

I went with Luke to Springfield, home to the Cardinals' AAA club. We were not there long. The Cardinals called him up when rosters expanded in September. He would work from the bullpen.

He pitched in a half-dozen games, including the division clincher over Pittsburgh on September 30. He entered the game in the top of the 7th, the score tied, the bases loaded, and only one out. He needed eight pitches to get out of the inning. Four of them were over 100 m.p.h. He got a standing ovation and a curtain call as he bounded off the mound. While Luke got some grief from some phobic fans on the road, he got nothing but red love in St. Louis.

The Cardinals waltzed into the NLCS, sweeping the Phillies in the first round. The wild card Cubs battled in, taking out the Dodgers in five one-run games. With the Dodgers' loss, the Cardinals would be hosting the Cubs for the right to play in the World Series. If they won, Luke would be one of a select group of players to pitch in both the CWS and the World Series in the same year.

The home team held serve through the first six games, none of which were particularly close or entertaining. Game seven occurred on an electric October night. In the bottom of the first, the Cardinals' leadoff hitter tripled and scored on a grounder. If the Cubs' manager had known how the game would go, he may have had his infield in to try to prevent the run.

Neither team scored after that. Until the ninth, neither team mounted much of a threat. In the ninth, the Cardinals' closer got two quick outs, then walked the bases loaded. None of his last six pitches sniffed the strike zone. He was off. The Cardinals' catcher strolled to the mound, buying time as Luke quickly warmed up. When the umpire broke up the party on the mound, the manager strolled out and signaled to the bullpen.

Luke sauntered in to the roar of a jet engine. As he warmed up, the Cardinals played "Bennie and the Jets," and the camera found me. The crowd roared. I wanted to die.

The crowd roared with every one of Luke six pitches. The first three left the bases loaded with two outs. The last was a chest high fastball. The Cub meekly swung, and the Cardinals leaped in the air. The game was over. The crowd was wild. The Cardinals' carried Luke off the field.

For the fourth time in ten years, the Cardinals were headed to the World Series. For the 68th consecutive year, the Cubs were not.

A lot had changed in those 68 years, not the least of which was the nation's attitude toward homosexuals. In 1945, homosexuality was illegal in most states. In 2013, Luke and I were married and on the cover of Sports Illustrated, under the headline "Bennie and the Jet." In the photo, Luke smiled into the camera. My head was turned, looking at Luke. We were two boys in love.

The article was about baseball, our search for truth within our faith, and our marriage. It ended, "In the end, this story is about two people who met in college, fell in love, and got married. It's a tale as old as time. The fact they're both male does not change the story. It, too, is a tale as old as time."