The Quarterback and the Tutor Ch. 09

"I can't believe this," I moaned.

"Believe it," Larry spoke up. "Do you guys know who Dr. Riley is?"

Tom and I didn't recognize the name.

"She's a professor in the Social Work program. She and a couple of other professors were in line this morning when that whole thing went down and they made a beeline to the president's office. From what I hear," Larry whispered, "Riley is concerned about the potential for campus violence not just by Brewer and his gang but by you, Lucas."

"Me?"

"Yeah, you. It's obvious that you don't back down to anything and everybody knows these gay bashers are everywhere."

"So what is she saying? It sounds suspiciously like that gays are just supposed to take the shit."

"You know how these social worker types are. They want to MEDIATE everything."

"Well, she can MEDITATE on this. If anybody assaults me or Tom, and that includes throwing shit at us, then they can plan to get their asses kicked."

"I hear you, dude," Hank said, "but you need to be careful that you aren't walking around with a big chip on your shoulder, daring people to knock it off. Admin basically has a no violence stance, Lucas, and you could find your own ass in hot water."

I could see this whole out of the closet business was going to be much more difficult than I'd thought. I was beginning to see the shit that gays have to put up with every day. We finished lunch on a lighter note with a lot of laughter but I knew Tom was disturbed.

At four, Tom drove up in the truck to pick me up at the library dressed in his baseball uniform. The bed of the truck had several boxes in it.

"How did the rest of your day go? Was everything okay at the athletic center?"

"Yeah, I guess so," he said.

I knew he was lying.

"And baseball practice?"

"Better. I'm always good at bat and I'm a great at first base. I actually had a choice between football and baseball scholarships but I chose football because I like it better. Now I wonder..."

"Why are you still dressed in your baseball uniform?"

"I thought it might turn you on," he grinned.

"It does," I laughed.

But I knew he was lying. Someone had made some comment about him dressing out or showering with the other guys. I knew him well enough to know he'd pretended not to hear it and now he was in his sweaty uniform, teasing me.

"So everything went okay?" I pressed.

"I think everything went okay. Some of the guys at baseball practice teased me but nothing nasty. Spring baseball practice has a different dynamic than football. We might make it through this thing after all, Lucas."

"Is this all your stuff from the dorm in the back of the truck?"

"Oh yeah, I'd almost forgotten about that. The guys at the dorm helped me move my stuff out of my room. There were a lot of jokes about me finally getting my junk out of my room since I'm never there."

"Too bad some of those guys were not so helpful that they'd help us move all of this into the apartment."

"I'll do it if you don't want to help."

He was playing the poor pitiful boy act and I punched his shoulder.

"How did your day go, Lucas?"

"On the whole it went well, I think a few people aren't quite sure how to treat me, but it'll pass."

We moved Tom in the apartment and he was excited, but not as excited as Angel and Aramis. The puppies wanted to be in everything and insisted on commandeering a couple of the moving boxes.

He'd teased me about being turned on by the uniform but we didn't follow up on it sexually. He was tired and downbeat so he took a long shower alone. He came out and watched television in his underwear, playing with the puppies. I knew from his eyes that he'd been crying in the shower and I wanted to kill someone for hurting him.

The next day went better and there no overt incidents but we both knew things had changed and would never be the same again. Tom was a man and he was standing tall but I knew he was hurting inside, a hurt he wasn't sharing with me. I felt, no, I KNEW, he was keeping it to himself because he knew that I blamed myself for all of this.

At the same time I was not unconscious of the fact that Tom had outed us without asking me about it and he bore more responsibility for our situation that I did. Still, for some unknown reason I could not shake the feeling that it was mostly my fault. He always said I made him crazy and maybe I did.

I called and bought plane tickets for Atlanta and Tom made arrangements with Anne Marie and Louisa to feed the puppies while we were gone. All of this was done before I'd made my call home to announce my visit that weekend. Mama answered the phone and was pleased to hear we were coming but from the tone in her voice I knew someone had already called them.

I could hear Mama's disapproval in her voice. I didn't want Tom to go home with me but it would have killed him not to go. The problem was that I knew that the visit with my family was never going to go as smoothly as it had with Tom's family. My entire family is more abrasive and can be downright hostile.

My father was a star athlete, much more so than Tom. Tom was considered to be the best quarterback the university since my father had played and I knew Daddy was not happy to share his title with Tom. Tom was going to be at Daddy's mercy and he was not a merciful man. I lay awake at night trying to figure out a way to talk Tom out of going but I knew he'd never back down. He was going.

I sweated the entire flight and I warned Tom again that he was walking into a lion's den. The plane landed at the airport in Atlanta and my sister was waiting for us at the luggage carousel. Sally was dressed in jeans and a pullover top and looked like she'd recently gotten a tan. I could tell that after seeing her Tom was becoming more and more nervous about meeting my family.

"Tom, this is my sister Serafina Jane," I grinned. "Serafina Jane, this is Tom Braddock."

"Call me Sally, my jerk brother here thinks he's being funny. Is this all the luggage you two have?"

"We're only here for the weekend and we fly out again late Sunday afternoon. That's long enough for me to be on the rotisserie."

Sally laughed.

"At least you know what to expect. Does your boyfriend?"

"I tried to warn him."

"And he came anyway. Brave man.

She turned to Tom.

"So you're the one who has finally swept my brother off his feet, Tom."

Tom blushed.

"I guess you could say that although it worked both ways."

We reached the car and stashed the luggage in the trunk. I sat up front in the passenger seat and Tom sat in the back.

"Okay, Sally, give it to me straight. Mama seemed a little tense when I called."

Sally rolled her eyes.

"You know, Lucas, it REALLY would have been better if you'd called and given us some warning when this thing started. Daddy found out from a call he got from Ernest Langley of the alumni association. It's bad enough that Daddy had to get the news over the phone but you know Daddy and Ernest hate each other. Ernest called Daddy laughing about his queer boy and I don't think you can imagine what that did to Daddy. He's been on the warpath ever since."

"I'm sorry, Sally," Tom said. "It's all my fault. I jumped the gun and told my parents first without telling Lucas. It snowballed from there."

"Well Tom, you can try that line on Daddy and we'll see how well it'll go over with him. I warn you both that he's mad as hell and, Lucas, you know he's not the type to ever back down over anything."

"Oh, shit."

"You've hit the nail on the head, you're in deep shit."

"What about everyone else?" I asked. "Mama, David, James, the grandparents?"

"You know how Mama is. When Daddy gets on a tear she goes along with him just to keep the peace but I think she's on your side. As for David and James, they're hard to figure out. I guess you'll get your answer when you deal with them. You just need to look after Tom to make sure he doesn't step in the wrong place."

"What about you, Sally? Which court are you in?"

"I wouldn't have come to the airport if I wasn't on your side. If it had been left up to Daddy you would be taking a cab. Walk softly, Lucas. Daddy's been humiliated and it's your fault."

"But..."

"There are no buts, Lucas. You should have come clean about you and Tom before we found out on the grapevine, particularly from some of those assholes that Daddy's always talking to."

"There wasn't time. It happened..."

"How long have you two been together, Lucas? Months? Years? I hear you're planning to marry. Lucas, you had plenty of time, both of you. Now it's too little, too late. You go in that house with your hat in your damn hand, both of you, and take the shit Daddy's going to dish out..."

"I'm not..."

"Shut up, Lucas. You know Daddy. And the boys. They puff up and blow off steam and then they eventually cool down. You're the apple of Daddy's eye because you're his youngest son and you know it. You've just got to take it until he's had his say."

I knew she was right. I'd stepped in the shit and it was all my fault. I could put it off on Tom, I could blame him for jumping the gun without telling me but the simple facts were that I should have called as soon as I discovered Tom had called his father.

"You're awful quiet for a change, Lucas. You with me on this?"

I nodded my head.

"You're right. I'll just take it and let him tear me apart until he cools down."

"My father didn't act like as ass. I don't see why yours should," Tom spoke up belligerently.

Sally laughed.

"Spoken just like a dumb athlete."

"HEY! WATCH IT WITH THAT SHIT!" Tom yelled.

Sally laughed again.

"Maybe we need to stop off at a McDonald's or a roadside truck stop so you can coach your future husband, Lucas. All I said was exactly what Daddy's..."

"...going to say," I finished. "And Mama too. And James and David."

"Right," Sally giggled.

"Tom, they're going to bait you to see you at your worst and you DO.NOT want to go there," I said glumly."

"Oh really? They sound like a bunch of redneck hicks to me."

His temper was rising and his face got that 'my way or no way' look.

"Tom, David's in medical school, James is in dental school, Sally here is a chemistry major planning to go to pharmacy school. Mama's a chemical engineer, Daddy's a lawyer and they're millionaires. We may be from the South but we're not the hicks you think most Southerners are. Daddy's going to bait you and me for the hell of it and you'd better be prepared for it."

Tom's perfect face was set in that chiseled stubborn look he got when he was about to blow.

"Do it for me, Tom, please," I pleaded. "Don't you love me enough to take a little heat for just one weekend, just two days?"

"I guess," he sighed. "But you stay by my side every minute."

"I'll try."

"Not try. You WILL."

I felt the heat under my collar.

"When the going gets rough just keep reminding yourself that this is all YOUR fault. If you'd just told me you were planning to out us I could've called Daddy and saved us all this shit." I said sharply.

"So now it's all my fault?" Tom spat out.

"You're the one who said it!"

"Why don't you two lovebirds settle down here," Sally said lightly. "You two sound like you're about to get divorced before the wedding."

We drove in silence until we reached a Wendy's near our house. Sally pulled into the parking lot and stopped. She got out, leaving us in the car.

"Why don't you two work it out and then join me inside? And remember we're walking in to supper so don't plan on eating everything in Wendy's. Mildred has fixed fried chicken and dumplings with dressing, your favorites, Lucas, and she'll be devastated if you don't eat."

I got out of the car and sat in the back seat next to Tom, taking his hand in mine and kissing it gently.

"I love you, Tom, and all I ask is that you just play it cool, try to not get baited, and remember that we're out of here Sunday afternoon."

Tom still had a pouty look on his face. I leaned over and kissed his cheek and he didn't respond.

"Tell me that you love me, Tom, please."

He turned and took me in his arms, kissing me. He kissed down my neck and I pushed him away laughing.

"Don't forget this is Georgia and a lot of people in this state still think gays belong in prison or a mental hospital or in a concentration camp. We can't walk around holding hands or kissing each other unless we want to be picked up by the cops. Sorry, I'm the one who crossed the line first but I couldn't resist you."

"I don't like the South," Tom snorted. "Just a bunch of bigots and racists."

"Oh, that'll go over REAL well with my family. Why don't you just ask them if they're in the Klan?"

"Are they?" Tom asked.

I slapped the side of his head playfully.

"No, jerk. My family's not in the Klan. If they were do you think I'd be out of the closet or that we'd even be here in this situation? I'm not looking for us to get hanged in the woods this weekend."

"Like I said, I don't like the South," Tom grumbled.

"It grows on you," I laughed. "You just have to learn how to play by the rules, sort of like being in Iran."

Tom looked at me, his face startled, his eyes bulging and I burst out laughing.

"You had that one coming, Tom."

"Yeah, I guess I did," he laughed sheepishly.

"It's just a state, Tom, and it's a beautiful place. As it happens it hasn't advanced too far with gay rights. I doubt even a U.S. Supreme Court decision would make much difference in how the religious right folks think around here."

"So I guess we'll be settling in California?"

"Actually, I sort of like New Hampshire."

"We'll talk about it," he grinned.

"Are we made up now? Can we go in and act like civilized people with Sally, maybe have a Frosty?"

"I want some fries and a spicy chicken sandwich."

"Our housekeeper Mildred's made a fantastic supper for us so don't overdo it, stud," I said softly. "Maybe you can have me for dessert tonight."

He grinned and squeezed my hand. He turned to get out of the car and then suddenly stopped.

"Is your family really millionaires?"

"Yeah, for generations." I grinned. "But we don't live like some nouveau riche rapper. We live like normal people in a nice house in a nice neighborhood. The money's in the bank, not in gaudy jewelry and big cars or a gigantic mansion. Does that bother you?"

"I guess not," he sighed. "When I get to the NFL maybe I'll be rich too."

"Well, Daddy made a lot of money in the NFL but it was back before the hundred million dollar contracts. His parents had more money than he ever earned."

Tom sighed, his look uncertain and he fluffed my hair with his hand.

"I'll be on my good behavior this weekend, I'll take whatever your family wants to dish out but promise me you'll stand beside me."

"I wouldn't have let you come if I didn't plan to."

We all ended up laughing in Wendy's and Sally bonded with Tom. I felt a sense of relief that at least one person in my family liked him. As we drove on home we laughed listening to her stories about her freshman year in college.

As we walked into the door I could smell the fried chicken. Thank God I'd only gotten a small chocolate Frosty.

"Something smells good," Tom whispered. "You think your father will let me eat before the inquisition?"

"I think so," I laughed. "In fact, I'd imagine the inquisition will probably go on while we're eating."

"THERE you are!"

My mother appeared in the foyer, her arms spread to hug me.

"I'm so glad you decided to come home for the weekend. I've been telling you that you should fly in every few weeks or so. It's not like we can't afford it."

"Mama, you know I hate to fly."

"And yet here you are."

She looked at Tom and smiled mischievously.

"I don't think I got your name, sonny."

"Tom, Tom Braddock."

"So you're the one who's stolen my baby boy's heart, huh? Well, you're nice enough looking and all I can say is you'd better treat him right if you want to live to be an old man."

Tom swallowed hard and blushed.

"Yes, Ma'am. I swear I will. I swear it. I'll treat Lucas right, uh, uh, I mean I ALREADY treat him right."

"Well, you didn't do such a good job of it by letting him slip up and not call Merry with the news. You're going to have to answer to a very upset man."

Mama was smiling but her eyes were steel. Tom's face reddened even more.

"Lucas, why don't you take your bags up to your room and you can put Tom in the pink guest room."

"Mamaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! I want him in my room."

Mama laughed.

"Well, I guess if you two are getting married I can bend the rules a bit. There's no such thing as a gay virgin, is there?"

"Oh god, Mama, I don't want to answer that! I don't want to talk about sex with my mother."

"You'll probably be talking about it with Merry because he just doesn't understand what gay people do."

Tom's face had deepened to purple and Sally burst out laughing.

"MAMA! You need to quit before Tom has a stroke!"

Sally reached over and touched Tom's arm.

"Chill out, dude, Mama's just yanking your chain. And we don't even HAVE a pink guest room anymore."

"You got rid of the pink guest room???" I asked incredulously.

It had been a part of the house since I was a child. Granny Blake always insisted on it as her room when she visited.

"Oh, it was getting a little ratty after all these years and I just decided to turn it into my painting room" Mama said. "The light's just so good in there with those big windows. And I can keep all my crafts in there. Besides, we've got two other guest rooms."

"Mama paints and sews. She does embroidery and crochets, she knits, she does just about any crafts," I explained.

"I'm going to have plenty of time on my hands, Lucas. I'm retiring at the end of May."

"What are they going to do without you, Mama?" I teased. "You're their head engineer."

We'd begged her to retire for years because of her job stress.

"Hey, even head engineers get tired of it and retire. I've been doing chemical engineering for over thirty years and I've had enough. We're going to travel."

"WE? Do you mean Daddy's actually going to retire? And if you get him to leave the good ol' U.S. of A. it'll be a miracle. He thinks there's a terrorist with a bomb in every country outside of the U.S. I still don't know how he managed to travel so much for the law firm. And then there's that bit about English, remember?"

Sally snickered and Mama laughed.

"Daddy thinks everyone should learn English and just give up all that foreign talking."

"All over the world?" Tom choked out.

"Yep," I laughed.

Tom looked like he was about to pass out. I'm sure he thought he'd truly come into the South of his nightmares.

"Lucas, before your young man passes out from shock I think you need to get him up to your room and get a wet washcloth on his head," Mama grinned. "And Mildred will have dinner ready at 7:30. Don't be late."

We made it to our room before Tom said anything. He dropped the suitcases on the floor and sat on the bed.

"Is this for REAL?" he whispered.

"Yeah, it's for real," I laughed. "C'mon, it's not as bad as it sounds. Daddy's just a little set in his ways."

"It sounds like it and that's what bothers me. I need to know a little more about his ways."

"Tom. Didn't you even grasp that Mama was teasing you a little bit back there? She's probably laughing her ass off right now with Mildred and Sally."

"So your father DOESN'T think the whole world needs to speak English?"

"Oh, he does but he's not bigoted about it. There are more Chinese people who speak English than there are in THIS country. Daddy's a big supporter of promoting English as the international language."

"And the terrorists everywhere?"

I sighed.

"Well, Daddy doesn't like to fly and he's never been anywhere out of the country that he liked better than here. And Daddy's traveled a lot with his law firm; they do international law. Now Mama wants to travel and he's going to want to just settle down for a change."