10:20 am: BJ
BJ watched Judy primping at her dressing room vanity. He grinned: it was so ordinary, but he wanted ordinary. After their marital problems, Judy and Kelvin both quitting the church, the kidnapping, and the rescue, it was nice to be just plain dressing for the morning service again.
Judy led him out into the south corridor and kissed him. He saw that Jesse and Amber were also kissing goodbye. But Kelvin and Keefe just pressed their foreheads together. Ugh! That was ordinary, too. How many times had Keefe complained about Kelvin's fear of being open in public? Well, he didn't really complain -- he was so devoted that anything Kelvin did was fine with him. But BJ could tell that he was suffering over being treated as a good buddy. "The kidnapping and rescue didn't change anything!" he thought."If that doesn't do it, what will?"
Jesse signaled "show time!" Judy took her place at his left side, and Kelvin at his right, and they walked toward the stage entrance. BJ saw that Amber was already halfway to the sanctuary entrance, waiting for the other partners to join her so they could walk to their assigned seats together. But Keefe was just standing there, watching his "good buddy" Kelvin walk away. Poor guy!
Suddenly Kelvin backed up, turned around, and walked back toward his dressing room. Did he forget something? No, he looked terrified. He took Keefe in his arms and kissed him -- twice! Jesse and Judy were shocked -- BJ could hear them gasp from 20 feet away! But Kelvin strutted back, proud of himself, on top of the world. Jesse gave him a "My baby brother got balls!" grin, and they continued on to the stage entrance.
BJ rushed over to Keefe and hugged him. "He finally did it, Buddy! Congratulations!" He kept his arm around Keefe's waist and led him down the hallway to where Amber was waiting. "How did you convince him to overcome his fear?"
"I don't know, really." Keefe was still smiling his angelic smile.
"Did you have a conversation about it?"
"Kelvin talk about it? Not in this lifetime!" He laughed. "Yesterday we went to Abraham's soccer game -- his parents couldn't make it. Then we got Thai take-out, watched a movie on Netflix, and went to bed. That's the only difference I can think of...he was more..."
They had caught up to Amber. She wasn't smiling. Keefe looked down at his shoes. "Uh...tell you later, Buddy."
10:25 am: Amber
Amber stared at Chief walking toward her, as if she had never seen him before. And, in a way, she hadn't. She should have known that he and Kelvin were...lovers, but honestly, it never occurred to her that they were more than just good friends. This changed everything. He was a nice guy, certainly, but was he an appropriate wife...um, husband? Spouse? ...for a Christian minister? Not just because he was a man, because he was so weird. He gestured more than he talked, and when he talked, it made no sense.
But twenty years of being gracious to the oddest types took control, and she smiled serenely at Chief and took his arm, and they walked down the sanctuary corridor. "You know, Chief," she began...
"His name is Keefe," BJ said.
"That's what I said, Keith. It occured to me that we know very little about you. Who your people are, what your Daddy does...so I was thinking, would you and Kelvin like..."
Suddenly Abraham met them, coming down from his Sunday school class.
"Your game yesterday was lit, Dude," Keith told him. "You were on fire!"
Abraham fist-bumped him. "Thanks for taking us out for ice cream and wieners afterwards." Wait -- Queef went to Abraham's soccer game? Alone, or with Kelvin?
"Hey, I'll take any excuse to eat some wieners." Eat some wieners? Was he deliberately using a dirty double-entendre in front of her 14-year old son? Or did he not notice that it was dirty?
Amber calmed herself. "Anyway, Heath, would you and Kelvin like to..." But they were taking their seats -- she was separated from Heath by Abraham and BJ -- and the music was starting. She would have to invite them over for dinner later.
10:35 am: Gideon.
It felt strange sitting next to his Granddad in the congregation, after so many years seeing him on-stage, and Granddad seemed a little uncomfortable, too. "I've never been down here during church before. But I'm retired. I'm a member of the congregation, not a preacher, and this is where I belong."
"And I'm your driver, so this is where I belong," Gideon said, although he felt a little wistful to see his Mom two rows up, sitting with Abraham, BJ, and Keefe. The whole family together. Well, except for Pontius, who skipped church more often than not. "Are we going to Jake's after?"
"Of course, Gideon. I may be retired, but I still have to eat."
Suddenly his phone started vibrating in his pocket. Of course, he had no choice but to check. A text from his friend Jackie, who worked in security. "You'll never guess who I saw kissing in the south corridor!"
"Mom and Dad?" Gideon answered. "They always kiss before Dad comes on stage.
"Close, but no homo. It was your Uncle Kelvin and his butt buddy!"
Darn South Carolina homophobes! "So what?" Gideon typed. "Mom and Dad kiss, why can't Kelvin and Keefe? Are you heterosexist?"
"No, dude, of course not. It was just weird." Another text "Not that they're gay, or anything."
Another buzz -- an email from the Courier, requesting an interview? Why would they want to interview him? But before he could read the email, the music started, Granddad glared at him, and he put his phone away.
12:05 pm: Judy:
Judy knocked on Kelvin's dressing room door. "We're leaving for Jake's, Dummy. You boys about ready?" They didn't answer, so she let herself in.
Yep, they were kissing, so tightly wrapped that you couldn't quite tell where Kelvin ended and Keefe began.
She thumped Kelvin on the shoulder. "Will you give it a rest before you sprain your tongue? Geez, it's like you never kissed anyone before."
Kelvin broke away. "Sorry. But I don't think we can make it to Jake's today. We've got some things to do this afternoon." Keefe smiled that annoying angel-smile. It was more than obvious what "things to do" meant.
"Nope, nope, your lovemaking session can wait. Going to Jake's as a family is as important as the church service. Your fans will be expecting you. Yours too, Bicep Boy."
"I have fans?" Keefe asked.
"Don't tell me your boyfriend confiscates your fan mail? Half the comments on the church website are about you. Maybe one in twenty asks about Kelvin. You're the Golden Boy of the church."
"Then why did you demote me?"
He was talking about removing him as assistant teen minister. What a crazy thing to be hung up about! "You mean, moving you from a part-time job that barely pays minimum wage into a job with three times the salary and five times the responsibility? The only downside that I could see was not being able to spend every minute of every day at Kelvin's side. Or is that a benefit?"
"We like being together," Kelvin said.
"Yeah, that's obvious. But like it or not, sometimes you and your true love have to spend a few minutes apart. Or hours." She grabbed Keefe's arm and led him out of the dressing room. "I'm taking this one to Jake's for dinner. You coming, Dummy?"
More after the break
12:20 pm: Eli.
After years of driving in the first car in the caravan, it felt very strange to be taking up the rear, after Jesse, Judy, and Kelvin. But then, it felt strange not to have Aimee-Leigh beside him, and it felt strange to have his little Grandson Gideon as his driver. No way was that kid old enough to drive. Wasn't Eli changing his diapers just a few days ago? .
They parked in their reserved spots, as usual, and walked slowly, like celebrities (no, they were celebrities) past the fans taking pictures, filming them, and yelling to get their attention. There were a lot more than usual today, probably reporters wanting to interview his kids about their kidnapping ordeal. And to blame Eli for not giving in to Peter's demands.
"Look, Granddad," Gideon was pointing just ahead, to where Kelvin and Keefe were walking. And holding hands.
"I see it."
"Did you know that Kelvin was...um...?"
"Of course -- he's my son. And I knew that Keefe was his significant other, too. It's pretty obvious."
"And you're ok with it?"
Eli had to stop and think. He accepted it, of course, but was he ok with it? Would he be happier if Kelvin took the usual route, and got married and gave him grandchildren? Or just continued to be alone?
The two reached the door. Kelvin held it open for Keefe, then slapped his butt as he entered!
"You come from a generation that didn't approve of that sort of thing," Gideon said. "Back when you could get put in jail for it. So I wouldn't blame you if it was a little hard."
He opened the door, but Eli stopped and stared at him. "Our church has always welcomed the gay community," he said slowly, as if deliberating a sermon. "Of course I welcome my son, and his partner is one of the kindest, gentlest, most loving people that I have ever met. I am truely happy that they have found each other. But I'm not happy about what's going to happen in the future."
"What?" Someone was waiting, so Eli walked through the door. Gideon followed. The rest of the family had already gone up to the private dining room on the second floor.
"They're going to be hit hard, Gideon. There's going to be a lot of hate. Kelvin is so fragile, I'm not sure he'll be able to handle it. I'm not sure Keefe will be able to protect him."
Reverend Sessions, the satellite church pastor who tried to take the Salvation Center down two years ago, was standing at the bottom of the stairway. "Did you see, Eli?" he asked.
"See what?"
"You know!" He grinned. Eli had never seen a more evil grin in his life.
"All I saw was my children and their spouses going up to dinner. And if you'll excuse us, my grandson and I are anxious to join them."
5:00 pm: Keefe
"Want to know a secret?" Kelvin asked. They were half sitting, half lying on the couch in the parlor, their shoes off, their shirts undone, their pants unzipped, holding each other. "This morning, that was my first kiss ever."
Keefe had suspected that. He knew that Kelvin hadn't done much dating, and what dating he did was always with girls, so of course he'd tried everything to avoid any physical contact. And of course he refused to kiss Keefe when they were intimate. Sometimes he came close, but at the last second he moved away. "Well, we've made up for it this afternoon."
"Are you getting tired of it?"
"Never." They had been kissing, and talking softly, but mostly kissing, all afternoon. Nothing else. Sometimes they got aroused, and fondled each other's cocks. Kelvin even went down on Keefe for a bit. But this wasn't the time for physical pleasures. It was the time to talk about who they were, and where they were going.
"It seems so easy now. I've been in love with you since the day we met, nearly four years ago. You're the love of my life, not my good buddy. Why couldn't I see that? Well, maybe I could see it. I just couldn't say it."
"I couldn't say it either, Brother. Of course I love you, but I couldn't tell what you wanted." Sometimes it was obvious, he had to admit. They went to Garfield's Jewelry in downtown Charleston and bought $5000 wedding rings, and called them friendship rings. They held hands. They slept in the same bed. But sometimes it wasn't obvious at all. "You acted like we were boyfriends, but you always talked like we were work buddies, or roommates. Or sometimes like I was your valet."
"I'm sorry about that. I guess I was scared that if I called it love, or said...'gay'...or kissed you...it would change everything."
"Has it?"
"Yes. But in a good way." They kissed again. "If you want to move on to the next step..."
"Whatever you want is what I want," Keefe said. He pulled Kelvin's cock out of his pants.
"Not that." Keefe moved his hand away. "I mean, I love doing those things with you. but they were part of the problem. I could explain them as just dudes being dudes, good buddies helping each other out. I want to go all the way, do something that's just for lovers. Do you know what I mean?"
"I think so." He was talking about Keefe's favorite sexual act! Keefe held him in his arms and kissed him for a long time.
"That thing...does it hurt?"
"Yes. But only at the start. Then it turns into the most intimate experience of your life. I've only done it with boyfriends, and...." Whoops, he didn't want Kelvin to know that he'd been with other guys, even though he'd been out for over a decade before they met.
Kelvin nodded. "I want you to do it. I want you inside of me. I don't care if it hurts."
7:00 pm: Jesse
Jesse checked his watch. 7:00 pm. "Ok, they probably got back from Jake's around 2:00," he thought, "That's five hours for butt-fucking. That should be enough for anybody." Just in case there was some squabbling, he brought a pizza.
He didn't bother knocking -- it was their responsibility to keep their darn bedroom door closed. Instead, he walked into the foyer and yelled "Hey, lovebirds, it's your favorite brother, and I brought food! Put it in your pants for a minute and get down here!"
"Hi, Jesse." Kelvin came down the stairs, wearing a bathrobe. He saw Jesse grinning at him and looked down at his crotch. "What's wrong -- am I showing?"
"Where's your better half?"
"Keefe's taking a shower."
"And you didn't join him? Brother, I'm going to have to give you some lessons in romance! How are you stocked on strawberry-scented body oil?"
"What?"
Jesse sat on the couch in the parlor and put the pizza box out on the coffee table. Kelvin sat next to him. He took some paper plates and napkins from a bag. "Now, you obviously have enough sex toys, but you need to be stocking up on lube. I recommend three kinds, depending on how deep you're going to go, but of course I work with pussy. For butt-holes, you'll have to experiment..."
Kelvin was starting to blush! Adorable! "Um...what kind of pizza did you bring?"
He opened the box. "Half pepperoni, half cheese. It's not very original, but I didn't really know what kind Keefe likes, and you can't go wrong with pepperoni."
"He likes mushroom and green pepper, but we're sort of hungry, so anything is ok." He turned toward the stairs. "Keefe, Jesse brought pizza!"
"Coming..." a voice from far away. Jesse resisted making a dirty joke and took a slice of pizza. He was positively giddy. It had been so stressful pretending not to know -- not being able to give Kelvin brotherly advice, comfort him when he was hurting, or tease him unmercifully. "So, Brother," he said with a leer, "Which of you guys does the butt-splitting, and which says 'deeper! deeper!,"
"Jesse, that is none of your business!"
"Come on, I'll tell you mine. With Amber, I'm the one who does the fucking."
"That's different! Straight people can only do like two things. But two guys...um...who are...um..."
"The word you're looking for is 'gay.'"
Hearing Jesse say it, Kelvin seemed to relax. "Right. Two gay guys can do about a thousand things. We're not even done with the first page of the manual yet." He grinned. "But I will tell you this: I'm going to be sore tomorrow."
"I knew it! I knew it!"
Keefe appeared on the stairs. His bathrobe was identical to Kelvin's, except for the monogram. How cute! "Hi, Jesse. What's up?"
"What's up is dinner, My Man, and if you don't get your butt down here, you won't get any." He turned to Kelvin. "You have no idea the publicity storm you caused. I've been getting emails and texts all afternoon. You must have, too."
"Well, our phones have been off," Kelvin said. "We didn't want to be disturbed."
Well, check it."
Kelvin pulled out his cell phone, turned it on, and started reading off the emails. "The New York Times, Reuters, Christianity Today, Fox News, a professor at Union Theological Seminary..."
"All that because we kissed?" Keefe asked. He sat next to Kelvin and wrapped his arm around his shoulders. "People kiss all the time. What's the big deal?"
"The big deal is the darling baby boy of America's Jesus Daddy and his Goth boy toy kissing, then holding hands in front of 10,000 fans. Not to mention 300 reporters who wanted to interview us about the kidnapping. This is a much better story."
"Are we in trouble?" Keefe asked. "Is the church in trouble?"
"Far from it! You guys together could be just the boost our church needs. Progressive evangelicals, the voice of the new generation. We could fill a stadium three times over. I want to perform your wedding, right in the church...."
"We haven't talked about marriage yet," Kelvin said. "We've only been boyfriends for like 30 seconds."
Jesse laughed. "Four years and thirty seconds, you mean. You've been together longer than Judy and BJ, and they're an old married couple."
"I'll do it," Keefe said. "I'm ready."
"Great. See, Kelvin, your fiance is in. I figure we'd better do it next month, so we don't run into the Christmas season. How's Thanksgiving? You could give thanks for each other...."
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