Installment #2
Greg
Greg nimbly caught the strap of the blue duffle bag on the carousel. First time around. This was going to be a good day. He glanced around and located the rental car counter. Lifting the bag into position over his shoulder he walked that way. This was his first time in Stapleton and he was fascinated by the architecture. From the air it had looked like a giant prairie schooner. This was an International Airport which gave it an added air of importance. He ought to check the name out. Denver International Airport, DIA. Or was it Stapleton?
Very soon he found himself being walked out a side door and ushered into a silver Mazda. As he settled back into the leather seat and adjusted the back rest he could not help but think of the last trip to Colorado. Well, first and last were the same, but now this was his second. Until he had met Kevin he had not been interested in Colorado. California was enough for him. He glanced at his watch. 4:26 AM. Yep, he would be at the farm before 7:00. Wonder if Kevin told Meg I wanted Huevos, he thought to himself, then scoffed. Of course he had. Kevin was just that kind of guy.
As he left the airport and entered the toll road, he thought of his mother. She had taken him to the airport and wished him well, but he knew she had reservations. She had not taken the news that he and Kevin were now roommates well at all. He knew she still held out the hope that his being gay was a phase he was going through. His “coming out” had been a long time coming and he had not told her until he was sure. First there had been John, and then Mark, followed by Justin, and then a string of faces he did not remember. He had drank to much many times trying to convince himself that he was not gay. It had not done any good and when he finally accepted himself, he went to his mother. At first she had denied it. Then she had refused to listen. Then came the anger at him followed by self recrimination of herself. In the end she had wept in his arms and appeared to accept him for who he was. But there were still her friends to contend with and the endless stream of “dinner dates” with her friends and their daughters. “Such a lovely couple.”
Greg knew that it was not his mother’s idea to set him up with the friends daughters, but she did nothing to stop it from occurring. “Marianne and Joe are coming to dinner Friday night. Could you just be a dear and entertain Chloe?” Sometimes he wanted to blurt out the truth to the simpering little darling, whoever she was, but he could not do that to his mother. Life had been hard on her since dad died of a massive coronary at the young age of 39. Eloise and Roger had been high school sweethearts and had married the week after graduation. Roger had started a construction company and it had snowballed into real estate, shopping malls, and soon they were financially secure and were ready to have more children, but it had not happened. Greg was 20 when Roger died and 23 when he told his mother he was gay. At 25 he received his trust fund money and since he had finished the education he had pursued in the food service industry, he bought the pub. Two years later his business was on solid ground and he had regular customers. And Kevin Jackson walked through the door.
Greg smiled as he tossed the money into the chute at the last toll booth and shifted in the seat to relieve the ressure on his spine. This Mazda was a very nice car with all the goodies right at his fingertips. He had always driven sports cars, but now that he was getting older a sedan seemed to offer more comfort. Not that 27 was old, but it was pushing 30. He sighed as he looked at the clock and checked the Garmin. Right on time. 58 minutes and he would be in the bosom of his new family. Life was good.
