Dj

Note: All sexually involved characters in this story are Eighteen years of age or older. There is a young, gay boy, 15 year old Fernando, whose father has kicked him out (which happens way too often in real life) and CPS (Child Protective Services) have placed him with foster parents, a married straight couple. There is no direct, or implied, sexual activity between Fernando and any other character in this story.

In Part 34

Liz asks a BIG favor of Fernando

The Rainbow Alliance's March meeting

DJ and Jamie visit Granny at the hospital

* * * * * *

DJ Part 34

At 7:00 AM on Monday morning, March 5th, Maria is preparing breakfast for her family. Antonio is at the table, sipping his first cup of coffee. About 7:20 he went into Fernie's room to arouse him, and he came to the table about 7:30, dressed for school. Fernie had already packed his gym bag, as he had both Gym and softball practice today.

Antonio asked, "Isn't this the day you need to pay for your uniform?"

"Yeah, it is, I almost forgot," Fernie replied. Antonio handed Fernie $50. "Thanks, Dad, but it's only $45."

"Don't you need some lunch money?" Antonio asked.

Fernie, smiling, "Yes, I'm about out, Thanks, Dad, Oh, I have practice today so I won't be in till around 6:00."

A couple minutes after 8:00 Fernie grabbed his backpack and gym bag and headed out the door to meet Liz at the stop. The bus gobbled them up at 8:10, and he and Liz shared their common seat.

"Fernie," Liz asked, "do you know Ronnie Price?"

"I don't know," Fernie replied, "the only Price I know is a pitcher on the softball team, but I don't know his first name. Is he tall and slender, about 6' and wears a dark brown flat top with longish hair on his neck?"

"That sounds about right," Liz said, "I was hoping you could try to get a little information from him."

"Maybe, what do you want to know?" Fernie asked.

"This is kinda awkward," Liz admitted, "I want to know if he has a girlfriend, or if he is available?"

"Why?" Fernie asked.

Liz, giggling a little, "Because I think he's a dream, and I'd love to have him date me."

"Oh, so you want me to play cupid, huh?" Fernie said, grinning, "I'll see what I can do, maybe I can catch up with him in the locker room after practice today."

"Thanks, Fernie," Liz said, "you're a real friend."

Sixth period rolled around and Fernando and most of the other high school boys headed to the boys locker room to change for gym class. At 2:55 Coach announced that it was shower time, and they all headed to the boys locker/shower room and started to strip. Fernie tried to inconspicuously check out the other boy's packages to see if any other boys were uncut. He did notice that about 3 others in his gym class were uncut, and started to feel less obvious.

Several of the boys, including himself, showered, dried and put on their practice gear for softball. Fernie sat on a bench to put on his socks and shoes, and Price sat next to him. Here goes!

"Is your first name Ronnie?" Fernie asked.

"It's Ronald, actually," Price said, "but some call me Ron or Ronnie, and what is your first name?"

"Fernando," Fernie said, "but some call me Fernie."

"Fernie Gomez," Price said, extending his hand, "Ron Price." The two shook hands. "Somehow, I think complete first names are—I don't know—too proper. Ronald is too proper, Ronnie is what I was called as a kid, and Ron is what I prefer now. I think Fernie sounds much better than Fernando. Coach says he's training you to be my backup pitcher, so we're gonna be working a lot together, welcome aboard!"

"Ron," Fernie asked, "Do you have a girlfriend?"

"I did have," Ron replied, "but we broke up about two, no, three weeks ago, why?"

"There is a girl that's a close friend of mine, and she wants to know if you're available, and she asked me to try and find out. Ron, she told me she'd love to have you date her."

"Fernie, I'm interested, but we need to get out to practice right now, we'll talk later." Ron and Fernie headed out to the diamond.

* * * * * *

About 7:30 AM DJ, Jamie and Bryan were having breakfast, planning on leaving for campus about 8:15. DJ and Jamie have their first class at 9:00 AM, Bryan's first isn't until 10:00.

"Hey guys," Bryan commented, "we have a club meeting today at 5:00 PM, I made sure I wasn't scheduled to work tonight, but we won't be back home until probably around 6:30."

"Bryan," DJ stated, "I think we should drive separately today, then Jamie can ride back from the meeting with you. I'm just not prepared to attend the meeting today, and you guys can kinda give the club members a little heads-up, about my Granny's condition."

"No way, Baby!" Jamie exclaimed, "Bryan, please inform the members of our situation, but I'm not leaving DJ's side until we're over this crises. We're both canceling the meeting today."

"DJ," Karen commented, "maybe you should consider going to the meeting today, it might get your mind off Granny for a little while."

"I can't Mom," DJ said, shaking his head, "I'm just not up to it!"

"Mom," Jamie stated, "DJ and I are going up to visit Granny tomorrow, and Randy told DJ yesterday that he would find a way to cover his shift, even if he has to give up his day off and cover it himself."

"That's quite considerate, on Randy's part," Karen said, "and it shows that Randy has a lot of empathy for you, DJ."

"Since I'm driving separately today," Bryan said, "I don't need to leave until about 9:30. I'm going to wake Phil up now. With his work schedule, most of the time we spend together is sleep time, and I don't think Phil is up to date on Granny's condition."

DJ and Jamie kissed Karen goodbye, and headed off to campus, and Bryan went to his room to wake Phil. Phil pulled on his boxers, and joined Karen and Bryan at the table, sipping his coffee. Bryan and Karen explained Granny's condition to Phil.

"Oh my God!" Phil exclaimed, "Just in the couple of weeks that I was close to her, I grew to love her a lot, she is such a sweet old lady. I feel a lot of compassion for DJ and Jamie, I know they are both very attached to Granny, and I hope and pray that Granny pulls through."

"Baby," Bryan said, with tears escaping his eyes, "Jamie and DJ are going to visit her tomorrow, I hope it's not the last time they see her."

It was about 9:30, Bryan gave Karen a kiss on her cheek, and shared a romantic kiss and hug with his boyfriend, and left for campus.

* * * * * *

At lunchtime, Fernie broke the $50 bill that his Dad had given him that morning when he paid for his lunch, and then went to the Coach's office and gave Coach the $45 for his uniform.

The softball team had a good practice session today. Fernie and Ron shared the pitching, both on the 'B' team, and Fernie even caused one of the 'A' team player's to strike out. The team all returned to the locker room to change and prepare to catch the activity bus to go home. Ron elected to share the seat on the bus with Fernie.

"Fernie," Ron asked, "who is this girl that has an interest in me, what's her name?"

"Liz Martin," Fernie replied, "do you know her?"

"I don't really know her," Ron said, "but I know of her, she is one of the basketball cheerleaders, and she is kinda pretty, can you give me her number?"

"I could, but I won't," Fernie replied, "not without asking her permission, I'll get in touch with her tonight, or in the morning, and if she says it's OK, I'll give it to you tomorrow."

"Fair enough," Ron replied, smiling, "I definitely would date her."

The bus dropped Ron off at his house, before arriving at the street where Fernie lived. Ron has come off to Fernie as a pretty nice dude and Fernie likes him, as both a teammate and a potential friend. He is about 110% certain that Ron is straight, and Ron is also a senior. Monday is the only day that Fernie goes home, as the pizzeria is closed.

* * * * * *

Jamie and DJ, after their 11:00 AM software class ended, headed to our house, as they normally do on Mondays, arriving shortly after 11:30. They had picked up a sub at WAWA to share, and sat at the table. Joe and I were still wearing Mother Nature's pajamas, and had just finished breakfast, more likely, brunch.

"Are you boys still planning to go to the hospital tomorrow?" Joe asked.

"Yeah," Jamie replied, "we'll probably leave around 9:00 or 10:00, after we have breakfast, we want to spend as much time with Granny as the hospital will allow."

"I know it's asking a lot DJ," Joe said, "but try not to let Mom see you crying, she adores your patented smile, try to wear it when you see her, it might just help her to recover."

"Dad," DJ replied, "I'm just so scared that I'm going to lose my Granny, but I'll do my best to give her that smile." DJ smiled, weakly.

After the boys finished the sub, they grabbed their backpacks and headed to their room to do their homework, closing the door behind them. Joe was pleased that they closed the door.

"Doug," Joe stated, "in view of the probability of Mom's passing, we need to consider how we're going to handle it."

"Joe," I said, "would you want to ship her remains back to California, or her ashes, if we had her cremated?"

"That's not a viable option," Joe replied, "considering the only family that she has that gives a damn is here. Have you considered that maybe we should get a cemetery lot here, with 3 spaces, one for each of us and one for Mom. It would take quite a load off from DJ, when one of us passes on, and if she is buried here, I feel that DJ would want to visit her grave frequently."

"Joe," I suggested, "neither of us are scheduled to work until 3:00 tomorrow, while the boys are gone to the city, we could check out the cemetery here, and gather some options to weigh."

"That sounds like a workable plan," Joe replied, "and we are both working today at 3:00, so we probably should start getting ready. I've informed the Captain about Mom's condition so he is prepared to give me some bereavement time, and I also shared that information with Mike on Sunday."

"I'm betting," I said, "that the boys have not even thought about having any sex, since Mom had her attack."

Joe, grinning, "I wouldn't bet on that, Doug, I think that's a given! Sex has not been at the forefront of our minds either."

* * * * * *

Shortly before 5:00 PM the Rainbow Alliance members were gathering in the Student Lounge for their March meeting. Bryan asked Sandy to please give him a few minutes to tell the members of DJ and Jamie's situation, with DJ's Granny in the hospital.

Sandy called the meeting to order, and gave Bryan a few minutes to share DJ's pain with the group. They reopened old business, with the discussion of having a picnic. One of the members was to reserve the large pavilion at the park for Saturday, April 7th, 14th. Or 21st, depending on what date might be available. All the members were to bring a $5 donation to their April meeting, on Apr 2nd to pay for food. The money would be turned over to Jamal and Rusty, and they would order it from the Deli at the supermarket and bring it to the park about noon on the day of the picnic.

Sandy spoke, "I'd like to offer my thoughts, before we adjourn this meeting. As a club, we formed it to be a support center for the LGBT community here on campus. DJ and Jamie are currently experiencing a very dark period in their lives, and even though it is not an LGBT issue, we still need to lend our support to our much loved brothers."

The meeting was adjourned, and the members started to disperse. On the way out to the parking lot, Rusty and Jamal confronted Bryan.

"Bryan," Jamal asked, "do you have Rusty's and my phone numbers?"

"No, I never figured I needed them," Bryan answered.

"You might not, but then you might," Jamal said, "Open your contacts and give me your phone, and I'll add them." Bryan did as Jamal asked. "We're very sorry to hear about DJ's Granny, and we hope for the best. Rusty and I consider DJ and Jamie to be two of our best and closest friends. If there is anything, and I mean ANYTHING, that we can do to help them, please don't hesitate to let us know. You have our numbers, please pass them on to DJ and Jamie, along with our offer to help them, if we are needed."

"I will do that, Jamal," Bryan said, "DJ and Jamie are going to the hospital tomorrow to visit Granny, and I just have this terrible feeling that it will be the last time they see her, alive. If she doesn't make it, I think DJ will fall apart, he and Granny have such a close and special relationship! Thank you, Jamal."

"Bryan," Jamal said, "I sincerely hope that your feeling is false, but please keep us posted, we really do care." Jamal and Rusty both gave Bryan a hug, and they all headed to their cars. Bryan was returning to the Seldon home, and, being a Monday, DJ and Jamie would be spending the night at our house.

* * * * * *

It was just about 6:00 PM when Fernando exited the activity bus and walked toward the house, smelling a pleasant aroma. He headed to the back yard and found Antonio grilling chicken on the gas grill.

"Hi, Dad," Fernando said, "the smell coming from this back yard is enough to make anyone hungry!"

Antonio, smiling, "Maria was planning to fry chicken for dinner tonight, but it was such a nice, warm day that we decided to grill it instead. It's warm enough that we can actually eat at the picnic table."

"I think you know," Fernie said, "I like chicken cooked most any way." He walked in the back door, stopping by the washer, and dropped his towel, sweats and gym wear into the hamper, then carried his empty gym bag and his backpack to his room. He then returned to the kitchen, where Maria was preparing the rest of dinner.

Fernie, giving Maria a hug and kiss, "I used to hate coming home from school, but now I look forward to coming home, to people that make me feel welcome and wanted."

"Sweetheart," Maria responded, "we want you to feel welcome, wanted and loved, honey, would you take those plates and silverware out to the picnic bench for me? Dinner will be ready soon."

"Sure, Mom," Fernie replied, smiling, picking up the plates and flatware. He then returned and took out the condiments, then came back and got the bowl of potato salad.

A few minutes later, Maria handed Fernie a platter to take out to Antonio for the chicken.

Fernando, about the time they were finished with dinner, "Mom, Dad, do you think that one of these Monday evenings we could have a cookout, and invite the Martin's to share dinner with us?"

Antonio, looking at Maria, "I think that a great idea, Fernie, you and Liz are almost inseparable, and it would give her parents and Maria and I a chance to get to know each other better. We'd need to plan ahead to have enough food to feed six instead of three." Maria nodded in approval and Fernie grinned, ear to ear.

While Maria put away the leftovers and cleaned up the dishes, Fernie headed to his room and tackled his homework. About 9:00 the three of them enjoyed hot cocoa, and Fernie headed to bed. Before climbing in, he put his phone on the charger and set it on the bedside table. Fernie had only been in bed for about 10 minutes when his phone rang, and it was Liz.

"Hi, Liz," Fernie answered, "what's up?"

"I was hoping to catch you before you went to bed," Liz said.

"Well, I just went to bed, but I'm not asleep yet," Fernie said.

"I just was wondering if you had a chance to talk to Ronnie today?"

"I did," Fernie said, "and I might have some good news for you."

"Really?" Liz replied, "what did he tell you?"

"He said he broke up with his girl about three weeks ago, and he would like to date you. He asked me for your phone number, and I told him I would not give it to him without your permission."

"Oh, thank you Fernie, can you call him and give him my number?"

"No," Fernie said, "I don't have his number, but I can give your number to him tomorrow at school. I probably should tell you, he doesn't like to be called 'Ronnie', he prefers to be called just 'Ron.'"

"Thank you so much, Fernie. I hope he calls me for a date, and if he does, you'll be the first to know! Sleep tight, and I'll see you in the morning." They both hung up, and Fernie fell asleep soon after.

* * * * * *

On Tuesday morning, March 6th, the alarm sounded waking Joe and me up at 7:30 AM. We wandered into the kitchen and I started a full pot of coffee to brew. We were both aware that DJ and Jamie wanted to leave by 9:30 or 10:00 to go visit Mom in the hospital, and Joe and I had some business to take care of while the boys were gone.

Joe and I drank our first cups of coffee, and I put on the apron to start preparing some breakfast, while Joe entered the boy's bedroom to wake them up. The boys joined us a few minutes later. There was little conversation that morning, but we did share a descent breakfast of sausage, eggs and hashed brown potatoes.

"What time are you guys planning to be home?" Joe asked.

"Not sure," DJ replied, "but we'll probably head back when they kick us out of the CICU (Coronary Intensive Care Unit), I really need to be at work by at least 4:00 or 5:00 today."

"Guys, don't forget to put on your smiles when you visit Granny."

The boys left for the city about 8:45 AM and Joe and I left to check out cemetery plots a few minutes later.

* * * * * *

DJ and Jamie reached the hospital about 10:15, parked the Tracker and headed in through the main entrance. Taking the elevator to the second floor, they were soon inside the CICU. They registered at the nurse's station that they were there to visit Agatha Reynolds, and asked if there were any changes in her condition.

The nurse, looking down, "I'm sorry I don't have better news, she is growing weaker by the hour. What relationship are you two, to her?"

"Her grandson's" DJ and Jamie stated, in unison.

The nurse, looking at their names on the registration, and at them, "You don't look like brothers, did you have different mothers?"

"It's a bit complicated," Jamie said, "DJ is a Kendall because he was legally adopted by Doug Kendall, and then Doug married Granny's son, Joseph Reynolds, so Joe became his step-dad. So Granny became DJ's grandmother by adoption and marriage. DJ and I have been in a relationship for about a year, and Granny has adopted me as her grandson also. She has been a loving grandmother to both of us, and we both have unlimited love for her."

"I see," said the nurse, "I guess you can go in and see her, but please don't do or say anything that might cause her to get excited, she is stable, but excitement could cause her to have a relapse." DJ and Jamie entered her room, both putting on their best smiles.

Granny, smiling, "I was so hoping you boys would come today, come over here and give me a kiss!" Both DJ and Jamie bent over the bed and gave Granny a kiss on her lips.

DJ was hating all the tubes and wires connected to his Granny's body, and was constantly glancing at that stupid monitor, the one that has the beam of light running across the bottom of the screen, that spikes and beeps with Granny's every heartbeat.

"DJ, Jamie," Granny said, "come over here and sit your butts on the bed with me, I want to be close to you, while I explain something."

Both boys sat on Granny's bed, and she placed a hand on each of their wrists.

"For the last Thirty years, it was my dream and hope to see my son marry the love of his life. God allowed me to live long enough to witness that, back in January, when Doug and Joe tied the knot. I was really hoping to hang on long enough to witness you two to marry one of these days also, but He isn't going to give me the time, He is coming very soon to take me home. I will not be here in the body, to see you get married, but I will be watching, from up there, and you know I will be smiling."