Daniel lazily stared at the ceiling. It was Tuesday. Monday, he slept most of the day away, due to the pain meds. Heck, even just regular Tylenol made him sleepy, so the codeine really zonked him out. Today, he wasn't in that much pain anymore, so he'd skipped his mid day dose. He wasn't sure what he was going to do the rest of the week either, but he was sure he was going to drive himself nuts without something to do. Resolving to get out of the house today, Daniel carefully rolled out of bed, and took his pajama bottoms off. He stepped into a pair of boxer briefs, and jeans. He was out of coffee anyway, so he figured he might as well go grocery shopping, and that would qualify as his getting out of the house. He cautiously pulled on a tshirt, but he hated how bruised his arm looked. He really didn't want people to ask him what happened, especially since he ran into clients at the grocery store on a pretty regular basis. However, if he wore the sling, it would cover his stitches and bruises so it wouldn't draw as much attention. Then he could lie about what happened if someone asked.
Daniel pushed a cart around the grocery store, trying to decide if he needed anything else. Really, he just wanted coffee and cereal, since he wasn't much of a cook with one arm. As he stood in front of coffee, debating between a dark roast and a medium roast, someone tapped on his shoulder.
"Daniel is it?"
Daniel recognized the man after a moment, realizing it was Ben's dad, Hugh.
"Pastor Hugh, right? Yes I'm Daniel."
"I thought I noticed you over here, and unfortunately the sling was the give-away. Ben told me what had happened."
"Bit of bad luck at work."
Hugh nodded.
"Did Michael tell you I'm supposed to call you?" Daniel asked.
"He mentioned you might. He wasn't sure if you would."
"I think I should, at least once I guess. When are you available? I have the rest of the week off." He motioned to his arm.
"Well, actually I have time this afternoon; do you want to swing by the church?"
"Sure. About 2? That will give me some time to drop off my groceries and drive out there."
"Perfect. I will see you then."
Daniel was a bit nervous to see how this counseling would go, but not as nervous as he was when he first step foot in this church. And if it went half as well as last time he was here, he was in good shape. Hugh was arranging some flowers at the back of the pulpit.
"Hi Hugh!" Daniel called out, to prevent startling the man.
"Daniel! I'm glad you came. Come with me to my office."
Daniel followed Hugh down a narrow hallway into a cozy office. It almost resembled a physiatrist's office, with a desk, a chair and a long couch.
"Please, have a seat." Hugh gestured in the direction of the couch and chair. Daniel decided to sit in the chair. He wasn't sure he wanted this to feel like a full blown counseling session just yet. Hugh sat behind his desk, rummaged around in a drawer and then pulled out a notebook.
"So. I understand you've had a pretty conservative upbringing." Hugh started.
"Well, yeah. I was home schooled until I was a freshman. Church each Sunday with my parents. Sometimes Wednesdays too. Each time it seemed as if we'd listen to some lecture on why we were all going to hell. And everything I seemed to do was on that list."
"Sure. I guess traditional churches, especially Catholic and Christian ones will often preach against 'alternative life styles', but as with most things in life, one size doesn't fit all."
Daniel laughed.
"What you have to remember Daniel, is that the bible cannot mean today, what it meant back then. Sure there are some verses that can be twisted around to support or deny homosexuality, but in the end, God made you the way you are. Do you really want to change that?"
Daniel was silent.
"I just am unsure what it means to be Christian, or religious for that matter, and be gay. It just seems like it's one or the other."
"It doesn't have to be Daniel. You can still be faithful and loving to God, but choose who you want to live with and love. I hope through our conversations and a few visits to the church that you will understand this."
"It... well. Hmm." Daniel was a bit speechless at this. When all you've learned in the past has come crashing down around you, it leaves you feeling a bit alone.
"Look, I know this is a lot to digest in one sitting. So, let's see each other on Thursday? Same time? And I will leave you with this thought. There are seven deadly sins, but homosexuality is not one of them. What does that say to you?"
Daniel wasn't given a chance to respond, but was politely ushered out of the office.
Michael checked his voicemail as soon as he entered the airport. A message from the hospital he was about to have his externship at let him know they had booked a hotel room for him and a fellow 4th year student from Ohio State. Michael was a bit surprised at that, it must have been short notice that the other student was doing his externship at the same time, or had to switch his dates, since some clinics don't even like having one student shadow. He grabbed his bag, slightly disappointed that Daniel hadn't called. He picked up his rented car and drove to the animal hospital to pick up the details of where he was staying and his hours. He pulled into the parking lot, with a few minutes to spare before they closed at 6pm. The receptionists greeted him, and went to find the office manager. A middle aged women stepped through the door to the reception area and waved him back.
"You must be Michael, I'm Gale the practice manager here. And this is Westley, the other extern that will be joining us here for the next two weeks. I hope you boys don't mind staying with each other, although we did get you a suite so you'll each have your own bed."
Michael shook hands with Westley, giving him a quick once over since his gaydar pinged on first impressions. The man was short and skinny, with closely cropped blond hair and green eyes. He had to be at least a half foot shorter than Michael.
"Nice to meet you, Westley. I look forward to working with everybody here."
"Good, good. Well, I'll leave you boys to hash out the details. Here's your schedules, it's pretty much the same so you could carpool over here. Otherwise, we'll see you tomorrow!" Gale dismissed them.
"Did you drive here?" Westley asked.
"Yeah I have a rental."
"Ah, cool, I took the bus, so can I hitch a ride with you?"
"Sure, might as well." Michael waved goodbye to the receptionists, and walked out to his car, Westley following almost like a puppy. Westley quickly threw his small suitcase into the back seat and jumped into the passenger side.
A bit of an awkward silence filled the car.
"So were do you go to school?" Westley asked.
"Madison. I think I heard you are at Ohio?"
"Yeah."
"So, how did we end up on the same 2 week schedule, do you know?" Michael asked, curiosity getting the better of him.
"I had a medical emergency. Well. Yeah." He left it at that, going silent once again.
"Ah, here we are." Michael said pulling into the hotel parking lot.
"I hope they have a pool. I could use a swim... I brought my suit just in case."
"I could use a swim too. Been a while."
"Well, yeah considering it's sorta winter back home."
Michael laughed. It seemed even with the odd silences, Westley and him would be getting along.
Michael and Westley entered the suite that was to be their home for the next two weeks.
"You have a preference of which room you want?" Westley asked breaking the silence.
"Naw, you?"
"Not really. I'll take the one on the right. I assume they're the same."
"Looks like it. I'll take the left. You gonna go swimming right away?"
"Um. No, I suspect that right now there's a bunch of kids there. I'd rather wait. I think it's open until 1130, so I may go at 11ish." Westley said a bit nervously.
"As long as you don't mind, I'll go with you. It sounds like a good idea to avoid a bunch of kids."
"I might go unpack then, and maybe take a nap. Or do you want to do something for dinner?"
"Meh, I don't really want to go out. What to order in something? There's a list of phone numbers for the restaurants in the area that deliver right next to the phone." Michael lifted up the laminated paper.
"Pizza okay with you? I'm kinda a college food staples guy" Westley said, laughing at himself.
"Sure. You picky about toppings?"
"Not really. Just no sardines or anything weird."
"Ok, I might just do a veggie one, since meat gives me a bit of a heartburn issue this late at night."
"Sounds good."
Michael went about ordering the pizza while he watched Westley through the doorway into his room. He was kinda a cute guy if you went for a bit more of the twink look. Michael preferred more normal looking guys like himself. The typical normal looking guys versus the more extremes like twinks, or bears. He wasn't into the built or defined guys, and he liked his men to look like men, not boys. Like Daniel. He sighed thinking about the man back home. He was really Michael's ideal partner, minus the whole 'Not sure I'm gay' thing. But hopefully he talked to Ben or Hugh while Michael was away and would be really ready for a relationship. Soon enough the pizza came, and Michael and Westley talked about school, and the differences between the colleges. As the evening grew later, Westley got up to go change into his swim suit, and Michael did the same.
As they were walking down to the pool, Michael thought he saw a fresh mark, somewhat like a tattoo on the back of Westley's right thigh, but dismissed it, knowing that anybody who recently had gotten a tattoo would know to stay out of a pool.
The men enjoyed a quick swim, and then sat in the hot tub for a bit, before the pool room closed at 1130.
That awkward silence happened again. Michael was never sure what to say in situations like this, because honestly, he wasn't used to it. Even with Daniel, the silence felt mutual, and comfortable, like nothing needed to be said. With Westley it felt like there was something hanging in the air, tension that could be cut with a knife.
"Um. I probably should let you know something before it becomes an issue." Westley said. "Because it was with my last roommate."
