"I sure wish there were some colleges around here where Steph and I could work. I love it down here, " Luc says as soon as they're in the house.
"You might not think it so great if you had to cope with a hurricane." I tell him.
"You forget the one a few years ago that went right through Charlotte? I thought I'd never get the yard cleaned up. Took both dad and me three days to saw up the two trees that went down and get all the mess cleaned up. We didn't have power for nearly four days."
"I remember, but you don't get them there so often."
"True, but we both like it here."
"You guys find jobs yet?
"Not what I really wanted. I'll be teaching English at a community college, and Steph is going to be an assistant librarian at Trinity University."
"That puts you guys about twenty miles apart. Where're you going to live?"
"We found a small house in Carvelle. That's about midway, so neither of us has to drive very far."
"Great!" Tommy exclaims. "You're only about twenty minutes from the U. We can get together a lot."
"You and Mike get hired there? How lucky can you get? I didn't think that happened very much."
"It doesn't. They lucked out, especially Tommy. You guys know where your room is." I tell them.
Stephan grins. "Still got to make our own bed?"
"You've got it." They've been here so often, Tor and I treat them as we do Tommy and Mike.
"It's great being back. Don't guess we'll be here much once we start work," Luc says reluctantly.
"The door's open, and there are the weekends. You two will have to work out a schedule with Tommy and Mike. No need of driving two cars."
Luc suddenly hugs me. "This is more like home than home is. I'm glad Steph and I have somewhere close where we can relax."
"Things not any better?"
"Na. Dad told me he paid for my education and that's all he intends to do for me. I'm on my own now. They don't want to see me unless I come home alone. No way I'm going and not take Steph."
"I'm sorry, Luc."
"I am, too, but you and Tor are really great to us."
Mike comes in a few minutes later and all four of them take off for the beach. Except when they come in for meals and to sleep, we don't see much of them the entire weekend.
It's no surprise when Luc comes in Monday afternoon with two large plastic shopping bags filled with books. "Look, Drew. That remainder place at the beach mall just got a new shipment of books in. I found some I've been looking for, for practically nothing."
"Good for you. I hope your house has plenty of bookshelves."
"It didn't, but Steph and I lucked out at a warehouse sale. We don't have a lot of furniture, so they make the living room look a lot better. It was almost empty."
"Seems odd to hear someone starting out say their place is empty. It was just the opposite after Tor and I got the boat. We had a problem getting everything in."
"I was hoping my folks would let me have some of the stuff in the attic at home. Mom told me I could, but when Steph and I started living together, she wouldn't give it to me. There's enough there to fill our house, but now we're getting stuff little by little when we can afford it."
"Wish we could help you guys out, but we don't have anything to get rid of."
Luc grins. "Thanks for the thought, Drew, but Steph and I will make it. His folks are sending us some money until we start working. I'm going home with him next week. We'll have a week there, then I've got to come back and start work."
After a call from the manager of the apartment building a couple of weeks later, Tor and I take the boys up early one morning and look at the flat again, making measurements of the rooms just as we did for our house. We find a discount furniture store, let the boys select the furnishings they want, and tell them we'll call about the delivery.
Over lunch, Tommy says, "Why don't we see if we can find Stephan and Luc? I'd like to see where they're living."
"Long as we don't stay too long," Tor says. "You know it's a three hour drive back home."
I look at the map Tor keeps in the car, and point out Carvelle. It's just a mile or two off the interstate, so it's not much out of our way. When we get there, Tor stops at a gas station/convenience store to ask directions. He comes to the door with an amused expression and beckons all of us in. The clerk is none other than Luc.
"What are you doing here?" Mike asks.
"Putting in a few hours for some extra money so Steph and I can get the place fixed up. It's sure good to see you guys. What are you doing up here?"
"We came to get some furniture for our flat and wanted to see you and Stephan," Tommy replies.
"Can you stay around until six and have dinner with us? I get off then."
"I wish we could, but we've got to hit the road home pretty soon." Tor tells him.
"Damn! Go on out to the house and see Steph. He'll be delighted." He gives us directions.
The town is little more than a village, but the incursion of people from the nearby college and university towns wanting a slower and quieter pace of life is evident in some of the new homes we pass. I know Luc told us his parents will do nothing for him and Steph, but I'm sure he's used to far better than the little house we find. It's what used to be called a GI house in a small subdivision that's seen better days. The exterior needs painting badly, and I can envision the basic plan: living room, kitchen with a tiny eating area, two bedrooms, and one bath.
The front door is open, so Tommy walks in and yells "Hey, Stephan!"
"What?" His voice calls back.
"You inviting us in or not?" Mike yells.
Stephan comes into the room; his mouth drops open when he sees us. "What a surprise! This is wonderful. I wish Luc was here."
"We saw him when we stopped to ask directions," Tor says.
I look around and see the guys have done their best. The walls are freshly painted, and a longer blank wall is lined with the well-filled bookcases Stephan had told me they bought. An obviously second-hand chest holds a small TV set and a nice stereo system. There's an old desk, and two chairs complete the furnishings.
Stephan pulls in three chairs from a dinette set with an apologetic look. "Sorry. We haven't much in the way of seating just yet."
"Don't sweat it," Mike says. "Looks kinda like our old dorm room."
Stephan laughs. "You've got that. Maybe we'll be doing better the next time you guys come. We're out of beer until Luc comes home, but I've got plenty of ice tea."
"Thanks."
We chat for about an hour, then get up to leave. "You and Luc get another weekend you can come down before you start work?" Tor asks.
"We'd love to, but it depends on Luc's job at the mart. I wanted to find a job until we start teaching, but nobody wanted me."
"You can make one weekend, can't you?" Tommy says, disappointed.
"We'll try, but money's tight. My folks send us some, but there's so much we need to fix the place up." Stephan looks at us with suddenly moist eyes. "Luc's so wonderful. He doesn't want me to feel like I'm missing what I had at home. I wish I could convince him he's all I want, cause nothing else matters long as we're together."
I have to hug him. "I know, babe. You've got a great guy in Luc, like I have in Tor, and we're happy for you. Tor and I started out like you guys, but it'll all come right."
"Come back soon. It's good to see you." He turns to Tommy and Mike. "Let us know when you come back up to the U and we'll get together."
"That'll be cool." Mike says.
Once we're on the road, Tor is strangely silent for a while, then turns to me. "The guys are working hard to make a go of it. Seeing their house really takes me back."
"Yeah. It's little better than the one I lived in as a kid."
Mike suddenly leans over the seat and looks at Tor and me. "I really feel ashamed, now."
"For what?" Tor asks.
"Tommy and I have let you and dad set us up in a nice place with new furniture and all, when we ought to have done it for ourselves like Luc and Steph."
"Wait a minute, Mike. What Tor and I are doing for you and Tommy is done because we love you. Any good parent wants to see their kids off to a better start than they had, and it's not like we don't have the money."
"Luc's folks do too," Tommy says. "Andrea showed me their big house when I was there. I don't know how they can be so mean to Luc and Steph."
"It's Luc's fault he's gay, and his parents are being very unreasonable about it, but I gather they're a lot like Andrea's mother."
"I guess. I'm not gay, but I'll never act like that if I have a kid who is," Mike says.
"Me neither," Tommy adds.
The next Thursday I get a call from the manager of the apartment house that the boys' flat is vacant, and will be cleaned the next day. I call the furniture store and arrange to have their furniture delivered Saturday afternoon so Tor and I can give them a hand with the placing of it. I also make arrangements for two phone lines to be installed tomorrow if possible, knowing darn well both of them will keep one, possibly both, busy with their computers.
"You and Tor are going to stay over Saturday night, aren't you?" Tommy asks over lunch.
"We can if you want," Tor says, "we were going to take clothes to change into. "Why?"
"I thought maybe we could call Stephan and Luc and take them out for dinner Saturday night. I bet they ain't had a steak since the last time we took them with us."
"We can do that, can't we, dad?" Mike adds.
"Good thinking, guys," I tell them. "And it'll give us a chance to go to Mass. I like Eric."
Tommy pulls a piece of paper from his billfold and calls. After a short conversation, he tells us Stephan will call back as soon as Luc gets in from work. When Stephan calls back, he says that Luc will work a second shift Friday night so the guy that normally works it will cover for him on Saturday. Both Tommy and Mike are elated.