1: First Best Friends

I got home from work late that night. When I finally made it out of the office, I went straight home, hoping that I would still be able to eat dinner with my family.

Turning the key to my front door, I entered my house and was welcomed by the sounds of squeals and running feet.

"Daddy!" my six year old daughter Kayla shouted as she jumped into my arms. Danny, my 5 year old son, stood off to the side smiling up at me.

"Hey guys!" I said happily. "Did you eat dinner yet?" The two shook their heads no and my smile widened. "Well then, come on. Let's go see if it's ready."

I walked into the kitchen with the kids following close behind. Upon further inspection, I discovered that we were having spaghetti for dinner. My wife Kelly was placing the last of the food on the dining table when she turned and saw me.

"Hello dear, how was your day at the office?" She smiled sweetly. I smiled in return and I helped her place our kids in their chairs to eat. I told her about my boring day, then I waited for another conversation to start.

After a few minutes of eating silently, I asked Kayla and Danny how their day at school had been. It was early September so the school year had just begun. Danny was experiencing his first year of education in kindergarden.

"Daddy, I think I made a friend today." The young boy said excitedly.

"Really? Well that's amazing Danny, they say the first friend you make will be there for you throughout the rest of your life." I said, genially happy for him.

"Really? Who was your first best friend daddy?" Kayla voiced around a mouth full of spaghetti.

I had to think about it for a moment. Getting older meant that the memory wasn't as good as it used to be. After a long pause I remembered a name. "Oh I think his name was Blaine. Blaine something or other." I couldn't remember a last name. It had been years since I had seen him.

"Are you still friends with him now?" Danny asked curiously.

"No son, I don't remember what exactly separated us, but he ended up transferring schools in high school." I still couldn't place the last name of the boy I had spent so many years calling a friend. This unsettled me, why couldn't I?

"Well the boy I want to befriend's name is Darren AnderHummel. He's really nice and I can't wait to play with him tomorrow."

"Oh, well I can't wait to meet him then son. What's so special about tomorrow again?"
I said, still caught up in past memories.

"He plays with me at school. I asked Mommy if I could have him over and she said yes, and that maybe he could come over this weekend. She talked to Darren's Daddy before you came home, and He said it was ok."

Anderson! That was his name. Blaine Anderson. Why the sudden recollection? Finally remembering the name, I began to remember why we weren't friends any more. A feeling of regret settled into my stomach. Choosing to ignore it, I turned back to Danny. "That sounds lovely son. I may not still be in touch with my oldest friend, but I'm sure you and this Darren boy will get along just fine."

Danny smiled wide and then shoveled more spaghetti into his mouth. The conversation seemed to end with that, and the silence that settled around them was not uncomfortable, but not relaxed either.

I remained lost in the past for the rest of the evening, long after the rest of my family had gone to bed. I just couldn't seem to forget what I had previously tried so hard to remember.

While I hadn't lied to Danny when I said that Blaine had transferred to another school, it hadn't been the entire truth. At the time, being different was seen as uncool, and bad. Blaine had been different.

Blaine had come out to me our freshman year of high school. Back then, I had been admittedly disgusted. Men shouldn't be with other men. It was just not right.

After that, I stopped talking to him altogether, with the exception of the occasional hi in the hallway. I didn't want to have anything to do with him.

It wasn't my fault he transferred schools. When word got out that he was gay, everyone else started treating him differently too. While it was obvious that no one liked him anymore, I was very surprised to hear that he had been beaten up by some of the other students. Before he had come out, he had been a well respected, and caring person. I guess people tend to forget the good things in people pretty quickly.

After that, I never saw him again. I hadn't even thought of him in at least 10 years.

I fell asleep that night, wondering how the rest of his life had turned out, and if things had been different, if he hadn't been gay, then would we still be friends now?