A trip to Massachusetts
As Jeff was devouring his bowl of dessert in London, and wondering if he could get away with asking for seconds, in New York Sam Evans was sitting in an office in the Rockefeller Center, his agent at his side, as he read through the contract for his TV show. His agent had already been through it with a fine tooth comb, but Sam wanted to make sure it was in order; his dyslexia made it a slower process, but he had to be certain, as this was the deal that would either make or break his career. He knew more about the show now than the brief synopsis he had been given; his character was Darrin Morgan, a single gay father, with a full time job as a graphic designer. He had to contend not only with the difficulties of raising his child, but also with his mom, who was being played by a former colleague of Ms Kudrow, Courteney Cox; his best female friend, who had a history of dating disasters that she brought to him, and was being played by Riley Keough - the fact that she was the grandchild of Elvis Presley had Sam fascinated at once - and also his straight best bud, who was being played by Lucas Hedges.
The quality of the casting had stunned Sam when he found out; he was left speechless, and once again believed that there had to be a better and more talented actor out there to play the lead. As for the scripts, they were perfect, better than he had even hoped for, and his little group of three he had shared them with were of the one opinion; it would be a hit. His nerves still got the better of him though, and in the end Cooper had spotted them, and had forced him to sit down and listen to him in his dressing room one night.
"Sam, sometimes in this life you just have to risk it all. Look at me; I auditioned for the role of Charlie Price with absolutely no Broadway experience, and very little else behind me bar that commercial. I could not walk in heels, had never sung on a stage night after night. That risk was what made my name, and look where I am now. You only get one shot at things, so grab this opportunity and don't look back!"
Those words came back to him in that office, and so he did not hesitate to sign the contract with a smile; he was 99% certain it was the right thing for him to do at this stage in his career. It would allow him to spend more time with his daughter, and lessen Rachel's stress as she prepared for her own opening night in Jesse's musical on the Brontës. The fact that the show was to be filmed at Steiner Studios in Brooklyn meant he could be home very quickly after work too, and when the news came that the location shots were to be done in Bushwick, he had laughed. Making this show would be like going home in a way. Life was good…
It was as he headed from the Rockefeller Center to the theatre that his phone began to ring. Pulling it out of his pocket, he spotted that it was Rachel calling, so he answered it quickly, expecting to hear either questions about his contract, or more likely, an onslaught of angst about a crisis she perceived with the show as her nerves began to grow ahead of opening. Instead he was told of another crisis, this time closer to home. Their au pair had just handed in her notice to Rachel, saying that she would be leaving them in June. Although Sam was able to calm her down from her hysterical state, he knew that this was a big problem. There was no way that they could manage their work with the stress of full time parenting on top; nor could they depend on Stevie and Stacey all the time to pick up the slack. They would need to start hunting for a replacement now, and find someone as soon as possible, or one of them would be forced to give up their work to care for Barbra…
The following day saw Mitch and Gideon heading out of the city together early in the morning in a rental car being driven by Matthew, towards the town of Orange, MA. Gideon had called his parents and told them that he was coming home for the weekend, and would be bringing a friend; they had accepted that without a problem, particularly when he added that Matthew would be coming home with him. The Hannafords missed their sons, and the chance to have them both under the same roof again was so rare that they seized upon it willingly. Indeed, Matthew had joked that his mother would allow a whole football team to come and stay the night just to have her boys back…
Gideon was still afraid of what her reaction might be though when she discovered that the friend he was bringing was not, as should would be imagining, of the same age range. There was no doubting the fact that Mitch was older than him, and all he could hope was that she would not guess how much older until she had got to know him a bit. The fact that Matthew was there would be a helpful distraction, and blind her to the little signs that Mitch was definitely an older man.
The journey was a quick one, the interstate taking them more or less straight there. As they reached the turn off for Orange, there was comfort for the two brothers in the car as they recognised the familiar landmarks. For Mitch, it was different; he had sat silently as they made those last miles, a sense of fear growing within him. The events of this weekend would decide the future of what was the most important relationship of his life to date. He had no way of knowing which way things would go; no angel could tell him, although he knew that they would know, one way or the other. As a result, the fact that Wes had been conspicuous in his absence over the last few days was not exactly a good omen in his eyes…
The home that the car eventually drew up at was like so many others in small town America; built solidly of stone and timber, set back from the street with a stoop and the obligatory mailbox. There were two cars already parked in the driveway, and Matthew moved in carefully next to them. Almost as soon as he stopped, the front door of the house opened, and a woman stepped out, wearing an apron on which she was cleaning her floury hands. Mitch stared open-mouthed for a moment at her, thinking that Mrs Hannaford was a lot older than he had imagined. He was relieved therefore when Gideon gasped "Grandma is here; mom never mentioned that!"
"You should have guessed she would be," replied Matthew. "After all, you and I haven't been at home together for a very long time, seeing as I wasn't here for Thanksgiving or Christmas. Okay, so it is an unexpected complication, but it isn't necessarily a bad thing. Whilst she is here, our folks will want to avoid any dramas. Anyway, there is mom now too…"
Mitch looked over again to see the first woman had been joined by a younger one that had many of Gideon's features; the same hair colour, the same build, and the same smiling face. Gideon opened the door of the car and headed out to greet the two ladies; Mitch went to follow, but suddenly felt Matthew's hand on his shoulder. "Just be yourself; act around Gideon as you would always do. If you can win them over, then dad is certain to follow, as like most men, he prefers a quiet life. Trust me when I say that you should never underestimate the power those two have over him, and indeed, the two of us." Mitch nodded, now a little afraid if he was honest, and climbed out of the car to face the inquisition…
The initial introductions went well; Mitch put on the full Dalton level charm, the dapper persona they had schooled in to him at the fore. He complimented Gideon's mother on her home and her sense of style, then made his grandma laugh by turning round and asking which of them was the elder sister. By the time that they stepped inside, with Mitch holding the door open for the ladies, Gideon's grandma was announcing to them all loudly that if he had more friends like Mitch, then they were more than welcome to come and visit.
Inside was where the second phase of the inquisition waited. Mr Hannaford was more like Matthew in his looks, and had quite a stern face as they approached. A smile came to him when his two sons greeted him, but faded a little as Mitch was introduced to him. Mitch then found himself being asked the questions that all fathers ask of their children's friends; what had he studied at school, and college; what he intended to do for a career. Mitch of course had to lie just a little. He talked about Dalton, and then about M.I.T., then he told him what he actually did for a job. That brought a moment of silence as Mr Hannaford did the age calculation, but then came a nod.
"So you are a friend of Gideon's? A close friend too, I am guessing? As long as you treat my boy well, then you and I should have no problems. I take it that he is in love with you?"
"Yes, as I am with him, sir."
"That is all I need to hear. I don't see the fact that you are older than him being an issue in that case."
"I would hope that my age would be immaterial, as long as I treat your son the way that he deserves to be treated; with love, respect and care."
"And amen to that. I think that you and I are on the same page over him. It is a pleasure to meet you, Mitch."
With the tacit acceptance of Mr Hannaford, the two young men could breathe a sigh of relief for a moment. Gideon had always thought that he might be the one with the biggest problem, but Mitch had succeeded in winning him over in just a few minutes by being polite and respectful. Mrs Hannaford had also like him at once for his manners, and could see just from the way that Mitch looked at her youngest son that he was in love with him. She was a bit of a romantic behind the scenes and she believed firmly in the idea of love at first sight….
Whilst Mitch settled down on the couch with Matthew and his father to watch the sports, she took Gideon into the kitchen, and demanded to hear the full story of their relationship. Her mother was there too, busy at the stove, but listening intently to all that was being said by mother and son. That the young couple had met whilst Gideon was on his first solo assignment for Vogue was news to them, and the two women listened smiling as he described the entire wedding, the presence of Mercedes Jones, and then how he had come across Mitch, a close school friend of the groom. How he had felt his breath suddenly stop in his body, how he had known that they had a connection at once, and how they had chatted on and off for the remainder of the day. It had still been a shock for him when Mitch had wanted to stay in touch, and had given him his number though, and had confessed that he felt just the way that Gideon did. He then admitted that they had been dating for several months, but he had said nothing, want to wait and be sure before he made introductions to his family.
The fact that Mitch lived in Boston was a bonus; his college plans did not have to change, and their relationship could carry on, even closer. He went on to talk about how Mitch was looking for a new place, and had settled on finding somewhere near Gideon's school, so that when they decided it was time to move in together, he would be able to get to college easily…
"He sounds like a total dream," said his mother with a sigh. "Handsome, dapper and willing to move to accommodate you into his life."
"He is; no-one has ever made me feel the way that he does. I might not be the first person that he has ever dated, and he has dated girls, but he loves me; he wants to spend the rest of his life loving me, and I feel the same way…"
As mother and son smiled warmly, neither noticed her mother slipping out of the room; her curiosity peaked, she was going in search of a magazine. Her daughter had a subscription to Vogue, and had previously only read it online, but had started to get an actual copy once Gideon had begun working there. She found the stack, and after a quick glance at the contents, found the one that contained the wedding story, her grandson's first published work. She looked at the pictures with a great interest, and managed to spot Mitch in two of them. In a smart suit, he looked even more dapper…
And then she spotted it. The caption on the second photo.
"Mr Gabriel Vincent with his groomsmen Louis Franklin, Connor Goldstein and Mitch Dwyer, and David Thompson, classmate of Mitch and husband of Mercedes Jones."
She knew that Mercedes Jones was approaching 30, and that her husband was the same age. If he was a classmate of Mitch Dwyer, then the age difference she had initially thought of as a few years was a little over a decade at least. To her age was just a number, but to others it was not. Amongst those others she suspected would be her son-in-law.
She stood for a moment, then resolved to do three things; firstly, talk to Mitch in private and let him know that she knew; secondly, to warn her daughter to keep the subject of Vogue off the agenda, and not repeat a word of the story Gideon had just told them to her husband; and thirdly, ensure that her grandson did not repeat it either. The evidence was in print, and she was sure that his father would have seen the article or at least knew it existed. Mention of the wedding might make him seek out the story, and that would potentially see the young couple ripped apart. It also began to dawn on her that the reason Matthew was here was because he knew, and wanted to act as a buffer should the worst happen; to support them if the whole situation imploded around them…
She returned to the kitchen to check on the stove, then said, "That is a beautiful tale, but I would not go telling your father all of that, Gideon. He has no time for romance. Better that you met at work, or on the street, or even through your brother."
"I don't think I should lie to dad," replied Gideon.
"It's not a lie, not really; it is just a way for us to avoid having to listen to your father moaning about romance novels for hours on end…" she responded.
"Your grandmother does have a point," Mrs Hannaford said with a laugh.
"Okay, I shan't tell him anything, but Mitch might have done so already."
"Well I had better go and fetch him and give him the same advice, so that he doesn't become unpopular for the fact he made all of us suffer for hours," his grandmother said, and bustled off. Gideon shook his head, but made no attempt to stop her.
She walked up behind the couch, and tapped Mitch on the shoulder, then beckoned him to follow her. He got up, and headed out behind her, hearing Matthew whisper, "Time for round two of the inquisition" as he left. He followed her into the hallway, and then into the empty dining room, where she closed the door behind them. The first thing Mitch noticed was the pile of Vogue magazines on the dresser, and the one she now placed on the table in front of him.
"I know. I worked it out from Gideon's article. If you where at school with David Thompson, as the caption on the photo says, then you are at least 10 years older than my grandson…"
Mitch felt as if the ground had just fallen away underneath him; it had all been going so well, all as they had planned, but the unexpected had come along in the shape of a grandmother. Had she not been there, then all of it might have been well, and no-one would ever have known. Yes, Gideon would still have told his mother the exact story of how they had met, but she would not have had the time or the inclination to go and find the magazine and check the pictures; his father would never have even been told the tale. As far as he could see, right there and then, his hopes of being happy with his youthful soulmate had just been dashed, and it hurt so badly…
"Yes, I admit it, I am much older than your grandson; in fact, David was a year behind me at school, so I am already 30, and the age gap is 11 years. The fact remains that I love and adore your grandson, and I would never do anything to hurt him in any way. He entered into our relationship of his own freewill, and I have done nothing to coerce him in any way. He makes me happy; happier than I have ever been in my life before…"
"And you make him happier than I have ever seen him since he was a kindergarten kid. His face when you are by his side, or when he talks about you, it just lights up. I think that should now that my husband, Gideon's grandfather was to me as you are to him, indeed even more so. I met him when I was 18 years old, and he was the grand old age of 35. I therefore know all about love transcending age first hand, and the problems it can bring. My parents never accepted our relationship, and did all in their power to stop it; in the end, we eloped and left my home town behind. None of my family spoke to me for years after that. My parents would never talk to me again, and made it plain that I was not even welcome at their funerals. However, my younger brother defied them, and managed to find me; he saw me behind their backs, and when my husband passed, he was there to support me… For that reason, I will not divulge what I know, but I would advise that you do not leave it a secret for too long; in the end, it's as they say - honesty is the best policy."
"I know that it is, ma'am, but if they forbid Gideon from seeing me because they disapprove, then it would hurt us both so much. I would walk away, because I know how much his family means to him…"
"He is 19 now; in less than 2 years he will be 21, and an adult over whom his parents can exercise no control; he would be free then to love whoever he chooses."
"I know, but even then, I would be imposing upon him a terrible dilemma; making him chose between me and his parents. As I say, I would insist that he chose his family, and walk away; protect him from as much pain as I can."
"He would end up just as hurt and bitter in either scenario I fear. As I see it, my daughter will only want for him to be happy, it is his father that might see things differently, particularly if you have 'lied' to them for a while. As I said, it might well be best to be truthful sooner, rather than later, for everyone's sakes."
Mitch said nothing of his conversation to anyone else, although when he returned to watching the game, Matthew saw a certain sadness in his eyes, and realised something had happened. Before he could ask, it was time for them all to settle down at the table for a late lunch. Mitch found himself seated at the table as a lot of small talk was made that he could not join in with. Mrs Hannaford talked about people that her sons had attended school with, and what they were now doing with their lives; her husband joined in with his own spin too, and also told his own stories of the town of Orange, MA, and its inhabitants, most of which made them laugh, even Mitch. He though spoke very little, except to answer questions directed solely at him.
In the end, Mrs Hannaford noticed what they were doing, and said, "I think that we have forgotten that we have a guest here to whom all of these people are just names. We might be better to talk about other subjects."
"There is no need, ma'am. You are catching up as a family, and as such, I would expect to be on the outside looking in. It is actually so nice to watch you all interact like this; my own family is nowhere near as close. My parents ensured that I was raised with manners, given a great education, and to be frank, very little else. In many ways the boys that I went to school with are my family; Gideon can confirm that to all of you I am sure."
"That is very sad to hear, although there are quite a few parents like that here in Orange," said Mr Hannaford.
"Your sons were very fortunate to have you as parents, from what I can see. You are good, kind people, and you have been so welcoming to me," Mitch replied, then took a breath. "That is why I need to be honest with you both about something…" He paused as Gideon dropped his cutlery, and went very pale, shaking his head. "I have to be honest with them, my love, because I need to start my relationship with your family as I mean to go on. I have to tell the truth…"
"…about your age?" said Mr Hannaford, completing the sentence for him. "There is no need to tell me, because I already know. At first, when Gideon started to talk about his new friends, the name Mitch came up more than once, and I guessed that you were more than just a friend. I didn't know your surname then, but one day I overheard my wife on the telephone with Gideon, and she repeated your surname. Mitch Dwyer. It rang a bell with me, but I dismissed it. Then, when you stepped into the hallway today, I recalled exactly where I had heard your name before. It must have been about 12 or 13 years ago, at a conference of sport's coaches from various high schools in the north east. The talk then was about a star runner from a prep school called Dalton Academy. A brilliant athlete, a possible Olympian, someone who was being offered an athletics scholarship at Yale…"
Mitch sat in silence, recalling those days; how when he had been in his freshman year at Dalton he had managed to run the fastest times that the school had ever recorded over a number of set distances; had smashed the record for the hurdles too, and had matched that for both long and high jumps. This was down to the fact that he had been encouraged in middle school to take advantage of his long legs and wiry frame to be the best that he could be at track and field. When he returned to Dalton in his sophomore year, it was to discover that the teaching staff had been busy, and had given all of his timings and details out to a number of colleges, including the Ivy League schools. One weekend he had been escorted to Yale by the head coach, and had been a competitor in an exhibition there. He was the youngest there, but one look at his timings had been enough; he was offered a full ride scholarship there and then, on the condition that he majored in the appropriate subjects…
"Yes, that was me, sir," he eventually said to Mr Hannaford. "It all seemed wonderful, until I saw the list of subjects they approved of me studying. Then I knew it wasn't for me; there was no mention of IT, or Electrical Engineering. I knew even then that I wanted to get into computing, robotics, AI, but it was all sports sciences and biology. On top of that, the scholarship came with a condition; I had to compete for Yale in a large number of intra college events, and I had to place in the top 3 in at least 75% of them. If I had a run of bad form, injured myself, or came up against the same people who were better than me, I would lose everything. It just wasn't worth it."
"I am also guessing that the moment you declined the scholarship, your coaches lost interest too?"
"Pretty much; there were other young men at Dalton who had the prowess to equal me if they were given intensive training. The person they had in charge of that was the newest deputy principal. Given what happened when he later took over as Principal to some of my friends in the Warblers, I am glad that I was out of it. I left athletics behind and concentrated on academics, and of course, show choir. I do love to sing, and the other Warblers became my family."
Mrs Hannaford had sat quietly up until then, but now she spoke. "Did your parents not have something to say about you giving up on the scholarship? Surely they would have wanted you to develop something that you excelled in, and another school might have let you study what you wanted as well."
"My parents are not like you and your husband, ma'am. I am very much afraid that like so many of the other kids at Dalton, I was sent there to get me out from under their feet. They own the controlling share in a medium size chain of supermarkets; my mother's brother has the smaller share, as he is younger, and also had issues growing up which had not resolved when my grandparents passed. They did not trust him one iota, and thought he would sell up at once and pocket the cash. Food is a tough business these days, but my parents motto of old fashioned service and loyalty to their customers and staff has paid off, and they are weathering the storm. However, doing that meant that they had to work every hour God sent, which left little time for me. I have two older siblings, and we will eventually split my parents' share three ways, my eldest brother works under mom and dad; he started on the shopfloor and worked his way up. My sister works in the HR department. I give them advice on the IT side of things, but when I got into MIT, my dad knew it would be restrictive for me to work in the firm full time. As a result, I have a day job that I love, and which keep me busy, but at the same time I have developed a few little niche things for the firm, and I have plans for more to keep it cutting edge."
"So, might I ask exactly how old you are?" said Mrs Hannaford after a moment.
"In four months time I will be 31, but I have always believed that age should not be a barrier when love is concerned. I know that I am much older than your son, but the moment that I met him, I knew that he was the person I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. I have had other boyfriends, and indeed girlfriends, the latter mainly to appease my grandfather, who might have established a successful retail business, but was still a misogynistic, homophobic bigot. He would have had no hesitation in sending me off to a conversion camp if he had been given any inkling that I like men. When he passed three years ago it was a relief to everyone in the family; that sounds unkind, but it's the truth nonetheless."
"I have known people like that," said Mrs Hannaford, "and as for those camps… Any parent that sends a child there is barbaric, and obviously does not love or care for them in any meaningful way. I also agree that age is merely a number. If Gideon loves you, and you love him, then nothing else matters. All I want is for my boy to be happy."
"Mitch makes me so happy," said Gideon quietly. "Like he says, he is the one…"
"Then he is part of our family now too," said Mr Hannaford. "Mind though, we don't want to hear wedding bells too soon. Gideon needs to graduate from college first."
"I would wait for him forever," said Mitch with a smile, taking his boyfriend's hand.
"Then there is no problem here. Had you not spoken up, then there might have been, but you did the honest thing, and that makes you a decent man in my book. So, let's get on with dessert. After all, there is a game to watch later…"
That all of their fears about how things might go had proven to be groundless was a great relief to Mitch and Gideon. The former could now clearly see that he had been right about how important family was to his boyfriend; the Hannafords had a closeness that he freely admitted he was envious of. He knew that his parent loved him, but it was not the warm and demonstrative love that they enjoyed. He had never wanted for anything, that much was true, and he had not been abandoned at Dalton's door as Seth had been; nor for that matter was he a lower priority than the needs of the business, as had all too often been the case for Ethan. He just knew that there would be little point in taking Gideon to meet them; he would be welcomed in, but not shown the love that he was receiving right now. His parents knew that he identified as bisexual, but a young boyfriend would be an eyebrow raiser, and he would be subjected to all sorts of awkward questions; funnily enough, he doubted that a 19 year old girlfriend would be treated that way…
He had not offered to take Gideon to meet them, and he had not asked to, so maybe it would be best just to leave things that way, at least until they had a wedding day to prepare for, sometime way in the future. In the meantime, he could now begin to make proper plans for the future he envisaged them sharing. They could look for an apartment in Boston together, find somewhere they both liked, close to the university and accessible to his own workplace. He had been dreading the process but now he did not, and had a new impetus to hurry on with it. He now had not just a boyfriend to please, but a set of future in-laws to consider…