Non Brotherly Love part 4
20 years
Luke sighed and stretched his back. Moving was not his favourite thing and he knew he would be sore and aching for days to come. He and Noah were moving into an off campus flat near Oakdale University. It was an improvement from his grandmother’s pool house where he and Noah had been living since their parents found out about their relationship. Sighing, Luke thought back about those first few days when he and Noah had had endless conversations with their parents. His father had realised rather quickly that the boys really did love each other and their love was not going to pass anytime soon. His mother, however, was a totally different story. She was a crying mess after a week, blaming herself for being a bad mother, blaming Holden for giving in too easy, blaming Luke for being a Snyder, blaming Noah for not being a Snyder. In short, making everybody in their house miserable. After two weeks his dad had sat him and Noah down and discussed the possibility of Luke moving to the farm. They refused, telling him they would go together or not at all. Grandma Emma said she would rather cut off her own arm than allowing the boys to share a bedroom on the farm so that door closed pretty quickly. Grandma Lulu had arrived at their house on a rainy afternoon declaring the boys could use her pool house, sufficiently ruining the bond she had with her daughter but happy she could help her grandsons out. They had moved in that same day and over the past two years the town had slowly began to get used to the couple-that-used-to-be-twins. Their relationship with Lily was still a bit strained but there was improvement there as well. Lucinda and Lily spoke at holidays and birthdays but their relationship had never became the way it was before Luke and Noah came out. Luke and Noah both felt guilty about that, how ever many times Lucinda and Brian told them it was not needed.
Luke was startled out of his thoughts when a pair of strong arms circled his waist. He dropped his head against a strong chest and relished the feeling of Noah’s arms surrounding him.
“That was the last box, dad just left after I promised him we are having dinner with them on Sunday.”
Luke groaned his approval of all of that and melted further into Noah.
“I thought we were never getting all those boxes in here. How much junk do we have?”
Noah chuckled in his ear. “Well with all your books and all my movies I am sure we are going to need a storage room rather soon.”
Luke turned around in Noah’s arms.
“How about we unpack those boxes tomorrow? I have a sudden need for a nap.”
Noah raised an eyebrow. “A nap?”
Luke beamed at him. “Well, we will nap eventually”
Noah just smiled when his lover pulled him towards their new bedroom with their new king-size bed.
Noah blinked his eyes and stared at the alarm clock on his nightstand. What the hell, he thought, 6:30 am on a Sunday morning and did he just hear the front door bell? Listening intently, he didn’t hear the sound another time and decided he must have dreamt it. Just as he put his head back on his pillow, also known as Luke’s chest, the sound of the front door bell was heard again.
“What the hell, Noah, is that the front door?” Luke’s voice was laced with sleep, his eyes barely open.
“Yeah, I am going to check it out.” Noah got out of bed and reached for the pyjama pants that was lying on the floor next to it.
“Hell no, I am coming with you.” Luke stepped out of bed as well, quickly pulling on his own trousers before following Noah into the hallway towards the door.
Noah opened the front door and stared at their early morning visitor, the feeling of dread pulsing through his system. Luke just gasped when he saw his uncle Jack stand in front of their flat.
“Jack, is something wrong? Is it mom, or dad, or the girls or ….” Luke rambled before Jack raised his hand and shook his head.
“No, nothing is wrong with any of them, it’s just…” Jack turned to Noah “We have a lead in your case.”
Noah gasped, his hand shooting out and grabbing Luke’s.
“You found my father?” he asked Jack.
“Let’s take this inside, shall we?” Jack stepped through the door and followed both boys into their living room where Luke led Noah to the couch.
“You want something to drink, Jack? Coffee? Tea perhaps?”
“No thanks Luke, I just need to talk to you both, so why don’t you sit next to Noah?”
Luke did as he was told, sitting down next to Noah, who immediately grabbed his hand again.
“Jack?” Noah asked.
“We recently spoke to an old acquaintance of your mother who told us your mother used to date a man called Andrew, who lived in Venedy, Illinois. She last spoke to your mother about six months before she died. Your mother was devastated then as she had just learned Andrew died in the first gulf war. She mentioned she might come up here to visit Andrew’s father. The woman never spoke to your mother again and didn’t learn about her dead until she went to her high school reunion last week. I went there, looking for someone who might know more about Charlene.”
Jack looked at Noah who was sitting pale on the couch, clutching Luke’s hand.
“Noah, do you want a glass of water before I continue?” he gently asked his nephew.
“No, please continue.” Noah’s voice was barely more than a whisper and Luke just nodded to Jack.
“Ok, so, I went to Venedy and asked around a little. Venedy is a really small town. Anyway, there was an Andrew who died in the gulf. My partner talked to his father but we need to compare your DNA with his. I am not going to tell you more, Noah, I want to have full proof you are indeed this Andrew’s son before you can meet. You need to come to the hospital with me to sign the forms and give a sample of your blood. Andrew’s father is giving his own sample today as well.”
Noah nodded at Jack and got off the couch, still holding on to Luke’s hand like it was a lifeline. Luke retrieved his cell and house keys before they stepped out of the house and into Jack’s car.
Luke held a shivering Noah tightly in his arms. They were lying on their bed after Noah had given blood at the hospital. Both boys were silent, Noah shaking and shivering in shock.
“Noah?” Luke whispered. “I think we should call mom and dad”
Noah just nodded, his face buried in Luke’s neck.
“Want me to make the call?” Luke asked, slowly rubbing circles on Noah’s back.
“Yes” Noah whispered but when Luke tried to detangle himself he clang desperately to him, not able to let go of the person that comforted him most.
Luke laid back on the bed, pulling Noah even closer to him. “I’ll call them later, you just sleep now baby, you’re shaking.”
It took Noah a long time to drift off.
Memories of other times he sat in almost the same spot flooded Noah’s memory. The birth of his sisters, Luke’s horrible accident and now his parents and Luke were waiting for him to be called in.
The results were in. The results that would tell him if his paternal grandfather was found. It would mean his father had died but somehow Noah didn’t really feel bad about it. He had a father, a wonderful one. He didn’t want to replace his parents or his sisters. He just wanted to know more about himself. About his family history and that was something his parents couldn’t give him His history was not the same as theirs. He was part of their future, in more ways than one.
Noah glanced over at Luke, who was sitting beside him, chewing on the nail of his thumb while he held Noah’s hand in a dead grip with his other.
Luke, his lover, his friend, his future, but most certainly not his brother. He didn’t even remember the time he felt just brotherly about Luke.
The sliding of the doors brought the arrival of doctor Bob; a clipboard in his hands.
“Noah, I am ready for you.” The doctor shook Noah’s hand.
“Do you want Luke and your parents to accompany us?” he asked.
“Yes” Noah answered, his voice unsteady. He felt like he could use all the support he could get.
Together they followed Bob towards his office, Luke still clutching Noah’s hand.
After they settled down around Bob’s desk, Bob opened the file that was lying on the desk, read the content and closed the file again.
“Noah, we compared your DNA with the DNA of the man that is Andrew’s father and found there is a match. He, indeed, is your paternal grandfather.”
Noah was dumbstruck, he felt like he couldn’t move. A grandfather, his father dead, a grandfather. He couldn’t comprehend this was finally happening. Behind him he heard his mother snivelling and knew she was crying. Holden had one hand clasped firmly on his shoulder, something Noah found great comfort in.
Luke, however, was his rock. Still holding his hand he was completely coherent and took over, asking Bob the question he knew Noah wanted to ask.
“Who is he?” he asked doctor Bob.
“I can not tell you that, Luke, but if Noah’s grandfather is willing to meet him, Jack will set it up short term. Just contact him and he will tell you more.”
“Thanks Bob, can we use your office for a moment?” Luke asked while he shook Bob’s hand.
“As long as you need Luke!” With that, Bob stuck out his hand to Noah who shook it, before he left.
.
Luke looked back at his dad, “Could you take mom and call Jack, see if he is at the station? Set up a meeting as soon as possible?”
“Sure Luke!” Holden kissed the top of Noah’s head before he led his still snivelling wife from the room.
When the door was closed again Luke pulled Noah from the chair into his arms. Noah melted into Luke, burying his head into Luke’s shoulder. The moment Luke started to coo in his ear, Noah broke down. Fat tears fell from his eyes while he held onto Luke like he was his lifeline.
Luke held Noah until the other man calmed down. Gently he lifted Noah’s head and wiped the lingering tears from Noah’s cheeks.
“You want to go and find out if we can meet that grandfather of yours?”
He pressed a soft, reassuring kiss onto Noah’s lips. Noah nodded, let go of Luke and reached for his hand. With interlaced fingers they left the office in search of their parents.
It was quiet when they arrived at the police station. Holden had set up an appointment with Jack, who was waiting for them there.
The moment he saw his two nephews coming into the station, Jack walked up to them. He pulled Noah into a bear hug. “You holding in there champ?”, he asked before he hugged Luke as well as his brother and sister in law.
“This way, I have an empty room set up for us.”
They followed Jack into one of the meeting rooms and sat around a large, round table.
“So Noah, I contacted you grandfather and he was delighted to hear there was a DNA match. We didn’t tell him your name, nor your location but he is on his way here now. If you want to, you can meet him shortly. If you rather wait or don’t want to meet him, I will get his number. I haven’t met him myself. My partner went to pick him up.”
Noah turned to his parents, “I want to meet him, are you okay with that, now that it’s real and here?” They had discussed the possibility of Noah meeting his family and although Lily felt extremely insecure his parents promised to support Noah in whatever decisions he was going to make.
“Yes, Noah, you should do what you think is right.” Lily said. Holden just nodded.
“Ok, I would like to meet him and I would like Luke to be there. Mom, dad, would you mind terribly to wait for us?”
“Sure honey, we will wait…” Lily looked up at Jack. “Is there a place we can wait without going to run into Noah’s grandfather?” she asked.
Jack nodded, “You can wait in the cafeteria.” He pushed a button on the intercom situated by the door and asked his partner to take Lily and Holden there while he waited with Luke and Noah.
Jack kept the conversation with Luke light, discussing Holden’s new horse and Oakdale U’s basketball team. Noah listened to their conversation but didn’t participate. Just as Luke was telling Jack about the new basketball tryouts, a knock on the door made them lose the conversation in a heartbeat. A heavy silence filled the room. Noah looked at the door expectantly, nodding when Jack asked him if he was ready.
Jack opened the door and gasped. His body was blocking the person on the threshold from Luke and Noah’s view. When Jack finally stepped aside Noah saw Brian standing in the doorway.
“Brian? What are you doing here?” Noah asked.
Brian’s eyes filled themselves with tears. “Noah?” he asked, barely stronger than a whisper.
“Brian?” Noah felt confused. Why was Brian crying, why was he even here?
“Oh Noah!” Brian stumbled into the room, pulled Noah from his chair and hugged him fiercely.
“I…I should have seen it. You…You look so much like him. Oh Noah.” Brian started to sob.
Noah awkwardly petted the older man on his back, looking at Luke with a helpless glance. But Luke was busy hugging their grandmother, who was also crying hard.
Suddenly there was a click in Noah’s mind.
“Brian, are you…are you Andrew’s father? My grandfather?”
Brian sobbed even harder but Noah felt the other man nod against his chest. Suddenly Noah felt his own eyes water. Family, a grandfather and one he knew and loved. One that was already always there for him. He felt safe and happy, surrounded by love.
21 years old
Noah walked into his parent’s house, relieved that his mother wasn’t there, as he requested when he called his father earlier.
“Dad, you here?” he called out while he hung his jacket at the coat rack.
“In the kitchen, Noah!” he heard his dad call back.
Walking into the kitchen he smiled when he saw his dad sitting at the table with a cup of coffee and the newspaper.
“Hi!” he bent over to kiss his dad on the head as he always did before he poured his own cup of coffee and sat down at the table across his dad.
“Hey champ, how are you?” Holden put down the paper.
Noah smiled at the endearment his dad always used for him. ‘Champ’ and ‘Sport’, his two sons, ‘Gorgeous’ and ‘Beautiful’, his two daughters. Noah felt his chest swell with love for the man that was sitting across him.
“Euhm, I guess I am ok, just a little anxious.” He said honestly.
“Got anything to do with the reason you are here, without Luke and asked me to get rid of your mom?” Holden had wondered what his youngest son wanted to discuss with him.
“Yes it has.” And then, he started to talk.
Meet me at the pond at 8pm. Don’t be late
Love N
Luke stared at the note that was attached to his car window when he left the university to go home. Noah had had an early class and they had planned to meet up at home, cook together and meet some friends at a bar down town to celebrate the start of the weekend.
Checking his watch, Luke noticed he had almost an hour and a half to go, he decided to go home to take a shower and change before he would drive to the pond on their grandma Emma’s land.
Waving at his grandmother, Luke walked from the farm towards the pond. He had kissed his grandmother hello before she pushed him out of the house. She clearly knew about Noah’s plan, the beaming smile on her face was an easy indication.
He turned the last corner, the pond now visible from the path he was walking on and stopped dead in his tracks. He gasped loudly when he took in the scenery. The pier was covered in dozens of candles, all spreading a soft light. At the very end there was a small table set for two. Noah, looking beautiful in slacks and a black shirt was waiting for him.
“Hi Luke!” Noah smiled at his lover before he pulled him into a hug followed by a passionate kiss. Luke reacted enthusiastic, kissing Noah back and moaning softly when he felt Noah’s tongue licking at his lips.
When Noah ended the kiss, he stepped back to take Luke’s hand. Together they walked towards the table.
Noah pulled out Luke’s chair, which made Luke snort with silent laughter but he did allow Noah to help him sit and slide his chair.
“Thank you” he murmured.
Noah sat on his own chair across Luke and lifted the stainless steel covers from their plates.
When Luke saw what was lying on his plate he couldn’t help but giggle. On his grandma’s finest china, next to silver cutlery was a greasy cheese burger from Al’s; Luke’s favourite food. He sighed, it was a perfect romantic gift.
“It looks lovely, thank you Noah.”
“Enjoy your burger Luke!”
Noah dove under the table and came back with a milkshake carton.
“This is also for you. Your favourite.”
Luke took a tentative sip and enjoyed the cool sensation of Oreo flavoured milk shake.
“Mmmm, delicious” he winked at Noah and started to eat.
After dinner Noah led Luke towards a blanket sprawled over the grassy bank next to the pond.
“Come lie with me? There are beautiful stars!”
Noah went to lie down on the blanket and pulled Luke close to him. Luke used Noah’s chest as a pillow and enjoyed the chirping noises the crickets made, the peaceful ‘thump’ of Noah’s heart under his ear and the stars that seemed to be everywhere above him.
After a few minutes Noah began to talk, “I wanted to surprise you Luke, to thank you for the support you have given me in the last year. After finding out Brian was my grandfather my life was turned upside down but you have been my rock and I can’t even begin to tell you how much that means to me. I love you more than anything and that is why I asked Brian to adopt me.”
Luke shot up, “Adopt you? What? Why? You don’t want to be a Snyder anymore?”
Noah pulled Luke down again, “Shhhhhh, let me finish”
Luke sighed but relaxed a little bit, his cheek over Noah’s heart again. He noticed the thumping sounded a lot faster, almost frantic.
“I love you more than anything Luke and I know I always want to be with you. Us being brothers legally forms a problem. I will be a Wheatley for the shortest time. I hope to be a Snyder again soon after. That is, if you want to have me.”
Luke felt confused, it seemed like Noah was making a lot of fuss about nothing.
“What do you mean, have me? I already have you Noah and I don’t plan on ever letting you go.”
Noah pushed Luke gently in an upright position. He stood, pulled a little box from his slacks and sat down again, facing Luke.
“That is a good thing Luke, because what I want to ask you is….Will you marry me?”
With that he opened the box to show Luke two gorgeous steel rings.
Luke’s mouth fell open, he stared at the ring before his gaze shifted to Noah and back to the rings again. After a little while he jumped in Noah’s lap, sending the other boy sprawling over the blanket.
Luke peppered Noah’s face with small kisses, not able to stop himself from giggling like crazy.
“Yes, YES, Yes, Yes” he kept repeating the word until Noah was giggling hard himself.
Noah caught Luke’s mouth in a passionate kiss, happiness bubbling inside him like he was going to explode. Luke Snyder. His past, his present, his future, his love, for always.
43 years old.
Luke was sitting at the front row of the theatre feeling so nervous he was afraid he might throw up at any moment. This was it, the moment they had been waiting for, for so long. A strong hand covered his and he turned his head to smile at the beautiful man sitting next to him. Noah looked as nervous as Luke felt.
The lights went out and roaring applause were heard as a single spotlight lit up the stage.
A young man with blond curls walked up to the desk on stage and cleared his throat. Luke’s heart swelled in pride as he started to talk.
“Thank you all for being here on this, for me, oh so important night. Tonight I want to show you all the movie that I made for my graduation project. It is a movie that is extremely important to me, not only because it made me the first graduating filmmaker with an independent movie that will be seen on film festivals over the world but mainly because the movie tells the tale of epic love. It tells the tale of the epic love between my dad and my papa. They started life as brothers and they will end their lives as lovers, as parents, not only to me but also to my brother and sister. They have crossed high mountains and deep oceans. I am extremely proud of the way they live their life and this movie is my homage to them.
Papa, daddy, I love you! May I present to you all:
Non brotherly love.”
Noah wiped the tears from his eyes, he interlaced his fingers with an also crying Luke and settled in to watch the film his son had made.
The End