Starting Over

The week before Thanksgiving vacation, everything went pretty good. I didn't have too many problems and everything seemed to have settled down for me. Jamie and I have been doing much better and talking more. Along with my other friends that are now his friends. Everything was going good. I found out that tennis tryouts were going to be after the holidays and that it would begin in the spring. I was both excited and scared.

Jamie and Jeremy were going out of town, to there families for Thanksgiving after all. Jamie said he would call me before they left and let me know when they will be back. It would be either Friday night or sometime Saturday. I was excited.

Thanksgiving was approaching and I was kinda quiet and didn't say much. Finally, TJ approached me about it.

"Hey man what's wrong?" he asked. I just looked in his eyes and let tears fall down. TJ put his arms around me and I just started crying harder. I finally calmed down enough to tell him that I was scared, because at my home before my parents died, we didn't celebrate Thanksgiving or Christmas. My dad drank it all away. I told him that I was scared to meet mom and dad's parents. I was afraid that they wouldn't like me. I started crying again.

"Shhh, it will be ok. I promise. They liked me and Steven, I know they will like you too. I'm going to try and make sure that this is the best holiday season that you have EVER had." TJ said. What we didn't know was that dad was there and listened to everything that I said to him.

Dad went and told mom what I said. They were both upset and sad about what I said and how I never had a good holiday and how I was upset that the grandparents wouldn't like me. Mom and dad went and called there parents and told them what had happened. They were upset too that I never had a decent holiday and they wanted me to have a good season as well.

I finally cried myself out and told TJ thanks, then got on my computer and started typing in my journal about what I told TJ. I felt sad about that, but I couldn't help it. I was just SO scared to hurt anyone or mess things up for them. Maybe I can just stay in my room?

The week before Jamie left, school was going ok. I was still upset. Jamie noticed. I told him I wished he wasn't going and why. He told me it would be ok and when no one was looking, gave me a quick kiss and a hug. I smiled and just leaned into him. Ricky, James and Jerry came by and saw us and started kidding us about it. We told them to shut up We all started laughing.

Finally, Thanksgiving Day arrived. Man was I scared. I tried to hide in my room as I heard the guest coming in. I saw at least 4 or 5 different cars out there and that did not include our cars. I sat at my window and just stared out of it. I thought about how I could just avoid going downstairs, but nothing came to my mind. Finally, there was a knock on my door.

"Come in," I said, not even turning around. I heard the door open. I didn't want to talk to anyone so I didn't move. I felt a strong hand on my shoulder and figured it was my dad.

"So you are our newest grandson. You look good." said this strange voice. I turned around and saw 4 people I didn't know in my room. They ranged from the age of about 50 or 55 to about 60. They all had either gray just starting or a full head of gray hair, but they all seemed fit. They all seemed to have smiles on there faces. I just stared at them, then turned away not wanting them to see my tears. I wasn't sure if they were tears of happiness or sadness. I just wasn't sure.

"What's wrong sweety?" asked one of the ladies. She sat in front of me and I just keep looking out of the window. After about a minute she finally spoke again. "Let me guess, your afraid that we won't like you?" she asked. I just nodded my head, still not looking at her. "Hmmm. Let me guess, you are scared that we are going to reject you because you are gay and really shy and are afraid to let people in?" I just nodded and let the tears fall from my eyes. I didn't want to look at them and let them see that I did hurt and that I did need to be told it was ok more than anything.

She put her arms around me and let me cry on her shoulder. It felt good to let her hold me and in a way, that was her saying that it was ok for me to be me. I soon felt other peoples arms around me as well. We were in a group hug. "Son, it is ok with us that you are gay. We know you are shy, but we will love you for you, not anything else. You are our grandson and that is all that matters." Said one of the grandfathers. I felt better then, they accepted me for me. "Well let us look at you," he said. I turned and let them look at me. They all said that I was very nice and good looking and a very handsome young man. I found out that the woman and the first man that I saw were my dad's parents. My Grandma and Grandpa Wells. The second set of grandparents were moms parents, Grandma and Grandpa Smith. I like them just by the way they looked and made me feel.

"Well now that introductions are over, let's go downstairs and get ready for Thanksgiving lunch ok." Said Grandma Smith. I just looked, smiled and nodded my head. I got up, went into the bathroom, and washed my face while my grandparents waited on me. We all walked downstairs where I saw other people I didn't recognize. I scooted behind my Grandpa Wells and Grandpa Smith and hid from the others. They looked at each other and kinda chuckled.

"Well young man, you have some other relatives you need to meet ok?" asked Grandpa Smith. I just looked at him and got scared. Since I was kinda small and didn't weigh that much and he was tall. Like 6'5 and probably 200 lbs, pure muscle. He picked me up and held me like you would a small child and made me look at him. "It'll be ok. I promise you" he said giving me a kiss on the cheek. I hugged him and he put me down. He and Grandpa Wells each took a hand and led me into the living room to meet my other new relatives.

"Everyone, I would like to introduce you to the newest member of our family, Alexander Micheal Wells." Said Grandma Smith. She came around and took my hand from Granpa Smith and Grandpa Wells, and lead me into the living room. I kinda stayed a little behind her. I know I'm 13 and all, but I felt REALLY small and scared about now.

Grandma Smith stopped in front of one set of adults with two kids around them. "Alex, I would like you to meet your Aunt Mindy and Uncle Ron, sitting with them are there two kids. Micheal who is 12 and Jacob who is 9" she said. I looked at them and whispered "hi" then looked at the floor. Uncle Ron was about 5'10, and about 175 lbs with brown hair and deep brown eyes. Aunt Mindy was 5'6 with blonde hair and deep blue eyes. Aunt Mindy and Uncle Ron stood up and brought me into a hug that soon Micheal and Jacob were apart of. Micheal and Jacob both looked like there father with dark brown hair. Micheal had brown eyes where Jacob had his mother's deep blue eyes. Micheal was about my height and Jacob was probably about 4'9.

"Welcome to the family Alex," said Uncle Ron. I thanked him and smiled. We talked for a few minutes then Grandma Smith brought me over to another set of Adults.

"Alex, this is my last child, your Aunt Cindy and Uncle Bob. As you can see, Cindy and Mindy are twins. There two are Jamie and Julie, who are 3, and twins as well." She said. I said "hi" and they both got up and gave me a hug as well. I smiled at them and I beginning to feel like a part of a real family. Apparently Aunt Cindy and Mindy were fraternal twins. Aunt Cindy had black hair and dark black eyes, and was about 5'6 as well. Uncle Bob was tall, at least 6'1 and about 190 lbs. He had dirty blonde hair and green eyes. Jamie and Julie looked liked there mother.

"Welcome to the family little man" Said Aunt Cindy. I smiled and hugged her, then Uncle Bob and the twins. Grandma and Grandpa Wells came and took me to another family. There were 4 of them as well. The man looked like dad and Grandpa, and one of the boys looked like them as well. The little one looked like his mother. Uncle Rob was tall like Grandpa, and probably weighed as much. About 200 lbs, and it was all muscle. Aunt Martha was small at 5'4 and 110 lbs.

"Alex, this is your dads younger brother, your Uncle Rob and his wife Martha. With them are Billy, who is 11 and Mike, who is 10. There is another one here, but I don't see him. Where is the oldest?" asked Grandma Wells. Billy was tall for his age at about 5'7 and probably 140 or 150 lbs. Mike was kinda small for his age, probably about 4'3 or so and maybe 75 lbs soaking wet.

"He is standing behind you" replied Aunt Martha. I turned around and had the shock of my life, there stood Burt, the boy from the orphanage.

"OH MY GOD!! BURT" I screamed, tore away from Grandma Wells and jumped up into Burts big arms. He hugged me and I hugged him. I gave him a kiss on his cheek and he returned it. "How did this happen?" I asked when Burt put me down.

"Well, apparently your parents, Uncle Andy and Aunt Sally had some pull. Within two weeks after you left, my new mom and dad, your Aunt Marth and Uncle Rob came by and visited me. Within a few months, I was adopted, and I love it. Thank you for forgiving me. You know we are cousins now, don't you?" he asked me. I just looked at him and smiled, nodded my head and we hugged again.

A few minutes, latter all of the kids, with the exception of Julie and Jamie, headed to the game room. We all talked and relaxed for about 10 or 15 minutes. Then the call for supper came. We turned everything off and headed downstairs. Us kids sat at a small table by our selves, and the adults sat at the bigger table. I was so happy that I had a real family and someone from my past was here. He was now my friend and my cousin. I couldn't believe it.

After we ate, we headed back to the game room. I asked Burt to come to my room so we could talk. We went into my room, sat on the bed and started talking.

"So how do you like being a Wells?" I asked. Burt just smiled at me at first.

"It is SO cool. I have not had this much fun in ages. And they treat me like a real son, not an adopted one. What about you?" he asked.

"Me too. They love me and treat me the same. Burt, there is something you have a right to know. I don't know if anyone has told you, but what you said about me being a fag, well gay, at the orphanage. It is true, I am. I also have a boyfriend. His name is Jamie and he is SO sweet and good to me." I said. I was waiting for Burts reaction and looked down at my lap while I was waiting. Burt put his finger under my chin and lifted my head up and smiled at me.

"Dude, I am SO SORRY for saying that. I had no right to, but don't worry, mom and dad have already told us about you. I am just glad that you are doing alright. I heard what happened at your school too. I want to meet your boyfriend one day, so if I don't like him, I can tell you to drop him ok. So you too into sex yet?" he asked with a smile. I just looked at him, then hit him on the arm.

"You jerk! That is none of your business" I said. We both laughed. "But to answer your question, no we haven't. We have decided to wait for a while. Maybe until we get older and see what happens. We want to take our time and just be happy together." I said smiling at Burt., he smiled back.

"That is cool at, least your happy. So when do I get to meet him?" He asked. I just laughed.

"I don't know. If ya'll don't leave before Saturday, then maybe then. I know he should be back either Friday or Saturday. I miss him already." I said kinda sad. Burt put his arm around my shoulder.

"It will be ok little man. Just wait, ok," he said. I smiled at him and nodded my head. We keep talking and I found out he had a girlfriend named Robin who was his age, which was 15. He told me all they have done is kiss and hold hands. Like me, he doesn't want the sex until he gets older. We both confessed that we did jack off thinking about our respective partners and laughed that we pretty much had the same fantasies except mine had Jamie and his had Robin.

We keep on talking until it was time for them to leave. They were all going to a hotel and staying there. We talked the parents into letting the boys stay here with us and let us have a sleepover. After much debating and whining on our part, we got what we wanted. After hugging everyone and saying goodbye, the boys got their suitcases out of their cars. We all headed upstairs into the game room.

After about 4 hours of playing, the call came to get ready for bed. We all got ready and grabbed our sleeping bags, pillow, and sheets and blankets and went into the game room, where we were going to be sleeping. We talked and played until late in the night.

The next day around 3, there was a knock on the door. All of the family was over, including TJ's boyfriend Eric. He got along with everyone. We all teased about him and TJ being together. Samantha was there for Steven, so we didn't know who else was coming over. We were in the living room talking when someone put their hands over my eyes. At frist, I jumped but then I relaxed when the person started talking.

"Guess who?" he asked.

"Hmmm one of the Hanson brothers?" I asked playing along, knowing it was Jamie.

"Which one," he asked?

"I can only choose one, man I want all three of them" with that I was pulled back and tickled. When Jamie stopped, I looked up into his eyes and got lost once again. I think I fell in love with him all over.

"Oh man, not again. Ok you two, get a room" came from TJ and Eric. Everyone else laughed as I got up on my knees and was facing Jamie who was also on his knees. Everyone else in the room vanished in front of my eyes, except Jamie.

"I've missed you," I said putting my arms around his shoulder and clasping them on the back of his neck.

"I missed you too," he said wrapping his arms around my waist. We just nealed there on our knees looking into each other's eyes. We slowly came together in a soft chaste kiss, but one that left us both breathless. Then we hugged each other not wanting to let the other go.

"Wow, I see what you mean," said Grandma Smith. I just smiled and held onto Jamie. We got up and I introduced him to everyone. When we got to Burt, I already told Jamie about Burt and what happened at the orphanage. And now, how we ended up with Burt apologizing to me and us smiling and being friends. He was surprised and happy to finally meet Burt. Burt shook his hand but didn't let it go until he said what he felt he had to say.

"You hurt Alex, I break your face. Got it?" he asked. Jamie just nodded but did not back down from Burt. I was happy, but surprised that Burt said that. The other adults didn't say anything at the exchange.

"Yeah I got it, but you ever hurt him again and I hurt you." Was all that Jamie said. Burt nodded then they smiled at each other and let the others hand go. I just smiled, shook my head and lead Jamie upstairs to the game room. The other boys followed. We sat around and chit chatted and played games, with me sitting between Jamie's legs. Jamie told us about his family and how things were going and what he did at his grandparents' house. We told him what all happened around here. The adults called us down to eat dinner. We all went after turning everything off.

Soon they all left except Jamie, Eric and Samantha. The families were leaving early tomorrow morning. We gave each other hugs. Mine and Burt lasting the longest, and said our goodbyes. After everyone left we were tired and exhausted. Me Jamie, Eric, TJ, Steven and Samantha all headed up to the game room. At 9, Samantha left and Steven walked her home. The rest of us fell asleep in the game room, me in Jamie's arms and Eric in TJ's.

The next Monday, school started back. We had an interesting time. No one really bothered me that much because I had Jerry, Ricky and James there along with my boyfriend Jamie, and my brothers and Jamie's brother Jeremy.

School started going good, we always ended up over at someone's house doing homework and helping the others who had problems doing theirs. By the time Christmas vacation came, we were all making A's.

Jamie and Jeremy and their family were staying in town for Christmas. This time their family was joining them, just as ours was joining us. I didn't know what to get for Jamie. I wanted something nice, but not too noticeable. Something that would signify my love for him.

Me and mom were walking in the mall the other day, when I saw this sterling silver necklace that had a silver cross on it. I know that Jamie is Catholic and I figured he would like something like, that plus we talked about him wanting one for his birthday. I talked with my mom about it and we went in and saw it. We talked with the salesperson on the amount. After paying $110.00 dollars for it, it was mine to give to Jamie.

Christmas Eve finally came, and all of our families were going to be together. All of ours and Jamies, plus Samantha and Eric's family. Just there, immediate families. They weren't going out of town this year, and no one was coming in.

We were all sitting around talking and joking and singing. We were having an excellent time. When times for presents came, I got mine for Jamie. We decided that we could give the families a single presents and then the friends' individual gifts, or a family gift. I got Jeremy and there parents something, then Jamie's second. I gave Eric's and Samantha's family gift certificates.

I gave Jamie my present at the same time that he gave me his. We each opened the others present and smiled at each other.

"I love it Alex how did you know I wanted one?" he asked.

"I remember us talking about it," I replied. Jamie smiled and kissed me and put his neckless on. I opened my present and about cried, as I saw what he got me. Inside the box was a heart-shaped necklace with both of our names on it. I felt something on the back and turned it over and read the inscription.

 

" For Alex, Love Jamie
Starting Over in our
Lives with each other"

 

I smiled, and with tears in my eyes, kissed Jamie, then put it on. Everyone admired the necklaces we gave each other and congratulated each of us on our gifts. Everyone liked there gifts that they all got, and said they could really use them.

That Christmas was the best I have ever had. I haven't had a good Christmas in years. Like I said, my dad drank it all away.

Soon New Year's Eve came and we were counting down to 2002. As I sat on the couch in Jamie's arms, I wondered to myself, what will 2002 bring for me and my new family? My boyfriend and the new year? As I sat there longer, I thought back over the last year of my life. Then of my new life. I really am starting over. A new life and a new family. One where I know I am loved and I know I can do anything I put my mind to. I will always have them there to support me. The next year will be great and a new turning point where we will all be starting over in our lives with a new year.