Love To Luv Page 12
MATTIE
I believe you.
Dennis and Aretha arrived at Manny’s house. Aretha rushed to the door to ring the bell. Manny came to the door in his house robe and a mimosa is his hand.
MANNY
You must be Jay’s aunt.
ARETHA
I am now where is he?
MANNY
Please lose the attitude. He is still in the bed.
Aretha turned and looked at Dennis.
DENNIS
May we come in?
MANNY
Yes please. He is in the bedroom on the right.
Aretha storms down hallway to the bedroom. When she entered, she found me laying on top of the comforter.
ARETHA (shaking me)
Papadopoulos. Honey, wake up.
JACOB (glaring upward)
What? Who are you? Oh Auntie. Where am I?
ARETHA
Baby, come on get up. Let’s go home.
Dennis helped Aretha lift me up. I was completely naked.
ARETHA
What did you drink last night?
JACOB
I don’t remember. Oh my head hurts.
ARETHA
Dennis help him get dress, I need to handle something.
DENNIS
Mrs. Matthews please don’t start anything.
Aretha gave Dennis a look of uneasiness. She went into the kitchen where Manny was refreshing his drink. She walked up to him and got two inches in his face.
ARETHA
What happened to him?
MANNY
I am going to ask you to give me six feet between us.
ARETHA
It is trifling people like you who ruins innocent people lives.
MANNY
Once again, back the hell up before you are picking yourself up off the floor.
Aretha stepped back a few steps.
MANNY
Thank you, I don’t know what happened to him. He came to my party, introduced him to some people, then I didn’t see him until early this morning. I found him in the bed naked. I guess he had a great time.
Manny gave Aretha a sly smile as he took a sip of his cocktail. Aretha felt the anger building up in her. She could not contain herself. She slapped Manny knocking his glass to the floor. Manny was in shock. He stood up about to hit Aretha until he heard a voice.
DENNIS
Man, I wouldn’t make that mistake if I were you.
MANNY
I want all of you out of my house.
ARETHA
Gladly. Dennis did you get all of Papadopoulos’ things?
DENNIS
I think so.
ARETHA
Make sure you have his wallet and cell phone.
DENNIS
I have those in my pocket.
Manny had the door open for them to leave. Dennis had me in his arms. Aretha walked out behind them. Aretha stared Manny down as she walked out of the door. Manny slammed it before she could get completely out of the door. Aretha turned and kicked the door that it flew open. Manny stood there in disbelief.
TWENTY-NINE
Dennis drove back to the hotel to pick everyone up. Aretha texted Monique to let her know that they were on their way back. Mattie jumped in the front seat because Aretha was in the back with me. Teddy drove Monique’s car back to Meridian.
Aretha tried to get me to talk. I was completely exhausted and dysfunctional.
JACOB
Auntie I don’t know. I remember walking to Manny’s house for a gathering. I saw Gerald…
ARETHA
Your ex?
JACOB
Yeah. He fixed me a drink and then this other guy gave me a drink. That’s all I remember.
MATTIE
They drugged you.
ARETHA
How do you feel?
JACOB
Ok just tired.
ARETHA
Did you have any valuables on you? Money, rings, anything?
JACOB
No. I just want to sleep.
ARETHA
Go to sleep baby.
I laid my head over in the car. I started to dose off when I heard Aunt Aretha talking. My head was thumping.
THIRTY
Jeremy and Ian went to his mother’s house to pack the rest of his things. No one was there but one of his sisters. Jeremy walked into the house and yelled out.
JEREMY
Is anyone here?
NIKE (Jeremy’s sister)
I am in the kitchen.
JEREMY
What’s up?
NIKE
Nothing just fixing me something to eat. Oh hey Ian.
IAN
Hey.
NIKE
Have a seat.
JEREMY
Where’s mom?
NIKE
At work, she should be on her way back. Are you moving back in?
JEREMY
No I come to get the rest of my clothes.
NIKE
Look, my favorite brother…
JEREMY
I am your only brother.
NIKE
Still you are my favorite. Mom is only concerned about you. You know that she means well. Personally I don’t want you to go into the military either.
JEREMY
It is more than that. Something that happened some time ago.
NIKE
You mean when dad caught you and Damion?
JEREMY
What are you talking about?
NIKE
C’mon now. We all know about that.
IAN (looking surprised)
I don’t know.
NIKE
Can and will you be a silent partner for right now.
JEREMY
Don’t talk to him like that.
NIKE
I wasn’t trying to be mean. But he is part of the problem with you right now.
Nicole’s walks into the kitchen when she heard Jeremy’s voice. She was happy to see him until she saw Ian seating at the bar.
NICOLE
Jeremy, how are you?
JEREMY
I am good mama. How are you?
NICOLE
I am good. Ian it is nice to see you.
IAN
Same here Ms. Nicole.
NICOLE
Are you staying the night?
JEREMY
No I came to get the rest of my things.
NICOLE
What!? Where are you going to be living?
JEREMY
I am moving in with Ian and his folks. They all agreed that it was ok.
NICOLE
It’s not ok. Who is going to take care of you?
JEREMY
I have a good part-time job. School is about to be out. Military here I come.
NICOLE (crying)
Why are you doing this to me?
JEREMY
I am not trying to hurt you. I have got to live for me and be happy.
NICOLE
What do you know about trying to be happy? You are only eighteen.
JEREMY
Mom, you don’t agree with me. I would rather us not live together and get along than to be in this house and we are always arguing.
NICOLE
You know something…every since your father caught you and that boy together nothing has been right.
Ian’s eyes got big. He thought that he was Jeremy’s first same sex encounter. Nicole turned the stove off and stood with her arms folded. Jeremy was in complete shock. Inside he knew that this was the time for him to confront this issue.
JEREMY
What do you mean nothing has been right? You ran daddy off.
NICOLE
Yes trying to protect you.
JEREMY
I didn’t need protection from him. I could handle myself.
NIKE
What happened? I know about Jeremy and Damion but what protection did he need from Daddy?
NICOLE (tears falling from her eyes)
Your father caught Jeremy and Damion in the old storage house having sex or whatever it was. Your father beat him and told Damion that if he ever caught him at this house again he would kill him. Yes I know about all of that.
Jeremy eyes began to water. He leaned against the wall with his hand on his head.
NICOLE
It wasn’t long after that when I was doing the laundry I found blood in your brother’s underwear.
JEREMY
Mom shut up!
NICOLE
No. It is time that I stop carrying this. I need to say this. I asked Jeremy was there anything going on. Do you remember that?
JEREMY (in a huff)
Yeah.
NICOLE
Your answer was no. But I am not stupid. Not by a long shot. I came home early one day. You girls were at school. I smelled weed and heard someone moaning and crying sniffles. I went into my bedroom and I didn’t see anything. I pecked in you girls’ room – nothing. I walked into Jeremy’s room and I found your daddy fucking his own child and that bastard of an uncle, Ray, had his penis in my son’s mouth. I took the lamp beside the bed and burst Ray’s face up when I hit him. Your dad jumped on my back when I went to get a knife. That is why he don’t live with us. That is why I am so protective of you. That is why I don’t want anything to happen to you.
Nike was crying herself sick. Jeremy ran out the door and Ian followed him. Jeremy stopped on the grass and sat down. Ian stooped down side him.
IAN
I didn’t know that you went through all of this. Are you ok?
JEREMY
I don’t like to think about it much less talk about it. How could she bring this up again? I had to relive all of that just then.
IAN
She said that she was getting it off of her chest. You got to understand that she is hurting too.
JEREMY
I was only fourteen when that happened. I have hated my dad and my uncle for that.
IAN
What a minute? Not to change to subject but is Damion the guy at school?
JEREMY (with a slight laugh)
Yeah. I see him every day. It’s hard not talk to him. I guess you can say I lost my frontal virginity to lose. I cared a lot about him. After my dad threatened to kill him his parents put a restraining order on all of us.
IAN
Do you think that you could care about me like that?
JEREMY (looking into Ian’s eyes)
I love you more than you know. I cared for him but I am in love with you.
Jeremy took his hand and put it on Ian’s cheek. He pulled him over to kiss him.
IAN
Do you think that you can go back in and talk to your mother?
JEREMY
What would I do without you in my life?
IAN
I don’t want to find out. I think I love you more now than I did before we got here.
Jeremy gave Ian another long kiss in the front yard. Ian helped Jeremy get up. They brushed themselves off and walked hand-in-hand into the house.
Nike was sitting at the bar talking with Nicole. Jeremy walked over and gave her a hug. Nicole returned the hug and started to cry again. Nike grabbed Ian hand.
NIKE (whispers to Ian)
You take care of my little brother. If anything happens to him I am coming for you. Understood?
IAN
Yes ma’am.
NICOLE
I had to finally get that off of me. I never told anyone what really happened. I feel like a ton of bricks has been lifted off of me.
JEREMY
Mom I am glad that you feel better. I guess I do too.
Jeremy took Ian by the hand and walked him over to Nicole.
JEREMY
Well I guess I can say this out loud. This is my lover, mom.
IAN
I can’t believe that you did that.
JEREMY
I want the world to know it.
IAN
Wow. Ok.
JEREMY
There is one more thing.
NICOLE & IAN
What?
Jeremy ran out to the car and quickly back into the house. He had a smile on his face as wide as the Mississippi River. He pulled a chair out from the table and forced Ian to have a seat. He got down in front of Ian and opened a box.
JEREMY
Will you marry me?
IAN
What the hell?
JEREMY
Not the response I that I wanted to hear. But seriously, will you marry me? Love, honor, cherish me, forsake all others for only me? Oh yeah obey me too.
IAN
I will love, honor, cherish you, and forsake all others for only you.
JEREMY
What about obey me?
IAN (laughing)
I will compromise with you.
JEREMY
So……
IAN
Yes I will marry you Jeremy Isaac Whitfield.
Nicole and Nike jumped up with joy hugging each other. Jeremy grabbed Ian and gave him a hard long kiss. Nicole embraced Jeremy and Ian at the same time. She was ecstatic. All of a sudden Nike interjected.
NIKE
You can’t get married in Mississippi. Mississippi has law a DOMA banning same-sex marriages, and in November, 2004, passed a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage.
Now if we go to the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Portugal, Iceland, or Argentina. I am down. Even in Mexico same sex marriage is recognized in all 31 states but only performed in Mexico City. In Nepal, their recognition has been judicially mandated but not yet legislated. Here in the United States, although same-sex marriages are not recognized federally, same-sex couples can marry in five states and one district (Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, and the District of Columbia) and receive state-level benefits. The states of New York, New Jersey, Maryland, and Rhode Island do not facilitate same-sex marriages, but do recognize same-sex marriages performed in other jurisdictions. Additionally, several states offer civil unions or domestic partnerships, granting all or part of the state-level rights and responsibilities of marriage. Thirty-one states have constitutional restrictions limiting marriage to one woman and one man. President Barack Obama is officially opposed to same-sex marriage, although he "supports full civil unions and federal rights for LGBT couples", a full repeal of DOMA, and called California's Proposition 8 "unnecessary. The subject of how the legalization of same-sex marriage affects public education is a source of controversy. An argument sometimes used by supporters is that teaching about same-sex marriage in schools will help children to be more open minded by exposing them to different types of families. There is concern from opponents of same-sex marriage that it will undermine parental rights over their children's education. Same-sex marriage opponents express concern that the information being presented in schools might not be accurate, might omit medical, psychological and legal impacts of homosexuality, and might be age-inappropriate. There has also been concern that educators who disagree with same-sex marriage curricula could be punished. Gay adoptions are illegal in Mississippi.
Openly lesbian and gay members of the US military were previously subjected to the US’s “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy. However, on December 18, 2010, The U. S. Senate voted 65-31 in favor of the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Repeal Act of 2010 permitting homosexual men and women to serve openly in the armed forces. It’s one of the most debated topics in gay marriage rights, but currently gay marriage in the US does not entitle couples to the same benefits as heterosexual marriage. Part of the reasoning behind the struggle for gay marriage to be legalized is to ensure gay couples have gay marriage rights, such as inheritance rights, property rights and next-of-kin rights should one partner become ill. States that allow same-sex civil unions provide most of the benefits of marriage to registered gay couples. However, these benefits only apply to state law, and couples may n
ot be entitled to benefits that are under federal realm. In Canada, as well as gaining rights through marriage, cohabiting same-sex couples are entitled to many of the same legal and financial benefits as married opposite-sex couples.
Everyone stood and look at Nike with amazement.
JEREMY
How do you know all of this?
NIKE
I had to do a paper on it in one of my sociology class.
NICOLE
Well at least I know that my money isn’t going to waste.
JEREMY
Look I am going to marry Ian no matter what a law says. As far as our personal property we will handle that accordingly. What I do in the privacy of my own house is my business. If people don’t agree with it, they don’t have to visit and trust me, we won’t lose sleep over it. I am not here to please these people. Marriage is not a piece of paper to me. It is my love for Ian.
NICOLE
Well son sound like your mind is made up.
JEREMY
It is.
NICOLE
Baby I am behind you whole heartedly.
JEREMY (as he hugs her)
Thanks Mom.
IAN
This is the best Christmas gift anyone could ask for.
THIRTY-ONE
MONIQUE (yelling as she came in the house from school)
Pop!
JACOB
What?
MONIQUE
I have a huge favor to ask you.
JACOB
Ok go ahead.
MONIQUE
Well you know that Teddy and I went to Kandi’s concert a few months ago in Jackson. I want to do something special for his birthday next weekend.
JACOB
What did you have in mind?
MONIQUE
I am not sure. I wanted your opinion.
JACOB
Buy him a shirt, jewelry, or take him out to eat.
MONIQUE
I am going to take him out to eat but I need a gift.
JACOB
You know him better than I do.
MONIQUE
Pop come on help me. What would you want?
JACOB