Nothing nor no one will stop them

To mark their 18th birthday, Marcel and Koffi decide to spend 18 hours together, reflecting on their friendship since kindergarten and celebrating the special attraction to each other. Marcel is French-speaking, born in Toronto, Canada. Kofi is Togolese, born in Lomé, and has moved to Toronto with his parents when he was only three years old. They were both born on Friday, December 9, 2005. In Togo, the name Koffi happens to mean “born on a Friday”. The year 2005 is a milestone in Canada; that’s when same-sex marriage was legalized.

Toronto is the capital of the province of Ontario and Canada’s largest city, with roughly 3 million people, but the metro region’s population is over 6.3 million. Approximately 200 different languages are spoken in the Greater Toronto Area. Canada has two official languages: English and French. Toronto has close to twenty French-language elementary or secondary schools. Marcel and Koffi met at one of those schools: École élémentaire Pierre-Elliott-Trudeau, named in honor of Canada’s 15th Prime Minister. It is Trudeau who legalized homosexual acts, under certain conditions, in 1969.

Students in line to enter the Pierre-Elliott-Trudeau primary school look like the United Nations’ General Assembly. Almost every continent is represented. White people such as Marcel are far from forming the majority. In kindergarten, one year prior to grade one, Marcel and Koffi are paired for a coloring exercise, and immediately exchange a smile, a hand shake. The dice are cast: they become inseparable friends.

Throughout primary school, Koffi boards an orange bus to reach Pierre-Elliott-Trudeau, while Marcel can walk since he lives just a few blocks from the school. The White boy always arrives first, anxious to welcome his Black friend. At recess, they obviously play together, and at noon they eat their lunch at the same table. Marcel’s mother often prepares a peanut butter and jam sandwich, adds an apple and pays for a medium-size carton of milk. Koffi usually eats a corn or rice salad with yams and beans; he gladly accepts to sip milk from Marcel’s box. When they recall this, ten or twelve years later, they laugh, kiss and say how it must have been a sign that they would one day milk each other.

In grade 7 or 8, just before high school, the gym teacher gives a lesson on sexuality, according to the Ministry of Education’s curriculum. He briefly touches on sexual orientation and gender identity. Marcel and Koffi blush when they hear that some boys prefer intimate contacts with other boys. Today, they imagine that their Physical Education teacher probably knew that he had two gay boys in his class. After Pierre-Elliot-Trudeau, Marcel and Koffi register at the French-language public high school Étienne-Brûlé, named in honor of the first white man in Ontario, a French explorer barely 17 years-old. The school has a Gay-Straight Alliance and an anti-bullying policy.

This all new to Koffi’s parents because homosexuality is illegal in Togo, with a penalty of three years imprisonment and a fine of up to 500,000 CFA Francs (800 USD) according to the 1980 Penal Code. There are no anti-discrimination laws, including hate speech. When their son is in grade 10, they are surprised to learn that two 18-year-old boys attend the graduation prom as a loudly acclaimed couple. Koffi’s approval raises highbrows. He doesn’t say that he danced with Marcel during the prom gala and felt his heart pounding. The two boys attend meetings of the Gay-Straight Alliance on a regular basis, gradually rubbing shoulders and brushing hands.

For certain sports like football and hockey, the gym teacher recommends that students wear a jockstrap. “I have all sizes: small, medium and large. Length or girth are not important, boys, but protecting your penis is a must. Line up to show me your dick and I will give you the right size.” When Koffi pulls down his gym sweats, the teacher opens his eyes wide and admires a rare magnitude. “Holy fuck! You need extra-large.” In the locker room and in the shower area, classmates jokingly congratulate Koffi on the size of his cock. Marcel stays behind to help his best friend dry up.

In grade 11, Marcel and Koffi are part of a camping expedition in Algonquin Provincial Park. They share a tent with two other classmates; each boy has a sleeping bag. After a full day of hikes along winding trails that enable them to identify various species of trees and birds, they sit around a campfire to roast marshmallows and sing popular tunes. When it’s time to spend the night in the tent, each boy slips into his sleeping bag and wishes his teammates sweet dreams. Marcel notices that Koffi has left the zipper open and sees it as an invitation to snuggle in, to warm up holding his best friend in his arms. It is only a year later that Marcel confesses that he then felt an ardent desire to kiss Koffi, but did not dare to act upon his vital urge for fear of being too impulsive and maybe scaring him away.

At the end of high school, in a visual arts class, students are asked to design a Valentine card without writing the name of the recipient. They have to do some research for the wording and be creative in the illustration of the card. Marcel and Koffi spend a whole week tune fining their message to be delivered on Valentine’s Day (February 14th). Marcel does not want to include the usual red heart or Cupid’s arrow. He has been to the Shakespeare Festival in the Southern-Ontario city of Stratford and has seen swans on the Avon River. Two of them meet to form a heart with their neck and that is what Marcel draws on his card. As for the text, he chooses a quote from Paulo Coelho’s 1988 novel, The Alchemist: “When we love, we always strive to become better than we are. When we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better too.” Koffi selects his country’s national animal, the lion, to illustrate his card, and includes a popular Togolese saying: “Be like the lion, go for what you want, and don’t let anything or anyone stop you.”

The exchange of special Valentine’s Day wishes seals the bond between Marcel and Koffi. They embrace and kiss every time they meet. Marcel invites Koffi over when his parents are away for a convention or a weekend excursion. They shower together, get hard on the spot and naturally suck each other. Koffi discovers that swallowing his lover’s creamy load is “so fuckin tasty”. And Marcel makes his buddy moan with pleasure when he tongue-twists his way inside the perky chocolate butt. Since they have never engaged in sexual contacts with other guys or girls, they don’t wear a condom to shove their dick in the most awesome love canal.

The only downside is the reaction of Koffi’s parents when he reveals his sexual orientation and his relationship with Marcel. They know that homosexuality is legal in Canada, but they imagine that it can only occur elsewhere, certainly not under their roof. After having met Marcel’s parents and questioning them about “that lifestyle”, they gradually accept a “sad reality”. The fact that their son has never been so happy, has never felt so good about himself, is a balm on “this wound”.

Koffi honors his roots: like the lion, he goes for what he wants, and doesn’t let anything or anyone stop him.