Eden

While they headed west on a stretch of road that joined the Dunes Highway, the last of the day was still in the edge of the sky even as the first stars were burning high in the dome of the night. And so, going home, the truck rumbled down the lonely road.

“Fuck!” Rob shouted.

“Is that…?”

Rob turned to Frey. “We gotta turn this up.”

He began singing:

“I gave a girl a ride in my wagon
She crawled in and took control
She was tired as her mind was a-draggin'
I said get some sleep and dream of rock'n'roll.”

Then they both burst into:

“'Cause like a princess she was laying there
Moonlight dancing off her hair
She woke up and took me by the hand
She's gonna love me in my Chevy van

and that's all right with me!”

While Sammy Jones was singing, Frey looked out of the window where the warm air was starting to cool and the fields were hidden in darkness, and just now, as the truck jumped over a rough patch in the road, he could see the lights coming on in distant houses. Ahead of them, now over them stretched a bridge and an eighteen wheeler was rolling over it. Rob was singing and Sammy Jones was saying:

“She woke up and took me by the hand
She's gonna love me in my Chevy van

and that's all right with me!”

But the third time he sang it, Frey’s hand went to Rob’s thigh, and while he squeezed it, Rob looked away from the road at Frey.

“What?” he said. Then: “Don’t you want to wait till…”

Frey only shook his head.

Rob hit his horn and made it wail.

‘Goddamn!” Rob declared while Frey ‘s hand went into his pants. “Alright, goddamn. Goddamn!”

They parked on the side of the country road, and there were no other cars. They climbed into the truck bed, and Rob laid out the old blankets, and under the moonlight they began to undress. Frey turned to lift up Rob’s shirt, and Rob wrapped his arms about him and kissed him, and then they lay down, tangling their arms together, wrapping their thighs together and stripping completely. The moonlight made almost as much light as the day, and Frey kissed him again and again, and his tongue hooked with Rob’s, tasting beer and cigarette smoke, and then they pressed tighter together, wrapping their arms tighter about each other, not able to get enough of arms and chests and sides and stomach. Frey lay down on his back so he could see the stars and moved Rob between his thighs, running his hands up and down Rob’s body.

There was a tattoo up and down his left arm, and on his strong bicep, but he was smooth as a baby, smooth as silk. His back tapered to his ass that was so round and so smooth, and Rob murmured like a baby when Frey caressed him there, his soft thin beard, brushing against Frey shoulder. As Rob entered him, they both shuddered with amazement, with pain, vulnerability. They moved together under the moonlight and under the stars, and now and again a car passed while Frey treasured Rob’s gentle breath and the rhythm of his body, and the joy of this man inside of him. They sped up together, and Frey pulled Rob’s face to him, kissing him so very deep as he came.

They drove back to the house quietly, neither one of them speaking, the radio so low it could barely be heard. Rob parked his truck in the usual place, and Frey thought how strange that after knowing him one day he should regard Rob as having a usual place. Rob took Frey by the hand and led him through the gate, down the steps into the yard and into the house. In this house, after closing the door, they kissed against the door, and then undressed and Frey led him to the shower where they washed each other and kissed and made little love, going down on each other ,savoring each others bodies and then drying each other tenderly and going to bed to go to sleep. Rob climbed out of the bed and opened the curtain a little so some moonlight could come in.

“Do you mind?” he said.

“Not if I turn over.”

Rob climbed back into the bed, and Frey turned his back to the moon and wrapped his arms about Rob’s waist, and quickly they fell asleep.

It was grey, not quite sunrise when Frey woke up, and he could smell the burning of Rob’s cigarette, He blinked and Rob sat in the chair across the room, naked, the light on his milky body, his rose nipples, his penis, long and pink and unprotected, and he ashed. and he was looking over the papers Frey had written on. He looked to him and said, “I’m sorry. I was just waiting for you to wake up. I didn’t want to walk out, and I didn’t want to wake you. You looked peaceful.”

Rob grinned at him and said, gesturing to the papers, “Is that what you did all yesterday on the beach? Write poems?”

Frey nodded and Rob said, “If I could write like that, or write at all, I think I would spend all day on the beach too. Why didn’t you tell me?”

He came to bed and then answered his own question before Frey could say anything.

“Why would you tell me? You hardly know me.”

“I have an lover who is getting married. I am trying to forget, an old mother I am always afraid will die when I’m out of town, a sister called Sharon and her son and my foster son, and I always worry that they feel abandoned when I leave, but I leave nonetheless.”

Rob only nodded.

“Are you taking your father to church?”

“Yeah,” Rob said. “I sent him a text that said I’ll be there on time. Since I’m out and all.”

“He won’t wonder where you are?’

“He might wonder but he won’t ask. I’m a grown up, and he’s grateful to have me.”

“He should be.”

Frey reached up and touched the side of Rob’s face, and then he brought his mouth down and kissed him. Rob’s lips were tender and his tongue was light, pushing inside of Frey’s mouth. He put the cigarette gently on the table, and lay down on the bed with him and Frey said, “How soon do you have to be gone?”

“It’s five now.”

“Do we have time?”

“You won’t get tired of me?”

But Frey didn’t answer. They were already kissing, already twisting their limbs together, already exploring bodies they had come to know over the last two nights, doing the things they had understood thrilled each other. There was yellow on the edge of the sky when they lay together, holding hands, bodies damp with sweat and their bellies glistening with semen.

“You better wash off,” Frey said.

“What will you do today?”

“What I said I was going to do yesterday. Lock myself away and be a lonely artist.”

“Does that usually work?”

“I’ve never really had the chance to try it,” Frey admitted. “I’m usually never alone.”

Frey stood up, wiping his stomach with the damp cloth, cleaning out his navel and running the cloth over his dark pubic hair.

“Uh, if you’re not busy… I mean,” Rob began as he reached for the cloth and took it to rub down his own stomach, “I don’t want you to get sick of me or anything, but… And even, you know, you might want to be away from me even if you do like me and all, but—”

“What are you saying?”

“I’m saying would you like to see me again?” Rob said.

“If you want.”

Frey shook his head.

“That didn’t sound right. I mean, I would. If that’s what we’re doing.”

“I don’t really know what we’re doing.”

Rob was pulling his jeans on now and reaching for his shirt. “I like it, though, and there’re lots of things I knew exactly what I was doing and I didn’t like them at all, so…” he shrugged.

“Well, then yes,” Frey said. “Come back tonight.”

When Rob got home, his father was already dressed and pleased looking, like a little boy ready on his first day of school. Day was coming into the sky and Rob, in the kitchen, asked his brother, “Why are you up?”

“Just up,” Josh said. Rob’s younger brother was thinner, a little taller, with a long face, curly hair and glasses.

“You thought I might not be here to take Dad?” Rob said. He looked at his father. “Well, I’m here. You ready?”

“We could all go,” his father looked eager.

“Uh,” Josh began, “I’d probably hold you up. I need to brush my teeth.”

Rob frowned at his brother and Josh said. “What are you doing for lunch?”

“I’m not doing anything for lunch. I’m gonna be at the store.”

“You’re entirely lunch break? You just sit in the store?”

“I go out to the truck sometimes.”

“Howabout we go to lunch?” Josh said.

Rob didn’t think the suggestion was totally innocent. He didn’t think saying no was an option.

“I’ll be free at twelve,” Rob said. “Since I usually don’t take my whole lunch, Larry’ll probably be okay with me taking forty-five minutes today.”

He was about to say an hour, but knowing Josh, an hour would turn into an hour and fifteen minutes, so he said forty-five, trusting that would be the hour.

“That’s settled,” their dad said, closing his hands together, and smiling slowly, brightly. “That’s great for you all.”

Rob held out his hand, “Come on, Dad. You don’t wanna be late.”

“So,” Josh said, biting into his burger, “where were you last night and the night before?”

“What?”

“You’re not deaf,” Josh said while they sat outside in the café part of Bart’s Burger.

“I’ve been out,” Rob said. “It’s kind of my business.”

“I just wanted to know if you’d met someone.”

“Wh—”

“Don’t say what again. If you’ve met someone, then that’s good. Met a guy.”

Rob frowned at him and Josh said, “The thing about living here is even when you’re not in the closet you’re in the closet.”

“Whaddo you know about any type of closet?”

“Mom and Dad aren’t like that, you know. If you found someone they would be thrilled.”

“I go,” Rob took up his bun, and then took up his bottle of ketchup, “for a night. For two nights. And am not home right away. And you make up a whole life for me. A lot must be happening at that college.”

“Reality is happening at college, and I don’t know where you’re going,” Josh said, “but my point is you shouldn’t have to stop it just so you can come and take Dad to church every morning. That’s crazy.”

“It is not crazy. It’s called being a good son. Which is something you would—”

“Understand if I what?” Josh frowned and took a furious sip from his shake, “hadn’t gone to college and gotten an education? Are you serious?”

“I shouldn’t have said that.”

“You’re fucking right you shouldn’t have. And maybe when you didn’t have anything else to do it wasn’t crazy to tote Dad around, but that can’t be an option for the rest of your life. I mean…. The option to not have a life cannot be your life.”

“I have a life.”

“You have toting Dad to church and then going to stand behind the counter in that convenience store.”

“We can’t all have a college education.”

“Actually, in the twenty-first century in the state of Indiana, yes, we can. But that’s not my point—”

“And there’s nothing wrong with working in the convenience store.”

“No,” Josh said, “but there’s nothing right about it either. And nothing right about giving up your life.”

Rob opened his mouth.

“Now, look, you don’t have to tell me what you do, or why you’re gone all night. Just… I will take Dad tomorrow. Okay?”

“You don’t have to—”

“I,” Josh said, “will take our dad tomorrow. All right? In fact, as long as I’m here, I’m going to see he gets to where he needs to go. Cause you need to get a life, Big Brother. You really do. This can’t be it.”

They ate in silence, Rob chomping his burger grumpily, Josh sipping too hard on his shake.

At last, Rob said:

“His name is Frey.”