Challenges

Part XII

*** 2015 ***

Justin woke up the next morning at 8:00, after having the best sleep in several years. His meeting with Nate went a bit different then he thought, but he was glad it had. He rolled out of bed and made his way to the shower. It was a big day. He was going to meet Jason, whom he had met on the flight from Seattle three days prior.

After his shower he got dressed in basic work clothing. He would stop by the store and pick something nice out. He was not going to meet Jason until around 5:00 that evening, so he had some time to kill in Albuquerque. His first stop would be his brother's work to do some work on the system he designed.

He went downstairs where his father was sitting reading the newspaper. It was an oddity that he would be in the house at this hour.

"Morning dad." Justin said as he opened the fridge to get some milk.

"Son." His dad nodded without. "Sleep well?"

"Yes." Justin smiled and grabbed a bowl out of the cabinet and a box of cereal. "Everything okay?"

"Did not rest very well, and decided to let Jim take care of all the work." His dad laid the paper down and watched his son pour the cereal and the milk into the bowl. "Son," his dad said with a solemn voice, "when did you know that you liked other men?"

Justin coughed on the cereal that was in his mouth and spit it back into the bowl. He wiped his mouth with his hand and looked at his dad. "What?"

"I just wanted to know when you knew. I had a long talk with your mother." His dad smiled a bit. "Well all night. She did most of the talking. She is insistent that you have been corrupted by someone, and that you in turn have corrupted Nate."

Justin sat with his mouth open. His dad did not say any of that with malice. He was attempting to convey what his mother had said.

"I knew what I was at 13 or so." He said putting a spoon full of cereal in his mouth.

"Did someone molest you?" His father asked with a serious look on his face. "Did someone touch you in any way?"

"No." Justin laughed at the question. He had heard this multiple times, and he was sure that while it might be true for some; it was not true for all. "I just... I like guys because I like them. I was... born this way." He had to hold himself from laughing as he said that.

His dad nodded his head, and picked up the paper and started to read again. "That's what I thought."

Justin went back to eating his cereal, watching his dad. Sometimes his father surprised him. The fact that he had accepted without question was beyond surprise.

"I am heading to Albuquerque today." Justin said absently. "Going to run by and see Matt as work, and do some upgrades on his systems."

"And your date?" His dad asked, nodding his head, and not putting the paper down.

"Yea." Justin felt his face get red. He was not always comfortable talking about his relationships. "That too."

"Are you staying the night with Matt?"

"Depends on how long the date goes." He could not believe he was talking with his father about this, but he felt energetic being able to talk about such things like Matt did. "He has a layover for a flight till the morning."

"Just be careful." His father folded the paper and stood up to leave.

"Thanks dad." Justin called after. He finished eating his cereal and headed back to his room to get his car keys, and headed out on the road.