My Secret Identity

Chapter 2

Four years later…

He opened his eyes with an infant’s curiosity, as if he were seeing the world for the first time.  His first fascination was with his hands.  He was in awe of the dexterity of his fingers and the discovery of their tactile nature made him eager to explore.  He reached out to stroke the leaves of a large fern and giggled as it tickled his palm.  Next he felt the bark of a pine and decided as interesting as it felt on his fingers he just had to try it with his cheek.  It was scratchy and abrasive.  His first brush with pain caused him to rub his cheek to sooth the irritation.

Something wet began to fall from the sky.  It came down harder as he looked to the clouds for the source of the moisture.  By the time he grew bored his blond hair was plastered to his forehead.  Sudden rainstorms are a part of life in the Tacoma area, particularly in winter.  As the water soaked the naked boy he felt no discomfort.  Though his breath fogged in the 40 degree weather, he wasn’t even cold. 

The world was a new place for him.  Each step he took brought new discoveries.  He stared in awe at the splendor as he meandered down a well-worn path.  The path was familiar though he had no idea why.  All he knew was the path would take him where he wanted to go; wherever that was. 

Of all the things he could’ve been doing on a Saturday morning, hunting wasn’t remotely close to anything he would have picked.  Spencer hated the woods and always had.  His parents thought it had to do with his friend, Bobby, disappearing there when the boys were ten but it went deeper.  The woods were dark and gave off a creepy vibe.  Something told Spencer he didn’t belong there and he was happy to steer clear.  Now he found himself trudging through the forest with a rifle slung over his shoulder and the rain dripping off his slicker. 

This outing was his father’s idea and Spencer suspected it had a lot to do with coming out to his parents last summer.  It was a hard choice.  He didn’t know how his parents would react but he felt like he had to get it off his chest.  Much to his relief, both parents hugged him, told him they loved him and it wouldn’t change their relationship. 

That being said, Spencer found himself spending a lot more time with his dad.  They went to ball games, took in movies and the latest adventure, these hunting trips in the woods bordering their neighborhood.  Maybe his dad thought killing a deer would make Spencer more of a man but Spencer suspected it was guilt.  He knew his father loved him, there was never any doubt about it, but Danny didn’t have a lot of time for Spencer before.  Maybe these father son bonding moments were dad’s way of saying, “sorry for abandoning you to your mother and sister’s all those years.”

Spencer trudged down the muddy path.  He was supposed to be helping his dad flank a deer they’d been tracking all morning but Spencer suspected this would be a waste of time.  His dad, for all the effort he put into it, was just as bad a hunter as his son.  Spencer wasn’t made for the outdoors.  He enjoyed comic books, video games, sci-fi movies and other things which marked him as total geek.  You would think that, combined with his open homosexuality, would make him an outcast at school but it wasn’t the case.  Everyone liked Spencer; he had an easy going manner and was always quick to make you laugh.  These qualities endeared him to his fellow students and made him popular as the school mascot, Tommy the Tacoma Timberwolf. 

He would have given anything to have been home that Saturday, particularly when the rain started.  He was just rounding a corner when he tripped over a root and landed face first in the mud.

“God damn it!” he swore. 

His curse was met with a boyish giggle.  Spencer wiped the mud from his eyes and found himself face to face with a pair of pale white feet.  His eyes traveled up over coltish legs, a lean, toned torso and came to rest on a pair of eyes that sparkled like sapphires.  The naked boy grinned at him, clearly amused by Spencer’s prone form sprawled out in the mud.