Alhad

Please see warnings and copyright notices in chapter one.

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Alhad

by Draeconin Istraith



~ 8 ~

Sunday we dug up the roast pig. It was a little dry because of the too-long cooking time, but still delicious - especially
after we whipped up a barbeque sauce for it to add some moisture. There was a lot of meat, though, so most of it (without
the barbeque sauce) got frozen to be used in other dishes.

I re-routed all business to the on-site offices Monday after Alhad had gone to school, then took Priya and went car shopping. I was pretty impressed with the Mazda3 until I learned what the gas mileage was. It was nowhere near as bad as an SUV, van or truck, but not as good as I hoped for. I had heard of the new 'hybrid' cars, so I asked the dealer if they had one. It turned out they hadn't yet, but were expecting one out next year. But the salesman was very helpful and told me about several others that were out now, going so far as to bring them up on his computer for us to compare. I thanked him, and we walked out.

"What do you think, Priya?" I asked.

"I think Alhad would want to be able to carry as many of his friends around as he could, and four door models cost less than two-door models insurance-wise, especially for boys, so I would think you'd want to eliminate the sports models."

At my look of askance, she explained. "I would have been buying him a used car, so I looked into what I could afford."

I would have liked one of the sports models myself, but Priya had some good points. Okay, of the four-door models. Which got the best gas mileage? Which were among the safest? With a little more research, the best overall rating seemed to be the Toyota Prius. Base price was about eight thousand more than the Mazda3, and I expected it to go up even more if I could find one with all the safety features.

I was right. It was, in fact, yet another three thousand dollars, but that included a few packages that were already installed that I wouldn't have otherwise ordered. But by paying cash I was able to get the dealer to knock off seven thousand, so I considered it all good. After ascertaining that my check was good, they promised to have it detailed and delivered by three o'clock. Alhad's taxi would deliver him anywhere from fifteen to thirty minutes later, depending on traffic.

Next stop was to get car insurance. With Priya's help I was able to buy him two years worth outright, and again by paying cash, I was able to get a discount. I know it seems strange, but if you have money to begin with you can usually get the more expensive things cheaper just by paying them off rather than making payments over a period of time. 'Interest' payments? Just seems to me to be another way of saying that they're going to charge you for the privilege of them trusting you to make the next payment.

I opened the security gates a half-hour early in expectation of the car delivery, and left them open.

Alhad arrived before the car did, which had my temper on low simmer. He saw it drive up while he was visiting with us in the office, filling us in on his day at school.

"Someone just drove up, Brad," he told me.

I looked, and it was Alhad's car being delivered. I decided to try to make the best of it.

"Let's go see who it is, alright?"

"I was just going to go up and get everything together to start supper," he replied.

"Come on," I urged.

He hesitated, then shrugged and followed me out to the car.

The driver met us halfway. "Sorry for the delay, sir," he said as he handed over the keys. He looked to be about eighteen or nineteen.

I heard tires on the gravel, and another car was coming up the drive.

"That'll be my ride back," the young guy said.

"Thank you," I said. I didn't mean it. They had promised delivery by three, and had failed to do so. Right now I wanted him gone. A minute later, they were.

Alhad was standing there looking at me strangely. "You bought another car?" he asked.

I shook off my mood and smiled at him. "Yeah. You like it?"

"Yeah - it's nice. But why did you need me out here?"

"You don't want it?" I asked, dangling the keys at him.

He stared at the keys, then at me, in disbelief. "What?" he asked dazedly. He turned and looked at the car.

"You don't want it," I said, doing my best impression of disappointment, and then heaved the biggest, most fake sigh, and said, "Okay, I'll have them come back and pick it up."

"What?" Alhad exclaimed. "No! You mean it? It's for me?"

I laughed at him. "Yes, love; it's for you." I tossed the keys to him. "Go check it out!"

Priya had come out to join us by then, and watched in pleasure with me as Alhad excitedly looked everything over. Then he was out of the car: not running, but bounding over to me.

Alhad jumped up and threw his arms around my neck, and would have dragged me down if I hadn't caught him. All the time he was babbling his thanks, and saying how wonderful it was.

"Can I drive it?" he asked.

"Just down to the road and back," I told him with a wide smile. "Don't go off the property until you have your license."

"I can go out on the road with a licensed driver," he said, almost begging me to go with him, and turned to Priya. "Mom?" He was trying to double his chances of a 'yes'.

I had been about to offer to take him down to the DMV tomorrow but changed my mind, deciding that honor should go to his mother.

"Maybe your mother can take you down to the DMV after school tomorrow," I suggested, looking at her.

She smiled gratefully at me. "I'd like that. Thank you... Bradley."

"You're welcome... Mum," I replied with a saucy wink, to which she tinted slightly, but with a pleased smile.

"So..." Alhad asked tentatively.

"Just down to the road and back," Priya said, backing me up.

He slumped a bit, but gave me a wry smile that admitted both his attempt at manipulation, and the good-natured acceptance of his defeat. "Okay," he said.

Alhad looked very self-conscious as he got behind the wheel of his new car, started it, and then turned it back off. He looked at us a little sheepishly as he put his seat belt on and adjusted the seat and mirrors. I couldn't help but laugh at him a little, but I could definitely relate to the excitement he was feeling.

Eventually Alhad was satisfied that everything was adjusted to his liking, and started the car again. He very carefully got it moving, and slowly drove down the driveway. About ten minutes later he showed up coming back up the driveway at a much faster, but still reasonable speed. I figured he'd either had a little trouble turning around down at the bottom of the drive, or he'd taken some time to explore the car more privately.

When he got out, Alhad was beaming from ear to ear.

Priya gave Alhad her gift to him - seat covers and a steering wheel cover for his new car, for which Alhad was properly grateful. I almost thought he was going to squeeze her to death, he hugged her so hard.

I'd parked my pick-up behind the garage, where I'd later have a carport erected, and told Alhad he could park his car where it had been. But since it was Alhad's proper birthday, we went out to eat. You guessed it - the Three Dragons. Alhad did have his learner's permit, so I sat in the back and let Priya take shotgun while Alhad drove us to the restaurant in his new car. He was in heaven, but drove super safely. I hoped that would last, but based on my own experience, I doubted it.

We all had something different for supper than the last time, but it was all as well-made as the last time we were there. I had shrimp and asparagus with rice noodles, Priya had vegetable lo mein, and Alhad had long bean with shrimp and garlic. We also had sides of spring rolls, foil-wrapped chicken, and pot stickers.

I asked to drive on the way back, since I wanted to get a better idea of how the car handled than the short demonstration I'd had earlier in the day. Alhad was reluctant, but he tried to hide it. He smiled, gave me a hug, and the keys.

On the way back, it occured to me that when Alhad went before the judge for his emancipation, that certain questions might be asked.

"Alhad, you know your emancipation hearing is Friday; have you given any thought to the kinds of questions the judge might ask?"

"A little," he replied.

"Okay, so pretend I'm the judge," I told him. "Why do you want to be emancipated?"

"Well, my mother is getting older, and I don't think it's fair that she has to work as well as take care of me and all of my needs. She needs to be able to save more money for when she retires."

I was impressed. That was a very well thought-out answer. "So how would you becoming emancipated help in that endeavor?" I asked, continuing in my role of ersatz judge.

"I've found a job; it's a live-in position, and all my meals are provided for."

"What is this job?"

"I'm a part-time cook and house-keeper."

"Yes, a single man - a Mister Bradley Jons. We have reports that he's a gay man. Is there anything going on besides work, there?"

Alhad hesitated while he thought out an answer. "I don't know what Mister Jons is thinking, sir, but he hasn't made any unwelcome advances, if that's what you mean."

"Very good," I said, breaking character. "Truthful, but misleading. Okay, now what if the judge gets more blunt and says, 'Are you having sexual relations with Mister Jons'?"

Alhad grinned at me. "He's hugged me a few times, sir, and I've hugged him. Is that 'sexual relations'? I like him. He's a good friend."

"You're a slippery character," I said to him with my own grin. "I'll have to remember that."

"Priya, your turn," I said to her. "Are you alright with your son living away from home?"

"He's a very mature young man, Your Honor," she replied with a smile. "He always has been. I think he's been training to live on his own ever since he could string two sentences together."

I kept trying to think like a judge, trying to poke holes and find hidden truths. "Was his home life that unsettled, then?"

"His father couldn't relate to him and left us when Alhad was ten, but no, I wouldn't think so."

And that's about how the hearing went that Friday, with him asking Alhad all sorts of questions. Priya was asked some questions as well that weren't directly related to her willingness for Alhad to be emancipated. I wasn't expected to be there, but the judge did ask if I was, and when I stood he asked why I was there, if the decision didn't directly affect me. I told him the truth - that Alhad had asked me to be there to lend him my support. The judge verified that answer with Alhad, then asked me a few other questions, which I answered in the same way Alhad had - truthfully, but in such a way as to mislead. It was tricky at times, and I wouldn't recommend that anyone else try it. We just got really lucky.

The judge took a bit over an hour with Alhad's petition. The lawyer later told us that was about twice the time such reviews usually took. But in the end, Alhad walked out of that courtroom a legal adult. His emancipation papers would arrive in the mail sometime next week.

Alhad was almost dancing on air, he was so happy. There was probably a great deal of relief that it was all over in there, as well. Priya, on the other hand, was looking a little sad and lost, but there was great deal of pride for her son, as well.

And a couple of days ago the STD test results had come back, saying we were both clean. No problems. Alhad had wanted us to consumate our relationship right then and there, but I'd held onto waiting for after his emancipation hearing - no matter which way it went. I had an ace up my sleeve. If the judge had refused emancipation, I could take him and Priya up to Canada, and he and I could get married. It was possible with parental permission at sixteen, and you didn't need to be a Canadian citizen or resident.

I still planned on it. I had the rings on me, and I planned to ask him after supper. Yes, I know it was awfully soon - in this life. But Alhad and I had been lovers for two years in our previous life together, and his personality hadn't changed that much. He wasn't quite as serious and studious as he had been back then, and he was more playful now, but he - well, both of us, really - had grown up in different circumstances this time around.

I had still been raised to govern, but instead of a province, this time I'd been raised to govern a business. Alhad hadn't had the outside pressure to serve a member of the ruling body this time, but he had prepared himself for such a role anyway. True, there was a wider age gap this time. We had been only two years apart in India, and we were six years apart this time, but the physical age difference didn't mean much when everything else was added in.

I suggested that perhaps we might like to go to a good Indian restaurant, and asked if they knew of one. As it turned out, there was only one Indian restaurant in town, and Priya pronounced it 'so-so', but we went there anyway. I thought it was pretty good, actually, and wondered what Priya would consider 'good' or 'excellent', if this was 'so-so'.

As strange as it may sound, I wasn't that nervous about asking Alhad to marry me. I figured I had a ninety-five percent chance of him saying 'yes'. If he said 'no' (and with the way he'd been pursuing a relationship with me it was hard to imagine him doing so), I'd ask again in a month or two. So after supper I told Priya that I'd like to talk to Alhad outside privately for a moment, and we'd be right back.

I think I made Alhad nervous with how serious I was being as I led the way outside. Once away from the building and traffic areas, I turned to my golden boy, and pulled the small box from my pocket. I kept my gaze on his face as I opened it. His eyes widened as he saw the contents, then he looked up at me.

"You're a legal adult now, Alhad, so I have a question for you. Will you marry me?"

His hands came up to cup mine, and his gaze focussed on the rings. "Are... are you serious?" he asked.

"Do remember what I said the day I spanked you?" I asked him.

He blushed at the memory, but nodded. "You said... if you ever asked..." His eyes came up to meet mine again, and they were shining with unshed tears. "Yes," he whispered. And then he almost screamed it. "Yes!" as he threw himself into my arms. The rings were almost knocked out of my hand, but somehow I managed to hold onto both them and him at the same time.

Keeping in mind that we were still in public, I refrained from kissing him, and managed to turn my head so that his kiss landed on my cheek rather than my lips. "Public places, Alhad!" I whispered at him with a fond grin. The rings I had were wedding bands. I hadn't bothered with an engagement ring, since I didn't expect our engagement to last very long, and it would be hard to explain away, anyway. After we were married, it wouldn't matter so much who knew. But for now I thought it was best if Alhad's friends didn't have anything more to question him about. So after I'd explained that to him, the rings went back in my pocket. I hated the disappointed look on his face, but weighing the risks against his disappointment, I held firm.

"I think we might want to tell your mother and ask for her blessing now, don't you?"

He grinned and nodded violently, shaking loose one of the tears that had refused to fall before now, and I wiped it off his face.

Priya shed some tears as well when we told her (actually, I let Alhad do it), but readily gave her congratulations and blessing. I then went on to explain to both of them what I had in mind. I already had a passport as, I assumed, did Priya, although hers would probably need to be updated, but Alhad would have to apply for and get one of his own as well. They weren't strictly needed for visits between the U.S. and Canada, but for reasons of identification I thought it would be a good idea.

Two weeks later Alhad had a brand new driver's license and passport, and had a copy of his birth certificate as well as a copy of his emancipation papers (again, not strictly needed although they could prove helpful, and his passport showed his emancipated status), Priya had updated her passport and I'd made sure that mine was up to date. I'd bought us three first-class tickets to Toronto, Ontario, and had made reservations at a good hotel there. Why Toronto? I liked the sound of the name.

But now I was getting nervous. I've never been the type to get sweaty hands, but my neck and shoulder muscles got really tight, and my leg (either one) would start trembling and jumping if I sat with just the ball of my foot on the floor, which happened when I was tense and nervous. I'd get restless when I tried to sleep, and I always had to be doing something. I'd almost rather have the sweaty hands.

Alhad was almost as bad, as the day for our flight got near, only he was cooking things and then having to freeze them when we couldn't eat everything, and cleaning house, and teaching himself how to bake, so that we had tons of cookies and other goodies lying around. At least that stuff could be taken to his friends at school when there got to be too much of it.

Finally it occured to me that we had a pool, and we started making extensive use of it, the sauna, and the hot tub, especially at night. It helped a lot.

Alhad had been saying his goodbyes to his friends, telling them about his emancipation and his live-in job that now placed him a new school district and collected their phone numbers, emails, and other pertinent information and gave them his, but at the last minute we decided it might be better to wait until the new semester started. In the meantime he'd have to take his car to school and back.

The wedding itself was something of an anti-climax. Alhad and I had held hands on the flight up, then with his mother we picked up the rented car, checked into the hotel, had a late supper, went to a movie, and went to bed. Early the next morning we all got together for breakfast, then went in search of a civil servant licensed to conduct weddings. The hotel clerk on duty was very helpful in that regard, and soon we were showing documents, signing documents and affidavits, paying fees, swearing our 'I do's', and exchanging rings. Alhad even changed his last name to mine.

And it was over. Alhad and I were married. The three of us shared a hug, then went out to the car and spent the day playing tourist.

Alhad was unusually quiet and pensive, but then so was I.

"I feel cheated," I said out loud as the realization hit me.

"What?" Alhad asked, bewildered.

"Don't get me wrong, love," I assured him. "I'm very happy to be married to you, but I feel cheated. Our wedding should have been a big affair with all our friends there to celebrate with us and cheer us on! Not just signing some papers and saying a couple of words."

I could see realization dawning in Alhad's face.

"Yeah," he kind of drawled out, at first. "Yeah! YEAH!" he yelled in agreement. "But... isn't it too late? Can we do anything about it?"

I thought about it. "The Metropolitan Community Church conducts gay marriages. They're not recognized as legal, since our state doesn't allow gay marriage yet, but we're already legally married. There might be others, too. We could set something up. Re-affirm our vows, and let our friends share in our happiness."

I liked that idea. I looked at Alhad, and he was grinning his approval, too.

"What do you think, Priya?" I asked.

"It would have been nice," she replied cautiously.

"Would you like to put it together?"

There was a long pause, and then, "How long would I have?"

Good question. How long do things like this usually take? I'd heard of society weddings taking three months or more to put together, but I didn't think we needed anything that elaborate.

"Would a month be long enough?" A glance at Alhad told me he was feeling a little anxious. I wondered...

Another pause. "I think so," she replied.

"Just be sure to include Alhad in the planning," I told her. Alhad's suddenly relaxed smile told me I'd guessed correctly. "Charge everything to me. And if you need an assistant, just let me know."

"Is there anything in particular you'd like?" Priya asked.

I looked at Alhad, an idea growing in my mind. 'Indian?' I mouthed at him. He grinned at me, and nodded.

"How about an Indian wedding - or at least in that style?" I suggested to her.

"In keeping with your previous rank?" she asked, sounding worried now.

"Nothing so elaborate," I assured her, "but certainly the clothing, food and music should be top-notch, anyway. Live music if you can find anyone who's any good, otherwise we can go with recorded. And don't do the cooking yourself - or at least not all of it: hire someone," I said, correcting myself as the thought occured to me that she might want to do some of the cooking. "There's going to be enough for you to do without trying to do it all."

"Anything you can think of, Alhad?" I asked.

"Not right now, but I'd like to look into it once we're back home?" he replied.

"Sure. Just let me know," I said, grinning at him. I was feeling much better about the day, now; and judging from the way Alhad perked up, he was, too. I guess we were both just a couple of romantics.

We decided to cut our Canadian visit short, and flew home that night. Alhad had school Monday, anyway. By the time we got home from the airport we'd decided on a date. Priya picked up her car from our place, hugged us goodbye, and went home.

"You know what?" I said to Alhad as we watched her car's tail lights disappear.

"What?"

"We forgot to eat!" I exclaimed, laughing. We had totally skipped supper in our excitement. The airline snacks had temporarily appeased my appetite, and I assumed the same was true for Alhad. But now I was hungry!

I took Alhad's hand and walked to the garage. I didn't feel like cooking, and I didn't think it would be fair to make Alhad cook tonight, either. I unlocked the garage and activated the door mechanism. When it was open, we looked at the vehicles, then I looked at Alhad.

"Yours, or mine?" I asked.

He looked at me and got this goofy grin on his face. "What you talkin' 'bout, white man?" he quipped. "All I see here, is 'ours'."

I laughed. He had a point. "Okay, then I'll rephrase it - which car would you like to take tonight, and who's driving?"

"You're driving," he said, avoiding the choice of car. "I can't seem to stop looking at my husband."

I smiled kind of lopsidedly at him, then drew him into a kiss. I had only meant it to last a couple of seconds, but we were both out of breath when we broke it off.

"I think we're taking the pick-up," I told him. "It's the only one with a bench seat."

Alhad tilted his head, looking the question at me.

"Come on, and I'll show you," I said, laughing.

I re-locked the garage and we went around behind it. I opened his door, and he had mine unlocked by the time I got around to it. After getting out on the road, I said, "Come here," with a smile.

He scooted over, and I put my right arm around his shoulders. He leaned into me and put his head on my shoulder.

"See," I told him, "you can't do this with bucket seats. But there are three sets of seat belts in here, so you better put it on. I'd hate to lose my 'bride' so soon," I teased him.

Alhad hit my shoulder and grinned, then put the seatbelt on and returned to his previous position against me.

"By the way, what are you in the mood for?" At the look he gave me, I clarified, "Food-wise, horndog!"

"Hm... Steak? Shrimp? Onion flower?" he suggested.

"Sounds like Outback Steak House, then," I replied.

"Sounds good," he opined.

When we got home, Alhad asked, "Aren't you going to carry your bride over the threshold?"

My boy bride. Except he wasn't a boy anymore, but a young man. I thrust away my momentary unease with his choice of descriptor for himself, kissed him tenderly, then threw him over my shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Alhad gave a short "Hey!" in objection, then started laughing at the absurdity of it as I carried him up the stairs.

It was a bit difficult to unlock the door with him like that, but I wasn't going to set him down, and eventually managed. Nor did I set him down once we got inside. I carried him all the way to our (officially, now) bedroom, squeezing and petting his ass with my free hand all the way. If I could have, I would have also been kissing and nibbling on it, but all I could reach was his hip. But it got more than its fair share of kisses on the way, anyway.

We consummated our love and wedding that night - several times, and both ways. It had been long enough since he'd used one of his dildos that Alhad was quite tight, and since I hadn't had a boyfriend for over a year and didn't bottom often anyway, so was I. We were both moving a little tenderly the next morning, but grinning like fools at each other.

Being grateful that Priya gave birth to Alhad, that day I picked out a bolt each of a lustrous gray silk chiffon and a purple/navy silk dupioni from an on-line store. Not being stupid, I got them at a discount site at a fraction of the original price (I may be wealthy, but you don't stay that way if you keep ignoring cheaper options). While I was at it, I called Alhad into the den and we picked out a few yards each of several nice silk fabrics that he could make short saris out of. I might even try wearing them myself.

Over the next couple of days I also made preliminary arrangements to get Priya's monolithic home built.

Over the next two weeks it became evident that Alhad did prefer to bottom; it wasn't just because he'd never tried topping. He was always pulling me on top of him or backing up to me, and I was beginning to wonder if I'd be able to keep him satisfied. We made love all over the house and property, including on the diving board and with him on his back on the table. He'd remembered my remark about 'not at the table, but on it'. I think I should buy stock in the K-Y company.

I hoped that this was just 'honeymoon syndrome' and that his libido would settle down after awhile. Speaking of honeymoons, however; after I brought it up, we started thinking of places that we'd like to go. Due to business and school concerns it wouldn't have been all that good an idea to have one after our original wedding, but Christmas break was coming up for Alhad, and we'd set the ceremony for the first weekend of that break. Eventually we settled on Hawa'ii, although it was a close thing; the Bahamas and the Virgin Islands had been right up there, too.

Of course I had to make a lame joke about Alhad not being allowed in the Virgin Islands, since he definitely wasn't one, now. I expected him to blush, but I got a wink and smirk instead; then he turned around and wiggled his ass at me! I had to laugh at his antics.

Of course we started taking care of other things as well, such as getting Alhad's name changed here in the States. He'd opted for it in Canada when we got married, but I thought it might be better to try to get everything changed over into his new name without using our marriage license. I assured Alhad that I had every intention of filing our marriage here, but I thought it might be easier to get his name changed with less bureaucratic red tape if we got everything else done first.

So the first thing was a trip to the courthouse to file for his name change. I helped Alhad fill out the forms. They wanted to know why he wanted to change his name. We decided 'estrangement from father' would work. Was he trying to avoid debts or prosecution by changing his name? No. Fortunately he had got in the habit of carrying around a copy of his birth certificate (he'd even scanned it into the computer in case he lost it) so he had all that information. Finally it was all filled out, so he took it up to the clerk and he wrote a check for the fees - over three hundred dollars. Now all we could do is hope the court approved it.

Next was the DMV, and filling out a change of name form there for Alhad's driver's license, and naming me as next of kin. Relationship? 'Through marriage.' How they chose to interpret that was up to them. The form for that was much shorter, and fees much cheaper, but I'd deposited five thousand dollars into Alhad's checking account when we opened it, and he had no living expenses, so he had the money for everything. That taken care of, and his temporary driver's license with the new name in hand (the permanent one to arrive in two weeks), we went to the bank and got the name changed on his account.

There was one more place we'd have to change Alhad's name at, but Social Security would take awhile, and it was now late in the day. It would have to wait for the next day. And it took a large chunk of the next day. There were a lot of people in line before us, and even when we got up there it seemed to take forever for them to get anything done. But finally it was done. Everything had been filed. Fortunately Alhad didn't have utility companies or anyone else he needed to change his name with.

I was in for something of a shock when I went to put Alhad on my company health insurance plan, though. It seemed that the company I owned did not recognize domestic partners in relation to our insurance and retirement plans. I raised all kinds of hell over that, as you might imagine, and got that squared away in next to no time. Alright, it took a few days since it had to go by the board of directors, but it got done, and I made sure that the employees were notified of the change, too.

Alhad and I were more than 'domestic partners' of course, but I couldn't find a health insurance company that recognized gay marriage, so that's the route we had to take.

The legalities out of the way, it was time to turn to other, more pleasant matters.

Priya, Alhad and I picked out a spot down near the road for her new house. She'd opted for only a twenty-five foot diameter monolithic house with a mostly open floor plan. The bedroom and bathroom were enclosed, but the only thing separating the kitchen from the living room was a breakfast bar, which would serve for all meals. I made sure that it would get all the built-ins, from dishwasher, trash compactor, to a small side-by-side freezer/refrigerator, and plenty of cupboard and counter space. Unknown to her, I had also contracted for another dome for a one-car garage and storage space for her.

Construction would begin as soon as the ground was cleared, the forms arrived and permits arranged for, and there was enough clear weather forecast to allow the cement foundations to set and dry.

About two weeks before the date of the 'renewal' of our vows, I asked Alhad how many of his friends we could expect. He didn't reply. When I looked up from the invitation list to see why, I was surprised to see a faint blush on his face.

"I... chickened out," he said sheepishly.

"Chickened out?"

"Yeah. I tried, but I'm just not sure how they'll take it!"

"No guarantees in life, babe," I told him. "If they can't take it, then they're not likely to be real friends anyway."

"Will you come with me? For moral support?"

I hesitated, but with our marriage, the rules had changed.

"Sure. When do you want to do it?"

"Tomorrow? After school? I can get them all together then, I think," he said anxiously.

"Baby, relax. We're a team, now," I told him.

"I know. I just can't seem to get it through my head that we're actually married," he admitted.

When I drove up in front of his school the next day, Alhad ran over to my car then stood there, unsure how to act in public with me, I'm sure. I got out, gave him a quick peck on the cheek, put an arm around his shoulder, and walked with him over to the group that he'd left to greet me. Although I recognized most of them from Alhad's birthday party, and I'm sure they recognized me, several of them were giving me funny looks, then turning puzzled frowns on Alhad. A few, however, were smiling at us.

"What's up, Al?" one boy asked. He was one of the frowners.

'Al'? Not a nickname I approved of. It sounded... common. And my Alhad was anything but common.

Alhad looked up at me, and at my reassuring nod, turned back to his friends.

"Guys... I'd like you all to meet Bradley Jons - my husband," Alhad announced.

Several of them laughed, but when they saw both Alhad and I remained serious, they soon quieted down.

There was a rather long silence as they absorbed what they'd heard before one girl said, "Guys can't get married in this state."

"True," I replied for Alhad, "but they can get married in Canada."

"But you're not Canadian - are you?"

"No, but Canadian law doesn't require you to be a citizen," I replied.

"Al's too young!" the first girl objected.

"Not with parental consent," Alhad replied smugly.

"Your mom okay'd this?" a brown-haired boy asked Alhad incredulously.

"Yeah," Alhad replied, shooting a grin at me.

It looked like the natives were getting restless, so I took over.

"The reason we're here today is to ask all of Alhad's friends - those of you who he's asked to meet us here - to a renewal of our pledge. We couldn't have all of our friends at our wedding in Canada, and even though it was legal, it didn't feel real. Now we want to do it again, with our friends. The new ceremony won't be recognized by the state, but we've already got that part covered. We just want all of our friends to share in our happiness."

"Hey, look, guys," Alhad said, "I'm sure most of you guessed I was gay anyway, so what's the big deal?"

"So you're living in that wierd-looking house now?" yet another girl asked.

Alhad shrugged. "I like it, and yes I am," he replied.

"You gonna quite school now?" a boy with dark blond hair asked.

"No, but since I'm living with Brad now, I'm going to have to go to a different school."

"Some snooty school?" a dark-haired boy asked.

"No, it's a public school," I replied, trying to head off trouble, "and it wasn't Alhad's choice. Living at my place - our place - put him in a different school district."

"So why ain'tcha goin' there now?" the dark-haired boy asked Alhad even more belligerently.

Alhad frowned at him. "You trying to get rid of me, Mark?"

Mark shrugged. "One less queer here, anyway," he said callously.

A few girls in his vicinity hit him, and several others, including a few boys, shot remarks of their own at him. But I noted two or three other boys and at least one girl looking troubled, like they wanted to agree, but weren't sure.

I tightened my hand on Alhad's shoulder, trying to convey to him that he should ignore the remark, but I knew it had to have hurt. I was exercising some self-restraint of my own. I wanted to slap some sense into that insensitive brat.

"I guess that's one less on the guest list then?" I said more than asked. He wasn't my friend but Alhad's, but I had to say something.

"Sorry, love," I said sotto voce. "It's your decision, of course. Maybe we should wrap this up?"

Alhad nodded without looking at me then spoke up, addressing the group.

"Any of you who have open minds, let me know by the end of school tomorrow if you can come," he said.

He then looked sadly at Mark, who was still looking faintly defiant, then said quietly to me, "Let's go home."

I walked him to his car just in case there was trouble, gave him another quick kiss after he got in it, then walked back towards mine.

"Hey!" It was that 'Mark' kid. "Tell the wifey he's lucky I don't beat his ass!"

I walked over to him.

"Do you know the meaning of harrassment?" I asked him. "'Cause I'm sure the police would be happy to educate you, since you don't seem to have learned it here."

"For your information," I told him, "Alhad was emancipated before we got married. I'm sure he told you about that, at least?"

Upon seeing the kid's apprehensive nod, I continued. "You, or any of your friends give him any trouble, of any kind, and I will make sure charges are pressed. You wouldn't like juvenile hall."

"I've been there before," he said, trying to sound tough.

I looked him up and down. "Figures. How long did it take your ass to heal?" I asked. Mark's angry blush told me my guess was right on the money. He'd been raped at least once.

"For your information," I told him, "kids like that are mostly straight kids who just want to get their rocks off. No girls, so they take what they can get, even if it takes rape to get it. Most gays like the same kind of loving relationships most straights like - just with a guy instead of a girl. Don't take your bad experience out on Alhad. He doesn't deserve it."

The kid had tried to interrupt me several times as I said that, but I just over-rode him. I didn't wait to hear his reply. I was so angry I wasn't sure I'd be able to control myself. As I walked away, I heard a boy's voice saying, "You got raped?"

Alhad had less than two weeks of school to go here before Christmas break, and he then transferred to the other one. I hoped today's events wouldn't cause him to have problems with harrassment and verbal abuse in his remaining time here - let alone the possibility of his being beat on. But I knew with a group that large, someone was going to blab where they shouldn't, and Alhad was going to have verbal barbs flung his way. If it hadn't been for the wedding and Alhad's guests, I would just as soon not have done this.

Of course moving to a new school wouldn't get rid of prejudice. Once word got out there, there would likely be just as much of a problem. There was nothing for it though except to deal with things as they came up, and not worry about it until then. I renewed my resolve to get Alhad started in self-defense classes.

When I brought up the subject to him later, at home, Alhad agreed that it would probably be wise, but he wasn't really keen on it. I told him my story, and that I had learned some martial arts when I was his age.

"Then why don't you teach me?" Alhad asked.

"There's a big difference between knowing how, and knowing how to teach it," I told him. "I'd probably wind up teaching you bad habits that could get you hurt."

He protested, but I was adamant. I wasn't going to take any chances with Alhad's safety, and making sure he got top-quality training was a part of that. I knew I didn't have the necessary knowledge to do a good job. Alhad finally agreed, and I went back to worrying about what was going to happen at his present school. I did get him started on an exercise regimen, though. He'd need to build up his strength and endurance.

When I asked him a few days later, Alhad denied there being any real problems at school, but admitted that there had been a few more slurs thrown his way. I had the urge to apologize, but knew it was entirely irrational to blame myself. Instead, I gave him a comforting hug. We wound up 'comforting' each other for quite awhile afterward, our clothes scattered about us.

Our public wedding - or handfasting, since we were already wed - was beautiful. Priya outdid herself with the food and the music group she found somewhere. The lowering clouds threatened rain, but only ever spat a few sparse raindrops at us. Some of the girls from Alhad's school showed up in makeshift saris, to add to the atmosphere. Brightly colored banners and decorations were everywhere and the Indian clothing, whether genuine or makeshift, added some verisimilitude to the scene. That, and the smells from the cooking, which was heavenly.

Once the ceremony was over and we'd accepted the congratulations of most of the guests, I took Alhad's hand and we walked over to house. I had taken our wedding certificate to a copy house and had them blow it up to four feet wide by six feet long onto a light canvas. We both took hold of the line that, with one yank, would untie it and let it unroll - and gave it that yank.

Now the Doubting Thomases had the proof they'd been wanting, and it did create a minor stir. It was funny, really. It caused more of a fuss than our handfasting itself! Seems nobody could quite believe that any country could be more open-minded than the good ol' U.S. of A.

The party continued. Most of the teenagers had gone home by ten due to parental curfew, but the party didn't wind up until about an hour after I locked up the liquor. Those few who were too drunk to drive were piled into spare rooms, with trash cans in easy reach in case of 'illness'. But by two the next afternoon, Alhad and I were alone.

He turned to me and I met his lips halfway before leading him back to our bedroom.

It was going to be an interesting life, and this time I hoped we made it all the way through. I couldn't think of a better way to spend it than with Alhad.

If you liked 'Alhad' and wish to read my other stories, go to my website, listed in my profile.

Copyright © 2006 by Shamyn Whitehawk