Another week passed, and Dylan had trouble keeping his mind on work. He wanted to drive back to Oregon to be with Kimo. When he got home from work, Kimo called him on his cell.
“Brudder, are you safe and can you sit down? I have news.”
There was excitement in his voice, so Dylan was certain Kimo wasn’t breaking up with him. “Sure, brudder, what’s up?” He was proud to talk like Kimo.
“Dylan, my boss came to me today. I was working in the office. He said he wants to open a branch in Baker City, Oregon, and he wants me, a simple ol’ Hawaiian boy, to run it. Isn’t that awesome? And, of course, there’s a nice pay raise. I won’t travel anymore except within the local area. I can hire a part-time assistant.”
“Uh, where’s Baker City?”
“Oh, sorry. It’s sort of in northern Oregon, or north-east. It’s on Highway Eighty-Four. It’s in the snow country. They get about thirty inches of snow a year. Cool, huh? It’s common to get snowed in. I think of you when I think of snow. If we hadn’t been stranded in Florence, we never would have met. It never snows as hard it did when we were there. It’s like God wanted us to meet.”
“I know. It’s serendipity. I love it.”
“Okay, so Baker City is about ten thousand people, and it’s the county seat. And get this. I told my boss about us and our engagement and that you worked in customer service. My boss’ parents live in Baker City. That’s one reason he wants to open a branch there. His father is general manager of the fancy resort lodge there. So, he called his dad because his dad said he needed a new customer service manager. The job is open, but it hasn’t been advertised yet. I’m sure it won’t pay what you’re making now, but it’s cheaper to live in Oregon, including housing.”
Dylan was speechless again.
“Hello, Dylan, are you there?”
“Yeah. I’m here. I’m speechless again.”
“I have the phone number for you to call to see about the job. And Dylan, if you move here, that is to Baker City, we can buy a house. I have twenty thousand saved for a down payment.”
“Um, yeah, I have fifty thousand for a house. My parents barely charge me anything for rent, so I save a lot.” He took down the name of the man to contact and the phone number.
“Call tomorrow, okay?”
“Yes, I will. Damn, this is exciting, Kimo. Is it more serendipity?”
“Don’t know, bro. It all makes me happy.”
“Can we get some land with the house and have a greenhouse to grow things?”
“Whatever you desire, my petite little lover.”
Dylan giggled. “I like you calling me that. Okay, cool, I’ll call first thing in the morning.”
“I love you, Dylan. Be on your best behavior. Try to act like an adult, until you get the job.” He cackled.
Dylan laughed, too. “Yes, sir.”
Dylan got a text from his mom saying she and dad were going out to dinner and they’d be home later. He got on the Internet to research about The Renaissance Inn of Baker City and about the weather and things to do. It was about four hours’ drive from Portland, a big city in Oregon, but just short of eight hours’ drive to Florence on the coast. He spent a few hours playing on the Internet when he heard his parents get home. They were laughing and joking and kissing and touching.
“Gee, you finally got home, huh? And this is a school night. Have you two been drinking? Who drove? Are you intoxicated?” He planted his hands on his hips and glared.
Mom said, “Yes, we’ve both been drinking. Quite a bit as a matter of fact. We took a taxi home because you’ve always told us since we were twelve never, never, never drive with any alcohol in our systems.” She grinned. “We were celebrating.”
Dylan’s face lit. “Really? Are you pregnant?”
Dad said, “No, not that, but we keep practicing.” He giggled, a sure sign he was feeling no pain. Then Dad’s face got serious. “Dylan, we need to have a serious talk with you.” He hesitated and led everyone into the living room. He had Dylan sit. “Dylan, you’re our son and we love you, but it’s time for you to move out. You’re old enough.”
“Y-y-your kicking me out?”
Dad laughed. “Well, yeah, we are.” He hunched.
Mom cut in. “Tell him the rest of it. Don’t tease him.”
Dad smirked. “My company’s Portland, Oregon, office is all screwed up. The last three managers did crappy jobs. They want me to move there and straighten out the place, otherwise they’re going to close the office. It’s the worst performing office in the US. If I’m successful, there will be huge bonuses for me. So, your mom and I discussed it. Just to go there will be a significant pay raise, and we’re tired of San Jose, so we’re moving to Portland.” He wagged his brows. “So, you have to move out when we sell the house. We paid three hundred thousand for it years ago, and it’ll sell now for a million or so. The mortgage is one hundred thousand, so that’s a huge profit.”
Dylan was speechless. Again. He looked around the room and then to his parents and then he inspected his hands.
Mom said, “Son, what are you thinking? We’re not really kicking you out. If you want to move with us to Portland, that’s fine. There will be room for you.” He still didn’t speak. “Baby, you’re scaring me. What are you thinking?”
“I didn’t tell you this yet, but last weekend when I visited Kimo, he asked me to marry him. I’ve been sort of thinking of moving to Oregon to be with Kimo. Then today he called and said his boss is opening a new branch in a town called Baker City in Oregon. Kimo said the local fancy resort is looking for a new customer service manager, and I have to call tomorrow to talk to the man. If I get the job, I’ll move to Baker City. That’s about four hours to Portland.”
It was his parents’ turn to be speechless. Not a word was spoken for two minutes.
Then Mom said, “He asked you to marry him? What did you say?” She clenched her hands.
“I said yes, of course. I love him, but I said I wanted a long engagement, over a year so we can be sure. And we both want to adopt kids someday.” His eyes got big. “Is it okay? I know you want me to be straight, and I tried, but I’m mostly into guys. I’m sorry to disappoint you.”
Dad said, “Son, we want you to be happy and to live to your standards, not ours. We accept that you’re gay or half gay, but it will be harder to be that way in a smaller town. You need to think about that.”
“I didn’t. Thank you for bringing it up.”
Mom hugged Dylan. “I love you, and I want you to be happy. If Kimo makes you happy, then God bless you both and your future children.”
“Thanks, Mom.”
Dad hugged, too. “I love you, son. Do what will make you happy, and if you move to Oregon, we’ll be close. If you work at a fancy resort, maybe you can get us a deep discount to stay there.”
“But, Dad, you’ll be making a bunch more money. You can afford to pay full price.” Dylan smirked.
* * * *
Three months later, Kimo and Dylan went to bed in their new home just outside the city limits of Baker City. It had five acres of land. Dylan hugged Kimo and felt full in his heart. He loved Kimo so much, he hated to go to work at the resort, but he liked it and his boss.
Kimo was the manager of the new office repair facility and was training Dylan to be his part-time assistant. They worked well together, although Dylan still found reasons to spank Kimo.
As he turned the light out, Kimo said to Dylan, “Forecast is for snow. A lot of snow overnight. We might get snowed in. Been known to happen at least once each year here.”
“Really? Cool. I like being snowed in with you.” They kissed and went to sleep after making love.
THE END