Ten-Finger Exercises

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About a year or so later, maybe even longer, Bill received a lengthy letter from Kevin. It began by Kevin's saying that he was about to share some pretty heavy news, and that if it was too much for Bill, he'd understand. Kevin was gay. And in love. He hoped Bill would be happy for him, and would attend the commitment ceremony they planned to hold at their own little cottage on one of the islands.

This was not easy news for Bill to accept. In fact, he muttered that wouldn't it be ironic if his position on homosexuality changed because he had a gay son. Whatever it takes, I thought.

His position has not really changed, but he did want to go to the ceremony to offer support for Kevin and his partner Rex, and I was pleased. So was Kevin. His adoptive parents did not come. In fact, they have disinherited both twins since then.

Rex is a very successful artist, and the crowd who came for the festivity was colorful and interesting. Some were straight, some gay, many in the arts. The buffet they put on was fabulous, and the setting, high above the ocean before sunset, was fantastic. Bill surprised himself by enjoying himself. "They're just like anyone else," he said. I had to laugh. Some were certainly more flamboyant than to possibly be considered ordinary. I took lots and lots of pictures, which we made into CDs for them. They never really commented on them, which surprised me because I thought they were pretty good shots.

Anyway, over the intervening four or five years, Joan and her husband have made tentative plans to drop by on their way home from trips, but it's never happened. Bill has taken her to dinner when he's been in their area on business. Kevin was never available.
Last year they invited us to their birthday party on the island. The weather was nice and we were looking forward to it, but Bill wanted to get some assurance that someone would pick us up at the airport if we flew over, there being no taxi. Despite several calls and emails, we never heard from them until it was over. It seemed like an oversight, but we couldn't tell.

This year they said they wanted to come to our area on a wine buying tour and visit. Kevin owns a wine shop, and they have evidently been here before to buy but did not call. He and Rex and Joan all three were coming, the fellows staying in a hotel. We offered Joan a room, and once again did not hear from them about it. Finally, we heard that she would be staying in the hotel too, and that they would arrive on Friday.

Bill took the day off in anticipation. He had some cleaning up to do around the house, he said, but he did not tackle the things I expected. And he left early in the afternoon to wait for them at their hotel. They didn't get in till a few hours later, having stopped at wineries and tasted along the way, enjoying their trip. They asked him to make a reservation for dinner in a nearby town, which we did, and we drove over in two cars, one twin with us on the way over and the other on the way back.

Saturday Bill wanted to take them flying. He was a nervous wreck leaving the house, impatient with me for not being ready as early as he was, etc. I had plenty of things to finish doing around here if they were coming for dinner, because by then I'd learned that they didn't eat "mammals," and one could not eat dairy and another could not eat wheat. So, my easy barbecue plans were out. Bill doesn't do fish well on the grill, and I do it best with flour or at least butter. I was in a tizzy trying to figure it out. They also have very knowledgeable palates and want good food and wine.

I was relieved when they decided we'd go out for dinner again on Saturday, but would come sit out in the backyard for awhile beforehand. Bill was eager to take them around to all the houses he'd ever lived in and the cemetery where their ancestors are buried. I opted out of that tour, having heard it too many times. They opted out of flying, which was very disappointing for Bill, but still they had a nice day I think. They liked our cat, but otherwise never said, "What a lovely yard," or any of those things I'd think they'd say. It was a strange combination of friendliness and distance. Hard to know what they really thought.

They have invited us back for their birthday celebration this year, in August, and have promised to work out the details, like whether we can land on that island or have to land on another and take the ferry. That was our predicament last year, because we didn't have the time to drive over.

So far, all we've heard was a short email saying, "Nice seeing you again," from Kevin. We'll see. Maybe they don't really want any more family anyway.

By the way, Elizabeth, who was so hot to find them, etc., has never set eyes on them yet.