Sunshine Days - Chapter 39
Watching the sun rise was simultaneously the most beautiful and awful thing Jonathan had ever witnessed. The sun rose above the horizon shortly before six in the morning, right above the sleeping camp. It illuminated the mountains off in the distance, making them gleam over the shimmering lake.
Jonathan tried in vain to make time slow down so he could hold onto the moment as long as he could. In a few short hours, he'd be back on board of a bus heading towards San Diego. It wasn't just the return trip he was dreading, it was saying goodbye to all new his friends as well. Two weeks ago, he couldn't wait to leave. Now he wished he could just have a little bit longer with David.
But the inflexible passage of time was as cruel as it was unstoppable. He could feel the seconds slipping away from them, making it seemingly impossible to make each one count. The night had gone by so quickly somehow. They'd spent all of it talking to one another and enjoying each other's company before the impending sunrise.
David stood to his feet. His back popped and his tail and legs quivered as he stretched the tiredness out of his body. "We should go get a shower before everyone else wakes up..." He said.
Jonathan nodded softly. He felt his knees and back protesting as he got up from the ground.
They went back to camp together, sharing one more intimate moment alone in the showers. They kissed deeply, holding on to one another under the water. But they did not have sex that morning. They were both very tired.
After they dried off and got dressed in clean clothes, they left to find that people were already getting up and getting ready for the day. The Leaders were all up and rushing around camp to make sure cubs were waking up and getting them showered and fed. Past the Main Lodge and through the totem poles that carried the camp sign were the yellow school buses that were waiting to take them home.
Over breakfast, Lars gave the final announcements and instructions for campers. They were supposed to have one final sermon before they left but in light of recent events, it was canceled. Instead, they all went outside to play. The morning was warm enough that they were able to get in another game of volleyball. Boys and girls played on the same teams this time.
Then finally, the time had rolled around. At ten o clock, parents started pulling up into the parking lot to retrieve their cubs and bus drivers were opening up the luggage compartments of their vehicles.
Jonathan made sure that he had all of his items together and inside his duffel bag. He still had his broken glasses from his encounter with Avery and Henry, the CDs that David had given him, and a small stack of Polaroids that David had given him as well. Little snapshots of memories they'd shared together at camp.
They dragged their luggage up to the entrance of camp where cubs were already handing theirs off to bus drivers to load onto the rumbling buses. They stayed back a bit, retreating off to a little space behind one of the buses.
"I don't think my mom's here yet to get me," David said as he scanned the parking lot. He turned to Jonathan with a sad smile on his face. "I guess we got a little time left before your bus leaves, huh?"
Jonathan nodded. He swallowed the lump in his throat and leaned up to hug David tightly. "I'm gonna miss you..." He said.
"I'm gonna miss you too, Johnny boy..." David said with a soft whimper. He pulled back, giving Jonathan the best, reassuring grin he could muster. "I'm gonna email you every day." They had made sure to exchange email accounts so they could stay in contact long after they left.
Jonathan gave a small giggle and said, "Well...You don't gotta do that every day."
"Why not?"
Jonathan shrugged. "Well...wouldn't we run out of things to say to one another?"
David grinned. "Not for me! I could talk to you for ages and never get bored!"
Jonathan chuckled and shook his head lightly. He smiled up at the handsome canine, feeling a pang of sadness as those blue eyes sparkled at him. They still seemed so joyful in spite of David's and his impending departure.
David took his paws in his and held them with his palms facing up. Watching curiously, David rubbed his thumbs around them while he said, "May the road rise up to meet you. May the wind always be at your back. May the sun shine warm upon your face and the rains fall softly on your fields. And until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of his hand..."
Jonathan stared at him for a moment. "That was really pretty..." He finally said.
David grinned. "That's an Irish blessing. My Nana taught me that when I was littler."
"Bus 29!" A booming voice called out behind them. A tiger was calling cubs towards the bus and while another adult loaded bags into the vehicle.
David gave him a worried expression but Jonathan replied. "Not my bus. Mine's 43."
"Bus 89!" Another voice called out.
Jonathan looked back at David, gazing at his face for one last time. His lower lip trembled and his voice cracked. "I'm really going to miss you, David..."
David pulled him in, hugging him tight enough to squeeze the air out of his lungs.
"Everyone for Bus 55!"
"We're gonna see each other again," David whispered back huskily. "You're gonna come back and visit Vince again soon sometime, aren't you?"
Jonathan smiled and nodded, sniffing and wiping tears from his cheeks. He looked back up into the pup's face, his large muzzle still sporting a goofy grin, his eyes bright and still somehow cheerful. This was how Jonathan wanted to remember him.
Jonathan looked over his shoulder once before leaning up and giving David another long, deep kiss. When the kiss broke, they heard, "Bus 43! Now loading Bus 43!"
At around the same time, they heard a little beep out in the parking lot. David looked over and said, "Oh...That's my mom now."
Jonathan looked and saw a red SUV though he didn't just see David's mom in there. His dad was there too, sitting in the driver's seat. He could see that David took on more after his dad in the looks department. His mother was a bull terrier too but she had mostly dark brown fur.
David picked up his bags and said, "Well...See you, Johnny boy..."
Jonathan watched as he headed off towards the van, waiting until David had opened the door and gotten in before picking up his own bags and heading towards his bus.
~ ~ ~
"Hi mommy! Hey dad!" David said enthusiastically as he crawled into the van.
"Hey sport!" His dad said, looking around to see if anyone was behind him as he pulled out of the parking space. "Didja have a good time at camp?"
"I sure did!" David said, grinning and tapping his tail on the seat. He buckled himself in.
"Make some new friends?" His mother asked, giving her husband a grin.
"Uh huh!" David replied, still grinning. He yawned wide before saying. "Did you guys do anything fun while I was gone?"
"Well..." His mother said, giving her husband a knowing smile, "We certainly had an eventful couple of weeks..."
"We went to Knott's Berry Farm while you were gone!" His dad jokingly replied.
"Nuh uhh!" David giggled.
"Yeah huh! And we even stopped by Disneyland to ride Space Mountain a couple of times too! And Solvang..."
David giggled and turned to his mom, "So what really happened?"
She looked around and said, "Well, Grandpa and Nana are visiting. Right now they're at home taking care of Hope."
"Hope? Who's..." David stopped, his eyes suddenly widening.
"That's right," His mother said, beaming. "Your sister's at home."
David was speechless. His muzzle broke into a big grin and he shouted loud enough that everyone in the car ear's rang. "I'M A BIG BROTHER!!"
His dad laughed and rubbed at his own ears. "Yup! But I don't think the other people on the road could hear you. Could you speak up a little bit?"
David giggled. He was overjoyed at the news and he leaned up, hugging his mom from between the seats.
When he sat back down, his mother turned and asked him. "So who was your friend?"
"My friend?" David asked, still riding high on the good news.
His dad smiled at him through the rear view mirror. "Yeah. That young man you were kissing!"
David's smile dropped faster than anything ever could have. "You...You saw that?"
His mother turned again and said, "We did. So what's his name?"
He sat there for a moment, still stunned. "Jonathan...He's uh...Vince's cousin."
"Oh? That's wonderful," his mother said beaming at him.
"You're not mad?" David asked tentatively.
"Of course not," she said, "We've suspected for a little while. Your father and I still love you and we're very proud of you."
"You are?" He asked, dazed.
"Of course! Why wouldn't we be?" His dad said.
"Well...because...Being gay...is wrong?"
His parents exchanged a look with one another before his mother replied, "David, we will love you no matter who or what you are. We've both done a lot of praying and a lot of examination and as far as either of us are concerned, if you're happy, we're happy."
David gave a nervous, cautious little smile. "Thanks mom...Thanks dad. But...what about church?"
"If they won't accept our son as he is, then we'll just find another church." His dad said, still focused on the road. "We probably won't be coming back to First Baptist anyway...not after what happened at least. I heard there's a great little Unitarian church not too far out of town."
David could not believe what he was hearing. It felt so odd, hearing his parents talking and being so accepting of his being gay. It felt strange, though he supposed having the weight of the world lifted off your chest would take some getting used to. He leaned forward and said, "I love you, mom. I love you, daddy."
"We love you too, son."
~ ~ ~
Jonathan was about to step onto the bus when he heard someone call out his name. He looked over his shoulder and saw Vince nearly sprinting through the crowd to get to him. A little worried, Jonathan stepped back and said, "Vince? What's up?"
"Don't...get on...the bus..." He panted. He looked pretty out of breath, like he'd run all the way across camp to get to him.
"Why not?" He asked curiously.
After taking a moment to catch himself, Vince said, "My parents are taking you in for the summer. Your mom called and said that...well...they weren't ready for you to come home yet."
"What do you mean?"
"I'll explain in a second. Let's get your bags off the bus."
After a disgruntled bus driver finally got back out to get his bag out of the luggage compartment, Vince and Jonathan walked back towards the Main Lodge to wait for his aunt and uncle to pick them up.
"So why am I going to your house?" Jonathan asked, "Why don't my parents want me coming home yet?" Even as he asked, the horrible reality seemed to dawn on him.
Vince kept quiet for a while, as if he were trying to decide which words would be best to use. "Well...Things aren't going so well back at your place. Your parents decided that it was for the best that you stay here for a little while longer."
Jonathan was quiet for a moment. "They're getting a divorce, aren't they?" He said. He thought his own voice sounded far away and dead.
Vince put an arm around him. "I'm sorry, buddy..."
Jonathan felt numb. He didn't know if it was because he was so tired or because the news came as a shock, but he didn't feel anything for quite a while. Soon enough, the news would catch back up to him.
"Hey, listen!" Vince said suddenly, trying to change the tone of the conversation, "That means you get to stay here with me and David!"
Jonathan looked up at Vince, feeling a little flame of hope burning in his chest. "I will?"
"Heck yeah! And there's a pool not too far away and a youth center where we can hang out. It'll be fun, I promise."
Jonathan gave a half-hearted smile. It seemed that he had been given what he wanted. A little more time to spend with David. But the news about his parents was still upsetting. And he knew that after his summer was over, he'd have to go back and deal with their divorce. He'd come back to all his stuff packed in boxes, being moved further away from home to Arizona. He'd have to deal with a new school, living with a single mom and being passed and forth between the parents, and having to cope with new changes. But even from far away, David would always be there to offer hope and support.
While they waited, a black and white rabbit came running up to them as they sat on the stoop of the Main Lodge.
"Hey kid! Are you Jonathan?"
Both felines flicked their ears in surprise. "Yes?" Jonathan replied slowly.
"Some guy asked me to give you this," he said, holding out a folded piece of paper to him.
Jonathan took it, still regarding the bunny cautiously. As he hopped off, Jonathan unfolded the paper and began to read.
"I wanted to say sorry for what I did to you. I guess I am still jealous of what you and David got but if he's happy with you, then I'll be okay."
Jonathan couldn't tell but it looked like something had been written and promptly erased. Through the graphite smudges, he thought it said something like, "You both look cute together."
"Enjoy the rest of your summer and God bless. Avery."
Jonathan looked up at Vince. The older feline smiled back and asked, "What do you think?"
Jonathan read over the note again, taking it in and letting the apology settle on his mind. He still felt like he needed a long nap after staying up all night but the message came through clearly. He gave a smile and said, "I think I forgive him..."
Vince clapped him on the shoulder and quoted "If you forgive other people when they sin against you, your Heavenly Father will forgive you as well! Matthew 6:14" He added, "If not for that, then for the betterment of your own soul. You can't hold on to grudges forever, Johnny boy."
"I know," Jonathan said with a smile.
Vince's dad pulled up into the parking lot after most of the cubs had already gone. They put their bags in the trunk and hopped in. Jonathan stared out the window as his uncle asked them how camp was and chatted away about what had happened with the pastor. He thought about David and the fun they would have over the next few months. He smiled, managing to push the thoughts of the fracture in his parent's marriage out of his mind. He closed his eyes and thanked God for giving him a little more time with David, promising he would cherish each transient moment he could and not let the seconds slip by unappreciated.
He opened his eyes again and watched the trees go by. He watched Angel Lake and the Shasta mountains shrink and disappear into the distance. Though he would never return to Camp Sunshine Days, he would always remember the wonderful times he had.