nodded as he left the house. The door closed behind him, and David wondered if he’d stepped into a different world. Leaves and small branches littered the ground. Large branches had come down, as well, near the wooded areas. What amazed David the most was the amount of hail still on the ground and the way everything seemed to have been flattened. He wasn’t sure if the hail or the heavy rain had done the damage. David carefully walked toward home. Crossing the street, he could see the house and it looked okay. From there, he didn’t see any broken windows.
David walked all the way around the house, and thankfully, no windows had been broken, although he did find the satellite television dish in the backyard. It had been ripped out of its mounting. The siding on the west side of the house had been pelted and scoured a bit by the hail.
Inside the house, everything was eerily quiet. He flipped the kitchen light switch, but nothing happened. The power was out. As he picked up his phone off the table, he saw that his mother had called, so he dialed her number. “Are you all right? Is there any damage?”
“The satellite dish was in the backyard and the siding took a hit, but there weren’t any broken windows,” David told her. “Are you okay?” he asked. She’d sounded frantic.
“Yes. Where were you?”
“Swimming with Benjamin. I was partway home when the storm came up, so I ran back and helped him get the other kids home before the storm hit.” David heard more thunder in the distance. “It sounds like more storms are headed this way,” he told his mother before disconnecting the call. For some reason, Mr. Killinger’s words echoed in the low, rumbling sound, and David couldn’t help thinking maybe God was angry with him.
Chapter 10
“ D AVID , I think you and I need to talk,” his mother called from the living room on a gorgeous Saturday afternoon a few months later. Summer was waning, and David didn’t have to work that day. He’d worked all the hours he could during the week, and he was looking forward to a quiet day that included meeting Benjamin for a “swim.” Their physical relationship, along with the emotional connection David felt with Benjamin, had continued to grow. They’d progressed slowly, but each discovery felt like unearthing a nugget of gold to David. A few weeks earlier, he’d discovered that if he licked a certain place at the base of Benjamin’s neck, he’d shiver ever so slightly and his breath would hitch. He also discovered that lightly licking Benjamin’s ears would make him go weak in the knees. He’d found out other things too, but David pushed them from his mind as he walked from his room, making sure he wasn’t showing anything he shouldn’t. Thinking of Benjamin made him pop wood at the most inopportune moments.
“What do you need?” he asked, stopping short at his mother’s seriously concerned expression.
She patted the chair next to hers, and David slowly sat down, preparing himself for bad news. “I think you and I have something we need to talk about.” She settled back in the chair.
“We aren’t moving again, are we?” The last time she’d said something like that, his mother had told him about her new job.
“No. But I think this conversation may be more important.” His mother took a deep breath and sighed. “You know I love you and that I’ll always love you, no matter what.”
“Yes,” he said warily as his stomach clenched. “I know that, Mom.”
“So is there something you want to tell me?” his mother asked. “We’ve never had secrets, and I can’t help you if you aren’t honest with me. I can’t support you and help you find what you’re searching for if you don’t talk to me.” She sounded hurt, and David wondered if she knew about him. “I love you, Davey, and I’ll do anything I can to help you, but you have to talk to me.”
“What is it you think I’ve done?” David searched through his mind,
David walked all the way around the house, and thankfully, no windows had been broken, although he did find the satellite television dish in the backyard. It had been ripped out of its mounting. The siding on the west side of the house had been pelted and scoured a bit by the hail.
Inside the house, everything was eerily quiet. He flipped the kitchen light switch, but nothing happened. The power was out. As he picked up his phone off the table, he saw that his mother had called, so he dialed her number. “Are you all right? Is there any damage?”
“The satellite dish was in the backyard and the siding took a hit, but there weren’t any broken windows,” David told her. “Are you okay?” he asked. She’d sounded frantic.
“Yes. Where were you?”
“Swimming with Benjamin. I was partway home when the storm came up, so I ran back and helped him get the other kids home before the storm hit.” David heard more thunder in the distance. “It sounds like more storms are headed this way,” he told his mother before disconnecting the call. For some reason, Mr. Killinger’s words echoed in the low, rumbling sound, and David couldn’t help thinking maybe God was angry with him.
Chapter 10
“ D AVID , I think you and I need to talk,” his mother called from the living room on a gorgeous Saturday afternoon a few months later. Summer was waning, and David didn’t have to work that day. He’d worked all the hours he could during the week, and he was looking forward to a quiet day that included meeting Benjamin for a “swim.” Their physical relationship, along with the emotional connection David felt with Benjamin, had continued to grow. They’d progressed slowly, but each discovery felt like unearthing a nugget of gold to David. A few weeks earlier, he’d discovered that if he licked a certain place at the base of Benjamin’s neck, he’d shiver ever so slightly and his breath would hitch. He also discovered that lightly licking Benjamin’s ears would make him go weak in the knees. He’d found out other things too, but David pushed them from his mind as he walked from his room, making sure he wasn’t showing anything he shouldn’t. Thinking of Benjamin made him pop wood at the most inopportune moments.
“What do you need?” he asked, stopping short at his mother’s seriously concerned expression.
She patted the chair next to hers, and David slowly sat down, preparing himself for bad news. “I think you and I have something we need to talk about.” She settled back in the chair.
“We aren’t moving again, are we?” The last time she’d said something like that, his mother had told him about her new job.
“No. But I think this conversation may be more important.” His mother took a deep breath and sighed. “You know I love you and that I’ll always love you, no matter what.”
“Yes,” he said warily as his stomach clenched. “I know that, Mom.”
“So is there something you want to tell me?” his mother asked. “We’ve never had secrets, and I can’t help you if you aren’t honest with me. I can’t support you and help you find what you’re searching for if you don’t talk to me.” She sounded hurt, and David wondered if she knew about him. “I love you, Davey, and I’ll do anything I can to help you, but you have to talk to me.”
“What is it you think I’ve done?” David searched through his mind,
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