“Well, why not?” Reggie said, smiling, holding onto Hal’s hand.
Hal looked down at their two old hands, knobby knuckles, age spots. No rings. “We’re kind of old, Reggie. We had our time.”
“Maybe this is our time, dear friend. The past was the past. The way it was, the way we had to be.” Together they walked across the sand to where some boulders lay in front of a hedge of Naupaka bushes and sat down, careful of the unaccustomed good clothes that they wore.
“Well we did what we could,” Hal replied, “not what we wanted, but what we were able to, or rather, had to, do.” They put their arms around each other, enjoying a long hug right in front of God and everybody, and turned to watch the sun setting over the ocean.
“Marry me,” Reggie said.
“Okay,” Hal replied, and then they both laughed.
“It’ll freak those kids right out of their jockey shorts!” Hal went on.
“They’re probably already out of them,” Reggie laughed.
Hal sighed, still smiling, and said, “I never did tell Chris I slipped him my iPod on purpose.”
Reggie said back, “I never did tell Trey I was the one who drove him home the night he saw the Nightmarchers.”
Did either of those things matter? Not one little bit. Time rolls on, and if you’re not lucky the first time, well, the tide always comes back in, again, and again.
Never give up.
THE END
ABOUT EMERY C. WALTERS
Emery C. Walters was born Carol Forde, a name he soon knew didn’t fit the boy he was inside. Transition was unknown back then, so he married and then bore and raised four children. When his youngest child, his gay son, left home, Emery told Carol that she had to step aside, and he fully transitioned from female to male in 2001.
Emery worked in county government and as a college writing tutor before retiring. He and his wife Robyn, herself raised mistakenly as a boy, live in Hawaii where they combine snorkeling, scuba diving, and volunteer work with activities to boost LGBT rights and awareness.
Interested in Ninjutsu, both land and underwater photography, and writing, Emery can usually be found writing, reading, or sailing on his imaginary pirate ship.
Emery’s 2010 first published novel, Last Year's Leaves, is an intense story of recovery from abuse and loss, finding love, and coming out whole. The book is laced with his trademark humor. His recent publications include four other coming of age novels involving coming out and overcoming obstacles as well as two books of short stories. All are humorous and filled with hope. Drystan the Dire, Emery’s Welsh pirate ancestor, shows up at times to help the heroes and annoy the villains. Emery currently has two more novels in the publishing pipeline.
Between them, the Walters have eight adult children, umpteen grandchildren, and one great grandchild, none of whom can do a thing about the genetic material handed down to them—their gift to the future. So there. More information can be found online at ftemery-theemeryboard.blogspot.com.
ABOUT QUEERTEEN PRESS
Queerteen Press is the young adult imprint of JMS Books LLC, a small queer press with competitive royalty rates publishing LGBT romance. Visit queerteen-press.com for our latest releases and submission guidelines!
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