Hanging Out With Family

Ian and I were supposed to get to my Great-aunt Sarah’s around dinnertime on Tuesday, but about a half-hour outside of Memphis, Ian convinced me to take some back roads heading west instead of taking I40 all the way to Frederick since we really didn’t have a set itinerary.  Besides, taking the back roads afforded us some really beautiful views.  I agreed and phoned Great-Aunt Sarah to tell her that we were gonna be delayed a day or two.

We had lunch outside Little Rock at this little BBQ place that we just happened upon.   I had some really good fried catfish and Ian had some pulled pork.  There was, of course, the requisite fries and onion rings and the portions were fairly generous.

Late in the afternoon we decided to stop at the Best Western in Hugo for the night and have dinner at a local Mexican restaurant.  Since there was no pool, we spent the rest of the night in our room getting hot and sweaty.  We were back on the road the next morning after breakfast.  It wasn’t the fanciest of places to stay bur the room was clean and inexpensive.

Turner Falls, Oklahoma

Wednesday, we drove for a few hours stopped at this gorgeous park outside of Davis, OK called Turner Falls a little before lunchtime and spend a few hours there swimming and just enjoying the sights.  Around three in the afternoon, we started driving toward Frederick again.  Three hours later, we were driving down Gladstone Ave, through the heart of Frederick.

Once we got to Frederick, I called Great-Aunt Sarah to tell her we were about a half-hour away and to double-check the directions.  We got to my great-aunt’s a little after 7, and after a few minutes saying hello to everyone, we sat down to a wonderful country dinner.  We sat around the table after dinner talking for hours.

Around 10:30, Great-Aunt Sarah decided it was late and left to go to bed.  “You remember where the guest room is,” was all she said as she left us in the family room.  God bless her; she reminds me so much of Grandma.  Ian and I turned in a little bit later. 

The last time I stayed with Great-Aunt Sarah, I helped out with some of the morning chores and this time was no different.  I got up about 5:30, put on jeans, my boots and a tee-shirt then went downstairs and out to the barn to help feed the cows.  After that I helped feed the chickens and collect the eggs.  Ian was amazed when I came in an hour later.

“Who would have thought my boyfriend knew his way around a farm!” he said as I washed up before breakfast.

After breakfast, I helped with other odd chores and by lunch I was tired, but it was a good tired.

After lunch, a few of Great-Aunt Sarah’s grandsons stopped by to take me and Ian to the swimming hole.  I introduced Ian to my cousins Clay, Trace, Tom, Robbie, Brad and Ryan.  They had their trucks all loaded up with beers and snacks.  Ian and I hopped into the cab of Clay’s truck and on the way to the swimming hole Clay and I caught up a bit.  He told me he was seeing someone from the local fire department.

We had loads of fun skinny-dipping and hanging out with my cousins. 

 

We headed back to Great-Aunt Sarah’s about 5 and when we got there several other of my cousins were there.  We had a great time; it was like a party out on the lawn!  One of the boys got the grill fired up and we had an awesome barbecue that lasted well past dark!  As the evening turned to night, some of my older cousins, Great-Aunt Sarah’s kids, showed up and stayed a couple of hours.

Friday night, Clay and his boyfriend, Mike, took me and Ian into Oklahoma City to The Copa at The Habana Inn and afterward we all crashed at Mike’s place since it was nearly 3 a.m.!  Not that we got much sleep, mind you.  Clay and Mike had been making out all night and once we got back to Mike’s place, it only escalated!  The four of us had partied hard and were naked in no time and doing what young gay men do the world over.  Not that I’m blaming what happened on the drinks, neither Ian nor I had had all that much, but I did feel a little bad for Mike – he woke up with a major hangover and could not look either me or Ian in the eye when we left a little after noon.

(And yes, for all of you out there reading, Mike had a generous supply of condoms, and they were used.)

After morning chores yesterday morning, cows and chickens don’t take Sundays off, we had breakfast as usual and then Jimmy, Great-Aunt Sarah’s youngest son picked her up to take her to church.  While they were gone, Ian and I hung out with some of the boys for a few hours at the swimming hole.  We had another barbecue last night, but this time everyone was there, including Clay’s boyfriend.  There was much laughing and sharing family stories.  Someone had brought a football, so that got tossed around for a while and then Robbie took out his guitar and started singing.  Sometime around 11, the family started saying their good-nights.  Ian and I stayed up a little while longer, enjoying the peace and quiet of the star-filled night.