Dave Casler
PO Box 98
Ridgway, Colorado 81432
Young Adult Novels by Dave Casler...
I've been told by publisher after publisher that there's no market for Young Adult novels. I think they're wrong! So I'm putting my novels on-line for you. Forget the publisher! Read to your heart's content--it's free! And, I'd like to hear from you, too! Contact Page.
You're reading About Dan. Be sure to check out About Phillip here.
Dan is a normal kid who loves his soccer. Except everything goes wrong. Everything.
About Series Home
About the About Series
Index to All Chapters
Here are all the chapters, disguised as asterisks. Hover your mouse over an asterisk to see the title of the chapter. Click on the asterisk to go straight to that chapter.
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(About Dan Home) (Last) (Next)
Brass Tacks
"How long have you known my dad?" asked Dan.
Mike put the guitar on the floor. Ed pulled up another hard chair and sat on the other side of the guitar as though using the guitar as shield.
"We met six months after your dad's divorce," said Mike.
"How did you meet?"
"At an architect's convention. He and I were both about to get laid off. We decided to form a partnership and start our own firm."
"When did you become my dad's gay partner."
"Three years ago."
Dan bit his lip, then turned to his Dad. "How long have you been gay?"
"All my life," Ed replied. "I was gay before I met Maria. When I heard about the church, I set it aside completely. After the divorce, I tried to stay straight for a while, but the attraction was strong and there didn't seem to be any reason not to give into it. I lost interest in the church after the divorce, as you know."
"Did Mike, er, ..."
"No, I was playing around. After I met Mike and we started the partnership, I found out he was gay. We decided to be faithful to each other and have been ever since."
That's an odd use of the word " faithful," thought Dan. "Why did you divorce mom?"
"I was attracted to your mother because she was a wild and playful lady. We were married because she was pregnant with you. We joined the church later. Anyway, after we were married, we tried hard to do the right things, at least according to the church. We were later even sealed in the temple. Well, that wildness and playfulness turned into a feeling of confinement for her. We had terrible arguments. She accused me of not being your father. We moved to America as part of an experiment to see if that would help—I had a job offer from a firm here in Boulder that came up at just the right time. Well, the marriage didn't last much longer and I got laid off to boot."
"Are you my father?"
"Yes."
"Why did you let me go with her?"
"Because I knew I was gay and that I'd return to it. It didn't seem like a good environment for you. But I arranged to see you once a month."
"Why was mom so bitter about you?"
"She was bitter about me for many years before the divorce, Dan. We tried hard to keep our arguments behind closed doors."
Dan was silent for a long moment. Ed and Mike looked at each other.
"Why didn't you tell me you’re gay?"
"I was afraid of exactly the reaction you had when you found out earlier this month. I figured you'd never talk to me again. Dan, I'm delighted that you're active in the church. I have good feelings toward the church. It just isn't right for me. But it's been very good to you."
I wonder, thought Dan. All his struggles flooded past his mind's eye. He finally spoke. "I think keeping it secret hurt even more."
"I'm sorry. You were much younger at the time and I never re-evaluated."
"And so that's why you didn't go into the AIDS clinic with me. They’d recognize you. And then I would find out."
"Yes. I go there to be tested every month."
"Why? If you are, uh, seeing only Mike, then why be tested every month?"
It was Mike who spoke. "Dan," he said gently, "I'm the one who's HIV positive. Your father isn't. We're very careful, but accidents can happen."
"You look healthy," said Dan.
"I am. HIV is something a person can live with. It's like having diabetes or something. If I take my medications carefully and stay on top of it, I can live a pretty normal life. Unfortunately, our bass player took a very different approach. He wasted his life on recreational drugs and neglected his medications. AIDS is very unforgiving in that respect."
Dan was silent. These two people, with whom he'd just made music, seemed much more like normal human beings than before. They still seemed like they were from a different planet, though. Ed and Mike did not intrude as Dan worked through his thoughts.
While Dan was pondering, the kitchen timer went off. Mike jumped up. Ed carefully picked up the Martin and set it against the wall so it couldn't fall over.
"Dinner's ready," called Mike. He busied himself putting food on the table. It looked like some sort of casserole.
"Oh," said Dan. "I nearly forgot." He grabbed the bag he'd stowed behind the leather armchair and brought it with him into the dining room. They sat down in high-backed chairs that perfectly matched the ornate feet holding up the large glass table. Dan reached in the bag and gave Dan and Mike identical white boxes, each with a red ribbon. They opened their boxes to find identical striped ties with a soccer ball embroidered at the bottom. Dan laughed at their puzzled expressions.