Full Steam Ahead

Junior and I slept in the first room to the right (the first night we slept in the first room to the left) last night. This room had twin beds, so I was assured that I wouldn't get a foot in my ribs in the middle of the night. I had a restful sleep. I awoke to my phone vibrating on the dresser in the middle of the beds. It was about 7:34 AM. I reached for the phone, but I had just missed it. I hit the missed call button and saw that Tonio called. I immediately called back. He was a little perturbed, someone who was supposed to watch his dog for him while he came down to Florida, didn't return any of his texts during the day, but texted him at 1 AM in the morning, when they knew he would be asleep. They gave some cock and bull story about being away for Labor Day weekend. He was pissed. Had they told him during the day, he could have made other arrangements, now he was stuck. He basically needed to vent. We cracked a couple of jokes and he was fine. This was his last day of work, tomorrow morning he would be on his way down to Florida. He apologized for calling so early and thanked me for listening. Are you kidding me?? I was glad I was the person he called. He said he would call his sister to see if she would watch him again. (She watched him while he was on the cruise). After we hung up, I called jetBlue Airlines to see what the policy was on pets traveling. $100 fee each way, plus strict carrier case dimensions. I was also going to call my brother to see if he would watch the dog, until Tuesday. I left a message and waited for him to call me back. I texted the info from the airlines to Tonio. In the meantime I was up. I washed my face, brushed my teeth and dressed in my work out clothes. I tried waking up junior, but he was out for the count. I wrote him a note, telling him I was going to the gym and would be right back. His cereal and milk was already laid out for him in the fridge. (We discussed yesterday evening, just in case this happened.) I gave him a kiss and watched over him for about 5 minutes or so. I snatched the car keys, and headed for the clubhouse. I got there like 8:53 and right away did 15 minutes of cardio. The next 30 minutes I worked on my abs and arms. I did this virtually nonstop. Each rep and exercise was no more than with a minute of rest in between. It felt good, but also knew I couldn't overdo it. Sweaty and sore 45 minutes later I headed back to the house. I ran inside and junior was in the exact same position that I left him in. He was sound asleep. My mind at ease, I went into the kitchen and prepared breakfast consisting of bacon, scrambled eggs and english muffins. Tonio and I were on the phone. He was able to get his sister to watch his dog til Wednesday morning. Whew that was a relief! Junior got up around 10:30 or so. He ate breakfast and just relaxed.

I got my clothes separated (lights/darks) and put them in the laundry room to do later. It was extremely hot today, around 93 or 95 degrees. I didn't want to go out in that heat, so we waited it out. About 3-ish we headed out to the pool. He must've really been hot, he got right in. I on the other hand applied sunblock and rested on the beach chair. That sun baked me. I could feel the sweat pouring down my face. When I couldn't take it anymore, I slowly eased into the pool. About a half hour in, the sun was hidden by clouds and it got a little darker outside. Next we felt a tiny mist of water, that later developed into droplets. It was time to head inside. We showered, dressed and headed out to get something to eat. We first stopped off at the Winn Dixie for some groceries, then to Walmart and finally to KFC for dinner.

"Gay Day" had only a few hours left and I had procrastinated all day long, but I knew it was now or never. I had to go full steam ahead!! How was I going to do it? When was I going to do it? What was I going to say? Good thing I had those books to help break the ice. After dinner, we were watching TV for about 15 minutes. When that show went off, I turned off the TV and told him I wanted to talk with him. He gave me that "uh oh" look. I told him that I did love his mommy, but it didn't work out between us. I told him that I was dating and in a relationship with another man and that there was nothing wrong with that. I told him there are many people (some he knows and some he doesn't) that are in relationships with the same sex. He asked me how do they live? I told him just like a man and a woman. I tried to explain just like people like different flavors of ice cream, people like different flavors of relationships. I took out the first book, Daddy's Roommate, and from there the conversation just happened. I was trying to read his face. I saw confusion. I told him he was getting old enough (he's 9) to hear this from me. I told him, he was going to 4th grade and he was going to hear a lot things in the streets regarding sex, people, drugs, cursing, etc. and that I wanted him to hear the truth first from me. I also pointed out that if he ever has any questions or wanted to talk about ANYTHING, he could come to me no matter what. He said yes. His eyes watered a little and he gave me a hug and told me he loved me. I hugged him right back and told him I loved him too. It was a beautiful moment. We were quiet for a minute as I let it soak in. They I told him I loved him very very much, more than anything in the world and that no one would ever take his place, but that sometimes daddy gets lonely and needs someone to talk to and be with. I told him just like kids need to hang around each other, adults need to hang out together for some 'alone' time and that there was nothing wrong with that. It was an emotional moment for me. It was my intention (months ago when I first thought of how I would bring up the topic) to share that daddy's partner, daddy's best friend, Tonio are a couple and love each other very much and wanted to share our lives together and be a family unit. But in light of things, those thoughts were never shared with him. But that was ok, I needed to get this out. I needed him to know there are different kinds of people in the world, so that he would have first hand knowledge if and when he hears these words in the streets. "Gay", "faggot", "dyke", "bitch" etc. Let's face it, the nine year olds of today are like the fifteen year old of my time. I want him to have respect for people that are different from society calls 'normal'. I want to impress on him that all people need to be treated fairly and with respect.

I have plans to hit the gym in the morning and await Tonio's arrival. I haven't seen him in so long-I really do miss him! My lover, my partner, my best friend all in one. Junior also misses him. He's asked for several times over the past few weeks, but I made excuses for why he wasn't available. I felt bad for lying to him, but I didn't want to put that pressure on Tonio. A break-up is hard as it is, add children in the mix, it can get even harder.

I'm in the middle of the vacation and I'm having a great time. On the phone earlier with Tonio, he gave me his cousin's phone number who lives in Orlando. He has a friend that works for Disney World and can get me a one day parkhopper pass to all the Disney parks for $40. I left two messages for him and hopefully he can get me in either tomorrow or Saturday. Can't wait to get out and hit the parks!