Love Song

If I say that I wrote this song for you,
Would you believe me?
It might not be as well written
Or as beautiful as other songs
I want you to know that a love song
Can’t be written if you’re not in love
But for you, I can write this song so easily
You might have heard hundreds
Or thousands of love songs
They might be me meaningful,
But their meanings are for anyone
When you listen to this song,
Know it is only written for you
If you understand the meaning
Our hearts will be together forever.

Once everyone was gone, Matthew and June stayed to help clean up. They all, except for Mr. Brooks, walked around the tables picking up plates, cups, and utensils. Once that was done, Matthew and Tommy sat down at the stone table that was under their backyard tree, a willow that was just trimmed. Lights hung from the branches giving the effect of stars.
At first the two were sitting far away from each other, but after some silence, Tommy scooted closer to Matthew. Matthew looked up at Tommy’s eyes. Tommy smiled and Matthew got a flutter in his stomach. He smiled back at Tommy, wondering if Tommy could see his cheeks red.
“Your song was beautiful,” said Tommy.
“Thanks,” said Matthew, still in a shy voice.
“How did you write it?”
“Um…Well…Without you, that song wouldn’t exist.”
A moment of silence came between then. Matthew looked up at Tommy, but when Tommy looked, Matthew looked away and so did Tommy.
“So, after hearing it and hearing what I just said, do you have anything to say?”
Tommy looked at Matthew and Matthew looked back. He put his arm around Matthew and looked into the night, then ran his fingers through Matthew’s hair. He put their heads together and continued to stroke Matthew’s hair. Matthew, who thought he should be nervous, felt completely comfortable. It felt right to him and knew that it was supposed to happen.
“I can say this,” said Tommy.
He turned his head to face Matthew and their lips touched. First they touched for only a second, but they came back for more, and more until it was a full blown kiss. Tommy was slow and gentle. Matthew didn’t know if that was because it was a real love kiss, or Tommy wasn’t sure of what he was doing.
After the kiss, they sat at the table silently. They held hands under it. For Matthew, it was the best night of his life. Not because he knew for sure that he was in love, but for the first time, he knew what was missing in his life. It was Tommy.
When Tommy dropped him off at home after the Party, he walked him to the door.
“What’re you doing tomorrow night?” Tommy asked.
“I have rehearsal with the guys, why?”
“Oh…”
“What?”
“I was going to ask if you wanted to have dinner at City Square.”
“Oh, well…I can cancel rehearsal. We can always rehearse.”
“Really?”
“Yeah…Where do you wanna eat?”
“Do you like pizza?”
“Of course,” Matthew answered.
“How about Charlie’s?”
“Sure. Is seven o’clock okay?”
“Yeah…Well, I should go.”
Tommy grazed Matthew’s hand before leaving the porch, getting into his car and driving off. Matthew was so excited. He’d never had a date before.

* * *

A few days later, Matthew got a call from Mrs. Brooks. She wanted to meet with him, at his house. After school and a quick rehearsal with the bad, they met at Matthew’s house, on the porch. They sat at a wicker table, with wicker chairs. Mrs. Brooks got right to the point.
“Matthew, what kind of relationship are you having with Tommy?”
“We’re friends, Mrs. Brooks. You know that.” Matthew tried not to show his nerves.
Mrs. Brooks stared him. Matthew knew that she knew that he was lying.
“Matthew, I saw you two at the party on Saturday,” said Mrs. Brooks. “I understand it now. I know what’s going on.”
The silence between the both of them wasn’t really awkward. It was more like a serious silence. It was the kind of silence where there wasn’t a need to talk. Finally, Mrs. Brooks broke the silence.
“Matthew, you have to listen to me carefully.” She paused. “My family has been through a lot. You know that. You know what we’ve lost.” She paused again, taking in a deep breath. “Tommy is all we have left, Matthew, and I don’t want to see him going down the wrong path.”
“What do you mean the wrong path?” Matthew asked, still in shock that this conversation was even happening.
“Tommy is graduating soon, and so are you. When Tommy graduates, he has to go to college and after that, find a job and a wife who can give him a family. A family will take care of each other. That’s what life is, Matthew. It’s about a man and a woman coming together to make a family. My husband and I have tried so hard to make sure that he grows up that way. Do it for him, Matthew. Stop this relationship. It doesn’t matter how much you love him, you should want him to be happy. You should want him to have a good life.”
Matthew took in a deep, shaky breath. “Mrs. Brooks…Tommy and I are just friends.”
Mrs. Brooks gave him a look of sympathy. “One day you’ll understand this, Matthew. One day you’ll understand.”
With that, Mrs. Brooks got up from the table, walked back to her car and drove off.
Matthew walked into his house, walked passed his aunt in the kitchen and up the stairs. His aunt called after him. He stopped at the top of the stairs.
“If Tommy calls or comes over…I’m not here.”
“Okay…are you sure?”
“Yes, please.”