Chapter 52: Unprecedented

The chapter title, Unprecedented, foretells of events unknown, new, novel, pioneering, and more portentously, groundbreaking, revolutionary and epoch-making.  That’s quite a promise to deliver upon.  Whatever transpires for the boys in this chapter, it must indeed be momentous for them in either a positive or negative way.  That’s a pretty compelling hook indeed.

The chapter opens with the boys in class studying before exams and the return of Card after a 2 day suspension following the cafeteria fight.  He is greeted fondly by his friends, but turns down an invitation to join the study group, choosing instead to sit alone and take a quick nap.  Pete muses on his friend’s idiosyncratic behavior, figuring he generally does this to clear his mind.  Pete then drifts back to their visit with Card at his home on the day of his suspension where they held a drinking session and Card explained to Por the details of what happened with Lhew.  The night closed out with Card revealing that he was spending the summer in Singapore and won’t attend summer classes with them.  Pete figures that just like the last few days of his suspension, he wants time to be alone.  The past few afternoons they’ve spent time with Josie and the gang, where they are thoroughly messed with and Net keeps trying to coax the boys into a to no avail.  Lhew and Ngaw are included in these groupings as well, but the air is always strained.  The boys feel somewhat guilty because they know Card is home feeling depressed because of them.  The group is split however, they try to integrate Ngaw mostly because Lhew is their friend.  It’s a lot of unexpected drama at the end of the school year, but there is much more to come.

Lunchtime ushers in the scene of a whining Por complaining that exams are killing him, and he’s forced to defend himself to an annoyed Pete and an unsympathetic Card.  Pete turns to ask Earn how he feels about the exams so far but catches him with his head in the clouds preoccupied with his own thoughts.  This is a circumstance Pete concedes has been occurring since they agreed to get tested.  He understands that Earn is nervous but thinks he shouldn’t be since Earn is the safer of the two of them.  In fact, Pete admits that it’s his seeming lack of concern for his own results that’s irking him.  The idea of getting tested was to bring them closer together, but so far it seems to have made things even tenser.  Pete then realizes that he’s the one absorbed in his own thoughts as Earn prompts him to open his mouth to accept a bite of lunch.  Pete hesitates at this public display and tries to object only to be stopped by the spoon entering his open mouth.  He’s embarrassed but happy, noting that it’s nice to be public in this way.  Por tells them to get a room and when Earn refers to Pete as Penguin and Pete calls Earn Panda, the circle of friends burst into laughter, stopping only after Earn threatens to beat some a*ses.  This time it’s Pete’s turn to feed Earn and Tee comments that it’s actually nice to see them acting like this since they’ve been friends for so long that their intimacy seems normal and right for them.

Focus shifts when Tee remembers to tell them he can’t attend the club meeting due to family obligations.  This creates a bit of a strain since Earn and Pete are also unable to attend.  Earn turns to Por to ask him if he can handle the underclassmen by himself, but Por characterizes facing them alone like facing a death sentence.  At this point, Card asserts that he’ll attend to support Por, raising concerns in the minds of Pete and Earn.  Earn flat out asks him if he’s up to it, irking Pete with his directness, but Card declares he has responsibilities regardless and that he owes them.  Por jumps for joy at the support, but Card assures him he’s not doing it for him.  Earn assures Pete that Card is good for it while placing a hand on Pete’s thigh, but Pete’s insists he was just making sure Card was really okay as he blushes at the contact.  Earn tells Pete he’s cute when flustered, but Pete slaps his hand away only to hear the shrieks and giggles from the Angels table looking on from behind them.  There’s playful teasing and shouting between the tables followed by a return to eating lunch.  Pete sums up that eating was a good distraction from exams as well as the interactions with their friends and teasing with the Angels.  He spends the rest of the time and the free period tutoring Earn, which he enjoys much more and benefits from the most.

Relief follows the conclusion of exams as Earn and Por exit to meet up with the waiting Pete and Card.  Earn asks if they’ve been waiting long, and while a diplomatic Pete demurrers, Card is blunt about waiting forever for them.  As Card and Por head off to the club meeting, Pete and Earn give them encouragement.  Our boys stop at a restroom so Earn can change into street clothes while Pete washes his face.  From behind the stall door, Earn calls out asking his Penguin that since his mom is cooking and his dad is back in town, does he want to eat over and spend the night.  Having not seen Earn’s parents in what seems like ages, Pete accepts.  There’s some horseplay between them and teasing talk of studying verses Earn’s favorite activity before they head off.

These are pretty routine events so far for a chapter that promises big things.  Nothing out of the ordinary has really taken place aside from some teasing by their friends and fawning from the Angels during lunch.  There is also some deliberate vagary about why Pete and Earn can’t attend the club meeting or where they are heading off to currently, but hints have already been dropped.

While riding in a taxi headed into the city, Pete calls his parents and tells them he’s eating and staying at Earn’s for the night.  Pete asks the driver to stop short of their actual destination.  After Earn pays the driver, they chill for a few minutes so as not to be conspicuous.  The closer they move toward their destination, the fewer people they encounter as they run a gauntlet of scantily clad women and direct men, finally attaining their goal.  Earn asks if this is really the place, but Pete holds out his phone assuring him they’ve arrived.  Earn thinks the place looks plain, but Pete is encouraging as he places his hand on the door knob.  Earn puts his atop Pete’s declaring that they are doing this together, and with that, they enter the waiting room of the Contraception and S*xual Health Clinic.

What follows is a pretty cute scene of the boys sheepishly engaging the receptionist and answering her questions as she determines what services they desire.  For any reader who has experienced similar scenarios, it is written from an all-too-familiar point of view, and captures the nervous awkwardness of the experience brilliantly.  It all goes to show that the emotional baggage we bring to such situations is often more oppressive than any judgments we encounter upon arrival.  It is no mistake that Pete feels the forms they are asked to fill out and the questions they are confronted with are a far more herculean task than the exams they faced at school earlier.  When Pete is called first, his encounter with the young doctor is also honest and familiar.  The narrative of this encounter tells Pete’s story while also injecting a healthy dose of valid factual information into the text.  The story keeps things personal for Pete by having him express his continued awkwardness and embarrassment with addressing the contents of his personal s*xual behavior and s*xual history.  Eventually, his counseling preparation is complete and he’s released to the next step in the process – the actual blood drawing.  Here he emerges to encounter Earn, who has been going through his own version of counseling, albeit with a female doctor only a few years younger than his mother.  J  Pete takes the opportunity to tweak him a little by recounting his own experience, but reassures Earn of his place in his heart and relishes his reaction as they wait to be called for the blood draw.  When Pete is called first, Earn teases him not to whine about the needle, but Pete tells him he’s had bigger things enter his body making Earn blush.  Pete describes the blood draw as a non-event and sets up the process for being called in to review the results.  He exits the room and tells Earn how it went before he too is called in and Pete heads to the lobby to await the results.  Eventually Earn joins him and they wait together as the patients ahead of them are called in one-by-one.

In short time, Pete finds himself sitting before the young doctor where he is asked to confirm his identity written on an envelope in the doctor’s possession.  Pete is asked to open the envelope and confirm the personal data and he notices the results indicated as non-reactive.  Not completely understanding what this exactly means causes his distress to climb and the doctor picks up on this, explaining that his results are good news because it means his results are negative.  Pete still has to ask what this means, and only after the doctor clearly states that he doesn’t have any STDs or HIV, does Pete feel his concerns melt.  The doctor goes on to explain that abstinence is the safest way to avoid contracting an STD, but acknowledges that the s*xual history Pete provided indicates this unlikely.  He’s immediately embarrassed and thinks of Por declaring that he and Earn like rabbits (hilarious).  The doctor tells him he should use protection and reminds him that even this isn’t 100% safe, and recommends routine follow up tests every 3 months.  At that, the doctor and patient exchange wais and Pete steps back into the empty lobby to wait.  His mind is still in a bit of a whirl, but he comforts himself with his results and can’t wait to share them with Earn.  As he waits, he begins to wonder what’s taking Earn so long, and then stresses that maybe Earn’s results may not be as good as his own.  It takes him a few minutes to calm himself down before he hears Earn thanking the doctor and approaching him asking him point-blank for his results.  He’s taken by aback by Earn’s directness, but tells him while holding out the paper.  Pete asks Earn the same question in return, and Earn holds out his paper.  Pete shows his relief and admits his momentary worry, then asks what took him so long.  Earn explains he had some questions and was really just angling to snatch up a bunch of free condoms which he’s holding in one hand.  Pete is embarrassed and forces them into Earn’s pocket, but Earn remarks that he’s cute and that his mind is clearer now knowing that Pete is healthy.  At this point, they both express honest doubts about each other’s past and practices, mostly born of fear and worry about vague and hypothetical scenarios.  After openly sharing their feelings and concerns, Pete admits that he’s glad they’ve arrived at this juncture and they know they’re in the clear.  At this point, they exit the clinic and they depart for Earn’s house.

This story has taken on real issues for a long time now, but this is one of the most monumental on several levels.  In this sense, the storyline is unprecedented, and as an event in the lives of these characters, the testing experience is clearly unprecedented.  This is primarily a love story, and given the background of each boy, I did not expect any dire developments from the testing and I’m glad there weren’t any, but an unexpected result could have been written into the story.  This story incorporates real issues all of the time, and real life is full of surprises so it was not completely impossible for the author to go there.  It also allows the boys to be so completely human as to allow their fears to foster doubts and conjure foreboding scenarios no matter how unlikely or remote.  Beyond that, it captures the fear a person faces in making and executing on the decision to get tested with accuracy and sensitivity.  This is a big step in any person’s life, even if they haven’t had risky s*x.  Back in the day, when I was Pete’s age, this kind of testing produced fear because there was little hope that medical professionals at the time could offer for a positive result.  This story shows that the difficulty and fear of facing this issue persists even in a day when medicine holds far more effective tools in its arsenal.  This is a victory of personal courage for both boys as individuals, but also for their commitment to each other.  The story makes it clear that because of their emotional commitment, the fate of each boy is the fate of the other, and that both boys understand this.  Through the testing process, they stand down their fears individually, but do so together and for the sake of each other.

Upon entering the house, Earn shouts their arrival to his parents and gets jovially scolded by his mom for yelling so loudly before being instructed to wash up for dinner.  They enter the kitchen to find Earn’s dad already seated at the table.  He squawks at their loudness before admitting he misses it.  His honest sentiment immediately casts him in a benign light and sets a welcoming tone.  Earn greets his dad with a wai and Pete follows suit addressing him as Uncle.  For this, he gets admonished for being so formal followed by a dimpled grin that Pete recognizes only too well.  After some small talk, Pete is urged to thank his parents for taking care of Earn these past weeks leading up to exams.  Earn objects but, Pete responds with ‘Don’t mention it’ while taking his seat next to Earn.  Earn’s dad clarifies by noting he feels compelled to do so after observing that when Earn misses going to Pete’s house for a month he pouts like a child.  After Pete agrees that’s Earn all right, he gets a pinch on his leg under the table.  Earn’s dad notices the wince and asks Pete if he’s okay, but Pete plays as if all is well.  The scene expands as Earn’s mom enters the room and Earn jumps up to greet her with a hug.  She objects cheerfully and assigns him the task of bringing the meal to the table.  Small talk ensues and the food is served.  While enjoying a break from the food he usually eats at home, Pete feels gratitude and relief that the day has passed desirably regarding school exams and testing at the clinic, although he wished his parents were present too.  Pete contrasts the lively atmosphere at the table with the usual scene at his house where they rarely have the opportunity to share a meal together.  He understands that his parents often work late, which only amazes him that Earn’s parents who do the same, can somehow make this joy-filled scene come off so effortlessly.  He even muses briefly about a future family with Earn and what that might look like, but then corrects himself. 

As the eating winds down, Pete thanks Earn’s parents for the delicious meal, but his dad indicates that Earn sort of put them up to it.  Earn’s demeanor suddenly shifts as he admits there’s a reason he invited Pete for dinner.  His parents express their surprise, so Earn hesitantly reminds them of when he told them he was attracted to boys several months earlier.  Pete is instantly dumbfounded because he never knew that Earn told his parents he was gay.  Earn’s mom acknowledges his coming out, even noting they easily accepted the news.  Earn’s dad confidently adds that what’s most important is that Earn is happy, and has respect for himself and who he is and then pledges their support for him.  Earn exhales before continuing to recount his unrequited attraction to Noh and how his best friend helped him through that difficult time while squeezing Pete’s hand under the table.  Earn’s mom acknowledges this too, and thanks Pete directly.  Sensing the importance of the moment, Earn’s dad tells him to spit out what he’s trying to tell them.  Earn cautiously continues, saying that it’s no secret (among the family) that he’s found someone and they’ve been dating…  Suddenly Pete’s internal alarm bells are ringing and he can’t believe what’s happening.  In a congenial and almost breezy manner, his dad indicates that Earn has been so secretive about this mystery person they were going to ask Pete who Earn has been dating, causing Pete to gulp and break into a sweat.  Earn marshals on, in spite of being red faced and noticeably sweating, and reminds his parents how they wanted to meet the lucky guy before the end of the school year.  At the mention of this, his mom uncomprehendingly starts questioning in earnest when he’s bringing the boy over, so Earn places his hand over Pete’s and replies that he’s here.  Earn’s dad breaks the silence by urgently asking ‘Where?’  It’s Earn’s mom who grasps the situation at that instant and tells his dad that Earn is talking about Pete.  With shock written all over his face, Earn’s dad turns to Pete and asks if this is true.  Pete freezes as he stares into the man’s eyes and curses Earn from hell to breakfast for putting him in the hot seat.  Quickly enough though, Pete snaps himself out of his internal tirade and replies affirmatively, then pulls their entwined hands up from below the edge of the table and places them topside acknowledging that they’re dating.

Earn’s dad momentarily pauses, looking stern, before his dimples appear and he declares his approval.  The boys are surprised at his reaction and Earn tries to confirm that his dad isn’t angry, but it’s Earn’s mom who answers his question by acknowledging Earn’s honesty toward them, their trust toward Pete, and her relief that she doesn’t have to impress a mystery boy.  Earn’s dad is shocked and amazed that these best friends would grow up to become a gay couple, but Pete corrects him, explaining he’s bis*xual, with Earn adding it means Pete likes both boys and girls.  With furrowed brows, the man asks Pete if he’ll dump Earn when an attractive young lady comes along.  Pete is flustered by the question and defends himself by declaring that he loves Earn very much as he turns toward him and notices he’s flushed red and sweating profusely at this point.  Earn’s mom is charmed by Pete’s reaction, but his dad gives Pete the evil eye and warns that he’ll be watching him.  The family gangs up on the father shouting at him to stop and he rubs the back of his head in embarrassment.  With that sorted out, Pete makes sure to tell them his parents don’t know anything about his orientation or his relationship with Earn and the parents agree to remain out of it.  Although initially shocked, Pete is thrilled with the outcome.  The boys head off to Earn’s room and Earn hits the shower leaving Pete to his thoughts. He considers himself a planner, but admits that the issue of coming out to parents never occurred to him.

Dinner at Earn’s ranks among the best passages in the novel so far.  This is the second major issue to be addressed in this ‘Unprecedented’ chapter.  I applaud loudly at its inclusion in this story.  Coming out to family can be extremely difficult for many of us.  The fear leading up to the actual disclosure can be oppressively suffocating even if the reaction turns out to be accepting.  Beyond this, it’s splendidly crafted.  First, the dialog is spot on.  The characterizations and assignment of emotional mannerisms are completely realized and easy to envision.  The character portrayal of the parents as supportive and embracing of Earn’s orientation is unexpected, but totally plausible.  Pete’s reaction from start to finish is both hilarious and sympathetic.  You totally feel the gamut of his motions:  fear, nervousness, embarrassment, self-consciousness, confusion, frustration, panic, emotional overload, joy, love, happiness, and contentment.  Beyond this, the reaction of Earn’s dad to Pete’s bis*xuality is yet another illustration of how deeply misunderstood this orientation is, as seen through the eyes of an adorably portrayed overprotective parent.  The reaction of Earn’s parents is a welcome and refreshing surprise and it’s encouraging to hear their bottom line: ‘Hey, as long as you’re happy, you have respect for yourself, and true to who you are, you know we’ll support you.’  What an enlightened parental philosophy.  Earn’s parents may be too young to be ex-hippies, but that’s what they sound like to me.  What’s so funny about peace, love, and understanding, right?

Earn emerges from the shower wearing a towel and apologizing to Pete who asks why he sprung the surprise on him.  Earn explains that his parents threatened to ground him if he didn’t disclose who he’s been dating, which prompts Pete to ask when it was he told parents he was gay.  Earn recounts how and why he told his parents back during the Christmas break, and Pete comments that it was a long time ago.  Apparently Earn felt guilty about withholding the truth, and in the end Pete decides that he can’t fault Earn for coming out to his parents in spite of always envisioning them coming out to their parents together.  Pete naturally asks Earn why he never mentioned coming out to his parents before, and Earn initially struggles to explain his reasons for keeping it in the background.  Eventually, he manages to clarify his own rationale and makes the point that each time he considered broaching the subject, there was just too much going on in their lives (the Basketball Finals, the Oil incident and their ensuing fight, the Year End Concert, etc.).  Earn indicates that he really got the idea of bringing Pete home to meet his parents as his boyfriend when they were discussing coming out to the school at the Year End Concert.  Before that, it was one thing after another, but now that everything is calm, Earn explains, he just feels that now was a good time to lay it all out in the open.  With this somewhat rambling explanation concluded, Pete finally accepts and understands Earn’s reasoning and expresses his happiness for Earn and the fact that they’re out to his parents.

Following this exchange, Earn gingerly asks Pete if he’s ever tried to bring the issue up to his parents and Pete replies that there a couple reasons he’s never felt the chance to do so.  One is the incident with Lhew, plus he’s not as close to his parents as Earn is to his, and he’s not sure how they’ll react.  Earn reassuringly tells him they’ll be accepting, but Pete isn’t so convinced, admitting he’s not as brave as Earn.  Earn assures Pete that he’s not trying to force the issue and embraces him; encouraging Pete to talk to his parents when he feels the time is right.  Pete feels guilty and explains that it isn’t fair to Earn.  He asserts that he’s not ashamed of Earn or their relationship, but then wells up with emotion as he asks aloud why he’s so scared by the topic.  Earn tells him not to get upset or to worry because he and his parents are there for him.  When Pete looks up at him, Earn’s face is tracked with tears, and Earn tells Pete he doesn’t want to be the source of his stress over this issue.  Now it’s Pete’s turn to reassure Earn by telling him he’s doing nothing wrong as they stare into each other’s eyes and Pete feels only love and reassurance.   The mutual gaze persists and Pete feels himself getting lost in Earn’s eyes as they fall into a gentle kiss.  In short time, their pent up urges and emotional state push them over the edge and they fall onto the bed and begin their .  

This portion of the chapter contains some of the hottest and emotionally expansive s*x scenes described so far in this entire story.  The passion and love between the boys really comes through.  As usual, I will not eviscerate these scenes through summarization.  The significant event, indeed, the ultimate ‘Unprecedented’ occurrence in the chapter is Pete and Earn having unprotected s*x for the first time in either of their lives and certainly within their relationship.  If the boys’ fates were bound earlier by their emotional commitment to each other, then their biological fates may be cemented by their decision to .  They have only done so in this encounter and may or may not continue to do so in the future, but the line they have crossed is more than symbolic.  Whether they intellectually realize it or not, they are placing complete trust in each other and literally putting their lives in each other’s hands.  This reality is especially true if they decide to continue to forego the use of condoms in the future. Only hours before their unprotected s*x, they got tested and know that they are not harboring any STDs, so what’s the big rub, right?  Well, yeah they know they aren’t taking any real risks right now, and won’t be as long as they remain strictly monogamous.  Needless to say, their decision introduces this provocative topic which begs even more complicated questions that I mention in passing but will not introduce for discussion because they raise moral and emotional issues which have no right and wrong answers.  For purposes of the story, let me just say that their decision is indicative of the love they feel for each other.  I do want to add that the (literally) of the s*x scene is written in true style for the characters.  Pete tries to pull out because he’s hesitant to inside Earn, and Earn, in his typical in-for-penny in-for-a-pound self, prevents from Pete doing so; and after his Pete delivers the best line ever, ‘Forget about cloud nine.  I’m up in space.’ 

I want to back up now and comment on the conversation the boys had before the s*x started because it brings up some important points.  First, we are provided with some backstory of when Earn came out to his parents and why.  This is important for the story because it creates the emotional sharing and dare I say emotional union that leads into the s*x scene that follows.  Additionally, it paints the picture of Pete’s emotional journey toward making peace with the challenge of coming out to his parents. 

Picking up where we left off, the boys collapse onto the bed relishing their experience, and share some post-coital pillow talk reprising and commenting on everything they liked about it.  They even make jokes, but when Earn jokes about his dad, it reminds Pete of the whole parental coming out issue which dampens his mood.  In an instant Earn is reassuring him, but Pete curiously asks how he felt when he came out to his parents.  Earn gives him a thoughtful reply, explaining that he was scared of rejection.  It was a depressing time in which he was getting over Noh and his feelings for Pete were becoming more apparent by the day.  Pete hits on the key issue when he asks Earn why he came out at that time when he was so uncertain about everything.  Earn beams when he tells Pete is was because of him and recounts the day they skipped school.  At that time, Earn notes that when Pete accepted him unconditionally in spite of knowing he’s different, he knew his parents would accept him too.  Pete ponders Earn’s reply before announcing that he’s going to come out to his parent too.  Earn cautions his Penguin not to do it until he’s ready, but Pete tells his Panda that he’s going to tell them because they deserve to know, adding that they love him as much as he does.  Earn hugs him and assures Pete he’s always here for him, then teasingly grabs Pete’s a*s while indicating it’s his turn.  Pete protests that he’s still not clean, so Earn agrees they should shower and clean up while preparing Pete for “taking” him.  Pete whines a long no, and Earn accuses him of being one-sided about their s*x, but Pete denies it briefly before giving in and weakly asking Earn to be gentle with him.  Pete narrates out the end of chapter noting that a lot of new territory was traversed in the night and the action remained free.  He muses over all of the things he’s learning and trying to understand.  He thinks back on the path he and Earn have travelled since childhood, and looks toward their long road ahead together.  In the end, Pete is reassured by having Earn and his parents for support in telling his own parents who he is, who he loves, and that he’s not ashamed of anything.

This is a tour de force and the chapter title couldn’t be more appropriate.  We are witnessing the coalescence of a truly selfless love-based relationship that might stand the fantasy test of time to span the lifetime of these boys.  In the old days they called this a love for the ages, and more recently a love of a lifetime.  Let’s face it though.  The odds are against them, and while Pete and Earn not only love each other and are committed to each other, as a young high school couple, they will still face many challenges.  This is what the rest of the novel will no doubt reveal; and in the course of this journey forward, Pete and Earn will sail forth, as will the rest of us as we read on.  Cheers!