Hidden In A Lifetime

Babs

The warm rays of the sun felt so good on Ben's face. He pulled his bike up next to the canal and watched the ducks fly across the water in search of fish. It was really peaceful in the park early in the morning. He had made a morning bike ride part of his everyday routine since the weather had gotten warmer. He finally managed to talk Michael into coming with him. The only problem was that Michael wasn't too steady a rider.

"Shit! I just can't seem to steer this damn thing." Michael grunted when he caught up to Ben.

"You'll get better with more practice, baby."

"I'll never get the hang of it."

"Look how well you do running your store? You didn't think you could do that, but you have. So I don't want to hear anymore negative comments come out of that beautiful mouth of yours. OK?"

Ben leaned over his handle bars and kissed his husband deeply.

"That was really nice, Ben, but you should be careful. You never know? Someone could see us?"

"So, let them see, we're married now you know."

Michael laughed. "Yes, we are. And you make me really happy. Well, except when you wake me up early to ride bikes. I'd rather be riding something else. He winked at Ben and then gasped.

"Ben, it's beautiful here. Look at all the birds!"

"This is exactly why I woke you up so early. I usually have the park all to myself and it's so relaxing. Look how the sun reflects on the ripples in the water."

Michael looked in awe at the reflection of the trees along the shore.

"It's almost like a painting. We should bring our camera tomorrow so we can get some pictures of this. I bet Ted would love them."

"I'm sure he would." Ben laughed.

"So are you going to make this part of your morning routine too?"

"I may Mr. Bruckner, if you'll ride with me."

"I'd ride to the ends of the earth with you baby."

Michael chuckled. "So, what's in the basket big fella?"

"Well, I thought we could spread a blanket under one of the weeping willows over there and have some breakfast. I brought some coffee, buttered rolls and a jelly donut just for you!"

"Is it a strawberry one?"

Ben couldn't help but laugh. Michael looked liked an excited kid at Christmas.

"Of course it is. That's your favorite, right?"

"Yummy! I'm starving! Can we eat now?"

They pulled their bikes up onto the grass and leaned them against the biggest tree they could find. Ben spread out the blanket while Michael took the basket off the back of Ben's bike.

"Wow," Michael said as he stuffed the last of his jelly donut into his mouth. "This place is great!"

Ben leaned over and with his finger he wiped the excess jelly off the side of Michael's cheek.

"I'm really glad you came. I've wanted to share this place with you since I found it a few weeks ago. I knew you would love it."

"I know. I'm just sorry I couldn't bring myself to get out of bed when you first told me about it. I'm here now though and it really is beautiful, Ben."

They drank the rest of their coffee in silence, just taking in the scenery, listening to the sounds around them and enjoying each others company.

After they were done and everything was cleaned up, they decided to do a little exploring. Ben pointed ahead, "Let's see what's at the end of this path, Michael. I think I see something, but it's hidden behind that big tree at the end. "

They slowly rode their bikes forward until they came across a small cabin. It looked like it had been abandoned for a very long time.

"Let's go inside" Michael said excitedly.

Ben grabbed his husband's arm. "Wait. I think we should be careful. The floor could be rotted and I don't want you falling through into the water."

They opened the door and Ben took out the small flashlight at the end of his key ring.

"I think I can pull up this old shade. It will give us more light."

With that Michael went to lift the shade and it fell apart in his hands, flooding the cabin with sunlight.

"At least we can see now." Ben said as he looked around.

The cabin hadn't been inhabited for a very long time. There was dust everywhere and spider webs all over the place.

"Ben, look at this."

Ben walked over to where Michael was pointing. Hanging on the wall was a photograph of two men who were obviously a couple. They looked very happy. They had their arms around each other and were standing on the side of the dock in front of a pretty big white boat. All of sudden, Michael shouted.

"Ben, look at the name of the boat!"

Ben took his handkerchief out of his pocket and wiped the remaining dust off the glass.

"I don't believe it?"

Painted on the front of the boat were the words, 'The Beautiful Ben'.

"That's amazing." Michael whispered. "What are the odds? I wonder which one of them is Ben?"

They continued looking at the photo for a while when Ben decided to have a look around the rest of the cabin. There was a very tiny kitchen area with a wood burning stove and some rusty pots and pans on the top. There was also a small bedroom off to the side, with what looked like a full sized bed. It took up most of the room. Ben noticed the holes in the blanket as he made his way over to the dresser against the wall. He slowly opened the top drawer and found some more photos. They were of the same two men who were in the photo hanging on the wall in the front room. Michael opened the closet and found three photo albums stacked on the floor. He gently opened them and stared in awe at the various photos from all over the world.

"It looks like they travelled a lot." Michael said as he continued to turn the pages of each album.

"That is definitely Paris," Ben said as he pointed to the Eiffel Tower in the background of one of the photos.

"And this has to be Rome," Michael stated. "That's the Pieta. My Mom has a small one in her bedroom. Uncle Vic bought it for her when he was Rome in the early 70's. She used to threaten me that if I ever broke it, she would take all my Rage comics and sell them to buy a new one. I never went near it again." He squeezed his eyes shut and shuddered.

"It must have been a hoot growing up with her as your Mom." Ben laughed. "I'm sure she smacked you in the head too, right?"

"You know her too well." Michael said as he instinctively rubbed his head.

As they looked through the photos it was apparent that the two men were together for thirty years or more. The last few pictures showed the men standing in front of the cabin again, but this time they were in their late sixties at least! Michael closed the last album and placed them gently back inside the closet.

Ben wanted to look through the rest of the drawers which contained old clothes and a few more photos of various people. When he got to the last drawer, he pulled out an old black leather jewelry box that had been hidden under some shirts. Both men gasp when they saw the two gold wedding rings inside.

"They're both inscribed." Ben said as held each one up. "This one says 'B, my love, my life, my friend' ', and this one says 'J, until my forever ends'."

"They were married?" Michael whispered.

"Only in spirit, baby. Gay marriage isn't legal here yet, so I can't imagine they were legally married."

"I wonder how long they were together. I mean these photos show them aging at least 20 or more years?"

"That's a life time," Ben said as he looked lovingly at Michael.

Michael's eyes filled with tears.

"We are going to be together even longer."

He leaned over and kissed Ben deeply. They reluctantly broke apart and continued looking through the jewelry box. Ben noticed a piece of yellowed newspaper that was in between the small birthday card they had found at the bottom. It was an old obituary.

'Ben Connor, part owner of the Daily bookstore, died today at the age of 74. He leaves behind a wife, Catherine and two children, Thomas and Christopher. He also leaves behind his long time business partner, Jacob Murray'. As Ben unfolded the paper, they saw a photo of the same two men, standing in front of a bookstore.

"That must be where they worked." Ben said as he gently refolded the clipping and placed it back inside the card.

"I can't believe Ben was married with kids?"

"You know how it must have been for them baby. They couldn't come out at the time. I'm sure Ben's family wanted him to marry. What better way to hide who they really were? Nobody would suspect that they were gay if one or both of them were married."

"That's so sad." Michael said as he leaned into Ben.

"Well, it seems to me that they were pretty happy together, Michael. I mean look at all the places they travelled together? Their true lives are in those photo albums."

Michael stood up and went back inside the closet. He picked up the photo albums and turned to Ben, "I think we should bring these things home. I want to display them on our coffee table. They shouldn't have to hide anymore."

"That's a very thoughtful and wonderful idea baby. We can fit them in the basket on the back of my bike."

Ben grabbed Michael and hugged him tightly to his chest. As they pulled apart Michael told Ben that they should leave the wedding rings where they found them. They put the clipping and card, along with the rings back in the jewelry box and placed it inside the dresser. And hand and hand, they walked out into the sunshine.