The class was to begin the Monday of our Mid-Winter Break at Community College. My Mom dropped me off with 20 minutes to spare. We were told in the letter that I had received from George, the Manager of the pool, that the class would start at 9:00 and then we would have a break for lunch at Noon. The instructors were from the State Police, the Delaware Bureau of Investigation and John Walsh himself. After the instructors introduced themselves they went over the agenda for today’s class. During the morning today, we would be listening to Mr. Walsh’s story of the abduction of his son Adam. Some of us were the same age as Adam when he was abducted and remembered the story. But after listening to Mr. Walsh’s and the anguish he and his family went through it was evident to us that even after 5 years he was still affecting him. He blamed himself for not doing a better job teaching Adam about what to do if someone tried to have him go with them. After 90 minutes of listening to Mr. Walsh and Adam’s story, it dawned on me that the way he was talking with the same conviction that Trevor’s Dad had during the funeral. When Mr. Walsh finished his story there was not a dry eye in the house. Everyone in the room was affected as we were living his story with the abduction and murder of Trevor the previous year. I looked over the crowd and noticed that Devin had covered his face with his hands and was sobbing during the story. I thought that it was strange and decided that I would ask him about that later.
Mr. Walsh had us take a break at that point and Devin got up and left the room in a hurry. I wasn’t sure if I should see if he was all right as I really didn’t know him at all, but I had an overwhelming feeling that he needed someone right then. I hurried after Devin, but when I made it into the hall I couldn’t see him anywhere. I shrugged my shoulders and decided that I needed to use the bathroom and went down the hall to find one. When I entered the bathroom I could hear someone crying. “Devin?” I called, he answered “Yes”. I asked him if he was OK and he screamed: “WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK!” After that outburst, I didn’t know what to say so I stood in front of the urinal and did my thing. It had gotten really quiet in the bathroom as Devin was able to get himself under control. He stepped out of the stall and I could tell he was not doing well. I said that if he wanted to talk about it I would listen. Devin apologized for screaming at me then told me that he had moved into the area a few years ago and went to the same school as Trevor. In fact, Devin went on to say that Trevor was one of the first friends that he made in school and they spent a lot of time together. When Trevor’s Mom called he got really worried and wanted to go and look for him. The next morning Devin’s parents told him that Trevor still had not been found and they were all going to Trevor’s house to help with the search. Devin looked at his watch and noticed that 20 minutes had passed and said that we should get back to the classroom with the promise to tell me more at lunch.
We entered the classroom and all eyes were on us. We apologized to the group for being late and took our seats. Mr. Walsh had been explaining about what the next 3 ½ days would be like and that the class would be difficult at times to some of us. He was looking right at Devin as if he knew why Devin reacted the way he did to his story. Mr. Walsh then said that the class would start back up at 1:00 pm and released us for lunch. As we filed out of the room, Devin said that he knew a quiet place for us to have our lunch down the street from campus. It was a little sandwich shop that had a number of specialty subs. We went to the counter, placed our order and sat at a table near the back of the store. Devin then continues his story about Trevor and his relationship. I could feel his pain as he continued, it turned out that he blamed himself for Trevor’s disappearance since Trevor was supposed to go to his place that night to play Nintendo with him. Devin’s parents were so worried about the depression that he had entered that they had him seeing a counsellor. By the time our food arrived, I could tell that he and Trevor were a bit more than friends, but kept that to myself. Devin got tired talking about himself and asked about me. It felt nice to be able to talk to someone about my life. We talked for the next half hour and it was like we were old friends by the time we walked back into the classroom.
During the afternoon we were split into groups, to make easy we the groups were assigned by our Swim Clubs and we had to elect a spokesperson. All of the group leaders were asked to come to the front of the room and pulled a piece of paper out of an old top hat, but not to look at it until told to. Once everyone had their piece of paper and returned to their groups we were told to develop a role-play from the topic on a piece of paper. We would then perform our role play on the last day of the training class. The instructor said that we could have the rest of the day to start planning how we were going to present our role play. Jerry opened the folded page and read what our topic was. “You and your staff are working when a group 12-year-old kids enter the club and tell you that there was a car slowly following them as they walked to the pool.” Our Swim Club group had 8 Lifeguards and 2 snack bar employees in attendance and our first task was to divide the group into the roles that they were going to play. Devin, I and 4 of the other Lifeguards were to act like the kids and the rest of the group were the employees of the Swim Club. We were joined by one of the instructors and he asked if we had any questions. We told him “not at this time, but that we might as we worked on the role play.” Jerry told the 5 of us to work on our part of the script and we huddled together and worked out what we were going to say.
The 5 of us were having so much fun figuring out our part of the script that we didn’t notice the class was wrapping up for the day. I felt that we were doing a great job together and had a good script going. Not only were we applying what we had heard from Mr. Walsh earlier that day, but what we had been told in school by our teachers. I also found that this experience was also a bonding exercise for our team as a whole which would have its own benefits as we moved through the summer. The Instructors reminded us before they ended the class to bring workout clothes with us for part of the training tomorrow would be in Self Defense and would be taking place in the Community College’s Health Center. I was packing my things to leave when Devin asked if I need a lift home since he lived close to me and his Mom was picking him up. I politely told him that I was meeting my Dad at his office a few blocks away. He seemed sad about that, I could see it in his eyes, so I asked him if he wanted to meet tomorrow morning for breakfast in the College Cafe. He agreed to meet me there at 7:30 am and we gave ourselves a high 5. I could see that he was happy about the plan, and secretly I was too. Devin was much easier to talk to than I thought he would be. I walked slowly to my dad’s office and thought about what we had learned today and my talk with Devin at lunch. I was happy about making a new friend, but sad because he still blames himself about what happened last fall after Trevor disappeared.
I spent the Monday night at my Dad’s place since Mom was not going to be able to drop me off on Tuesday morning. It was good that Dad needed to be in the office early and I had no problem meeting Devin at the Cafe. I arrived about 5 minutes before the time we had agreed to and went through the line to get my breakfast. I wanted something light since we were going to be working in the gym this morning. I waved to Devin when I saw him come in. He smiled and waved back to me then got himself some food also. When he sat down I asked how his night went and he said that had some really weird dreams last night, but other than that it was another boring night with his parents. Devin then asked about my evening. I said “My Dad and I had gone to Angelo’s for Pizza and then back to his place for a quiet evening. Devin had a confused look and his face and I had to giggle when I told him that my parents had been separated since I was 5-years-old and I was staying with my Dad last night since I would need a ride to class this morning. We finished eating and then walked to the Classroom where we were meeting the rest of the group.
Once the class had assembled for the day we all noticed there were 5 additional State Troopers seated in the front of the room. It was explained to us that we were going to be split up into 2 groups and while one group was being trained in Self Defense the other group would be listening to the Lecture, and after Lunch, the groups would switch. Luckily Devin and I were placed in the same group and we would be going to the gym for the Self Defense training first. When we enter the locker room Devin and I got lockers together and started to change. It was the first time that we had seen each other in the buff and luckily nothing below the belt rose to embarrass us. Devin was looking at my back with that same confused look in his eyes and I asked him what was wrong. He said “Nothing, but that I need to tell you about my dream at lunch” and left it at that.
The Self Defense Training was completed by the Delaware State Police Academy Instructors and we had a great time learning different ways to defend against being attacked. We were also tested on First Aid and CPR, which we needed to know for our State Lifeguarding Certification. The most important thing that the group was told was not run into a situation head-on. The instructors were very clear that we were only to use the skill they had taught us in defense of ourselves or the person we were protecting. The last thing any of them wanted to have happen was for one of us to be injured because we didn’t think before we acted. Once the class ended we headed into the locker room to shower and get changed. I admired Devin’s slim body from behind and felt myself starting to rise to the occasion. I blushed from head to toe, and then quickly turned away from my shower mate. I tried to finish my shower, thinking of naked old people, and praying to god that Devin had not seen my situation. Devin later told me that when I turned around he had a perfect view of my backside. I can’t tell you how embarrassed I was, but Devin’s smile eased my troubled mind. He told me “my butt looked cute.” To say I was shocked was an understatement, but Devin didn’t miss a beat and asked what we should do for lunch.
Since Devin had chosen were we eaten the previous day, I got to choose today. We went to a Chinese “hole in the wall” restaurant that I go to all the time when I visit my dad’s office. We ordered and went to sit down. While we were waiting for our food, I asked Devin about his dream from last night. He looked nervously around for anyone who might be looking or listening to our conversation. He took a deep breath, took my hands in his and began to tell me his deepest secret, that had fallen hard for someone and that someone was me. I was very confused and didn’t know what to tell him. I could tell that he was looking for some kind of reaction. What he didn’t expect was me getting up from the table and walking to the door. He was on the verge of tears when what he said finally hit me and registered in my hormone-addled brain. I turned around and went back to the table sat next to him, took his hands into mine and gave him a kiss, our first kiss. I didn’t care who saw us or what they thought. What I was doing right then, felt right and I loved every second of our first kiss. Devin and I leaned back and we both had smiles on our faces.
Devin then told me about his dream from the previous night. He said that he dreamed that he was in his bed and that he was not alone. He was spooning someone who had a birthmark on his left shoulder blade that looked like a puppy. Devin mentioned that he had been having this dream for the last few weeks, but assumed that it was just his overactive hormones at work, but now he wasn’t so sure. I looked at him as if he was crazy and then realized that he was serious. There was no way that he could have known before today that I had the birthmark that he described on my back. He saw it for the first time when we were in the locker room earlier today. I am not the type of person to believe in destiny but after our talk, I wasn’t sure if there wasn’t something in the universe pulling us together. We got our food and shared our lunches and then returned to the classroom.
During the afternoon session, we were shown ways to improve our observation skills. It was a lot of fun and the class did an exceptional job on the practical exercise that the instructor had given us. We were shown a picture of an outdoor scene and told to study it for a few minutes. We were then given a scenario and then told to write down everything that we remembered about the picture, we were told to be as detailed as we could. It had been drilled into us that even the smallest detail could make or break an investigation. We were given 15 minutes to write down everything that we remembered from the picture. The Instructor started by saying that there were no wrong answers then started asking us for the details that we had written down. By the time we had finished, there was a comprehensive list of details on the chalkboard.
Once the group was satisfied with the list that we had come up with our instructor looked over the list and then excused himself from the room for a few minutes. When he returned he was accompanied by a couple of Detectives who looked at the observations the group had come up with. The detectives then went on to explain that the picture that was used in the exercise was from an active investigation. They could not tell much about the case since it was an ongoing investigation but we had actually discovered something that had not been observed before. They told us that what we found might be the break that they were looking for and would let the group know if it panned out. This made our group feel really good and we all hoped that what we found would be helpful to the investigation, only time would tell.
During the break, Devin asked if I had anything planned for tonight. I told him that I didn’t have any plans but I was game if he wanted to hangout. He said that he would like that and then smiled at me with those beautiful eyes. It was at that time that I realized that I was falling for him as hard as he was falling for me. We exchanged phone numbers and I told him that I would call him after dinner. As I left the campus for the short walk to my Dad’s office I could tell that I was walking with a spring in my step and a big smile on my face. I was thinking about Devin and how in such a short time he had stolen my heart. I reached my Dad’s office he was on the phone so I sat down at the small table and pulled out some homework. When he finished his call he looked up at me and smiled. He asked how the training was going and if I was enjoying what I was learning. I told him about the Observation Exercise that we had done earlier that day and how the Detectives had praised the group for finding a new lead that they hadn’t considered. My dad isn’t naive and he knew what my friends and I got up to when they slept over. I would get this goofy smile on my face. It was the same smile that I was currently sporting.
He got up and closed the door. Then he asked the dreaded question, the question that no teenager wants to hear. “So Aaron, have you met someone?” I blushed and said that I had, but I was not sure if they felt the same about me. He then asked if she was someone that I met at the training. Here it was, the moment of truth, do I tell my dad that I have fallen for another boy or keep it to myself. It was at that moment that I decided that it was time that I come clean and tell my dad that I thought was in love with a boy. He took my revelation better than I thought and I should have known he would. His brother had been in a relationship with his best friend for the last 20 years, I knew that My Uncle Leo and Asher were gay and that my parents loved them both. I was hoping that they both would still love me once they knew my secret. My dad came over to me, stood me up and wrapped me up into a tight hug. He told me that he and Mom loved me and would always love me. I melted into my dad embrace and started sobbing. We sat down and talked about how to stay safe and what he and Mom were willing to do to help me. I guess that both of them had their suspicions but were waiting for me to come to them.
Dad said that he needed to make one more phone call and then we could go. What I didn’t know was that call was to my Mom. They agreed that we needed to talk as a family and she would meet us at the house. We stopped to get some Chinese takeout on the way home and when we got to the house we sat down, just the 3 of us, to talk about everything that had happened in the last 6 months and how it has changed our lives.