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Wayward Sons

出版	Independently Published, 2019-01-11
主題	Fiction / Romance / LGBTQ+ / Gay
ISBN	15217743909781521774397
URL	http://books.google.com.hk/books?id=wD9PzQEACAAJ&hl=&source=gbs_api

註釋On the dawn of War II, Edmond Cato, an aspiring engineer, learns he has been accepted into the world renown College of Engineering at Princeton University. But the patriarch of the family, the affluent Admiral Guy Cato, demands his son keep with family tradition and embark on a career as an officer in the U.S. Navy. At the train station, where Edmond is in line to purchase a ticket to Annapolis, he meets a handsome, intriguing young man by the name of Richard Walters, who comes from a humble shrimping background in Gulfport, Mississippi. Sensing they might have more than just academics in common, Edmond must make a gut-wrenching decision to please his powerful father or take his destiny into his own hands.Excerpt from Wayward Sons:Done communing with himself, Edmond decided Richard must be told of how the tables had turned. Winning back his trust and love was virtually assured. At least he hoped. He stepped onto the covered front porch, his attention drawn to the peaceful surroundings of a porch swing and two Adirondack chairs. He rang the doorbell.Someone approached. Edmond tried to think calming thoughts. This was no time for another one of his embarrassing nosebleeds. A middle-aged woman with wiry graying hair and deep laugh lines answered the door. "Hello, may I help you?" "Hello, ma'am, I'm Edmond Cato.""Oh, yes, Richard's roommate from Princeton. My son seemed upset after he spoke with you on the phone this afternoon. "Yes, ma'am, I'm aware. That's why I'm here, actually. I was hoping to clear the air between us.""He's out on a trawler with his Uncle Bob and Uncle Tim, but I'm expecting them back anytime now." Maggie unfastened the hook and pushed open the squeaky screen door. "C'mon in. Care for some sweet ice tea, hun? Sun brewed earlier today.""Yes, ma'am, thank you, that would be lovely." Edmond smiled, recalling Richard's diatribe on the proper way to make tea."Please, call me Maggie. "Lizzie," she yelled upstairs, "get down here and say hello to our guest.""Comin', Mama.""Hope you can stay for supper, I'm having pork chops, a delicacy these days. The parlor is right this way." Edmond nodded, smiling politely.Lizzie came bounding downstairs, her long hair done up in pigtails and tied at the ends with pink bows. "Hello.""Hi, Lizzie, nice to meet you; I'm Edmond Cato, your brother's roommate at Princeton." There was no denying she was Richard's sister; the resemblance was uncanny. "Sweetheart, take Mr. Cato's suitcase to your brother's room and then fetch him a nice glass of ice tea.""Yes, ma'am.""Won't you have a seat, Mr. Cato?""Maggie, I'd love it if you called me Edmond." She smiled and nodded. He found extraordinarily comfortable a well-worn blue velvet sofa, richly curved with channel tufting on the back. Maggie sat across from him in a matching club chair. Glancing around the room, Edmond noticed family portraits of Richard and Lizzie with their mother and father at the beach and fishing on the ocean, appearing very much the contented family. He was curious why Richard seemed reluctant to broach the subject of his father when they were on the train. "You have an amazing family.""My pride and joy. Makes the hardships of life bearable and more than worth it."Lizzie returned with tea, the ice cubes tinkling against the glass. "Thank you, Miss Walters."The young girl bobbed a curtsy and giggled. "You're most welcome, Mr. Cato. Mama, may I go outside and play?""For a few minutes, hon. But don't get dirty, supper's almost ready." The screen door slammed. Through the living room windows, Edmond watched Lizzie run into the backyard and climb into a tire swing suspended from a broad limb of an immense oak tree. He imagined how it must have been for Richard to grow up in this picturesque environment near the ocean, no tutors of dead languages, forced cello lessons or priggish governesses.