Valley of the Dudes

Chapter One
Rush Goodwin had lived his entire life in a small New England town. He’d been an only child, living with his widowed mother and her spinster sister, always dreaming of the day he would begin a new life in New York.
He kept his wavy brown hair at a medium length and wore a thin, well-manicured layer of facial hair that looked more like five o’clock shadow than an actual beard. He didn’t have a heavy beard, but he trimmed what he did have daily to achieve an intentionally scruffy look. In the right light, his brown hair took on a reddish tint that grew more pronounced in the summertime. When he wasn’t working, he often wore knitted caps on his head all year long.
He could get away with a lot: he had a handsome face, with a strong square chin, full lips, and deep brown almond-shaped eyes. Though he wasn’t extremely athletic, he had the tight, sculpted body of a young baseball player. When he walked into a crowded room, both men and women looked in his direction.
He didn’t want to move to New York because small town life was bad. Rush had been very fortunate. His mother and his aunt rarely discussed the fact that he was gay, but they’d accepted his lifestyle quietly, without any arguments or complaints. They greeted his boyfriend, Harold, with smiles and invited him to dinner on Sundays. When Rush went away on long weekend trips with Harold, they didn’t roll their eyes and look in the other direction.
But Rush was eager to experience more in life than what he’d always known. He craved these new experiences with such fortitude, there were nights he couldn’t sleep.
So one cold snowy day, about eight months after he’d received his law degree and passed his bar exams, he told his mother and his aunt that he was moving to New York. It was a Friday evening. They had just finished dinner and Rush was waiting for Harold to pick him up. Rush sat down on a footstool in front of his mother’s favorite wing chair and leaned forward. He told her he’d applied for a job with an entertainment law firm, gone on a series of interviews, and they’d offered him the job in New York. He even knew where he could sublet a small apartment; all he had to do was sign the lease. Rush said he hadn’t mentioned his plans earlier because he wasn’t sure whether or not he’d get the job. He’d just found out it was all definite that morning.
His mother stopped knitting and stared at his aunt. She lowered the knitting needles to her lap and raised her eyebrows. His aunt stared at him with large blue eyes. She was sitting in another wing chair beside a blazing fire, reading a novel she’d already read a dozen times. His mother pressed her lips together and turned her head to look at Rush. “Are you absolutely certain about this?” she asked. “You already have a stable position here in Connecticut with an excellent law firm. This sounds awfully impulsive.”
Rush nodded and reached for her hands. “I’m sure. This is something I’ve always wanted to do. The only thing I’m worried about is leaving you both here alone.”
Rush had always been the man of the family. His father had been killed in an automobile accident when Rush had been only twelve years old. Since then, Rush had been the one who’d dealt with the plumbers, the electricians, and the auto mechanics. The house where he’d grown up was one of those big old brick colonials, with white trim and no shutters. There were white dormers on the third floor and two wide chimneys on either ends of the house. It had been in his mother’s family for more than two hundred years. Supposedly, the basement had been used as a shelter during the Underground Railroad days.
His mother took a deep breath and sighed. “We’ll be fine,” she said, nodding at her sister. “But moving to a place like New York is a big decision.”
He smiled. “I know it is. This wasn’t an impulsive decision. I promise. I’ve been thinking about it for a long time.”
“I see,” she said. “When do you leave?”
He squeezed her hands and hesitated for a moment. Her face was still tight and expressionless. “In a couple of weeks,” he said. “I’m worried about you, though.” He’d been the one who’d checked the tires on the cars and made sure the lawnmower blades were sharp. Without him around, he wasn’t sure if they could survive.
“Ah well,” she said, taking a quick breath, allowing her face to soften. “We’ll be just fine.” Then she tilted her head to the left and asked, “What about Harold?”
Rush knew his mother was wondering about whether or not he and Harold were moving to New York together, as a couple. Rush had been with Harold since he was a freshman in college and he’d never dated anyone else. “I haven’t told Harold about this yet.”
Part of the reason he wanted to move to New York was Harold. But he didn’t mention this to his mother or his aunt.
His mother frowned and gave his aunt a look. She said, “I suggest you tell him as soon as possible.”
“We’re going to the movies tonight,” Rush said. “I was planning to tell him afterwards.” He released his mother’s hands and stood up. He squared his shoulders and asked, “So you’re okay with this?”
His mother shrugged and lifted the knitting needles. As she poked the tip of one needle into a loop of red yarn, she smiled and said, “If this is what you want to do, I’m fine with it. And you’re not moving to the end of the world. You’re only moving to New York. We’ll be just fine here in Connecticut.”