Scooter and Malachi

by Nicholas Hall

Prologue

"The king hath brought me into his chamber, we will be glad and rejoice in thee, we will remember thy love more than wine."

(Song of Solomon)

On the shores of a large crystal clear, deep lake dotted with small islands and sandy beaches, abundant with the fishes natural to the habitat, deep in the northern forests of pine, oak, maple, and other native trees, amidst the beauty, the fragrances, and solitude of nature's gifts, two men built a home, a home where they expressed and celebrated their continuing love, their desire to never be parted from the life they began together at the university during their first years on campus. Alas, even though love may endure unto eternity, the body does not, often wracked with disease, injury, mayhem, or old age!

In the midst of sorrow, the surviving partner, now without the love of his life, lonely, yet not alone when he gazed across the lake where, in the small township cemetery, his lover lay in wait, he found love again, albeit differently, personified in the presence of a son he never knew he had; a child born from a grieving soul who sought relief in a very mistaken relationship and marriage, but now with rewarding consequences.

The son married, raised sons of his own who grew to love not only their grandfather, but the home he and his love built on the lake in the middle of the forest. Again, the body does not last, and the grandfather, Josiah Dickenson Parker (Parker as he was known) gave up his physical body to be with his love, his soul mate, his eternal partner, Grant Ambrose Hoffman! Parker's life departed this earth wrapped in the spiritual arms of his love and in the presence of his favorite grandson and their namesake, Josiah Grant Dickenson Parker (Scooter).

Scooter, some days after the funeral, sitting on the boat dock in front of the house as the sun was rising, looking across the lake toward the little cemetery where his grandfather and Uncle Grant now rested, was joined by his father, a father concerned for his son's safety and welfare as he watched his oldest son walk to the end of the dock.

"Grandpa came to my bedroom and awakened me early the other morning- you know which day- and told me he had someone he wanted me to meet. We walked to his bedroom, his arm around me, holding me close, and when we entered his room, Uncle Grant was sitting on the edge of the bed. He stood, folded his arms around me, kissed me on the forehead as Grandpa always did, and pulled Grandpa into the embrace with us. He looked at Grandpa and then at me and said, 'Scooter, like your father, in you we are complete.'"

"We sat on the bed, talked and laughed and he made me feel so good, he and Grandpa! When dawn began casting its first faint shafts of light into the room, Grandpa kissed me goodbye and said, 'Scooter, we have to go.' I knew where they were going and I so much wanted them to stay, but it was not to be!"

"Grandpa lay down on the bed, Uncle Grant kissed him, pulled him close in a loving embrace, and whispered 'I've waited so long for you my love.' Grandpa kissed him in return, saying 'You have been and are my only love.' Saddened, I interrupted, asking, 'Grandpa will I ever find a love like you and Uncle Grant had?"

"He winked and said, 'Who is this that cometh out of the wilderness,' and closed his eyes, slipping away to be with Uncle Grant. I covered them and held Grandpa's hand until you came!"

"Well, Dad, will I ever find a fellow who will love me like that?