Rafael and Chad
Chapter 6: Fast Car
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Isabel brought out their dinner on platters, brought over plates and silverware, and them placed in front of them. Platters of steaming roasted chicken, tamales, rice, corn, and a bowl of brown sauce. They passed around the platters as they all heaped food on their plates. "What are these things, wrapped in corn husks?" Chad questioned. "Tamales" Adela informed him. "It's a very traditional southwestern dish for the holidays. And that sauce is Mole poblano, a sauce made with chilies and chocolate. Pour some over the chicken, it's delicious". She turned to Isabel. "Gracias, Isabel, Mi hijo y Chad se van a casar". Isabel smiled at Rafael "Ay dios! Felicidades! Qué día?". "Sábado 4 de enero" Adelita replied. "Ay dios mío! Nosotras tenemos mucho que hacer!".
"Did you catch that, Chad?" Adela asked. Chad nodded. "I'm far from fluent, but I do know some Spanish. She congratulated us, and when you told her the date, she said `Oh my God, we have much to do'!". "Rafael, have you and Chad talked about having children?" Jaime spoke up. "Papi!" Rafael admonished. "What? There are so many options for two men to have children these days. Surrogate mother, adoption". "Yeah. Well, we're not even married yet! And we need to graduate from UNLV first and get jobs to support ourselves before we even start to think about that!". "Yes, of course. But keep it in mind, I think you both would make wonderful fathers. And Chad, have you thought about taking the Serrano name?". "Excuse me?". "Well, in a traditional marriage, the wife often takes her husband's family name. You're both husbands, but you can choose to take Rafael's name. If you wish to do that, I would be proud to welcome you to the Serrano family". "Well, thank you, Jaime. I hadn't even thought about that. Rafael and I need to talk about that, and I want to talk about it with my family".
They finished their dinner with some buñuelos, fried dough sprinkled with cinnamon sugar. "Well, I have some phone calls to make" Jaime announced as he stood up. "Yeah, I want to call my mom and dad" Chad said in an excited voice. "Rafael, why don't we sit outside, it's such a nice evening? I'll get my phone out of our room and join you".
Chad came out to the front porch and joined Rafael on a loveseat and then tapped his phone to call his mother. "Hi Mom" he greeted her, "No, I'm fine, really enjoying it here on the ranch. Yeah, we rode horses up to what the Serrano's call the `water hole', it's a beautiful oasis in the desert, a small lake in the mountains". "You rode a horse?" Martha repeated, "You don't know how to ride a horse, you didn't fall and hurt yourself, did you?". "Of course not. Rafael is an excellent horseman and taught me everything I needed to know. He's sitting right here next to me; we're out on the front porch of their beautiful old adobe home. We have something to tell you, where's dad?". "He's finishing up washing the dinner dishes, I'll call him and put it on speakerphone". "Well, while you're doing that I'll call Cheryl, and bring her in on the call". "Oh my!" I'll get your father". "Hey Cheryl" he greeted her, "I've got mom and dad in on this call, there's something Rafael and I want to tell you". "Oh? Is that wedding bells I hear off in the distance?". "Chad?' his father spoke up, "I'm here with your mother, she said there's something you and Rafael want to tell us?".
"Yes. I was telling Mom we rode horseback up in the mountains to this beautiful small lake in the middle of the desert, an oasis. And then Rafael showed me this boulder with petroglyphs of people with spears hunting deer. And then Rafael told me there was something he wanted to ask me. When I turned around, he was kneeling, with a ring in his hand. He asked me to marry him, and I said Yes". "That's wonderful news!" Martha gushed. "Yes, it is, Chad", his father agreed. "Well, I'm jealous!" Cheryl scolded, "You two were made for each other, you complement each other in every way. "I'm teasing of course about being jealous, I'm so very happy for both of you". "Well, when, and where?" Martha questioned.
"Down here on the ranch. It's a tradition for the Serrano family. Next Saturday, the Fourth, at 2:00 in the afternoon. We were hoping all of you could come down". "We're not hoping" Rafael spoke up, "We insist, our wedding won't be complete without all of you here with us". "Of course we'll be there" Bob spoke up, "We wouldn't miss our son's wedding! How long of a drive is it". "The ranch is about an hour south of Tucson" Rafael explained, "and it's about 6-7 hour drive to Tucson. "If you want to fly down, we can pick you up at the Tucson airport". "Well, we'll figure that out" Bob assured them, "Cheryl, can you get the time off from work?". Oh hell yes, I wouldn't miss Chad and Rafael's wedding. Do I get to be your maid of honor?'. "Of course," Chad assured her.
"And we're still in the preliminary stages of planning this, but since we're both men we thought it would be nice if you gave me away, Mom, and Rafael's mother give him away". "How nice, I would like that very much. How many people are you expecting?". Chad turned to Rafael. "Well, Rafael's father, Jaime, is planning everything, how many people do you think he'll get to attend, Rafael?". "Well, I think he's overly optimistic about how many folks he'll get to attend a same-sex wedding, and it is a rough road out to the ranch. I'm thinking maybe 20-30 people?". "Well, a nice small wedding is always nice" Martha suggested. "Oh, Rafael?", Bob spoke up, "Since you're both men, tell your father I'll be happy to split the bill for the wedding with him". "That's very nice of you Bob. "I'll tell my father, but I doubt he'll accept. He's stubborn, and he's planning everything. For a same-sex wedding I had told him we'd just go over to Nogales and find a Justice of the Peace to marry us, and my father thew a fit, he insisted on the ceremony here at the ranch". "Well, I'm glad he talked you into it" Martha added, "You two deserve much better than a plain civil ceremony". "Well, it was Chad who talked me into it, he's mastered the art of talking me into things". "Well, Chad always was good at seeing the practical side of things" Cheryl volunteered, "And I'm glad he did, that sounds so nice, a small wedding at your family's ranch. I'm so looking forward to it".
"Well, that's about it" Chad said, "I wanted you all to know as soon as I could. There's a good cell signal here, so if you have any questions about anything just give me a call. Oh, there is one more thing. Rafael's father suggested that with our marriage I would be free to take Rafael's family name, Serrano. And I like the idea but want to run it by you first". "Oh?" Martha spoke up, "Chad Serrano, interesting. Well, whatever you decide you will always be our son, and now we will have Rafael Serrano as our son-in-law. So, whatever you decide is fine with us". "Thanks. Well, bye for now, let us know your travel plans". "Will do. And congratulations, we're all so happy for you and Rafael".
They turned as Jaime stepped outside, carrying a tray of tequila and glasses. "You boys care to join me?". They both nodded in agreement. "Well, a slight change in your wedding plans" he announced as he poured their shots. "Oh Papi, what have you done now?". "Well, I called the Governor and told her about your and Chad's wedding. She asked me if she was invited, so of course I told her we'd be delighted if she could attend. So, the Governor is coming, with her First Gentlemen and a bunch of her political people". "A Governor will be attending our wedding?" Chad questioned, "As in the Governor of Arizona?". Jaime laughed. "Yes, we only have one. She and her people have been trying to convince me to run for Governor next year. She's term is limited, so I would be running to follow her in office. I've been resisting that, it's a lot of hard work, running for Governor. So, I'm sure she wants to come to your wedding to give me her best sales pitch. Well, I'll listen to what she has to say. And with the Governor coming, I'll be calling the Mayor of Tucson and city council people and inviting them. And probably every political person between Tucson and Nogales will want to come. So, I was initially thinking 30-40 people; I think now it will be 100-150 people. Your wedding will be the hottest ticket of the season for southern Arizona. So, big changes. Now I'm going to hire some serving staff and cooks. And I'm thinking I'll hire an orchestra in addition to a mariachi. And more decorations. Oh, and putting up folks in the bunkhouse won't do. I'll need the ranch hands to help out, I was even thinking about having them put on a small rodeo, to entertain; I can get a couple of rodeo guys from Nogales to help. So, I'm going to rent a bunch of RVs for folks to stay in. And I'll call a contractor to grade the road and fill in some of the rough spots through the washes. And . . . ".
"Stop right there!" Rafael began forcefully, "If you think I'm going to let you turn our wedding into some kind of political shit show, you've lost your mind! Absolutely not! I should have stuck to my instinct and gone to Nogales and got a Justice of the Peace to marry us. Maybe we still will, come on, Chad, let's elope!".
"Rafael!" Chad scolded, "Please be more respectful to your father, he deserves that! That's quite an honor, getting the Governor of Arizona to come to our wedding. We'll remember that for the rest of our lives. And she's coming to try to talk your father into running for Governor? That is also quite an honor. And I hope you will seriously consider that, Mr. Serrano. I think you will make a wonderful Governor, sir". Jaime nodded "Thank you, Chad". "And Rafael, you did tell your father that he was free to plan our wedding as he pleased. You need to keep your word with your father". Rafael sighed. "And I gotta stop letting you talk me into shit. Ok, Papi, I did say you were free to plan our wedding as you wish. And I'm a man of my word, just like my father. And I apologize for my disrespect, sir. It just hit me the wrong way".
"Well,", Chad began, if our wedding is going to be the hottest ticket of the season, let's make it the hottest ticket on social media?". "What the hell?" Rafael sputtered. "Well, I've been on Facebook for a couple of years, and have a decent following. And you said you're on Instagram?" Rafael nodded. Well, why don't we post a picture of you proposing to me? We'll re-create that, get your mother to take a picture of that in the morning. And then we'll post our wedding as a live event on both Facebook and Instagram Sunday, starting at 2:00. We can use our phones to broadcast it. I'll bet we can get hundreds of folks to watch, maybe even more". "And why the hell would we do that?". "For the publicity. We're both struggling college students who fell in love looking at each other in English Lit class at UNLV. Folks will eat that shit up. Maybe it will help us in job interviews after we graduate. Rafael Serrano? Yes, I heard about your wedding on Facebook. You're hired!".
"Well, I might have forgotten to mention it" Jaime began, "but with the Governor and Tucson political people attending, I expect one or more of the Tucson TV stations to send out a camera crew and reporters.". "Even better!. We can talk them into sending their feed into our Facebook and Instagram live feed". Rafael threw up his hands. "Fine. If it's a circus you want, it's a circus we'll have".
"Don't be such a downer, Rafael! It sure as hell will not be a circus!" Chad retorted, "It will be a celebration of love, our love for each other. But if I may make a suggestion, Mr. Serrano . . . I mean Jaime. Oh hell, after the wedding may I just call you `Papi', sir?". Jaime reached over and put his hand on Chad's shoulder and squeezed it. "You may start calling me Papi now if you wish. It already feels like I have two sons now". "Well, Papi, if I may suggest, nix the orchestra - too formal. We want this to be fun. We'll want dance music after the ceremony. I suggest a DJ, with a good sound system. And I know exactly the song I want to be played when Rafael and I walk to the altar". "Yes?". "Can't help falling in love", by Elvis Presley". Jaime smiled broadly. "Consider it done!".
"Well, I'll leave you two lovebirds to enjoy the evening, I have some more phone calls to make". After he heard his father close the door behind him Rafael turned to Chad. "Why do you always take my father's side on things?". Chad shrugged. "Because he's usually right about things?". Rafael's eyes narrowed. "Just like you are usually right about things. "You don't see it? You are so much like your father. You're both very stubborn and so determined to have things be like you want them to be. I think that's why you got upset with him and disrespected him: You want things to be how you want them to be, and your father is equally determined to have things be the way he wants them to be". "Well, I apologized to him, I did lose my temper. It's just that he's trying to make such a big production out of our wedding, and I just wanted something simple, I hate being in the limelight".
"Well, get used to it". "Huh?". "If your father runs for Governor, we'll need to be a part of his campaign". "Oh hell no, please? I hate politics". "Well, we'll be a part of his campaign whether we like it or not. Your father is making such a big production of our wedding his political opponents will use that against him: His son is married to another man! His son is an avowed homosexual!". "Avowed homosexual?" Rafael repeated. "That's what bigots always say about gay men who don't try to hide who they really are. And we'll need to fight against that: "Yeah, we're married to one another, and we have the same right to love each other as anyone else does. And that's for the old folks. Our generation, the 18-30 year olds? Most of them don't give a crap if someone is gay, straight, transgender, or whatever - it's who you are as a person that matters. And that's who we'll need to target and get them excited to support your father".
"Oh gawd, I hadn't thought about all that, it makes me want to just run away and hide". "Run away and hide, huh? You want to get rich and successful in computer science? And I want to help save the planet. We're not going to achieve either by running away or hiding. It's what you were talking about when you asked me to marry you: Building a life together, being a team. If we want to succeed with that, we need to start standing out from the crowd. That's why I want our wedding on social media, so people start knowing who we are: Team Chad and Rafael. What I want is a fast car!". "A fast car?" Rafael repeated. "That song by Tracy Chapman, Fast Car: So, I remember when we were driving, driving in your car, Speed so fast, I felt like I was drunk, City lights lay out before us, And your arm felt nice wrapped around my shoulder, And I, I had a feeling that I belonged, I, I had a feeling I could be someone, be someone, be someone".
Rafael smiled. "Yeah, that's a beautiful song. Be someone'? Is that what motivates you, you want to be someone?". Chad considered it. "No, not really. Be someone' to me implies being someone famous, and I don't want or need to be famous. I just want to do something good". "Something good?" Rafael repeated, "Like what?". "I don't know yet, but I'll know it when I see it coming. Something good that helps the planet, something good that helps every living creature be better off, and happier".
Rafael leaned in and kissed Chad gently. "You want a fast car, huh? Ok, I'll be your fast car; I'll take you as fast and as far as you want to go. Ok, we'll do things your way and see where it takes us. So, do you really want to go to the altar with Elvis crooning that old song?". Chad nodded. "Well, it is a sweet old tune. But I'm thinking we can jazz it up a bit and put on an entrance for it". "Yeah? What are you thinking?'. "We'll arrive on horseback. I know some horseman tricks and techniques that will make an impression everyone will remember. I'll show you how to do it".