2025-07-10, 03:57 PM
“Hermann, look what I found under your son's bed,” Martina Schubert, the mother of 16-year-old Tom, said indignantly while holding a newspaper with pointed fingers.
“What's wrong with you now? Every time he's done something wrong, he's suddenly my son and not ours,” came the annoyed reply from the living room. He had actually just wanted to read his Sunday paper in peace and now he was being disturbed again. The same drama every weekend. It was always something.
“Now look at this garbage!” he heard his wife say and the magazine was immediately thrown into his lap. He hadn't really looked at all. He had noticed that there was a lot of naked skin on the cover, but thought it was one of the magazines he used to hide in his room when he was a teenager and nowadays in the garage. But there was something crucial missing from the model, or rather there was something he clearly didn't want to see at a certain point.
“That ... that ...” he began to stammer, ‘ ... that's a man,’ which only earned him a mocking look from his wife.
“Oh no, I know that too.”
Hermann's vein was slowly bursting.
“Why does Tom have naked guys under his bed? He's supposed to be looking at naked women,” he pressed out, causing his wife to frown.
“First of all, they're not women, as you call them, and secondly, my point is not that they're naked men, but that he shouldn't be reading magazines like that at his age.”
Hermann gasped for air. What was his wife saying?
“You're not seriously trying to tell me that it doesn't bother you that your son is obviously interested in men!!!” he roared.
“There are worse things, Hermann. And besides, he promised me he would always protect himself,” Martina replied relatively calmly. She had actually assumed that her husband had known about it long ago. The noises that came from Tom's room when his “best friend” - who was probably a bit more than that - was visiting were relatively clear. But her husband simply didn't talk about such things. It would certainly be good for Tom if he could talk to his father about such things.
“You knew about this???” Furious, Hermann looked from his wife to his son, who had just come home at that moment.
“Yes, she knew about it,” Tom replied instead of his mother and added a venomous-sounding ”If you were at home more often and weren't always at Moni's in the pub, you would have found out long ago. But instead, you get drunk and do it with her.”
“Watch your mouth!” his father shouted back and came dangerously close to his son. His wife only just managed to stop him from slapping Tom or worse.
What had he done to deserve such a father, Tom thought to himself. If his friend didn't have to share his room with his brother, they would definitely be with him more often. He hadn't actually wanted to tell his mother about them, but he had forgotten to lock the door once and so they had only split up at the last moment.
His mother hadn't said anything at first, only when his friend Daniel had left had she come to him and told him that he could always tell her anything and that she would be there for him, no matter what problem he had.
Then it had suddenly burst out of him that he was gay and that he was with Daniel. One thing had led to another and they had even talked about contraception, which hadn't exactly been easy for his mother, she had always been a bit uptight about it. But she was simply afraid for him, afraid that he might catch something, especially HIV. He had clearly seen her relief when he had told her that they hadn't slept together yet and that they would use condoms when the time came.
It had been the first time he had spoken so openly with his mother and afterwards he felt somehow relieved. He was glad that she had reacted like that and not as he had secretly feared.
But his father had behaved exactly as he had suspected. That hypocritical A.... Did he really believe that he hadn't discovered his Playboys in the garage yet? He had come across them by chance when he was 13, when he was looking for tools for his skateboard. Out of sheer curiosity, he had leafed through a few of the magazines and found nothing that interested him in the slightest. However, as he was pretty sure that one or two of his classmates would buy the notebooks from him with a kiss, he had taken a few of the notebooks that were further down in the box and sold them to his buddies at school the next day. He had raised a tidy sum.
What those pubescent boys would pay for a bit of naked skin .... It was just as well for him. He could put the money to good use with his tight pocket money. Back then, he hadn't known what that meant for him at the same time. The girls in his class had never really bothered him. If he did, then he hung out with his buddies. When they gradually started to show an interest in the female sex and had their first girlfriends and he was finally the only one in his clique without a girlfriend, he started to wonder. Why was he different from his buddies? Why didn't he feel anything for girls?
Over time, he had noticed time and again that he was attracted to Daniel, and in a different way to his other friends. For a long time he had tried to convince himself that it was simply because Daniel was his best friend and he confided in him much more than the others in his clique, but one day he realized that there was much more to it ... he had fallen in love with him ... with a man. This realization was not exactly easy for him to digest and he struggled with himself. He hadn't known what to do. The only person he could have talked to was Daniel ....
For weeks, he had tried to deny his feelings for Daniel, but he just couldn't do it. During the day, he had often caught himself looking at him in love when he thought Daniel couldn't see him. And at night, it had crept into his dreams. At first, he had only dreamt of them holding each other in their arms or simply sitting very close to each other.
They hadn't even kissed. Well, until that Friday night .... He had already had problems getting his feelings under control in the morning during sports lessons. First those partner exercises with lots of physical contact and then they had also had to train their stomach muscles. During the exercise, he had been lying on the mat with his head between Daniel's slightly straddled legs. As Daniel had been standing right above him, he had had a clear view of his rather wide trouser legs. Afterwards, he had really wondered what had made him blush ... the exercise itself hadn't caused the blush alone. They had seen each other naked many times before. Why did that have such an effect on him in this situation of all places?
After the lesson, he had been anything but hurried and had even helped to clear away the sports equipment. A task he had always successfully avoided. He had simply wanted to avoid standing naked next to Daniel in the communal shower. Because he wouldn't have had a chance to hide his excitement. Daniel had looked at him strangely when he had volunteered to clean up, but had quickly made his escape. Less than a day later, he had found out why ....
When he had finally made it to the changing room, only Simon had been there, who had told him that Daniel had already left because he had to look after his little brother. All of a sudden, he had been surprised.
A few hours earlier, they had been thinking about doing something together in the afternoon. They also had to do the shopping for their weekend at the lake with the gang. They had actually wanted to do that together too.
Simon had just shrugged his shoulders in response. He couldn't help him either. He first had tutoring and then a piano lesson. Simon was really not to be envied, so he thought he'd better go shopping.
He had been pretty exhausted that evening. The charcoal, the drinks and the other bits and pieces together had been heavier than he had thought. At least he hadn't had to lug everything down to the cellar and could store it in the garage instead.
“What's wrong with you now? Every time he's done something wrong, he's suddenly my son and not ours,” came the annoyed reply from the living room. He had actually just wanted to read his Sunday paper in peace and now he was being disturbed again. The same drama every weekend. It was always something.
“Now look at this garbage!” he heard his wife say and the magazine was immediately thrown into his lap. He hadn't really looked at all. He had noticed that there was a lot of naked skin on the cover, but thought it was one of the magazines he used to hide in his room when he was a teenager and nowadays in the garage. But there was something crucial missing from the model, or rather there was something he clearly didn't want to see at a certain point.
“That ... that ...” he began to stammer, ‘ ... that's a man,’ which only earned him a mocking look from his wife.
“Oh no, I know that too.”
Hermann's vein was slowly bursting.
“Why does Tom have naked guys under his bed? He's supposed to be looking at naked women,” he pressed out, causing his wife to frown.
“First of all, they're not women, as you call them, and secondly, my point is not that they're naked men, but that he shouldn't be reading magazines like that at his age.”
Hermann gasped for air. What was his wife saying?
“You're not seriously trying to tell me that it doesn't bother you that your son is obviously interested in men!!!” he roared.
“There are worse things, Hermann. And besides, he promised me he would always protect himself,” Martina replied relatively calmly. She had actually assumed that her husband had known about it long ago. The noises that came from Tom's room when his “best friend” - who was probably a bit more than that - was visiting were relatively clear. But her husband simply didn't talk about such things. It would certainly be good for Tom if he could talk to his father about such things.
“You knew about this???” Furious, Hermann looked from his wife to his son, who had just come home at that moment.
“Yes, she knew about it,” Tom replied instead of his mother and added a venomous-sounding ”If you were at home more often and weren't always at Moni's in the pub, you would have found out long ago. But instead, you get drunk and do it with her.”
“Watch your mouth!” his father shouted back and came dangerously close to his son. His wife only just managed to stop him from slapping Tom or worse.
What had he done to deserve such a father, Tom thought to himself. If his friend didn't have to share his room with his brother, they would definitely be with him more often. He hadn't actually wanted to tell his mother about them, but he had forgotten to lock the door once and so they had only split up at the last moment.
His mother hadn't said anything at first, only when his friend Daniel had left had she come to him and told him that he could always tell her anything and that she would be there for him, no matter what problem he had.
Then it had suddenly burst out of him that he was gay and that he was with Daniel. One thing had led to another and they had even talked about contraception, which hadn't exactly been easy for his mother, she had always been a bit uptight about it. But she was simply afraid for him, afraid that he might catch something, especially HIV. He had clearly seen her relief when he had told her that they hadn't slept together yet and that they would use condoms when the time came.
It had been the first time he had spoken so openly with his mother and afterwards he felt somehow relieved. He was glad that she had reacted like that and not as he had secretly feared.
But his father had behaved exactly as he had suspected. That hypocritical A.... Did he really believe that he hadn't discovered his Playboys in the garage yet? He had come across them by chance when he was 13, when he was looking for tools for his skateboard. Out of sheer curiosity, he had leafed through a few of the magazines and found nothing that interested him in the slightest. However, as he was pretty sure that one or two of his classmates would buy the notebooks from him with a kiss, he had taken a few of the notebooks that were further down in the box and sold them to his buddies at school the next day. He had raised a tidy sum.
What those pubescent boys would pay for a bit of naked skin .... It was just as well for him. He could put the money to good use with his tight pocket money. Back then, he hadn't known what that meant for him at the same time. The girls in his class had never really bothered him. If he did, then he hung out with his buddies. When they gradually started to show an interest in the female sex and had their first girlfriends and he was finally the only one in his clique without a girlfriend, he started to wonder. Why was he different from his buddies? Why didn't he feel anything for girls?
Over time, he had noticed time and again that he was attracted to Daniel, and in a different way to his other friends. For a long time he had tried to convince himself that it was simply because Daniel was his best friend and he confided in him much more than the others in his clique, but one day he realized that there was much more to it ... he had fallen in love with him ... with a man. This realization was not exactly easy for him to digest and he struggled with himself. He hadn't known what to do. The only person he could have talked to was Daniel ....
For weeks, he had tried to deny his feelings for Daniel, but he just couldn't do it. During the day, he had often caught himself looking at him in love when he thought Daniel couldn't see him. And at night, it had crept into his dreams. At first, he had only dreamt of them holding each other in their arms or simply sitting very close to each other.
They hadn't even kissed. Well, until that Friday night .... He had already had problems getting his feelings under control in the morning during sports lessons. First those partner exercises with lots of physical contact and then they had also had to train their stomach muscles. During the exercise, he had been lying on the mat with his head between Daniel's slightly straddled legs. As Daniel had been standing right above him, he had had a clear view of his rather wide trouser legs. Afterwards, he had really wondered what had made him blush ... the exercise itself hadn't caused the blush alone. They had seen each other naked many times before. Why did that have such an effect on him in this situation of all places?
After the lesson, he had been anything but hurried and had even helped to clear away the sports equipment. A task he had always successfully avoided. He had simply wanted to avoid standing naked next to Daniel in the communal shower. Because he wouldn't have had a chance to hide his excitement. Daniel had looked at him strangely when he had volunteered to clean up, but had quickly made his escape. Less than a day later, he had found out why ....
When he had finally made it to the changing room, only Simon had been there, who had told him that Daniel had already left because he had to look after his little brother. All of a sudden, he had been surprised.
A few hours earlier, they had been thinking about doing something together in the afternoon. They also had to do the shopping for their weekend at the lake with the gang. They had actually wanted to do that together too.
Simon had just shrugged his shoulders in response. He couldn't help him either. He first had tutoring and then a piano lesson. Simon was really not to be envied, so he thought he'd better go shopping.
He had been pretty exhausted that evening. The charcoal, the drinks and the other bits and pieces together had been heavier than he had thought. At least he hadn't had to lug everything down to the cellar and could store it in the garage instead.