By his ninth birthday Rafael had began to blossom into the beautiful and quick-witted boy that he is today.By his ninth birthday Rafael had began to blossom into the beautiful and quick-witted boy that he is today. The closely cropped 'marine-style' haircut that he had only a year earlier was replaced by a full and thick head of curling dark-brown hair . He slowly lost the little-boy skinniness as his body grew lean and lithe. Both boys were terribly lonely; Grant was devastated by the loss of his family; Rafael, by the fact that he had never been loved. The friendship between the two boys began on the first day that Rafael was in Baker House. It was suddenly and painfully terminated when Grant was adopted by friends of his parents. That period of twelve months was critical to Rafael because he finally came to experience love and to discover that his preferred partners were of his own sex. Grant, who was several months older and quite a bit larger, took it upon himself to mentor the younger boy. Although his dominant role was usually something of a joke between the two boys, even then it reflected Rafael's preference to be the passive partner. It wasn't that Rafael was weaker or less intelligent, rather that he was easily led into things that he wanted to do. Thus, it was Grant that initiated the boys' first sexual experiences. That first discovery of their burgeoning sexuality occurred just a few nights after Rafael had arrived at Baker House. +++++ It had taken more time than usual for Rafael to complete his homework. His thoughts drifted aimlessly, constantly doodling in the back of his note-book, drawing pictures of the dog that he had always wanted. He drew pictures of a Golden Retriever. He harbored a dream that one day he would be adopted and his 'parents' would buy him a little puppy. |