KIP 991 word excerpt

The veil of water cascading from over one hundred feet above would have hidden Tim and Jeb from prying eyes, had there been any. They lay naked and passionately entwined on a smooth, gently sloping rock behind the locally-famous, but little visited, Falls of Fairmont. The drive around the northern coast of St. Jude had been spectacular, the coast even more rugged than that along the island's leeward coast. The sea touching the shore gradually changed from the gentle swells of the Caribbean to the surging waves of the Atlantic. By the time they reached the road's end at Francistown, the sea offshore no longer looked inviting.

Still, eager to visit the falls, Tim had hired a fisherman to row them another mile along the coast and land them at the mouth of the river that flowed down from the Falls of Fairmont. Although the landing spot was more sheltered than most of that coast, it had been wet and tricky work getting ashore and helping to pull the rowboat up onto the rocky beach. There the fisherman agreed to wait while Tim and Jeb climbed another half mile up through the narrow gorge to the falls. They had climbed along the river bank as long as possible, but finally had shed most of their clothing to be picked up on the way back and had proceeded by wading through rapids and swimming through the pools in the stream. The water flowing from high in the interior mountains was far colder than the sea water in which they had swum the day before. Finally they emerged at the edge of the largest pool of all, the one into which the Falls of Fairmont cascaded in a sheer drop from a ledge high above.

"Beautiful! Truly beautiful!" Tim had exclaimed. Jeb agreed although, having never known any other environment, he had seldom given any thought to St. Jude's natural beauty. Yet this waterfall was a new experience and he was impressed. "If this place were in a more accessible location anywhere in the world," Tim went on, "it would be a famous tourist attraction. There would be hordes of people visiting it every day. We're lucky to have this place all to ourselves."

Jeb couldn't really grasp the concept of a heavily visited tourist attraction, but he did understand the joy of being alone here with the man he loved. "Leh we get in and bathe here," he suggested.

"Might as well. We're all wet already. But we don't need these!" He stripped off the wet shorts that were his only remaining article of clothing. Jeb followed suit, and together they dove into the deep, chill waters. After splashing about for a bit, they cautiously swam toward the waterfall until the outer fringe of the falling water was raining down on them. As they edged in closer it went from a gentle rain to a tropical downpour, but it didn't turn into the hammer blows to their heads that Jeb had feared. Gathering courage, they dove beneath the cascading water and came up in a small, quiet pool behind the falls.

"Hey! This is great," Tim shouted over the roar of the falling water. "It's like our own private room provided by Mother Nature herself." Jeb responded with a broad grin. By unspoken and mutual consent they climbed out onto the broad, smooth boulder that sloped up from the pool, embraced, and began to make love.

Later, in quiet post-coital satisfaction, they sat with arms around each other's waists silently looking out at the world through the veil of tumbling water. Inevitably, perhaps, Jeb murmured, "Tim, I love you."

"Sure, baby, I love you, too," was Tim's automatic response.

After a brief pause, "Tim, when you goin' back?"

"What? When we going back to town?

"No! When you goin' back... to America?"

"Oh! Well, I don't have to be back in Boston until next month, September, when the new term starts at school. But I thought I'd stop off for a few days in Dominica before I go home. So I'll probably leave here in a week or so."

"Dominica? Why you goin' there?"

"I've been there once before and it's a beautiful island. And I had a good time there, so I figured I'd like to go back again."

"What about me? I wants to be with you always. Will you take me wid you?"

Tim sat up straighter, his attention sharpening. "What? To Dominica? Gee, that would be fun. I wish I could, but it's just not practical."

"Not Dominica. To America! I want to be with you, to live with you, forever!"

"You mean you want to be my lover?

Though Jeb had never heard the term before, he instinctively knew its meaning. "Yes! I love you!"

"Of course you do, baby! And I love you, too. So don't worry kid, I'll be back. I'll surely be back to St. Jude to see you. Next year, for sure."

"But can't you take me with you to America?

"Gee, that would be nice, and I wish it were possible. But don't you know that it would be very difficult to get you a visa or to get you through American Immigration?"

"But couldn't you do it if you tried?"

"Yeah, I suppose so. Let me think about it. Okay?"

"Okay."

Not another word was spoken that day about Tim taking Jeb to America, but on the ride back to Queenstown Jeb's mind was full of dreams.. Tim had said that he supposed he could overcome any problems about getting him to America, and Jeb was sure that he could and would. So, in his mind, it was all settled. He was going to America! And there he would live with his rich American lover. He tried to imagine what it would be like, but it all dissolved in a happy blur. It would be something like Paradise.