Gaycest - I don’t see my uncle all that often. It seems like there’s a rush of holidays and birthdays, all finishing with Christmas, and it’s not until the next fall that we all start seeing each other again. It’s not really intentional. Life just gets busy. And family time is not always high in my priorities. I never think about it too much, but I can tell my uncle Matthew notices. He’s always telling me and my cousins how much we’ve grown and how handsome we are. I don’t know when the change happened from being “cute” to “handsome,” but uncle Matthew never misses the chance to tell us. Uncle Matthew is very handsome, himself. He’s got a perpetual tan, muscular body, and the face of a movie star! Even our cousin, Jack, is quite the looker, too. I’ve always felt a little dopey around him, not really sure what to say or how to respond. And as I’ve gotten older, he’s only shown more and more interest. I can’t say I don’t like it. I’ve often fantasized about catching him coming out of the shower or returning from the gym. It seemed wrong, but I couldn’t help it. When the leaves started to turn and fall was reapproaching, I knew that I was going to see him again. I got excited, but I also had no idea what our interactions would be like. It was right after Halloween that I showed up with my friend, Tom. We were just going to say hi, hang out for a bit, and go into town when we saw some pumpkins sitting on the stoop. They weren’t carved or anything, clearly put out for Halloween but never decorated. It felt like a shame to put them out completely blank. I asked my uncle if we could carve them up and a peculiar sort of smile crossed his face. His smile was always disarming, glowing white and bright. But something about the look in his eye surprised me. He said yes and Tom and I brought in the pumpkins to begin working away...