My Father, My Son
(Revised)
by: Tom Borden

© 2000-2008 by the author

 

The author retains all rights. No reproductions are allowed without the author's consent. Comments are appreciated at...

 

"I'll do that, Michael. I'll get rid of him."

"Goodnight boys," said Michael. Then he paused at the door and said, "Damn! You two look so cute lying there like that! I've got to give you both a good night kiss." Walking over to their bed, he leaned over, put his hands on their little ass cheeks and kissed them both on the lips.

As he was leaving, he said, "You guys sleep tight now, and have sweet dreams!"

 

Chapter 54 

 

The small dinner party with Pierre and Jason progressed very agreeably. Mark and Corky had joined Pierre in drinking Scotch on the rocks, while Jason savored several Manhattans. Corky had made a pitcher of them that held four glassfuls. After Jason finished all four, he held his empty glass in front of him and said, "You make the perfect Manhattans, Corky. Just the right proportion of Bourbon and Vermouth."

It was obvious to Corky that Jason could use another, and he quickly disappeared into the kitchen to mix up another pitcher of them, and at the same time check the casserole that was in the oven. Handing a full Manhattan to Jason and another round of drinks to the rest, he said, "Now drink up you guys. It looks like dinner will be ready in another twenty or thirty minutes. The casserole is almost done."

Conversation was lively. Mark and Corky made no secret of the fact that they were partners and lovers, and told Pierre and Jason how they met on the highway when Corky had had a car accident. Jason, in turn, told about his life growing up in a small Texas town not far from San Antonio. His life's story seemed strangely devoid of romantic episodes with women. He did, however, tell of one short ill-fated affair he had some time earlier with an older woman. The way the story was related, however, did not seem to Mark and Corky that the affair held much passion on Jason's part.

With several drinks in them, Mark and Corky became eager to get to the bottom of what Jason really liked. Mark said, "I suppose Pierre told you, Jason, how the three of us met. It was really a trip for us to learn how Pierre found out what we looked like."

Jason, with a short little laugh, said, "I know. He has very sensitive fingers that serve as his eyes. It was a trip, as you put it, for me, too, when he found out what I looked like."

Corky said, "Jason, I don't know about you, but having Pierre "look" at us was a very erotic experience."

Jason said, "I have to admit it was erotic for me, too. Did he look at every part of your bodies?"

Mark said, "Every inch."

"I don't think Pierre would mind my revealing that he took me to bed that first time so he could look at me more closely," said Jason. Then looking at Pierre, Jason said, "It was a nice experience. Pierre has become a very special person to me."

Soon, they were seated at the table. The casserole was a simple one, made of boneless chicken thighs with pearl onions and mushroom gravy. Jason had several helpings, and eagerly topped it off with desert of half a dozen date and walnut filled cookies and coffee.

"Leaning back in his chair, Jason said, "Cooking for myself, I rarely get a meal this delicious! I hope you don't mind if I loosen my belt."

Retiring to the living room once again, now with glasses of wine, Mark and Corky looked at Jason, who had not only loosened his belt, but had undone the belt altogether and had undone the top button on his shorts and let the zipper slip down slightly. It was clear that Jason had on no underwear, for just a small amount of his pubic hair was now showing. Mark excused himself and went into the kitchen to fetch the bottle of wine, with Corky following behind.

Mark said, "Christ! Corky. Did you see that bush of hair? Are you with me in doing what we can to get Jason and Pierre into bed?" Corky nodded eagerly.

When they returned to the living room, Mark feigned discomfort from too much food, and slipped off his shorts, sitting down only in his briefs. "Jason," he said, "You can see we're pretty informal here. Corky and I frequently eat too much, but since we're alone here, we usually just strip down and sit around naked during the evening. It's so much more comfortable after a heavy meal."

Corky also let his shorts drop to the floor. As they both sat down on the sofa, they made no effort to hide the raging hard-ons that were tenting out their briefs. In fact, they were hoping Jason would notice and maybe get the hint. Mark even adjusted himself in such a way that his balls were poking out from the side of his briefs.

Jason did not pretend that he had not noticed the condition of Mark's and Corky's packages, and said, "Hey, you guys, don't let me stop you. It's your house. Go ahead and strip down if you want to. If you do, I'll do it, too, if you don't mind. I agree, it's a hell of a lot more comfortable that way."

Mark and Corky quickly removed their briefs, revealing two very large and hard penises. As Jason removed all of his own clothes, he turned to Pierre and said, "Come on, Pierre, you can't be the only one with clothes on. Let me help you get out of those things."

Pierre stood up, and as Jason removed each item of clothing from Pierre's body, it was very obvious to Mark and Corky that Jason was enjoying the process and was running his hand over Pierre's skin as it was being exposed. Both Mark's and Corky's hard penises were bobbing wildly in anticipation as they watched.

Mark said, "Pierre, you look so handsome. Did anyone ever tell you that you have a body to die for?"

Pierre said, "Yes, sometimes. But while you're looking at me, I would really like to see you three again."

Corky seized the moment and said, "I think if we all go into the bedroom and lie down, Pierre, you can more easily get a good 'look' at us."

Pierre, of course, knew this was only a ploy to get the main event of the evening started, and said, "Yes if we all stretch out on the bed, I can see y'all much more easily."

Jason was the first to jump in and stretched out in the middle of the bed with his hands up under his head. Mark and Corky's heads were virtually swimming from the intense sexual desire they both felt at the sight of Jason's well-developed body stretched out before them.

After all four were lying there, pressed up together, Mark put his hands on Jason's chest and ran them lightly over his nipples and then down over the hard muscular ridges of his stomach. He said, "Jason, you said it was an erotic thing for you when Pierre 'looked' at you with his fingers. Was it kind of like this, what I'm doing now?"

"Yes," moaned Jason. "It was very much like that. You said earlier that you also found it erotic."

Soon, Mark and Jason were pressed up together, running their hands over each other, gently caressing the curves that were formed by their well-developed muscles. Corky was lying back enjoying the enormously sensuous feel of Pierre's fingers as he was once again "looking" at Corky's body. As an added feature, Pierre was now also using his tongue to enhance his "vision." As his tongue got lower and lower and into Corky's ample pubic hair, Pierre could feel Corky's hard penis bobbing back and forth, lightly slapping him on the cheek.

As Pierre suddenly sucked in the full length of Corky's throbbing penis, Mark saw it happen and instinctively reached for Jason's hard penis. As he stroked it gently, he could feel Jason's leg muscles stiffen and could hear Jason's breathing become faster. Slowly running his tongue down over Jason's firm stomach and into his pubic hair, he reached the prize and brought his lips and tongue down over the head of Jason's gorged cock. Jason grabbed hold of Mark's shoulders and pushed him down hard against his body, signaling that Mark should take in his whole penis and suck it hard.

As Pierre was sucking on Corky, and Mark was sucking on Jason, Corky and Jason were lying on their backs with their bodies pressed together. Their heads were very close. Corky turned his head to look into Jason's face and had an overwhelming urge to kiss Jason. He moved his head just slightly to the side and brought his lips down close to Jason's. But Jason turned his head suddenly away as a very obvious signal that he didn't want to kiss. Jason did, however, bring his arm down from behind his head and ran it lightly over Corky's chest, gently pinching his nipples. Corky read that as a sort of peace offering after having so abruptly turned away from Corky's attempt to kiss him.

Pierre's very erotic tongue action on his penis and Jason's pinching of his nipples very quickly brought Corky to the very brink of no return. Corky began bucking his hips slightly as he sent his sperm flowing into Pierre's mouth. Corky let out a short agonizing grunt with each surge of cum that shot up through his penis. As Jason watched his friend Pierre gulping down Corky's cum, he felt his own orgasm quickly overtaking him. Still holding tightly onto Mark's shoulders, he let out a loud yell as his sperm poured in waves down Mark's throat.

As the four lay exhausted, Jason looked into Mark's face and said, "You know, Mark, I'm a fucker. I don't go much for doing oral on a guy. How about it?"

Mark said, "You just shot a big load down my throat, Jason. I'd like you to fuck me, but it's too soon. How can you cum again so soon?"

Jason smiled and said, "I've always been a rapid-fire guy, Mark. All I need is ten minutes to recover, and I can fuck out another load just as big as the last. I'm even able to have two to three orgasms in the process of only one fuck."

Mark smiled and rolled over on his back and pulled up his legs so that his thighs were pressed against his chest. "Okay, Jason," said Mark, "be my guest! This hole's all yours." Reaching over to the bed table, Mark picked up the tube of KY and handed it to Jason. As Jason slathered the KY on to his asshole, Mark looked at Jason's penis, long and fat and straight as an arrow. It hadn't wilted one bit. Mark almost shook with anticipation, having that enormous hot piece of fuck meat up inside of him.

"You want to do me, too, Pierre?" said Corky as he lay on his back, holding his legs up in the air.

Pierre positioned himself in front of Corky's ass. With his fingers, he felt all around Corky's round smooth ass cheeks and ran his fingers down through Corky's hair-filled ass trench until they found the hard, smooth ridges of Corky's pucker.

Jason pushed his penis into Mark's hole just at the same time that Pierre was entering Corky. Mark could hardly keep his eyes off of Pierre's little white ass with the erotic Bikini tan line as it moved up and down with each thrust of his penis into Corky's hole.

Mark looked up at Jason's face and saw beads of sweat forming on his forehead and beginning to run down his cheeks. He wanted so badly to pull Jason's head down closer to him so he could kiss those slightly parted sensuous lips. But he had seen how he pulled away from Corky when Corky had tried. The feel of Jason's large long and thick penis filling up his rectum inside of him was almost indescribable. Jason's eyes were closed, and Mark wondered what delicious fantasies were going through his head as he pounded in and out furiously. Was he thinking of him or of Corky or of Pierre? Or perhaps Jason was imagining that he was fucking a woman. It didn't matter. He had Jason inside of him, and that was the most wonderful thing he could expect.

Corky looked up into Pierre's unseeing eyes. Even though he knew Pierre could not see Corky looking at him, Corky knew that Pierre was "seeing" him through his hard penis. He was seeing into the inside of Corky's bowels, and Corky knew that was enough for Pierre at that moment.

Almost simultaneously, Jason and Pierre growled with agonizing pleasure as their faces contorted and as they each shot their load of hot cream into the Mark's and Corky's rectums. The pressure of Jason's hard penis throbbing against his prostate sent Mark into his own powerful orgasm, shooting stream after stream of cum splattering all over his chest.

The four were soon lying on their backs with their bodies touching, and gently caressing one another. When Pierre put his hand on Mark's stomach, he felt Mark's pools of cum, warm and thick. Scooping it up, he sucked on his fingers. This was the first time that Pierre had been present as his friend Jason had any kind of sex. He and Jason had only lain in bed at his place caressing and feeling each other's bodies. After several minutes, Pierre reached over and felt for Jason's penis. It was still hard and wet.

Pierre whispered, "Oh, Jason."

Jason whispered back, "Later, Pierre, when I take you home to your place."

All four soon were up and again sitting naked in the living room, where Corky poured more wine for everyone. Jason said, "I didn't intend for this to happen, but you guys really got me going. You guys were so nice to invite me over for dinner, and I almost feel as though I have hurt my welcome by what I did. It's not what a guest should be doing in the house of his hosts."

Mark looked open-mouthed at Jason. "Jason, let me tell you something. You may not have been aware of it, but Corky and I had early on decided that you were not going to be allowed to leave here until we did what we did. And that's a fact!"

"You're very nice to say that," said Jason. "That makes me feel better about it. I have to admit to you that I have never had an experience like this. I mean, to be in bed having sex with three other guys. Wow! I have to apologize to you though. As you gathered, I don't do anything oral to other guys and I'm really not into kissing or getting fucked."

Mark smiled and said, "Don't worry about it Jason. That's an acquired taste. You may come to it sometime. But if not, that's okay, too."

Putting their clothes back on, Pierre and Jason said goodbye. Mark put his arms around Jason and quickly swiped his lips over Jason's. Jason looked at Mark and said, "Oh, you're a sneaky one, aren't you?"

"Well, I've been known to be kind of sneaky!" said Mark with a smile.

After Jason and Pierre left, Mark and Corky poured themselves another glass of wine and just sat looking at each other and shaking their heads. It was almost unbelievable that they had somehow managed to get those two hot beauties into their bed. They both agreed that this would not be the last time.

Mark said, "Well, it sounded like our dear Pierre will be getting his ass fucked when he gets home tonight. I'm really glad. Pierre is so dear, and he so much deserves Jason."

Michael had worked most of the morning writing checks and paying the monthly bills. Just before noon, Tony came into his office and, laying a stack of new bills on the desk, said "The mail has come, Michael, and guess what! There's a letter for you." Handing it to Michael, he said, "And you see who it's from!"

Michael looked carefully at the return address and saw that it was from Karl. He felt suddenly as though his heart was in his throat. He could feel adrenaline pumping through his veins.

"Well, aren't you going to open it and read it?" said Tony, excitedly.

Michael looked at Tony and said, "Tony, I'm sorry, but I think I'd like to be alone when I read it. I'm sorry. Would you mind?"

As Tony left the room, Michael tore open the envelope and read Karl's long handwritten letter.



My dearest Michael,

First off, I want to tell you that you have never been far from my mind. Your dear face is permanently etched in my mind's eye. Imagine my surprise and delight when your friend, Francisco, located me and came to my apartment to tell me that you still thought about me. I never dared to believe that you could still love me or care for me. But he told me that you do, and the way he told me made me believe that you really do. I didn't sleep that night, Michael. Thoughts of you and what we had together raced wildly through my mind. Oh, how I do love you, and always will. He told me that you have thought about me so much since I left and that you want me back. How could any man be happier than I am!

I am sorry I hadn't contacted you. I thought you wanted me out of your life after what I did. I have been working very hard at making a change in my life. I have been seeing a very good therapist, who has helped me a lot by making me see what is important, and helping me to see the importance of self-discipline and the importance of being true to those I love. Of course, there is only one person I love. Believe me. I now know the terrible consequences of not being true.

I learned that the money that had once been put in trust for me is gone. My father had totally disinherited me. But I have a friend at my father's firm who has been so helpful. With his own money, he has helped me pay the monthly rent on this miserable hole I live in, plus some of the fees that go to the therapist. He's one of us, Michael, but he came to realize that nothing was going to happen between him and me, and I think he understands. He's probably sick of hearing me talk about my dear Michael way down there in Texas.

I probably have a little ways to go in my therapy, but now I see there's hope. If you still want me back, my dear sweet man, I will come back when I'm through with all this up here. I want to be absolutely sure about myself before I do. I will come back only when I know that I have the personal discipline and the strength of mind I need that will earn your faith in me again.

I love you, Michael, more than you could possibly know. I don't have a computer here, otherwise I would love to have you e-mail me. And I don't have a phone. The only one where I can receive calls is downstairs with the landlady, and it isn't private. So I hope you will write me, Michael.

With eternal love, my dear man,
Karl

 

The tears began to pour out of Michael's eyes as he tried to read the letter several more times through blurred eyes. He took out his handkerchief and wiped his eyes. He wondered to himself why he was crying. It was the happiest, most wonderful news he could ever hear. Just then, Tony peered in around the door and saw Michael's red eyes as he was once again trying to read the letter.

Tony said, "Well?"

"Oh, Tony! He's coming home! Karl's coming home!" said Michael. "Not right away, but as soon as he feels his therapy is finished."

Tony began to cry and came around the desk and put his arms around Michael.

"I know you're almost as happy as I am, Tony. I know your feelings for Karl. It's going to be wonderful!" Michael held onto Tony tightly and kissed him on the cheek, and said, "Everything is going back the way it was."

Getting up from his chair, Michael said, "Tony, would you have one of the guys saddle up a horse for me. I want to go out and ride alone for awhile."

Michael spent much of the afternoon riding slowly around the perimeter of the ranch thinking about what it will be like to have Karl home again. The loneliness will be gone. And that wonderful, sexy English accent was always somehow reassuring to Michael. Karl was always so much in control, and when things on the ranch would start to go wrong, Karl always calmly and with such assurance fixed things and saw that everything ran smoothly. As Michael rode, he could feel the longing rising inside of him to have Karl's arms around him again and to feel Karl's warm breath on his cheek at night.

Michael said aloud into the air, "Look at me. I'm acting like a damned giddy kid. But I don't care. At least no one can see me way out here pining like a lovesick child for my lover." He began to laugh at himself and, picking up speed, he headed for his little house in the Cottonwoods. He tied the horse to a tree branch next to a watering trough that Jake had recently installed. It was now late afternoon. Michael ran into the house and into the kitchen looking for that bottle of Scotch he remembered leaving there at his last visit. There it was, almost empty, but just enough for a good strong three shots on ice. Sitting on the rocker out on the front porch, he stripped off his shirt to let the breeze blow across his sweaty chest. He sat for a long time staring off into the west, remembering every wonderful detail of every wonderful moment he and Karl had spent together. As he reminisced, tears would flood his eyes, and then he would laugh out loud at the joyful moments he remembered. He was so glad he was alone. This is why he wanted to be alone that afternoon because he felt, alternately, silly and giddy and teary eyed. He thought to himself that he was too old to be acting like this, and besides, no one would understand. No one COULD understand.

It was a wonderful afternoon, and Michael headed back to the main house in time for supper. He headed back to his room where he took a shower and got into some clean clothes. Stepping into his office, he saw the blinking light on his answering machine. When he turned it on, he heard Robert's voice.

"Hi, Michael. It's your friend, Robert. Just wondering how you're doing. I'm sorry you hung up on me yesterday. That wasn't very nice. I really want to see you again. Please call me at (- - -) - - - - - - -. I'll expect your call soon. I love you."

Michael hurried into the kitchen and found Tony talking with Jake. "Tony, that Robert person called me on my private line. How the fuck did he get it? Did you give it to him?"

Tony said, "No, I was out for an hour or so getting food supplies. Otherwise I didn't get any call."

Jake said, "I was sittin' in here while Tony was out, so I could catch the fuckin' phone for him if it rang. There was just one call. The guy said he needed to talk to ya, Michael, and he was doing business with ya. I gave him yer private phone number and told him to call ya there 'cuz I thought you wanted to conduct yer business from yer fuckin' office."

"I see," said Michael as he slumped into a chair. "Well, you did the right thing, Jake. But this guy is someone who thinks he's in love with me and he's bothering the hell out of me."

"Who is this guy?" asked Jake.

"He happens to be a male nurse who's taking care of Jared while he's in the hospital in Dallas. He and I happened to get into something in one of the restrooms up there," said Michael.

"Oh, really?" said Jake eagerly. "What ja do?"

"It was really nothing. We stood at urinals next to each other, and I don't know how it happened exactly, but we ended up jerking off at the same time. Now this guy wants to get together with me, probably for some heavier sex."

"Let me talk to this fuck-head the next time he calls, will ya?" said Jake. "I'll take care of him. I'll scare the fuckin' shit out of him."

"Well, how are you going to do that, Jake?" asked Michael."

"Simple! I'll jist tell him if he don't leave ya alone, then me and my roughnecks are comin' up there, and when we git him, we'll tie him to a fuckin' pole and then shoot his fuckin' head off."

Tony started to laugh, and Michael couldn't suppress a smile. Michael put his hand on Jake's arm and said, "I'm the luckiest man on Earth to know I'll always be protected by a guy like you, Jake. If there's anyone who makes me feel secure, it's you!" Still smiling, Michael said, "But I don't want you to go to jail for murder, my friend."

"Oh, Michael, you know I warn't gonna kill nobody. But that little piss-ant fucker'll think he's dead when I git through with 'em."

Michael felt better and was soon sitting at the head of the table in the dining room with his family . . . Jeff and Paul, Clayton and Tony, and Enrique and Noah. Before they started to eat, Michael told everyone that he'd received a letter from Karl, and that he would be coming home soon. It was joyous news and they all excitedly told Michael how happy they were for him.

Jeff interjected a somber tone when he turned to Michael and said, "But, Dad, will you ever be sure? I mean will you ever be able to trust him again?"

Michael merely looked over and pointed to Jeff's plate and said, "Eat your dinner, son."

That evening, Michael sat at his desk trying to finish up some paper work. It was close to midnight when he decided it was time for bed. He lay naked on his bed with the sheet pulled back. The room was flooded with the light of a full moon streaming into the window. He ran his hands over the hair on his chest and stomach and then down over his penis and balls. Looking out at the moon with a smile on his face, he began imagining what it was going to be like having Karl back in his bed, with the feel of Karl's hands on his body. He slowly brought his penis to a full erection and tried to imagine that it was Karl's hands, or perhaps his lips, that were gently massaging his penis. He fantasized that Karl was there, lying in front of him with his head pressed up into Michael's crotch, sucking gently on his balls, just as he had so often done. Stroking his penis harder and faster, he wadded up the sheet and pushed it into his crotch, making it feel as though it was Karl's head.

Michael wanted to let his reverie last, but it was all too much. He could feel his hard penis becoming even harder in his hand and then could no longer prevent himself from falling over the edge. He felt the clenching of the muscle at the base of his penis as it pumped ribbon after ribbon of thick white cum out onto his stomach. It was a powerful orgasm, which he knew was the result of his fantasy that Karl was there with him. He had brought a towel with him to bed, knowing that he would need it. After wiping up all of the cum from his stomach, he let the towel drop to the floor, as he felt himself begin to drift off to sleep.

Suddenly, the bedside phone rang, bringing Michael to full consciousness.

"Hello."

"Michael! You never called back. I waited for your call. Why didn't you call me back?"

"Robert," said Michael angrily. "I'm never going to call you back. Now stop calling me!"

Robert said, "But Michael, my love, if you won't call me, I have to call you."

"Robert, I'm not interested in you. If you continue to call me like this, I'm going to have to report you to your supervisor."

"Oh, Michael," said Robert. "Didn't I tell you? I'm not working at the hospital anymore. They fired me."

"Why?"

"It's a long story, Michael. I'll tell you about it when I see you."

"You're not going to see me, Robert. I'm warning you. Don't call me again!"

"Oh, Michael," said Robert in a mock tone of hurt. "Are you going to do something bad to me?"

"Stop it, Robert. There are ways to put an end to people like you, and if I were you, I wouldn't push my luck, or you might just be very sorry."

Michael hung up the phone without waiting for Robert's next reply. Turning off the ringer on the phone, Michael pulled the sheet up over him and, as he felt himself beginning to drift into sleep, he thought that perhaps Jake did very possibly have the right solution to this problem.

The next morning, Michael told Clayton that he was going to drive up to see Jared again and asked if he wanted to come along. Clayton said, "Dad, I've seen him already. That's all I needed. I guess I feel kind of sorry for him, but I realize now there's nothing I can do for him, and there's nothing he can ever do for me. I understand that you need to go. He's your brother and, otherwise, he has no one. I remember what Father Taft told us. No matter how sinful a man has lived his life, everyone needs to have someone who cares when he's down. I guess he's right. You need to be there. I don't."

When Michael arrived at the hospital, he found Jared still in a coma, but was told that his vital signs had stabilized and that he was no longer in danger of dying. Stopping at the ICU desk, he asked about the nurse who had been taking care of Jared . . . the one whose name was Robert. One of the doctors who was sitting at a desk making entries in a chart looked up when he heard Michael asking about the young male nurse.

He got up and said to the nurse at the counter, "It's alright, nurse, I'll talk to Mr. Walker about that." Then taking Michael by the arm, he said, "Step over here to where we can talk privately."

As they sat down in a couple of chairs in a small alcove, the doctor said, "Mr. Walker, I'm Dr. Wallace. The young man you were asking about is Robert Jackson. I need to tell you about something dreadful that happened. He was in with your brother changing his catheter. But while he was in there, another nurse walked in and found him giving . . . well, for the lack of a better term . . . a blow job to your brother. Men who are in a coma often have perpetual erections. When Robert saw her, he told the nurse he would kill her if she ever told anyone. She was frightened, of course, and did indeed say nothing that day.

"Then the night before last, very late, Robert was on duty again. The ICU is usually very quite in the middle of the night. Another nurse went into your brother's room and found Robert on the bed holding your brothers legs up and having anal intercourse with him. Your brother, of course, has been in a fairly deep coma and was totally unaware of what was happening."

"My God, that son-of-a-bitch!" exclaimed Michael.

"She reported it immediately to her supervisor, who went in with the nurse to order him to stop. But he just kept going while he hurled obscenities at them. The next morning, which was yesterday morning, the hospital administrator was informed, and the young man was fired forthwith. I know this is a terrible thing to be telling you. But the reason I need to inform you of this is that we have examined your brother and found that the rape . . . there is no other word for it . . . caused some serious injuries to your brother's anus, as well a tear in his rectum. Even before the administrator was informed, we took your brother into surgery very early yesterday morning before dawn. Surgery on a comatose man is very dangerous when anaesthetic is involved. We gave him only minimal anaesthetic just in case the shock of the surgery would revive him to consciousness.

"I have to tell you, Mr. Walker, that the administrator of this hospital is very concerned that your brother's family will initiate a suit against the hospital for this, which, of course, is the family's right. It was a terrible thing that happened."

"Dr. Wallace," said Michael. "I am the only family my brother has. And I will tell you that I am not interested in suing the hospital. Having fired Robert is all I would ask. I should tell you, though, Doctor, that I'm afraid I'm not through with Robert. He has been after me to get together with him for sex. I made a mistake during my first visit here. I feel embarrassed admitting this to you. But I masturbated at one of the urinals in the rest room down at the end of that hall there. And he came in and stood next to me and did it also. That's what started his wanting to get with me again."

Dr. Wallace smiled and said, "I probably shouldn't tell you this, but I was one of the doctors who came in on you that day and stood at the urinal next to you. I know that you didn't look at me, so I know you don't recognize me. Just between you and me, Mr. Walker, I don't hold that against you. I think every man in the world had at one time or another in his life jacked off into a public urinal. And I'll admit that I've done it once or twice myself when aroused. So don't think anything about it. What I am concerned about is that he has been harassing you since that time. You know, you don't have to deal with that sort of thing yourself. What he's doing is a form of stalking, and the police need to be informed and brought into it."

"Thanks, doctor," said Michael. "I'm glad you understand about the masturbating. And I do appreciate your telling me about what happened to Jared. Will he be okay. Was the surgery successful?"

"Yes, it was successful, and he should heal up completely in a few weeks. At this point, though, what we are most concerned with is somehow bringing him out of his coma. We have done brain scans to see if his oxygen deprivation had been severe enough to cause irreparable damage to his brain. But when a man is in a coma, although still active, the brain can be said to be in a state of rest, and brain scans are not always telling in situations like that. We will just have to wait and see. I know that your brother has been serving a sentence at the state prison. You may not be aware of this, but if he does not recover sufficiently, the prison system will usually in cases like that discharge him from incarceration and ask the court to commit him either to his family or to another institution where he would receive the care he needs."

During the long drive back to the ranch, Michael thought about what the doctor had said. The very possibility that Jared might be remanded to the care of his family was chilling, to say the least. The absolute joy that Michael was feeling at the prospect of Karl coming home was dulled by the thought that he would also need to take care of Jared, who may very well end up as a mental invalid.

When Michael returned home again and went in and sat at his desk, the phone rang. Thinking it was Robert again, he picked it up and said in a very impatient tone of voice, "Hello!"

"Michael, it's Steve. You, know, Steve from New England."

"Oh, Steve!" said Michael. "I thought you were someone else. How are you doing?"

"Well, Michael, I've made a decision. I'm going to come back to Texas."

"That's great!" Said Michael. "I'm really sorry things haven't worked out for you as you'd hoped. When will we see you."

"I'm flying down to San Antonio on Thursday, the day after tomorrow. And I need to ask a really big favor of you. If you will let me stay at your place for a few days, I promise to go out right away and find my own place to live, maybe in Goliad."

"Nonsense, Steve," said Michael. "You can stay here as long as you wish. You're always welcome here."

Steve said, "I want to find a job this time. I'm not going to be a burden to you as I was before. I took advantage of your kindness, Michael. I realize that. But I want to be down there where I can be close to all you guys again. In fact, I realize now what I really want for myself, and it isn't a wife! I'm going to spend the rest of my life down there."

Michael said, "I couldn't be happier to have you back, Steve. I've got some business to take care of this week up in San Antonio. I'll plan to do it on Thursday, and I'll pick you up at the airport. Just send me your flight information by e-mail. Okay?"

"I don't want you to go out of your way, Michael," said Steve. "I can easily take a bus down there to Goliad and then a taxi to the ranch."

"Don't be ridiculous, Steve!" said Michael. "I'll pick you up at the airport. I won't have it any other way!"

"I love you, Michael. I mean . . . you know what I mean."

"I love you, too, Steve. You belong down here with us. And I'm glad you finally understood that yourself."

After Steve hung up, Michael went into the kitchen to talk with Tony. "Tony, Steve is coming back to stay with us for awhile. I want you to plan a very special dinner for Thursday night. I'd like to have it on the front verandah. Could you get a couple of guys to move the grill around from the back to the front. I'd like to have some real nice grilled Texas steaks. Go and get the best you can find. And maybe corn on the cob. You plan what you think is best."

"This is going to be dinner for how many?" asked Tony.

"I think there will be about seven of us. Jeff and Paul and myself, you and Clayton. And Steve, of course. And I think I'm going to ask Caleb to drive over here and join us. I think it will be a nice welcome back for Steve."

"Clayton will help me with the dinner so I won't be tied up here in the kitchen the whole time," said Tony.

"Tony, get yourself and me a cup of coffee and sit down here and talk with me a little bit," said Michael. "Where's Jeff and Paul today?"

"They went into Goliad awhile ago with Jake in the truck to help load up some feed. They said they'd be back in time for supper."

Michael took a sip of his coffee and said, "You know, Tony, it looks like we might have three more people moving in with us. Karl will be coming back, and Steve will also be here, at least temporarily."

"That's only two. Who's the other one?" asked Tony.

"Tony, I don't know what's going to happen. I talked to the doctor this morning up in Dallas, and it doesn't look like Jared is progressing very well. He told me that if he ends up being too bad to be returned to the prison, he might be remanded to me to be his caretaker. I just don't know if I can face that."

Tony reached over and took Michael's hand and held it to his lips, kissing it gently. Then he looked up and said, "I'm sorry, Michael. You don't deserve to be burdened with that. I hope that doesn't happen."

"You know, Tony, sometimes I think that Jared was put on this Earth to punish me for some sin I must have committed. And maybe even that Robert who has been harassing me is part of the plan. It seems that whenever I'm really happy, something happens to take the gloss off of it."

Tony got up and knelt down next to Michael and put his arms around him. "Oh, Michael, I know. I'm no stranger to those things in my own life. But somehow we get through them. When Karl is back home, I'm sure you'll find it easier to face anything."

"I know you're right, Tony. Karl has always known just how to handle any problem, it seems. I guess it's the moral support he gives me that gets me through these things."

Tony put his head in Michael's lap and said, "Michael, sometime when you're lonely or need someone to talk to, or need some company, you could always come in some night and be with Clayton and me. There would be nothing that would make us happier than . . . you know . . . to comfort you when you're down."

Michael laughed and said, "Oh, Tony, you guys are comfort to me enough just having you living in my house with me."

"But we could be a lot more comfort to you if you'd . . . BE . . . with us some night. Please."

"Tony," said Michael, standing up and pulling Tony to his feet, "I'll keep your offer to 'comfort' me in mind. I promise." Then taking Tony in his arms, Michael hugged him tightly.

After supper, Michael went back to his office to turn off the bell on his phone, but before he could, another call came in. It was from Robert.

"Hi, Michael, my love. I need to see you so badly."

"Robert, I'm going to tell you this for the last time. The next time you call, the only sound you will hear is my hanging up the phone. So you might as well stop calling."

Robert said, "Since they fired me in Dallas, I'm down here in San Antonio now. And I'm going to move down to Goliad so we can be closer together. Won't that be nice?"

"You'll be sorry if you do. Now get off the phone."

Calling over to Jake's room on the Intercom, he said, "Jake, please come on over here for a minute if you're free. I've got a problem I have to discuss with you."

When Jake arrived, Michael said, "Sit down, Jake. Remember what you said the other day? You know, about taking care of that Robert person who has been calling me? Well, I've been thinking about that. Do you think you could follow through on that and somehow scare the living daylights out of him? I mean something that will stop him from bothering me?

"Has that fucker still been callin' ya? Sure. Me and some of my boys can take care of him so he'll never bother nobody no more."

"Well, Jake, I don't know what you might have in mind, but I don't want him hurt or killed or anything like that. I just want him scared . . . you know . . . ."

"I know," said Jake. "You want him scared shitless, right?"

"Well, something like that."

"After ya told me about that problem, I been thinkin'. I thought up a plan that'll scare him so fuckin' much, he'll go out of his fuckin' mind insane."

"Jake, he told me he's moving down to Goliad. So wait until we can locate where he's living before you do anything."

"That's fine," said Jake. "I'll need a little time to round up a few guys so we can rehearse our plan, anyway. It's gonna be speck-fuckin-takalar! I can't wait!

On Thursday morning, Michael drove up to San Antonio. He spent the morning taking care of some business with some feed dealers, had lunch with some business associates at the Cattle Barons Club, and then headed out to the airport to await Steve's 1:15 p.m. arrival. As soon as Steve got off the tramway, he saw Michael. They gave each other a big hug and walked down to the baggage claim. They were soon in the car and on their way to the Ranch.

As they started away, Steve shouted with a laugh, "Home, Jeeves!"

On the way, Michael told Steve all the news about Jared and about Karl's impending homecoming. "And, Steve, after you get settled and rested up from your trip, we're going to have a few drinks and then have a nice picnic supper out on the verandah. I've asked Jeff and Paul to join us. Tony and Clayton will also be there, although they'll probably be pretty busy at the grill some of the time cooking the steaks."

Steve moved back into the same room he had vacated some weeks before. It was truly like coming home, Steve thought. It was like a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders. He no longer had that never ending strain of trying to be a happy and loving husband. All that was now over, and a whole new life was now awaiting him.

After Steve unpacked and took a shower, he lay on his bed and looked around the room. He felt so free and so ready to settle into a new life. Soon, there was a knock on his door. It was Tony.

Tony opened the door slightly and announced that Steve's presence was requested on the front veranda where it was now the cocktail hour. Steve hurried out to the veranda where Michael, Jeff, and Paul were gathered.

Michael said, "We didn't want to start without you, Steve. What will you have?"

Steve said, "I think some Chablis. Perhaps a glass of that chardonnay there will be just fine."

As they drank and talked, suddenly coming into view around the corner of the house was Caleb. Steve had been told that Caleb was now living in Goliad, and seeing him now suddenly appear was a major surprise. When Caleb spotted Steve, he literally stopped in his tracks.

"Steve!" shouted Caleb. "I didn't expect to see you. Why didn't you tell me, Michael?"

Michael took a sip of his triple Scotch and said with a smile, "Oh, I don't know. I must have forgot."

Steve stood up and took Caleb's hand. They almost leaned in for a hug, but neither was sure the other would reciprocate.

"Are you back for a visit, Steve?" asked Caleb as Tony handed him a Scotch and water.

"Well, Caleb, I think I'm back here for good. Things didn't work out back East, and I'm back down here permanently now. I'm going to start looking for a job as soon as I can."

The steaks were perfect, and the conversation was lively throughout the meal. While Tony and Clayton were in the kitchen getting the coffee ready, Jeff and Paul stepped down into the yard to talk. Michael excused himself to go to the bathroom, leaving Caleb and Steve alone at the table.

Caleb said, "Steve, I'm really glad to know you're back to stay."

Steve smiled and said, "And I'm really glad you came over tonight. I have to admit to you that ever since you and I got together that night before I left, I've been thinking about you." Then looking down at his empty glass, he said, "Oh, boy. I think I've had too much wine. I shouldn't be saying things like that."

"Why not? If it's true, why not?" said Caleb, turning in his chair to face Steve more directly. "I guess it's time for me to admit that I've thought about you, too. It wasn't just about what we did that night. It was more. It was you. It was just who you are. Sure, you're good looking as the devil, but it's more than that. I don't know how to explain it."

Steve took Caleb's hand in his and said, "I know what you mean, Caleb. I liked the sex we had, but that was not all I've been thinking about. It was something else about you. I don't know that either of us are sober enough right now to explain it. Maybe it has something to do with our age difference. You're only in your late thirties, and I'm in my early fifties. We've both been married and we've both given it up for the real life we were meant to live. Marriage has matured us both, Caleb, and that may be the thing we see in each other that we like. Probably every man should get married to begin with. It has a way of bringing home the values that really matter in one's life."

"You may be right, Steve," said Caleb as Tony brought out the coffee and a tray of shortbread cookies, The others then returned to the table. While they had been talking, Steve and Caleb had managed to move their chairs closer and closer to each other. They were now sitting with their thighs pressed together in a silent signal to each other that this was not to be the last time they would see each other.

Soon, Tony and Clayton, as well as Jeff and Paul, announced that it was late, and they would be going on to bed. Caleb looked at his watch and, seeing that it was after 11:00 p.m., stood up and said it was also past his bedtime.

Caleb took Steve's hand and said, "Here, Steve, this is my phone number. I would love to have you come and see my new condo sometime. I know you'll be busy looking for a job, but when you need a break, give me a call. You can come over and we'll have some beer and pizza. I'm a master cook when it comes to heating up frozen pizza!"

"I'll do that, Caleb," said Steve, this time not hesitating to take Caleb in his arms for a big hug.
 

To be continued...

 

Posted: 09/26/08