Finding Love: A Journey – II
By: Scotty
(© 2008 by the author)

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

 

Devon was laughing now, “That does present a strange and amusing image doesn’t it?  Let’s go to your place and see what happens.  We’ll figure something  out, or if we can’t then we’ll have to spend the night apart.  If that happens, the world won’t end.”

Adam put his arms around Devon’s neck, and brought his lips to his lover’s.  The kiss was long, but gentle.

“I think it will seem like the end of the world to me, Dev.  I really do.”

Chapter 6

When Chris and Brad’s mom finally was able to tell us what she meant with her ambiguous exclamation, “It’s your father.  Oh, God, it’s your father,” both brothers collapsed into nearby chairs.  I was beside Brad, my arm around him, his head resting on my biceps.  Peter had quickly joined Chris, too.  It took some time for the meaning of her explanation to sink in.  Those words presented all of us with a delimma, expecting the worse but hoping for the best.

“Your father tried to commit suicide at the jail.  He tried to hang himself in his cell.  Luckily he was interrupted by a guard before it was too late.  He’s at the hospital now, but I don’t know what his condition is.  That’s where I am going now.  If you two boys don’t want to come, I will understand.  Please forgive me, but I have  to go to him.”

Brad sat up straight in his chair and said firmly and with emotion,  “I’m going with you, Mom.  Jacob is coming, too.”

“And Peter and I are coming, Mom.  We want to be with you, to be some support.”

“We’ll accompany you, too, Beth, said Doug.

Sadie hugged Beth and told her that she would pray for her and the boys, and remain at the house in case there were calls.

“Beth, you are coming with Diane and me.  You boys decide how you are going to get to the hospital.  You can meet us there.  Let’s get moving,” Doug said.

The three of them left immediately, leaving us with Sadie.  I told everyone, “I think Brad and I should go together, and Chris, you and Peter can go together.  That will give us a time to talk and also the ability to leave when we want.”

“Great idea,” Chris said.

 “Agreed,” said  Peter.

“Jacob, you make me proud.  See why I love him, Sadie?” questioned Brad.

I snickered a little as Sadie told everyone, “Of course I know why you love him, Brad.  Remember, I have known Jacob longer than any of you, and I have loved him like a mother. I'm proud of his intelligence, his generosity, and his caring.  He’s a pretty nice guy.”

After the general chaos of laughter and needling, we all hurried out to the cars and sped away toward the hospital.

Although she stood smiling in the doorway, it was obvious from her facial expression and body language that Sadie was concerned about the outcome of this latest turn in our lives.

*****

Arthur Coles Grantford sat behind the large mahogany desk, his head resting against the high-backed leather chair.  His fingers moved nervously across the papers spread on the desk.  His eyes darted around the room, then closed briefly as he thought about something.  He coughed intermittently, the sound coming from deep in his lungs, a raspy, watery noise.

He leaned forward and picked up one of the sheets of paper and examined it slowly, stopping at the end of each sentence for a moment of contemplation.  A malevolent smile crossed his face, and his eyes burned like coals in a fireplace, shining from the reflection off the mahogny desk which gave them a reddish tint.  He ran his tongue across his aged and yellowed teeth.  He laughed aloud and threw the paper back on his desk.

‘This would take care of those faggot priests,’ he thought.  He continued to think, ‘There would be no alternative for them.  The bishop would support him.  Money talks!’  His plan would work and he knew it.  Giving millions of dollars to the fat Bishop Goodfellow and to St. Augustine’s Church would be contingent on the  removal of both priests.  There could be no alternative to his demand.  None!

The phone ringing interrupted his thoughts.  He scrowled at the thing, hating it for it ability to separate a man from his thoughts, but he reached out and picked up the receiver.

“Yes?” be grunted.

“Father, this is Edgar.  Evan, Everett, Elsie and I would like some of your time.  Could we come over to see you, in say, an hour?  It’s important, Father, or we wouldn’t ask you to meet with us after the work day,” he said.

“What’s so important that it can’t wait.  And isn’t Elsie visiting friends in South Carolina?” Grantford asked, his voice filled with irritation and a touch of distrust.

“She’s back, Father.  She returned this afternoon, but too late for us to meet at the office.  This is an important meeting. Evan drove  up from Miami, and Everett came down from Orlando.  Father, we’ll all be at the house in an hour.  I have to go to dinner now, goodbye.”

“EDGAR!” screamed Arthur Coles Grantford.  But no one heard him.

*****

Without asking if I should drive, I got in the driver’s seat of the Mustang.  Brad made no objection.  Chris and Peter’s Camry was behind us. I chose not to drive too fast, for two reasons: one, I didn’t want to get stopped by the police for speeding, and two, I wanted to give us time to talk about what had happened.

“Sweetcakes, whatcha’ thinking?” I asked.

Brad didn’t answer immediately, but he did reach across and  squeeze my leg.  I waited patiently for him to say something.

“Jake, I don’t really know what I think.  I mean, I don’t want my father to die this way; it’s horrible.  I still can’t bring  myself to like him. Actually, I think I hate him.  I don’t know.  I want to forgive him, I really do.  You made me think of what not being able to forgive would do to me, and then ultimately to us.  But I haven’t got there yet, Baby.  I try, but then I think of what he did to Chris. You know the bastard disowned him, sent  him out the house, and took his home away from him for God’s sake!

“He shot you, Jake, and he didn’t care if he killed you.  And he called you terrible things.  And he took me against my will, threatened to kill me if I didn’t do what he wanted.  Then he took me to that terrible place and left me to those...  those fucking monsters, those molesters, those thoroughly evil men.

“It’s not  easy to forget that, or for that matter easy to forgive.”

Except from the sound from the Mustang and the passing traffic, the car fell silent after Brad finished speaking.  I had a thousand things I wanted to say, but I also understood that saying them wouldn’t really help Brad arrive at a place he had to discover by himself.  I also knew he was waiting for me to say something, so I said,

“I really can’t know the horror of what happened to you at the Colony.  And I can’t imagine having my Dad disown my brother, because I saw my father’s terrible sorrow when he received news of my brother’s death.  I know he could never  disown any of us.  Brad, I promise that I’ll be here to help you, to support you, and to love you.  But finally, you’ll have to work your way through this,  Sweetcakes.  I know that you will eventually come to see things clearly, but remember that may not be right now.  Understanding and forgiving your father may be elusive and may not come until later, much later.”

Brad was drumming his fingers on the dashboard.  He turned toward me and I glanced at him and saw the tears in his eyes.  I gulped my emotions down, but my heart was breaking for him as I could see his agony.  “You know, don’t you, Jake, that I want more than anything to be able to forgive my father.  I want to do it for myself, but I also want to do it for you, so that we can be happy together.  If my hate festered over the years, it would cause us problems.”

“Yeah, I think it would.”

“I’m really fucked by this whole damn mess.  I want to get away from it all sometimes.   But never without you.”

“That makes me happy, Sweetcakes.”

“I hope so.”

Brad turned his head away from me and looked our the window at the passing traffic.  We were approaching the hospital parking lot.  He turned back to me and smiled.

“I wonder what my hunky brother Chris is thinking at this moment,” he said.

I chose my words carefully, but told him, “He’s probably telling Peter much the same things as you have told me.  I guess he has some real issues with your Dad.”

“Whatcha mean by that?” Brad demanded.

I guessed I hadn’t chosen my words carefully enough, so I dove right back in, adding, “What I meant was that your father didn’t disown you or kick you out of the house.  In fact, in his mind, he was saving you from hell.  He didn’t try to do that for Chris.  He just kicked his ass out of the house.”

“Yeah, I  suppose.”

“Don’t fret about what I just said.  I was just trying to help.  I should keep out of it.”

Brad grabbed my thigh up near my crotch.  He stroked the front of my shorts exciting me and my cock began to grow and harden.  He chuckled.  “I don’t ever want you to keep out of it,” he said, as he patted my hard cock. 

“More importantly, Big Can, I want you always to keep that cock of yours deep in me.  Understand?”

“I do and I couldn’t be happier about it,” I replied as I pulled into a parking space, turned off the engine, removed my seat belt and crawled over on top of my lover.  I kissed him and as I did, I laid on him.  I could feel his hard cock pushing against me.  It was my time to chuckle.  “You, know,” I continued, “I’d love to fuck you right now, but let’s save it for later so that we can do it the right way.  Sweetcakes,  I am going to fuck you long, hard and deep.  Your ass will be sore for a week, and my guess is that you will walk a little funny, too.”

Brad pushed his tongue deep into my mouth, and began what I thought was a passionate search for my tonsils.   It made me harder and I know I was leaking that wonderful natural lurication: precum.  As he French kissed me, Brad began trying to pull down my shorts and underwear, and was doing a masterful job of it when I saw Chris and Peter’s faces in the side window.  That was followed by a sharp rap which brought Brad back into the real world.

I rolled down the window in time to hear Chris tell Peter,  “Can you believe these two sex-addicated guys.  I bet they fuck in the classroom,” said Chris.

“No shit,” Peter added.  “They probably fuck in the bathtub.”

“Yeah, and on the kitchen counter,” suggested Chris.

“In the pool,  too.  Bet your ass on that,” Peter continued.

We all were laughing now, but I knew Brad wouldn’t leave things as they were.  “You know,” he said, “everything Jake and I know about fucking in interesting places, comes directly from you two fuckers.  I figure you two fuck standing, sitting, lying, kneeling, and if you could, flying.  So cool it!  We’re just two healthy, horny teenagers who need to get our rocks off.  So, we discovered this amazing way of doing that.  Jake here just pounds my tight asshole with his big hard cock until we both shoot off.  And where we do it doesn’t matter.  Sometimes he’s on top, sometimes I ride that beauty of a fuckpole of his, and man do we shoot.  Got any questions?”

Poor Peter was bent over laughing and Chris had moved behind him, his crotch rubbing against Peter’s bubble butt.  Chris was laughing,  too.  “Look, little bro, I’m ready right now to fuck Peter until he cries stop.  But we have other fish to fry right now.  Fucking will have to wait, for you two and for us.  Let’s get into the hospital and decide how we’re going to handle this whole matter.”

I moved off Brad, but not before I kissed him and felt his hard prick.  He kissed me back and pulled my shorts and underwear back up where they belonged.

“Understand.  But I bet Jake and I can out fuck the two of you old fuckers,” Brad said.

<Laughter.>

“Maybe later we can have a fuck-off contest,” I said with a laugh.

Brad and I got out of the Mustang and joined Peter and Chris.  We made out way into the hospital and into the waiting room not knowing how this experience would turn out.  I know that Peter and I both hoped that our men could forgive and  forget.

*****

Edgar Grantford sighed deeply as he quickly broke the phone connection with his father.  He looked around the room at his sister and two brothers.  He gave them a half-hearted smile.

“What did Father have to say?” asked Elsie Grantford Kent.

“He isn’t too happy.  Wanted to know why you were home when you had gone off to see friends.”

“You know how father is, Edgar.  He’s always suspicious of us.  Even as children we were subjected to his scrutiny and his insidious interrogations,” said Evan.

A moment of quiet decended on the room until Everett snorted a laugh which brought the attention of the other three in the room directly to him.  “You three don’t know the half of it.  I was the youngest and Father had a special dislike for me.  I think he blamed me for our mother’s death in childbirth.  He was  especially hard on me, never letting me go anywhere with you three.  I was kept home, always make to study.  My only escape was in the books that I read.  He never understood that because it wasn’t concrete enough for him.  And then you three made me your personal punching bag, the brunt of your most devious and awful plans and taunts.  Until I left for college, I always thought I wouldn’t make it.  Father wouldn’t send me to private school as he had with you two guys.  Even you, Elsie, were sent to finishing school in Europe.”

“You know, Everett, you imagined more terrible things that we did than we actually ever did.  I actually was your protector with father.  He listened to me until I met and married Sam.
He didn’t want me married and away from him.  Thank God I had a few wonderful years with Sam.  When his private plane  crashed and he was killed, I had to deal with two things: the loss of my husband and the glee of my father in having me back.  So, you see, Everett, you were not the only one of us who had to endure Father,” Elsie said with a monumental sigh.

“Let’s get back on track,” offered Edgar.  “Father knows that we own four fifths of the business since he chose to keep only one fifth. He did that so that he could keep his finger in the business.  Actually we have given him much lee way in the operation of the business.”

Evan interrupted, “But, Edgar, you actually run the company, don’t you.  I mean that was the agreement.”

“Of course I do, but Father still has a great deal of influence and power.  You three are always busy with your law firms, even Elsie has gotten back into the swing.  You left the business to me and I think I have done a good job.”

There was a chorus of affirmative  comments from the other three in the room.  Edgar smiled broadly, realizing that his brothers and sister appreciated his efforts and realized how difficult his job was with their father hovering in the background.

“I’m not sure, but I suspect that Father wants to do something that will get rid of Father Crowley and Father Jim.  He knows that Jim is gay and he is furious that Father Crowley allowed him to remain as a priest in the parish.  You know Father and his strong opinions on everything.  He’s anti-gay and he hates anyone who is gay or who supports gays,” Edgar said.

“I shudder often thinking about what he would do to me if he knew I was gay,” said Evan.  I guess . . .

Elsie interrupted, “Evan, we’ve kept your secret for years now.  Don’t worry, we’d take care of you if Father was to do anything stupid.”

“Count on us, Evan,” added Everett.

“Surely you  don’t suspect he knows about you, Evan,” suggested Edgar.

“I don’t know, but I can assure you of this, if push comes to shove (please excuse the cliche), I will tell him I’m gay and have a partner.  He can do what he wants to do, but I’ll not kiss his wrinkled old ass, or not support the two priests, but most importantly, I won’t hide my love for Frank, not ever.”

“Hurrah!” said Elsie.

“Father needs to be taken down a peg or two,” Everett said.

“We band of four are together, are we?” asked Edgar.

“We are much like Dumas’ muskateers,” laughed Evan.

“Let’s get over there and try to determine what Father is planning.  It should be revealing,” Elsie said.

*****

Devon kissed Adam gently, started the Oldmobile, and pulled out of the parking lot and back onto the highway.  He took the turn that would eventually lead them to the Neilson home.  He  glanced at Adam who seemed content, but also, somewhere other than where they were at the moment.  An overpowering feeling of guilt suddenly flowed over Devon, his self assurance slowly dissipating. 

He should tell Adam about . . .  But his psyche wouldn’t allow him to return to that moment, that incident which he had for so long pushed to the back of his mind.  How could he bring it back now, now when he feared remembering it might bring his relationship with Adam to a dreadful end.  He still loved Adam even after hearing all the awful things that had happened to him.  But would Adam be able to understand, to forgive him?  He was not ready to take the risk.

“You look troubled, Dev.  Is something wrong?” asked Adam.

Dev forced a smile, took Adam’s hand while still steering with the other hand.  He raised the hand to his lips and kissed it.
“No, no,  there’s nothing wrong, my sweet Adam; nothing!  I’m just thinking about having to leave you tonight, and I don’t like the thought.  That’s all.”

“Watch it!” yelled Adam as the Olds drifted into the lane of on- coming traffic.  Devon pulled quickly back into his lane, and swore, “Fuckin’ shit!”

<Silence.>

“I’m so sorry, Adam.  I’m a fool,” stammered Devon his eyes glistening with tears.

“No, Dev, I couldn’t love a fool, and I love you.  Now get me home, James,” said Adam, giggling a little at his half-ass joke.

But it was enough and Devon began to laugh, too.  And as quickly as that, the terrible moment was forgotten.  The ride ended shortly thereafter as they pulled into the parking lot of the Neilson house soon after Sadie had opened the gates.

Devon parked the Oldsmobile,  turned off the engine and turned to Adam.  His smile grew into a grin as he removed his seat belt.  He reached out and unfastened Adam’s seat belt.  “You, know don’t you, Adam, that you are just a wonderful person.  I’m thankful that you want me for a boyfriend.  I know I don’t deserve you, but that’s another story.  Kiss me long and hard before we go in and face Sadie.”

Adam laughed and he climbed over and embraced Devon.  They kissed madly, both becoming erect.  “You’re right, Dev, we’re probably going to get the third degree from Sadie.  We’ll  have to be brave and truthful, but not offer specifics.  If she asks for some specifics, well, we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.  Now come on, let’s go face the music.”

Adam moved back to his seat, opened the door and jumped out.  Devon followed him out of the Oldsmobile and walked with him into  the kitchen where Sadie sat at the counter drinking her favorite brew: hot tea.

“Hello, boys.  You made the curfew, Devon.  I’m impressed.  How was the movie, Adam?” 

Adam glanced at Devon and told Sadie that it had been an exciting and good movie.  Devon added that Ledger’s performance had been outstanding.  Adam breathed a little easier until Sadie asked,

“And what did you do after the movie?” 

“Uh, we went for a ride,” offered Adam.

“Really?”

“Yes, ma’am,” answered Devon.

“And where did you go on this ride?”

“To the beach,” said Adam.

“What did you do there?” Sadie inquired.

“We walked down the beach, and decided to got for a quick swim.  The water was great,” quickly answered Devon.

“Yeah, and we looked at the moon glistening on the water, and the stars were particularly bright and easy to see.  Then we came home,” added Adam.

“So you went swimming.  You both had swim suits?”  Sadie pursuing again.

Devon actually laughed as he told Sadie, “No, we went for a skinny dip.”

“Oh!”

“No one saw us, Sadie.  It was a quick little run into the ocean.  We jumped a couple of waves, walked out, got dressed, and came home,” said Adam.

“Are you two hungry?  How about some brownies and cookies and some cold milk?” asked Sadie, her cross examination apparently finished.

“Yeah!” came the reply in unison from the two boys.

As Sadie prepared things, Devon and Adam sat on stools at the counter. Devon quietly and quickly grabbed Adam’s hand and squeezed it.  Before anything else could happen, the Mustang roared into the parking lot.  Moments later, Jacob and Brad came into the room.  They both looked serious and tired.

Sadie noticed  immediately and went to Brad and hugged him.  I looked on quietly.  “Are you okay, Brad,” she asked.

“Yeah, just tired and confused.  Hey Adam and Devon.”

I took Brad’s hand and walked him to the two empty stools at the counter.  Adam was quickly out of his seat and hugged Brad.  “I’m so sorry, Brad.  How’s everything going?”

I hugged Adam, too, and shook Devon’s hand.  Sadie was over with the boys now, concern etched on her face.  She put down a plate of brownies and one of chocolate macadamia cookies.  She left and returned with a large pitcher of cold milk and some glasses.  She glanced at me and I acknowledged her concern with a smile.

“Brad, how is your father?” she asked.

Brad looked down at the countertop, sighed deeply, and told everyone, “He’s alive but unconscious.   The doctors are not sure how much damage may have been done to his neck, his larynx, stuff like that.  He looks bad, no color, swollen neck, funny lips.  It really bothered me, Sadie.  He did some terrible things to Jacob and Chris and me, but still, I didn’t like to see him hurt.”  Sadie slipped her arm around Brad’s shoulder and kissed his head. 

“We’ll all be praying for him, Brad.  How are you doing, Jacob?”

I smiled slightly and after kissing Brad on the cheek, said,

“I’m okay, Sadie.  It’s been difficult seeing Brad so upset, but I’ve tried to support him as much as I could.”

“You’ve been wonderful, Jake, just wonderful.  You’re my partner, Baby, and I love you.”  He pulled me down and planted a firm, love-filled kiss on my lips.

“You two have been pretty quiet.  How did tonight  go?” I asked.

Devon and Adam smiled at each other.  Devon answered for both of them, “We had a great night.  The movie was awesome, the beach was great and the swim was outstanding.  Couldn’t ask for anything better.”  Under the counter, Adam reached out and stroked Devon’s thigh.

Brad was staring at the two guys and smiling.  “So, Adam, was Devon a gentleman tonight?  Any funny business?”

Adam’s face reddened and he stammered, “Devon was a perfect gentleman, Brad.  He treated me with kindness and genuine concern for my feelings.  But don’t worry about us, we’re really concerned about you and your Dad.  Devon doesn’t want to go home because he thinks he should be here in case you needed us.”

“Oh?” Sadie said.

“Yeah.  I think it’s a good idea, Sadie, but I’m not sure we have a place where he could sleep.  Maybe we could put a cot  in my room or in the outer room in Jake’s suite.  He could even sleep  in the living room on the sofa.  If we’re needed and could help, it would be better if Devon were here.  I’m sure my Dad and Diane would approve.”

Sadie leaned on the countertop and asked, “Brad, what do you think of that?”

“I think it might be a reasonable, Sadie.  Whatcha you think, Jake?”

“It sounds like a good plan to me.  We have a cot don’t we that we could put in Adam’s room?”

“Yes, we do, but I’m not sure what I think of the idea.  Is this just a way to get you two to spend the night together?  Are you two an item, a couple?”

“I guess it’s not a good idea, Sadie, so I’ll be leaving shortly,” murmured Devon.

“You just wait a minute, Dev.  Sadie, yes we’re a couple.  Dev is my boyfriend.  We shouldn’t have tried to mislead you, so if you  don’t approve, Devon will leave.  I will try to understand.”

Before Sadie could answer, I spoke up.  “Don’t blame Adam and Dev, Brad and I deceived you when you asked about them and we told you that it was nothing, that it wasn’t a gay thing.  Well, it is.  Remember how I was when I fell for Brad.  I didn’t think I could live without him.  You, Diane and Dad, understood and helped me through it.”

“That’s right, Sadie, we didn’t behave truthfully, so please forgive us, but don’t take it out on Adam and Devon,” added Brad.

Sadie walked over and stood between Devon and Adam, she put her arms around both of them, kissed them on the top of their heads.  Adam cringed a little anticipating perhaps a dressing down by Sadie or even a mild slap.  But instead, she laughed and said, “You two didn’t think I bought all that stuff about the beach and the waves and the moon and the  stars and the skinny dipping, did you?  I may be old, but I’ve been around a little, too.  Devon, do your grandparents know anything about your staying here tonight?”

Devon was squirming a little, but answered immediately, “No, ma’am they don’t.  I will need to call them if I have permission to spend the night here.”

“Call them, and then I’ll give you all the ground rules for staying the night.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Please, Devon, call me Sadie.”

“Yes, ma’am, I mean Sadie.  I’ll go outside and call them.  Please come with me, Adam.”  The two left immediately.

“Sadie, are you going to make rules that you know they won’t keep just like you did for Bard and me?” I asked.

“It never worked, you know,” said Brad with a giggle.

“I know, but it’s worth a try.  I’m not sure, Jacob, what your father will say about  this.”

“He’ll be okay with it, because I know Diane will tell him to let things alone.  I trust Devon to be reasonable and perhaps not try anything that Adam doesn’t himself initiate,” answered Jacob.

Adam and Devon came back into the kitchen.  They looked pleased and happy.  “They understand and said it was okay.  I told them that we were a couple and they accept that.  They just want us to be reasonable and not jump into anything radical.  I assure you, Sadie, that we won’t,” said Devon.

“Sadie, what are the rules?” asked Adam.

Sadie sighed deeply and said, “There’s really only one rule.  Nothing stupid, nothing unreasonable.  Do you know what I mean, Adam?”

“Yes, I understand, Sadie.  We will be reasonable and not stupid.”

“Well, that’s settled then,” I said, so I’m going to get Brad in bed to get some much needed sleep.   Unless there’s a problem, you won’t see us until tomorrow morning.”

“Goodnight everybody,” Brad said as he gave Sadie a kiss.  I kissed Sadie and then we left for my suite.

‘Okay, you two, come with me.  I’ll help you set up the cot and make it up.  You should get to bed, too, because we don’t know what might happen.”

The three left quietly for Adam’s room, the two young men following Sadie and holding hands.  The two smiled the smile of lovers who were about to spend the night together.

*****

The four children of Arthur Coles Grantford, climbed into the company-owned chauffeur-driven limousine.  Once his passengers were inside, the chauffeur closed the door and moved to the driver’s seat.  The vehicle moved slowly out of the curved driveway of Edgar’s mansion and drove away  toward his father’s mansion located five or six miles away.  The four siblings  continued to discuss their plan and strategy, collectively hoping to avoid any division in the family.

Ten minutes later they arrived at their father’s home.  They were immediately suspicious as there were few lights on in the house.  That was unusual as Arthur Grantford usually had many lights on in the house.  Many stayed on all night, probably a reflection of a deep-seated fear of the dark on their father’s part.

After they were out of the limousine, they trooped to the door and Elsie rang the bell.  In a few minutes, which seemed to those waiting at the door half a lifetime, the door opened.  Tobias, their father’s butler, stood silently there for a moment, and then asked,

“How might I help you?  Your father isn’t here.  Didn’t he tell you he would be away  tonight?  I’m sorry if you came far, but I will tell him you called when I see him tomorrow.  Is there anything else?”

“No, thanks Tobias.  Goodnight,” said Everett.  Tobias closed the door and the outside lights flicked off as the limousine drove away.

“Foiled!” said Evan, but with a knowing smile.

To be continued...

*****

“The measure of love is to love without measure"

Feedback always welcome:     

Thanks to Peter for his intelligent and sensitive editing along with his insightful suggestions which add much to the story.  I also want to thank Alex for agreeing to translate from English to German, thereby assuring the best translation possible.
 

Posted: 12/12/08