Companions All by Will B

Cousins All
by: Will B
(© 2007 by the Author)
Advisor: E Walk

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

Jason and Nicky: You have found love with each other

and now together you soar on eagle’s wings in endless space.

We miss you, we miss your love and your wit

May peace and light fill your days.

From Chapter 15

The three criminals are dead, but Davon did give his life to save the Lombardi family. Mark is grieving for his brother. Al and Mark met their new boss, Captain Richard Vidmark, and his secretary/friend/companion/lover, Lieutenant Troy Hunter.

Chapter 16

“Come on, lover, we’ve got to get up. We’ve got to get ready for the funeral,” Al said to his partner, Mark Taylor.

“I know, Al. The funeral is going to be hard but afterwards I think we need to tell my Mother that we’re . . . together.”

“I have no clue,” Mark said. “She’s always had a strong sense of what she thinks is right and what she thinks is wrong. I just have no idea as to how she will react.”

“I hope she’ll accept me as a son-in-law, or significant-other-in-law, because I’m definitely gonna stand by my man.”

Mark pulled Al into a tight embrace. “I’m with you, Babe, and Ma will just have to accept it,” he said.

At the Church

The Methodist Church was a simple building without rich altar cloths or rich banners. There was only one stained class window, a large one, located at the east end of the church, behind the pulpits, depicting Jesus holding a lamb. A simple communion table, covered with a white cloth, and bearing a gold cross stood two steps above the chancel floor. Behind the communion table were the seats where the choir sat on Sundays. On either side of the chancel were two pulpits, one to the right and one to the left. It was to the latter one that Pastor Norris, who had known the Taylor family for 30 years or more, would deliver his sermons.

In front of the communion table was a smaller table, covered by another white cloth, and with a spray of flowers on it. A card on the spray read, ‘In loving memory, Mama and Mark.’ There was no coffin because Davon’s body had been taken to the March® Funeral Home on North Avenue, where it would be cremated the next day. This would be a private service for the family only. There was a black and white 9 x 12 photograph of Davon taken when he was in the ninth grade. Nellie did not have a more recent photograph (and perhaps she wanted to remember her son when he was younger and hadn’t gotten into bad company).

The church was packed for the funeral of Davon. The fact that he had been a hoodlum was wiped out by, first of all, everyone in the church loved Nellie Taylor, and second, by the knowledge that whatever Davon’s past sins had been, he had died trying to protect innocent people.

On the first row sat Nellie, Davon’s mother and to her right, her friend, Miss Mabeline.

To Nellie’s left was her son Mark, and to his left was Mark’s friend, Al. On the second row sat several members of the Women’s Guild, dressed all in white and amply supplied with Kleenex and smelling salts, to help anyone who might be overcome with emotion.

Nellie sat ramrod straight, her eyes fixed on the window depicting her Lord and Savior. Not a tear did she shed. She had an inner peace and faith that would help her get through this day—one of the most terrible days that a parent can face.

Mark sat with his eyes down, praying for his mother and for . . . for . . . for strength to get through the service, and . . for his mother to accept Al as his partner.

Al sat close to him with his hand pressed against Mark’s arm, as if giving him strength and love.

Halfway back in the sanctuary, the Lombardis and Tony, and the di Napolis sat. Mama Rosa and Mary di Napoli had black mantillas covering their heads. Young Rosa wore a white mantilla, and despite the solemnity of the occasion, Tony thought that Rosa had never looked more beautiful (But, to be honest, every time he saw her, he thought she looked more beautiful than she had on the previous time).

At the back of the sanctuary, dressed all in black, and looking rather nervous, because she had never been in a Christian church before, sat Gertrude Himmelfarb. She had overcome her fear of a strange church and of strange religious practices because she knew Nellie Taylor, and she wanted to pay her respects.

Before the service began, Gertrude had gone to the church hall, and introduced herself to one of the church ladies who was preparing for a reception after the service.

“Hello,” Gertrude said nervously, “I’m Gertrude Himmelfarb, and I’m a friend of Mrs. Taylor’s. I’ve come to pay my respects, and I hope it’s all right, but I’ve brought this pan of strudel. I understand you have a meal for the family after the service.”

One of the ladies came to Mrs. Himmelfarb, took the pan from her and said, “Oh, no, my dear, the meal is for all of the friends of the family, and even if you are not a member of this church, you’re certainly most welcome. I’m sure your strudel will be delicious.”

Greatly reassured, Mrs. Himmelfarb went back to the main body of the church and took her seat just as Pastor Norris went into the pulpit.

“Nellie, Mark, and friends, I bring you the peace of Our Lord,” he began. He went on to tell the story of the one lost lamb that the good shepherd went out to seek. There were soft murmurs of “Ummm-Hmmm,” and “Praise the Lord,” from members of the congregation.

“Our brother Davon surely lost his way, but at the end, the Lord came to him, and gathered him in his bosom and took him home to glory,” the Pastor went on.

“And so, dear friends, let us rejoice that Davon is safe with his God, and that he will never come to any more harm,” the good Pastor concluded. “We mourn for a time, but our tears will dry, and we can face the morrow, because we know, oh, yes, we know that Davon lives in eternity.”

Mark bowed his head and wiped away his tears. Al just squeezed his arm a little tighter.

On the third verse the organist let out all the stops and the congregation put their heart and soul into the last verse.

At the end of the service, Pastor Norris gave the benediction and the congregation stood

After the service was over the family group went into the church hall to greet the guests. The women of the church had prepared a delicious meal, but Nellie and Mark got more sustenance from the warm greetings and hugs from their friends.

Papa and Mama Lombardi and Tony were sitting at a table with John and Mary di Napoli and their daughter Rosa. They saw Mrs. Himmelfarb looking around for a place to sit and they invited her to join them. The seven neighbors sat visiting and talking about the beautiful service.

Nellie Taylor moved about the room, greeting people and thanking them for coming. She saw Gertrude Himmelfarb and moved towards her with a smile and outstretched arms. Gertrude got up.

“Mind, my dear? Why should I mind? You‘re a friend (here Nellie gave Gertrude a hug), and we’ve both suffered losses, and you come in love, and . . . I . . . am just so glad to see you. “

Both ladies went into a meltdown and hugged each other, but as their tears began to dry, both realized that friendship ignores differences in age, and race, and religious beliefs.

Gradually people came and said goodbye to Nellie and Mark, and the hall emptied.

“Well, Ma, I guess it’s time to head home,” said Mark. He led his mother, followed by Al and Miss Mabeline, out to his car.

At Nellie Taylor’s house

At Nellie’s house, Miss Mabeline said, “I’ll put the kettle on,” and she went into the kitchen and made everyone a nice cup of hot tea. (Those readers who watch the Mystery series on television or who read Agatha Christie, will know what I mean when I say Miss Marple would have felt right at home).

After a half hour of sitting, talking, and ‘unwinding’ after the service, Miss Mabeline rose, kissed Nellie, kissed Mark, and even gave Al a kiss. Then she said good night and walked the two blocks to her own home.

Mark and Al sat and talked quietly to Nellie, for a while and then Mark said, “Ma, Al and I have something to tell you. I don’t know how you’re going to take it, but we want you to know . . .”

“Stop, Mark! There’s something I want to say first,” Nellie Taylor said. “Last year at this time, I had two sons, but one was lost to me. Now I have gotten him back, and even though he is in heaven, he is NOT LOST any more, so in one sense I still have him. But there is something more.”

Here Nellie got up, and took Mark’s hand in her right hand and then took Al’s hand in her left, and went on, “God has been good to me, indeed He has! He has sent someone else into my life, someone who’s becoming very precious to me just as he’s becoming dear to you.” Here Nellie Taylor looked Al Johnson in the eye, and said, “Al, I feel in my heart that you are a good man, so . . . . (and she paused.).”

“So . . . , so . . . ,” Nellie Taylor continued. “If my son, Mark Taylor, doesn’t treat you right, you tell me, and his Momma gonna ‘beat his behind’ so hard he won’t be able to sit down for a month of Sundays. And do you understand me, Mark Taylor?”

“Now you just cut out that ‘ma’am’ stuff, Al,” Nellie ordered. “Maybe in time you could call me Mother Nellie, or Momma or something. Could you do that?”

“Uh….., uh,…., Yes, Momma,” said Al. Nellie gave Al a tight hug and he returned it. They both had tears in their eyes.

So Mark and Al had told Nellie how things were and she understood and accepted Al as part of the family.

A few days earlier, Jim and Steve met with Matt and Gary.

Jim spoke first, “Matt and Gary, I’ve been invited to be on a committee to develop a curriculum about AIDS for middle school students.”

“That’s great,” said Matt. “Young people need to have as much knowledge as possible about AIDS and other STD’s.”

“Yeah, but what is not so great is the chairman, Ed Baker. He’s a stodgy old codger, and he’s probably going to say that all we need to do is tell the kids ‘to just say no!’ and we know that isn’t gonna be enough!”

“We thought you might know of some young people who have HIV and who would be willing to come to the committee meeting, and tell the teachers face to face why this program is so important,” Jim replied.

“Hmmm! I know of one young girl, an addict, who has tested HIV positive because of sharing needles with other drug users. I can talk to her and her mother and see if she would be willing to come to the meeting,” Gary said.

Matt added, “And I know a young teen who is gay; who has AIDS because he engaged in unprotected sex with some older men. Those men are now facing jail terms, but this boy is facing death. I think he would be glad to come, also.”

Steve said, “I’ve been reading that some babies are born with AIDS because their mothers had it and passed it on to them before birth. Of course, babies couldn’t speak to the committee.”

Jim snapped his fingers, and said, “I know! Steve, Tammy Heckman is studying to be a nurse. Maybe she would come and talk to the teachers. “

“Because you’re a goof-ball, but I love you anyhow,” Jim said, and took his life partner’s head in his arms and gave him a hammerlock.

“E-e-w-w-w-! Get a room, you two,” said Matt and Gary, laughing at the two young men.

After a lot of laughter all around, the four men went their ways; Gary to call the mother of the girl who had contracted AIDS by sharing needles; Matt to call the social worker of the 16 year old teen who had contracted the disease through indiscriminate sex, and Steve to call Tammy Heckman to see if she would come and talk to the planning committee.

July 17: With Richard and Troy at home.

It was evening and Richard and Troy had come home to Bolton Hill to their town house. After supper, they went to the bedroom they shared.

“A-a-a-h-h-h-h-h! A-a-a-h-h-h-h! O-o-o-h-h-h-h! You’ve got it. Keep on! You’ve got just the right spot. O-o-o-o-o-o-h-h-h-h! Oh, I love it when you do that to me,” Richard Vidmark said to his partner, Troy Hunter.

“Babe, if you like it, then I’m happy, and I think I’ve got your muscles relaxed enough so that you’ll be able to get to sleep,” Hunter replied.

“You are the best masseur!” Vidmark smiled happily. Troy, his Troy, had given him a back and neck massage that helped to relieve the stress of the day’s work.

Vidmark put on a bathrobe and went into the kitchen to have a cup of herbal tea with Hunter.

“So, what did the investigating officers find when they went to the warehouse used by those bums?” Vidmark asked.

“Plenty!” said Hunter. They found a list of small businessmen they had been shaking down, and we found papers with the addresses of their apartments. Then, when they went to one of the apartments they found that that guy was a real pedophile. They found pictures of men and teen-aged boys tied up and being tortured. They found ‘snuff’ films, and instruments whose purposes I don’t even want to think about.”

“You know, Troy, we’ve never found out what exactly happened to Joshua and Nathan, other than their bodies were found . . . ,” the grieving father couldn’t go on.

Finally Richard said, “They only had jock straps on, and their bodies had marks of cigarette burns and some curious “S” shaped punctures, as if made with tiny pins. Who could have done that to them? Who? Oh, God, if I ever get my hands on them, I’d kill them. Do you hear me, I’d kill them!”

Troy was very quiet for a minute, and then he said, “Richard, I have something else to tell you.”

Author’s comments: Once again I am indebted to Ed and Chris for their pungent, pertinent, and ‘preciated comments and suggestions. They may point out errors and typos, but not once, NOT ONCE, do you hear? have they told me ‘don’t quit your day job.’ Thanks guys.

Editor’s Comments: Our devious author has solved one problem but he does stop there? Heck no, now he is making us wait to find out what happens at the meeting to write a curriculum on AIDS, and what does Lieutenant Hunter know that we don’t know. Stay tuned for the next installment of mysteries anonymous. E