Original © 2006

Revised © 2007

BY:  GERRY YOUNG

[To Drew in Yorkshire, England, my LOVE for his continued inspiration, encouragement, ceaseless instructions over my hardheadedness, and his determination to help me make this the best that I think it can be, even though I may not have followed all his suggestions to the letter.]

CHAPTER  TEN

While Olvera was filling-out his portion of the forms, Beckie had picked up a cardboard casino coin-cup and was raking the two hundred tokens into it.

“And now, while we’re still here by the MegaBucks Slot Machine, here’s Alex Winters, Casino Photographer, to take a few pictures – mementos for you folks, and publicity shots for the casino.  Ladies, why don’t you stand on either side of the machine so we can see the winning wheels;  and Gentlemen, why don’t you stand next to your ladies?”

Once again, Beckie came to the fore and asked, “Officer Olvera, could we LA-dies be together and the GEN-tle-men …” (she over-emphasized the syllables!) “… be together, rather than the way you suggested?”

Ted frowned as he jerked his attention toward her.  Gerry sensed something strange in the air, and it wasn’t the cigarette smoke!

“Of course, ma’am, if that’s the way you want it.”

With no expression at all, she looked straight into Ted’s eyes while speaking to the officer and the photographer.  “That’s just the way that I would want it, Mr. Olvera.”

The photographer took several shots, thanked everyone for their patience, and left for the security offices.  The photos would be ready for the four in a few minutes.

Officer Olvera had finished filling out his part of the forms that they would have to sign, then passed it around for their printed names and signatures.

“Officer Barkley,” he said to his underling, “would you see that this machine is turned off and the Out Of Order sign posted on it?”

“Sure thing, boss.”  He then called Machine Maintenance on his walkie-talkie and told them to shut down the MegaBucks Machine, and asked for someone to bring the Triple-O sign to him.

“Thank you, folks,” Olvera said, and Beckie handed the clipboard and form back to him.  “Officer Menendez will escort you to the Winner’s Lounge … actually, an annex off the main security office … so you can get your money!”

They were all hugging, kissing, making LOTS of loud, happy noises as Officer Menendez led the way.

The room she took them into had been appropriately covered in wallpaper that had hundred-dollar bills printed all over it!  It was a bit much!

An attractive middle-aged lady came into the room wearing a nicely tailored business suit, and her name tag read, ‘Annie Blitzner, Accounting.’

“You bring us our money, Ms Blitzner?” Ted kiddingly asked.

“Annie, please.  No, sir, you’ll have your money in about fifteen or twenty minutes, though, after filling out some more forms;  sorry to say, but it is a necessary evil.”

They all moaned.

“First, I understand that you pooled your money in the machine;  is that correct?”

“Yes, that’s right,” Gerry replied.

“Fine.  Now, how do you want the disbursement?  One check?  Two?  Three?  Four?”

Beckie quickly spoke up;  Gerry rather felt that she would.  “We would like four checks, each made payable to a different individual, please.”  Ted frowned.

Ted kept glancing at Gerry, who was ever-so-slightly nodding his head.  Gerry surmised that whatever was going on, Ted would later discuss it with Beckie – in private!

Because each of them would be receiving a bank draft, they each had to fill out forms giving their names, addresses, phone numbers, birth dates, Social Security numbers, and state whether or not they were felons.

Finishing the forms, they returned them to Ms Blitzner.  “Thank you,” she said.  “As you may already know, we keep thirty percent of the winnings and send it … IN YOUR NAMES … to the I.R.S.  Now, let’s see … the total amount of winnings was $3,413,656.69!  Thirty percent of that is … uhhh … $1,024,096.90 for the I.R.S.,” she read from the notepad she held, as she finished figuring the amount.

Verbal complaints came forth from each of the four winners.  Ms Blitzner shrugged her shoulders;  “That ain’t my rule, folks;  I’d let you keep the whole amount if I could, but I can’t.”

“We all know that, Annie,” Gerry said;  “we just don’t like it.”  She nodded her head in agreement.

“Now then (she returned to her written calculations) … $3,413,656.69 in winnings, less $1,024,096.90 for the I.R.S. leaves … $2,389,559.79 net winnings times one-forth, or twenty-five percent, for each of you is … $597,389.92!  That’s almost SIX HUNDRED THOUSAND TAX-FREE DOLLARS!  How does it feel to be better than HALF A MILLIONAIRE ?”

Whoops and hollers and gaiety and frivolity resounded throughout the room covered in fake hundred-dollar bills.

 “Ladies, Gentlemen … your bank drafts will be ready in just a few moments.”

Just then a familiar-looking security officer entered the room.  “Ahhh!  Glad you folks are still here.”

“Aren’t you Officer Olvera, the officer who helped me with the … uhhh … what was her name? … Mary? ... situation?” Gerry asked.

“Yes … one and the same.  You sure you’re all right, Sir?”

Gerry nodded as he answered, “Yes, I’m perfectly all right, and very happy at the moment.  We all are!”

“I can well imagine,” Olvera remarked.  “But I’m afraid we overlooked something while we were all at the machine.”

“What?”  “What was that?”  “What was overlooked?” came the concerned questions.

“Just before we shut down the winning machine, the Slots Technician noticed that there was still twenty-eight dollars in the machine that had not been played – twenty-eight dollars of the money you folks pooled before hitting the MegaBucks Jackpot.  Here are the twenty-eight silver tokens that belong to you all.”  He handed them to Gerry, then turned to leave.

“Uhhh … Officer Olvera … just a moment, please,” Gerry interrupted his departure.

“Yes, Sir?”

Gerry looked at Beckie, and seeing the coin-cup with the two hundred dollars in it, and said to the other three in his party, “Look!  We’ve each just won over a half-million dollars.  The lady that I tripped and fell over is homeless and begs on the streets for coins every day.  Security, here, knows her.  She comes in every day, hoping to win big.  How would you all feel about giving this little bit of money to her, just to make her life a little bit easier?”

After a moment’s hesitation, Ted and Sheilagh readily agreed, and Beckie handed the coin-cup to Gerry as she smiled and said, “You’re a good guy, Gerry;  you’ve got a heart of gold.  Here.” 

That was a surprise to everyone.

“Ladies, gentlemen …” Olvera said, “… that’s very kind and considerate of you, but knowing Mary the way we do, she’d spend it all on liquor, and she’d probably drink so much, it would kill her.”

Facial expressions from everyone else in the room indicated that they all felt sorry for the old lady.

“Now that you know that,” Olvera continued, “I can’t take the money for her, but if you ever see her on the streets, offer her a little something, or better yet, buy some food for her.  That would be the best thing you could do for her.”

 Would you care for something to drink while you wait for the bank drafts?” Annie asked.

“A glass of white wine, thank you,” Sheilagh answered.

“How about a bottle of your finest champagne, and I’ll even pay for it,” asked Beckie.

“That sounds appropriate,” Annie said, “but you won’t have to pay for it … compliments of the house, Miss.  I’ll call and have it here in just a couple of moments.”

“Oh, in that case, Annie,” Sheilagh said, “with the champagne coming, cancel the wine, please.”

“My pleasure, Miss.  And … uhhh … while you’re waiting, we have several slot machines in the annex through that door …” she pointed to her left, their right, “… that is, if you want to keep playing.”

“No thanks,” said Ted.

“Not now,” agreed Sheilagh.

“I don’t think so,” Gerry added.

“You party-poopers,” Beckie scoffed.  “I wanna play some more.”

Annie returned to her office, called for the champagne, and had an accounting clerk type out the bank drafts.

“I’ll join you, Beckie,” Ted said with a touch of coolness in his voice, as he held the door open to the annex.

After they had entered, the door closed behind them.

Several minutes passed in silence as Sheilagh sat and flipped through a magazine and Gerry paced the floor.  Finally, he could take it no more.

“Sheilagh …?” he asked, drawing her attention.

“Yes, Gerry?” she replied, looking up at him.

“I’ve only known Ted for two days, but there seems to be some sort of tension going on between him and Beckie.  Perhaps it’s none of my business, but do you know anything about it?”

Her eyes returned to the magazine as she nervously flipped several more pages without saying a word.  He could tell that she was pondering what, if anything, to say.  Then, closing the magazine and putting it aside, she, very lady-like, intertwined her fingers in her lap, looked up at him again, and began.

“Yes … there are some things, ‘going on’ as you say, that I don’t think you know anything about.  Please note, that I said I don’t THINK you know anything about;  you may well have your suspicions, I would venture to guess.  And they MAY be discussing them at this very moment;  I rather doubt it, but only for the time being.  I know it’s not my place to say, but …”

Sheilagh was interrupted as a waiter entered the room with a cart upon which were an ice bucket with a magnum of champagne protruding from it, a tray, and four champagne flutes.  Sheilagh dashed to the annex door, opened it, and announced, “Champagne’s here.”

As Beckie and Ted returned to the ‘hundred-dollar-bill room,’ Annie returned with the four, beautiful, half-million-dollar-plus bank drafts.  “Here they are, folks.  Now … what would you like to do?  Stay and enjoy the casino some more?  Or perhaps relax in the restaurant … on us, of course?”

Gerry looked around at the other three;  they were all shaking their heads.  “No;  thanks, Annie;  I think we’ll go celebrate our good fortune at home.”

“I quite understand, Mr. Young.  Feel free to take the champagne AND flutes with you, but please remember not to open it ‘till you get home … no open bottles in the car, you know.”  They all nodded as the waiter left.

“Now … even though you’re not carrying all that amount in cash, casino management likes for our big winners to be escorted to their vehicles by a security guard, just in case we have some weirdo out there who would jump you and force you to sign over the drafts to them.”

“Hadn’t thought about that.  Thanks,” Gerry commented, and the others agreed.

Soon, they were escorted to the Lexus, and were on their way back up to Casa Cielo, Gerry’s little house in the sky.

Once there, he retrieved a corkscrew from the kitchen and returned to his guests at one of the patio tables.  He opened the bottle and poured.  “A toast!” he proposed.  They all stood and held up their glasses.  “To four good friends … all, half-millionaires!”

“Four good friends,” said Sheilagh.

“Good friends,” echoed Beckie.

“Hear!  Hear!” proclaimed Ted.

They clicked the flutes together, took the first sips, then sat, once again, around the table … in silence.

The tension was growing.  Everyone’s eyes were darting around, looking at everyone else’s, as if waiting for someone else to say something.

“Music, anyone,” Gerry asked.  All three weakly shook their heads.

Ted looked at Gerry looking at him and together they looked at the girls.

Sheilagh turned to face Beckie, held out both of her hands to her, face up.  “Now’s as good a time as any, hon,” she said to Beckie.

“What’s going on?” asked Ted.

“You’re right, Sheilagh;  now is as good a time as any.”  She put her right hand in Sheilagh’s, and extended her left to Ted.  He grasped it in both of his.

“Now’s as good a time, for what, Beck?”

Silently, she gazed into his eyes for a moment, and then said, “I think you’ve finally discovered who you are, Ted;  who you really are.”

“Whataya mean?”

“You know we’ve played around, Ted.  We’ve played around with other women,” she paused, looked at Sheilagh, and even leaned over and kissed her;  then continued, “…  we’ve played with other couples;  but you’ve never been very comfortable with that.  Oh, you can perform OK with the ladies, but you’re really not comfortable with us, and you were never comfortable being naked and close to other men.”

“I didn’t think it was that obvious.”

“It was.”

“So, what can I do, Beckie?”

He was beginning to hurt.  Gerry could see his hands start to shake, just a little.  Ted pulled them away from Beckie’s hand, interlocked his fingers, let his hands drop into his lap, and, nervously, he started tapping his thumbs together.

Gerry moved his chair closer to him and put his right arm around Ted’s back and started squeezing his right shoulder, and then the back of his neck.

“I think you’ve already done it, Ted.”

“Whataya mean?  What have I done?”

“Since coming up here earlier and meeting Gerry …” (She looked at Gerry and winked.) “… I’ve seen a change in you.  I’ve seen a level of comfort, an affection there, that I’ve never seen before.  I’ve seen it in your eyes, in your body language, in your smile, every time you look at Gerry.”

Again, she looked at Gerry and smiled and winked once more.

Surprise!  Surprise!  Gerry sensed what was coming.

“And it’s beautiful, Ted,” Beckie continued.

“But it’s just …”

“Shhhhh … let me finish, Baby,” she interrupted.  “I think that last night, while I was in L.A., and you were here by yourself, you felt relaxed enough to … to jump right in and grab hold of something you never experienced before.”

For a moment, Ted was silent.  Slowly, his head dropped, and he gazed, unseeing, at his nervously tapping thumbs … evidently thinking.  Then he took a great, long, deep breath, held it a moment, and slowly released it.

“Yeah … you’re right, Beck,” Ted admitted softly, as if surrendering to the truth.  He then looked up at Gerry, with just the hint of a smile on his lips and tears beginning to form in his eyes.  He reached over and put his left arm around Gerry’s waist, and briefly laid his head on his right shoulder, and pushed his own weight into him.

“You see, Ted,” Beckie remarked, “that’s what I’m talking about.  Before last night, you would never have done that with another man.”

Ted nodded with agreement and Gerry kissed the top of his head.  He definitely sensed where this was going, and showed a knowing grin to the girls.

“I don’t care to know what happened last night, but I’m glad it did,” Beckie added.

“So … where do we go from here?” Ted lifted his head and asked.

“Well, I’ve seen the looks you guys have shared with each other tonight;  the little affectionate, intimate touches you’ve given each other.  And Gerry,” she said, re-directing her attention to him, “I even noticed you actually humped Ted once or twice when you grabbed him around the waist and nibbled his ear.”

“You DID?”

“Yes.  And when the jackpot hit, and you picked Ted up and danced around … did you realize that he wrapped his legs around your waist?”

“Nooooooo???”  Gerry was trying to remember.

“I did?” asked Ted.  “Awww, shit!  I really did?  In public? … Oh, fuuuuuuuck!”

They all started laughing, hysterically, at Ted’s embarrassment.

“Teddy, baby …” (That was the first time that Gerry had heard her use the name with any affection in it.) “… that just shows how comfortable you are with Gerry.”

“Yeah, I guess it does.”  He picked up his glass and held it up to Gerry in a toast.  Gerry picked up his and held it up to Ted.  The glasses clicked, and Ted said, “To loving friendships.”

“To …” Gerry paused for several seconds, then continued, “… no, I’m not going to say that … yet!  To loving friendships,” he loudly proclaimed.  The glasses clinked again;  they interlocked their arms and sipped.

And they drank of each other’s love with their eyes.

“And now, I want to say something else,” Beckie interrupted their adoring moment.  They looked at her, as if waiting for the other shoe to drop, so to speak.

Beckie looked at Sheilagh.  Sheilagh looked at Beckie.  Sheilagh moved her chair very close to Beckie, and put her arm across her back, and squeezed.

“Teddy … you know that I’ve known Sheilagh for many years.  And you’ve known her for the last five.”  Ted nodded in somber agreement.  “Being in the same line of work, we’ve run into each other on shopping trips, and we’ve even shared hotel rooms at A.S.I.D conventions.”

“Yes.  Sooo …?”

“Go ahead, Baby;  we can tell him now,” Sheilagh said to Beckie.

“Tell me what?”

Beckie looked into Sheilagh’s eyes as if communicating on another level, nodded her head, then turned back and said, “We’ve been in love for the past three years, Ted.”

“You and Sheilagh?”

“Yes.”

“Sooo … where does that leave us?  You and me?”

“Uhhhhh …” Began chewing her lower lip;  her eyes darted back and forth between Sheilagh and Ted.  She took a deep breath and then gazed into Ted’s eyes.  “Teddy … would it hurt too terribly much if I asked for a divorce?”

“A divorce?” he asked.  She nodded.

Ted looked at Gerry with a faint but growing smile on his face.  Gerry was grinning like the proverbial Cheshire Cat as Ted continued.  “I can’t believe it,” he began softly, but as his words continued, his eyes grew larger (as if in anger or excitement – his expression failed to indicate which!), his voice grew louder and stronger.  He jumped up, knocking over his chair, and jumped toward Beckie, who withdrew with a little fear written across her face.

“I’m not mad.  Believe me, I’m not mad, darlin’,” he gleefully said.  “Stand up here and give me a kiss, you fool!” he teased.

As she was standing, he announced, “I wanted to ask you for a divorce!”

They kissed, not as husband and wife, but as two friends who truly cared for one another.  They drew back, grinned at each other, and hugged again.

Then, Sheilagh and Beckie were hugging and kissing, and Ted and Gerry were about to toast each other once again.

“What I was about to say, before, Luv, was this …”  They lifted the fluted glasses once again.  “… To our love … ‘till death do us part.”

EPILOGUE

Three months later …

The divorce was amicable, very amicable;  neither felt shafted nor cheated.

Beckie and Sheilagh formed a legal business partnership, living and working in both Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and Vail, Colorado, and were planning to open new Interior Design offices in Taos, New Mexico, and Sedona, Arizona.  Thanks to their share of the Jackpot winnings.

Needless to say, Ted moved into Casa Cielo, Gerry’s little house in the sky;  not into a guest room, but into the Master Suite.

They, too, had formed a legal business partnership with each other.  They opened a shop on Perez Road in Cathedral City, and began, not only installing, but also selling wallcoverings, and had to hire other installers, as well as a couple of painters, who, as fate would have it, were very cute and members of the same ‘club’.

Business was booming, and the future looked promising.

Ted and Gerry were very much in love.

<><><> 

After their first Thanksgiving dinner together, they were relaxing in the hot Jacuzzi.  It was just after dusk.  Still, only seventy-two degrees, out.  The little boy was again peeing into the lily pond, and the sun screen had not been closed for the past three weeks.

“Happy ‘Three-Month Anniversary’, Babe,” Ted said.  He had been nuzzling beside Gerry, and had just moved to sit on Gerry’s thighs, facing him.  As the standing rule dictated, they were both nude.

“Happy anniversary, Luv,” replied Gerry.  “You still happy?”

“Is the Pope Catholic?  Is the Dalai Lama Buddhist?  Do birds fly?  Do fish swim?  Of course I’m still happy!  I’ve never been happier in my life!  And you know why I’m happy, lover-boy?”

“ ‘Cause … uhhh … combined, we have over a million dollars from the winnings?  ‘Cause we’re millionaires?” Gerry joked.

“No, bitch!  I’m happy because I’ve got you, and you’ve got me, Babe.”

“Well, then, come here, mon cher, and give me that silver tongue of yours.”

“I was thinking about giving you my cherry ass;  whataya say, huh?”

“Well, with the way your squirming ass is making my dick feel, I just might fuck the shit outta ya, real soon!”

“Impossible!” Ted shot back at him.  “I’ve been learning how to clean myself out for you, and … fuck as deep as you want, you won’t find any shit there, tonight.”

“Awww, honey.  You did that for me?” 

Ted nodded. 

“You know you don’t have to.”

He nodded again.

“I love it when you fuck me and make love to me, and … and … and everything we do together.  But you’re still virgin … there! … and I’m happy with that.  I know that I’m real happy that your mouth’s no longer virgin, but …”

“But nothing!” Ted shot back.  “Honey … you’ve given yourself to me in every way possible except for making love to me, inside me.  I’m ready now, and I want to give myself to you completely, no … holes … barred;  pun intended!”  They laughed.  “And besides … I’m being boiled like a lobster in here.  Let’s get out and go to bed.

This time, it was Gerry who said, “I thought you’d never ask.”

Slowly, they stood up, kissed each other with passion, got out of the Jacuzzi, and headed toward the bedroom.

“I’ve gotta  surprise for you, honey,” Gerry said as he nibbled Ted’s ear.

“You’re gonna get a Prince Albert?”  Ted froze.

“Shit, no!  My dick ain’t gettin’ pierced for nobody!  Not even you, you assmite!”

“Awwwww, shucks!  I wanted to hook a chain to it and lead you around and show off my property!” Ted teased.

“Wellllllllll … in that case … maybe!  But in order for me to get a Prince Albert, you’re gonna have to let me fuck you royally!”

“You got a deal, Prince!  Now … what’s the surprise?”

“We received something in the mail yesterday that I think you’ll really be happy about, and I waited ‘till today, to surprise you with it.”

“What’s that?

“You ready for this?”

“Yeah … I think so,” Ted answered, hesitating and frowning.

“ ‘Round-trip tickets …”

“Yeahhhhh??? For …???”  His eyes grew attentive, questioning.

“… for two …”

“… to … ???”  He was barely breathing, with anticipation.

“… to Cairo and Luxor, then a two-week river cruise up the Nile to Abu Simbel.”

“Awww shit!  No way!”

“Yes, way!  Your ass is really mine, now, lover.”

“Ohhh, I like the sound of that, and I love you so much, Ger.”

“I love you, too, Ted.”

“Let’s go make mad, passionate love, Luv;  okay?”

“Lead the way.”

As they gingerly made their way to the bedroom, stopping, groping, patting, nibbling, fondling along the way, they began a playful repartee with each other.

“I love ya, Ted.”

“I love ya, too, Gerry.”

“I love ya more.”

“I love YOU more.”

“No, ya don’t.”

“Yes, I do.”

“No, ya don’t.”

“Yes, I do.”

“NO, YA DON’T.”

“Yes, I do.  YES, I DO.  YES, I DO!!!”

<><><> 

“Anything you can do, I can do better;  I can do anything better than you.”

“No you can’t.

“Yes I can.”

“No you can’t.”

“Yes I can.”

“NO YOU CAN’T!”

“Yes I can.  YES I CAN.  YES I CAN!!!”

<><><> 

“Asshole.”

“You got it.”

“Bend over.”

They both grinned as they kissed.

<><><> 

“Say ‘Good-night,’ Gerry.”

“Good-night, Gerry.”

<><><> 

“You’re gonna get yours.”

“Promises, promises.”

<><><> 

“Et cetera … et cetera … et cetera,” (as the King of Siam used to say).

<><><> 

End of Part IV

Comments welcome, please drop the author a note: 

Posted: 09/26/07