YOUNG GUYS PAIRING OFF The continuing story. Comments welcome to Cgard43@hotmail.com
- Reunion
Through job changes, moves around the country and other events, the six guys from the lodge session remained in contact with each other over the years. Only Bill and Duke still worked for the same company, though not directly with each other.
Eddie started his own small company about a year after the training session and had several very successful inventions. About a year later, Kevin joined his company and made significant contributions. Recently, Eddie sold his share in the business for a lot of money, leaving Kevin as an executive officer with a significant ownership position. Eddie and Bill see Duke and Jim, as well as Mark and Kevin, quite often socially.
Jim left the company after two years to go to work for his father, then took over when his father retired last year. He's been quite successful at building it up during his brief tenure.
Bert left the company and moved to another city when his friend Al was transferred, and Joe and Tony moved downstate when Joe was offered a big job with another company. Tony assured him he could find work anywhere and did in the new town very quickly.
Eddie and Bill hosted a reunion five years later, inviting all of them to their home, a rambling old restored farmhouse outside of town. The house had six bedrooms, and the guys had spent a lot of both time and money repairing, modernizing and redecorating it.
All the original cast was invited, along with Joe's long-time partner Tony, and Bert, now single again, had asked to bring a guest along. Duke and Jim arrived first on Friday afternoon, and were greeted by Eddie and Bill with great warmth, hugs and kisses. After the guys had settled in, Jim helped Bill stack firewood and bring some in for the fireplaces, while Duke and Eddie worked together in the kitchen.
"Can you believe it?" Duke asked, "Imagine Jim and me making it through five years together."
"You know," Eddie said, "I've never had any doubt about that concerning Bill and me. I still feel the same way about him that I did after those two days."
"Well," Duke said, "we had a few kind of shaky times in the beginning, but that was mostly Jim getting used to the idea. Since then, it's been wonderful."
"You still getting along well with Jim's parents?" Eddie asked.
"Oh yeah," Duke answered, "In fact, when Jim's dad retired last year, his mother wanted to give me her share of the ownership in the business. I insisted on paying her for it, but she said she wanted to make sure I stayed with Jim and helped in the business. They're really wonderful people, and they have been so nice to us. I think the only thing they're sorry about is that we can't give them grandkids." They both laughed at that, but Eddie smiled enigmatically.
"That's terrific," Eddie said genuinely.
"I'll never forget how helpful you and Bill were during that first year," Duke said, "If I hadn't had you guys to talk to, I think I'd have gone nuts.
"Say," Duke went on, "I heard about you selling your company. What are you going to do now, just be a lady of leisure?"
"Hardly," Eddie said, chuckling at the feminine reference, "I have a few ideas I'm working on, we've still got part of the house to fix up, and Bill and I have a new project we're gonna be working on. It's still a secret."
"You guys are always doing something. That's great," Duke said with more admiration than envy.
"Thanks," Eddie said with a smile, "You're a pretty special guy too, Duke."
"By the way, Eddie," Duke asked noticing how the table was set, "I thought maybe Kevin and Mark were coming to dinner?"
"No, but they're coming over tomorrow," Eddie answered, "Mark's coming back from a business trip late tonight, and I figured we'd all want to reminisce about the lodge, so I suggested they come then."
"That's good," Duke went on, "They're both fun guys." Eddie agreed.
"You know it's kind of funny," Eddie said. "Kevin and I joked for years that we'd end up being old guys living together and raising cats. Imagine that we'd both find someone at almost the same time." Duke just chuckled.
Out in the barn, Bill and Jim stacked wood and had a similar conversation.
"So how's it going with you guys?" Bill asked.
"Never better," Jim said, "Oh, we have our little squabbles occasionally, but making up afterwards is always worth it. The business is going very well, so I've got no complaints, and Duke's really excited about his new job. How about you and Eddie?"
"Just wonderful," Bill said, standing up for a moment. "You know, during those two days we were at that lodge, I thought I'd never feel anything so wonderful as falling in love with Eddie. But I was wrong. It just gets better and better. Here we are, living in this great old place and now...." He stopped suddenly.
"And now everything's great," he finished the sentence quickly.
"You guys were almost perfect from the beginning," Jim said, "The difference was that you both knew you were gay. I had some problems accepting it, even when I knew how I felt about Duke."
"Don't be silly," Bill said quietly, "We had a lot of adjustments to make to each other too. Every couple does."
"I'm sure you're right," Jim went on, "Anyway, I'm sure glad Duke hung in there, though I gave him plenty of cause to split. I don't know what I'd have ever done without him."
"I think Duke knew he had a good thing with you too," Bill said, "And he's pretty tenacious too, once he makes up his mind. I know that from working with him."
"He's the best thing that ever happened to me," Jim said, "And I know it."
"Well now, let's be honest," Bill said, "You're pretty good for him too. Among other things, I credit y0ou with getting him over his issues about his height."
"Well, maybe," Jim said. They finished stacking the wood, and when they sat down for a moment to rest, Jim changed the subject.
"Say, do you know what really happened between Bert and Al? They seemed to be so happy together, but after they moved we heard they'd split up."
"Yeah, it's really kind of sad," Bill said, "I talked to Bert about it. You remember how they had what Bert called an 'open' relationship where they didn't believe in not seeing other guys?"
"I remember," Jim said, "I didn't understand it, but I remember what he said."
"Well," Bill said, "Al didn't like the idea from the beginning, but he went along with it because that's what Bert wanted. Then, after they had moved, naturally Al met someone he really liked and fell in love with him. So, as they say, that was the end of that."
Jim nodded, waiting for Bill to go on.
"So now, Al and the other guy are together and happy, and Bert's alone again. Al and his partner stopped here for a quick visit a couple of months ago, while you and Duke were gone on vacation. "
"What a shame for Bert," Jim said, "But it seems sort of dumb, doesn't it? I mean when you have what you want, why not be satisfied?"
"I agree," Bill said, "I've never believed I could find something better than what I have with Eddie. I still look though, if you know what I mean." Jim laughed and nodded.
"Sure," Jim said with a laugh, "Like reading the dessert menu even when you're on a diet." Bill laughed at that as well.
When all four were back in the house again, they sat down and had a drink.
"You know how I tend to worry about things," Eddie started quietly. Bill chuckled aloud and nodded, his earnest blue eyes watching his worry-prone partner caringly.
"Well," Eddie went on, "Sometimes I wonder 'What if we'd drawn different numbers that night?' Who knows, we might never have gotten together."
"You're probably right," Bill agreed, "Thank goodness we got it right."
Jim shuddered. "What a terrible thought, Eddie. Stop thinking about things like that." He put his arm around Duke and pulled him close.
"I wish I could say I had it fixed," Duke said, "But I didn't. I just hoped I'd get Jim as a roommate, and I got lucky. Even at that, I doubted anything would happen but that maybe I'd get to see his body." He stopped for a moment, blushing slightly at his own candor, then said quietly, "Yes, it was very lucky indeed."
Joe and Tony arrived. They'd driven from their home about four hours away. The guys welcomed them and they all went into the house.
Once Joe and Tony were settled into their room, they came back to the living room, got a drink, and then Joe reported that they were both doing well and that things were fine.
"Hey," Eddie said, "For you guys it's seven years coming up, isn't it."
"Yeah," Tony said with a laugh, "And I'm not even feeling the itch yet."
"That's because I buy a lot of lotion for him," Joe laughed. He patted his partner on the knee and they smiled at each other. Tony winked wickedly at Joe.
About a half hour later, Bert arrived too. He was accompanied by a guy named Wally, a tall, well-built blond, whom he identified as a close friend, careful not to use the word lover or even date.
As Bill helped Bert take their bags to a bedroom upstairs, he spoke quietly.
"We gave you this room, Bert, but if you guys don't want to sleep together, we've got another room with twin beds."
"Are you kidding?" Bert asked, "Of course I want to sleep with him. Hell, Bill, I think Wally may be the one for me."
"That's great," Bill answered, "I hope it works out. He's a good-looking guy, that's for sure."
"And how," Bert agreed then said seriously, "I'm sure gonna try not to mess it up like I did with Al. I've learned my lesson."
"You screw up like that again, Bert, and we'll lock you away," Bill said.
They rejoined the group assembled in the living room and having cocktails. The guys who had been at the lodge began reminiscing about their adventures there, until Tony finally spoke up.
"I've heard all about this lodge place," he said, "But what I'd like to know is what Bert and Joe were doing while the four of them were playing kissy-face and chasing each other around in the woods?"
"I was reading a very good book at the time," Joe said quickly.
"Right," Bert said, "and I went to bed early each night."
"I don't know about you, Wally," Tony said with a smile, turning to the newcomer, "But those sound like pretty tame alibis to me." Wally smiled amiably and nodded back.
"Let's drink to Duke," Bill said, diplomatically changing the subject, "Congratulations on the promotion." Duke had just been promoted to Sales Manager and the others joined in the good wishes. Joe, who had worked closely with him, was particularly earnest in his congratulations, and then smiled ruefully.
"Maybe it's a good thing I left after all, huh?" Joe said, "I wonder how I'd like working for you, Duke? Or how would you like it?"
"Well, I think it might have been interesting either way," said Duke grinning, "Maybe I could have straightened you out, anyway."
"Oh no, not that," Tony cried, "I want him just like he is."
"Poor choice of words, Babe," Jim said quietly, reaching over to muss Duke's hair. Everybody else laughed along.
"Bill's done a hell of a job with the international group, you know," Duke said, "He runs that whole operation now."
For some time, they discussed the company and the business with which many of them had been associated.
Bert waited until Wally left the room briefly then spoke very softly to the whole group.
"Thanks for taking him into the group, guys," he said, "He's really a nice guy, but he's kind of shy." Everyone else agreed.
The banter continued throughout the delicious dinner Eddie and Duke had prepared, and they were all having coffee and dessert when Eddie walked in from the kitchen with a big wine cooler holding a magnum of champagne.
"What's the occasion?" Wally asked. He'd been the quietest during dinner, though Bill did his best to include him in the conversation at his end of the table.
"We have an announcement to make," Bill said, standing and passing around the glasses as Eddie filled them. When everyone had been served, they stood at the end of the table together.
"We wanted you to share this moment with us," Bill said. He gestured to the guys. "You're our oldest friends, and we wanted to tell you all together about the great news we just got."
Tears welled up in Eddie's eyes, always the sentimentalist, as he looked at Bill.
"We started the process a while ago, getting licenses and all, and we just learned this week that our application to take in a foster child has been approved. He's fifteen and gay and was abandoned by his family because of that. If it works out as well as we hope, we're going to adopt him. He'll be here next week."
"Wow," Duke said, "You mean it? That's just wonderful, guys." All the others echoed his sentiment.
"Yes," Bill said, his face beaming as he put his arm around Eddie's shoulders, "We've both always wanted to be parents, and now it's going to happen. He's a fine young lad and I know we can give him the kind of emotional support he's going to need as he grows up."
Suddenly everyone was on his feet, congratulating and hugging each other. When the excitement had calmed down, they all moved back to the living room, continuing to enjoy their champagne.
"Gee, Studly," Duke said with a grin, elbowing Jim gently, "And to think we'd been trying so hard to have our own."
"Right," Jim laughed, "And we're gonna keep right on trying too."
"That's for sure," Joe added, "It's the old fashioned way for Tony and me too, at least for now." Everyone laughed along.
"Honestly," Duke said, "I think what you guys are doing is wonderful." He turned to Eddie. "And now you even have the time, don't you?" Eddie nodded.
"That's part of what made us decide to sell the business," he said. "We've had two weekend visits with him already and he's really a great kid. And get this, his name is also Jim, though he's been raised to be called James."
"Well, then, he's got to be a good guy, right?" Jim said. Everyone laughed.
"Actually, the first week-end seemed was quite funny; you guys should have been here. He'd never actually had the chance to talk to two gay guys and it was like a game of 'twenty questions,'" Bill said. "He wanted to know everything about being a gay adult, about man to man sex, about love and just about everything else. It was fun explaining things to him. He's smart and cute, and he's even got himself a sort of boyfriend who lives in town as well. I must say though that it's just sort of kiddie playtime right now, but we made sure he knew the rules about safe sex and things."
"He's really a very nice boy but rather distraught at what happened with his parents," Eddie said, "I just don't understand people who can turn their back on one of their kids. So we're gonna make it up to him, but we're not going to spoil him." Several of the other guys laughed.
"And we're counting on you guys to be the best uncles a kid ever had," Bill went on, nodding to Duke and Jim.
"You bet," Duke said, putting his arm around Jim who nodded in agreement.
"And Kevin and Mark too," Eddie said, "He'll be overwhelmed with 'uncles.'"
They had quite a discussion about the problems gay teens face and it was obvious that both Bill and Eddie had done lots of reading and research to understand just what they were getting into. The other guys shared some of their own teen experiences, but they were pretty much in awe at such an undertaking. It was clear though that there were questioning glances between Joe and Tony and Jim and Duke. Obviously, the whole concept was going to be a subject of much discussion among the pairs at some.
Everyone talked and drank until quite late at night before the couples started retiring to bed.
To be continued.