Date: Wed, 29 Nov 2006 09:48:34 +0000
From: RitchChristopher@comcast.net
Subject: briarwood:chris-and-beyond-108

All rights reserved. Copyright held by the author. If you are underage or
are offended by gay fiction, containing graphic sex and explicit language,
please exit now.

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                                    "BRIARWOOD"
                               Copyright Ritchris, 2006

                                  A dramatic saga

                                        by

			                Ritch Christopher


                                    <><><><><>


		   	             BOOK TEN


                                "CHRIS AND BEYOND..."


                                     *  *  *  *

                       "I've spent so many mornings
                        Just trying to resist you
                        I'm trembling now
                        You can't know how I've missed you,
                        Missed the fairy-tail adventures
                        In this ever-spinning playground
                        We were young together.

                        I don't want to be alone that's all in the past,
                        This world's waited long enough,
                        I've come home at last!

                        And this time will be bigger,
                        And brighter than we knew it.
                        So watch me fly, we all know I can do it...
                        Could I stop my hand from shaking?
                        Has there ever been a moment with so much to live for?

                        The whispered conversations in overcrowded hallways,
                        So much to say not just today but always.
                        We'll have early morning madness.
                        We'll have magic in the making.
                        Yes, everything is as if we never said goodbye...
                        Oh, please don't ever ever make me say goodbye!!!"

                        Excerpts from:

                		"AS IF WE'D NEVER SAID GOODBYE"

                                written by Andrew Lloyd Weber
                                for his musical, "Sunset Boulevard"
                                Copyright 1993.

                                 *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

                                       Chapter 108


	Brad Dillard was seated across the table from Chris over a
spaghetti dinner which Chris had prepared in a hurry after confessions. As
Chris was cooking, he suggested to Brad to feel free to look around the
huge estate and to yell at him in the kitchen should Brad get lost. The two
old college roommates didn't talk much on the ride from the church. Brad
could see from the look on Chris' face that he had had a long, tiring
session from listening to all the parishioners confess their sins in order
to take communion on Sunday with a free conscience. After Chris had offered
'thanks' before eating, he asked Brad, "Did you see everything? I mean, all
the rooms?"

	"I must say, I'm impressed, but filled with a thousand
questions..."

	"Such as?" Chris asked.

	"Is ALL this yours and do you live here all alone?"

	"Yes...and yes..."

	"I had no idea that Anglican priests were paid so well. No wonder
you left the life of poverty and chastity in the Roman Catholic Church!"

	Chris laughed, "I DO make much more than I ever did in the Roman
Church, but I could never afford a place this massive. It belonged to my
former lover, Ed...Dr. Ed Middleton, who was chief of staff at the Cole
Institute."

	"You, uh, said...'former'...?"

	"Yes, Ed died a few months ago in Europe where we were traveling."

	"Oh, I'm sorry, Chris! I didn't know and I certainly didn't know
about your 'Ed'."

	"He was my soul mate, Brad. The most wonderful, generous,
man...besides being one of the most prestigious doctors in the world. He
found cures for many strains of HIV and AIDS which are being used all over
the globe."

	"My God, he WAS famous."

	"As well as being the love of my life. When I left Atlanta to go to
God knows where, I made a slight detour and found myself in
Briarwood. Little did I know that it was God's plan for me to be here. I
saw the church...St. Genesius, the Anglican Church where I'm assistant to
the rector, Father Cliff Cole and within a few very short minutes after
meeting Cliff, I knew that this was where God wanted me to be."

	"You said, 'Father Cliff Cole'? Any relation to the Cole
Institute?"

	"As a matter of fact, yes. His longtime partner is Roger Cole,
founder of the Institute."

	"And they both have the same surname?"

	"Cliff had his changed to Cole when their commitment became
formalized."

	"They are lovers, then?"

	"Some people think of them as the gay 'Adam and Eve' as they have
set an example to every gay couple, practically, in the world."

	"So it was through Father Cliff that you met your Ed?"

	"Yes. Only at the time, Ed was straight, but as we got to know each
other, Ed soon discovered that love has no barrier to gender."

	"Was he sick long or die suddenly?"

	"He was diagnosed with Alzheimer's several months before he
died. He was getting worse every day, but was still cognizant enough to go
on our excursion throughout Europe. I buried him there."

	"You know, Chris, after your telling me that just now, I feel
rather guilty of barging in on you as I have. I mean you're still in the
process of mourning."

	"You had no way of knowing, Brad...and it IS good to see an old
familiar face."

	"Old? Did you say old? I think we're the same age...not quite
thirty! When I was fourteen or fifteen, THIRTY was old to me...but now,
it's more like an extension of my youth."

	"You look good, Brad."

	"You look even better. You know I'd never seen you in a clerical
collar and then when you entered that confessional booth wearing a monk's
robe, I didn't know what to think."

	"I rarely wear it, but once in a while when I get a bit weary of
listening to rich people's confessions, I don the robe as a symbol of piety
and poverty to remind them AND myself of the saints' sacrifices."

	"Looking around at your trappings, I'd say you've done pretty well
for yourself as well."

	"What about you? Surely you must have done something more with your
life than questing my whereabouts."

	"I...I write."

	"Oh? Books? Novels? Screenplays?"

	"Mostly novels. I have attacked non-fiction on occasion."

	"Were any of them published?"

	"A few..."

	"Successfully?"

	"Again...a few."

	"Is there any chance that I might have read any of them?"

	"It's possible."

	"'Yellow Dawn', 'As I Gaze At You', 'The Knight of the Tempest',
'The Best of You and Me', 'Turbulent Sunset'...to mention a few..."

	"Is this some kind of joke? I've read every one of them. Only, as I
recall, the author was Eugene Underwood."

	"Guilty! That's my pseudonym..."

	"My God! Say it isn't so! Every one that you mentioned was a best
seller!"

	"That's not my fault! There's no accounting for people's taste in
literature."

	"Damn, Brad! You're famous! But why didn't you use your own name?"

	"When I wrote my first novel, I was so afraid that it would
flop...as it was turned down by, at least, a dozen publishers. I didn't
want my real name linked to bad fiction, so I wrote it under the name of
Eugene Underwood. Then, when the goddamned thing sold over
two-hundred-thousand copies, I was stuck with my new name as my publisher
wanted my second novel to gain sales on the strength of my first one under
Eugene Underwood. That's how I've been writing ever since."

	"How many best-sellers have you had?"

	"I don't remember without stretching my memory bank, but it's
either seventeen or eighteen."

	"WOW! Speaking of 'doing pretty well for yourself', you must be
rolling in residuals."

	"I have a dollar or two in the bank. I just sold three of my novels
to Brad Pitt for his new production company, 'Plan B'. He has more than a
dozen pictures in the works. His first big hit was 'The Departed' with
Leonardo DiCaprio and Matt Damon, followed with 'Running With Scissors'
with Annette Bening. He's got stars lined up outside his door begging for
roles. He's already signed or has already made movies with Meryl Streep,
Cate Blanchett, and Gwyneth Paltrow, only to mention a few."

	"And he optioned three of your novels?"

	"That's what my agent told me as he made a nice deposit into my
bank account."

	"My God, Brad! You're almost 'royalty'. Why would you waste your
spare time trying to revive an old college crush that you had on me?"

	"Because, dear Father Curtis, you're the only person in my life
I've ever felt I was in love with..."

	"But that was almost ten years ago..."

	"The flames of true love never die. They might become embers, but
they lay there and smolder, still creating heat."

	"What if you had arrived to find out that I was still in my
relationship with Ed?"

	"I would have backed out slowly and kept on waiting..."

	"I...I don't know what to say, Brad..."

	"Then, don't say it...but tell me just ONE thing..."

	"I'll try."

	"Did you ever love me back in college?"

	"That's a difficult question to answer after all these
years...but...yes, I did love you."

	"I remember that you told me about your affair with your best
buddy, Bill, and how Bill chose a wife over you. I must have felt the same
as you because, the love I had for you was rebuffed by your love of God. At
least, you had a chance against Bill's wife, but how could I battle the
Almighty for your favor? I mean there IS a huge difference in the rivalry."

	Chris laughed. "I never had a long relationship or fell in love
again while I was in the Roman Church. That's not to say that I didn't have
gay sex occasionally...I DID...but nothing serious. I suppose that's
another reason why the Anglican Church was so inviting. I could not only
have sex without feeling I was sinning, but I could marry my partner and
live openly as a gay man and priest."

	"Can I ask if there has been anyone since Ed?"

	"Almost. I became rather attached to a soldier who had just
returned from Iraq."

	"That didn't maturate?"

	"No, it ended when a fellow soldier came to visit him. Looking at
the two of them together objectively, I didn't want his feelings to have to
vacillate between what he really wanted and what was best for him."

	"He was the only one?"

	"There WAS this young kid in Atlanta with whom I had a brief
fling. It was he, who actually gave me the incentive to leave Atlanta...AND
the church."

	"Uh oh, the old priest/altar boy hookup..."

	"Not quite, but I knew he was too young."

	"Any more wild candid revelations?"

	"Yes...well," Chris chuckled, "out of the blue, this week, Bill,
whom you mentioned, called me."

	"I'd say you've had a busy week filled with gentlemen callers,
Laura."

	"Bill wasn't trying to get us back together, his wife is dying back
in Riverwind and he wants me to perform last rites and celebrate her
funeral mass when she goes."

	"I'm sorry to hear that. My comments must have seemed rude."

	"No. You had no way of knowing...any more than I. He DID say one
thing which disturbed me. As he was signing off on his telephone call, he
casually said, 'I love you'."

	"Uh oh! Looks as if I came at the right time!"

	"You just MIGHT have, Brad..."

	"Is that supposed to give me hope?"

	"No, I was just thinking that if Bill had an ulterior motive for
calling, if I go to Riverwind, I could use you as an excuse for saying that
I've rekindled my friendship with my old college roommate to deter any
advances Bill might have in mind."

	"That's devious, Chris, but I like it. Now all I have to do is wait
for you to get back from Riverwind to say, 'Sorry, Brad, but I've just
rekindled my friendship with my best friend, Bill."

	"You idiot! I'd never do that. Ha! Playing both ends against the
middle?"

	"Chris, could I ask you a serious favor?"

	"Of course."

	"Since it's taken me this long to find you, is it possible that I
might stay here a few days, just to spend some lost time with you?"

	"I'd like that, Brad. This house DOES get awfully empty
sometimes. When Ed died and I came back from Europe, I felt lonesome, not
having him around. But in the past few days, I've felt, not lonesome, but
lonely."

	"That's a beautiful metaphor. I hope you won't mind if I use it in
one of my novels."

	"Only if I get credit and a one-line-residual."

	"I...I just can't believe that I'm sitting here, talking to you, as
we so often did. I've pinched myself in the leg several times during the
past half hour to make sure I wasn't dreaming or having a fantasy. I
mean...you're really here...and I'm really with you!"

	"Brad, you remember the stipulation I made with you in the
confessional? The one where I said, we would NOT sleep together if you
spent the night."

	"How could I forget it?"

	"I...I would like to rescind that remark, if I may..."

	"What do you mean?"

	"I'd like us to sleep together, if it's all right with you?"

	"Dear God! It would be like a dream come true!"

	"It's still too early for bed. So why don't we go pile these dishes
in the dishwasher, pour a couple of snifters of brandy, and go into the den
to listen to a few of our favorite CD's. I still have them, you know..."

	"The CD's we used to make out to...?"

	"Every one of them."

	"Then what are we waiting for?"

	The two friends gathered up the dishes and took them into the
kitchen. Chris led Brad to the den where he poured the brandy, then he went
to the CD collection to pull, 'Back To Broadway' by Barbra Streisand. Chris
cued up an appropriate tune and Barbra sang, 'As If We'd Never Said
Goodbye'. Chris sat on the leather couch with Brad. They toasted, clinked
their snifters, and rested their heads on the back of the sofa to let
Barbra say 'the words' for them and by the time Barbra got to the next to
last song on the CD, 'The Man I Love', Chris and Brad were locked into an
embrace while swapping deep, passionate kisses.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

	When morning came, Brad was the first to awaken. In spite of the
frigid autumn air outside, Chris' bedroom was warm from the logs which he
had piled in the fireplace, allowing them to sleep only under a single
sheet and no blanket. Chris was still happily asleep as Brad lifted the
sheet to gaze upon Chris' naked body. Brad had never known of Chris taking
up sports or working out, but by some act of nature, Chris' torso was quite
muscular with a taut six-pack in his midsection. Brad's eyes stared lower
to Chris' private area...ANOTHER act of nature! Chris' masculinity had
grown quite a bit since college. He was a well-endowed specimen of a man.

	How often over the years had Brad dreamt of this moment? How many
years had been wasted between the two of them? If there was some way,
humanly possible, for Brad to spend the rest of his life with his life-long
crush, it was as if an eternal wish came true.

	After they had finished two snifters of brandy each, Chris had led
Brad into his bedroom. Both were standing on opposite sides of the bed as
each watched the other undress. It was like a choreographed routine as they
removed the same item of clothing in unison. When they were both down to
their shorts, both hesitated, while wondering if the other would strip all
the way as an invitation to sleep in the nude. The two nodded their heads
in silence and slowly dropped their underwear onto the floor.

	The flames from the open fireplace illuminated the room and cast
areas of red and yellow light on their muscular trunks. Then the two edged
themselves into the bed where they met in the middle...arms slid around the
other's back as they kissed in stormy passion. It was Brad who made the
first move by reaching down to grasp Chris' genitals which in turn sent a
chill through Chris' body. Chris followed Brad's lead and grabbed him in
the same place in the same way. They clung to the other's turgid erection
until they slowly lay down on the bed.

	Brad's pent up hunger for Chris got the best of him when he moved
quickly to engulf Chris' organ into his mouth. Chris threw his head back
onto a pillow while Brad did everything in his power to prove how much he
loved Chris, physically. Brad spread Chris' legs apart to gain access to
every part of Chris which Brad had fantasized about all these years. Brad
planted tiny kisses on the inside of Chris' thighs and scrotum before
returning to Chris' rigid staff. Only a very few minutes passed until Chris
was writhing in orgasmic bliss. Brad was actually more excited than Chris
as he consumed every drop of Chris' liquid offering.

	"Oh, my God, Brad," Chris moaned. "Where have you been all these
years?"

	Brad lifted his head to reply, "Searching and waiting for this
moment to come to pass."

	"Damn! If ever in the past I had experienced such an object lesson
in emotional recall, you have just 'dj vued' me back to celestial
ecstasy!"

	"It couldn't have been as good for you, Chris, as it was for me..."

	"Do you really believe I could top your act? I would seem like a
rank amateur compared to your expertise."

	"Chris, baby, you don't have to do a thing to me..."

	"Oh, but I must! In my faith, it's the golden rule...'do unto
others...what you can't do to yourself'!"

	"I'm so glad to see that you still have your sense of humor."

	"It feels good to laugh, Brad. I've been wrapped up in my personal
troubles, not to mention hundreds of parishioners, I'd almost forgotten
what it's like to feel good."

	"Why don't we just cuddle awhile as we used to do in the dorm,
while you gather your strength?"

	"You, dummy! You make me sound like an old man. If I'm not
mistaken, you're six months older than I..."

	"Lughead! I STILL want to cuddle!"

	"All right, we'll cuddle...BUT, I'm still gonna show you what an
expert I am at giving oral sex before the night is through." Brad crawled
on his hands and knees to get back to the pillow beside Chris. Chris rolled
onto his right side and Brad spooned him. Chris, instantly felt Brad's
erection prodding into his butt cheeks. "Hey, buster, don't let that give
you any ideas that I'm inviting you to enter."

	"I've been there before...remember?"

	"Christ, the first time you did that to me, I felt like the babe
that King Solomon wanted to split in two...I thought YOU had split me in
two!"

	"You never uttered a sound," Brad said.

	"I couldn't. I was suppressing my screams by choking a pillow down
my throat."

	"Did I really hurt you that first time?"

	"I felt like an iceberg and you were the Titanic!"

	Brad pulled Chris closer to him. "You know, I have scads of money
and apparently, Ed left you pretty well off. What I'd really like to do is
stay in bed with you the rest of my life until our legs, butts, and backs
were covered in decubiti."

	"We'd still have to eat!"

	"We'd order it from a different restaurant every night. We'd eat on
paper plates and have no dishes to wash."

	"That IS tempting..."

	"Chris?"

	"Yes?"

	"My heart is about to burst to keep from telling you how much I
still love you."

	"Should I call the ER at the Institute?"

	"NO, DAMN IT! Can't you just say that you love me a little?"

	"Brad, I've always loved you MORE than a little."

	"Then, I still have a chance to pick up where we left off? Before
you left me for God?"

	"God will always be number one in my life. Ed knew that and
respected my obligation to my church."

	"Hell, I'd sing bass in the choir. I'd pump the organ, shine up the
offering plates, wash and iron your vestments...YOU NAME IT!"

	"First of all, dear one, we could NEVER pick up where we left
off. There's too many tons of water that have passed under the bridge. 'IF'
and I repeat, 'IF', we ever began a relationship, it'd have to be a new
beginning. We've been apart for almost ten years. We need to get to know
one another again...a fresh start!"

	"Why?"

	"There's so many things that have changed between us. I...I don't
know if you fart in your sleep, grind your teeth, bite your nails, burp out
loud in a restaurant..."

	"If you're wondering, I'm not guilty of any of those things."

	"Well, 'I' might be."

	"Do you think I never smelled your farts in the dorm after we'd
eaten that god-forsaken slop in the commissary?"

	"I don't remember ever farting in our dorm room!"

	"You did, while you were sleeping."

	"SEE? WHAT DID I TELL YOU?"

	"When you honestly love someone, his farts can smell like Calvin
Klein cologne!"

	"You REALLY are a bullshitter!"

	"A bullshitter who's deeply in love with you..."

	"Changing the subject, momentarily, I'm concentrating on that blow
job I owe you."

	"I told you to forget about it."

	"I can't. However, since you're knocking at my back door...would
you like to come inside?"

	"You mean it?"

	"You'd better do it before I change my mind. If I think about the
pain I'm about to endure, the whole deal might be off."

	"God, Chris, I'd LOVE to make love to you."

	"I know you would...and I figure I owe you that much for leaving
you in the lurch back in college."

	"You got any lubricant?"

	"I think there's some Preparation H in the bathroom."

	"PREPARATION H?"

	"Yes, it will act as an anesthetic to make it less painful!"

	"Are you kidding?"

	"Totally! There's some KY in the drawer next to your side of the
bed."

	"Jesus Christ! I thought you were being serious!"

	"Tomorrow, I might wish you'd USED Preparation H! If I walk into
the church bowlegged as a bronco buster, Cliff will know immediately what I
engaged in tonight."

	"I'll be gentle...loving...caring...tender...affectionate..."

	"Run out of adjectives? There's a Thesaurus in the bookcase over
there."

	"I'll never run out of words...the way I feel about you."

	Brad reached into the drawer and applied the greaseless ointment to
himself AND to Chris...and very carefully, he made love to Chris for nearly
half an hour. Chris never felt the pain as he was loving every minute of
it. After Brad reached his climax, the two fell asleep.

	Now it was morning and Brad was surveying every inch of Chris body
which he could see under the sheet as Brad held it up. Perhaps, Chris felt
that things were different between them, but Brad felt they were just the
same...only more so. Brad was deeply in love with Chris!

	Quietly and carefully, Brad slipped from under the covers, picked
up his clothes in order to dress in the bathroom. He took the time to
gargle his morning breath, combed his hair, and tiptoed back through the
bedroom to catch a quick glimpse of Chris to make sure he was still
sleeping. Then he went downstairs, out the front door, got into his car,
and drove down to the main street of Briarwood.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

	Cliff and Roger were sitting alone in the kitchen after
breakfast. Jay had taken a tray for two back upstairs to have breakfast
with Troy. Cliff was at the sink rinsing their plates while Roger sat at
the table reading the morning newspaper.

	"GOD O'MIGHTY!" Roger roared. "Did you know anything about the
Anglican Church's proposal to euthanize deformed fetuses?"

	"I have read about it, but I, purposely, had not brought up the
subject with you."

	"Boy! That should bring all kinds of new converts to the Church of
England!" Roger said, sarcastically. "Who the fuck thought THAT one up?"

	"Roger, you know that the Anglican Church has been splitting ever
since they elevated the gay priest to the rank of Bishop."

	"Well, this new proposed doctrine should split the other halves
wide open."

	"Very frankly, Roger, I've given the thought quite a bit of
reasoning...trying to play the Devil's Advocate and view it from both
sides."

	"Well, I certainly hope you landed on the right side!"

	"It depends on how much someone believes in heaven or an eternal
afterlife with the Almighty. You, above all people, have seen patients at
the Institute keep their loved ones alive, selfishly, when IF they did
believe, they would want their loved ones to pass away and go to God to
receive their peace and eternal life."

	"Yes, I've always thought that was inconsiderate bullshit!"

	"Some of the Church feel the same way about fetuses who are less
than 22 weeks old. They feel that it's cruel to let a child be born without
limbs, with mental challenges, and other physical deformities. Not only
does it make the baby suffer until he succumbs or has to cope with his
maladjustment. They feel it's better for the unborn children to go be with
God before everyone...the parents AND the child is burdened with a
malady. It's fetuses which can be aborted before it becomes illegal with
the law."

	"That brings up another subject, Cliff. I've never understood, as
many abortions that are performed hourly each day, why can't those embryos
be used for stem-cell research?"

	"How many cups of coffee have you drunk this morning? You're so
wound up with controversial topics, I can hardly keep up with you!"

	"TWO CUPS...if you must know...but WHY can't they be used for
stem-cell research?"

	"You'll have to call your congressman or the White House, babe, I
don't have an answer."

	"I realize that I sound as though I'm contradicting myself...from
one side of my mouth, I'm bitching about aborting malformed embryos while
out of the other side of my mouth, I'm saying that the embryos could be
used for some advantage."

	"Roger, I'm afraid you'll never get your answer until the present
administration is replaced by a more liberal group."

	"Do you think that the President is a dumb as the public and
comedians make him out to be?"

	"I've seen nothing he's done to make me think contrarily."

	"He was SO adamant about not using frozen embryos, that's why we
started freezing our own at the Institute under lock and key."

	"Yes, and think of the wonders you've done there. Thanks to your
research staff, certain forms of HIV and AIDS are now curable."

	"Why all the ruckus about frozen eggs? THEY'RE FROZEN FOR
CHRISSAKES! THEY'RE DEAD! The research on cryogenics is decades off on how
to bring frozen animates back to life! DEAD! DEAD! DEAD!...DUMB! DUMB!
DUMB!"

	"What's on your schedule today?"

	"You mean before of after I split an atom this morning?"

	"You know, some times, I think you could actually do it."

	"What?"

	"Split an atom, swim the Atlantic Ocean, be the first male to
conceive a child...for starters..."

	"You have that much faith in me?"

	"That's a silly question, you dope! Of course I have that much
faith in you. That's one of the reasons I married you."

	"Is that all?"

	"Ha! Now you want me to inflate your ego on how well you make love
to me."

	"It would be nice to hear?"

	"I tell you every night when we make love...before AND after."

	"In order for a man to make GOOD love, he has to have the perfect
mate to make love to..."

	"Yes...?"

	"Now, who wants his ego inflated?"

	"Roger?"

	"Uh huh?"

	"You know, in all the years we've been together, I've never asked
if you were ever tempted to stray?"

	"You mean, cheat on you?"

	"Uh huh?"

	"NEVER! Why should I when I found the perfect mate? There's not
another person on earth who could love me more or please me more than you."

	"That's how I feel about you..."

	"You know, sometimes, just for kicks, I go online and read
stories...mostly gay stories on the Internet and most of the times, I find
myself getting angry with the author and I shut my laptop down."

	"What makes you so angry."

	"I read stories where two young men fall in love; they have sex;
and swear eternal devotion to one another...and then in the very next
chapter, one or BOTH of the lovers finds a third party to bring into their
relationship. I DON'T like cheating...even in a story! To me, that's not
love. Instead of saying, 'I love you', they should be saying, 'I love you,
but you are not enough for me! We need to bring someone else into our
twosome to make it happier as a threesome!"

	"Yes, I'm sure when you were wearing a clerical collar and
listening to confessions as I do, weekly, you heard the real thing from
real people...MOST of them are young people."

	"I'm so glad that we grew up when we did. Kids...our Billy,
included, are missing so many joys of life. Their music, for one thing,
never expresses an emotion, never says, 'I love you' unless it's 'I love
you, beh-beeeee'. As long as I'm ranting, I'll say that the worst thing
invented in the twentieth century was video games! Kids don't get out and
play! They're unaware of the miracles of nature. I suppose only kids
brought up on a farm are the only ones who know how to collect fireflies in
a jar...look up at the sky to see shooting stars...sniff a rose to see how
different it smells from a laurel branch. Twenty years from now, will the
next generation even KNOW who Ravel and Debussy were? Will they have been
exposed to Rogers and Hammerstein, Cole Porter, George Gershwin, or even
Stephen Sondheim?"

	"I know ONE who will!"

	"You mean, our Billy?"

	"Billy was gay before we adopted him, but, at least, he's been
exposed to composers, artists, authors, and the history of great people."

	"He wouldn't be OUR son, if he hadn't been. Maybe it'll be up to
the gays of the world to preserve cultural interests."

	"I'm quite certain that Billy will ALWAYS be interested in Broadway
as long as there's a Marc Carlton in his life."

	"By the way, has Billy made his flight reservation to go see Marc
this weekend?"

	"Does December follow November on the calendar?"

	"I was stupid to ask."

	"I realize that Billy's and Marc's relationship is long-distance in
the truest sense, but I'm so glad that they have each other."

	"Well, I'm sure 'Dark' won't run forever and I'm sure that Marc
will soon outgrow the part of Sonny..."

	"AND if Marc's adoption by Tim and Rob is finalized, Marc will
still be in New York and Billy, here in Briarwood."

	"Yes, and I'm sure I can finagle a way for Marc to spend as much
time down here as Billy does up there."

	"OH, I'm QUITE sure of that. When it comes to finagling, you're the
genius! You could con a nun to perform a strip-tease in Times Square at
high noon!"

	"Sure, if she thought she was doing it for charity!"

	Cliff laughed. "Dear God, how I love you!"

	"Then why are you standing by the sink wanting to argue with me
about every subject I bring up...instead of coming over here to sit on my
lap and giving me a big, fat, sloppy, wet, juicy, good-morning kiss?"

	"Why would you ever think I'd want to kiss you?"

	"Because if you don't come over here, I'm going to come over
there. I'm 'kiss horny'!"

	"That's a new expression!"

	"Wanna know what 'kiss horny' means?"

	"Yes...come show me..."

	Roger threw the paper in the floor, jumped out of his chair, and
ran to Cliff at the sink. He put his arms behind Cliff's back and lowered
him over the drain board and licked Cliff's chin, lips, nose, eyes, cheeks,
and ears. Cliff was laughing so hard, he couldn't keep his lips closed for
Roger to kiss. Neither were aware that Jay had walked in, just in time, to
observe the action.

	"MY! MY! MY!" Jay said, with a sibilant faux lisp, "SSSomebody'sss
been putting too much SSSSSpanisssh fly in the sssscrambled eggssss again!"

<><><><><><><><>

	Chris was tired and slow at waking up. Before opening his eyes, he
let his hand wander to the side of the bed where Brad had slept. Sensing
that Brad was gone, Chris opened his eyes and called toward the
bathroom..."BRAD? BRAD? BRAD?". Suddenly everything that had happened
between Brad and him while they made love, flashed across Chris' mind. 'Had
they gone too far? Had something been said by either of them which crossed
the boundary of being good friends? Had Brad awakened, felt guilty, and
left without a word...a note...a quick good-bye?'

	Once more, Chris shouted, only much louder, "BRAD!".

	"What? What? What?" Brad said, running up the stairs and down the
hall to the bedroom.  "What's the matter?"

	"I...I didn't know where you were and I...well, I was concerned."

	"I...I had to make a little trip into town," Brad replied.

	"You drove downtown?"

	"Uh huh."

	"What ever for?"

	"THIS!" Brad said, revealing his hands which he had hid behind his
back. He was holding two white paper bags.

	"What's this?"

	"Open 'em," Brad said, handing both bags to Chris, who was still in
the bed.

	Chris took the two bags and carefully opened the first.

	"My GOD! PRUNE AND APRICOT DANISHES!"

	"You remember?"

	"How could I forget? Every time we spent the night together in the
dorm, you'd always run down to the cafeteria to get prune and apricot
Danishes."

	"AND...?"

	"And hot chocolate!"

	"Look in the second bag..."

	Chris peeked inside the other white bag and smiled from ear to
ear. "You ARE a sweetheart!"

	"I had to drive to nearly a dozen places to find prune and
apricot...but there was this little German deli on a side street..."

	"Schlammer's Bakery!"

	"You know it?"

	"Yes, when I arrived in Briarwood, it was the only place I could
find..."

	"PRUNE AND APRICOT DANISHES!" The two of them said in unison,
followed by a huge laugh which they both shared.

	Brad walked over and sat on the side of the bed as Chris took out
one of the Danishes, wrapped it into a napkin, and handed it to Brad. Next,
he got Brad a paper cup of hot chocolate and handed that to him as
well. Their eyes seemed to lock on the other's as they took the first bite
of the pastry. It wouldn't have taken much for both to have their eyes fill
up with tears.

	"Does this bring back old times?" Brad asked.

	"Many happy times, Brad."

	"For me, too."

	"I suppose this isn't the time to ask, but I will ask,
eventually..."

	"Ask what, Chris?"

	"Do you...do you have any regrets about last night...?"

	"Only one..."

	"Oh...?"

	"I regret that I haven't been making love to you like that for all
the years we've been apart..." Chris stopped eating and stared tenderly at
Brad. "What about you? Any regrets?"

	"No...none," Chris replied. "After you had gone to sleep, I lay
here thinking for quite a while before I went to sleep. I...I couldn't
decide who needed last night the most...you...or me? You see, Brad, last
night was the first and only time since I returned from Europe that this
house didn't seem so lonely. I...I told you about the vet from the Iraqi
War who spent ONE night here...but, he, apparently, was not big enough to
fill the emptiness in this big mausoleum..."

	"It IS rather big, isn't it?"

	"It's a far cry from the cot I used to sleep on at the mission in
Atlanta."

	"I can imagine...remember, I went to the mission looking for
you..."

	"What about you? With all your wealth as an author, surely you must
have some place you call home? How large is it?"

	"I don't think you believed me when I said, I've been going from
place to place, hotel to hotel, lodge to inn...looking for you. I never
stopped long enough to buy, build, or even look for a home."

	"So then, if I were to ask you to stay here with me...would you?"

	"Just ask and hear my answer..."

	"Believe me, I want to! It's just we don't even know each other any
more."

	"I know you well enough to remember your favorite breakfast food."

	"Yes, but...that's living in the past."

	"What about our lovemaking? Was that in the past? I...I'm sitting
here, hiding my erection which sprang forth just being near you! THAT, most
certainly, is in the present."

	"How long did you plan on staying in Briarwood?"

	"That depended on finding you and configuring what kind of
relationship might develop between us. I...I didn't know if you were still
single...OR gay."

	"There's no chance that you wouldn't find me gay. That's in my
genes and I have no control over them, despite what the Roman Church might
say about it."

	"Could we find some kind of compromise?" Brad asked.

	"Like what?"

	"Oh, I have to get started on my next novel and I can write
ANYWHERE...even in the front seat of my car! I could rent a house near you
and we could 'date' on the weekends or whenever we felt like it."

	"That's a crazy idea!"

	"What?"

	"Your renting a house when I have more empty beds than a Howard
Johnson's Motor Inn."

	"Do you want to rent me a room...WITH kitchen and bathroom
privileges...OR at least, until we get reacquainted?"

	"HA! After last night, I think we're VERY well acquainted AND
reacquainted."

	"I don't mean to compound your problem, but I have to tell you
something..."

	"Better say it now than later..."

	"I love you, Chris. I always have and always will. You're the only
person in my life and even if you ask me to leave and go elsewhere, I'll
STILL love you."

	"I should have expected you to say that."

	"There's nothing wrong in saying it, is there?"

	"Of course not! I'm flattered, to say the least..."

	"But you DON'T love me? Is that it?"

	"I...I don't know, Brad."

	"Does it have anything to do about your feelings for Bill...and
what might happen once Bill's wife passes away?"

	"I don't think so. I...I got over Bill, years ago."

	"Yes, but now that he might become 'free' again...?"

	"I fell for you AFTER Bill, didn't I?"

	"I thought you did. That's what's given me hope to pursue you ever
since college."

	"Oh, God! Why am I being so childish about this situation? OF
COURSE, I want you to move in with me...but, for the time being, can we
just take it slow? I mean, would you be willing to sleep in another bedroom
until we both feel the same way?"

	"Maybe, IF you'll let me pay to have MY bedroom decorated in some
motif, a bit less depressing..."

	"This house is dark, isn't it?"

	"Quite! I'd like my bedroom to be painted yellow with flowery
draperies with yellow roses on them!"

	"This whole place could use some brightness, couldn't it?"

	"I could redecorate it while you're at church listening to
confessions or gossip or whatever people tell you in privacy about
themselves."

	"What do you think I should tell Roger and Cliff about your moving
in?"

	"Just tell 'em that I'm your old college roommate, down on my luck,
and need a place to stay."

	"Ha! Jay, who lives with his lover, Troy, at Cliff and Roger's
house, would take one look at your wardrobe and know immediately that
you're not 'down on your luck'. Then the first time, either one of us
looked at the other in a romantic way, Jay would be sending out invitations
to our commitment ceremony!"

	"I'd love to meet this 'Jay'. It sounds as if he and I would get
along just fine."

	"EVERYBODY loves Jay. You can't keep from loving him. On the
'Q.T.', Roger gave Jay AND Troy several millions of dollars and Jay refuses
to move out of Cliff and Roger's mansion for fear that they can't live
without him."

	"Could they?"

	"Probably not! Jay makes EVERYONE feel that he needs Jay...and I
guess we all do!"

	"Chris. I need you...and I think you need me..."

	Chris caught himself before he burst into tears. He set the two
white bags on the bedside table and looked long and hard at Brad. "You
know, Brad, I think you're right. I DO need you."

	Brad leaned over and kissed Chris, tenderly. When he pulled back,
Brad said, quietly, "Do you want me to pick out my own bedroom or do you
have a special one in mind?"

	"I want you in the next bedroom...next to mine."

	Brad kissed Chris again. "If my bedroom is gonna be yellow, what
color do you want yours?"

	"You pick the color...only make it something you can live
with...just in case, you have to move into this one...later..."

<><><><><><><><><><>

(To be continued in 'Briarwood'---Book Ten---'Chris and beyond...'---
chapter 109.)

Dear Hearts,
	I'm sorry that this chapter was so late. I changed PC ISP's and it
took rather long to get myself reorganized. Hopefully, everything will get
normalized soon and I'll keep posting new chapters every Thursday evenings
or Friday mornings. My new email address is RitchChristopher@comcast.net.
                                                      Ritch