Date: Wed, 7 May 2008 22:02:08 +0200
From: A.K. <andrej@andrejkoymasky.com>
Subject: The Most Difficult Contest 08/12 (athletics)

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THE MOST DIFFICULT CONTEST
by Andrej Koymasky (C) 2008
written on December 2, 1993
translated by the author
English text kindly revised by Acam

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USUAL DISCLAIMER

"THE MOST DIFFICULT CONTEST" is a gay story, with some parts containing
graphic scenes of sex between males. So, if in your land, religion,
family, opinion and so on this is not good for you, it will be better
not to read this story. But if you really want, or because YOU don't
care, or because you think you really want to read it, please be my
welcomed guest.

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CHAPTER 8 - True friends

Jacques Berthier went back home in the early afternoon and went at once
to meet Jean Paul.

"My boy I've seen what happened to you and in some ways I feel
responsible for it..."

"You, sir? I don't understand."

"If I hadn't told Claude about me and Robert, you might not have found
the courage to reveal to Robert what you were feeling for him and so
now..."

"I think that we would not have been able to hide what we felt for each
other for much longer anyway..." Jean Paul said in a sad tone.

"Maybe you are right. Anyway... in a while the lawyer mister Duhamel
will be here to give us his legal advice."

"Mister Duhamel? I don't think I can allow myself to brief such a famous
lawyer."

"He is our family lawyer and it will cost you nothing. I will ask him to
represent Robert too - he is a very dear friend and I want to give him a
hand too."

"You are really kind mister Berthier. How can I ever repay you?"

"You mustn't worry about that. If you are to be expelled by the
federation you also risk losing your job, I guess. They found you a job
didn't they? Where were you working?"

"At Renault, as a secretary. I never did actually set foot in their
offices. They deposit my monthly pay directly in my bank so that I can
devote all my time to sports as an amateur."

"I see. I don't know if Duhamel will be able to stop them from firing
you now."

"I was planning to look for another job anyway."

"Let's first consult the lawyer about it. Another problem could be your
apartment..."

"For the moment it's besieged by journalists, but they will go away
sooner or later."

"If I was in your shoes I would move to another place anyway. I noticed
they published your address and I'm afraid you will risk receiving
anonymous telephone calls or letters for a long time at that address.
But we will take care of this later too. At least for a while you can
stay here. Do you have news about Robert?"

"No, mister Berthier. I tried to call him, but the line is always
busy..."

"They have probably unplugged their telephone, I guess. Poor Chambret...
Who knows how his wife reacted to all this? But Jean Paul have you
already got in touch with your family?"

"No, not yet."

"Call them then. I think you ought to. You can use this telephone. I'll
go out so you can talk more freely with them..."

"No, please stay here..."

"As you like. Here, dial the number."

Jean Paul called his family home. The line was free. After a few rings,
he got the answer - it was his father.

"Dad... This is Jean Paul."

"Ha, just you! Where are you calling from?"

"From Paris..."

"And what do you want? What do you want from us? You're not intending to
come here by any chance are you?"

"Don't you... don't you want me?"

"What for? To have everybody's finger pointed at us more than now? To
get more anonymous insulting telephone calls? To have more journalists
who besiege us? To have me and your mother die early?"

"But... Dad..."

"No! I'm not your father any more. It would have been far better if we
had read in that magazine that you were dead instead of having to see
those pictures in it."

"Do you want me to kill myself? Is this that you want?"

"That's your business. It doesn't concern me any more. Do what you like
best. It's your dirty life!"

"Well then... sorry to have disturbed you."

"Don't call again, any more. You don't exist for us any longer."

"I understand... But I... anyway... I love you." Jean Paul said and rang
off.

He was trying not to cry but a tear shone in a corner of his eye.

Jacques put his hand on the boy's. "Sometimes when we are affected by
strong emotions, we don't say what we really think, Jean Paul. Don't pay
too much attention to what your father said... Time will put everything
into perspective believe me."

"I hope so..." the young man murmured.

Claude put an arm round his shoulders, "You are not alone Jean Paul. We
are here for you..."

"Yes thank you. If I had killed somebody he would at least have asked me
why I did it... he would at least have tried to understand..."

Jacques said, "Our civilization has always demonised sexuality... The
church too seems to consider it the sin of all sins. People do it but
it's not to be spoken about. We are living in a hypocritical world my
poor Jean Paul. They should ban the mass-media from nosing into the
private lives of people. They should not be permitted to destroy it like
this!"

"Cannot we report them?" Claude asked.

"I'm afraid not. They have lawyers to advise them which articles they
can publish and how and which pictures... But we will talk about that
with Duhamel. If we can bring an action against them we will. Ah... I
talked with Mum. From now on Jean Paul will have his meals with us in
the dining room."

"It's not necessary. I don't want to disturb you, to give you
problems..." the young man said.

"No, you are our guest... and a welcome guest. And so you have to be
treated as such. I will have the guest room prepared for you. Anything
you might need - just tell Claude or me and we will do our best for you
Jean Paul."

"I'm sorry..."

"And don't stand on ceremony! Is that agreed?" Claude's father
interrupted him with a warm smile.

The lawyer, mister Duhamel, arrived and had a long conversation with
Jean Paul.

At the end he said to Jacques, "I don't know what I can really do mister
Berthier. I'm afraid that legally we can not prevent either mister
Godefroy's expulsion or the loss of his job. And I'm also afraid we can
do very little against that magazine. If they had put their cameras
inside mister Godefroy's apartment or something like that it would
certainly allow us to bring a case of violation of privacy or of
trespassing. But as the apartment window was wide open, according to the
law it is mister Godefroy and mister Chambret who did the acts in
public. I will study this case more carefully ... If we can find the
least toehold we will act."

The day passed. Berthier came to know that the Chambrets were not living
at their old address any more. Thanks to Duhamel he managed to find
Fran¨oise and so he was informed that the woman had chased his friend
from home and was now preparing divorce papers. But she didn't know
where Robert had ended up. He seemed to have disappeared into nothing.

Claude had started training again. The athletes were unhappy with the
new coach but were doing their best to train. The sports tribunal
summoned Robert, but he didn't show up - very likely he didn't even
receive the summoning letter as it had been sent to his old address.
Robert was expelled from the Federation for "immoral and unethical
behaviour".

Then Jean Paul was also summoned.

"Jean Paul Godefroy, you are charged with having a sexual relationship
with the former trainer Robert Chambret. Do you declare yourself guilty
or not guilty?"

"I declare that my private life doesn't concern this tribunal." Jean
Paul quietly answered.

"Take care as you can be charged with disrespectful behaviour towards
this federal body." one of the judges warned him.

Jean Paul didn't answer.

"How long did your relationship with mister Chambret last?" the judge
then asked him.

Jean Paul didn't answer.

"You are certainly not making your position better with this
behaviour..." a judge warned him.

"I don't answer questions which are not relevant to justice in sports."
the boy answered (he had been instructed by Duhamel). He then added, "I
ask for all my words to be recorded verbatim or else I will refuse to
talk."

"Are you being smart mister Godefroy?" another judge asked him.

"I don't se the secretary recording either your words or mine." Jean
Paul answered.

"The minutes will be written at the end of these proceedings and it will
be I personally that decides what will be written in them." another
judge said.

"Then the proceedings are over. I'll leave."

"You cannot..."

"If you keep me here against my will it will become kidnapping." Jean
Paul said and walked out.

Outside Claude and Duhamel were waiting for him. He told them about the
short conversation he just had and gave Duhamel the mini-recorder he had
in his pocket.

"Anyway all the exact words are here." Jean Paul said.

"Did they record it too?" Duhamel asked.

"I think so" the boy answered, "At least on the table there was a tape
recorder and I think it was switched on."

"Very well," the lawyer said, "this tape will be published by the Nouvel
Observateur, as they are preparing an article about justice in sport.
They will say that it comes from a copy of the recording made by one of
the judges to put them off the scent. You, Jean Paul, will just have to
tell us to whom the voices belong. We won't be able to make their
decision void but at least we will make them lose a bit of face."

"But, is the Nouvel Observateur backing us?" Claude asked.

"Not exactly but they are against the way so called sports justice is
sometimes administered." the lawyer answered.

Jean Paul started to go round in search for a job but he was recognized
at once and with the various excuses he was systematically refused a
job.

More than one month had elapsed since the publication of the scandalous
articles. Jean Paul had searched for Robert and he was helped by his
former team-mates but the man seemed to have disappeared into thin air.
Claude's father had searched for him too through a detective agency, but
to no avail.

The Nouvel Observateur had published its article about sports justice
and this had raised a big debate. The three sports judges had been
forced to resign but the expulsion of Robert and Jean Paul had not been
repealed. Maybe that was because the mass media were still going on
talking about the "Chambret-Godefroy scandal", or the "decathlon
scandal" as it was usually called.

Jean Paul got more and more depressed. Claude, Georges and Xavier,
Jacques Berthier's three sons and Jacques himself did their level best
to give Jean Paul back his confidence, but with less and less success.

One evening after supper Jacques asked the boy, "Would you like to work
as a taxi driver Jean Paul?"

"Any job... I would do any kind of job... but a taxi is expensive. I
don't have enough money. Moreover we have to find out if they would give
me a taxi license."

"You have a driving licence, haven't you?"

"Yes I do but I've almost never driven."

"So you only have to pass the test for the taxi license. Do you feel
like preparing yourself?"

"I can try yes, but..."

"If you pass the test I will make sure they will not deny you the
license. And we will buy you a taxi."

"I cannot accept... I..."

"You will give us back the money a little at a time as soon as you earn
enough money. Do you accept that then, Jean Paul?"

"I will try mister Berthier. I really don't know how to thank you..."

"Be successful. Start collecting information about the test and start
preparing yourself. And to begin with you can practice driving and get
used to it again using the Deux-Chevaux we have in our garage that none
of us uses. And you can work as a messenger for my bank; I'll hire you
as an external contractor."

"Dad can't you hire him as an employee?" Xavier asked.

"Yes, I certainly could. But I think that for Jean Paul it would be
better being an independent worker. We don't want him to think that he
only got a job out of friendship. He needs to feel he is earning his
daily bread through his own work by his own skill. Am I wrong Jean
Paul?"

"No, not at all. You are helping me more than I deserve anyway ..."

"No, I don't think so. I'm just giving you a chance that others who are
narrow-minded have denied you. Everybody should have a chance in life.
They denied you yours, unfairly, in my opinion. I want to offer you
another one. And if I understand it well - it certainly cannot be
compared to the Olympic gold."

"I will do my best mister Berthier."

"I don't doubt of it at all my boy."

"If we just could find Robert..." Claude murmured.

"We will go on searching for him," Jacques said, "I too care very much
and want to find him."

"I can't understand why he doesn't show up..." Jean Paul said
thoughtfully.

"He is without a job too now., That's right isn't it Dad?" George asked.

"I'm afraid he is... He could possibly call on us when he finds a new
job..."

"I... I was thinking that if I leave my bed-sitting room in the 20th
arrondissment he won't be able to find me any more. He can at least
write to me at that address..."

"We will find a solution for this problem too." Jacques quietly said.

During his stay at Berthiers' house, Jean Paul had met Yan, Claude's
boyfriend, who was a class-mate of Claude's brother George. He was a
nice likeable boy, and Jean Paul got the impression that they were
becoming more and more affectionate. George and Xavier didn't suspect
about Yan and Claude but maybe his father did guess even if he never
talked about it with his son.

Jean Paul got the impression on one occasion that Yan was attracted
towards him, but he didn't encourage him at all because he would have
felt bad doing wrong to his friend Claude.

But the long separation from Robert was starting to become a burden for
him. He tried to relieve himself by masturbating but that kind of relief
was short-lived and didn't give him any real satisfaction. The desire
for a sexual relationship was gradually becoming stronger.

It did lessen a little when he started to work as a messenger at the
Berthier bank and also while studying for the taxi driver's license. He
had to learn the map of Paris and the names of the thousands of streets.
He started by studying the main routes and then gradually started to
learn the side streets too. He had a good memory and so he learned them
quite quickly. He then began to learn the names of the lanes and alleys
in the central districts. He was spending hours on the maps reading and
memorizing the names of streets, squares and boulevards. He also
reviewed the traffic regulations thoroughly. He also studied the engine
and the equipment of the car that Jacques told him he intended to buy
and knew them thoroughly.

And in this manner a second month elapsed.

One evening Jean Paul talked to Claude, "I was thinking that it is
getting to be time for me to find a place of my own or else to go back
to my bed-sitting room at the 20th arrondissment."

"No, you mustn't go there; you have seen that anonymous letters are
still arriving there haven't you? I think it would be better you find
somewhere else. But you can stay here at our place if you want."

"I know and I thank you. But I really need to live by myself... You see
the fact is that I'm getting desperate for a... a sexual relief... I
think I should find some. Just some encounters without any involvement.
I still hope to find Robert again and I want to be free for him. I don't
know if I'm doing right, but... I would like to be able to resist but I
don't know how much longer I can..."

"Yes I understand you. For me it would be really hard to be alone for
such a long time too. Do you want me to help you to look for a place?"

"The only problem is that if I move away and if Robert searched for me
how could find me then?"

"Don't you think that as he knows how close you and I are if he doesn't
find you he will contact me?"

"I don't know... possibly yes... If I could only know where to search
for him... I'm afraid something bad happened to him..."

"No, I don't think so. If something bad really happened to him I think
that we would have read it in the newspapers. He might just have found a
job outside Paris."

"But why didn't he try to contact me? Why hasn't he shown up?"

"I don't know but I don't think we ought to imagine the worst."

"Poor Robert! How much I would like to be near him... If only he has
found a shelter at some friend's place as I have here with you..."

"Dad contacted all their common friends but none of them knows anything
about where he is. He also contacted Robert's sister but she too has no
news."

"Unhappily it is like looking for a needle in a haystack..."

"Right! So it is. But we will go on looking for him. Also the team mates
are looking for him. Ah, by the way they send you their greetings."

"Do they know I'm here at your place?"

"No, they just know that every now and then I meet you. I told them that
you are now preparing to get a taxi license. And they have asked me to
give them your taxi number when you get it so that any time they need a
taxi they can call you. It is their way of giving you a hand."

"Thank them for me. When I will get a place where I can stay, I will
give them my address so that if they like they can come and see me..."

"We all miss you. And we also miss Robert a lot."

"Are you doing well at training? The Olympic Games is approaching..."

"We are doing our best. You were right when you said that Serge has
talents. He is really making remarkable progress."

"Good. I really hope you will be able to get some medals..."

"We will do our best."

Jean Paul found a small apartment in the 12th arrondissment. He moved
his things in, helped by Claude. The apartment was on two levels with
the kitchen living room and bathroom on the ground floor and upstairs a
wide bedroom with access by a small internal stairway. All the windows
looked out onto a boulevard. He applied for the telephone and thank to
Jacques he arranged for his name to be ex-directory and so not in the
telephone book, to avoid anonymous persecutors.

He had settled in his new apartment for just one week when he tried the
test for taxi driver and passed it. He then applied for the licence and
thanks to Jacques' good offices he got it very fast. Mister Berthier
bought him a taxi as he promised and Jean Paul became a member of a
radio-taxi company and finally started his new job.

The press had stopped bothering with him and Robert. Jean Paul when he
was driving round in his taxi in Paris never ceased to look around in
the secret hope that he might run into his Robert. But he was missing
physical intercourse more and more. Going around with his taxi he had
singled out the places where it was possible to find young hustlers. So
one night after he ended his shift he decided to look for one and to
take him home.

He stopped near a big boy that looked handsome and invited him to get in
and to go with him. He took him home. The boy was nothing special either
physically or in bed, but Jean Paul found it more agreeable than
masturbating alone. First the boy gave him a blowjob and then let Jean
Paul fuck him. Then Jean Paul paid him and took him back where he had
found him and went back home.

For a couple of weeks Jean Paul didn't search for company again but he
soon began to feel the need to have somebody in his bed again. But this
time he wanted to find somebody more agreeable and also to spend more
time with him even if he had to pay double.

For a few nights he slowly drove carefully looking at the hustlers that
were offering themselves in the various parts of Paris but without ever
stopping. There were also Arab and black boys and even some Oriental
boys. Jean Paul was not at all a racist but he didn't feel attracted by
any of them enough to stop.

Then one night he noticed a boy with a free and easy smile like an
urchin and felt attracted to him at once. He stopped the taxi and the
boy bent in at his window looking at him. Jean Paul thought he was
really handsome.

The boy asked him, "Are you looking for company?"

"Yes... How much do you charge?"

"For 300 francs I will do everything." the boy answered with a sly and
alluring smile.

"Everything... really everything? How old are you?"

"Twenty."

"You seem younger. Are you of age?"

"Do you want to check my ID papers?" the boy asked cheekily.

"No. For 600 francs would you stay all night with me?"

"Where: in a hotel or at your home?"

"At my place."

"Are you alone?"

"Yes."

"How old are you?"

"Almost twenty-two."

"Is the taxi yours?"

"Yes. I haven't paid for all of it yet but it's mine."

"Alright then I'll come." the boy said and got in sitting next to Jean
Paul.

He put it in gear and started. "Why did you say you would come with me
when I told you the taxi is mine? I don't see why ..."

"Spending the whole night with you at your place could be dangerous. But
if you own the taxi I don't think you will be a bastard. It would be
easy to find you afterwards."

"I don't have bad intentions. It's just that I like making love slowly
and without having to keep an eye on the clock. Do you understand?"

"But I warn you no sado-maso."

"Alright. What's your name?"

"Hervˇ."

"Have you been trade for long?"

"Three years."

"Do you have a job too?"

"No, I earn enough money hustling."

"And what you do all the day long?"

"I sleep and I study."

"Do you study? What?"

"At the Faculty of Literature."

"Literature? Do you want to be a teacher?"

"No, a writer. I want to become a famous gay writer."

"Interesting... I got just high school diploma... And how come that you
started to hustle?"

"My father found out I'm gay and threw me out of my home. I wanted to go
on studying and so... I can now pay my rent and for my studies and for
everything I need."

"You're a nice boy. I like you."

"I like you too." the boy answered with a smile.

They went to Jean Paul's apartment.

"May I offer you something?" Jean Paul asked taking off his mirror
glasses and the driver's cap.

The boy looked at him then exclaimed, "But you... you're Jean Paul
Godefroy!"

"Ah, you know me?"

"My god! IF I know you? I've your pictures all framed in my room! You're
my idol!"

"Ah! Those photos!" Jean Paul said a bit on edge.

"Are you bothered that I recognized you?"

"No... well a little. But I don't care."

"Well I can understand. The bastards have cut off your career! And now
you are reduced to be a taxi driver... it's a real pity. But with you...
I'll do it for free even! Goodness, fancy spending the whole night with
Jean Paul Godefroy! I would even pay you to get such a thing!"

Jean Paul couldn't help beginning to laugh, "Well then Hervˇ, may I
offer you a drink?"

"Yes please, something strong to recover from the emotion..." the boy
answered drawing near him, "but first of all... a kiss..."

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CONTINUES IN CHAPTER 9

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In my home page I've put some more of my stories. If someone wants to
read them, the URL is

http://andrejkoymasky.com

If you want to send me feed-back, or desire to help revising my English
translations, so that I can put on-line more of my  stories in English
please e-mail at

andrej@andrejkoymasky.com

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