Date: Wed, 25 Mar 2015 10:31:13 +0000
From: Alain Mahy <amahy1957@gmail.com>
Subject: Internet Connection 7

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Entering our apartment, we could see the housekeeper had done a wonderful
job as well.  We were very pleased.  Our cruise had been the best way to
re-charge our batteries and we were ready to face the daily work again.
Just before we shut our eyes that night, Richie thanked me again and said
he owed me one.  I was looking forward to what he would find to surprise
me!


*****

We were back at work again.  Jessica had done a marvelous job while we were
away and Richie gave her a bonus, something she appreciated immensely.
Jason had finished up the project I was on before our departure for the
cruise and I found an e-mail from the client thanking us profusely and
congratulating us with the great job.  I followed Richie's example and gave
a bonus to Jason.  He as well was very grateful.

Weeks and months flew by.  I was a bit scared that the routine would kick
in again, but it wasn't.  It was not necessary to go on a cruise every
month!  Richie surprised me with some evenings out, being it just to go to
a restaurant or going to a concert or a theatre performance.  There wasn't
a week that went by without one of us surprising the other with something.
We were happy and we liked to share our happiness with friends.  Stewart
and Troy were always on the top of our list.  Over the years we had learned
to know each other quite well and it wasn't difficult to find ways to
please them or them pleasing us.  When they invited us for weekend of
waterskiing we accepted gladly although neither of us had ever done it.  It
was a challenge as well for Richie as for me.  We were in good shape thanks
to our daily workout in the basement gym.

The day arrived and we picked Stewart and Troy up for the two-hour drive to
a cabin Troy had inherited from his parents when they died.  I punched the
location in the GPS of the car and we traveled pleasantly towards the cabin
and the lake.  As it was a bright summer day, the roof was down and we
enjoyed the warm feeling of the sun on our skins.  It had taken us less
than fifteen minutes to take off our T-shirts and let the sun tan our
chests and faces.  We had only forgotten that our seat belts would leave a
tan-line across our torsos.  When we reached the cabin and got out of the
car we were all four sporting a white line on our chests!  We laughed
heartedly when we discovered it.

The following day Troy did what he had to do to get the boat ready and to
get us prepared for our first water-skiing lesson.  When you see people
doing it, it all seems so easy and simple, but when you have to do it
yourself it is a total different matter.  Fortunately as well Troy as
Stewart were very patient with us and before the end of the day Richie and
I managed to stay on our skis at a decent speed.  Richie liked it but not
as much as I did.  The second day he learned to pilot the boat and that was
more to his liking than the actual skiing.  Troy showed him how he had to
speed up the boat the right way and Richie was actually very soon doing it
better than Troy himself.  He was that good at it that soon he could manage
the boat alone and Stewart, Troy and I were on our skis while Richie
increased the speed.  As we were skiing bear chested, the tan line of the
car seat belts quickly disappeared.  As usual I got redder than tanned, but
with the appropriate sun cream it was not too bad.  As it was just a
weekend, we were already preparing to drive back to the city, when Richie's
cell phone caught his attention.  He picked it up although it was an
unknown number to him.

While he was on the phone we continued packing our stuff and loading the
car.  When he was finished, he came to us and had a very strange look on
his face, as if he had just seen a ghost.  I asked him immediately what was
going on.

- You won't believe me, he said, it was the general hospital of Montreal.
They asked me if I knew Peter Summer.

- Who the hell is Peter Summer, I asked.

- Peter Summer is my father.  He left my mother when she was pregnant of me
and that's why I have my mother's surname.  It seems he is quite ill and
won't survive too long.  It seems he asked for me.

Richie had never talked about his father and I didn't want to be nosy, so I
never asked about him either.  We had weekly lunch with his Mum, but she
didn't talk about him either.  I had always guessed there was a story about
him, but being discreet, I never walked that path.

The first thing Richie did was calling his Mum.  They were in a serious
conversation while we waited by the car to start our drive back to town.
The joyful mood had clearly disappeared, as we understood it was a dilemma
for Richie.  Going to Montreal or not.  The turmoil he was in after talking
to his Mum was evident.  His Mum had never talked about his father in the
past.  The only information she had given him was that his father left when
she was pregnant.  She never volunteered to give more details about the
man, except that his name was Peter Summer, and Englishman.

It seemed the Englishman had stayed in Canada after leaving the woman he
had made pregnant.  Richie had never had the desire to know his real
father.  He had been brought up by his Mum and had had a very good
childhood.  His Mum had cared for him and seen to all his necessities.  She
had been wonderful all these years.  Now, on the phone, she had left him
the choice to go or not.  She said he was an adult and that he made his own
decisions since quite some years.  He didn't need her to tell him whether
to go to Montreal or not.  She didn't say yes or no.  She left it
completely up to him and didn't want to interfere.  Richie had silently
hoped she would be more categorical or giving him an advice.

During the two-hour drive back to the city, Richie didn't say a word.  I
knew him well enough to leave him alone when he was that deep in thoughts.
When he was ready he would speak and express his feelings and thoughts.

The nurse had not told him a lot.  She had just checked if he was indeed
the Richard she was looking for and then switched the call through to the
doctor, who was an oncologist.  Richie had not to ask what was going on
with his father when he heard the doctor was specialized in cancer.  The
doctor had just told him that his father had not a long time left and had
asked to see him.

We reached the apartment after dropping off Stewart and Troy.  I promised
them to keep them updated.  Richie let himself fall into the chair and
looked devastated.  I could understand his confusion.  After all, his
father was a total stranger to him.  He hadn't even seen him once in his
entire life.  He couldn't think of one reason why his father, who was about
to leave this world, wanted to see him now.  I served us two strong drinks
and handed one to Richie.  He emptied half the glass in one gulp.  He
cleared his throat and started to express what was going on in his head and
in his heart.  He wasn't afraid to tell he was confused and didn't know
what to do.  He feared that if he didn't go to Montreal he would regret it
the rest of his life.  On the other hand he wondered why he should go and
see a man he didn't even know.

I looked at my watch and saw it was two pm.  If we left right now we would
be there around seven and, depending on the events, being back around
midnight, one o'clock at the latest.  I guessed there wouldn't be a lot to
say, as they were both strangers to each other.  I felt Richie wanted to go
although he was not sure of the out-come.  I used my strongest voice and
said to Richie to gather his things.  We were going.  In less than five
minutes we were in his car, but I did the driving.  I didn't want him to
have to drive when his mind was not on it at all.

The five-hour drive was uneventful.  I followed the instructions of the GPS
and we reached the general hospital without the slightest problem.  Once
the car was parked I asked Richie if he wanted to go alone, but he insisted
I go with him.  We followed the signs and reached the floor where his
father was supposed to be.  We got to the nurse station and showed our ID's
to prove whom we were.  She indicated the door of his father's room and
said she would warn the doctor of our arrival.  Standing in front of that
closed door, Richie hesitated for a moment.  I put my finger under his chin
and made him look at me.  I told him everything was going to be all right
and gave him a little kiss on his lips.

He knocked on the door and went in without waiting for an answer.

There was only one bed in the room.  The man lying in the bed was his
father; there was not a single doubt about it.  They actually looked alike
except that his father had a very tired expression on his face.  But the
form of the head, the eyes, the nose, everything was so alike.  They had
the same eyes but the sparkle in Richie's eyes was absent in his father's.
It was understandable as the doctors said he would not live long anymore.
Next to the bed stood another man, about the same age, holding his father's
hand.  That man looked devastated but showed a smile nonetheless.  It was
that man who spoke first.

- You must be Richard.  There is no doubt about that.  Your father has been
waiting for you.  I'll leave you alone for a few minutes.

And then he walked out.

Richie approached the bed and looked at that stranger who said he was his
father, but he had no doubt about it as he could almost see himself in the
mirror but in an older version.  The monitor next to the bed beeped slowly.
When Richie touched his father's hand, as he didn't know what else to do,
his father opened his eyes and weakly smiled at him.

- At last, he said.

And he closed his eyes again.  He squeezed Richie's hand and we could hear
the beep of the monitor slow down even more, till we looked at the screen
and there was only a flat line and a continuous beep.  The grip on his
son's hand went completely away.  His father was gone.

A nurse came in almost immediately, checked a few things and then, switched
of the monitor.  The sudden silent was deafening.  She looked at her watch
and made a few notes on a chart.  The man who had been holding Richie's
father's hand came back in and presented his condolences.

The doctor came in and shook our hands.

- I am glad for him that it is all over.  He was in a lot of pain and
suffered far more than any human being should.  He is in peace now.

The doctor left the room.  The other man came over.  He was crying.
Despite of his tears he tried to have the best composure possible.

- Peter was waiting for you.  He has talked about you so many times, but he
was too stubborn to contact you.  He has followed your life during all
these years, but didn't want to disturb your life.  He was so proud of you
when you graduated law school.  I told him to let you know how proud he
was, but he refused.  But I forget my good manners.  Let me introduce
myself: I am Mark, Mark Tudor.  I was your father's life partner.  We've
been together over twenty years.

Richie was flabbergasted with that small amount of news.  First, he met his
father who died the minute he met him.  Then he learned his father had been
following his life and on top of that he received the news his father was
gay.  Quite a lot of news in a few minutes time.

Mark went into his inside pocket and got an envelope out of it.  He handed
it to Richie.

- Your father wrote you a letter not later than last week.  It is my
handwriting as he was to weak to write it himself, but I can assure you I
wrote the words he told me.  He said that f you came you had to receive it
the day he died.  There is a second one, which is addressed to your mother.

And he handed Richie a second letter.

- Are you driving back to Toronto tonight?  Or would you prefer to stay at
our house till the funeral?  You are most welcome to stay.  After the
funeral there will the reading of his will.  I don't know what it contains
as he made his will several months ago and deposited at the notary, but he
mentioned that you were included.

I looked at Richie to know if he wanted to stay or not, but his eyes were
pleading to take him away from that hospital bed first.  He just kissed his
father's forehead and we left the room.  He put the letter for his mother
in his pocket but kept his in his hands, holding on to it as if it was the
most precious thing he owned in his life.

We exchanged phone numbers with Mark and told him we would be back for the
funeral.  We thanked him for the invitation to stay at their place, but we
preferred to go back to Toronto immediately.  We would sure want to see the
place he had lived for over twenty years with Mark, but it would have to
wait for another time.  Richie's emotions were already confused enough for
the moment.

The whole way back to Toronto, Richie held on to the letter.  I knew he
wanted to read it right then, but he was also a little apprehensive about
the contents.  I didn't pressure him.  He would need his time to open that
envelope and read what was inside.

It was only when we were back home that he sat in front of the fireplace
and opened the envelope.


Dear Richard,

I don't know how to start this, except by saying I am sorry.  Sorry for
abandoning you even before you were born.  As you read this letter it means
you have met Mark.  He has been the love of my life and has supported me
all these years.  He always insisted that I meet you, even before I got
sick.  I was too stubborn to accept he was right and I missed you all my
life.

When your mother announced that she was pregnant, I was scared.  Scared to
death, as I knew I was gay and couldn't see myself in the married life.  I
would have made your mother unhappy and automatically you would have been
unhappy, too.  But that is not an excuse.  It is just an explanation.  I
was a coward and left.  Once again, sorry for that!

Despite my leaving, I followed your life very closely.  More than once I
was looking at you while you played at school.  More than once I followed
you when you were going out with friends.  I was even hidden away, but
present, at your graduation at law school.  You can't imagine how proud I
was of you, and still am.  I can only blame myself for all the mistakes I
made.  I can't even ask for your forgiveness as leaving you was totally
unforgivable.  I only hope you will not hold it all against me.

When I discovered you were gay, I selfishly thought you had at least one of
my genes.  I was a bit worried though, as you didn't seem to find the
person to share your life with, till the arrival of Fred.  Yes, I know
about him, too.  I peeked in at your wedding and saw you dance with him.  I
would have loved to be there and be able to dance with you as well.  That
is probably another of my genes you have.  Ask Mark.  He will confirm it to
you.

The show you gave on the cruise was fabulous.  You probably wonder how I
know about that.  It's easy: Mark is the captain's son.  You can't believe
how much the captain admired you and appreciated you.  He is really looking
forward to have you on one of his cruises again.

But now, my son, I am gone.  The illness took all of my strength away.  I
just hope I will see you before I give my last breath.  Once again, sorry
for my mistakes.

Be happy with Fred.  If you need anything at all, contact Mark.  He's the
best man someone can have in his life.

I love you,

Dad.


When Richie had read the letter three of four times, the tears were flowing
freely.  He received a letter from someone he had never met in his life and
despite of that, his heart was hurting and bleeding.  He started to blame
himself for not trying to find and contact his Dad.  Why on earth had he
never tried to know who his father was?  Why had he not felt the interest
of finding him?  He had lived at only five hundred miles all these years.
They could have been more than father and son.  They could have been
friends.  But now it was too late.  The only thing he could do to learn a
bit more about his father was to stay in contact with Mark and make him
talk about him.

The following days Richie was not himself.  The grieve he felt was getting
to him.  He met with his Mum and gave her the letter that was addressed to
her.  Impulsively, she tried to tear it to pieces without even reading it,
but he convinced her no to do so.  He told her about the letter he had
received and urged her to read hers as well.  It was a message from the
beyond as Peter was dead now.  She agreed and tried to keep indifferent to
what was written on the white paper.  Richie had read his letter and if the
letter his mother was holding in her hands was in the same style of his,
she would not be indifferent a very long time.  Indeed, after what seemed
only a few seconds, or a few sentences, her eyes got moist.  Before she
ended reading, the tears were flowing just as freely as Richie's had.  When
she finished reading, she carefully folded the letter and put it in her
purse

- I am sorry Richie. I have not been what you could expect of me.  I should
have given you more information and insisted you met him.  He was a good
man, but just like him I was too stubborn to admit that I, as well, had
made a mistake.  I knew he was gay before I went to bed with him.  I hoped
I could change him, but that was asking too much.  I was angry with him
when he left and, in fact, I should have been angry with myself.  I am so
sorry Richie.

Mother and son fell into each other's arms.  They hugged and cried.  If
Peter had been there they would have been three people hugging and crying.

The funeral was a simple and humble ceremony, although the place was packed
with people.  It seemed Peter had a lot of friends.  After the cremation,
Mark invited us to their house.  It was a beautiful house filled with art
and music instruments.  It seemed Peter was a very good musician and had
even written a complete musical about two gays in love.  It had never been
performed.  While we were having coffee in the living room, Mark brought in
a box saying it was Richie's.

- Here you have all the pictures Peter took of you, the letters he wrote to
you but never sent.  You will also find all the birthday cards and
Christmas greetings he never sent.  There are also some gifts he bought for
you, but never gave to you.  He made me promise you would get it all.

Richie looked at the box and just like the letter he had received, he
couldn't open it immediately.  He knew he would be confronted with things
of the past that related him to his father he had never known, not even
talked to.  He said he would look at it later, when he was ready for it.
He immediately took it to the car and put it in the boot.  Mark announced
we had to be at the notary an hour later, but due to traffic we'd better
get on our way.  We all got into what was Peter's car and Mark drove us to
the notary's office.

We were introduced and sat down in front of a large wooden desk covered
with files and papers.  The reading of the will was simple and quite clear.
Mark inherited the house and all it's belongings as well as the cars and
their joined bank account.  Richie's Mum received a nice amount of money as
an "apology" for having to face all the burdens of life by herself.  Richie
inherited Peter's company and I was to be to co-owner of that as well.
Mark was happy with the settlement as well as Richie's Mum.  The only ones
who didn't really know the extend of what they got, were Richie and I as we
had no idea what his father's business was.  We were asked to sign a bunch
of papers and after Richie, as a good lawyer, had checked out everything he
nodded as if to say it was all right to sign.

We had not been in more than an hour.  When we came out we asked Mark to
give us at least some information about Peter's business.  He sighed.

- Your father's business is one of the biggest distribution companies of
this country.  Our direct competitors are UPS and DHL.  There are about
twenty-five thousand employees all over the world.  The fleet of trucks is
enormous.  There are several planes and even some boats that operate from
the main office.  The company is worth over two billion dollars.  I made it
clear to Peter I had absolutely no intention of running it as I have not
the skills he had.  He said you, Richard, would have the knowledge to do so
and if you were not interested, the competition would be more than glad to
buy it so they could expand.  It will be up to you two to decide, as you
are now official co-owners.

Richie's color in his face disappeared completely and he was as white as a
ghost.  I was probably as pale as he was.  Although we had worked with very
rich people, two billion seemed too much for us to assimilate.  Neither
Richie nor I had the skills or the knowledge to run such a huge company.
We would have to think very seriously about it all.  For my part, I would
gladly sell it to the highest offer of the competitors, but I had to wait
to see what Richie thought about it.  We decided to go back home and let it
all rest for a while.

On the way back to Toronto, we were all three quite in the car.  We were
deep in thoughts.  I knew Richie was quite pragmatic and would soon come up
with what he thought was the best solution.  I would, of course, support
him in whatever decision he made, but knew straight away I would not want
to be one of the CEO's of the company.  I was happy with what I was doing
as a job.  I am a very good graphic designer but probably would suck as a
CEO.

The following day Richie contacted the person Mark had said was the person
in charge since Peter's illness, Mr. Levi.  He had a long talk over the
phone with Mr. Levi who seemed to know exactly what to do in that company.
Richie told me everything that had been said over the phone and that as co-
owners we had to back to Montreal to meet the board of directors.

- There are actually only two possibilities for us Fred: or we sell the
company or we keep it and leave Mr. Levi as CEO.  I don't want to run that
company myself and I doubt very much you want to do it either.

- You're right, I said, I am not interested and have not the capability of
running it.

- Ok, we reached a first common point on that one.  So, what do you think
about the possibilities I pointed out?

- I think that we could approach Mr. Levi and ask if he is personally
interested in buying the company as he runs it now for almost a year and a
half.  If he is, I guess we would have to work a financial plan as I doubt
he can come up with two billions just like that.  If he isn't interested,
or can't afford it, we can approach the two or three biggest competitors
and see with what kind of offer they come to us.  Keeping the company and
leave it in the good hands of Mr. Levi is not a bad idea, but I don't think
it is the best, as we would continually worry about how things are going.

- Let me call him on his private line and see what his reaction is.

Less than five minutes later, Richie came back and told me Mr. Levi's
opinion.

- He would, of course, prefer us to keep the company and let him run it.
He said immediately that he had not the necessary funds to buy it on his
own, but could probably find the necessary investors to do so.  He wants us
to wait another week before making any decision in that sense.  He also
mentioned that there were already contacts made by two competitors who just
wanted to know what the future of the company holds in.  He said he made an
appointment with both of them, but would postpone them till after the final
decision we take.

That week seemed to never end.  We drove once again to Montreal and stayed
at Mark's house.  We exposed the situation to him and he agreed that
Mr. Levi was certainly the person in the best position to help us out.  He
offered to go with us to meet that gentleman and help with the
negotiations.  We gladly accepted his generous offer.

Before we met the board of directors we had a meeting with Mr. Levi.  He
was a man of about sixty years of age but in an incredible good shape and
very energetic.  We could easily understand why Peter had put his trust in
him.  We were soon on first name basis as he asked us to call him Jonathan.

- I won't go around the bush, he said.  I can't come up with two billion
dollars just like that.  I have found a few investors, but even with their
help we don't reach the necessary funds to buy it over from you guys.  But,
as I guess, you will want to invest part of the money with the sale of this
company, I would suggest you think about this: what would you think about
being shareholders of this company?  I can come up with seventy-five
percent of the money.  You would keep twenty-five percent of it and, if you
want, you can be silent partners.  Every year you would receive twenty-five
percent of the benefits the company makes.  I would understand if you
prefer to sell it completely and then we would have to see the offers of
the competitors.  However, there is a chance they won't offer the two
billion.  They will probably offer less.  All depends on you.

Richie and I looked at each other and without even having to say a word we
agreed on Jonathan's offer to invest twenty-five percent and sell the other
seventy-five percent to Jonathan.  We didn't have to think about it.  We
knew from all the figures we had received that the company was making good
money and that each year the benefits were higher and higher.

We went into the boardroom and faced the important people of the company.
Up till now there was only one owner.  Today we were two but it was already
decided that Jonathan would become the new owner together with his
financial partners, us included.  When the directors heard the decision
that had been made, they applauded it with enthusiasm.  It would take
several weeks and even month to have all the papers ready and signed, but
the board elected with unanimity the presidency of Jonathan at the head of
the company.  It was most likely the shortest board meeting they had ever
had.

Two months later we were once again in Montreal.  Richie had had quite a
lot of work to come up with the perfect contract, but he had.  The
boardroom was this time filled with Jonathan and us, but also the financial
partners of Jonathan.  The signature of the contract was over within five
minutes after its reading.  The very next day, Richie's and my bank account
s had increased with each seven hundred and fifty million dollars and we
still each owned shares of the company for each hundred and twenty five
million dollars.  We could clearly state we were financially secured.

It was a very strange sensation to have all that money.  We had never to
complain in the past as we both had good incomes with our jobs, but this
was different.  From one day to the other we could live without doing
anything if it pleased us.  We could travel the world without being
concerned of the work that was pending.  All this, thanks to a man we had
never known.


No sex in this chapter, but the installment for the futureÉ
All comments welcome on    amahy1957@gmail.com