Date: Wed, 12 Feb 2003 09:35:44 -0500
From: Jeff Allen <jeff_allen15@hotmail.com>
Subject: "Love of a Lifetime" Part 35

This is a fictional story dealing with love and consensual sexual
activities between males.  If you are not of legal age, reside in an area
where viewing such material is illegal, or are offended by homosexuality
and/or homosexual themes, leave this site now.

The author retains all rights to this story.  No reproductions or links to
other sites are allowed without the permission of the author.

Note: I owe a special thanks to Robb for doing the final proofreading and
catching all those silly little errors that I missed.

LOVE OF A LIFETIME


PART 35

     As soon as final exams were done in December, I pawned Larsen off on
the Williamses, and Justin and I drove my truck up to Chicago to help Andy
pack up his apartment.

     In just a couple of days we got rid of what little furniture Andy had
accumulated in the two years he'd been up there.  Some went to friends.
  Some to the Salvation Army.  We piled his clothes and other things into
our two trucks and headed back to North Carolina.

     We'd gotten a late start leaving Chicago, so we stopped in Lexington,
Kentucky, for the night.  We found a reasonably priced motel with a
Shoney's Restaurant next door.  After stuffing ourselves at the buffet we
went back to the motel room and found a basketball game on the TV.

     At half time Andy and I showered, pulled on clean briefs, and then lay
down on our bed to watch the rest of the game.  Justin being Justin emerged
from the bathroom after his shower and stretched out on his bed naked.

     The game went into overtime so it was late when we finally turned out
the lights.  Andy and I pulled off our briefs and got under the covers.

     I rolled over and started to give him a good night kiss when Justin's
body came crashing down on us.

     "Oh, no!  You guys are not going to play kissy face while I'm over
there in the other bed all alone!  I listened to you guys rocking the bed
against the wall for the last two nights, and it's not happening tonight."

     I batted him with the pillow.  "Man, you sure can spoil a mood."

     Andy laughed and hit him with the other pillow.  "You can say that
again.  Justin's just jealous that's all."

     "I'm not jealous.  I'm just totally grossed out by your wanton display
of unnatural lust."

     We both hit him with the pillows again.  We wrestled around on the bed
until all of us were out of breath from the exertion and laughing.  Our bed
was completely torn apart.

     Justin pulled himself out of the pile of naked bodies and moved over
to his bed.  "Man, look what you guys did to that bed.  I'm sure glad I
don't have to sleep in that mess tonight."

     Andy grabbed my arm and pulled me up.  "Who said we were sleeping
there tonight.  You helped mess it up, man.  The only decent thing for you
to do is share your bed."

     He climbed in the other bed with Justin and cuddled up to him.  I took
the hint and climbed in on the other side sandwiching Justin between us.

     Justin put an arm around each of us and pulled us in closer.  He gave
me a quick kiss on the forehead and then did the same to Andy.  "I love you
guys."

     Andy hugged Justin harder.  "We love you too.  Thanks for being such a
good friend."

                       **********

     I woke up first in the morning.  We were in the same basic positions
as last night.  Justin was asleep on his back between Andy and me.  His
arms were still around both of us.  Andy and I were on our sides facing
Justin with our heads tucked in under his arms.  My right arm was extended
across Justin's chest and touching Andy.  His arm was across Justin's chest
to me.

     I listened to their regular breathing.  What a lucky guy I was to be
with the two most important people in the whole world to me.

                      ***********

     Andy and I spent Christmas in Carterville.  It was quiet and intimate.
It snowed a little on Christmas Eve as we were getting ready to go to
church.  The snow continued on Christmas Day as we opened our presents and
enjoyed each other's company.  It was a great Christmas!

     Our quiet time together came to a screeching halt the day after
Christmas when the guys started arriving for the Third Annual Post
Christmas Ski Party.

     Justin and David arrived around noon on the 26th.  I hadn't seen David
since the summer, and I was looking forward to catching up with him.
Justin had told me that David was seeing a counselor about some personal
issues.  I knew what those issues were, and I wondered if he had come to
any conclusion about where he stood on the gay-bisexual-straight continuum,
but we never got the chance to really talk because there were so many guys
around all the time.  Brian wasn't going to be with us this year.  He had
left early that morning to fly to St.  Petersburg, Russia, to join Sergei
in his homeland before both of them returned to school in January.

     A little before dark Jamal's big Chevy Suburban pulled in carrying
Jamal, Mark, Doc, Matt, Dee McMillan, and Ron Kestler.  Doc and Matt had
been at the cabin before, but it was the first time for the other guys.
When Mike Hernandez and Stephen Nguyen arrived a little later, I pulled
Stephen aside to make sure he hadn't brought any marijuana with him.  State
Trooper McMillan had made it clear to me that he was on vacation, and he
would not be looking at I.D.'s to make sure everyone who was drinking was
over 21, but I felt certain he would not be able to overlook joints being
passed around the room.

     Larsen thought having the all the extra people around was a wonderful
idea.  He spent the entire evening moving from one person to another having
his ears scratched and his belly rubbed.

     We'd told everyone to bring sleeping bags, and that night we moved all
the furniture in the living room against the walls and spread the bags out
on the floor.  All of the couples zipped their bags together to make
doubles so they could sleep together.  Justin and David kept their bags as
singles.  Andy and I decided to eschew our bedroom and joined the rest of
the guys on the floor.  It was just like a huge pajama party, except none
of us were wearing any pajamas.

     We hit the ski slopes early the next morning and stayed until dark.
Everyone gave David a lot of good natured ribbing for managing to end the
day without a sprained ankle like last year.

     Jason and Cory arrived the next day while everyone was at the ski
slopes except Andy and me.  We got the new arrivals settled and then joined
the others at the slopes.  Once again we skied until almost dark, and once
again David managed to get through the day without a major mishap.

     The skiing remained ideal through out the rest of the week.  We spent
the days on the slopes and the evenings talking, laughing, and joking back
at the cabin.  By the end of the week, we were all tired from the skiing,
but we weren't tired of each other yet.  I thought that said a lot for the
friendships in the group.

                       **********

     The spring semester went by in a flash.  It was wonderful having Andy
back with me again.  His "part-time" job keeping the books for Jamal's
growing chain of sporting goods stores took more time than anticipated, but
Andy said it was still a breeze doing that job plus a full load of graduate
classes in comparison to what he'd been doing for the bank up in Chicago.

     Gary Williams was over in our apartment a lot.  Andy, Justin, Megan
and I all enjoyed having him there, but Larsen was the most pleased because
little Gary was always ready to play.  Since Gary was an early riser like
Andy and me, we started having him spend Friday and Saturday nights with us
which gave the other Williamses a chance to sleep late on the weekends
without Gary clunking around in the kitchen or watching cartoons in the
den.  He usually slept on Cory's old air mattress in our bedroom.  Of
course having Gary in the room with us sort of inhibited what Andy and I
could do in bed, but we liked having him over too much to complain.

     In early April the house next door to the Williams' went up for sale.
It was a Victorian similar to Kevin and Kathy's with three stories and a
wrap around porch.  Kevin and Kathy along with Doc and Matt formed a
corporation and bought the house.  Their idea was to divide the house up
into one apartment on each floor and then rent to selected students.  They
asked Andy and me if we wanted to help with the renovations during the
summer in exchange for a reduced rent on the ground floor apartment.  We
jumped at the chance.  It would be a lot more space for us with three
bedrooms, two full baths, and separate living room, dining room, and
kitchen.  The garage apartment was great, but it got kind of crowded when
Megan stayed over with Justin and little Gary was spending the night.

     Megan and Justin talked it over and decided to stay in the garage
apartment.  I don't think Megan's parents were too thrilled with the idea
of their daughter living with Justin, but the two of them had been spending
almost every night together for the last year anyway so it seemed to me it
was about time for them to try living together.

     Brian, Sergei, Stephen, and Mike secured the second floor apartment.
It was going to be similar to Andy's and mine with three bedrooms and two
bathrooms but lacking the separate dining room.  Cory and Jason put dibs on
the third floor apartment which was smaller yet with only two bedrooms and
a single bath with a combined kitchen-dining-living area.

                       **********

     As soon as final exams were over in May, we started the remodeling.
The house itself was in pretty good shape structurally, but we needed to
add kitchens to the two upper apartments, update the bathrooms, and provide
access to each apartment both from the inside and a fire escape on the back
side of the house.

     The outside needed painting also.  Andy took over that job since he
didn't mind working on tall ladders.  Doc, Matt, Kevin, and I were glad to
have him do that.  None of us were thrilled with heights.  We tackled the
inside.

     Since Justin and Megan were living at the Barnes' beach place for the
summer and working in Wilmington Andy and I had the garage apartment all to
ourselves.  Well, mostly all to ourselves.  Gary Williams started spending
weekend nights in Justin's room, and when the elementary school was out for
the summer, he spent most weekday nights with us as well.  It worked out
well.  Both Andy and I got up early, so Gary's habit of waking up at the
crack of dawn didn't cause any problems for us unlike the Williams
household where everyone except Gary wanted to sleep as late as possible.

     Little Gary tried to help us with the remodeling also.  Things
actually took longer to do with Gary's help, but we all realized that he
needed to learn how to do some of the jobs.  Heather and Allison, Gary's
older sisters, showed no interest in the activities going on next door to
them.

                       **********

     On June 20th Andy and I had just finished cleaning up after dinner.
The phone rang.  Andy picked it up.

     "Hello.....Yes, this is he.....Hello, Sir.  It's been a long time.
  How are you?.....No, I don't have any plans for the evening.....You're
here in town!.....Of course you can come over.  Do you need
directions?.....Okay.  Yes, fifteen minutes would be fine.....Yes, Sir.
I'll see you then."

     He hung up the phone and sat down at the kitchen table.

     "What was that all about?"

     Andy had a puzzled look on his face.  "That was my former
father-in-law, Tom Beach.  He's here in town, and he's coming over to talk
to me.  He wouldn't say what it was about.  I haven't talked to him since
Andrea and I divorced."

     "Do you want me to go over to Kevin and Kathy's while he's here?"

     He reached out and took my hand.  "No.  Why would I want you to do
that?"

     "Well, I might be kind of hard to explain to your former
father-in-law."

     "C.Z., you're my partner.  I love you.  I'm not going to ask you to go
hide over at Kevin and Kathy's."

     I knew Andy loved me, but my heart still jumped every time he told me.
This time was no exception.  I leaned down and kissed him.

     The apartment was in good shape since both of us are semi clean
freaks, but still we spent the next fifteen minutes straightening up before
the arrival of our visitor.

     Almost exactly fifteen minutes later there was a knock on the door.

     Andy answered and exchanged greetings with the older man standing at
the door.  Andy put his hand on the man's arm and drew him into the
apartment.  I guessed his age at about sixty.  He was about Andy's height
but very thin with the look of someone who had recently lost a lot of
weight.  He was almost bald with wisps of thin white hair along the side of
his head.  He moved slowly and somewhat unsteadily.

     "Tom, I'd like you to meet my partner, C.Z. Johnstone."

     "C.Z., this is Tom Beach."

     I extended my hand, and after a slight hesitation Mr. Beach took it.

     "Partner?  You mean...?"

     Andy guided him over to a chair.

     Once Mr. Beach was settled in the chair, Andy sat on the couch
opposite him.  "Tom, C.Z. and I are domestic partners, lovers, boyfriends,
or whatever you want to call it.  We've been in a committed relationship
for over four years now."

     "Andy, this is sort of a shock.  I didn't know you were gay."

     "Tom, I didn't realize I was gay either until after Andrea left and I
met C.Z."

     "This is still a shock.  I never would have suspected."  He paused.
"Can I have a glass of water please?"

     I quickly got some water with ice cubes.  The man did not look well,
and I was worried.  I handed him the water.  His hand shook a little as he
took the glass.

     "Thank you."

     At that moment Gary Williams burst into the apartment.

     "Hi, C.Z.  Hi, Andy.  Mom said not to plan anything for dinner
tomorrow 'cause Dad's gonna barbeque some chicken."

     He came over and gave me a hug and a peck on the cheek before he
noticed Mr. Beach.

     "Oh.  I didn't know you had someone here.  You want me to come back
later?"

     I gave Gary a hug.  "No, Tiger, it's okay.  This is Mr. Beach.  He
used to be Andy's father-in-law.  Mr. Beach, this is Gary Williams our
neighbor.  His parents are our landlords."

     Gary went over and shook Mr. Beach's hand.  "It's nice to meet you,
sir."  One thing about the Williams kids, they always knew when it was time
to use good manners.

     Mr. Beach smiled.  "It's nice to meet you, Gary.  You live right next
door?"

     Gary went over and gave Andy a hug as he answered.  "Yes, sir, only I
sleep over here most nights 'cause my mom and dad and sisters don't like to
get up early in the morning."  Gary settled down on the couch next to Andy,
and Larsen, who had been waiting patiently by the couch put his head on
Gary's lap for a two handed ear rub.

     There was a strange silence as Mr. Beach studied Gary, Larsen, and
Andy.  Finally he spoke, "Andy, what I have to say is going to come as a
shock to you.  I think it would be easier if it was just you and me."

     Andy scooted Gary off the couch.  "Gary, why don't you and Larsen go
outside for a couple of minutes?"

     "Ah, sure, Andy.  It was nice to meet you, Mr. Beach.  Come on,
Larsen.  Let's go play fetch."

     As soon as Gary and Larsen disappeared out the door, Andy turned to
Mr.  Beach and said, "Tom, what ever you have to say to me can be said with
C.Z.  here."

     I took a seat on the couch next to Andy but not touching him like I
would normally do.

     The old man studied us for a moment, sighed, and then began, "Andy,
there's no easy way to say this...Andrea's dead.  It happened nearly a year
ago.  She was on her way home from work and was hit by a drunk driver.
They told us she died instantly."

     Andy flinched.  "I'm sorry, Tom.  I didn't know."

     "There's no reason that you would know.  Andrea cut off all contact
with you when she left you to go to California for that damn job.  Jane and
I were upset with her for that, but you know how headstrong Andrea was.
She always did get her way in the end."

     "Believe me, I know."

     "What I have to tell you now is going to be an even bigger shock,
Andy.  When Andrea left you to go to California, she was pregnant."

     "What?"  Andy rose up from the couch.

     I grabbed Andy's hand and dragged him back to the couch.

     Mr. Beach waved his hands in front of his face in a strangely feeble
gesture.  "Andy, I'm sorry.  At first Andrea thought it was just nerves
from the new job and the separation from you.  She chose her career over
you, Andy, but in her own way she still loved you.

     "When Andrea realized that she was pregnant, it was too late to have
an abortion.  Jane and I tried to get her to contact you, but she was
adamant.  We moved out to San Francisco to help Andrea care for the baby
when he arrived."

     Andy's voice was almost a whisper.  "I'm a father?"


(To be continued)