Date: Wed, 13 Oct 2004 12:02:40 -0700
From: Mike <thornado5@netscape.net>
Subject: A Thousand Rainbows 18

Welcome back. The Beckers are now settling in for a few days of R&R with
Brian, Bjorn and the boys. A little time to catch up on the events of each
other's lives, and the boys to get to know each other a little better.

This story deals with adult themes, primarily same-gender sexual
relations. Such relations have their basis in love and commitment, rather
than sex for the sake of sex alone. In some cases they will use protection;
at other times they will not. You and I should always use protection
because we do not live in the world of fiction.

If you are offended the idea of homosexuality or if you are under the age
of consent or if you reside in an area where such things are considered
illegal or immoral, then you should seek entertainment elsewhere.

Comments may be directed to the author at thornado5@netscape.net

This story is copyright 2004 by Mike Williams. All rights reserved. Thou
shalt not steal.

-0-


A Thousand Rainbows
by Mike Williams

- 18 -

That evening's dinner would be a simple chicken stir-fry with curried rice
on the side, a favorite in the Connor-Larkin household. Brian and Bjorn
looked up from slicing vegetables as Will and Sarah emerged from the guest
bedroom off the kitchen.

"Have a nice nap?" Brian asked.

Sarah smiled and looked wistfully out the backdoor into the gathering
dusk. "After living in San Diego for so long, I had completely forgotten
how peaceful it is here." She turned back to the men. "Even when we had
that crazy house in town and with all the hassles of school, Bridgewater
always felt like ... I don't know ... home."

"This," Will butted in, "from an army brat. I'm the one who was born and
raised here." Sarah Sterling-Becker was the daughter of a career army
officer and had seen more of the world before graduating high school than
most people would see in a lifetime.

"So, anything we can do to help?" Sarah asked. "We're ready and able to
lend our talents."

Brian and Bjorn smiled and looked up from their work. "Well, since you are
family, " Brian winked at his partner, "there's flowerbeds to be weeded,
laundry to be washed and ironed and folded ..."

Bjorn took up the joke. "... Pots and pans to be scrubbed, torn jeans to be
mended ..."

Brian continued with a serious look on his face. "... Cows to be milked,
chickens to be fed ..."

Will turned to his wife. "I told you this would happen. Just as soon as we
get settled, and these two would have us working our fingers to the
bone. You might as well get started on the pots and pans; I'll be out in
the henhouse." He made a move toward the backdoor, then paused and looked
at Brian and Bjorn with a look of skepticism. "Wait a minute. You don't
have a henhouse."

Brian and Bjorn began quietly making clucking sounds and were soon engaged
in what sounded like a full-fledged barnyard brawl, much to the amusement
of their guests.

With tears of laughter in her eyes, Sarah said, "Well, at least we can set
the table for dinner. Now, will we be seated in the formal dining room? Or
does this family do the `guy' thing and have dinner in front of the TV?"

The two gay men looked at each other and burst out laughing.

"We'll be in the formal dining room, of course," Bjorn said. "Formal attire
is usually required, but I'll have a word with the maitre'd."

Sarah switched to her "take charge" mode. "OK, plates?"

Brian pointed to the cupboards. "Second cupboard from the left, bottom
shelf, green and white pattern. Simple, but elegant for the occasion."

Will followed his wife through the kitchen. "Silverware?"

Bjorn pointed to the area of the kitchen sink. "Top drawer next to the
sink. Chopsticks are in there too."

Will's face fell as Sarah got a case of the giggles. Brian and Bjorn gave
each other questioning looks before turning their attention back to the
kitchen.

"I think," Sarah mused, "there are a some people among us who would do
better with a good old knife and fork. What do you think, Will?"

"Rub it in, Sarah," Will said, gathering up the silverware. He turned to
his hosts, each of whom wore a grin. "OK, here goes: Last week we met with
some prospective clients; they own a chain of Asian restaurants in Southern
California. And they invited us to dinner at one of their places. Well, I
have never mastered the art of eating my food with twigs."

Brian and Bjorn snickered at the thought of Will trying to eat with
chopsticks.

"Long story short," Will continued, "most of General Tso's chicken ended up
in my lap ... or on the floor ... on my tie ... on my new shoes." He closed
he eyes as he related the experience.

Brian and Bjorn each let out a guffaw, but Sarah butted in. "Oh, but it
gets worse."

"You mean there's more?" Bjorn asked, still trying to control his laughter.

Will hung his head, then looked up. "Two days later in the middle of a
meeting with another prospective client ... an insurance company ... I
discovered that one of those little chicken things had landed in my jacket
pocket. I was horrified. The client had a look of shock on his face. His
secretary laughed so hard she had to leave the room."

By this time everyone in the kitchen was laughing.

"So did they sign with you?" Brian asked.

"They both signed long-term contracts with us," Sarah tried her best to
reply.

Bjorn was the first to recover. "So you still came out smelling like a
rose."

"Not exactly," Will replied. "The Asian restaurant made me promise that I
would never even attempt to use chopsticks again as long as I live."

"Believe it or not," Sarah started laughing again. "They even had that
written into the contract."

A new round of laughter filled the kitchen.

-0-

In the guest bedroom at the top of the spiral staircase Todd had set up his
laptop computer to keep up with his own studies. He was having trouble
concentrating on the math lesson on the screen in front of him.

In the next room Jason and Josh were just completing the words to "A
Thousand Rainbows", as their music professor had instructed them. With
headphones in place they listened to their composition and mouthed the
words, stopping to make small changes as needed. They looked up to see Todd
standing in the door. They removed the headphones and invited him into the
room.

"C'mon in, bro," Jason said.

"Yeah," Josh added. "You're just in time for the debut of our masterpiece."

"What are you guys doing?" Todd asked as he entered the room.

"Writing a song," Jason replied.

Todd was curious. "What kinda song?"

"Well, it started out as just a thing for an orchestra," Josh
explained. "But our music professor is making us write some words to go
with it."

"We think he's in cahoots with our English teacher," Jason
explained. "Anyway, we just finished the words."

"Can I hear it?" Todd asked, hoping for a country song.

"Sure," Josh replied, as he unplugged the headphones from the
speakers. "It's just the music because we haven't recorded the words yet."

"It's called `A Thousand Rainbows.' And you can read the words and just try
to imagine how it all comes together," Jason said, and he handed the paper
to Todd.

Todd took a seat on the bench between the twins. Turning the volume down
low, Josh started the playback. The small speakers on either side of the
computer came to life with the sound of a grand piano and a string
section. After about twenty seconds, Jason pointed to where the words would
come in. Pretty soon they were mouthing the words to the tune and then
softly singing. When Todd unconsciously began singing harmony, Jason and
Josh looked at him then at each other with surprise, but Todd's eyes were
firmly fixed on the words. As the last verse neared its end, Jason held up
his hand where the singers would hold the note before the finale.

When the song ended, there was a brief moment of silence.

"Wow," Todd quietly exclaimed. "That's pretty good. How long have you guys
been working on this?"

"We started writing the music in August before school started," Josh
answered.

"It's a project for our music class," Jason explained. "By April we'll have
another eight or nine songs ready for a CD."

Todd was impressed. "And you're doing all the writing on a computer? That's
incredible. I wish I knew more about music. I'd like to write a country
song."

Jason glanced at his brother, then back to Todd. "Maybe you already know
more than you think you do."

Todd turned to face Jason. "How do you mean?"

Josh was ready with the answer. "How did you know?"

Todd was forced to turn around to face his other half-brother. "How did I
know what?"

Jason had the other end of the question, forcing Todd to turn back
again. "The harmony."

"What about it?" Todd asked, then laughed. "Can we stop all this
back-and-forth turning- around bullshit? I'm gonna have a stiff neck by
suppertime."

In one swift motion the twins rose and lifted their half-brother off the
bench by his shoulders and deposited him on the bed, then resumed their own
seats on the bench in front of the computer desk, facing Todd. Todd fell
backward, but quickly rose, laughing. "Where did you guys learn that
trick?"

"All part of the friendly service here at the Connor-Larkin Hotel and
Flophouse," Josh explained with a big grin.

Todd resigned himself to his fate. "They say two heads are better than one,
so I guess I don't stand a chance against you guys. Okay, so what was
... damn, I forgot what I was talking about."

"The music," Jason reminded him.

"The harmony," Josh added.

"You've never heard that song before ..." Jason said.

"... Never seen the words ..." Josh said.

"... But you knew right where the harmony was supposed to come in and where
we wanted it to go," Jason explained.

By this time Todd was only slightly dizzy trying to follow the
conversation. "I ... I don't know. I just did what seemed ... uh
... natural ... like that's how it had been written. Did I do something
wrong?"

Jason and Josh turned to each other and smiled, sharing a silent
communication. Nodding in agreement, they turned back to their adopted
half-brother.

Todd was becoming frustrated. "Well, are you guys gonna say something or
what?"

"It was perfect, Todd," Josh assured him. "Absolutely perfect."

"All we gotta do now is get the whole thing recorded," Jason said.

"Are you talking about making a record?" Todd asked anxiously.

"That's what we're talking about," Josh answered. "And we want you to be
part of it."

"Me?" Todd asked in surprise. "Country music is all I know."

"That's OK," Jason said. "It'll sound a bit more laid back. Now, I don't
listen to much country music, but I'll bet there are a lot of country
singers who have orchestras back them up. It's not all fiddles and steel
guitars anymore, is it?"

Todd thought about it for a moment, then smiled. "Yeah, that sounds like
fun. When do you want to do this?"

Just then there was a yell from the downstairs. "Yo, dinner's on!"

"Let's shoot for this weekend," Jason suggested. "We'll have time to
practice one or two more times, and maybe we can lay down two or three
tracks."

"Sounds like a plan," Todd said as he rose from the bed. "Let's go see what
they're serving for dinner in this flophouse tonight. Race ya downstairs."

And he was gone with the twins right on his heels.

-0-

to be continued in Chapter 19