Date: Thu, 07 Sep 2000 17:31:17 -0500
From: fsw99 <fsw99@pop.mindspring.com>
Subject: Chapter 24 of One Big Happy Family

Legal Notice: The following story contains descriptions of graphic sexual
acts. The story is a work of fiction and has no basis in reality.

Don't read this story if: **You're not 18 or over,

**If it is illegal to read this type of material where you live,

**Or if you don't want to read about gay/bi people in love or having sex.

The author retains copyright to this story. Placing this story on a website
or reproducing this story for distribution without the author's permission
is a violation of that copyright. Legal action will be taken against
violators.

If you have enjoyed reading this story, you will find other stories by me
in Young Friends ("Matt and Mike" 3/24/00 and "New Neighbor" 12/17/99),
Incest ("My New Life" 12/18/99) and Adult Youth ("Sam Finds a New Father"
12/16/99 and "Billy and Jim" 12/13/99).

E-mail responses to the stories, story suggestions or other 'constructive'
comments or advice may be sent to me at fsw99@mindspring.com.

			    Chapter Twenty Four

After we all had eaten breakfast, Phill said he needed to go home for a
little while and check on the `rents. Since he had spent the last two
nights at my house. OK, OUR HOUSE. I thought it would be a good time to go
over and meet them. So, our whole gang walked over next door and Phill let
us in.

"Dad. Mum. We have visitors. Are you decent?" Phill called out.

"Phill, you know better than to come into the house, yelling like that,"
Phill's Mom said. "And in front of company, too. What am I going to do with
you?" she scolded. "And what happened to your eye? Have you been fighting
with your new friends already?"

"Being around all of us these last three days must have rubbed off on him,
Mam. Hi, my name is Stan Miller. These are my brand new foster sons, Ed and
Paul. I think you already know Robbie, and this is Isaiah. Welcome to the
neighborhood," I said quickly, hoping to change the subject.  "And, no,
Phill hasn't been fighting with any of us. It is a long story, and I will
be glad to explain." Yeah, right. Happy wasn't the word for it, but I knew
I had to.

"Nice to meet you. I am June Palmer," she said, shaking my hand. "Phill, go
and fetch your father and brothers. They are in the kitchen."

Phill did as he was told, and they all quickly returned. Tim and Tom were
making fun of Phill's eye that was growing darker by the minute. Phill's
Dad almost seemed proud of him for it. We made all the introductions again,
and then the boys disappeared into their respective bedrooms while I sat
and chatted with Brad and June.

"Come on, guys. My stereo is set up, and I want to play some songs by The
Police for you. You just can't hate them. I still can't believe it. They
are a great band," Phill said, as he lead the way.

"Uh, Tim and Tom, why don't you show me your bedroom while Phill plays his
songs, OK?" Paul said, looking at me, clearly dreading listening to the
awful music. "Well, he did do that diplomatically, didn't he? Maybe, he is
learning," I thought to myself.

Robbie, Ed, and Isaiah all looked back at me too, with disgusted looks on
their faces. They would listen, because they didn't want to hurt Phill's
feelings, but they clearly looked like they were not about to change their
minds. (Give up, Phill!! They really do SUCK!!! - hehehe)

As expected, both of Phill's parents had a million questions for me. Why
did Robbie live with me half the time? Why did my wife and I get a divorce?
Why was I single and becoming a foster parent? What did I do for a living?
Was I dating anyone? What had happened to my hand?

I just took big breath after big breath and answered each question as much
as I could. I told them a lot. I told them how Robbie came to be living
with me. I told them about the beatings Ed and Paul had received, and why I
decided to become a foster father. I told them about the band. I told them
about the fight. I didn't tell them anything about me having sex with
Robbie, about the rapes, about the blackmail attempt of Social Services,
about all the boys being gay or that Phill and Robbie had already fallen in
love with each other. What? You think I am crazy?

Phill's Dad seemed to be more interested in the fight than anything
else. He looked especially happy when I told him that Phill had only
entered the fight when there were two boys against Paul. He also smiled
when I told him that Phill had bloodied the other boy's nose. He also
smiled at me when I told them that I had lost my temper, even though I had
made the boys promise that they wouldn't lose their's, and had broken my
hand against Mr. Wilson's jaw. Maybe we would end up being friends.

We were just about finished talking, when the boys came back in and said
they wanted to go back to my house and practice. I took that as an excuse
to leave, also.

"Hey, can we go and listen?" Tom asked.

"No, we already have one son who is making an imposition of himself over
there. Phill, you must spend the night here tonight. You haven't even slept
in your bed since we moved here," Phill's Mom said sternly.

"Come on, Mum. Robbie and I are having to work out all the dual lead guitar
parts we are going to play together. He can't play right now, but he can
help me catch up with the rest of the band," Phill pleaded.

"No, you must spend some of your time here, you know," she said. "I thought
you had to make that important phone call to Keith when the phone was
installed. It is working, you know. You just haven't been around here
enough to notice."

"Phill, my Mom isn't working tonight, and I have to go home anyway. I can
come over in the morning, and we can continue then, OK?" Robbie asked.

"I had better go home tonight, too, "Isaiah said. "I am sure I can come
back either Friday or Saturday night, though."

"If my Mom has a date, I will be back Friday night, too," Robbie said.

"I am sure Stan won't mind a couple of nights without a full house,
anyway," Phill's Mom said.

"It doesn't matter to me, really," I said. "I was by myself for so long,
it's kind of fun now."

"Well, can we at least practice until dinner?" Phill asked dejectedly.

"That is fine with me. Dinner is at seven. Make sure you are back in plenty
of time," his Mom said.

"Mom, please let us go, too. We won't get in the way. All we want to do is
listen," Tim begged.

June just looked up at me. "I don't care. We have plenty of room in the
basement," I said.

"Great! Thanks, Stan," Tom said quickly, not waiting for his Mom to agree.

She just shrugged her shoulders and said, "Stan, you really must enjoy
punishment. All right, make sure all three of you are back in time for
dinner. And Phill, you must make the phone call to Keith tonight like you
promised."

"Fine, Mum," Phill said, as he quickly walked out of the house, followed by
the rest of us.

Practice went really well the rest of the day. Looking back, maybe Robbie
hurting his wrist and not being able to play for a while was the best thing
that could have happened to the band at that time. It made Phill play all
the guitar parts, and he learned them lots faster that way.

Tim and Tom did anything that anyone asked them to do, and were very
helpful at times in playing the two CD's whenever Robbie needed to listen
to a song again before attempting to play it. They both volunteered to act
as stage crew and help set up the instruments whenever the band would play
anywhere else. Everyone liked their attitude, and they were quickly
accepted as part of the band.

Everyone thought now that Ed and Paul would be living with me full time,
all of their troubles were over. They had all the members of the band they
thought they needed, they were starting to sound really good, and were
looking forward to playing their first concert soon.

Things have a way of not always working out according to plans,
though. While Ed and Paul's life had taken a turn for the better, there
would be trouble ahead for everyone else in the band.

                                                ****************************

"Phill, you still haven't made your phone call to Keith. You seemed to
really think a lot of him, and now you almost seem reluctant to call him,"
Phill's Mom said.

"Ok, Mum, I will do it immediately," Phill said, going to his room where he
could keep the conversation private. What he really meant was "Get off my
back!" He got out the phone number Keith had given him in London, and
dialed the number.

"Ericson residence." the woman's voice on the other end said.

"Yes, this is Phill Palmer. I am a friend of Keith's, and he asked me to
ring him when our new phone was installed," Phill said.

"Oh yes, Mr. Palmer. Keith has been calling several times a day. He is very
anxious to talk to you.  Could you tell me your number, please?" she
answered. Phill did as he was told, and she said, "Thank you, Mr. Palmer. I
will make sure that Keith has it immediately. Thanks for calling."

                                                ***************************

When I dropped Isaiah off in front of his house, we all stopped and stared
at the middle of his yard. Their was a for sale sign stuck in the middle of
it.

"What is that all about?" Ed asked.

"I have no idea. It must be some kind of joke. I'll find out and tell you
tomorrow. I think I can get Mom to give me a ride over in the
morning. Night, guys. Night, Dad," he said giggling, as he got out and ran
to his door.

All the boys were starting to call me Dad now, even Robbie. Actually, it
was kind of cute. I think I could get used to it.

"Mom, what's up with the for sale sign?" Isaiah asked as he walked into the
house.

"Well, hello to you too, Isaiah. Is that the best you can do when I haven't
seen you in two days?", his mother asked.

"Sorry, Mom," he said, coming up and giving her a hug. "OK, now what's with
the sign?"

"Well, you know how sick your grandmother has been. I finally decided for
us to move back home and have us move in with her. Your sister works nights
and I can work days, and that way, one of us can be there for her all of
the time," she answered.

"Mom, I am not moving all the way to San Diego," Isaiah yelled.

"I don't have any choice. My mother was very good to us when we needed her
after the divorce, and it is time for me to pay her back. I really don't
have a choice. You have always liked San Diego. You will learn to love it
in no time," she said.

"Mom, I won't go. I won't go and leave the band I am in," Isaiah said, as
he ran to his room and slammed the door.

His Mom started to go after him, but decided to wait until morning. This
was totally unlike Isaiah, and she knew he needed some time to
himself. There was no telling how long the house would take to sell, and if
he needed some time to get used to the idea, that was fine with her.

                                                ****************************

Robbie decided to sign onto the Internet before going to bed and check his
e-mails. He had several, but opened the one from Matt and Mike first. They
wanted to come up and stay with he and Stan on Friday night. Well, it would
be really crowded, but he knew Stan wouldn't mind, so he returned a reply
to come ahead.

                                                ***************************

"Phill, get your lazy bum out of bed. You have a phone call, and it sounds
like it is long distance," Tim yelled, pulling the covers off Phill. Phill
was dreaming of Robbie, and had his hand between his legs, massaging his
morning erection while he slept. "God, Phill, wait till I tell Tom how I
caught you," he said, as he ran out of the room.

"Little brothers!!" Phill moaned, as he rolled out of bed. "What a pain in
the arse."

"Hello?" he asked, sleepily.

"Phill, it's me, Keith! I am so happy to hear your voice. I have missed
you. I love you so much. It has been punishment not to be with you since
you left. I will be home on Saturday, and want to come see you on
Sunday. Can you give me directions?" Keith asked quickly.

"Hi Keith. I really don't know my way around here at all. I have the
address written down, but that is about all I know right now. I have joined
a rock band, and we have been practicing every day, so I haven't been
getting out much to see the sights. Here is the address. If I am not here,
I will be next door when you come. Just let me know when you think you will
be here, OK?" Phill said.

"A rock band? That is wonderful! So, you have already met some new
friends," Keith said.

"Yeah, one especially. His name is Robbie, and he lives next door. Well, he
lives there half the time. It is kind of complicated. I will tell you about
him when I see you Sunday," Phill said. His conscious was hurting him about
Robbie, and he let his voice betray him to Keith.

Keith noticed the change in Phill's voice, but didn't say anything. "I'll
bet your band is great. I can't wait to hear you play. Can I hear you
Sunday when I come to see you?" Keith asked.

"I think we can do that. Robbie is our other guitar player, and he hurt his
hand in a fight and can't play right now. I am just learning all my new
parts, so we won't sound very good, but I am sure nobody would mind you
listening. We are trying to improve so we can make a demo tape to take
around to places that pay for bands to play at night, but we aren't good
enough yet, and we really don't know where the money for the demo tape is
going to come from," Phill said.

"A fight? You weren't in the fight, were you?" Keith asked.

"Yeah, but I am fine. I just have a black eye. It is not a big deal," Phill
answered.

"A black eye? Oh, my poor baby. I will take good care of you when I get
there, just like you did me. I have to go now, we are expected at a party
soon. It is late afternoon over here, you know.  Talk to you soon. I love
you," Keith said.

"I, erm, I .... love you too," Phill stammered, as he hung up the
phone. "How am I going to get himself out of this mess?" Phill asked
himself. "I sure can't tell him about Robbie over the phone."

"Huh! Phill seemed like he didn't even want to say he loved me right
then. I hope nothing has changed between us since he moved next door to
Robbie. He couldn't already love Robbie more than he does me. Oh, well,
I'll just forget about it. It was probably nothing, anyway. No use worrying
about something that I probably imagined," Keith thought to himself.

But, Keith couldn't get it out of his head. The more he thought about his
conversation with Phill, the more worried he got. Finally, he decided to
sit outside in the sun and sleep for a few minutes.  Maybe he would feel
better after that.

Comments can be sent to me at fsw99@mindspring.com.