Date: Thu, 28 Apr 2016 20:26:44 +0000 (UTC)
From: hankbrookscc@comcast.net
Subject: Twenty Years Later

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			    Twenty Years Later

				 Chapter 4

 Mac remained in Arlen's arms.  He was sobbing, and Ari felt compelled to
do something, but he was nearly as comatose as Mac.  Arlen was just as
unsure as to what to do as Ari was.  They just kept staring at each other
as Arlen rubbed his hand up and down Mac's back.

 Finally, Arlen found his voice.  "Please, Mac, tell me what happened.
What's wrong?"

 Mac wanted to talk, but he kept hyperventilating.  Ari ran to get him
another glass of water, and Arlen forced Mac to take a sip.  After taking a
sip or two of the cold water, Mac seemed to be breathing easier.

 "I need to sit down," he said.  Arlen led him to the sofa, and he and Ari
sat down on the two side chairs.  They stared at Mac expectantly, waiting
to hear what he had to say.  They were both very fearful.  In fact, Ari
expected the police to come pounding on the door at any moment.

 Mac took a few deep breaths.  "I didn't want to come here," he said, "but
I'm too ashamed to tell my two roommates.  I know I should go to the
police, but I don't want anyone to find out."  Now Ari was convinced that
the police would come knocking soon.  "I couldn't go to Mom either.  It's
too embarrassing."

 Arlen was sure that Mac was never going to come out with it, and he was
about to ask what was so embarrassing, but Mac began to speak again.

 "Last night, I went to my favorite bar.  I never have trouble scoring with
the women there."  Arlen was pleased that his son didn't use derogatory
terms to describe women, like pussy or cunt or broad.  The macho men he
worked with did that all the time.

 Mac continued.  "I saw a beautiful woman there, and I approached her.  She
was very receptive to my advances.  It wasn't long before she asked me if I
wanted to go home with her.  I wanted.  The last thing I remember was
entering her apartment.  Something, or someone, hit me on the head with
some sort of a big stick, maybe a baseball bat.  When I came to, I was
lying in an alley.  It was broad daylight, and I was aware that my ass was
on fire.  My wallet and cell phone were gone, and I was bleeding from my
asshole.  I figured that I had been raped.  I even suspected that the
beautiful woman, was no woman at all, but a good looking guy in drag.  I
knew you lived close by, so I came here.  I walked over three miles."

 Mac looked at Arlen.  "Daddy," he said.  "I would have come here anyhow."
Mac had not called Arlen, Daddy, since he was a little boy.  Arlen had
mixed emotions.  His son needed him, just like when he was a kid.

 Arlen said, "This is no time for shyness, Mac.  Come into the bathroom,
and I'll make sure the bleeding has stopped.  I'll wash you, and put some
kind of an ointment on."

 "I'll draw a bath," Ari added.  "I think he should soak in a tub."

 Mac undressed, and leaned over the sink.  He left the clothes Ari had
loaned him on the floor.  Arlen washed away dried blood.  Once Mac's ass
was cleaned, it didn't look too bad.

 "Get into the tub," Ari said kindly.  Soak a while, and then we'll put an
ointment on.  I found a tube of A & D ointment in a drawer."

 "This feels so good," Mac mumbled.  "Will one of you stay with me while I
soak."

 "We'll both stay with you," Arlen said.

 Mac soaked for a while with a look of complete contentment on his face.
Suddenly, his demeanor changed.  A look of pure hatred came over him.  "Now
you can see why I hate faggots so much," he sneered.

 Ari clenched his fists, but Arlen put a hand on his shoulder to calm him.
He turned to Mac.  "Listen Son," he said.  "I want to explain something to
you in words I hope you will understand."  Mac remained sitting in the tub
with a scowl on his face.

 "I don't have to tell you that when a man loves a woman, and they make
love, it's a beautiful thing.  Well, the same is true when two men love
each other.  No matter what they do together, if it gives them pleasure,
that's love.  But when a woman is raped; forced to do things which are
abhorrent to her, that's a terrible crime.  In spite of your prejudices,
most gays are not predators and rapists.  Heterosexual men can rape women,
and gay men can rape straight men or gay men.  I know it's hard for you to
understand, but I love Ari's father with every nerve that's in me.
Whatever we do together, gives us pleasure, and increases the love we have
for each other.  Certainly we would never do anything that would hurt the
other."

 Mac's face seemed to be less mean.  It became almost passive.  "I know
what you're saying," he said at last, "but every gay guy I have ever known
has abused me, and you walked out on Mom and me."

 Arlen was shocked.  "I couldn't help leaving you two.  I'm gay, and it
just wasn't working out with me and your mom.  But what do you mean you
have been abused by gay men?" he asked.

 "Remember when I was little, and Mom's kid brother used to baby sit for
me?  Whenever we were alone he touched me, and he made me do things to him.
Sometimes his friends came over, and they made me do things to them also."

 "You poor kid," Arlen sobbed.  "Why didn't you tell us?"

 "He threatened to kill me if I told anyone.  The abuse went on until he
went off to college."

 Arlen started to cry.  "Now I know why you hate me so much.  I am so
sorry."

 "I don't hate you," Mac answered.  "I hate that you are gay.  It's
revolting to me."

 Arlen sobbed louder, so Ari said.  "Let me help you out of the tub.  You
can take my clothes, and leave now.  You should go home."  Ari helped Mac
out of the tub, and gave him a bath towel.  He dried himself, and Ari put
some additional ointment on his brother's injured ass.  He gave Mac his
bathrobe, which was hanging on a hook on the back of the door, and told him
to put it on.

 "Please don't make me go," Mac whimpered.  "I just can't face anyone yet.
I can't explain how I feel, but even though you are both gay, I feel safe
here."

 "You feel safe here because Arlen is your father," Ari said, "and you love
him, in spite of everything.  He's my father also, and I love him too."

 Now Mac started to cry again.  He looked at his father.  "Yes, I do love
you, and I miss you so much.  Every time, I need to get some advice, I
think of asking you, but I always chicken out.  I need you back in my life,
Dad."  Mac sighed, "even if you are gay," he added in a hushed voice.  "Let
me stay the night.  Ari promised to feed me."

 "Of course, you are more than welcome to stay overnight.  Hell, stay the
whole weekend, and get to see that, gay or not, we are just ordinary
people."

 "Thanks, I'd like that.  I've missed you so much," Mac mumbled.

 "There's only one problem.  You'll have to sleep on the sofa, or with Ari,
or with me.  It's your choice."

 Arlen was surprised when Mac said, "I choose you, Dad.  I know I'm safe
with you, and right now I wouldn't mind if you comforted me like when I was
a kid."

 Mac stood up, and he and Arlen embraced.  They were both teary eyed.  Ari
couldn't stand by and do nothing any longer.  He stood up also, and said
quietly to Mac, "I'm your brother goddammit. I want a hug too," and he
joined them in a group hug.

 "Fuck," Ari said.  "I made a delicious dinner, which is probably spoiled
by now.  Let's see if it's still good.  If it isn't, you can take your sons
out to dinner, Dad."

 "I'll go see to dinner, Ari," Arlen said.  "You take Mac upstairs and put
some clothes back on him."

 Ari led Mac back upstairs to the bathroom, where he had taken off the
clothes Ari had lent him when he first arrived, and forced him to shower.
As he retrieved the clothing from the floor, Ari noticed that his jockeys
were spotted with blood.

 "These are bloody," he told Mac.  I'll be right back, and get you a clean
pair."

 "If you have boxers," Mac said, "I prefer them to jockey's."

 "I don't have any, but Dad does.  I'll get you a pair of his."

 Mac vaguely wondered how Ari knew that Arlen wore boxers, but the thought
didn't linger long.  He was hungry and he wanted to eat.

 It turned out that the roast was not dried out, and they ate royally.
There was enough left over to freeze for two more servings.  At the dinner
table, Arlen had some disquieting thoughts.  "Did the bastards wear
condoms?" he asked Mac.

 "I don't know," he answered, looking a little scared now.

 "There's a couple of things we should do as soon as possible.  For one we
should get you tested to make sure they didn't infect you with an STD.
Second we should put a hold on your credit cards."

 The STD thing upsets me, Dad, but don't worry about credit cards.  I only
have one, and It's maxed out.  They won't be able to use it."

 They all helped to clean the kitchen. After dinner they went into the
living room, and started talking.  Arlen and Mac had a lot of catching up
to do, and Ari wanted to get to know his new brother.  Arlen made himself a
scotch and soda, but he poured cokes for his sons.

 Arlen told Mac about the miracle that had reconnected two old friends
after an absence of twenty years; not only to reconnect, but to realize
that they loved each other.  Mac couldn't help it.  He cringed a little
trying to absorb the fact that two men could love each other.

 Then Ari told him how his father's story inspired him to tell his dearest
friend that he loved him, rather than try to live a fraudulent life.  "My
dad and Larry are moving to Syracuse to be with us, and for us to be a
family," Ari told Mac.  "I know it's not a traditional family, but it's a
loving one, and that's all that really counts.  I would personally love it
if you are part of our family, Mac."

 "I can accept men having sex together," Mac said, "but I can't wrap my
head around the fact that they could actually love each other."

 "Well, stop thinking of it as having sex," Arlen said, "and start thinking
of it as making love.  Maybe that will help sharpen the image."

 Just then Ari's cell phone rang, and seconds later Arlen's rang.  "It's
our nightly call from our lovers," Arlen said.  "They always call right
after our dinner, and before theirs, given the time difference.  Excuse us
for a moment.  We'll tell them that we'll call back later."

 Mac nodded to them to indicate that he didn't mind if they talked to one
another.  For one brief moment he regretted that he didn't have anyone to
call to see how she was doing, and to tell her how much he loved her.  He
realized that he was jealous.

 Both Mac, Sr. and Larry freaked out when they heard about Arlen's reunion
with his son.  Arlen said, "Now that Mac is back in my life, I'm going to
start calling you Mackenzie to avoid confusion, like you calling me Arlen."

 "That's okay with me," Mac said, "But please; just make it Kenzie."

 Larry insisted on speaking to Mac, but before Ari turned the phone over to
him, Mac heard him tell Larry, "He's straight, so watch what you say."

 What Larry said got Mac crying again.  "We haven't met, but we're brothers
now, so I want you to know that I love you."  In Mac's whole life, he had
never heard the words `I love you' spoken to him as many times as this
night.

 Mac's father had erased himself from Mac's life at an early age.  His
working mother had little time for him.  He had practically raised himself.
His father's house was so full of people who loved each other that it made
Mac's head spin, in a good way.

 **********

 Out west in Texas, Mac started to laugh after his phone conversation with
Arlen ended.

 "What's so funny?" Larry demanded to know.

 "Arlen said that Mac is sleeping over.  That means no sex for Ari and
Arlen tonight."

 "Well, in that case, Mac," Larry said, we'll just have to do it twice;
once for them and once for us."

 "I'm in favor of that, but please get used to calling me Kenzie."

 Later that night, when they were cuddling and fondling in bed, Larry and
Kenzie played a hot game of sixty-nine.  Larry came twice, and Kenzie came
once.  They rested so that they could recover enough to fuck each other.
There was no rush.  They had all night.  In fact, they had all weekend to
make love.

 During the following week, Kenzie sold his house.  If he moved before the
fall semester ended, Larry would have to go back to the dorms, or move
home, so he made a deal with the buyers.  He was willing to reduce the
selling price by $1,000 if they would delay the closing until winter break.
They accepted his offer.

                                                                **********

 As Kenzie predicted, there was no sex that night in Arlen's household.
Arlen always slept naked, but this evening, he and Mac wore boxer shorts to
bed.  When Mac woke up, he was nesting against his father, and his woodie
was half into Arlen's crack.  It had popped right out of his boxers. Arlen
was naked.  At first Mac wanted to move away, but it felt so good, and his
father wasn't moving either.  In fact, Arlen was awake, and he asked Mac if
he was awake.

 "I've been up for some time, but I didn't want to disturb you," Mac said.
"You're naked," he pointed out without moving away.  He wasn't horny, but
he was curious.

 "Yeah, I know.  I always sleep in the nude, and I couldn't stand the
underwear riding up my balls, so I had to take the boxers off in the middle
of the night.  I'm sorry."

 "No need to be sorry; not when you're as well hung as you are."

 "Well, I never said anything when you were in the tub, but you're pretty
well hung yourself."

 "One difference, Pop.  I'm circumcised.  How come?"

 "Your mother had it done without consulting me."

 "It's okay Dad.  It doesn't bother me."

 "How do you feel this morning?' Arlen asked.

 "Actually, I feel pretty good.  Nothing hurts right now, except my ego."

 "Listen, Son.  You did nothing wrong, so don't blame yourself."

 That morning at breakfast, Ari said, "Hey, Mac, every Saturday morning, I
go over to the high school gym, and get into a pick-up basketball game.  If
you feel well enough, would you like to go with me?"

 Mac started to laugh, so that Ari would know he was only joking when he
said, "I didn't think fags were into sports."

 "So far you have been wrong about everything concerning fags.  This fag
brother of yours is a jock.  Larry, not so much."

 "I'd love to go with you.  You know Ari, I really like having a brother."

 Arlen would have smiled, but he was crying inside with happiness.

 To be continued...