WARNING: This story contains sexually explicit parts involving sex between minors and adults. Do not read the contents if it will offend you. If accessing this story causes you to break local laws (village, town, city, county, province, state, or country, etc.), please leave now.

 

Any characters portrayed in this story are fictional and not representative of anyone living or dead.

 

Anyone wishing to contact me can do so at john.thestoryteller@gmail.com

 

Other stories on Nifty by John Teller/The Storyteller can be found here.

 

All rights reserved. All parts of these documents are © Copyright 2017 John T. S. Teller, and may not be reproduced in any form without the author's consent. Nifty.org has permission to reproduce it on their website.

 

A small sermon. Nothing in life is free. Everything costs, and Nifty is no different, so please send them a couple of $'s/£'s to cover costs and stuff. They're very discreet, and you won't get your name in lights if you do. Donate here.

If complete anonymity is a concern, simply do one of two things...

1)      Purchase a Money Order and send that to the donation address for Nifty in $US or purchase a pre-paid debit card and use that to make the donation online and send to...

Nifty Archive Alliance
PMB 159
333 Mamaroneck Ave
White Plains, NY 10605
USA

 

 

The Angel of Pie Jesu.

 

By John T. S. Teller.

 

Part 54.

 

Book two: Journey of the Coin.

 

 

Gareth.

It's the last Saturday in July and it's a lovely sunny day in Berlin as we stroll through the Tiergarten on our way to the Giraffe Café and Restaurant. It opens at 9am, and that's why we all arranged to meet at the Siegessäule at eight. We want to be early so we can all sit together, and that isn't always easy on a sunny day here.

 

We? After we've parked our cars, never could there have been such a motley throng as We.

 

I've driven here in the new Mercedes Saloon that Aleric insisted I buy as a second car because This Golf is crappy so let's have a new spacious car Herr Moneybags. I lose my street cred when you pick me up in this bag of bones! With me in the Mercedes are Aleric and Yokiko, who arrived a week ago and who, along with Aleric, has been staying at my apartment and at Aleric's parents' house by the Wannsee since he arrived.

 

 Kurt and Heindrich and Hansie arrive soon after we've parked our car, and Ralf, Gretel, Gunther and Gottwin are already waiting for us after their journey from their new home.

 

So, by my reckoning the motley throng that is the We is one transgender transvestite: Kurt... five homosexual males: myself, Aleric, Yokiko, Heindrich, and Hansie... and four reasonably straight persons: Gretel, Ralf, Gunther, and Gottwin. I say four reasonably straight because I haven't quite made up my mind about Gottwin yet. He's had a steady girlfriend for a few months now, but ever since Yokiko arrived he's been trying to get a stayover at the apartment and I'm not sure if that's because he's a nosey bugger or because Aleric will have told him that he and Yokiko get on very well. And I'm certain that Aleric will have told him. There are no secrets between those two oversexed little buggers. So Gottwin might turn out to be bi-sexual when push comes to shove.

 

Stroll through the Tiergarten. That wouldn't be correct either. Nothing can be correct where four young boys are involved, especially when one of them needs to be in a wheelchair because of the serious injuries he received when he was involved in the terrible carnage on the Großbeerenstraße.

 

Little Hansie was in an induced coma for two weeks because the surgeons who operated on him at the hospital where he was taken after the accident decided that his brain needed complete rest to recover from a severe blow he had to his head, which had caused his brain to swell. He also sustained compound fractures to the tibia and fibula in both his legs, both clavicles were broken, five broken ribs, a broken arm, a punctured left lung and a few less serious injuries that would have required hospitalisation on their own. The poor little boy! But it could have been much worse. Another five people were also seriously injured, but five people died in the bloodbath if you include the two bastards that caused the accident.

 

I remember the phone call as if it was yesterday. We were just getting ready to leave the Miyagi house when Ralf telephoned me on my mobile. Given the awful circumstances back in Berlin, only Ralf was capable of making that call. He wasn't in possession of all the gory details of Hansie's injuries right then, but what he told me was enough for me to realise that it could go either way with the little boy. But I didn't tell Aleric that. All I told him was that Hans had been involved in a road accident and that he was in hospital. That's when Aleric surprised me. Although he was saddened and shocked at the event, I literally saw him decide to deal with the situation with a steely resolve. I saw many of the traits of his father in him, and although he was very quiet during the journey home, he didn't shed a single tear from the moment I told him until we were back at the apartment after we'd got back to Berlin and had been to the hospital. Eventually, when he was in the safety of my arms and we were alone in bed, he finally let go and allowed me to absorb the terrible hurt he'd been stifling.

 

And for a while afterwards I saw Aleric in a different light. Gone was his childishness; his normal happy-go-lucky silliness and it was only when we knew that Hans would pull through that he allowed his normal self to emerge again. I've never told him so, but I was impressed and proud of him at the way he handled things. But that's what real men do... when the chips are down is when they're at their best, and I was greatly comforted at my discovery that behind the façade of my silly, sexy boy is a spiritual being who greets real adversity with an iron fist and not a white flag. Beware the Hun!    

 

But look at Hansie now as we stroll along. Gottwin is pushing him in the wheelchair but Hansie has ordered him to stop so he can use the lightweight Zimmer Frame that Aleric is carrying. They stop, so we all stop. Then we wait while they argue. Hansie wins, and with a little help getting out of the wheelchair, he takes hold of the walking frame and hobbles slowly along. The three boys alongside him don't touch him, but neither do they leave him alone. He'll fall into loving arms if he does falter, but the little urchin who's been thrown from pillar to post for most of his life is made of stern stuff. I look at Kurt beside me and tell him, "He's getting stronger. I hope he doesn't fall over."

 

Kurt smiles at me, but says nothing. Poor Kurt. He's aged five years since the accident. It's Ralf who answers in his own way. "Nobody bothers whether I'll fall over or not."

 

Gretel interrupts. "Phhhttt! I saw you polishing that damned boat at five this morning, and you weren't using sticks. Frank Neumann would go mad if he saw you. He's told you not to overdo it. It's only six months since you had the operation."

 

Ralf looks at me and grins. I wink at him. We're used to Gretel's scolding. He's had to take it big style since Frank Neumann operated on him in January. But Gretel's scolding was necessary as part of his recuperation. Even though the operation was a success, he's gone through the mill has Ralf. This last six months have been sheer hard work and determination from him. But they don't make them harder than fishermen from Wieck. I now know where Aleric get's his alpha-male genes from. Aleric might be gay, but he doesn't lack spunk. The same can be said of his father. Through sheer determination he's back on his feet and is now pottering about, and he's completely at home behind the wheel of his new cruiser now he's worked out how to get onboard.

 

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

 

The Hahn family moved into their new home last month after all the adaptations had been completed. It was one of the most moving and rewarding times of my life.

 

Although I had a thousand and one things to attend to in my business, I cancelled everything for a week and helped the Hahn family move from the apartment below into their new home. I became a Mr Shifter, and enjoyed every second of it. I hired a three ton van and Gunther had the week off too. He and I did most of the hard work, but Aleric and Gottwin helped out after school. It was organised chaos, but by late Friday night everything was completed to Gretel's satisfaction. And that's saying something! She's as fussy as an old hen where her home is concerned. I wanted to celebrate by hiring caterers to sort out a meal for the Saturday evening, but she was having none of it. Oh no! She was going to cook a proper meal for all her special family and friends on the double AGA Cooker she'd bought from Potsdam. So she did, and prepared a wonderful meal for all her family (including Gottwin's girlfriend Lydia), me, Kurt and Heindrich and Hansie, Helena my PS and her husband Joseph, and her special guest was Frank Neumann (Ralf's surgeon) and his wife Maxine. Frank, who lives not half a kilometre from them by the Wannsee, kept his promise that he'd share a pipe with Ralf if he got better and they bought the house they were after. They get on like a house on fire, those two, and Frank has told me that he loves listening to Ralf's tales of the sea.

 

So we all sat down to a meal cooked Northern Germany style. They have a strange palate up there, something I've never quite got used to when they contrast sweet with savoury or sour flavours. They call it broken sööt, or, in English, broken sweet. It was a starter of elderberry soup and dumplings, and that was followed with the most delicious fish on earth as far as I'm concerned – Sea Bass. I love it, and Gretel had prepared it just for me. She's never forgotten that part of the boat deal for Ralph was a free supply of fish for me, and with a beautiful smile on her face she presented me with a large portion before anyone else, and said, "For my favourite Welshman." And then she kissed me on the top of my head and went away giggling.

 

But before the meal, Ralf ordered everyone to the table and made us all take our places while he said grace. Thank goodness Aleric was by my side and he was clever enough to take my hand under the table and clutch it tightly. Had he not done so I think I may have started weeping openly. I can still remember Ralf's exact words.

 

When we were all silent and our heads bowed, he said, "Dear God, we thank you for this wonderful meal we are about to eat, and for giving my dear wife the skill to create it. But this is a special occasion Lord, because gathered around this table are some of the most wonderful people upon this earth. We Hahn's are humble folk, but you have blessed us with friends who only you could have chosen for us. I thank you Dear God for teaching Frank the wonderful skills he needed to mend a broken back, and in doing so mend a family that was struggling to cope with my disability. I also thank you for teaching the staff that saved Hansie's life after his accident and for the fantastic job they're doing now to get him back to full health. They are all wonderful people, so please bless each and every one of them. But, Dear God, above all we thank you for sending Gareth to us. Through you, through him, you have brought a new life to all my family, a life that we could not have imagined after my accident. Thank you Dear God for everything. Amen."

 

Aleric's hand crushing mine under the table stopped me from bursting into tears, but my eyes were difficult to see through after Ralf had finished the prayer. I wasn't the only one. Hansie was sitting between Heindrich and Kurt and they both put an arm around him and gently hugged him and kissed him while he tried to hide his tears. The one who openly cried was the little monkey crushing my hand in his. Tears were running down his cheeks, so I gave him my serviette to mop them up. I would have mopped them up myself but I knew he would lose it if I did. It was not a time for us to look into each other's eyes. That would have been fatal, and we both would have cried if we had.

 

But Gretel saved the day. She got up from her chair and said, "Right you lot... get this food eaten! I haven't spent all day preparing this meal for it to go cold!"

 

That broke the ice, and it was completely shattered when Ralf, holding up his favourite stein, said, "Top this up for me Schatz!"

 

She flicked him around the ear. "I'll give you Schatz!"

 

We'd been here before, back in the early days when I was just getting to know the Hahn family, so I decided to help Ralf out as I did just over six months ago. I lifted my stein and called to Gretel, "And don't forget mine, Schatz."

 

She chuckled and made her way round to me and I fully expected a slap on the head, but she took my stein from me and kissed the top of my head, and Ralf yelled, "You kiss that mad foreigner and I get a slap on the head! What's going on here?!"

 

We all laughed, and for the next two hours, in a spirit of wonderful bonhomie, we supped up the elderberry soup and dumplings, scoffed the fish and vegetables down us, drooled over the red fruit pudding, and demolished two massive Black Forest gateaux's. All washed down with plenty of beer and wine and soft drinks for the boys.

 

It was great night, and it ended with two drunken men in the house... Ralf and I. I hadn't let my hair down for a long time as I did that night, and that's because me and Ralf are best drinking buddies when we really get going. We were still on beer when Kurt and Heindrich and Hansie went home and Helena and Joseph decided it was also time to call it a day; had just started on the schnapps when Frank and Maxine hopped it, and because Gretel had prepared one of the guestrooms for me, I'd wouldn't be driving home if I got completely ratarsed. So I got ratarsed, and so did Ralf. But we were only half ratarsed when Ralf insisted we go and look at his new boat.

 

His new boat. Well, it wasn't new as being brand new. Ralf wasn't interested in new boats made of fibreglass. He wanted a steel boat with a Volvo diesel engine, and white oak timber for the woodwork. He got one made with those things, and the addition of some cherry wood to various parts added to the ambience of the vessel. I thought he might want a long boat, but he didn't want that either. Ralf is a fisherman from the north who was happy piloting his Baltic trawler, so he bought something that was a small version of one. Just thirty-four feet long it is, and to the modern eye it's probably ugly, but not to Ralf it isn't. And he's renamed it. So, half-ratarsed and with Ralf breaking all his physiotherapy rules, he proudly showed me around the Princess of the North – Prinzessen des Nordens. An hour later we were continuing our boozing.

 

It was not only I who had a guestroom. Gottwin's girlfriend had one too.

 

That's something else we do... whenever I have sleepover it's important that Aleric and I keep to house rules. Yes, he's fourteen, and everyone knows what we are to each other, but in Ralf's house we're supposed to sleep in separate bedrooms. We don't, of course. As soon as everyone is in bed he comes to me and stays with me. But it's the pretence that matters to Ralf. The same applies to Lydia. That's why the twins' shared bedroom had no occupants thirty minutes after we'd all gone to bed. But Gottwin has to be more circumspect. When he's done, he goes back to the twins' room. Aleric doesn't. He stays the night with me and says nothing the following morning. Neither does Ralf. It's the going to bed bit which is the important part to Ralf. Gretel knows about me and Aleric, but she doesn't bother. I'm pretty sure she knows about Gottwin's antics, but I think she's had a quiet word in his ear and spelled out the birds and bees to him, and the rules. That's why he goes back to his own bed. It works.

 

Gunther does his own thing. He doesn't have a steady girlfriend. He goes out with plenty of girls, but I think he's at the love `em and leave `em stage in his life. But girls take second place in his life. Nothing comes between him and his top-of-the-range 3.2 black Audi Quattro TT that he maintains and polishes. I'm proud of Gunther too. He worked for every cent of the deposit on the car and only allowed his mother to pay for the insurance, which he's paying her back monthly when he gets his salary from the Schafernacher brothers... Robert and Thomas, my friends' place where he now works. They gave him a good discount on the car and he was like a dog with two tails when he got it home and showed it off. But he still borrows my Bentley occasionally. It's faster and we can blow him off the road when me and Aleric have a race with him from the Wannsee house up to Berlin.

 

But to continue... when I was completely ratarsed and managed to get to bed, it wasn't long before a warm naked body was snuggled up beside me and an arm and a leg were thrown across me, and after he'd kissed me, I fell asleep. What perverted acts Aleric got up to when I fell asleep were his business. I found out the following morning, during frequent visits to my bedroom, when he was trying to cure my hangover. He thought it was funny and couldn't stop giggling. It wasn't funny to me. That hangover was one of the worst in my life. I think it was the black coffee Gretel made me drink before I went to bed that caused it.

 

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

 

We arrive at the Giraffe Café and the boys arrange some tables outside so we can all sit together. Little Hansie managed quite a distance with his waking frame, but the last two hundred metres were too much for him and he got back in his wheelchair.

 

He's improving, but everything is not right with him.

 

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

 

It was only last week when Kurt asked me to meet him for a coffee while Hansie was in the hospital undergoing physiotherapy. He's having lots of it and can be there for four hours including the hydrotherapy he has there. He's fine to be left alone with the nurses. They all know him and are devoted to the little man. We met at Kurt's apartment for coffee.

 

When Kurt had made the drinks and we were sitting at the small dining table in the kitchen, he looked at me with sad eyes, and said, "He's different you know."

 

I thought he was talking about Hansie, but I had to ask, "Who is?"

 

"Hans. He's different. He's changed."

 

I was puzzled. "In what way is he different?"

 

Kurt took a drink from his coffee and looked at the table. "I was talking to the surgeon who did his brain surgery. I told him that there was something different about Hans and that I wasn't sure what it was. That's when he told me."

 

"What did he tell you?"

 

"He said that sometimes, after a head injury like Hansie has had, it can change their character. He said it's too early to tell yet, but he's known individuals who were extrovert become introverted, and vice versa. Then he went on to explain things about the brain that I didn't really understand, but the basics were that our behaviour patterns are determined by certain parts of the brain, and if those parts get damaged, it can change a person's personality. Hansie is too quiet. He's not himself."

 

I was taking all this in, and I was aware that brain damage can do this to some people. I once worked with a woman who was the most extrovert of people, and she had a car accident. She was never the same after, and her husband ended up divorcing her because she was a changed woman. I never found out the intimate details, but I could pretty much work it out. But I wasn't going to tell Kurt that, and I said, "It's only three months, Kurt. The poor boy has been through hell and back. I wouldn't expect him to be anything else but quiet yet. He needs time... lots more time. I shouldn't worry too much. Is there anything specific you can put your finger on?"

 

Kurt looked right into my eyes, and said, "He isn't interested in sex these days."

 

"How do you know that?"

 

"The same way I knew that he was getting into S&M in a big way." Then he raised his voice an octave. "I know my boy! I know what makes him tick, and I know that his workings were not damaged! Maybe he does masturbate, and I can't know that, can I? I'm not going to find anything in his underpants. He's too young for that. He does go on his laptop. He plays boys' games on it. But not a hint of what he used to get up to. I'm worried, Gareth!"

 

I reached out a hand and he took it, and tears were falling down his cheeks when I said, "Don't be such a stupid old tart! He's a boy and it won't be long before those feelings return. Imagine you've got a terrible hangover and Heindrich wants you. How do you feel if he was to do that?"

 

"I'd tell him to fuck off!"

 

I chuckled. "Exactly. I wouldn't be as brutal as you. I'd just go to sleep and ignore that certain person who is the bane of my life. It's what I did when I was pissed up at Gretel's housewarming. It was the worst hangover I've had for years and He kept coming to me in the morning and I knew what he was really after. He tried to get in bed with me a couple of times but I pushed him out. He wasn`t very happy I can tell you. So try to imagine Hansie's situation as being similar to a hangover. His brain hasn't healed properly yet. Maybe the brain injury will take the edge off his libido in the long term, but that's no bad thing if it does. Not so long ago you were in tears because he was becoming a sex maniac, and now you're crying again because he isn't. Shall I tell you what I'm hoping happens?"

 

"And what's that?"

 

I gripped Kurt's hand tighter. "I'm hoping the brain injury might be a blessing in disguise for you. I'm hoping Hansie gets his libido back eventually, and when he does, I'm hoping his libido is like a normal person. But is that what's worrying you... that his gender might revert to normal for a boy?"

 

Kurt spat the words out at me. "Don't be a bastard! I would love him no matter what he was!"

 

I took a chance and grinned at him. "Brain injuries don't change a person's gender. That's genetic. You'll still have your little gay boy. And something else. You're not the only one who's been keeping a close eye on him. I've been watching him since he came out of hospital and the place he loves being is on his mummy's knee. He's not lost his love for you, and that's the really important part. Isn't it?"

 

Proper tears then and Kurt pressed my hand more. Then, through his tears he gave me a stupid, crooked smile. "You're always right. What would I do without you?"

 

I pressed his hand. "But you're not without me. You're my special friend and I'll always be here for you. We'll get over this just as we've got over everything since we met." I giggled. "But I'll never forgive you for arranging for me to meet Aleric. My life isn't my own any more. Yokiko arrives on Friday for two weeks and I'm going to the USA for his last week to get out of the way. Do you fancy looking after them while I'm gone?"

 

Kurt managed a grin. "No chance! What are you afraid of? Are you scared that that scheming monkey of yours will pervert his little friend so much that they both climb into bed with you next time he visits?"

 

I shook my head, but kept my counsel. The fact that Yokiko has already been there is to be a secret, even to Kurt. But how long it will be a secret is anybody's guess. I know how close Aleric and Kurt are, and I reckon it will soon not be a secret that my randy boy eventually (well, two days after Yokiko arrived) managed to lower my inhibitions by getting me half drunk while we were on the sofa watching TV and introduced his special friend to the intimate side of what we are. It was all planned, of course. My boy is as cunning as a fox where his horniness is concerned.

 

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

 

It was late; they'd both changed into silk pyjamas and Aleric had placed Yokiko on one side of me while he sat on the other. It began with a special kiss from Aleric. One of his sexy ones. I'd already worked out what was coming, so I didn't put up much of a fight. Actually, because Aleric had slept with Yokiko for two nights and I'd abstained, I was feeling horny myself when, during the kiss, Aleric began to feel me up. Then there were two hands on my cock, and because one of Aleric's was behind my head, I knew who the other belonged to. Once my boy knew he'd won, there was no stopping him. I was forced to kiss Yokiko, and then forced to fondle the nail-like erection inside Yokiko's silk pyjamas when Aleric forced one of my hands inside them. So there I was... half drunk and being forced to kiss two boys alternatively whilst masturbating them both. I wasn't allowed to bring them to a climax and was forced to take them both to our bed, accompanied by a half bottle of Scotch to further lower my inhibitions. An hour later I'd fucked both of them and sucked them off. Then they forced me to allow them to give me a joint blow job. That was fun. The sight of two beautiful boys with my spunk running out of their mouths and splattered over their faces was a sight to behold! But one drunken man is not enough to satisfy two crazy, hormonal teenagers, and after Aleric had cleaned me up, he took Yokiko's hand, and both giggling, they went to the boys' room to finish off, no doubt the rest of whatever they got up to magnified many times because of what they'd achieved. Kinky pair of sods!

 

The following night they stayed at the Wannsee house, but the night after they were back at the apartment. That time there was no need to get me drunk. Late at night the boys went to their room; I went to bed, and five minutes later they'd joined me and we carried on where we'd left off. As a matter of fact, that orgy lasted two hours and they both slept with me when it was over. But that encounter did have a positive effect besides the sex. The following day Aleric said to me after I'd asked him if he was okay with what had gone on, "I'm great about it. I don't feel guilty about Bedri now you've done it with Yokiko. Now we're evens."

 

As I said, my boy is as crafty as a fox, and he never does anything without he's worked out that it's to his advantage. Not that evening things up were his only reason for what happened. I'm in no doubt that the adventures with Yokiko will have a part to play in our sex life when he's gone home. More spice to add to our growing stock of sexual condiments to keep our sex life fulfilled.

 

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

 

So I ended our meeting with Kurt discussing things about Hansie in much better spirits, and he's been almost fine since.

 

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

 

Pancakes with honey. We've been here before... lots of times, and I know where pancakes and honey usually lead me... to lots of sex with my special boy. This last week it's been more than that now we've had a guest in our bed, and Yokiko is becoming as perverted as the little rascal from Wieck. But today I'm holding all the top cards. The pancakes will be wasted on me. When we've finished this meal, Aleric and Yokiko are off to the Wannsee house to stay with his parents. I'm off to The States for a week. That was the deal I struck with Aleric before Yokiko came. That's why I didn't put up a real fight when Aleric said before Yokiko arrived that he wanted the three of us to have sex together because "It turns me on big style thinking about it." I told him I had no intentions of doing it, but the more I thought about it the less fight I put up when the moment finally arrived when my boy had his own way.

 

But now I need a damned rest from two sex-mad boys. I'm going to abstain for an entire week, and when I come back things will be easier. Yokiko flies home on Saturday and I don't get back to Berlin until late Sunday, so I'll only have one boy to serve. Thank God for that! But I will miss the kinkiness of what we've been up to. Not only is Yokiko a beautiful looking boy, he has a body almost as succulent as Aleric's, and that cock of his is damned scrumptious! More of a mouthful than Aleric's!

 

While we're eating, I study my group. Things are changing. Aleric and Gottwin have grown two inches this last couple of months. They're growing up. Aleric has a bit of bum fluff on his top lip, but Gottwin has more. And their voices are changing. But they've been changing for a while. Eight months have changed my special boy from an innocent (looking) boy into a proper teenager. He's having a job to reach the soprano high notes nowadays.

 

When I first met him and fell in love with him, I must admit that the thought did cross my mind how I would feel about him when he lost his boyhood. But if I'm really honest, I thought he would have lost interest in me by now. Eight months is a long time for a youngster to be attracted to someone. I gave a lot of thought to how we would break up. I would never have given him the boot and told him to go away, even if he had lost interest in me. No, I couldn't do that. And it wasn't just because of Aleric. My involvement with Aleric has many facets, not least a wonderful association with his family. I would have given Aleric his head, encouraged him to find new openings and maybe new associations and lived with the consequences for the sake of the Hahn family. Maybe I would have buried myself in my work again and become the eunuch I almost was before I met him. I don't really know what I would have done, but all my thinking and pondering seems to have been misguided up to yet. But now Yokiko has come into the equation, I've given a lot of thought to our future. That's why I've written him a long letter, which I'll give to him before I leave today.

 

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

 

Aleric.

Although I think I'm putting on a good show, I'm not happy. But I don't want Gareth to know. It's not fair for me to keep him away from his parents. Nobody would keep me away from mine. But I'm selfish. I want it all ways. And I don't want Gareth to go away for a week even if it is to see his folks who he hasn't seen since just before last Christmas. Yes, I'm becoming selfish... utterly selfish where he's concerned. But I can't help it. I love him so much.

 

I loved him from the moment we met. I didn't know at the time that it was love. Part of the attraction was a sexual one. But I was so mixed up back then that I didn't know what was happening, and I'm still not sure about things even now. But sometimes I think I do. A couple of evenings ago, while he was doing things, I sat in our bedroom and looked at a photograph of him that is always hanging in our bedroom. It's one I insisted I take of him wearing the silver suit he had on at The Schiller that evening when we first saw each other. It's my favourite one of him. It's the one I blow kisses to when he's gone to sleep after we've done stuff... when the sex part is over... when the love I have for him goes crazy. One night when he'd gone to sleep, I cried so much that I thought my heart would burst. My sobs were coming from somewhere so deep inside me that I hadn't got a clue how to stop them. Thank God he wasn't away that night. The only way I could stop the awful torment was to wrap myself around him and try to get inside him. That's what I'm frightened of now. If it happens while he's away, what will I do? There won't be his strong body... his stubble I can rub my face on... the lips I can kiss to take away the hurt.

 

And right now as I'm insisting he have another pancake, I can feel the hurt beginning. Thank goodness I'm staying with mum while he's away. She'll understand if it happens. I can go to her... or Gottwin. Mum or my brother will get me through it. It's only a week until he gets back to me.

 

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

 

Gretel.

I don't miss anything. I can't afford to. In about an hour those two are going to part for a week and the signs are not good. Gareth isn't really happy, and Aleric is on the verge of breaking down. I'll need to be clever when the time comes. How? I don't know. There's no harm in saying a silent prayer and asking for a little help.

 

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

 

A Prayer. The strangest thing happened this week. Gareth and his boys had come for dinner on Wednesday. It was after dinner and I was in the kitchen, washing up. Gareth laughed at me and said I was crazy not to have a dishwasher. I told him that I was better than any dishwasher, and that my proper central heating was all that mattered to me. Then I told him that because he'd made us buy a six bedroomed house, if the boiler broke down in winter he was to make it a top priority to get it fixed. No central heating and I would be moving, lock, stock and barrel to his apartment. He chuckled like crazy when I said that, and then he leaned against the kitchen worktop beside me and looked at me in a funny way. Then he said, "Gretel, I want you to do something for me. Something really special that's important to me."

 

I was intrigued. Gareth hardly ever asks for anything from me, so I looked at him and asked, "What do you want me to do?"

 

He fiddled about for a bit and I think he was a bit upset, but eventually he said, "You've still got the coin?"

 

I stared at him as if he was crazy. "Of course I have." Then I fiddled in my bosom and lifted the gold locket that contains the coin and that I never take off unless I'm in bed sometimes and Ralf becomes naughty, and I almost pushed it in his face. "It's in here! But don't ask me if you can have it. I think that's the only thing I would ever refuse you, Gareth."

 

He smiled and touched my arm. "I would never ask you to do that. No, I want you to do something else for me. You know I'm not a religious person, but you are. I want you to go to church and take the coin with you. Then I want you to kiss the coin and say a prayer for me."

 

"What sort of prayer?"

 

"I want you to kiss the coin and ask your God to make Hansie well again."

 

I was puzzled, and said, "But he is getting better. Another six months and he'll be as right as rain pretty much. What's going through that head of yours?"

 

He was serious when he looked at me right in the eyes. "Will you do as I ask?"

 

I returned the look he gave me, and then told him I would. That was it. He chuckled, grabbed a small sponge cake I'd made, and went back to the others.

 

On Thursday evening I made Gunther take me to the Heilige Alexander Nevskij Gedächtniskirche near to Bornstedt, a strange little church that I've found, which, although it's not of my denomination, I feel comfortable in. I made him wait outside and went into the church. It was empty... not a soul inside. Well, that's not true... there were two souls inside... mine and my beloved Norbert. Oh yes, he was with me. He's always with me. And I felt his love embrace my heart when I kissed the coin and said a prayer for Hans as Gareth had asked me to. Then I went back home and haven't given it much thought... until now.

 

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

 

Little Hans. The poor boy. Is there no end to the torment the little man has suffered? When Kurt and Heindrich adopted him I thought all his troubles might be over, but then that damned accident! I hope those two swine rot in hell for what they did to him and those other poor souls whose lives they ruined. The damage to his ribs and lung means he can't sing properly again for a while, and maybe not ever as good as he used to, so maybe that's what Gareth wanted me to say a prayer for? I can't work Gareth out sometimes. He keeps lots of things tight to his chest and does things you never think he's going to do. That's what those two have in common... him and Aleric. They're both unpredictable.

 

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

 

Gareth.

Aleric. I can tell he's near to tears. So am I, but I summon up my reserves of inner strength and keep my composure. I check my watch. It's almost ten-thirty and I have a flight to catch at three... a connecting flight to take me to Heathrow and then a BA flight to Dallas Fort Worth in Texas... five thousand miles away from the boy I love. I catch the eye of the waiter and ask for the tab. Kurt puts his hand up and says, "I'll get it. You get off and we'll make our way in about fifteen minutes."

 

Well done Kurt. His brain has been working well while we've been here, and I'm sure he's been working out the best way to part me and Aleric. Soonest done... soonest mended, as we say in the Welsh Valleys. But first I have to take my leave of everybody.

 

Yokiko first and I thank him for coming and tell him that me and Aleric will be over to see him and his family as soon as time allows. Then I slap Gunther and Gottwin on the head and tell them to behave themselves. Ralf is next and I squeeze the back of his neck and tell him not to fall overboard while I'm away. He laughs and offers his hand. I shake it and go to Gretel. She gets up and gives me a big hug. I hug her back and whisper in her ear, "Look after him for me." Her eyes are misted when she sits down. Heindrich also offers his hand and I grip it tightly as we shake. Kurt gives me a knowing look as I go to him. The special bond we have means we can do anything or nothing, and still everything is the same between us, so this time I just kiss him on top of the head and say, "Ciao."

 

He puts a hand up and says, "Don't get doing anything I wouldn't do, sweetie. Now get off and let me get back to work! You know Saturday is my busiest day and I shouldn't be eating damned pancakes when there's money to be earned! I wouldn't have had time off for anyone else!"

 

I chuckle and then go to Hansie. His wheelchair is facing the table. I go to one knee and turn him so he's facing me, and stroke the blonde hair back from his forehead. He's got beautiful blue eyes, and I look right into him when I say, "I want you running a marathon by the time I get back." He giggles. I grin at him. "I mean it! No slacking with that physio! We're going to make you better... completely better! Okay?"

 

He opens his arms. "Give me a love Uncle Gareth."

 

So I do, and it's a long one, and then I kiss his forehead before turning his wheelchair back to where it was.

 

Just Aleric left. I've decided to make this as rough and as quick as possible. Anything else will reduce us both to tears that we won't be able to control, so I go behind him, get his head in a headlock, and loudly say, "Keep that phone and laptop charged at all times! I'll speak to you later." Then I kiss his soft hair, turn on my heels, hold up a hand to all of them, and walk away. But before I left Aleric, I stuffed a sealed envelope into his hand containing the letter I've written for him. I'm not sure how he'll react to it, but some things just have to be said and dealt with, and this particular issue will determine whether my boy and I have a future together.

 

To be continued...

 

You can find my other stories on Nifty here. If you wish to comment on this or any of my other stories, just drop me a line to john.thestoryteller@gmail.com Genuine comments will be appreciated. All flames will be extinguished in the trash bin.