Date: Wed, 9 Apr 2003 21:16:00 -0500 From: PNS KID Subject: Sojourn Chapter 39 The story below is a work of fiction and contains erotic and/or sexually explicit behavior between consenting males. If you find this type of writing offensive, or if you are underage and it is illegal to view it, please do not read further, but exit now. The author reserves all copyright privileges. This work may not be reproduced, except for personal use, without permission of the author, and may not be linked to any pay sites. Author's note - Hi everyone. Sorry about the delay since my last posting. I had to save 20 children from a burning building. Well, it isn't anything that grand. I had writer's block in the worst way. I didn't know that boredom could paralyse you but it can. This idea I had about taking a couple years off from work may not be such a good idea. Anyway, this is not a long chapter but I did want to get it posted so that you would know I am back at the keyboard again. Your emails do motivate me so PLEASE keep them coming. I really need the encouragement. Pnskid61@cox.net I will be the guest author on the Nifty Gay Writer's Forum on Saturday, 26 April. Feel free to join in between 8pm and 10pm (EDT) and ask questions or just say hello. You will find access to the Nifty chat rooms on the main Nifty menu. Chapter 39 Sarah had emerged from the trauma of Quest with her determination in tact. But something was missing. She had realised how short and tenable life was. She had an emptiness. For most of her adult life she had been focused on Ethan and helping him build the business into what it was today. She had been rewarded well for this. She had an extended family with Ethan, Rick, and Adam that she loved with her life. She had a prominent position, the highest ranking woman in the cruise business, and she had money. But she needed more. So, she thought back to Dan. She had felt so comfortable with him. His sense of humour, his love of life, his sense of purpose. In early November, she decided to call him. He had conveyed his deepest sympathies for the tragedy and Sarah could tell it was heartfelt. They began talking and somehow managed to pick things up where they had left off. He had admitted being surprised at her position at Compass but was very supportive of admitted to being in awe of her strength and intelligence. R-1 was coming to Ft Lauderdale to be fitted with some additional fuel tanks for the trip to England and she asked Dan if he would like to come down to Ft Lauderdale for a few days. He graciously accepted. Sarah planned to take a few well earned days off. The weekend with Dan was wonderful. He was staying at the AmeriSuites near Sarah's apartment and they managed to spend 2 days together. Shopping, seeing movies, dinner, and conversation. Sarah was the happiest she could remember. On the last night of Dan's visit, they went for dinner at Pier 66. It was a wonderful dinner with nice music and candlelight. While they were both enjoying being together there was a sadness. Soon Dan would be leaving. Something had developed between them. They both felt it. It was love. They went for a stroll on the beach. It was a full moon and the ocean was fairly calm. They strolled hand in hand in silence. At the same time they both started to talk. Dan asked to go first. "Sarah, the last few days have been so special to me. The more I know about you the more I realize what a beautiful and wonderful person you are. Sarah, I don't want this to end. In this short time I have come to realize how empty my life is when you are not in it. With you I feel complete. I am a better man for knowing you. Sarah, I am in love with you. My dream is that you feel the same." Sarah's brown hair was blowing in the gentle breeze. Her brown eyes sparkling from the moonlight. But even the darkness could not hide the redness in her cheeks. Her eyes glistened. She looked at Dan. His brown hair was highlighted with streaks of silver which caught the moonlight. His grey eyes staring back at her filled with love. "Dan, I um, well, this rarely happens to me but I am at a loss for words. I won't even attempt to make a speech at this point. I will just say this, I am in love with you too." The two embraced and kissed. Their first kiss. Tentative at first but then passionate. They returned to Sarah's apartment. Their love making was gentle at first but then was filled with such emotion that it left both of them fulfilled and exhausted. They slept the night in each other's arms. On the way to the airport, Sarah and Dan made plans for seeing each other. Sarah mentioned the trip to her mum's over Thanksgiving and invited Dan to join them. He accepted. Sarah had never been happier. While the parting at the airport was sad it couldn't damper her spirits. She even stayed and watched R-1 roar down the runway, take flight to the east, climb, bank to the north, and head towards Pensacola. The move of ENW from Atlanta to Pensacola was complete. Sean had been busy learning the full range of ENW's activities which were more extensive than Ethan had mentioned. Sean also began work on a new project that was very complex and he was almost ready to review the preliminary results with Ethan and Sarah. Ethan had given him a high level brief and told Sean to run with it. He couldn't believe that he was in the position he was in and was enjoying his new job immensely. He was determined to make this new project a success. Sean was also pleased with how things were going with Kevin. After things settled down following the Quest tragedy, Sean and Kevin had attended the MCC church in Pensacola. Kevin was amazed that there was a church that provided a place for gays, lesbian, bisexuals, and transgender people to worship. The church itself was an older building in a less than scenic part of town but it had a warmth about it that was special. The stained glass windows were specially designed and were spectacular. Kevin was sceptical at first picturing a meat market in a church setting, but he was pleasantly surprised. Oh sure, he could sense that he was being cruised and that there was some of that going on but no more so than happened in straight churches. In fact he felt more comfortable about it all than he did at the church he had been attending. There he felt the eyes of desperate girls boring into him. Since the night following Kevin's stupid mistake, as he now called it, Sean and Kevin had not slept together or had any physical contact. They did spend most of their free time together and the friendship was deepening. Instead of lust and superficial feelings something more was developing. Both could sense this was happening but neither wanted to move too quickly. Adam was growing and both Ethan and Rick were amazed by the depth of his understanding, his sense of humor, his boundless energy, and his limitless supply of love. Both Ethan and Rick felt blessed to have Adam in their lives. But, Adam was becoming a handful and they were worried that he needed more social opportunities. The security concerns following Quest extended to Adam and so they had not tried to place him in a day care facility. Besides the risk to Adam, Rick and Ethan couldn't bear the thought of placing other children at risk. They had seen that the person behind the Quest tragedy had no respect for the innocent. Ruth had accepted Ethan's offer and Sean reported that the bowling alley was being repainted and new equipment was going in. Ruth had made an early payment to the charities that Ethan had dictated. Ruth had called and left a message for Ethan that they would be having a grand re-opening in early January and that he was welcome to attend. Sarah announced she was coming up to Pensacola the second weekend in November. She said that she had something to talk over with the guys but had been very secretive. Ethan tried every tactic he knew to get it out of her but nothing worked. He could tell it wasn't business related which made him even more determined. He hadn't launched his most powerful weapon on her yet. This weapon was one that she couldn't resist and Ethan knew this weapon would win the day. If she didn't come clean over the weekend, she would be attacked. Ethan would be sure his secret weapon had a clear plan of attack. Adam would be prepared. Sheila and Simon had cooled some. Sheila had been flying a bit taking R-1 to Ft Lauderdale for fuel tank fittings, attending additional training on Arizona, some trips to Nashville and Atlanta. Simon never spoke much about his work but did say that he would be going back to the UK for a few weeks. He had some meetings back at his main office, some training classes, and then he would stay and spend the Christmas holiday with his family back home. With their busy schedules and the upcoming extended time they would be apart, they both pulled back a little. They still went to dinners, movies, and Sheila always enjoyed herself. But she wasn't going to allow herself to fall hard for him. Not now anyway. R-1 had just landed in Pensacola and Sarah was anxious to see her boys. Her gang of boys in the Pensacola area had grown by one now. She looked out the windows and didn't see anybody waiting for her. She bounded down the stairs into the hangar ready to be attacked by Adam. Instead she was greeted by an empty hangar. Rick's car was there with a note on the windscreen. It apologized that they weren't there to meet her and told her to take the car and to come on out to the condo. Sarah fumed - the lazy sods couldn't be bothered. She arrived at the condo ready to give them a piece of her mind. She fumbled with the door lock and as she opened it she could hear a football game on the television. "Oh right, your bloody football was more important than the woman in your life?" Sarah yelled as she entered. On the couch, were the guys. Ethan on the end, Rick leaning on Ethan, then Adam with his head in Rick's lap. Each guy in a sweat shirt, hair askew, looking like hell. Tissues littered the floor and coffee table. They each looked over at Sarah and eeked out a hello. Even Adam didn't move much. "Oh bloody hell. What do we have here?" Sarah asked. "Mommy we're sick," Ethan whined. "We are stopped up, can't stop coughing, we ache, and hurt all over." Almost to illustrate the point Rick launched into a coughing fit and finished by hocking and spitting. "Oh, that is lovely. Nice. How long has this been going on?" Sarah said sternly with her hand on her hip. "For days. We are all sorry Boss. We are really glad to, to... ACHOO ... see you," came from Rick just before a loud nose blow and a heavy slump back against Ethan. At that point, the Boss took charge. She went to the kitchen to see what kind of food was in the pantry. The place was a mess. Pots, pans, dishes filled the sink. The living room looked like a cotton field of tissues. After surveying the food situation Sarah announced she was going to the store to pick up some food. "When I get back I expect each of you to be clean. For God's sake boys, you stink. Clean yourseleves up." With that the door slammed and Sarah was on her way. Slowly the guys all got up, knowing to disobey would be harder on them then the effort it would require to shower. Quietly and slowly they went about taking a bath for Adam and a shower for Rick and Ethan. Sarah returned, inspected the guys making sure they were clean, and she went into the kitchen announcing that food would be ready in 30 minutes. The guys moaned and said they weren't hungry. That earned them a full stare down from Sarah. They each cowered. Sarah went back and the guys were treated to constant mutterings from the kitchen. "Men, bloody useless babies. Can't take care of themselves. What would they do if I weren't around. Sitting around dirty and stinking. Look at this place. Bloody hell." Ethan, Rick, and Adam each looked at each other and smiled. They were already feeling better with the sister of Nurse Diesel there to take care of them. After chicken noodle soup and crackers, Sarah produced some tissues with balm after seeing the red sore noses on each of her boys. She then put Vicks on Adam, gave him some children's nightime cold and flu medicine, and carried him to bed. "You two can put that stuff on each other. Take the NyQuil I put there, I want you both in bed in 10 minutes. Saturday morning came and sure enough, things were looking better at the condo. After much hacking, coughing, and moaning after waking up, each guy was looking and feeling better. Sarah had made porridge and toast and big glasses of orange juice were set out. The place had been tidied. Sarah was beaming. She loved her boys so much and would always take care of them. But that would be her little secret for now. She couldn't be soft. She was in charge now. After a morning nap and a lunch of soup and sandwiches, Adam went to watch cartoons. Sarah mentioned that she had made a stew in the crock pot for them to eat tonight. "You are on your own for dinner, I have a date." Ethan and Rick both stopped chewing and looked at each other. Sarah explained what had happened when Dan came down to Ft Lauderdale and about how they felt about each other. She also said that she had invited Dan to go to Devon with them for Thanksgiving. The guys sat and listened knowing that no questions were allowed. When Sarah finished, they both told her how happy they were for her and then went to give her a hug. "Stay away from me you two. Keep your nasty germs to yourself." They all laughed which led to a coughing fit for both Ethan and Rick. "Bloody hell," Sarah said and shook her head in disgust. Sean came over at 3pm and presented to Ethan, Rick, and Sarah the plan he had been working on following Ethan's earlier request. Rick was fully involved in this discussion and asked many questions. Sean had done a wonderful and thorough job. Everyone praised Sean's work. Approval was given to officially launch the plan. Project Phoenix was born. ******* Coming soon - the trip to Devon. Thanksgiving. More about Project Phoenix. Perhaps the Quest villain is exposed. And more...it won't be too long of a wait this time.