Date: Fri, 19 Feb 1999 00:04:31 EST From: BearKattz@aol.com Subject: Gay Beginnings: TRIO 7 of 7 M/M/M TRI, TRIO, TRES M/M/M Part 7 of 7 By Bearkattz@aol.com WARNINGS: This story depicts loving, consensual sex adult males of legal age. If you are offended by such or if reading such material is illegal under the local laws, or if you are under the age of 18 or under the age of consent in your area, please stop reading now. Comments, critical or complimentary, welcome at Bearkattz@aol.com There was a long interval of total stunned silence as Ian and Max tried to comprehend the words that made no sense at all. It was as if they were spoken in a different language. "What?" the two men finally spoke. Kelly opened his eyes and for a minute the fear that he used to exhibit as if he were afraid someone was going to hit him, manifested itself in his large green eyes. But Max and Ian were so shocked they could not offer the comfort Kelly needed. In a panic, Kelly began to talk so fast, he began to stutter. He rose from the couch and began to pace as he waved his arms about in an effort to punctuate his speech. Max and Ian only caught a couple of words every third sentence or so. "Tired...alone...money...holidays..." the tirade continued for several minutes. "Kelly...," Ian finally spoke up but the young man didn't hear him. "Baby?" Max tried. "Sweetheart...," Ian ventured one more time before Max stood up and physically stepped into Kelly's path in an effort to stop him. A big beefy hand came up over Kelly's mouth and effectively silenced the monologue. The green eyes widened as they peered up into Max's. "We haven't heard or understood hardly a word you've said," Max said, removing his hand and gesturing to the couch. "Now if you'd care to come over here and sit down and start over again - slowly and calmly - we'd like to hear what you have to say." "Well?" Max prompted. Kelly sat back down and repeated everything once again in a much clearer presentation. "I've been thinking, guys, and I don't think being a chef in a restaurant is what I want." Max and Ian nodded encouragingly and he continued, "I mean, the money is good and the experience would be great and I love to cook. Those are the pros. But on the con side, the hours are hellacious, you're working for someone else, the work is exhausting, you work holidays and you're lucky if you get vacations, or if you do it's certainly not during peak season. You have almost no personal life at all. I mean do you know that chefs work only about two years at a restaurant before leaving. Burnout is so high, it makes air traffic controllers look like they're on a longevity streak. That's why the market for chefs is so strong. I mean you can make a reputation in five or ten years, if you're lucky, then you can create your own demands, your own hours, etc. You can work at a restaurant where you have a staff that can do all the preparatory work and all you do is come in and cook and leave. Most of the fancy resorts have a budget for that kind of thing, but your normal restaurant doesn't. Many chefs get up at four o'clock in the morning to go to the market to get the freshest ingredients and don't leave until the restaurant closes at 11:00, 12:00 at night." Kelly paused to take a deep breath. "And I love you guys. Look at how hard it's been when I've just been at school. I hardly see you. We keep telling each other, oh, just another 6 months to go. We can survive that. Only another 5 months, and we're home free. But don't you see? It's only the beginning. I love you guys. I want to be with you." Kelly's eyes pleaded at them to understand. There was silence once again. Finally, Ian cleared his throat, "We understand, baby. It looks like none of us really considered the ramifications of you being a chef. You can drop out any time and we'll support you like we always have. We won't be disappointed in you, sweetheart. We love you, too." This time it was Kelly's turn to look confused. "But I don't want to drop out!" he blurted. Max spluttered, "What the hell is going on? You just spent the last ten minutes telling us you didn't want to be chef!" Kelly breathed in deeply. "I don't want to be a chef in a RESTAURANT." "Oh." Ian grinned at the two but quickly lost the smile when the two turned on him. "I don't see what's funny." Max muttered. "Never mind," Ian dismissed. "Look, Kelly, help us out here. If you don't want to be a chef in a RESTAURANT, " he grinned again, "where do you want to be a chef?" "Well..." Kelly prayed a quick prayer to whatever patron saint was in charge of chefs or young fools. "I was thinking, that we could start our own catering business!" There was a repeat of the previous brief period of confused silence. "And what makes being a chef in a catering business better?" Ian ventured. "Lots of things. Specially if it's our own business. Wait, wait, wait, let me finish," Kelly pleaded as he forestalled the objections Max and Ian were about to voice. "Look, a catering business can set their own hours, take as many or as few jobs as they want, we work for ourselves - all of us. So we work together. Major point. We control how we want things done and when we want to do them." Kelly held his breath expectantly. Ian pondered this for a few seconds before replying. "Baby, I see your point. But it can take years to build up a clientele. And if it were that easy, why isn't everybody doing it?" "Well, here's the best part. The school's catering company is too busy. They turn down business. Chef Martine and I get along wonderfully. He's even made some hints about me joining him in the business. But that's what got me thinking. What about if we start an offshoot of the school's catering company? They won't turn away business any more, we won't be directly competing with them but it'll be our business. Ours. Together." Kelly glanced back and forth between the two men. "What do you think?" "It sounds great, Kelly, but we haven't got the kind of money to sink into opening a company. I have no idea what kind of equipment you need, but I know it's gotta be expensive." Max finally spoke up. "Okay, okay. Tell me what you think about this. If the school agrees to the idea, we'll officially have their endorsement and better yet, their declined business. I bet they will let us use their school kitchens and most of their equipment, if not free, then for a small fee. Now we'd still need some capital for our own items, uniforms, vans, onsite staff, food, etc. So if we can get an official endorsement, write up a proposal and take that to a bank, I bet we could get a business loan. There's no way we could lose, not with the schools backing. And better yet, if we get business on our own, and the school isn't using their equipment, we can use theirs. Our cost would be minimal compared to starting up a whole business from scratch on our own. It's a win/win situation for us, the school and the bank. And best of all, we'd be together, " Kelly slowed down to breathe. "What do you think?" Ian closed his eyes, pursed his lips together and steepled his fingers under his chin while Max stole surreptitious looks at him. Ian was so still and quiet for so long, Max nudged his knee into Ian's thigh. "Ian?" "Shhhh." Kelly and Max waited anxiously. Max thought the idea sounded marvelous himself. He enjoyed watching Kelly work and creating something beautiful that people enjoyed. It wasn't just food that Kelly created, it was a whole atmosphere - a good time. He took great pride on Kelly's behalf in their compliments of the tables and the room and the cooking. But he realized that this was a serious venture and it was cool, calm, smart Ian who would make the decision if it was something to pursue. Ian opened his eyes and leaned back. He began to fire questions at Kelly with a rapidness that spoke volumes of just how much of the situation he grasped with Kelly's brief outline. He asked one question after another: how much did the average affair cost, how much were the client's charged, who was in charge of the decisions at the school, what kind of contracts were used, what kind of insurance coverage was required, who was the school's lawyer, how much business did the school catering business do a month, a year? Kelly answered as best as he could and it was just as obvious to Ian just how much thought Kelly had put into this himself. Finally, the questions and answers stopped and Ian looked at Kelly. "I'd like to sit down and put all of this on paper but....," he paused dramatically, "I think it's something we should pursue, that is, Max, if you agree?" Max didn't hear the question because both he and Kelly were hugging each other and dancing around the living room whoopin' and hollerin'. Ian grinned and stood up to repeat the question in Max's ear. "Hell, yes! With your brains, Kelly's talent and my brawn, look out, World, here we come!" If Kelly expected things to move quickly from that point on, he was sorely disappointed. Ian spent hours visiting the library, using the Internet, doing exhaustive research, compiling numbers, graphs and charts. Kelly continued his final months of schooling, and approached Chef Martine with his idea. While disappointed that he wouldn't have Kelly's formidable talent at his direct side, he could see the benefits of such a partnership. He would be able to use Kelly's company when he wanted a vacation or a holiday himself and even if he wanted to spend some more time with his new granddaughter. He agreed to talk to the school's board of directors at next month's meeting. Would Kelly have some figures by then? Kelly silently thanked Ian for all his hard work and assured the chef that he would. Within a month of graduating, Kelly handed Chef Martine three neatly bound typed reports with colored graphs and charts to be presented to the board a week from tomorrow. Ian had decided not to approach any bank or lawyer until the decision of the board was made. After months of hard work and patience, the decision was almost a letdown. The three men had worn suits and waited nervously outside the meeting room, in case the board needed to ask them any questions. Max fussed over his tie and Kelly slapped his hand to stop his fiddling when the door opened and the members filed out. President Bernetti stopped talking to his companion and reached out to shake Kelly's hand. "Congratulations, Mister Barton. Wonderful idea. Nice presentation. You've got quite a champion in your corner with Claude Martine. Good luck to you!" And with that the three men were left standing with their mouths hanging open. Martine strode out beaming a minute later, and pumped their hands. "It is accepted, mon cher! President Bernetti wanted to know why I did not think of it sooner. He was a bit put off when I could not postpone catering the mayor's birthday party to cater his daughter's wedding. Come and let us talk over the details." To the men's delight, the school was being magnanimous when it came to the "details". They could use the school's equipment and facilities when it came to a job that the school gave them or was referred by them free of charge. It could only enhance the school's reputation. A small fee would be charged when the facilities were used on a job the men had garnered on their own. The school's lawyer would be utilized for the contracts and legal matters, again to safeguard the school's reputation. And a final document stating the new business had the backing and endorsement of one of the finest chef schools in America would be ready in about a week's time to take to the bank. Martine congratulated them once again and hurried off in hopes to see his grandbaby before bedtime. The men solemnly waited until they reached the parking lot to hug and kiss and high five each other. ++++++++++++++++++++ Kelly graduated in the top percent of his class and it was with great delight that he threw away unopened every job offer he received. It was a long six months before all the paper work was signed, the loan reviewed and granted, before the business was official except for one small detail. "But I don't like it..." Max whined. "Well, you come up with one, then." Ian said, exasperated. "You didn't like mine either." "Well, I don't think we'd get a lot of business with a company called Three Amigos Catering." "It's better than The Three Musketeers Catering, " Max muttered. "Yeah and Menage a Trois was going to get us business?" Ian snorted. "Business, maybe, but not catering business," he added with a leer. "Like Kelly, Max and Ian's Catering was going to bring them swarming?" Kelly's head resembled a spectator at a tennis match as he tried to keep up with the heated exchanges till he finally threw up his hands, "Gentlemen, please!" He was gratified at the instant attention and, more importantly, the silence. "Tri Catering," Kelly pronounced proudly. He watched as Ian and Max slowly nodded in approval. Kelly breathed a heavy sigh of relief but it was short-lived. "Not bad but how about Trio Catering." "No way! I like Tres Catering better." "That's terrible. Let's call it .... The End Comments, critical or complimentary, welcome at Bearkattz@aol.com