Date: Tue, 10 Mar 2009 13:56:33 -0400
From: Pee Jay <peejay@mi.rr.com>
Subject: "Winging It" -  Epilogue

"Winging It" - Epilogue
By: Pee Jay
peejay@twmi.rr.com

Turner-Felstow Aviation, Inc. became a force to reckon with throughout the
Midwest and the South. Adam and John expanded their business to several
states from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico and East to the
Mid-Atlantic States. John avoided expansion into major metropolitan areas
not wanting to go head on with well-capitalized competitors while Adam
reminded him that they were as deep pocketed as any of them. The only
exception he made was an FBO at Midway that became available through a
divorce case. It was very nearly run into the ground so they picked it up
at bargain basement prices.

Whenever they announced a new acquisition, the competition shuddered at the
news. They never closed on a deal until they identified the strengths and
weaknesses of their target and the avenues available to grow the
business. It was a sure-fire, cautious approach and it drove Adam crazy on
more than one account; but John was determined to never touch Adam's
personal funds. If the acquisition couldn't stand on its own merit then it
was set aside, killed by John for some other sucker to pick up on.

They bought a midsize jet, a Cessna Citation CJ2 primarily for their
personal use in visiting their operations. It was certified for one pilot
and fast enough to get them back home the same day. On those occasions when
only one of them could make the trip, it was usually John. He came to be
respected, if not feared, by the managers at the various locations. It
wasn't that he was mean or heavy-handed, it was his curt, straightforward,
no nonsense approach that intimidated the managers, he couldn't be
hoodwinked, and most of them knew it.

For those that tried, they soon had an exit package in hand. John could
accept lack-luster performance when buttressed with legitimate reasoning or
honesty; what he could not stomach was laziness, lying or brown-nosing
unless the latter was supported by solid results. For those managers that
got it right, they were generously compensated with bonuses and profit
sharing.

For the most part, their life was rich and full and they never lost the
desire to be together, or wanting to be together and always were but for
the rare occasion. John never tired of loving his boy, wanting him any time
he could have him and it never occurred to Adam that his feelings would be
otherwise for John. There were spats along the way, usually centered around
the business but always amicably resolved. They victimized anybody they
could with their pranks; employees included, and suffered their fair share
of reprisal, always good-naturedly with grins and kudos to those that were
especially creative at the art.

At the untimely age of fifty-eight, Adam suffered a stroke and it
devastated John and Elaine who was still alive and going strong at
eighty-two years of age. John cried like a baby when it happened and
wouldn't leave the hospital or his partner's side. He had Adam moved to a
private room with two beds and he stayed with him until he was
discharged. At lights out, he would climb into Adam's bed so they could
spend the night in each other's arms, warm and secure, needing nothing more
than the pleasure of each other's company.

John would not entertain getting a nurse for him and attended to his every
need personally. Adam was able to hobble around the house with a walker but
when they went out, he was forced to use a wheel chair for practical
purposes. John brought a Jack Russell terrier home for Adam shortly after
his discharge from the hospital and Adam loved the dog. He named him Ricky
and the name seemed to fit the dog's personality.

They still went to work together every day but it wasn't the same and it
was evident that it never would be. Adam tired easily and needed a nap to
get through the day. The mood at work was noticeably different too. Adam
was loved and held in high regard by the employees as much as John inspired
apprehension, which was the very formula that made them such a formidable
team.

John had their Citation re-configured to accommodate Adam's wheel chair so
he could accompany John to the various locations; he took care to make
Adam's presence acknowledged and his opinion valued. Adam always had Ricky
with him on business trips and the dog seemed to love flying; if for no
other reason than to be with Adam, and John understood that implicitly.

Adam made it almost two years after his stroke and suffered another fatal
one in his sleep. It left John devastated and in the depths of depression
and despair. In his grief, he decided that life wasn't worth living
anymore. The business didn't hold the allure that it once did when they
both laughed and joked about it, and argued some. It just wasn't the same,
the fizz was gone and so was Adam. Somehow, it didn't seem to matter or
make a difference; John's life had become hollow and meaningless.

Jim and Dave did all they could to draw John out of his self-imposed
isolation but nothing seemed to work. He didn't want to date or meet anyone
new; he became pissed off when they invited a potential suitor to dinner on
one occasion. The harder they tried the more John withdrew and eventually
they gave up, having exhausted every avenue they could think of.

John had gotten into the habit of carrying a handkerchief out of necessity
and would often times break down spontaneously and have to excuse himself
until he could quell the emptiness and loss that overcame him.

He bought an impressive monument for Adam's grave and would visit it every
Sunday and very often on his way home from work with Ricky. He would cry
and talk to his boy, his dead partner, reminding him of this time or that
time and sometimes smile at a memory recalled through his tears.

He tormented himself over his dead lover silently recalling all they had
together, the way they fit so perfectly in each other's arms, the vows they
exchanged, the promises to one another and the endearment that bound and
held them so close. And there was the one that went something like 'you
were made for me' that struck a pang so deep inside John that it made him
sob.

It made him feel lonely and alone, pointless and unwilling to go on. In the
end, he would reluctantly leave Adam's grave unable to console himself
wanting nothing more than the presence of his boy, his reason for being,
everything he held near and dear to him in his arms for just one more
minute. To see him smile and laugh again, to put an arm around him or to
kiss and hold him, to run his fingers through his hair one more time, just
one more time; was it too much to ask?

John took to drinking in an effort to wash away his loss, numbing himself
up to the sorrow trying to forget but never able to let the memory of his
boy go. He had a brief affair with a kid that held a striking resemblance
to Adam when they first met some thirty-six short years ago but it wasn't
the same. John was about to turn sixty and the kid was in his early
twenties and the thought of it made his anguish that much deeper, he put an
end to it when the kid ripped him off.

A year after Adam passed away, Elaine followed and John took it nearly as
hard as if she were his mother. He truly was alone, sinking in an abyss
with death lurking; it seemed, at every corner. Since he had met Adam, he
and Elaine were his family; and now he had no one, nothing but memories to
remind him of the way it was. And as good as it was,it was that bad for him
now.

He was a wealthy man but poor in his own estimation, all the money in the
world couldn't fill the void inside. Elaine had changed Adam's trust to
make John the sole beneficiary and trustee. He didn't care, it wasn't
important. He had no use for more money. He had everything he needed except
his companion, his spouse that left him alone to fend for himself.

He already had several million and the only equity stake to be had in
Turner-Felstow Aviation and four beautiful homes. John put the business up
for sale at a hefty price and waited for a buyer or anyone to demonstrate
interest. While the business was up for sale, he sat down with the
officials at the University in town. He wanted to create a scholarship fund
for students in the aviation program and insisted it be called, "The Adam
Felstow Aviation Scholarship Fund" and they agreed. John was happy, the
memory of his boy would endure in perpetuity, never to be lost or forgotten
by future generations; Adam's name and his legacy would live on.

The price for the business proved to be too much so John took it off the
market. He called his former employer and they, along with some 'whores' as
John called them, took the business public and he was wealthy beyond any
stretch of his imagination.

He retained a forty percent stake in the public company and placed the
shares in Adam's scholarship fund. He transferred Elaine's preferred shares
of the drug company that her grandfather founded from his trust to the
scholarship fund in Adam's name. The balance of his assets, which amounted
to a few million and the four residences, he bequeathed to Jim and Dave
with the stipulation that they care and provide for Ricky.

Three years after Adams passing, John left the office for home one Friday
night. He stopped at the cemetery to see his boy, to say hello and tell him
how much he was missed; how much he was loved and not forgotten. When he
finished he blew him a kiss and waved goodbye with teary eyes, saying aloud
"I love you and always will".

At home, he sat on the sofa and started popping pills and vodka martinis
alternately until he could sit upright no longer. As he slumped over, the
last thought he had was of Adam and himself laughing in the Vermont sun,
happy and in love, together, until in death they did part.

The End


Thank you so much to everyone that responded. I purposely didn't solicit
comments because I wanted it to be voluntary and your response was strong
and welcomed. Thank you all.

And thank you for sticking it out through the first two or three chapters,
which were poorly executed. It's my own fault for not putting more effort
into editing. I hope you enjoyed what followed. Though you may not like the
ending, you have to admit that life is not always rosy and things don't
always work out as we would like.

Thanks Again,

Pee Jay