Date: Wed, 1 Nov 2017 23:52:36 +0000 (UTC)
From: Kim Hansen <ringinmine@yahoo.com>
Subject: Ring in Mine: Chapter 47 Epilogue

Ring in Mine
    Kim Terry

Thank your for the emails. I appreciate even a short, "I'm reading your
story," goes a long way.

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All rights are reserved to the author except those given to Nifty to
publish and archive this work. Please do not repost without permission of
the author.

(If there are errors I do apologize up front. I find proofreading is a lot
like steam cleaning your carpet.  It doesn't matter how many times you go
over something you still find another error or two.)

Note: Due to many requests for more information about John and Marty, the
other two victims in chapter 34, After the epilogue this story will
continue with two or possibly three short stories exploring how these
characters came to be in that dark situation and how they coped with the
experience.

There is a chapter that I deleted from the story and no longer belongs in
the narrative. One of my friends says it is really hot. I will trying
posting it if I can get it to work.

     Kim

----------

Ring in Mine: Chapter 47: Epilogue

We were twins with separate fathers. I slowly lost some animosity toward
Bruce. He was treating the love of my life with respect. I can't say I
liked him but I didn't actively hate him.

Mom turned out to be pregnant. We knew whose it was, but we weren't telling
Bruce. My mom had only had one fertile dick in her that matched the
timing. No, it wasn't mine but Brett's. There would be no three armed kids
in this family. Mom was ecstatic. Even Bruce seemed happy to have another
chance as a father.

Jerry and I came to a meeting of the minds as far as sex with others. If we
were both in agreement we would include them in our love making. I am sure
Professor James White remembered the first time we double teamed him in his
office.

James was sitting behind his desk. We came in unannounced one night after
the late lab. Jerry started with James's mouth while I took care of his
zipper. He shot his first load with Jerry sucking his dick while I ate his
ass. We didn't give him a breather but kept working until we were rewarded
with a miraculous re-erection. The dead did rise again. Jerry had won the
toss in the hall. Tails. It was his tail that would take James's big
dick. I slipped behind James and slid into him. We twins were holding still
making James do all the work.

Right after mom's divorce became final, mom married Bruce. He had promised
to continue to support Jerry's education. He suggested I quit working and
let him support me. I refused. I was proud to be doing this on my own. That
which wasn't accepted couldn't be taken away. I did appreciate the health
insurance when they took care of my face over spring break. I started the
new quarter in bandages.

Jerry was surprised when they came off. For people who noticed, I had a
mole on the bridge of my nose. I had asked the surgeon to remove it. I
wanted to be the mirror image of my brother. The bandages were removed and
Jerry noticed the missing mole at once. We didn't point it out to anyone.

Danielle noticed the mole almost as quickly as Jerry. She had another way
of telling us apart. Jerry's ampallang was lower and farther forward than
mine. Not many people got the chance to see that difference.

During spring break Danielle went on vacation with her family; I was
getting my face fixed. Jerry was home with Bruce and mom. We separately all
came to the same conclusion. We were miserable without the other two. The
first night back Brett had to ask us to hold it down a bit or Doc and he
would come join us. I'm not sure if what happened was what they
expected. Three naked young adults crawled into the big king bed with them.

The next morning we woke to the phone ringing.

"Is this Brett? This is Todd, Bobby's artist friend. Did you see the news
last night?" Brett answered that he had. A drunk driver behind the wheel of
a small propane delivery truck had plowed headfirst into another car in the
canyon going about 80 miles an hour, resulting in a raging fireball. The
fire was so hot that there was little left of either driver.

"I thought you should know that Samuel was in the other car. He has been
living here over the break. Samuel had no family that claimed him. I know
he would want you to have anything of Christopher's"

There were a lot of tears as we brought the few boxes that were the only
physical evidence of his short life. Doc and Brett weren't up to going
through the boxes yet. There was only a memorial service. Samuel's few
remaining ashes were added to Christopher's urn.

Danielle started spending almost as much time at the Johnson's as Jerry and
I.

Danielle, Jerry and I became an unstoppable team when it came to making
films. Jerry had a real flair at script writing. Danielle was a great
producer/director. I was best at camerawork and editing. We shifted our
schedules to have our film classes together. I continued my jobs as
teaching assistant for the hottest two professors on campus.

Things got hectic in April and May. Brett was having the huge bonus space
over the garage remodeled. It was all a secret and we were allowed nowhere
near the construction zone. Materials were always delivered while we were
at school.

As the regular year's classes wound down, news reached us of our attackers
plea bargain. The district attorney felt with the case being so tied up in
religious beliefs he would never get a jury to side with four gay boys,
especially based on only one person's testimony. They ended up with time
served, probation and community service. At least the cops lost their jobs.

Skip and Jessica got married just as school got out. They took over
Danielle's apartment when the roommates all moved out. They had extensive
training in the diversity of love making. It was a class we had enjoyed
teaching. It was usually held in the basement. Doc and Brett occasionally
attended a refresher course.

Doc didn't seem to mind the nude workouts and showers in the morning. It
was tight on the mornings we had five in the shower.

God was still an important part of all our lives. We attended church with
the Johnsons. The congregation slowly became accustomed to having us
here. Since Jerry and I were pretty much identical we took turns
introducing Danielle as our fiancé. We hadn't figured out how we were
going to legally make it work yet. Two weeks after spring break we asked
Danielle to marry us.


The week after Skip's wedding a morning came without the construction
team. Brett suggested that we spend a weekend with Grams and Papa. We had
met them other places for part of a day. It was only Jerry that had spent
overnight with his dad.

Doc started me on anxiety pills three days before the visit. Just as Chris
had promised me, Jerry's only memories were from the film, easily pushed
aside. They were my cross to bear and if it saved Jerry the pain and
nightmares I endured, it was worth the price.

I am embarrassed to say that the night before we left, my partners couldn't
find me. As good as my life had become, I often still depended upon the
lie. Everything wasn't alright. Geo did what he could to help but there
were times I just couldn't handle things.

Jerry was the one to find me, my head on my knees in the far corner of my
closet. My body shook in a terror that was more than real to me. Danielle
opened her mouth to say something but had gotten no further than `Bobby'
when Jerry put his fingers to her lips. He pulled the blanket and pillows
from the bed. The two loves of my life, the reasons I didn't end it that
day on the library roof, settled in on either side of me. Neither tried to
tell me I was being stupid or silly. I heard Jerry softly remind her of the
movie.

"For us it was a movie, something that happened to someone else. Bobby
remembers it all and it started when my evil step sister left those scars."

I think that was when she understood the depths of my fears. She leaned in
and kissed my cheek.

"Bobby you are and have always been loved." Danielle whispered. Something
about her simple phrase settled my torn soul enough to fall asleep.

----------

Instead of my usual nightmares, I was at the mouth of a dark cave. I wasn't
looking into the cave but at a path that led further from the darkness. The
sound of distant surf filled my ears. I walked the path under a canopy of
growth that grew thinner the farther I travelled. I left the darkness far
behind. I stepped out onto a beach of pure white sand ending in an ocean so
blue it put the beautiful azure sky to shame. Down the beach were two
swinging hammocks. I ran toward this destination. I noticed in one hammock
Samuel lay with his arm behind Chris.

"We've been waiting for you. Before I forget be sure mom finds the pale
blue box in my stuff." Samuel instructed.

"You've handled things as well as can be expected. You have had an impact
on the lives of people you don't even know, but they know of you." Chris
explained. "The three of you are going to make a difference in the
world. For now take a hammock and rest."

Getting in the hammock was an ordeal. Settled in I realized I wasn't
alone. I couldn't see who was cradling me in his arms.

"Little brother I think it is time I lift some of this burden from your
shoulders." I looked down at the hand resting on my chest. I knew the
mark's I would find. I closed my eyes in a blissfully peaceful sleep in the
arms of a loving older brother.

----------

I'm not sure how long we had slept in the closet. I woke my partners.

"Let's go to bed." I suggested.

Friday night we slept at Grams in my attic garret. Much of my fear was
gone, but I wouldn't go into the first floor bedroom. It was great spending
time with my three grandparents. When we arrived LeRoy tried to excuse
himself.

"Don't you step any closer to that door!" I was being forceful in my
demand. I stepped over to him and took his face into my hands and gave this
dear old man a kiss that should have stopped his heart. It nearly stopped
mine.

"With the three of us you have nothing to hide." I announced. I could tell
LeRoy was uncomfortable sitting at the dinner table. Grams and Danielle
decided that we would watch a romantic comedy that was on TV. We sat on the
loveseat with Danielle in the middle. The grandparents sat on the couch
with Papa in the middle.

Danielle decided we would play the kissing game. She explained it to the
responsible adults. I kissed Danielle first. Danielle kissed Jerry
second. Jerry kissed me third. These weren't little pecks on the
cheeks. These were games of toe curling tonsil tag.

By the fourth kiss Papa felt comfortable kissing LeRoy with an audience. It
was a great kiss. Danielle got up during commercial and kissed each of the
gentlemen in a chaste granddaughter type kiss.

"That's what I want to see. The three of you love each other. At least with
us don't be afraid to show it." She returned to the couch and placed her
hands in our crotches. She didn't just lay them there. She was going to
maximize the tents in the basketball shorts we were wearing commando. I
wasn't too sure about Grams seeing me hard. Then I remembered she had
already seen it that way and she was cool about it.

The next kiss we made a three way kiss. With her hands in our laps we were
totally carried away. I stole a glance at Papa. They were matching us
tongue for tongue. Commercial break ended the current kisses. LeRoy and
Papa were showing the same problem we were. I was glad we could make them
feel comfortable enough to show their deep love for each other. When
everyone came back from commercial/bathroom/snack break Grams sat in the
middle. She was copying Danielle's example of hand placement.

"Bobby, Papa and Leroy were talking in the kitchen. I have told them about
the ring in your dick. Would you mind showing them. Jerry and I each stood
in front of our audience and dropped our shorts to the floor. Our hard
cocks proudly displaying the rings and barbells.

"You can touch them." Jerry offered. They reached out and slid the barbells
back and forth. They played with the rings. LeRoy licked his lips looking
at mine.

"LeRoy, you may do it if you want." He looked up into my eyes and I smiled
and nodded. Taking me up on the offer he slid my dick between his lips. He
used his tongue to play with first the ring and then the barbell. He moved
beyond exploration and swallowed the whole thing. I looked at Papa. Jerry
was getting the same treatment. Danielle came over and stood before Grams.

"Do you feel left out?" Danielle pulled Grams to her feet removed the
underwear under her house dress and set her back down. "Have you ever had a
woman down there?" Grams shook her head. Danielle demonstrated her talents
for Grams. From her sounds she was enjoying Danielle's efforts. Listening
to Grams sent me over the edge. LeRoy wasn't going to waste a drop. Jerry
wasn't far behind.

"If you don't mind I think we are tired. We will see you in the morning."
Grams took her men by the hand and headed for their bedroom. Someone was
going to be happy tonight. I know up in the attic we were. It wasn't
something that would probably ever happen again, but it had the desired
effect. The next morning they were relaxed in their affections. LeRoy
kissed Papa at the table and then Grams.

"You planned this didn't you?" Grams accused. "You wanted us to be able to
be ourselves when you visited?" Grams was looking from face to face trying
to find the guilty party. Danielle finally confessed. Everyone admitted it
had the desired effect.

Tonight we were staying at Jerry's house. I had often slept there before
all of this. Maybe I could do it again. I was on a hair trigger, any gay
bashing and I was ready to leave. My partners could decide if they came
with me.

At the dinner table Danielle sat next to mom. I sat next to Jerry. This was
my first time on Bruce's turf and I wasn't comfortable. I was here for
Jerry. It was good to see my mom, but my fear of Bruce overshadowed
everything. I was afraid to show affection for anyone. Bruce said something
that I didn't catch. Mom shook her head and glared at her husband. Jerry
put his hand on my leg and I push back so hard my chair fell backward. I
excused myself to clean up the glass of water I dumped all over me. I had
no intention of returning to the table.

----------

"What's wrong with Bobby?" Bruce asked.

"I'm not sure. He was fine earlier." Jerry answered.

"Sometimes men are so stupid." Danielle said to Marie. "Bruce, Bobby
associates you with everything bad that has happened since Christmas and
looking at your track record I can understand why." Danielle looked
directly at Jerry. "He is only here because you asked him to. He is afraid
to show any affection for anyone for fear your dad will attack him again."

"Do you want to know his biggest fear." She aimed this last statement at
the remaining men at the table. "That Bruce will ask you to choose and
Bobby will be out in the cold again."

"Jerry is my son." Bruce began.

"Dad shut up." Jerry looked at Danielle.

"Go find him. Prove to him that you love him. You know that he loves you
more than life itself." Danielle suggested

"Jerry is a man he has nothing to prove." Bruce announced. Danielle slapped
him.

"Go!" She ordered. Jerry ran from the room. Bruce was about to say
something when Marie threatened to slap him again.

"If they come back to the table, I hope Jerry kisses my son to show who he
chooses and he had better come back or you will be on the couch tonight. I
can make do with a vibrator or better yet I could borrow Danielle for an
hour or two." Marie pointed out her husband's options. "And the comment
about Danielle marrying Jerry so any children could be born in the church
was out of line."

Bruce stood up and left the table. He found Jerry comforting his
brother. Jerry sat on the floor, Bobby's head against his chest. He
silently stood there and watched his son caressing Bobby's back and hair as
the young man sobbed. Somehow he had caused this. He remembered all the fun
times the three of them had as they grew up: the camping trips, teaching
them to ride a bike, the fun days just playing with his boys. He burst with
pride when Bobby won swimming trophy after swimming trophy.

Bruce remembered the anger when Bobby came to play and saw the bruises left
by the man intrusted with the care of his son. Then he remembered the
bruises he had left by not holding Jan accountable for beating Bobby with
that steel yardstick leaving physical scars that would fade with time along
with the emotional scars that never would. The phrase `cocksucking faggot'
and the punch to the gut of an already injured boy. Bobby lying on the
ground. He clearly remembered Bobby's last words before he passed out from
blood loss. `Don't let him near me. I don't want to die." Had Bobby really
been that afraid of him.

`Lord, what have I done?' Bruce prayed.

`As you have asked so you shall be given.'

Bruce relived the beating, the torture, the multiple times Bruce had forced
Jerry to choose him rather than his brother. He felt the joy of having
Bruce as his real father and then the despair of abandonment.

`I cannot bear this please no more.'

`But your son carries this cross on his own and you chose to drive the
nails through his hands.'

Then Bruce heard Bobby's prayer when his memories of the reprogramming came
back.

`Lord, may I carry this burden for both of us. Please don't let Jerry
remember.'

`How could I not grant his fervent prayer, based not on lust but on a pure
love.'

`Please forgive me. What can I do?"

`The Lord's forgiveness is a given. This cross will not be lifted from your
shoulders until you gain Bobby's forgiveness.'

The world came back into focus. He realized a miraculous transformation on
his part wouldn't be accepted. He was going to have to earn this. Bruce got
on his knees and Jerry's eyes met his.

"I am so sorry Jerry. I know I am going to have to earn both of your trusts
again and I really don't know how." Bruce said between the tears.

"To start, think before you open your damn mouth. I think you taught me
that." Bruce realized the truth of what his son accused him of.

"Jerry, if Bobby is uncomfortable being here, maybe you should take him
back to his Grams. Maybe overnight is too much too soon." Bruce offered a
suggestion.

"But dad I want to spend time with you!" Jerry looked again at his
brother/lover. "With both of you!"

"Jerry, I want to spend time with both of my sons, but I have a lot of
bridges that need to be rebuilt with your brother. I have ripped them down
and burned the timbers." Bruce confessed.

"Take Bobby where he is safe. May I come to church with you tomorrow?"
Bruce asked.

Bobby wasn't up to returning to the table. His sons and their girlfriend
returned to Grams' house for the night. Good to her word Bruce slept on the
couch. Marie didn't actually use the vibrator but she made sure Bruce heard
it.

----------

Church started on a strained note. Bruce wanted to sit with a son on each
side, but I wasn't going to let anyone come between me and my
brother. Bruce had to be content to sit next to Danielle. Bruce had a
chance to make great strides forward on his path of redemption during the
break between meetings.

"You're that gay kid on the news. Why are you here? You do know you are
going straight to hell. That should be new doing anything STRAIGHT in your
twisted life."

"I am sorry you are so misinformed. You are not to talk to my son that
way. He is a child of a loving and caring God. If God has issues with my
son, the two of them will work it out. God did not make you my son's
keeper." Bruce had not been particularly quiet in his response.

I stood in a daze. Bruce defended me. He really had defended me.

The leader of the congregation came to put in his two bits worth, but Bruce
didn't give him a chance.

"Brother," not giving the leader the dignity of his title, "before you say
anything remember what I am and that you have an expired registration and a
broken taillight. He without sin, you know how it goes." He turned and
walked away.

Bruce had defended me twice. That deserved at least a hug. I wrapped his
arms around my current champion.

"Thank you." I said quietly. Bruce was in seventh heaven. He knew he wasn't
out of the woods, but his son had hugged him and said thank you. Marie's
smile could have lit the room without the use of electricity.

After church Grams had invited everyone over for dinner. Papa met us at the
door and wouldn't let us in. He pointed to three gloves and a baseball.

"We will call you when it's dinner." He announced. We used to play catch
all the time. When things got busy in high school not so much. Jerry was a
star on the high school team. Throwing the baseball was simple. It was
pointless and like so many pointless things we had fun.

Dinner was a quiet affair, almost as if everyone seemed reluctant to break
the fragile truce that had started developing last night. I finally broke
the ice and flipped the elephant in the room the finger.

"Bruce, thank you for standing up for me at church. I get that a lot, not
people standing up for me, but getting beaten down because of who or what
they think I am."

"I wanted to tell her that her son had shagged all the cheerleaders and
half the football squad." Jerry piped in. "Well they shagged him." Bruce
looked at Jerry with shocked eyes.

"Dad, I said football team. I have better taste than that and from what
I've seen in the showers he's only this long hard." Jerry held up his
fingers about three inches apart. Papa and LeRoy thought it was hilarious.

"You don't need length to catch." Papa added to the conversation. Everyone
but Bruce was laughing. I knew what question he was going to ask. Jerry
must have figured it out to.

"Dad, before you ask, I've known I was gay since jr high gym glass. Guys
were so much more interesting than girls. My first time doing anything with
a guy was my junior year and as much as everyone wants to know the details,
they aren't for the dinner table." Jerry explained. Bruce looked at me.

"Hey, I know what you're thinking. I didn't think of guys that way until
last Thanksgiving. I like it both ways. " I leaned over and gave Danielle a
kiss on the cheek.

"Dad, Bobby didn't make me gay, if anything he opened my eyes to the
wonders of straight sex." His kiss with Danielle got wolf whistles from all
three grandparents.

We had given Bruce something to ponder.

"What did you do in high school?" Danielle asked me before anyone else
could.

"I swam and avoided getting hit by my dad. Most of the time I swam with a t
shirt on so not to show the bruises. Practicing with all that drag is part
of the reason I was so fast in competitions. I was a total virgin until
Thanksgiving and before anyone asks my first time with a woman was a
favor." I looked around the table and knew I wasn't going to get away with
only that much of an explanation about the favor. "Her husband was sterile
and I looked like I could have been family. The baby will be here in a few
months, most people don't know but I have it on good authority she is
carrying twins."

Jerry was dying to say something. I shook my head no. He nodded his head
yes. I shook my head no. The family was watching us like a tennis match.

"Go ahead, tell them." I said in defeat.

"Bobby is the father..."

"The sperm donor, Brad's the father." I interrupted.

"You ruined it. Now they know." Jerry looked crestfallen.

"You can tell them the other thing about Brad." Jerry looked at me
surprised. "Not that, the jewelry thing."

"Sue asked Bobby to put a ring in his dick like ours." He looked happy
again. "Dad, I'm sure he'll do yours if you ask him nicely."

Bruce's eyes crossed and a hand went below the table.

"It doesn't hurt that much. Now the barbell that is a different story."
Bruce looked like he was ready to throw up.

"Give the poor man a chance to breathe and let's have some pie." Grams
announced.

After dinner Papa brought out the monopoly board. The women wisely chose to
do anything else but play monopoly. Papa and Jerry were ruthless. I was the
first to run out of money. As always it came down to Papa and Jerry. Years
ago it was decided that when it got down to two they had 30 minutes and
then the one with the most value won the game.

When time was up Papa had the most money, but Jerry had the most value
because of the properties he owned. For the last 30 minutes Jerry cheated
every time he could get away with it. But, Papa was cheating too. It wasn't
until the 15 minute point I realized that Bruce had his arm around my
shoulder. We had sat like this many times watching the masters swindle and
cheat each other. I could have moved but it brought back memories of good
times.

The women returned during the counting of the money. Mom noticed Bruce and
I. I winked and she didn't say a thing. When Jerry won without thinking I
rewarded him with a kiss. LeRoy consoled Papa in the same way. Danielle and
Gram turned it into two, three way kisses. Mom was smiling and Bruce was
trying to figure the whole thing out.

Jerry headed for the bathroom. I followed.

"Would like to sleep in your own bed tonight?" I asked.

"Not if you aren't in it." Jerry answered.

I kept it together throughout the night. It helped to be the center of a
love sandwich.

Bruce made his special pancakes and eggs that I had eaten after so many
sleepovers. He said the blessing on the food and included Danielle and I
when it came for asking for the Lord's protection. We all cleaned up. Bruce
had to get to work and we needed to get back to Logan. I was working in the
Media Lab for the summer. Jerry and Danielle with the help of our Logan
parents had jobs on campus too.

When we got to the Johnson's all of Jerry's things were missing from our
shared bedroom, even Danielle's things she kept there. My TV was
gone. Everything was gone from my room too.

More than a little disturbed we went to Danielle's apartment. All of her
stuff was gone, replaced by Skip's and Jessica's. Neither of them were
there to explain. The phone rang.

"Bobby, I need you to hurry home. I think we have been robbed." Brett
sounded frantic.

We hopped into the car and hurried home. No one was there. We heard a
muffled call for help. There at the door to the space over the garage we
found Brett duct taped. After we freed him he announced.

They have Doc in there. He pointed at the door. We cautiously entered. The
space was totally transformed. It was an open concept studio
apartment. People popped up from hiding places around the room.

"Surprise!" We turned to look at Brett.

Since you three are starting your family Doc and I thought if you had your
own place, you might stick around.

It was one big space with a corner taken out for the bathroom and walkin
closet. The centerpiece of the bathroom was a shower with two heads, a
handheld and a stationary. It was big enough for a small party. There was a
three sink vanity. Somebody thought it was funny to have his, his and hers
towels hanging on the bar. The toilet was in it's own enclosed space.

The kitchen fit into one corner in an L shape. It wasn't big but it had
everything we would need. There was a sitting space with a couch, my TV and
a stereo. Then there was the king bed.

On the wall hung art from more than one artist that Jerry and I posed
for. I think my favorite was one that included all three of us. We had
never posed together. Danielle explained that Todd had approached her about
posing for a present for her boys.

There was a poster for an famous film festival. Looking at it closely it
listed some of the films that would be premiered at the festival. Our
documentary was listed with an accompanying art show. I looked at Todd.

"It's art from the young guy that was with you that weekend. It was
something Geo and the kid's doctor had put together." Todd explained. It
would be good to see how he was coping.

The festival was only an hour away from Bruce's. We could stay with our
parents for that week.

Most everyone had brought some type of house warming present. The biggest
surprise was a large manila folder presented by Paul. Inside were six pairs
of documents. All signed they would give each of us financial and medical
power of attorney for the others. It was almost like being married. The
most important part was being able to make medical decisions for our pseudo
spouses. The upside was since we were still legally single we didn't have
to worry about Health Insurance. We could stay on our parents insurance.

----------

It was with great pride that the three of us and a young man named John
walked up to the podium to receive the acclaim of filmmakers with far more
experience than we for our film. We looked out at the table where our
family sat, Dad 1 (Brett), Doc, Mom, Dad 2 (Bruce, I could actually bring
myself to call him dad), Papa, Grams and LeRoy. Danielle's and John's
mother's and father filled out our guest list.

---------

Danielle was getting domestic. She was thinking of putting school on hold
and starting our family. Maybe Bruce was right. If Jerry were the one to
make it official with Danielle the children could be born as members of the
church. We are going to have to talk about that. Doc says we will have a
built in pediatrician and baby sitter.

-----------

Though this story is finished. It in some ways will continue in John's
story. (The young boy from Chapter 34.) It will be posted as additional
chapters to this story.

If you would like me to drop you a note when it begins posting, just ask. I
would appreciate hearing from you. ringinmine@yahoo.com