Date: Sun, 14 Mar 2004 16:42:39 -0800 (PST) From: Evan Bradely Subject: Chapter 19 of "The Crew" The following fictional story deals with sex among males. If you are offended by such material, are too young, or reside in a location where it is not allowed, please depart. Though not observed in this story, care enough about yourself and humankind to practice safe sex. The author retains all rights. EvanBradley33@Yahoo.com Chapter 19 Fate's Ironies Ted and Levi's Home At the first sight of Brett and Hal among the crew shopping for a baby gift at the mall, Drew had escaped. He wasn't prepared to deal with either one of them, let alone both. He hadn't known that Brett had overheard Tonio and Jamal talking about the shopping foray. In fact, Brett had pushed Hal to arrange for them to be invited to join the crew. He saw all kinds of opportunities to bond the guys to him and Hal. He hated to admit that he'd been less than successful in pulling the crew into his grip. He recognized how they held back, clammed up when he came around, traded looks when he embraced Hal at the gym, and were slowly dropping out of group activities. But an invitation also would be an opportunity for him to bond to the Coopers. He still entertained a fantasy of bedding Bobby and Angie together at some point. He didn't know how he'd bring it off, but he'd succeeded in turning events so that he could take Hal away from Drew, so he thought he could be just as successful with the Coopers. Probably drop by the Coopers' home, get Bobby drunk - with a little chemical help the way he had Hal. He'd get Angie drunk too. It would be sweet! As far as being included in the crew's shopping trip, all Brett ever had to do was ask, and Hal acceded to his request. Hal just told Max and Ted that he'd heard about the trip and Brett and he would be joining them. He missed seeing Max's frown or Ted's tightened lips. When Levi heard who was accompanying them, it was like foreknowledge of an auto accident. Without any warning, Drew had run face-first into Hal and Brett in the mall. Afterwards, Levi had fretted and fussed about how Drew now thought Levi had tricked him. "He thinks we've become allies with Hal and Brett, that I asked him to join us so that we could have a good laugh." After dinner, as Ted and Levi, enjoying their new screened-in porch, talked over what Drew must be thinking, Ted could see that Levi was working himself into a state. Ted finally walked over to him, pulled him up in his arms, shushed him, and held him as he caressed Levi's neck, back and ass, gradually calming him. Finally he loosened his hold, moving back a bit so that he could look Levi in the eyes. "Better?" he asked his lover. "Yes, but you know Drew is thinking that I betrayed him, that I'm just like Hal and no better than Brett. I can't stand it, Ted. What can I do?" "Another visit to Drew is necessary." "He won't talk to me. You know that." "You are going to tell me how to find Drew's office. Tomorrow morning I'm paying him a visit. His sense of justice will make him talk to me. I'll give him the straight dope on how we didn't plan on Brett's being with us at all, didn't want him with us. Don't worry: Drew will still be planning to have dinner with us when I leave his office. I'll also tell him that you will call him tomorrow evening to underline all I said. I know you well - you won't relax until you hear it from Drew's own mouth." Drew's Office When Ted pushed open the door, causing Drew to look up from reading a report, Ted had to stifle a smile as he saw Drew's mouth set in a firm line. 'If he can react like that, he's recovered some from the surprise at the mall,' Ted concluded. "Hey Drew, can we talk?" As Ted spoke, he moved quickly around Drew's desk, amused as Drew's eyes grew bigger the closer Ted approached. Suddenly Drew sprang up, his desk chair careening away. Drew backed away from Ted, his hands raised ever so slightly in front of him as though to ward off an attack. 'It's a good thing I came,' Ted thought. 'He's started thinking we've gone over to Hal and Brett's side.' Ted countered Drew's move by holding out his hand for a shake, throwing Drew's expectations off again. Drew hesitated, looking at Ted's hand and then into Ted's eyes. Then he stiffly shook Ted's hand. Drew stood silently, waiting for Ted's explanation. Ted allowed the office to fill with their silence, noting Drew's increasing nervousness. He wanted Drew to concentrate on his words. Suddenly Drew turned to squeeze around the desk and the files since Ted was blocking his usual path to his office door, muttering about getting them some coffee. Ted waited until Drew couldn't easily return the way he came. Then Ted scooted around the desk, moving right up in front of Drew. He immediately assumed Drew's favorite stance when they were talking - up close and personal. But this time Ted firmly gripped Drew's wrists, looking down into his eyes, reading the confusion and puzzlement there. Ted gently slid his hands up Drew's arms, stopping every two inches to grip and squeeze the muscles. He could feel Drew's resistance slipping away. "What do you want," Drew asked, his voice tight. "I've come on behalf, first, of Levi, and second, the crew. Drew, believe me, Levi is sick that Brett was with us at the mall. It wasn't a set-up." Ted suddenly conceived of a strategy to convince Drew that Levi wasn't another Hal. "Levi worked himself up into a state last night. He just knew you wouldn't believe him when he told you that Brett overhead a couple of us talking about going to the mall to buy a baby gift. I told him that, smart as you are, you'd already figured it out, knew that Brett had crashed 'our party,' wouldn't hold anything against him. I claimed to so much believe in your reaction that, even though it wasn't necessary, I'd come down here and get your reassurance so he could rest easy. He's going to be so happy when I tell him I was right." Drew shifted his gaze a bit to the side as though, by such a shift, he could see behind Ted's eyes into his mind and soul. Ted saw a smile lurking around the corners of Drew's mouth. "You are as slippery as a greased pig, Ted Kortas! You wily Greek! Come in hear trying to pull the wool over my eyes? Think I don't know what was really said? Think you are going to dupe me with honeyed compliments?" "Well, if you know that, I don't need to say any more," Ted said, pulling Drew to him, hugging him tightly. At first, Drew melted into Ted's warm embrace, but gradually he stiffened. Drew was preparing to move Ted's visit to a conclusion. "Not so fast," Ted said, holding Drew just a little tighter. "You will only convince Levi that you still love him if you go to dinner with us tomorrow evening. You know how Levi can be, Drew, when he sets his mind." Drew pulled back again, looking behind Ted's eyes. "Yes, I do know that about Levi." He paused. Ted whispered almost in Drew's ear, making certain that little puffs of his breath tickled Drew: "Come on. We've missed you. We need our 'Drew fix.' Have dinner with us. Let us make it up to you. Please?" Ted knew that if he made it a personal request, as reluctant as Drew might be, he wouldn't decline the invitation. It was his sense of justice again. "We'll go someplace special." True to Ted's prediction, Drew agreed - reluctantly. They made plans to pick Drew up the next evening. As he walked out the door, Ted predicted that Levi would be calling Drew that evening to ascertain all was well between them. Hal - Enroute Hal Winston's conscience had been nagging him ever since the crew found him and Richie together in bed. His guilt owed not just to his necessary rejection of Drew, now that he'd found Richie, but also to the way he had treated Drew. Every time he remembered Ted Kortas's report of the words Hal had spoken to Drew, he wanted to clap his hands over his ears. That wasn't who he was, who he had ever been. He was still shocked that he'd hurt Drew that way. It was the alcohol. The entire mess was really beginning to bug him. If he could only think of something to do to make it up to Drew! But he knew there was nothing he could do. The die had been cast. If only he could forget it all. Truth to tell, Hal was tired of it - feeling guilty about what had happened to Drew. Now that he'd found Richie, the man of his dreams, he couldn't fully enjoy it because of that damned guilt. And the crew! The way they looked at him. The way they acted as though he'd made them walk barefooted over broken glass. He deserved his Richie! He'd spent his life helping the needy and disenfranchised. Now it was his turn. How much more did one have to do to claim the guy who was HIS alone? He couldn't help it - he resented Drew for making him feel guilty. As a means of handling his inner turmoil, Hal decided to drive over to the Thomas construction site. Maybe seeing Richie would drive these damned thoughts about Drew out of his mind. Quite without any self-interested design, he'd phoned Max that morning with directions to take Kenji and Tonio to a lighting company where Gwen Thomas had found fixtures she wanted in the master bedroom. Later, Hal's grin almost cracked his face when he realized Brett would be alone at the site. Maybe his libido had really been involved in his decision to send Max off-site. His cock was already steel as he saw it plunging into that tight, hot, golden hole. He couldn't get enough of Richie - Brett, that is. As he parked his pickup at the curb, he was grinning, imagining Brett's surprise and then excitement, knowing they were going to fuck where they could easily be caught. He decided that the new element of exhibitionism in their lovemaking was a by-product of the crew's catching them in flagrante delicto. Hal walked across the bare earth that would be a plush carpet of green grass in a few months. He stepped up into the doorway. His crepe-soles allowed him to walk soundlessly into the foyer, looking right and left for Brett. Not seeing him, he walked quietly into the bedroom wing. As he glanced down the hall, he noticed that the doors had been hung, all but one standing open. 'Now why would that one be closed?' he asked himself. 'Brett must be in there catching 40 winks,' he thought. If anything, his smile grew bigger. He pushed the door silently open, whereupon he froze. His breath caught involuntarily in his throat, and he felt his gorge rise. Gwen Thomas was lying back on a blanket while Brett was slowly pumping his dick in and out of her, his golden ass cheeks dimpling from his efforts. Her head was thrown back, her chin high in the air as she moaned so slightly that one could barely hear her. With his hands about her slim waist, Brett was speaking softly but heatedly, "Oh, Gwen, I've NEVER had sex like this." Pump. "We were made for each other." Pump. "You are hot!" Pump. "A goddess." Pump. Pulling her body toward him, Brett licked slowly from the hollow in her throat up to her chin, which he kissed. She slowly lowered her chin while raising her head to kiss Brett back. As she opened her eyes, she saw Hal, standing behind them at the door, his mouth agape, his eyes wide in disbelief. "Hal," Gwen spoke in a low, seductive tone, "Won't you join us?" Brett's head spun around to locate Hal. Though almost breathless with shock, Hal could hear the 'Oh shit' that had to be resounding in Brett's head. "Brett and I are flexible," Gwen continued. "We're open to sharing, right, Brett Baby?" Gwen asked. "Join us. I like fine men. I knew you were one the first day I met you." A slow grin spread across Brett's face. "Hey, Lover, come join me and this exciting woman. She's rare. Warm, loving, appreciative of good men. You can see how beautiful and sexy she is. Wait until you're inside her," he promised, pumping again. "How could you, Richie?" Hal blurted out, his voice choked with emotion, his throat nearly paralyzed with anger. Gwen looked questioningly at Brett. "After we found each other after all these years, how COULD you betray me again?" For once, Brett's cool, collected manner left him. He glanced quickly at Gwen, whose brow was furrowed with puzzlement. "Hal, buddy, come on. Get out of those clothes. This will be great. We're three special people. We're 'powers.' We can only make it better for each other." "It was supposed to be us, Richie. You remember? Just us taking care of others." None of the inhabitants of the room heard Max advance to the doorway and step in. Gwen smiled a silent greeting, full of interest the moment she sighted Max and his big body. Brett ignored him. Hal continued, "I've done a lot for you. . . Planned a lot for us. . . Given up a lot for you. Is this the way you thank me?" he said, his voice shaking with emotion. Brett's mouth set. "You gave me a job just like you have all the others, and I give you good work back. Not only that, but I let you share a bed with me. I even tolerated those goofballs you drag everywhere with us - your precious crew. And you never gave up anything for me unless you're talking about that loser, Drew. You were right to trash him. He wasn't worthy of you. I'm the only one who is." "There's a lot that could be said about Drew," Hal shot back, stumbling into a defensive posture. "Yeah, I heard you say it to his face." Hal blanched as Brett flung Hal's trashing of Drew back into his face. "And as I recall, he walked out on his own. Nobody forced him. Least of all me." Max's jaw tightened and his hands balled into fists. Twice Hal moved his mouth and throat to respond, but no words emerged as the color drained from his face. Finally, he choked out, "Pick up your check from Angie. Your services," and Hal hit the word "services" sarcastically, "are no longer required at Winston Construction Company." Hal spun about angrily, striding out of the room, nearly colliding with Max. Max spat at Brett's feet and followed Hal out. As the volume of Brett's voice had risen toward anger, Gwen had rolled away from him, gathering her clothes and stepping around the wall to dress, leaving Brett lying on the blanket, his once stiff dick now limp. Brett's face was red, and his mouth was set. He couldn't quite believe that his carefully crafted relationship with Hal had fallen apart so quickly. He thought his hold over Hal had been firmer. Suddenly Gwen was at his side. "Brett, get dressed. Let's go have some lunch." Bret seemed to come to. "Huh? . . . Oh . . . oh I have to go find another job. It will soon be time to head back to campus." "That's why I want us to lunch together. I want to discuss a mutually beneficial arrangement." Brett looked puzzled. Then awareness began to dawn on his face, followed by a big smile. "Oh yeah? Like what?" "Let's say you'd be a companion for me. I'd pay you handsomely - assuming your work remains satisfactory, of course, and I'd be the ONLY recipient of ALL your attention." Now Brett was really grinning. "But what if your husband finds out? The same thing that just happened to me could happen to you." "Brett, I'm not an amateur," she replied, intending no subtle reproach to Brett. "When I agreed to marry my husband, he had to agree to establish a trust fund for me. A BIG trust fund. The proceeds are usually more than I can spend. And he receives no report about how I spend the money. I'm fixed for life." Again, Brett smiled, his eyes full of dollar signs. 'Maybe I'll take a year off before I begin graduate school,' he thought. The Office Hal had disappeared when he left the Thomas construction site. Kenji and Tonio were standing around outside the shell of the Thomas house, wondering why Hal had stormed out, ignoring their greetings. Max offered a quick synopsis and sent them back to work although he wondered how productive they'd be because they were visibly upset. He heard them muttering among themselves as they walked off. Then Max drove to the Haynes site where he found Angie alone in the office. She had seen nothing of Hal. Max filled her in on the scene that had just unfolded between Hal and Brett. He suggested to Angie that she prepare Brett's final check to hasten his departure from the site. "Happily" was her reply. "I'll even mail it to his parents' address so that he won't have to come by here." Max then sought Ted, relating what Brett had done, Ted let loose a string of profanity that drew the attention of the other members of the crew. Ted gestured for them to come over, whereupon he had Max repeat the details. "Good riddance," Levi spat out, walking back to his task. Ted knew he was going to have to spend some time soothing the sensibilities of his ordinarily placid partner that night. When Hal returned after two days' absence, his appearance sobered the crew. He hadn't shaved. His clothes were rumpled, and those standing downwind could tell he hadn't bathed for those two days. Eyes bloodshot, hair shooting every direction, his face drawn and sallow, Hal was a wreck! His first morning back in the office, he spent half an hour sitting at his desk, staring at the floor, leaving Angie in a quandary about what ought to be done for Hal. He seemed a mere shell of his former self. Finally, Angie couldn't stand it. She quietly entered Hal's office, sitting in one of the chairs in front of his desk. "Hal . . . Hal . . . look at me," she said with an authoritative ring in her voice. He slowly raised his head, his face a study in pain. She knew what she had to do to start his healing, painful as it would be. That meant going back where recent events had started, for today's events were inextricably bound up in that night Hal rejected Drew for Brett. She had never been more certain in her life that her stratagem would work. "Hal, tell me what you're feeling. I won't judge you. I'm not asking as your employee. I'm asking as a loving friend." Hal said nothing. "Hal, tell me now. No other behavior will be acceptable." The misery she read in his eyes shot through her like a lightning bolt. "I . . . lost . . . Richie . . . again." "You're wrong, Hal. You never lost Richie this week. You can't lose something you never had." Hal continued to stare at her. "You're hurting?" A strangled "yes" was his reply. "You hurt because you made a mostly understandable mistake. Brett is not Richie, nor will he ever be." She arose, walking around the desk and kneeling awkwardly, given her pregnant bulk, in front of Hal. Surprising Hal a bit, she clasped his hands in her own. "Hal, repeat after me: Richie died a long time ago." At first Hal said nothing, looking at her in fear. "Hal, repeat 'Richie died a long time ago. He left me for drugs.'" Still Hal said nothing. Angie repeated her command. 'Okay,' she thought. 'Time to uncover the big guns.' "Hal, what you are feeling now is what you and Brett made Drew feel." Bull's-eye! Hal's expression opened; his shields were knocked down. "What you are feeling at this moment is what Drew felt after you dumped him in front of everyone. Drew holed up just as you have, but he didn't give up, Hal. . . . He didn't give up. . . . Hal, this is Angie. You can't fool me. We've shared everything with each other. You told it ALL to me because you wanted me to know just as I told you everything about Bobby and me. So describe for me what Drew was feeling when you rejected him. Trust me - it will be the first step in making the hurt go away." She held him in her steady gaze, gently squeezing his hands. She noticed micro movement in his bottom lip. Inwardly, she breathed a sigh of relief. It was going to work. "Shock," Hal croaked out. "Disbelief. . . . fear . . . defeat . . . loss . . . pain . . . shame . . . shame." Hal swallowed hard as though Herculean effort had been required to utter those few words as he shook his head slowly back and forth. "If you were back in your bedroom with Brett and Drew, would you say those words to Drew again? Hal winced, his head drooping. "Yes," he whispered. "I needed Richie for so long . . . really needed him," he said has his voice gained a little strength. "Hal, was it really Richie there in bed with you when you rejected Drew?" She didn't think Hal was going to answer her. His eyelids fell in slow motion over his eyes. It was a gesture of defeat. Several tremors passed through his body. "Hal?" she asked gently. "No," he whispered. "Who was there with you, Hal?" "Brett." Angie allowed Hal's step toward courage to sink in a bit. "Hal, how bad is it, after all this time, to admit that Brett isn't Richie, that Richie belongs to your heart and your memories?" He raised his head, his eyes full of agony. "If I admit . . . it," he half spoke, half whispered, a tremor marking his voice, "I have to . . . to let him go. I . . . may never . . . get him . . . back." "Hal," she squeezed his hands tightly, "how can you let go of what's not here? Just what is it of Richie you can hang onto? Isn't it your love of him, your memories of him? But nothing more? There's no physical Richie anymore. Just people who remind you of him." Hal just stared at her, but she could tell that he was mulling over her words. "Did Brett betray you three days ago, Hal?" "Yes." "Didn't Richie betray you for the gang and drugs, Hal?" His eyes glazed over. More than speaking, a deep sigh moved out of his body, slowly expressing, "Yes." Angie threw her arms around Hal's shoulders and pulled him to her, causing him to break down in gut-wrenching sobs. He actually cried for only a short time, a cleansing act. After he'd quieted, he raised his head, looking into her eyes. He was calmer now, more collected. "You're thinking that I betrayed Drew . . . the way Richie and Brett betrayed me." "That's what YOU'RE thinking, isn't it, Hal?" He mutely shook his head in agreement, casting his eyes down. "I've lost him forever." Angie hoped Hal was talking about Drew and not Brett. It wasn't the moment to press for a distinction. "Hal, look at me." He raised his eyes to hers. "If you decide it's over with Drew, Hal, then it is. But remember the lesson you learned from Brett. You'll never find a clone of Drew just as you can never find a clone of Richie. If you still love Drew and you want him in your life again, then it can happen. I'm not saying it will be easy. You destroyed Drew's trust. You are the only one who can restore that trust. You can win him back." "How?" Hal croaked out. "The place to start is remembering your early days together, how you felt about each other as you discovered your love for each other. If that love was real, you will rekindle those days and that strength in both of you, which will be the fuel that will power you to winning Drew back. Each memory will bring you a step closer to realizing what you need to do to reconnect with Drew. What is it about Drew that attracted you to him?" "He's small, like the kids in the orphanage who looked up to me, who needed me. He's intelligent, sometimes brilliant. He loves me. Accepts me - even my faults. He's funny. He's one of us." He paused, smiling briefly: "He believes in me - sometimes even more than I believe in myself." Hal looked into Angie's eyes. "But I didn't think you could ever go back when something . . ." he sighed as he was overtaken by a shudder, "was over," he said softly. "Is it that we can never go back, or that we don't think about or know how to go back?" Angie could tell that he was examining each of the propositions she was suggesting. "I took so much from Drew." "Then offer him more than you took." "I don't know how to do that," he muttered. "When you were bowled over three days ago, Hal, you didn't lose your gifts. What happened then makes you doubt those strengths because you started doubting everything. But they're there in your heart and mind; you just need to reclaim them. You don't even have to work to rebuild them to what they were before." "Did this happen to Drew when . . . you know?" "Of course. That's why he disappeared for a week. He especially needed to reclaim his belief in his work skills." "Funny. I never doubted my work skills," Hal said. "Why would Drew doubt his?" "I don't know," Angie answered. "You aren't the same people. Tools in Drew's job are very different from here. What you do is very physical and spatial. What he does is more intelligible and conceptual. Your materials are wood and brick; his are people and processes." "If we are that different, how can I talk to him so that he'll listen to me?" Angie was pleased that Hal had settled into the current of thought that the two had initiated. "It is said that Michelangelo could look at a block of marble, study the grain and fault lines, and see a figure in it wanting to be released. The result is his 'David.' That's you, Hal. Live into your possibilities! If a house blows down, you can rebuild it, brick by brick. All anybody else sees is weedy, rubble-strewn ground. But you, Hal Winston, builder that you are, can walk onto a lot and see in your mind's eye a house slowly rise months before it is actually built. Look at the relationship that you and Drew had, now in shambles. How would you rebuild it? What will the bricks be? Watch that situation begin to develop. This is a challenge. Don't expect all the answers to fall into your lap. It wouldn't be a high enterprise if they did. And the relationship wouldn't be worth much if you could rebuild it so easily. But, Hal, here's the thing to remember: once rebuilt, it could be stronger than it was the first time. Right?" Angie saw a little flame kindling in his eyes. He was weighing the logic imbuing her words. But he would need support, especially when he was rejected in his first forays. She and the crew would provide that. "I'll tell you what we're going to do. Bobby and I are taking you to your home. You are going to shave and get a hot shower. I'm going to fix you a meal that will stick to your ribs. Then you are crawling into bed and sleeping the rest of the day and night away. Then tomorrow night, you are taking Bobby and me out to dinner. Be prepared: we plan to eat hearty. Consider it penance." Hal tried to stifle a grin but couldn't. "You got whips, a black leather corset, stiletto heals, and fishnet stockings at home? Cause they seem as though they'd fit right in with this dominatrix behavior I'm seeing. Bobby know how kinky you are?" "Not telling." She was smiling. "But he minds nice." She giggled as Hal smiled. Stone Lodge Winery It was a rested, healthier, but somber Hal Winston who called the next day to arrange dinner with the Coopers as his guests that night. "To what dreamland are you taking us," Angie asked teasingly. "Stone Lodge Winery. It's got this great country ambience. It stands on a hill overlooking acres of vines growing in straight rows. It makes every bite more satisfying and every sip more tasteful. We'll know we've gone someplace special." "I'll hold you to it, big boy," Angie replied, a smile apparent in her voice as she signed off. Then she made a call to Ted, setting the crew's plans in motion, for they had already met in another quick summit at the construction trailer, an occasion when they laid plans for assisting Hal in reuniting with Drew. When Bobby and Angie crawled into Hal's car, they didn't allow silence to reign. They had already figured out about ten different lines of conversation to get Hal talking. They directed the talk to the baby, who was due any day. That way, Hal wouldn't feel burdened to participate in conversation uncomfortable to him threatening in some way. At the same time, Ted and Levi's car had rolled into Drew's driveway. Levi had walked to the door. The second Drew stepped out, he pulled Drew into a tight hug, and then gave him a hot kiss, leaving Drew surprised and breathless. He shot a glance at Ted sitting behind the wheel of the car, grinning at Levi's audacity. Drew relaxed a little. In response to a neutral question from Drew during their drive to the winery, Ted and Levi imparted details of the status of the two homes Winston Construction Company was building. Since they were about to finish the Haynes home, Drew had several questions about hitting their target date and what events would follow that. Drew raved about the winery setting as they had driven through the stone gates and up a drive, surrounded on both sides by grapevines. They had entered the lodge amid more appreciative expressions from Drew, pleasing Ted and Levi that Stone Lodge was a hit. After they were seated in a smaller dining room near the fireplace room and had ordered drinks and appetizers, Levi jumped right in with the news. "It's over, Drew. . . It's over between Hal and Brett." Drew jerked a little, nearly spilling some of his gin and tonic as he looked at Levi and then Ted. His eyes blinked rapidly a couple of times, and his jaw dropped a little. "Really over?" he asked Ted. "Really over." "I knew it couldn't last, but I didn't expect it to end so soon." Silence prevailed as Drew looked away, pondering the news he'd just received. "Brett isn't as calculating as I thought." "Meaning?" an impatient Levi pushed. "Manipulators are often calculating right up to the moment they achieve their goal, but they are often sloppy and undisciplined after that, for they've gotten what they wanted. They have no plan for what follows, so they take their victory and everything that follows for granted. I'd have thought Brett a more seasoned manipulator." "Just for curiosity's sake, tell me why it couldn't have lasted," Ted requested. "It was built on an illusion on Hal's part, and that illusion depended on Brett more than Hal. Right there's a fatal flaw! Even more, Brett had to play the role of Richie, a role that would have become burdensome after a while. If Brett truly loved Hal, he'd need for Hal to love Brett, not Richie. The stronger that need would grow, the quicker and more demonstrably Brett would have ended the illusion that he was Richie. Or if Brett only wanted Hal's money, the closer he came to that goal, the more he would have had to push Hal. In those moments he would not be the more passive Richie. Until the gang and drugs, Richie followed Hal's every lead." "You figured all that out that night in Hal's bedroom?" Levi asked. Drew blushed, looking down at the calamari on his appetizer plate. "No," he said, picking up a fork and using it to worry a piece of squid around the plate. Levi had almost decided Drew wasn't going to say more, when Drew spoke: "I had to get over the shock first. Then I mourned the loss of Hal." Drew swallowed remembering the hours spent just making that progress. "After a couple of days, I started trying to chart what lay ahead for me. But that inevitably took me to charting what lay ahead for Hal too." Drew put his fork down and sipped his gin and tonic. Ted shook his head in understanding. "So how do you feel about Hal now?" A frown creased Drew's brow and mouth. Ted and Levi waited. Drew was reading his feelings. "Well, I'm not feeling like I want to crow in revenge or anything like that. What happened anyway?" Ted filled Drew in on Hal's discovery of Gwen Thomas and Brett and Hal's firing Brett. "Whoa!" was Drew's expression of surprise. Drew was quiet for a few moments. "I know exactly how Hal is feeling. But I know you guys love him. I know you are already planning something to help him. He's feeling he's lost everything important to his future. Another thing: don't make a mistake thinking that a self-assured manner on his part is indicative of where he is now. No matter how he behaves, it's important for him to know he hasn't lost you." Drew's prediction immediately planted a strategy in Ted's mind, making him smile, especially since it involved a little dog. Drew smiled tentatively in return. "Your smile tells me I'm correct." "Yes." "Thank you for telling me this, guys, but you didn't need to take me to dinner to do so. I'd have heard about it eventually." Not one to allow a promising moment to pass, Levi asked, "Do you still love Hal?" Drew's eyes started sparkling with tears. He took a long draw on his drink. Then he looked out one of the huge windows at the vines running away from the lodge, thinking he'd like to run away too. Without looking at his buddies, he shook his head up and down in micro movements, not trusting his voice. Levi shot a look of triumph at Ted, who smiled, knowing how intently Levi was committed to reuniting Hal and Drew. During summits, Levi was one of the more vocal discussants, perhaps because he had been among the angrier crew members about what had happened. He never much hid his feelings about Brett, not even when Brett was present. "Do you think Hal still loves you?" Levi asked. Drew couldn't mask a look of scorn at Levi's question. "You've got to be kidding. I know of whom Hal is thinking now. He's still mourning the loss of Brett. He's seeing Brett and Gwen together making love. He's feeling cut out, cast off, lonely. Actually, he's probably feeling worse than I at that stage because memories of Richie's taking off with the gang are returning and mixing in." "You don't believe he's thinking of you too?" Ted prompted. "He probably will at some point, but he's not there yet. Thinking about us will be only a short phase because it's probably guilt-bearing for him. Besides, he's had Brett, and those past experiences with Richie have melded with intimate memories of Brett. No way to compete with Richie/Brett images and memories. Ronnie Hickman, the waiter assigned to the guys' table, wanted to take their orders, for the kitchen was already besieged since Stone Lodge Winery was popular. But one glance at his charges' faces told him they were involved in an intense discussion. It wasn't the time to interrupt. He hoped that time would occur soon. The longer diners had to wait for their courses, the smaller the tip they left - even if it wasn't the waiter's fault. His eye was caught by a tall, handsome man walking past the door to the small dining room. He'd have paid attention anyway because the guy was hot, but his forward motion was arrested so quickly that another guy behind the looker almost had to hop to the side to avoid a collision. The range of emotions sliding over the guy's face as he looked at the diners at Ronnie's table was a sight he'd never forget. He'd never seen such rapid changes. Even more, he'd riveted on the last look on the guy's face. It was defeat. A face crushed in defeat. 'These guys have to know each other,' Ronnie thought. 'It's the short guy the looker's studying more than the others. Obviously the other two guys are a couple. Anyone in "the family" could tell by the way they behave toward each other. Some heavy drama's happened there in the past. Oh shit! I bet one of them betrayed the other,' he intuited as his gut clenched, recalling his own history. 'A lover's betrayal leaves a person gutted,' he remembered as he gulped, feeling a little queasy. 'Wonder which one was ditched.' Ronnie studied the four men. 'I don't think there's probably that much betrayal in hetero relationships. I bet there's even more in bi relationships. Why does there have to be so much of it in gay relationships?' Ronnie mused. 'Maybe the rest of the world's right. Maybe we're perverted in the sense that we fall into relationships. Perverted because we can't keep them going. Perverted because some other guy looks just a little better, hotter, sexier.' The handsome guy turned, making his way down the hall to the restrooms. The guy at the table with the whisker shadow looked at his partner almost imperceptibly, nodding his head toward the door of the dining room. His partner just as carefully shook his head that he'd caught the guy in the corner of his eye. The short guy was oblivious to what had transpired. While the men were still talking, another good-looking hunk stood in the doorway for just a moment, catching the dark-headed hunk's attention. The former arched his eyes in a question. The dark-headed guy again shook his head briefly in the affirmative. Then the good-looking hunk turned, heading after the handsome guy. 'Damn,' Ronnie thought. 'I could go for any of these guys.' Then he blushed as though his own behavior were proof enough of his earlier musings about how gays could never be satisfied. As he continued to the men's restroom, Hal couldn't believe it. What were the chances of such a coincidence? There sat Ted, Levi, and Drew. Fate was perverse! Here they lived in a big city, but the Coopers and he and Ted, Levi, and Drew ended up in the same country restaurant on the same night at the same time. Damn! His run of bad luck still wasn't over. His interior state was in turmoil. . . Drew had looked so damned good! He'd remembered the feelings in his gut at the mall when he'd seen fear on Drew's face the moment he'd spotted him. He remembered how strong the urge was to run after Drew, to try to make that fearful look disappear. It WAS good seeing Drew with Ted and Levi. Come to think of it, Drew had seemed to be rather tense about something. He hoped the guys were okay with each other. He wouldn't want their busting up as friends on his conscience. He had enough of a burden there without adding more. He sighed so loudly as he approached the doors to the men's restroom that a man just departing shot him a quick look. It never occurred to Hal that Ted and Levi were doing the same thing for Drew that the Coopers were doing for him. It would have been too much a stretch for him to perceive that the crew had plotted to arrange for Hal to bump into Drew, and they would continue to do so. They had made a pact to restore the two lovers, no matter how impossible the task seemed. (To be continued.) Plaudits to Patrick Young (author of "Clay" in the Beginnings section) for his concept of "Living into one's possibilities."