Date: Sun, 2 Jul 2017 12:34:32 -0400
From: Artinkeywest@aol.com
Subject: THE START of SOMETHING GREAT

The land line phone rang for about the tenth time and I was about to let
the answering machine take the call when something clicked in my awakening
brain and I reached out from the warm cocoon I was swaddled in and answered
the phone. The phone sat on one of my bedside cabinets in the bedroom of my
apartment in Boston. The apartment actually had two bedrooms, but the
second, smaller room, occupied my home office and a pullout couch for
infrequent visitors who happened to stay over. I roused myself to answer
the phone, wondering who would be calling this early(8am) and was relieved
it was my agent, not a telemarketing call.

 We exchanged pleasantries and conducted some business, then we concluded
our call. I padded into the en-suite and relieved myself and climbed into
the spacious shower. There I ruminated about the phone call and the
ramifications of the decisions reached and how they would impact my life,
and how I lived it. Refreshed and fully awake after my shower I went to the
small kitchen to grab a cup of coffee and a muffin, still thinking about
the phone call and the opportunities now open to me.

 My agent had called to confirm that my latest novel had sold last night to
the Hollywood studio that had previously bid on three of my earlier works
and with the new deal I was to receive not only close to two million for
the rights to the book, but a percentage of the box office. If the new
movie did as well as the previous ones, that could mean about another
million. My net worth as it stood that morning was about 15 million. Not
bad for a 27 year old single man who had just graduated college 5 years
before. I tried to think of someone I could celebrate with and kept drawing
a blank. The closest people to me, at that point, were my publisher in New
York and my agent, also in New York.

There just wasn't anyone close to me near where I lived. I hadn't made any
close friends here where I lived, not wanting the disruptions to my
routine, not trusting the emotional attachment, not willing to open myself
up to the upheaval a close relationship involves. That led me to ruminate
about my life and how isolated I had made myself and I resolved to change,
now that I had reached what I felt was financial stability and with that I
could now slow down a little and enjoy the fruits of my success. I then
thought about the apartment I had existed in for the last five years. It
wasn't large, just the bedrooms, the bathroom and an eat in kitchenette at
one end of the small living-room. When my publisher or my agent were in
town they sometimes used the pull-out in the office, but they were the only
ones to have used it.

 As I said I led a pretty solitary life. I knew the couple who shared the
floor in a similar apartment, but although I could recognize the other
tenants in the building, I didn't know their names or what they did. The
same held true for me, as I lived in anonymity they couldn't know that I
was a well known author, unless they had seen a televised interview or
attended talks I had given at libraries across the country. So far none of
my neighbors had figured me out. Occasionally, while out shopping or
spending time out on the common walking or jogging, someone would approach
and inquire if I was who they thought I was, and I'd usually disappoint
them and explain I just looked like him. I just wasn't into seeking
attention where I lived. Out of town, or in New York on business was
another story. I would sign autographs and chat with fans. It was getting
close to noon by now and I got up from the small table and returned to my
bedroom to dress. After dressing I was still pumped and decided to bite the
bullet and make contact with the one family member I still corresponded
with, my Aunt Sally. She was my godmother and now in her late sixties.

When I came out to my family when I was home from college for Spring break
in my sophomore year my parents disowned me and threw me out of the house
with just my backpack. I think they were afraid I'd infect some of my
younger brothers or something. I was nineteen and had nowhere to go, no one
to run to, except Aunt Sally. She greeted me warmly and assured me my
parents were complete idiots and that she loved me. My parents never cut
off my college funds, I think that was because Sally had informed them,
when she retrieved my other belongings the next day, that she had
contributed most of the funds and I had put in the rest with earnings from
my after school jobs during high-school. She had never married and she and
I had settled into a comfortable life when I was home from college. We
really enjoyed our times together and she was the one who cheered me on
when I received my diploma upon graduation. It was she who had given me the
first,last and security for the apartment in which I still lived and when I
tried to re-pay her after I started working in the Boston Public Library
she refused to accept it, saying that what she had fronted me was my
graduation present. When I called her later she had just come home from her
work at the main library on the campus of Mount Holyoke College, in our
hometown of South Hadley, some 90 miles west of Boston.

During high school she had finagled me after school work there and we would
work together in the afternoons, she teaching me about cataloging and
shelving and other necessities of running a large college library. Every
summer and vacation at college meant me spending time in that imposing
structure or any one of the six or seven satellite libraries strewn across
the campus. During this working arrangement she insisted I call her Sally
as did most of the other employees under her care, and I do so still
today. We talked for about an hour and we settled on my driving out to
spend the weekend with her, there I would sit with her and explain my
secret life, that as a successful author and multimillionaire.

 With those plans now made I decided to stop in at my local brokerage house
to bring my personal financial adviser up to date and see exactly where I
currently stood financially. I called first to make sure he was available
and when I told him he'd have more of my money to play with soon he
encouraged me to come on by, I told him I could be there in about a half
hour and he agreed to set aside some time for me. I grabbed two coffees
from the deli on the corner and at the end of the next block I entered the
lobby of the brokerage firm. I informed the receptionist I was there to see
Harold and she buzzed his office and then told me to go right up, I was
expected. Harold's secretary greeted me warmly and told me to go right
in. Harold was rising from his desk chair to greet me as I came in and
while we exchanged greetings I handed him the coffee procured for him. I
looked him over good, since I hadn't seen him personally in months and he
looked like he hadn't changed much since I first met him when my first book
sold just over 5 years ago, when I had just finished my junior year of
college. He always reminded me of the character Buddy from the old Dick Van
Dyke TV show. Short, a little plump, receding hairline, affable and
endearing, like the uncle I never had.

I filled him in on the new film contract and provided an extra copy of it I
had printed from my computer after receiving signed faxed copies from my
agent this morning. We went over my current accounts and I told him I was
quite pleased with the way my stocks and accounts were currently doing
under his guidance and we discussed what he would be doing with the
additional funds he would be receiving the next week. As I was preparing to
leave he handed me copies of my statements and then asked if I would be
interested in investing in more real estate, something I had done a few
years back when he had steered me toward a parcel of land by the turnpike
exit in Western Mass., in Chicopee (near my old hometown) which had been
sold to the developer of a strip mall, and I had made a small fortune on
it. I told him that if it turned out like the last time to go ahead, but I
didn't want to hold onto undeveloped land for a long time.

 We parted and I returned to the market and did some shopping on the way
home, chuckling to myself as I did because the accounts already showed just
over 15 million, not including the new film rights contract. I splurged and
bought a steamed lobster, something I usually saved for special occasions,
and today was one of those, I supposed tomorrow (Friday) could be one too,
when I drove out to visit Aunt Sally for the weekend, so while in the
market I placed an order for a couple of steamed lobsters chilled and I
could pick them up on my way out of town. I dropped my shopping off at my
apartment, again wondering if I shouldn't look around for a condo to
buy. Not that I needed the space, but there were times that being in the
small apartment made me feel slightly claustrophobic, usually after a long
spell at the keyboard, pounding out another chapter or two and needing to
stretch and pace a bit. For now I settled on retrieving my medium sized
suitcase from the storage locker on the basement level and dusted it off as
I went back to my apartment.

 I packed for the weekend, hoping to leave about 9:45 in the morning,
arriving at Sally's about noon, chilled lobsters in hand. I arrived at her
house, just three blocks from the imposing wrought iron gates of the main
entrance to Mount Holyoke college, at 11:45 and was greeted warmly by my
aunt. She looked suspiciously at the small cooler I carried and then I
could tell she had worked it out in her head and she asked me what we were
celebrating. I chuckled as we went through to the kitchen and popped open
the cooler and showed her the two chilled and cooked two pound lobsters and
she cooed with joy, her curiosity now aroused and she told me
 it had to be great news if I had sprung for the good stuff, as she hustled
about gathering


claw crackers and lobster pics and setting a fresh salad on the kitchen
table, while I chuckled and agreed it would indeed be good news as I set
the table and poured us each a goblet of a chilled white wine. As we
cracked, picked, and otherwise removed the delicious meat from the lobster
shells I filled in Sally about what had started as a term paper for an
English Lit. course, and had turned into my first published novel, the
summer of my Junior year, published under the pseudonym Robert Scott. She
dropped her current utensil on the table, staring open mouthed at me,
gasping out," You didn't, you couldn't, you're my favorite modern author,
why didn't you tell me?"??? I chuckled at her reactions and answered her
questions as best I could. I explained that I had started writing novels as
a way to pass the time in college and that after the second had sold to a
film studio, about the time I was being interviewed for the position at the
Boston Public Library, I was more concerned with getting my first full time
job than I was with anything else. The writing was a way to occupy my time,
keeping myself entertained in my solitary existence, giving myself a
creative outlet. I told her how funny I felt cataloging my own work at the
Library and that for the last year and a half I had been traveling, doing
book signings and sometimes speaking at library gatherings after resigning
my job.

Sally told me she had requested me from my agent several times and had been
told Mr. Scott wasn't available each time. She asked why I had inverted my
names and I told her that I was too embarrassed to use my own name and I
wanted a name I could remember, so Scott Roberts became Robert Scott, in
print. Sally was very receptive and then she asked why I was telling her
now. I told her about my successes and that now I felt I had achieved a
certain amount of security, in fact I had come here today to pick her
brain. I returned her questioning gaze with, what I hoped was my most
sincere one and began to tell her that there wasn't anyone, other than my
agent and my publisher, who I admired and trusted as much as I did
her. That she had taken me in when my life was at it's lowest and she had
taught me so much over the years, how to hold my head up, work and study
habits I still used today in my writing, how to ignore the barbs of the
uneducated and the bigoted, and most importantly, how to stand up for
myself. I told her that she had been more of a parent to me since she took
me in than either of my birth parents had ever been, that since I now could
afford it I wanted to grant her her most desired wish.

 With that I reached into my shirt pocket and removed the envelope there,
handing it to her. Inside was an itinerary for a European tour of the great
libraries of Europe and Great Britain, returning at the end of two months
to Washington DC., and a private two day tour of the Library of
Congress. There was also a personal check from me to cover any and all
expenses. 1 million dollars. The trip was for 2, as I knew she would like
to have her friend Gladys with her. I told her she would leave in one
months time, when the current college semester was done, and before Summer
classes started on campus. I assured her I had cleared all with her higher
up at the College for both her and Gladys (who was the circulation manager
at the college's main library). She sat there, clutching my hand across the
table, tears streaming down her cheeks, but with a big smile on her
face. She started to protest that the gifts were too, too much, but I told
her there was much, much more where that came from and that what she didn't
use on the trip she could use to augment her retirement income when she
finally did retire from her job. Invested right she could travel as much as
she wanted in her remaining good years, and live quite comfortably for the
rest of it. Clipped to the check was one of Harold's business cards and a
note on it that he would be in the area next week to sit with her and help
her get all her financials in order before her trip even began. I then took
a napkin and helped her dry her happy tears and then told her to go wash up
and then give Gladys a call. While she was doing that I cleaned up the
kitchen and disposed of the shells and then went in and listened in as
Sally filled in Gladys about the trip. It sounded to me like they were
planning their honeymoon.  I suppose I should tell you that I had Aunt
Sally and Gladys figured out by the time I was a freshman in high
school. It was about the same time I had figured out myself. I had always
wanted the closeness and friendship they showed each other, and I can
remember my parents trying to limit my time spent with her. She and I would
talk on the phone a couple of evenings a week and on Saturday or Sunday I
would go over and help her out in the big yard behind her house. Help her
is quite accurate, as she enjoyed working in the yard and garden beds as
much as I. We weren't quiet gardeners, we spent hours talking about
everything and anything, she was the first person I had told that I thought
I was gay. She had counseled me to keep my thoughts to myself, not to let
other family members know of my inclinations, especially my parents. She
told me they had their suspicions about her but there was little they could
say, as she was the one to help them purchase their home, not a mile away,
when they were expecting me and were living in a crummy one bedroom walk up
apartment across the river in Holyoke, where my father was from. My coming
out to them during Spring break during my sophomore year in college was
fueled totally by frustration and anger. I had not found that special
person to loose my virginity to, and my 3 younger brothers had been
watching a sit-com on TV that had a gay character in it. They were laughing
along with the show and my father put down his beer and started to rant
about their enjoyment of the show and about what a piece of crap show it
was and about how all fags should be exterminated, and how he didn't want
his kids being exposed to the gay agenda, especially in his own home. And
my totally dominated mother piped in to agree with him. I couldn't believe
what I was hearing, my homophobic father had a parrot, and it was my own
mother! I couldn't hold it back any longer so I shooed the boys to their
room and turned on my father and told him and my mother off in no uncertain
terms, and they in turn called me every name under the sun and my father
even tried to strike me, but after all the training I had done in the
weight room at high school and college I guess I might have intimidated him
just a little and he responded by kicking me out of the house, not even
giving me enough time to pack a bag, I just grabbed my back pack that I had
left by the door and drove my old beater over to Aunt Sally's where I knew
I'd be welcome. I've had no contact with anyone in my immediate family
since then. I have remembered my brother's birthdays, and have sent them
cards and gifts at Christmas as well, all through Aunt Sally. She, in turn,
has kept me abreast of their doings all along, but none of my siblings has
approached me because of our parents, and the boy's fear that they also
would be kicked out of their home.

 Sally has talked to me a great deal about this and I can certainly see
their side of things. Where I could I would give Sally money to help out
the boys, money for Summer camps, school field trips, extra money for
school clothes, graduation presents from one grade to the next. All through
Aunt Sally. Sally had finished her talk with Gladys, and I encouraged her
to invite Gladys to have dinner with us up the street at a fine college pub
that we frequented often and was next door to the modern apartment building
Gladys lived in, within walking distance for all of us, so a good place to
celebrate. We met there, about 6pm and were seated right away in the main
room. I couldn't be in there without thinking of a school pal I had
starting in intermediate school, right through high school. He was the best
friend I had ever had, and I admit I had the biggest crush on him all the
time. He was exceedingly straight and he was the one who got me started
jogging and working out with weights back when we were puny freshmen. I
would tutor him and he took over my body, molding it into the body of a
man, not to be trifled with, so the bookish nerd wouldn't be an object of
ridicule by the neanderthals. His parents owned the general store that the
pub now occupied and the beams and room layouts were exactly the same as
then. He went on to a career in the Air Force and at some point married and
then divorced his high school sweetheart, got married again and had a
family with the new wife. I never saw him after our high school
graduation. I often wonder if he has kept working out and what he'd be like
as a grown up, I hope he has remained the kind and considerate person he
was in school.

 We enjoyed a very pleasurable meal and every so often a student or faculty
member or co-worker would stop by the table and converse with Sally and /or
Gladys. They in turn would always introduce me as Sally's nephew,
preserving my secret identity. Dinner over we returned to Sally's where we
discussed their trip and, with my permission, Sally revealed my literary
identity to Gladys, thus explaining how the trip had come about. She was
thrilled for us all and she was then asked by Sally if they could really
make the trip their honeymoon. Gladys grabbed Sally in a very loving hug
and asked if she was sure and was ready to proclaim their love to all and
sundry. Sally told her it was about time, they had been in love for over
twenty years and if anyone disapproved they could lump it, including the
college, they could afford to retire now and with my gift it would make
sense to do it while they were both
 healthy enough to enjoy themselves.

 That settled they then discussed when to exchange their vows. They called
the chaplain at the college and told her they would like a small service
sometime in the next month and she recommended the Saturday afternoon in
two weeks time, they both looked to me and asked if that was alight with me
and of course I agreed, then with the date set they then asked if I would
stand up for them both, that they didn't want bridesmaids or anyone to walk
them down the aisle, I would stand just behind them and represent both of
them. They agreed to let me hire the caterer from the college's inn to
prepare and serve a lavish afternoon tea after the ceremony, thus making
sure all guests had departed by dinner time. The ladies then sat to settle
on a guest list while I phoned the inn to make arrangements with the
caterer. Thankfully they were able to provide tables and chairs suitable
for the backyard and they agreed to do the clean up after. I spent a
pleasant weekend with them and drove myself back to Boston on Monday
morning.

We had agreed that only those two would know of my writing at that point,
we had discussed it and I told the two of them that I wanted to wait until
my youngest brother graduated high school before letting anyone else in on
my secret. He was a junior so it was only one more school year. I had
previously set up trust funds for each brother, and if they wanted to
attend college they could do so, as Sally had oversight over the trusts and
could disperse the funds as needed. All that the boys had been told was
that Sally had connections and had procured scholarships for the two
already attending UMASS in Amherst, the next town over, and according to
Sally doing very well. The three boys were to be invited to the ceremony
and reception, but she couldn't bring herself to include my parents, her
younger sister and her husband. I spent the next two weeks working on a new
book, cleaning house, buying a new suit for the wedding, and holding a
writer's workshop at the main branch of the Boston Public Library, where I
was once employed. The workshops were something relatively new and I hadn't
done one before on my home turf, so the attendees got Scott Roberts instead
of Robert Scott, acclaimed novelist. It all went quite well though. I'd led
seminars and computer training courses during my employment at the library
and I did have a handle on the writing game, even if the attendees didn't
have written proof of that in front of them. Tuesday of the second week I
received a call from Sally, asking if I could possibly do the happy couple
a huge favor. They wanted to ask if I would stay at their house while they
were away. Gladys had already moved into the house and the ladies didn't
want to leave the house empty for two months and two weeks. They thought
they had a house sitter lined up, but the student's plans had changed, thus
their request to me. I told them I'd be delighted to, that I hadn't
scheduled anything for the summer months, other than a few overnights here
or there, but nothing that would impede my house sitting duties. Actually I
was going great guns on the new book and I can write anywhere, as long as I
kept to my writing regiment and had my notebooks and lap top. I can always
workout at the college gym, or go to one of the many fitness centers,
affiliated with my gym in Boston, that were in the area. So it was set,
when I arrived for the wedding I would stay with the ladies, perform my
duties at the chapel, host the reception, stay one more night, and return
to Boston on Sunday. Two weeks from then I would return to take up my house
sitting duties and stay in their home for 2 months and just over 2 weeks. I
had checked with my agent and he had already cleared my Summer schedule,
but there would be a busy Fall to make up for all the placid Summer days.

Everything went as planned, the chapel was beautiful anyway, but decked out
with gobs of fresh flowers it was stunning. The place was full, I mean
there was standing room only! There wasn't any traditional music played on
the massive old organ, instead the organist played the college's song for
the processional and the march up the aisle, after the vows, was just like
in the movie Love Actually. I had contacted the music department and
arranged for several student musicians to be scattered through the room,
mingling with the attendees, and a female soloist to sing to the very happy
couple as they made their way to the front doors through the clapping
throng of students, faculty, staff and friends invited. I drove my aunts to
their house where we were greeted by the caterer and his staff, and we
formed a small receiving line at the side entrance to the back yard,
welcoming the guests for the reception. Quite a few of the Library staff I
knew from my frequent stints there during vacations and school
holidays. More than ¾ down the line were three very good looking young
men. They were all blushing like crazy and were nervously chatting with the
Dean of students and her husband who were just ahead of them in line and a
couple of the female student volunteers from the Library who were behind
them. The closer they got the more nervous they, and I, became. These were
my brothers, who I'd been separated from for 8 years. As I finished
greeting the Dean and her husband I felt myself engulfed in a massive 4 way
hug, tears streaming down our cheeks. Tears of joy, tears of regret, tears
of lost chances, tears of rejoicing in our being together in one place
again. The Aunts saw all this and through their own tears the smiled and
caressed our backs and shoulders, urging us to continue our reunion, but
maybe inside the house would be more private for us. So into the large
formal living room we went. We got close to caught up in a short amount of
time. Harry was 20 and was finishing his sophomore year at UMAS Amherst
where James was finishing his freshman year at 18. Our youngest brother,
Thomas, was 16 and finishing his junior year of high school. We exchanged
hugs and went back outside to the reception tea and I asked the boys if
they could join us for dinner after and Harry said that they had told the
folks they were spending the day at a near-by recreation park with a group
of friends and they probably wouldn't be home until very late so all was
well, we weren't going to dinner anywhere we'd be likely to run into our
parental units or anyone they knew. We were seated with our aunts at a head
table and the boys were all in a very good mood and showed their love for
both of them, along with a lot of teasing about waiting over 30 years to
make sure they were really meant for each other! As predicted the crowd
started to dwindle after 4pm and by 6 only the caterers and we 5
remained. We then went inside and used the restrooms and the ladies removed
their corsages to preserve them and we then went out to Sally's SUV and I
drove us all to dinner at a very nice restaurant in neighboring Amherst. We
had a really nice meal and had a wonderful time getting to know each other
again. After dinner we returned to Sally and Gladys' home and the guys
changed out of their suits and put on casual clothes for their return
home. I had told them I'd be house sitting here while the ladies were away
on their trip and we all agreed to get together during that time. We hugged
our goodbys and the boys returned home and I went to my third floor rooms
(a converted attic that Sally had renovated into a bedroom, a bath, and a
small study when I moved in with her after I had been kicked out of my
parents home)after wishing the ladies a good night and my best wishes for
their union. They thanked me profusely for all I had done and we called it
a night and I went up and made myself comfortable in my old digs. I thought
a lot that night, about how I felt about my reunion with my brothers
(ecstatic!!!), about the wedding ceremony(if truth be told, jealous!!),
about coming home here to stay for a little over 2 months(scared, but I
couldn't decide why, after all I hadn't spent that much time here since
college vacations, and I wasn't alone then, Sally was always here then and
I had temp work at the library to occupy me) but I reasoned that I had my
book to work on, I knew the neighborhood and the neighbors, I knew where
the shops were, yes, I'd have to drive everywhere, no trams or subways in
this small New England college town, but I'd be able to explore and see
things and places I remembered from years ago, some I had used in my
books. Needless to say, it was some time before I fell asleep, but it was a
good sleep, and I awoke reaching for one of my notebooks to quickly jot
down some notes from dreams or remembrances before I forgot them. I do this
quite often and find these notes can lead to either a new novel or they can
help flesh out the story line in a work in progress. I then used the
bathroom and then dressed and went down to start breakfast. I had intended
to make breakfast for the three of us, but when I got down to the kitchen I
found instead the ladies had already done so. We shared an enjoyable meal,
agreed to meet again in two weeks time so I could drive them to the airport
and they could begin their journey. Once again I returned to my solitary
existence, not entirely unhappy to do so. It was a lot of people to deal
with in such a short amount of time. The joy of seeing my aunt wed and
knowing my actions had been a catalyst to the proceedings was gratifying to
say the least, and the extreme pleasure of being reunited with my brothers
was the icing on the cake, so to speak. Two days later I received a request
for a meet and greet with a small speech to a group of fans and expectant
writers at the main branch of the New York Public Library. It seems their
scheduled author had been arrested and detained while in Mexico over the
weekend, and they were in dire need of a replacement.


They thought that since my last appearance there had gone so well and that
I was relatively close, I might be able to do this for them. I phoned my
agent right away and told him I had received his e-mail and that I would do
the appearance. He thanked me and said he'd notify the library right away
so they could change their advertising and hopefully get more of my
interested readers to attend on such short notice. All went well with my
visit to the Big Apple and to my surprise there were hundreds of my loyal
readers in attendance.

I had a great time talking to my readers, sometimes I found myself writing
something and I'd think about something a reader mentioned and it could
enhance or completely change what I was about to write down in my
story. This was another instance where having a notebook close by came in
handy. Both a publisher's rep and an assistant to my agent came by and we
talked together for about 20 minutes during one of my breaks and I reminded
them both about no bookings for the Summer and both chuckled that they had
been warned, but also that I'd have a fairly busy Fall. When I returned to
Boston I realized, sitting on the train, that several times during the day
I had been getting hit on. I know, call me slow, but it finally dawned on
me that if I had had a chance to get to know the men better, I might have
finally got laid. I prefer to think of it as a bad case of arrested
development, or badly mal-functioning gaydar, or in this case delayed
reaction. At any rate by the time the train arrived in Boston I had worked
myself up to being especially horny, which doesn't happen to me often, so
on my way home I stopped at my favorite dirty book store to see if there
was anything new there that might satisfy me tonight. There is a prurient
delight in any book store, but dirty books can sometimes arouse you just by
looking at the covers. I was browsing in the gay book section when I
noticed the clerk re-stocking the gay DVD shelves. When he finished I
strolled over and found 3 that piqued my interest and I took them to the
counter and purchased them from the mildly interested clerk. He attempted
to appear interested in the sale but neither his, nor my, heart just wasn't
in it.

After dinner that evening, and having gotten settled back in I took myself
to the bedroom to screen the new DVD s. I'd hoped to find at least one
scene in each with which to get off to to make their purchase worth while,
and to my pleasure I was ready to pop for the first time during the end of
the first movie. I slowed the fast forward to the regular speed as the last
scene opened and a tall, muscular coach entered his weight room and
confronted two somewhat muscular students and the scene evolved with the
students nursing on their coach's prominent nips and progressing downward
to his rather large cock, licking, sucking, and nursing on it as one of
them moved to the rear and spreading those tight glutes he proceeded to eat
the coach's ass like he hadn't eaten in a week. The coach then returned the
favor by bending both students over a low pommel horse and rimming them
both and then breeding them both for what seemed like an hour each. Both
students showed their appreciation by coming hands free while being bred
and by cleaning off the cock that had bred them with their mouths at the
same time. Coach liked that a lot and came again in their mouths to show
his gratitude. He then took them into the gang shower room and proceeded to
wash them well, so when he bred them again there they'd be all slippery and
any excess cum would wash down the drain.

 I felt very relaxed after my second eruption while watching all the
muscles at play in the movie, and considered this first one a good buy. The
others would have to wait for another time. I awoke refreshed, although a
little later than I usually do. There wasn't much to do until my muse hit
me so I had a coffee while reading the paper and then went to the Public
Garden and after stretching, completed my usual 5 mile jog/run before going
to the gym and torturing myself with the lower body workout I missed the
other day because of the trip to NY.,

 I threw in a few upper body routines just to keep everything tight and
sore for the next few hours. As I was leaving I noticed a copy of my latest
novel on the reception desk, and my trainer was there signing people in and
out. Ben looked up and said that he'd checked me off the list and then
tapped the book and asked if I had ever read any of Robert Scott's books
and that he really enjoyed how the author included people of all walks of
life and the tribulations and trials they dealt with in their lives. I
responded that indeed, I was familiar with his works and Ben then said that
with the similarity of our names he didn't doubt it, and wondered which one
I liked best. I replied that I always had liked the first one, but I always
enjoyed finishing the new ones. I told Ben that I had heard someplace that
the new one, due out in the early fall, had already been sold to a movie
studio. Ben grinned at that and said he'd be sure to look for the book and
no doubt would enjoy the next movie as much as the previous ones. We
exchanged farewells and I said I'd see him soon, then I remembered my house
sitting duty, to start the next week. I asked Ben if he could recommend a
gym in the area I was going to be staying in, hopefully one that had
reciprocity with this gym. He went on the company computer there at the
desk and in a few moments he came to me with a printout of about 10 gyms,
there was one in So Hadley, right in the shopping area off the Village
Common, across from the college entrance. He pointed out that that one was
new, and he heard that a lot of the college crowd used that one, or the one
15 miles away up in Amherst. I thanked him for the list and told him I'd
see him before I left.

 I returned home and prepared a light lunch and cleaned up after it. While
in the shower I remembered that on one of the new DVD s that I hadn't
watched there was, according to the cover, a gang shower scene in a gym. I
started to chub up so I rinsed off and towel dried and went to the bedroom
to investigate disc #2. The new disc was just as entertaining as the first.

 Several well muscled men and teens were working out in the gym, with the
older hotties lending an instructive hand to the younger set. Everything
from the proper positions doing curls to how to squat on a really hard bare
dick. The boys lapped up the instructions while the older hunks encouraged
them with a lot of anal tongue lashings and stiff ones to help the
youngsters maintain an erect position during all the exercises performed in
groups of 2,3,and 4. The gang shower scene provided several guys the
opportunity to make sure their shower buddy was completely clean, inside
and out. After my bit of afternoon delight and a quick relaxing shower I
was able to knock off 2 more chapters on my new book. I even remembered to
leave a forwarding notice with the postman for my extended stay at home. I
also left a note for the couple down the hall, informing them that I could
be reached by phone(cell) or e-mail and my expected return date. Since we
were the only tenants on this floor we had always tried to let the other
know of any extended leaves for security reasons. That done I was left with
cleaning out the fridge and doing laundry so I could pack after the gym the
day after tomorrow and leave for the aunts the following morning.

The drive that Friday on the turnpike went smoothly, the weather was great
and the traffic was minimal, just the way I liked it. I exited in Holyoke
and drove through it's northern end to reach the bridge for route 202 and
took the first exit after the bridge over rt 116,Newton Street. I traveled
north up 116 and within minutes I arrived at my destination, the big old
house on the hill, just a short walk from the campus and the shops
alongside the town common. The house was a very large Victorian with
enclosed porches and a turret. The grounds were extensive in the rear, but
the front and side sat way above the road and offered great views from the
side rooms of the house. My rooms on the third floor had a couple of
dormers and from them I could look down and see almost to the Connecticut
river. I could also see my parents house three blocks away, just past the
intermediate and grade schools.

 When I was still in college I could have spied on them, if I had had a
telescope, but now the intervening trees had matured and it was only the
roof I could see. There really was no need to snoop anymore, the only
people I wanted to see from that house were my brothers and I had cell
numbers for each programed in my phone and with care we could talk whenever
we wanted, in fact, we were supposed to get together on Sunday for dinner,
just us four brothers. The aunts greeted me warmly, and insisted on taking
me to dinner at Dockside, a great restaurant, riverside, at a distant
cousin's marina at the edge of what used to countryside in our small town,
but had a few newer developments on former fields and pastures. We had a
great time and during dessert a middle aged couple and their college aged
daughter stopped by my chair and quietly asked for my autograph. They were
being so polite and unobtrusive that I felt obligated to do so, the aunts
already knew of my alias and what I had achieved with it, so I obliged them
and signed the proffered napkins for them. The aunts got a kick out of it
and I explained that in my own home state I usually didn't acknowledge
fans, but they were so polite about it, and they were from another state,
just picking up their daughter at the end of the semester. We thought that
was the end of it but as we prepared to get up from the table my distant
cousin Frank, the marina owner, rose from his bar stool at the
 other end of the dining area and made his way over to us. He wasn't drunk,
but he
 wasn't entirely sober either. He shook my hand and greeted my aunts and
then asked what was up with the autographs he had seen me signing. I knew
he couldn't have heard what was said, so I just told him they thought I was
someone famous and so I made them happy by giving them the signatures. He
laughed and said he'd probably do the same himself. I told him it was good
to see him again, and that I'd be around for a few months so I'd probably
see him around sometime soon. He responded likewise and the aunts and I
left for home. Sally and I had to fill in Gladys about Frank being quite a
bit older than me and he was the son of my father's only male cousin, who
had died a few years ago leaving the marina to Frank. As far as I knew
Frank himself had a son who would be about 20 or 21 now and that Frank's
wife had run off about 10 or twelve years ago, leaving Frank and his son
Caleb to fend for themselves. The next day, Saturday, I dropped the ladies
off at the airport for the first leg of their journey and as I returned I
stopped at a large grocery in Springfield to stock up and some spacial
shopping for the dinner with my brothers. I drove home and remembered to
check the mailbox on my way in.

The mail was all for the ladies, but there was one envelope for me. It was
from Harold and it was information on a farm on the outskirts of Amherst,
abutting the boundary with my hometown. It was about 100 acres and had
several newer buildings on it as there had been a bad fire there 7 years
ago and the owners had rebuilt the main house, the foreman's cottage and
two barns and the chicken coop. There was a small pond on the property and
Harold thought if I purchased it, made a few improvements, like solar power
and connected to town sewer and water, he might be able to market it to
UMASS as a division of their agricultural program. He said in the cover
letter that the owners were in no hurry, but were open to an offer, He told
me that he had spoken to them and they were agreeable to having me come
look over the place while I was in the area. I'd always liked the area this
farm was in, rolling fields, orchards, pumpkin patches, roadside
stands. Beautiful views of the Mount Holyoke mountain range, and wonderful
cross country skiing and sledding in the Winter. I thought it might make a
good investment so I left the letter and the enclosed real estate listing
fact sheets on top of the desk with my laptop in the little study on my
floor of this house.

By now it was mid afternoon and I felt in need of a run. I changed into
running gear, stashed my phone, wallet, and keys in my fanny pack and went
outside to start my warm up exercises. As I was about ready to take off my
cell rang and I retrieved it and found my brother Harry on the other
end. He asked if he was interrupting anything and I said no, I was just
about to set off on a jog and he asked for how far and I told him about
five miles, to the marina and back and he said he was up on the common and
would like to join me and he'd see me in about 10 minutes when I passed the
common on my way. I agreed, already heading in the direction and then
returned the phone to the pack and took off up the road.

 I spotted Harry before he saw me, he was talking to someone about his own
age as they both appeared to be warming up to join me. I took in that both
young men were quite fit, and really good looking. The passing female
students certainly noticed, and some of the male ones as well. There was a
public works truck at the end of the common, repairing some of the benches
scattered along the walkways of the common. Several of the workers were
talking with Harry and his companion, their bantering friendly and
joyous. As I neared the young man with Harry noticed my arrival and he
stood upright and just stared at me. By the time I reached them it was
obvious he had grown a chubby looking at me approaching, and to be honest,
he was having a bit of the same affect on me. He was quite fit and his
singlet was molded to his prominent chest and his washboard abs could be
counted through the material. His running shorts were worn over the
singlet, but the growing bulge could not be ignored. I could tell he was
uncut just by looking. Harry wasn't any slouch either and he smiled widely
as he saw me approaching. He came forward and clasped my had and told me it
was good to see me, and that he hoped I'd be able to keep up with them. He
then introduced me to Caleb, one of his friends he rode to college with
during the school week. I turned to shake Caleb's hand and told him it was
great to see him again.

 He looked startled, and asked what I meant, he couldn't remember meeting
me before. I told him his father was a second or third cousin on my
father's side and when I was about five or six I met him(as an infant)at
the marina one day, and later, while I was in high school just about every
time we went to the marina I'd let him tag along and help me fish, either
from one of the docks or from the riverbanks. He looked up at me and said
he was sorry he didn't recognize me, but I certainly hadn't looked this
good, or big back then. Harry walked up then and told me that during the
last summer he and Caleb had worked with this town works crew and he wanted
me to meet them. We all walked over and Harry (proudly) introduced me to
the men from the work crew, one of which I had known in high school. He
commented that I must still be weight training and he suggested that I go
to his gym while I was in town, the gym here at the shops at the common. I
told Jeff I had already made sure it was connected to my gym in Boston, and
that I was sure I'd see him there at some point, he said he hoped so, eying
me up and down scratching his left pec with his right hand as he did so. We
said our goodbys and started our run, not having cooled off too badly. We
made good time and during our run I occasionally would drop back and admire
Caleb's perfect bubble butt and I know he did the same a few times to me
also. Harry was one of those guys who liked to talk and run. He told me
that even though Caleb had been ahead of him in high school he had always
gone out of his way to be friendly and to include him in any activities he
or his friends were involved with, like attending home or away games for
the baseball, basketball or football teams, going to the mall in Holyoke to
hang out, or just kicking around with a bunch of friends at one of their
homes or pools. When we reached the marina we decided to grab water bottles
and it was while we were hydrating that Frank, Caleb's father, walked up to
us. He shook hands all around and then teased Caleb by asking how he liked
running with his old fishing buddy. Caleb blushed as his father told me
that every time I let Caleb fish with me all he'd hear for days after was
Scott this and Scott that. We all chuckled at that and Harry, who had often
gone fishing with me, said It was certainly an education fishing with me,
as I knew about all the different kinds of fish, where to find them, and
what to use as bait. We stretched again, as some of our return had some
pretty steep hills, and departed the marina and made a rather circuitous
return to route 116 and the big house on the hill. Once home I offered the
others water or another cool drink and Harry excused himself, saying he had
to return home to get cleaned up, he had a dinner date with his girlfriend
and he'd best not be late. I told Caleb I could drop him off at home later
if he wanted so he agreed to stay and Harry went off to pick up his car
which he had left in the parking lot of the shops at the common, a short
walk or jog up the street. Caleb and I cooled off out back and I went
inside and snagged 2 beers. We talked for a while and still warm I removed
my tank top. I heard a sharp intake of breath and Caleb just sat there
staring at my very developed upper body, I thought he had started to drool,
but maybe it was just a little beer foam at the corned of his mouth.

Whatever it was I was tempted to go over to him and lick it off. What I did
do was to scoot my lounge chair closer to his and when I sat back down I
let my myself stretch out a bit and flexed my abs and pecs. I wasn't new to
flirting, but I was hot for this younger stud. It was a hot day and we had
run for over five miles and damn it, I was horny! And pumped. I found Caleb
extremely attractive, muscular but built on a smaller scale than I was, his
skin was unblemished, the package he was displaying was a real good size,
and the way he looked at me with those green eyes and his sandy hair all
mussed from the heat and our run, he was, I thought, just what I had been
waiting for, if he was as versatile as I hoped he was. I suggested, a
little hoarsely, that he remove the singlet, and just wear his running
shorts, that he would cool off faster that way. He asked if I minded if he
did it right there and I told him it was up to him, the yard had no sight
lines to any other house and I told him that if he went into the house to
change then I couldn't watch. The smile I received was worth a million
dollars. I did think to tell him something first. I told him I found him
extremely attractive, and I kind of picked up that he felt the same about
me, but I was honest and told him I had been waiting, since high school and
my parents found gay porn on my computer and banished me from their house,
to find the right person to experience man to man sex with and that I hoped
I hadn't just scared him away, but I was hoping for a lifetime lover, a
soul mate, that I didn't believe in sleeping around, I wanted someone I
could spent my life with. He stood between our two loungers, looking down
at me and said that he felt the same. He was tempted at the huge campus for
UMASS that he attended, that the one time he had traded blow jobs with
someone in their dorm he was crushed
 when the guy didn't seem to want another
 "date" with him, so he hadn't tried again. He felt now that he'd known me
all his life, he was extremely attracted to me, and he was prepared to be
as versatile as he could to make sure we both had a fantastic sex
life. With that he removed his running shoes and socks, dropped his running
shorts, and allowed me to see his hard cock, barely restrained by the Lycra
of his singlet. He turned and I could see the muscles of his glutes fight
against the restraint of his singlet. He reached up to the straps as he
slowly turned around, and by the time he was facing me again the peeled
down singlet was to his knees, giving me an unobstructed view of his now
fully erect cock, pointed right at me, his hairless balls, slapping his
large, very muscled thighs. As I gazed upon him a drop of precum formed at
the slit of his cock head, now fully exposed from his foreskin. God, he was
beautiful. He kicked off his singlet and reached for his running shorts and
held them out towards me, asking, without speaking, if he should put them
on. All I did, since I couldn't form words at that moment, was to hold out
my arms and smiled up at him. He came to me, naked as the day he was born,
and I found myself trying to devour him with my mouth. The only thing that
saved him from being totally devoured was that he in turn was trying to
take inventory of my teeth with his tongue at the same time, in fact we
tongue wrestled for some time until I decided that it just wasn't fair that
he could be undressed and I wasn't. I took one of his hands and grabbed my
tank top and his clothing and we went up to my rooms on the third floor.

 We fell onto the bed and continued our explorations, by mouth and hands,
on the rest of our well muscled bodies. I was just going to ask if I could
rim him when he quietly asked if we could frot, he had read in gay stories
that most couples started making love that way, so we did, with him
reclining on my larger and longer body and as we started out slowly
grinding ourselves against each other, the sweat we produces helped to
lubricate our bodies and there didn't appear to be any friction as we
worked ourselves into a mind blowing orgasm. I held him tightly to me as he
slid up a little and started nursing on my heaving pecs, bringing my large
nipples to peaks that felt like the nipples on a baby's bottle by the time
we erupted, shooting onto each other several spurts of warm cum, which we
had ground together to make a mixture of our emissions which we shared by
scooping some up with our fingers and feeding each other our mixture. We
fell asleep like that, glued together, arms on each others sides, him using
my hard chest as his pillow, his tongue, when he licked his lips, would
caress my left nipple. I never felt so contented or at peace in my life as
I did in that moment. Caleb looked the same, sleeping like a baby at this
moment in time. When we awoke about an hour later it was to the symphony of
our stomachs grumbling. We chuckled as we smiled at each other, and I asked
if he could stay for dinner, or longer. Caleb smiled down at me and
whispered, "I'm in love with you, are you telling me you can cook also?" I
assured him I could, and that I could wash as well and with that I picked
him up and carried him into the shower in my bathroom and began to clean
him head to toe. He proved to me he indeed had cleaning skills as well and
we dried each other, staling kisses when we could.

 The kisses lasted while we both prepared dinner, and while we ate side by
side at the kitchen table, bare legs and arms connecting with each
mouthful. After cleaning up the kitchen Caleb asked if we could drive to
his apartment to get clothes and his toiletries. I assured him it would be
doable, and my pleasure, did he want to go in my little car or should we
take Sally's big SUV? We actually went in the car he had left in the
parking lot at the commons. I had lent him a t shirt and underwear and he
wore his jogging shorts so we strolled up to the common and gathered his
car. His apartment was small, really no more than an efficiency, in the
attic of a carriage house on the other side of rt 116 from Sally and Gladys
and down a few blocks. He told me it was offered to him by the widow of a
patron of the marina's, she felt safer with a male college student on the
property, someone who had ties to the town, someone she had watched grow
up. I encouraged Caleb to pack a medium sized suitcase and to let his
landlady know he'd be gone for a while but if she needed him he was close
and to call him on his cell phone. He went to the back door of her house
and rang the bell there. She came to the door and I recognized her
immediately, she had been my English teacher in high school, now retired
for the last 4 years. Caleb greeted her and made to introduce us, but I
side stepped Caleb and she came up to me and gave me a big hug. I said to
Caleb, that we've known each other for many years, she inspired me in her
English classes in high school and introduced me to great literature, she
and Sally were the guides who brought me to where I am today. Mrs. Fields
was a true guide to my writing career and I was itching to tell just how
successfully she had guided me, but when we made to leave she hugged me
again and whispered to me that she had guessed my secret and was happy for
my success. I was surprised to say the least, but I whispered back to her
that I hadn't told anyone else but Sally and Gladys yet, she winked at me,
letting me know my secret was safe, but I knew I'd have to fess up soon,
plus I didn't think it wise to start a relationship with one partner not
knowing the other is an unemployed librarian and a successful author. I
resolved to correct that tonight, just in case it scared Caleb off.

I realized if I did tell Caleb it would also make sense to tell my brother
as well, they had proven to me they could handle it, after all it was my
parents I had been hiding from all these years and my brothers hadn't told
them about reconnecting with me, and If they did I couldn't see anything
they could do or say that would make any difference now. When we had gotten
Caleb settled in my room I took him by the hand and led him to the back
patio, and the lounge chairs from earlier. I sat in one and pulled him in
front of me, and he settled in front of me with his back to my front and I
encircled him with my arms and told him I had a secret to tell him. I also
told him I thought it was a good secret after I felt him stiffen in my
arms. So I began to tell him how I began writing in college and why I kept
it a secret, and how I had inverted my names to create Robert Scott and how
now with the writing and movie deals, I was very successful. I told him
that my brothers were going to have to be told soon and that I wanted him
by my side when I did, and I wanted him there by my side every day of our
lives. He struggled loose in my arms and he lay with me chest to chest and
kissed me asking me if we were engaged or something now. I loved it, being
a prominent author was OK, but he wanted to know about us, and I knew then
that I loved him, and that love would only grow. I responded that indeed,
if he cared for me the way I cared for him, then yes, I think we are
engaged. Our lovemaking that night was great and exciting. He let me rim
him and I thought I'd died and went to heaven, he did apparently also and
after about 10 minutes he begged me to fuck him, so I did, loosening him
carefully and using lots of lube I made love to him, he came after I teased
his prostate repeatedly and after about 30 or so strokes he was shooting
between us as I ground into him while we were swapping spit and tongue
dueling. We both dozed for a while and the when we awoke I encouraged him
to penetrate me as well. I told him not to worry, like him I had often used
a dildo on myself and I didn't think I'd need a whole lot of prep, just use
a lot of lube, and take it kind of slow at first. He did and we had the
same results this time as before. We talked after and we agreed that there
was initially a spark of pain upon entrance, but soon that was replaced by
wonderful pleasure, a feeling of connection to the one we loved. It made
for a wonderful nights sleep. In the morning Caleb asked when I was going
to reveal all to my brothers and I replied that if it was alright with him
why didn't he call Harry and invite them to dine with us either tonight or
whenever all three could come together.

He thought it was a good plan and he pulled out his cell and called
Harry. They chit chatted for a while and I heard him say that he loved
me. I also heard him say the feeling were reciprocated, but that wasn't why
he was calling and they went on to agree to coming for dinner as the
parental units were going on a bus trip to the casino in Connecticut and
wouldn't be home until very late. When they arrived later that afternoon I
was greeted with hugs as was Caleb, and all the boys had knowing looks on
their faces. Sixteen year old Tom asked if I had anything to tell them?
Since they knew I was gay, and that was why I had been expelled from the
family, I knew what he was hinting at so I told them. Holding Caleb's hand
I told my brothers that I had found my love and that he had agreed to be my
spouse, that we would be husbands, as soon as we worked out living
arrangements since Caleb still had one more year at UMASS, and I wasn't
doing the long distance thing. The guys were a little surprised, but I
realized they didn't know the rest of the story yet. So we sat around the
kitchen table and I filled them in. I started with the story I wrote in
college that got published and the following six novels and of course their
success. The boys had all seen the four movies and one of my books had even
been required reading in Jim's freshman American Lit course this past
Spring. I told them I
 had another book coming out in September
 and I'd have to do some traveling for interviews but that it would all be
under the Robert Scott persona. Tom piped up and asked a question that I'm
sure the others wanted to ask, but hadn't. He asked if I was now rich and
was that why I had resigned from my job. I sat back in my chair and turned
to Harry and Jim and asked how they were paying for college. The guys
looked at each other surprised by the question and then Harry answered that
they each had received a scholarship that covered everything. I responded
that what they really got was funds from a trust fund I had set up for them
with Aunt Sally as the executor and that there was one already set up for
when Tom went to college, and that soon there would be one for Caleb, to
help cover his last year and any post graduate work he wanted to do, just
as their trusts did. I wasn't rich I told them, I was wealthy, I just
didn't like to live like it. The four younger men just sat there with their
mouths hanging open, until Harry and then all four of them engulfed me in a
group hug and peppered me with cheek kisses and thanks, all except Caleb,
he planted one on my lips with my brothers giggling behind us. He whispered
to me I didn't have to do that, that he could continue to work to pay his
own way, and I responded by telling him that each hour he had to work meant
an hour we couldn't spend together. He gazed into my eyes and gave his head
a nod, he understood where I was coming from.

The next question was from Jim, he wanted to know when we(Caleb and I)were
getting hitched, and where we were going to live. Caleb took that one,
saying that we wanted the aunts to be home for the ceremony and that we
hadn't had a chance to discuss living arrangements as yet. By the time we
had finished dinner the brothers had run out of questions for each other,
for the time being. We all said our good nights, and Caleb and I told them
we'd get together again soon. After the boys took off we cuddled together
on the couch in front of the TV and caught the late news and then closed up
the downstairs and retired to the third floor rooms and had a rousing rumpy
bumpy session, just so we'd have a good nights sleep mind you.

 Monday morning over breakfast Caleb and I talked about the trust fund I
was setting up for him and I asked him to plan on giving his notice for his
Summer job he was to start next week. He sat at the table to write out his
resignation and I went to my little study on the third floor and called
Harold to get the ball rolling on this the fourth trust fund covering all
college expenses and a weekly allowance. Harold was glad to hear from me,
but a little disappointed when I told him I hadn't even driven past the
property he had asked me to look at. I assured him I would do that soon and
we concluded our call. I then located the property information and called
the owners to see if Caleb and I could view the farm that
afternoon. Mr. Snyder said that would be fine with both he and his wife and
they'd look for us anytime after 1:30pm. I thanked him and told him we'd
see them shortly. By then Caleb had finished his letter and we faxed it
from my machine in the study. We had a quick lunch and cleaned up after
ourselves and then left for the farm.

 The drive was up rt 116 over the mountain and down the other side and a
sharp right into the countryside. If we had continued straight on 116 we
would have ended up at the UMASS campus where Caleb and two of my brothers
attended classes. We had passed Hampshire College and would have passed
Amherst College had we continued straight. About a mile down the road we
were on we saw the farm we were looking for, the mailbox on the left side
of the road at the corner of the road and the paved drive into the
property.

 It was like a Currier and Ives print. The big white farmhouse on one side
of the drive and the huge red barn and it's outbuildings opposite and down
the drive a little way. The drive split and one branch curved around in
front of the house and ended in a wide paved pad in front of a rather large
6 car garage attached to the house by an enclosed walkway. The house itself
was a huge Colonial with a wraparound porch on the first floor and a roofed
balcony on the second, as wide as the front of the house. According to the
paperwork the house had just over 6 thousand 500 square feet. As we parked
in the curved drive in front of the porch stairs an older couple came out
the front door of the house and stood on the top stair to await our arrival
up the stairs to greet them. The Snyder s were a lovely old couple, about
the age of Aunt Sally or a bit older. I introduced Caleb and myself, saying
that Harold had sent me to see the property and he had hoped it would be a
good investment for me.

Mr. Snyder looked me over good and said surely I was looking for my
parents. I gently told him the property would be mine and my parents were
no longer in the picture, and that I made a decent living and had saved
since I had started working. He stated that he was expecting to get at
least a million for the property, and I looked him in the eye and told him
to show me why it was worth that amount of money. It appeared to be that
and more. The house had 16 rooms and an unfinished basement and attic,
seven bedrooms with adjoining baths and a working mans bath in the hall off
the kitchen, and three other full bathrooms and two half baths. The house
and outbuildings, including the huge barn, had been built 10 years ago
after a fire had demolished the originals. Mr. Snyder pointed out the hand
crafted trim and moldings throughout the house and the ten working
fireplaces. There wasn't a squeak from any of the hardwood floors on either
floor and the bathrooms appeared modern and stylish. The kitchen/family
room took up the whole rear portion of the first floor, with huge french
doors along the wide back wall giving access to a very large flagstone
patio and a really good sized in ground swimming pool with a retractable
cover that looked like a greenhouse when fully expanded. The kitchen area
was larger than the kitchen in Sally's house and was equipped with every
modern appliance. Upstairs the master bedroom had a large walk-in closet
and a working fireplace in a nice sitting area in the very spacious
room. It was the only room on the floor with access to the balcony over the
front porch. The remaining six bedrooms were off a central hall and were
all roomy and beautifully appointed, as was the rest of the home. While we
were walking through the huge barn Caleb mentioned he had counted ten horse
stalls, but didn't see any horses, or for that matter any
livestock. Mr. Snyder then told us he had gotten too old for the horses and
cattle, he did keep chickens and did lease out several acres of grazing
pastures to a neighboring farmer, but that farmer was ready to retire also,
so at the moment there were no livestock on either farm. During our tour
Mr. Snyder put us in an ATV and drove to the pond. It was a beautiful spot
with views like from the house, looking down the length of the mountain
range and mature trees scattered around the perimeter of the pond. While
returning to the house Mr. Snyder told us that the neighboring farm was
smaller, about 500 acres and had most of it's fields planted in corn and
pumpkins for one of the big supermarkets in the area. He also said they had
apple and pear orchards there. Their asking price was only 500 thousand and
the house and barns were much smaller and much older. When we arrived back
to the Snyder's house Mrs. Snyder had coffee and cookies laid out on the
kitchen table. They talked to us about the last several years and how they
made money by renting out rooms to grad students and that they had never
had children of their own. They wanted to retire to Arizona where friends
of theirs had moved to. I asked if they were selling the house furnished
and if all the equipment and vehicles we had seen were also included and
after they conferred they said for the right price everything but their
clothing and some pots and pans were included in the selling price. I then
made them a conditional offer. I told them that as long as the appraisal
and house and out buildings inspection met my approval I would pay them one
million, one hundred thousand for the property and if they would get in
touch with their neighbors for me I'd also like to see that property now as
I thought I'd like to not have strangers living so close. The rest of the
Snyder's farm was boarded by state park land and couldn't be built on. The
stunned couple conferred again and Mrs. Snyder smiled and said it was a
done deal and handed me their kitchen phone and told me their neighbor was
on the line. I spoke briefly and we arranged for Caleb and I to stop there
in about a half hour or so. I then took out my cell and talked to Harold,
explaining what I needed done and after getting the Snyder's fax number he
had a contract faxed in 15 minutes and I gave the Snyder's a personal check
for a hundred thousand as earnest money to seal the deal. With the signed
contracts signed and a receipt for the earnest money we agreed on a formal
closing in two weeks time. Mr. Snyder still looked skeptical, until, with a
nod from me, Caleb took him aside and told him who I was. Both Snyder s
gave us thankful handshakes as we left and we told them we'd see them at
closing and to be sure to let us know if there were any problems with the
inspections Harold was going to schedule, hopefully this week. Caleb looked
inquiringly at me as we drove to the next farm. All I said was I knew what
I wanted, and he had told me in the barn what a great house the Snyder's
had and that he could just see us in that master bedroom, and now he would,
because I had told Harold to put the property in both our names, happy
wedding present early stud. He was stunned, and quite
 happy as we entered the next property.
 The next farm was quite a bit smaller but the house was solid and the barn
and out buildings were as well, but several gallons of paint would do the
place a world of good, The owners wife had passed years ago and the
condition of the whole place looked it. The owner wanted to sell out and
move to Florida. He said everything was included and he wanted 700 thousand
for everything and the 500 acres. After our tour we sat on the front porch
of the 8 room house with three bathrooms, not much of it modernized, but I
did notice that there was city water and sewer, which would make hooking up
the previously seen property much easier and cheaper. I offered 475
thousand and we haggled a bit and we settled on 510 thousand. Harold was
called and we went into the owner's small office and transacted our deal on
the contracts faxed over by Harold and then signed and faxed back to him. I
gave another earnest money check and we agreed to close on the property at
the same time as the closing on the Snyder property. On the way home Caleb
just stared at me for a while and then said he'd never seen anything like
it, the way I just spent over a million and a half in the course of three
hours, I chuckled and told him not to get used to it, it wouldn't happen
again any time soon I should think. I did ask if he was happy, and he told
me he couldn't wait 'til bedtime to show me just how happy he was. I
couldn't wait to show him how happy I was too.

The aunts called on Sunday to let us know how their journey was progressing
and I told them my news, that Caleb and I had found each other and that we
were waiting on them to come home so we could get married. I also told them
about the properties we had purchased and that we would be taking
possession very soon, but we were intending to guard their house as
well. They told me to ask Harry if he'd like to live there until they
returned if Caleb and I wanted to move to the new house and I told them
we'd see how things worked out, and we'd keep in touch by e-mail about the
situation. We all wished each other well and the call was ended.  Caleb and
I drove into Springfield on Monday and we each purchased each other bands
with a small diamond inset into the gold band. When we got home we
"presented" them to each other, each keeping separate the matching wedding
band to be exchanged at our ceremony. Since we were going to be now wearing
our "engagement" rings, Caleb thought it might be a good idea to break our
news to his father, who by the way, knew Caleb was gay and had known for
quite a while, even trying at one point to act as matchmaker for him. I
agreed and so on our run that day we ran to the marina and found Frank in
his office there. I approached him first, asking Frank for his son's hand
in marriage. Frank, God bless him, looked a little surprised, but Caleb
held his left had up showing his ring and told his father he had better say
yes, since he already had!. Poor Frank took a moment before he asked when
all this had happened, when were we tying the knot, where, and could he pay
for the reception?, he said he couldn't believe we had finally gotten
together, he knew Caleb had loved me since he was a little kid and he
couldn't think of a nicer spouse for his flesh and blood. We told him the
aunts would arrange for the use of the college chapel and the minister and
we had wondered if maybe he could put together one of his famous riverboat
dinner cruises for our reception, we didn't expect him to pay for
anything. He loved the idea and insisted he pay for the dinner cruise on
the riverboat he owned, he just needed a date so he could mark that day off
on his booking calendar. We gave him our hoped for date of the third
Saturday in August. He then told me that he occasionally ran into my
parents and wanted to know if things were still bad with them. I reminded
Frank of what had happened while I was in college and that they had never
tried to contact me since and never spoke of me, even around my brothers
and that as far as I was concerned things could stay that way. We then told
Frank we were both moving soon to Amherst, to a property we were hoping to
close on by the end of the next week. Caleb told him that he was giving up
his apartment at Mrs. Fields and he was going to suggest Harry for his
replacement. He then told his dad he had gotten a big scholarship that
would even cover grad school and provided a weekly stipend so he wouldn't
have to work while in school. I have to say that rough and tumble Frank
took all our news with graciousness and good humor, and even invited us to
have dinner with him in the restaurant if we could hang around for another
half hour while he closed down his operation. We thanked him and told him
we'd see him in the bar when he was ready. Dinner with Frank was revealing,
he had many stories about Cal, as he called Caleb, and I liked it as
well. He couldn't get over the hero worship Cal had for me as a lad had
turned to love, for both of us. He did tell me he had photos of Cal and I
together as youngsters and he'd try to locate as many as he could before
the wedding. We told him about the farm and about it being virtually
re-built within the last 10 years, and the pond on the property. We told
him as soon as we had possession he'd have to come out to see it. I have to
say, it felt so good to be accepted by him, and the aunts and my
brothers. Everything felt so right.

That Wednesday we had the boys for dinner and we asked Harry how he felt
about moving into Cal's little apartment when Cal moved out officially. I
told him that his trust provided a weekly allowance that would more than
cover his expenses and Cal told him that as an incoming Junior he would be
able to still live off campus since he was remaining in his hometown. He
loved the idea, but took us off to the living room to talk in private, away
from his brother's ears. He told us that he felt he was a stabilizing
influence in his parent's home, that it was he who made sure the others ate
and that the house was clean and his brothers did their homework and did
well in school. What a burden for him to be carrying at his young age. We
then called in the other two and we had a family meeting amongst us. I told
the younger two what we had been discussing and we told them that both Cal
and I would always be on their side no matter what was decided, but I told
them that they had to prepare to be out on their own soon, and that in
another year Harry would be finished at school and in another two so would
Jim. Tom only had one more year of high school and then he would be off to
college as well. We all discussed it and the younger ones agreed that they
had to man up and start being responsible and after all, Harry would only
be a mile away, and he could check on them every day and the younger ones
could stop by his place if need be, Jim had a small car for commuting to
classes and they could visit us or Harry whenever they wanted. Everyone
agreed it was a done deal, Harry would move into the small efficiency at
Mrs. Field's after the closing on our property and Jim would be offered the
chance to house sit the aunt's house then too. That would leave Tom home
alone for only about a month and a half, maybe a week or two longer. He
felt OK with that, as he'd have three lifelines to fall back on it things
got rough for him. There was a little concern, you see, because Tom had
told us last week that he thought he might be gay and with our parents past
in dealing with this issue we wanted to make sure he was safe, and if
needed, had an escape.

 We ended up eating home made pizza for dinner. I had remembered it was a
favorite when we were kids and Cal and I, with help form my brothers, had
the first one in the oven in about a half hour. The second one was ready in
15 minutes and the third went in as I took out the second, and there was a
slice left from the third. We all cleaned up the kitchen and then the boys
had to return home before our parents did. Cal and I settled in to watch
the late news and chose the 10pm news on a local station.

 During the first commercial break I got up to use the half bath off the
hall to the kitchen and as I was coming out I heard Cal answering the house
phone. He waived me over to the phone and told the caller I had just come
into the room and he handed me the phone, whispering,"Harold". Harold told
me all the inspections had been done and the closings were scheduled for
Thursday morning on both properties. He told me he had contacted a lawyer
client of his from this area and she would meet us at her office in
Holyoke, along with the sellers, at 10am Thursday morning, that would give
her time to file the deeds at the county offices and at the closing I would
receive keys for both properties and the current owners would have vacated
the properties by that time and we could take possession. He then said he
had contacted the university and started feeling them out about buying the
properties. I told him in no uncertain terms that not only was I buying the
properties to live in, but that both deeds should have both my and Cal's
names on them, that we were going to be living together there before and
after our wedding in August. He took a moment and then said
congratulations, but was I sure I wanted to pass up the opportunity to sell
at a substantial profit? I told him that Cal only had one more year of
regular classes and if he decided to go to grad school we would still need
a place to live, we liked the farm, we wanted the privacy having the second
farm would allow, we wanted something that would give us stability, a
starting place for our lives together, and maybe even start a family
there. At that Cal grabbed me and gave me a big smooch. Harold wanted
details and I opened up to him and told him everything. He insisted he be
invited to the wedding and I told
 him that we would have a bedroom for him when he came.

 We ended the call and then Cal and I snuggled up again to watch the 11pm
news. Our love making that night was, to say the least, glorious. I had
lost a lot of my inhibitions and Cal was a willing partner in our
explorations. We slept like logs. Two or three times that night. The next
two days we spent lining up painters for the second property, booking them
to start on Monday and we interviewed three contractors to finish off the
attic into a home office for me and a study for Cal. We'd both need or own
space, he for studying and me foe writing. I suppose with all the rooms we
each could have used one of the spares, but we thought this was one way of
putting our own stamp on the house and we'd discussed this and decided
together on this. The second contractor had been recommended by Frank and
his initial assessment, without actually seeing the space yet, proved more
to our liking, so we made an appointment with him for the following Monday
als0.

 We browsed a few shops both at home and in Amherst and we actually picked
out a few pieces for our new rooms, placed a deposit on them, and arranged
for delivery on the following week, we figured we had plenty of rooms to
store them in until the new rooms were completed. The one big purchase for
the house was a new mattress for the master bedroom bed. We just didn't
like the idea of a used mattress for our wedding bed. We also stopped in at
a company that provided home security. I wanted a newer home alarm system,
and a driveway alarm that would let us know when a vehicle was approaching
the property. We decided to have it installed two car lengths into the
drive from the road so that someone just using the drive from the road to
turn around wouldn't set it off, but anyone advancing any further up the
drive would. We arranged for the installations the following week as
well. The Snyder's had cable and wifi at the house now and so we arranged
for Mrs. Snyder to cancel all the utilities in their name for Thursday and
we signed up for them in our names for Thursday to ensure continuation of
the services.

We also spoke with a plumbing contractor and an electrician and asked for
quotes for hooking up to the town sewer and water and for solar panels to
be placed on the property to provide our own power in case of an outage in
bad weather and to provide our own power for the pool and a few of the out
buildings that didn't have power now. Everything went well at the closing
Friday morning and the sellers were amazed when our lawyer presented them
each with the balance due in the form of cashiers checks, drawn from my
personal account. Cal and I had signed all the papers and the lawyer was
very knowledgeable and efficient, in fact both of us liked her and we went
and had lunch with her after. We all got along really well and we invited
her out for dinner at the house after we had gotten settled in. Cal had
insisted we wait for the new mattress to be delivered before we spent the
night, but when we went to walk through the house after the closing he
dragged me into the master bedroom and we ravaged each other on the old
mattress anyway. Cal said he reasoned that it was no different than staying
in a hotel, but that when it sunk in that this was OUR house, he felt the
urge to christen at least one room today.

 After we had straightened ourselves up a bit we continued our tour and
found that Mrs. Snyder had left the fridge stocked and many packages in the
freezer for us and a lovely note, telling us she hoped we had a lovely live
in the house and wishing us much happiness in our upcoming
marriage. Mr. Snyder had left several labled keys for us for the various
buildings and copious notes on how to care for the chickens. It suddenly
dawned on me that we now had a whole flock to take care of and both of us
quickly scanned the notes, making sure we hadn't missed a feeding or
something. We saw that a feeding was coming up, so following the
instructions in the notes we grabbed the keys and went to feed the
chickens. It was fun and we also gathered about a dozen and a half eggs. On
the way back we stopped and looked in the caretakers cottage and saw that
it was as clean as the rest of the place. Cal suggested we might want to
hire someone to do the chores, especially during the school year when he
had class schedules to keep. I thought about it and it made a lot of
sense. If I was engrossed in writing I might well forget to do a feeding or
an egg gathering and the coop also had to be cleaned regularly and if we
got some horses, which we both wanted to do, how would we be able to care
for everything, plus the mowing, the snow removal, the supplies for the
pool and the feed... Cal had a very good idea.

 We talked it over as we walked up the drive to the house and we decided to
advertise for a couple, one to take care of the property and another to
take care of the house and to prepare meals occasionally. They could live
in the caretaker cottage, totally private from the house. We had a few busy
days coming up next week so we went back to the aunts house to prepare
dinner and have a bit of private celebration. In the morning Cal asked what
I thought about offering the jobs and the cottage to a grad school couple
that would have to qualify for the positions, and trade the cottage for the
work. I told him it was a great idea, and I also wondered about having a
couple or two on the other property, taking care of the day to day upkeep,
and being a presence there to discourage any vandalism over there.  Cal
suggested we go to the college housing placement office and post a notice
there, asking interested parties to call for interviews. So that's what we
did, after the new mattress was delivered, just as promised, shortly after
noon. We found the correct building and the right office and located the
bulletin board and started to post our two ads. As we finished a young
woman came up to us and asked if we had student accommodations available
and we answered we did and she asked if she could make copies for her
office since she worked in the student housing office. We agreed and she
took our postings and went to make copies. When she returned she asked if
we were open to the idea of same sex couples, and we both laughed and said
since we were a couple it would be pretty hypocritical of us to refuse same
sex couples. She blushed prettily, and told us that she and her wife, who
worked in the bursar's office, were looking for housing in the area as they
had to commute from Springfield, an almost 40 mile trip each way. She said
they both had been raised on a farm and they had a budget that would allow
them to afford half the required rent on the other property. She also
stated that their best friends were in the same boat. They both worked in
offices on campus and had to commute from Springfield also. She said they
all four could meet us on Saturday if that would be alright. Cal was
nodding when I turned my head to look at him so I said we'd like to
interview them and to show them the property, could we meet at 1:00pm?
Stella replied that she thought the four of them could make it at that time
and we gave her our cell numbers just in case anything came up. We took
down the second flier after she had left us, I just had a good feeling
about this. Cal told me the same thing as we went back to our new house. We
each explored the house, poking in cupboards, snooping in closets, browsing
the books in the library. Just before locking up and going back to the
aunts Cal's cell rang and it was obvious the call was about the positions
here at our new house. Cal asked if they could meet us about 2:30pm
tomorrow. He must have gotten a positive reply since he told the caller
we'd see them then. On the drive home Cal told me that the caller wasn't
exactly what he had expected, but he was pleased about it. He told me it
was a grad student in the equine studies department, and his husband was a
grad student in the agricultural studies unit of the university. I laughed,
we couldn't have planned it better if we had tried, not only did we find
potential employees and tenants in the same day, but they were all GAY! All
connected to the university also, it really came down to If we could all
get along, especially the young male couple, they would be living in the
cottage down the drive and if one was at work in the house the other would
occasionally be in the house at times as well.

Saturday found us back at the new house in time to prepare a large thermos
of coffee and arrange the danish pastries we bought on the way on a platter
we had found in the pantry. We arrived next door just before an SUV which
the women had all arrived in. Stella from the housing office made the
introductions and we met her partner Pam and their friends Lynn and Sue. We
let them explore after showing them around the first floor and Lynn came up
to us at one point and asked if there was any livestock on the property and
we told her there wasn't, but there were plenty of chickens next door and
they could have free eggs or a couple of layers and a rooster here if they
wanted. We explained the house and the out buildings were to be painted
next week and that the utilities would have to be paid by them. They said
they had expected that and then they went out and looked over the barn,
chicken coop, storage shed and garage. Cal and I discussed meeting the
women and our initial impressions as we followed behind them. They were
quite pleased with everything they saw and I surprised them after they said
they would like to be considered as caretakers/tenants that Cal and I would
like them to be our first tenants. They told us they were on month to month
leases and could move in in just under two weeks, the first of July. We
told them that would be perfect, as the painters should be finished by
then. Stella and Lynn
 each gave us the first months checks after we had the two couples sign
separate lease agreements. We told them that if they had to they could
start moving stuff in after the painters were finished, if that would help,
but anytime they wanted to move in after the painters they left would be
alright with us, just let us know and we'd meet them with the keys. We left
them looking around the outside and we went back to our new house to meet
our next appointment.

 Ray and Joe were right on time for their interview. Cal saw them arrive
from the living room window and said he thought these guys would fit right
in. I asked from across the room what he was talking about and he told me
to hold on a second and I'd see for myself. The doorbell rang and we walked
to the front door to answer it. There stood two nice looking muscle jocks
in their jogging warm up suits. One looked a bit older than the other, and
they were holding hands as we greeted them. We made our introductions and
shook hands and we walked them down to the cottage. Ray had been in the
military and had returned to the university to pursue an agricultural
degree, where he had met Joe, a student in the equine department. They had
met 3 years ago and now both were starting grad school next semester and
had been married just over a year.

Joe's hobby was cooking and they felt with what they already knew, and the
resources available to them at the university, they'd be able to handle our
property well. We showed them the cottage, and then took them on the big
tour of the other buildings, including our house. After browsing some
shelves in our new library Ray said, offhandedly, that two of my books were
missing from the shelves. I looked and didn't see any open spots on the
shelf he was indicating, and then he chuckled and said he had seen me at a
library talk two years ago in Ames, Iowa, near his hometown when he was
visiting his parents. I chuckled and told him about my pseudonym and how I
never used it in my home state and here only gave beginning writers
seminars in local libraries in my capacity as a former librarian with the
Boston Public Library. He and Joe both assured me that they wouldn't
divulge my secret and Cal told them it would be appreciated, at least until
we were married and then everyone would know because our new security
system would be in place and we'd feel safer then. Ray asked if the
previous owner had kept a farm journal and calendar, and I showed him
Mr. Snyder's notes and then we went to the farm office in the barn where
Ray found what he was looking for. Joe had been looking at the stalls and
asked when they were built. I told him about the fire and how all the
buildings had been replaced 10 years ago. I told him that both Cal and I
had a desire to have horses to ride and that my three brothers had
expressed a desire to learn also. Cal thought we should have at least ten,
maybe for guests, or Ray and Joe or the new tenants to use. Joe said there
was space for a few more stalls in the smaller barn if we should ever need
them, and plenty of paddock areas already fenced. Ray said he could plant
enough grains to feed whatever we ended up with, and that both he and Joe
each owned a horse and would love to move them here with them if we gave
them the jobs. We walked as two couples up to the main house and Cal
retrieved the contract we had prepared when we did the leases for the women
tenants. Cal held them up and I nodded and we gave each one a pen to use to
sign with. Ray noticed the added salary to his as Joe found a similar
generous one on his. We explained that we felt they had a full time job
with classes and all and wanted them to realize just how valuable they were
going to be to us if they even just did the basics around here so Cal could
study and I could write. They sincerely thanked us and asked when they
could move in. I handed the two spare cottage keys to them and told them
anytime they wanted, just to let us know what day they decided.

The next day we took my brothers to meet Mrs. Fields and to offer Harry as
Cal's replacement tenant. She was thrilled to have all us younger men visit
and she and Harry got along great. She even told him he could have an
overnight visitor, but to remember there wasn't a revolving door on his
unit. We then took the guys for a tour of the new property. Cal and I took
a lot of ribbing about how large the place was and just how large a family
did we plan on anyway? During our tour of the big barn Tom clutched my arm
and asked if we could talk away from the others, I told him to hang on a
sec and we dawdled long enough that Cal had the other two off to the
chicken coop and Tom and I were alone in the barn. We sat on some upturned
buckets and Tom told me he had found a boyfriend. His name was Bill and Tom
had met him at a friend's house when he was over for a pool party the other
day. They had liked each other a lot right away and had been e-mailing each
other a couple of times a day, even talking to each other before bed time
on their cells. I could tell Tom was certainly smitten with Bill and I
warned him about being careful around our parents and that after we had
moved in he could invite Bill for dinner sometime and they could spend the
day swimming together, and getting to know each other better. Tom gave me a
big hug and told me that would be great. We joined the rest of the group
and had a great time visiting. Everything went as planned, Monday we
arrived at the new house early and set about brewing a big pot of coffee
and right on time the contractor, the plumber, the deliveries, the alarm
company arrived, staggered enough that no-one was left waiting for us
long. The contractor thought he could start the next day since there was
already heat and electricity up in the attic and he went about measuring
and said he could be done by the weekend if he brought the right crew with
him. Everything went just as smooth with everyone else.

The new alarm and the drive sensors were installed and the new/old
furniture for our study and office rooms was delivered and placed in a
bedroom on the second floor for now, ready for the new rooms at the end of
the week. Tuesday morning we received calls from Ray and Joe and from
Stella, representing the women, and all said they'd like to start moving in
this weekend and hopefully be done by Sunday night, if that was agreeable
with us. We told them it was. The other property was undergoing the
painting, and they should be done by Thursday, so all looked good for this
coming weekend when we also would be moving in officially. All the projects
went according to plan and were finished by Friday morning. The carpenters
even moved the furnishings for the new rooms on the third floor up there
for us.

Late Friday morning Joe called and asked if we wanted to purchase some
horses, as the equine studies section at the university were offering
excess horses at a really good price and although we wouldn't necessarily
get a huge discount, we would get close to first pick of the fifteen to
twenty horses being sold to make room for horses to be boarded by students
and for the expected new crop they had each year. Cal thought it was a
great opportunity so we told Joe to book us an appointment and we'd meet
him there. He did and we did and we were amazed at just how large an
operation they had. We picked out 8 riding stock and were able to get all
the necessary tack and saddles for each and we also purchased feed for them
that would last long enough to last until Ray had reaped feed from our
fields to feed them.

 We were about to leave the barn when I noticed one of the student workers
playing with a litter of puppies that appeared to be about a couple of
months old. We got to chatting with her and she told us that they sold the
barn dogs when they were old enough and we asked if this batch was ready
and she said no, but she did have about 10 dogs that were and they had been
around the grown horses longer and were better trained. She took us to the
kennels and right away two males came right up to Cal and I. They seemed
very loving and we looked at each other and nodded, in 20 minutes they were
ours, along with bags of dog food and stainless bowls for food and water
for each. Joe got along with them as well and he warned us not to treat
them as pets, they were working dogs after all, trained to guard and herd
horses, not as house pets. We took the dogs and their belongings home with
us and got them settled in the barn, with their accessories and some old
blankets we had around from the delivery of our furniture for the study and
the office. They seemed quite content after we filled their bowls for them
and we showed them the doggy door to the back of the barn that opened to a
fenced in yard that must have been the Snyder's dog's kennel. The dogs
wouldn't be lonely long, the horses and their feed and tack were to be
delivered the next day.

 Ray and Joe were going to be bringing some things by tonight for their
cottage and were gong to make sure everything was ready for that at the
same time. Joe wanted to be here when the delivery happened and we told him
we would help where we could and he had told us that he thought Ray might
be able to be here at the same time as he only had a morning class, like he
did, in the morning and the delivery wouldn't be before 1p.m.. Friday we
went over and checked that the painting had been finished as we had been
told and it was. The property the women were moving into looked
fantastic. The farmhouse had a new coat of paint inside and out and all the
out buildings there were all spiffed up. We felt the ladies would be well
pleased. The work on our study and office on our third floor was excellent,
you couldn't tell it was a new job, it all blended so well with the rest of
the house you couldn't
 tell it was all newly done.

Shortly after our lunch Ray and Joe arrived and we all went out to feed and
water the dogs. All was in readiness in the barn and Joe had noticed in the
small room in the corner there were wall pegs and storage bins under
them. He explained to Cal and I that these were used to store the tack
after each use and each bin and peg should be labeled for each horse. He
was very organized and had the labels ready for the unloading and storage
of the tack and saddles. We discussed our running routines and where we
might set up some workout equipment. Cal suggested the pool house and we
all strolled up to it to explore the possibility. It really was a nice set
up. There was a shower bath, two changing rooms, a bar with microwave and a
large fridge. There was an area furnished as a sitting area with summer
type furniture in it. We decided that we could use all the furniture here
on the patio on the back of the house and set up some equipment here in the
"Living room "area. There was both heat and air conditioning out here so
we'd be comfortable out here year long. We decided on what machines we all
wanted and what weights we were all used to. I made a list in my notebook
so I could go on-line later and order it all since the drive sensor had
sounded and we had to go and meet the big horse vans delivering our horses
and their feed and tack.

Joe and Ray directed the vans to the barn and paddock and Cal and I went to
the barn and opened the connecting doors to the paddock. Joe went to the
second van and started to remove some bales and bags of feed and was
lugging it over to the feed trough in the paddock. We hurried to help and
when there was sufficient feed in it Joe told us the rest would be stored
in the barn. He explained that he and Ray had filled the water trough
already and we were now ready to greet the new arrivals. The unloading went
well and we toted the tack into the tack room while the horses settled
in. During all this the two dogs had settled in the paddock and actually
greeted each horse as it was unloaded and walked into the paddock. The
delivery men from the university were great and even helped get all the hay
and feed into the barn, working with Joe and Ray the whole time. Ray said
that now feed was being stored in the barn again we might consider getting
a few cats to take care of mice and rats that had escaped the dogs. I put
that on our list of things to get also. Ray and Joe offered to stay in
their cottage for the night so that someone would be on the property, but
they would be leaving about 8am to begin the moving of their furniture and
other belongings. We offered them a bedroom at the house which had a real
bed and was already made up with linens, so they used one of the spare
bedrooms and we had live security for the night.

When we arrived in the morning with our belongings packed into Sally's big
SUV the chickens were already fed and the eggs gathered. The dogs had been
fed and the horses were out in the paddock, fed and happy. We spent a few
hours moving in and placing what we needed in our own spaces on the third
floor and the remainder of our clothing in our bedroom. Near noon we went
down to the kitchen and gathered the hamburger patties we had bought and
all the fixings and went out back to start lunch. Cal called Ray and Joe to
find out how far they were from arriving and when they said they were about
to pull in and they had a crew of five to help them move in I started the
grill up and we prepared to have lunch ready in about an hour, when the
moving crew would be ready for a break. While we all ate lunch Ray and Joe
introduced their friends and we had a lot of fun helping them move the
remainder of Ray and Joe's belongings into the cottage after. There wasn't
a dog in the bunch, they were a great group of guys and after all the
moving had been done we invited them to use the pool before they left. Cal
and I heard the splashing and hooting a while later and we went to our
bedroom and put on bathing suits to join them, When we got to the French
doors to the patio we could see all seven of them were as naked as the day
they were born. I turned to Cal and asked if he was ready for this, he
nodded to me and we both dropped our swim suits to the floor and, holding
hands, we joined the guys in our pool. I was afraid I'd pop a boner out
there with these college aged hunks, but their conversation kept my mind
away from their attributes and more focused on what was being said. One of
the guys, I think his name was Ron asked how a young gay couple like us
could afford a neat place like this, after all wasn't Cal still in classes
at the university?

Ray, who knew who I really was, looked to me and I told him it was alright
with me, So Ray then re-introduced us saying he'd like them to meet Cal and
his fiancee Robert Scott. The pool was really quiet for a few moments and
then came the questions. It turned into a lively conversation and we
implored them to kind of keep things quiet, as we were just looking for a
quiet life here and we didn't want our place being a tourist stop. Cal
asked if we had enough hamburger left for a repeat of lunch and I told him
we did, so we got out of the pool and started to prepare a burger dinner
for the guys. Cal went in and grabbed a bunch of towels and brought me a
chef's apron he had found in the linen closet. As he tied it around me he
said he didn't want anything cooked that should be eaten raw. I called
Stella's cell and found out the women were all moved in, furniture and all
and were just trying to decide on who was going to cook. I told her that if
they didn't mind 9 towel wrapped gay and streight men to eat with they were
more than welcome to come up to our house for burgers. There was a brief
discussion on the other end, but Stella came back on and said they'd love
to, they just had to undress first. I thought that was hilarious and told
the other guys what I had done and they all grabbed a towel and wrapped
up. I told them that two lesbian couples had moved into our house next door
and they were coming for burgers. I told them they were not up for grabs,
but they might help some of them find dates. It ended up being a great
time. The ladies all wore swim suits under their towels and everyone got a
chuckle out of that. And everyone had a great time.

Sunday was a quiet day and we had a chance to ride some of the horses to
get a feel for them, and for them to get to know us. We also heard from
Harry and from Jim that they were ensconced in their respective abodes and
all was going well with both of them. About 3:00am the drive alarm bonged
in the house and I grabbed a light robe from our closet and scurried
downstairs to see who or what had tripped the alarm. Motion sensor flood
lights had been tripped and in the bright lights near the parking pad by
the drive I saw the driver's side door of Tom's car open and a body fall
out onto the drive in front of the house. With fear and anguish I rushed
out to the crumpled form and realized it indeed was Tom and he had been
beaten badly. Cal was right behind me, his cell in hand ready to call the
police if needed and instead he had also spotted Tom and he called for an
ambulance and EMT s. The professionals arrived pretty quickly and in no
time informed me that Tom had a dislocated left shoulder, a broken nose,
several bad bruises on his chest, stomach, and back and possibly bruising
of the kidneys and or liver, they were going to transport him to the
medical center at the university and we could go there as soon as we had
dressed. I kissed Tom on the forehead and told him we would be there
shortly, to hang on. We dressed in record time and we could see the
ambulance pulling away as we parked and rushed inside.

At reception I informed the attendant my brother had just been brought in
and she handed me a clipboard with a bunch of forms to fill out. I pulled
out the form that asked for the billing information, and the top form
asking the patients name, age school, etc. and handed them back, saying we
had been separated for the last 7 or 8 years and we'd have to get his
medical history from him. She didn't seem to like this information, until
she looked at the black credit card I was holding out so she could take an
impression on the billing form. After that it was yes sir, whatever you
want sir, I'll get right on that sir. She did check back there on Tom and
kept us informed on what was going on and after about an hour a police
officer arrived and sat with us. He introduced himself and when I told him
what I knew he thought it likely that Tom was beaten in So. Hadley, not
Amherst, and Tom came to us for help. It certainly made sense and he waited
with us until the nurse came to us again and said the doctors had done
their tests and were waiting to set Tom's nose until we could talk to him.

We took the Amherst officer with us and went in the cubicle to see
Tom. Poor Tom looked like the looser of a prize fight with a gorilla. We
talked briefly, he telling us all that when he came back from having lunch
with his friend Bill our father started in on him big time. He had snooped
on Tom's computer and had found the e-mails Tom and Bill had exchanged and
had found a few gay porn sites Tom had visited. He and his wife(our mother)
had called him every name in the book and both had beaten him when he
refused to deny he was gay, like that other rotten bastard they had already
kicked out. The beatings kept on and even when he was on the floor they
both had kicked him all over. He finally crawled outside when they had
drunk themselves into a stupor and he drove real slow to Amherst, to Cal
and my house. The officer had been recording and writing as much as he
could down. He took several pictures and then the doctor returned and said
we'd have to leave so he could
 set Tom's
 nose and we could see him in the morning, as he would be out of it for
about 8 hours after the procedure and after checking thoroughly for
internal bruising and bleeding.

Cal and I kissed Tom on the forehead and told him not to worry, we would
take good care of him and we'd see him first thing in the morning. We
returned to the waiting room and the officer asked a few more questions and
then said he was turning his reports and photos and the interview with Tom
and us over to the South Hadley police, since the attack happened there. We
told him to do what he needed and to please let us know as soon as possible
what happened. On the way home I asked Cal if he minded If Tom came to live
with us and he said Tom would make the perfect first addition to our
family, God I love that man. When we arrived home it was already 7:30am and
I called both Harry and Jim to let them know and Jim said from out back he
could see police lights at our parent's home. I next called the young
lawyer who had helped us close on the properties. She had just arrived at
her practice and when asked she said she did practice family law also and
she really woke up when I told her I wanted to sue my parents for custody
of my youngest brother and I filled her in on the last several hours and
what had happened to me years ago. She suggested that she contact the
proper state department and inform them that because of his age Tom would
be filing for not only damages against his parents, he would also be filing
for emancipation from them as well. I told her that Cal and I wanted him to
move in with us and that we understood the town police were at their house
now and we wanted access to remove Tom's possessions. She told us to get
some sleep, we needed to be rested for Tom later, and she would get the
ball rolling on her end. I thanked her and she said she'd call us in about
6 hours. I thanked her again and then Cal and I went to bed again, setting
the alarm for noon. When we talked to Tricia (lawyer) later we were already
on our way to the hospital. She informed us the parents had been arrested
and were tying to get out on bail, but a local judge had stalled that
because he wanted to give us time to remove Tom's things from the house, he
didn't care for adults who beat their children. We agreed to meet her at
the parents house at 3pm with a town police officer. We visited with Tom
for about an hour and a half and filled him in on what we had started. We
asked where the items he most wanted were and we asked Harry and Jim if
they wanted to go with us. They had arrived just before us and had gotten
first hand from Tom the events of yesterday and this morning. We didn't
stay much longer, Tom was exhausted and we had a mission in our hometown to
accomplish.

Tricia was waiting for us when we drove up to the house and a town
policeman was just pulling up as we all exited our cars. Cal and I made
introductions all around and it turns out the officer and Cal knew each
other and they spent some time getting re-acquainted while Jim let us into
the house. The officer photographed the blood smears on the kitchen
counters and floor as the rest of us went to the room Tom shared with
Jim. Suitcases were found and we packed up Tom's possessions and Jim also
packed more of his belongings as well. Cal muscled Tom's computer and I
grabbed the boxes of books. Jim and Harry took the boxes and suitcases and
we all trooped out to the cars with Tom's belongings going into my car and
Jim's into his own. We thanked the officer and he departed and we all
talked to Tricia for a while. She told us bail had set for $100,000 each
for our parents and they were trying to raise that on the value of their
house. We were told that they had retained their own lawyer and if found
guilty could receive sentences of up to 20 years each. She thought she
should try to get Tom emancipated before that, because when they were found
guilty Tom would become a ward of the state and that could drag things out
much longer and Tom would be placed in a state facility until everything
would be worked out. We all agreed and she suggested that we make sure Tom
would be able to support himself if emancipation was granted. I reached
into the car and removed the copies of the boys trust documents we'd
received just that morning from Harold and I showed them to her, pointing
out that each was started with 500 thousand and was available for each now,
but they were primarily set up as education funds, but with the executor's
permission could also be used for living expenses. The executor in these
cases were, Aunt Sally and Cal, Cal having been added in case Sally and
Gladys were off traveling or something and a disbursement had to be made.

 Tricia looked the form over, smiling as she did so, and then asked me to
fax her a copy she could include in her request to the court. She indicated
she would be filing Tom's request for emancipation with the court later
that day and she would request an expedited hearing, because of the parents
current circumstances. She would expect all the brothers to be prepared to
give statements to the court. She was correct, we were notified that a
hearing was scheduled in Hampden county court in Northampton for Tuesday
morning and all the siblings were requested to be there. In the meantime we
had to get Tom settled into his new home. We all went to Harry's apartment
to unload his car and then we all went to Cal and my home to settle in
Tom. We made it clear to Jim that when the aunts returned he was more than
welcome to move in with us as well. He liked the idea so we called Tricia
and asked her if she thought it would be acceptable for Jim to remove his
belongings as well, as he would be moving out in about a month and a half
anyway. She said she had to make a call, but since Jim was just shy of 19
he was considered "of age"and he had his own set of keys for the house. She
checked with the police and was told there wouldn't be a problem with Jim
removing his possessions, but if he was uncertain about his safety he was
to call them immediately, as his parents were expected to be released on
bail that afternoon. We borrowed Ray's truck and we quickly returned to the
parents house and removed Jim's belongings as well, and not too soon. As we
left the street Jim noticed our parents being dropped off by someone at
their house. We returned to unpack Jim's belongings into one of the rooms
next to the one Tom had selected, we returned Ray's pick up and then
proceeded to unload Tom's belongings into his room. It turned out to be
pizza for dinner that night and after eating Jim drove back to the Aunts
and Harry left for his apartment.

Although we didn't receive any calls that night both Jim and Harry had. Our
parents and their lawyer tried to get them to return to their home, but
both young men adamantly refused, as was their right, and no amount of
threats could sway them. They both told us that the parents demanded to
know where Tom was and insisted that any injuries Tom had were self
inflicted to get back at his parents for disciplining him for being out
late. Without disclosing anything each had hung up on their caller and
blocked any further calls from their phones to the young men's cells.

The next days flew by. Tom joined us on our morning runs and when the new
exercise equipment arrived he joined in the use of those machines as did
Ray and Joe. Ray had hooked a grader to one of the tractors and regraded
the paths into the fields which gave us easier access to the back acreage,
and it helped define each pasture or field. He also used it to create wide
paths to the other property for easier access to the house there and to the
fields. I phoned Stella at work and explained these new access paths and
asked her to pass this info to her roommates. They no longer would have to
drive down the street to stop in, and when Ray leased out any unused fields
the farmer would have access through the main property. We had a great
weekend with Ray and Joe joining my brothers and me and Cal's dad Frank
came out Sunday afternoon to spend time with us all at the pool and stayed
for dinner with us all too.

We spent some time on the computer in Cal's study room with Tom, looking up
info on emancipation so he would be prepared for Tuesday. There were
guidelines he would have to comply with and judging by what we saw he was
certainly qualified. Tuesday morning we met Tricia at the courthouse about
an hour early so she could also prep Tom, but she found out he had really
done his homework and there really was not much for her to add. When we
heard our hearing announced we went into the hearing room and saw our
brothers there on one side and our parents and their lawyer on the
other. Our parents looked shocked as they saw me hugging my brothers before
the room was called to order, and I saw them whispering to their
lawyer. The judge presiding over the hearing opened the proceedings by
calling on Tom to please stand so she could ascertain if he was well enough
to take part in the hearing.

 Tom was very adult and polite in answering the judge's questions as she
compared his face to pictures from a file, I figured the photos from the
police and hospital. Tom then produced a note from his doctor stating he
was physically well enough to attend and take part in the hearing. Tricia
was right in asking his doctor for that. The hearing proceeded from
there. Tricia produced notarized statements from Tom's teachers and the
school principal and his baseball coach, all lauding his status as an honor
roll student, his maturity, and his status as student council president for
the up cumming school year, his senior high school year. They lauded his
maturity and sense of fairness in all his dealings with both the staff and
the students. Tom was blushing at all this praise and I was so proud of
him, as I'm sure Cal and my brothers were as well. During questioning by
our parent's lawyer Tom was asked how he intended to support himself, as to
his parents
 knowledge he had no money and no job.

 Tricia objected and asked the judge to please see in the court's case file
she had submitted Tom's trust fund documents which showed Tom's financial
statements. The parent's lawyer frantically looked through his copy of the
court's file and then showed the document to our parents. Our father
yelled," Where the hell did that come from?" and the judge banged her gavel
and asked the lawyer if he had any more questions. We all could hear our
parents grumbling at each other about where all that money had come from
and why didn't he(Tom)just give it to them. Did he make that money sucking
dick? We all thought it was pretty funny, but we kept our composure and
just slightly elbowed each other to acknowledge we could hear them. Their
lawyer said he had one more question for Tom and when the judge nodded he
asked Tom where the funds for the trust came from Tom answered that his
brother had set it up for him. The lawyer looked confused and said that as
far as his parents knew Harrison(Harry) and James(Jim) were students and
held no jobs, certainly none that could have funded a 500 thousand dollar
trust fund, and Tom just sat and smiled at him saying he meant to say his
oldest brother, Scott had provided the trust to him and he had done the
same for his other brothers as well. The lawyer then stood staring at his
clients as they bickered back and forth and the judge banged her gavel and
asked what all the noise was all about and our father stood and said the
documents must be faked because they had thrown out their oldest when they
found out he was a queer and queers don't make or give away a million and a
half dollars. Tricia stood then to get the judge's attention and quietly
said that as I was also a client of hers she could attest that I was worth
in excess of 17 million and that amount grew each hour of the day and she
had financial documents that had nothing to do with the matter in front of
the judge today, but if she could approach the bench she could show these
to the judge in private so the judge could see for herself the funds came
from my accounts and that in the time since the funds had been set aside
more than half that amount had already been re-earned by the investments in
the original account. The judge waived Tricia up to the bench and they
moved to one side of it and Tricia showed the relevant documents to the
judge. Tricia then resumed her seat with us and the judge sat in her seat
behind the bench and stated for the record that she was convinced the funds
were legally earned and distributed into the trusts mentioned and that
indeed Mr. Scott Roberts was worth in excess of 17 million. She stated that
she could see no reason not to grant Tom's request for emancipation and it
was so granted. As we all left the hearing room we could hear our parents
calling out to me, but we all left the room without acknowledging them at
all as their lawyer and the bailiff held them back from us. We asked Tricia
to meet us back at our house for lunch and she agreed so we all drove back
over the river through Hadley to Amherst and then home. Cal had phoned Joe,
who was doing kitchen duty and cleaning today, and warned him there would
be six for a celebratory lunch in about an hour and a half. Joe said no
problem, he had counted on it already and we could eat anytime after we got
there. We all arrived within a few minutes of each other and there were
hugs all around before we entered the house and Tricia got the big tours
from Cal and Tom and Harry, Jim and I went to help Joe with lunch. All that
was left was to set the table in the dining room so we did that and then
Joe showed us what he had prepared for lunch. There were foot long lobster
rolls, three kinds of chips, potato salad and cole slaw. There were several
different drink choices, but most opted for ginger ale. Joe had baked a
cake for desert and on it he had written "Happy Freedom Day Tom". Lunch was
great and we visited as we showed Tricia the property she had helped us
purchase. We all thanked her as she left and then Tom asked if he could
invite Bill to come over and stay for dinner.

 We told him it was OK with us so he ran off to do that. We hadn't run that
morning, but we weren't going to after that rich lunch so we asked Harry
and Jim if they'd like to ride with us. We each picked out a horse and Ray
came to the barn to make sure we had saddled them properly. He said he'd
keep a lookout for Tom and Bill and help them if they decided they wanted
to join us. We thanked him and went of to explore. About a half hour later
Tom called and asked where we were and I told him to head for the pond, as
we were just about there. At the pond we tethered the horses and we
stripped off and went for a swim. By the time we had a good water fight
going Tom and his friend Bill rode up. Tom had the family muscles and in
contrast Bill was quite slim, more of a swimmers build, but when he dropped
his shorts there was complete silence for the kid was hung like the horse
he had ridden up on. The 16 year old had about 8 inches soft, The darned
thing slapped his thighs as he ran to dive into the pond and Tom had the
biggest smile on his face as he followed more sedately, watching Bill's
glutes move as he ran to the water. When Bill surfaced and swam back to the
group of us Tom made the introductions. Bill seemed like a quiet unassuming
sort of guy and we all liked him right away. He glanced at me several times
during the next several minutes and Cal and I thought he was just sizing up
his boyfriend's oldest brother, but just before we left the pond, after
drying off and redressing, he came up to me at Tom's prodding and shyly
asked if I was Robert Scott, the author. I asked him why he thought that
and he told me he used to live in Key West Florida and he had attended an
authors night at the library and he had seen me there, as Robert Scott. I
reassured him that I was, and now that he was practically one of the family
he was allowed to know my secret, but I would prefer he didn't spread the
word as Cal and I wouldn't have any privacy at all if word got out. He
agreed and then told me he had read all my books and had learned so much
about life from them, He said he had also seen the movies, but he learned
so much more from the books, especially how to live a noble life as a young
gay man and what to look for in a mate. At that he looked at Tom so warmly
that I could actually feel the emotion he felt toward Tom and I was very
gratified to see it. Bill was definitely infatuated with Tom and I was
pleased to see Tom looking at Bill the same way. For two 16 year old s they
had been fortunate to find someone who loved them as that person loved him
back.

 We had a great time at dinner. Joe had put in a roast with all the
trimmings and by the time we had all showered and redressed Joe and Ray had
rejoined us for a big family dinner. I had e-mailed the aunts about the
problem with Tom, so I took a few minutes before we sat to eat and I called
them and filled them in on all the goings on and the good results from
today's hearing. Aunt Sally told me to tell Jim to be wary, as our parents
knew where he was staying until the aunts returned and that Harry should
also be leery of them for the same reason. During dinner I mentioned to the
two young men what Aunt Sally had said, and that if anything occurred that
made them uncomfortable at all I wanted them to call the town police first
and me second. About an hour after Harry and Jim left I received a call
from Jim. He told me Harry was driving and as they turned to go to the
aunt's house they saw flashes of lights in two different parts of the
house. Jim had called the police and they had arrived silently and were
entering the house as we spoke. He kept me on the phone as we waited for
the police to re-appear. They did shortly, waiving the young men over. Jim
told me he'd have to call me back.

 The police had our parents hand -cuffed and were placing them in the back
of the cruiser as one of the policemen asked Jim and Harry what they
saw. The two gave their statements and then told the officer about the
hearing earlier in the day and that their parents were out on bail on
another charge. The officer thanked them and asked if they could stop at
the station the next day to sign their statements after they had been typed
up. The guys agreed and the policeman then told them that nothing but an
address book had been found on their persons. Jim spoke up and said that if
the address book had a listing for Scott Roberts, then the book was stolen
as he thought the parents were looking to track their oldest son to find
out where their youngest one was, the one who had just been emancipated by
the court. The officer checked and sure enough it was Aunt Sally's address
book. He thanked them again and told them he'd see them the next day. Jim
called me back and filled me in on what had gone down. I would have to
check with Tricia in the morning, but I thought a stay-away order had been
placed on both parents and applied to all their sons. I thought also that
if someone on bail gets arrested while on bail their bail is forfeited and
they remain in jail until their original court case is resolved. If that
was the case and their bail was forfeited then they had just lost their
house, as I had those many years ago.

 But the more I thought about it, that house was a legacy to my younger
brothers. They were the ones to have to endure life in it with my parents
after I was thrown out. In the morning I called Tricia, and she confirmed
my suspicions. I told her of my worries concerning the house, it being the
only thing of value for them to leave their sons. She told me to hang in
there, she had a plan. After about an hour she returned my call and told me
she had contacted the bail bondsman who had provided
 bail and she bought the bail from him, it would cost me close to 200
thousand ,but it would be worth it if one, or all of them wanted to
eventually live there, or in time they could sell it and maybe make some
money on it. It remains to be seen if there was even an emotional
attachment to the house by any of the boys, but it would be there for them
if there was a need for it, in the meantime we could fix it up and rent it
out, whatever the case I had asked Tricia I wanted the house awarded to the
boys as compensation for the abuse and miserable life our parents had
inflicted on them. She said she knew we could most likely get that once
they were found guilty on the abuse and other charges against them for what
they did to Tom.

The following week was the last week of classes for the school year and Tom
was able to commute for his last week in the little clap trap car he had. I
asked him if he wanted to transfer for his senior year and of course he saw
the reasoning behind the question, but he had good teachers where he was
and had been voted president of the student council. He really enjoyed
being on the baseball team and knew he wouldn't get any flack from anyone
at school, he was too much respected and liked there and most of already
knew about his being gay, even when he himself didn't know for sure. After
hearing his wishes I contacted the school department and made arrangements
for Tom to be a paying out of town student. I took him to a car dealership
in Hadley and we each picked out new vehicles, as it turned out they were
not brand new. Tom picked a slightly used mid sized SUV with 4 wheel drive
and I picked a slightly larger one with 4 wheel drive and a pick up truck
for use on the property and off, again with 4 wheel drive. The winters in
our area can be quite brutal, and frequently having to drive over the
mountain separating South Hadley from Amherst makes the 4 wheel drive
necessary. Once I paid for all three vehicles we still had to get one of
them home, as Tom and I had traded in our own cars, but we had to get the
other home, so when one of the managers heard us discussing this he had two
of the prep workers come out to the front office. He explained that one of
the workers could drive the truck home for us and the other would follow in
a company car and pick him up and drive them both back to the dealership. I
told him that was great as another member of our household, my fiancee Cal,
was coming in after classes and was planning on picking out a new vehicle
for himself this afternoon, but we would have the same problem if he should
find himself something. I suppose we could have left the truck there
overnight, but, with the offer of free delivery how could we refuse.

 It didn't take long to get the paperwork done for the titles and
registration to be swapped over, and I had called my insurance company and
had Tom call his so we were perfectly legal to make our 30 minute drive
back home. Cal by now had his own black card and I had texted him that Tom
and I had both found something and I had picked up a pick up for the
farm,(so Ray wouldn't have to keep on using his own for work). I told him
to have fun shopping after his last class and that I loved him and I'd see
him at home about dinnertime. We made a four vehicle convoy through Hadley
and then down through Amherst to the Amherst/South Hadley line and then to
our home. On the parking pad in front of the garage the two men from the
dealership stood outside the new pick up, looking at the house, the barn
down the drive, the horses in the paddock the cottage opposite the paddock,
and the rolling fields behind all that that seemed to go on for miles. I
followed their admiring gazes and was proud of being able to purchase what
looked like something out of Town and Country magazine, or a Currier and
Ives painting. I tipped each of the men $50.00 and thanked them for helping
us out.

Tom and I exchanged keys and we each took the other's car for a spin. When
we came back I saw Ray's truck parked by the cottage so Tom and I drove the
new truck down the drive and asked Ray to step out to take a look at it. He
stared at it and I handed him the keys and told him the paperwork was in
the glove box and he might want to put copies in the farm's vehicle file,
the truck was for his and Joe's use on the farm and for farm business. He
was pleased with the truck as it was a newer model of the one he had. He
thanked me for the use of it and told us he had had his last class for the
semester, and Joe was at his last lab and class now and both would be on
duty full time as of tomorrow, at least through the summer. He expected
they'd both be ready for our morning run on time in the morning, and would
be ready every other day, and in the gym on alternating days. I told him
that sounded fine and if either of them needed help to get all that they
had to do done, then to let me know, because I knew two high schoolers,
almost seniors, who could use summer jobs.

Tom asked us to please make it happen, as he and Bill had been trying to
come up with a way to see each other more, now that school was out and Tom
lived out here. Ray and I looked at each other and with a shared nod we
told Tom to get Bill out here so we could come up with a work schedule for
them both and to fill out part time employment forms for both of them. Tom
texted Bill and about a half hour later Bill arrived, all excited about
seeing Tom, and getting a summer job of course. Ray and I talked to the
boys and came up with a work plan for the guys and Bill even suggested he
could help out Joe in the kitchen and even cleaning if need be. We thought
that was great of him to volunteer to work in the house as well, but he
told us it would be practical experience for him for when he was out on his
own as he wasn't allowed to lift a finger at home. It appeared he was
allowed to go to school but was virtually kept in his room the rest of the
time. Since he met Tom he has asserted himself more and has encouraged his
parents to "let him out more", as he said. Tricia called on Friday to tell
us that my parents' court cases had been consolidated into one and that
they were on Wednesday's docket for next week at the same courthouse Tom's
hearing was held in, but in one of the court rooms of course.  Since all
the brothers had received summons to appear and Tom and Jim had been
scheduled to give depositions on Monday at the defense lawyer's office,
Tricia wanted to come out to the house and have a meeting with all of
us. She wanted to go over the case with us all present and she couldn't
figure out why I hadn't been asked to give a deposition as well. She wasn't
going to submit her witness list until late Monday in hopes the defense
wouldn't have time to depose me as well. All of us brothers, along with Cal
of course, met with Tricia on Sunday night. We had invited her for dinner
and after eating and then cleaning up, we sat in the family room area and
talked about what Tom and Jim could expect in their depositions. Tricia was
insistent that neither one loose their cool and that she would be in there
with each of them during the process, so if they had any qualms about a
question posed to them all they would have to do is look at her and she
would either object or tell them to go ahead and answer, but she warned
them not to lie and not to get wordy, just simple short honest answers.

 After Jim's deposition he didn't have any time to tell Tom anything, as
they hustled Tom in right away after Jim left the room. The parents weren't
there, but their lawyer was, of course, and he was very abrupt with the
boys. He asked Tom why he had told his parents he was gay, when they came
home from work that day. He told the man he hadn't, and looked at
Tricia. It appeared the parents had told a totally different version of
that night to the lawyer, so Tricia then told Tom to stay quiet and asked
the lawyer if he had read the police report. The lawyer hemmed and hawed as
Tricia handed him a copy of the report and the witness statements from the
parent's neighbors, co-workers, and the bartender who had served them
drinks from the time they had left work until 11pm when they were asked to
leave the bar as they were getting quite loud and boisterous. Tricia said
he could continue his questioning in court and told him she had texted the
judge and he was in agreement with her and they, Tom and Tricia walked out.

Wednesday in court the judge announced that the defendants had accepted a
plea bargain and there would not be a trial. The plea bargain meant they
had to admit to this court their guilt in both cases and after that he
would pronounce their sentence for both crimes. Our parents stood at the
defense table and meekly admitted they had beaten their son Tom and that
after causing him bodily injury they had thrown him out of the family
home. They then admitted breaking into Sally's home at night and rifled
through it, trying to find information on their oldest son Scott, who they
had thrown out years before but they now believed he was really rich and
they wanted money from him. The judge looked really disgusted with them as
he sentenced them each to 15 years incarceration in different state
prisons. They also had to forfeit their home and property to Tom. Tricia
explained it all to us after we left the court house and we all met at her
office in the conference room. She said that the parent's lawyer was the
one who convinced them to take the offer from the DA after they had lied to
their lawyer and had tried to falsify their evidence and had been caught
out. She told us she was putting the house in trust for Tom but he
interjected and said after the title was transferred he wanted it changed
to all the brothers, since all of us had been adversely affected by our
parents. The rest of us protested,
 but Tom was adamant about his decision. He told Tricia he thought the
house should be leased out, as it was a good neighborhood and could bring
in at least 2 thousand a month and that would help cover all the expenses
and taxes with a little for our savings accounts as well.

 He said he didn't need their cars but he thought Harry and Jim might want
them, as they were 4 wheel drive and newer vehicles than theirs
were. Everyone was pleased with these decisions and Tricia told us to go
ahead and get anything we wanted from the property and then during the next
week she would have the house cleaned and anything left in the property
would be donated to a charity. Then it would be listed with an executive
home rental agency. Now came the task of sorting through the mess our
parents called home. The boys had removed their personal belongings and now
it was time to split up the rest of the household. The boys still had their
house keys so on Thursday we drove over to the house and started gathering
things the guys wanted to keep.

 We started in the attic crawlspace and found Christmas decorations they
hadn't used in many years. Many of them had special meanings for us as they
were used when we were a happy family during our preteen years. We divided
up the ones we wanted and prepared the boxes of children s clothing for
donation. There were some old furniture we had never seen in the house up
there and Cal thought they might be from our deceased grandparents, so we
ought to take these small pieces downstairs and look them over.

The pieces were small tables, a few lamps, a magazine rack, a dismantled
round dining table and a few ladder-back chairs that might go with the
table. There were some rolled up carpets, sealed in plastic, under the
eaves, and a couple of ornate chandeliers and wall sconces. We dragged it
all down to the living room and started on the other rooms. We four
brothers and Cal each picked a spot in the house to put things we wanted to
keep and so we worked our way through the house and basement. We each found
knic knacks and photos, sometimes a photo album we could go through later,
some kitchen items we just couldn't live without, and treasures from our
past we might want to play with again. As I was going through the linen
closet in the main bathroom, Cal called me from the master bedroom.

 In the walk in closet he had found a locked strong box, the type you put
important documents in. Jim ran to the garage and returned with some tools
and we tried to pry the lock on the box. After a minute though Harry called
from the parents bedroom that he had found some keys. We took the box into
the bedroom and the third small key worked. Inside the box were a bunch of
drug paraphernalia, baggies with different powders, syringes, all kinds of
pills and about 5 thousand dollars. We all just sat back, looking in wonder
at the contents. Cal spoke, finally breaking our disbelieving silence,
saying we should call the police. The officer who responded to our call was
one of the ones who had originally arrested our folks.

 He asked if we had touched anything inside the box and I told him no, but
at least two or three of us had carried or handled the box but only on the
outside surface. He used his gloved hand to place the box in a large
evidence bag and then asked us to let him take our fingerprints. We agreed
to do so, as we knew none of us had touched anything inside it. He thanked
us and took from the cruiser a kit and proceeded to take prints from all of
us. Then he asked us to give statements at the station the next day, by
then he might have some answers as to who supplied the folks with the drugs
and if both or just one of our parents were users, and if they were
supplying anyone else with them. He asked our permission to search the area
where the box was found and the rest of their bedroom. We gave it and went
into the living room to wait until he finished. I called Tricia while he
was doing this and she asked me to stay with him, so there wouldn't be any
question of planted evidence, but everything we had so far done was correct
procedure. I went and talked to the officer and he told me he had called
for another office to come out and help in his search and we could look
both of them over to see they weren't carrying anything to "plant". He, and
the officer who came out to join him, let us see they had nothing on them
to plant and we let them get on with their search. They found a battered
notebook and a pistol on a shelf in the closet in the folks room, but that
was all. Actually they called me in to watch as they removed these items
from the shelf.

They seemed quite pleased with the notebook, it had information from their
buys and who they bought from and a few they sold on to. After they removed
their gloves and their evidence had been bagged and photographed they
thanked all of us and both said they, and all the town police, were sorry
for what we all had gone through and they shook our hands as they left,
reminding us to stop at the station the next day. We stayed about another
hour, each of us taking to our cars the few things we wanted to keep. Cal
thought the round table and chairs we could use in the pool house and the
rolled up rugs could be of use to us or maybe Ray and Joe, so we fitted
them in our car and Tom's to take back home. I called and left a message
for Tricia at her office that we had taken what we wanted from the house
and she could have the remaining contents donated or given away and then
the house could be freshly painted and rented out.

The next morning we all went o the town police station and gave our
statements and then signed them. The chief came out to talk to us and told
us the DA was going to seek to have several more years added to the
sentences now being served by our parents and that the information from the
notebook and the fingerprints from the drug paraphernalia in the box could
lead to 15 or 20 additional arrests. He thanked us for calling them in and
he shook our hands before we took our leave. The next nights local TV news
had stories about the 10 arrests in Holyoke, 5 in Chicopee and five in
South Hadley that were all related drug busts.

The story also reported that a South Hadley couple already in prison on
unrelated charges, had also been charged on drugs possession and
distribution counts. The next Sunday Cal and I sat in his study after I had
cranked out several chapters on the new book and Cal had completed his
assignments and had a chance to catch up on his studying. We were
discussing the type of ceremony we wanted and what to do about a reception
after. We both agreed on a simple ceremony at the Mount Holyoke College
chapel, where the aunts had married, with a catered barbecue here at home
after. I asked Cal if he had someone in mind to stand up for him and he
told me he'd thought more than a little about that and he'd like his father
Frank and my brother Tom to do the honors and I told him I'd ask Harry and
Jim for my side. There were a few of Cal's classmates and old friends,
including Mrs. Fields he wanted to invite for the day an I told him I
really wanted to ask Ray and Joe and also the ladies from the other
house. I was also going to ask Harold, my agent and my publisher. I didn't
want to tip the scales in any way, after all this was our big day, but
those people represented my writing career and what made our being together
possible. Cal agreed whole heartedly and we composed a simple invitation
and directions and e-mailed them out to all but Frank and my brothers,
those we would do in person and hand them a printed invitation. Cal wanted
to do them tonight, but it was getting late so we decided to take them
around to them the next night.

The next morning at breakfast we propped up the invitation to Tom against
his juice glass, as he hadn't come down yet. We normally had a small juice
and or coffee in the morning with toast or a bagel before our morning
run. That early in the morning there was only us three in the house, as Joe
didn't start work in the house until after our run. Bill would meet him
there most of the time, sometimes he would join us in our run, sometimes he
stayed over with Tom. That morning Tom came down to the kitchen and right
away saw the envelope at his place. He tore it open and exclaimed he was
pleased we had finally set everything for our marriage in motion. Cal got
up and hugged him saying Tom had always felt like his younger brother also
and asked if he would stand up for him, with his father, at our
wedding. Tom, with tears in his eyes, said of course he would, he loved Tom
as much as he did his birth brothers. Cal then told Tom that there was a
+one on Tom's invitation, and he just assumed that Tom would invite Bill as
his date, but Cal let him know that if he didn't that I would insist Bill
receive his own invitation, as we really liked Bill and we thought he was
getting treated badly by his parents. Tom looked thoughtful and then told
us that he and Bill had talked and they themselves wanted to marry, but
were going to wait until after graduation in the Spring and that they had
both applied for early acceptance to Umass. We congratulated him and we did
the same to Bill when we all gathered out front on the drive later to warm
up before running.

As the six of us runners were nearing our back property line, just about
half of our normal 5 mile run, Cal nudged me and pointed off to the left,
at a car speeding down the county road that created the back boundary for
our property. It was a narrow one lane rugged dirt road that ran for
several miles and was seldom used, except by the county forestry service
and the few farmers who abutted it. The speeding car was really hitting all
the ruts in the dirt road pretty hard and as we all
 stood watching, from about 100 feet away, the car became airborne and
smacked head on into a huge oak tree on the edge of the woods on our
property. The car began to smoke as we ran to it. I had taken my cell out
of my fanny pack earlier to report thereckless driver to the police and as
we reached the now in flames car the dispatcher answered and I reported the
bad wreck, now in flames, on farm road #16. We six tore off our tank tops
and were successful in getting the driver's side door open and we were
frantically trying to remove the female driver, who was unconscious and
unresponsive. As Ray and I finally got the seat belt and air bags away from
her and started to shift her out of her seat I heard a whimpering from the
foot well of the back seat. I helped Ray get the driver cradled in his arms
and moved away so he could lift her up and out of the car and I dove right
back in and reached down behind her seat and started feeling around for
what I thought was a dog trapped in there. What my hand felt was a neck, a
thin neck and I pulled up not a dog but a young naked boy, covered in
bruises and he had a few newer cuts, probably from the broken glass of the
windshield that now littered the inside of the car. Using both arms and
hands now I cradled him to my chest and wriggled myself out of the car
backwards just as we heard sirens coming toward us. Joe and Cal both poured
water from their bottles on the lad as I continued to hold him in my
arms. Ray and Bill, with Tom's help had carried the young woman away from
the car and had laid her on the grassy verge, also trying to revive her.

The firefighters started to spray foam on the car so we moved closer to
where the guys were trying to revive the woman just as the ambulance
arrived with an Amherst police car escort. One of the firemen trotted over
to us and dropped a handbag and a backpack at our feet before he raced back
to help contain the fire so it wouldn't spread to the tree or the
surrounding vegetation. The EMT s weren't having any more luck with the
young woman than Ray, Bill, or Tom had had. They were preparing to load her
into the ambulance. The two officers came over to us and one started to ask
questions as the other went through the handbag and backpack. I told the
questioning officer that we guys were from the farm here and were out for
our morning run when we saw the woman driving recklessly on the dirt road
and had called that in just as she smacked into the tree. When the car
started smoking we went to the car and removed her and then heard the
little boy and removed him also. The little one was starting to look around
as he clung to my chest and he reached out and grabbed my chin and said to
me, "Are you a nice man? Mommy hit me a lot". Then he laid his head on my
chest and slept. I started to move around a bit, giggling him around,
trying to keep him awake because I couldn't tell if he had hit his head or
not and he might have concussion. One of the EMT guys came over and shined
a light in his eyes and then checked him over as best could as the little
guy still clung to me. Cal wet his hand and rubbed the water through the
boy's hair which seemed to wake him up and he looked at Cal and told him,
"thank you mister, that feels nice". The EMT told us he didn't think the
lad had a concussion, but he should be checked out as he had a lot of
bruising. I asked him where they were taking the woman and he told me to
the university's medical center so she could be declared dead and the
coroner could examine her there. I told him we'd be taking the boy there as
well, as soon as the officers were done with us. The officers split us up a
little as both were now recording our answers to their questions and I
asked the one who was talking with me earlier if they had found any of the
boy's things in the car and he held out the backpack to me saying there
were kids clothing in there, so I went to the police cruiser and dressed
the lad in the crappy clothing that was in there. The meager items were not
well cleaned, but the 4 or 5 year old would have something covering his
body. The police had gone through the woman's purse and had gotten her name
and address and the identity of her son, Jacob. They offered to drive all
of us back to the farm house so we all crammed into the cruiser just as the
fire truck and the ambulance took off. The officers complimented us on the
much smoother road through the farm land and Ray told them he had just
graded it recently, and then the officers saw the house. They did comment
that they had heard some rich guy had paid cash for the place and Tom
laughed and said that his brother had bought it and he didn't like owing
anyone anything. I thanked them for the ride and we told them that we'd get
some real clothes on and take Jacob to be checked over. They told us they'd
see us there, as there were questions left unanswered and there was still
the question of who would be looking after the child. We all rushed to get
cleaned up a little and dressed, Cal ran a washcloth over Jacob and
redressed him as I finished and then I held Jacob as Cal cleaned himself
and dressed.

 As we came downstairs Bill and Tom came scurrying down and insisted they
go with us. Cal and I went to the garage to get one of the cars and we
talked as we went and Cal asked if we could keep Jacob. I asked if he was
sure, and in response he kissed me hard, letting me know how serious he
was. So as Cal drove and Tom and Bill kept Jacob happy in the back seat I
called Tricia. She was about to leave for court, but she asked for a brief
rundown so I explained briefly the events of the morning and she said she'd
call me back at the hospital in about a half hour to an hour and off she
rushed. The hospital must have known to expect us as there was a nurse
waiting for us as we walked up with Jacob from our parking spot. She asked
if he had had a seizure or passed out or vomited or anything and we assured
her that he seemed much more alert now and he answers to Jake as Tom and
Bill discovered in the car. The nurse chuckled and said the doctor was
alerted we were there and was waiting so we all trooped into an examining
room and there we met the doctor. He was a young man, maybe my and Cal's
age and he was very friendly. He amused Jake and they got along great. When
he decided to have some scans and x rays done on Jake, Cal offered to go
along to keep Jake occupied.

It was good he did, because they weren't even down the corridor when Tricia
called. I had to step outside the emergency room doors to take the call and
Tricia started right in on me. "Are you willing to foster or are you just
going to adopt right off the bat? Are you willing, with Cal, to take
parenting classes? Can you support him, are you able to have help to watch
over him as you work and Cal goes to school?" She fired off in rapid form,
She also told me she was in the judge's chambers on speaker mode and the
judge and a stenographer were listening in. It was the judge who had
presided over Tom's emancipation hearing, from family court. I answered all
the questions and then the judge spoke up. She told me the police had
investigated and found out that Jacob's mother was unwed and had not listed
a father on his birth certificate. She had been in state care since she was
abandoned at the age of 10.There were no known living relatives. She had
been neglectful in raising Jacob, but the department that oversaw
complaints about child abuse was neglectful in tracking her down, as she
moved frequently. The judge was willing to grant a temporary custodianship
to Cal and I, and after taking the parenting classes she would entertain
our request for adoption, after interviewing Jacob. She told me our first
class was in 4 days at the community center at the university and they
would be every weekday night for two weeks. I told her that was totally
acceptable. She, in turn, told me that she would be tracking our progress
and that to expect she would periodically drop in unannounced to check on
us, at least until we had completed our classes and were in a good place as
a family. I told her all that would be acceptable to us and that we awaited
copies of her order that would be faxed to our home, she said she didn't
want to wait that long and she was having her order faxed to the emergency
room office as we spoke. I thanked her profusely and then went to the desk
inside.

 When I identified myself the nurse/receptionist smiled, said
congratulations and handed me the faxed court decree, naming myself and Cal
as Jacob's responsible adults. Even before I made it to the waiting area
where Tom and Bill were sitting, the officers from the car crash arrived
and greeted me at the counter. They asked how the lad was and I told them
that he was still being x rayed and scanned but all looked well so far. The
officers told me that someone from family court had called them and their
chief and I held out the court decree for them to read. They congratulated
me and I told them that today would be the start of a great adventure for
Cal and I and I suppose for Jake as well. We went over to Tom and Bill and
as the officers went over Bill's statement and had him sign it I handed the
custody decree to Tom to read. We each read over our statements and signed
them for the officers and by the time we were done Cal was walking out with
Jake holding his hand as he waved to the doctor and nurse standing behind
them by the exam room. When Jake turned forward he saw me and ran up to me
and held his arms up, inviting me to lift him up into my arms. He shyly
waved over my shoulder to Tom and Bill and the officers and then put his
head down on my shoulder, hugging me tight. Tom reached between us and
handed Cal the decree and Cal scanned it with a huge smile on his face. The
officers then gave Cal the copy of his statement and had him
 sign it. They then congratulated us all and then took their leave. We
stopped at a shopping center on the way home and we bought two child car
seats, one for each of our cars and several outfits suitable for a 5 year
old who now lived on a farm. Cal insisted we purchase a little suit like
outfit and shoes for the wedding, I looked puzzled and he whispered,"ring
bearer". Along with a couple of pairs of sneakers, some sturdy farm boots,
and some rain gear we were all set to return home. Jake didn't like the
child seat at first, until he realized he was sitting taller than
before. Apparently his mother had never used one with him and we were
surprised she had never been ticketed before.

When we entered the house Jake looked wide eyed around and asked how many
people lived here. Cal told him that Scott, Tom and he did. He then asked
Jake if he would live with them. Jake looked up at me and asked if I were
the daddy, he said he never had one before. I told him that Tom was one of
my brothers, that Cal was going to be my husband and that Bill was Tom's
boyfriend. I then told him that if he stayed with us then Cal and I would
both be his daddies. He looked thoughtful for a few moments and then said
he liked that and that we didn't hit and push like his mommy did and he
never wanted to go with her again. I told him he didn't have to, that he
could stay with us forever if he wanted to.

 It was nearing dinner time and Joe had arrived to start dinner
preparations. When he walked in with Ray right behind Jake asked if they
were my other brothers. I told him no, that these guys were Ray and Joe and
they were more like uncles, they lived down the road and they took care of
us all. Jake thought that was great, he had 2 daddies and 6 uncles all in
one day. Cal told him he had a grandpa too and that maybe we ought to
invite all the uncles and his new grandpa over for dinner to meet him. Jake
thought that was a great idea. So while Joe started dinner Ray and I got
all caught up on the days activities and Tom and Bill took Jake up to pick
out his room right next to Cal and mine, with Tom next to Jake's. I broke
off with Ray and called Frank and asked him up for dinner, as we had
something important to discuss with him, he said sure, he could come up in
about an hour and a half after he closed the marina office. I then called
Harry and then Jim and told them they had to come up for dinner as there
was someone they had to meet. They each said they would be up soon as they
had no plans for the evening, and they both wanted to know who we wanted
them to meet. I told them both when each one started this that they'd never
quess in a million years so stop wasting time and come on up. I returned to
the family room and continued to fill in Ray and Joe about the hospital
visit (Jake was fine, there were evidence of a couple of old hairline
fractures in both arms, and many old wounds that had scarred, but they
would eventually fade as he grew). I topped it all off with the by now
battered faxed copy of the custody decree. They whooped and howled, and
also congratulated us. Joe said he'd have to make this a special dinner and
I reminded him about the extras coming which would make it a special dinner
anyway. Forty five minutes later the driveway sensor went bong and Jake
looked up at me as Cal and I made up his bed. To be on the safe side we had
placed a large plastic drop cloth on the mattress and a layer of old beach
towels on top of that and then put the fitted sheet on. We had no history
to go on, and when we asked Jake if he sometimes had an accident in bed he
said that he hadn't in a long time. I explained that when someone drove in
our driveway that the bong would make that sound, so we knew we had
company. I told him that we should go down to see who was here. He took one
of my hands and one of Cal's' and we three went down to greet my brothers,
Uncle Harry and Uncle Jim. Tom and Bill had answered the door and the
brothers greeted each other, and Bill, like they hadn't seen each other in
months. As we came down the stairs I could hear Harry asking who was this
person they just had to meet. Tom and Bill were laughing, saying what a
great person they were going to meet. As we three walked toward them Jake
asked "Daddy who are those big guys talking to uncle Tom and uncle Bill?"
It got really quiet, except for the giggling from Cal and I, and Tom and
Bill. We could even hear chuckles from the kitchen as Ray and Joe were both
working away in there. Harry and Jim looked down at our little red haired,
freckled, fair skinned boy and their mouths hung open. I replied, "Jake
these are my two other brothers, this one is your uncle Harry and this one
is your uncle Jim, patting each on a shoulder so Jake could put a name to a
face. Both uncles knelt down and shook Jake's hand and told him it was
great to meet him. All five boys went into the family room end of the
kitchen and sat in there as Tom and Bill described our run this morning as
Cal went and asked Jake to help his daddies with something. We didn't want
Jake to hear about the accident and his mother's death. When Cal and Jake
went into his study to get the two envelopes for my brothers he also
grabbed the one for his dad, as Frank would be along soon. I went into my
office and called the medical center. I wanted to know if Jake's mother's
body had been claimed by anyone. I learned it hadn't and then I asked for a
referral to a local funeral parlor and asked that any billing from the
hospital concerning her be placed on my credit card on file there under
Jake's name. They found that information and gave me the phone number of a
local funeral home. I made arrangements for the body to be picked up and
then cremated, the ashes to be placed in their "Garden of Remembrance" with
a small plaque with her name and dates of birth and death and the
inscription,"Mother of Jacob". When asked I told them there would be no
services and no ceremony, please notify me when the internment was
completed and send the paid bills to me. I then gave them my credit card
number. As I told Cal later when we were alone I wanted Jake to have a
place to visit if he ever grew out of not wanting to see his mother
again. At least he would know where she was interred.

 Cal had retrieved the envelopes and I handed Harry and Jim theirs, with my
request that they stand with me at the ceremony. They accepted heartily and
we three hugged. They then looked nervously at Tom and Tom assured them he
had a job to do also that day. Just then the driveway sensor bonged again
and Jake ran to see who else had come. Cal met his dad at the door and
introduced Jake to his new grandfather. Jake said he never had one of those
either. Frank was totally speechless. He staggered a little and when he
stopped staring at Jake he looked up and Cal and I could see tears on his
smiling face. Tom came and took Jake back to his uncles as we took Frank
into the living room and told him the whole story. He told us he never
thought he'd have grandchildren, hadn't even thought about adoption, but he
was sure glad we had. Cal then asked his dad to stand by him, with Tom, as
his two best men. Frank was over come and grabbed Cal in a crushing hug,
crying his eyes out. He reached out for me and I joined them. When he had
calmed down he went to the half bath on this floor and washed his face and
then joined all of us in the family room for a drink before dinner, Jake
got apple juice, just like Tom and Bill. Ray and Joe were brought up to
speed on the wedding party and I asked Joe to arrange with a caterer, maybe
the one we used for the aunt's wedding, for the picnic style reception to
be held after the ceremony out on the terrace and pool area. It was to be a
time to party and I didn't want any of Jake's uncles to have to work that
day, except for Ray, he still had to feed the horses and the dogs. We all
had a good laugh, but Ray assured us they would be taken care of. The prime
rib roast was excellent and Jake ate a good amount of everything. I
reminded him to give Joe and Ray a hug and thank them both for the great
meal. The rest of us retired to the family room end and watched some
television. My brothers and Bill pitched in cleaning up the table and the
kitchen as Jake sat in his grandfather's lap and they got to know a bit
about each other.

When Jake started yawning a little while later I thought it must be his
bedtime. I looked to Cal and he was looking at me. We both nodded to each
other and we went and told Jake to say goodnight to his grandfather and the
two hugged and Jake got a big smooch from hid granddad. Cal carried him
through the kitchen and all the big boys said their goodnights and Jake was
hugged and kissed by all 6. We took him to his new room and showed him how
to get to Tom's room and then to our room. His room was right in the middle
of both. We helped him into his new jammies and we both tucked him in and
gave him kisses on his forehead. He gave us cheek kisses and I heard him
say,"Night daddies", as he drifted off to sleep. I had put a new nightlight
in his bathroom so I turned it on and left the door open. Cal took the
other night light and plugged it into the outlet outside our bedroom
door. About 3am something woke me and as I lay there in bed it came to
me. Jake was talking to himself. I eased out of bed and tip toed to Jake's
room. I looked in and there was Jake, holding onto his groin, looking for
his bathroom. I padded over to him and turned him around so he could see
the dim light from the bathroom door. He scurried inside and I could hear
him peeing into the toilet. He flushed and I could hear him wash his hands
after. He came back into his bedroom looking relieved. He came up to me and
said he thought that was a close one, he almost didn't make it. I softly
chuckled and pointed him toward the dimly
 lit bathroom door and told him all he ever had to do was look for the
light. I scooped him up and placed him back in his dry bed and tucked him
in again, kissing his forehead as I did so. I told him I loved him and to
have sweet dreams. He said I love you back to me and he reached up and
kissed my cheek and went back to sleep. I returned to Cal and did the same.
The alarm awoke us early and by the time we had dressed in our workout gear
Jake was at our bedroom door. He hesitated at the door, like he was afraid
to come in, and Cal scooped him up and carried him in. He told Jake that
whenever he wanted to he could come right in, but he had to knock on the
door first and wait until someone answered him. That night we started
sleeping with gym shorts tucked between the mattress and the box spring of
our bed, just in case. We sent Jake in to wake Tom and once they emerged
Tom took Jake in to get Jake dressed in some play clothes. We all had a
small juice and a piece of toast and then went out to the big barn and
watched Ray feed the horses and tend to their stalls and Tom took Jake and
introduced him to the two barn dogs. He watched carefully as Tom fed and
put out water for the dogs. The dogs were as fascinated by Jake as he was
with them. The horses were another story. The horses sniffed Jake and some
tried to lick him, but they were so huge, compared to him, they intimidated
him.

 Cal said that when one of us took him riding that would diminish in
time. We went up to the pool house to do our warm ups before working out
and we settled Jake at the round table we had put by the windows in the
corner of the big room and Cal produced some coloring books and crayons he
had picked up when we got Jake's new clothes. He then put some cartoons on
the TV near that end of the room and Jake was happy while we all groaned
with the work out regimes Ray and Joe had us all doing. Tom wasn't doing
all the big heavy weights, but he was starting to see some changes, all for
the good Bill said as he joined us just after we had started. He told us he
was a little late because some college kid had gone off the road and hit
the exposed rock wall of the mountain side just below the old quarry site
and all traffic had been held up for a while in both directions. The driver
wasn't injured and he had no passengers so the clean up was swift. The
officer he had spoken to said that the guy was a student at UMASS but his
girlfriend was from Mount Holyoke in South Hadley on the other side of the
mountain. The guy had made a breakfast date with her and didn't leave
himself enough time to get to his Summer job on campus back in Amherst, so
he was speeding up the mountain and skidded when he tried to slow down for
a curve in the road and skidded into the exposed mountain side. After we
cooled down, Joe and his apprentice went into the house to start a real
breakfast and we guys went and had our morning showers.

Cal started to take Jake into our bathroom to shower with us and I thought
out loud that that might not be such a good idea, but Cal reasoned Jake
would see us eventually and we were just going to shower, so why not treat
it naturally, at least until he could shower on his own. It made sense so
we gathered in the big shower and the three of us got clean. We didn't play
around, we both made sure Jake knew how to clean himself and we each
cleaned ourselves, Jake could even shampoo and rinse his own hair. We
didn't think any more about it. We three went downstairs after dressing and
we let Joe and Bill go off to shower. By the time they were done Ray had
come by for breakfast and Tom had reluctantly left Bill to finish in Tom's
bathroom. Ray went to finish breakfast, but both Joe and Bill arrived in
time to finish.

After breakfast I went to my office and wrote to the aunts about the new
addition to our family.  I then called Harold and had him start another
trust fund, this time for Jake. He was pleased for all of us and I told him
not to worry, there were still plenty of bedrooms for when he came to
visit. He told me he and my publisher and agent were traveling out to
Western Mass for the wedding together. They had some business to conduct in
Boston before the wedding so it made sense to travel out together. Cal and
I had decided to take the old office on the first floor and the old study
on the second floor and turn them into bedrooms, at least for the wedding
weekend. My agent and publisher both would fly home from our nearest
airport back to New York and Harold would drive himself back to Boston the
day after the wedding.

Cal was right. As soon as we put Jake in front of me on the saddle he was
Roy Rogers re-incarnate. I didn't make my mount run, but we got a fairly
good trot out of her and Jake love it, cheering the mare on as if he was in
a big race. The others riding behind us got a kick out of Jake saying he
and I had won the race. Once back on solid ground he explained his
experience to the two dogs, who sat on their haunches in front of him as he
related his 45 minute ride as if he had been riding herd for 20 years, with
a couple of steeple chase races here and there. Cal said he took after me,
that he'd be writing full length novels before kindergarten. After grooming
our mounts Cal and I took Jake to Frank's marina where we corralled Frank
into joining us for lunch. Jake was impressed with his grandfather's boats
and all the water grandpa took care of. The wait staff in the restaurant at
the marina got a big kick out of our little guy and tried to spoil him
rotten. He had several new best friends by the time we left.

Tom and Bill had work to do so Cal and I spent the afternoon with
Jake. After he had a little lay down, after we returned from lunch, Cal and
I took him swimming. We held his first swimming lesson, trying to make it
seem more play than lesson, he loved it. We knew this was going to be
something we could do with him almost every day. After swimming we
explored. We went for a walk down through the fields until we reached the
pond. There we showed him the frogs and the tadpoles in the water and we
told him that when he was a big boy, like Tom and Bill were, he could come
here to fish or swim and to let his horse have a little drink before riding
back to the barn. We had a fun time, strolling around the fields that Ray
or a near by farmer were preparing or planting. When we got back to the
house I rummaged around and found the box of my old toys I had removed from
my parents house. There were several old cars and trucks, just the right
size for Jack to play with, some old board games, a few different balls,
and a small baseball glove, still too big for Jake.

 Cal and I cleaned up the cars and tucks and after they dried we presented
them to Jack. He liked them a lot and wanted to go outside in the dirt to
play with the trucks. Cal thought it might be a good idea to designate a
play area for Jake and his trucks, so we scouted around for a place where
he would be safe from moving vehicles and large animals. There had been a
vegetable garden at one time out behind the pool house. It had a high chain
link fence around it with a gated entry. To me it smacked of dog kennel and
I didn't want anyone thinking we would cage Jake. Then I had a thought. The
covered walkway to the garage had flower beds on each side of the twenty
foot long walkway. It was more like a greenhouse in there with glass panels
enclosing the walls and a few skylights in the roof. Some areas had had
some plants we didn't like so Ray had removed the and we hadn't had time to
replace them as yet. So this area, attached to the house, with access to
the kitchen and the garage, which was always kept locked, became Jake's
truck room. The door to the kitchen could be left open and Joe said he'd be
glad to keep an eye on him when he was in there, giving Cal time to study
during the up coming semester, and me time in my office when I was
writing. Jake loved it. We had a monitor put in there and both Cal and I
had receivers in our third floor rooms. Joe wanted one that would clip on
his belt, as he often wasn't right there in the kitchen, but was sometimes
doing household chores in the rest of the house, of course he had Bill to
help, but again, that was a summer job. We really had to start thinking
ahead, this parenting thing was for a lifetime, not just for a short
time. Cal and I talked about this after dinner, when Tom was playing trucks
with Jake and what we decided was we needed a manny. We didn't want a woman
around the house all the time, although we recognized that Jake would have
to be exposed to women who actually cared about him, especially since he
would starting pre -school that fall. Cal thought that maybe a student who
was going into early grade school teaching might be a good place to start.

 He could prepare Jake for school, keeping him occupied for the times we
were not available, maybe someone who could teach him swimming, or even
horse back riding. I put all this onto a flier in my computer and ran off a
copy to show Cal. He approved and suggested I add the hours we expected
this person to cover. We discussed this and we settled on 1pm to 5pm, at
least for the summer. I did that and showed it again to Cal. He thought it
was what we needed so I printed off a bunch of them. We then gathered up
Jake and we all took a ride up to the university and posted our notice on
several bulletin boards, stopping to see Stella in the housing office. She
came out to meet Jake and I think he had himself another admirer. We showed
Stella the flier we had made and she asked if she could keep one, as Pam,
her partner, had a younger brother who was looking for a summer job, but
nothing had materialized as of yet. Cal asked how old he was and we were
told he was 20 and was going to be a junior in the Fall semester,
 he was majoring in elementary education, and had his life saving
certificate as he had worked at the Y last summer as a lifeguard, but he
was on their waiting list and hadn't been called yet, plus we were offering
to pay more for less hours. She asked if she could call him right away and
we told her she could. She went back into her office and came out 5 minutes
later and she asked if we'd interview him now as he had a LGBT Support
group meeting later in the day. We asked if he was on campus now and she
said he had been visiting his sister Pam next door and he was on his way
here now.  Stella told us we could use her office, as she had several
errands to run, and we wouldn't be disturbed there. We were thanking her
when this 6foot, 5 inch hunk with dark red hair and freckles approached
us. He hugged Stella to his side and told her thanks for calling. He turned
to us and extended his hand, saying as he did so,"Hi, my name is Dean
Carson, Pam's brother. I'm told you need a manny for the summer, I have
references from the local Y and also from several of my professors here. I
have 5 younger siblings that I've taught to swim and I have been riding
horses since I was six and could reach the stirrups." He then handed me the
flier we had posted in the building next door. Cal chuckled and said we
were Scott and Cal and our son Jake. Jake looked up at this very tall young
man and said. "Hi, I'm Jake and these are my two new daddies, boy are you
tall, can you pick me up?"Dean did just that and Jake was happy being held
up taller than his fathers. He thought it was great. We then went into our
loaned office and explained in more detail what the job involved.

We explained that there might be times we would be traveling and we would
expect him to accompany us,(I was thinking we'd have to do something about
my Boston apartment, and as I neared the end of my latest novel, a trip to
New York might be in our future this summer). I told him they wouldn't be
long trips as we were marrying in 4 weeks and some things to take care of,
but before the end of the month we had to spend a few days in Boston. We
probably wouldn't be traveling overnight until the fall, but his classes
would have started back up by then, but if any trips occurred that he was
available for, we would be glad if he could accompany us. We told him that
if need be the position would be live in, but if he didn't need
accommodation we could go on a daily basis. He in turn told us he had
shared an off campus apartment with his boyfriend, but they had just broken
up over his friend's cheating and he was in the process of moving
out. Otherwise he was very interested in the job we were offering, he
wanted to know how it felt to be working with such a young student and one
on one at that. We invited him out to the house later, after his meeting,
and he accepted, telling Jake he would see him later, he thanked us for
talking to him and we all said our goodbys.

 We all left Stella's office and went on our ways. Once in the car I asked
Jake if he liked Dean and Jake said he was a giant, but a nice one, he said
he was even bigger than me and Cal. We chuckled over that and asked Jake if
he would like to have Dean to play and swim with, maybe even ride a horse
with him and Jake said he'd like that a lot. We drove towards home and
stopped at a pick your own apple orchard and we all three found some of the
nicest apples we'd seen in a long time. At the stand we found some
blueberries and some baking apples too. We loaded them up and we returned
home. We filled Joe in about Dean and he said he and Joe would be around if
we wanted them to watch Jake while we showed Dean around. I told him that
wasn't necessary, but we valued their input, so if they could join us that
would be great. I told him that both Tom and Bill would be around, as Bill
was staying over for the next week or so as his parents had taken off
somewhere and left him by himself again, so if we needed to, we had them to
watch Jake.

 About 4pm the drive signal went off and Jake ran to the door to see who
had arrived, he came running back to us in the family room and said
excitedly that big Dean had come. We were still chuckling as I went to
greet Dean at the front door. He was suitably impressed with the farm and
remarked that the house he and Pam had grown up in would have fit in just
the first floor. We introduced him to Joe and told him that Joe ran the
house and his partner, Ray, ran the farm. We were just going to start the
tour when Ray and Bill and Tom came in from what looked like a hard days
work, all three being quite dusty and dirty. They excused themselves to go
clean up. Joe was going to use the shower bath by the back door and Bill
and Tom took off for Tom's bedroom. It seems they all liked Dean right off
the bat.

 We walked the close property, introducing Dean to Jake's dog friends and
the horses, showed him the cottage where Ray and Joe lived, the chicken
coop and it's run which were both spotless now, and we knew what the three
messy guys had been doing all afternoon. After the tour Cal and I took Dean
up to the second floor and told him to pick out a bedroom for himself. I
was pleased that he chose one right across the hall from Jake. We showed
him the attic rooms, where he most likely would have to find us if we were
not out and about. We all then took him out to the pool house. He seemed
interested in the gym and we told him we ran every other day and worked out
the other days. He asked if he could join us and we told him he could, we
would slow ourselves down until he could catch up with us. We were only
kidding but when Ray and Jake said they wanted a swim before dinner we all
stripped off in the changing room and there was nothing about Dean that
would have to be improved upon.

 He had a fantastic body, the muscles standing out in hard plates down his
torso, starting with a pair of pecs that put my pecs to shame and traveling
down to an 8 pack that looked like the underside of a crocodile, not just 8
bumps, but 8 defined rectangular plates that led to a very trimmed bush
that crowned an 8 inch soft uncut dick that dangled down between massive 28
or 30 inch thighs. With 18 to 20 inch biceps and a 30 inch waist he was
quite a package, why his boyfriend had ever cheated on him was beyond me. I
looked to Cal and he looked at me and we joined together in a crushing kiss
and Jake told Dean we do that a lot cause we were getting married. He took
Dean's hand and they went out to the pool. I looked around and the other
two couples were also kissing. I was hanging up my pants on a hook when
both the drive alarm went off and my cell rang. It was Harry on the phone,
saying he just got here and wanted to know if he could use the pool. I told
him to come out back, we were just going out to the pool. We waited to
greet him before getting in the pool and when he arrived he saw we were all
naked. Jake told him, "Uncle Harry, it's just us guys, you don't kneed a
swim suit on, we know you have a pee pee just like we do." Everyone was
still chuckling as Harry went in to disrobe. When he came out Dean was
working with Jake in the shallow end. I guess we hadn't introduced them to
each other when he arrived, but Jake took care of that. He told uncle Harry
that Dean was his new friend. Dean stood to shake Harry's hand and Harry
was struck speechless for a moment. Still shaking hands he stared up the
length of Dean and asked if he could be Dean's friend too. Jake told him
that sure he could, but he got to play with Dean first, then uncle Harry
could. Harry blushed as he said he'd like that. OMG!! My brother was
flirting with Dean! What was going on here? Wasn't Harry streight? What had
I missed?

Cal chuckled and said that whenever they used to hang out or go running he
had noticed Harry scoping out other guys and he had always thought Harry
and his girl always seemed more like siblings than lovers. Tom and Bill
said the same thing, they felt Harry had been in hiding, until I came back
to town and reconnected with them, and then when he had introduced me to
Cal, and it was love at first sight, they thought that proved something to
Harry, that yes, you could have love, yes, you could have happiness, yes
you could find success in what you do, and yes, you could end up with a
family. They all thought we'd see something special out of Harry meeting
Dean. I looked over and Harry was still holding Dean's hand, and
likewise. They were staring at each other and things were starting to move,
just under the waters surface. Cal was at their side in a flash and he had
lifted Jake up out of the water, and out of danger of being impaled. Cal
whispered something to them and they both turned beet red and sat down on
the pool steps, side by side, with the most sheepish expressions on their
faces, their thighs touching below the water.

Jake was not impressed, he had lost his new friend to uncle Harry, so we
others made a big production of teaching him how to float and how to kick
in the water, hanging on the edge of the pool with his hands. After about a
half hour Joe thought he should be getting dinner ready and asked if he
should include Dean and Harry and told him that we might as well call Jim
and see if he also wanted to dine with us. I went back to the pool house
and called Jim and asked if he wanted to join us for dinner. I told him it
might be the last time he saw Harry as a single man. Jim chuckled and asked
if Harry had been riding my stallion again, and I replied not yet had he,
but maybe after dinner. Jim said he had to clean up a bit as he had been
mowing the aunts lawn, but give him about 45 minutes and he'd be over. Jake
was the first one showered and dressed and it was he who let his uncle Jim
in.

 When Cal and I arrived in the family room about a minute later, Jake
 was telling Jim about his new friend Dean who was going to play with him
and teach him how to swim and ride a horse, but right now he was playing
with uncle Harry in the shower in Dean's bedroom. The look on Jim's face
was the definition of surprised. He looked to us as we walked in the room
and both Cal and I were chuckling and Joe in the kitchen was laughing out
loud. I told Jim what had happened when Dean and Harry met in the pool and
he just nodded, saying that he had always suspected that Harry had some gay
in him, and now he thought Harry would get some gay in him. We were
laughing at that when Dean and Harry came downstairs and into the family
room, looking a little flushed and shy. Before they sat down Harry came up
to me and hugged me, saying thank you, thank you, thank you. I asked him
for what and he said out loud, that he was thankful that I came back, that
Cal and I had taken in Jake, that we had hired Dean, that we had bought a
house with a huge hot water tank, and that the showers here were built for
two. He then made an announcement. "I want everyone here in this room to
know that I'm gay. I'm now proud of that and those feelings kept growing as
I got the chance to know my older brother and his mate Cal. It also helped
me by getting to know the people around them, like Ray and Joe, and the
women from next door. I have no idea if things are going to work out
between Dean and I, but we do have a lot in common, we both felt an
immediate attraction for each other, and the guy thinks I'm hot. We even
have some classes together this fall, I can't wait to kiss him again."We
were all surprised, but pleased as well and dinner was a bit more festive
that evening. The sexual tensions around the table ran high. Partners were
seated together instead of our usual melange, Jake didn't seem to notice
anything different, but after dinner when no one wanted to play cars with
him I was thinking about what he must be feeling and Cal and I each grabbed
a car and started to chase his car around on the floor with him. Joe and
Ray left after everything was taken care of in the kitchen and soon after
that Dean and Harry went out to Dean's car and retrieved a few suitcases
Dean had packed in there before coming over, hoping he would be hired. They
didn't reappear until morning.

Once Dean and Harry had unloaded the car and had everything stowed in
Dean's room the fireworks began. The softest places on these two 20year old
bodies were their tongues and the puckers of their asses. All four places
were evenly matched and were penetrated often by each other, they both
loved rimming and being rimmed. They experimented with a few other things
as well. Harry being the novice and Dean a bit more experienced, but
finding exploring Harry to be his new favorite pastime. Their first 69
resulted in massive eruptions. Surprised by Harry's ability to deep throat
him, Dean was in ecstasy as he felt Harry swirl his tongue around the
exposed head of his dick with Harry occasionally trying to fuck Dean's dick
head with his tongue, while Dean was trying to corkscrew down Harry's shaft
while humming a tune even he didn't realize he was humming. The second time
they tried these maneuvers, the other way around, both were
successful. Dean's length hard was about 10 inches, but Harry's practice
with various objects made it seem like adult play. He was so pleased to
have someone else's hard shaft to play with that even when sleep came after
they had frotted he kept hold of it as they slept.


Dean awoke first in the morning. Waking in a new place, with a new
companion, brought to mind his new job. He grabbed his discarded boxers
from the floor, but them on and went to check on Jake. Jake was awake,
sitting on his bed, playing with his new teddy bear his dads had bought
him. He grinned when Dean entered his room and said good morning to
Dean. Dean smiled at the tyke and asked him if everything was alright, did
he have to go to the bathroom or anything? Jake told him he had already
done that and that his bed was nice and dry, did he want to wait with him
until his dads woke up? Dean chuckled and told him he had a better idea. He
scooped up Jake and his bear and took them back to his room, where uncle
Harry was just starting to stir. Jake was joyful to see Uncle Harry, and
squirmed to be let down on the bed. He crawled up Harry until they were
face to face and Jake kissed his uncle's cheek. "Good morning Uncle Harry",
was Jake's greeting,"did you stay up late playing and had to stay
over?"Dean was laughing and he lay down next to the two who were beginning
to mean so much to him. Harry kissed his new nephew on the cheek and wished
him a good morning. He reached up and kissed Dean good morning too, just
briefly touching his tongue to Dean's. He told Jake he did stay up late
playing and he hoped Dean invited him to stay over many times, especially
if he had wake up visits like this. Jake asked if he could have his shower
with them this morning, like he did with his daddies. Dean told him that
they were going running first and then they would shower after, so maybe he
could shower with his dads after that, then they would have a fun day,
swimming and maybe even going for a ride on one of the horses.

 Harry asked Jake if it was alright if he stayed with him today. Jake said
he'd like that, and Dean said he would too. By then they heard the dads
moving around in their room, so Dean put on his running gear in his
bathroom and then took Jake into his own room to get him in some shorts and
a T shirt, with his little sneakers. Meanwhile Harry had borrowed some of
Dean's gear and he had his own sneakers from yesterday to use. I came out
of our bedroom, wondering where Jake was, he hadn't woken us and I didn't
hear anything from his monitor, so I dressed for running and while Cal did
the same I went looking for him. To my surprise he was with Dean and Harry,
all three ready for some morning exercise. I got a good morning kiss from
Jake and Harry as well. He blushed a little and said he hoped I didn't
mind, but he had stayed over and I told him it was perfectly alright, he
was welcome any time, and if Dean wanted to spend time at Harry's place all
he had to do was to let us know so Jake wouldn't go nuts looking for him.

 I let Cal know I had located Jake and that we'd see him in the
kitchen. When we got there I started the coffee maker for later, then
poured out our juices and started the first round of toast. Harry went out
to the garage and wheeled out a jogging stroller we had ordered and had
been delivered yesterday afternoon. Now Jake could come on our runs with
us, except for the most rugged terrain. Ray had done such a great job
grading that we thought with the smooth paths we now enjoyed that Jake
wouldn't be jounced about so much. We warmed up and Jake was so cute,
trying to do stretches with us. He even climbed aboard his chariot so we
could adjust the attached harness to keep him safely inside. Our run that
morning was not our fastest time, but we had fun with Jake along. We took
turns pushing his ride and he would tell us which one of us pushed the
fastest. Once at home he again wanted to shower with us instead of a
bath. We treated this request like the last time, we showered, made sure he
was clean, we each tended to our own cleaning and we dried him and sent him
to his room to pick out what he thought he should wear, as we both dressed
for the day. After another of Joe's great breakfasts Ray informed us he had
leased out the 6 fields closest to the back, along the county fire road
where Jake's mother crashed. I asked what they were growing and he replied
there would be one field just for hay, another for oats and those crops
would be for us. The remaining crops would be for a vegetable stand the
farmer would run in the Fall. If Ray felt we needed any of these vegetables
for the use of the kitchen staff we had a standing deal with the farmer. He
had feelers out for the lease of several more fields, both here and the
adjoining property, which we now had access paths to.

That afternoon we received a call from Tricia, reminding us we had class to
attend that night and I told her we already had a hired babysitter, for the
entire summer as a matter of fact. She was glad to hear it. Cal and I
turned up for the parenting class and found we were not the only same sex
couple there. There was another male couple, two female couples, and 6
male/female couples. Although I didn't personally know the pair, one of the
female couples knew me from the times I used to work at Mount Holyoke
College for my aunt during my vacations during my college years. They knew
both Gladys and Sally and asked how they were enjoying their
honeymoon. Both Cal and I told them of the e-mails and how they were buying
postcards and bringing them back for us as souvenirs. They asked us if we
were planning on adopting and we told them about the circumstances
surrounding our custody of Jake. They applauded us for stepping into the
fire and asked how we were coping so far.

 It suddenly was very quiet in the room, even the instructor and her
assistant seemed to be hanging on our every word. We told them about the
first few nights of nightmares, but also how quickly these went away, as we
gave him lots of love and kept him very active through out the day. The
only problem we had encountered so far had been the shower issue. The
instructor asked me how old he was, and Cal told her(and the room) that he
was now about 5 ½ and would be starting pre school in the Fall. He told
her there was never any horse play in the shower, it was get clean and get
out. She thought about it for a moment and then told us that in her
estimation we have been doing the right thing. Since he made no mention of
our genitalia or tried to touch us there she thought we would
 be in a very good position in the future for when those questions did come
up, closer to puberty. For right now she said it sounded like he was
finally able to enjoy being a child in a loving home. Boy, did that ever
make us feel good. She thought as he grew bigger he would probably suggest
he was old enough to shower on his own, so don't discourage him, unless he
really couldn't do it.

 I spoke up then and asked at what age should he be allowed to ride
horseback. She asked how large our horses were and I told her they were
between 14 and 16 hands. She asked how we felt about it and I realized that
while he rode with one of us I felt it was alright, but by himself, I'd
feel better if he were on a much smaller horse. The instructor answered
that with ,for a couple with all the common sense we had already shown, the
next logical step would be to get one of those ponies for him. They were
less than half the size of a horse, and if he used a helmet when riding
he'd be just as safe as if he were riding a bike. Duh. Cal and I looked at
each other, shaking our heads, why didn't we think of that!! The instructor
went on to say that a lot of parenting skills were common sense, mixed with
listening, talking, and thinking. Caring had a lot to do with it
also. Learning to "read" your child, knowing when something was bothering
them, upsetting them, would go a long way to making things right for them
in their world, and ours.  The class was for a few hours. This first week
they covered everything from bringing home a newborn to seeing your first
one off to school. We eagerly attended all the required classes, and for
the last one we asked if we might be able to host it at our house, as we
felt we learned as much from the other couples and their participation as
we would have from some book from the checkout line at the
supermarket. Permission granted, we indeed had the whole class and the two
instructors to our farm for our last class. The group finally got to meet
Jake and the alternate carers, Joe, Tom, and especially Dean. He had proved
invaluable to us, taking over the caring of our son seamlessly during my
writing time and our class time. I didn't know what we'd do without him
when he returned to classes in the Fall, actually during the week after our
wedding, which was not three weeks away.

With our certificate proving we had not only attended the classes, but a
letter from the instructor singing our praises, we drove over to see Tricia
and presented her with a copy to submit with our application to the family
court for adoption, thus completing the requirements the judge had asked
for. Tricia had the application ready, she was just waiting for the
certificate to fax our petition over to the court.

Two hours later, after getting Jake a longer pair of pants to go with his
little suit we arrived home to find Tom, Harry, Jim and Dean giving the
royal tour of the property to Sally and Gladys, home 10 days earlier that
planned. The ladies said they were so anxious to be home they postponed
their trip to the library of congress and also they couldn't wait to meet
their first great nephew. We all survived the hugs and kisses and Jake was
enthralled by these two new people in his life. Jim had loaded his
belongings from their house and he added them to the ones stored in the
room he had already picked out here. Joe and Bill had prepared a feast and
Jake wanted his high chair right between the ladies. That tickled them to
no end.

After dinner we walked a bit to let our feast settle and they told us
stories from their travels. It all sounded like they had a great time. They
had a few questions about our parents and wanted more details of Jake
coming to live with us, and how the adoption process was progressing. They
left just before nine for their home and promised to return for a cookout
in two days over the weekend, our last as a couple of singles, as our
wedding was a week from tomorrow. Cal and I took Jake, Dean and Harry to
Boston to empty my apartment and tie up any loose ends I had there. We had
one of the SUV s and I had hired a U HAUL truck for the trip back for my
furniture and boxes. It was a hectic three days but we mingled in a few
trips to break up the monotony of packing. Some things we left at a local
charity, but many of my antiques we carefully packed, as Cal thought we
could mingle them in with what came with the purchase of our home.

 While in town I took them all to meet Harold, explaining he would be
coming on Friday to stay with us for the wedding, along with my publisher
and my agent. They also would arrive with Harold on Friday. He greeted us
all warmly and Jake took to him right away. He and Cal got along like a
house on fire and they were buddies before our brief visit was over. On the
way home Jake asked from the back seat if we could get a swan boat for the
pond. He wanted to take his aunts out on it. I told him I didn't think that
would be a good idea, since the aunts didn't like swans.

The three days leading up to the wedding were hectic ones, yet everything
fell into place. On the day before, Friday, we were notified that our
petition for adoption would be heard in family court on the following
Monday, first on the docket, 9am, all parties to attend. The judge listed
was our friend who had presided over our custody hearing. The caterer
showed up with the tables and chairs for use during the barbecue reception,
the extra two large barbecue cookers would certainly help in the output of
ribs and burgers. Our new suits were picked up with the needed alterations
done, and thankfully all our best men had picked up the suits we had bought
for them as well. Our wedding was perfect. We asked Jake to walk between us
down the aisle, with our best men following. Unfortunately we didn't hold
his hands. About half way down the aisle he ran forward to the minister and
called out to us, "Come on dads, hurry up, we gotta get married!" We did
actually step it up a pace or two and from there everything went as
planned. By the time we arrived back home the whole patio and pool area had
been decorated for a farm wedding celebration. Colorful bandanas had been
used as decorations and each had our names and the date on them. Guests
were encouraged to take one with them as they left.

The food was fantastic and there were the occasional halts during the
reception for one of the four best men to make a toast and soon others were
getting into the act. Ray and Joe made a special heartfelt one, Stella and
Pam, Lynn and Sue teamed up to make a totally hilarious one, and the Aunts
did their best to totally embarrass us. Then my publisher, my agent, and
Harold all stood as one and declared they had something to say. In Boston I
had told Harold just how much harder it was hiding my authorship of my
novels and more and more people had to be let in on my secret. With the
Fall book tour coming up and hopefully a new film contract, I felt it was
now time to "come out".

Harold began,"Just over seven years ago I was ready to retire. I had lost
the incentive to keep my office open. My wife had died and we never had any
children, so I had poured myself into my work and had burned myself out. I
was down to a handful of clients, very lucrative clients, mind you, but not
enough to keep on a full staff. Then one day in walks a young man, not even
out of college and he gave me a challenge, the same challenge he gave the
two gentlemen next to me." Jean, my agent went next,"I received a call from
the business office at Pernod Publishing, asking if I had time that day to
interview a potential client, a young man who had thought he had written a
book and just sent it off to them, hoping someone else liked it as much as
he thought he did, I say young man, but he was a college student, with an
idea, but other than outstanding grades he really hadn't achieved anything
with his writing yet." Next to speak was Bryan, a distinguished looking 50
something year old," I have to admit that as a publisher I seldom have time
to read, and we hire a staff of editors who screen submissions for us. One
afternoon, about 6 years ago, one of these editors was in our lunch room,
talking to a group of fellow employees, and I happened to sit next to their
table. This editor was going on about a manuscript that had come in the
bulk mail the week or so before and the envelope it was in was dropped in
her in-box unopened. She had finally gotten around to opening the hand
typed contents and started quickly perusing it. Her attention was caught
and she never put it down until she had finished it, around 11:00pm that
night. Not only had the story caught her attention, she was saying she
laughed and cried through the entire thing, and she couldn't find a thing
to correct, not a single thing was wrong or out of place. Well this piqued
my interest and I asked her to bring this marvel to my office after their
lunch was finished. I had it in hand by 2pm and I finally left my office at
9pm, finally finished reading, and laughing and crying, I must admit. The
covering letter was on college stationary, so the next day I personally
called this student and when I asked if he had an agent he answered in the
negative, so I told him before I could not talk to him any more,I thought
he should be represented, that is how much of an impact that first novel
had on me, I actually encouraged someone to get an agent'". Harold took
over again," So I'm sitting in my office and in walks this kid in a T shirt
and jeans and I hear my secretary saying we weren't hiring any summer help,
I hadn't heard him say anything, I thought she was a little rude, so I went
out to the front office and he's hemming and hawing, and I asked him if we
could help him in any way. He said he had just gotten an advance from a
publisher
 and that his novel was being bid on by a film studio, and could I tell him
what to do with all the money they had sent him so far. He handed me a
check for 400 thousand dollars, made out to Robert Scott. He asked me if I
could make him a millionaire, and I knew immediately I now had my incentive
back, I was going to help create a millionaire. And I'm proud to tell you I
did, it took another two books, but I had managed to make a fortune for
that young man. A man who took taboo subjects and turned them into prose,
he had people lining up to defend gay kids attacked by their own parents or
classmates. He had some abusers seeing the light and others doing hard
time. All the time his characters are evolving, mixing with other gays or
becoming the center of a hub of mixed sex couples. A man I am proud to say
virtually saved my life, my company, and the jobs of over 40
people. Congratulations Cal and Scott, may Robert Scott live on for
years!!" There were cheers and claps and foot pounding, demanding spoken
words from Cal and I. Cal arose and said he had said," I Do, what more
important thing, other than he's the love of my life, and he's made it
possible for us to have the most wonderful child in the whole world calling
us Dad". There were cheers and silverware clinking on glasses so we kissed,
remembering to keep it clean.

 Our kiss over, I spoke up." We are so pleased you all arranged your time
to spend the afternoon with us on this special day for us. Jake was given
the chance to live with us by a special woman, Judge Alice Monroe. She
encouraged us to take the necessary classes to become his legal parents and
Monday we hope our dream comes through." At this point Judge Monroe stood
and amidst the clapping gathering she made her way to us and handed over
what she called her wedding present for us. Inside the manilla envelope was
the adoption decree, giving Cal and I permanent custody of Jacob
Roberts-Hays. We both hugged her and she whispered we hadn't seen the last
of her yet. Cal and I were all teared up when Jake ran up to us and asked
what we got. We both said at the same time, "We got a little boy named
Jacob".