Date: Thu, 21 Dec 2017 16:13:47 -0500
From: artinkeywest@aol.com
Subject: The Start of Something Great chapter 5

The next week flew by as we were getting ready for New Years Eve. We had
invited everyone who had been here for Christmas, and the only ones not
coming again were the tenants, the two couples from the neighboring
farm. They were all attending a party in Springfield with friends and we
totally understood they would want to be with their friends on such a
night.

	Tricia and Brad did hit it off and had even been out on a date
during the week and Brad's son Tony had spent that night with us having a
sleep over with our boys. They would all be here for our New Years Eve
party, and Judge Monroe was coming with them, Tony would again be spending
the night. My brothers and their significant others would be here as would
Frank and Ray and Joe. Everything went well, and Ray had to be told to go
mingle as he kept coming into the kitchen to see what needed to be done
next. Between Cal and I and our boys we had everything well in hand and
Harry and Dean were our bartenders and reported everything there was going
smoothly as well. It was nearing 11 pm when the big screen TV in the family
room was turned to the channel for the midnight festivities and at the
stroke of midnight there was the general chaos of Happy New Year hugs and
kisses all around and soon after the party was breaking up, with Frank
driving the Aunts back to So. Hadley and Brad and Tricia taking his mother
home and on to another late date for breakfast for the two of them. The
boys all went to their rooms and that left Cal and I to close up the house
and follow everyone else upstairs and to our own bed for the rest of the
night where we celebrated the evening in our own fashion.

	After the holiday there was a 10 day interval before classes
started for all the different school boys and Jay and Marco were scheduled
for placement tests with Cal's professor, Bob Harris. The tests were to be
administered by Professor Harris, his assistant Ron, and Cal. Bob and Ron
showed up on the appointed day with Bob's son Paul, a very cute 8 year old
who was to spend the day with Jake and Sam. The three youngsters hit it off
right away and I took them to the barn so they could ride in the enclosure
as the twins were taking the first of the tests. Paul had had some riding
experience so all three boys rode ponies and I rode my stallion. We had a
lot of fun, the boys trying to impress me with what each had learned in
their riding lessons, and trying to copy every move my steed and I made. We
finished up about 11 am and groomed our rides before heading up to the
house for lunch. The twins joined us for lunch and I asked how the test was
going and they told me it was pretty cool and interesting for them both,
neither gave any indication of how hard the tests were for them.

	They had one more round of tests that afternoon so I kept the
younger boys occupied by taking them out to the pool for an afternoon of
playing in the heated pool enclosure. It wasn't long before Dean and Harry
and Bill and Tom joined us and the three younger boys were exhausted by 3
and ready for a nap. By the time they woke in the pool house bedroom the
twins were ready for some fun as they had finished all the testing put in
front of them, and Cal, Bob and Ron were entering the results in Bob's
laptop. The three of them were huddled in Cal's study and they emerged with
huge smiles about two hours later, just in time for dinner with the rest of
us.

	After dinner Tom and Bill kept all the younger boys occupied in the
family room as Cal invited me up to his study to go over the test results
with Bob and Ron. What they had to show me really impressed me. The twins
were first of all very evenly matched in their IQ's and in how they had
solved problems and answered the hundreds of questions put to them. They
were exceptionally bright and the three members of the inquisition team
were full of praise for the twins. Bob suggested that they were capable of
doing the work of the freshmen at the University, and more than likely the
work of the sophomore class as well. Cal was pensive as Bob explained this,
and suggested we have a chat between us, as their parents, before any more
discussion about their future schooling.

	I totally agreed, and we went down to our bedroom to have our
discussion. There we realized we were on the same wavelength very soon. We
didn't want the boys to miss out on their senior year of high school and be
thrust into university life without being a bit more mature. Cal suggested
that we talk to the boys and get their input, but he thought that maybe
they would enter the last half of junior year, taking college prep courses
for credit toward their freshman year in college, and the next school year
they would be high school seniors, while earning freshman college credits,
and entering college in the fall as college sophomores. They could easily
do the required work, but still get to experience their high school senior
year. I thought about this and told him I totally agreed, as long as the
boys weren't made to feel like freaks in school. Cal told me that the
classes they would be in were well attended by other smart kids and they
would probably be the youngest in them, but they would be the mental
equals, or better, of the other students.

	We called the twins up and we explained how well they did in their
testing that day and what we were proposing for their educational
future. They liked Cal's plan and promised me that if ever they felt
uncomfortable, or that the work load was too much they would tell us, but
Marco spoke for the two of them when he added that if the work was not
challenging them that they would also let us know that, so more challenging
work could be provided for them. We each gave them hugs and then we went up
to tell Bob and Ron what had been decided. They were in complete agreement
with us and Bob said he would personally contact the guidance counselor at
the high school to formulate their class lineup for the remainder of the
year and for their next and final year as well.

	Bill and Tom were great with their new nephews and volunteered to
chauffeur them to school, as all four would be attending the South Hadley
high school as non-resident paying students. It soon became clear that the
twins were being quickly absorbed into their new school and although in the
classes of the "brainiacs" Bill and Tom both brought them athletes who
needed tutoring and Jay and Marco soon found themselves trying out for the
school's swim team, actually earning places on the team, and enjoying the
heck out of it all. All Spring there seemed to be a stream of jocks from
all the school teams hanging out at our house and pool, waiting for their
time with the twins to help them with their school work. Sometimes there
would be two or more with the same problems in the same subjects and the
twins would hold mini classes for them, getting the stronger ones to help
the weaker ones in a subject, thus making them help themselves.

	Never in all this did they appear to be above themselves and when
either Cal or I would be in the vicinity they called out to us, calling us
Dad and Daddy in front of their new friends as if it was the most natural
thing in the world, for two 11 year olds to be tutoring all these high
school jocks, Bill and Tom not far away. I worried about the boys being
taken advantage of, but Tom told us privately that the jocks totally
respected the twins, and were all grateful for the help they were getting
and they even "escorted" the twins to their own classes and sat with them
at lunch to make sure the youngsters were not hassled in any way.

	 In the Spring Tom and Bill received their official acceptance
letters for the University and started making their wedding plans, with
Harry and Dean's help. The two couples had decided on a double wedding and
they could share their anniversary for many many years to come. They wanted
a small service, but a great party at the house after, inviting all their
school friends. I was really chuffed when both couples asked Cal and I to
stand up for them and the twins would be their ushers. Jake and Sam were
appointed their ring bearers and everyone was happy with the arrangements.

	The wedding was sweet and there was a lot of love shared in the
church that morning. The reception that afternoon was joyous and everyone
had a great time. The twins stayed in their suits and introduced us to many
of the attendees we hadn't met while Harry and Dean, with Tom and Bill,
went from table to table, chatting up their friends and thanking everyone
for coming. The caterer did a great job and the marque they had erected
even had a dance floor, which everyone made use of. The two couples made
sure to slow dance with the Aunts who had been very generous with their
wedding gift, as had Cal's dad, Frank.

	For their wedding present Cal and I sent them on a honeymoon to Key
West. We had gotten a deal on a rental owned by a local gay couple. We
sprung for a months rental and the guys left just a day after their
wedding. They reported that Joe, the guy who ran the rental for Angel and
Ray, had set them up with some great things to do while there and they
included him in some of their excursions, as his schedule at the local
library permitted. When they returned the younger couple were preparing for
their freshman year at the University as Harry and Dean were going through
their orientation at their first teaching positions at the grade school in
town here. They were looking forward to having Sam and Jake in their
classes soon.

	That fall I had again several trips to make and since the staffs at
both my publisher and agent's office knew I preferred weekend trips it
worked out great for all the boys as they would be able to accompany us on
all the trips. Jay and Marco were thrilled to be going with us and were
amazed when they were treated like celebrities everywhere we traveled. Jake
and Sam were old hands at this by now and they helped their older brothers
with the routine and soon all four were behaving like seasoned
travelers. They all loved seeing their names on the dedication page of the
book.

	Once in a while, during a sit down interview, the whole family
would be seated and asked questions. Most of the time the boys were on
their best behavior, but other times the interviewer had taken the time to
talk to them all before hand and then the boys would be more relaxed and
less stiff in their answers. During one such interview the pretty lady
interviewer had the boys all laughing and giggling before hand and the two
younger ones, Sam and Jake, were quite taken with her. As the interview
went on she asked the twins about their school work and they explained how
they would graduate high school as college sophomores and then she asked
Sam and Jake about their school. Sam told her they had only been there a
short time, but that he really liked it here and then Jake piped up and
told her that he knew he liked it too and would do really good in school
because he heard Daddy tell Dad one night that he and Sam were "two smart
little fuckers". That had been the day Cal told me he saw the two
youngsters leading their ponies to the coral fence and climbing up on the
rails to mount their ponies without any help. Needless to say the interview
paused, as there was so much laughter from the crew and the audience and
both Cal and I were so embarrassed we were virtually speechless at that
point.

	Later we had a chance to tell Jake that he didn't do anything
wrong, it was just that he had used an adult word on national TV and that
was a no no. Jake was very contrite and promised to watch his mouth in the
future.

	We had a great fall, making use of the pool and the horses as much
as we could and when Thanksgiving came around we had something really good
to look forward to, Cal was going to graduate with his doctorate degree in
Education from the University in mid December. His thesis had been accepted
and approved and we were going to have our first doctor in the family. He
had sent out his resume to several area institutions of higher education,
but the education department at the University made him a fantastic offer
and he was going to be starting there as an instructor/researcher working
with Doctor Bob Harris, his favorite professor and faculty adviser. He
would be starting the second week in January.

	By the end of February we were informed by our lawyer, Tricia, that
she was renaming her law practice to include her new business partner, Brad
Monroe. They told us this at our regular monthly get together. Brad then
got on his knee, right there in our dining room and proposed to Tricia and
she accepted! We were so happy for them and Brad told us later that he
couldn't think of a more appropriate place to propose, since our house was
where they first met, and he revealed it had been love at first sight for
the two of them.

	Cal was loving his work and the classes he was teaching, as were
Harry and Bill. Jake and Sam were proud to be first graders and couldn't
wait until they could be in their uncle's classes in fourth grade. They
often had friends over for after school riding and we finally enrolled them
in the after school riding program at Terry's riding center when both Ray
and Joe told us that they had learned all they had to teach them.

	The twins were thriving in their senior year in high school, they
were still tutoring, still active on the school's swim team, and still on
course to enter college as sophomores in the fall. If anything, their
closeness was even more evident, at least at home, and they remained
faithful to each other, drawing strength from each other, and they told me
one night that they felt more comfortable living with us than they did with
their own beloved parents. They asked if Cal and I were alright with them
being gay and I told them that as long as they were happy, and healthy, and
they treated everyone else with the respect they deserved, they could be
whatever they wanted and that Cal and I would support them in any way we
could. I received big hugs from the both of them as they went up to bed
that night.

	The aunts were very pleased with their first floor addition which
really was a true master suite with a walk in closet and a very roomy
bathroom. They were traveling and taking great joy in their retirement.
During the school year they rented rooms to a few select students by the
semester and there were times they had the same students for the whole
year. The aunts loved coming out to the house and they were especially fond
of the four younger boys, but there was a special bond between both of them
and my brothers and Cal and I. As Aunt Sally said one Saturday when they
were over for dinner, "That weekend you came to me with those lobsters was
truly one of the happiest weekends I can remember, and look what it
started, it was truly the start of something great for all of us!"

				  THE END