Date: Sun, 05 Oct 2008 13:23:50 +0000
From: hankster1430@bellsouth.net
Subject: Twilight Love Chapt 7

TWILIGHT LOVE
Chapter Seven

There is much truth in the expression that time flies when you are having
fun.  Every day, every hour I spend with Andy is fun.  January flew by
faster than I could say my name.

Andy and I sat on the big jet as it taxied to the gate at LaGuardia
Airport.  It was good to be back in our home town.  We both stared out the
window as we approached the gate.  It was only 2 PM but the sky was dark
and overcast, and there were snow flurries in the air.  We looked at each
other and shivered.  The air conditioning had been shut off on the jet
liner, but the outside cold air was already permeating through the cabin.

"I had forgotten," Andy complained.

"Me too!"

The `Fasten Seat Belt' sign was extinguished, and the door to the jet was
opened.  We stood up and retrieved our carry on bags and waited patiently
to de-plane.  The walk towards Baggage Claim, took us past dozens of
terminal gates.  I was nearly frozen.  Wasn't there any heat in this
terminal, or was it just my tropical blood reacting?  Finally we reached
the security gates and I saw Jaden standing just beyond the gates.  He was
loaded down with two heavy winter coats.

We all embraced as best we could, considering his burden.  He handed each
of us a coat, glad to be rid of them.  I couldn't put mine on fast enough.

Thank goodness for the coats.  It was even colder in Baggage Claim.  Every
time someone exited the terminal, the cold winter air entered.  It was a
pleasure to get into Jaden's car.  He turned up the heat and we were comfy
in no time.

"Where's Bob?" I asked "I thought he was coming with you."

"He was, but they called a last minute rehearsal for tomorrow evening's
performance.  It's the first Boheme of the season, and they have some kinks
to work out," Jaden explained.

"I can't wait," Andy and I said in unison and laughed at the sameness of
our thoughts.

Jaden crossed The Triborough Bridge and headed towards my old neighborhood.
I hadn't been here since before my wife took ill, and a couple of years
before that.  Very little had really changed.

Jaden maneuvered the car through the gates of the underground tenants'
parking garage and pulled into what used to be my old space.  I had a
sudden image of a youthful me pulling into the same space, and my equally
youthful wife jumping swiftly out of the car, anxious to get upstairs to
our apartment.  I smiled at the thought.  Andy noticed my smile and smiled
back.  Somehow he knew exactly what I was thinking.

Jaden helped us deposit our bags in one of the two guest bedrooms.  They
had converted the third bedroom into a music room.  It housed a baby grand
Steinway, a piano bench and one extra chair.  The lighting had been changed
to illuminate the sheet music on the piano.  The ambience of the room was
very cold and stark, but I assumed it was very utile.

"Bob assured me he would be home for dinner, Jaden told us.  "We made
reservations at a little neighborhood restaurant.  It's Italian and the
food is great and not expensive, which says a lot in New York."

"You don't mean Mario's on sixtieth?" I asked.

"Yes, do you know it?"

"Your mom and I ate there all the time.  It will be a treat."  I took
Andy's hand and said, "You'll love it, sweets."  I didn't want him to feel
left out of all my reveries.

We sat in the living room waiting for Bob.  The apartment was warm enough,
but I sure didn't want anything cold, so Jaden made hot coffee, which he
served with chocolate chip cookies.

We filled Jaden in on everything that was going on with our friends.  He
was genuinely interested.  He even asked how Tracy was doing in nursing
school.  He told us that his practice was growing more rapidly than he had
anticipated, and he was looking for a third legal associate.  We told him
how pleased we were to hear that he was doing so well.

Just then Bob came in.  He kissed us both on the cheek and went to a shelf
where he got a spray bottle and sprayed his throat.

"Just some disinfectant," he explained."  It's not for you guys.  It's for
the whole world out there.  I don't kiss anyone on the lips when I'm
singing.  I hope you'll forgive me."

"Of course," I said.  "We certainly understand.  Besides I wouldn't want to
have come all this way and not see you perform."

As if on cue, the telephone rang.  Jaden answered it, and spoke cordially
with someone at the other end.  He handed the phone to Bob.  "It's your
boss," he informed Bob.

"I'll take it in the bedroom," Bob said looking concerned. Jaden listened
until Bob got on the line and then he hung up.  We were all silent during
the call, because Bob had looked so concerned.

After what seemed hours, but was only minutes, Bob came out of the bedroom
smiling.

"Extra house money this week," he joked with Jaden.  They're doing
Butterfly tonight and Jimmy caught the flu."  He looked at Andy and me and
said, "James Starling is the tenor who was supposed to sing Pinkerton
tonight.  Anyway they asked me to fill in, and I agreed."

"How can you do that?" Andy asked.  You're singing tomorrow, and Rudolfo is
a killer role."

"I know.  We discussed that.  Pinkerton has a big first act, but doesn't
even appear in Act Two.  In Act Three, he has only one short aria.
Butterfly practically sings the whole act on her own, so I'll be able to
give my voice plenty of rest.  Sorry guys, I just won't talk to you
tomorrow. I told Larry I wouldn't do it unless I could get three house
seats.  The performance is sold out.  To cut to the chase, there are three
tickets for you all at the box office.  It's a good thing we don't have
show tickets tonight."

"Wow, I am so excited," I said to Bob.  "Will you be able to have dinner
with us?"

"No," he answered.  "You all go to Mario's and from there to the theater.
I've got to head back now.  Jimmy is about five sizes bigger than I am and
we have to do some quick wardrobe adjustments."

He refrained from kissing any of us, even Jaden, but he took Jaden's chin
in his hands and said, "When I'm making a baby with Butterfly tonight, I'll
pretend I'm fucking you."  We all laughed.  It seemed an incongruous
statement from someone about to sing such an important dramatic role.

After he left, the three of us showered and dressed in appropriate attire,
jackets and ties.  In Ft. Lauderdale, it would have been perfectly all
right to forgo the tie.  When we walked into Mario's, Mario himself was
acting as maitre d'.  He greeted Jaden warmly.  Then he looked at me with
what seemed a glimmer of recognition.

"Hello Mario," I said.  "I haven't been here for many years.  I'm Jaden's
dad, Harry Dell."

"Oh my God." Mario almost screamed.  He grabbed my hand and started pumping
it.  "How long has it been?" he asked.

"Too long," I said, and left it at that.

In addition to his marvelous food, Mario kept sending over extra side
dishes at no cost to us.  I guess he was that glad to see me.

I picked up the tab over Jaden's protest.  He gave in when I agreed to lose
my wallet for the rest of the trip.  We hailed a taxi, and for some reason
it made me feel good when I told the driver to take us to Lincoln Center.

Jaden picked up our tickets at the will call box office, and we went to our
seats.  We were seated about seven rows back from the orchestra and
somewhat right of center.  When I opened the playbill, I discovered a
hastily mimeographed notice that James Starling was ill and the role of
Lt. Pinkerton would be sung tonight by Robert Harris.  After a few minutes,
a good looking couple sat down in the two empty seats to my right.  Once
settled in, the woman opened the playbill and read the notice.  She gave a
muffled cry of delight, and said to her husband, "We lucked out tonight,
darling.  Harris is singing Pinkerton."

I wondered if Jaden had heard her.  I was certainly going to tell him, when
she was out of earshot.  He was seated between Andy and me so there was a
good chance he had heard her.  Andy, Jaden and I chatted for a brief while
and the houselights began to dim.  I always get a shiver of expectation
when house lights dim.  The show is about to begin and that always excites
me.

Suddenly, I heard a ripple of applause which grew steadily until the
audience was shouting.  The conductor was walking to the podium.  He turned
toward the audience and bowed.  Then he turned toward the orchestra raised
his baton and the music began.

There is no doubt that Bob made a handsome hero, or in this case, an
anti-hero, but the soprano who sang Butterfly was absolutely gorgeous.  Not
only did the two of them make a good looking, believable couple, but they
were both fantastic actors.  Bob's Pinkerton was so callous and uncaring
about Butterfly's feelings, I was tempted to boo him.  Butterfly was so
fragile and pathetic, I wanted to take her in my arms to comfort her.  The
performances of all the other characters were vocally satisfying, but the
acting was wonderful, as well.  They were all so believable, I could not
remember being so drawn into the action of a drama.

Toward the end of the opera, a remorseful Pinkerton sobs over Butterfly's
body screaming, "Butterfly, Butterfly."  Bob screamed and sobbed her name
simultaneously.  He stunned the audience with his acting and singing.  The
applause was almost non stop.  The audience was standing and roaring its
approval as the singing actors took their bows.  As for me, I couldn't be
prouder if Bob was my natural son.  Andy looked at me and I knew he was
thinking the same thing.

It occurred to me that in La Boheme, Bob's lover would die in the last act,
leaving him to scream her name also.  I figured that maybe that was a
specialty of Bob and Puccini.

Jaden took us back stage to pick Bob up so that we could take one taxi
home.  On our way out, the beautiful young woman who had sung the role of
Butterfly was leaving also.  Much to my shock, Bob introduced me as his
father and Andy as my partner.  She shook our hands, and said that she was
very pleased to meet us.  We in turn told her how much we had enjoyed her
magnificent performance.

By the time we got home, Andy and I were euphoric.  I wanted to hug Bob
over and over, but I was afraid of giving him a germ and kept my distance.
Jaden put up water to boil for tea.  He made Bob tea and honey after every
performance.

"I can't wait for tomorrow," I said to Bob.  "When you sang karaoke, I knew
you had a magnificent tenor voice, but I had no idea, how powerful it was.
And your acting was worthy of an academy award.  Have you had acting
lessons?" I asked.

"Not formally," Bob answered, but we have dramatic coaches who are engaged
by the opera.  Now, if you will excuse me, I must turn in and rest.  It's
unusual for me to sing two such strenuous roles two nights in a row."

Andy and I hugged the boys. They went into their bedroom and we went into
ours.  We were both too excited, and yes, too exhausted to have sex that
night, but we lay scrunched against each other in bed.  Our semi erect
cocks rubbed together sensuously as we kissed and ran our hands over our
bodies until we drifted off to sleep.

The next morning, I was awakened by bright sun light coming into the room.
The cold and dank of yesterday was gone.  I knew from experience that it
could still be bitter cold, but the sun would have a warming effect even if
it was only psychological.  Then too, this could be the beginning of a
January thaw, and that would be nice for us adopted Floridians.

The apartment house was built in the 1930's and it had only one bathroom.
Andy was not in bed and I could hear the shower running.  I decided to join
him.  I walked out of the room and headed for the shower. I was completely
naked, of course, but after their visit to the nude beach with us, and
their stay in Florida, the four of us had no modesty left when it came to
parading around naked.

I slipped into the shower with Andy and we tried to be as quiet as possible
so as not to disturb Bob.  We began to kiss and fondle each other, but
tried to refrain from making love, knowing full well that we were very
noisy lovers.  Still it was pleasant, and somehow comforting, having the
warm water cascade down our bodies as we ran our hands all over our naked
bodies.

After our showers, we shaved and used the bathroom individually for our
bodily functions.  We both preferred privacy in those matters.  We dressed,
and I listened quietly at the door to the boys' bedroom.  I could
distinctly hear light snoring, so Andy and I decided to have breakfast out
at one of the thousands of great coffee shops which populated the island of
Manhattan.

There was one such coffee shop right down the street at the corner.  We
were wearing our borrowed coats, which we certainly needed, but it was
indeed a lot warmer than it had been the day before.  The sun was
reassuring and I no longer felt that I was going to turn into a snowman.

I ordered two eggs over medium, hash brown potatoes, coffee and an
untoasted Kaiser roll, which in New York is known simply as a hard roll.
They have Kaiser rolls in Ft. Lauderdale, but they taste like straw
compared to the texture of a New York hard roll.  Everyone says it's the
water.  New York gets its water from mountain lakes and streams upstate,
and it's the purest and best tasting in America.

Andy ordered scrambled eggs with home fries, coffee and a toasted sesame
bagel.  In the end I ate half his bagel and he ate half my roll.  There is
nothing like the taste of New York food.  We both suddenly realized that
there was a lot about New York we really did miss, but it wasn't the
weather.

After breakfast, Andy asked if I was up for a short walk.  I nodded and he
started out.  I followed him.  "I've seen where you used to live," he said.
"Coincidentally, I lived only two streets away.  I'm glad we never met.  It
would have been at the wrong time in the wrong place."

"You're right," I agreed.  In a couple of minutes, he stopped in front of
an apartment building similar to the one Jaden and Bob live in.  All the
buildings in this neighborhood must have been developed about the same
time.

"This is it," he said, We looked at it, but of course we didn't go in.  "We
had lots of happy days here," Andy said, looking much as I had looked when
we pulled into the parking garage yesterday afternoon.  I put my arm around
his shoulder and turned him around so that he faced away from the building.

"Let's face forward," I said, "and not look back."

"Right," he said.  "It's such a beautiful day.  The air is so brisk.  Let's
walk a bit before we go back.  He locked his arm in mine and we started our
walk.  As we did, we played a little game, trying to remember what, if
anything, had changed since our last visit to the old neighborhood.  The
only thing we agreed on, and knew for certain, was that a shoe repair shop
we had both used had been replaced by a `Subway' shop.  We wondered where
the residents went to have their shoes repaired, and concluded that they
didn't.  When their shoes needed heels or soles, they simply threw them
away and bought new ones.

It wasn't long before we both started to shiver so we headed back to the
warmth of the apartment.  When we got there, both boys were just leaving.
Jaden said, he was going into the office for a few hours, and Bob said that
he had some last minute rehearsing and a session with both the vocal and
drama coach.  He said he hoped to be home by 3 PM when he would try to nap
and then have a light snack before heading to the theater.

We found ourselves alone and headed right for the bedroom, where we
stripped in record time and threw ourselves on the bed in a sixty-nine
position.  Andy is an awesome cock sucker.  I can't even describe what he
can do with his extremely educated tongue.  Whatever it is, it triggers the
start of an orgasm in me much sooner than I would like.  I have tried to
learn and emulate, but I will never have his knack.  Needless to say, I
came a good five minutes before he did.  I didn't mind at all.  I have
learned to love the taste of Andy's cock.  I savor it and could stay down
on him forever if my jaw would allow it.  We both swallowed all of our cum
so there was no mess at all.  Afterwards, we lay wrapped up in each other's
arms and fell asleep for a little bit of time.

When we awoke, we dressed and decided to have lunch out, and reacquaint
ourselves once more with the wonderful taste of New York food.  We went to
a neighborhood deli, which thankfully was still in business.  Andy ordered
a roast beef sandwich on rye, and I opted for pastrami on rye.  It came
with cole slaw and a sour pickle, but I asked for, and got, a half sour
pickle.  Andy ordered a root beer with his sandwich and I ordered cream
soda.  Cream soda is vanilla flavored pop.  Try to get that in
Ft. Lauderdale.  We both declined a side of French Fries.  Andy and I were
in food euphoria.  I could see at least five extra pounds to lose when we
got home.

By now it had warmed up considerably.  The sun was high in the sky so we
decided to walk a little more and maybe walk off some of the calories we
had just eaten.  In our travels, we passed a small park.  New York had
generously sprinkled small parks throughout heavily urban neighborhoods.
These were aptly named `Pocket Parks.'  We found a bench in the park and
sat facing the sun which was warming our old bones.  We sat like this for
quite a while when my cell phone rang.  I answered it and not surprisingly
it was Colin.

I told him about Bob's extra performance last night and what a brilliant
singing actor he was.  So far all was going well.  We had a good flight
into New York, and we were looking forward to tonight's performance of La
Boheme.  We were going to see a Broadway musical tomorrow and the day after
tomorrow.  Then on the day after that Bob and Jaden were going to a musical
with us.  I told him that Andy and I were eating ourselves into oblivion
with New York food.  He also assured us that all was well with him and his
family.  He asked if Andy was available, and that he would like to say
hello.  I handed the phone to Andy and to my very pleasant surprise, they
chatted for about two minutes like two old friends.  It was just small
talk, but it was comfortable small talk, not forced by either one of them.
I can't tell you how happy that made me.  Andy handed the phone back to me
and just as Colin and I were saying our last goodbyes, Andy's phone rang.

It was Richie, Tony, Al and Tom calling us from the nude beach. There was
really too much confusion to talk long but we let them know that we were
having a ball and would fill them in on everything when we saw them.  I got
the distinct impression that they envied us that we had children to visit
and who visited us.  When I told Andy what I felt, he agreed with me and
then reached over and kissed me.  I was still reticent about public
displays of affection, but nothing held Andy back.  I pulled away from him.

"People will see us," I complained.

"Who cares?" he said.  "You really have to get over it."

"I know," I said and reached over and kissed him back.

If Bob had been brilliant last night, he was nothing short of a phenomenon
this evening.  This time he had been rehearsing for weeks.  He had absorbed
every bit of advice his vocal and drama coaches had given him and he was
very well prepared.  He was a good ten years older than the character he
was playing, but his youthful appearance was totally believable.  The same
was true of Mimi.  She looked beautiful on the stage albeit sporting a few
extra pounds.  She was pleasingly plump, and she certainly didn't look like
she was dying of consumption.  Regardless, her wonderful singing and acting
had us believing in her from the first notes she sings halfway through the
first act.

The end of the opera sets a very similar scene to the end of Butterfly.
Mimi is dying on a cot in Rudolfo's garret with all their friends around
her.  Rudolfo cannot bear to see her suffering so much and he turns away
for a few moments.  Suddenly he realizes that the room has grown silent.
He turns to Mimi and realizes she is dead.  He calls her name twice, "Mimi,
Mimi," as he throws himself on her body.  When Bob sang out Mimi twice, it
was so filled with heartbreak and pathos that most of the audience began to
cry, including yours truly.  How magnificent his voice is and what a
magnificent actor he is as well.

The cast received a standing ovation.  Audience members tossed flowers on
the stage.  Bob retrieved a rose, bowed to his Mimi and presented her with
the rose as he kissed her hand.  The entire experience was thrilling.

That night we sat around the kitchen table having tea, honey and cookies
and reliving the excitement of the performance.  Bob was having a hard time
coming down from his high, but that was no tragedy.  He took Jaden's hand
in his, and said to Andy and me, "Listen guys, I'm not tired tonight and I
don't have to go to sleep early.  I don't even have to sing for a week, but
please excuse Jaden and me.  I haven't made love to my darling in several
days, and I have lots to make up for."

Andy and I started to laugh.  "We certainly empathize," Andy said.  Go
enjoy yourselves, and we might just do the same."  Now Bob and Jaden were
laughing as they walked hand in hand to their bedroom.


To be continued...