Date: Thu, 12 Dec 2019 15:23:22 -0600
From: Eric Trager <trager2275@gmail.com>
Subject: It Is What It Is - Chapter 68

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Email feedback can be sent to trager2275@gmail.com. © 2015 by Eric
Trager.


CHAPTER SIXTY-EIGHT


After a long day with Brad and Tommy showing them around Glen Muick Lodge,
and looking over Tommy's sketches upon which Brad made some surprisingly
incisive recommendations, and after a nice dinner, Sean sent Tommy off to
do his homework. His own sons having been fairly pliable compared to the
horror stories one hears about kids doing their homework, Sean really
didn't notice that Tommy nodded his head and simply made his way without
fuss to the den where he had his things already set up.

"Should we get your stuff put away?" Sean asked Brad.

"Sure, but how about a cocktail, or two first... Brandy Old Fashioned Sour,
right? Point me the way and I'll mix 'em," Brad said.

Sean pointed to the wet bar next to the kitchen. "Might as well make a
pitcher," Sean said. "Smoke a bone?"

"You think we oughta do that with the kid around?"

"I think he's seen worse..." Sean said.

"Guess you're prolly right. I mean, I hadda turn tricks and shit, but I was
a lot older than him... I was over 18, and it was my choice. I'm not proud
of any of that, you know..."

"That was a long time ago, Brad..."

"Why did you stop and help me that day? You know, that day at school when
those thugs were gonna beat the fuck out of me... Why did you stop?"

"Honestly? I don't know why I did it. Something inside me just told me to
do it. I'm glad I did. You've been a good friend all these years. You're,
well, you're dependable..." Sean said as he rolled a joint.  Brad poured to
tall glasses with the Old Fashioneds. "Maybe we really oughta go outside to
smoke that.

He's just a kid, Sean..."

"I guess you're right. I'll tell him we're going out to check security for
the night. He'll be fine."  Sean went to the den to find Tommy. "Hey,
Champ! Uncle Brad and I are gonna go outside and make sure everything's
locked up for the night. We'll be back in a little while..."

"OK," Tommy said. "I wasn't gonna ask you guys to share the joint
anyway..." he snickered.

"Don't say anything to your dads. If you do, I'll get yelled at."

"Deal," Tommy smiled. "Grandpa?"

"Yeah, Champ?"

"I um... I love you."

"Love you, too. Now back to work!" Sean winked, as he mussed Tommy's shaggy
brown hair.

Sean and Brad went out the front door and walked toward the garage, which
was a large steel structure not much smaller than the cottage itself. Sean
opened the door.

"Starting to get kinda nippy out!" Sean said.

"Yup," Brad said, topping up their glasses from the pitcher.

Sean lit up the joint, took a hit, and passed it to Brad.

Exhaling his hit, Brad looked at Sean.

"So anyway, Sean, like I said, I know why I'm here..."

"OK..."

"Yup. I'm here because of what Andy told me."

"What?" Sean had no idea of what Brad was talking about.

"That's right, and I'm sorry to bring Andy up, but he's why I'm here. I
want you to know, in case you don't, that right before he died he told me
the thing he worried about the most is what would happen to you. What it
would do to you. He knew you'd take it hard. And he knew he wouldn't be
here to help you through it. He asked me to look after you and the boys. I
told him not to worry, that I would do it. I tried my best all these years
to honor his request." Brad said, staring off into space a bit.

"What's the matter, Brad?" Sean asked.

"I was just remembering back to that time. I mean that time I went to visit
him on the hospital..."

"Whadya mean?"

"Well, I guess I might as well tell you the story..."

"OK..."

Brad went on to recall his next-to-last visit to Andy in the hospital.


****ALMOST THIRTEEN YEARS AGO****


Brad was finishing up his work for the day. He called out to Kevin that he
was going to stop off at the hospital to visit Andy

"H... How's he doing?" Kevin asked.

"Far `s I know he ain't doin' good. He pretty weak `n' shit... Don't look
too good."

"And Sean? H... How's h... he is taking it?"

"Not good, either. This ain't gonna end well I don't think... Sean puts on
a strong face for Andy but they both know it bullshit. It hard t' watch..."

Kevin pursed his lips. "Y... Yeah. It is..."

Brad left the office and made his way to the hospital. Once there, he
parked and made his way to Andy's room. Andy was asleep. Brad's heart broke
at the sight. Two months ago, his friend had been the picture of robust
health. He was nearing his thirtieth birthday. He had it all. A loving
husband he'd known since they were boyhood friends, four good boys as sons,
a home the envy of entire the town, a successful civil engineering career,
a successful high-end interior design business on the side, independent
wealth, travel, still had his looks, and on and on and on. Andy really,
truly had it all.

And Andy had been a good friend to Brad. Honest and supportive. After Brad
was rescued at school that day, it was Andy and Brett that had appealed to
Brad the most, more than Sean or Tim. It was Andy and Brett who drew Brad
out of his shell and convinced him that he could trust the other two. God,
that was a long time ago, Brad thought.

But on that day at the hospital, to look at the ravaged, emaciated figure
lying in a hospital bed told a very different and dire story.

Just then a nurse came in with a small tray that appeared to be some
medication, or something. Brad didn't know what but doubted it could be
anything else. She gently roused Andy as she poured him a glass of
water. Andy looked up at the nurse, and then over at Brad, greeting him
with a weak smile.

"Hey, Brad," Andy said slowly and hoarsely once the nurse left.

Brad leaned over and kissed Andy's forehead. "How you feeling today?"

"It's no good..." Andy said, a tear in his eye.

"Tell me."

"I saw... I saw the doctor this morning. It's spread to my brain and my
liver. My liver is failing. Fast. He said I had days, maybe a week or
two... There's nothing more they can do... It's not their fault... We all
knew the bone marrow transplant was the last hope and it just didn't
work..."

Brad felt a tear course down his cheek, but he noticed Andy was stoic.

"Sorry to be a burden to you, Brad."

"Don't say that. I'm sorry, Andy, so sorry..."

"I know what this is gonna do to Sean-o. I just know what it's gonna do..."
Andy said, looking downcast as he stared blankly out the window.

"He doesn't know?"

"No... Not yet... I'm gonna tell him when he comes later. I have
to... Brad, when I'm gone please take care of Sean. Please watch over him
and the boys. They'll need it. I know they will. Please promise me."

"I promise, Andy. I will. Don't worry."

Just then, Andy dissolved into a horrific coughing fit. Brad hit the call
button next to his bed and took Andy in his arms until the nurse came. The
nurse immediately called for the doctor on staff. Brad was horrified.

"Sir," the nurse said to Brad, "I'm sorry but you're going to have to leave
now."

Brad nodded, again kissed Andy's forehead, went back to his car and headed
for his condo at the Monterey.


****BACK TO PRESENT DAY****


"I stopped in the next morning to check on him," Brad said, "and that was
the last time I ever saw him."

"I... I never knew... I never knew he asked you that. He never said..."

"I didn't think you knew. Some things are best left unsaid in the moment,
anyway. And everything after that was so fucked up. It was always gonna
be... But that was then, and this is now. I'm here to save you, Sean. It's
been long enough. I've watched you suffer every day since the day Andy
died. I waited and waited and waited for you to snap out of it, butcha
never did. If I don't do anything I'll be breaking my promise to Andy."

"I... I mean... I've been trying, but..." Sean croaked out as he broke down
crying.

"There wasn't anyone else around to do it, to watch over you and the boys,"
Brad went on. "Tim and Brett were gone out east, J.R. and Kathleen had all
those kids, your dad was in Florida, and everyone else had their own
lives. Andy asked me and I promised. I was the only one who didn't really
have a life.  So, my life became taking care of the boys. And watching out
for you."

"Now I feel like a total ass," Sean said.

"Don't feel that way. Andy was your whole life, Sean. Anyone could see
that. We all knew it. But again, that's not really the whole reason why I'm
here, is it..."

"Why then?"

"Like I said, it's because of what I told Andy I would do. I came here to
be your husband, Sean. But what about you? After all, you invited me here,
so there must be a reason why you did that other than to look at my pretty
face. If that was it, I could have sent you a selfie... But, yeah, that's
why I'm here. You're self-reliant, and you like to think that you can
always just do everything on your own. Just by your talent and your
wits. But you can't. You suck at doing it alone. Sorry, butcha do."

"You're just gonna walk in here and tell me that you're gonna be my
husband? Just like THAT?!"

"Yup. And I'm gonna be, too. Like I said, you're great at life, but you
suck at doing life alone. Totally. And I've watched you just about kill
yourself for close to thirteen years now. Enough is enough. You're not
going to do it alone anymore, Sean. I care about you too much. And I
promised Andy. So, why don't you tell me... Why did you invite me here?
This is a long way to drive for a take-out meal you know, Sean..."

"Because I wanted... I wanted to... I..."

"That's OK, Sean. Like I said, I know why I'm here and I just told you. And
just in case you think I don't get it; I know that I can never be
Andy. Andy was the love of your life. No one could ever replace him, and I
wouldn't even try to. But what I can be, what I will be, is your husband. I
can love you, and you can love me back, I can be your support and your
partner in life, because that's what this is, Sean, it's life.  But I'll be
Goddamned if I sit by anymore and watch you destroy yourself and waste your
life. Hell, we're not even 45 years old... So, yeah, that's why I'm
here. Now, you still haven't told me why you invited me here..."

"Because I wanted to... I mean, I was... Because... Because I had a talk
with Lennie. Just him and me. He said I should think about you. As in me
and you. He told me to think about it. I guess... Well, I guess I
did. I... I wanted to see if... Maybe...  BECAUSE I WAS GONNA MAYBE ASK YOU
IF YOU'D BE MY FUCKING HUSBAND IF I THOUGHT YOU WOULD! Or I thought I would
try to ask you... Try to reach out...  See if maybe... Maybe see if there
was anything to what Lennie told me... But I didn't know how to do it! I
figured once you were here I'd figure out how to say that kind of stuff!
But I couldn't... The words wouldn't come to me! Then I got scared and I
thought that you'd think I was an idiot to drag you all the way up here for
nothing! Maybe you'd think I'd gone completely nuts! There! Satisfied?"

"Well, that was hardly romantic, Sean, but I don't blame you for any of
that. Don't forget, I've been watching over you for years. I know you like
the back of my hand. And whether you know it, or not, pretty much all the
Consortium's financial stuff comes over my desk. I've saved you from a few
missteps over the years, Captain America. Never said a word about it
because there wasn't any point. That's one way I knew for sure that you
being alone wasn't working out."

"Was anything serious? I mean, anything I fucked up?" Sean asked,
embarrassed.

"One or two of them could have been. Maybe... Probably... Anyway, I just
made the necessary changes, had Kevin sign off on `em, and we went
forward. Don't worry, none of it cost anything really material in the end,
it was all just tax stuff... Sometimes it's not worth bothering the
boss. It doesn't matter now, anyway."

"Well, thanks... Now I not only feel like a total fucking loser, I feel
like an idiot, too..."

"You're neither. There was a lot that you held together. A lot that you did
well. But when it came to other people, you just totally checked out. And
that's because of what I said - you suck at doing life alone."

"Funny, Lennie used that phrase – checked out."

"Well, your sons and I talked a lot over the years. We still do. So maybe
one of us got it from the other, who knows, but that doesn't change
anything. Want another drink?"

Sean nodded and passed the joint to Brad.

His glass filled, Sean looked at Brad and simply said, "You're right. I
suck at being alone."

"Hey, it wasn't what I meant to do, to make you doubt yourself. As if you
ever have doubted yourself..."

"I guess I never have. With everything else, I guess I've never done that."

"No, you haven't. But you've almost ruined yourself. At least mentally,
anyway. You're not happy. Oh, sometimes you might look like everything's OK
and you're on an even keel and all that shit if you have to be `on' for an
hour or two but that's just an act you put on... I'd kinda like to see the
cocky guy who saved me that day make a reappearance..."

Sean took a long draw from the joint and washed it down with most of the
glass of his Old Fashioned.

"You're not taking no for an answer, are you..." Sean said.

"Hey, you're the one who invited me here, Bucko... You tell me..."

"I don't want to be alone anymore. I can't do it anymore, Brad..."

"I'm going to be your husband, Sean. And, like I said, I can never be Andy
to you, but I'm gonna be the next best thing. You know, you can't always
get whatcha want, but if you try sometimes you just might find you get
whatcha need. So, let's drink up and smoke up and let's go to bed. You're
not sleeping alone tonight."

For one of the few times in his life Sean followed someone else's lead. He
nodded, drank and smoked up and followed Brad back into the cabin.

For his part, Brad breathed a sigh of relief. He'd been as strong as he
felt that he could be, but he made his point and he was sure he'd got
through. He knew that Sean was outside of his comfort zone, but so was he,
by a mile.

"I'm putting my stuff in your room since we'll be sleeping together," Brad
said. Show me where that is..."

"It's here," Sean said, pointing into the master bedroom. "I'm gonna go
check on Tommy."

"Which side of the bed do you want?" Brad asked.

"Doesn't matter, just fold the sheet back for me, please... I'll be right
back."

It seemed weird to Sean, but he was somehow anticipatory at the prospect of
being in bed with Brad.  He hadn't said anything about it, but he hoped
Brad was naked. He almost felt himself slipping into his Black Dog, but he
didn't. He willed it away. He felt, well, he didn't exactly know how he
felt.

At Tommy's door he knocked.

"Yes?" he heard.

"I'm just saying good-night, Tommy. I'll see you in the morning, OK?" Sean
said, cracking the door open and noting that Tommy was already in bed.

"G'night, Grandpa..." Tommy sleepily replied.

Sean returned to the master bedroom. Brad had left the lamp on the
nightstand on Sean's side of the bed turned on. Sean began to remove his
clothes and paused slightly when he got to his underwear.

"Lose the drawers," Brad said.

Sean did so, and jumped under the covers.

Brad pulled Sean into him and Sean rested his head on Brad's chest. He
started silently sobbing. Brad said nothing, he merely held Sean close,
stroked his hair and rubbed his back. He held Sean silently until Sean had
sobbed himself out. Then he waited a minute before whispering to Sean.

"Everything is going to be OK. I promise. I'm here to take away your
pain. I'll do it if you'll just let me.  And I think you will. I love you,
Sean..."

"I... I... I love you, too. You came all this way to save me. Because you
promised And that you would. I...  I... I want to be my old self... Please
just help me do that..."

"That's my job from now on," Brad whispered as he rubbed Sean's chest. Brad
marveled at Sean's taught body. It appeared that over the years he hadn't
neglected everything. Sean's softly furry chest felt wonderful, the still
strong shoulder and back muscles were sublime.

For Sean's part, he always knew Brad was at least a couple inches taller
than he was, but instead of being too slim, or skeletal, Sean's hands found
Brad to be unexpectedly sturdy, if not well-muscled. Sean felt how his
shoulders were wider and tapered down nicely to a slim waist and beyond
that into strong thighs. He felt with his palm that Brad wasn't
smooth-chested, either.

Sean didn't know what to do. He WANTED to do something, but he was arrested
in that state of mind where one finds oneself caught between being
anticipatory and not wanting to take a chance on ruining whatever it was
that one conjured up to oneself. But, he did want more. That was
undeniable. He finally decided that enough was enough. And he did what he
hadn't done for many years. He squared his shoulders.

"Brad?" Sean whispered.

Brad had no idea what Sean was about to say, but figured it had to be that
he was about to be accepted or rejected.

"What?" Brad asked, after baring his soul and feeling as if he had
fulfilled his promise to Andy. If he was to be rejected, that wasn't
anything he could help. In that case, he would walk away knowing he had
done all he could.

"I know, well, I guess it's pretty much settled, but I still have to
ask. Will you be my husband? Will you marry me?"

"I'm going to fulfill my promise to Andy. And I'd marry you anyway. You're
a wreck and there's no one else here to put you back together but
me. You're also a wonderful man. There's no one else like you. Of course
I'll be your husband, Sean. Of course I'll marry you. In a heartbeat."

Brad was no fool. He knew full well the task he was about to take on wasn't
small. He wouldn't have even considered doing it unless he thought he could
make a success of it, and at the bottom line if he really didn't love
Sean. He did love Sean. His heart had gone out to him for years. And he
knew Sean had a lot to offer as a person, never mind the superficialities
of looks, dress, or money. Sean had a backbone.  At his best, he had
confidence. He was genuinely a nice guy. Even though he'd been bereft for
years and brokenhearted, Brad saw that there was still deep down inside a
live ember, no matter how small, of the person Sean once was with Andy at
his side. It would be Brad's job to tend that ember and to carefully stoke
it back into a fire. If Brad hadn't thought he was up to the task, he
wouldn't have gone to the cabin in the first place. Brad was no fool.

"Will you make love to me? Will you? Now?" Sean pleaded.

"How do you mean? When I turned tricks, I was pretty much a bottom. You
want me to top you?"

"Yes."

"OK, but first I need to make sure you got a clean hole. You think we can
both fit in the shower here?"

"Yeah, the shower's pretty big... Um, follow me?" Sean asked, getting out
of bed.

Brad extended his hand with a smile. "Pull me up and I'll follow you..."

Sean pulled Brad up, and standing in bare feet he was still a good two
inches taller than Sean. Sean almost gasped at seeing Brad's nude body
standing in front of him. Slim, yes, but perfectly proportioned.

The same golden-brown hair on his head showed on the rest of his body. The
downy dusting on his chest filling both pectorals and tapering down to his
navel then spreading out to a beautifully triangular pubic bush framing a
semi-hard cock that topped a nice, low-hanging set of balls. Brad's thighs
were on the slim side, too, but faultlessly proportioned and carried a
heavier dusting of golden-brown hair. Sean, having been a football player,
was more used to a football-player's build, or Andy's shorter but still
robust build. In front of him he gazed upon what appeared to be a slim,
dancer's body. He could feel his own cock filling.

Still having Brad by the hand, Sean pulled him into a full embrace.

For his part, Brad was almost consumed at the feel of Sean's athletic
body. The firm muscles, the supple pecs, the bulge of Sean's biceps and the
flex of his thighs he felt at they hugged.

Brad could feel Sean's gradually, sensually hardening cock against his own.

Sean smiled. A little.

Brad returned the smile. He pulled Sean into a kiss. An unhurried, warm,
lover's kiss.

He was gratified when Sean returned it. And he was gratified when he felt
Sean's cock still interested.

"Shower?" Brad asked, cocking his head.

Sean nodded and led Brad to the master bathroom.

Once in the shower, Brad turned Sean so that Sean was facing forward. Brad
doused Sean's head, applied shampoo, grabbed the body wash and a nice
loofah and began washing Sean's back, working down to his round buns. Brad
put the loofah on the shelf and began massaging Sean's ass cheeks with his
hands. Once he felt Sean relaxing under both the warm water and his
ministrations, Brad moved to Sean's ass crack.

He felt Sean give way rather than tighten up.

Brad reached around in front but low on Sean's torso and wrapped his hand
around Sean's now fully erect cock. Sean gasped; he felt a shock go through
him and his cock jumped. Brad liked the feel of Sean's cock in his hand. He
judged it to be nice and average. He thought that sometime when he had the
chance it would feel good to have Sean fuck him.

Sean returned the favor, reaching behind him and taking Brad's cock into
his own hand. He was surprised. Brad had a large, fat cock just like Andy
had. In fact, Sean had difficulty wrapping his entire hand around it. As
Sean's had done, Brad's cock pulsated at the touch. Brad groaned lowly and
gutturally into Sean's ear, his body shivering.

Brad dropped to his knees behind Sean. He parted Sean's cheeks, noting all
the while that Sean's ass was not smooth and the alluring treasure trail
running down his crack. Brad was in heaven. Physically, Sean was his
absolute ideal. At the same time, Brad bore in mind well that he had but
one chance to make a first impression as a lover.

Brad's lips softly engulfed Sean's hole, and his tongue lightly teased
it. Sean let out a groan and went wobbly in the knees. Brad did not
stop. He tongued and ate Sean's hole for a long while. After a time, he
reached a hand up to masturbate Sean's penis. Even though the shower was
on, Brad felt the sticky precum flow between his fingers, and he could feel
Sean breathing hard.

Brad stood up. "Think we're clean enough yet?" he whispered.

"Just... Just fuck me, Brad..." Sean managed to respond between gasping for
breaths.

Brad shut the water off, grabbed two towels, wrapped one around his own
waist and began drying Sean with the other. He could feel that Sean was
like butter in his hands. Quickly drying himself off, Brad took Sean's hand
and led him back to the bedroom.

"We need lube," Brad whispered.

Sean opened the nightstand and produced it. "Just fuck me!" Sean said,
handing Brad the lube and getting on all-fours on the bed.

Brad, proving surprisingly strong to Sean, flipped Sean right over on his
back. "I want to see your face when I cum inside you, Sean. And while I'm
fucking you. I need to know that I'm pleasing you. And I'll want to kiss
you while I'm inside you..."

Sean demurred, flipping his legs up and spreading his cheeks. Brad again
went down on Sean's hole, then lubed up two fingers and inserted
them. Sean's body jerked. Brad found Sean's prostate, massaging it until
Sean began leaking like a sieve. Brad lubed his cock, jacked it to its full
hardness and began to enter Sean's now quavering hole.

Sean gasped, then smiled, his eyes wide. "Shove it in!" Sean begged,
feeling the girth and heat of Brad's large erection. Brad obliged. Sean
stared at Brad's long, lithe body. With little excess fat, every flex of
every muscle was revealed in the dim light of the bedroom. Sean felt Brad
thrusting in and out of him.  Brad did so with authority, yet with obvious
affection. Brad leaned down to kiss Sean while continuing the fucking he
was giving. Sean reached down and masturbated his penis. Brad's cock felt
so good inside him. Every nerve from his sphincter to his prostate was on
fire, his body was jelly, and Sean was beginning to feel dizzy. He
masturbated his hard penis faster and faster until Brad batted his hand
away.

"You're not gonna cum yet, Sean... I'm gonna blow inside you and then
you're gonna stand over me and cum on me! I wanna feel your hot cum spew on
me, Sean!" Brad commanded as he commenced fucking Sean faster and deeper.

"Fuck! Fuck, Sean! Shit! Pulse your hole on my cock! Milk me, Sean!
Fuuuuuuuck... Do it!"

Sean did as he was told, being in a state of intoxicated rapture. His whole
body was shaking, his asshole pulsating, his raging boner leaking a river
of precum all over his lower belly and his pubes. One spurt of precum was
so substantial that Brad reached down with two fingers, scooped up a goodly
amount of it, sticking those fingers into his mouth, withdrawing them
slowly and lasciviously.

Sean begged Brad to fuck him harder.

Brad obliged until the last second.

"Oh, God! Sean! I'm gonna cum! Oh God!"

"Cum in me, Brad!" Sean demanded. "Cum in me!!"

"Oh, God! Oh, God! I'm gonna cum, Sean!" Brad said hoarsely and
breathlessly. "Oh God! I'm gonna cum!"

Sean felt Brad unleash six or seven hot cum volleys into his
intestines. Sean masturbated his cock furiously. But Sean remembered what
Brad said. He stood up, steadied himself with his left arm grabbing the
headboard of the bed while he continued to masturbate with his right. Sean
saw Brad's slim, taught body below him. He saw the man who had savored and
tortured his asshole. He masturbated faster and faster. "Stick a finger in
my ass!" he instructed Brad who obliged, finding Sean's prostate again
while massaging Sean's taint with the palm of his hand. Sean was
weak-kneed. He flexed his legs, thighs bulging and shaking. He was on the
hairline of cumming but wanted to hang on to Brad milking him.

Finally, Sean could stand it no longer. "Brad, I'm fucking cumming! Fuck!
Fuck! Here it comes!"

Brad's cock had long since returned to full hardness. Brad jerked his big
cock for all it was worth. "Cum on me, Sean! Make me cum! I'm gonna cum
again!"

Sean let out a gasp. He sprayed Brad's mouth and chest with gob after gob
of creamy, fragrant cum.  Brad lapped up the cum Sean sprayed on his lips
and mouth, savoring it.

"Oh, God! I'm gonna cum, Sean! Ungggggh! Uhhhhhh! Fuuuuuuck! Fuck, Sean,
FUCK!" Brad growled, letting fly a second sizable load, the first few shots
hitting himself in the face.

Out of breath, they both collapsed into each other's arms.

They hugged tight, kissing passionately. Sean raised his head up looking
Brad quizzically in the eyes. He studied Brad, the lines of his face, the
shape of his eyes, his graceful neck, his half-smile.

"You really do love me, don't you..."

"I wouldn't be here if I didn't, Sean. So yes, yes I really do love you. I
only hope that you will love me back."

"I promise you that I will, Brad. Believe in me. I need that more than
anything."

"I believed in you since the first day I met you. Maybe it didn't look that
way, but I did."

"Really? You did?"

"Yeah. Now let's go to sleep..."

In two more days, Brad started packing his things to return to
Janesville. He was happy. Happy that Sean had accepted him, and happy that
he would finally get to keep his promise to Andy. He crossed his fingers
for what lay beyond that. All the while Brad was packing, and Tommy as well
since he would be returning with Brad, Sean was pacing the
floor. Confronted with the impending reality that Brad and Tommy would be
gone, and he would be all alone a wave came over Sean telling him that he
really didn't want to be alone.

"You know what, guys?" Sean said. "I think I'm gonna go back with you. I
just... I mean, I just don't wanna stay up here alone. I need to get
back. Brad?"

Brad nodded, giving Sean a quick smile. "Thank you," Brad mouthed.

"I'll pack quick and then we can stop in Rhinelander for
breakfast. Anything else, I'll tell Tim to have someone come around and
clean and to send me the bill."

"I'm glad you're coming, Grandpa," Tommy said. "I want you to take me to
that school... The one you told me about... The one by the high school..."

"We'll do that, Thomas," Sean said.

Packed and on the road after a nice greasy-spoon breakfast, with Brad
driving, Sean riding shotgun and Tommy swallowed up in the massive backseat
of the big Buick coupe they motored their way out of northern Wisconsin.

"Grandpa?" Tommy asked.

"Whatcha got Champ?" Sean answered.

"Woll... I dunno..."

"C'mon, it can't be THAT bad..."

"Woll... Are you and Uncle Brad like, I mean, are you, um... Are you guys
like boyfriends and stuff?"

Sean was surprised and he looked side-eyed at Brad. Brad nodded.

"Thomas, I guess you could say that... See, you had another Grandpa. His
name was Andy. Andy Churchill. He was my husband. He died twelve, almost
thirteen years ago now..."

Sean went on to recount the entire story of his life with Andy, from when
they were small boys, to growing up in Kenosha, moving to Janesville, and
all the rest of it. He skipped over the story of how the twins appeared,
merely telling Tommy that he and Andy "started a family when they were
pretty young."

Sean could hear Tommy sniffling in the back seat.

"You OK, Thomas?"

"Yeah... I guess... You loved Grandpa Andy, didn't you..."

"Very much... He was everything to me..."

Brad reached across the console and squeezed Sean's hand three times with a
smile.

"He was everything to me. But I guess he couldn't stay," Sean said hanging
his head a little bit. "So, I felt bad about it for a really long
time. Uncle Brad promised Grandpa Andy to look after me when he was gone
but I didn't know about that. Now I know. So, anyway, Uncle Brad and I are
gonna get married. Whadya think about that?"

"Do I hafta call you Grandpa Brad?" Tommy asked.

"Only if you want," Brad answered.

"What are we gonna do about a wedding? I mean, do you want a wedding?" Sean
asked, looking at Brad.

"I think it would be nice. I don't belong to a church, though..."

"I belong to Saint John Vianney, but if we're gonna have a Catholic wedding
I'd want it at Saint Mary's.  Brett and Dix got married there, Danny and
Jim Nolan, too... Same day, same mass. They just did a massive renovation
and rebuilding on the church. They say they've restored the interior to its
original appearance from 1901, all the original paint colors, gilding,
stations of the cross, lighting, all of it. We can plan that. When should
we do it?"

"Soon I think..."

"I suppose we should look for a place to live?"

"Whadya mean?"

"Well, your condo's not gonna be big enough for us and I've been thinking
about selling the Alamo for a while now..."

"We'll talk about that later..."

Sean was surprised how assertive Brad had been over the past few days. It
was as if Brad had singlehandedly ordered Sean back to life and was
steering him subconsciously. He didn't mind it, though. It seemed almost
the same way that Andy had done it. That was scary to Sean in some way, but
in some other way it was reassuring. It was more so reassuring, actually,
Sean thought. He knew that an eight-cylinder engine firing on only four
cylinders was no good. Why had he done this to himself for so long?

He had no answer.

Or no answer that to him was really good enough. Why had he waited so long
to even ask himself the question?

"Fine, we can talk about that later, Brad," Sean said evenly.

It was hard for Sean to stay in the Alamo. All the memories of his dad,
Andy, the boys when they were small, and Mrs. Cheadle who was now supposed
to be their somehow Grandmother. It was a desolate cavity of its former
self with those memories lurking everywhere. Oh, sure, there were the
splendid renovations that Andy did to make the house look the way it always
had since they'd lived there, and of course all of the craftsmanship was
first rate, but for Sean there were just too many memories.

In every nook and cranny, and around every corner, there was the
ever-present, always-there ghost of Andy.

It was hard.

Sean finally decided he wouldn't argue. He'd wait to see what Brad had to
say.

"Thomas?" Sean said.

"Yeah?"

"When Uncle Brad and I get married how'd you like to be our ring bearer?"

"What's that?"

"Well, it's the person who keeps the rings until it's time for us to put
them on, and then the rings are presented on a little cushion. You'd hafta
dress up, though. We'd have a custom-tailored suit made for you. You'd be
perfect. Please?"

"OK, Grandpa. I'll do it. Do I hafta say anything?"

"Nope."

"That's good `cause I don't like talking in front of people I don't know."

"So you'll do it?"

"Yeah..."

"Who we gonna have as best men?" Brad asked.

"I was thinking that I'd ask Dix..." Sean answered.

"Well, I was thinking I'd ask Brett..."

"That works. We'll all get tailored suits. They wore morning dress which I
liked. It looked a lot better than tuxedos. What about flowers?"

"I dunno... I don't really know anything about flowers..."

"Me either."

"Well, maybe we can just find a florist in town who's done a wedding there
and tell them to just make it look good, show us what they plan, and then
we can sign off on it? That way we're not driving ourselves crazy over
that... What about a reception?"

"Well, we'd do it right around Christmas, give or take, right?"

"I think so... Let's see..." Sean called up the calendar on his cell
phone. "Christmas this year is on a Sunday. Weddings are typically on a
Saturday, so let's do it on the 24th? Saturday, December 24th?"

"A Christmas Eve wedding... I like that! We can tell the church they can
keep the flowers there for midnight mass. So, reception?"

"Country Club. That's the only place I can think of..."

"Yeah, but that seems kinda usual, ya know? Don'tcha think? How about that
music hall downtown?"

"The one that used to be a Methodist church?"

"Yeah, it's not so big, and we could have it catered from the Monterey..."

"I like that," Sean smiled.

Brad felt more confident seeing Sean smile. The whole thing had been a
whirlwind. But, Sean had committed, and Brad was sure that Sean would have
done no such thing if his heart wasn't in it. Brad felt that had to be
true. He supposed that the next month, or so, would tell.

"Thomas," Sean said, "I want you to call your dads and ask them what we
should do with you when we get back from Janesville. Tell them we'll be
back sometime around 3:00 in the afternoon, maybe 3:30, or thereabouts..."

Tommy dutifully complied. "They said you can take me home. One of them, or
both of them, will be there. They said I gotta call Mrs. Dickson, too."

"OK, Champ, and just one other thing..."

"What?"

"Well, the wedding, me and Uncle Brad?"

"Yeah?"

"Can you keep it a secret?"

"OK..."

"Because I want to announce it at Thanksgiving dinner."

"I think that's a good idea," Brad said. "You want me to get the house
ready while you handle the meal?"

"That would be awesome."

"I'll need a guest list. The names you think I won't know just make notes
as to who they are. That way it will be easier for me to plan out the
seating."

"What do you think for a menu?"

"It's Thanksgiving, just keep it traditional. That's what people will
expect. Now, as far as seating goes, what do you think about having all the
cousins seated together?"

"That's fine, and Thomas with them."

"What?" Tommy said.

"Cousins," Sean repeated. "Your dads and all of their cousins. And you,
too. You're new, you should get to know them. They're all your family now,
too..."

"But what if they don't like me?" Tommy said, obviously terrified.

"Tomas, they will like you. You're a blessing that's come into our
lives. Yes, they are all a little older than you are, but you're roughly in
the age range where you could be their cousin, too. So, meet your new
cousins. It'll be fine. I promise."

"Woll... Like... How many are there..."

Sean counted up on the fingers of his hand. "There's ten unless I missed
someone."

"TEN? That's a lot!"

"They'll love you. Don't worry. And you'll have some Aunts and Uncles to
meet, too... Relax, Champ, they're your family. They're all in your
corner. You gotta believe that."

"Woll... OK..."

"I promise, Champ. If I'm not right then I want you to tell me so, OK?"

"I guess... I'll try..."

"I know you will. I'll be right there for you, too."

"Me, too," Brad said. "You know, Tommy, I first met Grandpa Sean when we
were in high school and two guys were gonna beat me up because they wanted
money from me. I didn't know Grandpa Sean from a hole in the ground, but he
saw the whole thing and he stepped up and saved me. He didn't have to. He
could have looked the other way, but he didn't. Then he helped me make my
life better. See, I had just lost my parents a year or two before that
and..."

Brad recounted the whole story of that time of his life so many years ago,
including his turning tricks.  "And so, ya see, if Grandpa Sean says he's
in your corner you can take it to the bank. That was twenty-five years ago
and look at me now... I'd probably be working at Walmart and living in my
shithole old house if it wasn't for your Grandpa. He's gonna help you just
as much as he helped me. If you never believe in anything else, believe in
that..."

"It's hard for me to believe stuff sometimes," Tommy said, sniffling.

"I bet it is," Brad said. "I'd be surprised if it wasn't, but you promise
us this: you promise us if you're having a hard time believing something,
then you say so. We're never going to lay a hand on you, and we're never
going to hurt you, son. Ever."

Tommy sniffled in the back seat and curled up into a ball.

Brad could see a tear run down Sean's cheek, too. He reached over and
squeezed Sean's hand three times quickly again. Sean pursed his lips and
nodded.

That was when Brad knew, or felt that he knew anyway, that everything would
be just fine. Brad knew it had been a long, hard road for Sean. But Brad
had known long, hard roads himself. Brad thought if there was one thing
that would bind Sean with him it would be that. Brad knew that he was
taking on a considerable challenge with Sean. He was buoyant and confident,
though. Mostly.

For his part, Sean didn't know what he felt. He felt that maybe something
had been lifted off of him, but it was a vague feeling. He knew he would
marry Brad, he wouldn't go back on that, and he felt he even loved
Brad. The way Sean looked at it was that out of nowhere an old friend came,
an old friend with no baggage, who extended his hand and said to Sean that
he was offering him a new life. And that he should take it.

That was enough. Sean convinced himself that he could take that risk. After
all, what did he have to lose? But then Sean thought that was cynical and
ascribing ulterior motives to someone else when there was no reason to
suppose any existed in the first place - what risk was there?

Sean felt guilty then. To assume automatically that someone else might have
false pretenses. Least of all Brad who had never shown him anything but
kindness and loyalty.

At that moment Brad was feeling mostly hopeful. Sean was feeling hopeful
too, but also a little bit hopeless as people sometimes do when they
realize they have to part with sadness simply because sadness is all they
know. But they both earnestly to themselves wanted to make a go of it. Brad
was done waiting and Sean was ready, or as ready as he would ever be.

Sean looked at Brad and smiled.

Brad pointed his thumb toward the back seat where Tommy was curled up into
a ball and shrugged as if to say he'd like to know what that was all about.

Sean pointed to the text screen on the car's dash. He texted out, "The
twins say he does that sometimes if he's scared or when he's thinking. He's
not scared, so he's thinking."

Brad read the text and nodded.

Sean then added to it, "He's thinking what it's like to have a real family
because he doesn't know."

Again, Brad nodded.

Once back in Janesville, Brad dropped Tommy off at Joey and Lennie's house
on Garfield Avenue. Joey met them at the door. They went in and got the
grand tour as neither Brad, nor Sean had been in the place before.

"Jeez, this is a beautiful home," Brad said.

"We bought it right away once we saw it. It's one of the few Victorians
that never had any rooms modified, combined, or deleted. We, um, we used
what we thought dad might do as far as how it should look, I mean having
the house be what it is, an 1885 Victorian. It should look like what it
is," Joey said.

"We didn't hire a decorator, either," Lennie added. "We looked at a bunch
of colorized old photos and it was kind of obvious what to go by. The
furniture, dad? We just asked your furniture guy from the Monterey to come
over, we gave him a budget, and this was it... Yes, we paid him for his
time.  Handsomely, too."

"Good," Sean said. I'm not an expert by any means, but your furnishings
are, shit, sorry, but they're exquisite. Can I see Tommy's room?"

"Sure, dad!"  the twins said in unison. "Show us the way, son," they said
to Tommy.  Up the stairs they went to the second floor, then halfway down a
hallway that looked to be forty feet long then to the left and into what
appeared to be a suite of rooms.

There were doors leading to a large bedroom, a study probably the same size
as the bedroom and having a full bathroom off of it, and beyond that what
was furnished, including a blackboard, as a classroom. At the back of the
classroom were bookshelves containing every textbook that Tommy would need
to graduate from high school and some math, science, and history books that
would be well into college level shold he ever need them.

Sean and Brad were impressed.

"Little Tommy's got a good setup here. Nice call on the full-size bed
because he isn't that big, and if he grows you can always improve that. I
like the headboard, too That's an awesome craftsman-style piece. You guys
really did this place justice..."

"Yeah, it's nice alright," Brad echoed. "Well, should we get going?" Brad
said to Sean.

"Sure. OK, guys, see you later..."

Brad drove back up Garfield Avenue in the direction of the Alamo.

"You gonna drop me off?" Sean asked.

"Nope."

"Whadya mean?"

"I'm not dropping you off. I'm coming in and I'm gonna stay the night. I
have tomorrow off, too, and I figure we got a lot of stuff to plan
out. Besides, I want some more of what we had up at the cabin. Is it OK?"

"I was hoping you would... Would want more." Sean said somewhat sheepishly.

"We'll get to bed early tonight, have breakfast in the morning, and then
we'll plan. I figure we don't need that much time to plan Thanksgiving. You
got the meal covered and for the rest of it I'll get a hold of a catering
house for dishes, flatware, tablecloths, any extra tables and chairs we'll
need. You can include the drinks order with the food. We'll make sure the
bar is fully stocked and that's about it for that."

"Jesus, Brad!"

"What? Did I overstep?"

"Fuck no! I'll need the help. I think the biggest thing I hafta do tomorrow
is to line up the church for the 24th, I mean Saint Mary's. What do you
think if I got a hold of Archbishop Taylor in Milwaukee and asked him to do
the service?"

"Would he?"

"I think so. We've had a good, um, relationship over the years."

"I know... I'm one of your accountants..."

"I need to get the guest list for you so you can plan the seating. And I
gotta call T.J., Scotty and my dad so they're all here, too..."

"I think I wanna kinda mix up the seating a little bit so that not everyone
is sitting by the person they came with and stuff like that. Whadya think?"

"I think I'm pretty psyched about all this. I'm just..."

Brad leaned over and kissed Sean on the cheek.

"I'm still kinda scared, though, Brad..."

"Don't be. I promise everything will work out. You know Tommy, how we
talked to him that things take time sometimes? Well, it's the same for you,
Sean. I think you've already made your decision, right?"

"Yeah... I have..."

"And it is..."

"I'm gonna be your husband, Brad. If I decided, I won't take it back. I'm
just a little scared that you'll get tired of me."

"Tired of you?"

"Well, tired of how broken I am... Maybe in time you'll think it's not
worth it, not worth the bother for you..."

"You're forgetting one thing."

"What?

"I promised Andy. I'll never let that promise go, Sean. Never. And now I'll
say what you always say..."  Sean looked up at Brad with quizzical eyes.

"Believe in me."

Sean was gob smacked.

"That's all you need to do, Sean. Believe in me. I believe in you."

Sean sat silent. He felt like he'd been hit by a tsunami. At that moment he
lost the sense of fear he had.  Not fear of loving Brad, but the fear that
loving Brad meant that he had to give up the world of the black dog. He had
to admit that the black dog hadn't been a good companion. But that brought
on another dog. The dog that he'd basically abandoned his sons when they
were young and they might have needed them most.

The feeling was almost as bad.

"I know what you're thinking..." Brad said.

"You do?"

"Yeah, you've reconciled yourself about you and me, but now you feel bad
about your sons... Am I right?"

"Um, yeah... How'dja know..."

"Because it's how I would feel..."

"You know a lot, don't you. I mean about me..."

"I've watched you for years, Sean. Because I said I would. I never
interfered, but I watched. A few times I helped you into bed at the car
museum when you'd passed out from too much brandy. Don't worry, I never
blamed you. I never thought there was anything wrong with you. I was
keeping a promise. That's all... No doubt there was a time or two when you
woke up in the morning and didn't remember going to bed..."

"Yeah... Yeah there was... I mean, there was a time or two... That was
you?"

"It was me..." Brad smiled. "I promised, what can I say?"

"How did you get a key to the museum?"

"That's for me to know."

"What can I do to be as good to you?" Sean asked. "I'm just a wounded
soldier... I'm..."

"You're no good at doing this alone, Sean. Let's just leave it at that and
look forward. You're not a project for me, or someone I take pity on. I
really do love you; you know... I wouldn't be here if I didn't. I wouldn't
toy with you."

"Well, I'll try to be less of a downer then..."

"That would be constructive," Brad smiled and half-laughed. "You hungry?"

"I could stand a bite, yeah..."

"I'm in the mood for Chinese. Let's go down the Cozy Inn. You remember that
time we were down there in high school, I had just met you guys, and I
laughed at the old Chinese lady because she was acting like a Nazi and then
she hollered at me?"

"Oh, Christ, and And let you have it, too! You and your goofy
laugh... Yeah, I remember that..." Sean laughed.

Brad did not reply. He wasn't going to interrupt Sean's mirth. He hadn't
seen Sean laugh like that in a long time.

"Yeah," Sean said, "Cozy Inn is fine. Let's go... Can I drive the Buick?"

"Yes, I'm surprised it took you this long to ask... You'll like it, it's
pretty cool. It made the trip up to the cabin and back pretty easy..."

"Welp, I got the Suburban and then I got the old Malibu, so... I don't have
a real car, though. That Buick is a real car. I can tell."

"It was an impulse buy, Sean. I didn't need it. I knew you were gonna
invite me up to the cabin, so I went out and bought it. Because I thought
you'd like it..."

"So, maybe... I mean... When we get married we're only gonna need one nice
car... Can the Buick be that one and I can buy something more, um,
more... More modest for everyday use? The Malibu is getting pretty old and
tatty. I mean, I work from here in the house, and you could do that, too,
if you wanted, or else your office is only four blocks away..."

"Let's get back to planning, Sean..."

Sean laughed. He actually reached out a hand and squeezed Brad's shoulder.

"Oh," Brad said, "You prolly don't know this, or haven't noticed it, but I
wear contact lenses. I have a pair back at my place that are green with
gold flecks. I want to wear them at our wedding, but not before..."

"Ever worn them before?"

"Yeah, to work once. Don't worry, Kevin didn't notice. But I know they work
and they're' comfortable. I just want you to see me with them before I show
up with them in. I hate my eye color, Sean. It looks like a mud puddle, or
baby shit. My eyes are so flat..."

"Brad, I'd like to see you in those contacts. But if they don't work out,
it's not your eye color that I love..."

"So, you really do love me?"

"I really do, Bradley... I don't see why you'd want me, though..."

"Well, that's for me to decide, innit, Sean. I want the cocky guy I used to
know to come back. And I think I can make that happen, but I need that
cocky guy's help to do it... Is he gonna help me?"

"Yes... Yes, he will..."

"Good. Now, let's go get something to eat, and then when we come back let's
just hit the sack. We can get up tomorrow before the crack of dawn and
continue planning shit..."

"I have something I'd like to show you," Sean said.

"What?"

"Follow me..."

Sean took off, went up the stairs to the second floor of the Alamo,
disappeared into a bedroom and then came back out with a skeleton key in
his hand.

"Follow me!"

Sean went a little farther down the hall, stopped in front of a door, and
stuck the skeleton key in. He slowly unlocked the door.

"Lock's tight. Prolly because I haven't opened this door since, well,
since..."

"It's OK, Sean..." Brad said.

Sean had the door fully open by that time and beckoned Brad to enter the
room.

Brad was floored.

The room wasn't large. It and painted a warm, dark gray. On two sides of
the room were darker gray loveseats upholstered in what looked to be a
sturdy yet comfortable fabric. On the arm of each loveseat were fresh,
heavy, white cotton towels, face cloths and hand cloths. On a small table
to the side of one of the loveseats there appeared to be a selection of
personal lubricants, and some bottles of water.

"None of those lubes, or anything would be any good anymore," Sean said,
"but this was our room, the one we used for..."

"Fucking," Brad cut Sean off. "That's not hard to tell with the sling
hanging from the ceiling. You think the sling's still good?"

"Well, there's one way to find out..."

"Let's go eat and we'll find out after..." Brad laughed. He then grabbed
Sean, pulled him into a hug and kissed him. "I love you," Brad said.

"I know... I love you, too..."

After dinner, Sean got back behind the wheel of the big Buick Electra. He
looked over at Brad.

"You know, if we're getting married this quick we better nail it down with
Brett and Dix that they'll be best men for us..."

"I hadn't thought of that, but yeah..."

"Let's run over there now. I bet they're both home, I mean, it's 6:30..."

"Sounds good."

Turning into Winnebago Drive, Sean got a lump in this throat when Tim and
Brett's house came into view. How many hours had he spent in that home with
Ginny he wondered? Just as there would never be another Andy, there would
never be another Ginny. Sean could only describe Ginny as `larger than
life.' There had been other mentors in Sean's life, his high school
coaches, his dad, his old customer back in Kenosha who told him to always
stick up for himself, but as a mentor no one matched Ginny. Larger than
life, that had been Ginny Miller.

Turning into the driveway, Sean and Brad were immediately met by an armed
Wisconsin State Police officer. Sean rolled down the driver's side window.

"Gentlemen?" the officer greeted them, "What can I do for you?"

"We're here to see the Governor and his husband," Sean replied.

"I see. Are they expecting you?"

"No, but we're old friends."

"Please produce your drivers licenses, gentlemen. I'll see if they will see
you," the officer said, then radioing for a backup officer. "Once my backup
comes, I'll go inside. You are not to exit the vehicle unless granted
permission. Do you understand?"

"Yes, officer," Sean and Brad said.

A couple minutes later, the officer returned with Tim.

"Wymo! Brad! Well Jesus Christ! Hey, c'mon in!" Tim said. "These guys are
old friends, Steve," Tim said to the officer.

"You may exit the vehicle, gentlemen. Here are your licenses," the officer
said. "Please lock the vehicle after you exit."

"Thank you, officer," Brad said.

Once in the house, Tim said, "What brings you guys by? Want a beer? Let's
go into the family room. Hey, Brett! Wymo and Brad are here!"

Presently, Brad came down the hall and into the family room.

"Grab a beer, hun," Tim said to Brett. "So, yeah, anyway... What brings you
guys by?"

"Well..." Sean began. "We um..."

"Since when are you starting to get like Tim?" Brett joked. "By the way, we
got your Thanksgiving invite and we'll be there. Us and the boys."

"Good," Sean said. "Um like I was saying, we, well... We..."

"We're getting married and we came to ask you guys to be our best men,"
Brad cut Sean off. "Tim, you for Sean, and Brett, you for me. We're
planning December 24th."

"Well it's about fuckin' time!" Tim said, shaking his head.

"Which one of you guys went first, I mean which one asked?" Brett followed.

Sean was shocked.

"What?" Sean asked, "You mean you guys knew?"

"No, we didn't know," Tim said with air quotes around `know.' "But we
always figured that someday, somehow you two maybe might get together. I
know I've heard Lennie and Joey say that, that they wish you might..."

"I'm always the last to know..." Sean said. "Anyway, I invited Brad up to
the cabin for a few days and he announced that he was going to be my
husband and that was that."

"Well, you agreed!" Brad laughed. "And then you asked me to marry you later
on just to be sure..."

"Where are you gonna have the wedding?" Brett asked.

"We thought Saint Mary's. I'd like Archbishop Taylor to do the ceremony. If
he will..."

"Leave the Archbishop to me," Tim said. "He'll do it."

"So, will you guys be out best men?" Sean said.

"We wouldn't let anyone else," Brett said emphatically.

"Good," Sean said. "It'll be morning dress just like you guys had. We don't
need the mass to be in Latin like yours was. The church is gonna need to
get ready after the wedding for midnight Christmas mass anyway, so we'll
need to be done with it probably by no later than 2:00 in the afternoon."

"Reception?" Tim asked.

"Yeah, at the music hall downtown. Just simple. We'll have a buffet catered
by the Orleans Room at the Monterey, and an open bar. Not for too late,
though. We know everyone will be having Christmas the next day." Brad said.

"I'll make appointments for the tailor downtown for our outfits. Tommy's
gonna be the ring bearer.  BUT... No telling anyone! So far, only you guys
and Tommy know. We'll tell everyone else at Thanksgiving dinner."

"None of your boys know?" Tim asked.

"Nope," Sean said.

"Only you wold be so diabolical..." Tim shook his head. "Where you guys
going for your honeymoon?"

"Um..." Sean said.

"We haven't talked about that," Brad said. "This all just happened."

"Welp, I guess that's about all we wanted..." Sean said.

"Sean," Brett said, "thanks for writing the Lambeau speech for me. No one
can write like you can."

"Well, you improved it..."

"I did, but it hit every mark I needed to hit. The press went nuts. There
was even an article in The New York Times."

"Well, I didn't say anything that wasn't true," Sean said. "You've done a
great job. Did you know you would do a good job going in?"

"Honestly? I was scared shitless," Brett answered. "All I ever did was what
I said I was gonna do. That way no one could ever fault me."

"True that. Anyway, we better get going..." Sean said.

"Wait one, Wymo," Tim said. "Can I talk to you alone for a minute?"

"Sure. I guess..."

Tim and Sean went to the private three-season porch located at the back of
the house.

"Are you gonna tell me not to do this?" Sean asked, looking almost
panicked.

"Fuck no! Wymo, I think this is the best thing you ever did. Brad's gonna
make a fine husband. He's loyal, and he's smart even though we didn't think
he was very smart way back when. There's no bullshit about him. A lot of us
have thought for a while he'd be a good match for you. He'll help you. You
know that, right?"

"I believe that, yes..."

"I'm so fuckin' happy for ya, bud," Tim said, pulling Sean into a hearty
hug.

"Whadya think that's all about?" Brad asked Brett.

"My guess is that Tim's wishing Sean well. Those two have a pretty long and
deep history, you know. Tim was Sean and Andy's first friend when they came
to town. They were team mates on that State Championship team. Tim loves
Sean like a brother. And he feels bad that for all the years he was in D.C.
he neglected that friendship. He feels like he let Sean down, and no matter
what I've said about that, that's what Tim thinks. He feels really bad
about that..."

"I guess that makes sense..."

"And as for you and me, I'm happy for both of you. Sean's lucky. He's lucky
no one ever snagged you before. See, Sean's always needed someone. But he
needs someone like you, or like Andy. Someone who's strong, and
honest. He's needed someone for a long time now, Brad, and I'm glad it's
you. Out of all the people in the world, I'm glad it's you. God bless you
both, Brad."

"I really do love him, you know... I can't tell you everything, but I
probably should have gone after him a long time ago."

"I dunno, Brad. It might not have worked. He had to be ready for it."

"Yeah, but I hated watching him destroy himself all those years."

"I know. But that doesn't mean he would have been ready."

"You're probably right... I told him I can't be Andy but I can be the next
best thing."

"Nonsense. You'll be just as good for him as Andy was. Trust me. He'll
realize that in time and I'd bet not that long of a time, either."

"I'll do my best."

"It'll be fine."

Just then, Sean and Tim reappeared.

"Have a nice chat you two?" Brad asked.

"Yeah... Yeah we did..." Sean said. "Anyway, ready to go, Brad?"

"Ready when you are!"

After saying their goodbyes, Tim and Brett stood in the doorway and watched
the big Buick pull off down the street.

"Whadya think?" Tim asked, wrapping an arm around Brett's trim waist.

"I told Brad it'll be fine. That's what I think. It'll be fine."

"I think so, too. It's been a long time for Wymo. He deserves someone like
Brad."

"Brad is a hero."

"Yup."

Brad was driving the Buick and headed toward downtown.

"Where we going?"

"To that adult store on Main Street."

"OK..."

"Well, you said none of that stuff in the room with the sling was prolly
any good anymore, so we're gonna get some fresh stuff. And then I'm gonna
get naked and get in the sling and you're gonna fuck me."

Sean smiled.

"I, um... I've been thinking about that all day..."

"Really?"

"Yeah..."

It was Brad's turn to smile.

Three hours later Sean and Brad exited the little room on the second floor
of the Alamo.

"Jesus!" Brad said. "I didn't know you were gonna be able to go three
times!"

"Well, so did you!"

"Yeah, and now the room smells like sweat and cum."

"I think it's gonna smell that way a lot..."



****THANKSGIVING DAY****



Sean was up early on Thanksgiving morning. 5:30 in the morning. He went
down to the kitchen and put on a pot of coffee. The morning wasn't that
cold, even for late November, so he wrapped his bathrobe around him and
went out on the patio to smoke a Camel straight.

Sean chuckled to himself that Brad was just like Andy in that he never got
out of bed until he had to while Sean was a perpetually early riser.

Brad and Sean finished up decorating the house the night before, all of the
tables and chairs were in place, the tables were set, and there were name
cards at every place. Sean went back in and checked all the envelopes he
had. For each one of the school kids that would be in the kitchen and
serving, Sean had an envelope with $300 cash in it for the serving kids and
$400 cash for the kitchen kids as they would be working longer. He had
invited all of the kids' parents, too, and for each set of parents he had
an envelope with a $2,500 cash card in it. Sean had deliberately gone
through the school's records and offered the kitchen and serving positions
to the poorest kids. He reckoned the kids would be happy to be paid well
for their work, and Sean felt that they should be paid well for something
above and beyond.  He reckoned as well that these being the poorest
families in the school, the $2,500 would come in handy to the parents as
they tried to provide their families with a nice Christmas. Maybe they
could afford something extra that year, or pay a bill that had been hanging
over their heads Sean thought.

Sean walked through the rooms that were to be used as dining rooms noting
with approval Brad's selection of decorations. Each table had a
bountiful-looking wicker cornucopia filled with baby pumpkins, apples,
grapes, oranges, mint leaves, miniature wheat sheaves and dried Indian
corn. The sideboards had a smaller version of the same, the rooms were
adorned with baskets of fragrant dried flowers and necklaces of cranberries
strung together. The house looked and smelled marvelous. Sean had to admit
that Brad's decorating sense wasn't far off from Andy's, at least to judge
by this effort. It was simple, yet elegant and perfect for the holiday.

Sean checked the kitchen and found that to be ready as well. The two
eight-hole steam tables were in place, serving platters and utensils neatly
stacked, butter plates, gravy boats, and all sorts of other necessary
plates, platters, vessels and tools. There were to be six servers, two per
room, and Sean also noted that there were six fresh black aprons laid
out. Each serving kid had been given a credit at a local clothing store
with the instructions to purchase a pair of black pants, black belt, a
white dress shirt, black sox and black leather shoes. Sean had chosen each
piece beforehand, so all that need be done was for each kid to show up and
be fitted. The kitchen kids were four, and each of them had fresh kitchen
whites laid out for them with white aprons.

A blackboard was up on one of the kitchen walls detailing the meal and the
order of service.

Hors d'ouevres were brought in by the Orleans Room at the Monterey and were
in the refrigerator.  Service would begin at 1:00 p.m.. The kitchen kids
were told to be there by 11:30 and the servers by 12:30.

There was nothing left to do, and nothing had been left to chance.

Later in the morning, the first guests to arrive were Joey, Lennie and
Tommy. Then came T.J. and Scott with their fiancés and their
parents. J.R.  and Kathleen together with their seven kids walked over from
their house three blocks away. Danny and Jim Nolan were there. Then came
Tim, Brett and their boys.  Billy Dean and Eric came. Tom Cunningham and
his wife and kids, Joe Wyman and Mrs. Cheadle, George and Peggy Dickson,
David Dickson with his wife, two daughters and two sons, Kevin Dickson,
Tory Trager and Mark Braden were there. Even Archbishop Taylor came down
from Milwaukee.

Everyone was told that the bar was open. Sean had a bartender from the
Country Club on duty and people could get whatever they wanted.

People mixed freely. Everyone seemed to be having a good time. The food
came in delivered by two vans from the Orleans Room. The kitchen staff made
short work of getting everything in the prepositioned steam tables and
ready to serve, thermometers verifying that the food would be at the
precise temperature it needed to be.

Brad pulled Sean aside and whispered at him to look over near the corner of
the bar. There, Sean saw that engaged in animated conversation were Kevin
Dickson and Tory Trager. Tory was actually smiling.

"Well, whadya know..." Sean said. "Do you think Kevin is, you know, gay?"

"And stuff?" Brad laughed. "Sean, I've worked for him for how many years?
Yes, he's gay. I mean, he never told me he is, but it was pretty obvious."

"But... Tory Trager? I mean, he can be such a jerk sometimes..."

"Ah... I think he's mellowed out a lot over the years. He grew up to be
pretty good-looking, I mean look at him!"

"Well, I'll admit that, he's handsome alright..."

"So, do you think they could, you know..."

"Why not? We'll see who Tory leaves with," Sean laughed.

Just then, Alan Kohler, Scott's fiancés Allison's father came up. "Just
wanted to thank you for inviting us.  Great place you got here, Wyman. They
don't make places like this anymore."

"No, no they don't. I've lived here since I was seventeen. My dad owned it
and then I bought it from him."

"Is your dad here? I'd like to meet him..."

"Oh, yeah, he's here. I'll introduce you..."

"Great, but one thing before you do..."

"What's that?" Sean asked, somewhat apprehensive.

"Well, don't say anything. I'm sworn to secrecy, but Allison's
pregnant. They said they tried not to get pregnant, but I guess it didn't
work. She's about eight weeks along now. I think they want to get married
pretty quick, before the baby's born. What do you think?"

"Wow!" Sean said. Then he broke into a smile. "Wow! We're gonna be
grandfathers! I think this is awesome! What do you think?"

"I think I was hoping you'd say that," Alan Kohler smiled.

"Oh, and I'm sorry for the oversight, but here's someone I'd like you to
meet. Alan Kohler, this is Bradley Fletcher. Bradley's my fiancé."

"Pleased to meet you, Bradley," Alan Kohler said, extending his hand. "Yes,
Scott told us that he'd had two dads and one of them died some years
back. I'm sorry about that. Anyway, your Scott is a fine young man. And I
wish you guys all the best. Like I said, this is quite a place you got
here."

At that moment, Brett came up to thank Sean and Brad.

"Great job, you guys! This is perfect. I haven't ever seen this place look
this way. It's, well, it's festive!"

"Well, if it isn't the Governor!" Alan Kohler said. "How you doing?"

"Just fine, thanks, Alan. And thank you for bringing that iron casing
operation back to Wisconsin. Those 1,500 jobs mean a lot!"

"Couldn't have done it without you guys in Madison making it sensible from
a business standpoint. By the way, nice job in the election. How many seats
did you pick up again?"

"Well, we were never gonna pick up that many because we had big majorities
to start with, but after the election we've got 77 of 99 in the Assembly
and 26 of 33 in the Senate. I'm afraid it's probably downhill from
there. No one's ever had majorities like this before. People wll get tired
of us just like they get tired of everyone if they stay too long."

"Well, you're gonna run for a second term, right?"

"I'll hafta cross that bridge when I come to it. I never ran in the first
place so I could be a career politician. Never planned on it. I'll have to
see where we are when it's time to decide that."

"Be a loss if you didn't have another term."

"Between you and me, we're planning to put a few things in place that will
make our reforms difficult at best to undo no matter who's in office. I
think that's wise. No one likes government-by-slingshot. We've got a lot
more done than we'd planned to by this point, so... I guess I'll just hafta
see. My life is here, not in Madison..."

"Can't say as I blame you, Governor."

Sean and Brad then separated and made the rounds of the guests.

Once seated for dinner, and Sean having handed out the money envelopes and
cash cards to dumbstruck students and parents, everyone was seated. The
service came off as professionally as would be expected in any good
restaurant.

The fare was traditional, as Brad had suggested. There was white and dark
meat roasted turkey, rich dark turkey gravy, sage and onion bread stuffing,
creamy whipped potatoes, fresh corn, asparagus with Hollandaise sauce,
crisp, hot yeast rolls dripping with butter, fresh cranberry sauce with
julienned orange peel, and apple, pumpkin and cherry pies with house-made
vanilla ice cream.

Everyone ate their fill and was stuffed. Once the main service was over,
there was a special table set up in the library for the kitchen kids and
servers so they could each have their fill, too. The kids then trooped off
to the kitchen and packed up the leftovers to take home with them.

Sean banged on his glass with the edge of his knife in order to get
everyone's attention, and then he stood.

"Thank you for coming, everyone, and I hope everyone got their fill. I'd
like to thank our kitchen staff, serving staff and our bartender, too. None
of this would have happened without them. The kitchen and serving staff are
from a local school, they're learning valuable skills and I'd say they're
learning well.  Good job, guys! Anyway, I have something important, well,
it's important to me, that I'd like to share with everyone..."

At that, Alan Kohler almost swallowed his tongue thinking Sean was going to
announce that Allison was pregnant.

"I've been alone for a long time now, and it hasn't been a happy time for
me. It's been a very dark and difficult time. But a few weeks ago, someone
I've known for many years came into my life in a way I never expected, and
we've decided to get married. Up until now, I hadn't told pretty much
anyone. I wanted to save it for today. Anyway, we're getting married
December 24th at Saint Mary's and the Archbishop of Milwaukee, Archbishop
Taylor who is here with us today, has agreed to officiate at our mass.
We'll be sending out invitations, but you are all invited. Anyway, I owe
this person an incredible debt."  Sean then raised his glass toward
Brad. "To my fiancé, Bradley Fletcher."

Joe Wyman caught his son's eye and with a smile raised his glass to Sean
and then to Brad. "To Sean and Brad!" Joe said.

Sean thought that of anyone, his father knew what he'd been through. Losing
a beloved spouse at a relatively young age with a young kid to take care
of, or four of them in Sean's case.

"Thanks, dad," Sean said, his eyes moistening.

George Dickson began applauding and soon everyone in the house was
applauding Sean and Brad. Sean half-smiled somewhat shyly, uncharacteristic
for him, while Brad looked on unperturbed and simply nodded his
appreciation.

Unnoticed by Sean and Brad, or Joey and Lennie, at the cousin's table Tommy
had indeed made a hit with the younger relatives. He told of being found
all beat up, then taken in by Joey and Lennie and in quick order being
adopted. He didn't mention all of his circumstances as he was still too
shy, but he came out of the whole thing with a good deal. Kevin and Maggie
invited him to meet them after school the next week and they would show him
around and make sure he met the Principal. Tommy said he would as long as
one of his dads could drop him off. Kevin volunteered to drive him home
afterward and Tommy was fine with that. Tommy was still a bit afraid of
walking down the street, or in other open areas, on his own.

Hours later when all the guests had left, and everything had been taken
down, Sean and Brad sat at the bar. Brad was behind the bar mixing Old
Fashioneds. Sean rolled a joint.

"Sean, this was a really great day. I've never had one like it. It was
magical..."

"It went well, that's for sure."

I wanna say something..."

"What?"

"You're not selling this house."

"I dunno... I mean, everywhere..."

"Yes," Brad cut him off. "Everywhere you turn in here is a reminder of
Andy. Something here, or there. I understand," Brad put his hand on
Sean's. "But this is your home. It's your family's home. It's the heart of
everything, this old house is. I understand how you must feel, but think of
that. Besides, there will be memories of Andy wherever you go for the rest
of your life. That's just how it works. This is your home, Sean. This is
where you belong. And if you do sell it, I'll buy it and we'll hafta live
here anyway."

"You drive a hard bargain, Bradley..."

"Sorry."

"Don't be. And you're right. I don't think another house would do. Not
after this one. I guess if there are memories of Andy here, there are also
memories of me here, too. And dad, and J.R., and the boys, and Mrs.
Cheadle... I guess in time there will be memories of you, too. You're
right. I'm not selling this house."

"I'm glad. We can figure out some updates if you want after the wedding,
but even if it stays how it is this is a grand home, Sean. And like I said,
it's the heart of everything..."

"Tomorrow we'll finish the wedding plans," Sean said. "I think I could turn
in. Bedroom? Or...?"

"I think `Or' sounds good."



END CHAPTER 68