Date: Fri, 28 Sep 2012 20:34:19 +0200 From: Fred Harris Subject: The feint smell of rain - Chapter 6 This is the true story of a chance meeting, and the events that followed it, that had a profound impact on my life. I have changed the names of the people involved, but all places are the actual places where the events took place. It is set in South Africa during the 1970's, a very conservative and turbulent place at the time. The story contains scenes with drug use by, and sex between, underage boys. These scenes are there merely to tell what actually happened, and are only included where it is deemed to be necessary, to know the circumstances under which it took place and to advance the story line. If it is illegal in your territory to read this, or if you object to any of the above on any other grounds, do not continue. It is a poignant tale of love, discovery, triumph and tragedy experienced by two teenage boys. The Feint Smell of Rain Chapter 6 On Wednesday morning the sound of running water woke me up. At first I was disorientated, not knowing where I was. Then I remembered that I was with Ben. I listened to the sounds from outside the room and realized that it must be Bernie getting ready for work. I also smelled rain. I got up slowly out of bed, not to wake Ben, and looked through the thick curtains. There was a soft drizzle outside, as was common on the Highveld for the time of the year. The seven day rains. During the rest of the year, the rain was usually accompanied by fierce thunderstorms. It came down in buckets, and half an hour later the sun would be shining again. The soft rain of fall stayed for a few days, and was usually the last rains before the onset of winter. I slid slowly back onto the bed. Ben sleepily pulled me closer to him as I lay down beside him. "Where are you going?" he asked softly. "Nowhere..." I said "I just looked... it is raining outside." "Nice... I smelled it coming yesterday." he said half asleep. "I remember." I said. We cuddled together and fell asleep again. I woke up again later when I felt Ben get up from the bed. He walked over to the window and opened the curtains. The light from the day outside filled the room. Ben stood for a while and looked at the rain falling outside. He looked over to me and noticed that I was awake. "Morning, sleepy head." he said with a smile. "You want a cup of coffee?" "That would be nice." I accepted. Ben put on some shorts and left the room. I heard him and Alinah having a conversation in Zulu in the kitchen. Then the kettle whistled as the water started to boil and I could hear the rhythmic clicking of a teaspoon on the porcelain as the coffee was stirred. Ben entered the room with two cups of coffee. I sat up in the bed and he handed me a mug. He sat next to me, on the side of the bed, and blew over his mug to cool the coffee down. "Mama's making sausages and eggs." he said matter of factly. "Tonight is macaroni and cheese night. She always makes macaroni and cheese when we have sausages and eggs for breakfast." We drank our coffee in silence. I thought that, even though we have not even known one another for a full week, we have already reached the stage where we are completely comfortable and at ease with one another. Jamie walked sleepily into the bathroom across from the room. "Hi, little man." Ben greeted him. "Hi Benny," Jamie greeted back "it's raining outside." Jamie had his morning pee and came into the bedroom. "It's going to be a boring day..." he said "it's raining." "Rain's nice... I love the it." said Ben "Are you enjoying the holidays" he asked Jamie and then said to me "It's Jamie's first school holiday." It never crossed my mind that the boys were actually attending school. Jamie stood next to Ben and put his arm around his neck "No. I miss my teacher." Ben picked him up onto his lap and held him tenderly. "You do?" he asked. "We all loved our teachers in grade one." "And you'll still wish the holidays will be longer and come sooner." I said. "I like school." Jamie said. "Don't worry, you'll still grow up, little man." Ben chuckled and ruffled Jamie's hair as he picked him up off his lap. "Are the other boys up?" "Yes," Jamie answered. "Love you, little man." Ben said. "Go see how far Mama is with the food." The tenderness that Ben treated Jamie with left me with a lump in my throat, more so when I thought of the circumstances the little boy found him self in. "You are a good person." I softly said to Ben. "That was very nice to see." "He's such an angel... one can't help but love him." Ben said. "I so wish it could be different for him." "Where do the boys go to school?" I asked. "Doornfontein... just a few blocks away." Ben said. "Jason goes to school in Bramley. He is a bit slow... academically, and has been transferred to a special high school on account of his age." "How did he land up here?" I wanted to know. "Bernie found them... him and Andrew, sleeping on the streets... about a year ago." Ben answered. "They are from Brixton. Andrew has been regularly beaten up by his drunken stepfather, and Jason came from a large family. Bernie went and saw the families. Andrew's mother agreed that he can stay here and Jason's sister knows he is here. She works close by, but cannot take care of him herself. His mother does not really care... and neither does Jason, he never goes home." "Peter." I asked. "Peter's mother... she can't take care of him. He has lived with us since we moved in here" he explained. While I tried to get my head around the family circumstances that drove then away and into the life they were leading, Alinah came into the room with our food. Two pork sausages, scrambled egg, baked beans and toast. We ate our food in silence and when we were finished took the empty plates to the kitchen. After breakfast we decided to have a bath. Ben ran the bath water and we went over to the bathroom and closed the door. When the water was ready, we got into the bath together and just lay in the water for a while before we washed one another while standing in the bath. When Ben soaped my hard dick, he started to wank me off. I just stood and enjoyed the sensation of his hand stroking me over the slippery foam of the soap. After a few minutes, he stroked only my dickhead in circular motions, and I shot my load all over his chest and arm where he was sitting on his haunches in front of me. He stood up in the bath and kissed me while he wanked himself. We stopped kissing when the door opened. Ben was close to orgasm, and continued to wank as and Jason came into the bathroom, and immediately turned around to leave again. "Sorry, I didn't know you were in here." he said and then added as he gave a last peek before he closed the door behind him. "Watch out, you are going to strangle that little thing." "Close the door, arsehole!" Ben shouted at him and at that moment shot his load all over my stomach. "Little shit, thinks because he has a donkey dick he can criticize. At least this works." he said as he recovered from his orgasm and smiled before giving me another kiss. We washed the cum off us before we got out of the bath and dried ourselves and went to the bedroom to get dressed. Alinah had made the bed while we were having our bath. "I want to go see Tino today." Ben said while we got dressed. "The owner of Europa... I want to hear if I can display some artworks there. And maybe I can be a barman there." "You know him well?" I asked. "Not too well, but we greet when we see each other." he explained. After we had finished getting dressed, Ben and I left to go to Club Europa. Alinah was having a heated argument with the boys, lamenting the fact that it rained and that they were in her way. They in turn complained that they can't go out in the street in the rain. When we arrived at the entrance to the club, Ben pressed the button on the intercom system. Someone answered from inside and Ben explained who he was and asked if he could go up. The person asked him to wait. After about two minutes a tall dark man with shoulder length hair came down the stairs and opened the door. "Oh, I was wondering who it was. Hi Benny, come inside." he invited us in. We followed him up the stairs and into an office leading from the lobby on the first floor. "Thanks for seeing me." Ben said. "It's all good." Tino said. "What can I help you with." Ben explained that he thought that the club, being a gay venue, was the perfect place to display his art. He described to Tino the nature of his work and suggested that they could split the proceeds of any sales. Tino thought about it for a while, then said. "I do not think that this is the best place to try and sell your work. You know, the people that come in here are out to have a good time and would rather spend their money on liquor and try and get into someone's pants. I doubt that they would even notice your work." "I understand." Be said disappointed. "But I have a friend, Dimitri, that has just opened a new coffee shop in Quartz Street." he continued. Tino picked up the phone and looked through the numbers in his Rolodex. "Let me phone him." he said. Tino phoned and told his friend about Ben and his work and wanted to know if he could send Ben over to speak to him. When he put the phone down, he said. "He is available now if you want to go there." He gave Ben directions to the place. "You need a barman maybe?" Ben asked. "They come and go. I always need replacements on my books." Tino said. "Who is looking... you?" he asked looking at me. "No..." I said "Ben" "Won't work, Benny." Tino said. "How old are you...fifteen... sixteen?" "Sixteen." Ben answered. "I can't employ underage barmen. They will close me down. Anyone working in an establishment that sells liquor must be over eighteen." Tino explained. "I also only allow you into the club because I know you... we don't want trouble with the law... But speak to Dimitri about it. He is looking for waiters." Ben thanked Tino for seeing him and for going through the trouble of phoning his friend. "I appreciate it Tino." he said as we walked down the stairs to the door. "It's all good, Benny. I am sure you and Dimitri can work something out." Ben and I walked the few blocks up the hill to where Tino said his friend's place was. Down Quartz Street and just one block into Berea, Ben turned onto a mall on the right. We went up a wide staircase and found the place on the first floor. Cafè Pigalle was a large coffee shop. It had tables and chairs in one section that spilled to the outside. There was a counter with several high chairs and the rest of the place was filled with comfortable tub chairs and leather couches that were arranged into a host of cozy lounging areas. In the far corner was a stage with a grand piano. Some of the walls were mirrored and it made the huge venue look massively large. There were lots of potted plants all over and the area with the chairs and couched was plushly carpeted as opposed to the tiled floors in the tabled area. Ben asked a woman behind the counter where he could find Dimitri. She asked us to follow her and pointed to an office just off the kitchen. Ben knocked and opened the door. He explained to the man inside that Tino phoned and made an appointment. "Oh yes, I am Dimitri." the main said and got up from behind the desk and shook our hands. Ben introduced me and himself. Dimitri was a large man who smiled easily and his friendly demeanor made us feel at ease immediately. He was dressed in a white chef's uniform. "Tino said that you are an artist. You are very young." Dimitri observed. "Yes, I am sixteen." Ben said. "You any good?" Dimitri asked straight to the point. "I believe that I have talent." Ben answered. "You did not bring anything with... for me to see" Dimitri said. "No, it is raining... otherwise..." Ben said. "So, how do you expect me to make a decision of I have not seen your work?" Dimitri interrupted Ben. "You're right... but I did not really expect to be here... apart from the rain." Ben struggled to explain himself. Then he asked with more confidence. "You have a pen and paper I can use?" Dimitri handed Ben his pen and a piece of scrap paper. "Let me explain my work to you." Ben said and started to draw on the paper at the same time. "Most of my work is in pencil, ink or charcoal. I paint as well, but it is expensive, and I really cannot afford it. It is mostly anatomical studies, of the male body. I focus on a particular area, such as a shoulder or nice stomach muscles... even a hand or maybe an eye. The work is mostly small in format, also because of cost constraints. I can do larger works if I can afford to. I have quite a number of works available at the moment. Most has already been framed. I used to sell in Joubert Park, but had to stop, as the subject matter was a problem for some people. Not that is pornographic or anything... but you know how some people are. Then I also do portrait studies. I love drawing faces, as there is so much to see and emotion to interpret in a face." With that he handed the piece of paper back to Dimitri. "You recognize yourself?" Dimitri took the paper and looked at the drawing for a while. "Mmm, interesting... this is me alright..." "You are welcome to come to my place to see my work." Ben said. "It would actually be better than me having to bring just a few examples. You can then see what I have and what you think will be suitable to display, if you so wish." "Yes, I think I will decide once I've seen what you can offer." Dimitri said. "Part of my vision for the place is to use at as a gallery for up and coming artists and a venue for young musicians. Cutting edge art... not your normal kitsch still life... and musicians, that are not your normal bar singer or rock band. Classical, jazz... chamber music... So, if your work fits my vision, we can talk." Dimitri and Ben made an appointment for two o'clock that afternoon, at the flat, in order for Dimitri to view Ben's work. When we left, Ben was upbeat about the prospects of having his work displayed at Cafè Pigalle. "You never asked about a waiter job." I said to Ben as we walked down Quartz Street past Fontana. "I know. I will ask him this afternoon." he said. "First I want to go and hear at Giovanni's, maybe Uncle Gio has something for me." We walked to Uncle Gio's restaurant. On the way there the rain started to come down more heavily. Luckily the covered sidewalks in front of the buildings provided adequate protection in order for us not to become drenched. We were however fairly wet when we arrived at Giovanni's. Uncle Gio was busy in the kitchen, as usual , when we walked in, but noticed us immediately. "Benny, my boy!" he shouted with his booming voice from the kitchen. "You just in time. I made the nice sweeta dumplings, justa right for the weather." "Hi Uncle Gio," Ben greeted "that sound very nice. We'll sit so long. I have something I want to ask you." Ben said to Uncle Gio at the serving hatch. Unlike the previous time we were there, when the restaurant was empty , there were several people there. We sat at a table close to the kitchen door. We hardly seated when Uncle Gio came through the door with three bowls. He put the bowls down on the table and took the tray back to the kitchen before he came and sat down with us. "You boysa eat!" he gave his usual command before he asked Ben. "What you wanta know from me, Benny?" "Let me introduce my boyfriend, Uncle Gio. This is Fred." Ben introduced me. "Yes, I remember." Uncle Gio said, not really acknowledging me. "This guy inspired me to change my life around." Ben said. "I am going back to school." Uncle Gio looked at Ben and then smiled. "Benny... whata you telling Me.?" "Serious, Uncle Gio... I am going to try and get into art school." Ben said. "Thatsa great, Benny! You shoulda done that long time ago!" Then Uncle Gio asked more seriously, reigning in his booming voice."And a... the other thing... you stoppa that too?" "What other thing, Uncle Gio?" Ben asked, not sure of what the old man was referring to. "You know..." Uncle Gio said with difficulty and looked at me before he continued "you...a... selling yourself." Ben was stunned for a moment. "You mean... me hustling... you now about that?" "Of course I know... your Mama, she cried a lot about that." Uncle Gio said. Ben sat in silence and looked at the bowl in front of him. "It a broka my heart that you do that, Benny. I see you from small, you a grow big before me. A good boy, clever... lotsa talent... but that broka my heart." the old man said softly, but passionately. "I am sorry, Uncle Gio..." Ben said with tears in his eyes "if... I did not know you... knew." "I know for a long time, Benny, but it's a none of my business. What I could do? I justa cook my food here in the restaurant. It is notta my business to try change things." Uncle Gio said. "I have stopped, Uncle Gio..." Ben said softly. "I am going to turn my life around." "You sure, Benny? I have heard lotsa people say that... but a not many did. Whata make you think you can?" Uncle Gio asked. "I fell in love, Uncle Gio." Ben said. "Before I met Fred I never even thought of... stopping. But when I saw his reaction when I told him about it... For the first time I realized that it was... wrong... unacceptable to other people." "This a boy... he the one that maka you stop?" Uncle Gio asked and looked at me as if he saw me for the first time. "Yes... he did not make me... I just want to be a better person for him." Ben said. "Uncle Gio looked at me. "You eata the dumplings." his voice boomed again. "When you finish, I bringa you some more." I knew that with those words, Uncle Gio expressed in his own way that he accepted me. He must have had his reservations about me, but Ben's decisions made him realize that he was wrong about me. There was a client who wanted to pay, and Uncle Gio got up from the table. Ben and I sat in silence and ate the dumplings. The dish consisted of creamy dough balls, soft and fluffy on the inside, in a sweet caramel sauce. It was piping hot. As I savored it, I thought that it was the best thing I ever eaten. "This is very tasty." I said to Ben, breaking a long silence. "It is..." Ben agreed, then added "I feel so bad." I put my hand on his. "I think Uncle Gio is very proud of you... so am I." Uncle Gio came from the kitchen with a large serving dish, and put it on the table before he sat down again. "You lika my dumplings, Boy?" he asked me and lifted the lid off the dish and poked at the contents with a ladle. "You a have you some more" he said. Before I could say I liked it or thank him, he just filled up my bowl. Then he asked Ben. "You wanted to aska something earlier, Benny?" "I need a job, Uncle Gio..." He said. "I thought maybe you need a waiter or something?" Uncle Gio sat in silent thought for a few seconds, then said. "But a, how will you handle the job and schoolwork?" "I'll cope... I'll just have to. I am going to have to live, now that... I have to get money somehow..." Ben said. "Here you'll get only tips. Some days a lot, some days a little. My cousin has pasta factory in Fordsburg. I give you the address... you go speaka to him." Uncle Gio said. Then he got up from the table and scribbled the address on a piece of paper at the till and handed it to Ben. "Tell him I sent a you. You boysa eat." he said before going back into the kitchen. "You are a lucky guy, you know..." I said to Ben. "I have not met one person who dislikes you. Everybody is keen to help." "I have never thought about it in that way, but I see what you mean." Ben said thinking. "One takes certain things for granted. Somewhere, sometime, I must have done something right." "I think that everybody realizes, just as I do, that you are a special person... so special that everybody is willing to see past... you know... what you do... did... and see the real you." I said sincerely. "Thanks... you are going to make me cry again." Ben said, and I could see that he really was close to tears. "What Uncle Gio said about my Mother... that meant a lot... I always believed that see did not care at all..." "I can see that there was a good relationship between them." I remarked. "When he speaks about her, I can see the softness... and pain in his eyes." "Yes... Uncle Gio was always there for her... she used to work here when things... when things were better for her. And he never judged her... I realize that too now... he was just there ready every time she needed his help... Without judgment or recrimination. I suppose... the same that he is doing for me now." Ben said softy. "I see that. Behind that gruff exterior, the old man has a heart of gold." I said. We ate some more of the dumplings in silence, before we decided to get back to the flat. We greeted Uncle Gio and thanked him for the treat. He greeted each of us with a hug and a big smile after he lifted the lid from the dish and noticed how much we ate. Then, as we left the restaurant, he told Ben to make sure that he go and see his cousin. When we arrived at the flat it was half past one. The boys were nowhere to be seen and Alinah has just finished the macaroni and cheese that we were to eat that night. She wrapped the square oven dish in a cloth and put it on top of the stove. Then she gave Ben instructions to put it in the oven to warm up before we had supper that night. Ben and I looked at his artwork in the lounge. He explained to me what inspired him to do some of the drawings. It was obvious to me that every piece was special to him, and that he considered each work to be a part of him. Some of the work was inspired by someone he knew or saw somewhere. Others were experimental and studies of what he considered ideal traits for the male body. Alinah was ready to leave, earlier than usual, as she had business to attend to. She greeted us, when Ben remembered something. "Mama..." he said "I want to show someone that drawing I made of you last year. Maybe he will exhibit it. You fine with that?" "Auh, Mashumane..." (Wow, Boy) she started to protest "you want to show my face to strangers?" Then she said something in Zulu, which even though I had no idea what it meant, I knew indicated that she was not happy. "Mama, I consider it to be the best work I ever did." Ben tried to appease her. "I will never sell it, but I think that if people see that, then they will really appreciate what I am capable of. Showing that to people can help me... to maybe make a lot of money." Alinah thought about it. "I am not sure I would like be seen by everyone." "Please Mama..." Ben begged. Alinah reluctantly gave her permission. "Thank you, Mama." Ben said and gave her a hug. "One day when I am famous, I will tell the world that it was because of you." "Tsk... suga wena." Alinah said and walked out the door. "I haven't seen the drawing of Alinah anywhere." I said to Ben. "No... It is rolled up under my bed." I did not have the money to frame it yet. Let me show you." he said and went to his bedroom. He took a large box out from under the bed. It had a lot of rolled up tubes in. He took the longest tube and pulled the rolled up paper from it and opened it on the bed for me to see. The pencil drawing was about one square meter in size. Alinah's round face filled the whole paper. She was laughing with her mouth open and her eyes nearly closed. Fine detail was visible, from the laugh wrinkles around her eyes, the lined texture of her full lips, the fine hair on her face and even the pores on her cheeks and nose. It was like a snapshot of a happy moment. I could almost hear her laugh as I looked at her face on the paper. I was in awe. "Fuck, Ben!" was all I could say. "This is my best..." Ben said "I will never be able to produce a better work." "How did you do it?" I asked. "She obviously did not pose for this." "It came from my heart." he said softly. "This is how I see Mama when I close my eyes. I know that face so well." "I could see that you have talent," I said "but this is beyond... My God, it is beautiful!" "Thanks." Ben said. "If that Dimitri guy has reservations..." "This will be the one that will sway him." I completed his sentence for him. Ben rolled up the drawing and pushed it back into its cardboard cylinder. "I hope he shows up." Ben said. We looked at the drawings on the walls in his room. At exactly two, there was a knock on the door. Ben went to open the door and I sat down on one of the chairs in the lounge. It was Dimitri. "Hi." Ben greeted him at the door. "Thanks for coming. Come inside." "Thanks." Dimitri said and looked around the flat as he entered. "You were not joking when you said that you have lots of examples." He said. "There is more in the bedroom." Ben said nervously. "You want something to drink. Coffee... cold drink... there should be wine somewhere?" "I thought this was going to be quick." said Dimitri. "Obviously not... I'll have that coffee then... Strong, not too much milk, two sugars" "Good." Ben said. "Sit... or you can look... while I make the coffee." "I'll look at your work in the meantime." Dimitri said and looked around the room. Then he went closer to one wall and started to look at the drawings. I sat and looked at him, trying to figure out his reaction. When Ben the coffee made he brought Dimitri and myself each a mug, before he went back to get his. When he had his coffee he asked Dimitri. "What do you think? Good enough?" "Some are better than others." Dimitri said contemplating the work. "Some could do with better frames." He pointed to small a drawing of a hand resting on an ankle. "This for instance would come more into its own when it is framed in a very large frame, with a lot of white space around the drawing." "I see..." Ben said. "You definitely have talent. The pencil drawings show good technique. So does the charcoal. The ink needs some refining... and the painting." Dimitri gave his opinion. "You getting some formal training somewhere?" "No... But I want to go to art school." Ben said. "I hope that I will be accepted." "Oh, you will be." Dimitri said while sipping his coffee. Ben winked at me with a smile. Dimitri carefully looked at the work commenting every so often about something that he liked or that he thought can be improved upon. When he finished in the lounge, Ben took him to the bedroom to see the work there. I followed them. "Wow! Stunning decor!" Dimitri said as he walked into the bedroom. "Whose room is this?" "Mine." Ben said proudly. "Dramatic." Dimitri said as he looked around the room. "You did this?" "Yes... my little heaven on earth" Ben said. "Your parents allowed you to paint the place black?" Dimitri asked. "You're lucky." "My parents do not live here." Ben informed him. "OK, that explains it..." Dimitri said. "You two share the flat." "You can say so... for the moment." Ben answered evasively. "The bunk beds... I thought your family lives here." Dimitri pried further. "Let me show you this..." Ben changed the subject and pulled the drawing of Alinah from its tube. Then he unrolled it on the bed. Dimitri looked at it for a long time not saying a word. "Stunning... Exceptional..." he said when he eventually spoke. Then he asked with his eyes still fixed on the drawing. "Any more portraits?" "A few." Ben said and rummaged through the tubes in the box. He took one out and I noticed "Jamie" written on it. He unrolled it and kept it flat on the bed. The drawing was of Jamie. It was much smaller than the one of Alinah. It showed his face slightly from the side. He was looking onto the distance with his sad eyes. Again all the fine detail was captured. "This is beautiful." Dimitri said. "This is what you should focus on. How long did it take you to draw this?" he asked. "A few days... maybe twelve hours in all." Ben said. "Let's go and sit down." Dimitri said. "My first instinct was right... let me explain what I have in mind." We went to the lounge and sat down. "We're sitting..." Be said and looked expectantly at Dimitri. Dimitri laughed. "I want my coffee shop to become the meeting place for everyone in the area, old young and in between. It will be open twenty four hours a day. People can have breakfast, then read their newspapers, have business meetings, relax with a beer or glass of wine after work and relax with their friends at night." he explained. "I want it to be like a second home. Everyone around lives in flats, and a good percentage live alone. Pigalle should be where they want to go when the flat gets too small or lonely." "Sounds interesting" I said. "Sure does..." Ben agreed. "You are a good artist." Dimitri said to Ben. "Those portraits are exceptional. You have real talent in capturing the emotion in a face... the essence of the person. That little quick drawing you made of me earlier today... How long did it take? Maybe three minutes?" "Right." said Ben. "What if you sat for thirty minutes?" Dimitri asked. "I can do something in that time. Although, not what you saw in the bedroom." Ben said. "I'd like to see what you can do with a little more time." Dimitri said. "Let me get my sketchbook and pencils." Ben immediately said and stood up. "No...no... not now." Dimitri stopped him. "Oh, sorry...when?" Ben asked. "What I have in mind is that you spend Friday and Saturday nights at the shop and draw the people. Kind of like a French sidewalk portrait painter, but not French and not on the sidewalk... obviously." We laughed with Dimitri at his joke. "I can do that." Ben said. "What's the bottom line?" "What do you mean" Dimitri asked. "What is in it for me?" Ben asked to the point. "You get paid... for your drawings... by the patrons, of course." Dimitri said. "And you? You get a percentage?" Ben wanted to know. "No, I get the clientele and you as an attraction." Dimitri said. "Of course, your other stuff that I will display in the place... I will take a percentage of those sales." "Well... I do not know what to say..." Ben said with a huge smile. "Thanks would be appropriate." I said, exited for Ben. "Yeah...Thanks!" Be said and went over to shake Dimitri's hand. "Wow, you really mean it?" "I do... I think we can have a mutually beneficial relationship here." Dimitri smiled. "When do I start..." Ben asked "Friday?" "Yes. First I want you to draw me and the staff. Just to get the customers interested. I do not want to use hard sell, they must request the service." Dimitri said. "We must select some works to display. And I want to display those portraits as well." "Deal" said Ben excitedly. But we cannot take my work out in the rain." "I will come again ad we can go through them. Even the ones you do not have framed." Dimitri said and got up from the chair and slowly went towards the door indicating that he wanted to leave. "As soon as the rain stops we can make an appointment. Now I must be off." We walked with Dimitri down to the bottom floor and greeted him. Ben thanked him again before he ran through the rain towards his car. We walked hand in hand up the stairs back to the flat. I could see that Ben was over the moon and so was I. We were just back in the flat when Bernie arrived home. It was Wednesday and the banks closed earlier. Ben could not wait to give him the news. Bernie was very happy for Ben and gave him a hug. "I heard the people speak about the new place in Berea." he said. "Apparently it is something else." "You bet." said Ben and explained enthusiastically to Bernie what it looked like inside and what Dimitri's plans for the place were. "Well, we have to invite a few people over and crack a bubbly on your success tonight." Bernie suggested. "OK." Ben agreed. "Fred and I will go and get the champs and a few beers, and you get the people here." Bernie went to his room to change and Ben and I decided to go to the liquor store. At a phone booth on the way, Ben phoned Marcus to invite him over. When we arrived back later, Bernie was still out but the boys were home. "Where have you peeps been today?" Ben asked them. "We went to the parking garage." Andrew said. "It was too wet to go to The Wilds today." "The tricks were full up there." Jason piped. "My dick is sucked sore!" "Good... just be careful. There are many dark corners in there." Ben warned. "We are always careful." Andrew said. When Bernie arrived back home, Ben put the food in the oven to warm up and when it was ready he dished up for everyone. After we ate he instructed the boys to go and bath early. He explained to them that there were friends of his and Bernie's coming for a visit, and because of that, they were to go to the movies, preferably a double feature. The guests started to arrive at eight. First was Jakes, whose name I had heard mentioned the Saturday, together with Tony, his boyfriend. Jakes was tall and skinny, with long blond hair, and Tony was shorter and stocky. He looked Mediterranean and I found out through the course of the night that he was Portuguese. Marcus and Edward arrived together with big smiles. It was obvious that they liked one another a lot. "You guys a couple yet?" Ben asked with a mischievous smile. Marcus and Edward laughed, but just let the question hang in the air. Next to arrive was Chris. He had a guitar with him. "Hey you gays!" he greeted everybody with a big smile. "Careful, Bud, keep your arse against the wall. You never know what we gays can get up to." Bernie joked. It was obvious that Chris was straight. Three guys showed up together. Jack, Dan and Steve. They were friends of Bernie's. Brenda was last to arrive. Fashionable late, and with a flourish. He was dressed in a black mini and short red jacket and complained profusely about trying to keep his hair looking good in the rainy weather. Everybody talked and joked while consuming cupious amounts of the alcohol must of them brought with. Later Bernie poured the champagne and made a speech about the purpose of the gathering. He told everyone about Ben's decision to go back to school and about his job and his work that was to be exhibited, but left out the part about him not hustling anymore. Ben was congratulated and patted on the back a lot and everyone was obviously glad for him. Later Chris started to play his guitar and sing. He was an excellent guitarist and had a good singing voice. I could see that he was in his element and loved being the centre of attraction. The party carried on long after the boys arrived home. The two smaller ones eventually fell asleep amid all the noise of the talking and singing. Jason and Andrew joined the party and were even allowed, after much begging in Bernie's ears, to have a few drinks. At about midnight Brenda, Marcus and Edward left, and soon after them Jack, Dan and Steve. Ben and I went to the bathroom to make a joint and were joined by Chris, who went home after we finished it. We left Bernie, Jake, Tony and the two bigger boys in the lounge to carry on with the party and went to bed.