Date: Tue, 18 Apr 2023 11:28:03 -0600 From: Paul Landerman Subject: Paul and David Redux chapter One Paul and David Redux Chapter One Peter was laughing as he folded his cell phone; turning to his husband Mario, he said "Before you guess, that was my cousin Paul. He and his husband David are coming to visit." Mario replied "Oh, the Mormons? The ones who attended our wedding?" "Correct. They are trying to get some time together and away from the farm, so they are driving down here from northern California over a few weeks, visiting their kids along the way." "That sounds like fun." Mario's face suddenly took on a clouded expression; Peter immediately caught the change, and asked "What is it amor?" "Well, I was just wondering, did you want to have kids? We have never really discussed that topic, and I was wondering if I have deprived you, or us, of something that seems it should be a natural part of family life." Peter was taken aback; it was true he and Mario had never had that conversation. Now it seemed a little late, since they had been married more than twenty years. "With all due respect, my love, I am not even sure if it was ever necessary to have that conversation; we have been in love, we have cared for each other, we have many friends and relatives whom we have loved and cared for over the years, and we have a wonderful and comfortable life right hear on the edge of the continent, with friends and family coming to visit us constantly." "True" Mario commented but added nothing more to the conversation. Meanwhile, 399 miles to the north, Paul Campbell, Peter's cousin, and David Branson, Paul's husband, were leisurely packing for a long road trip, the first they had engaged in since taking over management of the family farm Paul had inherited after his father's heart attack. With two children further west and south of them in California, packing was not as much of a concern as was the itinerary; their son Stephen Branson-Campbell lived in Santa Rosa, and commuted to work at one of the many office towers in the city just to the south, San Francisco. Bethany Campbell-Branson, their daughter, lived in San Luis Obispo, where she was a senior administrator at the state university. They planned a day's drive from the farm in Sacramento to Santa Rosa, and would spend several days there, playing with the two grandkids on the beach, and would of course take Stephen and his wife to dinner at one of the winery-restaurants in Sonoma County, before heading south along the coastal route, Highway One. Stephen had promised them that he would stay away from the office for at least three days, in order to have a relaxing visit. It turned out to be a half of the Friday they arrived, and tons of very private cell phone conversations with his office and his clients, and then back to the office very early on Monday morning. Paul was upset but David remined him, a young man still trying to climb the corporate ladder and make a name for himself and build a solid reputation had to make sacrifices, and usually the first sacrifice was time with family. Paul and David took the two grandkids to the beach, finding a place to park near the old hotel that had been the location of the Alfred Hitchcock movie "The Birds", shot in 1963 and starring Tipi Hedren and Suzanne Pleshette. The water circulating along the California coast from north to south, is fed by the Alaska current, and is dreadfully cold for summertime swimmers; the grandkids had their fill of cold water by early afternoon and so David and Paul offered to feed them lunch at the Tides hotel, the location of the movie, but the kids preferred one of the national fast-food chains where they could also get a toy. Late that night in their hotel room, David remarked at how relaxed he was feeling; "I hope you are not too relaxed" Paul smirked, reaching for his husband's crotch. Within a minute or two, the moaning had commenced, and Paul, lying face down on the queen bed, felt the wonderfully satisfying pain of the thick cock of his husband/lover enter his ass. They had rarely been violent lovers, David preferring a long slow slide into his husband, and only once had Paul begged David to slam him hard and fast. Morning was a surprise to both of them; Paul woke first and finding David's still-naked cock beneath the sheets, moistened him to stiffness and climbed over him, kneeling and placing that cock into himself and rocking the hardness he craved into his ass. For a couple of ex-missionaries who had fallen in love in Japan at age 21, they had become pretty spirited and talented lovers. The road along the California coast is scenically spectacular; it is also a difficult drive and you must pay very close attention. Part of the reason is the scenery, which can be very distracting, and partly the re-construction, which seems to be constant. It took David, who was driving this 285 mile leg, all of the five hours to reach Bethany's new home town. David and Paul were not drinkers; having grown up in the Mormon church and having been missionaries for the church in Japan, where they met, alcohol was not a part of their routine. A normal five-hour drive would encourage a stop at a bar or liquor store before ringing Bethany, but David insisted on locating her home address and meeting her there after she left her office at the university. Bethany insisted that her two Dads stay with her at her home; she had a lovely town-house style condo near the university, stylishly decorated in bright California colors. They politely declined, but did insist on taking Bethany and her husband Mark to dinner at one of the many seafood restaurants in that coastal city. By the time dinner was finished, and Bethany had breathlessly announced her pregnancy, the four stood in the parking lot and hugged tightly, promising to see each other again the next evening. David's preference for the Hilton chain was something that Paul did not object to; David had gained the habit while travelling for the San Francisco branch of the Federal Reserve Bank. The one in San Luis was a bit smaller than the norm, but was still a cut above the Motel 6 lifestyle which David's family had insisted on using during his childhood. Paul had never gained a taste for hotels in general; being born and raised on a farm, and spending every waking moment on the farm except when at college or in Japan as a missionary, Paul assumed that hotels were meant for the wealthy. Paul and David were, actually, wealthy; Paul just never thought in those terms. The farm they owned, along with Paul's brother Scott and sister Emily, at current land prices in northern California, would actually place the family in the lower end of the Forbe's magazine annual list of wealthiest Americans. But that was a thought for another day; David was gazing at Paul and detected the beginning of a frown. "What's on your mind, love?" he asked. "I can't hide anything from you, can I?" Paul laughed. "I have been wondering, as we have driven south away from the farm, what is it that keeps us together, what is it that makes us this couple?" "Kind of a deep topic for a vacation, wouldn't you say?" David smiled. "Well, sorry, I guess I have been thinking about it since we dropped in on Stephen and Sybil, and now Bethany and Mark, and wondering if we were/are just lucky, and wondering what it will take for those kids to stay together and weather the storms that inevitably occur in every marriage." "Do you think they are in trouble? Do you think Stephen and Sybil are not going to make it?" "Oh, no, quite the contrary, I think they are going to be fine, but of course I just worry that Stephen puts in so much time at the office, away from the family, and you are fully aware of the strain and stress that inflicts on any marriage. We have been able to make it work for us, even with the travel, and the stress of the farm business, but I also think we need to try to be close to our kids, both of them, just to be sure they have shoulders to lean on and can ask for help whenever it is needed." "You are a marvelous Dad, I hope they realize how much you love them and I hope they appreciate how much you have sacrificed for them." David was gazing at Paul and had his usual mellow smile, one that Paul always looked forward to at the end of every week when David came home from the office in the city. "Thanks. Now, you have some choices to make: breakfast here in the hotel, or downtown, and then shopping for the new baby." "Sounds like you already have it planned." "Not completely" Paul smiled, standing up and grabbing David in his arms and planting a very luscious kiss on his face. "Come with me and let's shower, and then get something to eat, I am starving." After a rigorous shower, in which Paul repaid the fucking he had received twice from David, they were dressed in shorts, polo shirts, and sandals, and found a cute little bistro just a half-block from the hotel; Paul had his usual eggs Benedict, which he never ate at home but only when travelling, and David had his standard carb-heavy bacon and hashbrowns. While David clawed his way through the rasher of bacon, Paul searched for baby clothing shops on his cell phone; by noon, they had almost more than they could carry back to the hotel for the new as-yet-un-named grandchild. Dinner with Bethany and Mark was another emotional and happy event; the due date was many weeks away, and Paul and David promised to be present when the baby was delivered. Mark suggested that his mother and grandmother would also like to help, and Bethany politely replied that she would need lots of domestic assistance after she came home from the hospital. "Do we know the gender yet?" Paul asked. "We do not, and we are not among that crowd that insists on having a gender-reveal party with balloons and such; we want to be surprised so we are hoping you will be as well." Bethany had a way about her that reminded Paul of his mother, the senior Bethany, who, while deferential and polite, was also unmistakably in full charge of every situation. Paul and David both smiled and nodded, and Mark coughed. Noting the potential strain on the conversation. Mark asked "What is your next stop?" "We are heading down the coast through Santa Barbara and then on to Malibu, so that we can visit Paul's cousin Peter and his husband Mario. They have a grand house on the beach at Malibu, and it will be wonderful to spend a couple nights there and just relax." David normally did not take charge in such conversations, but he had noticed that Paul and Bethany were holding hands, and he felt it was time for him and Mark to exit and leave father and daughter to some private time.