Adventures of Cliff

THE FURTHER ADVENTURES OF CLIFF & DEREK

Part 42

Written by Trevor

Edited by Jack

Proof Read by Richie

(Life after School)

Please note this story contains boy-to-boy sexual activity and if you don't enjoy this kind of story read no further.

This story is also based on actual events but all the names and locations have been changed to protect those involved.

This story is not to be published, or reprinted, without the express permission of the author.

I think my face went deathly white as I listened to what my sister had to say. Derek who was standing close to me and waiting for me to finish so we could go to bed immediately sensed something was very wrong.

I waited until my sister had finished telling me the news before asking questions. "Which hospital is she in and how bad a heart attack was it?" were my two main questions and after hearing those words Derek put his arm around me giving me some much needed moral support.

After asking the name and phone number of the hospital which happened to be the local one in Worthing, I hung up and immediately dialled the number. Once I got through, although it was very late, who ever answered put me through to intensive care straight away and I was soon talking to the nurse looking after mom.

It appeared that she had a heart attack earlier in the day but did nothing about it until a neighbour called round for a cup of tea and a chat. She noticed something was wrong and dialled nine, nine, nine which is the emergency number in Britain. The nurse told me that she was in an induced coma right now. She was breathing on her own but her heart rate continued to be a bit erratic. He told me the name of the doctor looking after her and his contact number. After thanking him, I hung up and dialled the doctors number getting him out of bed. I didn't care, my mom's health was more important than anything else.

When your name is as well-known as mine was at the time, people are always very nice and helpful. The doctor explained everything in detail and I asked him if it would help to have a specialist flown down from London or from anywhere else in the world for that matter.

He mentioned a Harley Street specialist who he had worked with before and I told him to organise things first thing in the morning and I would cover all costs. "Would it be better if we had her flown up to one of the bigger London hospitals?" I asked. He told me that to move her right now was probably too dangerous and she was better off where she was. "Will you be coming down to see her?" he asked.

"I don't think I can due to my work commitments, contracts and things, but we will try and fly down on Tuesday and then fly back in time for curtain up at the theatre." We chatted a little longer and he promised to keep me informed of any changes or problems no matter what time of the day and night it was.

Once I had hung up, I began relaying all this news to Derek but broke down in tears before I had finished. "If anything happens to mom I don't know what will happen to me Derek, I love her dearly and don't want her to die."

"Don't talk like that Cliff, she's a tough old bird and won't let a little old heart attack stop her." Derek said trying to make light of the whole thing. Finally we went upstairs to bed totally exhausted, yet I was afraid to go to sleep in case I missed a phone call from the doctor or the hospital.

Finally, with Derek holding me in his arms, sleep overtook me. The next thing I knew sunshine was streaming through the window and it was almost nine in the morning. I reached over feeling for Derek before realising that he wasn't next to me. Just then he came out of the bathroom giving me a kiss and a hug. "Why didn't you wake me so I could call the hospital to check on mom?" I angrily told him.

"Don't worry, I have already been in touch and she had a peaceful night. She is responding well to treatment and they are now slowly bringing her out of the induced coma. I also authorised a charter flight to take the London specialist down to Worthing and he should be landing in about thirty minutes."

I burst into tears saying, "Oh Derek darling, how will I ever survive without you?" Comforting me he told me to get dressed so we could go down to breakfast and break the news to the boys. We had decided on the flight back last night that the boys could take the day off and we were seriously considering a tutor for them instead of returning them to school. Besides, Peter was suspended anyway.

The boys had sensed something was wrong because we all sat around the breakfast table not talking and looking sad. Once we were all gathered, I asked Derek to tell them what was going on with my mother whom they all looked upon as a mother figure anyway. I didn't feel that I could get through telling them without breaking down.

Both Peter and Steve had tears rolling down their cheeks when Derek had finished telling them the news. We both comforted them assuring them both that she would pull through. We continued eating breakfast in comparative silence, each immersed in their own thoughts about my mother who we all loved dearly. A couple of phone calls came through, one from the record company regarding the album launch and another from Bob my manager more or less about the same thing. I let Derek handle both of them not wanting to talk to anyone right now.

The next call was from the specialist we had flown down to check on mom. He assured us she was in excellent hands with the doctors and staff at Worthing General. "The attack she had wasn't quite as bad as was first thought and while there is some minor damage to the heart walls it will heal. I expect her to make a full recovery, but you must drill into her and this is very important, that she must give up smoking. Not any time soon, but NOW."

I assured him that I would make every effort get that message across to her and thanked him for his time and effort. His parting words were to tell me that he was now heading back to London but had left instructions to be called if anything unfavourable happened.

I relayed this news to all those gathered and that cheered everyone up a bit. Derek also said that we would be chartering a flight leaving early tomorrow morning and returning in time for the evening performance at the theatre. Anyone who wanted to go was welcome.

We had lunch and then it was time to head into London and the theatre for the evening performance. Once again it was a sell out, in fact the play was booked solid for the next six months, so I couldn't afford to take any time off.

We hadn't seen Alec Guinness since the grand re-opening because he was on location filming somewhere, but somehow he got news about my mother and called me at the theatre offering any help he could. Thanking him I explained that we were travelling down tomorrow to see her but would be back in time for curtain up. He sounded relieved that I didn't ask him for any time off because he knew full well without me bookings would fall off.

The performance as always was a good one with the maximum number of curtain calls and so on. Before leaving the theatre to go home, I called the hospital and was told that she was now fully conscious and breathing on her own. Her heart, while it was still a little erratic had settled down and hopefully after one more day in intensive care she could be moved into a normal room.

All that was good news and with Gordon driving, Derek and I cuddled in the back with Ian and Roland up front with the driver. We discussed the forthcoming nuptials between Jason and Michael. Derek said that David and John had all the catering in hand for next Sunday, "Because of your mom in hospital do you want to postpone it for another week or two?"

"No, because I have my record launch coming up the following weekend and according to the recording company it is going to be bigger than Ben Hur." So it was agreed everything would go ahead as planned. "The only thing is we need a big name entertainer to surprise the boys with and I don't know who to call on." Snuggling up to me Derek assured me I would think of somebody.

In the end I booked through Bob, Herman's Hermits, Freddy and the Dreamers and Petula Clark who was by then a superstar living in France to beat the cruel British Tax laws. All this of course was hush, hush.

It was as always very late when we arrived home and I for one was exhausted. So it was straight up to bed and as soon as my head hit the pillow I was asleep, which disappointed Derek a little bit because he always enjoyed a kiss and cuddle before we slept.

All too soon we were woken by David banging on the door and we had to rush breakfast before a large crowd of us were ferried to Stansted airport for our charter flight to Worthing. A quick phone call to the hospital before we left assured us that my mother had a comfortable night and was resting peacefully.

The flight took longer than expected and I was getting frustrated and annoyed because we got caught up in a lot of air traffic and appeared to be going round in circles. When we did land a couple of cars were waiting to take us to the hospital. All of us except for Jason, Michael and his mother had come along for the ride to see mom, so we were quite a crowd.

At the hospital we were shown into a small waiting room and the first thing Derek did was organise drinks and sandwiches because it was getting close to lunchtime. Only two of us at a time were allowed to see mom, so Derek and I went in first. The doctor was waiting for us and explained that the heart walls and muscles had been damaged in the heart attack but the specialist as he had already told us was hopeful of a full recovery. However; she must take things easy for the rest of her life and must quit smoking.

We promised to try and make her give up that filthy habit but I pointed out she is a stubborn woman so it wouldn't be easy. It was upsetting to see mom lying there looking so pale with several wires attached to her body, along with an IV in her arm and oxygen mask on as well. As soon as we walked in she opened her eyes and smiled. We kissed and gave her a cuddle and she removed the mask to say, "I didn't think you two would be able to make it and I am so glad you did. Derek you just missed your parents who have been here most of the morning, but they said they would be back. Are you able to stay?"

"No mom we have to be back in London tonight for the evening performance."

She looked disappointed at that news so we decided to cheer her up by telling her that we had others outside waiting to see her, "I suppose cheeky Peter and Steve are here?" she said with a chuckle and Derek went out to bring them in. We broke the rules a bit because I remained with mom and so when Derek, Peter and Steve arrived it meant four people were round her bed but the nurses turned a blind eye. Seeing all of us cheered her up and a bit more colour came into her cheeks but her heart rate also went up so we left her to rest for a while.

Outside we found Derek's parents waiting for us which was great, along with my Grandmother who was in her nineties and who still lived on her own not far from my mother. All too soon it was time for us to get back to London and we all took turns to go in and say goodbye. True to form I cried and was told off by my mother for being a baby, much to Peter and Steve's delight.

Luckily the flight back didn't take quite as long but we still arrived at the theatre late and curtain up was five minutes late as I rushed to get ready. Again the play was a success but when we went to leave, the crowd at the stage door was big with about fifty people waiting for autographs and pictures.

Gordon had his work cut out controlling the crowd and the stage door man had to come out to help. I for one was totally exhausted but wouldn't head off until every fan had been greeted and got my signature or had their photo taken with me.

All this took over an hour plus it started to rain and we all got wet. Once in the car I mentioned to Derek that in future once the curtain goes down we'll meet and greet in the theatre foyer. We will keep the bar open if the manager agrees so that we can do what we have to in comfort instead out in a cold wet alleyway.

When we finally got home I suggested we all sit around the fire for a while. We drank warm brandy and ginger ale which warmed us up, giving us a glow before heading for bed. Once we were in bed we kissed and cuddled for a while and just before we went to sleep Derek remarked, "All this hard work and running around is playing havoc with our sex life."

Laughing I agreed with him, but also thought that it was no laughing matter and I would have loved to have had the energy to make mad passionate love to him right now. By the time I'd had that thought we were both asleep.

Next morning a call to the hospital was all good news. My mom had been moved out of intensive care into a normal room and was recovering fast and was expected to be home by the weekend. After talking it over with Derek and calling the doctor, it was arranged that if she was well enough, mom along with Derek's parents would be here for the ceremony between Jason and Michael. It was going to be a house full but we would manage by booking one of the local motels out for the entertainers and extra staff.

It was off to work early because being a Wednesday we had a matinee in the afternoon. It was between performances that we managed to take the phone in my dressing room off the hook and locked the door so that my lover and I were able to have some quality sexual time together. I won't go into the sordid details except to say that our love making was wonderful and we both agreed it was getting better and better if that was at all possible.

The rest of the week went by pretty much the same as the early part and the good news was that mom was allowed home on the Friday. Derek and I decided that the best means of transport was to fly our parents up from Worthing so they wouldn't get too tired. Everyone was getting more and more excited as Sunday approached. On Saturday we once again had a big marquee erected round the back of the house and the caterers and florists and so on began to do their thing.

Also on Saturday we took a cab into the west end because Gordon was rushed off his feet ferrying people from the airport to either the motel or home. Just before we left for the Saturday afternoon matinee Jason's grandparents arrived from Ireland and what a beautiful quaint couple they were. It was the first time they had flown in an airplane; in fact it was the first time for them to experience many things. In Ireland they lived in a tiny cottage with a peat bog fire and paraffin lamps. They had electricity but didn't use it much, so the trip and the way we lived was a little bit too much for them.

Our parents arrived after we had left for the theatre so we didn't catch up with them till much later that night. By all accounts they got on wonderfully with Jason's family, except they had trouble understanding each other because of the accents but they laughed a lot and enjoyed themselves.

We had also invited John and Bruce to join us with an ulterior motive. We were hoping to persuade them to move back in with us and tutor the boys. My idea to meet and greet in the theatre foyer bar after each performance instead of at the stage door was working well except the comfort of meeting the actors in a cosy atmosphere meant that more and more were staying behind, meaning, we were getting away later and later. Mind you I also sold a lot of my albums at the same time.

So it was past midnight when Gordon who had driven in to pick us up drove us through the gates of our home. Our house was still blazing with lights and we were very surprised to find everyone still awake including my mother, waiting for us.

Mom looked very tired. As soon as we had kissed and cuddled I suggested that she go to bed and she did without any argument. We'd arranged for a downstairs bedroom for her so she didn't have to climb the stairs with David and John our nurses in the room next door. John and Bruce both looked tired but very happy. They told us that the school and especially the band were still talking about our visit. Tongue in cheek John asked if I would be willing to travel back down for their end of year ball and perform with the band, which I readily agreed to.

It was close to two before everyone finally got to bed. While the ceremony wasn't until two in the afternoon Derek reminded me that we would have to be up no later than nine in the morning because some of our guests like Michael and Robert would be arriving early. As we lay side by side in bed holding hands, I remarked that both Jason and Michael had also stayed up late and were starting to look a bit nervous. We had bought solid gold lockets. Thanks to Peter and Steve who had secretly taken a lock of hair from each of them so that it would be put inside the locket with a photo of their partner. Right in the centre of the locket was a half caret diamond so you can imagine the cost.

Sure enough, right on nine the next morning we were woken up by Peter telling us through the bedroom door that some of our long distance guests were already beginning to arrive. A quick shower and we went down to join Sir Anthony Eden, Michael's father at the breakfast table along with Michael, Robert and their four boys, who had flown in from Barbados for the ceremony. Michael explained that his brother was more or less running the business now and they spent a lot of time travelling and enjoying life.

All of them made a big fuss over my mother, especially Michael who lived with her for a while before moving in with Robert. Sir Anthony explained that he came early so that he could spend a little bit of time with the two boys getting to know them better. It also finally dawned on Jason's mother and grandparents that he was `marrying' an ex-prime minister son who was a Sir to boot.

Everything appeared to be going like clockwork and on schedule. Just before lunch I managed to slip away to the motel to meet up with all the entertainers. To be honest with you Petula Clark had the hots for me before she met her French husband and I had trouble keeping her at bay much to Derek's amusement. Bob my manager and his secretary Shirley were also at the motel and he offered to organise and stage manage the entertainment for me; meaning Shirley was going to be busy.

Once all that was fixed, it was back to the house to shower and dress for the big event. We had more than tripled security. It was needed because the media had got wind of the wedding and were gathered at the gate. Several of them were even caught trying to scale the wall onto the grounds.

We had the boys dressed in white shirts and cravats, cummerbunds along with black pants and tails. Boy did they look good. The other boys, in fact all the household members were in diner jackets and bow ties and I must admit we all scrubbed up well. The Anglican priest who blessed our rings came up from Malvern to officiate and soon it was time for the nuptials to begin.

John was playing a massive Wurlitzer organ and the wedding march for the boys to enter into the marquee. Sir Anthony had insisted that he would escort his son Michael in, while acting as Jason's father as well. Peter and Steve were the best men, one for each of them.

Looking around I was surprised at just how many guests there were. Derek told me later it was close to two hundred and fifty with half of them total strangers to me. Of course several of us cried, which was par for the course with Derek continually handing me tissues.

All too soon it was over but the look on the boy's faces when they saw the gold and diamond lockets was a delight. Derek nudged me whispering, "It was worth all that money just to see the joy on their faces." I agreed. Then it was out onto the lawn were champagne and orange juice was served while the family photos were taken. While this was happening, the seating was rearranged in the marquee and the first band which I think was Herman's Hermits set up on the band stand. The Master of ceremonies then called us all back in to take our seats. Once we were all where we should be he asked us to be standing to greet Michael and Jason who walked in arm in arm to join the rest of us at the top table.

As we settled down to the wedding breakfast (why is called a breakfast when it's usually much later in the day?) a big commotion was heard outside and Derek and I along with Gordon excused ourselves and went to investigate.

Unable to help himself, from inside prison Jason's father had ordered a big demonstration from his supporters and more than a hundred banner waving fascists had gathered outside. Our security people had managed to contain them for now but they were hopelessly out numbered. The local police had been called to help out but hadn't arrived as of yet, but what caught our interest was a reporter and cameraman from The News Of The World newspaper who had somehow got into the grounds and were being held by two of our guys.

It appears they had a bird's eye view of the whole ceremony and our security were trying to find the film that had been used, but it had disappeared. Both of them were looking smug and pleased with themselves because a body search failed to find the reels of film of the wedding.

"I think they might have thrown them over the fence to an accomplice," one of the security remarked. This guy wasn't looking too worried and his search methods were very slack. Gordon also noticed this and began to question our own guy intently, and the look on his face showed that he wasn't very happy.

Not wanting to spoil the boy's day we went back inside leaving Gordon to deal with the situation. Once we got back and sat down it was time for the speeches and Peter as official best man had worked very hard on his speech making every one laugh without being crude. His speech was brilliant and witty and I thought my little speech paled against his and I was the next speaker. Still both of our speeches and toasts were well received.

I was surprised that Sir Anthony Eden, Michael's father had put his name on the list and both Derek and I held hands as he stood up fearful of what he might say. "Ladies and gentlemen I have an apology to make to my son Michael and his partner Jason. I found it very difficult to understand what was happening to my son when I found out that he was a homosexual. Being brought up in a strict household words like that were taboo. While most families had one, they were usually referred to as Uncle, whatever, he's a bit queer so keep the children away from him.

Unable to cope with a `queer' son I cut him off completely, this is why he ended up living with Cliff and Derek. I was so wrong when I, for want of a better word, disowned him. Michael, Jason you are two wonderful young men who I am sure will be together for life. All I want to say is that you are both welcome into my home any time you want to visit and you will never be castigated or taunted by myself or any of my family. I love you Michael with all my heart and Jason I welcome you into my home as not only Michael's partner but as a son."

Looking around I noticed several people with tears in their eyes myself included as both boys stood up moving to be beside Sir Anthony before all three of them began hugging. It was a very tender and touching moment and once the applause died down Sir Anthony continued, "To Jason's mother and Grandparents I would like to extend a hand of friendship by saying that you will always be welcome in my home because you have worked hard against terrible odds because of his father to raise a wonderful young man."

Jason's mother stood up and walked over to join the three of them in a hug, thanking Sir Anthony for his kind words. This was a very happy and emotional time, especially for the boys who were now accepted by both families. With all the speeches finished I ordered the curtain around the stage to be opened to reveal Herman's Hermits, much to the boys surprise because I knew they loved this group.

Both of them came up to kiss and hug Derek and I thanking us for such a wonderful occasion, "You deserve it boys, now get on that dance floor and enjoy yourselves because no one else will dance until you do."

It was wonderful to see the boys dancing together and we joined them followed by a large number of the other wedding guests. Of course there were more guys dancing with other guys but the surprising thing was Jason's mom dancing with Michael's father.

The next guest was Freddy and the Dreamers, a one hit wonder group who I didn't really like but they were the hottest thing around right now and they got the whole place jumping. Of course the highlight was Petula Clark and she was the big surprise of the whole celebration. She only had her piano player with her but that didn't stop her putting on a great show. Towards the end of her set she invited me up to sing a duet with her, which I counted as a great honour.

The demonstration was still going on outside the gates although the numbers had dropped because several of the trouble makers had been arrested. The only worry was getting those out of the grounds to their motel. So we kept most of them at the house until much later in the evening and we all consumed far too much liquor. In fact I was quite drunk and a couple of times Derek had to calm me down.

Our two guests of honour had said their goodbyes and retired to their bedroom to I assume consummate their wedding day. Gordon came in looking rather grim and took Derek and I to one side, "It appears that one of the guards took a bribe from those reporters to turn a blind eye and let them climb over the wall, but the worse bit is that when we were looking for the film they took of the wedding it was in the guards pocket all the time."

I was furious and was ready to go knock his block off right then and there but Derek said no leave it to Gordon to sort it out, "We should sue the fucking bastard for every penny he's got and make sure he didn't profit from what he did." I angrily told everyone in listening distance, "Cliff watch your language, I might be recovering from a heart attack but I can still give you clip around the ears."

"Sorry mom." I muttered while everyone else laughed. She continued, "I am a bit tired now so I'll say goodnight and thank you both for a wonderful day, you are so kind and caring." She kissed us both goodnight and headed for her room.

The mob at the gate had given up leaving a few guards, half dozen police officers and one or two media guys, so I suggest everyone call it a night and head back to the motel. Very soon only John, Bruce, Derek and myself were left and over a snifter of brandy we asked both of them if they would like to come back and tutor the boys for us.

There was a long pause with both of them looking at each other deciding who was going to speak and finally it was John, "We've been waiting for you to bring up this subject ever since we got here and while we don't want to hurt your feelings we will have to say no. We are very happy at the school and the music section would be very upset if I left, plus the current headmaster is retiring after this year and the board have already asked Bruce if he would be interested in becoming headmaster next year."

He paused to let that sink in before continuing, "Much as we love you two dearly and the boys as well we have to decline, but we have been shopping around and have a couple of teachers in mind who we know and trust and would be happy to arrange interviews for you."

Both Derek and I were taken by surprise because we took it for granted that they would say yes. They hugged us hoping that this wouldn't affect our friendship which we assured them would most certainly not, that we would always love them as dear friends. We parted to go to bed after that conversation. I had far too much to drink and was too tired anyway to perform. Once we got into bed we fell asleep straight away.

I woke next day with a terrible hangover which Derek and the boys teased me about for most of the morning, which didn't help one little bit. We all just lazed around not doing much. Sir Anthony was still here and of course Jason's family as well. The two boys in question finally emerged just as breakfast was almost over and I could see Peter was getting ready with some smart remarks so I stopped him in his tracks with a warning look.

John and Bruce were the first to leave with John reminding me of my promise to perform with the school band at their end of year ball. Then Sir Anthony departed thanking us both for looking after his son and also for making him feel so welcome. We told him any time he wanted to drop by he would be most welcome. Derek also pointed out that from now on they would have a tutor if he had no objections.

The last to leave almost at the same time as we left for the theatre was Mom and Derek's parents. We decided that we would all go in the same car together so we could see them off at the airport before going to work.

In the car going to the airport Derek tactfully suggested that it might be good if all the family lived closer together, "There's a lovely old place that just came on the market three houses down from us which would suit you all. Mom and dad you could have one part of the house and my second mom along with Grandmother could have the other half. You could have a couple of live in staff to do the cleaning, cooking and whatever else is needed. We would get to see each other maybe not every day but at least more often than we do now and we could make sure you behaved yourselves and not get into any mischief." He added with a laugh.

Both parents were silent but we could see the seeds had been sown for them to think on. Parting at the airport was a bit teary but wasn't prolonged because we had to rush to be at the theatre in time.

This coming Sunday was the record launch and through Bob my manager, the recording company was on my back several times a day all this week. Originally they had big plans to do a live free concert with John Barry and the full orchestra in Trafalgar Square, but the police were worried about crowd control so that was squashed. The idea now was a concert in the Royal Albert Hall with entry by donation with all proceeds going to charity.

I spoke with John and suggested that we do the same concert that we did in Rome and he agreed so that meant very little rehearsal. The Albert Hall holds a few thousand people so if all the people turned up that the record company hoped, it would be a big show. I later found out or Derek did that the only way we could perform on a Sunday was if it was for charity anyway.

I called mom and Derek's parents asking if they wanted to come, but they said no. Travelling was taking its toll on them these days so they would just watch it on television, which is how I found out that the TV rights had already been sold as well.

The Royal Albert Hall is an historic monument in the heart of London and to perform there is daunting to say the least. The dressing room facilities are very basic but the staging is awesome. You can connect with the audience because they are right there in front of you with the orchestra directly behind you. Nothing had been said about a guest artist and I hoped one had been planned to give me a break to do my suit changes like I did in Italy.

We arrived early Sunday morning to find John Barry already there organising the orchestra. I asked about a guest artist and the answer made my day, "As you know one lady superstar has recorded several of the James Bond songs which I have written and she will be performing three of them tonight and that of course is Shirley Bassey." I was stunned and excited to have a star of Shirley's calibre on the same program as me.

Once the orchestra was set up and microphones in place we had a quick run through of my songs which they handled with ease. Then we headed out for some lunch; not that I could eat much being just a tad nervous. As we walked out of the hall Derek remarked on the large number of people already waiting to go in. All the boys had decided to come with us along with Jason's mom and Grandparents, which for them was going to be a big eye opener.

We found a small basic café open on a Sunday near to the hall and I think we all ordered fish and chips. Surprisingly I ate all of mine but stopped short at the peas because they make me fart and I would be right in front of the violin section. The boys teased me on that but I didn't care. The café owner of course wanted pictures of me and then of Derek and I but I refused to allow photos of the boys to be taken. They had enough bad publicity when the News of the World a Sunday paper hit the streets this morning with a two page spread including the front page of Jason and Michael's wedding.

I had already contacted our solicitor to see if we could sue but it looked unlikely. While the spread was done quite tastefully without any nasty slurs it was still an invasion of our privacy, and then we all laughed at the photo of Sir Anthony and Jason's mom dancing together.

We lingered in the café until it was mid-afternoon and time to head back to the hall. Peter was the first to remark at the thousands of people waiting to go in and there was still about two more hours before the doors opened. There were also a couple of groups of protesters, of course one of which was The Moselyites which was the title given to Jason's fathers group of fascists and an anti-gay group who often appeared outside the theatre.

As we approached Gordon arranged for a half a dozen police officers to be close by and we put Jason and Michael in the middle of our group with the rest of us surrounding them just in case they were spotted.

Inside the hall I had to go on stage and stand in certain spots so that the TV cameras could work out some angles and so on and then it was back to the dressing room for a couple of drinks to settle me down before I got changed. The rest of my group except of course for Derek we had arranged to be in the Royal box were her majesty usually sits when she attends concerts.

The box next to them would have the record executives in it. They told me that ten thousand albums would be on sale in the foyer which freaked me out, "I hope I don't have to sign all of them after the show."

The boys headed out escorted by Gordon to take their seats while I changed into the first of my stage suits. John Barry dropped by to make sure I was all right and then the stage manager was calling the orchestra and John onto the stage for the opening overture and off we went. The estimate was that six thousand people were jammed into the hall. The floor of the auditorium was standing room only, it was also possible to get more people in the balconies, standing without seats as they too were filled to capacity.

Once I was underway the nerves disappeared and the show was just as good as the Italian one if not better. The audience sang along with me with the ones they knew and the atmosphere was great.

Then it was time for Shirley Bassey and the first song was `Goldfinger' from the James Bond movie of the same name. The song of course was written by John Barry and the big surprise was at the end when the orchestra began to play the James Bond theme and Sean Connery came on stage pretending to shoot the bad guys before carrying Shirley Bassey off stage.

My first words when I went back on were, "How the hell do I follow that?"

But follow it I did and all too soon it was intermission time. Another suit change while the audience trooped out for drinks and to buy my album as if it was going out of fashion. In fact, the record company sales staff couldn't cope with the rush.

Back on stage I was just about to start my song when Sean Connery came back on stage, "Cliff my name is Bond, James Bond, and I have something for you."

I looked at him in surprise totally unaware of what was going on until Shirley Bassey came back on stage with a square package covered in brown paper. Sean continued, "your album has only been out for a month and has already sold a million copies. It is our pleasure to present to you, your first gold record."

For once in my life I was speechless and accepted the framed record from Shirley who kissed and hugged me whispering well done. Sean shook my hand, I think John Barry did as well, I was in a daze and looking up to the Royal box I noticed all my boys standing and cheering. Derek came out to take the gold record off me and much to the audience delight I gave him a big kiss and a hug.

Then it was on with the show which was all a daze to me until it was all over and I was forced to do four encores before the audience would let me go. Backstage everyone assembled and the record company guys advised me not to go out and sign any albums because crowd control would be impossible. Again I found it hard to believe that so many people would take the trouble to come out on a Sunday to see me perform, and to this day I find it hard to grasp.

All the albums were sold with some people buying two or three as gifts. All this was money in the bank. We all headed for home with the boys talking non-stop about the concert and passing the gold record from hand to hand. Both Derek and I were totally exhausted and after a quick light supper we headed to bed leaving the others to their own devices. I was getting a bit worried because on several occasions recently, Derek had complained of being tired for no real reason and I suggested he see a doctor but as yet he had not. Just as we were about to head up stairs the phone rang and it was our parents who had gathered at mom's house to watch the show on TV.

Mom cried, she was so happy for me and of course that set me off too. "I'm the proudest mom in the world son and I thank god that he spared me so I could see it."

I told her not to talk like that because she had many more years of life left in her yet. With the conversation on speaker phone we chatted for about half an hour before saying goodnight and once again headed for bed. We might both have been exhausted, but we began making out and one thing led to another and before we knew it... Well you get the picture and about an hour later we did fall asleep.

The next morning everyone very wisely allowed us to sleep in and it was lunchtime before we finally showered dressed and headed downstairs, to find that John and Bruce had called with the names of a couple of possible tutors for the boys. Derek called them up and arranged for them to come to house for interviews tomorrow morning.

We needed to get the boys schooling organized quickly because they were getting used to the lazy life. We had a late lunch and the boys produced the daily papers, all of whom gave us great write ups regarding yesterday's concert, plus the BBC had televised the concert live and it beat the newly formed commercial channels `Sunday Night at the London Palladium' show hands down. In fact the next day Bob my manager called to say that the palladium show wanted me for next Sunday night.

This was all well and good but I was not getting any time off and both Derek and I were getting very tired. Snuggling up to me in the car on the way to the theatre Derek informed me that our accountant had been forced to place a considerable amount of our earning into a Swiss bank account, "And this after all the money we have spent on weddings trips and charter flights?"

"Have you any idea how much in royalties you have earned from your album alone?" I admitted no because I left all that to my lover and the accountants who we paid a lot of money to, "Well we are both multi-millionaires my darling. We could give up working now and just live off the interest of our investments if we wished and don't forget we are not quite twenty four years old yet."

I must admit I found all this hard to comprehend but Derek said it was, so well it was. We began to get quite passionate in the back seat of the car and it was only a couple of discreet coughs from Ian and Roland sat in the front which brought us back to earth just as we arrived at the theatre. We had to adjust our clothing before getting out to hide our massive erections and Ian laughing said to Roland, "I think those two need to go to Cliff's dressing room, lock the door and do something to make the swelling go down."

We all laughed before realising that we didn't have time right now and Derek and Ian had to dress the set for the show while Roland and I got ready. My make-up alone always took about forty five minutes to get right and I suppose Roland's did as well.

As always it was a full house and the performance went well. All the actors were now well and truly accustomed to their roles so everything usually went like clockwork.

The next morning we had to be up a bit earlier than usual to be ready to interview the potential tutors. Peter suggested that he should sit in on the interviews to make sure we got the right kind of guy but we quickly vetoed that.

Both contenders were young guys with impeccable references and would be ideal for the job. Derek and I decided to raise the all embarrassing question regarding their sexuality because we had decided that we did not want a gay teacher for the boys due to fact that it might cause trouble. "The question we are about to ask you may be found embarrassing and an invasion of your privacy, but I'm afraid we have to ask it. Are you homosexual?" we asked the first one Jonathon.

He didn't appear fazed by the question and informed us straight away that he was not and he lived nearby with his girlfriend of two years.

The second guy Fraser also said that he was straight and both of them were quite happy tutoring gay boys. This put us into an even bigger dilemma and we invited them to stay for lunch to see how they both reacted with the boys and the rest of the household.

Going on first impressions it looked as if Jonathon was getting on better with the boys than Fraser but when Peter began to openly flirt with him he appeared to respond and allow Peter far too much leeway and that raised red flags for both of us. We excused ourselves to go into another room and make a final decision. Still not sure who to pick we went back and forth weighing up the good and bad of both guys before finally deciding on Fraser. He was twenty five years old, dark hair, wore glasses but was very handsome, "If he was gay we'd have a hell of a lot of trouble with the boys wouldn't we?" Derek remarked with a laugh.

"Don't worry, I'm sure Peter and Steve will try it to make sure." I told him. We called Jonathon in first to tell him how sorry we were and how close a call it was and explaining if it didn't work out with Fraser we would like to contact him again. While he was disappointed he accepted our explanation. We then called Fraser in and told him the good news suggesting that because he was between girlfriends right now would he like to live in and if he wanted to, bring a girl home, we had no objections.

"Thank you very much for the offer and I would like to live in this wonderful old home." He told us and we then discussed salary and other business before showing him his room and then talked about turning one of the living rooms into a classroom and what equipment he would need. He promised to have a list ready by the next day and would start straight away.

We both felt much better knowing that the boys would once more be able to get back into learning. In fact, Fraser turned out to be a wonderful choice and the guys liked him, so he soon became an established member of the household.

I finally persuaded Derek to go see our doctor about his tiredness, with a whole heap of tests following about a week later we were both requested to go see the doctor and the results shocked us both.

To Be Continued

Writers corner:- I get the feeling that a lot of you might get a bit bored with this chapter because not much exciting happened, no one got murdered or ended up in hospital except for my poor mother who caused a panic there for a while, but that is exactly how it all happened in our lives.

The fact that the play ran for almost three years night after night with nothing exciting happening makes for boring reading so in future chapters I won't dwell too much on that. The news about Derek? Well that wasn't all that good but you'll have to wait to find out.

Michael & Jordon's wedding ceremony was wonderful and I could possibly have written several more pages about that but again I thought you might have got bored. Plus the protesters of one things or another took great delight in trying to annoy us whenever they can but then we were getting used to that.

So over the next couple of chapters the timeline will be speeded up to get over the more mundane parts of our lives when all we did was make a lot of money.

Please keep your comments coming and by the time this chapter is published my new web site Gay Writers United should be up and running but I will let you know about that in due course.

In the meantime I hope you continue to enjoy all of my stories on nifty.

Hugs

Trevor

Supertev699@hotmail.com

Jacks Jottings:-

Well, no one was murdered or anything like that, but there were some very exciting things happening in this chapter. The wedding for one thing was a very exciting moment in everyone's lives. Getting it organized was a monumental task in and of itself. Having all the family and friends attend the celebration was grand, and the entertainment was exceptional. I think this was one of the highlights of the chapter.

Of course, knowing that Cliff's mom was on the road to recovery made it all the more special. The special performance at the Royal Albert Hall was another exciting experience. So along with routine activities, there were also a few memorable affairs.

Now the thing that is troubling is Derek's health. Trevor has given us some insight that Derek is ill, but we will just need to be patient to learn just what is ailing him.

Until then, please write to us and share your comments and thoughts.

Huggs,

Jack

jackunders@yahoo.com

Richie's Ranting's

Well I have to agree with Jack. While parts of the story might have been a bit slow, it was necessary to explain all that went on in getting the Wedding accomplished, in overseeing Cliff's moms heart attack (which fortunately she was able to overcome) and all that went on with the concert at Robert Albert Hall.

What I liked most about this chapter is that it showed just how much love there was for the boys and for Cliff and Derek. How their love was not just sex but deep emotional love. The kind rarely found in life. Something we all pray to have for ourselves. Fortunately like Cliff I also have found that person and I hope each and every one of you also are able to find that one special person who will love you unconditionally and for whom you will also love back with every ounce of your heart.

Now I am scared about Derek's health. So you will have to stay tuned to see where this leads us.

So until next time.... Have a great day.

Richie