All rights reserved. Copyright held by the author. If you are underage or are offended by gay fiction, containing graphic sex and explicit language, please exit now.
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"BRIARWOOD"
Copyright Ritchris, 2005
aka "Whence Cometh My Help"
Copyright Ritchris, 2003
Revised Version
A dramatic saga
by
Ritch Christopher
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BEGINNING OF BOOK SEVEN
"I WILL LIFT UP MINE EYES"
Chapter-Sixty-seven
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><> If you're feeling fancy free, Come wander through the world with me. And any place we chance to be will be our rendezvous. Two for the road, we'll travel down the years, collecting precious memories. Selecting souvenirs, and living life the way we please. In summer time, the sun will shine, in winter, we'll drink summer wine. And every day that you are mine will be a lovely day. As long as love still wears a smile, I know that we'll be two for the road, and that's a long, long while.
"Two for the Road"
Lyrics by Leslie Bricusse
Music by Henry Mancini
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Dean Connelly stood before an audience of 3,000 students and visitors and loudly announced, "Our next graduate not only received the Johnny Laurence trophy for being the most outstanding athlete at Briarwood University, breaking the all-time record for most points ever scored by a quarterback, he also received the Blanche Adams award for extraordinary achievement in scholastic academics. His name is Thomas Christopher Summerfield!" The crowd broke into thunderous applause as Tom came forward to get his diploma.
No one was clapping more enthusiastically than Mike, Father Cliff, Roger, Kyle, Ryan, Jay, and Troy. This same group had been present at Briarwood High four days earlier when Mike received his high school diploma. It would have been impossible to see who was the happier, Mike or Tom. Mike was all but well now. Cole Institute's medical magic had worked miracles on Mike. As he gained weight, Tom had put Mike on a rigorous bodybuilding program and Mike's pectorals and abs were almost as big as Tom's now. Mike was the picture of good health with his newly tanned golden skin, acquired by spending the afternoons at Cliff's swimming pool. He no longer resembled a gangly Anthony Perkins; he was now a handsome young man.
The medicine and exercise had done wonders for Mike, but it was the love he had found in Tom. not to mention the love of a family called the Briarwood boys...and Father Cliff and Roger, that had seemingly given him new life.
The week before their graduations, Cliff had called Mike and Tom to come into his study where Roger was waiting to see them as well..
"Boys," Cliff began, "We're so very proud of both of you. You'll never know how much it has meant to us and to the rest of the guys for you two to have been a part of our lives. Roger and I were just talking and the two of us are baffled as to what to get each of you for a graduation present, so I told him it would be best if I asked you straight out."
Tom and Mike exchanged looks, wondering who would speak first. Finally it was Mike's voice that broke the silence.
"Father Cliff, Roger?" Mike said, which slightly startled Cliff. In the few years he had lived with Cliff and Roger, this was the first and only time Mike had ever called him Father.
"Yes, Mike?" Cliff replied, choking back a tear of happiness.
"Tom and I have been talking...about the two of you, about the Briarwood boys, which we're now a part of, and about Tom's and my future plans, and I'd really like something special, just for myself, then I'd like to ask for something for both Tom and me."
Cliff and Roger listened intensely to the content of Mike's request, and both were suddenly aware how much Mike's speech had been improved, both by Tom's tutoring and by being able to go to Briarwood High for his senior year. Mike's Alabaman accent had all but disappeared.
"Would you like to tell us what you want first, or would you rather tell me about what we can get for the two of you?" Cliff asked.
"Me, first, I guess." Mike replied. "Father Cliff, I've been wondering if it would be possible for you to get all our family together in St. Genesius...I don't want the whole congregation...just us...the boys!"
"I think that can be arranged, Mike, but for what purpose?"
"I want to be baptized and become a full-fledged member of St. Genesius."
A small wave of a pleasant surprise swept over Cliff's forehead and then down his body. Roger looked away happily but tearful to keep anyone from noticing his expression. Roger, as Cliff, was deeply moved by Mike's request.
Mike continued, "I know how close I was to dying and I know it was the two of you, the doctors at Cole, especially Dr. Middleton, my new family, and Tom's love that made me well. But I also know that you were praying for me all the time I was sick...and by some miracle, I got well. I believe now, Father, and I want to thank God as well."
Mike's entire speech was a total surprise to Tom. Never had he and Mike discussed religion, and this...this...confession of faith brought tears to both Tom's and Cliff's eyes, not to mention Roger who was already crying..
"Mike, of course I'll baptize you."
The second surprise came when Tom stepped forward and said, "Me, too, Father Cliff, I want to be baptized, too." Tom took Mike's hand and stood before Cliff, who by now had streams of tears coming down his face.
"Boys, what are you trying to do...make me the proudest man in the world?" Cliff managed to say. "I'm almost afraid, now, to ask what you want for the both of you."
Tom spoke, "We want you to perform a commitment ceremony for Mike and me. We love each other and want to spend the rest of our lives together. So why not make it legal?"
Roger caught his breath and cleared his throat before saying, "Tom... Mike...I'll give you the biggest and best ceremony Cliff has ever administered,"
"No, Roger, please, just our immediate family will do." Tom said. "Maybe Jeff, Johnny, Alex, and Ted can come down for Mike. I only have one relative...my uncle, but I'm afraid he would never understand. So, I was thinking maybe I would invite Phil, Howie, and Wylie to stand up for me."
"You know, guys, I may be an Anglican priest, but all of a sudden I want to shout a 'hallelujah'!"
"And I want to shout, 'AMEN'!" Roger added
"Well, go ahead! This is your house...so shout it! We'll help."
And like four holy-rollers on the bank of a creek bed on a Sunday afternoon, they all screamed, "HALLELUJAH!...and AMEN!"
Jay heard the ruckus and rushed into the den, "My God! Did Congress impeach Bush and I missed it on the news?"
Cliff, Roger, Mike, and Tom were laughing and hugging at the same time.
"Jesus Christ!" Jay screamed above the laughter, "if somebody doesn't tell me what's going on, I'm going to wet my pants...and I'm NOT cleaning it up!"
Jay's remark only brought about more laughter from the four. Troy came rushing into the study.
"What's going on, Cliff?" Troy asked.
"I think they've all been watching the 'Praise the Lord' channel and got converted by that purple-haired bitch who cries all the time. Look out! We'll probably have a good old 'foot washing' next Sunday, during mass!" Jay said to Roger, laughing uncontrollably.
"Guys!" Cliff exclaimed, "I have the most wonderful news. Roger and I asked the boys what they wanted us to give them for their graduation and it sort of backfired on us. They gave us a present instead."
Cliff explained through tears of joy what had just transpired between Tom. Mike, Roger and himself. His feeling of exaltation quickly enveloped
Jay, and Troy. Soon they were all hugging, offering congratulations.
Jay looked at Troy and said, "All right, it's our turn, now. On three...one...two...three!"
Jay, and Troy lifted their heads and shouted, "Hallelujah and AMEN!" all six broke into laughter once more.
"Why don't we all go into the den and I'll pop a magnum of Dr. Pepper?" Jay said.
All six, wrapped in laughter again, left the study to go into the den to celebrate.
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Later on the night of Tom's graduation, Mike and Tom were getting ready for bed. Tom was already nude lying on the claret-colored bedspread. Propping his head up with his elbow to watch Mike undress, he giggled. "Need some strip music?" he asked, with a grin.
"Only if the music is live," Mike replied, pulling his shirt over his head to reveal his muscled upper torso. He pulled his arms together at his waist and flexed to make his pectorals bounce. teasing his lover.
"Go on, Ahhnold, let's see duh rest!"
"Ah'll be 'bock'," Mike mused, "right after Ah pee."
"Make sure that's ALL you do while you're in the bathroom."
"Wanna come with me and watch?"
"Not as long as you come back naked."
"That can be arranged," Mike said over his shoulder as he went into the bathroom. True to his word, after he flushed the toilet, he proceeded to take off the rest of his clothes. He came back into the bedroom totally nude.
"Don't come in, just yet," Tom said. "Stand there in the doorway and let the light from the bathroom glow on your body for a minute." Mike complied and did a few bodybuilder poses. "My God, you're beautiful!"
"I'm wearing a Summerfield creation. I mean, what you see, is what you've done to me," Mike said.
"Walk over to the full-length mirror and take a good look at yourself," Tom told him.
Mike went to the mirror and he was more astonished every time he looked at himself. No one, including himself first and foremost, would ever believe that this pillar of healthy flesh once was diseased by the HIV virus. He looked good and he felt good.
"Do you like what you see?" Tom asked.
"I can't believe it's me...or 'I', excuse me. I'm a high school graduate now and can speak proper English!"
"You'd better do everything proper, now, Mister."
"So you love me now for my body? Yours is just as good or better than mine."
"Oh, is that why YOU love ME? For MY body?"
"The two bodies DO seem to go together well," Mike said.
"Then come jump into bed and let's put them together."
Mike turned and leapt over the end of the bed, landing on top of Tom's body. Instantly their penises became erect, each throbbing against the other's. Mike took Tom's face in his hands and looked at the face of his lover. Then he pressed his lips against Tom's for a long, wet, passionate, kiss. They had never consummated their relationship the entire time they had spent living together at Cliff's. They had slept nude, kissed, fondled, and occasionally helped the other get off by mutual masturbation, but no oral or anal sex had occurred. It wasn't that they were afraid of Mike's illness, it was the fact of Mike not being eighteen yet...and even though he had celebrated his eighteenth birthday, they were still waiting for the 'right' time.
"God, I love you," Mike whispered. "I never knew what love was until you came into my life."
"Who came into WHOSE life?" Tom asked. "I think it was YOU who came to watch me play football, wasn't it?"
"Well, if you hadn't looked so handsome and made all those spectacular plays during the game, I might not have noticed you."
"So, you think it was fate that brought us together?" Tom asked, pecking Mike's lips with his own.
"Huhn uhn, it wasn't fate. I think God meant us to be together before either of us was born!"
"I see you've been reading John Calvin's theory on predestination. Do you have an idea that you might become a Presbyterian?"
"I'd become a Buddhist, if that's what you were!"
"Well, I'm not an Anglican yet."
"But, we're both gonna be."
"Yes. You know, I was proud of the things you said to Father Cliff."
"And I was just as surprised that you wanted to be baptized. too."
"I can't take any risks of losing you. If God made you well, then I think He means us to be together, no matter what."
"And then, the commitment ceremony! I can't wait!" Mike exclaimed enthusiastically. "Are you gonna keep your word?"
"My word? About what?"
"That as soon as we're married, we can have real sex! I've waited over two years to feel you enter me."
"And I want you to make love to me, too. Are you mad at me for wanting to wait?"
"No, I love doing what we've been doing. It's just that...well, I've wanted to make love to you for so long. I was afraid you'd find someone else before we finally 'did it'."
"Mike, I wasn't worried about your HIV or having safe sex. There was the difference in our ages. I wanted to wait until you were eighteen and we could love one another equally, as adults."
"In a way, I'm scared," Mike said.
"Why?"
"It's just that...I've never made love to anyone before. I know that you had lots of guys before me and if I don't do it right...I mean, if I don't satisfy you..."
"Sweetheart, I not worried about your performance. I should be the one who's scared," Tom said.
"Why?"
"Look at that thing of yours! Look how big it's become! My God, that's almost a lethal weapon you're carrying between your legs. You could kill me!"
"I don't want to kill you...maybe just do some minor damage," Mike joked. Tom laughed at the 'supposed threat'. There was a pause while Mike became serious. "Tom, can I ask you something?"
"If we're going to spend the rest of our lives together, I don't see why I should keep any secrets from you."
"Well," Mike said, hesitantly, "those other guys...did you ever love any of them? I know about you and Jim. Did you love him?"
"I loved Jim, but not in the same way that I love you. As for the others, it was only sex. I never loved any of them."
"Not even the least tiniest bit?"
"Nope," Tom said. "There's only you. You're the only one I've ever really loved."
"I'm glad. That kinda makes us even. I've never loved anyone either...and I never had sex either...just that one time with Vince, but I didn't know what I was doing. It happened so fast...and to think I almost lost my life over it!"
"Mike, baby, that's all in the past. From now on, there's just you and me."
"What are we gonna do this summer?"
"I thought we might take a little trip...a kind of honeymoon."
"Where to?"
"Any place you've never been that you wanna see."
"Europe?"
"Europe, Asia, Africa, Alabama...you name it! There are a couple of things I have to do first."
"Like?"
"I called my uncle and he sold my parents home and deposited the money from the sale into my trust account that I received when I lost my parents. Of course, half of that is yours."
"You're kidding!"
"No, half of everything I own belongs to you...just as half of everything you own belongs to me."
"Heck, when I left Alabama to go to Mackintosh to see Vince, I only had a hundred dollars to my name...and that's long gone."
"Mike, what you can give me is not weighed in monetary terms. I want your love...but I want ALL of it, not just half."
"Would you get mad if I asked how much is half of your trust fund? I mean, I don't need it.
"You're saying that you want me for half my money?"
"No, I didn't even know about the trust fund until you mentioned it, just now."
"Well, in that case," Tom smiled. "Do you know what a seven figure bank account is?"
"Yes, it's a hundred thousand dollars." Mike said.
"Think again, Mr. High School Graduate. Add another zero."
"A MILLION?"
"You're getting warmer."
"Whaddya mean?"
"Since you figured out what a seven figure bank account is, now think about an eight figure bank account...divided by two."
"TOM! Are you serious? You have THAT much money?"
"No, WE do. You and I."
"Then we have enough to do anything in the world that we want!"
"That's right...ANYTHING that we want. If you want us to buy a house here in Briarwood or go to Timbuktu and live in an air-conditioned tree house, just decide. I presume that you DO want to go to college in the fall?"
"I don't know. Maybe I'll wait a year. You have your college degree--what are you gonna do?"
"I want to find something that we both can do together."
"I wanna help people, Tom. I wanna help guys who are just as sick as I was...and make them well too!"
"It's funny, but I knew that's what you'd say. I was prepared for it and deep down inside, that's what I want to do too." Tom said.
Mike jumped off the bed and went to his dresser, opened the bottom drawer and took out a small box.
"Since you got me that watch for MY graduation, I wanted to get you something, too. So I asked Jay to take me shopping last week and... well...here!" Mike unceremoniously shoved the white box at Tom.
Tom took the box and slowly opened it while Mike looked on, looking like a child giving a present to his Mom for Christmas for the first time. Inside the box, was a gold chain with a medallion hanging on it.
"READ IT!" Mike exclaimed, excited at the opportunity to give happiness to his love. "READ WHAT'S WRITTEN ON IT!"
Tom leaned over next to the lamp on the bedside table and read the inscription.
"It's that song that Roger played for us the other night. You said the words meant so much to you, so I had them engraved so that you could wear them next to your heart...and they come from my heart."
Only a few nights ago, Roger, Cliff, Troy, Jay, Mike, and Tom had watched the DVD of Stephen Sondheim's Broadway show, "Passion". The first line to one of the Sondheim songs were written in script across the gold medal, "Loving you is not a choice, it's who I am" and underneath was written "Love, Mike".
Tom read the words over and over. Then he broke into silent tears.
"Come here, you!" Tom said to Mike. "This is the greatest gift I've ever received and I love you for it."
Mike crawled back into the bed with Tom and Tom held him close to his chest all night long.
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On the Monday following Tom's graduation, Ed received a phone call and a letter from U.S. Senator Charles McIntyre(D), formerly from Ashton, fifty miles north of Briarwood. The letter said that the senator and several affluent friends in the medical profession had nominated Ed for the Nobel Prize in Medicine for his stem-cell research with HIV and AIDS. The senator called Ed and asked if he would appear before a congressional committee hearing on stem-cell research results.
Ed was both elated and alarmed that his and Roger's pet secret project had been made known in Washington, D.C. He wasn't sure if he would be indicted for illegal research on one the things that the Bush administration had been so adamant about. Had the two of them overstepped the boundaries by acquiring stem-cells illegally?
Mike was the 'proof in the pudding' that the work was successful. Surely if the country, as well as the world, could see how beneficial these studies were, maybe even a few tired old Republicans could see the error in their ways.
"Do you think Ed and I should go...and take Mike with us to the hearing?" Roger asked Cliff.
"By all means, Rog. Mike is a walking miracle," Cliff replied.
"I just don't want to exploit Mike, Cliff," Rog said. "Although our project helped Mike, it doesn't necessarily mean that we've found the cure for everyone. As you well know, there are so goddamned many strains of the fucking virus, our work hasn't affected that many."
"Roger, I'm sure that Jonas Salk's vaccine didn't work on everyone at first...but it DID work on ONE patient, and that was enough for him to continue his study, until he found a vaccine that would work on the masses. You're not afraid of charges being brought against you and Ed, are you?"
"Cliff, I don't want to do anything that would smear the Institute's name. No matter what they say, our work WILL go on. You know how Bush and his staff thinks...like when he said 'There's no such thing as global warming!'. It's gonna take something as big as Texas being slid into the Gulf of Mexico to open his eyes. You remember how furious I was when both the Republicans AND the Democrats in Congress dragged their feet on the prescription drug plan. More Americans were dying daily as a result of not being able to afford things such as insulin, digitalis, and the like, more than all the people we were angry about that Saddam Hussein had killed. Jesus Christ! What does it take to open people's eyes? Hundreds of physicians like Ed wrote and called their congressmen, trying to convince them that a cure for cancer, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, and AIDS lay in stem-cell research projects. But NO! If we ever found a cure, the drug companies would lose billions of dollars per year on the band-aid medicines which they manufacture. If a guy could get one shot of a vaccine to either immunize him or cure his HIV, they would stop getting rich off the 'cocktail', which now cost the AIDS-infected victims ten-thousand dollars each month! Maybe I SHOULDN'T go to Washington! I have too much to say to make too many people mad. Too many of the members of congress get rich from drug company lobbyists; they're not about to vote to release advanced medical procedures which might save thousands. They'll keep them off the market as long as they pocket the pay-offs from the pharmaceutical companies.. Have you ever thought why, with ALL our medical science, NO ONE has ever found the cure for the common cold? Can you think what would happen? There's be no more use for the hundreds of cold, flu, and sinus remedies stocked on the shelves of pharmacies. Hell, the fucking drug companies would go bankrupt!"
"Roger, calm down and take a blood pressure pills." Cliff said to him. "I think you and Ed SHOULD go to Congress. I think what both of you have to say should be said, one more time. I also believe that Mike should go with you as proof of what you're preaching. Would you like me to ask Mike?"
"No, I can do my own persuading, if it's necessary," Roger said, "but maybe it wouldn't hurt if we asked him together."
"Would it be all right if Tom went too?"
"Of course, I'd all but insist on it!"
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"CONGRESS? ME?" Mike gulped. "You want me to testify before Senators and Congressmen?"
"I'd be at your side, baby," Tom assured him. "Roger and Dr, Middleton would do MOST of the talking. Of course, if they ask you to remove your shirt and show your body as it is now, I'd keep my eyes open to see that no one made a pass at you."
"I've heard about Congressmen and their pages, but I didn't think it was true." Mike said.
"Mike, if truth be known, more male and female pages are molested in Congress than choirboys in the Catholic Church!"
"You're kidding!"
"Well, most of them are not molested, let's just say that they're lured into doing sexual favors."
"Oh, you mean like Monica-whatever her last name was?" Mike asked, wide-eyed.
"Well, that was a bit different, but it comes under the same heading."
"You don't think that anyone will...?"
"No, no, sweetheart! No one's going to get near that body of yours except me...after Father Cliff ties the knot between us," Tom assured him.
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During the two years that Jeff had been rector of St. Aloysius in Mackintosh, a great many changes had come about. The town was no longer a cemetery lobby waiting for AIDS patients to die. Scott and Alan had returned from the Cole Institute in Briarwood, looking like the spitting images on a "Men's Health Magazine" cover. Their AIDS was in full remission, their counts were in the extreme "normal" range. They each could pass a physical for the Olympic track and field team.
Seeing how wonderful they looked physically and how much they were in love emotionally, had made "believers" out of hundreds of Mackintosh residents who came there to pass away their lives until the disease caused their deaths. Three busloads containing forty residents each had gone to Cole to receive treatment. Many others had already returned and the town was growing. Some who had left their lovers, assuming that their former relationships were lost causes, had invited their "well and healthy" partners to come live with them in Mackintosh. Stores and new businesses were springing up almost overnight.
The "Let's help a brother in need" campaign still prevailed. If someone needed something or a place to stay, the "needs" were met almost instantly. It was as if Jimmy Carter's legacy of "Habitat for Humanity" had taken on a new and different meaning. Residents with skills of carpentry, plumbing, electrical wiring, etc. all pitched in to build new houses and shops. Most of the residents were still on disability pensions, but the money was being spent by the once-ill residents and, in its recirculation, the federal money helped the hamlet to prosper.
This was not to say that everyone who had gone to Cole received successful treatment, considering the stages of their disease. Several who received treatment had died, as well as those who chose no treatment at all, but, by and large, the death rate from AIDS in Mackintosh had dropped nearly seventy-five percent. The twenty-five percent who "passed on" had not unraveled the spirits of those whose health improved almost daily. The residents accepted these deaths as just "life and death" situations, the situations which occurred in every community around the world. Whereas, a couple of years ago, they were attending several funerals per month, now, sometimes months passed by with no trips to the funeral parlor and no reason to get depressed by losing a neighbor, friend, or loved one.
Scott returned to his bartending and managing duties at the Powder Puff and Alan had joined Johnny and Alex at the Center to assume an outreach position, counseling and acclimating new residents to the ways and means of the town.
Ted had organized and built a golf club which had become very successful and a favorite pastime among the residents. Not only had the club become popular, but Ted had become popular himself...so much so that the residents had held an election and unanimously voted Ted mayor of Mackintosh. Ted humbly accepted the position and Alex was pleased that Ted had found a new niche in life after coming so close to death and paralysis due to his accident, but Alex had warned Ted and all the residents that if anyone called him "the first lady" of Mackintosh, they would truly be sorry and rue the day!
Jeff and Johnny couldn't've been happier with the life they had made in Mackintosh. A few years had passed and they were just as much in love as they had been from the start of their relationship back in Briarwood at that horrendous debate with Parson Brindley.
St. Aloysius had grown and all three Sunday masses were now filled to capacity. Saturday afternoons, which had always been the accepted time for confessions, had forced the priest to find time for the growing number of commitment ceremonies---ceremonies which never failed to stir deep emotion in all who witnessed them. Couples and roommates were falling in love and developing long-range relationships, now that their recent doom had given way to new hope. They would live longer and now felt that it was worth loving and sharing their lives with another.
Jeff still held confession services on Friday and Saturday evenings, but truthfully, with all the love abounding throughout the hamlet, there weren't many sins to confess. Somehow, these guys and gals had all but surpassed John Melton's quest. They had built their own utopia. Too bad that they couldn't just shut the rest of the world out, turn off the newscasts on TV, forget about terrorists, taxes, and the like, and live happily ever after.
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Ed's name had been recognized by the Nobel Committee for Physiology and Medicine. Roger and Ed's appearance before the Senate Committee had been televised around the world. His delivery of facts and figures, which had previously been given by others in his field but ignored, this time were heard. They raised a few eyebrows and popped a few congressional eyeballs because what Roger and Ed had to say was echoed by thousands of voting constituents across the country via phone calls, telegrams, e-mails, letters, and editorials from all the major newspapers.
Mike had been a sort of 'surprise' that Roger had sprung before the Committee. Ed had charts, showing Mike's medical evaluation on his first day at Cole, topped off with 3'X 5' photographs of Mike, wearing only a bathing suit. The pictures depicted Mike as a hundred and twenty pound gaunt, emaciated, victim of full-blown AIDS...before treatment. Some of the Senators gasped, others turned away by looking down at random papers on the desks before them. Mike's photo could've passed for any war-torn victim of World War II's Dachau or Auschwitz-Birkenau. Ed allowed each member to take a long and hard look at Mike's pictures...pictures that none of them would ever forget. When he felt that they had seen enough, he motioned for the Sergeant-at-arms to open the chamber door and call Mike into the room.
The members of the Committee began to stir and buzz with conversation among themselves as Mike entered. Ed walked over to Mike and asked him to remove his jacket, shirt, and tie, which Mike did. Mike was proud of his mighty chest and didn't care whom admired it, including Senators and Representatives in Congress.
In a loud voice, Ed proclaimed, "THIS, Gentlemen, is the same person you see before you in those photos...AFTER we applied the stem-research project on him. These pictures have been authenticated by the A.M.A., to be true photos taken two years ago. I believe you can see the difference. One tiny cell, has helped so many, just as it has helped young Michael Hanley, standing before you. It's true, a picture can speak a thousand words, but one cell can save a thousand lives!"
Then something extremely unprecedented happened. Senator McIntyre stood up from behind the long desk in front of the Committee and began to applaud. One by one, the rest of the entire Committee stood and joined him, followed by the press, the guests, and visitors in the chamber, giving Roger, Ed, (and Mike) a standing ovation.
At home in Briarwood, Cliff, Jay, and Troy were watching the procedure on C-SPAN. All three instantly burst into tears...as did all the other Briarwood boys in their various locales, not to mention the millions of people who would benefit by the same kind of research in their perspective diseases and ailments.
It was Johnny in Mackintosh, who later said, "Roger's snapshot was just heard 'round the world!"
Mike and Tom were jumping for joy on the plane back to Briarwood. Roger had done all they could do...for now, but was still worried because at the end of his testimony, the Committee had agreed to take the matter of stem-cell research under advisement. Half of the U.S. population's future in health, education, welfare, environment, and other matters were always "under advisement" and never heard about again. 'Twas a pity that Congress and the Executive Branch of the government all had good jobs, plenty of food, shelter, clothing, medication, insurance, and money. Not many of them could identify with the urgency of need among their constituents, but most of them always seemed to get re-elected to do the same "nothing" as they had the year and term before.
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On the following Wednesday evening, after their return from Washington, D.C., Tom and Mike were baptized by Cliff. After they had received communion, the two of them changed clothes and returned to the altar at St. Genesius, w here Cliff performed a commitment ceremony, joining them as one for the rest of their lives. Those in attendance, besides Cliff and Roger, were Chris, Ed, Troy, Jay, Kyle, Ryan, Little Peter, Danny, Jeff, Johnny, Alex, and "Mayor" Ted, Phil, Howie, and Wylie. A reception was held later that evening at Cliff's house where Tom and Mike were toasted with champagne, followed by a huge dinner, catered by none other than Jay.
It would be difficult to pick out which of the guests was the 'most moved' by the celebration. Tom and Mike seemed to be the most unlikely couple to unite, after all that each had been through. Some would call it fate. The Briarwood Boys would call it an act of God since they had each found their lifetime companions so similarly.
"Where you guys going on your honeymoon, Mike?" Alex asked.
"There's not many places left after you've been to heaven," Mike replied. "Tom bought a Winnebago and we're gonna go many places and see many things."
"Where to first?" Jeff asked.
"Points west!" Tom said. "Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, California...maybe Hawaii!"
"In a Winnebago?" Mike asked, wide-eyed.
"Yeah, I know a shortcut!" Tom said, hugging Mike and kissing his cheek.
"Two for the road, huh?" Johnny said.
"We're gonna be working, though," Mike added.
"Oh?" Cliff said, surprised, "I hadn't heard about your working. What kind of work?"
"I don't know what others would call it, but we're...well, for want of a better word, we're gonna be missionaries," Tom said. The gang looked at one another, a bit puzzled before Tom continued, "Now WAIT! I know that Mike and I were just baptized tonight, we haven't gone 'religious' this soon, but Mike wants to go across the country to meet as many HIV- and AIDS-patients as possible and show them that there IS hope. Mike has received a great number of phone calls and e-mail letters since we got back from Washington, mail from people who saw him, Roger and Dr. Middleton on TV. T hey want Mike to speak at their AIDS centers, hospitals, fund-raising committees, and such. I'm sorry we didn't tell you about this, Father Cliff, but we talked it over with Dr. Middleton to see if he thought Mike could stand the task physically...and as far as the good doctor is concerned, Mike is well!"
This speech was followed by cheers and applause from the wedding guests.
"So," Tom added, "we leave tomorrow!"
The reception ended around 11:00 PM. Each of the guests retired to his bedroom with his partner, except for Kyle, Ryan, Little Peter, and Danny who returned to their own home.
Tom and Mike climbed the long winding staircase up to their room. Tom paused before entering.
"What's wrong?" Mike asked Tom.
"I was just wondering who is going to carry whom over the threshold?"
"Huh?"
"Who's the strongest?" Tom asked, seriously but in a kidding manner.
"That's easy!" Mike said, "ME! You simp!"
"Well?"
"You REALLY want me to pick you up and carry you into the bedroom?"
"If you don't, I'll pick YOU up. After all, it IS our wedding night."
"Then let's don't dilly-dally. I'll pick you up! I've been waiting for this for two years!" Mike said, picking up the former quarterback in one swoop, stopping just long enough to slam the door behind them with his right foot, running into the room and plopping Tom on the bed.
"How much did you have to drink?" Tom asked.
"You saw...about a half of a glass of champagne."
"What about the wine with dinner?"
"I didn't touch it. I drank water. Why?"
"I wanted to see if you were too drunk to perform or if you were sober enough to know what we're doing," Tom joked. "Never let it be said that Tom Summerfield took advantage of an inebriated eighteen-year old in the bedroom!"
"Your eighteen-year-old HUSBAND...and on his wedding night!"
"Oh, shut up and come here," Tom beckoned to Mike. "Let me take that tuxedo off you...tonight, I can taste the goodies!" Mike hurried to Tom as Tom began tearing open buttons, stripping off tie, coat, vest, pants, socks, shoes...everything but Mike's boxers. "I'm saving those until I get undressed!"
Quickly, Mike dived on top of Tom and tore off his evening attire, saving the boxer shorts.
"Now what?" Mike asked.
"And now, the piece de resistance!" Tom said, as he clutched the waistband on both sides of Mike's shorts.
"The piece of what?"
"Jesus! Didn't they teach you to speak French in Alabama?" Tom kidded.
Mike paused. "Sure...,". Mike closed his eyes as if trying to remember something. "Wait! Wait! I almost have it!...Let me think! OK. OK. I got it now!. Then his most southern drawl, Mike said, "Voolez vouse cooshay aveck moy?"
"God damn!" Tom laughed, "Where the fuck did you learn that?"
"School! In English class."
"School? Do you know what it means?"
"Sure, I asked if you'd like to go to bed with me?"
"And they taught you that at Briarwood High?"
"Sure, Blanche du Bois says it in "A Streetcar Named Desire"! I memorized that line. I saved it and wanted to use it on you tonight."
"Jesus Christ!" Tom said, "You're just FULL of surprises, aren't you?"
"Just wait until you see what other surprises I have in store for you, tonight, big boy!"
"Maybe I should call Father Cliff or Roger," Tom said, "I think I'm going to need a chaperone---and maybe a medic!"
"Are you gonna take off my underwear, or are you just gonna sit there and talk all night? We've been talking for two years! It's time for some action!"
"You horny little devil! I'll show you a few surprises I've saved for you!"
"Well, get to one of them, I'm hard as a rock!"
Tom slowly pulled the boxers down to reveal Mike's insistent erection. Mike stepped out of the shorts as Tom leaned forward to kiss Mike's navel.
"Oh, God, you taste good," Tom said. "You're like a box of rare chocolates that I've been looking at through the window of a candy store for a long time, but was too afraid to touch."
"Wait, Tom, before you go any farther," Mike said, reaching for the bedside table drawer. "We're gonna play it safe, so that we'll be together a long, long time." Mike tore open a condom and stretched it over his erection. "Safe sex means SAFE sex for both of us. Anal OR oral! Here, let me put one on you, too." Mike tore open the second one while reaching to take off Tom's shorts. He placed the tip of Tom's penis just barely, into the condom and let his mouth guide it up Tom's shaft until his nose touched Tom's willowy brown patch of pubic hair.
"Shit! That's not fair!" Tom said. "You got to go down on me first."
"There are other things you can do first on me!" Mike said, as he continued to bob his head up and down on Tom's vertical pound of flesh.
"Stop! Stop! Stop!" Tom begged, "Please, babe, don't rush it. Remember, I haven't been functioning on all cylinders since we moved in together. I'm a bit over-anxious myself. Please slow down and have a little mercy on an old man," Tom said, trying his best not to reach a premature climax.
"OLD?" Mike replied, "I don't see any gray in your pubic hair."
"Just be grateful for two things," Tom replied. "First, be glad that I stopped you when I did, but more important, be very, very glad that I was wearing a condom because the load you were building up in my nuts would have filled up your esophagus and might've caused congestive heart failure."
Mike gave Tom a look of sarcastic disbelief.
"Mike, baby, come up here beside me and let's kiss a little. We have the whole night and the rest of eternity."
"Yeah, but I want you so much!"
"You've got me, big guy, for now and always and you're never gonna get rid of me."
"Tom, I love it when you say things like that. It makes me feel safe and more secure than I've ever felt in my whole life."
"Buddy boy, you're all the family I need or want. My uncle really isn't my uncle. He was my dad's brother, but prior to dad's accident, I'd only seen my uncle twice in my whole life! Now, do I get that kiss or don't I?"
"You do...and a million more to follow," Mike said as he lay his head next to Tom's on the pillow. The kissing session was long and passionate. They had petted like this before, but now it had a new meaning, they were married and each kiss meant so much more. Mike slid his hand down to hold Tom's penis. Tom reciprocated the gesture.
"You want me to work on that thing for a while?"
"You can if you want. It's yours. I give it to you as a wedding night present," Mike said, kissing his lover one more time.
Tom arched his arms above Mike's chest to begin the grand tour. Tom had had sex with many guys before, but none had a body as beautiful as the one beneath him now. He wanted to ravage Mike's pectorals, but instead he took it slow and gentle, kissing each nipple and causing ripples up and down Mike's spine. Tom inserted his tongue inside Mike's navel before he slid down the trail of brown velvety hair which led to Mike's organ. Tom bypassed Mike's penis by sliding his tongue to the crease between Mike's thigh and genital region, stopping to flitter his tongue on Mike's scrotum. Mike stretched his arms above his head, trying to find the bed headboard or something to hold onto before he cried out in sheer ecstasy. Nothing had ever felt as wonderful as Tom doing magic between his legs.
Mike thought to himself, "If this is gay sex, no wonder there are so many homosexuals in the world. Did they all get the same sensations I'm feeling or is sex with Tom different?" His next thought was, "I have to remember everything that Tom is doing to me. I know he's doing what he likes done to him, and I will NOT disappoint him when it's my turn!"
At that moment, Tom engulfed all of Mike's rod down his throat until his lips were pressing against Mike's pubic bone. Next Tom began undulating his head up and down, sliding the full length of Mike's penis every time. It was then, that Mike realized he was a "goner"--- he had to release the juice which had built up in his seminal tract. He wasn't embarrassed or afraid because he trusted the mighty Trojan he was wearing. Mike filled the reservoir tip and felt his warm fluid encasing his shaft within the condom. Tom was aware of Mike's orgasm by the restriction in Mike's scrotum.
"That's it, baby!" Tom gasped. "Let it go! Give it ALL to me!"
Tom kept Mike inside his mouth long after the climax to give Mike time to relax and catch his breath. Finally Tom released him and peered through Mike's open legs and whispered, "How was that, slugger?"
"I knew how much I loved you before, but suddenly I found I have more love to give." Mike gasped. "Sweetheart, darling, it was wonderful!"
Tom returned to Mike's side, placing his head next to Mike's on the pillow.
"You liked that, huh?" Tom said.
"If you did that to all the guys before me, I guess I'm lucky that you married me. I understand now why your coach had the hots for you. Heck, I'd've left my wife, too, just to have you."
"You're forgetting one thing, baby, I wasn't in love with the coach. I'm in love with you."
Mike paused and thought silently for a moment.
"Tom, you're gonna keep your promise, aren't you?"
"Any promise I make to you, I'll always keep."
"You're gonna do it to me in the back, aren't you?"
"On one condition," Tom said. "If we're gonna be married, I would like to get one thing settled between us."
"What?"
"Everything between us is equal. Whatever I do to you, you do the same to me...and vice versa. I don't want a wife and I don't want to become one."
"You mean like a 'top' and a 'bottom'? Jay explained to me what that meant."
"That's exactly what I mean. I'm not a top or a bottom and neither are you. We are both men...both husbands, so to speak. Agreed?"
"Agreed, Tom."
"So, if I make love to 'in the back' as you call it, you have to do the same to me."
"OK, but I guess that means I owe you a blowjob."
"Baby, if you're gonna start counting who's turn is next, I'll have to install the 'Math Whiz' for your computer. Calculators can't count that high."
Mike laughed. Tom took a long look at his new handsome, naked husband. There were four years difference in their ages, but Tom felt that they were matched perfectly.
"Are you stalling?" Mike asked.
"I said that I'd never lie to you...and YES, YES I AM! I'm stalling!"
"Why, for God's sake?"
"I want your first time to be so special and you've gotten me so goddamned horny, I'm afraid I'll shoot as soon as my dick touches your ass cheeks. I won't get inside you."
"All right! The first time won't count," Mike said, "because I'm afraid the same thing will happen to me. So that makes us even, so to speak!"
"OK, we'll try it, but I'm not promising anything this first time."
"Boy, you sure don't talk like a big football hero. You're making excuses like a wimp!"
"WIMP? ROLL OVER ON YOUR STOMACH AND I'LL SHOW YOU WHO'S A WIMP!" Mike slowly turned over. "Now, IF I get inside, it might hurt a little."
"I know...remember Vince?"
"I don't want you to think about that. I only want you to think of me and what we do with and to each other. So, take a deep breath."
Mike wasn't tense. He relaxed as Tom slowly made love to Mike, step by step. Mike had Tom inside him and he was satisfied. Everything he ever wanted in life had just been given to him with one gentle thrust.
Mike and Tom took turns making love to one another all night. Around 5:00 AM, they both fell asleep, but this time, Mike was inside Tom. They slept until noon. Mike was the first to awaken. He carefully slipped out of bed and tiptoed to the bathroom for his early morning pee. He turned on the shower and stood under the hot water for ten minutes. When he returned to the bedroom, he noticed that Tom was still sleeping soundly and Mike chose not to disturb him, since he would be doing most of the driving on their trip today. Mike dressed and came downstairs. Cliff had gone to the church. Troy had taken the van to do the weekend grocery shopping. Jay was in the kitchen, still washing and tidying up after last night's reception. Mike pushed on the swinging door and entered the kitchen.
"Morning," Mike said.
"Well, good morning to you, Mr. Hanley-Summerfield!," Jay said with a joking smirk on his face. "Would you like breakfast or lunch?"
"Just some juice for now, I'll wait and eat when Tom wakes up."
"My God, he's not awake yet? WAIT! Don't answer that! Every groom has the right to sleep late on the morning after his wedding night." Mike laughed. Jay put his hand on his hip and tapped his foot, giving Mike a long hard look. "WELL?"
"Well, what?"
"How was it?"
"How was what?"
"Your wedding night, Twiddle Dum!"
"Oh, I got a good night's sleep!" Mike said, ignoring Jay by going to the refrigerator and then to the cupboard for a glass to pour himself a glass of orange juice.
"A good night's sleep? I'll bet you were up all night doing God knows what!!!"
Mike didn't reply, he just sat at the table and drank his juice.
"Listen, you little football groupie, THIS is not the military. I don't have a 'Don't ask, don't tell' policy in my kitchen. I'm dying to know all about your first night of love-making."
"Oh, that..."
"Yes, THAT!"
Again, Mike remained silent.
"My Lord, I'm gonna need another Xanax if you don't start talking." Jay said. "So, how was it? Did you do all the things I told you to do?"
"Yep!...and then some!"
"I told you that Tom would have some ideas of his own. That's why I tried to give you a few pointers so that you wouldn't feel as if you were inexperienced."
"Jay, it was the most wonderful time of my life. I guess it was well worth the wait. I didn't think I could possibly love Tom any more than I already did...but this morning when I awoke and looked at his head on the pillow, I suddenly realized that I would be looking at that picture for the rest of my life. I wanted to shout and jump for joy. Tom is so wonderful and caring. I almost cried when it hit me that he was all mine...and I belonged to him."
"Aren't you glad, now, that you listened to Jeff and Johnny and came to Briarwood?"
"I was afraid it would be the end of my life...and now, it's like I've been reborn and have a whole new life ahead of me."
"It's nice to belong to someone, isn't it? I can't imagine living a day without Troy. I know that I carry on a lot, like some hysterical banshee, but that's the image I choose to present to people. But when Troy and I are alone, I come back down to earth and meet him on his level and let him know, each and every day, how much I love him. I would die for Troy, Mike. I know that you feel the same way about Tom. I can see it the way you always look at each other. Cliff, Roger, and I talked about it on the way home from the game...the night you two met. Something happened then. Cliff and Roger saw it instantly and the four of us, Troy, Cliff, Roger and I sat back and watched as nature did her thing and brought you together."
"I guess we owe a lot to your broccoli, or I wouldn't be here now."
"Neither would Troy---broccoli did wonders for him, as well." Jay took the pitcher and started squeezing more fresh oranges. "Mike, how long do you think you and Tom will be gone?"
"We don't know...a month, two months...we'll just take it a day at a time," Mike said,
"And afterward are you coming back to Briarwood?"
"I think so. We've been looking at some property and Tom wants to build me a house...a REAL house, not like the one I had in Alabama."
"I'm glad."
"And besides, why would we move away from our family? You guys are the only family that Tom and I have."
"Sometimes, I wonder if Cliff and Roger ever think about the orphanage they started and how many boys they've adopted."
"They're the greatest men I ever met in my life...and that includes all those Senators in Washington."
"Troy and I have often talked about what Cliff would have done if he hadn't settled his ministry at St. Genesius. Men like Cliff are usually famous and win big awards and have honors bestowed on them. Instead, he chose to stay here and help people such as me..."
"...and me!" Mike added.
"And look at Roger! Dear God how he's made the entire world a better place."
"They're doing it, Jay. Look at me...and others like me. That's why I want to go across the country and make sure that EVERYONE knows about Father Cliff, Roger, Dr. Middleton, and the Cole Institute."
"Bless you for that, Mike!"
"Did somebody sneeze?" Tom said, coming into the kitchen.
"Well, good morning, Mr. College Graduate, slash, football hero, slash, new member of St. Genesius, slash, and the newest and happiest groom in the world," Jay said.
"Good morning, Jay," Tom said, crossing over to the table to Mike, "and good morning to you, my sweetheart." Tom kissed Mike.
"I won't ask how you slept," Jay said. "I can still remember my first night with Troy. Hell, I didn't sleep THAT night or any night for a whole week! I was ready to file for divorce for ASSault. I would have, too, if I hadn't enjoyed it so much!"
Mike and Tom laughed at Jay's remark and kissed again.
"Look, you two!" Jay interrupted, "You got a long drive to...to... somewhere over there," pointing west, "and you're gonna need REAL food, so what can I fix you? Pheasant? Foie Gras? Caviar?...Pickled pigs' feet? Snake au gratin?"
"Eggs, toast, and bacon would be fine, thanks, Jay," Tom said.
"And your other half? What does he want?"
"I'll have the same, please, if it's not too much trouble," Mike said.
"Listen, while I'm cooking, if you two get the urge to exchange body fluids, go to your room! I just mopped the kitchen floor! I know the aroma is the same as Clorox, but it doesn't dry the same on clean tile!"
Cliff came in the back door and gave Jay, Tom, and Mike a hug.
"Morning...or should I say, good afternoon?" Cliff said.
"Try 'real early morning, Cliff, these two have been up all night and they don't know whether it's daylight or dark outside." Jay joked.
"Big night, huh?" Cliff said, smiling.
"The greatest, Father!" Mike said.
"It WAS the greatest, Father," Tom added.
"I'm glad," Cliff said, "it's always good to get a marriage off on the right foot."
"Not 'foot', Cliff, try another appendage a few feet higher," Jay chimed in.
Cliff laughed warmly, while Mike and Tom blushed.
"Is there anything you need for your trip? How are you fixed for cash?" Cliff asked.
"No, thanks, Father, we're rich!" Mike blurted, then dropped his head when he realized he had spoken too soon, "I'm sorry, Tom, honest!"
"No need to apologize, baby, we ARE rich," Tom said, "you'll just HAVE to get used to it."
"Mike, Tom, you are both rich with or without money. Sometimes, when I have a tragedy at church or someone gets ill or loses a loved one...something over which I have no control, I get depressed and wonder what all THIS is for...my work, my life...but when I see the miracle that brought you both together, I get on my knees and thank God, as I did this morning, and then I know that everything I do is worthwhile. You are both young and on the brink of your new life together and, deep inside, it gives me a feeling of my own rebirth. Of course, when you announced your decision, last night, about your journey, my heart almost burst with love, pride, and joy."
Cliff's speech made Jay turn toward the sink and grab onto it while he cried silently.
"If we do any good, Father, we owe it all to you and Roger," Tom said. "All of us Briarwood boys, of which I'm proud to say Mike and I are now a part, are just an extension of the love you've given us...Troy, Jay, Ryan, Kyle, Father Jeff, Johnny, Alex, Ted, and our two new brothers we met Thanksgiving, Rob and Timmy...and now, Mike and me."
"Roger and I have been blessed by having all of you for a family."
"Not as much as us," Tom said.
Jay didn't turn around, but said, very seriously, "Amen".
By 2:30, the Winnebago was loaded and packed for their long journey. They said their farewells to the Briarwood gang, got into the van and headed west.
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(To be continued in "Briarwood"---BOOK SEVEN--chapter--sixty-eight)