All the characters and events in this story are fictitious. Any resemblance to real people, either living or dead, is entirely unintentional.
The story is copyrighted and may not be reproduced in any way without the express permission of the author who can be contacted at:
pjalexander1753@gmail.com
PJ
D'n'M Part 7.
From Chapter 10:
Before he could complete the thought, his body had collapsed back onto the bed and he was fast asleep, his unconscious mind floating on a sea of adolescent hormones and full of the images that have filled the sleeping minds of teenage boys for tens of thousands of years. Throughout the night his hand never left his dick which, as a result of the physical contact and the non-stop mental picture show, was never less than half chubbed. And in the morning his first conscious thought was to wonder how soon he could stage a repeat performance of the spectacular night before. Yes, he decided, this new chapter in the life of Domenico de Beer promised to be a whole lot of fun.
Chapter 11, Epilogue:
FROM: d.debeerreed@gmail.com
TO: tom.reeduk@hotmail.com
SUBJECT: Catch-up
Hi Tom, it was so good to see you and the family at the weekend. It made it so special that you were all able to come down for Nico's birthday. I know mum and dad had a really great time. It was a real treat for them, having all the grandkids together. Do you remember us getting the kid-gloves treatment the way they always seem to? I know I don't. Maybe it's like people say, the two best things about being a grandparent are not having to be the one who's always saying `No', and also being able to hand the kids back at the end of the day. Shania, my boss at work, told me that having grandkids is a reward for not killing your own kids. I like that. I have to say, though, that you truly fell on your feet when you got together with Chloe. I've never managed to work out what she sees in you - she's so much more than you deserve! How she puts up with you and all your big-kid messing, I have no idea. But Aiden and Ellie still seem to be lapping up all the silly-dad stuff and Aiden clearly thinks his step-dad Tom can walk on water and that his shit is made of gold. Are you bribing him or something? I can't think of any other explanation for him being so devoted to you.
Like you said at the barbecue on Sunday, it was great to see him and Nico getting on so well, even though they're such totally different personalities. You wouldn't think they're so close in age, with Nico just turned fifteen and Aiden going to be fourteen in a couple of weeks. I could barely keep a straight face the way Nico showed your two around the new house as if he was king of the castle.
Me and M were completely blown away when Gerry said he wanted us to have one of the executive plots that back onto the river. He was determined that his number one grandson' had done enough of living in slums and it was way time that he had somewhere he could be proud to come home to. Well, he was certainly that as he took your two on the grand tour. The big sunroom extension at the back is a great addition. You wouldn't believe how big a difference it makes, having so much space, after being cramped together in the apartment, and the three kids all loved the basement games room. I can definitely see Nico spending a lot of time down there in the next few years. Hopefully it won't be too long before he's bringing friends round for sleep-overs -- just as long as they keep the noise down. Oh fuck, that makes me sound so old! Mind you, with mine and M's bedroom being right at the top of the house, I don't suppose we'll be bothering each other much. Hey, I didn't tell you, did I, that the little shit told us before we'd even moved in that he wanted his bedroom to be as far away from ours as possible so he didn't have to listen to his two uncles going at it with all that gay shit'? He's one to talk - he's not doing too badly in the balls-emptying department himself if his boxer briefs and bed sheets are anything to go by. I think it might be time he started doing his own laundry. Maybe I could find that old Mickey Mouse towel!
He finally seems to have settled into his sessions with Shania. First time around, back when everything about living here had been completely new to him and he was still in silent mode, it didn't work at all and the truth is that it's not been exactly smooth sailing this time. But it seems as if they've finally managed to figure out a way of making it work and Nico even made a joke about her hair colour being different every time he sees her. I so remember that from the sessions I had with her all those years ago. It was only when M told me, much later, that I found out she did it deliberately to give the kids she worked with something to talk about, that and the pictures on the walls of her office. Most importantly, though, is how their conversations are having an increasingly positive effect on him. He seems less confused and angry about everything that happened to him in Buenos Aires and he's even beginning to talk about his mum without all the shouting and tears we had before. It's still hard to believe how tough things were at times, even after we all started trying extra hard to make things work for the three of us. I wish I knew how he's managing to come to terms with the whole nightmare his mum put him through when they lived in Buenos Aires, `cause I still can't think about Kate without remembering what a total bitch she was to M and how I wish she'd never come back into our lives, even from beyond the grave. But then again, if she hadn't written the infamous letter we'd never have known about Nico or had him in our lives, and I honestly can't imagine what a huge loss that would be. Who'd have thought it, eh, that I'd really enjoy being a parent? I've even started thinking about talking to Hamza about fostering other kids, maybe even, one day, adopting. I'm not thinking babies (too yucky), but other kids just like Nico who have had a rough ride and who need somewhere safe and caring where they can get their lives back on track. I suppose it must mean that I've finally grown up. Now that's a scary thought. I've not mentioned anything to M about fostering so please don't go blabbing your big mouth -- I know how close you two are and how easily you get carried away when you're together.
Last week we had a long talk with Nico about Kate's letter as part of his latest session with Shania. He's known for a while that it exists and that it's down to the fact that it got sent on to us from the authorities in Buenos Aires that we know so much about what his life was like before he came to live with us. We explained to him that what his mum wrote goes into a lot of not very nice detail, not only about him and his mum together, but about what she had to do in order to survive before he came along. He got pretty upset but Shania was totally great with him and told him that it was completely up to him when, or even if, he decides to read it for himself. And that, if he does, he can choose to have someone there with him. And you know what, Tom, that boy was amazing, so mature and sensible. He said he was too busy working out how to make a go of his new life here with us and that he didn't want to mess with his head by dragging over the past, especially his mum's version of the past. One day, he said, he would probably want to read it but not yet, not now. I was so proud of him and it made me realise that, without that letter, M wouldn't have had a chance to be the most amazing substitute dad any kid ever had. They're so good together and you probably realised at the weekend just how much they're both loving the whole parent-bonding thing. I can't believe how close I came to wrecking everything when I was convinced that M was some kind of secret paedo who only wanted Nico in our lives as his personal sex slave. Fuck knows where my head was, but we're getting things sorted, thanks to the Couples Counselling which is going well for the two of us. I'm glad we decided not to use one of M's colleagues at Margelles & Associates. That would have been totally too weird. The woman recommended by Shania is great. Elizabeth her name is, never Liz. Her approach is pretty old school and she won't take any of what she calls our `nonsense' when we try, well, me mostly, to avoid giving straight answers to her questions. We even get given homework! One time we had to sit opposite each other at the kitchen table for five whole minutes without speaking and then tell each other one thing about each other's face that we'd never noticed before. It was strange but weirdly wonderful. I'd never realised before that one of M's eyes is a darker blue than the other one and I, apparently, have got some grey hairs in my eyebrows. At least, I did have. As soon as he told me about them I went straight to the bathroom and got a pair of tweezers and pulled them out. M and Nico both thought it was hilarious. Then a couple of weeks ago our homework was to not touch each other for the whole weekend, not even accidentally, like when we brushed past each other or handing over a plate or the remote control. I can't tell you how hard that weekend was -- and it wasn't just the weekend that was hard, if you get my meaning. Monday morning sex has never been so incredible.
When I first told M that we needed to get the help of a counsellor, it was a sort of condition of me agreeing to give our relationship another chance, after the disaster of the whole `Buenos Aires hotel room thing', you know? He didn't make any secret of the fact that he really wasn't very happy about it, but I was totally sure that we wouldn't be able to work things out alone and that we needed someone neutral and independent to be a sort of mediator. Well, the weird thing is, he's really taken to it, the whole process, and has been getting so much out of it. He and Elizabeth get on so well, even though, like I said, she's really old school. It's almost as if they've known each other for years. Mostly we go together -- it is called couples' counselling after all - but they've had a couple of sessions where it's been just the two of them -- they did ask me, first, if I was okay with that. I have to admit I was a bit surprised, but M said there were some issues he wanted to talk through without me being there, although he did promise to fill me in afterwards.
It turns out that he's always had trouble getting his head around the fact that I'm not generally into guys, only him, and has struggled to fully believe that he truly is everything I want in a life partner. He told Elizabeth that he often has a nightmare where I meet a woman and decide to dump him and go off with her. True to his word, he told me all this in the next joint session we had with Elizabeth -- he said she was his emotional back-up' - and believe me, I was genuinely speechless. How had he kept this from me for all the years we've been together? I had imagined all sorts of possible scenarios of what he wanted to talk about without me but that one was never even on the radar. Once I'd got my head together and was able to speak again I felt it was only fair to tell him the truth -- that there had been a moment, roundabout the time that I was convinced that M wanted to have sex with Nico, when I'd wondered if I had made the right choice and maybe life in a straight relationship with a woman would have been a better option. Then it was M's turn to be shocked into silence, but before he went into total meltdown I was out of my seat and on my knees, begging him to believe that those thoughts had disappeared from my head almost as quickly as they'd arrived. He still didn't look as if he believed me, not until I reached inside the collar of my shirt and pulled out the dog tags that have hung around my neck since the day he gave them to me. As far as I'm concerned they are the ultimate symbol of my love for him, especially knowing that he has a matching set that hang close to his heart. That seemed to calm M down and then Elizabeth asked if I could think of any other way of convincing him that he was, and always would be, my one-and-only. Well, let's just say that it was a good thing that our bedroom is a long way from Nico's otherwise we'd never hear the end of him complaining about us going at it with all that gay shit' until the early hours. I think I can say with a lot of confidence that M is never gonna have that nightmare again.
I started telling you at the weekend about getting Nico into school but there was too much going on to give you the full story. So, Mrs. Bolton had been telling us for a while that he was more than ready to start at Greenside High, despite all the education he's missed out on. She said he was no less well prepared for transfer to high school than many other middle schoolers she's taught in the past. Well, surprise, surprise, Greenside High wasn't so keen and it took a lot of persuasion' to get them to agree. They kept telling us that there were other schools which were better equipped to meet his particular needs' -- schools right on the other side of town of course, schools which had more expertise in dealing with the sort of education delay' that Nico has experienced. Even the glowing report that Mrs. Bolton wrote didn't cut through all the barriers and excuses that Ms. Ohura and the governing body threw up. Mum thought they just didn't like the sound of someone with Nico's background joining the school but Dad was convinced it was all to do with Ms. Ohura not wanting to be bested by the Reed family again, you know, like when it was us against the school back when all the Baker stuff hit the fan. In the end it took a lot of hints of legal action against the governors before they decided to play ball, that and a promise from Gerry of a sizeable donation towards brand new equipment and kit for all the sports teams. Of course, we kept a lot of the detail of these conversations from Nico. The last thing we wanted was for him to think he was being rejected before he'd even started at the school. We had the last laugh, though, cause now Nico gets to play soccer for the school team wearing a jersey with the name of his grandpa's company in big letters splashed across his chest.
And talking of soccer, I've gotta say that it's been one of the very best things that's come out of all this. That day when something, and I still don't fully understand what, made me join in with Nico's pick-up game at the park was a total life-changer. It's been great for giving me and the boy the opportunity to get so much closer. I think M gets a bit jealous sometimes, like when me and Nico spend hours watching games on TV, talking about the different team tactics and how, naturally, we'd be so much better than the actual players on the pitch. I've totally enjoyed getting involved again and a few days ago I saw an ad on social media for a local under 13's team that's looking for a coach. I'm seriously thinking of giving them a call to find out more about it. Who'd have thought I'd ever get drawn back into the game again, after everything that happened all those years ago? Definitely not me. I get the feeling that M is worried that I'll find it all too stressful, you know, that it'll bring up too many painful memories, but, like I told him, I think that getting more involved with the game could actually help me finally put a lot of the anger and resentment to bed, once and for all. You know, making a positive out of a negative. Whatever, I'm willing to give it a try. I'll keep you posted.
Going back to the whole school thing, if I'm honest it's been a bit of a bumpy ride. I know it's always difficult starting out when everyone else has been together for ever and they've already got their friendship groups sorted. And it hasn't helped that Nico has had such little experience of school life and how to get along with the other kids. Being such a good soccer player has helped but there's not much sign of him being properly accepted by the other kids. There's one lad in his class that he talks about quite a lot, a boy named Finn, but he hasn't asked if he can have him over at all, not for dinner or even just to hang out. I know it'll take some time for things to settle down but me and M both worry that he's gonna become a real loner and undo all the progress he's made.
So, I've been saving the best news till last, and believe me, it totally is the best. Yesterday we got a letter from Hamza at Social Services to tell us that we've finally got clearance to become Nico's official foster parents. And not only that, the letter also says that, if everything continues to go well, then it won't be long before we can apply for formal and permanent adoption. Great, or what?! The whole process has been dragging on forever but now we've been given the go-ahead, it feels as if all the waiting and frustration has been totally worth it. Apart from Hamza's glowing report on us and on the rest of the family, the thing that finally swung it in our favour was the fact that M is a close blood relative and that Kate had expressed a clear desire for Nico to live with us and be a proper part of his own biological family. We'd begun to think that this day would never come but now that it has I can honestly say that it's one of the most amazing things that has ever happened.
And just to put the cherry on the cake, Nico has decided he doesn't want to be called Nico any more! He says it's his `bad-old-days name' and he also thinks it makes him sound too different. He wants to be able to fit in at school and so, from now on, he wants to be called Dom (short for Domenico). Of course, that's completely fine with us -- anything that makes him feel more at ease and accepted has got to be a good thing. The upshot is that, from now on, there's no such thing as D'n'M -- it's gonna be D,M'n'D forever!
Cheers big bro
D.
And that's it folks. After more than 5 years since I started writing and tens of thousands of words, the tale of D'n'M has finally come to the end of the road. I want to thank those of you who have stuck with the guys from start to finish, especially all of you who have taken the time and trouble to get in touch to tell me what you think of the story. It started out as a pandemic time-filler and then developed a life very much of its own. I certainly had no idea when I started out that it would become such an epic. And you never know, one day I might decide to tell you about Dom's new life at Greenside High, but I'm making no promises, and for now it's definitely over and out. PJ
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