Half Past Sunset, An Hour Before Dawn

Half Past Sunset, An Hour Before Dawn-4 Contact at RitchChristopher@cs.com

All rights reserved. Copyright held by the author. This is a work of fiction containing explicit sex and graphic language. If you are offended by such, underage, or live in a state or territory where literature of this nature is unlawful, please exit now and read no farther....R.C.

"HALF PAST SUNSET, AN HOUR BEFORE DAWN"

by

Ritch Christopher

Chapter Four

Del had made a small pot of Earl Grey tea by the time I arrived. Mentally, I kicked myself in the elevator all the way up to the 15th floor. What was I going to say and why did I have to say it here and now? It was like being caught with your pants down when you least expected it. Something incomprehensible had happened to me and I wouldn't rest...not tonight...not the next day at school...not ever, if I didn't get this out in the open with my Valentino and tell him a few truths about myself that I'd kept hidden. Maybe when Del heard about the "real" me, he wouldn't be all that interested and he'd tell me to go hop a freight train and get the hell out of Dodge, including his life.

Del opened the door wearing nothing but a navy robe. He smiled pleasantly as if he were glad to see me in spite of my waking him at such an ungodly hour.

"Hey, big guy, come on in," he invited

"Thanks. I must say I'm a bit embarrassed by bothering you like this...but I'm very grateful...and glad to see you." I responded.

"Aw, forget it, come on in. I've got some some hot water boiling on the stove."

Del led me down a long hall into his kitchen, which was as large as most New York restaurants. He pushed a button on the side of the bar in the middle of the room and two round seats revolved out from beneath.

"Have a seat, buddy...you look like you've had a rough night." Del said, removing my jacket. "Now, what's this all about? My God, you're trembling. Did you get mugged or something?" he asked with genuine concern.

"Again, I apologize for disturbing you, Del, especially at this hour." I began.

"What's the old gag line?...'It's quite all right, I had to get up to answer the phone, anyway." Del said smiling.

I feel a bit relieved seeing that he didn't appear to be disgruntled. He just naturally assumed I wanted a cup of tea, so he went over to the counter and poured two cups and put them on the tray along with sugar, lemon, and milk containers. He was the perfect host, even at this moment, right down to the last drop of tea, so to speak. Hell, he was the perfect "everything". Was I even good enough for him? Why the fuck was I making a play for him, ready to spill my guts, and leaving myself completely vulnerable? What the hell would he want with me? He had everything he wanted. I had nothing to offer him. It wasn't so much a matter of me not being worthy of him as it was of him not deserving an asshole like me.

"Would you care to elaborate on some of the things you said over the phone a few minutes ago...or at least a couple of the things I thought I heard you say?" he asked.

"I don't know. I was just out of my head, I guess. I get that way sometimes when I'm alone and have no one to talk with." I replied.

"I'm glad you had my number. I used to have many late night talks with my brother, Eric, back home in Wisconsin. He was my twin, so to speak."

"Who was the older and how many minutes apart were you?" I asked, sipping my hot tea.

"He was," Del replied, "by a little less than nine months."

"Good God, you're parents had you two that close together? Is your family Catholic?" I joked.

"No, I'm from a long line of Scandinavian Lutherans. It's not that we don't believe in birth control. In Sweden, as in Wisconsin, it's always too damn cold to get out in the snow to go buy condoms when we get the urge to fuck." Del said as we both laughed.

"Your brother...is he gay?" I asked.

"No...a far cry from it. He SHOULD'VE been. Hell, he practically taught me everything I know about sex. He runs my business back home. He's married, no kids, a gorgeous wife, who, to make a pun, keeps her end up in the family business."

"Pardon?" I was puzzled.

"Let's just say she uses her talents to attract customers when Eric and I fail." he said, smiling.

"You mean she fucks your clients?", my astonishment showing plainly.

"You didn't hear me say that." he joked."Neither Eric nor I have any proof, but when she goes out alone, she always comes back with a signed contract."

"And Eric---- your brother doesn't mind?

"He doesn't know for sure and he's afraid to ask her, or else maybe he just doesn't want to have to know. It's just an unspoken 'arrangement' they have between the two of them."

"Arrangement...that's a good word. Do you mind my asking if you ever had such an 'arrangement'."

"No, there's no one in my life that I have to answer to, nor no one to answer to me."

"You've never been married or involved in a serious relationship?", I asked in near disbelief.

"Once, a long time ago, when I was in college...before I got into the dairy business, so to speak."

"Male or female?"

"Male."

"What happened?" I asked.

"I've never talked to anyone about it, but let's just say it was a lapse of trust...on his part. Well, I did the trusting and found out too late that I should have been wiser."

"I'm sorry, Del."

"It's all right. It's all blood under the bridge now...gone and almost forgotten...Would you like some more tea?"

"Yes...please." I said.

"You know, you're avoiding my question about telling me in detail what you were referring to when you called."

"Oh, that..."

"Think you could tell me now...or at least part of it?"

"Del, I have a lot to say to you...most of it you won't like when I tell you, but I can't go on being dishonest with you because of the way I've been feeling."

"And how's that?"

"Del, I'm not the person you think I am...First of all, I don't work on Madison avenue in some big ad agency."

"Oh?...You're gonna tell me you rob banks for a living."

"No, nothing that exciting or prosperous, I'm afraid."

"You don't push drugs or anything else that's illegal in New York, although I don't know what that could be as everything seems to be legal here."

"No, nothing illegal...I'm...a...I'm a school teacher...a goddamned sixth grade public school teacher!...There, now, I've said it!"

"Was that supposed to've frightened me?" he asked.

"No...it's just I look at you...I see you living in all this push button luxury with fake rain and furniture and things that slide out of the walls and I'm nowhere near your equal."

"You mean financially or what?"

"Financially, emotionally...truthfully."

"Aha, now we're getting to the real truth of the matter. What else might you have been untruthful about that you didn't want me to know?"

"Lots of things..." I hesitated a moment before blurting out, "Did you wonder why I didn't stay all night with you, the first night we spent together?"

"I was a bit curious," he said, stirring his second cup of tea.

"...and then I didn't call you to apologize or ask you out on a second date..."

"I just assumed you didn't like me. It's not the first time my remote controls have helped to reject a suitor."

"It wasn't you...it's this thing I have about 'second dates'...You see, I don't go out with anyone two nights in a row...ever...never have, but since I've met you I can't say I never will."

"I'm flattered, I think." he said. half in jest.

"Del, where you come from, I'd be classified as a whore." I confessed.

"Oh, come on, now. How do you know how they'd classify anyone in Wisconsin?"

"Because that's what I am. That's what they'd call me in any state in the union or any country in the world, for that matter...You see, I like men..."

"So?"

"All men...all kinds of men...as long as there's a different one of some kind every night."

"You're kidding...right?"

"No, I wish I were.I've slept with more men than your apartment has gadgets ...hundreds...maybe even thousands..."

"Are you trying to tell me I slept with Will Rogers and didn't even recognize him?" Del tried to lighten my serious mood.

"Oh I can't say I've never met a man I didn't like...but there've been damned few that I didn't." I said in a lighter vein.

"Now wait a minute," Del said, "let me get this right. You sleep with all kinds of men every night without feeling or caring about them...and about an hour ago, you called to say you thought you were in love with me? Is that what I heard you say?"

"I was hoping that either you didn't hear it or hadn't wanted to hear it. I wanted you to just let that phrase go by..."

"Then, when you called me...did you mean it or not?"

"I wasn't sure...I'M STILL NOT!" I raised my voice out of frustration and embarrassment.

"Well, even if you 'halfway' meant it. where would I fit in...the second Tuesday of each month that had a blue moon?"

"That's NOT what I was trying to imply. I mean, you search your whole life for that certain 'someone' and then you're either too stupid to recognize him, you abuse his feelings, or you get scared and run in the opposite direction."

"And what were your intentions with me...ignore me, abuse me, or run away from me?"

"A combination of all three I guess." I became very serious. "Del, no doubt you can suspect I've never been in love with anyone before. I always dreamed that one day I would find that person, but I wouldn't know what to do if I found him. That first night when we met at the Jazz Cat, you made me feel something I'd never experienced before. I wanted to be with you. I had to force myself to leave your bedroom while you slept. For days now, I haven't been able to get you out of my every thought. I have no desire to go out and meet men as I've done for the past seven years...I'll be honest with you, since I've gone this far...I had to go out and find a trick tonight to try to get you out of my system. I met a very attractive guy uptown and I let him go down on me...and the whole time...I kept wishing it was you, not he...That's why I ran to the nearest phone booth and called you and without reasoning with myself, I said I thought I might be falling in love with you...I don't know...as I said, I don't know what it feels like to be in love...Maybe I'm wrong, maybe I'm not in love with you...but whatever this feeling is that I have is driving me mad. I had to see you...I wanted you to make some sense of it and talk me out of it if you can."

Del sat looking at the floor for a long time before he spoke.

"Chris, please don't take this the wrong way, but there's a few things you should know about me before you continue or before we pursue this conversation any farther."

"Go ahead, that's fair," I said, glad to be off the hook I'd placed myself on, for a moment.

"My personal view of love is that it's like a ticking time bomb. If you don't know how to defuse it, then you'd best get away from it. A few years ago, I found my 'someone' that you referred to. He was my life, my love, my future, my very existence all rolled into one. I would have died for him. I would have killed for him. My love for him had no boundaries...BUT! I blindly relished every moment we were together all the while, never knowing there was someone else in his life. He had been deceiving me for weeks, making me feel that his feelings for me were as mutually great as mine were for him. We were both college students and I went home three days for Thanksgiving, leaving him alone at the dorm. I couldn't wait to return to him, so I caught an earlier bus and arrived one day before he was expecting me. I couldn't wait to surprise him...but I suppose you've guessed by now that when I opened the door to our room, the surprise was on me. He was in bed naked with his new 'partner'. He was the first and only person I'd ever loved or trusted. The scene in the room became very ugly. I had my say and then I packed my belongings and left him AND the college, never to return to either of them again. I never saw him nor heard from him again...that is until a few years later when I learned of his death. I swore never to love anyone again, I swore to be celibate and remained that way...that is...until a couple of nights ago, when I met you. I don't know why, but for the first time since my 'break up', I chose to have sex with you. I had no intention of falling in love or even speaking to you about love. My one experience of loving left me devastated and fragile. I vowed never to get in that situation ever again. I will NOT be hurt by anyone...and if that means you, then I'm sorry. I'll admit, I did have some romantic feelings when we were together, but I'm afraid at this point...that's all they were...just romantic feelings brought on by the heat of our sexuality. I must say, I have to admire you for trying to be honest. It took a great deal of courage to tell me on the phone that you thought you might be in love with me and then coming to see me and telling me about your wild and lurid past." Del paused to sip his tea and wet his mouth before he continued. "You had no idea what I'd been through or my feelings about love and relationships. I went into my only affair wide open and leaving myself vulnerable to be damaged for the rest of my life...Hearing what I just told you about my past and my views, do you think I could trust YOU? Do you think I could believe I would be enough to satisfy you when you've had all those other men? I don't criticize your past. I'm not one to judge or condemn, but, outwardly, I'm a very strong person that can yell and finagle with the top men on Wall Street, but inside, I hide a very delicate side of me that's been wounded too deep to heal"

"Goddamn, I feel like such a fool," I finally managed to say.

"Please don't." he said, "As a matter of fact, I'm flattered that you thought of me as a friend to confess the things you did to me...You see, I don't have many close friends, either."

I looked up at him, ashamed, and asked, "What you said just now...about my thinking of you as a friend...is it possible that we could become friends?"

"Since we know so many of each other's secrets, it's almost destined for us to become friends." he said,

"Just...friends?" I asked.

"Maybe more...we might have a 'go' between the sheets every now and then. I used to do that with Eric and he was my brother...but I didn't love him as a lover. Of course, maybe I should read a few manuals to make sure my sexual maneuvers are up to date. I wouldn't want to disappoint you by not being as sexually proficient as some of your other nightly encounters."

Now I was even more embarrassed. "I know there's no way you could ever forget about my past and the things I told you. I also know that you'd never believe me if I told you I was more satisfied with you than anyone I can remember...I think the difference was...with you, I felt something that I don't feel when I'm out with a casual trick. I lay with you our first night and we never had sex...THAT was a new experience for me. It was that evening that changed my life and my way of thinking for when I left, I suddenly knew and felt the meaning of being lonely. I'm lonely twenty-four hours a day now, except when I'm thinking about you."

"Be careful, now, I'm aware when I'm being conned. Don't try to woo me with your wiles. I'm totally immune to 'come ons'." he said,

"Is that what you think...that I'm coming on to you right now?"

"I'd be stupid to think otherwise...don't you think?"

"I suppose...It just seems that I have a problem now."

"And that being...?"

"The way I feel about you. Listening to your story about the boy at school...well, more than ever, it made me want to take you in my arms and try to give back some of the love you've missed...I only fear that I'm not the one to do it...You see, if you look at my lifestyle, I'm lonelier than you. I just don't know where I can find the cure. I hoped and prayed that I'd found my 'someone' in you...but I knew that once you heard the truth about me, I lose every chance of ever having a relationship with you." I tried not to cry for fear he would suspect I was acting or being phony, but I wasn't. My tears were honest.

There was a long pause as the two of us sat on the stools staring at each other...absorbing and digesting all the secrets we'd just revealed. The two of us had bared our souls to someone for the first time. The longer I looked at him, the more hopeless I felt. If there was 'someone' in my life...it would have to be him because, from the way I felt, I'd never meet anyone again to bring out the honesty and love that he'd brought out in me. After a deep consideration, he broke the silence.

"Earlier when I was talking about my brother's and his wife's arrangement. You said, 'arrangement' was a good word," He paused for my reaction but I was stone faced. "The word you used, just now... 'relationship'?"

"Yes?"

"That's another good word."

"I know."

"Would you seriously consider us having a 'relationship'?" he asked.

"What do you mean?" I asked nervously.

"A relationship...a friendship...with sex...and no love?"

"I don't know...Would this extend to fidelity?" I asked.

"That's the only way it could work. You see, I did some thinking while you spent two nights ignoring me...not even calling me for a get-together. I knew I wasn't in love with you...but like you...you made me realize how lonely I was when you weren't around. Maybe the two of us could satisfy that need in each other. We both enjoy music, Broadway plays, intellectual conversation, sex...among other things...what about us having a closed relationship? Does this interest you?"

"Of course," I answered too fast.

"You could move in here with me or you could keep your apartment only with my one stipulation...no tricks...no one in your life but me...and no one in my life except you...I guess you could say it's like what we did in high school...go steady."

"I think I could agree to that."

"But remember, the very minute either of us cheats on the other...or when we mutually agree, we've had all we want from the other...then we part as friends...Are you agreeable to that."

"Goddamn. I'll have to change everything about myself...the way I think...EVERYTHING...but then, that's what I need...more importantly, that's what I want...One question...when we're in bed, can we kiss and 'make love'?"

"Of course, I think that's what helps to rid my loneliness."

"Is there a trial period...say a month? Two?...Six?...A year?"

"You're the teacher with the college degrees...you know there are is no limitation when it comes to life and love. We'll take it like the twelve step system...one day at a time." he said,

"Then it's best if I keep my apartment. I'd have no guarantee how long I would or could live here."

"That ball is really in your corner. I'm the one who's been celibate for almost ten years and you, for only about three hours. You have no worries about my being faithful. I wish you could say the same thing to me."

"I promise...I will be faithful." I said, trying to be as convincing as possible. "I would like to ask one favor."

"What?"

"If I slip every now and then and tell you I love you, will you not rebuke my verbal expressions."

"I promise." he said, smiling.

"Can I give it a dry run?"

"What?"

I stared into his deep baby blues and with all the sincerity I could muster, I said, "Del, I love you."

The stone wall he kept around him crumbled. When he heard my endearment, the dam burst and he began to cry.

"Oh God, I wish I could believe you. How long I've wanted someone to say those words to me and mean it, without my being afraid without distrust or doubt."

"It may take a while, but somehow I'll convince you." I didn't wait to be asked or be stopped, I walked toward him and gave him the most passionate kiss I could manage, considering the lateness of the hour and all the things we'd just said. He needed this physical display as much as I, for he reciprocated my kiss and embrace...and then we hugged, cheek to cheek with our mouths next to each other's ears. I sighed a quiet chuckle.

"What was that for?" he asked. "What's funny?"

"I can't wait for you to meet Johnny and Charlene."

"Who?"

"You'll see," I said as I hugged him tighter.

"Would you like to spend the rest of the night?" he invited.

"Are we starting the relationship this soon?" I asked, halfway joking.

"Would you rather wait until I have a written contract drawn up?" he said grinning,

"You know, you're different tonight."

"In what way?"

"I've never seen your wry sense of humor."

"That's because you've never been involved in a relationship with me before...It DOES get better." he said.

"Del, if you got any better, I would walk out of here more deflated than I am now...and believe me, all the air is let out of my emotional tires."

"Today is Saturday, we have nothing to do all day. Why don't we go lie down and relax for a while?"

"And listen to the pipe-in rainfall and Barbra Streisand singing through the walls?"

"Maybe...how about the soundtrack of 'The Way We Were'?...Make it sorta prophetic..."

"I wish we'd met each other ten years ago before your tragic affair and before I began my plights in the night. I wish their was some way to erase our pasts and begin anew."

"Maybe that's something we both can work on...Wanna give it a try?"

"Do you think you can find a button on one of your remote controls to turn me on?"

"If not, I'll call the technician and have one installed first thing tomorrow...Now please, let's go to bed. The first test you have to pass for me and for yourself is to see if you can stay longer than 4:00AM without running out the door like Cinderella."

"I never have...but I'm willing to try."

He leaned toward me to kiss me once more and took my hand and led me to his bedroom. He undressed me in the shadows that the dim flouted lamps produced across the huge bedroom. He moved me backward to sit on the bed while he removed my shoes and socks. He lifted my right foot to his lips and gently kissed my toes which sent shivers down my spine. Then, he completed the balance of his action by kissing my left foot as well. His head came toward my waist and he took the end of my belt between his teeth until he had somehow unbuckled it. Once again his head dipped as he bit the tab on my zipper and pulled it downward. My fly opened just enough for him to nuzzle his nose inside my trousers. He aimed for the target between my legs and found it. He engulfed my shaft before I could mount an erection. His hands reached up for both sides of my waistband and he swiftly yanked my pants to the floor. I assisted his endeavor by removing my own shirt, leaving me totally naked for him to do to me whatever he saw fit. All he had to do to undress was simply untie the belt of his robe revealing his nudity. I wasn't sure if it was love I was feeling or just a combination of passion and lust, but I wanted him. I wanted ALL of him. I reached between his legs with my right hand and grabbed his already throbbing cock. For the first time in my life, I wanted a cock up inside me...deeply...I wanted HIS cock inside me. I didn't care what we had discussed for the past hour or what conclusions either of us had come to...I suddenly knew I was in love with Del. He might not love me now...or maybe never would, but nothing could stop me from feeling the way I did about him. I pushed his head away from my crotch to scoot up on the bed and position myself better. I slowly raised my legs in the air and spread them. He caught my drift and reached over to his bedside table and retrieved a condom. In a flash, the foil was ripped and he had donned the Trojan. It was pre-lubricated so before I could prepare myself for his entry, he was already inside me. I won't lie. He was huge and it hurt like hell but I had him right where I wanted him...as far up inside me as he could go. He lowered his upper torso on mine and planted his lips on my mouth before he began pumping with his hips. Everything about this sex was different. Every single movement had meaning. THIS is what I wanted and exactly the way I wanted it. If my heart were to suddenly stop, then I would die happy. I felt like I had reached the end of a long journey I'd travelled for years. He fucked me gently never becoming violent. There was a certain tenderness in his motion. Not only was I giving myself to him completely, maybe it was just a fantasy, but I felt like he was truly making love to me as well.

When he finished, it was my turn to make love to him. I didn't want him to think I was the pro...the experienced one...as he suspected from my nightly flings. I held back and let him guide me into him...the way he wanted it to feel. Whatever aroused him or gave him the most pleasure was going to be my goal. Sure, I'd agreed to the 'relationship' we'd talked about, but to me, this was more...This was the real thing that I came for. I wanted to love him and I wanted to be his lover...and he, mine. I didn't care what I had to do to change...or how long it took to convince him I was serious about us making it last...I was willing to wait.

It must have been 6:00 AM before the two of us dropped off to sleep...still in each other's arms. We awoke around noon hungry.

"Good morning, friend," Del said, kissing me on the cheek. I grabbed his head to return the greeting but he stopped me by the usual, "Huh uhn, not unless you've found the secret of waking up without "morning breath".

"Are you at least prepared for these little marital problems? An all night stand always keeps a tin of Altoids beside the bed next to the condoms." I joked.

"I guess that comes with the experience to which I'm not that well versed," he replied, holding his nose in the air jovially.

"I'm surprised you haven't installed a push button dental spit bowl with nozzles and spray contraptions."

"OH? Do they make those?"

"I can tell you don't watch Home Shoppers Club."

"What's that?"

"It's a video Bloomingdale's catalogue for bed-ridden paraplegics."

"I'll watch it in my old age...say around forty?...Hey, what do you want for breakfast?"

"Betcha don't have any peanut butter and tuna fish on a bagel."

"Yuck! Will imported lox do?"

"God, NO! Only StarKist tuna packed in Spring water. No substitutions, please."

"Do you have some at your apartment?"

"Loads." I said.

"Then, get dressed, we'll have brunch at 83rd and West End Avenue."

"You wanna see my place?"

"I want to learn everything there is to know about you...and there's no starting place like your domicile."

"My God, Del, where I live doesn't come close compared to your Frank Lloyd Wright palace."

"What does?...Remember I was born and raised on a farm in "Outer-Sticks" Wisconsin with two brothers, with one of whom I had to share a bed."

"Lucky for me you did, otherwise I might not find you so exciting in bed."

"You can "can" the flattery and store it on a shelf for some later date like when I'm depressed after you leave me for a Brad Pitt...My God, I shouldn't have said that. For all I know, you've probably been to bed with him, too."

"Wouldn't you just like to know?" I kidded.

"Not really."

"NO! I have never been to bed with Brad Pitt, because if I had, he wouldn't've spent one million dollars marrying Jennifer Whats-her-name."

"I guess you're right. Brad'll go to his grave never knowing what he missed."

"Don't kid yourself! There's still time." I winked.

"I love you when you're like this. That's one of the major things missing in my life...FUN! All I think about is cow udders, so to speak. How much they can produce...how much profit will they bring."

"Did you ever suck on one when you lived on a farm?"

"Good God, NO!"

"You're right. You don't know have to have fun."

"Have you sucked on a cow's tit?"

"Sure. It was one of the biggest thrills of my life. It was like having four limp dicks to choose from, all looking at you square in the eyes. You can suck them one at a time or all at once. I tried for years to think how I could do the same with four guys...I never did, though"

"You're incorrigible!...No wonder I love being around you."

"Watch out...I get better." I said.

"That's a scary thought!" Del went into the bathroom and came out extending his open hand, holding a large bright red caplet.

"What's that?"

"Imported breath mint. Bite down on it like the cyanide capsules they use in the James Bond movies...count three...and kiss me, you fool."

"Suicide Tic-Tacs. I might've known."

We embraced and spent the next five minutes kissing as he waltzed me into his shower. It was more like a car wash with spray soaps and rollers to massage you and brushes with fur-like bristles to scrub you. Of course, there were no towels...just choose the temperature of the air you wished to blow-dry you. When I got out of the "washing machine", I eyed the toilet. I laughed thinking about the joke of the man who sat on a commode with an automatic tampon remover. Since Del had never had a woman, I assumed he hadn't had one of those contraptions installed. I did like the bidet and blow dryer.

We dressed and caught a cab to my apartment. By ordinary standards, I thought I lived at the top of the heap. My place wasn't luxurious but it was furnished in good taste with expensive furniture, I was making monthly payments on." I had five rooms with high ceilings and a view that overlooked the river. Needless to say, it was rent-controlled because schoolteachers could never live in a place such as mine. Any other person would've been impressed by my mock elegance but I didn't know how my "Bill Gates" would see it.

I unlocked my door and raised my arms and sang. "Ta DA! This is it...the humble dwellings and abode of a little old six grade teacher trying desperately to rise above his station."

"Good Lord. I expected a dump. This place is fabulous! It's so goddamned neat and organized!"

"Home Ec.101"

"Who was your decorator?"

"Martha Stewart...I have all her videos and subscribe to her magazine."

"Jesus! You did all this by yourself?"

"I get by 'with a little help from my friends'", I sang.

"And you never hustled for money?"

"NEVER! That's one rule I've never broken. I may behave like a whore, but I've never been one."

"God, I could live here, myself." he said, looking around at the built-in bookcases from floor to ceiling.

"And leave Xanadu?" I quipped.

"Pardon? You mean that place with John Travolta and Olivia-Newton John?"

"No, I was referring to Citizen Kane. I'll buy you the DVD. You and he seem to have a lot in common."

"I can't believe what I'm seeing...your library, your tapes and CD's, your wide assortment of videos...diplomas and certificates from Harvard, Yale, M.I.T...all these sports trophies. Jesus! Now, who's making whom feel inferior. I hardly graduated from high school and didn't even finish one semester at U of W. With all your achievements and scholastic abilities, why did you settle on teaching sixth grade in a public school. You could be a college professor or better." He said looking about my living room.

"Because I love kids...little kids...and little kids don't go to college, at least not while their eleven or twelve years old."

"That's one point where we differ. I don't like kids!"

"Remind me to stay on the pill, will you?"

"I'm serious, if you ever spent one hour with my brother, Bjorn's, herd of hellions, you might not like kids either."

"I bet I could tame them." I said.

"Only if you carried a gun."

"I'm glad you like my apartment. That means a lot to me."

"Actually, it's more like what I had in mind before I hired Don Herbert's family to install all that wizardry shit."

"Well, I'm giving you an open invitation. You can move in with me any time you like."

"Be careful, I might just take you up on that offer."

"OK, while I go in the kitchen and find something to impress you with my culinary skills, why don't you look at the Times and pick out something for us to do today or tonight. I'll bet since you've been here, you haven't even gone sight-seeing, have you?"

"Nope."

"We can take the Greyline tour and see everything from the Empire State Building all the way to the Statue of Liberty, if you like."

"Is there a Lavenderline tour that stops at all the gay places?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It only runs at night. You've found out my secret. I make my extra money conducting the tours." I joked.

"I could almost believe that."

"Huh unh...naughty, naughty, Let's not be insulting...You know I cry easily."

"You cry almost as easily as you fall in love, apparently."

"I NEVER fall in love. I'm saving that for you, baby."

"If only that were true..."

"It is. You'll see...Now, do you want the peanut butter and tuna fish mixed together or two separate side dishes."

"My God, you weren't kidding, were you?"

"Nope, it's one of my favorite dishes, especially when I pour my special sauce of clam and prune juices on it."

"Goddammit! I know you're pulling my leg now."

"I just wanted to put a little fun in your life."

"I don't consider terminal diarrhea fun." he lashed out, kidding.

I turned to him with a serious look. "God, I need you in my life. I only hope you feel the same about me."

"Give me time...I first have to see if I can trust you."

"I guess I'll first see if I can trust myself." I replied.

I went over to embrace him, just as my doorbell rang.

"Shit! Now what?" I asked as I went to the door and opened it."

"PARTY! PARTY!" came a scream from Charlene as she plunged through the doorway, followed closely by Johnny.

"My God, Troy Donahue stepped through the time machine," she said as she got her first glimpse of Del. "Could I get your autograph and please tell me how Sandra Dee is doing since she lost Bobby."

"Charlene, Bobby Darin died over thirty years ago!" I said, laughing out loud.

"MY! MY! How time does fly!" she remarked.

"And before you try to put the make on Troy...his name is Del...and he's all mine." I said. "Del, these are my best two friends in the world, Charlene...and the hunk over there licking his chops looking at you is Johnny...but don't worry, you're safe! You're not his type...he likes 'em young...real young, say around twenty-two or twenty-three years old."

"Mmmmm, what's that I smell coming from the kitchen...tuna fish and peanut butter?"

"How did you know that?" Del asked.

"That's what Chris always fixes his tricks for breakfast...to make sure they never come back here again." she said doing a Scarlett O'Hara imitation.

"I wish you'd hurry and have your transplant operation." I told her.

"What kind?" Del asked.

"All of Charlene's friends have started a fund so she can have a vagina transplanted where her asshole is, that way when we tell her to go fuck herself, she can."

This was the kind of emotional release Del needed, He laughed so hard he had to sink down on the couch.

Johnny added to the mirth by saying, "Also, that way when she takes a shit, she won't know if she's cumming or going."

More laughter from all.

"It's a pity we won't ever get to see you again." Charlene said to Del. "We never see any of Chris' gentleman callers more than once. I don't know if he kills them and throws their bodies in the Hudson River or whether he's got his on cemetary section in Central Park."

"I hate to disappoint you, if that be the case, but I hope you'll be seeing a lot of me on a regular basis." Del said smiling, taking my hand.

"Good God, Johnny, I hope you still have some of those smelling salts left. We don't have time to make it to a bomb shelter...but I fear the world is coming to an end," she wailed.

"Are you two for real?" Johnny asked.

"Maybe", Del and I answered together as we leaned forward and kissed lightly.

"You mean you aren't going to play Charity Valentine any more?" Charlene asked me.

"Nope."

"Then you've just GOT to let me and Johnny go through your closets and give all your outfits to the poor...Johnny, you look good in leather!"

"Charlene, can you shut up long enough to see you're embarrassing them?" Johnny said.

"No, he..she's not." Del said. "I know all about Chris and his nightly flings and as far as I'm concerned, anything you want from his closet...take it. I'm taking Chris to Fifth Avenue and outfitting him completely in domesticity."

"Oh I saw the cutest apron in Bloomingdale's. I almost bought it but it didn't have a back to it and I was afraid I might get arrested for exposing my naked buns." she said.

"Maybe you should have put it on backwards and no one would have noticed the difference." Johnny remarked.

"I just love the terms of endearment you bestow on me." Charlene quipped at him. "I have an idea...Liza is singing at Joe Allen's tonight. Why don't the four of us go and celebrate?"

Charlene, Johnny, and I all looked at Del for his approval.

"Don't look at me. I'm the new kid in town. Do we need reservations?"

"Tell him 'no' or he'll buy the place." I said.

"Oh no! Don't tell me, in addition to his looks, he's rich too?"

"Don't ask!" I said. "You DON'T want to know."

"In that case, why don't we have dinner at Tiffany's?" Charlene added.

"Charlene, will you please shut up?" Johnny and I said in unison.

For what it's worth...she didn't.

The rest of the whole day and the evening was fun. Del enjoyed himself and got to see another side of me. He took an instant liking to my two friends and they to him. After Del and I left them, he said he felt like he had the beginning of a new family. This pleased me as I felt it was the beginning of the rest of my life. We took a cab to my apartment where I packed a small suitcase with the items and clothes I would need for work the next day. Then we went back to his place where we made love and I spent the night, staying past 4:00 AM until the alarm awoke me at 6:30 when I arose and got ready to go teach. The routine seemed strange but it was one I wanted desperately to get used to.

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(To be continued in Chapter Five)