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Life's Illusions - 10 years on - Chapter 20
Two months passed, Bo worked various jobs in the daytime, turning his hand to anything and everything, breakfast waiter, prepping vegetables, fixing blocked sinks, serving bar, gardening, painting, whatever was needed he could turn his hand to it, and he did.
They started work together at six thirty each morning and retreated back to the apartment at three thirty each afternoon, the pattern was quickly and enthusiastically established, back in the apartment they showered together, each insisting the other was a dirty boy who needed meticulous cleaning in every nook and cranny.
Had anyone been listening they would have heard the erotic moaning of aroused bodies each afternoon by three thirty five, by four o'clock they would have heard the first of several groaning orgasms.
Most evenings Bo worked bar until ten o'clock, it was on such an evening that Aly, tired and irritable, having had to fill in from around six o'clock waiting tables in an unusually busy restaurant, arrived in the bar around fifteen minutes after ten o'clock, at exactly the time Bo was pouring himself a small beer before sitting by the bar to savour it.
Aly would freely admit later, his outburst was unnecessary, unfounded, ridiculous even, he was extremely tired, unusually irritable, but what he said could only be described as catastrophic.
"I pay you a wage, you repay me by stealing drinks".
Bo just stared at him, at first unsure if he was teasing, but as realisation set in, so did anger.
"I have never in my life stolen anything from anyone, I'm sorry, I thought you trusted me, obviously I was wrong".
Bo was glaring at Aly.
You think I'm a petty thief, look beside the register, you'll find a list of all the drinks I've stolen from you today, with it you'll find a twenty Euro note, it's there today exactly as it is every other day, the person who counts the register takes my payment and returns the change to me each night, keep the change, its obviously more important to you than I am".
As he finished speaking Bo placed a finger to the untouched glass of beer before him and pushed it over, Aly watched the spilling beer spread across the bar top as Bo got up and walked towards the door to the apartment stairway, reaching the door he turned.
"I need to collect my bag, you might want to watch me, make sure I don't steal anything else from you as I take my leave".
His face told a story of absolute fury, pulling the door open he disappeared, it was at this point Aly realised there was not a sound in the bar or lounge, every customer was trying to look in a different direction, toward a wall, a picture, any spot, except where the two raised voices were coming from.
His Bar Manager rang up several items, placed the twenty Euro note in the till and retrieved several Euros in change, walking towards Aly he said just one word as he slammed the change on the bar top in front of him.
"Idiot".
Then he turned and walked away.
It was only minutes before Bo exited the door from Aly's apartment back into the bar, he threw his bag down in front of Aly.
"Check it".
The words were angry.
Aly, knew he'd been stupid, he needed to try to diffuse the situation.
"No, I don't need to, I was stupid, I know you wouldn't steal from me, I'm sorry Bo, can we talk?".
Bo looked at him, Aly could see his eyes were wet, glistening with hastily wiped away tears.
"No, we have nothing to talk about".
Then he picked up his bag and walked out of the Inn.
In the silence it was easy to hear the powerful bike start, rev several times, scattering gravel, it sounded as angry as its owner as it left the parking area to join the main road.
Aly wanted to cry, what just happened?, what the fuck had he just done?, he hadn't been this happy in a long time and he'd fucked it up, he walked out of the bar, up to his apartment, fell on the bed and cried, deep wrenching sobs until he was so tired he slept.
Out on the road Bo pulled his bike onto a verge and did almost the same thing except he couldn't sleep.
He had to stop, the tears were making it impossible to see, dragging his helmet off he wiped his hand across his eyes, he didn't understand, a few hours ago he'd been considering his position, he admitted to himself he was content, happy, he'd found something he never thought was possible ever again, love, that was then, now he thought what a stupid gullible idiot he'd been, Aly obviously wasn't interested in him as a person, he'd been a convenient fuck, nothing more, someone to get off with, better than using a hand, the accusation was perhaps just a convenient way to get rid of Bo.
Bo rode on for a few miles and found himself at the gates of Montclair, he hoped Lenny would offer him a bed for the night, he didn't want to sleep rough.
Lenny had been summoned by Woody, he was already waiting at the Chateau's entrance door alerted by the night security guys of Bo's arrival.
"Woody, I'm sorry to trouble you so late but I'm in a pickle, could I impose?, I need a bed for the night".
Woody's arms engulfed him.
"Bo mate I don't care what time it is, you're always welcome, stay as long as you like, I'm bloody stoked just seeing you, but Momma said you were working at the Inn, why aren't you staying there?".
Bo couldn't help himself.
"Let's just say I was stupid, seems the landlord got bored of me, he seems to think I'm a petty thief, we parted company".
Woody was shocked and didn't hide it.
"Aly?, Aly called you a thief?, that's ridiculous, Aly wouldn't do that".
Bo was a bit raw.
"No offence Woody but you weren't there, he'd had what he wanted from me, I was stupid, I thought he cared, he didn't, he wanted me out so he humiliated me in front of everyone, he knew I'd leave, it's what he wanted, can I get to bed now, I'll be on my way in the morning".
By the time Lenny came down, Bo had gone up to bed, Woody and Lenny sat for an hour while he filled her in, to say she was furious would be an understatement.
The following morning everyone expected Bo to be refreshed at breakfast, but he'd gone, the staff told Jacqueline he'd got up at about five o'clock, had a simple breakfast of fruit and cereals then left by six o'clock.
Lenny was in a foul mood when she walked into The Inn.
Aly was checking stock behind the bar, he didn't know she was there until her voice boomed out.
"You young man had better have a bloody good reason for treating a friend of mine in such a disgusting manner, he thinks you used him, I don't know about that, but I do know you humiliated him, what the hell did you do that for?, you hurt him badly and I'm bloody disappointed in you".
Aly was stunned, Lenny was his aunt, not related but his aunt non the less, she loved him, of that he was sure, and what was this 'friend of mine' that's what she'd said he was certain.
Aly didn't answer, he couldn't, his eyes started pouring tears, the sobs shaking his body.
Lenny was shocked, she was next to him wrapping him in her arms in seconds.
"Come on, let's go upstairs, see if we can figure this out and put it right".
Up in the apartment, Lenny got him settled on a sofa in the lounge, he was still sobbing, but he was shaking and babbling as well, he didn't seem to know where he was, calling out for Stevie.
Lenny rang Woody.
"I need you here now son, I think Aly's having some sort of breakdown, I don't know what to do".
Woody and Jacqueline arrived within minutes, Jacqueline immediately called the local doctor.
An hour or so later a sedated Aly was being stretchered into an ambulance for the trip to the hospital, the doctor was certain, the incident with Bo was the catalyst, but not the cause, Aly was reliving his experiences in the battlefield along with Stevie's death.
The hospital was not the sort one went to for everyday injuries, it was a hospital which specialised in mental and psychological disorders.
At the Inn, Woody asked Armand, Aly's Bar Manager, to take over running the business whilst Aly got the treatment he needed.
At Montclair the task of calling Leo and Rosa fell to PJ.
Having only left Montclair a few weeks earlier, they were surprised when PJ said he needed them to return, they'd met Bo, but nothing had been disclosed to them, they weren't fooled, they knew from the interaction there was something between the boys but they didn't pry.
As PJ described Aly's breakdown to Leo he could hear Rosa sobbing in the background.
"I'm sending a plane for you, he needs you Leo".
PJ sent Ben Caplan his Chief Pilot in the plane they called number one to collect Leo and Rosa from Torremolinas, they were in Montclair by late evening.
Leo went straight to the hospital from the airport, he wouldn't let Rosa go in with him, on that decision he was firm.
"When this is all rebalanced in his mind he doesn't need to know you saw him like this, trust me, on this I'm right, you'll see him soon enough".
Leo went into the hospital and accompanied by an orderly he sat for nearly half an hour with his arm around Aly in his room, there was no recognition.
Aly sat staring at a spot on the wall, didn't move, didn't speak, Leo watched the tears rolling constantly from his son's eyes, the occasional sobs.
He'd remarked later to a doctor, it was as if Aly were watching a sad film, the doctor's reply surprised him.
That's exactly what he's doing, the common name for his condition is PTSD, after hearing everything that's happened to him I'm not at all surprised, don't despair, he's not the first casualty I've treated and he won't be the last, I will get him through this eventually, he's reliving events, over and over, almost like a film on a loop, right now he's stuck on his sisters wedding and Stevie's death, but he will move on, we need to try to get the person called Bo here by that time, it would help greatly if he could interact with Aly, could you work on that?, if it's not going to be possible tell me as soon as you can, we'll need to plan for a further disappointment".
When Leo left the hospital he climbed into the limousine PJ had provided, there wrapped in Rosa's arms he sobbed, great wracking sobs while the car took them to Montclair.
Sat in the gardens with PJ and Lenny, Leo asked them to tell him everything they knew.
When they'd stopped talking Leo was looking confused.
"Aly accused this Bo guy of stealing from him, do you think that's true, could he have been doing that?".
PJ and Lenny looked at each other then Lenny pulled her laptop closer from a nearby table, typing in a few key words she turned the screen towards Leo and Rosa.
There displayed was a Biography of Roger Bowles, Multi Millionaire Owner of BoJo, International Restaurant Chain.
Leo's response was classic, "Oh fuck, I guess not".
PJ explained even though the Webb page gave mostly the same facts.
"Bo is a friend, his restaurants are a direct competitor to SPECTRUM, we've been friends for years, his partner Joe died two and a half years ago, tragic accident, Bo watched it happen, he couldn't get past it, became a recluse, his sister Maddy brought him out of it, for the last year he's been touring Europe, earning his keep as he traveled, it seems he walked into the Inn and lightening struck, you saw it, for nearly three months they've been almost inseparable, we need to find him, that's your department Leo, this is the most important assignment you ever had, you find him, Lenny and I will get him back here".
Leo didn't waste any time, he asked PJ to call Bo's sister to get the registration details of the bike Bo was riding, then he called Casey Black his right hand man in the security business he'd built over the last twenty years, hearing both the request and the reason for it Casey promised Leo he'd find Bo, and he was determined to make good on that promise, no sooner than Leo ended the call Casey was issuing instructions to some of their best investigators.
Unaware he had become the focus of a manhunt Bo had traveled to Paris before moving on to England.
He didn't go back to his apartment, choosing instead to continue his tour around the UK, traveling north he finally settled at a small Inn in Ambleside a pretty picturesque village in the Lake District an area of Cumbria in the North West.
Despite distancing himself by over a thousand miles and many hours, he couldn't help but think of Aly, it was true he'd been humiliated and angry, but should he have stormed out like he had?, his head told him yes, he was justified, but his heart didn't agree, they'd been together in every sense right from the start.
Aly had never been anything but loving, attentive, caring.
Bo still couldn't understand what happened that night, he'd gone over it again and again, it had been totally out of character almost as if Aly weren't in control.
Bo stayed at the Inn at Ambleside for three weeks, his mind was whirling the whole time, more and more he was sure he'd reacted wrongly, he should have confronted Aly, had it out, settled it, not run away.
And then he knew, that's what he'd done, run away, as fast as he could, afraid to lose again, afraid of the empty blackness he'd endured after Joe died, afraid it would happen again.
How could he have been so stupid, this wasn't Joe, this was Aly, an injured soul, just like him, a soul with deep wounds, scars, a past that haunted him.
He'd been wrong he needed to put it right.
Bo was riding, he didn't know most of what was happening, he just reacted when he needed to, he had a purpose, Montclair, The Inn, Aly, he had to sort this, the outcome would be either good or bad, but it would be sorted.
Casey was seriously disappointed, every one of his agents had drawn a blank, they'd all come back with the same results, he'd disappeared, apart from a credit card spend just a few miles from Montclair where he'd refuelled his bike, there was no trace, nothing, he'd disappeared like a ghost.
At the hospital, the doctors were becoming concerned, Aly had shown signs of improvement, but it meant further problems, he didn't recall the argument with Bo, but he remembered Bo, he was alternating between Afghanistan and Bo, they needed to put Bo in the frame in physical form, or take Aly in a different direction, it was becoming critical.
At the hospital Leo and Rosa were in consultation with the doctors, they were talking about the possibility of telling Aly about his argument with Bo, that Bo was gone.
They knew it would be a major setback, it may prove catastrophic, he could possibly regress, never regain the ground he lost, become stuck in a dark limbo.
Leo and Rosa were torn, Rosa wanted to wait a little longer, Leo didn't, he thought the matter should be cleared up now, discover Aly's reaction and get to dealing with it, his thinking was disturbed by his cell phone vibrating, absentmindedly looking at the display he saw Armand's name displayed, apologising to the doctors he answered the call.
"Armand, can this wait?, we're in discussions with the doctors right now.......,".
What Leo heard next gave him hope that the answer to all their prayers was to hand.
The news Leo had heard from Armand was that Bo had just walked into the Inn, he was asking for Aly, Armand didn't know what to tell him.
"Armand calm down, give him a drink, tell him Aly's not been well, nothing more, I'll have someone there to pick him up in a short while".
As Leo ended the call he turned to Rosa and the doctors, already redialling another number.
"He's turned up, just walked into The Inn looking for Aly, I'm calling Woody now".
Rosa was overjoyed, the doctors nodded.
Leo heard Woody answer.
"Woody I need your help, Bo just walked into the Inn, Armand's trying to keep him occupied, would you collect him, bring him here?, you know him, he'll trust you to do what's right".
Woody's reply wasn't exactly what Leo wanted to hear, but he appreciated what Woody was doing and didn't object.
"Don't misunderstand me Uncle Leo, I'll go see Bo, but I have to tell him everything, I won't bring him blind into a situation that could hurt him, hurt them both, he's been a friend of the family for a long time, I have to think of him as well as Aly, I'm leaving now I'll call you soon".
Woody found Bo sitting in the garden drinking coffee, it didn't surprise Woody, Bo had never been a big fan of alcohol.
"Bo".
Bo turned and caught sight of Woody, he was on his feet and welcomed his friend into a hug.
"I don't know what's going on Woody, I came back to sort things out with Aly, but all Armand will tell me is that Aly's not been well, where is he, what's wrong, do you know anything?".
It was plain to see the anguish in his face.
"You have to listen to everything I'm going to tell you Bo, you can't fly off half cocked, do you promise?".
Bo nodded, apprehensive now, fearing Aly might be seriously injured.
"Aly suffered a complete breakdown, it happened the morning after you left, before you start taking credit for it, don't go there, this was inevitable, that's the opinion of the doctors, it must have started before that day, the night you argued he was really tired, the following morning he was acting normally, the doctors don't think he had any recollection of your argument until my Momma walked in, she shocked him with a Lenny style bollocking, that's the point where he went into meltdown, you didn't cause anything".
Bo was visibly shaken, tears were running down his cheeks, he started to ask a question but Woody held up his hand.
"There's more, when I've told you everything, you can ask me anything, okay?".
Bo nodded, Woody went on.
"He's in a clinic just outside Nice, he's been there since that day, for a week or so he was a vegetable, staring at the wall crying, the doctors think he was reliving his battlefield experiences and Stevie's death, he's made progress, at first when your name was mentioned he showed no signs of recognition, it was as if he hadn't gotten to that part of his life, over the past few days he's been asking for you, he doesn't seem to remember the argument you had, the doctors think if they have to explain that it may push him back into himself, they're worried if that happens he may never recover, they think he needs there to be a new memory happen, I wanted you to have all the facts before you decide what to do, you can walk away now, no one will judge you, it's not something simple, it could be a quick recovery or it may be a long arduous journey, no one knows right now, if you see him, then leave him, it could do him more harm than good, do you understand me?".
Bo nodded.
Woody gave him a few moments.
Are there any questions you want answered?".
Bo sat silent for a few minutes then his head snapped up.
"Come on Woody, take me to him, let's get my man back on his toes, I love him Woody, just the same as I loved Joe, if that accident had left Joe alive in any form I would have cared for him, loved him just the same, Aly deserves the best, I'm going to give him every bit of help I can, I want him back Woody, I want him in my arms forever".
At the hospital Leo almost cried when Bo walked in, Rosa couldn't hold it back, she was openly crying.
One look at Rosa crying was all it took, he pulled her into his arms, her head resting on his shoulder as he said.
"Come on now Momma, we've got work to do, you can cry when we give you babies, now that will truly be a miracle".
Rosa looked up at Bo, smiled, then leaned up to kiss his cheek.
"Thank god you came back, he needs you so much".
As Bo entered Aly's room, he was dozing on the bed, unaware he had company, Bo stood looking out of the window, his back to Aly.
As Aly opened his eyes he saw him, there was no mistaking that mop of curly blonde hair, that muscular torso, those perfect round buns encased in tight faded jeans, sagging just enough to show the top of his butt cleavage proving there was nothing beneath them.
He lay staring for a few minutes before his mind started it's tricks, what if he'd come to say they were really over, they all thought Aly didn't remember that night, the argument that drove Bo away, they were wrong, over this last day it had come back to him, now he realised, he may have lost everything again, the tears had been running a couple of minutes as his mind processed what might happen, then suddenly a sob escaped his lips, Bo spun around to look at him.
For Bo, this was just as big a gamble, if Aly couldn't remember the argument would he be lying if he pretended it hadn't happened?, in his mind he felt he would be, but if it helped get Aly back to stability then he was prepared to do it, he'd been thinking all this when he heard it, a sob, he whirled around to find Aly just looking at him, tears streaming down his face.
"I'm sorry Bo, I hurt you, I don't know what made me do it, you didn't deserve it, if you can't forgive me I'll understand".
Bo was on the bed next to him in a flash.
"Let's get something straight, you remember the argument?".
Aly nodded.
"Well I agree to forgive you if you'll forgive me".
Aly looked confused.
"I shouldn't have run, I should have knocked your block off, told you to go fuck your self, made you see sense, but I didn't, you have to remember, I'm a bit damaged too, I guess we've both got a lot of work to do on this relationship, that is if you still want me around".
Aly couldn't believe he'd heard those words, 'if you still want me around', how could he be so lucky.
"I love you Bo, I've known it for a long time, I think from the first day you walked in, please don't leave me, I really need you".
Bo wrapped him into his arms.
"I'm not going anywhere Aly, you're stuck with me".
They spent the next hour talking before Bo remembered Leo and Rosa were waiting outside, he went in search of them.
His beaming smile told Leo everything.
"He remembers everything, including the argument, it's going to be alright, come on he wants to see you both".
Aly was in the hospital for a further week before the doctors agreed to his release, they'd spent many hours going over what happened and why, Aly admitted he couldn't understand why he'd verbally attacked Bo, the doctors explained, in a twisted way he was feeling guilty, he just didn't know it, he'd fallen in love with Bo, but deep in his mind he felt he was letting Stevie down, even deeper were the memories of the things he'd witnessed in Afghanistan, these things affected his behaviour but they were subconscious, he didn't realise he was acting that way, confronting the issues, bringing them to the forefront of his mind and talking to Bo had allowed him to rationalise them.
Bo moved back into the Inn and relieved some of the pressure on Armand.
During that week Bo visited Aly each afternoon, they spent most of the time sat in the gardens, huddled together in one of the loungers, talking about everything.
It was on one of those afternoons when Bo brought up his nett worth.
""I never did tell you how I could afford to bum around Europe did I?".
Aly smiled.
"Well, I believe you said you were on the paupers tour, but I reckon the Multi Millionaire owner of JoBo had some substantial extra funds to draw on if needed".
Bo looked shocked.
"You knew, when, how long have you known?".
Aly looked a little concerned.
"I wasn't checking up on you, it was just that something became a niggle in my brain, you went out one day, when you came back you were wearing a different Tshirt, I recognised it, I'd given that Tshirt to Woody, I bought it in the Camp Bastion NAFFI shop, it has a nick in the shoulder where a bullet grazed me so I knew you'd been to Montclair, I'm sorry, I'm not a stalker but I googled your name".
Bo also looked apprehensive.
"You're not angry I didn't tell you?".
Aly pulled him closer.
"I figured you'd get around to it eventually, besides that, it's not my business, we're not joined at the hip, neither of us came into this relationship without history, we'd be fools if we thought we could wipe out the past and to be honest I don't want to, we both had partners we loved dearly and lost, I'll always have Stevie in my heart just as you'll always have Joe in yours".
Bo, struggled with his next question until Aly told him to just spit it out.
"Would you sell me half of the Inn?, I want to work with you, for us to be real partners, if you don't want to it's okay, I just thought it would be good for us".
He could see Aly thinking.
"No, I don't want to sell you half of the Inn".
Bo was disappointed, he tried not to show it, but he needn't have bothered, Aly hadn't finished.
"I'll make you a full partner, we'll be equals, I don't want money from you for that, I want you, and I promise not to be stupid and object when you spend your money, oh there's one other thing, you said when we argued that night you should have told me to go fuck myself, I'd rather not do that either, I'd much prefer it if you do the fucking of me, please".
Bo was smiling.
"Now that I can, and will, happily do, but seriously, I want to take you to London, you need to meet my sister Maddy, she runs JoBo, she's the really scary one".
When he was discharged and back at the Inn Aly took a huge step, he appointed Armand as General Manager of The Inn and took a step back, telling Armand he would be much less involved, he would take a lot more time out now with Bo.
Part of Aly's rehabilitation was a program with a psychologist which Bo asked to take part in, he figured it would be beneficial for them both to make sure there was nothing lurking which could hurt them later.
Leo and Rosa stayed at Montclair despite Aly offering them accommodation at the Inn.
Rosa explained to her son and Bo, in the future they would be happy to stay with them, but right now they felt Aly and Bo didn't need parents around they needed space to rejuvenate their relationship.
On his first night at home Aly and Bo took a table in the restaurant for dinner, by the end of their meal they'd received comforting best wishes from nearly everyone in the restaurant, but nothing could have prepared them for their entry into the bar, it was packed to capacity, as they entered a deafening round of applause stopped them in their tracks, but what struck them most, there right in the middle of the bar was one empty table, it had two seats, a rose in a vase, and a sign which read, 'Reserved for Ally and Bo, Welcome home boys, we missed you'.
They were home, now they could concentrate on loving each other.
Climbing the stairs to their apartment that night, as Aly stopped to open the door he felt Bo's face planted in his ass, "Err, I'm sure we've been here before, would you care to take your face out of my ass".
Bo not to be outdone growled, "No fuckin chance, as soon as that door's open I'm going deeper, and when I've finished eating it I'm going to fuck it senseless, any objections?".
Aly was groaning and could only answer, "None at all, go for it tiger".
TBC
ARB Allan
Comments are welcome to cfgw2000@aol.com.
Thank you for giving me your time, enjoy.