The Feint Smell of Rain

This is the true story of a chance meeting, and the events that followed it, that had a profound impact on my life.

I have changed the names of the people involved, but all places are the actual places where the events took place. It is set in South Africa during the 1970's, a very conservative and turbulent place at the time.

The story contains scenes with drug use by, and sex between, underage boys. These scenes are there merely to tell what actually happened, and are only included where it is deemed to be necessary, to know the circumstances under which it took place and to advance the story line.

If it is illegal in your territory to read this, or if you object to any of the above on any other grounds, do not continue.

It is a poignant tale of love, discovery, triumph and tragedy experienced by two teenage boys.

The Feint Smell of Rain

Chapter 9

I was horny, extremely horny, when I woke up. My stiff prick strained at the front of my briefs. I reached down and squeezed it and immediately had the urge to wank myself off. It was nearly two days that I did not get my rocks off. At home, I was used to a wank in the morning in the shower and in bed at night before I slept, at the very least, but most often I would have another wank or two during the day.

I resisted the urge to spank the monkey next to Ben in the bed. I decided to rather wait until he woke up and we could have sex. I was sure that he would be horny as well.

I thought about my friend Josh. We had been wanking buddies ever since we were in standard six. We went to school together, but were not in the same class, in fact, we hardly acknowledged each other apart from his afternoon visits to my house. We travelled on the same bus, and got off at the same stop, as he lived only two streets away from me. We would walk the short distance to my house together, and he usually continued on to his place alone.

I was not attracted to him at all. Our relationship purely revolved around the two or three times a week that he would come to my house for our usual sex play. Other than that we had nothing else in common. We wanked each other and screwed one another between the thighs, always from the back, as he thought it would be way too gay to do it from the front. We tried anal sex once, but abandoned any more attempts after that due to the pain involved. We never sucked and never kissed. He did not know that I was gay, and I was sure that he was not.

As I lay there next I analyzed the difference in experiences with Josh and Ben. Although I enjoyed the sex play with Josh a lot, it was different with Ben. Not only because there was actual sex involved, but because of the closeness and love I felt for him. It was more than just sex. It was a beautiful, cherished, shared experience for me.

Ben stirred next to me and pulled me closer to him. I looked at my watch. It was four in the afternoon. The light from outside filtered in underneath and at the top of the heavy curtains. I looked at Ben in the dim light where he lay next to me. His beautiful face was serene. I listened to his steady breathing and I felt my love for him ache in my chest again.

He woke up about half an hour later. "You awake already?" he asked as he stretched himself out on his back.

"Been for a while." I said.

"God, I'm horny." Ben said and rubbed his dick though his briefs.

"I am so glad to hear you say that." I laughed.

"Why?"

"Because I have been lying here with this hard on for the last half hour, hoping you would be." I said.

"I want to kiss you now," he said "but I have dog breath."

"So do I... won't make no difference." I pulled him towards me and kissed him. He immediately grabbed hold of my throbbing cock.

I sucked Ben off first and he orgasmed nearly immediately. Then he gave me a blowjob and the same happened with me. After we came we continued to make love for a long time. Later, I screwed him and after I had my second orgasm, he screwed me.

"That was intense." he said after he came. "I am not used to not get my rocks off this long."

"I thought the same thing when I woke up. It took willpower not to wank myself off." I laughed.

"I would have been so pissed off with you if you did!" Ben chuckled.

We got out of bed and made coffee. Bernie was nowhere to be seen. While we drank our coffee in the lounge, we planned the rest of the night. We would have a bath and then go and eat something on the way to Pigalle. I would spend an hour or two with Ben at work and then get back to the flat for a quiet night at home. I bought The Agony and the Ecstasy by Irving Stone a while before and never got around to read it. I thought that it would be the ideal read, Ben being an artist himself.

Ben's portrait of Jenna, the guitarist, was nicely framed and on an easel at the top of the stairs when we arrived at Cafè Pigalle. The portrait he drew of Dimitri was also framed and hung on the wall behind the counter at the coffee bar. It showed Dimitri's face with an intense expression, but at the same time a hint of a smile on his lips. I thought that Ben captured his personality well.

Although Pigalle was packed with people, I was again struck by the relative quiet of the place. I wondered about the acoustics, and if it was deliberately designed to be that way. I made a mental note to ask Dimitri about it sometime. One or two of the patrons were reading books and a couple of old guys played chess at one of the tables.

Ben collected his materials from one of the cupboards behind the counter and ordered coffee before we went and sat at the same place as we did the night before, near the counter in the front of the lounging area. He immediately started with a drawing of the girl on duty behind the counter. I watched him as he sketched her without looking at her once during the process.

"You remember a lot of detail." I said to him.

"I suppose it is a gift... I remember faces and features." he answered. "Not everything, but faces stick in my mind."

After about half an hour, he lifted the paper and looked at his drawing. It did not have as much detail as the picture of Jenna, but the face was unmistakably that of the girl. It looked as if he put a lot more time into drawing it that what he actually had.

"How old were you when you realized that you can draw like this?" I asked Ben.

"I have been drawing since I was very small." he said. "I think it was my way to escape from the reality around me. When the other kids around would play games with each other... cowboys and crooks or cars or something like that, I would sit and draw."

"So it progressed... to this... through the years?" I wanted to know as I pointed to his completed drawing.

"I was lucky to have a teacher in primary school that recognized what I could do. She pushed me... even got me lessons after school." Ben explained. "I entered a lot of art competitions... and did quite well, I suppose."

"I think that maybe you are just a tad modest." I remarked. "Why did you not go to art school then... when you went to high school?"

"I... My art teacher encouraged me to go." Ben sat in deep thought for a few seconds. "There was a time when I..." He fell silent again.

He did not look at me and I could see that he was trying to get his thoughts in order to tell me something. "When you?" I prodded him.

Ben looked up and into my eyes. "I never thought that I would amount to anything. I never had a reason to believe that I could... or the motivation to try." he said.

"Why not?" I asked.

"You do not get it... still... do you?" he asked while he continued to look me straight in the eyes.

"Get what?"

"Me..." Ben said. "Who I am... what I am."

"You've got it wrong. I think that I know by now. You are the guy that swept me off my feet in one week flat. You are intelligent, talented, charming, honest... loving and caring, and I love you." I passionately told him.

He smiled.

"I do not care about what you did... or how you grew up. All I care is about you and I, and what we have... and what we will have in the future." I continued. "I suppose you are right, I will never really know how it was... and maybe I will never even understand... but it is of no consequence to me. Nothing matters, but the fact that we love each other."

"I still can't believe how lucky I am... to have you." Ben said softly.

"Neither can I." I said.

Ben started the next drawing. While he was busy, several people stopped as they entered or left to see what he was up to. He explained patiently to all of them what he was doing at Cafè Pigalle. They thought it was an excellent idea. Dimitri came in at about nine and walked straight over to us.

"Hi boys, how are things?" he greeted.

"Hi." we greeted in unison, then Ben continued. "I am progressing... nearly done with this one." He pointed towards the drawing in his lap.

Dimitri looked at the drawing and nodded his head in approval. "This is the ideal place to work." Dimitri remarked. "The light is good and everybody going to the back will see you."

"I chose it for the light." Ben said. "The people do notice... that's a bonus."

"Yes," I added "some people have stopped to look, and they seemed quite interested."

"You are still going to get very busy." Dimitri said. "Did you guys have something to eat?"

"Thanks. We had something on the way here." Ben answered.

"Good, but you can eat here... if you want." Dimitri said. "Save you having to pay."

We thanked him for the offer before he rushed off to the kitchen.

A few minutes later Jenna walked in with a guitar case in each hand. I recognized her immediately from Ben's drawing of her. She was indeed exceptionally beautiful, as Ben mentioned the night before. She had long brown locks that framed her face, green eyes and beautiful skin. She hardly wore any make-up, apart from subtle eye shadow, lipstick and maybe a bit if rouge on her cheekbones. She walked over to where we sat.

Ben introduced us. "Any more equipment outside?" he asked her.

"Yes there are some more things in the Kombi." she said.

"We will help you bring it in." Ben offered.

I took the one case from her and we walked to the stage at the back of Pigalle while Ben put down his drawing on the coffee table.

At the top of the stairs on the way out to get the second batch of equipment, Jenna stopped at the poster of herself. "It is beautiful, Ben." she said as she studied it. "You really have an exceptional talent. I wonder if Dimitri would let me have it once my gig is over."

"Thanks, but the subject matter was a pleasure to work with." Ben said with a smile. "You are very beautiful."

Jenna laughed. "Gosh, you are charming! Know just how to make a girl feel good."

"I am just honest." Ben chuckled. "That's all."

We collected two more guitars, a briefcase, guitar stands and a sheet music stand from Jenna's Kombi and headed back to the stage where we helped her set everything up for the night's performance. When we were finished, Jenna sat down and started to check the tuning of the guitars. Ben and I went back to our seats and he continued to draw the next staff member.

I had originally planned to stay until ten, but decided to stay and listen to Jenna play before I would leave. She started with her first piece at exactly ten o'clock. Although it was possible to hear her play where we sat, I explained to Ben that I wanted to sit closer to the stage. He continued his work and I found a seat with a couple, just to the right of the stage. They did not object when I asked if I could sit there. I sat for the next two hours engrossed in the music.

At midnight, Jenna took a break and came over to where I was sitting and sat on the chair next to me. It was obvious that she knew the couple I sat with, as she greeted them warmly and they knew her name.

"You want something to drink?" I asked her as I tried to get the attention of a waiter close by. "You are very talented." I added. The couple voiced their agreement.

"Thanks." she said. "Music is my life."

Jenna introduced me to the couple. "This is Mr. and Mrs. Wakefield." she said "And this is... I never really got your name."

"Fred." I helped her.

She and the couple had a conversation which I did not follow as I was still trying to get the attention of the waiter. We ordered some iced tea for Jenna, coffee for me and wine for the couple when the waiter finally arrived. I asked him to hear from Ben what he wanted and tell him that he should take a break and join us.

When Ben joined us he gave my shoulder a squeeze from behind before he sat down squarely opposite me. "So what do you think?" he asked me. "I told you the girl was good."

"So good, her music makes me miss people and things I don't even know." I said with a smile.

Jenna introduced Ben to the couple. "Mrs. Wakefield was my music theory teacher at school. Ben is the resident portrait artist" she informed them. "He drew the poster outside."

"That's very good." Mr. Wakefield said. "But you're so young!"

"Sixteen." Ben informed them.

"Where do you go to school?" Mrs. Wakefield wanted to know.

"I want to go to art school." Ben answered. "Hopefully I will be accepted."

"Where?" she asked.

"Johannesburg School for the Arts." Ben replied.

"That's where I went." Jenna said. "Mrs. Wakefield teaches there."

"Really?" Ben exclaimed surprised.

"Have you applied?" Mrs. Wakefield asked.

"Not formally, no, but a friend had discussions on my behalf with a member of the governing body." Ben explained. "A professor in the arts department at Wits."

"Oh, that should be Rhoda." Mrs. Wakefield remarked.

"I should hear more during the week." Ben said.

"I can't see there being any problems." she said. "You definitely have the talent to warrant your acceptance."

"Thanks." Ben said and flashed me a huge smile.

After a few minutes, Mr. and Mrs. Wakefield excused themselves. "Thanks for inviting us, Jenna, but it is getting late. Always a pleasure to catch up with my past students." Mrs. Wakefield said.

"And this is a great venue." Mr. Wakefield added. "We will definitely come here again."

"Hope to see you at school next term." Mrs. Wakefield smiled at Ben as they left.

Ben went back to his work and Jenna started the second part of her show. I sat and listened in my chair. The last piece she played later that morning had me in tears with its beauty. It was a melodic Spanish flavored song. When she had finished I went and helped her pack her equipment.

"That last piece was so beautiful." I said. "What is it called?"

"Oh, Recuerdos de la Alhambra." Jenna said. "Very difficult to play."

"You had me in tears with that one." I admitted. "You played it beautifully."

Ben and I helped Jenna carry her equipment to the Kombi. Dimitri saw us on the way out. "You can knock off too, Ben." Dimitri said. "Maybe you can help Jenna off-load at her place. You live in Braamfontein... not?" he asked Jenna.

"That's right, but it is fine, I can manage." she said.

"No problem," Ben said. "Fred and I will help. Let me just pack my things away."

"I will see you on Monday at noon at your flat." Dimitri told Ben.

Once Ben had his equipment stashed, we walked to Jenna's Kombi and loaded everything. Then Jenna drove to her flat. When we arrived there, it was the same building that Edward lived in.

"What a co-incidence." I said. "First you attended the same school that Ben wants to go to, and now you live in the same building as one of our friends."

Jenna did not know Edward. We offloaded her equipment and helped her carry it to her first floor flat.

"I will give you guys a lift home." Jenna offered.

"It is fine." Ben said "We'll walk, it is just down the road."

Jenna invited us to stay for a cup of coffee, which we accepted. While we drank it, it transpired during our conversation that she also attended Wits and was a music student in her second year. By the time we left, about an hour later, it was obvious to us that Jenna was a nice person. We clicked immediately and she actually became a friend that night.

Ben and I walked back to the flat hand in hand. When we arrived there we went straight to bed. We had passionate sex before we turned over and fell asleep, tired, but satisfied and content.

On Monday afternoon, at exactly twelve, Dimitri arrived to collect the drawings he wanted to exhibit at Pigalle.

"I had some very positive feedback on your work, Ben." he said. "I am sure that you are going to make a killing with your portraits. The people like it and they think that it is a great idea to have you there."

"Thanks. I've seen the customers were curious." Ben observed.

Dimitri went through Ben's drawings on the walls and put those that he thought would sell to one side. Ben collected his box of unframed drawings and Dimitri made his selection from them as well. Dimitri made a meticulous list of everything that he decided to use.

"The ones that are not framed, I will have framed at my expense." he said to Ben. "I think that it is only fair that I recoup my costs from the sales, over and above the twenty percent."

Ben agreed.

"The ones that are framed already, but that I think needs to be reframed... I will give you the old frames and we can split the cost of the new frames half half."

"So you will take only half the cost of the selling price then?" Ben asked.

"That's it. You happy with that?" Dimitri wanted to know.

"By all means." Ben agreed. "Should we go and help you hang everything?"

"I have a friend who is an art dealer. She has experience with that sort of thing." Dimitri said. "She agreed to hang it... she will also appraise the work to see what we can charge for them. As soon as it has been done, I will let you have a complete inventory."

"Sounds good, thanks." Ben said.

"I think that we assign a minimum and a maximum price to each work. Then I can negotiate with prospective buyers within that range." Dimitri explained.

"You seem to have everything well thought through." Ben smiled. "I leave it up to you."

We helped Dimitri to load everything into his van. Ben was ecstatic when we saw Dimitri turn the corner up the hill in the direction Cafè Pigalle.

When we went back into the flat, Ben looked at the empty spaces on the wall. "Guess what we are going to do tomorrow?" he asked me with a huge grin.

"Rearrange the art?" I guessed.

"Yes, that needs to be done, but before that, we have to take out all the nails, close the old holes and paint." he said excitedly.

"That's a lot of work!"

"But there are two of us... Gosh, am I glad you are visiting!" Ben laughed and winked at me.

"I've been caught in a catch 22 here." I said.

"Mama!" Ben called to Alinah in the kitchen. "I am going to take all the artwork from the walls. Please dust it for me when we are done."

"Tsk." Alinah said as she walked into the lounge. "You are insulting me. If you find dust on those things you can fire me. I take them off once a week... all of them."

"Sorry, Mama." Ben said and winked at me. "I am going to paint the walls again... tomorrow."

"As long as you don't mess, you can paint." Alinah said with a stern look.

"I am afraid I am Mama. I need to take out the old nails and fill the holes, and then the filling has to be sanded smooth." Ben explained to her. "It is going to make a mess for sure."

"Eish! You must get some plastic bags, those big ones they close the mattresses up in. I will have to wrap the beds and the furniture." Alinah said. "When do you want to start? I will hear from Miriam tonight, I am sure they have there where she works."

"I wanted to start tonight, Mama." Ben said.

"No, no, you are going to mess everything up. You can wait until I have covered everything... tomorrow!" Alinah spoke her final word on the subject.

Ben resigned himself to it. "Ah, well, I suppose tomorrow it is then." he said and shrugged his shoulders.

We took all the pictures from the walls in the lounge and the bedroom. When we were finished we went to a hardware store where we bought paint, rollers, brushes, scrapers, filler and other things we would need to fix and paint the walls. Ben arranged with them to have it delivered early the next morning.

We had a supper of fish, sweet potato chips and salad that Alinah made. Bernie was a bit skeptical about the painting, but left Ben to do as he wanted. We spent a quiet evening at home listening to music and talked way into the night.

The following day sped by as Ben and I worked hard at fixing the nail holes and eventually got round to the paint job mid morning on Wednesday. Alinah worked hard as she tried to keep everything as neat as possible despite our work. When Bernie arrived home, later than was usual for him on a Wednesday, we were finished and each sat on an empty tin and surveyed our work. We were tired, but proud of our achievement.

The next morning Alinah started to spring clean the flat. She washed the curtains and bedding and while Ben and I re-hung the pictures on the walls, she cleaned around us. Early in the afternoon, at around two, everything was back in place and one would not have known the state the flat was in the day before.

While we rested in the lounge, Marcus came by to find out if we were still on for the supper at Edward's place that night. Ben told him about Jenna and that she lived in the same building as Edward, and wanted to know if they would have any objections if we invited her with. We had no idea if she would be home or if she would accept he mentioned. Marcus was sure that it would be fine with Edward.

When Marcus had left, Ben and I made a joint and decided to relax on his bed for a while. We eventually had sex fell asleep, exhausted from sex and the hard work over the previous two days and only woke up when Bernie knocked on the door when he came in at about five.

Ben shouted for him to come inside the room as we put our shorts on. "What do you think?" He asked Bernie as he looked proudly around the room.

"You guys did well." Bernie complimented us. "The flat looks neat."

"Yeah, Mama kept on cleaning up around us." Ben laughed. "I think she is happy it is over now."

"You going to Edward's tonight?" Bernie asked but did not wait for an answer before he continued "We are going to Big D and I will sleep over at Jakes and Tony. Apparently they want to introduce me to someone."

"They playing matchmaker?" Ben laughed. "Hope you get lucky, Bernie. I am sure you have already forgotten how it feels."

"It's been a while..." Bennie said seriously. "I suppose I have to move on sometime."

"Sorry Bernie." Ben said softly.

"It's fine... I am getting over it... slowly."

"Makes me feel better then." Ben said "I ... I never meant to break your heart."

"I know, Benny. It was not as if I did not know. But you always having been single gave me hope." Bernie said. "You and Fred... I can see you are madly in love... and I am glad for you."

I could sense that he moved on, although I knew that he was still very much in love with Ben. "Thanks Bernie." I said sincerely.

Ben gave Bernie a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "It means a lot to me to hear you say that, thanks."

Ben and I had a long and leisurely bath before we got dressed and slowly walked to Edward's place in Braamfontein. We were a bit early for the eight o'clock appointment, but we wanted to go past Jenna's flat to invite her to go with us, and still give her time to get dressed, if she decided to accept the invitation. We decided that if she did not want to or weren't home that we would go and sit in a nearby park until it was time to go to Edward's flat.

Jenna opened her door just seconds after we knocked. "Ben, Fred, what a surprise!" she greeted us with a huge smile and invited us inside.

After the usual small talk, Ben said to her. "We came to invite you for supper with our friends here in the building. And seeing that you said that you are not really doing much, I am not going to accept no as an answer."

Jenna laughed. "Wow, club me and drag me by my hair!"

"If need be I might." Ben chuckled. "And I did ask them and they are keen to meet you. So, do not try and use that ruse."

"And we're all committed gay guys." I said. "You will be safe with us, and nobody will come on to you."

"I gathered as much... you guys being gay" Jenna smiled. "Seeing that I obviously have no choice, let's go then."

We were surprised that she did not want to fix her make-up, or comb her hair, or quickly put on another dress, as most females would be inclined to do. It confirmed one of my initial perceptions about her. She was a down to earth girl with no airs and graces. I also had the impression that she could not really be bothered about her beauty.

We knocked on Edward's door thirty five minutes early. When he opened the door he seemed a bit agitated, but when he saw us a huge smile spread over his face. "Great, it's you guys. I was just wondering who is knocking at such an inopportune time. Come inside."

"Sorry, we are early, but we thought that Jenna would want to titivate first. She caught us by surprise." Ben laughed.

Marcus came out of the kitchen to greet us and we introduced them to Jenna.

"I have seen you around before." Edward said to Jenna.

"Yes, our paths have crossed." Jenna laughed. "I do not really know anyone in the building, even though I have been here for a year and a half."

"Same here." Edward said. "I study to hard to socialize much."

We sat down in the lounge and Edward offered us some cold drink before he and Marcus excused themselves to finish the food. The table was set with six settings and we wondered who the other guest was.

A while later Marcus put a serving dish on the table. Edward opened a bottle of white wine and filled the glasses. Then he asked us to sit down at the table. Ben and I sat at the one side, Jenna opposite us and Marcus and Edward at the heads.

"Who is the sixth guest?" Ben asked.

"No one..." Marcus answered "Edward thought the table would be out of balance with only five settings. He insisted I set the sixth place. He is anal that way." he winked at Edward.

It turned out that it was a three course meal and the soup course was in the serving dish. We dished up the smooth butternut soup and Edward passed around a shaker of cinnamon to go with it.

"You guys went all out." Ben chuckled. "Soup and all!"

"It is a special occasion." Edward said. "It is not every day that you can thank a friend for putting love in your way. We appreciate it. But formal thanks will have to wait for later... and the champagne."

There was a knock on the door.

"Someone to balance out the table." Jenna immediately remarked.

"You feeling unbalanced?" Ben quipped to Jenna as Edward stood up with an apologetic smile to open the door.

The front door was out of view from the table, but we could hear a woman's voice speaking.

"Oh dear!" Marcus said and got up immediately. When we looked at him he was as white as a sheet. "Mom..." he said as he made for the door.

"Marc, who is this man?" we heard her ask loudly.

"Mom..." Marcus started, but was immediately interrupted by Edward.

"Your mother?" he said with a surprised tone and then continued more composed. "Mrs. Steinberg, sorry, come inside."

"What are you up to Marc?" Mrs. Steinberg asked again.

"Nothing Mom." Marcus said nervously. "This is Edward Carrington. How did you know I was here?"

"Please come inside." Edward invited her again.

"Who are you?" Mrs. Steinberg asked. "And what business do you have with my son?"

"Edward is a friend. Please come inside Mom, then we can explain. You obviously have the wrong end of the stick here." Marcus said with a shaking voice.

At the table we did not look at one another and just continued to eat our soup in silence. Marcus came into the room from the door and looked at us. "Sorry guys." he apologized. "My Mom." he said as she appeared behind him in our view, followed by Edward.

Mrs. Steinberg looked at us in confusion.

"Hi Mrs. Steinberg." the three of us greeted almost simultaneously. Ben and I stood up quickly, me nearly knocking over my chair. My eye caught Jenna's, and I could see that she had a hint of a smile on her face, obviously enjoying our embarrassment and the drama unfolding in front of her.

"Oh... I'm sorry." Mrs. Steinberg said softly as she surveyed us. It was clear that what see saw in front of her was not what she expected.

"Please sit down." Edward said behind her.

"She walked over slowly to a chair in the lounge and sat down uneasily, looking first at Edward, then at Marcus and then at us.

"Meet my friends, Mom. Edward, it is his place, Benny, Fred and Jenna." Marcus introduced us.

I... I... sorry." his Mom said again as Edward extended his hand towards her. She hesitantly took it.

"Nice to meet you, Mrs. Steinberg." he said.

Ben gestured to me and Jenna that we should follow him. He walked over to the door to the balcony and we followed him outside onto it in silence. Once on the balcony we looked at each other and Jenna raised her eyebrows suggesting "This means trouble."

"How did you know where I am, Mom?" we heard Marcus ask.

"I knocked on every door until I saw you here." his Mom said. "I asked Joseph to..."

"You had me followed? Why?" he asked surprised.

"I am worried Marc." she said.

Edward came out onto the balcony as well. He had a worried expression on his face and did not say a word. He bent forward, placed his elbows on the concrete balustrade and stared out onto the street. Jenna gave him an encouraging pat on the back.

"Mom, I never gave you any reason..." Marcus said with hurt in his voice in the lounge.

"I know... I know... but you've been different ever since you came back from that hockey tour." Mrs. Steinberg said. "Late night phone calls, you go out more than ever and stay out later... and you seem... inexplicably happy sometimes... for no reason."

"You think I am into drugs!" Marcus exclaimed. "Mom, you should know me better!"

"I am sorry, Marc." She apologized. "But I still feel... something is different."

Marcus went quiet for a moment.

"The food is getting cold." Ben said under his breath.

"Benny!" Edward admonished him with a whisper.

"I am just saying..." Ben whispered back.

Jenna giggled softly. "You guys are sooo interesting!"

"Yes... things are different, Mom." Marcus eventually said. "I fell in love... for the first time. I planned to tell you this weekend... I was waiting to be sure that... there is something before I spoke to you."

"Marc... who?" Mrs. Steinberg asked.

"I told you I was gay years ago. You said it was just a phase... I would get over it. It was never just a phase, Mom. I am still gay and I will be forever."

Mrs. Steinberg said nothing.

"Edward is a wonderful person..." Marcus continued.

"Edward?" Mrs. Steinberg interrupted. "But the man is..."

"Only twenty four, Mom."

Outside on the balcony Edward put his face in his hands.

"He seduced you?" Mrs. Steinberg asked in and accusing tone.

Ben put his arm around Edward's shoulders.

"No, Mom. Benny introduced us... he thought that we would..." Marcus stumbled over his words "get along... and we did... immediately. We discuss the age... gap... difference, at length."

"You... sleep with... this man?"

"Mom!" Marcus exclaimed.

"I need to know, Marc."

"I should not be discussing my sex life with my mother," Marcus said "but no... not yet. We've only met about a week ago."

"A week? How can you know you love him after only a week?" Mrs. Steinberg asked.

"I know Mom." Marcus said.

"And there was no sex?" she asked.

"Mom! This is embarrassing!" Marcus exclaimed again. "Not yet, but that is not to say there won't ever be... if you insist on knowing."

"Call him in, I want to talk to him." Mrs. Steinberg asked.

Edward stood up straight, took a deep breath and waited for Marcus to appear at the door. They went into the lounge together.

"Mrs. Steinberg." Edward said as he entered.

"You know that my son is only eighteen?"

"I am aware of that." Edward said.

"Don't you think that you are a bit too old for him?" Mrs. Steinberg asked again.

"I... age is relative, I believe. Marcus is a lot more mature than a lot of people I know that are my age." Edward answered. "And we did discuss our age difference."

"Do you think that he is mature enough to make the right decisions about that."

"I do." Edward answered immediately.

"You sound very sure of yourself?" Mrs. Steinberg said.

"I am." Edwards said bluntly.

"What do you do, Mr...?"

"Carrington... Edward, please. I am a post graduate student and part-time lecturer at Wits. I am busy with a master's degree." Edward answered.

"Do you have a... thing for younger boys, Mr. Carrington?" Mrs. Steinberg asked. "I noticed..."

"Mom!" Marcus interrupted her.

"I have a thing for your son, Mrs. Steinberg." Edward said forcefully but composed. "He just happens to be a few years younger than I am, but that does not mean that I generally have... a thing... for young boys. We were introduced to one another by Benny... outside here on the balcony, a mutual friend... because he thought that the two of us are compatible. And he was right, we have a lot in common and share the same values. This... gathering... is to show our appreciation to Benny for introducing us. He happens to be only sixteen, but I have known him since he was just a little boy and I have the greatest respect for the mature decisions he is making at his age. And Fred is his boyfriend." Edward paused for a moment. "They are not here for my... gratification. I am not out to make them drunk and have my way with them. They are here as good friends of mine, who just happen to be a bit younger. That is all. For you to suggest otherwise is an insult."

"Oops." Ben whispered.

"You're right, Edward. I think that was uncalled for, Mom." Marcus said.

"Maybe, but I said it and it served it's purpose." Mrs. Steinberg said. "I will leave you to continue your supper. We'll speak again, Mr. Carrington. Marc can see me out."

We stood outside on the balcony in stunned silence at what just happened. After a minute or two Marcus and his Mom appeared on the sidewalk below us. Before Mrs. Steinberg got into her Merc that was parked over the road, they hugged in the street.

As she drove off Mrs. Carrington rolled down her window. "Love you my boy!" she said.

"Love you, Mom!" Marcus called after her.

"Aah, sweet." Jenna remarked.

"Can you believe it?" Ben asked.

"I suppose all is well then." Edward said behind us. We didn't notice that he came outside as well.

We went inside just as Marcus came into the other door. "Sorry guys... my Mom." He grabbed hold of Edward and gave him a tight hug and a passionate kiss on the lips. "Sorry... I love you."

"Love you too." Edward said.

"I'm hungry!" Ben said with a huge smile.

"Let's go see if the food is still warm." said Edward and he and Marcus went to the kitchen.

"No hanky panky!" Ben called after them. "I am hungry!"

Jenna giggled. "You guys! I just love it!"

Edward and Marcus brought out the main course of chicken pie, steamed veggies and a green salad.

"I wanted to make stroganoff, but apparently it is completely unkosher." Edward laughed.

"Aah, you are Jewish." Jenna said to Marcus. "I thought so... so am I"

"Oh, fff...chuck, it is an invasion!" Ben joked and made as if he is ducking something.

"So you completely understand this Jewish mother thing that went on here earlier." Marcus laughed.

"Oh, dear, another hurdle I never thought of." Edward laughed. "I still have my foreskin!"

"Too much information!" Jenna giggled.

"Don't worry..." Marcus chuckled "something I can play with that I don't have."

"Guys, guys! Slow on the wine." I laughed. "Things are getting out of hand here!"

"Pour Jenna some more, then she won't mind." Ben said.

"Luckily I am open minded." Jenna laughed. "Otherwise I could have you guys cited for harassment."

We enjoyed the rest of the meal with the same banter going on around the table. After we had ice cream and a hot caramel sauce that Marcus made and was very proud of, Edward cracked open a bottle of champagne.

"Now to the purpose of the night." he said after he filled all our glasses. "To Benny. Thank you for introducing me to the best guy I can ever imagine to have."

"Ditto." Marcus agreed.

"I'll drink to that!" I said

"It was my pleasure." Ben said. "You guys ever need another boyfriend, just say the word!" he laughed. "No seriously," he continued "I just knew that the two of you were meant for one another. I never doubted it for a moment."

"Another thing, Benny." Edward said. "Professor Laker asked me to let you know that you should be at the art school on Monday morning at eight, with a portfolio of your best work."

"Really?" Ben asked.

"Really." Edward answered with a big smile.

Ben was elated. He jumped up off his chair and threw his arms around my neck and kissed me all over my head. Then he did the same to Edward. "Thanks, Edward! I really appreciate what you did for me so far." he said. "Now I must just get in."

"You will." Jenna said "I don't doubt that for one moment."