Jason identified himself as the son of Clifford Warren at the VA Hospital and was allowed in to see his father. When he entered the room and stopped at the foot of the bed, he noticed a woman sitting in the corner reading. She looked up and smiled at him. Jason tentatively smiled back at her thinking she looked familiar, but he couldn't place where he'd seen her. He glanced at the large bloated lump lying in the bed, and shuddered. Three years of hard drinking had taken its toll. He walked up to the head of the bed and studied the sleeping face. He could not believe this ugly thing was his father. Although he had no love for the man he still remembered that he'd once been handsome.

He heard rustling behind him and looked around to see the woman standing next to him. "Not a pretty sight, is he?" She commented more than asked. "He used to be so good-looking."

Jason silently shook his head.

"I'm Janine Smith."

Jason turned and held out his hand. "I'm Jason Warren."

"I know who you are, Jason," she said taking his hand in both of hers. "I've watched you grow into to the fine young man you have become. You look so much like your daddy."

Jason looked horrified, and looked at the bloated blotched face nested in the white pillow and then looked back at Janine with a frown.

She let out a short snorting laugh. "Cliff's not your daddy, Sweetie. He was injured in the Viet Nam war and couldn't make babies."

Jason stared at her as myriad thoughts raced through his head.

"Do you want to hear the whole story?"

Jason nodded.

"Come sit over here," she said, making herself comfortable in one of the arm chairs. "I always told your mother she was doing you a grave injustice by staying with Cliff. You see, she still loved the young man that went off to war. She believed that the sweet young man that went off to war still resided somewhere in the depths of the bitter injured man that returned from Viet Nam. She never gave up trying to bring him back. We used to refer to May and Cliff as Mutt and Jeff. Do you have any idea who they were?"

Jason looked confused.

"No? Well, they were two Sunday comic strip characters. One was real tall and the other was short. Just like Cliff and May. Anyway, Cliff took it into his mind that May should have a child. She abhorred the thought of having some stranger's seed inside her. So she settled on her best friend from her high school days. He was gay, but for her, he helped her make a baby. And you were the results.

"She never would tell Cliff who the father was. And at first he treated you like his own child. But as you grew into a young boy you looked more and more like your daddy. Cliff had always hated him. And he turned that hate on you. I told your mother numerous times she should take you and leave. But she was stuck in a hard place. The house was hers and she loved Cliff. She just couldn't kick him out.

"Cliff wasn't a violent man. But he had a nasty way with words. And I think his words finally killed your mother's spirit. She just seemed to wither slowly away. On her death bed she made Cliff promise that he would take care of you until you were eighteen. I guess she figured you would kick him out when the house became legally yours." Janine stopped lost in her thoughts.

Jason had his head down as he thought about her story. "How is it that I don't remember you?"

"Well, honey, I stayed away. I'm the sort that just can't hold my tongue. I say what I think. Cliff and I had some real battles over how he treated you. And finally your mother couldn't take it anymore and asked me to not come around. We still got together, May and I, once in awhile. We were still friends up to the day she died. I was at her funeral. You wouldn't have noticed me. I hung back with the rest of the crowd."

"So how come you and .......aah?" Jason found he could no longer bring himself to refer to the man as his father. He swallowed and re-asked the question, "How is it you are with him?"

"Well, I ran into him one night in a bar. The old Cliff would show himself sometimes when he was drinking. Like your mom, I loved the man he once was, too. He asked me to move in with him. I was on hard times, so I did. After he started drinking so much, he lost his job. If it hadn't been for your generosity and his little government pension, he'd have been living in an alley somewhere. So I took care of him. Cooked and kept the house clean. Worked what odd jobs I could find." She looked wistfully at the man in the bed. "Don't know what I'll do now."

"You don't have to move out just because he is dying. Stay there."

"I couldn't afford the rent on a place like that."

"I didn't say anything about rent. I'll see my lawyer and have him set it up so you can live there as long as you want. I don't need the money from that house. It only has bad memories for me."

Janine clasped her hands tightly in her lap. Her head was bowed, and tears splashed unheeded on her hands. "I don't know what to say. But you're too generous."

"Don't say anything. Just accept it."

"I can at least pay the utilities. I make enough cleaning houses that I can do that."

"If you insist. Do you have enough houses to work full time?"

"No, I only work about three days a week."

"Can you add another house to your schedule?"

Janine looked up at him. "You mean your house, where you live? I'd clean it for free."

Jason laughed. "I don't think so. You see, there are five of us living there. And those guys should pay for you cleaning up after them."

"Okay, what day would you want me?"

"What ever day best suits you. We all have different schedules. Oh, and Jake works at home. He's a writer."

"You wouldn't mean Jake Shipman. The author of Those Shifting Sands, would you?"

"You've read that book?"

"I read a lot of it aloud to Cliff. He couldn't believe a gay guy wrote it. Of course, knowing Cliff," she laughed, "you know he didn't use the word gay."

"I can imagine. So if you come to clean for us, you get to meet the man."

"That would be a real bonus."

They sat quietly and looked at each other a minute. Jason looked over at the bed. "How long do they give him?" he asked.

"A week, maybe two," she sighed.

"I guess I should arrange for his burial."

"He's a Vet. They will do it for free."

"I didn't know that."

"Yes, so you don't have to worry your handsome little head over it."

Jason looked at his watch and sighed. "I guess I should be going. I've already missed two classes this morning."

"It was good of you to come."

"Well, it was just filial duty. But it was nice meeting you, Janine. You have my number, so when you're ready to work, call me. Like I said, any day is fine."

"Thank you, Jason."

"I'll stop in to see my lawyer about the house, just to make it legal."

She smiled and said, "Tell him Janine sends her regards."

"You know him?"

She smiled again and looked a little sad. "Yes, I know Mr. Lambert."

"Mm, well, I've gotta go."

"Bye, Jason, and thank you."

As Jason left the VA Hospital he wondered how Janine knew Mr. Lambert. And then he wondered about how his mom had known a high-powered lawyer like him and could afford his services. He stopped at a light. The image of Mr. Lambert came uncalled into his mind. Jason frowned to himself, looked at himself in the mirror and then shook his head. "No way. That couldn't be," he said aloud.

The things that Janine had told him had left him shaken. He had always wondered why he held no resemblance to his father, not in looks and certainly not in stature. Yet his image in the mirror and the mental image of Mr. Lambert superimposed over it left him wondering.

When Jason returned home from the hospital, he didn't feel like going to class and paying attention to a lecture. He wandered into the kitchen and got a bottle of Coke out of the fridge, then went to see if anyone else was home. He stopped at the open door to Jake's office and saw him typing away on his keyboard. He leaned against the jam and just admired his big buddy. 'He's so sexy,' Jason thought, but he didn't really think of him in a sexual way. They were buddies and they each had a man that they were in love with.

Jake paused in his typing, looked up and saw Jason. He grinned. "How long have you been standing there?" he asked.

"Just a couple of minutes."

"Why didn't you say something?"

"Didn't want to interrupt your train of thought."

Jake stretched his arms above his head, his legs out straight under the desk and his butt barely on the edge of his chair. "So how was the visit?"

Jason found himself distracted watching Jake. He was so cat-like. He sighed as he brought his attention back to what they were talking about and hesitantly walked into the room. "Interesting. I learned some significant things this morning."

Jake waited; he could tell that his little bro had been deeply affected by whatever it was he'd learned. "He's not my real father."

"Really?"

"The woman he was living with was a friend of my mom." Jason then told the whole story to Jake. "You want to know something funny?"

Jake just looked at him.

"I think I know who my real father is."

They were interrupted at that moment by Pete coming into the house and yelling for Jason.

"I'm in Jake's office," Jason yelled back.

Pete came rushing in with a sheaf of papers in his hand. "Jason, I know I went behind your back, but I wanted to be sure before I told you." He noticed Jake sitting at his desk. "Oh, hi, Jake." Jake grinned and nodded. Pete turned back to Jason. "I hope you're not going to be upset." He paused, out of breath.

"I promise not to get upset. What did you do?" Pete looked so happy along with looking apprehensive that Jason figured it had to be something good.

"Well, I.... you know how they can tell if someone is related by using DNA?"

Jason nodded. "That's why you took the sucker stick from Mr. Lambert's desk."

"You saw me?"

"Yeah, but I had forgotten about it until now."

"You look so much like Mr. Lambert. And he kept addressing you as son rather than Jason. I'd recently been talking to Tim about his forensics class where they are studying how DNA can identify family ties and I thought that it would be fantastic if he could use that to prove it." He paused for a breath and looked at Jason. "So you suspected the same thing I did?"

"Not until this morning when I met the woman living with my father when I went to visit him at the VA Hospital. She told me he's not really my dad."

"So you put things together like I did?"

Jake couldn't take any more. "Would you two just get it out. Mr. Lambert is Jason's dad, isn't he?"

They both turned and looked at him.

"How did you know?" Jason asked.

Jake laughed. "This is like listening to a cheap dime store mystery novel. Let me see if I can put the pieces together. Tim is taking a class on forensic sciences which includes the study of DNA. Pete took the stick from Mr. Lambert's desk and I would suspect a sample of your DNA," he said to Jason, "and gave it to Tim. Am I correct?"

Pete just nodded. Jason raised his eyebrows, staring at Pete. "How did you get my DNA sample?"

Pete blushed and mumbled, "From the cum I wiped off of your chest and belly that night."

Jason took a turn at blushing. "You are sneaky, Pete."

Jake decided it was time to take their minds off their embarrassment. "Are those papers the results of the DNA tests?" he asked. "I'll bet they show that this Mr. Lambert is Jason's biological father."

"Is that true, Pete?" Jason asked.

Pete swallowed hard, and nodded. Jason grabbed the papers from his hand. He leafed through them not understanding all the technical mumbo jumbo. He stopped at the last page. In clear precise words it stated, 'Sample A was closely related to Sample B.'

Jason looked up at Pete. "That's why he kept calling me son. I am his son."

"So you're not angry?"

"No, why should I be angry?"

"I went behind your back to do this."

"And you did it because you love me, yes?"

"You know I do, Jason. And I would love for you to have a dad that loves you and is proud of you for who you are. And Mr. Lambert seems to be that man. He acted like he was so proud of you, and the way he said son just had so much love in it, I figured I couldn't be wrong." Pete ran out of words and just looked at Jason, hoping he understood.

Jason stood there looking back at Pete for several seconds. The emotions he was feeling toward his lover were overpowering his ability to move. Finally he embraced him and buried his face in Pete's chest

Pete just grinned like he'd been given the best of prizes and held his little man tightly against his body. He flashed back to his stay in the hospital and again was amazed at the turn around that his mother had made. She'd been so non-accepting of her gay brother; refusing even to speak to him for years. And then the morning he'd planned to tell his parents he was gay, she'd stepped up to his hospital bed and placed Jason's hand in his, and then told him that she loved him no matter what. She'd gone home and made amends with her brother, Sam. Pete knew that Dave Gates had a lot to do with his mom's change. He'd be eternally grateful to Dave.

"If this doesn't work out with Mr. Lambert," he told Jason, "I'm still sure that my dad and mom would love to adopt you."

"I love you for doing this, Pete," he mumbled.

"And I just love living in this house with you guys," Jake said, grinning at the two younger fellows.

"Come on, Jase, let's go upstairs where we can have some privacy." He winked at Jake as they left the room.

Monday morning Jake awoke to a warm wetness around his throbbing cock. His hands sought Charley's hair. He loved to run his hands through it now that he was letting it grow out. "Oh man, what a way to wake up," he mumbled.

Charley pulled off of Jake's hard member long enough to say, "Good morning, Love."

Jake took advantage of the moment and flipped so he could return the pleasure.

In the afterglow as they came back to earth, Jake lay on his back. Charley snuggled against his side, with his head on Jake's shoulder and his leg laying over Jake's genitals.

"The real estate lady called yesterday about a house near here that she thought we would like. Do you feel like looking at it this morning?" Jake asked

"Sure. When?"

"How about an hour from now. That should give us time to shower, dress and have some breakfast."

"Will you wash my back for me?"

Jake chuckled. "You know I'll wash your back for you, but then I should probably tell her two hours from now."

"That sounds good. I want to wash yours, too."

"Go get the water ready. I'll call her."

Charley was in the shower when Jake entered the bathroom. "Come on in, Babe. The water's great." As Jake stepped in, Charley handed him the bar of soap. "You have to wash my front first," he said knowing Jake would be doing a lot more than just washing his back once he turned around.

The house was perfect. The bottom floor was basically divided in half, a kitchen/dining area in the back half, with a small bedroom and three-quarter bath. The front half was a livingroom/den with a huge fireplace. Upstairs was broken up into two large bedrooms, each with its own bath, and two small ones sharing a bath.

The back yard was fenced for privacy so they could enjoy the swimming pool in the nude if they wanted. The houses on both sides and the back were all one story. Jake stood in the dining area looking out over the well groomed yard. "You know, Charley, this is where I'm going to be writing."

Charley wrapped an arm around Jake's shoulder. "So, is there a problem with that? You still need an office for all your books and stuff and the downstairs bedroom will be perfect for that."

Jake turned and embraced his big blonde handsome lover. "How come it took so long for us to find each other?"

Charley kissed him on the neck and mumbled something. It didn't matter to Jake that he didn't understand what he said because he was sure it was something filled with love.

The price was right; with Charley's savings and Jake's big bonus on his book they could make a sizable down payment. With a fifteen day escrow they could move in almost as soon as they could get Charley's possessions moved over from Kirksville. Jake knew that they could have bought the house out right from the endowment from Dave, but he felt it was important to their relationship to do it on their own. Charley loved Jake all the more for his sensitivity when it came to making the down payment on the house. Doing it this way made the house theirs in a stronger way than if they'd taken money from the endowment account.

Jake had kept his own account and the money from Dave was in an account under both their names. One of the first things that Jake had done right after getting settled in at Pete and Jason's was to add Charley's name to the account that Dave had set up. "I don't want any lip on this, Charley. This money is as much yours to spend as you wish as it is mine. Sign the signature card and we won't discuss it any more." Charley had complied without a word, and handed the card back to Jake with a kiss.

Jason kept putting off making an appointment with Fred Lambert, who had been his mother's lawyer, and was now his. Pete finally took matters into hand and made an appointment for Jason and told him he'd better not break it. Jason was thankful and at the same time scared to face the man he was certain was his biological father.

"What exactly are you afraid of?" Pete wanted to know.

"I don't know. What if he doesn't want to admit it? What if he rejects me?"

"And what if he does want to accept you as his son?"

"Do you think he will?"

"Jason, stop and think. What did he call you several times, the last time you saw him?"

"Jason?"

"He called you 'Son'. It was like he was subconsciously accepting you even then."

"Do you really think so?"

"Keep the appointment and find out."

Fred Lambert opened his office door to personally ask his next client in. "Good Morning, Jason."

"Good Morning, Sir." Jason stepped up and shook his proffered hand.

"Come on in. Have a seat." He closed the door and followed Jason. He sat on the corner of his desk with one leg on the floor. "What can I help you with this morning, Son?"

Jason explained about wanting to let Janine live in his house rent free, but that he felt there should be some kind of legal papers for the agreement.

"Well, this is a rather unusual situation, but I don't see any problem with it. I'll draw the papers up and send them to you. You just get Ms. Smith to sign them and send one copy back to me."

Jason hadn't used Janine's last name in his explanation. "Mr. Lambert, do you know Janine?"

Fred smiled. "Yes, your mother, Janine, Cliff and I were all school mates all the way through high school."

"She asked me to give you her regards. And you're my biological father, aren't you?" Jason blurted out and then held his breath. He hadn't figured any other way of broaching the subject.

Fred blinked. "Janine told you."

"No. She only said that Cliff is not my father. This told me," he said, standing up and handing the DNA papers to him. "Pete suspected it when he saw you and me together. He took a lollipop stick off your desk as we were leaving."

Fred nodded, noted what the papers were and laid them on the desk. "I wanted to tell you then, Son, but I didn't know how you would accept it."

Jason's heart bounded. "I don't know you, but you're a nice man. I wouldn't mind claiming you as my father."

Fred grinned and held out his arms to Jason. "And I wouldn't mind claiming you as my son. And I'd love to get to know you better, and Pete."

Jason walked into his embrace and hugged him back. When Fred let go of him Jason stepped back.

"So do you have a lover?"

Fred looked aghast. "Why would you ask something like that?"

Jason ducked his head. "I'm sorry. That was very forward of me. Janine told me you were gay."

Fred laughed. "Janine is wrong, Son. No, I'm not gay."

"So, are you married? Do you have a family?"

"Yes, and yes. You have a sister and two little brothers."

"Geez, I never ever imagined that I would ever have that."

"Would you like to meet them?"

Jason ducked his head. "I would, but wouldn't your wife resent me? I mean she's...." Jason stood up and paced across the room and turned to face the man that he now knew to be his biological father. "She's not my mother."

"Liz knew about you before we were married. No, she won't resent you. Actually, I think she just might want to adopt you. She's seen you a couple of times while you were growing up. I think the last time was at your mother's funeral."

"You were at my mom's funeral?" He turned and walked back over to the desk.

"Of course we were. I couldn't let your mom go without saying good bye. We were always close friends despite her marrying Cliff."

"Wow, there is so much I don't know about my mom's life."

"I've got some wonderful stories I could share with you."

"Even if I am grown, I think I'm going to enjoy having you as my father. So what do I call you?"

"How about Fred? Or I'd be proud if you called me Dad."

"Thanks, Dad." Jason grinned. Fred pushed away from his desk, stood and held his arms out to welcome Jason into another hug.

"You're welcome, Son. I love you."

The escrow was due to close in five days. Totally committed to each other, Jake and Charley were now becoming co-owners of a new home. They both felt the burden of the big change that was occurring in their lives.

"So do you want to go on both bikes?" Charley asked. It was Thursday afternoon and Jake had just talked to the real estate agent. Everything was going as planned. By next Tuesday the papers should be ready to sign. They had to go to Kirksville to get Charley's fruniture.

"Well, let's think this out. Your pickup is there. And we have to bring it and both bikes back. I guess what we could do is rent a small U-haul and one of us drive that and the other drive the pickup with the two bikes in the back."

"Sounds like a plan. You want to leave tomorrow?"

"I can leave anytime. I'm way ahead of schedule on my book."

"Great. Then let's get ready now and we'll leave in the morning."

Charley called his parents and told them they were coming. They were informed that they would be expected for dinner the next evening.

The sun had just risen above the horizon when they set off toward Kirksville. With the sun on their backs and the wind in their faces, riding side by side, Charley and Jake were on their way. Five and a half hours later they rode into the outskirts of Charley's hometown. When they stopped at the first stop light Jake raised his visor and grinned at Charley. "Damn, it sure is good to get out and just ride sometimes. Are you hungry?"

"Yeah, let's go to Sally's," Charley suggested.

Jake grinned. "Like there is any other place we'd go."

The lunch hour was just slowing when they wheeled into the parking lot in front of the café. They stepped up to the counter that was only partially occupied and pulled off their helmets and leather jackets before they sat down.

Sally came rushing through the swinging doors from the kitchen. She saw Charley and squealed her delight as she ran around the counter to give him a hug. "Charley, where have you been hiding. You just disappeared. You didn't even say good-bye and then I heard you'd quit the force and left town." She let go of him and turned to Jake. "Are you okay now?" she took his hands in hers.

"Why wouldn't I be okay?" he dissembled.

"I know you were in the hospital. Chess has kept me up to date."

"Oh. Well, I'm fine now," he said, wondering just how much Chess had really told her.

"You'd better be, you've got a full time job now." She darted her eyes at Charley to indicate what that job was.

Jake grinned. "You got it backwards. He's the one with his hands full."

"It's so good to see you two. Do you want some lunch?"

Charley grinned. "You think we just came to see you?"

"Of course. The food isn't that good."

When they rolled onto Charley's street, the first thing they saw was Gloria's sleek little Mercedes parked in his driveway. Charley stopped a half a block from the house and looked at Jake. "Are you ready for this, Babe?"

Jake grinned. "I'm ready to grab the tiger by her tail."

Laughing, Charley replied, "Let's hope it doesn't come to that." He put his big Harley into gear and cruised on down the street, Jake followed a length behind him. They pulled into the driveway, and parked their motorcycles in front of the car.

Gloria was on the front porch to greet her son and his lover as they climbed the steps. She was all warm smiles. Charley wrapped his arms around her and kissed her cheek. "Hi, Mom."

She kissed him back. "It's so good to see you, Son." She then turned and smiled at Jake. "Welcome back, Jake." She held out her arms to him. He nodded and smiled, and then hesitantly stepped into her embrace, putting one arm around her back as he held his jacket in the other. She kissed his cheek, and whispered, "Forgive me for having been such a bitch."

Jake pulled back and looked at her. She looked sincere. "It's all forgotten," he said, wondering if what she'd said was as much a lie as his own words were.

"Come on in the house. I came over and opened it up to air out. Chess will be over in a little while. I brought lots of boxes and I've started packing the kitchen already."

"Are you trying to rush us out of here, Mom?" Charley grinned to show he was joking, but she was looking elsewhere.

"Oh heavens, no. I'm just trying to be helpful. Would you boys like some coffee? Do you need to rest before you start packing?"

Charley hugged her shoulder. "Mom, I was just joking. I'm delighted that you're helping."

"I wish you were staying for a bit."

"Like I told Dad over the phone, I start to work as soon as we get settled in the new house. Right now I'm being paid for being idle, and I'm feeling guilty about it. I need to go to work."

Gloria smiled. "I guess we succeeded in instilling a good work ethic in you."

"Yeah, you did."

Meanwhile, Jake had wandered through the house doing a mental inventory of what needed do be done. When he stepped into the bedroom he stopped and stared at the bed. Memories of the wonderful times shared with Charley washed over him. He recalled the awkwardness of the last night he'd been in that bed. He sighed, then he grinned, thinking of how things had changed so much for the better in the last few weeks.

He heard Charley call his name. "I'm in the bedroom," he answered back.

A moment later, Charley walked up behind him and wrapped him in a warm hug, grinding his pelvis into his butt. Looking over Jake's shoulder, he motioned toward the bed with his head. "We had some wonderful times in here, didn't we?"

"Yeah we did."

Charley nuzzled Jake's neck. Jake stretched his neck to the side giving Charley more area to work on as it sent goose bumps down to his toes. "What are your plans for this place, Babe, are you going to sell it?" He tried to ignore his arousal. "God, Charley, if you don't stop that..... Your mother's in the other room."

Charley relented and laid his chin on Jake's shoulder.

"I talked it over with Dad. He thinks I should keep it and rent it. The rent would make the monthly payments plus leave a little profit each month."

Jake turned his head and kissed Charley's cheek. "That sounds like a sound plan to me," he said. "You want to take all this furniture back with us?"

"That's something we need to jointly decide. I guess we should discuss it piece by piece." He turned Jake in his arms and brushed his lips over Jake's.

They were interrupted by Gloria clearing her throat. "Oh," she said, "I'm sorry. I wasn't expecting....."

"Get used to it Mom. We tend to do this a lot." He turned and grinned at his mother, while Jake furiously blushed and stayed behind him. "Although, we will try to contain ourselves while we're here."

"Listen you two, don't make a big deal of it. I'm truly delighted that you make each other so happy. I was just surprised is all."

"And what was it you came back here for?"

"Oh. I...oh, yes. Should I clean out the refrigerator now?"

"There isn't any food in it is there?"

"No, I emptied it completely when you left. But it should be washed down for your new tenants."

"We don't plan on eating here. Maybe a six-pack to chill, but no food. So you might as well go ahead."

"Thank you, Dear, you boys go back to what you were doing." She turned and headed back to the kitchen.

Jake stood gaping. Finally he asked, "Who is that woman?"

"That's what I kept asking after I got shot, when you were living here with me," Charley said, grinning. "This is my real mom."

"Menopause, you think?"

"What?"

"They say women can change personalities while going through their change of life."

Charley shrugged. "Maybe, but whatever, my mom is back to her old self."

Chess showed up at Charley's an hour after Charley and Jake. He was dressed in Jeans and an old chambray shirt, ready to work. He hugged his son and turned to Jake. They looked at each other for a moment. They hadn't seen each other since Jake had left to go on the book signing tour. Chess held his arms out to him. "Come here, Son." Jake couldn't get into his arms fast enough. "How's my new son doing?" he asked.

"I'm doing well, Chess. Charley is the greatest. He's been such a boon in getting me through this."

"I'm happy to hear that. You two were made for each other."

"We know that, Dad," Jake said.

Chess pulled back and grinned at him.

"You've made my day." He pulled Jake back into another hug. "You know that, don't you?" Jake didn't answer. He just hugged a little harder.

Charley put his arms around both men's shoulders. "I'm so glad you two like each other," he said.

"I think it goes way beyond just liking each other," Chess said, looking at Jake. Jake nodded and smiled.

Charley smiled happily at the two most important men in his life. "I love you guys."

Unnoticed by the three men, Gloria stood in the kitchen doorway. She smiled as she witnessed the intimate camaraderie between her husband, her youngest son and his lover. She thought, 'Maybe it really will all work when the time comes.'

In the next few hours, Charley and Jake made decisions about what they were taking from the house, and what they would sell. Gloria volunteered to have an estate sale to get rid of what they left. With Chess and Gloria's help, the fellows soon had the small U-Haul Truck loaded, locked and ready to head out the next morning. The pickup was in Chess's garage, so they left the U-Haul in the driveway and rode their motorcycles over to their house.

Trepidation gripped Jake as they trooped into the house with their saddlebags slung over their shoulders. He kept expecting Gloria to turn on him at any moment. They followed along behind her as she led them upstairs. "Charley's room has only a single bed, so, Jake, you'll...." She stopped mid sentence. "Now I'm really being silly. If it was Tom or Robert he'd be in the guest room with his wife." She turned and looked at Jake. "You two will sleep in the guest room. I apologize, this is just taking some getting used to, you know."

"We know, Mom, and we appreciate your effort," Charley said, hugging her with his free arm.

Speaking to Jake, she said, "I know I gave you a bitch of a time when you were living here with my son. I apologize, Jake. And I want you to know that I look forward to the day that you can call me mom."

Jake gave her a tight little smile and nodded. Gloria studied him a moment. "It's all going to be okay, Jake. With Charley's love, and ours, you'll soon let it all go." Before he could respond, she turned and went into the guest room to check that everything was in order. Charley followed his mother into the room unaware that Jake was still standing in the hall.

Jake realized that Chess had told her why he had been in the hospital. At first he felt like he'd been betrayed, but as he thought about it, he realized that it was only natural that Chess would share general information with his wife. He knew in the depths of his heart that Chess would never tell anyone the things they'd talked about that night he'd bared his soul to him. He shrugged, and followed his lover into the guest room. Gloria had turned down the duvet and fluffed the pillows as she said, "I want you to know that you're as much one of the family as Dotty or Elaine, Jake."

Gloria had planned on a big breakfast with Tom and Robert and their families joining them. Charley convinced her that it would be best to go to Sally's. There they could visit, Sally could make some money, and they'd have no dirty dishes to wash. Jake was relieved that the meeting with Charley's brothers was going to be in pubic. Breakfast turned out to be very congenial. Jake wondered if anyone, but himself, had noticed the hostile stares, or the lust-filled glances he'd gotten from Robert.

After all the family had left, Jake and Charley hung around in the café to say their goodbyes to Sally. She was tearful, but happy for the two men. As they drove away in the pickup, loaded with the two motorcycles, she called out, "Don't stay away too long. Come back and see me. Hear?"

They stopped at the house and went through it again to see if anything had been forgotten, then took a few minutes to pay some special attention to each other. After a final knee weakening kiss, they locked it up and stood in the yard looking at the house where they had started their life together.

"Ready to hit the road?" Charley asked.

"Who's driving what and who follows?"

"You drive the pick up and follow, then we'll switch half way."

"Sounds like a plan," Jake said, heading for the pickup.

Jason and Pete had been invited to Sunday dinner at the Lamberts. It was the first weekend since Jason had confronted Fred with the DNA evidence that he was his father. Liz had accepted Jason into the family with a big hug. He hadn't really thought about it until then, but Jason had missed his mother's hugs. He took an immediate liking to the whole family. Ricky and Patrick had formally shaken hands with him, but Jason had knelt and pulled them both into a hug. The boys hugged him back.

"Are you really our brother?" Patrick asked in an awed little boy voice.

"Yes, I sure am," Jason answered.

"How come you never lived with us then?" Ricky the older boy asked.

Jason looked up at Liz for help, she only smiled and nodded her head for Jason to explain. "Well, I had a different mother and I lived with her."

"Oh."

"So you're not really our brother. You can't be if we don't have the same mommy," Patrick said.

Before Jason could answer Beth stepped in front of her brothers. "You look just like my daddy so you have to be my brother no matter what Mister Smartypants says. I'm Beth." Jason was still on his knees. Beth stepped up and wrapped her arms around his neck. Jason enfolded her into his arms. Tears of happiness were running down his face. He looked up at Fred and Liz and mouthed, "Thank you." They both beamed.

Pete was introduced to them, and Ricky and Patrick both took an immediate liking to him, both vying to sit next to him at the dinner table. The problem was solved by Pete sitting in the middle on one side of the table, with a boy on each side of him and Jason on the other side of the table with Beth. Jason was torn between feeling a little hurt and at the same time delighted that his little brothers were so taken with Pete. But as he thought about it he couldn't blame them; he was taken with Pete, too. It became obvious that Beth felt the same way when she announced, "Next time it's my turn to sit by Pete."

As dinner progressed Pete realized that Jason had been seated at his dad's right side. He grinned to himself. It was just as it should be.

Later, after dinner, Pete was in the Lambert's den on the floor playing with Ricky and Patrick. Actually they were playing and he was participating by watching as they showed him how each toy car was different from the next. He was amazed by the fact that they knew the make, model and year of each little replica car. And they had a couple of dozen of them. Beth kept vying for his attention by physically taking his chin and turning his head to look at her dollies. Pete would take the time with her and then turn back to the two boys. Liz watched from the kitchen door for a few minutes and decided that Jason and Pete were going to be a boon to her family.

Pete could tell that the two boys were brothers and related to Jason because of their looks, but neither boy had their dad's black hair like Jason. Ricky had dirty blond hair like his mother and Patrick's was a dark brown. Beth, their little sister, had her mother's facial features, but her hair was black like her daddy's. Where Fred and his sons looked slightly Amerind with brown eyes, Beth and her mother, Liz, were more English looking and had blue eyes.

Jason sat in a big comfortable high-backed leather club chair facing his dad in Fred's home office while Pete was playing with the young boys. Fred had offered him a drink from his bar. Jason had accepted a scotch and water after he had told his newly discovered biological father that he had only tasted beer and wasn't too fond of it.

"This is a drink to be savored. Run your tongue around it and slowly swallow," Fred had told him. "The flavor will grow on you."

At first Jason didn't like the flavor, but after a few sips, the taste did indeed begin to grow on him. He began to like it. He swirled the golden liquid around in the big old-fashioned glass, listening to the clink of ice. His thoughts were awhirl. He'd just met his dad's family for the first time and was amazed that he looked so much like them. He really liked Liz. She had immediately made him feel accepted and loved. As he listened to the ice clink against the glass a question formed in his mind. He felt uncomfortable with it, but he needed to know the answer if he was going to be able to form a relationship with his dad. He looked up to find Fred studying him.

"You have a question, Son?"

Jason nodded and looked back down at his drink.

"You know I'll answer it as truthfully as possible."

Jason looked back up at him. Their eyes locked and Jason could see that this man really did love him. His heart swelled with the warmth that knowledge gave him.

"This is something I don't understand. I really need to know the answer."

Fred nodded, holding Jason's look.

"All those years when I was growing up, thinking that Cliff was my father, being constantly verbally abused by him, why did you and my mom just stand by and let him do it?"

Fred's countenance darkened and he raised his eyes to the ceiling. When he looked back at Jason there were tears in his eyes. "I didn't know that was happening. Your mother forbade me to come near. I can't answer for her, but believe me, Jason, if I had known, I would have stepped in and stopped it. Your mother made it very clear to me that I was not to make contact with you until your eighteenth birthday. As her lawyer I was bound by her will. Legally, you are the son of Cliff Warren. Your birth certificate states that."

"Can that be changed?" Jason asked.

"I don't know. It's something I can certainly look into, if you want it."

"There is nothing to keep me from changing my name now, is there?"

"No, there isn't," Fred answered, not believing that Jason would want to take his name as his own. He asked, "Is it Pete's name you wish to take?"

"Would you allow me to take your name as my own?"

"Jason, there is no way you could honor me more. I love you, Son. I'd be most happy to give you my name."

"Then that is what I want."

"Well, I'll draw up the papers for you tomorrow." He paused and then asked, "Jason, your question disturbs me. Did Cliff abuse you in front of your mother?"

Jason thought for a moment. "No, I don't remember him doing it in front of her. It seems that he was always withdrawn when she was around. He was very moody. They fought a lot before she got so ill. As she got worse his abuse of me got worse too. He even made me feel that Mom's death was my fault."

"I hope you don't still feel it was your fault. She died from uterine cancer, Jason."

"I know, but having him hammer it into me all the time, I still feel guilty."

"God, Son, I am so sorry."

Jason studied his drink a few moments and then looked up at Fred. "This may sound terrible, but I'm glad he's finally going to die."

"It does sound terrible, Jason, but I feel the same way. For one thing it will get him out of the misery he's been in since Nam. I don't know what happened to him there, but it must have been awful. He was a pretty nice guy once, even though he never liked me, but he was never the same after he came back."

Jason sighed, wishing he could think of one good time with the man who'd raised him.

"I wish it had been you that my mom had married."

"We were very good friends, but she was never in love with me."

"So I was born of friendship. At least I was planned."

"Don't kid yourself for a moment that you weren't born of love, Son. Your mother and I were more than close friends. We were like one soul in two bodies. It's just that May was infatuated with Cliff for as long as I can remember. She was possibly in love with him. I don't know. I think it was a good thing that Cliff was injured in the war and couldn't make babies. May was so petite and he was a big guy. It would probably have killed her to bear his child, for his child would probably have been big.

"There was no one May would have turned to other than me to conceive a child."

"Janine told me that the man who helped my mom conceive was gay. You're not gay. You have a wonderful wife and three beautiful children."

Fred humphed in amusement. "Four beautiful children, counting you."

Jason couldn't leave it alone. "So why did Janine say that you are gay?"

"Jason, my sexual preferences are no one's business but my own. But, since you are my son and I told you I will answer your questions honestly, I will tell you. Growing up in the Seventies was so different from today. We were in the midst of the so called sexual revolution. There was a song that I remember that said something about if you can't be with the one you love, then love the one you're with. That kind of describes what I went through. I not only loved your mother as a friend, I was in love with her too. But it was unrequited. May only had eyes for Cliff.

"Since May and I were close friends Cliff was very jealous of our friendship. He was always giving your mother a hard time about me. I had a friend that was gay. Cliff hated him. He was the quarterback and Cliff could never stand that he was a football player and had no qualms about being gay. What's funny is I think my gay friend was still a virgin when we graduated from high school.

"Anyway, I started hanging with him. Everyone thought we were lovers. We'd clown it up when we were around Cliff, acting as if we were lovers, but in truth we were only good friends. The ruse worked. Cliff stopped hassling May about being friends with me.

"We're still good friends. We don't see a lot of each other being that he has found a mate. And he seems to be totally involved with a new building he's designed and is building downtown. But we still stay in touch.

"While in college I met Liz. We dated several times and then lost track of each other for a few years. And then when we ran into each other again, we fell in love and married. Your mother even met Liz once before her death. I suppose she never mentioned it to Janine and apparently Janine still thinks I am gay." Fred stopped and thought for a few moments and then looked at Jason. "Does that answer your question?"

Jason nodded. They sipped on their drinks in silence for a few moments. Jason looked at his dad and grinned. Fred looked back at him returning the smile. "What are you thinking now that gives you that mischievous smile?" he asked.

"Are you aware that Pete saved Dave Gates from being hit by a speeding car?"

"Dave Gates?"

"Joe Paolini's partner."

"I know who Dave Gates is. I just didn't know that you know them."

Jason grinned. "Yeah, we know them. We've become friends with them. We even live in Dave's house."

"Good Grief. Who would have thought."

Tuesday, Charley and Jake signed all the papers and took possession of the house. With Pete and Jason's help it was barely five o'clock by the time they had all the furniture moved in, the kitchen unpacked, the clothes hung in the closet, and the bed made.

Pete and Jason were sprawled on the leather sofa that had come from Charley's old house. Jake had collapsed into his favorite old chair. Charley came in carrying four frosty long necks, handed one to each of them and then he sat down between Pete and Jason. He placed his beer on the coffee table and lay back. He spread an arm behind each of them and pulled them into a hug. He kissed them both on the cheek. "You two guys are the best. Thank you for your help. It would have taken us days to do all this."

"Oh, it's all in the decorator genes, I think. Pete and I have more of them than you two machos."

Pete looked around Charley at his lover. "You don't think I'm macho?"

"Of course you are. But you don't ride a motorcycle."

"I've been seriously thinking of getting one."

"Really? A Harley or an Indian?"

"I saw a really sleek Suzuki I like."

"Don't talk to me," Jason said and sat back. He folded his arms.

Charley grinned at Pete.

"What? It's a really cool machine," Pete said.

"Image, Pete. It's all in the image," Jake injected.

"Yeah Pete, a Suzuki is a really mean bike. But an Indian or a Harley are MACHO," Charley said.

"I guess I'll have to get a black leather jacket and sunglasses to complete the image, huh?"

"That image makes me horny," Jason declared sitting forward and ogling his lover sitting on the other side of Charley.

Charley laughed, "I think I'm sitting in the wrong place."

After their two young friends left, Charley took Jake's hand and led him upstairs to their new bedroom. Jake stopped in the doorway and looked at the bed. Charley turned and watched him. Jake looked at him and smiled. "It's time to christen it, Babe," Charley said. "Are you ready?" Jake nodded and started removing his clothes.