Gloria looked at the little white pills in her hand. One would let her sleep through the night. Two would knock her for a loop. She considered the surcease that the handful offered. She thought about Robert spending the next few years in jail. It was all her fault. She thought about Chess. She hadn't spoken to him in days. She was certain he didn't love her anymore. How could he? She'd been such a bitch to him. She thought about how Charley was going to react to the scars on Jake's head. She was sure he'd blame her, and accuse her of pushing Robert to attack him. He had to hate her, too.

She studied the pills, counted them. There were seventeen of them. Picking up the glass of orange juice and vodka, she opened her mouth and popped them in, took a big gulp and swallowed. She had to swallow four times to get them all down. Tilting her head back she drained the glass.

It dawned on her that she hadn't written a note. One was supposed to write a note. She walked over to her desk that set where she could look out the window into the back yard. Pulling a sheet of personalized stationary from the right hand drawer, she sat, picked up a pen and poised it over the paper. Not a thing came to mind of what to say. She propped her chin on her upturned palm and thought. Minutes passed unnoticed.

Her thoughts were blurring. The pills shouldn't be working this fast. It must be the alcohol, she'd had two stiff drinks already. She poured a bit more vodka into the glass and studied the clear liquid, then swallowed it all. She studiously picked up the pen again and placed the point on the paper. Sighing, she scrawled "I'm sorry" in large script. She dropped the pen and tried to prop her chin on her hand again and missed. She fell forward, her hand swept a vase holding a single yellow rose off the desk top. It hit the window, shattering the pane. She slept.

Chess sat in the dark back yard enjoying a rare cigar. He'd noticed movement in Gloria's bedroom window. He glanced up and saw her sit down at her desk. He wondered how to get her to open up to him. He knew she was feeling guilty over this whole thing with Robert, but she refused to talk to him about it. The last week she'd been very reclusive. Suddenly he heard glass shattering, he looked up in time to see glass shards and a single rose falling to the ground. He couldn't see his wife. Panicking he dropped the cigar and ran into the house and up the stairs. Bursting into Gloria's bedroom, he saw her sprawled over her desk. At first he thought she was drunk, but when he tried to rouse her he got no response. He lifted her and carried her to the bed. There he saw the empty prescription bottle. Reading the label he saw that it had contained twenty-five potent sleeping pills. He grabbed the phone and dialed 911.

An hour and a half later he sat by her bedside in the hospital holding her hand. Her stomach had been pumped and the seventeen partially dissolved pills were all accounted for. A nurse came in and took her vitals, scribbled them on the form clipped to the board at the foot of her bed and then looked at Chess with sympathy. "There's not a thing you can do for her until she wakes up. The doctor estimates that won't be until afternoon tomorrow. Why don't you go home and get some rest."

"I know. I just feel so helpless."

"That's understandable, but you'll be of more help to her tomorrow if you're well rested."

Chess stood and stretched. "You are right, of course." He kissed his sleeping wife on the forehead and whispered, "Good night," then left the hospital.

The house seemed so empty. For days he'd not seen Gloria, but just knowing she was in the house had been a sort of comfort. He went into his study and poured a bit of brandy into a snifter, and then sat in his favorite chair and swirled it. He thought of calling Tom, but after looking at the time he decided that one in the morning was too late. There was nothing Tom could do but worry anyway, he'd call him and Charley tomorrow first thing. He laid his head back on the headrest and thought about how he'd become so close to his youngest son's lover. In some ways he felt closer to Jake than he did to any of his own sons. They had a connection that he couldn't comprehend. He accepted it, but he didn't understand how it had happened.

Jake lay on his side watching his mate sleep. All these months later he was still amazed when he thought about the night they met. The tenderness he felt toward Charley was almost overwhelming sometimes. An hour ago they'd made love to each other, each filling the other in turn. He clinched his rectal muscles relishing the slight soreness. He wondered if Charley felt the same way.

Charley had insisted that they sleep apart so he wouldn't inadvertently hurt Jake's rib. He lay on his back with the sheet barely covering his hips. In the moon light Jake caressed him with his eyes, lingering on his rosy nipples and then gliding down his flat belly to the luxurious growth of blonde pubic hair that was exposed above the sheet. An urgent apprehension suddenly filled Jake. He thought about it a moment, picked up the phone and called Chess. Chess answered almost immediately. "Are you all right, Dad?" he asked without greeting.

"I'm okay, Jake. Did Charley get back all right?"

"Of course he did. He's lying here next to me sound asleep."

"You wore him out, did you?" Chess chuckled.

"He had a full day of training in Chicago before he caught the plane home," Jake explained ignoring the jibe. "Chess something is not quite right. What is it?"

Chess sighed and took a deep breath. "Gloria took an overdose of sleeping pills."

"Oh, God."

"She'll be okay. I got her to the hospital before the pills had completely dissolved. She'll be okay."

"That's good to hear. Have you heard anything new on Robert?"

"No, I don't expect to until at least Monday."

"I know it's crazy after everything he's done, but I feel so bad for him. As soon as I can, I want to talk to the DA. Robert may be full of anger, but he didn't try to kill me."

There was a long silence from Chess, finally he sighed. "You're too damned good for your own good, Jake."

"Oh bull shit, Chess. He's your son and Charley's brother. I could do no less."

"No. No, you could do no less. Anybody else would just let him take the full consequences, but not you, Son"

"Are you going to be okay by yourself, Dad?"

"Of course. I'm going to bed now so I can be at the hospital when Gloria wakes up."

"Goodnight, Dad."

"Goodnight, Son."

Jake put the phone back on the night stand. Charley rolled toward him and placed a hand on his chest. "Who were you talking to at this hour of the night?" he mumbled.

Jake caressed his hand. "Your dad."

"I didn't hear the phone ring."

"It didn't. I called him."

"What for?" Charley sat up and looked at the luminescent face of the clock. "It's nearly two." He turned and frowned at Jake. "What's going on?"

Jake hated euphemisms, but he just couldn't tell Charley his mother tried to kill herself. It was just too harsh. Instead he said, "Your mother overdosed tonight. I just needed to check and see that Dad's alright."

"You knew this and didn't tell me?"

"Calm down, Charley. He just told me a couple of minutes ago."

"I don't understand."

"I don't either, Babe. I was lying here watching you sleep and an urgent need to call Chess came over me. I called him and he told me about your mother."

"So how is she? Will she be okay? How is Dad?"

"They pumped your mother's stomach and she's sleeping it off. Your dad says he's okay. He is going to bed so he can be up early tomorrow."

Charley nodded and lay back down. He stared at the dark ceiling. Jake watched him. Charley turned and looked at him. "Is there something....... God I can't believe I'm asking this. Is there something going on between my dad and you?"

Jake wanted to reach out and touch Charley, but he kept his hand to himself as he answered. "Yes, there is. I don't understand it. We have this connection. We can sense each other's feelings sometimes. Like just now. I suddenly knew that he needed to talk to me, so I called him."

"Just out of the blue."

"Yeah. Just out of the blue."

Charley stared into the darkness above his head. Jake sat up with a little difficulty and moved around to sit Indian style facing Charley. "I guess it's time to tell you some things I've been holding back."

"I thought that we had no secrets from each other."

"What I have to tell you isn't a secret. We are still learning to know each other, Charley. I'm sure that there's many things about you I have yet to learn. Why are you being like this?"

"What do you mean 'like this'?"

Jake studied him in the darkness. He reached over and turned his bedside lamp on low. He looked back at Charley. He shook his head as though what he was thinking was too ludicrous to be true. "Please tell me that what I'm thinking isn't true."

Charley glared at him. "I have no idea what you're thinking."

"You're jealous aren't you? You have such a wonderful relationship with your father, yet you are jealous of him accepting me as one of his sons." Jake scooted to the side of the bed and stood up. "I am truly disappointed." He walked out of the bedroom.

Jake filled a glass with cold water from the fridge and sat down at the kitchen table. He stared out at the dark night. Hearing a noise, he turned to see Charley standing naked in the doorway. He couldn't help but let his eyes fill with the beauty before him. Charley's troubled eyes locked on his. "It's not like that, Jake."

"So what is it then?"

"I am ashamed to tell you."

Jake leaned his head sideways and raised his eyebrows. Charley stared at the floor. "I was imagining Dad having an affair with you."

Jake looked back out the window and started a quiet chuckle that grew louder, until he was laughing. Charley didn't know how to react to that response. He stood there looking offended. Jake got up and walked over and embraced him. "I love you, sweetheart. I love your dad dearly, but it's you I am in love with. And that's for the long haul."

They wrapped themselves around each other for several minutes with their lips locked together. Finally Charley broke away and took Jake's hand. "Come on, let's go back to bed, we both need some rest. I've got to get up at six and go running with Dave and Joe."

"You're kidding."

"No, that's part of my job."

"That's barbarian. Six in the morning is the middle of the night."

"Well, it is if you stay up all night."

They got back in bed. Jake lay on his back and stared at the ceiling. "This is not going to work. The only way I will ever get to sleep is snuggled with you." He scooted over to Charley and laid his head on his shoulder, an arm over his chest and a leg across his pelvis.

"Are you comfortable now?" Charley asked.

"Oh yeah. You?"

"Very."

As Jake dozed off he wondered why Charley wasn't concerned about his mother. He didn't know that Charley was at the same time wondering how Dave would take his asking for time to go see his mother and talk to Robert.

Johnny's welcome home was exactly as he'd dreamed, all week long, that it would be, except for a moment of disappointment when after exiting the limo, full of anticipation, he'd walked into a seemingly empty apartment and called out Tim's name but didn't get an answer. Refusing to believe that Tim would forget he was coming home, he headed into the darkened bedroom. He dropped his bags by the closet and turned to switch on the lights when he heard Tim whisper, "Welcome home, Lover." Johnny forgot about the light switch as he turned to the bed where Tim's voice came from. He could just make out Tim's naked form on the white sheet. Stepping to the nightstand he turned on a lamp. Tim fondled his rampant hardon as he grinned up at him. "I missed you, Johnny."

Johnny fell to his knees beside Tim seeking out his lips with his own as his hand wrapped around Tim's hard shaft. Tim's fingers were instantly at his shirt, unbuttoning it. Johnny pulled away and slipped the shirt off, undid his pants and stepped out of his shoes and then his pants. "I need a shower," he said, as he removed his socks and underwear,

"No shower. I want you as you are. I need your scent almost as much as I need to feel you inside me."

Johnny grinned lasciviously and laid his naked body on top of his young lover.