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"He turned the darkest day into a world of gold..." Preparing breakfast in the kitchen at St. Thaddeus was a process that began very early each day for Father Chris and his three assistants: Andy Thompson, Tommy Hughes, and Jeff Lawrence; the three who helped prepare the first and last meals of the day. Lunch was readied and delivered by three other young Buddy-Buggy constituents: Sammy Whitfield, Martin Balfour, and Rich Crenshaw. The morning menus alternated between sweet rolls or doughnuts and coffee; or scrambled eggs, fake sausage and-or bacon, with canned biscuits, jelly packs, and coffee. The sweet rolls and doughnuts were supplied as day-old baked goods from Dunkin' Donuts or Krispy Kreme. The coffee came out of the donated fund, or sometimes out of the young priest's own pocket. There were over one-hundred stops to make on the daily routes - not everyone got three meals per day - some two, while others just one … depending on how much nourishment the recipient absolutely had to have to live. Often Father Chris laughed to himself while looking at his helpers; thinking perhaps that he and his three guys resembled Santa Claus and his three elves. Andy lived with his parents, but Tommy and Jeff had become … well, more than just friends, and shared a tiny garage apartment together behind Jeff's parents' house west of Buckhead living as lovers. Their parents, being active Catholics at St. Thaddeus, objected at first, but finally gave in, when it was apparent that it was impossible to keep the two apart. Jeff's mother relented in her feelings about her son's relationship with Tommy, and had even furnished and decorated the apartment, and made it home for the two. Tommy had no living relatives, and the Lawrence's had all but adopted him, and Tommy soon became a substitute for their older son Mike, who drowned several years before in a boating accident on Lake Chickamauga in Chattanooga. Tommy and Jeff may have been brothers in the eyes of Jeff's parents, but the two boys were committed to being life partners. Andy was also gay, but had yet to come out to his parents. Before Father Chris took them on as his assistants, he required all three... well, all six, including the lunch crew, to get blood tests at the County Health Department, and provide a certificate allowing them to handle food. There was another reason behind Father Chris' caution. He wanted to make certain that none of his volunteer staff carried the HIV virus, or any other kind of STD. Hep C had become so widespread in the Atlanta area, it could easily go undetected, and there was no reason to risk spreading it to his needy clients, especially if the ones were only sick with a virus or ailment. Andy loved being with Tommy and Jeff, but it was almost impossible for him not to feel some jealousy or envy seeing the two together. He longed to have his independence and a lover of his own. Tommy and Jeff didn't mind Andy accompanying them on a trip to the movies or an occasional visit to the 'Vane,' but at the end of each evening, the two lovers went home to make love, and Andy went home to his stack of young men's magazines, and his hidden DVDs, which he had ordered from the bargain bin at TLAVideo.com. Father Chris allowed his boys to camp it up, or make gay jokes when the four of them were alone, but he was very careful about his 'fatherly' attitude toward them. He didn't want a scandal appearing on the front page of the Atlanta Constitution 'Gay Priest Accused of Molesting Young Mission Food Servers.' That would be the end of the meals program, and its monetary support from the community and members of his parish. He would only 'act' gay with them when no one else was around. As for Sammy, Martin, and Rich, Father Chris wasn't around them as often, and really didn't know if all or any of them were gay. The three of them and Father Chris were often chauffeured in the church van by Father Chris' boss, Father Dinsmore, a kindly priest in his late 50s, who sported a full head of prematurely snow white hair. The young priest never revealed his homosexuality to Father Dinsmore, although Father 'D' was probably aware of Chris' gay feelings or tendencies. Chris never discussed his sexual preference with the older priest, not even in confession - primarily, because Chris led a truly chaste life and had nothing to confess. Father Chris figured that in Father D's earlier years, he was, or could have been quite a ladies' man, since he spent so much time at the Sister of Mercy's hospital and residence. Father D. loved being around women... even nuns. Chris thought it strange that if a priest broke a vow and had a clandestine affair, or exhibited a penchant toward members of the opposite sex; the public, and even the parishioners would often turn their heads, hiding smiles at his fall from grace. But let a priest give anyone the notion that he was interested in men, or legal-age boys, and that was cause for excommunication… or being sent to jail or prison. Chris was sometimes almost glad that Andy, Tommy, and Jeff got to observe the illnesses that could manifest themselves from unsafe gay sex... a kind of first-hand education that better impressed on their minds than any learning in a book or classroom. All three had had their eighteenth birthdays, and all were seniors attending the same high school. The early Buggy Buddies shift had to be completed by 7:30 a.m., in time for the three guys to be at school by 8:30 a.m. Then they'd return to the mission kitchen at 4:00 p.m. to begin the evening meal trek. This morning, the priest approached his food rounds with a heavy heart. Having seen Alex in the ER the night before; then just yesterday morning losing Mark, one of his dearest young friends, weighed heavily on his heart. He'd prayed for them before retiring that night; and afterwards, while lying in bed meditating, he became puzzled by the fact that he had found himself attracted to Mark's older, straight brother. Father Chris hadn't experienced a feeling of this kind in a long, long time, and he found that it disturbed him. He even considered some quick masturbation, thinking it might ease his unexplained quandary. But when he admitted to himself that his sexual release would be accompanied by thoughts of David, he fought the idea off, and then found himself tossing, turning, and practically losing a whole night's sleep. Driving back to his quarters at St. Thaddeus the night before, he'd been slightly worried about leaving David to spend the night with Thad. 'Surely, Thad wouldn't try anything with David and, even if he did, he knew David would refuse any advance Thad might make toward him.' Yet, stranger things had happened, as Father Chris had learned from hundreds of confessions he'd heard. Many straight men became 'bi-curious' with no warning or expectation. Lord knows, he himself had been attracted to David, so why should Thad be any different? Father Chris said a couple of short prayers, hoping that David would not find himself tempted to yield to Thad's sexual appetite, if it showed its ugly head... but then, why should that matter to Chris? Jesus! What a dilemma! he thought to himself. When breakfast delivery was finished, the priest dropped Andy, Tommy, and Jeff at their school, then returned to his living quarters at St. Thaddeus to shave, shower, and tend to his personal hygienic ablutions in time to serve the daily 9:00 a.m. mass. After that, he changed out of his vestments and put on his casual black pants, black shirt with a sewn-on clerical collar, and black jacket to go pick up David at Thad's. He decided to call Thad's first to get an intuitive sense if anything out of the ordinary had happened between David and Thad. Thad answered to say he had taken David to Steve's earlier, and Chris decided it was best not to pursue his wondering, so off he went to Steve's, as he had planned to meet David by noon. Chris was not the only one with doubts. David knocked on Steve's door after being dropped off by the detective. Steve, responding to David's knock, opened it, only to see Thad's car driving away. Steve let David inside, while giving him a leering once over. "Don't tell me you got arrested?" Steve sneered, jokingly. "Pardon?" "After you didn't show up last night, I assumed you got religion and converted to Catholicism with an all-nighter with the Food Father." "No... it was a full evening, though. Chris took me to the Very Close Vane..." "Good Lord! He did convert you! Are you gay now?" David laughed. "Sorry, but no… however, the evening was quite eventful. I saw my first female impersonator show." "It's called a drag show." "Whatever... and we met Thad, the detective, outside the restaurant after dinner." "Whoops! Things are getting juicier... pray continue!" "Steve, it's not what you think. Thad had asked Chris to drop by the bar and check on Thad's friend Alex." "You mean Rudolph, the white-powder-nosed drain dear?" "Steve, Alex overdosed last night - he's dead." David said, straight and seriously. "Oh, my God! Jesus! How did you find out? I mean, what happened?" "Some friends of Alex's told the bartender that Alex had been rushed to the county hospital. Chris and I made a mad dash to the ER. Thad, in his police car, had beaten us there, and was coming out the door when we got there. He was all shook up after finding out that Alex was gone." "Alex, that fuckin' little princess! God, I hate it. And I hate him for ODing." "Thad took the news pretty badly, and while Chris went inside the hospital to do whatever priests do when someone dies, Thad and I began to talk about Mark and Alex. By the time Chris came back out, Thad and I had decided to go for a drink, and lend each other some support. Chris had to be up real early for his breakfast patrol, so I went to Thad's apartment, where he and I drank and talked, until it was really too late for him to bring me back here; so, Thad was nice enough to let me spend the night at his place." "I hate being nosey… but I was born nosy. Does Thad have a spare bedroom?" "No, just the one." "Then he... he does have two beds, doesn't he?" "Just one... but a rather large one... a queen sized one." "Figures...!" "What?" "Please don't tell me that you slept in the same bed with that hunky Sipowitz!" "If you mean, did I sleep with Thad? Well, yes..." "My God in heaven! Did you stop by the clinic on the way here to get tested?" "Tested? For what?" "Clap! Syphilis! Venereal warts! HIV! Pregnancy! That's what testing's for!" "Steve, calm down! Nothing happened! I'm straight... Thad knew it, and he respected my being hetero." "Damn! David, couldn't you have at least lied a little to give me something to fantasize about?" "Sorry... we went to bed. And when I woke, he had gone to McD's to buy us breakfast, then he brought me back here." "Dear Lord! Before I got sick... I mean, when I was disease free, I would've given up my appointment in hell's beauty parlor to have spent one night with Thad. God! I still get hard just thinking about him... that smooth black pelt of hair peering above the neck of his undershirt. And you… you meet him one night, and a few hours later, you're in his bed for the whole night - and not a goddamned thing happened?" "Sorry..." "You heteros don't need to live in this world! You don't know how to enjoy it!" Steve retorted, while making David grin. "Please lie if you have to... but did you see Thad naked? I mean... all of him?" "If it will feed your fantasies... then, yes... yes, I did see him without clothes." "You just made my heart flutter! Tell me quick! Was it big? Lie, if you must! Please!" "Was what big? Oh, you mean his... his..." "His cock! Was it a foot long... or maybe two feet even?" David realized that only the truth would hurt, so he might as well lie and give Steve a thrill. No doubt, Steve probably had very few things to thrill or excite him in his present physical condition; so, David played along. "Do you mean when he's got an erection, or before, when he's peeing?" "Oh, God, no! Don't tell me you watched him pee...?" "He... he peed right before he dried my back when I got out of the shower!" "Oh, God! I must sit down before I collapse! He dried you off?" "Sure... my back was wet, and he brought me a towel and proceeded to dry me off." "You were naked... in front of him?" "I sure as heck didn't shower with my clothes on." "Did he... did he touch you?" "Steve, how else could he dry me, and not touch me?" "And then...?" "And then he handed me a t-shirt, and a pair of his shorts for me to put on... you know... to sleep in..." "I may die this very minute!" "Calm down! Do you need one of your pills?" "Only Viagra... hell, I don't even need that right now." "All right... if you're sure..." "Then what happened?" "I waited for Thad to take a shower, and when he was finished, he came back into his bedroom to rejoin me... and that's when I saw him naked." David was building his story like a dime novel. "Did you dry him off too?" "No, he was fully dry when he came into the bedroom." "Oh, my Lord!" "Then Thad turned out the lights, and got into bed with me." "David, don't you dare lie to me... what happened next?" "Well, I was lying on my back, staring at the darkness, and Thad turned over to face me..." "And?" Just as David started to reply, there came a knock on Steve's door. "Holy shit!" Steve cried out, then yelled at the door, "Whoever it is, and whatever you're selling, we don't want any. Not today, not tomorrow! Never! So, go away! " "Steve?" Chris called through the shut door. "Steve, are you all right?" "Good heavens! It's Jesus!" Steve exclaimed. "He must be here to take me to God's Gay Bar 'The Pink Feathered Cloud.' David, for God's sake, don't forget where you stopped your story... I've got to hear every word and every detail for my second 'cumming'!" Adjusting himself rather obviously, he ran to the door and opened it, "Hello, Father Chris. Did you come by to give me extreme unction?" "Only if you feel it's necessary," Chris replied. Then he saw David, and immediately got that same sinking feeling again in the pit of his stomach. "Morning, David." "Hi, Chris." "I... I phoned Thad's place before coming over." "Yes, he brought me here just a few minutes ago." "That's what he told me," David paused to find the correct words to say next, "Did... did you and Thad have a productive evening? I mean, did you have a nice heart-to-heart supportive conversation?" "Boy! I'll say they did... oops!" Steve spoke before thinking, causing David to blush. Chris looked at Steve, then back at David cautiously… his curiosity at its peak. What did Steve mean, and what in heaven's name happened between David and Thad during the sleepover? Chris wondered, but thought it best if he focused on the real reason for his visit. "Well, then..." Chris began, "I... I hate interrupting with matters at hand; but David, do you have a proposed agenda for today?" "Sorta 'semi'..." David responded. "Well, I'm all yours, so to speak, until mid-afternoon, when I have to go back to the kitchen to start my evening chores... say, around 3:30, if that'll be time enough to help you?" "Oh, I'm sure that will be plenty of time. I... I only have a couple or three stops to make, and with your help, I'm sure I can get everything accomplished," David replied. "Should we take your luggage with us, or have you thought it through as to where you'll be spending the night? You did mention yesterday the possibility of checking into a hotel nearer downtown Atlanta...?" "I haven't decided just yet, but I'll take my bag, just in case." "Then there's nothing I can do to lure you into spending tonight with me?" Steve asked in a pseudo-sexy voice. "I mean, there are just loads of things I would like to ask you... about Mark, of course..." "I appreciate your offer, Steve; and I just might take you up on it, but until I get a few things settled with Chris' friend at the mortuary..." David said while turning to Chris, "We can visit him, can't we?" "I'd planned on it," Chris replied. "As a matter of fact, I took the liberty of calling him this morning to make sure we could see him this afternoon." "That's great, Chris. Thank you very much. That would take a huge load off me, once I get that much settled... then we can go to the morgue and I'll give them my instructions." "All right, then." "David, this is not the last time I'm gonna see you, is it?" Steve asked, with a bit of disappointment in his voice. "No, no, Steve, I wouldn't dare leave without letting you know my plans... plus, I might need a place to stay, if your offer is still on the table?" "I wouldn't care if you stayed a month. I'd love having your company and listening to more of your... well, to listening to anything else you want to tell me. I seem to recall you were in the middle of a story just before the good Father knocked on the door." "If you two will excuse me, I'll go gather my gear," David announced, leaving Steve and Chris alone in the living room. When David was gone, Chris looked at Steve and asked, "Can I ask what you two were talking about before I came in?" "Oh, nothing much... I was just inquiring about the details of David spending the night with Thad." Once again, Chris' heart sank, "You... you don't think anything inappropriate happened between them? I mean, David didn't say anything...?" |