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"And if you knew him you would understand just why..."

Finding himself locked in an embrace with Randy, David made a firm decision to find some polite way to leave before emotions stirred them too far. possibly leading to a repeat performance of what had happened the day before. Not that David hadn't enjoyed the pleasure Randy had bestowed upon him. Hell, he was only a man, and what man wouldn't enjoy such service? But David knew he was not into the gay scene...at least not yet...and hopefully never. David placed his hands on Randy's chest and gently pushed him away. Randy got David's message.

"I...I am sorry, David. I...It's just so confusing to me. I know you're not Mark but these feelings of guilt and desires I've had for so many months seem to make me lose a grip on reality."

"It's OK, Randy. I understand and there's no need for you to apologize."

"Thanks," Randy said, walking toward the refrigerator. "I...I guess we'd better get breakfast started..."

"Randy, if it's all the same to you, could we skip breakfast? I...I'm really not hungry--I guess I had too much to drink last night."

"What would you like to do?"

"I...I'd like to clean up if that's okay and maybe borrow some fresh clothes? Then I'd like to call a taxi or maybe you'd be kind enough to take me to Thad's to get my bag? He's probably wondering what happened to me since we had a bit of a disagreement before he left yesterday to go to the funeral home."

"I wouldn't dream of you calling a taxi. I'll take you any place you want to go."

"Well, Thad and I were supposed to meet with Chris some time today to see about arranging the service for Mark and Alex. I hope you understand."

"Completely," Randy replied, then added, "David? I am invited to the service, aren't I? I know many people may blame me for not seeing Mark during his last few months...but now that you know the whole story, maybe at least you know that I really did love him and wanted to see him...but I loved him enough to honor his wish."

"I'd be hurt if you weren't at the service, Randy. From what you've told me, you were closer to Mark than I ever was...and I was his flesh and blood."

"David, don't ever get the idea that Mark didn't love you, because he did. He loved his dad and mother too, but when he talked of you...you were his whole family."

"Thanks for telling me that, Randy..."

"I...I'll go make sure there are fresh towels in the bathroom and I'll pick you out some clothes."

"Just a pair of jeans and a t-shirt will do. I'll give them back to you as soon as I can get to my own clothes."

"Damn, David! Didn't you see the clothes in my closet? Over half of them, I've never even worn!. I bought them on a spree and since we're the same size, I'd like to outfit you with a new wardrobe, if you'll let me."

"The clothes you wear and the clothes that guys wore on the campus at my university don't quite gibe."

"Then maybe you can start a new fashion trend and others will follow your lead. Jesus! The way you talk, I get the idea that you guys wear overalls and checkered shirts with big red bandanas hanging out of your back pocket."

David laughed. "We're not hicks. It's just that I doubt if any of the guys in my clique have ever seen something from Versace or Armani, let alone owned any of them...and by the way, our football team played the University of West Virginia last fall, and would you believe none of them wore overalls either? Atlanta might be a huge metropolis, but contrary to most people's notions, there are some rubes or hicks here, too."

"I didn't say we were better in Atlanta. I remember what my dad's brother said about Atlanta when he visited here from Nevada. He said Las Vegas was a strip of lighted buildings all lined up in a row to hide the desert in its backyards and he said that Atlanta was no different. 'No matter how many tall buildings you put up...they're only cardboard fronts hiding the country rednecks in back of them'."

Later, out of the shower and drying off, David noticed that Randy had hung a pair of Levi's and a white t-shirt on back of the bathroom door. He put them on with fresh underwear, socks, and a pair of Nike's and exited into the bedroom only to see on the bed a large suitcase that Randy had packed to give to him. Inside the case were thousands of dollars worth of designer men's clothing that Randy insisted David accept as a gift.

"Randy, there's no way I can accept this...!" David said, looking at the suitcase.

"David,please just think of it as my way of doing Mark a favor. If he were still here, he'd want his big brother to keep in step with the times."

"But how can I repay you? I mean, a southerner can't accept a gift without 'returning in kind'..."

"You repaid me yesterday...and you just being here has been more than enough. I know this sounds stupid, but having you here and spending a night and day with me, well, it makes me feel as if Mark has forgiven me for anything I left unsaid or undone."

"Randy, let me think about it, but for now, what time is it?"

"A little after three..."

"I hope Thad will be home. I need to get my gear."

"I'll wait with you if he isn't. I can even take you to see Father Chris if you like." Randy paused. "I'm sorry, David, I just don't want to let you go. It's like Mark leaving me for the second time in a week." He turned his back on David for a moment.

"Thanks, Randy, but you gotta remember...I'm not Mark." David's hand settled gently on Randy's shoulder.

"And you're apparently not gay...but goddammit, if you were, I'd give old Jenny the race of her life, trying to win your affection."

"Even though it's me, it's David, and not Mark?"

"Yes, David...you! I won't forget you as long as I live. I know you're not versed in gay trivia, but you do remember Judy Garland...?"

"Sure, 'Dorothy'...?"

"In one of her best films, she sang the gay national lament called, "The Man That Got Away". We've all had someone who got away, but you'll be mine from now on."

"Should I be flattered?" David's confusion showed plainly.

"Damn right!...Come on, I'll carry that bag for you."

* * *

As David and Randy were pulling up at Thad's, they saw Chris' car pulling away. Thad honked his horn and David gave a yell, but either Chris didn't hear or he chose to ignore them.

"Should I wait?" Randy asked.

"No, I see Thad's car's here. I need to talk with him before we go see Chris. Once plans are made for the service, I'll call you. There are probably a lot of Mark's friends whom you know to invite--people that no one else would think of."

"I'll wait for your call. You do have my number, don't you?"

"I...I memorized it while you were sleeping."

"That's touching."

"What do you mean?"

"It makes me feel as if you cared enough about me to lock me in your memory bank."

"I'm great with numbers...telephone, license plates, bank deposits and withdrawals..."

"Just another piece of data...?" Randy's smile seemed a trifle tentative.

"No, of course not. I didn't mean to trivialize you or your phone number. I want to keep in contact with you."

"I hope you do...and if ever Jenny doesn't look quite so appetizing..."

"You asshole! You are bad! You're bad! I don't think that's ever gonna happen..." David joked.

"It happened once...and I hope you won't forget it!"

"Yes, and a group of my frat brothers took me bungee jumping once too. I never forgot it...and I never tried it again!"

"Hey! Your one and only bungee jump...did you find it thrilling or exciting?"

"At the time, I guess it was thrilling...but when I got back to school, I realized I might have lost my life and it scared the hell out of me."

"What we did was not life-threatening..."

"Just life-altering..."

"Yeah, but if you tried it a second time, I'd be there to protect you..."

"Thanks, Randy. Thanks for a place to stay, the dinner, the clothes, your southern hospitality, and an evening I'll never forget."

"You're welcome, David...and I hope you never do forget the night we spent together."

David gripped Randy's shoulder, looked in his eyes, and smiled before turning to enter Thad's apartment building. He climbed the one flight of stairs and knocked on Thad's door.

"Thad?"

"Yeah? Is that you, David?"

"Yes..."

"Hold on a minute," Thad replied as he looked around to make sure that everything was as perfect as Tim Curry had left it. Being satisfied with what he saw, he opened the door.

David didn't look at Thad because his focus went directly at what he saw behind Thad. Was he at the correct address? Was this the dingy place that David left only twenty-four hours earlier?

"What in God's name happened?" David finally said, entering. "I feel like I'm in Oz or the Chocolate Factory..."

"You like it?" Thad asked, enthusiastically

"Like it? It's...it's fantastic! How...when...?"

"Well, I felt I needed a change in my life..." Thad said.

"A change? This is more like a radical transformation!"

"Come on, let me show you around!" Thad was more than pleased. David was 'oohing' and 'ahhing' just as Thad hoped he would. Tim had been a magician and had pulled off an awesome magic trick. Thad took David by the hand to show him each of the four rooms, pointing out every piece of furniture, fixture, and appliance, trying his best to remember how Tim had described each new object.

"Listen!" Thad said, "Did you have your lunch yet?"

"Being totally honest, I haven't even eaten breakfast..."

This comment triggered questions in Thad's mind. No breakfast? No lunch? What had David and Thad been doing to make them miss two meals?

"You...haven't eaten all day?"

"I'm afraid I slept rather late...and I have to confess I woke up with a huge hangover and just didn't feel like eating."

"Did you...did you have a good time with Randy?"

"Yes...a good time...and an interesting one."

Now Thad's curiosity was definitely aroused. "Without prying too much, can I ask what you did? I mean, did you go out for dinner or...or go to a club or somewhere?"

"Dinner was out of this world!" David replied and launched into a description of the food and the floor show, but Thad never heard a word. He was more interested in what David and Thad did once they got back to Randy's place.

"...then we got back to Randy's and I guess I'd had a little too much to drink..."

Thad felt himself becoming tense, fearing what David would say next.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you...before we went to dinner, I took a bath in Randy's hot tub."

And that gave Thad something else to worry about. "Randy has a hot tub? But doesn't he live in an apartment?"

"Yes, but it's huge. He has two bedrooms..."

"His and a guest bedroom?"

"Yes..."

"He...he let you sleep in the guestroom?"

"That was his intention, but I was so drunk I never made it down the hall to the guestroom."

Thad was almost afraid to pry further. The facts were mounting into staggering evidence for the detective. Only hours before, Thad had kissed David. The two of them had slept in the same bed. Now David had gone to the apartment of one of the best looking gay guys in Atlanta, one who was notorious for picking up guys for one-night stands...and he had gotten David into his hot tub, he had taken David to dinner at an expensive restaurant, gotten David drunk...so drunk that David couldn't find the guest bedroom...

Thad jumped to the conclusion that David was no longer a virgin with male-to-male sex.

He knew that Randy must have taken complete advantage of David while he was

inebriated and Thad suddenly found himself jealous as hell. He had spent thousands

of dollars just to impress David and his ploy had been topped by some

spoiled rich kid.

David hadn't stopped looking over the new décor. "Thad, I am highly impressed. You've done a amazing job. It's almost miraculous when I think you did all his since yesterday...Truly unbelievable!" David said.

"Actually, it was all done this morning."

"Then I'm even more impressed. You've got a place now that you can be proud of...and then, when that 'right' person comes along in your life, I'm sure he'll find it as wonderful as I do."

"You really like it?"

"I said it. Yes, I really like it."

"But...but, I bet it doesn't come close compared to Randy's."

"You've never seen Randy's apartment?" David showed his surprise at this.

"Not the inside. The outside of his building looks pretty expensive. I'll bet his place looks a lot better than mine."

"The main difference is that Randy's place is bigger. He has a lot more space, room for a lot more furniture and things."

"Things like a...hot tub?"

"Well, yes..."

David realized that Thad was showing a bit of jealousy ...and suddenly knew that it was caused by more than just furniture and décor. He decided it would be better if he set Thad's mind at ease about a few things.

"Actually, Thad, I like your apartment much better than Randy's. Randy's is a bit too modern for me, coming from a Virginia household and all. I mean, Randy has all these wild vivid colors...chartreuse, hot pink, lime green, neon blue...hell, I'm sure if I hadn't passed out drunk, I'd found that the colors glowed in the dark and kept me awake. Yours is much more to my taste."

"You aren't bullshittiing me, are you?" His self-doubt was almost child-like, not to mention his relief.

"That's the one trait Mark and I got from our parents. We don't bullshit and we don't lie."

"Then can I be nosey and ask a personal question?"

"Sure, but you might not like the answer because I will answer you truthfully and from the hip!"

"I...I sat here all night alone, knowing that you were with Randy...and Randy does have quite a reputation as, well.... I'm...I'm just wondering how you felt when you woke up...besides your hangover?"

"You mean, did Randy attack me in my sleep or did we sleep together and have sex?"

The fact that David could be so upfront with it momentarily floored Thad. "Since you worded it so bluntly,...yes!"

"I swear to you that I slept on one of his sofas all by myself all night while Randy slept in his bedroom...and, no, I was not attacked during my sleep. I think my ass would be sore if I was, wouldn't it?"

"More than likely."

"In that case, I guess I'm still a virgin. Apparently Randy is more of a gentleman than people give him credit for."

"I can't tell you how relieved I am to hear you say that, David."

"You were worried about Randy and me?"

"Yes," Thad said, dropping his head. "I've never known what it was to feel jealousy before, but, man, I had a big dose of it last night."

"Jealous of me and Randy?"

"No, you and George Clooney!...of course, you dumbass!"

"Thad, just because we kissed doesn' t mean that you and I are in a relationship. It was just a kiss. I'm straight and have no desire to enter into a gay situation. Maybe that kiss gave you the wrong signal about me."

"What was I supposed to think? It was no ordinary kiss. It wasn't just a kiss. We let our hands roam all over each other's body. Just what kind of signal was it that you were sending me?"

"The wrong one, I guess...and I'm really sorry. Oh, God! Don't tell me that you redecorated all this for me? Please tell me that you did it for yourself."

"Of course I did it for myself. I mean, hell, you'll be going back to Virginia in a couple of days and I'll never see you again! So why the fuck would I do all this for a...a...visitor?"

"Thank God! You had me worried there for a second."

"Well, set your mind at ease. I did it for me."

"I...I saw Chris driving away when Randy and I arrived. Did you discuss the service for Mark and Alex with him?"

"No, he was here on another matter."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, one of the boys who helps him on his meal routes vanished early this morning. He just disappeared and no one's heard from him."

"It must have been one of the three that I met at Steve's!"

"At any rate, he wanted me to unofficially look for him in a detective capacity."

"Are you going to?"

"Hell, yes. He helped me look for Alex night before last. It's the least I can do to look for Andy."

"That's his name?"

"Yeah."

"You and Alex were a couple. Are...are Chris and Andy more than just priest and helper?"

"I don't think so...not at all...at least not on Chris' part."

"Putting it that way, you make it sound as if Andy has more feeling for Chris than Chris does toward Andy."

"I didn't say that...but you do have a pretty good instinct for a non-detective."

"Maybe we should just pool our resources and look for Andy together."

"Why would you want to help?"

"Like you, I feel I owe something to Chris for all the things he did for Mark."

"Well, if you really want to, I wouldn't mind having some company in the car...Oh, about your suitcase...I see you have another one now to go with your first one."

"What about them?"

"Would you like me to load them into my car and drop you off at a hotel so that you can check in?"

"Are you reneging on your offer of letting me stay here tonight?"

"Hell, no! I'd love for you to stay! You can show me how to use some of those fancy new gadgets in my new kitchen."

"I'd love to, Thad..."

"Then let's stop by St. Thaddeus and see Chris; talk with him; and then we can go looking for Andy."

"I'm game. Let's do it!"

Like two best pals, they closed up the new apartment, kidded each other all the way to the car. They kept the conversation light and joking all the way to the church to see Chris. Neither Thad nor David could say a word as they stood dumbfounded when they saw Chris on his knees weeping loudly as they entered the church's kitchen.

"Father Chris?" Thad called to him in a quiet manner.

"Please, don't come in, whoever you are. I don't want anyone to see me like this..."

tbc...