---

It seemed to David that it would have been much simpler all around for Thad to drive him to Randy's but, to David's dismay, Thad drove him back to his own apartment, supposedly to wait for Randy to pick David up and take him to Randy's ostentatious digs. The truth, whether Thad wanted to admit it or not, Thad had redecorated his apartment to the tune of several thousand dollars on a more than rapid timetable just to impress David. but with David now going to Randy's, had felt he had spent his money on a hope which now appeared to be futile.

As soon as they reached Thad's, David saw Randy already waiting for him, his expensive sports-car idling quietly. Thad suddenly had a almost-overwhelming urge to ram his dilapidated Chevrolet into the side of Randy's hundred-thousand-dollar foreign sports car, but he knew it would take the remainder of his savings account just to have it repaired...But, then again, just the goddamn satisfaction might be worth it! Randy was leaning up against his fancy 'wagon' as David got out of Thad's car.

"Hey, big guy!" Randy said, flashing David a million-dollar smile. "You look bushed. Long evening on the dinner train?"

"Not really. Actually, it was kinda fun," David replied, smiling at Thad. "You'll find out all about it in the morning."

"Perish the thought. I've never seen three-thirty A.M. from the morning side. I'm often awake at that time, but I can't remember ever arising at that hour and calling it morning."

"Then it'll be something new for you to experience, won't it? And I thought there was nothing new for you to experience in your life."

"There weren't many things until I met you."

"Good evening, Randy," Thad said, interrupting loudly on purpose.

"Good evening, Detective. Long time, no see..."

"I guess maybe I'm just lucky that way sometimes," Thad replied with obvious sarcasm, then added. "David, would you and Randy care to come upstairs for a drink before you go?"

"I don't know.." David said. "How about it, Randy? Do you have time for a drink?"

"The rest of my evening belongs to you, David, whatever you want to do. If you'd like a drink, I'd be happy to have one with you."

"Okay. Thanks, Thad. I'd like Randy to see what you've done to your apartment."

The trio walked into Thad's apartment building and up the stairs as Thad and Randy continued to banter like two old hens sitting under dryers at a beauty parlor. A slight surge of competition for David's attention became apparent.

"Thad, don't tell me that you put new contact paper in the kitchen!" Randy joked.

"Yes, I have, asshole, and I would have put colored toilet paper in the bathroom if I had known you were going to come by."

"Thad, you should always be prepared. You never know who will drop by in the middle of the night looking for a policeman," Randy quipped. "I seem to recall that your handcuffs came in handy one night that you and I spent together."

"Yes, and, to this day, I've always been sorry I didn't lose the key to the fuckin' cuffs."

"But, Thad, I'd have had to change my name to Rapunzel if you had kept me locked to the bed in your tower."

"Shit! I heard you did change it but it wasn't to 'Rapunzel'. I thought you changed it to Sydney."

"Sydney? Why for God's sake."

"Sydney Biddle Barrows," Thad replied wryly.

"The Mayflower Madam? Very funny, Thad, very funny indeed. I'm amazed that you've developed a sense of humor since last we met."

"I didn't need one back then. You were a barrel of laughs...enough for both of us!"

"Well, are we going to stand here in the hall waiting for you to put the key in the door or can you open it with magic words like 'open sushi'?"

Thad was somewhat reluctant to open the door. He wanted to be proud of his new furnishings and the last thing he needed was Randy to dampen his pride and joy with 'faggoty' criticism.

"Did you forget the combination for the lock?" Randy joked. Thad turned to look at Randy with vehemence in his eyes. Randy realized he had gone too far, said too much, as Thad's look almost made him tremble and he quickly added, "Sorry, Thad, I...I made a bad joke. I'll keep my sordid humor to myself."

"That would be a nice change, a relief for the rest of us in the world."

David had spent one night at Thad's place and one night at Randy's and had had conversation with each about the other. Neither had really said anything harsh or detrimental in those talks concerning the other. There had been no obvious show of hatred between the two...s me dislike perhaps, as Thad was still carrying a grudge based on his understanding of why Randy had left Mark. Consequently David couldn't understand the sudden verbal battle filled with the insults each was casting at the other. It never occurred to David that he might be the cause of this contentious banter.

Finally Thad opened the door, turned on the lights, and David and Randy followed him inside, but Randy got no further than the door before he stopped, stunned and speechless, looking at the drastic change in what had once been a candidate for condemned housing. He was awestruck, aghast, and amazed.

"My God in heaven, Thad," Randy exclaimed. "I can't believe what I'm seeing."

"I don't need your patronizing condescension, Randy!" Thad said with a warning.

"I telling you the honest truth, Thad. It's beautiful! I really mean it!"

Thad played detective for a minute to see if Randy was being serious or merely baiting him, but after carefully examining Randy's expression and the look in his eyes, Thad suddenly realized that Randy was being totally honest and truthful.

"Very frankly, Randy, I didn't think it would meet with your approval. I thought you were lying to me."

"The color scheme! The furniture! Every item seems to complement the others. Seriously, I've got to know who your decorator is! He's fantastic! You should be proud as punch. I don't know how you could afford all this on a policeman's salary, but it looks like a million bucks!"

"Thad, I get the idea that Randy likes your place," David said, feeling more than relieved to sense that the tension between Thad and Randy had now subsided.

"Like it? I love it!" Randy added. "Come on, let me see the rest of it! I want to see the bedroom and the kitchen."

Almost instantly, Thad was transformed---he became like a child at Christmas showing off his first bicycle. Never in his life had he owned anything that he could display without being ashamed. Now he was enthused, he was pleased that he was able to impress Randy, of all people...Randy, who had all the money in the world and the best looks of anyone, model or Hollywood star...Randy, whom Thad had hated for over a year...Randy, with whom he had slept one night, and that night ending in disaster...Randy was impressed by something which didn't belong to him personally.

Thad grabbed Randy by the hand, leaving David standing in the living room as if he wasn't even there, and took Randy into the bedroom for the grand tour. While Tim had been busy with the redecorating, Thad had imagined hearing David, 'ooh' and 'ahh' with amazement over the transformation, but Thad could ever have dreamed that it would be Randy 'oohing' and 'ahhing' with such abandon.

Whatever hatred or jealousy had divided them earlier had suddenly disappeared. Thad and Randy seemed to have bonded anew! Even David became amused as he stood alone in the living room, listening to Thad and Randy making plans to have dinner at each other's apartment next week, Randy insisting that he buy something new for Thad in the way of a housewarming gift. Thad said he would accept it only if Randy would accept a gift from him in return.

The sudden mood-swing, the attitude change between Thad and Randy gave David an insight into another aspect of gay life he hadn't seen until now. Rivals one minute and best friends the next! David couldn't recall seeing opposing demeanors ever switching so fast in the straight world. He smiled and thought, 'Too bad the leaders of the world aren't gay. Wars could be avoided and conflicts resolved by swapping household tips or recipes'.

David was content to sit on the new sofa while the two 'new' friends explored the modified kitchen, preparing a pitcher of margaritas which they brought on a tray into the living room. Believe it or not, David had never tasted a margarita. He had seen them served in movies or on TV, but had never observed that there was salt on the rim of each glass. God! What kind of sheltered life had he led in River Oaks? Besides a bottle of cooking sherry in his mother's kitchen cupboard, David couldn't remember seeing any alcohol---or even beer, for that matter---in his parents' house. At college when he and some of his fraternity brothers went to a bar after a game, only beer was ordered. David had really never ordered a mixed drink before coming to Atlanta.

Randy poured three drinks into the glasses and Thad toasted with a simple, "Cheers" and David tasted his first margarita. It was tart and 'citrusy' with lime...cold and delicious. The mood in the room was festive and David felt some happiness for the first time in three days. He swore to himself, privately, that he would limit himself to two drinks because, if he consumed three of these volatile concoctions, he told himself he might awaken in bed sandwiched between two gay men...Perry Mason and Richie Rich!

One hour and just one drink later, David, Thad, and Randy went downstairs to Thad's car to get David's old suitcase and the new one Randy had given him. David transferred them to Randy's car to go to Randy's to spend the night. While he was doing this, David heard Randy and Thad making plans to have dinner Saturday night at Randy's. It was satisfying to David to think how things had a way of working out for the better in spite of the tragic circumstances which brought the three together.

David and Thad still hadn't set a time or even a date for the memorial service for Mark and Alex, but David said he would discuss it with Chris in the morning when he and Randy went to the church to prepare breakfast for the morning meal run. Thad told David that whatever time he chose would be all right with him, that he could juggle his work schedule. David promised to call him as soon as the matter was settled.

As David and Randy drove away from Thad's, Thad became aware that he was no longer aware of being jealous of Randy spending time with David. The newly 'struck-up' relationship between Randy and Thad had been enough to abate Thad's loneliness and had given him something to look forward to. The love/hate relationship between him and Randy suddenly had become hopeful and promising. It was as if Thad had been reborn or that his youth had been revitalized. He felt almost like a teenager going to his first prom. He only hoped that Randy felt the same way...or at least somewhat the same way. Randy hadn't found himself in a relationship since Mark. He was happy to find that Dirty Harry had changed into Prince Charming---and was a stud, at that!!

* * *

Chris and Andy lay still in the dark on Mark's bed. If thoughts had been audible, the entire room would have been a nightmarish cacophony of sound. The two lovers had been so emotionally high while having sex that coming back down to reality was as heavy as detoxing from some euphoric narcotic. Chris had broken a sacred vow while Andy was in a state of puzzled delight. Where would they go from here? What was to happen next?

Less than an hour ago, Chris had been innocent of the acts he had been accused of by Father 'D' and Mr. and Mrs. Thompson, but now, all that had changed. Chris had not molested a minor. After all, Andy, being eighteen, was old enough to vote, to join the Army, though not legal to drink in many states, but was free to make his mind up whether or not to have sex whether it was with a male or female. No penal law had been broken, but Chris had violated a moral law of the Church and his vocation. Did Chris' desire, his sexual lust, outweigh his love, his duty and obligation to Jesus Christ? In the teachings of the church and in the eyes of God, Chris had committed a mortal sin. Now he must decide what to do! He would have to confess his actions to Father 'D' in his weekly confession and that would be grounds for his termination as a priest at St. Thaddeus, or at any other Catholic sanctuary.

When asked by Andy, Chris has said that maybe he loved him, but was this possible? Had he felt love for Andy before they had sex or was he just caught up in a moment of ecstatic bliss that followed the moment of orgasm?

The sex had been an affirmation to Andy of how much he loved Chris and suddenly he was filled with hope that at long last, Chris' feelings for him were reflective of his own and Andy was ready to chuck school, the Church, and even his parents, if necessary, to have a life with Chris. No doubt about it, the two found themselves in the middle of what seemed a hopeless dilemma.

"Chris?" Andy whispered.

"Yes?"

"Where do we go from here? What's gonna happen next?"

"I...I don't know, Andy. I can't explain what just happened. I should have had more control over my emotions than to let myself get carried away as I did."

"Are you saying that you're sorry that we made love?" In the dark, the tear in his eye was still unheard in his voice.

"I guess I'm trying to say that I'm sorry that things happened as they did. It's obvious that we shared a mutual feeling and that we desired to express it physically, but...but....I'm not belittling you by saying that I'm an adult though I'm eight years older than you. I swore, before God, never to have sex for the rest of my life...and by not being able to control myself, I've gotten both of us into a lot of trouble."

"Do you think God will punish you?"

"Not directly...I mean God won't come down from heaven and strike me dead or blind or render a physical punishment on me personally. The Church will have to find out about it and they'll decide what should happen to me. Being blunt, I'll probably lose my position as a priest."

"I...I don't want that to happen, Chris. You'd have to start a new life. What about other priests who have sex with men or women? Does the Church kick all of them out as well?"

"Well, no. If they did , half of the priests in the country would be thrown out. The last report I read said that something like forty-eight percent of all priests were gay."

"You mean they had gay tendencies or that they actually had gay sex?"

"I think the article implied that they were sexually active. A lot depends on how liberal their immediate supervisors feel about sexuality. The Church recently lost nearly twenty-five percent of it's priests because the priests opted to get married or to engage in some kind of sex, like laymen do"

"That's why Pope John Paul, the second, wasn't too popular in the United States, isn't it?"

"That was one of the reasons. He viewed gay sex as a contributor to moral decay in the Church. While other denominations such as the Anglicans, Episcopalians, the Jews, and all protestants allow their clergy to marry, the Vatican forbids all priests to have a partner of any kind...married,

gay, or straight."

"You...you just stepped over a serious line then, didn't you?" Andy's tone showed his concern about Chris and his future.

"Yes, Andy, and now I see I've got to make a life-changing decision. I could ask for forgiveness and probably would have to pay a tremendous penance for what I did, but I'm asking myself how long would it be until I found myself wanting to sin again."

"Do you personally look upon what we just did as a sin?"

"As a man, no...but as a priest, I'm obliged to say yes."

"But would you have to confess it to Father 'D'? I mean, couldn't you just keep it between yourself and God? Why does Father 'D' have to know? Why is he your judge and jury?"

"That's just the way things are in the Church..."

"Chris, you said that maybe you loved men..."

"Yes, I did."

"Did you mean it?"

"I must have...I said it to you..."

"Then are you trying to take it back?"

"I...I don't know. There will be serious repercussions if I don't take it back. There's still the matter of what you wrote in your diary."

"Oh, shit! I forgot all about that! I...I could tell the truth to my parents, Chris, and tell them that I made it all up. That wouldn't be lying. That would be the truth."

"Yes, but if we ever saw each other again, your parents and Father 'D' wouldn't believe you made it up. We'd have to never see each other again unless we were in a crowd of people. We could never find ourselves in a situation like...where the two of us are alone together."

"Couldn't we see each other privately when I come to you at confession every week?"

"You mean, have a tête-à-tête once a week inside the confessional booth?"

"Why not?"

"Andy, that would be a sin. It would break every precept of the church and make me guilty of many mortal sins."

"So, Chris, what do we do?"

"First of all, I think I should take you home so that your parents know where you are and can relieve their minds, knowing you're all right. Then, if you want to tell them that the entries in your diary were fiction, that would ease the situation for the time being. Hopefully, Todd and Marcia would relay this to Father 'D' and that would get him off my back for the time being."

"I...I'll do it. Then what?"

"Then we'll have to take some time for things to cool off. I mean, no one outside your parents and Father 'D' know about this. Well, that's not exactly true. Thad and David know about the diary and you told Steve why you did what you did to wind up in the hospital, but I don't think any of the three will divulge the secret. No one knows what we just did here in Mark's room. Only you and I know...and no one else is to ever know!"

"I swear I won't tell a soul."

"Then let's see if you're a good actor. Straighten your clothes and we'll straighten up Mark's bed and let's go out to say good night to Steve, as if nothing out of the ordinary happened...just that you and I had a nice private chat and I convinced you to go home to see your parents. Don't give Steve any reason to think anything happened between us!"

"Okay...but just one thing...?"

"What's that?"

"Would you kiss me once more?"

"I know I shouldn't, but something inside me wants it just as bad as you do."

Chris leaned over and their lips met as before, tenderly, then passionately. Again, Andy whispered, "God knows I do love you, Chris."

Chris replied, "God help me, but I love you, too, my dear little Andy."

Silently, the two got dressed, remade the bed, made sure the room looked decent, turned on the lights, and went back into Steve's living room. Steve was still in his room or if he had slipped out to eavesdrop outside Mark's door, Steve kept it to himself. Chris or Andy would never know if Steve had heard their lovemaking or not.