The Biggest Tool

[daddybear54]

Chapter 15:  Golden Boy

 

It was around this time that Steve and Jim moved yet again, getting a line on a penthouse in another nearby building which would cost them hardly any more than they were already paying in fees for an increase of about 40% in space, and a spectacular view into the bargain. The move passed without incident, and there was no big party this time.

The next couple of months saw two significant people move into their new building. One was Daniel, who came back from his self-imposed exile in Hawaii and joined Laszlo in his apartment three floors down. The other was Ricky.

Steve had heard via the grapevine that Ricky had packed up and moved out of Alan’s deluxe penthouse, heading on to the next phase of his life. He’d also heard about a group of young guys who had sublet Mr. Oglethorpe’s condo on the eighteenth floor. What he had failed to do was to connect the two stories together.

Ricky was ahead of Steve in getting into the picture. He’d been sunning on the pool one day when Laszlo and Daniel came out together, had a quick swim, and then settled side by each on a pair of loungers which they pulled right together so they could hold hands and stroke each other while they were sunning. Ricky was enthralled at the sight of two famous porn bulges in tight swimsuits and made a brave effort to walk over and flirt with them. Alas for fond hopes, all it got him was an invitation to spread some suntan lotion on their backs, plus the joy of seeing everyone else present smirking at his discomfiture when the conversation ended with a simple “thank you”.

Soon after all the new guys moved in, Steve and Jim invited Ricky over for dinner and more. It was a fairly regular routine. What was a bit unusual this time was that Steve had promised Ricky that he would properly fuck him. Ricky had of course stolen a load on his first encounter with Steve, but just by jamming the head of the rammer inside himself at the last second, and that hardly counted. He knew that he had to get himself thoroughly reamed out by that epic tool before he could call his life complete.

While they were down at the pool on this occasion, Ricky tried to discreetly drop the name of the Hawaiian Nine into the conversation, but Jim wasn’t fooled for an instant. “Oh, so you’ve got him in your starry-eyed gunsights now, have you? I’d give up on that fantasy if I were you. He’s a changed man.”

“That’s right,” Steve chimed in. “For years he never had sex with anyone unless there was a camera pointing at him – strictly business and only business. But now, the little boy with the arrows has shot him through the heart. He’s in luuuve, and it’s his first love as well as the great love of his life. He’s off the market, in no uncertain terms.”

Ricky sighed. He’d come to the right place to get the facts, as opposed to the community’s salacious, endless, garbled gossip, but the answer he’d gotten wasn’t the one he was hoping for. However, Steve took pity on him and dropped in a note of comfort.

“But here’s what we’re going to do. We’re planning a Friday evening drinks and nibbles party for them next week. They’re our friends, and we thought it would be nice to let them meet some of our other friends in the building, and that includes you and Dylan. Seven o’clock till ten on the sixteenth.”

“Thanks, Steve. I’ll be sure to let Dylan know. Just give me a second here to block it off on my calendar.” He quickly entered it into his phone.

As he did that, Jim spoke. “Okay, that’s enough talk about the Hawaiian Nine, it’s ruining my self-confidence the way you fellows just keep bleating on and on about him.”

Steve and Ricky both laughed at him, and the conversation moved on to other topics. And then the visit shifted from the pool deck back up to their new penthouse, and then from the living room to the bedroom, where the highlight was that Steve proceeded to give Ricky the full treatment from the infamous Rod Rammer’s enormous tool. Even for a bottom as experienced as Ricky had now become, it was a struggle. That cock was so damn huge, and he had to really work at it with a lot of patience. It took nearly twenty minutes of effort before he was finally able to drop down the last inch and a half and plant his cheeks squarely on Steve’s hip bones.

Riding up and down on that monster wasn’t a bit easier. Jim had to sit on Steve’s face to get his hands into a position where he could help Ricky to keep his balance as he had to slide up for what felt like halfway to their penthouse’s extra-high ceiling, and then slide all the way back down again. He wasn’t able to do it very quickly, but the fact that he could do it at all and take the entire length of the legendary Rammer deep inside him over and over again put him into a very exclusive club. So did the fact that he was able to keep going for ten minutes of it, no less, before pulling off and changing position. This time he got right down on his face on the bed and let Steve mount on top of him and drive that insanely thick manmeat right down inside his guts. He lay there, moaning and crying out, as the Rammer kept pounding and driving into his body. But he hung in all the way, doing his best to stroke cock with his muscles until Steve lost it and let his balls empty out into Ricky’s hard-working ass.

Steve finally pulled up and off and laid down at the side of the bed, allowing Ricky to breathe and relax while waiting for his hole to close up again. That was when Jim took over, giving Steve what he really wanted – a good deep ass fuck and a nice hot load of his husband’s sperm deep inside his quivering hole. As he had so often before, Ricky found himself shaking his head at the thought of such a gigantic piece of man meat being wasted on a guy who actually wanted to be on the bottom. But he had to admit, all the same, that he could tell the signs when a guy was really enjoying being drilled and there was no question that Steve loved every minute of Jim plowing him.

Later on, after getting dressed again, they settled down for another drink (“Just Perrier for me,” Jim said with a wink), and Steve had to caution Ricky again. “Listen, Ricky, I know you’re just dying to tell the immediate world who fucked you today, but I’m begging you not to tell anyone – please. If the word gets out that Rod Rammer fucked someone again, I’ll have three-quarters of the world’s gay men beating a path to my door – not to mention all the porn producers who will want to tempt me out of retirement, over and over and over!”

Ricky promised, but then his curiosity got the better of him. “So how did the Hawaiian Nine get you to come out of retirement if you didn’t want to?”

Jim interrupted before Steve could even get his mouth opened. “My job at the time wanted me to go on a field mission in Europe for six weeks, and this poor guy just got sooo lonely without me.”

Steve batted right back. “Yeah, I know, Jim, your fatal attraction. Such a sex god.” He sighed and rolled his eyes, and then laughed loudly. “Actually, Ricky, I wanted to do the Nine a favour. I knew he was planning to retire and leave town, and I thought it would be a good way to cap off his career and get people off my back at the same time if I let him fuck me on screen after I fucked him. And by the way, his real name is Daniel, Daniel Nakamura, and his boyfriend’s real name is Laszlo Kertesz. And don’t forget, he really hates it when people call him the Hawaiian Nine now so please remember that when you meet him here.”

Steve realized that he was feeling more and more like a kind of den father towards Ricky, wanting to help this energetic and enthusiastic young fellow avoid making some of the dumb mistakes he’d made as a kid. Considering how many years he’d had those kinds of feelings towards Daniel, he could fairly call Ricky the second generation of his young pupils. As he put it to himself, you know you’re really a daddy when….

The other thing he could see shining out of Ricky, plain as day, was the degree of closeness in his relationship with his best friend and roommate, Dylan. He wasn’t the only one. Pretty much everyone who knew these two young men had the same reaction. Why did they keep insisting that they weren’t in a relationship, that they were just friends, when everyone who knew them saw the hallmarks of lifelong commitment shining all over them?

At any rate, Ricky and Dylan behaved themselves beautifully at the party. No clumsy attempts at flirting or anything along that line. In fact, they held a long conversation with Laszlo and Daniel, all about the new photography/videography business which the two ex-porn performers had started up. Steve was impressed by Ricky’s demeanour as he’d never seen the young golden boy acting in such an adult fashion before. Heard about it from Alan, yes, but never seen it.

Daniel and Laszlo, too, were impressed by this other side of Ricky. Over time, they too gradually became friends with the younger couple. Not fuck buddies, but friends certainly.

But Ricky still had his crazy days and went on quite a binge of them a year later. It was Daniel who succeeded in finding out during this crisis time the frightening degree to which Ricky had become so jaded that he no longer felt any kind of reaction at all when having sex. After he’d had some sessions of therapy with Ziggy, he calmed down and matured considerably.

Just in time, as Steve observed later. He and Jim were equally horrified, as were Daniel and Laszlo, when Dylan was attacked one night on his way home, viciously assaulted by three men who trashed his hole so badly that the surgeon had no option but to seal it shut and install a colostomy instead.

“There’s got to be something we can do to help those guys get through this horrible time,” Steve said sadly to Jim after the news reached them.

“Steve, I agree, but what?”

“We need to make sure that Dylan’s hospital bill is covered. That’s going to break him financially, like he’s not already broken enough.”

“It’s going to take a lot of money. Let’s see who we could tap into.”

Together the two of them drew up a list, and then corralled over a dozen wealthy members of the community, collecting donations from them. The reluctant ones were persuaded when Steve or Jim said to them, “I’m not asking you to do anything I wouldn’t do myself. My $10,000 is already in. Is yours?”

When the time came for Ricky to sign Dylan out of the hospital and take him home, the entire bill had been paid, much to their relief. Steve, too, heaved a sigh of relief that his impromptu fundraising drive had managed to hit the target.

One of the people he had approached was Alan – no surprise there. Alan did not kick in, because he had already foreseen another need. He had guessed correctly, and soon enough Alan was paying the shot for Dylan’s extended therapy sessions with Ziggy. Daniel kicked in, too, finding that he and Laszlo also cared about the guys that Daniel called “a pair of shining stars among all the pale lights in WeHo.” His contribution went to fund a few more therapy sessions for Ricky, as he coped with helping Dylan. Ziggy did his part as well, writing off a fair chunk of his total billings.

All of them, along with many more members of the community, drew together to help and support Ricky and Dylan when their friend Terry Westover died (not long after the rape) of an overdose. About a month after that tragedy, Steve bumped into Ricky at the Baked Bean. At once, he asked Ricky how he was doing.

“It’s been a brutal year, Steve. Brutal. But I’m not letting it go like that. I am damn well going to make something good come out of this. I just don’t know how or when, but I am going to find a way to set up a lasting memorial for Terry. I want to create a help center named after him, for gay guys dealing with problems like addictions, money issues, social dysfunctions, you name it.”

“Sex addictions too?” Steve’s question was tinged with a hint of irony.

“”I get it, that was a dig at me. But yes, that too. Where else do you think my therapy with Dr. Magnus ended up taking me, anyway?”

Steve nodded. It was not a surprising conclusion.

“Ricky, it sounds like a great idea. There’s always an unending need for services like that around here. Can I throw in another idea? Help for guys who are trying to get out of porn or sex work.”

“Really? I hadn’t thought of that.”

“Ricky, trying to get out of that line of work can be hugely challenging. You need an exit strategy, you need help getting some kind of work to replace the income, and it’s all hard to do when you don’t have any ‘legitimate’ work to put on a resume. Voice of experience here. I managed it because I’d saved my money but a lot of the guys in that world burn through their money as fast as they can earn it.”

“Thanks for the suggestion. Yes, that should be part of the plan as well.”

“And money?”

“That’s the tough part. It’ll take some time to round up starter funding. In order to raise serious money, we need to structure a nonprofit corporation, with a board and officers and all.”

“We, Ricky? That sounds like you’re including me in this.”

Ricky laughed. “I guess I was. It just seemed like a natural fit, since you’re such a caring person.”

Steve didn’t have to think long. It was a natural fit for him, and he enjoyed the idea of working again with someone who was truly passionate about what he was trying to achieve.

“Ricky, you’re right. You really have incredible perception when you’re dealing with people. Yes, I’m in. Let’s work on this together.”

And just like that, the stage was set for the next big thing in Steve’s life. For once, when Steve told Jim what he’d just committed himself to doing, Jim didn’t make a joke of it. “Wow, Steve, that is an amazing idea. And you are just the person to help Ricky make it happen.”

It took a long time, though. Ricky was impatient at times, in the classic manner of the young go-getter, but Steve brought the wisdom of age to the partnership and kept him steady and on-track as they fought through the obstacles.

Several years later, they were still struggling with the obstacles. It seemed as if the target for which they were aiming kept receding into the future, no matter how hard they ran to try to catch it. Of course, the problems always kept coming around to the need for money. More than once, Steve suggested they rope Alan in on the project, but to this Ricky showed stubborn resistance.

“No. That’s the one place I won’t go. If he hears about it and steps forward, that’s different. Steve, I have taken so much, benefitted so often from Alan’s wealth. Let’s face it, he got me established in life, in this community. I feel enough like a fake already without going running to that source again for this proposal. So no.”

Steve didn’t fight him. He could understand why Ricky felt the way he did. It called to mind his own experience in New York City, living the high life in a beautiful condo which the owner was giving to him for far less than it was worth, in exchange for sex. Steve let the matter rest there.

And then fate intervened. One day, Jim came home and said, “You’ll never guess who I ran into down at the Baked Bean just now.”

“Well?”

“Alan. And Ricky. And they’re living together again. Ricky’s moved back into the palace.”

“What the hell? What’s that all about?”

“I didn’t ask. Just a quick hello in passing.”

“Well, I’m going to find out.” Steve grabbed his phone and texted Ricky with a quick question.

A minute later the phone rang. “Hello, Steve.” Ricky sighed deeply. “Jim told you.”

“He told me what, but he didn’t tell me why.”

“That’s because Alan wouldn’t have appreciated me blatting it out in public. But you certainly have a right to know. Alan has cancer. It’s terminal. He wants to die at home. And I moved back in to help him, just to be with him.”

“Ricky, I don’t know what to say.”

“You don’t have to, Steve. I can feel your shock, your pain – and your support. Just… please…, be there for me… after.”

“Ricky, we’re friends. You don’t even have to ask.”

Steve and Jim watched from afar for the next month or so, until the day when they went to the Baked Bean together and saw Ricky there, with Alan. Alan waved them over.

“Come here and sit with us. It’s good to see you again.”

“As soon as we get our orders in.”

Presently the four of them were sitting and talking, over coffee and croissants. Alan wanted to know all about what they were doing, their work, their travel plans. And then he asked another question, “Something else I want to know, when are you going to see Alex and Denny again?”

As always, the mere mention of the names made Steve smile. “They’re coming here in a couple of months. Right now, they’re back east, visiting Denny’s sisters in Montreal.’

“I’d love to see those two again, They’re such great people. When I talk to Alex, I can see a lot of him that reminds me of you. Whatever problems you had with your family, they did bless you two with good genes.” Steve chuckled and lifted up his arms in a classic flex pose. “That’s what I mean. Good genes for sure.” And Alan smacked Steve’s bicep lightly, making them all laugh.

As Steve and Jim were walking home afterwards, Jim said, “There’s a man who’s become a legend in his own time because of his wealth. Those of us who’ve known him, though, we know that what’s really legendary is the size of his heart. I think any guy in this community who’s ever come to know Alan is a better man because of him.” Steve said nothing, just nodded in agreement.

They never saw Alan again.

When Ricky came to their condo to tell them the news in person, Steve said nothing – just held out his arms and pulled Ricky into a deep hug. Then they sat him down on the sofa, in between them, and asked him to tell them how it happened.

By Alan’s express wish, there was no funeral. A couple of months after his death, Steve and Jim organized an informal wake, inviting a group of friends who had known Alan personally, and they all spent an evening sharing memories and stories. There were a lot of good laughs, some tears, and a great deal of hugging. At the end of the evening, Ricky and Dylan hung back as the others left. Ricky had something to say.

“Thanks for this, Steve. It was a great way to remember Alan. Now, I want to tell you something important. He left a specific bequest to support the center. We’re on our way at last.”

“That’s wonderful. How much?”

“Ten million. It’s an endowment, but we can leverage it for start-up funds.” Steve nodded. He was familiar with the concept after his years of office work. Ricky went on. “I don’t want to be on the board. I’ve decided that I really want to, need to be the hands-on administrator when we open. Steve, can I ask you to serve as Chair of the Board?”

“Of course. Who else?”

“Daniel, if I can get him for Vice Chair and Treasurer. Dylan has agreed to be Secretary. And Dr, Magnus, I’m going to ask him to be the Medical Director.”

“Ricky, you really have to overcome your awe of the man and learn to call him Ziggy – in private, at least.”

They all laughed.

“And where do I come in?” Jim’s nose wasn’t exactly out of joint, but he was curious.

“Jim, I think we need you to be the outside expert we can hire as a fundraising consultant. Strictly at arms length, of course.” Ricky gave a roguish wink.

Then Steve had another thought. “So, Ricky, if this is going to be the Terry Westover Memorial Center, how do we honour Alan’s contribution?”

“We don’t. His will explicitly forbids us to name his as anything other than an anonymous donor.”

“Ricky, people will guess. And they will talk.”

Ricky’s eyes welled up all in a moment. “That’s exactly what I said when he told me.”

Steve moved in and gave him a long, strong hug.

After Ricky and Dylan left, arm in arm, Jim said, “He was in love with Alan. Why did I never realize before?”

“Probably because Ricky never realized before. I’m glad you didn’t say anything while he was here. That would be like rubbing salt in the wound. He loved Alan, and Alan loved him, and neither of them understood that until it was too late – or almost too late.”

Three years later, Steve stood beside Ricky at the grand opening of the Terry Westover Center, watching as the young go-getter, the legendary bottom sex fiend, the golden boy of WeHo, stepped up and took his place as a significant man of caring and helping others, as (in effect) “Alan Bryors Mark II,” a man Steve was proud to call his friend.

 

 

[daddybear54]

Chapter 15  Silver Anniversary

 

One of the many curious synchronicities between Steve’s life and his brother Alex’s vastly different life was the fact that both of them had become couples quickly and married quickly, impulsively, with a minimum of preparation – and very nearly at the same time. October 12, 2008, was the date when Steve and Jim had said their vows to each other to each other, while Denny and Alex had married just six nights later – October 18, 2008. Once they’d discovered the closeness of the dates, the annual “anniversary toast” on a video call (or in person) became a regular ritual.

The dates took on added significance as they neared the year 2033 – their 25th anniversaries. All four of them were sure that they wanted to do something special to mark the occasion.

As it happened, Alex and Denny got the head start on the process the previous winter, when they decided that, after many years of intensive and rewarding self-employment, the time had come to sell the Seaview Bed and Breakfast and enjoy a more casual lifestyle. Like many Canadians contemplating retirement, they decided to relocate from the east to the west, and settled in Canada’s undisputed retirement capital, the island city of Victoria in British Columbia. A major reason for that choice was, of course, to be closer to Steve and Jim – without having to go through all the hassles of immigration procedure to settle in the States. The move also made it practical for them to spend longer periods of time visiting each other, since Steve and Jim were also cutting back on their working lives, moving into part-time positions for the next few years.

With October 2033 on the horizon, Alex and Denny set their plans to be in Los Angeles for the entire month, making the organizing of the anniversary simpler by far.

That was all Ricky needed to hear – and he heard it one day over coffee at the Baked Bean, when Steve mentioned their planned time to the barista who asked him when his brother was going to be in town again. Ricky already knew the anniversary date, knew that Alex’s anniversary was less than a week away from Steve’s, and he put two and two together. As soon as he got home, he quickly messaged Steve’s friends – Daniel, Laszlo, Ziggy, Dylan, and a few others – to join him in an hour’s time on a group video call, if possible.

All of them joined in, and as soon as Ricky explained the dates, they knew that he was calling on them to do something really special to celebrate their friends. They all loved the idea of course, and especially they loved the idea of a dual anniversary party, with both couples marking twenty-five years together.

Steve and Jim were a very popular couple in WeHo, renowned like Alan for caring about others and trying to help anyone in need in any way they could. As Ziggy put it, “You’d struggle to find more than a handful of guys in the community who don’t love or admire them.” Alex and Denny weren’t as well known, of course, but everyone who’d ever met them had certainly liked them too. Thanks to Steve’s press agentry, that list had reached a pretty decent size, due to the number of guys from the WeHo community who had taken Steve up on his urging and had dropped in and stayed at the Seaview through the years.

It was Daniel who had the brilliant idea to disguise the event as a charity fundraising fancy dress ball, calling it the Bal d’Argent – because of the Silver Anniversary. The event could certainly serve as a fundraiser too, but that wasn’t going to be the sole purpose. The group approved heartily when Laszlo suggested that it be a fundraiser for the Terry Westover Memorial Center. With this idea in mind, and five months available to plan, they set to work, with Alfonso (the newest recruit on the Center’s board) volunteering to head up the effort.

The plan promptly ran into a huge obstacle which, believe it or not, none of them had foreseen. Steve was the Chair of the Board of Directors of the Center. He would certainly have to be in on the ground floor of all the planning. This would require a broad range of skilled duplicity on the part of all those involved. To put it simply, they were all going to have to lie in their teeth – over and over and over again.

Two weeks later, that obstacle disappeared. Steve expressed a desire to be relieved of his workload as Chair and submitted his resignation. This letter was accepted with genuine regret. Steve’s role in the drive to get the Center up and running had just as pivotal as that of Ricky himself. Steve’s place was taken by the vice-chair, Daniel, and the plan was now free to go ahead. Of course, the Board held a special luncheon to thank Steve for his critical leadership role alongside Ricky during the years of the development leading to the opening of the Center. On this occasion he was given a custom-designed plaque, and a framed citation.

In due course, the invitations were sent out. Everyone got the same invitation. Everyone except the unsuspecting guests of honour also got an enclosure which explained the double nature of the event and warned the recipients not to talk about the hidden purpose at any time, to anyone, lest it be overheard by some unsuspecting person not in on the secret and passed along to the happy couple.

Steve did wonder, very loudly in fact, why he’d never heard about this event before. Daniel, who was on the receiving end of that phone call, smoothly passed it off as an inspiration dropped by Alfonso, the newest member of the board, at his first board meeting. Since Steve didn’t know Alfonso at all yet, he accepted that cover story and praised Daniel for his initiative in urging Alfonso to take this unusual but creative suggestion and run with it. Daniel then had to call Alfonso to warn him about the innocent little lie he had used to quiet Steve’s suspicions.

About two weeks before they were due to arrive, Steve called Alex to warn him that they would all be attending a charity fundraising ball, and formal dress was specified, “so be sure to bring your tuxes and all the trimmings with you.”

Alex sat stunned for a moment, and then replied: “You’re joking, right.”

“No. Why?”

“Do you seriously expect that two guys who worked in a gold mine up in the territories for a decade and then spent the next twenty-some years running a B and B in a fishing village in Nova Scotia will actually have formal dress suits with all the trimmings? Steve, get a grip!”

At that, Steve had to laugh. “Sorry, Alex, I see your point. We’ll put the rental agency here on notice to be ready to supply yours along with ours. The event’s called the Bal d’Argent, so we figured it would be really cool to show up in silver-grey tuxedos.”

“Sounds like a plan. What’s the fundraiser supporting?”

“It’s for the counselling and help center that Ricky runs. I was the chair of the board for the last eleven years, but I just stepped down. Daniel’s the chair now.”

“Well, that’s a great cause for sure. And it’s a nice fancy way to celebrate our 25th anniversaries. We’ll be there.”

“Send me your measurements, and I’ll take them into the agency.”

Daniel laughed heartily when he heard, from Steve himself, that the two happy couples were going to appear in matching, eye-catching outfits with no input from the organizers. It was a perfect set-up if ever he’d seen one.

On the night of the party, they emerged from their separate bedrooms in a hotel suite. The four silver-grey tuxedos with matching trousers fit each of them to perfection. Jim had bought pale pink carnations for him and Steve to wear, and baby blue carnations for Denny and Alex – “to make sure they can tell who goes with whom,” Jim remarked solemnly, to hoots of laughter.

The limo he’d booked was waiting for them at the front door and drove them to the Hollywood Imperial Hotel. The doorman bowed them in and pointed them towards the Royal Salon. Daniel and Ricky, likewise in impeccable evening dress, welcomed them at the door. None of them had seen Ricky turn and mutter a quick message to Ziggy, who disappeared into the room as they approached.

Daniel and Ricky gave each of them a warm welcome hug and kiss, and then Ricky moved to open the door. Just as he did, the music inside suddenly died. Steve’s eyebrows went up a trifle and he nudged Jim discreetly.

“What, Steve?”

“Déjà vu much, Jim?”

As they walked into the room, the crowd were all standing around chatting, drinks in hands. The décor was all in shining silver, as they’d expected. It was Jim who first noticed that many of the balloons hanging overhead had the number “25” emblazoned on them. A moment later, he heard Denny say, “Alex! Look at the balloons!”

Just then Ziggy approached them, and as he reached them a couple of spotlights picked out the group. Ziggy lifted a microphone in his hand and spoke in his usual deep, authoritative voice: “Gentlemen, please welcome tonight’s guests of honour: Steven Rotherham, James Radstock, Alexander Rotherham, Denis Saint-Onge.”

A thunderous roar of applause and cheering erupted as Jim turned to Steve and said, “Damn! That Ziggy got us again!”

“The same trick, too!” Jim replied, laughing.

“This way, gents!” Ziggy led them forward through the crowd to the dais, where a head table was set with just four seats. Across the wall behind, a huge banner declared “HAPPY 25TH ANNIVERSARY” with the four names displayed in random order around the edge,

“Not us,” Alex protested. “We’re no big deal here.”

“Yes, Alex, you two as well. You’re part of this community now too. This celebration is for all four of you.”

He brought them up onto the dais and showed them to their seats while the cheering, applause, stamping and whistling filled the huge room.

Ziggy needed the crowd to be quiet so the evening’s program could begin. Most people would expect that it would take a minimum of five solid minutes just to get everyone to quiet down. But no. Ziggy raised his microphone again and barked the single word: “STOP!”

In twenty seconds everyone was quiet. He then explained the protocol for the evening and urged everyone to get seated as fast as possible, “because I’m getting hungry and there are a number of guys here who could warn you how dangerous it can be to cross me when I’m hungry.” A huge laugh erupted as he groped his crotch, but the entire crowd got seated in reasonably quick order.

By intention, the speeches were kept to a brief minimum. The four-course dinner followed on promptly and was thoroughly enjoyed by all present. After dinner a huge anniversary cake was wheeled out onto the floor, ceremoniously cut by the two couples at opposite ends, and neatly fed to each of them by their respective partners. “Neatly,” as Daniel said much later, “because you fellows were really too mature to be having a cake fight in public and smashing cake into each other’s faces like a pair of blushing newlyweds.” They then stood in a group of four to hold their traditional anniversary toast.

“Steve and Jim….”

“Alex and Denny….”

“Happy Anniversary!!”

The emotional climax of the evening came when Ricky came forward and asked for silence. He then announced that to mark the beginning of Year 26, the two couples were going to take the floor for the first dance of their next quarter century. The band struck up a quiet, slow ballad, and the four men moved onto the floor, holding each other close. They moved easily around each other, turning slowly about so that everyone in the room got a good view of all four of them. Then, at the midpoint of the song, Jim quietly said, “Let’s switch.”

The two couples parted, and then reformed and danced on. Steve was murmuring to Denny, “You see, Denny, this community loves you two just as much as they love Jim and me now.”

At the same time, Alex was speaking his own heartfelt thoughts to Jim. “Thank you for everything you’ve done to make my brother feel so happy and loved and whole.”

At the end of the dance, the four of them moved into a tight little group hug as the room burst again into cheering.

Ziggy took the mike one last time. “Okay, gents, party on!”

The band erupted into loud, lively music, the floor quickly filled up, and the whole gathering roared into action.

The two happy couples tried to dance too, but it was a losing cause. There was a nonstop lineup of party guests, wanting to thank or congratulate each of them individually. In no time, they’d realized that they’d just have to suck it up and form a receiving line.

That kept them all busy for the next three-quarters of an hour, but at last they were able to rejoin the dance and really cut loose and enjoy themselves.

Nothing, though, could alter the fact that the guests of honour didn’t quite have the same stamina as many of the younger crowd, and they really wanted a quiet time to themselves too. After  another hour of lively dancing,  and after discreetly explaining themselves to Daniel, they slipped away and crossed the lobby to the lounge for a last drink and a private chat.

All four were a little dizzy at the honour shown to them, at the endless streams of kind words of praise and heartfelt thanks from so many people. For Denny and Alex especially, there was the wonder of being so warmly welcomed into a community where they were still relative strangers to most. For Jim and Steve, there was the equally marvellous discovery that everyone had been aware of your actions all along when you thought you were just doing little helpful things here and there, out of the spotlight, under cover.

The server arrived and poured a round from the premium Scotch which Denny had ordered. They picked up the glasses, and Denny said, “Here’s to us, boys – the best damn family this planet has ever seen!”

“To us!” All four echoed his words enthusiastically, clinked their glasses, and drank the toast.

Jim replied in kind. “Here’s to all our wonderful future adventures together!”

That toast, too, was drunk with loud approval.

After that, Steve got Alex and Denny in stitches with the story of how Ziggy had nailed them in exactly the same way on the occasion of their impromptu wedding, twenty-five years earlier.

As the conversation went on for another half hour and more, Steve mused that Denny was right – the four of them had indeed bound themselves together into a family, and a far tighter, kinder, more loving family than any of the three families they had been born into. His journey throughout his life, and especially during the past twenty-five years, had truly been amazing. As for their future adventures, well, they would all do their best to make good on that toast, too. But only time would tell that tale. On this night, he was content with leaving that promise to the future.