Larry's 25th Post: Catching Up With You

 Hi guys, it’s me again, Larry.

I know exactly what I want to write about today if you can believe that! Maybe it won’t be too long this time. I can hope right? Thanks Marcus for setting it up for me. I’m glad he wrote about the uncles names we were using and fixed it, thanks for making that easier for us. I want to write about what me and Bill and Pops talked about when Marcus and Tony left for a walk. After that, I don’t know what will come out of my head, stick around and you’ll find out I guess. Oh, and I made another friend for good too.

(I’m writing this paragraph after I got all done with my chapter, I told stuff to Bill that you might have already read before about us, and I wrote about it here. I hope you don’t mind it was kinda important that Bill knows the stuff I told him, at least I think so. I hope this doesn’t make you not want to read my chapter though. I think there’s lots of good stuff in here this time.)

AFTER MARCUS AND TONY LEFT FOR A WALK

We were still sitting in our almost not damp any more towels when Bill suggested that since Tony and Al had gotten dressed maybe it would be a good idea we do the same. I told him if we were not going back into the pool, it’s not a bad idea. Since Bill’s room is on the far side of the house, he headed off before Pops and me. 

I asked Pops to hang with me for a minute, I had something to tell him. I told him I really wanted to help Bill understand about us, but I don’t want to fuck it up doing it too. Would he just watch out for me or have my back if I do. He told me not to worry that I would do just fine, be myself that’s all I need to do. Pops always knows the right things to say, just like Marc. As we got ready to go to our own bedrooms to get dressed, I put my arm around Pops back to give him a little hug, I just felt like it was cool to do.

I can tell you for a fact, I did not plan ahead what I did next, it was kinda stupid I guess but I love goofing off with him because he lets me. As I slid my arm down from his waist, I kinda grabbed and squeezed his right-side ass cheek just like he has done to mine more than a few times, maybe it was just kinda payback, but I thought he’d get it and say something funny and laugh with me. Probably because he was already walking away from me, grabbing his towel-covered ass might have kinda loosened it; loosened hahah, it fucking slid off his furry white-haired ass. Don’t worry, he was able to grab the towel before it hit the floor though.

I really didn’t expect that would happen, but it got me to giggling when I told him, “Sorry about that!” He said, “I fucking bet you are! So you found the joy of payback I see.” And laughed hard enough just like I knew he would. Don’t ask where my head goes sometimes, because I think he expects something back from me at times like that. My brain came up with, “Nice firm ass though.” He turned still trying to fix the towel, looked at me with a big-ass grin and said, “Firmer than Al’s?” I said, “Don’t go pushing it, or I’ll have to downgrade your ass rating big time.” I love that he lets me get away with saying shit like that to him, but I know he’s gonna give it right back to me sooner or later. This time he kept laughing on his way to his room. I bet he loved hearing that about his ass though.

Anyhow, before he got too far away to hear me, I asked him if he would help me by taking out the stemless wine glasses when he came back outside; that I’d go get a couple of bottles of wine myself. He said not to worry, he knew which ones I wanted. I gotta tell you, living with three Italians in the house, they talk more with their hands and arms than their mouth; nah, a lotta mouth too, hahah. I learned the hard way with them using wine glasses with stems, don’t! You know, talking with your hands takes a lot of practice, I tried but gotta long way to go to match up with them.

When I got back outside I saw Bill was sitting back into the same chair next to mine and Pops was just coming outside with a tray of wine glasses for us. I know that Marc likes to open the wine to breathe, funny I never thought about opening my beer to breathe, fat chance that was gonna happen, hahah! I opened two bottles of wine to let them air a bit and asked if either one wanted some now, but they all said they could wait until Tony and Al got back. Fine with me, I’m having my club soda without waiting, and it doesn’t havta breathe either.

I was trying to think of an easy way to get Bill to want to talk to me before I got to the scary stuff. I’ve wanted to talk to him about his tattoos for a while now and I figured that would be a cool way to get him to open up to me. Unfortunately, good old Bill came back wearing a long-sleeved shirt that he had buttoned up to his neck.  I guess he was getting ready if it gets cold outside. That didn’t stop me though, I really do want to talk about his tattoos and what they mean to him. I told him that I was kinda wanting to talk to him about his tattoos, but they were all covered up now. I asked Bill, “Next time we are in the pool, maybe if you don’t mind, I could look at your tattoos up close and you can tell me about them.” He said he didn’t mind that at all, but don’t expect anything interesting though, other than him having too much money in his pocket and always being high at the times he got them.” He asked me if I had wanted tattoos myself. I told him, “Let me know If you find any plain old skin on me to use, I just might unless it hurts too much.” (Just because you guys know Marc and me talk about shaving our balls, don’t even begin to think we’d tattoo them! Ouch, that’s gotta hurt big time!)

I thought before we start talking about tattoos for too long, we betta get on to the stuff I wanted to talk about before the guys get back. I told Bill that I’d like to talk to him about the comments he made on how we could be living like we are and right next door to our wives. Please don’t think I was pissed-off about the way he talked about Al and me acting in front of them, but I wasn’t happy about it too. But I didn’t say it that way to him. I bet Tony talked to Bill about it because he came right out and said that he was sorry if it sounded like he disapproved of us because he doesn’t at all. I said don’t worry about it, not a problem. That was a big fucking lie, but I won’t tell him it pissed me off royally. I’m over it now thanks to Marc.

I don’t know what they might have talked about us, but I figured maybe I should tell him about how I got to feel about Al and how that has changed over the years. I told him about the first time I ever saw him as a neighbor and how something about him clicked inside me. Bill wanted to know if I knew that I was gay then. Keep it up Bill, you really know how to push my buttons.

I told him NO, nothing like that at all. But I knew right from the start that I wanted him and me to be friends; hopefully best friends, and I thought I knew how to make that happen. Bill asked me what I did to do that. I told him that I arranged my work schedule so that I’d get every other Friday off for a long weekend and that we’d go get coffee together on those Fridays. Bill asked, “Coffee was the best you guys could come up with, nothing else?” Keep pressing those buttons pal and see where it gets you. 

Anyhow I only thought that and didn’t say anything other than, “Uncle Bill, you have no idea of how different we were back then. Like that was maybe a dozen years ago. Coffee was good enough for us, and it gave us the time to get to know each other.” Bill still was thinking I was holding back I guess, because he couldn’t believe we’d go years like that and then think about getting married together. He’s right, that is hard to believe if you don’t know everything about us.

I told him, “There’s a lotta stuff you probably don’t know yet, if you want to know more, I’ll try and tell you.” He said absolutely. Anyhow I started with, “Al was really good at telling stories about himself, and I loved listening to him. My life was nothing like his, I was afraid he’d hate hearing about my life. And I didn’t want to tell him about any of the bad shit I went through, I was afraid we’d never be friends if he knew.” Bill said, “I know about some of it from your Pops, so you don’t need to bring it up, I understand very well. So you are telling me that’s all you guys did for years, drink coffee and talk, no hanky-panky.” “Yup, no hanky-panky and don’t think I don’t know what you mean by that too.” I laughed so he could.

Bill still didn’t get how we got to the way we are from what I told him so far, hell I wouldn’t either. I knew now that I had to tell him more and Marc’s not here with me to help. I looked over to Pops who wasn’t saying anything yet, just watching me squirm a bit, but I knew he’d have my back when I needed him and now was the time. Pops just said, “Mark, you’ve got this, we are on your side, say what you want to say.”

That helped me a little, it’s not like I’m embarrassed anymore if I like the one I’m talking to, I’m way over that shit by now. I was only afraid that maybe Marcus would be upset with me if I told too much stuff he wanted private. What really pissed me off at that time was that we never talked about what do we keep secret and what do we talk about. I really don’t fucking know, but I’m gonna havta say something.

I started telling them about us years ago, and I don’t even know how much Marc has told Pops. Anyhow, I told them over the years we were best friends that I was getting very attracted to him, and I was scared shitless about it too. I didn’t know what to do about it. That never happened to me in my life and I’m a married guy, and straight I thought. Bill just kept asking me to go on, like he needed my information for something going on in his own head. I bet that was the truth too.

I told them that I used to talk a lot of trash around Al and the wives, you know, anti-gay shit when I thought someone might think something was going on between Al and me. I picked up a lot of that shit from the guys at work. I told them, “Man, they’d toss me out at work if they knew about Al and me the way we are now.” I didn’t wait for either of them to ask why, it was gonna come anyway. I told them, “Sometimes Al would say something that could give the wives an idea that we were up to no good on our coffee days. I don’t even know if that was true, my mind was going crazy, I couldn’t let anybody know what I was going through. Besides, Al was always so straight acting; he never gave me a clue that he might have feelings for me. Why would he anyway? He’s this big executive, lives in a mansion with his pretty wife and I don’t fit in to his world at all. I was happy that we got our coffee time together.” Pops jumped in and said, “That was a big crock of bullshit you just laid on us; you fit in just fine, you always have.” I thanked him and told him that I knew I fit in now, but not so much years ago though.

I don’t know what was in Bill’s head at the time, but he’s fishing for something, and I don’t think it’s about us, it’s about him and maybe he thinks I can help him. (How’s that for sounding like my old Sweetbabes huh.) I wanna help, or maybe I want him to not question us, just love us like Tony and Pops do. So I’m needy, I hope you are not just getting to learn that about me, hahah.

At this point I figured there’s no way I can skip the part about us getting away for the weekend at the lake almost four years ago. Like that was when everything changed for us, well almost everything. The part about falling in love happened a little later at Big Sur, CA. Ya, that was where it happened for real. Maybe if I’m really careful with what I say about the lake trip Bill will understand us better. I told him a lot of what you guys know already about us, and I agree with Marc not to keep writing about it and fucking bore you guys. I had two very quiet guys listening to me, I had a feeling this was the first time Pops got to hear the story. I kept it kinda PG until I couldn’t, well it always gets me horny talking about it anyway. Pops did ask a couple of questions that told me either Marcus never told him, or he was checking to see if our stories matched. Well we don’t lie so they better match. I just came out and asked how much Al told him about us, and he said that maybe one day he’d tell me whatever I want to hear but Al must be there too. See that’s why I fucking love the dude so much! I told him that would be cool.

Bill came right out and asked, “Why didn’t you tell Al, who was supposed to be your best friend, what you felt about him. Why couldn’t you trust him?” I told him that was a really hard question to answer, that maybe I wasn’t ready to trust him yet.” Bill said, “Now I’m totally confused about you two. I don’t understand how you got to where you want to leave your wives and marry each other after hearing that.” I think I got a little defensive then and put the question back to him. I said, “Isn’t Tony your best friend, like you’ve known each other your whole lives. Why can’t you guys tell each other how you feel; can you trust him, can he trust you?” Bill asked me back, “How do you know that we haven’t done that already?” I said, “I don’t know, but I can sure guess from what I can see.” All Bill said was, “You’re right, it’s not that easy.”

Anyhow, I told him I understood completely, it took us a long time to get to were we are today, and I didn’t think there was another way that we could have gone to get here faster. Ya, that was the best thing to say, hahah, that lasted for about a minute and kinda opened the door a crack because he wanted more. So little by little I gave them more, maybe a little too much more. I told them, “I bet you never figured that trip was the first time we ever saw each other totally naked, huh.” They both didn’t buy that at all. “Nope, it’s the truth, it really was the first time and the first time either one of us ever went hiking naked too. Now that was a fucking blast!”

Bill wanted to know if we ever ran into anyone while hiking. “Nope, not a soul anywhere, just us and we kinda messed around a little too because of that.” Pops said, “So you finally decided to mess around with each other; you can’t just say that and not tell us more!” Oh that little fucker went for it; I know I set myself up for it too. “You really want to know, huh. Well, it was the first time we ever admitted that we were horny for each other, I guess you can blame being out there all naked and alone.”

Since I know I was the first to make a move between us, I could tell them why I did that. You know it’s a lot easier telling you guys about this stuff than saying it to someone right in front of you. But I really want to get Bill on our side. I could tell them about getting turned on after seeing Al’s low hanging shaved balls on the hike, and how I couldn’t wait to do the same with mine and show him. But I just didn’t know how to start that conversation at all. Anyhow, I did tell them that the hike was a big turn on for both of us, and at one point we needed to fix the horny that was happening big time between us. 

I sensed that they were really interested in what I was gonna say and wouldn’t act like jerks if I got real with them. I just came out and told them that one of my fantasies I kept secret was what oral sex could be like with him. (See I cleaned it up for them. I coulda just said that I found out I loved sucking his dick because I did. And it was the first and only dick I ever sucked too.) Anyhow, oral sex was kinda more polite sounding to me. I bet they already expected something like that was going on between us anyhow. I guess I could make this a really long chapter if I remembered all of the questions, but I do remember one from Bill, was sex a mutual thing between us. Sorry Marc, I told them of course it was. 

I told them something important to me, that it wasn’t long before I knew Al needed me as much as I needed him. Now it was easy to be myself and not be afraid of showing him how much I wanted what was going on between us. That made it easy for me to see how much he was getting out of our time together. I knew that we could never go back to being our old secret selves any longer.

I kinda got caught up into our lives a lot longer than I wanted to since I wanted to help Bill and here I’m talking about hiking and sex. I just came out and said, “Maybe if you want, we can talk more about how the trip changed us tomorrow. I have some stuff I want to talk to you about right now.” Bill said that was fine, maybe he’d like to do that some more.  That was easy, and I was off to Tony and Bill time. But first I needed to know a little about Bill’s marriage and I know I better be sensitive since his wife passed away not too long ago. I asked him if he would like to tell us how long he was married, I knew it was a long time, just not how long. Bill asked me how old I was, I said 55 almost 56, he said that was how long he was married, and it was a wonderful marriage. I told him it was 35 years for me and didn’t know where the time went. Pops added his years to the conversation, and it was the longest, and it would be 62 years if Ginny was still alive. She died several years ago.

There was a chance this could happen, and it did, Bill got emotional with all the marriage talk and told us how lonely it’s been without his wife. Pops said he even missed the nagging from his wife and tried to get a chuckle outta Bill, he almost did. I thought, great time to tell him that Tony said he was feeling very lonely himself. Bill said he knew, just wasn’t sure how to help. Okay, now he’s all mine!

I asked Bill, “You and Tony go back forever in time, don’t you think you could find something in that to help him.” I just went for it; I know Pops will pick up my pieces if it blows up. “Have you guys ever had a little ‘hanky-panky’ time yourselves?” Bill said, “If we ever did, we must have been stoned out of our fucking minds at the time.” I told him, “Like then there’s a chance you guys could have a nice life together, taking your time getting there, right?” He said that they were kinda together, just not together like us. Maybe it’s time for them to stop the lonely for a while.

MY BRAIN WORKING ON OVERTIME

I asked Bill if his wife thought he was a sexy man. Don’t even ask me why, just an idea I had. He said, “I guess so, why.” Oh no, I’m still thinking, don’t ask me why just yet, I hope to know soon. I told him give me a minute first and just asked another question, “Do you feel you are a sexy guy?” That answer was quick. “No, I don’t think so, no one ever said I was that I remember.” I guess since I didn’t answer his question why, he stopped at don’t think so. I was on a roll and had no idea where I was going and asked him if he would like to hear his wife call him sexy. This time I got the answer I think I wanted, “Sure, who wouldn’t?” Bill tossed it right back at me with, “So Mark, did your wife ever tell you she thought you were sexy?” Oh man, that was the easiest answer for me, “No, absolutely not! She always says Al is the sexiest guy between us.” 

Bill started to say something and quickly stopped; I could imagine what he was thinking after I said that. What he did say was, “You both are good-looking guys, why would she pick Al over you, her husband? what am I missing here?” I told him that she liked Al because he wasn’t a furry all over guy like me, she tolerated my hairy chest but that’s it. (Don’t expect that Pops jumped in because we both are furry guys; we’ve already been over that bridge.) But he did ask me why I just didn’t shave my body if that’s all she needed. That’s a fair question and I told him I did the whole-body shaving thing once and it grew back really fast and was really itchy, drove me fucking crazy. I also told him that maybe if it didn’t grow back so quick, I would have done it more. Bill asked, “So that’s it; what did she do, stop having sex with you?”

That I could answer, and I don’t think I’ve written about yet, if I did, I forgot. Whenever Ellen and me had sex she always was on top of me so she wouldn’t feel me on her body. That’s what I told both of them, she never liked touching me, maybe sometimes she did outta pity I guess. Telling them that was not easy, and I didn’t laugh like I usually do. Pops told him that he knew my feelings about how I looked from Al because he talked to me about helping you some time ago, she wasn’t fair to you at all. He just said that Ginny didn’t have a problem with his furry body. I told Bill, I’m over that, it’s so not what I deal with any longer, thanks to Al. But I did say that Al’s wife Lisa kinda likes me a lot, I really thought she might get Ellen to change, but nothing.

I was on a roll, and I told them I never really knew what it felt like to be wanted for sex, if I pushed for it I usually got some, but just once it would be nice to have her start it or just touch me for crying out loud. Oh ya, I remembered something from long ago and I had to tell them because it was about touching. I had to explain stuff first though. I told them, “You know when Al and me first met and started going out for coffee, he didn’t know much about what I looked like under my long-sleeved shirts and the shorts he hated because they were too long. We had so much we liked talking about, and as far as I was concerned, my furry body was not gonna be talked about.” Bill probably thought I was being a nutcase on that because he looked at me kinda strange, especially since we are naked in the pool all the time. But I kept my story going. One day it was too warm to be wearing long sleeves and I started to roll them up, I must have forgotten why I was trying to cover them in the first place. They both asked what Al said or did that day. I told them nothing, but he kept looking at my forearms a lot when we usually look at each other’s face when we talked. Like that story does have an ending, I can’t just leave it there. I told them one day, maybe the next time we went out for coffee, he told me that he never seen hairy arms as sexy as mine. “Ya, he really said that to me, don’t think I’d forget it, and then he asked if he could see what it felt like.” I told them I guess he could, especially since he told me that he wasn’t very hairy himself and just wondered. And it was okay if I didn’t want him to. I told the guys, "Nobody ever touched me like that, I guess nobody ever wanted to anyway, but it was so cool he did and I couldn't tell him that it was.” Bill wanted to know what happened afterwards. Well if we skip forward a dozen years, lot’s happened and he gets to touch whatever part of me he want to touch, and I let him too. Hahah. Somehow my little story didn’t get a lot of conversation afterwards, but I bet Bill and maybe Pops were doing a lot of thinking. I was thinking maybe if Bill would reach out and touch Tony more often that maybe he might like it, or that Tony would reach out to him. I really hope that was something Bill was thinking about.

I pushed it a little hard and kinda hoped for the best, I figured I just put a piece of our sex life out there, maybe Bill and Pop could tell me a little about their marriages. I asked both of them, “Both of you guys have been married for a long time, like me, do either of you have any stories like mine that you can share with me?” Thankfully Bill was the first to talk, I can always talk to Pops anytime. I should have figured that Bill had the “perfect” marriage, at least he’s saying so. But he did say something I was not ready for at all.

He got very emotional, way more than I expected, well his wife did pass away. But it wasn’t the loneliness, or the lack of sex, or anything like that. Bill told us, “It was the anger, I mean real anger and it’s still hard to deal with.” I told him I don’t understand, but Pops knew that anger and spoke for him. “Son, it’s something people experience when they lose someone they love so much. Thankfully it doesn’t last forever, but it takes time, and it can be different for everyone. I felt the same when I lost my Ginny.” I asked them if they were angry at God for taking their loved ones away or was it something else. Pops said he didn’t think there was only one reason, and it’s personal, but it does fade away and the love returns. I learned something that day and I wasn’t expecting it at all. Bill did say he was ready to deal with the anger better than he had been and maybe the answer was right in front of him in Tony. 

Wow, mind blowing or not, I’m still trying to get Bill on my side if I can. Now it’s a real challenge, and I do like a good challenge. I had dived right in like I do in the pool and asked both guys if they thought Tony was a sexy man. Pops said that for as long as he’s known Tony he’s figured Tony thought he was and then kinda giggled a bit at saying that. Bill was slower with his answer, that maybe in some ways Tony might be considered kinda sexy and he agreed with Pops that Tony probably thought that way about himself. 

Bill turned the question on me right after and asked if I thought he was a sexy man. “Damn right I do, you are in great shape and look a lot younger than you are.” Bill thanked me but thought I was kinda blowing smoke up his ass. Bill said he had a hard time thinking about people his age being sexy. Pops almost agreed but after looking at me first for a clue, said he thought I was telling Bill the truth. But he did say that “Sexy is in the eye of the beholder.” He might be right, about that.

Then they both ganged up on me and asked me if I thought I was a sexy man. If they only knew me years ago, my answer would be, no way, no how. Period. But that was before Marcus got into my head big time. Man, I was ready for them and came out laughing as I said, “Yes, fucking right I am, just ask Al.” Pops said, “Or ask me!” And then Bill said, “If I was 30 years younger maybe I could give you a good run for your money.” I said, “Exactly what I wanted to hear from you Uncle Bill, but you don’t need to be 30 years younger, you and your tattoos are still a very sexy to me.” Bill told me that he couldn’t figure out why I’d say that, but since I did, he’ll learn to deal with it. And he actually laughed at himself.

I had Bill where I thought I wanted him and told him, “Uncle Bill don’t you think Tony would love to hear his best friend in the world tell him he was still a sexy man at 80?” I probably should have found a better way to say that, because Bill said, “I don’t know how I’d get to say that to him, it would be awkward to just come out and tell him.” I told him, “Maybe one day when you guys get all dressed to go someplace nice, you could tell him, for an old fart he was looking pretty fucking sexy.” That got a big laugh from them and a nod from Bill like maybe he could do that. 

I figured maybe this was a good time to close the deal, like something Marcus would say. “Bill your best friend came to your side when you needed him and gave up his home and new friends to be with you.” Bill said, “I know, he’s my best friend.” Pops joined in and said, “Give Tony a chance to prove he could change, anything worth having, does take work. Everyone here can see how much he wants to be a part of your life. Can’t you?” Bill might be thinking he’s being ganged up too much right now, because he just kinda shook his head like he agreed but was kinda through talking about it too. I guess we will know one day.

THE MORNING AFTER THE BEDROOM CHANGEOVER

I hope you read what Marc wrote about the conversation he had with Tony the next morning after we put the twin beds together for them, because he wasn’t the only one getting a message from the uncles. Bill doesn’t have a lot to say normally but this time he wanted to thank me for taking an interest in him and helping him think beyond just himself.

Bill told me that the bed was just like his at home now and he liked that Tony kept him warm last night. He also said that maybe they might do that at home now too. I could have just said, cool, and nothing else, but you know me by now. I had to ask, “You up to telling me about it?” Or I said something like that to him. 

Bill told me that he did a lot of thinking about what we talked about and maybe he could just relax and see where it might go. I was going to ask him how Tony acted, but he never gave me a chance to ask, he told me something that made me feel that maybe I was kinda right when I thought I could get him on our side if I just talked to him. He said, “Please keep this between the two of us for now, it was only one night and who knows where this might go.” He made sure that I didn’t need to keep this a secret from Al too, he knows how we feel about that. He just wanted Pops to hear it from them if anything changed between them. I told him that we would absolutely not say anything. He wanted me to know that it wasn’t that our Pops would never know, it was if he did, he’d go make a big deal out of it, like he always does.

Bill started his story with that he sleeps better when the house is cold at night, but he wears his flannel pajamas to keep himself warm, always has. And then said, “Don’t ever let Tony know I told you this about him, he never wears anything at all in bed, but does wear pajamas if we are in the same room together.” Like that’s a shocking idea or something. I coulda told him that Marc and me don’t even have pajamas, that we always have slept naked for our whole lives. Nope, I won’t, it’s his story now, not mine.

Anyhow he said that Tony was into the bed first last night and he wasn’t very good at covering up that he wasn’t wearing any of the pajamas we’ve been wearing here at all. And then he said, “I was thinking about what you said, and I just stripped off my clothes and quickly got into bed just like him, no pajamas, only I was already shivering.” I had to say without sounding like I was making fun outta what he said, “Really!? What made you do that?” Okay guys, I’m not stupid I know why, but it seemed like the thing to say at the time. Bill probably wished I’d just listen and not ask questions, but he did say, “Mark, it’s not something I ever do, not even in all the years my wife was in bed with me, I wear pajamas because I get too cold. But last night, maybe I just wanted to know more about myself, how I’d handle what you guys did the first time together.”

Since he was feeling safe to talk to me about this, I figured don’t go crazy asking shit about what went down between them. But I did ask him if they cuddled to keep each other warm. I figured, cuddled gotta be a safe enough word. Bill told me, “Oh, you can bet your ass we did! Remember what I said, it’s only between us; there might have been a little “hanky-panky” going on between us.” Inside me I’m jumping up and down thinking, way to go Larry, I did that for them. I told him, “Absolutely, just us.”

Anyhow, I asked him if he thought Tony felt the same way about everything. He said, “Yes I think so, Tony wasn’t acting like I thought he would, he was very gentle touching me and I didn’t mind that he did too. I even got over my fear of touching him myself. I was fine.” Oh ya, they are on their way to a much better relationship for sure now. I don’t know if I was happier for them or myself, hahah.

Anyhow, I was so pumped that Bill thinks of me as someone he can confide in like a good friend, that’s way beyond cool to me. Before now, I’d never imagine anyone older than me would be willing to talk about stuff so private and then trust that I’d keep his secret and not blab about it. (Okay, I think I hear you saying that I’m kinda blabbing about it right now in the journal. Ya, but that doesn’t count, unless he reads it, he better not!) Anyhow, from what I read in Marc’s last chapter, what he said to me matches what Tony said himself.

Pops came over to the table with us and asked what’s the topic, catch him up. I guess Pops saw the look on Bill’s face and asked him if he should just “get lost for a while.” Bill was cool, he told him, “No you could stay with us, we were just talking about the new arrangement for the bedroom that kept us warm last night.” Pops laughed a little bit and said, “I bet it was warmer sharing the bed, Tony and I have more than enough meat on our bones to warm the bed up.” I’m not gonna say another word! Hahah.

THANKSGIVING DAY FOR US

I better say something about this holiday we have because Christmas stories are coming! Yay! It will probably be January before you read about them though, just saying, I plan on being busy, super busy!

Anyhow, back to Thanksgiving for us, we got to spend it up in Auburn, which is not far from us, right on the road from our place. It was at Bill’s house he shares with Tony, and they invited the three of us to spend the day with them. Well, that’s not exactly right, the two of us spent the day, Pops was already up there helping and spending a couple of nights with them too. Guess what that meant for us, nah, that’s too easy for you. Don’t think I hate sharing the house with Pops, I love having him here. But there’s some stuff we haven’t been able to do lately when he’s here. 

Like it’s kinda equal between us when we are alone in the kitchen; for me I love when Marc comes up behind be when I at the island counter or the sink and he puts his arms around me and pulls me close to him. There’s more, I know what’s so bad about doing that when Pops is here, nothing at all; that’s happened lots of times. Only when we are alone and naked, that’s a whole new ballgame, hahah. I’m starting to get horny just thinking about that as I’m writing in my iPad. It doesn’t take Marc long to get hard doing that and he knows how to use that boner of his to turn me on real good now. If you need to know more, we’ve got to work on your imagination! BTW, I did say counter or sink, I got a big-ass rule against that when I’m at the stove cooking. The last thing I need is my boner near the hot stove, ‘cause that’s gonna happen there just like it does at the other places he messes with me. 

Just in case you forgot, I did say this is kinda equal between us, I’m way worse than him, his boner pokes whatever he’s close to when I mess with him like that. As soon as he feels my arms around his middle, he backs into me hard, kinda a boner watch system I guess, hahah. But it does put what I wanted in the first place, right into my hands; I’ve got him trained real good too.

Where I put Bill's sign near the pool

Bill asked us to come into his den to see something they bought before we even had our coats off. He seemed excited to show us before we got busy with other stuff. He said that Tony and him went to an estate sale in Grass Valley, a town close to theirs, and found a sign we might like to have for the backyard. Well it wasn’t hard to figure what it was going to be since they’ve seen our signs anyway. He said if we didn’t want it, it was okay don’t worry. No way, it was a perfect sign and will look great with the others we have. You can see where I put it in the landscaping and one of the other signs here too. In case you can’t read it from my picture it says, “Relax and unwind… Get Naked” that’s such a cool sign.

While we were still in his den I heard Pops call out to one of us to come help him with something in the kitchen. Marc said he’d go take care of it for us. That got Bill a chance to tell me something he had on his mind I guess. He told me that their stay with us was the best thing for them, but the conversation we had meant a lot to him and made him think about what was in his future alone and angry about it. I didn’t know exactly what to say except that I got a lot out of talking with him and I learned much myself.

Bill told me something else that I liked hearing very much. He said that he was okay with getting older, not so much about the aches and pains, or that he would be 80 like Tony soon. What he didn’t like was thinking of himself as old, or elderly, that was not how he thinks of himself at all. I was gonna say something but he wasn’t done yet. He said that watching Marc and me just being ourselves around them was what he needed, and that wasn’t how he thought it would go. He said, “You guys got me to rethink about having fun and being young at heart. I forgot how to have fun, but not anymore.” What could I do but give him a hug, and a thanks. I didn’t think I was making him feel young but that’s cool, and I’m gonna take the compliment too. Bill told me he was the one to find the sign and told Tony he wanted to give it to us not as a gift but as a thank you for letting fun get back into his life. And then said, “But not so much for Tony, he always having fun, I just never understood why, now I know why.” It’s a good thing we headed back to the kitchen to help, I was getting kinda weak in the knees listening to him. Man did I ever need to hear that, but don’t think it went straight to my head, it kinda stopped around my heart.

Back to Thanksgiving, we all made something for dinner, we were guests, but they asked us to bring some stuff that wasn’t so traditional. I’m not sure we know how to make “traditional” anything anyway. Marc made the vegetables, I bet some of you who know me are thinking, I said “Yuck!” I would have if it was a few years ago. It’s hard to say “no” to Marcus without trying a taste first. Just like I think a real mom would say. I’ve actually had what he made before, maybe he didn’t want me to look like a spoiled child or something, and I really liked it. It was something Italian, what else? That alone would make me want to try it. Maybe deep down inside I really am a spoiled rotten wannabe Italian brat!

This is Marc's Swiss Chard dish.

He made something that probably has a name, but who knows it. He put organic rainbow Swiss chard, stewed tomatoes, white onions, Italian seasoning, and little cubes of Swiss Cheese. And it tasted good enough for seconds! Knowing me; that’s saying a lot! He also made a spiral pasta salad with garden veggies like zucchini and carrots and whatever he snuck in there, and olive oil and vinegar and Italian seasonings. You bet; I liked that one too. Marc figured a way to dice the veggies so small you can’t pick them out with a fork, the smart ass! I bet when I first met him years ago and if he served it to me, my tongue would have found every last one of them nasty veggies and spit them out into my napkin when no one was looking! You better believe me, I was something else back then, I’m surprised he put up with me! But I sure did change a lot since I moved in with him; Ellen never had any luck with me. Maybe if she said it was something Italian, I’d try it. I’m not that complicated you know. Oh well too late for her now.

Anyhow, I made pies! First time ever! And from scratch too! Okay, are you impressed yet? No? And I made the scratch crust too; now are you impressed! I went looking in YouTube for pies and how to make a crust, man you could spend half a lifetime if you watched every one of them! I picked the ones that sounded the easiest to make. I also got creative, which could have gone all wrong, but that’s kinda my style anyway. I made an apple pie with raisins because I like raisins if I don’t look at them while eating. I think I was supposed to put some crumbly stuff on top but made too much pie crust, so I used it instead. I could use some practice on sealing the crusts though, the top crust kinda floated on top.

And I also made a mixed berry pie with mixed berries, what else! I used raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, and I tossed in some strawberries which might have been a little over the top knowing what happened. I cut strips of crust for the top, figured it would blow up in the oven if I didn’t do that. What do I know, that’s a lotta fruit under a dome. (I hope you don’t expect me to show you my disasters though. I will if I bake a good berry pie one day.)

Now ask me if they tasted good, go ahead I’m ready. Yes I think they both tasted sweet and good, not sure if pie would be what you’d call them though. My berry pie decided to decorate the pan I put it on with black juice that stuck to the pie pan and stained my pretty cut crusts pieces too. But I brought it because I figured I could say, “Hey I’m a guy, what did you expect, Martha Stewart!” (Yes, I know who she is too.)

I decided to bake something for a reason, or reasons; first I never have before, which is not the best idea when bringing the results to someone’s home, and second because of one of you guys that I write back to named Michael. He was telling me about how he bakes desserts; I think it’s something he volunteers to do, or maybe it’s a part time job, I don’t remember exactly, but he said he has fun doing it. Got me to thinking I should try doing something different too. Would I do it again, we might want to talk about that a little more first! 

You know we don’t make desserts around here. I hope most of you know that Marcus was on a weight loss program, and he really followed it and lost a few pants sizes; he’s damn close to my size now. I never thought he needed to lose weight, he wasn’t that big, just thick enough for great hugging between us. But I do understand why he wanted to lose weight; how could I not love him for doing it. Anyway, if I ever do bake desserts it will be for occasions, like Christmas and birthdays. And I’m saying, if I do, it will be me cutting a slice for him, just a taste so he won’t feel like he’s missing out. I guess Pops doesn’t worry about diets even though he could drop a few pounds. I think he has a handle on being comfortable with his age. 

Maybe you read it before, I actually added a couple of inches to my middle around the time Marc had his knee replaced. I’m not blaming him for my weight gain, actually I was kinda impressed that finally I could gain weight, but now I don’t want to. I kinda followed what Marc was eating on the Noom program and I lost my little gut before it got any bigger. Besides, my sweet buddy wants to look more like me and here I am looking more like him! Oh well, I guess I’m not much of a dessert guy anyway, hopefully ice cream is not dessert, just dairy! Ya right!

Man I can go off on a direction I don’t always expect, I was supposed to be writing about Thanksgiving with the guys. Maybe what I just wrote is more interesting, hahah. I did tell you everything was supposed to be not so traditional, but somehow turkey was chosen as one of the meats. They also had a baked ham but not yams with marshmallows, or green bean casserole, (I could do without the green bean mess), but they did make mashed potatoes or should say squashed down red potatoes with garlic, rosemary, and olive oil. They called it Italian, so I’d eat it, I’m not that dense you know. The fact that I ate it because they said that, maybe I should rethink dense.

Marc’s food tasted awesome like always, and Bill asked him if he could teach him how to make the Swiss chard dish, Tony told him that he knew how, and he’d make it for him. See another reason why I like Italians! Pops helped them out with baking the turkey and ham, and probably helped them too. 

You know everyone said they liked my desserts, even though one looked like the result of a hit and run accident. Do you think they felt bad for me? Probably, but too nice to tell me. Anyhow the apple raisin one was everyone’s favorite. And if you got past the head on collision of berries, it really did taste pretty good. We kinda scooped the fruit out with a serving spoon from around the strange looking crust; a little ice cream and it wasn’t a pie anymore. Maybe I should think buying berry pies from the frozen food section next time.

OUR AFTER-DINNER ENTERTAINMENT

I made this picture from two, I think it's cool.

I gotta tell you this, I almost forgot to write about it. Bill and Tony took out and played their instruments; okay, let’s get our heads outta the gutter, even I went there when I read what I just wrote! Bill took out his guitar and Tony got one of his horns, either a trumpet or coronet, like I could tell the difference anyhow. They told us that they’ve been practicing together quite a bit now, it’s been years, you don’t really forget. Tony did say he was concerned that his lip was not going to be like it was years ago, but I thought he sounded pretty damn good. Bill also played the piano for us; it was so awesome, knowing real musicians and having them play for us. I’m so pumped about it!

I think Marcus might have mentioned in the early chapters of the blog, that I was totally into Country Music and my CDs with Willy Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Travis Tritt, Hank Williams, Jr. are some of the CD’s that are in my truck from right off the top of my head. And then I get to know Al and his music is all over the fucking place, like classical, opera, rock ‘n roll, jazz, and it goes on. Oh before I forget to tell you, the opera thing, he had me in fucking tears, the first opera song he ever played for me was Pavarotti’s Nessun Dorma, (you gotta know I had to go search for the spelling of this one.) OMG, I was a fucking wreck after hearing that, like goose bumps and everything. I had to tell you that, anyhow the uncles are getting into a jazz thing and I’m not into that yet. I tried to be cool, like Marc and Pops, IDK maybe someday I’ll get it.

Bill asked me if I was into southern rock, could be, maybe if he gave me some of their names, I’d know. He did better, he called up some their music from his phone, like the Allman Bros Band, Leonard Skinner, ZZ Top and some others. Wow! I can be all about that kind of music, I liked ZZ Top the best. Bill didn’t have any of the music from way back when they were part of Al’s father’s band on his phone though, but that was such a long time ago, and I don’t think Marcus would want to get emotional in front of them right now. Anyway, I thought you’d get a kick outta that part of our day there with them. 

You know, it’s not that I didn’t know they were professional musicians, but it was like hanging with Pops and Marc, they were businessmen, and then you forget about it. I think learning about the music was the best part of the day! And I didn’t expect it at all but now I know what I’ll be asking them to do in the future. And then it comes to me, oh ya, the neighbors are not crazy about loud or live music played in backyards, but we do have this big-ass great room in the house. I can see it now, live music, maybe even some Country Music courtesy of our new uncles! Oh yeah, I can’t wait for that day!

GETTING READY TO GO BACK HOME

I thought Pops was gonna drive his car back home with us that night, we would follow him, but he said he’d stay another night to help with the cleanup and promised to bring home some of the leftovers with him the next day. Well I should have figured that out that he’d stay with them since it gets dark early now. He doesn’t like driving at night that much.

Oh I gotta tell you this, before dinner started Pops told me that he can use Tony’s bedroom to stay over in now, it’s not being used any more, wink-wink. And he elbowed me on the arm instead of a high-five that could get noticed. He’s giving me credit for getting Bill to think about their friendship and living together. Nothing drastic, he said that they will be keeping each other warm now. That’s cool, or warm, or whatever it's called.

Bill’s house is a lot like the one I had before moving to Granite Bay, pretty normal three bedrooms and two bathrooms, family room and a nice sized dining room too. He had one of the bedrooms like a den with a desk. I guess Pops slept on the couch before Tony moved into Bill’s room. I hope everything works for them and at least Pops gets a real bed when he stays there overnight now. 

WHOOPS, I ALMOST FORGOT ABOUT VET’S DAY

This is the Vet's Hall in Auburn, CA we visited with the guys.

I think my chapter is not too long yet;  I should tell you that all five of us spent Vet’s Day together and we got to visit the Veterans Memorial Hall that Bill belongs to in Auburn. Just about everyone we met was a Vietnam Vet, including Pops and the uncles. Marc was in the Gulf War for Desert Storm, and I was just a peace time swabbie. I kinda thought we’d be hearing lots of horror stories but no, the guys talked about everything else, from the welcome “beer dumps” and smoking the best weed ever. I’m pretty sure I don’t need to know about the beer dumps! After listening to the guys that day, it’s no wonder everyone still smokes that stuff, it’s a part of them I guess. Maybe after all the years and finding out some of their friends have passed on, it’s time to talk less about the war. I really had a great time for sure, I loved the old guys and some of their stories. Marc doesn’t talk much about his time in the war, and certainly did not up there too. I don’t push it with him.

Well that’s it I guess, other than Bill wanted to introduce me to some of his local friends who seemed happy to meet me. That was kinda cool. But I really was surprised when he just took my arm to follow him. He said he wanted me to meet some of his old buddies he’s known for years, and he didn’t even invite Al; well Pops and Tony had him in the middle of whatever they were up to anyway. I almost thought Bill was gonna show me off to his friends as look at what he found for himself. Just kidding, I could have thought that you know; I'm just saying.

After we left the hall we went out for dinner with a few of the guys we met. There’s this small restaurant up there that doesn’t seem to mind putting up with them, hahah. I’m not even gonna bring up the food there, nothing like we eat at home, especially after Marc got on Noom. Anyhow, it was fun listening to the men rag on each other; it kinda made me think about what it might be like when we get their age.

You know, I think it was the first time I’ve seen Bill not being the quiet shy kinda guy he normally is around us. After spending more time with the men, I kinda felt happy he told them I was his adopted nephew, all except he left off the adopted part. Do you think he was afraid they might think there was something going on between us? I bet he has a whole different idea of who I am now after the talks we had together. Maybe he’s not afraid of catching “gay” from us now. (I break me up sometimes.) Like there’s a chance that after seeing how Tony acts around me and he’s gonna give Tony a run for his money. After all, I could be considered a real catch, Marc says I’m cute you know. hahah.

THE LAST SECTION ABOUT WHATEVER

I really wanted to get my chapter finished before my kid comes out for Christmas and get this story about our “uncles” kinda over and done with. I still don’t know if you guys really like reading about them, but they are a part of our lives now, kinda hard to ignore them when we write.

Oh ya, more trivia. Well it’s about the kids coming to visit for Christmas. Pops did grow a beard after retiring, I think we both told him he would look good with a beard. He bought that I guess because he can grow a beard overnight! I do share that feature with him, I’m always trimming my beard to look like Marc’s who takes forever to grow his out. Anyway, Pops has not been trimming his beard since he found out about the kids coming, the grandpa thing, you know. Well, he’s gonna play Santa Claus for the kids and he’s super excited about it. Judging by how his beard looks today, he’s gonna be a great looking Santa Claus! 

I kinda figured Marcus would be the one playing Santa for us so I could be there with them when he comes. That was before we knew if Pops would still be with us. But it’s great that we can have a real Santa for the kids while PapPap and PopPop watches them. Pops is not a big Santa kinda guy, he’d need some pillows to fill out the suit. I told him not to worry about that, the kids are too young to notice. I don’t know if he will or not, it will be up to him, but I hope they don’t get scared of Santa though.

I got to thinking while I was writing this chapter about our uncles, I’m sure we will invite them for dinner on Christmas. I can’t even imagine not inviting them, and then I got the image in my head of Tony dressing up as a Santa’s Elf, not Bill, but who knows. Tony would have a ball doing that, he’s such an outgoing guy, I’d wouldn’t be surprised to see him arrive as Santa himself. Pops better cover that with him. Christmas is gonna be so special this year, I bet I’ll be crying like a baby once I see my grandsons with Santa Claus. Let alone seeing Ryan again and meeting his wife. I don’t know what Lisa and Ellen will be doing because we haven’t been talking much lately. I know the kids will spend some time with them, but I also know they are staying with us not them. Maybe we will all spend Christmas morning together watching the kids with Santa and opening gifts; after all Ellen is their grandmother.

Okay, I think that’s it for now. I might be a fucking wreck after the kids leave for home and it might be January before you hear from me again. I got a birthday coming up real soon, gonna be 56, but I’m still the youngest guy here, but after the 9th I’ll only be four years younger than Marcus. He likes this time of the year when I stop being five years younger than him. Pops birthday is in January, and he’ll be 83; I still don't think he looks his age, or maybe I'm finding out for the first time about aging and it's not what I thought it was all about. Sometimes I wonder if some of the younger guys who read our journal, think about Marc and me as horny old farts. Actually, I don’t think of ourselves as a horny OLD farts at all, just fucking horny farts! 

I hope you guys all have a great holiday no matter how you celebrate it. I know I will, and I'll be a year older the next time I write you guys.

Love you guys for reading my stuff.

M. Larry

Here is a link to Marcs' Chapter 88 for you:

https://brosgonerogue.blogspot.com/2022/12/ch-88-mostly-about-pops-this-time.html#more