Friends and Co-writers

The Torch

2009-12-02T09:41:00.000-08:00

By Lady Jodie

Kadyn jumped up and down and swung his arms. Then he blew on his hands to keep the chill out of his fingers. It was cold but at least the sun was shining. The entire population of Jade Heights was present for this special event. Throngs of people lined Main Street, most jumping around and trying to keep warm while they waited for the arrival of the next torch bearer.

Not only Kadyn, but also his Dad had been two of many Jade Heights citizens to apply on the internet for a chance to be an official Olympic Torch bearer. Both had been lucky enough to be chosen to run through their home town.

The crowd cheered as the lead vehicles came into sight. Chief Barrett turned on the siren much to the delight of the children. The drivers of the white van and the two cars advertizing the 2010 Olympic Games, honked their horns. Following a short distance behind was a large Coca-Cola truck with huge speakers blaring out and one of the organizers yelling for people to get ready.

If it was possible, the crowd actually grew louder as Mr. Hart appeared from the direction of the highway leading to Kelowna. Like his son, he was dressed in a white outfit with shades of green and blue covering his left arm. A number adorned the right side of his jacket and a picture of the torch was on the left.

He ran up to Kadyn and lit the torch the young man was holding. Flags were waving madly and the noise level rose to deafening proportions.

It seemed as if the older generation was passing the flame to the younger one. Vincent and Mrs. Hart were among the picture takers. Having been standing next to Kadyn, they had the perfect advantage for getting the best photos.

Kadyn smiled and held the torch up over his head as he began to run towards the next bearer. Mr. and Mrs. Hart hugged each other and laughed when Vincent took off to accompany his partner.

It seemed to take only minutes to cover the three hundred metres allotted to him before Kadyn was lighting his best friend’s torch. This time it was three of the Pierce men in the forefront with cameras flashing.

Once Rene’s torch was going strong, he was off and running. Kadyn quickly slipped on the red jacket Vincent handed him and zipped it up. He pulled the hood over his head so little of the white clothing he had on was showing. This was Rene’s moment in the sun, but Kadyn wanted to run beside his friend. Vincent and Zack ran with them.

It was a once in a lifetime experience and the two young men who had been looking forward to it for so long, were definitely pumped.

All too soon, they reached the other end of the small town and Rene was lighting some young lady’s torch. Although their runs were over, the adrenaline would race on for some time to come and the memories would last forever.

The End

Community Service

2009-10-20T09:34:00.000-07:00

Co-written by:

Mel, Jo, Carol and LJ

Six young men stood facing Jade Heights’ Chief of Police, Chandi Barrett. Although shifting uncomfortably, they were paying attention.

“You’ve all proven how much you enjoy painting, so this weekend’s work should provide you with a good deal of entertainment, which in turn should keep you out of trouble.” Chief Barrett turned to the older, stern-looking man standing beside him and grinned before turning back to the young men in front of him. “This is the town’s Superintendent of Public Maintenance. His name is Cliff Richardson and he will be overseeing the project.” Chandi stepped back, but continued to watch the proceedings.

Cliff glared at the small group with slight scowl on his face. He was wondering what he’d done wrong in life to deserve the dubious pleasure of supervising this bunch of mischief-makers. “Okay, boys; listen up! Here’s how we’re going to distribute the work to be done. Look around at the playground equipment and take note that there are six main colours in use. You will each be responsible for painting the items that correspond with the colour you’ll be issued.”

He waited impatiently as his make-shift crew quietly obeyed him. At least they’d had the sense to dress in old clothes and most were wearing hats. Glancing over the list in his hand, Cliff began reading off names. “Kadyn Hart, you’ll be doing all the blue items; Cameron Jackson, green; Kyler Jamieson, red; Jason Copeland, purple; William Fleming-Monroe, yellow; and Rene Wilson-Pierce, you’ll be in charge of the black and white trim work. After all, you are the professional artist, are you not?”

Getting a shy, nervous nod in response, Cliff grunted and led the way over to a white utility van. He handed a gallon of paint and a couple of brushes to each man, then gruffly issued final orders. “I won’t put up with any horsing around. I expect a good job, or else.” He stared from one man to another, daring them to ask what ‘or else’ meant. “I’ll be available if you need help or have questions. Now, go get started. You’ve got a full two days work ahead of you.”

The work crew divided into two groups with Rene, Kadyn and Kyler going towards one side of the playground equipment area and Cameron, Billy and Jason going to the other side.

“Any chance old man Richardson is a retired military sergeant?” Kadyn jokingly wondered out loud. It was a beautiful day and Kadyn was more than up to working outdoors. There was very little that actually got this particular young man down, as he found adventure in just about everything.

Kyler on the other hand, noticed the number of people hanging around behind the barriers that had been set up around the playground equipment and felt somewhat embarrassed. He’d be glad when this weekend was behind him. “He sounds like he might be,” Kyler quietly commented and shrugged his shoulders.

Rene nodded his head. “Yeah, I think he’s from the same military background as my father. Everything regimented, and heaven forbid you have a bit of fun while you work.”

He stood back and looked at the job ahead of them. There was a large climbing apparatus with swings, slides, a merry-go-round, a rope bridge, bouncy ride-on animals and teeter-totters. Each was painted a bright colour with black trim. However, to his artist’s eye they were boring and lacked originality. Rene had been working with the children at the day care and had grown to understand the things which excited and interested young kids. He felt if he was going do this job, he should put his expertise to use and make this a better place for the town’s children.

The only thing making him hesitate was the stalwart Cliff Richardson. If he were to take his ideas to the man, would they be shot down without consideration? But then again, if he went ahead and did it without asking, would he be in trouble?

He turned to Kadyn and Kyler. “Guys, I have an idea. What do you think about...?” He went on to tell them his thoughts and concerns, hoping they could provide some advice.

“Hey, I really like your ideas, Rene.” Kadyn was always supportive of his friend’s suggestions. “You can count me in. The super hinted at you using your artistic talent, didn’t he? So I say we should go for it.”

“Me too,” Kyler joined in. “Maybe if you do the outlines, the rest of us can fill them in. Bet the others will want to do it your way as well. Let’s go tell them about it before they start painting.”

Jay quietly took the pail of paint handed to him. He disliked purple. It was such an odd color to him but he decided to keep his opinion to himself as he followed his team-mates over to the jungle gym. “I thought a park was supposed to be alive and bright but these colors are dull and drab,” he mumbled to his fellow co-workers. He glanced over at the other team, then nudged Billy and Cameron. “Wonder what they’re up to?” he asked as the other two men followed the jerk his head to the other group.

Billy was highly disgruntled. “That does it,” he muttered under his breath. “I’m officially changing my name. William is my goddamn father.” His attention was distracted by Jay’s nudge and he looked up to see Kyler, Kadyn and Rene walking over.

‘Green,’ Cameron thought to himself, ‘of all the disgusting colours. I not only miss out on a day’s pay, I’m going to get covered in green paint.’ He glanced over at Jay’s question and grinned when he saw Kyler’s expression. His friend was obviously excited about something. “What’s up?” he asked when Kyler was within hearing range.

“Rene’s got some neat ideas for brightening this place up. It will sure beat just slopping paint over everything; provided we can get away with it.” Kyler’s eyes sparkled with anticipation as he shared this info. “I’ll leave it to Rene to tell us what he wants done.”

Rene began to detail his plans to all his new friends. “I work with a lot of kids at the day care centre and I know that they love anything to do with animals. So I was thinking about giving each piece of equipment an animal theme by painting them in the colours, spots, stripes, etcetera of various creatures. For instance, the slides could be painted in beige with the spots of a giraffe; the jungle gym orange with stripes of a tiger; the merry-go-round in white with black zebra stripes; the swings in off-white with leopard spots; and the teeter-totters in black and yellow stripes like a bumble bee. We’ve been supplied with all the primary colours along with black and white, so I can mix some to get any shades we’re missing. I think it would be very appealing to the children and make our park a show place. The only thing I’m worried about is how to handle this. Do we go to old Cliff and ask if it’s okay? Knowing his type, we’ll probably be told no. Or do we just go ahead and do it in hopes that once the project is done it will be accepted? Of course that puts us in the position of possibly being in further trouble if he doesn’t like it. Or do we just paint things the same as they’ve been painted every time since the park opened?”

“I say we just go ahead and do it!” Kadyn piped up enthusiastically. “It will sure make the job more interesting and look so much better when finished.” Glancing around to see where the ‘Boss’ was, Kadyn noticed him in deep conversation with Chandi and a couple of other older men. “He doesn’t seem to be paying us any attention, so if we quietly go about our business, it might take him a while to catch on to what we’re doing.”

“Kadyn’s right. I say we go for it,” Kyler added his two-cents worth.

“Great idea,” Cameron concurred with a grin crossing his face. “I get dibs on the tiger.”

“No way do we go to Old Grumpy about this,” Billy stated emphatically. “He’s a by-the-book man. Anyway, we ain’t doing this for him. We’re doing it for the kids.”

“We can paint some of the bouncy animals the colors they already are. There’s a gray elephant, a black panther and a muddy-looking hippo; all without faces. Jack’s got some cans of old spray paint left from when he painted the metal lawn furniture. Maybe I can snag those and bring them tomorrow,” Jay suggested. He looked over Rene shoulder and issued a warning. “Hey, we better get a move on before the boss-man wonders what we’re up to.”

Kyler grinned when he saw another man walking over to the truck. “No fear. Looks like he’s already having a coffee break from the number of cups on the tray that other guy is carrying. They’re probably sucking up to the Chief.” Kyler’s comments results in snickers from the rest of the work team.

“Then it’s best to start while they’re doing their own thing. Show us what you want done first, Rene, and we’ll follow your lead.” Kadyn was eager to get the activity underway.

“Okay, let’s go for it,” Rene agreed. They gathered up all the paint cans and a few empty plastic pails. Rene mixed some paints to achieve the desired shades and then gave out the instructions for putting on the base coat of colour for each animal print they would be doing, explaining that they needed to get all the base coats finished on Saturday so that the decorative spots and stripes could be added the next morning.

Rene took the can of white paint and began work on the merry-go-round. He looked over at Kadyn who was applying red paint to the sides of the covered bridge in long, smooth strokes. His friend’s shave head was now covered in a short stubbly growth. “I see you’re not keeping the bald look,” he teased. “Did Vincent not appreciate being partnered with a billiard ball?”

Kadyn grinned and wiped a hand across his head, leaving a couple of splotches of red paint behind. “He wasn’t exactly thrilled. But hey, it’ll grow back in soon enough.” “Well I don’t think Zack would have liked me shaving my head either. But between you and me, he umm...well he like the shaving I did do. He wants me to keep it like that.”

Kadyn burst out laughing over that comment, while Kyler, who had overheard part of what was said, snickered.

Kyler was busy slapping yellow paint on the teeter-totter. Tomorrow he would add the black stripes. He glanced over at Cameron who was more than generous in applying the orange paint to the jungle gym. “The way you’re splashing that around, Cam, you’re going home today with as much orange on you as you did last Saturday. There must be something about tigers that really appeals to you,” he teased his friend. “You’ve already got some splattered on your face and the front of your shirt.”

Cameron grinned back at his friend. No matter how bad his mood, Kyler could always make him smile. “Chad liked the tiger look,” he replied. “And I need some brownie points after having to do this when I'm supposed to be working. He was really good giving me last Saturday off, but today I don’t get paid for.” He looked down at himself. “At least the clothes are old and way out of date. Plus, I’m not turning myself off-white.” He looked towards Billy, who just grinned and stuck his tongue out.

“This is more fun than I thought it would be,” Billy commented as he liberally spread a thick coat of beige on the first of two slides in preparation for the spots that would be added later. “I can’t wait to see the kids’ faces when they see what we did. We just need to think of a way to keep the Boss man occupied when we get creative tomorrow. He’s got a stick so far up his butt, he can’t bend over.”

Cameron spluttered at the vision Billy had just given him.

“Billy, that’s not nice!” Jay was laughing hard and shaking his head even though he had been thinking the same thing. He started on the elephant, being as it was going take the most time. He gave it a gray primer coat, wanting it good and dry before he added the contrasting colour tomorrow. The panther and hippo were not going to take as much time, even though the hippo would also need some darker brown to enhance the lighter base coat. When he saw the merry-go-round spin, he smiled to himself and let out a small chuckle

The morning passed quickly and the young men were surprised when Chandi called them over to the picnic table under a shady tree. The Chief was carrying several large boxes from the local pizzeria and Officer Quinn was juggling half a dozen, extra-large tumblers of pop.

Kadyn jumped down from the perch he had been sitting on. He landed precariously and slipped in a small puddle of paint that had accidently found its’ way to the ground. Picking himself up, he laughed to discover that the seat of his cut-offs was now a bright yellow. “At this rate, I’ll look like a rainbow by the end of the day,” he joked to Rene.

Rene laughed good-naturedly as he joined his friends who were heading to the truck for their unexpected lunch. “Zack is constantly sending me to wash off paint. A career artist is never without paint splotches on some part of them.” He looked excitedly at the pizza and pop they were being offered. “Wow, this is really nice; thanks, Chief Barrett. Way better than the PB&J I’ve got in my bag.”

“I should have let you guys know that your meal would be provided. Sorry about that,” the handsome Chief apologized. “You’re doing some good work from what I can see. Don’t you agree, Cliff?”

Cliff merely grunted and helped himself to a slice of pizza. However, the painting team missed the wink he sent Chandi’s way. “Kadyn, you better sit on the grass unless you want to find yourself with extra work cleaning up that seat you’re about to use.”

Grabbing some food and one of the drinks, Kadyn merrily settled himself at the foot of the tree. He smiled when Kyler and Rene came over and sat with him.

“Hope you guys don’t mind if I take on the responsibility of doing the whole bridge,” Kadyn mumbled around a mouthful of food. “I’ve got plans for it; might just turn out to be my first masterpiece.”

Kyler snickered at that. “Well, I got the teeter-totter done, so after lunch I’ll work on the red posts and railings. It will leave the two tunnels to be painted purple and the swings to be primed with off-white. And of course, there are the little stairways and wooden paths to paint green. Then that should be it for today, right?” He grinned when he got vigorous nods of agreement from the two men sitting across from him. He got up and walked over to the table to get another piece of pizza. “What do you wanna work on next, Cam? Pick a colour, any colour,” he jokingly suggested to his friend.

“Not fussy,” Cameron replied. “I guess I could take care of the stairs and wooden paths. After all, I got allocated the green at the start of the day; unless you have a great desire to do them.” He was getting increasingly fed up with this whole thing and even Kyler couldn’t make his mood any brighter. He looked at his fingernails and wondered if he’d ever get them clean again.

Jay eyed the pizza as he took a bite of the sandwich Jack had sent with him. He loved pizza but he loved Jack more and didn’t want to hurt Jack’s feelings. However, he did manage to grab a few slices before it was all gone. He gave his painting partners a sly grin. “What? I’m a growing boy,” he said, tossing a potato chip at Billy.

“Thanks,” Billy laughed. “I’m still working on the slides. I think they’ll need another coat of the beige. They started life as bright yellow and that’s still showing in some places.”

“All right, boys; back to work!” Cliff hollered when the thirty minute break was over. He clapped his hands to get everyone’s attention.

“Thanks for the pizza, Chief. It went down well with the ham and cheese sandwich Vincent made for me.” Kadyn had a healthy appetite and would eat just about anything available. He threw his apple core into the trash and laughingly complained to no one in particular, “Wish he hadda packed some cookies though.”

As the work crew headed for the playground apparatus, Kyler spotted Hugh standing next to the fence that spectators had to stay behind, and ran over to him. “You checking up on me, Hugh?” he asked with a wide grin.

“Not exactly, Brat. I brought you the lunch you left on the kitchen counter. Guess it was a wasted trip.”

“No, it wasn’t. I’m glad you came.” Kyler threw his arms around his partner’s neck and hugged him. “Maybe we’ll get a break this afternoon and I can eat it then.”

“Sounds like a plan. I think I’ll hang around for a bit and watch you guys work. Meanwhile, you better get back to the job at hand.” Hugh kissed Kyler’s cheek and sent him on his way.

The painting continued to progress smoothly during the afternoon. Only a slight hitch occurred when a couple of the guys got into a giddy mood and started a game of mini-paintballs, using their brushes to flick different colours at each other. It ended up involving all of them, but was all in fun and came to a sudden end with a shrill whistle from Cliff. None of the Brats wanted the older man in their face, so they quickly calmed down and finished up.

Rene looked around at the work they’d done, as he was cleaning up and stowing his supplies for the day. Everything was looking great. He only hoped that old Cliff didn’t pay any attention to the colour changes they’d made. He bid his friends good-bye and began the short walk home. He wondered if he should tell Zack about the changes to the painting job they were doing. He knew his husband wouldn’t like him keeping secrets unless it was a good one, such as a surprise, would this qualify? It wasn’t that he thought Zack wouldn’t like his idea for the painting but he was afraid he’d insist that Rene talk to Cliff about it before hand and that he knew wouldn’t fly with his friends. Well all he could do was hope Zack just asked general questions that didn’t lead to details he’d rather not reveal yet.

“Can I give anyone a lift home?” Kyler offered. “I don’t mind going out of my way.”

“No, that’s cool,” Cameron answered. “I want to walk. I guess Chad’s at the lounge and I can at least help out. Probably wonderful jobs like cleaning the toilet,” he muttered the last under his breath.

“It’d be great if you would drop me home,” Billy replied. “Mace is on call so I have to make my own way home. I don’t think it’s too far out of your way, is it?”

“Not out of the way at all, Billy. What about you, Kadyn or Jason? Need a lift?”

“Came on my bike,” Jay told him as he unlocked his mountain bike from the rack. “But thanks anyway, dude.” He got on his bike and headed home.

“No thanks,” Kadyn responded to Kyler’s offer. He called out farewells to each of his friends as they left, and waited patiently for Vincent to pick him up. He grimaced when he looked down at himself and it hit him just how dirty he had gotten. ‘Hmm, wonder what Vince is gonna make of this?’ He shrugged nonchalantly while muttering, “What will be, will be.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Rene and Kadyn met at the park entrance early Sunday morning. “Looks like we’re the first ones here,” Kadyn announced.

“Yeah, looks like,” Rene agreed with a yawn. “I need another coffee. Zack pushed me out the door this morning, so I barely got my first one down. As much as I enjoy the painting, getting up this early on a Sunday morning really sucks.” He looked at his watch. “We’re a bit early. I’m gonna run to Tim Horton’s and grab a large double-double. You wanna come?”

“Ya don’t have to ask me twice. Let’s go!” Kadyn happily went along with his friend’s plan. He fell into step beside Rene and started talking about the day’s upcoming activity. “I’m eager to get back to painting that bridge today. Hope I get doesn’t take longer to do that the other stuff, cause I got lots in mind for it.” Kadyn glanced at his friend, a wide grin on his face. “Speaking of paint, how long did it take to get yesterday’s off ya?”

“Oh, no problem; I’m used to having paint on me. Though Zack did comment on the volume; doing this kind of work creates more mess than my usual, to say nothing of that little splatter fest we all got into!”

“Vincent made me throw out my old clothes and then he scrubbed almost half my skin off,” Kadyn exaggerated, scowling briefly before his grin reappeared. “But he kinda made up for being so rough later on.”

Rene laughed. “If I threw out my clothes every time I get paint on them, I’d be in the poor house!”

“Whatcha talkin’ about guys?” Kyler had seen them leaving the park when he was dropped off by Hugh and had deliberately stolen up to startle them. He laughed when his sudden appearance made them jump.

“Just about how we spent last evening,” Kyler answered.

“Well, I don’t know about you guys, but my back and shoulders were beginning to stiffen up by the time I got home. Must have been all the bending and stretching. But a nice long soak with Hugh and some reflexology from Patrick worked wonders,” Kyler almost purred at the memory.

“Reflexology, huh? That sounds nice. I guess that’s the advantage to being partnered to a doctor, cuz otherwise I wouldn’t thank you for it.” Rene shuddered. “Just having a dentist for a father-in-law is hard. I mean Todd’s the best and he did a great job when I had a bad tooth, but now it means I have to have regular dental check-ups with no chance of avoiding them. A medical doctor would be even worse!”

Kyler just shrugged and grinned while Kadyn vigorously nodded his agreement.

The three men picked up their coffees and headed back to the park just on time to see the Cliff Richardson and Chandi Barrett arrive.

“Hmm, wonder why old man Richardson is all dressed up?” Kadyn mused, taking another mouthful of his drink.

“Maybe he’ll tell us.” Kyler joked. “Looks like all the gang’s here,” he commented, pointing towards Billy and Jason who were approaching from the far side of the park. “Cameron may be another few minutes, seeing as he and Chad are having a bit of a conversation in Chad’s Ranger over there in the parking lot.”

“This sucks,” Cameron moaned for the hundredth time that morning. Chad, the eternally laid-back Top, just looked at his Brat for a good minute. Cameron turned red and mumbled, “I know, I know, it’s my own fault. But I had plans involving a clearing and a blanket.”

Chad smiled and patted the younger man’s knee. “I don’t think that clearing is going anywhere, Mugs.”

“I hate waiting,” Cameron muttered. “You know me; instant gratification. Oh well, maybe we’ll finish early and the plan can be put into motion.”

“You never know, babe. Now get a move on before someone has to come and drag you out of the Ranger.”

Chief Barrett waited patiently while Cameron sauntered over to them. “Okay fellas, listen up. The same rules are still in force; painting crew on the playground-side of the fence, on-lookers on the other side. There’s to be no visiting!” He looked pointedly at Kyler whose break in protocol had him running over to talk with one of his partners yesterday. “Again, anyone needing to use the men’s room will be escorted individually by either myself or Officer Quincy, who will be joining us shortly. We’ll be doing KFC for lunch, and Stewart from the bakery has treated us to some cookies. Right now, I think Cliff has a few words to say.”

Cliff looked over the group, pausing a moment to glare at Cameron who’d had the audacity to keep him waiting. Cameron just looked back. Only Chad could get him to look away and Cliff was no Chad. Cliff merely rolled his eyes, totally disinterested in getting into a staring match with any of the young hoodlums. “If you boys work well today, you should be finished shortly after your noon meal. And by the way, just so you know; the changes you made when applying the colours yesterday, did not go unnoticed.” He smiled inwardly when he recognized body language indicating embarrassment and apprehension. ‘I should let them sweat it out,’ he thought briefly before changing his mind. “I’m cutting you some slack because you’ve done a fairly decent job so far. I’m off to church and I expect you all to behave while I’m gone. Now get busy!” He winked at Chandi when the young men scurried to get the supplies out of the truck.

“Geesh, did he just compliment us? I wonder if it hurt,” Kadyn mused in a low voice and chuckled. He watched as Cliff walked away. “Guess not. ‘Cause he hasn’t burst into flames yet, and he isn’t rolling on the ground in agony or anything like that.”

Jason just shook his head. He was in a bad mood and didn’t want to be there. He hadn’t slept well and all he wanted was to be home in bed. “Just shut up, Kadyn! Why do you always have to say a smartass remark?”

Kyler saw Kadyn’s face fall. He reached over and grabbed Jason’s arm. “What the hell is your problem? Someone piss in your corn flakes? If so, there’s no need to take your shit frame of mind out on any of us, especially Kadyn.”

“Hey, it’s okay, Kyler,” Kadyn spoke quietly, trying to hide the fact that he had been hurt by Jason’s uncalled for remarks. Although he appreciated Kyler standing up for him, he didn’t want there to be any trouble. “Let’s just get done what has to be done, all right?” His eyes pleaded for Kyler’s cooperation.

Rene looked at Jason. Although he didn’t know the other man well, he recognized the signs of someone spouting off in an attempt to alleviate their own bad mood. “Jason, ya know none of us really want to be here. But since we’re stuck, how about we try and make the most of it. We can leave our mark on Jade Heights in a positive way. Maybe the gossips can stop talking about us as the guys that showed off their assets to every kid town, and talk about us as the guys who made the park a fun place for those kids.”

Jason jerked his arm out of Kyler’s hand. “For your information, I don’t eat corn flakes.” He then turned to see Rene in his way, so he had no choice but to listen to what the older man had to say. “All right, God I didn’t mean anything by it. But hell, he’s just so grrrr…” He waved his arms out for a minute and almost hit Rene with the bag of spray paint as he pushed past him to head over to where he was supposed to be. He felt bad about snapping at the kid, but hell he could be so irritating.

“Hey guys, let’s just calm down and finish this off.” Billy stepped in to help Rene smooth the rough waters. “Kadyn, you have a masterpiece to finish, right? I’ve got the slides that need spots and Cameron has strips to put on the jungle gym as soon as our local artist gets the colours mixed.” He smiled over at Rene. “Guess you and Kyler know what you’re gonna work on.”

Cameron was glaring at Jason. He was in an equally bad mood but at Billy’s words, he turned to Kyler. “Let’s just get this done, while tight-ass is in church.”

Although tempers seemed to be settling as fast as they had flared, Chandi nevertheless stepped over to prevent anything else starting up. “Take it easy, guys. It’s all right to joke around but there’s no need for anyone to over-react.” He saw the bag in Jason’s hand and called out to him. “Jason, what do you have there?”

Jay rolled his eyes. ‘Now what!’ he thought as he retraced his steps back to the police chief. “Just spray paint,” he grumbled, holding open the bag. “What’s the big deal?” he snapped without thinking. He wasn’t use to cops being nice. ‘Today is going to be a blast.’ He kept his thoughts to himself as he waited for Chandi to comment. He didn’t like the cops in Vancouver and to him, this one was no different.

“Drop the attitude, no one is impressed by it. Hand over the bag, please.” Chief Barrett held out his hand and snapped his fingers. “Sorry, Jason, but only the paint provided by the town is to be used. It is a special non-toxic formula especially developed for children’s playground equipment. I’ll just hold onto this and you can pick it up when you leave.”

Jason scowled at him as he handed over the requested item. “I wasn’t trying to impress anyone, but considered it dropped,” he muttered. ‘Yeah, it’s going to be a grand day,’ he thought as he waited to be told to what to do next.

“Wait here a moment, please,” Chandi instructed. “The rest of you can gather up what supplies you need and start work.” He waited while Rene mixed paint and doled out numerous small cans of colour to each of his workmates. Five young men set about their work, leaving Jason behind. Chandi turned and eyed Jason for a minute or two. He was beginning to suspect he was dealing with a fellow Brat, and a very unhappy one at that. “You are obviously out of sorts and presently lack the ability to play nice. So rather than take a chance on your mood having a negative affect on the others, here is what’s going to happen. You are going to finish off the three bouncy rides you worked on yesterday, then you are going to come back over here and call your partner to come pick you up. It shouldn’t take you much more than an hour. Now get a move on!” Chandi’s voice clearly conveyed he was losing his patience.

The Chief of Police and Officer Quincy stood shoulder to shoulder, keeping a watchful eye on their young charges. They watched as the various designs took shape, almost appearing to come alive.

“Those guys are doing a bang up job of this, aren’t they?” Paul mused, somewhat astonished by what he was seeing. He chuckled when he heard a mumbled agreement from his superior.

Kadyn leaned the ladder against the side of the bridge and climbed up carrying his brush and a can of white. He meticulously painted fluffy clouds on the see-through roof that he had done in a pale blue yesterday. He was actually enjoying himself. Although he’d never be anywhere near the artist his best friend was; he could still enjoy creating beautiful scenes for the children who would be playing here.

The jumping toys were the first to be completed. It was almost an hour later, when Jason stomped over to them. He still looked far from happy even though he had done a good job of the task he had originally assigned himself.

Jay waited until the Chief noticed him before speaking. “Since you are sending me home, can I pick up my attitude where I dropped it? And can I have my spray paint back too?” He had a smug look on his face. “Also, I rode my bike so no need to be picked up.” He held out his hand for the bag.

Not liking the look he was getting, Jay dropped his arm to his side and took a deep breath. “Look, I’m sorry for the crap I gave you all this morning. It was uncalled for.” He took a deep breath. “May I stay and finish out my sentence with the guys? It’s not fair to them if I get sent home because I’m being an ass.” He really did think it was unfair he got to go home and they had to finish without him.

“By all means, Jason; you are more than welcome to stay. I think those two tunnels can use a second coat.” Chandi smiled as he reached into the back of the supply truck, pulled out a large can of purple paint and handed it to Jason. “I know I can depend on you to do as good a job with this as you did with the elephant, panther and hippo.” He raised an eyebrow to quell any retort the young man might be planning to come back with. “Thank you, Jason,” Chandi added, a touch of kindness and sympathy in his voice.

“No problem, dude, and thanks for understanding.” Jay gave the Chief a weak grin as he took the paint. “It just had to be purple,” he grumbled as he walked back to the playground apparatus.

“I can help you out,” Billy offered. “I’m done with the giraffe slide. How about a Purple People Eater?” he suggested to Jay with a smile. “Just shut up and come with me,” he spoke softly to Jay under his breath. “Cameron is almost as pissed as you are. The best we’ve got out of him is a grunt.”

Rene put the finishing touch on his zebra-striped merry-go-round and stood back to assess his creation. It had taken years of work throughout his university art classes to learn when to stop painting and call a piece finished. He was his own worst critic, always finding small faults and wanting to go back and touch them up. His professor had actually threatened to tie his hands behind his back when he finished a piece and make him learn to assess his work with less a search for perfection and more a search for artistic beauty. However, he was finally at the point where he could accept that what he saw as imperfections were considered by others to be a part of what made his work unique.

Satisfied that he had created something the children could enjoy, he sealed up some of the leftover paint and went to see how Kadyn was coming along with his bridge creation. He admired the sky-scape, though he had to laugh at the blobs of white paint that had dripped on Kadyn’s very short hair. “If you wanted to do more body painting, buddy, you shoulda told me. I’d have been happy to help.”

Kadyn laughed as he slid down the ladder to stand next to his friend. “I think by the time we finish up here, I’ll have had my fill of painting anything for a good long while.” Glancing around, he commented with a note of awe. “Wow, it’s all coming together just grand. Gotta love Cam’s tiger and Billy’s giraffes; your zebras are fantastic! Some still need faces added, huh? I’m gonna start painting grass and flowers on the red walls of this bridge. I made need your help with some of it. I’ll just give you a shout if I get in over my head, okay?”

Rene nodded his support and set about painting faces on the presently faceless animals while finishing highlights were being added by his fellow painters. They all took time every so often to stop what they were doing to admire and praise each other’s handiwork.

“At the rate you’re going, Kadyn, you’ll have used every colour to do your creation,” Kyler teased when taking a closer look at the young man’s work.

Cliff arrived back shortly before noon bearing gifts in the way of lunch. He stopped short when he saw the work that had been done in his absence. “What the hell is all that?” he enquired, an expression of shock on his face. He glanced at the two police officers and groaned when he saw wide grins on their handsome faces. “Humph, I wouldn’t be surprised to find out the pair of you were in cahoots with our group of hooligans.” The edge was taken off his scolding by the sparkling flecks of amusement in his brown eyes.

“It seems a lot of others also like the new concept.” Chandi nodded his head in the direction of the fence where a large group of spectators had gathered to watch the artwork unfold. “We’ve attracted twice the crowd that we had yesterday.”

Almost all the painting was complete. It was a wild array of colour with jungle animals that smiled greetings at anyone who looked at them. Four of the work crew was standing back watching Rene and Kadyn who were still working on the walls of the bridge.

“God, I wonder who came up with that scenery idea?” Cliff grumbled some, but more in order to maintain his façade than because he was really annoyed. He shook his head when Chandi and Paul burst out laughing. They’d both seen through him. Putting the packages down on the large picnic table, he gruffly ordered, “You may as well call the boys over here and get them fed.”

Six young men apprehensively made their way over to the older men. Having seen Cliff’s return, they fully expected to have his wrath come down on them hard. They were in for a pleasant surprise.

“You boys have done a great job with that equipment. It’s inspirational and I’m sure it will now be a lot more appealing for the children to play on.” Looking Rene squarely in the face, Cliff continued. “Bet I’m right in guessing you initiated the whole scheme.” He smiled at the blush of embarrassment that spread across Rene’s cheeks. “Of course, you couldn’t have done it with out the help of a good team.” His smile expanded to include all of them. “Your imagination and efforts to do your best have definitely made my weekend worthwhile and restored my faith in the younger generation. Now stop gaping at me like fish out of water and eat up before that chicken gets cold!”

Kyler closed his mouth, only to open it again to take a big bite out of the fried chicken breast he held in his hand. He had been floored by Cliff’s praise.

Kadyn blinked as Cliff’s words sank in and a big smile brightened up his paint- speckled face. “Whoa, man, who’da thought? He really, really likes it” He grabbed up a chicken leg as he turned to Rene to see his friend’s take on what had been said.

Rene was grinning widely. “I really hoped he would. I know he comes across as a grump, but what’s not to like about making a children’s park friendlier?”

Cameron just grunted as he reached for something to eat. He’d really enjoyed painting the tiger for the kids, but he wasn’t ready to be sociable.

Jay fixed his plate and went to sit under the tree. He felt if he sat with the guys and Kadyn said something smart, he would say something to hurt his feelings again. Shaking his head, he took a tentative bite. KFC was not his choice of food but it filled the pit.

Billy couldn’t quite believe it when he heard Cliff’s praise. ‘Maybe he’s not so bad after all,’ he thought to himself. He felt good about him and Jay having taken the extra time to add a flowery vine to the sides of each tunnel. He looked around in time to see Jay go off by himself and shrugged. He’d done his best for his friend, so he turned to apply himself to the KFC. Mason didn’t allow it in the household and he intended to enjoy this break in his diet.

“Okay, listen up guys!” Chandi waited until he had everyone’s attention. “As soon as you’ve eaten your fill, you can gather up the debris and clean your brushes. Once everything has passed Cliff’s inspection, you’re free to go. Those of you who are being picked up can call home now and let your partners know you’ll be ready in about an hour. And before you say anything, Jason, I do remember you telling me you rode your bike over.”

“We’re allowed to leave early? Right on, man!” Kyler didn’t have to be told twice. He pulled his cell out of his pocket and began to dial home. He grinned when he saw a couple of the other guys doing the same thing.

“I better make that a bit longer than an hour,” Kadyn mused, holding his phone to his ear and bouncing impatiently as he waited for Vincent to answer. “I’ve got a few more things to do in order to complete my so-called masterpiece.” He smirked when he heard Rene’s chuckle.

Rene opened his cell to call Zack. His husband was at home, working on the books for the pharmacy. Their usual Sunday morning habit of lying in bed, reading the paper and making love, had been curtailed by Rene’s enforced community service. The younger man was hoping they could at least make up for some of that loss in the afternoon.

Cameron was straight onto his phone. “Chad, please come and get me. We’re being released early. Pack up the picnic blanket. I’ve got plans involving it and a certain clearing.”

Billy was also on his phone. “Mason, can you come and pick me up. I want to use one of my vouchers.”

When he saw the other guys get up, Jay made his way over to the table. “Kadyn, can I talk to you for a minute?” he requested, wondering how the younger man would respond.

“Sure thing,” Kadyn noticed the others slowly making their way back to the playground. He wasn’t exactly thrilled about being left behind on his own with Jason. His fingers tightened around the paper plate containing scraps that he had scrunched up to throw in the garbage while he waited for his antagonist to speak.

It didn’t take a fool to notice that Kadyn was nervous. “Relax, I’m not going to bite,” Jay told him, taking a deep breath. “I’m sorry for being such an ass this morning. I had no right snapping at you like that. It’s up to you, but I’d still like to be friends.” Jay held out his hand.

Picking up a note of sincerity in the other man’s voice, Kadyn accepted the extended hand and shook it. “Don’t sweat it,” he good-humouredly advised before running off to join the others.

Jay smiled. ‘That guy is way too hyper,’ he thought as he made his way over to the other guys.

Cliff was slowly walking around and closely inspecting the completed artwork. He couldn’t help smiling at the animals; the wide grins painted on them were contagious. “Great work, boys. You’ve really outdone yourselves. Maybe next year, you can volunteer to do it instead of having to as a result of causing mischief. Now just what do you feel you have left to do, Kadyn?”

“Ah, I’d like to paint a parrot on each wall of the bridge. If Rene will draw them for me, I can fill them in.”

“Sure, I’d be happy to,” Rene offered. “Just show me where you want them.” As he began the outline of the first parrot, his mind wandered over what Cliff had said about volunteering. The town had numerous public facilities that could use a bit of artistic flare. He’d seen some towns that had painted their fire hydrants to look like Dalmatians and wondered what he could come up with for a hydrant. Then there was the senior’s community centre that could some sprucing up. Yeah, there was a lot of potential.

“All right,” Cliff approved Kadyn’s plan. “The rest of you can collect the paint cans, rags and brushes, and take them back to the truck. Then get out of here. And I don’t expect to see any of you in disgrace on one of my work details again.”

Kyler, Cameron, Billy and Jason were quick to follow this last order and soon had the playground area cleared of painting supplies.

“Kyler, someone’s waiting for you!” Officer Quincy’s voice carried across the compound from where he and Chandi were standing by the exit leading to the parking lot.

A rushed goodbye to his friends and Kyler was off. “Hi Guys!” he hollered as he ran over to his partners. “We’re free! We’ve served our time and paid our debt to society.” Hugh and Patrick had promised to take him to the lake for a picnic if the community service was completed with enough time to spare. He was over-heated and sweaty, and definitely looking forward to a refreshing swim followed by whatever else came to mind. With luck, that activity would necessitate a second cooling-off time in the water.

Chad arrived minutes later and Cameron was never so glad to beat a hasty retreat.

“Did you bring the blanket?” he asked anxiously as he climbed into the Ranger.

“As if I’d dare forget,” Chad chuckled and leaned over to kiss his Brat. He knew exactly what his lover had in mind.

“See you around, guys,” Jason called as he walked to where he’d left his bike. “I am so outa here.”

Billy hopped into Mason’s truck when he turned up. He kissed his husband and murmured, “Missed you. Take me home and fuck me senseless.”

About half an hour later, Jack turned up on a motorcycle. He’d been working on getting his license in secret and wanted to surprise his Brat. “Where’s Jay?” he asked Cliff who was closest to the gate. On hearing that Jay had been let go early, he remounted the bike and roared off in pursuit.

With the last of the painting finally done, Rene and Kadyn tied up the trash bags and closed the back doors of the van. They turned to find Zack standing behind them.

The public had been barred from entering the fenced-in area of the playground. However, Chief Barrett did permit those with good cause to do so. Zack was one of them.

“I bet you’re both glad to have that over with,” Zack commented. He chuckled at the two of them covered in a multitude of colourful spots. His smile softened when he looked at his husband’s beautiful face.

“Hi!” Rene smiled at Zack’s arrival. He never failed to feel a thrill of excitement when his husband appeared. Just knowing he belonged to this incredible man was enough to get his pulse racing. “I’m sure glad we’re done for today, but I do have some ideas for other projects I’d like to share with you later.”

“I hear there’s someone needing a drive home,” Vincent’s voice teased as he walked up to them. He too had been given permission to enter. He paused to glance over his partner and shook his head. “You’re a real paint-magnet, Kadyn. Not quite as bad as yesterday though, so we might be able to save that outfit. At least we can keep it for any future activities that involve painting.”

“Vince, you gotta see the neat stuff we did!” Kadyn exclaimed after hugging his partner to show without words how happy he was to see him. He took the bigger man’s hand and began dragging him across to the newly-painted equipment.

Zack and Rene followed at a more leisurely pace.

“Looks like you guys are going to have your artistic talents splashed across the front page after all, Rembrandt.” Zack pointed to a photographer for the Jade Heights’ local newspaper taking pictures while a woman wrote down notes. “I wonder what Kadyn is telling them?” He smiled at the sight of a paint-splattered young man bouncing on the balls of his feet and excitedly waving his arms while imparting bits of what he apparently considered newsworthy information.

Zack’s curiosity was satisfied when the other couple joined them and Kadyn excitedly shared his news.

“I gave the reporter all the details and she’s gonna write up a story,” Kadyn announced, rather pleased with himself. “But I told her the whole scheme was your idea, Rene, and that the rest of us just went with the flow. We’re gonna have our names in the paper. There’s even gonna be pictures of our work.”

Rene was beaming. This is what his art should be about. Not the praise, but the enjoyment and pleasure it might give to those who viewed it.

“At least it’s the public playground and not something more personal and private.” Zack quipped and ruffled his lover’s hair.

Rene, Vincent, and Kadyn joined in the laughter as they headed out the gate.

The End

Swapping Stories

2009-09-20T04:49:00.000-07:00

Co-written by: Mel, Jo, Carol and LJ

“I hope most the guys are here, Vince,” Kadyn commented as Vincent drove into the small lot next to Billy’s garage. “There’s Rene’s car and Kyler’s. But then they left them here yesterday, so that isn’t necessarily a sign that they’ve returned for the clean-up yet.”

“If they haven’t, I am sure they’ll be here soon. Meanwhile, out you go and I’ll be back to pick you up when I get your call.” With that, Vincent leaned over and kissed his partner’s cheek. “For heaven’s sake, try to stay out of trouble.” He sounded stern but Kadyn saw the twinkle in his eye.

Kadyn hopped out and stood to one side, waving goodbye. Just as Vincent pulled away, Chad’s Ranger appeared and Cameron was dropped off.

“Hi,” Cameron greeted. He was not happy. Sunday was a Chad/Cameron day and he’d lost the argument to keep it that way. Chad’s comment of ‘You helped make the mess, now you help clean it’ ended the conversation.

“Hi, yourself; I see you’re no longer a ‘tiger’,” Kadyn laughed as the two of them walked towards the building. He held open the door for the other man to enter and followed him. “Guess we’re the last to arrive,” Kadyn needlessly announced when they saw Billy, Rene, Kyler, and Jason standing there.

Cameron looked around and scowled slightly. “I thought we cleaned up this place,” he exclaimed, seeing the cans and bottles of empty and half-empty beer strewn around the garage. He saw containers of paint and the odd sponge or two discarded in the corners.

Billy looked sourly at him. “This place is a mess,” he replied. “I guess being drunk doesn’t help when you’re cleaning.”

“Nah, we were probably seeing double so we just clean up the wrong mess,” Jay commented with a grin. As he bent over to pick up a pile of brushes, he winced when his jean tightened up around his very sore backside. ‘This is going to be so much fun,’ he thought as he stood up in a hurry.

“Well the longer we stand around talking about it, the longer it will take to clean up,” Kyler added his two-cents worth. “And I don’t know about you guys, but I got plans later.” He grabbed up carton and started putting empty beer bottles in it. His rear end was still causing him some discomfort and that slowed down his movements.

“Well to be fair to ourselves, guys, we did plan on returning here after our ‘marketing research’.” Rene added a somewhat sarcastic laugh. “After all, none of us exactly planned on being arrested when we left.”

As he joined in the picking up, Rene made his way over to Kadyn and quietly asked, “You get in a lot of trouble with Vincent?” He emphasized his question with a discrete rub over his backside. “Zack wasn’t too impressed with me being arrested, though he did like the art work.”

Kadyn sent his friend a faint grimace. “Like isn’t that a given? Vince thought you did a grand job of the painting though. Once he calmed down enough to actually look at it. And I really appreciate all the hard work you did.” He stuffed another bit of trash into the bag he was holding. “Wonder who’s gonna get roped into cleaning the shower? We shouldn’t have to, ‘cause we didn’t use it.”

Billy noticed Jay’s expression when he bent over and decided to give his friend a break. “Cameron,” he called over to the younger man. “We used the shower, so I think we should be the ones to unclog it. Jay, why don’t you clean up the workbench?” he suggested.

Cameron opened his mouth and then closed it again. He was already annoyed at his usual Sunday with Chad being interrupted, but after his argument with his lover this morning, he had resolved to get the cleaning done as quickly as humanly possible. Arguing would only add to the time he had to spend in the garage. He was wearing a loose pair of sweats, so the pain he felt when he bent to help Billy was not obvious to the casual observer.

Billy kept silent as he and Cameron worked on the shower. The sting he had felt after Mason spanked him had all but disappeared. He knew Jay was hurting and a couple of the others were moving slower than they had the previous day and Billy wondered how the hell he’d been let off so easy.

Kyler stepped closer to the shower enclosure. “You guys doing okay? Did your partners enjoy your artwork?” He knew he couldn’t have been the only one to get in trouble, but he wasn’t about to come right out and ask.

Cameron smiled as he straightened up. “Chad loved the tiger, but made sure he made his displeasure known about the streaking,” His hand unconsciously strayed towards his butt. “He said if I ever did something like that again, he’d use a hairbrush.”

Billy couldn’t help but respond to that. “Speaking from experience, I wouldn’t push your partner. A paddle or the back of a hairbrush hurts a hell of a lot more than a hand. And if you see a wooden spoon come out, beg.” He grinned at the other two men.

Kyler looked from one to the other. “Patrick liked the designs on my body, but like Chad, had plenty to say about the streaking. Hugh doesn’t know anything about yesterday yet. He’s been in Vancouver since Friday.”

“So if Patrick dealt with it, do you think Hugh is going to continue the discussion?” Cameron asked.

“Two Tops,” Billy muttered. “I really can’t get my head around it.”

“Nah, I don’t think so. Patrick only used his hand and didn’t threaten me with anything else.”

“I got off pretty easy,” Billy admitted. “I fully expected the paddle; instead he spanked me. It stung for a couple of hours, but I can sit comfortably today, which is really unusual.” Billy was not going to continue and say he was slightly sore for a whole different reason.

“Maybe you did get off easy, but Jay sure looks like he didn’t,” Kyler commented, feeling bad for the other man. “Oh, and having two Tops does have its’ advantages.” He smirked at his friends.

“Jack is pretty strict,” Billy replied. “And Jay was on an alcohol restriction, so he was in double jeopardy.”

“Ouch,” Cameron winced. “I’m guessing no one got grounded. I truly thought I wouldn’t be allowed out until I was thirty. Chad is pretty laid back but he does have limits.”

Kyler shrugged his shoulders. “I know I’m not grounded, but I can’t speak for anyone else. Hmm, I wonder if being grounded would have got us out of our community service next weekend.”

Both Cameron and Billy laughed and without looking at each other chorused, “No way!”

“I don’t mind doing my fair share of the cleaning up; I just wish we didn’t have to do it today. I’d much rather have spent it with my partner......partners when Hugh gets home this afternoon.”

“You and me both,” Cameron griped. “Sunday is a day Chad and I spend together, but he insisted I had to do my part. After last night, I wasn’t going to push the issue.” He looked at Billy who was looking a little annoyed at the discussion. “I’m sorry, Billy, but the truth is the truth.”

“If I had to do this myself, I’d be here all bloody day, mate. Besides, it wasn’t my idea to get together; it was Mason’s.”

“I guess what makes it worse is that we won’t be able to make plans for next Sunday either,” Kyler reminded them.

“Oh shit!” Cameron leaned back against the wall and when his butt advised him this wasn’t wise, he yelped.

“Well less talk will go a long way in getting this mess taken care of faster. I’ll leave you guys to it and get more bottles packed up,” Kyler offered and turned to make his way back to the main area of the garage.

“He’s talking sense,” Cameron said and turned back to the shower. Billy shrugged and knelt down with the drain cleaner in hand.

Rene sighed as he knelt to scrub some paint splatters off the floor. Though his backside wasn’t really sore, it was still a bit tender and bending like this irritated it. He put his hands back to adjust his pants over the sensitive skin. At the same moment he glanced over at Jason and caught him rubbing at his own butt. When their eyes met Rene thought he saw recognition dawn in the other man’s face.

Kadyn’s eyes followed Rene’s and he saw his expression when the other man clued in to Jason’s predicament. “Psst, Rene. You get the feeling we’re not the only ones dealing with tender butts?” He kept his voice lowered as he knelt down to help his friend with the paint removal. Looking towards the shower, he raised a questioning eyebrow. “What do you think the possibilities are that we’re all in the same boat?”

Rene kept his voice soft as he replied. “I’m beginning to wonder if we need a bigger boat.”

“Hmm,” Kadyn softly chuckled. “Maybe we should really consider starting that Brats’ Support Group after all, Rene. There just might be more of us here in Jade Heights. I mean, who’d a thought there’d be six of us to begin with?” Kadyn softly spoken comments immediately had him and his friend laughing uproariously. They were unaware of Jason staring at them.

Jay couldn’t help but over hear the laughter and wonder about the conversation that was going on between the two men several feet away from him. He felt his face burn when he realized Rene saw him rub his backside, wishing now he wore a pair of shorts or sweats to do the clean up in.

“Is there something about me you guys find funny?” he questioned. He couldn’t help but think that maybe his sore butt had provided their entertainment.

“Funny? We don’t find anything funny, just well...familiar,” Rene assured.

“We didn’t mean anything by it, Jay. We were talking about what we guessed is the state of affairs for all of us here,” Kadyn apologetically offered. He stepped back and bumped into an oil drum he hadn’t noticed behind him. “Oww!” he yelped and rubbed at the seat of his sweats as a tell-tale blush spread over his cheeks. “Told ya,” he grinned when Jason smirked at him.

Jason relaxed when he realized he and Billy were not the only ones in their special kind of relationship. “Try this, Rene; it cleans up anything. It will easily take care of that larger spill.” He handed Rene a can of cleaning agent.

Rene took the offered can and began to work with it. “Thanks, Jay, this is a lot easier. I’m gonna be glad to be done with this so I can get home soon.”

Bending down so he could help with the larger spill, Jason gave Rene a shy grin. “Works for me.”

“All the beer bottles are picked up, boxed and ready to cash in. Billy should get a tidy sum for all of them from the exchange depot,” Kyler informed them as he put the last filled carton on the pile by the front door.

“You wanna help me with these tarps, Kyler?” Kadyn requested and smiled when the other man nodded. He handed two corners to one of the awkward items to Kyler and they folded them up in a manner similar to folding bed sheets, before returning all six to the shelves where they were usually kept.

With that job out of the way, Kyler merrily commented, “Looks like we’re just about finished in here.”

His announcement coincided with Billy and Cameron coming out of the now cleaned shower area. Rene’s sigh of relief could be heard when he muttered that he’d finally got all the paint off the floor.

It hadn’t taken as long as the guys feared for the garage to be back to its’ original state. Most their personal belongings had been put in their cars and five of the young men were presently standing out of the way so Billy could back in the vehicles he would be working on tomorrow.

“While I’d admit to being a little scared at the cop shop and that I could have happily survived without Vincent walloping my butt, this whole painting thing has been a blast.” Kadyn grinned broadly as he packed his camera into his backpack with his clothes from yesterday. He straightened up and slung the bag over his shoulder. The youngest of those present, he was in all likelihood also the most ingenuous and care-free. His energetic, devil-may-care attitude resulted in him literally thriving on mischief. “We gotta do this again someday.”

“Minus the streaking and spanking thing,” Cameron dryly replied. “I really don’t have a death wish and Chad’s hairbrush can stay right where it is.”

Billy overheard Cameron as he got out of one of the trucks. “Your partner only uses his hand?” he asked curiously. “Mason introduced me to a paddle pretty early.” He was fascinated by other people in discipline partnerships. It had been a new idea to him when Mason had suggested it.

“I not only got introduced to the paddle, I got it last night,” Jay admitted softly. “I got the belt once and never want to feel it again.” He trembled slightly as he remembered it.

“So far, neither of my Tops has used an implement to punish me. But Hugh does have a paddle,” Kyler added matter-of-factly, “and has told me he’d use it if I endangered myself or someone else.”

“Vincent also only uses his hand; which I might add, can do some damage. I think I’d be running for the hills if he came near me with anything else.” Kadyn shuddered at the mere thought of his Top using a paddle.

“I never thought about implements much,” Rene added. “But I don’t think Zack would ever use one. Besides, his hand is way hard enough, thank you!” He shook his head in amazement as he looked around the room. “I just can’t believe we all have Tops for partners. I mean what are the odds? Must be something in the water!”

“I don’t know,” Kyler laughed. “After all, Patrick, Mason and Jackson are all from around here, while, Hugh, Zack, Vincent and Chad are from other parts of the country. What I find interesting is how all these relationships came into being. I mean how did the six of us even agree to our partners disciplining us in the first place?”

“Vincent and me never really discussed it much. He just kinda told me it was the way it had to be and I was okay with it. I figured it was either that or Vincent being on Valium most days. So the big guy took on the job of teaching me to be less impulsive. Course, he’s dreaming big time and probably doomed to failure. I keep telling him intense thinking gives me a headache and I try to steer clear of it whenever possible.” True to form, Kadyn was unable to take himself or life overly serious.

“When the subject first came up, my partners and I discussed it into the ground. But the final decision was mine and I wasn’t coerced into it in any way. My two guys help me stay focused. If it wasn’t for Hugh and Patrick, I’d more than likely still be at university trying to finish my degree. In addition, they also make me feel safe and cared for,” Kyler softly commented. All and all, he considered himself rather fortunate.

“Chad and I didn’t really discuss it. He just said he was a Top and head of our household, pure and simple. I’d done some reading and realised I wanted that kind of relationship. So we just developed ours around those principles. Recently he suggested we could stop it, but I really objected. I mean I hate being spanked but it makes me feel safe to know he’ll call me on my behaviour.” Cameron felt the men around him would understand those feelings. Thinking of Chad, made him realize he wanted to get home and figured it was as good a time as any to let his partner know he was ready to be picked up.

Rene, feeling emboldened by the others, decided to add his story. “Zack told me up front he believed a family worked better when there was a definite head of house who makes the final decisions. He also told me he believed strongly in discipline relationships, cuz he’d seen them work. Growing up in my family there was a lot of yelling and fighting. I didn’t want to live like that, so I figured Zack’s idea had to be better. Now that I’m living it, I can honestly say he was right.”

Billy laughed. “Mason and I talked about it and I agreed to it. I was working really hard burning the candles at both ends and he reigned me in; made sure I didn’t burn myself out. He’d been involved in DP’s before, so I just asked as many questions as I wanted. And it was partly my decision to allow the paddle for serious offences.”

“I’d once been in an abusive DP,” Jay informed his friends. “Jack wanted a DP and I wanted to give it another try, so we agreed to do it. Pretty simple,” he grinned.

“Well I don’t know about the rest of you, but I wanna get home ASAP. Hugh is due back soon and I’d like to be there when he arrives.” Kyler grabbed up his armful of personal belongings. “Just wish he had been around to see the neat paint job you did on me, Rene.”

Rene laughed. “I’m glad you liked the art, if not the consequences!”

“Hey, Kyler, if you give me a lift home and can spare a few minutes, I’ll burn all the pictures we took yesterday onto a CD for you,” Kadyn generously suggested. “Then you can show them to Hugh. I just have to give Vince a call to let him know he doesn’t have to come get me. I’ll make copies for everyone else during the week and hand them out next weekend.”

“Thanks, Kadyn, I’ll gladly take you up of your offer. Geesh, I almost forgot about the community service again. Nuts, that’ll be another Sunday shot to hell.” Kyler started heading for his car. “So long, everyone; see you all next Saturday bright and early.”

“Chad’s here, so I’m heading out now too, guys,” Cameron announced as he followed behind Kyler. “See you at the lounge tomorrow, buddy.”

“You bet,” Kyler responded, opening the driver’s door of his car. “You coming, Kadyn?” he hollered.

“Yeah, yeah, be right there! See you at the shop for coffee , Rene.” Kadyn smiled at his friend and then turned to run after Kyler, pausing long enough to shout over his shoulder. “Thanks for the use of your garage, Billy. Bye all!”

“No worries,” Billy called back. “Let’s get together again sometime.”

“I’d like that, now we all know we have something in common to talk about,” Rene added with a laugh. “I’d better go too. Zack’s waiting for me. Bye!”

“Well, looks like there’s just the two of us left. I want to hang around and tinker if it’s all right with you,” Jason said as he watched Billy lock up.

“Great! Then I won’t be working on my truck alone. You know, Kadyn’s right……this weekend was a blast!” Billy added with a wide grin. “Yep, we really gotta do it again sometime.”

The End

Body Paint

2009-08-17T06:33:00.001-07:00

Co-Written by Jo, Carol, Mel, Tarabeth and LJ

(Note: The body painting plot was suggested by Tarabeth and we are all so grateful she came up with it and thought to share it with us.)

Billy was giggling as he paged through the website he’d found. “Hey Jay,” he called out. “Come and look at this. It’s really cool.”

‘Probably more cute kitten pictures,’ Jason thought, grabbing a shop towel and wiping his hands off as he went over to see what Billy was looking at. “Wow! Hey, that’s cool!” He tilted his head to one side and then laid his chin on Billy’s shoulder for a better look. “But what is it?” he asked, trying to figure out what he was looking at. He’d seen a lot of strange things that people did with their bodies, but nothing like this.

“It’s body art,” Billy replied. “People paint themselves. It’s kind of an art form. I’d like to try it out. I wonder if there’s anyone in town with experience in this kind of thing? I’d love to surprise Mason.” He grinned wickedly. “We’ve only got chocolate body paint at home.”

“Sounds like fun.” Jason’s smile was also a wicked one. “There’s a guy who did Christmas art on Jack’s windows. I think he’s married to the Pharmacist. Maybe he might know someone,” he mused, trying to remember his name. “I can’t think of his name, but he’s real good. He’s also the one who does the murals around town.” He moved the web page down to check out the pictures.

“What about that model, Cameron?” Billy suggested. “The one who works in the lounge; bet he knows about it. Let’s go see him. It’s not like we’re busy at the moment. I can close early for once.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Body art?” Cameron looked at Billy and Jason curiously. “Why do you want to know about that? Sure, I did it once for an ad campaign. It was fun. You know, I think I saw some body paint in the store the other day when I was shopping but I've no idea why the ‘Forget-Me-Nots’ store was selling it.“ Cameron’s head tilted to one side as he smiled at the picture coming into his mind. “It would really be fun to do it. I could give Chad one hell of a surprise.”

Billy blinked in surprise as he remembered his own comment back at the garage.

“We’ll need to find a couple of artists,” Cameron pointed out. “I’ll ask Kyler when I see him next.”

Kyler unwittingly chose that moment to walk into lounge. It was a Wednesday morning and the day of the week he updated the books for Kipper and Chad. He waved at Cameron who was standing behind the bar and gave a friendly nod to the two men talking to his friend.

“Can I rope Kyler in?” Cameron asked.

Billy shrugged. “Sure, fine by me.”

“Looks like you guys are having a meeting or something,” Kyler teased. “Anything up?” He wondered what had brought Billy and Jay to the pool hall during working hours.

Cameron smiled at Kyler. “These two found some body painting art on the net and wanted to find out if I had ever been painted while modeling. And as it happens, I have. I think it would cool to paint ourselves and give our partners a surprise. We need an artist though and wondered if you could suggest someone.”

Kyler didn’t need to give it a moment’s thought. “Sure thing; I actually know of two people. But I’m only going to tell if I can be in on the fun.”

Seeing the wide grins on the other men’s faces, assured Kyler that he was included. “There is Jades Heights’ professional artist, Rene Pierce. Then there’s also Quinn, one of the Sweeney brothers who works at the mine and likes to draw for a hobby. He’s a lot older than the rest of us but might be persuaded to help out.”

He walked behind the bar and helped himself to a cold beer. “Kadyn bought a bunch of body paint a while back, but darn if I know what he planned to do with it. Maybe, I’ll pay him a visit and see if I can get us a deal on it. I’ll also talk to him about getting Rene involved as he and Rene are very good friends. What do you guys think of those ideas?”

“Sounds really cool,” Billy replied. “This is going to be so much fun. I know Quinn. Mason and I had our wedding at the Inn; then James and Quinn watched Thomas while we were on our honeymoon He’s lots of fun and it’ll be good that I’m not the oldest in the group.”

“Old is a state of mind,” Cameron commented, laughing. “At least, that’s what Chad says.”

Without thinking Jason took the beer that was handed to him. “Do we do it as a group or as individuals?” he asked, taking a swallow of the forbidden drink.

“Well,” Billy drawled, his eyes dancing wickedly. “I don’t see us all agreeing on the same theme. It could end in fights.”

Cameron shuddered slightly. “I don’t need that,” he stated firmly. “No more fighting. I vote we get painted together but decide what we want individually.”

Kyler and Cameron exchanged knowing glances; both knew exactly what the other was thinking.

“Sounds like a plan to me. You got my vote,” Kyler voiced his agreement with what his friend had recommended. “Just one more question; it’s now mid-week, so when would you all like to get together and paint?”

“I’m easy as long as it’s not Sunday,” Cameron replied. To him Sunday was strictly a day he spent with Chad, even if it was just hanging out together.
　
“My garage closes at five-thirty every day,” Billy reminded them. “But I’m not open weekends. What about Saturday afternoon?”

“It works for me!” Kyler merrily announced. “And I can’t see Kadyn having trouble arranging the time off but will check with him this afternoon. Meanwhile, I better get into the office and do some book work. See you all later.” With that he drained the last of his beer and placed the empty glass on the bar.

“Cool. Sounds like a plan,” Billy responded and Jay happily nodded his concurrence.

Kyler gave a friendly wave as he entered the small room at the back of the pool hall to start work on the books.

Billy handed Cameron a card. “My cell number is on this; text me if there are any problems. Jay and I need to get back to the garage.” He and Jason headed out of the pool hall and Cameron heard them laughing.

Cameron absently wiped off the bar. ‘This is going to be so much fun,’ he thought as a smile spread across his face. Chad would have shuddered at the look in his Brat’s eyes.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Kyler grinned as he entered the candy shop. The little bell over the door announcing visitors’ arrivals always seemed so welcoming and made him feel good.

If Kyler was surprised to see the town’s artist sitting at the small table with a cup of coffee in his hand, he didn’t show it. Truth be told, he had been somewhat amazed when these two men had become such good friends. To him, Rene seemed so reserved beside Kadyn’s effervescent, devil-may-care personality.

“Hi!” he called out to attract the store owner’s attention.

“Hey, Kyler. Come and join us, man. You guys know each other, right? If not: Rene, meet Kyler and Kyler, meet Rene.” Kadyn made the introductions as he reached for the coffee pot and an extra cup. “You’re gonna sit a while, aren’t ya, Kyler? Oh and by the way, congrats on finishing university.”

Kyler blushed and murmured his thanks to Kadyn while offering his hand to Rene. “Seen you around town a lot and admired your work, but have never been introduced until now.”

Rene accepted the extended hand and gave it a firm shake. “Thanks; it’s nice to meet you.”

“So what brings you by, Kyler?” Kadyn asked, filling the cup with hot coffee and pushing it across the table towards his unexpected guest. “Hope it’s something interesting. It’s been so dull around here lately, watching grass grow would be more exciting.”

Kyler swallowed a mouth full of the hot beverage. “Hmmm, not bad,” he commented as he smirked up at his old school mate. “To answer your question, I do have a fun idea to talk over with you. Actually, I have two things to run by you and I am hoping Rene will be interested in one of them.” His eyes gleamed when he saw the curiosity on their faces.

“A few of us were talking earlier at the lounge and came up with a brain wave to do some body painting. We thought it would be fun to surprise our partners. You bought in a small supply of that water-based body paint a while back, didn’t you, Kadyn? Sure hope you have some left.”

“I got almost all of it left and would be more than happy to get rid of it. My Dad wasn’t exactly thrilled with me buying it in the first place. I can let you have it for cost. Ya know, kind of split it among anyone who wants to join in.”

“So far there’s Cameron, Billy, Jason and me in on it. We’re doing it this Saturday afternoon. I was speaking to Cameron just before coming here and he thinks we’ll be doing it at Billy’s garage. Are you two up for it?”

“You can sure count me in,” Kadyn answered enthusiastically. “What about you, Rene?”

Rene smiled broadly. “Oh yeah, it will be a blast. A bunch of my fellow art students and I did body painting in our senior year. We actually did it as a class presentation and got an A for it. I haven’t done any since but I’d love to do it again. Does everyone know what they want done?”

“I’d like you to paint me, Rene; something colourful and lively looking.” Kadyn hadn’t given his choice a moment’s thought, already having a picture in mind.

“I have no idea what the other guys want, but I was thinking of something Celtic for myself,” Kyler answered after a couple of minute’s contemplation. He smiled at Rene. “Or would that be too difficult to do?”

Rene shook his head. “No, Celtic designs can be really interesting. What I suggest you do, is to look on the internet and see if you can find something that you like. Then what you will need to decide on is how much of ‘you’ you want painted. I mean body painting can be anything from small areas to the entire body. We did whole body paintings for that class, so if you guys want to do that of course it means being nude.” He blushed slightly. “And of course the more detailed you want in the design, the longer it will take. So you also have to figure on how long you want to sit still for it.”

“I want all of me done. I know you find it hard to believe, but I can sit still when I want to.” Kadyn laughed along with his friends. “Being nude doesn’t sound too bad, but I think I’ll at least wear a thong.”

“I think I want the whole-body thing too, and a thong also works best for me. Thanks, guys, for taking part. This is going to be a blast.” Kyler grinned broadly at the other two men. “I’ll put your suggestion to work right after supper, Rene, and check out the internet for ideas.” He drained his coffee mug and got to his feet. “I better get going so I’ll have time to stop off at the lounge on the way home and let Cameron in on everything. I’ll also let him know how much it will cost each of us and he can pass the word along to the others. Then I'll get back to you about the time and all.”

“Tell him the cost includes several large bottles of latex body paint in a variety of colours, some cans of base spray, sponge brushes and even some stencils,” Kadyn reminded him. “It’s going to take a lot of paint if what I read is true about the thicker you put it on, the easier it is to peel off. Is it, Rene?” he asked as he followed Kyler over to the door to see him out.

Rene nodded. “It could be, but I think it’s easier to just wash it off in the shower.” He smiled and waved at Kyler as he left. “Nice meeting you. See you on Saturday.”

Turning back to his friend, Kadyn asked, “You got time for another cup of coffee or do you have to make tracks for home?”

A grin split Rene’s face. “I’ve always got time for some more coffee,” he replied as he surreptitiously glanced at his watch. It was just past four-thirty, so he figured he would be able to make it home by his five o’clock deadline.

Thinking of his deadline had him thinking of Zack and how he would feel about him doing the body painting. “Kadyn, you think Vincent will have any problem with you participating in this body painting?”

Kadyn mulled over the question as he refilled their mugs and sat down. Then grinning mischievously, he shrugged his shoulders. “I have no idea what Vincent will think. He’s kinda old, you know. Besides, it’s supposed to be a surprise.” He chuckled as he tried to picture his partner’s face when he showed up painted from head to toe. “How do you think Zack will react to his surprise?”

Rene grinned; he couldn’t help but be drawn in by Kadyn’s carefree attitude. “Well, he always says he loves to see me express myself in my art, so I think he’ll be cool with it.”

“Then it’s a go!” Kadyn crowed and held up his hand for a high-five.

Rene raised his hand and clapped it against Kadyn’s. “Sounds like this is going to be a blast. Zack always works in the pharmacy on Saturdays, so I’ll be free to work on this without having to even explain where I’m going.” He hesitated. “Well, that is if Zack doesn’t ask ahead of time.”

“Just play it cool, man. It’s what I plan to do if Vincent happens to ask what my plans are for the day while he is at the book shop.”

Rene put on a smile he didn’t quite feel in his heart. “Yeah, I can play it cool.” At least he hoped he could.

“You seem to have doubts, my friend. Just remember, this is a surprise and telling your partner about it before hand would totally ruin it.” Kadyn put his cup down and looked closely at the other man sitting across from him. “You can keep this kind of info from your Top, can’t you?”

Rene brightened up some. “Yeah, you’re right. It is a surprise and it’s not like it’s something that I’ve been told I’m not supposed to do. I mean it’s not dangerous or anything. So yeah, I’m good.” He felt better the more he thought about it.

They chatted a bit more; then Rene glanced at his watch and saw it was only a couple of minutes to five. He gulped down the last of his coffee, not wanting to leave a drop of his favourite beverage behind. “I gotta run, my friend. Thanks for the coffee and visit. Send me an email with any ideas you have for what you want painted.”

“Will do and I’ll also keep you informed of anything else I hear from Kyler.” Kadyn followed Rene to the door and they parted company.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

It was lunchtime at the mine. The Sweeney’s were all sitting around a picnic table eating. Well, all the Sweeney’s except for Quinn. After the paddling he received last night, he had no desire to ever sit again. James had paddled him within an inch of his life and of course, somehow he ended up on bulldozer duty today; meaning he had spent the morning sitting on his very punished backside.

He was thankful when he saw Kyler walking towards the mine office. He didn’t think he could continue to ignore his father’s request for him to sit down at the table and eat. “Hey there, number boy, what brings you back to our parts?” Quinn called out as he walked cautiously to catch up with Kyler.

Kyler turned with a smile and jogged across the compound. “Hi ya, Quinn; I was hoping to see you when I dropped off my uncle. Kipper, Gaetane and I went fishing this morning. It was great getting out on the lake. Man, it is only end of May and it’s already showing signs of being a long, hot summer. We’re gonna have to get together for another river rafting trip. But first, I have something else to talk over with you.”

“It’s nice to see you too. I’m not sure my butt can handle another river rafting trip. Between James’ displeasure with my leading you into the great Canadian wild and your partner’s terribly mean placement of syringes full of prescription-strength antihistamines, I was not sitting comfortably for several days.” Quinn gave Kyler a bit of a sad face and after ensuring there was no one around other than Kyler, he gave his butt a much needed rub. “You’re not looking to get me into any trouble, are you?” Quinn asked, turning his mood around and giving Kyler a bit of a tease.

“No way, man; there’s no trouble in the wind for any of us. I was just wondering if there was any chance you’re into body painting.” Kyler laughed at the expression on the other man’s face. “The reason for my wanting to know is that a group of us are getting together tomorrow afternoon with just that idea in mind. I told some of the guys about your drawing abilities; we were hoping you’d be free and willing to join us.”

“Well I’ve drawn and painted people, but I’ve never painted on people.” Quinn laughed at his own joke and then got a twinge of excitement when he thought of the nudes he had drawn and painted of James. These were all carefully hidden, but he was still trying to convince James to let him hang one in the discipline room. Quinn forced himself back to reality. “That sounds like fun. What time are you getting together?”

“We are meeting at Billy Fleming-Monroe’s garage as close to noon as possible. You know where it is; just on the other side of town, not too far from the park and playground.”

“Cool, James is going be working at the Inn most of the day. I’ll be glad to have something to do.”

“That’s great, man. We’ll see you there.” Kyler waved as he headed towards his car. Moments later, he was peeling through the mine’s entry gate with a cloud of dust following in his wake. His frown was accompanied by a shrug when he remembered a little too late that his uncle was sure to take him to task for his driving.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Billy and Jason were busy clearing up the garage. Billy moved all the cars outside, even his precious, nearly-restored truck. He was putting old sheets on the floor to help with easy clean-up and Jay was making sure all the bikes were covered.

Billy looked up when he heard a noise. Cameron was standing there holding a couple of six packs of beer. “Great!” he exclaimed. “I was too busy to restock the fridge.”
　
Cameron grinned. “I may never have been a boy scout, but I’ve always tried to follow the rule of being well prepared.” He opened three beers and handed them out.

Jason hesitated for a minute, remembering his alcohol ban, but didn’t want to appear weak in front of Cameron.

“I wonder where the others are,” Cameron commented before taking a healthy swig of his drink.

“We’re here!” Kyler enthusiastically shouted as he sauntered into the garage. “I’ve got Quinn with me. I ran into him at the mine yesterday, told him about our plans and he’s willing to help with the painting.” Kyler turned to beam at the older man following him. “Quinn, you know Billy and these guys are Cameron and Jay.”

“Hey, Billy, how are you? Jay, aren’t you our mailman? Hi, Cameron, it’s nice to finally meet you. I’ve seen your picture on Chad’s desk at the mine.”

“Nay, I don’t deliver mail. I only sort it before it goes out,” Jason explained, shaking Quinn’s hand.

“By the way, I just texted Kadyn; he and Rene are on their way with all the supplies,” Kyler informed everyone.

“Cool,” Cameron replied. “I printed off the tiger I want. I’m not going to be a sissy and use a thong. I haven’t got anything to be ashamed of.” His eyes twinkled in mirth.

Billy laughed. “I usually go commando anyway, so why would I change now? Besides, the design I want involves shorts; tight shorts.” He winked at Jay.

Jason smirked and took another mouthful of beer.

“Here are Rene and Kadyn,” Kyler announced as another car pulled up in front of the building. “I’ll go help them carry in the supplies.”

Moments later, three young men entered carrying several well-filled cartons. Any necessary introductions were quickly made and then everyone excitedly got down to the business at hand; the first thing on the agenda being the handing out of more beer. The beverage supply had been added to by the others as they arrived.

Kyler put a can to his lips at the same time as he took a closer look at Kadyn who had just removed his ball cap. Almost spewing out the beer, he swallowed and tried to catch his breath before choking out, “What the hell did you do to your hair, Kadyn?”

“I shaved it all off.” Kadyn thought it was pretty obvious as he ran a hand over his bare scalp. “I needed it this way so Rene can paint the alien on the back.”

Rene was smiling. He was finally getting to know some of the other gay men in town that he’d heard about through Kadyn, and he was going to spend a day sharing the one thing he knew he was good at with them. A year ago, the only thing in his life he had any confidence in was his art. Now he had Zack and a growing circle of friends and family.

He swallowed back the beer he’d been handed as he was laying the supplies out on the long table that had been set up in the garage. He turned to the others as they were looking curiously through the paint containers and asked, “So does everyone know what they want painted on them?”

“You already know what I want to be, Rene. I got the pics right here.” Kadyn put down the papers and the beer he was holding, picked up a can of blue spray paint in his right hand and a can of silver in his left and began to shake them up. Kadyn and Rene had already spent time going over each others choices. “I can probably get my legs from my hips down and left arm done on my own, but will need a bit of help with my lower back. I can also help get the silver sprayed over the parts of your body that you can’t reach. Then maybe Quinn will help you finish the fancy artwork part.” He smiled up at the bigger man who he had just been introduced to.

“Of course,” Quinn agreed. Although normally a bundle of energy, he was still a bit subdued by this week’s punishment and he wasn’t totally sure what James would think of him painting naked men. He knew James would not be very pleased if he were to allow someone to paint him and the fact that his butt was still several shades of pink, red and a bit of purple, he had no intension of getting naked in front of anyone other than his husband.

“I printed off a couple of Celtic designs from the internet like you suggested, Rene. I don’t need any spray paint as my selection only involves black paint on bare skin. I won’t know if it’s all freehand or if you’ll use stencils,” Kyler informed the young artist who would be working his magic on him. “At least it isn’t as detailed as Kadyn’s,” he chuckled as he began to unbutton his shirt.

“Mine is pretty simple,” Billy said. “I need black paint for most of my body and I’ve done a template of the silver fern, which despite the name is done in white. I reckon as Rene is busy with the intricate work, Quinn can work on me.” He grinned and took a swig of his beer.

Quinn nodded his okay to Billy.

“Here’s my picture of a tiger. Have we got any hair dye?” Cameron asked, handing over his printout. “I guess I can do the orange bit, but I’ll need help with the stripes.” He opened a new can of beer absently and took a drink. “A tiger doesn’t wear underpants, so like I said earlier, I’m going nude. What about the rest of you.”

Jason smiled. He had totally forgotten about his alcohol restriction and was on his second beer. “I want dark brown chaps and a matching vest painted on. What’s the point of having chaps on, if I can’t show everything?” He glanced over at Quinn. “Will you give me a hand, too?”

“Yeah, of course,” Quinn responded.

“I’m getting shorts painted on.” Billy’s eyes were twinkling. “Seeing as this is mainly for Mason, why would I restrict access?”

Rene laughed. “Well, then let’s strip off and get to work. I brought along some disposable razors and shaving cream. If you want a clean design on your body, I suggest that some hair may need to go. I understand there is a small shower in the back room. I’ve already shaved off at home but if you guys want a better look to your painting, then you need to lose the body hair.” Rene thought back to standing in the shower at home after Zack had gone to work and shaving off all his own body hair. He wondered how Zack was going to feel about that. Not that he had a lot of hair to begin with but still it was strange not having any.

“After you shave, I suggest that everyone paint the parts of themselves that they can reach and handle easily such as the solid background colours because those have to dry first anyway. If you’re using the spray paint, do not use it anywhere near your face. For those doing them, faces should be done very carefully with the brushes so that no paint gets into anyone’s eyes. Also in order not to contaminate the paint in the containers, we will be pouring out small amounts onto these little foil trays. We’ll use disposable foam brushes for the painting of any intimate body parts.”

Kadyn finished off his beer and, realizing he was falling behind, grabbed up another one. “I shaved too, because Rene already warned me. I’ve got a matching thong with me, but if none of the rest of you are going to wear one then I guess I won’t either.” Suddenly remembering something, he put down everything he was holding and darted for the door, only to return a couple of minutes later with a camera dangling from his hand. “I wanna take pictures; not of the proceedings though, just the finished products.”

“Good idea, Kadyn. Guess the rest of us never thought to bring one. I already shaved like you did, with the exception of my head and some private parts.” Kyler laughed. Feeling any inhibitions he had slipping away to the point of not caring if he stood out by being different, he added, “But I’ve decided not to ditch my flesh-coloured thong.”

Billy, Jason and Cameron all got the giggles as they shaved themselves wherever necessary. Only Jason left his pubic hair as is.

“This is really kinky,” Cameron declared. “I haven’t done this since that modelling gig when I was sixteen. It was the only time I got body painted.” When he’d finished shaving, he grabbed the bright orange body paint and began to shake the can.

Billy grabbed a can of the black and began to spray his torso. “Quinn, once I’m dry I’m going to need some cleaning up and styling of the top and shorts, plus the white fern on my chest. Is that okay with you?”

“Sure; bring your stencil over. You know it might be cool to put some white into the banding of your shorts. I think it would bring everything together,” Quinn suggested and was pleased when Billy seemed happy with his suggestion.

Each man painted what he could of himself, getting help from others for the places impossible to reach on their own. Soon all base coats were sprayed on and dried. Then the real artwork began.

Billy turned and gaped when he saw the colour Cameron had painted himself. “If you do my back, I’ll do yours,” he suggested to the ex-model. The two men finished each other off and waited while they dried.

Jason presented himself to Quinn for the brush work. Unlike the other two, he didn’t need a base coat. Quinn started painting the chaps on, making sure the crotch and butt areas were left au natural.

Quinn started to draw an outline of the chaps and vest onto Jason’s body. The design would actually go quite quickly once he had the detail of the chaps and vest outlined, as it would be easy to paint in the rest. “Hold still, will you,” Quinn said as Jay giggled and squirmed when Quinn ran the paint brush along the under-curve of his butt.

Billy and Jason were finished first, and they pitched in to help where they could with the others. The next one soon to be done would be Kyler. Cameron’s was taking a lot longer, as were Rene and Kadyn’s.

Rene had finished up all his work on Kyler. He’d even had the young accountant painting with stencils on some of his own easier to reach bits. Kadyn was a work in progress as the inter-twined alien bodies and background had to go on in layer upon layer of colour. His own body was covered head to toe in silver paint and he’d begun putting on the outlines of the many impressionistic faces he had planned to have covering his torso. He noticed Quinn digging another beer out of the cooler when he’d finished his work on Jason and decided to approach the older man. “Wow, you did a great job of Jay’s chaps; they look fabulous.”

“Thanks,” Quinn blushed. He’d never had any formal art training and receiving a compliment from Rene meant a lot to him. “You’ve done a great job on Kyler’s Celtic designs. I think if I didn’t have to help at the Inn tonight I’d have liked you to do something similar to me.”

“You’re married to James, the owner of the Trillium Inn, aren’t you?”

Quinn beamed with pride. “Yes, we just had our fifth anniversary.”

“My husband, Zack, and I stayed there on our wedding night last New Year’s. It’s a really beautiful place. I was admiring some wonderful charcoal drawings in the room we stayed in. They were signed QSSL. That’s you, isn’t it?”

Quinn blushed again at Rene’s compliment. “Yes, I like to go draw in the crown lands. It’s always so quiet and peaceful compared to home. My brothers weren’t very quiet when we were growing up and being in a house with the four of them could be overwhelming. I’ve really enjoyed the murals you’ve done around town. You’re a very talented artist.”

“Thanks; you’re no slouch yourself. I was hoping you could help me with the faces I want painted across my torso.” Rene indicated some of the outlines he’d done on his chest and stomach, suddenly feeling a bit embarrassed by his nudity in front of the fully clothed man. He could feel the heat of a blush spreading from his chest right up through his face and was very grateful for the heavy silver paint that hid the bright red he knew his skin had turned. He quickly held up a sketch pad in front of himself. It displayed some drawings he’d done ahead of time. “This is what I’m going for; but of course, can’t reach to do all of them myself. Would you mind doing some for me?”

“Wow, Rene, your drawing is great. I hope I can do it justice.” Quinn was terribly nervous at the prospect of duplicating Rene’s beautiful design. He dipped the brush into the olive green paint Rene had mixed and began to paint the young artist’s shoulder, chest and the curve of his underarm. He found he was going much slower in trying to copy the exact curve of the each line.

Rene squirmed and laughed as the bristles of the sable brush stroked along the side of his chest and under arm. “Sorry,” he giggled. “It tickles. Maybe we should have used a sponge,” he laughed even more.

“I can’t get the detail you want with the sponge brush so you’re just going to have to suck it up and take it like a man,” Quinn teased.

Rene laughed and stuck a long pink tongue out of his silver-painted face. “You could let me paint you and see how it feels.”

Quinn blushed. “Umm...” he mused as he tried to remember the reason he had given the others for why he wasn’t getting painted. “I can’t. James and I are going to dinner with my brother and sister-in-law.”

“Excuses; excuses,” Rene teased. “You know I’d be happy to do you another time if today isn’t good” Suddenly Rene thought of how that offer could be misinterpreted. “I mean paint you another time,” he added with a burst of laughter.

Quinn couldn’t help but laugh too. The younger men’s fun was contagious and a great thing to be around when nursing a sore butt. He was thankful for Kyler’s invitation, because otherwise he would have either spent the day alone wallowing or being towed around the Inn by James to ensure he didn’t wallow. Being in this environment was just what he needed.

Rene enjoyed talking art with Quinn as the older man finished the painting. Once done, Rene went to look in the long mirror they had set up for everyone to get a good view of their artwork. He turned several times, looking at the variety of painted faces that curved around his torso. “Wow, Quinn, thanks; this is exactly what I was looking for. You’re a wonderful artist. I can’t believe you didn’t have formal training beyond high school art class.”

Quinn blushed yet again. “Thank you. That means a lot to me.”

The other five men wandered over to see Rene’s finished artwork as he had been the last to finish being painted. They had already marveled over their own and each others designs.

“Wait, we need more pictures,” Kadyn said as he broke from the crowd to retrieve his camera. He began to take numerous photos while Quinn stood back and laughed as the younger men took turns posing and admiring themselves.

“Wow, guys, you all look great! I think your partners will be most impressed.” Quinn looked over the six well-painted men and wondered to himself if any of them had thought about how they were going to get home. He shook his head; of course one of them surely would have. “Okay, well, I gotta go. I don’t want to keep James waiting.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Kadyn clicked through the photos on his camera once again. Kyler was on one side of him and Rene on the other, looking over his shoulder. The garage had finally been put back to rights and everyone was just hanging around finishing off the few remaining cans of beer.

“There must be a neat way we can show off all of these great pics,” Kadyn commented. “We did such a bang-up job and deserve to brag about it some. Hey, maybe we should put together a calendar. Maybe even sell for as a charity fund-raiser.” He polished off the last of his beer.

“That sounds good, Kadyn, but I wonder what work would be involved and how much it would cost.” Kyler almost always seemed to zero in on the business side of things. “What do you think, Rene? Any idea of how we’d go about doing something like that?” Kyler leaned forward and glance passed Kadyn to see Rene’s expression, but sat back in a hurry when the change in position made him light-headed.

Rene was sipping on his fourth, or maybe it was fifth, beer and enjoying the free feeling of sitting around au natural with the guys. No one seemed to give a damn about their state of undress. They were just having a good time and admiring the art work they had created.

“We really do look good. We’d make a hot calendar, huh? But I have no idea how you’d go about either getting it made or selling it for some charity.” He looked over to where Billy was talking to Jason and Cameron. “Hey, Billy, your husband’s the fire chief, right? Did he ever do one of those fireman’s beefcake calendars?”

“I don’t think so. He’s really serious when he’s in ‘Mason Monroe, Fire Captain’ mode.” Billy giggled. He was about to start on his sixth beer.

Jay looked up. “I’ve got a computer program that can create a calendar and I’m sure we can find a good colour photocopier, if we want to go that way.”

Cameron was listening to this intently. “I’m not sure we’d get many takers,” he said thoughtfully. “I did this for Chad. I guess he’d want a picture, but I’m not sure anyone else would buy a calendar of naked men; not even for a charity.”

Billy’s eyes glinted and Mason would have winced at the sheer recklessness in his eyes. “Let’s find out,” he suggested. “Let’s all go to the park and show off our artwork. We can ask people if they’d buy a calendar. It’s called Market Research.”

Cameron grinned. He was drunk enough to think this was a great idea.

True to form, Kadyn was up for taking part in Billy’s suggestion. He had consumed more beer than he was used to and therefore had no trouble at all throwing caution to the wind. Not that he was in the habit of thinking things through in the best of times.

Jay wasn’t so sure. He knew he was already in trouble for breaking his alcohol restriction and was quite sure Jack wouldn’t be happy with him walking through the park naked. He took another pull at his beer. ‘Hell, there is no way I’m going to act like a wimp, not in front of all these guys,’ he thought to himself. “I’m in,” was all he said.

Kyler stared at the partially empty can in his hand and tried to remember how many he’d had. “For a numbers guy, you’d think I’d know how much I drank.” He chuckled and downed the rest of his beer before adding, “Marketing research, huh? I kinda like that. I’m game even though I doubt there will be many in the park this late on a Saturday afternoon. How about you, Rene?”

Somewhere deep inside, a voice was telling Rene this wasn’t such a good idea. However, that voice was drowning in beer and bravado. “Why not? Look at us; we’re not naked! We’re art! That would make us ‘Art in the Park’ and that’s all the rage! And I know this for sure because I am an artist!” he giggled.

So it was a go! Everyone was laughing as they did up their footwear and headed out the door. None of them knew they were in for a very unpleasant surprise. Not only were there still a large number of people milling about, the police were also there.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Kadyn slowed momentarily when he spotted a large sign a short distance before they would be taking the bend in the path that lead to the playground.

“Hey!” he hollered. “Look at this! There was a bike rodeo for the kids today.” Unfortunately, no one heard him. If they did, they didn’t pay attention to what he was telling them. “Oh well, it’s probably over by now.” He shrugged his shoulders and ran to catch up with the others.

Billy and Jason were in the lead. They suddenly came to a complete halt, causing Cameron and Kyler to bump into them.

Seeing the stunned looks on the others’ faces, Kyler glanced past them to get a glimpse of what had stopped them dead in their tracks.

“Holy shit!” he exclaimed seconds before almost being run down by Rene and Kadyn.

“What the hell?” Cameron muttered. His face turned a bit pale when he saw the lingering group of kids and parents. “Oh shit; I don’t think this is our target market,” he joked weakly.

“I suggest we get the fuck out of here,” Billy strongly suggested, spying uniforms out of the corner of his eye.

Rene froze on the spot. “Oh my God!” was all he could say. He wouldn’t have moved if Kadyn hadn’t grabbed him by the arm as the group turned to run.

Six young men scrambled to make a hasty retreat but didn’t get far.

“Hold it!” Police Chief Chandi Barrett bellowed as he and Constable Paul Quincy began to give chase.

It didn’t take long for the two officers to amass half a dozen inebriated, naked men; bundle them into two cruisers and drive to the police station. There the six miscreants were processed and ushered into a sizeable interrogation room.

Chandi stood glaring at the quickly sobering young men seated around the large conference table in front of him and shook his head. He thought he had seen just about everything, but apparently he hadn’t.

“Okay, fellas, just so you know; indecent exposure is a criminal offence and can carry a jail sentence. But I can see where over-indulging probably had a lot to do with how you all ended up here, and I’d hate to see any of you having a record for what is basically plain old-fashion mischief. So I’m charging you with the misdemeanour of being a public nuisance and fining you each one hundred dollars. I also expect you to volunteer for some community service. Being as you like to paint so much, now about next weekend putting your talent to work by painting all the playground equipment at the park?”

The Chief of Police bit his cheek to keep from smiling when he saw six nods of understanding. Everyone knew his question was rhetorical and required only compliance. “Right now though, I want you each to give Constable Quincy the name and number of someone we can call to come and pick you up.”

Billy for one had sobered completely and was feeling seriously sick to his stomach. During the lecture Chandi gave them, his mind kept flashing to Mason holding a paddle.

Cameron wasn’t much happier. He knew Chad wasn’t going to be happy and had an uneasy feeling he was going to be grounded again. He knew for sure that he was going to get a spanking.

‘My ass is grass,’ was all Jason thought as he listened to Chief Barrett hand down their sentence.
　
After Chandi and the other officer left the room, Cameron caught Kyler’s eye and grimaced. Billy and Jason looked at each other and winced as they slid down in their chairs.

“I’m hoping about now that Mason hasn’t bought another wooden spoon,” Billy said in an undertone to Jason, who was too busy praying that Jack wouldn’t remember the belt in the back of the closet to answer.

Rene looked to Kadyn who was sitting beside him and whispered, “Zack’s not gonna be very happy with me. How could we have done something so dumb?”

“Huh?” Kadyn didn’t appear too concerned; yet. That was subjected to change when Vincent showed up. In the meantime, Kadyn was still enjoying a buzz. “Hey, we were just having a bit of fun, man. And the Chief did say none of us would end up with a record.” It briefly crossed Kadyn’s mind to wonder if he was trying to convince his friend or himself.

Cameron’s eyebrows had risen in shock when he heard the comment Billy made. He had very sharp hearing. He glanced at Kyler who was sitting with his head in his hands. “Hey man,” he said very quietly. “It may not be too bad. At least we’re not the only ones dreading what our partners will do.”

Kyler lifted his head and glanced around. Rene and Kadyn were at the far end of the table, quieting whispering to each other. Across from him and Cameron, Billy and Jason were grumbling. They apparently had no problem with being overheard.

“We may have got off light where the law is concerned, but are we ever in deep shit with our partners,” Kyler groused for Cameron’s ears only. “Ah, tell me, Cam; we didn’t endanger ourselves or anyone else, did we?”

“No,” Cameron firmly insisted. “It was only a little fun that got a bit out of control. Although I don’t expect it to save my butt; we didn’t hurt anyone. It’s not like the kids will be scared for life, assuming they actually realised we were naked.” He grinned at his friend. “Hell, the women there might have even been turned on. Their husbands and partners may well thank us later on.” Cameron, as usual, couldn’t help but see the funny side of things.

Kyler’s smile didn’t quite reach his eyes. It wasn’t long before the room became quiet as each of the Brats fretfully contemplated the fallout for today’s alcohol-induced choices. Even Kadyn was finally giving the day’s activities some serious thought.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Chief Chandi Barrett walked out of his office and over to Constable Quincy’s desk. He sat in the extra chair and laid down the clipboard he had with him.

“I was able to get a hold of Zack Pierce at the pharmacy. He should arrive momentarily. Vincent La Maur is also on his way and he sounded somewhat unhappy; not that I blame him. While I wasn’t able to reach Hugh Jackson, Dr. Patrick Dean is on his way back from Kelowna and should be here in a less than an hour. How did you fair out, Paul?”

“Not as good as you did,” the other officer replied, looking down at his list. “I reached Chad Cavenaugh at the mine. He did not sound too pleased and I got the impression he was in his vehicle before I hung up the phone. Jackson McCallum will get here as soon as he can. He just has to lock up his shop. So far I’ve been unable to get a hold of Captain Mason Monroe. The fire department was called to an out-of-control field fire and there seems to be a lot of static in the area, but I will continue trying.”

Both men looked up as the door was roughly yanked opened and the town’s pharmacist rushed into the station, his lab coat billowing out behind him.

The End ( for now anyway, as there will be follow-up stories.)

Jade Height's Special Christmas Story

2009-05-08T16:10:00.000-07:00

The Gift

Co-written by: LJ and Myst
Supporting writers: Mel, Teri and Jo

Special thanks to Myst for the plot bunny and to Mel for being our beta.

Characters: (in order of appearance) Chad, Kipper, Kyler, Patrick, Hugh, Cameron, Chandi, Eric, Kadyn, Vincent, Rene, Zack, Lucas, Stewart, Todd and Hayden

Note: Barker Family – Nate, Amy, Ted and Allie.

It was almost noon, when Chad’s beeper went off at the same time as Kipper’s. As volunteer firemen, they knew exactly what was expected of them and were soon driving at breakneck speed away from the mine, with Kyler in the back seat of the Ranger. Other vehicles followed in their wake.

The call automatically sent many available mine personnel to the scene of the blaze. They were shocked to see the home of one of their co-workers with flames shooting out the large front window. The Jade Heights Fire Department was soon out in force; Fire Chief, Paramedics, other volunteers and equipment all present and accounted for. Under the direction of Captain Mason Monroe, the blaze was quickly brought under control and eventually extinguished.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

A little over two hours later, Chad lightly knocked and then let himself in the back door of Kipper’s bungalow. He smiled at Carissa Jamieson, gratefully accepted the cup of hot coffee she handed him and took a seat at the kitchen table. Although tired and filthy, Chad still felt the need to come over and give an updated report to the Barker family.

“The fire is out and aside from a couple of men suffering from minor smoke inhalation which was treated at the scene, our only casualty was Kyler.” Seeing the look of fear in his hostess’ face, he quickly added. “It was nothing too serious, Carissa; he just cut his arm and the paramedic felt it should be seen to. Sorry about that; I didn’t mean to worry you about your son. Craig Pike has taken him to the hospital and Kipper has gone with them.” Chad paused to take a long drink from the mug in his hand.

“Nate and Amy, there is extensive damage to your home’s interior and some to the exterior but all can be repaired. It will just take time; hopefully no more than six weeks. It was an unfortunate accident made even worse for being less than a week before Christmas.” Chad ran a hand through his hair and gulped down another mouthful of coffee.

“You were correct, Nate, it was a faulty extension cord leading to the tree. The front rooms and kitchen have been completely gutted. There is also a lot of water and smoke damage in the rest of the house, making it uninhabitable.” Chad hated having to be the bearer of bad news. He found it particularly hard to look into the distraught face of his employee and to see the man’s wife break down in tears.

“Come with me, Amy dear,” Carissa softly requested, helping the woman up. “Let’s go check on the children.”

As the two women left the room, Chad reached over and patted Nate’s shoulder. “The community will rally around, Nate. Plans are already in the works. To begin with, Kipper is insisting you and your family stay here with him and his sister until the repairs are finished. I can assure you, you will have Christmas.” He returned the sad ghost of a smile the other man gave him.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Thank you, Craig, for taking care of Kyler and bringing us here,” Kipper said, shaking the paramedic’s hand. They were standing to one side of the examining room and watching as Dr. Dean prepared to stitch up his patient’s arm.

“It hurts, Patrick,” Kyler softly whimpered.

“I know, babe. The freezing will take in a minute or two.” Patrick reached up and gently turned Kyler’s face away. “Don’t look; tell me what happened instead, okay?”

“I was helping with the fire at the Barker home. Their little girl, Allie, was really upset about those stray animals she rescues and I promised I’d take them to safety for her. When I dragged the last bunny out from under her bed, I cut my arm on the metal spring that was sticking out of the box mattress. It bled a lot so it must have cleaned out some.”

Kyler felt a tug and glanced around to see what Patrick was doing. No longer in pain, he watched until the final stitch was put in place and the injury site once again wiped down with antiseptic. He smiled up at his partner as his arm was bandaged.

“I’m sorry, Ky, but you are going to need a Tetanus shot.” Patrick didn’t expect this to go over too well with his Brat, so he wasn’t at all surprised when Kyler started to shake his head. “Yes; roll over please and bare your hip for me.”

Kipper didn’t wait to be asked; he merely stepped forward and assisted his nephew in filling the doctor’s request. “Santa won’t come to your house if you’re not a good boy.” Kipper teased with as he ruffled the younger man’s hair.

“He’s right, sweetheart,” Hugh concurred, having arrived just in time to hear the older man’s admonishment. “Thank you for calling me, Kipper. I got here as soon as I could; even knowing Kyler was in safe hands.” He winked at Patrick. “I guess I’m just here to take our young partner home.”

“My car is still at the mine, Hugh. I gotta go get it ‘cause I have to work tonight.”

“You’ve had a busy day, Kyler, and need to rest before going in for your graveyard shift. I’ll drive you to the mine when the time comes,” the bigger man firmly insisted.

“Speaking of which,” Kipper muttered. “I have to fetch my own vehicle. If it’s not too much out of your way, Craig, I’ll hitch a ride with you back to my place.”

“See ya later, Uncle Kipper.” Kyler hugged him and whispered his thanks. “Reckon I’m off home to bed, huh?” he smirked up at his partners before stepping up and throwing his arms around Patrick.

“And you better sleep,” the doctor ordered, landing a warning swat on his Brat’s backside.

Dr. Dean and his staff soon had the emergency room to themselves.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Chad arrived home shortly before Cameron was to leave for an extra shift at the pool hall.

“Hi, Mugs,” he greeted and grinned when his Brat turned up his nose at the sight of him. He knew he reeked of smoke and was badly in need of a shower. “Guess by now you’ve heard of the fire.”

“Fire, what fire?” Cameron replied. His voice went up an octave. “You were in a fire? Are you okay? No burns?” He anxiously looked at Chad, running his eyes up and down his lover.

“No burns, babe. No one was seriously hurt; only one person taken to the hospital for treatment. Thank God for the lack of wind that worked in our favour. I’m not sure if you know the family, but it was the Barker home ravished by the fire. They live on the plateau part way up the mine road, just a short distance from Kipper’s house. They’ll be staying with him and Clarissa until they can move back into their own place.”

Chad was stripping off his clothing and dropping the garments into the laundry hamper as he talked. “We need to start a collection as soon as possible, so I’d like you to print out a sign for our money jar at the lounge while I shower. I’d invite you to join me but I am too dirty and just want to be clean again.” Seeing the look of disappointment on his partner’s face, Chad smiled and relented some. “Tell you what; finish up the sign and then get undressed. I expect to find you naked in our bed when I get back.” With that, he turned and walked into their en suite.

Cameron smiled as he made up the sign. Sometimes he liked to think of sleeping with the boss as a work bonus.

When Chad got out of the shower, Cameron was waiting for him in their bed as naked as the day he was born. “Just remember, I’ve got to get to work soon,” he reminded his lover before soundly kissing him.

“I’ll make sure you get there with time to spare,” Chad promised with a grin.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

It was late Friday afternoon when Chad stood next to his two shift-supervisors on the raised platform in front of his office. He gazed out at the gathering of men who were patiently waiting for him to make an announcement. These good, hard-working men were the life’s blood of the mine, and he appreciated and respected each and every one of them.

“First, gentlemen, I’d like to thank all of you who assisted with the fire at the Barker home. Together we managed to prevent the damage from becoming a lot worse than it is.” He paused to allow the rumbling of voices to abate.

“Secondly, I want to wish you all the best for the upcoming Holiday Season. As you know, this is the last shift of the year and that aside from a skeleton crew helping me with machinery maintenance, the rest of you are laid-off until sometime in March. As in the past, you will be notified when the mine re-opens in the spring. You all deserve a long rest while you collect your unemployment insurance.” He smiled at the hoots of agreement.

“However, some of you may be interested in a proposition the company has put forth after numerous correspondence between head office and myself. With a desire to do what they can to help out an employee, the owners have decided to offer jobs to as many as twenty men with sound carpentry experience. The mining company will pay them their regular wages for working on repairing of the Barker home. Of course, these men will be required to meet certain standards and have their own tools. If any of you are interested, please inform either of our supervisors. Both Dave and Rob will be available for the rest of the afternoon and again on Monday morning. They, along with myself and Kipper, will be overseeing much of the work to be done on the house restoration.” He nodded his head in approval of the enthusiasm his announcement had generated.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“I am so glad it’s the end of the week and we have the weekend to look forward to,” Chandi declared, snuggling against his partner. They were lying side by side on the carpet and surrounded by pillows from the sofa, watching the flames dance in the fireplace while enjoying a cuddle. “We’ve got all the security set up at the Barker home. It’s not that we’re expecting trouble, but we do have to keep an eye on things in case anyone starts poking around.”

“Yes, I can see that being necessary,” Eric quietly agreed. Like the rest of the community, they had been saddened by the misfortune that had befallen one of their own. “I heard the Lion’s Club has already started making plans for a fundraiser. There’s some talk about an auction being held sometime next week.”

“It’s true; many of the businesses are also getting involved in various moneymaking activities,” Chandi mused. “I don’t know what I can do except buy tickets for the numerous raffles being held around town.” He played absently with the hair on his lover’s chest. “You got any plans for helping out, Eric?”

“As a matter of fact I do,” Eric grinned down at the man in his arms and captured the hand tickling him. “You remember that household of furniture I purchased from the Montgomery estate a while back? Well, I’ve just about completed the refinishing of an old hardwood rocking chair; similar to the one you have of your mother’s. That lovely antique is going to be my donation for the auction. Of course, I also plan to attend the event and bid on an item or two.”

“Hey, that’s a great idea!” Chandi glanced up, his esteem for the older man shining in his beautiful soft brown eyes. “And I bet it will fetch a really high bid too!” he adamantly added, quite confident of the results.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Kadyn and Bandit noisily entered the book shop, allowing a gust of cold air to disturb the papers piled on the counter. “Oops, sorry, Emily!” he sincerely apologized as Vincent’s clerk made a dive to prevent as many sheets from flying onto the floor as possible.

“Vincent out back?” he asked after helping her gather the ones that escaped.

“Yes, he is; and probably expecting you.” Emily smiled patiently and shook her head, wondering once again how her boss managed to stay sane with such an exuberant young partner.

“Hi ya, Vin!” Kadyn zealously greeted the love of his life. He lifted his puppy onto the desk, completely unperturbed by the wet paw prints covering the top of it as Bandit sniffed around. “Best thing about Saturdays is I don’t have to work; worse thing is you do!” He didn’t appear to be letting the ‘worse thing’ bother him very much today.

“That’s life; some things can’t be helped. Although keeping your pet off my desk is something you do have control over and if I am not mistaken, we’ve had this conversation before.” Vincent feigned exasperation as he glared at his Brat and placed the not-so-little dog back on the floor. “One more time, young man, and it will be you on the desk, bent over and face down.” Walking around the desk, he wrapped his arms around Kadyn and lovingly kissed him. “What’s got you all excited this morning, love?”

“Lots actually,” Kadyn exclaimed, bouncing from one foot to the other. “You know Dad is the President of the Lions’ Club, right? Well, the Lions are planning a big shindig this coming Wednesday in hopes of raising money to help the Barker family fix up their house and Dad said I could help. So I was wondering if you’d take care of Bandit for the afternoon while Rene and I go to Kelowna. We’re gonna hit up a bunch of businesses for more donations and stuff. We wanna add to that huge basket so it is crammed full of neat things to raffle off.”

Vincent held up his hand to stop the flow of words. “Let me get this straight; you are counting on me to not only care for your pet but also to allow you to go to Kelowna for the afternoon? And after the stunt you and Rene pulled last time?” The older man was absolutely flabbergasted.

“Vincent, we’re not going anywhere else; just to Kelowna. We’re not gonna get into trouble this time, honest. It’s for a good cause and we want to do our fair share. Besides, Ted Barker is one of my Wolf Cubs so that gives me even more reason to wanna help out.” Kadyn’s grin widened as he gazed mischievously at his partner. “Maybe, I’ll hit you up first, Vin. What would you like to donate to the cause, huh?”

Vincent shook his head and tried to hide his smile. It was almost impossible to resist this happy-go-lucky young man and anyway, he had to admit Kadyn was right, it was a worthy project.

“How about a book of your choice for the basket and a seventy-five dollar gift certificate for the auction?”

“Perfect!” Kadyn enthusiastically hugged his partner and kissed him soundly. Heading for the front door, he hollered out over his shoulder, “I’ll bring supper home, Vincent; no need for you to cook. See you around six o’clock.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Hmmm, something smells good!” Zack declared when he walked into the kitchen and hung his lab coat over the back of a chair.

“Yeah,” Rene grinned. “I picked up Swiss Chalet dinners for us. Figured it would save us making supper. Kadyn did the same for him and Vincent.”

“Aside from this pleasant surprise, how did your excursion to Kelowna go?” Zack kissed his partner and then kissed him again. He frowned slightly and licked his lips.

“We had a great time. I’ll tell you all about it while we’re eating. Kadyn and I had a Candy Cane contest on the drive back. I won by eating seventeen to his sixteen.”

“Well, that certainly explains why I’m getting peppermint flavoured kisses,” Zack laughed and kissed his lover once again.

They soon had their plates full and were enjoying both their meal and bringing each other up-to-date in their activities.

“You won’t believe all we accomplished today, Zack. Kadyn can talk folks into doing almost anything. You should see some of the neat stuff we have for the auction. We’ve also collected enough items to put together two huge baskets valued at over five hundred dollars. Not only did Kadyn persuade a lady at one of the stores to wrap them all up for us, but he somehow managed to badger the manager at Wal-Mart into matching the ticket sales dollar for dollar. Honest to God, that guy could sell ice to Eskimos.” Rene’s eyes were alit with admiration for his friend.

Zack burst out laughing. “I’m glad I wasn’t the only one to be bilked into doing that. Yesterday, my staff decorated a large box and filled it with just about every health product available at the drugstore. They have been pushing tickets on every customer who comes into the pharmacy. And not only did I provide all the articles in the box, but I’ve agreed to match the proceeds. Of course, it took four of them to talk me into it. According to them, all the business will do the same. In the past, Chad and Kipper have usually doubled the amount collected in the money jar at the lounge and are expected to do it again this time.” He winked his amusement at the man across the table from him. “But what the heck, it’s for a great cause, right?”

“Right!” Rene was of the same opinion. “Oh, ah, hum, Kadyn kinda convinced me to donate a portrait for the auction and I agreed.” He shrugged his shoulders and blushed as he confessed to having capitulated to his friend’s persuasion techniques.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Come on in and take a seat,” Lucas invited as he welcomed his first clients of the day. “It is a pleasure to see you both. I just wish it could have been under better circumstances.” He expressed his sympathy and waited for the Barkers to sit down before doing so himself.

“Yes,” answered Nate, shuffling uncomfortably in his chair. “I guess you pretty much know why we’re here. We figured we better get a start on things by finding out our options before trying to make any concrete plans.”

“I understand,” Lucas assured him. “I have all the paperwork here; the Fire Marshall’s report, as well as your home insurance policy, mortgage contract and updated credit report.” He indicated the file folder on his desk. “The repairs needed are extensive, Nate and Amy. The wiring throughout the house has to be replaced, the heating system and plumbing all brought up to code. There is quite a bit of reconstruction required for the front of the house, not to mention replacing some of the furniture, carpeting and flooring. Your insurance will cover much of it, but not all.”

Lucas paused to let this information sink in. He did not want to further overwhelm this already devastated young couple.
“Although you have an excellent credit rating, I am sorry to inform you that it is presently maxed out and in light of the mine’s closure for the next three months, the bank is unable to increase your mortgage. However, not all is gloom and doom.” He smiled kindly in hopes of lifting their burden to some extent. “The community of Jade Heights has come together to help you through this disaster. You are not in this alone.”

Nate was already shaking his head. It completely went against his nature to accept charity and he was about to tell the bank manager as much when the look on his wife’s face prevented him from voicing his objections. He thought of how this woman he loved with all his heart had spent most the past weekend crying and fretting over what was to become of their family. He could not bring himself to add to her pain, so he valiantly choked down his pride.

“We will go along with whatever you suggest, Lucas,” Nate quietly responded and was rewarded when the first smile he had seen in days played across Amy’s beautiful face. “I’ll try to do as much of the work as possible, but my abilities in carpentry are very limited.”

Wanting very much to alleviate the young man’s stress and any feelings of inadequacy he may be harbouring, Lucas set out to restore his confidence. “Nate, Amy; you and your children are very much a part of this wonderful community of ours. We’re a family and you are members of this large family. I know that had this misfortune happened to someone else, you both would be some of the first to offer all you could to help. Right now, your main responsibility is to Ted and Allie. Concentrate on making things easier for them. You have a home with Kipper and Clarissa for as long as you need, so please try as much as possible to put your worries on the back burner until at least after the holidays. Do you think you can do that?”

Getting teary-eyed nods from the two people in front of him, Lucas smiled and stood up. He walked around to the front of his desk and offered his hand to Nate. Next he helped Amy to her feet and hugged her.

‘Come hell or high water, we are going to make this work for these good people,’ he vowed to himself as they left his office.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Lucas was becoming concerned. Glancing at his watch, he saw it was eight-thirty. Stewart should have been home from the bakery an hour ago, but there was still no sign of him. The fact that Stewart usually set his cell phone aside when baking meant there was no point in calling.

Deciding the best course of action would be to look for Stewart at his place of business; Lucas hurried out the door and got into his car. There was no way he was going to walk to the bakery at that time of night, even if it was less than a mile. It was already cold and a brisk wind had started up. He pulled up to the shop and saw the lights still on.

As he walked through the back door of the bakery, Lucas gave a sigh of relief. Stewart was there working on the cookies he had promised the fundraising committee. Not wanting to startle his partner, Lucas quietly said, “Hey there, I was getting worried about you. Do you know it’s almost nine?”

Stewart turned to him, frustration clearly etched on his face. “Lucas, I don’t know what to do. I’ve been working on the food I promised for tomorrow’s event since three this afternoon. I have the three cakes for the auction done up and dozens of sugar cookies baked, but I can’t seem to get the Santa cookies for the kids to turn out! I’ve made two batches and each time something else goes wrong. It’s not as if they are that hard to make; they are simple cookies! I’ve made them dozens of times without a problem, but they just aren’t coming out right and I need to have them all made two days from now.” Stewart dumped the rejected cookies into the garbage and suggested, “Why don’t you go back home while I’ll try it again?”

Lucas knew there was no way he was going to leave Stewart alone. “Well, maybe my being here will help. I know you know what you’re doing, but sometimes another pair of eyes is what’s needed. Why don’t we do it together?” Pulling on an apron, he patiently added, “Why don’t you read me the recipe and I’ll set out everything while you get a cup of coffee. I bet you haven’t taken time for a break or had anything to eat for that matter, since you started.”

“Well I haven’t had time!” Stewart said with a scowl.

“I understand but that’s no reason to scowl at me. I’ll get everything set out. You drink the coffee and take short break and we’ll be back at it in five minutes.”

“Okay, sorry,” Stewart mumbled as his face turned red with embarrassment.

A few minutes later, Stewart came up behind Lucas and twined his arms around him, giving him a quick hug. “Thanks, Lucas. I needed that break and I’m so glad you’re here to help me out!”

“Not a problem, love,” Lucas replied. “I’ve got everything here so let’s start measuring. This recipe is for fifty cookies and I think you said you want a hundred; is that right?”

"Yes, that should be more than enough. With kids it’s better to have too many cookies than not enough,” Stewart said with a grin.

As Lucas read out the amounts needed to double the recipe, Stewart nodded and measured each ingredient until he heard the amount of salt needed. “What did you say; tablespoons or teaspoons?” Stewart asked with a frown.

“Tablespoons,” Lucas answered. “It says tablespoons; see?”

“That was the problem!” Stewart exclaimed. “It was me. I was reading teaspoons and the cookies did not taste right because there wasn’t enough salt. I’m so relieved. I had no idea what I was doing wrong.”

“That’s fine,” Lucas soothingly replied. “You’ve been working yourself too hard for the auction. I should have realized that there was no way one person on their own could do three cakes, dozens of frosted adult cookies and all these decorated kids cookies all on their own.”

“Well, guess what? I’m going to not frost the kids’ cookies,” Stewart explained with a grin. “I’m going to do the cookies and donate the frosting, a batch each of red and white, and the kids can have fun decorating them in the rec room while the auction is going on.”

“What a great idea,” Lucas agreed. “Now, let’s get these cookies taken care of so we can close up and go home to bed.”

“Sounds like a plan to me,” Stewart sighed with a big smile.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Samuel Hart stood looking out over the fair-size gathering of Jade Heights’ citizens. The crowd numbered greater than he had expected which bode well for the success of the evening. Everyone was in high spirits and dressed in their Sunday best. ‘A very impressive group of folks are these good friends and neighbours,’ he thought with a smile.

He checked his watch and although it was already six o’clock, decided to give people a few more minutes to look over the many items that had been donated for the auction. This would hopefully prove to be the most lucrative event of the entire fundraiser that had started less than a week ago.

“What have you got there, Papa,” Zack softly inquired as he came up behind his father.

“It’s my shopping list of sorts,” Todd answered and wrote down a couple more words. “I know exactly what I want to bid on.” He grinned merrily up at his son. “Oh, and I found something I think Rene might be interested in; a complete tune-up donated by Billy Fleming-Monroe, who owns the garage. Practical item, isn’t it?”

“I’ll let Rene know that,” Zack assured him. “Have you seen this?” he asked, lifting up a small jewellery box. “It’s a McCallum original; a very nice donation from Jack. Did you put it on your list, Papa? You like jade.”

“I never buy myself jewellery. I like Hayden to; his taste in that area is actually better than mine.” Todd’s reasoning had Zack chuckling.

“I don’t see Jackson and Jason here yet. Maybe they’ve been held up. Come to think of it, Mason and Billy also seem to be running late,” Zack commented, glancing around the large room.

“It is easy to miss people in this crowd, Piglet.”

“Yeah, you’re right. Just now, I think we should be getting back to our seats as it looks as if things are about to get underway,” Zack quietly suggested, nodding towards the man stepping up on the small stage.

Tapping his finger on the microphone in front of him, Samuel Hart attempted to get everyone’s attention. When all else failed, he signal for Chandi to come over and assist him. One sharp whistle from their Chief of Police had most folks sitting up to see what was going to happen next. The noise level dropped dramatically and Chandi stepped back with a wide grin on his handsome face.

“Welcome,” Samuel called out, “and a very Merry Christmas to each and every one of you. I want to thank you all for coming out tonight. With it being Christmas Eve, there are many who were unable to be here due to other commitments but I am sure their thoughts are with us. We have a lot going on this evening. Over to the right of me you will find that the Ladies Auxiliary has a bake sale in progress and beside them are several tables filled with items for the ‘silent’ auction. On my left is where you can purchase tickets for the 50/50 draw. There is also a wishing-well set up for those of you who prefer to donate cash.”

Samuel paused when someone caught his eye and he nodded his understanding. “A couple of the ladies are afraid I will forget to tell you there are still tickets available for the raffle. You’ve probably already heard that the prize is valued at well over five hundred dollars thanks to the pestering ability of someone whose name I will not mention.” He waited for the laugher to die down; they were all aware of how the baskets grew to the size they were.

“We have some special activities for the children taking place in the recreation room downstairs, with lots of cookies and hot chocolate to keep them happy while the older folks are up here spending money.” He watched with amusement as a stampede of little ones left the hall. “You all come back up here for refreshments and dancing later, ya hear?” he hollered after them.

Holding up his hands to hush things a bit, Samuel made his final announcement. “We have over a hundred items to auction off, so without further adieu I will turn the floor over to Lucas Hudson who has volunteered to be our auctioneer.”

“Thank you, Samuel.” Lucas held up a sheet of paper for all to see. “If you didn’t get one of these lists at the door when you arrived, there are extra of copies available for the asking. You’ll notice each item has its’ value written next to it so you’ll have a better idea of what you are bidding on.”

He waited for things to settle again before announcing, “Okay, folks, let’s get this show on the road! The first article up for bid is the legal services to draw up a Will and Power of Attorney; this was donated by Hayden Pierce at a value of two hundred and fifty dollars. Now, who will make the first bid?”

It took a couple of hours to complete the auction and Lucas was almost hoarse by the end of it; but also extremely happy with the results.

“Well done, Lucas, well done!” Samuel had a hard time containing his excitement as he took hold of the microphone once again. “All right, everyone. The youngsters will be returning shortly and the ladies have a delicious luncheon ready to serve while the DJ plays Carols. They asked me to let you know that tea, coffee and fruit punch is available at the bar but due to the presence of minors, there will be no alcohol served. It is now eight-thirty and the dance will be starting in about half an hour. In the meantime, we will be calling out the winners for the various draws so try to keep one ear open for the announcements, okay?” he laughingly ribbed those who were already involved in private conversations.

Chandi leaned closer to Eric and whispered, “Did I tell you how sexy you look in those dark gray slacks and that red cable-knit sweater? You wouldn’t have them on much longer if we were at home.” He suggestively grinned at his handsome lover.

“Thank you, love; you’re looking rather hot yourself.” Eric returned the leering grin. “Maybe we’ll leave after the first dance, what do you say about that?”

“Hey, I’m all for it. In the meantime, how about we get something to eat? I’m famished.” Chandi lead the way towards the buffet table. “By the way, I told you the rocking chair would fetch a good price and it did! Are you pleased?”

“I am, and I am also happy with the weekend at the Trillium Inn I bid on and won. Maybe we can spend New Year’s Eve there. I’ll have to check with James when I thank him for donating the gift certificate. He and Quinn are sitting at the table next to ours. I just have to make my way over there,” Eric mused.

“Yeah, that will be great,” Chandi replied somewhat absently. He was trying to figure out how to get the autographed Vancouver Canuck’s hockey shirt home without Eric seeing it. Stewart had bid on it for him and Chandi wanted to surprise his partner with it on Christmas morning.

“Ladies and Gentlemen; attention please! The winner of the 50/50 draw is…..” Lucas announced, reaching into the large jar and pulling out one half of a ticket, “number 505732. Will this ticket holder please come up to claim his or her prize of three hundred and eighty-five dollars.”

Kadyn had to check his ticket twice to make sure before jumping to his feet. “I won! That’s my number! It’s me!” he excitedly called out as he made his way to the front of the big hall.

A few minutes later he dropped back into his seat and merrily grinned up at his partner.

“Congrats, sweetie,” Vincent said, hugging the young man. “Do you have any plans for your new found wealth?”

“I already spent it all,” Kadyn informed him but didn’t explain further. He just crammed another sandwich into his mouth and glanced around at the others sitting at their table.

“How did you manage to do that so quickly?” Vincent asked. His question met with a shrug and a smirk.

The microphone cracked as the next announcement was made. “Well, folks; seems the Christmas spirit is running rampant here tonight. Kadyn has generously donated his winnings back to the cause. Thank you, Kadyn.”

Vincent beamed proudly at his partner. “Good man, sweetheart. That was very kind of you,” he praised. “Makes me somewhat happier about paying that exorbitant price of sixty-five dollars for the German Chocolate cake you wanted.”

“Yeah, but that’s because Stewart makes the best chocolate cakes ever, Vincent. And just think; Lucas paid one hundred for the carrot cake his partner donated. But it’s all for a good cause!” He laughed when Vincent rolled his eyes at hearing what had recently become his Brat’s often repeated mantra.

“This is a neat item you bid on, Hugh,” Kyler commented, holding up the envelope in his hand. “Man, an original Rene Wilson portrait!”

Hugh nodded and winked at Patrick. “I thought an oil painting of the three of us would look real good hanging over the mantel in the living room. What are your thoughts about it?”

“I am in agreement, Hugh, and it seems Ky is too,” Patrick responded for himself and their Brat.

Kyler opened his mouth to say something and paused to listen. “Did either of you hear what was just said? It sounded like my name was called.”

“Will Kyler Jamieson please come and claim his prize!” Lucas repeated.

“What prize?” Kyler looked confused.

“You won the raffle, kid. Those two big baskets are yours.” Stewart leaned across the table as he shared the news.

“No shit!” Kyler declared. “Wow, guess I better get up there!” He pushed his way through the crowd to the sound of clapping hands.

“I’m gonna get another cup of coffee, Zack, and then go over to sit with Kadyn for a few minutes before the dance starts, okay?” Rene asked as he pushed his chair away from the table.

“That’s fine, sweetheart, but save the first dance for me,” Zack teased. As Rene disappeared into the crowd, Zack turned to Todd and asked, “Did you get everything on your shopping list, Papa?”

“I most certainly did!” Todd had a self-satisfied look on his face.

“You made a list?” Hayden inquired with a note of disbelief in his voice, although in retrospect he shouldn’t have been surprised.

“Of course! You wouldn’t want me to forget anything, would you?” Todd replied, wide-eyed and innocent. “Although, I have to admit I’ve probably spent most my allowance for the next month or two.” He winked at Zack.

“What all did you buy? I want an exact accounting, Todd,” Hayden mildly insisted, knowing his husband would pick up on what was expected.

“I made some really good deals, my love. I bid for and won that beautiful, antique rocking chair; that one-of-a-kind, heirloom quilt; that absolutely gorgeous, handmade lace tablecloth; and the hand-braided floor mat. It will be perfect for that bare spot at the end of our bed.”

As Hayden’s curiosity got the better of him, he found it impossible to refrain from asking how much Todd had paid for each item. He was rather shocked when he heard the amount. “Todd, do you realize you paid three times the value for the rocking chair alone?” He shook his head in disbelief. “I’d say you spent more than just a couple of months’ allowance, my boy. I calculate it to be closer to all your free spending money for 2009.”

Hayden smiled and wrapped his arm around his husband’s shoulders. He was well aware of not only his beloved’s generosity, but also his love of exquisite novelties for their home. “At least it was for a worthy cause, wasn’t it, my darling?” he whispered in Todd’s ear.

“Yes, my love, as was the weekend for two at the Delta Grand Okanagan Resort, including a wine basket, that you bid on and won for a measly five hundred dollars. It will make a marvellous wedding gift for Zack and Rene, don’t you think?” Todd teasingly asked, knowing that was exactly what his husband had in mind when he kept upping his bids in the first place.

“It just might be,” Hayden agreed, his eyes sparkling.

“Oh, the music has started, Hayden. Let’s dance!” Todd jumped up and grabbing his husband’s hand, hauled him onto the dance floor.

By eleven o’clock, most were ready to called it a night. Friends and neighbours joyfully wished one another Merry Christmas, gathered up parcels of newly acquired belongings and herded family members out to the parking lot.

Nate and Amy had both sincerely thanked everyone for their support and kindnesses, extending invitations to one and all to attend their housewarming party once they moved back home in the New Year.

The hall had been put to rights and the last to leave were the members of the organizing committee.

“Kipper and I have done a rough estimate, Samuel,” Lucas informed the President of the Lion’s Club. “We did it! We all did it! The whole dang town actually did it! We not only reached our goal, but we surpassed it. We still have the money in the wishing-well to count and we are waiting for the various businesses around town to turn in the proceeds from their smaller fundraising activities. What we have so far has been put in the safe until the first of the week, when we’ll work on getting the final figure.” He was grinning from ear to ear as he slapped the other man on the back. “But for now, I’ll wish you a good night, my friend, and Merry Christmas.”

Lucas had been to countless fancy, white-tie benefits and had worked on dozens of committees with his parents to raise millions of dollars, but none had given him the deep-rooted feelings of satisfaction and contentment that tonight’s had. He felt humbled by the generosity of these honest, hard-working country folk. His eyes filled as his heart swelled with love and pride for this small community that had welcomed him as one of their own just three short years ago.

Lucas watched Samuel walk away and then, wrapping an arm around Stewart, took a deep breathe and gazed up at the sky. “What a perfectly wonderful way to celebrate this very special season,” he emotionally declared. Soundly kissing his partner, Lucas softly suggested, “Let’s go home, my love.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Kipper and his houseguest stood by the big picture window, enjoying a rum-laced eggnog drink and watching the large soft flakes slowly fall to the snow-covered ground, periodically letting their gaze wonder to the small town nestled in the valley beneath them. The women and children had long gone to bed, leaving the men to wind down as they saw fit.

“That was quite some party, wasn’t it?” Kipper asked, breaking into Nate’s quiet meditation. “I’d have to say it was also one of our more successful benefits.” He glanced over at the two large gift baskets with ‘To the Barker Family’ boldly written on the attached cards. He once again felt a surge of pride at his nephew’s big-heartedness.

Kipper wondered if the man beside him was aware of the well-over twelve thousand dollars that had been collected so far. That was a rough estimate based on the sale of over one hundred items at the auction, the raffle and the 50/50 draw, but the accountant also knew not all the monies had been turned in yet.

“Hmmm” was the only response to Kipper’s question.

“Okay, spill it, Nate! What’s eating at you?” the older man demanded after hearing his friend heave a sigh for the umpteenth time on less than fifteen minutes.

Nate groaned. He really didn’t want to get into it but felt he owed this good man an explanation for putting a downer on his evening. “I’m not saying I don’t appreciate all that is being done for us, Kipper, but if it wasn’t for Amy and the kids, I would have politely as possible turned down all offers of help. I feel I should be providing for my family and I am ashamed at having to accept charity like this.”

“So you think you have given nothing in return for all the kindnesses shown you; is that right?” Kipper sadly shook his head, understanding where the man was coming from and also knowing just how mistaken Nate was. “I want you to listen very closely to what I am about to say, Nathaniel.”

Kipper placed a hand on Nate’s shoulder to make sure he had the man’s undivided attention. “It is a result of you having swallowed that massive pride of yours that the folks of Jade Heights were provided with the opportunity to give of themselves in the true Christmas spirit,” he softly expressed his heartfelt belief. “Nate, you have nothing to feel ashamed or embarrassed about, as your allowing each of us the joy of giving was probably the greatest gift given tonight.”

The tears forming in the other man’s eyes, accompanied by a slight nod gave proof Kipper’s words had been understood and accepted. Nate had found the solace he did not believe possible in the quiet declaration of his older, more knowledgeable neighbour.

“I guess the boss man was right all along, we really are having Christmas,” Nate murmured as he turned to stare down into the valley at the town of Jade Heights sparkling in the distance, and a sense of peace settled over him.

The End