0 comments/ 5169 views/ 6 favorites Tom and Luke Get a Family Pt. 01 By: WittePiet Tom and Luke get a family Pt 01 [This story follows on from Dom and Sandro] Chapter I The première of Oberon and a career opportunity A year had gone by uneventfully. Tom Appleton was now beginning his third year in his appointment as a lecturer in the University of Trabizona in Emilia-Romagna, and although he spent about 30% of his time in lecturing, the remaining time in the lab was proving very fruitful. Professor Arturo Sescantanto had even given him a doctoral student to supervise. His name was Carlo, and he was an attractive young man, who, if Tom's partner Luke Singleton-Scarborough had seen him, might have become a source of jealousy. But Luke had other preoccupations. The long-awaited first night of Carl Maria von Weber's opera Oberon at the Teatro Musicale in Trabizona would take place under his direction the next day. The principals were all well rehearsed, the chorus was ready and the guest conductor Maestro Steinberger was satisfied with the orchestra. The sets and costumes all looked magnificent, particularly since the designer was a young man without much of a reputation. They had finally elected to use the Bodansky version of the libretto in which the spoken dialogue was replaced by recitative, as well as being translated into Italian. Critics from several European nations were expected for this first revival of a Weber opera in Italy for some years. David, Luke's Dad, had flown over from England for the occasion, and a box was reserved for a party consisting of him, Tom, Tom's friend from the lab Ben and his wife Leonora, Arturo and Bastian, Arturo's boyfriend. An Italian tenor was singing the title role and the role of Sir Huon was sung by the English tenor Felix Arundell. Reiza, the female soprano lead, was sung by Anna Kreissmüller, a young German soprano. When the evening arrived, the guests were all assembled in the box, while Luke was sweating and fretting away backstage. The overture began and at its end, the curtain rose on Oberon's bower. ............ The performance lasted a long time, but everything went smoothly, and both Arundell and Kreissmüller got thunderous applause. Next day the critics were very complimentary, although some complained that the original English or later German versions of the libretto should have been used. Pauline the répétiteuse and Cornelio the General Manager's decision to use an Italian version was vindicated however by the fact that within three days, all eight performances were sold out, even at the high ticket price that a new commercial production necessitates. Pauline and Cornelio were delighted and David was very complimentary. He told his son that the production had probably made his career. A month later, Luke got an E-mail from England inviting him to apply for the job of General Manager of the Royal Bristol Opera. This was a bombshell. Pauline and Cornelio did not want him to leave Trabizona, and Luke was faced with a real dilemma. No way did he want to leave Italy, whose whole atmosphere and climate were deeply dear to him. Like his mother, he wanted to make a permanent home there. Tom could not leave without breaking his contract, even though he could easily get a job back home, maybe even a chair. But Luke would never get another chance to work back in England in his chosen field, and only in England could a gay couple adopt children. But his job carried with it, exactly like his brother Sandro, the inevitable need to work permanently unsocial hours, and a restrictive holiday period. This was really incompatible with proper family life. So the alternatives open to the two men were both stark. Stay in Italy and make good careers, but childless, or return to Britain, adopt a family, but leave behind the life and climate of Italy, which even Tom had learned to love. The decision when it came was made easier when Luke discovered that the job in Bristol involved just such unsocial hours as his present job. It was not a desk job with office hours. So he replied that he had decided not to apply. However, the invitation had shaken up Cornelio. He had really thought that he might lose Luke. So Luke had a strong hand when he negotiated a new contract with Cornelio. This gave Luke the whole of August free on full pay, and a stipulation that he would undertake no more than eight productions per year, with a commitment to act as répétiteur for two further productions, to allow Pauline the chance to try her hand at directing. This new contract satisfied everyone. Chapter II A pregnancy and another opportunity In the meantime, something else happened that affected the men's lives. One of the female technicians in Tom's lab got pregnant, and had been abandoned by the putative father, who had rapidly disappeared. The girl, who was about twenty-three, went to see Arturo and asked him (he was now head of department) what she should do. She did not want her baby to be adopted, she wanted to look after it herself, but she had no money, and any kind of state benefit was inadequate. She would not consider an abortion and the man who had seduced her was untraceable. Arturo at once thought of Tom and Luke. He said to the girl, "I know personally two young gay men living in permanent partnership who are very keen to bring up a family. Italian law does not allow them to adopt, but there's no reason why they should not become foster parents to your child. This would enable you to feed the child and care for it in their home. They would give you free accommodation and pay you a salary to look after it at least until it gets to school age or maybe even eighteen. I know these men. They are wealthy, honourable and caring. They would pay all the costs of bringing up the child, and because they are gay, there is no chance of either of them ever laying a finger on you. Neither of them is Italian, but they both speak Italian very well. What do you think? You know one of them, he is Tom Appleton and he works in the lab." "It's an interesting proposition, but of course I need to meet these two men, because I would have to live in the same house with them, even if they don't want me in bed with them!" "OK, how about tomorrow at 6 pm?" It was Tuesday, and Arturo knew that Luke did not work on Wednesday evenings. The girl, whose name was Olivia, agreed. Arturo called Tom in to see him and told him what had happened. Tom got extremely excited, and said "Olivia has always seemed to me a sweet girl. What figlio di puttana could fuck her, get her pregnant and leave her in the lurch?" Tom asked, in a splendid mixture of English and Italian crudities. "Come what may, I will have Luca here by 6 pm tomorrow!" And so at the time agreed, the three met with Arturo in his office the next day. Olivia was a tall dark-haired girl with a big bulge, emphasizing the fact that she was basically rather slender in build. It transpired that she was six months gone, that she was attending an antenatal clinic for pregnancy care and that an ultrasonic scan had revealed that the baby was a boy. She looked closely at the two men. Luca, as Luke was always known in Italy, was tall, slim and dark-skinned with longish black hair and a goatee. Tom, whom she knew, was tall, muscular, clean-shaven with crew-cut hair and a hairy body. Both men were fit, with strong arms and legs and flat bellies, and not unattractive. She reckoned that they were in their early thirties or late twenties. She felt that Sescantanto's proposition needed careful consideration. In spite of her awkward and vulnerable situation, she was shrewd and honest. She did not see herself as a housekeeper or sex partner to either or both of them: she wanted freedom to live her own life, with her own room, a private bathroom and the freedom to go out whenever and with whom she wished, subject of course to the needs of the baby. The boys also had their own ideas. If Olivia was free to go out whenever and with whom she wished, how could they be sure that she would not take the baby and run off with another man, or even with a woman? They could not make any kind of legally binding agreement, because it would be unenforceable. The whole arrangement required absolute faith and trust between all parties. They felt that they must consult Bastian on a professional basis. Bastian, Arturo's boyfriend, was a lawyer. After a good discussion, the four decided that Olivia should spend an evening with each of the boys for them to get to know each other. The arrangement they made was that Tom would cook a meal for Olivia and Luke and then leave the flat for the two to talk privately. When it was Tom's turn to meet Olivia, the two would go out to a quiet and discreet restaurant where they could talk tête-à-tête, because Luke was not much of a cook! After that, the three would meet again with Arturo and decide on further action. Chapter III Luke meets Olivia Tom cooked a simple pasta meal for Luke and Olivia, a seafood lasagna, followed by ice-cream. The girl arrived about 7 pm, and Tom served up the meal and then left. He did not feel like going to the lab, so he went to the cinema. Olivia told Luke that she was a country girl, that she dared not tell her parents about her pregnancy, and she did not know many people in Trabizona, where she had only worked for a couple of years. She had no brothers or sisters who might have helped her. She seemed to be an intelligent girl who had been swept off her feet and dishonourably treated by a young man unprepared to take responsibility for his actions. Luke was very sympathetic: he told her how his mother had been similarly victimized by a man and how she had had him adopted. He explained that he had been brought up by a gay couple, one of whom was his mother's brother, without any females in the house on a regular basis until his sister was born by a surrogate mother. He told her that his childhood had been very happy, that his two fathers had looked after him well, but that when he finally at age nineteen met his mother, he wished that she had been around when he was little. He said he admired Olivia's decision to keep her baby and that he would be very happy to help bring up the boy. He did however make it clear that if Olivia subsequently formed a new relationship, she would have to leave her son behind. He said he knew that that sounded harsh, but a new relationship should be started without any strings. He and Tom wanted to raise the boy and educate him up to university level. The boy however should keep her surname. He said that it would be a hindrance to the boy to have either his or Tom's English surnames. He told Olivia that she would have total security and protection provided by Tom and himself, but that it would really be better if she did not get involved with another man. She told Luke that she was happy with those terms, that she did not feel that she wanted a new relationship with either man or woman. Luke knew that promises or intentions of this kind are pretty worthless, and that he and Tom were totally at the mercy of her whims, and if she changed her mind, they could, and almost certainly would, lose the boy. It was only worth the risk if they could reasonably rely on her keeping to her promise. The heartbreak that could be caused if she took the boy away from Tom and Luke would be incalculable, and did not bear thinking about. He wished that Olivia were like Leonora Curtiss, whom he knew would absolutely remain faithful to a promise. He decided that he needed the opinion of Bastian, Arturo and his mother as to the likelihood of her adhering to her promise. Of course, Tom and he had money on their side, but money is no proof against a mother who has made up her mind to keep her child. Chapter IV Tom meets Olivia Olivia Desparaldi had had no close friends in Trabizona, and had been lonely and miserable until she met the man who had seduced her. He was very sympathetic and seemed to be kind, but his thoughtfulness had not extended to the use of rubberware. It had never occurred to her to go on the pill, because it was not often that they slept together. She had really fallen deeply for him, to the extent of taking him home to meet her parents. They had seen through him at once and warned her that he had no serious intentions and that she ought to dump him. So when she had found herself pregnant and joyfully announced to him her condition, she was devastated when he told her to get rid of the baby. When she told him that she had no intention of doing so, he vanished. His flat was empty, his mobile phone number no longer worked and he had disappeared into thin air. From that moment on Olivia in desperation had been closely scrutinizing the men in the department. Tom had been one of those who caught her eye. She liked his well cared-for appearance and his kindly demeanour. Although he worked in the same department, Tom only knew Olivia by sight. But he knew that she was not a naïve and simple little girl. You had to be intelligent and hard-working to hold down a job in Sescantanto's lab. They met at a small restaurant near the boys' flat where they often ate when neither Tom nor Costanza could cook a meal. Tom scrutinized Olivia closely and liked what he saw. She had nice eyes and attractive dark wavy hair. Already pregnancy hormones had enlarged her normally fairly insignificant breasts, so that any hot-blooded Northern Italian male would have looked at them lustfully. (Northern Italians go for tits and butter, Southern Italians for arses and olive oil). Even Tom, who much preferred muscles and trim arses to breasts, felt a slight stiffening of his tool. Unlike Luke, Tom did find women quite attractive, and he sometimes wondered if he was bi. Olivia looked him full in the eyes and asked him about himself. He told her about how his teenage life had disintegrated after the death of his mother when he was fifteen, and how only one of his five sisters had cared for him while he studied to get into university, and how when he got there, the only person who had befriended him was Luke, with whom he had fallen in love and later become his lifetime partner. He told her how Luke's love had brought him via sexual intercourse into a belief in a loving God, and how he had been baptized as a student, and how the Christian faith had become a cement joining the two of them together. He did not tell her what we know, that he was a chemical genius, destined for high academic achievements. Tom asked her in English how well she could speak the language. She replied that her English was not very good, but Tom reckoned that it was lack of self-confidence about her linguistic skills that made her so modest. They talked in English for about ten minutes, and it was clear that she had a good understanding of the grammar and syntax, but that her tenses were often confused and her vocabulary a bit limited. But both could easily be improved with practice. Tom wondered why Olivia had not adopted the normal practice of girls in her situation of asking her parents or close friends to help her look after her baby. She said that she felt that she could not admit to her parents that they were right and that she should have heeded their advice. Tom told her in no uncertain terms that strained relations with her parents were no recipe for a happy upbringing for her baby. He said that if he and Luca were to become his foster parents, no way would they consider it unless they had her parents' full approval. "You can't turn your back on your parents!" he said. "They love you, and however much they may disapprove of what you have done, you need their help and support to bring up your baby. Luca and I would of course take a father's role, and ensure that you and your son are housed, clothed and fed, but you need your parents as well as us to love and cherish him and give him the best upbringing that can be had." He reached out and took Olivia's hand and kissed it. "Go this weekend, and talk to your mother and father!" he said. Olivia was surprised at this gesture of affection, and Luke if he had seen it would have had a pang of jealousy. Chapter V What should Luke and Tom do? Immediately after Tom's meeting, on a Sunday night, Luke and Tom went to bed early, not to sleep but to discuss their impressions about Olivia. "I think that she is a sweet as well as an intelligent girl," said Tom, "and like your mother, she has misjudged a member of our sex. I feel ashamed to be a man when I hear of people like those two worthless wops. What she most needs is a loving honest male like Massimo to marry her. But as none of those appear to be forthcoming, we are all that she has. I think she would make an excellent wife. If we take care of her baby though, she will lead a live without sex. That may well be OK for some women, but others are not going to like that. And if she meets and falls in love with a man, she will want to take the baby and go with him. What do you think?" "The only way that we could avoid that would be for one of us to get her pregnant. We would then have father's rights over her second child. But the main question is: What is best for her?" "In my opinion," said Tom, "that is her big deciding question! "But to change the subject completely, my sweet fag-boy," Tom continued, "what about a fuck? As usual, I can't lie close to you without getting a hard-on! Would you like to ride my dick?" After the usual preparations, Tom lay on his back, his lubed-up berubbered dick sticking up like a submarine's periscope, and Luke knelt over him, facing him and straddled across his body. Tom reached up and started to caress Luke's nipples and stroke the hair on his chest. Luke bent forward and kissed him passionately. "My darling Tom, why have I made things so hard for you? If I hadn't insisted on us coming to Italy, you would be a Fellow of Buckingham and a university lecturer in Camford by now. As it is, I am stuck here with an exciting but insecure job. OK, I now have a decent salary, but nonetheless an uncertain future." "Shut up, and let me get on with the job! No talking shop when we're fucking!" said Tom lustfully, in the crudest terms that he ever used. He was much more polite than his partner. Luke lowered himself gently until his rear end engaged with Tom's tool. They then both pushed and Tom's cock entered Luke's rectum. Then followed a very sweaty few minutes as both men worked to provide maximum friction to Tom's tool. Tom smiled contentedly as he watched Luke's giant but limp cock shaking up and down with the movements of Luke's pelvis. Luke's sweat trickled from his armpits down his side and splashed onto Tom's belly. Eventually with a shout, Tom came violently, shaking his partner with his shuddering orgasm. "I love you, my sweet pretty youth," he said. "I am so proud that you are mine. If you wanted to go to the Amazon jungle or the Sahara, I would go with you without hesitation. In the words of Ruth, Whither thou goest, I will go, where thou lodgest I will lodge, thy people shall be my people and thy God my God. " "There you go again, preaching in bed!" grinned Luke, as Tom's limp dick slipped out of his hole with a popping sound that made them both giggle. He flopped on the bed beside Tom and started to nibble Tom's tits. "Quoting scripture isn't exactly preaching!" replied Tom, shivering with delight at the sensation coming from his chest. "But thank you, my sweet love for letting me fuck you! My foul dirty lust for your bowel opening increases every time that I bugger you. If making love with my fag-boy is depraved, then I am proud to sink to the bottom of the foul black pit of depravity! It's a great shame that that wonderful source of pleasure, the arsehole, should have become a term of abuse among ignorant people!" Tom and Luke Get a Family Pt. 01 And Tom began to kiss Luke's belly. The sensation of his mate's rock-hard tool rubbing against his cheek was delightful. He began to lick the slimy precome, and when his tongue had spread it over the side of Luke's shaft, he took the head into his mouth and began to chew it. He rubbed his tongue over the nut-like head and pushed the tip of it into Luke's piss-slit. Luke wriggled with delight. "That's wonderful, Tom. No wonder small boys like playing with their genitals. You wait, our son, as soon as he's out of napkins, will start playing with his dick! Even before puberty, the nerve endings that give men such pleasure are already there. I hope he does become ours. I'm so glad that he's a boy!" "Personally, I wouldn't have minded if he had been a girl," said Tom, momentarily removing his mouth from Luke's cock. "But if you want me to pleasure you, you will have to shut up and let me get on with it!" He grinned before resuming his attentions to Luke's manhood, even trying to swallow it, and Luke responded with passionate fucking movements until after a couple of minutes he came with a shudder and shot his load into Tom's mouth. Tom smiled seraphically as he slowly swallowed Luke's ejaculate, and then in his usual way kissed Luke on the lips and with his tongue pushed traces of Luke's jism into Luke's own mouth. He then pulled Luke into a sitting position and put his arms tightly round Luke's upper body and gave him a kiss that lasted several minutes. "My darling Luke, you are still the man of my dreams!" he whispered as they fell asleep. Chapter VI Olivia's parents The two men and Olivia met with Sescantanto a week later. Olivia had seen her parents. After the first shock of hearing that she was to become an unmarried mother (a traditional expression now highly politically incorrect!), they asked her how she was going to manage with very little income and a baby to feed and bring up. She told them about what her boss at work had proposed. At first shocked and surprised, further consideration (Italians are not basically romantic people) made them curious to meet the two gay men who were apparently so keen to bring up their future grandson. The Professor suggested that a meeting be set up between Olivia, Tom and Luca and Olivia's parents. He preferred, having set the wheels in motion, to have nothing further to do with the arrangements, though he asked to be kept informed on a regular basis. The boys booked in for a weekend at an hotel in Ferrara, which was quite near Olivia's native village, Luke having managed to get a Saturday off work. They let the churchwarden and choirmaster of Holy Cross, their church in Bologna, know that they were unable to carry out their normal Sunday duties in the choir, and early on the Saturday they drove to the village where Olivia was staying with her parents. They had had a long discussion on what to wear. "If we wear suits, we will look like a pair of evangelizing Mormons!" said Luke, "but we can't wear denims or anything scruffy, so let's go for very smart casual." He made Tom put on his smart green leather jacket, and he himself put on cavalry twill trousers and a tweed jacket. Before they left (Tom was driving), he said to Luke as they sat in the car, "Let's just have a minute of prayer to ask God to guide us in what we say and the decisions we make." After a period of silence, Tom took Luke's hand and kissed it. "But whatever happens today, we still have God and each other," he said and he reached out and turned on the engine. The village lay in the flat plain of the river Po valley in the depths of Emilia-Romagna. The surrounding countryside was not especially beautiful. At about 10-30 am they knocked on the door of Via Umberto Primo 65. It was opened by a happy-looking Olivia. She invited them in and they shook hands with Olivia's parents. The parents were not as old as the boys had expected, they were in their early fifties. Signora Desparaldi went to prepare coffee. Signor Desparaldi worked as a local government officer: he was not a rustic peasant. He was also quite shrewd in the questions that he asked. He asked their ages, enquired about their careers and their career ambitions, about their incomes, whether they had any criminal convictions, why they lived in Italy rather than England, about their parentage and family history, how long they had lived together and the legal nature of their union. Finally he asked the most difficult questions of all, "Why do you want to bring up a child? You are both successful in your careers and have a good income, why do you want the responsibility of nurturing a child? It is a burden that many married couples nowadays want to avoid. Also, if your desire for a family is so strong, why do you not move to a land where you can adopt children rather than merely foster them, or even a land where you can commission a surrogate to bear your child? Moreover, what would you do if, God forbid, Olivia's child should turn out to be handicapped?" Tom answered for the two of them. "All normal human beings want to have children, surprisingly even women, for whom childbirth is a painful experience. It is burned into our genes that we want to reproduce. Most men want to become fathers, and for those men whose love and instincts are directed to their own sex, what we want is biologically impossible, so we must seek to love and cherish the offspring of others. "As regards your second question, Luca here has been learning Italian since he was seven, his biological mother and father both live here, he studied Italian for four years at university, so it is not surprising that he has a deep love for this country. I came here to be with him, I had to learn Italian starting at the age of twenty-two. It was hard work for me, but I had to do it to be with him, because by then we were civil partners. "If we had stayed in England, I would easily have got a job, we could easily have adopted children, but Luca wants to be here in Italy, and I want to be with him. Besides, I now love it here myself. We visit Luca's mother and her family twice a month. I have no family in England except a married sister. My mother died fifteen years ago, and I am estranged from my father and my other sisters. "As for your final question, it would be hard for us to bring up a handicapped child, but that is a risk that every prospective parent runs. We would not evade or seek to escape from a commitment just because it was harder and sadder than we expected. We have promised to be faithful to one another for better or worse, and we could never turn our backs on any agreement with Olivia just because she had had a handicapped child. Oh, and of course we have family money that would make child care very much easier. One of Luca's parents is extremely wealthy. We prefer to earn our own living, but there is no necessity except a moral one, to do so." After that response there was a period of silence. Signora Desperaldi asked if they would stay for lunch, and of course the boys said yes. Olivia had been silent throughout their long conversation with her father. She asked the boys if they were religious and they said that they were, that they worshipped most Sundays at the English church in Bologna, even though it was a long drive, but that they then went on at least twice per month to Luca's mother's house and spent the day with her and her husband. Luke told the story of how, when he became eighteen, he had traced her and visited her and her family when he was on a language course in Trabizona. He explained how he had effectively changed places with his Italian younger brother, who wanted to stay working in England! About 4 pm, the two men left, and they were invited to come to lunch the next day. They spent the rest of the day exploring the village before returning to Ferrara and checking the mass times at the nearest church. They often used the local church when there was no English church within reach. After an hour in the hotel pool, they had a late dinner at the hotel. Just before they went to bed, Tom's cellphone rang. It was Olivia. She said that she would meet them before lunch for coffee at the local taverna at 11 am. Next day, after church, they drove to Olivia's village and met her at the cafe. She told them that although they still had a lot of questions, her parents seemed quite favourably inclined towards them. Luke told her that if her parents were not opposed to the idea of fostering/guardianship, he would like his mother and Bastian to meet her before any decision could be made. Over lunch, the question of religion arose. The boys said that they would prefer to bring the boy up as an Anglican, but would not mind if Olivia wanted him to be a Roman Catholic. The important thing, they both emphasized, was that he should be taught the Christian Faith at a young age. This made a big positive impression on the Desparaldi parents. Luke explained that he had been in a choir school from age seven until his voice broke and had been confirmed and received his first communion at the age of ten. The Faith had always been an important part of his life and was a determining and cementing factor in his partnership with Tomaso. The boys made it clear that the final decision about their guardianship must come from Olivia, but that if her parents did not agree, then the plan would have to be abandoned. They did not want to break up the Desparaldi family. Late in the afternoon they left, after a meeting had been arranged between Olivia and Luke's mother. Chapter VII Olivia meets Dorothea, Arturo and Bastian The biological clock was steadily ticking, so less than a week later Dorotea Mascagnoli came to Trabizona to meet Olivia and the boys. A lot of similar ground was covered as in earlier meetings, but the subject of Olivia's coming confinement was discussed for the first time. To the boys' amazement, Luke's mother offered to come to the flat and look after Olivia after she and the baby had been discharged from hospital. "You can't go back to your bedsitter on your own," she said, "and I don't know how often the midwife will visit, but you will need help starting to feed the baby. It's unlikely that his feeding will be properly established before you leave hospital. "Moreover the men will need to be fed, and while Costanza can do that, she's not available every day. So you and the baby can have the spare room here, I will have the boys' room. Luke can sleep on the sofa in the lounge and Tom can go and stay with Ben and Leonora. Leonora may be able to give me a hand: she's a new mother herself and must know things that I don't know." Tom offered to give Olivia a lift back to her bedsit, and Luke stayed to hear his mother's opinion about her. "She seems to me to be trustworthy. If she agrees to live with the two of you, I don't think she will run off with another man or woman. If she has sexual needs, you will have to get her to admit it. If she fancies of one of you, you will have to decide between yourselves what you are going to do about it. "If she meets a man or woman with whom she wants to form a relationship, I think she would be happy to leave the child with you, provided that she can see him if she wishes. As for you two, you would have to find a resident carer, or else one of you will have to give up his job like Jonathan did. "The flat is not really a suitable place for a young baby. It would be better for you to look for somewhere else to live that's more family-friendly. It's not as if you are short of money. My brother gave Sandro and Dom £500K to buy a house. He will do the same for you. So the two of you had better get looking for a house suitable for a family! You need at least four decent-sized bedrooms, and at least two bathrooms, preferably three. If you want to retain Costanza, you have to be reasonably near where she lives." A few days later, a meeting was arranged between the men, Olivia and Arturo and Bastian at Arturo's villa. Arturo pressed Olivia to say what her parents' decision would be if she decided to let the boys become foster parents/guardians. She said that they would say yes. Bastian asked her what she would do if when the boy was say four years old, she met someone, male or female, with whom she wanted to form a relationship. Would she be prepared to leave the baby with the boys on a permanent basis, provided that she could see him whenever she wished? She said yes. She in turn asked the boys what they would do if their relationship broke up. This caught them unawares. They had not thought of that possibility. They could only say that it would not happen, unless one of them was killed in an accident, but that if it did, and Olivia was unmarried or not in a relationship, the boy would be returned to her guardianship, but with money for his care. If she was married, one of them or the survivor would assume full responsibility for the boy. There was enough money to pay a nanny. All present then asked Bastian if any legally binding agreement could be arranged, setting out all the agreed conditions. He was doubtful, but said that he would try to draw up some kind of agreement so that everyone involved knew exactly what the arrangements were, and the provision for the child in the event of the death, break-up or marriage of any of the parties would be spelt out. "You will need to make Italian wills to conform to this agreement," he warned the boys. The subject of housing was then discussed. It was agreed that the boys' flat was quite unsuitable for a family with a young baby. The boys said that they had money to buy a house, without even needing a mortgage, but that it would take time to find the right house, buy furniture (the rented flat was furnished) and move in. Arturo then came up with an amazing offer. "You can all move in here for as long as you need to buy and furnish a house," he said. "This place is much too big for just Bastian and me, and I'm sure that if you give my housekeeper Isabella a pay-rise, she will take care of the cooking and cleaning. And I think that she would love to have a baby in the house. There is a big room for Olivia and the baby, another for Tom and Luca, and a small room that Luca's mother can use while she is here. I will of course charge you rent, but it won't be something that you can't afford to pay. There is only one other condition: you must make me godfather to the baby." We were all delighted with the offer and its conditions. Tom thought back to his early days in the lab, and how he had found Arturo so difficult to talk to. He had not even guessed at that stage that Arturo was gay. Seven years had made a huge difference! He felt that he was increasingly coming to view Arturo as a second father. By the time that the baby was born, Tom would have had his thirtieth birthday. Chapter VIII Olivia gives birth The next few months passed rapidly. Luke explained to Cornelio and Pauline that he and Tom hoped shortly to become foster parents/guardians, and that his work would be irregular and frequently interrupted during the time that Olivia was having her baby and getting established in motherhood. Moreover, they were looking for a house more suitable for a family of four including a young baby. Cornelio assured him that they would be flexible and could manage in his absence, as the season in June/July was winding down for the summer. Pauline was delighted at Luke's prospective fatherhood. She said that no male was a complete man until he had been a father, and that a man could achieve that status with actually begetting a child, provided that he had been exposed to all the cares and responsibilities of fatherhood. In mid-June, a week before the expected date of delivery, Olivia and all her clothes and possessions were moved with the boys' help to Arturo's villa. Then the boys moved the things that they needed on a daily basis to the villa also. Olivia had remained pretty fit during her pregnancy. She told the boys that she had given their names to the maternity hospital as next of kin, rather than those of her parents. "I want to be sure that you have family status while I am in hospital, even though I won't tell you my decision about your guardianship role until after the baby is born," she said. Her antenatal classes had taught her how to recognize the imminent onset of labour. One night about three days later, she started to get contractions of her belly about 9 pm. "Don't worry yet!" she told the boys, "With a first pregnancy labour can go on for hours and hours. We must wait till the contractions get more frequent." About 2 am, the contractions were coming faster and more frequently, and the boys got the car ready. They helped Olivia, who was having difficulty walking, into the car and Tom drove them to the hospital. The journey was comparatively quick as there was little traffic at that time of night. Olivia was admitted to the maternity ward, and by now it was clear that she was in considerable, if intermittent pain. She was put into bed by a nurse, who told them that only one of them could stay with her. They asked Olivia which of them she wanted to stay. "Voglio Tomaso!" (I want Tom) she said. Luke said that he would wait in the waiting room. By 5 am, the contractions were getting stronger and Olivia kept crying out in pain. Tom went into the waiting room and told Luke to go home and get some sleep. "I'll ring you when things really get started," he said. "The contractions may go on for hours yet." So Luke drove back to Arturo's and went to bed. Tom returned to the ward to find Olivia moaning and crying. "Tenere mano mia, Tom!" she moaned. So Tom got hold of her hand and remained holding it for the next few hours. I will not describe the birth in any detail. About 7 am, it was clear that Olivia was in acute pain and nearly doubled up with almost uncontrollable contractions. The nurse brought a midwife and Tom was made to sit in a corner out of the way. They turned on the nitrous oxide and oxygen gas supply and gave Olivia small doses when she asked or cried. Her yells were getting pretty loud and distressed, and Tom felt awful. It is pretty bad for a husband or lover to hear the woman he loves in physical agony, but at least such a man knows that he is responsible for her condition! Tom had no such solace. Here was this girl, whom he had only known for a few months, undergoing agony, and all he could do was sit there. Another hour went by, and Olivia's heartbreaking shrieks continued. Then the nurses started to move around, there was a hive of activity, Olivia's yells got less, and in the pauses between, another higher sound could be heard, something between a shriek and loud whimper and the nurse started to wrap something up. She beckoned to a weary Tom and showed him a red-faced little object, yelling lustily, with a length of umbilical cord hanging out of his wrappings. "Vostro figlio nuovo" (your new son) she said. Tom wished that the little bundle really was his as he went to the bedside and took hold of an exhausted Olivia's hand. "Felicitazioni, sei una madre!" (Congratulations, you're a mother), he said, and bent down and kissed her. By now it was 9-30 am. He went into the waiting room and telephoned Luke, waking him up, and asked him to call his mother and ask her to come to Trabizona within a couple of days and to call Olivia's parents and tell them that they could come and visit Olivia in the evening. "And please could you come and pick me up?" he said. "I'm too shagged out even to consider coming out to Arturo's on the bus, and you've got the car! If you ask nicely, they'll let you take a peep at Olivia, but hopefully she'll be asleep by then." By 10-30, Tom was in bed and asleep. He slept till about 3 pm, got up, washed without shaving and got dressed. There was no sign of Luke, so Tom went to the lab. He could not play the role of a proud father announcing the birth of his son, so he didn't say anything. He went to see Arturo and said that he could work half-days until Olivia and the baby were discharged from hospital, but thereafter he needed maybe a week's paternity leave, maybe more. "I've not announced the birth to anyone," he said, "or they might think the baby was mine! In a way I wish it was, but that would have meant that I needed to fuck her, and I'm not sure that I could!" Tom and Luke Get a Family Pt. 01 Arturo grinned. "I know just how you feel!" he said. "The number of men that can really enjoy sexual intercourse with both sexes, must be fairly limited. Even if a gay man successfully fucks a woman, I'm sure that in many cases he does not enjoy it. There's the matter of smell for one thing. Perfumes would be less popular if people enjoyed unenhanced natural scents." "Yes. All the gays in our family, by which I mean Luke's family, use a particular old-fashioned brand of male fragrance called Storing pour Homme, because it really seems to enhance a man's natural smell. It's also of course a way of announcing your sexuality." "Yes, I've noticed that both you and Luca wear it," his boss replied. Tom talked to Carlo, his doctoral student, and told him that while his attendances at work would be spasmodic, he, Tom, would ring him each day to see how he was managing. Tom went back to Arturo's house after work and found that Arturo's housekeeper Isabella had a meal ready for him, Luke and Arturo. Afterwards, Luke and Tom went back to the hospital to see Olivia and the baby. Olivia looked very pleased to see them, and a few hours' sleep had obviously done her good. The colostrum had started to flow, and the baby had taken a little of it. "What are we going to call him?" asked Luke. "I thought about Giovanni," said Olivia. "That sounds good to me!" said Tom. "What do you think, Luca? "I wondered about Ricardo," said Luke. They finally agreed on Giovanni Ricardo Desparaldi. His birth weight had been just 3 kilos. The nurse brought young Giovanni in for Olivia to feed, or at least to attempt to. At that moment, Olivia's parents arrived and the boys made their farewells. No more than two visitors were allowed at once. When they got back to Arturo's, Dorothea rang. She was coming the next day and bringing a load of baby clothes and a few soft toys. "I'm not sure that Olivia has done anything about clothes" said Luke. "I think she wanted to wait until she knew that all was OK with the baby." By the next day, it was clear that the baby was ingesting his milk. The colostrum had lasted only a short time. Dorothea arrived with a case of clothes and was greeted with enthusiasm by the boys. Olivia received the offer of clothes with gratitude. After another three days, she and Giovanni were well enough to come home. A midwife was due to make a daily home visit, but Olivia was glad that Dorothea was there to make sure that the homecoming did not upset Giovanni's feeding routine. Isabella was running round making sure that Olivia's room was OK to receive the baby, who was to sleep in a small portable crib next to his mother's bed. Dorothea had the next door room and was ready to help if it was necessary, even in the middle of the night. The first two days after release from hospital were anxious, in case there were problems with Giovanni's feeding, but Olivia's milk continued to flow and the boy continued to guzzle it greedily. He lost a little weight over the first week after birth, then slowly started to increase in weight again. Olivia had remained in bed for most of this time, but was now getting up, moving around and taking her meals with the rest of the family. Arturo was delighted to have three adults sitting down to dinner each night with him and Bastian, who was rather bewildered by the whole event. One night after dinner, Olivia asked the boys to come to her room while she was feeding Giovanni. "I have finally decided to accept your joint offer to be guardians of my son," she told them, and I want you both to come with me to register his birth. Can we go tomorrow morning?" A look of total joy suffused the faces of both boys, and they took turns to embrace her and kiss her. They had been embarrassed at first by the fact that Olivia had her son sucking her breast while making this announcement, but each was thrilled when she gave the baby to one of them to hold while she kissed his partner. She showed them how to hold him over their shoulders to get him to burp up his wind. "If I were married," she told them, "my husband would be doing what you are doing. So you mustn't be embarrassed at the sight of my tits! If you are to play the role of Giovanni's fathers, you have to do everything a married man would do for his wife, except for sleeping with her! Once Luca's mother has gone home, I expect one or other of you to be on call each night, so that if Giovanni wakens up you will be at hand to get him out of his crib and give him to me for feeding. AND you will remain present until he has been fed and you can put him back to bed again! It's enough for me to be a human cow, without having to get out of bed to fetch him to be fed! We must just hope that with a good feed last thing in the evening, he will only waken once in the night." This really wakened the boys up to what parenthood is like. Little did they realize that much more was to come, involving diapers/napkins and other needs essential to baby life! Chapter IX Registration, parenthood and house-hunting After breakfast and baby-feeding the next morning, the three left Giovanni in the care of Dorothea and went off to the Municipio to register his birth. They explained to the registrar that the baby's father was untraceable, and that Tom and Luca wanted to be appointed guardians to the baby along with his mother. The registrar said that that would require them to register as foster parents, and told them how to go about registering. A few days later, Dorothea went home. The men had come to the arrangement that they would take it in turns, alternate nights to sleep in the room she had had which was within earshot of Olivia and Giovanni. If the boy cried in the night, whoever was 'on duty' would take him out of his cot and give him to Olivia for feeding. He would then wait up to half an hour till the feeding was over, take the boy, change his diaper if necessary and put him back in the crib and kiss him good night. The difference between Tom and Luke doing the job was that Tom also kissed Olivia before going back to bed. Of course the boys were no longer able to sleep naked, the one 'on duty' had to sleep in pyjamas, or at least in pyjama-trousers! Arturo had obtained for them a pile of estate agents' brochures to examine for possible houses. Luke said in English to Tom that they were going to have a lot of work involving a lawyer in the coming months: the legal definition of their status vis à vis Giovanni, the work involving house purchase and the drawing up of new wills under Italian law. Bastian was the obvious candidate for these jobs, but Luke wanted to get Tim Ingledown to check him out. "I'm basically distrustful of lawyers, and we need to be reassured that Bastian has a good reputation. I've heard in England about many friendly but incompetent solicitors!" Luke telephoned Tim and asked him to check out Bastian's reputation, as well as explaining why they needed a lawyer. He mentioned that they would be needing a lot of money for the purchase of the house and furniture, and that instructions would be coming to Tim about it from his parents. Curiously, Tim was the first person in England to be informed about the boys becoming fathers. Inspection of the house agents' brochures revealed about half a dozen possible properties, though none of them was cheap. "We are not in a state to haggle," said Tom, "so we must be sure to make a realistic offer." They set out the next day by looking at the exterior of each house and checking its location. This ruled out three of the houses without even looking inside. Eventually after having inspected the interiors, they found one that suited them. It was near the park, a short tram ride from their old flat, and convenient both for getting to and from the Teatro Musicale and Costanza's home. There was also off-street parking at the back. It was not cheap, but it had been recently modernized and had four bedrooms and three bathrooms, two of which were en-suite. The boys contacted Luke's parents and were promised £500K from each, which was more than enough to buy the house and to furnish it. Olivia helped them to choose the furniture. "It's a good job that we have so much parental help," said Luke, "we could never have bought this house on a mortgage, even if they had given us the deposit." There was enough space in the house for Olivia to have her own sitting room, as well as a study for the boys. There was a large kitchen with an alcove for eating, a separate dining room, which also housed Tom's piano, and a very large sitting room. The ground floor at the back had a terrace facing on to the small back garden. Chapter X A new family in a new house The family as we now must call them, lived in Arturo's villa for six months. Arturo's summer party took place in the house almost without them noticing. Tom used the event to apologize to Carlo for his frequent absences and spells of going home early and reminded the boy that he should always ring him if he had problems in the lab. Luke felt unable to take time off for the party, even though he was living in the same house. By the time that the new house was ready, Olivia had begun to wean Giovanni. He was taking solids, basically adult food homogenized in a hand grinder, with only a couple of small milk feeds each day. "I'm sure Bastian at least must be relieved to get the house to themselves again!" said Luke. They moved into the new house in mid-December, just in time for Arturo's departmental party. Since Giovanni had eaten a good lunch, Olivia felt able to leave him with Costanza for a couple of hours while she went back to the villa with the boys for Arturo's winter party. It was the first time that she had felt that she could leave her son. The party was held as usual on the shortest day, and it was a totally different experience for the boys from previous years. Those had been day-long eating, drinking and socializing occasions, not just with the chemists, but with most of the gay population of Trabizona. This time it was an occasion for Olivia to meet her old colleagues in the lab, the first such occasion since her confinement. For the first time, they realized that they were now a family, and day-long drinking was no longer an option. Olivia's colleagues in the lab were amazed and delighted to see how happy she looked, and how her fuller figure (due to breast-feeding) became her. The men's gay acquaintances were in turn surprised to see how fatherhood had restrained their drinking habits. Tom's demeanour reminded Ben how much happier and more relaxed he seemed than in the period when he was pining for a family. Fatherhood was obviously good for Tom. Both the men looked happy and proud as they showed off Olivia to their gay friends. After two hours, they left on the shuttle bus for the town centre, where Luke walked to work and Tom and Olivia took the tram home. Tim Ingledown had checked out Bastian and reported that the firm in which he was a partner had a very good reputation, so the boys gave him their instructions. In their wills, most of their individual estate was to go to the survivor. If the testator was the survivor, most of the estate was to go to Giovanni and any other children jointly with an income for life to Olivia, who would be joint trustee for Giovanni's inheritance until he was eighteen. They had told Tim that they wished to cancel their English wills. Bastian told the boys that it was vitally important that the documentation on their guardianship of Giovanni, and an attested English translation, should be looked after very carefully. It would be needed for instance when Giovanni was due to start school. It should be taken with them whenever they were taking Giovanni outside the Schengen area, even when Olivia was with them, but particularly when they were going to Britain. There had been numerous problems with the custody of children being taken out of the jurisdiction of the English courts, and the UK Border Agency could get quite difficult in cases where children were leaving the country, even when they had only been visiting. Once the boys had become official guardians, they at last felt able to show off Giovanni to their families. Liz Satterthwaite, Tom's sister, was particularly delighted that the boys finally had a baby. She knew how deep Tom's longing for a child had been. David, Jon and Tommy, Luke's fathers and brother, were also happy that Luke now had a child that he and Tom could care for, even though he could not call it his own. Skype was a wonderful tool for showing off their offspring. Luke's grandparents too were delighted to see their third great-grandchild for the first time. Of course, they also had the rather more difficult task of showing off Olivia to all their English relatives, but that seemed to go quite well also. No doubt the relatives were all wondering what was going to happen with regard to Olivia. After all, she was not just a provider of a baby for the boys, she was a human being with thoughts, desires and a need for relationships. But until she felt a sexual need, she was quite well-off: comfortable, well fed and housed in a nice house, free to go out whenever she wished, subject to Giovanni's needs, which got less once he had been weaned. The boys were always friendly and considerate and got her anything that she asked for. They took her to church, to the opera and to the cinema, and they even ate out in a restaurant a couple of times per month, while Costanza acted as baby-sitter. They were all delighted with the new house and gave a housewarming party to a select list of guests: Arturo and Bastian, Ben and Leonora, Pauline and her fiancé, Cornelio and his wife and Signora Bruschetti, Tom's piano teacher. It was not a sit-down meal: basically buffet food and drinks organized by Tom and Costanza, who was happy to continue working for the boys and delighted to be in a house with Giovanni, of whom she made a great fuss. Her extra work and responsibility were to be rewarded by a big pay rise, plus travelling expenses. By now Giovanni was sleeping through the night, and Tom and Luke could resume sharing a bed, under their own silk sheets. They celebrated this by making love with increased frequency. Costanza was not the only one to fall under Giovanni's spell. Both the men as soon as they got into the house would seek him out and if he was awake, play with him and talk to him in spite of the lack of intelligible verbal response. Although it was their intention to bring the boy up as an Anglican, it was agreed that he should be baptized in the Roman church. There is no problem about Anglican churches recognizing Roman Catholic baptisms, but the reverse is not always the case. Arturo and Pauline were Giovanni's godparents, and another small party was held after the service at which his 'head was wetted' by the guests in numerous glasses of Prosecco. The whole question of Sundays had been settled by a complex programme. On one Sunday per month, the boys alone would drive to Bologna for the Sunday service, two weeks later all three of them would take Giovanni to Bologna and after the service go on to Luke's mother's. The other two Sundays per month, with Olivia and Giovanni, they would go to their local Catholic church. Tom had offered to resign as churchwarden of Holy Cross, but the Chaplain has said that Tom was too valuable to lose and a deputy had been found for the Sundays when Tom was absent. The boys had however, temporarily left the choir. Once Giovanni had got a few teeth and had started eating solid food, Olivia took charge in the kitchen. It turned out that she was a good cook. Both Tom and Costanza were relieved by this discovery. Tom had been doing all the weekend cooking (Costanza only came during the week), and it had prevented him from spending time with Giovanni. The men both now worked split shifts during the week, with a break from 1 to 4 pm, during which they came home and had a family meal with Olivia and Giovanni, cooked by either Olivia or Costanza, at which either Tom or Luke would say grace. Tom of course would come home soon after 6 pm in time for Giovanni's evening feed, and would then either bath him or help Olivia do it. The boy would often waken about 11 pm for a short feed, and Luke would be there to change him if necessary, and put him back in his cot. He was now growing steadily. The sparse black hair that he had had at birth was now long and abundant, and Olivia needed to cut it from time to time. He had long ago lost the red and wrinkled appearance of a newborn. Things continued in this way until January. Bianca, Dorotea and Massimo's daughter, at university in Paris, had gone to spend Christmas in England with her brother Sandro and his boyfriend, their two adopted daughters and Luke's parents and adopted brother at Rockwell's Barn, so Dorotea and Massimo came to Trabizona and inaugurated Tom and Luke's new guest room. It meant that Tom could entertain them in the days between Christmas and the New Year when Luke had to work. At New Year they all spent the day at Olivia's parents', but the boys had to be very restrained in their drinking, because they had to drive home with a very precious small passenger who had not been around the previous year! He was not yet big enough for a baby seat, and his carry-cot was strapped to the back seat. The Desperaldis had by now got used to their daughter's ménage à trois, and were always delighted to see Giovanni. February saw Pauline's directorial debut in a new Italian-language production of Rossini's last completed opera, Guglielmo Tell with Luke as répétiteur. He had had several long phone conversations with his father David about the job of répétiteur. The cast were all native Italian speakers, so the job tested Luke's musical skills rather than his linguistic ones. Pauline was quite demanding about what she wanted from the principals, and it was sometimes a struggle for Luke to achieve her objectives. Rehearsing the chorus, in contrast, was much easier. He would get home at night quite drained, even after the public performances had begun, and was often disappointed that Giovanni was asleep. Even Tom found it hard to get him to relax. "It's all right for you, Tom," he would grumble, "you've had a nice evening with our son and his mother. I come home shagged out with emotional strain and can't unwind, because they're both in bed!" "Have a drink," said Tom, "and then come to bed. I'll soon relax you! You mustn't feel like William Tell's son, a target for arrows!" They managed these days to get regular supplies of Belgian beer. They took their glasses of Westmalle Dubbel and adjourned to the bedroom. Tom slowly undressed Luke before taking his own clothes off. He made his boyfriend lie on the bed and squatted over him with his arse in Luke's face, his dick and balls dangling temptingly in front. Luke started to kiss his hairy rump, while Tom bent forward and took Luke's limp cock into his mouth. It at once started to stiffen, while at the other end of his body, Luke's tongue was pushing at his anal sphincter. They both shivered in delight at this double stimulation. Luke then transferred his attention to Tom's cock, which in turn began to stiffen and rapidly hardened to full size in Luke's moist warm oral cavity. The dirty talk that usually accompanied their lovemaking was silenced when both their mouths were full of meat! Luke put both his arms round his partner as their mutual mouth-fucking got into its stride. They had not played soissant-neuf for some months and they had to go slowly in an attempt to keep their orgasms in synch. When Luke tightened his grip on Tom's waist, Tom knew that Luke was about to come and speeded up his movements so that they both squirted together. As usual, Tom had difficulty in keeping all Luke's come in his mouth until he could swallow it, but eventually only a small volume dribbled out of his mouth on to his mate lying below. Tom moved over Luke's left leg, rolled over and lay down beside him. Luke reached out and put his arm round Tom, and the two fell asleep with uncleaned teeth and a taste in their mouths from a beverage even more enjoyable than the contents of the half-drunk glasses of beer beside the bed! Tom and Luke Get a Family Pt. 02 [Pt. 01 should be read first.] Chapter XI Another baby? A few days after Giovanni's first birthday, which they had celebrated just as a small family occasion, after he had been put to bed, Olivia asked the men to join her in her room. She said, "You boys have been amazingly kind and supportive over the last year. You have been all that a father should be to our little boy. You have really made me enjoy motherhood, so much in fact that I want another baby! What's more, I want one of you to be the father! My periods have started again, so in a month or so, we can try." Both men were bowled over by this. Luke said, "Cara Olivia nostra, this is wonderful news. Of course we want to have another baby, but Tom and I need to talk between ourselves about how we might do it. We have solemnly promised before God that we will forsake all others. We'll tell you in a couple of days what we want to do. But I presume that if we decided to do it by artificial insemination you would have no objection?" "Not at all," she said, "as long as I get pregnant! That's all that matters." They left her and went to bed. Tom said, "We have several things to decide. The most important is how we feel if we decide that one of us should fuck her, and the implication for our vows to one another. But if we reject that route, we still have to decide whether she should be inseminated by you, by me or both of us using mixed semen. If we go for the fucking option, I see one or two problems. One is that one of us might enjoy it and start to fall in love with her. The other problem is if one or both of us is unable to get an erection, then we will not be able to manage it. In that case we would have to fall back on A.I. I don't think that we should try Tadalafil to get an erection." "I don't think that I could get my cock hard without using Tadalafil. Remember my first time fucking you! I'm sure that I would be totally impotent with a woman!" said Luke. "So if we decide to go down the route of natural conception, I hope that Olivia chooses you." "But it's likely that we may have to make several attempts," said Tom, "so really we may have to take it in turns." "But it would be totally frustrating for her if we got into bed and I lay there with a totally limp cock! We have to consider Olivia's feelings. Whatever we think, we have personal knowledge that sexual union is not purely mechanical. There is the sacramental/spiritual side of it that means so much to you and me. It would be akin to rape if we were to shag her without any tenderness or romance. I know a lot of married men have mistresses that they conceal from their wives, whom they shag without feeling any sense of guilt towards their wives or of love towards their mistresses, but I'm not sure that I could do that. In contrast, A.I. is not much different for a woman from sex using a pessary." After much similar discussion, they decided that they would initially try fucking, and if conception was not achieved within three months, they would resort to A.I., even though that would be the worst of both worlds. However, it was now August, and Luke was on holiday for four weeks, and Tom felt able to take three clear weeks holiday. Since they had applied for a passport for Giovanni as soon as he was a year old, they decided to go to England for two weeks and stay with Luke's fathers at Rockwell's Barn. Going away would give Costanza a few weeks break. Tom asked Arturo to keep an eye on Carlo while he was away, and give him any help that he needed. Preparation for the trip was hectic, but eventually the four of them were on a flight from Valerio-Catullo-Villafranca airport to Bristol. At Lulsgate (Bristol) Airport, they were met by David and Jonathan in two cars and driven to Ixton, where they found to their surprise and delight that David's parents were already in residence. Giovanni had slept for most of the journey, but was now awake and interested in all that he saw. His great-grandparents made a great fuss of him, and he enjoyed every bit of attention. David had obtained a supply of baby pool-napkins so that Giovanni could go into the pool without peeing in it. Consequently, the boy played in the water every day with one or other of his parents or grandparents. Even Olivia ventured once or twice into the pool. Giovanni benefitted from the change of scene and from the English summer air. He was even trying to pull himself up onto his feet. His fathers enjoyed every minute of his company. Even changing his shit-filled napkin was a pleasure! They both found that they did not see enough of him in everyday life. David's parents went out of their way to get to know Olivia. This required some effort on their part, but did result in Olivia getting more confident in speaking English. David's father told his grandson and Tom that they must never let Olivia feel sidelined, as if she were just there because she was Giovanni's mother, and that they should love her as much as they loved their parents. One day, the four of them drove to Womble in Jon's 4x4 along with Jon, David and Tommy. It was the weekend, and Dom and Sandro were delighted to see them all. Anne and Jane, their adopted daughters, were thrilled to have Giovanni to play with and the whole party spoke Italian for most of the day, even though Dom and Tommy struggled a bit! Well primed in advance, Elizabeth had prepared a huge buffet lunch, and the weather was warm and dry, so they all ate outside in the back garden at a long trestle table that they had borrowed from the church hall. The party did relapse into English during lunch, which also enabled Elizabeth, Dom and Tommy to relax. They all made Olivia welcome, and she was visibly enjoying herself talking to the twins. It was the kind of super-family occasion that Italians love. Luke and Tom noticed Tommy's struggling, and Tom said to him, "Tommy, if you are studying Italian at University, you need a LOT more practice in speaking it. Come back with us to Italy for a couple of weeks. We will pay your fare, you don't need to ask your fathers. You will have your new nephew Giovanni to entertain you and Olivia will be able to take you out when we are at work. You need to be in a situation where no-one speaks English. Luke and I don't speak English at home, except to Giovanni and when we're in bed or if we have visitors." Tommy looked surprised but excited and said yes, there was time for him to do that before term began. He had completed his two years of Classical Languages, in which he had got an upper second class, and was about to begin his third year in which Italian was to be his major. 
 Chapter XII Introducing Alberto The next week, Arturo Sescantanto called Tom into his office and informed him that a new postdoc was starting in the lab the following week. "You'll have something in common," Arturo said. "He's gay! He makes no secret of it. He told me that's why he applied here. He knows that I am gay, so he knew that he would get a fair consideration. And he's good, he's already got a dozen papers on his CV. Make sure that you and Ben help him to settle in. Don't exclude him by talking in English!" The new colleague was about thirty, tall and slim, with black wavy hair. He was called Alberto Giranova. It transpired that he was, like many gays, a fitness fanatic, so Ben and Tom invited him to join their three times weekly jog round the Parco Emilio Guzzoni, in which they now changed to speaking Italian. They spent some time finding out about each other. Ben said that he was an American with a Ph.D. from Harvard married to an Italian girl and they had a baby son. Tom told Alberto that he was English with a Dottorato di Ricerca from Trabizona, living in same-sex civil partnership with another Englishman, but with a ménage à trois with an unmarried Italian girl and her fatherless son, of whom they were foster parents. The baby was now a few months over one year old. Tom said that the boy's birth had totally changed his attitude to male beauty. Previously his ideal male had been tall, slim with a flat belly, reasonably good musculature, rounded arse and a good-sized package between the legs, but now what he found most attractive in a male was a sweet, smiling, frequently smelly, baby boy with a damp garment round his belly covering his tiny male equipment, and a gurgling laugh. Alberto said that he was single, but actively seeking a permanent partner. He was a graduate of the University of Palermo in Sicily, but with a Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. Indeed, Arturo had been wrong about his English. It was pretty fluent, considerably better than Olivia's. Both Tom and Ben said that they could tell him about the location of gay bars and restaurants, but did not frequent them much themselves and could not be of much help in that respect. However, there would be Professor Sescantante's party at Christmas, at which pretty well every educated gay man in Trabizona would be present, and some would be unattached. As it happened, Sescantanto took the initiative by inviting Alberto to join him in his monthly dinner with Bastian, Tom and Luke. Bastian was able to give Alberto more information about where he might meet prospective dates. It turned out that Alberto had a good tenor voice, so he was added to the musical entertainment list! Being Italian, he settled in very quickly in the lab, and Tom was impressed by his competence. Soon they were actively and fruitfully working together, which caused some sly comments among the research students and technicians about gays, but Tom did not find Alberto sexually attractive. Family life meant more to him. 
 Chapter XIII More about Carlo When they got back from England with Tommy to Trabizona, a difficult period began. Whereas a married couple tend to have a fairly good approximate idea of the right time of the month to conceive, and some women actually can feel when they are ovulating, in the case of Olivia, these intimate details were not things that the men really wanted to know, but of course could not ignore! Olivia said that she would prefer Tom to be the first to try it. She said that she was pretty regular with her periods, and had been keeping careful count of the days. They agreed that to increase the chances of conception, Tom should sleep in her bed for five nights round about Olivia's approximate ovulation date. Tom had arranged time off from the lab to entertain his namesake. He would not return to work after lunch and would spend the rest of the day showing Tommy the sights of Trabizona. He insisted on only speaking Italian to Tommy, and after a couple of days struggling, Tommy developed enough confidence to carry on a proper conversation. Tom would take him into shops and bars and make him buy things, would make him buy the tickets on the tram and even got him to make a couple of phone calls. One evening he took him to see Ben and his family, and encouraged him to talk to Francesco, whose conversational level was nearly as good as Tommy's own! Tom said that there was nothing so encouraging in language learning as talking to someone who knew even less words that you did! The family introduced Tommy to Italian wine and speciality foods. Shortly after Tommy had been put on the plane back home to Gatwick, Tom invited Carlo to come and eat with them one night when Costanza was cooking. Carlo had of course met Luke several times, particularly at Arturo's big parties. Tom said to him, "Carlo, I'm sorry that I have not been available in the lab as often as I should be lately. I feel that we need to get to know one another better. I spend too much of my life either in the company of gays, or with my partner and family. I don't even come out as frequently as I should to our departmental trips to the taverna. My partner works most evenings, but Olivia needs more company. You have only met her briefly at Arturo's big party once or twice. Come and eat with us and meet our son!" Carlo was about twenty-five and a year or so earlier had completed his Masters study (Laurea Magistrale) in the department. It was not until he became a Masters student that he discovered how many gays there were in the department! It did not shock him, but it was a phenomenon that he had not previously encountered. His own sexuality was undoubtedly straight, but he harboured no prejudices: indeed, everyone in the department seemed to him to be normal human beings, which of course they were. He was a bit in awe of Professor Sescantanto, and so was rather relieved when he discovered that his supervisor was to be Dottore Appleton. Tom had told him that he should call him Tom. "I'm only about seven years older than you," he said. "We're all in the learning boat together. Research and learning go hand-in-hand!" Tom was not by nature extrovert: Carlo was his first research student and it had not up to the time of the birth of Giovanni occurred to him that he should get to know his student more personally. In mitigation, it could be pleaded that Tom had been so obsessive about getting a family that he had had little thought to spare for his colleagues other than Arturo and Ben. But after his son's arrival, he realized that a life outside his new house existed, and that getting to know his student was important. So at least once a month, he would invite Carlo to come home with him on a night when Luke was not working, and eat with them after sharing the task of reading to Giovanni. Giovanni loved Carlo's visits, because on those nights they all spoke Italian, whereas otherwise Giovanni had always to speak English to Tom and Luke. Carlo had several younger brothers and sisters, and as a young teenager had often read to them before bedtime. Olivia liked Carlo and always made him welcome. Luke was slightly uneasy when he saw how handsome and lively Carlo was, and wondered whether Tom fancied him sexually. But he told himself that here again his stupid and irrational jealousy was asserting itself. Carlo was not a local student: he came from Genoa, so he did not see his family very often. He did socialize with the other research students in the department, but the fact that his supervisor was both English and gay made their lab somehow different, a difference enhanced when Alberto joined the lab. However, Carlo found his gay colleagues enjoyable company, as well as good workmates. Tom was always a fund of good advice, and Alberto was stimulating company. Carlo enjoyed going to work each day. Chapter XIV Tom and Olivia Tom said to Olivia one evening when Luke was working, "Cara Olivia, I want to talk to you about our coupling. I don't want our baby to be conceived as a result of a 'Wham, bam, thank you Mam' encounter. Although we are not in love, I want us to be as sweet and romantic to one another as we can be. I want to see you naked, and I want you to see me naked. I've never in my life seen a woman totally naked! I need for the purposes of foreplay to know what you look like. I don't want us groping under the sheets or in the dark. "You know that this is going to be difficult for me. I have read up about fucking a woman, and I have looked at a few porn pics to see what women are like and what positions to adopt, but I am a virgin as far as women are concerned, and you are not, so I am going to need your help if we are to enjoy the experience even a little bit, because there's no guarantee that we will be successful, even five nights in a row. Besides, one or other of us may may not want to try it every night. You might find it difficult to sleep with a man in the bed, and so be tired out the next night! And what if I can't get an erection? I wouldn't want to let you down!" "Tom, Tom, posso ti pompino dare!" (I can give you a blow-job). This amazed Tom and relieved him enormously. It suddenly became clear that in spite of her quiet and innocent demeanour, Olivia had a lot of sexual experience. Tom said that whenever they slept together, Olivia should wear the Storing pour Homme perfume that he and Luke wore. It really looked as though she wanted him! This feeling was reinforced when, to his delight, Olivia came up with an attractive suggestion. "Tomaso, why don't we take a shower together? My shower has room for two people and if we washed one another, we would get to know each others' bodies. You could see my stretch marks! Although such intimacy isn't essential, I'm sure it would make you feel happier about us having sex. Besides, I want to have a good look at your cock!" This last comment bowled Tom over! Perhaps fucking a woman was not going to be so difficult after all. If Olivia wanted him, he would feel much more comfortable. 



 Chapter XV Tom and Olivia have sex When Olivia told Tom that she was within a day or two of ovulation, he told Luke that he would be sleeping in Olivia's bed for the next few nights, and that he would be going to bed early. He would leave a sandwich in the kitchen for his darling boy if Luke felt hungry when he got in from work. About 9-30 pm on their first night together, Tom and Olivia went to her room and locked the door. Giovanni lay fast sleep in his crib. They started to undress one another, and were able for the first time to take a good look at each others' naked bodies. Now that she had ceased lactating, Olivia's breasts had started to shrink and were now modest little hills. Tom loved them. It gave her a slightly boyish figure, although her wider hips and rounded belly were typically and delightfully female. She was really quite alluring. Olivia inspected Tom and was favourably impressed by his broad shoulders, hairy chest and narrow hips. She was not deterred or worried about his 12 cm uncut tool, hanging limply between his legs. For her as with most women, size did not matter. She liked his trim and hairy arse and his big feet. Tom wrapped his arms round her and kissed her, caressing her small, smooth arse, before leading her to the shower. Already his cock was starting to stiffen. Olivia turned on the shower and opened a new bottle of shower gel. "This one is totally without fragrance, so that we can put on Storing pour Homme when we're dry," she told him. She poured some into her hand, and started to wash Tom, starting with his neck and shoulders. It was a delightful sensation. Her touch was softer and more delicate and more hesitant than Luke's when he was carrying out the same operation. By the time she had reached his genitals, Tom's cock was as hard as a rock! She kissed the tip of it before turning him and washing his arse. Tom nearly went crazy with pleasure under her touch. When it was her turn to be washed, he lingered over her tits and arse, but did not spend much time washing her pubic hair. She took his hand and made him push his index finger into her cunt. She in turn wriggled with pleasure at the sensation of his digital penetration. When they began to dry themselves, Tom was obviously all ready, his cock was dripping precum. He finished drying himself, then dried Olivia, splashed Storing pour Homme on each of them, dragged her into the bedroom and helped her into bed, before kneeling between her outspread legs as she lay on her back. She pulled him down on top of her and started to kiss him. The with her right hand, she got hold of his stiff and slimy cock and gently guided it into her cunt, adjusting herself so that it was at the right angle, her lips glued to Tom's body. As soon as he could feel that he was well inside, and that Olivia looked comfortable, he began to fuck her slowly. Her potta was nothing like as tight as Luke's culo, (which was scarcely surprising after she had given birth), and he found it relatively easy to speed up, and had to forcibly restrain himself from going too fast. Before long however, he reached his climax and shot his load deep into Olivia with a muted cry of triumph. She smiled at him happily. He whispered "Lie on your back for as long as you can!" before rolling off her and lying on his side beside her with his arm round her waist, and, exhausted, he fell asleep, to the combined sound of Olivia's and Giovanni's breathing. Tom and Luke Get a Family Pt. 02 He awoke next morning to find Olivia's arms round him. Giovanni was gurgling quietly in his little bed. Tom gently slipped out of her grasp and went and made three cups of tea and a bottle of warm milk. He kissed Luke as he gave him his tea and whispered, "First time successful!" He returned with the tea to Olivia, who was now sitting up in bed. He kissed her and said, "Grazie, cara Olivia nostra." She replied with a grin, "Prego. Fino a questa notte!" (You're welcome. Till tonight!). Tom then hoisted Giovanni out of his crib and sat him on his knee to give him his bottle. The next night they repeated things except that this time Tom took Olivia's legs on to his shoulder. All the books say that lovers should not use the "doggy" position if they want to conceive, so they carefully avoided any position in which Olivia was not on her back. Tom told Olivia that he would not talk to Luke about the intimate details unless it became necessary for Luke to take a turn at fucking. For the next three nights, they made love once each night. Once or twice, but fortunately after they had finished lovemaking, Giovanni had wakened up and Tom had had to get up and give him a bottle of warm milk. The next couple of weeks were slightly tense, as they waited for Olivia's period. Unfortunately, it started precisely on time, so their first round of attempts had not been successful. Both Luke and Olivia felt that as they had quite enjoyed their first attempt, it would not be ideal for Luke to try, and indeed, he was quite reluctant. Tom told him that as he was fucking Olivia, he could not fuck Luke at the same time, so if Luke wanted sex with Tom, he would have to do the fucking himself. The following month Tom and Olivia tried again for five successive nights, using the shower and perfume as before. They both enjoyed it, though Tom found that five nights in succession was tiring and affecting his work. However, this time they were more successful. After three weeks they tried a pregnancy test, which proved positive. However, Olivia preferred to wait another couple of weeks before going to the doctor. Both she and Tom were delighted that what had made them both very apprehensive had been successfully achieved, and the boys were able to look forward to continuing their fatherhood. The three of them decided this time not to ask for the sex of the baby to be disclosed. Tom told Ben the news in strictest confidence, to be rewarded with Ben's revelation that Leonora was also pregnant for the second time! It turned out that her baby was due within a couple of weeks of Olivia's. Luke preferred not to mention his forthcoming fatherhood at work. The men did however tell Arturo and Bastian, but swore them to secrecy. They did not tell their families until Olivia was four months gone. Luke told Pauline at the same time, and asked her when she was going to get married. She said that she still did not have a definite date. When Tom phoned his sister Liz and told her the news, she was delighted. "I knew that you could do it!" she exclaimed. "I haven't met Olivia or Giovanni yet, but she must be a nice person to help a gay man to get her pregnant. I'm dying to meet her and your babies!" In the weeks after Olivia had conceived, whenever Tom and Luke made love together, Luke would look anxiously at Tom to see if he was enjoying it. He looked for signs that Tom might be less keen to make love or that he was having difficulty in getting his dick hard, but Tom was just his usual loving, gentle but possessive and persistent self. As for Luke, he was more demanding than usual and sometimes quite rough in his treatment of Tom when he fucked him. Moreover, Luke made a determined effort to give Olivia more attention. After all, he realized, she was carrying the child of the man he loved. The more time he spent with her, the sweeter he found her. She was certainly not a submissive, low-profile girl. "I wish I had known you when you were a student," he said. "I bet you had a lot of men chasing you!" 

 Chapter XVI Giovanni visits his grandparents By now Christmas and the New Year were approaching. Because none of them was keen to fly when Olivia was pregnant, they decided to spend both holidays at Luke's mother's with the boys returning to Trabizona for the days between, as Luke of course had to work, leaving Olivia and Giovanni behind. Dorotea and Massimo were delighted to spend more time with their grandson, and Bianca, home for Christmas, was enjoying the company of her nephew, whom she was meeting for the first time, as well as making Olivia's acquaintance. She was far from happy to hear who had fathered Olivia's coming child. Several years abroad had not, it seemed, made her forget how much she fancied Tom. She had always imagined Tom as exclusively given over to men, and the thought of him fucking another woman lowered him in her estimation. 'I could have given him a baby' she foolishly thought, but was too old and sensible to say it to anyone. This was just as well, as her parents would not have liked the idea at all. Although now in her twenties, she still had some rather immature ideas about relationships. Little Giovanni was now beginning to walk, though it would be some months yet before he could get very far. He very rarely now woke in the middle of the night, and when he did, Olivia was happy to get out of bed and see to him. 
 Chapter XVII Waiting for the next birth The new production that the Teatro Musicale brought out in February was Verdi's Aïda. Pauline and Luke had racked their brains about how to produce a satisfying production without it costing a fortune. One day instead of going home to lunch, Luke went out to eat with Pauline. The subject of Luke's family cropped up and Luke said that he was slightly, but only slightly, worried about Tom, who had confessed to having rather enjoyed fucking Olivia. He told Pauline that Olivia had more sexual experience than they had realized, and although Tom had not told him the details, it was very clear that Olivia had also enjoyed being fucked. "We both love her," he said, "she has been an ideal mother and housemate. But she must be missing sexual intercourse. Of course, it won't be anything of a problem for the next year or so, because a lot of married couples abstain during late pregnancy and early breast-feeding, but after that she needs to get out and meet some other men. On the other hand, I suppose that if she wanted yet another baby, I could always have a try at fathering one. Although I don't relish the idea of fucking a woman, I don't want her to get too close to Tom. I want to keep him to myself!" "Luke, you are being stupid, as well as indiscreet in talking to me about this. You have no reason to think that Tom is bi, and even if he were, he is not the kind of person to let you down. Enjoy his love and don't imagine things! You are being unnecessarily negative. After all, Olivia has not yet given birth. You might have all sorts of problems in that connexion in the next year, and I'm sure that Tom still loves you. You have only to notice the way that he looks at you. But I will keep my eye on future recruits to the chorus. A nice young tenor or baritone might be forthcoming who might suit Olivia! We will be interviewing for a couple of male voices within the next six months, so I will bear in mind that we should prefer single men." Luke said, "Pauline, you're not Italian, so you may not be able to answer this question, but what is the average Italian male's attitude to sexually experienced women? Do they consider a non-virgin 'second-hand goods,' or do they welcome a woman who knows the way in bed?" "I'm not really qualified to answer that question!" said Pauline, "But I would guess that it depends on age. I think most men under thirty-five might not be looking for a virgin bride, but older men might well be put off. Luke, are you seriously wanting to marry Olivia off? It might bring on terrible problems with the children." "I would love to have her as a permanent housemate, but she may want sex, and even if she were prepared to sleep with either or both of us, and we were able to satisfy her, (which is not a foregone conclusion), she would always know that she was second-best. That might not worry some women, but Olivia needs to be loved for herself. If she were particularly religious like Tom and me, she might be happy with a pillar-of-the-church role, but she has no strong views. She likes to go to church, and is happy to come to the English church twice a month with us men, and she is quite willing for Giovanni and his sibling-to-be being brought up as Anglicans. "As far as churchiness is concerned, she is most definitely NOT like Leonora Curtiss, with whom I used to go regulary to the opera as a student, and with whom I went on a pilgrimage to the Sacro Monte at Orta San Giulio. I don't know whether I ever told you, but when Leonora was younger, she was going to enter a convent, and so was happy to play a chaste 'fag-hag' role going to the opera with me. She didn't really change her mind about the convent till she met Ben. In spite of my opera-singing father, I really only got into opera when I attended the Teatro Communale in Bologna with her when I was an Erasmus student. It was due to my father's singing teacher, Marcello Fabioni that I got the idea of working in opera." Young Giovanni was growing and was making unintelligible sounds whenever he was spoken to, and it was clear that he was trying to say words. Soon after Christmas when he was about eighteen months old, he managed to say his first word, which was "No!" The family decided that Tom and Luke should always talk to him in English and Olivia and Costanza in Italian. In that way, he would grow up absolutely bilingual. It seemed ironic that the first word he spoke was one of the few that are the same in English and Italian! He was now moving about the house on his hands and knees, and stair-gates had to be installed to prevent him falling downstairs or climbing upstairs. One evening Tom, Luke and Olivia invited Ben and Leonora to come round for a meal cooked by Costanza. All entertaining by Tom and Luke had to be done on a Wednesday or a Sunday, because of Luke's work commitments. They told the visitors not to get a baby-sitter, but to bring Francesco and a carry-cot, so that the babies could play together before putting Francesco to bed in the carry-cot. The two babies got on well together and the parents decided that the two families should see more of one another. Francesco was already chattering in a mixture of Italian and English, and he too was growing up bilingual. Tom advised Ben to leave the car at his house and to go home with the family by taxi, so that he could enjoy a drink or two and that he could collect the car the next morning. The weeks went by and Olivia's bump got steadily bigger. The baby was due in September, and Luke had to make arrangements with Cornelio and Pauline about what would happen if he was suddenly called away from work and absent for more than a couple of days. They both reckoned that they could manage without him for a couple of weeks if necessary. Olivia seemed to blossom when she was pregnant. She was bright and chatty, took turns with Costanza to cook the midday meal and talked animatedly to Luke and Tom over the lunch table. By now Giovanni was two years old and could walk and sit up in a high chair for the daily family lunch. His vocabulary was developing slowly in both Italian and English, though still confined to single words, and Tom's heart still leapt for joy every time he saw him. Luke was getting steadily more fond of the new animated Olivia, and was beginning to think that if she ever did want a third child, he might try and father it. He and Tom discussed this one night in bed. These days it was about the only time that they could get time alone together. Luke had just about got over his irrational fears that Tom was bi. "I think that if Olivia does decide to have another baby, you should go for fatherhood" said Tom. "But it is much too early to think in those terms at the moment. Just think how lucky you and I are, we could fuck seven days a week if we wanted to: men don't have menstrual interruptions, nor interruptions due to pregnancy or breast-feeding. It's well known that gay men have more sex than straight men because women, in addition to having a menstrual cycle with changing periods of desire, are also statistically less inclined to have sexual intercourse than men. But I'm fed up of being top. Please will you fuck me now, Luke?" Luke nodded in delight. He ran his hands through Tom's short hair and caressed the back of his neck. Then he started to nibble Tom's hairy nipples, getting hold of the hair with his teeth and gently tugging on it. Tom shivered with pleasure and wrapped his right arm round Luke's back, sliding it down until he reached Luke's buttocks and cupped his hand over each brown and smooth cheek in turn. Luke moved his lips upwards and gently began to bite Tom's neck. Then he moved his lips downward, kissing at intervals, lingering at belly-button and treasure trail, until he reached the snake's den. The snake meanwhile had turned into a red-hot broom-handle, oozing watery precome. Luke took the head into his mouth and chewed it for several minutes. Tom spread and lifted his legs, opening up a delicious hairy cleft. Luke started to drool at the sight and pushed his face into the gap, the hair silky-smooth against his tongue and lips. Tom moaned gently with delight. "You beautiful man!" he said, "You have the build and the horniness of teenager, you are so unbelievably sweet and loving. It seems impossible that we are both turned thirty and will never see those years of awakening manhood again. I wish the responsibilities of jobs and fatherhood, allowed us more time to fuck!" Luke could not reply, even if he had wanted to. His tongue was now as deep in Tom's crack as it would go, and his saliva was acting as a prelube. Without lifting his head, he reached the unscrewed tube of gel and squeezed some over his fingers. He then withdrew his head and poked the gel-laden fingers into Tom's hole, pressing them sideways to stretch the sphincter. "Oh, that's GOOD!" said Tom. "Anything of yours inside me is heaven. Get your cock in there quick!" Luke paused for a moment to roll a previously unwrapped condom onto his tool and pushed it firmly into Tom's hairy entrance. He pushed steadily until his pubic hair was mingling with the hair lining Tom's crack. He then set to work vigorously, while Tom moaned with pleasure. In spite of them having thrown off the bedding, they were both sweating profusely, their perspiration mingling with the scent of Storing pour homme as they enjoyed the warmth and proximity of each other's sweaty bodies. Luke reached out and put his arms round Tom's shoulders as he lay there, in an endeavour to bring their bodies even closer together, and slowed down a little in his fucking movements. "Faster and harder!" hissed Tom, "Fuck the shit out of me!" After another two or three minutes, Tom, who had been rubbing his hard dick for several minutes, came with a gasp and sprayed man-juice over his belly. Immediately afterwards, Luke shot his load deep inside his mate. As he felt the blood slowly regressing from his tool, he pulled it out and dropped himself of top of Tom, his belly landing in the puddle of spunk on Tom's abdomen. He lay on top of his stud-boy and covered his face and chest with kisses before he felt the condom slowly slipping off his now totally limp manhood. "Bathroom, quick!" he said, "before we make a mess of the bed!" They turned on the shower and squeezed beneath it together. They washed each other fondly and tenderly, and although Tom could not help thinking of how Olivia had washed him not many months before, he enjoyed Luke's attentions much more. So much in fact that he found himself rock-hard again. He rubbed some soap on his tool and whispered to Luke to bend over. "We don't need a condom in the shower," he said. "The only other person I've had sex with is Olivia." With these words, and without much foreplay, he thrust his man-stick into the cleft in Luke's delicious brown arse. "My turn to say 'That's good!'" said Luke, as he felt the slimy plug enter his rear end. Tom worked his cock steadily in and out, enjoying the second most supreme male experience of penetration. It did not take long for him to shoot a second time and emptied his remaining jism into Luke's welcoming hole. "My darling boy, you and our sons are my whole life. I would kill myself if you were taken away from me!" Tom said. They turned off the water and got dried. Chapter XVIII Olivia's second confinement The time drew near for Olivia to give birth. She warned the men that this time the labour period was likely to be much less prolonged, and that they should be ready to take her to hospital at a few minutes notice. Dorothea had volunteered once again to be there for the event, but this time she would be needed to look after Giovanni. To be absolutely sure, she arrived about two weeks before the expected date and took up residence in the guest room. Massimo had gone to stay at his sister's, rather than survive on takeaways or his own cooking! The men continued in their daily work, but found it difficult to concentrate. At family lunchtimes, Giovanni was increasingly eating his food without help, with his grandmother sitting next to him with help when he needed it. Olivia now seemed enormous, and the strain of the additional weight was beginning to have its effect on her. She looked tired. Both the men looked concerned. Luke went to see Costanza and asked her if she could make sure that she did all the cooking during the week and Tom would cook at the weekend. By the time that a week had elapsed after Olivia's due date without anything happening, the whole household was beginning to get jittery. Dorotea was getting fed up that Massimo had been left so long on his own, Costanza was hoping that the baby would not arrive at a weekend, the boys were just hoping that it would happen soon. One morning however, about 6 am, Olivia woke up with pains in her belly. She staggered out of bed and woke Dorothea and the boys. "Labour has finally arrived!" she said. The men hastily washed and dressed, not stopping to shave, and helped Olivia, by now groaning in pain, downstairs and into the waiting car. "The contractions are getting stronger and stronger," she whispered. Tom was driving, and Luke was sitting beside Olivia. The early morning Trabizonan rush hour had not yet arrived, and they soon reached the hospital, where Olivia was rapidly admitted to the maternity ward. Once she was safely in bed, moaning in pain, Tom and Luke crept quietly into the room and sat beside her bed. "Tom, per favore, mano mia tenere," she whispered. Her cries got louder and louder, a nurse and a midwife arrived and Luke was promptly hustled out of the room. Tom's emotions were quite different this time from when Giovanni was born. This time his main feeling was one of guilt. He knew that only he had caused poor Olivia's pain. 'Childbirth is a rotten experience,' he thought. 'That's another advantage of being a man: not only no monthly blood and mess and no cyclic emotions, but no labour pains. No wonder women are not often eager for sex when it leads to this!' Olivia suddenly gave a convulsive jerk and got hold of his hand even more tightly. The midwife turned on the nitrous oxide and oxygen and firmly disengaged Tom's hand from Olivia's. "Andate sedere nell' angolo!" (Go sit in the corner), she hissed. Tom did as he was told. The cries got less frenzied as Olivia inhaled the soothing anaesthetic. Tom's discomfort continued for only a few minutes. The midwife then lifted a messy-looking red object yelling quite lustily even when the umbilical cord was still attached. "Hai un' figlio!" (You have a son!) she said. "È grande, quattro kilo!" (He's big, four kg). Tom and Luke Get a Family Pt. 02 Tom gave a cry of relieved delight and went and kissed a weary-looking Olivia. "Another little boy!" he exclaimed in delight. She smiled happily. "I must try and feed him before I get some sleep," she said, and the nurse hustled Tom away. "I remember you from two years ago!" she said. "You were much calmer this time!" Tom did not tell her that this time he was even happier, because the baby was his own. He went and fetched Luke from the waiting room and the nurse showed them the baby, who by now had been detached from the cord and cleaned up. She took him to Olivia to try and start feeding him, and the boys left, and went to their respective jobs. Tom arrived in the lab about coffee time and announced his good news. "Sono un padre!" (I am a father) he said with pride. Alberto, Carlo and Ben shook his hand, and Alberto kissed him. "Felicitazioni, Tom," they said. Most of the others smiled happily, but a few muttered why did a gay want children? "In a few days, when things have got sorted, I will treat you all to a drink," Tom announced. Arturo of course was delighted with Tom's news. Luke also told his colleagues of their new baby. That evening, just Luke and Tom went to see Olivia. She had had some sleep and had perked up a little. The milk flow had begun and the baby had started to take some. "Tom," Olivia said, "The baby is yours. What do you want to call him?" "I want us to call him Bernardo Massimo Appleton," said Tom. He should bear my surname, as I'm his father. Bernardo is after the man to whom I owe my education and who was my true father, and Massimo is after Luke's mother's husband. I hope these names are OK!" "Do you think it will matter that our two sons have different surnames?" asked Luke. "Of course not. Stepchildren have different surnames!" replied Olivia. "I like those names, Tom," she said. For Olivia to get fully rested before returning to her family, she was kept in hospital for ten days. When she came home, Bernardo's feeding was well established, and after three days, Dorothea felt able to go home. For the next week or two, except on days when he was teaching, Tom did not go back to the lab after lunch, and took turns with Costanza to do the cooking. The one who was not cooking kept Olivia and Bernardo company, or took Giovanni for a walk in his push-chair. Tom found out that Ben had just become the father of a baby girl. 

 Chapter XIX Exchange of E-mails From t.appleton@yyyyy.utrab.it to b.silverdale@zzzz.heptinstalltrust.inst.uk Dear Mr Silverdale I'm sorry not to have written to you since Christmas, but life has been very hectic this year. We did manage a couple of weeks in England last month, but you were away. This letter is to tell you that last week, Olivia gave birth to our second son, and I am the father. As a gay, I never thought that something that most men want would ever happen to me, but after long discussion with my darling Luke, we agreed that Olivia and I should try to make a baby, and to my great joy, we managed it. Olivia and our new son (birthweight 4.0 kg) are both well. He is feeding greedily, just like his brother did. His name is Bernardo Massimo Appleton. Yes, I wanted to name him after the man who has been my only real father, YOU. His other name is after Luke's mother's husband. Moreover, when he comes to baptism, I would like you to be one of his godfathers. He will be baptized an Anglican, unlike his brother. I owe you almost everything in my life except my family. Without you, I would have got nowhere in life. Because of you, I am reaching the end of my probationary academic appointment, and hope to get tenure in a few months time, with nearly 50 scientific papers on my CV. There's no denying that some of my rapid progress has been due to the fact that my boss is himself gay, but it's you who made me a good scientist. As an additional act of appreciation, I would like you to send me a regular payment form for the Edmund Heptinstall Trust. I want other underprivileged young men and women to get the chance that you gave me. Please come to Italy and visit us, if you do not mind a houseful of babies! Luke and I would love to see you and your wife and to introduce you to Olivia. We both love her and she makes a wonderful housemate, but we realize that she should find someone who loves her for herself rather than for what she can give them. My darling Luke sends his regards. Your loving pedagogic son, Tom From b.silverdale@zzzz.heptinstalltrust.inst.uk to t.appleton@yyyyy.utrab.it Dear Tom Sylvia and I are delighted to hear your news. We are just as emotionally moved as you are at your wonderful event. You are the son that we never had. I enclose a bank standing order form for your regular gift to EHT. We are overdue some holiday and even though this is the period of university applications, we can take two weeks off and come to Italy and would love to stay with you for a few days (not the whole time, because we want to see Florence and Pisa!). We will arrive at Valerio-Catullo-Villafranca airport on Thursday 24 November. Please can someone meet us? I'm sure that we can cope with the babies! Our very best regards, dear Tom, from Bernard. 

 Chapter XX The Silverdales' visit The men installed the Silverdales in the guest room. By now, Giovanni had his own room with a cot, and his new brother had taken his place in the crib in Olivia's room. As before, they took it in turns to get Bernardo for Olivia when he woke in the night needing a feed. Since Giovanni now had the room where the man 'on duty' had slept, they fitted a baby alarm to the crib and it would waken them in their room, so that one of them could get Bernardo, deliver him to his mother, and put him back to bed when he had been fed. They lost a little sleep in this way, but Olivia could stay warm in bed. Tom drove to the airport to collect the Silverdales. He had negotiated a few days off work for the duration of their stay. He asked Alberto to keep an eye on Carlo and help him if necessary. Olivia of course was still feeding Bernardo, and Costanza was cooking lunch each day. Olivia was pleased to see the man whom Tom loved so much, but was unable to go out with them in tne evenings. Tom took Bernard one day to the lab and introduced him to Arturo. It was interesting for Tom to hear Arturo speaking English. He and Arturo had not spoken English together since the end of Tom's first year in Trabizona. Bernard told Arturo that his chemistry had got very rusty since he had started his new career in educational administration. Arturo agreed to join him, Tom, Luke and Ben for dinner at Agostino's restaurant. Tom showed the Silverdales the cathedral, the Roman baths and other sights of the city and one night they all, except Olivia, went to the opera to see Luke's new production of Tosca. Costanza very kindly agreed to stay and keep Olivia company. Mrs Silverdale accompanied Olivia when each morning, she took the boys for a walk. Giovanni was now a toddler and Bernardo would sit up in his push-chair looking around at everything. Giovanni would chatter away happily in a mixture of English and Italian. He understood everything that Mrs Silverdale said to him in English, but often replied in Italian. Tom and Luke both tried to get him to speak more English. After three days, the Silverdales left by train for Firenze and Pisa. The boys bade them goodbye, because they were flying back home to England from Pisa. 


 Chapter XXI Disaster strikes at the Teatro Musicale Early in December, Luke's cellphone rang at 3 am. It was Cornelio. He told Luke to get up, dress and come to the opera house. The building was on fire! Tom lay stolidly asleep, so Luke wrote him a quick note, tucked up the bedclothes round him, dressed hastily and slipped quietly out of the house. As he approached the Teatro Musicale in the car, he could not see any flames. He parked the car in the street and went and joined the small crowd surrounding the building. There were three fire engines and firemen were everywhere, and so were the police. Tom found Cornelio who told him that the fire was now under control. The automatic sprinkler systen had done its job, and the fire would be out wthin a few minutes. The firemen had said that Cornelio and Luke, wearing helmets and protective capes could accompany the head fire officer to inspect the damage. When the officer said that it was safe, they were given powerful torches and were able to enter the building. The front foyer seemed totally unaffected. They moved through to the ground floor of the auditorium. There were no signs of fire damage, but the awater from the sprinklers in the balcony above had soaked the seats and carpet under the balcony. They mounted the stairs to the first floor balcony. A site of destruction met their eyes. Clearly the fire had begun here. Most of the wood and upholstery from the seats had been destroyed or damaged, leaving behind just the metal frames. The pillars were charred, the ceiling was black. Everything was soaking wet from the sprinklers. They had to tread carefully: the floor had obviously been damaged. They climbed up further to the top balcony, but did not dare step out from the marble stairs. The floor had been burnt through in several places, though there was no water damage at this level. Many of the seats were charred, and some were still smoking. It was not possible in the dark to see if there was damage to the ceiling or roof. They left the building and Cornelio said, "You go home now, Luca, and get some sleep. Meet me here at 8-30 and we'll talk to the staff. We'll send them all home for the day and then decide what to do next." Luke drove home and crept into bed at 5-30. A sleepy Tom grabbed him and put his arms round him, and secure in his mate's warm embrace, and in spite of a hyperactive mind, Luke fell asleep. Next morning, Cornelio, Pauline and Luke met all the theatre employees. Cornelio told them that the building was still in the hands of the police and the fire brigade, but that as soon as they released the building, they should all come to work, as the rehearsal rooms, all backstage facilities and the orchestra pit were undamaged. The staff all went home, and Tom, Pauline and Cornelio with permission made a detailed survey of the building. The foyer and all the offices above them were undamaged, as were the stage and all the backstage facilities. Having made detailed notes, Cornelio contacted the insurance company and arranged for a surveyor and claims inspector to attend. Luke asked what the situation was with respect to employee salaries. Cornelio said that there was enough money to pay them for three months, and they were insured so that in the event of a claim, 50% of employee pay would be covered by the policy. However, there was no doubt that this was a financial disaster, because the fire authorities said that the theatre would have to be closed until all the repairs had been completed, which was not likely to be less than six months. Luke thought for a few minutes and said, "If we could find a decent-sized hall, we could do concert performances. Of course we would have to charge the public less, but it is better to have a little money coming in than nothing." Pauline said, "I moonlight with an amateur choir, and we do our thrice-yearly concerts in the Aula Popolare in the Municipio. Could we consider that?" "That's worth a thought," said Cornelio, "it holds about 500 people. I don't know what the hire costs would be though." "We could reduce the costs by not hiring principals, and using the chorus to supply the roles," said Pauline. "If it's a concert performance they could sing from music rather than memory, like in an oratorio. Some of the chorus might jump at the chance to sing a principal role, even without a pay-rise." "Well, I that's all that we can do today," said Cornelio. "Once the fire people have left the premises, we can all resume work on a nine to four basis, with a lunch break of one hour. I'll get in touch with the city authorities, and see about the hall." The insurance company was very helpful, and before the week was out, contractors were in, dealing with the soaked carpet and upholstery and stripping out the damaged areas on the first floor balcony. Luke was back at work on an office hours basis with only an hour for lunch. However, he got home daily at 4-30 pm and so was able to see more of the children. Giovanni came running to meet him the moment he heard Luke arrive. "And how's my big boy today?" Luke would ask him. "Bene, Pappa" Giovanni would reply and Luke would say, "No, you must answer in English," before picking him up and kissing him. The city council was willing to allow the company to use the Aula Popolare, charging them only for the actual hours of performance and subject to honouring all existing evening bookings of the hall. They began by holding a couple of daytime rehearsals there to accustom themselves to the hall and its acoustics, and within a month the company was holding three concert performances per week, each of a different opera from their recent repertoire, starting with Nabucco, with members of the chorus singing the principal roles. Doing this, with lower prices, offered the public a chance to hear more music. Just a few of their pre-booked solo principals were prepared to perform at these concert performances, sometimes for a reduced fee. Luke really enjoyed the luxury of not having to work as many evenings as previously, because he could read to Giovanni and help put him to bed on nights when he was not working. He had always envied Tom this experience. So every evening before he went to bed, one of the men would read Giovanni a story and would go through a picture book to teach him the English names for animals and household objects. 





 Chapter XXII Bernardo's baptism and afterwards In January, Tom and Ben both got tenure as university employees. Although Tom had been in Trabizona a year less than Ben, he had caught him up on the promotion ladder. Arturo saw to it somehow that neither of them were at a financial disadvantage compared with Italian-born academics. After a few weeks, Olivia started to wean Bernardo. He was putting on weight and growing steadily. Giovanni, when he had got used to a newcomer in the house, was very nice to his little brother, and showed no signs of jealousy. He would go up to him, stroke his hair and say "Dolce bambino" (sweet baby). "That's because he is too young to be jealous," said Olivia, "as long as he gets the attention that he did before, he will enjoy having a little brother, who will soon be old enough to play with him." Both men were ecstatically happy at having a family, and Olivia was also happy that after the disaster with her erstwhile lover, she had two delightful children and two doting fathers. Costanza was also happy. She had no grandchildren of her own, and she also doted on the two little boys, without hesitating to discipline them gently when necessary. Easter was early that year, and they determined to celebrate the festival by having Bernardo baptized. Tom telephoned his spiritual director, Professor Francis Eglantine of Oxbridge University, and asked if he could spare the time to come to Italy to baptize Tom's new son. Tom said that he particularly wanted his son to be baptized by the same person who had baptized him. The Professor acquiesced enthusiastically, saying that he could combine it with a couple of trips to research libraries. He added that he was looking forward to meeting Tom's family. "A lot of time has gone by since your and Luke's blessing service," he said. "There will be a lot to catch up on!" Leonora was to be Bernardo's godmother, and the godfathers were to be Ben and Bernard Silverdale, for whom Luke would stand proxy. Tom talked to the Chaplain in Bologna. He said that while he would have loved to have the baptism at dawn on Easter Day as part of the Mass of the Dawn, it was quite impractical because of the need for guests to travel, so it was decided to hold it in the afternoon of Easter Day. The Chaplain was happy to let Professor Eglantine officiate, with himself assisting. Tom said that he would like any member of the congregation who wanted to attend to do so and personally invited his fellow churchwarden. The event was a very happy occasion. Bernardo was quiet and even the dose of (carefully prewarmed) water did not make him yell. The other children present sat very quietly, Giovanni on Luke's knee and Francesco on his father's knee. Francesco's little sister lay gently burbling in her carry-cot. Guests included Dorotea and Massimo and of course Olivia's parents and Costanza. Tom had booked a quiet family restaurant in Bologna with a private room, where all the guests, the two priests and the representative church members were able to celebrate the christening with panini, cakes and Prosecco. Much later, when all the other guests were gone and the children put to bed, Tom, Luke, Olivia and Francis Eglantine sat down to family dinner, which Costanza had offered to cook, in spite of it being a holiday weekend. A few weeks later, Tom and Ben had to attend an international chemical congress in Switzerland, at which they were both reading papers and presenting posters. The congress lasted five days. Leonora was not happy in being left alone at home with two young children, so Luke consulted Olivia and Costanza, and Leonora and her children were invited to stay for the duration of the congress in Luke and Tom's guest room. A chaotic week followed, in which Luke had to take time off work to help cope with four under-fives. The children though had a wonderful time, even though Francesco had to share a double bed with his mother. Mealtimes were a bit noisy, but were enjoyed by all three adults. Luke had to be a firm disciplinarian, but on the whole the children behaved well. After a tiring time getting the four of them to bed, both babies still needing a breast-feed last thing before bed, Leonora was usually exhausted and went to bed quite early. One night, Luke took the opportunity to talk to Olivia. He took hold of her hand, a gesture of affection which he had not often used with anyone except Tom. Olivia noted this with some amusement as well as affection. This man, who had always given the impression of being at best indifferent to, and at worst scared of women, seemed to be becoming human. He asked Olivia about herself. She told him that she had had many friends in her native village, but none close. She had got her Laurea triennale after three years study at Bologna University. She had not had a lot of friends when she was there and those that she did have were all male. She had never had close girlfriends of her own age. The department in Trabizona had not offered many opportunities to meet men or women who might make good friends. The man who had got her pregnant had been her first deep relationship. "Do you miss him, in spite of his behaviour?" asked Luke. "No!" she replied. "You and Tom are much more interesting persons, and you respect me as a person, rather than using me as a sex-object. I love living here with you two boys." "I just fear that you need sex and we are not in a position to give it to you!" "Caro Luca, I am perfectly happy being a mother! If I feel some time that I need to be fucked, I will tell you both." "But you need someone who loves you for yourself, rather than for what you can give them!" "Luca, if I meet a man whom I want, I will let you know. Don't spoil a cosy ménage à trois as long as you two are happy!" "Do you miss your work in the lab?" Luke asked anxiously. Tom and Luke Get a Family Pt. 03 [Parts 01 and 02 should be read first] Chapter XXIV Arturo's monthly dinner One day a few weeks later, Arturo came into Tom's lab. "Tom," he said, "with regard to next week's dinner, in addition to Alberto, I have invited Giovanni Estravini, the man from the academic office. He has split up with his boyfriend Angelo, who was getting too demanding in terms of presents, and has nearly bankrupted the poor man. "I couldn't help hoping that Giovanni and Alberto might get on together. But be careful. Don't let yourself and Luke show too much affection for one another at the meal. It might distress Giovanni. He was very much in love and has taken the bust-up very badly. It didn't come as much of a surprise to anyone. Academics and models don't have much in common, except what they have between their legs!" "It's the Carmen scenario again!" said Tom, "Falling in love with the wrong person. But don't worry, we'll be sympathetic to Giovanni, and maybe Alberto will take a fancy to him. Anyway, it will be a social and drinking evening, which will be good for them and a nice break for Luke and me. Since we got the kids, we have massively moderated our drinking, partly because Olivia and the babies often need to be taken somewhere by car. We're thinking that Olivia needs to learn to drive! We'll take a cab home on Wednesday." The following week the four guests arrived about 7-30 pm, Tom and Luke having just had time to put little Giovanni and Bernardo to bed before leaving on the bus. Introductions did not take long, as Alberto and Giovanni Estravini were the only ones who had never met before. Arturo served them Prosecco before the meal, at which Isabella, Arturo and Bastian's housekeeper, had excelled herself. Two brace of roast pheasants afforded a totally different gourmet menu. The six of them managed to consume three bottles of Barolo, which proved an excellent accompaniment to the pheasant. The seating had been carefully arranged so that Alberto sat next the Giovanni, and the two men seemed to get on well. Admittedly, Giovanni was a few years older than Alberto, but by less than ten years. Bastian had a number of interesting anecdotes to tell about the gay population of Trabizona, most of whom the boys now knew slightly from Arturo's twice-yearly parties. After one of Isabella's superb desserts, over coffee, the music-making began. On this occasion, Tom and Luke had decided to reverse roles, Luke played the piano and Tom, rather ambitiously, helped by the wine, sang Un' aura amorosa from Cosi fan tutte to the amazement and applause of the audience, which made him blush. He went on to sing David's signature song Dear, pretty, pretty youth. Further research by Tom about this song had revealed that it was an aria from an opera by Purcell called The Tempest. The fact that they tended to sing mostly the same items on each occasion, with only the odd variation, never worried any of the audience, who were always by this time well under the influence! Tom did notice however that Alberto and Giovanni exchanged business cards, suggesting that they might have 'clicked.' Each of them sang an operatic number, with great gusto. They all agreed that it has been the most enjoyable night for some months. Chapter XXV The Teatro Musicale reopens Soon after this, in August, several months late, the repair work on the opera house was complete, and the by now well rehearsed opening items could be performed. Even though it was out of season and Luke was officially still on leave, Cornelio, Luke and Pauline decided to reopen at once, to minimize further losses. David had come back from England, and out of retirement from the stage, to sing the roles of Il Duca in Rigoletto and Nemorino in L'Elisir d'Amore, which alternated six nights a week for the first two weeks. It was a gruelling experience for him. It is not often that a singer alternates roles on successive nights. It was only his desire to see his son's productions get their audience back that he did it. Cornelio was desperately anxious to make money to get his financially shaky, though artistically excellent, business back on track. Advance bookings meant that the first performance of each opera was sold out before the opening. In spite of several years without wig or costume, David excelled himself in each performance, and the supporting cast was equally good. The whole of the twelve performances were rapidly sold out, even though August is a traditionally dead season for repertory opera. At the end of David's two-week term, he agreed to three more performances of each opera, but spread over a further two weeks. Towards the end of this period, he summoned Jon to join him, and they both moved into the guestroom, David having been staying in an hotel until then, because his movements were rather incompatible with the lives of young children. Jon arrived just in time for Bernardo's first birthday. They were both thrilled to be present at the birthday of their fourth grandchild, who by now was crawling around actively and occasionally tried to pull himself up on his legs. Giovanni, who could now manage short sentences, would even speak to Nonno Davide and Nonno Giona in a few words of English. He was still being very sweet and protective to his little brother. Olivia was still enjoying motherhood, but was glad to welcome visitors, even though, as always, there were no women among them. Jon brought news to Luke about his brother Dom, who had had to take time off work to visit his grandfather at Getheringthwaite, who was on his deathbed. "Sandro will join Dom for the funeral when it eventually happens, but Dom's father will take care of all the other formalities," Jon said. At the end of what would probably be David's last ever stage performance, Cornelio threw a party in the theatre's rehearsal room, with delicious snacks and what seemed like unlimited Prosecco, to which all the cast and backstage crew were invited. Tom and Luke brought Olivia along, as Costanza had very kindly agreed to look after the boys. A lot of photographs were taken. Chapter XXVI Should Luke attempt fatherhood? Soon after Jon and David had returned home, Luke asked Olivia if he could talk to her. They went to her room. "Cara Olivia, I don't know whether you want another baby, but if you do, I would like to be the father." Luke astounded himself with this request, but it did not come as a surprise to Olivia. She smiled and said to him, "Do you think you could manage it? I don't mean getting me pregnant, I mean successfully fucking me! You might have to try a lot of times. Are you man enough to persevere if you don't enjoy it?" She was secretly teasing him, because he had given himself away earlier when she had embraced him and he had got a hard-on. Besides, although she had not said anything, she knew that what she had said to Tom would work with Luke as well. Luke blushed. "I do love you, you know, dolce Olivia, and I'm sure that if you want another child, you'll give me any help I need. I've never fucked a woman, and I had difficulties the first time with Tom, so if, and only if, you want a baby, I will do my best!" "Oh, Luke, you are sweet, but you're a much more complex person than Tom. You know that you want to fuck me, otherwise you wouldn't have asked! But you're just as good a man as Tom, so if he can manage it, so can you. It's not a very ladylike thing to ask, but I would love to see you naked! I bet your body is quite different from Tom's!" "Olivia! You still haven't answered my question! Do you want a third baby?" "Dolce idiota! Of course I do. Why would I have teased you if the answer was No? That would have been cruel. We will try and make a baby, and I guarantee that you will enjoy it!" Chapter XXVII Luke and Olivia's first attempts Time went by, and winter turned into summer. Giovanni was now going to nursery pre-school three mornings per week. Bernardo missed his brother, and after a few months, he too was allowed to go to nursery. By now he could walk and could say a few words in both Italian and English. Toilet training had been facilitated by teaching them to use the bidet as a urinal. It was just the right height for a toddler, although the lack of a fly on young boys' trousers still made it necessary to pull them down! Most boys are taught to use the toilet by their mothers and begin by sitting on it. Only when they get to school age do some boys learn to pee standing up. The men were determined to bring their sons up as men, peeing standing up from day one. Being older, Giovanni was the first to learn to urinate standing, but he then tried to help his little brother to do the same. At first, he was spectacularly unsuccessful. Bernardo would stand at the bidet with his napkin round his ankles, and manifestly produce nothing, but the minute his napkin was pulled up, he would release a big stream of hot urine into it! Luke's mother telephoned to say that the Marquess of Wakefield had died, aged ninety, and Luke's brother Sandro's partner Dom was now Earl of Batley. "If Sandro had been a girl, he would now be a Contessa!" she said, slightly regretfully. "But at least their daughters are now Lady Anne and Lady Jane Overton-Mascagnoli. Dom is considering becoming a self-employed IT contractor," she continued. "If he does he will save tax and be able to fix his own working hours and places of work. That would enable him to waste less time on travelling." Luke and Olivia's attempts at conceiving another baby did not prove easy, mainly due to Luke's difficult working hours. By the time he got home at 11 pm, Olivia was tired and Luke was exhausted. After a frustrating month, which neither of them enjoyed, in spite of Luke successfully overcoming his fear of impotence, they decided that the only way to success lay in making love in the afternoon. So after a very light lunch, Tom and Costanza would take the boys out to play in the park, or would take them out to lunch at their neighbourhood trattoria, and stay away from the house for two hours to give Luke and Olivia some privacy. This happened for five successive days every month for several months. If the boys had been older, they would have asked why they were being taken out, but as it was, they just enjoyed the break from routine. Finally in desperation, Luke arranged to get a week off work for the time of Olivia's ovulation the following month. He was owed holiday time because of the August reopening of the theatre. Leaving Giovanni and Bernardo in the care of Tom and Costanza, they took the plane to Sicily and booked in at an hotel in Taormina. They walked in the gardens, visited the Greek amphitheatre, swam in the hotel pool, had leisurely meals in the open air, and generally behaved like a honeymoon couple. Every night they washed one another under the shower, sprayed themselves with Storing pour homme, and slept in the same bed. Sometimes they made love at night, sometimes first thing in the morning, sometimes both! In general they had an excellent time, though Luke sometimes wished that he was fucking Tom rather than Olivia. From the moment that Olivia had seen Luke naked, she had fancied him. It was not just his beautiful brown skin and his slender figure, but mainly his giant tool that caught her fancy. Unlike Tom, whom she had never sucked off, she really fancied a mouthful of Luke's meat. So when they got into bed, she would prick-tease him with her mouth before gently guiding his hard dick into her cunt. Giving birth to two babies had stretched her considerably, and she enjoyed being penetrated by Luke's big dick, which filled her much better than Tom's more usual-sized tool. Luke too enjoyed the fact that penetration was much easier with Olivia. Their repeated attempts at conception, which can be a source of distress and frustration to many married couples, actually brought Luke and Olivia closer together. In Sicily, they were totally relaxed, without a care in the world. Each night at the childrens' bedtime they connected by Skype and wished them goodnight before enjoying an excellent dinner in the hotel. Much refreshed, they flew back home to an enthusiastic welcome from Tom and the two boys. Chapter XXVIII Olivia's third pregnancy The Sicilian holiday paid dividends. Olivia's next period failed to arrive, and two weeks later the doctor confirmed that she was pregnant, and a few weeks later, an ultrasonic scan revealed that she was expecting a baby girl. All three of them were over the moon. Tom was particularly happy that his darling Luke had proved his male functionality. Luke felt eternally grateful to Olivia for helping him to prove his manhood. Olivia's joy was two-fold. Firstly she had cemented the bond joining the three of them together, and secondly she was delighted to be expecting a girl. Soon after the confirmation of her pregnancy, the three of them met in Olivia's bedroom to discuss their future sexual relations. The boys made it clear to Olivia that they loved her as a person, not as a baby-making machine. They told her very firmly that whenever she wanted sex, even during her pregnancy, they would be happy to oblige, but that it was important that she got rid of any female modesty about waiting to be asked. "If you want one of us to make love to you, you must ASK! We're not mind-readers, and we are rather wrapped up with one another, but if you want a fuck, just ask! We now know that we can do it, and if you don't want any more babies, we are happy to use a condom when your periods start again. After all we always use one when we fuck one another." That was as far as they were prepared to go in talking to Olivia about man-man sex. They were much more reticent about publicly revealing Olivia's pregnancy this time. Only Ben and Leonora and of course Costanza were told until Olivia got so big that they could not keep it secret any longer. Of course they told their parents. Dorothea was particularly delighted, because although the baby was notionally and legally her fifth grandchild, it was in reality her first biological grandchild. That year they spent Christmas with Olivia's parents, who were now totally reconciled to their daughter's distinctly unusual domestic situation, were delighted by their two grandchildren and treated Luke and Tom as sons. They were very happy to hear of Olivia's third pregnancy, and thrilled to have Olivia and the two children under their care until New Year's Eve, although the men of course had to go back to Trabizona because Luke was working. On New Year's Eve they collected Olivia and the little boys and drove to Dorotea and Massimo's for the holiday. Bianca was there with her new French boyfriend. She cheered up a little when she learned that the author of Olivia's bulge this time was Luke and not Tom! Gérard, Bianca's boyfriend was very taken wiith the children and spent quite some playing with them. He seemed a nice enough man, whom Luke and to a lesser extent, Tom were able to talk to in his native language. Unlike many mothers-to-be, Olivia suffered neither nausea nor heartburn during her pregnancy and still found time to play with the boys. Because the cooking was being done by Costanza and Tom during her pregnancy, and the two toddlers still had a couple of hours sleep in the afternoons, she had a little time to herself, to reflect on her life. Both at school and as a university student, she had had very few female friends. She got on much better with men, which was why she had sought Arturo's help when she found herself pregnant the first time. She felt that she had really landed on her feet by adopting the solution that he had recommended. To her, life with two different, but loving and considerate men was an ideal existence. She had no desire for a younger lover or a husband. Because of their family and personal wealth, there were no financial problems, which wreck many happy relationships and she had Costanza, who did a lot in the house. The men also did a lot of chores like the laundry. They took her out to the opera or to the cinema, and they all ate out at the local trattoria with the children at least once every two weeks. While she enjoyed sex, she did not feel a deep need for it as the men did. While the prospect of undergoing labour a third time did not exactly fill her with joyful anticipation, she was glad that her and Luke's joint efforts had not been in vain! Chapter XXIX Introducing Rachel A few weeks later, Tom had to spend a week in Camford, in connection with his collaborative research. After much discussion, they agreed that he should take Giovanni, who was now nearly five, to England with him, and squeeze in a weekend with Tom's sister and her family. The little boy was thrilled to be travelling without the rest of the family, and was now old enough to appreciate the fun of being in an aircraft. They went from Heathrow Airport by train to Paddington and from there via underground to Kings Cross station, where they caught a train to Newcastle-on-Tyne, the home of Tom's sister Liz. Giovanni was very excited by train travel, and kept chattering away in Italian as he looked out of the window. Tom tried to get him to speak English without much success. Liz and her husband Aidan Satterthwaite were delighted to see the two of them, and Giovanni was introduced to his cousin Anne, who was now about seven. Liz was expecting another baby, and had a bump not unlike Olivia's. Giovanni knew at once what a big belly meant and, realizing that he had to speak English, said, "Are you going to have a baby, auntie Liz?" Liz smiled, kissed him, and said that she was. Anne was very taken with her little cousin and played with him a lot. By the time that Giovanni had got used to the fact that no-one except his father would understand anything he said unless he spoke English, they were back on a train heading for Camford. Giovanni was fascinated by his visit to the train toilet, and kept asking to be taken to the toilet far more often than necessary! In Camford, they stayed of course at Octavia Avenue with David and Jon. Tommy was living in college. Caterina Fabioni or one or other of Tom's 'fathers' looked after Giovanni each day while Tom was occupied in the Chemistry Laboratory. Some evenings, Jon cooked, other evenings Caterina cooked, and some evenings they ate at the Venezia. At home, whenever Giovanni addressed Tom or his grandfathers in Italian, they replied in English, and he slowly began to realize that in England you spoke English! However, at the Venezia, Giovanni was allowed to speak to the waiters in Italian, and in fact they spent the evening talking Italian. It was good practice for Jon, who rarely spoke it in his everyday life. The research team in Camford had a new member, a Ph.D. student called Rachel Ellison. She was an attractive, tall dark-haired girl with a first in chemistry. Several of the techniques that she needed to employ in her work had no-one in Camford using them. Since she needed to learn the methods, Tom suggested that if funding could be found, she should come to Trabizona to learn them, as Tom's group were experts. It was agreed that she should seek departmental and college funding for a six-month stay in Trabizona. "My research student uses these techniques on a daily basis," he told her, "and he and I could teach you all you need to know. It probably wouldn't take the full six months, but you could spent a little time seeing Italy. It took me a long time to settle in Trabizona, but I love Italy now." "It will take a few months to get the funding organized," she replied. It was agreed that Rachel would work on other aspects of her project until the funding was in place, and would start in Trabizona at the beginning of the Camford Pentecost term, so that she could work on through the summer and so complete the six months. By the time she arrived, Luke would have been a father for quite a while. Tom and Luke Get a Family Pt. 03 After a week both enjoyable and professionally useful, Tom and Giovanni set off home. At the security check at Heathrow Airport prior to boarding the plane, when Tom presented his and Giovanni's passports to the official of the UK Border Agency, he was asked to step aside and take Giovanni into a side-office. The officials wanted to know why he was taking a child with an Italian passport out of the country and why did the child and he have different surnames. When Tom explained that he was taking the boy home to his mother, the official patently did not believe him. They said they had had several cases of men taking children away from their mother and out of the jurisdiction of the English courts. Tom said that as Giovanni had only been in England for just over a week, he did not see how he could come under the courts' jurisdiction. They asked Tom his address and occupation and Tom said that all he told them could be verified by a couple of phone calls to Italy. Eventually he satisfied them by showing them the certified English translation of Giovanni's guardianship document, which was verified by a phone call to the Italian consul's office. Tom and Giovanni had checked in at the airport with two hours to spare before the flight, but by the time that Tom had satisfied the officials, he was being paged by the aircrew at the gate, and he and Giovanni, the latter trundling his little wheeled suitcase, had to run a considerable distance to the gate and received a very unfriendly welcome by the stewardesses, as they had almost caused a severe delay in take-off. Chapter XXX Luke's daughter is born The author does not intend to describe Olivia's third confinement. Suffice it to say that the onset of labour was very rapid and the men only just managed to get her to the hospital in time. Luke stayed with Olivia during the delivery and was the first to hold his newborn daughter in his arms, immediately after the cord had been cut. Luke chose the names Caterina Elena Singleton-Scarborough for her, Caterina after his godmother and Elena after his grandmother. The complex English surname would be difficult for Italians, but Luke wanted her to be a witness by her name to his fatherhood. By now Bernardo was walking and talking, chattering away indiscriminately in Italian and English. Unlike his elder brother, he was quite happy to talk to his two fathers in English. Dorothea had come to help look after the little boys while Olivia was in hospital. Again Olivia was kept in for ten days, so that recovery time at home was not necessary. As soon as she got home, Dorothea went back to Massimo! Unfortunately, the new baby was not as placid and contented as her brothers had been. She wakened frequently in the middle of the night, yelling loudly, and even after feeding, it was difficult to get her to settle down to sleep. This altered the sleeping arrangements of the whole household. Bernardo was moved into the cot in Giovanni's room, and a new bed was purchased for the same room for Giovanni to sleep in. Caterina, when she did sleep, used the crib in Olivia's room, but the baby alarm system was no use. "You men will have to take turns to sleep in my room," said Olivia, "but there's no room for a separate bed. You'll have to take turns to sleep with me! It won't be all that cosy: it will involve dealing with Caterina when she yells. I hope that a feed will help her settle, but if it doesn't I at least will have company in losing sleep!" "But that means that Tom and I will not sleep together for months!" protested Luke. "Hard luck!" said Olivia, "You men do have to make some sacrifices when you have a family! If you want to fuck you'll have to do it in the daytime. I'm not asking you to do anything that I wouldn't expect a husband to do!" "Yes, but that was only five days a month! This will be for months!" complained Luke. "Besides, you know how soundly Tom sleeps. When we used the baby alarm, I always had to rouse him and push him out of bed to see to his son!" "Don't worry about Tom wakening. I will make sure that he wakens and gets out of bed! Besides, what's a few months in a lifetime? Assuming that you both live to be seventy, that's nearly another forty years in which to fuck!" responded Olivia. She grinned and continued, "Besides, if you want to fuck, I'm going to be in bed with one or other of you every night. Plenty of opportunities there! AND you won't need a condom: I've not started menstruating yet. But be warned, it will be vaginal sex only. I'm not letting you in by the back door!" "A fat lot of opportunity there will be if Caterina yells her head off when you're in the middle of making love!" said Tom with a grin. "I must warn you too that you'll have to get used to us farting in your bed!" said Luke. "No problem!" said Olivia, "it would be just the same if I were married! And I fart too, you know!" she added. They trained the two young boys, if one or other of them wakened in the night, to go to the men's bedroom and waken whoever was sleeping there, rather than disturb their mother. Both men were surprised at Olivia's outspokenness. Where was the ladylike girl they had always imagined her to be? They were beginning to realize that family life is more complex than two gays living together had been! Olivia in turn was also beginning to realize her power. By making both men fathers, and so fulfilling their deepest wishes, she had made them dependent on her! Of course, they could always walk away, but she knew that they were so besotted with the children that they would never do it. Moreover, there was nothing unreasonable in what she was asking. Parenthood is a shared experience, even with a noisy newborn! Chapter XXXI Alberto and Giovanni One day, as they were busy at the bench, Tom said to Alberto, "Do you see anything of Giovanni Estravini these days?" Alberto smiled happily. "Yes, we are dating regularly!" "Are you likely to become an item together?" asked Tom, as tactfully as he could. "I hope so!" said Alberto. "He thinks that he's too old for me, but I don't agree. He's not much older than you, and I like a man with a lot of experience! Besides, he is really sweet. He warned me that he is of a jealous disposition, but I'm not the type to deceive him." Tom was surprised to hear Alberto speaking so frankly to a work colleague, but Alberto by now knew Tom well. He knew that Tom was discreet and rather fatherly, particularly since his son had been born. Alberto and Giovanni were now regulars at Arturo's monthly dinners, and sometimes instead of dining at Arturo's villa, the six of them went to Trabizona's gay restaurant, where they were now regular customers. Chapter XXXII Sleeping with Olivia Little Caterina's nighttime yelling gradually diminished as she started to grow, and eventually she got quieter at night and would only waken her parents once a night. The boys got used to sleeping with Olivia and rather enjoyed it. She would snuggle up to the man she was sleeping with, and after Caterina had been fed and quietened down, she would kiss the man beside her. Tom enjoyed her closeness and after the feeding, he liked the smell of baby milk. The feminine scent of Olivia took him a while to get used to, but eventually he got to like it. If Olivia felt like sex, which did not happen frequently, she made it known by getting hold of Tom's tool. This was enough to arouse Tom even when he felt drowsy, and he worked hard to ensure that Olivia enjoyed the subsequent penetration. Luca required much more effort on Olivia's part. She had to kiss him and caress him, stroke his cock and prick-tease him with her mouth quite hard before he was sufficiently aroused to fuck her. However, like Tom, he did his best to please her. Eventually she found that what aroused him most was burying his face in the cleavage between her milk-engorged breasts. With great amusement she used to whisper to him, "Non ruba la colazione di bambina nostra!" (don't steal our baby's breakfast!) After about five months, Caterina ceased to holler in the middle of the night, but the men were quite happy to continue sleeping with Olivia until Caterina was weaned. Of course they did miss regular sex with each other, but still managed a quickie blow-job if either of them was desperate in the early evening when the children had gone to bed and Olivia was watching television. Both the little boys seemed to welcome the arrival of their new sister, they called her 'nostra sorellina nuova', and would kiss her and stroke her hair. When they came home from nursery school, they would run to see her, and had to be prevented from kissing her if she was asleep. On Saturdays, Arturo let them use the outdoor swimming pool at his villa, so every Saturday morning, one or both of the men would drive the two boys to Arturo's. By the time that the boys were five and three respectively, they started swimming lessons at the public pool. Chapter XXXXIII Rachel arrives in the lab In the April after Caterina was born, Rachel Ellison arrived in the lab. Accommodation had been secured for her in an apartment in the same building as Olivia's had been. Tom gathered together all the people in Arturo's personal lab and told them that for the duration of Rachel's stay, they should try to speak in English whenever they could. Only a few of the technicians knew no English, and most of the research students could manage a conversation, even if they were not fluent. Carlo had been told to work hard on brushing up his English. No problems were expected for the following three months, because Tom was in the lab daily, but in August there might be problems of communication, because Tom and Luke were going to take the whole family away for a month to Luke's parents' property in Montecatini-Terme. However Tom said to Carlo and Rachel that they should feel able to ring him with any problems without feeling that they were interrupting his holiday. Initially, for the first couple of weeks, he himself helped Rachel with her work, but then Tom's teaching commitments began and Carlo had to take over. A few weeks into Rachel's stay, Tom invited her and Carlo to come to dinner on a Wednesday night. The guests were introduced to the two baby boys and to Caterina before they were put to bed and given a story. Giovanni was a little stroppy, because although Carlo was there he (Giovanni) was not allowed to speak Italian. Tom insisted that only English should be spoken for the whole evening. Bernardo told Rachel, to whom he had taken a fancy, that he had four grandfathers, two in Italy and two in England! By now, Olivia was getting a lot more confident about her English, and its quality had also improved, due to the increased practice she had been getting. She retired to bed early to feed Caterina. The rest of them loaded the dishwasher, sent Costanza home and drank Prosecco and talked. Luke asked Rachel how she was liking Italy. She said that she was loving it, that she had been made so welcome (with an affectionate glance at Carlo). "You've not been put off by the fact that your lab is a hotbed of homosexuality then!" said Luke with a grin. "Not at all!" she replied with another grin. "We straight ones must stick together!" This was accompanied by another glance at Carlo. Rachel had had a rather tiresome time as an undergraduate. Most of the men in her year had seemed only interested in sex. Accordingly, most of her friendships and social life in Camford had been with women. However, the lack of romantic relationships had been very good for her academic performance, and like Tom before her, she had been awarded the Perkin-Kekulé prize in her final year. Carlo seemed like a breath of fresh air to her. While he was meticulous in his lab work, he was also friendly and extremely helpful to her. Their daily juxtaposition at the bench favoured closeness, and Carlo was very attracted by this English girl. To say that he fancied her is an understatement! It soon became apparent that Carlo and Rachel were getting on extremely well together, and after a few more weeks they seemed to be spending time holding hands and not getting on with their work. Tom even had to have a word with Carlo and told him with a grin to keep his dalliance for the lunch break and after hours, and that they were in the lab to work at the bench! By the time of Arturo's annual summer party in July, there were two extra couples attending from the lab, Carlo and Rachel and Alberto and Giovanni Estravini. Whether these two items were going to become permanent was not as yet obvious. Certainly at the party, attempts were made by regulars to chat up Rachel and Alberto. The weather in July in Trabizona was, as usual, fine and sunny, the outdoor pool had been spruced up, the wine flowed, the food was plentiful and all the guests, whether chemists or gays (or both), enjoyed themselves tremendously. Tom and Luke brought their two little boys along, and Olivia and Caterina came for an hour, as no-one from the lab except for Ben had yet seen the new baby. After Caterina had been seen and admired, Luke drove her and Olivia and the little boys home, before going to work. His sum total of alcohol for the day had been one glass of Bellini cocktail (Prosecco and peach juice). How times had changed from their earlier fancy-free visits to Arturo's parties! Chapter XXXIII Are Luke and Tom bi? The men were still taking it in turns to sleep with Olivia. One night the three of them, once Caterina was settled for the night, had a discussion about the future when Caterina had been weaned. Both the boys were agreed that there should be some arrangement by which they took turns to continue to sleep with Olivia and to fuck her when she wanted it, but that they all needed to agree a schedule that allowed the boys to sleep together for part of every week. Luke said that on his two evenings off per week, he wanted to sleep with Tom on Wednesdays and with Olivia on Sundays. Tom said that he wanted to sleep with Olivia on Fridays. All three thought that the arrangements should be flexible, so that when Olivia had a period, the night with Tom or Luke could be changed. Moreover, if Olivia was feeling in the mood, she should be free to ask for sex on any other night. Olivia was really enjoying sex with two different men. Each had his own techniques of making love, which were quite different from the way that they made love to each other. There were of course some common features. Both men enjoyed being sucked off by Olivia, almost as much as if they were doing it with one another. They never discussed with one another what they did with Olivia, and she was just as discreet. One big difference was that neither of the men used dirty talk when making love to Olivia, whereas between themselves it was an essential ingredient. They were also much gentler with her than the rough way that they shagged one another. Because she was not married to either of them, Olivia was totally neutral in her feelings, and never felt that she preferred one of them. This is essentially what made the triangle work, because it freed all parties from favouritism and jealousy. The possibility of the three of them sleeping together was also discussed, but Olivia said that she was not sure that she wanted that. This was something of a relief to the boys, who did not really want the other as a spectator/voyeur when making love to Olivia. They decided that for the present, they should not try for any more children. The consequence of these major changes in lifestyle inevitably led the men, when in bed together, to discuss their sexual orientation. "Well," said Tom, "although I love you best of all, we both have to recognize that we are bisexual! I could never leave you, but I could never leave Olivia either!" "I think our biggest problem," said Luke, "is avoiding jealousy. I always get jealous feelings if I think you are getting too close to a man, and now I'm getting them when you get close to a woman as well! And not just us. I hope that Olivia does not start to prefer one of us to the other. That would become obvious if she started to ask all the time for the same man to shag her." "And what if one us started to ask to shag her rather than his partner? Wouldn't that be a sort of adultery?" They agreed that neither of them should ask Olivia for sex without asking permission from the other one first. "I don't want us to compromise our relationship by getting too involved with Olivia," Tom continued."As long as we don't hide anything from each other, then sleeping with her is not infidelity. She needs warmth and love just as much as we do. But to me you will always come first. In the words of my favourite poet Abraham Cowley in his Davideis, 'Never did Marriage such true Union find, or men's desires with such glad violence bind.'" "Oh, Tom, you are so sweet!" said Luke, "I love you so much. I have so missed man sex for the last few months. Even coating Olivia with Storing pour homme was not enough to make me think that it was you that I was shagging. I'm fed up of being top. I want your cock up my hole NOW! Men can shag men as well as women, but women can't shag men!" With that, Luke spread his legs and looked invitingly at Tom, who was lying on his side smiling. Eagerly Tom reached for the lube from the drawer beside the bed, squeezed some onto his fingers and began to poke his fingers one at a time into Luke's inviting hole. Having prepared Luke, and rolled a condom onto his cock, he knelt between Luke's legs and gently introduced his hard member into Luke's anus. He then leant forward and began to smother Luke's face with kisses. "I'm sorry," he said, "that I have skipped the foreplay, but you said you wanted it and I assume that you wanted it hard!" Luke reached his arms out and wrapped them round Tom's shoulders. "Oh Tom," he said, "Please fuck the shit out of me! I'm yours, all yours!" Tom needed no verbal encouragement to get to work and indeed had to restrain himself from coming too soon. He inhaled the scent of Luke's body greedily. "Although I love Olivia," he said, "she is not really a substitute for you in any way. I think that we are both incredibly lucky to have the best of both worlds. Maybe bi men should be more proud of that fact, and not ashamed because they do not fall in the broad categories of sexuality." He kissed Luke again and resumed his movements inside Luke's gut and after a few minutes of bliss he came into the condom deep inside Luke. Luke grabbed him and held him fast. "Just lie on top of me until your dick slips out of my hole," he said. "I want to feel your weight and the warmth of your body on top of me. I don't need a suck or wanking off, I just want to be as near to you as I can get!" Wrapped in each other's arms, our two bisexual heroes fell asleep. TO BE CONTINUED Tom and Luke Get a Family Pt. 04 Chapter XXXV Planning the celebrations in Montecatini-Terme Our men had arranged to take Olivia and the three children for a month's holiday in August in the Tuscan town of Montecatini-Terme to the house owned by Luke's parents, which they had arranged to rent for a small sum, for a series of family reunions to mark the tenth anniversary of their civil partnership, and Luke's grandparents' fiftieth wedding anniversary. The house at M-T was large (it had previously been a small hotel) and hence a good venue for a lot of guests. A couple of years before, an outdoor pool had been constructed in the back garden. Costanza was coming in case Olivia was still suckling Caterina, although it was hoped that by then she would have been weaned. David's parents were to stay for the whole month. David and Jonathan would stay for two weeks, Dorotea, Massimo and Bianca for the other two weeks. Luke's brother Sandro, his partner Dom and their two daughters were also invited, and so were Tommy, Luke's youngest adopted brother, and Cathy and her husband. Cathy, Luke's sister, to their total amazement, was expecting a baby. David's parents had long since given up expecting any great-grandchildren from her! Like many other twentyfirst-century women, she had left childbearing to well into her thirties. Of course Olivia's parents were also coming. They were to stay for a week, as were David's brother Jeroen and his family and Tom's sister Liz Satterthwaite and her husband Aidan and their two children. Tommy asked if he could bring his girlfriend along, and of course this was agreed. There was not enough room in the house to sleep more than eight persons, so some guests had to stay in an hotel across the road, and some of the children had to sleep on camp beds. Breakfast and dinner for everyone was to be taken at the hotel, by special arrangement. A private room had been set aside for them. No way could Costanza be expected to manage meals for such a vast household! Organizing the accommodation was itself a logistic nightmare, and Tom who had volunteered to do it, was nearly tearing his hair out. For one thing, the house guests, except children, would have to make their own beds. They had considered asking Dom and Sandro to bring Mrs Harrison with them, to help Costanza, but then realized that as the two ladies could not speak each others' languages, it would have been a waste of time! Tom arranged two adjacent rooms for himself, Luke, Olivia and the children. He and Luke would take turns to share a room with Olivia and Caterina, who by now had been weaned and only needed a bottle at night and in the morning, and the little boys would share a room with whichever of their fathers was not sleeping with their mother. They were not old enough to find anything strange in this arrangement. As it turned out, it was very far-seeing of Tom, because Olivia turned out to be quite demanding in her sexual needs, and whichever of the men was sleeping with her was required to fuck her quite frequently! By now, she had got used to the men spending time in prayer before getting into bed. What she had never got used to was the way that both Tom and Luke, whenever they were alone with her, before doing anything else, would take all their clothes off and wander round bedroom and bathroom totally naked, their genitals hanging free and shaking as they moved about. Most men are shy about doing that, as it often accords great mirth to women! Only men who are self-confident about their virility can do it. Olivia's first boyfriend had been extremely modest about concealing his manhood. Even if they had not been gay, the uninhibited atmosphere of the communal changing room of the Camford Men's Fitness Centre would have freed Tom and Luke from excessive male modesty. At first it came as a surprise to Olivia that they each knelt naked to say their prayers. When she asked Tom about this, he explained that nudity symbolized their approach to God, to show that they were laying themselves open in total humility before Him, with any spots, wounds or scars exposed to Him. "After all," he said. "This is how we came into the world!" This disappointed her. She had imagined that they were just being macho and showing off their manhood to her. She had not expected a theological explanation! Tom just grinned and said that he was sorry if she found his big arse and small cock disappointing. This made Olivia blush, a thing that she rarely did. She said, "Tom, hai un bello cazzo. Non è troppo piccolo!" (You have a lovely cock. It's not too small) and she kissed him on the lips. Although it was undeniable that Luke's bigger cock fitted her multiparous potta better than Tom's, she would never have dreamed of risking hurting his feelings by telling him so. Eventually, both the men asked her if they could have a few nights together, with the baby in her crib, leaving Olivia to share with the little boys. Caterina now slept through most nights, but the men were happy to get up and get her a bottle if she woke and started to cry. They felt that Olivia needed to relax, and enjoy herself in M-T, but they also needed to make love to one another! During the month, there were to be two big parties, which it was hoped would enable every visitor to be present at at least one celebration. Otherwise, the visitors were left to do what they wanted. They were expected to entertain themselves, and were allowed to sign out of evening meals if they wished. The bill was of course immense and to offset some of the costs, guests were invited per family group to contribute €100 over and above their travelling costs. But otherwise Luke's parents and grandparents paid the bill. It was no more than a high performance automobile would have cost, and gave pleasure to a far larger number of people! For the parties, in addition to the usual Prosecco, Luke arranged with the hotel for a special importation on a semi-wholesale scale of Belgian beer for all who wanted something different from their usual drink, or who did not like the beer usually offered by the hotel. The event was much larger than the previous family festival of ten years previously, because of the arrival of five great-grandchildren to the Scarboroughs, with another on the way. Their grandchildren were all now either fully grown up or teenagers. The occasion would be notable for the presence of Olivia, who was meeting many of the Scarboroughs' extended family for the first time. Luke had never sought the approval of either his parents or grandparents for his and Tom's relationship with Olivia. He had had no doubt that they would approve their guardianship of Giovanni, but had never considered that they might disapprove of him and Tom fathering two more of Olivia's children. However, he knew that his grandparents had taken a great liking to Olivia, and as they were all so happy together, he did not see that they could disapprove. And as for his mother and Massimo, they were both delighted to have grandchildren. For our two men, it was important to ensure that not only was one of them available to keep Olivia and Caterina company, but to maximize the time that they could spend with their two sons, as well as letting all the children spent time together and ensuring that Costanza did not feel that she had been brought along as a household drudge. They made it clear to Costanza that she was free every afternoon to go out wherever she wanted. Sometimes she went out in the park with Olivia and the boys. One thing they did several times was for Luke and his brother to take the boys out, while Tom and Dom took the twins out. They also wanted to spend time with Luke's fathers. It would be the first time that Sandro and Dom had been to Italy since Dom had become Earl of Batley. Dom had changed his signature from Dominic Ovenden to Dominic Batley, but otherwise was modest to the point of reticence about using his courtesy title. He had not changed his passport. Chapter XXXVI The celebrations in Montecatini-Terme 1 Eventually August arrived and after a fraught couple of days getting organized, the party from Trabizona arrived in M-T, shortly before the first visitors. One day, as Tom, Giovanni and Bernardo were walking in the spa park with David and Jon, Tom confessed to them that much as he loved his job and his life in Italy, he often wished that they all could live in Camford. "But it would be very difficult. Olivia is still not very confident about speaking English, and I'm frightened that if we were to move now, the boys would quickly forget their Italian background and nationality. Above all, Luke would have great difficulty in finding a job that suited him. I know that he doesn't need to work, but that would be against all that your family has taught him. So except in the unlikely event of me being headhunted by Camford University, I guess that we are fixtures here. And we men have a great social life. Hopefully as the children get older, Olivia will get out and do more. It isn't as if she had no help in the house. Costanza is a treasure. "Olivia is so sweet, she has become the second woman in my life and seems set to replace my sister in top position! Even Luke, who has always been indifferent to women, has started to love her. We are enormously lucky to have such a happy threesome. The children will benefit enormously from having two different fathers!" "You know, Tom," said Jon, "you represent all that David and I never did. We both trained as chemists to doctoral level, but never became professional scientists. Our lives have shown us that we have to go where God and our abilities send us. David had to make use of his God-given talent for singing. I had to give up a research career to look after Luke and Cathy when they were little. Maybe God wants you to be a chemist in Italy rather than Camford, maybe the greatest Italian chemist since Avogadro!" Tom then asked Jon if he thought that Professor Edward Bairstow would be prepared to come to Italy to baptize Caterina. "He baptized Luke and Luke would love it if he could baptize our new daughter," said Tom. "Oh, didn't you know?" said Jon, "He's retired from his chair and he has gone as Chaplain to the English church in Geneva. Maybe you could take her there to be baptized." "Right, I'll tell Luke and we'll get in touch with him. Does he still have his Camford E-mail address?" "Yes." "Dad, please may we have an icecream?" said Giovanni, who by now had overcome his reluctance to speak English, certainly where food and drink were concerned. The boys called Tom, Dad and Luke, Pappa. "OK, little lad. Here's the money. Go and get two, one for yourself and one for Bernardo. I'll find some tissues, so that Bernardo does not get himself into a sticky mess. Don't forget to say 'per favore' to the icecream man." Jon grinned at David. "You can see that Tom is a doting father!" he remarked to him. Tom blushed. "I'll never forget how rottenly my father and his women treated me after my mother died." he said. "My children are going to be loved and cared for till they are grown up! Tomorrow it's going to be Jane and Anne who get treated to icecreams. Dom and I are taking them up the funicular to Montecatini-Alta. They are such sweet children! I hope that ours are as good in a couple of years' time." "What are you going to tell them about their different fathers, and when?" David asked. "I'm not sure. But as they all have different surnames, they will need to know before they go to school. The big problem will be that while both Bernardo and Caterina will know that one of the two men that they all call 'Dad' or 'Pappa' is their father, for poor Giovanni, while he can call two men Dad and Pappa, neither is his father. We are already teaching them that some children are brought up without any father, and that they are specially lucky to have two fathers! Of course it doesn't in reality make any difference, because we love all three of them equally, but that is something that they MUST learn before they are old enough to really understand what fatherhood means. At least we are not deceiving them by concealing their paternity." The next day, Luke went out with Olivia, with Caterina in the pushchair. "Tesoro mio," said Luke, "I hope that you are not bored or lonely here. Montecatini-Terme is a lovely place, but we do all tend to split up into different groups, and leave you with the baby." "No, Luca, I am really enjoying it. It's so nice to see all our families without the rush and scramble of a short visit. I was amazed to hear that your sister has finally decided to have a baby after all this time." "That's the disadvantage of being a career woman. I hope that motherhood will change her. The problem was that being brought up in a family of men has made her a militant feminist. She always objected when my fathers and Tom and I used to swim naked in our pool at Rockwell's Barn. She used to get furious when we used to swim naked for the entertainment of our grandmother, who loved to see young men naked. It was a total surprise to all of us when she got married. When they arrive, I hope to get to know my new brother. Do you think that my brother Sandro is like me? He's become a family man too, now." "It's difficult to say. He's much more Italian than you of course. It's particularly noticeable that he's less religious. He doesn't go with you and Tom, Tommy and his girlfriend, the little boys and your parents and grandparents to church in Firenze on Sundays." "He has the Italian attitude that religion is for women, even though in our family it's the men who pray and go to church. I hope really that we do more than just that and try to be loving and forgiving. Dom and Sandro did get the twins baptized though, in the chapel at Dom's ancestral home in Yorkshire. Sandro had to struggle to get his English fluent and idiomatic enough to live in England and talk to his colleague railwaymen. And now he's the partner of a lord! At least Lady Anne and Lady Jane can speak Italian. I suppose I should call them Donna Anna and Donna Gianetta, but they sound like names out of an Italian opera! It's good practice for their language skills that they have been able to visit Italy. They are a sweet little pair. They took turns to read a fairy story in Italian last night to Giovanni and Bernardo. I hope our little girl grows up to be as sweet as them!" he said with a loving smile at Caterina in her push-chair. "They've made a great impression on Costanza. They spend ages in the kitchen talking to her. That's a good test of their Italian skills!" Olivia was talking quite animatedly, and the effect was to cause a huge welling-up of affection inside Luke, who stopped, put the brake on the pushchair, threw his arms round Olivia and kissed her more fervently than he had ever done before. "Ti amo, dolce Olivia mia!" he said. Olivia could feel the hard object in Luke's crotch as he embraced her. She kissed him back and he opened his mouth and her tongue entered it. After a few minutes, they separated and resumed their walk. "I've never done that kind of kiss with a woman before!" said an amazed Luke. Olivia smiled to herself. Next day, Luke took Giovanni and Bernardo for a walk in the spa park with Tommy and his girlfriend. Luke was anxious to find out what sort of a girl she was and whether the two had plans for a long-term relationship. "I hope the large number of gay men in Tommy's family don't upset you!" he said to the girl, whose name was Eleanor. "No-one could have had a better upbringing than me after I was adopted!" said Tommy proudly. "Dad and Pop, and to a lesser extent Sandro and Dom, have always been very good to me. So four gays have played the biggest role in my life. If Eleanor likes me, it has to be because of my upbringing, so she can't be homophobic. No-one has tried to push me into a particular job, and I was allowed to read at Camford subjects that from a job point of view were totally useless, but I enjoyed my study of classics and Italian enormously, and I'm going to become a teacher." "Do the two of you go to church together?" Luke asked. "I was a bit surprised when Eleanor asked if she could go to the English church in Florence with Tommy's grandmother and the men of the family." "Yes, it was through the college chapel choir that we met," said Eleanor. "There are so few believers among students nowadays that we have to stick together. Thank you for letting me come with Tommy to Montecatini-Terme." She was tall, slender and dark-haired and even Luke had to admit to himself that she was very attractive. She too was training to be a teacher. "You must thank my partner Tom, not me," said Luke, "he's the one who arranged the accommodation. But we are delighted to welcome you, and if you decide to join our family, you will make us very happy. I can't speak for Tommy of course! It's up to you and him to decide! But whatever happens, you will be welcome to come and stay in Italy with Tom and me and Olivia at any time." Luke would have liked to kiss Eleanor, but forbore out of fear that he would seem to be pushing Tommy and Eleanor a stage further in their relationship. He was, however, left with the feeling that if Tommy and Eleanor were, or were going to become, an item, he would not be the only one to be delighted. Tom had put them in a twin-bedded room, but whether they were actually sleeping together was not to be found out, because everyone had to make their own beds! One day, Luke went out with the two boys and his grandparents. He said to his grandfather, "I never discussed with you how Tom and I, who had promised one another to forsake all others came to start a relationship with Olivia. It could be construed as a breach of our partnership vows. But when we first met her she was desperate, pregnant with no-one to care for her and no future. We gave her fatherless son two fathers, we prevented her from consigning her baby to childcare while she worked to support him and we gave her a comfortable home and Costanza to help her with the house. "Marriage and civil partnerships should not be regarded as 'holy deadlock,' they need to be flexible relationships. As long as the parties involved are true, honest and loving with one another the relationship need not be exclusive. When Giovanni was a year old, Olivia ASKED us to give her another child. And we obviously wanted to pass on our our genes to another generation, so we said yes, though we discussed it with one another for a long time first. In the novel Maurice, E.M. Forster discusses the depressing problem that gay men have of effectively being sterile. We considered A.I., but decided that sleeping with her was better for her, so the child would not grow up with a syringe for a father! So Tom fathered Bernardo and chose his name, and I did the same for Caterina. In traditional terms then, we are both adulterers and Olivia is a concubine! That just shows how obsolete such attitudes are. As long as there is love and no deceit, partnerships will thrive. I have great respect for your wisdom, so I hope that you do not disapprove of what we have done." "Why should I disapprove? replied Mr Scarborough. "You are both well educated young men, and Olivia is an intelligent woman. None of you are going to take such steps unadvisedly, lightly and wantonly, as the Prayer Book says of getting married. I heartily approve. You have a loving woman and three charming children. As long as you can all live together in love, I can't utter a word of blame!" Chapter XXXVII The celebrations in Montecatini-Terme 2 In the latter half of the month, Cathy and her husband Edmund Robertshaw arrived. Luke had not seen them since the day of Dom and Sandro's civil partnership ceremony. Neither he nor Tom had been able to go to their wedding, which had taken place about the time that Caterina had been born. Luke spent some time apologizing to his sister and explaining how his job made short term time-off very difficult to obtain. "So how are you liking fatherhood?" Cathy asked. Tom and Luke Get a Family Pt. 04 "It's fantastic. I love changing napkins, helping to put shoes on, spoon-feeding and teaching my sons to pee standing up!" Luke replied. "Both Tom and I are convinced that Olivia is the best thing to happen to us since we met one another. I don't want to proclaim it to the world, but there's no harm in telling you that both Tom and I have decided that we are bisexual." "Maybe if you hadn't met Mark Ravenscroft all those years ago, you would now be a married man." "I think you do Mark an injustice! If I hadn't had my first sexual experience with him, it would probably have been with Tom. I regard myself as a married man, except that I am not married to my children's mother!" said Luke with a smile. "If Olivia were to meet someone and want to marry him, we would of course let her, but we would not let him have the children, and of course Olivia knows that. Our ménage à trois works very well, although I'm sure that the feminist in you does not approve. And how do you like married life and pregnancy? I hope you don't have nausea and heartburn." "Well, I did have morning sickness for the first three months, but now it's worn off. Really, I left it rather late to have babies." "Better late than never. You won't regret it." They agreed that Luke should make a special effort to come to the baby's baptism, as he was to be a godfather. Bianca Mascagnoli had come with her parents, having broken up with her French boyfriend. She had now graduated from University and was working in France. One day she said to her brother, "Sandro, I'm minded to go to Pisa on the train one day to see Nonno and Nonna. I've phoned them and asked them if you and Dom and the twins would be welcome if you came with me!" "What did they say? You know what their reaction was when we last went to see them!" "It seems that you and Dom having got a family makes you more welcome!" "Provided that Dom agrees, we'll come. Will you ask Dom?" Dom having agreed, a few days later the five of them got up early and caught a train to Pisa. The twins Anne and Jane Ovenden-Mascagnoli were now about ten years old and on the verge of changing schools. Sandro had warned them that the situation might be difficult because his grandparents were rather hostile to the concept of two men having a family. "You are now old enough to understand that same-sex families are still unknown to the people of the earlier generations, and we are relying on your sweetness and charm to be nice to these elderly people, because they are your great-grandparents." This was not strictly true, but Sandro was not going to tell his daughters that Massimo was not his biological father and that uncle Luke was his full brother, not his half-brother. That information would have to wait until they were much older, if only to prevent them giving the deception away to Massimo's parents. By 11 am they were knocking on their grandparents' door. Their reception this time was totally different from the previous rather sad visit they had experienced a few years before. It was clear that the old couple had missed their grandson, and when they heard that his relationship with Dom had become permanent, and that they had adopted two children, their attitude changed significantly. At the time that the twins were adopted, Luke and Tom had not yet met Olivia, and so there were no great-grandchildren. The sudden acquisition of two, albeit adopted, made the old couple feel much happier. The two little girls, although not quite so quiet and submissive as they had been when they were five or six, were still capable of exerting a good deal of sweetness and charm, and their great-grandparents soon fell under the influence of this. The discovery that both the girls could talk to them in Italian cemented the old couple's satisfaction. Clearly Sandro was not trying to shake off his Italian roots. Sandro explained how hard he and Dom had had to work to make the girls bilingual, but how it had had the spin-off effect of making Dom able to speak and understand Italian, though he was not entirely fluent. The two girls and Bianca rapidly took over the conversation, leaving Dom and Sandro able to relax and hold hands. They stayed for lunch and the afternoon flew by, leaving them with no time to show the girls the famous leaning Campanile. They were glad that a family rift had been healed. The next day, Tom, accompanied by Bernardo and Giovanni, went for a walk with Edmund Robertshaw. Tom congratulated him on overcoming his sister's militant feminism. "I've known Cathy for years, since Luke and I were students together at Buckingham, and I am convinced that motherhood will be good for her. The Singleton-Scarboroughs are a wonderful family. I come from a very unhappy family background, and when I left home for good, and fell in love with Luke, the whole family welcomed me as one of themselves, and I am proud to have such wonderful parents- and grandparents-in-law. You've made a good choice in every way! Where are you going to live when the baby is born?" "We've got to stay in the London area because of my job, but the apartment that we live in at present isn't suitable for children. Jon and David have given us half a million to buy a house, but that is not going to be in a fashionable area with house prices being what they are in London. We hope to get somewhere in Greenwich, because of its easy access to Canary Wharf in the Isle of Dogs where I work." Another day, Luke and Tom, Giovanni and Bernardo went for a walk in the spa park with Liz, Tom's sister and Aidan Satterthwaite, her husband, who had just arrived, their daughter Anne (another Anne!) and, in a push-chair, their new young son, Richard, who could only walk a short distance. Although neither knew a word of Italian, they got on well with the three Italian children and Dom and Sandro's two girls. It was good practice for the other five children to exercise their bilingual skills. Liz said, "It's so nice to see you boys with a family. I congratulate you as well in the choice of their mother, who obviously loves you both, in spite of your gayness! Of course to have two men at her beck and call is every woman's dream. I'm sure that you are both totally different in the way you make love to her!" "Yes, but I think our unconventional lifestyle would be more easily accepted in England than here," said Luke. "I don't think that the advantage that you call every woman's dream is well accepted by most Italian women! But then that may be due to the fact that most Italian women have their work cut out keeping one man on the straight-and-narrow, not two. But Tom and I are not Italian, and we have each other as well as Olivia." One night, all the younger men of the party went out for a drink together: Tom, Luke, Sandro, Dom, Tommy, Edmund and Tom's brother Aidan. Luke had taken the initiative to get all of them together. They gathered in a bar which sold German beer. An evening drinking Nastro Azzurro did not appeal to any of them. Tommy had been educated by Jon, just as Sandro had been, to appreciate and understand decent top-fermented beer. It was not intended to be a boozy occasion. All the men present knew how to enjoy moderate drinking. Even so, alcohol definitely increased the comradeship and conviviality. The medium of conversation was English. Although Tommy would have managed, Dom would have struggled if they had used Italian, and Edmund and Aidan would not have understood a word! Before they broke up into groups to chat, Luke said, "Most of us here except Tommy, are in our thirties, just beginning family responsibilities that will take up more and more of our time over the next ten years. In order that we remain in touch as an extended family, I am going to propose that we have an annual family get-together, in a different place each year. Dom has kindly offered to host next year's reunion at either Paradise Place or Getheringthwaite. It would involve whole families where possible, so it is not an easy matter to find accommodation, and some years it will have to be a one-day event without accommodation, unless attendees fix up their own. Obviously, not everyone will be able to go every year, but we hope that those unable to be present will send news of their families. Also it would be good if someone here could organize a private Facebook page for family news, to which only family members have access. Please get your womenfolk to work on this! Most men will be too busy." Dom got into conversation with Luke and Tom. "My brother Michael is getting married next year, and I am to be his best man. I particularly want the two of you to come to the wedding, by special licence in the chapel at Getheringthwaite. Michael's fiancée is a sweet girl, and not much of a career woman. So I'm hoping that they will get breeding as soon as they are married. I won't feel that the future of the Ovenden peerage is secure until Michael has at least one son. Then Sandro and I will definitely be off the hook! Will you be able to bring Olivia and the children?" "Of course we'll come. Both our bosses will be leant on not to raise difficulties!" said Luke. "It will be nice to visit Getheringthwaite again. We should be able to bring the children. Giovanni does not start school till next September when he will be six. It will be nice for Olivia to see your ancestral home, even though you have only ever lived there for a few months, and the boys will love it! It would be best if we could arrange the family reunion to be within a week or so of Michael's wedding, to facilitate our travel arrangements. Could we manage that, do you think?" "I don't see why not." Chapter XXXVIII The Celebrations in Montecatini-Terme 3 Towards the end of the four-week stay in M-T, the second of the two parties was held to mark the two anniversaries. The hotel excelled itself in the celebratory food, the wine and beer were plentiful, there were a few special items of food and drink for the children, and everyone had a good time. Towards the end of the evening, there were two speeches, one from Luke and one from his grandfather. Mr Scarborough spoke first. He said, "My Lord, Ladies and gentlemen," with a grin at Dom, "thank you all for coming here for the fiftieth anniversary of Helena's marriage to me. I appreciate that many of you here have unions and partnerships very different from a traditional marriage, but the important thing to Helena and me is that you all love your partners. Love is God's gift to human beings that enables them to understand His love for them. Any human partnership that does not involve love is worthless. You have collectively given us seven grandchildren and five, shortly to be six, great-grandchildren, with the prospect of more to come. What more could we wish for? "But we are also celebrating another anniversary: the tenth anniversary of Luke's civil partnership with Tom. That they now have a family of three children is a great delight to all of us. Giovanni, Bernardo and Caterina, please come forward and let your great-grandmother and me give you each a big kiss!" Tom led the two boys and Luke and Olivia carried little Caterina to the old couple and they were all kissed. It was then Luke's turn to speak. He spoke twice, once in English and once in Italian. "I want to thank you all for coming here at your own expense to celebrate this dual anniversary. As a family, we are scattered over Europe, and do not see much of one another. All the more reason then, to celebrate the wonderful couple who directly or indirectly brought us into the world. As our children grow up the chances for us to travel together will get progressively less, but I am trying to start a tradition of an annual family reunion so that the ones able to get to it will be able to meet the other families. Dom has kindly offered to organize the next one at Paradise Place next year, and I hope that as many of us as possible will try and be there. His parents are sorry to be unable to be with us today, and are happy to host next year's event and to meet you all." Olivia's parents were at the second party. They seemed a bit overwhelmed by Luke's huge family. Signor Desperaldi spoke enough English to enjoy the event, but his wife, in spite of many friendly people talking to her in Italian, was struggling. Tom saw this and made sure that she got plenty to eat and drink. He spent a good deal of the time trying to make them feel comfortable. He said to them, "There are a lot of Italians who think that the English are cold and reserved and indifferent to their families. The Singleton-Scarboroughs are big exceptions. It must be the Italian blood that Luca and Sandro share." The next day, Luke had arranged with Emeritus Professor Edward Bairstow, the priest who was his godfather as well as having baptized him in Loxton as a baby, to fly from Geneva to baptize Caterina. Research in the spa town had led Luke to discover a small spring with a mock baroque canopy erected over it, where warm water came out of a pipe into a small basin. The building was surrounded by a high fence and was not generally open to the public, but on prolonged enquiries, he found out from the spa authorities that it could be hired by the hour to private patients who wished to partake of its water. It struck him that rather than find a church for the baptism ceremony, this was an ideal venue. So the following day, all the resident guests walked to the little spring, where a custodian let them in. Edward put on his cassock, surplice and stole. Caterina was clad in a simple white baby dress. Luke and Olivia carried her to the basin, removed her dress so that Edward could pour the water not just over her head, but over her whole body. After the words of administration, she was wrapped in a white towel and presented with a candle. The promises of fidelity to Christ were made on her behalf by the godparents, Bianca and Cornelio, specially invited for the day. The other godparent, Tom's sister Liz, had returned to England, so Olivia's mother stood proxy for her. They returned to a rather crowded house, put Caterina's dress back on after changing her, and sat down to cakes and panini prepared by Costanza. Tom had borrowed the baptismal register from Holy Cross, Bologna, so that Caterina's baptism could be recorded and a certificate issued. The days following Caterina's being made a Christian were characterized by a series of departures, and by the end of September, the children and our two men and Costanza were left to tidy up before they returned to Trabizona. Chapter XXXIX Tom is sick When Tom got back to his lab, the first hints of autumn colour changes were evident in the leaves of the trees outside the lab. He spent some time seeing how Carlo and Eleanor had got on during his absence. It turned out that they had made good progress and not just in the lab! They told Tom that they were now an item. Tom gave them his good wishes and asked whether, when the had completed their respective doctorates, Carlo would like to go as a postdoc to Camford, or if they would prefer a year later for Eleanor to come to Trabizona. They said that it would be better if Carlo could go to Camford. Tom promised to see what he could arrange in the course of the next two years. At the end of the month, Eleanor returned to Camford. Late in November, he went to read a paper at a meeting of the Royal Society of Chemistry in Oxbridge. It was the first time that he had been invited to deliver an account of his work to this august organization, of which he had been a member since he got his dottorato. The meeting itself was a great success, but almost immediately after he had returned home to Trabizona, he fell ill with influenza, which he had clearly developed from a virus picked up in the cold North. Every part of his body ached. The symptoms of severe influenza are alarming: the victim's body temperature rockets, he or she sweats profusely and feels as if they were dying. The very young and the old are in great danger of actually dying, and Tom forbade everyone from entering his room except for short visits from Luke and Olivia. He moved into the guest room so that he did not disturb Luke or Olivia. After two days of feeling awful, regular doses of aspirin brought his temperature back to normal and the fever left him, but he felt weak and listless. He spent a further two days in bed before he felt well enough to get up and play with the boys. Both had missed him and were incredibly sweet. Caterina, who was now taking a few hesitant steps and saying a few words, kept saying "Dove Dad? (Where's Dad?). The boys told her that Dad was ill in the guest bedroom, but she did not really understand. They kept bringing him glasses of water and cups of tea that Costanza had made. Fortunately, by now Olivia had resumed her cooking role. Tom ate nothing for four days, but as he recovered, so did his appetite, and Olivia went to great trouble to cook food that he liked. She even made him a fish pie. He missed a Sunday at church and phoned the chaplain with his apologies. The chaplain, hearing that he had been ill, came to Trabizona and gave him the Sacrament. During his time in bed, both Luke and Olivia visited him separately to console him. Luke was particularly anxious and affectionate. "My darling Tom, you're never ill! I thought that you were as tough as leather!" "Anyone can be attacked by the flu," said Tom, "but I hope that none of you catches it off me. It's been like a near-death experience. It feels as if it will be months before I am able to shag you!" "In that case, as soon as you are a bit better, let me shag you, if you want sex!" Luke replied with a grin. Tom smiled at him "Making you happy will help me get better! he said. "You are everything in the world to me!" Tom continued to keep away from little Caterina however, as there was no way of knowing if he was yet free from infection. He really felt as if he had escaped the jaws of death. After the first two days, he had kept in touch by phone with Carlo and Alberto, and after a week at home, he returned to work, but came home early, about 6 pm. Fortunately no-one in the lab had caught it off him. Everyone there though noticed how weakened he had been. Before he went back to work, he took little Caterina on his knee and told her than he had been ill, but was now better again and moving back into the room he shared with Pappa. Although she could not understand what he was saying, his kisses reassured her. Luke realized that, just as a recovering invalid needs tempting food like Olivia's fish pie, so he needs tempting and exciting sex. Tom had worn pyjamas during his illness to prevent his profuse sweating from soaking the silk sheets. He complained to Luke that pyjamas constricted his package and made him uncomfortable, so the first act of lovemaking was the gradual removal of his pyjama trousers. Luke would begin by slipping his hands through the fly of Tom's pyjamas and gently taking Tom's threefold package in his left hand and lifting it clear of his sweaty legs. Then he would gently stroke with one finger the hair on his mate's ball-bag and, gently encircling the shaft of his limp tool with thumb and index finger, would run them along its length. This was guaranteed to start it stiffening, and in an instant swell up so that Luke's fingers were forced apart and precome began to flow from Tom's piss-slit. Next to their bed, he had assembled all the necessaries for lovemaking: a bottle of lube, a package of condoms, a dildo, a bottle of Storing pour Homme and an open box of tissues. After he had pulled Tom's pyjamas clear of his working parts, he would then begin work on Tom's nipples, gently tweaking them with his left hand and pulling on the hair surrounding them with his teeth. His face would then gradually move down the front of Tom's torso, kissing and licking its way past Tom's belly-button and along his treasure trail before embedding itself in Tom's sweaty but delicious crotch, alongside the hard and long fleshy cylinder of Tom's cock. The scent of male genital sweat is irresistible to a greedy gay, and Luke was no exception. Tom and Luke Get a Family Pt. 04 He splashed a tiny amount of Storing pour Homme on Tom's pubic hair before taking the tip of Tom's wet tool into his mouth. He nibbled Tom's foreskin and Tom wriggled with delight. Luke started to chew the head of Tom's cock. Tom responded enthusiastically and Luke began to fuck his mouth. It did not take long before Tom completely filled Luke's mouth with a series of violent ejaculations. Luke savoured Tom's juice before swallowing it. He then parted Tom's legs as he lay there and began to poke lube into Tom's hole. "Fuck me hard, fag-boy!" said Tom. Luke did has he was told. After gently entering Tom's love passage, he pushed hard to gain full access and got to work. "That's great! said Tom, "Keep at it. Fuck the shit out of me! You've drunk my seed, so now give me yours back." He clutched his partner by the shoulders as Luke worked hard with his cock, the sweat dripping from his armpits. Tom lay there smiling with bliss. Eventually with a muffled shout Luke shot his load into the rubber deep inside his sweetheart. As he felt Luke's dick slipping out, Tom grabbed him and pulled him down on top of him and began to smother every reachable part of Luke's naked body with kisses. "My dearest love, I can never get enough of you. Without you my life would be empty!" Luke led Tom to the shower and they both cleaned themselves up before going downstairs to join Olivia at an enjoyable dinner that Costanza had cooked. It was Wednesday, so Luke had the evening at home. When the children had gone to bed, they always talked Italian together. Chapter XL Tom's recovery and its consequences It took until Christmas for Tom to be fully recovered, by which time his hairy back entrance had become almost sore from Luke's frequent attentions! A week before the holidays he resumed his thrice-weekly jogs with Ben and Alberto in Il Parco. By the time Tom was vigorous enough to fuck, he was first claimed by Olivia. She told Luke that she felt neglected, because Luke, busy at work (they were rehearsing a new production of Andrea Chenier), was not able to satisfy both herself and Tom, and Tom had priority! One night she carried Tom off to her bedroom, where Caterina lay quietly sleeping in her cot. She said to Tom, "Caro Tom, I need you inside me! I want you so much that I am offering you my culo! I've put on Storing pour Homme and I want you in bed with me NOW." Amazed, Tom kissed her gratefully, tore off his clothes and leapt on to her bed. He was already naked, and he hungrily removed her nightdress, kissing her before pulling it over her head. She was sitting up in bed. Tom threw back the bedclothes, put his right arm round her shoulders and began to caress her tits with his left. Then he began to nibble them and kissed the delicious curve of her by now slightly pendulous breasts. He worked his way with his kisses down her body, past her belly-button until her was able to nuzzle her pubic hair. She then lay down on her belly so that Tom could kiss her back. She knew how much he loved her arse, which he began to smother with licks, nuzzles and kisses. "Are you sure that you want this, cara mia?" he asked. "It will be uncomfortable for you and might be painful! I always use a condom for backdoor sex, so it's not as if we need to do this to avoid you getting pregnant again. You have no prostate to excite you when I get into your gut, and you will find the stretching of your sphincter very painful." "Please try it, Tomaso. I want you to enjoy yourself." "I could never enjoy something that gave you pain. You know that I'm not desperate for sex. Luke has given me a couple of blow-jobs. It's all about your pleasure, not mine!" Olivia insisted that Tom carry on, so he got a tube of lube, turned her over on her back and made her spread her legs as she laid back. He spread a good dollop of lubricant on his index finger, and stuck it into her arsehole. She wriggled with delight. He repeated the penetration with two fingers, which he used to stretch the anal sphincter. She twitched a little, but said nothing. "Remember that if you tell me to stop, I will stop instantly," he said. He then introduced three lube-laden fingers into her anus and stretched again. She gasped, but did not ask him to stop. Tom then rolled a condom onto his cock, and coated it with lube. He then rolled Olivia gently onto her belly and pulled her up until she was kneeling on her hands and knees. Kneeling behind her, he began to rim her, but without using his tongue. His cock, which was as hard as a ramrod, he then gently pushed into her open hole and pressed firmly until it passed her sphincter. Once again, she gasped, but did not cry out. Once he was fully inside, he lay on her back and reaching round, began to caress her tits, one with each hand, while working his dick in and out of her back hole. After some minutes of delight, he came violently, filling the condom with his fuck-juice. The climax filled him with the usual male sensations of joy and exhaustion, as well as the spiritual sensation that God was entering Olivia. He could not see Olivia's face, so had no idea how she was reacting. He withdrew his shrinking cock from Olivia's back passage and collapsed on his back beside her, pulling the prophylactic off his dick and tying it in a knot. He asked her anxiously whether she had enjoyed it. She snuggled up to him and whispered, "Si, si, but next time we do it, please let me lie on my back so that I can see you! And please don't tell Luca that you've buggered me! I don't want him to try. Suo cazzo è troppo grande!(His cock is too big)" Tom fell asleep marvelling that their sweet and loving woman could be so sexy. He was awakened two hours later by Caterina yelling for some milk. TO BE CONTINUED Tom and Luke Get a Family Pt. 05 [There is no sex in this instalment! You have been warned. Life is like that!] Chapter XLI Introducing Roberto and Vittore Several months had elapsed. Bernardo was now chattering away in both Italian and English and could walk several kilometres. Caterina could walk quite some distance and could say a few full sentences. Olivia had begun driving lessons and was making good progress. To practise, she went out with one of the men immediately after lunch, while the other man or Costanza kept an eye on the children or took them out in the park. She was teaching Giovanni to read simple story books with pictures in both languages. Luke and Pauline's production of Andrea Chenier had been a great success and Pauline had broken off her engagement. "He was not ready for commitment!" she said of her ex-fiancé. A new research student called Roberto had started work with Tom. Tom initially teamed Roberto to work with Carlo for his first few months. "Your projects are complementary," he told him, "and many of the techniques are ones that Carlo is very experienced in. He can be of more help to you than I can, because he knows all the problems and all the tricks to deal with them." Tom by now had published over 60 research papers and was considering submitting for a Camford Doctorate of Science. He had become a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry, like Jon, and was now on the Editorial Board of several chemical research journals, British, American and Italian. He found it increasingly difficult to balance the commitments of a busy and fruitful research lab with his desire to spend precious and delightful hours with the children at home. Both these two factors inevitably meant that sex with either Luke or Olivia was infrequent. One night when he and Luke had gone to bed early and were cuddling up together, Luke said, "Tom, your hair is getting a bit thin on the crown!" "I know," said Tom, "I'm suffering the penalty of being a man! It's age-related androgenic alopecia -- male baldness. Do you want me to start taking Finasteride? It's said to be effective in about 50% of cases." "No! Don't worry, Tom," said Luke, "I won't love you any less! I would hate to think of you dosing on drugs, especially anti-dihydrotestosterone agents, just because of hair loss. It might affect your sex-drive!" Luke's career in contrast, was moving more slowly. The Teatro Musicale was doing very well financially, and work had begun to improve the backstage facilities. The men sometimes wondered if Luke's promotion might be accelerated if he took a job elsewhere, but Tom did not want to leave Trabizona, and travel to another Italian city with an opera house as a commuter, though possible, would only give Luke even less time to spend with the family. In the end, Luke persuaded Cornelio that they should hire an extra assistant to take on some of Luke's more trivial responsibilities, and give Luke one extra evening free per week. They advertised, and finally recruited a quite young man called Vittore Campodastri. He was keen and enthusiastic, but quiet and modest. He was slim and energetic, and at Luke's suggestion joined Tom, Ben and Alberto in their morning runs in the Parco Emilio Guzzone. Luke wondered if his new colleague might be gay, but soon found out that young as he was, he was a typical Italian womanizer! Fortunately he was tactful enough not to boast of his exploits to his male colleagues at work. Nothing is more tedious to gays than accounts of heterosexual seductions. However, he was good at his job and enabled Luke to concentrate more on producing and rehearsing. Pauline got on well with Vittore, and he began to treat her as a mother figure. His home was at Lecce in the distant south, and he did not go home very often. Chapter XLII Unhappy Carlo One afternoon, as he was walking through the lab, Tom saw Carlo sitting at his desk looking miserable. "What's the matter Carlo, are you missing Rachel?" he said. "Si," replied Carlo, "I miss her terribly!" "I had the same experience as you," said Tom, "when I was a third year student in Camford. Luca went to spend a year as an Erasmus student in Bologna, and I missed him enormously. We exchanged E-mails twice a week and had phone sex on our mobiles once a week. But Luca had pots of money and came home at Christmas and Easter, so we saw one another every three months. When we became civil partners, we resolved never to separate for more than a few weeks, which is how I came to Italy to do my dottorato, because Luca wanted to work in Italy as an opera-house manager. It meant that I had to learn Italian in six months! Now we are here for good. We don't want to take our children to England, because at their age they would quickly forget that they're Italian." "I never thought about phone sex!" said Carlo. "I don't know if Rachel would like it." "I can't advise you about that!" said Tom, "I don't know enough about women! But look, you need cheering up. Come home with me. I'll ring Olivia and see if there's enough food for you. In any case, I can offer you some nice Belgian beer." Olivia said there was plenty of lasagna, and Carlo was welcome, so about 6-30 the two men left the lab and got home just in time to read the children a bedtime story. Luke had left for work an hour before. Carlo read them an Italian story and Tom an English one. "Don't worry about how much you drink!" said Tom. If you're not in a fit state to go home on the tram, I'll pay for a taxi for you! Do you like sweet things to drink, or bitter things?" "I prefer bitter things," replied Carlo. "In that case, try this beer," said Tom and poured him a glass of Orval, a very bitter Trappist beer. Carlo was a bit of a loner. He was not at all a typical womanizing Italian. He had enjoyed working with Rachel, and was glad when Tom had asked him to work with Roberto for his first few months. He found it difficult to guess whether phone sex, a typical male activity, would attract Rachel or repel her. He had not had enough experience of women even to be able to judge how much she was enjoying it when they had sex together. She never criticized his lovemaking, but that might just have been female modesty. The thought that he might be a lousy lover depressed him, and he was quite happy to taste and enjoy the high-alcohol beers that Tom served up to him. He had not yet come to realize that true love is achieved by being oneself. Being oneself is the secret of the best kind of sex-appeal. It was characteristic of Tom's tact that he did attempt to turn Carlo's sexual uncertainty into pro-gay propaganda, by telling him that man-man sex was much easier, partly because men do not have a menstrual cycle (something that Luke in his more cynical moments called a 'womenstrual cycle'). An evening unwinding his tensions in the company of Tom and Olivia did him good, and by the time that Luca got home from work, Carlo felt much happier, as well as quite drunk. In the end, he spent the night in the men's guest bedroom. By the morning, after having been wakened up by a boisterous Caterina bouncing into his bedroom, he felt the lure of his work, and the ache engendered by his separation from the girl he loved was somewhat relieved. After breakfast with Tom and family, he said goodbye to the children and travelled with Tom to work. Soon he and Roberto were busy at the bench. It was only a matter of a few weeks now before Carlo should be finishing at the bench and beginning to write his thesis. He had already taken four years. However during that time four published papers had been co-authored by him, so he had plenty of results to write up. Tom and Arturo had begun negotiations to get him funding for post-doc work in Camford. So his lovelorn misery ought, Tom reasoned, to stimulate him into getting his thesis written in record time. Every week, Tom held a short work-discussion with his group: Carlo, Alberto, Roberto, himself and Laura, the group's technician. Every month, Arturo held a bigger meeting, consisting of both Tom's group and Ben's group, which was similar to Tom's but bigger. At these bigger meetings, one person from each group made a 20-minute presentation. At first, Tom had dreaded having to speak to a group in Italian, but as he got steadily more confident, his worries disappeared, and once he had discovered that he could lecture in Italian to students, his linguistic reserve disappeared. In a move to get Trabizona more widely recognized on the international scientific world, he had recently started to put his research students through the ordeal of holding the weekly discussions in English. Tom noticed after a while that Carlo and Roberto had become close friends, and he gave a sigh of relief. It would give Carlo something else to think about rather than sitting alone brooding. Chapter XLIII Anne and Jane visit Trabizona Tom and Luke's two nieces had started at an exclusive girls' school in Cheltenham as weekly boarders, which meant that they were home each weekend. They had longer holidays than children at state schools. As they were now eleven, they were old enough to travel on their own, so it was decided that they should spend the whole of their Easter holidays in Trabizona, to give them more realistic practice in speaking Italian. Their fathers took them by car to Bristol airport, and Tom and Olivia met them at Valerio-Catullo-Villafranca airport, and Olivia drove the car back to Trabizona. It was her first long-distance drive. They had arranged that the twins would spend the week of Easter with their grandparents Dorotea and Massimo, and the rest of the time in Trabizona. Olivia and Costanza were very glad to see them, and the boys and Caterina were delighted. After some discussion, they arranged that English and Italian should be spoken on alternate days, except of course to Costanza. This helped Olivia as well as the children to get more confident in speaking their non-native languages. Sometimes at the weekends, the men took the twins for various sightseeing trips. Other weekends, Olivia and one of the men took the twins sightseeing while the other stayed at home and looked after the boys and Caterina. This was usually Tom, because he could cook the boys a meal. One day they got up early and caught the train to Venice, admiring the spectacular view as the train made its way over the causeway to the Venice railway terminal. From there they got a vaporetto along the Grand Canal to the Piazza San Marco and visited the basilica of Saint Mark and the Palazzo Ducale. The city was as always, very crowded with tourists, and they were all glad to get back, very late, to Trabizona. Another day the men took them to Florence, having bought advance timed tickets for the Uffizzi Gallery. Tom and Luke grinned to overhear the two girls' comments (Vidi suo cazzo piccolo!) about the small uncircumcized male organ of Michelangelo's Davide! Maybe they thought that by saying it in Italian they would fool their uncles! Tom wondered if he should reprove the girls for this unladylike remark, but Luke just grinned and said that it was a harmless comment, as well as being true! "You could view it as a good understanding of contemporary Italian" said Luke, "but I think that Sandro must be responsible for their vocabulary! Tom, you're too old fashioned. Wait till Caterina gets to their age. You'll be upset by some of the things that she will say. She might even make disapproving comments when you fart!" They also paid a visit to Pisa and finally got to see and climb the famous leaning Campanile, which they had missed during their visit in August. The girls were allowed to take the three younger children for walks in the park, and it was very entertaining to hear them talking together in a mixture of Italian and English. On Easter Day, Tom and Luca and Olivia and the children went to the service at Holy Cross in Bologna, before joining Massimo and the twins and Dorotea together with Bianca, who had come home for the holiday weekend. Dorotea had decided that the party was too large to eat at home, so they had booked a table at a family-friendly restaurant. It really needed the six adults to prevent the five children running wild! Caterina was now old enough to sit in a high chair, and was even able to eat a small dish from the children's menu, with help from one of her fathers or one of her cousins. She was always better behaved with her fathers than she was with Olivia. Occasionally Giovanni would help to feed her, but he soon got tired and passed the job to one of his fathers. Caterina really enjoyed all the extra attention that she got, especially the fuss that Anne and Jane made of her. Tom sometimes wondered whether all the attention that the children got was making Olivia feel neglected, and he would sit beside her and talk to her while holding her hand. This always made her feel happy. She liked Tom holding her hand. Sometimes he would look lecherously into her eyes, and she liked that even more! This of course always led to black looks from Bianca. Chapter XLIV The children are told about their fathers Soon after Easter, Olivia and the men decided that it was time to tell the children about their fathers. So on one wet Saturday afternoon, Tom, Luke and Olivia called the three children into the family room and told them all to sit down. Luke started by asking Giovanni what his name was, and he replied in Italian fashion, as they had been taught at nursery school, "Desperaldi Giovanni." "And what's your name?" Luke asked Bernardo. "Appleton Bernardo," he replied. "Right!" said Luke. "You will find when you get to school, or you may even know already, that most brothers and sisters have the same surname. Do you know what a surname is?" "The name we said first," answered Giovanni. "That's right. I'm going to tell you why you all have different surnames, including Caterina, who has a very strange surname in two parts: Singleton-Scarborough—a name that's hard for Italians to say. You children are very lucky to have two fathers. Most children only have one. But the reason that you each have a different surname is that you all have different fathers. When I say that, you need to know that to make a baby needs one man and one woman. So a different man made each of you! "I could ask you to guess which of us is the father of each of you, but I'm not going to do that. I'm going to tell you, so that you have no doubt about which man made you, and which man fathered your brother and sister." It's quite simple! Dad's surname is Appleton, so he is Bernardo's father, and my surname is Singleton-Scarborough, so I am Caterina's father." "But what about my father?" asked Giovanni. "Dad and I don't know who he was! He left your mother and ran away before you were born, and she came to live with Dad and me. So you have her surname. But Giovanni, we love you just as much as Bernardo and Caterina! You are our big boy and we need you to help us look after your brother and sister." "Which of you is Mamma married to?" asked Giovanni. "She can only be married to one of you!" "The answer is, Giovanni, that she's not married to either me or Dad! That's why we all get on well together. In fact, Dad and I are married to one another! You might find it strange to hear of men marrying men. We'll explain it to you when you get older. I don't suppose that Caterina is understanding much of this, but you boys will be able to tell her when she gets older. All that she needs at present is love. In fact, you all need love and Mamma, Dad and myself will always give you as much as you want. I've only told you all this because sooner or later people will ask you at school why you have a different surname from your brother or sister." "Avere due padri mi piace!" announced Bernardo (I like having two fathers). "Mi anche! (Me too)" said Giovanni. "Mi anche!" gurgled little Caterina, and ran and sat on Tom's knee. Bernardo ran to Olivia and Giovanni to Luke and climbed on to their respective knees and all three were hugged tightly by the parents. Tears came to Luke's eyes. 'We are very lucky to have such wonderful children!' he thought. Chapter XLV Family life Luke had started to teach Giovanni and Bernardo parts of the Liturgy in English, and within a few weeks they had learned the Lord's Prayer, the Creed and the Gloria off by heart. He reckoned that they would soon pick up the corresponding words of the Mass in Italian. They still behaved themselves well in church, and the men tried to get them to control Caterina, who was disinclined to sit quietly for more than a few minutes. Eventually Olivia had to take her in hand and look at picture books with her. Luke's job meant that Tom and Olivia had sole charge of the children on most Saturdays. When she had passed the driving test, they would often go for walks after lunch with the children in the countryside around the city. Luke was always a bit fed up of missing these excursions, but he started work at 5 pm. Eventually, he arranged with Cornelio and Pauline to resume his older practice of having one Saturday per month off work. That enabled the family to go out for an early dinner to their local trattoria, which the children always enjoyed. When it was bedtime, both men got the children bathed and ready for their prayers and stories, the only time, except Wednesdays and Sundays when both were present. During this time, Olivia would be busy cooking on those weekends when they did not go to Bologna. Parenthood had transformed both men. They were now much more contented, and much less worried about their future. Olivia too, was enjoying the hard work of motherhood, and relished the security of not having to worry about money and to be able to enjoy their children. She told the men that she was going on to the pill, so that they did not need rubberware when they slept with her. She still expected one night with each of them per week, and looked forward to it eagerly, "It's not just being fucked," she explained, "it's the cuddles and the warmth and kisses that I enjoy so much!" The anal occasion with Tom was never repeated. Clearly Olivia had not particularly enjoyed back-door sex. The boys knew that if they wished their happy threesome to continue indefinitely, they had to do their husbandly duty regularly with Olivia, and gradually even Luke got to enjoy it. "We must never take her for granted," he said to Tom. We have always to remember that she is part of both our lives." They always bought her an item of jewellery for her birthday. One day, Luke took Giovanni with him to work. The cast were busy rehearsing that morning, and Luke took the boy into the rehearsal room and asked Anna, one of the younger chorus sopranos, to keep an eye on him while he watched Pauline rehearsing the principals. The opera was Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro and they were working on Act 2. Anna sat with Giovanni as he watched. The boy listened in fascination. He obviously loved the music. In particular, he seemed to be attracted by Cherubino's aria Voi che sapete. You who know this thing called love see, ladies, if I have a heart When the principals stopped for a coffee break, Giovanni asked Anna to sing the aria herself. As she was understudying the role, she sang it for him unaccompanied. He sang along after the first couple of lines: he had obviously memorized both words and music. After the rehearsal, Luke came along and when he heard what had happened, he asked Pauline to play the melody of the song on the piano, and Giovanni sang it all, word-and note-perfect. He was obviously not old enough to understand what the words meant, but he clearly had a good memory and a brilliant ear for music. Luke asked Pauline if she had the music for Handel's Largo. She had, and Luke sang it twice to her accompaniment: Tom and Luke Get a Family Pt. 05 Ombra mai fu di vegetabile Cara ed amabile Soave piu He then asked Giovanni to sing it, and he did so, word-and note-perfect again. Luke got very excited. "He's incredibly musical!" he exclaimed. "Much more than I was as a child. He must have got it from his unknown father." He asked Pauline what was the best way to encourage Giovanni's musical talent. "He needs to go to a music school, I would have thought, but I don't know anything about Italian music education," she said. Luke decided to consult Cornelio. Cornelio said that Giovanni was too young for a choir school and advised the men to find a singing teacher for him. Signora Bruschetti, Tom's piano teacher and music adviser was consulted, and she told Tom of a lady who gave private singing lessons for children. Tom rang her and an appointment was made for an audition with Giovanni. He expected the boy to be anxious and reluctant, but to Tom's surprise Giovanni was keen and excited. First he sang Ombra mai fu and then a piece that the singing teacher, Signora Rampelloni, played for him. He could not of course read music, and he struggled to read the words, but she wrote them on a blackboard in large letters, and he then managed very well. "I've not taught many children to sing who can't yet read properly," she said, "but this boy has such a good voice that the sooner he starts lessons, the better! We can use solfeggio for him to learn the notes. There are a lot fewer symbols to remember than text letters. He can learn stave notation in a couple of years' time." The lessons began just before Giovanni started school. Chapter XLVI Exciting news One day in June Luke came home at lunchtime in a state of great excitement. "I've just received this E-mail," he said, and opened his iPad. The E-mail was from Jon, and had an attachment, which was a scan of a report in a newspaper. He read it out: Among today's Royal Birthday Honours was a knighthood for David Singleton-Scarborough, University Lecturer in Music at Camford, for services to music. Dr Singleton-Scarborough is a distinguished tenor, who took a teaching appointment at Camford after retiring from the operatic stage. He is also an honorary Professor of Singing at the Royal Academy of Music and is recognized as a prominent member of the homosexual community. Both the men immediately got their tablets out and sent E-mails of congratulation to David. "I wonder who will be chosen by him to go with him and Jon to the Palace when he is knighted," Luke said. He rang his mother at once to tell her of her brother's honour. She was thrilled. When Tom resumed work in the lab at 4 pm, he went to Arturo's office. "My father has just been honoured by the British Crown with a knighthood for services to music! But I prefer to think of his contribution to raising the public profile of the British gay community. We don't know yet who will accompany him to Buckingham Palace for the ceremony of knighthood or when it will be, but we will have to go to England to join in the celebrations. Did you know that he has a Ph.D. in chemistry that he got before he became a singer? Science's loss was music's gain!" "Felicitazioni, Tom," said Arturo, "he would never have got a royal honour as a chemist!" "No, but he got one as a gay, which is much more important!" Chapter XLVII The wedding at Getheringthwaite Spring became summer and the time of Lord Michael Ovenden's wedding drew near. It would have been unfair for the men to have gone alone, leaving the children at home with Olivia, so they got organized for a big expedition. Because of the size and age-range of the family, it was impossible for them to stay in an hotel, so they were allocated three bedrooms in Getheringthwaite Hall, thereby relegating Sandro and Dom and the twins to the Ovenden Arms in Getheringthwaite village. Dom said that he didn't mind staying there, as his brother owned the pub anyway! Apart from the bride's and groom's families, only a few guests were from the south, and the majority of the guests made their own accommodation arrangements. Not only was Dom best man, Anne and Jane were to be bridesmaids in addition to the bride's sister. They were now in their teens and had fortunately not yet reached the age at which teen girls are at their most tiresome, and they were looking forward to the event with enthusiasm. Michael had met Susan while they were both students. The future Lady Michael Ovenden was a lively, but not unduly career-minded girl, who was actually looking forward to a life in the country that did not involve going out to work. She spent a lot of time with dogs and horses, and was looking forward to spending more time in the open air. In short, it was difficult to imagine a person more different in upbringing and outlook than the people in whose circles Dom and Sandro and Tom and Luke were accustomed to move. She had never been to a classical music concert or the opera, she rarely went to the cinema or theatre. Her teens had been occupied with horses, dogs and her younger brothers and sister, and only extensive coaching had got her into Saint Andrew's University in Scotland. She was, however, very sweet natured, kind and thoughtful, and would obviously make a good mother. Sandro had met her on a number of occasions and got on very well with her. In spite of her unsophisticated background, she was not prejudiced against gays. She had no interest in dictating what happened in the kitchen, so Mrs Harrison continued happily as housekeeper and cook, and was very glad that the change in occupancy of the Hall had taken place so smoothly. Additional kitchen and housemaid staff was hired for her. Lord Michael was very disinclined to make any changes and Susan was happy to go along with that. Robert, the late Marquess's boyfriend and ex-chauffeur, had taken retirement on the death of his lover and had moved into a house on the estate which was his, rent-free for life. The first thing that Dom and Sandro did on arrival for the wedding was to pay Robert a visit, mainly to make sure that he had managed to recover from the loss of his lifelong love. They found that he was showing traditional military emotional fortitude. After all, as he said, we all have to die sometime. Dom said to him, "Robert if at any time you have any problems, please get in touch with me at once, and if you need a break, you are welcome to come and stay with us at Womble. We gays must look after one another." "Thank you very much," was Robert's reply, "I'll take advantage of that offer, next summer, if it's not inconvenient." The three Italian children were thrilled with Getheringthwaite Hall. They found the size and age of the house awe-inspiring. When they went into the Portrait Gallery, they admired the painting of their two uncles holding hands. Equally exciting were the grounds, which excelled Chatsworth or Castle Howard in their beauty, if not their size. The gardens in the vicinity of the house were only available to fee-paying visitors at weekends, but the public had free access to the rest of the park. The total lack of any vending points for food and drink kept the park relatively free from rubbish and litter. There were no other members of the Singleton-Scarborough extended family at the wedding, which was attended mainly by members of the Ovenden family and the families of Lady Wakefield and Susan's parents and grandparents. The children on this visit had finally grasped that if they wished to be understood, they had to speak English. Only little Caterina got confused, and repeatedly tried to speak Italian, each time being told by her brothers to speak English. "Parla Inglese!" they kept telling her. The chapel held about seventy people, and was almost full for the service. As always for family events of the Ovendens, dress was formal. The men all wore morning dress. The two little girls wore yellow bridesmaid's dresses, full length. Olivia's three children did not wear adult-style clothes. The boys wore navy-blue suits with short trousers, Caterina a little green frilly dress. The service, under special licence, was conducted by the vicar of Getheringthwaite, whom Michael had appointed Chaplain, an office that had lapsed many years earlier, but now was revived. Michael had decided not to apply for a licence to open the hall or chapel for public use as a wedding venue, he felt that the Hall was a family home and he wanted to keep it that way. The public were allowed to visit the house and chapel (for a fee) four times a year, usually over Bank Holidays. The admission income paid for the public facilities. For the formal meal after the service, which everyone agreed was too much for Mrs Harrison to cater for, a firm of caterers from Shedley had been called in and had produced an excellent meal with many traditional items of Yorkshire fare on the menu. The children, of whom there were nearly a dozen, had their own table in a room adjacent to the state dining-room, where they were kept an eye on by Mrs Harrison and Lady Wakefield, but where they could enjoy themselves with a reasonable amount of noise. Anne and Jane took care of Caterina, and made sure that she ate the food that they had cut up for her. There was a minimal number of speeches, one welcoming the guests from Lord Wakefield, one thanking them from Michael, and one from Dom thanking the bridesmaids, who were called in from the other room for the occasion. The bride and groom then left for their honeymoon in Cyprus, and after an hour's break for allowing the overnight guests to change, there was a relaxed evening of drinking and dancing for those who were so inclined. Dom, who didn't mind dancing, danced with Olivia a couple of times. The other gay men sat and talked and drank Prosecco. As both Sandro and Luke hated dancing, they felt that there was no need to embarrass the other guests by stepping on to the dance floor! Dom introduced Olivia to Robert. To everyone's surprise, the two got into a deep conversation. Robert had the easy and relaxed approach of the ex-soldier, and managed to overcome Olivia's diffidence at speaking English. The children were amazed to hear their mother chattering away quite confidently in English. They suddenly realized that they would not be able to use speaking English among themselves as a way of concealing things from their mother! After most of the other guests had left, the two gay families stayed on for a few days, because Dom had promised his brother that they would supervise the tidying up of the house. They had a wonderful few days taking the children out over the estate, and equally wonderful nights when after the children had gone to bed, Tom and Luke could enjoy a fuck together. Without the preoccupations of work (Carlo was now writing his thesis, Ben was looking after Roberto and the opera house was closed for the summer break), the men were totally relaxed and able to make love as leisurely as they had as students. Olivia was not forgotten. She also had no housekeeping concerns, and she took turns to sleep with Tom or Luke. Every morning, little Caterina, who shared a room with one parent, had to look to see whether it was Mum, Dad or Pappa sleeping in the other bed! TO BE CONTINUED Tom and Luke Get a Family Pt. 06 Chapter XLVIII The reunion at Paradise Place No sooner were the wedding festivities over, than it was time for both gay families to go to Paradise Place for the annual reunion that they had arranged the previous year. Dom's parents' home was new to the three children and Olivia. It had plenty of bedrooms, so there was adequate accommodation for a family of six. "It's good job that all our families are not short of cash," said Tom, "most parents would not be able to take three young children on trips round Europe!" Lord and Lady Wakefield welcomed them warmly. They had arrived before Dom and Sandro, who arrived the next day with Elizabeth and the twins. Bianca came from Paris and Massimo and Dorothea from Italy. Jon and David and Tommy and Eleanor made up the party. They stayed at the local hotel. Tommy and Eleanor announced that they were getting engaged, to the delight of all who knew Eleanor. Both she and Tommy were now teachers in Camford. With a young baby, Cathy did not feel able to come. By now all five children were fluent in both English and Italian. Jon and David were delighted to have their three grandchildren and their twin great nieces together under one roof. They only saw Dom and Sandro's children once a month and the three Italian grandchildren once a year if they were lucky. They had intended to make regular visits to Italy during the summertime, but this had been frustrated by David's singing pupils, who were often entered for competitions, and in Jon's case by the political crisis around the Camford Men's Fitness Centre. They took the opportunity to tell Luke that, as only two family members were allowed at his investiture as a knight, they had decided to invite Cathy, but they still wanted Tom and Luke to come to the dinner that Jon was organizing after the ceremony. In addition to his delight that his much loved partner was to be honoured by the Queen, Jon had something else, much less pleasurable, on his mind. Although the sex equality legislation specifically allowed sporting clubs to be single-sex, a group calling itself Women's Equality in Sport and Fitness was campaigning to get the facilities of the Men's Fitness Centre made available to women. In spite of a poll of all the members of the Men's Centre being 95% in favour of remaining all-male, the WESF had begun to picket the Centre. Jon and the Centre's board of management were reluctant to resort to litigation, which would be expensive and socially divisive. The case of the WESF activists had no grounds, because apart from the bar, all of the facilities at the Men's Fitness Centre were available at the Camford Olympic Pool and Leisure Centre, open to all. Even so, the local Member of Parliament supported the women's case in the hope of propping up his small majority. Because of relatively high membership fees, the Men's Centre attracted relatively affluent undergraduates (and those on Edmund Heptinstall Scholarships) together with well-heeled commuters to London and academics and businessmen in Camford, a substantial minority of whom were of course gay. This led some local people to feel that the Fitness Centre was a recreational toy for wealthy businessmen and homosexuals, in spite of it not drawing any funding from public sources. The WESF had even managed to get questions asked in both houses of Parliament, although the government spokesmen replying had emphasized that no breach of the law was involved. The affair had dragged on for several years, and distracted poor Jon from the things that he really preferred to do. One of the most enjoyable events of the reunion was a trip led by Jon to what was the only large area of woodland south of the river Thames that had been created and maintained by the Afforestation Trust. It was on the southern slopes of the North Downs and was now twenty years old, which meant that the trees were nowhere near fully grown, but still big enough for exploration on foot. The Italian children, more used to city life, were fascinated by the growing trees. "When we were your age, or maybe a bit older, our two fathers took your auntie Cathy and me round England and Wales in the summer holidays looking for places to plant trees. We slept in a motor caravan and our Pop cooked breakfast in it each morning!" Luke told them. "Could we do that?" asked Giovanni. "Not really" said Luke. "There were only four of us then. But our family has six people and we would need two motor caravans!" Chapter XLIX Luke in Antwerp I Soon after Giovanni had started school, Luke received an invitation to direct, as a special guest, a new production of Antonio di Sicilia's opera Anna Veronica by Vlaamse Opera in Antwerp. He immediately went to Pauline and said, "You must be behind this invitation, Pauline!" "Yes, it was my idea. Di Sicilia is not available to direct it, and you were closely involved with him in the première, so I suggested to my old company that they invite you. I know that it will take you away from your family for at least six weeks, but you need to get yourself known outside Italy if you are to get on in opera production. None of the first cast is involved: all the principals will be new to the role, so you can use your own ideas as to how the singers should develop their roles. You will of course need to discuss your ideas with the conductor and the répétiteur, but you will have total freedom to create something new. You may want to use ideas for the role of Capes from your father's interpretation, or you may want to show Capes in a totally different light. The Danish soprano who is to sing the title role is young but very good. The tenor they have chosen is a very good German and I'm hoping that you may be able to persuade him to come and sing here. Moreover, the pay is good!" "Pauline, if I were in this job for the money, Tom and I would be childless and living in a garret! It's a wonderful opportunity to take my mind away from mundane staff troubles and making sure that the vending machines in the foyer are kept filled up. Vittore can do that very well. I shall accept, providing that Tom and Olivia each come and spend a weekend with me during the rehearsal period. I'll take Tom to Leuven and Olivia to Brugge." "You'll love Antwerp, and so will Olivia. The capital of Flanders is a very sophisticated city, and the shops really appeal to women. To be frank, I prefer Antwerp and Brussels to Amsterdam and Rotterdam, even though I am Dutch! Belgium is a wonderful place: the problem about it is the Belgians!" ... Luke received a warm welcome in Antwerp. Fond memories of his father's visits lingered on among members of the chorus and orchestra, and the conductor, an enthusiastic Italian called Lorenzo, was easy to get along with. The producer was a Fleming called Josef and the répétiteur was a Dutchman called Behrend. Luke of course did have ideas about how the plot should be developed. He had not had any say in the design of the sets or costumes, but he was happy with the Edwardian pre-first-world-war style that had been produced. There was little point in moving a story set in the Edwardian age into the twentyfirst century. As it was a new production, there were to be three weeks rehearsing with the orchestra and chorus alone and then three weeks with the principals as well. The latter were frantically learning their parts at home. Luke explained that although his second Christian name was Dutch he could not speak the language, and it was agreed that at least until the arrival of the principals, all communication would be in English, the language of international opera. Although the chorus had been trained to sing in Italian, very few could speak it as a means of communication. Like all men, Luke eyed up all the members of the chorus, women as well as men, and found that most were young and some of the men were very attractive. He found that many of the cast and some members of the orchestra would take their evening meal in a pleasant restaurant near the opera house, and two evenings a week, chorus and orchestra would spend a couple of hours in one or other of the excellent bars, of which Antwerp has many. Flanders is a beer paradise, and Luke was delighted at the range of superb beers on offer and spent much of his non-working time with chorus members in these bars. In particular, there was a gay couple with whom he got on very well. Although he seriously missed his darling Tom, his sweet Olivia and the children, he was glad of an opportunity to be alone and to reflect on his life, his faith and his prospects. Every Sunday he worshipped at the English Church and soon got to know most of the congregation, as well as the Chaplain. Chapter L Luke in Antwerp II The rehearsals progressed well and Luke was enjoying himself. After two weeks, Tom came for a weekend, which they spent in an upmarket hotel in Leuven. Leuven is a small town with a big university, which means that there were many places to eat and drink. Much of the men's time was spent in frenetic sexual activity. In the absence of Olivia and the children, they could relax without any inhibitions and between an early dinner and a late breakfast, they fucked like rabbits, as well as spending an hour early in the evening in the hotel swimming pool. On the Saturday evening they retired to their room and made coffee. They slowly undressed one another, beginning by unzipping each other's flies and getting their cocks out. Luke then put his arm round Tom and kissed him passionately on the lips while fondling Tom's balls through his clothes with his other hand. Tom groaned in delight and got hold of Luke's dick. He felt it swelling as he enjoyed Luke's tongue in his mouth. After several minutes, he loosened Luke's belt and dropped his trousers and underpants to the floor. With his other hand he reached round Luke's body and cupped the hand at the base of Luke's arse-cheeks, across the cleft, all the time with his lips glued to Luke's. Momentarily Luke escaped from his grasp and undid Tom's belt and dropped his trousers, leaving Tom's prick sticking up above the waistband of his underpants. In a single move, Luke knelt and pulled Tom's underpants down and took his rockhard cock into his mouth, and cupped his hands on each of Tom's hairy arse-cheeks. It was wonderful to feel the hard, lumpy, veiny cylinder in his mouth as he nibbled Tom's retracted foreskin. "Oh, Luke, that's wonderful!" said his partner, and Luke proceeded to enjoy Tom's manhood for several minutes, before dragging him to the bed, where they completed the undressing and pushed back the covers. They lay side-by-side facing each other's feet, and began sixty-nine. Several minutes of bliss followed as each enjoyed working on the other's cock with silence compelled by concentration on synchronizing each other's reactions, a silence only broken when Tom emitted a noisy fart. Luke took Tom's cock out of his mouth for a moment, giggled and said, "You're a windy bastard, but I love you!" "It was you who taught me not to be bashful about farting!" replied Tom, taking Luke's cock out to answer. They renewed their assault on each other's mouths with renewed vigour and in a few moments first Tom, then Luke shot his load into the other's mouth. They then withdrew and lay for a few minutes swallowing each other's spunk, the flow of which was diminishing after several previous ejaculations. However, after consuming the coffee, Tom said to Luke, "I want to shag you NOW!" Luke lay on his back and opened his legs. Tom opened the lube and started applying it to Luke's hole and stretching it gently. He then put Luke's ankles on to his shoulders and gently pushed his berubbered prick into Luke's man-cunt. Luke lay there with a welcoming smile on his face. "Fuck me HARD!" he said, and Tom obliged. For several minutes Tom worked his tool vigorously up Luke's back passage, until, sweating with exhilaration as well as exhaustion, he filled the condom inside his partner. He gently withdrew his cock as it rapidly lost hardness, and collapsed on the bed beside his man. "It's only been a couple of weeks, but I've missed you!" said Luke. "And, to be frank, it's wonderful to get you to myself for a couple of days. Although Olivia and the children have made me the happiest man in Europe, I would never have married Olivia if I had not met you! She has given me your child as well as my own. That is something special. And Giovanni is turning out to be a gifted boy, for whom neither of us can claim credit!" Tom had come for three days, and Luke took most of Monday off. He reckoned that Stefan could manage that day's rehearsal. The theatre was presenting Offenbach's La Belle Hélène at the same time that the rehearsals were in progress, so Luke and Tom got a couple of free seats on the Monday evening to watch a sparkling and funny performance. Early next morning Tom left for Brussels airport to fly back home, having enjoyed himself enormously. The children were very glad to see him. Giovanni in particular since he had started school was always very affectionate to his three parents. He was beginning to realize that growing up means spending less time with your parents. Chapter LI A worrying visit from Olivia Three weeks later, Olivia flew to Antwerp via Brussels for her weekend with Luke. They spent most of the weekend in Brugge, but did not see as much of the town as they might have done, because Olivia was almost as hungry for sex as Tom had been. She had become very good at arousing Luke. She would slide down beside him in bed and take his cock into her mouth and work with her tongue and jaws until it was rock hard. After that Luke would enter her cunt gently and start to fuck her. She would grab him tightly and push her belly hard against his while kissing his neck and shoulders. "Harder, Luca, harder!" she would whisper. She obviously wanted it very much and knew exactly how to encourage him. On the Saturday night, they fucked twice, and again on the Sunday. By the time that Olivia left on the Tuesday morning, Luke was slightly weary, but exhilarated as he went into work. By now, he was really enjoying straight sex, and no longer considered it as a necessary duty to get a family. In spite of his postcoital exhilaration, however, one thing made him extremely uneasy. After a delicious night in bed together, Olivia had told him over breakfast that she was seeing Tom's research student Roberto. "He's only a couple of years younger than I am!" she said, "and he's really sweet." "What happens if he falls in love with you and wants to get married?" asked Luke. "He's too young and has a career to build. He won't want to commit until he's in a job." "Are you having sex with him? I know that that's an intrusive question, and you are perfectly entitled not to answer it," said Luke anxiously. "Luke, I am very fond of you and Tom, and I won't conceal anything from you. Yes, we have had sex a few times, but I am still on the pill." "If anything does go wrong and you get pregnant, you know that Tom and I will look after you and the baby. We love you too much to discard you. And the children love you. All our lives would be shattered if you left us. Have you told Tom yet?" "Yes, he was very upset. He said that it was difficult for him because he knew us both very well and he feared that things could not end happily. Roberto couldn't join our family unit if he married me because as I just said, he has a career to build. But I could never leave the children!" "Are you going to stop having sex with us? I can't see Tom being happy if both he and Roberto were fucking the same woman. He gets jealous every time I look at a man!" "Luca, I really don't know. We've just had a wonderful weekend together, and I still love you both. Personally, I don't want anything to change. I would like just to add Roberto to my portfolio of men, and carry on as before." "But that's unfair on Roberto. Even if he has no plans to marry just yet, he is not going to be happy to share you with two other men, one of whom is his doctoral supervisor! You and he have to decide on your relationship. Maybe it's just casual sex on his part. That would make it a lot easier, because we can look after you and help heal any emotional wounds if you were to split up. You know that Tom and I have both made career sacrifices in order to get a family, and while we have both had offers of jobs back home, we would never tear you and the children from your Italian background and move to England until at least ten years from now. When I get back to Trabizona, you, I and Tom must get together and decide what to do. It might best for the two of us to give up sex with you, at least until you and Roberto decide what to do. After all, we have each other. That would clarify the situation. What do the children think of Roberto? I know they liked Carlo." "They just think of him as another of Tom's colleagues." "It would be best for the moment if we kept it like that. Don't give the children the idea that he is special to you. I don't know where or when you and he have been fucking, but don't let the kids find out!" That night, Luke contacted the family on Skype and talked to each of the children, telling them how much he was missing them. His deep love for them had led to the great tenderness that he felt for Olivia. The next day he contacted Tom at work via Skype and they agreed to suspend sleeping with Olivia unless she specifically asked for sex. They were in effect asking her to keep the fact that she had regularly slept with both of them secret from Roberto. Although Luke and Tom were now confronted with the scenario that they had envisaged several years before, the reality of the situation did not make it any easier to deal with. Indeed, they had not envisaged a situation in which both of them, even if not in love with her, felt a deep affection for her as a person, and not just as a mother. Luke was obliged to throw himself into his work in order to keep his worries at bay. Chapter LII The première of Anna Veronica Luke was rather apprehensive about his production. This was his first direction job on the international scene. He was happy with the chorus and the lead soprano, but he had had a tough job with the tenor who seemed unable or unwilling to enter the part of the character Capes fully. Capes in the story was a middle-aged married man, and Ann Veronica was more than ten years his junior. In contrast to the usual operatic scenario, it was the female who was the most heavily smitten, and the Danish soprano Birgitte Olsen conveyed this beautifully. The tenor however was a stolid German called Steinmeyer, and it was difficult to get him to identify with a character who was more intellectual than emotional. However, he had an excellent voice and Luke just hoped that this would outweigh his shortcomings as an actor. He resolved that in any future production he was involved, he would insist on being involved in the choice of artists. Conductor and orchestra were fully prepared for a score that was totally new to them, and all was ready to go. There were to be eight performances of the opera, spread over three weeks. Publicity had been good, and the first three performances were fully booked. At the dress rehearsal, Luke actually intervened at the point where Capes is showing Ann Veronica how to dissect a salamander, and told Steinmeyer to show more emotion towards the girl. The première was a great success. The audience applauded enthusiastically, and at the post-performance party, Luke went round and congratulated all the cast personally. Steinmeyer's performance had been good and Luke shook his hand. The champagne flowed abundantly, and everyone, even Luke, went home happily. Next day, Luke bought the Flemish newspapers. His Dutch was non-existent, so he had the reviews scanned and E-mailed them to his father. David translated them and replied in a return E-mail. De Standaard and Het Laatste Nieuws were very enthusiastic. The local Antwerp newspaper De Scheldebode was also positive. The day after the last performance Luke flew home, having agreed an engagement in two years' time to direct Bellini's Norma, with the promise to involve him in the design and casting. Tom and Luke Get a Family Pt. 06 Chapter LIII Back in Trabizona Luke returned home in a slightly apprehensive state. That same evening, he, Tom and Olivia got together. It was agreed that neither man would have sex with Olivia for the next six months. This meant that if Roberto asked Olivia out of jealousy or anxiety if there was anyone else in her sex life, she could truthfully deny it. Tom was still very uneasy about the deception. The thought that his research student was having sex with the mother of his children was not a comfortable thought, nor was the fact that the two of them had to work together in the lab while a deception was going on. Olivia was unhappy that she had put Tom in such a difficult position, but she was reluctant to dismiss Roberto. After a few weeks of discomfort from his conscience, Tom went to see Arturo in strictest confidence. "If this blows up," he said to his boss, "it could cost me my job. What shall we do?" "That's what comes of getting involved with a woman!" said Arturo cynically. "All gays should steer clear of people with cunts! Have you given Roberto any hospitality? I was just wondering how Olivia got to know him." "Yes, he came round and ate with us one Wednesday night about six weeks after he started work, and met all the family." "Does Roberto know that Olivia is the mother of Bernardo?" "No, but Carlo does." "So if the two of them get talking, Roberto will find out that he's fucking the mother of your son! Then things really will blow up. He will regard Olivia as a whore, and you as either devious or a cuckold!" "But even if we succeed in fooling him and he loses interest in Olivia, I still have to work with him for the foreseeable future. Carlo and I are quite close, and in principle I would like to have the same kind of relationship with all my research students." "I could arrange to transfer him to Ben's supervision, but I would need to give him a plausible reason. Can't you persuade Olivia to dismiss him?" "No. She has no marital bonds with either Luke or me, and we cannot tell her whom she must see and have sex with. Sometimes sex is a pain. It can destroy lives and careers!" "That's the reason why it has been the stock-in-trade of opera and drama for four hundred years!" said Arturo. "As far as I can see, there's only one thing to do. Olivia must tell Roberto that she is part of a ménage à trois, and invite him to join the family. I assume that you have no objection to the two of them having it off in the family home, as long as you have room for him to move in. If he is happy with that, problem solved! If not, then either he will pull out of the relationship without rancour and we can transfer him to Ben's supervision, or he will bear a grudge for you, Tom, in which case we have a problem, because working relationships will be poisoned. Are you willing to risk that? I might be able to get you a job elsewhere in Italy, but there is Luke and the family to consider. Gays getting involved with women always leads to trouble!" Tom reflected for a moment. "You're right," he said. "We'll talk to Olivia tonight." Chapter LIV Relationship problems When Arturo's suggestion was put to Olivia, she was at first hesitant. "I'm not sure that I would want to sleep with him in the house. What will the children say when they find a strange man in my bed?" "They are still very young," said Tom, "so they'll get used to it very quickly. In England, lots of women continually change partners, and the children get used to it. But this is different. No-one is leaving, we're just adding another man to the family. One thing I insist on though, they must call him Roberto, and not father! It is totally dishonest to deceive Roberto, even though it may be a nasty shock to him. Please Olivia, we must not practise deceit!" "No, you're right, of course," said Olivia. It did come as a shock to Roberto that Olivia was not just a housekeeper who had given a pair of wealthy gays some children, but was also sleeping with them regularly. They had met for a shagging session at his flat, and after the sex was over, he asked Olivia to go home, as he needed to think. Next day, Tom asked him to come for a drink after work, and 6 pm found the two of them in a bar, Tom drinking caffè Americano, and Roberto drinking Peroni. "Roberto," said Tom, "what Olivia has told you must have come as a big shock to you. She is very fond of you and she is free to do what she wants. If you are in love and hope to marry her, that's OK. But I imagine that you don't want to marry just yet. If you want to come and live with us, you are welcome, and you can then sleep with Olivia every night! Luca and I are quite content never to have sex with Olivia again, unless she asks us. We have only been doing it because she asked us to. We have each other, we are in a happy lifelong partnership together and all we ask is to be able to live with our children. Olivia has promised us that she will never take the children away from us, so if you married her, you would have to start a new family. By living together, we can all, including the children, develop trust and confidence in one another. However, if you decide that three men and a woman and three children in one house is more than you can cope with, that's up to you to decide. "I was very upset when Olivia told us that she was seeing you, because I don't want personal relationship problems to spoil our day-to-day working relationship. The only way to solve the problem properly will be for you to move in with us. We would charge you a modest rent, we would expect you to eat with the family, you would have to see to your own laundry, and you would be free to come and go as you wished. I expect that you will want to think about it. Professionally, it ought not to make any difference to our work together in the lab, but if you decided to terminate your relationship with Olivia, we could if you wished arrange for your supervision to be transferred to Ben Curtiss. Carlo has finished his thesis, and as soon as he becomes dottore, he will be leaving for Camford, where he will be doing post-doctoral work. "Two things are important for you to know: Luca and I will never make Olivia do anything that she does not want to do, and I am very anxious that emotional and sexual relationships should not affect your work in the lab. You are an excellent student and I would much prefer you to stay with me, but if you wish to transfer to Ben, I know that he will look after you as well as I have tried to do. Please tell me as soon as you make up your mind. You will probably want to talk to Olivia about it. She is quite happy to have you living with us, which shows that she is very fond of you." Chapter LV The new lodger The following week, Roberto moved in with Olivia and the men. He had decided that maximum opportunities for sex, a very reasonable rent, and the opportunity to sample Olivia's cooking regularly were too good an offer to miss! He was assigned a small room to use as a study and to house his books and clothes, but did not need a bed, as he was going to share Olivia's. Before he arrived, Luke as the senior member of the household, told the children that Roberto, Tom's research student, was coming to live with them. At their first family meal, Tom introduced him to the children and said that they were to call him Roberto. Afterwards, Giovanni came and asked Tom where Roberto would be sleeping, and with great embarrassment, which he did his best to conceal, Tom told him that Roberto would be sleeping with their mother. "I hope he's nice" said the boy, "and I hope that he loves Mamma." "So do I!" said Tom, and he hugged his eldest son. The arrangement seemed to work. After a few months, Roberto was established in the household. He got on well with the children and played with them when he had time. Olivia seemed happier, freed from a timetable for sex, and could devote more time to her cooking. There were no problems in the lab. Usually Roberto travelled to and from the lab. with Tom in the car, unless he was engaged with something that needed finishing, when Olivia would keep his meal hot for him until he got home. At weekends, one of his fathers would take Giovanni to his singing lesson on Saturday afternoons. The other would take the other children out for a walk or a trip to the swimming pool, or sometimes the children would go out with Olivia and Roberto. On Sundays, the men told Olivia that she did not need to come to church with them and the children if she wanted to stay at home and spend an hour or two in bed with Roberto. By now Caterina had become better behaved in church, so one of the men would keep an eye on her, while the other sat with Giovanni and Bernardo. All the children soon got to know Roberto. Caterina made a great fuss of him and frequently sat on his knee. The two boys were more reserved and seemed to have to make an effort to talk to him. Bernardo was growing up rapidly, and would shortly start school. Of all the children, he was the one who spoke English the most frequently, and this was good for helping Caterina to improve her English, because every time she spoke to him in Italian, he would reply in English. Roberto's arrival had somewhat undermined the routine of speaking English and Italian on alternate days, but a realization by Tom that Roberto's English needed improvement led him to ask the children always to talk to Roberto in English. They all spoke English with Italian accents, because they were not exposed to it at school. Luke had noticed that his twin nieces spoke Italian with an English accent. But fluency is more important than perfect diction, and all five of the children were equally happy to chat in either language. However, it took them a long time to realize that very few people are bilingual, and that they needed to pause and decide, before speaking to someone, which language they would understand. Eventually they each came to realize that they could not speak to Costanza or Olivia's parents in English or to most of their British relatives in Italian! One week in the summer, the men took Bernardo and Giovanni to one of their favourite spots, the Sacro Monte at Orta-San Giulio. Unlike the previous very solemn visit that Tom and Luke had paid together some years before, this was a more relaxed occasion. Each of the chapels (which depict incidents in the life of Saint Francis) was visited, but prayers were only said at two of the stations. They all regarded it as a nice day in a beautiful natural environment. They booked a family room at the hotel, and had an early dinner each night so that the boys could eat and not stay up too late. "No hanky-panky with sex when we are sharing a room with the boys!" Tom had told Luke. They told Giovanni that if the boys felt lonely or could not sleep, to use his little mobile phone to ring them downstairs. But the boys were fascinated by the two bunk beds and feel asleep within minutes of saying their prayers. The men were woken the next morning by Bernardo climbing into bed with them. Tom got up then, and leaving Bernardo talking to a very sleepy Luke, he went into the bathroom and began to shave. After attending mass at the Friars' church on the Sacro Monte, they had an early lunch and then crossed to the island of San Giulio and explored the nunnery and the rest of the island. They returned home the following morning. Caterina had behaved herself in the boys' absence, but was glad to welcome them home. Chapter LVI Vittore leads Roberto astray At Arturo's summer party, Luke took Vittore along as his guest. "It's not all gays, Vittore. There are some interesting people of both sexes from Tom's department." Over the Prosecco that was served to everyone on arrival, Luke introduced Roberto to Vittore, his assistant. The two men got on like a house on fire, and in the following weeks began to go out together to drink, go dancing or to the cinema. When Roberto heard about Vittore's womanizing, he became quite envious. He decided that he should go out more. He would go to bars and night-clubs with Vittore two or three times a week, and sometimes came home the worse for drink. This behaviour did not please Olivia. She might have been less displeased if Roberto had invited her to go out with him, but he insisted on going out with Vittore. At first Olivia wondered if a sexual relationship was developing between the two men, but decided that it was unlikely. Things came to a climax when one night Roberto did not come home, but arrived in a rather worn-out state at breakfast time. He told Tom that he would have a morning off work to deal with his hangover, but would be in the lab. by lunchtime. When Tom got home at lunchtime, a very upset Olivia told Tom and Luke that she had dumped Roberto. "He had spent the night with a woman," she told them, "and even if he was drunk, he's not the sort of man I want to marry. He has gone to find somewhere to live and will then come back to collect his things." Luke was delighted to hear this. Tom's feelings were much more complex. He had some sympathy for Roberto, who was young and a bit naïve and had obviously been 'led astray' by Vittore. But he could see that Olivia was seriously upset. "You've been expecting too much from him!" he told her. "He's not done anything that most Italian men have not done several times in their lives. Luca and I are not like that, not because we are British, but because of our Christian faith, which teaches us to be considerate of the feelings and emotions of our friends and colleagues. I'm sorry if I sound pompous, but both Luca and I love you and you can be sure that we shall never abandon you or the children. It's for your and their sakes that we will not leave Italy for at least ten years. If you need help to get over your disappointment, you know that you can count on us! It's Wednesday today and Luca will not be working tonight. If Costanza can look after the children, we will take you out to dinner after we have put them to bed." Olivia smiled gratefully. "That would be nice," she said "just the three of us!" When Tom returned to the lab, a severely chastened-looking Roberto was sitting at the bench measuring a melting point. "Roberto," said Tom. "I'm not going to give you any kind of lecture. You are too young to settle down, and in any case, Olivia is not the right woman for you. She may be hurt by your behaviour, but we all learn by our mistakes. Luca and I will do our best to console her, even if we are not as good as you are in bed! Let's just forget the whole incident. I don't want you to change supervisors unless you feel that you can't continue to work with me." "No, Tomaso, I want to continue working with you. I was very fond of Olivia, but I had no intention of marrying her. I guess I'm a bit young to get deeply involved. I need to get my dottorato first." "Maybe you might do better with men than women!" said Tom with a grin, and added hastily, "Not that I'm making a pass at you! I'm very happy with Luca, to whom I owe almost everything in life except my scientific skills. But I advise all men who have trouble with their love-life to consider trying men instead of women!" Chapter LVII Back to a household of three The children were puzzled by the sudden disappearance of Roberto. "Dovè è Roberto?" asked Caterina. It is difficult to explain to young children the changing whims and attitudes of adults. Children hate change. They prefer the adults around them to be always the same. It had been difficult for them when Luke had disappeared to Antwerp for a couple of months. Caterina was always asking when Pappa was coming back. Olivia told them that Roberto had been very naughty, and that she had sent him away because she could not forgive him. "You forgive us when we are naughty," said Bernardo. "Yes, but you are our children. Roberto was a grown-up, and he had had too much to drink. He didn't come home last night. I don't want a man in my bed who stays out all night!" said Olivia. "I didn't like him!" said Giovanni. "I just want to live with you and Dad and Pappa!" Tears filled Olivia's eyes. Perhaps she had been selfish in her attachment to Roberto. Maybe she should be content with two loving men who would do anything for the children and would go out of their way to make her happy. Roberto had had the advantage of youth and had been an excellent lovemaker, but he had always lacked commitment. His slender athletic figure had excited her sexually, his agile cock had satisfied her desire for a man inside her, but he took up more than his fair share of the bed, and often snored. Also he did not appreciate her cooking, whereas both Tom and Luke enjoyed the food that she prepared, to the point at which they risked putting on weight! All in all, Olivia could not regret the decision that she had made. At the same time, she knew that Roberto would continue working with Tom, and she tried not to have really hard feelings towards Roberto. After a few days, after the children had gone to bed, Olivia said to Tom and Luke with a smile, "I'm ready to welcome you back into my bed. Who wants to go first?" Luke said, "As Tom slept with you while I was in Antwerp, I guess that it must be my turn." Olivia smiled to herself about Luke's evident reluctance. Getting the men to fuck her was the total reverse of the usual role of the married man coaxing a reluctant wife into letting him fuck her. It gave her an immense feeling of power that she could get sex from either of these two men at any time that she wished without any marital strings! Moreover, she had three adorable children who loved their two fathers. Even her parents conceded that in spite of their highly unusual, by Italian standards, ménage à trois, Tom and Luke were model fathers who devoted every moment of their free time to their children. Giovanni was now beginning to read music. His voice had improved under the tuition of his teacher, Signora Rampelloni, and he was now ready to sing in a choir. He was very keen, but Signora Rampelloni could not offer a way forward. Luke finally contacted David. "You know a lot about singing, Dad," he said. "How can Giovanni best make musical progress before his voice breaks? He wants to sing, not play the piano." "You could try and get him into your old school, Winton College School. It would of course involve him leaving his family for months at a time at a very young age, but if he went as a weekly boarder, he could live with Jon and me at the weekends, and he would have Caterina as a mother figure. She has felt a bit lonely since your brother Tommy left home. On the other hand, unless he is totally obsessive about his singing, it would not be a good thing to do. He needs to be at home with his mother and brother and sister." "I'm not really keen on the idea of him going to WCS," said Luke, "leaving home at age eight is not good for a child. He's bound to miss his mother. It wasn't too bad for me, because I had no mother to leave when I started at WCS. But he is very keen, so I will talk to Tom and Olivia and then to him." "The other possibility is to look around for a similar institution in Italy," said David. "Check out your local cathedral." Enquiries via Signora Bruschetti revealed that there was indeed a choir school attached to Trabizona Cathedral. The cathedral had only three choral services a week, and the boys in the choir were drawn from a single local primary school. Three afternoons per week they learned music and practised their singing in a special hall attached to the cathedral, the rest of the time they spent in school having normal lessons. Needless to say, both Tom and Olivia thought that for Giovanni to go to England was a very bad idea. "He's too young to be sent to school miles away from home in another land," said Tom, and Olivia was even more vehement. Tom and Luke Get a Family Pt. 06 So Luke made enquiries and got an appointment to see the cathedral precentor, who explained that if he was interested, the boy would have to undergo a voice test and if he passed, get enrolled at the Santa Cecilia scuola primaria. He asked if they were a Catholic family. "No, we are Anglicans. But Giovanni was baptized in the Catholic church." "That's good enough," said the precentor. We don't get many boys in Trabizona wanting to sing in the choir." When Giovanni asked again about more singing lessons, Luke told him about the cathedral choir school. Giovanni at once said that he wanted to go for an audition. Giovanni replied, "Tell me about the choir school that you went to, Pappa!" "It was called Winton College School and I enjoyed it very much. I was a boarder, which meant that I stayed in school to eat and sleep from Sunday night until Friday afternoon, but went home for the weekend, except for Sunday night. I was living in the same town as my parents, but we were not allowed to go home until after Christmas and Easter, because we had to sing for the festivals in the college chapel. When our voices broke we moved up into the secondary school, where most of the boys did not sing." "What do you mean, voice breaking?" asked Giovanni. "When boys get to be about thirteen or fourteen, they reach something called puberty. Puberty is becoming a grown-up man. You will start to grow fast. Your legs, arms and cock will get longer, your armpits and other parts of your body will start to grow hair, and your vocal cords, the things in your throat that vibrate to make your voice, will also start to grow. As a result, your voice will get deeper and deeper and you will sound like a man, rather than a boy. You won't sing soprano any more, you will sing tenor, baritone or bass. But during the growing period, you won't be able to sing, because you can't control the sound that comes out of your mouth. So that's the end of singing for perhaps a year until your voice settles down and you can start to sing again as a tenor, bass or baritone." TO BE CONTINUED Tom and Luke Get a Family Pt. 07 Dedicated to the memory of Dinah Maria Craik (20 April 1826-12 October 1887), author of the best nineteenth-century novel of man-man love (albeit without sex), John Halifax, Gentleman (1857). ***** Chapter LVIII Giovanni starts at Santa Cecilia school Giovanni had no problems in passing the audition, and as soon as school resumed after the summer vacation, he started at his new scuola primaria. Although the choir was boys only, Scuola Santa Cecila was co-educational, so it was not very different from his old school, which Bernardo of course continued to attend. It turned out that he knew much more about music than most of the other boys who had just started in the choir. The choir was quite small, about twenty-five boys, of all ages from seven to thirteen, with only three or four boys in each year. Discipline in both school and choir was quite rigorous, the school lacked the relaxed atmosphere of Giovanni's old school. He was a sweet-natured boy, who conformed easily to discipline, worked hard at both his music and schoolwork and so made himself liked by the teachers. But he was a lively boy and quickly made friends at his new school. Because he was at a different school from his brother, no-one asked awkward questions about why they had different patronymics. The two main services in which the choir performed were on Saturday evenings and Sunday mornings. They soon fell into a routine in which Tom took Giovanni to his service on Saturday, and Olivia took him on the Sunday while the men took the other children either to their local Catholic church or to the English church in Bologna. Because he could read music, Giovanni made rapid progress and was soon singing quite sophisticated music, both plainsong and polyphony. He also continued with lessons with Signora Rampelloni, but only once every two weeks. By now Caterina was attending nursery school three mornings per week, and would start school in about a year's time. Bernardo was making good progress at school, and the men saw to it that he got plenty of reading matter in English, so that his English kept up with his Italian. The men were reluctant to expose the children to internet-connected devices, but bought the two boys a Kindle each, so that they could read and get familiar with electronic devices. Caterina was still at the stage of colouring books, but she had one English and one Italian story read to her each night. Chapter LIX David is knighted Soon after Giovanni had joined the cathedral choir, the men went to England for the celebration of David's knighthood. The ceremony was performed by the Prince of Wales at Buckingham Palace and David was accompanied to the Palace by Jon and Cathy, both wearing formal dress. Cathy however insisted on wearing what she called a "proper hat" rather than the 'fascinators' that were becoming popular. The following evening a party was held in the function room at Saint Boniface's College back in Camford, attended by Cathy and her husband, Tommy and Eleanor, Dorothea and Massimo, Sandro and Dom, Mr and Mrs Scarborough, Caterina Fabioni, the President and Vice-President of Boni's and their wives and Emeritus Professor Edward Bairstow and his wife, as well of course as Sir David and Jon and Luke and Tom. The college kitchens had pulled out all the stops for a magnificent buffet, nothing like the usual college drinks party, and the celebrations continued until deep in the night. Jon had negotiated a deal with the President by which the cost of the celebration was split equally between Jon and the college. Speeches were limited to one by the President and one by Luke. The President, a retired diplomat of some distinction, welcomed David as the first member of the college's governing body for seven years, except himself, to hold a knighthood. He presented him with a silver pint tankard engraved with his name and a commemorative inscription. Jon, as his partner, was presented with a bouquet. In reply, Luke thanked the college for the honour done to one of their alumni and paid tribute to his father for the huge pleasure that his singing had given to thousands of music lovers all over the world. He also commended his other father, Jon, for funding Sir David's musical training, and paid tribute to the late Dr Marcello Fabioni for teaching him. Then, at Jon's insistence, David sang Wenn der Freude Tränen fließen, accompanied on the piano by Tom. After all this backslapping, numerous bottles of Prosecco were consumed, and when the party ended at 1.00 am, a whole line of taxis was waiting in the square outside the college's main gate, which was kept open specially for the occasion. Chapter LX A few days in Camford Next day, as it was out of term, Tom left Luke with his parents in Octavia Avenue and went to the Chemical Laboratory, where he met his collaborative research project leader Dr Richard Kirmington, who had just been appointed University Reader in the Chemistry of Bioactive Molecules. Richard welcomed him and they went for coffee in the Chemistry canteen. Tom congratulated Richard on his new appointment. Richard said that he had been a reviewer for Tom's latest published paper. "I know that you can't leave Italy for family reasons," he said, "but you've got enough publications for a higher doctorate. That would raise your profile in Camford. The University is always rather reluctant to acknowledge degrees from universities other than Oxbridge, so a D.Sc. would look nice beside your M.A. Besides, it would entitle you to come to the Celebratio every year. I envisage that when your children get older, you will want to come back here." The Celebratio was Camford University's annual commemoration of its benefactors, and took the form of an honorary degree ceremony and a lavish garden party in the garden of one of the colleges. All higher doctorate-holders were entitled to attend, though not many did. Tom thanked him for the advice and asked how Carlo was getting on. Carlo had been in Camford about three months since he had got his Dottorato di Ricerca. "Why don't you go and ask him yourself?" asked Richard. "I'm very happy with his performance so far. He's a hard worker and gets a lot done in a day. And he's had a good effect on Rachel, who obviously enjoys his company, but is working much harder than when she was pining for him in Italy. Carlo speaks very highly of your supervision. It might be nice if we could find a Camford graduate who wanted to do what you did and do an Italian doctorate in your department." "I did amazingly well from the EU's Young Leonardo studentship. Without it," Tom said, "I would have had to use up all my savings." Tom went into the lab and greeted Carlo, who was delighted to see him. He and Rachel took Tom out to lunch at the Whale and Wheelbarrow, the nearest pub to the science labs. After lunch, Tom returned to Octavia Avenue, and he, Luke and Luke's two fathers all went for a swim at the Camford Men's Fitness Centre, avoiding the female pickets who were sitting on the steps with banners reading "LET WOMEN IN!" David told Luke that the occasion of his knighthood was probably the last family event that Luke's grandfather would attend. "He's well over eighty now, and though reasonably fit for his age, is increasingly disinclined to leave home. I've asked both my parents to sell up in Loxton and move into Rockwell's Barn, but they are not very keen to leave all their friends. So if you want to see them on your next visit, you'll have to go to Loxton." Jon told Luke that he had recently met Sandro's old boyfriend Jack Meredith. "He's now a lecturer at Buxton University, where he is doing very well. It's a shame that he let Sandro down, because he's a good scientist. Still, Sandro ended up with a much better partner!" "I can't imagine Jack Meredith finding a lot of gay partners in Buxton. It's not like Brighton!" Tom said drily. Buxton is a spa town in Derbyshire, Brighton is the gay capital of England. That night, all the household went to bed early. As usual when they were away from the children, Tom and Luke were anxious to make love. They both undressed and said their prayers. Tom then lay on his back propped up on two pillows, his legs wide apart. He took Luke in his arms, with Luke facing away from him and sat him between his legs. In this way he could comfortably play with Luke's cock, as Luke lay with his head cradled on Tom's shoulder. Tom rubbed his face in Luke's hair, which smelt of Storing pour Homme and kissed his head. He softly fingered Luke's hard and veiny male organ before gently getting hold of his balls. Luke groaned with delight at this attention. Tom began to stroke Luke's cock, and every so often tickling his ball-bag. Luke shivered in delight and turned his head to meet Tom's lips. Fifteen years or so of loving and living with one another had led to both men knowing every detail of each other's bodies. They knew where the skin was softest, where the hair was smoothest, what parts of their bodies were most sensitive to touch and caressing. But familiarity did not breed contempt. Every fresh contact was a pleasure, every caress a gesture of love, every kiss a token of deep affection. Tom started to run his right hand over Luke's chest and nipples, while continuing to stroke Luke's prick with his left hand. Tom could feel that Luke was now copiously oozing precome. "Carissimo Luca mio, ti amo!" he whispered in Italian. Luke was a bit startled to hear Tom muttering words of love in Italian. He had not done that for years. Could Tom be thinking that he was in bed with Olivia? Luke wondered. Then he dismissed the thought as nonsense. Tom was now so at home in speaking Italian that he was beginning to think in Italian all the time. Certainly someone in love with a woman would not be fingering his cock in such an enjoyable way! Suddenly Tom got hold of Luke with both arms and turned him over. He pressed his lips against Luke's and began to run his hands over the cheeks of Luke's arse. "Hai culo bello!" he murmured. By now his own dick was hard and oozing precome. He wrapped his arms tightly round his mate and began to rub his belly against Luke's so that both their boners were rubbing hard against each other. Luke opened his mouth and Tom's tongue shot inside. They continued in this position for several minutes before first Luke and then Tom shot his jism over their closely positioned bellies. After lying in their mutual puddle for a few minutes inhaling the chestnut-flower scent of spunk, Luke carefully got out of bed and brought two moist flannels and a towel from the bathroom. After cleaning themselves up, they both fell asleep in each other's arms. Next day they left for two nights at Sandro and Dom's house in Womble on their way to Bristol Airport. Although it was only a few months since they had met at the family reunion, Luke was anxious to see his brother. The two girls were also at home, as it was the school holidays. They spent the first day walking in the beautiful Cotswold countryside and went out for a meal at the local pub in the evening, taking Elizabeth, the girls' aunt and their housekeeper, with them. By now, the girls were old enough to come with them as well. Dom's consultancy business was flourishing, and he could work from home most of the time. Sandro was now doing preliminary engineering planning for HS2, the new high speed railway line to the north of England from London. Two days later both men were back at work after being welcomed back with enthusiasm by both Olivia and the children. Chaoter LXI Dangerous Doramagni The Teatro Musicale started its new season with a production of Tosca. The guest artists arrived a few days early to allow rehearsal time. The tenor singing the role of Cavaradossi was regarded by Cornelio as a real catch. He had been trying to hire him for several years and finally managed it. Matteo Doramagni was leading member of what Luke's father rather cynically called the Gay Tenors Club, one of a select, but steadily increasing, number of openly gay singers. By now Luke was well known in the Italian opera world, and everyone knew that he was gay. The first thing that the new artist did on arrival was to throw his arms round Luke and kiss him, not in a routine 'continental' fashion as it is known in England, of a light peck on the cheek, but a full lipped open-mouthed assault on Luke's lips. Doramagni was extremely attractive. By vigorous exercising he had managed to avoid that hypertrophy of the muscles of the diaphragm and abdomen that usually characterizes male singers. It was also evident from the bulge in his Armani jeans that he was well endowed in the cock department. It was equally obvious that he fancied Luke. He insisted on the first day that Luke should ring home and ask Olivia to collect Bernardo from school because an artist was taking him out to lunch. The meal revealed the secret of Doramagni's figure. He ate a salad with a small amount of cheese, without any bread, potato-salad or pasta. Luke ended the meal with a gelato: all Doramagni consumed was a glass of acqua minerale. The rehearsal finished early. Normally, as there was no performance that night, Luke would have spent the rest of the afternoon in his office catching up on paperwork, but Doramagni called a cab and insisted on taking him to his hotel. Luke was in a difficult situation. Cornelio had emphasized to him that he needed to treat Doramagni with kid gloves, because he was a valuable and essential artist. But Luke had a pretty good idea what Doramagni wanted, and the guy was indeed attractive. Luke had reached the age when anyone under thirty was worthy of scrutiny. He felt that he might need to invoke his agreement with Tom that a single sex session with another man was permissible as long as he told Tom afterwards. He made an excuse to visit the hotel toilet and used the last euros in his pocket to buy a packet of condoms from the vending machine. He was not taking any chances with what this guy might do! But he was worried. Doramagni was to be in Trabizona for two weeks, and he had to work with this guy. A one-off was perhaps permissible, but if the sex was a success, Doramagni would keep pestering him for more. He was tempted to use his cellphone to ask Cornelio how he should deal with the situation, but Doramagni did not give him the chance. No sooner were they in the hotel room than Doramagni grabbed him and started to unbuckle his belt. "Hai un bello cazzo grande!" (You've got a lovely big prick) Doramagni said as he felt Luke's stiffening dick. Luke waited to see what would happen next. The tenor pulled Luke's jeans down to ankles, and then did the same with his underpants. In a flash he was kneeling down with Luke's cock in his mouth. He was good at giving head, Luke thought, as Doramagni savoured the head of his cock. 'But he's going to have to be fuckin' hot to overcome my feelings of guilt,' he thought as Doramagni started to caress his balls. Just at that moment, Luke's cellphone, in the pocket of his jeans round his ankles, rang. Doramagni pulled away for a moment from Luke's cock and during those few seconds Luke managed to reach his pocket and pull the phone out. The caller was Tom, who reminded him that as it was Wednesday, Ben and his family were coming round for a meal. "Thanks, Cornelio, I'll come back to the theatre at once," he said to Tom. "That was Cornelio," he lied to Doramagni, "he needs my signature on a contract that has to go into the post tonight, so I'm afraid that I'll have to leave now. He hastily pulled up his lower garments and left the hotel. He walked down the street in the direction of the theatre before hopping on a tram and hurrying home, feeling relieved that he had extricated himself from an awkward situation. You as a reader might be disappointed that we have not had a hot seduction scene, but Luke was now a family man. He had a choice of a partner and a concubine to have sex with, why should he risk trouble by getting involved with a randy gay tenor? When he got home, he explained to Tom why he had called him Cornelio over the phone and Tom hugged him and said "You're right to steer clear of that guy. Who knows? He might be HIV-positive!" The evening that followed with the Curtiss family was very enjoyable. It was in two parts. First the five children had their meal and were put to bed. Francesco Curtiss and his sister were in camp beds, one sharing a room with the boys, the other with Caterina. The three boys got a story in English, read by Tom, and the two girls a story in Italian, read by Leonora. About 8 pm, the adults had dinner, cooked by Costanza. Leonora was pregnant again. Luke kissed her tenderly and whispered teasingly, "You're catching up with us!" Ben eyed Luke slightly uneasily. He was still puzzled how someone as out-and-out gay as Luke was could be so attentive to women. Maybe Leonora had never told him about Luke's kissing and hand-holding when they were students. Moreover, Luke had not told him about how regular sex with Olivia had changed his feelings about women. Chapter LXII Giovanni is growing up Giovanni Desperaldi was now well settled in his new school and enjoying his singing. He now understood why one of his four grandfathers had loved singing so much that he had turned his back on a scientific education in order to sing. To Giovanni, singing was the most important thing in his life outside his family. His mother, whose surname he bore, was the most important person in his life, but he loved both his fathers deeply, and felt, as their eldest child, that he had a responsibility to look after his brother and sister. He was making good progress at school, where it was obvious that he was intelligent as well as gifted. In the English lessons, he had reached an understanding with the teacher that he would never volunteer to answer a question, because of course he always knew the answer, and it would have been unfair to all the other children in the class. However, because the school was relatively old-fashioned, he learnt a lot about grammar and sentence construction in both his English and his Italian lessons. He had lots of friends at school, but they were nearly all boys. He was allowed to invite not more than six friends to his birthday party each year, and they were usually, but not always, the same six. He had travelled more than his siblings simply because he was the eldest. He had been to England with Dad, and was disappointed not to go to Antwerp with Pappa, but Luca was away for six weeks, and in any case he had started school by then. The demands of the cathedral choir affected the whole family, as they could not really go away from Trabizona at Christmas or Easter, although they were able spend time between Christmas and the New Year with their mother's parents or Luca's mother and Massimo. He was an observant and perceptive child. He had always enjoyed having two fathers, and was fascinated by how different they were. Fortunately for family discipline, although he knew that the two men had different attitudes towards what they would let the children get away with, he never usually exploited this to get his own way. As he got older, Giovanni began to notice what an affectionate family they were. Each child was kissed good night by all three parents, and he noticed that his parents were very affectionate with one another. Dad always kissed Pappa and Mamma before leaving for work. He noticed that Dad and Pappa were always kissing one another, but that his mother also got kissed by both his fathers, though perhaps not so often. One thing that Giovanni practically never got was time in the company of both his fathers together, without his mother or siblings. Tom and Luke Get a Family Pt. 07 Twice per year, the children's schools had parents' evenings for the teachers to give feedback on a child's performance. In order to avoid confusion, the two fathers took it in turns to accompany Olivia to these events. The teachers of course were aware of the three-parent situation, but seemed take it in their stride, irrespective of any conversations they might have among themselves in the staffroom after these meetings! Bernardo settled in quickly at school, even though he was separated from his brother, but when it was Caterina's turn to start school, she was more of a handful. In spite of giving no problems in her pre-school nursery, she resented having to leave her mother. Eventually however, she settled down. By the time he was nine, Giovanni was being taken to see every production at the Teatro Musicale, and during the school holidays, he got taken by Luca to watch the rehearsals. Irrespective of his parenthood, it was clear that music in general and opera in particular were in the boy's blood. Thanks to his Kindle, he was also a voracious reader. Chapter LXIII A surprise for Luke One Tuesday morning, Cornelio called Luke into his office. "Luca," he said, "I've been offered the job of General Administrator of the opera house in Sanadova." Sanadova is a large and prosperous city in Northern Italy with an internationally prestigious opera company. "Accordingly, my job here will be up for grabs, and I want you to have it. You deserve more pay and responsibility, and I am confident that you can do the job as well or better than me! What do you think?" Luke was bowled over. This was something totally unexpected. Such a job would catapult him into the top ranks of opera administration. He would be able to make big changes in the set-up in Trabizona, provided that he could get a hold on the financial aspects of the job. He came from a family where no-one got their hands dirty handling finance: they paid some-one else to do it. But if he took this job he would have dual responsibility for both the artistic and financial activities of the Teatro Musicale di Trabizona. Moreover he would have to deal with the Board of Governors of the theatre, and his first contact with them would have to be persuading them that he was the right man for the job! He said to Cornelio, "Yes, I am interested and I want the job. My first thought was that I would not have to work every evening and could see more of my family. I hope you don't think that that is an inappropriate reaction for someone taking on increased responsibility! How do I set about applying?" "The job will be advertised, but that is a legal obligation. You will need to make an application and a shortlist of three candidates will be interviewed. But I know the field. There are unlikely to be any worthwhile applicants from outside Italy, because Trabizona is not yet on the international circuit. What I hope is that you will be able to complete my efforts to get us on to that circuit. Of Italian applicants, I can tell you here and now that there is unlikely to be anyone as good as you. "One of your jobs of course will be to meet other opera house managers regularly and you will soon learn the managerial setup in other theatres. In that way you will soon know who has the power and reputation in the world of opera management in Italy. I will write you a very strong reference and so will Pauline. There will be a lot more responsibility of course, but there will be a big pay rise as well. It's unlikely that anyone else will get the job, but if they do, my successor will need you, because there's no-one else with your experience! Moreover, the governors are as keen as I am to get Trabizona on to the international circuit, so they are going to be on your side. But you are going to have to develop bargaining and negotiating skills to get good visiting artists at prices that we can afford. Maybe your father will be able to give you some help in that area! "I don't start at Sanadova until next January, so if you get the job, I will be able to show you the ropes and with Vittore, keep this place running while you go on a three-month Financial Management course. If the Governors won't pay for that, you and I will go halves on the cost, as well as me giving you leave of absence." The advertisement duly appeared, and Luke submitted an application with a CV, listing all the productions that he had directed, produced or for which he been répétiteur. After about six weeks, he was summoned for interview by the Governors along with two other applicants. In conversation in the waiting room before the interviews, it became clear that neither of the other applicants had anything like his amount of experience. He had been briefed in advance by Cornelio, who had told him about each of the members of the interviewing panel and the sort of questions that he might expect. The interview went well. In addition to all the questions that he had expected, he was quizzed on why he had decided to make his career in Italy, and how long he expected to remain there. He told them that he had three children at school in Italy (little Caterina was at nursery school, but was due to start at the scuola primaria within a few months), one of whom was in the cathedral choir, and he had no intention of leaving Italy for ten years or so. At the end of the interview, the chairman told him that the committee would deliberate, and that he would receive their decision by E-mail within a week. Needless to say, Luke got the job. The family was delighted that he was finally getting a senior job, even if it consumed more time and was less fun than his work so far. At least he would have more evenings at home. Tom talked to him quite frequently these days in Italian. He said to him, "Carissimo Luca mio, you have always enjoyed your job and its interactions with people. You will enjoy being boss just as much. Remember what Steve Jobs said to the Stanford Commencement class: Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. I know that the man I love will make the Trabizona Teatro Musicale into a world-renowned centre for opera. Let's go to bed early! Olivia won't mind. I'm desperate for a fuck!" With that, he kissed Luke long and passionately. Olivia was just as thrilled as Tom at Luke's promotion, and the next night that he was in bed with her, she whispered that a man who could fuck both men and women would be a certain success in the opera world! Chapter LXIV Envoi Tom had submitted the seventy or so papers that he had published since he began in Trabizona to the University of Camford as part of his supplication for the degree of Doctor of Science. After several months, he heard that his application had been successful. He decided to leave taking the degree until the following year when he could combine it with a visit to the research team in Camford. In the meantime, Arturo advised him to submit an application for promotion to the Italian equivalent of Associate Professor. Without help from Arturo, he secured funding from the European Union for another postdoc position. After consultation with his collaborators in Camford, the post was advertised throughout the EU, and a Dutchman called Maurits Timmerman was appointed. The family decided that as the children were growing up, Costanza needed more help in the house. She knew a young girl who needed a domestic job, and so the household was joined by Maria, who was prepared to work at the weekends in return for two days off during the week. She was a good cook and she was good with the children, who soon became very fond of her. As it became apparent that she was good at her job, she rapidly got a series of pay rises. Her presence meant that both Olivia and Tom could get a break from cooking at the weekends, and Costanza could get a similar break during the week. These changes enabled Olivia to take Giovanni to school each morning in her new little red Fiat, and collect him at lunchtime, avoiding Tom having to drive into town on his way to work. She was considering getting a part-time job, not because she needed money, but to give her the opportunity to get out of the house and re-enter the adult world. Who knew? She might meet a man more suitable than Roberto if she widened her circle of acquaintances. At this point in their lives, we leave Tom and Luke and Olivia. Tom is on the verge of a senior academic appointment and Luke is about to begin a new job. After nearly fifteen years in Trabizona, they have achieved the ambitions of their youth. They both have jobs that they love and are successful at them, they have the children that they longed for, but thought they would never get, and they are sharing their lives with the woman who has given them their children, whom they have learnt to love at least as much as their parents. The love that they swore to one another fifteen years before has strengthened and been a source of hope and support in times of distress and the warm intimacy that they share with one another has become a continuing delight. Perhaps in a future story we will learn about how they perform in their new jobs, how their life with Olivia progresses, and how their children grow up. In the meantime, we will find out what has been happening to Jon and David, Tommy and Eleanor in Camford and Dom and Sandro in Womble. THE END