The Music in the Painting

The trip up to the canyon was a twisting mountain road and when they finally reached the cut-out for the gate.

 Drew watched with interest as Mac got out and opened the gate by placing a key in a small box. The large Iron Gate swung open and Mac hopped back in and drove through. He waited for a moment to watch the gate close behind him and then continued up the drive.

Drew noticed the gate posts were the same as you would see all over the older part of Pasadena, with clinker brick mixed in with the stone work. It had been one of the signatures of the Greene bros. but was soon adopted by other architects as Pasadena flourished in the early 1900’s. His own house had similar gate posts at one time but they had been destroyed by a runaway cement truck and never replaced. He had only seen them in photos.

They crossed a small bridge across a creek about fifteen feet below. And swung to the right in a lazy arc to arrive under a large wisteria covered portico which wasn’t actually attached to the house, it was really a gigantic pergola as big as their garage at home. Because of the Bougainvillea and other vegetation he hadn’t even glimpsed the house as they approached. As he climbed out of the car the front entrance caught his attention. It was glorious and massive but elegantly wrought from huge beams with gigantic doors. Stained glass side lights and transom framed the doors.

Bobby stepped up beside him holding Drew's duffel.

"Does it remind you of Rivendell?"

Drew remained silent taking in the sight. One of the doors opened and a young man stepped out smiling. He was tall and well-muscled with sandy hair and was obviously related to Mac, sharing his smile and chin and most of all his expressive eyes. If only he had pointed ears the image would have been complete.

In Drew’s eyes this was the very embodiment of Legolas, the Elven prince and hero who stood with the Fellowship. Drew’s reverie was broken when Bobby ran up the steps and wrapped his arms around the young man.

"Hi Davey!" he exclaimed. Have you been here long?

"Long enough to hear what you’ve been up to the last couple of days. How’s your head?"

"Big and thick as ever." said Bobby laughing. "Davey this is my friend Drew. He helped me out when I fell down and got hurt."

"Nice to meet you Drew." Shaking the boy’s hand Davey looked him in the eyes and smiled warmly.

"Uncle Mac I have a pot brewing; do you fancy a cup?"

"Absolutely." said Mac. "Why don’t you lads go and make use of the facilities and show young Drew where to store his gear."

"Yeah, we’re both a little rank I suppose; I think we’ll shower and then go for a swim if that’s okay." said Bobby.

"Excellent idea, I’d join you but Davey needs to go over a few things." said Mac. You’ll need towels; the cabinet by the pool is empty."

"I’ll bring out a few and stock up then."

"That would be nice, thank you lad."

Bobby picked up Drew’s carryall and grabbed Drew by the wrist and tugged him along up the stairs.

"Do you want a room to yourself or do you want to bunk with me?

Drew smiled and said, "With you of course, I want to get to know you and I can’t do that if we’re in separate rooms."                               

Bobby led them down a hallway open on one side to the atrium and stopped at the second door. He swung open the double doors and invited Drew to enter first.

"It’s huge!" Drew gasped "It’s at least twice the size of my room.

"It used to be the library but Grampa moved that to another part of the house. This actually became the boy’s dormitory. They had a lot of boys living here over the years and just decided to make the house suit them without changing the character of the place. Drew took in the vastness of the room. The ceilings were coffered in dark beautifully grained wood offset by pale blue plaster work. The walls used a slightly darker blue surrounded by equally handsome rectilinear trim and wainscoting.

 A large ornate and very busy oriental rug covered the center of the room. Large rectangular windows and a set of French doors with complex glass work allowed light to flood the room with the heavy draperies tied at the sashes. The drapes picked up the main dark blue color of the rug. Drew was stunned. Aside from the Stickley queen size four poster and a few chairs, everything else appeared to be built in to the walls. Cabinets, drawers and even a desk all finished out in the same rich wood. Two large full bookcases stood between the windows of the outer wall.

The room was an exercise in bygone luxury and Drew was completely enchanted. He had only seen rooms like this on tours of great houses.

"This place is something else!" gasped Drew. "This is all yours?"

"Well it’s just Gramma, Grampa and me that live here full time. David is in the old Footman’s quarters. I’m only here on the weekends, holidays and vacation. There are lot more rooms in the place."

"There’s a sitting room through that door and my practice space is through that one at the other end. And the bathroom door is actually hidden in the panel next to the practice room, as he walked up to the wall, you just push right here, comme ça, et voila’."

Drew copied Bobby’s actions and opened the panel as he had. "Comme ça, oui?"

"Oui, ç’est ça."

Drew whistled when the door swung open. "It’s half the size of my room!" as he took in the bathroom. It was impressive. An ornate claw foot tub sat in one corner. A large double vanity, with a stone counter top and what appeared at first glance two toilets. And near the door a cavernous shower enclosure that could easily accommodate three adults. The etched glass doors carried through the arts and crafts décor.  

"So do you want a shower or a bath?

"A shower for sure."

Bobby opened a cabinet door and said, "Let me get us some towels from downstairs." and darted out the door.

Drew looked around the room and was drawn to the bookshelves. He noticed several photos; a man in a Marine Corps Uniform and a small blue pad framed by wood held several medals. He was captivated by a family portrait that showed a younger Bobby a girl a few years older and what must be his Mother and Father. He recognized the man from the uniform photo. It suddenly occurred to him that the frame was trimmed with black ribbon. His eyes filled with tears, for this could only mean one thing. He put the photo back on the shelf just as Bobby came back in with a stack of towels. Drew turned with a start.

"I was going to tell you later on," said Bobby noticing Drew’s tears, "It’s just hard to talk about, but you already know that."

"You lost them all?" Drew was just able to choke out.

"Yes," said Bobby quietly. He sat on the bed and patted the spot beside him. "They were on the way to the airport in Seattle; they were taking my sister to her new school in Connecticut. They were taking the pets to be boarded while they were gone. Some drunk ran a red light at high speed and ran right into them. I lost them all even our dog and cat. It was two weeks after I had started school here, I was eight." Drew grasped his hand while Bobby’s eyes were closed; when he opened them again Drew threw his arms around him. "I’m so sorry Bobby," Drew sobbed. "I didn’t know, I don’t know what to say.

"You don’t have to say anything," said Bobby returning Drew’s embrace. "You had no way of knowing. It’s obvious you’ve had your own share of grief. I understand; it’s not something you share with just anybody. Most of my schoolmates don’t know either. They held their embrace for a few minutes.

"So would you like to tell me about your Dad?"

They sat together on the bed and Drew said, "It happened a year and a half ago; my Dad was a biologist and they were in Brazil on the Rio Negro. He suddenly got sick out there and by the time they got him to Manaus he was dead. We couldn’t even have his body shipped home, we had to have him cremated in Brasilia and brought his ashes back home. And if that wasn’t bad enough some idiot customs jerk wanted to open the box and go through the ashes.

"I went nuts and told him, "That’s my dad you fucking idiot, you touch that box and I’ll kick your ass." Then his boss came over and apologized and stamped our passports. I had to apologize for my language, but he said he understood. My Mom told me later that I only said what she was thinking." 

"I never understood why my Dad would risk himself the way he did, wasn’t I important enough to stay home for?" Drew continued. "I miss him so much, but I’m mad at him too. I know I’m probably being unfair but I can’t help it."

"It’s okay Drew," Bobby cooed in his ear. "We can’t help how we feel; you know Oscar Wilde had a quote. "To lose one parent is tragic, to lose them both is just carelessness."

Through the tears and sadness Drew chuckled, "That’s actually funny, a little sick, but funny. Wait; you read Oscar Wilde? You have to be sixteen to check out his books at the library."

"Really? He wrote several children’s books, I’ve got a few here. I haven’t read Reading Gaol yet. Grampa suggests I wait until I have a bit more experience of the world."

"Do you know why he was in jail?"

"Yes of course, I don’t understand why they would do that to anyone just because of who they might love."

"My Mom says that the most recent research points toward brain chemistry and structure as the cause of homosexuality."

"That’s what my Gramma said." Bobby agreed "She said academics are fighting the research but the studies are sound and empirical data appears to support the theory.

Grampa says they all have competing theories that make them a lot of money from book sales and speaking tours, so they have to protect their cash cow. "No reason to let facts get in the way of a good revenue stream." He has a rather low opinion of some academics."

Bobby grimaced, "Oh man! I don’t know if I just caught a whiff of you or me but we stink on ice man."

"Yeah" said Drew, this is the longest I’ve gone without a shower since we went camping last summer. And there was a creek to play in there so it wasn’t so bad. I’m kind of weird that way; I don’t like being dirty; especially my bottom, is that weird?"

"No I’m kind of the same way, even with the bidet I still feel kind of grungy even though I know I’m clean."

"My mom said I learned the toilet early because I couldn’t stand dirty diapers."

"Freak." giggled Drew, "just kidding, but what’s a bidet?"

"Follow me and I’ll show you." He ushered Drew into the bathroom and pointed out what Drew had mistaken for a second toilet.

"You see when you are done wiping, you flush the toilet and move to this thing and straddle it facing the wall. You turn these knobs and a jet of water finishes the job. You can use soap and get really clean if you want."

"Wow," was Drew’s only reply. He stood to the side and twisted the knob and watched a little jet of water rise from the bowl.

"The shower valves are easy, I can show you, if you want to go first."

"Why don’t we go together? It looks like we could have a whole team in there. I mean we’ve already seen each other naked right?"

"I wasn’t sure you’d be comfortable with that, but okay."

The boys stripped off their clothing and Bobby turned on the shower valves, he set the temperature a bit cooler than he preferred and asked Drew to try it with his hand. Drew gave his approval and Bobby opened two other valves. Suddenly water sprayed from every corner and aimed at the center so it didn’t go out of the door.

"Cool," was the only thing Drew could think of to say.

"Hop in," said Bobby. These two knobs on the left are hot and cold. If it’s too hot or too cold just turn one of these. 

"Now that we’re in it seems a little cool."

 

 

 

"No problem just turn the hot clockwise.

"Yeah that’s better, is it too hot for you?"

"No, I like it hot but I wasn’t sure how much you could stand."

Bobby stood in the corner and watched Drew spin around in the center enjoying the spray that seemed to come from every direction.

"This is so cool. I’ve never seen a shower like this."

"Here’s some shampoo," offered Bobby.

"Oh thanks it smells great."

"I have an oatmeal scrub that I use on my face if you’re interested; it gets rid of all the stuff that blocks your pores. It seems to work for me, I don’t get many pimples."

"Thanks I have something like that at home. It’s good stuff."

"My Gramma gets it from a catalog, she heard about it from a Dermatologist she knows."

"You have to be careful with this stuff or you scratch yourself up," said Drew.

They both turned back into the spray to rinse their faces.  Bobby smiled when he saw Drew’s beautiful eyes open again.

"What?"

"Your eyes," Bobby blushed. "They’re very nice, I think they’re beautiful."

Now Drew blushed and looked down. This was a mistake because he caught sight of Bobby’s penis and a twinge ran through his own. He reminded himself not to rush, there was plenty of time. The compliment from Bobby was a good sign. No other boy had ever said that about his eyes.

"Thanks, I like yours too. The way your lashes frame them and the color, they’re very pretty."

"Thanks" Bobby blushed a bit, "if you turn around I’ll wash your back." He held up a soft wash cloth and a bar of burnt orange scented soap.

Drew turned and anticipated Bobby’s touch.

Starting at his shoulders Bobby began to gently scrub Drew’s arms, armpits and ribs. He soaped his entire back and then went over it with the cloth. "Shall I continue down?"

"Yes," purred Drew.

This time Bobby soaped up the cloth and then set about scrubbing each cheek and in between as well. Gently washing Drew’s little pink anus and perineum. Then reluctantly, he continued down each leg. When he reached Drew’s feet he instructed him to grasp the rail and raise each foot in turn as he gave them a tender cleaning.

"Did I miss anything?" Bobby asked in a near whisper.

Drew trembled; this was it, he would never have a better opportunity to find out if Bobby felt the same way about him as he felt about Bobby.

"Just a couple things around front" he said, mustering his courage.

Without a word Bobby rinsed the cloth and reloaded it with soap. From behind he pulled Drew to him as he reached around his body to wash his upper chest. Incrementally he moved down as he scrubbed Drew's belly and the sides of his hips. Finally there was nothing left but the prize between the legs of this magnificent boy. Bobby dropped the cloth and built lather in his hands and then discarded the soap on the bench built in to the shower. With his chin on Drew’s elegant shoulder Bobby grasped the now rigid penis of his friend. Tenderly he stroked its length and with his free hand he grasped the loose scrotum and cradled it in his palm.

Drew leaned back against Bobby and arched his neck rocking his head back. Bobby leaned in and kissed his throat and cheek and then gently nibbled his ear. Drew was breathing in gasps and mewling when he suddenly felt his entire being attempting to leave his body by way of his penis. His overwhelming orgasm seemed to go on forever and he became light headed. Bobby sensed this and guided him to the bench.

"Are you okay?"

"I will be as soon as you kiss me."

Bobby obliged, their tongues searched for each other and then battled back and forth in tender combat.

Bobby’s eyes were awash in tears of relief. He had been so afraid that this perfect boy would reject his love and now he knew differently. His tears were those of joy. He finally found someone he could love without reserve.

When their lips parted they gazed at each other for a long moment until Drew said, "I love you Bobby." His own fears and tensions had melted away and like Bobby, tears ran down his cheeks. He was ecstatic. This was the person he had been searching for without knowing, this handsome, gentle boy; who seemed to know his body better than he did.

"I love you too; I’m having trouble believing this is real."

Bobby rose from the bench and began to finish bathing. He told Drew to relax; they would need to rinse the chlorine off later.

"We better get out soon, we’re starting to prune up," wiggling his fingers at Drew.

Bobby shut off the water and offered Drew his hand to get up. Drew was still a bit weak but beginning to bounce back. He took Bobby’s hand and then the towel that was offered him.

"Can you stand okay or do you need a chair?"

"I’m fine now; I think I could fly if I needed to." 

All that stress of not knowing; and of waiting for someone to make the first move. That tentative often painful dance of lovers was behind them. He felt spent and energetic all in the same moment. "Just you wait Bobby Mackenzie, when I get my hands on you…" thought Drew.