Tommy's Third Year at College Pt. 01

Elaine has enough earnings and savings to buy a one-up-and-one-down terrace house on a mortgage, so she will be able to manage. She won't get the tenancy of the council house, because they're not married. She has looked after him for several years now, and she really loves the old bastard. He was lucky in his old age to get someone as nice as her, we both know what whores and bitches his previous girlfriends were! How Elaine could love such a selfish idle bugger, who lived only for sex and cigarettes, I do not know!"

"Liz, when you let me know that the end is near, I'll have a bag packed and be with you as soon as I can get on a flight from Valerio-Catullo. I would like to make my peace with the old man before he snuffs it. I never hated him: it was those bitches he took up with after mother died who nearly destroyed my life. Only you and Mr Silverdale cared anything for me until I met my darling Luke.

"I may not be able to stay very long, but I'll come back for the funeral and help you and Elaine clear the house out. We'll have to decide about the funeral arrangements. It will be nice to see your family. In a few years time we may be able to bring the bambini to see you. We're already bringing up Giovanni to be bilingual."

"Is Olivia keeping well? It's won't be that long before she gives birth."

"Yes, she's not experiencing any morning sickness. Pregnancy suits her."

"And fatherhood suits you! You seem happier, fitter and more relaxed than you have ever been since you left Camford."

"That's due to the love and support not just of my darling Luke, but my sweet Olivia, who has two loving men at her beck and call. She's a brilliant cook as well, so we have to be careful not to overeat! We're getting to the age now, especially Luke, when we need to be careful of our diet and make sure we get enough exercise."

About a month later, Tom received a phone call from Liz to say that their father only had a couple of weeks to live and was expected to become comatose within a few days. Tom informed Arturo of what had happened and took a flight the next day from Valerio-Catullo-Villafranca to Newcastle-on-Tyne.

The hospice where Tom's father was receiving his terminal care was in a country village near Durham City. Tom and Liz went there the following day. Their father was conscious and lucid.

"Who're you?" he asked when he saw Tom, not recognizing the sun-tanned hulk in his mid-thirties that Tom had become.

"I'm your son Tom!" Tom replied, not able to think of any other reply.

"Why haven't you been to see me before? I've only got a few weeks left to live!"

"Because I live in Italy, Dad, and I can't make regular visits. But I wanted to see you before you became unable to talk."

"Are you married?" his father asked.

"Yes, but to a man, because I'm queer. But like you, we have a live-in girlfriend, and she has given us two children, two grandchildren for you! The second one is due in a few months time, and I am its father. Luke and I are over the moon at the prospect of having two children."

"Elaine and Liz are the only ones to bother to come and see me since I got into this place," his father grumbled. "They won't let me smoke, and I'm only allowed one glass of beer a day! I hope you don't think that you'll get any money when I'm gone, because there isn't any. I've been living off handouts and what Elaine earns for years."

"Dad, I've got plenty of money. Luke's grandmother gave me a lot of money when he and I became partners, and I'm in a fairly well-paid job at Trabizona University."

"Don't give any to those greedy, lazy bitch sisters of yours, Tom. Liz, I don't include you in that. You've always been good to me. How's Aidan?"

"Sends his regards, Dad," replied Liz.

After further chat and a cup of tea, Tom said to his father, "I'm sorry not to have seen you for such a long time Dad, but by the time that you took up with Elaine, I was in Italy, and both Luke and I were working our arses off in new jobs. And before that, those bitches that you lived with all hated me." He kissed his father and said, "Dad, I love you although we've not seen each other for years, and at least you now know that we have given you grandchildren." His father, for the first time that Tom could remember, actually smiled.

"You're a good lad, Tom," he said, "just like your mother."

They made their farewells and left, Liz promising to return the following week. They then went for a brief call at Tom's old home, where he thanked Elaine for being so good to his father, and then Tom and Liz drove back to Newcastle. Aidan, home from work, welcomed them with the news that he had booked a table for them to dine out. They had a very enjoyable meal, and Aidan was amazed at how much his gay brother-in-law resembled his sister. The next day, Tom flew home, telling Liz that he would be back in time for the funeral.

Chapter 60 Tom's father's funeral

A month after Tom had seen his father, Liz rang to say that the inevitable had happened, that their father had died. Tom went to see Arturo and told him what had happened. Arturo said, "You are going to need a least a week, Tom, to sort things out at home. We'll postpone your lectures and Alberto can run your laboratory classes. Take as long as you need to get matters sorted out. Is Luca going to go with you?"

"No" said Tom. "He would have come if it had just been the funeral, but I'm obviously going to need time there, which he can't afford." The only thing that worried Tom was that Olivia's confinement was getting near. If the baby should arrive early he might miss it, and to be absent when his son or daughter came into the world would upset them all: Luke as well as himself and Olivia.

Two days later, Tom arrived at Liz's house in Newcastle. His father's body had been moved to the undertaker's and arrangements had been made for the cremation two days later. There would be a committal service in the crematorium chapel led by the local vicar. There was a wreath on the coffin from Liz and Aidan and a sheaf of white roses from Tom and Luke, but no other flowers.

There were to be no spoken tributes, but Tom insisted on two hymns as well as the liturgical readings and prayers. One hymn was one of his favourites, John Newton's Amazing grace, in hope that God's grace really would posthumously redeem the old wastrel. Tom's 'performances' with Luke at Arturo's had made him less self-conscious about singing in public, which was just as well, because virtually no-one else joined in the hymns.

Only a few people attended the funeral: Elaine, Liz and Aidan, Tom and about half a dozen friends, acquaintances and neighbours. Tom's other sisters were not present. As those present left the chapel, Tom stood near the exit and invited them all to the local pub, where a buffet meal was provided.

As they were munching quiche and sausage rolls, Tom circulated to see if there was anyone that he knew and to receive any condolences that might be forthcoming. Perhaps unsurprisingly, there were none. A middle-aged lady whom he recognized as one of his former teachers, a colleague of Tom's protector and friend, Bernard Silverdale, looked at him in puzzlement. "Are you related to Mr Appleton?" she asked.

"I'm his son Tom," replied Tom. "You taught me at school," he continued. The woman looked at him in amazement and closely scrutinized the tall, well-built, clean-shaven, suntanned hulk, with his black silk tie and Armani suit.

"I remember you now," she said. "You were good at maths. It must be more than twenty years ago. What are you doing now?"

"I work in Italy. I'm a senior lecturer in chemistry at the University of Trabizona. I went there thirteen years ago to do a Dottorato di Ricerca in order to be with my civil partner who works in the opera house in Trabizona. We are now settled there with a young family. I doubt whether we will consider coming back to England until our children are in their teens. Do you know, I have only set foot in this town two or three times since I left home for good at the age of nineteen. It was difficult being homosexual in this town in those days."

"Yes, it's not a very nice place, is it? I got out too. I'm head of a primary school in Newcastle now. I've known your sister Liz for some years and she invited me to come to her father's funeral. Have you had a difficult time living in a country which doesn't recognize same-sex unions?"

"Not really. The mother of our first child came to live with us before her baby was born and we became joint guardians with her of her son. We were not allowed to adopt him. Then she asked us to give her another baby, and she is currently expecting my child. The menage à trois works very well, and our status will be secured by my fatherhood, which will give me legal rights. However, that was not why I did it: the baby idea was Olivia's, not mine." His companion was not surprised. She thought Tom would be attractive to a lot of women.

"Liz and your old colleague Bernard Silverdale are the only people who cared for me after my mother died," Tom continued. "In spite of de mortuis nil nisi bonum, I have to say that my father took up with a series of women who hated me, so I left home for good and made my home with my partner's family, who welcomed me as their son-in-law. Since then, I've only been back to see Liz, and when she moved to Newcastle I had no reason to ever come here again."

"What happened to Mr Silverdale?"

"He took early retirement after getting cancer. After chemotherapy cured him, he became CEO of the Edmund Heptinstall Educational Trust, where he is doing a magnificent job helping gifted students get an entirely free university education. That trust funded me for a couple of years at Camford, though that was before the trust was reformed and Mr Silverdale went to work there. He was my help and inspiration as a teenager, and I regard him as my real father. I don't feel any loyalty to the Northeast, and if we ever come back to England, we will live in the south. How about you? Do you like the city on the Tyne? Are you in fact from these parts at all?"

"No, I was born in York, but I do like Newcastle. It's a city that's doing very well at the moment."

"May I buy you a drink? I need one myself after singing solo! Liz!" he called, "Would you like a glass of wine?" Tom went to the bar and purchased two beers and three glasses of white wine, two of which he handed to Liz and Elaine, and the other beer to Aidan. The lady introduced herself as Caroline Eastwood. "How do you come to know Liz?" Tom asked.

"Like you I taught her at school, but unlike you, we kept in touch, even when I got married and moved to Newcastle." At this point, Liz joined the conversation by inviting Mrs Eastwood to join Aidan, Tom and Elaine for dinner in Newcastle.

"We'll be back here tomorrow to start sorting out the house with Elaine," she said.

The next day Liz and Tom returned with Elaine to the house. After their father had moved to the hospice, Elaine had started negotiations to buy a house for herself. The sale went through quickly and she had started sleeping in the partially furnished new house. Tom and Liz had arranged to see a lawyer so that Liz could apply for Letters of Administration, as Elaine had no legal standing.

They promised Elaine that after they had taken what they wanted, the remainder of the house contents were hers for the sum of £5, she could take what she wanted and a house-clearer would be sent in to dispose of the rest, so the house would be quickly available to the next tenant. It soon became clear that there were debts to the value of about £5K, and the contents of the house would bring in very little cash, so in the presence of the lawyer, Liz and Tom took responsibility for discharging the debts.

All that Tom wanted was to find out if the house contained anything that had been his mother's. Elaine showed him a drawer where everything of his mother's that had not been sold off by his father were left. There was a nine-carat gold cross and chain, and a couple of rings, one of which had been Mrs Appleton's wedding ring, and a large envelope full of photographs. Tom asked Liz if she wanted anything. She said no, so they took the items for valuation, after which Tom would keep them.

The next day, they finalized the details with the solicitor, and Tom said goodbye to his sister and brother-in-law and niece and took a late CrossCountry train to Birmingham, where he changed to a train to Camford. About midnight he arrived and took a cab to Octavia Avenue, where having alerted Jon and David by phone, they were waiting to welcome him.

After two enjoyable days, one spent in the Chemical Laboratory, Tom left Camford and flew home. He had been gone just over a week. He found Olivia still at home, squirming under the discomforts of late pregnancy. He gave her the rings and cross, and showed the photos to Luke. She kissed him gratefully. "Caro Tom," she said, "I missed you! I could never give birth unless you are holding my hand."

Chapter 61 Tommy: Spring in Padua

Back in Padova, the weeks sped by. My lectures increased in number and my stack of books in Italian for reading never seemed to diminish. In Trabizona, Olivia gave birth to a baby boy, to Tom's great delight. They named him Bernardo Massimo Appleton, and it was wonderful to see the beautiful little man put on weight. I was beginning to realize that my brother and Tom really had the best of both worlds: they had a share in a 'wife' and two wonderful sons who unlike me, would not have to grow up without a mother, and moreover they had each other.

It was a relationship almost as complicated as that of Duncan Grant, Bunny Garnett and Clive and Vanessa Bell in the Bloomsbury Group, but considerably more harmonious. But my sober self reckoned that Martin and I were extremely unlikely to find a woman who could accommodate both of us!

In Padova, Matteo and I grew closer together. We both enjoyed each other's company and began to make a trip about every three weeks to see the opera at Trabizona. We felt so comfortable with one another that we felt able to fart in each other's presence without embarrassment—just a few giggles. Eventually, when Matteo asked me to give him a blow-job, I agreed. It was the first time that I had seen his dick, and what I saw gave me an instant hard-on. It was, considering that Matteo was only of average height, a pretty gigantic love-stick, with an interesting curve towards the tip.

I had always wanted to suck a curly cock, and I almost drooled as I knelt down and began to kiss and lick it. "Wait! I need to get undressed!" he said. "I don't want to be sucked off through my fly or with my jeans round my ankles." I had never seen him naked before. He looked pretty good. Although his shoulders were narrow, he was not as skinny as I had thought, and his bubble-arse was delightful. His belly was flat, and he had rather a nice neat belly-button that was asking to be kissed. He was suntanned all over: he obviously sunbathed naked. The thought increased my hard-on.

He giggled when he saw the tent in my trousers. "When you're done, I'll suck your cazzo (cock), he said. "I've been waiting for this ever since you got back from England. I've wanked as little as possible, as I've been saving my sborra (spunk) for you to drink!" He pulled my T-shirt over my head and loosened my belt. He unzipped my fly and pulled my trousers down, leaving me in my underpants with a huge moist patch on the front. Before I could resume licking his ball-bag and rubbing my lips in his dark pubic hair, he had pulled my slip down to my ankles. Fully naked, I resumed my attentions. It had been a relief to find that he had no genital piercings. The thought of sucking a Prince Albert really turned me off.

"Hai un cazzo bello!" I said as I licked the sides of his cock and then moved my lips along the moistened area until I reached his partially rolled back foreskin. I begin to nibble it gently, and he wriggled with pleasure. "Sei amante bono!" (you're a good lover) he muttered. Then I started to lick the head, before wrapping my mouth round it. This excited him and he began to push his tool into my mouth and begin fucking movements with it. I clasped a hand on each of his buttocks and he grabbed a handful of my hair. After a minute or so of frantic excitement, he came violently and filled my mouth with his come.

He withdrew from my mouth and I savoured my mouthful before swallowing it greedily. I then kissed him, thereby transferring some of his come back to him. He kissed me back with some enthusiasm. Although I wasn't in love with him, he was a sweet and comfortable person to be with. I reckoned that I was lucky to have two such pleasant housemates. I was also proud that I was able to speak love talk in Italian.

"Matteo," I said, "Please don't fall in love with me! I am quite happy to give you a BJ, and I hope that you will do the same for me, but I have a commitment back home, and sucking is as far as I'm prepared to go. I hope that's OK with you," and I put my arm round him and gave him a kiss. He was a good kisser, and I enjoyed his lips. His kissing was as though he wanted to eat me: it was so hungry. I squeezed his nude body up against my own and ran my hand down his back from his shoulders to his buttocks. I could feel my cock getting harder and harder and began to ooze precome over Matteo's belly.

He rapidly moved and knelt in front of me and began to lick the head of my cock. He turned out to give wonderful head. His work on my cock nearly sent me delirious. I wished that he would suck my dick every day! Eventually I came and in a wave of bodily ecstasy shot my spunk into his eager mouth. He savoured it happily before swallowing it. In return, I began to smother him with kisses. "Next time we'll do sessanta nove!" (sixty nine) he whispered.

[To be continued]