Four Grooms and a Queen (4 page)

“Hey dude, how’s it hanging? You bang that cutey of yours this weekend yet?” Pat asked.

“Hell yeah! I banged him like an old jungle drum. How about you?”

“I’m not saying who got banged, but I’m a happy camper this morning,” Pat replied.

“Ahh, you dog! Threw them legs up, huh? I always knew you were a confirmed bottom.”

“You know shit, that’s what you know!” Pat said with a roaring laugh.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. So, we playing tonight?”

“Yeah, that’s why I’m calling. Say eight? You bring the beer; we’re going to order pizza and a three-foot sub. How’s that sound?”

“Sounds great to me. I’ll try and be finished keeping Shawn naked and sweaty by then, throw him in the shower so that the scent of sex doesn’t drive you both crazy with desire, and be there at eight sharp!”

“It’s a date. See ya tonight, and oh, I need to talk to you about something.”

“Oh? Something serious like the job, or what?”

“No, not the job, although it has some connection to it. But don’t say anything to Shawn, okay?”

“Okay, but you do this all the time and I hate it!”

“Do what?”

“Tell me you wanna talk about something serious and then make me wait to find out what it is. Douche bag!”

The phone went dead. Pat laughed and hung up standing there for a moment before he hit redial.

“What is it now? You figure out a new way to fuck with me?”

“Oh shut up; you’re worse than an old woman. Listen, can I swing by and pick you up, say, around two? I need you for about an hour and then I’ll have you back to the young and hung; what do you say?”

“Okay, I’m so curious about what you’re up to that I’ll interrupt the bedroom Olympics just for you.”

“Great, see you at two.”

Dean walked into the living room and put his arm around Pat’s midsection.

“Listen, honey, something minor has come up and I need to meet Hank at two o’clock. It’ll only take about an hour or so.”

“Can’t it wait till tonight?”

“No, it’s police stuff, administrative crap that we forgot to do. It needs to be taken care of before Monday.”

“Okay, just don’t be all afternoon.”

“You got it, sweet pea,” Pat said as he kissed Dean on the head. “I’d better cut the lawn real quick before I dash out to meet Hank. You can dust or whatever,” Pat continued.

“Dust, my ass. I’m gonna sit my ass down on this sofa, drink my soda, and find an old movie to watch.”

“That’s fine with me, baby,” Pat said as he went to the storage shed to get the mower.

As he mowed the front and back yard, Pat was planning how the entire wedding thing was going to play out. He would go to the store this afternoon with Hank and look for rings. He was going to get Dean a big fat solitaire diamond for an engagement ring and simple bands for wedding day. He would ask Hank to be best man and ask about getting the time off from work.

Pat would pay all the expenses for Hank and Shawn to come to Boston and stay for a couple of days. It would not only be nice to have them there, but they needed witnesses for the wedding license. Now, when would be a good time to ask Dean to marry him? Should he do it on bended knee or at dinner somewhere? He would ask Hank about that too.

He finished mowing the lawn at 1:45, jumped into his cruiser and took off to pick up Hank. He never thought that he would ever get married, especially once he realized that he was gay. However, fate had changed all that—fate and the good liberals of America. It was now possible to marry the one you wanted to spend your life with—thanks to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts that started it all.

He pulled into the apartment parking lot, and Hank waived from the window so that Pat didn’t have to get out of the cruiser. As Pat waited for Hank to come down, Shawn came to the window shirtless, and waved down at Pat as well. Pat gave Shawn an admiring glance from the front seat of the cruiser and instantly felt guilty considering he was going to ask his own man to marry him.

Hank came out and got into the front seat. “Well, what are you up to now?” Hank wanted to know.

“Listen, I’ve decided to ask Dean to marry me, as in going to Massachusetts and getting a marriage license and the whole deal. I want to go look at rings at that diamond emporium next to the mall and I want your opinion.”

Hank whistled. “Marriage, wow. Sure, let’s go.”

“I also wanna ask you to be my best man and have you and Shawn come up to Boston with us for the wedding; what do you say? I’ll pay for everything.”

“Best man? Hell yeah, I’ll be your best man. I’d shoot your ass if you’d asked anyone else. Shawn will be thrilled when he hears this.”

“Well, I haven’t asked Dean yet, so please don’t tell Shawn until then, okay?”

“Sure buddy. You wanna have a ring when you ask, is that it?”

“You got it. Let’s get going.”

Chapter Five

It took
a little over an hour to find exactly the ring that Pat wanted to give to Dean as an engagement ring. With Hank’s blessing, he chose a diamond solitaire that weighed a little over one carat and was almost flawless. The stone was set in 14-carat gold and looked magnificent.

As they left the store, Hank asked, “Why did this whole issue of getting married even come up? It’s not like the state of Maryland is going to recognize it.”

“I don’t know what came over me. I was sitting there thinking about how lucky I was to have such a beautiful man who I love more than life itself, when I realized that if I was straight and he was a woman, I’d be getting married if she said yes. From there, it was an easy jump to asking Dean to get married.”

“Damn, you know I think about Shawn that way too. I wouldn’t replace him with anyone in the world. I’m damn lucky he puts up with my shit!”

“So do the right thing; ask the man to marry you! We can make it a double ring ceremony!” Pat exclaimed.

“Ah, Shawn’s a little young to be getting tied down, don’tcha think?”

“Plenty of couples in their late teens and early twenties get married every day; why should you and Shawn be any different? Now, if on the other hand, you don’t love him, well that’s a different story.”

“Who said that? I love him totally. When exactly are you going to ask Dean?”

“I’m not sure really. I think I want it to be in private rather than public. Why do you ask?”

“Picture this: we both get down on our knees at the same time and ask our guys to marry us? Would that be outstanding or what, partner?”

“Don’t do this just because I’m asking Dean. You should only ask that sweet boy of yours if you really want to do this,” Pat chastised.

“Fuck, man, I said I wanna do this. It even feels right! Call Dean and tell him that we’re tied up longer than you expected and we’ll go back to the store. I need a ring!”

An hour and a half later, both men had engagement rings on their persons when they returned to their respective abodes. Both took great pains to keep the bulge of the ring box well hidden to give no hint of what was to come.

“Well, there you are. Ya know, if it’s your day off, you should be off. Can’t that place get by without you for two days in a row?” Dean asked with a frown.

“Sure, honey, but once in a while there’s going to be a report or something that has to be done whether I happen to be off or not. Now, I’m done for the rest of the weekend.”

“Good, ’cause while you’ve been working for the public again, I’ve made some appetizers for tonight.”

“Ah, they look good. Why don’t we lie down for an hour so that and rest up for tonight?”

“You just wanna get me back in bed again,” Dean said with a smile.

“Oh I don’t need an excuse for that. I’d just tell you to get your ass up to bed!”

“Ha! As if….”

“Go on up, I’ll be right behind you,” Pat said.

After Dean got to the bedroom, Pat pulled out the ring box and hid it in the hallway closet with his police gear. The ring would be safe there until it was needed in a few hours. Pat bounded up the stairs two at a time and was in bed as quickly as he could manage.

When Pat threw his arm over Dean and began to snuggle in for a nap, Dean said, “Are you telling me that you really just wanted to catch a nap up here?”

“Yep. I’m a little tired, honey, let’s sleep.”

Dean exhaled in such a way as to communicate dissatisfaction. The message was received by the intended recipient who just smiled and fell asleep. A little over an hour later, Pat woke up to an empty bed. It was sunset and slightly overcast. It looked like an early winter night already.

Pat got up and went into the bathroom where he wiped his face with a hot washcloth. He combed his hair, brushed his teeth again, and headed downstairs after changing his shirt. He found the dining room table all set up for cards, and a small bar set up on one of the kitchen counters.

“My, you’ve been busy while I was sleeping,” Pat observed.

“Just trying to make you look fabulous in front of our closest friends,” replied Dean.

“And a damn fine job you’ve done of that. I think I’ll have a cup of coffee before the boys get here.”

“Well, you’ve got about forty-five minutes before they arrive.”

Pat made his coffee and went into the living room where he sat down. He was nervous, but not quite sure why; after all, he expected Dean to say yes. As he sipped his coffee, it became apparent that he was taking one of those big steps in life. Asking someone to marry you, regardless of gender, was a major step. It also meant, in a funny way, that he was getting older. Gone were the days of childhood games, and now began the trials of manhood in adult life.

The ringing doorbell brought him out of his musing. He got up and opened the door to find two cute, smiling faces staring at him. “Come in guys, welcome!” Pat said as Hank and Shawn walked in and took off light coats.

“Hi, guys,” yelled Dean from the kitchen. “I’ve got some snacks prepared for us until Pat orders the pizza and sub,” he continued.

“Need any help?” asked Shawn.

“Only in eating all of this,” replied Dean.

Pat pulled Hank into the living room as Shawn went into the kitchen to chat with Dean. “So, when do you want to pop the question, or have you changed your mind?” Pat asked.

“Changed my mind? Hell no, I haven’t changed my mind. How about after the pizza, so that if our mates get carried away with joy, we can just carry them away!” Hank suggested.

“Okay, that’s sound good. You’re going down on one knee to ask, right?”

“Yep, gonna do it right.”

“Excellent!” Pat responded.

“What’s excellent?” Shawn asked as he and Dean entered the living room.

“Oh, I was just telling Hank that the Redskins are playing the Eagles next Sunday at FedEx field,” Pat replied.

“Oh cool,” was the only response from Shawn and Dean.

“Do you want to get to the cards now, or wait for a bit?” Dean asked.

Hank looked at Pat and before Pat could say anything, Hank said, “Shuffle the cards!”

Everyone went into the dining room and took their usual seats. It was poker and the various versions of it for a couple of hours. Finally, Pat looked at his watch and announced that he was ordering the food.

Everyone took a quick break while Pat called the pizza joint and gave them the delivery order. The manager happened to be a motorist that Pat had stopped one night, and given a break too. Even though he smelled a light scent of booze on the man’s breath, Pat didn’t believe he was under the influence enough to arrest. Instead of arresting him and taking him in for a breathalyzer, Pat put him in the cruiser and drove him the nine blocks to his home. Tonight, Barry, the manager at Pizza and Subs To Go recognized Pat’s name and repaid the kindness. About thirty-five minutes after the order was placed, the doorbell rang. Pat opened the door to find Barry with his arms full of food. He handed Pat two large pizzas with everything, and an overstuffed three-foot sub. Pat paid for the food, of course, but got much more than he ordered.

“I just wanted to thank you for the break you gave me the night you pulled me over. You scared the hell out of me, and now, if I’m planning on drinking, I have a designated driver,” Barry said.

It took Pat a couple moments to remember who Barry was. “Good, I’m glad the break wasn’t lost on you. You’ll stay alive a lot longer this way—not to mention some innocent member of the public.”

“Good night, Officer St. James, and thanks again”

“Good night and thanks to you too.”

Hank had overheard the beginning of the conversation and went in towards the door until he could tell if this was going to be a bad situation or a good one. When he realized it was good, he went back to the dining room.

Pat brought the food in and set it up in the kitchen. The fully loaded pizzas and sub made a mountain of food, which the four men dove into. After many appreciative sounds about how good everything tasted, a few belches, and a couple sighs, eating for the night was finished. Everyone smiled with that contented look that said, “I just stuffed myself to the gills, and I feel great!”

“Let’s go into the living room and let this food settle. Dean, you and Shawn go ahead and we’ll bring the coffee,” suggested Pat.

“You’re going to wait on us? Aren’t we lucky?” Shawn smiled and took Dean by the arm as they left for the living room.

“Okay, I’m gonna get the ring; where’s yours?” Pat asked.

“Right here in my fanny pack, next to my gun,” Hank responded.

While Pat went to get his ring, Hank poured two cups of coffee and fixed it the way the other guys liked it. He took the coffee into Dean and Shawn and said he would be right back.

“Well, you ready to do this?” Pat asked Hank.

“As ready as I’ll ever be.”

“Look, let’s do this a little different. We’ll both go in, sit down next to the guys, and I’ll ask Dean first. When I finish and sit back down, then it’s your turn, okay?”

“Great. Let’s do this!”

Pat put the ring box into his pants, grabbed his own cup of coffee and together with Hank, joined their partners in the living room. They sat down and sipped their coffee while they talked about little stuff of no consequence.