by John Simpson
“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.
Finally, Pat cleared his throat to get the room quiet. He put down his coffee cup, got up, and stood in front of Dean. Dean looked up with a puzzled expression and asked, “Is everything alright?”
Pat retrieved the ring box from his pocket and concealed it behind his back as he got down on one knee.
“I’ve been in love with you almost from the first moment I laid eyes on you. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you, and no way that I could love you any more than I do at this very moment. I want to spend the rest of my days with you and build a life together that we can be proud of. There is no other for me but you. Dean, will you marry me?”
Pat then presented the ring box to a shocked Dean. Dean leaned forward to look at the ring and knew that Pat was dead serious. He took the ring, kissed it, placed it on his finger and said, “Yes, I’ll marry you because I love you more than I love my own life.”
Pat and Dean embraced and kissed. Shawn was just as stunned at Dean was and when his friends broke their kiss, he began to clap and got up to offer his congratulations. Hank did the same, trying to contain his excitement.
“Let me see that ring,” Shawn said and Dean proudly held out his hand. The ring was even more beautiful on Dean’s finger than it had been in the jewelry case. They all hugged and sat down with tears in their eyes.
After a couple minutes of happy chatter, Pat calmed things down to give Hank his chance. Hank stood up in front of Shawn. Shawn smiled thinking Hank was going to ask him if he wanted more coffee. He was surprised when Hank got down on one knee.
“Oh my God,” said Dean.
Shawn’s mouth fell open as Hank began to speak. “Shawn, I’ve been in love with you from the first moment I saw you in that 7-11 and can’t imagine ever wanting to be with another man. I love you so very much. You make me happy, and I hope I make you just as happy. Will you spend the rest of your life with me as my married mate?”
It was Shawn’s turn now. “Oh my God!”
Hank pulled out his ring box and opened it and a bright beautiful diamond showed forth. Shawn began to cry and put his left hand out so Hank could to put the ring on his finger. It looked incredible on Shawn.
“Yes, I’ll marry you! I can’t believe you want me for good!”
“Why wouldn’t I? We love each other and you’re one fine piece of ass!”
“Oh, my God, you’re such a romantic,” Pat said aloud and then laughed.
Shawn was laughing and crying and finally flung himself at big ole Hank. The two of them fell over onto the floor where they began to make out. In between kisses, Shawn asked a million questions.
“Where are we going to get married? When are we going to get married? Will there be a honeymoon? Who will do the ceremony? Oh my God, will we wear tuxedos?”
“Yeah, what about all those questions. Honey?” Dean turned towards Pat.
“Well, shall I tell them, Hank, or do you want to take junior there up to the guest bedroom and tell him?”
“I think we can wait for that till we get home, but you can answer the questions,” Hank said.
“Okay. guys. We’re going to get married in Boston, by a Catholic priest friend of mine with the Old Catholic Church. The date for the wedding is December twenty-fourth of this year. We haven’t thought about what we’re going to wear yet, nor have we thought much about a honeymoon. There’s still time for that. Does that answer the initial questions?”
“We’re getting married on Christmas Eve?” both Dean and Shawn asked at the same time.
“Yes, earlier in the day on Christmas Eve. Actually, getting married in a church will be great and it should be very beautiful. We have two suites reserved at the Doubletree that sits right on the river there in Boston. I made the reservations four hours ago while Dean was in the shower.”
“Just what would you guys have done if either Dean or I had said no?” a smiling Shawn asked.
“I for one would have shot you on the spot,” replied Hank.
“So are we actually going to have a double ring ceremony?” Dean asked.
“Yes, that was our intention. Do either of you object?” Pat asked.
“Not me,” was the reply from both fiancés.
Everyone was all smiles and tears. Happiness reigned supreme in the St. James household. At both of their houses that night, no one got any sleep until almost sunrise.
Chapter Six
In the weeks that followed, Pat and Hank went from arresting prostitutes to working homicides, which was the work both men truly enjoyed. When someone took another’s life, it was up to the police to track down the responsible party and see that justice was done.
In their personal lives, Shawn and Dean had taken over the planning of the wedding or, more precisely, the honeymoon. Once they asked if their husbands to be could get off work for ten days after Christmas, the boys set about arranging for a beautiful honeymoon that would be both elegant and conservative.
The hardest part for Pat and Hank was convincing their bosses to give them vacation days at that time of the year. They were junior detectives and ranked low on the scale. Their old sergeant from uniform days had been transferred to the detective bureau and was now once again their direct supervisor so Pat and Hank went to him and laid their cards on the table. Realizing that the department could never officially celebrate the fact that two of its rising stars were getting married, the sergeant approved the leave over the objections of some detectives in the squad. In return, Pat and Hank gave up any chance of further time off in any choice season for the rest of next year. This was a compromise they readily agreed too.
Both Pat and Hank agreed to not be told where they were spending their honeymoon until the day after Christmas. They would simply pack the car, and drive where they were
told to drive. It added to the fun of the occasion for both couples.
Winter set in and the snow began to fall. It was now Thanksgiving, and Pat and Hank were hosting a small family style dinner for Hank and Shawn and a few other friends. In total, there were twelve people around the dinner table as Dean and Pat set the turkey down to be carved. Everyone remarked how beautiful the turkey looked as well as the rest of the house.
The next day, Dean dragged out the fake Christmas tree and when Pat came home from work, the house was a winter wonderland set for Christmas. There were electric candles in the windows, the tree was up, a wreath hung on the door, and truly, the feeling of Christmas was in the air when Pat walked through the door. The only thing missing was the train set which usually ran around the base of the tree with the little houses and people set up between the two halves of the track.
Pat changed out of his suit and into comfortable clothes and came downstairs where he was met at the foot of the steps by Dean with a cocktail in his hand. They went into the living room and sat down to sip their drinks.
“The house looks beautiful, Dean. Why so much so early this year?”
“Well, we’ll be gone for Christmas Eve and afterwards, so I thought we would enjoy the decorations for as long as we could. We can take it all down after we come back from our honeymoon.”
“Where did you say we were going again?”
“I didn’t, but nice try,” Dean replied.
“Oh well, you can’t blame a guy for trying.”
“By the way, we need to do a little shopping for clothes for the honeymoon and we need to do it soon. The stores are going to get crazy and the selection will go way down.”
“What exactly do we need to buy?” Pat asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Well, let me just say we need some dress clothes, including an extra tux shirt. Shawn does have a tuxedo, right?”
“As far as I know, yes.”
“Well, honey, it’s important that you make sure that Hank takes him shopping or vice-versa now that I think about it, and get some decent clothes. In fact, I’ll talk to Shawn about all this, don’t even mention it to Hank.”
“Whatever you say, honey. But I have to tell you, I get more and more curious as to what you two have cooked up for after the wedding.”
“I’ll say this much: we’ll all need our passports.”
“Passports? So, we’re leaving the country. The islands maybe?”
“Not even going to give you a hint. Just makes sure everyone has a valid passport.”
“By the way, how are we paying for this trip?” Pat asked.
“That, darling, is the least of our worries,” Dean replied with a big smile.
“Oh I forgot; I’m marrying a rich banker. Well, just make sure you keep bringing home the big bacon, honey, so we can live life large!” Pat laughed as he slapped Dean on the ass.
* * *
Hank and Shawn were just finishing dinner when Shawn decided it was time to tell Hank a little something about what they needed to do.
“Hon, we need to get a few things for the wedding - like a new tuxedo shirt. We are wearing tuxedos, right?”
“Sweetie, Pat and I haven’t talked about that yet.”
“Well, nothing like waiting ‘til the last minute. You do realize that our wedding is less than a month away, right?”
“Of course I do; it’s all I think about. But you’re right; it’s time that we decided all of the details. I’ll give Pat a call and see if I can settle this issue.”
Hank grabbed Shawn’s ass on the way to the phone. Damn that felt good, Hank thought to himself, as his dick twitched. He picked up the phone and turned back to watch Shawn clear the table and. when Shawn dropped a fork and bent over to get it, Hank decided what he was going to do when he got off the phone.
“Hey Pat, did I get you at a bad time?”
“Nope, what’s up dude?”
“Shawn has brought up a question about the wedding and he wants an answer. Are we or are we not wearing tuxedos for the ceremony?”
“Hmm, hold on a second.”
Pat put down the phone and located Dean in the other room.
“Honey, Hank’s on the phone. Shawn wants to know if we’re wearing tuxedos for the ceremony. Are we?”
“We’re only getting married once, so yes, please,” Dean said with the smile that always got him what he wanted from Pat.
Pat walked back to the phone thinking that when he hung up, he was going to get some of that.
“Hank, it appears the uniform of that day will be tuxedos. Will that make your man happy?”
“You bet it will. Thanks, guy, gotta run and take care of something hard. Talk to you at work,” he said and hung up.
Hard indeed! Speaking of hard, “Oh Dean….”
A little over two weeks before the wedding, all four men flew to Boston to apply for their marriage licenses. Each couple paid fifty dollars, filled out the paperwork, and learned when to pick the licenses up before the wedding.
* * *
Two days before Christmas Eve, all the arrangements were set. Pat and Hank still had no idea where they were headed after the wedding and were getting excited to see what their husbands to be had cooked up.
At work, Pat and Hank closed out a homicide that resulted from a domestic and cleared their calendars of anything that had to be handled within the next twenty days. They were getting ready to leave the office early so that they could catch the six p.m. shuttle to Boston when the sergeant came into the office.
“I just wanted to wish you guys good luck tomorrow and to tell you I wish I could be there to witness your marriages. I should be there as well as the rest of your buddies on the force, but we both know it will be some time before we see that kind of brotherhood will on the force. Just know that I’ll be thinking of both of you.”
He pulled out two envelopes and handed one to each man. “That’s something for you to open tomorrow, not now. Look, you cleared that Baker homicide, so get out of here, take off and enjoy your honeymoon—wherever the hell you’re going,” he said with a laugh. He shook their hands and left the office.
“Well, the boss just said to get the hell out of here, so let’s go!” Hank said to Pat.
As they reached the parking lot, both men were calling their fiancés to let them know they were off an hour early. They waved at each other and headed home to change for the airport.
When Pat walked into his house, he found their bags sitting neatly by the front door and a drink on the coffee table. Dean had the entire day off, as he never used all of his annual leave.
Pat smiled at how well everything was organized and ran up the stairs to find Dean in the bedroom. They kissed and hugged each other for a minute before separating.
“I’ve got everything ready to go. The tickets and passports are in my carry-on bag. All you need to do is shower and change. We can take our time a little now that you got home early.”
“You’re a champ, honey; what would I do without you?” Pat asked seriously.
“Jerk off a lot, that much I know.”
“Ouch! Do you always have to tell the truth?”
“You bet! Now, get your shower, and no, I’m not joining you. We have a plane to catch and plenty of time over the next ten days to play with that thing between your legs.”
Pat laughed and hit the shower. He couldn’t help saying another prayer of thanksgiving for having found this man. He had changed too since they had first met. Dean was a very proper, slightly uptight guy who never really let loose and had any fun—especially when it came to men.
Slowly over the months, Dean opened up like a flower and came into his own gay self. Dean was never happier and Pat was pleased that he had a role in his beloved’s coming out. Pat got out of the shower and talked to Hank once more on the phone, telling him to be ready when he and Dean picked them up. He got dressed, and then he and Dean were out the door and on their way to Boston and the beginning of a new life.
; Chapter Seven
They had all gotten to bed late after landing in Boston, having drinks with the Father Mark at a mini-rehearsal and finally crawling into bed. Shawn and Dean were the first up and ordered a room service breakfast.
“Honey, wake up; breakfast is here,” Shawn said to Hank.
Hank moved, stretched, farted, and opened his eyes. “Damn, it’s time to get up already?”
“I’m afraid so. We need to eat, and then get into our tuxedos; so don’t dawdle.”
Hank mumbled as Shawn went back into the other room where the breakfast cart waited with their coffee, orange juice, bagels and cream cheese. Shawn heard the rustle of the covers and knew that his sleeping bear was getting up. He smiled and poured the coffee as Hank sat down as naked as he was when he went to bed.
“Well, you could have at least put on shorts, dear,” chided Shawn.
“Why? I need a shower before I put on clean shorts.”
Shawn decided not to belabor the point.
In the other suite, Pat was a little more awake when he got out of bed to the smell of coffee. He kissed his beloved on the cheek and sat down to drink his orange juice in one big gulp.
“Damn that was good.”
“It should have been. That one glass of orange juice was three-fifty!”
“Oh, who cares? We’re about to be married and go on our honeymoon. No sense in worrying what orange juice in the hotel costs,” Pat replied.
“Actually, I was joking, but you’re not awake enough yet to realize that. Take a sip of coffee and hit the shower. I’ll reheat your coffee in the microwave when you get out.”
Pat remembered the envelope that the sergeant had given him. He retrieved it and sat back down.
“What’s that?” Dean asked.
“I’m about to find out.”
He tore open the envelope and found a wedding card inside containing a one hundred dollar bill. Pat was as shocked as Hank would be when he opened his envelope.
“Wow, I can’t believe the sarge did this. This is way above what he had to do,” Pat said.