Everything Happens for a Reason Ch. 04

I was stunned, and I saw the same look on Taylor's face. Eric continued, "Let me apologize for being so direct, but I think we can all talk here. Stephen is not my business partner, he is my life partner and I am deeply in love with him." Eric gazed at Stephen, who just sat there and beamed. Stephen chimed in, "You guys seem surprised that we're gay. We knew you two were gay the very first day."

It was Taylor who spoke first, but my words were right behind his. Almost in unison, we replied, "Oh, we're not gay." I continued on, "We just, um, well we knew each other a long time ago and we chatted on-line and found each other again and, well...we're just really close." I looked over at Taylor to see if he would help me out but he was not making eye contact with anyone.

Eric broke the awkwardness of the moment by saying, "Ok then, you're both wearing wedding rings so that means you guys are married." I thought we were in the clear, but then he continued, "Yet you are having a hot and steamy love affair with each other." Now it was my turn to avert my eyes.

I did not like being labeled as gay or anything else for that matter. Besides, who did this guy think he was, getting in our face like that? I don't care how much alcohol was consumed, it wasn't right. He must have read my thoughts, because Eric leaned forward and said very sincerely, "Stephen and I used to be married to women also. It was another lifetime ago. The truth is that, like you, we prefer men. I am telling you this because we used to sneak around also and after awhile it was no fun, believe me. We accepted who were are and we have no regrets."

Stephen then said, "You know, some guys always stay in the "bi" stage. Sometimes, especially if they have always been with women they will choose to remain at that stage. I considered that. That's ok if that is your thing, but it's going to be a tough row to hoe for you two to always find excuses to be with each other. It is also hard to maintain a relationship when you are apart, and you guys already mentioned that you live 800 miles from each other. We're not trying to give you a hard time, we just know what it's like, and how happy we are to not have to constantly lie and play games. Come on guys, look at you two! You're in love! It's SO fucking obvious...do something to celebrate it! Let's raise our glasses to LOVE!"

To say, "OUCH," would have been an understatement. Taylor and I knew full well that they were right, but we didn't want to admit it. It was clear that Eric and Stephen seemed very happy together. I had been side by side in the kitchen with Stephen for a couple of days and he was the epitome of content. Now I felt anger toward him for exposing a nerve that I would rather have kept hidden.

If it hadn't been for the pleasant times in the kitchen with Stephen, I would have told them both to mind their own fucking business. Instead, I stood up, a bit wobbly from the drinks, yet I still had my wits about me. I decided to take the high road and not say any more on the subject. I thanked them both for the drinks and the advice, and then I took a shell-shocked Taylor upstairs to bed. Something told me that it would be a long night.

Taylor and I did not speak until we were in the room. At that point, we just sank into each other's arms and lay on the bed, just holding each other for the longest time. After a long while, Taylor stripped to his boxers and undershirt and got under the covers. He said matter of factly, "Ok...ok, I'm gay. I don't want to be, but I am. They were right, Trent, we're both gay. You and I can say all day that it's ok because we have marriages and separate lives in different states, but you know damn well that we can't be apart. We're gay and we're liars. I'm gay...I'm GAY!" He was almost shouting now. "I fucking HATE that! If it's so obvious to them, does Laura see it too? What about my kids? What about the guys at work?

He pounded his fists into his pillow several times, and then turned over and looked the other way. I didn't say anything, because although I had also been in denial, I saw this moment coming and I was more prepared for it than he was. I knew that at some point Taylor and I would need to make some huge decisions on how we lived the remainder of our lives. Our sexuality had been precarious all of our adult lives. To feel it and experience it privately were one thing but when someone else noticed it, the proverbial cat was out of the bag.

Taylor and I were silent for the longest time, just listening to each other's breathing. My lover, ok my GAY lover, was in pain and I didn't know how to make things better. I scratched his back, ever so lightly. Taylor finally rolled over and looked at me and declared, "Trent, I love you, but I'm not leaving Laura...I can't." He was shaking his head back and forth, finishing with "I won't leave her. No!" I understood him completely, because I felt the same way about Beth. I wouldn't leave her either, and he knew that. We just needed to figure out a way to make it all work.

The passion that we communicated with our eyes earlier at dinner was cooled by the seriousness of our conversation with Eric and Stephen. I replayed their words over and over again in my mind. The last thing I remembered thinking about was that Taylor and I had been touched by fate before, and that we would be again. We WILL be together in the end, we WILL! It wasn't long until sleep overtook me.

TWO YEARS LATER

"Trent, are you sure that we have enough Dover sole for tonight?" I looked up at Taylor. It was Saturday afternoon, the weather was nice, and we would have a full house for dinner. He exuded sex from every pore as he stood there looking at me in his halfway unbuttoned Tommy shirt and khaki shorts. I just had to pinch myself that he was really here with me. I smiled at him. He could be so serious, sometimes.

"Check the basement fridge, I purchased plenty this morning on the way up." Since buying the lodge with him last year, he was doing everything he could to be the perfect host. I looked out at our ten dinner guests sipping their cocktails on the deck overlooking the Shenandoah Valley. I remembered fondly when Taylor and I had done the same thing here ourselves. The difference was that we had stayed inside because of a fierce winter storm. I closed my eyes as I remembered getting "reacquainted" with my man. We had left our snowbound visit that fateful weekend and had headed home to lives that seemed suddenly mundane. We knew that we would always be together, but both of us were equally as adamant about remaining married. Unlike before, Taylor and I stayed in regular touch.

Six months after Chad had told me that he was considering a change, I contacted a realtor and asked him to work up an offer. I then called up Taylor and said, "You don't know it yet, but you and I are buying a Bed and Breakfast up on Skyline drive. You might remember it better as "The Lodge," but I have plans to scale the operation down a bit. The only hitch is that we need another $75k." After his initial disbelief, then nervous laughter, we talked for two months, working out the details on how to sell our wives on the idea and also how to transition away from our existing careers.

It took about six months to raise the remaining capital, and two week-end stays up on the mountain, but both Beth and Laura were finally convinced that it was a good idea. We met with financial planners and liquidated as many assets as we dared. We remodeled the lodge to create two large master bedrooms, each with its own, private living area and patio. That took away four of the twelve guest rooms, but by the time we personalized the decor and made upgrades, we had eight rooms that would provide more revenue than what twelve of the more Spartan rooms would have provided.

Now we had a waiting list that responded to newspaper reviews that raved about "The casual ambiance that we had created in our private and quiet mountain getaway." As owners, the week-ends could be long and the work challenging, yet it was a very satisfying existence for all four of us. Every once in a while a couple of guys who said they were "brothers" would spend a weekend here with us and we would knowingly nod at each other, and send a bottle of wine to their room. We also saw Eric and Stephen again. They loved what we had done to the place. They only came back once, but they were happy that we had found a way as Eric said, "To have our cake and eat it too."

Beth and Laura had been amazed that Taylor and I had reconnected. Of course, they did not know the real story, but almost all of our guests commented that we seemed ideally suited as co-owners of the B&B. Taylor and I were secret lovers and we knew that we would be until the day we died. We both had sat down and told our wives that we were best of friends, yet we respected each other's varying viewpoints, when needed. It was our way of letting them know that we would be with each other A LOT, so get used to it. Taylor and I had many honest talks, and we realized that we needed each other as much or more than we needed our wives. We had more than enough private guest rooms that beckoned us when we needed to be alone together, not to mention the remote land up above our B&B.

The bond between Taylor and I would never break, of that much we were certain. Sure, we had spats with each other and we had spats with our wives, but we all knew that having a thriving B&B in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains was our calling. Between my cooking, Beth's herb and gardening finesse, Laura's floral design training and Taylor's God-given socializing skills, we made a beautiful life together. Our kids came up and spent time with us in the summers.

When it was cold in the winter, the guests thinned down to the skiers and snowboarders. In the off-season, our wives spent most of their time at our apartments at the bottom of the mountain, so Taylor and I found ways to keep warm that nobody but us knew about. Sometimes we would not surface for days.

The fact that our lives had fallen into place surprised neither of us. We knew that we had something very special together, and we found our way to true happiness. The Bed and Breakfast did well, and our many happy guests were testament to our ability to make a difference in people's lives. After all of these years and after all we had been through, we both knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that everything happens for a reason.