Dom and Sandro Ch. 01

Jon and the social worker went to visit Tommy in his new home the following Saturday. Tommy was delighted to see Jon but asked anxiously where Dom and I were. It was arranged that the following Saturday Tommy would be allowed to go out for the afternoon with the three of us. Jon talked to the two foster parents and asked them how Tommy was settling. They said that he was very good and not showing any behavioural problems. He seemed to have settled in well at his new school and got on well with the girl and the boy who were their other foster children. Knowing that Tommy was happy was a great relief.

The following Saturday we took him to Whipsnade Zoo, where he had a wonderful time. Jon was the only one of us to have been to the zoo before, so we all enjoyed it enormously and felt that we needed to go back because there was a lot more to see than we had time for. Tommy was totally filled with enthusiasm for what he had seen, and as soon as we got back to the foster home, he started drawing some of the animals from memory. He seemed much more intelligent than we might have expected from his background, but he had gone to a very caring primary school, which had to some extent made up for his bad home conditions. His foster parents were beginning to teach him table manners and how to eat properly, and he was learning very quickly. That same weekend, Jon telephoned his man of business, Tim Ingledown, and asked him to start arrangements for adoption proceedings to begin. We realized that Tommy needed to meet David in order to give him his approval as a prospective father. The meeting was a great success. Tommy instantly took to David when we explained that he was sort of married to Jon. We also introduced Tommy via Skype to my maternal grandparents, who were very supportive and enthusiastic, and said that they would come and see Tommy as soon as the adoption was finalized. David and Jon both said that Tommy vividly reminded them of David's brother Jeroen, who was ten years younger than David and had been very fond of Jon in his teens.

Chapter XIV Dom: An invitation

A few days later, I found a letter in my pigeon-hole in the college lodge. To my relief, it had not been addressed to Viscount Ovenden. It read:

Lord and Lady Junkelthorpe request the presence of Dominic Overton at a ball at the Kensington Municipal Hall on May 17th to celebrate the coming of age of their daughter Julia. Dancing begins at 8 pm, supper will be served at 10 pm. Black tie. RSVP.

I grinned. "Fat chance of me going to that!" I thought. That night I showed the card to Sandro. "It's a 'coming out' ball" I explained. "It's not 'coming out' as you and I understand the term: emerging from the closet, it's a relic of the days when daughters of the aristocracy were presented at court, and came out into the world of high society. Actually, it was a sort of meat-market, with mothers putting their daughters on display to eligible men. If it wasn't essential to keep my identity secret, it would be a hoot to go to the ball and dance with one or more of the men! That really would put the cat among the pigeons! Hey! Wouldn't it be fun if we celebrated our Civil Partnership ceremony by a ball at Getheringthorpe, with men all dancing with men! The snag is, my grandfather couldn't come out and enjoy himself."

"No, and I wouldn't be any good," said Sandro. "I can't and won't do ballroom dancing. I may have Mediterranean looks, but I have the traditional Englishman's hatred of dancing. I don't want to smooch round a dance floor locked in your arms. I prefer you to lock me in your arms in bed!"

"It doesn't have to be that sort of dancing," I replied. "Even the aristocracy has to move with the times."

"No dancing!" said Sandro firmly, "I want everyone at our ceremony to enjoy themselves, AND I don't want it to be a men-only affair. I want all our mothers and sisters and fag-hags to be there. But, to go back to what you were saying, will you go to this ball? It's not a good time, it's only about six weeks before your exams."

"Precisely! And that's the reason I shall give for not going. It will just be an occasion for high-class drunkenness and lechery. I would have to ask your fathers for permission to stay in the London flat, and I would have to get up at crack of dawn to get back here."

"I wouldn't want you not to do anything that you would have done if you hadn't met me."

"Sandro, before I met you, I would never have met Lady Junglejuice, because I had spent three years in an outhouse, and if she had invited me via my parents, which is unlikely as she doesn't know my mother, I would still have refused!"

Sandro giggled. "You mean Junklethorpe!" he said. I was slightly worried, though. This woman now knew that one of my father's sons was at her old college. It was only a matter of time before her nosiness sniffed out which. Because I had a further year in Camford, I hoped that my identity did not leak out.

Chapter XV Dom: The new son

The months passed and the mills of the legal system ground on, but eventually the children's law specialist barrister that Tim had hired got our adoption order for Tommy approved. It is amazing how a highly paid lawyer can speed things up. Most would-be adopters would have had to wait up to two years of their child's life to get an order finalized! Camford Social Services had offered no objection when they heard what the combined income of Tommy's new fathers was. It was going to save the taxpayer a lot of the money that it would have cost to keep Tommy in care until he was eighteen. Moreover, our unmentioned intention was when Tommy was older to send him to Winton College School, the most exclusive 'public' (private) school in the city, and the school that my brother Luke had gone to. Tommy was a bright boy and deserved the best education that money could buy. We also considered that he needed some protection for a few years from possible bullying.

At the end of September that year, Thomas Albert Smithson legally became Thomas Albert Singleton-Scarborough and moved into the small bedroom in the flat in Fountain Street, although his school holidays were to be spent at Rockwell's Barn.

That September was a period of major change. I had obtained an upper second in my finals and had decided to stay in Camford for a further year to do the new M.CSt degree. Because of Tommy, I had decided to continue living in Fountain Street so as to be more company for the little man. Sandro was moving to Oxtedborough for his second year, doing hands-on testing of the mechanical side of his signalling application. We had seen little of Jennifer during our time together in Fountain Street, because she had now acquired a regular boyfriend called Charlie Higgins, and as far as we could work out, they were sleeping together whenever they got the chance. We could of course have been as tactless as she was, and asked her if he was fucking her, but we were both too gentlemanly to ask her such a delicate question.

Jon and I were left living at Fountain Street with Jon taking Tommy in the car to school each day, as it had been deemed wiser to leave him at the same primary school as when he had been living with his foster parents, the Lewises. He used to go to their house for lunch each day and spend an hour after school there until Jon could pick him up. The former foster parents were very happy with this arrangement, as they had the pleasure of his sweet company without the cost or responsibility of feeding and clothing him. Jon paid them a very generous allowance to pay for Tommy's lunches. Mrs Lewis loved children and was a natural loving mother, who had been cursed by lifelong infertility.

Every night Jon collected the boy and took him home to Fountain Street, and they spent the weekends at Rockwell's Barn, where every Saturday a swimming teacher from Camford would come to teach Tommy to swim. Tommy loved the pool at Rockwell's Barn, and most weekends, Jon, Sandro and myself took him out or played games with him in the pool. Ixton was about a ninety minute drive from Oxtedborough, and Sandro spent most weekends with us. Of course the demands of my Masters course were such that I did have to spend some weekends and much of the school holidays in Fountain Street, but in spite of our geographical spread, we both managed to get together with Jon and Tommy most weekends. We encouraged the boy to write and draw and read books, and bought him a Kindle for Christmas. We tried to eat together as a family whenever we could, so that Tommy could develop not just table manners, but social and conversational skills. As Tommy's adoptive brother and sister, Luke and Cathy, were mostly absent, we hoped that he would treat Sandro and me as his big brothers, and eventually he did. He developed in size, strength, knowledge and self-confidence without losing his loving affection for the four of us. He soon became an excellent swimmer. The scars of his ill-treatment gradually faded and as he approached the early stages of puberty, he was as big and happy as any of the boys in his class at school.

Christmas that year was a special occasion. Not only did David's parents come to Rockwell's Barn, but so did Luke's sister Cathy, still working in London and still unmarried. I came as well, and Sandro stayed in England, so there were eight of us at Tommy's first Christmas dinner. Tommy adapted amazingly well to all the new faces, and was soon on close terms with all his new relatives. He didn't see much of his co-father David during that year, as after Christmas David spent two solid months in Italy appearing in a new opera which was having its premiere in Trabizona, but the following summer in Heemstede was to be his last. He was winding down his teaching work there with a view to starting advanced teaching in Camford, where he had accepted an honorary university lectureship in music and a fellowship at Boni's. It meant that for the first time in their partnership of nearly thirty years, David and Jon would from October be living together permanently and sleeping in the same bed every night. No more phone sex would be necessary!

As it was vacation, although as a postgraduate student I was expected to do lab and project work, I did not have to go into the lab on a daily basis, and I commuted by car to Camford as necessary. I had managed to wangle a parking place near the computer studies lab. It was only for the vacation period, however. We only saw Sandro at the weekend. Tommy was in the pool on a daily basis in the holidays, and we regarded it as essential that someone should be in the pool with him. Nasty accidents can occur when young people are left alone in swimming pools, so we made sure that I or Jon was always in the pool when Tommy was. By now he was an excellent swimmer. Kids learn very quickly. Tommy's arrival led to a major change in our swimming habits. For years, first David and Jon and then Luke and Tom and finally the four of us had always swum naked when we used the pool at Rockwell's Barn, except when Cathy was at home or when we had visitors. But the fact that Tommy was almost an adolescent, and the involvement of Social Services in his adoption meant that we had to be careful to avoid any suggestion of child abuse, so we (and he) he always wore swimming trunks when in the pool.

Tommy knew of course that his new parents and Sandro and I were gay, and we tried to answer his questions honestly. At nearly ten, he didn't need to know much detail, the most important thing that was essential was for it to be made clear to him that because his parents were gay did not mean that he would be. Kids of his age often use the term 'gay' as one of abuse, and we did not want him to worry about either himself or us. We were proud to be gay and we wanted him to be open-minded.

Chapter XVI Luke: David in Trabizona

Fifteen months had gone by since our visit to England for Tom's sister's wedding. She had had a baby girl in June, and in August we had spent a week in Newcastle-on Tyne for her baptism as Anne Elizabeth Satterthwaite. Tom had nearly completed his Ph.D. work, and with a total of six papers published and three more in the press, the outcome was a foregone conclusion. Even so it would be hard work for some months for him to write a thesis in Italian. Professor Sescantanto had offered him a post-doc appointment to continue the work, and he had accepted. I was now producing all the operas that were put on in the Teatro Musicale, and was spearheading productions that tried to be original and innovative without being gimmicky, and the musical world of Trabizona was flocking to them. People were coming to the opera from other cities, and Trabizona was appearing on the international musical circuit. We were beginning to make a significant profit, rather than just paying our way.

It could not have been a better moment for the premiere of a new opera, particularly one by a composer who was firmly in the tradition of Puccini. Pauline van Houtenstok, the répétiteuse, and I felt that the best director of the new production would be the composer himself, and we got Cornelio to agree to this. Antonio di Sicilia said that he had never directed a stage production before, but as he was easy to get on with, we felt that he would make a good job of it. After all, it might give him an international reputation. Anna Veronica was going to be very expensive to stage, as all the scenery and costumes had to be created from scratch, and although they had got David's services at a 50% discount, they had wanted to get the soprano Elena Slatikova to sing the role of Anna, and she was one of the most highly paid artists in Europe. Both David and Jon had put in a sizeable chunk of money, various well-wishers had contributed, and they had managed to secure a grant of €200K from the EU. It would be David's swan-song as an actor, and he wanted to retire on a high note, metaphorically speaking! So while the financial situation was nowhere near as dire as it had seemed a year before, the finances of the production were on a knife edge. The seats had been made expensive, and even if it was an artistic success, it could still have financial problems. The libretto had been ready since March, the vocal scores of the principals since June and the orchestral and choral parts since November, and di Sicilia had been busy with his ideas for sets and costumes since June. The costumes had been sent to makers in September, but would not be available for fitting until two weeks before the dress rehearsal.

The rehearsals for the new work took a whole month during the day, while the chorus members were singing in Nabucodonosor, Verdi's third opera, in the evening with a different set of principals. Paying two sets of principals was in itself very expensive, even though the cast of Nabucco had been selected because they were Italian and thus cheaper! The dress rehearsal took place on my birthday, 7 February, 20—. The chorus sounded good and the soloists all knew their parts well. We decided to leave the birthday celebrations until after the opera's first night. On this visit, as he was to be here for a total of two months, David had arranged to stay in an hotel in the city centre. He had stayed with us during the rehearsal period, when he was only in Trabizona for three days per week and the rest of the time engaged elsewhere, including Munich and Antwerp.

The first night of the world première of Anna Veronica took place on February 10. Casting David as the zoology demonstrator Capes seemed very appropriate as in the book Capes was a blond, albeit somewhat younger than David's present age! The other important male role was that of Ramage, a man who had enabled Ann Veronica to leave home by 'lending' her £40, which she later learned he regarded as buying her. Ramage, a man in his late fifties, was cast as a bass, and was sung by a Trebizona regular, Julio Leone. But the key role in the opera was the title role of Anna Veronica, a girl imprisoned by family restrictions and pressures to marry, a girl with Socialist sympathies who was involved in the women's suffrage movement, and who was desperate to live independently and study biology. It was a demanding role, and the Czech soprano Elena Slatikova, at the height of her career although only thirty, was the only person, Pauline, Antonio and I all agreed, who could sing the role convincingly. There was one scene where Anna Veronica, (in gaol for a month under a false name for invading the Palace of Westminster to demonstrate by shouting 'Votes for women!') sings of how men always score in the race of life and women have a miserable lot, and follows it up with a second, rather extended aria in which she sings of her love for Capes. It was a very demanding role. In a totally contrasting earlier scene Anna has to be convincing when she is trapped in a private room at a restaurant by Ramage, whose intentions she has misjudged, and who tries to seduce her in a near-rape incident.

We had pushed out the boat and booked a box for Tom, Jon, Ben, Leonora, Arturo Sescantanto and his boyfriend Bastian. I of course was busy backstage. Although it was mid-term, Jon had left Tommy in the care of Dom and his former foster parents and had flown over for the occasion, and was of course staying with Tom and me. All of us, including myself were wearing our best suits, and we were filled as much with apprehension as with joyful expectation. We had done all that we could to make the opera a success. Antonio was a superb musician, the melodies for both solo items and ensembles were excellent, the artists and musicians were all of the highest calibre and well-rehearsed, and the Italian libretto told a compelling story. The librettist had shortened the story and left out a few minor scenes, but there were still enough minor characters to involve the best members of the chorus. All the Italian media had sent their best reporters/critics and Antonio was well enough known internationally for there to be press there from Germany, Britain, Sweden and the Netherlands. Although he was ill and not expected to live much longer, a telegram of good wishes was received from Marcello and Caterina Fabioni, David's teacher and mentor and my godmother.

As the curtain went up on the first act, I felt my heart beginning to race, and my breath to get short. This was the make-or-break moment of my career. I wished that I was in the box, detached from what was going on around me and with darling Tom to hold my hand. I could not even seek encouragement from Pauline, who was of course in the wings doing her job.

Chapter XVII Tom: The premiere of Anna Veronica

The opera began. There was a short prelude as the curtain went up, and then the opening scene between Anna and her father and aunt began. Slatikova's voice sounded a little feeble at first, but as she adjusted to the lights and audience, it gained strength. The scene in which Capes helps Anna dissect a developing salamander, and sings of what can be seen under the microscope was a challenge to David, but he carried it off brilliantly, and Anna at that point realizes that she is in love with him. The scene with Ramage in the cabinet particulier after he has taken Anna to see Tristan und Isolde and he attempts to seduce her was brilliantly acted. The duet as she rejects his advances and fights him off got thunderous applause. The rest of the opera proceeded without a hitch. Anna's prison arias nearly brought the house down, and the love duet between Anna and Capes after they had fled to Switzerland also got much applause. Slatikova was the undoubted star of the evening, but David got double satisfaction, not just from his singing as Capes, but because it was his suggestion that led di Sicilia to write the opera.