Happy Birthday
Friday July 16th after 8:00 PM - Ted's Party.
Seeing Gary on the coach, he says, "Hey there sexy! Want to
play
doctor?" Just then, Sandi walks in from the kitchen.
Gary says, "Hey Ted, I'd like to but we're gonna have to
wait.
Sandi dropped by to" Sandi continues the sentence, "say Happy Birthday!"
Then through the front door come DW and Rudy, "Hey, we hear you're
legal. Welcome to the club." "Yeah, Happy Birthday!" One by the the
people start walking in to the front room. Ted can't believe it. There
they were. Handshakes and kisses abound. He looks at Gary with a face
full of adoration, and notices that Gary has tears in his eyes. Ted
reaches over and cradles Gary's face in his hands , and says in to his
ear, "You are really the best. ... I love you." Then to the catcalls and
whistles of the crowd, and Ted lightly kissed Gary on the lips in a long
lingering kiss. "Come on you guys, Save it for the bedroom." "Enough is
enough!" "Hey their playing tonsil tag!" Without regard to their
tormentors, they slowly end the
their kiss, and Ted says, "I've been wanting to do that for a couple of
days now."
He looked around at the people that meant so much to him.
suddenly,
he turned to Gary and whispered, "Think we should let them in on our
little secret?" He was surprised when Gary said quietly, "Not now, How
about after the cake?" then in a much louder voice, "In fact, I think we
should bring out the cake now. ... Rhian, dear, could you go tell them
we're ready for the cake. Okay, Everybody get your vocal cords in gear,
Davey turned off the lights in the front room, while Jim took care of
the hallway. From the hallway, the glow of 21 candles moved steadily
into the front room. People slowly parted as the cake was wheeled into
the room. Gary started, "Hap" and everyone joined in. "py Birthday to
you..." Gary was flabbergasted. This was way too much. He was looking at
all the faces lit in the candlelight, till he noticed the two people who
inched the cart closer.
He pushed his way through all of the guests when he realized that
there were Will and Bart. With tears now streaming down his face, he
grabbed Will so hard that he knocked the breath out of him. Ted couldn't
even speak. ... As the final chorus of the song ebbed away, the crowd
started chanting, "Candles, Candles. Candles." Gary raised his arms to
ask for a little quiet, "Well, Ted I think it's time to blow out the
candles. Make a wish." Ted grinning with soaked cheeks, said, "All my
wishes have come true. So, I want you all to make a wish and we'll hope
yours are all granted." He then leaned over the cake and blew out all
twenty one candles, to the cheers of his friends, and his family. ...
After a moment, Jim and Davey turned the lights back on.
Then 'Uncle' Dave said in a bellow, "I think I could use a
beer."
As if on cue, the crowd started milling about, some to the kitchen,
others to the back porch, some trying to give Ted a pat on the back.
But, Ted had eyes only for Gary and Will. "How? Oh Will, you're not
gonna get in trouble are you? When did you get here? How long can you
stay?" Gary stopped him by covering his mouth with a kiss. "Shhhh, Will
and Bart will be here for the whole weekend. You can give them the third
degree later. I do think you should say hello, to the people who made
this all possible." Looking past Will, Ted saw Bart, Zack, Shelley and
Todd. He tried to hold them all at the same time, when Gary said, "Time
for a group hug."
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back to "stray e-mail, part one"