(by Edward Zeusgany, copyright 2000, all rights reserved)

Jacqueline gave birth to a daughter and two years later, to twins. The boys were little Parmlys, except that they would be taller by half a foot and not have their father’s exceptional intellect. They were smart enough, to be sure, and sweet natured as well. It was Suzanne who got the brains and who latched on to Uncle Andrew, insisting that he was her grandfather.

One supposes that she wanted a grandfather, and he was both the right age and available. The twins had each other. It was Prof. Heston’s relationship with Parmly’s wife that was peculiar, or seemed so to him.

She was invariably friendly and welcoming. That was the thing, the unnatural consistency of it. It seemed to him like an impenetrable mask, but hiding what, he did not know.

At Parmly’s and Suzanne’s insistence, Uncle Andrew spent much more time at the family domicile. Jacqueline, on the other hand, never set foot on Prof. Heston’s side. It wasn’t that she wasn’t asked. Especially when Parmly was away, Prof. Heston would invite her over for a meal or just coffee and conversation. But she always had an excuse; an engagement or the kids; it was easier for her, she said, if he would join them there.

Life drifted into a regular pattern. Sometimes, late into the hours of darkness, Parmly would come and wake him up for a half hour or so of pleasure. He had his painting to occupy much of his time, although he could always tear himself away from it whenever Parmly popped in for a private visit.

Beside the huge increase in his wealth due to Parmly’s management of the funds, his lover made him regular and substantial gifts. Prof. Heston objected, but Parmly insisted that this was useful in tax avoidance. After all, three quarters of Uncle Andrew’s estate was bequeathed to Parmly’s children in a trust fund arrangement. The remaining quarter was left to the ACLU Foundation. Parmly favored this method as a way for him to avoid reproach from his rather conservative relatives should he make the contribution directly.

The children grew. As soon as they attained the age of seven, the twins were sent to Deerfield Academy in New England. Later they followed their father and their more recent ancestors to Exeter. Suzanne stayed at home and was educated by her parents, supported by tutors.

It was shortly after Parmly’s thirty-sixth birthday when he fell ill. Looking back, he could recall the symptoms that might have told him that something was wrong. The first numbness, that came and went, occurred in his upper back, under the right shoulder blade. It took two years before the exhaustion was sufficiently bothersome that he brought it to the attention of his doctor.

From that point on, the progression of his disease, for all the time it took, was unusually swift. It seemed that nothing worked to halt or slow it down. In another two months he was confined to bed and there was no indication that he would ever rise from it again. Eventually he would be unable to move, then unable to breathe. He refused extreme intervention and elected hospice care.

Still it dragged on. Jacqueline and Uncle Andrew took turns staying with him and were able to provide most of the care he needed. It was over the body of their dying lover that they became real friends. There they faced the truth of their rival’s devotion. Accepting it, they accepted each other.

After the funeral, Prof. Heston supported Jacqueline in warding off Parmly’s parents’ efforts to take over the running of his business interests. She was capable of attending to these matters herself, she insisted. With the assistance of Walter and Erica DeForrest, she proved to be.

A month later, when these and other matters had been settled and things had calmed down, Jacqueline proposed to spend a month in Paris with her own family. Just prior to their marriage, Parmly had purchased an apartment there for business and for such visits. She proposed that Prof. Heston join her and Suzanne. The boys would fly over for the Christmas holidays. Delighted and surprised, he accepted.

The peculiarities of Prof. Heston’s relationship with Parmly’s family did not seem to trouble Jacqueline’s. Her parents, aunts and uncles, cousins and their children accepted him without any apparent difficulty. He continued in his role as Uncle Andrew. Even Suzanne had adopted this name, once she got old enough to fully appreciate that he was not her grandfather. The month had nearly passed and Jacqueline was preparing for their return to San Juan. “Have you considered staying here in Paris?” Uncle Andrew asked her.

“Oh, yes,” she answered. “But San Juan has become my home and that is where the memories are. Perhaps sometime I would like to return here to live, but not now.”

“I’ve been thinking of remaining here,” he informed her.

“Ah!” Jacqueline laughed, “Philippe Marie.” She was referring to one of her cousin’s children, a beautiful thirteen year old. The boy had taken a shine to Uncle Andrew and they had become close. More than close really.

“Well, that gives me an idea,” she said. “Why don’t you stay in the apartment.”

“Suzanne has been pestering me to let her study in France,” Jacqueline continued. “After the end of the current school year, I would let her return to Paris, if I knew that she had a suitable place to live. You could make a home for her here.”

Philippe was always dragging Uncle Andrew off to his room on the pretext of showing him some project he was working on for school or as a hobby. At first the lad had sought him out in order to practice his English with a native speaker. But there was a special rapport between them from the beginning, one that made their eyes seem to sparkle when they were together. Uncle Andrew would tease the boy with word games and Philippe Marie delighted in it.

They laughed and carried on together forgetting the people around them, much to the amusement of the spectators. They knew what was happening even if the participants did not. Had it been a stranger they would have been concerned. Had they not known of Prof. Heston’s twenty years of devotion to Parmly they might have diverted Philippe in some way. As it was, the boy’s parents and the rest of the clan allowed matters to take their own course. If the two were meant to be intimate, so be it.

As time passed, the youngster would sit or edge himself over, so that their bodies were touching on the sofa. Philippe found reasons to put a hand on Uncle Andrew’s arm or shoulder. Prof. Heston was the one more reticent at the beginning. As he became aware that the youth cared for him and might even be attracted to him, he tested this hypothesis with gentle pats, hugs and caresses when they were alone in Philippe Marie’s room.

Philippe’s response was positive and immediate. He lay his head on Uncle Andrew’s shoulder or hugged back with even greater emphasis. There was something strange on his back, a mole that he wanted Uncle Andrew to look at for him. He often found it necessary to change his clothes while his friend was there in the room. The youngster sat next to him on the bed in his under garments, dawdling about getting dressed and chattering about whatever popped into his mind.

Uncle Andrew bent forward and kissed him on the lips. The boy threw his arms around the old man’s neck and snuggled fiercely against him. Philippe Marie was quite unlike Parmly in many ways. Physically he had dark, curly hair and a more sturdy build. And this lad was far more energetic in lovemaking, having definite ideas about what he wanted and insistent in his claims.