They were standing outside a white house which clearly needed new paint, but the lawn and shrubs were well cared for.
“Go ahead,” said Marcus.
Piet walked up to the door, which had a brass knocker in the shape of a lion’s head. He knocked and waited. Nothing happened, so he knocked again. The door opened, and a man apparently wearing nothing but a bathrobe stood before him. “Yes?” he asked. “What can I do for you?”
“I’m looking for Arthur,” said Piet.
“Why?”
“I’m his brother.”
The man looked surprised. “Arthur never mentioned a brother. In fact, now that I think about, he’s told me almost nothing about his family. He’s not here right now; he’s at work.”
“Oh, could I wait?”
“I don’t think so,” the man said. “I have no idea whether you’re telling me the truth or not.”
Piet nodded and said he’d wait outside on the porch. He sat in one of the chairs on the porch, wondering what to do.
“Just be patient,” Marcus said, sitting beside him.
The man closed the door and Piet heard him going up the stairs. After a time, he came out the door fully dressed. “I’m sorry I’m not more welcoming,” he said to Piet, “but we’ve had some trouble with teenagers in the neighborhood.
“So,” the man said continued, “I’m Doug. Who are you?”
“I’m Piet,” the boy replied, “Arthur’s youngest brother.”
“There are more of you?”
“I have seven siblings in all.” Piet paused for a moment and then asked, “How do you know Arthur?”
“Art and I are partners,” Doug replied.
“Partners? Like in a business?”
Doug smiled. “No, Piet, we’re gay. We’ve been together for nine years now.”
Piet wasn’t really sure what it meant to be gay, but he decided to wait for Arthur and ask him.
“So why have you suddenly showed up looking for Art?” Doug asked.
Piet gave him a short version of what had happened and why he’d run away.
“Are you wanting Arthur to take you in?” Doug asked.
Piet nodded. “Hoping,” he said.
“Well, that would be interesting; different to say the least.”
“You said that Art was at work. What does he do?”
“He teaches fifth grade. He should be home in about an hour. Are you hungry?”
“Kinda.”
“Okay. I’ll fix you something. Would a ham sandwich work for you?”
Piet nodded and Doug disappeared into the house, emerging in a few minutes with a tray of sandwiches and drinks.
While they ate, Piet asked, “Do you have a job?”
Doug nodded. “I’m the maître d’ in a restaurant. This is my day off.”
As Piet was finishing his sandwich, a car pulled into the driveway. A moment later, the car door opened and a man called, “I’m home.”
“You’ve got a surprise visitor,” Doug called back.
“Oh? Who?”
“Come and see.”
A man came up the porch stairs, and Piet knew at once it was his brother. Art looked very much like their mother. Art saw the boy and asked, “Who are you?”
“I’m Piet, your brother.”
Art looked shocked and said, “I need to sit down. Come into the living room.” The three of them walked into the room and took seats before Art asked, “Why are you here?”
This time, Piet told the whole story, finishing as usual with the murder of Alex.
“So you ran away from home and came here?”
Piet told him about visiting some of the other siblings and the response he’d gotten. Then he asked, “Is there any possibility I could stay here?”
Art looked at Piet and then at Doug. “That’s something that Doug and I would have to discuss. How about if you stay here for the night and we’ll all talk in the morning?”
When Piet agreed, Art took him upstairs and showed him two empty rooms. “Got a preference?” he asked.
Piet said he’d like the room with the en suite bathroom. Art got some blankets and a pillow and then said, “I’m sorry we don’t have any furniture for you. If you stay, that’s something we’ll need to think about.”
They went downstairs again. Doug was preparing supper. While Piet waited in the living room, he looked around. There was well-worn but comfortable furniture. There were bookshelves holding a variety of fiction and non-fiction books. There was a framed photograph of a man standing with his arm around the waist of another man. Arthur and Doug, Piet was sure. He looked out French doors that opened into a well-tended backyard.
Doug and Art emerged from the kitchen, carrying a bottle of cabernet, a bottle of Coke, and three glasses. As they sat and enjoyed their drinks, Piet asked Art about his teaching and his brother gave him a long summary of what he did.
“You like it, don’t you?” Piet said.
“I love it. I can’t imagine doing anything else.”
Supper was relaxed and friendly. Art was the first sibling Piet had met who seemed to be happy. He realized that he really wanted to stay there and hoped the men would agree.
At bedtime, Piet went upstairs, stripped, and took a long, comforting shower while Art provided blankets and a pillow for the night. When Piet got out of the shower, Marcus was standing there.
“Do you know what’s going on?” Piet asked.
“Oh, yes, I’ve been here the whole time. Being invisible is sometimes very useful.”
“I hope they let me stay,” remarked Piet.
“I think that can be arranged,” the angel replied.
Before Piet lay down for the night, Marcus stood in front of him. The two boys were nearly twins but not quite. Marcus’s skin glowed in a way Piet’s did not. The angel reached over and grasped Piet’s head, gently pulling it to him. To Piet’s surprise, Marcus kissed him on the lips. It was a soft, loving kiss, the first Piet had ever received from anyone.
Drawing back, Marcus said, “We need to talk but not until tomorrow.” He kissed Piet once more and vanished.
Piet stood, reliving the kiss for a few moments before climbing under the blankets. He wasn’t exactly comfortable on the hard floor, but he wasn’t about to complain.
Through the heat vent in the floor, he heard the two men talking downstairs, but he couldn’t make out what they were saying. It was a subdued discussion.
The floor seemed to get harder as time passed, and Piet kept changing positions, trying to get comfortable.
Eventually, he heard the two men climb the stairs quietly and go into a room where they closed the door. As he listened, he heard lowered voices and water running. When the water was shut off, there was silence for a few minutes. Then he heard bedsprings squeaking and some moaning. At last, all grew quiet.
Although he wasn’t comfortable, he had been through a lot and was very tired. At last he fell asleep.
The next thing he knew he was being awakened by a knocking on his bedroom door. He got out of the blankets, slipped on his shorts, and went to the door. Opening it, he saw Arthur, dressed and ready for work.
“Hi,” said Arthur. “If you could get dressed and come downstairs, I have a few minutes before I have to leave for school.”
Dressing was quick for Piet. He had only the one set of clothes, so he didn’t have to make any decisions. Marcus had provided a toothbrush, toothpaste, and a comb. Piet brushed his teeth and combed his hair hastily before trotting downstairs.
Art and Doug were sitting at the kitchen table, sipping coffee. Doug stood and fixed a plate of bacon and waffles for Piet. When he offered the boy a cup of coffee, Piet accepted, saying he liked it with sugar but no cream.
Doug fixed the coffee and handed it to Piet before sitting. Art looked at Piet and said, “I don’t know if you heard us talking last night, but we hashed everything out and we want you to stay.”
A wave of relief flowed over Piet, and his face lit up with a broad smile.
“We’ll need to get you set up with furniture and clothes.”
Piet asked, “Can I hug you?”
Art held out his arms and Piet fell into them and began sobbing. “Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. This is the best birthday present you could give me,” Piet stammered. He went to Doug and hugged him before returning to his place at the table.
“This is your birthday?” Doug asked. “How old are you?”
“Fourteen today.”
“Well happy birthday,” said Art. “Now, you’ll need to understand that we don’t have a great deal of money, but we think we can make it work. Doug found a notice in the newspaper this morning offering a bed for sale, so he and you will go look at it after I leave. If it’s not satisfactory, there are some other places where we can look for used furniture. At the very least, in addition to a bed you’ll need a dresser and probably a desk and chair. Then we’ll need to think about clothes.” With that he hugged Doug and Piet and left for work.
Piet helped to clear the table, rinse the dishes, and put them into the dishwasher. Then he and Doug walked out the door and climbed into an old VW Beetle.
“Wow!” said Piet. “I love these, but I’ve never ridden in one.”
Doug smiled, backed the car out of the driveway and then drove for a while before stopping at a small house.
He and Piet walked to the front door and Doug rang the doorbell. When the door opened, he said, “Hi, we’re here to ask about the bed.” The woman at the door opened it wider and invited the two of them in.
“The bed was my son’s,” she said, “but he’s gone off to Oregon and didn’t want to take it with him.” She gestured toward a door. Piet and Doug went into a small bedroom. “Give it a try,” she said.
Piet sat on the double bed and stretched out. It seemed comfortable enough and certainly better than lying on the floor. Doug and the woman agreed on a price and then Doug realized he couldn’t possibly get it into his VW. He arranged to pick it up in the evening using Art’s truck.
From there they went to some thrift shops where Piet found some useable clothes and Doug found a dresser, a desk, and a chair which he arranged to have delivered.
When they arrived back at the house, Doug asked if Piet had any of his school records with him. At that point, Marcus appeared to Piet. He told Piet to get the name of the school and what town they were in, and he could arrange it, so Piet asked for the names of the school and the town. When Doug told him, Marcus said to Piet, “Got it,” and disappeared. For Doug’s sake, Piet pretended to call the school on the kitchen phone. He faked a conversation for a few minutes, hung up the phone and told Doug it was all taken care of.
The desk and dresser arrived in the afternoon and Piet put the clothes he’d bought into the dresser. He couldn’t believe his luck. He was so grateful, and he knew that at some point he’d have to figure out how to show his gratitude to the men.
Art arrived around 4:30. He and Doug went to pick up the bed. While they were gone, Marcus appeared.
“You’re all set at school,” the angel said. “It was really quite easy.”
“Marcus,” Piet asked, “Doug told me that he and Art were partners, but he didn’t really explain what that meant.”
“It means they’re gay and they’re living together as though they were married. Unfortunately, gay men in this state can’t yet marry, but that time will come, I’m sure.”
“Do you mean they’re having sex together?” Piet asked, somewhat shocked.
Marcus nodded his head. “Yes, but they’re very committed to each other. It’s not like a casual thing with them.”
“Okay, I guess. Can I ask you another question?”
When Marcus agreed, Piet asked, “I don’t really understand whether angels have sensory feelings. Do you feel hot and cold?”
“Usually, although I find no need for clothes, as you can see.”
“If I touch you, can you feel it?”
“That depends, Piet. All of these things are really up to me. If I want to feel tired, I do. If I want to feel warmth, I do. If I want to feel your touch, I do. But each of these sensations is a human feeling, and the more I feel human sensations, the more I become a human. I don’t want to do that. I’m perfectly happy being an angel.”
“Did you feel my lips when you kissed me last night?”
“Oh, yes. I had wanted to know what that felt like.”
“And?”
“And it was glorious. I want to keep feeling it.”
Without another word, they moved to each other and kissed. The kiss was more passionate than the one the night before, and they held it for a long time Piet felt the warmth in his groin again.
When they broke the kiss at last, neither one said a word. They didn’t need to.
They heard Art’s truck arrive and Piet went downstairs to help with the bed while Doug hopped in his VW and left for work.
That night, as Piet lay in bed, he thought about Marcus and the kiss. As he often did, he grew hard. He began to fondle himself, but suddenly the angel was there with him. Marcus took Piet’s penis in his hand and masturbated him until he shot a forceful load. Then he cleaned up the cum, much of it with his tongue, and climbed into bed beside the boy. Perhaps he didn’t sleep, but he remained there for the night, spooning behind Piet, with his arm around the boy’s waist.