A Tattoo for Lex - 36. Epilogue & Author's Note

After two days of reading, Lex had finally finished the proposal for establishing the Ink Well Foundation that the lawyers had drawn up. It was a lot of information and he had highlighted the areas he didn’t quite understand or that he needed clarification on. Things were going well and it looked like the foundation could be up and running by early spring. Cassie was proving to be worth her weight in gold. Her research and marketing skills were invaluable. There were still several pieces that needed to be put into place, but all was running smoothly.

Lex stood up and stretched and groaned when several vertebrae cracked loudly. It was November and Thanksgiving was only a couple of days away. Lex and Ian had decided to host dinner at their house and he wanted to get to the store and get the last few things they needed. They were taking care of the dinner and Kathy and Ryan said they would take care of dessert. Cassie was taking care of the wine and beer.

The guest list included Cassie, Kathy, Rick, Ryan, Seth and the girls. There would also be two more as Lex had invited Ryan’s parents. Lex and Ian met them at the end of their short honeymoon. They had decided on Maine and had spent four nights at quaint bed and breakfast right on Wells Beach. It was quiet and relaxing. The tourists had all departed as Maine was past the peak of its foliage. Many of the small inns, hotels and shops were closed for the winter season. They still found enough to do and they both enjoyed walking along the empty beach, even with the cold breeze coming in off the Atlantic. Lex found dozens of sand dollars, but only kept a few. Ian picked up several shells that had caught his eye. They both wanted a small keepsake of their first days together as husbands. Their evenings were spent in front of the gas fireplace in their room drinking wine and making love.

On the way home they stopped in Marblehead where Ryan’s parents lived. Will and Kate Carson were thrilled to meet their grandson and his husband. Ian and Lex spent the afternoon being entertained with stories of Ryan when he was young and Ryan and Seth when they were dating. Lex had no qualms whatsoever when he extended the invitation for Thanksgiving dinner to his newfound grandparents.

Lex was putting his laptop away when his phone chirped with an incoming text from Ian asking him if he wanted to meet for lunch. Lex shot off a quick affirmative reply and told Ian to meet him at Jake’s. He was in the mood for a nice juicy burger. Lex changed out of the ratty sweatpants he had been wearing and into a pair of jeans before heading out the door. The drive into town was short and soon enough he had parked his SUV next to Ian’s truck.

The skies were gunmetal gray and rain was forecast for the afternoon and into tomorrow. It would be good weather to stay inside and get some cooking out of the way for Thanksgiving dinner.

Seeing his husband already seated, Lex’s face broke out into a smile. He would never get tired of that beautiful countenance. Ian returned the smile as Lex bent down to kiss him before sliding into his seat. “How’s your day been?” Ian asked.

“Good, better now that I’m having lunch with you.” Lex replied.

Ian just gave a soft chuckle at the sappy sentiment. Their waitress came over and both men, already knowing what they wanted, ordered. While they were waiting Lex gave Ian a quick rundown of his thoughts on the foundation proposal. Ian had read it through himself and between the two of them they had a pretty good handle on what needed to be done. There were still a few things that they needed to have explained as neither man was fluent in legalese.

They had both met with Lex’s financial advisor Mike the week after they returned from their trip to Maine. He was happy for Lex and made Ian very comfortable with his knowledge of the ins and outs of the financial world. By the end of the meeting Ian knew that they were in good hands and Mike would look out for their best interests when it came to their finances. They combined their accounts and Lex was added to the deed on the house and both names were put on the titles to the vehicles, including the Chief. As far as the names went after much discussion they had settled on both changing their last names to McCarson. It had been Ian’s suggestion and Lex loved it. Ryan did too. He was a little bit shocked when they told him, but was also thrilled. He had missed so much of Lex’s life and was truly pleased that it was going to be totally different as they moved forward.

“I need to go get some stuff for dinner on Thursday, you wanna come with me?” Lex asked Ian. “I want to hit Sam’s Club and that specialty cheese shop in Pittsfield.”

“Sure, I’m all done for the day. Brie and Casey have a couple of appointments left this afternoon and Casey can close up.”

Their burgers arrived and they both dove into their lunches with gusto. When they were done Ian took care of the check and they decided to bring Ian’s truck back to the house and take Lex’s SUV to Pittsfield. They managed to get what they needed at Sam’s Club and Lex chose some smoked Gouda and a sharp white cheddar as well as a locally made white American cheese at the cheese shop. He was making mac and cheese for a side dish and had picked up some lobster meat to add to it as well. He knew that Mia and Shannon would be happy.

The skies opened up and a steady rain was falling as Ian drove back to the house. All of a sudden Lex yelled “STOP!!”

Luckily Ian wasn’t going very fast because Lex had the SUV door open and was out of the vehicle as soon as it came to a halt. Ian turned in his seat and saw Lex running back toward a large lump on the side of the road. He put the Lexus in park and hurried to see what Lex had found. When he caught up to his husband, Lex was crouched down with his hand outstretched letting some sort of sodden furry creature sniff him. Ian could barely discern that the creature was a dog.

The wet mass of fur tentatively approached the hand outstretched in front of it. The next thing Ian saw was the poor creature trying to burrow itself against Lex. The rain was coming down harder now and all three of them were soaked through. Lex gently lifted the mutt and Ian ran back to the SUV. They kept a couple of blankets in the back and he grabbed them and a couple of towels, throwing one over his seat and then Lex’s before getting in. Lex hauled himself and the soaked dog onto the seat and Ian handed him a blanket. The poor dog was shivering as Lex wrapped it up. Ian turned up the heat as high as the settings allowed. Thankfully they didn’t have much further to go to get home. Ian pulled the SUV into the garage and helped Lex get the still shaking dog into the house. He ran upstairs and started running warm water into their big tub. Lex came in and deposited the animal into the tub and then stripped down to his boxers and climbed in with it. Ian stripped off his own wet clothes and turned on the water in the shower and stepped in as the spray heated up. He had started to shiver as well. It didn’t take long for him to warm up and he shut off the water and dried off. He quickly got dressed and told Lex he was was going to get the groceries. He smiled at the sight of Lex holding the dog as they sat in the warm water which now came up high enough that only the dog’s head was above the water.

When Ian returned after putting away the things that needed to be refrigerated he saw that Lex had washed the mutt with his shampoo as they didn’t have anything made for dogs. Lex looked up and smiled at him. Ian knelt at the side of the tub and let the dog sniff him. The animal had stopped shaking and together he and Lex managed to get the creature rinsed off. Ian grabbed a few of their beach towels and placed a couple on the floor. Lex stepped out and left the dog in the tub for a minute. Sure enough, as soon as there was more room the dog planted its legs firmly and let loose with a full body shake from nose to tail. Water droplets sprayed in all directions but was mostly contained within the tub. They saw that the dog was a girl and when she finished shaking the water off her she looked up at them with the prettiest golden, amber colored eyes that either man had ever seen.

As Ian got a good look at her he cocked his head to the side and asked Lex “What happened to her legs?”

Lex snickered and replied “I think she came that way.”

The dog was odd looking to say the least. She had the body of a German Shepherd, tan colored with a black saddle back. Her barrel-like chest was white and the tip of her tail was black.She was definitely on the skinny side. Her head was beagle, except for her ears. They didn’t point straight up like a shepherd’s nor were they droopy like a beagle’s. They were two matching triangles that jutted out from the side of her head. The most bizarre part was that she had short legs like a Basset hound. She looked pretty comical with her shepherd sized body balanced on Basset hound legs. Lex guessed that she was about 30 lbs, and could really used another 10 or 15 to fill out her skinny frame.

The two men dried her off as best they could with towels and then Ian grabbed the hair dryer while Lex got himself dried and dressed. The dog was a little skittish at the sound, but as soon as she realized that the thing making noise also made warmth she was all in and stood quietly while they dried her thoroughly. When they were done she gave another shake and then sat down at Lex’s feet.

Ian chuckled and said “Well it looks like you got yourself a dog.”

Lex smiled and said “WE got ourselves a dog.”

Ian just kissed his husband and replied “Let’s go get OUR dog something to eat. She looks like she needs it.”

They made their way into the kitchen, the dog following closely. Lex took out the package of chicken that they had bought and set a piece in a skillet to cook. Ian grabbed a packet of boil-in-a-bag rice and got that started. It didn’t take long before the chicken and rice was done. They let it cool off a few minutes and when they looked at the dog sitting in the middle of the kitchen they saw that there was a line of drool extending from its jowls to the floor. Yep, definitely has Basset in her. Ian placed the plate of food on the floor it disappeared in a flash. Ian had found a metal mixing bowl and filled it halfway with water. The dog lapped it up, managing to splash just as much outside the bowl as what she actually drank. Ian added a dish mat to his mental list of supplies they were going to need.

The rain had stopped and Ian said to Lex “I’m going back out to the store to get some supplies for our new friend here. I’ll be back soon.”

Lex kissed him and replied “I’ll text you a list. We can always get anything we miss tomorrow.”

Lex went into the living room and sat down on the couch. As he was texting a list of dog supplies to Ian he was aware of being stared at by two golden amber eyes. Damn, she was cute. He put down his phone and looked at the dog, truly seeing her for the first time. He could see a bright yellow aura of happiness surrounding her like a halo. Her tail was swaying back and forth and her head was cocked to the side, one of her triangle ears now sticking straight up. He laughed and she took it as an invitation to jump up on the couch next to him. He took his phone and took a quick picture of her snuggled up next to him. He sent the picture to Cassie and within two minutes his phone was ringing.

He swiped the green circle and heard “No fucking way!!”

Lex just laughed and told his best friend “We found her on the side of the road in the rain, shaking like an earthquake.”

Cassie, a dog lover like himself, gushed “Lex she is so cute! What’s her name?”

Lex answered “Don’t know yet. Ian went out to get some supplies for her and I guess we’ll figure something out when he gets back. She’s so sweet.” The dog was curled up against Lex and had started to snore softly. “Why don’t you stop by tomorrow and I’ll introduce you.” He pulled the phone away from his ear as Cassie squealed her delight. The dog opened one eye and her ear twitched at the sound.

He stayed on the phone with Cassie for another 15 minutes discussing the dog, the foundation and Thanksgiving dinner. Forty-five minutes later he heard the garage door go up as Ian pulled in. The dog sat up and let out a deep ‘woof’. That was the first sound she had made and the deep bark surprised Lex. He went downstairs with the dog following to help Ian bring in the purchases. When he saw the number of bags he knew that Ian had gone a little overboard.

Once everything was upstairs he and Ian unloaded the various purchases. In addition to a 20 lb bag of premium dog food, Ian had bought a bunch of those little containers of wet dog food that almost looked like people food. There was chicken, steak, pork and venison of all things. There was a black collar and matching leash, dog bed, brush, something that you put over your finger to brush teeth, three different kinds of dog treats and about a dozen different toys.

“Spoiling the dog much?” Lex quipped.

Ian blushed and retorted “What? You would’ve done the same, if not more so don’t give me that look.”

Lex knew that he was right. Deflecting the conversation he asked “So what should we name her?”

Ian deferred to Lex and told him “You found her, you should name her.”

Lex tossed around several names out loud, none of which elicited a response from either the dog or Ian. He watched as the happy yellow colors swirled around the animal as her tail swished back and forth. Giving it one more try he looked at the dog and said “Halo?”

The dog’s ears perked upwards and her tail swished faster, wiggling her whole butt. Ian finally smiled and said “I think she likes that one!”

“Halo it is, then,” Lex decided.

Ian and Lex fixed a simple salad and some sandwiches for dinner as they had had a big lunch. Halo enjoyed the kibble and steak flavored dog food that was placed in her new food bowl. Ian had purchased matching ceramic bowls that were covered in pawprints. He had also gotten an absorbent mat that you usually used beneath a dish drainer. Hopefully it would cut down of the slobber mess that Halo made when she drank. After supper the guys watched some TV with Halo curled up next to Lex. They let her out before they got ready for bed. The rain had stopped and she went out and quickly did her business before hustling back into the warm house. Lex figured she had enough of the cold to last a lifetime. Ian placed the overstuffed dog bed in a corner of their room and covered it up with an old comforter that they no longer used. The both laughed as Halo pawed at the material and managed to burrow herself between the folds and settled down with just the tip of her nose showing.

Thankfully Halo ignored them after they climbed into bed and Lex showed Ian his appreciation for everything he had done for the dog. Ian let out a rumbling moan as Lex engulfed his cock down to the back of his throat and worked his tongue around the throbbing shaft. Waves of pleasure rolled over the steely length as Ian pumped his hips into the wet heat. Lex pulled back and left just the first couple of inches in his mouth, sucking on them like his life depended on it. Lex exquisitely tortured his lover by bring him to the edge three or four times before finally letting his his tongue complete the exotic dance it had created along every one if Ian’s nerve endings. Ian’s balls drew up tight before that intense flash of pain morphed into jolts of pleasure as he unloaded into Lex’s suctioning heat. Lex slid himself along Ian’s warm skin and settled himself into his husband’s embrace. He tossed the towel that he had unloaded into onto the floor and snuggled closer. They drifted off to sleep wrapped around each other listening to the soft doggy snores from across the room.

In the morning Ian slowly became aware of a soft head lying on his chest. He opened one eye and discovered that Halo had invited herself onto the bed, under the covers and was wedged between him and Lex. Her head was resting on Ian’s chest. He chuckled and in doing so the dog opened her eyes and gave him a look that said ‘go ahead, try and boot me off the bed’. Ian poked his husband who grumbled as he became conscious and said “Houston, we have a problem.”

Lex rolled over and was met with a long , wet tongue along the side of his face. “Ewww, Halo get down.” The dog didn’t budge. Ian and Lex gave up and slid out of bed. They took care of business and finally cajoled the dog of the bed with the lure of a dog treat. Lex thought they might have to move her dog bed to the living room. Then again, she did keep them warm. He knew they’d end up with the dog on the bed eventually. As long as she didn’t interfere with anything Lex figured he might be able to train her to stay on the end of the bed.

After breakfast Lex called the local vet and was able to get an appointment to have Halo checked out later in the morning. Luckily other than being underweight the vet said she was in decent shape. He gave her some vaccinations and they set up and appointment for a follow up in four weeks. The vet said once she put on 5-10 pounds they could make an appointment to have her spayed. The vet had estimated that she was just over a year old. She had been socialized and knew how to sit. They discovered that she knew roll over as well. The rest would need some work. She pulled hard when she was on the leash and Lex figured training was next on their agenda. The vet said someone had probably dumped her on the side of the road. It happened far too overrun. Cassie came over for lunch and immediately fawned all over the dog. Halo just went along with it.

Lex, Ian and Cassie spent the afternoon pre-cooking as much as they could for dinner the following day. Cassie had brought several bottles of red and white wine and a case of beer as well. Lex had told her that Cinnamon Toast Crunch was off the menu. He wanted to keep dinner low key and not scare off his newfound grandparents. Cassie gave the house a quick once over with the vacuum and dusted while Lex and Ian finished cooking.

Cassie told Lex that she was going to have Thanksgiving dinner with them and then head over to Mazen’s parents house to meet the rest of his family and have dessert. The two of them had gone out several times since the wedding and things were going well. Cassie actually seemed to be calming down. Granted the work she was doing for them on the foundation was keeping her focused, but Lex knew that Mazen was a grounding influence on her as well. On the flip side, Mazen seemed to be more outgoing than he usually was. They were both worried about Jarren and Lex was keeping a closer eye on his friend as well. Jarren needed to work some things out on his own, but Lex somehow knew that at some point there would have to be some kind of intervention. All they could do right now was give their friend and brother the space that he needed.

Thanksgiving day dawned sunny and cold. A front had come in with the rain the other day and temperatures were not expected to go above the upper 30’s. The house was toasty warm and the heater was going out on the porch. The table was set and all of the aromas of the turkey dinner were wafting throughout the house. The space was soon filled with the chatter of Mia and Shannon who were immediately enamored of Halo. Lucky had come along at Lex’s insistence and the two dogs frolicked outside with the girls chasing after them, squeals of laughter filling the air. Ryan and Seth sat with Rick and Kathy on the warm porch and watched the girls and dogs play while catching up with each other. Cassie had been there since mid-morning and she ended up bundling up and helped the girls rile up the dogs. Or was it help the dogs rile up the girls? Either way they were all having fun.

It wasn’t long after the outside crew had finally tired themselves out that Ryan’s parents arrived. Introductions were made and it seemed like in no time at all they slipped seamlessly into the comfortable camaraderie that the group enjoyed.

In due time the two turkeys were done, carved and set on the long table along with stuffing, gravy, turnips and carrots, mashed potatoes, corn, green bean casserole and of course the lobster mac and cheese. Lex deferred to his grandfather to give a blessing and as his newest family member gave thanks for the meal, Lex silently gave thanks for the amazing turn of events that had brought him a new family. As he glanced at Ian he could see by his beautiful aura that he was thinking the same thing. Lex gave Ian a bright smile and Ian didn’t need to see any aura to know exactly how happy Lex was. They both felt it and they both looked forward to what the next phase in their lives would bring them.

Author’s Note

Well, it’s finally completed. Before I posted the last two chapters I went back and read the story from the beginning to see the whole picture. Overall I’m quite happy with how it turned out. Could I have done things differently? Of course, but as I read it through from the beginning I realized that other than a few grammatical errors and typos I wouldn’t change a thing. This is the story that was rattling around my brain for a couple of years. It wasn’t until I lost my job and found myself with a lot of extra time on my hands did I even contemplate writing anything down. As it was I hemmed and hawed for a couple of weeks before I decided ‘What the Hell, why not?’ I’ve always enjoyed reading and as a kid I was usually at the library at least once or twice a week. I remember getting my library card when I was five. They only let you take out five books at a time and I had three read by the time we got home.

Over the years I occasionally gave a thought to writing but life, especially with kids, just got in the way. Once I had the extra time it was kind of a no-brainer. After all there is only so much house cleaning and projects one can do to fill the time. Although I have to admit I did manage to get a lot done. Our lanai got power washed and I refinished some outdoor furniture we picked up at the Salvation Army store.

The story came about because of the Chief. My brain tends to ramble and circle around aimlessly sometimes and for whatever reason my synapses hit upon a memory from my childhood. Our neighbors across the street were an older couple who were raising their granddaughter who was about five years older than me. Her grandfather worked at the Uniroyal plant and he owned an Indian motorcycle. That, my dear readers, is what my brain latched onto. I have no idea what year the bike was, but I do remember it was turquoise blue with leather saddle bags and fringe hanging from the handlebars. It’s funny how a memory can morph into a whole new idea.

My warped brain tends to daydream, especially when I am walking my dogs at night. So after I dredged up the memory of the motorcycle my imagination developed Lex’s story around it. Like I mentioned before, it rattled around my brain for roughly two years, shifting and like a puzzle came into being one piece at a time. When I decided to start posting I had close to the first twenty chapters written and had no clue whatsoever as to how it was going to turn out. Thankfully things fell into place. The hardest part for me were the Boston chapters. I scrapped a good portion of them a couple of times and still changed things right up until the days I posted them. I feel like I projected my anxieties over writing the chapters onto Lex’s anxieties in meeting his dad. In the end I’m happy with how it turned out.

The only character that was actually based on a real person, or rather people is Cassie. She is a combination of me and my best friend whom I have known my entire life. Cassie is definitely way more brash and outgoing than either of us, but her wit and sarcasm, well let’s just say that she inherited it from her creator. The pranks she gets from my best friend as well as her penchant for raising a certain finger.

Lex on the other hand isn’t based on anyone particular in my life, but I guess if I had to assign him anyone’s characteristics it would be my own insecurities and aversion to people. It seems like the older I get the more I just want to be left alone. I no longer care for large group gatherings, I prefer a small get together with a few friends and/or a select few family members. I have a rather large family and have gotten to the point where I pretty much tolerate most of them, and only truly enjoy the company of a few. So yeah, Lex got his “Ew, people” attitude from me. He, however was able to push past it with Ian’s guidance, then again, he’s only 26 and has a lot more years ahead of him!

Most of the places in the story are real. I deliberately left out the name of the town that Ian and Lex live in. Most of the towns in the Berkshires are small and I felt that I could leave that part up to my readers imaginations. I grew up in Western Mass and lived in the Boston area for five years during and right after college. Even though I now call Florida home, my heart belongs to New England! There are parts of the story that have some factual basis such as Halo. Her description is my first dog who was an absolute sweetheart! There are also parts that I just plain made up, such is the glory of storytelling! Hopefully it melded together and you enjoyed it.

I really want to thank everyone who stuck with me starting with chapter one. When I posted the first chapter I was hoping to get maybe 100 people to read it. The response that I’ve gotten has blown me away. As I write this just over 1800 people have at least looked at the first chapter. I understand that some of the hits are duplicates, but still, the overall numbers humble me. The comments that you have left have warmed my heart and in many cases made me laugh out loud. The feedback that I received was truly helpful in pushing through the parts of the story that were giving me problems. So thank you, each and every one of you who saw fit to see this through to the end.

Now that this little tale is done, I can safely say that I think it was a success (I hope you think so too). My goal was to challenge myself to go outside my comfort zone and open up to other people’s praise or criticisms. Thankfully the praise far outweighed the criticism and what little there was, was constructive in nature and helped me with my writing abilities. In the chapters that contained the more serious material I always tried to balance it with a dose of lighthearted levity. If I managed to make you cry and laugh in the same chapter then I deem it a success.

I also tried to leave things up in the air with Jarren. I wanted to create a bit of a segue as I am currently working on his story. He, on the other hand is being a bit recalcitrant and is not be very forthcoming in what he wants to share. I’m 10 chapters in and have hit a little roadblock. This is after already writing five chapters and scrapping them all and starting over. I have a busy month coming up with a weekend trip to Atlanta at the beginning of the month and then a family wedding at the end of the month which requires a 15 hour drive to Virginia both ways. I’m hoping that Jarren pulls his head out of his ass and starts talking to me so I can start posting his story in a month or two. If he balks too much I do have another idea I can focus on as well. So, yes, in all probability you will be hearing from me again before too long. I’ve decided I enjoy writing and I might as well share.

So once again my dear readers, thank you, thank you, thank for your support and your encouragement. Please feel free to comment and to leave a review.

It's now time to change this story's status to ‘completed’ and it's just a little bittersweet.

Until next time,

KBois