Jimmy & Richie - 31. Chapter 31

When we met for lunch, Rich had more information on the project. “Dr. Martin wants to see a sketch for the project. I’m going to show him the sketch of the house we talked about”

“Do you have a sketch of the house, I know we talked about the inside?”

“Yes, when I laid out the rooms I had to sketch out the frame to be sure the rooms would fit, I’ll work on that tonight and show you after dinner.”

“You’re really into this, Rich.”

“Yep, I have two reasons, I like architecture, and I want to live with Jimmy." If I can’t find a job here and have to move, Jimmy said he’d follow. But if I can create a career here, then Jimmy will work for Gramps and we can stay here. "This apartment has a lot of good memories for me.”

Rich did finish his project, and several architecture firms approached Rich about working for them. Unfortunately, there were out of State, and Rich didn’t want to leave unless I went with him. Dr. Martin talked Rich in going for his master’s degree and eventually, his doctorate as well. For Rich that meant four to five years more of schooling. At first, Rich didn’t want to do it. Money was the problem. Gramps solved that by giving Rich an interest-free loan. Of course, each birthday Gramps discounted the loan as a birthday present. I worked for Gramps full time after getting my degree. Nick had one more year and then law school. We were sad to see Nick leave, but his dad said he could open an office here in Ohio if he passed his bar exam. The law firm would be Eastering, Eastering, and Eastering.

Over the year, we saw Brand and Charles quite often. All holidays were spent together, either here in Ohio or Iowa. Mom visited us, but dad stayed home. He couldn’t reconcile his love with two gay sons. The Bishops and Eastering became good friends and often visited each other.

I took on more and more of the operation of Gramps business. He said he was grooming me to be able to run the place when he retires. The lots that were across the street from the diner are now entirely sold out. Several homes were designed and built by the Morris’s, Rich and his dad Paul. Besides going to school, Rich worked with a local builder and designed a few homes that sold quickly. He was happy, and school was coming along quite well.

Graduation was a big event. Rich received his doctorate and joined the teaching staff at State. He was happy, and if he was happy, I was happy. Nick finished law school and passed the bar. He opened an office in town but stayed in the apartment. He said when he married, he’d leave but not until then. He continued to date Alice while he was at State, but they had agreed to break it off while he went to law school. When he came back, they picked it up where they left off. I think Nick was a country boy at heart. He was not a city slicker or player. Alice was a nice girl and smart as well. She accepted a teaching job after graduating with a master’s in child development.

Life seemed to settle down and become routine, no hiccups. My love for Rich continued, in fact, I think as Rich came into his own, it grew. Our love sharing was just as exciting as always, except we don’t do the extreme anymore. In fact, our lovemaking also matured. Every once in awhile, when we are sitting outside by the pool or at the pond, we talk about the night I had to relax Rich through a ritual of love. That is what we called it.

Mike met a girl at FSU, and they got married when they graduated. Mike went on and got his MBA then joined his dad. They now own several electronic shops in Ohio, as well as back home in Pennsylvania. They are expecting their first child. Mike said his name would be James if it is a boy. We see them quite often considering the distance.

Life is good, I have it all, and the most important thing is I have Rich, he owns my soul.