The tall, lanky man with the youthful face, despite the slight greying at his temples, handed over a number of Euros to the smooth, dark-skinned young waiter and accepted the two drinks he was carrying on his tray.  As the middle-aged man walked away, the waiter couldn't help thinking that this man must have been quite a catch in his day.  It had something to do with the way he carried himself as he walked.  He was obviously a man who knew he was attractive and wasn't afraid to show it to the world.  As he watched, he noticed that the man stopped next to a large towel that held a pale-skinned man with sun-kissed blond hair.  The blond reached up and took the drinks from the older man, who then settled down next to the blond.  It didn't take a genius to see that there was something between the two men.  Even from yards away, the waiter could see the look that passed from one man to the other.  The quick kiss they exchanged full on the lips sealed the deal.  The waiter shrugged.  It looked like that was one rich tourist he wouldn't be able to add to his trophy case. 

Justin began sipping his fruity cocktail, and grinned wickedly at his husband. 

"Why are you smiling like that?" Brian asked.  By now he knew every nuance of Justin's face.  Something had amused Justin.

"You have quite an admirer there, Stud," Justin laughed.

"What...what are you talking about?  What admirer?"

Justin pointed to the waiter, who was already hurrying back to the cabana bar for his next delivery.   Maybe he'd have better luck with the next guy.  Heaven knew there were enough unattached males looking for companionship here on the beaches of Ibiza at this time of year.  One could tell that he knew he had what it took to attract his fair share of them. 

Brian watched the retreating back of the well-toned waiter.  Damn, he thought to himself, there was a time that his gaydar would have been sending out flares long before the waiter had reached him to let him know that the guy was interested in him.  However, he had given up paying attention to those signals a long time ago.  Was it nearly thirty years ago?  Brian grinned back at Justin and lay out on the blanket, letting the sun warm his still well-muscled chest and stomach.  He looked up at the sky through his dark sunglasses and let the memories wash over him.

Nearly half his life ago, he had stumbled on to the magic formula for the most fulfilling life a gay man could have.  He sometimes wondered if he would even be alive today if not for that one fateful night...the night he saw a blue-eyed pale-blond glimpse of heaven across the road, standing under a light that seemed to form a halo effect over the young man's head.  The entire image was attractive enough but that wasn't what captured Brian's imagination.  No, it was those eyes.  They seemed to speak to him, drawing him in like a bee to an open flower.  In that instant he knew he had to taste this lad. 

Brian had strode over to the blond with total confidence that he could have anyone he wanted anytime he chose, and he wasn't wrong with Justin.  That night he was in total control.  So when did he lose control?  When did Justin become the air he breathed, the sun that warmed him, the blanket that covered him at night and kept him safe from bad dreams?  When did Justin become his reason for being his best as a human being and not just a success in society's eyes?  And when did Justin turn him from a lone wolf on the prowl to a family man who would give his life for his kids?  Brian couldn't pinpoint the exact day it all happened...he only knew that he was eternally grateful that it had. 

Brian flipped over onto his stomach and took a sip of his drink.  He rested on his elbows and looked over at his beloved husband.  Justin had settled back onto the huge towel and seemed to be napping.  Brian set his drink back into the sand and hovered over Justin.  He kissed Justin very softly on the lips.  They were as full and delicious as the first day Brian had taken possession of them.  Justin was obviously awake as the corners of his mouth slowly lifted into a contented smile.  Brian's heart did that now-familiar flip/flop it always did when he saw that smile.  He suspected he'd get the same sensation forty years from now when he was nearly a hundred years old.  Time would never diminish the effect Justin had on him.

"I love you, Justin Taylor/Kinney," Brian whispered into that adored face.

Opening his eyes, Justin whispered back, "I love you too, Brian Kinney/Taylor."

Brian lay back down with his head touching Justin's and their hands entwined between them.  They continued to soak up the Mediterranean sun.  They were on a well-deserved vacation that they knew they needed before going back home to all the chaos and excitement that was waiting for them there.  It was also their last time to get away as parents.  Soon after they got back home, they would be something totally new to both of them...they would be Grandparents!

*************************************************************************

JR let a deep sigh escape as she finally managed to get all her bulk settled more comfortably into the easy chair.  She just had to be patient, something that could hardly be called her forte'.  She was a girl who liked getting things done asap, but this time events were completely out of her control.  Mother Nature was in charge this time around and she would simply have to suck it up.  It wasn't fair, she decided.  Why do women have to carry all the physical burdens of building their family while the men reap all the rewards?

Okay, it was true that Noah had suffered a bit too, but that was mostly because of her short temper.  JR couldn't help laughing when she thought of what her poor husband had gone through ever since the baby news had hit them.  JR, who was usually a very bubbly young lady with a great sense of humor, had found her hormones sending her emotions all over the place.  The first few months hadn't been too bad.  She had avoided morning sickness, and that was a blessing to be treasured, especially while on the job.  The second trimester had been fairly calm too, outside of a few weird cravings such as the night she sent Noah out to get some fudge-ripple ice cream and sardines.  Why the two items tasted so good in the same mouthful, she'd never know.  She wouldn't have been caught dead eating them like that at any other time in her life.

Now here she was in the third trimester with only a few weeks left and her hormones had been playing nasty tricks on her for the last couple of months.  She couldn't seem to help herself when even the smallest thing that her poor husband did would irritate her.  She certainly didn't enjoy feeling like a beached whale every time she went for her daily walk around the neighborhood.  She also missed her work.  Her boss, Governor Annabel Grayson, had insisted she take the last couple of months off to 'enjoy' the end of her first pregnancy.  JR suspected it was more the way she snapped at everyone in the office and the sudden crying jags over the simplest things that prompted the Governor's suggestion.  The fact was that being Anne's number one assistant was a very demanding job and the travel alone was wearing JR down so she accepted the recommendation and took an early leave. 

JR was happy when she heard the front door opening.  She knew that Noah was home and it still gave her heart a thrill to know that she would be able to stare into those smoky-grey eyes of his again.  Noah, despite the fact that she had been treating him rather shabbily lately, was still all smiles as he walked into the living room of their tidy little house.  As far as he was concerned, JR could do no wrong...well, not too much so.  He had to admit that he would be relieved when the baby arrived.  He would be happy to get his sweet-tempered wife back.  Of course he knew she would be exhausted once the baby made its appearance.  He was now, after all, a licensed professional counselor who had talked with a few harried new mothers since taking up his position at the University.

Noah moved up behind JR's chair and wrapped his arms around her chest.  She winced a little from the pressure.  She rather liked the fullness of her breasts now that she was pregnant, but the closer she got to her due date, the more sensitive they had become.  Poor Noah had to be a lot more careful on those rare occasions that she felt 'in the mood' lately.  He had a feeling that would continue on even after the birth as long as she chose to breast-feed their little one.  It was too bad he had no one in the family to discuss these changes in his wife with.  He was still estranged from both his parents and his only sister-in-law lived too far away. 

At seventy-seven, his wife's Grandmother Deb would have made a great choice to go to, but she had gone on another of her now-famous cruises with a few of her friends from the retirement community she had joined a year or two after her seventieth birthday.   JR's biological Dad, Michael had protested loudly that he didn't want his Mom to move out but she had finally convinced him that she was lonely for folks who were closer to her own age.  She had been devastated by the loss of her brother, Vic and then her husband, Carl.  She really had no one around to chat about the old days with anymore.  Since moving into  'The Golden Years' retirement complex, she had felt born again.  This was no fuddy-duddy nursing home.  The residents here lived a very active lifestyle which included several long cruises at a huge discount every year.  They expected her back in another week, just in time for the birth of her first great-grandchild. 

JR gently moved Noah's hands down, away from her breasts so that they rested on the top of her burgeoning belly.  He nuzzled her hair and the back of her neck.  He breathed deeply of her familiar freshly-shampooed scent.  She had given up using perfumes while pregnant since even her favorite ones seemed to bother her now.  As far as Noah was concerned, she didn't need them.  She always smelled good to him.  He let out a deep sigh.

"Hard day at the office?" JR asked, with just a hint of envy.

"Hmmm, hmmm.  Sometimes I can't help wondering if we were as messed up as students as some of these young people are."

"Trust me, darling, we were.  Some things never change.  Being forced from the comfort of your childhood, with parents to protect you, into the harsh realities of being an adult can be very traumatic.  And it only gets worse when you have all the stresses of academic life added to everything else."  She patted his hand as it rested on her stomach.  "I have no doubt that those kids feel lucky to have a Counselor like you to go to with their troubles."

Noah was about to answer when he felt the baby kick suddenly. 

"Whoa!  Did you feel that?  Looks like Junior is practicing his kickball today.  He just may turn out to be a real athlete."

JR laughed.  "First of all, my dear hubby, I feel every kick.  Trust me on that.  Secondly, who says that our little athlete will be a he?"

"He...she...whatever.  Doesn't matter to me, not as long as the baby is healthy and comes out looking like Mom."

"Or Dad," JR added.  "Or how about a combination of both?"

Noah sighed again, a sound of total contentment.  He kissed JR softly on the cheek and moved over to the couch.  He loved these quiet moments when he could sit with his beautiful wife and unwind from his busy day.  He loved his job, but sometimes his heart would break over the stories that he heard from the folks who visited his office on campus.  He just wished that everyone could be as lucky in their lives as he had been while attending the same college he now worked at.  It was there that he had found his destiny and he would be forever grateful.  He had lost part of his family back then when his parents had disowned him, but he had gained so much more with his new family.  He still had his brothers and their mates  and children, and he had his wife's wonderful family.  They knew the true meaning of family and he was as happy as he could be to be a part of them.  Thinking about them brought Gus and Jason to mind.  A small frown creased his forehead.  JR noticed it right away.

"What is it, Noah?"

"Oh, I was just thinking about your brother and Jason.  I know how much they love you...us, but I can't help feeling bad for them when I think about our joy and what we have to look forward to.  I hate to think of them being hurt by all this."

JR frowned slightly too, but only for a moment.

"I feel bad for them too, Sweetheart, but I know that neither of them would want what happened to them to spoil our own happiness.  I know that they are happy for us and wish only the best for our baby.  After all, we both know that they are going to be the best uncles in the world.  Our baby will be spoiled so rotten, it will be pathetic." 

As she said those words, she knew them to be true.  She also knew that there would be some angst for her brother and his husband, Jason to endure.  If only all their hard work had paid off.  If only....but then her baby kicked again, as if in protest over all these sad thoughts.  JR tapped her tummy softly and looked up at Noah.  How lucky they were...how blessed!  They had each other and now they had a part of their love about to show himself or herself in just a few weeks.  Yes indeed, life was good.

To be continued............................