"Michael, have you seen the good Professor? I've been looking for him everywhere."

Debbie was in a tizzy. A telegram had arrived for Professor Ben and she couldn't find him anywhere she looked. She hated telegrams. She was old enough to remember when a telegram usually meant bad news, such as after the death of a loved one during the war. She had been a teenager during most of WWII, and she still remembered the telegram that told her mother about the death of her father on the battlefield in France. Then there were the countless telegrams that announced the death of a soldier in Vietnam. That war was still very fresh in everyone's memories, having just ended for the Americans. Of course, this telegram could also hold good news, but she wouldn't know unless she passed it on to the one it belonged to. 

Debbie had grown extremely fond of Ben, and she was hoping the telegram had nothing to do with cutting short his stay with the circus. Part of that reason stemmed from the fact that Ben was a wonderfully sweet man. He had the temperament of a Zen Buddhist and got along with everyone, never being intrusive while observing the workings of the busy circus. Another part of her feelings stemmed from her observations of the attraction between Ben and her son. Debbie, who usually had fantastic 'gaydar' perceptions, had not recognized Professor Ben as a gay man at first. He was built like a rugged football player and showed no preferences when talking to either the male or female members of the company. Naturally her favorite gay boys, such as Michael and Emmett, drooled over the remarkably handsome newcomer, but Ben didn't seem to notice the flirting. 

All that changed a few days back when Mikey came strutting into her office with a cocky smile planted on his face. At first he teased his poor mother with hints that he had some big news that would really surprise her. After a couple of questions that only netted her a shaken head, she gave up and threatened to castrate her son if he didn't stop messing with her. Mikey only laughed, knowing his mom would cut off her own arm before hurting him in any way, and then spilled the beans. 

It seemed that he and Ben had been strolling around the circus grounds on this brisk, chilly mid-October night. They had been chatting about various subjects, mostly related to life in the circus, when they realized they had walked away from all the parked trailers and tents. They were at the edges of a large field and all alone. The wind had picked up and was blowing colder than when they had started out. Ben wore a heavy jacket but Michael only had on a thin windbreaker. His much smaller body began to shake as the wind cut through the flimsy material and pricked his skin with frigid air.

Ben noticed Michael's discomfort right away and proceeded to pull off his own jacket to offer to his companion. It was a gallant effort usually reserved for damsels in distress and Michael was impressed. He would have refused, but he was desperate. As Ben started to lay it around Mikey's shoulders, something seemed to spark between them. Without stopping to analyze what he was doing, Mikey stepped up on tip-toes and gave Ben a little kiss right smack dab on his full lips. The moment he pulled away, Michael felt panic. He winced as if waiting for Ben to slug him, but instead the older man drew Mikey into his arms and kissed him back. This time there was no hesitancy. It was the real thing and it made Michael's heart soar. It was all his fantasies rolled up into one. They kissed some more and talked some more. After parting ways Michael was in a hurry to make his announcement to Debbie. He was pretty sure of how she'd react.

He wasn't wrong. Debbie was overjoyed to have someone around who had distracted her son from his hopeless crush on Brian. It was doubly good news that the one who accomplished that feat was someone she completely approved of. Of course word spread like wildfire throughout the circus. By noon the next day everyone knew that the owner's son had found someone he liked in that 'special' way right there within their ranks. The fact that Ben was only temporary didn't matter. The news was certainly welcome by both Brian and Justin. Brian usually ignored Michael's constant longing looks and flirtatious attitude, but he had noticed how cool his old friend was to Justin as a result of his feelings and it bugged the flyer more than he cared to admit. 

In the month or so that Ben had been with the circus, Brian had spent more and more of his time in Justin's company. Much of that time was spent training Justin how to fly and use the trapeze equipment. The young man was improving at a steady pace. Brian was even beginning to wonder if Justin might be up to joining his troupe as a relief flyer during the next Season. He had asked Emmett to make a matching leotard and shirt of his favorite costume for Justin to wear as a joke, but was blown away by how good it looked on the young man when he tried it on. The tights revealed how muscular Justin was for an artist, not to mention how well it displayed his considerable assets below the waist. 

Once Emmett had his moment of pride in his work, and the chance to ooh and aah over how marvelous Justin looked in the outfit, Brian quickly convinced his friend to leave the trailer so that Brian could personally remove the costume from the young man. That was just one of the more and more frequent encounters the two men enjoyed while on the road. Of course, in their minds it was still nothing more than a great friendship with an extra bonus that included some very hot sessions of pleasurable fucking. They wouldn't even acknowledge the fact that Justin was sleeping in his assigned trailer less and less as the Season was coming to a close. They might not acknowledge the subtle change in his sleeping arrangements, but it had become common knowledge with everyone else. Behind their backs the whole company referred to Brian and Justin as a couple or boyfriends, depending on who was gossiping about them at the time. 

As their affair heated up, Debbie watched and prayed that Michael and Ben would enjoy the same fate. That was why the telegram made her so nervous. Ben had indicated that he wanted to stay with the circus all the way back to their home base in Florida and maybe even a bit longer. In the beginning Debbie was happy about their deal because Ben had paid a handsome sum for his upkeep and access to all the members of the company whenever they weren't busy with other things. Now she had a far more important reason for wanting Ben to stay. She knew if he left so soon after he and Michael had connected on a special level, then the chance was that they would never get together for real. It would be one more disappointment in her son's life, and she didn't want that. She was pondering how she would deal with Michael's reaction to losing Ben before they even got started when she realized that her son had answered her question.

"What? I'm sorry Sweetheart, my mind started wandering. I didn't catch what you just said."

"I said, Ben took a cab into town a couple of hours ago. He had some business to take care of. He should be back soon," Michael answered, sounding peeved that he had to repeat himself. Then he brightened a bit. "He asked me to go with him for a lunch date but I had too many things that I needed to get done. I asked for a rain check and he said 'of course'." Michael sounded a lot more cheerful when he recounted that part of his story.

"I'm sorry, dear. Whatever it was you needed to do could have waited I'm sure....but never mind. It's too late now. Do me a favor, will you? When he gets back and you see him, let him know I have something for him, and I need to see him right away."

"Sure Ma, whatever you say."

Michael didn't ask any questions and Debbie didn't feel like telling him about the telegram. She knew her son. Sometimes he could be a drama queen, and he would be even more certain it was bad news than she was. Best to leave it alone, she decided. She had plenty of other things to do to keep herself busy while waiting for Ben to get back. She decided to check on some of the practice sessions her merry band of performers were engaging in before tonight's show. She hurried off to the main tent.

Debbie smiled as she walked around the sawdust-laden floor of her huge tent. She glanced over at the rows of seats ten deep that started at the main opening and encircled the entire outer perimeter, with only a half dozen breaks between seats for other entrances and exits that were put to use by patrons and performers alike. She looked out into the vast expanse of the center of her tent. Her troupe hadn't taken on the three-ring circus aspect of business yet. She still liked the idea of focusing on only one major act at a time. She wanted every troupe to have their moment in the spot light. 

Different groups of performers had taken over separate areas of the floor for practice sessions. She could see the tumblers working hard only yards away from the jugglers. The horses were being put through their paces over to one side of the main arena, while the elephants followed their commands on another side. The wild cats were out at the moment. Their trainer preferred to do his work much earlier in the day when it was more peaceful inside the tent. The female aerialists who danced on the bars in the air were seen twirling as they hung from their perches. A trampoline act was bouncing all over the place. Simon and his wife, her dog trainers, were working with their happy band of perfectly-trained mutts, most of which were dogs they had rescued over the years from shelters. The clowns were practicing their routines over and over in an effort to make their acts seem effortless, so that the customers would never know how much hard work they really put into the controlled chaos of their performances.

Debbie's biggest smile was reserved for her favorite boy. She looked up high into the air so that she could watch Brian and his troupe with their practice swings. She half expected to see the pale, blond head of adorable Justin up there too but only saw the two sisters and veteran Robbie on the perch. Brian was swinging patiently while waiting for the girls to decide which move they would work on next. As Debbie watched, she saw Lisa, the older girl, give Brian a hand signal. He began to swing harder and dropped down with his knees hooked over the bar. Once he was in place and had the right speed, he clapped his hands which signaled Lisa to push off from her perch. A few swings later she let go and was caught perfectly by Brian. In the meantime Anna had taken the abandoned swing and followed her sister's move. A few more swings later and Anna let go at the exact moment Brian released Lisa. Timing was perfect as Lisa caught the abandoned swing and Brian caught Anna. Anna then twisted in the air and Brian let go so that she could join her sister on their swing. The girls returned to the perch. 

No matter how many times she witnessed it, Debbie was still in awe of the gracefulness her trapeze artists possessed. She hadn't failed to notice that Justin seemed to have that same innate sense of timing and gracefulness whenever she observed him practicing with Brian. Either Brian was one hell of a teacher or the young man was simply born with the skill. Either way, they looked good together up there in the air. She knew that Justin's artwork was still his favorite occupation and probably always would be, but she couldn't deny that he had some great skills in other avenues too. From the way that Brian spent all his time with Justin, she suspected he had more than one other skill, but that was none of her business. She didn't butt into the personal lives of her people....not unless it was absolutely necessary.

Debbie was about to go back to her office when she spotted the object of her thoughts sitting on a clown's barrel to the side of the trapeze netting. Justin had his artist's tote bag on his lap and was busily working on something with a large pad and charcoal pencil. She approached and could see that it was a drawing of Brian swinging out with his hands waiting to catch someone. The drawing was nearly complete and she could see the muscular strength in Brian's body and the obvious affection the artist had for his subject. 

"Very nice, Justin," she told the young man.

Justin jumped up, startled. The pad hit the dust. He had been so wrapped up in his drawing, he hadn't been at all aware that anyone else was around, even though the tent was filled with activity. He blushed slightly, as if caught thinking naughty thoughts.

"Tha...ahh, thanks Debbie," he returned. "I can't believe what an inspiration your entire company is for me. I'm getting as much hands-on education in becoming an accomplished artist as I would have received going to school. The only thing I'm missing is the study of art history," he laughed.

"Glad to help Sunshine," Debbie remarked, using a nickname she had picked up somewhere along the line. "You've been as much help to us as we've been for you, I can promise you that. As I told you earlier, our ticket sales have increased by nearly fifteen percent just since we started using your flyers and ad posters. And that doesn't count the fact that the clean-up crew has told me more than once that there are far fewer programs being discarded than ever before. Folks that keep old programs have a tendency to become repeat business. I'm really looking forward to next Season. I'm so glad you'll be with us most of that year. Of course you know you are most welcome to stay longer if you choose to," she added, hinting as strongly as she could.

Justin didn't respond to the hint, but she could see the wheels turning inside his head. She wouldn't be surprised at all if Justin decided to extend his stay with the circus, rather than return to school the following September. She suspected that it would please Brian if he did too. As she pondered the prospect of not losing Justin anytime soon, she heard her name being called. She turned and saw Ben coming towards her. She excused herself so that Justin could return to what he was doing and hurried over to meet Ben. The man was out of breath.

"Hey Debbie, Michael said you wanted to see me. He said you had something for me?"

"Yes, yes I do."

She pulled out the telegram from the back pocket of her overalls and handed it over to Ben. Debbie didn't say anything. She waited for Ben to leave with the envelope in hand, but he just stood there looking as if he was afraid to open it. He noticed that Debbie was staring at him and gave her a sheepish grin. 

"I was expecting this," he said nervously, lifting it up.

"Well I'll leave you alone with it," she promised, starting to move away.

"No...no wait! This will matter to you too. I sent in my preliminary chapters for the book. The publishers were not really sure whether they wanted to buy the book or not. I only have one other published work under my belt, and it wasn't exactly a barn burner. It sold enough to make back their investment with a few bucks for myself but it didn't live up fully to their expectations. They gave me a small advance for this new book, but it was conditional. Basically, there would be no more funds if they didn't like the early work. I have a feeling this is the answer to whether they'll go through with backing the research or drop me like a hot potato."

"Well then, there is only one way to know for sure," she stated. 

Ben nodded. He slowly tore open the envelope and pulled out the yellow sheet with the answer to his future. He read it over quickly, then read it again. Debbie held her breath. If Ben had to go back to work at the University and forget about the book for now, she knew that Michael would be devastated. She also had no desire to see Ben leaving. She had grown fond of him, just as she had so many of her other 'boys'. She held her breath, but began to smile as she noticed the big grin starting to spread over Ben's face. He let out a loud whoop and grabbed Debbie, swinging her around a couple of times before letting her go.

"They loved it!" he whooped. "They are depositing a healthy advance into my account immediately and waiting for more. They said this book should hit home with a ton of nostalgia buffs, not to mention families. Looks like you're stuck with me a bit longer Deb," Ben declared.

That suited Debbie just fine. It had been an amazing Season for the Novotny Family Circus and Debbie couldn't have been more pleased. Accidents, a common problem in the rough and tumble world of the circus, had been few. Employees were happy. Income was up. Most importantly, she had two new fellas that joined the company and were bringing a great deal of joy to her two favorite boys, Brian and Michael. Debbie was eager to see what would happen next. She expected nothing but good times ahead. She was only half right.

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