Once back at The Grange Aunt Jane and Will helped Alan to carefully extract himself from the long hobble dress, then they all three showered and met up in the kitchen for a light snack. Although the invitation had specified that snacks would be available at the venue, no one held out much hope for their quality, therefore Aunt Jane had had the foresight to prepare some prawn sandwiches that morning. She retrieved these from the refrigerator as the boys, wearing shiny satin ‘his and hers' matching kimonos, seated themselves at the kitchen table.
“I’ve booked us a taxi for seven o’clock .” Aunt Jane announced as she tended the coffee machine. She was somewhat more conservative in her dress code these days, so as not to embarrass Will, and was wearing a purple satin teddy under a matching organza house-coat.
“I know the school is in walking distance but we want to arrive all clean and fresh. Mayfield only lives around the corner from the school so he’ll walk and meet us there.”
Alan was really pleased with the actual party dress that Margot had created for him. It was completely the opposite of the ankle length hobble dress which he had been wearing at the boutique during the day. His Aunt's description of it was almost accurate. “Long enough to be formal” was a very subjective concept. “Short enough to be exciting” was much more accurate. In fact it was short enough to be potentially embarrassing. Bending was out of the question and sitting would have to be very carefully managed. So OK it was skimpy, but it was black latex, halter neck, very tight and very shiny, and this always pleased him.
Will happily assisted him into it using lots of lubrication to facilitate the process. He then polished the latex to a mirror shine. Andy admired himself in the mirror and mentally forgave his mischievous Aunt for her teasing.
Will then dressed himself in a neat dark three-piece suit. Neither of the boys knew what Aunt Jane would be wearing until the all three went to board the taxi but were both surprised to find that she was relatively conservatively dressed in a pale brown leather jump-suit. Very tight and shiny, but for her, quite restrained.
The venue was the old assembly hall which in this small rural school also doubled as a gymnasium, which Alan remembered chiefly as a place of hard benches, poor acoustics, and sermons that had once felt interminable. Now it had been softened for the evening: fairy lights strung along the beams, a hired band in the corner tuning discreetly, trestle tables laid with drinks and nibbles that nobody seemed especially interested in eating.
Alan took it in with a kind of detached curiosity. There was no surge of anxiety, no tightening in the chest. That, in itself, surprised him. He had expected at least a flutter, the old reflex of anticipation mixed with fear, but instead there was only a mild sense of entering a room and an environment that once he had belonged to, but now no longer needed to.
Will automatically and without conscious thought guided Alan in through the door, his hand finding Alan’s back in that easy, habitual way that required no explanation. Aunt Jane entered behind them, perfectly composed, with the serene authority of someone who had never doubted she would be welcome. As soon as her eyes located him, she headed for the Reverend Greene who was standing alone at the far side of the room looking slightly lost and lonely, almost as if he’d become involved in some social experiment whose outcome he was still assessing. His face lit up when he saw Lady Jane approaching.
Will spotted Mr Barton standing at the side of the trestle table which was serving as a bar, doubtless ensuring that nobody underage attempted to get access to alcohol. The bar was being tended by Brendan, a convivial Irish lad who was a wizard at maths and who had also been the class comedian and practical joker.
“Come on, Alan. Let’s do it.”
Together they approached their old teacher.
“Good evening, William.” Mr Barton obviously thought that the nature of the event required a more informal address, “I’m pleased to see you here, with your pretty young lady again. Won’t you introduce me?”
Will took a deep breath and put his arm around Alan’s shoulder protectively.
“This is the thing, Sir. I have to apologise for misleading you when we last spoke, but the shopping mall back at Christmas was not the right place for a very personal explanation. You asked if I still have any contact with Alan Haversham. I do, sir. This is Alan Haversham, sir, my boyfriend.”
The teacher took a moment to compose himself, then smiled benignly.
“Well, you young people never cease to surprise me, you really don’t. And Haversham, you were always a very gentle boy, and now whenever I see you, you manage to look absolutely lovely, although I’m sure that an old man like me shouldn’t say so. I’m sorry if I’m staring at you, but you are a truly lovely girl now. What forename do you use?”
“That’s another thing, sir. I am still Alan. I haven’t changed. I just prefer to present myself in this way. It would take me a little while to explain just how it all works.”
“Well, well, well. Please don’t let me interfere with you. You both always seem to be very happy whenever I see you around, so however you manage it, just carry on and enjoy yourselves. Off you go and join the dancing.”
As they walked away Alan whispered to Will.
“Poor old chap. It’s all a bit too much for him and he just can’t process it. He was very polite but just glad for us to be gone!”
“Will! Alan! Glad you came!”
This was Tom coming to greet them, accompanied by a very obviously pregnant Sheila. The greeted each other with hugs.
“Sheila! Congratulations!” Alan exclaimed and kissed her cheek.
“Tom and I are married now. You know I don’t really go for all that stuff, but mum and dad would have thrown me out into the street if I’d got pregnant without being married.”
“Then congratulations Tom. Part of the establishment that we always derided!” He fist-bumped his old pal.
Sheila took Alan’s hand.
“Let’s dance.”
The first dance had started almost without announcement. Alan and Sheila joined in as several other couples drifted onto the floor, some tentative, some surprisingly assured. Alan was aware, dimly at first and then more distinctly, that people were looking at him — not staring, not gawping, but registering. Recognition passed across faces, followed by curiosity, then, in a few cases, something like approval. As soon as that dance finished Tom stepped forward.
“Ok, Alan, lets do it. I never thought, not once in a million years, that I’d be dancing with one of our football team!”
Tom was a trifle tentative at first, but very soon seemed to settle into the unusual situation.
The next invitation came from a girl he remembered only vaguely, now confidently laughing as she took his hand. After that, the momentum seemed to establish itself. One dance became several. Old classmates resurfaced, each bringing a fragment of shared history but also a mild curiosity. Another friend he’d once played football with danced with him earnestly and said, rather unnecessarily, that it was “good to see you happy.” Another girl he barely recalled told him he looked “absolutely marvellous” and meant it without irony.
Will watched from the edge of the floor, content, amused, occasionally raising an eyebrow as Alan was swept away yet again. There was no jealousy in it — only the mild irritation of someone who found himself unexpectedly competing with an entire alumni list. When he finally did reclaim Alan for a dance, he leaned in and murmured, “You’re going to need a booking system,” and Alan laughed, resting his head briefly against Will’s shoulder, grateful for the familiarity.
At some point — and neither of them could later agree exactly when — Aunt Jane and the Reverend Greene drifted away from the main hall. The band played on. The lights dimmed a little further. Conversation grew louder, looser. Brendan's duties as a bartender were in increasing demand.
It was Alan who noticed their absence first, though he wouldn’t have been able to say why it registered. Perhaps it was simply that Aunt Jane was rarely elsewhere without explanation.
The two boys retreated to the side of the room.
“I need to get away from all this for a few minutes, Alan. I’m so pleased for you that people are accepting you, that’s marvellous, but I think I need to wear a placard ‘I am not gay’. I’ve been propositioned by some chaps you'd never have guessed. I have to let them down gently without disrespecting their sexuality while explaining my own and it’s wearing a bit thin.”
“I know, Will. It is good that people are accepting, and they are entitled to be curious, but the number of times I’ve explained that yes, I’ve had a boob job but yes, I’ve still got all my bits and want to keep them. A number of people who I was dancing with, both boys and girls, danced very, very close to try and verify things for themselves!”
“ Right. Come with me. Security here was always appalling and I bet they haven’t changed the door code to the Chem Lab since we were here. Come on, lets have a few minutes privacy together.”
The laboratory was on the top floor and the boys didn’t need to put any lights on. There was just enough ambient light from the emergency ‘way out’ signs in the corridors and on the stairway.
Will tapped the code into the keypad by feel, and just as he expected, the code hadn’t been changed and the door opened.
The lights were off and the room was almost in darkness apart from starlight spilling in through half closed blinds, and for a moment Alan thought the room was empty. Then there was a soft sound of movement and he saw the unmistakable silhouette of the Reverend Greene. His back was to the door and he was standing, leaning back against one of the laboratory benches and he hadn’t noticed the boys entering. He might have been in pain because he was groaning softly. Then the very familiar figure of Aunt Jane rose from a kneeling position in front of him. The Reverend suddenly became aware of someone else in the room and in the darkness there was a rustling of clothing and the sound of a zip fastener.
“Well, Boys!” Aunt Jane said, after a pause that was just a fraction too long, “Surprise, surprise.”
Her speech was more than a little slurred. Then the Reverend Greene spoke, and likewise his speech was rather less than precise.
“We were just examining the new ... equipment. We’ll leave you two boys to it.” And without any further explanation Aunt Jane and the Reverend Greene exited into the dark corridor outside.
After they had taken a few minutes time out together the two boys re-joined the dance. Aunt Jane and the Reverend were noticeable by their absence. Will went to where Brendan was serving at the bar and enquired as to their whereabouts.
“They left together a few minutes ago. They were both slightly the worse for wear and decided to walk home together. I think I might have accidentally mixed their gin and tonics just a bit too strong.”
“Accidentally! Oh Brendan, you silly arse.” Will chided gently, “Mind you, I think a bit of social lubrication might just have made the vicar's evening!”
Morning arrived without ceremony. Sunlight spread throughout the house.
The house was quiet, filled with that particular stillness that follows a late evening rather than a bad one. In the main hall Alan, wearing his favourite maid's uniform, was beginning his morning chores. Will was standing beside him and was smartly turned out, wearing a smart suit as he intended to visit ‘Noir ‘ early, to deal with a new supplier. From the adjoining room came the sound of Aunt Jane attending to Fifi with perhaps more concentration than was strictly necessary.
She was immaculate, as always, though there was the faintest hint of weariness about her, the residue of last night’s sociability. She called out to the boys, cheerfully, efficiently, about breakfast arrangements and their plans for the day, never once alluding to the laboratory.
Alan caught Will’s eye and smiled. Will smiled back.
There was an unspoken agreement between them, complete and final: some things were better understood than discussed, better folded neatly into the past than examined under bright light.
Outside, the day carried on, perfectly ordinary.
And that, Alan thought, was rather wonderful.
******
Wow wasn't that wonderful, Loved it, Thank you Notatrog XXX
And finally.......................................
It is not the first time Sally Nugent has been linked with an out of this world project, she was afterall linked to a roll in the Tv series Space explorers a few years ago https://smoothslicknshiny.blogspot.com/search?q=SPACE+EXPLORERS but now,along with her new look, she has stepped into the world of fiction, playing a Tv presenter (no big stretch there) torn from her desk and plunged through a wormhole and forced to enter the slime filled Wormhole games as a way to gain her passage home.
Will she succeed ? You'll need to tune in to channel 69 to find out,but are those games fiction or has Sally signed up for something far more real.
