Herb CatAround the WorldChapters 10-19
The plane took off on time at 7:15 PM and 3 hours later they landed in Athens. Fortunately, Malcolm had reserved a rental car and called the Acropolis View Hotel ahead of time to book two connecting rooms. However, he had not counted on the direction signs here. Throughout Europe, regardless of the language, he had managed to follow the signs written in the Roman alphabet he had learned in kindergarten. But now the signs were Greek. Sure, in college he had learned the Greek alphabet while rushing the frat houses, but that was of no help to him now. He realized the full impact of that old complaint, "It's Greek to me." But after many wrong turns and several stops to try to ask directions of passersby who seemed to know no English, the four weary travelers finally checked in and started up to their rooms. This time Malcolm was looking right at Maria when Juan asked the inevitable question, "What's the age of consent here?" Sure enough, the glimmer of a smile was unmistakable on her face. She knew something. "Uh, it's 15, Juan." "OK. So which room is ours, Malcolm?" Maria kissed her boys good night and went into her room. Before retiring, she looked out the window and discovered the hotel's name was no lie. There in front of her this December night were the lit temples of the Acropolis. Next door, Pepito also was looking at the ancient columns. "Did Julius Caesar gum here, Malgum?" "Let's find out." Malcolm hooked up the laptop and googled Caesar and soon found that He had indeed come to Greece to defeat his rival Pompey in 48 BC. "And den he went to Paris." Malcolm had to explain that no, it was BC, so the year 52 came before 48. "That's silly. Why did people back den count backwards?"
***
Malcolm and Maria found there was plenty in this old city to keep two rambunctious boys entertained. They could walk to the Acropolis, clamber about the Temple of Nike in their own Nikes, pretend they were naked athletes in the Agora's Gymnasium. They spent an afternoon at the Planetarium, learning about all the Greek gods for whom the constellations were named. But the IME was the most exciting museum they had visited throughout Europe, with its multimedia shows specifically geared to young kids. And in the Hellenic Cosmos, Juan and Pepito donned special glasses and took a virtual reality tour of ancient Greece. Maria thought the peaceful Temple of Hephaestus with its surrounding gardens, was beautiful. She also loved the quiet moments when she could sit in the hotel's rooftop garden with a glass of wine and admire the Parthenon or listen to music emanating from the Herod Atticus Theater. Malcolm found the week in Athens equally entertaining, being wakened each morning to find his cock inside an eager six-year old mouth, and settling down each evening with an equally eager eleven-year old asshole bidding his cock goodnight. And there were often other pleasant midday encounters. On the final night of their week in Athens, Malcolm lay on the bed between his precious boys. He looked over at Juan, his little eromenos sleeping peacefully. The boy was giving him so much; was he fulfilling his role as erastes? Malcolm realized he was perhaps more selfish than he had thought he was, for here in Athens he was happy to have Juan all to himself and not need to share him with men of all ages and nationalities. Looking at that sweet face and hearing his soft breathing, it was hard to imagine all the different cums the lad had happily taken into his body. Malcolm then turned and spooned his torso about Pepito, his eromenos in waiting. He also had drunk several cum cocktails already on this trip. Pepito stirred and though still fast asleep, seemed to push his tiny sweet ass back into Malcolm's groin. He thought again about the boy's innocent question to his mother back in Brighton. Some day he would be penetrating that tiny lovely rosebud. It was only a matter of when. Maria told Malcolm he would know when the time was right. But would he? He had never made love to a boy so young. At times, the heart seems to write its signs in a strange alphabet and it is so fucking hard to go the right direction. The next morning, Malcolm turned in the rental car and the family boarded Olympic Airlines 6, a lunchtime flight that in half an hour delivered them to the Island of Naxos.
***
After they checked into the Barbouni Hotel, Malcolm told the boys how his sister and brother-in-law had come to this island to work eighteen years before. How they came back every summer to dig for ancient artifacts. And how much their son Rippy enjoyed this island. "Si, I member you used to fug Rippy. You told us dat." "Yes, Pepito, he was a wonderful sweet boy. Just like you. Now he's all grown up, and he travels all over the world taking pictures." "I hope we take lots of pictures here," Maria remarked. "The island is so beautiful. Even looking down from the plane, these little islands looked like Paradise. The Cyclades, I think they call them. Just look at that sandy beach. I know it's December, but it's warm today. Let's go lie on the sand. I'm going to put on my bathing suit." "Yippee! Come on, Malcolm, let's get our suits on." "You can if you want, boys. I won't need mine." "Do you mean they got nudey beaches here too." Malcolm nodded. "Yippee, let's go." Although it wasn't the height of the season, there were still tourists from all over Europe on the island, especially Scandinavians escaping the northern winter. Each day Juan met a lad from one country or another. Maria wandered the small shops, looking for antiques, figurines, religious icons, leather handbags, and the woven fabrics that Naxos is famous for. Malcolm laughed that if they wanted a souvenir of the island, they could buy a sheet of sandpaper, for that is one of the local products. The family indulged their appetites for the Greek cuisine. Pepito was developing quite a taste for olives, and was happy to see real olive trees. Juan liked the little anchovies. They found several nice restaurants in the village of Chora, but were excited to find the Picasso Mexican Bistro. Maria thought the local specialty, lemon liqueur, was excellent, and Malcolm suggested it might be because Dionysus, god of wine, came from Naxos. Malcolm elaborated the myth for the boys. Zeus also grew up on Naxos, – he was planning to take them up to see Zeus's temple on Mount Za, – and his son, Dionysus, was born from Zeus's thigh, – that made both boys giggle hysterically, – and was raised by nymphs. He fell in love and married Ariadne, who had run away from her father. In fact there's a lover's leap in Chora where poor Ariadne supposedly jumped to her death. Pepito thought the myths were silly.
***
One day, on the beach at Plaka, the boys were playing (nude of course) and Malcolm was just sitting watching them. Maria was off shopping somewhere. Of course Juan and Pepito had found a bunch of children to play with, two girls and a boy, all towhead blondes that must have been siblings. Malcolm decided the man watching them must be their father so in case he had any misgivings about these two darker-skinned youngsters, Malcolm decided to introduce himself. "Hi, I'm Malcolm, and those two lads are mine. Well, no, I'm not their father, but I look after them." "God dag. Name's Toffe. Yeah, I been lookin at your two brown bitch boys. Nice arsels they have, you know, bums. Wouldn't mind trying them out some time." Toffe started stroking his penis. Malcolm was shocked by Toffe's forthright courseness. "If you want to trade, kamrat, take your pick, the bitch Felicia there is 9, and her little sister Lowisa is 3, or if you're of the other persuasion, Sammy there is 7. Or take all three if you want. They all got bitch holes that can please." "Shit, what's wrong with you? Where do you come from? You fuck your own little children?" As soon as he said it, Malcolm realized what he was doing wasn't much different. "Nothing wrong with me, kamrat. I just love a good samlag! We're from Sweden by the way, and the kids aren't mine. They're my brother's. Well, Lowisa might be mine, I'm not sure." "And you fuck them all?" "Hell, ja. And their mother, and sometimes their pappa when I'm in the mood. We Swedes just love samlag." "And the children enjoy it? I mean, yeah, maybe Felicia, but the little ones?" "Aa, they still cry and scream. Their mother has to hold them down for me, but I don't mind. A feisty little kid is a real turn on. Felicia was the same way when I started doing her, but she's all compliant now. Look at her, she's flirting with you, rubbing her pussy for you to see. So how about it, do we have a trade? I'd sure like a piece of those two brun arsels. I bet they're still nice and tight, right? But they're not virgins, I figure." "Pepito still is." Shit, Malcolm, what are you saying? Why are you talking to him about your angels like this. Like they're just sex objects? "Yeah, I figured the older bitch knew the score. What is he 9? 10?" "Juan's 11." "Does Pepito just sit and watch then?" "No, he sucks me." Malcolm, shut up already. "Nice. So when you going to open his arsel? Don't wait too long. Kid should learn early what it feels like." "I'm not sure. Maybe soon." OK, Malcolm, you've sunk to his level now. "If you want me to, I'll open him up for you. No charge. Glad to do it. You just hold him for me." "No, thanks. Really. I only fuck children in the context of love. I make sure they want it as much as I do." "Shit, OK. Suit yourself, kamrat. To me they're all just bitches, boys and girls both. The sooner they learn that their holes are for my cock, the better. Look, they're all running over here now 3; Hi there, Juan, Pepito. Your dad here, oh I forgot, he ain't your dad, well, he's been telling me all about you. Pepito, I hear you're a world-class cocksucker. You want to try my manslem on for size? Malcolm here says I shouldn't force you, only if you really want it. Right, Malcolm, that's what you said?" "No, I mean, that's not quite what I said." But Pepito was already was giggling and opening his mouth. "Well, look at that, Malcolm. The boy does want my semen. Sammy, see how nice the boy opens up for me. And he ain't as old as you are. Let that be a lesson to you. So, kiddies, here's how Malcolm and me planned it. First Pepito, my little bitch boy, gets me all primed, then I show Juan how a Swedish man fucks. I know you'll like that wouldn't you? Then I'll fuck Pepito. Juan, you may have to hold him. Meanwhile, Felicia you hold Sammy and Lowisa so my kamrat Malcolm here can fuck them little bitches. He can fuck you last. He might want your bitch cunt, but I think he's probably an ass man, right Malcolm?" Toffe reached to pull Pepito's smiling head toward his crotch while Felicia came over and started petting Malcolm's dick. Little Lowisa, however, was trying to hide behind Sammy for protection and Juan was not happy at all. "No!!" Juan grabbed Pepito and started running away, Malcolm following. A safe distance down the beach from the nasty man, Juan stopped and glared at Malcolm. "Why did you do that? I thought you loved us. Why are you letting strange men play with us like that? You're supposed to protect us!" Malcolm couldn't think of anything to say. The fact that Toffe was lying and twisting everything didn't matter. There were many times Malcolm could have just taken the boys and left, but he didn't. He let the situation escalate. He was wrong, and fortunately, Juan knew how to rescue his unknowing little brother. Malcolm cried and hugged his babies close. He was sorry and he hoped they knew that. It was a few days before Juan could get intimate again, but sweet little Pepito convinced him that Malcolm really was sorry, and really did love them both.
***
Malcolm planned a whirlwind of activities to try to erase the Plaka memory. They rented bikes one day, went fishing another, took a boat to Delos and climbed around on the ruins and saw the famous lions there. They photographed the Portara at sunset, the gate which is on all the brochures of Naxos. They saw a hidden school where the Greek children had their lessons in secret when the Turks were ruling the island. In Flerio they saw the Kouros, a statue of a boy, possibly the lovely Apollo, lying on the ground; he was 21 feet tall! They climbed Mount Za. And of course, they visited the small museum which displayed the artifacts Malcolm's sister had uncovered. One of the nicknames for the city of Chora is Calliopolis ("most beautiful city"), and Maria thought that described the whole island.
"Where's Istanbul?" "In Turkey." "In a durkey?" Pepito giggled. "Don't worry. We're only going to be there 5-6 hours. Then we're on our way to Moscow." "Why don't we go right to Mosgow from here?" "I wish we could, but the planes don't fly that way." "Moscow is in Russia, right?" "That's right, Juan." "Did Julius Caesar gon-ger Russia?" "No, Pepito." "Doo bad." Juan's turn again: "Do they drive on the right side?" "You bet." "What's the age of consent there?" "16. Damn it, Maria, why do you always smile when Juan asks me that?" "It's a little something I know. You don't have all the answers. I'll tell you when the time is right. I promise." "Boys, why don't you come with me? Maybe was can find a video arcade or something." "Yippee." "Maria, we'll be back in a while." It was a little after 8 PM when they landed in Istanbul. By the time they grabbed a bite to eat, the boys were tired and did indeed fall asleep in the airport. When Aeroflot 206 bound for Moscow boarded it was nearly 2 AM. Maria carried Pepito and Malcolm carried Juan, both boys fast asleep. Once the plane was in the air a few minutes, the two adults were also asleep. At about a quarter to six, December 16, they woke to find the plane was taxiing. Snowflakes were starting to fall. They were in Moscow where they would stay through Christmas.
***
The man at the car rental desk spoke English and gave clear directions to the Ararat Hyatt. Malcolm had read the guide books and thought this hotel was in a good location. When he checked in and requested a suite, he was given the Winter Garden suite. Was he amazed when he opened the door. It was huge! Juan was impressed also, "Wow, this place is great, Malcolm!" Maria couldn't get over her accommodations. "Look at my bedroom, Señor. It's grande. A king size bed just for me. A walk-in closet so I can hang up all my clothes and not look all wrinkled. And the bathroom, Señor, it's all marble and so big." "I bet we're gonna sleep here in the living room," Pepito correctly surmised, as he started taking off all his clothes. "So Mama we gotta walk into your room to go peepee." "No, Pepito," said Juan who was opening every door. "Look, we got our own bathroom right here! Wow. And shit, look, a big flat TV on the wall!" He started fiddling with the remote, scanning all the Russian language stations. "Juan, here's something even better to look at." Maria was standing by the window. Red Square, all lit up, was only two blocks away. Before Maria went to bed, she handed out the complimentary robes the hotel provided, big fluffy white robes all in an adult size. The males put them on but of course didn't close them. Instead, two naked boys, two naked bears, and one naked Malcolm sat for a long while on the couch looking out the window, peacefully wanking. With the snow falling, it looked like a magical fantasy land. Malcolm kissed the boys. "Tseluyu." The boys kissed their bears. All was right with the world.
***
When he opened his eyes the next morning, Malcolm found two boys sucking on his cock and balls. "You guys sure know how to make a man happy." He closed his eyes again and bathed in the pleasure. "Do you think Mama is awake yet?" The boys shook their heads. "Well, then there's no reason for us to rush either." After a while, the dual fellation had accomplished its task and the lads were taking turns drinking at the fountain. Malcolm relaxed and hugged his darling cocksuckers just before Maria opened her bedroom door, and walked out fully dressed. "Hi, Mama." Both boys had cum dribbling down their precious chins. "Buenos días, boys. I see you've made yourself at home." "Don't I get a 'buenos días,' Maria?" "Oh, Señor Malcolm, you know you are one of my boys! Come, out of bed, put your robes on, look out the window. Isn't the snow lovely?" "You're right, Maria, we should get up and start seeing this city." Malcolm was having second thoughts about driving however. The small bathroom, which they dubbed the Mens Room, had no bath so the three boys took turns using the Ladies Room in Maria's bedroom. After his turn, Juan sat down to write his blog since the room had internet access. "Malgum, Malgum, come here." Thinking Pepito had a problem, Malcolm rushed into the bathroom. "Feel the floor, Malgum." As he stood there in his bare feet, Malcolm discovered the floor was heated. "Now, that's luxury, Pepito." "Malgum, you want to dake your baff wiff me?" "Well, that would save some time, little man." But of course, efficiency wasn't really what made him agree. In a few minutes, he was lying in the tub, little Pepito on his lap, soaking in Blaise Mautin bubble bath. We won't know who was enjoying the intimacy more. They ate breakfast at the Cafe Ararat. A wide array of cereals, fruit, juices, cheeses, and yogurts. "Is dere rats in this hodel?" "Pepito! Why would you say that?" "Cause its galled a rat hodel." Everybody laughed. Malcolm explained the hotel was named for a mountain in Turkey. Then Maria explained how Noah's Ark landed on Mt. Ararat. "Did you learn that story from the nuns, Mama?" "Si, Juan. I learned lots of things from the nuns. But mostly I learned that God loves me. And God loves you too, Juan. And God loves Pepito." "Does God love Malcolm, Mama." "Si, si, Malcolm is a good man. God has a special place in his heart for Señor Malcolm." Malcolm smiled, "Well, that's a relief!"
***
There was a shop right by the hotel where the family outfitted themselves with coats, Russian fur hats, boots, and gloves to properly face a Moscow winter. Then they walked over to Red Square. "Loogit dose funny roofs, Mama." "That's St. Basil's Cathedral, Pepito." "It's a church? Wow. It doan loog lige a church." Malcolm, always concerned for the boys' education, had done some reading up. "It was built almost 500 years ago by Ivan the Terrible." Juan frowned, "Why was he terrible?" "He was the Tsar. That was what they used to call their kings. Tsar is the Russian word for Caesar. And guess how old he was when he became Tsar. Three. So, when he was your age, he was ruling Russia. But he wasn't very happy. He even threw cats and dogs out of his window." "That IS terrible." "Then when he built St. Basil's here, he loved the look of it so much, that he didn't want the architects to ever build anything else as beautiful, so he blinded them. "Shit, he was really bad." "Yeah, he killed a lot of other people too. Even his own son." Maria tried to change the direction of the conversation. "But his cathedral really is beautiful." The family took a tour of the Kremlin, and saw Lenin's Tomb. "Malgum, can we buy some gum?" "Gum? What made you ask that, Pepito?" "Look, there's a gum store." Pepito was right. GUM was written in huge letters on the building next to Red Square. "Pepito, they might have gum there, but they have a whole lot of other things too. GUM is the largest store in Moscow." For several hours, the family walked under the glass roof and checked out all the different stores. Each one was thinking of Christmas just a few days away.
Juan's blog
December 20 Poka vsyo. Do svidaniya! Juan One day they walked along the Moscow River and visited the Novodevichy Convent and Cemetery. Malcolm pointed out the graves of famous people and used the opportunity to give the boys a history lesson. He told them about Khrushchev, and Gromyko, and Stalin (whose wife was buried there). They learned about Chekhov and Tolstoy. They saw the tombs of several cosmonauts and Nobel prize winners. When they came to the tomb of Shostakovich, Malcolm began tra-la-ling the fast happy melody from Festive Overture Opus 96, and everyone laughed. He also told them about Samuil Marshak. "Marshak was a writer, but he started to work with Jewish refugees, especially the children. He set up a children's theater and wrote lots of plays for the kids. Then he started writing poems for them. He really liked kids." "Just like you!" "Yep, just like me. How could I not love two little devils like you guys." Then he started chasing them through the snow-covered cemetery.
***
"Maria, remember that magazine Bruce showed us in Dresden?" "With the beautiful photographs? Si." "Yes. Jung und Frei. Well, one of the photographers was Alexander Krivon. His studio is here in Moscow." "Si, I remember his pictures. They were bello, hermoso. Could we go to his studio? Maybe we can buy some of his fotografías." "Well, we can at least look." All along the studio walls were beautiful photos of beautiful children in beautiful poses. Even the boys could see this was true art. In the display cases were note cards, posters and calendars from which young innocent eyes peered out. Maria wanted to buy them all, but unfortunately, Malcolm didn't see any that he could safely bring through customs back into the States. Then he noticed a man was standing beside them. "Hello, Comrade." Malcolm bristled, remembering Toffe who kept using the word, Kamrat. Uh oh, another pervert. "You have two handsome boys here. Let me guess, American? Latin American?" "Si, my husband, God bless his soul, and I are from Mexico. But Malcolm here is from the United States. And the boys were born in America." "Ah, their complexion is so beautiful. What previous modeling have they done?" "Excuse me, Señor. My boys are not models, hehe." "Oh, forgive me. Parents are always bringing their children to me to pose for my photographs. I just assumed." "You are Señor Krivon?" "Ja. I am." "Oh, Señor, your photographs are so beautiful. So many lovely children." Malcolm was breathing easier now. "Listen, would you mind if I just took a few snaps of your boys to see? Most of my subjects are Europeans. I'd love to see how the camera likes your lovely children." They followed Krivon into his studio. "Now, boys, just relax. Talk to each other. I'm just going to go around snapping pictures. Don't mind me 3; Vy ochen' krasivy. Oh, yes. That's it. Perfect. Very nice. Do me a favor, Juan is it? Yes, just unbutton your shirt. Oh, lovely. OK, boys, you see that box of toys there. Why don't you guys play a while. I'd like a word with your mother." Krivon slipped the digital camera into a machine that projected the pictures on to a screen. Juan and Pepito were more interested in his high tech equipment than in the toys, so they joined Malcolm and their mother. "Maria, as you can see, your children are very photogenic. Pozhalujsta, I'd like to offer you a contract." "Oh, I'm sorry, I'm afraid I can't pay for fancy pictures." "No, no, you don't understand. I want to pay your sons to model for a photo shoot. They have just the kind of personalities my customers love to see in young boys. I'm willing to offer you 25,000 rubles. Juan began calculating in his head. "Shit, that's like a thousand dollars." "Oh, Señor, you will publish pictures of my Juan and Pepito? You mean like in that magazine?" "Actually, I was thinking more of a calendar. I'm sure a year's worth of these gorgeous boys would sell well. Not for next year of course, it's almost Novym Godom, New Year. But the year after." "Come on, Mama, let's do it, please?" "You would have to save the money in the bank for your college." "Please?" Malcolm finally spoke up. "Maria, let me speak to the boys alone. Come here, Juan, Pepito. Listen. You know you're going to be naked in these pictures, just like all the ones we saw on the wall." The boys nodded. "And when some people see your pictures, like your mother, they'll see something beautiful, something artistic." More nods. "But there are other people, some men, who will buy these pictures and look at them so they can jerk off." "You mean like when you get BelAmi movies to jerk off, Malcolm?" "Yes, and some men will be like that Toffe. They will only see you as something sexual. They will fantasize about fucking you." "Is Señor Krivon like that?" "No, I know he isn't. But some of his customers probably are." "Will we ever meet those bad men?" "No, never. I just want you to be aware of them before you say yes. And don't do it just because it's a lot of money. Never agree to do anything you don't want to do just for money, boys." Juan thought about watching his hero Karel back in Brussels. Of course, this time it isn't a movie, but still it was lights and cameras and nakedness. "But if we want to do it, it's OK with you?" "Yes." "Yippee. It's going to be fun." They went running back to their mother. Krivon brought his secretary in and a contract was drawn up in English, so there would be no misunderstanding. Malcolm analyzed every word. Maria insisted on a clause stipulating that one pose show both boys from the chest up; a picture that she and Malcolm could legally take back home with them. The secretary showed Juan where to sign, and then Pepito who felt so grown up signing a big important document, and finally Maria as legal guardian. Malcolm handed over his credit card, so the funds could be wired directly into his account. Maria and Malcolm sat behind Krivon as he adjusted lights and began snapping. He told the boys which way to face, to smile, to talk about their bears. Gradually, the shirts came off, and he kept snapping. Then the pants. "Vy ochen' krasivy." The boys sat on chairs, lay on the floor, romped on a bed, and just stood, not the least embarrassed that a man was taking hundreds of pictures of their lovely naked bodies. Sometimes he handed them hats, toys and other props. The lights were warm, and they had not yet eaten lunch, and both boys began to get a little tired. Krivon told them to lie down on the bed, and soon he was snapping pictures of two napping Chicano babies. He quietly turned off the bright lights, and the adults walked out leaving the boys sleeping. "You took so many pictures, Señor Krivon." "About three hundred. But don't worry. I'll use the twelve best ones for the calendar, and you'll get a nice picture to take home, and all the rest will be destroyed. I am a professional. I will not pull anything underhanded. Let me tell you, I am very pleased. Your boys were wonderful. They should consider being models." That night, Pepito announced he was going to publish a bear calendar. He pretended to take pictures of Oso and Rascal, telling them to smile, to lie on the bed. "Oh, yes. Dat's it. Perfeg. Very nice. Do me a favor, Rasgal, dake off your pants. Si. Oh, lovely. You should gunsidder being a model."
***
The next day was Christmas Eve. They ate supper in the Conservatory lounge on the top floor of the hotel, where they could look out over Moscow, and count their blessings. Maria began reciting a poem she had once learned by Sara Teasdale: I stood beside a hill smooth with new-laid snow,Then Juan surprised everyone by reciting Moore's A Visit From St. Nicholas. He had looked it up on the internet and memorized it. Then Malcolm recited Jest 'Fore Christmas, the poem his father recited every year he was growing up. Even he was surprised he could remember it. Then they went around the corner to a tiny Orthodox church for midnight mass. Juan was awestruck by all the robes, the icons, the bells. Malcolm noticed the congregation was made up mainly of old babushkas who kept turning around to smile at the two little boys who probably reminded them of their own grandchildren and great-grandchildren whose parents never think to bring them to church once they're baptized. Between the strange chanting and the overwhelming incense, little Pepito was soon asleep. After nearly an hour, Maria realized the mass was not ending any time soon. Back in Minnesota, her priest would already be at the door wishing his parishioners on their way home. Maria whispered to Malcolm, who picked up sleeping Pepito and they quietly left to return to the hotel. Back in bed, Pepito had visions of sugar plums in his head and Malcolm's cock in his mouth. The next morning, out of hiding places came the gifts. Somehow, everyone had managed to secretly get presents. Malcolm gave the boys English translations of two books of children's poems by Marshak, and Maria a lovely necklace. Maria gave Malcolm a CD of Shostakovich's Festive Overture. She gave her children sets of Russian nesting dolls. Juan gave his mother a souvenir book of St. Basil's, and his brother a toy kaleidoscope he found at GUM. Even Pepito had found a book about teddy bears for Juan and a bottle of perfume for his mother. "I dought it smelled priddy." "Didn't you boys give Malcolm anything?" "Don't worry, Maria, when we woke up they gave me a wonderful present." "Yes, I heard you. You sounded like Santa's reindeer in rut." "What's rud, Malcolm?" "That's when the deer make babies." Pepito started singing, "Juan's gonna have a baby! Juan's gonna have a baby! Hehe. Oh, mose forgot, I got somefin else for you, Malgum." Pepito gave him a picture he drew. It showed a man, a lady, two little boys and two bears. The lady had a pretty red dress. The bears had fur. The man and the boys were clearly naked with pink penises. "It's beautiful, Pepito. I will always treasure it." "I made something too." Juan showed the Twister game he made out of colored paper. He knew Malcolm always played it on holidays back home. "Well, come on, then, boys. Let's play." Maria was laughing hysterically. If watching naked people play Twister is funny, watching them wrestle with big fluffy oversized bathrobes might be even funnier. Maria was about to get washed when there was a sudden knock on the door. Juan went running his bathrobe flying open. "Ot vsey dushi pozdravlyayu tebya s Rozhdestvom! In other words, Merry Christmas, comrades." It was room service delivering the huge breakfast Malcolm had ordered. "I thought it would be nicer to eat in this morning." "Oh," the hotel employee continued, "this arrived for you by courier this morning." Malcolm took the large mysterious envelope, tipped the man (hoping it was sufficient) and closed the door. "Who could this be from?" He tried to make out the writing on the envelope but it was all in cyrillic lettering. So he opened it. The note inside read, "Merry Christmas, Maria and Malcolm, from Alexander Krivon." And there were two 16x20 prints of the two most beautiful boys in the world – from the chest up.
"I'm glad the boys stayed awake last night to see in the new year, Maria." "Si, Señor Malcolm. The beautiful fireworks over the Kremlin were so exciting to watch. Boys, did you make your New Years resolutions?" "What's dat, Mama?" "It's when you make a promise to try to do something good for the whole year, to be better in some way. My resolution is to find ways to show my gratitude to Señor Malcolm for bringing me on this wonderful trip." "And my resolution is to love and protect you boys even more next year than I did last year." Juan spoke next. "I promise to let Malcolm fuck my ass every time he wants to this year. At least once a day. Hehe." "And I promise to sug Malgum TWICE a day." "Wow, it certainly is going to be a happy new year!" At 1:35, the Aeroflot plane left Sheremetyevo Airport in snow-covered Moscow, flew over the Urals into a new continent, and six hours later landed at Indira Gandhi Airport in warm Delhi. "Are you gonna rent a car here?" "No way! they drive on the wrong side of the street. We'll hire a driver or take the train. Now aren't you going to ask me the other question, Juan?" "What question? Oh, you mean, hehe, yeah, what's the age of consent in India?" "18." "Shit! That's old!" Then Maria had a question, "Speaking of old, who knows what happens next week?" "I do," shouted Juan, though everyone else knew also. "It's my birthday. I'm going to be twelve, Malcolm!" "Well, old man," Malcolm smiled. "We're going to have to do something special for you." "We're in Delhi right? Is that anywhere near New Delhi." "New Delhi is the capital of India. Actually, it's right inside Delhi, Juan. Why?" "'Cause Dr. Gupta's brother runs a restaurant in New Delhi, remember? That's where I want to eat on my birthday." "You're the boss." When they checked into the Hyatt Regency Delhi, Malcolm explained that they would be staying two nights, and then travel around but would be back on January 8th for Juan's birthday.
***
Maria as usual was up early the next morning and admired the warm sun shining outside, while she listened to the muffled sounds from the boys' bedroom. Breakfast was served right in their room (as they discovered was the practice throughout India).
Juan's blog
January 2 Juan The next morning, everyone got up early. To save time, Malcolm, Juan and Pepito showered together. Then they headed for the New Delhi Railway Station, where they boarded a nice air conditioned coach headed for Amritsar. "This is the holiest place in the Sikh religion," Malcolm instructed his pupils once they had checked into the Heritage Hotel. "Singh is a Sikh." "Who's Singh?" "He's this kid in my class back home. He's a lot of fun. But he has to wear this turban on his head with a ball of hair on top. We kid him about it, but he don't mind."
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Hi, Singh, my friend, Mere dost. It's me, Juan. Guess what? Yesterday I went to the Golden Temple. Sure enough, it has a dome on top that's gold! And all the men and boys here wear turbans just like yours with the ball on top. And the men all have big beards. And I met a kid who was learning English, he was 14. And guess what? His name was Singh also! And he invited me to join him and we took a bath in the holy lake there. And we listened to these strange songs. He called them Shabad Kirtan or something like that. And he told me about all his gurus. And the place was real nice. And today, guess what? We ate lunch where everyone can eat together without even paying. There was like 1000s of people. Then Malcolm gave them some money, but he didn't have to. Then we saw Jallianwala Bagh, and I cried, 'cause that was where like 100 years ago all these Sikhs were killed, even children. And I'm glad we live in America where you can worship any way you want. Juan After two days swimming in the culture at Amritsar, the boys were really tired. Malcolm lay on the bed, with one boy in each arm softly breathing on his chest. He wondered how he could have found such favor with the gods. He began praying to no one god in particular: "Thank you for my darling Juan. Such a good boy. He doesn't have a hateful bone in his body. Hehe, I'm sorry. I just thought how every day he has MY bone in his body. I know I shouldn't have said that, but you got to admit it's funny, god. And here's my precious little Pepito. So young. So innocent. So anxious to make me happy. God, I swear I won't be able to stay out of his ass much longer. Some time soon, if he says he wants it, I'm going to deflower the lad. Amen"
***
The next day they were back on the Railway heading for Haridwar. They had to get a connecting train in Delhi. The waiting room was hot, their lunch wasn't. Throngs of people were swirling around them, hurrying here and there. And Pepito who hadn't whined or fussed the entire trip complained he didn't feel well. When they finally checked into a hotel in Haridwar, they discovered the air conditioning was broken. There were ceiling fans in the rooms however. Tired Pepito lay on the bed staring up at the fan. Suddenly, Malcolm noticed he was catatonic. Seizure! It lasted less than five minutes. As he came to, Maria turned his face to the side so he wouldn't choke on his phlegm and kissed his forehead as she had done after countless seizures through the years. Malcolm however was guilt-ridden. All these months without an incident, he realized he had become negligent. He should have seen the signs coming. Fortunately, Pepito was lying on a bed in a hotel room. It could have as easily happened in the middle of the railway station. Pepito was crying and kept apologizing for his 'fit.' But Maria kept assuring him he had done nothing wrong. Malcolm finally got a call through to Dr. Gupta who had just gotten into his office to start a new day. Dr. Gupta put him on hold, and when he came back on had some reassuring news: "I went to medical school with a doctor there in Haridwar. I just got off the phone with Dr. Chandra. He is on his way to your hotel now." Amazing. It was late in the evening, and this Indian doctor was making a house call for a patient he had never seen before. He examined Pepito, took his vitals and checked for any other problems. He concluded the seizure was brought about by several factors. He was overly tired, and hot, and he had grown some since the last time Dr. Gupta adjusted his medication. Then the motion of the ceiling fan was the trigger. He prescribed a different dosage of Dylantin, and plenty of rest for a while. That night in bed, Malcolm began kicking himself for the awful thoughts he had entertained about this delicate little doll.
***
The next morning, the air conditioning had thankfully been repaired. Dr. Chandra stopped by with his son Krishna, 22 years old, a perfect specimen of young Indian manhood. He had graduated college but was driving a van to earn money until he could get a job. "I think the crisis is past, Maria. Just give Pepito the new dosage, and watch him carefully now. Let him get some rest today." Krishna spoke up, "Maybe some yoga would help." "Oh, so now you're the doctor, Son? Chup Raho. I sent you to college to become a doctor like me, and you switched your major to dramatics." "Father, Piwa, I don't want to be a doctor. I want to be an actor. Some day when I'm a big Bollywood star, you will be proud of me." "That's not the career I planned for my son. And how are you going to support your wife?" Maria asked, "You have a wife, Krishna?" "Yes he does!" "No, I don't! I have not even met Manisha." "You will meet her at the wedding!" "Please, Piwa, let's not go through this again. You see, Maria, when I was Pepito's age, Father bought a wife for me. A little two-year old girl in our village." "She's from a wonderful family!" "That's the way the old people do things here." "Old! Old! You kids want to change everything. Aa, I give up. Forgive my son, Maria, he has not learned to keep our arguments at home." Of course, to Maria, it seemed like Father was doing the arguing. Krishna mumbled, "I still think yoga would help." Dr. Chandra had other patients waiting to see him, but Krishna said he would stay to make sure Pepito got his rest. Actually, he had taken a liking to Pepito and Juan, and wanted to stick around longer. When Dr. Chandra left, Pepito asked Malcolm if Julius Caesar ever "gon-gerd" India. "No, his armies went lots of places, but they didn't come this far." "Good. I think if he game here he woulda had a fit doo, lige me." Malcolm sat and read to the boys. Maria and Krishna decided to make some tea. "I know how you feel, young man. In my country, the parents used to arrange marriages also. My husband and I ran away to elope. Your father may be unhappy about your not marrying Manisha, but in time he'll see it was for the best." "He'll be even more unhappy, when he learns I'm gay." "You are? Oh. Malcolm is gay also." "Really? Your husband is gay?" "No, no, Malcolm is a wonderful friend. My husband was Pedro, God bless his soul." They brought the tea in. Juan asked Krishna, "What's Bollywood?" "That's where we make movies here in India, like your Hollywood. I'm going to be a movie star some day." "I know a movie star. His name is Karel Jirka. He's my friend. Did you ever hear of him?" "Well, I know about someone with that name, but it probably isn't the same as your young friend." "He autographed his picture for me." Juan retrieved the photograph from his suitcase and showed it to Krishna. "Well, I'll be damned. Yep, that's the one. I didn't think a boy like you knew about movies like that." "Yeah, I even helped him make a movie," Juan bragged. "I wasn't in it, but I still helped." Pepito asked, "What's yoga?" "Come on, I'll show you some simple positions, you too Juan. First let's sit on the floor. Uhm, I should have worn my sweatpants. Maria, is it all right if I take off my jeans?" Krishna doffed his constricting Levis and turned around to see both boys sitting butt naked on the floor smiling at him. "Oh, well, uhm, good. We're all set then." He taught them the Cobra and Warrior positions. And also how to breathe and move and relax. "Even when you are out in the chaotic world, you can learn to have inner peace." Pepito said it did make him feel better. After a couple hours clearly a warm bond had developed between the boys and Krishna, so Malcolm asked him if he was free the next few days. "I'd like to hire you as our driver."
***
The next morning, the world seemed much brighter than it had. Even the sound of the devotional hymns from the temples nearby seemed to lend a serenity to the day. After breakfast, Krishna arrived. "Suprabhat! Good morning, Pepito! Do you want to learn some more yoga?" That morning, Krishna drove them to Har Ki Paudi, the most famous pilgrimage site for Hindus in Haridwar. They joined pilgrims who had come to the holy Ganga River to bathe. Then he showed them some other temples in the city. For one, they had to cross over a rope bridge. Malcolm and Maria kept watching Pepito, but he was seeming his old boyish self. Krishna took them to one of his favorite restaurants for lunch and ordered for them. Then he wanted to show them Shanti Kunj, a famous ashram where people come from all over to learn yoga. Unlike his father, Krishna was a great believer in natural healing. It was only one of many things on which Father and Son did not see eye to eye. When they went to the market, Krishna knew many of the vendors by name and kept his friends from getting ripped off. (Maria bought a sari). He kept teaching the boys Hindi words which they absorbed like sponges. After dinner, Krishna bid his friends "Subaratri, good night."
***
"Suprabhat! Good morning!" Krishna's cheery greeting each morning seemed to drive the darkness of night away. That and the tranquil yoga routine. This day, he drove them through beautiful mountain scenery on the way to Rishikesh. At the Lakshman Jhoola bridge, they saw the Holy Ganga flowing, which they had bathed in the day before. At a nearby temple, they took part in the Aarti ceremony and just sat and meditated for a while. Malcolm was amazed to see these two active carefree terrors on wheels actually sitting quietly. Krishna showed them the twelve story Swarg Niwas Temple and explained all the different gods and goddesses. They went to the Chotiwala Restaurant and ate a delicious vegetarian lunch, Indian Thali. Then it was time to drive back to Delhi, where they found all their luggage and their room waiting. Dinner was indeed special, for they went to the restaurant owned by Dr. Gupta's brother, to celebrate Juan's twelfth birthday. That afternoon, Krishna had taught Malcolm, Maria and Pepito the appropriate phrases. "Janam Din Mubarak Ho (Happy Birthday)," said Maria proudly wearing her new sari for her son's special day. Malcolm added, "Janam Din Bahut Mubarak Ho (Very Happy Birthday), to which Pepito giggled, "Janam Din Bahut Bahut Bahut Bahut Bahut Bahut Bahut Mubarak," repeating it until they all broke down in laughter. Krishna said, "Now, Juan, you are no longer Chotaa sa ladka (a little boy)." After big slices of birthday cake, they decided it was time to get back to the hotel. "How far will it be to Agra tomorrow, Krishna?" "Well, it's about 250 kilometers, so 3;" "Three hours!" Juan spouted. "That's 155 miles and Krishna drives real good. He doesn't speed." Malcolm shook his head. The twelve-year old's mental arithmetic had certainly sharpened. Malcolm offered to get Krishna a room at the hotel. "Dhanya-waadh, Thank you, but I have a friend here in Delhi, whom I'd like to see again. I knew Omarjeet in college. He is Mere dost (my friend) but perhaps," Krishna winked, "some day, he may be Mere humsafar (my partner). So, my friends, Subaratri."
***
"Suprabhat! Good morning!" When Krishna arrived at their room, Juan and Pepito were already on the floor doing their yoga, naked of course. Beside Krishna stood a muscular man with a pencil mustache. "Boys, this is my friend Omarjeet." "Please call me Om. Everyone does." "Mera naam Pepito hai." "Mera naam Juan hai. Aapka kya naam hai?" "Hehe, mera naam Om hai. You boys speak Hindi just like natives. Krishna has taught you well." Malcolm came out of the bathroom naked and sat with the boys. "Om, please join us for yoga. Krishna has been teaching us new positions each day." Indeed, Krishna was already taking off his clothes, so Om followed suit, giving Malcolm a look at his well-toned pecs and six-pack abs. Juan was more captivated by Om's cock, which hung long with a circumcised helmet the size of a ping pong ball. "After the twisting and bending was over, Om said, "Malcolm, I wonder if I could hitch a ride with you guys today to Agra? I lived there when I was a teenager and I'd love to see it again. In the summers I used to guide tourists around the Taj Mahal." "That would be wonderful, Om. How fortuitous that you have today off!" "Well, unfortunately, I happen to have lots of days off right now. I was working for a spa at another hotel here in Delhi, but I was laid off last week. The boss said my performance had declined, but I think it was because he found out I was gay." "Even better, you can ride along with us this whole week."
***
The Taj Mahal was certainly spectacular in the midday sun. Om explained how the emperor Shahjahan built it for his beloved wife Mumtaj. Pepito said he saw one like it back in Brighton, but conceded the real thing was better. Om led Maria and the boys about the gardens, and Krishna sat and talked with Malcolm. "Yesterday, as I was driving through the mountains of Rishikesh, I kept noticing you and the boys in my mirror. Often I saw them with their pants down just rubbing themselves. I know Maria on my left saw them too when she turned around." "Yes, she and I have always taught them to be comfortable with their bodies and their feelings." "Well, that's admirable. Uhm, at one point I also saw Juan performing, uhm, auparashtika on you." "Hehe, I assume that means fellatio. Yeah, he's been giving me blow jobs for a couple years. Pepito just started while we've been on this trip. All three of us get satisfaction from it. I couldn't enjoy it unless I knew they enjoyed it as well. In fact, Juan probably wouldn't mind blowing you if you asked him." "I'm sorry, no. I'm not, well, I mean, 3;" "You're not attracted to boys that young. I understand. Looking at Om, I can see what attracts you in a lover." "So, then you do regard these boys as lovers?" "I love them more than you can imagine. And yes, Maria, approves, no more than that, she supports our love." "And do you, uhm, 3;" "Do I do more than auparashtika? Not with Pepito. Yet. But yes, I have anal sex with Juan. Look, if all this makes you uncomfortable, I understand. And if you'd rather not drive us any more, I understand that also." "No, it's just new to me, that's all. I mean you don't fit my image of a pedophile. I guess I'd always equated it with child molester. But I think I can accept the way you interact with the boys. After all, I can't expect my father to tolerate my chosen lifestyle, if I can't show tolerance for yours."
Casually stroking himself, Malcolm turned to Krishna. "So your father doesn't approve of homosexuality. I guess he's a very religious Hindu." "No, it's more a cultural thing. Actually, there is a long gay tradition in Hinduism. The Kama scriptures, – you've heard of the Kama Sutra, – talk quite frankly about male-male sex, more than the writings of any other religion. They try to explain the biology of homosexuality, they graphically describe positions and techniques, and they even list good occupations for gay men: barbers, valets, houseboys, masseurs (that probably means prostitutes, just like it often does today). Even the Vedas, which are even older writings, describe the deep love between men. "The Narada Smriti, written around 400 AD, forbids gay men from marrying women, which is ironic since that is exactly what Piwa wants me to do. But, of course, he'd like to have grandchildren. "Unlike some Christians, Hindus do not see anything wrong with sex, when it is part of a loving relationship. It is not merely for procreation, but also a way to express love and show devotion." This discussion may have seemed clinical, but later in bed Om and Krishna gave Malcolm, Juan and Pepito a powerful demonstration of Indian sex. The Americans too became horny and soon Malcolm was pounding away at Juan's love hole while simultaneously sucking Pepito's little nail. This merely upped the ante for the Indians, and soon the room was filled with the sounds and smells of exuberant male orgasms. Who could deny that this was the way the gods intended?
***
"Suprabhat, boys." When Maria came in the next morning, Krishna, Om, Juan, Pepito, and Malcolm were all contorting themselves naked in the newest yoga position. After breakfast, they loaded up the van and drove south. But after an hour or so, Krishna stopped at the ruins of an old temple in Gwalior. "Hold on, Malcolm, you gotta see this. Come on, you too, Juan. This temple was built in the tenth century. Like I told you last night, Hindu lore is rich in gay imagery. Look at that carving over there." They all stared. Finally, Pepito spoke up, "He's suggin him! Hehe." "That's right, Pepito." "Wow, that is so gool. Are there any more statues lige dat?" "Hop in the car, we'll be there for supper." Maria, as usual, sat on the left beside the driver; Malcolm and Pepito occupied the second seat, with Juan and Om in the back. Soon, Juan had his pants down and was wanking away. He looked up at Om, then ran his eyes down to Om's crotch and back up to his face. Eventually, Om got the message, shrugged and thought "What the Hell," and pulled his pecker out as well. Juan grinned. "Horny little bastard," Om thought. As they continued on, Om taught the boys some Hindi songs. Soon everyone in the car was singing lustily, even though two thirds of them had no idea what they were singing. They pulled into Khajuraho as the sun was setting. At the Hotel Chandela, Malcolm knew now that a suite was not necessary. He simply booked two adjoining rooms, and assigned them along gender lines. The males bid Maria "Subaratri," and began their orgy. Well, that is possibly not the word, since there was no exchange of partners, but the lust was nonetheless intense, each couple making the other even hornier. Fully exhausted, Malcolm who was twice the age of the Indians, eventually settled down with his two babies and went to sleep, as the erotic lullaby continued in the next bed. In his dreams that night, Malcolm again saw himself fucking little Pepito.
***
At breakfast the next morning, Krishna explained that the name of their hotel, Chandela, referred to the people who ruled this area a thousand years ago. They followed a form of Hinduism called Tantrism. Their writings, the Tantras, teach that one can attain enlightenment through sex. It is actually a very beautiful religion with symbolic designs called mandala, special gestures called mudra, and sacred chants called mantra. There are five divine substances: wine, meat, fish, parched grain and sexual intercourse. Often the altar in their temple represents the Jewel in the Lotus. (The jewel is the penis and the lotus is the vulva.) They even practice a special form of yoga. Maria was fascinated. "Can we visit one of their temples?" "Hehe, along with a few thousand other tourists. The temples here in Khajuraho was built by the Chandelas. For a while, they were hidden by the jungle, but now people come from all over the world to see them, almost as many as the Taj Mahal."
***
Despite Maria's embarrassed attempts to keep her sons quiet as they looked at the temple carvings, Juan and Pepito kept announcing their discoveries in excited voices: "Look that one has a penis down to his ankles!" "Dose two is 69'ing, just like we do!" "There's the doggy position, hehe!" "Dat one's spread eagle!" (Now even Krishna and Om were embarrassed.) "Look, Pepito, there's another one sucking!" "I dink he's a little boy lige me!" "They sure like group sex, don't they? It's a fuckin orgy! Like we was doin last night, right Malcolm?" "Dey do lots of wanging!" "Shit, is that guy fucking an elephant?" "Dat one's fugging standing up!" "Shit, this place is more fun than Disney! Malcolm, I like these old temples. I want to be an archaeologist when I grow up and dig up stuff like Dr. Andrea."
***
Early the next morning, they packed up the van and Krishna headed west. He and Om took turns at the wheel, and the family made it to Udaipur for supper. The next day they discovered why Udaipur is called the most romantic city in India. They took a leisurely boat ride on Lake Pichola. With all its lakes, Udaipur is often called the Venice of the East. While Malcolm played gondolier, Maria in her sari hugged her boys, and Om and Krishna kissed each other. Even the birds chirping added their romance to the atmosphere. Maria calculated that Valentines day was about one month away. They went to the Jag Niwas palace. Sitting on an island, the lovely building is reflected in the water. Then the exotic Jag Mandir temple, the peaceful Sahelion ki Bari (Garden of maidens) and the memorial to Indian hero Maharana Pratap. It seemed like everything in the city was designed for lovers and romantics. And all the passengers in Krishna's van were in that category. They tried not to think that the following morning, they would be parting ways.
***
There was not a dry eye among them at the airport. Maria kissed Krishna and Om, who had become like her own children. Juan and Pepito kissed them also, on the mouth, and Juan stuck his mischievous tongue in their mouths. Malcolm thanked Krishna for making the previous week so enjoyable, handed him a generous envelope, and wished him great success in his chosen career.
***
"Suprabhat!" Maria came out of her room to find Juan, Pepito, Malcolm still doing their morning yoga. But their enthusiasm was certainly tempered. Like Las Vegas, Mumbai, or as many still call it, Bombay, is a city that never sleeps. However, since their hotel was located in the exclusive Malabar Hill area, it was not urban noise that had kept the family from getting a restful night's sleep. It was that they were already missing Krishna and Om. Malcolm felt he had to find some attractions, or perhaps distractions, to brighten their mood. Se he led them over to nearby Kamala Nehru Park. There wasn't much there except a silly building shaped like a shoe, as in the "Old Woman" nursery rhyme. The Hanging Garden was a little more interesting and gave them a fantastic vista of Back Bay and Chowpati Beach. They also walked over to the Walkeshwar Temple, and drank from the legendary Banganga Tank. Workers were busy sprucing the place up for a music festival held every February. "Hey, everybody, loog!" Pepito pointed across the wide pool of water. "It's Jay-gub!" "Jacob who, my niño?" "From back home, you know, Neil's grandpa. Come on, let's run over there." Being the youngest, Pepito had the best eyes in the family and everyone knew it, but what he was saying was too incredible. All anyone else saw in the distance were several women in saris. What would the chances be that halfway around the world they would meet someone from back home? And not just anyone, either. But Jacob! Malcolm remembered when his older sister used to play with Jacob after school. Even then, Jacob's favorite game was 'dress up'. By the time he went to college, he was cross dressing regularly. Jacob intrigued the teenaged Malcolm, who was wrestling not only his homosexuality, but with his attraction to young boys. However, Jacob was neither. He dated girls, – even took Andrea out a couple times. And soon after he graduated college, he married Melinda, came back home, and joined his father in running the only hardware store in town. People laughed of course, but no one seemed to mind too much that Jacob wore dresses around town. He was a good man, a good husband, and soon enough a good father. And he was comfortable with whom he was. Every Tuesday, he came to the racquet club to work out and have long talks with Malcolm. He often encouraged Malcolm to likewise be true to himself, not to be defined by someone else's narrow definitions of acceptability. Jacob and his wife were a comfort to Mom, when Dad died. Now Jacob's son Walter was grown and beginning to take over the hardware store, and HIS son was in Pepito's class. "Come on, everybody. They're walking away. Hurry." Pepito grabbed Maria's hand and the family, still unconvinced, followed him around to the other side of the pool. "Señor Jay-gub, wait!" Two American women in saris turned around, except one of them wasn't a woman. Miraculously, Pepito had indeed spotted Jacob and Melinda. "Shit, Malcolm, Maria, Boys, what the Hell are you guys doing here in India?" They sat down at a table and Malcolm, with lots of interruptions, explained their round-the-world adventure. "Wow, that's great, my boy. I wonder if I could find anyone to give me $2.5 million for that old store. Hehe. Now you must be wondering what we're doing here. Well, our kids wanted to give me a birthday present – had the fucking big five-o a couple weeks ago. My daughter has a time share in Hawaii. She thought I'd like to relax on the beach all day, but fuck, at 50, I don't look so good in a two-piece any more. I told her I wanted to see Mumbai, and she traded for a time share on Juju Beach. You see a couple years ago, I attended an international symposium in San Francisco for T and T's." "What's dat, Señor Jay-gub?" "Transvestites, Transponders, Transsexuals, Pepito. I know those are big words for you. It's just a bunch of men who like to wear ladies' clothes for one reason or another. Oh, and the other way around for that matter. Anyway, that's where I met Zudora. He's this Indian author, uhm, I mean she's, she prefers the female pronouns, it's confusing. But she's a hijra and she's writing a book about the hijras. "What's dose, Señor Jay-gub?" "They're guys here in India, Pepito, who like to dress like women, like I do. Zudora fascinated me because I was under the misconception that hijras were uneducated. At the symposium, we talked for hours; remember, Melinda? And Zudora said if I ever came to India, I should look her up. She lives here in Mumbai. She was thrilled to hear we were coming. We're going to meet her this afternoon." Melinda finally broke in, "Malcolm, you've got to come along, and bring the boys. It'll be a great education for them. Don't you agree, Jacob?" "That's a fucking great idea! Definitely! I won't take no for an answer."
***
That afternoon, Maria, Malcolm, Juan and Pepito, Jacob and Melinda were aboard a ferry headed across the waters of Mumbai harbor to the Island of Elephants. Waiting at the dock was Zudora, in a garish pink and purple sari, her hairy arms bejeweled with bracelets, her face heavily covered in makeup, her large feet bare. "Kumari Jacob darling, so good to see you. What a lovely sari you have. And Shrimati Melinda. It seems like ages. You must tell me everything you've been doing." "Kumari Zudora, I want you to meet some friends of mine from back home. You won't believe it, we bumped into them this morning. This is Malcolm. This is Juan. The little one is Pepito, he goes to school with our grandson. And this is their mother, Maria." "Maria, your sari is just scrumptious! But certainly you are too young to have these three sons." "No, no, hehe, Señor Malcolm is not my son, hehe. Jacob meant the two boys." "Ah, that's better. And they are very handsome young men indeed. Come, come, let me show you around this island." Zudora brought them to the caves, and the statue of Shiva portrayed as half male/half female. "Isn't she beautiful?" Zudora's pronouns ignored the male half. "Juan, have you ever heard of Rodin?" "We seen his statue in Paris." Juan assumed the pose of The Thinker. "What a brilliant child! When Rodin saw this statue, he said 'This full, pouting mouth, rich in sensuous expressions, these lips like a lake of pleasure, fringed by the noble, palpitating nostrils.' Oh, doesn't that make you all goose-bumpy?" "Is there more caves?" "The island has seven. Come, I'll show you the others." "Yippee!"
***
At supper that evening, for the first time in their entire trip, Maria was at last among the majority (in a sense). In their saris, she, Melinda, Jacob and Zudora outnumbered Malcolm and the two boys. Malcolm had wanted to treat everyone to dinner at their hotel on Malabar Hill, but Zudora laughed. Hijras, apparently, were not welcomed everywhere. But she guided them to a small restaurant, where the food was delicious and the atmosphere warm and friendly. Many other hijras patronized the place. Maria's curiosity prompted many questions. "Are there many hijras in India?" "Millions, darling! Though the government chooses to ignore us. No one has actually counted our, uhm, noses. Hehe. Most people would like to see us disappear. They don't want us living next door or eating with them. And as for getting a job, well, shit, forget that." "Then how do you make a living?" "Me, I'm a writer. But I'm fortunate. Most hijras get by begging, or prostitution, or singing and dancing." "Oh? Where do they perform?" "Usually at weddings or when a baby boy is born. Mind you, we are not invited performers. We have to, as you say, crash the party. But then the people are so intimidated, so afraid that we will cast an evil spell on their marriage or the kid, hehe, that they pay us to perform. It's a tough way to make a living, but a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do. "We're like a big family, you see. An older hijra is a guru and she teaches the young chelas, just like Malcolm here teaches you boys. We watch out for each other. Juan, you watch out for little Pepito, right? Keep bad people from hurting him?" Malcolm looked embarrassed. "Well, that's what my sisters do. You know, if we get hurt, and go to the hospital, we might not get treated because they don't know if we belong in the men's ward or the women's ward. It is so fucking unjust! That's why I'm hoping my writing can shed some light on our plight." Malcolm asked, "Are all the hijras transvestites, or are some transsexuals?" "Honey, we got all kinds. We got some, who yeah, chop off their nuts. They think the only real hijra is a nirwaan hijra. Then, some of them use girdles and stuff to try to pass as g.g.'s (genuine girls). Hell, I know I ain't fooling nobody. Tell me, little Pepito, when you go the hardware store and see Kumari Jacob, you know she's a lady right?" Pepito giggled and shook his head wildly. "Hm, oh my, I guess not. But you know I'm a lady right?" More giggling and energetic head shaking. "You see, I can't even fool the little ones. But I don't give a shit. And Kumari Jacob doesn't either. But some hijras do try to pass. And some hijras have wives like Kumari Jacob, and some even have husbands, except the state doesn't say they're married. And then there are the kothis. They don't think of themselves as hijras, but they like to get men to fuck them. "Psst, Malcolm, am I a kothi then?" Malcolm kissed Juan and put his arm around him. As they left the restaurant and headed down the street, someone shouted out of a car window, "Chakka!" and drove off. The family sensed how their new friend felt, having to endure discrimination every day. That night, Malcolm found himself admiring the way Zudora didn't just endure the abuse, but was working actively to change the public perception. Perhaps he should become more political for men with his orientation. That seemed such a daunting proposition, however.
Juan's blog
January 16 And we went to a market, and Mama bought two more saris, and so did Melinda. And Jacob bought six! I think Mama looked prettier than him but I didn't tell him that, hehe. And Jacob bought two little doll saris for Rascal and Oso and Pepito told him that they was boy bears, and Jacob said yeah he knew that. And we watched a puppet show. The puppeteer took Pepito and me behind the small stage and showed us how to make the puppets dance. Every morning we practice the yoga that Krishna taught us. We can do the lotus position now. It's easy, but Malcolm still has trouble getting his legs tucked in. Hehe. All us guys are in one room at the hotel and we have lots of fun at night. Mujhe tum bahut yaad aate ho (that means I miss you). Upna Khyal Rakhna (that means Take care). Juan As Juan pecked away at the computer, Malcolm and Pepito were relaxing on the bed. With those warm moist little boy lips wrapped around his cock and that sweet stiff little boy nail in his mouth, Malcolm figured he had attained Nirvana. He ran his hand along Pepito's tender little body: those tiny arms no thicker than pickles; those pointy wings bones jutting out in back, surely, he was an angel; those sweet little hips. Lost in this simple pleasure, Malcolm let his hand caress the adorable little buns. His finger soon found the vertical smile and began to trace the little boy crack, until it located the anus where it stopped and pushed on the doorbell. "Nhh!" Pepito's sudden gasp startled Malcolm. "I'm sorry, Pepito," he whispered. "I didn't know what I was doing. I was in another world." "Dat's ok," Pepito's soft young voice answered. "It felt nice, Malgum." And he went back to his suckling. God, Pepito, Malcolm thought, I won't be able to resist you much longer.
"What flight you fuckers taking, Malcolm?" "Air India 358." "OK, I see they're still saying it's on time. How long is the flight?" "Four hours. Listen, Jacob, I can't thank you enough for these last few days. If it wasn't for Pepito here, we never would have seen you. And that would have been a great loss." "Malcolm, you little dick, it's me who's in debt here. Twenty years ago, I started coming to the racquet club. Wanted to improve my backhand. Any place else, I know, the owners would have kicked me out just for wearing a fuckin skirt. But you never batted an eye. I appreciated that. It is so fuckin nice to feel accepted. And, shit, the tips you gave me on my swing were right on target. Actually, your whole family has always been nice to me. If I was a religious man, I'd say I've been blessed. Anyway, here's a little token of my gratitude." He surprised Malcolm with an envelope. "It's my daughter's time share in Oahu. You guys can use it for the month of April. Hope that fits into your schedule." Malcolm couldn't help himself. He hugged Jacob and kissed his cheek. "Make sure you send us a post card. Get going, they just announced your flight."
***
While the plane was approaching Suvarnabhumi Airport, Maria asked her sons what they were giggling about. "We're going to bang cock. Hehe." Then they doubled up in laughter again. Their hotel, The Shangri-La, certainly lived up to its name. It had a great view for Maria, AC for Pepito, and a huge king-sized bed for Malcolm and the boys. From the hotel they found they could get right on the SkyTrain and be in the heart of Bangkok in no time. However, downtown was not such a shangri-la. When they went searching for a restaurant the first night, Malcolm was accosted by street urchins, both boys and girls, who kept rubbing his crotch and offering their services. Some of them looked like they were no older than Juan. And men pulled him aside to ask, "You want boy or girl for fun? Real cheap, any age you want, I got virgin if you want." When they finally got to the restaurant, Malcolm could hardly eat. He knew the age of consent here was only 13 and he'd heard about child prostitution in southeast Asia but didn't expect such a blatant display. And on his first night. The next day, however, the family took a wonderful tour of the city. They set out from the hotel in a Tuktuk, something like the autorickshaws they rode in India. Maria found she was breathing all the fumes from the traffic, and decided one tuktuk ride was enough. Their first stop was Wat Po. On entering, they were told to take off their shoes. Pepito, giggling, wanted to take off his pants too. From the signs, they learned that it is rude to show anyone the soles of your feet. There was so much to learn about this exotic country. When they got inside, there in the center of the building was a humongous golden Buddha lying on his side. It took forever just to walk from the head to the foot. Then they walked around behind and saw the back of the statue. "Psst, Malgum, loogit his big ass, hehe." There were lots of metal pots lined up along the Buddha's posterior. Malcolm bought four bowls of coins from a vendor and then they walked along, each one dropping a coin into each pot for luck. Maria thought it sounded like music. "Malcolm, look at all those beds!" Juan had discovered the massage school at Wat Po. There were men, women, children, all getting their muscles kneaded. "Come on, let's get massages." "Well, it does seem legitimate. The price is 300 baht an hour. How much is that, Juan?" "Shit, it's only $8." Maria looked around nervously, but saw that everyone left their clothes on in this very public area. She and Pepito had female practitioners, while Malcolm and Juan chose males, who pressed on their backs with their hands and arms, and then moved to their arms, legs, and feet; then arched the back and stretched the whole body in yoga-like positions. "Psst, Malcolm, this is making me horny." "Me too, Juan, try not to think about it." Suddenly, Malcolm's man was walking on his back, while pulling his shoulders back, while Juan's guy pulled his little fingers, toes, ears, and cracked his knuckles. Maria thought the whole exercise was like a dance, and everyone agreed they felt better. They also learned that if they want this kind of therapy, to be sure to ask for an 'old lady' massage. In Thailand, a 'young lady' massage is something quite different. Feeling immensely comfortable, they walked across to the National Museum, but found they couldn't get in because they were wearing shorts. They decided it probably wasn't any fun anyway.
Juan's blog
February 2 This evening, we took a water taxi on the big river in Bangkok. It cost 8 baht, which is like a quarter, and we could see temples and museums on the bank shining in the sunset. And we saw the royal barge for the king. We waved to all the other boats. It was fun. Laa gòn (goodbye), Juan "You sure are buying a lot of film." Malcolm was in one of the stores off the hotel lobby, when he noticed a Thai man in his early thirties, carrying a large bag that he correctly assumed held camera equipment. "Sä-wät-dee, my name is Kovit, Aran Kovit. Yes, I'm a photographer." "I'm Malcolm, from America. My nephew is a photographer too. He does free lance, often sells his work to National Geographic. I gave him his first camera when he was a young boy, a dèk chaai, did I say that right? I'm showing a couple dèk chaais your beautiful country." "Yes, it is beautiful, but have they been outside of Bangkok?" Malcolm shook his head. "Most tourists never get out of the city. They should explore the countryside." "Sounds wonderful. You speak English very well, by the way." "I studied biological science at Cornell. Right now I'm working on an assignment for the International Wildlife Association, to document all the flowering plants of Thailand. It allows me to see some beautiful scenery, but the work itself is kinda boring, cataloguing every species. Say, how would you like to come along with me. I'd love the company, and the chance to practice my English."
***
Riding in Aran's jeep the next day, the whole family was awestruck by the bucolic fields and lush forests, dotted with small exotic Buddhist temples. "I grew up in this province." Maria asked him why he ever left such a beautiful area. "Well, it's rather a sad story, I'm afraid. "When I was only a little older than Juan here, I was taken to Bangkok by a man who promised my parents I would go to school and learn the tourism business and make a lot of money for my family. I discovered what he meant was not working in a hotel or restaurant but entertaining European pedophiles. I was so ashamed. But I did make money selling myself, my dtòot, for their pleasure. I wanted to help my poor family, so I swallowed my pride and became a dòk tong, a prostitute. I naively gave the man the money I earned to send to my family. "A year later my cousin Virote was also tricked into coming. That's when I learned my family never got any of the money. In reality we were slaves. Virote and I decided we had to escape. One night, a man hired me but not for sex. Instead he fed me, talked to me, and asked if I wanted to go to a mission that rescues street children from this life of prostitution. I refused to go without Virote. So the next day, we both escaped. We grew up in the mission." Maria was shocked. "I can't imagine someone forcing a little boy to do that." She hugged her two niños. "Well, the problem is rampant. The government says they are trying to crack down, but there are probably 12,000 kids each year who are tricked and sold into the business. Unfortunately, the tourism industry knows why these men come to Thailand, so they don't want the laws enforced. Child prostitution is a billion dollar business. I've seen kids younger than Pepito being sold for sex. Men from Germany and other countries know they can go to 'Washington Square' downtown and walk into a 'painter' bar and buy a drink and a little boy or girl to fuck. These kids are abused, sick, malnourished and, if they don't make enough, beaten. "Where's this mission?" Malcolm asked. "I'd like to make a donation to their work." "It's the Nan Youth Development Association way up north. They could use the money."
***
They spent a wonderful day with Aran. The boys sometimes held a ruler beside the flower while Aran took the picture. And they helped him make notes about the location of each specimen, its English, Thai, and Latin names, and a technical description of its blossom, leaves, stem and seed. They were getting their science lesson. Malcolm, as he walked the hillsides, kept thinking about the problem of child prostitution. He had no sympathy for the traffickers and slave owners. He wasn't sure about the parents whose lives were so desperate, they'd give up their own children. But then he thought about the johns. These Europeans who flew halfway around the world to fuck little kids. Malcolm knew firsthand the pleasure of pedophilia. But he couldn't see himself hiring a boy like Juan for a one night joyride. But then, he knew how lucky he was. What would he be tempted to do if he had not found boys like Juan, and Rip, and Tony, and all the others, boys with whom he shared a bond, not just a bed. If these men could freely love young children back in their home countries, without interference from government agencies, would the problem of child prostitution just disappear?
***
That night Malcolm got into bed with his two sweethearts and hugged them close. "Aran was teaching me some more Thai words today, boys. Juan, you are my kôo non, my lover. And Pepito, you are Juan's pá-raa-don, his brother, and Maria is your maa-daa, your mother. And dâai bpròht means please and kòp koon means thank you. Those are good words for you boys to remember." "Hehe, Señor Aran daught us some words, doo, Malgum." "Yup, Pepito's right." Juan jumped up, stood on the bed and wagged his dick in Malcolm's face. "This is my ong-ká-châat." "And dis," Pepito pushed Juan aside and put his pretty little bottom in front of Malcolm's nose, "is my dtòot!" "Your dtòt?" "No, hehehehe, my dtòot. My dtòt is something else. Here, hehehe, I'll show you." With that Pepito let loose a fart right in Malcolm's face. "THAT'S my dtòt." And both boys started laughing hysterically. "And guess what," Juan continued. A dtòot can be an asshole, or a bottom, or even a faggot. A homo. And pêt sam-pan is having sex." "And om means sug. I think they gall it dat 'gause you gan say it while you're sugging." "And dtaai häa means Oh shit!" "Well, dtaai häa, you two certainly learned a lot from Aran. Let's see if I can remember all those, Pepito, dâai bpròht om my ong-ká-châat, and get it all ready so I can stick it in Juan's dtòot, and have pêt sam-pan."
"To Cambodia. Look at the map, Juan. You said you wanted to be an archaeologist like my sister, so I thought you'd like to see Angkor Wat." "Angkor What?" At 11:25 that morning, Juan and Pepito said their final Laa gòn to Thailand. Exactly one hour later, Bangkok Airways flight PG905 landed at Siem Reap and they got their first look at Cambodia. "Wow, when we gonna see the Angkor place?" "Soon, Juan, but first things first." First thing on the agenda was checking into their spacious suite at the Angkor Paradise Hotel, and second was freshening up from their flight. After Maria and Juan had finished their showers, Malcolm took Pepito in under the spray and began lathering his precious body. Pepito, who was eye to eye with Malcolm's dick, became very quiet. "Is something the matter, little one?" Pepito looked down at his petite equipment, "Liddle one is right! My peepee is so fuckin small." The wetness in Pepito's eyes was not from the shower. "That's why you doan love me." Now Malcolm's eyes were beginning to tear as well. He crouched down, sat on his haunches, and looked into Pepito's big round eyes. With one hand he tenderly stroked the boy's head; with the other he cupped the boy's sweet sack. "Pepito, Pepito, Pepito, you have a wonderful little boy dick. Believe me, I've seen a lot of little boys in my life and none of their dicks were more beautiful than yours." To emphasize his point, Malcolm leaned forward and planted a sweet kiss on the miniscule peepee. "Why do you think I don't love you?" "Gause you doan wanna fug my ass. You fug Juan all the time 'gause his peepee is bigger n mine. That's why you love him." "Pepito." Malcolm took the wet boy in his arms and hugged him tight, as the water cascaded over their naked bodies. "If you only knew how much I love you. I'd give the world to be with you. And I have a little secret to tell you. Are you listening? Good. I've been thinking a lot about your beautiful ass. Sometimes, I stay awake at night imagining what it would be like to have you sit on my hard cock." "Really?" "You betcha. But the time isn't right yet. When the time is right, I'm definitely going to fuck my beautiful Pepito." "You promise?" "Absolutely! You can bet on it. Malcolm never breaks a promise." "You won't forget?" "Hmmm, OK, listen, we're going to have a secret sign, OK? Just you and me. You can't tell Juan or Mama. It's our secret. Look at my long finger. You know what that is?" "Hehe, that's the F U finger." "That's right, now you wrap your whole hand around that finger. That's the way. When I have my finger inside your fist like that, it's a sign that some day I'll have my cock inside your ass. That way, we'll both remember. OK?" "O gay!"
***
Down the road, Malcolm turned in at a sign marked 'airport'. "Hey, why we going nother airport?" "You'll see, Pepito." The manager of the hotel had noticed the two handsome boys (everyone does), and getting Malcolm aside, suggested a special treat he thought they'd enjoy. Soon, the four of them were rising into the air in a helium balloon. "Wow, this is so neat! Look, I see the temple! And those big towers. Wow, look at all those statues. This place is huge! Thanks, Malcolm. This is so cool!" "You're welcome, Juan. Take a good look because when we are back on the ground, it'll be hard to appreciate this vast complex." As their eyes surveyed the landscape, Juan and Maria never noticed that Pepito's hand was firmly gripping Malcolm's middle finger. All too soon, they were coming back down, but now all the more anxious to explore the amazing site. Malcolm was right. When they began to explore Angkor Wat on foot, it was overwhelming. The site, Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom and The Bayon, covered many square miles, and contained the ruins of many old temples (including the largest temple in the world), as well as palaces, the large four-sided towers, two large reservoirs, and 54 gods and devils standing guard. Built eight to fifteen hundred years ago, this was the capital of the Khmer empire that stretched throughout southeast Asia and up into China. It was once the largest city in the world. Suddenly, in 1431 everyone moved out and no one knows why. Juan ventured, "Maybe they were abducted by aliens!" In the museum, they saw pictures of how the jungle had swallowed up the ruins until Henri Mouhot from France discovered them in 1859. Many of the buildings are still being restored. "Wow, I wish I was here with that Mouhot guy." "You like archaeology?" A man at a desk nearby had been listening to the boys and Malcolm discuss the project. "You bet. I'm going to be one when I get big, like Dr. Andrea. And I'm going to find hidden temples with carvings and statues of naked people having fun, and 3;" The man was already laughing. "You have to excuse Juan. He's very excited here. Hi, I'm Malcolm. We've seen ancient artifacts now in England, Italy, Greece, India, Thailand. If it's old, Juan wants to know about it. Of course, he also wants to be a movie star when he grows up." "It's wonderful to see such enthusiasm. I'm Dr. Channery. I'm in charge of the digs here. Who is Dr. Andrea?" "Oh, she's my sister, Dr. Andrea Sloan." "And Dr. Marcus Sloan? Yes, I've read their monographs on Naxos. Come, young man, how would you like to help a real archaeologist." Dr. Channery led the boys to a remote corner of Angkor Wat and showed them how the soil must be removed carefully, inch by inch, and studied. Some artifacts are so small, it's easy to miss them. Juan told Dr. Channery he wanted to find something to prove his alien abduction theory. The next day, they took another elephant ride in the morning and then rented bicycles and explored the little villages outside of town. In the afternoon, they walked around the market of Siem Reap. Between the colorful silk fabrics and cotton khromas, the street musicians, and the jars of spices, all of their senses were on overload. But Malcolm was most interested in the little boys who laughed and pushed their souvenirs at him, spouting the few English words they knew, "Buy mine, mister. I see you first. One dollar." No matter what sites he sees in any country throughout the world, nothing can beat the grin on a happy little boy's face.
***
"OK, Juan, that sign says Phnom Penh is 308 kilometers." After two nights in enchanting Siem Reap, they were now heading south. "That's 191 miles. Four hours easily!" "Well, the Khmer Highway isn't the Autobahn, so maybe a little longer." Maria added, "And we might find some places we want to stop and look around." "And pee!" Pepito added. "Six or seven hours, it looks like then." The road wound past the Tonie Sap, the beautiful large lake in the center of the country, as well as tall palm trees, and rolling green rice fields. In villages along the way, they spotted many little temples. As they paralleled the riverbank, Malcolm almost wished they had opted to take the boat down to Cambodia's capital instead of driving. Then he would have been able to hold his Juan instead of the steering wheel. Along the way, they often spotted amputees on crutches, some of them no older than the boys. Malcolm explained about the war. How the American government felt at the time it was a necessary engagement. How the Khmer Rouge killed (or let starve) three million people. And how the land mines planted there long ago are still maiming children today. "I hade war. I don't want to fide nobody." "You're right, Pepito," said his mother. "I wish everyone in the world could live at peace with each other. If more boys had the chance to go around the world and meet children in other countries, maybe when they grew up they wouldn't want to shoot at each other." Malcolm said, "You know, Maria, in some ways the hippies were right. When we were sending men over here to die, the flower children used to chant, 'Make Love not War'." Juan agreed, "Yeah, that's a great idea! Let's get to our hotel so we can do that." "OK, Juan, you're the boss!"
Juan's blog
February 20 Khnhom-noek-ptah (that means I miss you guys), Juan It took Malcolm about three hours to drive through the beautiful countryside from Phnom Penh to the beachfront town of Kampong Saom (which some people call Sihanoukville, in honor of the king), so by mid-afternoon he and Maria were sitting on the amazingly white sand soaking in the sunshine. The boys of course were building sand castles, chasing the breaking waves, and finding local kids to play with. There were lots of children on the beach. It wasn't long before Juan and Pepito were joined by a cute little Khmer kid who looked maybe 7 or 8. Not very well nourished, he was wearing torn shorts and a smile you could die for. Again Malcolm pondered the lesson Maria's boys could teach all of us: Why can't we all just get along? Malcolm studied the other beachgoers. Frequently a Caucasian man walked by holding hands with one or two boys, obviously not his own. He recalled his conversation with Bruce. If Cambodia was truly cracking down on pedophile tourists, they weren't being too effective. He guessed that a lot of these men got right off the plane, headed for the beach, and in a couple hours had their boy for the night. He noticed Juan, Pepito and their new friend were now intrigued by a radio-controlled toy beach buggy making circles in the sand. It would stop, and when they ran up to it, it would take off again leaving them giggling. Malcolm had no problem spotting the man with the control box. Six foot six [1.95 m], and slightly overweight, he had a presence. He was dressed in knaki pants and a straw hat, with a wooly mustache, lots of chest hair and an aryan tattoo on his arm. Now he was talking to the boys and letting them each take a turn at the controls. "What time is it?" Maria's question interrupted Malcolm's observations. "Oh, we better call the boys. It's almost time for Pepito's medication. Yoo hoo, Juan, Pepito. Come." Juan handed the control box to the local, and raced Pepito back to his mother. In a few minutes, Malcolm saw Herr Mustache and little torn pants headed up the beach, hand in hand, the boy carrying the car and the man wearing a satisfied smirk. Malcolm looked down and saw Pepito smiling up at him, his hand firmly grasping Malcolm's middle finger.
***
"I'm scared, Juan." "Me too, Pepito, that man tricked us with his silly car. Now here we are in this hotel room." "He dook all our clothes away. I don't like dat man." "Me neither. He locked the door. I hear him out in the hall. He's talking to some other man." "What's he saying?" "I don't know, but it sounds German, like Bruce talked." Juan didn't want to scare Pepito any more, so he didn't admit that he recognized some of the words: 'Arschloch', 'poppen', and 'durchficken'." The door opened and poor naked Pepito cowered behind Juan, who bravely tried to protect his baby brother. But the men were too much for boys 12 and 6 to resist. The new stranger pulled Juan on to his lap and started probing his little hole with his teutonic fingers. There was no condom or lube in sight. Meanwhile Herr Mustache held Pepito in his sweaty arms and was licking his face with his hairy tongue, telling him he was a sweet boy and he was going to play nice for Herr Mustache. Juan suddenly saw his brother's tear-filled eyes roll up to the ceiling. He knew what was happening. Having missed his medicine, Pepito was going into a seizure. "Vot is dis?" yelled Herr Mustache, as Pepito began to shake uncontrollably. "Dumkopf! Stop playing games. I'm going to fuck your ass." "No, stop it!! leave him alone!! Let us go!! 3;" "What's the madder, Señor Malgum." "What? huh?" "Malcolm, you're scaring us. You woke us up shouting. What's wrong?" "Oh, Boys, Boys, I'm so sorry. I was having a terrible nightmare." Malcolm clenched both boys close in a tight bear hug. "I'll always protect you, boys." "Uh, Malcolm, now you're hurting us." "Shit, I'm sorry. It's just that I love you both so much. I never want to lose you." He eased up on the hug a little and began smothering both boys with kisses.
"Yippee!!" They found their seats aboard the Royal Khmer Airlines plane, stowed their carry-ons, and got settled. Pepito sat by the window – "Oso wants to loog outside." – and Juan in the middle. That left two aisle seats for the adults. Malcolm knew Maria wouldn't feel comfortable sitting with strangers, so he gallantly gave up his seat next to Juan and took the one across the aisle. "Hi, name's Scott Weinblum." Malcolm's new seatmate extended his hand. "I see you're American. I'm from Detroit. Here on business. Nice looking family you have." Malcolm introduced everyone and explained their adventure. Scott was fascinated by this grand odyssey. "What a great education your sons are getting. If I could afford it, boy, I'd sure love to take my three boys on a trip like that." Scott took their pictures out of his wallet, and Malcolm passed them over the aisle to Maria. "Yeah, they're my pride and joy. These trips are hell, always being away from them. I feel terrible missing all their ball games, and school concerts, not to mention if I'm out of town for a birthday. That's the worst." "So what hotel would you recommend in Tokyo?" Scott looked at the boys again. "Well, listen, if your sons are fairly well-behaved, and they look so to me, if I were you, I'd bypass the big fancy American style hotels and go for a ryokan instead. That's where I'm staying. Ryokans are small traditional Japanese inns. The boys would get much more of the flavor of the country that way." Malcolm asked Maria what she thought. After all, until now they'd gone first class, with air conditioning, high rise views, pools, king sized beds, etc. Maria thought it sounded like a nice change of pace. For the rest of their flight, Scott explained the finer points of staying in a ryokan.
***
The van took them from the airport. Scott sat up by the driver to give directions, while Maria, Malcolm, Juan and Pepito gawked in wonder at Tokyo's noisy bright bustle whizzing past the windows. It was a relief when they eventually turned down a small quiet lane, and stopped in front of a one-story traditional Japanese building. "OK, boys, this is it. Your home for the next couple weeks. But, listen, it's not like the hotels we've been in. There are a lot of rules. So you have to really try to behave, OK?" Scott led them through the genkan. "This is where we take off our shoes, lads. Never go inside with your street shoes on. Fujin Tonomi will be very upset. Ah, here she is now." Scott began speaking to the proprietor in animated Japanese. She had brought out five pairs of slippers. "Supashi-bo, Fujin Tonomi." He bowed his head and accepted the footwear." Inside, Fujin Tonomi showed them to their rooms. Scott explained that in Japan it's common for young children to sleep in the same room as their parents. Maria shrugged. Scott's smaller room was just next door. "Wow," Juan whispered to his mother, "this is nothing like a hotel." He saw the walls were made of paper panels. Instead of doors, the panels just slid open. The floors were covered with woven mats. "Those are 'tatami'," Scott said, "and you don't wear your slippers. Just your socks." "Shit, I hope I remember. So many rules about slippers." "Well, I'm afraid there's more too, Juan. When you go to the toilet down the hall, you leave those slippers by the toilet door and put on special ones while you're in there. Then you have to remember to put those on again when you come out. Don't want to be walking around the house in your toilet slippers." Now the boys were giggling, and Malcolm and Maria were finding it hard to keep a straight face too. "Don't worry, you'll catch on. You're smart boys." Scott left them in their room to get comfortable, before supper. Malcolm whispered, "Well, it's not exactly a suite." "I dink it's gonna be fun," Pepito shouted, ever the optimist. Maria hushed him, "These walls are not soundproof. We better get used to keeping the noise level down. Scott will hear everything we say. So will everyone else." "And, guys, no roughhouse. It won't take much to rip the walls." "We'll be good, Malgum. We promise." Pepito wrapped his fist around Malcolm's middle finger to remind him of another promise. Scott tapped on the wall after a while and asked if he could come in. "Fujin Tonomi will be here soon with supper." "We're gonna eat here?" "Yep, breakfast and supper anyway. Lunch you'll take at a restaurant." "But there's no table." Just then the proprietor slid open the wall and set a low table down on the floor. "I told Fujin Tonomi to bring my supper in here also. I figured you could use some instruction, if that's OK." "Supashi-bo, Señor Scott." Maria was already picking up the lingo. Scott taught them to handle the chopsticks. Juan was the most adept. However, drinking the soup right out of the cup was something they all could do. The main course was fish. And by the end of the meal they were all saying "Supashi-bo." "That was delicious. Uhm, Scott, I'm ready for a bath." "Well, then you're in for a real treat." "More rules?" "Oh, yes, Juan. But I'll guide you." Everyone donned their bathrobes and paddled down the hall to the baths. Maria went into the women's bath. Scott suggested the boys make a stop at the toilet first. House slippers off. Toilet slippers on. Pee. Toilet slippers off. House slippers on. OK. Ready for the bath. When they arrived at the men's bath, mists of steam were rising from the large communal pool, but they could see a few men already submerged. Scott greeted them in Japanese and then showed the new guests where to hang their robes. Juan made a discrete examination of Scott's manhood while Pepito started for the bath. The men bathing looked shocked and with animated talk and gestures indicated he was doing something wrong. Scott quickly called him back. "First things first, my boy." He began picking up buckets of hot water to pour over himself and then Pepito. Malcolm and Juan started doing the same. Then they each took a bar of soap and washcloth and lathered up. Part of the pleasure of a Japanese bath, they found, was lathering and scrubbing each other. Then more buckets of hot water until all the soap was rinsed off. Finally, thoroughly clean, they were ready to join the others for a long hot soak in the tub. Scott introduced the newcomers to the others, and spent time translating the boys' endless string of questions. The men seemed pleased to have these bright energetic young visitors join them. As they were drying off, Scott took Malcolm aside. "Listen, I know a ryokan can induce a lot of romantic feelings so if you and the Mrs. want to get it on, don't worry about the thin walls. Remember, I'm married too, so if I hear anything, it won't bother me. Enjoy your stay here. This hot bath will probably make your sons sleepy, anyway." Maria was already changed for bed when they got back to the room. The boys wanted to compare her bath experience with theirs and drilled her on every detail, while she kept trying to have them soften their voices. Malcolm, speaking softly, mentioned how he had decided not to correct Scott's misunderstanding about his relation to Maria and the boys. "OK, Daddy," Juan giggled. "You scamp." Malcolm pulled both boys down on the mattress and started wrestling them. Then remembering the fragile paper panels, stopped and pulled their mattress away from the walls. Later Scott smiled as he listened to the noises of lustful sex coming from the room next door, and thought about his lovely wife back home.
***
Malcolm and the boys were still naked the next morning when Fujin Tonomi pushed aside the wall and brought in the breakfast. They hustled to don robes, but she didn't show any embarrassment. On the table were a pot of green tea, miso soup, tofu, rice and pickles. As they began eating, the wall opened again. It was Scott, dressed in a suit. "I heard you up. Thought you could use these." He tossed them two dog-eared books, one a guide to Tokyo, the other a phrase book. "I got a slew of appointments today. I'll see you guys tonight." "You gonna dake a baf wid us?" "You bet, Pepito, I wouldn't miss it. You can soap my backside for me," he winked. "Have fun today." Juan grabbed the phrasebook while Malcolm began studying the guidebook. "I think we'll start with City Hall." That didn't sound too exciting to the boys. Juan tried to find the words for "Is that the best you can come up with?" It turned out that Tokyo City Hall has two towers with great observation decks. "Wow, dis is gool, Daddy." "Hehe, stop with the 'Daddy' already. But I knew the best way to get oriented is from the air. Look, way over there. That tiny house with the green roof. That's our ryokan. And there's a park across the street." Malcolm consulted the guidebook. "That's Shiba Park." He pointed out temples and other buildings. The boys saw another tall tower, Tokyo Tower. Maria had her eyes peeled way off on the horizon. "Look, boys. The sign says that's Mt. Fuji."
***
One morning, Scott told them that his appointment that day had been postponed, and he had the day free. He asked Malcolm if his wife and sons would like to get away from the city for a while. He rented a car and drove the family down the Isu peninsula to Shimoda. They stopped at Ryosenji Temple, where Scott told the boys about Commodore Perry. Further down the road they stopped briefly to look out at the Pacific Ocean. Juan noticed most of the boys and men were wearing very minimal beachwear. "That's called a fundoshi," Scott explained. "Basically, it's just a little piece of cloth to cover up your johnson with three straps attached that get tied in the back. I guess before WW2 it was what all guys wore here for underwear. Frankly, I can't see why a guy would want a wedgie up his ass all day long. Gimme boxers and a pair of good old swim trunks. Right, Malcolm?" Malcolm thought fundoshi was a good name, because it looked like fun to wear at the beach, if you had to wear something, that is. And it was definitely fun to watch all the little boy asses running around in them. They wound up the day at the Onsen (hot springs). As they luxuriated in the overheated pool, Malcolm remarked "You know what, Scott, Juan has been devouring your phrase book." Juan piped up, "Hehe, Japanese is a fun language. Mama, you know the word for boy? It's bo-i! And Mama? It's Mama. Hehe. And goodbye, get this, Mama, it's adiosu!" "Get out!" "Really! And penis is penisu. And anus is anusu. You just stick oo at the end of a word and you're talking Japanese! Heyu, I have-u to go-u to the bathroom-u. Hehe." "Now you're being silly. You boys better learn the word for I'm sorry, because I know someone is going to punch a hole in the wall before we leave Tokyo. I don't think it's sorry-u or even oops-u." Scott helped out," It's Ashikarazu, Juan." "Yeah, we better practice that one, Pepito. Ashikarazu, sorry I wore the wrong slippers in the bathroom. Ashikarazu, sorry I didn't rinse off all the soap. Ashikarazu, I giggled in the temple. Ashikarazu. Ashikarazu. Ashikarazu."
Juan's blog
March 7 We went to this really cool place for lunch today. We saw this picture of Atom Boy so we went inside. They call it a mawaru-zushi restaurant. You sit at a big counter and the chefs are in the middle and they keep putting dishes on to a belt and when you see something that looks good you grab it off the belt, but you better be right 'cause you can't put it back. Little pieces of raw fish. And this green stuff that tasted like really hot mustard. And octopus! And green bean ice cream for dessert! And each plate is a different color so at the end they charge you 'cause some colors cost more than others. It was fun. Adiosu, Juan One day, Maria decided to go shopping, so Malcolm took the boys to Jido Kaikan, which means "Kids' Hall." They made crafts for their mother, played on the computers, and skated on the roof. Then they tried their luck at the unicycles. Mainly, they kept laughing at each other. Malcolm had the hardest time staying up. All of them kept admiring a Japanese boy who kept riding around like it was the most natural thing to ride on one wheel. He'd stop, smile at them, then ride off again, without ever dismounting. When he finally did get off, he came over and introduced himself. "Hi, I'm Mamiko." "Eshaku, I'm Pepito." "I'm Juan." Mamiko, who turned out to be twelve, was glad for the opportunity to practice his English. He offered to give the boys a few unicycle tips, and soon they were riding circles (well, lopsided circles) around Malcolm. "Mamiko, I was about to take Juan and Pepito to lunch at McDonald's. Why not join us?" Over Big Macs and Fries, the boys learned more about each other. Mamiko took Sumo lessons and in his estimation was pretty good. His dream was to be Makuuchi some day. Next year, his teacher is going to help him get into a heya (stable). Thirteen is the minimum age for professional sumo wrestlers. The boys were fascinated, so Mamiko explained what the heya is like. The oyakata who runs the stable is very strict. As a Jonokuchi, a beginner, Mamiko will have to train, go to school, and also do chores like cleaning up, or running errands. Whatever the oyakata says goes. Mamiko asked if they wanted to watch a wrestling match and of course they said yes. He said his father was bringing him to see one that evening. Back at the ryokan for supper, Maria tried to show the men the lovely kimonos she bought, but they were too excited about the wrestling to even feign interest. Scott agreed that a sumo bout is a must for anyone visiting Japan. So after supper, Malcolm hired a cab to take them to Ryogoku Kokugikan. They met Mimiko and his father in the lobby who led them to their seats. First all the wrestlers or rikishi came out and formed a circle in the dohyo. They were all very fat. Each one wore an elaborate kesho-mawashi, that looked like an apron. On top of his head was a ball of hair like the Sikhs wore in India, but without the turban. After they were all introduced, they turned around and from the back they were naked except for like a thick thong called a mawashi. A Shinto priest prayed for blessings for all the rikishi. Later when they came out in twos to fight, they wore only the mawashi. There's a referee called a gyoji. When the rikishi stepped into the dohyo, they stomped their feet and clapped and threw salt. Then they crouched and stared at each other. Suddenly they jumped up, charged toward each other, and one of them pushed the other out of the ring. After all the long preparation, the actual battle seemed to be over in a flash! But the boys loved it. That night, after their bath, the boys used some towels to fashion themselves mawashi, then pretended to square off and push each other out of an invisible dohyo. Malcolm thought sure someone was going to crash through the wall. Maria took one of Pepito's pajamas (which weren't getting much use on this trip anyway) cut them up and sewed little mawashi for the bears. Malcolm was much happier acting as gyoji for the two little furry rikishi. Somehow, Oso and Rascal both won an equal number of matches.
***
"Why did we have to leave so early, Malcolm? We didn't even eat breakfast." "Fujin Tonomi packed up a nice meal for us to eat along the way, boys. She called it a bento. I really wanted to get an early start today. I think there might be a lot of traffic on the road to Komaki. March 15th is a very special day." "Dat's de ides of March. Dat's when Julius Caesar died." "You're right, Pepito. But in Komaki it's a happy day. It's called Hounen Matsuri and it's like Carnivale and Martini and Thanksgiving all in one. And I know lots of tourists are going to be there." "Señor Malcolm, that sounds exciting." Maria asked, "What are they celebrating?" "You'll see, Maria. It's something Juan, and Pepito, and me like to celebrate all the time. And I know you'll like it too, Maria." "You're being very mysterious, Señor Malcolm." Now it was his turn to smile. This time he was the one with the secret. They did indeed encounter traffic jams, and at least they had something to eat while they crept toward Komaki. Eventually, they came to an officer who was directing the cars into a parking lot. "I guess we walk from here." They joined the mass of people, both Japanese and foreigners, swarming toward the festival. Maria noticed children with rather odd shaped balloons. "Malcolm, those balloons look like, uh, 3;" "Cocks!" shouted Pepito. "Hehe." Sure enough, they began seeing flags, signs and banners with gigantic phalluses. Along the roadside people were stopping at little shrines with large carved stone penises. Malcolm's entourage was bug-eyed. They stopped at a food stand and saw doughnuts, cookies, chocolate candy, and other delicious treats all shaped like dicks. They bought some lollipops which the boys delighted in sucking. "This place is amazing!" The souvenir stands sold, in addition to dildos made of every conceivable material, penis key chains, penis soaps, penis pillows, penis candles, penis bells, and penis whistles that gave new meaning to the term, 'blow job'. They found a place to eat lunch and even the fish was shaped like a dick. Maria had a small cup of sake. Juan wanted to take lots of pictures. "That guy looks like the guy who was in the sumo dohyo with the wrestlers." "Yes, he's another Shinto priest." Malcolm explained, "You see, boys, Hounen means harvest. Today the priests will pray for a good harvest. The penis symbolizes reproduction. You're going to see lots of Japanese women here today. They come to be blessed so they will have children." "Mama, maybe you'll have more children!" "Gustar, no. Not without a husband, hehe." At 2 PM, the parade started. The priests came down the hill from the Shinmei Sha shrine, carrying an eight-foot [2½ m] long wooden penis. Japanese women, carrying their own two-foot [60 cm] phalluses, stepped forward to touch the big one as it passed. Parents held little girls younger than Pepito up to get blessed by 'the big one'. The god Sarutahiko-no-okami walked in front, and Juan thought his long nose looked like a cock. The sake-filled tourists were all frantically taking pictures. "Hey, little brother, how would you like to suck that one, Pepito? Hehe." "How would you lige to get it stug up your ass, Juan." "Ouch!!!" Both boys were giggling, but so were most of the visitors. In a few hours, everyone began heading back home. Maria had a one-foot [30 cm] wooden phallus, beautifully carved, rising from symmetric testicles, with every winding vein on the shaft carved in high relief. "It was so beautiful, I couldn't resist. It's the work of a true artist. Also, it reminds me of my Pedro, God bless his soul. I have no idea what I'm going to do with it back in Minnesota." "Juan and Pepito knew what they were going to do (or try doing) with their six-inch [15 cm] plastic dicks. And they made sure to buy two nice bright pink ones on strings, which were being sold as necklaces, but the boys planned to put them on their bears. Back at the ryokan, that night, the family excitedly told Scott about their day and showed him their souvenirs. Scott shook his head. "Don't think I'll ever go there. My wife might find out. She'd kill me! Maria, you're a good sport to let your husband and sons do this." Malcolm made sure the boys thoroughly washed their dildos and that night in bed he helped Juan apply some KY and try his out. "Wow, that feels so fuckin great," Juan whispered remembering their neighbor. He lay back, eyes closed, legs splayed, and moved his new toy in and out with his hand. Pepito wanted to try his also, but of course he couldn't get it in. Malcolm kissed him, put a big dollop of KY on the boy's tight sphincter, and gently pushed his pinky in to the first knuckle. "Gracias, Señor Malgum, I love your finger in there. It's nice." Pepito took Malcolm's free hand and gripped his middle finger with both fists to remind him of his promise.
"It's Papua, Pepito, not Poopoo. I have some special friends there, Dr. Pieter Tong and his son Torang." "Did you fug his son?" "Yes, he was one of my special lover boys." As the plane took off from Tokyo, Malcolm sat back and reminisced. What a wonderful year that was. The long talks with Pieter. Those delicious meals that Pablo served up. The vacations at the lake with little Rippy and Torang playing with each other (once they got past fighting for Malcolm's cum). It was a happy time. Then came that special trip, when Malcolm brought Rippy on a plane much like this one bound for Papua New Guinea. How excited they both were to see Torang's village and visit with the other Sambians. Those were memories to last a lifetime. Rippy, of course, had gone back to Papua New Guinea, on assignment for National Geographic. That was only like two years ago. Maybe less. Malcolm would have to take lots of pictures this time to show him.
***
"Uncle Malcolm! Uncle Malcolm! Over here." Malcolm heard the voice calling when he got off the plane in Port Moresby, but he certainly didn't recognize the man. "Torang? Is that really you?" "Did you expect to see an eight-year old boy waiting here to meet you, Uncle Malcolm?" "I guess so, hehe. In my dreams, you are still that bright-eyed youngster worrying about his tingu." "You really dream about me, after fourteen years?" "I dream about all my boys, Torang, and in my dreams, they never grow up." "Lige Peder Pan, and the Island of Lost Boys." "Oh, Torang, this is Pepito, he's six." "Almost seven!" "Yes, you're right. And Juan here turned twelve a little while back. And this lovely lady is their mother, Maria." "Don't you dare tell him how old I am, Malcolm!" "Why you gall him Ungle Malgum?" "Ah, Pepito, Malcolm's nephew Euripides and I are brothers. We had a ceremony and everything. So Rip's uncle became my uncle too. When I was just a little older than you, Uncle Malcolm helped me with my tingu." "Your what?" "I'll explain it to you later, but I will always be grateful to him." "How's your father Pieter?" "Still working hard at the university. He's anxious to meet everyone." "Even Maria?" Malcolm asked skeptically. "Oh, sure, Papa isn't going to have any more children. He doesn't need to worry about Maria weakening him." "I didn't know I had such power!" Maria smiled. "How many children does your father have?" "I have six brothers (besides Rip) and two sisters." "Oh, your poor mother!" Torang laughed, but of course, he had never developed a bond with his mother. "Well, things will be different for Jangwa." "Who's Jangwa?" "My wife." Malcolm couldn't believe that little Torang was not only grown up, but married. "She can't wait to meet you. She lives here in Port Moresby with me. Papa can't get used to the idea, but I just couldn't leave my wife back in the village to live with pigs. I wanted to give her a home like your sister Andrea. Come, let's get your bags.
***
As Torang drove them to his condominium, he had to ask, "What kind of shit you got in all those bags?" Maria, sitting beside him, blushed. "I'm afraid most of them are mine. I kept seeing beautiful things I wanted to buy. Saris and Kimonos and art objects. I guess I've always liked pretty things. Mama used to call me a magpie." Malcolm sat in the back seat between his boys, who each had hold of one of his hands. Pepito held the middle finger of his right hand while Juan was pushing Malcolm's left hand down into his shorts. "Why am I so blessed," Malcolm thought, "to have such two horny little bastards at once." Each night now, while Juan plays with his dildo, Malcolm is gradually, gently getting Pepito's anus accustomed to penetration by his loving pinky.
***
Torang couldn't get away until Tuesday. Weekends were always especially busy at the clinic. So the family spent their time seeing Port Moresby with Jangwa, and just relaxing around the condo's pool, where Juan and Pepito quickly made friends with the local boys. On Monday, Maria took the boys to a barber, so they wouldn't look shaggy for the trip tomorrow. Malcolm knew, of course, that the Sambian males wouldn't care about such niceties, but he didn't argue with the boys' mother. Instead, he decided to go for a swim. However, the pool was getting cleaned, so Malcolm settled into a lounge chair and began studying the caucasian poolboy. Mid 20's, dirty blond hair, 5'10 [1.78 m], 180 [80 kg], perfectly toned abs, pecs, a tight blue speedo topping two strong legs. Could be German, maybe even Scandinavian or British. Malcolm turned on his mental age regression machine and concluded that twelve, fifteen, years earlier, this lad was a definite charmer. But what was the hunk doing here cleaning a pool in Papua New Guinea? In the middle of this speculation, the god turned and walked toward Malcolm, who unwittingly had positioned himself by the equipment shed. In a moment, the tight blue package was screaming in his face. "G'day, mate." An Aussie boy. One mystery solved. "Good morning. It's a beautiful day here." "Usually is. I love this island. Name's Scotty McPherson, but everyone calls me Mac." He extended his hand. Malcolm sat up, shook his hand, and introduced himself. "You got a couple of real beauties there, Mate. I seen them splashing around last couple days. You're one tin-arsed seppo bastard." Malcolm's defences went up. "Look, those are two wonderful boys. Don't get any ideas." "Don't go troppo, Mate. I got three of my own." Malcolm was incredulous. "You're a father?" "No bloody way, Mate. Like you, I got some boys who like to make me stoked." Malcolm blushed. "Yeah, I figured you out first day. I seen how the ankle biters flirted with you in the pool. Don't worry. Been there, done that. Well, doing that would be more accurate. Look, let me put my gear away and then let's sink some piss, okay?" As it turned out, Mac lived in a basement apartment, did odd jobs around the complex, and made enough to get by. He had visited Port Moresby when he was sixteen, accompanying his dad on a business trip. He saw all the gorgeous black boys, took note of the Euro male tourists, and put two and two together. When he finished high school, he decided to move here from Canberra. In Mac's cramped unit, Malcolm declined the beer, but accepted a coke, and Mac popped a video into the machine. "These are my boys. The big one there is Matari, he's twelve now, but this is when he was nine. We were down on the beach. That's his brother Warrun running up now, two years younger 3; Now, this is when we took a walkabout up Mt. Wilhelm. Notice who's carrying all the bluey. I think they brought me along 'cause they needed a packass. Say, let me get you another tinny 3; Here, we went to the zoo. That's Darel with them. He's also nine, Warrun's playmate. They're like the three musketeers 3;" Malcolm recognized them now as three of the locals playing in the pool with Juan and Pepito. "Now, this is Matari playing cricket. All three of them are on teams, and I never miss any of their games." "Sounds like they keep you busy." "Well, they keep me out of trouble is more like it. Yeah, I sometimes take them over to the uni where we can use the tennis courts. Or to a movie. But our two favorite places are the pool and my bed over there. Three bloody root rats they are." Malcolm glanced at the twin in the corner and imagined how cozy it must be sharing it with three wiry youngsters. "OK, now this is last year here in my unit, so they were like eleven and nine, and more gorgeous every day. And they wanted to do a strip for me. Ain't they cute? Look, how flirty they get. Hehe. I see them every weekend. Last Saturday I took them to the zoo, and on Sunday when we get out of bed, I always take them to church. Their mothers like that 3; There, now they're slippin their grundies off. Lookit them dongers. Can't you just eat them up? Of course, I do. And there, check out those three gorgeous arses. Hmm, hmm, hmm. But don't get any ideas, Mate. They're mine, and I ain't trading them for anyone, not even your two honeys. But hey, I seen how you look at them. You're not a trader either. You're keepin them for the long haul. I hate the way these pommies fly in here, buy a kid or two for a night, and never see them again. My boys know I'll always be here for them." Malcolm decided he'd better get back to the family. He thanked Mac for the drink, the entertainment, and the conversation. He knew he had found a soul-brother.
***
Jangwa promised to take good care of Maria. Good care of course meant showing her the market where vendors from tribes all over Papua New Guinea sold hand-woven textiles and hand-carved figures. So Malcolm, Torang, and the boys were free to spend a couple days back at the village. Going through the rain forest in Torang's Land Rover, watching the monkeys scamper overhead and the kangaroos hop through the brush, and listening to the songs of the colorful birds, all brought back memories of taking the same trip with Torang's father years ago, with a little Torang sitting beside him. He remembered too the clearing where they parked at the end of the jeep road. And here he told Juan and Pepito they could take off their clothes; they wouldn't need them for the next couple days, and the monkeys would guard their belongings. "Yippee!" But he made sure they wore their shoes. Torang and Malcolm also stripped, and put on their penis covers. Malcolm had brought his clear around the world for this moment. "That looks like a fundoshi, Malcolm! 'Cept yours is prettier then the ones we saw in Japan." Then he reminded him, "Don't forget your monkey bone!" The boys giggled as he pushed it into his nose. "How do I look, Torang?" "Just like a true Sambian man. Just a lot paler, hehe. At least the boys here have some color. Is everyone ready? Let's start walking." Malcolm grabbed his back pack and they headed down the footpath. By the time they reached the village, Pepito was riding piggy back, and even Juan was starting to fatigue. But the Sambian reception brightened their spirits. Grown men came up to Malcolm who fourteen years before had fed them his powerful susu kental pria, and now showed him the strong boys they had fathered. Malcolm was in paradise, surrounded by boys of all ages, eager to play with his klot. Juan and Pepito giggled when Malcolm, the legendary mentor, finally sat down on a log, and took off his penis cover to let as many boys as wanted suck him off. It didn't seem to matter when he ran out of susu kental pria; they still sucked as though the klot itself was enough to make their tingus healthy and happy. Malcolm pointed to the teenage boys standing off to one side and suggested to Juan and Pepito they could suck them if they liked. The boys didn't need to be asked twice. They went to town drinking one black faucet after the next, until the precious susu kental pria was dripping down their chins. That night, after a delicious tribal feast held to honor the visiting dignitary, the elders let Malcolm and the boys have a place of honor in the men's house to sleep. The Sambians found this white man a strange conundrum. At 44, he was one of the oldest males in the house, old enough to be a grandfather, yet here he was still mentoring boys like he was a young bachelor. He had sacrificed his own hope of progeny to continue to give susu kental pria to new generations. They whispered "mo-e," as they watched him fuck Juan doggy position. How bravely the little mo-mog took the man up his ass. He was actually smiling. What a strong tingu he must have. Then when Juan came off the klot, they watched brother Pepito bend over it to lick the remaining drops of susu kental pria. As he licked with his ass pointed up at the thatched roof, Malcolm began to finger-fuck him. Pepito took the entire pinky without a whimper. And Malcolm was beginning to graduate to the index finger. Pepito too, the audience decided, had a healthy tingu. The next morning, Juan and Pepito ran around the village with their new friends, playing tag, a game that boys the world over understand. Occasionally one of them stopped to service some teenage bachelor who walked by. The sight of the two light brown-assed boys seemed to make them extra horny. "How much susu kental pria do you think you drank today, Juan?" Malcolm asked as they waved goodbye to the Sambian village. "Let's see, I'll have to convert liters into gallons. Hehe." "Yep, it sure looked like gallons to me." "Look, Malgum, Juan and me got mongey bones lige you. Maybe we gan get our noses pierced when we get home." "We'll see, Pepito. I'm glad you got lots of susu kental pria also. I think you're strong enough to walk all the way back to the Land Rover by yourself." "Yep, I think so too." Pepito grabbed Malcolm's middle finger and skipped along beside him.
***
On April 4, Little Pepito had his birthday party, even though he wouldn't be seven for another day, because they were leaving early the next morning for Hawaii. Torang baked a big birthday cake. "Pablo taught me to cook." Jangwa served supper out on the Lanai. Pieter took time out from his academic schedule to join them. Maria and Jangwa had bought lots of presents at the market, so that Malcolm and Juan could give some of them: Papuan toys and games, brightly colored shirts, a native musical instrument, and a fertility god figure with a filigree penis. And Pieter picked up a book at the campus bookstore about the wildlife of PNG. Pepito went around the table thanking everyone with a kiss. Suddenly, Mac showed up with Matari, Warrun and Darel, and a slab. "Someone said there was a rage going on. I guess our invitation got lost in the mail, Mate. Any tucker left?" Pepito and Juan quickly donned their swimsuits and the five boys jumped in the pool. It was a perfect close to their stay in Papua. "Well, big birthday boy, this is fun, but we really have to get to sleep. We don't want the plane to leave without us in the morning."
***
They did get to the airport on time, and checked their multitudinous luggage. Qantas 384 departed Jackson Field at 9:25 AM and landed at 10:50. "Wow, dat was fast, Malgum! We're in Hawaii already?" "No, I'm afraid not, Pepito. We have to make two stopovers. This is Cairns." Juan frowned, "Where is Cairns?" "In Australia." "That's a continent, right? So, this is the fourth continent of our trip!" "Hehe, yeah, I guess you're right, Juan, but we're not going to see much of it. In an hour we're getting on another plane. Hey, today is Pepito's birthday. Come on, let's find a place to get some ice cream while we wait." At 12:10, Japan Airlines 5142 took off with four tired Americans on board. It landed in Tokyo at 6:45 pm. "Now, are we in Hawaii, Malgum?" "Nope, we still have one more flight, Pepito. This is Tokyo." Juan again, "Tokyo! We've already been there. We're going round in fuckin circles!" "Hehe, sorry, Buddy, but sometimes the planes don't go where you want. Just one more flight, I promise you." Pepito grabbed Malcolm's middle finger to remind him of another promise. He was not going to let Malcolm renege on that one. By the time they boarded United flight 9680, everyone was tired. And soon after it took off at 9 PM Malcolm, Maria, Juan and Pepito were fast asleep. They were only asleep about 7 hours when the flight attendant woke them up to say they were approaching Honolulu. With the change in time zone, it was already after 9 AM. "What day is it," asked a sleepy Pepito. "It's April 5th, little one." "Huh???" What had happened? His birthday was yesterday. He remembered the ice cream. Malcolm tried to explain the international date line to two young boys who had just woken up. "Does this mean I got another bird-day?" "Well, yeah, sorta." "Then now I'm eight. Yippee!!" "Please, please, Pepito, don't grow up too fast. You can have another birthday today if you promise to stay seven just a little longer for me." "Well, OK, but only one year. No more. Hehe." "It's a deal." Malcolm stuck out his finger for the boy to hold and smiled as he thought about the very special present he was planning to give Pepito in Oahu.
"Don't thank me, Maria. We have to thank Jacob and his daughter. We promised him a post card." They spent some time exploring their accommodations and settling in. Maria unpacked and hung all her clothes in the large walk-in closet. Pepito said, "I dink we're in America again 'cause I see our own flag flying all over." "Of course we are," his brother replied, "Hawaii is a state, just like Minnesota." Then everybody laughed because with palm trees, white sand, and warm sun, Hawaii didn't look anything like Minnesota. "Juan, come with Mommy. Let's take a walk down the beach and look for sea shells. Maybe we can find a shop that sells post cards." "Is Malcolm and Pepito coming too?" "No, let's let them alone. This is still Pepito's birthday. Malcolm wants to spend some special time just with him. You come with Mommy." Alone with Pepito, Malcolm stuck out his middle finger and smiled. Pepito smiled too and grabbed it in his fist. Hand in hand, well, finger in hand, they walked into their bedroom. Malcolm pulled down the bedcovers and slipped a tube under the pillow. Then he had Pepito sit on the edge of the bed while he knelt on the floor and began slowly untying one of the boy's sneakers. "Are you scared, Pepito?" The boy shook his head. "Nervous then?" No. "Just excited?" "Si, Malgum. Dis is exciding. 'Cause it's my first time." Malcolm took off the sock, suckled the five lovely tiny toes, and went to the other foot. "Me too." "This ain't your first time, Malgum." "I meant I'm excited too." Having taken off the boy's shoes and socks, and tasted both feet, Malcolm stood up, took Pepito under the arms and stood him up on the bed. "But, in some ways it IS my first time. It's my first time doing it in Hawaii." "Si, 'cause you ain't done Juan here yet." "That's right." Malcolm slid the boy's T shirt up over his head and laid it neatly on the bed, and then kissed Pepito's sweet chest. "And it's my first time with a beautiful seven-year old boy." "You doan dink I'm doo liddle now?" Malcolm unbuckled Pepito's belt and pants. "Your mother told me a long time ago I would know when the time is right." The pants fell down, Malcolm lifted the boy up and moved him a foot up the bed. He picked up the jeans, put the crotch to his nose, inhaled deeply, then began folding them. "She's a very wise mother." Malcolm kissed the boy's navel while he slipped his fingers in the waistband of the Spiderman underpants, and gently lowered them. "I knew today the time was right, my little one." "I dink I knew dat too." Malcolm turned the boy around and had him kneel on the bed. He quickly got his own clothes off, then bent down and placed his face in the tiny ass and began licking the precious rosebud. Pepito closed his eyes, held his little nail, and made oohing noises. Malcolm picked him up again and kissing his face, lay down on the bed himself, the adorable boy on his chest. Then he let go and Pepito instinctively knew what to do next. He crawled down to the man's cock and lovingly suckled. Now it was Malcolm who was oohing. "You make my cock so happy, Pepito. Look at the end of it. You see, it's smiling at you." Small muffled giggle. When he was fully erect and beginning to pulsate, he took Pepito's shoulders and pulled him up again, laying the boy's head tenderly under his chin. He placed one of Pepito's knees on each side of his ribcage, and felt the lad's anus, which was still wet from his own tongue. He reached under the pillow and took out the tube, placed a generous dollop on his other hand and began massaging the virgin hole. "I lige dat Gay Wy stuff," Pepito whispered. "Yes, it makes it very nice." Malcolm slid his pinky easily into the chute and lubed the precious sphincter muscle, then replaced it with his index finger. He heard a small muffled oof. "Take it easy, Baby. I know you're excited, but try to relax. Pretend you have to shit. Yeah, that's right. You see, my finger went in more then." "It feels good, Malgum." "I want everything to feel good today, Baby. You tell me right away if anything doesn't feel good." Malcolm massaged the hole and gently used a second finger to open it a bit. When he felt it was primed, he put a new dollop of KY on his own pole. Then he lifted the tiny child up in the air and placed him in position. They smiled at each other as Malcolm lowered him until his cockhead made contact with the lad's anus. Pepito's eyes widened. Malcolm let the boy's weight press down. His cockhead entered, but he felt the circle tighten. "Remember," he whispered, "like you're going to shit." The muscle relaxed and Malcolm went in a little more. Slowly, inch by inch, he made his way up the tunnel. Pepito's oohs turned into shouts of joy, but he indicated no undue pain. Soon his little bottom was sitting on Malcolm's balls. He had taken the entire cock inside. Again they smiled at each other. Malcolm took Pepito's hips and started to lift him up, then brought him back down again. He did that again. And again. Up and down. Up and down. Pepito caught on and began bouncing on the pole. Faster and faster. Both of them were sweating profusely now. Tears were running down their cheeks. Then Pepito felt it. Deep inside, Malcolm's cock had stiffened even more. The bouncing stopped. He watched the man's face scrunch up. Then he felt it happening. He knew his insides were being filled with cum. It felt warm. It felt smooth. It felt good. All he could think of to say was "Yippee!" Eruption followed eruption. Malcolm's head was swimming. Finally he opened his eyes again and saw his darling Pepito, perched there on his relaxing cock, smiling broadly. He pulled the boy down to kiss him. They lay there in embrace until the boy's anus finally released Malcolm's flaccid penis. "I love you so much, Pepito." "I love you, Malgum." They kept repeating, "I love you," to each other as they lay there both trying to absorb what had just happened.
***
Dressed again, Malcolm and Pepito stepped outside. They found the others sitting at a table writing post cards. Maria looked at the glow on her youngest baby and smiled. "Are you happy, my darling?" "Si." For once, Pepito didn't feel like going into detail about his latest adventure. "Juan, can you show your brother and me the beach? Maria, is it ok if we take a little walk. We'll be back soon." They walked down to the water's edge and sat down. Malcolm explained that from now on he will be fucking both of them. That they should never get jealous. That he loved them both the same. That he would never do anything to hurt them. He didn't even want to hurt their feelings. So if he was fucking one boy, the other one should wait a little while. He was 44 and it could take a few minutes, well, more than a few, before his cock was ready to fuck again. But he would never deny either one of them this special pleasure. Juan suggested they could use their dildos while they waited. Malcolm kissed him for being such a smart boy.
***
The next day, when Maria returned from the store, Juan opened the door – naked, his greased up dildo in one hand and his boy dick in the the other. "Hi, Mom, Pepito's in with Malcolm. It's his turn." "OK, then that leaves you to help carry in the groceries. But put some pants on first." "Sure, Mom. What's in that bag?" Maria emptied the plastic Staples bag on the dining room table: dozens of report covers in different colors, markers, scotch tape, rulers, scissors, pens, and lots of paper, lined and unlined. "That's for you and Pepito. It's time you did some real school work." Juan gave her that "oh, Ma" expression. "You thought this month you were just going to fuck around and swim? Well, there'll be time for those things, but you boys are going to write some reports to show your teacher." By now, Pepito and Malcolm were coming out of the bedroom, one with a greased up butt, the other a greased up dick. "What gind of reports, Mama?" "You can write about the different countries you went to." Malcolm thought it was a great idea. "That's for Social Studies. For Science, you can write about all the different animals you saw." Now everyone was getting into it. "And different trees, and seasons, and climates, and foods." "What can I do for Math?" "The different moneys. Like show how much it would cost to buy a Big Mac in Euros, and Rubles, and Yen. You saved all those coins." "And a chart converting kilometers to miles. Shit, I can do that in my head now." "I wanna write bout Julius Caesar!" "Good, Pepito, that's for history. Juan, do you want to write about archaeology? "Malgum, if you can tell me again how I got two bird-days, I can write dat!" "I can draw a map of the world and show all the countries we went to and use colors to show how each one has a different age of consent!" "Well, hold on, Juan." Maria wasn't too enthusiastic about that one. "That might not be the best topic to show your teachers. Might give them the wrong idea." "I think your mother is right, Juan. But just for your information, here in Hawaii it's 16. Um, let's see. I know, you can make a chart with pictures of the different toilets. Hehe. The bidet in France. The squat holes in Cambodia. The old ancient stone ones we saw in Greece. I bet the other kids would get a kick out of that. You could even put Manneken Pis on the cover, hehe." Maria tried again to add a little decorum to the discussion. "You can also do a report on all the different religions you saw and their buildings." The boys began naming: Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox, Moslem, Hindu, Sikh, Bahai, Buddhist, Shinto, Sambia. For the next couple weeks, Juan and Pepito worked diligently on their projects, drawing maps, and flags, and charts. Malcolm helped them do research online, print the digital pictures they had taken, and remind them of things they'd seen and done. Maria was the final censor. If she took out a page that mentioned porn film production or giant Japanese penises, there was no argument. Certain topics were to stay in the family. Pepito started creating an illustrated adventure starring Oso the Super Bear, who kept coming to rescue people in trouble around the world. He helped Saint Martin save the beggar. He helped Hotei give children presents. He helped Julius Caesar gon-ger India with elephants. And everywhere, the children shouted, Thank you, Gracias, dankzegging, merci, shaji, grazie. Malcolm was impressed. "Very nice, Pepito! And that way your friends can learn to say 'thank you' in different languages." Juan said, "I'm gonna write a story too about Rascal and my friends will learn to say 'fuck' in every language." He didn't bother looking at Maria. He knew it wouldn't fly.
***
Besides the school reports, there was time for swimming, sightseeing, shopping, and fucking. After being on the go for so many months, it was nice to just take it easy. The time share in Oahu was perfect for that. Maria bought loud Hawaiian shirts for everyone and a muumuu for herself. Pepito made a grass skirt out of green tissue paper for Oso. The boys and Malcolm had settled into a routine. Every morning, Malcolm would wake with either Juan or Pepito sucking on him. That was ejaculation number 1. Then they would all shower together and lather each other's privates real well. After lunch, Maria and Juan would start work on the reports, while Malcolm and Pepito retired to the bedroom – Maria called it their siesta. Each day, Pepito would describe the position he wanted to use and Malcolm would always say, "You're the Boss." Then the tiny seven-year old ass would happily receive ejaculation number 2. After supper, it was Juan's turn for some quality time with Malcolm. By then, the man was ready for ejaculation 3. That way, when it came time for bed, they could all just relax and play with their dildos. No one was under pressure to perform. Malcolm decided Pele must be jealous watching so many fantastic eruptions each day. Eventually, the time in Oahu did end, and they had to pack up. But they weren't heading back to Minnesota yet. They still had one more country to visit. One more important place to see. "Will this plane take us right there." It was just after 5 PM when AA flight 8 boarded at Honolulu. "No, Juan, we have to change planes twice, but it won't be too bad. All the flights are with American Airlines. I hope they don't send any of our luggage off somewhere else. I'd hate to lose that beautiful Hawaiian shirt Maria bought me. Hehe." Once again, the boys were asleep when the plane touched down in Dallas Forth Worth at 5:50 AM on May 1st. They ate McGriddles for breakfast in the airport and boarded AA flight 433 which took off just at 9:45. Just after noon they were landing in Mexico City. "Señor Malcolm, I am so excited. I have not been home since Pedro, God bless his soul, brought me to America. I have goosebumps. The boys have not even met their tios and tias." The last leg was under an hour. When AA 8107 landed in Oaxaca, it was 2:10 in the afternoon.
"Ricky and Chucky. We gotta tell Ricky about Mama's dress." "And Mone shure Pierre, too, Juan. Remember he made the preddy dress." "I think it's a lucky dress. Mama is always happy when she wears that dress. Like she's in love. She wore it for Signor Vincenzo. We have to write him. And to Pasquale." "And Hootah. I wanna dell him all my stories." "Yes, Pepito, your feet certainly soaked up lots of good stories on this trip, and your imagination mixed them up and made wonderful new ones." "Then, Dexter and Lyle." "Oh, yes, Mr. Big Cock. And his wonder boy. Hehe." "You ain't jealous, are you, Malcolm?" "No way. I've got something he could never have." He hugged his two lovers. "And speaking of big cocks, I gotta write to Karel, or Jan, whatever his name is hehe. And his brother Vilem or Radek. And his Papa too." "Can I ride to Mana-gin Pis?" "And Herr Bruce, and Rolf and Heinrich." "Heinrich was my age and already getting fugged. Is dat when you decided to fug me, Malgum?" "I wish we could write to Sammy, but I don't like his daddy Toffe. He was mean." "And Mr. Grivon. I wonder if our galendar is finished." "And Aran. He was another photographer. We helped him photograph flowers." "And Dr. Chandra. He made me all bedder." "And his son Krishna, and Om. And Jacob and Melinda." "No, Juan! Jacob and she live where we live. We can just go to the store and see them." Juan hit his head with a "Well, Duh!" expression. "Well, we can write to Zudora though." "And Dr. Channery. We helped him dig stuff." "And Mr. Weinblum. You know, Scott. And Mrs. Tonomi." "Yeah, And Mamigo the sumo wrestler!" "Don't forget Mac's boys Matari, Warrun and Darel." "And Torang. Shit, we're going to be writing letters all summer long, hehe."
***
At the Oaxaca airport to meet them were a dozen of Maria's relatives. Maria was crying and laughing and hugging brothers and sisters and in-laws and meeting nephews and nieces for the first time and finally introducing her own beautiful boys and Malcolm. They were driven to the home of her sister and brother-in-law, Luisa and Hector, where they would stay, but not before a big welcoming fiesta. From all over Oaxaca, people began to arrive to see again the Señora they had not seen since her elopement: her family, Pedro's family, and good friends from long ago. Some of the old folks called her Tabitha, and she explained to her boys that Tabitha was a lady in the Bible who died and St. Peter brought her back to life. Another story she learned from the nuns as a little girl. To these people, it was like Maria had returned from the dead. Juan and Pepito availed themselves of the huge platters filled with tacos, tortillas, quesadillas, pallela, guacamole, calabaza, frijoles, nachos, salsa, burritos, chapulines, pollo picado, and tamales. For the adults, there was unending tequila. It was a joyous time of celebration. New people kept arriving who had to meet the Americanos. "Do you remember me, Maria?" "Carlos, is that really you?" It was well past midnight when the party broke up. Maria, tired but overjoyed, went to her bedroom. Hector helped Malcolm carry the boys, both already fast asleep to their bedroom. He apologized that he didn't have another spare room, but Malcolm assured him he'd be fine sleeping in the same room as the boys. After all, he had just traveled around the world with them. The next morning, Hector took Malcolm and the boys on a tour of his city. But Maria chose to stay with her sister and catch up on old times. "It was so good to see Carlos last night. I remember when we were little kids, he would see me walking home from school, and he used to hide behind a tree, and jump out and chase me down the street. He was so much fun." "Si," Luisa said, "and last night he was so happy to see you again. He hasn't laughed so much in years, not since his Rosalita died, God bless her soul." "I know how he feels. At least when Pedro died, I had my Juan and Pepito. I couldn't mourn long with those two angels around." "And Malcolm. He seems like a nice man. Sometime, Maria, maybe there will be another wedding? None of us were able to come to your first wedding." "Me and Malcolm? Oh, no, no, no. Malcolm is a wonderful man, really wonderful. And so good to my boys. But, no, we will not marry. You see, please don't tell people, but Malcolm is homosexual." "Fajina? Joto?" "Please, Luisa, he is my good friend." "Don't worry, Maria, my lips are sealed. But, I have to tell you, I think Carlos will be happy." "Carlos!! Why on earth would he be happy that Malcolm is gay?" "Carlos likes you, Maria. I could see it in his eyes last night." "Oh, Luisa, don't be silly. That was the Tequila." "Well, why don't you call him up? It wouldn't hurt to talk to him, Sister." When the boys returned home, they learned that their mother was going out for the evening. They decided it must be someone special because Maria put on her lucky rose gown from Paris. After they left, Malcolm asked Hector to tell him about Carlos. "Many years ago, Carlos started an iron and steel company in Monterey from scratch. He worked hard and the firm became one of the leading producers in Mexico." "The steel manufacturers back home in Minnesota were going through hard times, until they began to develop international trading partners. I read that Mexico is now our state's eighth largest trading partner. And many Mexicans are working in the steel mills there. You know, I admire a self-made man like Carlos. I started a business also, worked hard, and when I sold it last year I was able to take this odyssey." Carlos picked Maria up the next night as well. And the next. "Señor Malgum, Mama is so happy here. Do you dink she's gonna marry Garlos?" "I don't know, Pepito. How would you feel about that?" "Well, I want Mama to be happy and all. But, 3;" Pepito's eyes were watering. "But what?" "Well, if we lived here in Oaxaca, we would never see you again." "Oh, Pepito, my sweet angelito, I am happy you feel that way. But let's just wait and see. OK? I know your mother wouldn't do anything to make you boys unhappy."
***
The days passed quickly. One afternoon, Maria, Malcolm and the boys were walking in the garden. "Señor Malcolm, do you know the age of consent here in Mexico?" Maria had a wide grin on her face. "No, I haven't looked it up yet. OK, Maria, you've been keeping a secret about this all the way around the world. Come on. What are you hiding." "I know the age here in Mexico. It's 12." "Shit, I'm 12, Mama." "I know, Juan, hehe." "Shit, Malcolm, that means we can do it. Even the government says so. Come on, let's do it now." He grabbed Malcolm's hand and started dragging him into the house. Malcolm said, "You're the Boss!" and shrugged at Maria. Maria and Pepito were laughing. But Pepito soon turned serious. "I'm still not big enough, am I, Mama?" "Pepito. If Malcolm says you're a big boy, and I say you're a big boy, then no law anywhere in this world can keep you two from loving each other. Love is a beautiful thing, Pepito. And when you really, really love someone, then sex is a beautiful way to show that love." "Are you in love, Mama?" Maria wasn't prepared for that question. "Do you love Señor Garlos?" "Señor Carlos is a very nice man, Pepito. He makes Mama very happy." She saw the tears in Pepito's eyes. "What's wrong, Pepito? Tell me." "It's oh gay, Mama. I want you to be happy. It's oh gay if we live down here, far away from Señor Malcolm. I want you to be in love, too." "Oh, Pepito, Pepito," Maria got on her knees and hugged her youngest baby. "You are the sweetest boy in the whole world. Don't worry, Pepito. This is a lovely city; this is where Mama grew up, but we will not move back to Oaxaca. I promise. The next morning, Maria took the boys and went with Luisa to the cemetery. "Juan, Pepito, this is your father. My beloved Pedro, God bless his soul. He loved you boys very much. No one will ever take his place." The boys lit candles and repeated their mother's prayers. Then Luisa took them for a walk to see their grandparents' graves, and left Maria to talk to Pedro. "Am I doing the right thing, Pedro? Carlos makes me very happy. I know I make him happy too. But I will never be his Rosalita and he will never be you. I promise I will do what is best for our boys, Pedro. Adios." That night, Carlos came over for dinner. He sat between Juan and Pepito. After dessert, he said he had two announcements to make. Pepito was nervous. "I'm not sure which announcement to make first. They are both good news. Well, OK, I guess I'll say that my steel company has been bought by a big Americano company, and they have chosen me to be in charge of the new division." "Congratulations, Carlos." Malcolm offered a toast. "And the second announcement is, well, this afternoon I asked this pretty Señora to marry me, and well, Maria said Si." This time Hector offered a toast, but the mood of the Americanos was subdued. Maria sensed the tension and whispered to Carlos. "Oh, excusa. I guess I left out one part. With my new promotion, I will have to move. I will still make trips back here to Mexico, but I will have to take Maria and the boys to live near the corporate headquarters in 3; Minneapolis!" "Yippee!!" Now everyone was happy.
***
The wedding took place the following weekend and half of Oaxaca, it seemed, attended. The same priest that baptized Maria and Carlos now joined them in matrimony. Pepito was confused when he and Juan were asked to "give Mama away." Malcolm gave the happy couple a special present, a honeymoon trip to Rome. When Maria had thrown her coin into the fountain, she didn't realize how soon she would return, nor for what happy reason. Malcolm promised Maria to get the boys safely back home and back in school. They had lots to show their teachers and classmates. He also promised Carlos that when they got back from their honeymoon, he would baby-sit for the boys every Saturday night so the newlyweds could do something romantic. Juan and Pepito giggled; they knew they'd be doing romantic stuff too.
The EndReader: Be sure to check out Rip, the prequel to Around the World, which introduces the story of Malcolm and his many little friends.
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As an author, I welcome feedback from readers. Please send any comments about this story, positive or negative, to Herb_Cat(at)mailcity(dot)com or through feedback form with Herb Cat - Around the World in the subject line. Thank you.
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