Tony – The person who changed my life: Part 14 (finale)

When I brought the tray in I saw that Mum and Tony were chatting as if they had been friends for years. I also noticed that on the coffee table was the Daily Mail and it just happened to be the one with the latest of Tony's articles in it. I let them chat on a bit while I opened the page on which the article had been printed.

The three of us talked for nearly half an hour non stop . There was a lot of news to catch up on. When a lull in the conversation finally arrived I picked up the newspaper and casually asked my Mum if she ever read the articles that Tony had written. She had no idea that the person she had been talking to you was the very same Tony as he used his full name for his by-line.

'It has become nearly the only reason why I buy that paper,' she said. 'The news reporting is very biassed and not to my taste but that article in particular always gives me pleasure when I read it.

'I know the person who writes it,' I said. 'He's a very good friend of mine.'

I could see Tony squirming a little in his seat as he knew he was soon going to be embarrassed.

'Well next time you see him tell him how much I admire what he writes,' my Mum said.

'Why don't you tell him yourself,' I said. 'He's sitting right opposite you.'

She looked at Tony and then at the by-line of the article and then said.

'You wrote this?'

'I must confess I did,' he replied giving her another one of his smiles.

'I feel like I'm in the presence of a celebrity,' she said looking as embarrassed as Tony.

'I'm only doing a job really,' he said modestly. 'I'm just lucky that I can reach out to others through that job.'

'You're a remarkable person,' my Mum continued still over-awed by Tony. 'And yet you can't be more that twenty one.'

'I was twenty one a month ago,' Tony said.

'Your Dad will be impressed,' Mum continued talking to me. And then looking at Tony 'He admires your articles as well and wishes that more young people were like you.'

She then realized that it was nearly time for my Dad to return from golf so she got up to finish making the lunch.

'I'm assuming you're staying for lunch and not going off too soon,' she said as she headed to the kitchen.

'Yes please, Mum,' I shouted after her.

I was left alone with Tony and he looked at me and smiled.

'Your Mum's very nice,' he said. 'It seems strange sometimes to think that what I write is read all over the country.'

I heard a car and knew it must be Dad arriving. He came in the back door and I could hear Mum and Dad talking before he came into the living room. He took one look at me and held out his hand. It was his normal sort of greeting. I shook it and then went up to him and gave him a hug. This was not his normal type of greeting but he graciously, if awkwardly, accepted it. Not a word had so far been spoken.

'Hello,' he then said, 'You must be Tony.'

Tony held out his hand and smiled. That disarming look had captured my Dad already as he shook the proffered hand and said.

'It's very nice to meet you at last.'

'And for me to meet you, sir,' Tony replied. He added the sign of respect without making it sound unnatural but my Dad picked up on it.

'Please, there's no need for any formality, call me Jack,' he said returning the smile with another which I knew to be genuine.

'Your Mum says that Tony's quite a celebrity but she didn't explain why,' Dad said to me.

'Let's talk about it over lunch,' I suggested. I could see that raising it now would only embarrass Tony again.

'OK, but I'm intrigued,' Dad said going over to the drinks cupboard and asking us what we would like.

As it was a warm summer day outside I felt like having a cold beer which I knew my Dad also liked after playing golf. He fetched one each from the fridge part of the drinks cabinet. We then made small talk until Mum announced that lunch was ready.

'I hope this simple meal is ok for you Tony,' she said as we sat down in the dining room. 'I expect that as a journalist you are used to having lavish lunches.

'Far from it,' Tony said not showing the amusement he got from my Mum's rather naïve view of a journalist's lifestyle. 'Most of the time I am so busy researching a story or chasing someone I want to interview that I only get time for a sandwich. If it wasn't for Andy ensuring I got a good meal when I came home I would probably starve.'

'So you're a journalist,' my Dad chipped in. 'Is that for a local paper.'

'Yes, I work for the Birmingham Post and do some freelance work.'

He didn't mention what and neither did I because I knew my Mum wanted to be the one to tell Dad.

'You've read some of his articles,' she said. 'In fact you read his latest one only this morning before you went off to your golf.'

'You can't be the bloke who writes in the Daily Mail every month?' he said looking at Tony in amazement.

Tony had gone bright red and just nodded. He was unwilling to open his mouth and acknowledge he was the one.

'Well I am most impressed,' Dad said and for a moment he was totally lost for words. He then turned to me.

'I must congratulate you on pairing up with someone who I admire so much.'

It was my turn to be embarrassed but Tony butted in.

'Andy and I met before I even entered journalism. In fact if it hadn't been for his help and support I would never have got where I am today. When we met I was working as a labourer in a foundry.'

'Then I am even more impressed,' my Dad was now getting into his stride and I knew that before the meal was over he would have asked enough questions to know about all the hardships that Tony had suffered.

Both my parents hung on every word he uttered and when there were no more questions my Dad rounded up the conversation by saying.

'I now know how it is you can write with such sincerity and depth. It sometimes seems to come right from the soul because you've got loads of personal experience to draw on.'

All Tony could say in response was thank you.

The ice had not only been broken it had completely melted away to leave a warmth felt by all of us. Some time later I did wonder to myself that if Tony had not been a journalist would he have been made as welcome. I didn't try to analyse it too much and concluded that Tony's personality, no matter what he did, was sufficient to charm the most awkward individuals and that he would have won my Mum and Dad over anyhow.

It was mid-afternoon and I wanted to show Tony the town where I was brought up. We went for a walk which took us to the sandhills where I use to play as a child then we went into the town itself. Tony liked the contrast that had been achieved between it being a seaside resort and a sophisticated town to go shopping. Tony had lived originally in the south of England and had hardly been north of Birmingham before. He really didn't know what the north had to offer.

When we got back my Mum said she had made up a room for us if we wanted to stay the night. I told her we had packed some overnight things and she looked relieved that we were not rushing off too soon. We got the case from the boot of the car and went to the bedroom. I had expected us to be in the twin-bedded room but instead Mum had made up the double bed.

'Thanks Mum,' I said and gave her a kiss. She knew what I was thanking her for and said nothing. I now knew that she accepted who and what I was and it made me feel good inside. Almost as good as the feeling I get knowing that Tony loves me.

While we were alone Tony asked me if I thought it was all right if he invited my parents out for dinner that night. I thought about it.

'I think I would rather we both invited them out. I've never treated my parents before and I think now would be a good time.'

Tony could see the logic behind this and agreed. Consequently when we went downstairs I approached them both as they sat in front of the television. At first they both said that I should not waste my money on taking them to some restaurant but when I said it was Tony's idea as well they relented and we agreed we would go to one of the pubs in town that was renowned for good food and reasonable prices.

We had a thoroughly good time and enough drink to make us uninhibited and I started to tell my parents how much I loved Tony. They did not appear to be at all embarrassed. When we got back we were all quite tired and went to bed very soon after. I lay alongside Tony and we chatted for a while but I could not hold back from wanting him.

'I want to make love to you but I don't want to make too much noise,' I said. 'Let me suck you off.'

'Let's both suck each other off,' Tony suggested. And that's exactly what we did. Without making too much noise we got into a 69 and mutually sucked until we had both come and then we shared the cum between us. I felt like someone having furtive sex behind the cycle shed. It was very satisfying though and soon after we both fell asleep till morning.

The weekend proved to be one of the best I had spent with my parents since I had first moved away. The following morning we left for home and got back by lunchtime. There was lots to do as we had left without doing any of the usual household chores. By the evening we were shattered but nevertheless content.

I was happy because now I could live my life quite openly. In fact I came out at work shortly afterwards and, apart from the occasional teasing, it didn't even seem to cause a stir.

From then on things only got better. Tony's career grew at a meteoric rate. He won a prestigious prize for his articles in the Daily Mail and this created openings for him first of all on radio and then on television. He was now earning a lot of money but it never seemed to spoil him and we continued living at the flat until one day he landed a job in London.

'If I take this job I will really have to live in or around London,' he said. 'Let's go house-hunting down there.'

I was dong fairly well at my job as well but was earning nothing like Tony. I knew that if we lived in London I would have to move jobs as well. I didn't need much time to think about it and decided that my job, although I got satisfaction from it, was not going to make it difficult for Tony and I to continue to live together.

'If I jack my job in and come with you to London it may be a little time before I get another one,' I told him.

'That doesn't matter,' he said. 'I've not forgotten that I lived off you while I was struggling with passing exams and you never objected. Why should I object if I need to support you for a while?'

So soon after we moved to London. I was only out of work for a month before landing quite a good job myself.

It was not only Tony's name that became well known it was also his face. He was recognised wherever he went. This popularity was ok but a bit wearing and certainly restricting. When it came to any sort of cruising he had to be careful that he wasn't recognised which meant in effect that he didn't cruise at all. I might go to a sauna on my own but I soon got fed up with that and stopped. We did go occasionally to a gay pub however.

Tony had made no secret in his public life about being gay and he received no adverse publicity because of it. We used to find that in a gay pub celebrity didn't count for much. Everybody was out to impress and being a well known face didn't carry much weight. So the pub could be a refuge from the usual run of straight parties and receptions that Tony was expected to attend.

But most of all we enjoyed our own company. Sometimes I would be lying next to him in bed when he would place a hand on my thigh. My mind would race back to that first time he touched me on the bus and the radiant smile he gave me when we looked at each other. I still get the same feeling of electricity running through me whenever our bodies make contact. And I still admire his physique when he strolls around the house completely naked. I consider myself the luckiest man alive to be living with this wonderful person and secretly thankful for feeling I am worthy of his love.