Chapter 57
The doorbell rang promptly at noon and in came the Alphas and their Mates, followed by Julio who had left his hair blond for the occasion. He wore a white pirate shirt and red leather pants with a matching leather jacket.
Everyone piled Donal’s presents on a side table. Sean said, “I want to see the food. I’ve heard so much about Russian birthday celebrations, I can’t wait. Armand says you don’t get birthday smacks. You get ear pulls. One for each year, I’m first.”
Donal squeaked and covered his ears. Alexei laughed a big booming sound. “I will be the only official ear puller today.” The others groaned but agreed.
Julio handed Donal his present. “I am honored to be named as your friend, Donal Berne. You, despite great hardship, were always the best one of us. I did so little and now because of you, I have so much.”
“You saved me.” Donal was choking on his tears. “You made it bearable until that final night when Alexei found me and then you risked your own hide to tell Rémy who I was. Apuso would have known it was you, it couldn’t have been anyone else.”
“I wish I could have done more.” Julio, red-faced, changed the subject. “Alexei, I went to your warehouse and found some comfortable rustic-looking furniture. Can I hire a truck and bring the living room, kitchen set, and bedroom suite to the apartment?”
“This furniture was from my dacha, my country house,” Alexei said. “You are welcome to it. I put an extra ten-thousand dollars in your account so you can buy kitchen equipment, dishes, glasses, and cutlery and pay for the movers. You’ll also need linens for the bath and the bedroom and that bed should get a new mattress and box spring. If that doesn’t cover the costs, let me know. You are precious to Donal and therefore precious to me.”
“Thank you, Alexei, I’ll try to live up to your and Donal’s faith in me.”
* * * *
The next present Donal opened was his present from Julio. It was a crystal ball on a stand of dragons. “Oh Julio, from the shop on our corner.”
“Yes,” Julio said, his cheeks flushing at the attention his gift was receiving. Donal knew Julio liked attention, but generally not for his good deeds.
“I used to tell Julio stories about what I imagined a crystal ball could tell us about a future as bright and clean as the crystal itself. I think this gift is for you too, Alexei. The biggest dreams I had looking into that crystal ball in the shop window, have come true.” Donal faced Julio. “You are in large part responsible for me making it to this place. I’m sorry I gave up last week. But the gods looked kindly on me and sent me Alexei instead of the oblivion I was seeking.”
Donal grabbed hold of Julio and gave him a big hug.
Sean grabbed Donal’s arm. “Now you have to introduce Julio to Ian, Colin and our husbands.”
Donal said, “Julio, these are my four new friends and their husbands, Sean Quinn and his husband, Armand La Marche, Ian Sullivan and his husband, Rémy Clavier, Colin Callahan and his husband, Marc Thierry, and Kane Brady and his husband, Gabriel Martin. You met Kane and Sean briefly when you came to us about Ernesto.”
Ian pressed forward and shook Julio’s hand. “Thank you for caring for Donal. He’s come to mean a lot to us in a short time. If you need any advice on starting your own business, call me. I own Sullivan Custom Paint. I’m working and going to NYU for interior design.”
Sean stuck his hand out. “I’m a potter. I design and make pottery in my studio. I am a Master Work away from my MA in Fine Arts.”
Colin was up next. “I’m a writer. I write gay shifter romances as Jason Jones and attend NYU for my degree in Creative Writing. I’ve been writing since I was seventeen.”
Kane stepped up. “I’m a teacher. I teach high school English courses at Garou Academy. Before that I worked at McClellan.”
“I remember your name. The basketball team, they got what was coming to them. No one should have to unwillingly suffer through that.” Julio gave Kane a hug.
“Donal suffered it every day.” Kane put his arm around Donal’s shoulder. “I had all the comfort I could ask for as soon as my Gabriel found me. I never even had to go back to my apartment because they had the address. Gabriel took care of everything. Donal waited seven years for someone to rescue him. You were his rock. We all love Donal and are in your debt.” 12
Alexei’s townhouse
Saturday afternoon
Donal couldn’t believe how many beautiful gifts he received. From Armand and Sean, he got a high-end amplifier for his new guitar. Rémy and Ian bought him an iPod with music from every tenor listed in Wikipedia. Marc and Colin bought him a Kindle loaded with all of Colin’s shifter books and several other gay romance authors Colin thought Donal might enjoy. Gabriel and Kane bought him a pair of leather pants and a jacket.