The Peacock 1398

"Here I am." "What are your plans today?" "A bunch of people are coming over for lunch this afteroon, so I decided to make my escape while I could." "You have quite a crowd staying with you now." "Six altogether, including me. And they don't seem to want to let me out of their sight. Carl seemed to expect me to ask permission to leave the house this morning." "Be careful. It sounds like they want to control your life." "It's a little more complicated than that, but I also accept your concern. Carl is very possessive." "Is he your lover?" "No. But in a way yes." "You don't..." "Sleep together? No." "Do you want to?" "No. In some ways he's like you. Two lovely guys, and you have both become too much like family for me." "I guess you and I are family." There is sadness in his voice. "Erik, you are more than my brother-in-law. You are my brother. Period. And I cannot wait for your quarantiune to end so that you can comne and live with me here." "What about the others." "They will be all moving to the big house that Carl just bought in New Westminster. If he and Francois both want to stay with us in my father's house, that's also okay. But I'm not going anywhere...