The Thousand Smiles of Nicholas Goring

Published by Manifold Press

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

ISBN: 978-1-908312-26-6

Proof-reading and line-editing: F.M. Parkinson

Editor: Fiona Pickles

Text: © Julie Bozza 2014

Cover image: © benedek | iStockphoto.com

Ebook format: © Manifold Press 2014

For further details of titles both in print and forthcoming see:
manifoldpress.co.uk

Characters and situations described in this book are fictional and not intended to portray real persons or situations whatsoever; any resemblances to living persons are purely coincidental.

For one last time, I humbly hope for the reader's tolerance. Part of this story deals with things that some will say don't concern me. But I do so with nothing in my heart but a love of and a wish for interdependence between all our peoples – and for that perhaps any infelicities will be forgiven.

With thanks to everyone who has accompanied Dave and Nicholas on their journey.

One

T
wo

Three

Four

Five

Six

Seven

Eight

Nine

Ten

Eleven

Twelve

Epilogue

About the Author

Life is not meant to be easy, my child,

but take courage: it can be delightful.

George Bernard Shaw

"So," said Denise, "you're seven years married. Are you feeling the itch yet?"

Dave scowled over his mug of coffee. "No," was his honest response. But then he cast her a doubting look. "I always thought that was kind of a, uh –
gross
way to put it. I mean, if you're married, you shouldn't be out there catching the nasty kind of things that make you itch. Right?"

Denise laughed. "True. And if you're not feeling the urge to stray, Davey, then I guess all is well in Goring Taylor Land."

"Everything's fine with me and Nicholas, yeah." He considered her for a long moment, wondering what she was driving at. "But you know I'm the loyal sort. I wouldn't ‘stray' even if things weren't fine."

"I know that, Davey," she offered reassuringly. She took a mouthful of her coffee, and they both stared contemplatively out beyond the backyard.

It was a warm winter's day in Brisbane, and the French windows were open to let in the fresh air. Denise and Vittorio's house was on a bit of a hill, so there was a view over the back fence of a wide stretch of rooftops and trees, and the cluster of taller buildings in the city centre, and then beyond that a blue haze which Dave could sometimes convince himself was the ocean. Dave squinted, adjusted his new glasses on his nose, and tried to judge how much further he could see now … Well, the high-rises were certainly more sharply delineated, but he figured the ocean view was still more wishful thinking than not.

"How are you finding them?" Denise asked, lifting her chin to indicate the glasses. "Getting used to wearing them all day?"

"Yeah, they're fine." He added, "It's only the right eye that's short-sighted, you know. The left eye's spot on."

She snorted. "Oh, as long as you're only half defective, that's all right, then."

"Thanks!"

"Nah …" Denise turned in her chair to consider him again. "You're looking good, Davey. Those frames suit you. Very … I dunno. Somewhere between trendy and sophisticated."

"Thanks."

"Definitely sexy," she said –

– and his cheeks went pink, he just knew it. Dave stared studiously at his coffee mug on the table before him, and lamely offered his thanks yet again. It still mattered to him, just a little bit – even after all these years – that Denny might think him handsome. "Um …" He cleared his throat, and sought to change the subject. "Vittorio's at work, then?"

"Yes. And Nicholas is at uni?"

"Yes." He didn't dare look at her. They both knew where their husbands were. Somehow that hadn't changed the subject at all, but only intensified it.

Denise commented rather pointedly, "Zoe and Bethan are at school until three …"

A silence stretched.

"Um …" Then finally Dave dared to glance at her, and saw she was brimming over with mirth. He guffawed as she burst out laughing. "God!" he managed. "You had me thinking
you
were the one feeling an itch!"

"Nah … All's well in Agostini Land, too."

"Excellent."

They sat there for a while, drinking their coffee. Then Denise observed, "You
are
looking good, though, Dave. You always did, of course, but I have to say you're maturing very nicely indeed."

And he was blushing again. "God's sake, Denny," he grumbled. "What on Earth are you going on about?"

"I was just thinking … If you want to distract young Robin from Nicholas, that's certainly one way to go about it."

It was Dave's turn to snort. "I shouldn't think he'll ever get over Nicholas, not really … But after all this time … I mean, it'll have mellowed a bit, don't you reckon?"

"Ha! How old is he? Seventeen, eighteen?"

"Eighteen."

"Like
anything
feels mellow at that age – let alone love!"

Dave sighed, remembering his own devotion to Denise during his teens, thinking of Nicholas's steadfast passion for Frank Brambell, the Goring family chauffeur. If Nicholas's nephew Robin was made of the same stuff, then there could be some shoal-filled waters to navigate during the next three months. "I'm sure it'll be fine," Dave said, not knowing whom he was trying to convince. "They've both been looking forward to this for, like, eighteen months or whatever. Since we went over there, two Christmases ago."

"He's flying in tomorrow, isn't he?"

"Yes, early start in the morning to go pick him up."

"Well, bring him over to dinner whenever suits – you know, once he's over the jet lag. I know you'll be wanting to head off to the waterhole, but it'd be good to see him again."

"Thanks, Denny." He smiled at her fondly, and they talked about matters less fundamental than love until it was finally time for Dave to mosey on home … Before he quite left, though – before he'd opened the front screen-door – Dave turned and asked, "Things are really okay?"

"Course they are, Davey."

"No, uh – no nine-year itches for you?"

"Not even a twitch."

He leaned in to press an affectionate kiss to her cheek – and she took the opportunity to grab him in a rare shoulder-cracking hug. "I'm glad," he said, once she'd let him go again.

And she wrinkled her nose at him with a loving grin. "Me, too. See ya, mate."

"See ya, Denny." And he finally let himself out, and walked home.

When Nicholas got home from uni that evening, he announced that he didn't want much to eat for dinner. Dave examined him with an anxious gaze, looking for any signs of stress or pain. But Nicholas seemed no worse than a little tired, which was only to be expected at the end of a full working day – and a bright glance from under his brow soon convinced Dave that Nicholas was in fact feeling very well indeed. With a wink, Nicholas explained, "It'll be my last chance for a while to provoke you into making some noise …"

Dave smiled, and returned his attention to the tomatoes he was chopping for the salad.

"I can't wait to see Robin again," Nicholas continued, coming over to press a kiss to Dave's nape and steal a slice of tomato from the chopping board, "but there's no denying a long-term house guest is going to prove damned inconvenient at times."

"You know you'll love having him here."

Nicholas murmured an agreement, before almost literally poking his nose into the salad bowl. "Your world-famous chicken and new potato salad … ? Well, I was serious, you know. How about we have half now, and save the rest for after? I'm sure I can work us hard enough to earn a midnight snack."

"Always happy to rise to a challenge …" Dave replied as smoothly as he could.

"Mmm …" Nicholas's hand lowered again – but this time he boldly and unerringly cupped Dave's tackle through his jeans, and gave it an encouraging jostle. "Hold that thought! I'm just going to get changed."

Dave managed to touch a fleeting kiss to Nicholas's cheek even as he turned away, and then Dave had the chance to admire that fine tall figure walking out of the kitchen and into the hall. Nicholas always insisted on wearing a suit to work, though it wasn't at all necessary – but Dave couldn't deny the man looked absolutely gorgeous in suits. That day's effort was a dark blue, perfectly tailored to Nicholas's slim waist and strong shoulders.

Within a few minutes, Dave had finished preparing the salad, and dished out half of it into pasta bowls. He was covering the remaining salad with Glad Wrap prior to putting it into the fridge, when Nicholas reappeared – transformed into something more like a regular Aussie in a t-shirt and worn jeans, barefoot, and with his dark hair mussed. Nicholas grinned at him, and they exchanged a kiss full of promise before taking their dinner through to the lounge, and eating with Splayds while watching the ABC TV news.

Not that they paid much attention to the news; they sat there together in comfortable silence, or exchanged quiet comments and questions about their days. Nicholas had some kind of official affiliation with the university which enabled him to pursue his research; Dave wasn't sure exactly how it all worked, but Nicholas went in for at least one full day each week, and often more. Nicholas also did some teaching there, though right from the start he'd negotiated that being on a fairly casual basis, because he liked to be free to join Dave on his trips to the Outback. Not that Nicholas wanted to be included on every trip, whether it was with clients or even when Dave went to sing the Dreamtime songs with Charlie at the waterhole – but Nicholas liked it to be his own decision and, as he said, he could always justify any trip with research.

After they'd eaten the salad, Nicholas sat back – and Dave remembered to take his glasses off before being welcomed into the man's arms. Nicholas held him there warm and safe, pressing lazy kisses to his hair and stroking at his arms and chest and stomach, lulling him into a luxurious kind of comfort … The TV burbled on until Nicholas reached for the remote and turned it off, and then the cosy silence was free to well between them. Eventually Nicholas tucked his head in beside Dave's, and murmured in his ear, "Anything in particular you feel like doing tonight … ? Or anything you
don't
feel like doing?"

"Anything," Dave echoed – knowing very well that Nicholas would respect his wishes, but also trusting that whatever Nicholas wanted to do would be absolutely fine by him. "You're the creative one," he added, twisting a little to flash his lover a grin.