Chapter 102

We went to the New Year's Eve party at the club. I'd been hoping to avoid it, but the boys wanted to go someplace and it was easier than anything else.

It did have the benefit of having anybody I'd care to wish a happy holiday all in one room. Robert brought the mistress, not the wife. Mohan brought the kids - and the girls kept calling all my boys 'aunt' all night. Paul Miller-not-Hollis brought a 'friend', with whom he shared a rather 'friendly' midnight kiss in the men's room.

My midnight kiss was spread out through the evening. The boys decided that I would get a midnight kiss when it was midnight in each of their hometowns - which made Jhon happy about being from the Philippines. It made me happy about getting a lot of kisses.

Until it was local time midnight. None of my boys were born in Eastern Standard time.

"John!" Gloria handed me a glass of champagne. "No pretty boy gracing those charming lips?"

"I get an hour off." I laughed.

"Not the whole hour." Ivan teased. "And only his lips."

The countdown started and we all joined in. As the cheers around us erupted, Gloria suddenly pulled my lapel and kissed me. I saw the flash go off before I could get her off me.

She and the boys laughed uproariously as I sputtered - I'd spilled my drink thanks to her. "You, get me a refill! What are you idiots laughing about?"

"Oh that was priceless!" Juan crowed. He hugged Gloria and kissed her soundly. "Now I have a papi and a mama!"

"Ja!" The Twins jumped on the bandwagon. "You es the mama from now own!" They kissed her cheeks.

"With you two?" Gloria laughed even more. "You'd have been traumatized by kindergarten!"

"Incest is better in the family." Giovanni pulled Gloria into his arms. "Come, Mother; let's do something wicked in public places." He and Juan swept her off to the dance floor.

"Boys, we can do something wicked anywhere you like." She laughed.

"Ok, which of you idiots put her up to that," I demanded, "Yeuhan!"

"Me?" He tried to look innocent. "I just happened to have a camera. And Ian took photos, too."

"What?" Ian laughed. "You told me to get all the interesting shots. I already got half a dozen of Yann."

Yann did look yummy. I'd insisted they all wear suits, but Yann really wanted to wear a dress. So, he did a little shopping and found a woman's jacket that looked more or less like a regular jacket from the waist up in the front. From the back, it looked like a dress. Under it, he wore a fairly normal shirt and tie. Since he couldn't wear a skirt - I didn't want that kind of temptation all night - he opted for a pair of skin tight pants with a rather frank ring set under them. To add to the fun, he'd been flirting all night with everyone in the room.

"Hey Uncle John!" The Ravi-Houseman girls said in unison.

"I'm not your uncle." I said rolling my eyes and wondering how long it took to get a drink.

"Mother told us to be respectful." "Yeah, and Dad said you were almost like a brother to him." I rolled my eyes again. Mohan as a brother. "This is Chandra." "Chandy, this is Uncle John."

A considerably less attractive Indian woman was just behind them. "Happy New Year, Mr. Jons. Very pleased to met you."