Part 2
The final day of the tour was one huge party - everywhere we went, fun would follow. Everyone on the tour was in such good spirits. Especially Paul and Rich - they almost seemed like new people. It made the tour much more pleasant, that's for sure.
Paul told me about their escapades on the hill over dinner before the last show. Rich was out at the time, giving yet another journalist an interview. 'Stay Just A Little Bit Longer' was playing softly on the radio in the background. We both laughed as he told the story.
"So what did you do after dancing?" I asked. Paul raised his eyebrows and pointed to his mouth to tell me that he had a mouthful of food, and chewed it quickly before responding. He couldn't wipe the smile off his face.
"We sat at the table - I can't believe the candles kept going so long - and had a small dinner. It was just chicken, salad and a bottle of wine, but we weren't paying too much attention to the food anyway."
"Then what?"
"Then the sun started setting, and we wanted to make the most of what time we had left before the taxi came back to take us home. So we went for a short walk around the hill, then sat right on the edge and watched the sun go down." He briefly looked away, still smiling, as he remembered the events of last night. "It was the most romantic time i've ever had."
"Wow. If only I could've been there..."
Oh, good one. Me and my big mouth. He placed his fork onto his plate and folded his arms on the table, staring at me.
"Tell me the truth, Tim," he said firmly. "Are you finding this hard?"
I took another bite of my dinner, not being in a rush to respond. I was secretly constructing my answer in my head, trying to figure out what sounds best. Finally I swallowed and settled on, "I'm getting better at it."
"Are you sure?"
I nodded. "Paul, don't worry about what I think about this. I wasn't too pleased at the beginning, but since our talk in Hobart i've been nothing but encouraging." I tapped his hand with my fork. "Paul, you love Rich. And Rich loves you. What anyone else says and does about it shouldn't matter. Focus your attention on making the most of this relationship. It's an almost perfect match."
Paul raised an eyebrow at me, looking hurt. "Almost perfect? What's missing?"
"Nothing, nothing's missing. It's just -"
"Tim, i'm fucking with you! It's very sweet of you to say what you just said. But I just need to make sure that you're fine with this."
"Hey," I leant back and raised my hands in the air, "i'm more than fine with it, i'm very happy. If I had a problem with it, believe me, you'd know."
He grinned and pushed his chair back, taking his plate in his hands. "Well, now that all the seriousness is out of the way...what say we get back into the party mood? It's the end of the tour, we have much to celebrate."
"Hang on - no celebrations without me, thank you!" Rich greeted us as he entered the room. He gave Paul a quick peck on the forehead and looked over at me. "So how do we celebrate?"
I smiled at both of them as I took two bottles of beer in my hands and tossed them over to Paul and Rich. They caught them and screwed them open while I took my already-opened bottle and walked around to join them.
"Gentlemen, a toast," I announced, raising my bottle in the air. Paul and Rich did the same. "Here's to love - the greatest adventure of them all."
"Here's to the success of the Allstars," Paul added.
"And most importantly, here's to finishing this tour with a bang and getting completely shit-faced!" Richard concluded.
We laughed and cheered in mutual agreement and clinked our bottles together, taking long swigs of our beer. In the background, we could hear the radio DJ speeaking to his audience.
"And there was the first song in our Classic Double this hour - 'Stay Just A Little Bit Longer' by Maurice Williams and The Zodiacs. I hope you're all having a great time tonight - I know that the people who will be having the best time will be those going to the last concert of the Doug Anthony Allstars. They do their last show tonight, and then tomorrow they give our town a big 'screw you' as they head back home to work on some more hilarious material. Enjoy the show tonight, everyone!"
We cheered again in the direction of the radio, giggling. The DJ continued.
"And now for our second Classic Double - here's a song i'm sure you'll all want to sing along to. It's 'My Boy Lollipop' by Millie Small!"
As the cutesy song began to play, Paul ran over to the radio and turned it up to top volume, then turned back to us and began dancing as we sang along to the song.
'My boy lollipop
You make me heart go giddy-up
You are as sweet as candy
You're my sugar dandy
Ha, ho, my boy lollipop
Never ever leave me
Because it would grieve me
My heart told me so...'
We couldn't stop laughing as we kicked, jumped and twirled around the room, spilling beer all over the floor. I loved it when we all just got up and let loose the way we were. It's the way I always wanted to remember the Allstars.
I stopped dancing as I moved some furniture out of the way, giving us more room. When I turned back, I smiled as Paul and Rich danced as a couple, holding hands, spinning each-other around and hugging.
'I love you, I love you, I love you so
That I want you to know
I need you, I need you, I need you so
And i'll never let you go
My boy lollipop
You make my heart go giddy-up
You set my world on fire
You are my one desire
My boy lollipop...'
I watched the sparkling in their eyes and the sounds of their laughter. They did look wonderful together. I felt a twinge of guilt for being so rude to Paul in Hobart, and holding these false hopes of having Paul back again. There was no way he was coming back to me now - he had Rich, and he loved and cherished him like no other. What could I possibly offer Paul that Rich couldn't?
As much as I told myself that I was getting better at it, the reality was, as Paul and Rich's love grew stronger and deeper, I wanted Paul more and more.
Part 3