Fond farewell

It’s done little dream it’s done, so bid me a fond farewell, we both had our fun

It’s done little dream it’s done

The combination of hot showers, dry clothes and hard liquor perked everyone up from their post tubing lull. Tyler had arranged for a Mexican feast to be delivered for dinner which was good as everyone was hungry after the afternoon of exercise. Jess was busy in the kitchen making a peach cobbler for us all too. While we waited for the food to arrive Betty and I had a game of cornholes. At one point I was in the lead by a couple of points. I prayed for rain to stop play but the evening was lovely and sunny. I think he let me have the lead for a while because he suddenly seemed to be scoring loads of points each go and quickly wiped the floor with me.

Dining table a la Betty

There was time before the food arrived for Tyler to give a few of us a quick ride in the Gator to go see the grounds and go down to the river. John was about to jump into the front seat when MacReadie said he should get to ride up front, something about "those who act most like ladies" first. He got in to the passenger seat and John and I settled into the back. The tour of the grounds was great. We got to see a whole family of deer out grazing. They bounded off as we approached and made our way down to the banks of the river. The little zig zag track down was quite steep and muddy which was fine on the way down but a little scary on the way back up. On the return journey John and I braced ourselves, the steepness of the hill making us slide to the back of the Gator. I said I hoped that the back gate of the Gator was strong enough to hold our combined weight (me adding more than John to the combination). If it came open we would find ourselves sliding off the back of the Gator and all the way down the muddy track to the river. I asked Tyler to make sure MacReadie the Lady didn’t go pressing any of the buttons in case he accidentally found the gate release button.  Our Gator tour ended with Tyler parking up on the lawn & tipping the back up until John and I slid out onto the grass.

The West Virginia gays posing around the flip cup table

The food arrived and we settled round the outdoor dining table that had been spectacularly decorated by Betty with candles and two centrepieces made from flowers and foliage from around the house. The food was amazing and we demolished the majority of it fairly quickly. After dinner we drank, chatted and listened to music (my British playlist lasted about four songs before Robert changed it). After a while I noticed that I not seen (or to be more accurate, heard) Betty for a while and I wondered where he had got to. I asked Robby if Betty was ok. He said Betty was fine and that I should make sure I had my camera to hand as there was about to be a special treat for me.

So bid me a fond farewell

Miss My-end Ruined in the Gator

There was a noticeable break in the music. After a few seconds Rihanna started belting out S&M. Robby leant over to me and whispered “Get ready” into my ear. A tingle went down the back of my neck. At that moment a vision in black sequined material, platform heels, tights and a ginger wig came strutting in, dancing and singing along to the music. It was a vision to behold and the whole gang were laughing, clapping and cheering. I had no idea that Betty had an alter ego. I later found out that the ginger haired beauty was Miss My-end Ruined. She got her name from when Betty was in Cancun for gay week at Club Med and entered a costume contest with only 5 yards of sheer black fabric, a white beehive wig and yellow glow stick stuffed up inside the wig to work with. She referenced the Mayan Ruins nearby, hence her name. 

With the performance over, Miss My-End took a bow and removed her platform heels. As is inevitable with any group of gay men and a pair of UK size 10 heels, everyone had a go wearing them. It was my first time in big heels but I was determined not to be the only person to fall over wearing them. I did a couple of circuits, using the deck beside the pool as my runway. It felt strange finally being taller than Robby. I was completely dwarfed when he stood next to me wearing them. A couple of the gang kept them on a lot longer than was strictly necessary for just trying what they felt like. It looked like one person, who shall remain nameless was going to keep them on for the whole evening.

Betty takes the plunge

The cameras stayed out for the evening and there were some great photos capturing the best parts of an amazing evening. Betty/Miss My-end posing for photos in the back of the Gator, Betty jumping into the pool, Dimitri, MacReadie, Robert and Tyler spending an hour trying to get the perfect mid-air jumping photo and the whole gang posing around the flip cup table. There was more flip cup that evening, my skills improving vastly. I managed to flip my cup first time three games in a row. I was also taught how to shotgun a beer. For once I was pleased that American beer is a lot less alcoholic than the beer I am used to back home. It ended up being a very late night/early morning but it was such fun. At one point Tyler, damp from spilling his beer while shotgunning it, gave me a big hug, turned to Robby and said "Well done Robby, British is nice". Yes he was drunk but in vino veritas. I think I had been accepted into the gang.

By comparison, Sunday was a quiet day. Bill once again cooked breakfast although not everyone made it out of bed in time to eat it. We spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon lazing in the sun, swimming in the pool, playing cornholes and grazing on Mexican leftovers. Early afternoon Tyler’s parents, Mr & Mrs M came back home. They clearly knew most of the gang. Mr M even called Betty, Betty. I introduced myself and thanked them for letting me stay in their lovely home for the weekend.

Early afternoon saw Robert, Dimitri, MacReadie, Jess and Shelton load up the car and head back to the city. We waved them off and headed back to the house. For dinner we were grilling out. I had picked up enough of the local language in my travels to know that this meant a BBQ. Despite a massive thunderstorm passing through we were able to cook and sit outside for dinner. I sat next to Mr M and we chatted about my travels. He asked whether he could have his photo on the front cover when 80 Gays was made into a book. I said that I couldn’t promise him the front cover but he would certainly get a mention and photo somewhere in the book.

We both had our fun

Spot the gay with the mother who taught cheerleading squad

We all had a fairly early night as we would all be up early in the morning. I was going to be getting the train back to DC with Bill. Tyler, John, Betty and Robby were all driving back together as they were flying back to Atlanta but from Dulles airport. They had said that I could ride with them although I would then have to make it all the way into DC from the airport, which would be a nightmare. Mr M very kindly said he would give Bill and me a lift to the station in the morning for the train. We would be leaving the house at 6am. I said goodnight to the gang and thanked them for making me feel so welcome and part of the group. It had been a really great weekend and I was pleased I had taken up the last minute offer as it meant that I got to spend time with Robby, meet his friends and be British for the weekend. Spending the weekend with the gang also made me realise I was missing my own gang of friends from back home.

I was up at 5:30am the following morning, showered and dressed. I said goodbye to Robby. He was getting an extra half hour in bed before he had to be up for his ride back home. Bill and Mr M were in the kitchen when I got downstairs. There was a pot of coffee on and a to-go cup waiting for me. We loaded up the car and set off for Duffields. Despite the early hour there were plenty of people waiting for the train. We thanked Mr M for the lift and made our way to the platform. I snoozed for part of the journey, waking when my phone vibrated in my pocket. It was a lovely message from Robby that made me smile. I read the message a few times that day as I waited for my flight back down to Florida.

“It’s done little dream it’s done, so bid me a fond farewell, we both had our fun” 
Lyrics from Goodbye Little Dream, Goodbye from the musical Anything Goes