Reunited

By Victoria Zagar

Peter had thought that Oliver was gone forever, but fate offers him one last chance to reunite with the man he loved and lost.

Peter's undergoing chemotherapy for cancer. Dazed and confused, he finds himself at a community center he once frequented a long time ago. Going inside, he meets his old friend Oliver. There's one problem—Oliver's been dead for twenty-two years, lost to the ravages of AIDS in 1992. Suddenly the impossible has become possible, giving Peter a second chance with a man he had thought lost to him forever.

Peter finally admits his feelings for Oliver, long hidden beneath layers of denial and grief. Oliver owns up to the reckless mistakes he made in life, the drugs and casual sex that led to his untimely demise. Unfurling the mysteries of how they have come to be reunited, Peter and Oliver embark on a weird and wonderful journey through their past and present lives, embracing the whirlwind romance they could only dream of when Oliver lay dying.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Pride Publishing
• Release date: Mar 6, 2015
• ISBN: 9781784304386

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A Totally Bound Publication

Reunited

ISBN # 978-1-78430-438-6

©Copyright Victoria Zagar 2015

Cover Art by Posh Gosh ©Copyright February 2015

Edited by Jennifer Douglas

Totally Bound Publishing

This is a work of fiction. All characters, places and events are from the author’s imagination and should not be confused with fact. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, events or places is purely coincidental.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any material form, whether by printing, photocopying, scanning or otherwise without the written permission of the publisher, Totally Bound Publishing.

Applications should be addressed in the first instance, in writing, to Totally Bound Publishing. Unauthorized or restricted acts in relation to this publication may result in civil proceedings and/or criminal prosecution.

The author and illustrator have asserted their respective rights under the Copyright Designs and Patents Acts 1988 (as amended) to be identified as the author of this book and illustrator of the artwork.

Published in 2015 by Totally Bound Publishing, Newland House, The Point, Weaver Road, Lincoln, LN6 3QN

Totally Bound Publishing is a subsidiary of Totally Entwined Group Limited.

Warning:

This book contains sexually explicit content which is only suitable for mature readers. This story has a heat rating of Totally Sizzling and a Sexometer of 1.

REUNITED

Victoria Zagar

Peter had thought that Oliver was gone forever, but fate offers him one last chance to reunite with the man he loved and lost.

Peter’s undergoing chemotherapy for cancer. Dazed and confused, he finds himself at a community center he once frequented a long time ago. Going inside, he meets his old friend Oliver. There’s one problem—Oliver’s been dead for twenty-two years, lost to the ravages of AIDS in 1992. Suddenly the impossible has become possible, giving Peter a second chance with a man he had thought lost to him forever.

Peter finally admits his feelings for Oliver, long hidden beneath layers of denial and grief. Oliver owns up to the reckless mistakes he made in life, the drugs and casual sex that led to his untimely demise. Unfurling the mysteries of how they have come to be reunited, Peter and Oliver embark on a weird and wonderful journey through their past and present lives, embracing the whirlwind romance they could only dream of when Oliver lay dying.

Dedication

To Jason, for your love and support.

Trademarks Acknowledgement

The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of the following wordmarks mentioned in this work of fiction:

Tesco: Tesco

Postman Pat: Woodland Animations Limited

Woman’s Weekly: Time Inc. (UK) Limited

Mini: BMW North America, LLC

BBC: The British Broadcasting Corporation

Marks and Spencer: Marks & Spencer plc

Chapter One

Peter walked along High Street as if he were wandering through a dream. Everything seemed a little hazy, and he wasn’t exactly certain how he had gotten there. It had to be the chemotherapy. The side-effects were so much worse than the doctors had told him they would be. The nausea, dizziness and wasting away reminded him of something someone else had gone through, but he couldn’t remember who, when or why. He was probably just making his way home from the General Hospital after another session. He’d gotten a little lost and confused, but it wasn’t the end of the world. If he could just get back to his car, he could drive home and have a cup of tea. Everything would be all right.

He walked up through the children’s playground until he reached the car park. It was packed to bursting, as usual. Parents and children made their way into town, filling the crowded walkways with chatter. The shopping center was no doubt bustling. The community center sat on one side of the car park. It had been built in the 90s. Peter remembered how he had once spent many afternoons there—for what reason, he didn’t remember—but he felt an inexorable pull toward it, as if many more afternoons in good company awaited him there. He shrugged and headed that way. His daughter Patricia wasn’t expecting him home for a little while. She wouldn’t mind if he dropped in on old friends for an hour or so. With age came the ability to indulge in small curiosities, thoughts he would have tossed aside in the urgency of youth.

He saw a phone box sitting outside and gave it a quizzical glance. Not a red telephone box, but the kind that British Telecom had installed later on, all glass with their logo printed on it. He hadn’t seen a phone box in years. What with mobile phones, nobody used phone boxes anymore. It stood empty, of course. Why anybody would want to use such a relic was beyond him. Maybe the community center kept it as a keepsake of sorts, out of sentimentality for a simpler time. Peter could agree with that. He was prone to bouts of sentimentality himself, especially of late. Dying tended to make one reminisce.

Led by curiosity, Peter pushed open the glass door that led into the center. It was just as he remembered it. Children’s art decorated the walls, and a color scheme of brown and darker brown was the