It had all begun as just a typical summer afternoon at the beach. The expected thunderstorms had not yet materialized, just a buildup of storm clouds on the distant horizon and an oppressively humid heat that drove the mass of humans into the tepid salt water. But despite the horrid temperature, all the good things to be found at a summer resort were there as well. The smell of fries cooking up on the boardwalk drifted across the sand mixed with the sweetness of coconut suntan lotion and the tang of rotting seaweed. The cry of gulls scrabbling for scraps of tourist leftovers, the flapping of canvas umbrellas in the stiffening breeze and a proportional number of cute things wandering the surf in tight bathing suits. Now and then music from a nearby portable radio drifted in on the sultry breeze. This time it was The Doors playing Light My Fire. Poor Morrison, gone but never to be forgotten. Like the smells around him, the sounds were familiar, reassuring and yet... CJ stretched and brought a hand up to his mouth to stifle a yawn. Abruptly he sat up, spitting out the sand he had just deposited in his mouth. Reluctantly he focused on the reality around him, a tinge of regret at letting go of the sensuous dream that had been playing cinematically in his head. A smile reached his lips and he laughed quietly at himself. Sex really hadn't been a part of his life for quite some time. He had been so tied up in his own affairs that finding the time to share with someone else had been just about impossible. Crap in a bucket, so what are ya gonna do about it? Reaching for the cooler in the shade of the oversized beach umbrella, he fumbled in the chill water and extracted a small can of orange juice. He downed the liquid and waited for the sugar rush to clear the fog in his mind. Oh yeah, that's better. Glancing along the shoreline towards Rehoboth Beach proper, he saw families beginning to pack up and searched in his shirt pocket for a watch. It was 3:30 on a wonderful Sunday afternoon. I'm certainly not going anywhere, he thought. The migration back across the narrow Chesapeake Bay Bridge would clog the roads for many hours to come. Hot asphalt, exhaust fumes, and that sand in your crotch kind of penance for having had such a good time. A screaming kids, sticky hands all over the inside of the new Dodge wagon kinda sun burnt hell. He wondered why most people endured it. Leaning back in the canvas chair he smiled once again. Hallelujah, his life would never be like that. Right then he flashed back to the beginning of the end, no, the end of his old life and the truly wonderful new beginning of the one he was having now. There he was that early July afternoon only two weeks before. The nation's capital, Washington, D.C., caught in the embrace of another sweltering haze of pollution. The moment had seemed just about right. CJ went down the hall to the executive bathroom and told his boss goodbye while the man was standing at the urinal, dick in hand. It seemed an appropriate time and place for a conversation with a dick, so he spoke to both dicks. "I'm quitting Bill. I'll be in touch with personnel about my severance package." "Chris, no, don't do this to yourself." The guy couldn't understand how he could just walk away from a great career. There was money to be made, didn't he see that? You've worked all your life, you're a young man, and this must be some kind of mid-life crisis. Yap, yap, yap, CJ listened but wasn't hearing a word, the guy hadn't had an original thought in his head for twenty years. "Like I said, Bill, I'm outta here. You better stop shaking that thing before it falls off." "Chris…you're throwing away the best years of your life." Yes, CJ thought. That is exactly what he intended to do, throw it all away. He had leaned over and flushed the urinal in front of Bill and laughed as he walked out. The resignation, and his timing, had caused quite a stir in the company. Most of them thought he was nuts, but they also knew he didn't care. A few expressed jealousy and gave him knowing looks, he laughed in reply. The minute the door closed behind him they would be fucking each other to get his job. Juice in hand, CJ sat back in the beach chair. Leaving behind the sixty hour work weeks and the inner squabbles of company executives had been the best choice of his life, a real necessity for his continued sanity. Was he crazy? Of course he was, crazy to get a life anyway. The years he'd spent fighting for every dollar, battling his way up the corporate ladder, hating himself and the person he'd become had finally made it all possible. The bastards had picked at his brain like vultures for sixteen long years. Starting from the day he was recruited right out of college, he'd given up the best years of his life to those bastards. And the company had certainly profited from his natural intuition. Fortunately he made sure they had paid for it along the way, bless their miserable hearts. He now hoped they would keep up the good work and make him richer still. Scum sucking bastards. Initially he had been amazed at his own reaction to quitting. It had been a supreme moment of fulfillment that he didn't expect. Wasn't retirement supposed to be the beginning of the end? A slow approach to that final moment when a man would kiss the wife and family goodbye, leaving them in financial security and peacefully passing into the great beyond. What bullshit. That might be what all the ads said, but they lied. Because when you're a gay man, with millions in the bank and more in stock options, it somehow just stayed complicated. CJ realized that he was frowning. Shit, I've got to stop remembering that place and I need to get laid. Chuckling inwardly, he glanced around the beach again, always on the prowl for something new, exciting and just plain cute. Some late arrivals had set up a volley ball net and were prancing around in their fashionable beach togs. The antics of two young men in particular attracted his attention. They threw ice cubes at each other and collapsed in laughter on the sand. He just couldn't get away from the queens. The two girlfriends had gathered their belongings under an umbrella and started batting the ball around, CJ lost interest. This was supposed to be Delaware's queer beach, but did everyone have to act like that? After he had discovered his sexual role in the grand scheme of things, CJ had deplored being identified with the feminine acting gay crowd. Why did it have to be like that? He was glad to be a man, act like a man and be passionate as a man. There was nothing womanly about his self image or the partners he chose. Sure a man could be passive in bed but never in a successful relationship. Sex was not about role playing, it was about passion and men were aggressive, wonderful lovers. And not that he didn't respect these two young gays, it was their choice to act the way they did. He just couldn't be a part of that world, it didn't ring true. Another group of young men walked by at the waterline and CJ waved at one of them he'd met on the beach the week before. The guy waved back but then turned to say something to his companions as they walked by. Queers are just so fickle, he thought, it's a gay thing. Who cares what they call it, that guy had seemed so interested last week when asking CJ for tips on the stock market. What can you do? Maybe he was just too old for the guy? Shit. CJ rose to his feet and brushed the sand away while rearranging the contents in his shorts. The application of suntan lotion earlier in the day had stuck the sand to his legs and arms. He felt gritty all over now and craved the water. Tossing his sunglasses in the chair, he took off in a short jog to the waterline. Striding into the tepid water, he looked around for the jellyfish which seemed to get worse every year. Turning around, he scanned the beach from this fresh perspective as he did a lazy backstroke through the swell of the receding tide. A little way off to the right there were families with young children who kept glancing at the crowd on the gay beach. The gay scene was becoming more visible here but that didn't make it more acceptable to these folks. It didn't take much imagination to see the dividing line drawn in the sand between the two groups of people. It was the middle ground that always caught his attention, a no man's land, filled with odd clusters of young guys and a few gals. From experience he knew these were often the curiosity seekers, a group that was timid and often secretly gay. He knew the feeling well, he'd been there. They're too afraid to declare their own sexuality or just horny and awaiting the opportunity, he thought, sure that's it, that's why I'm back here too. There had been some great experiences in his life right here. But it had been so many years back, and in a much different life. In fact he had met a boy right off this very section of beach. What a summer that had been, full of so many firsts. He had just received his long awaited high school diploma with his name, Christopher Lee James, etched across the middle and a big golden seal at the bottom. It had given him distinction and finally the courage to come out to his friends and then his family. Hi Mom, guess what? I'm queer! As he had expected, it didn't go that well with either group. In a mild panic, he had escaped to the beach looking for sympathy and dreading the thought of starting college in the fall. He was just eighteen in that year of transition, an unsettling time for many young men, and deep inside he was scared to death. The knowledge of his preference had been with him since before puberty. He had found a few friends willing to experiment in the name of fun. But those encounters had been only moments in time, hidden away from the prying eyes of parents, teachers, coaches and scout leaders. He reveled in the sleepovers and fieldtrips, locker rooms and campouts, events that surrounded him with other boys. These were places that stimulated his desires and allowed him to search the field for a conquest. Sleeping in a friend's home with other boys was fraught with uncertainty but maybe the opportunity for a circle jerk. Field trips to a museum could mean time alone in a bathroom stall with Johnny, the boy in his class voted most likely to actually be queer. And a deserted locker room behind the gym, where the new kid on the swim team was initiated with a kiss and a hot mouth in his crotch. But those were childish realities and his eighteenth summer had been very different. He was finally a queer man and intent on enjoying it. It was liberating and he felt the world was his for the asking. But were they ready to listen? He knew what it was like to become an outcast, first from parties with his friends and then at family gatherings. It made him angry. What did these people know about his feelings? And then he met Sam. CJ could remember every detail of that particular day at the beach. The experience he liked to think of as his first real foray into the gay world. He wished now that it had made him stronger and wiser instead of cautious and cynical. He had taken a room in a house at the beach thanks to the information he had been given by a bartender in Georgetown after celebrating his graduation in bed with the guy. The beach house was run by Burt and Tony who had owned a little clothing shop in Key West before deciding to move north. The two men had immediately dubbed him CJ, a new name for his new life. The gay scene was still quite embryonic in this little town and it took courage to open a house for men, lot's of courage. But the world of men was more secretive than most in those days and CJ followed the rules. At least he did in the beginning. The old wood frame structure had been subdivided into tiny rooms the size of a mattress with little room for much else. CJ earned his keep by helping rebuild the house and working as an umbrella jockey at the beach. The clients had quiet candlelight dinners on the back patio where Tony played his guitar softly for the small group of appreciative guests. A tiny yard was surrounded with a high wooden fence and huge flowering bushes, giving the customers a quiet place to sunbathe in private. The neighbors probably knew, but at least these men didn't act rowdy like the usual bunch of summer visitors. Because of this they were left alone. Saturday was wash day and all the guests pitched in to clean the house and wash the linens for the next group due the following day. Burt always showed his appreciation for the help by giving little gifts of salt water taffy to the departing guests as they drove off back to the big cities across the bay. In no time at all the revolving group of men became the family that CJ craved deep in his heart. With Burt and Tony he had found a home once again. He had been there for barely a month when he met Sam. Glancing along the beach CJ had noticed this attractive boy loitering up near the boardwalk. It finally sunk in that the boy had been watching him all morning as he carried and set up umbrellas on the beach for rental customers. CJ also realized this boy was unsure of himself. His methods of observation were much too blatant and yet he found that charmingly provocative. One of the first things he had learned as a gay man was what a thrill it was to be cruised. His body was in perfect shape, browned by the sun and toned by the job that kept him running in the sand carrying heavy loads of gear day after day. His hair had gone from dirty blonde to straw, bleached by the sun and a little lemon juice Tony had provided with a wink. He had noticed that morning, as he stared in the shaving mirror, that his blue eyes had taken on a brightness that could only mean he was happy. The package was ready, now all he needed was a place to deliver it. This kid looked young, maybe sixteen, possibly seventeen, hopefully eighteen. He might be totally inexperienced but was unbelievably beautiful in his tight red bathing suit. It was a good game they played for most of the morning and he smiled at the kid whenever they crossed paths. CJ was certain of one thing, if the kid was to make a move he would have to provide the opportunity. At lunch time he was relieved by Terry who owned the rental business. CJ grabbed an inflated rubber raft and after making sure the boy saw him, paddled out towards the calm water beyond the breakers. Riding the swells with his eyes closed it wasn't long before he heard splashes as someone stroked towards his position. He just knew it would be the kid, it just had to be. Right now he was a bit further out than the crowd, on the fringe of that area where the lifeguards get nervous. CJ slid slowly into the water and kicked towards shore, watching the approach of his young stalker. He offered the boy a rest by allowing him to hang on. Now they stared at each other across the width of the raft. The boy's long blonde hair was plastered to his head and hung in his eyes. And those eyes were so blue, the color fired by the hot sun, that CJ felt his every breath as they shared that small bouncing raft. Oh God, he thought, what have we got here? They traded names and talked about jellyfish until in a moment so surreal CJ finally told Sam what was really on his mind. "Can I tell you something, Sam? I think, I think you're beautiful." A deep blush, a stutter and finally a smile from Sam," I was curious about you too," he said, "we look so much alike in some ways." "But I'm queer, did you know that?" CJ asked. "I didn't know, but it doesn't matter. I've never been there myself," Sam replied. "But, do you want to find out what it means?" Sam gazed at him, the smile never wavering. "Yes, I really do." "Then we need to talk about it," CJ said. And then we'll see what happens, he thought. Lying back in the water with warm thoughts of his encounter with Sam, CJ slowly drifted towards the shore and was taken by the large wave quite unexpectedly. Pushing him right under, the wave tossed him along the sandy bottom, rolling his body with tremendous power. The tons of seawater bashed him pretty good and then left him choking and gasping for air as he came to the surface. Coughing he tried to stand but his legs were a bit rubbery and he toppled over. A strong pair of hands grasped him and lifted him back on his feet as he coughed up a few gallons of ocean. He wiped the salt from his eyes and looked into the strong face of his rescuer. "Damn," CJ choked out," thanks, that knocked the shit out of me." "You're quite welcome," the face replied, "Do you drown here often?" His name was Matt and he too had been knocked about by the same odd wave that seemed to have swept them together. CJ laughed at the situation but the guy seemed genuinely concerned. "Now that would be a cruel joke. I can see the headlines now, man drowns after early retirement" CJ said. "Retired? You don't look old enough, ah…sorry," Matt said, "I didn't mean to stick my nose into your business. But this is odd. I've just retired from the whole world myself." "Oh, that's ok, no offense taken. Hell, I'm only thirty-nine," CJ replied," and thanks to you I might get to see forty." "So there aren't a whole lot of years between us then, I'm thirty-seven," Matt said. CJ laughed, "Isn't honesty refreshing……what did you mean by the whole world?" "It's a long story, got the time?" "Sure, let's get out of the water before a tidal wave hits us." They retired to the beach umbrella, and CJ threw himself down while Matt went to fetch his belongings. He pondered this stranger's timely rescue and the comment about retirement, he's really young too. CJ remembered looking at his face in the mirror that morning. His blonde hair was thinning a little but still in all he thought it was a handsome face. The lines etched across his forehead and at the edges of his eyes seemed to have relaxed in the last few days. The major stress was gone from his life. What he needed now was motivation, something to get him off his ass. It had been years since he'd been anywhere except on business. Maybe he needed a vacation to some place exotic, a distant land where he could find adventure. He wondered what Matt would think? As the guy approached lugging his stuff, CJ apprised Matt's lean frame and guessed he really was only two years younger. It was hard to tell, he thought, the long brown hair spilled down on broad shoulders, longer than most gay men that he knew. But the brown eyes peering over a pair of sunglasses looked worn and tired. God did he know that feeling. Matt laughed as he set down his belongings, "I'm still thinking about all the years I've spent on the beach and still I was caught flatfooted by a cross current wave. We could have been rather damaged out there." CJ smiled in return, "Want a juice? I think I've still got some left, although it might be a little warm by now." "Sure," Matt responded, "Do you party?" "You mean pot? Good Lord, I haven't done that in ten years." "Maybe its time you started thinking about it again," Matt said. "After all, it isn't like we have to be at work tomorrow?" "Do I have time to grow my hair long? Sure, ok… got any?" "Now that's a silly question." Matt dropped onto the shade and pulled out his kit. As he rolled a small joint he began to tell CJ about himself. Fifteen years working for the government, Matt laughed. He had been a computer whiz, stuck in a going nowhere job in an unfeeling department that wasted the taxpayers money, but didn't they all? That is until last month when an inheritance had blessed him with the chance of a lifetime. Matt knew he could survive without working so he quit. He threw his head back and laughed so hard that it turned into a howl at the end. Maybe it was the joint that they had been covertly passing back and forth that made him think this was no chance meeting, but CJ decided something had brought them together. Now here they were, trying to decide what leaving behind the world really meant. "I think that's great," CJ stated emphatically, "It takes courage to walk away, I know." "Courage? Maybe, I just knew I was meant for better things," Matt said. "But what were you daydreaming about out there. I saw you drifting like you were a million miles away." "Pass me that joint and I'll tell you, and then maybe we'll decide if better things should happen for us both in the future." CJ figured the smoke had gone straight to his head. Why else would he be telling this total stranger about Sam? But Matt was intrigued by CJ's story. "So, you must tell me," Matt said, "What happened to the boy? Please don't tell me that it ended in tragedy?" "No, not really," CJ sighed, "I was truly blessed to have found him. We had few weeks of passion and love and then his summer vacation came to an end rather abruptly." "You mean he just left?" Matt asked. "Well, sort of, I left him, and for a good reason." The passions he shared with Sam that first weekend grew with each passing day. They spent a considerable amount of that time in bed. CJ had never encountered a boy like this one and he wasn't sure he wanted the summer to end. Sam was polite, well mannered and could hold his own in any conversation. The fact that he came from money was obvious by the way he dressed and in the jewelry he wore. When Sam gave CJ his gold ID bracelet as a token of love it brought tears to his eyes. He felt sad that he had nothing of value to give back. But the boy didn't want tokens, he just wanted a man to call his own. It was all so much like a crazy roller coaster ride and CJ finally figured it was his fault that he didn't see that the ride was coming to an end. It was Tony that brought him the first hint of doom for the relationship. After the second week of Sam's daily and nightly visits, Tony pulled CJ aside when he returned from his beach job one afternoon. "I don't want to be the bad guy CJ, but do you realize just who this boy is?" "Yeah, he's my lover, Tony." "Well he's also a member of a very important family. There was a man here asking about you earlier today and I don't think it was Sam's father. He didn't know your name but he described you perfectly like he had been following you. I think you know what this means." "It means I haven't been cautious enough, but why would they follow us around?" Tony then dropped the bomb by telling CJ the boy's last name. "Oh shit," CJ cried, "Oh my God, I should have realized." "It's no wonder he never talked about his family," Tony said, "from what I've heard they can be quite disagreeable, especially with men like us." CJ understood that he had jeopardized everything Tony and Burt had built. If Sam had told him truthfully about his family they might have pulled it off but it was too late now. The afternoon had wound down and evening began to creep upon them as they sat there on the beach. This part of the story had haunted CJ for years. The saddest part remained to be told but Matt was caught up in the story now, hanging on every word. "Sam just couldn't understand that he was born into this family and that's where his sweet little sixteen year old ass was stuck," CJ observed. "Yeah, he had lied to me, said he was eighteen and like a fool I believed him. I wanted to believe him or I would have walked away from the beginning." CJ's worst fears were confirmed in short order. The police found them in the arcade that night. CJ was a wanted man. The ride to the station took ten minutes and they waited half an hour for Sam's father to arrive. Sam treated his father with great deference and the man was pleasant to CJ, inquiring about the relationship. The three of them talked in the interrogation room while the cops stood outside. Sam explained that he and Chris had met on the beach and all about their evening on the boardwalk in the arcade. His father stated that the family had begun to worry about him spending all his evenings away from the house. As a matter of course they had sent someone to watch after the boy. The conversation then came to an abrupt end and CJ was offered a chance to attend a cookout with the family at some indeterminate time in the future. He didn't believe a bit of the man's sincerity, it was all for the boy's benefit. Sam and his father left and CJ went into the men's room and threw up. He knew the danger wasn't over but the relationship with Sam certainly was. "Mercifully," CJ said, "Sam's family left for their home upstate within a few days. And I never saw the boy again. With my heart broken, I drank and smoked myself into oblivion for several days. Within a week I was sleeping with an older man, someone I couldn't possibly fall in love with, love was gone. "And that's how I lost the most beautiful boy in the world. Oh, I've heard a few things about him since though. He graduated from Princeton and went into the family business of course. Got married a while back, has two kids and drinks too much. The last photo I saw of him was in some society column. His looks are fading fast. How terribly sad for Sam, I think. He has to live the rest of his life as a lie. " They had talked like two long lost brothers all afternoon while the sun had taken its toll or maybe it was the pot. Matt spoke about finding some supper and CJ offered to cook. They finally packed up their belongings and headed back to CJ's beach house. It was only a short walk down quiet suburban streets to the cottage among the pines he had purchased several summers before. Houses were scarce here in a crowded summer resort and CJ figured to do extensive remodeling. But one look at the battered cottage made him want to return it to its original glory, and so he had. CJ had considered spending his remaining years here, the quintessential beach bum, washed up on the shore, slowly browning in the baking sun and sitting by a roaring fire in the depths of winter. But he had never figured to go it alone. He had thoughts of finding a nice young thing to share his life. Matt laughed and offered to shoot him now. After dinner, over a vintage snifter of brandy, Matt told CJ about the friends that had come out of the woodwork when the inheritance money had finally arrived. "The phone would not stop ringing day and night. I engaged a service to front all my calls, so people started writing me and then showing up at the door. I finally had enough of the bullshit and packed my bags. Reluctantly, I handed the cat to my sister and put the nation's capital behind me. Now here I sit wondering what's next." "There must be an echo in here, you sound just like me," CJ said "Look, it won't take them long to find me here," Matt confided, "I always come here to escape. For most of my life I've chosen my friends carefully but the really crazy ones just keep coming back. I shared a few glorious years in warm and loving relationships and they all ended. There were a few strays here and there but who knows why they left, the gay world seems so fickle or maybe it's me. I don't know, I have to make a change somewhere." "Wish I had an answer for you my friend," CJ said, "what can you do about it?" "I've always wanted to travel. Not just overseas, I've already been halfway around the world. It was fun but just not familiar enough. I really want to see America." "No Swiss Alps, no pyramids in Egypt, no beaches in Tahiti?" CJ asked. "Someday maybe, but not now. I would really like to see the mountains and deserts of the Southwest. Native American culture just fascinates me. There are centuries of folklore I want to learn about." "Hmm, yes, wish I knew more myself," CJ said. "So tell me CJ, I don't mean to keep going back to Sam, but do you still have it?" "Oh….the bracelet you mean?" "Yes," Matt said, "I guess it's all he left to remind you of the relationship. I'm a sucker for trinkets, can I see it?" CJ rose and walked over to a bookcase where he picked up a handsomely decorated tin box. He smiled and handed it to Matt. "It's all in there my friend; I don't look at it much anymore. Some memories are best left in the past." Matt slowly opened the box and took out several bundles of letters, a pack of photos and finally an object wrapped in a purple bandana. He held the gold bracelet up to the light and traced the name with his fingertips. Then he went straight for the photos. "My Lord...what an exquisite boy. You lucky, lucky bastard. On a scale of one to ten, he's about a thirteen." "Yeah, a most unlucky number for us both. I still feel sorry for Sam, pretending he's straight to protect the family image, poor jerk. You can see he wrote me letters for a while. I could never write back however and he knew it. After so many months they just stopped coming." Matt combed through the other photos and picked up one. "Here's one of the two of you together, maybe you should have it framed?" "No," CJ replied, "We had that made in the arcade the night we were busted, maybe I should burn it. But you know something? If he came back tomorrow, I'd still be in love with him. What the hell does that say about me?" "That you love straight boys?" "Thanks a lot, shit head, but we both know he's not straight," CJ said. "I look back and wonder if those are the best two weeks I'll ever have with someone. Like you I've been in and out of a few short term things but I want something more. I miss Burt and Tony and the feeling of family we had that summer. Both of my parents are basking away in the Florida sunshine and we only talk occasionally, I need more than that. Don't you miss having a family around you?" "My parents split up years ago," Matt said. "Like you we only talk occasionally, and that's all for the best, we always fought. I have my sister but our wheels spin in different directions. I'm beginning to understand what you're saying now, the home place is empty." "Exactly," CJ said, "the hearth is cold and so are my feet. So what can we do about it? We better do something fast, we aren't getting any younger." The pain had receded from the telling of his story, CJ realized. He and Matt laughed late into the night about the number of times they had both run into a supposedly straight boy who had warmed to a manly sexual experience. "I wonder about boys like that sometimes," Matt said, "probably just as you wonder about Sam. How do men live their lives when they repress such strong feelings about being homosexual?" CJ cringed inwardly, how did Sam express his hidden feelings? Maybe he would sneak off to the bathhouses while on business trips. The guy had never returned to Rehoboth far as he knew. But he could tell that Matt was just as attracted to youth. Call it arrested development on their part, CJ still wanted a younger man in his life. They had more energy, more vitality and he envied that more every year as he grew older. And here was the chance once again. "You know buddy, we still have the best years of our miserable lives ahead of us," CJ said. "Why don't we plan to do something with it? It might solve both our problems if we get out of town for a while and find a couple of young men to call our own." "So you want to travel and see the country?" Matt asked. "Sure. Form ourselves a partnership, soul mates seeking new experiences," CJ said. "Adventurers seeking new challenges, discovering new lands," Matt replied. "More like two horny bastards with tons of money out cruising for guys that need some experience. But let me sleep on this," CJ said, "I need a little time but there is this idea cooking in the back of my head. I think you're gonna like it."
This work may not be duplicated in any form (physical, electronic, audio, or otherwise) without the author's written permission. All applicable copyright laws apply. All individuals depicted are fictional with any resemblance to real persons being purely coincidental.
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