Author’s Note: This epilogue concludes the saga of Harrison and his friends, their trials and tribulations, their loves and lives. I hope that you will all take a moment to read the Postscript that follows the epilogue, in which I share my thoughts on the series and thank the many people who have made its completion possible.
~ Epilogue ~
Love is All that Matters
Three months later …
I was back where it all began. The only difference is that this time, I was on the ‘other side’.
“You’re sure you’re up for this?” asked Josh anxiously.
I smiled back at him to conceal the slight nervousness I felt. “I’ve put it off for a year now. And besides, I owe it to Caleb. I can’t just keep sending my regards through you.”
He nodded understandingly and gave my hand a comforting squeeze. It drove away unpleasant reminders of the time I’d spent incarcerated within these very walls.
“Two visitors to see prisoner 315567, Caleb Fisher,” a prison guard read off the clipboard he was holding. “That’s you two?” he enquired to us. Josh nodded.
“Okay, right this way,” the guard said. He gave me a curious glance, as if he recognized me. Now that I thought of it, I seemed to recall him from my own incarceration. I wracked my brains for his identity and it dawned on me who he was.
It seemed realization had come to him at approximately the same instant. He grinned. “Yeah, I thought you looked familiar. You used to be old Caleb’s cellmate, right?”
It was the prison guard who’d overseen my check-in to the facility – Max, I think his name was. I blushed, remembering the highly awkward moments
His grin grew wider. “Missed him much, did you?” He gave Josh an appraising glance. “Seems to me like your stay done you good.”
Josh cleared his throat and glared disapprovingly at Max.
“Er, no disrespect, mister,” said Max hastily. “This way, please.” He skipped ahead of us, leading us down the starkly-lit corridor.
“Do you know this guy?” Josh hissed in my ear.
“Um …” I briefly explained the circumstances of my prior meeting with Max.
Josh’s eyes widened. “You mean even he got to see you naked before I did?” he whispered back.
I punched him in the arm. “Thanks for being so supportive,” I said sarcastically.
He grinned mischievously. “Then again, what I got was better yet.”
I was still glaring at him when we sat down at the table. Another guard led Caleb into the room. His face lit up when he saw the two of us. There were more strands of white in his salt-and-pepper hair, but otherwise he looked just like I remembered him.
“Hello, Josh, Harrison,” he said gruffly, nodding to each of us in turn as he took his seat opposite us. “It was nice of you both to visit … especially you, Harry.”
I smiled at his use of the shortened form of my name which otherwise only Josh used. “I would’ve come sooner,” I informed him, “but this place sort of creeped me out.”
Caleb nodded. “I understand. You shouldn’t have been in here in the first place. I appreciate the fact that you put aside painful memories to visit me.”
“They weren’t exactly painful memories … not cheerful ones either, but definitely not painful.” I looked directly at him. “I have you to thank for that.”
He smiled and turned to his nephew. “I know you’ve told me everything that’s happened between the two of you on your regular visits, but seeing you together like this is really wonderful. You both make, if I may say so, a cute couple.”
“What about you, Uncle Caleb?” Josh asked. “How’re things in here?”
“I have to hope the boredom won’t kill me before I’m get parole,” he replied, smiling wryly. “But I do have something – or rather someone – to keep me occupied.”
“Oh?” I perked up my ears.
Caleb grinned at me. “Your, ah, replacement, shall we say?”
“Uncle!” Josh sounded scandalized.
Caleb ignored him. “In fact, Mitch was the one who offered him to me. I’m sure you remember Mitch?”
I did. “Mitch offered him to you?” I couldn’t imagine the prison’s resident villain being so … thoughtful.
Caleb nodded. “Oh, it was a desperate attempt to score points with me. I agreed, because otherwise the poor kid was probably in for a hard time. He's a nice enough kid, not as pretty as Harry, of course, but he can hold his own in the looks – and skills – department.”
“What happened to my straight, twice-married uncle?” said Josh, shaking his head in disbelief.
“Flew out the door the moment your boyfriend here walked into his cell,” replied Caleb cheerfully. Then he became serious. “Harry, you know how it is in here, what could have happened to him if I didn’t protect him. Like I said, Greg’s a nice kid. And contrary to popular belief, I’m not forcing him to do anything against his will.”
I nodded, because I knew from my own experiences that Caleb was speaking the truth. From the look on Josh’s face, he knew it too.
“Alright,” said Josh begrudgingly. “I guess you didn’t exactly enslave Harry when he was in here. Speaking of which, do you know that guard kept shooting lustful glances at him?”
“They weren’t lustful,” I protested.
Caleb laughed. “Max has certainly got an eye for the good-looking ones.”
We chatted for a bit longer, until it was time to go. I promised Caleb I would visit him often from now on. I would have loved to hug him, but no contact was allowed between the inmates and their visitors.
“Goodbye, Caleb.”
“See you, Harry. Josh.”
* * *
“It wasn’t that bad now, was it?” asked Josh as I drove us back from the prison.
I shook my head. “Seeing Caleb again was great. Not that I have feelings for him or anything,” I added hastily.
Josh laughed. “I wasn’t going to go all green-eyed even if you did,” he said. “I know you love me.” He nuzzled my neck, his lips finding the erogenous spot under my ear-lobe.
The car swerved violently, and he laughed. “Okay, we’ll save that for later.”
“Don’t stop now,” I begged.
“Not unless you want to meet with an accident!”
I sighed. “Very well.” I turned my attention back to the road, and Josh looked out the window at the marvelous views afforded by the coastal drive. The summer afternoon sun glinted on the deep-blue Pacific.
The loud ringing of Josh’s cell phone disturbed the tranquility. “It’s Reid,” he said aloud, noting the name on the display. “I’d better see what he wants.”
“Yeah, Reid?” I caught snatches of their murmured conversation.
Josh turned to me. “Reid and Phil want to know if we can make it for dinner at their place.”
“Ask him what’s for dinner,” I replied.
Josh rolled his eyes and repeated my question into the phone. He listened intently with a frown on his face before turning back to me. “Reid’s trying to show off his fancy new skills by giving the names of all the dishes in French.”
I grinned. “I take it Phil’s cooking then. Anyone else we know at the dinner?”
Josh sighed but repeated my question anyway. “In addition to the four of us, Carl is bringing his girlfriend.”
“Oh. Ask him if –”
Josh shifted the phone a few inches away from his ear. “Reid says, enough with the questions and just decide if you’re coming or not, damn it!”
I laughed. “Well, we can hardly refuse the invitation of a congressman’s son now, can we?”
Josh grinned when he heard Reid’s reply to this. “He has two words for you: Screw you.”
“Typical.” I shook my head in mock disapproval. “Tell him we’ll be there at 6.30.”
Josh nodded and told Reid to expect us later in the evening. After saying goodbye, he turned back to me. “So what now? We still have a couple of hours to kill.” He leaned close to my ear and whispered seductively, “You know the house is empty.” Mom was temporarily staying at Phoebe’s to look after her twin granddaughters.
I looked mischievously at him. “I have a better idea.”
* * *
“I win!” Josh jumped off the ledge and landed on the sandy ground a few seconds before I did.
“That’s not fair!” I pouted. “You cheated.”
“Says who?”
“I do!”
Josh stuck his tongue out at me. Pulling his shirt off, he lazily flopped onto the sandy beach. I followed suit, but I didn’t stop at my shirt.
Josh’s eyes widened. “What are you doing?” he asked incredulously as I shed the last vestige of my clothing.
“Going for a swim; what does it look like?” I said, trying my very best to appear nonchalant about it.
“In the nude? In broad daylight? Here and now?”
I met his stunned gaze coolly. “Why not? This is practically our own private beach. No one ever comes here; you know that.”
Josh opened and shut his mouth like a fish. “Where did this daring suddenly come from?” he finally managed to say.
“Remember when you wanted us to go skinny-dipping?”
“That was a year ago! You didn’t agree then, and it was nighttime.”
“Oh come on, don’t be chicken.”
My teasing did it. “I’m not chicken,” he retorted, shucking his cargo shorts and underwear in one go. I sucked in a deep breath as his nude body was revealed in its full glory. The openness of the beach made it all the more provocative.
Tearing my eyes away, I yelled, “Last one in is a loser!”
Josh laughed. “Trying to make up for your earlier loss?”
I didn’t reply, and ran into the waves instead. Yelling loudly, Josh leapt onto my back, ducking me in the ocean’s sun-warmed waters.
I rose spluttering, and swam under him, mischievously tugging at his balls. He gave a yelp. “I’m going to get you for that!”
We had a fun-filled hour, racing each other or simply lazing in the water. Eventually we managed to drag ourselves out of the ocean and collapsed in exhaustion onto the blanket we had wisely brought along.
“The wind’s so cold,” I moaned.
Josh wrapped his arms around me, encompassing me in the warmth of his body. “Ever fancied having sex on the beach?” he asked.
“Yes,” I replied. “But not today. Just hold me … please.”
Josh nodded and drew me tighter into his embrace. He tilted his head slightly so that he could kiss me on the forehead. “We have the rest of our lives for that.”
My head was against Josh’s bare chest, and I could hear his heart beating. Combined with the sound of the ocean, it had a pleasantly calming effect on me. I snuggled closer, planting a kiss on his chest.
“I could lie like this forever,” I whispered.
He laughed softly. “Reid and Phil will wonder what happened to us.” He stroked my hair, gently teasing out the fine grains of salt that were a result of swimming in seawater. “But I know what you mean.”
“Isn’t it strange, thinking how, a year ago in this very spot, I was trying to run away from you? I thought that I could never be with you.”
“It’s a good thing you were proven wrong,” he replied. “Now that I’ve had you, I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
“Me neither.” I paused. “I love you, Joshua Damien Spencer.”
He didn’t hesitate. “I love you too, Harrison Benjamin Forrester.”
It wasn’t my legal name, and I wasn’t sure if I really wanted to go through the hassle of having it legalized, but it sounded right, now more than ever. Harrison Ridgeway IV had been the insecure, closeted son of a ruthless congressman. Back then, I probably never would have had the guts to face up to my fears.
But I had been fortunate. I had found a boyfriend who loved me passionately, an adopted family who cared for me, great friends who could be relied upon and even my biological family, with whom I was starting to have some semblance of a relationship.
And what had I learnt from the long journey that had brought me successfully to this point? The wealth and privilege of my previous life had been mere illusions; what I had now was the real thing. And what, exactly, was it that I had now? What is that essential without which life would be meaningless?
Love. And in the words of a wise woman whom I sadly never had the pleasure of meeting, that’s all that matters.
Omnia Vincit Amor
~ FIN ~
Postscript
Forty chapters and seven months later, we have finally reached the end of the road for this tale. There were times when I despaired of reaching the end, but as glad as I am to see this story end, I can’t help feeling a little … empty.
“Doing Hard Time” was never meant to be the ‘epic’ tale it has turned into. It was originally intended as the story of a young convict (Harrison) who wasn’t exactly guilty and would be helped through prison by the uncle of his boyhood crush. The story would have revolved around these three main characters, and ended with Harrison’s release from prison, whereupon he would be fall into the arms of his ever-faithful lover.
The entry of Reid into the story threw a spanner into the works. He quickly became my favorite character (I often felt Harrison was a little goody-two-shoes at times!) And so I decided this story would progress well beyond the initial projection of eight chapters. At the start of Chapter 8, I came up with the new timeline. Many subplots were written, some were dropped and new ones were added. There are still some untold stories here, but I’ve decided to leave them to your imagination … or maybe a possible spinoff/sequel? Cue groans 
Anyway, in remembrance of the fact that Harry, Josh and Caleb were the original main characters, I decided to have them reunite in the epilogue. And have Josh and Harry return to the place where their love affair most likely started (it was on that beach that a teenaged Josh realized he was in love with his best friend).
I infused bits of myself and people I know into the characters of this story. For this, I have to thank my family and friends, who (albeit unwittingly for most of them) provided inspiration for this novella.
Next, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to you, the readers of this story, especially those of you who have stuck with me since the beginning. Your comments and praise certainly encouraged me to keep going! Of course a special mention goes out to Autolycus, for his moderation of this board and for frequently having to correct my mistakes!
Lastly, I would like to present a very special preview of my next new story, “Tyler Calloway Investigates.”
Murder, Sex and Mystery in High School
Chad Monroe had it all. Devastatingly handsome and incredibly popular, he was class president, star of the school’s football team and winner of a coveted scholarship to Yale. Not to mention that he was also the elder son of the town’s most respected figure, billionaire Warren Monroe. His life was perfect.
So when, on the verge of graduation, he decided to explore the other side of his sexuality, McKinley High was thrown into chaos. Especially when he chose, as the object of his affections, the otherwise-unnoticed short, blond and gay Tyler Calloway.
It would not end well. Tyler begins his senior year depressed and ostracized by the rest of the school population. Then a new boy joins the school. Simon O’Connor offers what Tyler is desperately in need of – companionship. He even persuades him to begin his own investigation into the unsolved murder of his lover.
But is Simon really who he says he is? What secret is the wealthy Monroe family hiding? Tyler soon realizes that Chad’s death isn’t the only mystery in town. Having come out of his shell, he’s more determined than ever to solve the mysteries and find the murderer of his beloved Chad. But there are people in Aurora who will stop at nothing to keep the past buried …
Coming in December …
And finally, don't forget to visit my currently ongoing story, "Junctions", the third chapter of which will be published soon.
Thank you and for the final time (for this thread at least), your feedback is much appreciated! 
I believe I've stuck with it from the start.
