Date: Tue, 14 Dec 1999 22:05:42 -0600
From: Michael Ellis <michaelwashere@netzero.net>
Subject: The Studio in the Country, Part 4

Welcome to "The Studio in the Country." It may be long on boring detail and
short on sex, but it still has the best punctuation of any fan fiction
anywhere.


DISCLAIMER: The story that follows is a work of fiction. Many characters
are completely fictional. Though some characters are based on actual
persons, they should not be considered accurate or truthful representations
of those persons. This story is not intended to reflect the behavior, work
habits, personal hygiene, sexual proclivities, or preferred style of hat of
any real person, living or dead.

WARNING: This story deals with homosexual themes (or soon will, I promise
you). If this offends you, read no further. If you are under 18 years of
age, read no further. If accessing this story causes you break any laws
applicable to your location, read no further. If you're going to a meeting
of PETA, wear no fur there.

FEEDBACK: If you want to contact me and make any comments, please send them
to michaelwashere@netzero.com. I'm interested in reading what people have
to say about my stuff.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


THE STUDIO Part 4 - Tuesday

Normally, my work calms down once the clients arrive and get to work in the
studio. I spend a lot of my time making arrangements: planning arrivals and
departures, getting lists of dietary requirements and special requests,
shopping and delivering and storing, creating the several files we need to
calculate bills, and picking up clients and driving them here. Once they
arrive, my job is easy. I clean a room here and there, cook the occasional
meal, and add charges to their bill. Nothing more. My job gets easy until
the clients leave and I have to bill their account and start to work on the
next one.

But today has been really busy.

It started with a warm shower at 5:15 in the morning. Not too warm, or I
would have gone back to sleep. Then I spent almost two hours on
breakfast. Mom's menu called not only for an endless supply of pancakes but
also hash browns, cantaloupe, bacon *and* sausage, and lots of orange juice
and coffee.

At first I thought she might have over anticipated. I had everything done
and staying warm in the chafing dishes by 7:00. At 7:35 the only person I'd
seen was Dave, who said he was off to the studio but had been lured into a
detour by the aroma of my coffee. I'll take his word for it that the coffee
was good: I don't drink it myself.

Then, at 7:40, I gained new respect for my mother's knowledge of hungry
guys. Howie and Brian appeared, said a quick "good morning," then dove into
the food. I thought they ate a lot, but then Nick sat down and ate almost
as much as the two of them combined. By 7:50, everyone but Dave and Mom was
in the dining room eating away. I'd already eaten, and it was a good thing
because I was kept busy refilling the chafing dishes.

Ten minutes later, Howie stuck his head into the kitchen. I was busy making
more pancakes, so I'd been gone from the dining room for a while.

"We're keeping you busy, huh?" he grinned at me. "D'ya want some help?"

"No, thanks," I smiled, adding the last two pancakes to a stainless steel
tray to replace the empty one on the sidebar. "I'm done with this batch,
and I'm not making more: everyone's eaten now."

"Everyone but your mom," he said as he reached over to take the tray from
me. I let him, then held the door for him.

"On sunny mornings, she eats early then goes out to paint. She's probably
out in the pasture now, with oil paint all over her hands." I picked up the
empty tray from the frame and stepped back so Howie could replace
it. "Careful," I told him, "the frame is hot."

"Who's got paint all over hands?" Nick asked.

"My mom," I told him as I backed toward the swinging door into the
kitchen. "She paints landscapes."  As I stepped backward from the room,
Howie caught the door and followed me into the kitchen.

"She paints the land around here?" he asked.

I set the tray on the counter near the sink and returned to washing a few
dishes. "Not anymore," I answered. "She ran out of subjects around here
years ago. Now she paints landscapes based on photos or from her own
imagination. She likes to be outside because the sunlight is so good and in
September it's not so hot. In the summertime, it can be 90 degrees by 9am."

I set the washed and rinsed mixing bowl in the draining rack, but Howie
picked it up as soon as I did and began to dry it with a towel. "Can I see
some of her paintings?" he asked me.

"You probably already have. All the paintings in the hotel are hers."

"Really! I saw them last night, but I didn't pay them much attention. I'll
have to look closer."

"Yo, Howie," I heard Nick yell from behind us. Turning I saw he and Brian
had come into the kitchen. "Jim wants us to head to the studio now. We need
to start warming up."

"Yeah, okay," Howie said. He looked at me as he set the dry bowl on the
counter and began drying his hands on the damp towel. "Sorry. 'guess you're
on your own."

"No problem. Thanks for helping out," I said, opening a drawer to show him
a cache of dry towels. "Use one of these."

While he dried his hands for a second, Nick looked around the room for the
first time. "Gah, this is a big kitchen."

"Yeah," I began, "and pretty clean too, if people would stop leaving dirty
cups in the sink in the middle of the night." I winked at Brian.

"I hate when people do that," he said, grinning back at me.

They were turning toward the door when AJ stuck his head in. "Good
breakfast, Ben," he said. "And I'm supposed to remind you to keep us
supplied with coffee."

"Already taken care of," I told him. "When you're ready for a pot, call me
and I'll bring it. Push the button marked 'K' at the bottom of the phone."
Then I remembered something I'd said last night. "And tell Kevin about the
button, okay? So he'll know how to call me."

"Why does Kevin need to call you?" Howie asked.

"He's supposed to call me when he's ready to go riding. He said you might
want to come too, Brian. Should I get three saddles?"

"Better not," he said. "Robby and Mike have challenged Nick and I to
basketball. Some other time?"

"Sure," I said. "You'll be here all week."



By 9:15 the kitchen and dining room were clean, and the last load of plates
and glasses were working in the dishwasher. I had to stop once to take
coffee to the studio, but Stacey had met me in the hotel corridor and taken
the carafe from me. She agreed to take care of the 10:00 brunch so I could
help Mike clean the hotel rooms. We didn't normally have eight people
staying here and I thought I should help him out.

As I came back into the kitchen, Mom was there, pouring herself a glass of
juice. "Did breakfast go well?" she asked.

"Great," I told her. "At first, I thought there'd be too much food, but I
shouldn't have doubted you."

She looked at me with mock superiority. "No, you shouldn't have." Her
serious face broke into a smile. After sipping again from her juice, she
said, "I like these boys. They're very sweet."

"Yeah, they're good guys." By this time I was wiping down the countertop
with a damp towel. "I think they like it here, too."

"They do," she said. "While you were out walking with Brian yesterday, AJ
and Kevin talked a lot about being tired of hotels and how this place seems
more like a house."

"I couldn't stand to sleep in hotels all the time," I told her. The
countertop was clean, and I was wringing the towel out and draping it over
the dishrack to dry. "Not to mention all that packing and unpacking."

Mom looked at me from under her brows, the way she does when she's thinking
too hard. Finally, she said, "They're good-looking guys, too." Her voice
was very even, and she continued to look right at me.

Fine, I thought. Let's have this conversation now and get it over with.

"Yes, they are," I said. "That's why millions of girls scream for them the
world over. But don't get any ideas about playing matchmaker, Mom! They're
only here for a week, and there's no sign that any of them would be
interested."

"I know," she said. "Still, you don't meet many guys your age out here. You
could at least be friends with them."

"I plan to be 'friendly,' Mom." I told her. "And if anything grows from it,
fine! But I'm not getting my hopes up about anything."

She touched my cheek with her right hand. "That's my Benji. Always very
practical. Your father and I trust you very much because of that
practicality, but sometimes in life you have to be impractical, to take a
risk."

"I will," I smiled down at her, "but right now I have beds to make." I
turned toward the door, but Mom kept talking.

"These boys should have fun while they're here," she added. She rinsed out
her juice glass and - seeing that the dishwasher was too far into its cycle
to add anything else - left it upside down in the sink. "Do you know if
they're working everyday?" she asked me.

"Today and probably tomorrow," I told her. "They said they should have some
free time on Thursday and Friday. And they stop work in the late
afternoon. Kevin said they're voices get tired after a few hours."

"I imagine they do. Do they have plans for the afternoon?" she asked.

"Nick and Brian are playing basketball with the little brothers. And Kevin
and I are going horseback riding. He loves horses."

"Don't let the boys exert themselves too much. It's going to be very hot
today." Maternal concern was creeping into her voice. "And what about AJ
and ...."

"... Howie."

"Howie. That's it. What are they doing?"

"I don't know," I said to her with a grin. "But I'd make sure Stacey had a
light work load this afternoon, if I were you."

She smiled back. "That's up to your father. But I don't blame her. AJ is
very charming, and Howie's adorable."

I hugged her. "My mother! Trapped here with a blue-eyed husband when she
has a weakness for big brown eyes! How tragic!"

"Well, there's a lot to be said for tall Nordic blonds with bright blue
eyes, too. Howie's cute, but your father was beautiful."

"And on that note," I said letting her go and crossing to the door, "I'm
off to help Mike clean hotel rooms. Maybe swinging a toilet brush will
banish the mental image of my father dressed as a Viking and dragging you
by the hair."

As the kitchen door swung shut behind me, I heard her add, "So you noticed
Howie's brown eyes, did you."



I found Mike pushing the cleaning cart into the elevator. I reached up to
stop the door when it began to close on his cart. "All done with the first
floor?" I asked him, as I stepped inside and pushed the 2.

"I got Suite 1. Ms. Shaw is in Suite 2 making phone calls. She asked me to
come back in an hour. Where are you going?"

"I'm coming to help you. Breakfast is done, and lunch is easy today. I have
an hour or so before I have to go back to the kitchen." The elevator
opened, and I helped him manhandle the cart into the hallway.

"Thanks. You do 3 and I'll do 4?" His voice made the sentence into a
question.

"Sounds good." I looked at the equipment on the cart. "D'ya wanna start
with the bathroom or the vacuuming?"

"I'll do the kitchen and bathroom first. Vacuuming sucks."

I was halfway to the door of Suite 3 before his lousy pun sank in. I turned
to look at him and found him staring at me. "Well, that took you long
enough!" he said. "You need a Dr. Pepper." Seeing me head again toward the
door, he added, "And don't fondle the guy's underwear!"

"*Three* sons!" I said over my shoulder to him. "They should have stopped
when they had three sons!" It was an old joke between us; he would usually
reply that they had to keep having sons until they got it right. We both
knew that I didn't mean it. I was close to all my brothers, but Mike was
special. When we were younger, Mike always went everywhere I went and did
everything I did. He and Robby had got closer while Ethan and I were at
college, but Mike and I were still great friends.

Once I got inside the suite, I stole a Dr. Pepper from the
refrigerator. It's one of the fringe benefits of stocking the
fridge. Besides, it didn't look like Nick, Howie or Brian had even opened
the fridge, let alone inventoried the contents. And I knew where to get
more if they needed them.

I picked up the living room and three bedrooms before I began
vacuuming. Most of it was just a little disheveled - typical guy stuff. I
straightened cushions and picked up laundry which I lay over the luggage
rack. The only real mess was in Brian's room. He had things strewn all
over. The drawers to the dresser were halfway open, and the blankets were
hanging off the bed. I straightened everything, stripped the sheets off the
bed, and then went to work with the vacuum.

I was back in the living room, wrapping the cord around the handle, when
Mike came in. I could see the cart behind him. "Ready to switch?" he asked,
extending a blue plastic tray containing various cleaners, sponges and
rags.

"Yeah, sure."

Seeing my drink, he said, "Did you get that from their fridge?"

"Yeah. And the grape soda is still there."

"Cool." He put the tray down and went into the kitchen. Mike always
insisted we put one can of grape soda in every fridge - "just in case they
want it," he said -- but in two years no guest had ever wanted it. If a can
were drunk, Mike drank it.

I made quick work of the kitchen and bathroom before changing out the
sheets and towels. My arms full of laundry, I carried it out into the hall
to drop into the chute. Mike was doing the same with the laundry from AJ
and Kevin's room.

Both suites were done by 10:30. We got into the elevator. I expected Mike
to push the button for 1, but he hit 3 instead.

"What are you doing?" I asked him.

"I gotta clean the common room. We played games up there until almost 2am."
The door opened for 3 and he pushed the cart out. He turned to unlock the
door into the common room as I pushed the button for 1. "You handle it. I'm
missing brunch." As the doors were closing, I added, "And don't forget
Ms. Shaw's room."



Brunch was small today after the breakfast everyone had eaten. Yesterday
Mom had prepared two trays of cinnamon rolls, which I had baked during
breakfast. I'd left them in the warm oven when I went upstairs, but Stacey
had put them on the dining table with a stack of plates and a pot of fresh
coffee.

By now there were few rolls left, and five or six empty plates and coffee
cups to show that people had come and gone. The only person left at the
table was Howie.

"Kevin says this place will make him fat," he said without preamble when he
saw me. "And Nick says he doesn't want to leave."

I laughed. "I know Kevin likes healthier food. He'll appreciate lunch
then. And Nick can stay if he wants. I'm sure my parents will adopt
him. There's an empty bedroom in my apartment, and Nick fits the colour
scheme of the family."

"Apartment?" Howie said. "I thought you lived in this house."

"I do," I began explaining. "We rebuilt the upstairs into two little
apartments. Robby and Mike live in one. Ethan and I used to live in the
other, but his room's empty now." I picked up the dirty dishes, carefully
stacking plates on my left arm and hanging cups from the fingers of my left
hand. "Why aren't you back in the studio with the others?"

He smiled and stood up, licking the icing from his fingertips. "I should
be. Do you want some help with these?" he asked, indicating the dishes on
the table.

"Nah, I got it. But you sure are helpful. Do you follow the roadies around
and ask if you can carry things for them?" I hoped that my smile kept my
words from sounding sarcastic.

Howie laughed. "No, but this isn't the same. I feel like I'm a guest in
somebody's house, and I wanna be polite."

I reached up and rested my hand on his shoulder. "Mission accomplished," I
smiled at him.

"Howie," we heard Kevin say. He was standing in the door, looking at us
maybe a little strangely. After a pause, he continued, "we need you back in
the studio."



The lunch menu was easy to prepare. The vegetables were either steamed or
raw, and the halibut was roasted pretty quickly. Everyone was in the dining
room by 12:30, and I actually got to sit and eat with everyone else.

We all sat in the same chairs as the night before: no one said anything; we
just did it without thinking. Strange how some things become habit so
easily.

Apparently the guys had got a lot done that morning. Dave was a little
annoyed at how late Nick and AJ had stayed up, and it took everyone a
little while to get to work. But once everyone was awake and warmed up,
they got a through a lot of things, sometimes in one or two takes.

The two engineers seemed impressed with Robby. He and Dad had been helping
them out in the booth, and Robby had been able to do anything they asked,
even coming up with a few good suggestions of his own.

Brian was talking to Robby about some of his ideas for mixing the vocals
and the instrumentals, while Dad was telling Ed about some of Robby's work
with some local groups. Robby overheard this and, reminded of something,
interrupted Brian for a second to speak to me.

"Ben, Jennifer's group is coming tonight to record their new song, but
their piano player can't come. Can you play for them?"

"What time? I have to get dinner tonight." I replied.

"About 9. Jennifer doesn't get off work until 8:30."

"If it's at 9, I can do it. Just make sure I get the music," I told him.

"I have it already," Robby said. "I'll get it for you right after
lunch. Thanks, big brother."

"You play piano?" Kevin asked me, reaching for another roll.

"Yeah," I said. "Mom taught us all to play the piano when we were
little. The little brothers have learned to play other things, but I just
play piano."

"'Just' piano," Mike said, mocking me a little. "He's good."

"Ben's very good," Mom added. "He worked through college playing piano in a
bar every night. He can play from music, but he's especially good at
picking out songs by hearing them."

"When we play any songs," Robby added, "it's because Ben figured everything
out for us."

"The boys are good," Dad said. "When Ethan gets here this weekend, I'm sure
they'll take over the studio and play all night. They usually do."

"I'll have to hear you play sometime," Howie said, looking straight at me.

Before I could reply, Robby said, "Come to the studio tonight. We're only
recording one song, but at least you can hear Ben play the piano."

"You are going to use the studio tonight?" Dave asked, a little concern in
his voice. "I have all the recordings there, and the pre-sets are all in
place. I don't want to have to re-do everything in the morning."

"We won't use the same studio," Robby said. "We'll use the small one closer
to the office. It's just three girls and a piano player; we don't need the
big room anyway."



The conversation broke up again. It really is impossible for fourteen
people to sustain one topic for very long. From time to time, I would focus
on this or that talk. Ed, Dave, and Dad were mostly talking business, with
Ms. Shaw listening. AJ and Howie were telling Stacey horror stories from
the tour, most of them involving crazed fans or stupid things Nick had
done. Every time AJ would tell a story about Nick, he would talk to Stacy
but look at Nick, to make sure he was listening. Nick was pretending not to
listen, but his face blushed every time.

"Dave says we'll break for the day about 3:30," Kevin was saying to
me. "Can we go riding then?"

"If you want," I told him. "Though it is hot today. I'd say we should go
later -- after it's cooled off a bit -- but I have to get dinner."

"You'll have time to do both," Mom suggested. "The brisket will want a long
time to cook, and everything else can be prepared first, then cooked
afterward. Go riding."

I looked at her. I knew what she was doing - I'd known that morning in the
kitchen - but now the whole family knew. They'd be watching me now, to see
if I hooked up with Kevin. Or anybody else, for that matter.

But she'd taken my excuse away, and, besides, I really did want to go. "How
'bout we ride at 5, then? It won't be too hot for the horses, and you can
chill by the pool for a while first."

"Sounds good," Kevin replied.

"And," I began, looking down at my plate as I cut a piece of fish with my
fork, "if I can't get everything done before dinner, I'm sure Mom will
help." I looked up at her to see her looking back at me. I grinned. If she
was going to play matchmaker, she was going to pay for it.

"Of course," she said, just before smiling at me. We always understood each
other, Mom and I.

"Bri, are you coming riding with us?" Kevin asked his cousin.

"No, Nick and I are gonna play basketball with Mike and Robby."

"Don't get too hot," Dad warned him. "Even in September, Texas is can be
hot and humid, and afternoon basketball may not be a good idea."

"Yeah, Bri," Nick said. "Have you been outside? It's like a sauna. Why
don't we chill by the pool, then play later."

" 'sounds like a plan," Brian answered him.

"Can I have the afternoon off," Stacey said, looking at my father, her eyes
twinkling.

"And why do you ask?" he said, with a grin.

"Because I want to chill by the pool, too." She said. "Lounging by the pool
with the Backstreet Boys and me the only girl: it's too good to pass up."

"As long as those letters are in the mail in the morning," Dad told her, "I
don't care what you do with the afternoon."



As much as everyone was enjoying the break, eventually lunch was over and
we all went back to work. Most everyone disappeared toward the studio, as
Mom, Robby and I began to clear away the dishes into the kitchen. As Robby
and Mom continued the job, I set about emptying the pots and pans from the
dishwasher so I could refill it with plates.

"Pretty cute," I heard Robby say, "the way you got Mom to help with
dinner."

I turned to lean back against the counter and grinned at him across the
kitchen island. "Oh, you noticed that, did you?" Mom entered the room, her
hands full of a tray of plates. I watched her walk past Robby to set the
tray on the island, but I continued talking to Robby. "I was sure she'd be
willing to help, especially if it gives more time with the guys. Mom seems
to think I should hook up with one of them."

"No," Mom corrected, "your mom thinks you should give it a chance."

"I think so, too," Robby added. "You've been alone too long, bro. And these
are good guys. They like you; you like them. What's the problem?"

"I'll give it a chance," I told them. "But I refuse to get my hopes
up. They may not be interested, and - besides - what can happen in a week?"

"A lot," Mom said. "Your father and I met and got engaged in nine days."

"Yeah, but you were crazy hippies," Robby kidded her. "You did silly stuff
like that all the time." His grin was huge as he reached out to wrap his
arms around our mother.

"Well, that 'silly stuff' led to us being married for twenty-four years and
having four wonderful sons," she said. "More people should be that silly."

I turned back to the sink and began filling it with hot water. "Well, if
I'm going to get everything done, I'd better get busy."

"The dining room is mostly clean," Mom said. "You just need to wipe off the
table and vacuum the rug. I'll be upstairs in the studio, if you need me,
honey." I heard the swinging door behind me as she left. I thought Robby
had gone with her until I felt his hand on my back.

"Seriously, big brother," he said, "nothing may happen with these guys, but
at least give it a chance. You're too good a guy to be alone all the time."

"Well, it's not like there's a lot of opportunities out here, in the middle
of nowhere."

"Exactly," he persisted. "That's why you need to give this a chance."

"But, a week!" I looked at him. "What can happen in a week? Even if any of
them are gay, it could take more than a week to find that out!"

Robby seemed taken aback by the emotion in my voice. Finally, he smiled and
said, "So you have been thinking about this? If it really didn't matter to
you, you wouldn't care so much."

I smiled at my brother. "When did you get to be so smart?"

"I'm not really the dumb one," he said. "That's just part of my image." He
had a big grin on his face, but I frowned at him.

"No one thinks you're dumb," I told him.

"Not 'dumb' - the 'dumb one', as in compared to you guys. I know you're all
smarter than me, but I know I'm not stupid too."

"You really think we're all smarter than you?" I asked him.

"Sure," he said simply. "You use all those big words, you and Mikey both
spend all that time lost in thought. I could never just sit and think like
that. I'd have to get up and *do* something. And no way can I figure things
out like Ethan can."

"We're all jealous of Ethan," I said.

"No," Robby argued, "*you're* jealous of Ethan. Me and Mike, we accept him
for what he is and us for who we are. You're the only one who's jealous of
Ethan. And that's because you don't appreciate yourself enough. You're a
great guy, Benji, but you're the only one who doesn't know that."

For a brief second, I considered correcting Robby's grammar mistakes, but
decided against it.

He's right, I thought. I'm jealous of Ethan. And of Robby and Mike, for
that matter. It's not that I resent them their good qualities. I just wish
that I could be more like them. Robby's great for doing things. He doesn't
spend a lot of time on introspection; he just acts. Sometimes it gets him
into trouble, sure, but he gets more done in the long run. And he sure as
Hell has more fun.

"Hey, bro," Robby interrupted my thoughts. "What are you thinking about?"

"You," I told him. "If you were interested in these guys, you'd just come
on to one of them and see what happened." He was about to say something
when I corrected myself. "No, you'd probably come on to all of them, just
in case some of them turned you down."

He laughed before wrapping his right arm around my shoulders and planting a
quick kiss on the side of my head, about an inch above and behind my
ear. "No worries there, big brother. These guys are guys, and I'm not
interested. They're all yours." He leaned his head to the left to look me
in the eye. "Have you decided which one you want, yet?"

"Of course not." I laughed, but to me the laugh sounded more nervous than
amused. "It's way too early to do anything like that. I'm not going to pick
a meal until I know what's on the menu." Inside, I began analyzing what I'd
just said. I love analogies, but that may have sounded a lot cruder than I
intended. Robby just laughed.

"But it's not too early to know if you're attracted to one more than the
others," he said, removing his arm from my shoulders. "Have you got one
picked out?"

"No," I said. "I really haven't thought about it."

"Well, do that, big bro." Robby began to walk toward the door. "You know
what Mom's New Age self-help books say: daydreaming about some things helps
to make them come true." Then he was gone from the kitchen.



My morning had been busy, but the afternoon was really relaxing. The
kitchen was clean and the barbecue was cooking slowly in the oven by
2:00. Everything for dinner that could be done beforehand had been done, so
I had about ninety minutes of free time before the guys broke from work. I
decided to spend them at the computer, working on a story I'd been playing
at writing.

I must have gotten really into it, because before long I heard a light
tapping at the hall door of my apartment. I stepped across the little hall
and opened it. There stood Mike, Nick and Howie, wearing T-shirts and
shorts.

"Bro," Mike started, "it's a great day! What are you doing inside?"

"I wanted to get some writing done before the guys break at 3:30," I
explained.

"That was twenty minutes ago, Ben," Nick said. "Everybody's out by the
pool." His voice got sillier and he said "Come down and play!"

Mike laughed and repeated it with Nick, "Yeah, come down and play!" From
the way they were laughing together over this, I could tell that the two of
them had created some kind of inside joke between them.

Howie just smiled and said quietly, "We'd really like you to come down,
Ben. It's really warm and sunny out, and the guys are even getting in the
pool."

"I can believe it's almost four o'clock already. Let me get changed and
I'll be right down," I said.

"Hurry up, big brother," Mike said as he and Nick turned toward the
staircase. "AJ was swallowing a lot of pool water when we left, and it may
be empty by now." He and Nick started giggling again as they went
downstairs. Howie and I just stared at them.

"Are they sober?" I finally asked him, in tones I hoped would tell Howie I
wasn't serious.

"Yeah," he said. "Are they sane?"

"No," I said still looking downstairs. Turning to look at him, I added
deadpan, "definitely not."

Smiles broke on our faces. "Come in. I'll get changed." He waited in the
living room while I changed into a white T-shirt and knee-length khaki
shorts. As we left the apartment, I stepped briefly into what had been
Ethan's bedroom - now my "study" - to shut off the computer.

"So, what kind of writing do you do?" he asked.

"Creative writing," I told him as I clicked the application closed and
started shutting the computer down. "Short stories mostly, but I'm starting
to think I want to write film scripts. Just short films, though - nothing
major." The computer was asleep and we left the apartment.

"Isn't this place kind of remote to get into films?" Howie asked. By this
time we were on our way down the stairs into the main hall.

"This exact house is, but there's a lot of film work in Dallas. All kinds
of commercials and music videos get shot here, and lots of independent
films are made here," I told him. We crossed the den and stepped through
the French doors onto the patio. "It's a hard business to get into, but I'm
not too ambitious. I just wanna make a little film or two."



Further conversation was stopped by the noise coming from the pool. Kevin,
with AJ on his shoulders, was taking on Nick and Mike in a game of
chicken. Just when it looked like AJ was going to push my little brother
down, Nick reached over to tickle Kevin. Kevin jumped and lost his grip on
AJ. AJ lost his balance and went headfirst into the water.

Stacey and Robby were sitting in lounge chairs beside the pool, and they
laughed at AJ when he surfaced on his back and blew water up like a whale.

Nick yelled "Thar he blows!" and then AJ stood up and looked at him with
mock seriousness.

"No, I don't, Nick," AJ said. "And for the last time, stop asking!" It was
just a joke, but I caught myself glancing toward Robby: he was looking back
at me with a thin smile across his face.

Nick began to chase AJ, but AJ jumped behind Kevin for protection. They
played around Kevin for a while, until Kevin jumped up out of the
water. When he came down, he had one hand on each guy's shoulder and he
dunked them both.

The empty chair next to Stacey had a towel and someone's drink sitting by
it, so I pulled over another chair for myself. When I turned back around,
Howie had settled into the empty chair and was sipping at the drink. I
settled into the chair and looked around. "Where's Brian?" I asked. It was
an innocent question, but I caught Robby looking at me kinda strange after
I'd asked it.

"He's still in the studio," Howie answered. "Dave and Ed wanted to talk to
him about tomorrow's work."

"Just him?" I looked at Howie. "Is he doing a song without you guys?"

"No, they want him to re-do some of the vocals we laid down today. He had a
real hard time with one of his solos, and they want to do it again."

Someone was dripping water on my foot. I looked and saw Kevin rubbing his
face and hair with a towel. "Hey, Ben," he said. "You don't look like
you're dressed to swim."

"Nah, swimming tires me out. I don't want to fall asleep and fall off the
horse," I grinned up at him. "We're still going, right?"

"You bet," he smiled before lifting his head to look at the sky. "This is a
great day for it."

Behind him, near the house, I noticed for the first time an ice chest full
of soft drinks. I jumped up and started to walk toward it, still talking to
Kevin.  "If the weather stays nice, we can go every afternoon. You might
get tired of the same paths over and over, but you can try all the
different horses."

"Even Tico?" he asked as I picked up a can. It opened with a metallic pop
and a fizzing sound as small spray of brown bubbles jumped up and caught
the sunlight.

"Maybe not," I smiled at Kevin. "Tico's really hard to get along with
sometimes."

Kevin was talking to me but watching the guys in the pool. "Aw, c'mon. If I
can get along with AJ, I can get along with anybody."

"Who says you can get along with me?" AJ asked from the water.

I started back to my chair. Behind me, I could here Mike climbing out of
the pool, but I didn't pay much attention to it. As I neared the corner of
pool, Robby stepped up to me and said, "Let me hold your drink."

I asked him "Why?" but - trusting fool that I am - I extended the can in
his direction. He took it and that's when I heard Mike behind me.

"Because we don't want you to spill it in the pool," he said as the wrapped
his arms around my chest and threw me off balance toward the deep end. I
was too taken by surprise to stop him, but at least I had time to grab onto
his arms. I could hear everyone else laughing as Mike and I fell in
together.

They were still laughing when I resurfaced, coughing up a little
water. Once I stopped sputtering, I laughed too. I climbed up on the edge
and peeled my wet T-shirt off and tossed it to Robby. "Hang that over the
chair for me, jerk." He laughed and draped the dripping shirt onto my
chair.

The warm sunlight felt really good on my wet skin, and just for a moment it
seemed like nothing happened.

I get that sometimes: moments when there's no sound, nothing
moving. Everything seems perfectly still, and - for just a second - I
realize how really good my life is. No worries, no insecurities, no longing
or ambition. Just a second of complete contentment.

I think everyone gets those moments. At least, I hope they do. They never
come often enough, or last long enough, so I try to suck them dry when they
happen.

This one was broken by Mike's wet hand on my left shoulder. He was out of
the pool, kneeling on my right with his arm around my shoulders. "You're
not mad, are you, big brother?" he asked. I smiled up at him. My smile must
have told him what I was thinking, because he leaned in a little and
whispered, "You're doing it again, aren't you? Having one of your 'life is
good' moments?"

"Uh huh." Mike and I understand each other pretty well. "But," I added, my
voice loud enough for everyone to hear, "now that I'm wet, we might as well
have a eight-man game of Chicken."

"Yeah!" somebody said.

"Stacey's on my team," I heard AJ yell.

"No," Stacey's voice said. "Stacey's gonna lie in the sun and be
pretty. You guys play."

"Now we're uneven," Nick said.

"No, you're not," Howie said. "Howie's gonna lie in the sun and be pretty,
too." I looked over at him. He was grinning at Stacey, who grinned back
from behind her sunglasses.

"Fine, pretty boy," Kevin said as he tossed his wet towel at Howie. "AJ's
my partner."

"Mike's mine," I heard Nick yell. His voice sounded okay, but the look on
his face seemed to be asking me for permission, like maybe he'd stepped
into some unknown family territory. I just smiled back.

"All right then, Robbo!" I yelled to Robby. "Let's soak these guys."

We were pretty evenly matched, so for the next half-hour or so, no one was
really winning. Kevin and Nick were both taller than I, but Robby knew all
of the tricks to use against Mike. Once I even tried to tickle Kevin. He
yelled "Hey!" as AJ went under, but I just laughed.

"It worked for Nick," I shrugged.

Eventually, everyone was tired. I climbed out and slogged over to my chair
beside Howie, my wet feet slapping the concrete. "Hi," I said, picking up
my shirt and sitting down. "I thought I'd come sit with the pretty people."

"The *wet* people, you mean," Stacey said. "You guys splashed me enough
that I might as well have gotten in."

"You still can," Robby said. "Maybe AJ would push you around on the air
mattress." Stacey looked at him, then at AJ. AJ smiled, and Robby put the
air mattress into the pool. Stacey jumped up and walked over to the ladder.

I looked at Robby, intending to grin at him and share a joke at Stacey's
eagerness. Robby was grinning back but nodding his head toward me, then
toward Howie. Without speaking, he mouthed the words "go for it." I mouthed
the words "lay off" back to him.

"Ben!" Kevin said. "Is it cool enough to ride yet?"

"Yeah," I told him. "Let's get changed." Standing up and wringing out my
still moist shirt, I asked, "Is anyone else coming?" Mike and Nick were
talking near the ice chest but stopped long enough for Nick to say "no." AJ
was too busy talking to Stacey to answer, and Howie, it turned out, was
asleep.

"Robby," I said quietly, "don't let Howie sleep too long. He'll get a
sunburn."

"No prob, bro," he said.

"Whaddya say, Kevin. Meet at the barn in twenty minutes?"

"Make it thirty," he answered. "I wanna see what happened to Brian."