Date: Mon, 2 May 2011 08:05:57 -0700 (PDT)
From: jim ford <sojourn1950@yahoo.com>
Subject: Gordy comes Home chapter 7 (Revised)

This story is fiction. The characters are adults in adult
situations. Warnings: The only person you can ever hope to truly know is
yourself. Trust no one; use condoms. If you are not of legal age or in a
jurisdiction in which this document is illegal, go way. This is my
story. Please respect the copyright. Sojourn1950@yahoo.com


Saturday came and with it a compressed work schedule. The two finished up
shortly after nine. Showered and shaved they decided they should go to town
and finish Christmas shopping.

Even as they pulled into the dealership, men were smiling and waving
hello. Before they could get out of the jeep, men were waiting to greet
John. By the time they had walked in the "show room", Wylie had shaken more
than a half dozen hands.

Wylie noticed the spacious showroom held tractors, ranging from pedal
tractors for kids up to one that required it's own ladder to enter, the
enclosed cab.

John explained, " We can't keep most of the new stuff in here. That one,
pointing to the largest is about like a mid-sized sedan. It has air
conditioning, power steering, video monitors, two computers and satellite
connected global positioning system.

Wylie was impressed. "Wow! I'm surprised it doesn't drive itself."

John grinned and leaned into Wylie, "That feature will most likely be
available in a couple of years."

Guiding Wylie toward the left wall, John pointed to a display case. In a
stage whisper, John, confided, "This my favorite spot in the dealership,
don't tell anyone, it's kind of embarrassing."

Wylie, noticed a gleam in John' eye. He wasn't sure if he was being played.
The wall supported a glass case, featuring a collection of miniature farm
implements. Each scene included; fields, farms, animals and people. While
nothing looked particularly lifelike, the scale and attention to detail
were impressive. Some of the models were obviously antique with faded paint
over rough metal. Some displayed busy barnyards, others had the equipment
in the forefront with the farm and outbuildings visible in the distance. A
couple had only the farmer and his tractor or harvester alone in a vast
landscape, of wheat or cotton, that stretched into the painted horizon. He
realized it was difficult to tell were the three dimensional objects left
off and the painting began.

"Is John Grant, in some of those scenes?"

"Could be. I think most were here before I was born."

"John, this looks like it ought to be in a museum. This is fantastic! If I
was a kid, you'd have to keep an armed guard around to keep me from busting
the glass and playing with them."

John understood, his friend was only half-joking.

Wylie's brain took in a blur of motion as John disappeared within a wall of
white and khaki. Before he could recover his senses, John called out,
"Wylie, meet Joe Don Lawson, General Manager and unofficial welcoming
committee."

John's voice had echoed off the walls before reaching Wylie.

John's head reappeared just above the man's right elbow. John wanted to
catch Wylie's reaction.

Wylie recovered quickly, realizing John seemed unfazed by the assault. He
smiled weakly.

Releasing John, Joe Don extended a giant paw in welcome. Wylie the paw
enveloped Wylie's hand. Glancing down, he saw only his thumb was
exposed. The rest of his hand had disappeared, just as John had, moments
ago.

Wylie, still recovering, was greeted by a rich baritone voice, "Joe Don
Lawson, General Manager and Johnny`s baby sitter, since before he was old
enough to shit off himself."

The oversized man had a laugh that fit his big frame. Wylie found it
infectious. It was the kind of laugh that made laugh tracks believable and
even bad jokes seem funny. A laugh that you missed when it ended. Joe Don
was a man people liked to be around. Wylie envied him.

The man stood over six and a half feet tall. Wylie found himself
calculating how many `hands high' that would make him.

Joe Don, wasn't fat, but hefty.

Wylie, fighting not to ask the obvious questions concerning physical
dimensions, figured he would weigh more than he and John together; and then
some.

John explained, "Joe Don is the reason the show room is so large. When he
came to work here it forced Dad to double the size of the showroom."

"Don't get too uppity, college boy. That same ass I used to turn the water
hose on, ain't too big, nor too old, to get a good spanking."

Wylie, chuckled at the thought. That hand, Joe Don had held up to emphasize
his threat, would have covered most of John's ass.

"I'd like to see that. Maybe, it would make him easier to live with, back
at the dorm."

"I reckon, you and the whole dealership would. Sometimes, Johnny gets on
his high horse and has to be reminded about who really runs this place." At
this last remark, the smiles that passed between the two, showed only real
affection.  Feigning hurt, John glared at Wylie, "Well, I can tell you, Joe
Don was as likely to spank my friends as he was me. So, maybe you should
think twice about encouraging corporal punishment."

Joe Don was called away by a salesman.

After he left, John explained, "Joe Don, went to college with dad. He
played college football and spent a couple of years with the Packers. He
got injured and came back here to work with dad. And he was pretty well
right, about the babysitting, I mean. Almost every memory I have includes
him. He's a second father to me."

" I vaguely remember, when my mother died, Joe Don carried me around in his
arms, seemed like for days. He made me feel like everything was going to be
alright. Even now his hugs, remind me of home."

Wylie saw a far away look in John's eyes. This look was new to Wylie. He
realized there was a lot about his friend he didn't know. He was eager to
learn.

Everyone at the dealership seemed to want to know how college was going and
why they hadn't seen much of him during the holiday break?

It was clear to Wylie, just as at the ranch; John was well liked and
respected.

Each employee expressed thanks to John for his generosity. When Wylie asked
John, what that was all about. John shrugged and said they were just they
were being nice.

He asked Wylie if he would mind hanging around the dealership while he took
care of some errands for his dad? Wylie agreed. Did he have a choice?

John took him into his father's office and told Wylie to make himself
comfortable. He could use the computer or just wander around the
dealership.

After John left, Wylie stepped into the hall. There he ran into "Big
Joe". Apparently that was what people called him, behind his back. Joe Don
insisted on taking Wylie, on a tour of the dealership.

"Mr. Lawson, I, uh. Would ah." Before the next word, Joe Don wrapped his
paw around Wylie's bicep and pulled him to a halt.

"Let's get one thing clear." His voice serious and his face matched the
tone of his voice.  "Wylie, you can call me Joe, Joe Don, JD, Jody. Hell,
you can call me "Big Joe". But don't call me Mr. Lawson, I helped raise
that boy and I can see you two are close. I'd have to consider it an insult
for you to call me Mister. It would be like I wasn't family. Ok?"

The smile returned and the voice was once again pleasant and engaging.

Wylie realized he had been holding his breath.

He breathed.

"Now, lets get some coffee and you tell me about you and I'll tell you
about Johnny. Deal?"

"Deal." Wylie countered with, what John would have noted was, his dazzling
smile.

Joe Don's office was as large as John's father's. It held football
memorabilia including photo's from, what Wylie thought had to be, a Super
Bowl. He moved closer to confirm.

"Ah, ignore that stuff. That's there just to impress the customers. Joe Don
picked up a massive leather chair, one of four that formed a semi-circle,
in front of his desk. He positioned it so it sat ninety degrees, relative
to the next. He motioned for Wylie to sit in the unmoved chair, while he
sprawled his massive frame into the one he had moved.

From his belt, he extracted a telephone and pressing a button, asked,
"Sally, would you send some coffee and doughnuts in, for Johnny's friend
and me?"

"Sure thing big Joe." Joe Don scrunched his face. "She only calls me that
when I ask her to do anything that's not directly related to bookkeeping
stuff."

Letting his full attention settle on Wylie, Joe Don began, "I figured you
had some questions you wanted to ask about Johnny. I know he don't talk a
lot about himself. Keeps most his thoughts and feelings to himself. Makes
for a damn good salesman but it's hard when you're trying to get to know
him."

A nice looking, middle aged lady came in with a tray. Joe Don and Wylie
both rose as she entered. After introductions, Joe Don pulled up a small
table and Sally deposited the tray, containing a carafe, two cups and an
assortment of pastries.

Wylie and Joe Don had both stood as she entered. Turning to Wylie, she
apologized, "Well Wiley. The whole place is abuzz about what a handsome
young man you are. I can see they weren't exaggerating. I am sorry I
couldn't greet you sooner."

Turning a wilting gaze on Joe Don, she wrinkled her face into a faux look
of disdain and staring straight at Joe Don, said, "I, unlike some people,
have work to do."

Unable to hold the look, she smiled into Joe Don's eyes. "You know, Wylie's
not here as a customer. He is here as John's friend. Coffee and pastries
are just down the hall. He's been at the ranch long enough for Conchatta to
teach him how to help himself."

Then her smile shifted into a accusation. "Wait a minute! You're trying to
impress Wylie."

Turning to Wylie with a warm smile she said, "Wylie, don't let "Big Joe"
fool you, he's just my big old teddy bear. When it comes to his Johnny,
he's like the proverbial mother hen. His scared off most of that boy's
friends and a few girlfriends. If he threatens you. You come tell me and
I'll take a belt to him tonight."

Wylie noticed that Joe Don's face had shifted from irritation to look
similar to the one he had shown when looking at John.

With that last comment, Joe Don's face lit up. Leering and in an almost
contralto voice, which had Wylie looking for the source, he wistfully
countered, "Promises, Promises."

Then his voice at normal tone, he winked at Wylie, "Now, back to work woman
or I'll have to dock your pay for skylarking."

"Maybe you should remember who handles the payroll." With that she
departed. As she closed the door, "It was nice meeting you Wylie. I'm sure
we'll see you Christmas Eve."

Wylie, still smiling from the exchange, responded, "I'll be looking forward
to it. It was nice meeting you, Sally. Oh, and thanks for the coffee."

With that she was gone and he was now in a "confined space" with a man
twice his size. A man who, apparently, was trying to `impress; him. Wylie
was skeptical. He sipped his coffee and waited.

Joe Don took a cup of coffee and nodded toward the pastry. Wylie declined.

"I met Johnny's daddy in college. Like you and Johnny, we were, uh,
roommates. I was a big sports jock and John was popular with the ladies,
too. We hit it off right away. We shared a dorm room for four years. I can
tell you Johnny's dad helped me out. On more than one occasion he saved my
sorry ass and my scholarship. Yeah, we were real close."  "I was from
Arkansas and this Cowboy bullshit was all new to me. My family was mostly
migrants. We worked the cotton fields down home and then shifted up to
Michigan for the fruit harvest."

"When they found out I was good at football. They settled in for my junior
and senior years of high school. I had been "discovered" by a high school
coach who got my father a job and us a house. All so I could play for his
team."

"My dad was a mean drunk. He used to beat me and my mother every weekend
after he had drunk up what money we made in the fields."

"Back then, folks figured a man owned his family. Well, I lived with
that. Until I realized that I was the reason we had a house. When he came
in drunk and struck my mother, I beat him to a pulp."

"I'm not proud of it. Seemed to me, like I didn't have a choice. He never
laid a hand on us again."

"When I came out to Texas on a scholarship, they followed. My father got a
farm job, that came with a house. My mother worked the fields right
alongside him. Just like always."

"Well, seems like the foreman took an interest in my mother. I figure she
was taken with him, too. I guess she would have been impressed with any man
who didn't beat her, or cuss her, on a regular basis. She moved in with the
foreman, he ran my daddy off."

"He only ran to the nearest liquor store and then to buy a gun. He killed
the foreman, killed my mother and then himself." All this took place while
I was safely tucked away in college."

"When the state police came to tell me. They found me in my room studying
with John. That was on a Friday. I couldn't leave the room until the
following Wednesday. Then, only cause I had to attend the funeral.

John was by my side the whole time. I was a wreck. He made me eat. Let me
cry. Hell, he cried with me a time or two."

"Anyway, the coach let me set out the rest of the season. That Friday was
the one before Christmas break. Anyway, John had made arrangements for my
parents to be flown back to Arkansas. Strange, first time either of them
flew and neither one knew it."

"Like I said, John had made all the arrangements. I was too numb to
realize, he took care of all the expenses. We were there two days, for the
funeral."

"Then he brought me to the ranch until school started back."

"If it hadn't been for him and his folks, I don't know where I would have
wound up. Sure as hell not college and the Green Bay Packers."

"I spent every holiday, spring break and summer, for the next four years at
this dealership. I ain't ever liked horses, but I fit good here."

"When I got hurt, it was bad. John saw it on television and took the next
flight out. By the time I come out of surgery he was there. Him and Margie,
uh, Margaret. I met her our senior year. Soon as I introduced her to John,
seemed like they both lit up. They got involved and she became a best
friend to me. Shit, I told her stuff, I couldn't tell John. She never
batted an eye. She just hugged me, well, as best she could."

"I was best man at their wedding."

"Like I said, when I came to, they were both there. John was asleep in a
chair, looking exhausted. She was sitting by my bed. She stood up and
kissed my forehead and said, "Welcome back, Cowboy." She knew that
irritated me for several reasons.

"Long before physical therapy was over, it was plain. My playing days were
over."  It took a long time for me to get right, physically. Mentally was
an even bigger challenge. Seemed a lot of who I was back then was wrapped
around a football. I had made football my life, and it was over."

"John and Margie, picked me up and brought me to the ranch. Johnny was
barely walking. Seems like he was learning to ride a pony soon after that."

"I started working as a salesman here, and was surprised how much I liked
it. And I was pretty good at it too. Been here ever since."

"About four years, after they brought me here. Margie was out riding with a
couple of cowhands. Her horse got spooked and threw her. Her head hit a
rock and she died right there. Johnny was six. He wasn't quite big enough
to understand. She was everything to those two."

Wylie noticed that while telling his tale, Joe Don kept a serious but
placid look on his face. As the big man's eyes moistened, he turned his
head away from Wylie.

Wylie, himself embarrassed, found something of compelling interest, inside
his coffee cup. After a moment he let his eyes drift toward a shiny
object. A ring. Joe Don was wearing an oversized ring. A Super Bowl ring!

Snorting, as if chastising himself, Joe Don continued, "Well, I was married
to Charlene at the time. I took some clothes and stayed at the ranch for
almost a month. Those two seemed in a daze most of the time. By the time
things got back to near normal. Charlene announced that she was leaving me
for a paint salesman from Austin. I closed up my house here in town and
moved into the ranch house with John and Johnny."

"Stayed there over a year and met Sally. She came to work here as office
manager. She and I hit it off pretty much from the start. Neither of us
liked horses."

The big man chuckled. That was followed by a sigh, which seemed both
wistful and satisfied.

His smile returned.

"She and I, have been together ever since."

Wylie noticed when Joe Don took a first sip, from his coffee. He scowled,
"This shit is cold. We been here longer than I intended."

Meeting Wylie's gaze. His hazel eyes searched. At last satisfied, he held
the scowl and continued, "Wylie, I ain't blind. I can tell, you mean a lot
to Johnny. I figure the way you look at him, he means a lot to you too."

He chuckled, "When I grabbed him earlier, you looked like your was ready to
whop my ass."

Wylie blushed. But, remained silent.

Grinning at Wylie's unspoken admission, he continued, "I ain't never told
anybody here, except Sally all that I just told you. I figure we got family
connections. I want you to understand, that if anybody hurts Johnny,
they'll have to answer to me."

"He's a good boy. He's the closest thing I got to a son. I love that kid
almost as much as his daddy does.

"John and I have talked about you for a while now. He's convinced you're a
fine young man. I got to say my first impression is to agree."

Wylie relaxed; a little.

"You should understand, Johnny and his dad are gentlemen. I am not so
inclined. I am more likely to employ physical solutions, when I get upset."

Wylie would have been upset, except he agreed with Joe Don. Anyone hurting
their Johnny, would have to answer to Joe Don. But, to Wylie first.

He and Joe Don understood each other very well. They both relaxed.

Wylie never got a "tour" of the dealership, that day. Joe Don asked
questions about Wylie, that took them along until John arrived to take
Wylie and Joe Don to lunch.

At some point, during lunch, Joe Don reminded Johnny, "You're still not too
old to get your britches dusted, young man."

John laughed and proceeded to tell, about the one time Joe Don started to
spank him.  Joe Don had been at the barn and was walking back to the
house. John had edged his horse up alongside Joe Don. Knowing when the big
man caught the horses face in his periphery he would freak out.

What John didn't know was that Joe Don had seen john ride up earlier and
had now seen the horse's shadow. Calmly he turned and took control of the
horse. Holding the reins, he pulled Johnny from the saddle.

Dropping the reins, he carried him alongside his hip. Far enough away, so
as not to spook the horse. He stood him up. Holding onto John's biceps, Joe
Don reminded John in no uncertain terms, just how dangerous horses could
be.

He asked John, "What would have happened if I had seen that horse that
close to me and freaked out. That horse could have thrown you on your
ass. You could have been hurt or even killed."

With that he turned John around and swatted his ass with an open hand. The
swat rattled John's teeth. Realizing John had tears in his eyes, Joe Don
dropped to his knees, hugged him and began crying right along with
Johnny. They held each other, both crying like babies.

The story was meant to embarrass Joe Don. Instead he just looked at John
with unadulterated love.

Wylie knew then, that Joe Don's talk earlier was a serious warning. If he
hurt "his" Johnny, Joe Don would hurt him.


I will continue to post. If sufficient interest is shown. Don't be
shy. Even if it is not something you like, I would like to hear it. I
especially want to hear about this chapter. This is the only one not
dominated by either John, Wylie or the yet to be heard from Gordy. Let me
know what you think of my efforts. Jim