Date: Fri, 15 Mar 2013 00:00:51 -0400 (EDT)
From: ErastesTouch@aol.com
Subject: Different Points of View, chapter 15

Different Points of View - by Erastes
Copyright 2012 by Erastes
Chapter 15 – The Summer.

The morning of the Fourth of July, I got both boys up and sent them into the
shower, while I went to my room and did the same.  After we had all cleaned up
and dressed, we went downstairs and I fixed us all some breakfast, while they
took the puppy outside to do its business.  When they came inside, I had Jared
put some puppy chow in the dog dish and asked him to make sure there was
plenty of water in the other bowl, and then we sat down to eat.

The boys began talking about the previous day again and went over many of the
things that made the day stand out for them.  They were not only thrilled about
what we had done, but they were also happy that their friends had been included
and they'd all had such a great time.  I felt good just hearing them say all of these
things and began thinking about other activities I might be able to do with them.

Once we finished our meal and rinsed off the dishes, I asked them what they
wanted to do until it was time for us to go to the park.  They decided that they
wanted to watch the next 'Pirates of the Caribbean' movie, 'Dead Man's Chest,'
so I agreed to do it with them.  It was a repeat of the previous evening, in that
they sat on either side and cuddled against me, with my arms wrapped around
them again, but this time the puppy kept crawling across our laps, since it didn't
want to stay in one place.

When the movie ended, the boys decided to take Boo-Boo outside and play with
him for a while, hoping that way he'd be ready to settle down later, while we were
away.  I got a kick out of watching them run around the yard, with Boo-Boo
chasing after them, and they kept at it for several hours, while I sat down to write.
I didn't see them again until I called them in for lunch.

When the boys came into the kitchen, the puppy was following right behind and
he lay down at Jared's feet when he sat down at the table.  The dog didn't whine
or beg and merely lay with his head on one of Jared's shoes, which made me
realize that the boy and his dog were already bonding.

When the boys finished eating, they went back outside with Boo-Boo and I sat
down to write again.  About an hour later, they came back inside and wanted to
know if they could swim until it was time to go.  When I told them they could, they
raced upstairs to change, but Boo-Boo was having difficulty getting up the stairs.
When Jared noticed this, he came back down, picked the puppy up and carried
him to the guest room with him.  The boys quickly put on their Speedos and then
came back downstairs, with Boo-Boo snuggly wrapped in Jared's arms.

When the boys saw I hadn't changed too, they wanted to know why, so I told
them I was going to spend the time working instead.  They didn't care for that
idea, since they had given me a few hours to write already, while they had been
playing with the dog.  They were insistent that I join them, so I finally gave in and
told them I'd do that, but before I did, I explained they could go in the pool without
me and then I'd join them in a few minutes.

Once I'd put on my swimsuit and gone outside, I discovered another surprise.
The boys had Boo-Boo in the pool with them and the puppy was happily doggy
paddling beside them.

"I hope you know that having the dog in the pool with you is going to play havoc
with my filter," I announced, when I saw what they had done.

"Why?" Jared wanted to know.

"Because of his fur," I answered.  "Enough is going to come off while he's in there
with you to clog up the filter."

"I didn't know that.  Sorry," Jared apologized.  "Do you want me to take him out
then?"

"Since he's already in there with you, I don't think he will stay out now, unless we
put him in his cage," I advised him.

"But we didn't bring him in with us," Jared announced.  "He just jumped in when
he saw us in the pool."

Goes to figure, since labs seem to love water.

We swam for a while, until I felt it was time to get ready to go, and then we all
climbed out of the pool and dried off, before we went upstairs to change for the
park, with Boo-Boo in tow.  Once we were dressed, I had Jared call his mother,
to see if she was ready to leave.

Before he asked her about that, he told her about the puppy, and I wondered
what her reaction was going to be.  He didn't bother to tell her that I planned to
keep the puppy down here, so she wouldn't have to worry about it, especially
after the boys went back to school.  At that time, the puppy would have been left
alone at home all day, but seeing I work from home, the puppy would seldom end
up being left by itself.  To avoid any ill feelings, I figured I'd just share all of these
details with her as we made our way to the park.

A few seconds later, Jared came back and told me his mother would be ready to
leave in about twenty minutes, since she was just packing our picnic lunch in the
cooler.  Even though I had told her she didn't have to do this, she insisted on
fixing everything, which she stated would be her contribution to the day.  She
wouldn't take 'no' for an answer or let me do any of this, because she said that I
had already spent way too much money on Jared's party the previous day, so
she wasn't about to let me spend more on the food.  Since I didn't wish to hurt
her feelings or make her feel unimportant, I agreed to her demand.

Now that I heard she was nearly ready, I asked the boys to give me a hand
outside.  I had them help me drag my old rowboat out of the garage and place it
on top of the SUV, and then they helped me strap it down.  When they asked
why I was bringing this with me, I told them that I was planning to take them all
out on the lake for a little boat ride.  This was something they hadn't expected,
but now they seemed excited about this new prospect, so I asked them to put the
oars inside the Tahoe, while I went back into the house to get everything else.

I had prepared a cooler filled with soda, both diet and regular, to take with us,
plus I'd added some bottles of water in there too.  After that, I went to the coat
closet to fetch the harness and leash I had purchased for the puppy, so we could
take him along.

"Are we going to take Boo-Boo with us too?" Jared asked.  "I thought maybe we'd
have to leave him here."

"That's what I'd originally planned, but I've since change my mind and decided to
bring him along," I confirmed.  "I've concluded that there's no reason why he
can't come with us and it will give your mother a chance to meet him as well."

"Yeah, that's a good idea," Jared agreed.

"We'll need to bring a roll of paper towels, a couple of plastic bags and his dishes
with us too, along with some of his puppy chow," I suggested.  "If you two will get
all of that and put it in the back with you, then we'll be just about ready to leave.  I
think he'll have a good time playing with you guys in the park.  The only thing I'm
concerned about is that the noise of the fireworks may scare him or hurt his ears,
so you may have to cover his head with your hands to help protect him.  The
paper towels and plastic bags are to clean up after him, in case he poops while
we're there, because we can't leave it so someone else will step in it.  Other than
that, he should be fine."

The boys both seemed excited that we were going to bring the puppy along, plus
Sherry would be able to meet him and I'd be able to explain that I planned to
keep the dog at my place.  A few minutes later, after the last of those items were
loaded into the SUV, I had the boys go back inside and get Boo-Boo.  When they
came back out with him, the pair hopped into the Tahoe and buckled up in the
back seat, with Boo-Boo on the seat between them, and then we left to go pick
up their mother.

Sherry was finished with her final preparations and waiting for us, when the boys
went racing inside with the puppy, because they were anxious for her to see him.
She looked at the dog and petted it, and then she looked up at me and gave me
a look that said, 'You know, you're spoiling them.'  I just smiled, shrugged my
shoulders and then tried to relieve whatever concerns she might have.

"I told Jared he could leave the puppy at my place and take care of him there," I
explained.  "The puppy will have more room to run around that way and will very
seldom have to be left alone.  I wouldn't have presumed to have Jared bring the
dog here without asking you first, but I also plan on buying all of the food and
anything else it might need."

She gave me a semi-disgusted look at that point.

"You don't have to do all of that," she stated, with her hands on her hips.  "It was
nice enough for you to get him the dog, so you don't have to be saddled with it
too."

"Oh, I don't look at it that way," I replied.  "It can keep me company when the
boys aren't there, but they can bring him here too, if that's all right with you.  It's
just that by having the puppy spend most of its time at my house, it will also
mean that he won't be alone when the boys are at school in the fall.  I'll still
purchase all its food and other necessities, so you won't be burdened with the
extra expense, even if you allow the dog to stay here part of the time too."

She merely smiled now, as she gave me her silent consent to this arrangement.

Since that had been cleared up, I had the boys help me load everything she had
prepared into the Tahoe, and once it was all in place, we all got into the SUV too.
It didn't take very long to get to the park, maybe twenty or twenty-five minutes,
but it gave us some time to have a little fun along the way.  I started us off by
singing, "Yankee Doodle," and soon everyone else joined in, and when we
finished, Sherry started in on "My Country 'Tis of Thee."  We followed that up with
"America the Beautiful" and finished up with a rousing rendition of "God Bless
America."  I'm sure all of the other cars we passed must have thought us a bit
strange, since they could see we were all singing, but with the air conditioning on
and the windows rolled up, we weren't that much of a disturbance.  Sherry and
the boys seemed to enjoy our little impromptu sing-along, and by the time we
finished, we were at the gates of the park.

I found a parking spot fairly close to the lake, which was away from where the
majority of the people chose to park, but this way we wouldn't have to lug the
boat very far.  After we got out, we agreed to take a walk first, so Jared put Boo-
Boo's harness on him and then hooked the leash to it, so the puppy could run
along beside us, and then we set off for a walk along the lake.

The puppy was extremely curious and had to investigate everything we
encountered, plus he also felt obliged to leave his mark every few paces.  Since
we had planned for this to be a leisurely stroll anyway, it wasn't much of a bother,
so we continued to walk and talk about the scenery.  When we reached the far
end of lake, we decided to turn around and head back, but Boo-Boo wasn't
cooperating.  After trying to tug him into joining us, Jared finally bent down,
picked him up and carried him part of the way back.  When Jared began to tire
from lugging that small bundle around, he put the dog back down again and Boo-
Boo happily trotted along beside us once more.

When we got back to the Tahoe, I had the boys help me get the rowboat off the
rack next and we put it in the water.  Then, I took everyone out for a ride on the
lake, but I warned the boys they should keep a good hold on Boo-Boo, because I
felt he might decide to jump out of the boat and into the water.  After I'd rowed for
a while, Jared asked if he could try his hand at rowing, so I offered to let him sit
on my lap and give it a try.  This way, I could teach him how to do it and get him
to keep equal pressure on both oars, unless he was trying to turn.  We could row
for a while together this way, until I felt he had the hang of it and by then I should
have a pretty good idea if he had enough strength to move the boat by himself,
with all of us inside it.  If not, we would continue doing this together, so he
wouldn't embarrass himself in front of his mother and brother.

Before he joined me to do the rowing, Jared handed the puppy off to Josh and
then we rowed together for the next fifteen or twenty minutes.  After exerting all
of the energy needed to propel us around the lake, he began to tire of the novelty
of the situation and soon decided he'd had enough.  At this point, Josh wanted to
give it a try, so he handed the puppy back to Jared and then came over and sat
on my lap next.

Sherry didn't say much during this whole time, and instead merely chose to
watch how her boys interacted with me.  She got a chuckle out of the few times I
let each boy try to row the boat alone, because they strained to move all of our
combined weight even a little bit, but I could see her smile as she watched us
work together as a team and saw how much the boys trusted and relied on me.  I
think she was having a better time watching her boys have fun, than worrying
about having a good time herself.

We stayed out on the lake for quite some time, and when we came in, we put the
rowboat back on the roof rack of the Tahoe and strapped it back down.  As soon
as we finished doing that, Jared turned to me and whispered.

"That sure was a lot harder than paddling the canoe!"

"Well, that's probably because two of us were paddling then and there weren't as
many people or so much weight in the canoe," I reasoned.

As we were walking back to rejoin Sherry and the puppy, a group of people
approached and asked if we'd like to take part in a softball game with them, just
for fun.  It seemed that some of these families had come with the hopes of finding
enough others to have a decent game, but they hadn't yet found enough players
to pull this off.  When they saw us coming back in from our time on the lake, they
decided to ask us to join them.  As soon as they finished making their pitch, I
explained that we didn't have any gloves to use, so they told us we could borrow
gloves when it was our turn to take the field.  They also said there was a large
variety of bats to choose from, when it was our turn to hit.  The boys seemed
eager to do this, so we agreed and followed them over to the baseball diamond.

The game wasn't anything special, but it turned out to be a great deal of fun and
we all had a really good time playing, even Sherry.  Yes, there were women and
girls playing too, and some of them were better than the guys.  I thought this was
good for the boys to discover now, along with the fact that their mother was a
pretty fair player herself.  We later learned that she had played on organized
teams in school and continued until just before Jared was born.  She also played
some while the boys were little, but they just didn't remember that.
Unfortunately, she didn't have the time to do this any longer, now that they were
on their own.  By participating in this game, it had allowed the boys to discover
another side of their mother, one that they hadn't previously known about.

After the game ended, we decided it was time to eat, because by now it was
early evening.  It was a good thing we had all devoured a decent breakfast and
lunch, because that had held us over, since we were eating later than we
normally would have.  To get ready to do this, we pulled a blanket out of the
Tahoe and spread it out on the ground, and then Jared grabbed Boo-Boo's
dishes and food out of the SUV and brought all of it with him.  After Jared fed his
puppy, each of us sat on a corner of the blanket, with the cooler located between
us, and Sherry quickly organized the food, while we selected our beverages.
She then handed each of us a paper plate, which we quickly filled with a variety
of interesting items.  She had prepared a selection of sandwiches, which would
appeal to all tastes, and included ham and cheese, egg salad, tuna fish, and
even some peanut butter and jelly.  She had also prepared potato and macaroni
salads, as well as a cabbage salad with pineapple.  There were also bags of
chips and pretzels to select from, to round things out.

It was a wonderful picnic meal and we were soon stuffed, so we placed the
leftovers back in the coolers and loaded everything back into the SUV.  We then
decided to take another brief walk, but this stroll was designed to help us work off
some of the calories we had just consumed, while we also scouted out a good
spot to watch the fireworks.  As we roamed over the grounds, the boys pointed
out a small hill, which we soon discovered had a large flat rock on top of it that
would serve as a nice seat.  They quickly determined this would be an ideal
location to view the aerial display, so Sherry and I agreed to hold the spot while
the boys went back to the Tahoe to get each of us a drink.  They also brought
back one of Boo-Boo's dishes and a bottle of water for him, and once they
returned, we took a quick sip of our drinks, but saved the rest for later.  The boys
then began to play around with the puppy again, as a distraction while waiting for
the fireworks to begin.

Sherry and I watched the boys run around, as they attempted to get the puppy to
chase after them.  They did this by dragging his leash behind them, and once
Boo-Boo got the hang of what they wanted him to do, he would run after them
and try to grab a hold of the leash, so he could pull on it, as if he were playing
tug-of-war.  This activity soon attracted a small group of other children that came
over to admire the puppy, and soon they wanted to play with Boo-Boo too.

Sherry and I both watched to see how the boys were going to react to these
intruders, but we needn't have been concerned.  The boys didn't object to the
others showing up and eagerly let those children join in on the fun, possibly
because they were beginning to tire from doing all of the running themselves.
These kids were also some of the children we had played softball with earlier, so
the boys were already familiar with many of them.  Jared and Josh might have
also decided to let them do this, as their way of repaying them for their kindness
earlier, when they invited us to join their game.  Whatever the reason, Sherry and
I were both proud of how they handled themselves during this situation, just as
two parents should be.

While we had been watching the kids play with Boo-Boo, Sherry took the
opportunity to thank me for giving Jared the dog and for everything else I had
done for her sons.  She also told me that Josh had confided in her that Jared had
been calling me Dad when we were alone, even prior to hearing his comment at
the birthday party.  I wondered if she might be upset about that fact, but instead
she told me how pleased she was that Jared was allowing me to fill that void in
his life.  She then went on to tell me how different Jared had been acting since he
began spending time with me and stated that he now seemed so much happier,
had become more outgoing, grown closer to his brother and he even looked
forward to getting up each morning, so he could come down and spend a part of
his day with me.

I explained that some of my efforts might be selfish, because I enjoyed Jared's
help and company as much, if not more, than her son did mine.  I also explained
that life could be very lonely when you do everything by yourself at home, so we
discussed my job for a short time after that.  It was at this point when Sherry
suggested that I should find a good woman to keep me company, but then she
recanted her suggestion, after she realized I probably wouldn't want Jared
around as much if that were the case.  If only she knew that the idea of a female
companion didn't appeal to me in the slightest and I doubted that anyone beside
her son, or possibly another boy, could ever have a chance to relieve my boring
existence.

We continued to talk and watch the boys for quite some time, and then we
decided it was time to stand up and stretch our legs for a bit, so we walked
around the area, but never ventured too far away from the rock.  We were afraid
someone else would try to claim our prime piece of real estate, because we
realized that this would be an ideal spot from which to watch the fireworks.
When Jared and Josh returned with Boo-Boo a little later, they all took a quick
drink, including the puppy, and then we settled in and waited for the show to
begin.

As we sat there, the boys wanted to tell us all about their time with the Boo-Boo
and the other children, even though Sherry and I had observed nearly everything
that went on.  We could tell that this seemed to be very important to them, so we
let them carry on and listened to them very carefully.  As the darkness began to
envelop us, the first of the fireworks were set off, so now we spent the better part
of the next hour watching lights burst forth from the sky.  Not only could we see
them, but we could also definitely hear them too, as well as feel the vibrations
from those explosions slamming into our bodies.

As I suspected, the puppy wasn't very fond of this show, especially the loud
booms and shockwaves that followed, so it began to register its complaints by
whining and trying to run from the area.  Reacting to Boo-Boo's distress, Jared
slipped the puppy under his shirt, wrapped his arms around it and placed his
hands over Boo-Boo's ears, in an attempt to alleviate some of the discomfort his
pet was now feeling.  That did seem to help some, and once the dog realized
Jared was trying to protect it, Boo-Boo eventually calmed down enough so Jared
could enjoy the rest of the show with us.

When the last of the fireworks had faded into the darkness, we all walked back to
my vehicle, taking our drink containers and the dog's water dish with us.  Soon,
we were getting into the Tahoe, buckling in and fighting with the traffic exiting the
park so we could make the trip home.  As I dropped them off at their house, they
all thanked me for the great time and Jared wanted to know if he could come
back down and spend the rest of the night with me.  I suggested, that since this
was his mother's day off, he should spend the rest of the evening with her and
that he could come down and spend other nights with me.  He then asked if Boo-
Boo could stay with him, so after getting Sherry's consent, I had him get out the
puppy's bowls and the bag of Puppy Chow to keep with him for the night.  He
was only mildly happy about the situation, since the dog was going to stay with
him, and shortly after that I was driving back down to my place alone.

The rest of July seemed to fly by, although Jared and I still had many
opportunities to do things together.  We not only worked and played, but we also
found time to take care of Jared's sexual urges too, and I also became closer to
his mother and brother.  Josh now liked to come down even more often,
sometimes to Jared's extreme dismay, because it prevented us from doing some
of the things Jared wanted to do.  Since he was coming down more often, Josh
also began to help with some of the tasks we were trying to accomplish, even
though he wasn't as good a worker as Jared, but his help was still greatly
appreciated.  All in all, he was becoming more of an asset, as he learned each
task.

We also began to include Sherry in some of the other things we did as well,
especially on Sunday and Tuesday night, when she was off from work.  The boys
would make sure all the work at home was done in advance, so she had nothing
to keep her from joining us, and we took her to the movies, miniature golfing,
bowling, boating, picnicking, fishing and swimming in the pool with us.  The boys
thought it was great that we were doing all of these things like a family and
Sherry seemed to be enjoying these special times with her sons as well.

We had some really wonderful outings, including a fishing trip I took them on, and
Sherry was a very good sport about that one.  She wasn't into fishing, even
though the boys were both anxious to try it, but she was attentive as I instructed
all of them about what they would have to do.  I had a variety of old fishing rods
at home, some of which I hadn't used since I was a boy, so I let Jared and Josh
take those poles to fish with, while Sherry and I took advantage of a couple of the
others.  I decided to have everyone use worms as bait the first time, so I showed
them how to secure the worms on their hooks, and then I explained how to watch
the bobber and feel the line, so they would know when they had a strike.
Whenever they got a hit, I talked them through the process of giving the fish
some line and how to play it a bit, before starting to reel it in.  Then, I told them I
would scoop their fish into the net when they got it close enough to the boat.  I
would then put the fish in a cooler of water, to keep it alive for a little while longer.

The boys caught on quite quickly and were soon reeling in their first fish.  After
they worked with it for a little while, they slowly brought it closer and closer to the
boat, and once I had secured it in the net, I dumped the fish into one of the two
large, pickle jars that I had in the cooler.  These jars were partially filled with
water and were just for their first catch.  After I secured the lid on the jar, I wrote
the boy's name on the top with a magic marker.  Then, I placed the jar back into
the cooler, which was also partially filled with water.

When we finished up and came back to shore, I wanted to be able to take a
picture of each of them with their first catch, since it was an accomplishment
worth remembering.  The remaining fish they caught would merely be placed in
the cooler, between those two jars, and we soon had more than enough fish for
one day.

Sherry also did her best, but it was clear that she was having trouble from the
very start.  First, it was with baiting her own hook, so one of the boys had to do
this for her.  She also wasn't having as much luck as her sons, although she did
manage to land one fish, but it was so small that we had to toss it back.
However, she did stay with us the entire time and cheered the boys on when they
hooked something, but she had more fun watching her sons than actually
participating.

When we got back to shore after finishing up for the day, I had each of the boys
hold up their first catch, so I could snap a couple of pictures of them separately,
to record this proud and memorable moment forever.  After that, we displayed
the remaining catch on a large strip of freezer paper I had placed on the ground,
so the fish would be more visible.  I then had both boys kneel behind it, still
holding the jar with their first catch, and I snapped a few more shots.

Once we got back, I would pick out the best picture of each boy individually, and
then choose the best shot of them together, kneeling behind all of the fish they
had caught.  I planned to make four large copies of each of those pictures and
then have the copies framed.  One copy of each picture would be for me to hang
on my wall, an additional copy of each one for Sherry and then I'd give each of
the boys a copy of each picture, so every one of us would always have
something to remember this wonderful moment.

Once the photos were taken, we got back to the task at hand, and this was
where Sherry began to shine.  In fact, after I cleaned and boned the fish the boys
had caught, Sherry was kind enough to fry them up on my small portable grill, so
the boys could sample their catch.  I had also packed other ingredients for this
purpose, since I was originally planning to do the cooking, but Sherry eagerly
volunteered and did a wonderful job with the fish, even better than I would have.
When we combined the fish with the other food we had brought with us, it made
a marvelous meal and we enjoyed it even more, since we knew the boys had
provided the main course.

On another of our outings, Sherry was absolutely amazed at how well her boys
played miniature golf.  We had gone for a ride and didn't plan to do this, but then
decided to stop and give it a try when we spotted the sign for this place.  Even
though we had never played on this course before, the old pros were still able to
give their mother tips on how to attack each hole and even demonstrated the
technique for her, before she putted.  In the end, they scored far better than she
did, even though they tried to take it easy on her.  There were a couple of
humorous moments as well, as we watched Sherry try her hand at this activity for
the first time in ages.

There was one particular hole with a small water obstacle, which was something
that usually didn't come into play for most participants, but somehow Sherry
managed to lift her putt into the air slightly, which caused her ball to bounce right
into the water.  Since she didn't want to take a penalty stroke, even though we
told her we wouldn't make her take one, she said she'd play it where it was.  I
told her to slowly push it out with her putter, insisting that we would only count
that as one stroke, but she gave it a powerful whack instead and splashed
herself, and us, in the process.  However, this attempt only moved the water,
because the ball stayed settled under the surface, so this caused her to make
another attempt to get it out.  After a couple of tries to do this, Jared reached
down, pulled the ball out of the water and placed it in front of the obstacle, thus
allowing her to putt from there.

On another hole, we had to putt through a small building on the course.  There
were three openings to putt through, with one opening taking the ball to the right,
another taking it to the left and the final opening allowing the ball to go straight
toward the hole.  Seeing Sherry had the highest score on the last hole, she had
to putt last.  After the rest of us had taken our turn, Sherry placed her ball down
and hit it. When we went to the other side of the building to finish up the hole, we
couldn't find Sherry's golf ball and it turned out that it got stuck under the
building, so she had to go back to the front again, to push it through with her
putter.  She did this as if she were striking a pool ball with a cue stick, because
she used the shaft of her putter to knock the ball out, but it turned out better than
when she used the club correctly, because the ball went straight into the cup and
gave her a two on that hole.  It wasn't the typical way to do it, but it worked for
her, so we were happy to let her get away with it.

Even though Sherry came in last and finished with the highest score, we could all
tell that she had enjoyed herself in the process and the boys certainly had a good
time trying to help their mother, even though they also got to laugh at her
mistakes.  They were all enjoying the humor of the situation, rather than making
fun of her inability to perform the task at hand, so there were no hard feelings
later, once the moment was over.  If only others could learn this distinction, then
maybe there would be less friction among people and there wouldn't be this
underlying need for people to revel in another's suffering and misery.

On another occasion, I took everyone bowling, which is becoming a lost sport in
recent years.  Although I had done this with the boys before, neither of them
were very good at it, but I had seen them make some improvement since our first
outing.  Sherry had only done this a few times when she was younger, but hadn't
bowled in years, so I was the only one who had once been an avid kegler.  My
other outings doing this with the boys had helped me to limber up and gave me a
chance to recall what I was supposed to do.  Seeing I was more experienced at
this then they were, I gave the others a few brief pointers, if they wanted some
help, and after Sherry's quick refresher, we began to compete for earnest.

The first few frames were nothing to brag about and we had more than a few
chuckles along the way.  At one point, when Josh went to take his final step, his
foot stuck, instead of sliding as he expected, so this caused him to take a few
extra steps down the lane.  The problem was, once he crossed the foul line, he
got into the oil and this caused his feet to slip out from under him and he went
down, with a thud, on his butt.  Even though his backside was a little sore and his
ego was bruised, he survived.  He was a little embarrassed about what had just
taken place, because the people on the other lanes had also witnessed what had
happened to him, to his complete dismay.

Josh, however, wasn't the only one who had a problem during those first few
frames.  Unfortunately, Jared had selected a ball with finger holes that were
slightly too tight on his hand, and even though I had suggested he go back and
look for another ball, he like the ball's color and decided to keep it.  When it was
his turn to bowl, he took his four steps to the foul line and went to release the
ball, but his fingers stuck in the holes and didn't come out like they were
supposed to.  Instead, the ball clung to his hand for a second or two longer than
normal, which sent the ball soaring into the air, rather than rolling down the lane
toward the pins.  When the ball came crashing down again, the sight of this
happening, plus the loud noise it made when it hit the lane, made everyone close
to us stop and focus on what had just happened.  After that, Jared hurriedly
raced off to find another bowling ball, but this time he made sure it fit properly.
Since this took him a while, the people on the adjoining lanes had lost interest in
his little accident and were no longer staring at us when he returned.

Sherry didn't make any dramatic miscues, such as had happened to her sons,
but she did manage to collect more than her share of gutter balls, and one of
those was humorous in itself.  She was aiming at a six pin, which sits on the right
side of the lane, but not quite on the very edge of the alley.  After she released
her bowling ball to make this spare, it was clear she was going to miss the pin by
a mile and her ball went into the channel.  The funny thing was, it happened so
far ahead of the pin and was thrown hard enough that the ball popped back out
of the gutter, careened onto the lane and picked up her spare.  Even though I
knew this shouldn't count, I gave her the spare anyway, because the boys didn't
know the rules of the game or how to score, and Sherry had obviously forgotten
some of the rules as well.

As far as my game was concerned, it started out a little rough, but it didn't take
long for me to get into a rhythm again and I managed to string together a few
strikes in the process.  The boys thought doing this made me a pro, although I
quickly explained I was far from someone of that caliber, but they were
impressed, just the same.  We ended up bowling three games each and Sherry
and the boys did quite well for not doing this very often, so they agreed that they
wouldn't mind doing this with me again sometime.

Before we left the bowling alley though, Sherry thanked me for doing all of these
different things with them and explained that I had helped to remove them from
their boring routine as well.  She admitted that it was giving each of them
something to look forward to on the weekends and helped her bond even more
closely with her sons.  I thanked her for her kind comments and then explained
that my reasons were more selfish than that, since it gave me something to look
forward to as well.  She smiled, but didn't try to contradict me, and then we went
outside and got into the Tahoe.

On many Tuesday evenings, and even one Sunday afternoon, the three of them
would just come down to my house and spend the time in my pool, relaxing,
competing or just having a good time.  The first time Sherry came down to join
us, the boys wore their trunks, but the next time, they put on their Speedos
instead.  This surprised me and I'm not sure if they had merely done this
unconsciously, because I thought the boys had decided the Speedos would
expose too much in front of their mother.  Sherry was absolutely shocked when
she saw them in those skimpy outfits, but mostly because she was able to notice
how much Jared had matured since she had last bathed him, some years before.
I quickly explained that the boys had picked these swimsuits out, as well as the
boxer-type suits, but that they seemed to prefer the freedom they enjoyed when
wearing the Speedos.  She said that was fine, as long as it had been their
decision, but she was just shocked when she'd discovered how much they had
developed.

Although Sherry would only stay half as long as her sons, she did seem to enjoy
spending time with them like this, as well as getting some exercise and sun for
herself.  She wasn't by any means unattractive, even though she had quite a
rough life and worked very hard, and I think many men probably would have
found her to be quite a catch.  Unfortunately, I'm also fairly certain that having
two sons had scared away more than a few of those would-be suitors.  In some
ways, I envied her, but in other ways, I pitied her.  I envied her for having these
two boys, but pitied her for having so little time to actually spend with them.  Not
only that, but I knew she only had a few more years before her sons would be
striking out on their own, and leaving her basically alone at that point.

I wish she didn't have such a rough life or was required to work so hard just to
make ends meet, only to face the prospect of living those final years of her life
alone.  Of course, the boys would come back to visit and possibly bring their
families from time to time, but unless she found a significant other to share her
later years with, it could be a very lonely existence – and I knew all about that.
Even though I was alone most of the time myself, I had made the choice, out of
necessity, although even I would prefer the company of a cute young man to
relieve my boredom.  That's why I was relishing every second of every day these
two young men choose to share with me, because I realized that this time would
soon pass as well.

Just before the end of July, I asked Sherry if she would mind if I took the boys
camping for a few days, before school started.  To my surprise, she said she
thought it would be a wonderful idea, because she felt the boys would love to do
it and it was something they wouldn't otherwise get a chance to experience.
Since she had given me her approval, I decided to talk to the boys about it, to
see if this was something they would actually like to try.

"I want to run something by you," I told Jared and Josh when they came down
the next morning.  "I was thinking we could go on a camping trip, if you are
interested."

"Oh, yeah.  That sounds fantastic!" Jared exclaimed, almost as soon as the
words were out of my mouth.  "When are we going to do this and how long will
we be gone?  Did you tell mom about this yet?"

"I've never been camping before, but it sounds like fun," Josh agreed, although
he wasn't quite as enthusiastic about it as Jared was.

"Ok, let me try to answer your questions," I began.  "I asked your mother already
and she has given me permission to take you, if you are interested.  If you want
to do this, then we'll go the second week of August, before school starts up
again.  I think you'll also enjoy this, but it won't be all fun and games.  There will
be some work that will have to be done, but I'm not going to make this a
survivalist training session.  Since I really don't want to spend my time cooking
and cleaning up, we'll go out to eat our meals, but there will still be some other
things you'll need to help me with.  Are you still interested, knowing this?"

Jared was positively up for it, and although Josh wasn't quite as enthusiastic, he
was still interested.  They did have some questions to ask me first though.

"Will Boo-Boo be able to go with us too?" Jared wanted to know.

"Yes, I don't see any reason why he can't join us," I replied.  "We'll take his cage
with us too, so we can leave him in it when we go somewhere he isn't allowed,
but I think he'll be able to sleep in the tent with us at night and do almost
everything else."

"Good, because I didn't want to leave him behind," Jared told me.

"Do you think Dean might be able to come with us too?" Josh asked next.  "I'm
sure he'd also like to do this."

"Actually, I was going to have you invite him and I thought Jared could invite
Austin and Steve, since they seemed to have such a good time with us at his
birthday party.  That's only if you boys want to ask them to join us though," I
suggested.

I saw that Jared wasn't too sure about this, but Josh certainly was.

"Can I call Dean and ask him?" Josh wanted to know.

"Sure.  You can use my phone, so why don't you go do that now," I offered.

Once he was gone, I decided to clarify this with Jared.

"Look, I know you were probably looking forward to having time to do other stuff
too, but even with just Josh around, with all of us being in the same tent, I don't
think that would be a good idea," I explained.  "Besides, there will be other
campers around as well, so it would just be too big of a risk to try something like
that.  If you want to invite your friends though, then you might find you'd enjoy
having them around just as much."

"Ok, and that's probably a good idea," he relented.  "I'll call them after Josh gets
done.

When Josh came back, he said Dean was going to ask his parents and then call
us back in a few minutes.  I figured his parents would probably want to talk to me
about this first, before they agreed to anything, so his answer made sense.  I
merely told Josh that would be fine, but I also had some other things to discuss
with them first.

"Seeing this is your first time camping, I figured we'll try to make it fairly simple," I
added.  "I know a campground where we can go and stay in a tent, but they do
have a building with both toilet and shower facilities we can use, so you won't
have to go through anything more drastic, like using an outhouse or pooping in
the woods."

"What do you mean?" Josh wanted to know, although Jared seemed to catch my
drift.

"Well, if we went out in the wilderness, peeing would be no problem for you,
since we're all guys, but the other would be a little trickier," I stated.  "Although
some campers don't mind leaving their bowel movements on the ground and will
even use leaves and other vegetation to wipe with, I wouldn't go quite that
drastic, because I have a thing about not fouling nature any more than
necessary.  Therefore, we'd either have to dig a pit to do this in or we could take
a bucket, along with some toilet paper and some plastic bags.  You could either
poop in the hole and then we'd cover it up, or we would put the plastic bag in the
bucket, do your thing and then tie the bag up and place it in a larger trash bag
we'd take to use for our other refuse.  It's not pretty, but it does leave the places
we visit no worse off than when we got there."

They both made a face after I'd explained this.

"Yeah, I'm glad we don't have to do that and they have toilets at this place," Josh
added.

"Yes, it's not something everyone is comfortable doing," I agreed, "and that's why
I decided to pick someplace less primitive for our first time out.  This place also
has a small lake where we can go swimming and do other things, so I suggest
you boys take your trunks, instead of the Speedos.  That's not something you'd
usually see on a camping trip and there probably will be other people around, so
you might wish to be more modest."

Jared laughed, but they both agreed with this suggestion, so I also suggested
what other types of things they should pack.  I also asked if they had sleeping
bags, which they didn't, and since I only had a two-man mountain tent and two
sleeping bags, I'd have to get something bigger for this trip and another sleeping
bag, depending on how many of the other boys went with us and what they
already had.

"I might have to go shopping and pick up a few things," I informed them next, "but
let's see who is going to join us first."

Jared then went to call his two friends, since I already had their phone numbers,
and he asked them if they wanted to join us.  Over the next couple of hours, I
spoke with each set of parents and talked to them in length about what I was
planning and where we were going.  In the end, all three sets of parents agreed
to let their sons go with us.  In fact, I even got a little surprise, when Austin's
father said he often took the family camping and offered to let us borrow
whatever camping gear we needed.  He said they had a family-size tent that
slept up to six, or even eight, if most of them were children, but they also had four
sleeping bags and various pots, pans, utensils, a cooking stove and lanterns.  I
thanked him for his generous offer and told him I'd let him know what we could
use, since I had some of those items myself.

"I guess we're just about set then," I told the boys when I got off the phone.  "He
has a large tent and four sleeping bags, so with my two, there will be enough for
everyone.  Since I'm going to take us out to eat, because there are several diners
and other eating establishments nearby, we'll go out for a big breakfast in the
morning and then have a large dinner later.  I'll take plenty of snacks along too,
just in case you guys get hungry in between, so how does that sound?"

They both seemed to like this idea, so we started to finalize our plans.

"Do you boys want to go with me to pick out the snacks, or would you rather stay
home?" I asked.

Both of them said they'd like to go with me, but I made sure I could get a
reservation at the campground first.  Once that was taken care of and I'd given
them my credit card number for the deposit fee, I could focus on getting what few
supplies we would need.  We'd also take a couple of cases of bottled water with
us, so the boys and Boo-Boo would be able to stay hydrated, but no soda.  They
could order that with their dinner, if they wanted, but there would be no way to
keep it cold for them.

I then drove over to the grocery store and we started shopping for the snacks,
although I put three cases of water in the cart first.  Then the boys helped me
pick out what they thought everyone would like.  We ended up with various
quantities of chips, crackers and cookies, as well as several bags of Chex Mix, in
various flavors, and different flavors of Pop Tarts.  Then we took everything up
front, paid for it and loaded it into the Tahoe.

Once we had all of this packed into the SUV, we went back to my place and took
everything out and placed it in the garage until we were ready to leave.  What
we'd purchased wouldn't spoil, so that was a big task out of the way.

After we went inside, I began making a list, to be certain that we would have
everything we would need for our trip, because I didn't want to forget anything.
As I said earlier, this isn't going to be a very rugged trip, since we'd be eating out,
instead of fixing our food.  I just wanted the boys to get out in the woods, have
some fun and possibly learn some skills.  We could do the frontiersman camping
trip some other time, if they wanted.

After we finished taking care of all of these things, the boys wanted to take a dip
in the pool and cool off, so I sent them upstairs to put on their swimsuits and I did
the same.  We spent the rest of the afternoon in the pool, but we also talked a
great deal more about the upcoming camping trip with their friends.



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