Date: Fri, 12 Apr 2013 13:37:54 -0400 (EDT)
From: ErastesTouch@aol.com
Subject: Dirrerent Points of View, chapter 28

Different Points of View - by Erastes
Copyright 2012 by Erastes
Chapter 28 – The Adjustment.

Things had been going very well, since Darren began his stay with me.  We took
the first week or so just to kick back and enjoy not being locked up, which meant
we carried on like a couple of kids left at home with no adult supervision.  We
stayed up late, slept in the next morning and ate what we wanted, whenever we
wanted.   Then, as it got closer to the beginning of June, Darren urged me to get
the pool ready for the summer, because he liked to swim and thought it would be
something fun we could do together for exercise.  Since I thought this was a
good idea too, I did as he asked and then we began spending a great deal of
time in the pool together.

We also spent a great deal of time talking about many different topics, one of
which was Darren filling me in about more of his life.  About the only thing we
hadn't done during this time was anything sexual.  Since we'd been released,
Darren didn't seem to have that urgent need any longer, so I wasn't about to
bring it up, if he didn't.  We did do other things together though, including a few
trips to do some shopping or to see a movie.

At first, I was hesitant about going out, since I was worried about how people
were going to react if they recognized me, but I was even more concerned that I
might run into Jared, since I didn't know how he might react if that happened.
After thinking about it some more, I decided that becoming a recluse would be
unfair to Darren, seeing he didn't have a car or other means to get around.  I
didn't want him to feel that I had talked him into leaving the jail just to stay with
me and end up becoming a prisoner in my home.  That didn't seem appropriate
and I wanted better for him.  If I had personal issues, such as my concerns about
how I was going to handle various situations, then I'd have to deal with them on
my own and not let those concerns affect Darren too.

For the time being, we made a lot of these excursions at night, such as going to a
late movie or shopping at Wal-Mart after midnight.  Even though I preferred doing
things this way, I knew I wouldn't be able to continue this 'vampire' routine
forever, because eventually I'd have to drive Darren around to look for a job.
Since that would have to be done during the daytime, my preference for
remaining in the shadows would ultimately have to come to an end.

Gradually, I weaned myself from this irrational proclivity, but I was only able to do
it as long as I took certain precautions.  Therefore, whenever I took Darren out
during the day I'd don a pair of sunglasses and a hat first, in an effort to appear
less recognizable.  This seemed to do the trick, so as time went on I began to
feel more and more comfortable doing it this way.

Darren was also a big help around the house and even offered to take over some
of the household chores for me.  He felt that by doing this it would serve as a
partial payment for taking him in, so he volunteered to be responsible for the
dishes, laundry and basic housecleaning, which freed me up to spend more time
on my writing.  I was still working on the story I had begun in jail and doing my
very best to finish it.  The publishing house and editor that had agreed to put out
my story based on Jared had decided to publish this story as well and signed me
to another generous contract, so this part of my life was good.

In just a few more days, I planned on submitting the final chapters to both my
agent and editor, so I will be getting their feedback and suggestions about what
they think should be incorporated into them shortly after that.  This means the
story will probably be going to print within the next couple of months, so I'll end
up having had two books published during the span of a single year, which is
extremely rare for an author.  I always get a little excited when one of my books
comes out, especially when I think about the additional money it may generate,
particularly when sales exceed the publisher's baseline projections and trigger
the lucrative terms for my bonus payments.

It wasn't about the money or even just about me, because I was already thinking
ahead and considering other important issues.  First of all, I sat down with Darren
and began to discuss his future plans and what he hoped to do with his life.  I
started out by asking him what courses he had been taking in college, while he
had been attending, and what he planned to do with it after he got his degree.
He then informed me that he had been majoring in computer science, so I asked
him if he might be interested in going back to finish up his degree and he told me
'no,' because he'd since discovered there were too many people going into that
field, so he thought the prospects of getting a decent job after graduating would
be slim.  After he'd told me that, I asked him what else he might be interested in
doing, and he replied he wasn't sure, so we began to brainstorm about some
alternatives for him.

After discussing this over the course of several days, Darren had narrowed his
options down and was leaning toward two different programs, neither of which
was offered at the local college.  He was currently torn between either becoming
a teacher, so he could teach computer technology, or getting into computer
animation and graphic design, to combine his talents for computers and art.  To
do either of those things, however, he'd have to attend a college that was much
farther away than the local college and that's when he informed me that the
college near his parents' house offered both majors, so he might have to return
home to follow his dream.

Darren seemed torn about possibly leaving me alone, so I explained to him that
he had to do what was best for him and not let anyone or anything stand in his
way and keep him from achieving his goal.  He promised he'd consider this
matter further, until he'd determined which option he thought would be best for
him to pursue, and then he'd let me know which career choice he had settled on.
I told him that would be fine, but he should start thinking about what he might
want to do fairly quickly, if he had any hope of going back to school in the fall.

Even though there were still a few months before classes would begin, chances
were that he probably wouldn't be able to get in at the last minute, so he'd have
to wait a semester, or maybe even a year, before he'd be able to enroll.  He
agreed with my logic and then suggested the next thing he would need to do
would be to find a job, so he could start saving his money for tuition.  I concurred
and told him I'd help in any way I could.

Darren immediately began making a list of places he thought he should submit
applications for a job, but seeing he didn't have a much of a work history, his
choices were limited.  The good thing was that he wouldn't need the money to
live on and could merely put the money away for a vehicle or his educational
bills, since I had offered to cover the rest.

Over the next couple of days, I drove him around to several area locations where
he filled out the required job application and even managed a couple of
interviews, but he eventually decided to take a job at Walmart, on their night
stocking crew.  It wasn't a great job, but he liked the hours and I could drive him
there and pick him up when his shift ended.  The pay was actually better than the
other jobs he had interviewed for, because of the overnight premium, so he
thought it would work out fine.  Now, he would be away during part of the day
and I'd be alone during the hours he was working, but I'd probably just be
sleeping while he was gone anyway.

Now that he had a job, he'd be able to save up for his future, but he still had to
make some decisions pretty quickly, if he hoped to jumpstart a career.  We sat
down again to talk about that and Darren told me he had decided to try to get into
the computer animation and graphic design program at the college near his
parents' home.  Since he had made up his mind, I suggested he contact both his
parents and the college, in order to see what his chances were of getting
admitted for the fall semester.  If that wasn't possible, then he was going to see if
he could apply for the second semester or the following fall.  No matter how this
worked out, he was moving in the right direction.

We thought it would take at least a month before he heard anything from the
college, but he ended up getting a fairly quick response.  Unfortunately, the
program was full for the upcoming academic year, but they were willing to enroll
him the following fall, if he was still interested.  He also had some college credits
he could transfer into this program, and due to the fact he'd be living at home and
not needing a dorm room, it wouldn't be as expensive for him either.

After getting this news, he first talked it over with me and then told his parents he
would stay here for another year, since he had a job and a place to live.  This
way, he could save up to pay for college and wouldn't be a burden on his folks
during the interim, since they were still having financial problems of their own.
They agreed this arrangement might be best, but it would benefit me as well,
because by having him around it has helped to keep me from thinking so much
about Jared.  I still did, of course, especially whenever we were outside and I
happened to glance up the road toward his house, but between working on my
stories and spending time with Darren, it has made it a little easier for me to
endure.

After I finished making the changes to the final chapters of my story and had
submitted them, the book was now set to go to print.  After I got over the
temporary euphoria of completing this story, I suddenly had another idea, but this
time I could go back to utilizing my original publisher.  This time, I was thinking
about writing a couple of children's picture books and thought that I could use
Darren to illustrate them for me.  Since these types of stories aren't as lengthy,
although it does take a lot of thought to condense a concept so children will
comprehend it without getting bored, I decided to do one on bullying and another
on empathy.

Before I contacted my publisher about this idea, I talked this over with Darren
first, to see if he might be interested in doing this with me, and he seemed thrilled
with the idea.  He thought that not only would it give him some good exposure as
an artist and provide him with something to put on his resume, but I had also
agreed to split my royalties, so he'd have another way to earn even more money
for college.  He could work on the illustrations when he wasn't working at
Walmart and I'd be able to tell him what I was looking for on each page, as well
as be able to critique what he had done.  This was turning into a real partnership,
even more than either of us had ever imagined when we first met under those
awful circumstances.

Now that the initial planning and agreements had been made, we temporarily fell
into a more monotonous existence, but we did have our share of more
memorable moments too.  One of them was when I called Darren into my office
one day, so I could show him something I had done.  On one of my trips taking
him to work at Walmart, I went in and did some shopping, so I could buy a
number of picture frames.  After I got them back home, and while he was still at
work, I framed all of the pictures he had drawn for me, so I could surprise him
when he got back.  Not only had I framed them, but I had also hung them
strategically on one of the walls of my office, to inspire me while I worked.

When he returned home after finishing his shift, I asked him to join me in my
office.  I believe he thought this was to discuss ideas for the picture books, but I
remained silent and waited to see if he'd notice what I'd done.  He merely stared
at me for a few minutes, while I shuffled through some papers, but then he began
to look around.  I enjoyed seeing the expression on his face when he became
aware of the fact that I'd showcased his drawings, because I think he initially
figured I was merely being polite when I'd told him what I had planned to do with
them back when we were in jail.  His mouth fell open, his eyes darted back and
forth from one drawing to another and then he turned toward me, with this glow
radiating from his face.  Even before he uttered a word, I knew I had been
successful in impressing him with this little display.

"Damn, I didn't think you were really going to do this," he told me, while still
gawking at the wall.

"I'm a man of my word," I informed him, "and besides, they are there to inspire
me.  They not only help to remind me of your wonderful talent, but they also
make me remember the rough times we managed to get through by sticking
together, so it makes me want to succeed even more, so I can make life a little
better for each of us."

He smiled at my response, which indicated to me that he thought it was an
adequate explanation.

I'd be willing to wager that I would soon be getting even more of his artistic gems
to add to this wall of fame, in addition to what he'd be doing for the picture books,
because I could almost see the wheels turning in his head right now.  Over the
next few days I saw him studying various parts of the house, both inside and out,
so I knew I would soon also have some reminders of his time here with me.  I
tried to guess what types of pictures he might draw, and who or what might be in
them, but he remained pretty tight lipped about his plans.  No matter what he did,
I knew it would absolutely be his best work, so they would be valuable assets to
add to my collection.

During this time, Darren also started dating a young woman who worked as a
cashier at Walmart.  She would come on duty just as Darren was getting ready to
leave for the day, or actually night, and I guess they began to talk and hit it off.
He didn't tell me much about his dates, so I wasn't sure if he merely wanted to
keep this part of his life private or if he felt that I might be hurt if I knew what they
were doing together.  Although I've had no sexual contact with him since we'd
been out, we still remained close and Darren seemed to enjoy other types of
contact with me, such as when I placed an arm around his shoulder or merely
gave him a gentle pat on his arm or back.  I knew he wasn't gay, so this was
more like the type of contact a father might have with his son, but I could tell how
much he enjoyed it and how often he sought this sort of attention from me.

I saw the girl he was seeing on a couple of occasions when I picked Darren up in
the morning and I must admit she was cute.  The first time I actually got to meet
her, so we could actually talk, was when Darren brought her home one evening,
after a date.  He didn't tell me he was going to do this in advance, but I was used
to her coming to the house to pick him up and drop him off, since Darren didn't
have a car, but one night he asked her in and sought me out.

"Julie, I want to introduce you to Bob," he told her.  "He's like my second father,
so I wanted you two to meet."

I was very flattered by his introduction, but he was still talking.

"And Bob," he continued, "I want you to meet Julie.  She works at the store too
and we've been getting along really well."

He was beaming now.

"Hi, Julie.  It's very nice to meet you," I told her.  "I hope Darren has been a
gentleman when you're together."

I gave her a wink to let her know I was just teasing.

"Darren?" she shot back.  "He does ok, but I think he was a lion or a tiger in a
past life, because he likes to pounce without warning."

Darren turned red at this comment and looked astounded that Julie had made
such a comment.

"You may be right," I told her, picking up on her comment.  "He tends to groom
himself a lot as well and he also likes to play with his food."

Julie let out a little giggle when I said this, so I concluded she had her own
personal interpretation of what I meant by my last comment.

The three of us sat and chatted for a few minutes, so Julie and I got a chance to
know each other better, and then Julie said she had to leave, since she knew
Darren had to get ready to go in to work.  We said our good-byes and Darren
walked her out to her car.  He was out there for a few minutes before he came
back in, but I heard the front door shut when he entered and merely expected
him to head upstairs to change.  I guess that's why I was so surprised to see him
standing in the doorway of my office, staring at me.  As soon as I looked up, he
spoke.

"So, what did you think of her?" he wanted to know.

"I think she's very sweet and lovely," I informed him.  "And she seems to have a
good sense of humor too."

I think he knew what I meant by that.

"Yeah, and she seemed to like you too," he replied, but then he paused briefly
and I saw him swallow hard.  "You know I really meant what I told her about you."

I looked directly at him and could read the sincerity on his face, so I stood up and
walked toward him.

"I knew you did and it meant a great deal to me when I heard you say that," I
confirmed.  "I hope you realize how deeply your comment touched my heart."

I was looking him straight in the eye right now and could see the tears starting to
well up in them.  Suddenly, he just threw his arms around my upper body, so he
could give me a big hug, and it happened so quickly that it reminded me of Julie's
pouncing comment.  He squeezed me quite hard in the process, and for quite a
long time, before he finally released me again.  I wasn't sure what to do or say
next, but he took care of that for me.

"You're the one who doesn't realize how many times you've actually saved me
since I first met you in jail," he confessed, although I wasn't exactly sure what he
was referring to.  "It wasn't just that you got your lawyer to help my public
defender or even that you saved me when those two guys attacked me, because
you did much more than just those things.  You gave me hope, offered to be my
friend and kept me from thinking about how bad it was in there.  You know if you
hadn't come along when you did, I might have thrown in with some of those other
guys and just learned how to be a good crook.  My whole life would probably
have turned out completely different, if I hadn't met you in there, so I most likely
wouldn't be thinking about going back to college now."

I could see how truly sincere he was being and it really moved me that he felt this
way.  However, I needed to set him straight about a few things.

"Darren, whatever I did for you wasn't what made the difference in your life," I
explained.  "Whatever happened came from within you and not from me.  You
are a decent, intelligent person and you possess some very interesting talents.
All I did was to help show you what was hidden there, so you could learn how to
use it to your advantage.  Whether you took my advice and utilized those traits
was strictly your choice, but I was fairly confident you'd choose wisely.  All I did
was to show you your options and then I sat back and watched, until you actually
acted on them."

"But without you there to show me, I might have made some really bad choices
instead," he admitted.  "I knew a kid in high school who went to jail right after he
graduated and all he learned while he was there was how to be a good criminal."

"That was him and not you," I pointed out.  "I don't think being dishonest or a
criminal is part of your make-up.  Even if you had decided to take that route, I
don't think you'd have been very good at it or happy living that kind of life.  I think
it might have taken you a little longer to discover that fact for yourself, but all you
had to do was to focus on what was in your heart the entire time.  When you did,
you would have realized that you weren't meant to be a criminal and couldn't be
happy trying to be something you aren't."

He looked at me, almost as if I had just scolded him.

"That may be how you see it, but I know you were the one who actually changed
my life," he reiterated.  "That's why I will always be grateful to you for being there
for me when I really needed someone."

After saying this, he hesitantly reached out in my direction and then gave me
another major league hug.  I returned the gesture and finally relented.

"Ok.  I'll give in and take some of the credit then, just as long as you take the
rest," I whispered in his ear.

After I'd said that, I felt him squeeze me even harder and he had a huge grin on
his face when he finally broke the embrace.

"Darren, does Julie know how we met?" I inquired.

"Yeah, she does.  She recognized your name from seeing it in the paper and
wanted to know why I was living with you," he answered.  "I told her everything,
including the fact that I knew you weren't the type of person who would force
someone into doing anything they didn't want to and she believes me.  In fact, I
think she likes you too.  She said something like that when I walked her out to
her car tonight."

"Interesting!" I responded, because it was the only thing I could think to say at
this point.  "Have you told her about your plans to go back home and attend
college?"

"Yes, she knows all about that too," he stated, very matter-of-factly.

"And she doesn't have a problem with it?"  I questioned, mildly surprised.

"She isn't exactly happy about it, but I told her I'd be coming back here and
staying with you each summer, if that's ok with you?"

He looked concerned, when he realized he had told her this without asking me
first.  Sensing his predicament, I quickly took him off the hook.

"Of course it is.  You are welcome here anytime you wish to come and you can
stay for as long as you'd like," I confirmed.  "I mean, what kind of a second father
would I be if I told you it wasn't ok?"

After hearing me say this, he seemed to relax a bit and then let out a sigh, before
he gave me another hug.

"Thanks, Dad, I knew I could count on you," he mumbled into my ear.

At this point, he let his cheek come to rest upon my shoulder, as he continued his
embrace.  After a few seconds remaining this way, his head suddenly shot up
and he looked at me with a panicked expression on his face.

"You don't mind if I call you Dad once in a while, do you?" he asked, concerned.

I could tell he just realized that he might have gone too far again, by the way his
body had stiffened.  It must have suddenly hit him that he had called me 'Dad'
without seeking my permission to do so first, so now I felt it was my turn to
reassure him.

"No, son, that doesn't bother me at all," I replied.  "Even though I realize I'm not
actually old enough to be your dad, I'm still very honored to know you feel that
way about me."

Darren began to smile, now that he knew everything was all right, and then he
hugged me once again.  After he finally broke this embrace, I decided it was time
to move on to something else and quickly switched gears.

"Ok, so let's get back to Julie now," I announced, bringing him back from
wherever his mind had taken him during this time.  "So she's fine with your going
away and just coming back for vacations?"

"I guess," he answered.  "She knows that I'll probably have to move away from
both areas, if I hope to eventually find a job in my field, and she seems to be ok
with that too.  I still want to come back to visit you once in a while though, if you
don't mind, and she seems cool with that as well."

"That's great," I agreed.  "I just wanted to be sure that you two had discussed
these things and agreed that it would work for both of you as well.  That's all that
matters."

He smiled.

"And how about you?  Will that work for you too?" he asked, as he stared at me
and studied my reaction.

"What do you mean?" I wondered, since I was a little confused about what he
was getting at.

"I mean, will it be all right with you if I'm only able to come back to visit you once
in a while?" he clarified.  "I know how much you've done for me, so I don't want
you to feel that I'm deserting you and leaving you all alone again either."

He actually looked as if he felt he had just disappointed me and might burst into
tears at any moment.

"Darren, I've told you before that you have to do what's best for you first, and
then the rest will fall into place," I answered.  "I'll be happy to see you whenever
and for however long you can manage, but the most important thing is that you're
happy and doing what you want to do.  If that's the case, then I'll be happy for
you too.  You don't need to worry about me or feel you owe me anything, but I'll
be tickled pink just watching you grow and develop into the fine young man that I
know you are.  I'll be here for you, if you ever need me, and I'll be happy to
welcome you back, whenever you wish to come visit."

I guess that was enough to convince him that I bore no ill feelings about his
plans, or about him in general.  He seemed satisfied that everything was settled
and we could go on with our lives.

Throughout June, I slowly began to slip into another funk, when I realized that
only a year earlier I had been spending a great deal of time with Jared and Josh.
In fact, about this time last year, Sherry and I were starting to plan for Jared's
birthday party and I began to think about those times and remember everything
we had done and all of the hours we had been together.  I thought about the time
we spent in the pool, the miniature golf outings, the fishing trips and all the
various other ways we had spent time with each other.

These thoughts also prompted me to think about how Jared had kept after me to
do sexual things with him, how I had put him off and stalled him for as long as I
could, but then finally gave in to his desires.  I was driving myself crazy, as I
remembered each of those times, but what bothered me even more was that I
knew Jared's birthday was approaching and just barely a month away.

Darren seemed to notice how depressed I was becoming again, so he tried many
different ways to snap me out of the hole I had mentally dug for myself.  First, he
tried to talk me into going someplace with him, or with Julie and him, but I didn't
feel like doing that.  Then, he tried to get me to go out for a meal, but I preferred
to just whip up a little something at home, because I wasn't eating very much at
the time and knew I'd merely end up wasting most of what I ordered.  When that
didn't work, he even offered to do something with me again, like we had done in
jail, but I told him that wasn't necessary either.  I thanked him for his concern,
however, as well as his offer, but I told him he didn't have to worry and I'd work
my way through this in time.

Seeing nothing else had worked, Darren decided to use another approach to pull
me out of my funk.  I had just picked him up from work when he began to explain
his idea to me.

"Hey, Dad, what would you say about starting an exercise routine again, to help
keep us both in shape?" he asked.  "I don't think either of us wants to lose what
we worked so hard to gain in there, at least I know I don't.  Do you?"

He appeared hopeful, as he looked into my eyes and waited to see how I was
going to respond.  I thought about this for a minute or two and eventually decided
that he had made a very good point.  I had wanted to get in better physical
condition, so what better time was there than now to keep working toward that
goal?  I also realized that doing something like maintaining an exercise program
is always harder to do alone, so why not do it while I had an eager partner?
Doing it might also distract me from the thoughts I was having about Jared and
help to improve my appetite, so I concluded that he had struck upon a very good
idea and we should run with it.

"Ok, that sounds good to me," I concurred.  "What exactly did you have in mind?"

Now, I had tossed the ball back into his court.

"Let me think about that for a second," he replied, as he quickly tried to organize
his thoughts.  "Well, we could start every day with a swim, and then maybe go for
a walk or a jog, before we come back to the house and do some exercises.  After
that, we could work out with some weights, if you have any."

"I have a few, but we can get whatever we need, if we decide to do this," I
agreed, since I didn't want to put a damper on his idea.

"Great, and then at night we could go for another walk or jog and take another
dip in the pool before we call it a day," he added.  "That way we'll only tie up a
little time in the morning and a little more at night, so you'll still have the rest of
the day to write.  We could do the first part after you wake up each day and right
after I get home from work, and then we could do the last part before I leave for
work and you go to bed."

"Well, it sounds like a plan for me, if that works for you," I agreed, while trying to
sound as positive as I could about his suggestion.

"Great, do you want to start tomorrow then?" he followed.

"Sure, but I'll need to do some shopping first, so I can pick up some more
weights and things like that," I replied.  "While you're sleeping today, I'll go to the
sporting goods store and check out their weight training equipment and pick out a
few items, unless you'd like to go with me to do this?"

"I'd like to be there too, if you don't mind," he confirmed.

His face had a pleading quality to it, so I knew I didn't want to disappoint him.

"We could go now, if that's okay with you, and then you could go to sleep after
we get back," I suggested.

"Yeah, that would work for me," he concurred.

He then gave me a big grin, so we went out and got in the Tahoe, drove down to
the big sporting goods store and began to look around.  Darren knew exactly
what he thought we would need, but he ran it all by me first, to make sure I was
ok with each of his selections.

While we were discussing what we might need, an employee came over to offer
his assistance, and it was quite apparent that he was also into bodybuilding.
Almost immediately, Darren and the man got into a discussion about the merits
of the various pieces of equipment, which of the items would be best for our
combined needs and what discounts might be available, if we bought multiple
items at once.  I was surprised by Darren's negotiating skills, since most guys his
age would just assume the price was the price, but he was doing quite well on his
own.  After a few more minutes he asked the employee if he would leave us
alone for a couple of minutes, so we could talk things over.  He agreed, and soon
Darren and I were able to discuss this amongst ourselves.

"What do you think, Dad?" he asked, very directly.

"I think I'm amazed at how well you dealt with that guy," I admitted.  "Where did
you learn to negotiate like that?"

My comment brought a huge grin to his face.

"My dad used to be the sales manager at a car dealership back home, before it
went out of business," he replied, "and I spent some time with him at work and
watched how he did things since I was a little kid.  He also let me sit in some of
his sales meetings, when he was training the new salespeople how to deal with
customers, and that's how I picked up a lot of these tricks."

"You were obviously a good student then," I agreed.  "Wherever you learned it, it
was very impressive."

"Thanks, but what do you think about the equipment?" he wanted to know,
suddenly very business-like again.  "What things do you think we should get?"

"Hey, I'll bow to your expertise on that," I answered, so I was surprised when his
smile began to dim.

"I can't make those kinds of choices.  You have to do that," he insisted.

"And why would that be?" I wondered.

"Because I don't know how much money you want to spend," he confessed.

Now, I understood his concern and made up my mind to make this easier for him.

"I'm willing to spend whatever it takes to keep us both in shape," I announced.
"You know the equipment better than I do, and you know what we need, so you
have to pick it out.  As long as they are things we need and will use, then I'll pay
whatever price you can negotiate.  Does that sound fair to you?"

He still didn't look convinced, however.

"But I don't want to overspend and upset you," he insisted.

"You won't.  Just tell me what you think we need, work a price out with the guy
you were talking to earlier..."

"That was the store manager," he interrupted, giving me a detail I had missed
earlier.

"Even better," I announced.  "Work out the overall price with the manager and
then I'll either tell you yes or no.  Will that take you off the hook then?"

"Yeah, thanks.  And I'll only get what we absolutely need," he added.

He then went and got the store manager again, explained what we needed and
then negotiated a price.  He actually got us fifteen percent off on all of the items
we were going to purchase, and I thought that was admirable, seeing some of
those items were also on sale.  Once I gave him the go ahead to make the
purchase, then Darren and a stock clerk set about loading up the items on a cart,
got everything rung up and then offered to take the items out to the car for me.  I
quickly handed Darren the keys, so they could load everything into the Tahoe
while the manager and I completed the purchase.  After the manager ran my
credit card, the transaction was approved and he handed me the sales slip, and
then I went out to join Darren for the drive home.  They were just loading the final
items in the back when I got there.

Darren was all smiles as we drove back to the house and I knew I'd get my first
workout with this new equipment just helping him unload these items from the car
and carrying everything inside.  I was definitely right about that, because it was a
demanding, tiring and a more strenuous amount of exercise than I'd had in quite
a while.  Darren seemed to be enjoying this physical exertion, as well as taking
pleasure in my misery.

"It's a good thing we got this stuff," he teased, "because now I can see how far
out of shape you are."

He gave me an evil grin as he said this.

"Well, this old guy is going to eventually work you into the ground, while you try to
keep up with me," I shot back.

He readily accepted the gauntlet I had thrown down and gave me a taunting
sneer.

"You can try, old man.  You can try," he retorted, and then he laughed out loud.

"Hey, who are you calling an old man?" I shot back.

"Well, if the shoe fits..." he began, but I didn't give him a chance to finish.

Before he could get any more out of his mouth, I tackled and wrestled him to the
floor.  I immediately realized this had been a mistake, because he was younger,
stronger and more agile than I was, so I soon found myself pinned to the floor
and begging for mercy.

"Ha!  See I told you that you were out of shape," he chortled, while sitting on my
chest.  "Now, admit that you're an old man and I'm the champ."

I wasn't going to give in, but he began to bounce up and down on my stomach,
while playfully swatting me across the face.

"Ok, ok," I relented.  "So I'm an old man, so what?"

"And I'm the champ," he pushed.

I wouldn't give him that satisfaction of adding that to my comment, so he started
the same routine of bouncing on my abdomen and gently slapping my face
again.

"Ok, ok," I gave in.  "You're the chump too."

"Not chump, I'm the champ," he snapped, catching my intentional slip.

"Alright, you're the champ then, chump," I rephrased, which drew an evil glare in
response.

"And the champ is going to work this old man back into shape," he added,
grinning.

"You'll be sorry then," I challenged.

"Why?" he wondered.

"Because once I'm in better shape, I'll be sitting and bouncing on your chest,
while smacking you in the face next time," I threatened.

He let out a loud guffaw after he heard this, to let me know that he didn't believe
a word of my boast.

"In your dreams, old man," he scoffed.  "In your dreams."

He let me up and then went off to shower and get some sleep.  I used this time to
think back upon the past few hours and replay everything over in my mind.  I
certainly had enjoyed the interaction we just shared.

After I'd finished savoring my recollections of the brief give and take I'd just had
with Darren, I eventually began to work on the picture books Darren and I were
going to collaborate on.  It wasn't as easy as I'd initially suspected and relaying
those concepts to a much younger crowd was actually quite difficult.  Therefore, I
wasn't getting a lot done, but having spent the time with Darren and now focusing
on this story had, at least temporarily, made me forget about missing Josh and
Jared, so I momentarily stopped feeling sorry for myself.

I did take time to fix a nice meal for Darren later, so he'd have something good to
eat before he went to work, and it was almost done when I heard him coming
down the stairs.  Not bad timing.  As he entered the dining room, he smiled when
he saw the table set and the food on it, so he thanked me for taking such good
care of him like this.  After I told him it was my pleasure, we sat down and he ate
very well.  Once we'd finished, he rinsed off the dishes, put everything in the
dishwasher and then fixed a lunch to take with him.  As soon as he was done
with that, we got in the Tahoe and I drove him to work.  As he was getting out, I
told him I'd see him later, when I picked him up after his shift.

"Don't forget we start exercising today, old man," he added, as he turned back to
face me, "so make sure you get plenty of rest."

"I won't forget and I'll be ready for you, you young smart ass," I responded, not
knowing what else to say.

As soon as he shut the door, I started to drive away, but stopped again when I
saw him wave at me.  I turned and made sure he saw me waving back, before I
finished making the return trip home.

I had only been there for less than a half hour, when the doorbell rang, which
surprised me.  It was late and I was just getting ready to head up to bed, so I
couldn't imagine whom it could be.  Suddenly, I began to worry that something
had happened to Darren and someone was bringing him home.  I wondered if he
might be sick or possibly had been injured during that short period of time, so I
hurried over to the door and opened it, so I could discover what was going on.
However, I wasn't prepared for what awaited me.  There, standing at my door
was Sherry, Jared and Josh's mother.

"Bob, may I come in, please?  I think we need to talk," she stated.

This made me wonder if she was about to unload on me for what I had done with
her son.


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