Date: Sun, 24 Feb 2013 20:14:38 -0500 (EST)
From: ErastesTouch@aol.com
Subject: Different Points of View, chapter 7

Different Points of View - by Erastes
Copyright 2012 by Erastes
Chapter 7 – The Brief Separation.

Thursday morning, I got up, dressed, had breakfast and then sat down to work at
my computer.  I had started working on Chapter 2 of my new story last night and
wanted to finish it before Jared showed up, since he had agreed not to come
down as early today.  I was clearly psyched about getting started, because I had
a bunch of ideas for this chapter, some of which had come to me after I had
logged off the computer last night.  Anyway, I began typing and not only finished
the second chapter, but I also got started on the third as well.  I knew I'd have to
go over both chapters again before I emailed them to my agent, but I was quite
pleased with how much I had accomplished and felt as though I'd made
considerable progress.

When Jared showed up at 11:00, we hopped into the Tahoe and took off.  When
I asked him where he wanted to eat, he mentioned a couple of fast food places,
but I wasn't in the mood for anything like that.  Instead, I drove over to T.G.I.
Friday's, because I loved their Jack Daniels Flat Iron steak.  Once I'd parked and
Jared realized where we were going, he seemed quite surprised and slightly
reluctant.  I knew his current hesitation had to do with the money issue again,
since I'm sure he's had to watch how much he spends when he's with his
mother, but I wasn't going to allow him to do that with me.

I led him inside, and once we were seated, he began to tentatively look over the
menu.  I was fairly certain that he was looking for the cheapest item, so before he
announced what he wanted, I did my best to entice him into ordering the same
thing I was going to have.  He hemmed and hawed for a couple of minutes, as he
listened to me describe this particular entrée, and then he finally relented and
agreed to do as I'd suggested.

Once the meal came, he cut off a small piece of steak, dipped it in the sauce and
then hesitantly placed it in his mouth.  After letting it soak into his taste buds, he
discovered that he liked the taste and ravenously began to attack the rest of his
meal.  He seemed particularly fond of the special Jack Daniels sauce and made
certain that every piece of steak was coated in it, before he placed it in his
mouth.  Watching the satisfied expression that appeared on his face as he
savored each mouthful was extremely gratifying.  It showed me that he was really
enjoying this simple treat and prompted me to conclude that he was glad I had
talked him into ordering it.

After we finished our meal, I paid the tab and we left.  Once we were in the
Tahoe again, Jared confirmed my earlier assumption by thanking me for
suggesting that he order the steak and then raving about how much he had
enjoyed it.  I can't tell you how good that made me feel, because I was truly
pleased that I had been able to provide him with this gastronomical delight.

I drove over to Walmart next and led Jared directly to the seasonal area, where
we began looking around.  I quickly spotted a display of inflatable beach balls
and tossed one into the cart, and then I added a couple of inflatable lounge
chairs, in case we just wanted to relax in the water, instead of getting out and
sitting on the deck.  Once those items were in the cart, we continued to peruse
the aisles and inspect the other choices, and as I turned the corner, I spotted
something else I thought would be fun.   It was a DeckVolly kit, which was a
volleyball set adapted for use in a swimming pool, and I thought Jared and I
would have fun playing it.  I felt it would be even more appropriate if Josh and
Dean ever came down with him, so I placed it in the cart, along with the other
items.

When Jared saw me put that particular item in with the other things, he asked
why I wanted it, since it usually required teams to play, so I told him about my
idea.  After listening to my explanation, he chose not to argue with me, but I
could also tell that he would prefer if it were just the two of us most of the time.
After hearing my ideas, however, I think he decided that he wouldn't mind having
Josh and Dean come down to join us once in a while, and maybe even his
mother too, as long as he had me to himself most of the time.

Once we got back to the house and had changed into our swimsuits, we took all
of our new acquisitions outside with us, when we went out to get in the pool.  We
really tired ourselves out this time, since Jared kept challenging me to race with
him first, before we set up the volleyball net and batted the ball back and forth for
a while.  When we finished, it was nearly time for Jared to go home for dinner, so
I sent him upstairs to change.

When he came down again, Jared informed me that he had merely wiped off his
Speedo with the towel and then slipped his shorts on over it, because he figured
we'd be getting back in the pool after he returned.  He then asked if doing that
was ok, and even though he was belatedly asking for my permission, I told him it
was fine.  After flashing me a smile of approval, he told me he'd see me again in
a little while and headed out to his bike.  As usual, I watched his progress as he
pedaled up the road.

When he returned about an hour later, I told him that we should wait a little while
before we got back in the pool and asked what he wanted to do until then.  Jared
said he just wanted to sit with me and maybe watch some TV, so I knew this
meant he wanted to cuddle with me until we went out to swim.  He also told me
that he wanted to play volleyball again later and I agreed that would be fine, and
then we went into the living room and made ourselves comfortable.  Since I was
still in my swim trunks, Jared slipped off his shorts and shirt, because he had his
Speedo on underneath, and then he sat down next to me on the couch.

We had only been watching TV for about fifteen minutes when the front door
opened and Josh walked in.

"Hi, Bob," he greeted me.  "You don't mind if I come in, do you?"

Even though he was smiling, he still looked slightly uncomfortable and unsure if
he should continue.

"No, Josh.  You're welcome any time," I offered

"You should have rung the doorbell or knocked first though," Jared scolded, as
he pointed out his brother's faux pas.

"Hey, I don't make you do that," I told Jared, " so Josh doesn't have to do it
either, unless the door is locked and he can't get in."

Jared gave me a dirty look, which let me know he didn't agree with my proposal,
but he didn't gripe about it further, at least not in front of his brother.  I had the
feeling that Jared thought he should be the only one to have that privilege, since
he was using me as his surrogate father, but I felt it would be best if I treated
them both the same.  I thought that if I didn't and Josh felt that I favored Jared,
then it might create a problem within his family and I didn't want this to become a
competition to see who had the greater benefits with me.  I also didn't want Josh
to feel unwelcome or any less at home here, because I was worried that he might
complain about it to his mother.  If that were to happen, then she might stop
Jared from coming down here as well, if she believed I was treating one better
than the other.

Josh immediately noticed that we were wearing swimsuits, so he wanted to know
if he could go swimming with us too.  After I told him he could, he wanted to know
where Jared got the swimsuit he was wearing, so Jared simply explained it was
one that I had at the house.  Jared didn't go into detail about why I had
something that would fit him, and Josh seemed to merely accept his answer.  He
then wanted to know if I had another one that he could use, so Jared reluctantly
told him we did and then took his brother upstairs to show him the selection.

Jared pulled out the other Speedo and the trunks I'd purchased for him, as well
as the old swimsuit that Jared had brought down from his house.  After looking
them over, Josh selected the trunks, so Jared left him alone to change, while he
came back downstairs.  We finished watching the television show first, even after
Josh had rejoined us, but when the program ended we got up and headed
outside.  Before long, the three of us were frolicking together in the pool.

Josh seemed to be enjoying himself and Jared got over his bout of jealousy after
a brief time.  After horsing around for a while, we decided try our hand at
volleyball next, with me playing against the two of them, but we didn't keep score.
This was just for fun and I think we all had a good time doing it.

It was fairly obvious that Josh wasn't quite as open and outgoing as his brother,
but that might be due to the fact that he was dealing with some feelings of
jealousy.  I suspected that since he realized his brother had been coming down
to visit nearly every day, he probably also assumed that Jared had been
swimming with me on most of those occasions, so he might be slightly envious
that he'd been left out.  Sensing this, I immediately pointed out that the pool had
needed a lot of work done on it first, before we could us it, so we'd only just
recently been able to start swimming.  This seemed to make Josh feel slightly
better about the situation, but it also made me realize that I needed to be very
careful not to show any favoritism toward Jared.  I didn't want to give Josh any
more fuel to ignite his jealousy to an even greater degree, if I didn't want to risk
the chance that he might end up complaining to his mother about it.

Even though I got out of the pool after a while, I let the boys continue to frolic
around in the water until it approached their bedtime and then I made them go
inside, so they could change and get ready to go home.  I went upstairs to
change at the same time and handed each of them a towel to dry off with and
then I sent Josh into the bathroom.  Jared followed me into my room, but I
suggested it would be best if he used the guest room to change.  He wasn't
happy with my suggestion and began to argue with me about it as he retrieved
his clothes, but I told him it would be best if Josh didn't discover he'd be getting
naked with me.  Finally, he gave in and did as I asked.

Once we were all dressed, both boys thanked me for allowing them to swim in
my pool and I told them they were welcome.  Then we headed downstairs and
they headed home for the evening.  I watched as they pedaled their bikes up the
road, without saying much to one another, and once they disappeared from sight,
I went back inside and sat down at the computer.  If I was lucky, I'd be able to
finish the chapter I was currently working on, so tomorrow I could go over the
chapters I had worked on today.

Surprisingly, everything seemed to come together nicely, so I managed to finish
writing the third chapter fairly easily.  Since I didn't want to begin the next chapter
and end up working late, I turned off the computer and headed upstairs to bed.  I
was feeling really good about everything I had accomplished and felt I should be
able to proofread and touch up those two chapters the following day.  In fact, I
was in such a good mood that I fell asleep quite quickly and had one of the best
night's sleep that I'd enjoyed in a very long time.

When I woke up the following morning, I was feeling great and raring to go.  After
fixing myself a generous breakfast, I sat down at the computer and began to
work.  Since Jared wasn't coming down until 11:00 again, I had time to write and
was able to polish up the two chapters I'd finished the previous day.  Once I was
satisfied with them, I emailed those chapters to my agent and then begun work
on the next one.  I was totally engrossed in what I was doing and spent the next
couple of hours working on it, but then the phone suddenly rang and broke my
concentration.

"Hello," I answered, thinking it might be Jared calling.

"Bob, it's Dick," I heard my agent's familiar voice instead.  "I know this is short
notice, but I need you to come to New York on Monday.  Will that be a problem?"

"What the hell for?" I asked, since I had no idea what this was about.

"Since your new story follows the main character until he is much older, your
current publisher doesn't feel it fits the young adult category and isn't interested
in publishing it," he answered.  "Therefore, I've pitched it to some other
publishing houses and sent them copies of the story outline and the chapters
you'd sent me so far, and there are two different companies that have expressed
an interested in picking it up.  The editors would like for you to come in and meet
with them next week, to discuss your proposal in more detail.  If you're
agreeable, I'll schedule one meeting for Monday morning and the other for
Monday afternoon.  If either of them likes what he hears, I suspect they'll be
willing to have you sign a contract before you return home.  So will you be able to
come?"

"Aren't you taking a chance of offending them, by pitting two publishing houses
against each other, by pitching them at the same time?" I asked, slightly
concerned.

"Possibly, but since you have to make a special trip to do this, I want to ensure
it's worth your time and effort," he explained.  "If the first editor makes an offer,
we'll get the exact figures and then tell him we'll discuss it and get back to him
the following afternoon.  That way, we'll be able to see what the other editor has
to say and see if she makes a better offer.  You should be able to make up your
mind by Tuesday morning and then get back to them.  Then, the winning house
can have a contract drawn up for you to sign by Tuesday afternoon and you can
return home anytime after that.  So what do you say?  Will you be able to come?"

"Sure, I suppose I can arrange it, especially if it means a book deal," I replied.
"I'll fly out on Sunday afternoon, so would you make hotel reservations for me?"

"No need to," he replied.  "I've already talked this over with my wife and we'd like
to have you stay here with us, at our home on Long Island."

"I don't want to impose," I countered.

"No imposition at all," he answered.  "The girls are away at camp this week and
next, so they won't be back until the following weekend.  This way we'll be able to
spend some time together and it will give my wife and I an opportunity to
entertain you, since you are a major contributor to our family's income."

"Well, since you put it so nicely, I'd be happy to accept your gracious offer.  I'll
make my travel arrangements and then call you back to let you know what time
I'll be arriving," I confirmed, before ending the call.

I immediately went online and began to search for the most convenient flight, and
a short time later, Jared showed up.  He must have thought I was working on the
story, so he just said 'hi' and went into the living room, so he wouldn't interrupt.
Once I'd finished making my reservation, I got up and went in to join him, so I
could explain this situation to his satisfaction.

"I saw you were busy and didn't want to bug you," Jared explained, after he'd
turned away from the TV.

"I appreciate that, but I have something to tell you," I answered.

This comment seemed to pique Jared's curiosity and he studied my face for a
second, as he wondered what I was going to tell him.

"I received a call from my agent a little while ago and he told me that I needed to
come to New York City for a few days," I explained.

"Dad, why do you have to go there?" Jared wanted to know, and I could tell he
was slightly upset that I'd be leaving for a while.

"He's arranged for me to meet with a couple of different publishing houses about
another book deal," I told him.  "I'll be leaving on Sunday and probably won't be
back until Wednesday."

"Darn, you mean I won't be able to see you for that many days!" he exclaimed.

"Unfortunately, that's true," I replied.

"But why can't you do it in just one day?" he followed.  "Why do you have to be
gone for so long?"

"Jared, these things take time and I'm surprised that I don't have to be there for
the entire week," I responded.  "My editor was thoughtful enough to arrange for it
all to happen over just a few days, so you should be happy."

"Ok, I am then, as long as you won't have to be gone for longer than that," he
agreed.  "Will you be able to spend any time with me today or tomorrow then?"

"I'll need some time to get my things ready, pack my suitcase and such, but I
should still be able to spend some time with you," I confirmed.  "I may have to
stop and do different things from time to time, and I'll need to concentrate on my
writing so I'll be ready for this meeting, but I'll try to give you as much time as I
can."

"Thanks, and I'll try to give you some space too, Dad," Jared promised, as his
way of making this a little easier for me.  "Do you need time now or can we swim
for a while?"

"Why don't we take a quick dip and then I'll fix us some lunch," I suggested.
"After we've eaten, I'll use some of that time to check and see what I want to take
with me and then I'll know whether I need to do any laundry or run to the store for
anything.  I think my suits and dress shirts are okay, but I may need to launder
some socks, underwear and casual clothes to take with me."

"Are you staying at a hotel?" Jared asked next.

"No, I'm going to be staying with my agent and his wife," I answered.  "He told me
they'd love to have me spend the time with them, which means we'll probably be
going out in the evening as well."

"So you won't be able to call me either?" Jared followed.

"Jared, I'll only be gone for a few days," I replied.  "Besides, how would I explain
to my agent that I needed to call home, so I can speak with the neighbor boy?
Not only that, but what would your mother think if I called you during my trip?
She might not be home at the time, but Josh could always mention it to her after
she got home from work and I think that would make her wonder what else might
be going on between us.  I think she would definitely be curious as to why I
couldn't go away for a few days without thinking I had to call so I could speak
with you."

"But Dads call home when they go on trips," Jared countered.

"That's very true, but I'm technically not your dad and your mother doesn't know
about you calling me that," I pointed out.  "I'm convinced we might arouse her
suspicions if I phoned you and I'm also not sure how I'd even attempt to explain it
to my agent and his wife."

"Ok, but promise you'll think of me every night when you go to bed, cuz I'll be
thinking of you too," he offered.

"I can definitely do that, because I know you won't be far from my thoughts, no
matter what I'm doing," I replied.

Hearing me say this brought a smile to Jared's face, as we headed up the stairs
to change into our swimsuits.  I wasn't surprised when he grabbed his and
brought it in to my bedroom to change, since this has been one of his little
exhibitionist stunts that I've allowed, but he also uses it to get an eyeful of my
package as well.  As long as he doesn't try to push this to the next level and
attempt any physical contact, I've granted him this one brief opportunity, as well
as when we changed again after we'd finished up for the day, as long as his
brother isn't also with us.

We swam for a while and batted the beach ball around, instead of the volleyball,
but mostly Jared just wanted us to spend some time together.  He even hinted at
going with me on this trip, but I quickly explained that it was business trip and
we'd have a tough time justifying doing something like that to both my agent and
his mother.  In addition to that, it would also make Josh feel badly that he couldn't
go along too, so in the end Jared put the idea out of his head.

When we got out of the pool, I fixed us a quick lunch and then went upstairs, so I
could begin to lay out what I was going to take with me on the trip and determine
what else I would still have to do in order to get ready.  Before long, I had a pile
of dirty clothes that I'd definitely need to take care of before I left, because I
wanted to take many of those items with me, but I was also making a list of the
things I would need to pick up at the store, which were mostly personal grooming
items for my travel kit.  Jared watched everything I did and would occasionally
talk to me as I worked, but he also carried the laundry basket downstairs and put
it in the laundry room

Before we went back out to the pool again, I tossed a load into the washing
machine and planned to let it run while we were outside.  After spending some
time in the pool together, I hopped out of the water for a few minutes, so I could
move the clothes to the dryer.  I also placed a second load in the washing
machine, before I went back to the pool to spend a little more time with Jared.

When it was time for him to go home for dinner and we went inside to change, he
asked if it would be all right if he came back again later and I told him it would be
fine.  He then agreed to stay home Saturday morning, to give me a chance to do
some more writing, so I thanked him for his understanding and cooperation.  This
would allow me the opportunity to better prepare for the meetings I was going to
have with the editors.

After dinner, Josh came down with Jared.  When we went upstairs to change,
Josh headed into the bathroom again, but Jared followed me into my room.  I
didn't think anything about it at the time, since I was thinking about the trip and
Jared and I had dressed together in my room earlier, but Josh definitely noticed
that his brother had followed me.  Before he shut the door to the bathroom, Josh
was able to observe Jared stripping out of his clothes and putting on his Speedo,
right in front of me, and then Josh quickly closed the door to the bathroom and
considered what he'd just seen, as he also began to change.

Once we were all in the pool, we played volleyball for a while, before I left them
on their own, so I could go into the house and write some more.  Before long, I
finish work on Chapter 4 and started on Chapter 5.  I hoped that maybe I'd be
able to finish these two chapters in time to take with me, when I went to New
York.  I felt that the more chapters I had to show prospective new publishers, the
better my position would be to convince them that this story was worth taking a
gamble on it.  It would also give me some additional leverage for when I
attempted to negotiate an advantageous deal.

When the boys got tired of spending time in the water, they came inside and we
went upstairs to change.  Josh went into the bathroom again, but he watched as
Jared tagged along behind me and came into my room again, before he closed
the door.  Just before Jared and I finished changing, it suddenly dawned on me
what we had done, but I didn't say anything about it.  Why should I, since it was
already too late?  I merely began to wonder if his brother had caught on to this
fact as well, and if so, how he was going to react to it.

When we went downstairs again, the boys agreed to watch television until it was
time for them to leave, so I could continue working on my story.  Although they
could have gone home and done the same thing, I think they preferred not to be
alone, even though I was currently doing something else and not in with them.
They each thanked me and gave me a hug before they left, and then Jared told
me that he'd see me just before lunchtime tomorrow.  I told him that would be
fine and then watched as they pedaled up the road, before I went back inside
and returned to my writing.

I actually finished a very rough draft of Chapter 5 before I quit for the night, so I
figured I could polish it up a little more in the morning and then hopefully put the
finishing touches on it Sunday morning, before I left to catch my flight.  Seeing
that was taken care of, I went upstairs, performed my nightly ritual and crawled
into bed.  I had a lot of different thoughts running around in my brain, so it took
me a little while to fall asleep, but then I slept very soundly for the rest of the
night.

Saturday morning, I started going over what I had written on Chapter 5 and
added quite a few more details and descriptions, as it started to come together.  I
was still working on it when the doorbell rang, which let me know that I had
forgotten to unlock the door when I came downstairs earlier.  When I opened it, I
was surprised to see Jared and Josh standing there, smiling up at me.

"Did we give you enough time to work?" Jared asked, as he came through the
door.

"Yes, I think I've finished enough so we can spend some time together," I
responded.

"Good, then let's go swimming!" he exclaimed.

I walked upstairs with the boys, and as we started down the hallway, I saw Josh
go into the bathroom again, but this time it was only so he could grab his
swimsuit.  He then rushed back into the hallway and followed Jared and me into
my room.  When I turned around and saw him, I questioned what he was doing,
and that's when he mentioned that he had seen Jared change in here with me
the previous day, before announcing that he had decided to change in my room
too.  Needless to say, I was surprised and confused by this, and Jared was too,
especially since he had told me about how shy his brother was.  After
considering this briefly, I concluded that as long as it was Josh's idea and he was
fine with doing it, then I wasn't about to object.  I certainly didn't want him to think
that I didn't want him in here with us or that there was anything wrong with what
we were doing.

Once we were all in my room, we began to strip down, but I noticed that Josh
had turned his back toward us when he did this.  This told me that he just wanted
to be in the same room as Jared and me, while at the same time being able to
retain his modesty.  What he didn't realize was that the mirror on my dresser,
which he was inadvertently facing, gave me a splendid view of everything he
had, even if he was trying very hard not to show it off.

I coyly enjoyed this unintended and impromptu show, without him realizing I was
able to see him in all of his glory.  As I'd assumed, Josh had a typical little boy
dick, which was maybe an inch to an inch-and-a-half in length, and he was also
circumcised, like his brother.  I also noticed that he was a long way from
beginning puberty and the only hair to be seen on his body was on the top of his
head, which proved he was just a typical ten-year old boy, in every sense of the
word.

I will admit that Josh is cute, although not breathtakingly stunning as I find Jared,
because the extra weight he's carrying detracts slightly from his more attractive
qualities.  If he were to lose those extra pounds and slim down, so that he was
built more like Jared, then I think he would turn more than a few heads as well.
He'll probably develop quite nicely as he gets older, but right now he's just a little
boy who's awaiting his trek through puberty.

Once we were all in our swimsuits, we made our way downstairs and headed out
to the pool.  We had quite a good time over the next hour or so and did many
different things together.  The boys wanted to play volleyball first, so I expected
they were going to team up against me, but instead they asked if they could just
play each other.  Happily, I allowed them to do this and moved off to the side to
watch, but neither of them was having a great deal of success, since they had to
cover the entire area by themselves and it was more than they could handle.
Eventually, they asked me to play against them and they seemed to enjoy doing
this a lot more.

When we finally got out of the pool, we went back upstairs to change and both
boys followed me into my bedroom again.  Josh started to take down his trunks
while facing us, but then suddenly realized what he was doing and quickly turned
in the other direction.  After toweling off his body, he slipped again and turned
back toward us, when he went to retrieve his underwear.  Without thinking, he
completely forgot to cover up and gave us the full Monty, so I pretended that I
hadn't noticed his error, to make him feel better about what he'd just done.  It
didn't seem to help though, because once he realized that he had messed up
again, he grabbed his towel and held it in front of his genitals until he managed to
pull up his underwear.  He was beet red by the time he'd finished and finally
dropped his towel on the floor, so both Jared and I pretended that we hadn't
noticed a thing.

Once we had all put on our clothes, we went downstairs and had a drink
together, while the boys talked about the various things we'd done.  I was glad to
see that they'd enjoyed themselves and that Josh felt at ease doing things with
us, because I didn't want there to be any hard feelings.  When it was time for
them to go home to eat, I sent them on their way and watched as they made their
way up the road.  Then, I went inside to fix my dinner.

After I'd finished eating, I had some time to work on the story again, so I was
ready to take a break when Jared and Josh came back a short time later.  They
said they were tired out and just wanted to watch the next Harry Potter movie,
'The Chamber of Secrets' instead, so I agreed and sat down with them on the
sofa.

As always, Jared leaned against me as soon as the movie started, and to my
total surprise, Josh did the same thing about twenty minutes later.  When that
happened, I lifted both of my arms and wrapped one around each of their
shoulders, as we enjoyed the action on the screen.  I guess Josh was beginning
to feel more comfortable with me as each day passed, which I felt was a very
good sign.

When it was time for the boys to go home, Jared let Josh go outside first, so he
could give me an energetic hug and a quick kiss, before telling me to be careful
on the trip.  After I assured him I would, he went outside and joined his brother,
so they could return home.  As they started out, I suddenly realized that Josh
didn't have a headlight or any reflectors on his bike, so I told him to be careful
and follow behind his brother.  Then, I watched until I saw that they had safely
arrived home, before I went back inside.

It took me a while to fall asleep that night, but it wasn't because I was excited.
Instead, it was due to the fact that I was going over the trip preparations in my
head and trying to make certain that I would have everything I needed and
wouldn't be leaving anything important behind.  Once I was convinced all of the
details had been taken care of, I finally dosed off.

When I awoke Sunday morning, I hurriedly showered, got dressed and fixed a
hasty breakfast, before I sat down to double-check Chapters 4 and 5, as well as
the cumulative chapter synopses.  Once I was satisfied with each of those items,
I copied everything onto a flash-drive and put it in my pocket, before I loaded my
suitcase into the Tahoe and set out for the airport.

Even though I'd heard many horror stories about the T.S.A., I didn't find the
process too bad and got through it fairly quickly.  The flight was pretty uneventful,
but I did spot one particularly cute boy flying with his parents.  They were seated
across the aisle from me, so I had a chance to observe him on the sly, as I
mentally undressed him and envisioned us doing things with each other.  Doing
this made the flight go by quite quickly, so before I knew it, we were making our
final descent toward the landing strip.

After the plane had come to a complete stop, I followed the boy and his parents
off the plane, so I could visually inspect him one final time.  I was hoping he
might have to use the restroom, so I could follow him in, but that didn't happen,
so I merely colleted my luggage and made my way toward the exit.  Almost
immediately, I spotted my agent and noted that he had a huge grin on his face,
which I interpreted to mean that he was already mentally depositing his share of
the royalty check that he assumed I'd be receiving shortly.  To be fair to him, he
was also a good friend, so I chased that thought from my mind and assumed he
was just glad to see me.  I greeted him warmly and then followed him out to his
car.

He drove us directly to his place and we went inside, where we were greeted by
his wife, Molly.  Since I'd met her on previous occasions, there was no need for
introductions, so after saying hello and kissing each other on the cheek, we
began to discuss what we'd each been up to since we'd last been together.
Once we'd finished doing that, Molly asked me about my new story, because
Dick had mentioned a little bit about it to her, but only enough to whet her
interest.  Now, she wanted me to fill her in about it and give her the details,
because she said what she'd heard so far had sounded very interesting, so I
thanked her for the compliment and filled her in about some of the ideas I had
planned to include.

We spent the rest of the day together and they took me out for dinner later,
before going to another establishment where we met up with a few of their
friends for drinks.  After they introduced me to everyone, we spent the rest of the
evening talking about a variety of topics, as well as listening to a fairly talented
pianist/singer who had been hired by the owner of this lounge to entertain his
patrons.  When we finally returned to their place, I decided to turn in a short time
later, because I was fairly exhausted due to the travel and drinks, as well as from
a bout with mental fatigue.  In fact, I slept so well that I didn't even hear my cell
phone alarm go off the next morning, so Dick had to come in to the room to wake
me.

"Come on, Bob.  You've got to start getting ready," he urged.  "Your meeting isn't
until 10:00, but you'll still need to get going if you intend to shower, get dressed
and be able to eat before we leave.  You may not realize it, but it's going to take
us a little over an hour travel time just to get to the first interview."

After hearing him say this, I immediately hopped out of bed and started my
preparations.  I took a very short shower first and then finished my other
ministrations quickly, before I got dressed and went downstairs, where Molly had
breakfast waiting for me.  After hurriedly downing it, along with a cup of very
strong coffee, I thanked Molly for the meal, before Dick and I started on our way.

Dick spent the entire trip telling me about the particular publishing house we were
going to first, as well as sharing information about the editor I was going to meet
with.  He wanted to make certain that I knew this background information before
the meeting, so I'd be familiar with whom I was dealing.  This knowledge would
provide me with the best chance of convincing this guy to get his company to
take a chance on my story, so we'd all make some money.

Once we got to the meeting, I sat down with the editor, but it didn't take long for
me to realize that this guy was only interested in the story, IF I was willing to
publish all my future stories with his firm as well.  This meant I'd have to drop my
current publisher and editor, with whom I had a very good relationship and who
had given me my first break in the business.  They had always been more than
fair in their dealings with me, as well as being extremely helpful in providing me
with all of the support I needed.  I was pleased with everything they had done on
my behalf and didn't want to change horses in mid-stream.

That wasn't the only thing that upset me, however.  When discussing what this
new firm was willing to pay for the rights to my story, it was a flat, one-time fee,
such as they'd give to a first-time author.  They were totally unwilling to negotiate
any additional remuneration, in the event the book was a huge success and
sales went off the charts.  Since my current publisher always included this
particular incentive in my contracts, I didn't feel this situation was in my best
interest or an appropriate option, so I thanked him, told him in no uncertain terms
that I wasn't interested and we left.

"What in the hell were you doing in there?" Dick asked, once we were out of the
building.  "You've basically assured yourself that they won't publish your book."

"They were asking too much and offering too little in return," I replied.  "I wasn't
about to give up the relationship I have with my current publisher and all of the
benefits I enjoy with them just to publish one more story."

Dick wasn't totally in agreement with my decision, because he thought we'd be
able to get them to negotiate some of those issues later, but I disagreed with his
optimistic outlook.  I didn't think the guy was about to negotiate and wasn't going
to offer more than table scraps.  With any luck, the next situation won't turn out to
be so adversarial and we'll be able to strike a deal.

Dick took me out to lunch after we left there, and while we ate, he filled me in
about the next editor and the company that she worked for.  Unfortunately, Dick
didn't seem to have a great deal of personal knowledge about this next editor
and merely relayed information he had gleaned from his colleagues and other
authors he was familiar with.  Regardless of his lack of direct interaction with this
editor, I felt the opportunity had little chance of ending up as badly as the
previous meeting.

Once we were led to the conference room at the next location, the editor
introduced herself and then did something I totally hadn't expected.  Instead of
discussing my new story, she began by telling me that she and her children had
read all of my other stories and loved my work.  She then went on to say that
when she discovered that she might have a chance to play a role in publishing
another of my stories, she couldn't resist the opportunity.  When she finished
telling me all of this, we then got down to business.

She didn't have the same expectations as the previous editor and admitted that I
had a great situation with my current publisher, which she didn't wish to interfere
with.  She did, however, tell me that she had read the chapters and synopses
Dick had sent her previously and was extremely interested in becoming part of
this project.  She had some suggestions for me, as to how I might improve on
what she'd read so far, so we began discussing my expanded ideas, as well as
the suggestions she had for future chapters.

By the time we'd finished, I was very impressed with her input and felt she had
made a very generous offer, including additional financial incentives if this book
sold more copies that the company planned for the first run.  She also said that
she'd be interested in working with me on any future stories that my current
publishing house felt went beyond the scope of their readership, which opened
up even more possibilities.  Although I was extremely impressed and ready to
give her an answer, I resisted the urge and told her I'd think over her offer and
discuss it with my agent.  I then advised her that I'd be back in touch with her the
following day, to let her know what I'd decided.  She thanked me for considering
to utilize her services, and then Dick and I left.

"Damn, that went a lot better than I'd expected," Dick stated, once we were
outside.

"And she treated us like professionals and not merely as her chance to cash in
on my work, unlike the other guy," I retorted.  "Not only was I impressed with her
professionalism and that she was extremely well versed on my other stories, she
also offered an extremely reasonable financial package, which I intend to take.  I
would have told her that right then and there, but you've taught me to let them
stew for a bit first, before I give them the good news."

"Then we have something to celebrate this evening," Dick announced, with a
huge grin.  "Molly and I will take you out to wine and dine you, because it's the
least we can do for coming up with another fantastic story, which will increase
both of our bank accounts.

I went out with Dick and his wife later and we had a marvelous time.  Not only did
he pay for the food, but he also ordered a bottle of champagne to go along with
our delicious meals, so we could toast my success.  All in all, the evening was
filled with wonderful conversation and many rounds of congratulations, as we
enjoyed our current success.

During the course of this little celebration, I found that my mind kept wandering to
the source of my inspiration for this story and I couldn't wait to tell Jared the good
news.  After taking care of business in the morning, I'd be able to leave that
afternoon and fly back home, so it was possible that I might see him tomorrow
evening, or Wednesday at the very latest.  Can you believe that even in the midst
of this celebration, my mind was filled with thoughts of him?



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