Date: Sun, 02 Jan 2005 04:07:35 -0800
From: fritz@nehalemtel.net
Subject: I Love Corey, Chapter Thirty-nine

	Hello there.  I know you were just sitting around waiting for the
most anticipated warning and disclosure in history.  I'm sorry to
disappoint you but the following one isn't that one.  It's just the usual
loathsome one I manage to concoct.  Perhaps someday I'll do better.
	Moving right along, I'm now at the point when I have to tell all
you juveniles to leave before you get in trouble.  Sad to say that there
are those who feel you juveniles don't have the right or intelligence to
make wise decisions regarding what you read.  I will have to admit that
when it comes to this story, they are probably correct.  Were I a better
writer, there might be room for an argument about that but...
	The next thing on the agenda is that if you find the descriptions
of sex acts between gay males offensive, leave before you encounter them.
I'll put some of those in this chapter if I get around to it.  Then, if you
read them you would be offended and it's not my intention to offend you.
Besides, if I wanted to offend you I could probably think of an easier way
to do that than writing this story.
	I sincerely hope you don't live in one of those areas of the world
that prohibit the reading of stories like this because if you do, I must
ask you to leave.  Perhaps if everyone moved away from such areas the tax
base would become so low that the laws would be changed because they could
no longer afford to enforce such stupid laws.  Otherwise I see little
chance of changing the law in an area clearly controlled by bigots.
	This story is a product of my twisted mind.  All characters are
fictional and so is the story.  If you find something that you feel
resembles something you know of or someone you know, it is purely
coincidental.  In fact, if the truth were known, it's too much work to
research any real happenings enough to make a story out of it.  It's much
easier to just sit here and let my imagination run free.  That ought to
give you nightmares.  Who knows what evil lurks in the recesses of my mind.
Even the Shadow doesn't know.

* Sorry about cribbing part of that line but it was just too good to
resist.

	I guess I'll have to claim ownership of this story as no one else
has stepped forward to do so.  Therefore, do me the courtesy of not posting
it on another site without my permission or using quotes from it without
attributing such quotes to me.  Otherwise, feel free to read it for your
own enjoyment, if possible.
	On a more serious note, my thanks to Ernie for his editing.  He is
a true and patient friend and my life is richer for the emails and thoughts
we've shared.  If you have such a friend, drop him a note and tell him.  It
is my privilege to do so for Ernie in a more public forum.  His help and
encouragement has been invaluable and I'd like for all of you to know that.
	Feel free to email with comments, suggestions, questions, or
complaints.  I try to answer all such emails promptly.  Be sure to put I
Love Corey in the subject line of your email so I don't accidentally delete
it.  Send any such emails to fritz@nehalemtel.net The more details you send
in your email, the more I'll have to work with in my reply.  I've had my
replies run a couple of pages long.  Don't be afraid, I don't bite.  HeHe
Anyhow, I hope you enjoy the following chapter in the saga of Corey.  Fritz

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

		     I Love Corey, Chapter Thirty-nine

	Sometime during the night Corey had rolled off of me.  It had to
have been fairly soon after we went to sleep or we would have been stuck
together.  As it was, only some flakes of dried cum stuck to us and the
messy sheets gave evidence of our nocturnal fun.  Well, I suppose you might
consider the grins on our faces as evidence but it is possible we were
grinning for another reason, just not likely that early in the morning.  I
got the coffee pot plugged in while Corey adjusted the temperature of the
water in the shower.  It wasn't long before we were clean and dressed for
the day.
	JJ and LT did their usual morning bitching about the breakfast but
I've noticed that they eat their share of the hot cereal I fix and my offer
to let them fix anything they would like seems to fall on deaf ears.
Anymore it had turned into a half-hearted kind of ritual bitch.  They
didn't even roll their eyes up, they just grumbled some and we all ignored
it.  They needed something to complain about and the breakfast was an easy
target.  I headed for school while the boys were putting the dirty dishes
in the dishwasher.
	I inquired if anyone knew anything about the situation of Larry
Gillium and Billy Mason at the morning meeting.  I didn't learn much except
that both their mothers were having a hard time making ends meet.  Both
were working long hours to try to keep their respective families together.
Larry's mother worked at the mall and she worked the evening shift because
the commissions were better on that shift.  Billy's mother worked as a
nurse and worked swing shift for the pay differential.  It was clear I
needed to look into this a little more.
	The kids were about like yesterday.  They wouldn't really pay
attention but hopefully I managed to pound some of the lesson into their
heads.  I couldn't really blame them, I was looking forward to visiting
Uncle Matt and my mind wasn't really on how to teach mathematics.  Maybe
I'd be more energized and they'd be more receptive after the Thanksgiving
break.
	During my free period I called Mr. Marten, the high school
principal.  He didn't add much to my knowledge about Billy and Larry but
said he'd check around for me.  Terry came up in the conversation but there
was nothing new to report on that situation and we were left wondering what
had gone wrong with him.  He'd never seemed that way before.
	During lunch a couple of boys stopped in and asked if they could
come over after school and play basketball with the boys.  I just laughed
and told them the more, the merrier.  Finally the day was over and we
headed home.
	I started my jog and the boys were warming up in the driveway.  By
the time I made my fourth lap there must have been ten or eleven kids
playing basketball.  A couple gave me a wave as I went past but most were
concentrating on the game and didn't even notice me.
	When I finished my last lap and got back to the house, the driveway
was empty.  I wondered if there had been a fight or something but when I
opened the door I found the kitchen full of boys.  The chips and sodas were
disappearing at an alarming rate.  I just gave a wave and yelled hi as I
headed for the shower.  I'd just stepped out and was starting to dry myself
when Corey, dragging Tom Kesterson, burst in.  Tom had tripped and skinned
his elbow and Corey was looking for the first aid supplies.  So there I
was, naked as a jay-bird, applying peroxide and some of that spray-on
bandage stuff.  Nobody seemed to think anything of it and soon they headed
back to play ball.  I finished drying myself off and got dressed.
        There weren't many papers to grade and it didn't take long.  I
could hear all the boys shouting and having a good time playing basketball.
I made a note to buy a bunch of elbow and knee pads and looked over the
fridge to see what was left.  There was still a big bowl of potato salad
and I had a package of hamburger patties in the freezer.  There were also
lots of buns so that sounded like we could make a meal out of it.
	I broke the game up long enough to invite everyone to stay for
dinner and have hamburgers and potato salad, telling them to get permission
from their parents.  A couple of boys headed for the phone and I went and
started the barbeque.  It was big enough to get about twelve patties on at
one time.
	Billy and Larry seemed sort of sad.  When I asked them what the
problem was they told me that their mothers worked and they weren't
supposed to bother them at work unless it was an emergency.  I laughed and
told them not to worry about it, to ask them later if it was alright to eat
with the boys and me.  For tonight we wouldn't worry about getting
permission.  They brightened up like a couple of freshly polished pennies.
	I ended up with seven boys altogether.  It took two rounds to cook
enough patties to fill them up.  Something over a gallon of milk, the rest
of the chips, and all of the potato salad also disappeared.  The ten pound
package of two to the pound patties was also pretty well gone.  I needed to
tell Mr. Downie to make me up a couple more packages of them.  They were
really good, he made them with ground round and eight ounce patties really
filled those big buns up.  They made excellent hamburgers.
	I told the boys they were welcome to stay but that mine had to do
their homework.  Fred snickered and told me no one had any, the teachers
hadn't assigned any.  I thought about it and realized I hadn't assigned any
either because I knew it was a wasted effort.  Part of the classes wouldn't
be able to turn it in owing to the short day tomorrow and why should the
morning classes have to do something extra.
	Fred, and his friend Trevor, headed home and I was now down to five
boys underfoot.  Larry and Billy and my three were goofing around and
making wise cracks at each other.  I finally chased mine off to get ready
for the trip.  Of course that produced some clothes they just had to be
washed.  I just pointed towards the washer and dryer and grinned at them.
I got the usual sighs and eyes rolled up but no real grumbling.  As they
headed for the washer I could hear Billy telling LT that LT was lucky, he
had to do all the laundry because his mother worked so many hours.  I
turned back to fixing my share of the Thanksgiving dinner.
	Since it was a four hour drive there were a lot of things I
couldn't fix.  I'd already fixed some pickled beets and marinated carrots.
Tonight I was going to boil some eggs so I could fix deviled eggs and I was
also going to make two pecan pies.  I also made extra crusts so I could
make a couple of mincemeat pies on Thanksgiving morning.  If I made the
mincemeat pies tonight, the crust would get soggy.  The rest of the dinner
we would have to cook at Uncle Matt and Aunt Sandy's house.  Aunt Sandy had
assured me she had a big enough turkey that even the boys couldn't eat it
all.  I still wasn't convinced of that, we'd just have to see.
	Billy and Larry left just before nine.  Larry said his mother got
home a little after nine and he needed to be home.  I told them to feel
free to stop over anytime.
	Shortly after nine, Mrs. Gillium called to thank me for feeding her
son.  I laughed and told her it was my pleasure, that he'd made my boys
feel better in that they could have friends over and enjoy themselves.  We
ended up talking for about a half hour.  She seemed like a real nice lady
and the end result was that Larry and his friend Billy were welcome to join
us for dinner anytime they wanted to.  I was just happy that the boys were
starting to feel like this was their home and they could have friends over.
Corey had been so out of touch with his classmates that having JJ and LT
here was showing him how to be a normal boy.  If the sparkle that was in
his eyes kept up, they could have the whole school over for all I cared.
Well, maybe I better rethink that a little.  Maybe just part of the school.
After all, there were around twelve hundred kids in the school district and
I wouldn't be able to cook for all of them.  My kitchen wasn't big enough.
	By the time we went to bed, all the food was in the cooler with
several of those ice packs and the cooler was in the Gator.  The suitcases
were mostly packed and just waiting for our toothbrushes and things like
that.  I was about as ready as I could get.
	Like I said earlier, I don't know why anyone bothered to have
classes for the half of a day before the holiday.  It was like trying to
teach a rock to jump.  No one paid any attention to me and I know that none
of what I tried to pound into their pointy little heads made it there.  I
just gave up and tried to teach them how important math was.  After all,
how else could they figure out how much food to cook?  That got their
attention.  Soon they were busy trying to figure out how big a turkey would
be needed for a dinner for various sized parties.  Then they had to figure
out how many potatoes to cook and other things.  At least they reviewed
some of what they had learned and it kept them busy.
	The cafeteria cooks always worked their asses off for Thanksgiving.
The meal would stand up well to most middle class restaurants.  A tradition
at the school was that the principal always gave thanks for our blessings.
It was strictly non-religious.  There was no mention of any God, only that
we were lucky to live in such a great country and to have so many friends
and that sort of thing.  His goal was to remind us of all the good things
we had.  When Jerry finished I could see several of the students cross
themselves and I heard several soft Amens.  It was also a tradition that
all the parents were invited to share the meal and each year there was a
substantial number that did.  They had to pay more than the students did
but it was still a good deal.  The teachers were expected to help act as
hosts to the parents and I always enjoyed that part of the celebration.  I
got to talk with some parents I already knew and often got to meet some new
ones.  It always worked better than anyone would think and I believe it was
one of the reasons we had a lot of support in the community.  It was just a
shame all parents couldn't attend.  Jerry had always stressed that we were
there to serve the community and so far it seemed to work.  We had better
luck getting our levies passed than a lot of districts.  Over the few years
I'd been here I'd heard several parents say what a change he had made in
how the people in our area felt about the school district.
	It was just after one when we finally left.  I cut cross country to
hit Interstate 5 and soon we were headed north to Medford.  The boys were
all in the back so they could watch some corny sounding movie they had
picked out.  I'm sure the bad guys all took turns waiting to be beat up by
the hero.  Shortly after I hit 5 it started to rain but the forecast hadn't
called for any snow in the Siskiyou's.
	We got to Uncle Matt's place at just after five.  Kevin and Kristen
met us at the door.  Kevin was eight and Kristen six and they were full of
energy.  I scooped them up and packed them inside.  The boys followed
somewhat apprehensively.  This was all new to them since they didn't know
any of my family.  It wasn't long before Kevin and Kristen were climbing
all over the boys and there was a bunch of giggling coming from all of
them.  I barely got a chance to introduce the boys to Uncle Matt and Aunt
Sandy.
	Uncle Matt and I got the Gator unloaded while the boys entertained
Kevin and Kristen.  The little ones dragged the boys off to the Playstation
and soon we could hear the sounds of Crash Bandicoot coming from that area.
God it was nice not to have to play that game.  Let the boys fill in for
me.
	We finally went to dinner.  We always went to a restaurant the
night before Thanksgiving.  That way nothing got in the way of the
preparations for the big dinner.  When we got back we would prepare the
stuffing.  Aunt Sandy had a bunch of stuff ready and I told her we could
always make the boys help.  She snickered over that but I was serious.  She
said if they would just keep the kids out of our hair that would be enough
and more than we should expect.  We went to Applebee's over on Biddle Road
and that seemed to satisfy everyone.  Kevin and Kristen had the Chicken
Fingers, my boys the Buttermilk Shrimp and the rest of us all seemed to
settle on the Maderia Steak Tips.  You know how it is, one person finally
makes up his mind and everyone else decides that sounds good.  It was.  The
boys ended up sharing their shrimp with the little ones and then finished
the Chicken Fingers so they were full and the rest of us had all we could
eat with the steak tips.  I was amazed at how good the boys were with Kevin
and Kristen.  They kept them occupied and happy and that left the adults a
chance to visit a little.
	When we got home, the little ones soon had the boys at the
Playstation again.  Sandy and I started toasting the bread for the stuffing
and cutting it up.  She started browning the sausage while I chopped the
celery and onions and soon was sautéing them.  By the time that was done I
had the water chestnuts diced and the mushrooms chopped.  She sautéed the
mushrooms and we dumped everything together.  We'd peel the apples
tomorrow.
	By now it was time for Kristen and Kevin to go to bed.  Sandy sent
them to take their baths and soon they were back, wearing their pajamas.
It was my job to put them to bed.  Don't ask me why or how that had gotten
started but for the last three years I'd had to tuck them in and read to
them.  Tonight I cheated.  Kristen and Corey had gotten along well so after
tucking Kristen in and giving her a kiss, I left Corey reading to her.
	That worked so well I gave Kevin a quick tickle attack before I
tucked him in and left JJ and LT reading part of a Harry Potter book to
him.  I would have thought Harry Potter was a little advanced for him but
he was eating it up when I left.
	It was nice to just kick back and visit with Matt and Sandy.  We
drank coffee and just batted the breeze for almost a half hour before the
boys returned.  They reported the kids had fallen asleep.  I'd filled Uncle
Matt in about Corey over the months and had brought both him and Sandy up
to date on JJ and LT tonight.  When the boys returned they were included in
the conversation just like they had always been here.  Uncle Matt managed
to draw them out without making it seem like he was doing so.  A lot of his
questions were more implied than asked.  I mean he'd ask something but the
answer required a lot more information than the simple question had
appeared to ask.  The boys never even realized he was finding out all kinds
of things about them.  They'd start to answer something and at the right
point he'd look puzzled and they'd end up filling in the blanks.  He was a
real people person and it always showed when he met someone new.
	Finally it was time for bed.  The boys were about asleep in their
chairs and even I was getting tired.  There were only two spare bedrooms so
JJ and LT got one and Corey and I the other.  I'd warned the boys to be
sure to wear their briefs to bed so they weren't embarrassed by forgetting
to put them on if they needed to use the toilet.  There was another reason
but I figured they'd learn about that the hard way.
	I was right about learning the hard way.  Kevin and Kristen jumping
on the bed woke Corey and me in the morning.  The next thing I knew they
wanted to crawl in between us.  I managed to focus on my watch and
discovered it was five in the morning and stuffed them under the covers so
I could go back to sleep.  So did Corey.  I did manage to find out that
Kevin had awakened to go to the bathroom and decided that he and his sister
should sleep with me for the rest of the night.  I just draped an arm
across them and muttered good night.  They squirmed around for a few
minutes but soon went back to sleep.
	I could hear some giggles.  There were two high pitched ones and
one that was deeper.  I managed to pry an eye open and was immediately
pounced on.  Not only that, the pouncers were busy trying to tickle me.
That dragged me up from a pleasant sleep much faster than normal.  I could
hear Corey egging them on.  I was busy trying to protect myself from the
two little giggle boxes and their master planner when Uncle Matt stuck his
head in and told us to get going if we wanted any breakfast.  The giggle
boxes ignored him and attacked with more vigor.  I was just starting to win
when Corey joined them and the best that can be said is that I went down
with a fight.  There were just too many squirming bodies with busy hands
for me to win.  Besides, Corey was very familiar with my weak points.  We
ended up in a pile with me on the bottom.  I will have to admit that I was
thoroughly awake.
	The giggle boxes picked out some clothes for me and to say their
sense of color needed some improvement was a total understatement.  Even
someone that was severely color blind would have thought the combination
was strange.  Corey didn't look much better.
	We chased the giggle boxes off to the kitchen while we stopped and
washed up.  When we walked into the kitchen Aunt Sandy took one look at us
and started snickering.  I just shrugged my shoulders.  All Uncle Matt
could do was shake his head.  He wanted to burst into laughter but managed
to contain himself.
	There was no sign of either JJ or LT so I sent the giggle boxes off
to find and wake them up.  As soon as Kevin and Kristen left on their
mission, Sandy burst into laughter.
	"God Sam, what are you trying to do, wake the dead?"
	After grabbing a glass of juice I replied.  "Well, if someone I
know would teach her kids some sense of color, I'd look better."  About
that time we could hear some happy shrieks coming from the other spare
bedroom.  Kevin and Kristen came charging back into the kitchen, giggling
like crazy.  I figured JJ and LT were now awake.
	A few minutes later LT, followed by JJ came into the kitchen.  LT
took one look and me and said, "Keeeewl outfit."  I blushed while Matt and
Sandy about collapsed in laughter.  After that auspicious start to the day,
we finally had breakfast.
	Kristen decided I needed to help her or was it that she needed to
help me.  Whatever, she sat on my lap and we attempted to eat breakfast.  I
don't normally play with my food that much.  There was way too much syrup
on the hotcakes and we were both sticky when breakfast was finally over.
Oh well, it was a good excuse to change clothes.
	I changed into some jeans and a different shirt and headed back to
the kitchen.  It was time to start preparing dinner.  I rolled out the pie
crusts I'd made for the mincemeat pies.  The crust felt like I'd gotten a
good scald on it and it rolled out perfectly.  I peeled and diced some
apples to add to the mincemeat I'd bought at Downie's.  When I had the two
pies in the oven, Sandy and I finished making the stuffing.  I peeled and
diced some more apples and she added the usual seasoning.  I dumped the
diced apples in and we added some chicken stock and a little baking powder
to lighten it.  The next step was to stuff the turkey.
	Sandy hadn't lied to me.  The turkey weighed almost twenty-five
pounds.  Even my bottomless pits should be able to get full without eating
it all.  When the pies were done we put the turkey in the oven.  I checked
the time and saw that the turkey would be done about four.  Six hours
sounded about right.  We cleaned up the kitchen and headed for the family
room with our coffee.  When Kristen and Kevin immediately attacked me, the
boys vanished like Scotty had beamed them up.  I could soon hear the
football game from the TV in the living room.  I think the two very busy
giggle boxes were a little too much for the boys.  Sandy popped some Disney
DVD in the player and we were soon abandoned in favor of "Finding Nemo".
	About noon Sara and Bruno called.  We visited on the speaker phone
for about forty-five minutes and the end result was that everyone would
come to my place for Christmas.  I could see that was going to be a mess.
There was going to be quite a crowd as I'd already invited Bob Asher and
the Garvins.  Matt and Sandy knew the Garvins but would have to get
acquainted with Bob.  By the time you added all the people up, there would
be seventeen.  Thank God only twelve would be staying with me.  Still, two
rug rats, two giggle boxes, three boys and five adults would make a house
full.  Well, at least things should be interesting.  I made a mental note
to figure the sleeping arrangements out later.
	We spent the rest of the afternoon making trips to the kitchen to
finish various dishes for dinner.  When it was all ready, the table
couldn't hold it all.  I was sure there was enough for an army, well at
least a good sized division.
	What can I say?  The turkey won.  The boys tried but they just
couldn't make it.  I think Sandy was a little shocked that they came as
close as they did.  However, their best efforts still left lots of
leftovers.  The offer of pie only elicited groans.  Boy, there's a lot of
meat on a twenty-five pound turkey.  They did manage to make a pretty good
dent in things like the corn on the cob and the deviled eggs.  The rest of
the dinner met their challenge and while it suffered some significant
loses, the dinner came out ahead.  I figured that there were enough
leftovers for several days.
	We all staggered off to rest our overstuffed stomachs.  A person
shouldn't eat that much.  We'd all consumed far more than we needed or was
good for us.  It just tasted so good.
	Even Kristen and Kevin were fairly quiet the rest of the evening.
I'm not sure whether it was from the mass quantities of food or that they
just ran out of energy.  There wasn't even much conversation.  We just sat
and watched the tube with another of those Disney DVDs.  The kids all
managed to eat some pie before they went to bed but none of the rest of us
could.  The thoughts of how rich both the mincemeat and pecan pies were
stopped any thought of trying them tonight.  We headed for bed not that
long after Kristen and Kevin.  We'd been up late last night and the giggle
boxes hadn't let us sleep in.
	I could feel something jabbing my shoulder.  It was accompanied by
a little voice whispering "Are you awake Uncle Sam?"  There were a couple
more jabs and whispers before I got an eye opened and discovered Kristen
staring intently at me.  I grabbed her and tucked her in beside me and told
her no, that I wasn't' awake.  She giggled and curled right up.  About then
I could feel the bed shake from the other side.  Corey mumbled something
and when I looked over towards him, I could see Kevin burrowing under the
covers next to him.  Somehow I didn't think we'd get much more sleep.
	Well I was right about that.  It was million question time.  The
two giggle boxes took turns but rarely waited for an answer.  We got
questions on such things as the adventures of SpongeBob SquarePants, Big
Bird, and others.  They were happy to tell Corey and me all about them.
Corey slipped out and went to the bathroom and when he came back that put
Kevin in the middle.  That sounded like such a good idea that I did the
same and when I returned we had both of the little ones in the middle.
After another twenty minutes of that I gave up and got up.  I perched
Kristen astride my neck and headed for the kitchen.  Corey followed with
Kevin riding piggy-back.  I punched the button on the coffee maker and
about that time Sandy came shuffling in.  Corey started to blush because we
were both in our briefs but it didn't bother me.  I was used to being
around Sandy and probably wouldn't have been that upset if she caught me
naked.  Besides, all she had on was a shortie nightie and you really need
to accent the shortie part.
	We mumbled greeting to each other as she glared at that coffee
maker.  I'm sure that it worked twice as fast as normal from the sheer
power of that glare.  The kids were still chattering away while I found
some juice and gave them each a glass.
	Uncle Matt had it timed perfectly.  He walked in just when the
coffee maker finished.  He must have learned just how powerful his wife's
glare was over the years.  He'd put on some jeans.  That was probably just
as well because I don't remember that he wore much in the line of clothing
when he was sleeping.  Perhaps now that he had kids he'd changed but I sure
wouldn't want to bet on it.
	Corey talked with the little ones while the rest of us got a
caffeine fix.  A quick cup of coffee and I went and put some more clothes
on.  By the time I got back Sandy was gone, I presumed dressing, and Uncle
Matt was looking for some cereal for the kids.  Breakfast turned out to be
a do-it-yourself thing with several different dry cereals on the table,
along with a loaf of bread.  None of us needed much after yesterday.
	Kevin and Kristen were about halfway through their cereal when they
decided that JJ and LT didn't want to miss breakfast.  I snickered as they
went scampering down the hall to wake them.  Those two were simply balls of
energy wrapped in little bodies.  They were soon back, giggling and having
fun.  It wasn't long before JJ and LT joined us.  I guess they couldn't
sleep through the giggle box attack.
	Corey wanted to visit Carl Benson.  He'd even brought along some of
his work to show him and ask questions about.  Bob was teaching Corey a
little about charcoal sketching and Corey wanted to ask Carl about it.  He
was still intrigued by the sketch Carl had done of him the day I bought
Corey the painting that got the whole art thing started.  Uncle Matt had a
few things he needed to do so this morning seemed like a good time to check
Carl out.
	I dropped JJ and LT off at the Rogue Valley Mall and drove on over
to Carl's studio.  Naturally it was open as he wanted to get the holiday
sales just like everyone else.  We probably should have called him but I
hadn't been sure what our schedule would be.  Fortunately no customers were
there when we got there.  Carl was happy to see Corey and I was soon
ignored.  They were busy talking and when a customer would come in, Carl
would wait on him or her and hurry right back to Corey.  Under Carl's
tutelage Corey soon turned out a sketch of me that I thought looked pretty
good.  It was soon time to pick up JJ and LT.  Carl suggested leaving Corey
with him while I did that and bring back some Kentucky Fried Chicken and
we'd all have lunch.
	That took a little longer than it should have.  I had to look at
several things the boys had found.  Of course they were on opposite ends of
the mall.  Then there was a pretty good line of cars at KFC and that
further slowed our return.  When we finally got back, Corey was thrilled.
He'd sold a sketch.  A customer had come in and had her daughter with her.
Corey made a quick sketch of the daughter and when the mother saw it, she
had to have it.  Carl had finally suggested he sell it for twenty-five
dollars and had then sold the mother a fifty dollar frame for it.  Both of
them were grinning like fools.  I started to wonder if I should get an
anchor to hold Corey down.  He acted about like he was ready to float away.
I finally took JJ and LT back to the mall and left Corey with Carl.  This
would be a good chance to have a little time with them and maybe learn what
they'd like for Christmas.  That worked out real well because I saw several
things they wanted, all the way from clothes to games that they could run
on their computers.  We even picked up several things they needed right
now, like some extra shirts and ties to wear with their sport coats slacks
and things like that.  It was a real enjoyable afternoon and I think the
boys liked being with me.  They didn't feel like they had to compete with
Corey for my attention.
	When we returned to pick Corey up, Carl said he wanted to keep him.
It was the best day of sales he'd ever had.  Corey's sketching had caused
several of the customers to stick around longer and they had ended up
buying things.  Corey had sold another sketch and both of them were just
bubbling over with happiness.  Corey was so proud of the fifty dollars he'd
made that you would have thought he'd hit the jackpot on Powerball.  He was
almost bouncing up and down like a four or five year old.  Carl wanted to
keep the rest of Corey's sketches because he thought that a couple of the
people would come back and buy them.  He told Corey he'd send him the money
if they did and Corey was happy to leave them.  It's a good thing the Gator
had good seatbelts because I think Corey would have jerked his out and
floated off he was so happy.
	By dinnertime Corey had sort of calmed down.  At least he managed
to sit still long enough to eat.  Kevin and Kristen wanted to know what he
was so happy about and after dinner he got out his charcoal and paper and
made a couple of drawings of each of them.  The kids wanted to play with
them but Sandy grabbed them.  She wanted to frame them.  Corey finally
managed to make some that the kids got.  It turned out to be a great
evening.  JJ and LT visited with Uncle Matt and me while the giggle boxes
occupied Corey and Sandy.  We even managed to lower the supply of
leftovers.  Even the pies took a big hit and they were excellent.  Now if I
could just get them to turn out that well every time.
	Shortly after the little ones were in bed, Corey ran out of gas.
The excitement was too much and he gave up and went to bed.  He had a
sleepy grin on his face as he left.  An hour or so later the rest of us did
the same.
	He was sound asleep when I got into bed and it took him almost
fifteen minutes to assume his usual position.  That had to be some kind of
a record.  It normally didn't take over a couple of minutes for him to get
his head on my chest.
	I woke up to Corey humping my leg.  I could feel the bed jiggle and
his cock was jabbing away.  He gave a grunt and stiffened and I could feel
his cock pulse against me.  I pried an eye open and there were two little
faces staring at us.  As soon as my eye opened, they burrowed right down in
the covers next to us.  I wasn't quite sure what to do.  Corey flopped off
of me while I was trying to think and a few seconds later I heard Kevin
giggling about Corey wetting the bed.  About that time Corey woke up and
was humiliated.  I couldn't figure out quite how to handle this.  I knew
that the wet dream wasn't the problem, he'd had them before.  It had to be
the fact that Kevin thought he'd wet the bed.  I was trying to figure out
what to do, you know, I mean should I try to explain to Kevin about the
facts of life or should I just ignore it and try to calm Corey when Uncle
Matt stuck his head in the door asking the giggle boxes if they were
bothering us.  Of course Kevin piped up about Corey's wetting the bed.
Corey got even redder, if that was possible, and tried to hide under the
covers.  Uncle Matt just walked over and jerked the covers off, commenting
that we needed to get them washed.  Now Uncle Matt isn't dumb and it took
him less than ten seconds to figure out what Corey's problem was.
	"I seem to remember your having the same problem about ten-twelve
years ago Sam.  You get him some clean clothes and I'll have a talk with
Kevin and Kristen.  Sandy's started breakfast so don't take too long."
With that he scooped his kids up and left, one giggling kid under each arm.
	A couple of quick showers and some clean undergarments and we made
it to the kitchen.  We were just in time as Sandy was just putting some
hotcakes on the table.  Kevin came over to Corey and told him he was sorry.
That would have been fine except he finished it up by saying he couldn't
wait till he was old enough to sperm the bed.  Sandy dropped the hotcake
turner and Uncle Matt blew orange juice all over the floor, coughing and
hacking all the while.  Corey turned red again and JJ and LT started
snickering.  Kevin couldn't see what was funny and just looked at us like
we'd all lost our minds.  Kristen never even missed a bite.
	When Uncle Matt got his breath back he commented that this was an
interesting morning and Sandy got back to cooking.  It took a couple of
tries but I finally got Corey to take a couple of hotcakes and an egg.
Things settled down and we finished breakfast.
	Carl had asked Corey to come back today if he could so when it was
about time I went to get our coats.  I could see Uncle Matt pull Corey
aside and talk to him.  I took a couple of extra minutes and when I came
out, Corey looked better.  We left and I dropped Corey off and went back to
the mall.  I figured I might just as well save the sales tax as long as I
was in Oregon.
	I picked up several games that JJ and LT had looked at.  I even
picked up some clothes for them.  That left me with Corey still to shop
for.  I prowled the mall until it was time to pick up some kind of lunch
for Carl and Corey without finding anything that I liked.
	When I got to Carl's studio, Corey was doing a sketch of a little
girl.  She was about five years old and her mother had dressed her up in a
cute pink dress.  She just looked like a little angel and, after watching a
few seconds, I got my camera and took a couple of pictures.  I managed to
capture one shot that was perfect.  Corey finished the sketch and the
mother was thrilled with the results.  As she was telling him how much she
liked the sketch and how good he was, I could see that there was a change
in Corey.  Suddenly there was a trace of self assurance that I'd never seen
in him before.  To say that I was thrilled with the result was an
understatement.  All the times I'd tried to convince him that he was just
as good as anyone else had never really seemed to stick.  Now a complete
stranger was doing something I'd been unable to accomplish and I understood
why.  The fact that she was a stranger was what made the difference.
Suddenly I wondered if there was a way I could make something similar
happen for JJ.  I was just thrilled with the progress Corey was making in
his self-confidence and if the same could be done for JJ, I'd be happy.
Corey had a long way to go yet but was starting to get there.  So far JJ
hadn't managed to get over his parents rejection.  LT was the only one of
the three boys who had a decent opinion of himself.  In fact, I was
continually surprised at how little the problems with his parents seemed to
affect him.  He seemed to be one of those people who just got on with his
life, no matter what happened.  It had to hurt but he never seemed to let
it get him down.  If anything, it seemed to make him stronger.  He'd been
pretty subdued the first few days at my house and then just put it behind
him.  He was still somewhat shy but I couldn't really tell any difference
in him.  His grades were still good and he was rapidly adapting to living
with me.
	Carl and Corey were having such a good time that after we ate the
deli sandwiches I'd picked up, I left them and went and got JJ and LT.  I
took them to some other shopping places and asked them to see if they could
pick out anything they thought Corey would like.  Outside of a few clothes
the trip didn't produce much.  LT found a couple of posters that he wanted
for his bedroom, although I'm not sure why he wanted them.  He spent his
nights in JJ's.  I knew we were going to have to have another talk about
what they were doing with each other but every time I brought the subject
up, they seemed very uncomfortable discussing it.  I'll have to admit that
I couldn't blame them as such talks made me uncomfortable also.  That
didn't change the fact that we needed to do it, just that we'd have to get
over our embarrassment and be honest with each other.
	On the way back to pick up Corey we passed a bike shop.  For once
JJ initiated something.  He asked if we could stop and look at bikes.
Since we were a little early to pick up Corey, I agreed.
	The shop had a big selection.  In fact, I didn't realize there were
so many choices.  Those choices also had a wide range of prices.  While I'd
had a bike when I was younger, I'd never been excited by them.  As soon as
I got a driver's license that was the end of the bike riding.  In fact,
shortly after that license, I'd sold the bike for gas money.  I might add
that it didn't take long to use the money up.  It hadn't been that fancy a
bike and I'd sold it for twenty-five dollars.
	It was apparent that JJ really wanted a bike but was much too shy
to ask for one.  The salesman, actually a boy about sixteen, was
knowledgeable.  JJ and LT were busy jumping around, looking over the
selection, and I got a chance to ask the salesman a few questions.  After
arming myself with a little knowledge, I went over and asked JJ if he'd
seen anything he liked.  He led me over to a bike and explained it was a
mountain bike.  I could tell it wasn't really the one he'd like but I let
him tell me all about it.  When he finished I looked at the price tag.  It
was a very inexpensive bike.  I looked it over a little and could see it
was about as cheaply made as was possible.
	I glanced at my watch and told them to keep looking, I'd go get
Corey.  It took a little longer than I'd thought it would.  Corey had only
sold the one sketch today but I had to listen to him and Carl tell me all
about it.  While Corey was packing his supplies out to the Gator Carl told
me how much he'd enjoyed having Corey there.  I agreed that I'd try to get
him up for some more visits and with that we left.
	JJ and LT were still looking at bikes.  The one JJ showed me this
time was even cheaper than the first one.  A quick look and I told him to
pick another.  By this time Corey had entered into the search.  They got
their heads together and soon picked out another bike.  This one was a
little better but not much.  I'd had enough.  Grasping JJ by the shoulder I
led him over to one I'd seen him admiring when I was talking to the
salesman earlier.  This was a better bike but still didn't look like much.
By now the price was up to a little over two hundred dollars.  I looked
around the store and saw some more off by themselves.  They looked
interesting.
	It turned out to be a display of bikes that the shop was no longer
going to carry.  We looked them over and I could see that JJ fell in love
with one of them.  You could just tell it by the way his hands caressed the
frame and handlebars.  The bike was a glossy black.  As he continued to
touch it in a way that probably should have been called fondle, I asked him
if he liked it.  He'd looked at the price and when he looked at me and told
me he'd rather have one of the others he'd been looking at, I could tell he
was being less than truthful.  I pinned him down and he finally admitted
that he liked it but it was just too much money.  By now LT and Corey were
looking it over and they seemed to like it.  In fact all three of the boys
were starting to get all cranked up over it.  About all I knew about it was
that it was a Santa Cruz Bullit.  It looked well built and like it would
stand up for several years.  Not only that, there were three of them
sitting there, the black one that JJ kept running his hands over, one that
was polished, and another that was dark red.  It didn't take long until
they all decided which one they liked.  Corey liked the dark red, LT the
polished one and JJ was in love with the black.  It was getting close to
closing time so I decided I'd better do something.
	"Jason, would you like that bike for Christmas?"  His mouth dropped
open and I swear you could have driven a truck in it.  He looked absolutely
stunned.  He looked like he was going to try to say something but nothing
came out.  Finally he managed to nod.  I turned to LT and Corey.
	"Would you two like a bike so you could go riding with Jason?"
	Corey didn't have any trouble answering that he would.  LT seemed a
little surprised but he managed to do the same.  With that I turned to the
salesman and asked what he would take for the three bikes.
	The poor kid didn't quite know what to make of a question like
that.  He went and got the owner.  That's when the haggling started.  The
list price, or at least the tag price, was just over fourteen hundred
dollar each.  Then we got into a discussion about the upgrades that were
already on the bikes.  I just said to put the stock items back on and give
me a price.  He came down a hundred dollars each and I told the boys to
head for the Gator.  Thanking the salesman for his time I started to leave.
The boys had only moved about two feet and were right in my way.  The owner
decided he could do a little better and asked me to wait a minute while he
checked.  Since most of the bikes were much less expensive, I figured he
wanted a few seconds to try to decide how far he wanted to drop the price.
His next offer was another fifty dollars off.  I headed for the door.  By
now the salesman was closing up the store.
	The owner asked me to wait just a minute and soon he returned with
a bunch of paperwork.  He had the invoices and a bunch of other papers.  It
turned out there was one more bike in the back, a blue one.  He showed me
his cost and the cost of the upgrades.  We finally settled on all four
bikes and a carrier and the bill came to just under forty-six hundred
dollars.  That left him almost five hundred dollars profit on some items he
was closing out.  When the plastic worked, the owner looked thrilled.  It
should have, I had a limit of fifty thousand on that card.  So there we
were, trying to get the carrier attached and the bikes loaded.  Thank God I
had a trailer receiver on the Gator.  I called Uncle Matt and told him we'd
be a little late.
	By now we were the only ones left.  I was headed for the door when
I passed the helmets.  That created another delay.  Four helmets later (for
which I paid list price) we left.  Maybe I'd ride with the boys and maybe I
wouldn't but at least I now had a choice.
	On the way back to Uncle Matt's house I tried to explain that the
bikes were Christmas presents and they wouldn't get to ride them until
Christmas.  It was like talking to a rock.  None of the boys were even
listening to me as they chattered away.  I finally decided that talking to
them was a lost cause.  I'd just have to wait until they calmed down.
Christmas shopping was going better than I'd thought it would.
	Aunt Sandy took one look at the boys and decided that they were too
wound up to go anywhere.  Chinese take-out was in order.  Two days of
turkey was enough for her and there wasn't enough left to fill the boys
anyway.  We looked over the menu she had and decided on one of those family
meals in which the more people, the more items.  We picked one and ordered
for seven and got all the extras.  Uncle Matt and I had to go get it and I
couldn't believe the sacks full of food that we got.  There had to be
enough to feed a dozen people.
	The boys were still pretty excited but after a few mouthfuls they
settled down and really worked on the dinner.  I finally had to revise my
estimate down to ten people.  Still, the boys lost.  Uncle Matt said he'd
have ordered for six but he wanted the extra dish that came with seven or
more.  It was Peking duck.  He knew what he was talking about because it
was delicious.  It was one of the few dishes we managed to finish.  I just
wished I could move the whole restaurant to our town.  It was one of the
best Chinese meals I'd ever had.  Of course seeing JJ so happy helped.  I'd
never seen him as happy and bubbling over.  I finally grabbed him in a head
lock and gave him a noggie.  When I released him he just grinned and hugged
me.  He reminded me of Corey and the shotgun.
	They'd finally calmed down enough that I repeated the part about
having to wait until Christmas to ride their bikes.  Talk about groaning
and whining.  You'd have thought that I was Simon Legree chasing them
across the ice floes.

**

	However, JJ couldn't stop grinning, even when he was whining.  I
finally learned he'd always wanted a bicycle and his folks never would buy
him one.  He'd saved almost enough money to buy one just before his folks
took off.  The money had gone with them.  I suddenly understood why he
spent almost none of his allowance.  He was back to saving for a bike.  I
wondered how long he'd wanted a bike but didn't ask.
	Finally the kids were all in bed.  It was now time for Uncle Matt
and me to talk.  We went into his home office and started in.  This was a
normal occurrence and was the time when we discussed what he was doing with
my money.
        He suggested selling half of the stock I'd received from the one
venture capital deal.  It was now up to about seven hundred and forty
thousand and he thought it was a good long term investment but was
currently overvalued.  I agreed and we discussed what to invest the money
in.  He had another venture deal coming up and said I ought to put some
money in it.  We decided on two hundred thousand.  He gave me some papers
that were for my accountant and also a list of my current holdings.  The
whole thing was pretty impressive.  It had been a good year.  The general
market hadn't done much but the things Uncle Matt had my money in sure had.
	He got a bottle of wine and we sat there talking about the market
and investments in general.  The wine was about gone when he turned to me
and asked a question.
	"What about Corey?"

		To be continued...

				     *

	"Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men?  The Shadow
knows."  The opening lines from a famous radio program that ran from July
1930 through December 1954.  Yes boys and girls, I remember the Shadow.  I
got a radio for my eighth birthday and I could listen to the Shadow and the
Lone Ranger.  I was thrilled.  I even ate a box of Cheerios so I could have
a Lone Ranger decoder ring.  I dislike Cheerios.  In fact, hate might be a
better choice of words.  The ring wasn't much either.  The Shadow went off
the air four years after I got the radio.  It had six tubes.  For what it's
worth, I still like radio better than television.  A person's imagination
is much better than what they can do on television.  The sound of squeaky
door hinges, a gunshot, all can conjure up pictures in one's mind that far
surpasses television.  Ah yes, Hi Yo Silver, away.  I also enjoyed Amos `n'
Andy, the Whistler, Gunsmoke, and others.  Be sure to keep your closet
clean or you'll end up like Fibber Magee.  As I recall the radio was an
Arvin.

				    **

         Simon Legree.  The villainous slave owner from "Uncle Tom's Cabin"
by Harriet Beecher Stowe.  For those of you who haven't read it, it's still
a good read.  I'd recommend balancing it out with "Gone with the Wind".