Date: Fri, 04 Mar 2005 13:56:56 -0800
From: fritz@nehalemtel.net
Subject: I Love Corey, Chapter Forty-seven
Here we go again. All young people leave immediately. You know
you don't belong here. Return when you have reached the age of majority.
Until then, obey the law and be good little boys and girls. At least try
to act like good little boys and girls. Ah what the hell, I don't really
care if you stay or how you act. That is between you and your parents. I
refuse to get involved.
Those of you who find descriptions of gay sex acts offensive, leave
before you get to such descriptions. I know that sometimes it goes quite a
while before I remember to put any of those types of descriptions in, but,
you never know when or where they will pop up. If you leave now I don't
have to worry about you. By the same token, you don't have to worry about
being offended. Seems fair to me.
On to you poor abused souls who happen to live in an area that
prohibits the reading of stories such as this one. Either Leave, hide your
tracks so no one will know, or move. Sorry, I see no other solution. If
anyone knows of a better solution to this problem, email me and I'll share
it with the readers. Waving your magic wand and getting rid of bigots is
not considered a valid solution, although I wish it was.
Since this story is not based on anyone, living or dead, it should
be considered fiction. That means it isn't true, for any dim-bulbs that
might have snuck in here. Anyone who thinks differently has a large empty
space in his head. None the less, since it is my story please grant me the
right to control where it is posted by asking and receiving permission
before doing so. Also, please attribute any quotes from it to me. Of
course anyone who wants to use quotes from it probably can't spell "me".
Think about it and you'll see what I'm up against.
Poor Ernie. Once again he is like Herakles. He has some great
labors to struggle with in editing this story. Sadly, there are more than
twelve chapters. Even the ancient Gods were not as cruel as I am. He
deserves your thanks, as well as mine.
Once again feel free to comment, question, debate, argue, or just
plain vent. Put all such thoughts in an email and send it to
fritz@nehalemtel.net I try to answer all of them but if you fail to put I
Love Corey in the subject line, I likely will not receive it. Unless I
recognize the sender or see I Love Corey in the subject line, I delete. No
ifs, ands, or buts about it. Well, you could write about one of my other
stories. Two can be found in the high school section. "A Promise Kept"
was posted on July 14 and "The Summer of my Fifteenth Year" was posted on
July 28. The third story was posted on July 5 under the title of "Dark and
Stormy Night" in the science fiction section. Just remember to put the
story title in the subject line. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy the
following chapter. Fritz
************************************************************************
I Love Corey, Chapter Forty-seven
Mr. Stanton finished his coffee and we left. He wasn't saying
anything but appeared deep in thought. By the time I pulled up in front of
the Collins' home, he had not said one word to me. Granted it was only a
ten minute drive but I had really expected some kind of response. He
opened the door but was stopped from exiting because of his still fastened
seatbelt. That seemed to bring him back from wherever his mind had been.
"Sorry, I'm trying to figure out what to say," were his first words
since we had left the coffee shop.
I didn't have anything I wanted to say so I just nodded to him. He
made no effort to unbuckle his seatbelt but just sat there with the door
open. Since the outside temperature was in the mid twenties, the car was
quickly cooling off, even though it hadn't fully warmed up. Finally he
spoke.
"Why?" was all he said.
"I beg your pardon?"
"Why are you doing this for me?" After asking that, he turned to
face me.
"Well, I guess you might say I think Lee deserves a good home."
After thinking a few seconds I continued. "I guess it's my way of passing
on the help people have given me."
I got no more words from him but he did unbuckle his belt and get
out. He closed the door and headed inside. I was left wondering what was
going through his mind. I gave up and went back to the motel. His
reaction was so strange that I had no idea of what to make of it. A thank
you or something I could have understood but his silence somewhat pissed me
off. Even a show of anger for meddling in his life I could have understood
but his nothing had me puzzled.
Jeez, I should have stayed away. The second I stepped through the
door JJ was on me. He was once again whining about Kathy.
"Well, what did she do? Try to steal your lack of virginity?" Boy
that really set him off. I was having a hard time treating the whole thing
seriously. When Corey started snickering, JJ whirled towards him.
"She isn't trying to get in your pants. Why are you laughing?" he
snarled.
That broke Corey up. He was flat on his back in the middle of the
bed and laughing his ass off. I didn't help things.
"What? You can't fight off a twelve year old girl? What kind of a
man are you?"
He whirled back to me, his fists balled up. I realized maybe I'd
gone a little too far.
"Calm down Jason, we just like to tease you. You fall for it
almost every time." I grinned at him. "Besides, your revenge is always
worth waiting for. Remember when you sewed the front of my briefs shut. I
damn near pissed my pants trying to get them open. I never would have
figured out who did it if you hadn't asked if you could mend your jeans."
I grinned some more. "Or how about the time you put the Tabasco in my
orange juice?" The briefs had been bad enough but he must have used half a
bottle of Tabasco. I will say it woke me up. He snickered the whole time
he was mopping the mess up.
Thinking about what I'd said calmed him down somewhat. It still
didn't solve the problem.
"But how do I get her to leave me alone?" he whined.
I figured it was time for a lesson in life.
"Listen up guys. Jason has a problem and I think I need to say a
few things." I turned to Jason. "Look, the fact that she's coming on to
you is a form of flattery. She thinks you're cute and she'd like to get to
know you. You should always consider that a compliment, even if you don't
care for the person doing it. Now you need to understand that she has no
idea that you're gay. I wouldn't tell her that either, if I were you.
Still, you need to think of someway to let her down gently. She's sincere
in her feelings and doesn't deserve to not be treated with respect. She's
still pretty young yet and hasn't learned how to be a little more discreet.
What you need to remember is she is flattering you by her feelings. You
need to come up with a way to accept that flattery and still not make her
mad or hurt her feelings." I turned to LT
"Now as for you LT, you need to accept the fact that there is
another person who agrees with your choice. While you may not think so,
the fact that Kathy likes your boyfriend means that you have good taste, at
least according to her. That means you shouldn't be glaring at her anytime
she gets close to JJ. She is, in fact, affirming your choice. You should
feel grateful for that. It should reinforce your judgment."
"How should I get her to quit bothering me when I don't want her?"
JJ asked. At least he wasn't whining this time.
That started a discussion. Several ways came up and we kicked them
around. Corey suggested that JJ tell her he already had a girl friend but
I pointed out that lies sometimes came back to haunt you. I also managed
to expand on the lie theme by pointing out that you had to remember all
your lies so you wouldn't get caught. I pointed out that it is much easier
to tell the truth although you don't have to tell all of it. Sometimes,
when you tell only part of the truth, people take it to mean something else
but you haven't told a lie. That got them thinking a little differently.
In the end, they came up with the idea (with a little subtle prodding on my
part) that JJ might tell her he wasn't ready for a relationship with a girl
yet. After all, it was the truth, just not the whole truth. He could add
that long distance relationships rarely worked and he didn't want to start
something that wouldn't work. Other things he could use were that he
didn't want her to feel committed so she couldn't date someone else or feel
she had to be faithful to him. I figured that was about the best I could
do with them at this time. I had managed to get them thinking about how to
try to respect other people's feelings without letting those people control
your life. We had managed to spend the rest of the afternoon talking about
JJ's problem and I still hadn't gotten my jog. Oh well, at least I hadn't
been drinking any coffee and my nerves were calmed down.
All the time the conversation had been going on, Lee just sat and
listened. That made me wonder if anyone had ever just talked with him and
tried to explain some of the simple rules of getting along with people. I
vowed to find time to talk to him. He seemed like he needed it.
By now it was time for dinner. I was purposely trying to give the
Collins and Stantons some time alone. That didn't leave us much to do but
I thought they needed it. When I suggested we go eat and then maybe see a
movie, the idea was more than well received. It only took the boys about
ten minutes to find out what movies were playing and where. They grabbed
my laptop, plugged it in to the phone line, and checked things out. It's
amazing how quickly hotels and motels have come to accept that internet
access helps sell rooms. Once the movie was decided on, then there was the
problem of what and where to eat.
The movie required driving back to Cincinnati so that increased the
choices for dinner. We decided to check out Indian cuisine. I'd only
tried it a couple of times and none of the boys had ever eaten any of it.
We picked out a restaurant called Tandoor's and I jotted down directions on
how to get there.
I enjoyed the meal. The boys were a little surprised with it but
that didn't stop them from eating it. I hadn't tried enough Indian cuisine
to really know if it was authentic but I liked it. The lamb dish I had
selected was excellent.
We only made a couple of wrong turns getting to the theater. We
still made it with about twenty minutes to spare. Why do boys like those
stupid martial arts movies? I swear if I see the bad guys wait to take
their turn being whipped by the hero again, I'll tear my hair out. They
munched down popcorn and drank lots of soft drinks and enjoyed the movie.
I tried to doze during it. As far as I was concerned, the movie sucked.
The only good thing about it was that even Lee seemed to enjoy it.
A couple more wrong turns on the way back to Walton and we were
finally headed in the right direction. Then Corey had to ask a question.
"Wouldn't it have been easier to ask directions?" Grrrr, they had
been ribbing me over those wrong turns for the last few minutes.
"Lizten mine young friendz. Ze true man doeze not ask zee
directionz. He just drivez around until he runz out of gaz." My horrible
fake German accent brought lots of laughter. LT told me I had better not
give up my day job if I couldn't do better than that. Accompanied by lots
of laughter, I just continued to drive. There wasn't much I could say to
that. I was even told I probably couldn't make it on Saturday Night Live.
What a low blow. I thought my accent was at least as good as some of the
ones I'd heard on that program. After all, that's where I'd gotten the
idea for it.
We kept trading wise cracks on the way back to the motel. By the
time we got there, even Lee was trying to enter into the fun. This was the
first time I had ever seen him loosen up any. He was pretty tentative but
at least he was trying.
When we finally got in our room, there was a sparkle in Lee's eyes
I had never seen before. He was even grinning slightly. The boys wanted
to watch television but I told them to get their scrawny asses in bed
before I kicked them. Corey mooned me. Well, he didn't actually moon me;
he didn't take his briefs off, just pulled his Dockers down and waved his
ass at me. LT and JJ started laughing and I attacked Corey. Lee wasn't
sure what to think of what was going on but I soon had Corey on the floor,
giggling so hard he couldn't fight back. After all, I knew where all his
ticklish places were. When things calmed down a little, we all took our
showers and fell into bed.
I was in that in between stage, neither awake nor asleep. I could
feel Corey snuggled up to me and smell his hair. My cock was pressed
against his crack and I just wished we didn't have briefs on. My arm was
draped across his midriff and things just felt so good. I thought of going
to the bathroom and relieving myself but it could wait. Snuggling with
Corey was better. Actually, snuggling with Corey was great. It gave me a
sense of peace and contentment I had never known until I met him. He just
felt perfect in my arms. His hair still smelled slightly of the shampoo we
used but under that odor was pure Corey.
I just floated there, enjoying the smell and the feelings going
through me. Finally I began to notice other things. I could hear some
soft snores which I recognized as JJ and LT. While LT had the deeper
voice, his snores were the higher pitched ones. His voice was going to be
what would be called a baritone and stayed there most of the time but his
snores sounded more in the tenor range. JJ had a true tenor's voice. He
even sounded good when you could talk him into singing. It was just a
little lower than an Irish tenor but still it was definitely a tenor. Yet
his snores were the lower pitched of the two. Two different snores for two
different people.
LT tended to be the more happy and easy-going of the two. JJ was
frequently depressed and sad. He still hadn't gotten over his folks
treatment of him. It still amazed me that LT had managed to pick himself
up so quickly after his problems with his parents. We had tried to talk
with them a few times but that was a disaster. I just couldn't understand
how they could quit loving him. He was everything they could ask for in a
son except he was gay. How could that one little thing be such a big
problem for them? I just couldn't imagine why they let that single item
influence them. He was smart, fun loving, and just generally a nice
person. All I could do was hope that someday they would realize their
mistake and take steps to correct it. Based on the last time I had talked
to them, it probably wouldn't be anytime soon. In the meantime, I would
just have to do the best I could to help him.
As for JJ, I'd been spending as much of my time as I could, trying
to get him to understand that he was a great person; in some cases, even
neglecting Corey and LT. Corey seemed to understand and LT didn't seem to
notice. Of course, having Corey in my arms each night helped with him.
Also he was starting to open up a little with other people. He was no
longer the silent and quiet boy I had first met. I think that having the
other boys around was teaching him how to interact with and treat people.
I might not be devoting as much time to him but the lessons were there for
him to see. He was probably better off since JJ and LT had started living
with me. He now interacted with the boys that stopped by to play ball and
was even doing much better in school. It was amazing what a few months
could accomplish.
About then I realized there was a cock against my crack. There was
also a soft, warm breath on the back of my neck. While there might have
been two layers of cloth between that cock and my crack, I still knew
exactly what it was. My mind drifted on to Lee. I still wasn't sure what
to do with and for him. Last night has been the first time I had ever seen
him laugh and seem to have a good time. He had been badly abused and just
retreated into himself. I needed to devote some time to him and try to get
him to see that he deserved to be loved and was a good person. I still
wasn't sure just how to do that. It amazed me that after all the things
that had happened to him, he felt comfortable sleeping in the same bed with
me. I would have thought that he would have been scared to even let any
man close to him. He still wasn't letting anyone except me close to him
but somehow he had accepted me as a sort of protector. I wasn't really
sure why but I knew I had to be careful and never give him any reason to
doubt that I cared for him and would help keep him safe.
Minds are funny things. They sometimes react in the most
unexpected ways. The sexual abuse he had received should have made him
afraid to be around any gay man but he didn't look at me that way. I hoped
he would not tell anyone about me but so far I was afraid to really talk
about that with him. I didn't want to upset him or remind him of things.
Of course such feelings of fear of gays are silly. Sexual abuse is no more
common among gays than it is among heterosexual people; at least the
research I'd seen seemed to bear that out. Sure there were those people
who set out to prove something bad about gay people and twisted the facts
to suit their purposes but true research seemed to show it was about the
same. That just went to prove my belief that people were people. There
were some bad ones in any group but the averages pretty well balanced out.
If a given percentage of the people were destined to be crooks, then it
didn't make much difference what ethnic background they had. People
pointed to the prison population and tried to say blacks committed more
crimes but good studies seemed to suggest that the imbalance was created
more from poor attorneys and jury attitudes. In fact, one study had said
that one should look at crime more based on poverty, rather than race. I
didn't have the background to really understand his study but it seemed
pretty logical to me. In the meantime I just continued to lie there,
enjoying the warmth the two boys shared with me. One I loved deeply and
the other I wanted to help.
Lee started to stir. I could feel he was waking up. Suddenly he
was trying to get away from me. His arm had been across me and gotten
between me and Corey. Then my arm had sort of trapped his arm there. I
picked my arm up and he jerked his arm loose and rolled away from me.
I rolled over and whispered to him. "What's the matter Lee?"
He was incoherent. He stammered and stuttered and I couldn't make
any sense of what he was saying. It finally dawned on me what the problem
was.
"Look Lee, all males past the start of puberty wake up with a
hard-on. The fact that yours was pressing against me doesn't mean anything
except that you need to take a leak. You need to get over the
embarrassment of that. It happens to all males. I've got one right now,
Corey has one, I'm sure JJ and LT are hard if you check them, and you have
one. It doesn't mean anything so don't worry about it," I whispered. "I
have no idea how long that lasts but my father was in his fifties when he
was killed and it still happened to him so don't worry about it," I
continued. "You'd have had one whether you were in bed with someone or in
bed by yourself. That should tell you that it's something you can't
control and means nothing." I couldn't think of more to say so I stopped.
Lee's breathing steadied and he was silent for a while. He finally
whispered thank you and got up and headed for the bathroom. Glancing at
the clock radio I saw it was about time to get up anyway, so I did.
About then I realized I should have gotten up earlier. My bladder
was about to burst. Lee had started brushing his teeth, from the sounds of
things, and I finally couldn't stand it.
"Sorry," I told him as I rushed past him. Then there was the usual
problem of getting the damn thing to point where I wanted it to point and
finally, blessed relief. When I finished, Lee was staring at me, his
toothbrush still in his mouth. "Don't try to tell me you don't have the
same problem in the morning," I said grinning at him as I shoved him aside
so I could wash my hands. He blushed a bright red but at least went back
to brushing his teeth.
Lee was just rinsing his mouth when Corey charged past him. I knew
Corey would have the same problem that I'd had and just ignored the whole
thing. Lee came out with a surprised look on his face but after glancing
at me he grinned. I gave him the okay sign and started the in-room coffee
maker. It wasn't very big but at least it would get me started. The motel
really needed to get a better brand of coffee; however it would get me by
until breakfast.
I had my teeth brushed and was just starting my first cup of coffee
when Corey turned on the television. The volume was a little loud and
groans started coming from JJ and LT. LT bailed out of bed and dashed
towards the bathroom, his boxers obviously tented. He was quickly followed
by JJ in the same condition. I grinned at Lee and got a big smile in
return. That smile was accompanied by a little blush.
We had all dressed and were discussing where to eat breakfast when
the room phone rang. It was Mrs. Collins inviting us to breakfast. I
tried to beg off, not wanting to bother them, but she insisted. Since she
didn't want to take no for an answer, I acquiesced. We headed over to the
Collins and were soon there.
Breakfast was okay. I'm sorry, that's about the best I can say
about it. The hotcakes were doughy and the ham undercooked. It wasn't so
bad you couldn't eat it but it wasn't the best either. Lee didn't seem to
notice but the other boys did. They didn't eat nearly as much as they
normally would. As far as that goes, I didn't exactly try to fatten up for
a long winter. Let's just say that I was looking forward to lunch.
After breakfast I learned why Mrs. Collins had been so insistent.
Mr. Stanton wanted to talk and ask questions. Mr. Collins joined him. I
ended up telling them a lot of things I didn't know that I remembered.
Mr. Downie had been complaining for years that he needed to find some more
help. He'd had a retired part-time man before I moved to the area but I
had never met him. I remembered hearing that Mr. Downie had bought the
store as a kind of retirement job when he moved there but didn't know much
about it. Whatever he had retired from must have been profitable because
he was only in his early fifties now. The building had originally been a
separate meat market, grocery store, and dry goods store. When he had
bought it, he had remodeled it into one store. That made it bigger than
his business might have warranted but made for roomy aisles. He had even
bought the building next door to the store and had it torn down and
converted the space into a parking area for the store. The Downies seemed
to have some money but I had no idea how much. I also knew that the
business had slowly been growing all the time I had been there. Of course
the storm had produced a big jump in the business and just brought the
problem of help to the forefront. All this and a lot more I could tell
them but there were a lot of things I couldn't.
I couldn't tell them much about the smoke-house part of it because
I had never been in it. I did know that, before it got so busy, there had
always been several different kinds of sausages that no longer appeared in
the case. I really had no idea of what kind of person Mr. Downie was to
work for and could only talk about him as a friend.
I could tell them a lot about the area. Of course the answers to
questions about schools were easy and the ones on property values were only
a little out of date. There were also questions about recreation,
distances to shopping areas, attitudes of the people in the area and other
things that sometimes surprised me. Three hours later I felt like I had
been through an inquisition. At least Mr. Stanton had finally reached the
end of the list he had his questions on. With that, Mr. Collins got us all
a beer.
Ten minutes of so of sipping on the beer with not much being said
suddenly ended. Mr. Stanton looked up and sighed.
"Boy I wish it was a little closer. I'd really like to talk to him
and see if we could work something out."
"I take it that means that you're interested," I commented.
"Yeah, it's just that it's so far away."
I thought for a little while. "Is it because you're worried about
moving to a different area or because it's so far to go for an interview?"
"Both. I'm scared that the offer might not be genuine. I'm scared
of moving away from all the people I know. I don't know how the kids would
like it..." he trailed off.
I couldn't help it. I kicked into teacher mode. "A teacher once
taught me that to solve a problem that looks over-powering, break it down
into pieces and try to solve the pieces. As I see it, you have to figure
out if the offer is good enough to satisfy you, you need to figure out if
you could move across the country and be happy, you need to ask your kids
if they think that they would be happy moving to another area, you need to
think through how moving that far away would affect your family, and you
need to come up with a way to look things over out there. There might be
other things but those are a good start."
He thought for a few seconds before saying anything. "The offer's
plenty good, in fact probably better than the job I had." There was
another pause. "I'd have to ask the kids, I think they'd accept it but I
don't know." He looked at his father-in-law. "I'd miss you and Jess,
you've been a Godsend. I don't know how I could have gotten through all
this..." his voice broke and I could see tears in his eyes. He took a
couple of breaths before continuing, "Without your help." He fell silent
except for a few sniffles. A couple of minutes passed before he looked up
again.
I interrupted him just as he was about to start. "Why don't you
think about it and talk it over with your kids. We can discuss it some
more before I leave."
They agreed to that. I was trying to gather up the boys when
Mrs. Collins started insisting that we join them for dinner. Based on
breakfast I wasn't real fond of the idea. I was trying to weasel out when
I got an idea.
"We'll accept but only if you let me do the cooking. I've already
put you out more than I should have."
That took some more arguing but I eventually prevailed. After
looking over a few things and asking if there were any things they wouldn't
eat, I managed to get the boys and escape. It was about lunch time.
At least JJ had managed to convince Kathy to back off a little. I
got a full blow by blow report on that along with some whining about
breakfast. When I told them we were going to dinner at the Collins, you'd
have thought I was going to kill them. Lee didn't complain but the others
more than made up for it. Whining comments like `do we have to' and `that
sucks' filled the car and were accompanied by rolling their eyes up before
I managed to tell them I was going to do the cooking. That calmed them
down.
Lunch was okay. I mean it was better than breakfast. When we were
finished I headed for a market. If I was going to fix dinner, I needed to
see what was available. The selection wasn't as good as I had hoped.
It wasn't that there weren't lots of things for sale; it was just
that nothing really looked good. The chickens didn't thrill me and the
seafood was even worse. I had thought maybe Chicken Cacciatore or Cioppino
might be good but those seemed out. I could get by with the chicken but
there were not enough different things for a good Cioppino. We tried
another market.
It wasn't much better. The seafood selection still sucked. Some
fish that had been frozen and some of those packages in the frozen food
section covered it. The chickens were still kind of scrawny looking.
However, the beef department was better. I finally pushed the button for
the butcher and requested some New York strips cut thicker than those in
the case. He didn't have any prime beef but his choice looked pretty good.
A few minutes later I had the steaks. I grabbed a few other items and we
headed back for the motel.
The cheap chef's knife I'd purchased was dull but I managed to peel
and dice some onions and garlic. Some olive oil, wine vinegar, and a few
spices went in a plastic bag along with the steaks. They would have a few
hours to marinate. The el-cheapo pepper-mill about drove me nuts. It
seemed like it took forever to get enough ground. It and the knife
wouldn't compare to what I was used to but they had been about my only
choices at the store. I stuffed the steaks and the salad makings in the
little refrigerator the room had. It didn't really look like it would hold
over a couple of six-packs but I got everything in.
The boys had found a football game and were watching it so I
decided to take a jog. I was somewhat surprised when they decided to join
me. With all the sitting around we had been doing, I just needed to work
up a sweat. Even with a couple of tee shirts under my sweats I still
didn't work up much of a sweat. It was just too cold. Still I think we
all felt better afterwards. By the time we were all cleaned up, it was
time to head for the Collins'.
The first thing I did was put the potatoes in to bake. Then Robert
took pity on me and sharpened the knife. That was a big help. At least it
cut now.
While the potatoes were baking we had another beer. Finally Robert
told me he was going to have to pass on the job from Mr. Downie. When I
pressed him, I finally figured out it was because he couldn't afford the
trip to check it out. I also learned the kids thought it would be kind of
neat to move to California. By the time I got all that information it was
time to start cooking.
I cut up the salami and cheese for the salad. "After tossing the
cheese in a little olive oil to stop it from sticking together, I set it
aside. The lettuce, diced green onions, sliced radishes, and other things
went in a bowl. Now it was time to work on the potatoes.
I scooped the centers of the now cooked potatoes into a bowl, added
a couple of bunches of diced green onions, a couple of dollops of sour
cream, a quarter pound of butter, some milk, and a couple of jars of
drained, diced pimentos. Those things, along with some salt and pepper
were whipped together. Then I put the whipped potatoes back into the
potato skins. They were now ready to be reheated.
I had some green beans with diced bacon and onion on the stove.
They were almost ready so I put the frying pan on and started heating it.
I also had the oven cranked up to four-fifty. While the pan was getting
hot, I diced a couple of shallots. The pan was starting to smoke so it was
time to get started.
Mrs. Collins was scowling at me over the way I was treating her
frying pan. It was a nice big cast iron one and I was almost in love with
it at first sight. It was bigger than any I had ever seen before. I knew
I needed to check and see if I could find one that big.
I had everything ready by the time I started on the steaks. It
didn't take long to brown them and into the oven they went to finish
cooking. Mrs. Collins had a nice big broiler pan that was just right for
that. As soon as all the steaks were in the oven, I threw the shallots, a
couple cloves of diced garlic, some wine, a little au juice, and some salt
and pepper in the frying pan. A few squirts of Worcestershire sauce
followed. When it was cooked down enough, some butter completed the sauce
for the steaks. A simple oil and vinegar dressing completed the salad. It
was time to eat. I opened the oven and pulled the French bread to which
I'd applied a mixture of butter, chopped chives, a little olive oil, some
parmesan cheese, and lots of garlic out and cut it into serving pieces. A
few minutes later the steaks had rested long enough to serve.
The Collins and the Stantons wanted their meat cooked more
thoroughly than my bunch did. Their steaks had been the first in the oven
and they were done all the way through. The other five were just right,
nice and pink in the middle. Mr. Collins said a nice Grace.
It had taken about all of the glasses Mrs. Collins had to get
enough for the boys and all of the adults to have wine. It didn't look
real elegant in water glasses but who cared. Kathy and Derrick glared at
me because they didn't get any but I was only following their father's
orders. They need to take it up with him.
Mrs. Collins had been glaring at me when I was cooking but, as soon
as she started on her steak, that ceased. I spent half of the meal
explaining that the pan had to be real hot to get enough fond on the bottom
of the pan for the sauce. I also explained that you had to finish them in
the oven so that you didn't burn or dry them out and still got them as done
as you wanted. The steaks had averaged almost a pound apiece and they
disappeared like they had never existed. For that matter, so did the rest
of the dinner. The only things left were a few beans and a little salad.
While the steaks weren't quite as good as those I got from Downie's, they
were still excellent.
Derrick took the boys off to play some video games and Kathy went
to a friend's house. That left the adults alone so we could talk. I
poured the last of the second bottle of wine and got started.
"I don't really know how to start this. If you could, would you
like to take on raising Lee?"
There was a pause for a short while. "I don't know. I don't know
him. He probably hates me."
"I don't think he hates you. He was pretty upset the night of the
fight but he thought you hated him. I really think he needs some family.
Granted you two don't know each other but I think he would really like a
chance to get to know you. His life has been pretty shitty and having some
family to love him would definitely help."
There was another pause before he spoke. "I guess I would if he
was willing. As soon as I get a good enough job maybe I can get it worked
out."
I wasn't sure how to go about the next thing. "Look, does the job
offer from Mr. Downie sound good enough. I mean do you think that you
would be able to make it on that and raise Lee?"
"Oh yeah. The job offer is plenty good. It's a hell of a lot
better than my old job."
I wondered how to proceed. Finally I just plunged ahead. "Look,
you can stay with me for a couple of weeks. That way you can meet the
Downies and look the area over. I've got an extra vehicle you can use and
plenty of space in the house. You could also meet Lee's case worker. You
could fly back with us if Dale and Jessica are willing to watch your kids
for that period."
"I can't afford it." His head was down and he looked like he was
about ready to cry when he said that. "My unemployment's run out and so
far, I haven't been able to get any other assistance. They keep shuffling
me around."
Dale jumped in. "We can't help him either. Betty's medical costs
have wiped us all out."
Robert added some more. "When I had to take time to take care of
Betty, that created problems. The welfare office thought I was trying to
get out of work and so far I haven't got that straightened out." He
sounded bitter when he told me that.
Now the ball was in my court. I wondered just how far I was
willing to go. I didn't owe him anything but I still wanted to help Lee.
Lee deserved some help. I took a sip of the wine, and then another while
the silence just seemed to keep growing. I could hear the sounds of some
video game from another part of the house while I contemplated what to do.
"Look," I started. "I'll buy you a round trip ticket. The only
problem is that the closest airports are about four hours from my house.
You'd have to fly back with us because I can't take the time off to pick
you up. I was going to fly back late Monday, after the funeral, but I can
probably get the tickets changed to Tuesday. I know its short notice but
that's about the best I can do. I might have to put you on a bus to get
back to the airport for your return flight."
There was a lot of talk after that. In fact, there was about three
hours worth. Not only that, several relatives that were going to attend
the funeral showed up. Dale and Robert and I ended up in the kitchen,
talking, and Jessica entertained the relatives in the living room. They
were all from Betty's side of the family. Still, Robert had to greet them.
In the end, I dug out my cell phone and called Delta. I got a sympathetic
reservation's clerk and I guess those high priced tickets I'd bought were
worth it. We could all fly out at 8:40, Tuesday morning. We would again
change planes in Salt Lake and get to Oakland shortly after noon,
California time. We could have left earlier but would have had to wait
longer in Salt Lake and would have ended up on the same plane from Salt
Lake to Oakland. At least this time, the time zones were helping us.
Since Robert's ticket was also open-ended, it wasn't cheap. What the hell,
its only money. If things worked out, it would be worth it. I was still
wondering if I was doing the right thing. I'd gotten myself a lot more
embroiled in this whole mess than I had planned on.
There wasn't much to do between breakfast and the funeral. Lee was
pretty sad, even though he hadn't really known his mother. The rest of us
tried to be quiet and help him in any way we could but it was still kind of
awkward. No one was sure what to say to Lee and he wasn't saying much to
us. Finally we were all dressed and at the funeral parlor.
It was a nice service. You could see a few places where the family
had tried to cut costs but you had to look closely. I'd ordered a nice
flower arrangement which ended up on the casket. The crowd was somewhat
small but most of them were relatives in one way or another. I even met
the attorney from Lexington. Since my Gaydar was almost non-existent, he
didn't set off any alarms but all the rest of the family talked and joked
with him as much as ever happens at things like these. He got lots of hugs
from almost everyone who attended so the statement Mr. Collins had made
about him being accepted appeared accurate.
Then there was the reception or whatever you call it afterward. I
can think of a lot of things I would much rather do. I knew almost none of
the people and the Collins were trying to treat me like I was part of the
family. The boys escaped with Derrick and I was left to fend for myself
amongst a bunch of strangers. They all knew each other and were visiting
and about the best I could do was find a corner and sort of hide out.
About midway through the afternoon I managed to get the boys and get out of
there.
We might as well have stayed. There was really nothing to do.
Daytime television sucks and since we had to go back over to finish making
arrangements to pick Mr. Stanton up in the morning, we couldn't even go
somewhere or do anything. Finally it was late enough to eat dinner. A
pretty nice looking restaurant, wasn't. We didn't get sick or anything but
the food could have used a lot of improvement. Very over-cooked and
tasteless would be a fair description. At least the prices weren't too
bad. If I'm ever in Walton again, I won't eat there. Any one of the fast
food chains would be an improvement. We should have eaten at the on-site
restaurant. The meals we had eaten in it were much better.
I really felt sorry for Robert's children the next morning. Their
mother had just been buried and their father was taking off for a week or
two. Now that the funeral was over, everyone just seemed drained and Kathy
and Derrick appeared to be the most affected by it. At least they had been
living with their grandparents and been enrolled in their current school
for almost a year. Still, it was going to be hard for them. It always
helps to have stability in a child's life and theirs had been anything but
stable recently.
Fortunately Mrs. Collins didn't cook and we just had cereal
instead. That got us going and we headed for the airport. The rush hour
traffic was a pain but we had allowed ample time for it so that wasn't a
problem. Check-in took a little longer this time but still wasn't as bad
as some of those horror stories you hear about it. It wasn't as nice from
Salt Lake to Oakland this time because they didn't have a first class
section. I could have gotten first class but the times would have been
worse and through Atlanta. However they did their best to make us happy
and I'll have to say that they did a pretty good job. I'd never flown with
Delta before but would certainly use them again if conditions were right.
They were fully as good as the other airlines I had used.
By the time we got our luggage and gathered up and in the Gator it
was almost one o'clock and no one was hungry. We decided to head home and
pick up some burgers on the way. With a little luck we should make it
around five.
Burger King got our business this time. I like their burgers a
little better but McDonalds has better French fries in my opinion. However
it was a quiet trip. Mr. Stanton wasn't talking and neither was Lee. The
rest of us tried not to disturb them.
When I stopped to pick up something to eat, pandemonium reigned.
Downie's was swamped. The parking lot of full and the store was even
worse. When Ellen saw me, her face lit up and she rushed over and gave me
a kiss on the cheek.
"What's going on? You having some big sale?" I asked.
"Carter's burned down Sunday night." She didn't have to say any
more. Charter's was the other full service grocery store in town. "While
the investigation isn't done, they think there was some kind of a mistake
with the repairs from the storm or some damage they missed," she finished.
The next thing I knew, the boys were working and Robert and I were
back in the meat department. When Mr. Downie saw me, he ran over and
hugged me. To say I was surprised doesn't even come close. He had never
done more than shake hands before. He pleadingly asked me if I could help
for a little while. The next thing I knew I was putting hamburger in those
thingies again, and then running them through the wrapping machine and
putting the price stickers on them. I hadn't even had time to introduce
Robert.
I guess I didn't need to introduce him because when I looked up, he
was busy cutting steaks. We didn't get a chance to talk but instead were
busy trying to get some meat in the case so it could be sold. For the next
two and a half hours all I did was package, price, and put stuff in the
display case. When quitting time finally rolled around, the case was still
almost empty. People were grabbing stuff off of the cart as I rolled it
over to the case. At least I didn't have to worry about making the case
look nice.
Carl and Robert had disappeared and the boys were busy refilling
the shelves with canned goods. I started cleaning up those things that I
had learned how to do. This wasn't what I had planned for the evening. I
dug out my cell phone and let Jerry know I was back and would be in
tomorrow.
I was about done cleaning when Carl and Robert returned. They had
been in the smoke-house. They were chattering away like old friends. We
finished getting the place cleaned up and left. What a mess. It was now
almost ten and we still hadn't had dinner.
I threw a bunch of chili in a pot while everyone else packed stuff
in from the Gator. Some grilled cheese sandwiches joined the chili and
then it was time for bed. I showed Robert the sex room and headed for the
shower. I'd already given Lee the guest room. Robert could sleep there
until he went back. He just thought it was another bedroom and I didn't
bother to tell him anything different. Besides, since I had taken all the
wild stuff out, that's what it was. Sara and Bruno had complained about it
no longer looking like something that, they said they imagined, would be in
a whore house. I will admit to wondering if it was all their imagination
or if they had something to compare it too. My questioning on that subject
hadn't been very successful. Bruno had just looked innocent and asked why
I thought he would have ever gone to a whore house. Sara had acted
insulted but I still wasn't convinced. They had exchanged too many looks.
The snickers I heard floating after me when I left the room that time, made
me real curious.
Corey was asleep by the time I finished my shower. I got into bed
and he soon assumed his usual position. A few kisses to the top of his
head produced a soft sigh but nothing more. It was good to be back in my
own bed with Corey beside me. I couldn't help but think that all was right
in my world as I drifted off to sleep.
Lee woke me up when he got into bed with us. He was breathing sort
of ragged and I managed to rouse myself enough to ask what was wrong. He
said he'd had a bad dream. He curled up on my other side and soon we were
once again asleep.
The morning was somewhat interesting. That was when Lee learned
that Corey and I slept in the raw. He eyes almost bugged out when Corey
started stretching after the alarm went off. When I headed for the
bathroom, led by my slightly over six inches, he turned red as a beet.
Corey let his five inches lead him behind me. Lee got even redder. With
Kevin and Kristen in the house, Corey and I had been sleeping in our briefs
but with them gone, it was back to normal. I didn't even blush; I still
wasn't awake enough to do so.
I gave Robert a code for the alarm, the keys to the pickup, showed
him where the phone book and phone were, and told him he was on his own
until I finished work. He left at the same time I did, telling me he had
agreed to meet Mr. Downie early.
Kids are gruesome little monsters. As soon as I got in class, they
started asking me if it was true that I had saved Lee from killing himself.
I was trying to downplay what had happened but some of the comments about
splat on the rocks and things like that seemed a little strange. In the
end, I decided it would be better to be honest and told them that Lee was
being abused at home and didn't know he had anyone that would help him. I
threw in that they could always call on me for help. When all was said and
done, maybe that was the best way to handle things. It wasn't what I had
planned on but when the rumor mill had gotten going, the word was out and
it was probably better to meet it head-on than any other way.
Hopefully, the time I spent talking, about not having to commit
suicide, was time well spent. I didn't have a single class in which we got
to cover much math. The kids were all curious about what had happened with
Lee and I ended up going over the whole thing four times. During lunch,
Mr. Mathers and I discussed if we should hold an assembly about the subject
but decided against it. What I told my classes would be all over the
community before nightfall, not that I was really adding much to what was
already going around. At least the part about the sexual abuse wasn't yet
common knowledge. I really hoped that didn't get out. Lee didn't need to
try to cope with that. When I told the kids about Lee's having been
kidnapped and just barley getting to know his mother, they all thought that
was a bummer to use their word. I think I managed to make them feel sorry
enough for Lee that they wouldn't think of him as some kind of freak. I
wondered how it was going for him in the high school.
When I had all the boys gathered up to go home, I told Lee what I'd
done in school. He told me that some of the students had looked at him
pretty strange but not much had been said. However we didn't make it home
right away. Once again we got sidetracked at Downie's.
Robert was busy cutting meat and Mr. Downie got me aside and told
me that he had four new employees starting tomorrow. He also told me that
Robert was even better than he had hoped. He was also going to hire a
friend of Robert's and that should give him enough help. Roberts's friend
was flying out and would get in over the week-end. I also learned that
Mr. Carter was not planning on rebuilding. He was ready to retire and the
store hadn't been fully insured. With what he had, and the insurance
money, he wouldn't have to work.
Since Carl and Robert seemed to have the meat department under
control, I started stocking shelves. They weren't as bad as last night but
still were getting low on some things. Lee was tagging along with me when
Ellen spied him. She came over and was talking to him about mopping
floors. He looked a little less than thrilled until she mentioned what she
would pay him. After that I didn't see him until I got close to the
produce section where he was busy mopping the floor and he had a grin on
his face.
It was getting close to closing time when Ellen came back over to
Lee. I was close enough to overhear her. Lee started blushing when she
praised his work and that grin got even bigger. She explained how and when
he would be paid. It suddenly dawned on me that this was the first time I
had ever seen him truly happy. It made him almost look like a different
person. There was a sparkle in his eyes and his shoulders were higher. It
was very apparent he was starved for attention and praise. The way he had
been being treated since he called me was starting to sink in. He was
beginning to think better of himself. You could just see it on his face.
I found myself grinning right along with him. Things looked like they
might work out pretty well.
A couple of chickens from the deli section, which for the first
time in a while actually had a bunch of stuff in it, and home we all went.
Robert followed us. He was grinning almost as much as Lee when he got
inside. While we ate he was telling us how great the job looked. Not only
that, when Mr. Downie had learned the level of his skills, the salary had
gone up. He was about as happy as it was possible to be. His black eyes
still showed a little but so did mine. You really had to look to spot any
sign of Corey's. At least the swelling in Robert's nose had gone down.
Billy and Larry were there so things were pretty well back to normal. As
soon as dinner was done I made the kids start on their homework while I
corrected papers. Billy and Larry soon headed for home and Mr. Stanton
couldn't stand it any more. He just needed to talk and tell me more about
how good things looked. I didn't get much more done that night as I
listened to what a nice guy Mr. Downie was and how, as soon as Robert's
friend got there, they were going to get the smoke-house operation back in
full swing. He was busy telling me about all the different sausages and
things they were going to make. I couldn't get Robert to shut up and go to
bed. The boys headed off about ten and it was after eleven that I chased
Robert to bed so I could get some sleep. I had wanted to play around a
little, all right, more than a little, but Corey was asleep when I finally
got to bed. I grumbled to myself and joined him.
In the morning, Lee was once again beside me. At least this time
he didn't blush when Corey and I got up. He still had his briefs on but he
seemed to ignore the fact that Corey and I didn't. I didn't have much time
to talk with anyone before I had to leave but everyone seemed happy.
Ellen grabbed me when I walked in with the boys. The boys managed
to escape to their jobs but I wasn't so lucky. Besides, there were a bunch
of people, I didn't know, that were working and things looked under
control.
I swear that Ellen looked ten years younger and she was positively
bubbling. They finally had enough help, either working or hired, and
things looked like they were getting under control. She went on and on
about what a great guy Robert was and how happy she was I had found him for
them. I didn't even have to tell her what was going on at school. She was
too busy telling me how things were going at the store. They had hired the
best of Carter's crew. When I asked if they had hired any other meat
cutter, she laughed and told me that Charter's had bought all their meat
pre-cut, all they had done was package it. Mr. Carter had done what little
cutting was necessary so there had been no one to hire. Mr. Downie had
hired one of the people who had packaged and put him to work doing the
same.
After listening to Ellen for a half hour, I bought some groceries
and headed home. There were several neighborhood boys wandering around
when I got there and I explained that the boys were working. I ended up
getting the groceries inside and then playing basketball with them.
Several others showed up and we had a pretty good game. By the time it was
over, I needed a break. If I'd do that all the time I wouldn't need to
jog. The basketball players didn't turn me down when I invited them to
raid the refrigerator.
I had a big stew cooking by the time I had to pick the boys up. I
knew Mr. Stanton would be later and it would only get better for him. The
boys inhaled their usual amounts and started their homework. Mr. Stanton
came in and, as soon as he was cleaned up, started on the stew.
Corey came in to show me his homework about the time Mr. Stanton
said, "You're a better cook than Jess."
"Yeah, a lot better." About that time Corey realized what he had
said and turned bright red and fled the room. Robert started laughing.
"Well, he's right. Jess isn't a very good cook. Neither was
Betty." As soon as he said that, all the sparkle left his face. I could
see tears start to run down his cheeks when he continued. "I loved her but
she couldn't cook worth a damn," he choked out.
I made myself busy at the sink while he got himself back under
control. I couldn't think of anything to say. About then the phone rang
and it was Mr. Besslor wondering if LT would mind missing a lesson. Since
he hadn't had time to practice, I said I didn't think so. Then I had to
listen about how well things were going for the Clammers. Mr. Besslor had
no more than hung up when the phone rang again. Bob wanted to know if
Corey wanted a lesson on Saturday evening. I told him it sounded good. I
was sure Corey had been working on his lesson and was ready for another.
We talked for a few minutes, catching each other up on what was happening.
Robert didn't say much after that and soon retired to bed. The
rest of the boys soon headed for their beds and finally Corey and I were
alone in my bedroom. It really started off kind of slow. We were both so
glad to just be with each other that we couldn't seem to get past the
gentle kissing stage. You know what I mean, those little soft kisses that
you can barely feel but mean so much when you give and receive them. There
is so much love wrapped up in them. It's as if you were kissing something
very fragile and you had to be careful or you might break it. Those kisses
had so much love wrapped up in them that they couldn't break anything
except a heart, and then only if you refused to share them.
First I'd kiss for a while. I'd kiss his eyelids, his nose, his
lips, and even his chin. Then I'd work around and kiss his neck and
throat. Then it would be his turn. The kisses he gave me were as soft of
flower petals. If they hadn't been so warm, I might have thought he was
touching me with a feather. Then it was my turn again. I lost track of
the number of times we changed back and forth from kisser to kissee, but it
was really nice. It just seemed to bring a warm feeling of contentment
over me. My troubles seemed to melt away and the world was a wonderful
place. My heart was so full of happiness that I thought it would explode.
While it wasn't speeding up that much, it seemed to beat much more
strongly. It felt like it was almost pounding in my chest.
Those gentle kisses gave way to a little nibbling. I started it
when I was close to his ear. I just couldn't help myself. That perfect
earlobe was so inviting that I just started nibbling and he turned his head
so it was easier to reach that ear. I could hear a sigh. Some nibbling
and a few licks and I started licking my way across his throat. It wasn't
long until I found the other earlobe. Some nibbling and licking there and
I heard more sighs. God he tasted good. Well actually he didn't have much
flavor because he'd just had a shower but I still thought he tasted good.
I know he smelled good.
Soon it was again Corey's turn. When he started nibbling my
earlobe it felt great. Then I could feel him gently suck on that earlobe.
That felt even better. I couldn't seem to remain still. I could feel
myself trying to squirm around, giving him the best possible angle at that
earlobe. As his tongue worked it way across my throat, I shivered. It was
like little bolts of electricity were shooting through me. I was just
twitching and shivering. This was so much better than that hurried
encounter on the floor in the hotel.
Corey paused and it was my turn again. I rolled him on his back
and there was his chest, surmounted by those two nickel sized nipples. I
started on the first one and I could hear a hiss of breath. Nibbling and
sucking and licking of that nipple brought lots more of that hissing,
accompanied by more sighs. It was time to move on.
The other nipple brought just as much pleasure to me as the first
one. The Corey noises, that nibbling and kissing that nipple were evoking,
were turning me on, as if I needed turning on. By now it had to have
warmed up ten or twenty degrees in the bedroom. My heart was still
pounding only now that pounding was a little faster.
I don't remember what happened next. Suddenly Corey was on top of
me and it was like I was plugged into a high-voltage line. My whole body
was shaking. We were kissing and rubbing. Somehow my cock got between his
legs and was trapped there. Every time we stopped kissing long enough to
breathe, there was a bunch of groans and things like that. I could feel
his hard cock rubbing on my abdomen, just below my belly button. Mine was
rubbing against his perineum. We'd kiss for a while, pant a few times and
kiss some more, all the time humping together. Those gentle little kisses
were long forgotten and our hands were grasping whatever part of the other
we could get our hands on. I had two globes of flesh in my hands and was
kneading them like crazy. I felt like I was on fire. His body was
shooting electricity into me wherever it touched me.
Of course we couldn't last long when we got to that stage. His
legs clamped even tighter and he arched his back. There was some kind of a
loud noise but too many things were happening to me to figure out what that
noise was. Suddenly it felt like every muscle in my body was trying to
tear itself apart. I couldn't begin to take a breath and I really needed
one.
Corey collapsed on me and I fell back on the bed. The only sound
left was the sound of both of us panting. It sounded like the end of a
long race. I wanted another kiss but could no more move my head to get one
than I could control my racing heart.
When Corey's breathing was almost back to normal, there was a long
soft sigh. After that he went totally limp. I could feel his gentle
breathing and knew he was asleep. I thought about waking him and telling
him he had no staying power but fell asleep before I could decide. I had
such a warm blanket.
To be continued...
The basic recipe for the potatoes is to take about three large
baking potatoes (those big ones sold separately at the store) for amount.
I use four or five smaller ones but that should give you an idea of amount.
Bake and then scoop the center of the baked potatoes out, being careful not
to tear the potato skins. When the skins are empty, set aside. Take a
four oz jar of pimento and drain and then mince very fine. Add to the
potatoes. Finely dice one decent sized bunch of green onions (both white
and green parts) and add. Add about half a stick of butter and enough milk
to whip. Be sure to use plenty of salt and pepper. The potatoes should be
very pink. Place the whipped pink potatoes back in their skins and reheat
before serving. You can add a little sour cream, some parmesan cheese or
whatever sounds good. I've also used a couple of tablespoons of
horseradish. A little grated sharp cheddar cheese is also good but they
are excellent when just the basic recipe. I probably use the basic recipe
90 per-cent of the time. When fixing them for myself, I frequently just
peel and boil the potatoes. They aren't as nice to serve but you don't
have to have any gravy. Make a big batch and freeze. You can reheat them
in the micro-wave. It is an excellent way to use up those little potatoes
that come in a sack if you don't mind just serving them from a bowl. It
does make a nice presentation when you bake them and serve them in the
skins. Be sure and make lots. I make a double batch just for myself and
freeze the excess. Then when I get home from work, nuke them a little and
add a steak and salad. That makes a quick and easy dinner. I really can't
say how long they will keep in the freezer because they have never lasted
more than a few weeks. Really great for a barbeque because you don't have
to have any topping for them. Like I said, be sure to add enough salt and
pepper. They should not require any salt and pepper when served. I have
even added such things as sauteed mushrooms. Depends on what I have in the
house. Chopped chives are good. Just add what you like to the basic
recipe. Really nice for guests because you can make them ahead of time.