Date: Tue, 25 Apr 2006 04:35:34 -0700
From: fritz@nehalemtel.net
Subject: I Love Corey, Chapter Seventy-nine

	So once again we are at the hated warning and discloser.  Yes, I
know it is boring, and yes, I know you don't really pay any attention to
it, and yes, I know you wish I would quit writing the stupid things and
just get on with the story, but alas, I only feel it is my duty to try to
protect you from some of the evils of life.  What evils are those you ask?
Why the evils of reading this story, which can be against the law for you,
or can just plain be boring.  So with those thoughts in mind, here goes.

	For any young people reading this story, you really shouldn't.  As
you know, people are rightfully trying to protect you from people like me.
Should you choose to ignore this warning, I hope you enjoy the story.
Should you take a chance and write to me, I promise not to tell anyone.
Still, you might be breaking the law so let your conscience be your guide.
Just know your secrets are safe with me.

	Of course you might encounter descriptions of gay sex acts.  Now if
that would cause you to be offended, then you should leave before such a
despicable thing happens to you.  It is not my intention to offend you, but
you have now been warned and if you continue to read don't think I'm going
to be sympathetic to your offended sensibilities.

	Should you happen to live where the reading of stories like this
one is illegal, you can do one of two things.  You can leave, or you can
quietly think, "Screw you authorities," and go right on reading.  Now I
certainly wouldn't recommend going out in the street and shouting those
thoughts out loud or giving those authorities the one-legged peace symbol,
but it is sort of fun to think about it.

	Please by nice and give me the usual privileges accorded to
authors.  If you choose not to do so, please don't let me find out as that
would only upset me.

	This story is make believe so none of the characters exist and none
of the events happened.  Instead it is just a story, written for your
amusement and entertainment.  If you find the story neither amusing, nor
entertaining, quit reading and find something more to your liking.

	Once again it is time to thank Don for his efforts in improving the
story.  His help is more than you can ever know and I am very grateful to
him.

	Feel free to write and complain, ask questions, offer suggestion,
or whatever strikes your fancy.  I try to answer such emails, and I don't
share names so you won't be embarrassed.  Send such communications to
fritz@nehalemtel.net And so, gentle readers, I hope you enjoy the following
chapter.  Well, not so gentle readers may enjoy it also, if that is
possible.

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

			I Love Corey, Chapter Seventy-nine

	Surprise, surprise, my real boys were back.  Corey and Mark were
their usual bright-eyed selves, and Kyle was once again his usual
sleepyhead.  Danny joined JJ and LT in being slightly more awake than Kyle,
but not nearly as alert as either Corey or Mark.  However it didn't really
make much difference to me since I'd already put the roast in the oven and
was searing it while I cooked breakfast for the boys.  Some food and even
Kyle started to wake up, and not only that, he was actually pretty alert by
the time we headed back for more fun at the Adventure Park.  I figured he
would finally get fully going about the time the roller coaster made its
takeoff.

	Now I confess to liking roller coasters, so I had a blast, as did
the boys on California Screamin'. I don't really know why I like them, but
I always have and this one was great.  There is something about the sudden
drop as you crest the first peak that gets my heart beating faster, and
then there's the sudden rush of the wind past your face.  My biggest
complaint about roller coasters is that they just don't last long enough.
I swear that in my dreamworld, the ride would go on and on.  However like
all coasters, this one ended far before I was ready for it to end.  I liked
the upside down loop and really, I would have been happy to go again but
the boys were dragging me off to another ride.  Ah well, maybe when we come
back this summer I can ride it again, and even perhaps again.

	And so the day went.  No sooner had they finished one ride than
they were off to another one, dragging me along.  However there was one
which the boys found particularly interesting, and that one was called
Maliboomer.  Now I thought it just another free fall ride, and while not
the greatest, it was pretty good.  However, one trip and Danny had a slight
green cast while Corey shook his head.  Meanwhile Mark was jumping up and
down and trying to get us back in line for another trip.  I mean they seat
you in this thing and then take you straight up one hundred and eighty feet
in four seconds where it stops for a bit.  About the time your stomach
starts to catch up with you and you have time to start thinking about what
comes next, down you go, passing your stomach somewhere along the way.
I've been on higher ones with a longer free fall time, but the boys had
never been on anything like it.  All except Danny and Corey were in love
with it, but I still liked California Screamin' better.

	Seeing the boy's reaction to Maliboomer I figured they had to try
the Tower of Terror.  When I told Mark that I thought he'd like the Tower
of Terror even better than Maliboomer, well let's just say I really should
have entered him in one of those tractor-pull contests.  He would have won
hands down.  Danny and Corey had recovered by the time we made our way to
it and were now looking forward to trying it.  Ah the resilience of kids.
I'd explained to them that they didn't have to go if they didn't want to,
but they were again ready to try anything.

	I don't know if it was the fact that this was the second free fall
ride and they had a somewhat better idea of what to expect, or that there
had been a little more time for them to digest their breakfasts, but Danny
and Corey were right up there with the other boys in thinking that the
Tower of Terror was great.  Of course Mark was almost off the wall and I
really think that if there had been a way to have food brought to him every
once in a while I could have left him there for the next ten years or so.

	Of course we had to take on some boy fuel, but that only seemed to
encourage them.  However, when they were taking on some more of that fuel a
second time, which in this case was some pizza at Pizza Oom Mow Mow, they
started complaining that they were never going to get to see or do
everything in only one week, and besides, Mark said he was getting a little
tired.  While the others wouldn't admit to such a thing they were starting
to show signs of slowing down.  They were no longer dragging me along and
were more content to walk together as a group to the next ride.  So I asked
them if they would rather keep going and try to see as much as they could,
or would they rather just take it easy and figure on coming back during the
summer to catch what they missed on this trip. Danny looked a little sad
until I assured him he would be more than welcome to join us, and then he
cheered back up.

	So after one more ride and a little more sightseeing we were headed
back for the trailer.  I again stopped to pick up some more groceries and
some more beer to replenish my supply which seemed to have taken a heavy
hit last night.  As it was, we got back to the trailer just after four
o'clock.  The boys were happy to just wander around outside, drinking some
pop and eating snacks.  The soccer ball was still in the back of the pickup
and it looked like it would stay there.  The boys had been wound up and on
the go since Saturday morning and looked like they might be running down
just a tad.  For that matter, I could use a little time off to rest and
relax.  To say I was happy that they were running out of energy would be
pretty accurate.

	I had been planning on a fairly simple menu when it dawned on me I
only had one oven, and so the baked potatoes I'd planned were out because
the oven was full of roast.  That meant I had to make a quick change in
plans.  I really don't know why I hadn't thought of that, but I guess I was
so used to having two ovens that my mind just hadn't given it a thought.
Oh well, I peeled those same potatoes and put them in a kettle to cook.  I
still had a little time so I didn't start them cooking, only placed the
kettle on the stove so it would be ready.  I'd simply have mashed potatoes
instead of baked ones.  Then I was busy hunting through the cupboards to
make sure I had everything I wanted for making the gravy.  That looked to
be covered so I quit worrying about it.  Suddenly it also dawned on me I
had no wine glasses.  There wasn't much else I could do so I just got out
the smaller glasses, the ones we used for juice, and let it go at that.  It
wouldn't be elegant, but somehow I didn't think it would be something the
Maxwells would complain about.  At least I had put a couple of bottles of
pretty good wine in the trailer a while back.  I'd grabbed a couple of
different bags of salad greens, and a red onion, along with some grape
tomatoes for the salad so I started making that.  I had remembered that I
didn't have six big burners so the vegetables would be sort of a medley of
carrots, cauliflower, some of the hated broccoli, and some zucchini slices
steamed with a little butter on them.  It wasn't very fancy but would have
to do.  I was really lost without my big range with its double ovens and
six full sized burners, not to mention the griddle for hotcakes and things
like that.  That thought started me wondering how my mother had ever
managed to get along on a thirty-inch range, not that I had any idea of
where they would have put one like mine had they had it.  I guess they
would have just had to build on to the kitchen.

	During the time I was cooking, Danny called his mother and I could
hear the excitement in his voice as he told her all about the fun he was
having.  He had called her Monday evening, but now he had ridden more rides
and he had to give her detailed descriptions of how great each of those
rides were and how much fun he was having.  He was chattering away so fast
and with such enthusiasm that I wondered if the phone would melt from all
the words he was spewing forth.  He was a little hung up on words like neat
and awesome, with a few radicals thrown in, but that didn't slow him down
at all and it didn't sound like he ever slowed down enough to give her a
chance to say anything.  Kath had been scheduled to get her cast off this
morning and I wondered if she had, but he never even asked.  I just kept on
with my cooking, grinning to myself as I listened to him.  Kath was getting
a blow by blow account of everything we had done whether she wanted it or
not, and I had grave doubts that even a muzzle would have worked at slowing
him down.  I couldn't believe the change from a quiet Danny to a happy
Danny.  He used more words on that phone conversation than I'd ever heard
him use at one time before.  He finally hung up and he was still grinning
from ear to ear.

	"Did your mom get her cast off?" I asked.

	"Yeah, she says it awesome to be able to scratch," he replied.  I
was surprised he had gotten any information from her.  She must have
sneaked it in when he was taking a breath because he sure never gave her a
chance any other time.  "She's going to soak it in that room in the
basement," he continued.  "She says it looks gross and stinks."

	Somehow I doubted that those were quite the words Kath had used,
but who knows.  I did think she had a good idea with a soak in the spa
though.  I couldn't remember if I'd pointed out the controls and how to
work them, but they weren't hard to figure out and a little soaking should
help stop the itching.  Things had been so hectic I couldn't remember half
of what had been said.

	Even after all their snacks the boys showed up, food on their
minds, just as I really got things really cooking.  I felt like a bloody
piece of meat being towed in shark-infested waters from all the hungry
looks I kept getting, but I did get a little work out of them.  They
consented to put the plates and dinnerware on the picnic table outside,
that is after I nagged long enough.  However they were more than willing to
go and tell the Maxwells that dinner was almost ready.  I was sneaky and
had allowed enough time for a cocktail if the Maxwells were so inclined.  I
didn't have much of a stock for a bar, but I did have a few things to mix
cocktails with.  Those things turned out to be unnecessary as they both
opted for a glass of wine before dinner, and they laughingly chided me
about worrying over the lack of wine glasses.  We visited a few minutes and
then I started making the gravy.

	Dinner turned out to be pretty well.  While the roast wasn't quite
as good as those I normally purchased at Downie's, it was still very good
and the rest was more than acceptable.  Danny's eye popped open when Corey
poured him a glass of wine, but other than that there were no surprises.
Dessert was a raspberry sorbet because I hadn't thought I would have time
to fix anything else.  By that time everyone was so full of roast that the
sorbet made a pretty nice dessert because it was light.  Some other kids
came walking past and the boys wanted to join them, but they knew they had
to do the dishes before they could.  They did a little whining over that
but no more than normal.

	The Maxwells and I sat and batted the breeze after the boys took
off.  However the boys were soon back and flaked out on the grass, the
dinner induced burst of energy all used up.  I was enjoying relaxing with a
glass of wine and visiting.  I learned more about the Maxwells' children
and found out that one of their sons was a lawyer, the other a doctor, and
their daughter was an interior decorator, all quite successful.  I also
learned they were from the Seattle area and were down to escape the rain
for a while.  All in all, a very nice visit.  It was nothing special,
merely very relaxing and pleasant, and I made sure they had my address so
they could stop anytime they were going through our area.

	The Maxwells said goodnight and the boys and I went into the
trailer and sort of collapsed.  I got the impression that all the
excitement was starting to wear the boys down, and their dragging me around
was doing the same to me.  And so we just sat there, sort of vegetating.  I
had suggested that we might go to the parks in the mornings and then take a
break by coming to the trailer and resting a little before going back to
close the parks down, but the boys hadn't thought that was a good idea.
Now it looked like they might be changing their minds a little on that
subject. There were a few halfhearted attempts to talk about what they
wanted to do tomorrow, and which rides looked best, but for the most part
they almost appeared sort of Disneylanded out.  And so we just sat there,
not saying much and resting.

	Finally LT brought up something that we'd talked about some time
back, and that was maybe going to a gun store and looking for shotguns.  I
was amazed at how quickly the boys revived and started showing some
enthusiasm.  Of course Danny didn't have any idea what we were talking
about, but the rest had all been trying to learn to shoot and had been
forced to wait their turn owing to the lack of guns with short enough
stocks.  We decided that tomorrow would be a good day to take it a little
easier and checkout a couple of sporting goods stores to see what was
available.  I knew there were a couple of stores that catered to
competition shooters, like trap shooters, so I suspected that we might do a
little more than just see what was available.  In fact if things had ever
calmed down for just a few days during the last couple of months I had
planned on ordering some shotguns and some adjustable stocks for them.
Still I liked the idea of seeing what I was buying and this way I could see
if my original ideas on what makes and models would be best were right or
wrong.  The boys also agreed to skip driving down to San Diego and going to
Sea World and the Zoo, that is as long as I promised to take them there
some other time like this coming summer.  I'd thought their plans were
pretty ambitious for the time we had, but they had thought they had it all
figured out so I hadn't said much.  Since then I'd merely neglected to
remind them of all the things they had planned, and they had been so busy
trying to decide what rides they still wanted to go on, or what attractions
they still wanted to see at Disneyland that they had forgotten they had
only planned on going there two days instead of the three they had now
devoted to it.  They hadn't believed me when I'd told them that they
wouldn't be able to do and see everything available at Disneyland in a
week, but they were discovering I'd been right on that.

            I came out of it in the morning, I had Corey with his head on
my chest, and Danny plastered tight to my other side and his arm draped
across me and touching Corey.  I had to wiggle around a little to get out
of bed, but the two boys never stirred.

	I wandered over to the shower facilities and had a shower.  I could
have taken one in the trailer but thought the noise might wake the boys up,
and the park had lovely showers anyway.  I picked up a newspaper on my way
back, made my usual coffee and was relaxing and reading the paper when boys
started waking up.  Mark was first and I got a really big hug from him and
he told me how much fun he was having.  He really was sweet this morning
and I hated to let him go, but he decided he needed a shower before
breakfast and so off he went.  And that was about the way things went that
morning.  A boy would straggle out, give me a hug, and head for the shower
facility.  I just enjoyed the hugs so much that I sort of lost track of
what was in the paper, but the world didn't appear to have ended so I
didn't really care.  Of course Kyle was the last one up, and when he headed
for his shower, I started breakfast.

	It was almost nine thirty by the time I had the boys filled up and
they had done the dishes.  That was much later than we had been doing so
far this week, and the extra time just seemed so relaxing that everyone was
in a really good mood without being excited.

	We happened to cross the Los Angeles River and the boys giggled at
the fact that where we crossed, it was more like a big concrete drainage
ditch than a river.  My folks had brought me to Los Angeles once when there
was quite a lot of water in it, but now it was pretty empty, and while not
confined to just the little area in the middle like it sometimes was, it
still didn't look like much of a river. It had been several weeks since Los
Angeles had had much rain so it was pretty empty.

	We finally made it to one of the places I was going to shop for
shotguns and while they were very helpful, they didn't have the adjustable
stock that I had wanted to see, so we headed for the next one.  There we
struck pay dirt.  They even had a small range behind the facility where you
could try the various guns and other products and see if you liked them.

	In both places Danny's eyes had about bugged out over the number of
guns available, and also because he had never been around any guns.  To say
he was fascinated doesn't even come close to describing him.  My boys were
merely curious as to what was available and so were pretty easy to keep
track of, but I finally had to set Corey to following Danny around and
keeping track of him.  Danny was all over the place, looking first at one,
and then another of the many guns available.

	This store not only had the stock I'd been considering, but a
couple of other brands as well.  Perhaps calling them brands isn't quite
right because they were examples from custom stock builders and each was a
little different.  We also had to discuss just which shotguns would be good
for the boys as beginning shooters, and why such guns were best.  In the
end the boys and I decided that some Beretta AL 391 Urika's, complete with
adjustable stocks and thirty inch barrels should fill the bill.  I thought
Danny was going to explode when we took him out and let him try one.  He
was just positively bouncing he was so excited.  He really looked shocked
when he fired the first time, and the gun kicked him a little, but that
didn't slow him down a bit.  He didn't hit any targets in the five shots he
tried, but that didn't matter to him he was so excited over even being able
to fire a gun.  The rest of the boys were grinning at how excited he was.
As for the two salesmen, well one of them commented that his son had acted
just about the same the first time he had fired a gun.  Really, we all got
a kick out of watching him.

	Finally all the boys had tried and it was my turn.  I got the stock
stretched out enough to where it fit me and I smashed my five targets.  The
stock was great because it had a recoil buffer in it and the gun was about
as pleasant to shoot as any I'd ever tried.  It didn't swing quite like my
Perazzi, but it wasn't bad, just a little slower feeling.  However watching
me got Danny even more excited.  He just couldn't wait to try to learn when
we got home.

	So finally we were all agreed on just what we needed.  However,
that presented some problems in that the store only had three of that model
shotgun in stock, and only the one adjustable stock of that make.  When I
told them I wanted six of each, they got a slightly shocked look, and then
started apologizing that they were sorry but they didn't have that many
available.  They were much happier when I told them that was fine; they
could ship them to me because I didn't want to have them with me when
driving around anyway.  We discussed that a little and after several phone
calls they told me I could pick up three of the shotguns Saturday, and they
would ship the rest in a couple of weeks because it would take that long to
come up with the necessary stocks.  Of course there was all the paperwork
and finally we had all the arrangements worked out to have them shipped so
it was time to leave.  We did take a bunch of stuff with us, like shooting
glasses and hearing protectors for Danny, along with shooting vests which
had a good pad for everyone, and hopefully would help with the flinch Danny
seemed to have.  I also grabbed a handful of web belts and the cartridge
holders for both loaded and empty shells for those kids who didn't have
them which was all I could think of that we needed.  Danny still hadn't
calmed down, but I just stuffed him in the back seat of the pickup and
figured that the other boys could either put up with him or hold him down.
I had Corey and Kyle in the front with me and the rest would just have to
get along or kill each other.  In the meantime it was now well after noon
and time to hunt up some more boy fuel.

	We had a pretty good lunch and the boys decided we should just go
back to the trailer and rest.  I was almost shocked, but they had been
awfully busy the last few days and a day off wouldn't hurt them, or for
that matter me either so that's what we did.  Once we got there, everyone
sprawled around and soon I could hear soft boy snores coming from every
direction.  That sounded good to me and so I joined them.

	Well the nap wasn't very long, but the effect on the boys was
unbelievable.  They were now all charged up so away we went, back to
Disneyland.  We ate dinner there and lasted until they closed the park.
However the laid back morning had revitalized us all and once again we had
fun.  I had more fun watching the boys than I think they did going on some
of the rides they'd missed, but who cared, we were all enjoying it.  Once
again we seemed to gather up a group of other people and just wandered
around in mass, visiting and watching the kids all have fun.  Most of the
parents were somewhat older than I was and I had to explain I was a foster
parent, but after that they treated me just like they treated each other.
I was really sorry when it was announced that the park would be closing
because I was enjoying visiting with everyone so much.  Some of the parents
were telling about some of the things their kids had tried and I was
enjoying laughing along with them but I was also learning some of the
things to watch for and how other people had handled such things.

	Well I guess you know the leftover roast was about history by the
time the boys were full enough to go to bed and I was also out of bread,
however the roast beef sandwiches were quite tasty.  It didn't take much
thought on my part to decide we would have breakfast in a restaurant
tomorrow.  It wasn't long until boys were in bed and snoring away.  I
suspect my snores soon joined theirs, but I have no way of knowing without
some kind of recorder.

	On Friday we headed for Knott's Berry Farm.  Now Disneyland is
great and I enjoyed it, but as I said, I love roller coasters and Knott's
Berry Farm has a couple of really good ones.  We found a restaurant and had
a good breakfast and we still made it there before they opened the gates.

	The boys were actually giggling at me as I dragged them to my
personal favorite, one called GhostRider.  It is one of the best, in my
opinion, wooden roller coasters around.  As usual the two minute and forty
second ride was over long before I was ready, but it is a truly great ride.
There is lots of air time and I just love it.

	Of course we soon made our way to Xcelerator, and the ride was once
again worth it.  I still like the wooden coasters, but the launch on
Xcelerator is truly great.  You feel like you are in a dragster when it
takes off.  You go from a standstill to something over eighty miles an hour
is a little less than two seconds and that really sets you back in your
seat.  The lap bars are a lot better than some of the fancier restraint
systems as you get to flop around a little more, adding to the thrills.

	The boys headed off for Supreme Scream, a drop ride, and I sneaked
back to ride GhostRider again.  In case you haven't figured it out, I
really like roller coasters.  I had just as much fun as the first run, or
for that matter the other times I had gone on it, but I felt a little lost
without any boys with me.  I swear that someday I'm going to spend the
summer just traveling around, riding roller coasters.

	I caught up with the boys just in time to buy them more boy fuel.
Cell phones are simply wonderful ways to get back together.  After that it
was off to try some more rides, and of course there was more fuel required
in the afternoon.  We talked about taking a break, but decided against it
because there was a rainstorm coming in and the boys were worried about
that.  They were probably right to worry because the clouds were blowing in
and it looked like it wouldn't be long until we got wet.

	The rain held off and we had dinner in the park at Mrs. Knott's
Chicken Dinner Restaurant, the same place we had had breakfast, after which
the boys lasted until the park closed down.  Of course if you eat there you
really should try the chicken dinner, which we did.  Dinner seemed to bring
a little more energy back to the boys, but they were dragging their
backsides by the time the day was over, although they were still grinning
even if they were sort of tired looking grins.  There wasn't much chatter
on the ride back to the trailer and boys just set their beds up and
flopped.  Snores were once again about all I heard.

	I had figured on the boys spending a short day at either park
before we started home, but the rain changed that.  It was doing a pretty
good job of raining and the boys were just plain tired.  When I suggested
dropping them off at the park of their choice while I went and picked up
the shotguns, they didn't think much of the idea.  I'll admit that I had
some reservations about leaving them at either park alone, but I figured if
they stuck together and since they had their cell phones it was probably
safe for the time I would be gone, but the boys decided we might just as
well start home.  You could have pushed me over with a feather when I heard
that, but they pointed out I had promised to bring them again to enjoy
themselves and since it was raining, we might just as well head home.  I'll
bet they would have felt differently if the rain had come earlier in the
week.

	I still hadn't stopped and picked up any bread, but the boys agreed
to accept biscuits in place of toast and there were still sufficient eggs
and bacon to make one last breakfast.  It took a little longer because of
the biscuits, but I didn't hear any complaints.  Kyle and I got soaked
hooking the trailer back to the pickup but we both still had some clean dry
clothes and after we changed, we were ready to leave.  We said good-by to
the Maxwells and then it was off to pick up the shotguns.  I also thanked
the park manager when I checked out and promised we would be back again.

	It took a little longer to drive over to pick up the shotguns owing
to the rain and having the trailer hooked on behind, but we still got a
pretty decent start on the trip home.  I was thrilled the store had managed
to come up with one more stock and had four of the shotguns ready so only
two would have to be shipped.  With that out of the way we headed home, the
trip pretty much a great success.  The rain slacked off some after we got
over the Grapevine and hit the San Joaquin Valley and the boys were pretty
quiet for them.  In fact, they dozed quite a bit and I made a lot better
time than I had on the way down when they had been excited and were always
complaining about being hungry or needing to go to the bathroom.  I'd
fueled up on the way to Knott's Berry Farm yesterday and had two full tanks
of diesel so I just kept driving along.  We made it a lot further than I
thought we would before I started getting complaints about being hungry.
When I suggested a restaurant, they suggested McDonalds and so we gathered
up a bunch of burgers and fries and kept on trucking north.  In fact we
made it clear to Sacramento before the boys decided they needed some more
food.  This was by far the best they had done on any trip we had taken, and
by then I was more than glad to take a break from driving.  While the
pickup handled the trailer beautifully, still we had been on the road and
moving for a little over seven hours.  The trip to the gun shop had added
almost an extra hour of that driving time.  However we were faced with the
problem of it being a little early for dinner, and way too late for lunch.
So we stopped at a truck stop where I topped off the tanks, and we each had
a piece of not very good pie.  Actually, it was pretty bad pie and even my
hungry crew didn't really clean up their plates.  It was also way
overpriced.  The crust was undercooked and soggy, and the apples were
somewhat lacking in their presence.  I also hadn't known that apples came
in such tasteless varieties, but you live and learn.  I will say that some
of the dinners being served looked acceptable, but I have no way of
verifying that, and decided that based on the pie, I wouldn't stop here
again and take a chance on them being good.  Really, the pie was more like
some soggy cardboard with a slight coating of tasteless applesauce on it.

	When we were once again on the road there was a considerable amount
of chatter about the grim pie.  The boys all agreed that even those little
pie things you buy in the market are better, and all they are is sweet.
However the restrooms had been clean and the break had been a welcome one
so it could have been much worse I guess.  By now it was a little after
five and we were on the south side of Sacramento so we still had a ways to
go.  I told the boys we could stop in a park and spend the night but they
thought we might just as well go on home.  Of course that would require
finding a restaurant and eating out again, but the thoughts of my own bed
overcame my lack of enthusiasm for the thoughts of taking a chance and
coming up with a dinner as bad as the piece of pie I'd just endured.

	Well we finally just gave up and ate at the Denny's in Willows.  I
mean Denny's isn't my first choice, but it was handy and bearable.  None of
us were really starving, just kind of hungry and most anything would have
been acceptable provided it was decent.  We ended up ordering steaks and
Danny was finally getting over worrying about the price so much.
Surprisingly there was some left on each of the boys' and my plates so we
got a doggy bag and put the scraps in for Dog.  Then it was one last shot
for home.

	Boy the house looked good when I pulled into the driveway to the
shop.  Tonight the trailer could just sit out, and I'd put it in the shop
tomorrow.  I was beat and just wanted to crash in my own bed.  It was a
long drive from Los Angeles and I wasn't used to driving that many hours.
The boys had napped off and on so they were showing a lot more life than I
was.  Anyhow we climbed out of the pickup and headed for the house.  The
only thing we took with us was Dog's doggy bag.

	Kath hadn't expected us until sometime tomorrow so she was a little
startled, but soon she was snowed by Danny telling her about all the fun
he'd had.  Of course the rest of the boys had to help him and I just made
myself a pot of coffee and collapsed in my chair.  Dog had been so thrilled
to see us that he had jumped all over us, but when I landed in my chair it
was definitely belly rub time.  He groaned and carried on like I'd never
heard him do before, and it was pretty apparent he had missed me and his
boys.  For that matter I'd missed him and enjoyed his antics as I rubbed
and scratched his belly.  Kath had noticed him back up to me to get his
belly rub and commented that she hadn't known just what it was he wanted,
but would now remember so that if he did it to her, she could give him a
belly rub.

	Well Dog jumped down and headed over and backed into LT, who
obliged him with another belly rub.  In fact, before it was done, even
Danny had to take a turn with Dog.  The only one who didn't was Kath, and
when everyone was done, Dog just went over a laid his head on her foot.  I
was about half jealous because that had always been what he'd done to me
when he was finished cadging all the attention he could.

	The trailer was nice, but it was great to just spread out.  There
just wasn't that much room in the trailer and you always felt sort of
confined.  I know that's silly because it wasn't like we were jammed
together, but there was always a feeling of the lack of space.  Here in the
house I could swing an arm without fear of hitting anything, and I didn't
have to pick something up in order to have a space to set something else
down.  There was plenty of room in the house to walk past or around people,
but in the trailer people sometimes had to move to let you past so it was
just nice to sort of spread out and relax.  When Danny and the boys ran
down, after telling about all their adventures, we headed for bed.  Boy it
was nice to just have a whole bed for Corey and me.  We were both a little
frazzled so we just cuddled up and went to sleep.  I swear I was asleep
three seconds after my head hit the pillow, maybe sooner.  I'm simply going
to have to quit taking trips on my time off.  They are just too much for
me.

	While it might have been nice to wake up between two boys, waking
up in my own bed with only Corey beside me was much better.  How those two
boys had managed to talk me into sleeping in the middle I'll never
understand.  That had resulted in there being no way I could get
comfortable because they both crowded up against me and that made me too
warm.  When there was just Corey to snuggle with, well then the warmth was
only coming from one side and it was easier to stay cool enough to be
comfortable.  While Danny was a nice boy and I liked him, I didn't love
him, and the only boy I wanted to have snuggled up to me was Corey.  There
was just something that seemed so right when I woke up with Corey hugging
my back and me with one leg out from under the covers to stay cool enough.
He had one arm draped over my middle, and I could feel his soft warm breath
on the back of my neck.  All was pretty much right with my world.

	There was one little problem with my world though, and that was no
matter how much I would have liked to just lie there and enjoy myself, I
really shouldn't have had that final cup of coffee last night.  So I
slipped out from under his arm and made a mad dash for the toilet,
wondering why it was that my body always seemed to fill my bladder at the
same time every morning.  It was almost like my bladder was a clock set to
wake me at the usual time no matter how tired I was.  The very worst thing
was that I knew I would never get back to sleep even if I went back to bed.
After the pause that refreshes I started my day with my normal routine,
shave, quick shower, and get dressed.  Corey never even quivered as far as
I could tell.  He just kept sleeping right through the sounds of the shower
and my getting dressed.  He really didn't even move when I leaned over and
kissed him on the cheek, but he did sort of smile.  He looked so peaceful
sleeping that a spent a couple of minutes just admiring him before I
wandered on out and started the coffee and got the paper.

	I sat there at the table staring at the front page of the paper and
not really making any sense of it while the coffee finished perking.  When
it was done I got myself a cup and tried to figure out where to start on
the paper.  I wasn't very alert yet so that meant either the comic pages or
the sports section.  I finally opted for the comic pages.  Zits was pretty
good, as was Pickles, and after few sips of coffee my eyes were starting to
focus a little better.  I turned to the sports section and heard a toilet
flush.  There wasn't really that much of interest in the sports section and
I was finished with it by the time Kath came stumbling into the kitchen,
still using a cane.  While she was walking better than she had with the
cast, she still wasn't walking very well and would have to build the
strength in her leg up before she was back to normal.  At least she didn't
appear to be one of those morning people who just have to talk as soon as
they wake up.  Instead there was only the sound of her pouring herself some
coffee after which she joined me at the table and also in staring at the
paper.

	After we had both finished our first cup of coffee and I had filled
both cups up again, Kath was ready to talk a little.  I was enjoying
telling her about how Danny had enjoyed himself and I was speaking much
slower than he had.  Last night it had been like he was one of those kids
in a school function, you know the kind, the ones who try to recite the
Gettysburg Address in two seconds flat so they can get off the stage.
While it wasn't like he was trying to get away, he was certainly talking
that fast.

	I'd gotten her filled in on what we did up to about Wednesday when
Mark came into the kitchen, and I got a big hug along with him telling us
how much fun he'd had and what an awesome trip it had been.  In fact he
about wore the word "awesome" out.  He was chattering away and it was
almost like he used it every other word.  What is there about kids where
they only have one adjective at a time and have to wear it out before they
learn another?  All the boys seemed to be hung up on the word awesome.
Still, it was probably better than some words I could think of.  At least
it could be used in polite company.  Then he went over to the fridge and
looked in.  He pulled out a pitcher of orange juice and poured himself a
glass.  The expression of shock was almost funny.  It clearly wasn't what
he expected and about that time it dawned on me it was probably frozen
orange juice rather than fresh squeezed.  While neither Kyle nor Mark had
lived with me all that long, it hadn't taken them long to become just like
the others in developing a dislike for any orange juice which hadn't gone
directly from the orange to their glass with no steps in between.  About
then Kath decided to make herself useful and start breakfast.  When she got
out a package of frozen waffles I could see we were going to have to have a
discussion on meals, preferably soon.  Those things are bad enough at their
best and the cheapest brand, which those were, are even worse.  While I
thought I'd left her sufficient funds to take care of everything, we were
going to have to talk things over and straighten some things out.  However
I couldn't really fault her because there simply hadn't been time to cover
things like this, and so when it looked like Mark might say something I
indicated to him not to and he seemed to understand.

	Well, what can I say about breakfast?  I mean toaster waffles,
nuked bacon, and frozen orange juice just doesn't cut it in my book.  Danny
dove right in and seemed happy, but the rest of the boys had some real odd
expressions on their faces.  At least she hadn't bought any of that cheap
imitation syrup and just served some real maple syrup from my supply.

	The rain had picked up again and while I knew we needed to get the
dirty clothes and things out of the trailer, I decided to wait, hoping that
the rain would slacken a little later in the day.  There was really no way
of getting around it and I finally had to take the bull by the horns and
try to explain that we normally didn't use many pre-prepared foods.  This
was really awkward because I didn't want to hurt her feelings, and her
heart had been in the right place, but we needed to get the whole food
thing straightened out.  It would have taken a lot less time if I had just
come right out and told her what was wrong, but I tried to delicately hint,
and it took a while to get the message across.  However at least it didn't
appear I had upset her, so hopefully the time was worth it.  When she had
commented that squeezing enough oranges for juice must take a lot of
oranges, I just grinned and told her that there were a lot of orange trees
and I didn't want their fruit to go to waste.  Still, something that I
could have explained in five minutes ended up taking an hour, but not
upsetting Kath was worth it.

	That wasn't all we talked about that day.  I had no more than
gotten the food situation taken care of when Danny's new clothes came up.
It started with Kath asking Danny why he was wearing some of my boys'
clothes, and so it was back to the office for another conversation.  I
finally had to flat out tell her that if Danny was going to hang around
with my boys, he would feel a lot more confident if he blended in, and that
kids put a lot more emphasis on things like clothes than I did.  That and
telling her I didn't want him to feel out of place at Disneyland finally
seemed to get through to her except then I had to tell her no, she didn't
need to pay me back, that Danny wasn't the first kid I had bought some
clothes for and it was doubtful he would be the last.  The only difference
had been that normally I went through one of the local charities rather
than do it directly.  In fact there were three local charities that knew
they could always call on me when they needed a little money, especially if
it was for kids.  We had worked out an arrangement where I always made a
donation at the beginning of the year, with the understanding that they
could ask for more if they needed it, but that I expected them not to abuse
that privilege or else I would no longer contribute to them.  Had things
continued the way they were going and Danny's clothes not improved, I would
have probably had one of them get him some new clothes, but while quite
worn, and somewhat too small, it had not reached that point yet.  Little
things like that had helped use up some of the money Uncle Matt's ideas had
kept putting in my pocket, or rather investment accounts, and seemed like a
real good way to use some of it.  My teacher's salary had been plenty to
live on, and the additional money, varying from $70,000 to well over
$100,000 per year, was way more than I needed so I spent quite a bit on
various charities and now I would probably have a lot more income due to
the additional funds the lawsuits over my parent's deaths had provided.
Hopefully the scholarship program Russ Young was helping me set up would
use a bunch of it.  With a little luck it would be fully functioning by
graduation and no student from our school district would be unable to
attend college because of a simple lack of funds.  The tricky part, so far,
was making sure that the students also used any other scholarships
available.  He had a bunch of people trying to figure out just how to set
it up and what rules it needed.  I didn't have enough money to keep four
hundred kids in college, and so we were trying to assure that they made
every effort to get other scholarships and then either add to those or
supply a full one if needed.  Of course if Uncle Matt continued his hot
streak, that probably wouldn't matter.  A few more years and he might run
my investments up to where I could fund every kid from our school district
all by myself.

	Kath and I no more than gotten the clothes thing straightened out
when my realtor called.  He knew I was due back today and had wanted to
leave me a message; however I answered the phone so he just told me.
Mr. Bartlett's heirs had suddenly decided not to sell the house and the
deal was off.  Now that threw a major monkey wrench into my plans.
Suddenly we had to come up with a new plan on what to do about housing for
Kath and Danny.  While there was plenty of room in my house, I figured they
would be more comfortable in a place of their own, but for now she was
about going to have to stay here.

	Kath was all for calling her old apartment manager up and asking if
her apartment was still available, but after talking for a while we finally
agreed to look around and see if suitable housing closer to my house was
available.  So it was call the realtor back and tell him what I was looking
for, well rather what Kath would accept.  I was having thoughts that the
whole housing thing might very well present some problems before it was
straightened out.  Still, I didn't have any better solutions and neither
did Kath.

	All this time Danny was just bouncing around and joking with the
boys, really, just being a boy.  I could only marvel over the difference
between the Danny of last year and most of this one, and the one now
running around the house.  While I had sort of kept my eye on him all that
time, he had never really stood out and he certainly wasn't the only real
quiet kid in the school.  He hadn't been taking any of the classes I taught
so I never had that much of a chance to really get to know him.  The fact
that I'd gotten to know several of the quiet ones had shown me that some
kids are just quiet so that itself hadn't triggered anything in my mind.
Yet now I could see that he'd been keeping things in and the Danny I saw at
school wasn't the real Danny.  It was going to be interesting to see how he
acted at school now that he had opened up a little.  Would he continue
being outgoing, or would he clam back up?  Only time would tell, but I was
hopeful it would be the more outgoing personality that won out.

	Kath was different.  She was much more outgoing, and while it took
both of us a little while to get over our nervousness at the situation we
found ourselves in, she would never be as quiet as Danny.

	The rain just kept pouring down and the boys were doing their usual
things, like playing games on the Playstation and listening to music.  I
kept hoping for a break in the weather so we could get everything out of
the trailer without getting soaked.  We had made one quick dash out and
grabbed most of the dirty clothes and I had them sorted and had put some in
the washer.  Yet every time I turned around the boys were running all over
and talking about all the fun they'd had on the trip and their favorite
rides.  A good night's sleep had really recharged them.  However every time
they told me their favorite part of the trip, it changed.  One time it was
this ride and the next time it was that ride.  Kath was just watching Danny
bouncing around with the other boys and beaming.  When I went down to put
the first load of wash in the dryer she followed me.

	I didn't expect the thank you I got.  She carried on about this was
the first time she had seen Danny happy since she and her husband had split
up.  I got the one load in the dryer and the second washing and we went
back upstairs and into my office.

	I was embarrassed by the way she went on and on about how much I
had helped Danny.  I mean I hadn't done anything and it was the fact that
the boys had just accepted him that produced all the change in his
attitude, but Kath didn't seem to feel that way.  We probably spent a half
hour or so just talking about it and she told me how scared she had been at
the way Danny had changed before he admitted to being gay, and then even
more after he had told her.  He had blamed himself for the divorce and no
matter what she had tried, he wouldn't accept that he wasn't a bad person
and responsible for all the bad things that were happening to both of them.
He wouldn't make any friends because he didn't think he deserved any
friends, and only when the boys had started in and insisted that he was
their friend had he started to accept that people could like him.  I could
only wonder at the way things sometimes work out.  Here I'd been trying to
teach my boys a lesson about truthfulness and honesty and they had turned
it into much more.  The more Kath talked and told me about Danny, the more
I wanted to just go hug my boys.  They deserved all the credit for this
one.  She told me the thing that had made the most difference to him was
knowing that he wasn't the only gay kid in the school.  I hadn't known that
the boys had told him they were gay, but it was pretty common knowledge
about JJ and LT so I wasn't surprised they would tell him.  They didn't
really advertise it, but they never denied it or apologized for it anymore.
I remembered all the hours I'd spent trying to convince them they were just
as good as anyone else, and it looked like I was succeeding.

	About noon the rain finally let up enough to where I figured it was
do it now or give the whole idea up for the day, so out to the trailer we
went.  For a few minutes there was a steady stream of boys carrying things
into the house.  We needed to empty the fridge and wash the bedding and
that took a lot of trips.  I shook my head over the untouched beer I'd
bought.  What I'd stocked that first day had been enough and my second
purchase unnecessary, but it was nice and cold.  It had been patiently
waiting and no one had wanted any.  We finally got the trailer emptied out
and I put it in the shop.  At least I didn't have to stand in the rain to
unhook the pickup, a big improvement over when I had hooked it up yesterday
morning.  If the boys would park their bikes in the shop I would have had
room in the garage for pickup, but for now it would just have to sit
outside in the rain.

	I couldn't believe how fast I went from a hero to a goat.  I mean
one minute Mrs. Graves was telling me how great I was and how much I had
helped Danny, and the next she was upset and very angry.  Things had been
going so great until the boys packed the new shotguns in and were bubbling
over about how much fun they were going to have teaching Danny to shoot.
The boys had been so busy talking about all the fun they'd had on the
various rides that the subject of the guns hadn't come up, and now it had
come up with a vengeance.  I was suddenly a murderer and any other bad
things she could think of.

	Silly me, I had never even given it a thought that she might be
anti-gun.  Danny had been so excited when he was looking over all the
shotguns at the stores, and he was almost beside himself when I'd told him
he could take a turn shooting one that I'd just never realized that his
mother might hold such ideas and beliefs.  So now I had a screaming mother
to deal with, and I was going to have to deal with her on my own because a
bunch of cowardly boys had disappeared when her fuse had finished burning
and lit her powder.  Boy it was a short fuse too.  She was screaming things
about how she would not live in a house which had guns in it, and that she
just couldn't believe that I would endanger her son that way, and, well,
there was probably a lot more but she was so upset that I was missing most
of what she was yelling about.  She was yelling words so fast I was having
a hard time keeping up with her.  She finished up with a rush, telling me
that if I didn't get those guns out of the house right then, she was
leaving.  At least she finally stopped yelling at me and was just standing
there glaring at me.  However I didn't have any idea of what to say or do.
I was just stunned, and had been completely surprised by this.

	I was well aware that there were segments of the population who are
anti-gun, but this was the first time I had been exposed to such an
individual when that person was in full righteous indignation mode over
firearms.  I didn't even know where to start, however I knew I had to get
her calmed down a little before we could even begin to discuss things
rationally, so I gathered up the new shotguns and packed them out and put
them in the trailer in the shop.  The trailer was plugged in so at least
they would be dry and warm while I tried to reason with her, that is if she
could be reasoned with.

	I didn't even get a chance to find out because Kath had cornered
the boys while I was outside and had managed to find out there were other
guns in the house.  She grabbed Danny with one arm and her cane in the
other and stomped out; well, she stomped as well as you can stomp when only
one leg works very well.  She did that after I told her to quit yelling at
my boys, but that was all I managed to get in before she left.  I think
Kyle captured it perfectly with his, "This sucks!"  He was standing in
front of Mark as if to protect him when he said that, and had been doing so
since I got back in the house.

	"What's wrong with her?" Corey asked.

	"I think you'd be safe in saying she's anti-gun," I answered.

	"But we don't run around shooting people like she said," he
continued, sounding somewhat incredulous.

	"I know that, and you know that, and I think she even knows that,
but some people have such an irrational fear of firearms that they're
really not very sensible on the subject," I answered him.

	 "Oh?"  He sounded somewhat surprised and almost as if questioning
me.  It was like he was having trouble understanding the whole situation
and had all kinds of questions but wasn't quite sure how to ask them.

	"What's going to happen now?" LT asked before I had a chance to try
to explain to Corey.

	"I don't know," I sighed.  "Maybe she'll calm down, and maybe she
won't.  It won't do any good to try to talk with her before she does, and
maybe not even then.  We'll just have to wait and see what happens."  And
in fact I didn't have any idea what was going to happen.  All of her and
Danny's clothes and personal possessions were now here and she didn't have
any place to go to, so I was left with no answer to that and a lot of other
questions.  She could probably stir up a lot of trouble if she wanted to
and that was worrying.  However I had no ideas on how to head such things
off so there wasn't much I could do about it right now.  About then Mark
brought us out of our thoughts by complaining he was hungry.  Not having
any better ideas, I went and started lunch.  I wondered if Kath was going
to talk with Judy or if she had something else in mind, but there was no
way of knowing.  As the soup was thawing in the microwave I decided to call
Judy.  That didn't work because there was no answer at her home which left
me wondering if I ought to call her cell phone, and I finally did.

	The Smellings were in Redding doing some shopping and planned on
having dinner there.  Debbie had been complaining she needed some new
clothes and they were letting her pick out what she wanted, which Judy
assured me would take the rest of the day since Debbie would have to look
at everything in all the stores.  Then she would have to check all the
prices twice because the Smellings' had her on a budget, so that would take
time and there wouldn't be anything Judy could do until they got back.
However Judy told me not to worry, that she would get Kath calmed down as
soon as she saw her.

	I figured if anyone could do that it would be Judy.  She had told
me, when Corey had been bragging about how much better he was getting at
trap shooting, about how she had been very much against guns until she
married Art.  It had taken him some time to convince her to change her
opinion of firearms, but now she enjoyed hunting with him and had even been
needling him over she was the one who gotten the biggest buck this past
season.  Art, in turn, had complained about having to waste his time
packing her little buck out.  His deer had been older and a three point
while hers had been a young four point, so his buck had been the heavier
and hers had sported the biggest antlers.  I also knew that they both took
the first week of deer season off to hunt and had done so for the last
several years, at least according to Judy.  Art had told me, when Judy
couldn't hear him, that once he got her past her fear of guns, she had
turned out to be as good if not a better shot than he was, something he
said he would never admit to her.  The big grin on his face had made me
wonder about the accuracy of that last statement since it was pretty
apparent he was proud of how well Judy could shoot.

	The soup was finally hot and then soon residing in boy stomachs.
However the boys weren't as bubbly as before Mrs. Graves had started
yelling.  In fact there wasn't much said during lunch.  I couldn't think of
anything to say about the whole thing because I had no idea what would
happen.  When we were done eating, the boys picked the dishes up and put
them in the dishwasher.  I knew I had to pick up some groceries but I
couldn't talk any of them into accompanying me, so I finally went by
myself.  I just felt sorry for them because they had been so happy this
morning when they were just laughing and giggling about all the fun rides
and what a great trip it had been.  The one I felt the worst over was
Danny.  He had been opening up more and more each day, and he'd had such a
look of anguish on his face when his mother had dragged him out the door.
The week had gone so well and now it had such a lousy ending and there
wasn't a thing I could do about it.

	Mrs. Downie captured me and I had to tell her all about the trip
and how the boys had enjoyed it.  When she was finally leaving me so I
could get on with my shopping, she gave me a rather strange look, and then
just smiled a soft smile and turned back to overseeing the store.  Rob
happened to be working the meat counter and we visited a few minutes while
I picked out a pot roast for dinner.  Then I looked at that pot roast and
thought of all those hungry boys and how good leftover pot roast is when
made into stew so I picked out a second one.  I learned that Rob had
managed to get a couple of days off and had taken all his kids to
Sacramento for a little shopping and a movie.  He told me how happy he was
that Lee just kept fitting in better and the other kids now accepted him
just like he'd always been there.  We laughed about the fights the various
kids had had and I threw in some of the boys' arguments.  We agreed that
kids were kids and there wasn't much you could do except love them and try
to watch over them.

	I also learned that Chuck was getting pretty serious about his
girlfriend, and Rob was worried about what would happen there, but that
wasn't something I had any ideas about and they would just have to work
that out themselves.  If Chuck got married I doubted that Missy would want
to move into the place Chuck and Rob were living since most women seem to
want their own homes.  So far it had worked out well for them because there
was normally one of them not working and that way there was someone to
watch the kids.

	Of course that got me to thinking about Mrs. Graves again as I
continued shopping.  Since the arrival of boys I hadn't had a free minute.
There was always the knowledge that I had to be there to watch them and
make sure they didn't get in trouble.  Sometimes it seemed almost
overpowering, and about the only thing that had kept me going was the fact
that they were almost old enough that I could trust them a little.  I'd
spent the last week adjusting to the housekeeper idea, and was really
looking forward to it.  While Mark was real good about sticking around for
baseball practice and never complained, he was still too young for the team
and had there been anyone at home he could have just gone there and done
whatever it was he wanted to do.  It seemed like no matter how hard I
tried, there wasn't enough of me to go around.  There was always something
that needed doing and too many boys to look after.  The practice of
inviting parents of my students to get acquainted dinners had gone down the
tube because I just didn't have the time.  And so I worried as I finished
up my shopping and headed home.  Kids just took so much time, and this year
was giving me a lot better perspective on the problems parents faced.  Up
until now I had only been forced to be around kids during school hours, and
this year had been a real eye-opener.  No wonder some parents looked rather
harried, and I sure had a lot more respect for single parents.

	I got the usual whining when I sent the boys down to empty the
dryer and fold clothes.  Suddenly the television program had become much
more interesting.  They'd been complaining that there was nothing on, but
mention work and they suddenly had to watch that nothing.  I wondered if
there were any kids that just did what their parents asked without such
whining.  Somehow I doubted it.  I sometimes felt like I was expending more
energy nagging them than it would have taken me to just do it myself.

	The boys were downstairs, dawdling over folding the clothes, and I
decided to start the pot roasts.  I'd just gotten them all browned and the
liquid added and in the oven when there was a knock at the door.  The boys
had finally finished the ten minute job of folding the clothes in just over
a half hour, so Corey answered the door.  It was Mrs. Graves and Danny.

				To be continued...