Date: Thu, 23 Oct 2014 05:41:43 -0700
From: Jay Carrington <jcee1113@yahoo.com>
Subject: My Son and His Friends - Chapter 8

This work is copyrighted by the author, J. Carrington and commercial use is
prohibited without permission in writing from the author.  Personal or
private copies are permitted only if they are complete and include the
copyright notice.  Placing this story on a website or reproducing this
story for distribution without the author's permission is a violation of
that copyright.

This is a story of a man's relationship with his son and his son's
friends. The writing is very detailed and is a written representation of
what the author saw as he was writing the story.  It will contain some
sexual scenes, but it is not totally about sex.  The series of chapters are
completely fictional and are the result of the author's fertile
imagination.  Any resemblance to any real person(s) is purely coincidental.
The story contains consensual sexual behavior between young adult males and
an older adult male.  It depicts both unprotected sex and protected sex.
Safe sex practices are the way to go if you plan to be around for years to
come.

If you are underage (below 18) or object to the subject matter, please
leave now as the door that let you in will also let you leave.

If you enjoy this site, you are encouraged to donate to Nifty.org so that
it will continue to operate.  You can buy a visa gift card and use it to
donate to Nifty anonymously or you can use your credit card and you can see
the transaction on your monthly bill.  Anyways, this is a great site which
serves the needs of our select population.

Before I move to the next chapter, I must stop and say thank you to the
readers who have written to me about this story.  Your comments have been
fantastic and it is good to read that you are relating to the guys in this
story.  .

Chapter 8 - My Son and His Friends

I left the lawyer's office stunned, but grateful for the answers provided
in Allison's letter.  I decided that I needed to do some thinking, so I
just started driving out of town.  I drove for an hour, thinking of
everything that has occurred this summer, the boys, the guys, the sex,
Allison's death, the sex, Allison's letter, the sex, a secure future for
Ryan, the upcoming trip to my parents, my job, the sex, and then I was over
one hundred miles from home.  I stopped, pulled over, and called Shane.  I
asked him what he was doing, and he said he was on a break at work.  I
asked him what time he got off and he said 5:30.  I asked him if he could
work with the guys on swimming this afternoon, and he said that he would
leave work, go by the house, get them together and in swimsuits.  I told
him I would be home shortly thereafter as I had some more things to take
care of before I arrived at the house.  We agreed that we had a plan.

I drove on to the next town and parked the Yukon.  I got out and just
started wandering the stores looking for something, and not having any idea
as to what it was.  I wandered the town, smelled the various smells coming
from the local restaurants, talked to store clerks, talked to some locals,
looked at local crafts, read posters detailing upcoming events until my
stomach demanded that I stop at that restaurant that had the smell of
freshly fried chicken.

I returned to that restaurant "Clappley's House of You Know You Want It"
for a dinner of fried chicken, mashed potatoes with chicken gravy, homemade
biscuits, cream style corn, butterbeans, apple cobbler, and sweet tea.  I
casually ate my late lunch reflecting on some of the things that I had seen
on my morning stroll around the town. I decided on a few things that I
wanted to purchase to take to mom and dad.  I decided that I would talk to
Ryan tonight about that trip.  I knew that 6 days were more time than he
would want to be away, but I knew that it was important for a variety of
reasons that we have a good stretch of time to visit with mom and dad as
well as, with Allison's mom.  I also wanted some private quality time with
my son.

I made my purchases, loaded them into the Yukon, turned back towards home
and hit the road.  I made good time with two stops along the highway to
pick up some fresh vegetables and three watermelons.  I arrived at home to
find Shane and Matt there with the boys already in their swimsuits and
towels ready to head to the community pool.  I told the boys to go out and
unload the watermelons and vegetables.  They did, and as they walked out
the door, Shane looked at me and said "Pops, what happened today?  I can
tell in your face you have had an emotional day."  I said "Shane, it has
been a very rough day.  I am not ready to talk about it yet, but thank you
for your concern.  I treasure you and your concern."

Matt told the boys to get in the Yukon, while he and Shane got into the
jeep.  We all drove to the pool, and the boys were out and waiting for Matt
and Shane to direct them in the pool.  Shane directed the boys focusing on
their swimming techniques.  Matt was at one of the end of the lanes and
Shane was at the other end.  Shane told the boys to get into position.  He
blew the whistle and they swam individually to the other end, and then back
to Shane.  Shane timed them.  Matt joined Shane and they critiqued the boys
on what they saw along with the times that each had swimming the distances.
The boys listened and then they wanted to spend some time practicing the
techniques that had been shared with them.  Finally, they were ready to go
back to the house.  Ryan wanted everyone to eat at the house, so I asked
them what they wanted.  Ryan said chicken, potato salad, slaw, rolls, and
tea.  I had the boys load up and we went by Crunchies Chicken and picked up
two specials.  We went home, put the food on the table, iced the cups and
poured the tea.  Matt and Shane arrived about that time and everyone
started eating.  After they had finished, the boys jumped in the pool for a
while.  Matt and Shane joined me in the kitchen and then we adjourned to
the family room and discussed the boys' swimming techniques and the need
for additional practice.

I sat there and listened to Shane and Matt's critiques of the boys'
swimming techniques.  I asked Shane if we needed to enroll them in swim
classes as it sounded like he had a full load coming up in the fall with
his college classes.  He agreed that it might be more cohesive if we had
someone doing it on a regular basis rather than when he and Matt could
squeeze it in between their classes.  Matt said that he hated to give the
boys over to someone else, but Shane said they would still check in with
the boys during their lessons.  Matt suggested that he might know someone
who could take over the swimming lessons.  I told him to check it out and
let me know.  I would contact the other parents if it sounded like a go.

The boys came in shortly thereafter, and Ryan wanted to know if I had
decided about the get together Sunday night.  I told him that I had not
made any calls, so he then looked at the boys and told each one of them to
call their parents and see if they were open to a get together at our house
on Sunday afternoon.  Calls were made, and each family wanted me to call
them to decide what they needed to bring on Sunday.  I asked the boys what
they wanted, and they decided on barbecued chicken breasts.  Jay asked if I
would do the baked beans as he liked mine over anyone else's.  I called
Jay's mom and told her the menu so far, she said she would bring potato
salad, rolls, and a dessert.  I then called Myles' mom and she said that
she would do a fruit salad, and some pineapple slaw.  I then called Rob's
mom and she said that she would do a cake, corn on the cob, two churns of
ice cream, and some fresh fruit.  I wrote all of this down and I looked it
over and thought it was going to be a great meal.

The boys decided that it was time for them to go home, so they left with
the promise of returning around noon on Saturday.  I looked over at Ryan
and suggested that we get our showers and then we meet in my room.  By the
time I had finished my shower Ryan was in my bed waiting on me.  I turned
on the lamps by the bed, did a walk through to make sure the doors were
locked, and then turned off the overhead light in my bedroom. I got in the
bed, placed pillows behind my back so that I was sitting up.  I pulled Ryan
over and put my arm around him.

I said "Ryan, today I had to go to the lawyer's office today."  He jerked
his head and looked at me with concern written on his face.  I said "Ryan,
things are fine, in fact better than fine.  Your mom's lawyer sent some
legal work that I will have to attend to in the next few weeks and some of
it will involve you."  He wanted to know how he was involved and I said
"Well there were some insurance policies and she had them made out to you,
for your future."  He smiled and I said, "Don't go getting any ideas, she
was specific in how she wanted the money used and I agree totally with her
requests."  I then proceeded by saying "Beyond the insurance issues, she
wrote me a letter about how much she still loved both of us.  She wanted me
to let you know that she loved you with every fiber of her body.  After
reading her letter, I can tell you that she loved both of us, and she made
an ultimate sacrifice by leaving us because she did not want us to see her
suffer.  "But Dad, you loved her and you would have taken care of her,
didn't she know that?" he asked.  I said, "She knew that but she also knew
that it would impact us in a lot of ways as our lives would change, we
would see her dying and not be able to do anything about it.  I don't agree
with her decision, but I do understand it."

He hugged me tighter and said "Dad, I don't remember a lot about mom.  I
feel at times like we are talking about a stranger, but it helps to hear
you talk about her."  I hugged him and told him that he would gain some
more insight into his mom when we visited his grandmother Thursday.  He
said "Dad, I am nervous about meeting her, I love my other grandmother and
granddad.  Please promise me that you will not leave me there by myself."
I looked him in the eyes and said "Ryan, I will never leave you like that."
He smiled and hugged me.

I told him that I needed to call my mom tomorrow night.  He said that he
wanted to talk to her too.  I asked him what he was asking for.  He looked
at me surprised.  I said "Son, I know you, and besides I did the same thing
with my grandmother.  I always asked for a special cake." He laughed and
said "My dad always thinking with his stomach."  I reached over and rolled
him over and we wrestled for a while.  God, I love this boy!

We pulled apart and straightened up the bed.  Ryan told me that he was
going to go to his room tonight, but he would probably want to sleep with
me when we got to his grandparents' home.  I told him that I thought that
would work as that would give us some private time to talk.  He said
"Exactly Dad."  He left and went to his room.  I rolled over and turned the
lamp off on the other side of the bed and rolled back to my side.  I sat
there for a few minutes, and then I turned the lamp on my side off and lay
down.

I woke up the next morning, did my usual morning rituals, got dressed, and
went to the kitchen.  I started breakfast, by frying up a package of bacon,
as I needed the grease for the baked beans tomorrow night.  I wanted some
grits which is something that I had not had nor wanted in a long time, I
scrambled six eggs, and made toast.  By the time, I finished, Ryan was up
and rubbing his eyes in the kitchen.  I had him pour the juice and we sat
down to breakfast.  He wanted to know what I was doing that day and I told
him that I had to go shop for the get together the next night and that I
also had to shop for us some quick foods until we left Tuesday morning.  He
said that he wanted to go with me.  He finished his breakfast, got his
shower and was ready to go by the time I finished in the kitchen.

We loaded up and headed out to shop.  He asked if we could stop at Target,
and I told him it was on my places to stop.  We went in and split up.  We
met up later, and he had shopped for some polos and shorts to wear on our
trip to my parents.  I looked at his purchases and thought I might need to
do the same, so I quickly selected me some of the same types.  I told him
that we needed to go to the shoe store and buy some deck shoes, because
they completed the outfits.  He agreed.  We finished our shopping in Target
and took the stuff to the Yukon.  We jumped in and drove to the shoe store.
We tried on several different styles of deck shoes and finally arrived on
the pair that we each liked.  As we were walking to the front of the store,
Ryan saw a belt that he wanted because it matched his deck shoes so we
added two belts to our purchase.  I checked out and paid the bill.

We headed out to the grocery store and shopped for the foods on the list
plus those things that just somehow manage to jump into the buggy when Ryan
is with me.  Sometimes, I give him a rough time about his purchases and
attempt to have him to justify his reasoning for an item.  He tries so hard
to justify and most of the time they are really funny.  It is another
reason that I love to have him with me.  We did a count of the number of
people that we are expecting and come up with fifteen.  We bought five
family packs of chicken breasts, four large cans of baked beans, three
Vidalia onions, barbeque sauce, light brown sugar, some celery, rolls,
lettuce, and a few other household things that I had on the list.  We
loaded up and headed back to the house.  Ryan assisted in taking the
purchases in the house while I stored them.  He took our new clothes,
detagged them, placed them in the washer and started it.  I finished and
looked at the clock, it was eleven o'clock and I knew that I was not in the
mood to cook lunch so we went out to eat.

We found ourselves at a local salad caf‚.  I had a stuffed pecan chicken
salad tomato, while Ryan had an almond chicken salad with cucumbers and
cherry tomatoes.  We took our time eating and Ryan took the opportunity to
bring up our conversation from last night regarding his mom.  He wanted me
to just tell him more about her, what she liked (foods, favorite color,
sports, subjects, etc)? what her family was/is like?, how we met?, why I
still loved her?, what my mom and dad thought of her, and what did I think
life would have been like with her today?  I took my time and answered each
one of his questions and even a few more that just seemed natural to
respond to that day.  I sat there and just answering the questions brought
a lot of emotions to the surface for me as I felt tears fall from my eyes,
as I answered him.  After we had finished that discussion, he seemed
satisfied, and I felt as though I had prepared him for the upcoming visit.

We returned home that afternoon.  I decided to start pulling stuff together
for the trip while Ryan decided to go hang with the boys at Rob's house.  I
started a list along with laying out stuff that I wanted to take.  After a
while, I decided to relax in the pool so I went to my room, put on my board
shorts, found the float, and crawled on top of it.  I was enjoying the
peace and quiet, relaxing on the float, reflecting on my summer - SPLASH,
splash, splash, splash, and splash.  Shane hit the water first, followed by
Ryan, Jay, Myles and Rob.  Shane landed right near me, and almost scared
the crap out of me.  They had come around the house, saw me in the pool and
as soon as I was facing away from the doorway, they made their entrance.

They got me off the float, threw it on the pool deck, and then we teamed up
for pool wars.  It was the typical Shane, Jay and Rob against Ryan, Myles,
and me.  We all had a blast and my team beat Shane's.  We horsed around in
the pool for a while, then we got out of the pool, and Shane said that he
was going to treat us to a burger at the diner, so we got dressed and went
out to eat.

We all enjoyed our burgers and I talked Shane into letting me help with the
bill, as he was working to save for college.  He allowed me to pitch in
some money, but would not allow me to pay the entire bill.  Ryan decided
that he wanted apple pie and ice cream, so we had to run by the grocery
store and pick up those items.  We went back to the house, cut the pie and
scooped out the ice cream.  It was a good decision and tasted so good that
night.  Ryan and I excused ourselves and called my mom.  We talked about
our upcoming visit, I told her that we would leave early Tuesday morning,
and then Ryan wanted to talk to her without me in the room.  I left, but
returned when I was told I could come back.  Mom asked me if I was bringing
any of the boys, and I told her no, not this time because of the events
that we would be dealing with on this trip.  Mom wanted to know what I
wanted her to cook for our first dinner together and I told her to just
pull something together, but not to go to any major trouble.  She said
"Douglas Blake Brunson, I asked you what you wanted, I did not ask you what
was easy for me to cook.  Now answer the question."  I knew I had crossed
the line when she used my full name, so I said, "Okay, roast beef, gravy,
whole red potatoes, carrots, onions, homemade rolls, creamed spinach and a
dessert."  She said the dessert had already been ordered. I think I can
handle your suggested menu.  We are looking forward to having you and Ryan.
I have each of you a room set up.  I said "Mom, Ryan wants to sleep with
me."  There was a pause on her end and she said "Doug, are you sure?" and I
said "Mom, given everything that has happened recently and the fact that we
will visiting with Allison's mom, he has said he wanted to be with me, and
I will honor his request."  She said "Well given that, I understand and it
will not be questioned or discussed again.  I love you son and I cannot
wait for you to get here. Goodbye."

I said "Goodbye mom, I love you."  We hung up and I returned to the family
room and the boys.

We watched a movie and everyone just lounged around.  Myles' mom called and
asked that I send him home.  Rob looked at the clock around ten o'clock and
said he had to go home.  Shane and Jay opted to go home around ten-thirty
as Shane had to meet his girlfriend when she got off work at eleven. I
could not believe it, it was Saturday night and it was just Ryan and me.
Ryan said that he was going for his shower; I decided to tidy up, secure
the house, and then take my shower.

When I came out of my bath, Ryan was stretched out on my bed wearing his
boxer briefs.  I turned out the overhead light and crawled into bed.  He
plopped down by me, and said he was glad it was just us tonight.  He said
he loved his friends, but he really loved being with me.  We just lay there
and talked about a lot of things.  Eventually he was chatting away and I
just dozed off.

We woke up Sunday morning, ate breakfast, and started getting ready for the
get together.  Ryan and I started reviewing the pictures and video from the
lake vacation.  He took over finding the music for portions while I
formatted and set up the sequencing.  We had a finished product by noon,
and we also pulled some shots of the different guys and burned them to CDs
for their families.

After a quick lunch of sandwiches and chips, I started washing and
seasoning the chicken.  I then cooked the onions in bacon grease along with
the light brown sugar, added my special sauce and added the beans to a
large skillet I was using on the stove.  Soon there was a smell of baked
beans in the house.  Ryan iced down the watermelons in the garage and set
up a table for the ice cream churns on the back porch.  Around 4 o'clock I
started up the grill and placed the chicken breasts on it.  I slathered
them with sauce and turned the heat to low.  Everybody began to arrive with
all of their portions of the meal.  I turned the kitchen over to the women,
and the guys gathered around the grill or swam in the pool.  I had bought
some beer for the dads, so we stood around, talked, and drank while talking
about our boys.  The ladies were having a good time in the kitchen while
putting things out on the counter.  I walked back in, and told them the
breasts would be ready in about five minutes.  Myles' mother called the
boys in and had them wash their hands.  Jay called Shane and asked if he
had Jared and Matt.  He said that they were about three minutes away from
the house.  Everything was coming together and on time.  Everybody arrived
and washed their hands and gathered in the family room.

Jay's mom called everyone to the island and we filled our plates with some
of everything that was offered.  Some ate in the formal dining room, others
ate in the family room and then some went outside and ate on the tables out
there.  Jay's mom told everyone that they could have dessert in about an
hour and Rob's mom said "Oh yeah, and we will have homemade ice cream then
too."

Ryan called for everyone's attention and said "Dad and I have pulled
together some pictures for you all to see tonight.  If you would go into
our living room and be seated so that you can see our screen, we will share
some of our fantastic moments at the cabin with you.

Everyone gathered in the living room and Jay turned the lights off.  Ryan
started the slideshow using the computer and projector.  There were a lot
of pictures and video of the trails, the lake, canoeing, swimming, skiing,
fishing, eating, cooking, the cabin, and the scenery.  Everyone was taken
with the beauty of the lake and the surrounding area.  The boys' loved the
action shots of them and especially those that showed them holding the
day's catch of fish.  Matt was embarrassed by my video of his instructions
on how to canoe, but everyone complimented him on his techniques and
ability to make it look easy.  Rob's older sister made some comment about
"eye candy at the lake."  The boys thanked the guys for going to the lake
with them, and they really thanked Matt for making the cabin and lake
available for a week of fun and friendship.  Ryan then asked the boys to
join him over on the side of the room, he had a large bag with him and then
he asked Matt to come on over to the group.  Ryan said "Matt, we did this
on our own as a way for you to always remember how much we love you, so
here is a picture of all of us at the lake.  He handed Matt the picture of
the four boys in Matt's favorite tree on the trail.  Matt's eyes filled up
with tears and he hugged each one of the guys.  He tried to say something,
but his emotions got the best of him.  I then spoke to everyone.

I started by thanking the parents for allowing the boys to participate in
the trip to the lake.  Shane's dad said "Doug, we thank you for taking them
off of our hands for a week; the check is in the mail."  Everyone laughed.
I said "Seriously, it is so much easier for this group to stay as one, than
when they are apart.  I have to add my thanks again to Matt and his family
for the use of the cabin and lake.  I also have to thank Jared and Shane
for taking time to join us at the lake.  As you saw from the pictures and
video shown to you tonight, everyone was doing something most of the time
and they had a blast.  We did eat out a few times, but I can tell you that
when we did everyone was on their best behavior and displayed wonderful
manners.  We received a compliment at the Italian restaurant on the night
before we left, because the boys knew how to operate within a restaurant
and knew how to order from a menu."

Jay spoke up and said "Yeah, we have been trained - or threatened with our
lives if we ordered a hamburger when we had a menu in front of us."  The
boys said "Amen."  I looked at Jay and said "Alpo next time for you young
man and you stay in the Yukon."  He responded "Pops, I was kidding, you
know I love a menu, you know I know you are alwayssssssss right."  Ryan
looked over at him and said "You do realize you are begging again, right?"

I continued "And as all of the parents know, they are a pleasure to be
around.  The one thing that I am regretting lately is that they are growing
up," Shane's Dad said "Doug, are you sure?  Did you fall down and hit your
head?  I have two that I am ready to send over to you."  Rob's dad "You
would be singing a different tune, if you had more than one" and laughed
until his wife punched him in the shoulder.  The boys got a kick out of the
comments from the parents.  I said "Okay, give me a couple more minutes and
I will wrap this up.  This summer has been very special in that the boys
adopted the guys and they have blended so well with each other.  There is a
brotherhood here, and I can tell you that there has been a lot of learning
and understanding going on between them."  Shane's mom said "Now I can
totally agree with that as Shane and Jay have actually been civil with each
other.  I just want to know what happened."  All of the boys, and the guys
laughed and said "That will always remain a secret."

Rob's mom said "Well, it sounds like this has been an eventful summer, and
I am so proud that Rob has been a part of it.  Thank you Matt for taking
Rob under your wing."

Myles mom asked Myles to come and stand by her and then she said "I am so
thankful for everyone in this room and especially Doug for he has willingly
helped with Myles since he does not have a male in his life, but I too want
to say a big thank you to Jared for being there for Myles.  He talks
nonstop about how great you are, and I have seen from the video and
pictures that his assessment of you is sooooo on target."

I said "Well guys, we have desserts and ice cream and if I heard the moms
correctly, it is time to enjoy.

Rob's mom said, "The cake is on the counter along with the plates and
forks, while the ice cream, dishes and spoons are on the table in the
backyard.  Enjoy yourselves!"

We split up between the two areas and then swapped places.  The desserts
were fabulous and a wonderful end to a very special night.  As everyone was
finishing, Ryan once again asked everyone to give him their attention and
he said "This morning Dad and I made a CD for each of you so that you would
have your special pictures and a selection of the group activities" He then
passed out the CDs and everyone helped clean up.  By nine thirty, everyone
had gone to their homes.

I looked at Ryan and said "I don't know about you, but I am tired, and we
have a lot to do tomorrow so I am heading for my shower and then bed.

Ryan said "He agreed" and headed off for his shower.

I finished my shower, walked back through the house and checked the
security then returned to my bedroom, turned off the light and crawled into
bed.  I was asleep in a few minutes.

Ryan was up first on Monday morning, and he started cooking breakfast for
me.  I smelled the bacon and that woke me up.  I went into the bathroom and
did my morning rituals.  I dressed and joined Ryan in the kitchen.  He had
tried his hand at bacon, scrambled eggs, grits, and toast.  He did a
commendable job, but he was a little off on the grits.

He wanted to know what the plan was for the day and I said, "Well, I would
like for us to leave tomorrow morning before six-thirty.  That means we
will eat breakfast on the way as I do not want to leave the kitchen dirty."
He said "Okay."

"So in order for that to occur we have to get the house cleaned, the pool
area cleaned, the grill cleaned, and all clothes washed.  I am going to do
the grill and I would like for you to take over with washing and drying the
clothes.  I will take care of vacuuming the carpet and mopping the floors
tonight after you go to bed."

We got started and by noon we had most things finished.  Ryan went off to
visit with the boys at the park and I began to put the final cleaning
touches to the formal dining and living rooms.  I decided to wait until
tonight to clean the bathrooms after we had taken our showers.  I pulled
the stuff that I had bought for mom and dad and loaded them into the Yukon.
I went back in and finished my packing.  I also took the pictures that the
boys had given me on my birthday and packed them along with a CD of our
lake adventure.

I cleaned the refrigerator and put out the garbage.  I straightened up the
laundry room and folded the clothes that were in the dryer.  About that
time, Ryan entered the house and wanted to know what we were eating, I told
him to get a shower and that we would grab something at a drive thru.  I
grabbed a quick shower and joined Ryan in the kitchen.  We got in the Yukon
and headed out to eat.

We returned home and Ryan finished his packing.  I loaded his luggage and
some other stuff in the Yukon, and we were packed and ready to leave in the
morning.  Ryan cleaned his bathroom, selected what he was wearing tomorrow
and laid it out in my room.  He decided to strip his bed and wash the
sheets, so he did that.  As soon as they were washed and dried, he made his
bed, vacuumed his floor and joined me in my room.

I got up and mopped the laundry room, foyer, and kitchen.  I took a quick
shower, laid out my clothes for tomorrow as well, and joined Ryan in my
bed.  We talked about the upcoming trip, and just had some more valued dad
- son time.  Finally, we drifted off to sleep.

The alarm clock went off at that ungodly hour of five thirty a.m.  We
jumped out of bed; I stripped my bed and threw the sheets and pillow cases
in the washer.  Ryan took his morning shower, and got dressed.  I took my
shower after him and he moved the sheets to the dryer.  I dressed, and
vacuumed the bedroom hallway and family room.  Ryan grabbed the sheets out
of the dryer and made my bed.  I then vacuumed my room and stored the
vacuum.

It was now six twenty-five and we loaded up in the Yukon, raised the garage
door, backed out, lowered and locked the garage door and started our trip
to my parent's home.  We were on target.  After driving about an hour, we
stopped at a Waffle House for breakfast.

We finished breakfast and hit the road traveling to Grandmother's House,
sounded so Little Red Riding Hoodish.  We listened to a variety of CDs and
radio stations.  We stopped for lunch around one o'clock and had a quick
chicken sandwich, fry and lemonade.  We returned to the Yukon and continued
our trip.  Around three o'clock we arrived at mom and dad's house.  Ryan
jumped out, ran to the door, and rang the doorbell.  Mom answered the door
and grabbed him into a tight hug.  Dad came out and hugged him, then he
shook my hand and pulled me into a hug too.  Mom reached over and kissed my
cheek and hugged me too.  Dad walked down the steps and yelled back to me
to open the vehicle so that we could unload and get things stored before
supper.  I used the remote and unlocked the doors.  We began to unload our
belongings and take them into the house.  We put our clothes on hangers and
stored them in the closet or in drawers in the dresser or chest of drawers.

I took the gifts that I had purchased for mom and dad into the family room.
I asked mom and dad to sit down and then I gave them their gifts.  Mom
started off with her typical "Now Doug, you don't have to buy us anything,
your company is all we want."  Dad just smiled and said "Thanks for
thinking of us.

We sat and talked for a while.  I sent Ryan back to our room and he brought
the pictures that they gave me for my birthday out and he narrated about
each one to his grandparents.  Mom wanted to know more about Shane, Jared
and Matt.  I told her that they were the best role models you could hope
for and that I was so happy to have them as part of my family of boys.

Mom excused herself to finish cooking.  Dad wanted Ryan and me to go
outside and look at the yard.  He had spent a lot of time with the
landscaping and had recently installed a new fountain and outside seating
area.

Mom came to the door and called us to dinner admonishing us to go wash our
hands just like she did when I was a kid.  Ryan looked up to me and smiled
and said "Always a mom, huh?"  I shook my head yes.

Mom had prepared everything that I had mentioned, but there was no sign of
a dessert.  We ate dinner amid our across the table conversation and their
tales of me as a kid.  Ryan enjoyed the stories and laughed at many of the
stories.  I cringed as most adults do at the expense of their parents.

We finished the main meal and then Mom and Ryan took our plates to the
kitchen.  They returned with a birthday cake for me and ice cream.  Mom cut
the cake which was my favorite, a yellow layered cake with butter-cream
frosting and scientific symbols on it and the words Happy 35th Birthday
Doug.  Ryan had told his grandmother that they did not have a birthday cake
for me at the lake and he wanted me to have one.  They planned on how the
cake was to look and she contacted a baker that she knew to bake and
decorate it.  The cake was absolutely delicious along with the ice cream
that was served with it.  We finished and then I helped clear the table,
store the food, and clean the dishes and kitchen.

Mom then told us that every night after supper that she and dad took a walk
around the neighborhood and into the park.  We told them that we would like
to join them on their walk and we did.  It was a nice warm night with a
little breeze.  The breeze blew across our faces and filled our noses with
the scent of the roses and petunias that were in the surrounding flower
beds.  We walked around the park and ran into a number of people that mom
and dad knew and mom took great pride in introducing her son and grandson
to each and everyone.

We survived the walk and introductions.  The neighborhood had changed over
the years.  Mom told me about some of the kids that had grown up with me
still lived in the area and that one of them, Randy was visiting him
parents this week.  She said that she had invited him over Friday night for
supper.  I just rolled my eyes, such was life with my mom.  Ryan just
chuckled when he saw me roll my eyes.

We made it back to mom and dad's and dad suggested that we sit in the
backyard around the fountain.  He did a really fabulous job with it and it
had timed lighting and water movements.  It was so great to see that my dad
had not sat around and vegetated when he retired.

Finally, mom called it a night for everyone telling us that we had a busy
day tomorrow and we would have breakfast around seven o'clock.  Ryan and I
went to our room, he got his shower first and then I took mine.  We both
got into bed wearing our boxer briefs after I locked the door.  I turned
off the lights and adjusted the overhead fan.  Ryan wanted to talk about
some of the stories that were shared at the dinner table much to my
chagrin.  He laughed at my expense several times.  I told him that he
needed to enjoy this moment because in a few years, I would be sharing
stories with his children.  He said "Oh dad, you wouldn't would you?"  I
said "And miss you squirming like I have tonight - you can bank on it."

I pulled him close to me and he put his head on my shoulder, rubbed his
hand through my chest hair and twirled it with his fingers just like his
mom used to do.  This was one of those emotional moments for me and I know
I had tears in my eyes.  They started flowing and Ryan pulled away from me
and asked me what was wrong and I said "Nothing son, it is more of what is
so right.  There are a lot of memories flooding my mind right now.  I love
you with all of my heart and don't you ever doubt that."  He said "Dad, I
know you love me and I love you so much."  I pulled him close to me again
and we just lay there with him eventually drifting off to sleep on my
shoulder.

End of Chapter 8

Well here we are at Mom and Dad's.  What will happen here?  Lots of
memories here.  How will the visit to Barbara's go?

If you have written me and I have not responded, please resend as there was
a problem with Yahoo and my mail on Monday.  I try to respond to all
e-mails.

Thanks for reading.  Your comments are very important to this writer.

Jay