Date: Sun, 19 Mar 2006 15:32:15 -0500
From: Scribe 1971 <scribe1971@hotmail.com>
Subject: Substitute Dad Chapter 6

Substitute Dad
By Scribe 1971

Author's Note:

I'll bet you didn't expect to see Chapter 6 so soon, did you?  I didn't
expect to write it so soon either but here it is.  First of all, I want to
thank you all for your continuing feedback which is always welcome and
helpful.  Thank-you to everyone who has offered their assistance.  I am
truly amazed at how quickly this story is coming together.  The drive to
complete this tale has been fueld by the overwhelming support received from
the fans of "Substitute Dad"

When I write, I like to listen to music at the same time.  I use my MP3
player to setup a play-list of tunes which are appropriate to the mood of
the piece that I'm writing.  I find that it helps to focus my mind and helps
to create the right emotion.  In case anyone is interested, the main songs
from the playlists for the chapters so far are:

Chapter 1 - "Brothers Under The Sun" by Bryan Adams and "My Little Man" by
Ozzy Osbourne
Chapter 2 - "Everything I Do, I Do It For You" by Bryan Adams
Chapter 3 - "Two Steps Behind" By Def Leppard and "Life Is A Open Road" by
Bryan Adams
Chapter 4 - "Hero Of The Day" and "Don't Tread On Me" by Metallica.
Chapter 5 - "Forever Young" by Alphaville and "100 Years" by Five for
Fighting
Chapter 6 - "Higher" by Creed and "I Wish I Could Fly Now" by Roxette

>From now on, I'll include a couple of titles with each chapter as I post
them.

Enjoy chapter 6.

This story is copyrighted 2006, Please don't repost or redistrribute this
story without my express written permission.

Chapter 6 -- You Take Me Higher

It was a Saturday morning and Christmas was only a week away.  Susan was
going to be away for most of the week-end so Josh and I were once again left
to our own devices.  I was determined that we would do something more
interesting than sit around and watch old movies on TV.  We weren't crazy
enough to go near a mall or a movie theatre this close to Christmas so we
had to come up with something original.  I decided that it was time to
introduce Josh to another of my life's great passions.

There was little that Josh didn't know about me by now, but I still had a
few secrets.  One of them was going to play a major role in what I hoped
would be an experience that he would remember and cherish for the rest of
his life.

My secret was that during the year and few months that Josh and I had been
apart, I had realized one of my life-long ambitions and obtained a private
pilot's license.  I was fully licensed to fly single engine 4-place
propeller driven aircraft.  Flying ran in my family.  My father had been a
private pilot and my grandfather was a WWII RCAF veteran who had fought in
the battle of Britain.  I decided that today would be the day that I
introduced Josh to the joys of aviation.

"Have you managed to fill the bottomless put yet, Josh?" I asked with a grin
as the boy sauntered down the stairs and into my apartment.  He had just
finished polishing off a stack of pancakes.

"No, but we can always hit the Mandarin for the lunch buffet," replied Josh,
flashing that marvelous grin of his.

"You'd put them in the poor house, little buddy," I said as I reached over
grabbing him in a headlock and mercilessly tickled his ribs through his
shirt.

"HEY," he squawked, "quit it before I pee myself!" He giggled as he tried to
squirm away from me.  He kept struggling and tried his best to return the
tickle-torment that I was administering to him.

"Dad," he said hesitantly and stopped struggling.  "I have a little
problem."

"What's up, bud?"  I asked him in a caring tone as I released him from the
headlock and placed my hands tenderly on his narrow shoulders.

"I better show you," he said as he began to undo his belt and lower his
pants and underwear.  "I think I've been jerking off a little too much," he
said slightly red faced.

"Let's take a look," I said as I pulled over a chair and sat down in front
of him.  I reached out and gently took his flaccid penis in my land and
lifted it for a closer look.  Sure enough, the skin just below the head was
red and looked quite sore.  Further down, just below his circumcision scar,
the skin was quite badly chaffed.  "That looks pretty rough, kiddo," I told
him soothingly as I released his sore organ.

"It's ok as long as I don't touch it too much," Josh replied in a slightly
disappointed tone.

"I'm really sorry; I was supposed to get you some baby oil or something
similar.  I promise I'll get you some today.  How often have you been at
it?"

"2 or 3 times a day, I guess," he said with an almost hangdog grin on his
face.

"You've been a busy boy," I joked.  "No wonder I'm running out of boxes of
Kleenex!"

"Tell me about it.  Mom emptied my waste basket and she asked me if I had a
cold or something because of all the used tissues in the garbage."

I tried to bite my lip.  I did everything that I could to hold it in but I
failed.  I couldn't help it and I burst out laughing.  "I'm sorry Josh!  I'm
not laughing at you.  I'm actually laughing at your mom.  I'm sure she has
no idea as to what you've been up to."

Josh gave me one of those "I want to look mad" faces but he couldn't hold it
and broke up laughing as well.  I knew I was forgiven when he leaned over
and gave me a quick hug.

"I've got something that will help this," I told him pointing to his injured
boyhood.  I went into my bathroom and retrieved a tube of Polysporin
ointment.  I figured that Polysporin would provide some pain relief and
would help him to heal quicker.

"That stuff doesn't sting, does it?" Josh asked with a worried look on his
face.

"Not at all, bud.  In fact, it works as a painkiller.  It will also help to
prevent an infection and it will speed the healing process," I told him and
noticed the relieved look on his face.  I decided to have a little fun at
his expense.  "You don't want to get an infection down here, bud.  If you do
they might have to amputate," I said as I made `scissors' with my fingers
then placed them around the base of his penis and made a snipping motion.

"Yikes," he yelped "Put that stuff on, quick!"

I laughed as I opened the tube, placed some of the ointment on the tip of my
finger and began to lightly smear it on the chaffed skin of his penis.  It
really looked pretty sore and I felt sorry for the little guy.  I shouldn't
have been surprised when it happened, but as I applied the ointment, he
quickly began to get erect.  Within seconds, his penis had expanded to its
full 4 inch length.  He was mortified.

"Sorry Tommy, I didn't mean for that to happen," he mumbled and looked
shamefaced.

"Don't worry about it, son.  It's just a normal, natural reaction.  Any guy
would get a hardon no matter who touched it or for what reason.  It doesn't
mean anything.  We're both guys here; we've both had hardons before.   I
don't care, I'm not embarrassed and you shouldn't be either," I said
reassuringly as I ignored his aroused state and finished carefully applying
the ointment.

He looked relieved and flashed me the classic Josh grin.

"Ok bud, pull up your drawers, you're all done.  Take the tube and put some
more on it each morning and each night before you go to bed."  I reached
over and ruffled his hair briefly as I handed him the tube of ointment.  I
figured a few days of applying that ointment should clear it up for him
nicely.

"Thanks dad, that feels better already," he said in a relieved tone.  "I
love you."

"I love you too, son.  I'd hate to say it, but I would lay off the
masturbation for a week or so until everything heals up."

"Oh man!" he groaned.  "I gotta stop doing that for a whole week?"

I wasn't being cruel.  I experienced much the same problem when I was his
age and I'm sure that most other boys did too.  The only way it would get
better would be if he left it alone for a while.

"You can get all caught up in a week or so.  Believe me, you won't forget
how it's done," I said as I pulled him into another loose headlock and
resumed tickling his ribs.  Josh giggled and squawked and made a good show
of trying to get away, but I knew he loved ever second of it.  "You'd better
have extra Kleenex handy when you resume your activities, it'll probably be
a gusher," I joked.

"I wish," he replied wistfully.  "I don't shoot all that much."

"That's ok; nobody ever does at your age."

Josh looked relieved

"Tell you what, I have an idea for something that we can do today which
beats the hell out of the Mandarin," I said as I released him and gave him a
wink.

"What is it?" He asked with obvious great interest as he finished doing up
his belt.

I was pretty certain that in his mind, anything better than the Mandarin had
to be truly spectacular.  "How about we take a drive up to the Brampton
airport and check out the planes?   They have a little restaurant there that
serves decent food so we can grab a bite when we're done."

"Cool.  I've never been in an airplane before."

I grinned inwardly when I contemplated the treat that awaited him later this
morning.  "Tell you what, I know someone who works at the airport and I
might be able to arrange it so that you can sit in one of the planes and
check it out up close."

"Let's go then!" Josh exclaimed as he jumped up and begun literally dragging
me towards the stairs.

I chuckled at his youthful enthusiasm and I looked forward to his reaction
to his first flight like a kid contemplating Christmas morning.  "Hey Josh,"
I said, "Grab your camera -- we'll get some good shots of you in the
cockpit."  Little did he know that the cockpit would be 2,500 feet above the
Caledon hills at the time the photos were being taken!  "Josh!  Grab your
jacket as well," I hollered knowing it would be pretty chilly up in the
plane.  I grabbed my flight bag and stowed it in the Jeep as Josh went and
dug out his camera.

The highway was about as clear as the 401 ever gets and we made it to the
airport about 40 minutes after we left home.  The Brampton Airport, also
known as CNC03, is a small privately owned general aviation airport.  It's
situated just north-west of Toronto on the very edge of the controlled
airspace of Lester B. Pearson International airport.  It has 2 runways and a
large collection of club and privately owned aircraft.  During the summer,
it tended to get quite busy on Saturday mornings.  In late December,
however, the air was cold enough at altitude to chase away all but the most
hardy, dedicated or foolish pilots.

The ground scenery was going to be beautiful at this time of year.  The
fields would be draped in a thick blanket of snow and all of the lakes and
ponds would be frozen solid.  The frozen water would reflect sunlight with a
magnificent intensity.  Josh was in for a real treat for his first ever
flight.  I was thrilled to death to be the pilot who would lead him through
that incredible experience.  I hoped it would be one of those life-changing
experiences which would lead him to a life-long love of flying.

The parking lot was mostly empty and we snagged a spot just outside the
door.  Josh and I piled out of the car and headed for the door.  I placed my
arm over Josh's shoulders as we walked and he looked up at me and smiled.

Inside the terminal building, there was a gift shop to the right, washrooms
to the left and a waiting room and dispatch counter straight down the
hallway.

"Ok bud," I said to Josh.  "Why don't you grab a seat while I see if I can
get us a closer look at one of those planes out there?"

"Sure dad," he said smiling and giving me a brief hug.

I watched Josh walk over to a bench seat in front of a large picture window
facing runway 17.  17 appeared to be the active runway today so he had a
pretty good show to watch as I headed to the dispatch counter to sign out a
plane.

"May I help you sir?" the perky clerk asked me as I approached the desk.

"You sure can," I said handing her my club membership card and my pilot's
license.  "I'd like to take up a club aircraft up for a couple of hours.
It'll be myself and one passenger heading north over the hills for some
sightseeing."

"Lets see what we have available," she replied checking her computer.  "It
looks like we have a 152, a 152 Aerobat and two 172s available.  What's your
preference?"

"As fun as the Aerobat is, I had a large breakfast this morning, so let's go
with a 172," I said with a chuckle.

The clerk, whose name tag read "Jennifer" smiled, "Ok, you want it for 2
hours, right?"

"You got it!  This is the first flight for my passenger," I said pointing to
Josh as he sat intently watching the various aircraft landing and taking
off.

"Isn't he a little cutie," Jennifer said with a smile.

"He's a great kid.  He also doesn't know that he's actually flying today --
he thinks we're here just to watch."

"Is he your little brother?" she asked.

"Actually, I'm his dad," I said with pride.

Jennifer looked at me strangely for a second.  "You look so young to have a
son his age."

"Well, it's a long story.  He's not my biological son, but he is my REAL
son." I replied firmly.

"I'm sure you're both very lucky," she replied.  "Now, that'll be $240.00"
please.  I'm giving you CHXTP, it's the `white and blue' and it's fueled and
set to go on the tarmac."

"You're wonderful, Jennifer," I said as I handed her my credit card.
"Shoot!  I almost forgot, can I borrow a headset for Josh?"

"Certainly," she replied as she reached under the counter and produced the
requested headset.  "There you go. Here's your headset, the keys to XTP,
your credit card and your documents.  Have a great flight."

"Thanks, we will!"  I smiled as I turned from the counter and headed over to
Josh.

"Hey dad, what are the headphones for?" Josh asked

"You want to look like a real pilot when I take your picture don't you?" I
asked as I reached down and ruffled his hair.

We headed out of the terminal building and onto the tarmac.  The air was
cool, crisp and clear.  It was perfect flying weather.  I also noted that
air traffic appeared to be relatively light that morning so we weren't going
to have much difficulty getting airborne quickly.  I scanned around and saw
our plane on parked in the last row.  "That's our bird over there, Josh," I
said pointing towards the parked Cessna 172.  "See the tail number -- CHXTP,
that's like a license plate on a car -- it's how they identify the plane."

Josh excitedly ran up to the plane and looked in the window.  "Can I get
in?"

"Of course, hop in the left side -- that's the pilot seat," I told him as I
reached out and opened the door for him.

Josh scrambled up into the pilot's seat and took hold of the yoke. "This is
so cool," he chirped excitedly.  "What do all these dials and things do?" he
asked.

"I'll tell you what, let me take a look at a few things outside and then
I'll hop in and try to answer your questions," I replied, not wanting to let
on that I knew what ALL of those instruments do.  I took his camera from him
and snapped off a few photos of him sitting at the controls as he grinned
broadly.

As Josh busied himself in the cockpit, I began the ground check of the
aircraft.  I started with the starboard wing and made my way around the
plane.  I made a conscious effort not to look like I was doing anything all
that important.  I finished a few minutes later by stepping up and checking
the fuel cap.  As I climbed down and walked over to the pilot's door, I was
wondering just how long I could keep up this charade before Josh caught on.
I decided to have a little fun with him.

I opened the pilot's door and said "Hey bud, how about you slide over to the
co-pilot seat for a moment, I want to check a few things out."

"Ok dad," Josh said happily and scooted over.  I climbed in and began the
startup procedure.  I removed my own headset from my flight bag and
connected both of our headsets to the sockets in the dash.  Josh snapped off
a few photos of me behind the controls before resuming his explorations of
the aircraft.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Josh giving me a bit of a funny look as I
produced and inserted a key into the magneto switch.  Obviously he knew
something was up.  His eyes grew as wide as saucers and his jaw dropped open
as I hit the master switches and the avionics switch bringing the
instruments and the radio to life.

I keyed the mic, "Traffic, X-ray, Tango, Papa parked at Charlie November
Charlie zero three, radio check.  Over."

"Roger, X-ray, Tango, Papa, I read you five-by. Over," came the response
from the radio.

"What are you doing, dad?" Josh asked with a surprised, questioning look in
his eyes as he realized that it was my voice that he was hearing in his
headset.

"I figured we just fire this little bird up for a moment," I replied with a
chuckle.

"Are you crazy?  Won't they get mad at us?  How do you know how to do all
that anyway?"

"Do you trust me, son?"  I asked as I looked at him.

"Yeah, but this is crazy."  He said a little nervously.

"Tell you what, grab that bag over there and look in the front pocket," I
told him pointing towards my flight bag which was resting between the
cramped seats.

Joshed picked up the flight bag and reached into the front pocket.  He
withdrew his hand holding 2 items.  One was my golden pilot wings and the
other was my Transport Canada pilot's license.

"No way!"  He hollered, "Too cool, my dad's a pilot!  The guys at school are
going to be so jealous," he said excitedly as he reached over and gave me a
firm hug and a peck on the cheek.

"Ok kiddo, it's time to fasten your seatbelts and hang on," I said with a
laugh.  I cracked open the window and hollered "clear" and then turned the
magneto switch to start.

The prop began to spin slowly and first and then it caught and the engine
roared to life.  "Can you hear me ok over the headset, son?" I asked Josh,
he could only nod his head; he was far too excited to talk.  I smiled warmly
at him.  "All set for your first ever flight?" I asked.

Josh looked at me for a moment and I swear I could feel the love shooting
from his eyes.  He wore an enormous grin that looked as if it threatened to
split his head in half.  "I love to you so much dad!"  He said as he reached
his hand out and squeezed my shoulder.

I smiled back at him and keyed the radio, "Traffic, X-ray Tango Papa taxiing
to Charlie November Charlie 03, runway one seven for takeoff."

I took a moment to put on my aviator sun glasses then adjusted the fuel-air
mixture and gently pushed the throttle forward enough to get us moving.
"This part's a lot like driving a car Josh," I said.  "The main difference
is that I`m steering with my feet.  The yoke is pretty much useless on the
ground.

As I maneuvered the small aircraft around the taxiway, I explained some of
the basics of flight to Josh.  By the time we reached the runway skirt, he
understood what all the control surfaces were, what they did and how they
related to the yoke and rudder pedals.

Josh looked completely star-struck as he sat in the co-pilot's seat and
watched my every move as I skillfully taxied the small plane to the end of
the runway.  His face was a mask of pride and adoration.

"Traffic, X-ray Tango Papa holding short runway one seven, Charlie November
Charlie zero three," I said as I pushed in the brake pedals and ran the
engine up to full checking the tach for any irregularities.

"Ok bud, help me out here," I said to Josh.  "Look out the window and make
sure that there are no planes on the runway or in the sky coming in to
land."

"Looks clear to me," Josh said.

I satisfied myself that it was clear and then I again eased the throttle
forward again and pulled onto the skirt of the runway.

"Traffic, X-ray Tango Papa, on runway one seven Charlie November Charlie
zero three, departing northwest"

I lined the aircraft up perfectly with the runway's centre-line and prepared
to do the takeoff when I had a brilliant idea.  "Ok, Josh you're going to do
the takeoff," I said as I looked over at a very startled boy.

"But I don't know how."

"Don't worry, I'll help you.  First, put your hand on this knob," I told him
as I reached out and took his hand, placing it on the throttle.  I put my
hand over his. "When give the word, push that knob all the way in.  Keep
your other hand on the yoke and when I tell you, pull back gently until you
feel the plane rise into the air."

"Ok, I think I got it," Josh said uneasily.

"Relax pal, you'll do fine," I said trying to reassure him.  "Ok, let's go,
push it."

Josh pushed the throttle knob all the way forward and I released the brakes.
  The plane began to move forward with increasing speed.  Josh's massive
grin had returned but his eyes held a look of intense concentration.

As the aircraft hurtled down the runway gaining speed, I felt the nose wheel
rise slightly.  "Pull back gently now, Josh."

Josh pulled back on the yoke and slowly the plane lifted into the cool,
clear December air.  For the first time in his young life, Josh was
airborne.

"You did it, bud!"  I smiled and was rewarded with Josh's classic mile wide
grin.

I adjusted the throttle and mixture while banking the aircraft to the north.
  We climbed to an altitude of some 2,500 feet and enjoyed the scenery
below.

"Holy cow, those cars look like dinky toys and those people look like ants,"
Josh said excitedly as he snapped off a bunch of photos.  He snapped a
couple more of me flying the plane.

I smiled broadly and just sat back and enjoyed the scenery inside the small
aircraft.  The sight of a very happy boy who was having the time of his
young life was better than anything I could imagine seeing on the ground.
My heart swelled with pride in this tough little guy and with the love that
I felt for him.

The view of the ground was a breathtaking as I had expected it to be.  We
soared over the Caledon hills, followed roads and scouted various lakes,
parks and conservation areas from an altitude of 2,500 feet.

We cruised around for an hour or so when I decided it was time to let Josh
fly.  "Alright, son, you managed a perfect takeoff so now how would you like
to take the controls for a few minutes?"

Josh beamed at me, "Yeah, let me try it."

"Ok, take the yoke in both hands.  Don't touch the pedals; I'll handle those
for you."  I watched as his clear brow creased as he concentrated hard on
what he was doing.

"This is so cool," he crowed.

I took his camera from him and got some good photos of him flying the plane.
  I knew this was going to be a day that he would remember for the rest of
his life and I wanted it well documented in photographs.

"Ok, now I'll have you make some small turns.  When you move the yoke, do it
with very small gentle movements.  This isn't like a video game," I told
him.

Josh nodded his head.

"See that road down there, I want you to turn to the right and follow it.
Gently turn the yoke to the right about until I tell you to stop and pull
back very slightly at the same time."  He was doing amazingly well.  "Josh,
I want you to try to hold the same altitude.  Look at the distance between
the front of the plane, called the cowling, and the horizon.  To keep the
plane level, you want to keep that distance the same."

He did exactly as I instructed and I didn't even have to make any
corrections.  Other than the fact that I was operating the rudder pedals,
Josh was in control of the plane.  He was a natural, far better than I was
when I first started taking lessons and I was good.  Josh was so good it was
scary.  A lifetime of playing video games must have paid off for him.

I had Josh spend about 30 minutes flying ground tracks and practicing basic
flying skills and I was becoming more impressed by the minute.  I swore that
he must have bird DNA mixed up in his genes, that's how good he was.

"Ok kiddo, it's time to take her back, I have control."  As good as he was;
he was a long way from being able to attempt a landing.

Josh looked disappointed but he immediately turned over control of the
aircraft without argument.  Sometimes his maturity amazed me.  Again my
heart swelled with pride.

I turned the plane towards the airport and began our descent.  "Traffic,
X-ray Tango Papa over-flying Charlie November Charlie zero three and
entering downwind leg for landing runway one seven, full stop."

We got a good look at the airport from the air and Josh snapped off a few
photos as we flew parallel to runway 17 at an altitude of about 500 feet.  I
lowered the flaps and banked to the right.  "Traffic, X-ray Tango Papa,
turning base leg Charlie November Charlie zero three, runway one seven"

We were flying perpendicular to the base of the runway as I throttled down
the engines and fully extended the flaps.  As we began to pull even with the
edge of the runway, I entered another steep bank and lined us up for a
perfect landing.  "Traffic, X-ray Tango Papa, on final Charlie November
Charlie zero three, runway one seven, full stop."

I skillfully brought the plane down for a perfect centerline landing and
taxied it back to its original parking spot.  After shutting everything
down, we climbed out and chocked the wheels.  I checked the cockpit to
ensure that we hadn't forgotten anything and then turned to head into the
terminal.  I managed about 2 steps before I was intercepted by Josh who
threw his arms around me in a massive bear-hug.

"Thanks, dad.  That was the most amazing thing I ever did.  I love you so
much.  You are the coolest person I ever knew," Josh beamed at me.

I hugged him back and said, "I love you too son.  I'm so proud of you.
You're a natural up there." I said with obvious pride in my voice.  I
squeezed him tighter and said, "Lets grab a bite and we can talk"

We released each other and he treated me to another of his patented
head-splitting grins.
Just as we were about to head into the terminal, Josh spotted another pilot
heading in the same direction.

"Excuse me, sir?"  He said politely.

"What's up?" The man replied.

"Could you please do us a big favour and take a couple of pictures of my dad
and I in front of the airplane?"

"Certainly," he replied taking the camera from Josh and shaking both of our
hands.

"That was a nice landing; I was right behind you in the Beaver."

"Thanks," I replied.  "You own the Beaver, eh?  That's a hell of an
aircraft."

"She may be old, but she's built like a tank," he replied with a smile.

Josh and I posed arm in arm in front of our plane and the man took two or
three shots of us.

"Thanks a lot, sir," Josh said.

"Don't mention it," he replied with a chuckle as he went on his way.

We walked into the terminal, returned the headset and keys and checked the
aircraft back in.  "Josh, why don't you go in and grab us a table and I'll
be right there," I said pointing towards the restaurant.  "I have a couple
of things to take care of."

"Sure dad.  Hurry, though, I'm hungry."

"When aren't you hungry, little man?"  I said as I ruffled his hair.

He gave me a pretend angry face and then smiled and took off into the
lounge.

I watched to make sure he was out of site and then headed into the gift
shop.  I had a couple of important purchases to make.  The gift shop sold
everything from souvenirs to equipment and supplies used by pilots.

A few minutes later, I emerged from the gift shop and joined Josh at a table
near the front window.

"I take it you enjoyed that, eh?" I asked Josh.

"I loved it!  When can we go again?"  He asked me excitedly.

"Soon, son, it's a little expensive so we can't do it too often, but we'll
do it as often as we can," I smiled lovingly at him as I placed a gift shop
bag on the table. "I have a few things for you," I told him.

Josh leaned forward and looked intently at the bag on the table with his
eyes wide.  "You didn't have to buy me anything.  Today was amazing.  You do
so much for me," he said

I smiled at him and then continued.  "First, you'll need these if we are
going flying regularly," I pulled out a headset just like mine and handed it
to him.

"Thanks!" Josh beamed as he put the headset on and adjusted it so that it
fit him perfectly.

"Next, you'll need a pair of these," I said as I pulled out a pair of
aviator sun glasses just like my own and handed them to him.

He took them from me and out them on right away.

"You can't be a pilot without one of these," I grinned as I handed him a
navy blue ball cap with the word "Pilot" written on the front and with
"scrambled eggs" on the visor.

He put it on his head and I snapped a photo.  He really looked the part of a
pilot.

"Finally, I have something very special to give you," I said seriously.

Josh detected the serious note in my voice and removed the headset, sun
glasses and hat.

I took out my pair of gold pilot wings.  "My grandfather earned these in
WWII.  He flew Spitfires for the Royal Canadian Air Force.  He was an ace --
he shot down a whole lot of German planes during the battle of Britain.  He
gave these wings to my dad when he became a pilot.  My dad gave them to me
after I flew a plane the first time."

I studied Josh's face and looked into his thoughtful gray eyes before
continuing.  "Son, I want you to have these wings.  It'll be a couple of
years before you can actually get a pilot's license, but you proved yourself
in the air today."

I looked at Josh, his sweet, earnest face was set in a solemn look and his
eyes were moist.  "If you want, I'll see that you get lessons as soon as
you're old enough.  No matter what, I want you to have these wings.  They
have been passed from father to son in my family for 3 generations now and I
want to pass them on to you, my son."

That was all it took, Josh's tears started as he jumped up, came around the
table and wrapped his body around me, hugging me fiercely.  I could feel his
small body tremble as he sobbed into my chest.  He looked up, his eyes once
again probing my soul.

"I don't know what to say," he choked out.  "I really don't know the right
words to say to tell you what I feel.  Nobody has ever given me anything
like this.  Nobody has every given me a day like this before.  I love you so
much, dad.  Thank-you."

"I already know how you feel, kiddo," I said as I continued to hug him
close.  "I love you more than life itself."

I gently rubbed his back the way he liked it and we remained in that embrace
for a few minutes until we both regained our composure.  After we released
each other and Josh returned to his own chair, he carefully pinned the wings
to his shirt.  He looked at me and the look on his face was utterly
priceless.

We shared a nice meal together, laughing and talking about planes and flying
and then we headed out to my Jeep and began the trek home.  Josh was
chattering non-stop the entire way.  He kept raving about how much he was
looking forward to calling his friends and telling them all about his
piloting adventure with his new dad.  I smiled the whole way, basking in his
happiness and warmed by his love.  The events of the day had cost me a fair
bit of money, but I would have gladly spent twice as much to see Josh this
happy.

I dropped Josh at the house and left him briefly while I headed over to the
local mall to pickup his Christmas gift and to drop off his film for
processing.  Susan and I had discussed Christmas and we decided that we
would exchange gifts between the three of us and that we would all spend
Christmas morning together before I headed off to my mother's place in the
afternoon for Christmas dinner with my mother and brothers.  We had decided
on a $50 spending limit for gifts and I was breaking that limit by a fair
bit for Josh.  I was certain that she wouldn't mind.  I wanted to give him
something special and I was sure that he would be delighted with that I had
for him.

I had ordered the gift a couple of weeks earlier and, as the store had
promised, it was ready for pickup today.  I picked up Susan's gift at the
same time and then headed home.  I had already purchased and wrapped gifts
for my 2 brothers and my mother.  This year was to be a record for me.  I
had completed my shopping a full week before Christmas!

As soon as I walked in the door, Josh threw himself at me and greeted me
like I had been gone for 30 years rather than 30 minutes.  "I missed you
dad, where did you go?" He asked excitedly.

"I just had to pick up a couple of things," I said coyly.  "What are we
going to do for the rest of the day?"

"Lets see what's on the tube and order some pizza for dinner.  Mom left some
money to pay for it."

"That was nice of her," I replied.

We went down to may apartment and flipped on the TV.  Sure enough "A
Christmas Story", one of the funniest Christmas movies ever made was on TV.
I sat in my accustomed place on the couch and Josh snuggled up to me in his
usual TV viewing position.  I wrapped my arm around him and relished his
warmth as he cuddled up to me and made himself comfortable.

We had a great time.  As usual, the two of us were laughing like a couple of
loons.  I knew that as much as we both enjoyed the movie, the main
attraction was simply the excuse to spend some time close together.

After the movie we ordered a large meat lovers pizza.  The toppings must
have been a dietician's worst nightmare, but we certainly enjoyed it.  As we
ate, we tuned into the next movie, "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation",
another classic Christmas comedy.

We were both roaring with laughter through most of the movie but before long
Josh noticed that I had grown a little quiet.

"What's wrong?" he asked as he pressed his forehead to mine and stared right
into my eyes.

"I have another headache coming on," I said softly.

Josh looked upset.  "Why didn't you tell me?" He demanded.

"I didn't want to disrupt the movie for you, Josh."

"Tommy, you should have told me.  The movie doesn't matter if you're in
pain."  He chided shaking his head.

"It's not too bad, son."

"It doesn't matter.  Let's go.  On your feet and into your bedroom." He
instructed like an angry drill instructor.

I got up and meekly allowed him to lead me to my room.  My head was actually
hurting worse than I had let on.

Josh helped me get ready for bed and then gently directed me to lay face
down.  He climbed on top of me and began to deeply massage my shoulders and
neck.

"Just relax dad and I'll take care of you," he whispered lovingly in my ear.

He worked my neck and shoulders for about 15 minutes.  It must have been
tiring for him, but he never faltered or complained.  He kept at it like a
trooper and it helped immensely.

"Roll over now, dad," he instructed.

I rolled over and he sat down on my chest and started rubbing my temples in
slow, deep circles.  The pain began to melt away in the face of his loving
and gentle touch.

I was nearly asleep when I heard his whisper, "I love you, dad," and gently
kissed my forehead.

The next thing that I remember was waking up on Sunday morning with Josh
snuggled warmly up to my side with his arm thrown protectively across my
chest.  I enjoyed sleeping with Josh.  Since the night that his father died,
he would come down and join me once or twice a week.  Sometimes I wouldn't
even know he was there until I woke up the next morning and found him
cuddled up with me.  It must have been instinctual, but every time I woke up
with him beside, me I invariably had my arms wrapped around him.

Usually when he was feeling stressed or upset, he would seek out the comfort
and security of sleeping with me.  When I had a headache, he would also
sleep in my bed in an effort to comfort me.  I was pretty certain that he
liked to sleep with me when I had a headache because he believed it allowed
him to keep watch over me.  Regardless of why we ended up sleeping together
on any particular night, we both thoroughly enjoyed the closeness and
intimacy of it.  There was nothing the least bit sexual about it, it was
just a close, loving thing between us.

I lay there and admired the sleeping boy for a few minutes until he began to
stir.

"Morning, son," I mumbled, still partially asleep.

"Morning, dad," he replied.  "Feeling better?"

"Much better," I smiled.

We both stretched and slowly came fully awake.  I'm sure Josh's bladder was
as full as mine, but we weren't done talking.

"Dad, I really wish you'd see a doctor about those headaches.  I get so
worried when you have them," he said in a serious, almost pleading tone.

"Ok, Josh.  I promise that I'll see a doctor about it in the New Year."

"I'm going to hold you to that, dad," He said seriously.

"I know, kiddo, it's a promise," I replied as I hugged him tight.

"Hey dad," Josh said hesitantly.  "I was thinking, that was really cool the
way you tuned up Uncle Joe the other week when he attacked me.  I'd like to
learn how to do that.  Will you teach me how to fight?"

I thought about it for a moment before answering.  "Why do you want to learn
how to fight, Josh?"  I asked.

"It's not like I want to beat people up or anything, I just want to be able
to protect myself and stand up for others who can't just like you do."

It was the answer that I was looking for.  "Good answer, Josh.  That's what
I hoped you'd say.  I'll teach you everything that I know but you have to
promise to use your head before you use your fists," I said seriously.
"What I'm going to teach you is for self-defense, never for attacking."

"I promise, dad."  He replied sincerely.

"Alright, after Christmas, I'll get us both memberships at the `Y'.  We can
use their facilities to get some exercise and they have mats and things that
we can use for self-defense lessons."

Josh hugged me firmly and it was all the reply that I needed.

I looked forward to teaching Josh how to look after himself.  It was like
another rite of manhood that I was passing down to him.  I would enjoy
spending the time with him and I would feel better knowing that he would be
more than able to protect himself against threats that he might encounter.
I hoped he would never have to use those skills, but I also knew that the
confidence that he would gain through having those skills would help to keep
him safe.  Predators seek out vulnerable victims and a confident boy who
carries himself well would not be a likely target.

We both lay there enjoying each other's warmth a few moments before the need
to relieve our bladders finally over-rode our desire for physical closeness.
  We both darted for the bathroom and stood tall together before the
porcelain God.

As I went and jumped in the shower, Josh ran excitedly upstairs to call his
buddies and tell them all about his dad the pilot and to regale them with
the details of his first flight.  Now he was like the kid on Christmas
morning.  It was the first time in his life that he'd ever had occasion to
tell his friends about how cool his dad was and he was loving every moment
of it.  I was certain that I'd probably have some backseat passengers on the
next flight!