Date: Thu, 8 Nov 2001 14:58:26 -0500
From: C. E. Jordan <c.e._Jordan@MailAndNews.com>
Subject: THE VILLAGE BOY Part - 11

The Village Boy
c.e._jordan@mailandnews.com

Copyright c.e. Jordan


From last episode:

     I lay back and pulled up the covers, "You'd better go back to bed
Jeremy, we have a long day ahead of us tomorrow," I said matter-of-factly. Jer
just stood there a slim shadow looking down at me. "Well, go on now
baby.........shoo."

     He went, without a word, walking unsteadily, looking back at me every
few steps. He stopped at the door and looked back one more time, then he
was gone. I didn't know if what I did was right, but I wanted--needed, to give
him something special.....something to distract him from his troubles
and.....something like....a promise.
_________________________________________________________



			 THE VILLAGE BOY - Part 11


      I dreamed of Springtime...and brief beauties.....like rain, his
smile, a touch...petals of blossoms, vulnerable and blue here, or red, like
kisses drifted to green earth.......

				   ****

       I rose too early next morning anxious about Eliza, and what was to
come that day. I left my room intending to prepare breakfast for Jeremy and
his mom. But as I padded barefoot to the kitchen, I halted, confronted by a
vision. Jeremy was already up and around. His back was turned to me, bare,
smooth, and dewy fresh from the bath. He was probably as ready as I to
begin this day. I watched as he inspected one art-work after the next. With
damp hair slicked onto his skin, his narrow waist and neat round bottom, he
could easily be mistaken for a young girl.  He wore only the light summer
shorts I last saw grasped in his hand the previous night.

     Jer paused at a large abstract painting. It was about four feet high
and ten feet wide. First, Jer moved back to take it all in. Then he got up
really close and walked back and forth from one end of the painting to the
other all the while peering at the surface. Oh yes, this was definitely a
boy after my own heart, one who can see what other kids his age might have
ignored. I'd made the painting using the subtle combination of colours one
could see at dawn or dusk, soft clouds of gold imperceptibly shifting to
violets and shot through here and there with a variety of silvery hues.

     I put my arm around his shoulder and asked, "You like it?"

     Jeremy jumped a bit, startled out of his concentration, "Oh
yeah....this one is so beautiful! I like it best of all....I feel like
flying into it....some parts look sort of glittery....like that stuff on
butterfly wings...how'd you do that?"

     "Well...I mix all kinds of material into bucketsful of
paint...metallic gold and silver powders and stuff like that." I was
pleased that he was interested in my work and that he had the good taste to
like what I considered to be my real accomplishment: the abstract
paintings. The portraits I did were mainly commissions from rich folks who
wanted flattering images of themselves. And the gothic novels I dashed off
were mostly for fun, even though they sold very well, probably to bored
housewives looking for an exciting fantasy.

     "You hungry baby? Let's go make some breakfast."

     "Okay, I'll go and put on some clothes."

     "Well, J.....you don't have to put on any clothes at all, if you don't
want to....I'd love to have a walking, talking work of art just hanging
around my apartment; clothes just hide the best parts of a boy," I joked.

     At first, he blushed and looked away, embarrassed that I'd called him
a `work of art', but then, he grinned wickedly at me and asked,
"Best...`parts'? What parts?"

     "Oh...you know..."

     "No, I don't!....Tell me, tell me, tell me," he demanded, slipping an
arm around my waist as we moved toward the kitchen.

     I stopped and held him away at arms length, deliberately running my
eyes lasciviously up and down his lovely body.

      "Well," I said, "I like every one of your very nice parts Jer,
starting with this one...", I kissed him on the forehead.

     "And I like this little part too..." I kissed him on the nose...

     "...and this part..." I kissed him on the left cheek and continued on
down.

     "Hey! You didn't do my right side Charles," Jer complained.

     "Oh yeah, sorry, that side's too sweet to miss." So I kissed the other
cheek.

     "And I especially LOVE this part." My lips brushed onto his moist
ripening mouth.

     "And, of course, I can't ignore all of those other very special parts
of you."  And as I held onto his slim waist, my lips brushed along his warm
skin.  Diverting from the center channel of his body, I detoured to one
brown nipple which I kissed, then I made a little visit to the other
stiffening nubbin. I briefly sucked it into my mouth. Then, at last, his
cute round `outie' navel got some loving attention.

     I was suddenly aware that I was on my knees before the boy, out in an
open area where his mom could see us if she walked out of her room. My
impulse was to worship him as was his due. One of Jeremy's hands tightly
gripped my shoulder. The other softly caressed my neck while gently urging
me towards the tenting heat at the front of his yellow summer shorts. I
reluctantly pulled away and rose to my feet. "On second thought baby,
perhaps you'd better put some clothes on...and keep `em on, or else we'll
be in big trouble this morning...we're gonna need to get out of here fairly
early."

     I hated to see the disappointment and frustration in those hot dark
eyes.  They closed to slits for a moment, giving Jeremy the look of a
perplexed Oriental doll He was breathing hard.

     "I'm sorry baby, I don't mean to tease you....it's just that..."

     "It's okay Charles....I know we have to get out soon...and Mom's
here...but you know you owe me...more and more..."

     I sighed, "I guess I do."

     He turned away to go get dressed, but stopped for a minute. "Charles?"
He wasn't looking at me.

     "Yes baby?"

     "Last night....umm.....that was the best thing I ever felt in my whole
entire life. I couldn't sleep all night thinking about it. Thanks."

     "Uh....it was my pleasure Jeremy....it really was."

				  *******

     Eliza woke up, and while she took her bath we finished making
breakfast.  Jer and I decided to camp out in his mom's bedroom and eat
there with her.  Fresh from the bath in a robe Jer and I bought her the day
before, Eliza looked rested, alert, and more healthy. It made me
think--hope--that perhaps the situation for her wasn't as dire as it had
appeared.

     I was pleased that Eliza ate all the Belgian waffles I'd made for her
plus a scrambled egg and some toast. At least she seemed to have an
appetite...unless, of course, she was trying for our benefit. Sitting on
the edge of her bed holding a hot cup of lemony tea with both hands, she
was looking at Jer and me with a slight smile on her face. I sat in a chair
peeling an orange. I popped a piece of it into my mouth and fed some to
Jeremy who was sitting on the floor leaning against my legs. I didn't think
anything of it, but I suppose from her vantage point, this was an intimate
scene.

     "Um...Charles, did you tell Jeremy what we talked about last night?"

     "Yes," I said putting a hand on the boy's shoulder, "I don't think
he'll mind hanging around with me for awhile." Jer looked up at me and
smiled.

     "I mean did you two talk about the guardianship thing?"

     I felt Jeremy's body jerk in surprise against my feet and he looked
quickly up at me again with mouth open.

     "No Eliza, we didn't discuss that yet."

     Jeremy stood up and looked uncertainly from his mother to me and back
again.  "Guardianship....what do you mean guardianship?"

     "Baby," said Eliza, "you'll need to have someone who is legally
responsible for you if something happens to me, I'm sorry honey."

     Jeremy went over to the bed and sat next to his mother.Putting his arm
around her shoulder, he protested, "But...nothing's gonna happen to you
Mom, I don't need any guardian but you..."

     "I'm sorry baby," she said again, "but I'm going to see the doctor
today, and I may, or may not, have to stay in the hospital for awhile...we
are going to need somebody who can handle things for me while I am
gone....can you think of anyone better than Charles to do that?"

     Jeremy looked over at me, I could see how miserable he was, then he
buried his face into his mother's shoulder. "Don't leave me mom." I heard
him mumble.

     Her arm went around her son, "It's okay honey...everything's going to
be okay." She stroked his hair, "No matter what happens, I know you'll
always have someone to love you--somebody who will take care of you just
like I've always done, maybe even better than I could ever do."

     "But .....but....." he couldn't get the words out. He was
inconsolable.

     "Listen Jeremy, we have to do this official guardianship now or
anybody will be able to take you away if something happens...remember that
time when your grandmother tried to take you from me...you don't want that
to happen again do you?

     "Hell NO!" Jer quickly straightened up and wiped his eyes. "I want to
stay with Charles, not.....those people."

     I didn't know what happened in the encounter with the family member
they were talking about, but Jer definitely didn't want a repeat of it.

     Jeremy turned to me as if suddenly remembering something. "Oh...will I
be allowed to visit Kevin if I am living here?"

     Oh yeah. Kevin. I'd almost forgotten.

     "Of course Jer, you can visit him...see him, and he can come here
anytime he wants to." I said quickly.

     "I want to call him...he's probably wondering what the heck happened
to me."

     "Sure...go ahead...call." Jer ran out to tell Kevy his news.

     Eliza's hands were fighting each other in her lap again, but she was
looking steadily at me. "What about that Charles?"

     "What about what?" I asked.

     "Kevin. You do know that boy loves my son almost as much as you do."

     The surprise must have shown on my face. "You knew about that?"

     "I know everything about my son...and his friends, he doesn't have
that many.  Kevin is a nice kid too. I don't want him hurt either...you
understand?"

     "Of course Eliza. Look, whatever I feel for Jeremy or whatever he
feels for me, I am always aware that he's still a boy and he'll change as
he grows....for all we know he may not even be really gay. I think I'm
prepared to accept those changes...whatever they may be.....and however
difficult it may be for me personally."

     Eliza regarded me quietly. "Somehow, I don't think it's going to be as
easy as you imagine to maintain that rational attitude, it's going to be
really difficult...  particularly for you Charles. Jeremy is still a kid,
he'll adjust to any situation eventually. But to be lover and parental
figure at the same time is going to be an almost impossible task,
emotionally speaking. I'm almost more sorry for you than for Jer."

     I sighed, "All I can say, Eliza, is if I can let my love for
him...rather than my 'desire' for him dictate my actions, then perhaps I'll
always make correct decisions...well, at least most of the time...I hope."

     She stared at me again, "If you were over-confident, I would have
begun to have real doubts about you." She smiled, softly, and continued,
"Anyway, watching you and Jer together makes me think that things may turn
out alright.  I pray that neither of you gets hurt."

     I went over to Eliza and kissed her on the cheek. This time she didn't
blush.


				  ******

(to be continued)