Date: Mon, 1 Jan 2001 19:24:13 -0800 (PST)
From: John <traveller_1141@yahoo.com>
Subject: James Part 10

Happy New Year!!!  Hope everyone enjoyed the festivities, and isn't
popping too much Tylenol today.  True to my word, I have finished part 10.
I hope you all enjoy this part; it was sure fun to write.

Thanks to Chris, Derek, and Wes... you guys rock.

Alex, my number one fan... happy new year.  Thanks for the support.


Part X

	I followed Dave through the house, and I was able to catch a brief
glimpse of how nicely decorated it was.  Charlotte Collins was worth her
salt as a decorator, I decided.  Functional yet beautiful furniture and
decorations filled the rooms I passed by on the way to Dave's room.
Finally we arrived at a closed door.  "Okay, here we are.  You ready?" Dave
asked.
	I smiled.  I hadn't ever seen Dave this giddy before.  "Sure thing,
babe."
	"Ooookay!  Here we go."  Dave threw open the door with an
exaggerated flourish of his arm.  I walked in to a room with sort of a
grayish color to the walls with dark blue and silver accents.  All the
furniture in the room was dark cherry, and it was gorgeous.  There were
several prints on the wall, mostly of nature scenes such as beaches and
mountains.  On one of the walls was a huge built-in bookcase, full of
books.  I walked closer to see the titles.  Wow, this kid must have been a
major reader.  Moby Dick, A Tale of Two Cities, the Iliad, and a full set
of the Encyclopaedia Britannica.
	I turned back to the room.  Several framed maps were up on the
walls as well.  "What are those?" I asked Dave.
	Dave followed my gaze.  "Oh, those are reproductions of several
historical world maps.  One of them represents the world as known to the
Romans, another a map of the New World from around 1600."
	I whistled.  Damn.  Hidden depths coming to light all the time.
Then there was another bookshelf, but this one was used to display
mementoes and trophies.  I looked at the inscriptions.  First team
all-district football, first team all-state football.  There were plenty of
those.  The shelf was also loaded down with pictures.  Team pictures, some
friends, but mostly families.  My eyes caught on one picture of a younger
Dave with two big guys and his parents, probably back when Dave was in high
school.  All the men were shirtless and Dave's mom was in short sleeves.
Probably from a vacation.  I took a moment to check out Dave's dad in the
pic.  Wow.  The man looked really good, as did his sons.  "Hey Dave?  How
old is your dad?" I asked.
	"He's 54, why?"
	I shook my head.  "Well, if he's an indication of what I have to
look forward to with you when you get that age, then I should be very
happy."  I shot a devilish grin to Dave.
	Dave grabbed me and rubbed my head.  "Hey, you aren't supposed to
be looking at my dad that way!  You're supposed to be looking at me that
way."
	I stepped back and leered at Dave.  "Oh, I'm always thinking of you
that way."
	Dave grinned.  "Oh, you are so gonna get it."  He grabbed me and
started tickling me.  I shrieked in laughter and tried to get out of his
grip, but he just tightened up his arms.  "You aren't getting away that
easily."  He kept it up.  Soon, tears were rolling down my face and I was
could barely breathe, I was laughing so hard.  I tried to pull out of his
arms, and ended up pulling us both down onto the bed, him on top of me.
	We laid that way for a few minutes as we both caught our breath.
Then our eyes met, and he pulled me to him again and leaned down to softly
kiss me.
	"Ahem."
	We both looked up to see Dave's mom standing in his doorway, a
disapproving frown on her face.  I pulled out of Dave's arms and started
stammering.  "Oh, Mrs.... umm... ma'am... umm, Mrs. Collins, I am so
sorry... ummm..."
	She held up her hand.  "No, don't say anything."  She walked into
the room and focused her glare on her son.  Then her face cracked and she
broke into laughter.  "Oh, if you could have seen your faces," she said as
she held her sides.  I grinned.  I was definitely going to like this woman.
	Dave just glared back.  Then he looked at me.  "Great.  Now I'm
going to get it from two sides this weekend."  He got up and walked over to
where his mother had dropped his bag.
	Charlotte looked at me.  "Oh, do you tease him too?"
	I smiled and nodded.  "Every chance I get.  It's hard to get him to
loosen up and not take himself so seriously."
	Charlotte sighed and smiled over at her youngest son, who had come
up next to her.  "Well, he's always done that.  My ultra-serious baby.  He
was forty before he was twelve."  She pulled him down and kissed him on the
cheek.  Then she started toward the door.  "David, your father is bringing
up the other two bags."  She stopped.  "I assume you two are both sleeping
in here?"
	Dave and I looked at each other.  I said "no" at the same time he
said "yes."  We both laughed.  I turned to Charlotte.  "Well, I don't want
to do anything to make you uncomfortable.  If you would prefer I slept in
another room..."
	"Oh no," Charlotte said.  "It's no problem at all.  Tanner brought
Dana home when they were dating and they slept in his room together.  It's
no big deal with us.  You do whatever you feel like, sweetie."  She smiled
warmly at me before walking out of the room.
	I turned to Dave.  "Dude, your mom is awesome."
	Dave smiled fondly.  "Oh yeah.  She's always been that way.  Except
those few times when she was paddling us for some reason or another."
	Just then Dave's dad walked in the room, carrying the rest of the
bags.  He dropped them next to the bed, then looked at the two of us.  "You
two both sleeping in here?"
	I looked at Dave, then back at Larry.  "Umm, yeah, I guess so."
	He looked at me, then at Dave, then gave a curt nod.  He turned and
walked out.
	I stared at the empty doorway then turned to Dave.  "Dude, I think
your Dad isn't happy about us sleeping together."
	Dave laughed.  "Nah, I know my dad.  He's just bullshitting you.
Trust me, he won't care.  I wish I had a buck for every time Dana slept in
the same room with Tanner."
	I frowned.  "Yeah, well, maybe this is a bad idea.  I don't want to
mess up..."
	Dave grabbed my arm.  "James, come on.  You won't mess anything up.
There's no way.  Let me tell you about the time Tanner brought Dana here
for Mom and Dad's anniversary."
	I sat down on Dave's bed.  "Okay."
	"It was in September.  Tanner was still in school, and he and Dana
had gotten engaged not too long before.  She came home for the party."
	"Right."
	"Well, one night we're all peacefully sleeping, then we hear a loud
BAM from Tanner's room.  You see, all our bedrooms are over here.  Mom and
Dad's room is on the other side of the house.  Tanner's room still has
hardwood floors."
	I was beginning to see where this was going.  "Go on," I said as I
started to smile.
	"Well, Joe and I are out in the hallway trying to figure out what
the fuck is going on.  As soon as our doors open, Tanner sticks his head
out his door; he was trying to see if anyone noticed.  He said, `Oh shit,
you heard that.'  Joe said, `Fuck yeah we heard it!  What the hell was
that?'  Just then, here comes Mom and Dad from their room, running.  Mom
runs up and says, `What the hell was that?'  By this time, I was starting
to laugh, because I could see something they couldn't."
	I grinned.  "What?"
	"I could see Tanner's bare ass from my vantage point.  I didn't see
Dana, but I did see Tanner's bed.  It was all messed up, and the mattress
and box springs were on the floor.  They had broken the damn slats!"
	I burst out in hysterics.  "Oh no!  Noooo!  God, that's awful!"
	Dave started laughing even harder than me.  "Yeah!  Now picture
this.  Mom is in her robe, Dad in pajama bottoms, and Joe and me in our
underwear.  Tanner is bare-ass naked, trying to keep the door in front of
him to hide it.  I hear Dana in the bedroom saying, `Oh my God, oh my God!'
over and over again.  Everyone is talking at once until they notice me
laughing my ass off.  Dad pushes his way over to where I am and looks in.
I just point.  Tanner gives up trying to hide it and opens the door.  Dad
just stands in the doorway staring.  Tanner gets his underwear on just as
Mom comes to the door.  All she does it put her hand to her mouth and say,
`Oh my!'  Joe follows Dad into the room and he just grins.  Then he walks
over to Tanner, claps him on the back, and says `Dude!  Sweet!'"
	I was rolling on the bed.  "Oh no..."
	"Gets better.  Dad is standing there, just staring at the
broken-down bed.  Then Joe noticed what was on the nightstand.  An open
economy-sized box of condoms.  Mom hadn't come in yet, so he just grabbed
them and tossed them to me, and I tossed them to Tanner, who hid them
behind his back.  Then Mom comes in.  She looks at the bed, then looks at
Tanner, then to Dana who is cowering over in the corner, to Dad, then to
me.  She just shakes her head and then looks back at Tanner, whose face now
looks like a boiled lobster.
	"She goes, `Messed up sheets, a broken down bed, and this.'  She
bent down and picked up an open condom wrapper.  Joe guffawed and grinned
back at Tanner.  Tanner just looked at the floor, mumbling.  Dana was
absolutely mortified.  Mom just shook her head and walked out.  I looked at
Tanner, who was still staring at the floor, then at Dana, who by now was
almost in tears.  I was trying to think of something to say when we all
heard it: Mom, out in the hallway, laughing her ass off!"
	I wiped the tears from my eyes.  "I probably would have been, too!"
	"Dude, you'll understand when you meet Tanner.  He's so proper, so
solid, so upright.  You'd never expect something like that to happen to
him!  It was so much funnier because it was him.  If it were Joe, no one
would have batted an eyelash because he pulls crazy stunts all the time.
And it was so out of character for me that if it had been me, they would
have had me undergoing psychological testing."
	I grinned.  "If they only knew."
	Dave laughed.  "Yeah, well.  So, we all just pick the mattress and
box springs off the floor.  Turns out the slats weren't broken, they had
just been pushed upward and fell because of the... the..."  Dave broke down
for a minute.  "The forward rocking of the bed as they..."  Then he broke
down totally.  I followed him, and for about a minute straight we laughed.
"So, dude," he said as he caught his breath, "you don't even have to worry
about them being upset over us sleeping together.  After that, nothing
fazes them."
	I sighed, chuckled a little more, then smiled.  "Okay, cool."
	Just then, Dave's mom called up to us.  "Boys, come on down for a
snack."
	Dave pulled me up and kissed me lightly on the lips, then we walked
down to the kitchen.


	Dave's mom had some sandwich meat laid out.  "Help yourselves.
James, you'd better go before our human disposal does if you want some
food," she said with a nudge for her youngest son.  Dave shot his mom a
dirty look.
	I smiled at both of them.  "I learned that a long time ago, ma'am.
Never get between Dave and food unless you want to lose a limb."
	"Hey!" Dave protested.  "Who said it was Gang Up on Dave Day?"
	"It's always that around here, or have you forgotten your entire
childhood?" Larry droned from behind a newspaper.  Charlotte walked over
and grabbed it out of his hands.  "Hey!"
	"Your youngest son and his boyfriend are here for a visit, Larry.
Politeness?" she reminded him.  He frowned.
	I looked over at Dave, who was constructing a big sandwich.  He
just smiled and looked fondly at his parents.  "Oh, they're like this all
the time.  Just let them bicker."
	Charlotte practically sailed around her kitchen.  "Oh yes, let us
bicker.  It's a sign of affection in our family."  She walked out into the
living room.
	Larry shook her head.  "She's been sailing around like that all
morning."  He looked up at us.  "She's glad to have her boys coming home, I
guess."
	I smiled.  "I can understand that.  Where are all of them, anyway?"
	Larry leaned back.  "Well, Tanner is about 30 miles away with his
family.  Joe is stationed in Virginia.  You know where Dave is."
	Dave grinned.  "And as far as the bickering goes, you haven't seen
anything yet.  Wait until Joe gets here and starts needling everyone."  He
and Larry both rolled their eyes at the same time.  I laughed around my
sandwich.
	We sat there, eating and drinking coffee for about ten minutes.
Dave and I filled in his dad on our studies and chatted about current
events.  Then politics came up.  I was surprised to learn Larry was a
die-hard Democrat.  "I would have figured that you would be a Republican,
coming from the Army," I said.
	Larry made a face.  "Yeah, well, common misconception.  I figure a
man has the right to believe how he wants, and I don't follow all that
right-wing shit."
	I looked at Dave.  I like this man, I thought.  I don't really let
politics have a big place in my life, but I have my political opinions like
everyone else.
	Larry went on.  "You know, I figure those assholes in the GOP were
thinking that all us Army guys would fall in line for ol' Bush before the
election just because he wants a stronger military.  That's bullshit.  I
like the stronger military idea, but not out of the mouth of Howdy Doody.
You can practically see Cheney and his daddy behind him pulling the
strings.  Now, don't get me wrong.  I respect Bush, and I respect Cheney.
They were both fine leaders on some points, but I don't like the way they
want this country to go.  I don`t know how this thing in Florida is going
to turn out, but I`m still holding out some hope for Gore."
	I grinned.  Definitely a die-hard Democrat.  "How do you feel about
all the stuff that's been said about Gore's military record in Vietnam,
being a Vietnam vet and all?"
	Larry snorted.  "That's another load of shit, the way I see it.  I
don't care if they told the leaders not to put Gore near action, and I
don't care if he didn't serve as long as everyone else.  Far as I'm
concerned, at least he went over there, unlike some people.  I remember
when George Bush picked Dan Quayle as a running mate, there was all this
hoopla about him getting a National Guard deferment.  Now where are those
same people when it comes out that W got the same thing?  Stupid people.
At least he went over there and knows what it was like to be there."
	Dave and I both nodded.  Larry Collins was a man of strong
opinions, and I could see him in his son.  Dave wasn't outspoken about his
feelings a lot, but I knew he sure had them.  I figured this was a
formidable man, and I hoped to never be on the other side of a debate with
him.
	Just then we heard a honk from outside.  Charlotte came running in.
"Tanner's here!"
	Larry jumped up and followed his wife outside.  Dave held out his
hand to me, and I grabbed on.  We walked out the back door together.
	In the driveway sat a gray Grand Cherokee.  Standing next to the
back door was a pretty blond woman who was removing a sweet, and equally
blond little girl from her seat belt.  When she removed her, the woman
picked her up and turned her around.  The little girl waved and yelled out,
"Grandma!"
	The woman set her down and she ran to Charlotte, who picked her up
and hugged her.  "Aww, hello precious.  How are you?"
	"Fine," the little girl giggled.  She was a cutie.  She had the
eyes that I was beginning to think of as a Collins family trait, a deep,
expressive blue.
	The young woman walked up to us.  She looked tired, but she smiled.
"Hello, Larry," she said as Larry gave her a big hug.
	"How are you Dana?" he asked as he let her loose.
	"Tired," she said as she yawned.
	"Long trip?" he asked, grinning.
	Dana rubbed her eyes.  "No, but any trip is long when you've got
two kids in the car."
	"I heard that!"  The voice belonged to a big guy who was walking
around from the back of the Jeep with several bags in his big hands.  My
eyes widened.  This must be the famous Tanner, I thought.  Wow.  Muscular
hunks must run in the family.  Tanner Collins had thick brown hair which
was done in a brush cut, and bright blue eyes.  He looked like a
construction worker in his tight blue jeans, flannel shirt, and goatee.
	Charlotte put Dana down and gave her eldest son a hug.  "Welcome
home, sweetheart," she said.
	Tanner sighed.  "Good to be here, Mom."  He turned to his Dad, who
pulled him into a huge bear hug.  "Oof!  Watch the ribs, Dad!"  I laughed,
remembering what it felt like to be in the vise of Larry Collins' arms.
Tanner then noticed me.  "Hello," he said.  Here goes, I thought.
	Charlotte turned around.  "David?  Your guest?"
	Dave grinned sheepishly.  "Right.  Dana, Tanner, this is James, my
boyfriend.  James, this is Tanner, my oldest brother, his wife Dana, and
their beautiful little girl Kristen."
	I smiled as I reached out to shake hands.  "Pleased to meet you," I
said to Tanner.  He smiled and took my hand in a bone crushing grip.  I
pulled my hand back and shook it out a little, then I offered it to Dana.
She shook my hand firmly as well, but without putting me in danger of
losing some bones.
	Then I bent down to Kristen.  We shook.  "Pleased to meet you,
too," she said with an air of importance.  I offered her a short bow.
	Everyone laughed.  This kid was going to be quite the charmer.  I
stood off to the side as Dave hugged his brother, sister-in-law, and niece.
Then Larry picked up his granddaughter and took her into the house for a
snack.  Charlotte took Dana inside for a cup of coffee, leaving Tanner,
Dave, and me outside.
	Tanner looked from Dave to me and back again.  "Hmm," he said.
	Dave frowned.  "What?"
	Tanner cocked his head.  "Well, I was just wondering something."
	"What?" Dave asked again, impatiently.
	Tanner paused.  "Well, who's the woman?"
	We stood there for about ten seconds while the words hung in the
air.  Dave started to get this pissed look on his face, but I was trying my
hardest to keep from breaking up.  Finally, I couldn't stand it.  I burst
out laughing.  I weaved on my feet, I was laughing so hard.  When I finally
regained my senses, Tanner was looking at me with a huge grin on his face,
and Dave was looking at me like I had sprouted horns.  "What's so fucking
funny?" Dave spat.
	I giggled again.  "Come on, Dave!  He's putting you on.  Can't you
tell?"
	Dave looked at his brother, then back at me.  "You mean..."
	Tanner choked.  "Of course I'm putting you on, dumbass!  I'm not
stupid!"
	Tanner and I laughed while Dave got this look of utter bewilderment
on his handsome face.  Finally Tanner walked over and slapped his brother
on the shoulder.  "Lighten up, runt!"  He turned to me.  "He takes himself
so seriously, doesn't he?"
	I grinned.  "Yeah, we're working on it."
	Tanner turned to his brother.  "I like him, runt.  Keep him."
	Dave turned to his brother.  "Don't call me runt, shitbreath, or
we'll have a repeat of Christmas 94."  Tanner dropped his hand.
	"What happened in Christmas 94?" I wondered aloud.
	Dave grinned as his brother blushed.  "The first Christmas Tanner
brought Dana home, he was especially obnoxious to Joe and me.  He ragged on
us all night that first night, showing off for his girlfriend and all that.
We decided to get him back the next day by telling every single
embarrassing story we could think of, and also brought out pictures.
Remember, Tanner?  The first picture was Tanner wearing this dress that our
cousins put on him that belonged to our Grandma..."
	"Okay, enough!  I surrender!  Dana still teases me about that!  I
don't need another new addition to the family knowing all the dirt!"
Tanner threw up his hands and walked into the house.  I couldn't help but
notice he had the same tight ass that I so loved on Dave.
	Dave walked up next to me and followed my gaze.  "You wouldn't be
checking out my brother's ass, would you?"
	I just turned and looked into Dave's deep blue eyes.  "And if I
was?"
	Dave smiled.  "I'd just have to remind you who your boyfriend is."
	"And how would you do that?"
	Dave leaned in and kissed me, long and deep.  I sighed and wrapped
my arms around him and pulled him to me.
	"David!"  Charlotte's loud voice interrupted our romantic moment.
	"Shit," Dave muttered.  "Impeccable timing."  He let me go and
walked toward the door.  "What?" he yelled back.
	"Would you and James bring in the bags from outside?  Oh, and we
need to discuss who's going to go get Joe!"
	Dave looked and me and gestured in surrender.  I laughed and we
gathered up the bags to take inside.


	"So, James, how long have you and Dave been dating?" Dana asked as
she held up a manicotti shell.  I had volunteered to stay behind and help
Charlotte and Dana fix dinner for the family while Tanner and Dave went to
get their brother at the airport.  Larry was in the living room playing
with Kristen.
	I stuffed the offered shell as we talked.  "Since July," I said.
"We met at a club and started going out, and it's been fairly smooth
sailing ever since."
	"Fairly?" she asked with an arched eyebrow.
	I grinned.  "Well, we have our moments, like every couple.  But
it's been pretty smooth.  The hardest part is finding time together because
of school, but we manage."
	Dana nodded.  "I understand that.  I had the same problems, except
for me it was school, with Tanner it was getting him away from his frat
brothers.  You remember some of them, Charlotte?"  Charlotte answered with
a snort.  Dana looked up at me as she held up another shell.  "Most
obnoxious group of guys ever."
	I laughed.  "What did they do?  The usual drunken fratboy
behavior?"
	She rolled her eyes.  "You name it, they did it.  Farting contests,
drinking out of funnels, belching, and of course hitting on every girl that
came within a hundred-mile radius."
	Charlotte stopped stirring the sauce for a minute.  "It got to the
point where I stopped going in there when Tanner lived there.  Larry and I
would go for a visit, and I would stay outside until Larry could get Tanner
to come out.  No way would I step in there.  I think I could have gotten a
disease just by walking on the carpet."
	"I wouldn't doubt it," Dana said with a shake of her head.  She
looked up at me.  "Dave wouldn't go in there either.  He said something
once about Tanner living with a group of obnoxious bratty assholes and that
he would never go back when he stormed out after a visit.  Joe would just
go in and stir up trouble, like saying stuff about their biggest rivals on
campus and stuff.  That part was fun, at least."
	We stuffed more shells, tossed salad, made garlic bread, and
basically had a great time for the next thirty minutes.  I was laughing and
talking and sharing stories with the two Collins women in the kitchen, and
I was amazed at how quickly I was accepted into their family.  Without a
word or even a strange glance, they just pulled me right in.  I felt a glow
and warmth I hadn't felt in a long time, at least since I had left my
family.  I had a brief flash back to the last Thanksgiving I had spent with
them, before they even knew about anything that was going on.  I had still
been in high school.  We had all sat around the table filled with food, all
my brothers and sisters, and it had been wonderful.  I didn't have any idea
of the heartbreak and pain that would come just a few months later.  A pang
of intense sadness came to me again and tears filled my eyes.
	Dana noticed my face and came over.  She put her hand on my
shoulder.  "Are you okay?" she asked with concern.
	I nodded.  "Yeah, I will be."  I turned to the two women.  "Thank
you."
	Charlotte smiled.  "For what?"
	"For being so accepting."
	Charlotte made a gesture as if to wave it off.  "Think nothing of
it, young man.  Dave loves you, and that's all I need to know."  With that
she turned back to the bread she was putting in the oven to warm.
	Dana smiled and hugged me.  "Same for me, James."
	I grinned.  "Thanks."  I looked around.  "Anything else that I can
do to help out?"
	Charlotte didn't even look up from the salad she was preparing.
"Not a thing.  Dana and I can take care of the table."
	I didn't make any protests.  I figured any protest I made would get
nowhere with this woman.  She had been the lone female in a house full of
big strong men for years, and she left no doubt who was in charge.  I
really liked this woman.  I impulsively walked up and gave her a kiss on
the cheek before I walked out.  She giggled.  "You're sweet.  Now scoot."
	I walked into the living room just as Kristen was walking back
toward the bedrooms.  I sat down on the couch next to Larry's chair.
"She's cute, isn't she?" he asked, looking toward the door his
granddaughter had disappeared through.
	I nodded my agreement.  "Yes she is," I said as I settled back into
the couch.
	Larry leaned back.  "They work you hard in there?" he asked,
gesturing toward the kitchen.
	I chuckled.  "Nah, nothing too bad."
	He snorted.  "Well, don't let them if you can help it.  That woman
is worse than any CO I ever had on giving orders."  He shook his head, but
I could see the fondness in his eyes.  I was quickly beginning to love this
family.
	"Do you love my son?"
	I coughed.  The remark took me totally by surprise.  I looked over
at Larry, who was staring at me intently.  "Well, do you?"
	I met his intense gaze evenly.  "With all my heart, sir," I
answered.
	Larry held his stare.  "You know how much he has been hurt."
	"Yes."
	Larry settled back again and took a deep breath.  "James, I may
appear kind of gruff and crusty sometimes, but I love my children very
much.  Each one of them is special to me.  I've never lost a moment's sleep
over Tanner.  He`s always been really steady.  He's a lot like me;
sometimes he's a little too much like me."  Larry chuckled.  I waited for
him to continue.
	"Now, Tanner has a wonderful family and a good job, and I know
he'll be okay.  Then there's Joe.  He's done really well for himself, going
to West Point and having a good career in the Army.  But, he still hasn't
settled down yet.  He also can have a smart mouth, and it gets him into
trouble a lot.  But I don't worry about him nearly as much as I worry about
Dave."
	I leaned in closer.
	"You see, Dave isn't like the other two.  Dave is more like his mom
than he'll ever admit.  Growing up around me and his brothers probably
didn't help him, but he ran into some trouble elsewhere when he was young.
He can be hurt really easily.
	"You see, Dave was a really smart kid, I mean really smart.  He was
playing the piano by the time he was seven.  Has he played for you yet?"
	I shook my head.  "No, but I've seen his keyboard in his
apartment."
	Larry smiled.  "That was Charlotte's and my gift to him when he
graduated from college.  Like I said, smart as can be.  He was always
really quiet, sensitive.  That's kind of a bad combination around here,
where sports can mean a lot and smart boys can be looked down on."
	I nodded.  "I know exactly what you mean, sir.  I grew up in a
similar area."
	Larry nodded, then turned his head to stare off into space.  "Well,
something happened to Dave when he was young.  To this day I don't know
exactly what, but something in him died, or at least got hidden really
well.  Knowing his mother the way I do, I suspect the latter."  I knew the
story, but I kept quiet.  "I was proud of what he was able to accomplish,
but some part of me was upset about the change in him.  I knew it wasn't
the real him.
	"Then he went off to college, and some stuff happened there.  Not
with the football or grades, I'm talking about relationships.  I don't know
the details, and I don't need to know.  I could see and hear right away how
hurt he was.  He's always been easily hurt.
	"Now don't get me wrong, he's tough enough.  He gets that honestly,
but mainly from his mom.  They both are good at putting up walls.  I know
my wife, and I know my son.  Dave has been hurt a whole lot in his life,
and it tears me up to see him hurt.  I know it tears up his brothers and
his mom as well."  He looked at me intently.  "I am not about to let him
get hurt again."
	I met his gaze with as much strength as I could.  "Larry, I love
your son, and I sure don't want to see him hurt," I said.
	Larry smiled.  "I see that son, otherwise I wouldn't be wasting my
time talking to you.  I can size people up pretty well, and I know your
intentions are honorable.  I know Dave loves you a lot.  He's been happier
than I've seen him in a long time over the last few months."  Larry looked
at his feet.  "I've missed the happy little boy I had when he was little
and played Jerry Lee Lewis for us.  I feel like I have my happy little boy
back, the way he was before he started putting up the Great Wall of China
back when he was younger.  Whatever it is you're doing, I'm grateful to
you," he said, choking a little.  I could see his eyes shimmering.  Tears
sprang to my eyes again.  This family was so full of love and caring, it
was like being under a warm blanket on a cold night.
	"Thank you, sir," I said.  We just sat there for a few minutes in
silence.  Then he sat back in his chair.  He looked up at the clock.
"Damn, nearly six-thirty.  Wonder what the hell's keeping them?  Airport
isn't that far away."  He looked up at me.
	I knew that I had gotten a glimpse into the caring, soft heart of a
man who didn't let it show to very many people.  I felt blessed.  I just
shook my head.  "Can't say, sir.  Can't say."


	After chatting with Larry a little more, I walked back to the
bedrooms again.  I stopped at the first one I found to the left, and the
door was open.  I flipped the light on.  The room was done in browns and
reds.  There was a large bed in there with some bags on it.  I surmised
this was Tanner's room.  Several flags with fraternity letters adorned the
walls, along with a flag bearing the name of a regional university not far
away.  Several prints were on the walls like in Dave's room, except these
were of deserts.  The entire room had a western feel to it without all the
stereotypical western stuff.  Charlotte sure knew her stuff, I thought.
	I flicked the light back off and walked down to the next room on
the left.  I opened the door and turned on the light in there.  This room
was done in shades of green and had a twin bed.  This room was smaller than
Tanner's or Dave's.  I guessed this was Joe's room.  It had framed pictures
of cars, both old and new on the wall.  One bookcase was full of model
cars.  Nice hobby to have, I thought.
	The right side of the hall had the door to Dave's room, and another
door with light coming out from under it.  The bathroom, I figured.  Just
as I started for the door, it opened revealing Kristen.  "Hi," she said
brightly.
	I smiled.  "Hi."
	She looked over her shoulder.  "I'm finished if you need it."
	I laughed.  "No, not yet.  Thank you."
	She looked at me closely.  "You go out with Uncle Dave?"
	I nodded.  "Yep."
	"You aren't a girl."
	I laughed.  "No, I'm not."
	She frowned.  "Uncle Dave likes to go out with other boys?"
	I nodded again.
	She looked up at the ceiling in thought.  It was so cute.
"Sooooo... Uncle Dave is gay?"
	I smiled.  "Yes."
	"Are you gay?"
	I laughed.  "Yes, I am."
	She nodded.  "Okay."  Then she looked at me.  "Are you and Uncle
Dave getting married?"
	I laughed again.  "I don't know, sweetie."
	"Do you want to?"
	I whistled.  "I don't know, we haven't talked about it."
	She thought some more.  "Do you like my daddy?"
	I grinned.  "Yep."
	"Do you like my mommy?"
	"Yep."
	"Do you like Grandma and Grandpa?"
	"Yes."
	"Do you love my Uncle Dave?"
	"Yes."
	"Then what's stopping you?"
	Wow, this kid asked the tough questions!  I thought for a minute.
Then I looked into her sweet face.  "I don't know, sweetie.  I guess we
should get married, shouldn't we?"
	She smiled.  "Yep.  I like you a lot.  You'd be a good uncle."  She
jumped into my arms and hugged me.
	I held onto her.  Out of the mouths of babes, I thought to myself.

End of Part X

No big statements, just this... I love email!  Comments welcome.