Date: Wed, 04 May 2005 13:45:40 +0000
From: Steve Thomas <stevethomas535@hotmail.com>
Subject: Cole's Dreams 40

This is a work of pure fiction, based on the author's feelings, beliefs,
and in some cases, experience.  There may be graphic sexual encounters at
times between men, so if this offends you, you are invited to retreat.
If you are too young or it is otherwise illegal for you to be reading
this kind if story, shame on you for reading it - -  please stop here.
If not, - - ENJOY!


Cast of Characters:

Cole Alexander Stephanson IV -- Our hero

Jazz -- (Jack Zachary) Coles oldest brother

Diane -- Jazz's wife

Janie and Jesse -- Jazz's kids

Rod -- Coles middle brother

Suzanne -- Rod's wife

Will and Cole V -- Rod's kids

Igor  (Iggy) -- Cole's Tutoring Pupil

Cole Alexander Stephanson III -- Coles Dad

Ethyl Stephanson -- Cole's mom

Rex Remlin-- Rod's best friend

Gus Hartwin -- Cole's Boyfriend

Michelle -- Cole's old girlfriend.

Dexter -- Iggy's boyfriend

Ed -- Paramedic

Manolo -- Paramedic

Steve -- Manolo's boyfriend

Randy -- Found Boy

Curtis -- Found boy's brother

Kian Willis--      Friend in Vancouver

Nicolas Poole-- Friend in Vancouver

Howard Poole -- Nicolas's Father

Christian -- the pool guy

Boyd -- the pilot

Spike -- Cop and former classmate

The twins:

    Marcus Aurelius

    Alexander The Great

Jon -- Teacher's Aide

Gary Rose -- Nurse

From Chapter 39:

Why can't I -- grow up!  It seems like every time I get a temptation
like that -- and think I can justify it -- I go for it.  Why??

Gus picked up his suitcase and walked out the door.  I fell to the floor
beside Iggy.

Chapter 40

"Gus!  Where are you going?"  Nick said.  "Your 1000 miles from
home."

"I'll find a bus!"

"Let me take you to the bus station."  Said Nick.  They left.

I was really torn.  On the one hand I wanted to run begging after Gus,
but I didn't want to leave Iggy there to -- to -- do something else.
Why does Gus have to be so headstrong and impulsive?  (And who am I to
talk!)



When Nick came back, he said, "I tried to talk him out of it all the way
to the station.  Man he was pissed!"

"Shit!"  I said.  "I wish I knew why I do stuff like that!  I don't
WANT to hurt anyone!"

"Hormones."  Said Boyd.

"I know all about hormones -- and I know they run wild in young guys.
But -- that's still not an excuse!"  I cried.

"No -- it's not an excuse."  He said simply.  "But it's a reason.
And knowing this, you have to be so much more careful -- well, obviously
-- than you have been.  Has this happened before?"

After a long pause, I said quietly, "Yes,"

"How old are you, Cole?"

"I'll be 21 in a week."

"Happy birthday.  Nice present you have given yourself."  He said
humorlessly.

"Not only to me.  Gus's is a week after mine."

"You're timing's impeccable!"  He said.  "What do you want to do
now?"

"<<SIGH>>!!  I hate to mention it even, but, - "

"You wanna beat him home!"  Said Boyd.  I nodded.

"Good choice."

"What??"  said Kian, Nick and Iggy in chorus.

"I'm sorry guys.  I know I've screwed up everyone's plans, but - -
Gus is more important to me than anything in the world."

"Da.  You're right."  Said Iggy.  "Would you mind?  I think it would
be better for me to stay here for another week -- or until school starts
-- if deez guys will have me."

"Of course." Said Nick.  "You're welcome to - "

"He can stay with us!"  Chris said.

"Or you might want to stay with Chris and Boyd."  Nick joked.  Kian's
lip came out.  "You all could stay here `til tomorrow night -- after
Boyd takes Cole home."

I called my dad and told him the basics of what happened.  He said he
would pick me up at the airport in the afternoon.  I asked Chris and Boyd
to keep a close watch on Iggy for the next few days.  Chris suggested
staying with him while Boyd took me home, but Nick said no.  Chris should
go with us.  He promised to stay with Iggy while Boyd and Chris were
gone.  Iggy didn't need any more guilt for causing discord for anyone
else.



When Gus got home, I was there waiting at the door.  I had rehearsed all
I would say.  I had already determined that it wasn't Iggy's fault in
his state of mind.  It took Gus two days to get home on the bus.  He
arrived Monday afternoon.

I heard the key in the door.  (It wasn't locked anyway.)  It was like
slow motion as I watched him back in to the entry hall.  He had a
magazine in his mouth and his suitcase and keys in his hands.  He closed
the door and turned.  He looked me in the eyes and then looked at the
floor.  With his hands still full, he said, "I'm sorry, Cole!"

"YOU'RE sorry?"  I cried.  "No!  It's me that's sorry!  Whattaya
mean YOU'RE sorry?"

"I just -- I shouldn't have left!  I - "

"I can't believe you're blaming yourself!"  I said.  "I was the one
who - "

"Cole -- you'll never believe who I met on the bus."

"Huh?"  I said, amazed that he would have met anyone on the bus -- and
that it was anyone so important that he interrupted this conversation.

"I was so pissed -- and hurt -- and I tried to sleep but I couldn't
until well after dark.  I fell asleep finally, and the bus came into a
station.  It was weird.  It was like a station in the middle of nowhere,
surrounded by clouds.  I saw a man get on the bus.  He looked out of
place.  Everything on the bus looked dingy.  He looked -- clean -- almost
as if he glowed.  As he came closer, I about jumped out of my skin."

"You knew this dude?"  I said.

"Yeah."  He answered.  "It was Rex."

"What -- oh!  You were dreaming."

"Yeah.  It was about then that I noticed I could see through him.  He
sat next to me.  Someone was already there.  He just sat in him!"

"Wow!  I can't believe you dreamed -- like that!"

"Cole, he told me to grow up.  ME!  I have to tell you I was pissed at
him.  I told him it was you that needed to grow up!  He said yeah, but I
needed to let you.  And at the same time grow up myself.  He reminded me
that it was not that long ago that both of us did almost this same
thing,"

"Well, yeah, but we promised - " I started.

"That's what I said.  He told me that I have to forgive you, and also
myself."

"That's what he told me, remember?  You must have recalled it in the
dream."

"Whatever.  It seemed like it was Rex.  And I know you told me.  It made
sense when you told me.  But in the dream -- I felt it!  Cole, if it was
a dream - - why did he have to have the bus stop for him?  And if he was
an angel, why -- why would he have to have the bus stop for him?"

"From your explanation, I -- I think it was real."  It occurred to me
that he might have thought I was trying to minimize his -- experience. "
I duuno.  Maybe it would have woken you up if he had just all of a sudden
been there."

"Maybe I had to see him sitting in the man.  The man he sat in was --
creepy.  I was creeped out when he got on the bus.  I thought, `Please
don't sit by me!'  But the man seemed to head for me!"

"Oh!  Was it scary?"  I asked.

"Um -- he wasn't so much scary as he was creepy.  But here's the
creepiest thing.  After Rex sat in him, he turned to me and talked to me
-- in Rex's voice.  Yeah, I guess it was kinda scary."

Gus was still holding his keys and his suitcase.  I walked to him and
took his suitcase and placed it on the floor.  He put his keys away.  I
took his hands in mine and looked in his eyes.

"Gus, I don't have any excuse for what I did.  Iggy was crying and I
felt bad.  I kissed him first -- on his head, after he cried into my
neck.  I was only consoling him.  Then he turned his face to me and
kissed me.  I kissed him back.  I shouldn't have, but -- please one more
time -- forgive me."

"Cole -- I -- I was wondering -- I mean -- do you -- maybe -- want to --
um -- date other guys -- er, people?"

My heart sank.  "No, I - "

"We're both so young, Babe.  I don't mean stop -- um -- seeing each
other.  But it seems like both of us seem to have trouble -- um --
controlling ourselves."

I got that "beyond feeling" feeling.  I was numb.  But what can I say
if this is what Gus wants to do?  It's not what I want.  But I was the
one -- well, the last one -- to break our promise.  I dropped my hands
from his.  I felt like I was somewhere else and walls were closing in on
me.  "How can this be happening?"  I heard a voice in my head say.  Was
maybe Gus only there to give me reassurance when I thought I was going
blind?  NO!  I can't accept that.  I want him for life.  Is he having
second thoughts?

"What?"  He said.

"What - - What?"  I asked.  "I didn't say anything."

"You -- you -- looked like you -- wanted to."  His mouth was quivering.

"Uh -- mm.  I do.  Boyd was saying -- after you and Nick left Saturday
afternoon -- that, well, he reminded me that we -- you and I -- are still
so young.  I blamed myself for what happened.  I thought he was going to
excuse me -- but he didn't.  Except - - he said we were so driven by our
hormones and we need to make extra sure we don't do -- um -- stupid
things."

I continued, "Remember how we decided that the threesomes and messing
with other guys was not good?  Well, I think -- at least for me -- I have
to just decide now that I will not do ANYTHING -- no matter how innocent
it seems -- that could get me in trouble.  I feel so strong, and -- um --
I'm so much in love with you.  But obviously, I can't fool around with
sex."

"Yes."

"Yes - - what?"  I asked.

"I forgive you -- on one condition: if you will forgive me for being
such an ass.  If I had stayed, we could be having fun this week."

"We still could.  I'll bet they'd love for us to come back."

"Know what?  You're right."  Said Gus happily.  "We probably still
could.  But -- let's have our fun here.  Lets go out to Huntington, Seal
and Newport.  Let's go to Balboa and Corona Del Mar -- the caves!
Let's just have ourselves our own little vacation -- before we go back
to school."

I was again overwhelmed with emotion -- love -- for this boy -- MAN!  I
jumped into his arms and wrapped my legs around him.  He almost fell.  We
were alone in the house, so he carried me to the bedroom and we
celebrated -- one more time -- our love and renewed commitment to each
other.  We fell asleep and were awakened when Mom came home with the
twins.

"Hello?  Hello! Boys?  You're both home now?"  She said from the
entry.  She had seen Gus's luggage where we dropped them in the entry.

"Yeah, we're here, Mom.  Just taking a nap."  I threw on my boxers and
came to the bedroom door.  She was trying to carry both boys and handle
her purse.  I ran to her and grabbed both the boys.

"Is everything alright?"  She asked.

"Everythings fine, Mom.  I'll tell you more after I get dressed."  I
turned quickly when I noticed cum stains on my boxers.  "I'll take the
boys and we'll change them and -- do they need a nap?"

"No, they won't want to sleep.  They slept in the car on the way
home."

"Okay.  Be right out!"  I quipped, and ran back to the bedroom with the
boys.

As soon as we were dressed and changed the boys, and got out to the
kitchen, Mom said, "So -- looks like you two have made up.  I thought -
"

"It was my fault."  Said Gus.  "I freaked out when I saw Iggy kissing
Cole."

"Oh?  What - "

"It was really nothing.  I'm ashamed and sorry!"  he pressed on.  "I
shouldn't have stomped out like that.  But now that we're home, we have
decided it was for the best.  We're gonna spend the rest of the time
before school starts just having fun together."

"Well, as long as you're home, maybe you can help out with the boys a
little."  Mom said.

"Oh, you know we always love taking care of our little princes!  Don't
we, Marky!"  He said.  Marky giggled and nuzzled Gus's neck.  That made
Lexy giggle. "You guys wanna go for a walk?  You need us for anything,
Mom?"

"No. The boys would like to go out for a walk with you two.  Dinner will
be in 2 hours.  That ought to give you plenty of time."

We got outside.  It's hilly here, unlike the complete flat area around
Downey.  We took turns running ahead, the boys jostling in our arms --
and giggling.  I grabbed Marky and handed Lex to Gus.  "Go deep!"  I
hollered.  He ran up the hill and I made like a pass to him.

Looking over his shoulder, with one free hand, he "caught" it and
rolled on the lush lawn that he was next to.  Lex was almost in
hysterics.  He wasn't giggling any more he was laughing.  Funny thing
was Marc was laughing almost as hard as Lex.  Then he looked at me, as if
to say, "So, is it my turn?"

So I ran to Gus and Lex and fell in top of them.  I noticed Marky look
panicky for a moment.  Of course we were both careful not to hurt or
shake the little boys up too much.

"I don't think they're gonna be girly boys!"  Gus joked.

"You got something against girly boys?"

"Nope!  But if these two are straight, I want them to be all boy!"

"Remember Eric Smythe -- in - "

"Heck yes.  I had some classes with him."

"Did you think he was gay?"  I asked.

"Didn't everyone?  Kids were so mean!  Eric was so fem!  Did you know
him?"

"Yeah.  When I had mono, we had a study period in the library -- instead
of P.E. -- in 8th grade.  I don't think he was gay.  I wanted him to
be!"

"Really?  You were attracted to him?"  Gus asked.

"No.  I just wished I could tell him that I was -- well, YOU know.  I
wanted to talk to SOMEONE about it.  But I was too shy."

"I wasn't shy at all," he said, "except when it came to THAT
subject.  Hey, we should probably get off this lawn before the owner
comes out and chases us off."

"We can go across the street to the park."

We got up and went across to the park and put the boys down.  Marc felt
the grass and giggled, of course Lex echoed his giggle -- even though he
didn't know why we was giggling.  Both of us lay down on our backs and
put a boy on our chests.  Both boys lay their heads down and listened and
felt our hearts beating after all the running.

Before we knew it, they were asleep, and we sleepily looked at each
other.

I woke up to some female laughter.  I looked and two cute girls were
coming toward us.  I looked their way.

"Cole?  Cole Stephanson?"  I looked closer and the sun was behind
them.  I shaded my eyes and then I saw her.  It was Kyra Olson!  I dated
her once or twice in high school.  Before I could say anything Gus raised
his head.  "Omigod!  Gus Hartwin!"  She turned red.  I could only guess
why.

"Shhh."  Said Gus.  "Don't wake the boys.  How are you, Kyra?"

"This is Taylor.  My parents just moved here."  She said.  "Taylor
lives next door.  Are those your boys?  Are you both married?"

I thought she was joking until I realized they probably couldn't tell
the boys were identical twins while the were asleep.  "These are my
brothers."  I said.  "And no we're not married."  I said, wishing we
were!  "Gus lives with my family".

"Oh!  Great!"  Said Kyra.  "Hey!  Do you guys wanna come over and hang
out?  I have already told Taylor all about you both."  She giggled.
"You were sooo proper, Cole.  And Gus was sooo -- well, NOT proper."
Both the girls laughed.

I wanted so much to tell her we were gay, but I didn't wanna out Gus to
them without asking him.

"Remember the parties we went to -- and the ones we DIDN'T, Gus?  We
had more fun than anyone at the party!  Maybe you guys could come over
Friday night, and we could remind ourselves what was so fun about those
not-parties."

Gus looked at me with a question in his eyes.  I nodded.  "I don't
think so, Kyra.  Cole and I -- we -- I mean -- we live together."

"Yes, so Cole said.  If it's a problem over at your house, I know my
parents would love to - "

"Kyra -- We also sleep together."  Gus said it with enough emphasis
that Marky woke up.  "Oops!"  He got up.  Then Lex woke up, so I got up
too.

"Ohhhhhhh!  Twins! How kewwwwwwwt!"  She said.  "You mean you sleep
like, in like the same bed?"  She exclaimed.  "Eww!  Well, as long as
you don't tell me you do more than sleep together in that bed!"

By this time Taylor was laughing.  "Your so dumb, Kyra.  They're gay!"

"Nuh-uh!"  Kyra said.  "Trust me, Taylor, HE's not gay!"  she said,
pointing at Gus.  Gus nodded his head.  "Ewww!  How did that happen?
 You weren't gay on prom night!"  I started to remember what a bitch
she was.

Gus answered, "I guess you spoiled me for any other girl.  It was right
after the prom that I started going steady with Rex."

"Rex who?"

"Remlin."

"What?  You went steady with him?"  she said, not knowing when to
stop!  "well, maybe after me, he was the only one that could satisfy
you.  Eww!  I'm glad it was AFTER me that you went with him."

"Nope!  Wrong again!"  Gus said.  "I said I started going steady with
him after you.  I started meeting him before you and I dated."

"Meeting him?  You mean - - ?"

"Yup!  I was doing both of you at the same time."

"That stinks!"  She said.  "How could you do that?"

"Same way you could do Tommy Withroe and me at the same time.  And if
what the guys said was true, you were probably doing several others at
the same time."

Kyra's jaw was dropped, as was Taylor's as she observed what her new
friend was made of.  "Hrmph!  I was doing Marie Wilson too!"  Said
Kyra, clearly trying to top Gus.

"Guess you got me beat, Kyra.  You were a bigger slut than I was!"

"Hrmph!  I only dated you because you were the quarterback."

"I know.  If you hadn't slept with me, you couldn't brag you did the
whole first string!  But holy cow!  I didn't know you were doing half
the cheer squad too!"

"Well!?  You did half the football team!"

"Nope!  I didn't do any of them.  Only Rex!"

"And Cole!"  She sneered.

"That wasn't `til last year."

"And I didn't play football."

Kyra looked over, seemingly having forgotten Taylor was there.  Taylor
was silent and pie eyed during this whole ugly scene.  Kyra got a sick
look as if to say, "Omigod, did you hear all of that?"  Then she said,
"Oh, Taylor!  I - "

"Kyra -- omigod!  You're gay - " Taylor started.

"Taylor, it isn't quite - "

" - too?"  Taylor ended

Kyra's mouth dropped and she looked at Taylor like she had just dropped
in from outer space.  Then she looked at Gus and me.  Then back at
Taylor.  "You mean - - you - - ?"  Taylor nodded, and blushed deeply.
"Omigod, this is so -- so -- incredible!  Omigod, omigod!  We can go to
our reunuin!"

"What?"  I said.

"We have a reunion in two years.  We can double to it.  Taylor can go
with you, and I can go with Gus!  Omigod!"

I couldn't believe what I was hearing.  Then Gus spoke.  "In the first
place, I don't plan to go and see all those phony people.  I played that
game too long, being as much or more phony than the rest! Well,
obviously!  If I go -- if WE go -- Cole and I are going as a couple!  No
more phony crap."

"But," Kyra explained, "if you do that, everyone will know you're
gay!  I couldn't live with myself if - "

"But that's the difference between you and I, Kyra: I don't give a fu
-- er -- sh -- Yeah!  I don't give a shit if they know!  They all liked
me based on a lie before."

"I don't think that's totally true, Babe."  I said.  "A lot of guys
admired you because you were so talented.  And it may be true that some
of the girls would not look at you if weren't so popular, but -- a lot
of them liked you just because they liked you -- and maybe because you
were hot! Kyra dated me!  And I wasn't popular."  Kyra beamed at that.

"I have to admit though,"  said Kyra, "If you weren't so cute, I
wouldn't have.  Well, obviously you both are even more hot than three
years ago!"

"So -- does this mean you're bi?"  Said Taylor.

"DUH!"  Said Kyra.  "Is that -- um -- a problem?"

"I dunno.  I - - uh - - I dunno."

"Well, anyway, maybe we can hang out sometimes."  Said Kyra.

"Maybe."  Gus echoed.

The boys were getting tired of this exchange, so we excused ourselves.
We walked up the hill and down the next.  It was in a great arc, so we
just kept walking and ended back at the street that went back to our
house.  Dad was home by that time.

We walked in and went straight to the bedroom to change the boys'
diapers.  When we came out, Dad said, "Well, did you learn anything up
in the land of trees and beer?"  I hadn't talked to Dad since he
brought me home, and of course Gus hadn't at all.

"Only that we had a pretty good fight and both of us won!"

 I don't need details, guys -- unless you want advice.  But unless I
think about it, I don't have any -- if you learned something from it."

"We did!"  I said with conviction.

Later, in bed, Gus asked what I thought about hanging out with Kyra.
"Ummm -- no!"  I said.  "I know it seems hypocritical, but I can't
take lesbians.  I know it's my own issue, but I would be constantly
thinking about them -- doing something.  I've heard so many straight
people say the same thing:

"I don't have anything against them, but -- it just creeps me out what
they do."  That's how I feel toward lezzies.  Well, of course Kyra is a
bitch anyway, but --

"Omigod, omigod!"  Gus said, parroting Kyra.  "I'm so glad to hear
you say that!  I think I'd go mad if I had to spend any more time with
her than we did this afternoon.  What's sad -- in a way -- is -- that's
kind of the way I was -- back in high school."

"I know."  I said soberly.

"Oh -- yeah.  I can't believe I called you a fag!  I wanted you soooo
much.  Guess popularity was more important to me -- at the time.  That
must have crushed you.  It makes me cringe just thinking about it!"

"You weren't the only one.  I was used to it.  Even some of the girls
called me a fag.  I guess because I didn't try to get in their pants or
bra when we dated.  They never tried to get in mine."

"You're supposed to be the aggressor, Sweetie.  They sure wanted to get
into MY pants.  I bet every girl I dated ended up sucking me off before I
took her home!"

"I heard about that."  I said.  "Never happened to me.  Who knows --
maybe I wouldn't be gay today if they had."  I grinned.  "KIDDING!"
I said.  "But seriously, Jazzy blames President Clinton for that.  He
says it was taboo before Clinton made it okay by doing it in the white
house office -- and proclaimed it as not sex."

"Haha!  It's sex!"  Gus said.  "GOOOOD sex!  And I'm ready to prove
it to you!"  He attacked me -- quietly of course -- and gave me some of
the best quiet-non-sex I ever had.

"Hey!"  he said before we drifted off to sleep.  "Lets go down to
Huntington and do some surfing tomorrow!"

"Were you a surfer too?"  I asked.

"I meant body surfing, but -- Yeah, I had a board.  Hey!  We could get
it out of my parents garage and throw it in the back of the wagon."

"I've never done it."  I said.  "The waves at Huntington Beach are
too big, I think to learn."

"You might be right.  But just south of Seal is the inlet to the boat
harbor.  There are very quiet waves there that roll forever up the
estuary.  It's the first place I ever went -- when I was 13.  Maybe we
can rent a board for you."

"Actually there might be one in our garage too."

"Your brother's?

"No, actually Rex's."

"Oh!  Rex was a secret surfer too?  I can't believe he never told me!"

"Secret surfer?"  I said.

"Oh, yeah.  A lot of the football players -- they hated the surfers!
Guess that's why Rex and I never mentioned it to each other.  Damn!
That coulda been fun!  But actually about half of our team used to sneak
out to Huntington or Seal to surf.  We joked about being the banana boys
-- because the surf boards look like banana's.

"Speaking of bananas -- do you think You'd probably sleep better, if I
worked the stiffness out of yours?"  I quipped.

"Oh YEAH!  Make my banana cream!" He said and stretched out flat on his
back.  "I'm overdue!"  He was overdue, based on the firmness of his
banana!

In the morning we told Mom where we were going.  "Surfing?  Please be
careful!"

"Mom, Would it be possible for us to take the boys with us to the
beach?"

"Not if you're surfing!"  She said, horrified.

"Noo!  Not today.  In a day or two.  We want to go down to Laguna.  And
just walk around.  No surfing.  But we might want to take them into the
water."  Mom got a worried look on her face.  "They love the water
mom.  "Just enough to get them wet and cool off a little.  Can they --
or you -- go that long without nursing?"

"I guess I could pump some for you to take with you.  Oh, Cole!  I know
I shouldn't shelter them too much, but I'm their mother.  I would worry
if I knew you were taking them in the water."

"We wouldn't go any further out than just sitting in the waves on the
beach."  Gus said.  "Nothing scary at all."

"You'll have to put sun block all over them before you go -- and again
after going in the water!"  She warned.

"No problem!"  I said gleefully.

We got out Rex's old board and then went to Gus's parents house.  His
mom said to take whatever he wanted.  She wasn't very warm, but at least
she wasn't nasty.  With the two boards safely in the station wagon, and
with our surfer shorts and flip flops on, we took off for the beach.
Because of my eye, I still let Gus drive.  And also I could look at him
more.  He was so beautiful there in his shorts, no shirt and looking so
confident.

Seal Beach is sometimes nasty.  There's a lot of working oil wells in
the area and tar often comes up from under the sand.  Dad said it was a
lot worse when he was a kid.  There is one beach between Huntington and
Seal -- Bolsa Chica Beach.  Dad said it used to be called tin can beach.
 I guess it was a county area that no city -- or Los Angeles County --
took responsibility for, and people just left their trash there.  But it
was cleaned up and now is regularly cleaned.

We parked and realized it would have been good to get there a lot earlier
than 9:30.  We had to carry our boards a long way, and when we got there
it was pretty crowded.  I wondered if someone would think we were
perverts -- two adults with a whole bunch of young kids in the water.
But I soon forgot about that as I donned my first wave.

Gus told me how to do it.  "It's easy! Just  paddle - and when you feel
the wave taking you, stand up!"  I thought that was very easy to SAY!
But it was as easy as he said!  I stood up the first time, and rode
forever as the wave rolled up into the estuary.  I couldn't wait to
paddle back and do it again.

About noon, I said, "I think I'm ready for Huntington!"

He smiled and said, "Okay!"

We had to park on the highway, and walk/climb down the Huntington cliffs
-- with our boards.  The water seemed more wild than the other side of
the pier where the body surfers were.  We paddled out -- right through
some 5 foot waves crashing over us.  We saw a bunch of surfers take that
last wave that we paddled through.  Then we sat and waited.  A couple
passed and I wanted to take them.

"Wait, Babe!"  he said.  "See everyone else waiting?"

On the fifth wave, I saw all of the other surfers get to their knees, so
I did too.  They started to paddle long before I would have, based on my
earlier rides.  Before I knew it, the wave was taking me.  I knew just
enough to make it dangerous!  I knew that if I started to lag behind the
wave, I had to edge closer to the front, which I did.

The wave was easily a 6 foot wave, and I was standing another 6 feet
above that so it was 12 feet to the water on the front side of the wave!
I couldn't get far enough up front.  I guess the wave was really coming
in fast.  I learned what hang ten meant!  I was as far forward as I could
go on the board, and my toes (ten) were actually hanging over a bit.  I
looked over at Gus and his arms were sticking out as he balanced himself,
also on the front of the board.

I should have been watching myself and what was going on and not Gus!  I
was chucked over the front of the wave and it plunged me to the bottom,
and rolled me in the swirling sand.  Before I could even worry about
breathing, the water was gone.  The other surfers were gone.  The had
pulled out when the wave got too close to the shore.  And where was Gus?
We was almost in hysterics looking at my bewildered expression.

Good thing there was a tether on my ankle.  My board was right beside me

"Wanna go again?"  Gus laughed.

"Duh!"  I said.

We played all afternoon there.  I "wiped out" a few more times, but it
was more exhilarating fun than I've had since before the tumor.

Notes:  Ahhhh, youth!  If I could just do it all over again!  (I'd
probably make all the same mistakes!)  Sadly, I think most people don't
really learn the principle of forgiveness until after they die.