Date: Sun, 25 Jan 2004 10:22:28 -0500
From: Sequoyah <sequoyah@charter.net>
Subject: Mountain Magic Chapter 13

Mountain Magic

Chapter Thirteen

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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either
are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously and
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Other Stories
"A Special Place"
"The Concord Five"
"The Oberlin Five"
"Climbing Bear"
"Aaron and Andreas."

All these stories can be found as Adobe files in the Yahoo Group dedicated
to Sequoyah's stories, http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SequoyahsPlace/, on
the Gay Writers Guild website, http://www.gaywritersguild.org/books.htm,
and on Nifty. ASP and CF in the High School section, CF in the College
section, CB in the Relationships section and AA in the Beginnings section.


Comments

Sorry it has been so long between chapters. Sometimes events of life create
new priorities.

If you are NOT presently receiving notification of the posting of chapters
and would like to, send an e-mail.

Thanks to the editors and all who have written with comments and
encouragement.

E-mail s appreciated: sequoyah@charter.net

Sequoyah

Chapter Thirteen

It was after six by the time we got home from getting Jonathan settled
in. Granddad and Grandmom were both in the kitchen, Grandmom starting
supper and Granddad nursing a cup of coffee. "How'd the young man like his
new place?" he asked.

"I think he was just a bit overwhelmed," I answered.

"I'm sure he is," Jason added. "All of a sudden he has gone from having no
place to live, no-one to care about him, and little or no hope for that
changing to having a good home and someone--well, someones--care about
him. That is pretty overwhelming, I know... I have known that feeling. To
tell the truth, there are times when it is still pretty overwhelming for
me."

"Yeah, and he's sure led a sheltered life," I said. "He has never seen a
real movie, only instructional videos at school. He has never watched
TV--well, he did in the hospital, but I mean before that. Of course he
hasn't played computer games." I kinda giggled and said, "When he said he
hadn't played any computer games, I could see the wheels turning in Hank's
head."

Jason chuckled and said, "Hank said he'd show him soon, and I'm sure he
will since he is a computer game nut. And Jonathan better be a fast
learner. Hank is an ace at several things but at computer games he can
really kick butt."

We talked a few more minutes about Jonathan, then Jason said, "By the way,
unless you have something planned for us, we're taking Jonathan thrift
store shopping tomorrow."

"Uh oh, I just remembered. Granddad planned for us to cut wood tomorrow," I
reminded Jason--and myself.

"We'll get around to it," Granddad answered. "Taking care of Jonathan is
more important right now."

"Hank, Jason and I've chipped in ten dollars apiece for Jonathan to spend
on clothes. We hope that's enough, at least enough to get him started. He
doesn't have anything left from what he had on when we found him, except
his jeans and windbreaker--and both of them have definitely seen better
days. Well, I guess he does have shoes."

"Douglas, I think you need to guess again," Grandmom said. If you can call
shoes what the poor boy had on when Ellen and I took clothes to him today,
he has shoes. But did you by any chance look at them?" Grandmom
asked. "They were really a mess. I don't mean they were dirty or something
like that. They were full of holes, completely worn out. I hardly think
there is enough of them left to be recognizable as shoes."

"I guess we'll have to look into shoes first then," I said, recalling the
condition of Jonathan's cheap sneakers now that Grandmom had mentioned
them.

"I'm sure if Ellen and I had seen his shoes before we went shopping, we
would have gone ahead and bought a pair," Grandmom said, "but neither of us
gave it a thought. Now that I think about it, we couldn't since he'd need
to try them on. We hadn't seen the lad, so we'd have been unable to even
guess at a size."

"If he didn't have such little feet, I could let him have a pair of mine. I
have three pairs," I said. "I don't know his shoe size, but I do know he
has tiny feet for his size. And, Jason, I know your feet are even bigger."

Jason was taking in all this talk about shoes and finally said, "He's got
to have shoes, of course, but there won't be much left for other clothes
even if we luck into a good shoe sale. Doug, think the three of us might
come up with another ten dollars each?

"Since you fellows are taking care of his clothing, I think your grandmom
and I could help out with shoes. Ok, Old Woman?"

"I'll check the cookie jar."

For most people, checking the cookie jar was symbolic but for Grandmom it
was literal. She kept some money in the cookie jar in the kitchen. >From
time to time one of us would place "a little something" in it to cover
unexpected expenses, a treat, or when we got caught without cash--like for
lunch money. You know, just little things.

Grandmom came back with a smile on her face and said, "Well, sons, looks
like someone has been planning on a shoeless kid's arrival. We can match
your thirty if that will work. That's exactly what was in the cookie jar,"
she concluded, handing a number of bills to Jason. "Ellen and I did get
socks and underwear enough. I didn't know what young men wore these days
for underwear, but Ellen said she thought we should just go ahead and get
two five-packs each of briefs and boxers. I did notice the two of you seem
to wear both."

"On Jonathan's behalf--and ours--thanks Grandmom, Grandad," Jason said,
giving Grandmom a hug. "Ok, chore time, Mr. McElrath," he added as he
slapped me on the back.

When we had finished the chores, Grandmom had supper ready. After the
school Thanksgiving dinner lunch--so help me, that's what everyone called
it--neither Jason nor I were very hungry. At least that's what we said, but
I noticed we both ate a hearty meal.

As usual, during supper we talked with the grandparents about one thing or
another. When Jonathan was mentioned again, Grandmom said, "Since our kids
have just about become one family, Ellen asked if we'd like to combine
forces for Thanksgiving dinner. I thought it was an excellent idea, but
wanted to check with you two first."

"I think it is a swell idea, and even more so since Jonathan is there. He
knows the two of us very well, but he only knows Hank in the Dennison
household," I offered.

"Sounds good," Jason added. "Well, I think I'll take my leave of this good
company and go upstairs. After getting Hank's and Jonathan's place cleaned
up and organized, I took one look at my room and was flabbergasted at the
mess I've been living in."

I hadn't thought of it but my room was in the same condition, "Whoops, same
here," I said. "Hey, is it OK if we plan on sleeping in tomorrow morning?
We're not picking up Hank and Jonathan until 10:30." I hesitated for a
moment and added, "I mean unless, of course, you have some chores you want
us to do."

"Well, I had thought about sleeping in and letting you two get up and do
the milking," Granddad said.

"Well, sure, no problem. We can do that," Jason said.

"Yeah, it's only right," I added, trying to keep disappointment out of my
voice.

"Gerald, you are a rotten tease," Grandmom said and, as she did, Granddad
couldn't hold back a chuckle any longer.

"Just pulling your legs, sons, I couldn't sleep in if I wanted to. I am too
used to getting up early to sleep late. I'll take care of the morning
chores and you two sleep in."

"Thanks, Granddad," Jason and I both said and headed upstairs.

Jason and I walked up the stairs arm-in-arm and when we reached the top,
stopped for a kiss before going to our rooms to do the cleaning up. An hour
and a half later, Jason came to my room and said, "I took care of the
bathroom. As soon as you finish we can tackle the den."

It was after ten before we finished our cleaning and went downstairs for
cold milk and cookies. After we ate, we sat in the den with the
grandparents watching the news--of which there was little.

After the news, we all said goodnight and Jason and I, again, started up
the stairs arm-in-arm. About half-way up, he stopped, put his arms around
me and pulled my body to his as his lips covered mine. His tongue was soon
exploring my mouth as we pulled up each other's shirts. His hands felt
wonderful on my bare skin and his hard back muscles under my hands did
things to me, things I liked!

Jason was breathing through my mouth as he loosened my belt and slipped his
hands inside my pants, his hands holding my ass cheeks. I found his nipples
under his shirt and drew circles around them with my fingers. I could feel
them get hard, and they weren't the only things getting hard! I finally
broke our kiss and whispered, "Jason, Babe, you keep that up and I'll
explode. I know I will."

Jason leaned his forehead against mine, looked into my eyes and said, "So
will I." With those words, he withdrew his hands, quickly swept me into his
arms and carried me the rest of the way up the stairs. My arms were around
his neck, my eyes looking into his when we reached the top of the
stairs. He stopped, kissed me and asked, "Where to?"

"Jason, this is not a time to call for a conference," I responded.

The door to my room was closest so Jason pushed it open with his foot,
stepped across the threshold, paused and gently pushed the door closed with
his shoulder. Still carrying me, he walked over to my bed, lowered me to my
feet, wrapped his arms around me and started kissing me again.

"Baby, I need your lovin'," he half-sang as he pulled my shirt over my
head, opened my belt and unzipped my pants, allowing them to slide down my
legs. I stepped out of them and stood before Jason with nothing on except a
pair of white bikini briefs. Jason put his hands on my shoulders and held
me at arms' length. "Doug, if I'd ever been told someone could be as
beautiful as you are, I'd never believed it. And if I HAD believed it,
no-one, but no-one could have convinced me anyone as beautiful as you could
love me. I love you, man, I really do."

I put my arms around Jason's neck, pulled him to me and whispered in his
ear, "Never, ever doubt that I love you, Jason Talltree. Never doubt it for
a second." I unbuttoned Jason's shirt as we talked. After unfastening his
belt and unzipping his pants, I ran my hands over his round butt and down
his hard, muscular legs, stripping his pants from them. I left his briefs
on and, as he stepped out of his pants, held his hard cock and balls in my
hands. It was all his briefs could do to hold him in and, in fact, his
manhood was peeking out above his waistband like a little boy looking over
a fence.

Both undressed except for our briefs, lust drove our kisses and our
exploration of each other's body. I had backed up to my bed and finally
just fell backwards across it, pulling Jason's body atop mine.

Our kissing and tongue duel continued as Jason started moving his hips in
small circles, grinding his manhood against mine. When I thought I couldn't
get any more aroused, Jason's mouth moved down my chest, his tongue
circling a very hard and very sensitive nipple. He raised his chin, looked
up into my eyes and said, "Doug, I love you so much, so very, very
much. Damn, I love you, babe."

I locked my legs behind his back and responded, "Jason, I love you too. I
love you more than I thought it was possible to love anyone. Your loving me
makes me whole, and the happiest man in the world."

I felt Jason's hand slide under the waistband of my briefs and lifted my
butt so he could slide them down and off my legs. My manhood was so hard it
was standing up and pulsating with every heart beat. I knew that I was
ready to go over the edge, but just not how ready.

Jason had moved down in the bed to remove my briefs and, as he started back
up, he kissed the head of my manhood. That was all it took. I blasted his
face with charge after charge of hot sperm. Jason got a very surprised look
on his face, then bravely--I thought, not having any experience--licked his
face. As he did he said, "Not bad, not bad at all. Guess I'll have to call
you Sweet Doug."

Jason had a huge smile on his face and he took being spermed with good
humor, which was great, but it did break the mood. He was a mess, so I
opened the drawer of my nightstand, took out a wad of tissues and wiped his
face and neck. I then cleaned myself. In spite of having a chuckle at being
spermed, Jason was still rock-hard. Since he still had on briefs, I took my
time moving down his body with my mouth, giving him a good tongue
bath. When I had his briefs off, I rested my head on his thigh so I could
really look at his manhood.

Hank had been fascinated by Jason's uncut cock and so was I. Of course, my
infatuation with it had more to do with it belonging to the man I loved
than it did being uncut, but don't think I am downplaying its uncut
beauty. I reached out and slowly pulled the foreskin back. It was not
overly tight and just covered his cock head. I loved the way the head just
kinda emerged as I pulled the skin back. I started stroking Jason slowly
and moved around until I could gaze into his black, black eyes. He reached
down and grasped a handful of my hair. "Doug, Man, I am ready!" he said
through clinched teeth. I continued stroking him then pulled his foreskin
back and kissed the head of his cock. The results were as they had been for
me, but I was better-prepared for the blast.

This time we went to the bathroom and cleaned up a bit better than we had
done with the tissues. We kept kissing each other until we were once again
hard and hot by the time we got back. When we reached my room, I lit
candles on the nightstands and turned out the light. We lay nude, facing
each other, and talked about how good it felt to help each other get
off. We exchanged soft kisses, touched each other's body with feather-light
touches, and did a lot of just looking into each other's eyes.

When I mentioned being surprised at how little it actually took to get me
off, Jason said he thought it was because we were horny teenagers. "Lust,
my good man, pure teenage lust," he said is a very pompous manner.

"No doubt there was more than a little lust involved, but it was more than
that. The fact that we were together, I guess having sex ... You know,
Jason, I don't know what constitutes having sex for us. But I think we
were."

"Not sure this is the time or place for a lengthy discussion, but I think
we can say we were making love and maybe in the midst of that were having
sex. I do know I wanted to make you happy 'cause I love you," Jason said.

When we started making love again, it lacked the intensity that had been
there earlier. We took a long time kissing, exploring our lover's body with
hands, fingers, tongue and mouth. We lay, facing each other, feasting our
eyes on our lover. We brought each other to the edge, then backed off time
after time. Finally Jason said, "I think I am going to know how Hank feels
after a date unless ..."

"I have the cure for that," I smiled.

I was surprised when Jason spun around on his beautiful, firm butt, Placing
a leg on each side of my body. I soon learned what was up when he scooted
forward until our butts were close together, so close he could grasp both
our cocks. Grasping both with one hand, he stroked them slowly but, when I
was ready to go over the edge, he stopped. We both raised up, embraced and
started deep tongue kissing. I lay back, reached down and took his cock in
hand. Jason did the same to mine and we began to stroke each other, knowing
this time we were going all the way. We exploded at the same time, spraying
our lover. We used tissues to clean up and didn't go to the bathroom. When
we finished, Jason said, "We're sleeping in in the morning so I think I
will stay right here. Since I wake up early anyway, I'll go to my bed
then. Ok?"

In answer, I turned back the cover and welcomed my lover to my bed and my
arms.

Jason and I snuggled in each other's arms, did a lot of goofy smiling,
exchanging soft, butterfly kisses and whispering sweet nothings to each
other--you know, the foolish but important things people in love do and
say. We knew we could sleep late so we were in no hurry to go to
sleep--especially since we had other things we rather be doing.

I'm not foolish enough to say we didn't make love again, because we
did.Each time was different. The first time was fast and kinda
frantic. After all, we were horny--lustful--teenagers. The second time was
slower. We were experimenting at giving each other pleasure rather than
just getting off. The last time was gentle, tender love-making in which my
whole being was focused on Jason and his pleasure and feelings and,
amazingly, it gave me more pleasure than I imagined possible. Later Jason
said his experience was the same. "Fr. Hansen is right, it more blessed to
give than receive," he observed. After the last time, we were completely
wrapped up in each other--both emotionally and physically.

Sometime in the night, I woke up--well, at least I was half-awake--and
Jason and I were still wrapped in each other's arms, our legs entwined. I
disentangled myself and slipped out of bed and headed for the
bathroom. When I got back, I stood watching Jason sleep. He was a good,
kind, caring man and he loved me. He loved ME! Suddenly I had a lump in my
throat and got all misty eyed, overcome with my love for Jason and even
more by his love for me.

Standing in the moonlight watching Jason, I finally realized I was in my
birthday suit, it was the middle of the night and it was cold! I was
shivering all over as I slid back into bed and spooned myself into Jason's
back.

I expected to go back to sleep immediately, but I didn't for a while. I was
uneasy and wanted to pretend I didn't know why, but I did. Our love-making
had been wonderful, and had given me great pleasure, and I felt no guilt or
remorse for what we had done. But now I worried about having crossed a
line, the line we had laid down for ourselves about respecting the
grandparents while loving each other. I guess I'd be the one to use Jason's
line this time: "Lover we gotta talk".

My thoughts went round and round, but Jason's warm body felt so good! I lay
against my lover, drinking in the scent of his body and, feeling warm and
safe, I drifted off to sleep again.

You don't have to be a fortuneteller to know what happened the next
morning. Granddad knocked on my door and called, "Douglas, it's almost
9:30. If you are going to pick up Jonathan and Hank at 10:30, you need to
be moving."

I shot straight up in bed as did Jason. Hoping against hope Jason's door
was closed or Granddad hadn't gone on down the hall to his room, I called,
"Thanks, Granddad, be right down."

"Grandmom will have breakfast for you two shortly so you need to get a move
on."

I hopped out of bed, threw on a robe and headed for the bathroom. As I left
my room I saw Granddad going down the stairs, "Thanks for calling me,
Granddad," I called after him again.

Granddad stopped, turned and said, "You might check on Jason. I don't know
whether he heard me call or not."

"I'll get his lazy butt out of bed," I answered wondering whether Granddad
had looked in on Jason or not. In any event, as he went on downstairs, I
went back to my room.

Jason was standing in the middle of the floor in all his bare glory. "Lazy
butt? I don't think so!" Jason said as he wiggled his butt at me. "But more
to the point, did Granddad check on me? Did he look in my room and see I
wasn't there?"

"I don't think so. I hope not," I answered. "But..."

"Yeah, I know, but...."

We both walked down the hall and into the bathroom. We were more than a bit
subdued as we brushed our teeth, but not so subdued as to prevent a hot
morning kiss. We didn't spend a lot of time in the shower though, getting
out as soon as we had cleaned up from the night's activities. After our
shower, we got dressed and went downstairs for a late breakfast.

"Guess you two slept well last night," Grandmom said as we sat down at the
kitchen table. "Your granddad thought you'd be up and stirring early, but I
reminded him you said you were going to sleep in. Even at that, I expected
you earlier."

"We kinda got to sleep--not bed--late. We got ready for bed early enough,
then Jason came to my room and we talked and all until very late. Actually,
we both just fell asleep on my bed."

"I suspected as much when I looked in Jason's room and saw he wasn't in his
bed," Granddad said. "Late night bull session?"

"Yeah," Jason replied. "You know how it is."

Granddad chuckled and said, "Yeah, I remember bull sessions from when I was
younger. I suspect you, like us, got all the world's problems solved in one
night.

"And I suspect the world will ignore us as it did you and your buds," I
grinned back, inwardly breathing a sigh of relief.

After we had cleared the breakfast table, Jason and I drove to the
Dennisons'. I was surprised that both of us were very quiet, saying
practically nothing on our way to Hank's place.

When we reached the Dennisons' we just walked in as Hank did at our
place. Shortly after school started, Granddad had said to him, "Hank,
you're like one of ours and I get tired of running to answer the door and
finding you standing there. Just walk in and let us know you're here." A
few days later Mr. Dennison had said essentially the same thing to us.

Jason called out, "Your neighbors are here," expecting Hank to answer from
upstairs.

"In the kitchen," Hank answered.

When we got to the kitchen, Hank was sitting at the kitchen with a large
cup of coffee, looking the worse for wear.

"Man, you look like something the cat drug in," Jason said.

"Feel about that way," Hank answered. "I had a very late night. Can't say
you two look so great yourselves. What was your problem?"

"No problem. We just had a late night." I answered.

"Jonathan had a rough night which meant I had one. I think a lot of it was
just nerves, but he did say he was having some pain from the surgery. It
was finally bad enough that Mom called the doctor and learned Jonathan was
supposed to be given some pain pills when he left the hospital but, somehow
or other, that didn't happen. Dad went to the hospital about 2:00, got the
medicine and Jonathan finally got to sleep around 3:00. Mom said let him
sleep as late as possible. I called him just before you guys arrived. So
why did you two have a late night, as if I didn't know?"

I blushed and said, "We slept together last night and almost got caught."

"You mean you two were in the bed together. I can look at you and see the
'slept with' was a minor part of the night! And you almost got caught?"

"Well, actually we did get caught--being in bed together--but I think we
got out without any damage. That Doug has a quick tongue," Jason said, then
told Hank about our falling asleep in my bed, of course leaving out a lot
of details.

"Don't think I'd like to be in your shoes," Hank said. "I know we talked
about the difference between you two and Beth and me but, boy, the idea of
you two being caught in bed together makes the difference come home. If
someone needed a bed, you two could sleep together, no questions asked. But
I would have to sleep on the floor rather than share a bed with Beth
because another bed was needed. Yet if you two were caught in one bed and
the other bed empty, there would be questions. Douglas, you'd have to give
a reason for Jason being in your bed and not his--quick tongue is right."

"If I was caught in Beth's bed there would be hell to pay, but nothing like
you two might face. We'd get a lecture and told how we were too young for
sex, that sort of thing, but that would be it. Well I'd likely be grounded
forever."

"If you two don't change your mind about being in love with each other, you
have got to learn to be careful, real careful. As careful as Beth and I
will have to be to prevent her getting pregnant. At least that's one
problem you two won't face."

"Yeah, that's something we don't have to worry about, but we have worries
enough. Guess being in love means you have problems." Jason mused.

"Yeah, you've got that right," Hank said. "You know, I sometimes wish Beth
and I had someone we could really talk to. I can't talk to my parents. I
mean they'd not kill me or anything, but when I have tried to talk to Dad,
we both got so embarrassed it was a pity. And talk to Mom about being in
love and about sex? You got to be kidding. Same thing with you guys. I mean
sooner or later you're going to have to tell your grandparents and that's
not going to be easy. But you also need someone who understands you, I mean
you two, together and separate, like..."

Jason cracked up and we all had a good laugh, but the three of us knew what
we were struggling with was important. "I mean you can talk to me, but I'm
just another teenager and straight. You could talk to Jonathan because he's
gay but, not only is he a teenager, he's really just a kid."

Hank's tone indicated he was giving serious thought to his friends being
lovers. It was pretty clear he was feeling a bit better about Jason's and
my relationship. But I didn't fool myself into thinking he had decided
everything was lovely. Heck, everything wasn't lovely for me. I also
wondered if Hank had announced he and Beth were having sex. I thought so
but wasn't sure, and wasn't about to ask.

There were a lot of things I wasn't clear about. In fact, about all I was
clear about was being in love with Jason and his love more than made up for
anything which might come our way as a result. At the same time, I didn't
want us to be as careless as we were last night. I mean I knew we'd have to
talk with the grandparents sooner or later, but I sure wanted it to be
later--preferably much later. AND I did think we needed to do some serious
thinking about last night.

"Yeah, all that makes sense and careful we gotta be, because there is no
way I will change my mind about Jason. Well that's nonsense. Being in love
with Jason is not something I gave a lot of thought to and then
decided. I'm in love with Jason, period, and that is not something I
decided. Hank, are you in love with Beth? I mean are you really in love
with her or do you just have hot pants?"

"You know, I haven't thought about it that way," Hank replied
puzzled. "That I have hot pants, I guess goes without saying. I think when
I first got interested in her and then convinced her to go out with me, it
was mostly hot pants, pure teen lust. Yeah, I mostly just had the hots for
her. But now? I'm not sure I have used the L word but, yes, I think I am in
love with her. And, yeah, it was not something I thought about and
decided."

"What made you realize you were in love and not just lusting after Beth's
bod, if you HAVE realized you are in love?" I asked.

"Never really thought about that either. It just happened. But now that I
do think about it, I was in love and not just in heat when I started
thinking about making Beth happy and doing what Beth wanted rather than
just thinking about what I wanted."

"Of course, my daydreaming and fantasies weren't pure as the driven snow,
but in addition to thinking about how I'd like to have sex, I also thought
about being with Beth in the future. You know, Beth and me at the prom,
Beth and me at graduation, even Beth and me at college. By the way, that's
why Sandra and Janie will be paying for your Saturday dates." Once again
Hank had done one of his "That subject's finished, now on to the next"
moves.

"Whoa!" Jason said. "What does your going to the prom have to do with Janie
and Sandra?"

"Well, nothing really but, yeah, a lot," Hank said. "See, Beth and I have
been talking pretty seriously about the future--including the prom--and
when Beth said something about that to the girls..."

"We get the idea, but I still don't see how that has anything to do with
Janie and Sandra," Jason said, looking puzzled.

"Well, it does. See, when Beth started talking about the future, our
future, Sandra said, 'Look, I like Jason a whole lot. He's fun, a real
hottie, and knows how to treat a woman, but in no way am I getting tied
down to one man--at least not for a long time. I've seen women who sell out
to men so they can lead the man around by the nose. I like a goodnight kiss
as well as anyone, but I don't look ahead and see myself tied down to one
man for a loooong time.' Janie said the same about you, Douglas. I know it
makes no never mind to you two or, I guess, you're lucky to have
girlfriends who don't want anything more than friendship."

"Wow! That is good news," I said. "I have been thinking about the girls and
what they expect, thinking they might want to, I guess, go steady or
whatever. Anyway, I am very relieved since I really like them and want to
be friends." I kept rambling on until my buds were laughing their heads
off.

We were all laughing when Jonathan came down the stairs.

"Jonathan, hope you're feeling better," I said. "Hank says you had a rough
night."

"I did and Mr. Dennison had to go to the hospital to get pain stuff. I'm a
lot of trouble," Jonathan said as he took a bowl of cereal Hank fixed for
him.

"That's what teenagers are for," Jason said. "We are supposed to be
trouble. That's our job, didn't you know that?"

Jonathan got a big smile on his face and said, "Then I guess I'm making up
for when I was a goody-goody frightened little rabbit."

The kid was very immature in so many ways, but there was also a great depth
to him as well, and he really was funny at times.

As soon as Jonathan finished eating, we headed for Asheville. He held our
attention as he kept discovering something new to get excited about. We
were astonished when he said he had never been to Clarksville, much less to
Asheville. He was like a little kid who suddenly found himself in a toy
store.  Come to think of it, I guess the world is a big toy store if you've
never seen much of it.

When we got to Asheville, we headed straight to Footlocker to check on
shoes. As we walked toward the shop, Hank said, "By the way, Mom and Dad
matched our clothing money to help pay for shoes."

"Grand! So did Grandmom and Grandad," Jason said. "So we have sixty dollars
for shoes. I think we can find something for that price."

I looked at Jonathan's shoes again and they were as I remembered. They were
so bad he might as well have been barefoot.

Footlocker didn't have a sale on and we were very disappointed at the
prices. Well, actually, Jason and I were. Jonathan was just beside himself,
going from one display of shoes to another, unable to take in the number of
styles of shoes and how expensive they were. Hank? Well Hank was flirting
with the Asheville High student who was keeping the shop. I couldn't
believe how outrageous his flirting was or how the girl seemed to be eating
it up. Jason and I were just standing back, watching Hank and
Jonathan. Finally, Hank said, "Thanks. See ya," and walked over to where we
were standing. As he did he said, "Come on, Jonathan, let's be moving."

Just outside the shop, Jason said, "Hank, from the way you were carrying on
in there, you'd think you hadn't seen a woman in ages. I expected you to
throw her on the floor and hop her bones any minute."

"Yeah, I was doing right well. It was all in fun. She knew I didn't mean a
word I said and neither did she. Guess that's something you two may never
learn--flirting I mean. You know, carrying on about how the other person is
the love of your life when both of you know it's just a game."

"Well I mean all of it is a lie and a game so far as the flirting is
concerned. She was very interested in our young brother here and when I
told her what we were up to, she told me where there were a couple stores
with lower prices, then she said, 'I remember seeing a billboard on my way
to work today. The Athlete's Foot in the other mall is going out of
business and everything is half-price or less.' She said the sale started
Monday but she doubted that the crowd has been there yet and, since
Jonathan's feet are small, she thought there would still be a good
selection and great prices."

We had to drive across town to get to the Asheville Mall--Footlocker was in
Biltmore Mall--but the trip was well worth it. As the girl had told Hank,
the selection was good and the prices a half to a third of what similar
shoes were at Footlocker.

While Jonathan was looking around, under the careful eyes of Jason and
Hank, I talked with the clerk, Tim. I learned he was a high school student
from Candler where he played football. He was interested in why the three
of us had Jonathan out shopping. I told him a little of Jonathan's story
and when I did he said, "He's a lucky dude to have you three. I finally
have a stable place to live, but I was tossed from one auntie to another
until I was ten. Children's Protective Services finally found me and took
me from an abusive home."

"I was placed in a foster home and finally adopted by two wonderful
people. They are old enough to be my grandparents and treat me like a
grandson--a spoiled grandson at times--but I know a good thing when I find
it, so I wouldn't do anything to hurt or upset them. Actually, I love them
like I should and would have loved decent parents. I am very grateful to
them and work hard at making them proud of me--and that makes me proud of
me," he smiled.

Looking over toward Jonathan and his two brothers/friends, Tim said, "Seems
your new brother can't make up his mind." Jonathan had a pair of bright red
and white Nikes--one under each arm--and a different right shoe in each
hand. "For someone hidden in a mountain cove, he has good fashion sense, is
money-wise and darn lucky. The three pairs he has are still here because we
found a whole case of shoes this morning and this is a slow day--you won't
want to be here the day after Thanksgiving. Of the three pairs he's
holding, the two right shoes are from the ones most in demand by high
school students. But I bet you one thing, he'll wear those bright red and
white Nikes a lot. They haven't sold well, but they feel sooo good and I
can see he loves them. Price-wise, the three pairs he has cost little more
than a single pair would at Footlocker."

Which is why we ended up buying all three and spending little more than the
sixty dollars shoe money we had. Jonathan put on the red and white Nikes
and Hank put the battered shoes he had been wearing in the empty shoe
box. Tim brought a garbage pail from the back. As Hank tossed the shoe box
in it, Tim said, "Off with the old and on with the new. And, Jonathan, I'm
not just talking about shoes. Good luck in your new home with your new
family."

Jonathan was so elated I thought we'd have to tie him down to keep his feet
on the ground. In fact, as we were walking across the parking lot, Jonathan
put his arms around Jason's and Hank's waists and suddenly lifted both feet
off the ground and held them out in front of himself. As I had observed
earlier, Jonathan had a slight build but the little booger was,
nonetheless, well-built and, we discovered, strong as an ox. Jason and Hank
were caught by surprise and almost dropped the young man, who didn't seem
to notice he was suspended in the air.

"These're the very first new shoes I've ever had in my whole life," he
exclaimed, sounding like the excited kid he was. "I've always had to wear
hand-me-down shoes from a member of the community--sometimes handed down
from two or three others before they got to me. But--WOW--these are mine,
all mine, and they're brand spanking new."

On our way back to the Jeep, Hank and I talked about how much we had taken
our parents, and what they had given us, for granted. When we fell silent,
Jason said softly, "It's not very nice to have to put up with hand-me-downs
and what someone has tossed out, but it sure makes you appreciate something
nice when you get it."

I thought a lot about that, because I was sure Jonathan was more excited
over his new shoes than I was when I got my Jeep.