Date: Mon, 26 Aug 2002 08:58:42 EDT
From: Tulsadriller7@aol.com
Subject: Tales from the Ranch, 3/?

Disclaimer:  The following story is a work of fiction.  If you
are offended by descriptions of homosexual acts or man/man
relations, please exit this page.

TALES FROM THE RANCH
Copyright8 2002 by Tulsa Driller 7.  All rights reserved.

This is a story of men who have two common interests.  You will
see that they love the land where they live and work, but it is
also the story of young men who love other men and their coming
of age in a culture of prejudice and misunderstanding.  It is a
story, which deals with difficult and often disturbing issues
but, nonetheless, issues which must be confronted in today's
world.

This is a work of fiction and in no way draws on the lives of any
specific person or persons.  Any similarity to actual persons or
events is entirely coincidental.  This work is copyrightedc by
the author and may not be reproduced in any form without the
specific written permission of the author.  It is assigned to the
Nifty Archives under the terms of their submission agreement but
it may not be copied or archived on any other site without the
written permission of the author.

There is not much in the way of sex in the first three chapters.
I felt it necessary to introduce the main characters and allow
you to get acquainted with them before getting them involved in
erotic activities.

PLEASE:  In a perfect world AIDS doesn't exist.  My characters
have unprotected sex.  I hope you use proper precautions because
I'd like you to be around the read the last chapter of this
story.

Tales from the Ranch
Chapter 3:  Dale
     Dale stood there, watching Jason leave the barn and thought
to himself, 'I have to be careful here, these two boys need
someone to talk to and it should be their father doing it.'  He
was wondering if he should talk to Marty and tell him that it was
high time he had "THE TALK" with Jason and Kevin, or if he should
stay out of it.  Then he remembered that he had gone through this
same sort of thing when he was Jason's age, maybe even earlier
and had no one to talk to because he lived with his mother and
her parents.  He never saw his father.  His grandfather didn't
pay any attention to him, and certainly... most boys can't talk
to their mother, of all people, about "growing up".  No, he had
to find it out the hard way, with much mis-information being
passed on by older boys and his close friends.
     While thinking this through, he came to the conclusion that
for boys being raised on a ranch and attending a public school,
they were way behind other boys their ages.  Maybe it was because
of the community; maybe it was because the boys didn't pal around
with some of the wilder kids in school.
     He made a decision that he would talk with Marty and tell
him that he had two boys who were growing up and needed some
facts explained to them.
     * * * * *
     About this time Parker Morton, or "Mort" as everyone called
him, came into the barn and started for his office.  Morton was
the foreman and general manager of the Bar-W Ranch.  He was 58
years old and had been hired by Martin Williamson, Sr. 37 years
before.  He'd worked his way up from being in charge of the crop
planting and harvesting, to herd manager for the cattle, then the
horse farm.  Ten years ago he was appointed as general manager
and had, with permission, changed the way the ranch was managed
as it grew in size.  When he had gone to work for the
Williamson's the ranch was only about 6,000 acres.  Now it was
almost 3 times that.
     "Dale, I need to see you in my office."  The ranch office
was the third part of the main barn.  The first housed the
animals that needed to be sheltered and milked.  The largest area
was a well-equipped workshop where almost any farm repair could
be made.  It was large enough to drive any of the big tractors
and equipment in for servicing.  Here they could be torn down,
repaired, cleaned and tested before being put back in service.
     Some of the equipment on the ranch had been built right in
this barn as there were saws, lathes, both gas and electric
welders, grinders.  Whatever was needed.
     Above the shop was a large loft where parts were stored.  An
inventory was kept on hand of fan belts, air filters, fuel
filters, spare hydraulic lines, paint, bolts, almost everything
that was needed.  Although it was only a few miles to town, it
took time to drive there and back, and it always seemed that
repairs needed to be made late at night and other times the
various equipment dealers were closed.  There was a mechanic who
took care of most of the routine repairs and maintenance.
     There were two rooms in the "office area", one for Mort and
the other was used for various things, mostly farm files and herd
records.  Marty kept many of his records there, but also used the
office he shared with his wife in their bedroom suite.
     Dale followed Mort to the office.  He had always been
thankful that Mort had hired him five years ago after he finished
Western Junior College.  He had hoped to transfer to another
school to complete a degree in history, but his mother had fallen
ill and died unexpectedly.  He wasn't even able to locate his
father to tell him about it, although it probably wouldn't have
made any difference.
     Mort and Dale had known each other for several years.
Mort's wife and Dale's mother had worked together at the co-op
grain elevator.  In fact Dale had been hired as summer help right
out of high school, before going to school that fall.  Then he
came back and worked the next summer, too.  He was good help, a
cool head and not afraid of hard work or long hours.
     So, after the funeral Mort questioned Dale about his plans.
Dale told him that he only had six weeks of school to complete
his studies, then didn't know what he would be doing as it was
too late to try to get a scholarship at a four-year university.
And, without the scholarship there would be no further schooling.
     Mort asked Dale if he would consider coming to work for the
Bar-W on a full-time basis.  Dale had no hesitation in accepting
the offer.  After a year Mort had made him foreman of the field
crew, being responsible for the planting and harvesting of the
various seed and feed crops.  Dale immediately accepted and was
grateful for the nice salary increase he was given.
     Mort sat down at his desk and motioned Dale to sit in one of
the chairs in front of the desk.
     "Dale, I want you to know that you have been doing a great
job here and want you to know that we are going to be expanding
our operation again."
     "Thanks for the confidence in me, Mort."
     "Well, it's certainly well deserved; your attitude and hard
work has attracted the attention of both Martin, Sr. and Marty.
They have been reviewing the ranch operation and we're going to
be making more changes here.  It looks like it's a done deal to
acquire about 1,300 acres up the road about 7 miles.  This land
is pretty much timberland and not cropland, so that won't change
anything you are doing right now.
     "However, there is another 1,200 acres between the present
ranch and the new land that we are dealing for.  This land is
pretty much pasture land and we'll be moving some cattle up there
as soon as the deal is final, probably in about 5 weeks.  We
think that the lower end of section five is really better suited
to farming and crops, so want to get that plowed up and plant
soybeans as soon as the cattle are off it.  Then next year we'll
plant sweet clover for hay.
     "I need you to sit down and review the number of acres of
the various crops and hay fields we now have and we'll determine
what additional equipment and field crews we will need so we
don't run too lean.  There's nothing worse than having too much
help, so we'll depend on seasonal hires for when were are really
busy.
     "Also, the two fellows you have working for you now have
been staying at a motel in town, right?"
     "Yeah, the old "Starlight" motel.  It doesn't look like
much, but it is clean and cheap.  Actually, it isn't a motel
anymore; ol' Slim Dugan just rents rooms by the week or month.
I'll probably be staying there soon as I'm putting Mom's old
house on the market.  The realtor says it isn't worth much, but
thinks he has somebody who's interested."
     "This is the other thing I want to talk to you about," said
Mort.  The Williamson's try to run a first-class operation here,
the best equipment and the best help they can employ.  Marty
wants to build a couple of bunkhouses here on the property for
the men to live in.  Maybe you can give him and me some ideas
about that?"
     "What do you mean?" asked Dale.
     "He has in mind of building at least two small houses that
would have a couple of large bedrooms, two bathrooms and a large
common area and kitchen.  Nothing fancy, but a perk to the
permanent help since you won't have to be paying rent anymore."
     Dale was really happy to hear that news.  "Gosh Mort, that's
wonderful.  I wasn't looking forward to living at the Starlight,
even though it's clean.  Pat Burns thought that someone had
damaged the paint on his car while it was sitting in their lot.
Michael thought he'd heard people in the parking lot that
shouldn't be there.  Probably people who go to the two bars on
either side of the motel."
     Mort continued.  "Well, do some thinking about what you'd
like to see in a place here on the ranch.  We're having a meeting
with both Williamson's and their architect and the builder
tomorrow morning at 9 a.m. at the main house.
     "Thanks, Mort.  This is a great place to work.  I know a few
of the people that work for the Diamond-R and those guys are
treated like prison slaves.  I have you to thank for seeing to it
that I had a job after Mom died and I finished school."
     "Dale, you have secured a place here.  The Williamson's
consider all of the permanent help to be part of their extended
family.  They know that it's important to hire good, trustworthy,
hard-working people and they try to assure you fellows that they
appreciate a good, loyal crew.  You fellows are paid good wages
and a nice place to hang your hat is just another way of showing
their appreciation."
     With that, Mort stood up, indicating the meeting was over.
"I'll see you in the morning.  Can you be here in the morning
about 8 o'clock?  There's a truck coming out from the co-op with
feed for the livestock we keep here at the house."
     "Sure, Mort.  See you in the morning."
     * * * * *
     A short distance from the barn was another, similar building
with stalls for the riding horses, a room for tack and saddles
and a room for treating sick animals and outside corrals for
confining the two dozen or so horses that the crews used to work
the ranch.  Those horses were fed grain as well as fresh hay.
The farm trucks were also parked in that area.
     Dale loved to ride "Tony" as he called the horse he had
picked out when he first worked there several years before.
Before leaving for the evening, he went to the horse barn, fed
the horses and gave each of them a carrot stick.
     Life couldn't get any better than this.
     Arriving back at his home, he realized that it really was
just a place to stay.  His real home was on the Bar-W Ranch.
     * * * * *
     Not one to cook for himself; he opted to order a pizza, then
popped a beer open and looked thru the junk mail that had been
left, throwing everything away.
     There really wasn't much left in the house for him to get
rid of.  Mostly his few clothes.  One didn't need much more than
a few pair of Levis and western boots, shirts and underwear.  He
had his car, an older Mustang that ran well, but looked like it
had seen better days.  From time to time he had thought about
selling it and buying a nice motorcycle.  He didn't date and
didn't really need a car just to haul himself around.
     There were boxes of pictures from his mother's family and of
he and his mother while he was growing up.  He wondered where his
father was.  The last time either he or his mother had heard from
him was when Dale was 13 years old - almost eleven years ago.
Was he even still alive? Dale wondered.  Did he really care?
     Yeah, he cared.  Did he have grandparents who were still
alive?  Did he have other brothers or sisters?  Of course, if he
did, they would be half brothers or half sisters.  If so, where
did they live?  What kind of life did they have?  Did they know
about him?  Lots of unanswered questions.  The answers really
didn't make that much difference to him, but still it bothered
him that he didn't have them.
     According to his mother, "Jolly Joe" Sullivan had arrived in
town as part of the crew who was building the new power plant in
Williamsport.  At the time Rita Richards was just out of high
school and working as a carhop at the A&W Drive-in.  Joe and his
friends arrived at the drive-in one night after having spent
their evening drinking beer and playing pool in the Playmoor
Lounge down the road.  They were on their way back to the
Starlight Motel when they decided they were hungry.
     Rita delivered their order and they gave her a certain
amount of grief, calling her "Babe", "Honey" or "Toots".  She
thought Joe was just about the best looking guy she'd ever seen
and hung around their car between delivering orders.  When they
blinked their lights to indicate she could pick up their tray and
trash, she was surprised to find that Joe introduced himself and
the other two guys, handing her a $5 bill for a tip and said, "I
hope I get to see you later."  The three guys drove off, laughing
and pounding each other on the back.
     Rita was stunned.  Usually for an order like she had
delivered to their car, she would get maybe 75 cents (this was
1965) and maybe a dollar if she were lucky.
     The next evening "Jolly Joe" was back at the drive-in by
himself and ordered another "burger with everything and onion
rings and a large Coke".  When she delivered the order, Joe drank
a little of the Coke, then poured enough Bourbon in the cup to
top it off, stirring it with the straw.  He said, "I'm Joe,
remember me from last night?"
     Of course Rita remembered.  The guy who had tipped almost as
much as the total order all three had consumed.
     "What's your name, honey?"
     "Rita Richards," she replied.
     "Would you like to go for a ride after you get off work?"
Joe asked.
     "Un... um... sure," she was hesitant.
     "Okay, what time do you get off?"
     Rita replied, "This is Friday night, we stay open to
midnight, then have to help clean up, so it's usually about 12:30
when they let us go."
     "Okay, Rita Richards, I'll be waiting."
     This time, when she picked up the tray, there was a $10
bill.
     Rita's family had never had anything to be proud of.  Her
father was a truck driver, gone more than he was home and not
there when he was.  He spent most of his time at the local pool
emporium, generally losing his money and drinking beer.  Rita's
mother worked as a domestic for a couple of families in
Williamsport.  Mainly doing laundry, cleaning and some cooking.
Once in a while, the country club would hire her to wait tables
when one of the regular waitresses didn't show up.  Her mother
was only 37 years old, but years of hard work and low self-esteem
made her look 60!
     "Jolly Joe" was a steamfitter and made good money.  He had
never had any responsibility other than having apprenticed for
his trade.  He wasn't about to settle down anytime soon and had
just one thing on his mind - a good screw - and Rita was the
likely candidate.
     * * * * *
     Joe was back at the drive-in shortly after midnight and sat
in his car drinking more bourbon-laced Coke.
     When Rita came out, she still had on her uniform which
consisted of a low-cut off the shoulders blouse and a mini-skirt
that was a good 6 inches above her knees.  She looked like a
hooker - and although she never had been - it wasn't a foreign
idea to her mind.  Several of the girls she ran around with had
turned more than a few tricks and always had nice clothes.
     As she climbed in the car, Joe looked her over with lust in
his eyes.  He asked her if she wanted something to drink.
Although he had cold beer in the car, she opted for a bourbon and
Coke like Joe was drinking.  That seemed like a "grown up drink"
rather than beer.
     Joe produced a cup full of ice, a bottle of bourbon and a
bottle of Coke.  He also had a Lime, which had been cut into four
pieces and put that in her drink, which had as much bourbon as
Coke.
     She took a sip as he handed it to her and watched him fix
himself another just like it.  That finished, he held his cup up
and said, "To Us - You and Me."
     Rita giggled and repeated his words, wondering where this
was going to lead.
     Joe wasted no time in heading to the edge of Williamsport
and out to the new power plant.  It was on the edge of a lake and
he drove to a parking area overlooking the water.  It was the
middle of June, a moonlit night and was brighter than what it was
many nights at 9 p.m.
     Joe cut the engine, got out of the car and pulled a blanket
out of the trunk.  He came around the car, opened the door for
Rita and took her hand to help her out.  He led her to some flat
rocks and spread the blanket out so they could sit down.  It was
a warm evening and a light breeze.  You could almost see to read
a book.  But reading a book was not what Joe had on his mind -
and he didn't need an instruction manual for what was about to
happen.
     Although Rita was good looking, she'd never had a boyfriend.
She "came from the wrong side of the tracks" as far as most of
the other kids thought and was just never included in anything
they did.  That being the case, she lived with her fantasies and
a man like Joe Richards was that fantasy.
     Joe wasn't shy and Rita had read enough dime-store novels to
know what was about to happen.  She wasn't opposed to it.  She
wanted to be away from her parents - she was ashamed of them and
Joe was the ticket to get out of Williamsport.
     Without asking, Joe leaned over, put his arm around her
shoulders and pulled her to him for a kiss.  Rita had never been
kissed before, but she was a quick study.  Within five minutes
Joe had her blouse and bra off and his fingers inside her
panties.  Rita was moaning and already starting to get wet.
     Joe couldn't believe his good fortune and took one of Rita's
hands, putting it on his crotch.  Rita felt his hard tube and
shuddered inwardly.  This was new territory for sure, but she
wasn't going to fight it.  Joe started opening the buttons on his
shirt and Rita's other hand was feeling his hairy pecs.  He
popped the buttons on his Levis and the hand immediately reached
inside.  The kissing increased in intensity and Rita leaned away.
Joe took this as a sign to help her out of her skirt and panties.
No resistance from Rita.
     That accomplished, he shucked his shirt, pulled off his
boots and his Levis and briefs followed in short order.  Both
almost naked in less than 10 minutes.  More kissing, feeling each
other's tongues swabbing the other's throat.  Joe was rubbing
Rita's clit and she started moaning, then stiffened up and
experienced her very first orgasm.
     Breathless, she wasn't sure what had happened, but she
wanted more.  And she got it.  Between Joe leaking precum and her
wet cunt, he was able to enter her easily.  It wasn't until much
later than Joe realized that there had been no resistance.  Maybe
she wasn't a virgin (she was) but he didn't care.  It had never
been this easy before.
     During the course of the night, Joe got off three times and
Rita had several more orgasms both with and without Joe being in
her.  Finally they fell into an exhaustive sleep and awoke about
4 o'clock.  They had sex one more time, and then Rita realized
that she was long overdue in getting home.
     They pulled their clothes on, got in the car and headed back
to Williamsport.  Rita extracted a promise from Joe for a date
the next night and made him drop her off three houses away from
where she lived.  Joe turned the lights off and waited until Rita
went into her house.
     Though she tried to be quiet, Rita's mother, Emily, was
sleeping in a chair in their living room and woke up when she
came in.  She had been waiting for her and was mad.
     "Where the hell you been?!" she asked.
     Being innocent to the ways of the world, she told her mother
the truth.  "You remember I told you about the $5 tip I got last
night for waiting on 3 fellows in a car; that work for the
construction crew at the new power plant?"
     "What about it?" she said with a snarl.
     "The best looking one came back tonight by himself.  Look,
he gave me $10 tonight," she said taking the bill out of her
clutch bag.
     "Ain't you got no smarts?  You still didn't answer the
question.  Where you been?"
     "His name's Joe.  They call him 'Jolly Joe' and he wanted to
go out after I got off work.  We went out to the lake and
talked."
     "Like hell that's all you done!  You smell like sex!  Did he
take advantage of you?"
     Rita decided she had better tell the truth.  "Oh Maw, it was
wonderful.  He made me feel so good.  I think I'm in love."
     "Yeah, I'll tell you about love," her mother shouted.  "Did
he wear protection?"
     "What's protection?"
     "God, child.  What you talkin' 'bout?  Did he wear a rubber?
You could have gotten a bad disease.  Weren't you thinkin'?"
     Rita knew she had a problem on her hands.  No one had ever
talked to her about sex.  All she knew was from reading paperback
novels where people fell in love and got married.  Those stories
didn't say anything about protection.
     "No, maw, I don't think so.
     Her mother wailed, "Child, what are we gonna do?  He coulda'
knocked you up!  When's the last time you had your period?"
     Rita though for a little bit, then said, "About two weeks
ago, I reckon."
     Her mother came unglued.  "You're right in the middle?  Say
it ain't so... tell me... tell me..."
     "Maw, I didn't know 'bout these things.  You never told me
nothin' 'bout this at all."
     "I didn't know you was gonna' run off and be a whore for the
first guy who paid attention to you.  How many times did you do
it?  Tell me the truth!!!"
     Rita said, "I think four."  She started to cry.  "But he
made me feel so good."
     "Well you might not be feelin' so good in a few more months.
He probably dumped so much juice in you that you could have a
dozen babies."
     "Rita panicked.  "Maw, this was the first time I've ever
been with a man.  I can't get pregnant just the first time."
     "The Hell you can't.  We gotta get you cleaned out, if it
already ain't too late."
     Her mother wearily got up, telling Rita, "You go in the
bathroom.  I'll get the bag and you better git down on your knees
and pray you don't get pregnant."
     Rita went to their tiny bathroom and sat on the stool.  Her
mother came in shortly carrying an enema bag and a nozzle that
wasn't the one used for enemas and carrying a lemon that had been
cut in two pieces.  "Git your panties off while I mix this up."
She proceeded to fill the bag, then squeezed the lemon juice into
the bag, attached the hose and shook it up.
     "Stick this up your pussy as far as it will go, sit on the
pot and I'm gonna squeeze the bag real hard and see if we can get
you cleaned out.  Rita complied and her mother put her hands
around the bag and forced the mixture through the hose and out
the nozzle.
     When the bag was empty, she refilled it from the cold water
tap and repeated the same routine.
     "Girl, you better pray you didn't catch a kid off'n him.
Lousy good for nutthin' sona bitch he is."
     "Maw, Joe's a nice guy.  I think I could fall in love with
him."
     "You might fall for him, but I can tell you that if'n you
got pregnant he won't fall for you.  He's like all other young
men.  He wanted a screw and you sold it to him for $15 bucks!!"
     By this time Rita was crying her eyes out, she was so
humiliated.
     Emily told her to go to bed, that they'd discuss this
further in the morning.
     Rita went to her room and to bed but couldn't sleep.  She
lay in her bad and thought about how wonderful Joe made her feel
and how wonderful his body felt to her.  When the sun came up an
hour later, her emotions finally gave in to sleep.
     * * * * *
     About that time Rita's parents got out of bed.  Emily went
to the kitchen to make coffee and fix a lunch pail while Henry,
her father, dressed to go work.  He had to load his truck, then
drive the big semi 300 miles to the west end of Texas where he'd
spend the night, then deadhead to Lubbock, take on a new load of
freight and maybe have a full truck to return to Williamsport.
It didn't make any difference to him.  They paid him by an
hour/mileage contract.  They were expected to average so many
miles per hour, had an allotted time to unload their truck, then
reload and drive back to their base.
     Henry came to the kitchen just as the coffee finished
perking.  Fishing a cracked mug out of the cabinet, he turned and
asked his wife, "What time did Rita drag herself in?"
     "It was a little after four.  I went to sleep in the living
room so I'd be sure to hear her."
     "What excuse did she have?  She's never stayed out after
work before."
     "This young fella' gave her a big tip, then took her out to
the lake and screwed their brains out.  She doesn't think he wore
any protection and swears she didn't know he was supposed to."
     "Our little girl grew up in one night."
     "That's not the worst of it.  She's in the middle, between
periods.  She could be pregnant.  I made her douche twice and
sent her to bed."
     "She wouldn't be the first girl to get pregnant that way.
It happened to us, but not on the first date."
     Emily started crying.  "But I hoped for more for her.  She's
always been such a good girl, never caused any trouble, got
decent grades in school.  I just hoped she'd be able get a good
job, maybe leave Williamsport and go to Dallas or Austin and make
something out of herself.
     "I should have talked to her, but I don't think I know much
more than she does."
     Henry asked, "Do you think you need to take her to the
doctor?"
     "He can't do any more for her than I already did.  No use
payin' him for a call."
     "Guess you are right.  We'll just have to wait and see."
     "Henry, it's almost 6:30.  Let me put on a robe and I'll
take you to the terminal."
     The two-mile drive to the edge of town passed in silence.
Henry parked close to the office, picked up his lunch pail, then
got out of the car and gave his wife a peck on the cheek.  "I
should be back in town about 6 tomorrow evening.  If I can't get
a ride home, I'll call when I get in, okay?"
     "Fine.  I'll hold supper for you.  Drive carefully."
     Emily returned home and went back to bed to see if she could
recover some of her lost sleep.
     * * * * *
     Joe returned to the drive-in that evening by himself, hoping
that Rita would be willing to go out with him again.  Rita
avoided his car and got one of the other carhops, Carol, to take
his order.  Joe tried to pin Carol down and told her he wanted to
talk to Rita.
     "Hon, this guy over there - Joe - wants to talk to you and
won't take no for an answer.  He's buggin' me.  Go talk to him."
     Rita got big tears in her eyes.  Carol remembered that Joe
had waited for Rita to get off work the night before and they had
left together in his car.
     "Didn't ya'll go out last night after you got off?" Carol
asked.
     "Yes."
     "What happened?  He seems like a nice guy and he's so
handsome."
     "Oh, Carol, he made me feel so good.  I know I shouldn't
have, but I let him have his way.  It was just like the stories
I've been reading."
     Carol knew exactly what had happened and knew she couldn't
let Rita just walk away from Joe and send him on his way.  What
girl would do that to someone as nice as he seemed to be?
     "Go talk to him, hon. at a time like this, you can't turn
him away.  He's a nice guy and you don't want to lose him."
     So Rita walked over to Joe's car.  He was happy to see her
and asked if she could go out after she got off.  She told him
that they were open to midnight again and she would be off as
soon as they cleaned up.
     Joe drove away and was back a little after midnight.  Rita
got in the car with him and he said, "How about a bourbon and
Coke.  That's what I'm drinking."
     Rita's answer was, "Joe, we have to talk about last night.
What we did was wrong... even if it wasn't the first date.  You
made me feel so good.  I'm confused.  Did you wear protection?"
She started crying.
     Joe reached across the seat and pulled her to him.  "Rita,
baby... we're good together.  You made me feel good and I made
you feel good.  How could it be wrong?"
     Rita cried harder.  "Because I might have gotten pregnant.
I didn't know that could happen the first time.  Maw waited up
until I got home.  She was mad because I didn't tell her that I
was going out.  Then she said she could smell sex and made me
tell her what happened last night.  I'm between periods and she
said I could get pregnant.  No body ever told me about stuff like
that."
     "Oh, Rita.  You didn't tell me that this wasn't a good time
to have sex.  I thought since you let me that it was okay and
nothing could happen."
     "Maw mixed up some stuff and made me douche with it.  She
told me she hoped it would clean me out, but I won't know for at
least two weeks."
     Joe was visibly shaken.  He said, "Rita I'm going to take
you home.  Tomorrow I'd like to pick you up and go out where we
can sit and talk.  I need to think about what you told me."  With
that he started the car and drove to Rita's house.  This time he
parked in front and asked for her phone number.  She scribbled it
on a piece of paper, handed it to him saying, "I hope I'll see
you tomorrow afternoon.  Good night."
     She started to open her door when Joe took her elbow in his
hand and asked, "No good night kiss?"  Rita leaned over and let
him kiss her on the cheek, then got out of the car.
     Joe watched her go in the house, and then drove back to the
motel.  He didn't call her the next afternoon.
     * * * * *
     Sure enough Rita missed her period.  She hoped she was just
late, but both she and her mother knew better.
     Joe didn't go back to the drive-in and although Rita knew
where he was staying, she didn't try to contact him, either.
     Six weeks later Rita, her mother and father sat down to talk
about what was going to happen.  In 1965 girls who got pregnant
out of wedlock "disappeared" in polite society.  Although the
Supreme Court had ruled that abortions were legal the previous
year, it was still a chancy procedure, even under sterile
conditions - and it was expensive.  If her parents had relatives
who would take her in during her last three or four months, she
could have "gone away to help take care of an ailing aunt."  But
this option didn't exist for Rita, either.
     It was decided that Henry would contact Joe to see if they
could talk about Rita's pregnancy.  Joe was still working for the
construction company and living at the motel.
     So, that evening Henry went to the motel office and asked
what room Joe was staying in.  He realized at that point that
none of their family even knew what Joe's last name was.  Henry
mentioned that he was called "Jolly Joe" and the owner told him
he was in room 24, at the end of the court.
     Henry knocked on the door.  Joe opened it and although they
had never seen each other before, he know the man was Rita's
father.  Henry Richards introduced himself and told Joe he needed
to talk to him.  Joe was hesitant, but knew what was to be
discussed.
     "Rita's pregnant, right?"
     "Yes, she is.  It only takes once if it's the right time."
     "I know it won't do any good for me to apologize.  I really
like her but I don't think I could marry her."
     Henry saw red.  "You mean you liked a good fuck, but are
dodging the responsibility that fuck has caused you?!"
     "Something like that."
     "How old are you?"
     "I'll be 21 in another six weeks."
     "I want you to come to the house with me right now and we'll
see if we can work this out.  Okay?"
     Henry got in his car and Joe followed in his, parking on the
street in front of the Richards' house.
     Emily was looking out the window and saw Henry and Joe
heading up the steps and hollered to Rita, "Your Pa's home and
he's got that fellow with him."
     Rita came out of her room at the time they walked through
the front door.  She was glad to see Joe and rushed across the
room, wrapping her arms around him.  She expected him to do
likewise but he just stood there, as stiff as a statue.
     "Joe, where have you been?  I've missed you."
     "Sorry, Rita, they've been keeping us busy at the power
plant.  We have a lot of work to accomplish while the weather is
good."
     While it was not a pleasant meeting, everyone was wary of
the others and what the intentions were, they did find out that
Joe's last name was Sullivan and that he was from Abilene, Texas
and had worked for this construction crew since he'd graduated
from high school two years before.  His father was in the Air
Force and stationed at Dyess Air Force Base on the outskirts of
Abilene.
     They made small talk about when the baby was due.  Joe was
quiet during the visit and said very little.  Finally he stood
up, saying, "I've got to think about this and I'll get back with
you tomorrow evening."
     Henry and Rita walked him to the door.  Joe didn't offer
Rita a hug or even shake hands with Henry; he walked out the
door, got in his car and drove down the street.
     Emily said, "That's the last we've seen of him."
     * * * * *
     The next morning Joe packed his few belongings in his car,
drove out to the construction site and told his foreman that he
had a family emergency and had to leave town immediately.  His
final paycheck was to be mailed to him at his parent's home in
Abilene.
     * * * * *
     Rita stayed in Williamsport.  The family who owned the drive-
in felt sorry for her.  They owned another restaurant in town and
when it became obvious that Rita was pregnant and starting to
show, she was offered a job waiting tables at the other place, a
bar and grill.  There was no gossip about Rita being pregnant.
It was just something that happened to girls "from that side of
town" and that was that.
     The baby was born on March 14th of the following year, 1966.
Rita wanted to name him for Joe, but her parents wouldn't hear of
it.  Emily's father was named Dale and it was suggested that the
baby be named after him.  So as a compromise, the baby was named
Dale Joseph Richards.
     * * * * *
     When Dale was 13 years old, a man knocked on the door one
Sunday afternoon in the spring.  Henry answered the door and
immediately recognized Joe Sullivan.  He was a little heavier but
still had his rugged good looks.  Henry invited him in and Joe
asked to see his son.  He had a friend on the construction crew
who had let him know about Dale's birth.
     Dale was in his bedroom in the basement doing his homework.
The boy was a good student, good looking and popular with the
kids in his class.  He was a good athlete and even at 13 years
old he excelled in whatever sport he played.
     Henry went to the basement door and called Dale to come
upstairs.  When Dale got to the top of the stairs he recognized
the man whom he resembled.  Henry introduced the two, and then
said that he was going downtown to look for Rita and Emily.  They
had gone to play bingo and Henry wasn't sure where it was.  He
promised Dale and Joe he would bring them back.
     After he left, there was an awkward silence.  Finally Joe
told Dale about his job and where he had been over the last 13
years.  He had joined the Navy after leaving Williamsport,
serving for 8 years, including a tour in Vietnam.  Since that
time he had been working for a construction company in Galveston.
     He wanted to know about Dale, what his interests were and
about athletics and school.  Finally after an hour, Joe told Dale
that he couldn't stay any longer and had to leave in order to get
back to Galveston, as he had to work the next day.
     As he started out the door, he gave Dale an envelope with a
letter and little book, telling him that he was sorry he hadn't
been able to be there for him.  The money was to be used for him
to go to college.  The passbook was for a savings account in
Galveston.  Joe gave Dale a hug and told him that he hoped he
would see him again soon.
     When Henry finally located Emily and Rita and they returned
to the house, Joe was already gone.  They realized that they had
no address and didn't know where he worked, except for a
construction company in Galveston.
     Rita opened the envelope and read the letter.  It said that
Joe was sorry that he hadn't been able to be around to see Dale
grow up, nor had he sent money, as he should have.  However, it
wasn't too late to help with money for Dale to go to college if
he wanted.  The passbook was for a savings account that Joe had
started 10 years ago and had added $100 to it each month.  The
account had been closed out and there was a bank draft made out
to Rita and Dale for over $15,000.
     * * * * *
     That was the last time they heard from Joe Sullivan.  Henry
and Emily died within a few months of each other when Dale was
15.  Rita inherited the small house that all had lived in, along
with a pile of unpaid medical bills for both of them.
     Rita's health was not good; it was found that she had a
brain tumor, which caused her problems with her balance, then the
loss of the use of her legs.  She finally succumbed to death
shortly before Dale finished Junior College.  He used the last of
his college money to pay for care for his mother.

* * * * *
Author's Note:  This is my first attempt at gay fiction, and the
only way I can learn whether or not I should continue is from my
readers' feedback.  I would appreciate your comments, criticism,
suggestions, and anything else that you would care to say.  All
Email will be answered.  If you wish to receive e-mail
notification of subsequent postings, please let me know by
sending your request to the e-mail address below.  Contact me at:
tulsadriller7@aol.com

Thanks for the overwhelming response to Chapters 1 and 2.  I
received positive replies from all over the world.  My special
thanks to RW, whom I've known for many years and value his
suggestions.  Also for the proofreading help of Paul Daventon,
author of  "Turning the Page" found in the "Adult-Friends"
section of Nifty.  Please read it.