Date: Fri, 15 Oct 1999 22:09:29 -0400
From: Charlie <charlieje@mindspring.com>
Subject: Andy 7

			     VII The Hayfield

When Andy woke next morning Charlie was already awake, rummaging
around in his closet for a clean pair of shortalls. "Glad you're finally
awake!" he said cheerfully, "I'm so wet I gurgle when I fart. I need a
change real bad!"
"So why didn't you just take the wet diaper off?" Andy asked sleepily.
"I dunno, spoiled I guess."

Andy hopped out of bed and ran to the bathroom to relieve himself, then
back and lifted Charlie easily to the changing table. His breath caught in his
throat as he looked down at that cherub face looking back at him. There
were so many facets to this naked boy! And every one of them so precious
to Andy! True to his word, Andy handled and manipulated Charlie's
genitals and was relieved to find that the pain had subsided to a point that
could be considered normal. Maybe, he thought, whatever it was had run
its course and was gone. Maybe!

"Gotta stop doin' this," Andy remarked, "Folks will thing I'm playin' with
your... well you know."
"Please don't." Charlie answered. "It feels good to be touched and not
hurt."

Andy took advantage of the situation and gave the tiny testicles a real good
feel, looking for something unusual. He had heard about testicular self-
exam but had never received instruction. He reasoned, however, that he
knew what his own felt like, so if there was anything different about
Charlie's he would detect it. Satisfied that there was nothing obvious to the
touch, he continued powdering and diapering Charlie. "Put a night diaper
on, please?" Charlie said.
"But, they're so thick! How're you gonna walk?"
"I won't be walking that much anyway today, and neither will you. We're
gonna be spending the first part of the day getting the machinery ready,
then we'll be on the other side of the farm, and I don't wanna be having to
change every hour or so."

Gone was the little musician, tucked away in his closet along with his pants
and blazer. Gone was the little boy, although there was ample evidence -
the thick diaper - that he wasn't far. But once again the farmer, arranger,
task master, was back. Some time over the weekend, Charlie had arranged
for two of their more trusted hands to come early and do the milking and
other barn chores so that he and Andy could get right to work. "We gotta
put the mower on the Farmall first," he said, "Then I'm gonna take off to
start mowing so the hay will be dry for baling later today. I'm gonna leave
you here to grease up the baler, then you can hook on it with the John
Deere and tow it down to where I am. I'll tow the rake down with me so
it'll be there. Dad's already gone, but he said he'd be back at noon to get
you to write your test. I'm not gonna go unless you want me to."
"No," Andy replied, "That's ok, I think I'm ready."

As soon as they were dressed, the two went downstairs to a waiting
breakfast. It was still just past 5 am, but Karen was up and had their bacon
and eggs, toast and grits on the table. While they were eating, Charlie, not
wanting to waste a minute, explained to Andy what was in store for them.
He was excited, telling Andy that haying was probably the hardest work,
but still his favorite activity on the farm. He told how they had to remove
the cultivators from the tractors, then attach the mower to one; how to
grease up the baler and check oil, filters and tire pressures. When they left
the house Karen kissed Charlie and handed him two large bags: one with a
good lunch, the other several diaper changes. "Have a good day, you two."
she said, and then surprised Andy by hugging him warmly and... and... She
KISSED him! Andy's knees went weak. He couldn't remember ever being
kissed by a mother figure before!

After a quick trip to the barn to make sure all was under control, the boys
headed straight for the machine shed. There Charlie wasted no time getting
started, and by 7 am they had the cultivators off the Farmall and the mower
on, and Charlie had explained what he wanted Andy to do. "Just bring the
baler down the road when you're ready," he said, "You'll see me in the hay
field off to your right. I should be about half through mowing when you get
there. We'll have lunch before Dad gets there to pick you up." Then with a
wide grin, a flash of his perfect teeth, he jumped on the old tractor and was
gone.

Andy stood and looked at the big green machine in front of him. A week
ago he had hardly ever seen a farm tractor before, and now he was
expected to remove the cultivators, a very confusing jumble of springy-
looking things, linkages and levers. "No problem," Charlie had said, "Just
take out these bolts..." he pointed and motioned, "... let the hydraulics of
the tractor do the work - lower it to the ground by pushing this lever..."
and on it went. When Andy had protested Charlie had simply started with
his "Dad says..." line. This time it was "Dad says the only way you'll learn
what you can do is to try." And so here he was, city boy Andy, doing
things to the old tractor that many lifetime farm boys his age had never
done.

It was approaching noon when Andy, hay baler in tow, came down the
road looking for a hayfield that was half mowed. He wasn't sure if he'd
recognize it when he saw it, but there weren't that many little boys on big
red tractors, so how could he go wrong? Above the PUTT-PUTT-PUTT
of the old John Deere he really didn't expect to hear anything, but suddenly
there it was, above all the din of the old tractor:

     In the sweeeeeeet By and By...
     We shall meeeeet on the beau-tiful shore....
     In the sweeeeeeet by and byyyyy...
     We shall meet on that beau-ti-ful shooooorrrrre

Charlie was singing as he flew across the field, oblivious to all around him
except what he was doing. Andy looked over as he went around the
corner, and again he was shocked, while at the same time understanding
why there were no interruptions in Charlie's tan caused by the straps on his
shortalls. Charlie had unfastened the straps, allowing them to fall behind his
back, the bib of the shortalls in his lap. For all intents and purposes, he was
sitting on the tractor in his diaper!

Andy watched in fascination as Charlie mowed. When he came to a corner,
he watched for just the right moment, then jumped on the brakes, right
wheel brakes as Andy found out later, then twirled the steering wheel right
as hard as it would go. The tractor spun around in a 90 degree turn, then
Charlie twirled the wheel to the straight position, and the tractor continued
down the field. He had made a perfect 90 degree turn without stopping,
leaving a sharp right angle in the uncut grass! The amusing thing was,
Charlie's short legs could not really reach the brake pedals very well, which
required Charlie to partially stand, which allowed his shortalls to partially
fall, which exposed you-know-what for any and all to see. After the turn
had been made, he rearranged things for more comfort, but the shortalls
remained more off than on. And Charlie was pretty well oblivious to the
whole process.

Andy pulled the tractor into the field and shut it down. As Charlie came
around the corner he saw his friend and stood up to wave. When he did his
shortalls fell to his ankles. That had to be the cutest sight Andy had ever
seen: this gorgeous boy standing at the wheel of a tractor, wearing nothing
but a very thick diaper, waving to him. Andy had to shake his head to clear
it. Clear it of what? He didn't know. But he knew he would never tire of
that sight.

"Ready to go to work?" Charlie said cheerfully after he'd stopped the
tractor and jumped off. They were walking toward a large pine tree where
Charlie had put their lunch in the shade.
"Work at what? What do ya think I've been doing all morning?" Andy
demanded.
"Shoot," Charlie scoffed, "That ain't work, that's fun! Working around
that machinery is like rest time."
"Well then what do you call work?"
"We gotta finish mowing this field, then rake it and bale it. It's all gotta be
baled before we quit tonight 'cause it might be raining tomorrow."
"So? Can't we bale in the rain?"
"'Course not!" Charlie retorted as if any fool knew that, "Wet hay will rot,
or maybe even catch fire it gets so hot. An' even if we get away with it the
food value goes 'way down. That's another of my rules, that we gotta bale
anything we cut before we're done."
"Ok, what do I do?"
"First we eat lunch. By that time Dad'll be here to get you. After you get
back you can start raking while I finish mowing, and as soon as I get done
I'll hook on the baler and get started."

"Charlie?" Andy said as they sat and ate the lunch Karen had made, "I
gotta ask you something."
"Umphhhh?" Charlie responded, his mouth full of a large bite off an egg
salad sandwich, his favorite.
"I was just wondering... what do you do for fun?"
"Fun? Well, I farm a lot."
"I don't mean that. I mean... well, fun things."
"What kinda fun things?"
"You know, like basketball, football, that sorta thing. Like, boy things.
Recreation."

Charlie stopped eating and regarded his friend, his eyes roving up and
down. "Like I said, I farm. I can't imagine anything being any more fun.
There's always something new to do, always a new challenge, always
something to fix. I can't imagine anything being more fun than that. As for
playing ball, I think that's kinda a waste of time, especially when I do it. I
can't throw a ball to save my life, and the only thing I can hit with a bat is
myself."
"But I saw a basketball net in the yard. Who uses that?"
"Dad put that there for me a couple years ago. I've tried it a few times, but
I'm no good at it, and it's just not important to me to be able to put a ball
into a hoop."
"You make it sound awfully stupid." Andy laughed.
"I don't mean to. For me it is stupid; but if you like that sorta thing, I guess
it makes sense."

Now it was Andy's turn to regard Charlie as they sat and ate. Charlie had
spread a small blanket he'd retrieved from his diaper bag on the ground and
had Andy change him, and was now sitting in his shortalls, crotch still
unsnapped, acting as normally as if he'd been fully dressed. He was
painfully cute, Andy thought for the millionth time, and he knew it. He
wasn't conceited about it, but there was no doubt that he knew it and
enjoyed it. "But," he said finally, "Isn't there anything you do for... well...
just to get away from everything?"

Charlie grinned. "Yeah," he said, "I know where this conversation is going.
I've heard those things too. The shrinks say you gotta have a... a diversion
they call it. You gotta have something to take your mind off what you're
doing, even if you like it."
"Yeah, there's that. But it's also the exercise the doctors say we need."
"Exercise?" Charlie laughed. "You don't think I get enough exercise
workin' this old farm? Lugging hay bales, milking machines, buckets of
grain? Puttin' machines together and takin' them apart again?"
"But that's... that's work, Charlie."
"Same thing. I get lotsa exercise. As for the shrinks and their diversion, I
think they're nuts. If I was any happier I don't think I could stand it. I love
my life and everything about it. But I do like swimming, when I get the
chance, and fishing too. In fact after we get done tonight we should go
swimming, ok? There's a real great place right over there the other side of
those trees. It's an old spring fed quarry."
"That'd be great, Charlie, 'cept I don't have a bathing suit."

Charlie laughed heartily. "You mean you don't carry one around with ya all
the time?" he mocked. "Course you don't! Neither do I! You're on the
farm now, city boy. We always go naked. If Dad's here he'll go with us."
"He will? Naked?"
"Of course! He loves skinny dipping. He says it makes him feel like a boy
again."
"Don't you feel... er... funny, skinny dipping with your dad? I mean..."
"Andy, think about it! Half the people in my life have seen me naked! Most
of 'em have watched me being changed, or done it themselves. My dad has
changed me thousands of times! Why would I feel funny swimming with
him?"
"Yeah, I guess. I just never thought about it. I dunno if I could do it..."
"This time yesterday you didn't think you could take the cultivators off a
tractor, but you did."

"You guys loafing again!" Dennis called as he emerged from his car. The
boys had been so involved in conversation they didn't hear him drive up.
"We were just talkin'." Andy explained, "Charlie was using his simple logic
on me again, makin' things seem so obvious I feel stupid for not figuring it
out for myself."
"I hate when he does that!" Dennis chuckled, "And he does it all the time."
"Yeah, well..." Charlie answered defiantly, "Right now logic tells me it's
time for you to get Andy to take that test an' get back here 'cause we got
twelve acres to finish mowing and baling."
"Yes, sir!" Dennis laughed as he snapped to attention and saluted his son.
But he knew Charlie was right, so he and Andy left without further talk.

Andy sat in the passenger seat of the car, marveling at how easy Dennis
was to talk to, how easy it was to call him Dad. As they drove to the
examiner's office, they talked about all sorts of things. Dennis asked if he
was ready for the test, to which he replied "Should be a piece of cake.
Charlie is a natural teacher." Dennis just agreed and smiled. He was
obviously very proud of his son and made no secret of it.

"One thing I don't understand." Andy observed, "You only have one son. I
woulda thought you'd have a whole herd of kids."
"We wanted to," Dennis answered, "But we only had two, and additional
children just didn't come. If I'd had my druthers we'd have a dozen. But
there were only two: Charlie and Garth."
"Garth? Charlie has a brother?"
"Yes and no. We lost Garth about three years ago."
"He died?"
"Not exactly. Sometimes I think it would've been better for him if he had
died. He was completely the opposite of Charlie: short attention span,
learning disability, and behavior that would test the patience of God
himself."
But... what...?"
"He left home when he was twelve. He said he simply couldn't stand all
our rules. We were too strict, he said. So when Social Services got
involved and encouraged him to strike out on his own, he jumped at the
chance."

"Where is he now?" Andy asked.
"We really don't know. Last time we heard he was in Raleigh. He had been
in a group home, then several foster homes, but none of them seemed to fit
what he wanted in a home."
"Funny," Andy observed, "Charlie never mentioned him."
"Not really. Andy, if you knew the abuse Charlie took from Garth, you'd
be shocked. He was beaten physically; he was constantly teased about his
diapers, about how he was the 'little kid' who couldn't do anything right.
He was the worst little crybaby you can imagine."
"Charlie?"
"Oh yeah! Charlie was not the boy then that he is now. Garth was totally
out of control, and all his wrath, all his frustration, were centered on
Charlie. It was as if he knew how special Charlie was and he was
determined to destroy him. So now Charlie has pretty well blocked him out
of his mind. He admired his big brother so much, but all he ever got from
him was abuse."

They drove along in silence, then finally Dennis spoke again. "I still feel a
lot of guilt about Garth. I think, if only I'd done this or that, if only I'd..."
"Look, Dad," Andy broke in, "Uhhh sorry, I mean Dennis..."
"Dad'll do fine, if you're comfortable with it."
"I am, Dad. I don't know why, but I am very comfortable with it. But I
was gonna say, I've seen kids like that. We get 'em in the orphanage all the
time, and trust me, there's nothing you coulda done. I don't know how
they get that way, but I've seen a bunch of them and they're doomed.
That's where street people come from. They just can't seem to fit in
anywhere for very long."
"The professionals call it Sociopathic." Dennis commented.
"Yeah. They just can't seem to relate to anybody. But you have no need to
feel guilty, Charlie is proof of that. He is one incredible kid."
"Yeah," Dennis smiled, "He is, isn't he?"

Charlie was just finishing his mowing when he saw Dennis and Andy pull
off the road, Andy at the wheel. He knew what that meant: Andy had
passed his test. He breathed a sigh of relief as he steered the tractor toward
where the car was parked. "You passed!" he called as they got out of the
car.
"You ever have any doubts?" Andy called back, grinning.
"Nope, none! Congratulations anyway, dude. Man, you're awesome!" I'm
awesome? Andy thought to himself, "He thinks I'm awesome? The most
impressive kid on the face of the earth, and he thinks I'm awesome?"

"OK," Charlie the slave driver said as he fastened the straps of his shortalls
and hopped off the tractor, "Time to get this mower off here, then put the
rake on and get to raking. We're behind and we gotta hurry or we'll never
finish before dark."
"Relax, Charlie," Dennis said, "I'm here to help for the rest of the day, and
I'm taking tomorrow off too."
"Really?" Charlie grinned at him. "Cool! That means you can go swimming
with us tonight, right?"
"Charlie, we're not gonna finish till late. Maybe tomorrow night."

Charlie the little boy was back in a flash. He didn't whine or throw a
tantrum, but the look on his face said it all: dejected, ignored, hard working
kid whose parents didn't care a flip for him. But he didn't argue as Andy
had expected. "Well," he said listlessly, "I better get to raking."
"On second thought," Dennis said, "A swim sounds pretty good to me.
That ok with you Andy?"
"You mean it?" Charlie said excitedly, the enthusiasm returning to his face.
"Sounds great!" Andy heard himself saying. He was totally floored, being
included in what was evidently a very special father/son event. "Ok
Charlie," he added, "Tell me what to do and lets get done."
"Help me get this danged mower off, then Dad'll show you how to set the
baler up while I get the raking started. Soon as I get a few windrows done
it should be dry enough for baling and you can get started."

There was a lot more to baling hay than Andy had imagined. Charlie
explained as they went, showing him the square baler that they were using
now because they would be selling the hay and the small bales were easier
to handle. He pointed out the rows of huge round bales that they used
around the farm, how they were quicker and easier but were less desirable
for shipping. They, he explained, had been the first crop. Andy soon
learned to run the rake, so he finished raking the inside of the field while
Charlie began baling the outside. Meanwhile Dennis gathered three field
hands, another ancient Farmall tractor and two wagons, and began loading
the wagons so the bales could be moved to a concrete pad for storage. The
three worked as a well oiled machine all day and into the evening. It was
surprisingly hard work, Andy thought, sitting on a tractor and doing his
assigned task properly, but then he had the added burden of glancing at
Charlie every chance he got. Charlie had released the straps on his shortalls
again, and was wearing his straw hat that Andy found so charming. The
concentration was plainly visible on his face as he tried to push the machine
to the limit without overloading it.

It was almost 9 pm when they finally finished. The twelve acre field that
had been chest high with long grass was now reduced to stubble; it had had
been cut, raked, baled, and hauled to the storage pad and stacked. Dennis,
Andy and Charlie stood by the truck, surveying their handiwork. "That was
a heck of a day's work!" Dennis commented.
"Nuthin' to it," Charlie said, "Tomorrow we're gonna do twenty!" Before
anyone could comment, the CB radio in the truck crackled to life.

"Dennis, are you there?" came a female voice over the radio.
"Right here honey, How are ya?"
"I'm fine, but how are YOU? I was expecting you home hours ago."
"I'm here with the boys... we just finished up." THE BOYS! Andy thought.
DAMN that sounded good!
"So you'll be home in a few?" came the radio voice.
"Not for a little while yet. Us boys are going swimming in the quarry."
"Dennis, aren't you ever gonna grow up?"
"Hope not. I'll call when we're ready to leave."
"Ok dear. Are the boys all right?"
"They're fine. A little tired I think, but not too tired to try and beat the old
man into the pond."

Dennis' aspirations of being first into the water didn't have a chance.
Before he could put the CB mike back in its holder, Charlie was naked and
Andy wasn't far behind him. For the next hour they jumped and splashed,
swam and frolicked in the clear water of the old quarry. Andy, who had
considered himself a fair swimmer, discovered that Charlie and his dad
were no beginners either. All three, it seemed, were as much at home in the
water as they were on dry land. And all three thoroughly enjoyed being
with each other, especially Andy.

                *       *       *

If you wish to comment on this story, please send your comments to me at
charlieje@mindspring.com