Date: Sat, 11 Dec 1999 08:11:59 -0500
From: Charlie <charlieje@mindspring.com>
Subject: Andy Part 27

Guess it's time to get back to normal life again. This is our last day of our
vacation in Orlando Florida. We have had a wonderful week of sun and
fun doing the various theme parks, watching thousands of children having
the time of their lives, eating too much, and generally abusing our bodies
in the name of pleasure. But all good things must come to an end, so we
leave some time very early tomorrow morning for home. Of course being a
native Canadian I find the North Carolina winters pretty easy to take, but
this little taste of summer in December was still like a shot in the arm.

I have had my laptop with me and have been checking email, but aside
from that I haven't spent any time on the computer. I have just proofread
chapter 27 once more and I think it's ready to go, so here it is. I hope you
enjoy.

           XXVII Back Home in Carolina

By the time the big jet landed in Atlanta, Paul had learned and could sing a
few basic songs. Karen had tried to get the boys to sleep a few hours, but
they were just too excited. The other passengers didn't help much either.
When they heard the music coming from the upper lounge, there was a
constant audience listening, encouraging, making requests. Charlie was
totally involved with all the bells, whistles and gadgets the electronic
keyboard had to offer. Karen and Dennis did catch a few naps, and it was a
good thing because they only had two hours to get through Customs and
Immigration, then catch their connection to Wilmington.

Carlo had insisted on meeting them at Wilmington airport, saying that with
the additional two boys it would be tough to find a single taxi to take them
home, to say nothing of the cost. "And besides," he'd said to Dennis on
the phone, "I want to meet those two and tell them how fortunate they
are."

"WOW!" Christopher exclaimed as the big white limo slid to the curb and
stopped, "Is that your car Dad?"
"Not any time soon," Dennis chuckled. "I'm afraid it's gonna be pretty
crowded in our car till I can get a larger one. We'll probably have to get a
van. No, this is Signore Meoli's car."
"Signore Meoli is Dad's partner," Charlie said in Italian, "And our friend."
He grinned as he saw the look of surprise on Carlo's face. In Italian Carlo
exclaimed "My little songbird! You have learned Italian?"
"A little," Charlie said in English, "Paul and Christopher are gonna help us
all learn."

It was late and dark by the time they got to the farm, so the two newcomers
couldn't see much. But there was one thing... make that TWO things, that
Charlie didn't miss. They were only shapes in the dark, but he recognized
them instantly. "The new tractors!" he exclaimed, "They're here! Man,
they're even bigger than I thought!"
"Yeah," Andy agreed, "And wait'll you work one. They are really
somethin'! Actually I just realized Charlie that you never asked about
them. I thought you'd be givin' me the third degree about how they work,
how they handle, would they do the work..."
"Yeah," Charlie answered, "Guess I was kinda in choir mode, but now I'm
back in farmer mode, an' this time to stay."

All four boys inspected the new machines. They started one up and moved
it into the light where they could see better. They played with the
hydraulics, checked out the stereo, talked from one to the other on the CB.
All were suitably impressed with their new toys. "That's good," Dennis
said, "Because starting this week those tractors are gonna be putting in
some long days. We're putting in 200 acres of sweet potatoes and 250 or
so of peanuts. So there'll be no more lying around in Italy singing once in
a while."

The highlight of the entire trip was bed time. The house had not been
prepared for two additional occupants so everyone had to double up. Much
to Andy's delight, his room was given to the newcomers considering that
he seldom used it anyway; that left him and Charlie sleeping together, for
the first time in more than a month!

"I've missed you so much!" Charlie said as his hands wandered all over
Andy's body, "And I want to do it all tonight!"
"But you had Paul to keep you warm, lil bro. Meanwhile I had nobody!"
"Jealous?" Charlie said with a grin, realizing that Andy was playing with
him.
"You bet I was! I got enough plans for you to keep you busy for the
foreseeable future. Any time ya spend with someone else cuts into those
plans."
"Well, I'm not with anybody else right now. I think you'll find Paul is a
worthy partner, but you better not like him better than me!" He gave that
part of Andy that he didn't have a squeeze to punctuate the warning.
"Not a chance, Charlie!" Andy grunted, "Now are you gonna show me if
everything still works, or are you just gonna lie there talking and
squeezing my nuts all night?"

Charlie didn't answer, at least in words. But it wasn't long before they
both knew that everything did indeed still work. "Ohhh man!" Charlie
exclaimed when they were resting, "That month without you was well
worth it. Man, that was so AWESOME!"
"Maybe we should wait another month before we do it again." Andy
suggested.
"Or maybe we should do it again right now just to make sure it wasn't a
fluke."
"Good idea! We wouldn't want to misjudge, would we?"
"I love you, Andy. I dunno what the future holds, but right now I can't
bear the thoughts of ever being without you."
"I love you too Charlie." Andy said as his hands went to work again.

"Andy?" Charlie said in his very best little boy voice.
"Yeah bud?"
"Would you... uhhh... would you do something for me?"
"Anything, Charlie. Anything! What d'ya want?"
"Well, it's kinda hard to put into words. But I've been almost raped twice
now, an' the part that scared me the most both times was that you
wouldn't be the first."
"Twice? I knew about Garth, but when was the second time?"
"In Italy. Yashi and Dimitri almost made it, but Paul showed up and
stopped them. But he did stop them. I guess it was then I realized I wasn't
afraid of it bein' done, only that it wasn't you doing it."
"You... you want me to rape you?"
"Not exactly. It wouldn't be rape if you did it. Please Andy?"
"Are you sure, Charlie? I don't want to hurt you."
"From all I've read it'll probably hurt a little at first, but I want to try.
Please?"

"Charlie!" Andy protested, "We don't have any lubricant of any kind..."
"We got saliva haven't we? I know I got lots to get you wet and slippery. I
know you'll be careful, an' I want you to! Unless you don't want to?"
"That... that's not a problem, Charlie. I've thought about it a few times but
I didn't know how you'd feel about it."
"Well now you do. Please Andy? Now? Please?"

                *       *       *

"Paul?" a very small voice whispered in Italian, "Are you asleep?"
"No, Christopher, I can't sleep."
"You homesick?"
"Not exactly. But it's all so different, here in America, on a big farm, a
room to ourselves. It must be really strange for you, never having been on
a farm before."
"Yeah, it is. Kinda scary in a way I guess, but I think I'm gonna like it."
"You will. Charlie's family is really nice."
"I guess they're our family now."
"Uh-huh. You wanna come over to my bed Christopher?"
"Uh-huh. Is it ok?"
"C'mon."

"Paul?"
"Yeah, Christopher?"
"How does it feel? I mean, we're gonna be brothers. What's that feel like
to you?"
"Christopher, we were kinda like brothers anyway, in the school and all."
"Yeah, but those other guys were our brothers too. But you were always
different. You never picked on me like they did. Why didn't ya, Paul?"
"Cause... 'cause it's not right, Christopher. It just isn't right. An' you were
a pretty kewl guy. You were just like me, different from the others. It
wasn't fair, what they did to you."
"It's okay really, but I'm glad you didn't tease me like that. I always liked
you, Paul. It's gonna be great, bein' your brother. Can I hug you?"
"Course ya can! You're my brother!"

"Paul? You asleep yet?"
"No, Christopher. But we gotta get some sleep. Charlie said he an' Andy
are gonna teach us how to drive the tractors in the morning."
"Operate! Not drive, OPERATE! Charlie said ya don't drive a tractor, you
OPERATE it! He said only city slickers drive tractors."
"You like Charlie, don't ya?"
"Course I do! He's my brother! And besides, he's a real kewl guy. So's
Andy."
"Well then let's get some sleep so we can learn to... OPERATE the
tractors in the morning."

Silence for ten minutes while Christopher snuggled close to Paul. Both
boys were totally happy, being close, embracing, loving. The dormitory,
the Italian school, the choir, were all a million light years away as they
snuggled together in their own bedroom.

"Paul?"
"What, Christopher?"
"What do ya suppose they're doing?"
"Who?"
"Andy and Charlie. They both seemed really pleased that they ended up
together and we ended up in Andy's room."
"I dunno, Christopher. But I can guess. They haven't been together alone
for over a month, remember."
"Do ya think they... you know?"
"I don't think, Christopher, I know! They do! And I suspect they're doing
it right now. Now, can we please get some sleep?"
"You mean you don't care that they're doin' it, right in the next room?"
'It's none of our business, Christopher."
"I guess not. But what we do is our business isn't it?"
"That's why I'm tryin' to get you to go to sleep."
"I think I could sleep a lot better if I... well... Paul..."

Paul was trying desperately to NOT know what Christopher was talking
about. He was trying with all his might to deny what was screaming inside
him. But the little boy in his arms was certainly not making it easy for him.
He had always, ever since the day he arrived at the school in Italy, admired
Christopher. He was tiny, way off limits for any sexual behavior, even for
the other boys! There was an understanding in the school; not a rule laid
down by Signore Guido, but a code of ethics enforced on the boys by the
boys themselves: there would be absolutely no sex of any kind with any
boy under ten, and no boy under twelve would be involved in any sexual
activity against his will. Everyone knew these laws, respected them, and
obeyed them.

"Christopher," Paul said in desperation, "You know the rules. You're only
eight years old!"
"Those were the rules at school. We're not in that school any more. We're
home, Paul. HOME! OUR home! The rules have all changed now. So
please... can we..."
"Christopher, I just don't know..."
"Tell me you don't want to and I'll go back to my bed and go to sleep. I
promise. All ya gotta do is say you don't want to."
"Christopher, I..."
"You can't, can ya? You can't say it! Can you?"
"No, lil brother, I can't."

Christopher's hands had not been idle during this exchange. What they
found and reported back to control central, Christopher's brain, confirmed
his suspicions. Not only did they discover a part of Paul that was more
then willing, they found no resistance to their explorations. "Christopher,"
Paul pleaded as his defenses waned, "You're only eight years old!"
"And you're only eleven." came the reply.
"Almost twelve. And the rules..."
"I'm almost nine. And those rules are 'way back in Italy. I love you, Paul."
"And... I... uhhhh... Christopher, I love you. I always have. I just don't
want to... you know, I don't wanna force anything..."
"You're not forcing me, Paul, I'm asking. But please, don't say no you
don't want me."

                *       *       *

The sound of the big diesel engine starting up woke Charlie at 6 next
morning. He had only had four or five hours sleep, but in spite of the fact
he'd been up for over 24 hours, he was wide awake and ready to go. He
jumped out of bed and flew to the window in time to see the big green
John Deere going down the driveway and out of sight. It was still too dark
to see who was on it, but he assumed it was his father. "Morning, dude!"
Andy said sleepily, "What're ya doing up so early?"
"Early?" Charlie replied, "It's after 6, Andy."
"But Dad said we could sleep in."
"We did! It's after 6!"
"Charlie, the chores are taken care of, we're not starting the planting right
away, there's no reason to get up so early."
"But someone just took one of the new tractors down the lane. Somethin'
must be goin' on."
"Plowing and harrowing, that's all. That's all we've done ever since you
left. We got almost 600 acres to plant this spring in all. That's a lot of
plowing."
"But who... who's on that tractor?"
"I dunno, Charlie. But I guess Dad'll tell us when he gets up, so why don't
you just come back to bed and give your big brother a hug?"

Charlie did go back to bed, but he couldn't settle down. Finally at seven
they both gave up and got dressed. There were no signs of life from the
other boys, so they quietly went downstairs to find their parents in the
kitchen. "Dad?" Charlie said.
"Morning, son!"
"But if you're here, who's on the tractor?"
"That's a bit of a surprise we had for you. You weren't supposed to wake
up so early. He'll be back for lunch."
"He? Who he?"
"That's the surprise."
"Dad, I hate it when you do that! What's goin' on?"

"Ok, Charlie, you win. You remember Wade? From your gospel group?"
"Course I do. He was too cool!"
"Well, things didn't work out for him in Myrtle Beach. He said his wife
left him when he discovered that he is still a farmer at heart too. So he
came back home after the Christmas show was done. But his farm was too
small to make it on its own, just like ours. So he's become my partner,
Charlie. He'll be working with us all the time now. I hope you don't mind,
it happened rather suddenly."
"Mind? Why would I mind? I love Wade!"
"But... there's something else.... I've kinda made him foreman. He has a
degree in agriculture, is doing a lot of work on crop rotation, soil analysis
on all that new land... I guess in many ways he's kinda taken your job. I
didn't want to hurt your feelings, but you've had far too much
responsibility for far too long. You need time to just be a kid, and this way
you'll have it."
"Oh. Well, that's ok. Now I'll have more time to work with Paul and
Christopher and help them learn to become farm kids. And havin' Wade
here will be neat."
"And now you can be a farm kid too, Charlie." Karen added as she put the
finishing touches to the boys' breakfast.
"You sure you want that?" Charlie said with a grin. Then without waiting
for an answer he said "C'mon, Andy, you been running that thing for three
weeks so you're elected to show me all the details how to run it."
"Breakfast first." Karen ordered, "So why don't you go get the other two
our of bed?"

After breakfast four boys literally flew out the door and climbed onto the
giant green machine. Charlie ended up in the driver's... er...
OPERATOR'S seat, which made sense to everyone present. "Man!" he
exclaimed as the powerful diesel engine came to life. He lifted the front
end loader, then lowered it again. He flipped a lever and raised and
lowered the plow. "Six furrows!" he exclaimed, "Can she pull it?"
"Doesn't even breathe hard." Andy answered, "I been saving that ten acre
lot across the road for you to check it out on."
"Cool!" Charlie exclaimed, "We can use it to show Paul and Christopher
how to plow." He made sure everyone was secure and holding on, then he
slipped the big tractor in gear and gently moved out of the yard.

By the end of the day, all four boys had had their hand at running the new
tractor as well as the old ones. Christopher adopted "Ole John" as his own.
Like Charlie had been, he was too short to manipulate the foot clutch on
the other tractors easily, but Ole John's hand clutch was made to order for
small boys who were willing but not up to the task in stature. "That's ok,"
Charlie told him, "Long as you remember to share him. Ole John and I go
back as long as I can remember."

                *       *       *

When Charlie's butt was invaded by the hypodermic needle that released a
low dose of testosterone into his body, the effect was almost instant. It was
as if his vocal cords, his libido, his sexuality and all the other turmoil that
we call puberty had been imprisoned, straining at the chains that held
them. The hormone coursing through his body dissolved those chains and
released the demons of adolescence. Charlie became irritable and moody;
he simply could not get enough to eat, and the more he ate the thinner he
got. He complained that he was walking around with a perpetual erection,
and that part of his body commenced growing with a new vigor. Pubic hair
began to appear. He started crying at almost everything. In a short time the
faint shadow of a mustache began to appear on his upper lip. He was really
beginning to wonder if he'd made the right decision when he suffered the
final blow: within a month, long before he had adequately prepared
himself, his voice cracked.

The entire family had got into the practice of singing and playing every
evening after supper. They all loved it and looked forward to it all day. But
then Charlie's voice went totally out of control so that he never knew
when he opened his mouth if it would emit the high pure tone of a child, a
low bass note to rival that of Wade's, or something in between. So Charlie
stopped singing. He still played the piano and worked at the guitar, but he
wouldn't, couldn't he said, try to sing.

Paul had also requested the hormone shots, but Dr. Lear answered that he
was a little too young. Because of Charlie and his problems, the doctor had
done some profiling. He studied average hormone levels of adolescent
boys and determined that the flow typically started at twelve years old. So
a compromise was reached: Paul would get his first shot, a very low dose,
the day he turned twelve.

Paul's twelfth birthday came in late April. A lot of everyone's attention
had been on the spring planting and on supporting Charlie during his
difficult time, but today was Paul's day. It was a Thursday, the busy spring
season was almost over, so Dennis had declared Friday a day off so they
could all stay up late Thursday night. It was certainly a memorable party
for Paul, reminiscent of the days before his family was massacred in front
of him. He got literally stacks of clothes which he sorely needed; a
computer with a color printer for doing his school work; but the most
special gift of all came from Charlie, and it was one Charlie hadn't even
planned.

"I didn't have any idea what to get ya, Paul." Charlie apologized, "I knew
you wanted those work boots and I guess you needed 'em, but I wanted to
get you something really cool."
"Maybe you can." Paul answered, "Do you think... would you mind
sleeping with Christopher tonight?"

The boys' bedrooms had been rearranged and new furniture bought so that
they were permanently housed two to a room: Andy and Charlie in one,
Paul and Christopher in the other. It had been their own idea to split up
that way, but tonight Paul seemed interested in collecting on a promise
he'd got from Charlie, subject to Andy's agreement, before they'd left
Italy. Charlie thought for a minute, felt a few pangs of envy, but said
nothing and agreed. So when they finally decided to go to bed at a little
after midnight, Paul's first stop was Karen's bedroom where he bared his
butt so she could inject him, then he knocked on Andy's and Charlie's
door. Charlie was in talking with Christopher as they had planned.

"Hey, birthday boy!" Andy greeted him cheerfully, "C'mon in! Charlie's
in your room talkin' to Christopher. Get your shot already?"
"Uh-huh. Andy...." Paul said tentatively as he closed the door behind him,
"Can I sleep in here tonight? Charlie said it was all right if you didn't
mind."
"Hey, no problem! Do you want to sleep in Charlie's bed, or..."
"Yours looks more comfortable."

"Andy?" Paul's voice said when they were settled with the light out,
"Have I made a mistake? I mean, it's not too late is it?"
"You mean the adoption? You wanna go back to Italy?"
"No, not that! Man, it's really great livin' here, having a family, and three
great brothers! No, I mean... well... the hormones. I'm kinda scared.
Charlie has been havin' a pretty rough time, and I would never tell him
this but his voice is a mess! I don't think I could stand to lose my singing
after I just learned how. I just don't think I could stand it!"
"Charlie's voice'll come back, even better'n before. It's just that while it's
changing it's hard to control. But I think already he's starting to get it
back. Yours will to, Paul. We guys all have to go through it, but it's not
too bad really."
"So you don't think I made a mistake startin' the shots?"
"Good heavens no, Paul! An' it might help you forget... well... all that's
happened to you. You'll like it, I promise. You can never replace what you
lost but you can come close, at least in how you look and how you sound.
An' if you never sing another note after tonight, everyone's still gonna
love you anyway. That's what Charlie was tryin' to say when he decided
that choir wasn't for him. We love to sing here, but it's not required to be
loved. There are no conditions on love here. Everyone just loves everyone
else 'cause we do."

"But Charlie... what it's doin' to him. He was always so cheerful, so sweet.
An' now we never know when something's gonna set him off. I always
wanted to be just like him and you. You were so happy, but Charlie's not
happy any more. If hormones do that to him I don't want them!"
"Charlie'll get over it, Paul. Everyone goes through that a little, some guys
seem to be bothered more than others. But he'll get over it. Tell ya what...
I gotta go tell Charlie something, then I'll come back. You stay right here,
ok? I'll be right back."

Andy tiptoed next door and tapped lightly on the door. When he opened it
he saw four bright eyes looking at him in the moonlight that was streaming
into the room. He noticed that their owners were in separate beds:
Christopher in his own and Charlie in Paul's. "Charlie," he whispered,
"Come here please? There's something I gotta tell ya."
"Can't it wait till morning?" Charlie answered grumpily, "It's late."
"Now, Charlie!"

"What's so important it couldn't wait?" Charlie asked when they were
seated on the front porch, clad only in their boxers.
"You, Charlie! We gotta talk about you and what you're goin' through."
"There's not much to talk about, Andy. I made a mistake, but I gotta live
with it. Dr. Lear said it's probably too late to stop it now and he doesn't
want me to try anyway, so I gotta live with it. If only I'd known..." Andy
noticed a tear glint in the moonlight.

"Charlie," he said as he wrapped his arms around him, "You're not the
first boy to ever have a tough time getting through puberty. Damn, bro, I
came so close to killing myself it scares me to think about it."
"You? But when you came here you were always so nice! You seemed so
happy. I never noticed..."
"If you think back, Charlie, when I first came here you were so happy
yourself you couldn't see unhappiness or trouble if it slapped you in the
face."
"I think it kinda did slap me in the face."
"Yes, it did. You had more trouble in one year than most kids ever have in
their whole lives. But you took it all and thumbed your nose at it. And now
you're letting a little thing like puberty get the best of you."
"But your voice.... you weren't singing, you didn't care..."
"This isn't about voices, Charlie, this is about being who you are. Your
voice will come back. I thought you knew that. But this isn't about that at
all. Your body is all confused. Maybe it's worse with you 'cause first you
had hormones, then you didn't, now you do again. I dunno if that's it or
you're just one of those kids who have a rough time. But you have to know
what you're doing."
"Doin' to whom? I dunno what you mean."

"Paul, Charlie. An' probably Christopher too. You got Paul terrified of
what he's gonna go through."
"Maybe that's good. Maybe he should consider the whole thing again. I
mean, I don't even feel like I'm me any more. I know I get bitchy and snap
at everybody but I can't seem to help it."
"You're still you, Charlie. You're still the great kid you always were. If
you'd let yourself, you'd still love cuddling with Mom, and I know she'd
like that. You're having a rough time, but you have to know that we all
still love you. You've gotta know that Mom and Dad haven't changed, and
you always relied on them before, and they never let you down. You say
some pretty hurtin' things sometimes but we let them slide 'cause we love
you. But Paul and Christopher, they don't have that kind of security. If you
recall they were pretty unsure of themselves before, and they need all the
encouragement they can get. They worship you, Charlie! Paul told me
tonight that he wanted to be just like you, or at least like how you used to
be. You gotta snap out of it, Charlie. You gotta do it for you, but you gotta
do it for them too."

"But what can I do?" Charlie asked, "I can't help the way I feel. It's like
everything is magnified. Mom says no I can't do this or that, and I feel like
she hates me an' won't let me do anything. I know better, but that's the
way I feel. Dad says that he wants me to go a little lighter on fertilizer, and
I feel like I can't do anything right any more."
"It'll pass, Charlie. But I got a few ideas what you can do. First off, when
you go back to bed, get in bed with Christopher. He needs to know you
still care about him. He's probably afraid to ask you 'cause you're so
irritable he doesn't want to upset you."
"But soon as I come close to him I'll have a big hard on! That's become a
real problem too."
"So what? You think he's never seen one before?"
"But he's only eight!"
"I didn't say you had to do anything, but on the other hand if he wants to
fool around a little I don't see the harm. I'd be very surprised if he and
Paul haven't done it already.

"The next thing you can do is, when we go upstairs, come into my room
and talk to Paul. Tell him you know that you've been pretty miserable, but
that doesn't mean that he will be. And tell him you understand that you'll
get over it soon as your body adjusts. Tell him that every man in the world
has gone through it and if they can do it so can you; and so can Paul. He
needs to hear that from you, lil bro!"
"But how... how do I know I won't be the same way again tomorrow?"
"You probably will be. I kinda hope that talkin' it out like this will help,
but it's not magic. This is just a rough time you gotta get through and you
have to ride it out. But don't shut us out. Mom and Dad understand and
they're tryin' so hard to be understanding. When you're in a good mood let
them know you hate those times when you hurt them. It'll help them to
help you. And let us love you, Charlie. Let yourself feel our love and quit
slamming the door shut in our faces. We're all still here, Charlie.

"Oh yeah, there's one more thing you can do. You can start singing again.
Your voice is gonna crack and groan, but laugh at it! We all wanna laugh
when your voice cracks, but we don't dare! But we're not laughing AT
you, we're laughing WITH you! There's nothing you can do about it, but
you can beat it, same as you've beaten everything else you've been
through. Charlie, if you only knew how hard it is for me to have this
conversation with you! You, the kid who can do anything, who takes
problems and attacks them, no matter what! I admire your strength so
much, but this seems totally beyond you. It's just not like you, Charlie!
Just think of all we've been through together in the short time I've been
here. And it's always been YOUR strength that's got us through! You,
Charlie! You can't let this beat ya! You gotta believe it'll pass. And you
gotta support Paul and Christopher. They need ya, Charlie. They know you
better than they know me, and the Charlie they're seeing now is not the
Charlie they met in Italy. It's confusing them."

By the time they made their way back upstairs, both Andy and Charlie had
shed a few tears. Charlie went in and spoke to Paul, then Christopher. He
told the little boy that he was so very fortunate that he didn't have to make
a decision to take hormones, that they were built in. He said, without
knowing if he was right or not, "Your body makes its own and has a built
in regulator. It should be easier for you. But even if it isn't, just remember
we're all here and we all love you. Now for heaven's sake get your butt
outa that bed and into mine! Please?"
"You... you want me to?"
"Uh-huh. Unless of course you don't want to."

"Thanks, Andy." Paul said after they'd all settled down again. "I don't
know what you said to Charlie, but he made me feel a lot better."
"Thank YOU!" Andy answered. "Here I thought you came here tonight
'cause you wanted to... well, fool around."
"I did, but I guess that other thing was on my mind."
"You DID? Past tense?"
"No, you idiot!" Paul giggled, "PRESENT tense! Do I have to make all the
moves here?"
"Uhhh no lil bro, ya don't. You did have to start the ball rolling but you
just did that. I just hope you're ready for a big time rolling ball."
"If it's as big as these two," Paul said as he explored, "Guess I'm in for a
bit of a time."
"You know it, lil brother!"

                *       *      *

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