My Bodyguard chapter 4
A very special thanks to Ed for editing this chapter
This is a story of love, trust, hope, and commitment. It is not a sex story. However, this story deals with love between two teenagers. If you are offended by stories involving love between two teenagers, please do not read this story. There will be some sex scenes in this story; however, sex is not the main theme. If you are under age 18 or 21 or it is illegal to read this story where you live, don't read it
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This chapter switches back to Mike's point of view.
I woke up Wednesday morning and looked at my clock. It read 7 o'clock. Wow, I must have been asleep 11 hours. My bladder felt like it was going to burst. I ran into the bathroom and let loose as fast as I could. I looked at my face and I could still see out of my right eye, but just barely. I took a shower and did everything else I needed to do.
Feeling refreshed, I went downstairs to get some breakfast. There was a note from my mom. It said that she had gone to my school to pick up my homework and lessons. And that I should make myself some breakfast. After eating cold cereal and orange juice, I went into the living room to watch some TV. Nothing was on (daytime TV sucks) so I watched the history channel. I thought as long as I was bored, I could at least learn something.
Mom got home about 30 minutes later and had me do my schoolwork.
Mom was acting really weird. I could not quite put my finger on it at first, but she was acting normal. As a matter of fact, she was acting just like she would any other day. It was starting to freak me out. All I went through yesterday and Mom is not acting any different??? Finally I couldn't take it any more.
"Mom, you are freaking me out," I exclaimed.
"What do you mean, Mike, freaking you out?" she inquired.
"What I mean, Mom, is everything. Everything I went through yesterday and I have had no reaction from you. I mean Dad had that talk with me last night and that was great. But you haven't really said anything or treated me any differently."
"What would you have me say, how do you want me to treat you?" she inquired.
"Something, anything, but nothing only freaks me out," I exclaimed.
"Well, Mike, I guess I should come clean. I guess I need to explain to you why I have not or will not treat you any differently," she explained.
"When you were 13, I got a call from the city librarian."
She said, "Your son has a filthy mind and is reading inappropriate material."
"I saw red." I practically screamed, "Unless you want to be sued for slander, you better not ever say anything like that about my son again, and furthermore, I will be the judge of what is appropriate material for my son to read. I will be there in five minutes," and I slammed down the phone.
"Anyway, by the time I got to the library I had calmed down. I asked the librarian for a list of what you had read. I instructed her that you can check out any book you wanted, but as soon as you return it, I wanted her to put it aside for me to check out. Over the last three years I have read every book you have checked out of the library."
"You see, when I was dating your father, he told me all about his sexual history. I didn't have a problem with that then, and I don't have a problem with that now. I wanted to be able to understand my son as I understand my husband. That way, if you need someone to talk to, I truly understand you. I love who you are, Mike, not what you are or, why you are."
"When you got your computer I made sure I continued to monitor what sites you went to. Every site you've gone to online I also went to. Every story you ever read I read also. Some of the stories I really liked. I really liked 'Flip', and 'Mile High', and 'Son of a Preacher Man', and 'You Pass This Way But Once'; 'A Tragic Love', I cried for half an hour. And then there was 'Holiday', long story but very well written. And 'Bleeding Hearts', but it took the author six months to tell us who the killer was. And 'New Life' is a good story. 'Tad's Story', and the story about Kenny broke my heart. And I really like that story 'New Kid in School'; Wilson reminds me of you when you were young. Do you think that Tyler and Ariel will ever get together?"
By first reaction was denial. I couldn't believe she did that to me. My second reaction, I was mortified. And then I was angry. Then I went into shock. Then I went back into denial again. Then I realized she must really love me to go to that extent to try to understand me.
She asked again, "Do you think Tyler and Ariel will ever get together?"
"Mom, I love you so much," I cried. Then I got up and hugged her and kissed her on the cheek.
"Mike, do you understand now why I have not treated you any differently? I have known all long. If you want my opinion of why you are the way you are, I think it is a combination of things. First of all, I think some of it is genetic, and I think some of it is environment. Regardless, you are what you are and I would not try to change you for anything. I only wanted to understand you better so I could be a friend, and a mother to you."
"Thanks, Mom, for trying to understand me. It is a little embarrassing, though. Not all the sites I went to are G-rated." I said, turning red.
"Don't worry, Mike, I did not go to any pornographic sites you may have visited. I do have enough respect for your privacy not to do that. Now I think you need to get back your schoolwork."
"Okay, Mom."
The rest of the day I was busy doing schoolwork. Dad came home a little early today and we had a quiet dinner. He informed me that he wanted me to get up early and go to work with him.
I like working in the grocery store. I worked there a couple afternoons a week, and on weekends. Last summer I worked full-time and earned enough to buy my Van. Now I work to pay insurance and gas. I know I have to get up early, so I watched some TV and went to bed early.
The next thing I knew, it was Thursday morning. Dad was banging on my door, telling me to get up. I looked at my clock and it said 5:15 a.m. I sighed. I got out of bed, took a shower, and dressed for work. The weather report said it was going to be a nice day. It was going to get up to 65 degrees, sunny, and no wind. The weather changes day to day this time of year. I thought to myself, 'great day to go fishing.' I love fishing; I could fish every day. I went downstairs and Dad was waiting for me with a quick breakfast.
"Mike, why don't you drive your Van to work today. You'll be going home before I do. Okay?" he asked.
"That's fine, Dad," I responded.
I grabbed my jacket and headed out. It was not too cold out this morning, about 50 degrees. I would still need my jacket though, because I knew I would spend my first hour or so in the produce cooler with Dad. I'll be going through cases of lettuce and squeezing melons. Don't ever get my dad going on his produce cooler; you'll get about a two-hour lecture. Sure enough, as soon as I got to work, Dad had me to help him in the produce cooler.
We were in there about a half-hour, working, when Sam and this big kid I've never seen before came in the cooler. He looked to be about 6 ft. 8 or 9 and two hundred sixty pounds, all muscle. He had light brown hair and brown eyes.
"Greg, Mike, I'd like you to meet my nephew Mark," Sam explained.
He shook my dad's hand and they exchanged greetings. His voice sounded so perfect. He then turned to me and reached out his hand.
"Hi, I am Mark."
I reached out and grasped his hand and looked into his eyes. He had this warm caring look on his face and a soft smile. We weren't really shaking hands, we were kind of just holding hands. I got lost in his eyes; they were big and caring. Time seemed to stand still. I guessed that he was lost in my eyes too because we both were staring.
"Okay, break it up, you two," Sam exclaimed.
Our hands broke contact but I did not want to let go. I looked around and saw my dad and Sam with silly grins on their faces. I blushed. Mark was blushing too.
"Mike, here's 50 bucks. Why don't you and Mark go some place today and have a good time. Let your mom or me know where you are going, and what time you'll be back. Take a cell phone with you and call if you have any problems, or are going to be late. I want you home in time for dinner tonight. Sam and Norma (Sam's wife) are coming to dinner and I want you to be there. They are leaving the twins with a baby sitter," Dad explained.
Sam has two identical twin boys, John and James. They are ten years old.
"Yes, Dad, no problem, I know the routine," I replied.
"Then off with you two," he said, slapping me on the butt as I ran out of the produce cooler.
Mark and I went out to my Van and got in. I started the Van and started driving toward home. Neither one of us was saying anything. I know I was shy and perhaps he was too. I finally decided to speak.
"Soooo, what you want to do today?" I inquired.
"I guess, whatever you want to do today. After all, you're driving and it's your 50 bucks."
"I was thinking earlier today it would be fun to go fishing. It's going to be a perfect day for it. I heard a fishing report yesterday that said the perch are running up at Cass City. It's only about one hour from here, and we could rent a boat, and pack a lunch. I think that would be fun. Do you like fishing, Mark?"
"Yes, I love fishing. My dad and I used to..."
Damn, I'd just got him talking and I must have hit a nerve. I will have to remember not to bring up his dad again. I had to think quickly, to get him talking again.
"Where do you live?" I asked.
"Linden, about 20 miles south of Flint."
"I have lived here my whole life, matter of fact that's our house. Mom should be up. I will introduce you to her."
"That would be great," he stated.
I just assumed Mark was a part of Dad's plan to protect me at school. I have only known him ten minutes and ever since that first hand shake, I've felt connected to him. I pulled into the driveway, shut off the engine, and pulled out my key. After I bought my Van, Dad had a mechanic friend of his go over it. It runs really well and I like having all the space but it sure is hard on gas. We went into the house and walked in the kitchen door. Mom was sitting down, drinking a cup of coffee.
"Hi, Mom, this is Mark. He is Sam's nephew."
"Hi, Mark, nice to meet you," she replied.
"Mom, Dad said we should go have fun today, and we're thinking of going perch fishing up at Cass City."
"That's fine. Make sure you take a cell phone with you and call if you're home later than 5. What were you planning on doing for lunch today?"
"I thought it would be nice to pack up a cooler with sandwiches and pop." (Up north, pop means carbonated soft drink whereas other parts of the country use soda or cokes to mean the same thing.)
"I'll tell you what, Mike, you get the cooler, fill it with ice and pop, and I will make some sandwiches and other stuff to go with it."
"Thanks, Mom, that would be great."
I asked Mark to come with me and we went out in the garage. I found the ice chest, opened the freezer, pulled out a couple bags of ice, busted up the cubes against the garage floor, and put the ice in the chest.
"What kind of pop do you like?" I inquired.
"I like root beer."
"Me too."
So I grabbed about eight root beers and put those in the chest. Then I had Mark help me gather up all the fishing gear. We needed four fishing poles, tackle box, live bait bucket, and a couple of stringers. We loaded all the fishing gear in my Van and brought the cooler back in the kitchen. Mom had everything ready to go. She had about six sandwiches, some potato salad, apples and oranges. She told us to have a fun day and we picked up the ice cooler and carried it out to the Van.
Even though Cass City was only one hour away, it was the longest I had ever driven before. I was really looking forward to the trip. I had been driving six months with my learner's permit and had Driver's Ed before that. I felt I was a good driver and there would be little traffic today.
Mark and I sat in silence. It was kind of an uncomfortable silence. I really didn't know what to say to break the ice. Finally, I decided to turn on the radio. It was tuned to a classic rock channel. I asked Mark if that kind of music was okay with him, and he said he listened to the same type of music. I explained that my mom and dad listened to that all the time and I learned to like it better than a lot of the new stuff. He said his mom listened to the same kind of music. We talked about what bands we liked and we liked the same bands. We liked 'Led Zeppelin', 'Boston', 'Styx', 'REO Speed Wagon', 'Ted Nugent', 'Black Sabbath', and many other bands. We both thought the 'Police' suck. The band 'Police' sings the same words over and over again. (For those of you who might be following the debate going on between Stan and Phil in 'One Big Happy Family' and 'Robbie and Phil', I thought I'd put my two cents in.)
That conversation seemed to break the ice between us. He told me how he liked martial arts, and boxing, lifting weights, and swimming. I told him how I like reading and working at my dad's store. He told me how he worked for his uncle last summer. Next thing we knew we were at Cass City.
We pulled into a bait shop and I bought 200 minnows and put them in the live bait bucket. I asked the clerk where the best spot was. He said the best results for perch was just off the breaker wall in about 25 feet of water. By the time we got to the boat rental, it was 10:00 and already 58 degrees. There was no wind, which is really important in a small boat on Saginaw Bay. For those of you who have never been to Michigan, the Saginaw Bay is off Lake Huron. You cannot see across Saginaw Bay to the other side. Lake Huron is about 300 miles long and over 30 miles wide. If you live in Texas, imagine a Lake from Dallas to Houston. If you live in California, a lake from L. A. to San Francisco. On the East Coast, a Lake from New York to Richmond VA. If there is a 20-MPH wind, waves can be five feet high. That eliminates the use of a small boat. Even with one or two-foot waves, it is almost impossible to feel when a perch is taking the bait, unless they swallow it.
We went to the boat rental and rented a boat for the day. The water was calm and the sun was bright. The boat we rented had a five horsepower motor on it. We loaded up the boat in about 10 minutes. We went to the spot the clerk told me about. I cut the engine and Mark dropped the anchor. We were wearing life preservers so it was difficult to move around. When perch fishing, you use what's called a perch rig. There is a lead weight on the bottom of your line and about a foot up from the lead weight is another line about a foot long, with hook. About a foot higher is another one-foot line with a hook. By law, you can use two poles. That means four hooks to bait. The live bait bucket has an inner bucket with holes in it. I tied the rope from the bait bucket to the boat and placed the inner bucket in the lake. We pulled minnows out of the bucket and baited our hooks. (I consider myself a Master Baiter, I have lots of practice.) hehehe
For the next hour and half or two hours we caught perch as fast as we could reel them in, re-bait our hooks, and get them on a stringer and our lines back in the water. There were times when we had two perch on the same pole at one time, or two strikes on both poles at the same time. We were very busy. After that it slowed down to nothing. We each had about 50 keepers. Seventy-five is the limit. Perch always travel in schools.
I needed to pee really bad but for some reason I was embarrassed to bring it up. Finally, Mark said something.
"Mike, I really need to take a leak."
"Me too," I replied. "But we have to be careful, or else one of us might fall in. You go up to the front of the boat and I will go to the back. We need to stand up carefully, and try not to rock the boat, and let loose."
We each grabbed the side of the boat and proceeded. When I got to the back he was at the front. We both stood up and I unzipped my pants and tried to go. Nothing was happening. I guess I was so nervous I was having shy bladder problems. I heard no sound from the front of the boat so I guess he was having the same problem. The longer I stood there, the harder it seemed to be to concentrate. Finally, I decided to speak up.
"Perhaps if we both whistle that might help," I said.
"Let's try it," he replied.
So we both started to whistle and within a few seconds he let loose and a few seconds later I did too. You talk about a wanted relief.
We sat back down after making our way to the center of the boat and the fish still were not biting. I suggested we have lunch. We had two sandwiches each and the potato salad and a couple apples and drank several pops.
Neither one of us had talked about the reason we were together today. I was really nervous. I figured as soon as he found out I was gay he would not want to be my friend, let alone help me. I finally got the courage to say something.
"Mark, did your uncle tell you why I got this black eye? You have not asked me about it and I was just wondering."
"Mike, no, my uncle did not tell me why you got that black eye. But he did tell me how. Like I said, I worked for my uncle last summer. He said that the local high school was having problems with students being bullied and threatened and forced to leave school. He tried to talk the school board and superintendent into allowing me to attend your school as a undercover police deputy. But they refused to pay for it. I was more than willing to do that. I could stay at my uncle's house and make some money, which would help my mom out.
"Yesterday my uncle called my mom. He told her that the father of the student forced to leave school by these bullies was willing to pay my salary. He said that I would receive a full-time salary. And that my main job would be to protect one student, you. In police work, why you are being intimidated, bullied, harassed, or beaten does not matter as long as you are not breaking the law."
My moment of truth was here. I knew the first day he went to my school he would find out that I'm gay. I felt it was better if he heard it from me.
"Mark, this isn't easy for me, but I think you need to hear it from me rather than someone else," I explained. "Mark, I am gay. That is why I got this black eye. My best friend Doug found out about me and told the whole school. I was beat up and told that if I returned to school I would keep getting beat up every day."
For about three minutes we both just sat there. Mark had no reaction or reply. Finally, he spoke up.
"Mike, how you know if you are gay?" he said very quietly.
"That's easy, Mark, if you look at girls and find them attractive, or see pictures of naked girls and become aroused, you are probably straight. However, if you look at boys and find them attractive, or look at pictures of naked boys and become aroused, you are probably gay. If you are attracted to and aroused by both girls and boys, you are probably bisexual. I say probably because it's important not to label someone. When it comes to sexuality, everyone's unique. Like I said, how you know if you are gay is easy. But why you are gay is a hard question to answer. I have spent years trying to figure that one out."
He was quiet for a few minutes and then he spoke again.
"Mike, I appreciate you being honest and up-front with me. And I'm going to be honest and up-front with you. And, I think... that... you're... cute. What label would you give me?"
I turned red and blushed like crazy.
"Mark, the only label I can think of is handsome."
It was his turn to blush and turn red. Suddenly my fishing pole started jerking up and down so I grabbed it and started reeling in a perch. Then Mark's Fishing pole jumped and for the next 45 minutes we were once again catching fish as fast as we could manage to do it. It was only 2:30. We had our limit and decided to go in. We got back to the dock, and we unloaded our fishing gear and dumped out the extra minnows. We took our fishing gear to the Van and then took all the food out of the ice chest. We poured out the excess water and put the stringers of perch in the cooler with the remaining ice. We put the ice chest in the van and headed down the highway.
On the way home we talked like we knew each other forever. We just seemed to click. Some might call it chemistry but it was as if I had just met my soul mate. In no time we were home, it seemed. We went in the kitchen door and I saw a note on the refrigerator. It was from my mom. She said that she was running an errand and should be back shortly.
I explained to Mark that, when we caught fish, we cleaned them on a card table in the backyard. Then I warned him unless he wants to see my mother mad, we better not make a mess anywhere near her kitchen.
So we set up the table in the backyard. We gutted, and scaled, and fileted for about 15 minutes when Mom came home.
"You guys are back early, and look at all this fish. Looks like we're having fish for dinner."
"Hi, Mom, we caught our limit so we came home. It could take us a couple of hours to clean all these fish."
"We can freeze whatever we don't eat."
"That sounds good, Mom, and no worry, we'll clean up our mess," I replied.
"I'm sure you will. Bring in the fish as you get it ready and I will cook it up for dinner. You know that Sam and Norma are coming over for dinner. I think fresh perch will be excellent. Well, I will leave you guys to it. It sure is a nice day today."
"Yes it is, Mom, we'll see you in a little bit."
"Have fun honey, nice seeing you again, Mark."
"Nice seeing you again too, Mrs. Stevens," Mark replied.
"Please, Mark, don't call me Mrs. Stevens, call me Amy," Mom instructed.
"Okay, Mrs. Amy," he exclaimed, giggling.
She ruffled his hair and smiled and turned and went into the house. We really didn't talk much, cleaning the fish. We did not want to cut a finger off. And it did take us a good two hours to clean a hundred and fifty perch. When we finally finished, we had a big old trash bag filled with fish guts, tails, and heads. Trash pickup is tomorrow, Friday, so we placed the bag at the front of the house, by the road. We then went inside to wash up for dinner. We reeked badly of fish. After quite a bit of scrubbing hands, arms, and washing our faces, we combed our hair, and went downstairs.
We were downstairs about two minutes when Dad, Sam, and Norma Brown came walking in. Mom had dinner on the table so we ate. If you like fish, there is not anything better than fresh perch, pan fried in butter. We all ate until we could not eat any more. Dad commented that the meal was worth at least $50.00. After dinner the ladies talked and us men went into Dad's study.
Dad and Sam talked for a few minutes about their day.
Then Dad turned to me and asked, "How did you two get along today?"
"We get along great," I replied.
"And how about you, Mark, did you get along with Michael okay?" Dad asked.
"Like Mike said, we got along great," he replied.
"I'm glad to hear that. It's up to you guys to decide where we go from here. You have to understand that you'll be spending more time together than I spend with my wife. I am going to let Sam take over this lecture. I know Mark has already heard this last night. But, hearing it again won't hurt you any. Sam."
"There is something you guys need to understand. People are not born to hate. They have to learn it somewhere. Somebody taught these kids to hate. If we eliminate those kids from the school, we still have not eliminated the hate. We don't know who is involved and we don't know who taught them to hate. Neither of you is a child any more. In the adult world, hate is often the motive for murder.
"That is why you need to watch each other's backs all the time. This could escalate outside of school. Instead of other kids threatening, intimidating, or conducting acts of violence toward you, adults could get involved. The bottom line is, if you're not careful, somebody might get killed. And that somebody might be you. If you get angry with each other, that is a distraction. The reverse is true also. If you are having too much fun together, that is a distraction. If you have a fight, that is a distraction. If you have a disagreement, that is a distraction. Neither one of you can afford to be distracted. You need to watch out for each other at all times.
"Mark, this is not the type of job you can just quit. If you quit, you could be putting your own life in danger. We have built a safety net and, should you leave, the net will no longer protect you. Mike, this is not the type of situation where you can just get someone else. You to have to be committed to each other. Even if we identify and deal with every member of this gang, the hate does not go away.
"But what we are really hoping for is that you will be good enough friends and care enough about each other that you won't allow yourself to be distracted. If you really like someone, you will do anything to keep them from harm. And not just because its your job. Once you make this commitment, there is no turning back for the next two years. Mark, you don't know all the details yet because they're not finalized, but your future depends on making this work.
"Of course, your education is also important.
"We feel it's best, Mark, that you live here with Mike. You can go home to visit your mother on weekends but we would like for you to take Mike with you. What I am saying is that you will basically be together 16 hours a day, seven days a week. And we just can't try it out for a while and see how it works. Once we start this, there is no turning back. If you guys need more time to get to know each other before we make a decision, that is fine. Mike, what do you say?" Sam questioned.
"I am willing at this time to make that kind of commitment," I replied.
"How about you, Mark?" Sam questioned.
"I am also willing to make that kind of commitment at this time," Mark replied.
"Well, it sounds like we have a deal," Sam remarked.
"Sounds to me like they must have had a really great day to make that big a commitment after only knowing each other for 12 hours," my dad remarked.
We talked, and we told them about our fishing trip. We did not tell them everything we talked about, though. We had a good time and about an hour later, Sam and his wife and Mark went home. Sam was saying something about having to pay the baby sitter extra if he was home late. I went up and got ready for bed after that.
After I was in bed and about ready to go to sleep, Dad did something he has not done in years. He knocked on my door and came in. He sat down on my bed next to me.
"So, Mike, how well did you and Mark really get along?" he asked.
"He said I was cute. And I said he was handsome."
"Have a good night, Son, and sweet dreams."
"Good night, Dad"