My long-range forecast

My long-range forecast -- chapter 40

Greetings everyone. I hope the week has been good to you and that you're ready for a nice weekend.

I continue to rewrite and write more chapters of this story and I'm seeking any suggestions, constructive criticms or positive feedback you have about the story. Please send information to cjwilson328@aol.com. For those if you who have already reached out to me - my thanks! I'm working your ideas into future storylines.

CJ continues to recover from his trauma, and helps Aaron out by giving a eulogy at his father's memorial service.

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Wally and I made love and fell asleep in each other's arms. I heard my alarm and did not want to get up. I felt so safe in his arms. But I needed to keep to my word to everyone and not let Jasper Jeffers rule my life! I need to face the day, and put yesterday behind me as much as I can.

I made my way to the bathroom, and got myself ready for the day. I walked out to the kitchen and found Wally dressed in a tee shirt, shorts, tennis shoes and his Walter's Construction ball cap. I said "oh please, don't tell me that Jeffers scared you so much that you won't be naked for me in the mornings now?" He smiled and said "I'm fine babe. I'm going to follow you to the station every morning until he is apprehended." I looked at Wally and said "sweetheart, I appreciate it but you do not need to do this." He smiled and said "I know I don't need to do it; I'm insisting I do it my love. Alex will be at the station every afternoon at 12:30 to follow you back here." I said "you two are going overkill, and this is not necessary." Wally looked sternly at me and said "CJ it is necessary! Please, no more discussion. Alex and I will be doing this until he is back behind bars. You're being strong for us, and we will be strong for you, my love." I smiled and said "I have no choice in this do I?" He smiled right back at me and said "nope! The chief and I need to make sure our leader is safe. We'd both be lost without you CJ. This is a small thing we can do to make sure you're safe, so end of discussion!" I pulled my man in for a hug and gave him a big kiss. I said "I love you Anthony Walters and I promise no one will ever take me away from you. We have so much life in front of us that I want to enjoy with you." He smiled, poured us each a cup of coffee and said "come on babe, let's go to the parking lot. I'll follow you to the station. Once I see you go into the newsroom, I'll come back here and get some more sleep."

When we got to our parking lot, he said "wait just a second CJ, I want to give you something to carry in the jeep." He went to his truck bed, pulled out a crow bar and brought it to me. He said "put this someplace where you can reach it while driving. You don't need to clobber Jeffers in the head with it, but it will be effective in breaking an arm or leg if needed. I love you baby!" He leaned in and gave me a kiss and said "let's get you to work!"

The streets were quiet as usual. I admitted to myself that it felt good to have Wally following me. This is a good time to attack me alone if Jeffers is planning right. I pulled into the station lot, waved my badge at the sensor and the gate opened. Wally parked his truck on the street, and waited for me to go into the newsroom. Once I opened the door, I waved to him and he honked his horn at me. Angela was in the newsroom and said "hey there, I did not think I'd see you today. Are you sure you want to be here?" I smiled at Angela and said "that punk ass son of a bitch is not going to make me alter my life drastically. I need to be here Angela, to get myself back into a normal routine." She smiled and said "I understand, and feel the same way. Driving in I told myself we will find him, and send him to be with the bitch!" We both laughed and I said "that would serve her right, wouldn't it?" Angela gave me a fist bump and said "let me know when you're ready for stories CJ!"

The activity in the news room picked up after 3:00 am. Ross, Jennifer and Nick all came in as well. We expressed similar sentiments to each other and all vowed to look out for one another until Jeffers is caught. I got my weather segment started. The tropical storm I covered on Tuesday morning took a west turn and phased itself out over the Yucatan peninsula. The Gulf of Mexico was quiet, but there are a number of disturbances in the Caribbean which could easily move into the gulf and form into a hurricane. I had the weather segment created by 3:15 and told Angela I was ready for stories. She brought me eight, and said "let me know how you're doing in an hour with these and I'll help you out if needed. Do you mind doing a recap on the Jeffers story?" I smiled and said "no, I do not mind at all. Can I say he is the former lover of Vicki Lake?" She cracked up and said "no, he will sue us for that!"

I dove into my stories, and had six completed by 4:00. I looked over to Ross and said "how are you doing my friend?" He smiled back at me and said "I feel good getting back into the daily grind. Sheila wanted me to take today off, but somehow, I knew you were going to be here. I told myself if CJ can be in after the day from hell, I can go into work as well." I grinned at Ross and said "how many stories are you working on?" He replied "ten, how about you?" I said "I have eight this morning."

Ross and I wrapped up stories just after 4:30. I got myself another cup of coffee and relaxed for a while before the show started. Ross joined me with a cup of coffee and said "CJ, don't let yesterday scare you away from this industry." I smiled and said "I'm not Ross. What happened yesterday could have happened in any business environment. I am just the unfortunate victim. I will be glad once he is apprehended by the police though." Ross smiled and said "he will be my friend. Until that time, take care, stay safe and if I can do anything for you, please just reach out to me." I smiled and said "thanks Ross. I appreciate that, and I will take you up on the offer if I run into anything I need."

5:00 came around and the show began for us. It was as though nothing happened yesterday. I made it through the update story on Jeffers fine and overall, the first show went very well. We continued on with the remaining three shows and everything went very well for a Thursday morning.

The breakfast crowd for Cecilia's grew as Zach, Carl and Trevor joined the five of us from yesterday. It was a nice morning, so we decided to walk to Cecilia's. Once we entered, Cecilia gave us all a hug and said "the policeman told me what happened to all of you yesterday. Please know we are watching out for that evil man and will report any sightings of him to the police." I grabbed Cecilia's hands and said "thank you Cecilia. It was a tough morning yesterday, but we're not going to let that bad man stop us from enjoying breakfast with you in the morning!" She smiled and said "come one everyone, let me get you seated and take your orders."

Just as we were sitting down, I received a text from Bailey. He said "call me when you can, nothing urgent. My boy and I need to run two things by you!" I cracked up and texted back "at breakfast with the crew. Will call you after 9:00."

The conversation at the table did not stop. I was glad to see that everyone is taking the same attitude as me. It happened, it's serious, but we're not going to dwell on it! I was sitting next to Carl and he leaned into me and said "ready for several drinks at happy hour tomorrow?" I cracked up and said "yeah, 10 or 11 sound good to me!" We both chuckled and I said "are you and Trevor planning to go to Aaron's dads memorial service tomorrow?" He replied "yes, we will be there. We're both coming into the station first. I talked to Mark in Marketing and he informed me that all of his staff are showing up as well to show support for Aaron." I smiled and said "that's great. I know Aaron will appreciate all of the support from the station. Wally, Alex and Ronny will be there too." Angela was on my other side and said "will someone give me a ride? I don't know Aaron that well, but I still remember him giving me that free pizza ticket at the July 4th celebration as well as talking to him on your patio. CJ, you are right about their pizza! It is definitely the best pizza I've had in St Petersburg, and I'll be going back there when I'm hungry for a pizza. I want to show my support to Aaron as I understand he'll be starting at the station after Labor Day. I believe that Nick and Zach are planning to attend as well."

Once Angela finished speaking, it dawned on me that Josh was expecting to stay at Aaron's house to begin his internship the same day as Aaron. I wonder if that's what Bailey and Aaron want to talk to me about? I don't really want Josh staying in the condo complex, as he can see "too much" happening and report it back to Maddie. I said to myself "okay, I need to think this one out! UD will be coming back down with Jack. I'm sure that they will enjoy their time together, and may let some expressions of their love show to my circle. Wally and I will be living together by the time Josh starts. We need to find someplace for Josh to stay and quick! He's welcome to visit the condo, but I don't want him witnessing too much in case Maddie and him become an item."

Our breakfast came, and everyone enjoyed the continued conversation and the excellent breakfast cuisine. Once we finished up, everyone paid their bill, we left and walked back to the station. It was an enjoyable walk and nothing occurred on our way back. Slowly, I was putting yesterday's event behind me knowing full well I need to keep a constant watch out for Jeffers.

I went to the bathroom, grabbed a bottle of water and went to my office. I shut the door as I did not know what Aaron and Bailey wanted to discuss with me. I called Bailey's phone and he answered saying "hey there, let me put you on speaker." I said "hey Aaron, how are you doing?" Aaron replied "I'm good CJ. You looked spectacular as usual on the news and weather this morning." Bailey chimed in and said "I agree with Aaron, you looked damn good and once again you and Ross carried out stellar performances this morning." I smiled and said "thanks you two. Ross and I want to get that best morning team award for you Bailey." He chuckled and said "hey are you alone so that Aaron and I can talk to you?" I said "yes, I'm in my office and have the door closed." Bailey said "okay, great. We have a couple of items we need your help on this morning. Aaron's going to discuss the first one with you."

Aaron started in and said "I have one more favor to ask of you for the service tomorrow. I know you did not know my dad, but my aunt decided not to make any comments about him tomorrow after your second reading. Will you mind saying some comments after the readings about my dad? I know I'm putting you in a tough spot CJ, but I'm not up to speaking to the congregation tomorrow." I said "not a problem at all Aaron. Your dad's first name is Wayne, correct?" Aaron replied "yes CJ, that is correct. He loved his sports, he and I loved going fishing together, and as I have told you he did a fantastic job in raising me alone. He was taken from us too early, but as I told you I am relieved that he did not suffer like my mom did." Aaron continued on with some more information about his dad, and I said "I've got enough information to go on Aaron. It's my honor to speak about your dad tomorrow." Aaron broke up in tears and said "CJ, I wish you two would have met. You remind me so much of him. You both possess a can-do attitude no matter what is asked of you. I appreciate you so much and I'm glad to have you in my life!" I smiled and said "Thanks Aaron, I'm so happy to hear that from you. I feel very fortunate to have met you over the summer, and I'm happy you're in my life as well. Soon, we'll all be together at the condo complex and have wonderful adventures to look forward to."

Bailey spoke up and said "thanks CJ. I cannot tell you how much this means to Aaron and myself as well. It's been a tough week for Aaron, and we have grown much closer this week. I was afraid to do it myself as I want to keep up a good front for him this week." I said "Again, it's my honor to do this for both of you. Can I tell you both something?" Aaron spoke up and said "sure you can tell us anything CJ." I replied "you two looked so damn handsome behind the bar yesterday. I'm so happy that you're together, and I wish you nothing but happiness and true love in your future. I'm so glad that you're joining us in the complex and I want you both to know that you're part of a new family now who loves you both very much." Bailey said "thanks CJ. We both appreciate that, and we are looking forward to our future together with all of you involved in it."

I said "so, what's next on the discussion list because if you two don't bring up a subject, I will." Bailey said "well, we both forgot about this topic with everything that has happened this week. Aaron promised Josh a room to stay in as well as sharing the house with him and his father. Obviously, that dynamic has changed and I'm not sure I want Josh living with us in the condo." I smiled and said "this is the topic I wanted to discuss with both of you. It dawned on me at breakfast that Josh will be here in less than a month. I agree Bailey, I don't want Josh living in the condo complex either. He is welcome to visit us, but I do not want him witnessing all of the events that may go on. He's showing interest in my cousin Maddie, and I don't want anything getting back to her about my activities. I'll share more with you about UD later as he is aware of my relationship with Wally."

I continued on and said "Bailey, since this internship will be ongoing, is it possible for the station to get an apartment for interns to use? If it were closer to the station and has a younger vibe, it may be advantageous for all of us and the interns." Bailey responded "CJ, I like that idea! They have built all those nice complexes near the pier with plenty of parks, dining and social activities in the downtown area. It's within walking distance of the station and we can just rotate interns in and out of an apartment as you're suggesting." I said "yes, Bailey. By doing this also if an intern does not have a car, they won't really need one as everything will be so close to them. I'm not sure if the station will pick up the cost of the apartment, but it may be an additional perk for the interns to desire coming to channel 2." Bailey cracked up and said "once again my young Muskie stud, you have come through with an excellent suggestion which will help us out tremendously!"

Bailey continued on and said "I will call Mindy and get her working on prices today. I'll get a proposal in front of Paul next week on this. I think it can be sold very easily!" I said "perfect, I know Mindy will jump on this today once you ask her. She lives in that area, doesn't she?" Bailey said "yes, she loves the pier area and will get us the info we need very quickly." I responded and said "Aaron, this does not need to be done today or tomorrow, but I think you need to contact Josh soon about what is happening." Bailey spoke up and said "we'll both contact Josh over the weekend CJ. I may be able to get verbal permission from Paul to proceed over the weekend, and it can come across as a definite plan for Josh to put his mind at ease." I thought to myself "there goes daddy protecting his boy, saying we'll contact Josh. It's going to be so much fun watching the two of them together as they continue to grow in their relationship."

I said "anything else you two had for me this morning?" Bailey said "I think we're good now CJ! I'll give Mindy a call after we end this call, and get her moving on info we need. See Aaron, I told you to go to CJ first with any problems! He's the master of cranking out solutions for problems facing us! CJ, thanks so much, and we'll talk to you later."

I opened my office door up and began working on the noon weather segment. I decided to include some information on the Atlantic and Caribbean basins to keep the audience aware of the activity going on there. About 15 minutes later, I had a call come in from a local number I did not recognize. I pulled the business card from Detective Fullinger and saw it was his number on the incoming call. I answered and Darrell said "good morning CJ did I get you at a bad time?" I replied "no Darrell you caught me in between the morning and noon shows. What can I do for you this morning?" He said "First I was calling to see how you are doing today? I caught your morning shows, and you appear fine. I meant to compliment you yesterday, I have enjoyed your weather forecasts every morning since you started in June. I see now that Bailey is having you pull double duty in the morning?" I laughed and said "yes, that Bailey is piling the work on me! Actually, I'm enjoying all of the opportunities he is presenting to me, and I'm learning so much from him about the television industry."

Darrell continued on and said "my second reason for calling CJ is to inform you that Jeffers did perform another robbery at a residence last evening. The owners had cameras set up on the porch and throughout the house. He took a number of items as well as the victim's car. We've got everyone looking for the vehicle. Now that he is more mobile, we may have better luck tracking him. CJ, this is off the record but Jeffers is not the brightest criminal. I'm not sure he will even think about switching license plates on the car he stole. Bottom line, he's still in the area and active. Continue to keep a watch out for yourself, and we'll get him apprehended once he makes his next mistake." I replied "thank you for the update, Darrell. My friends are helping me out by following me on my way into and home from work. At first, I told them they were going overboard. However, I did appreciate knowing that I had someone behind me that I knew this morning on my drive in. Given the early hour that I come into the station, it could be a prime time for Jeffers to make a strike on me." Darrell said "that's an excellent plan that your friends are doing for you. I trust that your weekend activities will be in a group setting, or you will be with someone at all times?" I chuckled and said "yes Darrell, my friends have my weekend planned and are sticking to me like fly paper!" We both laughed on my comment.

Darrell finished the call and said "CJ, please continue to watch out for yourself. If I can be of any assistance, please let me know and I will keep you in the loop on updates with Jeffers activities." I said "Darrell, I appreciate this call tremendously and welcome further calls concerning his whereabouts and activity in the area. You have a good rest of the day Darrell."

I finished up my weather segment, and went into the newsroom to socialize with people. Trev was sitting at a desk and I said "hey there, what's up?" He smiled and said "I was wondering where you went to." I smiled and said "I had to make a few calls, so I shut my office door for awhile to get everything taken care of." He said "Alex, Carl and I are going to Mel's for dinner followed by karaoke. Ronny is joining us there after his news cast. Wally and you are more than welcome to come along if you want?" I said "thanks Trev, I'm going to pass and take it easy tonight. I'll let Wally know and maybe he will go with all of you." Trev said "how about happy hour tomorrow? Carl and I will win for all of us tonight, and we'll use the proceeds for another awesome Friday poolside happy hour!" I said "that sounds great. I know we all will need a good come down activity Friday afternoon. I'm sure that Aaron and Bailey will join us once they've wrapped up the service for Aaron's dad tomorrow morning."

Ross and I took our places on the set. He looked at me and said "one day down for us!" I told him the update I had received on Jeffers and Ross said "he's not going to last out there too long. The police are going to track him down soon CJ." The floor director gave us the countdown, and the noon newscast was off and running. I did fine on the weather segment, and the show was over before I knew it! Once we were off camera I said to Ross "I'm going to get out of here now and go relax! It's amazing how much energy I feel I lost from yesterday's events." He smiled at me and said "I feel the same way my friend. I'll follow you out the door, and we'll wrap up the week tomorrow."

Ross and I exited to the parking lot, and Alex was parked along the street waiting for me. He was outside of his vehicle and waved to me. I waved back and proceeded to the jeep. I pulled out of the parking lot, and Alex followed me. I cracked up and said to myself "how many friends are willing to do this for you CJ?" I kept looking in my rearview mirror and it was reassuring to see his vehicle trailing right behind me.

We pulled into the condo complex, exited our vehicles and I said "Alex, thank you very much for giving up your time to follow me home. I appreciate it very much and I feel reassured having you and Wally close by me on my morning and afternoon trips." He smiled and said "it's my pleasure friend. I know you'd be doing the same for me if needed. I've had a great morning CJ. Want to go up to the condo and see what I accomplished?" I said "sure my friend. Let me change clothes, and then I am all yours. You can even put me to work this afternoon as I need to release some energy!"

We entered the condo, and I went into the master suite to change. I returned to the kitchen and Alex said "ice water, ice tea or a beer?" I said "let me start with some ice water now." He filled two glasses for us and said "let's start on the patio first." We went out to the patio, and Alex had hung the pictures that Angela gave me for my birthday. The collage was six pictures, and it added so much to the wall in our television sitting area. I smiled and said "it's perfect Alex! Thank you so much. I love the two larger pictures in the middle with the 8x10's surrounding them." He said "you're welcome to switch any around." I said "nope, what you have done is excellent my friend. I like it as is, and it's a wonderful addition to the patio! We even have more room to put more pictures up should we want anymore."

Alex then turned on the television and put a music channel on. He said "go over to the pub and check out your speakers. I won't crank the sound, but you should be able to hear it from over there." I walked over to the pub and sure enough I heard the music very clearly. I yelled "crank it, Alex!" He did, and the music was extremely loud all over the patio. I went back to him and said "an excellent sound my friend. Thank you so much for mounting the speakers as well. We're all going to enjoy them." He smiled and said "yes, we will. Follow me to the office for your next surprise!"

We made our way to the office and Alex said "go open the closet door." I did, and he had put up the smaller closet organizer. I smiled and said "I thought these were due in tomorrow?" He said "they showed up today, so I decided to knock one out since it's a smaller unit. I like it as it can be used for business storage, and you still have true closet space for your guests." I checked out all of the drawers, shelves, cabinet doors and the hanging racks. I smiled, went over to Alex, gave him a hug and said "thank you so much. This is so nice, and it utilizes the space so well since the closet is smaller to begin with. I love it, Alex!" He smiled and said "great CJ! You want to help me install one in the sling room now? You can even throw me in the sling first and fuck my hole raw!" We both busted out a hearty laugh and I gave him another hug. I said "I'd love to help you out, and it's just what I need this afternoon to keep my mind focused on positive energy items! Lead the way boss, let's go get another one done!"

We went to Alex's workshop, obtained a smaller closet organizer unit and all of the tools we need to complete the job. Once we had everything loaded on the utility cart, we went to Wally's old place and put everything into the sling room. Alex and I moved all of his business supplies out of the closet, and began the installation tasks. Between the two of us, we had it done in under two hours. It was near 3:00 and he said "do you feel like tackling one more, or do you want to relax?" I said "let's get the third one done. This feels great to me knowing I'm helping you out with some of the work. I cannot thank you enough Alex for all you do for me." He smiled, laughed and said "the feeling is mutual CJ. Let's go get the other unit from the workshop. If we see Aaron and Bailey at the pool, we'll let them know what we're doing."

By 5:00 pm, we had the three organizers up and functional. We gave each other a hug and Alex said "thanks CJ, what a great afternoon we have had!" I replied "I know Alex. Everything looks wonderful, and we knocked off a big-ticket item prior to the weekend. We can tackle the larger closets over the weekend if you want to." He smiled and said "yeah. Maybe we can recruit help and get a whole lot of our items off that honey-do list this weekend."

Alex and I took cardboard to the recycling dispenser and returned the cart to his workshop. On our way back to the condo, Wally pulled into the parking lot followed by Aaron and Bailey. I smiled and said "hey everyone, it's good to see you all!" Wally came over to me, gave me a kiss and said "it's better to see you stud!" Alex said "Aaron and Bailey, I hope you don't mind but we went into your new place and installed one of the closet organizers today." Aaron smiled and said "we don't mind at all Alex. After all, it's still technically your place!" We all cracked up and Wally said "the organizers came in today?" Alex said "yes, I was surprised with an early delivery at 7:00 am today. I had some odd jobs to complete for other residents, but I was able to get the first one up this morning plus another two outstanding jobs at our place Wally. Once I got CJ back here this afternoon, he and I decided to tackle the other two units and I'm proud to say that all three condos now have a closet organizer in the offices and playroom!" Wally smiled and said "wow you two! That's great, I'm anxious to see them."

I turned to Aaron and Bailey and said "how was your afternoon?" Aaron smiled and said "it was very nice CJ. We went out for an early lunch and did some more shopping since we enjoyed our bar shopping yesterday. Alex, I hope you don't mind, but I went overboard today. I bought Bailey and I a new bedroom set, and found another set I liked for the second bedroom. I also found a patio dining table and chairs, a new wicker patio furniture set and a 55" television for the patio. We also lucked out on a new living room set that we both fell in love with. CJ, I hope you don't mind but Bailey and I want to keep the third bedroom as an office setting. We love the file cabinets and chair, and we bought the same desk you have as we both admire it very much." I smiled and said "that's no problem Aaron, I love that desk too!" Alex said "I do not mind at all Aaron! We'll find a place for the old furniture and I think it's great that you're putting your personal touches on your new residence. Wally, we can either donate all of the furniture to charity, or overload your warehouse with it?" Wally replied "let's just move anything to my warehouse Alex. You will see that everything can be used in the staging process. All of your furniture looks very nice, and it will come in handy for the business."

Aaron continued on and said "CJ, we got some good news from Mindy and Bailey received even better news from Paul." I looked at Bailey who was smiling and said "you did it again for me CJ! Mindy found a furnished two bedroom, two bath unit at her complex for under $1,500 a month. Since the internships are not paid, I received verbal approval from Paul to obtain a lease on the place. We have room for two interns now, if they need housing." I smiled, gave Bailey a high five and said "wonderful! This is going to work out well for everyone."

Alex said "Trevor, Carl, Ronny and I are going to Mel's for dinner and karaoke if any of you want to join us tonight?" Wally said "Alex, I'm beat as I've been working out in the sun all day. I'm going to pass and make it an early evening." I said "I'm going to join my man Alex and we'll pass on the karaoke tonight." Aaron said "Alex, I promise to join sometime, but tonight is not the best night for me. I'd like a quiet evening with Bailey if you don't mind?" Alex grinned and said "it's no problem my friends! Our circle is growing, and we all don't need to be present at each activity! Maybe the four of you can grab dinner someplace, and relax afterwards for a quiet evening." I smiled, gave Alex a hug and said "thanks big guy! I appreciate what you just said, and I look forward to you winning karaoke tonight and sponsoring a terriffic happy hour tomorrow."

As we were riding up the elevator, Bailey said "CJ and Wally are you interested in joining Aaron and I for dinner tonight?" Wally looked at me, nodded and I said "that sounds great Bailey! Let us get a shower, and we'll meet you around 6:00 at your place?" Bailey said "perfect guys, see you then!"

Before showering with Wally, I showed him the office closet. He smiled and said "this is fantastic. I have enough room in here for my business supplies, and we still have plenty of closet space for our guests. I'm so glad that Alex and I ordered these units for the smaller closets." I smiled and said "they look great babe. You know what looks even better though?" He smiled and said "you and me in the shower making passionate love?" I nodded my head yes and said "follow me stud!"

We finished our shower and went down to Aaron and Bailey's place to pick them up. Aaron answered the door and said "I love the closet organizer! Wally, come and check it out." Aaron and Bailey were very pleased with the organizer and Bailey said "I'm looking forward to getting the two larger closets done. Hell it looks so good, I may even help getting the other two assembled this weekend!"

We had a very nice dinner at The Beachcomber with Aaron and Bailey. I made a mental note to myself that Wally and I need to do "couple dinners" with every couple in the circle. It was so nice to converse with them at a smaller table overlooking the gulf. The food was delicious, the service was excellent and we were all relaxed. I informed everyone on the updates from Darrell and said "I'm confident that Jeffers will mess up and the police will get him. I just hope he does not hurt anyone when he does his big mistake." Bailey said "how does it sound if we go back to the complex, enjoy a nightcap and watch the sunset together?" Everyone thought that was an excellent idea, and we headed back to our place.

Our evening ended just after sunset. Aaron and Bailey went to their place and wished us a good night. Wally and I went into our bedroom, changed, brushed our teeth and got into bed. I kissed him and said "that was so nice tonight being with Aaron and Bailey. Don't get me wrong, I love it when our whole group is together. It's nice though to enjoy a dinner with another couple." Wally smiled, kissed me and said "I found it very enjoyable CJ. I like what Alex said tonight, and I think we need to split off more often to enjoy smaller groups. It was so nice for me to get to know Aaron and Bailey better. They're head over heels in love with each other, aren't they?" I nodded my head yes and said "I want to spend time with each of them individually, and find out their true feelings for each other." I gave Wally another kiss and said "good night my love". I snuggled into his arms more, and put my head onto his chest. I was asleep very soon after that.

Friday went by very quickly for me. The morning newscasts went well and my focus now shifted to completing the tasks I agreed to with Aaron for his dad's service. We filled up the news van, and five other vehicles with station associates attending the service. There were other station associates who showed up on their own as well. Wally and Alex met us all at the cathedral entrance. A number of Aaron's high school and college friends attended; the owner and entire staff of the pizza place attended to pay their respect to Aaron's dad. It turned out to be a larger service as a number of Wayne's friends, coworkers and neighbors also attended the service.

I performed the two readings that Aaron asked me to do. After the second reading, I stayed at the pulpit and started my eulogy of Wayne. I began with "It's an extreme honor for me to be with all of you today as we remember the life of Wayne Nesbitt. I did not get a chance to formally meet Wayne, but I've become a very close friend to his son Aaron. I feel like I have known Wayne for years through all of the stories that Aaron has shared with me."

I continued on and every time I looked at Aaron, he was smiling at me remembering his dad as I shared the story's he passed onto me. I ended the eulogy with several special comments for Aaron. I said "Aaron, this is a sad day for you and everyone here. But let's rejoice in Wayne's life and all of the special traits he has passed on to you. He and your mom are together at peace now, and smiling down on you with nothing but love and so much pride in knowing the man who you are today. I know your dad is so proud of you for your strong work ethic, your determination to finish putting yourself through college and your upcoming adventures of putting your college degree to good use. You'll never forget either of your parents, but remember we're all here today as your family in strength moving forward with you. On behalf of your new channel 2 family, we welcome you and know that we will be here for you in your good times and tough times ahead. May God be with you Aaron today and everyday ahead of you in your life."

I stepped down from the pulpit, and walked by Aaron to grab his hand. Instead, he stood up, broke down in tears and gave me a hug. He whispered in my ear "thank you my dear friend. I love you."

After the mass, we exited the cathedral and a procession of cars formed to attend the burial at the memorial gardens. Aaron had Bailey ride with him in the lead car. Alex came up to me and said "CJ, your eulogy was absolutely beautiful and so appropriate for today. I'm going to the store and will have an easy dinner fixed for all of us. We'll grill up some hamburgers, hot dogs and have some side dishes. I'll meet you at the station at 12:30 to follow you home. Wally and I are going out to the memorial gardens first." I smiled at Alex and said "thanks Alex, everything sounds very good. I'll see you later my dear friend." We hugged, and Wally gave me a hug as well saying "absolutely beautiful my love, you can be so proud of what you said for Aaron today. I'll see you later this afternoon."

A number of us headed back to the station to get the noon newscast moving. Once we got into the station, I went to the bathroom then shut myself in my office for a while to reflect. I'm so glad I was able to help Aaron out today, but it also was very hard to see him go through the event. I thought back to the day of my parent's funeral and remembered the one who stood by me through the whole service. UD - my rock, my savior and the one person I have always counted on being there for me in my life. I picked up my phone and pressed the UD shortcut. He answered the phone with a chipper voice and said "this is a pleasant surprise CJ. How are you doing, and is anything wrong?" I cracked up and said "hey, can't a nephew call his uncle on a Friday morning just to say hello and tell you that I love you very much?" UD said "I've been thinking about you today knowing today is Aarons dad's funeral. Were you able to attend son?" I said "Yes UD, I just returned to the station from the cathedral. Aaron had me perform two readings along with a eulogy. It was tough UD, as I never met the man. I did it for Aaron though, and I know he appreciated it very much." UD replied "you did a very nice thing for Aaron today, CJ. I know he will never forget what you did and you two will be good friends for life." I said "thanks UD, I needed to hear that. I just needed to reach out to you though and say thank you for all that you've done for me in life and I love you very much UD!" UD teared up and said with a shaky voice "I love you also CJ, thanks for calling me son. We'll talk Sunday."

I changed my weather slides for the noon show and loaded everything to the switcher. Angela checked my work and everything looked fine. I said to myself "you did a wonderful thing for your friend this morning CJ. Pick yourself up now, and finish off this week in a good way. Get out on that set and do a kick-ass show for yourself, Aaron, Bailey, your friends and your family."

The noon show went very good and Ross and I completed our tough week together. Once we were off camera he said "well my friend, the end of a long and weird week! I hope you can relax this weekend. You did a wonderful thing for Aaron this morning CJ. I was very proud of you given that you did not even formally know his father. As usual, you dazzled the crowd and that was one of the best eulogies I have heard. It was spoken from your heart and your past experiences. It had to be tough for you to do that." I smiled and said "thanks for acknowledging that, Ross. It was tough for me to do, but I made it through and I know it will help to make me a stronger person as a whole." He smiled at me and said "let's get out of here and enjoy our weekend!"

Ross and I exited the newsroom, and I saw my two body guards parked on the street. They both waved at me and I waved back to them. I had to crack up as they were both still in their black suits. If they each had a black fedora they might be mistaken for Jake and Elwood from The Blues Brothers! I walked up to the fence lot and said "Jake, Elwood how the hell are you today?" They both got a good laugh out of my comments and said "come on boss, let's get you home and start our weekend together!"

We navigated through the midday traffic and got to the condo complex. All three of us exited the vehicles and I said "Wally, are you going into work this afternoon?" He smiled and replied "I thought I'd spend the afternoon with you if you don't mind?" I grinned and said "that is wonderful my love! I can't think of a better way to spend a Friday afternoon." Just as we reached the elevator, the sky let loose with a heavy rain. We went up to the condo, changed and Alex said "what do you say we go get a keg of beer and supplies for dinner? Our karaoke table only won $100 last night. We switched partners and Trevor and I sang a classic from Simon and Garfunkel. Our groupies went nuts, and we were awarded with the duet prize." I smiled and said "was the song Mrs. Robinson or Bridge over troubled water?" Alex smiled, gave me his nervous giggle and said "neither! We sang the sound of silence. I am the king of Thursday karaoke!" Wally and I busted out in laughter at our chief, and he continued by saying "I told Aaron and Bailey that we'll be back before 2:30 and to plan on spending the afternoon and evening with us." I smiled at both of them and said "that sounds like a great plan chief! I think I need a quick shower though as I sweated my ass off on that pulpit today." My man smiled and said "do you need your back washed off?" I smiled, winked at him and said "what do you think stud?" Alex smiled and said "I need to get Ronny moved to a morning schedule so he and I can enjoy midday showers together!" I whispered into Wally's ear and he nodded his head yes to me. I went over to Alex and said "hey bud, do you want to shower with us this afternoon?" Alex began stripping his suit off in the living room, and beat Wally and I to our shower.

We all had a great shower together, and made each other feel very good. Alex had a shit-eating grin on his face for the rest of the day. The rain was still coming down very hard, but we loaded up into the jeep and got a pony keg of Amber Bock beer and all the supplies needed for an early dinner. We made it back to the condo before 2:15 pm. Aaron and Bailey joined us at 2:30, followed closely by Trev and Carl. I was surprised when Nick and Zach showed up. Nick said "I heard you tapped a fresh keg, mind if we crash the party?" I cracked up at them and said "get your asses in here and grab a glass! Make yourself at home guys." All we were missing now is Ronny, but he'll be here later.

It turned out to be a relaxing rainy afternoon on the patio. Aaron kept hugging all of us saying "thanks for being here today to support me". He was slowly beginning to come down from the day and to adjust back into our Friday routine. I smiled at him and said "get use to this Aaron. We've developed a Friday happy hour routine around here, and your part of it now! I'm going to tell Mark to get you off work every Friday afternoon by 2:00 pm." Bailey said "hell, he does not need Mark's permission. I'm scheduling him for a weekly 2:00 meeting to see how his internship is going!" Aaron winked at Bailey and mouthed "I love you" as he wasn't sure if Nick and Zach knew about Bailey.

The afternoon continued on and fun was being had by all. I turned on a music channel and the speakers did a very nice job at broadcasting the sound all over the patio. Several started up a dart game, and Aaron said "CJ, can we get a poker game going as well?" I said "sure, I don't have any chips yet but let's go for it, Aaron!" Wally broke out the humidor and several of the guys fired up a cigar while the rain continued to stream down from the sky.

The beer and liquor were flowing well and everyone enjoyed their afternoon. I looked around the patio and reflected on the past week and today. Even though it was a hard week to get through, I saw the love of my life, my friends and my new family all there supporting each other. I smiled and said to myself "you made it through the week CJ. Relax and enjoy this special time with everyone. Even though you feel down in the dumps for the week, things will get better and you're all going to make it through this tough time together. Sunny skies will return to you and your friends!"