Ring in Mine #3: Nephi and Jerome Chapter 45
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Chapter 45
Brock woke to a knock on his door. "Breakfast in 15 minutes. Out of bed sleepy head."
Brock pulled on his clothes. Where would he find breakfast? He needn't have worried. He stepped out of his room meeting Zeke. "Breakfast is this way, cousin Brock."
Brock thought it odd everyone stood around the table. Nephi rolled up to the head of the table. Brock watched the muscles in Nephi's arms ripple under the strain as he stood.
"I have postponed yesterday's puzzle long enough. This is the short version. Turning the other cheek refers to forgiveness. It doesn't mean letting people walk all over you, and it doesn't necessarily mean forget. Forgiveness requires letting go of hate and anger, working within the system rather than taking personal revenge." Nephi met each pair of eyes around the table. "Everyone welcome Jerome's cousin Brock. Micah, everyone is hungry will you bless the food."
Joining in the family circle for prayer seemed odd to Brock, but as he joined hands with a five-year-old and Zeke he felt part of something bigger than himself. He had the day to decide where he would spend the night. He wasn't sure he was up to another confrontation with Bella's boyfriend. Bella couldn't or wouldn't see anything wrong with the two-timing prick. Bella paid the bills and her boyfriend had another girl on the side.
Eve faced a different dilemma. How would she reconcile Nephi's expectations with her behavior at school? Was there a way to keep the growing unity among the downtrodden members of the student body without the common enemy of the privileged elite?
Acting on an anonymous parent's suggestion, the world history teacher switched the curriculum around. Eve knew an essay on the similarities between the current situation and the French Revolution was just around the corner. She was so sure of her premonition she had already started on an outline. She wasn't as confident about the identity of the parent, but it had Nephi written all over it.
In Oliver's head confusion ruled. Why couldn't he take his eyes off of this Brock kid? Before bowing his head Brock and Oliver shared a moment's glance. Why did he find those piercing green eyes intriguing?
Oliver never dated. Dating required money and transportation. Oliver had little of one and a bicycle just didn't cut it. Phil was Oliver's first close friend and now he belonged to a family.
Brock's nose was just the right size and shape. Brock's lips were full but not too big. He must be a great kisser. As Micah drew his short prayer to a close. The vision Oliver created of Brock kissing a cheerleader shifted. Brock's imaginary lips pressed against Oliver's.
"Amen." Micah ended the prayer. Oliver hoped Brock wouldn't see his below the belt problem. Oliver wasn't gay, was he? He didn't get turned on seeing the naked guys in the shower. Why was Brock doing this to him?
As Oliver sat down to eat. Brock smiled at him. Just like the toothpaste commercial one tooth sparkled in the light. "Damn!" Oliver thought. He hoped he would have time to change his underwear before school.
After chores Garrick and Myles shared a quick shower. They enjoyed holding hands walking to breakfast. Garrick didn't care if they wanted him to clean toilets all day. He wanted to stay and hoped Myles felt the same way. As the family said amen, Garrick leaned down to kiss Myles on the cheek.
Garrick worked cleaning stalls with Drake and Jared all morning. Drake wolf whistled as Myles turned his head and accepted the kiss on his lips. Jared elbowed his partner. "Don't worry Jared. Drake is jealous my boyfriend is better looking than yours."
In silence, Drake thought about Garrick's statement for a moment. "Hey, I resent that."
Myles shoved a fork full of waffle into Garrick's mouth.
As breakfast ended Nephi found himself alone at the clean table. Everyone helped clear away the dishes after a meal. Even the littles carried their own plates to the kitchen. Nephi and Jerome talked about the potential baby named Neil. They decided if Jerry was wrong they would name her Nellie. The night before Nephi thanked Jerome for his sneaky trick. Nephi suggested they try getting pregnant the old fashion way.
The construction foreman checked in with Nephi before heading to the greenhouse site. "We are clearing a property downtown. Benny would like you to meet him there at noon."
Address in hand Nephi pulled in front of a rundown Victorian-style house. The place had been a showcase in its prime. Now it looked like a haunted house from an old black and white horror film. A wrought iron arch stretched across the drive. Sharp points tipped the iron fence. Why did Benny want to meet him here?
Benny knocked on the passenger window.
"What do you think? Mitch is building an apartment complex on the property. His plans involve demolition. Jerome talked with me about his Halloween idea. Wouldn't the fence make a great entry way?" Benny glowed with excitement. "We can have the whole thing for the price of moving the building."
Nephi knew Benny liked dressing up for Halloween. Benny enjoyed this whole Halloween Festival idea. "How can we afford all of this?"
Benny gave one of his standard answers. "I've got it covered. Since it is going on the site of an existing house getting the permit was easy. Mitch is pouring the foundation today."
Nephi realized it didn't matter how Nephi answered, Benny had already decided.
He stopped by the construction site on the way home. Mary must have dismissed class early. The home school tribe worked on the drive from the road to the harvested alfalfa field that would be parking. One of the yard crew delivered a load of large dead branches that looked like dead trees. Nephi assumed they came from the wind break strip the littles called the forest.
Jared ran the post-hole drill. Jared would drill a hole in the dirt. Kenton and Kyle strung twinkle lights and stretched polyester batting into spider webs onto each branch before standing it into the hole and pushing the dirt back. Dead trees would line the simple farm road.
Drake used the Bobcat carrying bales of hay from the field, not into the barn but setting them along the simple maze marked with spray paint. Nephi stayed in the car out of the way.
The littles were painting what looked like 50 gallon barrels with wheels white. Nephi was sure someone would touch up their work. They were having fun and unlike Nephi they were helping.
Nephi enjoyed being hands on. Not helping bothered him. After the second cement truck arrived Nephi took the dirt road back to the barn. Mitch's team was delivering the house.
Rebecca met Nephi at the garage. "I glad you've made it back." She pushed Nephi into the old boy's dormitory. "It's time to earn your keep."
There were brushes, bottles of acrylic paints and primed plywood rectangles with one or two ovals cut out. On closer inspection, someone had penciled a witch onto the flat white primer. The oval replaced the witch's face. Nephi smiled. They had found something meaningful for him to contribute.
Using the skills from his design drawings, he applied background paint and moved to the vampire while the background on the witch dried waiting for the next set of details. As he continued the painting process, he put too much effort into each figure, but a thing worth doing was worth doing well. They hadn't even finished setting up for this year and he was storing things away for the next. He completed the first four before the dinner gong rang. He cleaned the brushes before heading for dinner.
Sariah served dinner around the pool. With help Nephi stripped down to his bright blue briefs. Nephi held onto the rail and his partner negotiating the steps into the pool. He sat on the step leaving him chest deep in the water. Jerry brought him colored plastic sticks. Nephi would throw them into the shallow end of the pool. Jerry and his brothers would race to retrieve the most sticks. Then they would repeat the process again. Their improved swimming skills impressed Nephi.
As the sun disappeared behind the walls of the courtyard and the lights came on, Jerome called it a night for the littles. With Jerry's dads' supervision the kids hoped in the shower for a quick rinse. There was plenty of room for all the littles Jerry applied soap to the blue puff, worked up a lather and applied the puff to Donny's back. Donny turned and Jerry washed Donny's front. Donny then used the puff to lather up Micah. Micah took care of his sister, who then took care of Jerry.
This was a new set of behaviors for the littles. "When did you start washing each other?" Nephi asked.
Jerry looked at the floor unwilling to meet his dad's eyes. "That's the way you and Daddy shower." Jerry admitted.
Nephi had a sick feeling in his stomach. "What did we do after we washed?"
Jerry thought it was a hilarious question. He quit laughing long enough to answer. "Daddy dried you off and helped you into bed."
Assured they had averted the bullet this time, Nephi resolved to lock the door before intimate activities.
Kneeling by their family. Nephi listened to their prayers. Jerry blessed his brother Neil inside Sariah's tummy.
Nephi said his prayers. "Daddy, don't you love Neil? You forgot to bless him."
Nephi closed his eyes and bowed his head again. "And Lord, thank you for sending baby Neil. Bless him so he will grow strong and healthy. Amen."
Jerome checked the door before showering his man. Many things happened between washing and drying that didn't need an audience. Two very satisfied men slept in each other's arms.
Seeing Brock at the breakfast table didn't surprise Nephi. He had given Brock the codes for the gates.
"We need a classy entrance. I bet you can create something. There is a big pile of dirt leftover from digging the footings." Jerome suggested Nephi's next task.
Nephi became quiet at the table as his mind filled with images. He needed someone who worked with metal?
Nephi stared at the design on his drafting table. The hill, stones and pine trees his team could build. The gas fueled torches were doable. How was he going to build a twenty foot dragon out of rebar? It looked like a three dimensional line drawing.
"It's great looking. I'd love to see the real thing. With the wings spread it looks as if it coming in for a landing." Myles was almost as excited as Nephi.
"This is only an idea. Who would build it?" Nephi answered with disappointment.
"I'd love to build it. We have most of the tools I would need." Myles' breathing was rapid with excitement. "I have to weld the iron fence back together this morning, but I will start tomorrow."
Nephi grabbed his plans for the entrance. Myles helped Nephi onto the utility cart, putting the wheelchair in the back. At the work site he showed the boys where he wanted the pile of dirt. Myles left Nephi and the wheelchair with the boys and welded the fence sections back together. Jared was working the bobcat today moving dirt out to the gate, one scoop after another. The pile took over a corner of the alfalfa field.
Leaving the concept art with Jared, Drake drove Nephi to the local nursery / tree farm in the big truck. Unlike a year ago, Drake was handling the clutch like a pro. Jared had the dirt moved when Drake and Nephi returned with a truck full of plants, mulch and garden soil. For the first time Nephi didn't worry about the total. He worked out a deal with the nursery, giving them credit for the quality plants. It was still expensive but about a third less than it could have been.
Jared arrived with the first scoop of large rocks left over from the main entrance. Before long the pile of dirt became a stony hill topped with small evergreen bushes and framed by two larger pines. It would be the perfect setting for Myles' dragon.
The other side of the roadway was in the hands of Mitch's concrete guys, the forms set and waiting for the concrete truck. Sean arrived with his crew in time to use the trencher, creating long deep holes on either side of the dirt road. The boys glued the white plastic sprinkler line and gray electrical conduit together. They unrolled the long yellow gas line leaving the connections to the experts. Soon both sides of the dirt path had gray electrical boxes and white pipes coming to the surface every twenty feet.
Nephi hitched a ride back to the compound to return to his painting leaving the physical work to the able-bodied.
Dinner was once again a simple affair by the pool. Rather than a lesson everyone explained how their part of the project was coming. Kenton conscripted Kyle into helping with the animals, freeing Garrick and Clarke to work on the corn maze. Clarke held a long phone conversation with the farm manager from Jerome's magazine. Today they cut the first paths through the corn field.
Brock had the evening off and joined the family's fun. Oliver had only tasted his food when Brock filled the empty spot next to Oliver.
Oliver wondered why Brock sat next to him. He tried ignoring his tablemate. "Hi, I'm Brock. I graduated from Hillcrest High. Do you attend high school or are you taking classes here?"
Why did Brock have to say anything? Brock's voice was a sexy deep rumble. Oliver noticed Brock's Italian heritage in the dark stubble on his face. His eyes traced a path across the dusting of dark hair between Brock's nipples and down his torso finding a treasure trail disappearing under the waistband of Brock's loose.
Oliver's eyes snapped up to meet Brock's green eyes. "He knows I was just looking at his crotch." Oliver wanted to stand and run anywhere but here. As Oliver stood he realized he was hard and showing through the swimsuit's thin fabric. Oliver dumped his paper plate without eating into the garbage and dove into the pool.
He swam to the far edge. The cool water took care of Oliver's problem. He climbed out of the pool on the far side of Brock. He looked for his towel. It was by Brock. Brock was watching Oliver. Oliver left his sandals and towel where they were and walked back to his room.
Oliver locked the door behind him. Dressed in loose shorts, he turned off the light and lay on his bed. Oliver's embarrassment was messing with his thinking. He wasn't sure he could face the family again.
Back at the pool, Nephi held onto the pool edge and Jerome. He walked along the pool's shallow end a few times before sitting on the steps. The littles were swimming across the pool.
Jerry swam up to Nephi and crawled onto Nephi's lap. "Daddy, when Neil is born will you still love me? Micah said his daddy didn't love him when another baby came."
"Jerry, not only will I love you, I will need your help." Nephi explained. "Babies are a lot of work. Neil will need a big brother. Think of all the things you will need to teach him."
Nephi hugged Jerry. "I will always love you." Nephi kissed Jerry on the cheek.
"Will you read the story tonight?" Jerry kissed Nephi and jumped off Nephi's lap and joined his brothers.
Nephi shook his head. He now had closer family relationships than he had with his blood relations.