Disclaimer: The following story is a work of fiction. If you are offended by descriptions of homosexual acts or man/man relations, please exit this page.
TALES FROM THE RANCH Copyrightc 2003 by Tulsa Driller 7. All rights reserved.
This is a story of men who have two common interests. You will see that they love the land where they live and work, but it is also the story of young men who love other men and their coming of age in a culture of prejudice and misunderstanding. It is a story, which deals with difficult and often disturbing issues but, nonetheless, issues which must be confronted in today's world.
This is a work of fiction and in no way draws on the lives of any specific person or persons. Any similarity to actual persons or events is entirely coincidental. This work is copyrightedc by the author and may not be reproduced in any form without the specific written permission of the author. It is assigned to the Nifty Archives under the terms of their submission agreement but it may not be copied or archived on any other site without the written permission of the author.
PLEASE: In a perfect world AIDS doesn't exist. My characters have unprotected sex. I hope you use proper precautions because I'd like you to be around the read the last chapter of this story.
Tales from the Ranch Chapter 37: The Wonder of it All
Rev. Jimmy Bob had a terrible day on Tuesday. Nobody except Marcus Streeter had been to see him. He hadn't been able to shave, although the Sergeant gave him a clean pair of coveralls, then took him to the shower. The largest size he had was too small so he put his street clothing back on. However, he felt better after cleaning up the best he could.
The other prisoners had harassed him all day. He had complained to some of the officers several different times but it did no good. Finally, after Marcus Streeter came to see him in the middle of the afternoon, they did move him to a cell around the corner where the other prisoners couldn't see him.
Marcus came back about 6 o'clock and Jimmy Bob was released to go home. He wasn't sure that was where he wanted to be, but it had to be more comfortable than the city/county jail. Marcus drove him home, and then made sure he got inside before leaving.
Jimmy Bob wandered through the house. Marlene wasn't home and her car was gone. His first unusual discovery was the bottle of gin sitting on the kitchen counter with two empty glasses beside it.
Wandering around, he started down the hallway to his bedroom. For some reason he went in Marlene's bedroom. He hadn't been in that room for several years and was surprised because it didn't look like he remembered it. What caught his eye was a pair of blue jockey shorts that were on the floor under the edge of the bed. He had difficulty bending over to pick them up, but did so. The label showed the size as being a 34. The bed covers were all tangled. It was obvious that the bed had been used for sex, because he could see what looked like semen stains on the green sheets. He felt the area and was definitely sure the sheet felt "crusty" in those spots.
While he wasn't pissed off, he didn't understand women. He didn't realize that they had needs the same as men.
He made his way back to the kitchen, got a clean glass, filling it with ice cubes out of the freezer then added a liberal amount of gin to the glass. It tasted good. He hadn't had a drink since coming to Williamsport and was surprised to find that there was liquor in the house. After all, he preached against the temptation of drink just as he did about loose morals and homosexuality.
He found a big bag of corn curls in the pantry and carried them and the glass of gin to the living room. By the time he'd eaten a half bag of chips he'd finished the glass of gin. This time, he found a carton of dip in the refrigerator, then refilled his glass.
While sitting in the living room, he thought about his life. He couldn't remember ever being happy. His parents were poor and his mother had always seemed to be in ill health before she died at the young age of 28 when he was only 9 years old. His father left to find work in California, promising his sister, Jimmy Bob's Aunt LuJean, that he'd be back to get Jimmy Bob after he was settled in a new job. That never happened.
LuJean Jones had never married. She was a very dour woman who looked down her nose at everything. Although she tried to see to his needs, he knew she didn't want to be responsible for him. She was hard to please. He didn't make good grades in school and the others kids teased him all the time about being fat. His aunt turned a deaf ear to his complaints; in fact, she was unhappy because he was fat and didn't fit in with the other kids.
They teased him about being fat and called him a fag. He really wasn't. He was just a nerd that was fun to tease. Kids could be cruel and leave emotional scars on each other that would last their entire life.
There was a non-denominational church about a block from where his aunt lived and he could hear them singing at their service on Sunday night. He later discovered that in the summertime they broadcast their service over an outdoor P.A. system so people could sit in their cars to listen to the music and sermon. This was back in the days when people used to dress up to go everywhere, so they could wear casual clothing or even shorts, sit in their car and be comfortable.
Jimmy Bob was curious about their service, as it was pure country Pentecostal music he heard with piano, drums, a violin, guitars and a bass. Sometimes they even used a Hammond Organ. He started attending the church and was soon saved in the power of the blood and baptized in the little lake on the edge of Dumas, Texas.
He tried to imitate the preacher and soon was good in what he did. He loved to get up and testify about his faith in God and admonish the fallen to mend their ways or they would find themselves at the portals of hell. He later attended Dalhart Bible College where he perfected his pulpit pounding style of ranting, raving and pulling people unwillingly toward believing that hell did, indeed exist. Once he convinced them of that, the rest was easy. It cost money to have a chance to get into heaven, as there wasn't that much room. However, he held one of the keys to the Kingdom and could help some of them get there - depending on how much they contributed to his version of "God's Plan" as he called it.
For several years he sold Bibles in the Midwest, covering a large territory, but in conjunction with that he started making a name for himself on the tent revival circuit. So, along with selling Bibles and other religious books and receiving a "love offering" when preaching at a revival, he was doing well. He was called to the Victory Temple when the Dr. (no one knew it was a self-conferred title) Phil Arnett died, leaving that pulpit vacant.
He and Marlene had married right after finishing Bible College. She was a beautiful woman, but didn't seem to have any prospects for marriage. It could probably be said that it was a marriage of need for both of them. He needed a woman who could play the role of a dutiful, loving wife and she needed someone who could provide her with a good lifestyle, clothes and spending money. They were perfect for each other. He didn't have any sex drive and she didn't want to have sex with him anyway.
He didn't know it, but she'd had a string of young lovers from about a year after they had married. Some of them were other preachers on the revival circuit and they filled each other full of the Holy Spirit. It could probably be called "Divine Fucking" although it was just for recreational purposes.
He was feeling sorry for himself and then remembered when he'd started playing with young boys. Actually the first time it happened, it was a 12-year old boy who was curious about Jimmy Bob. Little Zach Curtis didn't have a father, so had no male role model to emulate. The boy really liked Jimmy Bob and was fascinated with the thick hair that grew out of the open vee of his shirt collar. The boy didn't want to take no for an answer and would crawl up on Jimmy Bob's lap and kiss his face while twining his fingers through the hair. He remembered the first time the boy had unbuttoned his shirt. It was the first time he had ever experienced another person touching him like that, running their fingers around his chest and stomach and rubbing his nipples. He'd enjoyed it.
About the time Zach started puberty, about a year later, his mother married and the family moved to Wichita Falls. That was the last he had seen of Zach but it had whet his appetite for more companionship with young boys.
It was easy to figure out the boys who might be willing. All he had to do was look for a child that was either ignored by his father, or a child where the parents were very strict and didn't allow the child to do anything that was fun. He soon had those boys under his power because he paid attention to them, something they weren't used to.
The seduction routine got easier and easier as Jimmy Bob gained more experience. He would find some meaningless little job they could do around the school and church, such as make sure the hymnals and Bibles in the pew racks were all turned forward with the spines to the left. Or, he would have them fold newsletters, put stamps and address labels on them for mailing. There were several dozen "little tasks" that he always needed help with. When they were through, he would have the boys sit on his lap while he praised them for their work. He would tell them stories, while cuddling them, frequently rubbing their necks, chests, stomachs and on down, slipping his fingers in their under shorts if he could. He would encourage the little boys to kiss him and he kissed them in return.
Sometimes a seduction might take several weeks, but often only a couple of sessions. The thick fur on his big body fascinated most of the boys, and he encouraged it. There were very few with which he didn't accomplish his goal and if they were reluctant, there were other boys in the school and church. He didn't lack for companionship.
By the time Jimmy Bob had finished his second glass of gin he was feeling much better and his worries seemed trivial.
Then he had an awful thought.
He remembered a collection of Polaroid pictures of the nude boys in his locked desk drawer in the church office. He probably wouldn't be welcome at the church anymore and they were incriminating evidence that he needed to dispose of. He needed to get them before they were discovered.
So, with great difficulty he got into his Cadillac and drove to the church. He breathed a sigh of relief when his key unlocked the door, as he was afraid the locks might have already been changed. He made his way to his office, unlocked the door, then his desk and retrieved a stack of about a hundred pictures. He found a plastic bag and placed the pictures in it. He looked around the office, but didn't see anything else he wanted to take with him. at least then.
He got back in his car and started for his house. Since he'd had two glasses of gin, he was feeling the signs of inebriation but was doing okay until a car came toward him with the high beam lights on. He was paying more attention to the oncoming lights than where he was going and had to swerve hard to avoid hitting a parked car in front of him. As he hit the curb, he jammed his foot down, but it was on the accelerator instead of the brake. He crashed head-on into a large oak tree.
The last thing he remembered before losing consciousness was tossing his cookies, mainly on himself.
The people who lived in the house where he crashed his car ran out to see what had happened, then called 9-1-1. Since the doors on his car locked automatically when the car was in gear, they had to be pried open when the Police and Fire Department EMS people arrived.
When they got the door open, the smell of vomit, gin and greasy corn curls was overwhelming. The two men assigned to get him out of the car had a hard time keeping their stomachs down.
Although Jimmy Bob wasn't pinned in the car, it was like trying to wrestle a 300-pound dead weight out of the vehicle. Two additional firemen helped, one from the back seat and the other from the front seat. That's when the bag of "kiddy porn" was discovered. Lt. Marilyn Kolb was the ranking officer, so she took the evidence, making sure it was logged. She couldn't believe that she had run into the SOB again, just over 48 hours after the last encounter.
With a great deal of struggle, Jimmy Bob was loaded onto a stretcher and taken to the hospital. Nurse Gary Brooks was on duty and recognized Rev. Jimmy Bob Jones when EMS brought him in. He was still unconscious when he arrived in the Emergency Room, but that didn't decrease the foul odor of vomit, gin and stale grease.
EMS had an order from the Police Department for a blood alcohol sample. Jimmy Bob came to when the needle pierced his skin, but he was too dazed to react. He was confused as he was lying on a stretcher, bright lights shining down on him and EMS and hospital personnel looking at him. He had to vomit again and two of the ER attendants were quick enough to get a pan and roll him slightly so most of it was caught instead of going on the floor. The odor level went up at least 200 points.
Jimmy Bob was asked who should be notified that he was in the emergency room. He couldn't think of anyone who would care. He finally told them to call Marcus Streeter.
The Wednesday morning edition of the Austin American- Statesman had the latest chapter in the saga of Rev. Jimmy Bob Jones. Miles Truby had hit the mother lode with this story that he almost didn't cover on Sunday night. He had been offered a job as an investigative reporter for Channel 36, the local NBC affiliate in Austin
In addition, he had been offered a reporters job at the Dallas Morning News. In the long run, he would be the only person to gain anything from Rev. Jimmy Bob Jones's woes.
Bret Jenkins, Senior saw the paper when he got to his office. Amanda nailed him as soon as he walked in the door.
"Oh shit," were his words upon reading the story. He hoped that Jimmy Bob had paid the insurance premium on the car because otherwise it couldn't be used for collateral for the bail bond. He didn't know if he should go to the hospital to visit Jimmy Bob or not. He really didn't want to, but thought maybe he owed it to him since he was the church treasurer and they were supposed to be friends.
As he thought back, it had been an interesting 60 hours. Spying on the people attending the meeting. Almost being arrested. Confronting the men who brought Bret Junior home and getting his arm broken. Jimmy Bob getting caught with Sammy Murdock on Monday morning, then the story on TV. Finding out that the men who had taken Bret Junior to their home for protection were just average men like you would find anywhere, except they were gay - it would be hard to start using that word - and had no interest in his son, except for his safety.
Then came the real cannon ball. His son told him and Beth about being molested by Jimmy Bob, who then dropped him like a hot brick when he reached puberty and threatened him with going to hell if he told anyone about what they had done.
Jimmy Bob spent the next 24 hours in jail for his own safety, and then was back in custody, although he was in the hospital, within 3 hours after being released the second time. In addition, there were Polaroid pictures of most of the boys he'd had sexual relations with. The police termed them as "Kiddie Porn" and there would be additional charges filed. Possession of child pornography and driving under the influence since his blood alcohol level was three times the legal limit.
What else could possibly go wrong in this soap opera that was playing out before the population of Williamsport, Texas and the rest of the world?
Joey, as usual, was up as soon as the alarm rang to let Mitsy outside. He filled her food bowl and gave her fresh water after he flipped the switch on the coffeepot. She was scratching the door so he opened it to let her in. The paperboy, Forrest Ross, was just delivering the Austin American-Statesman and got a good look at a very naked Joey Sullivan
"I'm sorry," Joey apologized as Forrest handed him the paper.
"Don't be, I'm not," he said with a laugh, then put a paper in front of 5-B, the other apartment on the 5th floor before taking the elevator back down.
He liked what he had seen.
Mitsy knew the morning routine and immediately went to the kitchen to eat her meal while Joey shaved and showered. He decided to dress in Levi's, boots and a plaid sport shirt. He put on the boxers Craig had loaned him, but they didn't produce the same reaction as the silk boxers. He hoped that Dale and Craig hadn't figured out that he'd gotten off in them, but nothing had been said when they were returned along with his other laundry. He felt lucky that Dale and Craig treated him with the same respect as his father had.
Meanwhile, Dale and Craig woke up when the alarm rang. At first Craig thought they had overslept since Dale usually awoke before the alarm had a chance to sound. When Dale shut it off, he remembered that they were going to Houston this morning. They embraced each other and exchanged a tentative kiss, discovering that each had "morning mouth". It didn't happen often, but since they needed to pee anyway, they might as well brush their teeth and start the day.
Craig pulled on yesterday's shorts to go to the kitchen. He heard Joey's shower running and Mitsy was finishing her morning meal. The coffee was still brewing so he filled two of the three glasses with orange juice to take back to the bathroom.
Dale was shaving and Craig had to stand in the door and admire his lover. He was so handsome and his mustache had "matured" to the point that it needed to be trimmed a little everyday. He was glad Dale had grown it. Not only did it add to his already striking appearance, but also his sex appeal. And. as a bonus it was a great sex aid when applied in the right places - which were all over Craig's sexy body.
Craig didn't have much body hair, except for his pits and his treasure trail that started about 3-inches above his navel and led to a thick, light brown pubic bush which he kept neatly trimmed. However, he had a fairly heavy beard that was darker than the hair on his head. He wondered if he would look good with a mustache. He thought his would probably look about the same as Marty's.
Dale noticed Craig standing in the door. Holding the razor in mid-air, he turned and said, "What?"
"Just admiring the view," Craig replied, "and I'm glad that I'm the only one who gets to enjoy it, too."
"You're not so bad yourself. when you're cleaned up," Dale teased, his eyes twinkling and his smile was up to about 900- watts. Craig wondered what the next line was going to be. He soon found out after he set the orange juice on the counter.
Dale finished shaving with two more stokes of the razor, rinsed it and laid it next to the toiletry bag. With a leer, he turned to Craig, grabbed him and shoved him into the shower ahead of himself, turning on the cold water. Craig caught the full impact and let out a whoop that Joey heard in his room, across the apartment with two closed doors between them.
Both Dale and Craig were laughing hard. Craig had retreated away from the cold water and Dale adjusted the water to the temperature they both liked, on the hot side of warm. Craig still had his shorts on and of course, they had caught the full impact of the cold water. He stripped them off and hung them on the rack inside the shower.
"What on earth made you do that?" Craig asked, still laughing.
"I thought you needed to wake up before we left. Can't have you wrecking the company truck," Dale replied.
"I'll get even with you," he teased.
"Oh, I hope so," Dale answered. He was enjoying this.
They were like two kids playing a forbidden game of grab-ass and groping the other. Both were making a lot of noise and laughing loudly.
Joey had gone to the kitchen to get juice and coffee. He wondered what on earth his Dads were doing to each other. Were they having sex? He went to their bedroom door to listen, then decided that he heard the shower running. More laughter. He would have liked to look in, but remembered what he had been told about the privacy of their bedrooms, so wisely, didn't.
Their shower finally finished, they helped each other get dry, exchanging kisses, giggles and caresses with each other. Each thought they had gotten the best person they could ever hope to find to share their lives with.
Craig still had to shave. He debated about asking Dale about growing a mustache, or just doing it. He decided to just let it grow and see how long it took anyone to notice. It didn't take long for him to finish shaving and wash his face, then put on deodorant and cologne and close the bag. He carried it to the bedroom. Dale had dressed and made the bed. Their suitcase was on the end of the bed, open for any last minute items they thought of.
Dale was wearing Levis and boots, along with a plaid sport shirt. Craig chose a similar outfit. When they went to the kitchen Joey was reading the newest update on Rev. Jimmy Bob Jones in the paper. He excitedly read the story while Dale poured coffee for all three of them as Craig put three giant muffins on a plate to go in the microwave.
Dale couldn't help but comment, "My, it looks like our family is 'gaily' dressed today."
Joey got tickled first, and then Craig realized that even their shirts were similar in that all three were plaid. Dale joined in. This had been a great morning so far and the news about Jimmy Bob Jones made the day seem even brighter.
As they ate and drank their coffee, each commented about the latest in the Victory Temple saga, wondering what the next revelation would be.
Finally, it was time they get the things they were taking with them and load the two Bar-W vehicles. Mitsy was excited because she loved to ride in a car. Craig locked the door behind them and they rode the elevator down to the ground only because the car was already on the 5th floor. Joey decided to ride with Dale, but since they would stop about halfway to Houston at a rest area on I-10, he could ride with Craig the rest of the way. Dale and Craig each had cell phones with them, so if there was a need to change plans, they could call each other.
It was exactly 6:30 when they pulled out of the parking lot, Craig driving ahead of Dale and Joey. Very shortly they were going south to Highway 71 to take them around the south edge of Austin, then to US-183 and south to I-10. There was little traffic that morning and Craig led them at 70 mph.
"Well, bud," Dale addressed Joey, "after today there is no turning back as to you leaving Houston and coming to live with Craig and me."
Joey wasn't sure where this was leading. "You and Craig want me here, don't you? I mean, we seem to get along okay and I like it here."
"Sure, I didn't mean to make it sound otherwise. I'm just saying that today is the day we start putting things you've been used to having in the past, and look forward to a new beginning, if you want to call it that."
"I'm going to miss some of my friends in Houston, but I've met some nice people in Williamsport and I love singing in the church choir. You and Craig are super and I feel good about living with you. And. I'm thankful you are allowing me to move here."
"I'm sorry we lost our father. And, I'm even more sorry that I never had a chance to know him when I was growing up. Obviously, he was a super person and a good father to you. You are smart, have good manners and he was very proud of you. I'm just sorry that we had to meet this way," Dale said.
"I know." Joey was sad for a few minutes as they both thought about what had happened.
"But, I might not have ever met you if Dad hadn't gotten sick and died. I'm going to miss him, but you and Craig have been so nice to me, that I just like to think both of you have taken his place."
Again, they rode in silence for a few miles.
Joey's thoughts turned to earlier that morning.
"Dad, can I ask something?"
"Sure, but you might not get an answer," Dale said with a grin on his face.
"Uhh. umm. what was going on this morning that you guys were making so much noise?"
Dale was relieved. He didn't know what from, but thought maybe he was going to get a question about sex.
He laughed.
"I was teasing Craig about looking good, especially after he was cleaned up, like if he ever looked oily and dirty and really needed a bath. So, I grabbed him, shoved him in the shower in front of me and turned on the cold water. He caught it full- force and let out a big, loud whoop. He had his boxer shorts on and they got soaked with the cold water. Then I turned the water to the temperature we like."
Joey and Dale were both laughing.
"After that, we were playing grab-ass like kids sometimes play in the gym showers. We were having a lot of fun, but Craig is fun to shower with, anyway." Dale realized what he'd just said and turned red.
Joey was enjoying the story. "So what? I know that you guys do things with each other. My dad did, too, with the guys he used to bring home. Remember, I've seen some movies that Dad has. had," he corrected."
"The gay ones?" Dale questioned. "Does that bother you?"
"Well, I got a little hard and. had to take care of it," he blushed.
This time it was Dale who was curious.
"What about the movies he had with two women having sex. and the men and women? Did you have a reaction to them?" Dale probed.
"I thought the one with the two women was pretty gross. The other was interesting, especially when the guy was... screwing the woman. They didn't show us anything like that in Health class, that's for sure," he laughed. "I had a much better understanding of how things are supposed to be after watching the movie."
"I have to agree with you. Most parents don't talk to their kids about sex and seem to think that if it's never mentioned, their kids won't get curious and try it to see what it's like. So, the kids have sex and don't use condoms. They might or might not hurt each other because no one told them about lubrication and then the girl turns up pregnant. Everybody is surprised because they hadn't told their kids about sex. They think that, 'If they haven't told them, how did the kids know to go do it?'"
"The worst part of it is when the kids haven't done anything - like sex - with each other, then lie about it. Suddenly they've made you feel the pressure to try something they've never done themselves," Joey said.
"Oh yes, emulate the big lie," Dale told him.
"Dad, can I ask you something?" Joey said.
"Since we're being frank with each other, go ahead. I may not know the answer, though."
"Well, if you or Craig caught me having sex with a girl from school, you'd probably hit the ceiling and give me a big lecture, right?"
Dale said, "Probably," wondering where this line of questions was going. "Certainly you would get the question put to you about birth control."
"Okay," Joey said, continuing. "If you guys caught me having sex with another guy, what would be your reaction?"
Dale was stumped for a minute.
"I. I. really don't know."
"See, this is what's confusing to me. You guys are gay. You probably don't see anything wrong with 'recreational sex' as some call it, because you do it. Not with the intent of producing children, but because it feels good.
"If you and Craig were a man and woman, straight; you'd get all bent out of shape about teenagers having sex. If I were having sex with a girl, I'd probably get the lecture about having sex outside marriage and saving myself for my wedding night. And you would grudgingly talk to me about birth control because the girl might get pregnant.
"Take the same case, straight parents. If you caught me having sex with another guy, you'd probably throw the book at me. Now, there's no danger of anybody getting pregnant. We're having sex because it feels good, whether it's called fucking or sucking. We're not hurting anybody because we both wanted to do it. However, society frowns on this, so does it now become okay to have sex with a girl as opposed to sex with a boy?"
"Hey, Joey, you're getting awfully deep here. Let me see if I understand your point. Being gay parents, we'd frown on sex with a girl but would be more likely to look the other way if you were with another guy, right?"
"Right."
"If we were straight parents, we'd disapprove of young people having sex at all, but would really be upset if it was gay sex. That being the case, we'd be more likely to look the other way if we later found out you were having sex with a girl?"
"That's right, again."
"I see your point, it's all relative to who's doing the judging. Am I right?"
"And what they are doing that you are judging them in the first place," Joey added.
"Yes, I understand that. Let me tell you something," Dale said. "I assume from what you've said that you and Joe were pretty open with each other about everything, so it makes me proud that you trust me, too. I wasn't so lucky because I had a mother who had a child out of wedlock at a time when the attitude about unwed mothers was to mark them as loose women of low moral character. It didn't make any difference whom the woman was. The rich girls who became pregnant either got an abortion, or were shipped off to take care of a 'sick aunt' or to a home for unwed mothers. Those girls did not keep their baby. The child was put up for adoption.
"In the case of my family, I guess an abortion was never considered, Mom never said so, anyway. Our family was poor, my grandparents were not educated and my grandfather was a truck driver who spent most of his free time when at home in the pool hall, losing money to the other men and drinking beer. It wasn't a happy home life. Anyway, there wasn't a 'sick aunt' to ship my mother to, so she stayed in Williamsport and kept the baby, me.
"There are still people in Williamsport who see me and think of my mother as a high school girl from the wrong side of the tracks that had loose morals and got what they deemed she deserved, a baby. And probably if the father had been from around here, he would have been forgiven by society because it wasn't his fault. She had loose morals and tricked him in to getting her pregnant in hopes he would marry her.
"So, I grew up in a house where the subject of sex was never discussed. What little I knew was from hearing what the other boys talked about, or reading some books we had in Health class, but as you said, they didn't really tell us anything.
"I had kind of figured out about the time I turned thirteen that I liked men, or certainly was more curious about them than women. Later on I would think that I was fascinated by men because there wasn't one in my life as my grandfather didn't pay much attention to me or do things with me. It wasn't until I played sports in high school that I realized that the highlight of my day was seeing some of the other jocks naked in the dressing room and in the shower.
"I guess what I'm trying to say, Joey, is that I didn't have anywhere to go to get answers, anybody that I could talk to. At the time there weren't any books in the Public Library on sexuality and certainly none in the high school library. Now, I think there are, but I don't know for sure."
"Wow, I am lucky to have had Dad and now you guys to help me. Thanks for telling me," Joey said.
"You are welcome. You just made me realize that you are a young man who is growing up and probably are at least a couple of years ahead of your age group in sexual maturity. I was the same way and it was hard for me because all of a sudden I had hair on my chest and some of the other boys in my class didn't have any pubic hair. That made me feel like a freak, too, although I thought it was neat."
"Yeah, I had the same problem. It was just last spring that I started to grow hair on my chest and some of the boys made fun of me, but it was mainly the ones who didn't have any hair on their bodies at all," Joey said.
"So, where does this leave the discussion we were having about teenagers having sex?" Dale asked.
"Well, right now I'm not too interested in girls, but that might come later."
Dale wondered what the next statement was going to be.
"But you know how guys play around, you know. jerk off with each other and stuff like that? Things like we do on Boy Scout camping trips."
"Yesss." Dale was hesitant.
"Well. I was just wondering if it was okay with you, maybe. if it might be okay to have a friend or two over to the apartment to watch the videos and. you know.?"
'Geez,' Dale thought. 'The kid plays for keeps, doesn't he?'
"What makes you think I'm going to let you keep the movies?" Dale teased. "They sound more like something your other Dad and I should be watching instead of you."
At first Joey wasn't sure if Dale was teasing him or he meant it, but then he noticed Dale was starting to grin.
"So you're asking Craig and me to supervise your masturbation sessions?" Dale asked, his eyes starting to twinkle.
"Dad!!!" Joey responded.
"Well?" Dale asked. "Sounds to me that you're trying to be the most popular kid in high school with his very own porn collection sanctioned by his parents. I suppose that you'll sell tickets and become the richest freshman in Davy Crockett High School."
Joey started giggling.
"Actually, I just didn't want to have to sneak around like some of the other kids do, you know. where they raid their father's collection of porn magazines and movies. I thought maybe if we could be truthful about it from the beginning that it would save all of us a lot of sneaking around and feeling guilty."
"I'm not sneaking around and feeling guilty," Dale said, hoping that Joey couldn't tell he was teasing.
"Well, I've been to other kids houses, where they found a video that belonged to their dad and we watched it and were afraid that his parents might come home early," Joey said.
"Joey, I very much appreciate the fact that we are having this discussion at all. I don't know any boys your age that would have a discussion like this with their parents or even with an older brother, so I feel honored. So, I guess I really don't have any big problem with this, but I suggest that you be very careful whom you bring to the condo. It puts Craig and me into a very tricky spot, probably something akin to furnishing minors alcohol or drugs."
"I understand and I don't want to do anything to embarrass you or make you uncomfortable. I want you to trust me, but I don't want to do something behind your back and then get in trouble for it later," Joey told him.
"Point well taken, and I love you for it. Do you have any idea how many videos there are?" Dale asked.
"Joey thought for a moment. About 120."
Dale about passed out.
"A hundred and twenty gay videos?" Dale was almost sputtering.
"That's pretty close," Joey said.
"Geez, I thought maybe we might be talking about a half- dozen at the most."
"No, I think Dad bought most of the Falcon, Bel Ami and Joe Gage movies as well as Chi Chi LaRue's stuff," Joey said.
"All I can say, is that you get that stuff boxed up and sealed before your grandparents get to the house," Dale said. "Mark the boxes with something like 'Disney movies' or something like that, okay?"
"Okay," Joey said. "I'm glad we talked about this because I didn't want to shock you when you found the movies at the house."
"Shock me?" Dale questioned. "What do you think you just did?" he teased.
They both laughed.
"Hey bud, our rest area is coming up shortly after we get on I-10. I have an idea."
"What?" Joey asked.
"Tell Craig that you and couple of buddies want to know the proper way to masturbate and ask him if he'll show you how."
They both doubled over in laughter, at least as far as they could and still sit in the seats of the Blazer.
"That's funny," Joey said. "What do you think his reaction will be?"
"He'll turn red from head to toe," Dale said, matter-of- factly.
"What if he agrees?" Joey teased.
"He belongs to me. He won't be teaching that class," Dale laughed.
They laughed together.
"Dad, you're great," Joey told him.
"Then why do I feel that you could get away with murder if you set your mind to it?" Dale asked, teasingly.
They both laughed about that and gave each other a "high five".
Poor Craig.
Riley and Lois Boyd had gotten their pictures developed. Scott McKown had been identified as the person leaving Rev. Jimmy Bob Jones' house. It was clear that he and Marlene Jones could be seen in the photographs.
The Boyd's were astounded at the chain of events that had transpired. While they supported Jimmy Bob Jones with their gifts of money, they had come to the conclusion he was getting a little hysterical in certain of his crusades.
Marlene might seem like the perfect "preacher's wife" but she never really opened up to the other women. She always wore expensive clothes and her attendance at church gatherings always seemed to be perfunctory. In fact, she put in an appearance, but always had some other place she had to be when the social portion of a meeting started. The women started comparing notes and soon discovered that she was just somewhat of a "trophy wife" for Jimmy Bob. True, she knew her Bible and could quote scripture with the best of them, but beyond that she was a very shallow person.
So, although they were dismayed, it came as no great surprise that she might have a lover, who in this case was a man 12 years younger than herself.
"After all," Lois told her husband, "who would want to sleep with that big whale?"
Riley knew Miles Truby slightly, so he called him. Miles happened to be at home and had just gone to the kitchen for his first cup of coffee. His wife taught English at Davy Crockett High School and had already left for school.
"Miles Truby," he said into the phone.
"Miles, this is Riley Boyd. [pause] I'm a member of Victory Temple.
"Oh yeah, Riley. Sorry, I just woke up," he said.
"I hope I'm not calling too early," Riley told him.
"No, no. I'm out in the kitchen to get some 'starting fluid' - some of you call it coffee," he laughed.
Riley joined him.
"What can I do for you?" Miles asked.
"Maybe it's more what I can do for you," Riley said.
"Oh?"
"I've got some pictures of Rev. Jimmy Bob Jones' wife. The man she was kissing goodbye yesterday morning isn't her husband," he said.
"Man, I can't believe this. Is this Williamsport, Peyton Place or a soap opera?" Miles asked.
"I'm not sure, Miles, but it's a three-ring circus, regardless," Riley told him.
"Can you authenticate the pictures and how much do you want for them?" Miles asked.
"Well, to begin with, my wife and I sat in our car to watch the house because of all the strange goings-on. We saw this man arrive on Monday night and leave early Tuesday morning. We got his tag number and identified him. We don't want any money for the pictures. We're members of the church, but Jimmy Bob Jones and his wife are an embarrassment to us. We'd like to help them feel the need to leave Williamsport and put all this behind us."
"I understand. Where and when can we meet?" he asked. Miles was rejoicing because more and more of the story was unfolding right into his lap and every little bit helped his efforts to negotiate a better salary for himself, no matter where he ended up.
"My wife and I can be at the Kup o' Java House at 9 o'clock," Riley told him.
"Fine, I'll buy you breakfast."
"No need to do that. We just want to clean out our church and get it back on the right track, where we used to be," he told Miles.
"I appreciate this and I'll see you at 9 o'clock," he said, hoping he would recognize the person who had just called him.
Tom went out to get the morning paper after he started the coffeemaker. That morning the paper was in front of their door, a rare event. He wondered if they had a new paperboy.
He took the rubber band off the rolled paper and tossed in the trash as he opened it. The headline: "Gay Basher Charged with Kiddie Porn and DUI".
'This was getting good,' Tom thought. He read the article with interest - a lot of interest. He couldn't wait for Eddie to get home from his morning run so he could read this. He unwrapped a can of cinnamon rolls, put them in a pan and into the oven to bake while he shaved and showered.
By the time he was through in the bathroom, Eddie had arrived home, stripped down and was in the shower. Tom went to the kitchen and the buzzer on the oven went off as he poured himself a cup of coffee. He iced them and was sitting at the counter when Eddie came in, wrapped his arms around his lover and nuzzled him behind his left ear - it was more sensitive than the right one.
"I'll give you ten minutes to stop that," Tom said, trying to turn around and engage Eddie's mouth with his own.
"It won't take me ten minutes. I bet I can make you cum without either of us touching your dick."
They both knew that given the right circumstances Tom had a hair trigger and sometimes he would cum as Eddie was entering him. Neither of them liked for that to happen, but it was a fact of life - or sex - where the two of them were concerned.
"I know you can and we don't have time to do that this morning and still get to school on time, especially if I have to change clothes."
"I love you, you big stud," Eddie told him, giving him a quick kiss, then getting his own cup of coffee.
"Here, read the latest chapter of the "Perils of Pauline", Tom laughed as he gave him the Austin paper.
Eddie glanced at the headline. "Holy shit," he exclaimed. "This just keeps getting better and better, doesn't it?"
"I have a hard time believing all this. What do you suppose will happen to him next?" Tom said.
"I don't know, but I hope that the guy who wrote this, Miles Truby, is well-paid for this. He deserves it because if he hadn't shown up at the rectory on Sunday night, none of this other stuff would have happened. He wouldn't have been caught messing around with little boys, at least right now," Eddie said. He was still reading.
"I would think that the church will probably drop him like a red-hot brick. They'd be fools to let him stay," Tom replied.
"They were fools to allow him to stay this long, but we can't judge them for that. I'm sure most of that bunch thought he was doing a great job of fighting sin in the streets," Eddie laughed. "Certainly he was trying to fight it in the streets on Sunday night."
"Yeah, it backfired on him," Tom replied.
"Well, I feel sorry for all his victims because those boys will wear that scar all their lives, even with professional help," Eddie said.
Tom served each of them two cinnamon rolls. Eddie was still reading and Tom was thinking about Bret Junior.
"Should we contact the Jenkins family to see if they are okay?" Tom asked.
"You know, I was thinking about that when I was running earlier. It might not hurt and would certainly show that we care about their family and don't hold any hard feelings about Bret Senior's attitude toward us," Eddie told him.
"Let's call and talk to him this evening," Tom agreed.
They finished up in the kitchen, putting their dishes in the dishwasher, then gathered their backpacks and headed off to school.
Tuesday night Scott McKown and Marlene Jones went to her house and removed all of her clothing and other personal items she wanted to keep. She didn't realize that her relationship with Scott had developed into something more solid and that they were falling in love with each other.
Regardless, she didn't want to remain in that house any longer and Scott welcomed her moving in with him. They wouldn't have to sneak around anymore, although they weren't going to publicly announce their love for each other. Right now, no one knew where she was staying, she thought.
Marlene got up to prepare coffee and toast for Scott McKown while he was in the shower. They were enjoying this change in their relationship and being together all of the time instead of just a quickie a couple of times a day.
She really didn't care what was happening to her husband. Since they had never been close and pretty much had always gone their separate ways, she didn't feel any need to contact him to see if he needed anything. He was a whiner and she didn't want to feel guilty about ignoring him. "Out of sight, out of mind," she thought.
Although she had been with other men over the last few years, Scott excited her more than any of the others. She couldn't get enough of him and he seemed to be able to fill her needs better than anyone had done before. It seemed that the last two months she had been really horny, as well, although she hadn't heard any complaints from Scott. Her breasts had seemed more sensitive and he was able to drive her to new sexual heights during intercourse.
Scott came into the kitchen from his shower, still not completely dry and his bath towel slung over his right shoulder. Marlene was admiring him as he walked into the room. He was about 5'11" tall, weighing about 165 pounds, dark hair, which he kept cut short, lightly hairy chest and an uncut cock that was about 6« long when soft. It didn't really grow in length when it got hard, just bigger around and stiff.
"How about a cup of coffee?" he asked her, giving her a kiss on the forehead. He liked having food ready for him to eat without having to prepare it himself.
"Sure," she replied, filling his cup and handing it to him. She couldn't resist rubbing her hands across his chest.
"Careful, we don't have time to do anything else this morning and allow me to get to class on time," he said. "Besides, it needs to cool off a little and rest up," he laughed, pointing downward.
"Do you think it will have time to cool off before 3:45?" Marlene asked, knowing that was about the time Scott should get home from his last class.
"Probably," he laughed, giving her another kiss on the forehead before going back to the bedroom to get dressed.
After Scott left for school, Marlene turned on the TV, mainly just to have some noise in the apartment while she cleaned up the kitchen. The Today Show was on, but took a station break for local news and weather. It was going to be a nice, fall day. Sunny and in the lower 70's.
The news update from the Austin station came on next. She wasn't really paying any attention and the anchor was into the story before she realized he was talking about Jimmy Bob.
". was charged last night with DUI after wrecking his sedan by driving into a tree. Although he was not injured, his blood alcohol level was three times the legal limit. In addition, Rev. Jones was charged with possession of child pornography, having over 90 pictures of young boys in his possession. The minister is in Memorial Hospital in Williamsport, with a guard outside his room. He is expected to be released from the hospital mid- morning and will be taken to the city/county jail in Williamsport."
Marlene started laughing. That was the funniest thing she'd heard. Jimmy Bob, that self-serving, pious son-of-a-bitch had been drunk, wrecked his car and was caught with pictures of little boys. She assumed they were his conquests or victims, or whatever he called them. She'd really like to know how long all this had been going on, but guessed the story would come out, as more information was uncovered.
She wished she had someone she could call and share all this with, but realized she really didn't have any friends.
The rest area on I-10 was a few miles east of where Craig and Dale got on the Interstate. Craig pulled in, parking close to the building where the restrooms were housed. Dale parked beside him, rolling the windows down about halfway for Mitsy, and the three made their way to the facilities.
"How does the pickup drive?" Dale asked.
"Great," Craig replied. "I didn't realize that it's almost new until I looked at the odometer. It's only got about 7,000 miles on it."
"Yeah, the other one that we keep in the lot is the one Michael, Pat and John take with them when they're working in the fields. It's about 3 years old and, although it's in good shape, it's not as clean as this one."
After the men peed and washed their hands, Dale offered soft drinks, pulling change out of his pocket. Each of them had a soda to drink and the cold liquid tasted good.
Dale looked at his watch. We're doing great on time. We're over halfway in a little over an hour and a half."
"It will still take another hour and a half with the Houston traffic," Craig said, "although we'll miss the rush hour."
"I think 'rush hour' in Houston is something that never ends," Dale said.
They all laughed.
"Are we ready to roll?" Dale asked, draining his Coke.
"I am," Craig said, tossing his can in the trash.
"You riding with Craig, bud?" Dale asked Joey.
"Sure. Let me let Mitsy out for a little bit and then I'll get my backpack out of the Blazer," Joey said, leading the way to the vehicles. He snapped a leash on Mitsy, taking her to an area reserved for dogs.
Again, Craig took the lead as they got back on the Interstate.
Dale was thinking about the conversation he and Joey had while they were riding together. He wasn't sure if he'd been manipulated or not. He was glad that Joey had been honest with him, but was wondering about him wanting to invite other boys over to watch porn videos and mess around. Was Joey gay, or just experimenting? He remembered when he was Joey's age and wished that he'd had the opportunity to see some movies like that. Most of his masturbation sessions had been alone, although he and some of his buddies had participated in circle-jerks from time to time. There had sure been a lot of changes in the ten years since he'd been fourteen.
Joey remembered what Dale had told him about what to ask Craig. He needed to get the conversation worked around to where he could ask the question.
Finally there was a lull in the conversation.
"Dad Dale and I had an interesting discussion when I was riding with him."
"Oh, what about?" Craig asked.
"Gay parents versus straight parents," Joey said.
"That should have been interesting. Care to relate some of Dale's wisdom to me?" Craig laughed, wondering what the questions and answers had been.
"Well, would you say that gay parents might be more tolerant about teenagers having sex?" Joey asked.
"I'm not sure I follow you," Craig answered.
"Okay. You and Dale are my gay parents. You know that I know about gay sex and have no problem with what you guys do, just that I'm glad you love each other and are willing to allow me to be part of your family. If you found out that I was having sex with a girl, would you be upset?"
"I don't know if I'd really be upset, but I'd be concerned that even though you might be using protection, the girl could become pregnant and also, that you didn't hurt each other physically."
"Okay, the second part of the question. If you found out that I was having sex with another boy, what would your reaction be?"
"Unnn. is this a test of some kind?" Craig asked.
"No, we're having sex because we both want to. It feels good and there is no danger of a girl getting pregnant."
"I guess I wouldn't be as concerned, then. I guess that the age factor would enter into it. I wouldn't be concerned if the boys were older, but I probably would be if they were much younger than you."
"Okay. Next question. Straight parents. They find out that their son and his girlfriend are having sex. They are upset about it. What do they do?"
"Well, I'd be concerned about the birth control and protection issue. I wouldn't like it, but guess I'd want the boy and girl to know the risk they are taking. Are they mature enough to really know what they are doing? I probably couldn't stop them, but would want them to have all the information I could give them."
"Okay. Next question. Straight parents. They find out that their son is having sex with another boy his age. They both want to do it, nobody is being forced and there is no danger of a girl getting pregnant. What do they do?"
"I don't think I can answer that one. Some parents are more liberal than others. I can see some parents hitting the ceiling and it causes a family crisis. Other parents might not be as concerned. Again, I'd want to see that they had as much information available as I could get my hands on."
"Okay. Same parents and boy. They think they've stopped their son from having sex with another boy. He starts dating a girl and the parents find out they are having sex. They are relieved that he probably isn't gay, so are they more tolerant of what he and the girl are doing?"
"Again, I'm not sure I can answer that one, since I'm gay. I see what you are getting at, but I don't know that I can think as a straight person would. I see your point, but can truthfully only answer from the standpoint of being a gay parent. And that is I would be more tolerant of boys having sex with each other instead of a boy and a girl."
"You are honest," Joey said.
"By the way, how did Dale do on his interrogation?"
"About the same. He was looking at it from personal experience in that he grew up in a home where sex was never discussed and he said he wished he'd had the information available to him to better understand his feelings about liking other guys."
"Well, my dad gave me 'the talk' when I was about fourteen, your age. Basically he didn't tell me anything, except to be careful and not hurt anybody. My mother actually discussed things a little more freely, but there were questions I was afraid to ask and she probably couldn't or wouldn't answer them anyway. We had some books in the school library, but they didn't tell us much of anything, either."
"I know," Joey said. "I looked at some of my Dad's movies and they made a whole lot more sense than what they tried to teach us in Health Class. I thought that the one he had of the two women having sex was pretty gross though."
"I don't even want to know what they do to each other," Craig laughed.
"Did you play around with other boys your age and talk about sex with them?" Joey asked.
"Oh yes, there were three of us. One of the boys' parents both worked a strange shift, so they didn't get home until about 7 in the evening. We always went to his house because my mother was home most of the time. I don't know about the other boy. I think both of his parents worked, but his mother usually got home right after school was out. So if we were going to do anything, we went to Kirby's house," Craig answered.
"Were they gay?" Joey questioned.
"No, they both got married and have families. They liked to talk about girls, you know, which ones they wanted to have sex with. We'd jackoff, but never touch each other. They had their fantasies and I got off looking at their cocks. I don't think they ever suspected a thing," Craig said.
"That was something else we talked about," Joey said.
"What?" Craig questioned.
"If you guys would have a problem if I invited one or two guys over to watch videos and maybe play around a little bit?"
"What kind of videos?" Craig asked.
"Like my Dad had," Joey answered.
"Are you telling me that you are planning to have a 'jackoff club' and meet at our house?" Craig asked.
"Well, maybe something like that. I just wanted to be honest about it and not sneak around behind your back and feel guilty about doing something like that."
Craig wasn't sure. "I think I need to talk to Dale about this. Probably it would be a good idea if all three of us sat down and talked about it," Craig told Joey.
"Dad Dale said that you might even be willing to show us the correct way to masturbate," Joey said, trying to keep a straight face.
Craig couldn't believe what he was hearing, he was sure his mouth was hanging open. He looked over at Joey, then he noticed "the famous grin" and his eyes were twinkling.
"Dammit, I've been had!" Craig said.
Joey doubled up with laughter, and then Craig joined him.
"I really don't think I want to be a live model and instructor for a bunch of horny teenage boys." Craig was still laughing.
"Well, with the videos I guess we can figure it out for ourselves," Joey said.
"I still want all three of us to sit down and talk about this. I'm not sure that I have a problem with it, I might even like to watch that movie myself with Dale, but I guess I'd rather you be someplace safe than run the risk of getting caught. But I'm a little concerned that some other parents might find out we were allowing this to take place in our house and what could happen. We could have worse problems than what Rev. Jimmy Bob Jones tried to cause."
"I understand," Joey said. "If you are uncomfortable about this, I can watch them by myself, although it's not as much fun," Joey said.
"How many videos are we talking about?" Craig asked.
"About 120," Joey said without blinking an eye.
"A hundred and twenty?" Craig was incredulous. "I thought maybe you were talking about 3 or four to a dozen."
"No, Dad bought a lot of them. I think he may have had the complete collection of several of the studios. It was his entertainment since he didn't date other guys very often," Joey said. "Dale told me to get them packed up as soon as we got to Houston and to seal the boxes and label them something like 'Disney movies' so your parents didn't see them."
"I certainly agree with that, and also if there are any sex toys. I'm not sure I want my parents stumbling across those, either."
"They are all in a drawer in his bedroom," Joey said.
"Well, let's get them packed up and out of sight right away," Craig said, wondering why Joey knew so much about the videos and toys.
The rest of the trip was uneventful and Craig swung onto I- 610, taking it to US59 and going north to Tidwell Road. Craig's parents would get off at Tidwell Road from I-45 as it would be easier for them.
Craig noted that there was a U-Haul place close by where they could buy packing boxes if they couldn't find a liquor store that would have any to give away. Dale brought labels and a tape machine so they could seal boxes with clear tape and label them.
The first thing Joey noticed when they arrived at the house was that the lawn needed to be cut. He would have to do that this afternoon. They parked both Bar-W vehicles on the driveway and Joey disarmed the alarm when they entered the house. It smelled musty, but the air conditioning had been turned off for over a week.
Dale looked at his watch as he entered the house. It was 9:45. They had made good time.
"Okay, bud," Dale said to Joey. "Show me the stash of videos and let's figure out how to pack them up."
Craig put his arm around Dale's waist as they were standing there. "I understand you want me to be a live porn model and demonstrator of sexual techniques," he said.
"Yes, but only in my bed," Dale said, giving him a passionate kiss.
Joey was looking on, wondering what it would be like to kiss another person like that.
"Come on, Dads. They are in here." Joey led the way to Joe's bedroom, opening a cabinet to the left of the built-in entertainment center. There they were, on six shelves. Dale thought there was a better stock than most stores dealing in erotic items. He and Craig had the same thought: 'It would be interesting to look at them to see what other guys did. Maybe they were missing something important.'
"Okay, what about the toys?" Craig asked.
"Toys?" Dale questioned.
"Yeah," Joey said. He crossed the room and pulled a drawer open on the nightstand. There were a couple of vibrators, dildos, lube, condoms and other toys. The magazines were in the drawer below.
"I'm sure glad we have a chance to pack this up before your parents get here," Dale said. He looked at Joey. "Are there any large empty boxes here with lids, or do we need to go buy some?"
"There might be a couple in the garage. Let me go look."
Joey let Mitsy out into the backyard and made sure she had fresh water. There were two large boxes in the garage, but they probably wouldn't be large enough. He took them back to the bedroom.
Dale and Craig were looking through Joe's clothes.
"Here's what was out there," Joey said.
"I don't think those will be large enough. There was a U- Haul place where we got off the freeway. I'll go back and buy a dozen boxes. That will let us get started, then we can determine what else we need a little later."
"Okay," Dale said. "Joey and I can look through the clothes and see if there is anything we want while you are gone."
It was obvious that the pants were too large for them, although there was one nice suit that Joey liked. The coat fit pretty well, it obviously needed some alterations. He had Joey try the pants on. They were about 4 inches too large in the waist.
"Let's lay these aside and Craig can look at them. He knows better than I do about how they can alter things to fit," Dale said.
They each found a sport coat that they liked and laid them aside, too. Craig could have final say on keeping them, or not.
There were about a dozen shirts that one or the other liked, so they went in the pile of things to keep.
"We can go through the dresser later," Dale said. "Let's go to your room and look to see what needs to be done there."
Joey had his list. There were a lot of model ships and aircraft. He wanted to keep his desk and chair and most of his clothes. There were games and books, CD's, pictures and posters. He had a stereo system in his room, but wanted to keep the good system in the living room along with the big-screen TV and some of his favorite videos.
"I thought maybe you and Dad Craig would like to have the big-screen TV in the living room and I could take the one you have in there for my room."
"I don't know why not, we need to check with him to make sure. I know it was mentioned the other evening but I don't think we ever decided anything about it," Dale told him.
"The VCR in here is almost new, so it's better than the one in my room and there is a cassette deck and CD player in here, too. We got that stuff all about the same time," Joey said.
"Okay. Craig should be back in a few minutes. We'll need shredded paper and probably tissue paper to put around your models so they don't get damaged. We can also get bubble wrap at any of the office supply stores, too. Craig's parents will be here in another hour, so Doris can help us decide what we need in the way of packing supplies and then put all of us to work.
"What time do you want to go to the school?" Dale asked.
"Probably about 11 o'clock. The first lunch period starts at 11:30 and most of my friends eat lunch about 12:05. That should give me time to turn in my homework, clean out my locker and see about getting my gym clothes. The office should be able to give me a pass so I don't get caught out of class."
"Do you need me to go with you?" Dale asked.
"Maybe it wouldn't hurt for you to go to the office with me in case they have to have your signature on something. Then you should be through," Joey said.
"I think we'll give you Craig's cell phone to take with you, then you can call here and somebody can come pick you up when you are ready."
While they were talking, Craig arrived back at the house and Joey helped him get a couple dozen boxes out of the back of the pickup. Dale had already brought in the tape and labels.
"You show Craig the suit and coat you laid out and see what he thinks about trying to have them altered to fit you. I'll start packing these tapes."
Dale put the box together and taped it both directions across the bottom. It took two large boxes to pack the tapes and toys. He was glad to be able to seal the boxes and label them. He simply wrote "Joe's Bedroom" on the labels for those boxes. Now they didn't have to worry about Craig's parents seeing the contents.
About that time the doorbell rang. Dale glanced at his watch. It was 10:20.
"Must be your parents," he said.
The three started for the living room. Indeed it was Frank and Doris and they had hugs for both Craig and Dale. Joey was standing there, fascinated with what he was seeing. He'd never had any relatives except his aunt and she had certainly never offered Joey a hug.
"Mom, Dad, this is Joey," Craig said as soon as he broke free from their greeting.
Frank and Doris descended on Joey. Frank was patting him on the back, pumping his hand and Doris was hugging him and laid a kiss on his cheek.
"My, my, aren't you handsome," Doris said, Joey turning red, but enjoying the attention.
"I can certainly tell that you and Dale are brothers," Frank said, giving him a hug. "Welcome to the family."
"Thanks. grandpa and grandma," Joey said, hesitating.
"Mom, that's the first time we've been called that. It feels good, doesn't it?" Frank asked.
"Well, it doesn't make me feel old like I thought it would," Doris laughed.
They all joined in the laughter.
"I need to take Joey to school in a little while to get his personal things and turn in his homework. He's going to eat lunch with some of his friends. Craig, is it okay if he takes your cell phone so he can call when he's ready to come home?"
"Sure," Craig said, handing it over.
"Joey, I think we are just going to start going through closets and laying things out while you are gone. That way we don't miss anything you might want. We'll get what we need and start packing up the things you want to keep out of your bedroom and living room.
"Craig, we didn't give Joey an answer about keeping the big screen TV in the living room, along with the stereo equipment. He thought maybe we'd enjoy having it in the living room at home and he'll take the TV and VCR that we have and put in his room."
"That's fine with me. It's a nice TV."
"It's wired for 'surround sound'," Joey said. It's great for watching action movies."
"Sounds good to me," Craig replied.
"Joey, go with Craig and try those clothes on, then we'll let Mom look at them and see if she thinks we can make them fit you," Dale told him.
They went off to Joe's bedroom and Dale took them to Joey's room to point out the things he wanted to keep, which was almost everything in the room except his bed and dresser. Frank was measuring the model of the "Battleship Missouri" so he could get an idea of how to pack it. "I've never seen a Navy ship model this large," he said.
"What do you think? Tissue paper, bubble wrap and shredded paper in a box?" Dale asked.
"Yeah, don't you agree, Doris?" Frank asked.
"Yes, I'd say so. Don't wrap it too tight, but you don't want it shifting around in the box, either," she said.
About that time Craig yelled from the living room. Joey had the suit pants on and was holding them up. Otherwise they would have ended up on the floor. Doris looked at them, then told Joey, "Unfasten the snap, I want to look at the back seam."
Joey wasn't sure he wanted a woman to see him in his underwear, but decided that it was probably okay. Doris just pulled the waistband back so she could see what she was looking for.
"Guys, these pants have already been taken up quite a bit when they fitted them for Joey's dad. I'm afraid that if they just take them up in the back, the side seams are going to be too far back and it's going to put the rear pockets awfully close together. I don't think they are worth altering because they are always going to look funny. And if they were to do it properly, they would have to take the pants apart and re-cut them. It's going to be expensive.
"On the other hand, the coat isn't too bad and it would make a nice sports jacket. It just needs the sleeves shortened a bit and a tuck at the waist. It's worth saving," Doris told the men.
"Should I try on the other coat?" Joey asked.
"Leave it laying out. I need to get you to the school. We can look at it later. Craig needs to look through that closet, too. There are some nice knit shirts that should fit all of us," Dale said.
Joey changed back into his Levis and he and Dale left for his school.
Doris immediately took it upon herself to start cleaning out closets and lay things in the living and dining rooms. The people handling the estate sale would have to see what was being offered for sale.
Craig and Frank looked in the garage. Frank was taken with the Oldsmobile Cierra sedan. "This is almost new," he said as he got in and started the engine. Craig pressed the button for the garage door to allow the exhaust to escape.
"Come on, get in. I want to drive this around the block. I might be interested in buying it to replace the car Doris has been driving."
Craig got in and Frank backed down the driveway, since his car was parked behind the Bar-W pickup, on the opposite side. "It's only got 5,800 miles on it," he told Craig. They went east, getting on the US-59 freeway, going to the next exit north and turning around, then going back to the house.
"I'd rather it was something other than the beige color, but I think I want to buy it. We'll let Doris drive it to Williamsport and see how she likes it, then I'll offer Dale whatever a car lot would give him and sell our old car when we get back to Arlington."
Frank parked on the driveway. He and Craig then started through the storage in the garage, laying things out where they could be seen.
Dale returned from taking Joey to school and they decided that they should find someplace to eat lunch before the noon crowds got there as he had an appointment with a realtor at 1 o'clock.
"I want to buy the Oldsmobile. I'm going to have Doris drive it back to Williamsport to see if she likes it. If she doesn't, then I'll buy it to replace the car I'm driving," Frank told Dale.
"That's fine. Saves me the hassle," Dale laughed.
"I think we can come up with a fair price," Frank laughed. Shouldn't be too hard to find a car like that in the ads or have a local dealer give you an appraisal. I'll pay whatever they tell you."
"I think you have a deal," Dale told him.
They told Doris to stop work and took Joe's car to the restaurant. There was a Village Inn down the street about two miles.
It was a good lunch and they caught up on the things they hadn't talked about since seeing each other about three and a half weeks before.
"Of course, Frank and Doris wanted to know all about Joey, if Dale and Craig thought there were going to be any problems with him making his home with them.
"No," Dale said. "In the first place, he has nowhere else to go. There are some cousins in Oregon that he doesn't even know. Joe's sister here in Houston is older and in poor health. Craig and I realize that Joey really doesn't know us, but I'm his closest relative and I feel that it's my duty to comply with Joe's request that I become his guardian."
"If he was rebellious and had a poor attitude, it would be a different story altogether, but he seems to be well-adjusted, is a straight A student, in Boy Scouts, has joined the church choir and seems anxious to please Dale and me," Craig added.
"He wants to call both of us 'Dad' because he misses Joe and wants to be able to call someone that. The same with calling you Grandma and Grandpa; he's never known any grandparents and was thrilled to death that you suggested he call you that," Dale told them.
"I can tell that he's a fine boy. All of you are lucky. You fellows can be a good influence on him and you can be proud of helping a deserving boy," Doris said.
Frank nodded his head in agreement.
"Thanks. Both of us are looking forward to being a family of three," Craig said.
"I know I am," Dale added.
(to be continued)
Author's Note: This is my first attempt at gay fiction, and the only way I can learn whether or not I should continue is from my readers' feedback. I would appreciate your comments, criticism, suggestions, and anything else that you would care to say. All Email will be answered. If you wish to receive e-mail notification of subsequent postings, please let me know by sending your request to the following e-mail address: TulsaDriller7@aol.com
Thanks for the overwhelming response to previous chapters. I have received positive replies from all over the world. My special thanks for proofreading help to Paul Daventon, who has taken time to help me catch obvious errors.