The Geek and the Jock

The Geek and the Jock By: Jeff N (Copyright 2009 by the author) Editor: Madison Cole

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From Chapter 5

"You heard, I take it?" Daniel asked. The tears were not only on his face, but in his voice as well.

"Yeah."

"He really is a great guy ... he just gets so mean sometimes."

"I know, Daniel. It will be ok."

Over the next two weeks things went about in the same fashion. I kept on healing and getting stronger with the help of everyone. Jeremy and I continued our relationship, but something just seemed off-kilter somehow. I didn't know if it was on my side or his. The one thing that truly bothered me was that there were times when Jeremy was gone for an hour or even longer. He would never answer me when I asked where he was. Daniel continued to live with us. Erik and he continued their strange relationship. I began to believe Erik was an abuser and he was taking advantage of Daniel, but time would tell on that assumption.

The day came when Rachel called from work and said we had to have a "family meeting" about my case that night when she got home.

Chapter 6

After school, Rachel phoned everyone to confirm that she was calling a family meeting for that night. She ordered pizza from a local pizzeria to be delivered at 6 p.m., so no one had to worry about cooking. I had progressed to the point that I could stay home alone during the day as everything was at last healing nicely. In fact, I was scheduled to head back to school the following Monday. I admit the thought of returning to school and facing people didn't seem that appealing to me but I also knew it was a necessary evil. Daniel and Jeremy told me that many people were asking about me and had wished me well, so that made me feel better about my return.

Daniel got home shortly after school let out for the day. I asked him if he new about the plans for the evening, which he did. We decided to get things set up as best we could for the family gathering. Between the two of us we set up the dining room for the supper hour. We also moved a couple of the chairs around in the living room for better seating. After we were done in there, we moved to the kitchen, grabbed a couple of cokes, and relaxed on the sofa in the living room. We sat next to each other with our feet up on the coffee table.

"How you doing, Daniel?" I asked.

"Good, I guess ... I can't complain too much. School is good," he said, although he didn't really sound enthused.

"How are the football team and practices going?"

"Ehhh ... I guess okay, but it sure is different since, since ... well, you know."

"Yeah, I sure do know," I said, reaching over and patting the mid part of his thigh with my hand. Daniel placed his hand gently on top of mine and tentatively gripped it before giving it a firm squeeze. He released it after holding it just a little longer than he perhaps should have.

I looked down at my watch and saw that it was already 5:30. I said, "I wonder where Jeremy is? He has been running so late these days."

"I have noticed that, too," Daniel said, just shrugging his shoulders.

The door from the garage opened. Rachel and Joe had arrived home at the same time. They greeted us as they walked through and said they were going to change clothes. They asked us to please let my dad in when he arrived. We were also to sign for the pizza, which was all paid for by credit card including the tip. Ten minutes or so later the door bell rang. Daniel jumped up, grabbed the knob and opened the door, revealing my father.

Daniel stepped aside and allowed him to enter. As they greeted each other, it fully surprised me when my father took Daniel in a hug, one which Daniel enthusiastically returned. My dad walked over to the sofa as I was getting to my feet. He gave me a big hug also and asked how I was doing. We made small talk between the three of us for the next few minutes. Soon Rachel and Joe returned from upstairs, dressed in their usual casual clothes. The doorbell again rang. This time it was Joe's turn to answer. It was the pizza man. Joe told him to just walk in and put the pizza and breadsticks on the dining room table.

After the delivery guy unpacked the pizza, he began walking back to the front door. I was now on my feet and met him. "Jess, is that you? What are you doing here? How are you, man?" he asked me.

I looked and recognized the delivery guy as someone who went to my school. I knew he was a senior. Thinking to myself, I should know him, I finally said, "Matt ... Matt Parks, right?"

"Yup, that'd be me."

"Well, I am doing a lot better now. I have been staying here since ... well, you know. They all have been helping me to get back in shape."

"Well, very cool, man. I've got to get going, but I am sorry about what happened to you. I will see you when you get back to school." Matt moved toward me and gave me sort of a half hug, which I returned. With that, he headed out the door.

As we headed to the table to eat, I thought to myself, What was that all about with Matt? Yeah, I knew who he was—barely—but what was that hug all about, and why was he so friendly?

Rachel and Joe got the sodas out of the frig as we all took our seats.

"Where is Jeremy?" Rachel asked in an irritated tone.

Both Daniel and I looked at each other and shrugged our shoulders. I reached for my cell phone and hit Jeremy's speed dial. It rang four times, with the voicemail picking up. I left a message, "Jeremy, you're late for the dinner meeting ... where are you?"

"We might as well go ahead and eat before it gets cold," Rachel said, souding even more upset.

Most of us had finished eating when the door opened and Jeremy walked in. We all were heading to the living room, as Jeremy started to sit down at eat. "Ahhh ... I don't think so, mister. In the living room with everyone else ... you were late, so you can just wait to eat until later," his mother said, this time almost irate.

Jeremy gave her a dirty look as he pulled his jacket off, but headed into the living room. Daniel and I sat on the sofa, with him on one end and in the middle. My dad was in the chair, and Joe and Rachel headed for the loveseat. Jeremy plunked himself down next to me on the sofa. My dad and Joe were chatting between themselves. I leaned over and was going to give Jeremy a kiss, but he pulled back. I felt somewhat hurt, but I guessed he didn't want to kiss in front of the parents.

Still leaning towards him I asked. "Why were you so late?"

He gave me a stern look that was very distant. "Don't worry about it!" he snapped in response to my question.

Before I could even react, Rachel spoke up. "Well, I have had a lot of discussions with both the police department and the District Attorney. The new investigator is much better and has done his job well. Based on the evidence that has been brought forward they have decided on the following charges. Mark and Randy will both be charged with kidnapping, false imprisonment, and battery. Chad will also have the same charges filed against him, with the additional charge of attempted second-degree murder. Now, Mark and Randy have both agreed to take a plea bargain which the DA wants our input on—or, more specifically, your input, Jess."

Rachel looked over at me. I must have had a look of fear on my face. Rachel continued, "Mark and Rancy have both agreed to testify against Chad, who was the ring leader in all this. In exchange for their testimony, they will be given reduced sentences. What is being proposed for punishment will be probation until they turn twenty one. They will also cover all of our court costs, Jess's medical bills, and will be sentenced to serve 250 hours community service to be done at the center for gay rights and the AIDS center. In addition to that, their insurance companies have put out an offer of $250,000 from each to be paid to you, Jess, for your pain and suffering."

I sat there on the couch, stunned into silence. I looked around the room, and everyone else appeared to be in the same condition. Rachel continued, "Now, Chad is another story. He has vowed to fight the charges until the end and says he wants his day in court. The DA feels the second-degree murder charge will be the hardest to prove. However, he feels that all the rest can be easily proven, and when that is coupled with our state's hate crime statute, Chad will go to prison for a long time. The punishment for the first three charges listed is a minimum of seven years in prison with a maximum of 25. His insurance company has also agreed to settle with Jess just to wash their hands of the matter, and that is not a good sign for his criminal case. The settlement that they are offering you is $800,000. The issue of Chad's jail time is separate from the insurance settlements."

"Rachel, I have no idea what to say about any of this," I replied.

"Well, let's start with the insurance settlements. These were not the first offers. I have pushed them up a fair amount already. We could go to court and try to get more out of them, but it would take time and cost money. I think these amounts are pretty fair, actually. They will give you a nice start on life, even though I know it is nowhere near enough to even begin to compensate you for what you have gone through. As your attorney, it would be my recommendation that you take these offers and walk away from any further suits on the civil side," Rachel said.

My dad spoke up. "I agree with Rachel. Let's take the offers, put this all behind us, and move on. You can finish your last year of high school, Jess, and then go to the college of your choice now and start your adult life. I am just so sorry that you had to go through this to get it. I am not so much talking about the physical pain—that was awful, I know—but also I'm talking about the mental anguish you went through. There is no amount of money that could ever make amends for that."

I looked at Daniel, who said, "I agree with your dad. Let's get all this crap behind you, or us, and forget it. The money doesn't make it right but it will help you a little."

When Daniel was done, Jeremy spoke up and said, "Take the money, babe. It will give us a great start on our life together."

I again sat there without words. Jeremy is planning to be with me long term. I had never really thought too much about the future, but he must have, judging from his words, and he wanted me to be part of it. A small tear came to my eye as I held Jeremy's hand and began to speak. "Where do I have to sign, or what do I have to do to take these offers? I never even gave getting money for this a thought. To say the least, I am overwhelmed."

Rachel took out three sets of legal documents and laid them on the coffee table. "You are eighteen, Jess, so you can sign for yourself. You don't need your father to sign with you. These are the agreements and releases. Once these are signed and filed with the proper insurance companies, you will be issued payments. All that you need to do is sign where the red Xs are, and I will take care of the rest."

I took the pen from Rachel, signed the papers where indicated, and handed them all back to her. She then said. "I have contacted a close friend, Richard Harvey. He is the Vice President of investments at the Rock National Bank. I have set up an appointment for you for Monday night at five o'clock."

I nodded my head. "I will be there," I promised.

My mind slowly began to wonder about what the hell I was going to do with a million dollars. I figured my college would be paid for now with no problem. I needed a car, and that should be a no-brainer, but nothing too fancy. I thought about trying to pay Jeremy and his parents back, but I knew they would never take it. I looked over at my dad. I knew he still owed about $30,000 on his mortgage. I would pay that off, for sure. As I was thinking, I was suddenly taken out of my thoughts by Rachel speaking to me.

"Now, Jess, we need to deal with the criminal charges. As for the plea bargain that Randy and Mark are being offered, I suggest that you advise the DA to go with the plea. It is my belief that all the evidence shows that Chad was the mastermind and brought these two into it, kind of like sheep following the leader."

I thought for a minute. "I agree with you, Rachel, they were just brought along to do the dirty work. It's Chad who is the truly evil asshole in all this. Randy and Mark don't deserve to have their lives ruined. I just have one question—do you think it would be possible to have one thing added to their punishment? I want meet with them face to face. I want them to say they are sorry and explain to me to my face why they did it. I want them to know I am a person with feelings."

"If you want that, I am sure the DA will add that. I think its an excellent idea," Rachel said. "Now, as far as Chad is concerned, we will just have to wait for the trial date to be set. I would like to tell the DA to recommend the maximum penalty for Chad."

"I totally agree, but even the maximum sentence is not longenough for the son of a bitch," I said as my tears started to flow.

As I said this, Jeremy pulled his hand away from mine, stood up, and began pacing. "I have to say that this just seems wrong to me. This is going to ruin his life. Chad is my best friend. He doesn't deserve to go to jail for twenty five years."

Everyone in the room sat there with their mouths hanging open. We stared at Jeremy as he continued to pace. Daniel was the first to come out of his stouper. "Jeremy, what are you saying? How can you still be friends with that filth? He deserves to go to jail for a hundred years for what he put Jess and the rest of us through. He took Jess off the street, tied him to a board, beat him unconscious, and left him to die!"

"I know, but it's just hard for me to go along with this. I was friends with him since we were four years old. I know what he did was wrong. But he is 18 years old. If he gets 25 years, he won't be out until he is 45. It just seems so unfair ... but I guess it is in the hand of the courts, since he appartently wants to fight it."

Rachel spoke up and said firmly, "Jeremy, this was a crime planned out carefully ... not something that he did on just a whim. Chad has to be punished, and he will be."

After that, the meeting broke up. My dad and Jeremy's parents sat in the living room to talk between themselves. Daniel and I began to head upstairs. Jeremy came up behind us and told me that he had to go out for a little bit. The football offense was having a meeting to discuss this week's game. He quickly left. Daniel got a phone call from Erik shortly after we went upstairs, and he asked if he could come over for a while.

Fifteen minutes later Rachel sent Erik up to our room. Knowing that they would want some time alone, I excused myself and went into the spare bedroom to watch some television. That was the bedroom that shared the bathroom that was attached to the room that we used. Apparently, both of the bathroom doors were open a crack. I had not noticed that until voices became raised in the other room, so much so that I could hear them over the television. I could not make out words exacty, but I could tell it was not happy times in that room.

The argument went on for five or six minutes and finally ended with the slamming door of Erik's leaving. Once he was gone, I got off the bed, wnt down the hall, and slowly opened the door. As I stuck my head inside, I asked Daniel "Is it safe to come in?"

"Yeah ... I take it you heard."

"So what's up with all this?" I asked.

"Jess, to tell you the truth, I am not sure. Erik seems to have changed from the time I first started going out with him. He gets so upset with me at times. I just don't know what it is that I am doing wrong."

"Well, Daniel, I know I am new to this whole relationship thing, but I know Erik doesn't like the two of us being friends. He gave me a warning a while ago to stay the hell away from you. I tried to tell him that I am with Jeremy and that you and I are just good friends, but he didn't seem to accept that."

A tear started to form in the corner of Daniel's eye. "Do you mind if we don't talk about this right now, Jess? I just want to relax a bit."

"Sure. You want to play some video game or watch a movie?"

We settled on a movie that Daniel picked out. About an hour after that, Jeremy arrived home. He again appeared to be quiet and distant, but finished watching the movie with us. All of us agreed that we were tired and got ready for bed at the same. We took our usual spots in the bed and laid there in the dark. Daniel gave both of us a kiss and hug goodnight. Then he rolled over onto his side. I had assumed he was lost in his own thoughts about whatever was going on with Erik. I rolled over to face Jeremy, put my head on his chest, and laid my arm across his belly. Since my beating Jeremy and I had done almost nothing physically. I, of course, had no experience in this area at all being a virgin when I met Jeremy. All that I had for reference was what little I had seen on the internet.

As I laid beside him, Jeremy seemed to be lost in his own thoughts. It was obvious to me that he had some huge weight on his shoulders, and I wished that he would share it with me. I was not falling into sleep as easily as I thought I might. I could tell that Jeremy was in the same situation.

My mind began to wonder what it would be like to have sex with Jeremy. Slowly, I found my hand wandering down his belly. It soon came in contact with Jeremy's pubic hair. It was thick and soft to the touch. My fingers found their way through that sexy forest, arriving at the prize in short order. I gently ran my fingers across the head of his completely flaccid cock. I heard a small audiable gasp from Jeremy, but nothing more. I wrapped my hand around him. Jeremy soon began to have a reaction. It took several seconds for it to grow and expand. The blood was rushing in from all over his body, filling the tower to maximum capacity. There was a very similar reaction happening within my own body.

As I began to stroke his cock, he began to react. I could feel his body slowly moving in motion with my hand, and his cock began to produce its natural lube. That made it much easier for me. My head was still laying on his chest. I extended my tongue and began to kiss, lick and nibble on Jeremy's right nipple. This must have driven him crazy. I felt his hand on my head as he ran his fingers through my hair, massaging my head. Jeremy moaned in pleasure as his cock became as hard as a rock. I had been at this about eight or nine minutes, when things quickly became more intense. Jeremy removed his hand from my head. I was not sure what was happening, but it was possible be was about to cum.

Not knowing for sure what I wanted to do—just let it fly or stop? What should I do? I thought to myself. Before I could even kick my mind into gear, my body instinctively took over. I bent down, and of course I felt a couple of painful twinges from my ribs, but I kept going nevertheless. I soon had my lips wrapped around the head of Jeremy's cock. I got no further, because I felt his nuts constrict, his body began to arch, and his hand tried to force me off of him. I would have none of that. I wanted to taste him and taste him now.

His eruption began. The first volley hit the back of my mouth, followed in quick succession by five or six more powerful shots. I somehow managed to swallow all of it without spilling a single drop. When it was over, I looked up at Jermz for the first time since this game started. He looked down at me with a tear in his eye, but he still had a huge smile and look of contentment plastered on his face.

Jeremy pulled me up to him, and kissed me deeply and passionately on the lips. I felt so content and so full of love at that moment. He told me that he loved me more than anything. Soon after that we both drifted off to sleep. We awoke the following morning, the three of us began going through our normal pre-school routine.

As we finished up, Jeremy came up behind me and whispered in my ear, "I know you have that meeting with the banker after school, but how about we go out to dinner about seven tonight?"

"Sure, that sounds great! Any special reason?"

"Yeah ... kinda, but I will tell you tonight."

Late Monday afternoon I made my way to the Rock National Bank as Rachel had arranged for me to do. Once inside, I asked for Richard Harvey. I was soon ushered into his office in the front corner of the bank. After the introductions were concluded, Mr. Harvey explained that the checks had all arrived earlier in the day. The total amount was actually more than had been expected. Apparently Rachel had asked for more in a couple of the cases, and had won. The total that was being held for me was $1,900,000 dollars. I fell totally into shock.

"Mr. Harvey," I said, "I have no idea what to do with all of this money. I am hoping you will have some suggestions that will help me. However, I do have a small laundry list that I need to take care of before we go forward." I reached into my pocket and pulled out the paper I had written everything on.

"That's very good, Jess. Let's go over your list and see what I can help you with."

"Well, first I would like to pay off the mortgage on my father's house, and then put ten thousand in his checking account."

"I thought you might do something along that line. I have already looked up your fathers mortgage since it happens to be here at this bank. He currently owes $26,575.89," Mr. Harvey said, looking at his screen. He then set to work, pushed a few buttons, and in about five minutes a woman walked in carrying some papers. Mr. Harvey looked at them, announced that the mortgage was paid off in full, and that he had transferred the money I requested into my father's account. He handed me a copy of the mortgage that was stamped `paid,' plus a receipt for the deposit.

The next item on my list was to set up a college fund for myself. I explained that I wanted this in a separate investment. I had no savings for that now. I told Mr. Harvey that I wanted to allot $100,000 for that account. He thought that would be an excellent idea. He made some notes and said he would take care of setting that up for me.

Next, I wanted to help Daniel out. He really had nothing in the world and he had quickly become my best friend. Like me—before today, anyway—he also had no savings for college, and I knew if he was not helped out somehow, he would not get to go. I explained this to Mr. Harvey, providing him all of Daniel's details as I went along. He told me that I was being very generous and a true friend. He said he would set up another account similar to mine. Again, he started clicking away on his keyboard.

"How much would you like to start Daniel out with?"

"I was thinking $50,000, or do you think that is being cheap?"

Mr. Harvey smiled and replied, "No, Jess, I think that is a great amount."

When he finished typing, as if on cue the same woman came back in with a stack of papers for me to sign. I was again handed a copy with the amounts on them. I explained to Mr. Harvey that I was going to buy myself a car—nothing too fancy, but the one I wanted was about $30,000. I wanted to upgrade Daniel's car as well, since his was mostly junk. The one I wanted for him was a good used one that cost about $17,000.

Mr. Harvey asked me if that was all the major purchases I intended to make. Looking down at my list, I explained that I had just a couple of other things in mind. I wanted to buy a trip for Jeremy's parents to thank them for all they had done for me. I wanted to spend about $10,000 on that. Then there was Jeremy. I wanted to get him something special that would run about $2,000. Other than that, there was nothing more I wanted to do.

Mr. Harvey again returned to typing on his keyboard. He asked how much I thought I would spend on a weekly basis. I explained that I would not spend that much, just enough for gas and meals. His typing continued. As before, when he finished the same woman walked in and handed him a sheaf of papers and envelopes. Mr. Harvey explained to me that he had set up a checking account for me which of course included a debit card. He had deposited $70,000 in it to cover everything I had given him, plus an extra $9,000 for spending money. The rest of the settlement money would be held in savings until he had worked out a personalized plan for its investment. Mr. Harvey handed me some counter checks and the debit card, and he told me the account and cards were both active and ready to go. If I bought either of the cars, Mr. Harvey said to just use the debit card, and if there any problems arose just to have the dealership call him personally.

I thanked him, and was out the door. I caught the bus over to the dealership near the mall, where I had looked at cars a couple of days earlier. I went in and found my salesman. His name was Jerry. I told him I was ready to deal on the 2010 Black Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder, and also the 2007 Red Eclipse with 35,000 miles on it. We went into his office.

He got out some papers along with his calculator. Jerry began writing some figures on a paper. When he was done, he slid a paper in front of me. I looked at it, and the bottom line total was $40,500.

"Jerry, you're going to have to do a lot better than that," I said as I slid the paper back across the desk to him.

"That's our best deal here. Besides what kind of joke is this, an 18 year-old kid trying to buy two cars? How would you even begin to pay for them?"

Without hesitation, I reached down, picked up my backpack, threw it over my shoulder, and headed for the door. I heard him say behind me, "What a joke."

I had almost arrived at the end of the lot headed for the bus stop, when I heard someone behind me yelling, "Sir!" I turned to see an older man waving and running toward me. "Can I talk to you and ask what happened?" he said earnestly.

I explained to him that I had been in a couple days ago, looked at the two cars, and even taken them both for test drives. I also explained that Jerry and I were apart on the price and then relayed what Jerry had said to me.

"Well," the older man said. "I am sorry for my salesman's actions, and I will deal with him appropriately. I am Frank Lancaster, the owner of Lancaster Automotive. Would you be willing to come back to my office and see if we can make a deal together?"

I nodded in the affirmative.

He did the same thing that Jerry had with his computer and a piece of paper. He wrote down two prices. The total of the two was $39,005.

"If you will be wiling to take $4,000 off the price, I think we can deal, Frank."

He looked a little puzzled, "Well, which car are you talking about—the 2010 or the 2007? Which one are you talking about taking that $4,000 off of?"

"I don't really care which one, so long as you take it off the total."

"Oh, you want both of them? Well, if you want both of them, I am willing to do it for $36,000."

"Then we have a deal, Frank, on one condition. "Can have them both delivered to my house in two hours?"

"Son, listen. We have to talk about financing these, and I am not sure you would even pass the test without a parent."

I reached into my pocket, pulled out my new debit card. I slid it across Mr. Lancaster's desk. "You can put the total on there, sir. There's no need to involve my dad."

He picked up the card with a funny smirk on his face. "You will understand if I call the bank and ask them first?"

"By all means, be my guest! Please ask for Mr. Richard Harvey. He handles my account." I sat back, smiling.

Mr. Lancaster proceeded to dial. As he was talking to Mr. Harvey, he got a funny look on his face and sat up quite a bit straighter in his chair. He soon hung up the phone, immediately dialing another number.

"Well then, sir, we have a deal. We can get them delivered to your specs as soon as we get this paperwork done."

We spent about twenty minutes doing the paperwork. I walked out with the keys to two cars in my pocket. I had arranged that they be delivered to Jeremy's house before seven, and left on the street close to the driveway of the Lang's house. I headed over to the mall to make my last two stops. First, I went to American Travel. I talked to one of the agents and told them that I wanted to buy a gift certificate for a couple so they could come in and plan their own trip.

When I told the agent the $10,000 amount I wanted to spend, her eyes got somewhat bigger, but she proceeded handling my request without a comment. She then took my card and ran it. When the transaction cleared, she printed out some paperwork along with a nice fancy certificate and placed it all in a heavy envelope. She thanked me for the business as I headed out the door. My last stop was K-1 Jewelry. I went in and looked first at the watches and next at some neck chains. The counter person, a young man dressed in a nice suit, came to assist me. He told me his name was Scot. I told Scot I was looking for a nice watch for my boyfriend. He smiled at me and asked what price range I was looking at.

"I want to spend between two and three thousand."

"I will get my manager to help you with this."

"No, you can help me, we don't need a manager."

He said he was not allowed to wait on someone who wanted to spend as much money as I did. I frowned.

"I want you to wait on me, now show me what you have."

He walked over to the register and took out a set of keys. Scot came back and unlocked the door to the watch cabinet. He took out a tray of watches which were in my price range. I saw the one I wanted right away. It was a beautiful gold watch with a black dial and diamond at the `12.' He was explaining the features when an older man came over.

"I will take over here, now. You know this is not allowed."

"Excuse me, sir, you can leave us now. Scot is doing a fine job, I have decided what I want."

"Very well then, I will finalize the sale for you," the older man said.

I bent over, picked up my backpack, and headed for the door. The older man called after me. I turned my head back toward him and said, "I said, either Scot waits on me and gets the full commission on the sale, or I am leaving right now."

"Of course, sir."

Scot gave me a price of $2,200 which included the engraving I wanted. I asked Scot when it would be done. He told me that the engraving was his usual job here, and if I could wait just fifteen minutes, he could have it done for me and I could take the watch with me. I thanked him, and asked if I could watch him do his engraving work. Scot agreed to that, which I found interesting. We talked as he worked. It came out that he was gay also, but he had not yet found his "Mr. Right." He was 19 and had taken a year off before going to college. I put all this information in the back of my head.

Sure enough, Scot was done in fifteen minutes, I thanked him and headed out the door. I told the manager I would be checking to see if Scot in fact received the commission due him on my sale.

It was about six o'clock. I pulled out my cell phone and called my father. I asked him to meet me at Jeremy's. I then called Daniel. He was already home, as was Jeremy and both his parents. I told him to keep everyone there, and that I would be there shortly. He sounded puzzled but said he would do as I asked.

When I arrived home, I saw the cars sitting out in the street just as they were supposed to be. My father arrived at the same time I did and followed me into the house. I asked if they could all join me in the living room.

Once there, I stood at the head of the room. "I am sorry for the short notice on this little meeting, but I could not wait. I met with Mr. Harvey this afternoon, and found out `mom' did better than we thought she might. I had 1.9 million dollars waiting for me at the bank. We got some of the items settled this afternoon, and Mr. Harvey will be working on more for me. My reason for calling you all here is mostly to thank you for all your help and support in what has happened. So, today ,I went on a little shopping spree, all with the approval and counsel of Mr. Harvey, of course."

They all looked somewhat like they were upset, but I didn't care. "So, Dad, I am going to start with you. First, you have worked so hard all your life to support me. I know you have some bills or whatever. I had $10,000 transferred into your checking account to help you out a bit." I then handed him the receipt.

"Jess, I am grateful, but this is your money—you take it back, son. I am fine."

"First, stop arguing. I am not taking anything back. You will just have to accept it or I will get really upset. There is one more thing, Dad. Here." I handed him the envelope. He looked at me, puzzled, but began to open it.

He looked inside, began to cry, and said, "This is way too much, Jess. You can't do this."

Rachel asked softly, "What did he do?"

My father still could not speak. He just handed the envelope to Rachel. Her eyes got wide, and she looked up saying, "You paid off your father mortgage!"

My father got up and pulled me into a hug. We stood like that for a while before he returned to his seat.

"Next, `mom and dad,' you guys have been so great to me. I could never begin to repay you for all you have done for me. You gave me your home, your friendship, and Rachel, you were also the best lawyer I could have! I know this barely touches what you have done, but I want you to have this as a token of my love for you." I handed them the envelope.

Rachel opened it, while Joe looked over her shoulder. Joe spoke up, "I know it will do no good to argue with you, so I won't—but Jess, this is too much."

Rachel explained to the others watching that I had given them a gift certificate for travel in the amount of $10,000 so they could plan a trip they would both enjoy. Rachel and Joe then stood and hugged me.

Once they settled back down, I turned to Jeremy. "This is small, I know. It's only a part of my present to you, though. You will get the rest later tonight."

Jeremy smiled at me as he opened the box. "Jess, it's beautiful! I love the engraving, and I love you, too."

"Now, I didn't leave myself out of this. First, I had Mr. Harvey put $100,000 into a college fund for me, so that is separate from everything else. Then I decided I needed something for myself. I bought myself a 2010 Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder. It's here and it;s all mine," Ilaughed and held up the keys for the rest to see.

Everyone congratulated me on my first car purchase and for saving for school. When they were done, I sort of paused. I think they thought we were done at that point. Daniel had already stood up and was preparing to head up to our room to do his homework.

"Wait a minute, guys! We have one more family member I need to take care of yet," I announced, smiling at Daniel.

"Jess, you better not have gotten anything for me or I am going to be so upset with you. I am not part of the family, and I didn't do that much of anything."

Getting a little frustrted at what he had said, I told him, "Daniel, sit down! First of all, you are a part of this family just like I am. Next, the same rules go for you that went for everybody else—you can't argue or complain, and you can't give it back!"

Everyone spoke up in agreement. Daniel finally sat back down and looked up at me.

"I know you don't have any money for college any more, and without it, you won't go. I know this isn't enough to pay for four years, but this will give you a start." I handed him the envelope.

He opened it, pulled out the paper, and read it. "Damn it, Jess you can't do this! It's your money ... you can not be doing this." With that, he threw the paper back at me.

"You have nothing to do except take it, so get used to it." Jeremy picked up the paper, and read it.

"Daniel, if I were you, I would shut up and take it. You know he isn't going to change his mind and you can go damned far on $50,000." Jeremy said.

Everyone looked at me except Jermz. "I guess I have no choice." Daniel said. "I don't know how to thank you, Jess ... Are we done here now?" Daniel asked.

"Nope, one more thing." I reached into my pocket and threw him the keys to his new car. "It's the red one behind mine parked out front."

"You'd better not have gotten me a car, Jess, or you're in trouble."

"Then I am in trouble."

We all made our way to the street to look at the two new cars. Daniel pulled me aside to protest. He knew it would do no good but instead just gave me a hug and kiss, thanking me profusely.

Jeremy then announced that we were late for our dinner reservation, and he wondered if I wanted to drive. As the rest headed into the house, Jermz and I headed off for our night out together.

To be continued...