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-DurtyRiter
The Man with the Jeep
Chapter 39
John and Andrew cleaned up the best they could using the boxers John donated to the cause. John tried to wad them up and shove them in a pocket, but quickly discovered that wasn't a good idea.
Andrew laughed when he saw the telltale smears being left on John's shorts, to which John just shrugged with a sheepish grin.
"I guess that's not going to work, is it?"
"Nope," laughed Andrew. "Unless you wanted to start advertising your recent activities."
"It's not THAT obvious," John protested. "In a few minutes, it should pass as tree sap."
"Uh huh," grunted Andrew. "Keep telling yourself that."
"Even if not, who cares?"
"You'd know better than I," Andrew admitted.
"Still a little conservative, are you?" John teased. "I was beginning to forget."
"Hey!"
"It's no bad thing," John assured him. "But after what we just did, well, you know..."
"Yes?" prompted Andrew. "What about what we just did?"
"Never mind," John said with a dismissive wave. "I'm hungry and I can't think straight right now."
"I should hope not!" exclaimed Andrew vehemently.
John somehow managed to groan and chuckle at the same time. "Let's go get something to eat."
"Copy that," Andrew replied.
They resumed their journey down the trail, but it wasn't long before it broke out into the open. There, in the middle of the clearing was the big barn where their stroll had begun, looking just as it had when the first arrived. They made their way back to the Jeep and clambered aboard.
"Now," said John, looking over at Andrew with one of his telltale smirks. "You said you wanted an extensive tour of the place, right?"
"No, I did not!" Andrew retorted. "Food! I want sustenance!"
"Then sustenance you shall receive!" John proclaimed with a smile.
He fired up the engine, threw the cranky shifter into reverse, and backed the old workhouse away from the barn. They were soon rattling their way back to the main drive and toward Mabel's.
When they arrived, the place was quiet, though not empty. They walked in and noticed Bill right away, sitting at one of the tables looking over a menu.
Andrew surprised John when, without a word, he led them up to his table.
"Hey Bill!" Andrew said. "I don't want to impose or anything, but would you welcome some company for lunch?"
"Sure," Bill replied. "That would be nice."
Unbeknownst to Andrew and John, Bill had just been thinking of them. In fact, he was having trouble focusing on the menu thanks to the fresh memory of their activity on the rock. But Bill was an old pro had hiding surprise, so they were completely unaware.
The boys slid into the bench across from Bill and Andrew snagged a menu for himself before Bill popped the usual question: "So what's good here?"
"Well, I'm obviously biased," John replied. "So maybe you should ask Andrew here."
Bill looked over to Andrew, who was happy to respond.
"When I asked that, they said `everything,' which of course was no help at all," he laughed. "But I can personally vouch for the cheeseburgers, the waffles, and the ice cream sundaes, and I'm going to try the chicken strips today."
"Fair enough," Bill answered.
That was as far as they got before Mabel swung by with silverware, water, and an orange juice.
"Well bless me, it's Johnny and Androo (she somehow misspelled his name in the way she pronounced it, which Andrew found charming), come to join our new Bill! Excellent! This is how it's supposed to be, you know: making new friends and never leaving someone on their own to fend for themselves. That's what I like about this one," she told Bill as she elbowed John's shoulder. "He's so quick to make everyone feel at home. It's what really sets this place apart, make no mistake. He invests himself into everyone he meets. No such thing as stranger to that one!"
"Actually," John interjected, "I didn't even get the chance this time. It was Andrew here who led the way."
"Oh, did he now?" she said with the air of a proud mama. "I told you he was a keeper, Johnny, and this isn't the first proof, I'm sure. As you know, I do know a thing or two about people, and I knew immediately that this one was a good one. And I said so, didn't I? Yes, I did. The fact that he's cute as a button and knows how to dress like a man should is just delicious icing on the cake. Mmmm! Well, I'd better get back for another round of coffee for everyone. No sense leaving folks to lukewarm dregs around here, no sir! I know Johnny won't want any, but how about you two? You boys want me to grab a mug on my way back?"
"None for me, thanks," replied Andrew.
"Actually, I'd love a cup, please," Bill chimed in.
"More manners! Bless me! Well, I'll be back in a jiffy, hon," she said before turning to John. "I don't know how you manage to find so many people with manners in today's world, but I'm glad you do. It gives me hope for the future!"
And with that, Mabel swept off back to the kitchen.
"She's something else," Bill said with a smile.
"She really is," John agreed. "And irreplaceable."
"I don't doubt that for an instant," chuckled Bill.
John looked at Andrew.
"So, you going for the chicken strips this time around?"
"Yeah, what are you getting?"
"I'm in the mood for a Reuben. How about you, Bill?"
"I'm having a hard time deciding," Bill confessed. "But I'm leaning toward the Mushroom Swiss Burger."
"Can't go wrong with that one as long as you like mushrooms and Swiss cheese."
"I should hope not!" replied Bill vehemently, to which they all laughed.
Mabel came by moments later with Bill's coffee, and once they were able to interject their orders into her verbal stream, she left them again.
"You ready for tonight, Bill?"
"I think so," he replied. "The system looks pretty straightforward and well set up, so I should be good."
"Excellent," said a pleased John.
"Enough about that, John. No business at lunch, if you please."
John looked at Andrew in surprise.
Andrew continued apace. "We didn't crash his table for updates on your sound system. So, Bill, what do you do? John tells me you were a school librarian At one point. Are you still doing that?"
"Actually, yeah, though I teach some English classes too."
"How do you like it?"
"Books are my happy place, and I like kids, so it works well for me. Obviously, I guess, since I'm still doing it."
"I'm glad you still enjoy it. I know a lot of people who have been at the same job for a while because they feel stuck."
"Oh, I'm not stuck," assured Bill. "In fact, the most annoying things about my job are the insider politics (which I have no patience for at all) and the constant barrage of people trying to promote me. Sure, I would make more money, but as long as the bills are paid, I'd rather enjoy my job, thank you. Every principal we've had has been ground into the dirt with all the bickering and power plays, and I want no part of that, no sir!"
"So how did you get into the sound guy gig?"
"A/V has always been interesting to me. Even when I was a kid, I would find old busted radios and fix them up just for the fun of it. By trial and error, I eventually made a few of my own that worked better than the ones I could buy. So when my nose wasn't buried in a book, my hands were getting dirty with electronics. I don't really run sound very often, actually. I just know Joe from a weekly poker game, and he knows about my hobby, so he asked if I could fill in for him. And here I am."
"Cool!"
"Plus, it gets me out of the house and keeps me busy. My wife hates it when I fiddle around the house with nothing to do."
Andrew chuckled. "My mom's like that. She wages an unending war against what she calls `idle hands.' If you don't look like you are in the middle of something, she has no trouble finding something for you to do."
"Well, there is that, for sure, but in my case, she says I get grumpy if I'm not working on a project. For her sake, I've picked up a few hobbies to make sure I'm not restless."
"I would have thought that your work would be so busy that you'd welcome downtime."
"It can get that way sometimes, but usually work is pretty even-keeled. It doesn't feel like work to me most of the time, so I don't really need much to unwind. I'm usually mentally over work by the time I've driven home."
"I need a job that does that for me," Andrew commented wistfully.
"What do you do?" Bill asked.
"Paper Processor, First Class," Andrew joked. "Seriously though, I process paperwork for home loans. It's tedious and boring, but everyone seems to like my work. Apparently, my attention to detail comes in handy for something."
"I'm sure it does," Bill agreed. "You might be surprised how rare that is."
"Maybe..." Andrew said.
"It's true!" assured Bill. "But what would you rather do?"
"If I could choose, I'd like to own and run a nursery."
"Really? What kind? One for children, or one for plants?"
"Plants," Andrew laughed. "I am not interested in dirty diapers."
"Fair enough," Bill laughed. "So what are you doing to get there?"
"What?" Andrew looked at him blankly.
"How are you planning to own your own nursery?"
"Um..." Andrew faltered. "I don't know what to do," he admitted finally.
"That's okay," Bill assured him quickly. "Most people don't, but that's why most people don't own their own business. You have to have two things: dedication and a plan. Firstly, you have to decide if you really want that or if it's a pie-in-the-sky daydream."
"Well, when I need to go to my `happy place' as you call it, that's what I imagine."
"That's good! How often do you think of it?"
"Probably twice a day on average," Andrew said thoughtfully. "It ebbs and flows."
"Of course! Do you have to do that to get through a normal workday?"
"Yeah," Andrew admitted sheepishly. "I know what it looks like in my head down to the colors and the layout of the shop."
"From the outside looking in, it's high time you started cooking up a plan then."
"But I have a good job now."
"Good because it pays, or good because you like it?"
"Good because I'm good at it and the benefits are good."
"Valid points. It just comes down to whether you are willing to risk those benefits to see if you'd be good at something else. Something that it certainly seems you'd enjoy more." Bill paused. "Okay, getting off my soap box now. I don't mean to be pushy, but I hate to see someone in a job that doesn't fit when there are so many options out there. I have seen so many teachers who loved teaching move up to administration and flounder for years in frustration because they wanted the bigger paycheck. Those people burn out and never have the impact they could have had doing what they loved in the first place. The world isn't fair, that's for sure, but you have to think of how much your frustration is worth in dollars and then go from there."
"Thanks," Andrew said. "I appreciate your viewpoint. That's some food for thought for sure."
"I hope I didn't overstep here..." Bill began.
"Oh no!" Andrew assured him. "I just hadn't thought of things quite that way before."
"And how about you, John?" Bill asked.
"Oh, I`m moving that way already."
"Which way?" Bill probed.
"Oh! I forgot you don't already know," he laughed sheepishly. "I work for an insurance agency right now, but I'm already working on my real estate license to start my career as an agent. Along the way, I'm going to develop properties and either sell them or rent them out."
"Nice," Bill said warmly. "Is this campground part of that?"
"Well, sort of. This is actually the inspiration for my change. It's been in the family for four generations now, but I've only been running the show here for five years."
"It looks like you've been doing a great job with it."
"Thanks," John said (a little bashfully, to Andrew's surprise). "It hasn't been all me, by any means..."
"But you have good staff and work well with them. I've seen it ever since I got here. Do you have a high turnover rate?"
"As far as employees? Definitely not."
"Then there you go: that is the number one indicator of good management. Bad managers lose people."
"What's this about losing people?" asked Mabel as she strode up balancing all three meals with two hands. "We're not losing anyone, are we Johnny? I don't know if I could bear that. Everyone here is like family. Better, actually: we don't have all the drama that comes with family."
"I rest my case," said Bill with a big smile.
"What case?"
"Don't worry, Mabel," John put in hastily. "No one's going anywhere. Bill was just talking to us about good business practices."
"Ah, well that makes sense then, I guess. I mean, I don't claim to know anything about business, but I do know there are better places to work than others and there is a reason I haven't left here: I know when I've got it good. Why, some of the stories I hear from people about where they work would shrivel your little heart, it would. I hate to hear that people are in those situations, but it just makes me all the more grateful for what I have. And I'm not leaving, just so you know. I've been here longer than you or even your parents have been breathing, young man, and this is home. And that's all I'll say about that, it is."
She gave John an unwavering look and returned to other duties.
"Irreplaceable..." Bill said softly.
"Let's eat before she thinks we are conspiring to fire her," John suggested, chuckling.
"Good idea!"
The conversation waned inevitably while they spoke between bites as they ate the hot lunches before them.
"So, John," began Bill. "I take it you went to Rigler?"
"Yeah," John confirmed. "From kindergarten to sixth grade."
"The whole way through then."
"Yep."
"Were you in any of my classes?"
"I don't think you had classes then; I just remember you from the library."
"You must be older than you look."
"Ha! Maybe. Then again, maybe I just didn't happen to be in them."
"Valid point," Bill agreed. "From your reaction when you first saw me in the barn, I thought I'd given you a bad grade that you've never forgiven me for or something."
"Not at all!" assured John. "It was just a surprise to see you, that's all. I was just telling Andrew about you a couple days ago and then suddenly there you were. It just caught me off guard."
"Telling him about me? How so?"
Andrew managed not to choke on his chicken at this, but only barely.
John lost a shade of color, but was quick to reply naturally.
"I was just reminiscing of teachers I liked during my student days, and you came up."
Andrew was laughing hysterically on the inside and trying diligently not to show it. Did John just say Mr. Fletcher `came up' out loud?
"Well, it's nice to be remembered," said the apparently oblivious Bill. "You never know what you'll be known for and I'm glad it wasn't for being some pain-in-the-ass who couldn't connect with the kids."
"It definitely wasn't that," John assured him. "You connected just great."
Andrew started hiccupping. He had bent over his plate as his body shook and his eyes watered from suppressed mirth, and somehow that led to the hiccups, which at least provided some cover for his reactions.
"Are you okay?" Bill asked, putting his hand on Andrew's shoulder in concern.
"Yeah, I'll be'ee fine," Andrew said. "I just need to rela'ax and I'll be fi'ine."
He took a deep breath and willed himself to relax.
"You sure?"
"Ye'ah, thanks."
John had mercifully stopped talking.
Contrary to appearances, Bill had not missed a thing. He didn't know the details, but he knew a hastily-formulated cover story when he heard one. You don't get to be a teacher without being able to pick up on that instantly. That sense triggered with John's vague reply about reminiscing. It can't have been just about that, obviously, but he was clueless what it could be.
He had a good enough conversational memory and just perverted-enough mind to pick up pieces that could be construed into innuendo, but that didn't help much. He would never have done anything unseemly with any of his students, and knew unequivocally that it couldn't be something like that. But what else could it be?
He was not, however, clueless about the flash of warmth that came from Andrew's shoulder upon his instinctual reaction to check on him. It scared him a little, but not as much as his reaction to having them share his table.
He had been half hard thinking of the trail scene before they even came into the diner. When they walked up, he was instantly at three-quarter mast. Normally, he would stand to shake hands in greeting upon their arrival, but that was not going to happen in his condition. His condition persisted until the moment he touched Andrew's shoulder...
Now he was 100% rock hard and his cock actually hurt as it strained against his clothing. 'This is crazy,' he thought. 'What is going on here? And what do I do now?'
I'd love to hear from you if you have any questions or any suggestions for where this story should go :)
Also, I have had trouble posting consistently lately, so if you'd like me to let you know when a new chapter goes up, just send me a message and I will keep you posted. Thanks for reading, and I hope you have great day!
DurtyRiter@protonmail.com