Date: Sun, 18 Sep 2005 07:26:18 -0700
From: fritz@nehalemtel.net
Subject: I love Corey, Chapter Sixty-six

	What, you're back?  I can't believe it.  Why you keep reading this
story is a mystery.  But then it doesn't take much to be a mystery to me.

	You know the drill.  If you're under age, leave.  I mean leave
right now.  Don't read this story.  Don't become corrupted.  After all, you
might turn out like me.  Surely you wouldn't want that to happen to you.

	If you are offended by the descriptions of gay sex, leave.  I'd
hate to be responsible for you having a stroke or something.  No, not that
kind of stroke.  That's called stroking and is fun.  Of course you probably
don't approve of that either.

	Outside of moving, I have no advice for those of you who live in an
area where the reading this story is against the law.  Of course you need
to leave this site before you are caught, but that is about the best I can
do for you.  I suppose you might start a campaign to get the law changed,
but don't hold your breath.  The thought police are hard to overcome.

	This story is the product of a few drinks on a boring night.  It is
not, repeat not, based on actual people or real events.  Those who think
otherwise are sadly mistaken.

	Feel free to download this story for your own enjoyment and
entertainment.  Just be kind enough to credit me for any quotes you might
use from it and ask before posting it on another site.  Oh yes, please
share all the money you make from the use of it with me.  That ought to
cover it.

	My many thanks to Don for his efforts in helping make this story
almost intelligible.  He finds most of my errors.  However, even he cannot
spot all of them.  There's also the problem of my accepting his advice.
Therefore, don't blame him for any that are left in.

	So you found something in the story you dislike.  Go ahead and
email.  You can even email if you find something you like.  I also answer
questions about the story.  In fact, write for whatever reason you choose.
Just send them to the usual address of fritz@nehalemtel.net Be sure to put
"I Love Corey" in the subject line of such emails.  That way they won't be
deleted.  Deleting you seems so final.  In the meantime, I hope you enjoy
the following chapter.  Fritz
********************************************************************************

		I Love Corey, Chapter Sixty-six.

	Wednesday went pretty well.  The students were no harder to keep
under control than normal and even seemed to understand the lessons.  In
fact I was feeling good by the time practice rolled around.  Today was
going to be the first of the joint practices with the high school team, so
maybe I could get some ideas on how to coach baseball.  I still had no idea
of which team members could even come close to doing a decent job of
playing their positions.

	Phil was absolutely great.  He ran his whole practice in a manner
to show my team as much as possible.  He had several of his better players
working on various drills with my team.  He never scolded, just took the
time to show the player who had muffed a play the correct way to make that
type of play.  At first my team members had been pretty quiet and reserved
from being around all the high school kids, but it didn't take long until
they were asking questions and just lapping up all the attention Phil and
his teams were showing them.  He even got my aspiring pitchers aside and
informed them that they were not to attempt curveballs until they were in
high school.  He told them they needed to learn to pitch first and learn to
throw curveballs second.  He even told them he wanted them to wait until he
could teach them, because that way they would learn how to throw such
pitches without hurting their arms.  Since he had been a pitcher in the
minor leagues, they listened, and I think, believed him.  The practice was
over way too soon for me.  I was learning a lot of things I didn't know.

	While the kids were putting all the equipment away, Phil and I
talked.  He was still thrilled with the pitching machines I had gotten him,
and explained that he thought I had done a pretty good job of using them in
my practice yesterday.  He did point out a couple of drills he thought I
should use to help my team learn some of the fundamentals.  Watching him
work with both teams convinced me he was one of those people who was born
to coach.  The kids liked him and listened to him.  He never belittled them
and instead encouraged them.  His team had made it to the state play-offs
several times.  They still hadn't managed to win it all, but had come close
the year before last.  They missed by losing in the quarterfinals.  By
winning their final game they were awarded third place.  He also gave me
his quick assessment of which he thought were the best of my players and
why.  JJ got good marks for his hitting but poor marks for fielding.  I'd
had a little more time to watch today and was somewhat more relaxed so I
had managed to take note of how some of the players were doing, and
surprisingly, my assessment of my team members was about the same as his.
They all needed a lot of practice but at least I was starting to see what
parts of the game they needed to work on the most.  We agreed to hold
another joint practice next Monday.

	After dinner and homework, the boys decided to watch some
television.  It was something about eating worms, and they all made
wisecracks about the contestants and how they handled it.  I gave up on the
program and finished up my grading for the day.  I even took the time to
log into the school system and check on how some students were doing.
There were several I was keeping my eye on, because they were having some
problems at home, but it didn't appear that their grades were dropping
because of those problems.  I knew one young lady's parents were getting a
divorce and was worried about her, but she seemed to be holding her own
and, in another case, the father of two had been laid-off.  So far the
grades of all three were about what they normally were.  Those cases had
been brought up in the morning meetings and I knew I wasn't the only one
keeping an eye out for problems.

	Cody's grades had taken a big leap.  Hopefully he was coming to
terms with his sexuality and his grades would continue to improve.  He was
almost back up to the level he had been working at a couple of years ago.
Every time I saw him he gave me a big smile so it looked like he was on the
road to understanding and accepting himself.  I idly wondered what he
wanted to talk about but figured it would just have to wait until dinner
Sunday.

	The worm-eating program was over and it was now time for bed.
Well, almost time.  First there was the nightly raid on the poor
refrigerator.  The boys didn't seem to think it was odd when they polished
off the last of the chicken thighs, all the while talking about how gross
having to eat worms was.  Somehow thinking about eating worms didn't make
me hungry, but it sure didn't slow the boys down.  The empty platter, from
the chicken thighs, went into the dishwasher and they were busily looking
for any other goodies they had missed.  Maybe I had better buy some oil for
the refrigerator hinges.  I finally chased them off to bed and started the
dishwasher.

	When we made it to bed, Corey wanted to talk.  His surprised me
when he brought up the $10.00 per week for doing the laundry at the school.
I'd been meaning to talk with him about it, but he told me he felt guilty
taking all of the money when LT and Mark were helping him with the work.
In other words, he beat me to the punch.  We kicked it around a little and
went with his suggestion of sharing the money since they were sharing the
work.  That was about what I'd had in mind but I was thrilled that he had
brought it up first and that he would think enough of the other boys to
share with them made me love him even more.  Sometimes his level of
maturity was almost frightening.

	I told him that since he had brought the subject up, and it was his
idea of a solution to it, that he should be the one to tell the other boys.
While it probably wouldn't make much difference in the way LT looked at
things, it might make a big difference in the way Mark, and hopefully Kyle,
felt about fitting in.  All the boys needed to understand that they needed
to watch out for each other and help each other when they could.  In other
words they needed to operate as a family.  Family members are supposed to
love and watch out for each other.  It doesn't mean that you can't have
disagreements, just that you need to overlook them.  By having Corey take
credit for the solution, I hoped it would make the other boys realize that
we all needed to work together and that they should not be afraid to try to
come up with solutions on their own.  We kicked around how best for him to
mention it and he soon fell asleep.

	I was so proud of him I had a hard time joining him in sleep.  I
was thrilled that he would think of something like that.  How I had been so
lucky and found him I couldn't understand.  For the first few months we had
lived together, he had rarely gone against anything I wanted.  Now he was
beginning to exert a little more independence, but he was still thoughtful.
If he disagreed with me, we talked about it.  Sometimes he caused me to
change my mind with his arguments, and sometimes I changed his mind with my
reasons.  On the few we couldn't seem to agree, he accepted that I was the
boss.  He was even getting JJ and LT to start acting the same.  LT had been
easy but I don't think JJ had ever had any say in how things were done in
his parent's home.  It appeared that they had just told him how it would be
without ever explaining why it needed to be that way.  I always tried to
explain to the boys why we needed to act a certain way.  Sometimes they
just rolled their eyes like how could I be so stupid when I was explaining,
but more often they asked questions and frequently worked the answers out
before I ever got around to telling them.  So far most of the disagreements
had been the result of one of the boys forgetting that all of us needed to
make allowances for the others living in the house.  Slowly they were
beginning to start to think of the others before they acted or got mad.
Mark and Kyle were still in the stage where they were afraid to say or do
anything.  I finally fell asleep while wondering how long it would take
before those two finally started to feel comfortable living with us.
Mark's natural exuberance sometimes made him forget his fear, but Kyle was
much better defended.  So far he still wasn't willing to open up and trust
any of us.

	Having five boys around was definitely upsetting my morning
routine.  When it was just Corey and me, I could take my time getting woke
up.  He was patient and didn't say anything until I had consumed a cup of
coffee and glanced at the morning paper.  Having it nice and quiet gave me
a chance to get my mind working.  However, with five boys around there was
now a certain amount of chatter.  Mark and Corey always woke up and were
raring to go.  JJ and LT normally stumbled around like zombies and Kyle was
even worse.  At least Mark was making sure Kyle was up and moving.  Then
you had to add in Dog.  He was always bright eyed and bushy tailed, that is
if you can consider an Airedale bushy tailed.  Kind of ropey tailed might
be more like it.  Not even a very long tail since he was docked.  Anyhow,
with all the activity around, it was forcing me to wake up much sooner than
I was ready to do so.  Dog demanded his scratching, Corey and Mark required
a certain amount of listening to, and as for the others, well I had to keep
an eye on them to make sure they didn't fall asleep at the table.  I know
I'm slow to wake up but I swear I never encountered anyone as slow as Kyle.
I could generally get sentences out of JJ and LT that made sense after they
had eaten some oatmeal and drank a glass or so of orange juice, but I was
lucky to even get a grunt out of Kyle by the time I was ready to leave on
most mornings.  He moved about like a glacier and it was apparent that his
mind was still in bed, sound asleep.  At least Mark seemed to know how to
get him out of bed in the morning.  I still wondered how Mark got Kyle to
make his hair look like something other than a broken brush broom before he
left for school.  Yet sometime between the time I left and the time the
boys caught the bus, Kyle managed to get himself properly clothed and his
hair combed.  So far he only needed to shave about once a week, but I was
left wondering if he would be able to handle that before he went to school.
As it now stood he was doing it on Sundays, just before church.  He was
insisting on using a razor and soap, but that had been responsible for
several toilet paper patches.  I'd loaned him a styptic pencil but he
complained that it stung.  So far JJ and LT were using my electric razor
and Corey had even used it once.  I rarely used a blade.  In the mornings I
just wasn't alert enough.  I was also lucky in that my beard wasn't a heavy
one.  Larry Morris, one of the English teachers, shaved at noon, along with
shaving in the morning.  I think he also shaved in the evening if he needed
to go out.  His beard was black and grew very quickly.

	However the thing that really upset me was that Corey and I no
longer kissed each other anytime we felt like it.  Before JJ and LT, as
long as there were no guests, we had felt free to kiss, and even group each
other, anytime we felt like it.  We had always been telling each other how
much we loved the other.  Now the only time those things took place was in
bed, or at least the bedroom.  When Corey would grin at me as I was leaving
in the morning, sometimes my arms just ached from wanting to grab him and
hold him tight.  If we were watching television, I longed for the early
days when he would sit on my lap and just keep grinding his bottom around,
all the while knowing he was driving me nuts.  He had never wised up to the
fact I could see his smirk in the mirror that hung on the end wall.  I had
to tip my head back a little, but I could just see his face and watch it
when he squirmed around.  When LT, closely followed by JJ, had joined the
household, we had quit any open displays of affection.  Even after I had
finally told them about the relationship between Corey and me, we had still
never felt comfortable doing anything in front of them.  Then there seemed
to be a steady parade of people through the house.  If it wasn't someone
like Lee, it was people like Billy and Larry.  Perhaps it was better this
way, but on mornings like this morning, it really sucked.  I just wanted to
hug him and kiss him so bad it hurt.

	I was surprised at how well the rest of the week went.  There were
no crises in school and things even went well at practice.  We were all
starting to get used to each other and things were slowly shaking down into
a routine.  We started with some warm-up exercises and then split into
groups to work and different drills.  I don't know how I would have made it
without the help of the boys.  Corey generally handled outfielder drills,
Kyle did the same for the infielders, and Mark was kept busy seeing that
everyone had enough balls for their drills.  I worked more with the
pitchers and catchers.  Then we would set up the two machines and hold
batting practice and a fielding drill.  We moved the two batting cages side
by side and alternated the pitching machines.  That meant the fielders got
twice as many chances as they would if there was only one batter at a time.
By aiming the cages slightly together, the balls were hit to the same
playing field.  So far no one was really standing out, but there were
several that I thought would be the better players.  Now I just needed to
help the others improve to the same level.

	Pitching looked to be a weak spot.  So far no one was able to
consistently throw strikes.  A couple of the kids could throw pretty hard
but getting it over the plate was a real challenge.  Then it dawned on me
that they were doing the same thing the batters had tried to do.  They were
trying to throw too hard.  Just as the batters had lacked control over the
bat when swinging too hard, the pitchers were very wild when trying to
throw too hard.  I had a little talk with them and explained that if they
walked everyone, it wouldn't make any difference how hard they could throw.
The talk helped some but not as much as I would have liked.  Still, we had
almost two more weeks before the first game and maybe they would come
around.  The opening game was scheduled for a Wednesday.  After that it was
back to Thursdays.  The high school would play two games a week but we only
got to play one unless we were rained out.

	Friday we even had a short intra squad game to finish the practice.
The pitching wasn't great, but neither was the hitting.  As far as that
goes, neither was the fielding.  Quite a few runs scored that would be
considered unearned.  However the kids all had fun and everyone got at
least one chance to bat.  Only one batter got hit by a pitch and he wasn't
really hurt.  The pitch was so far off the plate that it hit him in the
butt.  He rubbed it a couple of times and trotted down to first.  When the
game was over and we were in the locker room, I called him over and
examined his butt.  He would have a small bruise for a few days but nothing
serious.  He had just finished his shower and I rubbed a little cream on it
that was supposed to promote healing.  I also gave him a tube of the cream
and told him he could apply more of it twice a day.  He had a nice butt but
it was nowhere near as nice as Corey's.  There were some barbs being
exchanged about how he was now a dead ass because the cream had a mild pain
reliever in it and kind of numbed the area it was applied to.  I finally
laughed and told them to make sure and not get hit on the front side.  I
would have to rub the cream in and then they would be dead dicks.  That got
some giggles.  Why is it boys all go through a period when they think body
humor is funny?  The more uncouth the humor, the more they laugh.

	As we were walking towards the Gator I suddenly noticed that
Corey's clothes were too small.  I know it is hard to tell, what with those
baggy cargo pants and things the kids wear, but they looked tight on him
and they never had before.  A little more looking and I decided that LT
could use some new clothes also.  In fact, the only ones whose clothes fit
like they wanted them to were Kyle and Mark.  JJ's clothes weren't bad,
just a little small.  He could probably make it for a couple of months yet.
It seemed like all I had done lately was shop.

	The boys were chattering away as we headed home while I was still
debating with myself as to whether or not to bring the subject of clothes
up.  Outside of dinner with the Sterretts, there was nothing planed for the
weekend.  We were free until Sunday evening.  Corey didn't even have an art
lesson because Bob was visiting his children this weekend, so I took the
plunge.

	"Corey, looks like your clothes are getting a little tight," I
offered when there happened to be a brief pause in the chatter.  For a few
seconds the only sounds I could hear were those made by the Gator.  Then it
was like a dam broke and sound from boy mouths washed over me.  Yes Corey's
clothes were getting too small; even LT's clothes were getting too small;
poor JJ needed some new shoes; in fact they all needed new shoes; we really
needed to go shopping in San Francisco.  They almost slipped that last one
in without me noticing it as they told about the horrors of not having any
clothes that fit.  Since none of them had mentioned their clothes being too
small as a major problem, I discounted much of the chatter, but I did have
to give them credit for coming up with a plan to try to snow me so quickly.
They must have laid plans to try to get us back to San Francisco at any
opportunity.  I suspected a certain waiter figured into those plans so I
decided to see how agile their minds were.  As we walked into the house I
threw the first test out.

	"Boy, if we drove to San Francisco we wouldn't have all that much
time left to shop.  I need to run down to Downie's and pick up some things
for sandwiches so we don't have to lose a lot of time eating in a
restaurant."

	Total silence.  I mean it was eerie.  It was like the world stopped
for an instant.  Three boys froze in position for a few seconds as their
minds tried to think of what to say.  I couldn't look at them.  I knew I'd
lose it and bust out laughing.

	"Ah, well,,, I,,, ah I don't need that many clothes," LT stammered
out.

	"I only need a few things," Corey chimed in.

	"It won't take long to get some shoes," was JJ's contribution to
the conversation.

	"It won't take us long to pick out what we need," LT's voice was
climbing in pitch and the words came out faster.

	"They got bigger stores and I can find things faster," Corey said
almost before LT finished.

	"Have, they have, not got," I broke in.  The second I said it I
knew it was a wasted effort.  I doubt that my words even registered in
their minds.
	"I only need one pair of shoes and it won't take long to find
them," JJ came in right on time.

	"We can leave real early.  That way we won't have to hurry with the
shopping," I heard Corey's voice say and it was getting an almost panicked
sound to it.

	JJ and LT chimed right in with they thought we should leave early
also.  It was becoming harder for me to keep from laughing.

	"How early is real early?" I asked.  I hoped they wouldn't notice
that my voice wasn't steady.

	"Ah, well maybe seven o'clock?" LT said after a brief pause.

	"That isn't early enough stupid," I heard JJ mutter to him.

	"How about six o'clock?" Corey asked.

	I couldn't help it and I started to giggle about the time LT came
back with four o'clock.  It took a few seconds for them to realize I was
giggling and then there was again silence.  Well there was silence if you
didn't figure my giggling in.  All the time this had been going on, Kyle
and Mark had just stood there with puzzled looks on their faces.  They had
no idea what was going on.  My giggles gave way to a couple of snorts and
then I about collapsed in full-fledged laughter.  The looks on the boys'
faces were priceless.

	"I suppose you want to eat lunch in the Castro district," I managed
to choke out between bouts of laughter.  They at least had the decency to
look somewhat chagrined.  All I could do was continue to laugh.

	They headed for the kitchen for snacks while I put my stuff away.
I could hear some talking going on and it quit as I walked into the
kitchen.  They kept looking at each other and suddenly I wondered what they
were now planning.  It didn't take long to find out.

	"Ah, well,,, ah, maybe we could leave tonight?" Corey finally
stammered out.

	I decided not to cut them any slack.  "I thought you didn't need
that many new clothes.  You said it wouldn't take long to do your shopping
so why the big hurry?"

	Lots more looking back and forth took place when I said that.  I
swear you could almost see heat waves rising from their overworked brains
as they tried to figure out what to say next.  I knew it was serious
because they weren't even eating their snacks.

	"Well, ah Kyle ah, well he doesn't like to get up ah, well, very
early," LT finally said.

	"Maybe we could even go see some more neat things, kind of like we
did last time," JJ chimed in.  "You know, things like the park with the
cannons and China Town."  He took a couple of quick breaths before he
continued.  "Kyle and Mark haven't seen those things and, well maybe, ah
maybe they would like to see them."

	"You know you don't like to wake up early," Corey added with a smug
look.  "If we left tonight you wouldn't have to get up as early."

	Actually the idea didn't sound that bad.  I didn't like to wake up
early.  While it would be pretty late by the time we could get there, we
wouldn't have to get up very early.  However we could probably do most of
the clothes shopping in the morning.  Then there was lunch.  Even if the
waiter was there and the boys spent quite a while flirting with him, I
wondered what to do with the afternoon.  A little more planning would have
been better.  As those thoughts were all rattling around in my mind I
suddenly realized I had pretty much decided to do it.  For once the boys
managed to keep their mouths shut and let me think about it.

	"Okay, grab some clothes and let's get moving."

	It did take a little longer than you might expect.  I had to hook
the trailer up and we spent a few minutes looking up a trailer park. Still,
we did pretty well and an hour later we were headed down the road.  We were
going to stay at a campground in Petaluma because they would accept pets on
a leash.  There were some RV parks that were closer, but without lots of
time to check them out, I picked the one in Petaluma because of Dog.  The
boys said we could grab some chicken from Colonel Sanders and eat it on the
way.  We probably forgot half of what we needed, but I figured we could
survive.  Kyle and Mark looked like they were stunned, but the other three
were giggling and laughing like a pack of hyenas.

	We made it to the campground at just after ten.  The directions
they had given me were excellent and they even gave me a pull through space
so I didn't have to back in.  While I was a little better at backing the
trailer up than I had been at first, I still wasn't good and, in the dark,
it would have been more difficult.  LT took Dog for a walk to let him do
his duties, and the rest of us got the trailer set up and the pickup
unhooked.

	When we started getting ready for bed the first problem came up.
No one had remembered to put some bedding in for Kyle and Mark.  That meant
that they would have to share the two beds with the rest of us.  A little
discussion and Mark would sleep with JJ and LT, and Kyle would join Corey
and me.  JJ and LT opened the couch and made their bed up and Corey headed
for the bedroom.  Kyle and I walked in just as he finished stripping and
was crawling into bed.  Kyle's mouth fell open when he saw Corey,
bare-assed naked, getting into the bed.  It didn't help when I stripped and
joined him.  Kyle blushed and finally undressed and got in bed.  Corey had
claimed the middle and curled up in his usual position, head on my chest.
With that, I turned the light out and soon Corey was asleep.  Kyle was
still fidgeting around when I fell asleep.  Both beds were queen sized so
we weren't too badly crowded.

	Corey and Mark were giggling over the tents in the sheet covering
JJ and LT when I finally made it out of bed in the morning.  Corey even had
my coffee made.  I poured myself a cup and grabbed the leash for Dog.  By
the time Dog was done with his duties, I had finished the first cup.  At
least it wasn't raining.

	Having Dog bounce up on the bed soon had JJ and LT awake.  He needs
to be more careful where he steps.  I don't think I've ever seen JJ wake up
that quickly before.  I think JJ was still trying to catch his breath when
LT headed for the bathroom.  At least JJ was no longer sporting wood.  I
suppose it is surprising how quickly a big dog paw can cause it to go down.
Mark was giggling so hard I thought he would pee his pants.  I really felt
sorry for JJ as he hobbled towards the bathroom.  Well, maybe not that
sorry.  I had to join Corey and Mark in the giggling.  As soon as the bed
was empty, Dog just stretched out and relaxed.  He looked real smug lying
there on the bed.

	Another cup of coffee and I was ready to start breakfast.  Mark
headed into the bedroom to wake Kyle up and I started the bacon.  JJ and LT
chased Dog off their bed and made it back into a couch.

	The shopping took longer than I thought it would.  We started at
Nieman Marcus where I found a couple of shirts I liked.  Corey was the
hang-up.  He found a few things there.  JJ and LT liked the alligators on
the pocket so they got some Lacoste shirts.  I liked the Nat Nast ones.
When we couldn't find anything more we liked, it was on to Nordstroms.

	By the time we had finished shopping it was after noon.  The boys
were about to come unglued over lunch.  I told them not to worry, by the
time we got to the restaurant there would be fewer customers and that would
be better.  I was right.

	Kyle didn't know what to say or do.  The waiter was there and he
remembered the boys.  He picked up right where he had left off and Corey,
JJ, and LT were having a blast.  Mark didn't seem to understand all that
was going on and Kyle was shocked.  It didn't take long and the waiter
decided that Kyle was his project for the day.  I think they had to turn
the air conditioning on to keep the place cool.  Kyle was blushing so much
you could almost see the heat radiating off his face.  Of course none of
the rest of us helped him.  In fact we added to his embarrassment.  By the
time lunch was over we had learned the waiter's name was Dustin Chambers,
and his uncle owned the restaurant.  He was still in high school and
normally worked the weekend.  The last time we had been in he had not
worked Sunday because of a family function but normally did.  He was from
Boise Idaho and his folks had been more than a little unhappy when he came
out to them, so he had ended up living with his uncle here in San
Francisco.  About that time the uncle strolled over and we met him.

	Kirk Chambers was the younger brother of Dustin's father.  He had
just turned thirty and he and his partner had started the restaurant three
years ago.  By the time we were ready to leave, we all felt like friends.
Still Dustin grinned over the tip I left.

	Dog was tired of being left in the pickup.  I got his leash hooked
up and we strolled around a little.  Kyle's head snapped back and forth so
much I thought he was going to suffer whiplash.  He couldn't seem to get
over all the men holding hands or kissing.  I was beginning to think I
would have to get some rubber bands to hold his jaw up.  Of course by now
the rest of the boys were old hands and didn't pay much attention to all of
it.  Mark was surprisingly unaffected by the whole scene.

	When Dog had sniffed his share of places, it was time to go back to
the trailer.  We had already agreed to come back to the restaurant for
dinner.  Mr. Chambers had been somewhat insistent that we should come to
dinner and had suggested that we should show up about eight o'clock, and we
were told not to worry about what to order.  I was assured we would like
what they were going to serve us but they had been unwilling to say what it
was.  Since the restaurant served a mix of Italian and seafood, I was sure
I would like it but didn't really know about Kyle and Mark.  At first they
hadn't acted very thrilled with a lot of my cooking, but they seemed to be
coming around.

	Dog was really happy to get back to the trailer.  He crawled up on
LT's lap and really enjoyed his belly rub.  As soon as he got down the boys
all started looking at their new clothes.  After they were all hung up, we
just lazed around until it was time to head back to the restaurant.
However I was pleased that Kyle was finally talking a little.  He made
several comments about the Castro district and what he had seen there.
From those comments I was confident that he had never been around, nor even
considered that there might be other gay people, and that there might be
places where they weren't afraid to be seen acting gay.  It was obviously a
whole new experience for him.  I didn't steer the conversation but just let
the boys talk.  When LT made a comment about how hot Dustin was, Kyle's
mouth just dropped open again.  It was time to stick my oar into the
conversation.

	"What, you didn't think he was hot?" I said, directing the question
to Kyle.

	Poor Kyle, he didn't know what to say.  He was still pretty much in
denial and to have someone say something that like that seemed to almost
shock him.  He floundered around like a fish out of water before Corey took
pity on him and offered the comment that Dustin ought to be a movie star.
That got the conversation headed in another direction, covering who the
boys thought was sexy and hot.  I just sat back and listened, all the while
thinking that to me, Corey was much better looking than any of those the
boys mentioned.  Some of their comments, on what they would like to do with
the various stars, were almost too much for Kyle.  However I noticed he
boned up thinking about those comments.  I probably should have said
something because some of the comments were pretty graphic.  Still I
figured, let them dream.  Besides it was fun to listen to them and watch
both their expressions and hand movements.  LT was telling how cute he
thought one young star's butt was and you could see his fingers moving,
almost like he was caressing that butt. JJ noticed and told LT that only
butt he got to feel was his and that brought about a bunch of laughing from
all the boys and some blushing from JJ and LT.  Still I had to agree with
LT.  It was a cute butt.  However there was one right in the room that I
thought was even cuter.  I might even get to feel it tonight.  I had
remembered to pick up some new bedding, so Kyle wouldn't have to sleep with
us.  Who knows, LT might even be able to cop a feel of JJ tonight.

	It was finally time to get cleaned up and head back to town.  The
boys looked pretty good considering that they were all wearing somewhat
baggy clothes.  We decided to leave Dog in the trailer because he had spent
a lot of time in the pickup already.  A quick walk with him, so he could do
his duties, and it was time to leave.  Dog seemed to know he wasn't going
to be allowed to go and he crawled up on the couch and went to sleep.  His
water dish was full and so was his food dish.

	Our reservations were for eight o'clock and we were just a few
minutes early getting there.  I had to park about a block away and when we
got to the restaurant, it had the closed sign displayed.  That was
surprising.  We were standing about ten feet from the door, discussing what
to do, when a couple of guys walked up and opened the door.  I could see
people inside wandering around and didn't know what to make of the whole
thing.  We finally decided to check and see what the deal was.

	Kirk greeted us warmly when I opened the door and stuck my head in.
That was when we learned it was an anniversary party for the restaurant.
There had to be over fifty people milling around and Kirk started
introducing us to some of them.  Derrick came over and grabbed the boys,
dragging them off to meet some other kids, and about that time Kirk started
to introduce me to a tall gentleman who had his back to us.  When he turned
around I was left thinking it was a small world.  Aaron Carlson was smiling
at me.  Then we had to explain to Kirk how we knew each other.  Aaron told
me that Steve (Marshall/Besslor) was there, along with Jamall and Trevor.
I also learned the Aaron did the books for the restaurant.  It turned out
that Aaron and Dick (Kirk's partner Dick Thompson) had been friends for
years.

	People kept showing up and I was introduced to way more people than
I could remember or keep their names straight.  Almost all of them seemed
to know each other and they were all visiting and having a good time.
There were some excellent hors d'oeuvres to munch on and the wine was
flowing freely.  Periodically I could catch glimpses of the boys and some
other young people munching on the snacks and drinking pop.  After an hour
or so it was finally time for dinner.

	We were taken upstairs to a dinning room.  I hadn't even realized
there was an upstairs but it was a much bigger area than the downstairs
dinning area.  By now there must have been over eighty people and the
upstairs had room for more than that.  Kirk and his partner were showing us
where to sit when another group of ten or so people showed up.  I wasn't
really used to dealing with so many strangers at once, but everyone seemed
to go out of their way to be friendly.  We were all assigned seats and I
finally had a chance to make a more accurate guess at the number of people.
I was surprised to see I was so far off.  There appeared to be about one
hundred and twenty people and that didn't count the waiters that were
bustling around.

	I was seated at a table that had nine other people.  One was
obviously a queen and he was the life of the conversation.  He was full of
funny stories and had us laughing and giggling all the time we ate a
delicious antipasto salad.  There was also a doctor and a married couple
that had an art gallery.  The queen had a lawyer for a partner and he just
sat back and enjoyed the attention his partner attracted.  After a while I
figured out that the queen, Charlie Watson, got a lot more out of everyone
than he seemed to be trying for.  He just seemed to have a knack for
drawing people out.  I had to tell about my job and the boys and I learned
all about the art gallery.  There was also a police detective, a fellow who
worked for BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) and I forget the others.  Finally
the waiters came around with bibs.  I suddenly had an idea of what was
coming.

	I was right.  Cioppino was served and it was marvelous.  It was
much better than mine and I thought I made good Cioppino.  It had to be the
best I'd ever eaten.  The second it was served, conversation dropped off
all over the room while everyone enjoyed the meal.  The wine served with it
was an excellent Chianti.

	After a while the conversation level picked back up as people
started to fill up.  Over the course of the conversation I learned that
Dick Thompson was the head cook and was considered one of the best chefs in
the area.  Based on what I had just eaten, I had to agree.

	Once the dishes were cleared away, both Dick and Kirk thanked
everyone for attending.  Then there was some entertainment.  A lady, whose
name I missed, played the piano that was sitting in the corner.  Her
selections were well done and were mostly show tunes from Broadway
musicals.  Then I was somewhat surprised to see Jamall and Trevor walk up
to the piano.

	They sang several songs, one of which was their version of one of
the Ink Spots songs.  After that it was back to visiting while dessert was
served.  It was what one might expect in Italy.  It consisted of several
cheeses and some fresh fruits.  The whole meal was nothing short of
excellent.

	Looking around I was struck by how normal everything was.  Sure
there were a couple of what might be considered typical gay activists, but
most were simply people.  They were acting just like people at any other
party I had attended.  It suddenly dawned on me that I had never
participated in the gay scene and for some silly reason I had expected
something a little different and it just wasn't there.  A few seconds
thought and I realized I had fallen into the trap of labeling people based
on a stereotype.  I knew better than that but we sometimes do things we
know are wrong without thinking them through.  I suppose you could just say
I was naïve and that would probably cover it, but I was disgusted with
myself.  I knew better but had let other people's opinion influence me in a
negative way.  I vowed to do better in the future.  It really didn't make
any difference what group of people one looked at, there were always a few
that were extreme.  The rest were just people.  You should never judge a
group by the extreme elements within it.  In fact you should never be quick
to judge.  The old saying went through my mind.  Judge not lest ye be
judged.  While I tried to do that, sometimes things slip past without being
thought out.  Somewhere along the way I had come up with the idea that a
gay party would be different, and of course it really wasn't.

	The next thing I knew, I was involved in a discussion about the
education system.  Between the excellent meal and the good wine, I was
feeling somewhat expansive and just told it like I saw it.  I pointed out
several things that I thought the State Board of Education were doing not
only wrong, but also to my mind, simply stupid.  I didn't know any of the
ones involved in the conservation except for the lawyer who had been at my
table.  Several questions from members of the group drew me out even
further.  I was more than a little surprised to learn that one of the
gentlemen listening to me was an elected member of the State Legislature,
and another worked for the California Dept. of Education.  It turned into
quite a conversation before it broke up.  However, I had started it and
wasn't about to back down.  As they brought up objections to my statements,
I pointed out the fallacy of their objections.  We had quite a bunch of
people listening in and chuckling while I debated what I perceived to be
the errors in the way the State handled its end of seeing that the kids in
California got a good education.  In my mind, the errors were many, not the
least of which were funding and paperwork.  All right, so I commented on
the ridiculous idea of politically correct textbooks, along with some other
things I thought could be improved.  I noticed several people about ready
to burst into laughter; at least I think that was why they had their hands
over their mouths.  Sometimes they even turned away and I could see their
shoulder shake.  However, I was on a roll and wasn't about to quit.  I
suppose I could have been a little more diplomatic, but sometimes the
simply ludicrous statements made by my opponents made it difficult to be
so.  We finally agreed to disagree and the group broke up and we all
wandered around visiting with other people.

	The crowd had thinned out some when I finally realized how late it
was.  I tracked the boys down and we thanked everyone and headed for the
pickup.  While I had been discussing the school problems there had been
quite a few people dancing.  I hadn't paid much attention but Kyle sure
had.  As soon as we were in the pickup he commented on the fact that there
were several men dancing with other men.  His voice sounded like he was in
awe of the whole thing.  I even found out that JJ and LT had tried dancing.
When I asked Corey why he hadn't danced, I got a bunch of snickers from JJ
and LT.  Corey had tried dancing and it was Derrick who had talked him into
it.  In fact it was Derrick who had managed to get JJ and LT on the floor
in the first place.  However nothing he tried would get Kyle to try it.
Suddenly I felt left out.  I wish I had paid attention.  I would have loved
to dance with Corey.  I could almost feel him in my arms.

	I also found out that Derrick had managed to smuggle a bottle or
two of wine to the tables occupied by the younger set and they had all
enjoyed it.  Everyone had enjoyed the evening and the good food.  Having
Jamall and Trevor there had made the three boys much more relaxed than they
might have been and they had managed to make Kyle and Mark feel fairly
comfortable.  The evening had been a great success.

	Dog was happy to see us and I took him for a walk while the boys
made up the beds.  JJ and LT would still get the couch-hide-a-bed thing and
Kyle and Mark would get the bed that could be made up of the dinette.  By
the time Dog had sniffed, what seemed like ten thousand bushes, and finally
found one to his liking, the boys had the beds made up.  Dog took one look
and couldn't make up his mind were he wanted to sleep.  He bounced up on
Mark and Kyle's bed and then decided to check out LT and JJ.  I gave up and
headed off to bed and Corey.  It had been a real pleasant day topped off by
an excellent dinner and some interesting conversation.


			To be continued...