Date: Tue, 25 Apr 2006 04:35:34 -0700 From: fritz@nehalemtel.net Subject: I Love Corey, Chapter Seventy-nine So once again we are at the hated warning and discloser. Yes, I know it is boring, and yes, I know you don't really pay any attention to it, and yes, I know you wish I would quit writing the stupid things and just get on with the story, but alas, I only feel it is my duty to try to protect you from some of the evils of life. What evils are those you ask? Why the evils of reading this story, which can be against the law for you, or can just plain be boring. So with those thoughts in mind, here goes. For any young people reading this story, you really shouldn't. As you know, people are rightfully trying to protect you from people like me. Should you choose to ignore this warning, I hope you enjoy the story. Should you take a chance and write to me, I promise not to tell anyone. Still, you might be breaking the law so let your conscience be your guide. Just know your secrets are safe with me. Of course you might encounter descriptions of gay sex acts. Now if that would cause you to be offended, then you should leave before such a despicable thing happens to you. It is not my intention to offend you, but you have now been warned and if you continue to read don't think I'm going to be sympathetic to your offended sensibilities. Should you happen to live where the reading of stories like this one is illegal, you can do one of two things. You can leave, or you can quietly think, "Screw you authorities," and go right on reading. Now I certainly wouldn't recommend going out in the street and shouting those thoughts out loud or giving those authorities the one-legged peace symbol, but it is sort of fun to think about it. Please by nice and give me the usual privileges accorded to authors. If you choose not to do so, please don't let me find out as that would only upset me. This story is make believe so none of the characters exist and none of the events happened. Instead it is just a story, written for your amusement and entertainment. If you find the story neither amusing, nor entertaining, quit reading and find something more to your liking. Once again it is time to thank Don for his efforts in improving the story. His help is more than you can ever know and I am very grateful to him. Feel free to write and complain, ask questions, offer suggestion, or whatever strikes your fancy. I try to answer such emails, and I don't share names so you won't be embarrassed. Send such communications to fritz@nehalemtel.net And so, gentle readers, I hope you enjoy the following chapter. Well, not so gentle readers may enjoy it also, if that is possible. **************************************************************************** I Love Corey, Chapter Seventy-nine Surprise, surprise, my real boys were back. Corey and Mark were their usual bright-eyed selves, and Kyle was once again his usual sleepyhead. Danny joined JJ and LT in being slightly more awake than Kyle, but not nearly as alert as either Corey or Mark. However it didn't really make much difference to me since I'd already put the roast in the oven and was searing it while I cooked breakfast for the boys. Some food and even Kyle started to wake up, and not only that, he was actually pretty alert by the time we headed back for more fun at the Adventure Park. I figured he would finally get fully going about the time the roller coaster made its takeoff. Now I confess to liking roller coasters, so I had a blast, as did the boys on California Screamin'. I don't really know why I like them, but I always have and this one was great. There is something about the sudden drop as you crest the first peak that gets my heart beating faster, and then there's the sudden rush of the wind past your face. My biggest complaint about roller coasters is that they just don't last long enough. I swear that in my dreamworld, the ride would go on and on. However like all coasters, this one ended far before I was ready for it to end. I liked the upside down loop and really, I would have been happy to go again but the boys were dragging me off to another ride. Ah well, maybe when we come back this summer I can ride it again, and even perhaps again. And so the day went. No sooner had they finished one ride than they were off to another one, dragging me along. However there was one which the boys found particularly interesting, and that one was called Maliboomer. Now I thought it just another free fall ride, and while not the greatest, it was pretty good. However, one trip and Danny had a slight green cast while Corey shook his head. Meanwhile Mark was jumping up and down and trying to get us back in line for another trip. I mean they seat you in this thing and then take you straight up one hundred and eighty feet in four seconds where it stops for a bit. About the time your stomach starts to catch up with you and you have time to start thinking about what comes next, down you go, passing your stomach somewhere along the way. I've been on higher ones with a longer free fall time, but the boys had never been on anything like it. All except Danny and Corey were in love with it, but I still liked California Screamin' better. Seeing the boy's reaction to Maliboomer I figured they had to try the Tower of Terror. When I told Mark that I thought he'd like the Tower of Terror even better than Maliboomer, well let's just say I really should have entered him in one of those tractor-pull contests. He would have won hands down. Danny and Corey had recovered by the time we made our way to it and were now looking forward to trying it. Ah the resilience of kids. I'd explained to them that they didn't have to go if they didn't want to, but they were again ready to try anything. I don't know if it was the fact that this was the second free fall ride and they had a somewhat better idea of what to expect, or that there had been a little more time for them to digest their breakfasts, but Danny and Corey were right up there with the other boys in thinking that the Tower of Terror was great. Of course Mark was almost off the wall and I really think that if there had been a way to have food brought to him every once in a while I could have left him there for the next ten years or so. Of course we had to take on some boy fuel, but that only seemed to encourage them. However, when they were taking on some more of that fuel a second time, which in this case was some pizza at Pizza Oom Mow Mow, they started complaining that they were never going to get to see or do everything in only one week, and besides, Mark said he was getting a little tired. While the others wouldn't admit to such a thing they were starting to show signs of slowing down. They were no longer dragging me along and were more content to walk together as a group to the next ride. So I asked them if they would rather keep going and try to see as much as they could, or would they rather just take it easy and figure on coming back during the summer to catch what they missed on this trip. Danny looked a little sad until I assured him he would be more than welcome to join us, and then he cheered back up. So after one more ride and a little more sightseeing we were headed back for the trailer. I again stopped to pick up some more groceries and some more beer to replenish my supply which seemed to have taken a heavy hit last night. As it was, we got back to the trailer just after four o'clock. The boys were happy to just wander around outside, drinking some pop and eating snacks. The soccer ball was still in the back of the pickup and it looked like it would stay there. The boys had been wound up and on the go since Saturday morning and looked like they might be running down just a tad. For that matter, I could use a little time off to rest and relax. To say I was happy that they were running out of energy would be pretty accurate. I had been planning on a fairly simple menu when it dawned on me I only had one oven, and so the baked potatoes I'd planned were out because the oven was full of roast. That meant I had to make a quick change in plans. I really don't know why I hadn't thought of that, but I guess I was so used to having two ovens that my mind just hadn't given it a thought. Oh well, I peeled those same potatoes and put them in a kettle to cook. I still had a little time so I didn't start them cooking, only placed the kettle on the stove so it would be ready. I'd simply have mashed potatoes instead of baked ones. Then I was busy hunting through the cupboards to make sure I had everything I wanted for making the gravy. That looked to be covered so I quit worrying about it. Suddenly it also dawned on me I had no wine glasses. There wasn't much else I could do so I just got out the smaller glasses, the ones we used for juice, and let it go at that. It wouldn't be elegant, but somehow I didn't think it would be something the Maxwells would complain about. At least I had put a couple of bottles of pretty good wine in the trailer a while back. I'd grabbed a couple of different bags of salad greens, and a red onion, along with some grape tomatoes for the salad so I started making that. I had remembered that I didn't have six big burners so the vegetables would be sort of a medley of carrots, cauliflower, some of the hated broccoli, and some zucchini slices steamed with a little butter on them. It wasn't very fancy but would have to do. I was really lost without my big range with its double ovens and six full sized burners, not to mention the griddle for hotcakes and things like that. That thought started me wondering how my mother had ever managed to get along on a thirty-inch range, not that I had any idea of where they would have put one like mine had they had it. I guess they would have just had to build on to the kitchen. During the time I was cooking, Danny called his mother and I could hear the excitement in his voice as he told her all about the fun he was having. He had called her Monday evening, but now he had ridden more rides and he had to give her detailed descriptions of how great each of those rides were and how much fun he was having. He was chattering away so fast and with such enthusiasm that I wondered if the phone would melt from all the words he was spewing forth. He was a little hung up on words like neat and awesome, with a few radicals thrown in, but that didn't slow him down at all and it didn't sound like he ever slowed down enough to give her a chance to say anything. Kath had been scheduled to get her cast off this morning and I wondered if she had, but he never even asked. I just kept on with my cooking, grinning to myself as I listened to him. Kath was getting a blow by blow account of everything we had done whether she wanted it or not, and I had grave doubts that even a muzzle would have worked at slowing him down. I couldn't believe the change from a quiet Danny to a happy Danny. He used more words on that phone conversation than I'd ever heard him use at one time before. He finally hung up and he was still grinning from ear to ear. "Did your mom get her cast off?" I asked. "Yeah, she says it awesome to be able to scratch," he replied. I was surprised he had gotten any information from her. She must have sneaked it in when he was taking a breath because he sure never gave her a chance any other time. "She's going to soak it in that room in the basement," he continued. "She says it looks gross and stinks." Somehow I doubted that those were quite the words Kath had used, but who knows. I did think she had a good idea with a soak in the spa though. I couldn't remember if I'd pointed out the controls and how to work them, but they weren't hard to figure out and a little soaking should help stop the itching. Things had been so hectic I couldn't remember half of what had been said. Even after all their snacks the boys showed up, food on their minds, just as I really got things really cooking. I felt like a bloody piece of meat being towed in shark-infested waters from all the hungry looks I kept getting, but I did get a little work out of them. They consented to put the plates and dinnerware on the picnic table outside, that is after I nagged long enough. However they were more than willing to go and tell the Maxwells that dinner was almost ready. I was sneaky and had allowed enough time for a cocktail if the Maxwells were so inclined. I didn't have much of a stock for a bar, but I did have a few things to mix cocktails with. Those things turned out to be unnecessary as they both opted for a glass of wine before dinner, and they laughingly chided me about worrying over the lack of wine glasses. We visited a few minutes and then I started making the gravy. Dinner turned out to be pretty well. While the roast wasn't quite as good as those I normally purchased at Downie's, it was still very good and the rest was more than acceptable. Danny's eye popped open when Corey poured him a glass of wine, but other than that there were no surprises. Dessert was a raspberry sorbet because I hadn't thought I would have time to fix anything else. By that time everyone was so full of roast that the sorbet made a pretty nice dessert because it was light. Some other kids came walking past and the boys wanted to join them, but they knew they had to do the dishes before they could. They did a little whining over that but no more than normal. The Maxwells and I sat and batted the breeze after the boys took off. However the boys were soon back and flaked out on the grass, the dinner induced burst of energy all used up. I was enjoying relaxing with a glass of wine and visiting. I learned more about the Maxwells' children and found out that one of their sons was a lawyer, the other a doctor, and their daughter was an interior decorator, all quite successful. I also learned they were from the Seattle area and were down to escape the rain for a while. All in all, a very nice visit. It was nothing special, merely very relaxing and pleasant, and I made sure they had my address so they could stop anytime they were going through our area. The Maxwells said goodnight and the boys and I went into the trailer and sort of collapsed. I got the impression that all the excitement was starting to wear the boys down, and their dragging me around was doing the same to me. And so we just sat there, sort of vegetating. I had suggested that we might go to the parks in the mornings and then take a break by coming to the trailer and resting a little before going back to close the parks down, but the boys hadn't thought that was a good idea. Now it looked like they might be changing their minds a little on that subject. There were a few halfhearted attempts to talk about what they wanted to do tomorrow, and which rides looked best, but for the most part they almost appeared sort of Disneylanded out. And so we just sat there, not saying much and resting. Finally LT brought up something that we'd talked about some time back, and that was maybe going to a gun store and looking for shotguns. I was amazed at how quickly the boys revived and started showing some enthusiasm. Of course Danny didn't have any idea what we were talking about, but the rest had all been trying to learn to shoot and had been forced to wait their turn owing to the lack of guns with short enough stocks. We decided that tomorrow would be a good day to take it a little easier and checkout a couple of sporting goods stores to see what was available. I knew there were a couple of stores that catered to competition shooters, like trap shooters, so I suspected that we might do a little more than just see what was available. In fact if things had ever calmed down for just a few days during the last couple of months I had planned on ordering some shotguns and some adjustable stocks for them. Still I liked the idea of seeing what I was buying and this way I could see if my original ideas on what makes and models would be best were right or wrong. The boys also agreed to skip driving down to San Diego and going to Sea World and the Zoo, that is as long as I promised to take them there some other time like this coming summer. I'd thought their plans were pretty ambitious for the time we had, but they had thought they had it all figured out so I hadn't said much. Since then I'd merely neglected to remind them of all the things they had planned, and they had been so busy trying to decide what rides they still wanted to go on, or what attractions they still wanted to see at Disneyland that they had forgotten they had only planned on going there two days instead of the three they had now devoted to it. They hadn't believed me when I'd told them that they wouldn't be able to do and see everything available at Disneyland in a week, but they were discovering I'd been right on that. I came out of it in the morning, I had Corey with his head on my chest, and Danny plastered tight to my other side and his arm draped across me and touching Corey. I had to wiggle around a little to get out of bed, but the two boys never stirred. I wandered over to the shower facilities and had a shower. I could have taken one in the trailer but thought the noise might wake the boys up, and the park had lovely showers anyway. I picked up a newspaper on my way back, made my usual coffee and was relaxing and reading the paper when boys started waking up. Mark was first and I got a really big hug from him and he told me how much fun he was having. He really was sweet this morning and I hated to let him go, but he decided he needed a shower before breakfast and so off he went. And that was about the way things went that morning. A boy would straggle out, give me a hug, and head for the shower facility. I just enjoyed the hugs so much that I sort of lost track of what was in the paper, but the world didn't appear to have ended so I didn't really care. Of course Kyle was the last one up, and when he headed for his shower, I started breakfast. It was almost nine thirty by the time I had the boys filled up and they had done the dishes. That was much later than we had been doing so far this week, and the extra time just seemed so relaxing that everyone was in a really good mood without being excited. We happened to cross the Los Angeles River and the boys giggled at the fact that where we crossed, it was more like a big concrete drainage ditch than a river. My folks had brought me to Los Angeles once when there was quite a lot of water in it, but now it was pretty empty, and while not confined to just the little area in the middle like it sometimes was, it still didn't look like much of a river. It had been several weeks since Los Angeles had had much rain so it was pretty empty. We finally made it to one of the places I was going to shop for shotguns and while they were very helpful, they didn't have the adjustable stock that I had wanted to see, so we headed for the next one. There we struck pay dirt. They even had a small range behind the facility where you could try the various guns and other products and see if you liked them. In both places Danny's eyes had about bugged out over the number of guns available, and also because he had never been around any guns. To say he was fascinated doesn't even come close to describing him. My boys were merely curious as to what was available and so were pretty easy to keep track of, but I finally had to set Corey to following Danny around and keeping track of him. Danny was all over the place, looking first at one, and then another of the many guns available. This store not only had the stock I'd been considering, but a couple of other brands as well. Perhaps calling them brands isn't quite right because they were examples from custom stock builders and each was a little different. We also had to discuss just which shotguns would be good for the boys as beginning shooters, and why such guns were best. In the end the boys and I decided that some Beretta AL 391 Urika's, complete with adjustable stocks and thirty inch barrels should fill the bill. I thought Danny was going to explode when we took him out and let him try one. He was just positively bouncing he was so excited. He really looked shocked when he fired the first time, and the gun kicked him a little, but that didn't slow him down a bit. He didn't hit any targets in the five shots he tried, but that didn't matter to him he was so excited over even being able to fire a gun. The rest of the boys were grinning at how excited he was. As for the two salesmen, well one of them commented that his son had acted just about the same the first time he had fired a gun. Really, we all got a kick out of watching him. Finally all the boys had tried and it was my turn. I got the stock stretched out enough to where it fit me and I smashed my five targets. The stock was great because it had a recoil buffer in it and the gun was about as pleasant to shoot as any I'd ever tried. It didn't swing quite like my Perazzi, but it wasn't bad, just a little slower feeling. However watching me got Danny even more excited. He just couldn't wait to try to learn when we got home. So finally we were all agreed on just what we needed. However, that presented some problems in that the store only had three of that model shotgun in stock, and only the one adjustable stock of that make. When I told them I wanted six of each, they got a slightly shocked look, and then started apologizing that they were sorry but they didn't have that many available. They were much happier when I told them that was fine; they could ship them to me because I didn't want to have them with me when driving around anyway. We discussed that a little and after several phone calls they told me I could pick up three of the shotguns Saturday, and they would ship the rest in a couple of weeks because it would take that long to come up with the necessary stocks. Of course there was all the paperwork and finally we had all the arrangements worked out to have them shipped so it was time to leave. We did take a bunch of stuff with us, like shooting glasses and hearing protectors for Danny, along with shooting vests which had a good pad for everyone, and hopefully would help with the flinch Danny seemed to have. I also grabbed a handful of web belts and the cartridge holders for both loaded and empty shells for those kids who didn't have them which was all I could think of that we needed. Danny still hadn't calmed down, but I just stuffed him in the back seat of the pickup and figured that the other boys could either put up with him or hold him down. I had Corey and Kyle in the front with me and the rest would just have to get along or kill each other. In the meantime it was now well after noon and time to hunt up some more boy fuel. We had a pretty good lunch and the boys decided we should just go back to the trailer and rest. I was almost shocked, but they had been awfully busy the last few days and a day off wouldn't hurt them, or for that matter me either so that's what we did. Once we got there, everyone sprawled around and soon I could hear soft boy snores coming from every direction. That sounded good to me and so I joined them. Well the nap wasn't very long, but the effect on the boys was unbelievable. They were now all charged up so away we went, back to Disneyland. We ate dinner there and lasted until they closed the park. However the laid back morning had revitalized us all and once again we had fun. I had more fun watching the boys than I think they did going on some of the rides they'd missed, but who cared, we were all enjoying it. Once again we seemed to gather up a group of other people and just wandered around in mass, visiting and watching the kids all have fun. Most of the parents were somewhat older than I was and I had to explain I was a foster parent, but after that they treated me just like they treated each other. I was really sorry when it was announced that the park would be closing because I was enjoying visiting with everyone so much. Some of the parents were telling about some of the things their kids had tried and I was enjoying laughing along with them but I was also learning some of the things to watch for and how other people had handled such things. Well I guess you know the leftover roast was about history by the time the boys were full enough to go to bed and I was also out of bread, however the roast beef sandwiches were quite tasty. It didn't take much thought on my part to decide we would have breakfast in a restaurant tomorrow. It wasn't long until boys were in bed and snoring away. I suspect my snores soon joined theirs, but I have no way of knowing without some kind of recorder. On Friday we headed for Knott's Berry Farm. Now Disneyland is great and I enjoyed it, but as I said, I love roller coasters and Knott's Berry Farm has a couple of really good ones. We found a restaurant and had a good breakfast and we still made it there before they opened the gates. The boys were actually giggling at me as I dragged them to my personal favorite, one called GhostRider. It is one of the best, in my opinion, wooden roller coasters around. As usual the two minute and forty second ride was over long before I was ready, but it is a truly great ride. There is lots of air time and I just love it. Of course we soon made our way to Xcelerator, and the ride was once again worth it. I still like the wooden coasters, but the launch on Xcelerator is truly great. You feel like you are in a dragster when it takes off. You go from a standstill to something over eighty miles an hour is a little less than two seconds and that really sets you back in your seat. The lap bars are a lot better than some of the fancier restraint systems as you get to flop around a little more, adding to the thrills. The boys headed off for Supreme Scream, a drop ride, and I sneaked back to ride GhostRider again. In case you haven't figured it out, I really like roller coasters. I had just as much fun as the first run, or for that matter the other times I had gone on it, but I felt a little lost without any boys with me. I swear that someday I'm going to spend the summer just traveling around, riding roller coasters. I caught up with the boys just in time to buy them more boy fuel. Cell phones are simply wonderful ways to get back together. After that it was off to try some more rides, and of course there was more fuel required in the afternoon. We talked about taking a break, but decided against it because there was a rainstorm coming in and the boys were worried about that. They were probably right to worry because the clouds were blowing in and it looked like it wouldn't be long until we got wet. The rain held off and we had dinner in the park at Mrs. Knott's Chicken Dinner Restaurant, the same place we had had breakfast, after which the boys lasted until the park closed down. Of course if you eat there you really should try the chicken dinner, which we did. Dinner seemed to bring a little more energy back to the boys, but they were dragging their backsides by the time the day was over, although they were still grinning even if they were sort of tired looking grins. There wasn't much chatter on the ride back to the trailer and boys just set their beds up and flopped. Snores were once again about all I heard. I had figured on the boys spending a short day at either park before we started home, but the rain changed that. It was doing a pretty good job of raining and the boys were just plain tired. When I suggested dropping them off at the park of their choice while I went and picked up the shotguns, they didn't think much of the idea. I'll admit that I had some reservations about leaving them at either park alone, but I figured if they stuck together and since they had their cell phones it was probably safe for the time I would be gone, but the boys decided we might just as well start home. You could have pushed me over with a feather when I heard that, but they pointed out I had promised to bring them again to enjoy themselves and since it was raining, we might just as well head home. I'll bet they would have felt differently if the rain had come earlier in the week. I still hadn't stopped and picked up any bread, but the boys agreed to accept biscuits in place of toast and there were still sufficient eggs and bacon to make one last breakfast. It took a little longer because of the biscuits, but I didn't hear any complaints. Kyle and I got soaked hooking the trailer back to the pickup but we both still had some clean dry clothes and after we changed, we were ready to leave. We said good-by to the Maxwells and then it was off to pick up the shotguns. I also thanked the park manager when I checked out and promised we would be back again. It took a little longer to drive over to pick up the shotguns owing to the rain and having the trailer hooked on behind, but we still got a pretty decent start on the trip home. I was thrilled the store had managed to come up with one more stock and had four of the shotguns ready so only two would have to be shipped. With that out of the way we headed home, the trip pretty much a great success. The rain slacked off some after we got over the Grapevine and hit the San Joaquin Valley and the boys were pretty quiet for them. In fact, they dozed quite a bit and I made a lot better time than I had on the way down when they had been excited and were always complaining about being hungry or needing to go to the bathroom. I'd fueled up on the way to Knott's Berry Farm yesterday and had two full tanks of diesel so I just kept driving along. We made it a lot further than I thought we would before I started getting complaints about being hungry. When I suggested a restaurant, they suggested McDonalds and so we gathered up a bunch of burgers and fries and kept on trucking north. In fact we made it clear to Sacramento before the boys decided they needed some more food. This was by far the best they had done on any trip we had taken, and by then I was more than glad to take a break from driving. While the pickup handled the trailer beautifully, still we had been on the road and moving for a little over seven hours. The trip to the gun shop had added almost an extra hour of that driving time. However we were faced with the problem of it being a little early for dinner, and way too late for lunch. So we stopped at a truck stop where I topped off the tanks, and we each had a piece of not very good pie. Actually, it was pretty bad pie and even my hungry crew didn't really clean up their plates. It was also way overpriced. The crust was undercooked and soggy, and the apples were somewhat lacking in their presence. I also hadn't known that apples came in such tasteless varieties, but you live and learn. I will say that some of the dinners being served looked acceptable, but I have no way of verifying that, and decided that based on the pie, I wouldn't stop here again and take a chance on them being good. Really, the pie was more like some soggy cardboard with a slight coating of tasteless applesauce on it. When we were once again on the road there was a considerable amount of chatter about the grim pie. The boys all agreed that even those little pie things you buy in the market are better, and all they are is sweet. However the restrooms had been clean and the break had been a welcome one so it could have been much worse I guess. By now it was a little after five and we were on the south side of Sacramento so we still had a ways to go. I told the boys we could stop in a park and spend the night but they thought we might just as well go on home. Of course that would require finding a restaurant and eating out again, but the thoughts of my own bed overcame my lack of enthusiasm for the thoughts of taking a chance and coming up with a dinner as bad as the piece of pie I'd just endured. Well we finally just gave up and ate at the Denny's in Willows. I mean Denny's isn't my first choice, but it was handy and bearable. None of us were really starving, just kind of hungry and most anything would have been acceptable provided it was decent. We ended up ordering steaks and Danny was finally getting over worrying about the price so much. Surprisingly there was some left on each of the boys' and my plates so we got a doggy bag and put the scraps in for Dog. Then it was one last shot for home. Boy the house looked good when I pulled into the driveway to the shop. Tonight the trailer could just sit out, and I'd put it in the shop tomorrow. I was beat and just wanted to crash in my own bed. It was a long drive from Los Angeles and I wasn't used to driving that many hours. The boys had napped off and on so they were showing a lot more life than I was. Anyhow we climbed out of the pickup and headed for the house. The only thing we took with us was Dog's doggy bag. Kath hadn't expected us until sometime tomorrow so she was a little startled, but soon she was snowed by Danny telling her about all the fun he'd had. Of course the rest of the boys had to help him and I just made myself a pot of coffee and collapsed in my chair. Dog had been so thrilled to see us that he had jumped all over us, but when I landed in my chair it was definitely belly rub time. He groaned and carried on like I'd never heard him do before, and it was pretty apparent he had missed me and his boys. For that matter I'd missed him and enjoyed his antics as I rubbed and scratched his belly. Kath had noticed him back up to me to get his belly rub and commented that she hadn't known just what it was he wanted, but would now remember so that if he did it to her, she could give him a belly rub. Well Dog jumped down and headed over and backed into LT, who obliged him with another belly rub. In fact, before it was done, even Danny had to take a turn with Dog. The only one who didn't was Kath, and when everyone was done, Dog just went over a laid his head on her foot. I was about half jealous because that had always been what he'd done to me when he was finished cadging all the attention he could. The trailer was nice, but it was great to just spread out. There just wasn't that much room in the trailer and you always felt sort of confined. I know that's silly because it wasn't like we were jammed together, but there was always a feeling of the lack of space. Here in the house I could swing an arm without fear of hitting anything, and I didn't have to pick something up in order to have a space to set something else down. There was plenty of room in the house to walk past or around people, but in the trailer people sometimes had to move to let you past so it was just nice to sort of spread out and relax. When Danny and the boys ran down, after telling about all their adventures, we headed for bed. Boy it was nice to just have a whole bed for Corey and me. We were both a little frazzled so we just cuddled up and went to sleep. I swear I was asleep three seconds after my head hit the pillow, maybe sooner. I'm simply going to have to quit taking trips on my time off. They are just too much for me. While it might have been nice to wake up between two boys, waking up in my own bed with only Corey beside me was much better. How those two boys had managed to talk me into sleeping in the middle I'll never understand. That had resulted in there being no way I could get comfortable because they both crowded up against me and that made me too warm. When there was just Corey to snuggle with, well then the warmth was only coming from one side and it was easier to stay cool enough to be comfortable. While Danny was a nice boy and I liked him, I didn't love him, and the only boy I wanted to have snuggled up to me was Corey. There was just something that seemed so right when I woke up with Corey hugging my back and me with one leg out from under the covers to stay cool enough. He had one arm draped over my middle, and I could feel his soft warm breath on the back of my neck. All was pretty much right with my world. There was one little problem with my world though, and that was no matter how much I would have liked to just lie there and enjoy myself, I really shouldn't have had that final cup of coffee last night. So I slipped out from under his arm and made a mad dash for the toilet, wondering why it was that my body always seemed to fill my bladder at the same time every morning. It was almost like my bladder was a clock set to wake me at the usual time no matter how tired I was. The very worst thing was that I knew I would never get back to sleep even if I went back to bed. After the pause that refreshes I started my day with my normal routine, shave, quick shower, and get dressed. Corey never even quivered as far as I could tell. He just kept sleeping right through the sounds of the shower and my getting dressed. He really didn't even move when I leaned over and kissed him on the cheek, but he did sort of smile. He looked so peaceful sleeping that a spent a couple of minutes just admiring him before I wandered on out and started the coffee and got the paper. I sat there at the table staring at the front page of the paper and not really making any sense of it while the coffee finished perking. When it was done I got myself a cup and tried to figure out where to start on the paper. I wasn't very alert yet so that meant either the comic pages or the sports section. I finally opted for the comic pages. Zits was pretty good, as was Pickles, and after few sips of coffee my eyes were starting to focus a little better. I turned to the sports section and heard a toilet flush. There wasn't really that much of interest in the sports section and I was finished with it by the time Kath came stumbling into the kitchen, still using a cane. While she was walking better than she had with the cast, she still wasn't walking very well and would have to build the strength in her leg up before she was back to normal. At least she didn't appear to be one of those morning people who just have to talk as soon as they wake up. Instead there was only the sound of her pouring herself some coffee after which she joined me at the table and also in staring at the paper. After we had both finished our first cup of coffee and I had filled both cups up again, Kath was ready to talk a little. I was enjoying telling her about how Danny had enjoyed himself and I was speaking much slower than he had. Last night it had been like he was one of those kids in a school function, you know the kind, the ones who try to recite the Gettysburg Address in two seconds flat so they can get off the stage. While it wasn't like he was trying to get away, he was certainly talking that fast. I'd gotten her filled in on what we did up to about Wednesday when Mark came into the kitchen, and I got a big hug along with him telling us how much fun he'd had and what an awesome trip it had been. In fact he about wore the word "awesome" out. He was chattering away and it was almost like he used it every other word. What is there about kids where they only have one adjective at a time and have to wear it out before they learn another? All the boys seemed to be hung up on the word awesome. Still, it was probably better than some words I could think of. At least it could be used in polite company. Then he went over to the fridge and looked in. He pulled out a pitcher of orange juice and poured himself a glass. The expression of shock was almost funny. It clearly wasn't what he expected and about that time it dawned on me it was probably frozen orange juice rather than fresh squeezed. While neither Kyle nor Mark had lived with me all that long, it hadn't taken them long to become just like the others in developing a dislike for any orange juice which hadn't gone directly from the orange to their glass with no steps in between. About then Kath decided to make herself useful and start breakfast. When she got out a package of frozen waffles I could see we were going to have to have a discussion on meals, preferably soon. Those things are bad enough at their best and the cheapest brand, which those were, are even worse. While I thought I'd left her sufficient funds to take care of everything, we were going to have to talk things over and straighten some things out. However I couldn't really fault her because there simply hadn't been time to cover things like this, and so when it looked like Mark might say something I indicated to him not to and he seemed to understand. Well, what can I say about breakfast? I mean toaster waffles, nuked bacon, and frozen orange juice just doesn't cut it in my book. Danny dove right in and seemed happy, but the rest of the boys had some real odd expressions on their faces. At least she hadn't bought any of that cheap imitation syrup and just served some real maple syrup from my supply. The rain had picked up again and while I knew we needed to get the dirty clothes and things out of the trailer, I decided to wait, hoping that the rain would slacken a little later in the day. There was really no way of getting around it and I finally had to take the bull by the horns and try to explain that we normally didn't use many pre-prepared foods. This was really awkward because I didn't want to hurt her feelings, and her heart had been in the right place, but we needed to get the whole food thing straightened out. It would have taken a lot less time if I had just come right out and told her what was wrong, but I tried to delicately hint, and it took a while to get the message across. However at least it didn't appear I had upset her, so hopefully the time was worth it. When she had commented that squeezing enough oranges for juice must take a lot of oranges, I just grinned and told her that there were a lot of orange trees and I didn't want their fruit to go to waste. Still, something that I could have explained in five minutes ended up taking an hour, but not upsetting Kath was worth it. That wasn't all we talked about that day. I had no more than gotten the food situation taken care of when Danny's new clothes came up. It started with Kath asking Danny why he was wearing some of my boys' clothes, and so it was back to the office for another conversation. I finally had to flat out tell her that if Danny was going to hang around with my boys, he would feel a lot more confident if he blended in, and that kids put a lot more emphasis on things like clothes than I did. That and telling her I didn't want him to feel out of place at Disneyland finally seemed to get through to her except then I had to tell her no, she didn't need to pay me back, that Danny wasn't the first kid I had bought some clothes for and it was doubtful he would be the last. The only difference had been that normally I went through one of the local charities rather than do it directly. In fact there were three local charities that knew they could always call on me when they needed a little money, especially if it was for kids. We had worked out an arrangement where I always made a donation at the beginning of the year, with the understanding that they could ask for more if they needed it, but that I expected them not to abuse that privilege or else I would no longer contribute to them. Had things continued the way they were going and Danny's clothes not improved, I would have probably had one of them get him some new clothes, but while quite worn, and somewhat too small, it had not reached that point yet. Little things like that had helped use up some of the money Uncle Matt's ideas had kept putting in my pocket, or rather investment accounts, and seemed like a real good way to use some of it. My teacher's salary had been plenty to live on, and the additional money, varying from $70,000 to well over $100,000 per year, was way more than I needed so I spent quite a bit on various charities and now I would probably have a lot more income due to the additional funds the lawsuits over my parent's deaths had provided. Hopefully the scholarship program Russ Young was helping me set up would use a bunch of it. With a little luck it would be fully functioning by graduation and no student from our school district would be unable to attend college because of a simple lack of funds. The tricky part, so far, was making sure that the students also used any other scholarships available. He had a bunch of people trying to figure out just how to set it up and what rules it needed. I didn't have enough money to keep four hundred kids in college, and so we were trying to assure that they made every effort to get other scholarships and then either add to those or supply a full one if needed. Of course if Uncle Matt continued his hot streak, that probably wouldn't matter. A few more years and he might run my investments up to where I could fund every kid from our school district all by myself. Kath and I no more than gotten the clothes thing straightened out when my realtor called. He knew I was due back today and had wanted to leave me a message; however I answered the phone so he just told me. Mr. Bartlett's heirs had suddenly decided not to sell the house and the deal was off. Now that threw a major monkey wrench into my plans. Suddenly we had to come up with a new plan on what to do about housing for Kath and Danny. While there was plenty of room in my house, I figured they would be more comfortable in a place of their own, but for now she was about going to have to stay here. Kath was all for calling her old apartment manager up and asking if her apartment was still available, but after talking for a while we finally agreed to look around and see if suitable housing closer to my house was available. So it was call the realtor back and tell him what I was looking for, well rather what Kath would accept. I was having thoughts that the whole housing thing might very well present some problems before it was straightened out. Still, I didn't have any better solutions and neither did Kath. All this time Danny was just bouncing around and joking with the boys, really, just being a boy. I could only marvel over the difference between the Danny of last year and most of this one, and the one now running around the house. While I had sort of kept my eye on him all that time, he had never really stood out and he certainly wasn't the only real quiet kid in the school. He hadn't been taking any of the classes I taught so I never had that much of a chance to really get to know him. The fact that I'd gotten to know several of the quiet ones had shown me that some kids are just quiet so that itself hadn't triggered anything in my mind. Yet now I could see that he'd been keeping things in and the Danny I saw at school wasn't the real Danny. It was going to be interesting to see how he acted at school now that he had opened up a little. Would he continue being outgoing, or would he clam back up? Only time would tell, but I was hopeful it would be the more outgoing personality that won out. Kath was different. She was much more outgoing, and while it took both of us a little while to get over our nervousness at the situation we found ourselves in, she would never be as quiet as Danny. The rain just kept pouring down and the boys were doing their usual things, like playing games on the Playstation and listening to music. I kept hoping for a break in the weather so we could get everything out of the trailer without getting soaked. We had made one quick dash out and grabbed most of the dirty clothes and I had them sorted and had put some in the washer. Yet every time I turned around the boys were running all over and talking about all the fun they'd had on the trip and their favorite rides. A good night's sleep had really recharged them. However every time they told me their favorite part of the trip, it changed. One time it was this ride and the next time it was that ride. Kath was just watching Danny bouncing around with the other boys and beaming. When I went down to put the first load of wash in the dryer she followed me. I didn't expect the thank you I got. She carried on about this was the first time she had seen Danny happy since she and her husband had split up. I got the one load in the dryer and the second washing and we went back upstairs and into my office. I was embarrassed by the way she went on and on about how much I had helped Danny. I mean I hadn't done anything and it was the fact that the boys had just accepted him that produced all the change in his attitude, but Kath didn't seem to feel that way. We probably spent a half hour or so just talking about it and she told me how scared she had been at the way Danny had changed before he admitted to being gay, and then even more after he had told her. He had blamed himself for the divorce and no matter what she had tried, he wouldn't accept that he wasn't a bad person and responsible for all the bad things that were happening to both of them. He wouldn't make any friends because he didn't think he deserved any friends, and only when the boys had started in and insisted that he was their friend had he started to accept that people could like him. I could only wonder at the way things sometimes work out. Here I'd been trying to teach my boys a lesson about truthfulness and honesty and they had turned it into much more. The more Kath talked and told me about Danny, the more I wanted to just go hug my boys. They deserved all the credit for this one. She told me the thing that had made the most difference to him was knowing that he wasn't the only gay kid in the school. I hadn't known that the boys had told him they were gay, but it was pretty common knowledge about JJ and LT so I wasn't surprised they would tell him. They didn't really advertise it, but they never denied it or apologized for it anymore. I remembered all the hours I'd spent trying to convince them they were just as good as anyone else, and it looked like I was succeeding. About noon the rain finally let up enough to where I figured it was do it now or give the whole idea up for the day, so out to the trailer we went. For a few minutes there was a steady stream of boys carrying things into the house. We needed to empty the fridge and wash the bedding and that took a lot of trips. I shook my head over the untouched beer I'd bought. What I'd stocked that first day had been enough and my second purchase unnecessary, but it was nice and cold. It had been patiently waiting and no one had wanted any. We finally got the trailer emptied out and I put it in the shop. At least I didn't have to stand in the rain to unhook the pickup, a big improvement over when I had hooked it up yesterday morning. If the boys would park their bikes in the shop I would have had room in the garage for pickup, but for now it would just have to sit outside in the rain. I couldn't believe how fast I went from a hero to a goat. I mean one minute Mrs. Graves was telling me how great I was and how much I had helped Danny, and the next she was upset and very angry. Things had been going so great until the boys packed the new shotguns in and were bubbling over about how much fun they were going to have teaching Danny to shoot. The boys had been so busy talking about all the fun they'd had on the various rides that the subject of the guns hadn't come up, and now it had come up with a vengeance. I was suddenly a murderer and any other bad things she could think of. Silly me, I had never even given it a thought that she might be anti-gun. Danny had been so excited when he was looking over all the shotguns at the stores, and he was almost beside himself when I'd told him he could take a turn shooting one that I'd just never realized that his mother might hold such ideas and beliefs. So now I had a screaming mother to deal with, and I was going to have to deal with her on my own because a bunch of cowardly boys had disappeared when her fuse had finished burning and lit her powder. Boy it was a short fuse too. She was screaming things about how she would not live in a house which had guns in it, and that she just couldn't believe that I would endanger her son that way, and, well, there was probably a lot more but she was so upset that I was missing most of what she was yelling about. She was yelling words so fast I was having a hard time keeping up with her. She finished up with a rush, telling me that if I didn't get those guns out of the house right then, she was leaving. At least she finally stopped yelling at me and was just standing there glaring at me. However I didn't have any idea of what to say or do. I was just stunned, and had been completely surprised by this. I was well aware that there were segments of the population who are anti-gun, but this was the first time I had been exposed to such an individual when that person was in full righteous indignation mode over firearms. I didn't even know where to start, however I knew I had to get her calmed down a little before we could even begin to discuss things rationally, so I gathered up the new shotguns and packed them out and put them in the trailer in the shop. The trailer was plugged in so at least they would be dry and warm while I tried to reason with her, that is if she could be reasoned with. I didn't even get a chance to find out because Kath had cornered the boys while I was outside and had managed to find out there were other guns in the house. She grabbed Danny with one arm and her cane in the other and stomped out; well, she stomped as well as you can stomp when only one leg works very well. She did that after I told her to quit yelling at my boys, but that was all I managed to get in before she left. I think Kyle captured it perfectly with his, "This sucks!" He was standing in front of Mark as if to protect him when he said that, and had been doing so since I got back in the house. "What's wrong with her?" Corey asked. "I think you'd be safe in saying she's anti-gun," I answered. "But we don't run around shooting people like she said," he continued, sounding somewhat incredulous. "I know that, and you know that, and I think she even knows that, but some people have such an irrational fear of firearms that they're really not very sensible on the subject," I answered him. "Oh?" He sounded somewhat surprised and almost as if questioning me. It was like he was having trouble understanding the whole situation and had all kinds of questions but wasn't quite sure how to ask them. "What's going to happen now?" LT asked before I had a chance to try to explain to Corey. "I don't know," I sighed. "Maybe she'll calm down, and maybe she won't. It won't do any good to try to talk with her before she does, and maybe not even then. We'll just have to wait and see what happens." And in fact I didn't have any idea what was going to happen. All of her and Danny's clothes and personal possessions were now here and she didn't have any place to go to, so I was left with no answer to that and a lot of other questions. She could probably stir up a lot of trouble if she wanted to and that was worrying. However I had no ideas on how to head such things off so there wasn't much I could do about it right now. About then Mark brought us out of our thoughts by complaining he was hungry. Not having any better ideas, I went and started lunch. I wondered if Kath was going to talk with Judy or if she had something else in mind, but there was no way of knowing. As the soup was thawing in the microwave I decided to call Judy. That didn't work because there was no answer at her home which left me wondering if I ought to call her cell phone, and I finally did. The Smellings were in Redding doing some shopping and planned on having dinner there. Debbie had been complaining she needed some new clothes and they were letting her pick out what she wanted, which Judy assured me would take the rest of the day since Debbie would have to look at everything in all the stores. Then she would have to check all the prices twice because the Smellings' had her on a budget, so that would take time and there wouldn't be anything Judy could do until they got back. However Judy told me not to worry, that she would get Kath calmed down as soon as she saw her. I figured if anyone could do that it would be Judy. She had told me, when Corey had been bragging about how much better he was getting at trap shooting, about how she had been very much against guns until she married Art. It had taken him some time to convince her to change her opinion of firearms, but now she enjoyed hunting with him and had even been needling him over she was the one who gotten the biggest buck this past season. Art, in turn, had complained about having to waste his time packing her little buck out. His deer had been older and a three point while hers had been a young four point, so his buck had been the heavier and hers had sported the biggest antlers. I also knew that they both took the first week of deer season off to hunt and had done so for the last several years, at least according to Judy. Art had told me, when Judy couldn't hear him, that once he got her past her fear of guns, she had turned out to be as good if not a better shot than he was, something he said he would never admit to her. The big grin on his face had made me wonder about the accuracy of that last statement since it was pretty apparent he was proud of how well Judy could shoot. The soup was finally hot and then soon residing in boy stomachs. However the boys weren't as bubbly as before Mrs. Graves had started yelling. In fact there wasn't much said during lunch. I couldn't think of anything to say about the whole thing because I had no idea what would happen. When we were done eating, the boys picked the dishes up and put them in the dishwasher. I knew I had to pick up some groceries but I couldn't talk any of them into accompanying me, so I finally went by myself. I just felt sorry for them because they had been so happy this morning when they were just laughing and giggling about all the fun rides and what a great trip it had been. The one I felt the worst over was Danny. He had been opening up more and more each day, and he'd had such a look of anguish on his face when his mother had dragged him out the door. The week had gone so well and now it had such a lousy ending and there wasn't a thing I could do about it. Mrs. Downie captured me and I had to tell her all about the trip and how the boys had enjoyed it. When she was finally leaving me so I could get on with my shopping, she gave me a rather strange look, and then just smiled a soft smile and turned back to overseeing the store. Rob happened to be working the meat counter and we visited a few minutes while I picked out a pot roast for dinner. Then I looked at that pot roast and thought of all those hungry boys and how good leftover pot roast is when made into stew so I picked out a second one. I learned that Rob had managed to get a couple of days off and had taken all his kids to Sacramento for a little shopping and a movie. He told me how happy he was that Lee just kept fitting in better and the other kids now accepted him just like he'd always been there. We laughed about the fights the various kids had had and I threw in some of the boys' arguments. We agreed that kids were kids and there wasn't much you could do except love them and try to watch over them. I also learned that Chuck was getting pretty serious about his girlfriend, and Rob was worried about what would happen there, but that wasn't something I had any ideas about and they would just have to work that out themselves. If Chuck got married I doubted that Missy would want to move into the place Chuck and Rob were living since most women seem to want their own homes. So far it had worked out well for them because there was normally one of them not working and that way there was someone to watch the kids. Of course that got me to thinking about Mrs. Graves again as I continued shopping. Since the arrival of boys I hadn't had a free minute. There was always the knowledge that I had to be there to watch them and make sure they didn't get in trouble. Sometimes it seemed almost overpowering, and about the only thing that had kept me going was the fact that they were almost old enough that I could trust them a little. I'd spent the last week adjusting to the housekeeper idea, and was really looking forward to it. While Mark was real good about sticking around for baseball practice and never complained, he was still too young for the team and had there been anyone at home he could have just gone there and done whatever it was he wanted to do. It seemed like no matter how hard I tried, there wasn't enough of me to go around. There was always something that needed doing and too many boys to look after. The practice of inviting parents of my students to get acquainted dinners had gone down the tube because I just didn't have the time. And so I worried as I finished up my shopping and headed home. Kids just took so much time, and this year was giving me a lot better perspective on the problems parents faced. Up until now I had only been forced to be around kids during school hours, and this year had been a real eye-opener. No wonder some parents looked rather harried, and I sure had a lot more respect for single parents. I got the usual whining when I sent the boys down to empty the dryer and fold clothes. Suddenly the television program had become much more interesting. They'd been complaining that there was nothing on, but mention work and they suddenly had to watch that nothing. I wondered if there were any kids that just did what their parents asked without such whining. Somehow I doubted it. I sometimes felt like I was expending more energy nagging them than it would have taken me to just do it myself. The boys were downstairs, dawdling over folding the clothes, and I decided to start the pot roasts. I'd just gotten them all browned and the liquid added and in the oven when there was a knock at the door. The boys had finally finished the ten minute job of folding the clothes in just over a half hour, so Corey answered the door. It was Mrs. Graves and Danny. To be continued...