Date: Wed, 14 Jul 2004 20:06:34 -0500 From: Rhavenlore Subject: The Next Tomorrow Chapter One This is a story from imagination, nothing more, it could not exist in our reality. Be warned it is a tale of man/boy relationships with some bad language. I'd like to thank my dear friend Astral Toad for helping me with this story. If you like this story, please visit my site for more at www.rhavenlore.com The Next Tomorrow By Rhaven Time is our enemy. It withers away all that we know, day by day, year by year, leaving only memories to those who witness. CHAPTER ONE I haven't seen Sean in twelve years, for his sixtieth birthday party. Twelve years can be a lifetime. I've waited too long to make this visit. It has taken all my courage to walk into this place. I want to see him, but I want to see the Sean from my memories. The nurse escorts me to his room, eyeing nervously until I finally introduce myself. "I'm Jonah Curtis." "The writer? I thought I recognized you, I love your books. You're seeing Sean Ponca, was he your mentor?" The nurse is giggly with excitement. A harsh contrast to our surroundings, I'm feeling sick, my bad knee is threatening to collapse on me as I walk this stark white corridor. The smiling nurse gestures to a door. I have to lean against the wall to keep my balance. Where has the time gone, wasn't it just yesterday, I was sitting in Sean's lap, looking up into his eyes? He sits in a wheelchair, staring out the window, looking old and tired. "Mr. Ponca, you have a visitor." The nurse says happily, patting Sean' s hand as if he was nothing more than a lost puppy. This young woman only sees two old men, waning away the last of our days. However, there is so much more there. I can't help but see a boy and the man who loved him. "Hi Sean. it's me Jonah, Jonah Curtis?" Sean looks up at me and smiles. For a brief moment, I believe he recognizes me. "Is it time for lunch?" He asks me, looking passed me towards the nurse. "No Sean, I'm here to visit with you. It's Jonah from Archer Texas, do you remember me?" I want him to recognize me, to hug me again. No matter how old I get, I will always crave a hug from Sean. "It's been a long time Sean." I continue talking despite the fact that Sean doesn't seem interesting in hearing what I have to say. "A lot has happened since I last saw you. Adrian. my son, was killed last year in a car wreck. Do you remember Adrian? He was going to be a writer too. Damn good writer." I swallow hard and tried not to cry. Adrian my adopted son adored Sean. They had a perfect relationship and now Sean didn't even know who I was talking about. The nurse finally excuses herself, leaving us alone. The room doesn't fit Sean, to bare and plain. Sean's room should be filled with color and flowers. "I know you don't I?" He asks me with a questioning smile. "I'm Jonah, Sean." I lose my voice. The Alzheimer has destroyed him, taken away all that he was. I was now the only witness to Sean's existence. "You are important? I'm sorry I . I can't remember." Sean hides his desperation with his hands over his face. "I remember for you Sean. I remember for you." Archer, Texas. It's the mornings that I love. That brief time when the sun and the chill of night combat for domination. The sparkling dew on the grass and cheerful birds in the trees, all this make mornings magical. I sit on my bed resting my arms on the window frame, gazing lazily out to the fields that surround my old house. I've been up for hours watching the subtle changes from night to day. I can hear mom in the kitchen making coffee, George Skelly's truck bangs and spits as he heads to town to open Skelly's Grocery. The world slowly wakes up; I can hear the Snyder's dogs bark in excitement as Mama Snyder takes them their breakfast. I love these noises, I almost panic if one sound is absent, taken away from my reality. The sizzling sound from the kitchen tells me Mom is working on breakfast, soon my room will be filled with the wonderful smells of eggs and bacon. I reluctantly climb out of my bed and find my cut off denims and a semi-clean t-shirt. Nudity has become my new obsession. Now that I've been waking up with a stiffy, all my attention has moved from how to make my shaggy hair look neat, to how many ways can I satisfy my ravenous crotch. "Good morning." I say as I take my regular seat at the kitchen table. Mom already has my glass of milk ready for me. "Jonah, we need to talk." A sentence I hate to hear from my mother, it always makes me feel guilty. I quickly try to remember what I did yesterday and think of realistic excuses. Mom sets the plate of eggs and bacon in front of me, but I do not start to eat. I can't concentrate on food and make excuses at the same time. "You dad has been gone for two years now.it's time for us to move on." Mom sits down and squeezes my hand. Dad was a traveling salesman, I think he sold hair supplies, but I'm not sure. Two years ago, he didn' t return home, I've imagined Dad in a coma, stuck in some hospital somewhere. Any day now, he will wake up and return home. any day now. 'Any day now' has turned to years, but it was hard to think that Dad wasn't coming home, that I would never hear his voice again. "I've met someone Jonah and I think I might be in love." Mom released my hand and I started stuff the eggs into my mouth. I'm not sure why I was getting upset, Mom deserved to have someone in her life. But, what if Dad woke up from that coma or whatever happened to him, what if he returns to see Mom with someone else. "Are you okay with me dating?" Mom asks in a too desperate voice. "Okay with me." I spit eggs across the table as I speak and smiled, though I didn't feel like smiling. "Thank you honey. you will just love Greg. He is so great, he owns Kaufman's Garage, the best mechanic in all of Texas." Mom throws the skillet into the sink without bothering to clean it. "So what are you doing today?" "Hanging out with Ronnie and Mark." I say just to say something. I hadn't made plans on what I was doing. I never made plans; anything was possible, so why plan it out? Outside I hear Debra Nelson's car pull into our dirt driveway and honk. "Got to go to work." Mom sings and grabs her apron. She works at Caf Archer as a waitress. "I'll be home late, there's ham in the ice box, if you get hungry. and honey." Mom pauses at the front door and looks back to the kitchen. "Could you clean up my mess? Love you." I can hear Mom giggle as she greets Debra outside, I wait until the car drives away before I get up from the table and head outside, leaving the breakfast mess for later today, if I even get to it at all. I have several paths I can take once outside. East will take me to Ronnie's house, west heads into town, where most the cool kids live. If I go north, I run into the Snyder's farm and Mark. South leads me into the woods and eventually to Slinger Lake. I check my mood and feel the irritation still dwelling there, so I head into the woods alone. I love this mangled menagerie of trees; here I can travel to any country or time by just using my imagination. My favorite place to visit is the African forest; I play Tarzan, King of the Jungle. I like this fantasy because I can play in the nude. Sometimes I can get Ronnie to play with me, but then I have to keep my underwear on, because Ronnie thinks it's stupid to run around naked. I wander through the woods, following no path, just letting my mind create a new world for me as I walk. I've already decided that I needed to go to Slinger Lake for a swim. But there was no hurry, the day was still cool and swimming was best when the heat has become unbearable. I find myself at the Dragon's Lair, the tree house Ronnie, Mark and I made last year. Not really a tree house, just a few boards nailed to the tree so we can sit down comfortably. I climbed up the tree and relaxed against one of its huge limbs. Anytime I'm alone, my hand instantly goes to my penis. I can't help but touch it, stroke it. Actually, I don't have to be alone to do this, many times Ronnie, Mark and I would sit up here and jerk off and joke about going blind. Ronnie is the worst; he's always playing with himself. He even cut a hole in his denim pocket so he could have easy access to his willy. I've seen him jerk off at the movie theater, in class and even in church. I should have gone to Ronnie's house first. I dream a lot about Ronnie and his constant jerking off. In fact, that's what I imagine now, Ronnie lying next to me in our tree, his denim shorts pulled down passed his knees and pumping his willy. I'd jerk him off, if only he would ask me. My solitude saps away the energy from my erection and I zip up my shorts. It's getting hard to play with myself without Ronnie or Mark with me. I have yet to see Mark naked, that's something else I dream about. Mark is very shy, when we go swimming; he's the only one who wears his underwear, while Ronnie and I swim naked. Even when we jerk off, Mark pulls his shirt over his crotch so we can't see. Mark is cute, but he needs to get over this shyness. Ronnie and I made a bet that this summer we would make Mark get naked, just once. I can't wait until that day comes. I climb from the tree and head to the lake. My mind keeps taking me back to my mother and her new boyfriend. How soon will it be before they get married? I didn't want some stranger in my house, ordering me around like a slave. My mom was being selfish and didn't care anything about me, she just wanted some guy around so they could have sex. I've heard my mom talk to Debra, that's all she thinks about, sex. They would whisper, giggle, and look to me, making sure I couldn't hear them, but I did hear them. Sex this and sex that, pointing at men as they walked into the Caf and giggle about how big the man's penis could be. It all made me sick. I stumbled onto the rock beach of Slinger Lake and glared up at the perfect blue sky. It was still early in the morning, but there was no reason I couldn't go swimming now and then maybe find Ronnie and Mark for another swim this afternoon. I walked over to the Plank, which was a large slab of granite, nice and flat, a great place to undress. The rest of the beach was made of oval stones that hurt your butt to sit on, so the Plank was the only place to sit comfortably. "What the heck?" Someone had left their clothes here, along with a large bottle of whisky. "Hello!" A man was swimming in my lake and he was naked. "Hi." I said feebly, the man swam to shore and casually walked to the Plank. I've never seen a grown man naked before. His hairy crotch mesmerized me, along with the size of his penis; it was nothing like Ronnie's willy. This one was grand. "Hi, I'm Sean Ponca." He said holding out his hand for me to shake, which I did trying not to blush. "Beautiful morning huh?" He sat down and wiped his face with his shirt. He was so muscular and trim. Sean possessed long slender arms and legs with a narrow waist, in his appearance of nimbleness, it made me think of Tarzan,. He had brown hair like me, but his was cut short. "So you here for a swim?" Sean asked me as he took a deep drink from his bottle. "I. yeah." Could I get naked in front of this stranger? Wouldn't he laugh at the puny size of my hairless penis? I was nothing but a skinny kid, more bone than flesh. I was a weed to his blooming flower. "I'm sorry I didn't get your name?" he asked giving me a quick simple smile. "Jonah Curtis. I live off C Road." I pointed into the woods as if he could see my house. "C Road huh, I'm staying at the Macnee house on 14th Street." Sean said, also pointing into the woods. I knew where the Macnee house was, I rode passed it everyday to go to school. This information excited me; I knew where this naked man lived. "I thought Macnee died last year?" I asked remember the story Mark told me on how Ida Macnee now haunted the house, because he had lost his teeth and couldn't find peace until they were found. "I'm renting the place; it's my sanctuary of humiliation." He said taking a longer drink from the whisky. "Want some?" He asked offering me the bottle. "No thanks." "Good for you, this stuff will kill you." He said drinking some more. "So are you going swimming in your clothes?" I laughed nervously and pulled off my shirt. It was the easiest item to remove since I didn't care who saw my bare chest. "Why are you drinking that stuff, if you know it's bad for you?" "Good question Jonah." He looked at the bottle and sighed. Sean stood and surprised me by throwing the whisky into the woods. "I was drinking because that's what you're supposed to do when depressed. Goddamn waste of time if you ask me, sooner or later, you sober up and the depression remains. So what's the goddamn point?" I was amazed at this man; I've never had an adult talk to me this way before. He didn't seem to care that he was talking to a kid. I loved the honesty in his voice. "Come on Jonah, climb out of those shorts and let's go swimming." "Okay." I giggled like a girl. He stared impatiently at me as I edged my denim shorts down, pulling my underwear with them. It seemed forever before I finally stepped out of my clothes and stood naked in front of Sean. The man looks me over and smiles, no hint of laughter appears on his face and I feel my muscles relax. "Nice." He says simple and then takes my hand. "Let's go swimming." In the water, no one is a stranger. This man and I splash and squeal, race and play as if we've known each other forever. Sean acted just like Ronnie or Mark, playing with me as an equal. It was the best time I've ever had at Slinger Lake. "Hold on. hold on." Sean laughed and covered his face from my vicious splash attack. "I surrender Jonah. I surrender." "You give up too easy." I chuckled bravely. Sean headed to the shore and I tagged quickly behind him. "Are you getting out?" I moaned like a spoiled brat. I wasn't finished playing, we had hardly even started having fun. "I have consumed way too much alcohol to continue this activity." Sean stepped out of the water. "Besides, you are in a lot better shape than I." "No way, Mr. Ponca, you are all muscles. I'm just a wimp." I raced to catch up with the man. "That's Sean, Jonah." Sean turned around and stopped me where I stood. "You are not a wimp. Just look at you." He grabbed hold of my shoulders and wiggled them. "Wide shoulders, defined strong chest." He turned me around and touched my back. "Straight powerful back. nice ass, what else could you ask for?" "Shut up, Sean." I laughed and slapped his hands off me. Sean grinned and sat down on the Plank. I looked at his clothes and then mine, but it became apparent that he did not intend to get dress. Sean lay back against the rock and sighed. Feeling awkward by just standing there, I sat down next to him. "I had fun." I said looking out across the rippling water of the lake. "So did I, best house warming I've ever had." Sean slapped me on the knee and kept his hand there. "House. house warming?" I asked unable to focus on anything but Sean's hand on my knee. It felt so nice and natural, he's hand was meant to be there. "I arrived in your quaint little town last night. So today is officially my first day here." His hand squeezed my knee tenderly and I felt my penis twitch. The more I tried not to think about it, the more it twitched and grew. "I. I got to go!" I said in a panic and grabbed my shorts to cover my aroused willy. "I forgot I was supposed to be at my friend's house." "I'm sorry you have to leave so soon." Sean said as he stood. "Me too." I honestly said, hating my body for betraying me this way. "Do you. do you think maybe you'll be here tomorrow?" "Today and tomorrow and the next tomorrow." Sean said with a deep laugh. I turned away from him, pulled on my shorts, and then grabbed my shirt. "Maybe I can see you tomorrow then." I said hesitating only briefly to memorize the man's body before I ran into the woods.