Date: Sat, 3 May 2003 16:30:21 EDT
From: ErastesTouch@aol.com
Subject: Point of View chapter 10

Legal Notice:
The following story may contain descriptions of graphic sexual acts.  These
acts may be between boys or between a man and a boy.  The story is a work
of fiction and has no basis in reality.

The author, or his designee, retains copyright to this story.  There may be
no reproducing or distribution of this story without expressed written
consent.

I wish to extend my thank you to Ed for his editorial assistance with this
chapter.

                *    *     *     *     *     *     *     *

Point of View - by Erastes                         Copyright 2003 by Erastes
Chapter 10 - The summer.                           January 2003

The morning of the Fourth of July, I got both boys up and sent them into
the shower, while I went to my room and did the same.  After we had all
showered and dressed, we went downstairs and I fixed the boys some
breakfast.  Once we had finished our meal and rinsed off our dishes, I had
Jared call his mother, to see what time she wanted to leave for the park.

Before he asked her about that, he told her about the puppy, and I wondered
what her reaction was going to be.  He didn't bother to tell her I had
planned to keep the puppy down here for him, so she wouldn't have to worry
about it, especially after the boys went back to school.  At that time the
puppy would have been left home alone all day, but seeing I work at home,
the puppy would seldom have to be alone.  Now I figured I'd just share all
those details with her later.

Jared came back and told me she said anytime around 10:00 or after would be
fine with her, as she had our picnic lunch packed in her cooler and ready
to go.  Seeing it was after 9:00 now, I asked the boys to give me a hand
outside, and I had them help me put my rowboat on top of the SUV and strap
it down.  When they asked why I was taking that with me, I told them that I
was planning to take them all out on the lake, for a little boat ride, and
they seemed excited about the prospect.  Now I had them put the oars inside
the Tahoe, and then we went back inside, to get everything else ready.

I had prepared a cooler of soda, with both diet and regular inside, but I
added some bottles of water too.  After that, I went to my closet to fetch
the collar and leash I had purchased for the puppy.  "Are we going to take
Boo-Boo with us too?" Jared asked.  "I thought maybe we'd have to leave him
here."

"No, he can go with us.  There's no reason why we can't take him with us.
Just put his dishes in a bag, along with some of his puppy chow, and he can
spend the day with us.  I think he'll have a good time playing with you
boys in the park.  The only problem might occur later, as the noise of the
fireworks may scare him or hurt his ears, so you may have to cover his head
at that time, to help protect him.  Other than that, he should be fine."

The boys both seemed excited that the pup was going to go with us, and now
it was just about time to leave, so we took the remaining items out to the
SUV and loaded them inside.  Then the boys took the puppy out with them,
and buckled up in the back seat, before we left to go pick up their mother.

Sherry was just finishing up her final preparations when we arrived, and
the boys came racing in with the puppy, anxious for her to see it.  She
looked at the dog and petted it, and then looked up at me, giving me a look
that said, 'You know, you're spoiling them.'  I just smiled, and then tried
to relieve whatever concerns she might have.

"I told Jared he could leave the puppy at my place, and take care of him
there.  The pup will have more room to run around that way, and very seldom
will he have to be left alone.  I wouldn't have presumed to have Jared
bring the dog here without asking you first, and I also plan on buying all
its food, and anything else it might need."

She gave me a semi-disgusted look at that point.  "You don't have to do
that.  It was nice enough for you to get him the dog, so you don't have to
be saddled with it too."

"Oh, I don't look at it like that.  It can keep me company when the boys
aren't there.  They can bring him here too, if that's all right with you,
but I will buy all its food and other necessities, so you won't have to
burden yourself with the extra expense."  She merely smiled now, giving me
her silent consent to that arrangement.

Now I had the boys help me load everything she had prepared into the Tahoe,
and once we had everything in place, we all got into the vehicle ourselves.
It wasn't very far to that park, maybe only twenty or twenty-five minutes
from where we lived, but it gave us some time to horse around along the
way.  I started to sing, 'Yankee Doodle,' and soon everyone else joined in,
and when we finished that, we started in on 'My Country 'Tis of Thee.'  We
followed that up with a go at 'America the Beautiful,' and finished up with
a rousing rendition of 'God Bless America.'  I'm sure all the other cars we
passed must have thought us a bit odd, but with the air conditioning on and
the windows rolled up, we weren't that much of a disturbance.  Sherry and
the boys seemed to enjoy our little impromptu sing-along, and when we had
finished, we were at the gates of the park.

I found a parking spot close to the lake, so we wouldn't have to lug the
boat very far, and then we got out, but we decided to take a walk first.
Jared hooked Boo-Boo's leash to his collar, so the puppy could run along
beside us, and we set off for a walk along the lake.  The puppy had to
investigate everything we encountered, and he also felt obliged to leave
his mark every few paces, but we had planned this to be a leisurely stroll
anyway, so it wasn't much of a bother.  We continued to walk and discuss
the scenery, and when we reached the end of lake and decided to head back,
Boo-Boo wasn't cooperating.  After trying to tug him into joining us, Jared
finally bent down and picked him up, carrying him part of the way back.
When Jared began to tire a bit from lugging that small bundle, he put the
dog back down, and now Boo-Boo happily trotted along beside us once more.

When we got back to the Tahoe, I had the boys help me get the rowboat off
the rack, and then I took everyone out for a ride on the lake.  I warned
the boys they should keep a good hold on Boo-Boo, as Labs naturally seem to
like water and he might decide to jump out of the boat.  After I'd rowed
about for a bit, Jared asked if he could try his hand at rowing, so I let
him sit between my legs, allowing us to do it together.  I did it this way
because I doubted he'd have the strength to move the boat with all of us
inside it, all by himself, and this would give me an opportunity to judge
his ability, without embarrassing him in front of his mother or brother.
Before he joined me to do the rowing, he handed the puppy off to Josh and
now we rowed together for the next fifteen or twenty minutes.  After
exerting all the energy needed to propel us around the lake, he began to
tire of the novelty of the situation, and soon he'd decided he'd had
enough.  At this point Josh wanted to give it a try, so he handed the puppy
back to Jared, and then came and took his seat with me.

Sherry didn't say much during that whole time, instead merely choosing to
watch how her boys interacted with me.  She got a chuckle out of the few
times I let each boy try to row the boat alone, as they strained to move
all our combined weight even a little, but I could see her smile as she
watched us work together as a team, seeing how much the boys trusted and
relied on me.  I think she was having a better time watching her boys have
fun, than trying to have fun herself.

We stayed out on the lake for quite some time, and when we came in, another
surprise awaited us.  We had just finished putting the rowboat back on the
roof rack of the Tahoe when a group approached us and asked if we'd like to
take part in a softball game, just for fun.  It seemed that some of these
families had come with the hopes of there being enough of them to have a
decent game, but soon they realized they could use some more players, so
they asked us if we wanted to join them.  At first I explained we had no
gloves or anything to use, but they told us we could borrow gloves when it
was our turn to take the field, and there was a large variety of bats to
choose from, when it was our turn to bat.  The boys seemed eager to do
this, so we agreed.

The game wasn't anything special, but we all did have a really good time
playing, even Sherry.  Yes, there were women and girls playing too, but it
was a great deal of fun, and some of the females played better than the
males who were participating.  I think it was good for the boys to discover
this point, including the fact that their mother was a pretty fair player
herself.  We later discovered she had played on organized teams before the
boys were born, and when they were little, but she didn't have the time to
do that anymore, now that they had been left on their own.  By
participating in this game, it allowed the boys to discover a side of their
mother they hadn't previously known about.

After the game we decided it was time to eat, because by now it was late
afternoon.  It was good thing we had all had a decent breakfast, because we
had missed lunch, and now we would be having an early dinner instead.  We
pulled a blanket from the Tahoe and spread it out on the ground, and then
each of us sat on a corner of the blanket, with the cooler located between
us.  Sherry quickly organized the food, while we selected our beverages,
and then she passed out paper plates to each of us, which we soon had
filled with a variety of items.  She had prepared a selection of sandwiches
to appeal to all tastes, including ham and cheese, egg salad, tuna fish,
and even peanut butter and jelly.  She had also prepared potato and
macaroni salads, and there were also bags of chips and pretzels to select
from.

It was a wonderful picnic meal, and we were soon all stuffed, so we decided
to take another walk after we had finished.  The walk wasn't merely to work
off some of the calories we had just consumed, but we would also use this
time to scout out a good spot to watch the fireworks from later.  After
packing everything back in the SUV, we roamed over the grounds, until the
boys spotted a small hill, with a large flat rock on top of it.  They
quickly determined this would be an ideal location to view the aerial
display from later, and we would come back to that spot about an hour
before the fireworks were to begin, and stake out our claim to it then.
After going back to the Tahoe, the boys began to play around with their
puppy, biding their time until it began to get dark.

Sherry and I watched them run around, trying to get the puppy to chase
after them.  Once Boo-Boo got the hang of what they wanted, they began to
drag a rope behind them as they ran, and the puppy would try to grab hold
of it and pull on it, whenever it was able to catch it.  This activity soon
attracted a small group of other children, who were admiring the puppy and
wanting to play with it too, and Sherry and I both wondered how the boys
were going to react to these intruders.  The boys didn't object and eagerly
let the other children join in on the fun, possibly because they were
beginning to tire of all that running themselves.  These kids had also been
some of the ones who had invited us to join their softball game earlier, so
the boys were already familiar with them, and they might have also done
this to repay them for their kindness earlier.  Sherry and I were both
proud of how they had handled themselves and the situation.

While we had been watching the kids play with Boo-Boo, she thanked me for
giving Jared the dog and for everything else I had done for them.  She also
told me that Josh had told her that Jared had been calling me Dad when we
were alone, and I thought now she might be upset about that fact.  Instead
she told me how pleased she was that Jared was letting me fill that void in
his life, and about how different he had been since he began to spend time
with me.  She said he now seemed so much happier, was more outgoing, and
now he looked forward to getting up each morning, so he could come down and
spend some of his day with me.

I explained that some of my efforts might be selfish, as I enjoyed Jared's
help and company as much, if not more than her son did mine, and I
explained that life can be very lonely when you do everything by yourself
at home.  We discussed my job a bit after that, and Sherry also suggested I
should find a good woman to keep me company, but then she recanted her
suggestion, after she realized I probably wouldn't want Jared around as
much, if that were the case.  If only she knew the idea of a female
companion didn't appeal to me in the slightest, and it was her son who had
primarily ended my boring existence.

We talked and watched the boys for quite some time, and then we decided it
was time to go to the spot we had selected earlier, from which we planned
to watch the fireworks.  Jared helped me carry the cooler to that location,
so we could snack or have a drink while we waited for the show to begin.
The boys had to tell us all about their time with the puppy, even though we
had seen nearly everything that went on, but it seemed to be important to
them, so we let them carry on.  As the darkness began to envelop us, the
first of the fireworks was set off, and now we spent the best part of the
next hour watching lights burst forth from the sky.  Not only could we see
them, but we could hear them too, and we could also feel the vibrations
from those explosions slam into our bodies as well.

As I suspected, the puppy wasn't very fond of the fireworks display, and it
began to register its complaints, by whining and trying to run from the
area.  Jared slipped the puppy under his shirt, wrapping his arms around
it, and placing his hands over Boo-Boo's ears, trying to alleviate some of
the discomfort his pet was now feeling.  That did seem to help some, as the
dog realized Jared was trying to protect it, and eventually Boo-Boo calmed
down enough for Jared to be able to enjoy the rest of the show.

When the last of the fireworks had faded into the darkness, we all walked
back down to my vehicle, loaded the remaining items back into it, and then
I drove us all home.  As I dropped them off at their house, they all
thanked me for the great time, and Jared wanted to know if he could come
back down and spend the rest of the night with me.  I suggested, that since
this was his mother's day off, he should spend the rest of the evening with
her, as he could come down and spend other nights with me.  Hesitantly he
agreed, but I knew he wasn't happy about this situation, and soon I was
driving back down to my place alone.

The remainder of the summer seemed to fly by after that day, though we
still had many opportunities to do various things together.  We not only
worked and played, but we also found time to take care of Jared's sexual
urges too, and I also became closer to his mother and brother.  Josh now
liked to come down more and more often, sometimes to Jared's chagrin,
because it prevented us from doing some of the things Jared wanted to do.
However, Josh did begin to help us with some of the tasks we were trying to
accomplish, and his help was greatly appreciated.  All in all, he was
becoming more of an asset, instead of just an annoyance.

We also began to include Sherry in some of the other things we did as well,
especially on her Sundays off.  The boys would make sure all the work at
home was done in advance, so she had nothing to keep her from joining us,
and we took her to the movies, miniature golfing, bowling, boating,
fishing, and picnicking with us.  The boys thought it was great that we
went out like a family, and Sherry seemed to be enjoying these special
times with her sons too.  We had some wonderful outings, even the fishing
trip I took them on, as Sherry was a very good sport about that one.  She
wasn't into fishing, though the boys were both anxious to try it, but she
was attentive as I instructed all of them what they would have to do.  I
had a variety of old fishing rods at home, some I had used when I was a
boy, and I let the two boys use those poles to fish with, while Sherry and
I used some of the others.  I decided to have everyone use worms as bait
first, so I showed them how to bait their hooks, and then I explained how
to watch the bobber and feel the line, to know when they had a strike.
When they got a hit, I talked them through the process of giving the fish
some line, how to play it out a bit before reeling it in, and then we would
scoop it into the net.

The boys caught on quite quickly, and soon they were reeling in their first
fish.  After they worked it for a while, they brought it closer and closer
to the boat, and once it was securely in our possession, I placed their
fish in the old cooler I kept in the center of the boat.  The cooler was
partially filled with water, and there were also two small plastic buckets
in the cooler as well, where I planned to keep their first catch.  I would
place it in the container and tighten the lid over it, before marking the
boy's name on the top with a magic marker.  When we got back in to shore, I
wanted to be able to take a picture of each of them with that first catch,
as that would be an accomplishment worth remembering in the future.  The
remaining fish they caught were then placed in the cooler, between those
two containers, and soon we had more than enough fish for one day.

Sherry also gave fishing a try, but she had trouble baiting her own hook,
so one of the boys would do it for her.  She didn't have as much luck as
the boys, but she did manage to land one fish, but it was so small we had
to throw it back.  However, she did stay with us the whole time, and
cheered the boys on when they hooked something, but she had more fun
watching them than participating.

When we got back to shore after finishing up for the day, I had each of the
boys hold up their first catch, and I snapped a picture of each, recording
that proud and memorable moment forever.  After that, we displayed the
remaining catch between the two of them, with each of them still holding
their first catch, so we had one picture with both boys and their entire
catch.  I planned to make large two copies of this picture and have both of
them framed, one for me to hang on my wall, and the other to give to
Sherry, so we would always have something to remember this day with.  I
would also frame a copy of each boy's individual photo with their first
catch, so they could place these in their room.  That way we'd all have
something so we didn't forget this moment.

Once the photos were taken, we got back to the task at hand, and this was
where Sherry began to shine.  In fact, after I cleaned and boned the fish
we had caught, Sherry was kind enough to fry it up on my small portable
grill, so the boys could sample their catch.  I had also packed other
ingredients for this purpose, as I was planning to cook the fish myself,
but Sherry did a wonderful job with the fish, even better than I would
have.  When we combined the fish with the other food we had brought with
us, it made a marvelous meal, and we enjoyed it more, knowing the boys had
provided most of it.

On another outing, Sherry was amazed at how well her boys did miniature
golfing.  The old pros gave their mother tips on how to play the course,
and they even demonstrated how to play each hole before she putted.  In the
end they did far better than she did, even though they tried to take it
easy on her.  There were a couple of humorous moments as well, as we
watched Sherry try her hand at this activity for the first time in ages.
There was one hole with a small water obstacle on it, one that usually
didn't come into play for most participants, but somehow Sherry managed to
lift her putt into the air slightly, getting it to bounce, and it bounced
right into the water.  Not wanting to take a penalty stroke, even though we
told her we wouldn't give her one, she said she'd play it where it was.  I
told her to slowly push it out with her putter, insisting that we would
count that as just one stroke, but she gave it a whack instead, splashing
herself and us in the process.  However, this attempt only moved the water,
and the ball stayed settled under the surface, causing her to have to try
again to get it out.  After a couple of attempts like that, Jared reached
down, pulled out the ball, and placed it in front of the water obstacle,
allowing her to putt from there.

On another hole, we had to putt through a small building on the course.
There were three openings to putt through, with one opening taking the ball
to the right, another taking it to the left, and the final opening allowing
the ball to go straight toward the hole.  Seeing Sherry had the highest
score on the last hole, she putted last.  After the rest of us had taken
our turn, Sherry putted.  When we went to finish up the hole, we couldn't
find Sherry's golf ball.  It turned out that her ball got stuck under the
building, so she had to go back to the front side and push it through with
her putter.  She did this more like striking a pool ball, using the shaft
of her putter to jab it out, and the ball went straight into the cup,
giving her a two on that hole.  It wasn't the typical way to do it, but it
worked for her, and we were happy to let her get away with it.

Even though Sherry finished last, we could all tell that she had enjoyed
herself in the process, and the boys certainly had a good time trying to
help their mother, even though they also got to laugh over her mistakes.
You see, they weren't laughing at her, they were laughing with her, and
that made all the difference in the world.  They were all enjoying the
humor of the situation, and not making fun of her inability to perform the
task at hand, so there were no hard feelings later, once the moment was
over.  If only others could learn that distinction, maybe there would be
less friction among people, and there wouldn't be this underlying need for
people to revel in another's suffering or misery.

Another time I took everyone bowling, which is becoming a lost sport in
recent years.  Neither of the boys had ever gone bowling, and Sherry had
only done it a few times when she was younger.  I hadn't bowled for years
either, but I was once an avid kegler and I remembered what I was supposed
to do, even if the body wasn't as limber and able to cooperate in doing it.
After giving the boys a few brief pointers, and Sherry a quick refresher,
we began to give the game a try.  The first few frames were absolutely
disastrous, and we had more than a few chuckles along the way.  When Josh
went to take his final (slide) step, he didn't slide and ended up taking a
few extra steps down the lane, before the oil caused his feet to go out
from under him, causing him to come down with a thud on his backside.  His
butt was a little sore for a while, but he survived, though maybe not from
the embarrassment of those around us witnessing what had happened to him.

Josh wasn't the only one who had a problem in those first few frames.
Jared had selected a ball that had finger holes slightly too small for his
hand, even though I had warned him about that when he was looking for a
ball.  When it was his turn, he took his four steps to the line, went to
release the ball, but it stuck to his fingers, not coming off his hand when
it should have, instead coming off a second or so later.  This sent the
bowling ball up in the air, rather than forward and toward the pins,
causing it to come crashing down on the alley, which made everyone close to
us stop and see what had happened.  After that, Jared went to find another
ball, but he took his time in doing that, so the people on the adjoining
lanes would lose their interest in staring at him when he returned.

Sherry didn't have any dramatic miscues, like her sons had endured, but she
did manage to collect more than her share of gutter balls, though one of
them was humorous in itself.  She was aiming for a six pin, which sits on
the right side of the lane, but not quite on the edge.  After she released
her bowling ball to make this spare, it was clear she was going to miss
that pin by a mile, and her ball went into the channel.  The funny thing
was, it happened so far ahead of the pin that it popped backk out of the
gutter, careened back onto the alley, and picked up her spare.  Even though
I knew it shouldn't count, I gave her the spare anyway, because the three
of them didn't know the rules of the game or how to score.

As far as my game was concerned, it started out slow and rough, but
eventually I got somewhat of a rhythm going, and I did string together a
few strikes in the process.  The boys thought that made me a pro, though I
quickly explained I was far from that caliber, but they were still
impressed, all the same.  We ended up bowling three games each, and Sherry
and the boys did quite well for novice bowlers, and they said they wouldn't
mind going bowling again sometime.  Before we left the bowling alley,
Sherry thanked me for doing all of these different things with them,
explaining that I had helped to remove them from their boring routine, and
had given them something to look forward to on the weekends.  I thanked her
for her kind comment, and then explained my reasons were more selfish than
that, as it gave me something to look forward to as well.  She smiled at
me, and then we left.

On a couple of those Sunday afternoons, the three of them would just come
down to my house and spend the day in my pool, relaxing, competing, and
just having a good time.  The first time down, Sherry was amazed that her
sons had chosen to wear the speedos I had purchased for them, and I think
she was also amazed to notice how much Jared had matured since she had last
bathed him, some years before.  I quickly explained there were boxer-type
suits for them to wear as well, but the boys seemed to prefer the speedos,
though I was somewhat amazed they decided to don them while she was there.
She said that was fine, as long as it was their decision.

Although Sherry would only stay half as long as her sons, she did seem to
enjoy spending time with them like that, and getting some exercise and sun
for herself.  She wasn't unattractive, though the rough life and hard work
had left their marks on her appearance.  I think for many men she would
have been considered quite a catch, but I'm sure having two sons had scared
away many would-be suitors.  In some ways I envied her, but in other ways I
pitied her.  I envied her having these two boys, and being able to be with
them all the time like that, but I knew it would only be a few more years
before they'd be striking out on their own, and leaving her all alone at
that point.

I also felt bad about what a rough life she'd had, how hard she had to work
to make ends meet, and the prospect of living those final years of her life
by herself.  Of course, the boys would come to visit and possibly bring
their families from time to time, but unless she found a significant other
to share her later years with, it could be a very lonely existence.  Even
though I was alone most of the time myself, I did that by choice, not from
necessity, though even I would have preferred the company of a cute young
man to relieve my boredom.  That's why I was relishing every second of
every day these two young men chose to share with me, as I realized that
time would soon pass too.

In August I also sold another book to a major publisher, and this was a
story using characters I had based very loosely on Jared and Josh.  For
this story, I had borrowed their looks and personalities to give the story
an air of realism, and the characters were involved in solving a mystery,
which they managed to solve, even over the objection of the adults
involved.  By not being overly forceful in sharing their ideas, the
characters in the story managed to drop enough hints that were picked up
and used by the adults in charge, and this helped to guide those in charge
down the right paths, until the mystery was solved.  I was going to give
each of the boys an autographed copy of the book, once the book was in
print, and point out that I had not only used them as models for my
characters, but I had also dedicated this story to them.  I hoped that as
time passed those facts would grow to mean more and more to them, possibly
even giving them something to tell future generations about.

Of course, I would also spend some of the profits of the book on them too,
and unbeknownst to Sherry or the boys, I had opened a Universal Gift to
Minors account in each of their names.  I would add money to it from the
advance I received on each one of my books, on their birthdays, and for
Christmas, and then I'd tell them both about those accounts, just before
Jared began to select a college to attend.  That way he'd have some money
to help offset his expenses at that time, possibly allowing him to attend a
better educational facility.  It was the least I could do for them, seeing
as I was beginning to think of both of them as my sons.  Of course, I was
putting almost twice as much into Jared's account than Josh's, not because
I liked him more, but because he would have less time to build his total
and earn interest on the money, so it wouldn't grow to the same extent
Josh's account would.  In the long run I figured they'd be about equal in
the end, so each boy would get about the same amount to invest in their
future from me.  If Josh's looked like it would come up short when he was
ready to use it, then I'd add more at that time, to make it even, but I
didn't think I'd have to do that, as I was calculating it fairly closely
right from the start.

By now the summer was coming to an end, at least for the boys, as school
started at the end of the month.  I had also begun to consider how lonely
my days would be from that point on, as I had grown so used to seeing them
every day.  I knew I'd miss them greatly while they were at school, and
seeing they'd most likely have homework and other chores to do nearly every
evening, I began to resign myself to the fact that I might only see them on
Friday nights and Saturdays.  I couldn't even add in Sunday to that time,
as that was Sherry's day with the boys, unless we made plans to do things
together.  If she didn't mind, I might just suggest some group activities,
maybe once a month, so I could spend just a little more time with them as
well.

The week before school began, I offered to take Sherry and the boys to the
mall, so they could do their school shopping routine.  At first Sherry
wasn't sure about this arrangement, leery that I was going to try to buy
everything for her sons, but I quickly tried to assure her that wouldn't
happen.  After discussing the trip in detail before we left, we agreed that
we'd each buy some things for the boys, and I wouldn't try to outdo what
she was able to get for them.  I suggested I'd let the boys pick out a
couple of outfits each, and then I'd also buy a few of their supplies, and
she said that would be fine, and she'd take care of the rest.  I knew she
appreciated my offer, but I didn't want her or the boys to think that she
couldn't do everything on her own, if she wished, or that what I did was
more important than her contribution.  It was a very tricky line that I had
to walk, but I think she and I had a good understanding about how it would
work, even before we left on this excursion.

The boys were thrilled I was going with them this year, and we spent nearly
a whole Sunday on this school-shopping trip.  At each store we would let
the boys make their selections, and then Sherry and I would decide who
would pay for what.  Once the boys had selected new school clothes, we
picked out a couple of pairs of sweats and their gym clothes for them too,
and then we went to look for athletic shoes, one pair for everyday use and
one pair reserved for gym classes and sports.  Sherry and I each paid for a
pair, and the boys commented this was the first time they'd ever had a
separate pair just for gym.

Next, we began to round up the basic supplies they thought they'd need,
such as notebooks, paper, folders, pens, pencils, etc.  Once we thought we
had everything they would need, except for those few items they'd find out
about during the first couple of days of classes, I took them out to eat.
First we loaded all the packages in my Tahoe, and then I drove them to a
local restaurant, where we enjoyed a relaxing meal together, listening to
the boys make comments on everything they had purchased earlier in the day.
Both boys thanked their mother and me several times for all the 'neat'
things we got them, and when we got back in my SUV to head home, they gave
both of us an appreciative kiss on the cheek as well.  I felt proud that
they included me in that gesture of affection and appreciation, and I think
Sherry was proud her boys had done that too.  I could see how moist her
eyes were when she looked at me after that had taken place, telling me that
small occurrence had meant as much to her as it had to me, and I realized
that moment had nearly brought her to tears.  It was a very touching time
indeed.

Once we got back to their place, I helped them carry everything into the
house, and the boys both thanked me again and gave me another kiss on the
cheek before I left.  Sherry also thanked me as I was heading for the door,
adding the comment that she was so thankful that I had moved in down the
road.  She told me I had helped change and improve her sons' lives, and
that she would be forever grateful for everything I had done for all of
them.  I told her it was no big deal, as I got as much, if not more, out of
the relationship, and she just smiled at me and waved, as I went out the
door.  It's nice to know when people appreciate the things you try to do
for them.

That night I began a new story, using the same characters I had used in the
book I had just sold, as I decided I'd make a series of stories using the
Jared and Josh characters, by placing them in new situations for each
successive story.  I thought this might not only turn out to be a
commercial success for me, but it would also give me a chance to spend time
with Jared and Josh while they were at school, even if it was only using
them as models for the two characters in my story.  Maybe this would also
keep me from missing them quite as much as I otherwise would have.  I also
decided not to inform the boys of this fact, instead wishing to surprise
them when I gave them the copy of the second book, once it too was
published.

Now I had a suitable focus for my time, while the boys were engaged in
their academic pursuits, and this wouldn't allow me to mope or feel sorry
for myself because they weren't around.  In addition, it could become a
very lucrative alternative, spending all those hours dedicated to writing.
I think I had come up with a fairly good alternative to coping with their
return to classes.

There was also one other thing we did, before school began, and that was to
plan spending the Labor Day weekend together.  Seeing Sherry had to work
both Friday night and nearly all of Saturday, the boys would spend that
time with me, and then we'd all spend Sunday and the Monday holiday
together, doing various things.  On Monday we'd go for another picnic at
the park, and possibly do some more fishing, but we were still debating
what we wanted to do on Sunday.  There were many ideas being tossed about,
from miniature golf, bowling, going to an amusement park, and seeing a
movie, to list a few, and now we had to choose which one or combination of
things we would actually do.

As the discussion wore on, I checked some things out online and made a
couple of quick phone calls, before I went back to share some of the
information I had learned with the others.  There was an amusement park
about two hours away from us, and they would be open on both Sunday and
Monday, before they closed for the season on Tuesday.  I offered to take
them all to spend the day there, and when we got back home, if we weren't
too exhausted, we could go see a movie.  If we didn't see the movie on
Sunday, possibly we could do that after we finished fishing on Monday, as
long as we could get the boys home by a fairly decent hour, so they could
get enough rest to return to school on Tuesday.  Everyone agreed with my
plan, so I called and reserved tickets for us, and we planned to get up at
5:00 that Sunday morning, so we could leave by 6:00.  That way we'd be
there when the park opened at 8:00, and we could spend as much time there
as we wished.  Once everyone was in agreement with the plan, all we had to
do was wait for school to start and Labor Day weekend to arrive.

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