Date: Sat, 17 May 2014 07:57:59 -0500 From: Jake Stone Subject: "Salisbury to San Diego" Part Nine, gay/incest He told me to sit on the couch. It was fake leather so I wasn't worried. And he went to get me and himself a beer. When he came back and handed me the beer he sat down and said, "It's just so weird. There is not just a connection with you. I feel like I know you. That has never happened to me before. But that couldn't be could it. You lived in Connecticut. Had you ever been to California before?" "I've only been to L.A. and San Francisco before. Both for a short trip with my Mother and her husband. I have never been to San Diego before moving here. It was an adventure for the summer before college. You know?" "Yeah I get that. Huh. Well there is no way then that I know you. I've only been to L.A. once and my feelings about it are like yours. Not all that interested. I have a great life here. Couldn't be happier." I was happy he was so happy. Would he still be happy after he learned the truth? Part Nine: I woke up Tuesday morning feeling pretty good. The evening with Joe, while physically very satisfying, was also emotionally tough. But a good nights sleep seems to cure the worst of things. For the moment anyway. I looked over at my alarm clock and saw it was 8:15. I was to be at the garage at 10 to meet the old man I was buying the Mustang from. Then maybe I could talk Rob into helping me drop off the rental this evening. I decided I had to call Mr. Stanton and give him and update. Especially the part about the car. It was 11:15 in New York. If I hurried I'd catch him before lunch. I decided there was no time like the present and got up and went to the phone. I didn't bother with clothing. I was getting used to being carefree in my own home in a very short time. After I dialed his direct number he answered within the second ring. "Mr. Stanton? It's Anthony." "Well hello Anthony" he sounded cheerful, "Don't tell me you have reached your objective already my boy?" I laughed a little, "Well not quite yet sir. But I have met my Father. He just doesn't know who I am yet. I've sort of made friends with him and his employee at the garage. All quite by accident. In fact that is why I called." "Yes? What is it Anthony? Everything alright?" he sounded concerned right away. After all I was his richest client. Even if I didn't have the money yet, I was bound to, and with the fees he would be charging me to stay on he would be set for life I suppose. "Everything is fine sir. But I will be writing a check for a car. The guys at the garage found me a used, but a very well maintained, car for me to purchase. I didn't want anything new. Anyway, I'll be writing a check for 2500. Will that be a problem?" Mr. Stanton gave a bit of a chuckle after realizing everything was alright, "That's no problem at all Anthony. I'll replace the money in your account this afternoon. But why a used car? I would be happy to authorize any amount for a new car." "Well, sir. I kind of want to fit in. I don't think an 18 year old with a brand new car would fit in with the blue collar types I've become friends with. Even if one of them is my Dad. But don't worry. It's still a bit flashy. It's a red Mustang with black stripes. 1973 Mach I convertible. It covers flashy without the total cost." "Well, I see" I heard the concern in Mr. Stanton's voice again, "A car like that is a bit powerful. I hope you'll be careful my boy. When you get the title call me with the vin number right away and I will have our insurance companies California office sort out the details. They may call you with more information." "Ok, well that's the update for now I guess." "Oh, Anthony, by the way. As you seem to be developing a relationship with your Father so quickly I figured I'd give you some information. He is mortgaged on both his home and his business. He seems to have a good head on his shoulders but the mortgages weigh quite heavy on him. I don't know how he does it on his income without being broke all the time. But anyway. At this point, all you have to do is tell him who you are, and then I will be satisfied with the goal your Mother set for you. How soon could that happen you think?" I thought for a moment and then, "Well its a bit complicated. I could tell him soon I guess. I don't want to become too good of friends while holding this secret from him. I've already told his best friend and employee, Rob. And he has been helping me develop the relationship with my Dad. In fact, the car, they both had a hand in finding it for me. My Dad just thinks he's helping out a new kid in town find his way around." "Well, alright" he replied, "It's better to do it when you think the time is right. I like that you seem to have your head on right about it. You are correct. Timing is everything. If you wait too long he will feel deception. But if you do it too quick he could pull away. Keep me updated." "Mr. Stanton, before I let you go, those mortgages..." I stuttered. "Yes, Anthony, I've already thought of that. Just give me the word and they will be paid off. I will arrange it so that the money he pays towards them goes into an investment account for him till you tell him what's going on." "Well then let's do that. Because no matter what. He is my Father and I already like the guy. He a hard worker and basically a down to earth man. He doesn't need to struggle." "Consider it done Anthony. Anything else?" We ended the conversation with him wishing me luck on the purchase of the car. And he reminded me to call with the vin number and the details of any other transactions. It was after 9 when we ended the phone call. I hopped in the shower and took a quick rinse. I then threw on some shorts and a tank top with flip flops. Grabbed my check book and keys and headed out. I got to the garage at about 9:45. Rob saw me drive in and came out to greet me. "You're just a tad early. Haven't seen the old man yet" "That's fine. Got any coffee around here?" I asked. He smiled, "Of course we do. We live on the stuff. Come on into the office." Rob looked so hot in his coveralls. They were zipped down to just above his navel. I wished they were unzipped more, but I knew they wanted to be able to zip up quick for customers pulling in. We got to the office and Joe was there. He was sitting at the desk going over invoices. He looked up as we walked in. "Hey Tony, excited about the car?" he asked. "Well if it's everything Rob told me it was then of course" I said as I took a cup of coffee from Rob. I started to take a drink as Joe said the following. "I can assure you. The car is well taken car of. And it barely has any miles on it for the age. I think you will be happy with it. And you have the best mechanics in town to look after you. The car would be good enough for my own son if I had one." I coughed and spit out the coffee. "Are you ok Tony?" Joe got up from his desk and came over. "Yes, yes. I'm sorry. It went down the wrong pipe or something. I'll clean this up for you if you have a rag." Rob was watching us from the corner wide eyed and somewhat in shock. I was too if you could imagine. Joe actually said....for my own son.....if he had one. It was shocking and a bit unnerving. I instantly realized, as I was squatting down on the floor cleaning spilled coffee, that I was putting Rob in an awful position as well. I would have to remedy it as soon as possible. Joe went back to work on the invoices as we waited for the old man to arrive. I looked around the office and noticed what a disarray it was. Nothing filed properly. Stacks of paper that looked like it had been there from the beginning. I wasn't sure how Joe knew it what he was working on was current or old. He did look sexy though. It was hot in the office. Even at this hour. And he had himself unzipped almost all the way to his pubes without actually showing them. His sweat was running down his chest every so often It was so sexy. Just then the door opened and in walked a young man dressed the way Rob and Joe were. I didn't know there was another employee. "Hey boss. The Comet it ready. If you want to call them I'll park it out front." said the sexiest, who looked Hispanic or something, man I had ever seen. He looked over at me and smiled and nodded. "Ok." Joe said, "Oh Julian, this is Tony. He's the one buying old man Thomas' Mustang, Tony this is Julian. He works part time here at the shop. Mostly Tuesdays and sometimes Thursdays depending on his school schedule. You guys should probably talk since you were wondering where to go to school Tony." Julian and I shook hands. He was beautiful from head to toe. Dark hair, dark eyes. Built almost better than I was. His light brown skin with a sheen of sweat on it. Big hands. His coveralls were just like the other two's and his zipper wasn't quite as low but he was shirtless as well. "I'll be glad to" Julian said, "If you want a tour of the campus sometime let me know. I'll be happy to show you around." "Where do you go?" I asked. "UCSD" He replied. "I live in between here and there so it's not too bad of a drive." "Oh cool" "Hey what you doing tomorrow? Schools out and I'm free all day. If you want to see the University and then maybe we could hit the beach." Joe looked up from what he was doing, "Blacks?" he laughed. "Come on Joe. Of course Blacks. Where else?" "What's Black's?" I asked. Joe answered. "It is San Diego's renowned nude beach. There is a gay side and a straight side and they kind of blend in the middle. It's a hike to get down to but once you are down there it's pretty nice. Julian loves it down there, don't you?" "Well yes I do. I love the all over tan I get." "That's not all he likes about it" first time Rob spoke up since I spilled the coffee. "Let's not give away all my secrets. I just met the boy!" Julian said. "I didn't know any of them were secrets. In fact I think its pretty well known...." Rob was cut off by Joe. "Now, now. Let's let the boys get to know each other a bit before we air all our dirty laundry." We all laughed and just then we saw the Mustang pull up and another car following them. It was gleaming in the morning light. It was perfect for me right now. I instantly loved it. A younger guy got out of it and then an older guy got out of the car following the Mustang.The younger guy turned out to be Mr. Thomas' grandson. He didn't look happy in the least. "Mr. Thomas", Joe started off. "Good to see you. This is Tony, the young man that is interested in the car. Tony, this is Mr. Thomas." "Nice to meet you sir." I said. We all went out to look the car over. It looked brand new. We chatted a little about it's care and so forth. Then Mr. Thomas looked at me and said, "Well what do you think". "I love it. It's perfect for me. I would love to buy it from you." "Well that's all fine and good as long as the checks good. Your a bit young to be able to pay cash for something like this. What bank do you draw from?" "My accounts at San Diego Trust. We can go down there and do the transaction if you like. It might be best for all of us." They already knew me at the bank and knew what the potential for my business was. I wasn't worried about them helping me handle this at all. "Well that's fine then. That's where I keep my money. Which branch do you want to go to?" Mr. Thomas said. "There is one around the corner I go to. Will that be alright?" "Sure, lets go. You can ride with me and my grandson will follow us to the bank. If that's alright with you. Then after we are done I'll give you the keys and be on my way." Mr. Thomas was sort of gruff but he was a pretty straight up individual you could tell. We got to the bank and entered it. Right away, Mr. Courtland, the branch manager saw me and started moving my way. "Mr. Delaurentis, what can we do for you?" He asked as he took my hand. I noticed Mr. Thomas observing this in surprise. "Thank you Mr. Courtland. I'm purchasing a car from Mr. Thomas, Mr. Thomas please meet Mr. Courtland, and I was wondering if you could help us with that. We both bank at San Diego Trust and I figured it would be easy just to come in." "Well of course, no problem. I was wondering why Mr. Stanton wired more money into your account just minutes ago. But now I see why. How much do we need to transfer from your account to Mr. Thomas'?" "I believe we agreed upon 2500, is that correct Mr. Thomas?" "Well yes it is. Can the young man afford that?" Mr. Thomas asked with suspicion. Mr. Courtland gave a slight chuckle. "Mr. Thomas, I can assure you he can, I'm actually surprised it isn't more. But lets get the paper work done. I'm a notary as well so I can help with the bill of sale and title transfer. Do you have the title Mr. Thomas?" "Well of course I do." Mr. Thomas said. I had the need to use the restroom all of a sudden. That coffee was going right through me. I excused myself for a few moments. Mr. Courtland told me later that after I excused myself Mr. Thomas gave him the third degree. "How can that child afford this much money." Mr. Thomas asked. "That child is worth more than any of our other depositors in this bank Mr. Thomas. Why he is making such a small transaction is beyond me. He could afford any car he wanted. But if he wants your Mustang than that is what he shall have." He said Mr. Thomas was stunned as well as his grandson. After everything was signed and dated and the money was transferred Mr. Thomas and his grandson left. Mr. Courtland asked me to remain a few minutes. "Mr. Dela....." "Please call me Tony" I interrupted him. "Well fine. If you call me Stan?" I assured him I would. "Tony. I was surprised at the small amount of the transaction because Mr. Stanton had another hundred thousand deposited in your account a few minutes before you showed up. There was already more than enough money in your account to cover the car. Much more." "I know Stan. But the rest of the money is for something else that I requested he do. I guess he just did it all at once. I want to pay off two mortgages for a friend of mine." Stan's eyes widened, "Don't worry, its actually my Father. He just doesn't know he's my Father." I sat there and explained it all to Stan. It wasn't any of his concern but I had a good relationship developing with him and if he was to be handling my money in California I felt it be good to let him in on some of the things going on. "So, could you and Mr. Stanton get together. He has the information on the mortgages. I'd like them paid off as soon as possible then any payments that come in for the mortgages go to a trust for my Father." "Quite generous of you. I understand completely. Hold on and let me call Mr. Stanton. We could handle this all right now. I'll need a signature for each payment from you." He called Mr. Stanton and got the information. The house was only about 17 thousand and the business had sixty thousand mortgages. Seventy seven thousand to pay them all off would leave me a nice balance in the account. That I probably would begin to use. After I signed everything and climbed into my Mustang I headed back to the shop. I was hoping Rob could follow me in the rental after he got off and help me return it. I got to the shop at two. "Wow that took a long time", Joe said. "I had a couple of errands to run also" I lied. He didn't need to know that he was now debt free just yet. "I was wondering if Rob could follow me to the car rental place at the airport after he got off work. Is he around?" "I'll tell you what. I'll do it now. We could get some lunch afterwards and then you can take me back here for my truck. I haven't eaten yet but the other two have. And with Julian here all I would be doing is paper work and I hate paperwork. Is that ok?" OK? It couldn't be better. I really wanted to spend as much time with Joe as I could. The better I got to know him the better I would know when to break it to him. "Sounds good." So Joe went in to tell the guys that he was leaving. I gave him the keys to the rental and he followed me to the airport. We turned the car in and the estate would take care of the bill. So I just left it there and Joe followed me to the car. "Why is the top still up. It's a beautiful day?" Joe inquired. "Well to be honest. I don't know how to work the damn thing" I admitted. Joe laughed. He slide over and undid the locks on the windshield then reached over me and pressed a button. I caught his scent as he did and I got hard right away. The roof went down and locked down into position. The windows were all down already. Joe took the top of his coveralls off his shoulders and tied the arms around his waist. He looked over at me and said, "lose the shirt. You got the car you might as well get the tan. We drove over to a drive in. The type of place where they take your order at the car and then serve you at the car. I thought the waitress was going to crash into my car when she came up to it and saw us both shirtless. If I was in her position I might have crashed myself. We were definitely quite a sight. But the good thing was we both knew it but we both weren't consumed with it. We ate our food and then we talked for a while. "So you going to look for a job during the summer or just be a beach bum?" Joe asked. "Well I hadn't thought that far yet. I guess I should do something productive. I got all the necessities out of the way. Home, car, friends...." I laughed. "Well you certainly have friends. Rob and I both really like you. I was wondering. You saw what a mess the office was. I haven't had any help in there in years. Rob is worse than I am with the books. How are you with office work?" "Well I was studying accounting and business as college prep courses at school." "Well there you go. I couldn't pay you much but I do need the help. And I wouldn't tie you down to a strict schedule. Just work when you need to to get it done. How does that sound?" "Well to work to get it done at the beginning will be a day and night job. I've seen the office." I laughed. "It's not that bad, is it?" he laughed. "Ok, it is....but will you help me?" "Well, money is not a problem for me as you've already found out. But doing something worthwhile would be good experience. Yes I can help you. I'm not much with a wrench though so don't count on me in the garage." I laughed. "We got the garage covered. You just cover the paperwork. What type of uniform should you wear though?" "Uniform, I couldn't just be naked in the office?" I laughed out loud. "Rob and I or Julian for that matter wouldn't get any work done. No. But you could just wear overalls like us I suppose. Is that alright?" "The less the better so I guess it is" We agreed on my duties and my pay, which, like he said, wasn't much. But the experience would be worth it and being around my Father all day would even be more worth it. But now the time to tell him was getting closer and closer. I couldn't let it go on like this for much longer. Please support Nifty, donations are needed to keep this service going. http://donate.nifty.org/donate.html