Date: Mon, 03 Jul 2000 10:39:52 -0700 From: Fredric L. Brothers Subject: "SUMMER WITH VAL" - Chapter 7 (Man/Boy - Interracial) Disclaimer: The following story is a work of fiction. It contains scenes of deep affection between an adult white male and a minor black boy. If you find any of this disturbing, then leave. Please e-mail any thoughts or comments or criticisms you may have: FLBROTHERS@hotbot.com -------------------------------- SUMMER WITH VAL -------------------------------- By Fred Brothers Copyright (c) 2000 by Fredric Law Brothers (All Rights Reserved) Chapter 7 - Caring What came over me? I still haven't figured it out. What strange, powerful passion overwhelmed my normally rational thinking? I don't know; I honestly don't know for sure. The only thing I did know - the only thoughts occupying my brain at the time - was that Val was here, I was here and that I needed to make him feel good. The sight of Val, standing naked in that tub, his enticing body completely on display for me, his penis fully erect and so incredibly beautiful, the foreskin so inviting...and his gorgeous hanging sac with those attractive, small testicles...all on display...my hands deeply kneading his muscles...his gorgeous arms held so delicately in front of him...his thin hips thrusting forward...and back...and forward...and back...Well, I think I did what any sane person would do. I masturbated him. I was intrigued, beguiled and absolutely bowled over by Val's stunning, enticing and altogether wonderful body. From top to bottom (and what a fabulous bottom he had!) he was a beautiful child - an absolutely beautiful person. That this beautiful and loving and giving child had to endure such rejection in his young life was a true pity...and a supreme misfortune! This much I surmised by his almost incessant crying. Every time I praised him or said something nice to him or about him, he would cry. I was sure that he was unused to his actions being praised or even acknowledged and the shock and/or thrill of my attention to him set him off on these crying jags. I also resolved in my mind to giving Val no feelings of disapproval or rejection from me. My eyes ranged all over his body once again; he was looking down at the soapy water. He held his arms stumps delicately in front of his chest and he looked like a statue - like one of those magnificent bronze statues of young boys created during the Golden Age of Greece - a magnificent sculpture so cruelly damaged over the millennia by uncaring and unfeeling barbarians. I was staggered at how captivated I had become by this beautiful child. My senses were being swamped. I was having difficulty absorbing all of his various aspects. I realized that I was beginning to hyperventilate. Val stood absolutely still - immobile and breathtakingly beautiful. He must have sensed my complete spiritual and physical involvement with him. He was unabashedly putting his ideal beauty on view for me. His eyes were partially opened, his arms delicately extended in front of his chest. My eyes, on the other hand, were wide open, drinking in the enormity of the sight set before me. I tried to indelibly imprint on my memory each of his special features and all of his unique individual characteristics. I began to mentally catalogue each feature. I was creating a mental database - my Val database. He had a beautifully shaped head, superb, delicate small ears, short silky hair and a magnificent face - the kind of face you would specifically order when determining the look of your child. It was almost an adult face in many ways, but still had those exquisitely fine features of a boy. His eyes were big with extremely long lashes; those magnificent hazel eyes created almost a sense of unreality about the boy. One would certainly expect dark eyes in a person of Val's coloring, but his mixed racial heritage had produced something really remarkable and his features were quite different...and startling Val's eyebrows were thin and beautifully long, the beautiful arches creating a resonant statement framing the eyes. His nose was very small and not wide, but slightly flat and rounded at the end; it was most delicate. And his mouth! God! That mouth! It was so superb - small and graceful with luscious sensuous lips - immanently kissable lips...lips that begged to be explored and humbled...and succumbed to. His neck was rather long and beautifully shaped. It was extremely sensuous; I longed to run my tongue over it and kiss and gently nibble at it. His chest was rather well developed and showed small development of his pecs and even some of his abs. He had just the smallest and most adorable little boy potbelly. His arms, down to the area of his bilateral amputations, were beautifully and softly rounded; they were slightly sculpted, showing some development of his biceps. I adored the shape of these arms; I found them and those twin stumps to be totally appealing and very strongly (and very strangely) exciting. His legs were equally thrilling and enticing. The thighs were nicely formed and slightly muscular, and the lower legs beautifully and softly molded. There was no hair on either his upper or lower leg. His little bubble butt was strong and gracefully sculpted. His skin color was amazingly even and was an astonishingly beautiful, a rich cafe-au-lait in color, and remarkably free of blemishes. As my eyes traveled over his entire body, it naturally stopped roaming when I reached his groin. Val was one very well endowed kid. He was going to have an enormous package, just like I knew his father had. His cock was now standing up, completely erect and absolutely gorgeous. It was incredibly straight and the shiny purple/black head was poking lovingly through the semi-retracted foreskin. The foreskin was pulled back almost to the ridge. I'd say his penis was about 3-1/2 inches long and it was quite, quite stunning. His finely shaped testicles hung down in a luscious, tantalizing, dark, smooth sac. I had never seen such a pendulous sac on one so young before. Val's beautifully and rather large orbs were clearly outlined by the glistening skin of his scrotum. Val was completely hairless and was one terrifically beautiful child. I gently rubbed my hands over his stunning chest and back, letting my fingers massage his nicely developed muscles. I rubbed down his arms, again squeezing his wonderful muscles. I continued down his body, devoting time to his beautiful butt. The skin was so incredibly soft yet the underlying strong muscle made for a totally delightful experience. I finally made a move to gently grasp his beautiful penis between my aching fingers. He let out a loud moan and I felt his body shudder slightly as I first softy clasped his male member. I began to stroke it.slowly and painstakingly. It was so incredibly smooth and felt so fabulous in my hand. I could feel Val shudder and I shuddered also from the sheer delight of having his magnificent organ in my hand. The combination of steel and velvet of a young boy's penis is something to absolutely treasure. I used three fingers to stroke and fondle this superb erection while with my remaining fingers I squeezed and slightly pinched his hanging ball sac. Val was continuing to moan and breath heavily - and I was keeping right up with him. I loved everything about this gorgeous kid and was so comfortable being able to satisfy his desires...and mine. I slowly moved my free hand up his chest and began to soothingly massage and gently pinch his nipples. He obviously loved what I was doing to him because his moans told me that he was enjoying everything. I quickly grasped his stumps and squeezed and manipulated them. I continued these gentle (and not so gentle) attentions to his glorious body, and gradually and inexorably brought him to a crashing climax. "What else could I do?" I hastily asked myself. "What else could I possibly do? He's a beautiful person...and he's here...and I'm here...and I do what I have to do...and I do what he obviously wants me to do." His body was in spectacular contravening motion - jerking and spasming in the heat of the moment. His head was thrown back and being thrown from side to side. His crotch pushed firmly into the palm of my hand. When he opened his eyes once again, Val gave me a wonderful, full smile. I gently helped him sit down in the tub. He looked so gorgeous - the most satisfied person I'd ever seen. He also seemed rather fulfilled - with himself and with me. He looked at his arm stumps, slowly turning them in front of his face, and said slowly, "Thanks Zack. Thanks for thinkin', you know, thinkin' 'bout me...and thanks for thinkin' 'bout...'bout what I want.and 'bout what...what I need. Nobody's done...that...think of me...and what I want...in a long time. Thanks so very much." I smiled back at him as he then looked up at me. "You are very welcome, Val; very welcome indeed." I reached for his arms again and squeezed them with both of my hands. He smiled at me again. This was the first time he had smiled at me when I had touched either his hooks or the actual flesh of his stumps. I ran my thumbs over the scared ends of those arms and I delighted in the feel. "You deserve." I had difficulty saying what I wanted to because it sounded so trite and corny, and possibly even phony, but I knew I had to say it. "Val, you deserve to be treated with all the respect and...and all the love that...I have to give." He looked at his stumps again, turning them over and over and looking at them closely. It was almost as if he was questioning my sanity for the attraction I had to them.and to him, and for the attention I paid to both. He smiled a big, wide smile while looking at his truncated arms. Tears immediately came to my eyes and I kissed his forehead again and also his stumps. I just could not resist them - they were right there in front of me, waiting and begging to be loved. Yes, they were badly scarred and had burns on them and areas where skin grafts had obviously been performed. But I found them, and him, to be infinitely tempting and appealing. He quickly flung his arms around my neck, getting me all wet in the process, but hugging me very strongly. I could feel his body trembling. I hugged him back with all my strength...and all the love I could put into it. I lifted him out of the bath and I noticed that, not very surprisingly, his penis was still hard. "Ah, the magnificence and stamina of youth," I thought. He moved his arm stumps down to the area of his crotch and scratched some, then looked at me with a sort of embarrassed expression on his beautiful face. His dick was standing straight out and was very hard and his actions got me hot again. I grabbed a big bath sheet and wrapped him up. It was very soft and I rubbed all over his wonderfully tight little body. I made a point of drying every area of his lovely body lovingly, paying maximum attention to each of the individual parts. To me it was an absolute labor of love. To Val, I hoped, it would be a wonderfully erotic and enriching experience.and lots of fun. I first dried his hair and beautiful face, which I did rather quickly; his hair was very short but I had fun playing with his very small ears and caressing his face and neck. Val had his eyes closed and he seemed to be making very low, very happy sounds. Then, moving downward, I dried his chest, arms, and underarms. The hanging towel lovingly played over his erect dick. It seemed to "catch" on his stiff member. I tickled his underarms through the towel and he began to giggle heartily. I returned to rubbing him tenderly and he seemed to purr as I stroked him so lovingly and so gently. He continued to hum slightly - it was a delightful sound to my ears. He seemed to be very happy - and so was I. When it came to drying his arms, he smiled at me as I rubbed over the stumps. His forearms were beautifully tapered and ended just above where his wrists and hands should have been. I smiled at him and lightly kissed the scars on the ends of both arms. He looked at me rather shyly, but I could feel an intensity in that look...and a real desire behind those hooded eyes. He slowly raised both arms and gently stroked my cheeks with his stumps. I was so incredibly thrilled by his action; it just took my breath away. I was also tremendously impressed that he felt so open and so free with me that he was able to do this. He soothingly and tantalizingly continued to rub his fabulous arm stumps over my cheeks, then over my ears, then down my neck. It was an absolutely incredible feeling - one I will never forget and will cherish forever. It was a masterful combination of all things sensual...and sexual. I felt marvelous. I kissed him gently on the forehead and then his nose; I turned his body so that he was facing away from me. I whispered softly and soothingly in his ear, "Don't let anybody ever tell you that you don't have a beautiful body...or that you're not a beautiful kid. He looked over his shoulder and smiled at me dreamily; I was in absolute heaven. I began to dry his back and was delighted at the beauty and muscularity of his shoulders and his protruding shoulder blades. Those lovely, sexy, profoundly beautiful muscles left me shaken. When I reached his cute, muscular little ass cheeks, I rubbed them soothingly, playing the towel over the beautiful crack of his butt. I could feel him flinch slightly but I knew he loved what I was doing. I continued down his smooth and supple legs and when I got to his adorable feet, I lifted each one in turn and rubbed them gently, drying between each toe. Val had nicely developed legs and I stroked his well muscled, beautifully contoured calves and thighs. His feet were rather large but beautifully formed and each toe was wonderfully shaped and long. I dried between each toe, tickling him slightly with each stoke. I turn him around again and he was smiling a great big grin; he knew what was next. I playfully ran the towel over his genitals, making sure that I most gently dried them thoroughly. I peeled back Val's foreskin and dried his erect penis, then rubbed his beautiful hanging scrotum until it was completely dry. I was pleased to see Val's developement. Again, I took the opportunity to admire his fully erect and stunningly gorgeous penis. I loved how it and his magnificent scrotum were so much darker than his skin. I marveled at Val's beautiful male equipment - as beautiful as the rest of him. I fondled him gently and lovingly and he closed his eyes and slightly thrust his crotch into my waiting and eager hands. I cradled him in my arms and carried him into the bedroom; he was still wrapped in the towel. I retrieved his pajamas from the pack and put them on him. He looked so incredibly cute and endearing. However, his arms looked absolutely pathetic; the ends of the sleeves just dangled. I knew what was needed. I walked over to him and proceeded to roll the sleeves up until they were neatly lodged above his elbows. He looked at me with a startled expression but did not say anything; there was just a sort of pleading look in his eyes. "Val, you know that I think your arms are beautiful - I really do. I wouldn't say it if it weren't true - and I would just like to see them. That's all." He didn't know what to say, but I think he was pleased. "Is that okay with you?" He nodded and gave me a nice smile. I was not completely convinced that he was convinced, but it would do for now. I put my hand gently on his back. "C'mon, let's go to the TV room for a while and watch the weekend sports report." We walked to the upstairs family room (yes, there are more than one in the house - in fact there are three), I turned on the television, sat down on my big, comfortable leather recliner and stretched out. Val walked up to me. "Can I sit with ya, Zack?" he asked gently, looking directly at me. The kid was asking for what he wanted; this was an excellent sign and a new development in our relationship. I smiled at him, scrunched over, and patted the seat. "Of course, Val. Oh, absolutely!" He sat down and immediately cuddled up against me. I put my arm around him and drew him close. "This is great!" he said very softly, looking up at me. His comment was more to himself than to me. "I think so too, big guy." We sat and watched the highlights of the Sunday baseball games from around the leagues, including the game we attended at Candlestick Park. When this came on the screen, he sat up, maybe hoping to get a glimpse of himself. But no such luck, and he settled back on to me. It was very comfortable and comforting having my beautiful Val here with me. I was very happy and I think he was also. I was happy because I thought I was giving this boy what he deserved and what he had been missing from his life for too many years - attention. Attention to his desires and needs and wants, and attention to him as a person. I stroked his side gently and also let my hand caress his arms and his stumps. He was practically purring in my arms. After the program, I turned off the television and scooped him up quickly. He wrapped his legs around my waist. We marched into Gabe's room and I dumped him on the bed. He bounced around a few times and giggled uncontrollably when I began tickling his belly. He scooted under the blanket and I covered him to his shoulders. "You sleep with your arms under the blanket, Val?" I asked when I saw he also tucked his arm in. He nodded. "Why do you do that?" I asked quizzically. "Don't you get very warm?" "Yeah, I do. But mom...you know, mom says that...' "Well, you're not with her tonight. You're with me, so you can sleep any way you want. Okay?" He nodded, smiled and promptly brought his arms out, settling them on top of the blanket. "That's better, isn't it?" He nodded again. Suddenly Louie and Billie came running into the room and jumped on his bed. They began licking his face and he sat up and petted them with his exposed arm stumps. They loved what he was doing and would have stayed there all night if I hadn't shooed them off after a few minutes. Val settled down again. I cover him. "Zack, would it be alright if I can give ya a kiss good night?" "Absolutely." I sat next to him on the bed and leaned over. He raised himself slightly and gave me a strong kiss right on my lips. It startled me - I had expected him to give me a kiss on the cheek. However, when I composed myself I returned it with equal strength. We broke and he lay back with a beautiful smile of contentment on his face. "Good night, Zack," he said softly and, I thought, rather sexily. "I loved bein' with ya today." "Good night, my beautiful Val," I responded. "I loved having you with me...it was a great treat." I squeezed one of his arm stumps; he quickly brought both of them to my lips one more time for me to kiss. He was smiling broadly and beaming at me as I closed the light. ****************************************** Something was wrong! Something was definitely wrong! I felt it in my bones. Something was without doubt amiss. I heard some very strange sounds coming from somewhere in this room. I opened my eyes. Why was I awakened? What strange sound had roused me from sleep. Strange. Very strange! I sat up - and suddenly knew what was wrong. I could not sit up! It was like I was pinned down to the bed - pinned down on my left side.and my right side. What the hell was going on? I reached over and managed to reach the bedside lamp; my arm brushed the two dogs. I was certainly relieved. But what about the other side? When the light was on I saw what is was.or rather, who it was. Val had come into my bed while I slept. He lay down on top of my blanket, covering himself with the blanket he had removed from his room. I smiled and got out of bed. I covered him with my blanket, making sure that his arms were above the coverings. I took a pair of boxers out of the drawer and put them on. I normally slept in the nude but did not want to do that with Val in my bed. I petted his arms and his arm stumps once more before getting back into bed and closing the light. I swore I saw a smile on his face just before the room went dark again. ****************************************** The next morning I drove Val to school. It was a most magnificent day and both of us were in a good mood. Val was smiling and humming softly. From the corner of my eye I could see him glancing up at me from time to time. As we neared the school, he broke his silence. "Thanks for the great ay yesterday...and...and for the wonderful night las' night. And the great mornin'." I smiled at him. "You're very welcome, Val." I petted his leg lightly. "It was my pleasure. I also had a wonderful time and was very happy you could spend the time with me. And, remember, any time you want to visit again, just call and we'll make arrangements. The pool is ready and Louis and Billie will be very happy to see you again, I'm sure. Okay?" He nodded. I drove up to the front of the school and Val looked very happy and even a little proud as he got out of the Jeep. His classmates seemed a little stunned to see him getting out of a strange vehicle and some spoke to him, but he just smiled at me and walked up to the entrance. He turned and waved.with his hook.just before entering the building. I was so very proud of him. On the drive back home, I thought about the weekend and what wonderful company Val had been. His presence helped relieve the loneliness and boredom I felt being in that big house all by myself, and having to endure the absence of Gabe. That morning I awoke Val when my alarm went off. He was sleeping facing away from me near the opposite edge of the mattress. I whispered in his ear and me immediately flipped over to face me. He put one arm around me and gave me a big smile. I smiled back - something I very rarely do in the morning - smile. He looked so adorable and completely precious. I rubbed his body lightly before he went to the bathroom to begin his morning "rituals". When he came out and needed to dress, I volunteered to help. He hesitated somewhat and gave him a questioning look. He then smiled and nodded his head. "Will you help me put on my hands? My hooks, I mean," he asked quietly. "I'll do anything you need, Val. You know that don't you?" He nodded again and gave me a big warm smile. "And I think 'hands' is the right word," I added. I removed his pajamas, put on his underwear, and followed his instructions as I attached his prostheses. It was not very difficult, even for someone as non-mechanically inclined as I am. It didn't take very long before he was completely dressed. He chose to wear the sweatshirt we had bought yesterday at Candlestick Park. He looked great! I dressed quickly and we went downstairs for breakfast. First, Louie and Billie had to be walked and fed. Val wanted to go along and we walked together. I even let him hold the leashes for a while. He was thrilled. I was amazed at how something so mundane, as walking the dogs, was a treat to this kid. His life must be so.so incredibly boring, so barren...so pathetically empty. The dogs, and I don't know how they knew it, didn't tug too hard on the leash and were on their best behavior, so Val had a rather easy time of it. When we returned to the house, he devoured a bowl of Cheerios with a banana and a glass of juice before we left for the ride to school. Now, on the drive home, I began to think about my physical reaction...and attraction...to Val. This crippled boy held me in thrall. It had me concerned, since I had never had any kind of fascination with young males before. None that I could think of or remember. "Why now?" I asked myself. "Is it loneliness? Is it the result of the trauma of the move and the return to the university? The sudden wealth.and fame? Or.or.could it be? Could it possibly be? Could it be...that...that I'm truly in love with this fascinating and beautiful boy...with my beautiful Val?" ****************************************** The next week was a very busy one for me. Between interviewing people for domestic positions (housekeeper, cook, maid, gardener, chauffeur, etc) I was determined to get my books and papers in order. Val called almost every day and it was fun speaking to him. I also spoke with Gabe every evening and told him the latest events. He, in turn, spoke to Val almost every evening, so it was a real round robin of conversations and news. After a week of interviewing, I hired a family group to take over the day-to-day operations of the household. The family consisted a middle aged married couple, their daughter and her two children. The couple was in their fifties, the daughter in her thirties and the kids were a girl thirteen and a boy eleven. These minors would be living with them. The seemed like a very fine family, had impeccable credentials and currently lived (and worked) not far from the house. I insisted, however, that they move into the apartment over the garage; I was sure it would be big enough for their needs and I needed them to be available at all times. The older woman, Brigitte Gustafsen, would be in charge of running the household, including all cooking, food purchases and the general running and upkeep of the house. Her husband, Stig, would be the groundskeeper/gardener, general handyman and sometimes chauffeur. Their daughter, Kaaren, would be the maid, taking care of the cleaning and laundry and anything else that needed to be done. The kids were not expected to work; however, they were expected to stay in their own area of the house and not come to the main house unless expressly invited. They moved in the weekend before I was to leave for Seattle to fetch Gabe. They settled in quickly and efficiently, and within the next few days were assuming their duties around the house and grounds. Everything began to operate in fine order, but what annoyed me most was that was five of them and only one of me. They considerably outnumbered me, and with two young, growing children, they consumed plenty of food. I finally convinced myself not to be so damned miserly, since money was not a problem. I began to enjoy their company. And they were fine company. Brigitte was a superb cook and could fix anything - absolutely anything! I wanted a healthy almost completely vegetarian diet and she was only too happy to go along with my tastes. She had once cooked for a Zen Buddhist movie producer and knew hundreds of recipes using no animal products. I told her we could have fish occasionally and she was only too happy to comply. She said the vegetarian diet would be better for her family too. Stig was extremely handy around the house and an excellent gardener; he began to create a large vegetable garden on some unused property at the back. Kaaren had the housework on an exact schedule. The children, Alicia and Eric, were delightful and very well behaved. They stayed mostly in their area of the property but I did let them, as well as their mother and grandparents, use the swimming pool for about an hour every day. They thanked me every time they used it. Val called one evening and said that his school was over and he was just hanging around the apartment doing very little. He couldn't leave the apartment when his mother was not home (which was most of the time); that sounded like a severe form of punishment to me. He seemed very forlorn and needy but there was nothing I could do about his situation; I needed Elise's prior approval and she was never around and she never asked for anything. I really missed the kid, though, and wished he could spend more time with me. I loved the day we went to the baseball game and still replayed the events over and over in my mind. To my amazement, that very evening brought a call from Elise. We chatted for a while on general matters; then she got down to the situation at hand. I knew she had a definite reason for this call. She mentioned that she was going to give up the apartment in Oakland and move into student housing near the medical school in San Francisco. "Will there be sufficient room for Val...I mean, all his stuff?" I asked. She paused and coughed. "Val won't be moving with me, Zack," she said very softly. I was dumbfounded! "Wh-a-a-at?" I managed to stammer out. She responded in a very hesitant manner. "I...I won't be able to take Val with me...because of the long hours I'll be keeping...and all the studying...and the lab work...and everything else that'll be involved. And of all the care...and all the attention that his...uh...condition demands." "I see," I said. My mind was certainly reeling from what she had just said. I was trying desperately to keep my temper in check; it can be very quick to erupt. "So what's going to happen with him?" I definitely had more than a touch of panic and bitterness in my voice; I felt so bad for the kid. He's being abandoned by his mother? So that she further her career? What about him? "Where's he going?" I asked hastily. She obviously heard the concern in my voice. "Nothing really to worry about, Zack. He'll be living with my brother, sister-in-law and their kids down in Santa Barbara. Everything'll be fine. There's no need for concern. They have a real big house, lots of room, pets and acres of land and I think he'll really like it there." I was speechless. She was willingly giving up her child? She was abandoning her baby while she went off to pursue her career? Well, it had been done before - I knew that from experience. "But I do have a problem for the next week or so, Zack, and I was wondering if you could help me." She paused and I pictured her furiously dragging on her cigarette. "I have to go for orientation classes next week and...uh...Val will be home all alone until next Thursday when my family picks him up." Another pause and another puff, I assumed. "My brother can't pick him up 'til then. I was, er, wondering if he could spend a few days, you know, with you. He loved the time he spent time with you a few week ago...you know, when you both went to the ballgame?" "That'd be great, Elise, and I'd love to have him, but I'm leaving for Seattle the day after tomorrow and won't be back for a week or so. I'm going up a week earlier than I'd originally planned so that Gabe and I can stop at some of the sights along the coast on the way back. So I'll be gone for about a week, maybe ten days or so." "I see...I understand. I know Val'll be disappointed though." "I'm so sorry, El. This has been in the works for quite a while. Then we'll be off to Hollywood. I knew the filming was going to start soon but I didn't realize it was going to begin almost immediately. One of the stars asked that the schedule be moved up if possible so it was. This means that most of the time I'll have with Gabe this summer will be spent in LA. Not my favorite place in the world." "Mine neither." She paused again and I could hear the wheels turning - she was figuring out a way to unload the poor kid as soon as possible. "What's she going to ask next?" I wondered. "How long will you be gone for, Zack?" came the inevitable query. "I mean, how long before you've got to get to LA?" "Well," I began, dragging out each and every word of my response as long as possible. "I have to be in LA by July 6th, so I'll be back before then - sometime before then, but don't exactly know. Somewhere around the third, I suppose." I was starting to get annoyed at Elise's questioning and prodding, and her attitude. "Tell me something El. How can you bear to part with that sweet kid?" "Sweet? Is that what you think of him? Sweet? He's anything but! He's a little monster!" "Monster? Jeeze, El, he was anything but a monster when he was with me!" This came as a total shock. She described Val as a little monster - and with me he was an absolute angel! Suddenly she began to hem and haw, and coughed nervously. "Okay, well, maybe not a monster exactly, but...but he can be very difficult to care for. Very, very difficult." "Because of his handicap.or other reasons?" She let out a big sigh. "Zack, I must be honest at this time. I'm at that time in life when honesty is best. And you're...well, you're such a good friend. We've known each other for so many years, too. You've proven your friendship to Val...and to me...so many times." She paused and let out another sigh. I steeled myself to be smothered in an oncoming rush of guilt. I just felt it coming. "Zack, I cannot deal with raising a crippled child. I absolutely cannot! I just cannot cope with all his special problems and his special needs and all his wants...and his changing moods! It's too much of a burden...and...and too big a problem.for me to handle. Maybe...maybe it's a character flaw in my makeup.I don't know. I suppose it is. But I find it too difficult to deal with him on a daily basis." I could hear that she was now crying. "He's a...like a millstone...and enormous m-m-millstone...weighing me down...and I feel like I'm going to fuckin' drown." I didn't say anything; I just let her finish unburdening herself. I was sure this outburst had been a long time coming, and was maybe years in the making. I told myself that Elise needed this catharsis - that is was good for her to unburden herself. But I was still extremely bitter about what she had said about Val...extremely bitter! When Elise stopped her crying she seemed somewhat repentant. "I'm sorry, Zack; so very, very sorry for the outburst...and for what I said." "I think I understand, El. I know how certain...certain responsibilities...and routines can become quite burdensome...and tiresome." "Thanks. I appreciate...hearing it from you, Zack," she said between sobs. I was silent for a few seconds. "So, Zack, is there any possibility...any possibility at all...that Val can go along with you up to Seattle?" I thought about it for a second and knew I could not - absolutely could not - pass up this stellar opportunity to be with Val...or leave that poor child behind - alone and friendless. "Yes, Elise, he can definitely come along. I'd be happy to have company on the trip. Let me make a few adjustments to the schedule and I'll call you back." I paused, not knowing how she would react to what I was going to say next. "And Elise, could I have the name and number of Val's therapist?" "Are you going to call her." "Oh, no! You are going to call her. Have her contact me as soon as possible. Is that satisfactory with you?" "It is, Zack." I was quite thrilled knowing that Val would be along with me. It would be great having him as my riding companion on the rather long, and sometimes very boring, drive to retrieve Gabe...and to begin our summer together. But somewhere, in the back of my mind, there was the lingering and nagging doubt that Elise had just performed her finest acting job for a rapt and insatiable audience of one - me! It was the best telephone performance since Louise Rainer won the Oscar for her immortal telephone call in "The Great Ziegfeld". I was convinced that she knew of my attraction to Val or maybe just suspected it; that the whole telephone call was a setup concocted by her to have me take him (maybe even to take him permanently) and to get her out of the responsibility to her own child. Then again, maybe I was just being a bit paranoid; that's been known to happen once or twice before. Whatever the truth, I was very pleased that Val would be with me and away from her - at least for the duration of the trip. And, maybe, who knows, maybe... To Be Continued...