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Him
Who Made The Seven Stars
By
Waddie
Greywolf
Chapter
30
Otis
Elmer
Breedlove
~
The
Bull
of
the
Hill
Country
"As
a
youngster
I
had
an
enormous
will
to
believe
that every unexplained
experience in my life was supernatural. Much the same as people who are
determined to believe that everything they see in the sky which they
can't easily identify is a flying saucer full of aliens. As a certified
old fogey now pushing retirement age, a lifetime of personal experience
and reading about such things has unfortunately led me to the
conclusion that there is nothing mystical in the word except for the
cleverness of the human imagination. Those who are desperate to ascribe
significance to the unexplained will never lack for bedtime stories." ~
Mitchell Glaser
“What do you
mean you can’t stay with me no more, Jethro?” Oatie Breedlove asked his
big hired hand, Jethro Quince. Jethro was a typical cowboy, several
years older than Oatie, bigger than most, and better looking than many.
He stood a head taller than his bossman and outweighed him by fifty
pounds of brute muscular strength. When he ran with his watcher
brothers, he looked like a bit smaller version without the luxurious
fur. He could even duplicate and keep up with their extended stride
without tiring when migrating from place to place. He allowed what
considerable body hair he grew naturally to stay in place, including a
full head of blond hair, a full ginger beard and mustache. He reminded
young Oatie Breedlove of pictures he’d seen on the Internet of men who
took part in the Highland games in Scotland.
“I just think
it’s time I moved on, Master Oatie. I recently learned me some things.
Things I hear’d about the future. I shouldn’t be tell’n you none a’
this, but it’s important to you -- and, it indirectly affects me. Your
granddaddy’s coming home to be with you again. There won’t be room for
me around here no more, sir,” Jethro Quince replied like it was tearing
him a new asshole to say the words. The big man was obviously very much
taken and deeply in love with the young rancher he called his bossman
and master, but he was painfully shy, naive, and insecure in his
relationships with anyone; especially someone he admired and respected
as much as he did Doc Oatie, the medicine man. Jethro had all the
earmarks of someone with Asperger’s syndrome, but until that time, his
bossman was unaware of his ramrod’s disorder. Oatie remembered having
learned about it in an entry level psych class when he was going to med
school but never made the connection between many of the daddy
long-legs who might exhibit classic symptoms of the disorder.
Because Oatie
saved his life and asked nothing in return, Jethro honored the ways of
his bother watchers who strongly urged him to give himself to their
medicine man as Master Oatie’s slave, companion, and protector. If
Jethro was born into a society which practiced such a commitment, it
might have been easier for him, but Jethro was raised with the false
sense of freedom all Americans tell themselves is their birthright. In
theory, they would be correct; in practice, not so much. In all his
years in the Marines, and later, on the run from imagined and sometime
very real terrors as a daddy long-leg, he never found the peace he
experienced serving, protecting, and making love to Oatie Breedlove.
Oatie paid him a monthly salary of which he would only take a few
dollars and return the rest to his master for safekeeping.
The young cowboy
never considered Jethro’s pledge to be his slave a binding contract
between them, and because he failed to do so the big man began to feel
insecure because of Oatie’s lack of personal demands and strong
leadership. Even the smallest symbolic rituals to clearly define their
positions with each other was what Jethro Quince most needed; just as a
blind person needs to reinforce his master status with his guide dog
several times a week with proven rituals and commands, Jethro needed
the same reassurance. He craved a more tightly bonded relationship with
someone who would be demanding of his talents and appreciate his strong
and steady masculinity in the sack; however, like so many men in his
position, he didn’t know how to voice his needs. Otis E. Breedlove, or
Oatie, the grandson of Otis Elmer Breedlove, the bull of Mason county,
didn’t understand this simple need and tried to have a balanced
relationship with his ramrod; a man broken by war, life, and society
who was still very much a warrior at heart with a few simple but
special needs.
“What in the
hell you talk’n about, J.Q.? You got a whole bunkhouse originally built
for thirty hired hands all to yore’self, cowboy. If’n that ain’t
enough, they’s eight gotdamn bedrooms in that big empty house up yonder
on the cliff. You can take yore’ pick of any one of 'em, or share mine
wiff’ me if’n you like, and it would be fine with me. It would be nice
having another soul rattle’n around in that big empty whale up there.
It might even make it easier on me and more comfortable for bowfus. I
wouldn’t have to trudge all the way down here in the cold to share a
little rack time wiff’ ma’ ramrod. They’s plenty of room up there. I
begged you and begged you to move up there with me until I jes’ plumb
give up,” Oatie replied.
“That ain’t the
kind of room I’s talk’n about, sir,” Quince said.
“I don’t know
why not. Even if, by some miracle, granddad got better enough to come
home, h’it ain’t a’ gonna’ change nothing between you and me. You’s
still gonna’ be my foreman and right-hand man -- unless, you ain’t
comfortable no more and feel like you jes’ gotta’ answer the call of
the wild again. If you wanna’ go back to being a daddy long-leg, you
know I ain’t got no legal claim on you other than my love and
admiration for you as a damn good man. You’s your own man, Jethro; a
damn fine hired hand and a better bunk mate.
“I was at my
wit’s end trying to hold ever’thing together after I had to put
granddad in that rest home in Brady, and you come along like an answer
to a prayer. It was like somebody was watch’n over me and you to bring
us together. We needed each other. I think we still do, but I ain’t
never put no demands on you. I ain’t never throw’d no rope around yore’
ass. I always leave the sex thing up to you and your appetite.
Fortunately for me, you seemed to develop a sweet tooth for my brand of
cowboy loving and found a comfortable scabbard for your rifle in my
ass; however, if’n the man-on-man thing is too much for you, I’ll do my
best to understand. My granddaddy done taught me the cowboy way. I’ll
miss you more than I got words to tell you, but I’ll adjust. I neither
asked nor expected more from you than what you wanted to give.
“I done told you
when your big daddy protector 'Catfish’ brung you to me with two broken
legs, an ankle, your right arm fractured, several broken ribs, and a
huge gash in yore’ side, I would tend your wounds; however, once’t I
got you healed and on yore’ feet, you could stay or you were free to go
your way. Somehow, over time, we just become easy with each other, and
you ask if you could stay on for a bit. That was a little over six
years ago. Hell far, you still got over fifteen thousand dollars in pay
on the books coming to you I got socked away in savings you can have
when you go. Have you talked it over with Catfish?” Oatie asked.
“He’s the one
what told me what’s come’n down the line from them big chiefs of his
tribe. That young cowboy over to the Daniels ranch where you took me to
look at some of his cattle, he’s been chosen by them Ancient races as
the savior of our world. He’s been gifted with powers beyond anything
you and me can imagine. They done turned him into some kind of
archangel. Catfish told me, with his band of angels, he can heal
anybody and even reverse the aging process. Remember that church
organist your granddaddy used to visit the second Friday night of every
month?” Jethro asked.
“Yeah, we had
him out here for dinner a couple of times, and he’s a good friend.
Granddad and him were butt-buddies for years. Mr. Humana goes wiff’ me
to the rest home and he gives granddad blowjobs while I stand watch
outside his room,” Oatie said.
“He’s out to the
Daniels ranch right now, and Catfish said he don’t look a day over
thirty-five or forty. He was all crippled up from arthritis and hurt
s’damn bad he’s about to commit suicide when Billy Daniels took him
under his wings and give him a minor tune up until he could get him to
Catfish’s people on their world. I heard tell they rebuilt him. They
done a nice job on him with a major engine overhaul, a lube job, and a
tune up. Old Vox looks like a new model what just rolled off the
assembly line. Catfish tells me he’s got orders from his leaders to go
over to the Daniels ranch to pay homage to Master Billy and offer
his’self for milking. Catfish wants to see about becoming one of his
protectors and slaves. He said Master Billy treats most of his slaves
like they’s family. I’s think’n I might do the same, since you won’t be
need’n me around here no more if Master Breedlove is coming home,”
Jethro said.
“Bullshit! I
couldn’t do my vet job and run this damn ranch if’n it weren’t for you,
brother. I was going down for the third time when Catfish brung you to
me ‘cause he know’d I’s an animal and slave doctor. I been patch’n him
and his kind up for a number of years. I know most of the watchers what
roam the hill country. Sooner or later they come to me for some’um. I
ain’t never had a one what was mean or threatened me. I looked on a
couple with lust in my heart, but I never said nothing. I think they
knew though; they shared their milk wiff’ me and sang to me,” Oatie
said.
Suddenly, the
young cowboy got silent, and he felt tears beginning to well up in his
eyes. Jethro’s last words kept ringing in his ears. His companion said
he was going to offer himself to Billy Daniels to be his slave when
Oatie did his best to be his friend and companion for six years. Wasn’t
his love and compassion for the daddy long-leg enough? Though Oatie
never asked, Jethro gave himself to the young cowboy when he saved his
life. Did his spoken commitment to be Oatie’s slave mean nothing to
him? Now he was talking about leaving him for what he imagined as
greener pastures. Oatie was confused and hurt. He felt himself
withdrawing his affection and understanding from the big man. He felt
his emotions folding up like a cheap theodolite used by early
navigators.
The young cowboy
looked directly into Jethro’s eyes like a deer caught in the headlights
as one damnable tear escaped and ran down his cheek. His spirit was
crushed. He felt like Jethro just drove a wooden stake through his
heart, and he was about to breathe his last. Oatie’s sense of
self-worth and his male pride were deeply wounded. He shook his head in
disbelief. How could Jethro be so uncaring and uncharitable? Oatie felt
as rejected as a used rubber thrown out a truck window or a soiled
trick towel kicked under the bed after sex. The cowboy way be damned,
Oatie was profoundly hurt and embarrassed. Almost as embarrassed as the
afternoon his daddy caught his lead cowboy, Perry Reed, butt fucking
him in the barn the summer before his senior year in high school.
Oatie didn’t
have the emotional strength to consider reason. He started gasping for
breath like he couldn’t get enough oxygen. He felt a panic attack
coming on he hadn’t experienced since his daddy fired his ramrod, Perry
Reed, on the spot and told Oatie to go to the house, pack a bag, and be
off the ranch by sundown; he never wanted to see him again. Oatie began
to hyperventilate just like he did in his daddy’s barn. Oatie decided
his best option was to run from the hurt until he had time to think and
sort things out. He was embarrassed and had to get away from Jethro.
His spurs made an angry sound as he stomped out of the bunkhouse
slamming the door behind him. Because Jethro failed to respond in any
manner made the situation all the more awkward. Oatie was convinced the
big man’s lack of response was the final nail in the coffin. Their
relationship was over, and it cut him to the bone. He mounted his pony
and rode up the hill to the big barn in back of the main ranch house.
He took care of his horse, watered and fed him, and went to the house.
He threw himself across his granddad’s bed and cried himself to sleep.
He dreamed
fitfully, but the smell of his granddad filled his senses as he slept,
offering him some solace. He purposely didn’t change the sheets after
his granddad’s last visit for that reason. He could lie across the old
man’s bed, breathe in his essence, and once again share his love with
him even if Oatie was only hone’n in on Onan on his part. He could
imagine his granddad filling his void, giving him the love he needed,
and taking from Oatie what the old man needed as was his due as his
bossman. It would bring him to climax every time. It was a comfort for
him. He didn’t allow himself to consider Jethro’s words about his
granddad coming home. Nor did he give credence to some angelic savior
who could perform miracles. He was a man of science and didn’t believe
in myth or superstition. Long ago he cast aside the lies and deceit
embedded in the children’s Sunday school song, 'Jesus loves me, this I
know, for the bible tells me so,’ as misleading propaganda;
brainwashing at best; child abuse at worst. Oatie considered Jethro’s
information a rumor; a pipe dream; little else.
Oatie dreamed of
the day he packed his bag and called one of his granddad’s best old
saddle buddies, Mick Flynn. Mr. Flynn was a rancher, but when times got
rough financially, he took a mortgage on his ranch and bought a big
eighteen-wheeler truck. He established a reputation for himself and
drove between Houston and L.A. to have more income to payback the
mortgage and hold onto his ranch which had been in his family over two
hundred years. Oatie asked if he could hitch a ride with him to L.A. He
wanted to run and get as far away from his small town as possible to
start a new life.
“Sure, Son, be
happy to give you a ride to L.A., but if I remember correctly you got
one more year of high school. Are you eighteen or do you have yore’
daddy’s permission?” Mick asked.
“You might say
so, Mr. Flynn. He done kicked me out of the house and told me he never
wanted to see me again. H’it don’t matter none. I turned eighteen last
week. Nobody remembered my burf-day but my granddaddy,” Oatie replied.
“Ouch! That’s
pretty dang harsh. You had to do some’um pretty bad. He catch you do’n
the nasty wiff’ some young lady, Son?” Mick asked and chuckled.
“Worse, Mr.
Flynn. He caught his ramrod, Perry Reed, riding me like the Lone Ranger
mounts Silver,” Oatie said.
He heard Mick
Flynn stifle a laugh on the other end of the phone. “Dang and double
ouch, Son! That’s gotta’ smart, cowboy,” he said and laughed.
“You ain’t upset
about it, Mr. Flynn?” Oatie asked in surprise.
“I’m a truck
driver, Son. I done seen it all, and ain’t ashamed to admit I done
dipped my old wick in more’n a few fine looking cowboy butts over the
years. I done appreciated more blowjobs in truck stops than I can
remember
when I’s tired and lonely for some small bit of comfort and didn’t
wanna’ cheat on my wife. No, your news don’t bother me a bit other than
I feel s’damn sorry for you. I don’t feel no sorrow for your old man or
family. Yore’ momma loves herself some Jesus and she’s convinced your
daddy, anyone who strays from their narrow minded beliefs is part of a
great satanic conspiracy to rob them of their souls. Of course, that
would assume they have souls to begin with, and your momma and daddy
have long been suspect in my humble opinion of having little or no
compassion for their fellow man. Thank God, yore’ granddaddy ain’t that
way. Have you called him, Oatie?” Mick asked.
“Naw, sir, I’s
too embarrassed to bother my granddad. He’s had it rough since grandma
died. I tried to help him as much as I could. I didn’t wanna’ cause him
any more pain,” Oatie replied.
“Yeah, and your
daddy and momma ain’t made it no easier on him, neither. Since your
grandma passed away they done went and joined that bat-shit crazy
ultra-right wing fundigelical church “Deep River Congregational
Assembly” run by that demented little troll, Clarence Womack. They been
ride’n your granddaddy’s ass to attend their church and join them in a
closer walk with Jesus or Womack. I ain’t real sure who they worship,
Jesus or the preacher. Your granddaddy is a cowboy from the old school.
He believes in the cowboy way first and religion second. What’s yore’
situation right now, Oatie?” Mick asked.
“I gotta’ be out
a’ here ‘afore sundown. I got my bag packed. I can hitch a ride out to
your place wiff’ one a’ my buddies,” Oatie replied.
“No, you walk
out to the highway and wait for me. I’ll be right there,” Mick said.
Oatie did as he
was told and Mick picked him up. “How you feel’n, cowboy?” Mick asked
as the disgusted looking young cowboy threw his bag in the back of his
truck and got in the passenger seat.
“Like I just
shit in my own bed,” Oatie replied.
Mick roared with
laughter. “That’s normal. It’s to be expected. It will pass. It may
stink for a while, but it will finally go away. Did your dad, Pete, say
anything about pressing charges against Perry Reed?” Mick asked.
“Yeah, he was
yelling and threatening Perry. Called him a pederast and child
molester. He said he was gonna’ call the sheriff and have Perry thrown
in prison for sodomizing his first born son. God, my momma and daddy
can be so frick’n overly dramatic when they get all riled up. I stopped
going to church with him and my family ‘cause they embarrassed me so
much. All the hand waving and crying about how much they love Jesus
while hating our black president and anyone from the middle east. What
hypocrites. It’s all overwrought emotions from unsupported beliefs. I
want more out of life than bow’n and scrap’n to some imaginary deity
without some fat ass ignorant little preacher telling me how I should
live.
I told my dad,
if he stopped ranting long enough to think, I turned eighteen last
week, but nobody in my family, cept’n ma’ grandpa, remembered ma’
burf-day. If he pushed the matter, I would refuse to testify against
Ramrod Reed. I told him it weren’t Mr. Reed’s fault. I had a hard-on
for him since he come to work on the ranch, and it was me what actively
seduced him. I asked him to fuck me for ma’ burf-day. He threw up his
hands and settled for throwing Ramrod Reed out along with me. I don’t
think he even paid Mr. Reed what he had coming. I gotta’ talk with Mr.
Reed. I gotta’ make it up to him. I don’t want him hating me,” Oatie
said.
“They's plenty
of time for that later, Son. I gotta’ ask,”
Mick said with a wicked grin, “how was old Perry?” he asked.
“To be honest,
sir, h’it t’weren’t our first time, but my daddy don’t need to know
that. I know Mr. Reed thought I already was eighteen. Perry Reed is a
thoughtful and compassionate lover. He’s a true man’s man, and a fine
buckaroo. I admire him greatly. We never hooked up what he didn’t see
to it I got my share of pleasure and comfort. I asked him to teach me
to become a lover of men, and he did. He done a good job. I ain’t got a
bad word to say about Mr. Reed. I’m just s’damn pissed I didn’t take
better precautions. If’n we’d done like Perry wanted and rode down to
the old cabin ever’thing would a’ been fine; but noooo, being the
little piggy my butt-hole can be, I couldn’t wait to get that handsome
cowboy inside me for a good hard ride,” Oatie lamented.
Mick Flynn was
laughing his ass off at Oatie’s candor telling about his escapades with
Perry Reed who was one of the most well thought of cowboys in the
county. He was honest, hardworking, and a loyal employee. In the five
years he worked for Pete Breedlove he had over a dozen offers of better
jobs for considerably higher wages, but he turned them down because he
didn’t want to get the reputation of being a job hopping cowboy who a
rancher couldn’t depend on. This might be a small setback for him, but
there were too many ranchers who needed good hands they could trust and
depend on. Perry Reed would have no problem finding another job. If
nothing else, Mick knew with his and a handful of other men’s
recommendations, Perry Reed would have a job within a couple of days;
perhaps, even better than what he had with Pete Breedlove.
Oatie knew the
way to Mick Flynn’s ranch and didn’t understand why he took the back
way through town to the highway what led to the ‘whitewater’ area of
ranches. “Where you taking me, Mr. Flynn?” Oatie asked.
“To your
granddaddy, Son. I called him and told him what was going on. Me and
your granddad have been asshole buddies for as long as I can remember,
and I didn’t feel right extending a hand to you without talking with
him first. He insisted I bring you out to him. I can tell he’s awful
damn hurt you didn’t come to him about this, but he’s glad you had
enough sense to call me instead,” Mr. Flynn said.
“I didn’t want
him to know, Mr. Flynn. Of all the men in my world, I love my granddad
most of all. We always had some’um special between us I knew he didn’t
have with my little brother and sisters. I just wanted to disappear and
not embarrass him ‘cause his grandson’s a cocksuck’n butt-fuck’n
homo-faggot,” Oatie lamented.
“Don’t chu’
never use them words around yore’ granddaddy, boy, if’n you don’t want
the hide on yore’ backside stripped off with his big leather belt,”
Mick said, “Take it from me, Son, you don’t wanna’ be on the receiving
end of that cowboy’s wrath. I learned the hard way. We was grown men,
and I said something similar what set him off. I don’t even remember
what it was about now; h’it don’t matter none. He told me I had a
choice. I could drop my wranglers and bend over his knee and take his
punishment like a man, or he would take me out with his fist. I figured
I’d take the coward’s way out, dropped my pants, and bent over his
knee. I still got the scars from that belt’n he gimme,’ but he was
right. I later admitted to him I was wrong. I never challenged him
again, and I love that old sum’bitch more’n I loved my own daddy,” Mr.
Flynn said with tears in his eyes. “A bit of advice: if he wants to
help you, Son, don’t deny him. It would be the worst goddamn thing you
could do,” Mick Flynn added firmly.
They arrived at
Breedlove ranch and Elmer was walking out of the barn in his cowboy
gear. He was wearing his big silver belly hat and bright blue shirt,
Wranglers, chaps, spurs, and his big buckaroo boots. Elmer was a huge
man. His boot size was eighteen and a half triple E. He was out
checking the cattle when he got Mick Flynn’s phone call and rode back
to the barn to put his pony away for the evening. He had a look of
stern determination on his face which made Oatie a bit uneasy. He
couldn’t read his granddad like he usually could. He didn’t know how to
react. Finally the older man opened his arms to his grandson and Oatie
was in them in a flash.
“I’m sorry,
Grandpa,” Oatie said.
“For what?
Having sex with another man or git’n caught?” Elmer asked and winked at
Mick.
“Both, but I’m
more sorry about get’n caught than having sex with Mr. Reed. I’m mostly
embarrassed about it, and I feel sorry for Perry Reed. He didn’t
deserve the things my dad said to him,” Oatie replied.
“Well, we’ll
talk about it. Where’s yore’ stuff, Son?” Elmer asked.
“In the back of
Mr. Flynn’s truck,” Oatie replied.
“Well, get it,
take it to your bedroom and put it away. When you finish, strip naked,
and wait for me in my bedroom. I’ll be along in a few minutes, and we
can talk. I got me some things I need to discuss with Mr. Flynn,” Elmer
said.
“Yes, sir,
Grandpa,” Oatie said quietly and went to get his bag and Western hat.
Elmer shook hands with Mick Flynn and pulled him into a bear hug and
stole a kiss. Mick returned his fond embrace. They heard the screen
door slam on the front porch and knew Oatie was out of hearing range.
“C’ain’t thank
you enough for your call and heads-up about my grandson, Mick. You done
the right thing,” Elmer said putting his arm around Mick’s shoulder and
pulling him close as they walked toward his truck.
“I didn’t lie to
him about anything, Elmer. We didn’t really talk about much. He said he
wanted to get lost in Los Angeles and start a new life. I can
understand the embarrassment and hurt he must feel, but I got me a
feel’n you’s gonna’ give him a whip’n. Don’t be hard on the boy, Otis,
he needs your strength, understanding, and support if he’s to come out
of this all right, but most of all he needs your love,” Mick said.
“You know me
pretty well, but he needs to know he done wrong by not coming to me in
the first place and a good old-fashioned butt strap’n will establish a
solid peck’n order between us. If I got to raise me another son, I’m
doing it different than what I done wiff’ my other kids; especially my
two boys. I let their momma do most of the raising and look how they
turned out. One’s dead from the middle East wars and the other’s a tool
for them fundamentalist fools. My daughter’s an old maid school teacher
in Harlingen what’s lived with the same women for twenty years. She was
the only smart one. She divorced me and her mother to live her life the
way she wanted without the guilt of religion. She and her mate visit me
a couple of times a year since her momma died. I told her she didn’t
have to hide her love from me. Me and Oatie is gonna’ be different.
Don’t worry none. I ain’t gonna’ lay it on him like I done you. I
always felt bad about that. I was being a bully and was way out of
line. I punished you out of anger and that ain’t right. I’m gonna’ use
ma’ belt on Oatie because of hurt; his and mine. It will be just enough
adjustment to set it right with us. I hope you find it in your heart to
forgive me for that time with you,” Elmer said.
“Naw, now, I
learned my lesson and you already done made it up to me a hun’nert
times over. I don’t know what I’d a done without you in my life. I’ve
always looked up to you as the big brother I never had, and I’m
grateful for what time we could spend together over the years,” Mick
said sincerely.
“Not to worry.
I’m just gonna’ lay some groundwork wiff’ Oatie and give him enough to
remember who’s the bull and who’s the calf. You an me’s about due for
another get together, ain’t we?” Elmer asked.
“I’ll give you a
call as soon as I get back from my run to L.A. I ain’t taking off until
Monday morning so you got the weekend to call me in case you and Oatie
decided some’um different, and he still wants a ride to L.A.,” Mick
said.
“I’ll look
forward to your call when you get back, but I plan to see him through
high school and college if’n he wants to go. I don’t plan to lay it in
his lap. He’s gonna’ have to work for it, but I’ll see to it he has a
home and what he needs,” Elmer said.
“You’re a good
man, Otis, and I couldn’t love you more,” Mick said.
“You know I feel
the same, pod’na,” Elmer said as they hugged again. He stood and
watched as Mick Flynn turned his big truck around and headed back down
the gravel road to the blacktop. Elmer turned and walked into the
house. He climbed the stairs to his big bedroom on the second floor.
Oatie could hear
the clomp of his granddad’s buckaroo boots and jingling spurs as he
came up the stairs. He didn’t know why, but he immediately popped a
boner. He remembered how hot his grandpa looked coming out of the barn
and the picture in his mind only confirmed his attraction to the big
man. Oatie thought his granddad was about the hottest cowboy he ever
saw. For him, Elmer Breedlove was the epitome of a West Texas hill
country cowboy. He could remember from his earliest days, when he was
only four or five years old, crawling up into the big man’s lap and
feeling Elmer’s big penis swell with joy. When no one was looking, he
would move his small hands around behind him to feel it, pet it gently,
and encourage it to grow some more. It always seemed to respond to his
touch and would get him an extra hug and a stolen kiss from his
grandpa. Oatie wondered if Elmer knew in those early days he was
probably going to grow up to like sex with men.
Oatie was
sitting on his granddad’s huge bed, but stood at parade rest with his
feet apart and his arms locked behind his back before Elmer came into
the
room. He learned that from his many years in the Boy Scouts. He was
assistant troop leader since he was a freshman in high school. His
little brother, who would enter high school in the fall, was also a
member. Oatie wondered how his recent sexual indiscretion would relate
to his continuing with the Scouts. He was only one merit badge away
from Eagle Scout. He did all the work and was approved but not yet
awarded the badge. He wondered if they had a merit badge for butt
fucking; or cock-sucking; or perhaps, memorizing the lyrics to Broadway
show tunes. He thought those might be badges he could wear with
pride.
Elmer took off
his big hat and hooked it on his hat rack next to his bureau. He turned
and walked up to Oatie like a general about to inspect his troops. His
spurs were jingling, and he had a gleam in his eye. “I’m gonna’ ask you
some questions, boy, and I expect nothing but the truth from you --
understand?” he asked firmly like a drill sergeant.
Oatie came to
attention and replied crisply, “Sir! Yes, sir, Bossman!”
Elmer looked for
any sign of insincerity or mockery, but found none. The boy was sincere
and waited patiently for Elmer to continue.
“Are you a man’s
man, boy?” Elmer asked equally firmly.
“Yes, sir,
Bossman, I’m a man’s man, sir,” Oatie replied.
“Did you lie to
your daddy about being your first time with Ramrod Reed?” his grandpa
asked.
“Yes, sir,
Bossman. I lied to my dad to protect Ramrod Reed. We done it lots of
times before, but we never talked about
it. I know in my heart, the ramrod just assumed I was old enough.
I’ve always been big for my age. I’m the biggest kid in high school,”
Oatie replied.
“Did you fall in
love with that cowboy?” Elmer asked.
“Yes, sir. I
did, sir. It would be hard not to love a man as good and understanding
a partner as Perry Reed, Bossman. He also taught me a lot of other
things about being a cowboy, the cowboy way, and ranching,” Oatie
replied.
“Was it true you
seduced Ramrod Reed?” Elmer asked.
“The only thing
I didn’t do was the dance of the seven veils and that’s only ‘cause I’s
one short, Bossman,” Oatie replied.
Elmer didn’t
expect his grandson’s answer and broke his attitude for a minute to
look down at his boots and laugh. “That’s inexcusable, boy! In this
world you gotta’ think on your feet. You could always substitute one a
yore’ bandannas,” he shot back.
“Yes, sir,
Bossman. I’ll keep that in mind, sir,” Oatie grinned but held to his
seriousness.
“Did the ramrod
teach you the necessary hygiene for man sex?” Elmer asked.
“Yes, sir. He
bought me what I needed and taught me how to use it,” Oatie replied.
“Are you clean
now?” Elmer asked.
“I am, sir. H’it
ain’t been that long ago. I got one of Ramrod Reed’s loads up there,
but that’s it,” Oatie replied.
“I thought your
daddy interrupted your homo-coitus,” Elmer said.
“If that means
‘caught-us-fuck’n,’ he did, sir. That’s why we got caught. Ramrod Reed
already done shot a big load up my ass, but I was a piggy. My butthole
has a mind of its own, and it was scream’n for more of that fine
buckaroo’s cock. I insisted Ramrod Reed fuck me again. He was work’n up
a lather doing his best to satisfy me, sir, he was a' slap'n leather
like a pony express rider late wiff' the mail,” Oatie said and shook
his
head in remorse.
“Do you
ejaculate while he’s fuck’n you, boy?” Elmer asked.
“Ever’ damn
time, sir. He never failed to fuck me until I got mine. He said it was
part of the cowboy code, ‘If’n yore’ buddy is generous enough to let
you fuck him in his butt, a good cowboy will make damn sure his partner
shoots his gun,” Oatie said.
“He’s right
about that, Son. That’s one of the most important laws every Western
man should know and practice,” Elmer confirmed. Elmer relaxed and took
his grandson into his arms. Oatie melted and embraced his grandpa. “Is
that little hole of yours still hungry, boy?” he asked.
“It’s always
hungry, Bossman,” Oatie replied.
“Are you ready
to become my boy?” Elmer asked softly and stole a kiss.
“I been your boy
since I’s old enough to walk, grandpa. I sometimes think I was born to
the wrong pa and wish’t to hell I could a’ been your son instead,”
Oatie replied.
“I remember you
sitting in my lap and playing with me when nobody was looking,” Elmer
said.
“I remember. You
never scolded me or told me it t’weren’t the right thing to do. You
just stole kisses and held me tighter,” Oatie said.
“You think that
made you into a man’s man, Son?” Elmer asked.
“Naw, sir, but
my occasional chance to have some small secret physical contact with
you and understanding you enjoyed my touch as much as I enjoyed playing
with you, went a long way to imprinting on me what I felt weren’t
wrong. I understood what we shared was outside the norm, but it was
something mutually rewarding for bowfus,” Oatie said, “It was like
sharing a secret love with another person all these years,” he added.
“It ain’t gotta’
be a secret no more, Son -- at least, between you, me, and a few close
friends,” Elmer said.
“I’d like that,
Grandpa, more’n anything in the world,” Oatie said.
“We gotta’ get a
few things settled between us what’s important,” Elmer said.
“You gonna’ take
yore’ belt to me ‘cause I turned out different, Grandpa?” Oatie asked.
“Oh, hell, no!
Not ‘cause you’s different, boy, but because you didn’t come to me
first when all this shit went down between you and your family; but,
it’s also to set in place our new roles with each other. I’m gonna’ be
your new daddy, your bossman, your ramrod, your head bull, and you’re
gonna’ be my son, my cowboy, and my young calf. I’m gonna’ set my brand
on yore’ butt wiff’ my big black belt to remind you who you belong to
and the seriousness of our commitment to each other; and, whenever I
tell you to do something or I explain how something’s gonna’ be between
us, I don’t want no backtalk, arguments, or disrespect,” Elmer said.
“Sounds fair to
me, Grandpa,” Oatie replied.
Elmer let Oatie
go, walked to his closet, and got out his wide, black leather Western
belt. There was no belt buckle attached. He sat down on a cedar chest
at the foot of his bed which was covered with a warm blanket. He
motioned for Oatie to lay himself out over his knees. Elmer was still
wearing most of his cowboy gear including his heavy bat-wing work chaps
and his spurs still on his buckaroo boots. He noticed Oatie had an
erection before he positioned himself over his chaps. He thought to
himself his grandson was definitely of his linage from the size of the
piece of meat hanging between his legs. He raised his belt and came
down fairly hard across Oatie’s fine young cowboy butt. The boy didn’t
cry out or even flinch. Elmer tried another with the same result. There
was a pregnant silence between them.
“Some’um wrong,
boy?” Elmer asked.
“I’m waiting to
feel the love, Grandpa. Either you’re getting too old, or you don’t
love me very much,” Oatie replied.
“Why you little
ingrate, I’m still young enough to tame the wildest ass, and I got a
shit load of love inside me for you,” Elmer said trying to hold back a
laugh. “You need some love. I’ll show you my love,” he added.
“Show me what
chu’ got, old man,” Oatie egged him on.
Elmer let the
next one come down pretty damn hard but not with all his strength. It
made Oatie squirm just a bit.
“Better, I
almost felt that one,” Oatie gigged him again.
The next hit
with his belt was a strong and sure one. It got a deep groan out of
Oatie but no tears. “I’m beginning to feel the love, Bossman,” he said,
“That’s one,” he added like he was counting for his grandpa.
“One?” Elmer
asked.
“Yeah, them
other two don’t count. They’s jes’ warm-ups,” Oatie declared.
“Okay, count 'em
out, boy,” Elmer said and brought down another onto Oatie’s red butt
cheeks.
“A half a’ cup
of love in number two, Bossman,” Oatie critiqued Elmer’s last effort.
Elmer brought
down two more in quick succession and Oatie really begin to squirm
under him. “Three and four filled the cup, Bossman-- one more and my
cup a’ cowboy cream is gonna’ spill all over you,” he said.
Elmer gave him
another hard hit with his belt and he felt his grandson’s whole body
shake as he shot his load all over his granddad’s chaps and boots.
“Quick, Bossman, another just like that one to get the rest out,” Oatie
hollered and Elmer complied. His body began to spasm again and more
gizz flew from his young cock and went everywhere.
“That’s enough
for this evening, boy. I think we both learned some’um from this little
session,” Elmer said wondering who taught whom a lesson? Oatie didn’t
shed a tear. He was exhausted but in great spirits. Elmer was sure the
boy could probably go another round. He never witnessed such a display
of personal self-control or sexual bravado. ‘Oh, to be young again,’ he
thought.
“Get one a them
hand towels from the bathroom, wet it, wring it out, and come clean me
wiff’ it,” Elmer ordered.
“Yes, sir,
Bossman,” Oatie said eagerly. He returned in less than a minute and
knelt in front of his granddad. He looked Elmer in the eye and grinned.
He set the towel aside and started using his tongue to lick and clean
every inch of his Bossman’s chaps and boots where his come landed. He
was really enjoying himself, and it reminded him how he used to color
pictures as a kid; he never could stay within the lines. His granddad’s
chaps and boots tasted too good, and they were like a grand feast set
before a starving man. Elmer let the boy get his fill, then pulled him
up into his arms, and kissed him deep and hard. When he broke it off he
whispered to Oatie, “You’s one sick puppy, boy. I like that in a
cowboy,” he declared and Oatie roared with laughter.
“You gonna’
scratch my itch for me, Grampa?” Oatie asked with a wicked grin.
“Since we got
the understanding and initiation out of the way, it’s my behold’n duty
to take care of my boy. I think you’ll be pleased to find your new
daddy has enough to scratch your deepest itch, Son,” Elmer said.
Oatie looked at
his granddad’s bed covered in one huge black leather bull hide and
smiled. “Will you fuck me wear’n your boots and chaps, Bossman?” Oatie
asked.
“Will it get me
a longer ride?” Elmer asked.
“Hell, you can
ride me as long as you can stay in my saddle, Bossman,” Oatie
challenged.
Oatie watched as
his granddad slowly undressed, pulled on his boots, and strapped on
his chaps. The young cowboy was more than a little impressed with his
granddad’s size and wondered no more how Elmer got the nickname, the
bull of the hill country. For a man in his early sixties Elmer was a
fine looking man; his body still hard and well defined from
years of hard physical labor on the ranch. His body hair had a salt and
pepper look to it, but that only made him more attractive to his
grandson.
They lay down
together and began to make love. “Go easy with me the first time,
Bossman, and I’ll give you a good ride,” Oatie whispered.
“After that
display of physical stamina and outright sexual defiance to your
bossman a while ago, and you ask for mercy?” Elmer asked with a grin.
“I ain’t seen
your cock then. I wouldn’t a’ been so sure of myself if’n I did. That
damn thing ain’t no penis, it’s a weapon of mass destruction,” Oatie
replied and laughed.
“I’ll take your
request into consideration, cowboy,” Elmer said as he greased up his
huge cock. He took his grandson with love and tenderness. Elmer was so
good at what he did, Oatie wasn’t even aware when the big man bottomed
out inside him.
“Woofff! That
feels s’damn good, Bossman. I’m almost glad my dad found out about me.
I think you can put the rest in now, Ramrod,” Oatie encouraged his
grandpa.
“You’re right
about being a piggy. You done got the all the bull inside you, and
you’s moan’n for more?” Elmer asked.
“I’m sure I died
and went to heaven, sir,” Oatie said respectfully, “I’m your cowboy,
Bossman. Make the best use of me for bowfuss,” he added.
Elmer took him
at his word and treated his grandson to the ride of rides. He was
strong and sure, but gentle and compassionate. By the time Elmer was
ready to shoot his gun, he had Oatie so worked up he was almost in
tears holding back his own ejaculation. When his grandpa growled for
him
to let go, he was going to ride him to the barn, that’s all Oatie
needed to flood the area between them. They climaxed together in one
grand orgasm. They lay hooked together with Elmer making sweet love to
his boy and complimenting him on his partnership. “Since your grandma
passed away, I’ve had fantasies about this moment, breaking you to ma’
saddle,” he said.
“Really,
Bossman. That’s sweet. I guess I must a been read’n yore’ mind. I swear
on the name of some unknown god, I told Ramrod Reed I wanted him to
teach me how to be a good partner for a man ‘cause I had dreams of one
day giving myself to you,” Oatie confessed, “Grandpa, do you think what
we just done is a sin?” Oatie asked.
“Lord, I hope
so. I don’t wanna’ go to hell just for cussing,” Elmer replied and they
held each other laughing.
“I ain’t never
suspected you might do what we just done. Do you consider yourself
bisexual?” Oatie asked.
“Naw, just
sexual -- period. I’m a bull, Son. What do I mean by that? I’m always
on top and in control. J’ever watch a lead bull in a herd? He will run
all the other’s off so’s he can have his choice of cows for himself?”
Elmer asked.
“Yes, sir, I
also seen ‘em try to mount the younger bulls,” Oatie said.
“Yeah, you’re
right. They do that to confuse and keep the younger bulls think’n they
gotta’ be bred just like the cows. That way, they don’t challenge him
for dominance. You ever wonder about the term ‘proven bull’ a rancher
has for sale?” Elmer asked.
“I just thought
it meant he was proven to be fertile,” Oatie replied.
“True, but that
ain’t all. ‘Proven’ means he ain’t no gay bull what’s got used to the
other bulls breeding him and ain’t interested in the ladies,” Elmer
explained.
Oatie laughed,
“I did not know that, Bossman. Good to know. But you only answered part
of my question. I have to believe, from the way you fucked me, you
gotta’ know what you’s doing with a cowboy. I ain’t your first time by
a long shot,” Oatie said.
“You’re right,
Son. Years ago, I was a young draftee. They sent me to boot camp,
shoved a rifle in my arms, and sent me to Vietnam. I was your age and
just graduated high school. I was young and naive. I didn’t know squat
about sex but soon learned the ropes. A lot of men were pairing
together as asshole buddies to get through it. I didn’t at first and
would wait until we come back from being ‘in-country’ and head to the
small towns what sprung up around the military bases. I’d try to buy me
a hooker, a native Vietnamese whore, for a couple of hours, but they
demanded damn near half a month’s pay. I’s only get’n seventy-eight
bucks a month as a raw recruit. I decided right away I couldn’t afford
them, and I was get’n mighty tired of lope’n my old mule. One of my
buddies explained the Benny Boys to me. They were men who dressed
up
like lady whores and bound up their genitals. They would sell their
buttholes for ten bucks. That was more in my price range, so I tried
one, and liked it. Hell, they acted just like a woman, and I even got
to
where I could make love to them while I was fucking them. It sort of
done a number on me about sexuality in general.
“Since you
asked, and I feel you have the right to know, I’m gonna’ tell you a few
things about me our other family don’t know -- or, at least I don’t
think they know. Rumors fly fast and free in a small Texas town, but
they ain’t always correct. Nevertheless, they do their damage if you’s
a sensitive and caring person. A man like me don’t give a shit what
filth them gossip mongers spread and you should adopt that attitude as
well. You’re gonna’ need a strong backbone and a lot of fortitude to
keep from punch’n somebody’s lights out. If you ever hit
somebody, they won -- hands down. You can rip them to shreds with your
tongue, but you don’t never raise a hand in anger. Understand, Son?”
Elmer asked.
“I understand,
Bossman, and I see the merit of your advice. I promise I won’t raise my
hand in anger,” Oatie replied.
“Good. Since you
gonna’ be living with me you need to know some things. Mickey Flynn was
the other soldier I finally settled on to be my mate. I got tired of
them Benny Boys affectations and thought, ‘Hell, I think I’d rather be
fuck’n a real man than one of them cheap female knockoffs.’ Mick knew
I’d been
going with Benny Boys and asked me to partner up with him. He told me
what he wanted from me, and it met my needs; so, I decided to give it a
go. After one night with Mick I was hooked. We stayed together
throughout our time in Nam. He saved my life several times, and I done
the same for him. Have we kept up our relationship after Nam?” Elmer
asked.
“You don’t need
to tell me. From the way Mr. Flynn talks about you and the tears what
come
to his eyes, I know you get together,” Oatie replied.
“You’re right.
We get together about once’t a month and did for a good while after we
got back. Mick ain’t from this area. He was born and raised down around
the big pine area of Southeast Texas, but came back to the hill country
with me 'cause his family owned a ranch near here, the lease was up on
it, and they told him he could live on it and work it for a reduced sum
because he was family. Eventually, they passed away and left it to him.
It’s one of the biggest spreads in the county. We helped each other
over the years and formed a relationship like no other I ever had. I
love Mick Flynn like he was ma’ brother. I’d do anything in the world
for him. He means that much to me.
“We both got
married about the same time, but would still find time to get away
together to share a little love and enjoy each other’s company. Then we
had families and started drifting apart because of other commitments.
We didn’t get to see each other but about twice a year. After your
Grandma Sadie had your Aunt Jessie she decided she didn’t want any more
children and rather than get her tubes tied decided there
weren’t no sense in us having sex no more. She told me sex was
something you do only when you’s gonna’ have kids. The rest of the time
it’s lustful, dirty, and sinful. I told her she might as well cut ma’
balls off. She didn’t like that very much, but I could tell the idea
appealed to her. I even thought about divorcing her, but decided to
stay together for the sake of the kids.
“After that, we
grew apart, and I’m afraid I become bitter. We hardly spoke to one
another for a couple of years. I stopped going to her church in
defiance and told her I’d only go to church when she started putting
out again -- what I saw as her duty as my wife. She didn’t bother to
read them parts of the bible what says women should subjugate
themselves to
their husbands. She passed them off as not applying to her. It was then
I began to see the light of reason. There were many situations in life
the church, bible, or some ignorant preacher didn’t have a clue about,
and many times their beliefs were in direct contradiction to what I
reasoned
as natural and acceptable behavior. Then, if you showed them how they
should be acting in the words of their own holy script, they would
claim that didn’t apply to modern man. That sure didn’t stop them from
hating gay people and denying them equal rights because of a couple of
scriptures condemning their behavior as unacceptable and sinful.
“That’s when I
began to hear talk about one of my Grange buddies Daws Butler Daniels
spending one e’nin a month with the young church organist of the
Methodist church; the biggest church in town. I found out through the
husband of the church secretary Mr. Daniels was supplementing the
organist’s salary and taking him a cheque once’t a month. My suspicious
mind got to cogitate’n, why would he need to visit the man when he
could just mail him a cheque? When I inquired, I was told he took him
produce from their garden, and fresh beef, pork, and venison when they
slaughtered animals
on the ranch. I was still suspicious. So, I got
myself cleaned up one Sunday morning and put on ma’ Sunday-go-to-meet’n
clothes. Sadie asked me what I was doing. I told her I was going to the
Methodist church. I was think’n on joining. She asked if she could go
with me, and I agreed.
"She was going to the fundamentalist Baptist
church in town, but she decided the Methodist church would be all
right. They were in between the Baptist and the Catholics. She would go
with me three Sundays a month, but would go alone to her Baptist church
one Sunday. She thought I should go with her, but I told her I could be
as strong willed and stubborn as she could be; she should be grateful
I’s even going to church a’ tall,” Elmer said in disgust. “Truth was, I
weren’t going to church for anybody but myself, and it shore’ weren’t
to have my soul saved. Well, maybe it was in a way. I had me a gut
feel’n the fine looking young man what was their organist was a man’s
man and Daws Daniels, for whatever reason, was get’n himself some good
hot man sex on the side,” Elmer said and roared with laugher. He got
Oatie
laughing with him.
“Gosh, Grandpa,
some day I want to do two things: write a book about your life and have
your baby,” Oatie said. He got Elmer laughing again.
“After about six
months, I joined the church, and afterward I was talking with Mr.
Daniels and his lovely wife when they invited me to their ranch for
Sunday dinner with them and their family. It was the Sunday Sadie went
to her Baptist church so I didn’t see no reason not to accept their
gracious invitation. Little did I know at the time, they considered the
church organist, Vox Humana, as part of their family,” Elmer said and
rolled his eyes. He started Oatie on another round of laughter.
“I called Sadie
and told her not to hold dinner for me, I had an invitation to
have dinner with a family what were members of the church. I joined
their church that morning and they asked me to share Sunday dinner with
them. She
weren’t too happy about it, but then we were pretty much living
separately sharing the same house. We slept in separate bedrooms. Well,
sir, it couldn’t have been a more perfect day. After a delicious meal,
Mrs. Daniels played the organ for us and then Mr. Humana played for the
folks they invited to dinner. I did ever’thing I could to get Mr.
Humana’s attention. I guess I was being obvious. Daws Daniels walked up
to me, handed me another drink, and grinned like a Cheshire cat. “Mr.
Humana is a very talented young man,” he said like a hunter setting the
spring for a trap.
“He is a very
talented young man. His playing impressed the shit out a' me, but that
ain't all what impressed me about him. He stirs something
deep within me, brother,” I replied.
“What stirs you
the most, cowboy, his firm luscious lips, what look like they could rap
themselves around a cowboy’s cock and suck him 'til his head caved in,
or his tight little butt what looks like two bob cats fighting in a
burlap
sack when he walks, what would make the biggest bull’s penis weep for
joy at the sight?” Daniels asked.
“I couldn’t
answer. I doubled over with laughter. Daws put his hand on my shoulder
and shared a laugh with me. ‘Both!’ I managed to get out. ‘God help me,
and with your blessing, I would certainly be willing to contribute
support and bring comfort to such a fine musician one e’nin a month,” I
told Mr. Daniels. We fell together laughing again. One thing led to
another, and by the end of the evening, I had a firm date to take Vox
to
dinner the second Friday of the month. I was nervous as a cat on coffee
our first date, but he was nothing but gracious and charming. We went
back to his place and got comfortable. I spent most of the evening with
him. It was well worth the small sum I contribute to his income, and I
certainly have never looked upon Mr. Humana as a whore. His is my
friend and close companion. I love him very much. I would do anything
in the world for him. So you need to know, I will be with him the
second Friday of every month,” Elmer said.
“Fine wiff’ me,
Bossman. To be honest, I’m glad you got somebody you see regularly. Do
you see Mr. Flynn more these days?” Oatie asked.
“I do. Since his
kids are grown and his wife passed away, he’s been lonely, and we get
together about once’t a month and go fishing, hunting, or he comes over
here and stays an e’nin wiff’ me. He won’t get in our way,” Elmer said
responding to the look on Oatie’s face.
“I ain’t worried
about it none. I just feel damn lucky to become a bigger part of your
life, Grandpa, and your stories make me more proud of you than ever.
You are a man among men, Grandpa. You are a bull, and you can mount me
anytime you feel the urge,” Oatie said.
“Oh, God, don’t
tell me that. You may get fucked in the middle of a field at high noon
some day,” Elmer said and laughed.
“So be it! I’ll
be ready,” Oatie assured him.
And so it went.
Elmer and Otie returned to his daddy’s ranch and got the rest of
Oatie’s things. He just walked off and left his desktop computer, but
copied everything of any importance to his laptop. They got all his
things and loaded them into his granddad’s pickup truck. There were a
few choice words spoken, but Oatie’s dad pretty much kept his mouth
shut around his dad. Oatie’s religiously crazed mother tried to start
in on him, but Elmer shut her up pretty damn quick. He told her to
shove
her false religion up her butt and get back in the kitchen where she
belonged. The hatred and rancor didn’t stop there. Oatie’s mother
Janice was a harridan of the first magnitude and did everything in her
power to blacklist and
cast aspersions upon her own son and his granddad.
Oatie finished
his last year in high school with many hurdles and complications from
his good Christianist family. They refused to let his little brother
play on the high school varsity because his homo brother was captain of
the team. They wrote letters to the school and coach about their
homosexual son who shouldn’t be allowed to play on the team let alone
represent their town. Neither the principal nor the coach gave a shit
about whether Oatie Breedlove was gay or not. He was a top notch
student who was captain of their football team and led his team to win
the State Championship for their division three years in a row. They
were looking forward to a fourth. In a small Texas town, Friday night
football
is king, and the coach saw another year of being State Champions as his
ticket to the bigger schools and more money. He wasn’t about to deny
Oatie playing and became very protective of him.
Janice and her
evil spawn came to the home games with big cardboard signs which read:
“Repent Homo! Jesus Saves!” It got so bad the town called Oatie’s dad,
Pete, into a meeting and told him they wanted his family to either tone
it down or don’t come to the games anymore. Janice was incensed and
wanted to sue the county for religious persecution and denying them
their right to freedom of
speech, but fortunately her husband, Pete,
was a little cooler head, and was beginning to get tired of his wife’s
bat-shit crazy routine and infecting his kids in the same manner.
Through it all, Oatie and Elmer kept their heads high and the more
Oatie achieved and awards he won, the angrier his mother became. She,
of course, was fueled and fed more hate by Clarence Womack, who was
behind her a hundred percent.
Janice even went so far as to have a ceremony on the town square to
cast out the homosexual demon from their family. They billed it as
casting out and denying any relationship with their former son, Otis
Elmer Breedlove, the second. Clarence Womack was the ring leader and
foamed at the mouth while spewing forth his religious bile over a boom
box. Many came out of curiosity but soon left in disgust. Clarence
Womack and Janice Breedlove did more to encourage tolerance than
they won over to their side. There were so many complaints from the
town folks the sheriff shut Janice and Womack down. They cried
he was trying to suppress their freedom of speech and were persecuting
them for their religion. He told them they were welcome to practice
their religion at their church and voice their opinions there, but not
on the public square. He had to draw a line between church and state,
and they lost. Oatie received several cards and letters from the
community
saying they neither agreed with Janice and the preacher nor did they
approve of his lifestyle, but he should have the right to live his life
like he wanted.
Much to his family’s dismay, Oatie
survived swimmingly. His granddad became his defender and strong right
arm. Sometimes the hatred would get to him and Oatie would start to
withdraw into himself. Every time he looked like he was about to fold
up like a telescope or have an
attack of the screaming green meanies, his bossman would yank him up by
the short hairs, take his belt
to him, and fuck him 'til his eyeballs spun in opposite directions.
Once
Elmer, the bull of the hill country, got through with him, nothing
could touch Oatie. Once he got another intense, super charged, Texas
size dose of his granddad's heavy duty cowboy loving, it would
inspire him to greater heights to gain his granddad's, his bossman's
approval and affection than he ever experienced with his parents. For a
while, Oatie would be immune to the worry and strife his family was
heaping on him, striving to break him to their will.
Oatie did get
his Eagle Scout badge and was unanimously voted into the Order of the
Arrow. His mother wrote a horrible letter to the Boy Scouts telling
them not to award her homosexual son the honor of Eagle Scout. They
returned her letter telling her she was too late. His last merit badge
had been approved and along with it the award of Eagle Scout. Janice
Breedlove was livid. She was inspired to new heights of mean spirited
madness when she made her kids wear T shirts with her to the football
awards dinner which read, “Homo’s Go To Hell!” The local sheriff came
and made her and the kids leave. Elmer finally talked some sense into
his son and Pete was there to support Oatie. He had it with Janice and
told her to shape up or ship out. He was tired of her meanness. It only
made Janice more furious and she redoubled her efforts to destroy her
homo
son.
Elmer saw Oatie
through four years of college and three years of medical school to
become
a Doctor of Veterinarian Science; however, Oatie's undergraduate degree
didn't cost either of them a dime. Oatie was so strong a quarterback on
his high school team, scouts from all the major universities were at
every game his team played his senior year. He had offers from a dozen
or more schools,
but the best offer was from the University of Texas at Austin.
They paid for everything including a yearly salary and a brand new
vehicle of his choice. Oatie graduated Valedictorian of his high school
class which went a long way to convincing the scouts he would be around
for four years. Every year more awards and honors were given to Oatie.
Elmer was his biggest fan. The more Oatie achieved, the more Janice
railed against him. Her family was beginning to tire of her antics and
started to withdraw from her.
Oatie led the U.T. team to four Southwest Conference championships
while maintaining a sterling four-point-oh grade average. They played
in the Rose Bowl and won all four years against the best teams in the
nation. Oatie won the Heisman trophy two years in a row and gave them
to his granddad. Pete was devastated and withdrew into himself for
months. Having a son as talented as Oatie is every man's dream, but he
turned his back on a potential treasure which could have handly
supported his sense of self-worth in his later years. He began to
wonder if his wife's view
of a hearafter and heaven was worth it? He felt cheated he couldn't
brag about his boy, and his resentment for Janice grew stronger by the
day. Everyone in the community saw what was happening. Pete Breedlove
was a defeated man who was being castrated by a harridan who ignored
her husband and made a pact with a devil; a mean
sprited little fundamentalist preacher who saw evil in everything but
his own shadow. No one was surprised when Pete stopped going to church
with Janice and the kids. They made excuses for
him, but everyone knew.
Oatie
graduated Valedictorian of his class at U.T. and was outrageously
popular with the student body. They knew the persecution he went
through in his home town and gave him a standing ovation after he
finished his speech. Half of the county was there sitting with his
granddad. His former family did not attend. By that time, Oatie didn't
give a shit. His main man was sitting there beaming with pride. Pete
and Janice had great hopes for Oatie's younger brother, Stan, but he
didn't have the talent Oatie did and barely graduated high school.
Oatie got a Christmas card from Stan his junior year at U.T. It was
simple but contained a small note: Dear Oatie, my heart is heavy. I's
so damn proud of you, but I'm
also a coward. Go all the way for both of us, bro. All my love, Stan.
Oatie cried when he read
it.
Med school was two years, but Oatie went an extra year to add ‘Slave
Doctor’ to his title as privately owned slaves were becoming more
common and owners didn’t want to spend huge sums for medical care.
While he didn’t make the money a regular M.D. might, he was as fully
qualified and did well for himself. Immediately, upon completion
of his final medical degree, when he returned home to the ranch, his
draft notice was waiting for him. He spent another two years as a
Captain in the Medical Corp. One year in the Middle East patching up
wounded men and another year at a medical center in Del Rio, Texas. He
traveled home every other weekend and holidays to be with his
granddad. He sent every other paycheck to his granddad to pay him back
for supporting him while in Medical school. Elmer didn’t take a dime of
it, and put the money
in a joint account under both names.
After his
military service,
Oatie returned to the small town to practice. He quickly gained a good
reputation, and he was in great demand. He was busier than a cat
covering up shit. He worked those years living with his granddad. He
paid Elmer back every penny he spent on his education beyond his
undergraduate degree and bought him a
brand new truck for his birthday. They spent a number of happy years
together. He renewed his friendship with Perry Reed and would go out to
the ranch where he was working to take care of the animal’s medical
needs for him. Ramrod Reed was working for a wealthy rancher who was
absent most of the time and only came to the ranch one weekend a month,
holidays, and to hunt during deer season. Perry was doing well and
happy to see Oatie again. They spent several evenings together and
Perry would laugh at Oatie, who was at that time almost thirty years
old, calling his granddad to ask his permission to stay the night with
Ramrod Reed.
“You don’t
understand, Mr. Reed, when my dad kicked me out, my granddad took me
in,
but under his terms. I became his boy and readily agreed to his
demands.
There are no gray areas when you live with the bull of the hill
country. He’s strict and stern, but loving and generous to a fault.
What more could you want in a dad or a master? I ain’t sorry for a
minute I agreed to do it. I don’t do nothing I don’t run by my bossman
first. In all these years he ain’t never given me wrong advice,” Oatie
said.
Perry Reed and
Oatie became good friends and spent a lot of time with each other over
the years. Oatie helped Perry when he could and Perry never failed to
be there when Oatie needed him.
Being the only
reliable Veterinarian within a hundred miles, his dad, Pete, would have
to call on him from time to time for his services. They never talked
about anything but the animals and ranching. Nothing personal was
discussed. Oatie came to look on Elmer as his daddy and never called
Pete ‘dad’ again. He was respectful and called him Mr. Breedlove. When
Pete slipped one time and called Oatie ‘son’ the young cowboy
immediately, but respectfully, asked him not to call him that.
He didn’t consider himself Pete nor Janice Breedlove’s son anymore. He
belonged to his granddad. It broke Pete's heart, but he knew Oatie was
sincere. He meant it. He also knew Oatie had a right to demand it of
him.
When he went out
on a call to his old home, Janice never once dained to come out of the
house or invite him in. Her rejection said to Oatie he was a non-person
unworthy of her attention or hospitality. Times and money got tighter.
Oatie billed his dad the same rate he charged everyone else. The bills
went unpaid and piled up for months, but Pete would still call him to
come out to take care of another animal. Interest and late fees were
added like any other bill which wasn’t paid in a timely manner. Oatie
never said anything to his dad about the unpaid bills for fear of
appearing disrespectful and putting him in a bad position. He didn’t
know what Pete’s financial situation was. Oatie discussed
it with Elmer and told him he would do as his granddad suggested,
“After all,” he said, “I don’t care how high I climb, you’ll always be
my bull, my bossman,” he said to his granddad.
“I have a
feeling Pete don’t know these bills ain’t been paid, and I don’t think
it’s your or my responsibility to tell him. He’s made his bed. He
turned his back on you and ultimately on me as well. Let him hash this
out with his wife. I’ll bet you a dollar she’s sit’n on them
invoices gambling you won’t do nothing about it because they’s family.
If’n you don’t do something about it, you’ll have to deal with the
bull, he’ll lay you over his knee, but it won’t be for fun and games,
boy,” Elmer said sternly, smiled, and winked at his grandson.
“I hate to do
it, Bossman,” Oatie lamented.
“I know, but
unless you do, you’re validating your mother’s right to treat you the
way she did. If you was in the same position, she wouldn't hesitate to
pull the trigger to put you out of yore' misery. She'd have no remorse
shooting you like a dog with rabies. You may not want to remember it,
but I’m here to remember
it for bowfus. I’m get’n old, but there ain’t a damn thing wrong wiff’
my memory. Do it, Son, for you, me, Vox, Mick, and many other men who
don’t choose to live their lives like Janice Breedlove thinks they
should because it says so in her damn bible,” Elmer said firmly.
Oatie would
never question his granddad. He filed the papers with the sheriff and
county clerk’s office the next day and the county started the procedure
to foreclose on the Breedlove ranch for unpaid Veterinary bills. Oatie
knew his dad could never raise the amount of money he owed his son. It
was over nine months of bills running into thousands of dollars. When
the sheriff and his deputy delivered the writ of foreclosure to Pete he
turned white as a sheet. “There must be something wrong. We done paid
these bills. My boy is our Vet, and he wouldn’t do something like this
to us. My wife takes care of all our finances. I’m sure she’s got the
canceled checks for all this,” Pete said in panic mode. “Give me a
minute to talk with her,” Pete excused himself and went into the house.
He found Janice in the kitchen on the phone to one of her girlfriends
with a cigarette in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other.
“Hang up the
goddamn phone, Janice. We gotta’ talk,” Pete said.
“Just a minute!
About what?” she said refusing to hang up the phone. Pete grabbed it
out of her hand, slammed it to the floor, and stomped it with his boot
heel.
“Janice! The
sheriff is here with an order to pay Oatie thirty-eight thousand
dollars for overdue Vet bills,” he yelled at her.
“Yeah! So?” she
exclaimed.
“Where are the
canceled checks? I need to show the sheriff we done already paid him to
keep them from placing a lean on our ranch, slapping locks on the house
and front gate, and foreclosing,” Pete demanded.
“There ain’t no
canceled checks. Oatie’s our son. We don’t have to pay that homo
nothing. He’s lucky we even allow him on our property,” Janice spat
back at him in anger.
“What the the
fuck do you mean there ain’t no canceled checks? You didn’t pay him?
This couldn’t be a mistake. There’s nine months of unpaid bills in this
file, Janice. What the hell were you thinking?” Pete yelled at her.
“He’s bluffing.
He won’t really foreclose. He should be paying us. He owes me that much
money and more just for giving birth to that damn pervert,” she yelled
back at her husband. "It ain't my fault he turned out to be a
cocksuck'n butt fuck'n faggot," she added.
“Yeah, well
money talks and bullshit walks, Janice. Unless we come up with the
money, that ‘damn pervert’ as you call our son is going to own our
ranch, and we’ll either be at his mercy, or be out of a place to live,
you fuck'n moron!” Pete yelled back at her.
“I don’t know
what you’re so worried about. He ain’t got the balls to put his mother
and father and two sisters out on the streets,” she said putting her
cigarette out.
“Maybe not, but
him and my daddy is so tight you couldn’t drive a railroad wedge
between them, and Elmer’s got a huge set of balls. He’s got enough for
both of them. When Elmer says jump, Oatie asks how high? Oatie never
said nothing to me about no overdue bills. I know him. He didn’t want
to cause hurt feelings between us or embarrass me. He’s still got a
shred of hope for me. Elmer figured out what you were doing and forced
your hand. He controls Oatie like a sock puppet. Nevertheless, I gotta’
say, I admire and envy their relationship. Oatie has become Elmer’s
son. I wish’t I’d listen more to my daddy and less to my momma. I
wouldn’t have you to put up with. Oatie ain’t your or my boy no more.
He ain’t been for a good while. Look what your hate has done to us,
Janice. Our youngest boy left home after high school, and we ain’t
heard from him since. He didn't even say 'goodbye.' I know in my heart
you drove him away with your
crazy religious bullshit. You’re doing the same with our daughters.
I’ve
had it with you. We’re done. Our marriage was over a long time ago, but
I been too damn dumb to see it. It was over the day you insisted I kick
Oatie out for doing something most ever cowboy's done tried at least
once't in his life; including me. My daddy told me from the start I was
marrying beneath my station in life, and he was right. You ain’t the
kind of people what I come from,” Pete said like a broken man.
“Yeah, well, you
weren’t no prize when I hooked up with you, neither. You can’t get
along
without me, Pete. I take care of you like a little boy,” Janice said in
anger.
“Yeah, maybe
you're right, but like your other little boys, I’m leaving the nest,
momma bird, I’m gonna’ learn to fly, and I ain’t coming back,” Pete
said quietly.
Peter Bromilow
Breedlove was named after his mother’s father. Elmer always held a
secret grudge against his wife because he wanted to name his first born
after himself. He hated his wife’s dad who told her Otis Elmer
Breedlove was a rounder and a no account cowboy who would never amount
to much in life. To make up for it, his first born son, Pete, named his
first born son after his dad. Good thing. The older Oatie got, the more
he looked and acted like his granddad, and they were always pleased
when someone mistook them for father and son. Pete was given three days
to raise the money or he and his family would be evicted. There simply
was no way he could raise the money in that short period of time.
He even went to
his dad, whom he knew had the money, and begged him for a loan against
any inheritance Elmer might have in mind to give Pete when he died.
Elmer laughed at him. “When you disowned my namesake, you disowned me,
Son,” Elmer said, “I immediately went to a lawyer and had my will
changed. Oatie is my sole benefactor and this property and everything
on it is in joint tenancy in a living will with right of survivorship.
Upon my death, it automatically becomes Oatie’s with no tax burden for
him. So you and your sister can’t contest it, I’m leaving you both five
thousand dollars already set aside. If you so much as contest my
decision, you get one dollar, and will be out legal fees,” Elmer
explained.
“Do you think it
would do any good for me to talk with Oatie, Dad?” Pete asked.
“No, Oatie
become my boy when you didn’t want him no more, Pete. He was the finest
of your spawn, the pick of the litter, and you let that bat-shit crazy
ultra-right wing Jesus freak of a bitch try to ruin him. She made you
throw him out for the same things you done with Snuffy Ragweed. You
didn't think I knew about that, did you? I knew you and old Snuffy was
cornhole'n each other. And h'it t'weren't just once, neither. I caught
'chall half a dozen times make'n the beast wiff' two backs. Talk about
hypocrites. You turned your back on your son for doing the same damn
thing you done as a kid. I never turned my back on you for it. I never
even said nothing to you about it. I done figured you'd outgrow it or
you
wouldn't. Sometimes I wish't you and old Snuffy would a' hooked up
together rather than marry Janice, but then, I wouldn't have Oatie for
a grandson. For Oatie to forgive your
debt to him would be letting Janice win, and I ain’t about to let that
happen.
"She gambled everything on her stupid faith and lost. I think
she truly believed Jesus his’self would make sure nothing happened. He
didn’t, and now you’re facing being kicked out of your home you worked
hard
for all these years. You better ask yourself some serious questions
about you and her, Son. To be honest, Oatie wanted to help you if you
would apologize to him and leave Janice, but I told him ‘no.’ You had
all these years to make an effort to repair something between you and
you never so
much as sent him a Christmas card. Now, it’s too late for that; too
much water under the bridge. I’m sorry, Son, but you turned your back
on me as well when you kicked Oatie out. It would seem your other boy
done the
same to you and Janice. Ya’ll ain’t got the best track record when it
comes to raising kids. I suspect your girls will do the same. You’re
already having problems with them.
"I know you think your old man's stupid and don't know shit about
nothing, but I do know a few things. I
knew after you and Janice got married, you and Snuffy still went fish'n
and hunt'n together a couple of times a month. Funny, old Snuffy never
got
married. Why do you think that was, Pete? Then when Janice got bit by
the terminal Jesus bug, and ya'll
started going to that fat ass little preacher's church, you cut off
your friendship with Snuffy. Cold turkey. He started drink'n heavy and
within a year
he was dead. You cut him off. You stopped sharing your love with him.
He was
in love with you, and you turned your back on your buddy you grew up
with. You got a lot more to answer for than just your betrayal of your
first born son, Pete," Elmer said firmly.
"You just don't know what it's like," Pete lamented.
"The hell I don't. What do you think Mick Flynn and I was doing all
them years we went hunt'n and fish'n together? We met in Vietnam and he
asked to become my boy. He took care of me sexually and never said 'no'
to me when I needed him. I wouldn't a' made it through Nam without
Mickey Flynn. I invited him to come live in the area when we returned.
We decided we wanted families, but we still shared love with each other
all these years and still do. I would never think of cutting him off. I
love him and cherish our friendship. If I have my way about it, I'll
have my old bull prick sunk up his sweet ass as far as I can get it
when he takes his last breath," Elmer allowed.
The light of truth finally came to Pete. "That's why you never had a
moment's problem with Oatie. Why ain't you never shared none of this
before now? Why didn't you take me aside and talk with me when you saw
what I was doing to Snuffy? Why didn't you tell me all this when I
kicked Oatie out? You got to be as much to blame as me. Now I
understand what he really meant when Oatie told me he become your boy;
just like Mick Flynn become your boy. You're fucking him. He's getting
all he needs from his granddaddy. I always wondered why he chose to
come back to the hill country when he could be making much more money
in a more populated area. No wonder he could grow and excel
like he done after we rejected him and everything Janice and I put him
through. He had a solid rock to lean on; the legendary bull of the hill
country," Pete said angrily.
"I guess it's a question every parent asks himself after his kids are
grown, Son. Why didn't I sit you down and tell you what you and Snuffy
were doing t'weren't nothing to worry about, but if'n you decided to go
your own way have the decency to slowly break if off and not shit-can
him like you done? Some men are more fragile than others. I won't
accept your accusation of blame, Son. Not for a goddamn minute. How
many times did I preach to you to not get involved with that
fundamentalist bullshit and not to be mean spirited to your fellow man?
Remember the time I busted yore' butt for bullying the Crawford boy
whose only fault was being a bit small and shy? Once you turned
eighteen, you let me know you didn't want my advice no more, so I
stopped. I still gave you my opinions. Didn't I tell you not to marry
that woman? Your momma loved her because she talked the same Jesus shit
she did. Didn't I tell you she weren't no damn good, and she weren't
our class of country folks?" Elmer asked.
"Yeah, Dad, you did. I just hurt so bad, I guess I'm just looking for
someone
else to blame. I didn't have to go along with Janice's bullshit. I
finally stopped. You
never went along with mom's industrial strength religious views. You
always told me to take religion with a grain of salt. I developed some
scepticism from your example, but obviously, not enough," Pete
conceded.
"If'n it's some small consolation, Oatie wanted to extend your time to
get the money to thirty days, but I said 'no.' I reminded him you
didn't offer him more time when you told him to be out by sundown,"
Elmer said without
nuance.
Pete hung his head. He knew in his heart, Elmer's words were true. Pete
knew there was no hope. The ax fell and
Pete lost everything. He probably could have raised the money by
selling his ranch equipment and what livestock he had on hand, but when
word gets out, a quick sale is to avoid foreclosure, folks are looking
to pay the
least they can because of someone else’s misfortune. Janice and the
girls moved into a section eight two bedroom apartment and Pete moved
into a rundown, low-rent trailer a buddy of his owned to clean it up
and
keep the weeds mowed. The ranch was signed over to Oatie and Elmer
Breedlove. Elmer immediately got on the phone and made Perry Reed an
offer he couldn’t refuse. Elmer and Oatie would own the ranch but would
take Perry on as a third partner to share equally in any profits and/or
expenses if he would run the ranch and hire several cowboys. Elmer and
Oatie would absorb all cost for the first three years until they began
to realize a profit. Perry
jumped at the chance.
* * * * * * *
Oatie awoke from
his sleep, and while lying there drinking in his granddad’s essence, he
had a thought: ‘To hell with this. I want to hold my old man in my
arms.
I’m going to go get him for the weekend.’ But for that, he knew he
needed help, and he didn’t want to ask Jethro to go with him. He took
his cell phone and punched Perry Reed’s number.
End of Chapter
30 ~ Him Who Made The Seven Stars
Copyright ~
© ~ 2012 ~ Waddie Greywolf
All Rights
Reserved ~
E-mail to:
waddiebear@yahoo.com
10/21/2012
WC = 13638