Date: Wed, 15 Jun 2022 08:25:29 +0200 From: Sarcastic Sword Subject: Of Dogs And Young Men Part 24 Of Dogs And Young Men Part 24 I've finally got back to writing after a long hiatus. I've been struggling with sever diabetes, depression and anxiety. I've got more details at the end of the story if you want them. I hope you are enjoying my work. If you like it let me know at sarcasticsword@mail.com. It always helps to have some feedback. That's the only payment most of us writers on this site receive. Speaking of payment, if you are able to help support Nifty.org please donate what you can. Of Dogs And Young Men Part 24 We again won Best of Breed with all of the specials, so we had to show in five groups which meant I had to ferry dogs down to Mr. Hackenberg and take the ones that were done back to the rig. Khan and Titan again won their groups and all of the others placed. He had one of his handler friends take Titan back in for Best In Show while he of course handled Khan. I didn't know who the big winning dogs were yet, but the Standard Poodle that had won Best In Show yesterday was back in against us. That had me worried. Khan was at the front of the line, but only because he was the biggest mover. I watched outside the ring as the judge put them through their paces. After he had given every one of them their turn he had them all lined up as he stood at the other side of the ring and gave them one last look. He had the big red, whit and blue Best In Show rosette in his hand as he sent them around the ring once more. As they came to their starting point the judge pointed at Mr. Hackenberg and said, "You'll be my Best In Show today." All of the other handlers came over to Mr. Hackenberg and congratulated him. As he left the ring I ran over to him and hugged him. "You looked great Sir." I said. I would guess everyone around could see how much I idolized him. "Run a comb through your hair and come in the ring with me while we get some pictures. This is one of the biggest shows of the year so I'll be advertising the hell out of it. It will be a great way to get you exposure as my new apprentice." He said to me. "In fact let me do it." I handed him my comb and he ran it through my hair. Then we walked over to the area where they were doing the photography. There were flowers and other spring time decorations and of course the sign which had now been switched to Best In Show. To my surprise there were a couple of other people getting ready to get into the photo. "The Show Chairman and the Kennel Club President are going to be in the picture, along with the Judge. You can just stand behind me off of my left shoulder. Just be sure to smile." He told me. Then he said to the others. "I'd like you to meet Terrance, he's my new apprentice." They all introduced themselves, but there names just went through my head. I'd met too many people this weekend for the names to really register. We got several pictures with several poses. Some with Khan stacked and a couple candids with him sitting in front of us with Mr. Hackenberg and I holding the huge rosette behind him. We headed back to the rig. We exercised all the dogs and loaded everything into the Motor Home. Mr. Hackenberg had packing up down to a science. As I found out everything had its own place, it was very organized. "If we would have won Best In Show yesterday we would have had a big celebration, but everyone is wanting to head back home. Most of us have a long drive ahead of us. We'll find a nice restaurant on the way to eat at." He said as we pulled out of the parking area. We got onto I-65 N and he put the rig into cruise control. The ride was so smooth. "So what did you think of the dog show experience?" He asked. "I had a great time but it was a little overwhelming. I hope I can learn all of the ins and outs of it." "Do you think you want to be my apprentice?" He asked. "Yes Sir. I think I can learn to do this." "I'm sure you can, you did great for your first weekend. You should finish Caesar in the next couple of shows, depending on how many points they are. Between how good of a dog Caesar is, how well you are showing him and the fact that you're my apprentice, there's not much out there that is going to beat him. I thought about it more and realized that I really enjoyed the shows, but even more I enjoyed being with Mr. Hackenberg. He didn't treat me like a little boy, he treated me like an adult and it was obvious that he liked me. Not just as a potential sex object but he seemed to really care about me. We spent the next hour talking about how I was doing in school and the other things going on in my life. He seemed impressed that I was a straight A student. The time passed quickly and to my surprise he pulled off at an exit. Then he pulled into the parking lot of Mama Carolla's Old Italian Restaurant. As we walked up to the door he said, "This is a really good restaurant. I think you'll really like it." It was a Sunday evening so it wasn't as busy as a Friday night. We were able to get in right away. We were seated at a romantic little table for two with a red and white checkered tablecloth and candles on it. The waiter came over and handed us menus. "Would you like a wine list Sir." He asked Mr. Hackenberg. "No thank you. I've got to drive all the way to Sheboygan tonight. We'll just have a couple of cokes while we decide on what to eat. Bring us some Fried Calamari as an appetizer." He headed off to get our drinks. "What's calamari Sir?" I asked. "I'm not sure I should tell you before you try it." He said with a grin. "Why? I'm not squeamish? We hunt and fish and eat all kinds of things at our house. Well Lynn doesn't always eat everything." I said with a bit of a grin. "It's squid. Not the tentacles although some places serve them too. They just cut the tubes into rings here. But it's really good." He said. I started to look through the menu and got sticker shock. I wasn't used to eating at fancy places. We weren't poor but my parents were frugal. Nothing we ever got at a restaurant was more than ten dollars. Most of the stuff here was twenty to thirty dollars. It seemed that he could read my mind because just then he said, "Get whatever you want. Don't worry about the price. We're going to eat at a lot more expensive places than this." That made me think about how he said his budget for the year was twenty-five million dollars. My mind couldn't really comprehend that much money. I did the calculation in my head and was shocked to figure out that he could spend $2,854 per hour, every hour. He could spend more each day than my family made for a year. And that wasn't even counting what his clients paid him to show their dogs. No matter how I tried to think of it, it still just seemed like monopoly money to me. The waiter came back with the cokes and calamari, and took our orders. I decided to get the "Pasta Too Good" and he got the Alfredo with Shrimp. The waiter took our orders back to the kitchen and Mr. Hackenberg said, "Put some of the calamari rings on a plate." He handed me one of the small plates that they brought out with the order and one of the two small bowls of pesto aioli which were for dipping. I shoveled some of the rings onto the plate and looked them over. It looked like they were breaded with Italian bread crumbs and then deep fried. I put a fork through one of them, dipped it into the sauce and bit into it. This is really good Sir!" I exclaimed. I speared another and shoved it into my mouth. "I'm glad you like it. They make some of the best calamari I've ever had. One good thing about traveling with me is you'll get to experience some of the finer things in life." He said with a grin. I thought about it and realized that my mind was wandering into the gutter. I couldn't think of anything finer in life than him making love to me. That would be better than anything money could buy. Then I blushed. He smiled and I wondered if he knew what I was thinking. We had barely finished the appetizer when the waiter brought out our entrees. Mine was like the menu said it was, "sauteed chicken and shrimp tossed with penne pasta, broccoli, tomatoes and garlic...SPICY!" It was amazing! Even though we had blunted our appetites with the appetizer, I was having to make a conscious effort to slow down and savor it. Everything was done to perfection, the product of a real Chef, not just a run of the mill food preparer. "Well how do you like it Terrence?" "It's amazing Sir. We usually only eat at chain restaurants." I replied. "If I'm in a hurry I'll get fast food so I can be on my way. But if I'm going to get a sit down meal, I always get something from a 5 star restaurant. The food is better and it's usually even faster because the price weeds out a lot of the people." We talked about the shows and he quizzed me on some of the procedure of the show and how you win points on your class dogs and a few other things. I was picking it up pretty quickly. When we had finished our entrees the waiter came up and took our desert orders. We usually didn't get desert. Father felt that was just an extra expense that our family of five didn't need to indulge in. Mr. Hackenberg ordered the Tiramisu and I got the Chocolate Turtle Cheesecake. It was decadent. It ended up being just the right amount. When I was finished I was satisfied but not overly full. "Thank you for the wonderful dinner Sir!" I said as we exited the restaurant. "I'm glad you have manners enough to say thank you. I expect you to thank me for the things you receive, not because I need thanked, but because that is part of your training. I expect my apprentices to be perfect gentlemen. Not for my benefit, but for yours. You will be hobnobbing with plenty of movers and shakers on the dog show circuit and I want them to think highly of you. Do you understand?" "Yes Sir. My parents have always taught us to be polite and grateful." "Well they've done a good job. I think I've made a good choice in my apprentice." "Thank you Sir." I said blushing again. I was hoping I'd eventually get a better way to thank him. We got back in the rig and got back onto the highway. "We're going to be pulling into Sheboygan pretty late. I'm going to call your Father and see if it will be alright if you stay at my place over night instead of waking everyone up at your house." He opened a small door below the dash and pulled out a telephone receiver. Car phones were very rare at the time, I was only vaguely aware of their existence. He punched in the number and I could hear the phone at our house ringing through his ear piece. "Hello. This is Mr. Hackenberg." I could hear Mother's voice on the line but I couldn't make out what she said. "Everything is fine ma'am. Jeremy is fine and he did a great job. I'll let him tell you all about it when he gets home. Can I speak with Karl?" There was a pause and I heard Father on the other end of the line. "Terrance did just fine, you are to be commended on raising such a fine young man. The reason I'm calling is that we are going to be pulling in late. I'm going to suggest that I make Terrance sleep on the way home. That way he'll get plenty of sleep for school. Instead of waking your whole family up I'm going to drive to my estate. He can help me get the dogs settled and then get back to bed. I'll bring him home early enough to get ready for school if that's Okay with you." "Great! He and Caesar did great but I'll let him give you all the details tomorrow. I'll see you tomorrow morning bright and early." I heard Father's voice reply and then Mr. Hackenberg hung up the phone. "Why don't you get undressed and get in your bed. I told your Father that you'd get your sleep. And no jacking off before we get home." He told me. "Yes Sir." I replied and headed back to the bedroom. I realized that I was getting tired as I started to undress. I crawled into bed. The last thing I thought about was his final words. "No jacking off before we get home." I could only hope what that might portend. I have been dealing with out-of-control diabetes for the last ten years. I was able to function until I lost my job (and my health insurance) in May of 2020 due to shutdowns due to covid. Between the isolation and lack of medical care, I went into a downward spiral. It was challenging to get out of bed many days, which added to the isolation and depression. In August of 2021, my unemployment ran out. I turned 62 at the end of January and have applied for social security, but I still haven't started receiving payments. I have had no income since and I'm seriously behind on my electric bill (I have been receiving extensions on my shut-off notice because of my health issues) and my property taxes. I finally got medical help in October, and things are improving, but I still have a way to go. If I can get some help to get caught up, I should be able to get my life back under control. Any help would be appreciated. https://gofund.me/c02f6290