Date: Sat, 20 Mar 2004 14:56:55 -0800 (PST) From: Evan Bradely Subject: Chapter 20 of "The Crew" The following fictional story deals with sex among males. If you are offended by such material, are too young, or reside in a location where it is not allowed, please depart. Though not observed in this story, care enough about yourself and humankind to practice safe sex. The author retains all rights. EvanBradley33@Yahoo.com Chapter 20 Return of the Lost Haynes Construction Site All the signs made Angie aware that the birth of the Coopers' son was imminent. When she was sitting at her desk one morning, feeling very heavy, her first contraction hit her, small though it was. She waited another 40 minutes before she felt the next, which was stronger. Women in her family never labored long in birthing a child, so she closed down her computer, cleared off her desk, and walked to the nearly completed Haynes home. She waved Bobby over, whispering to him that her labor had started. He whooped loudly, hugging her gently and giving her one, heart-felt kiss. The others hustled into the living room to see what had excited Bobby. At that point he had turned Angie around, walked her down the front steps, and was gently walking her to their pickup as though she might break into pieces. She was quietly amused and touched by his protectiveness. The others ran after them, asking if Angie was okay. When they heard that she was having contractions, they asked if they should drive the Coopers to the hospital, but Bobby said they could arrive at the hospital on their own. He said he'd call Hal on his cell phone when they had any news. Ted called Max with the news, who relayed it to his crew. As the morning wore on, tension at the two construction sites grew. The crew alerted Hal to the impending event as soon as he had arrived on site from a conference with Dr. Thomas. The meeting had been a strain on Hal: it reminded him of Gwen Thomas and Brett Carter, and he felt throughout the meeting that he was hiding something from Russ Thomas. Hal was glad to be out of Russ's company. The good news back at the Haynes site was an antidote to his growing depression. Finally, Hal's cell phone sounded off. Everyone shot over to him. They could see the news unfold on Hal's face. "Great . . . Angie and the baby are okay? . . . Hal Robert Cooper? Really? I'm honored. . . .Reminded you of me because he came out squalling?. . . You jackass - I'll get you for that!" The crew laughed, catching Bobby's affectionate jab at Hal. "Everyone here is really excited," Hal imparted, noting all the guy's smiles and bright eyes. "They want you to know that they are wishing you their best. . . Come over? You sure it's okay if we come to the hospital? . . .You bet! We'll be there shortly." The crew present had already started putting their tools away. This was "family" business! Hal quickly called Max, telling him the good news and that they were all heading to the hospital. Then he called Rich with the news, who relayed the tidings to Wes and Carl. When Max announced the good news to his crew, they followed suit, preparing to leave. Smiling deviously, Max keyed in another call on his cell phone, inviting one more visitor to the hospital. At Holy Angels Hospital, the crew stopped at the nursery to see little Hal Robert, an angel himself. A big baby, he had a full head of dark hair. He was sound asleep. Being so newly born, it was hard to tell which parent he favored. After the stop at the nursery, they joined Bobby and Angie in her room. Each guy gave her a gentle, protective hug and kiss, and then they walked over and gave Bobby a rougher kiss and hug too, causing him to blush and laugh. "I offered to come deliver the baby, but Bobby had other ideas," Jamal told Angie. While they were praising little Hal Robert, a nurse had entered the room to check Angie out. She walked over to Bobby and said something softly into his ear after he leaned down. He asked her a question, which she answered. As she walked out, Bobby followed. Angie looked after Bobby, smiling but puzzled. The group continued visiting for five minutes. Suddenly, Bobby pushed open the door, looking behind him, encouraging someone to come in. But no one entered. Bobby went back into the hall as the door whooshed shut. After a bit, Bobby again opened the door, his arm around Drew, pulling him into the room. Drew entered and stopped, his head ducked a little. Max smiled; his plan was working well. Several of the crew called out greetings, for, excluding Ted and Levi, they hadn't all been together with Drew since that ugly night at Hal's. Angie smiled at Drew. With his arm still firmly about Drew, Bobby ushered him over to Angie, who held out her arms for a hug. Drew's face filled with a warm smile as he placed a small wrapped gift beside her on the bed along with a larger, gift-wrapped package. Angie and he hugged. Suddenly, Rich, Wes, and Carl burst through the door, their arms full of gifts. The crew greeted the three enthusiastically. Drew quickly backed off against the wall by the door, putting him across the room from Hal. While Hal was watching the trio exchange greetings with Angie and Bobby, Drew checked out Hal, wanting to see that he was faring okay since the breakup with Brett. 'He certainly seems okay,' Drew thought. 'Could just be that this happy occasion is masking Hal's natural state.' Drew's attention shifted to Rich and Angie, who were embracing. Then Rich hugged Bobby as Wes and Carl took turns kissing Angie's cheek. They followed Rich over to Bobby, double-teaming him while Rich, spying Drew, walked over to him, pulling him into a hug and a long kiss on the lips, whispering something in his ear, which left a shy smile on Drew's face, a result not missed by Hal, who wished he were calling up that smile on Drew's face. Wes and Carl then followed Rich over to Drew, hugging and kissing him and exchanging quiet greetings as the others looked on. Without any planning or prompting, like the parting of the Red Sea, the crew moved out of the middle of the room, leaving a clear path from Hal to Drew. Drew was looking up at Carl, who was speaking quietly to Drew, so he didn't see the path as quickly as others. When Hal saw it, he smiled, wondering if the guys had choreographed such a move. Drew finally looked up - straight into Hal's face, of course. When the significance of the path dawned on Drew, his face suffused with red, and he backed up quickly, banging his head against the wall. It must have dazed him slightly, for he stood looking down at the floor, arms held out a little from his side. Drew flashed back to that night when the crew had discovered Hal in bed with Brett. There were suddenly too many people present, too many people who could see him humiliated again. His countenance shooting a sharp pain into Hal's gut, Drew turned, plowing into Wes and Carl, whispering his apology. He rolled around them and right out the door. Murphy's Gym After that encounter with Drew at the hospital, Hal couldn't seem to get Drew's image out of his head, especially Drew's emotional vulnerability. He also grew quieter, a change that did not miss the notice of the crew. They dragged him to Murphy's Gym a couple of times, but they weren't very lucky in drawing him out. Even at Renegades ball games, he had no spark. "Are you missing Brett that much?" asked Max, hoping to draw a response about Drew. Hal didn't answer. About a week later, Hal had nothing to do but think as he was awaiting his turn on a lat pull-down machine at Murphy's Gym. He was remembering something he'd seen a few nights previous. When there wasn't a Renegades game, Hal was feeling lonely. He decided to drive to The Iron Lock, a gay bar he rarely visited. But he was horny. He'd had no one since Brett. He'd arrived late. When he had his beer, he looked around the bar to see who was present. As he checked out the customers, back in a dark corner, he saw a tall, muscled guy towering over a shorter guy, who wasn't completely visible. The big guy packed a killer ass - all sphered and hard. 'Isn't it funny,' Hal mused, 'how tall guys go for shorter men and women. He was remembering the towering basketball jocks who dated the shortest women. Suddenly the big guy turned to the side. A pain knifed Hal's gut. The shorter guy was Drew! Hal never expected to see Drew at The Iron Lock. The giant pulled Drew into a one-armed hug, clasping him up against his big, muscular body. He leaned down and kissed Drew. Drew had a smile on his face. Hal left soon after that, trying to keep from imagining the giant's body laid over Drew's ass. He felt that he'd lost Drew forever. Remembering Drew's being embraced by that handsome lumberjack type left Hal depressed. He'd been shocked by how much it had hurt. Hal thought the guy looked enough like him that Drew had obviously been shopping for a replacement as identical to Hal as possible. After he'd rejected Drew for Brett, there was nothing he could say to Drew that would keep Hal from seeming a monumental hypocrite. It gave him a monumental headache when he tried to figure out how he might turn that around. From his own experience after discovering Brett Carter with Gwen Thomas, he now knew exactly what Drew had experienced, especially the considerable pain resulting from thinking about Hal and Brett when they had made love to each other. He knew the bedroom scene when Hal was fucking Brett would forever be lodged in Drew's memory. He knew Drew had been driven out to The Iron Post to prove to himself that he wasn't going to be alone forever. He was angry at himself. The entire episode on his birthday had been too embarrassing, so he had rather successfully stopped himself from worrying about Drew. He didn't really become caught up in where Drew was or what he was feeling because he was too absorbed in Brett. Seeing Drew with the giant at The Iron Lock indicated that Drew didn't intend to tarry as he moved past their breakup. Nor should he. Hal knew he was getting his just desserts. Turning his mind away from the unpleasant, Hal noticed little quiet conferences after Ted came onto the weights/machines floor - late. They were looking at Hal and stifling grins. Whenever he would quiz one of them about what was up, they'd just smile back. Hal became more withdrawn, leaving early to shower. The crew followed him into the locker room - in even higher spirits. He couldn't figure out why. When the crew finally walked out the front door of Murphy's, Hal was ready to go home - alone. He stared stonily ahead, cursing himself for throwing away the good times for an old dream that turned into a nightmare. His gaze finally fixed on Ted's pickup since it was parked beside his pickup. He could see something moving inside, but it was so dark and they were far enough away that he couldn't make out what it was. "Hey Man," he turned to Ted, 'you got a kid in your truck?" "No." "Well something in there is moving around. The closer we get, the more there's movement." The crew all stuck their necks out and squinted. "I don't see nothin'," Jamal said. "Me neither," claimed Kenji. If Hal didn't know better, he'd think they were making fun of his remark to Ted. "Were going to have your eyes checked next week," he remarked testily. He looked at Ted, who had a big grin plastered across his face. Suddenly, Ted started loping to the pickup. When he reached the passenger side, he pulled out his keys and unlocked, then opened the door. Hal and the others stopped dead in their tracks. The second the door opened a dark blob shot out onto the ground and headed toward the guys. Hal was looking at the blob. . . Had to be a bundle of fur, racing toward him. . . His eyes squinted again, his mouth dropped open. "Naw . . . naw . . .Jimmy?" Then his voice rose. "Jimmy?" He knelt down, the blob shooting toward him like a rocket. "Jimmy!" Total recognition as Jimmy leapt from ten feet away, landing squarely in Hal's arms, knocking him flat on his butt and back. Jimmy was all over Hal, making whimpering and whining noises as he licked all over Hal's face and neck and hands. Hal was laughing and crying, exclaiming Jimmy's name over and over. "Man, that brings tears to my eyes," Tonio said softly. "Nothing against Jimmy, but I wish it were Drew," Jamal said. Finally, Jimmy settled into Hal's arms, letting Hal love him. The guys walked over as Hal introduced each one. Jimmy sniffed and then licked the hand proffered to him, looking into the eyes of each member of the crew as though he were making a commitment to them. The guys, in turn, rubbed Jimmy's ears or petted him on the back. Hal laughed. Jimmy was soaking it up! Hal looked at Ted. "How?" "Angie called Steph. Told her about little Hal Robert and how she and Bobby had their hearts set on getting a good, small dog to bond with the baby. She'd heard from Rich what a good dog Jimmy was, requesting to buy him if Steph wasn't offended by her offer. Seems after you left, Jimmy wouldn't have much to do with Steph, so she was all too ready to deal. By the way, the company coffers are lighter this week than last. She drove a hard bargain. Her price was equal to several months' alimony. That little fella is a gold mine now." "Ah, Rich was in on this too," Hal murmured. "We all were, Hal," Max explained. "Ted got the idea when Levi and he were having dinner with Drew." The group suddenly turned quiet at the mention of Drew's name. Detecting a change in the group atmosphere, Jimmy started looking at each one of them as though he could find an answer there. Not to be deterred, Max continued, "We had a summit and figured it all out together. We wanted you to have something to love again that you had loved before. Maybe to remind you that all is not lost forever." To Hal, it was almost as though Drew's name were whispered somewhere in the background. He lowered his face into Jimmy's neck, sobbing silently, his shoulders shaking gently. The guys, being guys, looked everywhere but at Hal. All except Kenji, that is. He wasn't bothered by Hal's tears. Kenji was beaming at Hal's happiness. They all perceived the implicit reference to Drew in the background of Max's explanation. A seed planted perhaps? They knew Hal did because when he raised his head, he stared at Max for the longest time. Then at all of them. Then down at Jimmy. "Thank you, thank you, thank you," Hal muttered over and over like a litany as he rubbed his cheeks against Jimmy. "I can't believe it. I've got you back, little fella. I thought you were gone forever." "Makes you re-examine your expectations, doesn't it?" Jamal asked Hal. Hal just smiled at him. The crew traded grins and looks of victory, celebrating the completion of Phase 1 of their plan. Now on to Phase 2. (To be continued.)