Date: Wed, 19 Jan 2005 09:27:35 -0800 From: fritz@nehalemtel.net Subject: I Love Corey, Chapter Forty-one Here I am, pecking out a warning. I even had to trim my fingernail so I could use the keyboard. Maybe if I was better at using more than one finger, it would go faster. (Sigh) That typing class I took in 1958 didn't stick as well as it should have. I was up to thirty-five words a minute with five or fewer errors for a five minute period but somehow I doubt that I could do much over ten words a minute anymore and I don't even want to think about the number of errors. Having said that I suppose I ought to get on with the warning. Juveniles leave. Yes, I mean right now. You don't need me to corrupt you. You can figure out how to do that without my help. I've got great confidence in your ability to accomplish that task. I'll bet you that you enjoy learning all about being corrupted. I know I did. Have fun. Just don't expect me to take either the credit or the blame for it. If stories about sexual acts between gay males offend you, I would ask why did you search out this site. After all, most of the stories on this site are that type of stories. If it was just a case of curiosity, stick around and satisfy that curiosity. If it was for some other purpose, leave. For those unfortunate individuals that live in an area that prohibits the reading of stories such as this one, hide. Remove all traces of these stories from your computer. Slink around and hope no one catches you reading these stories. If you're caught, don't blame me. Sorry I can't offer any more help. So now we're down to the ownership of this story. I guess I'll have to claim it because no one else seems to want to step forward and do so. Therefore, please don't post it on another site without requesting my permission. I might mention that I haven't been snowed with such requests. Also, please attribute any quotes that you might wish to use from this story, to me. After all, how else can I become rich and famous? That reminds me, please share the millions you make from the use of this story with me. Then maybe I can retire someday. Hopefully I got all of Ernie's corrections in. I sometimes miss some of them so he doesn't deserve the blame for those that make it into the posted product. Actually, I just get tired when changing them. So many corrections and so little time. Feel free to write and bitch. After all, it's your God given right. You can also make comments, ask questions, or offer suggestions. Direct all such hate mail to fritz@nehalemtel.net I try to answer all such emails. You can even ask to be put on the chapter notification list. Why you might want to do that, I'm not sure. Perhaps it's so you can avoid this story. In the meantime I hope you enjoy the following chapter. Fritz ******************************************************************************* I Love Corey, Chapter Forty-one I could hear the wind blowing when I woke up. There wasn't any rain hitting the windows yet but with the sound of the wind and the forecast from last night I was sure it would soon be pouring down. As I watched Corey sleep I wondered what we would do this afternoon. It sure didn't look like it would be a good day to go trap shooting. In fact it just seemed like a good day to laze around the house. When my bladder refused to be put off any longer, I got out of bed. I had the coffee made and was reading the paper when Corey came padding out. His hair was still tousled and he looked good enough to eat. I'd have probably done that if we'd been the only ones in the house. The thought of having JJ or LT walking in on such a scene put an end to those thoughts. Still, it had been a nice thought. Corey grabbed part of the paper after he got some coffee. He'd just started drinking coffee. He loaded his coffee with cream and sugar while sorting through the various sections until he found one he wanted to read. We had the paper mostly read before JJ and LT made their entrance. Corey started on the juice and I started breakfast. I've really got no idea of why I'd ever gotten into the habit of having light breakfasts during the week and heavy ones on the weekend but that's the way I'd always done it so I just got out some sausage and eggs. JJ and LT would be happy and for that matter so would Corey and I. As the patties cooked, I asked what everyone wanted to do after church. There wasn't much in the way of suggestions and we were still kicking it around while we ate. We managed to get the laundry started and some of the housework done by the time we had to get ready for church and still hadn't come up with what to do in the afternoon. By now the rain was pounding the windows and it really looked like a gloomy day. About that time the phone rang and that put an end to the lack of plans. Corey's mother was in the hospital. Not only that, the hospital was a couple hundred miles away. A couple of quick phone calls and we were off to Sacramento. By hurrying I could make it in about three and a half hours. As it turned out there was no reason to hurry except to calm ourselves. She was unconscious. Apparently she'd been beaten and left in a motel room. I felt so sorry for Corey. He was a basket case. He calmed down when the doctor told us she should make a complete recovery. The doctor was more concerned about her overall physical condition, which he described as very rundown, but thought she would probably wake up in a few hours. There were no major problems but she had lots of bruises. When we finally got in the room we saw he was right. Her face looked like it had been used for a punching bag. Both eyes were blackened and her nose had been broken. We hadn't seen her for several weeks and she'd lost weight and really looked bad. However the doctor told us not to worry about that but that we really needed to get her into some kind of rehab facility. So here we were, it was about two-thirty, and all we could do was sit and wait. Time drags in cases like this and today was no exception. Just before six Mrs. Babcock woke up. Of course the police had to come interview her and the whole thing was a mess. About nine I called Jerry and filled him in. After that, we found a motel, and then a restaurant. It was almost midnight when we finally got into bed. Corey cried himself to sleep on my shoulder. I tried to calm him but in the end, all I could do was hold him and let him cry. When he finally fell asleep, that was when it was my turn to worry. What could I do? How could I help? What was best for Corey, or for that matter, Mrs. Babcock? I finally fell asleep with those questions whirling around in my mind. We were all pretty subdued when we headed out for breakfast the next morning. When I finally got a cup of coffee in me, I started talking. I now had three boys to worry about. That changed how I handled things. If it had just been Corey and me, I would have just told him we'd take her home as soon as she was able to leave the hospital. However the addition of JJ and LT made me want to make sure everyone was willing to accept such a solution. Boy it's a good thing I did. I started out in a round about way with the suggestion that she needed to go to a rehab center and got no arguments. While JJ and LT weren't really up on all the details, they knew some of them and it didn't take long to fill in the rest. They were perfectly willing to have her come and stay with us either before or after some treatment. The one that surprised me was Corey. He sat and listened while the discussion went on without saying anything. When I'd finished filling JJ and LT in and they'd agreed to let her live with us, at least until she was healed up, Corey finally entered the conversation. "No. At least not until she goes to a rehabilitation center." To say that I was shocked when he said that doesn't begin to describe the situation. When I looked at him I could see some tears running down his face. All I could do was look at him questioningly. His head finally dropped and he continued. "She'll just steal everything she can and sell it for more dope." His voice was filled with anguish. His shoulders slumped a little further. I could see his body start to shake. We were sitting in a booth with JJ and LT on one side and Corey and me on the other. I reached over and put my arm across his shoulder, pulling him to me. I couldn't believe that he would make that decision. I knew he was right but the pain he must have felt was beyond what I could imagine. "Are you sure that's what you want?" I softly asked. "No. It's not what I want. It's just got to be," he sobbed. "If she doesn't get help now, it'll just get worse." His voice was breaking so badly that I almost couldn't understand him. With that he just slumped against me. Now the ball was in my court and I couldn't think of anything to say. He was right and no matter how much it hurt, if something wasn't done now, most likely it wouldn't get done. From the looks of her last night, she was well on the way to killing herself. She must have lost fifteen pounds and she didn't have that much to lose. We just sat there, Corey crying and the rest of us feeling terrible while the breakfast we'd ordered got cold. Eventually I handed JJ my billfold and told him to finish his breakfast and then pay for all of ours. I then pulled Corey out of the booth and took him to the Gator. Once inside I pulled him onto my lap and just held him while he sobbed his heart out. After a while I heard JJ and LT get in the back but they said nothing and neither did I. We must have stayed that way for another fifteen minutes or so before Corey finally stopped crying. Then it was off to the hospital. I still wasn't sure just how to handle things when we got there but Corey took over. He asked JJ and LT to wait in the waiting room while we talked to his mother. God what an experience. By now she was in serious withdrawal. That did nothing to calm her and enable her to be rational and when Corey said she had to accept going to a drug rehab center before she could stay with us, it got ugly. I thought I was fairly fluent in profanity but soon learned that I was mistaken. Some of the words and expressions she used I knew, but others I could only guess at. It didn't take long until she was screaming at us. With that we left. Corey was in tears again and I was in shock. After calming Corey somewhat I called Russ Young, the attorney that had worked on the weird custody agreement. He recommended an attorney by the name of Wilson J. Brighten and set up an appointment for us to see him after lunch. That left a couple of hours to kill and they were less than pleasant. Even lunch was a disaster. Mr. Brighten was about fifty and seemed very competent. However, that didn't mean that I liked what he said. The short version was that it would be almost impossible for me to get her committed to a rehab center without her consent. The fact that Corey was staying with me was one of the factors that he cited for such an opinion. That left Corey and we were informed that, due to his age, it was very unlikely that he would be able to achieve such an involuntary commitment either. Mr. Brighten had talked with both her doctor and Russ about the situation and told us that there was little chance of success because she was not considered dangerous to others and also was not considered suicidal. We were left with no real way to force her to seek help. As far as the government was concerned, she was free and over eighteen. That allowed her to make her own decisions unless we could prove she was incompetent. He saw little chance of that owing to the situation with regards to this case. Were I not involved with the upbringing of Corey, it might have been possible that I could have succeeded in such a course of action, after some long hearings, but all she had to do was say that I was trying to take her child away from her and the whole thing would fall apart. We went back to the hospital to talk with her and about the only thing I accomplished was to have her bill sent to me. Corey tried to talk to her but got nowhere. After some more shouting on her part he came out of the room and suggested we go home. The trip home was somber to say the least. Corey just slumped against the door with his eyes closed. JJ and LT sat in the back and said little. No one suggested eating and we just all were lost in our own thoughts. I stopped and got some soup and sandwiches from Downie's because I didn't really feel like cooking and the boys didn't appear very hungry. In that I was right because none of us ate much of the soup or sandwiches. Afterwards JJ and LT slipped off to JJ's bedroom leaving Corey and me alone. So far he hadn't said one word after we left the hospital. I led him into the family room and after I was in my recliner I pulled him onto my lap. He was a little big for that but I figured he just needed to be held and allowed to feel bad. It was a while before he said anything. He finally asked why she wanted to kill herself. How could I answer such a question? "I don't know. I think maybe somewhere along the way someone hurt her very badly." I didn't say anymore for a short while and tried to think of more to tell him. "Maybe it was her parent's rejection of her, maybe they never told her they loved her. I just don't know. I just think that somewhere along the way someone hurt her so badly that she doesn't think anyone can love her... Maybe that's why she can't help herself." He was curled up in my lap with his head on my shoulder. After a bit he sighed. It sounded like the weight of the world was on his shoulders. "Do you think we can do anything?" There was a dead quality to his voice that told me he knew there was nothing anyone could do unless she was willing to be helped. He was looking for hope and the terrible thing was that I had none to offer him. I'd often told him I wouldn't lie to him and I knew if I said anything to just try to cheer him up that he'd know it. I had to tell the truth no matter how much it hurt. "I don't know. Maybe she'll feel better tomorrow and let us. Until then, I just don't see much way to help." With that we were both silent for a while. All I could do was hold him and try to let him know I loved him. I felt so helpless. I could feel his tears on my shoulder before I felt his sobs start to shake his body. I felt so sorry for him. The tears were running down my face almost as fast as his were dripping on my shoulder. He hurt and I had no power to help solve that hurt. All I could do was be there for him and hope that somewhere inside he had the strength to survive. As I sat there holding him, I was thankful for the way my parents had died. They'd been happy and enjoying a trip and the accident had been quick. There couldn't have been more then a couple of minutes of terror and it was over for them. While it had been a big shock to me, at least I hadn't had to watch them slowly kill themselves. I don't know how I would have reacted to something like that. Finally his tears stopped. He didn't move and after a short while I realized he'd cried himself to sleep. He hadn't had much sleep last night and the strain of today had finally taken its toll. I thought about putting him in bed but didn't want to disturb him. Instead I just sat there holding him. When I awoke, my legs were asleep. I ached in several places and it was dark. I finally realized either JJ or LT had turned the lights out and spread a blanket over us. I managed to shift my position under him and could feel the tingling in my legs as my circulation returned. When I thought I could, I stood. In the glow of the nightlight he looked so frail and helpless. When my legs felt strong enough I scooped him up and carried him to bed. He barely roused enough to help me undress him and put him in bed. When I was beside him, he quickly assumed his favorite position and went back to sleep. Morning wasn't much better. Corey was still depressed but when I suggested he might stay home for a day, he said that he was probably better off in class. That way he might get his mind off of his mother. I suspected that wouldn't be very successful but thought he would be better off where I could at least keep track of him, rather than have him alone at home. I finally left for school. During the morning meeting I had to fill everyone in on what was happening. I could see everyone trying to think of some way to help but the sad fact was that all they could do was let him know they understood. I got several reports between classes on how he was doing but none of them offered any real encouragement. Finally the day was over and we went home. On the way I asked him if he wanted me to tell Bob he wasn't up to a lesson tonight. He thought about it but declined. His comment that he needed to try to put it behind him was slightly encouraging. Since the weather had cleared, it wasn't long before the usual gang of boys showed up to play basketball. Corey seemed sort of listless but finally joined in. I skipped my run to keep a watch on him but soon realized he was doing about as well as I could expect. At least I got all the papers graded before I had to start dinner. The game seemed a little more subdued than usual but, when it was over, Corey seemed a little better. He was no longer as withdrawn. He didn't really enter into the conversation at dinner but at least he seemed to be paying attention. When we were finished eating, he and Bob went to his room for the lesson. The rest of the boys did their homework but there wasn't the usual horseplay. Still, things were looking somewhat better. As soon as the art lesson was over it was time to check on Mrs. Babcock. I'd called and checked with the hospital before I went to work but hadn't talked with her. Now we'd call her direct. I got a bunch of whining from her when she answered but soon handed the phone to Corey. It didn't take long to figure out she was really trying to put pressure on him about his determination to see she got some help. While I couldn't hear both sides of the conversation it was pretty easy to figure out what was going on. First he seemed to slowly draw in but then she said something that must have made him mad. He voice took on a note of firmness I'd never heard in it before. "I'm sorry Mother, if you can't accept the fact you need help, don't call." His voice broke when he followed it with, "Please Mom, I love you." He listened a few more seconds with the tears running down his cheeks and then just pressed the disconnect button and put the phone down. With that he seemed to collapse in the chair. He'd stopped crying by the time we went to bed but that was about all. He quickly got his head on my chest and just laid there. There was no more crying but he didn't relax and go to sleep. I rubbed his back for a while and finally asked, "Do you want to talk about it?" "Why does it hurt so bad?" he whimpered. There was a pause and he followed it with, "Doesn't she love me?" His voice wasn't really under control and sounded like it was ready to break at any time. "It hurts because you love her," I told him as I continued rubbing his back. "It always hurts when you want to help someone and can't. It hurts even more when you love them." I paused for a while and just continued rubbing. "I don't know if she knows how to say she loves you. I think somewhere deep inside that your mother is ashamed of herself. Maybe that's why she's afraid to say she loves you. She doesn't think she's worthy." "Why?" "Well, you know her parents threw her out when she got pregnant with you. I don't know how they raised her but I think maybe she feels she's worthless because of that. Maybe she doesn't think she's worthy of loving anyone. Maybe she's afraid that if she admits she loves you, you'll be taken away from her." He said no more and just continued lying there. I continued rubbing and finally I could feel him start to relax. Shortly thereafter, he fell asleep. It took me a lot longer. The person that meant the most to me was hurting and I had no idea of how to help him. Judy still hadn't come up with the name of a good counselor for JJ. The last time I'd asked she said she was still checking. From some of her remarks I gathered that the problem was finding one that understood the problems of gay youth. While Corey's problem wasn't the fact that he was gay, I wasn't sure that it might not become an issue if he went to a counselor that couldn't understand and work with gay youth. I finally fell into a restless sleep. I called to check on Mrs. Babcock during my morning free period. I was informed that she had checked herself out and left no address where she could be reached. I ended up telling the hospital to just send the bill and thanked them for their help. I was really baffled over what to do next. Once again we had no way to contact her. It was almost like she didn't want to be around Corey or me. After thinking about it for a while I started to wonder if she was doing her best to avoid us because she knew we disapproved of her drug use. She definitely got upset when we tried to talk her into going into treatment. By the time the period was over I'd come to the conclusion that we'd probably screwed up, maybe big time. We should have shown her love rather than try to force her to get help. The problem was that we no longer had a way to contact her and try to rectify the situation. During the afternoon free period I called Russ Young and explained our problem. I asked him if he knew of a good firm of detectives that might be able to find her and get a message to her. When that was settled I figured I'd done about all I could to solve the problem. Now all we could do was wait and hope. Friday afternoon I got a call from Russ telling me that the message had been delivered. The firm he hired also reported that she had told them she didn't want to talk to us and to please leave her alone. As I hadn't told Corey about trying to get a message to his mother, I decided that I wouldn't tell him about her reply. He was just starting to come out of his depression and I figured that knowing about this would just make him feel bad. I was sure I felt bad enough to both of us. While his actions had been the result of his love for his mother, I was afraid we'd made a mistake in how he'd handled that love. He loved her so much that he couldn't see that he was trying to force her to do something she was not yet willing to do. I'd also failed by not recognizing that until it was too late. Why is it that some lessons are so costly? The worst thing about it is that those lessons rarely involve money. Most of the time they involve something much more precious and costly. They involve a person's feelings. Money can be acquired through work but repairing a rift between people can only happen when both the parties are willing to work at it. In this case, it didn't appear that Mrs. Babcock was willing to give us much of a chance to rectify our mistakes. Corey was young yet, and couldn't be expected to know all about such things but I was old enough that I should have known better. You can only help someone when he or she is willing to be helped. Trying to force them to accept help will only make the problem worse. It takes time and effort to convince someone that he needs help and you can't press very hard. If you put too much pressure on them, they will just become more determined not to listen to you. The message I'd sent to her through Mr. Young was that she was welcome anytime, no questions asked, no pressure. Hopefully she would think about it and give us a chance. Then maybe we could work on repairing the relationship. In thinking about it, I realized it must have appeared to her that I was the reason behind his insistence that she seek help. Maybe in some senses I was. He knew I disapproved of her drug use but so did he. Yet she didn't know that I hadn't suggested that she wasn't welcome until she'd sought and accepted help for that drug problem. In the end all I was left with was the thought, or rather question of how many problems between people start because of a misunderstanding. Not having any solution to the present problem, all I could do was vow to try not to make such a mistake again. I could see I should have tried to talk him out of confronting her about it and even after it had occurred I might have salvaged the situation if I'd made it a point to explain that he was only doing it because he loved her. It was a painful lesson I'd learned. In my arrogance I'd overlooked that other people have feelings. They don't like to be forced to do something anymore than I did. Hopefully she'd give us another chance. By the time we went to bed, Corey had noticed I was pretty quiet. When he pinned me down, I remembered that I'd promised him I wouldn't lie to him. I finally told him about what I'd done with regards to his mother and my thoughts on it. At first he insisted it was all his fault but I kept explaining that I should have realized what was happening and been able to help him understand what was wrong with our actions. We finally cried ourselves to sleep. I'm not sure which of us felt worse. A night's sleep helped but neither of us was all that cheerful. After breakfast I pulled him aside to discuss things a little more. "Corey, you need to remember that we all make mistakes. Sometimes they are minor ones but sometimes, like now, they're not. The thing is that one has to get past them. I don't mean that you shouldn't think about them or forget them but you have to get past them and get on with life. You can't live your life in the past, worrying about the mistakes you have made. You have to learn from them and go on. Sometimes we get a chance to make up for them and sometimes we don't. It makes no difference. We have to forgive ourselves and just try not to make the same ones in the future." I paused for a few seconds. "Forgiving one's self is probably the hardest. First you have to admit that you made a mistake and no one wants to do that. We all want to think we are too smart to do that. Still, we do make mistakes. Once you figure out you made a mistake, you have to try to figure out how to stop making that same mistake in the future. I guess that's what's called growing up and maturing. It happens as long as you live. I'm older than you are and made the same mistake. I'm sorry I did. The problem is that I'd like to fix it but until your mother is willing to let me try, I can't. I have to learn from it and go on, trying not to make that mistake again. Even if she never gives me the chance to explain that I was wrong, I can't spend all my life worrying about it. I just have to do the best I can, just like you do." "But it hurts." "I know it does. It hurts me too. I just wish I could roll the clock back and try again, knowing what I know now. Unfortunately we can't do that. We have to live with our mistakes." With that he just leaned into me and let me hold him. He didn't say anything. After about ten minutes he finally raised his head. "It won't do any good to feel bad, will it?" "No Corey, it won't help. Feeling bad only means you feel bad. It doesn't help anyone else." After a few more minutes he sighed. That was the end of the conversation. He got up and we started helping JJ and LT with the weekend housekeeping. All I could do was hope that our talk had helped both of us. I really needed to get past it. If anything, I felt worse because I should have known better. We had all the housework done by lunchtime. It was time to get a tree. When I suggested that, JJ and LT almost didn't want to wait for lunch. Well, that was until I started the clam chowder. Then they decided they could wait a few minutes. Jeez, they wanted a tree that wouldn't fit in the house. I mean I only had eight foot ceilings. The trees they kept dragging me over to look at probably started at twelve feet and got taller. I finally managed to convince them that they had to find a shorter one. I finally gave up and bought the nine footer they eventually picked out. I could cut a few inches off the top and some more off the bottom. We stuffed it in the back of the pickup and headed home. Decorating was a new experience for Corey. He finally started to cheer up. It took us the rest of the afternoon. When we finally got the star on top, it looked pretty good. As I stood and looked at it, all I could think about was that the star had been on every tree I could remember. Mom had told me that she and dad had gotten it for their first tree. It was somewhat battered from all the years of use. I'd been told I managed to pull the tree over a couple of times when I was young. Still, to me it was Christmas. Lots of people had angels or other ornaments but that star had always marked our trees. In some senses, it made me sad to think about it but in others I was glad. It reminded me of all the love and good times my family had during the holiday season. Maybe this would be the start of good holiday memories for Corey. Then there were the ornaments that mother had bought. Every year there had been a new one. Some had my initial on them and other didn't. I knew a couple had been broken over the years but there still were quite a lot of them. We'd hung them in prominent places and put the ordinary ones in less conspicuous places. I went and got the small package which held the three personalized ones I'd purchased. I handed them to the boys, each his own special ornament, and told them to put them where they wanted them to be. It took a few minutes and they had to move some of the others but the tree was finally done. I took my camera and took several pictures of the tree and the boys. I'd print them and put them in some albums I purchased. While I didn't have pictures of the boys when they were young, I wanted them to have albums of their life with me. There was a fourth album that was for me. I'd already taken a few pictures that I thought should be in it and I was sure there would be more. Maybe someday they would look at them and have happy memories from them. I fixed some grilled ham and cheese sandwiches to go with the rest of the chowder. JJ and LT were starting to really get into the holiday spirit. Corey was still pretty subdued but seemed to be starting to come out of it. There was still almost two weeks until Christmas and hopefully by the time it arrived, he would be over his depression. After dinner I put the things I'd bought under the tree. They spent the rest of the evening trying to guess what was in the packages. Some things, like the helmets were pretty easy but the other packages were different. While they figured out that some of them were probably clothes, they had no idea what kind of clothes they were. I hadn't wrapped the bikes but instead had put them in the storage room over the garage. I'd even had to lock it because it looked like JJ was going to rub the paint off his bike. Every time he was missing he could be found, caressing that bike. My locking the door had produced dirty looks but the paint should at least survive until after Christmas. I was sure glad we'd gotten our tree early in the afternoon. By the time it was bed time the wind was really howling from a storm that was coming in. The boys were in bed and I was finishing up a few last tasks when the lights went out. That put an end to what I could do so I grabbed a flashlight and headed for the bedroom. I was barely in bed when a powerful gust hit the house, shaking it worse than anytime since I'd bought it. Corey and I were talking softly when still another gust hit, causing the house to almost vibrate. Shortly after that we had visitors. JJ and LT joined us in bed. It was times like this I was glad I'd bought a king sized bed. I'll admit I'd bought it for the few times I'd had friends stay with me but it was real handy for nights like tonight. I assured JJ and LT that I thought the house would protect us and finally we all fell asleep. My last thoughts were that if the power was still off in the morning, we could heat the house with the fireplace. Cooking would be no problem because of the propane range. Things seemed pretty good as I snuggled with the boys, hearing their soft breathing while they slept. Really, life couldn't get much better than this. There were still a few problems we had to try to solve but overall, I had about all I could ask for. When I woke up I was trapped. It was still dark and I couldn't get out of bed. It took a while to remember why but when I remembered JJ and LT joining Corey and me, understanding followed. After that it just took a while to get out from between them all. The lights were still off and I could hear the remains of the storm still hitting the house. It didn't take me long to realize I needed to get dressed when I finally got my feet on the floor. It couldn't have been more then forty-five or so degrees in the house. I stumbled out and started a fire in the fireplace. Then I had to find the coffee pot I used when camping. By the time the coffee was on I was beginning to wonder just how bad the storm had been. That required running down a boom box. I was in luck. The batteries were in good enough shape that when I turned it on, it came to life. Finding the local station filled me in on conditions. I learned it was the worst storm in at least half a century. The main transmission line for the power company was down in several places and there was little chance of getting power before sometime tomorrow. Trees were across the streets and highways all over the place. There was also a slide across the highway. In other words, it was a mess. I was lucky in that I had a fireplace and the range was propane fueled. Well, actually the hot water heaters and the furnace were propane fueled but without electricity, they wouldn't work. Suddenly I remembered the generator in the garage. I could at least make the furnace and the water heaters work. In fact, I could even switch things around and keep the freezer working enough so the food in it wouldn't spoil. It was only four thousand watts but it should get me by. I had several propane lanterns and some extra cylinders for them so that should take care of lighting. All in all, I was in pretty good shape. I just wondered how other people were making out. I knew that most of the people in town used either oil or electricity to heat. Even the ones who used oil would be out of luck unless they had access to some electricity. It was time to get this show on the road. I got the lanterns out and fired them up. I noticed there were more extra cylinders than I thought. I was thankful I'd seen that sale on cylinders and stocked up. Now it was time to see about breakfast. I was just opening the refrigerator door when Vern knocked. After pouring him some coffee we discussed what to do. He went back to bring his family over for breakfast and I got back to cooking. Fred and Mike soon bounded in and when Fred wanted to know where the boys were, I sent him to my room to wake them. Mike looked at me with a questioning look and I explained that they were a little worried about the storm. He grinned and said that Fred had kept him up half the night for the same reason. About then Vern and Nancy showed up and there were giggles coming from my bedroom. Soon the kitchen was full and I was about ready to start cooking. About then the thought went through my mind that I was probably the only one in the area that had a working stove. I put things on hold and sent the boys out to invite all the neighbors over for breakfast. Forty-seven people later it was time to figure out what we should do today. It was now a little after eight and we went out and looked things over. There were several trees across the street but very little damage to any of the houses. Part of the roof on the shed where I stored the mower was missing some shingles but that was the only damage I had. I had a couple of chainsaws and so did Vern. He'd laughed at the one I'd bought because it only had a nine inch bar but I used it to prune the big old oaks in my yard. Today it would be just right to cut up limbs. The other had a thirty-six inch bar and was for cutting firewood for the fireplace. We lifted the canopy off my pickup and then hooked up the little trailer I'd gotten to haul wood in. It was time to get started. It wasn't long before we were all busy clearing the street in front of my house. When we got to the main street we just kept going. I kept sending Mike and the pickup back to my house to unload all the wood. At the rate it was going I wouldn't have to cut wood for several years. By noon we were gaining. We had the streets open for about twelve blocks. I'd left Nancy in the kitchen making some chowder. It might not have looked all that good but I'd left her with two five gallon cans on the stove with orders to fill them. When I told everyone to come have chowder, it looked like a parade. By the time everyone had eaten, there wasn't much left. By late afternoon we'd finally cleared the streets all the way to downtown. The boys were dragging from all the wood they'd loaded and stacked and my arms felt like they were about to drop off. A little discussion amongst all of us and I figured out that none of the crew had any way to cook except me. I didn't have enough of anything to fix dinner for a crew which was now up to about one hundred people so I took a chance and dug out my cell phone and called Downie's. They weren't open but were at the store trying to figure out how to save the frozen food. It took a while but Vern finally got in touch with a friend of his who had a big generator and he agreed to bring it down. I told everyone to show up around eight for dinner and gathered up the boys and headed for Downie's. By the time the generator showed up, we'd picked out several cart loads of food. Then I had to take some time and help hook everything up so the freezers would work. Carl and Ellen were thrilled. The frozen food cases had warmed up enough that it wouldn't have been long until all the food in them would have spoiled. Now they would be able to save it. I invited the Downie's to join us for dinner and we headed home. On getting home the first thing I did was hook the little generator I had up and start the water heaters. Nancy had finished the lunch dishes in cold water. Then it was time to start dinner. At least there wouldn't be many dishes to wash tonight. I'd bought cases of paper bowls, plates, and plastic utensils. Dinner wasn't going to be fancy. I'd bought a bunch of chuck steaks and I started cutting them into bite sized pieces for a stew. When I had enough cut to get started, I began browning them and let the boys continue cutting the rest. I had the two five gallon cans and a couple of roasters. I hoped that if I filled all of them there would be enough for everyone. The rest of the dinner would consist of garlic bread, some corn, and a green salad. I'd bought a bunch of those sacks of salad and I figured some diced green onions and some cherry tomatoes would help them. It would be a simple but filling dinner. When the meat was browned I put some in each of the containers. I added some Au Jus and wine for liquid. Then it was time to start seasoning. I had to refill my pepper mill a couple of times before I was satisfied. Then we all peeled potatoes and onions until I thought we had enough. A bunch of sacks of baby carrots went in next and was followed by some celery. The last thing was a flat of mushrooms. I'd figured pretty well. The containers were all about full. I let it cook for a while and added some more salt and basil. Another taste and some more garlic and some rosemary went in along with a little more Cayenne pepper. I didn't think it needed anymore thyme. The last thing was some flour mixed with water to thicken it a little. Glancing at my watch I saw that it was almost time for everyone to start arriving. I sent the boys to take a quick shower since the water was now hot. As soon as they were done I took a quick shower and was just getting dressed when the first of the guests started showing up. I didn't keep count but there wasn't much left by the time everyone was full. People came and people left and the food supply kept going down. There was about a gallon of stew and half a loaf of garlic bread left when everyone was full. I was beat. It had been a busy day. I shut the generator off and was just getting ready to go to bed when I noticed a coffee can on the table by the front door. It had a bunch of money in it. Curiosity got the better of me and I counted it. I finally started snickering to myself. I'd made money. There was plenty to pay for all the food I'd served and enough left to pay me a day's wages. I made it to bed and collapsed beside Corey. I don't remember my head hitting the pillow. My cell phone woke me up. It was the mayor. He told me it would be at least another day before the power would be restored. Mayor Nelson wanted to know if I could prepare some meals for the city workers. After some discussion on the details, I told him to send them over. It was just after five in the morning when I dragged myself out of bed. The grumbling I got from the boys about the hour just washed over me. I had them moving when I headed for the kitchen. The eggs showed up just like Mayor Nelson promised, along with some hams. I started an assembly line with JJ cooking ham, LT cooking pancakes, Corey frying eggs, and I got to do everything else like mix the pancake batter, slice the ham, and make coffee along with serving the meals. We cooked breakfast until ten. After that it was time for lunch. I did manage to get a couple of cans of gas for the generator from one of the city workers so I told them they were welcome to use the showers but they'd have to furnish their own towels. Someone came up with towels and people just kept showing up. I finally figured out that not all were employees of the city. There were also senior citizens and children. I was so busy I didn't even know who all came and ate. One of the city employee's went and got some more supplies. Lunch consisted of chowder or vegetable beef soup, grilled ham and cheese sandwiches and some of the various pastries from some market. Nancy showed up with several ladies and they pitched in and helped cook and serve. I called Mayor Nelson and after talking to him for a while I went to Downie's and stocked up again. I bought all the ground beef they had, along with all of the tomato sauce. Well, I suppose I shouldn't forget the spaghetti and celery and mushrooms that I cleaned out also. I only bought part of the onions. Once I was home I started cooking while the ladies finished serving lunch. I had the damnedest collection of food I'd ever bought. Oh well, I should be able to make a decent spaghetti sauce out of it and that was something that would feed a lot of people. It's a good thing the ladies helped. The boys were running out of gas and I wasn't doing much better. We'd been cooking for nine hours without a break. I figured there would be at least seven hours to go before we could take a break. I was wrong. It was more like nine hours. The boys were zombies and I was their leader by the time we were ready for bed about midnight. I felt dead on my feet. The whole mess started again at five. One of the city workers told us the highway should be reopened about nine and they hoped to have the power back on around noon. While a lot of houses would still be without power, at least things like the hospital (which had been on emergency power) and the school should have it. He told me that when power was on at the school, arrangements had been made to start cooking there. Then my little operation could take a break. Mayor Nelson stopped in and confirmed what I'd heard. He looked like he was ready to drop but I doubt that I looked any better. In fact all of us were showing the strain. I did learn that there were three restaurants that were doing about the same thing I was. With power out in the whole valley, there were a lot of people who had no way to cook or clean up. A couple of other restaurants had been damaged so badly they couldn't be operated and several others depended on electricity. For that matter, so did the school. When the mill that used to be in town had shut down, that ended that source of auxiliary power. That left no real backup system. He told me that they were now calling it the worst storm in over seventy-five years. The worst thing was that there were now five deaths attributed to the storm. There was an announcement over the radio, just before noon, that the power was back on and meals would be available at the school starting at two. For what it's worth, power came back on at my house two days later. At least I no longer was trying to feed what seemed like half the valley. By three o'clock, the boys had crashed. I tried to pick things up and soon decided they had the right idea. I threw some more logs in the fireplace and after putting the screen in front of it, I found my bed. A couple of hours sleep was a big help. I felt almost human when I woke up. I finally got the boys up and fed them some chili. They still didn't look very alert but the nap had helped us all. Jerry had sent word that school would be out for the rest of the week while the community picked up after the storm. The school hadn't really been damaged but the kitchen was being used to feed the community. Hopefully by next week things would get back to normal. With no power we didn't have much to fill the evening with but since everyone was still tired, we went to bed early. I don't think I even moved until about seven the next morning. Corey was still where he'd been when I went to sleep, snoring softly with his head on my chest. There wasn't much in the house to make a breakfast out of. I ended up cooking some oatmeal with raisins in it. No toast or juice because there wasn't any. In fact, all the groceries that had been bought were pretty well gone. We'd have to go shopping again. When we'd finished the oatmeal and cleaned up we took a little drive around town and looked at the damage. I was surprised. Our little area had faired pretty well compared to some of the other parts of town. There were houses with the roof missing, trees blown down, and lots of other damage. Half the stores were closed for repairs but the others were doing lots of business. Every place you looked there were crews working on the power lines and clearing up the debris. I finally got to Downie's and found them swamped. There were two trucks unloading and they were short handed. The boys and I spent the next five hours helping unload trucks and stock shelves. Thank God for bar code scanners. At least we didn't have to mark any prices. The larger market in town had suffered a lot of damage was wasn't open so that left Downie's and some mini-mart type operations. Carl had been warned his was the only full service grocery store able to operate and he'd ordered much more than his usual supplies. We went home and had a quick lunch and then back to help some more. The trucks kept coming and we kept unloading and putting it on the shelves. Everyone was glad when eight rolled around and the store closed. By then, both Corey and LT were getting pretty good at working the check-out counters. I invited the Downie's for dinner and told them to bring clean clothes and have a bath. They still didn't have power at their house. I got the generator running again so the water heaters would work and then started dinner. It was almost ready when Carl and Ellen showed up. They had taken the money and checks to the bank and stopped by their house to pick up some clean clothes. After we'd all eaten and had baths, the Downies went home. I told them we'd be down at eight when they opened and you could see the relief in their eyes. By now we had things pretty well figured out so they didn't really have to give many orders. We might not have stored things in the back room quite the way they did but at least we were managing to keep some items on the shelves. I think Corey was starting to feel better even though we hadn't heard any more from or about his mother. It was hard to tell for sure because we'd all been so busy and were tired, but there seemed to be more of a sparkle in his eyes. That didn't translate into anything more than falling into bed and going to sleep but I hoped he was coming out of his depression. My old wind-up clock managed to wake me and we were finished with breakfast and at Downie's Market when they opened it. If anything, it was worse today than yesterday. I had no idea that there were that many people that needed groceries. I went and got Billy and Larry to help. We just couldn't keep up. There were lines at all the registers and Corey, LT and JJ were busy. They weren't as fast as the regular help but no one was complaining. About six in the evening things finally slowed down. We were all exhausted. Billy and Larry were happy they'd made a little money and were eager to work the rest of the week. They thought it was great to make some money. The Downies were happy to get any help they could. It was one of those win, win situations. It was only minimum wage and had to be under the table because the boys couldn't work those kinds of hours but because of the situation I didn't think anyone would say anything. Everyone in town was working as hard as he could. I couldn't believe that anyone would file a complaint. As far as my boys and I were concerned, we were working for nothing. When the boys had asked why, I explained that if one could, one should always help friends and community. I pointed out that while I bought groceries there, I thought of Carl and Ellen as friends, not just owners of a grocery store. I also explained that it depended on circumstances. Billy and Larry didn't have much money so their circumstances were different than ours. I also pointed out that we had offered while Mr. Downie had asked if I knew of anyone else he could get to help. Since about every able-bodied person was working their butts off trying to clean up after the storm, Billy and Larry had been my only suggestion. Even Fred and Mike, Vern's sons, were helping people clean up and in one case helped repair a roof. We discussed it while I fixed dinner and by the time dinner was under control, I think they understood, at least I hoped so. I'd been thrilled when we got home and found the power on. Boy the lights made it nice. We no longer had to carry lanterns from room to room. It even made it a lot easier to fix dinner. It never ceases to amaze me how much we take for granted. Having the microwave, food processor, and other appliances made things so much easier. Even the boys were grinning while they helped me fix dinner. Of course the fact that we'd all been so busy that we hadn't had time for lunch might have had something to do with their smiles. The rest of the week went about the same way. On Saturday afternoon the other market finally reopened. Things slowed down a little at Downie's after that reopening, but not enough for us to go home. It just meant that, by quitting time, we had finally caught up. The shelves were stocked and the floors swept. The town was beginning to look better as the work crews continued to clean up the mess. There were still homes that didn't have power but the number of them was decreasing. We all agreed that it looked like the worst was over. The community was pulling together and helping those that needed it. It was sure nice to take a hot bath after dinner and fall into bed, even if it was an hour early. Sunday morning was one of those mornings that I really like. I had a warm squirming Corey wake me up and the things he was doing to me can only be described as very pleasurable. When I realized what was going on, he was nibbling my ears. He always did wake up quicker than I did but if he'd do things like he was doing, I'd forgive him. Well, I'd forgive him even if he didn't. We got sidetracked kissing for a while. This was the first kissing we'd done for a while and boy it felt good. He had a little morning mouth but I didn't care. I was just enjoying having Corey kiss me. It wasn't long until his saliva had washed the morning mouth away, or maybe I'd just gotten used to it. Either way it didn't make any difference. No matter what, I thought he had such a good tasting tongue to suck on. I could only wish it was longer so I could get more of it in my mouth. There was no toothpaste flavor, only pure Corey. He allowed me to nibble his ear lobes for a while. I enjoyed the little sounds he made while I did that. I always liked it when I could get Corey noises from him and this morning was proving successful in that department. Those sounds and noises just sounded so sexy. Somehow we squirmed around until we could nibble each others nipples. Well, we kissed and licked them also. The noises never let up but the squirming increased and his nipples got nice and stiff. They were no longer soft but instead seemed like they were standing up, trying to get further into my mouth. When he scraped his teeth over my nipples I almost lost track of what I was doing. Oh well, his nipples were right there to remind me. Some more squirming around and his cute little innie was right where I could attack it with my tongue. That always produced lots of squirming and gasping and today was no exception. The only thing was, it was hard to notice that because of the shivers of pleasure running through my body from his tongue. That tongue was really digging into my navel. Between the heat that particular action was generating in my body and the fact it sort of tickled really seemed to crank my body up. I suddenly was much warmer and starting to pant. Every part of me seemed more sensitive. What his tongue wasn't working on, his hands seemed to be. Sensations were exploding all over my body. When I could stand it no longer, I squirmed down the bed a little further. There it was, right in front of me. It looked just as good as ever and there was even a drop of precum on its tip, just waiting for me. The pleasure I got licking that drop off defies description. I rolled that drop around in my mouth, savoring its taste. It was just as good as ever. It was a taste that never disappointed me because I loved it. Well, I loved him so why wouldn't I love his taste. I just wished I could spend the rest of my life savoring that taste. A few more licks resulted in some more of that taste. I relaxed and enjoyed it. It was time to see if I could coax something more from him. I followed a few long slow licks by taking him in my mouth. As I nursed that precious piece of flesh all I could do was think of how lucky I was. I was just sort of lost in pleasure. I mean no thoughts were going through my mind, just a feeling of happiness and contentment. I had my favorite part of Corey in my mouth and was just enjoying being with him and loving him. My mind was in such a fog of contentment that it took a while before I suddenly realized that what he was doing to me had me just about ready to erupt. That called for more intense action on my part. I got busy sucking and tonguing. It wasn't long until his testicles drew up tight against his body. About that time I went over the edge. I could feel my body tense and start to shake. The thrusts caused me to lose my concentration but it didn't make any difference. He followed me, his cock pulsing in my mouth. I tried to pull my head back so I could savor the flavor but I had no control of my body. Primordial reflexes had taken over and all I could do was follow them. I finally regained enough control to move my head back and get the last little bit of his offering in my mouth. I lay there, panting. As his cock slowly softened in my mouth, I suddenly realized that if I didn't get to the toilet soon, there was going to be an accident. I jumped out of bed and dashed into the bathroom. He followed, giggling all the while. The sex had been great but the sound of his giggles was even more precious. If it hadn't been for the fact that I would have been forced to mop the floor, I'd have just grabbed him and hugged him. I made it but just barely. He joined me and our streams dueled. Oh what a relief. When the flow stopped, I grinned at him. He grinned back. When I looked at the bed his grin turned into a big smile. Back to the bed we went. It was time to see if we could do that again. We could, and we did. It just took a little longer. To be continued...