Date: Tue, 19 Aug 2014 14:29:42 -0400 From: Eff Del Subject: Flights of Angels-Chapter 19 Flights of Angels-Chapter 19 By Eff Del Do not accept things on face value. Neither should you always rely upon first impressions. Despite what you've been told about the importance of these, things often turn out to be quite different from the way they were initially perceived. Changing your mind is not a weakness; it is a prerogative for achieving growth and wisdom. After all, what is an opinion in the end if it is not an intelligent analysis based upon perception, fact and experience? Always be prepared to change your opinion but be steadfast in your principles. Your opinions are like the leaves of a tree while your principles are like its roots. The leaves will certainly change with the seasons...even wither and fall away and yet the tree grows and prospers so long as the roots stay strong and grounded. Despite the fact that I had drawn and closed the blinds last night, the golden light of early morning cunningly found the chinks and sparse openings at the windows and poured in like some persistently flowing liquid. It slowly filled the room in honey yellow clarity silently driving back the smooth velvet of night's darkness. I stood at the bedside looking down in loving wonder as dawn's triumphant illumination revealed the beauty that lay in peaceful repose; sprawled amid the wild tangles of last night's sheets. Although he proudly proclaimed his sixteen years, in reality he was a very new sixteen. He was scarcely beyond the stunning fifteen year old boy who had shared that strangely cathartic experience with me that long ago evening. Despite time and circumstance, he was remarkably unchanged from when I'd first met him. Then, I had gazed upon his loveliness as he stood unabashedly naked; displayed for my pleasure and approval. At that moment I had considered him a stunning example of a boy poised upon the precipice of that irrevocable leap into young manhood. Now, as I drank in his astonishing beauty, my opinion was unchanged and as I watched him sleep, I was almost overcome by a feeling of heartbreaking love that bordered upon reverence. His well-made limbs sprawled across the bed in casual, natural yet almost comical ungainly rest. His red hair, mussed and strewn, framed his peaceful young boy face in a splendid pattern of disarray. His sensuous lips were partially opened as he breathed softly. I watched his chest...a chest still a boy's for now at least, as it moved in the rhythmic breathing indicative of peaceful sleep. The emerald pendant I had given him that long ago first evening, blazed as green as his eyes as it rested just above one berry brown nipple and rose and fell with each easy breath. I hugged my arms against my naked skin. I was shivering slightly while I contemplated the potentially difficult reality that must be faced soon. Unrelentingly, this diamond hard morning stole away the blackness that had served as my false protection from the pangs of guilt. Dawn had stripped me of the night's smooth scrim of darkness that so deceitfully covered even the most severe lack of judgment. I suspect he had been waiting in his bed; listening for me to come up and go to my room. He'd certainly allowed enough time for me to almost fall asleep before he'd crept across the hall and into my bed naked and wanting. He knew he would find me drowsy and vulnerable. His pleas; his expression of his need and desire had been urgent and passionately eloquent. It had been completely unanticipated and therefore, I had no legitimate defense prepared. He had clung to me almost frantically as he alternated between fervent kisses and beseeching request. I was torn between my assumed mantle of maturely and my deep almost aching love for this wonderful boy. It was because of that love that I had rejected him twice in our shared pasts. I knew too well that the first time, he'd offered himself to me it was out of a sense of duty to his client and a responsibility that had been indoctrinated into him by the training he'd received. The second time had been out of gratitude for what I had done for him and some youthful sense of debt and... I suspect because in no small way he'd come to believe I'd paid richly to reserve him for my personal use. This time however was different. He was not offering himself, he was almost begging. It was not lust however, it was a true desire...a genuine need; something they could never and would never have taught him back at the NEST. This was primitive and deep rooted. The decision to steal silently into my bed was not one that my cerebral Jack would have made lightly. He had thought this out and his motives were honest and personal. I'd held him tightly and tried to calm him but my mind was desperately trying to assess the situation. I'd cursed myself silently for my own youth; wishing for the wisdom of my friend Professor Swaim and then...just as suddenly as a flash of lightning, I'd realized I had my own wisdom and my own intuition and in a swift blinding epiphany, I'd understood. Jack...my beautiful, wonderful Jack hadn't come to my bed because he wanted me to fuck him. He'd been fucked far too often and much too callously in his young life. Fucking was something he understood far too well for a boy his age. His school mates had fucked him for practice and recreation; his clients had fucked him for pure impersonal carnal pleasure and to a certain extent for the feeling of power and control they craved and paid for...even his hero; Tip, although genuinely caring for him, had in the end only fucked him. Just fucked him and left with a kiss and a smile. I realized though that it wasn't the older boy's fault. At the NEST, they were not taught to give pleasure that way. They were not taught to make love...they were taught to fuck...more accurately, they were taught to BE fucked. That was why my Jack had never been able to overcome his pain; there was never any real opportunity to do so. He'd been taught and had come to accept the fact that sex was a duty that he was required to participate in at this point in his young life. It was never meant for his pleasure. He was the vessel...the provider of some other person's gratification. His feelings were never part of the equation. With a start I knew...or at least surmised that even those two nights he and Tip had shared in his room here in my home...Jack's home... Tip had probably done all of the fucking and had never thought to offer himself to Jack. Their training was a decidedly one way street. Pleasure was for the giver and never for the receiver. It was foreign to how they had been trained. But now, I had entered his life and completely changed its direction. I'd had no intention of hurting him further than he'd already been hurt. My motives were inherently pure and most certainly sincere. I had offered him love and the legitimate bond of family. I'd held out the prospect of an entirely different way of thinking about his life...something quite foreign to what he had been taught to expect. He was happy but confused. Jack was at a crossroad; a major point of transition and he needed some spiritual closure as he moved from the old to the new. In his mind, he'd decided that if I would have sex with him it would be different...that suddenly he could make the connection between sex and love; a connection that knew instinctively must exist. For whatever reason, he desperately needed to experience that connection as an affirmation of all that he hoped to be true about his future. As he lay beneath me at that moment, his stunning green eyes blazed with emotional need that shone even in the room's darkness. It was then that I understood. I knew what I must do...what seemingly only I COULD do. I shivered with the responsibility, the honor and the pure, pure love. I realized that this would not be sex in the plebian sense of the word. In this very room in this very bed, Chris and I had sex...happy, exuberant joyful sex...this could not be like that. This had to be love making in the purest most sacred definition of the act. This had to be almost like a religious communion...a shared sacrament. It was a physical need this wonderful boy had for a true demonstration of love. I realized with an insight that surprised me, that it was not unlike Sean's need for that spanking months ago. It was an affirmation; a confirmation...it was something I had to do and had to do more completely...more perfectly than anything I'd ever done before. This was all about him and not in the least bit about me. This was a life changing moment. I'd kissed him softly and tenderly and hugged him tightly before I spoke. "Alright Jack. I love you way too much not to do this. We'll be together in that way tonight, but you have to understand that it will only be tonight. This will never happen between us again." "I know Eric, I understand but it's just I need it to happen this once before I...before we can all become a family...Eric, if we don't...I'll always wonder I'll always... please show me that you love me please...E-eric I don't know how else to say it." It was my turn to put a finger to his lips and silence him. "Shhh Jack. No more about anything except tonight...this...from this moment on... it's now only about you and me." I raised myself up on one elbow and playfully brushed his hair from his eyes and then coyly ran a finger down his nose. I smile as I spoke ; " First things first my little Rufus." I paused to kiss him on the nose. "The clinical things sweet boy; let's take care of some important business." I held up the tube of lube he'd brought with him. "Pull your knees back so that we can get you sweetly slippery and gorgeously gooey." His response was a very soft whisper; "Kay" He tossed his hair and seemed to pause for a second and then, smiled nervously as he pulled his knees almost back to his shoulders. I squeezed a generous amount of the clear lube directly onto his exposed brown pucker, placed more upon my fingers and gently but firmly worked them and the lube into his semi-expectant rectum. He didn't even flinch as my fingers penetrated his tight hole and I gently moved the lube all around inside of him. Satisfied with my application, I then handed the tube to him and as I straddled his midriff, he applied a generous coating over my cock without my ever having to say a word. Some things are obvious. With that done, I positioned myself at the verge of his buttocks placing most of my weight on my knees while he gently raised and rested his lithe young legs up and against my shoulders. I alternated between kissing him and speaking soothing almost nonsense phrases as I ran my hands gently down his sides and over his stomach. Slowly, I brought my left hand around and onto the small of his back and in a gentle but firm grip pulled his pelvis up and towards me. His not yet a man's cock was jutting stiff and proud pressed against my navel as I slowly moved my own iron hard member forward with practiced aim. He was staring at me with those incredible green eyes and he said; "E-eric don't notice if I look like it's hurting when you come into me. I want you more than anything. Please don't stop no matter what." It suddenly occurred to me that he had no idea that I'd read the amazingly honest and articulate account of his life that he'd given to Professor Swaim. He didn't know that I knew about all of his experiences and all of the pain he'd been through. My cock head was now at his tight little gateway. "Shhh little Jack" I whispered as I pushed against his well lubed barrier. Slowly and gently I slipped into his tight, slick, magnificent heat. His eyes flew opened and our gazes locked. He took in a deep breath. "Y-you...you're in me!" he whispered. I smiled and kissed his left nipple. "Yes Jack. I'm in you...May I go deeper?" "E-eric...it...it didn't hurt! You're in me and it didn't hurt! Ohhhh Eric...please go deeper...fuck me...it don't hurt!" "No sweet little Jack. I won't fuck you but I WILL make love to you." With that, I slowly gently moved all the way until my pubic hair was tightly against his wonderful buttocks cheeks and my cock was enclosed in the hot, tight, welcoming sheath that was the deep precious loving essence of my sweet young Jack. As I began to move in him I initially took slow long stokes striving every time to rub against his button. When I was successful I smiled to myself because each stroke was causing him to shiver and writhe under me as he locked his strong legs around my neck and tried to drive himself further against me seeking more penetration and more body filling contact. As we moved together in a slow but feverish dance without music, he began to moan and coo while I continued a series of silly comforting phrases mostly consisting of different ways of telling him how much I loved him. Jack became completely involved in feelings that were new to him despite his unusually extensive experience. The feelings were obviously exciting, pleasurable and very welcomed. I found myself for the first time in my life concentrating upon my partner's pleasure without any concern at all for my own and as a consequence I found that my own enjoyment felt new and exquisite. Funny how that works. I don't know how long we engaged in our gentle blissful coupling before I could no longer contain myself and I exploded into his tight young body. At almost the same time, with a soft but wild moan, Jack's stiff tool spurted out violently against my stomach and dripped down upon his own.. "Ohhhh...oh...I n-never...I NEVER..." He was crying into my shoulder as his legs released my neck and came down onto the bed. They were still spread wide as my cock remained buried deeply inside him. "That is making love...not fucking Jack" I whispered on the verge of tears myself. "That is how much I love you my special boy." I entered him and we made love two more times with a fervor and intensity I'd never before experienced until... at last... both of us, exhausted beyond the point of speaking, had fallen asleep sprawled in each other's embrace. This was how I'd awoken early this morning, risen from bed and stood gazing at this exceptional boy wondering if the day would bring dire consequences for last night's actions. Once again, I cursed my youth. Would there be regrets...or a desire to form some new relationship on an entirely different level? Had I ruined everything in a moment of weakness? Was I after all, just a foolish young man...hardly more than a boy myself who had let his carnal desires rule his morals and his intellect? In the end, despite all my mental pontificating, had I thought with my dick and not my head? Typically for so early in the morning, my bladder interrupted my rumination and drove me with a sense of urgency to the bathroom. Having pissed and then brushed my teeth I returned to the bedroom. He didn't seem to have moved and so I walked into the kitchenette and messed around with the coffee maker. It was not long before the simple contraption was emitting the hissing gurgling noise that indicated the pot was almost ready. The exhilarating aroma now filling the little room reinforced that information. Shortly, I'd poured myself a steaming cup of the rich black Kona and as I took my first sip, two arms wrapped themselves around my chest. I froze momentarily. The confrontation; the anticipated moment of truth was upon me. I turned slowly and my vision was met by two startling green eyes peering warmly at me from behind a shaggy veil of red hair. He was smiling broadly. "Good morning." He said softly. "Good morning yourself my beautiful boy." I said and I bent slightly and kissed him. "Coffee?" "You got milk and sugar up here?" He was grinning because he knew I took my coffee black. "Of course I do silly. I'm prepared...you're not the first person I've had sex with here in my bed room you know." He flashed an evil little boy smile at that and I smiled back. "But, you're most certainly the very first person in my life that I've ever made pure and simple love to here, or...for that matter, any place... maybe in my entire life Jack." "Oh, I doubt that." He said and his smile was warm with affection. I handed him a mug of coffee and indicated the creamer, sugar and spoons set off to the side. After he'd prepared his coffee he moved over to a chair and sat. I realized with a strange twinge that he'd chosen the very chair I'd used when I'd spanked Sean that awful evening. I remained standing but I leaned back against the counter. "Jack, I..." He looked directly at me freezing me in place with that laser like green-eyed gaze. "Dad...Dad...MY loving wonderful DAD...," he said quickly. "I know you would have never done uhh ...what we... did last night but...please try to understand that I really needed you to do it. When they made me do it at the NEST,I knew all of the time that it wasn't supposed to hurt and I always knew that anything I ever did...anything I ever DO with you wouldn't.. COULN'T hurt. Eric...DAD...You just know how to love too much and now, slowly...oh so slowly, you're teaching me how to do that too. E..Dad. I love you more than I ever knew I could ever love anybody. You're the best person I've ever known in my whole life! I want to be like you in every way. I'm so happy and...and...oh Dad...so PROUD that you've chosen to make me your son. With all of the love that I have in my body I'm going to make you so glad that you chose to do that...I'm going to make you proud of me." "Jack, I've been proud of you since the first time I ever met you." He smiled and took a sip from his cup. "I wasn't fair to you last night Dad." He locked me in his gaze again. "I couldn't get it out of my mind. I knew that REAL love would make it be different...oh, I don't want to confuse or upset you...I don't even know if I'm explaining this right... but last night...you proved to me how much you loved me...I felt loved, I felt important I felt protected I felt...Dad, I felt EVERYTHING! It almost made everything I've ever been through...all the terrible contracts and stuff...WORTH it...and Dad...it didn't hurt! It felt...well it felt wonderful and I always knew that's how love should feel. I'll never ask you to do that again. It wouldn't be fair either of us and besides...it wouldn't be proper because now...NOW you're my Dad. Oh, I know we have to wait about ten days before that judge makes it official but...you're my father for real and always and the only one who could love you as much as me is Sean...my little brother." We both put our cups down at the same time and were in each other's arms almost instantly. A bit later we were finishing a second cup of coffee. We were laughing and talking about the world and about our futures. I was sitting on the chair this time and Jack, big boy that he is, was on my lap. I'd giggled and told him that if he got much bigger we were soon going to have to change places. As I drained my cup I pulled his head down and kissed him. "Last night was special for me too Jack. Strangely, I think we really became family together. In a very odd way, it was almost as if that was unfinished business between us. Something very special happened and it wasn't purely sex. When I was young, one of my friends...David... was a Catholic. His church was all very mysterious to me and he tried to answer my questions about that. See, my family...OUR family was never religious but David...my friend, tried to explain his religion and especially that Catholic stuff. I remember that he told me there is one point in their service where they take bread and wine and through some kind of magic or faith...whatever...I don't know... but they believe that they turn those things it into something else...something mystical and wonderful. I don't remember all of it because It wasn't and still isn't remotely part of my belief system BUT... I do remember that he called that part of the Mass the "Consecration "and he was very serious about it . I think it made him sad that I never caught on to his faith but he might be happy to know I remember that part at least. That's what we did last night Jack...it was a consecration". We turned our two bodies into something mystical. Our two bodies became one... I don't know how else to say it except we joined our flesh last night Jack. I don't know how much more you can define family than that my boy...my dear wonderful boy." He smiled and bent over and kissed me and said; "When you first moved in me last night it was like I'd been waiting my whole life to feel like that...to feel so close to someone...to know someone loved me that much. E-eric thank you so much for finding me and loving me. I'll always make you glad that you did." "Jack...I..." He leaned over and placed a finger against my lips and gave me one of his mischievous smiles that made the freckles on his face dance." "Let's go wake up that little brother of mine. I'm ready for breakfast." ************************************************** I suspected though I didn't ask, that Sean had at least some idea that Jack was going to do something important and intimate behind my closed bedroom door last night. They had a private communication shared between them that I suspected many real life siblings didn't have although the "Bro-Dar" Kyle and I had shared would rival any close communication I knew of. Sean greeted us at the door to his bedroom and broke into a large grin. "Mornin' guys! I guess you're ready for a shower huh?" It was only then that I'd even considered that Jack and I were still both completely naked. It was Jack who was quicker on the up-take. "You bet Tadpole. We finally got tired of waiting for you and we also decided that you make a shower so much fun that we didn't want to get washed without you...where you planning on sleeping all morning? Come on silly...little brother!" That brought a gigantic smile to both of their faces and a tear to my eye. The Shower Music Game was always pretty easy when Jack was the song picker. This morning the music filled the shower just as we had gathered under the overhead spray. "In the town where I was born" came over the speaker. Sean jumped up in glee and I quickly grabbed him and placed my hand over his mouth. ""Beatles...Yellow Sumarine!" I yelled and then released Sean who quickly glared up at me and stamped his foot in frustration. The fact that he was naked and barefoot made this demonstration considerably less impressive. "No fair Dad! No fair! You can't win just `cause you're bigger!" "Oh, common little man! YOU can't win every time Jack's the song chooser. You guys grew up together and you share the same music." "Actually Dad, that's not true" It was Jack now. "Music was very personal at the NEST and I was much more interested in classical music while Tadpole here...well, he was interested in EVERYTHING." I hugged my little boy tightly to me. "OK Tiger Cub. I'll call it a real tie if you know the words." He wiggled his wonderful little butt and raised his head up. "Dad...you silly. I ALWAYS know the words. And then he began to sing. In the town where I was born Lived a man who sailed to sea. And he told us of his life. In the land of submarines. He spread his arms and the three of us hugged him tight and sang in funny wet unison; We all live in a yellow submarine Yellow submarine Yellow submarine We all live in a yellow submarine Yellow submarine Submarine. Martha didn't know what to make of us as she dished out the waffles and fruit but she knew that we were happy and that was all she required to make her smile. After the usual hugs and kisses after breakfast, she pulled me aside and drew me into hug like she used to give me when I was little. It felt so warm and loving that I almost forgot that there must be an ulterior motive. This time however, her purpose was simple. "Eric" she whispered to me. "Those boys...those darlin's have made this big old house come alive. Do you ever think that if there was well if he was still...if it was you and Kyle...then there would be Jack and Sean. What a perfect progression. God bless you Eric and God bless those sweet boys." As I walked away I thought to myself that Martha had forgotten the sad truth about the missing piece...that empty space...the painful hole. Kyle my brother was not here and never would be. I knew that now though he'd haunted my world for years. The empty space would always be there just as the space left behind by my Father and Mother would always be there. I shook my head but I smiled grimly as I thought to myself that Martha had missed a spot in that progression of hers...what if we added Chris or even Tip to the equation...with my lost Kyle...oh God what a line that would be. Though only two of us were actually flesh and blood related, my father and certainly my mother would have loved that group. I smiled again and glanced upward. `Well dad...the best thing to do when it's raining is to let it rain right?...but Dad, when it stops raining, it's kind of nice to pause and look at the rainbow eh?' In my mind I could see him smile and nod. My father was that kind of guy. Before we parted, I scooped both boys to me into a funny but tight hug. "Little man...soccer try-outs are in two weeks." Sean smiled at me and did a little wiggle to let me know that he was excited but not very concerned. "Jack...good luck on your written test this afternoon." He smiled and flashed me the thumb and pinkie shaka sign that was once just a Hawaiian thing and was now more or less universal among surfers and kids. "You're both over confident smart asses." I said with a grin and slapped them each on their luscious butt cheeks as we parted on the patio. I still had time before the events in the conference room were to take place so I walked across the big car park and into the garage. John was fussing under the hood of one of the two red jeep CJs that we kept simply because my father had adored the tough little vehicles. I personally could care less about them. I preferred cars with more personality. John had so far been completely unsuccessful in his attempt to convince me they were loaded with personality. "Hey Eric. Good morning!" he said as he spotted me and grabbed a shop rag to wipe his hands as he walked over to greet me. "Good morning John." I took his hand and also squeezed his massive shoulder in a very affectionate gesture. "So this afternoon you take the red headed wonder for his written test...do you think he'll do ok?" John gave me one of those funny "surely you jest" looks and replied; "Are you kidding? We're talking about Jack here. He's probably got the whole handbook memorized Eric." His smile was warm and reassuring as always. "How about the other thing...is that all set?" "You bet. It's being delivered here at three o'clock which should be about a half hour before we get back from the DMV. Terry is completely on board with the project and he's ready for it. It'll be parked right out in the middle of the compound with a big bow on top. I'll drive up to the front door when we get back from the DMV so Jack won't see it until you're through with your meeting. In fact, I'll keep him busy in the game room whipping his ass at pool just to reinforce a lesson in not being such a wonderful smart ass." I smiled and pulled John into a soft hug. "Thanks for taking such and interest John." I said. He gave me a sort of funny look. "Eric...those two boys are pretty easy to take an interest in. I love Sean like I've never loved another person and Jack is just so...well, they're wonderful young men. Your father would be proud to call them his grandsons." I nodded to him and walked towards the north wing for the morning activities in the conference room. I'd told Jack that if he passed his written test, I'd get him a car and he expected to present a choice of three to me this evening and then I'd decide on one. What he didn't know was that John had been my spy in this little venture and I'd known days ago what his three choices were going to be. John and I had gotten together and reviewed the situation. We'd both agreed that Jack's choices were well thought out but entirely too conservative. He was being timid and didn't understand that money was not an object. My main priority was safety and after that I felt a young man's fantasy should be fulfilled. To my surprise, all three of Jack's choices had been mini-SUV vehicles. My initial reaction had been one of surprise because that wouldn't have been my choice for my first car but I'd finally come to terms with the fact that boys today thought of things differently. It was John who had told me I should be delighted that the kid was looking for a pick-up truck. Knowing that after understanding Jack's motivation for his selections, I was certainly going to up-grade his choice, John and I had both rather rapidly zeroed in on a German car. Though I had initially been leaning towards a Mercedes John convinced me to explore BMW because there was a `WOW' factor associated with the brand that appealed to youthful tastes in a way that Mercedes did not. I'd protested when he'd said that. In fact, I'd pointed out that I was younger than he was. I'd rather vehemently exclaimed that I myself was youthful and assuredly understood youthful tastes. "Hell John...look at me." I'd protested. The last car I bought was a Jag F-Type! What the hell could be more youthful than a sports car like that?" He smiled at me indulgently and then said; "Yep, Eric. That little Jag is a great exciting car and I love it... but please let's remember that you were so drunk when you bought it that I had to drive it home and Terry had to drive me back down the next day to pick up our other car we'd left at the dealership." Properly put in my place, I'd listened to John and we'd eventually zeroed in on a X1 36i sport. The car we'd selected was in a lovely le Mans Blue with a tan interior. It car was significantly more powerful than I'd initially intended for Jack. It had a 300 horse power in line six cylinder engine...pretty much classic BMW. Despite my misgivings, John had convinced me that underpowered cars were actually far more dangerous to drive. He'd also pointed out the exceptional safety features BMW had designed into the vehicle and showed me its safety rating which was impressive. He'd also assured me that this little wagon might very possibly be among the last of the `true' BMWs as the company seemed to be headed in a different and potentially sad direction in an attempt to appeal to a wider market. He'd also added that by the time Jack was ready for his driving test, the kid would be the third safest driver at Joyous Gaurde. "That would be just behind me and Terry" he'd pointed out. "You, Eric, don't even come close." That had caused me to pout a bit until John poked me in the arm and offered to lose a game of pool to me if that would cheer me up. I'd giggled and told him never mind...all was forgiven. As I walked to the north wing, I was smiling to myself thinking that I couldn't wait to see Jack's face when he saw that shiny blue "Beemer" in the car park with a big red ribbon on top. God but I loved my two boys! *************************************************************** I walked into the big conference room and noticed that only Barry was watching the screen. "This is the boring part of surveillance" Walter told me. "They're doing routine things that are most certainly part of their jobs but it's pretty dull for people in our...excuse me MY line of work. So, we're taking turns watching what's going on. " My mind flashed back to the man sitting on the fallen tree under the fire tower rocking and singing to my almost dead little boy...the boy he had risked his own life to save. A wave of affection poured over me. "Walter...how about you and I go downstairs and see what Martha can fix us for lunch." He smiled at me and casually brushed his hand against my shoulder. "That sounds great Eric. If I know Martha she's got some liverwurst put aside...she knows how much I love liverwurst. Your timing is actually great because there's something I've been needing to discuss with you." ************* As we sat at the table eating our very generous sandwiches, I casually asked; "Walter, you said there was something you wanted to talk about?" Walter sort of leaned across the table and quietly said; "Well, Eric, it turns out I've got cancer." I dropped my sandwich and grasped his hand, "Walter...I-I...Walter what can I do?" He smiled and said so very calmly; "Eric...son...there's nothing you can do. I'm very very well compensated and that includes having the finest medical coverage in the world at my disposal. I've been in touch with Doctor Kirkland...he's one of the leading Oncologists in the world for my type of cancer and he tells me that while it's inoperable, it is treatable and to a large extent controllable. I've actually already had my full dose of radiation and thankfully, due to the location of my tumor, you'll notice I've still got my hair." He smiled at that and I returned the smile but with a great deal of difficulty. "You probably thought I've been sneaking off to shack up with some woman." He grinned with a merry twinkle in his eye. "Next Monday I begin my first round of chemotherapy and I'm told it shouldn't be very debilitating. Doctor Kirkland actually thinks that sporadic bad reactions to the chemo aside, I'll be living a relatively normal life-style for a good long time." He reached over and patted my hand and I realized that it was HIM who was trying to comfort ME...what a remarkable man he was. "It's going to kill me Eric...but not for quite a while." I blinked back tears quickly hoping he hadn't seen them forming and I took his hand in mine and just squeezed it as I tried to smile at him across the table. We stayed that way for quite a long while. *************************************** I didn't remain up in the conference room for any long period of time. Walter had been right, the action on the screen was boring and consisted primarily of The Commodore, Professor Swaim, Doctor Scott and Ricky interviewing individual proctors and reviewing their files. Thus far they had completed the proctors assigned to the `Little Kids' building and were now slowly working through the academic proctors working at the `Seniors Building'. The Proctors involved with the "special training" would come tomorrow and many of those were the ones who would most likely be dismissed on the spot. I'd been very interested in the interviews with the sports directors and the music directors especially the orchestra leader who Jack in his interview had dubbed `Proctor Maestro'. I found these all to be very interesting men with a dedication to their work that made their interviews actually exciting. Unfortunately, Walter's news had taken some of the wind out of my sales and I found I had to leave the room and just find other distractions most of the afternoon. It was only as I was walking down the hall that I realized it was two thirty; almost time for Jack's car to be delivered and...I hadn't drunk even a beer the entire day. I stopped to think about that for a minute and I realized that it wasn't so much that I was not drinking on purpose...it was more like I was too interested in life suddenly to need or want the reality dulling effect of alcohol. With a happy grin, I realized that I was truly enjoying being Eric Tucker for the first time in many years. It felt good. It felt REALLY good. I was just walking out to the car park when I spotted Terry helping the Auto Dealer's representative place the outrageously large red bow on the roof of the gleaming little blue SUV. I recognized the salesman and I greeted him with a friendly handshake and soon all three of us were walking around the car and peeking into its interior. "It's a real beauty Mr. Tucker!" Terry assured me. "Jack is gonna go nuts!" It suddenly occurred to me that Terry had not yet been admitted to that inner circle of employees who comfortably called me `Eric' but I also quickly decided his time hadn't come either. I smiled and took out my cell phone and called John to inform him that the Beemer was here and that I was already out of my meetings so he could pull right into the back with Jack. John confirmed that Jack had passed the test with flying colors and they were already on the way home. Somehow, Sean had gotten wind of what was happening because all at once he was running across the parking lot. "Wow! Holy Guacamole! Dad...is this gonna be Jacks?" I smiled and told him that it certainly was. He was hopping up and down with excitement. "Dad...Jack and I looked at these but he was afraid to even mention a Beemer! He's gonna be soooo excited!" I pulled the excited little boy to me and said; "Sean, you and Jack forget that money is one thing we don't worry about in this family. You're both great kids...more importantly, you're both GOOD people. Neither of you asks for much so when I give you something, I want it to be the best because you deserve it." He was about to say something when suddenly John's sleek black Camaro pulled into the driveway. I hadn't realized he'd used his own personal car to drive Jack out to the DMV but that was typical of John. It came to a stop and sat there for a few moments before the passenger door opened slowly and Jack got out. He seemed almost in a daze as he slowly walked towards the blue SUV. His eyes were opened wide and his mouth literally hung open. He walked around it slowly before coming to the side where I was standing with Sean. "Dad...John just told me...he said that you...is...is this really mine?" Smiling I took his hand and dropped the keys into the palm. "Congratulations on passing your written test Jack." I said. He just stood there looking at me and finally managed to say; "I-I never expected...I never thought...you said that I...Eric...DAD...Thanks! I love you so much!" and he was onto me - arms wrapped around my neck crying into my shoulder but I didn't feel bad...they were happy tears after all. I mussed his beautiful red hair and I said in a husky voice; "There's still lots of daylight. If John is up for it, why don't you take your first driving lesson right now?" Sean was tugging at my arm. "Can I..." I pulled him tight against me. "Sorry little man. Not for Jack's first few lessons. He's got to concentrate on what John is teaching him. Pretty soon if I know John...and Jack, it'll be alright for you to ride with them. OK?" "Kay." He smiled at me. Sean never fussed or wheedled. All he ever required was a straightforward sensible answer and he was satisfied. "Let's let Jack and John alone to get down to their business. If you run over to the kitchen I'll bet Mrs. Edwards has a snack for you." With a big grin he was off across the parking lot. I turned to wave as the blue BMW with Jack behind the wheel, pulled slowly around the corner and Terry and the man from the dealership were carrying the big red bow off to... someplace. Turning again to walk back to the house I saw Walter coming in my direction with a serious look on his face. "Eric, I think you'd better come up to the conference room with me." "Is something wrong Walter." "That would be an understatement. When your pal Bernie spilled the beans to that guy on the Board of Directors, we kind of guessed there might be trouble waiting for us at the school...but this is something we didn't expect." "Walter, you're scaring me. What's happened?" "Well, we were watching those boring interviews when suddenly Chris just sort of burst onto the screen. As you know he and Taylor were walking around the two buildings just casually talking to the boys and checking things out... well...the school records indicate there are twelve boys in the fourteen year old tier, there are ten boys in the thirteen year old tier and...well they're all missing. No a one of them is on the campus!" "What?" "It gets worse. There were five boys out on contracts this weekend and they were due to return to the School on Monday...none of them has been returned. Eric, there are a total of twenty seven boys unaccounted for!" (To be continued) ********************************************************* Once again guys, thanks for all of your wonderful emails and great comments! I love hearing from you and as my health improves, I'm trying to get the chapters out a bit quicker but I certainly appreciate your understanding. Your comments really and truly are the fuel that keeps this little saga going. -Eff Nolitimere156@gmail.com