Date: Wed, 8 Feb 2017 21:13:00 -0500 From: Eff Del Subject: the oak and the Ash Chapter 20 *The Oak and the Ash- Chapter 20* *By Eff Del* Nolitimere156@gmail.com *As we approach the end of our years, often we'll wisely ruminate back upon and find new value in things we held true and important much nearer to the beginning and had somehow been put aside.* *It is a rather grand discovery to learn that there was real wisdom in youth and tranquility in age.* *It's a process of elimination and discovery in one fell swoop. * His head was nestled on my shoulder almost as if it was a pillow. His right arm, cast across my chest and his strong young leg thrown across my own; he was drawn as close to me as was possible. This was how we'd slept together since the first night I'd brought him home. I adored the closeness and smiled as I softly ran my fingers down his young body. When he first came into my life, he was usually up at the crack of dawn but now, as he grew older, he liked to sleep later and snuggle under the covers. I had no problem with that. I hugged him close to me and smiled as I thought about our day. We'd said goodbye to Doctor Mohamed as we got off the jet and into the limo. After checking into the Four Seasons: a four star hotel that was right on Back Bay and just off the Boston Common, we'd showered and begun hiking Boston's Freedom Trail. The brick marked trail is about two and a half miles long and there are sixteen dedicated locations, all of which are significant to the early history of America. This all entwines through a modern city so that subtly slipping from past to present is an almost surreal experience. There are several privately maintained sites that charge a fee... one of which being Paul Revere's home and workshop. Sean enjoyed that. He also loved Old North Church. He stood up straight as an arrow and proclaimed in his most serious (for a little boy) voice; "One if by land, two if by sea...and I on the opposite shore shall be!" I smiled and smacked his young ass in congratulation for his performance. However, his greatest pleasure came at the end of the walk. The Freedom Trail ends at Charleston Navy Yard and docked there is the USS Constitution. "It's Old Ironsides Dad!" He was jumping up and down. "I never thought I'd actually get to see it...come on, let's go onboard!" He tugged my hand and pulled me as we approached the still magnificent and meticulously maintained old frigate. She is the oldest fully commissioned ship afloat in the world. Saved from destruction thanks to a poem written by Oliver Wendell Holmes in 1830, she has been the pride of America and of the Navy ever since. Sean knew all about her and he lovingly ran his hands along the wooden sides as we bordered her. She was one of six frigates commissioned for construction however, due to a short tenuous peace treaty with the Sultan of Tripoli, only three were actually finished initially; `Constitution' and her sister ships `United States' and `Constellation'. "Do you know how this ship got her nickname Sean?" I asked the excited boy. "'Course I do Dad!" He was beaming. "In August of 1812, she fought a famous battle with the English frigate `Guerrier' and during the fight, many cannonballs bounced off her sides doin' no damage. One of her sailors saw this an he cheered to his shipmates; `Huzzah! Her sides are made of iron!' An she's been known as `Old Ironsides ever since." He smiled as only Sean can smile. Her sides were actually made of live oak timber harvested from Georgia's golden Islands primarily Saint Simons just over the short causeway near our cottage on Sea Island. Sean knew that and it gave him a sense of pride and kinship with the wonderful old frigate. We'd spent almost two hours exploring the ship and he seemed unable to keep his hands off the wood and his smile was constant and glorious. "Dad, that was so special! I've known about this great ship since I was eight years old an' I've always wanted to see it. Thank you so much for this." "No little man, thank you so much for sharing this experience with me. I enjoyed it at least as much as you did." We could have chosen to walk on a little further to the Bunker Hill memorial and museum, but when I made the suggestion, he begged off saying that the grand old frigate had been the hi-lite of his day and wanted it to end there. I received a `Sean smile' and he hugged himself against me as we slowly walked back to the hotel. "I love you so much Dad." He whispered into my side and I almost choked as I tried to respond. "I can't begin to tell you how much I love you Sean. You've changed my whole life and made it worth living. You own my heart and my soul." "Nah, I don't own anything Dad but we share everything...unnerstand?" I held back a sob as I pulled him tightly to my side. "Yes Sean. I do understand." His smile lit up the world and instead of weeping, I smiled back and hugged him tightly We ate dinner at the restaurant at the top of the hotel. We were not very adventurous, and both had the New York strip steak, mushrooms and whipped potatoes. We'd played our well-practiced little game and therefor, Sean shared a bottle of wine with me. Knowing that it was essentially against the law, he gave me a `bad boy' grin as he took his first sip. I of course grinned back. When Sean grins, how could anyone not grin back. "Tomorrow, we'll get into a car and shoot out to the Maine Turnpike. We'll spend the night at Bar Harbor and then we'll explore Arcadia National Park. Will that be OK with you?" "Anything you decide is kay with me Dad." He grinned as best as he could with a mouthful of sautéed mushrooms. I smiled and surreptitiously refilled his wine glass. He giggled and I laughed back. For what seemed to be the thousandth time I stood transfixed as he undressed with no pretense of modesty or shame and laid his beautiful body down upon the bed. I took off my clothes and lay down beside him. My love for this little boy was so all encompassing that he often made me feel inebriated. I became not so much sad as I did melancholy as I gazed upon him and realized that he was slowly moving from the gorgeous little boy that I'd brought home those years ago, and metamorphosing into a lovely young man. Although he was maturing, he would always be stunning. Stunning was actually a proper description of him. We awoke and showered together before heading down to breakfast. He grinned all the time as he ate his pancakes. While he was finishing his orange juice, I walked over the front desk and asked that the car I'd requested be brought to the front of the hotel and then, I returned to the table to finish a cup of coffee with the apple of my eye. Our bags had been brought down from our suite already so, we were ready to go once our car arrived. We were casually sipping on second cups of excellent coffee when a hotel employee approached our table and quietly said; "Excuse me Mr. Tucker, your car is waiting out front. We're moving your bags there now." "Thank you, we'll be right out." I looked at Sean and winked. He winked back and giggled. I was stunned when we walked out of the front of the hotel. Waiting for us was a long sleek black limo. "What in the heck is this?" I exclaimed to both the driver and the hotel staff member. "This is the car that you requested Mr. Tucker." The poor driver barely managed to get that sentence out. I was certain that the man had never received such a negative reaction to his vehicle and his services in his entire career. The limo was beautiful and the driver seemed competent and professional. It was just that I'd ordered one of my local companies to provide me with a car...not a limo. "The hell it is." I said... trying not to sound too unpleasant. "You can take this lovely limo back and this is for your trouble." I handed him a hundred dollar bill because after all, none of this was his fault. I then requested that our bags be moved back inside and I called Uncle Phil. I explained what had happened and asked him to contact the president of our company who had sent the limo and instruct him to make it right; "When I want a limo, I'll specify a limo. When I want a car, then I want a car. Sean and I are going to drive up the Maine turnpike together. I want either a luxury sedan or a high end SUV. I want it here in thirty minutes and I want him to bring it here himself and to be prepared to talk to me. He's to ask for me at the front desk." After we'd broken the connection, I turned to the Hotel employee; "It seems that our departure will be slightly delayed. Is there some place my son and I could wait privately for about an hour?" He smiled professionally. "Of course Mr. Tucker. Why not the suite that you just occupied? I'll get you a new key card although I must apologize that `housekeeping' hasn't been there yet." "Thank you. I'll just retrieve my shoulder bag and leave the rest down here. You've been most kind and co-operative." I handed him a hundred dollar bill as well and retrieved my bag before we headed for the elevator. Sean and I were in the suite sipping on glasses of single malt. I knew it was early and I was probably teaching him bad habits, but I couldn't drink another cup of coffee if my life depended upon it. Uncle Phil had emailed me the information on the man I was expecting shortly. His name was Arthur Lyons and he'd been president of this medium sized company of ours here in Boston for just short of three years. He was doing a more than competent job and there were no black or even grey marks on his record so far. Phil had shared with me that the man had sounded terrified by the end of their phone call. I decided not to be as harsh as I'd originally intended to be although I was going to drive home some points that I hoped would sharpen his wits a bit. We sat on the coach sipping our drinks when the telephone rang. It was the front desk advising me that Mr. Lyons had arrived. "Please direct him up to this suite." I requested and soon I was answering the door. Sean had taken his drink into the bedroom to allow Mr. Lyons the illusion of a private meeting. Arthur Lyons turned out to be a respectable looking man of about thirty eight to forty years old. He was about five foot ten inches tall and while not astonishingly athletic looking, he was certainly not an out of shape lump either. After introducing himself, he immediately began trying to apologize and explain the error at the same time. After letting him go on for a bit, I stopped him. "Arthur, Mr. Phil Regent specifically told you to provide me with a car. You provided a limousine. You do understand the difference I suppose?" "Yes Sir. It's just that considering who you are, I just naturally assumed that you'd..." "I don't pay you rather well to assume things Mr. Lyons. I pay you to run your company wisely and successfully but, to also do what is instructed from those far superior to you. Thus far, you seem to be doing the first part well however, on the second part...this time at least, you've failed by making assumptions that you had no reason to make and as a result have wasted time on my private vacation." He was nodding his head in agreement and had begun to sweat profusely. I became certain that he expected to be fired right there on the spot. "I understand and once again I'm sorry Mr. Tucker. In this case, I promise you that I thought I was doing the right thing. Mr. Regent told me that I needed to get a car to you in half an hour. The only way I could do that was to bring you my personal company car. It's a Mercedes-Benz E300 so it's not top of the line but it's no Chevy either. I realize that it's far below what you're used to but, it's only three months old, less than three thousand miles and she drives really nice." "I wasn't aware that we supply Mercedes as company cars Mr. Lyons." The color and tone of his face blanched. "B-but when I accepted this job, Mr. Regent told me that you expected me to drive a high-end car and this one falls right into his price range. It's actually my second one because I've been with you almost three years and they are on two year leases." I gave him a half smile. "I wasn't accusing you of anything and Phil Regent is right. We do expect our important employees to drive fine cars. The E300 will do very well. I'll have it for up to two weeks and I won't be bringing it back to you. When I'm done with it, you'll be informed where I've parked it and you can send someone to pick it up. My son and I are going to drive around through Maine and then a few more spots in New England before flying home so you can see how a limo wouldn't work." He nodded his head and the color returned to his face as he silently realized that he wasn't going to be fired after all. "OK then." I said as I shouldered my bag and called Sean out of the other room. "Sean, this is Mr. Lyons and Mr. Lyons, this is my son Sean." They shook hands and exchanged greetings and we took the elevator down. The hotel staff were waiting for my approval to load our baggage into the trunk and I gave them my nod. It was a lovely car. Not large but certainly more than adequate for Sean and me. It was a deep rich black and the interior was a grey so light it could almost be cream colored. I couldn't help but think that this was more like the car I'd wanted Jack to have but, he was in love with his Beemer...his `Bonnie Blue' so, who was I to interfere. I shook Lyons' hand and thanked him for his efficiency. "How will you get along while I have your car?" He smiled. "You pay me well enough that I can handle the cab fare and then when I get back home, I've got a sweet MGB in my garage that I've been restoring for a couple of years. It still needs paint and a few other cosmetics but mechanically, I've got her running great. That'll be fun for a couple of weeks. You guys have fun." We shook hands and I realized that my opinion of that man had turned around in less than an hour. We DO hire quality people and largely, this trip had confirmed it so far. Sean and I climbed into the lovely black sedan and were soon headed out onto the road. The 2.0 straight four turbocharged engine responded magnificently. It was rated at 241 horsepower, which was more than adequate for our needs. This was going to be a fun drive but not always exciting for the passenger who had nothing more to do than look out of the window. I glanced over at Sean "This is going to be a long, sometimes boring ride so if you feel like reclining back and taking a snooze, that's fine with me." He gave me his `evil boy' smile. "If you can take it so can I Pops. Before I fall asleep tonight, I expect I'll have a belly filled with lobster and...you. After all, ain't we goin' to `Butt Harbor?" I rolled my eyes. "Bar Harbor you little devil." "Whatever you say Pops just so long as it comes out right in the end." He began to giggle because he thought he'd just been so clever and he continued to giggle off and on until we'd reached the Portsmouth Circle in New Hampshire. Three quarters of the way around and we were very soon in Kittery, Maine and cruising up the Maine Turnpike; which is also an over 300 mile stretch of US 95. "We'll find a lobster pound and stop for lunch about halfway there. OK?" "That sounds great Dad." He'd finally gotten over his private amusement over his `right in the end' joke. He readjusted his seat and sat there smiling at me. "Find us some music Punkin Pie, we've got a long ride." "Prolly Dad, but we're takin' it together." My heart flip-flopped and I decided that I'd better pay attention to the road. ***************************************** Thanks for your patience as well as all of your wonderful feedback! I love you all and I'm trying to get chapters out faster but, as I've said before, I won't write just for the sake of writing especially when I'm struggling health wise. I'm hoping that very soon we'll be back to Joyous Gaurde and the whole crew but I'm responding to a large majority of you who asked for more Eric/Sean time together so I won't rush their private vacation. I think that's been necessary as well. Hey...don't forget that NIFTY needs your donations.