Date: Fri, 1 Jan 2016 16:59:50 -0500 From: Eff Del Subject: The Oak and the Ash-Chapter 3 The Oak and the Ash- Chapter 3 By Eff Del Nolitimere156@gmail.com As we bring children into the world, though we wish we could give them everything, we only need to give them a couple of things: a good strong foundation to keep them rooted to the earth, and a spirit equipped with powerful ability to fly so that they may soar as the occasion arises. Just as a plant needs light and space to grow, a child needs love and freedom to do the same. They need generous amounts of each in order to reach their potential. Supply them with these things and then stand back and watch. The results will always be wonderful. While we try to teach our children all about life, our children quietly teach us what life is all about. Arlen drove John in the Lexus to pick up Jenny and the baby and bring them home. John insisted he could easily drive but I'd told him I wanted him to be with Jenny and the baby and not be nervous or excited. Over the previous days, we'd all been to the very high-class maternity/birthing suite at the hospital to see the wonderful new little miracle. Jenny's labor had gone on for about 8 hours. She'd had an epidural applied and therefore, (according to her) the pain of childbirth was far less than she'd expected it to be. She was exhausted however and so, we made our visits rather short. I'd looked down in awe at the seven and a half pound little boy with a full mop of dark black hair and impossible baby blue eyes. "By god John, he looks like a miniature Sean." My big friend grinned. "I actually thought the same thing after they'd made him presentable. When he first popped out, he was a scary looking little critter I'll tell you that. All kind of bloody and slimy and red. He certainly cleans up nice though doesn't he? They laid him onto Jenny and I got to cut the cord. The Doctor tells us that he may very well lose all that hair and when it grows back it could be a different color although, that color change thing usually happens to a baby born with light colored hair. Jenny and I both have black hair so I suspect that'll stick with him. He also told us that many babies are born with blue eyes (hence the term `baby blue') but the color often changes. By the time he's nine months old, we'll be pretty certain what his permanent eye color will be. Jenny has blue eyes and mine are hazel so who knows." "Does he have a name?" "Walter." John said softly as he stood by my side. "Me and Jenny talked it over for a long time, and decided to name him after a great man. His middle name will be my father's." I smiled, `That was appropriate naming' I thought. "Welcome to the world Walter Timothy." "Remember that you've agreed to be his godfather." "How could I forget something like that John?" ************************************** Now, he was home and had become the star attraction of the estate. Martha and Alice (John's mother) could often be found cuddling him Their faces smiling as if they did not intend to ever let him go. Sean and Brian were allowed to hold the baby as long as they were sitting down safely. That was precious cargo to entrust to two habitual wiggle-worms. They originally were nervous but soon gained confidence and you could see the joy and wonder on their faces. A couple of days later when Jack returned from his field assignment, he looked down upon the sleeping little thing and murmured in awe; "Wow! Look at Little Walt." >From that moment on, `Little Walt' became the baby's nickname. ****************************** "So, Jack, beside the very foolish bit of bravado you pulled in that warehouse, how was your field experience?" We were in the library having a couple of drinks before dinner. He smiled quite sheepishly and answered; "After I'd returned from the `Steel Cunt', Miss Claire took me aside and told me if I ever pulled a dangerous stupid stunt like that again, she'd take me over her knee and beat my ass bloody. Believe me, I played strictly by the rules after that." "Good Jack. What you did was very brave but very dangerous. You need to remember that Skuggor work is teamwork in order to be effective. We try very hard to have no casualties and by working as a team we stack the odds in our favor. When all is said and done, going alone was what got Walter killed. He knew better but he let his emotions get in the way that one terrible time." He nodded silently. I leaned over and slapped his knee. "Don't worry son, you're very smart and you learn fast. You'll be alright." "Thanks Dad." *********************************************** The boys were whooping with joy and I must admit that under our protective facemasks, Chris and I were grinning from ear to ear. We'd finally decided to use the first of our paintball passes. We'd gone down to the surplus store in town and found camos. Sean and Brian's had to be modified by my seamstress but it was no big deal since they only had to fit and not be a fashion statement. The biggest chore was making certain Sean was wearing a cup because he hated them so much but, my little boy had played by the rules and his little jewels were properly protected. We arrived at `War Zone' and after registering, were assigned to the `Blue team'. Appropriate colored ribbons were tied around our biceps. I was surprised at how many other people had come to play. There were twelve people on our team and thirteen on the `Red Team'. Each team had been assigned a Captain and ours turned out to be; Rory, the young man who had sold us our passes in the first place. As we moved out into the field, he said to us; "We need two people to protect our flag and for this game it'll be you two little ones. You'll hide in that plywood shed and you'll be able to keep a good eye on the flag over here. As soon as you see someone come near it, blast them." "B-but we want to be out in the action too." Brian said. "Oh, trust me, you two will get more action than anybody." Rory answered. Once you've shot one or two of them trying to take our flag, most of the rest of them will be on you like white on rice and even though you'll be in that little shed, you'll have more than you can handle." "OK then." The two of them took their places in the little shed that was multicolored from many games and many paintballs landing upon it. Rory planted our blue flag and sent us out essentially wide file into the woods as the horn sounded signaling the game had begun. We began to walk cautiously into the underbrush not knowing what to expect when suddenly a paintball burst upon Chris' mask and another splattered upon the chest of the young man to my right. I dived for cover. As they had been instructed, Chris and the other young man raised their hands and called out; "Hit!" A referee appeared and indicated the direction to the parking lot. "Well that won't fucking happen again!" Chris muttered in disgust as he left the game." I whispered to Jack; "Let's see if you can pull your warehouse maneuver again; I'll try to pin them down and you go off into the woods and come out behind them. See if you can get them both but I'll try and be right there with you once you've shot the first one. Remember that this isn't SKUGGOR, this is just a game." He moved away like a ghost. His training was already beginning to become very evident, he seemed to disappear into the natural growth. I and two of my team members kept launching paintballs in the direction of our attackers to keep them pinned down. After knocking out two of our players so quickly, I suspect that they didn't think our reaction would be so quick and so aggressive. They were really trapped in their little ambush nest. About two minutes later, I heard; "SHIT! Hit!" and "Fuck! Hit! How the hell did you do that kid?" Even though he was wearing a protective face mask, I knew that Jack was grinning. "I think the expression is `sitting ducks'. Dad! Good plan!" Rory emerged from our flank and nodded. "That was great. Now let's try to move forward and do that on their flag." >From the ridge we'd reached without any opposition we looked down upon their red flag. Rory hissed; "There's only six of them there which means that they've got five others headed to the kids guarding our flag. Eric, you take these five guys and go back to provide support for the kids, Jack you and the rest stay with me and we'll try to get their flag before they get ours. I nodded and bumped fists with Jack as I motioned for my five to follow me. The firefight at the shed was astonishing. The little boys were defending with and incredible ferocity while howling with laughter and by the time we'd gotten into position, there were only two left to pickoff. My team did that with incredible precision. Just as we were congratulating each other, the horn sounded meaning the game had been won and very soon, a bouncing Jack waving a red flag came tearing down the hill. Rory smiled at the little boys; "Did I lie to you? Did you get enough action?" "Oh yea Rory. It was great!" Sean grinned. "Good, now it's lunch time, one more field game and then `speed ball'. After lunch, we drew for teams but I'd insisted that we were a sub-team and couldn't be separated. There was no argument. This time we were on the `Red Team'. Cliff, our new team captain led us out to the far side of the field. He planted our flag alongside of a little rock hillock smiling as he said; They can only come after us from one direction while we can go all around them. The little boys were pleased that they were allowed to come into the field with us and Cliff had the five of us flanking to the left. We moved quietly down the slightly defined trail but none more quietly than Jack. Suddenly he froze and motioned us all into the underbrush and signaled us for silence. We crouched there in the cool shade as suddenly four players with blue armbands passed us. Jack gave the signal and we busted a paintball onto each of them. "We're hit damnit!" the first man yelled as he raised his arm into the air. He turned and looked at Jack. "Should've known! It's you again. What are you...some kind of little Ninja?" I smiled at him though he couldn't see it through my mask. "Friend, you have no idea trust me." Later, `Speedball' didn't go so well for us. Most of us were all mowed down rather quickly with Sean being hit first and me second. Chris was the third and surprisingly, Jack was the fourth. Brian hung in there and was actually the second from the last to be eliminated. The final confrontation was really spectacular but in the end, the other guy nailed Brian right on his goggles. Brian had `zigged' when he should have `zagged'. "I think Speedball is a different kind of strategy Dad. I'm going to talk to Richard about it and see what he and Wolfman have to say about it but, this sure was a lot of fun! " The other three boys were in enthusiastic agreement. "Except for getting hit in the first few minutes of the original game, I've never had more fun!" Chris agreed. "We're gonna do this again Dad...ain't we?" "Of course Sean, I was afraid that you might have found it too boring." He gave me a startled scowl before he realized I was joking. "Dad!" I think I'm going to look into us getting our own guns though. Some of those guys out there had much better guns than the ones we rented. They shot faster and straighter. We did well, but we could have done better. Even if it's a game, I don't like the idea of being out-gunned. We're going to spend some time researching equipment guys." They whooped in excitement and never slowed down all the way to Deegens. I knew Martha was expecting us for dinner tonight, but I was so hungry despite having had lunch on the field. I (at least) needed a hamburger...turned out that they all did. As we were all walking into the house with huge smiles on our faces, Jack pulled me aside. "I'm coming into your bed tonight Dad is that OK?" I nodded my head. "Do your brothers know?" "Yes, I told them before I asked you." "Then, it seems like we've got a date Jack." I gently rubbed his shoulder. It was hard to describe how Jack with the aid of Coach Sal had developed his young body. His muscles were all perfectly formed though there was no fat to accompany them. He was still lean and wiry but perfectly formed rather than resembling a Greek or Roman statue or even one by Michelangelo, Jack resembled one wrought by the hands of Donatello or Rodin; rock hard muscle and no excess fat. I thought about my first encounter with this boy and how beautiful he was though he wore a coat of baby fat that was not at all unflattering but then I looked at him now. It was astonishing to me. "I want you to fuck me Dad, but could we just kiss and hug for a little bit?" "Of course Jack. That's all we have to do. There doesn't have to be sex every time you sleep in my bed Son." "But we will do it though...right?" I smiled and lay down beside him. "We'll do whatever you want us to do Jack. Right now let's just do this..." I'd pulled him onto his side and pressed my lips against his. It seemed as though we'd kissed for hours running our hands down each other's bodies and making funny little sounds of pleasure as we tried to press closer to each other than was physically possible. After a bit, I realized that he was sniffling. "Jack, what in the world are you crying about?" "A-after she threatened to spank me, Miss Claire explained to me how easily that guy could have killed me and she said; `Haven't you done that to your father enough lately? What would that man do if he lost you?' I r-realized what she was saying and I felt so ashamed." "Jack! This was the only time anything that's happened to you could be considered remotely your fault and I `m not even mad about that. I'll be very mad if you try something like that again. If you do, then I'LL be the one who beats your ass bloody." He sniffled but I thought I `heard' a small smile behind the tears. "On the other hand Jack, if we're going to keep playing paintball, those `ninja' moves of yours are perfect and I encourage you to keep them up. It's just that in paintball, you can't sneak up on some guy and deck him...you need two different skill sets. Got it Rufus?" He giggled wetly against my neck "H-how can you possibly love me so much Dad? What did I ever do to deserve you? I-I'm just a plain old kid who grew up in the NEST and never did anything special. How did I get so lucky?" He wasn't exactly crying by now, but he was weeping softly. I smiled to myself because this was almost the same question Brian had asked in the bedroom in the cabin at Lake Osa Largo. "Aside from telling you that you are certainly not just a `plain kid who never did anything special', I'm not going to try and answer that Jack. I think tomorrow, you should ask that same question of your brother Sean because he has a remarkable answer. If, after talking to him, you still want to have the conversation about it with me; you know I always have time for you. For now, just know that I DO love you so much. That man that I had killed up at the Steel Cunt died because he attacked our family and could have killed you. He held a gun on you Jack. I can't allow or forgive that. Have you ever talked with Sean about what happened to the bastards that blew up you and your car? He was there Jack. Ask him to tell you and I don't care if Brian is part of your conversation. You three are brothers and as Sean will tell you, I'm not certain it was me who chose us to be together, and I'm not convinced it was luck. I'm coming to believe that it was all supposed to be. We'll discuss it after you guys talk. This is a good time though for me to tell you that I've been thinking about my own actions and I've come to believe in this last instance, I should have listened to your instincts and not my own hard-ass rules. That young man's frantic attempts trying to get you to seek safety certainly deserved a second chance...they certainly deserved mercy...he certainly deserved better than what I gave him. Your words were correct Jack; `compassion deserves compassion'. I have serious doubts that he would have taken advantage of any of the opportunities you'd proposed for him, but they would have been HIS opportunities to screw-up. You've altered the way I'm thinking about the Great Game Jack. As you know, I'm a student of history and fear has never been a truly effective defense. Fear results in hatred and hatred results in horrible chaos. I'm thinking that `Magnus Venatus' needs to become respected and admired rather than feared. That doesn't mean we still won't be terrible enemies to those who move against us, but any `justice' we deal will be consistent and proper. What I did to that young man was way out of proportion to what he actually did, though quite proper for what he would have done had you not intervened. The difference being his end would have probably happened there on the warehouse floor. His capitol crime in my eyes Jack, was pointing a gun at you even though he never used it and even though he urged you to get out of harm's way. My disproportionate response was because I'm trying to think like my father and that was another time. I need to start thinking like me and allow you boys to think like yourselves. Mercy would have been more than appropriate for that young man but I didn't issue it. It was a bad, bad decision on my part. I can't apologize to that dead man Jack, but I can apologize to you. I'd led you to believe that you'd have in-put into his fate and then, I ignored every suggestion you made. What a horrible inhumane thing for me to do. It will never happen again Jack. For now, just know that if I'd lost you, I'd have lost half of my heart...I lost the first quarter of it when Kyle died you see. Let's not talk about things like this right now, I want to be happy my Jacamo. We had a fun day and you were spectacular. Sleep now John William Tucker." "But Dad...aren't we goin to..." "In the morning if we wake up early. Otherwise, some other night...we have a lifetime Jack. I just want to sleep holding you right now Son." "No Dad, please. Love me tonight please." I thought about what he was asking and I heard the urgency in his voice. I smiled and nodded. I'd reached over and grabbed the lube and applied it to his little brown asterisk and my now hard penis. I knelt between his raised legs and slid slowly into him and (as always), we moved in perfect unison. >From the very first time, our lovemaking was natural and instinctive. Jack came about a minute before I did. As my erection deflated and I popped out of him, I lay on my side and pulled him close to me He was snoring softly against me in about five minutes and I soon followed him into the `land of nod'. ******************************* The sign over the door was rather cutesy; `Hops Heroes' it read, but according to my research it was a first class source of supplies and advice for home brewers. The three boys were excited over the prospect of brewing their own beer and I quickly explained to the manager; a burly almost bald man whose name was Barrett Fuller, that the boys were home schooled and this was going to be a chemistry experiment suggested by their teacher. That statement was met with very little resistance or suspicion...everyone in our town knew who I was. We talked about what type of beer the boys wanted to brew for their experiment. "IPA...India Pale Ale." Jack quickly answered. Barrett scratched his head and said; "Well son, I don't suggest that for your first experience. If you want to brew a pale ale, let's set you up to brew an American Pale Ale first and if you do well, then we'll go for an IPA next time." He'd inadvertently given away the fact that he knew this was no `chemistry experiment' and I knew that he understood that if he played his cards right, I'd be a regular customer. "OK Mr. Fuller that will be great." Jack answered the younger two followed his lead. "Well then, let's get you set up with what you need. I expect that five gallons will work for your `experiment' yes?" The boys looked confused. Barrett smiled. "Five gallons will produce fifty twelve ounce bottles of beer. That's the standard size bottle here in America and by the way, it's the only size I keep in stock. That's a lot of homebrew boys." They nodded their heads and he nodded back. "Fine then, I'm going to set you up for a very good but simple recipe and after your `teacher' has sampled the final product, come to me and we'll talk about what was good and what was bad about your brew. When we've reached that point, bring me three bottles so I can taste it and we can discuss it OK?" As we roamed the small shop and he recommended equipment, I suspected I was being slightly taken advantage of but I decided to let it play through and in the end, to my thinking, his prices were reasonable and he seemed to have taken an interest in the boy's enthusiasm. "That won't fit in my car Barrett, so if you'll get it all together, I'll send a van down tomorrow to pick it up." "OK Mr. Tucker, but I was hoping to explain the equipment to the boys." I smiled and said; "That's wonderful, the boys will be on the van and you can explain the equipment before it's loaded on board. Tell me this though, how important is temperature control to the brewing process?" "It's very important Mr. Tucker and the more you can control the temperature, the better the final product will be. Attention to details makes the entire difference sir. Brewing is a natural process. In a sense, brewers try to control nature while nature `naturally' fights back. That's what makes good beer." "Then Barrett, I will drive the van down myself and I'll listen to your instructions as well. Let me settle up now and we'll see you around eleven tomorrow morning." "Why were you asking about temperature Dad? It's always comfortable in the house?" "Well, Sean, I was thinking about my wine cellar. Wine always does better in a cool consistent temperature and I wondered if that transferred to beer. Alcohol doesn't necessarily like the same temperatures as people. There's a little room in the basement at the other end from my wine cellar. It's consistently cool but it could be warmed up if needed there's a climate control system there. I think my father used it for cheese believe it or not. He really liked many different kinds of cheese. We'll all go check it out when we get home." We peered around the little room. It was large enough that it could have been a sufficient bedroom anywhere but Joyous Gaurde. There were sturdy oak shelves built against the wall and a large wooden table sat in the middle of the room. I pointed out to the boys that this little chamber had its own thermostat so the temperature could be controlled without affecting the temperature in the wine cellar at the other end of the basement. The room was currently quite cool but not cold. Based upon what Barrett had told us, I suspected it was about the perfect temperature for fermentation. "I'm thinking that this is the site of the `Tucker Brothers Mini-brewery' boys. "How cool is this gonna be Dad?" Sean said. Jack interjected; "Only as cool as the beer turns out Tadpole." "Rufus, this will only be our first batch. How good do you think Stone's first batch was?" "As always, you're right my little brother." They hugged each other, which was a natural thing for them. They'd essentially been doing it for a very long time. "Let's go see `Little Walt' Brian said. He was fascinated with the baby and we all agreed that it was a good idea. ************** The baby was very responsive and he giggled as the boys gently played with him. Having naturally lost weight from after birth due to fluid loss, young Walter was gaining weight and now weighed over ten pounds. It was obvious that he could actually see and follow movement. Though he wasn't probably seeing clearly, what he could see obviously delighted him. and he reacted vocally by chuckling and making other responsive noises. He was a great deal of fun and the boys just adored him. While the boys enjoyed the little one, I sat down with his mother and accepted a cup of coffee. "How are you doing Jenny?" "Actually, quite fine Eric. In fact, I'm planning to return to work next week. His Grandmother is going to watch him here three days a week and on the other two, I'll just bring him down to the big house with a sling and a porta-crib." "Are you sure you want to do that?" "Absolutely I've talked it over with Martha and she agrees that will work out fine. In fact, she says she'll love it." "The boys and I could help out you know." She smiled. "No offense Eric, but at his age, Little Walt produces about ten wet diapers a day and a minimum of five `muddy' ones. Guys generally aren't designed to handle that." As if on cue, Sean cried out; "Ewwww! Jenny, I think Little Walt just pooped his diaper." The boys had no interest in this part of raising a baby and so, we excused ourselves and headed for the pool. *********************** Jack and I were sitting happily on lounges while Sean ran Brian through his paces in the pool. Under the tutelage of Sean and Jack, Brian's swimming abilities had improved remarkably. The boy was a natural athlete and a born competitor. He would never equal Sean in this sport, but I judged that he might already be good enough to be competitive and that was astonishing. Try-outs for the Deer Run Swim Team were in two days. Sean had been working hard to get himself in shape but it was obvious that he was hoping to get Brian onto the team as well. After a half an hour of watching the rigorous practice, Jack decided it was time to horse around and he got up and jumped into the pool. I smiled in private delight as I remembered that day when Dr. Sam had declared that he was completely healed including his ear and that he could now do anything he wanted. Jack had burst into tears and hugged the man and said; "I love you Doctor Sam. Thank you for saving my life." Sam patted him on his back and said; "It was my pleasure Jack but remember that in a couple of months we've still got another procedure in order to remove the remaining shrapnel. You might be interested to know that Don Silver and I have written an article for the Medical Journal describing the protective device we designed for you and we're getting inquiries from all around the world. We've decided to call the system an `Ear Jack' in your honor." The first thing Jack did when we returned home that day was to let out a `Tarzan yell' and plunge head first into the pool clothes and all. He broke water with a look of such joy on his face that it made my heart lurch. "Dad! Dad! Is it OK if I drive out to Deer Run and tell Coach Sal that I can box again?" I'd smiled through very misty eyes. "Sure Jack, just remember to let Richard know what you're doing." He'd grinned because he knew exactly what I was talking about. "Oh, and you probably should put on some dry clothes as well." He'd giggled. Now, I sat watching my three fine sons fooling around and wondered to myself how had I been so lucky as to have them in my life and then, I shook my head with a start. I realized this was the same question that Brian and then Jack had asked but in reverse and that Sean had answered so remarkably. I instinctively looked towards the sky. I mouthed the words; `thank you'. Just then, Gary and Bobby came around the hedge smiling. "We were hoping that we might join you guys." Bobby was soon beautifully naked and diving into the pool to join the other three boys. "Can I freshen up your drink for you?" Gary asked. With a shock, I realized that I hadn't made a drink. How wonderfully out of character was that? "Actually, Gary I don't have one but, if you wouldn't mind, you could make me one." With a smile, he moved to the bar and soon we were laying side-by-side drinks in hand watching the boys in the clear water. "It's soon going to be time to close down the outside pool for the season and I'm considering having a party. What do you think?" "Why close it down Eric? It's heated and it's not like you can't afford to keep it heated." "I guess because my father always closed it down but, you're right Gary. There's no actual reason to close it down. I suppose I'll have to think about that...thanks." "You're welcome. Look at those four beautiful young sea otters or, are they seals? Man! My life has certainly changed since Bobby came into it and you helped us be together." "Garry, you seem to forget the large role that you played in that event. That's the reason why I'll always treasure our friendship; it was born out of distress and danger." He reached over and patted me on my shoulder. "Doc Swaim and John's parents are coming for dinner tonight. How about you two as well?" "Always a pleasure Eric. You know that." ************************ "Now boys, you realize that this is truly an experiment and a learning experience." Doc Swaim said between mouthfuls of his salad and at the last statement, I recognized that the boys were fighting hard to suppress their giggles. The big man was way ahead of them however. "Did I say something funny?" The boys were subdued for a few moments because they revered the man so much and (typically), it was Sean who found the courage to answer; "No Professor Swaim. It's just that almost everything new that we do, you call it a `learning experience' so we told Dad that you'd say the same thing about making beer and we were right." Doc smiled and said; "Well, in this case you're only part right; it's a DOUBLE learning experience. You three will learn how beer is made but the fun learning experience is for me because I'll get to learn how well you can pull this off and I'll get to drink a lot of your beer. In fact, if it's any good at all, I'll probably have to drink most of it. All in the interest of evaluating your educational development of course." "Professor Swaim!" Brian was shocked and almost outraged. The big man laughed heartily and reached over and patted the boy's hand. "You need to learn when people are joking Brian but I am certainly looking forward to tasting the first fruits of your joint endeavor." ******************* Richard had insisted that John drive the van into town. Regarding driving, I'd learned to pick my battles with Richard so I sat shotgun and the boys were in the second row. Barrett had carefully explained the very simple equipment and the ingredients and provided us with very detailed step-by-step instructions for the brewing process. "This is a very basic but very good recipe for a delightful `American Pale Ale' boys. After brewing a successful batch of this, many of my customers stop there and never brew anything but this. They're perfectly satisfied. After you bring me samples of your first batch, we'll talk, we'll taste and decide if you want to move on to something else or make subtle changes to this recipe. This ale will be a pale golden color, will hold a firm short head and have a sort of citrus-like tang to it. It won't be heavily carbonated because ale should be considerably stiller than say a lager or a pilsner. It's a very good beer to begin home brewing with...more than a few cuts above what most home brewers first produce." We loaded up the hefty carboy...the large glass fermenting bottle with the proper attachments, a six pound bag of light malt extract a pound of two types of crushed malt, four packs of two different hops and a package of special yeast. We also loaded in five cases of empty twelve ounce bottles, a carton of bottle caps, a small sack of corn sugar and a capping device. "Well boys, good luck with your chemistry experiment and remember to come back with three bottles and we'll talk about your work and decide how it can be improved." "Thanks Mr. Fuller!" Jack shook his hand and the other two boys followed suite. "This will work out great boys. We'll commandeer one of the utility kitchens on the first floor to cook the wort and then the little room in the basement will be great for the fermenting. It's naturally the perfect temperature year round. "What's the wart Dad?" "Wort Sean. That's what you call the mixture of malt and hops before additional water and yeast are added. Doc Swaim would explain it as mixture of different sugars that the yeast will feed upon and after time it will produce alcohol...in this case beer. Once we create the wort, then nature takes over and we have no control except to keep the temperature as ideal as possible. That's why the little room in the cellar is so perfect. The boys would not wait. They insisted that we begin the process at once. After checking with Daniel, I discovered that there was a fully equipped kitchen facility on the first floor not very far from the stairs near the little room in the basement that I'd already begun thinking of as the fermenting room. I smiled to myself and thought that I'd lived here my entire life and Daniel had been here for about a year and he knew more about the place than I did. We had everything we needed and the boys began to meticulously follow the recipe and instructions. It was just short of four hours before they'd finished the important first steps. When the wort was complete and cooled down to the correct temperature, it was poured into the large glass carboy. The additional water (which had been refrigerated) to bring the volume up to five gallons was added and then the yeast. Jack and I took turns agitating the mixture quite vigorously before capping it and carrying it down to the room in the basement. Five gallons of liquid is rather heavy and having little boys dancing in glee behind you can be quite distracting but, we placed the large glass jug on the table in the middle of the room and we all high fived. "Now, we've got to let it do its thing for two weeks guys. I told you Brian, the most of this is boring." "No Dad. This is so exciting. I can't believe we're doing this." ******* I was in bed but not asleep when two little boys entered my room dressed in nothing but air. They slid into the bed from what had become their traditional sides and were soon pressed against me. "No fooling around tonight guys. I'm tired and I've got a busy day tomorrow." I was soon kissed on both cheeks. "We just wanna be with you t'night Dad an we want you to hold us. We love you so much." As I pulled them close, Brian sniffled against me. "Why are you crying Brian?" I asked softly. "B-because I'm so happy and I feel so loved and I feel so safe and...and...because I've got a real family and a real Dad. I always dreamed that life could be something like this but I never believed it would actually happen for me. I can't help it...it just makes me cry but honest, it's good crying. I just do it a lot. Sorry." ************************* I smiled as I sat through the swim team tryouts. Sean was his magnificent self and out swam all competitors but Brian became `Spider' and astonished me as he swam particularly in the short races...the fifty meter events. He won every trial heat. "I'll be calling you all in a couple of days" Coach Riorden said as he dismissed the group to head for the showers. He approached me with a smile. "If you're planning on adopting anymore little boys Eric, I hope that they'll be as athletic as the three you already have. Brian will qualify for three of the short races easily. Sean of course, will enter all of the long and most intermediate events and I suspect that once again he'll clobber them." "Thanks Clay, but please don't tell them yet. Let them sweat this out for a little bit. It's good for them. I don't want them to be over confident. I want them to really feel like they had to earn their positions on the team. "Certainly Eric but they really did earn their positions on the team. I don't give out spaces as favors you know that. I'll probably call either tonight or tomorrow." "Thanks Clay. I'll go wait out in the parking lot." Like they say, it was déjà vu all over again. The famous `Seven Samurai' came busting through the doors but this time they had Brian with them as well. I had a flash thought that it would be a great name for a rock band; `Spider and the Seven Samurai'. At first I was afraid that Coach Riorden had spilled the beans but I quickly realized it was just the exuberance garnered through the joy of doing something that gave them so much pleasure coupled with friendship. Sean, Brian and Charlie approached the car. "Dad, can Charlie spend the weekend with us? His parents have to go out of town on a family `mergency an if he don't stay with us, he's gotta stay with his aunt and uncle." "Yeah Mr. T. It's not like I don't like my Aunt Patty and Uncle George, it's just that it's no fun there." I nodded my head. "OK, call your parents and make certain that I get to speak to one of them before you hang up." He quickly made the call and spoke softly into his phone and then offered it to me. "It's my Dad." I took the phone. "Hello Mr. Wendell, Eric Tucker here. I'm assuming Charlie has told you what this bunch of boys is planning but I wouldn't allow that without your permission of course." I smiled at his positive response and the boys began jumping with glee. "Your Dad says that you may spend the weekend with us Charlie and he'll inform your Aunt and Uncle. You'll need to squeeze into the back with Sean because this XKE was really built to carry no more than three passengers." "Don't worry Mr. T. I can make myself fit." I smiled. He was still `little Charlie' and he still looked like an elf but, just as all the other boys, he was growing. For some strange reason that made me sad and I realized that was very selfish of me. ************************ Martha had made spaghetti carbonara because she knew how much Charlie loved it and we were all now in the library. Sean and I were engaged in yet another chess match while the other three were sprawled on the floor playing a game of CLUE. Daniel stood at the door and cleared his throat. "Eric, there is a telephone call for you and I've had it transferred here to the library." "Thank you Daniel." I walked to the phone. "Hello, Eric Tucker here. Oh, hello Clay. Actually, they're both here and so is Charlie Wendell. Would you like me to place you on speaker?" I punched button and then said; "Boys, say hello to Coach Riorden." "Hi Coach." They replied almost in unison. "Hello Boys. First off, Sean, I don't think you needed this call but I want to officially welcome you to this year's team. Charlie, you've saved me a phone call because you are welcomed to this team as well. Brian, are you there?" "Y-yes Coach" "Good. Now son, I understand how hard you've trained but you know of course that for somethings, you have to start training early in life and if you start late, you just can't catch up no matter how hard you work. That's a fact and no reflection upon talent or effort. Sometimes you can't catch up with people who've had a head start. That's just the sad truth." Brian's head nodded and I could see that he was trying so hard not to cry. "The great thing is though Brian, hard work and effort often do pay off and in your case they certainly did. I want to welcome you to the team Brian and we'll see you all at practice next Saturday." I leaned into the phone. "Thanks Clay. As you can hear, things have gone a bit nuts right now. We'll see you Saturday." Jack looked up from the celebration that was taking place on the library floor. "Dad, it's OK if Charlie crashes in my room tonight right? He's so excited; he shouldn't have to be in one of the guest rooms you know? He might want to talk and stuff and..." I decided to play the ignorant bozzo; "Well Jack, tonight he's actually Sean and Brian's guest so perhaps it would be better if he `crashed' with one of them." "Oh no Dad. It's OK if Charlie sleeps in Jack's room. Sean and I don't mind." "Well then Jack, that's fine with me if its fine with Charlie." Jack and Charlie exchanged what they thought to be a secret smile and as they did so, Sean drew close to me and whispered; " Sides, if Charlie don't crash with Jack, how can me an Brian crash with you silly Dad." I sighed as I realized that the future brain trust of Magnus Venatus was already working together as a clever little team. (to be continued) Happy New Year everyone. May this year be considerably better than the last. Thanks to those of you who took the time to write. You have no idea how much I cherish those notes. For those of you who were angry at the last chapter, I hope I've clarified Eric's actions and his new direction. I appreciate negative comments when a reader feels the story has taken a wrong turn especially when the response is articulate and well thought out. I certainly received a few of those after the last chapter and I respect every one of them.