Date: Tue, 5 Jan 2016 20:59:29 -0500 From: Eff Del Subject: the Oak and the Ash-Chapter Four The Oak and the Ash- Chapter 4 By Eff Del Nolitimere156@gmail.com Enjoy the little things because one day you'll look back and realize that they were really the big things. Life doesn't get better just by chance, it gets better by change. Just, don't make change into something complicated. Let it happen...just let it happen. It's easier and better that way. "Boys, next Monday I'm going down to Houston to meet with Ricky, Mandy, Tyler and Doctor Scott. As you know we've already made significant changes to the NEST and I'd like you two to come with me because your in-put will be very helpful to me and to Ricky as well. Brian, this may confuse you because it isn't part of your background, but I'd like you to come as well. We'll be interested in what your impressions are." "Sure Dad." Jack said. "But you remember that I have a boxing match on Wednesday right? We'll be back in time for that I hope." "Jack, we'll be back by Tuesday night. We can't have your perfect record ruined because you lost by default can we?" He giggled. "No, but this guy is supposed to be pretty good. Maybe my record will be ruined by getting myself knocked flat on my butt." "Not you Rufus. You're the greatest." Sean grabbed his arm and squeezed it. The bond between the two of them was astonishing and I knew it would last a lifetime. Brian wasn't excluded from their love. They adored him and he knew that. It was just the unusual relationship that existed between Sean and Jack, was actually beyond being siblings. I wondered how well the `Lead Senior/Follow boy system was still working at the NEST now that we'd changed the `special training' and the `contracts'. That was one of the things I was going down to Houston to discover. **************** I'd left the boys in the penthouse Monday while I'd met with the staff at the Academy. Now, we were seated around a table at `La Maison de Boeuf' in Houston. Jack and Sean had been here with me before but for Brian, Ricky and Mandy it was a new experience. Taylor and Doctor Scott had declined my invitation expressing hopes for a `raincheck'. "This is very nice Boss Man. Thank you." Her smile was dazzling as always. "You are welcome Mandy. Now guys, the school looks wonderful and the boys seem absolutely happy. The grade point evaluation continues to be outstanding...these boys are still among the best in the country and the new `special training' seems to be phasing in well. I'd say you all are doing a wonderful job here. The new fortune from the shipwreck that we've recently placed in trust for the school should keep things secure for a very long time. " "Thank you Eric. It's become such an obsession that I've totally forgotten about my law degree. You were right; this is what I was meant to do." "Yep, life is strange Ricky but sometimes we just sometime find our place you know?" "I think I owe everything to Commodore Tipton. I'll never be able to thank that man." "Whether you believe it or not Ricky, every day you do your job, you are thanking him." Our server arrived with our meals and the thick juicy steaks captured our attention. I'd slipped the boys a glass of wine and by now, they knew how to play that game. "So, the boys are going to wander around tomorrow and talk to the students. I hope that they'll meet with some old friends and then we're flying out in the afternoon. What about you two? What are you doing about wedding plans? I'm paying for it all so don't be shy about it as long as we're invited." "Eric you can't..." "Of course I can Ricky. I'm rich as hell. You guys plan your perfect wedding and don't even think about the cost. Remember that I'm doing this for Mandy's father. >From what I've been told, you should hire a wedding planner and let them do all the work. That way, all you'll need to do is approve or disapprove things. Keep your mothers in the loop but don't let them plan the wedding for you. Let a professional do that. " "OK then. We're not going to argue anymore. We'll get on it right away and we'll keep you informed." "Great. Call Chris any time you need funding. Don't use any Academy money even temporarily. Chris will know that you have a blank check. Mandy giggled; "A BLANK check! Wheee!" I grinned and Ricky blushed. "You know she's kidding right?" Mandy and I giggled at the same time. "That's my Skeeter. The world's straightest shooter." She leaned over and kissed him causing him to blush again. Shortly, our server arrived with dessert menus. Brian picked his up but Sean pulled it out of his hands. "The hot-fudge sundae Brian. Trust us, the hot-fudge sundae." Jack nodded in agreement and Brian smiled and agreed that's what he'd have. Ricky grinned at the exchange and then said; "Coming with such strong recommendation, I'll have one of those as well." Mandy scowled; "Fair warning `Skeeter' Flores...you start getting fat and I'm going make your life miserable." He smiled into her eyes. "It's one `poco' ice cream sundae babe. Can't do enough to get me into trouble." She smiled back and kissed him. "I'm just giving you a hard time silly. I'm practicing to be a wife." The boys didn't understand a bit of that exchange but I of course did and I found it delightful. These two were joined at the hip for life. I knew that Ricky ran or walked daily, rode his bike, worked out at the gym and kayaked with Mandy on a near-by lake. He was right. That ice cream couldn't hurt him at all. As we left the restaurant, the heat, humidity and bright lights of Houston hit us in the face. Ricky and Mandy had apparently grown used to it and the boys were boys after all. I didn't like it because In general, I don't like cities with the possible strange exceptions of New York, London and of course, San Diego (which is hardly a city compared to these others). My driver brought them back to their residence at the NEST and I told them we'd see them for breakfast in the morning. Back at my building the three of us entered the elevator and rode to the penthouse. "Early to bed tonight boys. I want to get you to the NEST in the morning early enough for you to have breakfast with your proper tiers. Brian this will be strange for you but, you'll just stick with Sean because you would have been in the same tier." Brian had been told quite a bit about NEST life by Sean and Jack so he certainly understood what I was talking about. "I want you to have fun with your NESTER friends and when we're flying home, I'll ask you some questions." "Y'know Dad, wasn't so very long ago that I'da been afraid you were droppin' me off an leavin' me there." Sean had a strange look on his face. I moved to him and pulled him tightly to me. "You're not really afraid that's ever going to happen are you little man?" He looked up at me and blinked. There were some `almost tears' in his eyes but they never fell and he smiled...perhaps not a full `Sean smile' but a bright smile none-the-less. "Nope. You're our Dad an we're your sons an we're family forever." I smiled and ran my fingers through his thick black hair. "OK, this place has bedrooms for each of us. On the other hand, anybody that climbs into my bed better be doing it to sleep and cuddle...NOTHING else." Jack smiled and spoke as he was pulling off his polo shirt. "Sean was right a while ago Dad. You ARE becoming a meanie." The three of them giggled as they piled onto my bed... gloriously naked staring up at me waiting for me to join them. I was soon wrapped amid the arms and legs of three teen-aged boys and lay there serenely as I watched the millions of multi-colored lights of Houston reflected off the glass walls of the bedroom. It didn't actually take long before I could tell from their divergent but cute regular noises that they were asleep. Eventually, there was a soft little fart and I wasn't certain if it was Sean or Brian. No one reacted so, whoever it was had done so in his sleep. As I felt myself getting closer to sleep, I had the strangest thought; "I wonder if little girls fart like little boys and, if they do, do they find it as funny." ************************** Taylor (Tip) had made it a habit of sharing breakfast with the boys in the `big kid's house and this morning, I was sitting next to him. He and Jack had a very affectionate reunion but I explained to Jack that I wanted him to sit and eat with his old tier. Brian would sit with Sean's tier because he and Sean were essentially the same age. Shortly the doors opened and in walked groups of boys ranging from fresh faced little eight-year-olds to older boys about seventeen. It didn't take long before one of the boys noticed us up front with Taylor. "Look! That's Rufus and Tadpole! Hey you guys!" There was soon quite a commotion among the obviously sixteen-year-old boys and the (seemingly) thirteen-year-olds sitting with them. These were the lead seniors and follow boys who Jack and Sean had grown up with. Interspersed among the thirteen-year-olds were the eight-year-old boys who looked a bit confused as this inter-action went on. My boys (including Brian) rushed down to the group of excited NESTERS and were soon enveloped in hugs and back slaps and Brian was quickly introduced and from my seat I could hear exclamations such as; "Your brother?" "You are all three BROTHERS?" "You both got adopted by the same guy?" I heard some of the older boys say to Jack; "You won't believe the changes around here Rufus. We don't have to go out on those contracts anymore." "Now we go out and apprentice with different companies and different other projects." "Contracts aren't scary anymore, they're interesting and exciting and the little kids don't have to go through that `special training' we did although of course, some of it in the early parts was pretty much fun." Jack grinned; "You don't have to tell me, but I hated the contracts. Those won't happen anymore though guys. My Dad has made certain of that." "Who's your Dad?" "That man sitting up there next to Tip." They all almost froze in awe. "You were adopted by Mister Tucker?" Sean and Jack grinned. "Yes. He's Brian's Dad too. If we're going to use NEST names by the way, you should call him `SPIDER'. Even though he's not a NESTER, he earned his name." Room was made for my three at the big table and soon, they were eating breakfast while chatting excitedly among themselves. Chatter was non-stop, giggles were abundant and young arms were waving in the air. It was a joyful re-union and the laughter warmed my heart. After breakfast, Jack left with the sixteen and seventeen-year-old Tier boys while Sean and Brian wandered out with the thirteen-year-old tiers boys followed by the eight-nine-year-tier boys who I suddenly realized were the new batch of `Follow Boys' to the twelve-year-olds (Sean's peers) who had become Lead Seniors last year. I was startled when I realized that Sean would have become a `Lead Senior' as well but instead, he had become a brother (twice over). Under the old system, these older boys would have begun their `special training' already and that would have included Sean. I smiled as I thought that Sean knew more about sex than any of the boys his age here and would have even if the old system was still in place. What a difference a year had made. I looked out over the quad and watched my three boys laughing and gesticulating with boys that they (with the exception of Brian of course) had grown up with and considered friends. The little `Follow Boys' seemed as happy with these conversations as their `Lead Seniors' and that told me that the system was still working. I thought to myself that the thing we'd need to really keep an eye on was the new `special training' and the replacements we were instituting for the `contracts'. If we weren't careful, that was where the new program could fail. I had great faith in my staff though and I knew that I'd be monitoring things because these next few years were critical for the Academy's success as a modification from the old NEST that admittedly produced exceptional young men. I smiled as I watched Sean organize a pick-up soccer game and he'd made certain that the team he and Brian were on was short two players because he and Brian had no `follow boys' and therefore had a one older boy advantage. The game was fabulous and the little ones played furiously and skillfully. It is hard to get a goal past `Spider' though, and it didn't happen. Eventually, Sean gleefully scored a goal and with laughter, the boys ended their game. For Sean, it was almost as if two years hadn't past and he'd only been gone for a few weeks. I noticed though that he was very diffident and kind around the small boys and they looked at him with appreciation. They all returned to the quad laughing and shoulder bumping and the little `follow boys' were included in the comradery. I noticed with a great deal of satisfaction that Brian was laughing and sharing right along with the rest of them. Jack had been sitting talking with his contemporaries who all of course to one degree or another had been through the old style `special training' and then had been sent out on contracts. Some of them were the boys we'd rescued from Atiu and Chou Chang's ranch and they remembered that experience vividly. I was certain that their reminiscence would be very different from those between Sean and his friends. These would be among the last we would need to gently move from the old program to the new. This was the most difficult part of the change in the NEST...these transitional kids. The most important thing was not to confuse them or make them feel as if they'd somehow done anything wrong. They needed to be gently guided into understanding that things had changed. They were being transitioned from the prostitution they'd been subjected to into more practical and educational experiences. They were encouraged to continue to engage in consensual sex amongst themselves because they had been trained to do so and (in most cases) to enjoy it. For that reason, rooms were made available in the old training building for their use. We were still in a quandary about the younger boys who had not entered the old-style NEST `special training'. Since it was no longer necessary to `guide' them into at least accepting homosexual attention from adult males, what stance was the school going to take in training the younger boys about sex? This was still very much under discussion by the staff and a final report was scheduled to be presented in six months. Doc Swaim was involved in these discussions mostly via tele-conferencing. I had great faith the final program would be the right one. There were enough good minds working on the project. Eventually, the conversation group around the quad seemed to encompass all of the boys and there was a great deal of laughter. At one point either Sean or Jack said something and several of the boys exclaimed; "Scooter?" With a sudden lurch, I remembered that had been Bobby's NEST name. My boys must have just revealed that Bobby/Scooter had also been adopted. I wondered if the NEST boys' reaction was surprise, jealousy or pleasure and then I decided the answer to that was really none of my business. I signaled to my boys that it was time to leave but Sean asked if he could show Brian the dorms where they'd slept and I of course said he could. Jack took his leave from his old friends and came up to spend more time with Tip. They were still immensely fond of each other and I left them alone walking over to the offices to spend a last few minutes with Ricky and Mandy. Ricky grinned as he walked over to the small refrigerator and pulled out a large bottle of yellowish liquid. He placed ice cubes into three glasses and then filled them from the bottle. He grinned. "Now Eric, don't go telling anybody who has anything to do with running this school...) He grinned at me widley. "But the former interim Director of this Academy also runs a boys' camp on a beautiful lake up north and he brews moonshine on that property and often serves it mixed with lemonade. It seems while that old guy (who shall not be named) was here, he set up a still in the attic of this very building and he instructed me in the art of creating mash and creating `shine'. I'm doing it purely for the scientific satisfaction of course." I smiled and took a sip and then, I smiled once more. "Well done Ricky. The Commodore (who shall not be named) will certainly be proud of you." With a smile He responded; "I know. I sent him a bottle about eight months ago and he emailed me telling me that for a wetback barrio boy I make damned decent `shine'. Of course, that statement was followed by a much more civilized and loving message. Here is a gallon of the hooch for your own personal consumption Eric. I know that you keep fine liquor in your home but, every now and again, you might like a taste of `Academy Lightning'...that's what Mandy has named the stuff as you can see by the label she created." "Thanks guys. If I continue to like it, I'll want more and by the way, good or bad, the next time you are up at Joyous Gaurde, you'll get to sample the boys' home brew beer." "Eric, before you go, we wanted to let you know that we've made a couple of wedding plans. Ricky is going to ask Commodore Tipton to be his best man and I'm formally asking you if you would walk me down the aisle and give me away." I was shocked and realized that I was suddenly blinking back tears. "Why me Mandy? There must be other men in your family or in your life." "None more significant or important than you Eric. You've changed our lives. Please say you'll do it." I sniffled a bit before I smiled at her and said; "I would and will be honored to escort you down the aisle." She came over and hugged my neck. "Thanks Boss Man!" "No, Thank you Mandy." ********************** "That wasn't as scary as I thought it was gonna be Dad. It was really great seein' all the guys and seein' that they were all so happy. Only thing that made me a little sad was that they got to be `Lead Seniors' an I didn't." "Well Sean, that's true but you got to be a `brother' and they didn't." We were flying home and all four of us were sitting together. Our flight attendant had served our drinks and I hadn't allowed Sean up into the cockpit for take-off because I wanted the boys to focus on the experience at the NEST. "Yeah you're right Dad and this is so much better but I wish in a way that I could have tried to help a little kid like Jack helped me." "Well, remember that you've got Little Walt back home and the three of you will certainly have a part in helping him grow." Sean smiled and said; "Yeah I forgot about that. Little Walt will be each of our `Follow Boy' because he'll need our help won't he?" "Yes he will Sean. Now, what did you guys think of the NEST?" "I thought it was wonderful and if I didn't live at Joyous Gaurde, it was a much better place than where I grew up as hard as my mother tried. I'd be happy living there, I think I'd have felt safe, protected and cared for. Those were all happy boys...happier than I was when I was young." "Thanks Brian, that's why I wanted you on this trip." "Dad, the guys from my tier are still basically the same except that they are now `Lead Seniors' but they take that duty very seriously. They each introduced me to their little ones and kept a close eye on them the whole day. As I told you a long time ago, life in the NEST is good and it still is. I want to go back and visit again." "We will go back again Sean and you'll get to visit extensively." "My friends are basically happy but confused. The `Contracts' were suddenly shut down and now, they're going out on projects. Turns out that a lot of those are SKUGGOR projects and they certainly like those. In two years, they'll be aged out of the school and into the University and that's what they're thinking about and worried about right now." "Thanks Jack. We'll try to fix that concern for them. NEST boys should never be concerned about anything but if the truth be told, that transition from youth to young adulthood is pretty common for every boy in the world." He flashed his wicked little grin. "Not for me Dad because I know what I'm doing with my life. I guess I'm pretty lucky in that regard." Sean giggled and snuggled up against me. "I guess we're all pretty lucky in that regard." **************************** Richard had been down in the locker room with Jack up until it was time to tape his hands. He was now sitting next to me and he was a tight as a coiled spring. I suspected that Richard had taken in Jack as a replacement for his lost younger brother. They had a magnificent relationship without even a hint of sexual overtones. They simply liked each other immensely and never tried to hide that affection. Jack's opponent tonight was a very large Hispanic young man with an astonishing build. He obviously outweighed Jack but Jack was taller than he was and had had the reach advantage. I also suspected that Jack was more agile. This boy was from one of the local YMCA systems and like Jack, he'd never lost a fight. Jack was still in the age group where they fought four three-minute rounds and the rules hadn't changed. The judges scored the fight on punches landed despite the effectiveness of the punch. The round began aggressively because these boys knew that time was their enemy. After exchanging a series of jabs, it was hard to even know how the judging was going. Suddenly, Jack swung his right onto the side of the other boy's helmet and the boy staggered but didn't fall. Jack moved in with a series of jabs to the other boy's stomach and he staggered back. I turned to Richard; "I'm seeing a bit of SKUGGOR training going on here I think." "Perhaps Boss but nothing against the rules. Jack's fighting fairly." The bell rang and as they moved to their corners Jack took the time to smile at us and grin. "Jack's great isn't he?" Brian was bouncing up and down in his seat. ""Yeah, he's the best there is. That's why we're lucky to have him as our big brother. You just wait, he'll get this guy in the next round." Sean was confident about his Lead Senior/brother. As they came out for the second round, the other boy was far more aggressive; he landed two vicious punches to the side of Jack's head that obviously affected him. He staggered around the ring but the other boy didn't move in and take advantage. Since Jack hadn't fallen down, the fight continued and the two boys closed and exchanged a series of punches and then danced off to place slighting blows against each other before returning to their corners as the bell rang. Despite the blows to the head, Jack seemed to be totally OK and he was grinning and chatting in his corner and Coach Sal was grinning back. As the bell for the third round sounded, the YMCA boy came on aggressively but Jack burst in with four left/right jabs to his stomach that sent him down to his knees. As he rose up, he was met with a series of punches to the chin and face. He staggered back against the ropes. Jack's attack was so relentless that the referee stepped in and stopped the fight. "Still undefeated! That's my Rufus...that's my brother!" Sean was jumping up and down as Jack's coach led him down to the locker room. I realized that Jack was becoming a very aggressive young man and his determination to become a SKUGGOR was serious and yet, he was still having a good time being a boy. That was all right with me. Suddenly I was being hugged by the light of my life. "Didn't he do good Dad? Aint Jack the best?" I pulled him close to me and enjoyed the feel of his young body. "Yes Sean he did very good and I think he's the best but remember that out there in the world, there is always someone better. Jack knows that and you and Brian need to know that as well." As Jack came out from the showers, we headed off to Deegan's. "Boy, he sure hit hard but I realized pretty soon that I was faster and that was all that mattered." Jack was talking around his burger he was so excited. "Coach Sal says that there's no one else this season who can beat me except one guy that I'm going to fight in three weeks." Sean was chewing on a French fry and he scowled. "Nope Rufus. Nobody is gonna beat you. Don't even think about it." ******************** It was a full moon and my bedroom was filled with crystal clear light that actually made the room feel like magic. They were standing there by the large window. They were naked and smiling. "Dad, we need for you to make love to us and we already know that you can do that." I smiled at the two beautiful naked boys. "Well, I'll certainly do my best. I slipped out of my clothes as the two boys giggled. (To be continued) Thank you all for the wonderful input. I've used some of your suggestions with great appreciation. That's why feed-back is so important. I'm actually well enough that I'm going out of town on a research trip for about a week but I'll get the next chapter out as soon as I can. Thanks everyone.