That's Okay

By E Walk

(Copyrighted by the author)

Edited by Radio Rancher

Chapter 9 - Bicycles?

When we got to the house, the boys helped everyone into the house. Darrin looked at me, "Dad, you take everyone's drink order and David will find out what kind of pizza everyone wants. I'll make a salad and Denny and Danny can set the table."

The Boss had spoken so I did as I was told. David brought a menu from Godfather's and handed it Mrs. Archer. She looked at it and handed it back, "You guys decide what kind of pizza to order; I'm too tired."

David tried to offer the menu to Father Roberts, Uncle Tom and Dr. Jacobs but they all held up their hands as if they couldn't care less. David went to Bill, "Okay Daddy Bill, what would you like?"

Bill took the menu, "I think we should have Pizza Supreme with anchovies, a Meat Lover's Delight with anchovies and a Hawaiian Pizza with anchovies. Oh, I think we need two orders of Bread Sticks with Marinara Sauce with anchovies and then perhaps two orders of wings that have been marinated in Anchovy Sauce. For dessert, why don't you order one of the them M & M Pizzas with anchovies."

Everyone in the room was watching to see what David would do. He looked at his pad, "Daddy Bill, let me see if I have this straight? You said one Pizza Supreme Pizza, one Meat Lover's Pizza and one Hawaiian style pizza, is that right? Oh I almost forgot the two orders of Bread Sticks with Marinara Sauce and the two orders of wings."

Bill looked at David, "What about the anchovies?"

I thought everyone in the room was going to crackup when David answered, "Forget the anchovies, sir, I haven't learned to spell that word yet. Now if you will excuse me, I'll call the order in."

David went and got the phone and the other three boys were watching as well as all of the adults. We figured this was a first for David. He dialed the number and we heard David saying, "Yes, this is David Phillips, I'd like to place an order please. ... Yes our phone number is 592-3810. ..."

David placed the order and asked, "How soon can we expect the order to be delivered? ... No, 30 minutes will be fine. Thanks for the special deal."

David hung up, "We're getting a pepperoni pizza free because the order was over $50.00. The total bill will be $53.10."

Father Roberts looked at David, "How often have you ordered pizza before? It sounded as if you have been doing this for a long time."

Darrin interceded, "Grandpa Darryl, we never have pizza here. The only time we have pizza is when we go to a birthday party. This is going to be a real treat for us."

Everyone started to look at me and I wanted to crawl into a hole. They were making me feel like I was a real heel.

The boys had gone into the kitchen and we could hear them talking and giggling. This was not a good sign. The doorbell rang and Denny came skipping through the room to answer the door. The delivery person had the pizzas and announced that he would be right back with the other things. Bill helped Denny to the dining room with the pizzas and Danny came to get the other things.

I pulled out $65.00 and handed it to the young man. He saluted, "Thanks mister, let me know when you need something next time."

The four boys came to get the rest of the adults. David announced, "Daddy Bill, this place is reserved for you. You will notice that there is extra space between you and anyone else."

Bill sat down at his designated place and turned up his nose. Not only was there an opened can of anchovies but two garlic cloves. Darrin was so serious, "Daddy Bill, we figured that you could wow the people with your breath when gave the message tomorrow so that they would think you did a wonderful job."

Bill was so calm, "Gee, thanks guys, I'm going to need all of the help I can get. Do you have anymore anchovies or garlic cloves?"

David got up and grabbed the can of anchovies and the garlic cloves, "See, I told you he was going to enjoy this. We're going to make him suffer and eat like the rest of us."

Everyone wanted to laugh but kept it contained as David took the items away.

We were all eating and Darrin looked up, "Dad, please don't yell, but we gave the coupons for the free burgers we received at Red Robin away tonight to some of the young people. We wanted to give everyone a coupon, but we only had four."

I was caught by surprise, "Darrin, why would I yell at you because you gave the coupons away?"

Darrin was confused, "Mother would have yelled and told us we were not acting responsibly."

Father Roberts took off the pressure, "I'm proud that you gave the coupons away. It shows that your heart is in the right place. Most young people would only be thinking of themselves."

I was so proud of the boys, but that bubble was about to be burst. Danny had been eating a piece of the dessert pizza when he looked up, "Dad, could you please get us some real bikes. Denny and I are tired riding around on baby bikes that Mother picked up at garage sales."

David added, "I'm almost embarrassed to ride my bike because it is a girl's bike. Everyone laughs and calls me a sissy."

I looked at Darrin but he shrugged his shoulders, "I don't even have a bike that works. The chain is broken and Mother said it would cost too much to get it fixed."

I just wanted to crawl under the table and throw up. I took a deep breath, "Sons, I'll think about your request tonight in my sleep, but I'm sure that your mode of transportation will be improving shortly."

Denny looked at me, "What does that mean?"

Darrin looked at me, "I think, what Dad said was, that he would remedy the situation shortly. Now come on, we ate, we need to clean up."

The four boys quickly took care of the leftovers and disappeared into the kitchen. Father Roberts looked at me, "Les, I am surprised at how much your sons are like the All American Boys. Their minds are all over the planet. The thing that most amazes me is their compassion for others. Not many pre-teenagers would be thinking about others."

The four guys came in and hugged everyone goodnight, David announced, "We're going to go get ready for bed. Don't worry Dad; we'll make sure our bathroom is clean. You take care of yours."

That was a signal for Father Roberts and Uncle Tom to leave. They were going to drop Dr. Jacobs off on their way. Mother Archer excused herself and went to her room. Bill and I picked up the last dirty dishes from the table and put them in the dishwasher, and as I started it, I felt Bill's arms around me.

I turned to him and he apologized, "I wish it wasn't the weekend. I'm going to leave now. I need to have a fresh mind for tomorrow."

I walked him to the front door, and as he was leaving, I pulled him close and kissed him. The kiss was interrupted by someone singing, "I saw Daddy kissing Daddy Bill underneath the starry sky tonight."

We looked at the stairs and Darrin was standing there in his briefs laughing, "I just came to ask what time we should set our alarms for. Dads, why don't we go to the last service and that way we can make sure that Daddy Bill will be able to make it home for lunch?"

Bill made a fist and shook it at Darrin, "I'm so going to get you kid, by tomorrow the goblins will be tearing your body apart."

Bill hugged me as he left and I went to Darrin. I wasn't sure what I wanted to say.

Darrin stood there unperturbed, "Dad, if you love Daddy Bill, why is he leaving? Why can't he stay here? The four of us guys love him. He is kinder than Mother ever was. Dad, please don't let him get away."

I picked Darrin up and took him to his room. I put him on his bed and kissed him and whispered, "Darrin, we'll talk about this later."

I kissed David and he sat up, "What are you going to talk about later"

I pushed David back down and hugged him, "The operative word is later."

I went to check on Denny and Danny and they appeared to be already asleep. I leaned and kissed them on the cheek and amazingly they both hugged me and kissed me back, "Good night Daddy. We love you."

I had a difficult time getting to sleep after my shower. It just didn't seem right with Bill not being there.

I was awakened the next morning by David, "Daddy, I'll go running with you if you promise not to run too fast and we don't go too far. I have some questions I want to ask you, and I don't think the other guys need to hear about them."

That got my attention. I climbed out of bed and went to the bathroom and put on some running shorts. We started to run and we arrived at the picnic table where Bill and I had previously visited. David looked at me. "Dad can we just sit and talk for a minute?"

We sat on the bench, "Dad, the strangest thing happened last night or early this morning. I was having a dream and my penis, or whatever you want to call it, started to swell and it felt like my blood was rushing out of my penis. When I woke up, I had this gooey stuff all over my penis and tummy. Am I going to be okay?"

I had to stop and think of how I should answer David, "David, what happened was that you have reached maturity and are now a man. It is going to be difficult, but please don't share what has happened to you with your brothers. What you have experienced has happened early in your life. Most young men are 12 or 13 when they have their first orgasm."

David looked at me like I was speaking a foreign language, "Dad, I'm almost 12 and what is an orgasm?"

I was on shaky ground here, "David, an orgasm is when you release your body fluids and it feels like part of you is leaving your body. It almost hurts and yet it feels so good. I will visit with you more about this later. I think we need to get back and check on the others."

I stood up and hugged David.

He looked at me and smiled, "Thanks Dad, do you and Daddy Bill have orgasms together?"

I wanted to rant at him but refrained, "David, for your information, we have not done anything to cause an orgasm. When and if it happens, it is none of anyone else's business."

David was so cool, "Don't ask and don't tell, I guess."

I was rattled by this young pre-teenager, but composed my thoughts, "David, I couldn't care less what you do when you are alone. I want you to seriously consider before you have sex, and that is a word you are going to hear often as you get older. Save yourself for someone you truly love."

Now it was David's turn to be confused, "Dad, are you saying you saved yourself for our Mother even after what she has done?"

I pulled David's face so he was looking at me, "David, I have never had sex with another person other than your Mother. Now I suggest we get back to the house so we can get everyone organized for church."

David looked at me and I almost went into meltdown, "Dad, you're the greatest."

Mother Archer had breakfast ready when we got to the house. She looked at us, "You two were gone for a long time. I was beginning to get a little worried."

David giggled, "We were having a man to man talk. Sorry, we're late."

Darrin looked up, "You're not a man; you're just a kid like us."

I looked at the boys, "Guys, just eat; we don't have time to argue now. Let's finish and get ready to go to the 11:00 service."

We finished eating and went to get dressed. As I was taking my shower, I started to think, 'I don't think I handled that very well. Maybe Bill and I should visit with David and give him a better explanation. I remember my Father talking to me but I'm sure I was older than David. I remember he took me into his study and even drew pictures of what would be happening and what happened when people had sex. I guess I had better talk to Bill.'

We left for church and Mother Archer was sitting in the front with me. Out of the clear blue she volunteered, "You know that Bill will be absolutely starved after this service. He can never eat anything before church on Sunday because he is so nervous and spends a lot of time praying."

I was waiting for one of the boys to say something. Darrin must have been thinking, "I'll bet he has butterflies in his stomach just like the night I sang my solo. He probably wants everything to be just perfect."

Darrin started to giggle and started to sing, "I saw Daddy kissing Daddy Bill underneath the starry sky last night."

The four boys started to giggle. Mother Archer looked at me and whispered, "You have a smart one there, Les."

We reached the church and were ushered toward the front of the sanctuary right in front of the pulpit. I guess we were ushered there because we were with Mother Archer. We usually sat toward the back. The boys were busy with the Children's packets that they had been handed; David and Darrin were doing a Bible word find and Denny and David were doing a dot to dot that turned out to be an angel.

All four of them stopped working when the processional started. Everything moving along smoothly and four guys were fidgeting as the service proceeded until Bill started to deliver the message. He announced, "The Title of Today's sermon has been changed. It is simply entitled 'Sharing'"

Bill picked up his Bible and read from the 14^th Chapter of Matthew where Jesus Fed the Five Thousand. His message told of what had transpired last evening and how four young members of congregation have decided that we must do more to help those who are in need. I looked at the four boys and they were like stones. Bill finished his message with the story of how the four young people had given away the coupons for a free hamburger; they had been given, to the needy. Bill concluded, "We as a church can help make a difference if we all act together. Now let us pray."

After the recessional, we hung back until almost everyone else had departed the guys went to Bill and hugged him and Denny looked at him, "Father Bill, we're going to take you to lunch. Where would you like to go? We can go to McDonald's, Taco Bell, Burger King or Village Inn."

Father Roberts was standing there, "Guys, why don't we go to I.H.O.P.? They give us men of the cloth discounts on Sunday."

Dr. Jacobs was standing there, "Tell you what guys, I'll treat. We'll meet at the I.H.O.P. as soon as the Fathers can get out of their garments."

We had four cars going to I.H.O.P. When we entered, David went to the hostess, "We have ten in our party including two priests."

The young woman left and came back and picked up some menus, "If you will follow me, I'll get you seated."

Bill whispered, "Watch out! Your son sure is bossy."

I leaned over, "Bill, you don't even know half of what is going on. You and I are going to have a long discussion with David after we get your things moved to the house."

When we were seated, the four young guys ordered children's breakfast special. The rest of us had a sandwich except for Bill who had the three egg omelet with hash browns, sausage and toast.

As we were eating Father Roberts suggested, "Why don't we stop at the Davidson Bike Shop after lunch and see what kind of a selection they have. The Davidson's go to our church and I think they probably can give us a good price."

It was like the guys inhaled the rest of their food. They were squirming in their seats waiting for the rest of us to finish. Everyone was finally finished and Dr. Jacobs paid the bill. We followed Father Roberts to the Davidson's Bicycle Shop.

When the eight of us invaded the store, it was jammed. Mr. Davidson came to meet us and Father Roberts introduced us. He added, "These young men are interested in getting a bicycle that is age appropriate for them."

Mr. Davidson looked at Bill, "Great message today Father Archer; I would like to meet the four young people you were talking about. I would like to help them do something to help the less fortunate."

Mr. Davidson started to show the boys around and had them sit on the bikes to see if they were the right size. Darrin looked at Mr. Davidson, "Sir, thanks for showing us what you have. We need to have a discussion before we can decide which way to go."

Darrin led the guys away from Mr. Davidson, "Look guys, we don't need a fancy bike. We are going to be growing so we need to get the best for our money; I suggest that we ask if we might have the basic bikes in a size that we can handle. That way we can save some money for Dad."

The four guys went back to Mr. Davidson. David spoke for the group, "Sir, we think we would like this basic model. The super duper models won't get us there any faster and have more gadgets that could break."

Mr. Davidson nodded in agreement, "Yep, the bells and whistles won't last long and you are correct; they need more maintenance. It is apparent that the four of you are still growing so it would be wise to choose that model." Mr. Davidson stopped and looked at the four boys, "You wouldn't be the four young people that Father Archer was referring to in his message today, would you?"

David looked at Mr. Davidson, "We might be, but you need to check with Father Bill to be sure."

Bill nodded yes and Mr. Davidson responded, "I'll tell you what, Gentlemen, I'll give you a ten per cent discount on any bike you want."

The guys spoke in unison, "We would like just basic bicycles."

Mr. Davidson smiled, "I'll deliver them to your house after we close tonight if you will give me your address. They will be assembled ready to go."

Mrs. Archer interjected, "Please make sure that the boys each have a suitable helmet to protect them in case they fall."

The transaction was completed and we went our separate ways.