The following is a work of fiction: Although it is based on actual characters and locations, the rest is purely fictional.  This story depicts sexual situations between males and females of various ages and, may include incest as well. If reading such is illegal where you reside, or you are not at least 18 years of age, please read at your own risk. This work is the property of the author Kewl Dad, and should not be re-posted or reproduced without his permission. © 2017-2021
This is the continuing story of Robert and Johnny, who first appeared in my short series: My 11th Summer. Although intended to be a simple stand alone short series, My 11th Summer was so popular, not only with my readers, but myself, that I decided to continue the saga in Tween to Teen. And now, as the boys finish High School and move on to College and their adult life, the final part of the saga begins. So, for those who have been following the stories these last 3 years, here is part 3 of the trilogy, which I am calling: Robert and Johnny-The rest of the story. Enjoy.

Christmas Parade Downtown Pryor

The summer passed quickly, and we made many pleasant memories, but all too soon it was back to school, and our studies became the most important thing in our lives. Which is not to say we didn't find time for some fun along the way, and of course Johnny and I spent as much time as possible together as our love grew even stronger.

We returned to Pryor for Thanksgiving and made the rounds, then back to school for the next three weeks before Christmas break. It was while we were on our way home for Christmas break that I began to remember a certain Christmas almost ten years before, when Johnny and I had learned the true meaning of Christmas.

We were ten that year, just two regular boys, interested in all the things boys liked, and not the hormone driven sex maniacs we'd soon become.

Even then, Johnny and I spent as much time together as possible and we slept over at each other's house as often as we could talk our folks into it. We'd had our first sleepover when we were 8, which might have been a bit earlier than most boys start, but after the first couple times we felt right at home at each other's house. Even if Johnny's folks weren't as cool as mine, I knew they genuinely liked me and thought I was a good influence on Johnny, who tended to get into trouble often.

I remember that year clearly since it was the first and only Christmas I can recall that we had snow on the ground Christmas Day. In fact, we had snow for a whole week, beginning that weekend before Christmas, and lasting  till after New Year's Day.

Of course, Johnny and I were excited about Christmas, as were all our other friends, including Donnie, who's folks weren't quite as well off as ours. Even he got a major gift or two each year on that special day, but we would soon learn that not all kids were as lucky as we were.

The week before, Johnny and I had attended the annual Christmas parade downtown, standing along the curb and watching the floats and marching bands and such pass by, eagerly awaiting the arrival of Santa on the last float. Though of course I didn't believe in Santa anymore, there was still enough kid left in me to feel the excitement as the jolly old fat man got closer.

The elves threw candy by the handful as the float approached, and Santa yelled: Ho Ho Ho, probably quite tired of it by now, and maybe a little hoarse. Johnny and I scooped up the candy closest to us, then I suddenly noticed a little boy about 4 or 5 pouting because the older kids had gotten all the candy. I guess Johnny had noticed him too, because suddenly he went over to the little boy and handed him the handful of candy he'd picked up. The smile on the kid's face was worth all the candy in the world, and I had tears in my eyes as Johnny rejoined me. I handed Johnny half my candy then, and he smiled at me. Not a word was said about what had just happened, but it was just one more example of how big Johnny's heart was.

Christmas was on Wednesday that year, but our last day of school was the preceding Friday, not because it was scheduled, but because of the snow that began to fall Saturday night. By Monday the roads were nearly impassable, and the decision was made to use a snow day for Monday, Tuesday being a scheduled day off.

Of course, for Johnny and I, and all the other kids, this was almost as good a present as those that lay under the tree. Not only did we have an extra day of vacation, but we had snow to enjoy as well. It was a good thing we'd had our class Christmas party on Friday, for we wouldn't see our teachers or classmates again till after the New Year.

As luck would have it, Johnny was sleeping over Saturday night, and when the snow began to fall we bundled up and headed outside. It was only then that we noticed the old beat up Chrysler parked three houses down at the old Perkins house.

The Perkins were an old couple that had lived there as long as I'd been alive, but that summer Mrs. Perkins had died, and Mr. Perkins went to live with his sister in Topeka, Kansas. Mom said it was because Mr. Perkins wasn't able to take care of himself, but dad said he thought it was because he probably couldn't bear to live in the same house he and his wife had shared all those years.

The house had stood empty after that, but there were rumors that Mr. Perkins' son had taken control of his father's assets, and was planning on renting the house out. He and some other men came and hauled off all Mr. Perkins' furniture and belongings and cleaned the place up, but it had remained empty till now. That had been months ago, and I'd just about forgotten about the place till that day.

As far as houses went, it was actually pretty shabby looking, and considering all the other houses on our block were in pretty good shape, it sort of stood out like a sore thumb. It needed paint, and the fence in back needed repair, and I could only guess how much work was needed inside.

I guess that was why it was such a surprise to see someone moving in. Johnny and I watched as an old pickup dropped off the last of the new families' belongings, just in time, since the snow was starting to come down harder now.

"Wow, we have new neighbors. I wonder if they have any kids?" I said, wandering to the fence and trying not to look nosy while I watched the action a few houses down.

"Maybe they got a daughter and you can find a new girlfriend," Johnny joked, poking me in the ribs.

"I don't want no stupid girlfriend," I said making a face, "I hope if they got kids they're all boys."

"Well, they sure picked a lousy time to move, that's for sure," Johnny said, scooping up a handful of snow, and I knew what was next.

I took off running then, and when I was far enough away, I scooped up some snow of my own and made a nice fat snowball, just to defend myself with.

Suddenly, the front door on the old Perkins' house flew open, and when I turned to see what was going on down there, Johnny launched the snowball and it hit me right in the side of the head.

"You're dead," I said wiping snow off my ear, then attempting to retaliate, and missing completely."

"Missed me, missed me, now you gotta kiss me," Johnny sang as he ran around acting crazy.

Meanwhile, I turned my attention back to the action down the street, and to my surprise saw a bunch of kids swarm out of the house and onto the lawn. They looked younger than us, two boys and two girls, ages I guessed from 5 to maybe 8, the oldest being a boy who wore horn-rimmed glasses.

"Look," I whispered to Johnny, even though there was no way they could hear me that far away, "they have kids, lots of kids."

"Wow, four of em," Johnny said coming over to stand by me at the fence.

It was about then that the kids noticed us, and the oldest looked right into my eyes and raised his hand in a little wave. That was all it took to fire Johnny up, and he grabbed onto my coat sleeve and started tugging me that way.

"Come on, let's go meet the new kids. Maybe we can all play in the snow together. We could have a real snowball war with six of us."

Johnny was always more outgoing, still is, but it didn't take much to get me to tag along. Still, I felt a little nervous as we made our way up the path to meet my new neighbors.

The kids had moved to the front fence by then, and as we approached, the youngest girl, backed up a little and hid behind the boy with glasses.

"Hi," Johnny said for us both, "I'm Johnny, and this here is Robert, he lives down there," he said pointing toward my house, "and I'm his best friend. I spend almost as much time at his house as I do my own," he finished with a chuckle.

"Hi," the older boy said, "I'm Blake, this here is Amy," he said pulling the little girl in front of him now, "and that's Ely and Sarah,"

"Hi," I finally said, mimicking the little wave Blake had given me earlier, "so...you all moved in, huh?"

"Yeah, we didn't have much, just some furniture and stuff," Blake said nervously rubbing his ear. We used to live in Chouteau, but we had to move. My daddy lost his job, but he knows the man what owns this here house, and he's lettin us live here for free till daddy finds a job and stuff."

My, that was a lot to tell two total strangers, but I would find out that Blake was just like that, open and honest, even when sometimes it might be best if he kept quiet.

"You got moved in just in time," Johnny noted, "it's supposed to keep snowin' right on through Christmas. Hey, do you guys want to have a snowball war with us?"

"Snowball war?" Ely, the six year old brother said grinning.

"Yeah, but no one gets hurt. No aiming for the head, just the body, and don't pack them too hard."

"Now you make up that no-head rule," I chuckled, still feeling the sting on my ear where Johnny's snowball hit me.

The two little girls, Sarah, age 7, and Amy, age 5 opted to just watch, but eventually they got into the spirit of the game and joined in. That left 8 year-old Blake and his little brother to battle with me and Johnny.

We didn't try to hurt the two, but they were easy targets, and neither were very good at lobbing snowballs. Blake kept having to adjust his glasses, and once or twice he wiped them on his coat sleeve to clear away the fog.

Still it was fun, and when the little girls joined in, Johnny and I let them hit us just to be good sports and to insure they'd want to play some more. We'd been playing about a half hour when a woman stepped out onto the porch, dressed in a thin sweater and plain cotton dress, and called to the kids.

Blake gathered them up and they all ran over to her, and between them they explained who Johnny and I were, and she kept looking our way and smiling.

We finally wandered over and introduced ourselves, being very polite, as we'd been taught to be, and the woman smiled, exposing decayed teeth in front.

"Well, it's nice to meet you all. Me and my husband just moved in with our younguns and we ain't had time to meet our neighbors yet."

"Yes ma'am," I said, "I'll be sure to tell my folks we met you all and stuff and they'll probably want to come down and say hello."

"Oh, well...they don't need to do that," she said sounding embarrassed.

"I know ma'am, but that's how my folks are, they're real friendly. We know everybody on this block by name and call em our neighbors, so I reckon you're our neighbors too."

"Well, thank you. You kids have fun, but don't stay out too long, it's gettin' colder out here, and just look at that snow coming down. Land's sake, that's all we need," she sighed, then she went back inside, leaving us to our play.

"My momma is sad cause we had to move and stuff," Blake offered, "and she worries cause we ain't got much money for food and stuff."

Now I really felt bad, and I could tell Johnny did too. That boy had an even bigger heart than I did, and that's one of the things that eventually made me fall so hard for him.

Eventually, we tired of the snowball fight and decided to build a snowman, and the little kids were very enthusiastic about that idea. As we worked, we talked some more, and I got to know the kids a little better, especially Blake, who seemed to love to talk.

I learned that he was 8, would be nine in March (same month as me), and that he was in second grade. He seemed much smarter than most second graders, and I wondered if maybe he'd been held back or something, but I didn't ask. He said he was near-sighted and had to wear glasses, even going so far as to say that the Lyon's Club paid for them cause his folks couldn't afford them.

The more I heard, the more I felt sorry for this family, and I didn't even know the worst of it at that point, but I would soon enough. Eventually, it began to get dark, and we said goodbye to the kids and headed to my house, leaving a nice four-foot tall snowman behind.

As soon as we were inside, mom fixed us hot cocoa and we told her all about the new family on the block, well as much as we knew, but it seems she already knew about them, though not in as much detail as we did.

"They're really poor, aren't they mom?" I said frowning, "I wonder if they'll even have a Christmas at their house."

My mom smiled and smoothed back my shaggy hair and kissed my forehead, "You're a good boy to worry about others," she said gently, "both you boys have big hearts. Don't you worry though, we'll figure out some way to help them if they'll let us. We're a neighborhood of friends and family, and we take care of each other. I'll talk to a few of the folks tomorrow at Church and see what we can come up with."

I felt some better knowing mom was on the case, but I worried that the family, well...at least the dad, would be too proud to accept charity. I hadn't even met the man, but I knew that some men were like that, especially when it came to their families. They felt less than a man if they couldn't provide for their family, and outside help sometimes just made them feel worse.

What he needed was a job, and unfortunately those were hard to come by in a small town like ours, especially this time of year. It suddenly occurred to me that I didn't even know the families' last name, but I would soon enough.

Mom had been cooking chili all afternoon, and we ate it with hot buttered cornbread and salad. For dessert, we had chocolate chip cookies, and Johnny, the pig, ate three. Johnny was always a big eater, but as soon as he digested it, his tummy was flat again.

Johnny and I had no modesty around each other since we'd practically grown up together and even bathed together. That night was no different as we shared a tub, playing with our bath toys, and eventually scrubbing our skinny bodies clean.

We dressed for bed then, me in my pink ski pajamas, which Johnny loved to make fun of. They hadn't always been pink, once they were red and white, but after mom accidentally washed them in hot water, the colors ran together, and now they were a lovely shade of pink. If I hadn't loved those pj's so much I might have quit wearing them, but they were just so warm and comfy that I put up with Johnny's jokes.

Johnny, on the other hand, never wore pajamas. He slept in just his underwear, but until we actually headed to bed, he'd wear a tee shirt and a pair of shorts or sweat pants. That night, it was sweat pants and a tee since it was pretty cool, even though we had central heat.

We watched TV with my folks for a while as we talked about the new neighbors some more. I learned their last name was Ross, that the dad was part Indian (Native American), and that he had lost his last job because of his drinking problem.

That was interesting to Johnny and me, but we kept quiet, figuring we'd learn more just by listening. Mom said the two had married right out of high school, and that they'd had their first baby, Blake, after only being married a year, then came another baby, one after another, until the doctor finally told her, no more.

"Wow, four kids," dad chuckled, "I guess when you're not working you have more time on your hands."

Mom slapped at him, and it took me a minute to figure out what dad was saying, and when I did I blushed. I wasn't completely stupid at ten, I knew how babies were made, though I still thought it was a stretch of the imagination that they could actually come out of that little hole between a woman's legs.

The conversation turned to other subjects then, and eventually Johnny and I said goodnight and headed to my room. Once inside, Johnny piled down on my bed and propped his head up on one arm, looking thoughtful.

"So, Mr. Ross is a drunk and he likes to...make babies," Johnny chuckled.

"I guess," I said blushing again, "Don't make sense though, having all those kids if they can't afford even one."

"Yeah, well...like your dad said, lots of time for making babies when you're not working," he chuckled, "I guess Mr. Ross must like doin' that stuff," he added, squirming a little.

I was desperate to change the subject, because when I was ten years old, talking about sex was more embarrassing than exciting. I piled down by Johnny then, and he put an arm around me and pulled me close, but I knew what was coming next and I was ready.

His fingers were poised to tickle me, but I was too fast for him and managed to grab his hand and just hold it. Acts of affection and innocent grab-ass were not uncommon with us those days, though intimacy was still a ways off. Which is not to say that we didn't snuggle up sometimes in bed together, but it wasn't sexual in any way. We were just kids, and it was only natural to gravitate toward one another on those cold winter nights. Sometimes in the morning we'd be all wrapped up together or spooning, but we didn't make a big deal out of it. At ten we were still innocent.

"I feel bad for those kids, Johnny," I said once we settled back down again, "I mean, what if they don't even have food to eat...and no presents? That's the worst thing I can think of."

"Well, Tinkerbell," he said chuckling, "your mom said they'd do something about that, so don't worry your little pink head about it." Tinkerbell was his private putdown for me because of my pink ski pajamas, but it didn't make me mad like it used to, not that time anyway.

"Shut up, Goofy," I said throwing it back at him, if he could use Disney characters, so could I.

"Aww...don't get mad. If you feel that bad about it, how about we share our gifts with them?"

He knew that would shut me up. Give away my own gifts? How outrageous. But was he serious? Nah, no way.

"Let's not go that far," I chuckled, "besides, they're younger, and probably wouldn't like my gifts anyway."

"Yeah, especially those new pink pajamas your mom got you. Oh, maybe one of the girls would like them," he joked, cracking up with laughter.

"I heard your mom got you some pink panties for Christmas, with little ruffles," I teased back, giving him a shove.

"Well, if she did, I'll only wear them when I come down here, and you can wear your pink jammies. We'll be a matching pair," he laughed, proving once again how easy going he was.

"What are we gonna do tomorrow?" I asked, changing the subject once again.

"Well, if it keeps snowing, I'd say build another snowman, this one in your yard, or maybe a snow fort. Hey, maybe the new kids can help us."

"Yeah, that sounds fun. I hope it snows so much you can't go home," I said grinning.

"Aww...you love me, don't ya?" he said giving me a playful shove.

"Do not, I just like having you around," I said blushing, "it's boring alone."

"You have the new kids now..." Johnny said, feeling me out.

"Yeah, but that's not the same. I want my best pal around, that's all."

"Aww...me too," he said giving me that smile, that smile that would eventually capture my heart and make me fall in love with him.

"Are you sleepy yet?"

"Nope, want to play some cards or something?"

"Sure, only first I need to go pee."

"Me too, lead the way Tink," he snickered.

"Does Tinkerbell have a dinker bell?" I said, making a joke out of it, "cause I sure do," I said grabbing my little penis through my pj's.

"Nah, she has a woo hoo," he laughed, "come on, I promise I won't call you that again...tonight," he said cracking up.

We peed side by side at the toilet like we'd done for as long as we'd been potty trained, then washed up and brushed our teeth like good little boys. Couldn't be too careful with Santa's visit only a few days away.

**********************

Sunday morning we awoke to another foot of snow, and it was still coming down. Dad said it hadn't snowed this much in all the years he'd been alive, well not in December anyway, and he was almost as pleased at having a white Christmas as us kids were.

Mom fixed us a nice hot breakfast, then we got dressed up for the cold, coats, snow boots, hats and gloves, and headed outside. The kids down the block were nowhere to be seen, so we started our snowman without them, but the two boys soon appeared, took one look at us, and headed our way.

I noticed it was slow going for them, and when they finally arrived, I saw that their boots were old and worn, and I wondered if they even kept their feet dry, let alone warm.

"Hi guys, wanna help us built Frosty the Snowman?" I said cheerfully as they finally made it to where we stood.

"Sure," Blake said, smiling, his cheeks red from the cold and his nose running a little. He wiped his nose with the back of his gloved hand, then began helping Johnny roll up the base of Frosty, while Ely and I worked on the midsection.

Ely was quiet at first, but as we worked together he began to talk a little, and I noticed he talked with a lisp. I'd learned about speech impediments first hand in school when this kid named Dean joined our class, and at first some kids made fun of him. That was until our teacher gave us a lecture about kindness and understanding and such.

Johnny and I had even made friends with Dean, and included him in our play at recess, but shortly after that, he and his family moved away, and we never saw him again. But Dean left a lasting impression with most of us kids, and I like to think we were more tolerant of those who were different because of him.

Around ten, mom called us in and said we needed to get ready for Church. Now I'd like to say we were regular church goers, but the truth was, we mostly only went on special occasions, though my mom did attend sometimes without us. I thought that was mostly for the social aspect, as she had several friends who were big in the church. But not to take away from that, my mom always got involved in any Church project to help others in the community.

We'd planned to attend this service anyway, but now we had a new reason to do so, what with the new kids and their family obviously needing  some help.

Despite the snow, we were able to make it the short distance to the church without incident. We did slide a little, because back then most cars had rear-wheel drive, and fourwheel-drive was almost unheard of.

We were amazed to find the church parking lot practically cleared and half full by the time we got there. We saw Johnny's dad's pickup and a few other cars we recognized, including Donnie's dad's pickup, and we rushed inside to hook up with them.

Johnny's sister hadn't come, but both his mom and dad were there, as well as Donnie and his parents, but not his brother Larry. We saw a few other kids we knew from school, and a few we didn't, and the place was filling up fast.

"Hey Donnie," I said as I slapped my pal on the back. Except for Johnny, Donnie was my oldest and closest friend, and I was always glad to see him. He lived just one street over, which probably helped our friendship more than anything else, since it was so convenient to hang out when we were younger.

Johnny lived right behind the school, which was only a couple blocks further, and over the years we'd become just as close as me and Donnie, and in some ways closer. Closer, because we slept over at each other's house almost weekly, and lately we'd begun to spend more and more time together. Sometimes, I felt like I was neglecting Donnie, but times like this when we did get together we always picked up right where we left off.

The three of us had gone to Vacation Bible School that past summer, just as we had the past couple of years, and even our friends Larry and Evelyn were in our group. That, and the occasional Sunday visit were about the only times we were in the church, but like I said, my mom was pretty active in the church and well liked.

It took a while to get everyone settled, then the preacher, an old man named Reverend Thomas, welcomed everyone and made a few announcements. Next, the choir sang some Christmas Hymns, then Reverend Thomas gave a brief sermon, about, you guessed it: the birth of Jesus.

Fortunately, it was brief and kind of interesting, and he had a good sense of humor which he injected into his sermons, and that helped keep our attention.  There was also a special collection taken up to help those that were less fortunate, and I noticed my dad threw in a twenty dollar bill from us. I had a buck in my pocket, and though it wasn't much, I tossed it in as well, earning me a smile from my folks. Johnny dug out some change and dropped it in, and I gave him a wink as it plopped into the metal bowl.

    The choir sang again, and we were invited to join in, then there was the usual call for prayers and the invitation, but no one came forward that snowy December night to accept the Lord and be saved.

Heck, by now most everyone there had to be saved I reckoned, except maybe for some of the visitors, but maybe they were saved back at their own church.

Of course after the service there was food in the fellowship hall and us kids made a beeline for it as soon as we were dismissed. A lot of the adults lingered in the sanctuary, visiting and such, and among them my mom and dad who were discussing the new neighbors situation with the Reverend and his wife.

Meanwhile, the three of us hit the food tables, filling our plates with all sorts of sweet snacks, cookies, brownies, cake, and pie, then we grabbed a cup of punch and found a seat before they were all taken.

As we ate, Johnny and I filled Donnie in on the new kids, but he really didn't have much to say. Donnie wasn't much of a talker, but he was a good listener, and a good pal, one you could really count on when the going got rough.

I supposed, being from a family that had struggled some themselves, Donnie understood what the family was going through, but he didn't offer his opinion, nor did he have any suggestions as to how to help them. I did see something pass over his face when I told about how Blake had confided in us that they couldn't even afford his glasses, and that the Lyon's Club had paid for them. I remembered when we were around 8 or so, that Donnie's dad had lost his job, and for a while they were living hand to mouth, as my folks called it. However, his dad got hired by the city right after that, and they'd been doing better ever since. They weren't rich by any means, but they paid their bills on time, and had food on the table, and in those days, that was about as much as could be expected.

Folks like us and Johnny's folks were lucky. Both our dads made an above average wage, and we had a better standard of living, and as the years passed, it only got better, while Donnie's situation pretty much stayed the same.

After we ate our snacks, we joined up with some of the other kids and hung out while the adults did whatever it was they did.  Then around 1 o'clock, our folks found us and told us it was time to go, much to our distress.

Because of the snow, I worried that my folks wouldn't let me go to Johnny's as I'd planned, but what did happen was even better. Instead of me going to Johnny's house, it was decided that Johnny could stay one more night at my house. I think part of that decision had to do with the new family down the street, but all I cared about was that Johnny and I would have one more day and night together.

The snow had stopped for now, but it was cold as blue blazes, as my grandpa would say, and the wind cut right through you. We were glad to get inside our warm house that afternoon, and neither Johnny or I had any inclination to go outside in the snow.

I wondered if the kids down the street had a warm house, or if they were sitting around with blankets wrapped around them, their empty tummies growling with no relief in sight. It was with that thought in mind that I sought out mom to see what her and the others' at church had decided about helping the Ross family.

She told me that Reverend Thomas had already been made aware of the family's situation through the school, and that he was planning on visiting them Monday to invite them to attend church and to offer the church's help. He said that he was hopeful that the family would be receptive to his offer, and if so, the church would do what they could to make sure the family had a Christmas dinner and a few gifts for the kids and such. However, he did caution that the Church had only so much money, and there were other families that needed help as well, so any help from individuals was greatly appreciated.

"I guess that means us," I said when she'd finished talking, "Mom, what can we do?" I asked frowning, "I have the money my aunt and uncles sent me for Christmas..."

"That's very sweet of you son," Mom said smiling, "Maybe you can buy something all the kids can use, like a game or something."

"Yeah, that's a great idea," I said looking over a Johnny.

"I have five bucks I can chip in," Johnny offered, "sorry, that's all I got, cause I spent most of my money on your gift," he added grinning.

"Oh, really?" I said perking up, "I bet it's really neat then. I got you something neat too, just wait...you'll be so surprised," I laughed.

"Boys...what say tomorrow, if the weather doesn't get any worse, we go shopping for the kids. The church will provide the basics, food and such, and we'll take care of the rest."

"Yes ma'am," I said happily, "they'll be so surprised. I can't wait to see their faces. Man, this is going to be so much fun."

"I'm glad you're so happy about helping others," my mom said proudly, "you're such good boys, both of you."

"Thanks mom," we both said at once, then laughed and locked pinkies.

**************************

Despite the cold, and the wind, and the snow, eventually we bundled up and headed outside to explore the Arctic terrain beyond my front door. Without even discussing it, we headed up the path toward the Ross' house, and as we approached, I saw two sets of eyes peering curiously out the front window at us. We had barely made it to the screened-in front porch when Blake and Ely stepped out the front door and met us at the screened door.

"Hi guys, feel like playing, or is it too cold for ya?" I asked cheerfully.

"Okay, I'll just ask my momma," Blake said, then he was off like a shot, but he returned quickly.

"Yeah, it's okay," he said, "you wanna go Ely, or stay here?"

"I'm goin'" Ely said sounding hurt that Blake would even ask.

"Okay, but don't be complainin' ifn' you get too cold."

"I won't," the younger boy insisted, then wiping at his nose with a  gloved hand, he gave his brother a grateful smile.

"Hey, think you could go over to the railroad tracks with us?" Johnny asked.

"Where's that? Blake said frowning, "is it far?"

"Nah, not far, only about a block, come on...it's really neat there."

Johnny led the way as we cut through the yard next door, since it had no back fence, and made our way to the alley. From there, we headed over to First Street, then slowly made our way to the tracks a short distance ahead.

The street was packed down some now by passing cars, but still a little slippery, and the snow was deep in places where it was untouched. Despite the conditions, we finally made it to the tracks, and as luck would have it, a train was approaching from the South.

That gave us time to explain to the two brothers our game of throwing rocks at the passing train, trying to land them inside an open boxcar, but neither boy seemed that excited by the idea.

However, as soon as the train arrived and Johnny and I began hurling rocks, the two quickly joined in, and actually seemed to like the game. Too soon, the train passed on by, and as always we waved at the guy in the caboose, and this time he even waved back.

"Wow, that was kinda fun," Blake said, "but don't the train people get mad if they see ya throwing rocks?"

"We wait till the engine is way down the tracks before we throw the first rock, then stop throwing em before the caboose reaches us. So, except for the bums in the boxcars, no one knows," Johnny laughed.

"You mean there are guys in those boxcars?"  Ely said, wide-eyed.

"Maybe, once or twice we've seen one peeking out," I said, "but mostly they're empty. Come on, there's some other stuff we want to show ya," I said leading the way this time.

Of course, the sand pile was more of a snow pile that day, but the brothers seemed impressed that we had such a cool place to play so close to home, and were looking forward to coming back when the snow was gone. Next, we showed them the boxcar by the loading platform which also held sand, and this time it was at least three feet deep all over the floor, except by the open door.

It was cold inside, but the wind was blocked here, and the brothers stripped off their gloves and played in the sand for a while until their hands got too cold to feel.

"There are lots of other cool places around here to play, like the old gin mill, and sometimes there are open boxcars and sand cars and stuff to climb on," I explained.

"Wow, that's neat. Does anyone ever get mad that you play here?"

"Nah, the guys that work around here are used to us, and they don't care as long as we don't break nothin' or cause no trouble," Johnny answered for us.

"Neat," Ely said grinning.

"Come on, let's go to the Sinclair station and get a pop. They're closed, but they have a machine out front."

"We ain't got no money," Blake said looking embarrassed.

"My treat," I said smiling, "it's sort of a Christmas present."

"Well...if you're sure..." Blake said, looking at Ely, who was bouncing around excitedly.

"Please," Ely begged his brother.

"Okay, I guess," Blake said with a shrug.

Todd's Sinclair was just across the tracks on the corner of Mill and Graham, the two main streets of our town, and my family bought all their gas there, and we kids liked to get our pop and candy there too. Well, we also liked The Deep Rock service station on First and Mill, but they were closed Sundays too, and didn't have an outside pop machine.

I fished four dimes out of my pocket and handed one to each of my three friends, then popped mine in the slot and made my selection. I was feeling in the mood for something different, so I grabbed a Strawberry Crush and pulled it out of the jaw-like pincers that held the bottle in place. Then using the built-in opener on the font of the machine, I removed the cap and moved aside for the others to make their selection.

Johnny, following my lead, had an Orange Crush, while Blake had a root beer, and Ely a Chocolate Soldier. We stood out front and took a few sips before we led the two new boys down the sidewalk along Mill, past the laundromat, the hardware store and lumber yard, and finally at the end of the block, The Deep Rock station on the opposite corner. From there, we headed back up First street and to the alley behind our street.

Of course, no tour of the fun things to do in our part of the world was complete without a visit to our clubhouse. It was cold inside, but with the wind blocked somewhat, we soon warmed up some. We could still see our breath, but at least we weren't being cut in half by the North wind.

The boys seemed impressed that we had such a neat place to hang out, but I could tell they were getting anxious to go somewhere warmer, and I finally suggested we go inside my house.

Now back then, kids thought nothing of going into a stranger's house, especially if they were accompanied by that stranger's kids, so without objection, the two followed me and Johnny in the backdoor to our warm welcoming home.

"Leave your boots in the kitchen," Mom commanded once she saw us, "Oh, hello boys," she said to Blake and Ely, "you must be our new neighbors."

"Yes ma'am," Blake said blushing, but when he didn't introduce himself, I took it upon myself to do so.

"That's Blake, and this is Ely," I said skinning off my coat, "and we been all over the place and we're cold as a well digger's hiney," I giggled.

"Robert!" my mom scolded, but she was grinning, and I knew it was  just cause of the two new boys that she said anything at all.

"Well, well...who have we here?" Dad clucked, coming in about then and looking Blake and Ely over.

I  noticed Blake seemed to shy away a little when dad appeared, and I wondered about that. Was  his dad mean to  him or was he just more intimidated by a man than a woman?

"Are you boys hungry?" mom asked, I could almost hear Ely and Blake's tummies rumbling just from the mention of food.

"Yes ma'am," I said for us all, "we had a pop at Todd's, but that was all."

"Well, you're in luck. I just took some brownies out of the oven, and I'll pour you boys a nice glass of ice cold milk."

"Thanks mom," I said cheerfully, "I'll get the glasses, I offered, digging in the cabinet for the colorful aluminum glasses, bought just for us kid's use, because they were indestructible.

Blake and Ely still had their jackets on, though they'd peeled off their gloves and jammed them into their pockets. They were watching mom closely, and seemed to be confused as to what to do next, but fortunately Johnny took it upon himself to help them along.

"Take off your coats, guys," Johnny said pointing toward the coat rack where he and I had hung our coats moments before.

The two seemed reluctant at first, but with Blake leading the way, the two soon hung their dirty ragged coats next to ours, then looked to us for their next instructions.

"We can take em to my room," I suggested as I handed a glass of milk to Blake, then one to Ely.

Mom put four large brownies on a Melamine plate (also indestructible) and handed it to me, then I led the way to my bedroom. Blake and Ely were quick to follow us, I'm sure because they didn't want to be stuck in the kitchen with mom and dad, and when we got to my room, they just stared in awe for a minute.

"This is...all yours?" Blake said, his head practically spinning as he tried to look at everything in the room at once.

"Yeah, well...and Johnny's when he comes over to visit. He has clothes here and some of his junk..."

"Hey, it's not junk," Johnny protested.

"You know what I mean," I said punching him playfully.

I held the plate out for Blake and Ely to take a brownie, but even then they seemed hesitant.

"Go ahead, grab any one you want. They're all about the same size," I said pushing the plate closer to the two brothers. Finally, Ely reached his little paw out and took the closest brownie, then stepped back and just held it as if he didn't know what to do with it.

Blake was next, and he also looked unsure, but when Johnny and I took a bite of ours, the two finally began nibbling at their brownies. I saw both boys eyes light up at the delicious taste, and I wondered if they got treats like this often. Of course not, I finally decided, they were probably lucky if they got beans and potatoes these days.

I felt bad for the two, and for the whole family, but since mom had talked to the folks at church I was more hopeful about things. Mom and dad would make sure they didn't go hungry, and Johnny and I would do what we could to make fitting in here easier. After all, Johnny and I were pretty popular, and we had lots of friends at school.

Ely and Blake ate slowly, taking a sip of milk between each bite, but as usual, Johnny was a pig, and was licking the crumbs off his fingers by the time they were halfway through theirs. I took my time as well, but Johnny kept staring at my half-eaten brownie and licking his lips like a cat staring at a canary. I finally sighed and broke off a piece and handed it to Johnny, who scarfed it down with a grin.

"Pig," I laughed.

"Oink, oink," Johnny said, causing the two brothers to crack a smile.

"You guys are funny," Ely giggled.

"Yeah, we have lots of fun too," I said smiling at my best friend, "we're as close as brothers, but we don't fight like some brothers do. My mom says it's scary how well we get along."

"Ely and I don't fight...much," Blake offered, "I mean, we never hit each other, just say stuff sometimes."

"Yeah, so do you guys share a room or what?" I asked, not being familiar with the house they were living in, I had no idea how many bedrooms there were.

"Uh, well...sorta...we share a bed, and it's in the dining room...kinda," Blake said blushing, and our sisters share this tiny little bedroom by the bathroom. Our mom and dad get the big bedroom."

"Yeah, well...at least you guys got each other to keep you warm," I said trying to make them feel more at ease, "me and Johnny always sleep together when we stay over at each other's house."

The two finally managed to finish their brownies and milk, and when they'd drained their glasses, I gathered them up with mine and Johnny's and took them and the plate back to the kitchen.

"Those boys seemed scared to death of us," Dad said when I came in, "what have you been telling them about us?" he teased.

"Just about the beatings, and locking me in the shed at night," I teased back.

"Well, good, as long as it's nothing bad," dad laughed, tousling my hair and giving me a shoulder hug.

"Do you think it would be safe to send the rest of the brownies home with the boys, since their sisters weren't here to get one?"

"Not all of them," I whined.

"No, just this one pan. I made plenty," she laughed.

"Then okay," I said easily, "maybe their folks would like one too."

We hung out in my room for a while longer before Blake finally said they should probably get home. Johnny and I walked them back to the kitchen, and as they put on their coats, Blake thanked mom for the brownies and milk, then after assuring him they were quite welcome, mom thrust the bag holding the remaining brownies into Blake's hand.

"What is it ma'am?" he asked, despite the Heavenly aroma wafting from the bag.

"Just some more brownies for you and your family. Merry Christmas boys," mom said smiling.

"Oh, okay. Thank you ma'am," Blake said, still looking unsure, "Merry Christmas to you too..."

We walked them to the front door, but it was just too darned cold to get us to go outside again. Blake thanked us one more time, then clutching the sack of brownies against him, he stepped outside with Ely close by his side. They turned and waved once they were at the walk, and we waved back before closing the door. We watched from the window as they made it up the walk to their house, then went off to my room to play some Rummy.

*****************************

Monday, we slept late, and after draining our bladders, we washed our faces and hands and got dressed. It had stopped snowing, but it was still cold as the North Pole outside, and I told Johnny that Santa would feel right at  home this year in Oklahoma.

"Ho ho ho," Johnny said trying to imitate the Jolly Fat Man, "what do you want for Christmas little boy, more pink jammies?" he laughed.

"A new best friend," I teased, "one that doesn't make fun of me."

"Aww...don't get mad. You know I wuv you," he said moving toward me and making smoochy lips.

"Eww...get back," I said cracking up, "Mom! Johnny has gone crazy," I said running into the kitchen.

"Morning other mom," Johnny said joining us, then seeing my mom standing over the stove flipping pancakes he added, "Oh! Are those blueberry pancakes I smell?"

"Yes, and bacon. You can pour your own drinks. I've already eaten, and your dad has been at work since 8 o'clock."

"But he's off tomorrow, right?" I reaffirmed.

"Yes, and...today he's taking off at noon so we can do some last minute shopping. Then he's off till Next Monday, so it will be a nice vacation for all of us."

"Neat, maybe we can go sledding down in the park," Johnny said pouring himself some orange juice, then offering to pour some for me, but I told him I'd rather have milk.

"Maybe we can drive there and I can sit in the car and watch. I'm sure your father will want a turn though," she laughed, "he's just a boy at heart."

"Neat," I said cheerfully, "man, this is going to be the best Christmas ever."

"For some," mom said beneath her breath, but I knew she was thinking of the family down the street, and that got me thinking about them too.

After breakfast, we helped mom clean up the kitchen then played outside while we waited for dad, but the kids down the street were nowhere to be seen. I wondered if they were even home, but their beat-up old car was there, so I figured they were just staying inside to keep warm.

Dad finally arrived, and we met him in the garage as he pulled the car inside. We quickly shook the snow off our coats, then left our boots in the garage and followed Dad inside.

We were anxious to go, but dad wanted a cup of coffee first, and mom fixed us boys cocoa to keep us occupied while she and dad drank a cup of coffee. Soon though, we were on the road and headed downtown. The main streets were in pretty good shape, and most businesses had shoveled the walks in front of their stores as best they could. After all, there were only two more shopping days till Christmas, and they all wanted to cash in on that last minute rush.

At Sharpe's, we found gloves and stocking hats for the kids down the street, and Johnny and I bought a pair of socks for each of them with our own money. After paying for our selections, we piled back in the car and drove two blocks to McCrory's, where we headed straight to the toy department. At first, we'd intended to get a board game or something all the kids could play with, but dad had a better idea. He suggested we pool our money and buy each child an individual gift.

Johnny and I had to agree that sounded like a good idea and we set out to find Blake and Ely a gift, while mom and dad found gifts for the girls. We'd set a limit of $5.00, which back then bought quite a lot, and we found lots of truly neat toys that even Johnny and I would like.

For Ely, we selected a big metal dump truck, but we were having some trouble deciding on what to get Blake. Finally, we settled on Lincoln Logs. I figured as smart as Blake was, he would enjoy being able to built neat stuff with the logs, and as it turned out, I was right.

Mom found a cute baby doll for the youngest little girl, and a Polly Bergen paper doll set for the older girl. Eww...dolls, I thought, but I guessed that was the kind of stuff girls liked, and since my mom was a girl, that she knew what she was doing.

That just left the mom and dad to buy for, and it was dad who came up with the perfect idea for a gift for them, a fruit basket from Safeway. We hit a couple more shops that day, where mom bought a few last minute gifts, then we headed to Safeway, where mom proceeded to fill a shopping basket with food, as well as the nice fruit basket for the Ross family. In addition to the fruit, the basket had nuts, a fruit cake, and some chocolates. It was the biggest, nicest one they had, but then that was just how my folks were, they always went the extra mile.

On the way home, Mom had dad stop at the Montgomery Ward catalog store, which us kids called 'Monkey Wards, which I thought was weird, but when she told us to wait in the car I knew something was up. I figured she must've ordered something for one of us for Christmas and it had finally arrived. That was what I called cutting it close, but at least it had arrived, whatever it was.

I watched anxiously as mom came out the door, a large package wrapped in plain brown paper in her hands. Using the set of keys she had in her purse, she opened the trunk of the car and placed the package inside before climbing in beside dad.

"What's that?" I asked, knowing full well I wouldn't receive a straight answer.

"That's for me to know and you to find out," mom laughed, "it almost didn't make it on time, what with the weather and all..."

"Hmm...dad, it's probably for you," I offered.

"Yes, I'm sure," dad chuckled, "a new tie maybe, or a bowling ball."

Johnny and I laughed along with him, "Good one dad, maybe it's a new power saw."

"Now that I could use," dad said seriously.

Back home, we quickly unloaded the car, but mom left the mystery package in the trunk for the time being. We spent the next hour or so wrapping packages, and when we had the gifts for the Ross family all done, we stood back and admired our work.

"Wow, that's a lot of stuff," I said, "how will we get it all down there?"

"Good question," dad said looking thoughtful, "maybe we can borrow Santa's sleigh," he added chuckling.

"Don't have a sleigh, but I do have a sled," I said, remembering the sled hanging in the shed out back. It had been my uncle Owen's at one time, but he'd passed it down to me one winter when we'd had a moderate amount of snow, though it had gone mostly unused since then.

"Hey, that's right. We could tie a couple apple crates on it and use that," dad said looking excited, "come on boys, let's go see what we can find."

Dad was a genius when it came to this kind of stuff, and in no time flat he had the sled all ready to carry the gifts to the Ross family. Of course we wouldn't be taking them till Christmas Eve, but no need to wait till the last minute. We put the sled on the back porch out of the weather, then went back inside to warm up.

We had soup and sandwiches for lunch, then Johnny and I went off to my room to rest. Falling down on my bed, Johnny sighed, "Man, I wish I was going to be here tomorrow to help deliver the gifts."

"Maybe you could come down long enough to do that," I suggested, falling down beside him.

Suddenly, Johnny rolled onto his side and placed his hand on my tummy. It wasn't unusual for us to touch each other that way, but for some reason this time I felt all tingly having his warm firm hand on me. I rolled my head over and stared into his eyes, and he smiled and patted my tummy.

"I had a really fun time this weekend," Johnny said looking wistful.

"Me too," I said smiling, "but I can't wait for Christmas day and all the neat gifts."

"Speaking of gifts, when are we gonna exchange ours to each other?"

"That's why you need to come down tomorrow, at least for a while..."

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure I can. Mom and dad won't care as long as I'm home by supper time, and home Christmas morning. Hey, maybe I'll just see if I can sleepover tonight too," he added looking thoughtful.

"Really?" I asked excitedly, "that would be neat. I'm sure my folks won't care. That way they won't have to get out in the snow again to take you home. Cause I'm sure they wouldn't make you walk," I chuckled, "We can ask...later, right now let's just lay here and rest," I said, enjoying the warmth of Johnny's hand on my tummy.

"Okay," Johnny said looking contented.

After a while, Johnny scooted a big closer, and now our bodies were touching all along one side. He felt solid and warm against me, and for the first time I felt a stirring between my legs that surprised and worried me. What was that all about? I wondered. I mean, I knew that sometimes my pecker got hard in the morning when I needed to pee really bad, and lately even when I didn't, but I never thought much about it. Once or twice it had happened when Johnny and I were bathing together, heck even his did that, but we never talked about it. I knew a little about sex, but not much, and I hadn't learned about masturbation yet, so I was clueless as to what was happening at that moment.

Johnny sighed then and snuggled even closer, wrapping his arm around me and burying his head into my neck, "Mmm...so warm."

I laughed nervously, but didn't protest. I liked what Johnny was doing, even if I didn't understand why. I guess as a human,  I was wired to crave intimacy and seek attention, and it was only natural that I enjoyed snuggling with my best friend. As I'd said before, sometimes in the night, we'd wind up snuggled up like pups, but this was the first time I could ever remember doing something like this while we were awake.

Mom came looking for us a while later, and when she knocked on the door, I pulled away from Johnny and jumped up as if I'd been caught doing something bad. Johnny looked confused at first, then he sat up and stretched like a cat as I went to open the door.

"Johnny, your mom is on the phone, honey," she said peering inside.

"Oh, okay...thanks," he said hopping up then, "probably wants to know when I'm coming home," he said looking at me suggestively.

"Oh yeah," I said, "mom...we were wondering..."

Mom laughed, "Let Johnny talk to his mom first, then we'll talk."

"Oh, okay..." I said feeling a bit dejected.

Johnny returned all smiles a few minutes later, "Guess what? I'm staying over again tonight. Now I can be here to deliver the gifts, cause I don't have to be home till 6."

"Wow, what happened? Why did they decide to let you stay another night?" I asked in astonishment.

"Your mom called my mom," he chuckled, "and explained what we'd done, and they wanted to help too. Mom's bringing some stuff later for the family, including new coats for all the kids."

"Wow, that's amazing," I said happily, "those coats they were wearing were pretty bad."

"Come on, let's go down and see if the kids want to play," Johnny said grabbing his coat from the rack by the back door.

This time all four kids joined us, romping in the snow, and we got to know them a little better. Blake kept thanking me for the brownies and said his sisters really liked them, and so did his momma and daddy. I told  him it was no big deal, but I could tell it was, for him at least.

Ely became Johnny's little shadow, while Blake and I seemed to gravitate toward each other. The two little girls seemed shy and didn't interact anymore than necessary, and eventually they said they were cold and went back inside, leaving just us boys.

"Want to come down to my house and play a board game?" I asked after a while.

"Okay, let me tell my momma," Blake said, and he was off again.

He returned quickly and said it was okay, but that he had to be home by 6 o'clock. When we got to my house, Blake made it a point to thank my mom again for the brownies, then we headed to my room. I wasn't sure if Ely knew how to play anything as complicated as Monopoly, so I suggested we play Sorry, which was much easier to play, and everyone agreed.

We sat the game up in my floor and sat around it, and Blake helped Ely when he seemed unsure what to do. Blake however, had no trouble with the game, and once again I was reminded that he seemed much smarter than most 8 year-olds. Beneath the glasses he was a cute boy, even I could see that, and he seemed nice, even if he was a bit too open at times.

Mom called me into the kitchen after a half hour or so and handed me a plate of cookies, "Here dear, take these cookies and I'll bring you boys some milk in a minute."

"Thanks mom," I said smiling. My mom was the best, and all my friends thought so too.

The boys perked up when I returned with the cookies, and this time the two brothers hesitated only a moment before helping themselves to a cookie. There was enough for two each, and soon mom came in with four glasses of milk and passed them out.

After we'd each thanked her, she left us to enjoy our snack, continuing the game between bites and sips. I could tell that the two brothers were starting to feel more at home now, and that made me feel good. I hoped we could all become really good friends and have lots of fun and adventures in the future.

Around 5:45, the boys decided it was time to head home, and Johnny and I walked them to the door. I wanted so badly to tell them what was going to happen tomorrow, but I didn't want to ruin the surprise. Little did I know that they had already received one surprise that day.

"Reverend Thomas called," mom said once the boys were gone. He and his wife and some others from the church delivered the food and a few things to the Ross family this afternoon."

"Oh man, I bet Blake and Ely are going to be so surprised when they get home," I said excitedly, "but not as surprised as they'll be tomorrow."

As we ate dinner that night, mom filled us in on what the Reverend had told her. She said he was surprised that they were so receptive to the help. He said Mrs. Ross had cried and thanked them over and over again, saying they had hardly any food left in the house and no money to buy any with.

I think I cried a little too as mom went on, but I felt good inside. I felt good cause we had gotten involved and were doing our part to help the family down the street. I couldn't wait to see their faces when we brought them their gifts, and I felt something inside that I'd never felt at Christmas before that year.

Always before, Christmas had been about me, about the gifts, the food, the holiday from school, but now it was if my eyes had finally been opened. Christmas wasn't about any of that, Christmas was about helping people, and sharing, and I felt bad that I'd been blind for so long. But I vowed that from now on I'd go out of my way to make sure I didn't take Christmas for granted, or celebrate it in the wrong way. Maybe there wouldn't be a Ross family that needed help every year, but I bet that if I looked hard enough I could find someone who did.

Furthermore, I vowed to appreciate what I had as well. My family, my friends, all the neat things that I took for granted and that other kids didn't have. I must've felt like Scrooge had that Christmas Day when he finally saw the light, and I hoped I could keep that feeling for the rest of my life.

"You're awfully quiet, honey," mom said, noticing my introspective mood.

"Huh, oh...just thinking about stuff," I murmured.

"After dinner, I was thinking we could bring the sled inside and we could load it up and get it ready for tomorrow," my dad said then, pulling me out of my funk.

"Yeah, good idea," I said perking up, "I hope there's room for all of it."

"I think we can manage. I figured we'd go down right after lunch," Dad said then, "that way Johnny will be able to go with us."

"Yeah," Johnny said smiling, "and then Robert and I can come back and exchange our gifts for each other before I have to go home."

"Yeah," I agreed, "boy, that's gonna be so much fun, surprising the Ross family."

"I think you're as excited as the family will be," mom chuckled.

"Huh, oh...it's just, well, you know?" I stammered.

"I understand. It feels good, doesn't it?" mom said smiling, "helping others. It's one of the most rewarding things in life. It's what God wants us to do, and I'm happy that our Church does so much to help others in our community."

"Yeah, I never thought about that stuff much before," Johnny offered, "I guess we all learned something this year."

"I know I sure did," I enthused, "and I want to do this every year from now on."

"I'm glad you're so enthusiastic about helping others," dad offered, "you're both good boys, and I'm proud of you."

That night in bed, Johnny and I snuggled up without thinking about it. We didn't usually do that until we were asleep, but somehow we both sensed that the other needed that closeness. It wasn't sexual by any means, but it was intimate, even if we didn't exactly understand what that meant.

We comforted each other as we lay there touching, talking softly about what lay ahead for us. Little did we know at that moment in time, that our lives would become more entwined as we got older, and eventually we'd become a couple. At that moment we were just two friends,  friends who were closer than brothers, enjoying one another's company and the intimacy of human contact. Cuddled up like two pups in a litter, we soon fell into slumber, our dreams pleasant ones.

***Christmas Eve***

I awoke first to find Johnny facing me, his arm thrown over my stomach as I lay on my back. I rolled my head to look at him, and seeing he was still asleep, I just watched him for a while. Maybe it was times like this that made me eventually see there was more to this dark-haired boy than met the eye. Sure he was cute and had a well developed body for a ten-year old, but that was only the exterior Johnny. The Johnny I knew best was what was inside, his big heart, his sense of humor, and the way he treated me and others. Especially the way he treated me. Sure, he might kid me a lot, but that didn't mean he didn't love me just as much as I loved him. Okay, maybe it wasn't the kind of love that it would become later on, but even at a young age, we knew we loved each other, even if we thought of it more as brotherly love.

As I lay there watching him sleep, I felt such peace, and if it hadn't been for a terrible case of morning wood and needing to pee so bad, I might have laid there all morning. As much as I was enjoying the feel of his warm hand on my tummy, I gently removed his hand and laid his arm down beside him. He snuffled in his sleep but didn't wake, and I trotted off to the bathroom, hoping no one was up to see the tent in my jammies.

After peeing, I washed up and headed back to bed, and by then Johnny was beginning to rouse from sleep. He yawned and stretched, then threw back the covers, revealing a tent in his Fruit of the Looms that looked bigger than usual.

"What's that sticking up in your undies?" I giggled, even though I was blushing a bit too.

"Oh, this," he laughed, then grabbing his pecker through his briefs, he gave it a little squeeze, "it's my water pistol, wanna watch it squirt?"

"Eww...piss comes out of that thing," I said shaking my head.

"I gotta go drain my lizard, be right back," he said, finally jumping up and heading for the door.

While he was gone I got dressed, and once I had my jeans on, I went over to the window and peered out. It had snowed more overnight, and the tracks we'd made in the backyard were now covered over again. It wasn't snowing at the moment, but we already had enough snow to be a problem for some folks, and I was glad we didn't have to go anywhere at the moment.

When Johnny returned, the tent gone in his undies, he fell down on the bed and covered his eyes with his arm. I took that opportunity to look him over from head to toe, and for some strange reason I got a little stirring in my tummy and groin. Now, I'd seen Johnny naked dozens of times, including the night before, but there was something about seeing him like this that seemed more exciting than him being totally naked.

"What are you staring at?" Johnny chuckled.

I'd been caught, and I'm sure my face showed my embarrassment, but Johnny chose not to kid me about it...that time at least.

"Nothing, you gonna get dressed or run around in your underwear all day?"

"Hmm...only if you do," he teased, "think your folks would notice?"

"I'm sure," I laughed, "mom would have a fit, dad probably wouldn't care though."

"Throw me my shirt and stuff," he said sitting up then, and I picked them up from the floor where he'd left them the night before and carried them over to him, "Thank you sir," he chuckled as he grabbed his shirt and pulled it over his head."

"I'm gonna go see what mom's fixing for breakfast," I said then, finding that looking at Johnny was almost too much at the moment.

"Wait, I'm almost done," Johnny said skinning on his jeans, then rearranging himself so he could button and zip them.

That was almost too much for me to see, and I wondered why suddenly I was having these feelings. Was it because we'd talked about Mr. Ross making babies, or was it just because I was growing up some and starting to notice these things?

Mom had oatmeal, scrambled eggs, and bacon for us, and while Johnny made toast, I poured us a glass of milk.  Suddenly, dad came in from the living room with a big smile on his face, and I wondered what he'd been up to, but I didn't ask. However, after breakfast I did notice there were more packages under the tree, including one the size of that package mom had picked up at 'Monkey Wards'.

We couldn't wait to get outside that day, and as soon as we'd finished breakfast we excused ourselves and got dressed for the snow. I had some thermal underwear and I loaned Johnny a pair, but we had to redress to put those on under our jeans. Over our tee shirts we pulled on sweatshirts and donned thick wool socks to keep our feet warm.

With our jackets, caps, and gloves in place, we were ready to venture outside and have some fun. We went out the back door, across the porch and out the screen door to the steps, only to find the steps were covered in so much snow you couldn't really tell where they began and ended.

Fortunately, Johnny braved the way first, and I just followed in his tracks, but the snow was so deep that it almost came over the tops of our snow boots. The backyard was beautiful, all that untouched snow, and of course Johnny and I had to make snow angels. The hard part was getting up without ruining our creations, but once Johnny was up, he grabbed my hands and pulled me up, leaving a nearly perfect snow angel behind.

"Let's go out front and see how the snowman is doing," Johnny suggested, and I eagerly followed him around the house and to the front yard.

The snowman was still standing, though we had to dust some of the snow off where it had accumulated overnight. After doing that, we got into a brief snowball fight, but with just us two it was really not that much fun. I briefly considered going down to see if the new kids wanted to play, but I thought it was best that we not go down there till we took the presents later on.

Eventually, we tired of the snow, and the cold was beginning to get to us, so we reluctantly went back inside, going through the garage this time so we could brush off any snow before going inside.

Using the broom, we took turns sweeping the snow off each other, including our boots, which we left in the garage before we went inside. Despite the big breakfast, we were hungry again, and while Johnny and I went off to my room to warm up, mom fixed soup and sandwiches for everyone.

As we ate, we discussed our plans to take the gifts to the Ross family, and I could feel the excitement building all around me. Even dad, who was usually very laid back, seemed really pumped about us playing Santa, and of course mom was almost giddy. She loved helping people, and I think she had decided to make this family her private project.

After lunch, Johnny and I helped mom clean up the mess, then we pulled the sled into the kitchen for some fine tuning and to add some of the baked goods mom had made just for the Ross family. There were more brownies, cookies, and some of her home made coconut bonbons, which were to die for.

The sleigh was so full by then that dad had to use some more rope to tie everything in place before he announced it was ready to go. While she and dad got dressed for the trip, Johnny and I retrieved our boots from the garage, and fortunately by then they were fairly dry. After slipping the boots back on, we donned our coats, hats, and gloves, and we were all ready to go.

Mom was wearing her quilted car coat with the fur hood and collar, and dad a wool Jacket he called a P-Coat. Which always made us boys laugh, hearing it as pee and not P. Underneath it he had on the Pendleton shirt mom and I had bought him the Christmas before. He had a new one under the tree this year, but as my dad always said, you could never have too much of a good thing.

Dad, Johnny, and I lifted the sled and carried it down the steps into the garage, then mom joined us as we started out the roll-up door. Dad had replaced the original pull rope with one a bit longer and stronger, and Johnny and I were enlisted as horses to pull the sled down the path to the Ross house.

The going was pretty easy though as Mom and dad led the way and helped to pack down the snow. I felt like Santa Claus himself as Johnny and I sang Jingle Bells all the way there, and when we arrived dad swung open their front gate and led us inside the yard and up the walk to the screened porch.

Immediately, all four of us began to shout Merry Christmas!! Then, when the door finally swung open and four curious faces popped up, we began to sing, We Wish You a Merry Christmas, and I do have to say, we sounded pretty darn good.

As we went right into the next song, Oh Christmas Tree, Mr. and Mrs. Ross finally appeared, standing behind their kids, their surprise obvious, although they were both smiling.

We ended with Silent Night, and invited the Ross family to join in, and though I think the adults were just mouthing the words, the kids voices rang out loud and clear, even if a bit off-key at times.

"Merry Christmas," we all cried out again as we ended the song.

"We brought a few things for you and your family," mom began then, and the kids made their way across the porch, Blake leading the way.

He opened the screened door and peered at the sled, then turned to his mom and dad and uttered two words that I'll remember forever, "Holy Crap!"

We all laughed, then dad suggested we bring the sled onto the porch so the kids wouldn't have to get out in the snow. Mr. Ross crossed the porch then, and helped us by pulling on the sled once we'd lifted it onto the steps. We followed the sled onto the porch, and the kids were about to dig into the contents, when Mrs. Ross suggested we bring it inside where it was warmer.

We followed the brood inside and I was surprised at what I saw. A worn, ratty old sofa sat against one wall, a rocking chair against another, and a scarred wooden coffee table and mismatched end table completed the living room furniture. No TV, no radio, and worst of all...no Christmas tree.

"Sorry about the mess, Mrs. Ross said smoothing back her hair with her fingers and sounding embarrassed.

"Don't you worry about that," mom said, "I'm sure moving this time of year wasn't easy. That's why we thought you might like a few things to make your holiday more cheerful. Santa dropped some gifts off for you and the kids," she added, looking at the youngest little girl and smiling. I knew mom always wanted a girl, not that she didn't love the son she'd gotten, but I guess most moms just naturally want a daughter.

"Oh land sakes, you didn't need to go to all this bother," Mrs. Ross said, but I could tell she was touched, "The church has already done so much..." she added looking ready to cry.

With dad's help, mom began to unpack the sled, starting with the gifts for the kids. When he handed the package with the doll to the youngest girl, Amy, the little girl seemed confused and hesitant at first. Then shyly she reached out her little hand and took hold of it.

"Is this really for me?" she said looking at my mom, then hers for confirmation.

"Yes honey, it's just for you, from Santa," Mom said, and Mrs. Ross nodded.

By the time she had the gifts sorted out, I could tell the kids were anxious to open them, but not willing to do so till someone gave them the okay.

"Would you children like to open your gifts now, or save them till Christmas day?" Mom asked, and eight eyes went to their mom and dad for direction.

"I reckon they should open em now so you folks can see their faces," Mrs. Ross said, clearly taking charge.

That was all it took to get the kids moving, and as they tore into the packages like buzz saws, mom pulled out the fruit basket and handed it to Mrs. Ross.

"Oh, this is really nice," Mrs. Ross said holding it up for her husband and kids to see, "thank you so much, but I'm afraid we ain't got nothing for you folks..."

"Just think of it as a 'welcome to the neighborhood' gift," dad said smiling, "and since it's Christmas...we thought that was a good choice.

The kids had their gifts unwrapped by then, and if I thought they were surprised before, they were practically speechless now. Amy was hugging her dolly and kissing on it, while Sarah had her carrying case of paper dolls open on the coffee table.

"This is so neato," Blake said, walking over to Johnny and me, his Lincoln Logs in their round container clutched tightly in his hands.

Ely was making motor noises as he ran his new truck across the bare wooden floor, and as I looked around at the four little kids enjoying their gifts, I felt a wave of emotion sweep over me. I felt guilty for having so much when kids like these had nothing, but I was glad too, glad that we'd been able to give them a few things to make their holiday happier. I loved my folks for being so giving and generous, and I loved Johnny and his big heart, for helping us bring a little light into the family's life at this most special time of the year.

I wasn't aware that I'd been crying till my mom fished a tissue out of her pocket and handed it to me. I sniffed back a tear and wiped my eyes, looking around to see who else might've noticed me being a crybaby, but everyone's attention seemed to be elsewhere at the moment.

It was decided that the kids would save the other gifts we'd bought for them till Christmas morning, which was fine with me, since I really didn't think they'd be all that excited by socks and gloves and such. However, I was wrong, and later when they thanked us for those gifts, I guess I learned another lesson. When you have so little, anything is appreciated.

Mom and Mrs. Ross eventually pulled the remaining contents of the sled into the dining room and unloaded it on the beat-up dinette table. Johnny and I ventured in after a while, and I saw what Blake meant when he said they sort of slept in the dining room. In one corner of the rather large room was a full-sized bed, and beside it an apple crate for a table. The covers were loosely made, probably by the boys, and the quilt covering the bed looked handmade, though in fairly good condition.

Through a doorway was another space, with no door, which I figured was the girls' bedroom, and beyond it, the bathroom. The main bedroom was to the right of the dining room doorway, and also connected to the living room as well.

The kitchen was a narrow room to the left of the dining room, and though I could see the fridge against one wall, we didn't enter that room. We'd left dad talking to Mr. Ross and the kids to play with their toys, but soon they all came wandering into the dining room as well.

"You guys wanna help me build something?" Blake asked holding up his Lincoln Logs.

"Sure, come on Johnny," I said enthusiastically, and we headed back to the living room where Blake proceeded to dump the contents onto the floor.

I'd gotten my first set of Lincoln Logs when I was six or seven, so I was familiar with how they interlocked and whatnot, but it didn't take Blake long to figure it out on his own.

We built a nice cabin in no time flat, and eventually Ely came along with his new truck and zoomed it up to the structure and made a screeching noise as it came to a stop.

"This is my house," Ely said then, "gonna go inside now," he said walking his fingers over to the door and causing us to crack up. This was certainly not the same shy little boy we'd first met the day they moved in and I barely noticed his speech impediment now.

Mom and dad visited for a long time with Mr. and Mrs. Ross while Johnny and I played with Blake and Ely and the girls played with their new toys. I watched the littlest girl, Amy, loving on that doll, and I smiled. I bet she would remember this Christmas for a long time to come, heck, we all would, and I don't remember ever feeling this good.

Eventually, the adults came back to the living room and mom and dad said it was time to head home. Dad was pulling the sled, but he handed the rope to me, and I led the way out the door and onto the porch.

On the screened-in porch, we said our goodbyes and the Ross family thanked us once again. I turned to see the smiles on their faces one more time, then with a big smile of my own, I led the way through the snow, back to our little house down the street.

In the garage, we took off our boots and went inside, where mom fixed hot cocoa for everyone to help us warm up. As we sipped our cocoa, we talked about what a success our Christmas expedition had been, and mom talked about what we might do in the future to help the Ross family.

Dad said he might be able to find Mr. Ross a job, but he didn't want to make any promises till he talked to a few people. Mom said she had talked to Mrs. Ross about coming to church next Sunday and she seemed agreeable.

Eventually, my thoughts turned to my own Christmas surprises, and as soon as we finished our cocoa, I suggested Johnny and I exchange gifts. We hopped up and headed to the living room, and soon mom and dad joined us, sitting side by side on the sofa.

My gift from Johnny had been under the tree since he'd come to spend the night Saturday, but I really hadn't had much time to check it out. His gift from me was there as well, neatly wrapped by me, with a red and a green bow on it.

Going to the tree, we grabbed the packages and exchanged them, then sat down cross-legged on the floor and started opening them. The paper came off quickly, but we did salvage the bows. Mom liked to reuse them when possible, using cellophane tape to attach them the second time.

The box I'd unwrapped told me nothing about what was inside, so I reached into my pocket and produced my little pocket knife (a birthday gift from my uncle Joe) and used it to slit the tape holding the carton closed.

Meanwhile, Johnny had his gift completely unwrapped and was staring at the writing on the box, trying to figure out if that was truly what was inside, or if I'd just used that box to wrap it in.

"Yes," I said laughing, "it really is a microscope."

"Oh man, really....oh, wow...I been wanting one of these forever," he said, opening the box and pulling out the Styrofoam packaging surrounding the instrument.

As he checked out his new toy, I finally opened the flaps of the box holding my gift and was both surprised and thrilled to find a new ball glove.

"Oh man, this is so neato," I said pulling the glove out and trying it on, "It fits just right too, though I'll need to oil it and break it in. Thanks Johnny, thanks a lot."

"You're welcome, and thanks for the microscope, now I can look at all those bugs I collect and see what they really look like," he laughed.

"Eww," I laughed, "but I guess that's cool."

Dad hopped up, then dug four more packages from under the tree, handing one to me, one to Johnny, then one to mom, before sitting down with the last package in his hands.

"Go ahead, you get to open one gift Christmas Eve, and your gifts from each other don't count," Dad said, "and...we get to open one too, right dear?"

"Yes, what on earth could this be," she said smiling as she began unwrapping the gift she held.

I knew what was inside, because dad and I had picked it out together, and I was sure mom was going to love it. As for dad's gift, I also knew what that was, because I'd told mom exactly what he wanted for Christmas, and this was one of those items he'd mentioned.

"Oh how lovely," Mom said pulling out the flannel gown we'd gotten for her. It was light yellow with orange flowers on it, and even I had to admit it was pretty.

Johnny and I were so caught up in watching mom and dad open their gifts that we'd sort of forgotten about ours for the moment, and as we watched dad open his, I think we were as anxious as he was.

"A new power saw," Dad chuckled, "how did you know dear?"

"I helped her pick it out," I chimed in, "you must've showed me that one at least a dozen times at Coast to Coast Hardware," I laughed.

"Thank you, both of you," dad said beaming, "I can't wait to use it."

"Maybe we can build a treehouse next spring," I suggested, and everyone laughed.

"Well, are you boys going to open your gifts or not?" Dad chuckled, "I can't believe you haven't already ripped into them."

"Oh yeah," I said grinning as Johnny and I finally began to unwrap our gifts.

"Holy cow!" we both exclaimed at once as we finally got the paper off and the boxes open. Inside were matching ball caps from our favorite team, The St. Louis Cardinals. Little did we know that we'd actually get to see the Cards play in person one day.

"Oh man, these are so neat," I said as we both pulled them on. They were the kind that you could adjust to fit, but they seemed to be just fine like they were right out of the box.

"Thanks, mom and dad," Johnny said grinning, "our folks have some presents for you guys too, they're gonna bring em when they come to pick me up."

"And we have a couple for them as well," Mom said grinning, "and there's one more for you Johnny, but it's for tomorrow."

"Neat," Man, this has been the best Christmas ever," Johnny sighed, looking at me with that smile that even back then caused my heart to skip a beat.

"Yeah, I agree," I said happily, "new friends, old friends, and snow," I added giggling.

"Merry Christmas boys," mom said then.

"Merry Christmas!!" we both almost shouted, then we joined pinkies and smiled at one another.

**********

That Christmas lives on in my heart and my mind as the Christmas I learned about sharing and giving to those less fortunate than me. It was also the Christmas that I felt those first stirrings of the love that I would soon find in my best pal, Johnny, and that love has only grown stronger over the years.

That mystery package from 'Monkey Wards' turned out to be an electric road race set that Johnny and I enjoyed for many hours over the next couple years. We did manage to go sledding, but it wasn't until New Year's Eve, and as mom had predicted, dad did want a turn. I can still remember the look on my dad's face as he became a kid once again, flying down that hill in the park. That remains as one of my best memories of my dad, and I only wish I had thought to bring my camera that day.

 A few days later, Johnny stayed over again and we played with Blake and Ely most of that day. The snow was beginning to melt by then, and the temps were in the 40s, and our snowmen looked like melted candles.

We went over to the train tracks again, and this time the boys not only enjoyed our game of rock throwing, they initiated it when a train suddenly appeared down the tracks. This time we showed them the gin mill and all the other places we frequented, then walked downtown and showed them our favorite places to shop, even if it was mostly window shopping.

I'd like to say that the Ross family and ours became good friends, and we had many happy times together, but the truth is: that Spring the family moved to Kansas to live near Mr. Ross' parents. We never saw them again, but we did receive an occasional card or letter that first year. However, after the while, those ended as well, and we lost track of them. I like to think that they still remember that Christmas with fondness, the good cheer, the carols, the gifts, and most of all: the warmth of our friendship, for I know we still do.

I was at school the day they moved out, and by the time I arrived home that afternoon, they were long gone. I felt very sad and lonely when I heard the news, but being a kid myself, I knew we had no control over what adults did. If my own mom and dad had decided that tomorrow we'd move away, I'd have had no choice but to go with them, and that made me shudder. Fortunately, our families were firmly rooted in that sleepy little town, and Johnny and I would grow up together there, and eventually fall in love.

End Chapter 11

I hope you enjoyed this glimpse into the past of the boys before the trilogy first began in My 11th Summer. Even then, the boys were beginning to feel the first stirrings of love, and we all know how that turned out. Next chapter: back to The College Years.

Send all comments to: kewl_dad1@hotmail.com I welcome all feedback and promise a timely reply.

                                                 

 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Kewl Dad

12-20-2021

**A special thanks to my buddy Michael in NY for his much appreciated help with editing, story ideas, and illustrations. And for being such a great friend, always supporting and encouraging me in everything I do. Happy Holidays!!  Love ya buddy.

Other stories by Kewl Dad

* Denotes Series, rest are short stories

1. A Christmas for Joey

2. A Christmas With Nick
   

3. Accidental Dad*

4. Adolescent

5. Alex and Aidan*

6. Andy Tastes Like Candy

7. At the Dike*

8. Black Cock

9. Boy Glory Hole

10. Bullied

11. Christmas Boy

12. Christmas on the Street
    

13. CL Cock Sucker

14. Cory*

15. Corey's Scent

16. Cody's Christmas Wish

17. Dirt Bikes and Blowjobs

18. DMV Boy

19. Dougie's Story #Part 3 of a series

20. Emoji  (The Story of Joe)
    

21. The Family*

22. The Ginger and the Chub

23. Hair Salon Boys

24. Happy Valentine's Day Toby Grayson
    

25. I Heart You

26. Little Brother's Feet*

27. Lost in Fear*

28. Mars

29. McChicken

30. My Best Friend's Dad *Related story to My Son's Best Friends

31. My Not so Miserable Life

32. My Little Runaway #Part 1 of a series

33. My Son's Best Friends *Related series to My Best Friend's Dad

34. My 11th Summer*

35. One Night

36. Poindexter Files*

37. Pride-Pride
    

38. Rabbit: A Christmas Story

39. Rolo
    

40. Second Chance for Love

41. Six Black Boys*

42. Skateboard Boy*

43. Skateboard Christmas

44. Stranded on Christmas Eve
    

45. Sudden Family*

46. Taking a Chance on Love

47. The Athletic Supporter
    

48. The Year I Learned toLove my Brother (TYILTLMB)*

49. The Reynolds Twins*

50. Tommy Boy #Part two of a series

51. To the Max

52. Tracy*

53. Trailer Park Christmas
    

54. Trick or Treet Dress Up

55. Tween to Teen*

56. What a Dollar Will Buy

57. Wild Wild West Again
    

58. It's Amazing What Sex Can do for a Guy (as smoothoperator52)