Robert and Johnny-The rest of the story Ch 6

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Robert and Johnny
The rest of the story
(Part three of the trilogy began in My 11th Summer, then Tween to Teen)
By: Kewl Dad

That Christmas seemed extra special for Johnny and me. Even though we loved our new lives at college, our friends there, and all the rest, our souls were still deeply rooted in that sleepy little town we'd grown up in. Sometimes you don't know just how homesick you are till you finally go home, then it all hits you like a ton of bricks.

I spent as much time as I could with mom and dad, and of course Mikey, who was growing up so fast. He was a smart little booger too, and was already starting to read, thanks to mom and Golden Books. Despite being smart, he was also very physical and loved to rough and tumble with Snoopy his dog, or his cousin Joe who lived just up the street. The two were more like brothers than cousins since there was only about a year between them, and we saw a lot of him as well as my Uncle Joe and Aunt Cathy.

In fact, that year we had a family Christmas dinner at mom and dad's and we had quite a houseful. Johnny came by later and had dessert with us and we played with Mikey and little Joe in the backyard. It was your typical Oklahoma Christmas, dry and sunny, and the temps were actually unseasonably warm for that time of year.

After making sure it was okay with everyone, Johnny and I took Mikey and Joe Jr. to see some of our old haunts. I could imagine the two exploring and having fun in the places that were so near and dear to me and my friends. I knew they were a little young to have any sexual feelings at their present age, but I wondered if as they got older they'd begin to explore a bit with each other, maybe do some show and tell or some innocent touching. I smiled when I thought about how wonderful all that had been when I was only 11 and discovered what fun two boys could have, and I hoped it would be as easy for my little brother and cousin when they got older.

The boys were giggling and having a great time just poking around and checking things out, but when we heard the distant whistle of a freight train, they both scurried over to stand by us, shivering a little as the earth shook beneath our feet.

"It's just a train," Johnny said grabbing up a handful of rocks and handing one to each of the little boys, "Just wait till it gets closer and we'll throw rocks at it, okay?"

"Why?" Joe said.

"Cause it's fun," Mikey said, having seen me and Johnny do this before.

"Oh," Joe said as he watched the train approach, still a little wary of the huge beast.

Johnny stepped closer and I followed his lead and grabbed some rocks to throw, but the two younger boys were still holding back. Once the engine had passed and the only sound was the clickety clack of the tracks and the wind being displaced by the rail cars, they relaxed some and Mikey moved up to stand beside me.

Not to be left out, Joe Jr. joined us then, though he still cast a wary eye at the huge steel and wooden train cars flying past him.

"See that one coming with the open door," Johnny explained, "the idea is to throw the rock so it goes inside...or even better, goes all the way through and out the other door...if it's open."

"Oh, I see," Mikey said hefting his rock in his hand, "I can do dat," he said grinning.

Johnny and I both laughed and suddenly I had an idea, "Here let me hold you up, Mikey, so you'll have a better shot at it," I offered as I scooped him up, "are you ready?'

"Yep," he said excitedly, all eyes on him now.

The boxcar came and he watched it with eagle eyes and at just the right moment he cocked his arm and let loose of the stone. We watched it arc in the air and fall short of it's target, but Mikey didn't seem disappointed at all. He'd played our big boy game, and even if he hadn't quite reached the target, he'd had fun.

Johnny showed him how it was done when the next boxcar approached, by throwing his rock in one door and out the other, and the two boys spent the rest of their time flinging rocks at the speeding train.

Their little arms couldn't quite reach the train, but not for lack of trying and they both had a great time. Too soon the caboose approached and we picked up both boys and had them wave at the man in the window, who waved back enthusiastically. Maybe he had kids of his own or grandkids, who knew, or maybe he was just a friendly guy.

Next we took the boys to the huge sandpile on the far side of the tracks and just turned them loose to do what boys do best, have fun. It didn't matter that they'd have sand in their cracks and hair, let their moms deal with that...ha ha.

While the boys played nearby, Johnny and I jumped up on the cinder block wall that enclosed the sand pile and watched them, and I wondered if Johnny was thinking the same things I was. How many times had we played here as boys, how much of our lives were spent here and in the places we'd discovered and called our own? And more importantly, was there a new generation of boys discovering those same places and enjoying them the way we were? Would Mikey and Joe be the next generation to carry our legacy on? It was a little sad to think that me and my friends had moved on, but I was happy to be sharing these places with my little brother with the hope that he'd carry on where we left off.

"Whatcha thinking about love?" Johnny said slipping his arm around my waist.

We'd long since quit trying to hide our love for one another around family, and Mikey and Joe were no more bothered by our show of affection than our folks were.

"Just looking at those two and thinking about all the times we played here as kids."

"It's their world now," Johnny said, expressing what I'd been thinking to a tee.

"Yeah, we need to make sure they know all the best places," I said smiling, "the gin mill, Salt Creek, dog pound road, and walking the tracks."

"We'll have to keep coming back and teaching them how to have fun," Johnny said, giving me a warm smile, "just like they were our own kids."

"Yeah," I sighed, "I wonder..."

"What?" Johnny said, looking at me expectantly.

"I was just going to say, I wonder if they'll discover sex like we did?"

"Oh, I don't think we have a patent on that. Boys have been discovering their dicks were good for more than pissing for a long time now," he laughed.

"Yeah, I guess. I wonder if Mikey and Joe will have friends as good as we have."

"I hope so. As outgoing as the little slugger is, I bet he'll make lots of friends, girls too," Johnny laughed, "all boys aren't gay you know?"

"I know, and for his sake I hope he's straight, not to mention so mom and dad can have some grandkids."

"Yeah, my folks are beat," he laughed, "unless we adopt."

"Fat chance of that," I scoffed, "can't see that ever happening, but maybe one of us could knock up some girl and get a baby that way," I teased.

"You never know, stranger things have happened," Johnny said, always the optimist.

Suddenly, Mikey ran up announcing he needed to pee, and I jumped down to lead him behind the sand enclosure where he wouldn't be seen by any passing cars.

"Never pee in the sand," I told him, "you don't want to play in your own pee. Always pee back here, okay?'

"Okie dokie Robby," Mikey giggled, "and no pooping in the sand either, right?"

"No, never!" I laughed, "it's bad enough the stupid cats use it for a litter box."

Of course Joe decided he needed to pee too, and he came running back to join us, and when they were done I decided it was time to head back home. I gathered Johnny up and we walked the tracks from first street to Graham just to give the boys a taste of cross tie walking, as Creedance Clearwater Revival called it.

This is fun, "Mikey said." His feet were so small that they fit perfectly on the tracks and he only fell off once or twice, and only then because Joe was making him laugh.

I should tell you a little about Joe Jr. now I guess. What can I say that won't sound prejudiced? As I've said many times before, my Uncle Joe, was not only my favorite uncle, but possibly my favorite adult in the whole world. So, it only stood to reason that any offspring of his would have my heart as well.

Even as a baby I loved Little Joe, as we called him, and can remember both Johnny and me doting over him when he came to visit. He was not alone now, having two sisters as well, Mary and Mandy, but it was still Little Joe that got most of our attention.

Joe Jr. was just a little over a year older than Mikey, but not much bigger. He had big brown eyes, a cute face and a trim athletic body from hours of running around all day in play. He was a sweet boy too, and very protective of Mikey, a fact that all of us greatly appreciated. Because they were so near in age, they'd become really close especially after my aunt and uncle moved two houses down form mom and dad, and like I said before, they were more like brothers than cousins.

We made it back home just before dusk that Christmas Eve, and inside the adults were watching a movie on TV and drinking coffee and talking.

"Well, there you guys are? Are you hungry boys. I made sandwiches for us, but I thought I'd let you guys play and fix yours when you got back," mom said.

"We can do it mom," I assured her, "you rest and watch your movie. Johnny and I have become pretty good cooks. I think I'll heat up some soup to go with our sandwiches."

"Well, if you're sure," she said turning her attention back to the TV.

"You get the sandwich stuff out, and I'll get the soup going," I said to Johnny.

I dug two cans of Campbell's chicken noodle soup out of the pantry and dumped them in a pan with a can of water and put it on low heat to cook. Meanwhile Johnny had dug out the sliced ham, baloney, and cheese from the fridge, as well as lettuce and tomatoes.

The two younger boys had gone off to Mikey's room to play cars and it was just us two bumping around each other much like we did back at our house in Tahlequah.

"No ham for Mikey," I reminded Johnny, "just baloney and cheese. The little stink doesn't like ham for some reason. He'll eat pork chops and bacon though. It's weird."

"Yeah, I remember," Johnny said, "how about Joe, does he eat ham?"

"I don't think there's anything that kid won't eat," I laughed, "He even likes vegetables."

"Good kid, no wonder he looks so strong," Johnny said as he finished the two boys' sandwiches and started on his own, while I fixed mine."

I laughed when I saw Johnny's finished product. A double-decker with ham and cheese on the bottom layer, and baloney and cheese on the top layer, with a slice of bread between them.

My sandwich looked pathetic compared to his, but he could always out eat me. When the soup was ready, I sent Johnny to get the boys and when he came back he gave me an odd look. I gave him a questioning look, but he just smiled and mouthed the word "later".

We ate our sandwiches seated at the table while Mikey and Joe jabbered about this and that, and finally the subject of Santa Claus came up.

"Sanny Claws is gonna bring me a bihickle," Joe said, and Johnny and I laughed at his pronunciations.

"Really?" Mikey said excitedly, "I asked Santa a for a lecric train."

"Oh I hope you get one," Joe said, "I'll let you ride my bike if you let me play with your train."

"You know I will," Mikey said simply, "friends gotta share," he added causing a lump to form in my throat.

I looked over at Johnny who looked a little teary-eyed himself. Mikey was just the best little kid you could ever find, and Joe was just about his equal.

The boys ate about half their food as usual, but guess who finished it off? Yeah, Johnny. That boy could sure put away the groceries back then, though he has slowed down some in his old age.

We cleaned up the mess and joined the folks in the living room, but mom took one look at the boys and announced that they needed a bath pronto. I just laughed when she was inspecting them and saw all the sand, thinking it was her problem now, but oh no...that was not to be.

"Well, since you saw fit to take your little brother to that giant litter box and get sand in places the sun don't shine, I think it's only fair you give him a bath...both of them for that matter."

"Mom...I'm on vacatation..." I protested.

"No, you're home and subject to the rules of home young man," she said, but she was grinning the whole time.

I looked at dad who just shook his head, "Leave me out of this," he chuckled, "I'm just an innocent bystander," he said, causing my aunt and uncle to laugh.

"Okay, okay. Johnny, go start the bath water and make it scalding hot," I teased, "I'll just cook the two little urchins."

"Robert, what an awful thing to say," my mom scolded, but the other adults just laughed. They knew I wasn't serious, and that I loved those two little boys with all my heart.

I coaxed the two sandy boys to the bathroom with the promise that they could play boats for a while and soak, then I began stripping off their clothes.

Mom wasn't kidding, there was definitely sand where the sun didn't shine, and caked around their little balls and dick as well. There was a pile of sand on the floor where their clothes dropped and now I understood why mom was making me do this, there was a lot of work involved here.

I brushed off as much of the sand as I could before having the two boys hop into the tub, then went to get the broom and dust pan while Johnny made sure they didn't drown.

When I got back, Johnny was sitting on the toilet watching them play with their boats and looking as if he were enjoying it almost as much as they were.

"Remember when that was us in that tub?" he said looking up.

"Yeah, then we discovered showers, but we even took those together most times."

"Yeah, the good old days. These two remind me of us in so many ways. Oh, not the romance part," he chuckled, "but the friendship...it's really neat to see how much they care for each other."

"Sometimes I'm a little jealous of Little Joe, I mean they're as close as brothers."

"Oh trust me, you have no competition there. That kid thinks the sun rises and sets on your happy ass."

"Well...it does," I laughed.

I glanced over at Joe who seemed to be interested in something beneath the water, and when I looked closer I could see what that something was. Sticking up from beneath the surface was the tip of his little penis, now fully engorged. I knew from being a boy myself that stuff like that just happened and it didn't mean anything, but I was still sort of embarrassed for him.

Mikey noticed it then and took his boat and sailed it into Joe's stiffy causing him to giggle, "Hey, don't hit my wiener," he scolded.

"Sowwy," Mikey laughed, "why is it all hard like that?" but his eyes were on me when he asked the question.

Johnny looked at me and just shrugged as if to say, "this one is for you", and for a moment I was at a loss for words. Then I remembered asking my dad this very same question when I was about their age, "Well, you know how sometimes in the morning when you wake up and need to pee really bad?" I began, and both boys nodded, "that's one reason that happens, but sometimes it just happens for no reason. When you get older you'll understand it better, but for now...don't worry about it. It's just nature's way of making sure your equipment works okay."

"My equipment?" Joe said looking confused, then he suddenly got it, "OH, my penis you mean," surprising me that he knew the proper name.

"Yes, it's something all boys learn to live with," Johnny laughed, finally putting his two cents worth in.

Fortunately, the boys were more interested in their boats and playing than their equipment, and I was saved any more embarrassing explanations. Before the water could get too cold, we washed their hair and rinsed it, then helped them soap up and rinse off. They wanted to play longer, but Johnny and I convinced them to get out with the promise of opening a gift since it was Christmas Eve.

Cathy had brought clean jammies for Joe Jr. and we helped the two boys dress for bed, then sent them off to join the adults in the living room while we tidied up the bathroom.

"Guess what I walked into earlier when I went to get those two for dinner?" Johnny chuckled.

"Oh my God, what?" I said imagining all sorts of things.

"They were comparing...um, equipment," he said laughing. They had their pants down playing show and tell, and they were both hard as nails.

"Oh man, but they're so young. I don't remember us being that curious this young...were we?"

"I seem to remember something similar happening with us a couple times. I think it's just boy stuff. They're curious little devils and probably just wanted to see how they compared. Besides, they see each other naked all the time, so it's really no big deal. They're just two innocent little kids discovering life as they go."

"Yeah, I know...it just...I don't know, I was hoping Mikey would stay innocent a while longer."

"He is innocent, they both are. This is just boy stuff. I bet if you asked your dad he'd tell you the same thing."

"Yeah, but I'm not going to talk to my dad, or any other adult about this," I laughed, "I know you're right, but it's still a shocker, you know?"

"Well, come on. We have gifts to open, and I bet those two are inspecting every package under the tree," he chuckled.

Johnny was right about that, and mom was having a devil of a time keeping them from opening all of them. When Johnny and me entered though, the two ran up to us and grabbed our hand and pulled us to the tree to get our help with the package distribution.

"There bubber take this one to mommy," I said handing Mikey a gift for mom from Johnny and I.

Johnny and I had the two little tykes carry the packages to the others till everyone had one then, mom and my aunt picked out the ones for the kids to open.

Johnny and I exchanged gifts and we all began to rip into the packages, but I was watching the two boys mostly because I didn't want to miss the looks on their faces when they discovered what was inside the brightly wrapped packages.

"A dump truck," Mikey exclaimed excitedly, holding up the bright yellow metal Tonka truck.

"A bulldozer," Joe said holding up his gift. They were both in the same scale (which was good because I was OCD about such things then and still are) and we figured the boys could swap back and forth playing with them.

We'd bought a stuffed bear for Mandy who was still a baby, and a doll for Mary who was a little older, and they were happy little girls after that.

The boys were busy then, zooming off and building imaginary roads and such while the rest of us discovered our own treasures. Mom loved her robe and matching slippers and dad his Pendleton shirt. For my aunt and uncle we had purchased a new waffle maker to replace the one that had crapped out on them at Thanksgiving. My uncle Joe loved waffles, and this one could make four at once. I think he was as excited by that waffle maker as the boys were about their toys.

Now it was time to open Johnny's gift, and my hands were shaking as I ripped the last bit of paper off.

"A new typewriter," I said holding the box up," Oh man, this will be so useful. The R on my old one sticks, and the pages are always smudged, "thank you babe," I said giving him a peck on the cheek.

I saw my mom smile and give dad a look as she leaned into him. Uncle Joe, one of our biggest supporters, locked eyes with me, and his look said it all. I loved him so much at that moment. I remembered when he caught me telling Johnny I loved him on the phone at his house that day, and how worried I'd been that he would hate me for being gay. That seemed like a million years ago, and so much had changed. Nothing could have been further from the truth, and Uncle Joe had gone out of the way to let me know that he not only understood my love for Johnny, but that he would defend us against anyone who had a problem with us.

For Johnny I'd bought a new set of oils, which came in a nice wooden case, and with many colors his old one didn't have. Lately he'd been going through oils like a first grade class went through crayons. He was turning out paintings in record number, and would soon be having a showing at a gallery the college used for promising young artists.

"Oh, man...this is really great babe," he said excitedly kissing me back, "there are colors in there that I've never seen on a pallet before. Oh man, I can't wait to use these."

"I don't suppose you brought any of your paintings for us to see?" Dad asked.

"No, sorry, but you're all invited to my showing in March. We'll be sending you the details once I get a date for sure."

"Oh Johnny, that's wonderful," mom said, "will they let you sell any of them at the showing?"

"Yeah, they'll all be up for grabs to the right buyer," he chuckled, "but I don't expect to sell that many of them."

"Why not?" I said in disbelief, then to the others, "his work has improved so much, and it was already nearly perfect. His art instructor seemed to think he could make it big somewhere like New York, or LA."

"Yeah, well...I paint because I love it, if I make a buck that's good too," Johnny said, always the modest one.

Sometimes I wondered if he really knew just how good he was. Even people who knew nothing about art loved his paintings, especially his landscapes, but his portraits were my favorites, especially those of us when we were younger, and of Mikey through the years.

We had a good time that evening, but around 9 my aunt and uncle took the kids and went home. Mikey could barely keep his eyes open by then, and mom took him off to bed while I walked Johnny to the bug bus. He had promised his mom and dad he'd be home Christmas day, but like I said earlier, he would come by for dessert later in the day.

After all, Christmas was for family, and though Johnny and I were like family, we had certain responsibilities when it came to those that raised us.

"Well, goodnight," I said hugging him close to me as we stood by the van. I had a great day."

"Me too, even if we didn't have sex," Johnny laughed, "Hey, it's not too late, we could do it in the back of the van," he teased."

"Tempting, but I think one day without sex won't kill us."

"Yeah, I'm pretty beat anyway. Those two wore me out," he laughed.

"Yeah, but it was nice. I think I understand what mom and dad felt when we were growing up."

"Yeah, well...I guess I should go..." Johnny said, but he still hadn't offered to break the hug.

"Is that...?" I said reaching between us and feeling his hardness through his jeans.

"Yeah, sorry...it just gets that way when I'm around you," he chuckled.

"I better let you go before I drag you back into my room and have my way with you," I sighed, "goodnight babe," I said leaning in to kiss him properly, then I pulled away and watched as he climbed in the bug bus and drove away.

I went back inside to find mom and dad had gone to bed, and the house was quiet. I tiptoed into Mikey's room and watched him sleeping for a moment, then bent down and kissed him on the forehead. He felt warm and tasted sweet, and my heart swelled with love for my little brother. Wiping tears from my eyes, I went off to bed to sleep alone, something I wasn't very good at these days.

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

Christmas Day

Christmas day dawned early for us since Mikey wouldn't let us sleep past 8 o'clock. He was frantic to see what Santa had brought him and I had to admit, I was almost as excited as he was. Mom made him eat some oatmeal before she would let him open his gifts, and so as not to take away from his fun, we decided to open our gifts later.

As expected Mikey's favorite gift was his new Lionel Electric train set. It was even better than the one I'd gotten as a kid, which was stored away in my closet back in Tahlequah.

Dad and I helped Mikey set up his train in the middle of the living room floor and the three of us played with the train till my aunt and uncle showed up with their kids.

Of course Joe Jr. Went crazy over the train set, but not before he excitedly dragged Mikey outside to see his new bicycle, complete with training wheels. Though I thought Mikey was still a little young for a real bicycle, by his next birthday maybe, but meanwhile I was sure Joe would share his.

While the ladies fixed dinner the menfolk corralled the kiddos and kept the two youngest ones from destroying the train set, like Godzilla in Tokyo. Eventually we moved the train to Mikey's room, but he and Joe decided to play with their Tonka toys after that.

I watched the two proudly as they played with the toys Johnny and I had bought them, and wishing Johnny was there to witness their play. I knew it was silly to want to be with Johnny every minute, but that's just the way our love worked. Someday maybe we wouldn't be as dependent on each other, or at least more able to stand separation, but for now being apart was a bummer.

Dinner was excellent as always, and I forgot about missing Johnny as I laughed and talked with my family. As I looked around at my family, my heart was filled with love, and I realized once again just how lucky I was. In fact Johnny and I were both lucky that way. Though his dad had taken a little time to come around, it was only a matter of when, not if. After all, they both loved me like a second son, so how could they deny me and Johnny our love?

"How's college life?" Uncle Joe asked as we sat around the table letting our food settle a bit.

"Good, really good. It's hard work, but we're keeping up. I think it helps that we have a quiet place to study and aren't stuck in a noisy dorm room."

"Yeah, and among friends," Mom offered, "that must help a lot."

"I'll confess, sometimes it's tempting to blow the studies off and hang out with our friends, but we're committed to making the best of this experience."

"How are Tony and Caleb doing?"

"Both are doing great. Of course I never really worried about Caleb, but Tony really surprised a lot of people. I knew he was smart, but he's really outdone himself. His instructors are all crazy about him too."

"That's wonderful, he's such a great person," Mom said fondly, "I know his granny is so proud."

We were interrupted by Johnny's arrival then, and I jumped up to greet him at the door and deliver a kiss before leading him by the hand into the dining room.

"Look, it's Santa's little helper, Johnny Clause," I joked, causing the kids to giggle.

Now that Johnny had arrived, we formed a line and dished up the dessert and while the others remained at the table, Johnny and I went to the living room so we could talk in private.

"I missed you last night," I confessed.

"I know, I mean...I missed you two, but tonight we'll be together and we can make up for lost time," he said wiggling his eyebrows comically.

"Twice," I growled.

"So, how did Mikey like the train set?"

"Almost as much as me and dad," I laughed, "it's so much nicer than that one I got that year."

"You mean the one in the closet back home?"

"Well, you never know...someday I might have a son to pass it on to," I teased.

"I understand, it's part of your childhood and it's important to hang onto that. I still have a few things in my room at mom and dad's that I plan on keeping forever."

"Like your bug collection?" I joked.

"What's wrong with my bug collection?" he said feigning hurt.

"Nothing I guess, but some of them are kind of falling apart after all these years."

"Yeah, they don't last forever I guess."

"Have you talked with any of the others?"

"Yeah, Caleb called. Him and Tony want us to come by later. I told them we were meeting Donnie and Walter at Donnie's house, and he said to bring them too."

"Sounds good. I wonder what Gerald is doing for Christmas?" I said feeling a little sad.

"I wish we could see him before...you know? he gets deployed."

"Maybe we can," I said brightening a bit, "it's not that far a drive. If he could get a pass..."

"Well, write him and see if he can. I'll drive us there...that's for sure."

"Okay, I'll check into it," I said, hoping I wasn't being too optimistic.

"I'm gonna go get more pecan pie, need anything babe?"

"Nah, I'm good," I said, enjoying the view from behind as he walked away. What I was going to do to that butt later...

We arrived at Donnie's house around 4 and he invited us in. After saying hello to his folks, we excused ourselves and all piled in the bus and headed to Caleb's house.

"We'd already exchanged gifts with Tony and Caleb back home, but we'd brought something special for their granny, a brand new state of the art stand mixer. She had been using a hand mixer and with her arthritis it was really tough on her. With this new stand mixer she could let the mixer do the work.

You'd have thought we'd bought her a mink stole or a new car the way that woman behaved, and tears stung our eyes as she kissed us on the cheek and thanked us over and over.

"I can't wait to use it, maybe I'll make one of my applesauce cakes for you boys."

"I love those," Johnny said, "even the raisins, and I usually don't even like raisins."

"Yeah, they're delicious," I said happily, "I'm glad you like the mixer. We knew it was something you could use, but I guess it was kind of selfish because you're always baking stuff for us."

"I love cooking for you boys," she said looking a little sad, "I really miss having you boys around to do for," she said wiping at her eyes with her hanky, "and I'm always glad when you come back to visit. It was so wonderful having the boys here Christmas Eve, then waking up to find them going through the gifts under the tree," she laughed.

"Christmas dinner was really good too," Caleb added, "I'm so full I can barely walk," he laughed.

"Oh, I loved cooking for you boys," she said, "but I might have overdone it a bit," we'll be eating turkey for days to come."

"No problem there," Tony said, "I love turkey and stuffing. Heck, I love everything you cook, and I'll make sure it don't go to waste."

By mutual unspoken agreement we hung around an hour or so, visiting with the old woman and enjoying ourselves as much as she did. Eventually she said she knew we were just being nice, and she knew we had plans, and shooed us out the door as we were laughing the whole way.

"I really missed that old lady," Tony said fondly, "I never had a mom or anyone to look after me till she came along, and...well, she's special to me."

"She's one in a million, that's for sure," I said, "I think I'm closer to her than my own grandma."

"For sure," Johnny said, "and our moms are crazy about her," Johnny added.

"I'm glad they take her places and watch out for her," Caleb said, "she won't admit it, but she's getting up there in years and can't do for herself like she used to. I feel bad that we're not here to help her like before, but I feel better knowing your mom's are there for her."

We drove around for a while, reconnecting with Donnie and Walter and catching up on our lives since Thanksgiving. Donnie suggested we go to the park and walk around a bit since the weather was still decent, and we all agreed that sounded like a good idea.

"Too bad we don't have the tennis racquets, we could play a game or two," I said as we piled out.

"Yeah, we'll have to play with our own balls," Johnny joked.

"Remember that time we did it in that big old evergreen bush over there?" I said, remembering I hadn't had sex for two days now.

"Did what?" Donnie laughed, "and when was that?"

"We were 12, I think," Johnny said looking at me for my reaction, "and for some reason the bathrooms were locked that day. Maybe it was because it was so late, not sure, but anyway, we were horny little fuckers back then..."

"Just back then? Still are," Tony laughed.

"Yeah, well...Robert started it. He practically dragged me into the cedar bush and it was all scratchy and stuff, but he didn't care. He yanked my shorts down and grabbed my pecker, and before I knew what was happening he was jerking me off."

"Yeah, and then what?" Donnie asked with a lewd grin on his face.

"Then Johnny forgot all about the scratchy bush and just let me have my way with him. I seem to remember blowing him, and then when he came he returned the favor."

"It was good too," Johnny said grinning, "but after we got our shorts back up and stepped out of the bush, we realized we'd been watched the whole time."

"Oh man, who saw you?" Walter laughed.

"Some guy I'd never seen before. He was probably about 30, maybe younger, I'm not sure. He didn't say anything, just smiled at us as we passed by him, and we took off running after that and didn't stop till we got to Robert's house," Johnny laughed.

"Wow, good thing he wasn't some pervert," Tony chuckled, "he might've dragged you back into the sticker bush."

"I don't think he was like that," I said, "I think we just surprised him, but I don't think he thought what we did was bad. Maybe he was like us when he was a kid, who knows? I mean, even my dad said he messed with his buddies when he was a boy."

"Well, I'm glad we don't have to do it in sticker bushes anymore," Johnny laughed, "I'm looking forward to doing it in my bed tonight."

Nothing was open except the one c-store in town, so we stopped and got a fountain drink and a candy bar, not because we were hungry really, but because we needed to do something. I felt sorry for the guy who was working all alone on Christmas day, but he didn't seem upset or sad.

In fact, he was very friendly and gave us all a big smile. Maybe he was checking us out, I thought, and he wasn't bad looking himself. Maybe a little old for us, but cute in his own way.

We drove out to by the football field where they'd held our high school graduation, then circled around and came back up Graham Ave., which was main street. At the far end of town, we circled the Sonic Drive-in, which looked strange with most of the lights out and no cars in the slots, then headed back toward downtown.

"Are you guys doing anything tomorrow?" Donnie asked when we started back to his house.

"No, got any ideas?" I said, open for anything at this point.

"Why don't we go bowling?" Donnie said, "or skating again?"

"Bowling sounds good," I said looking at the others for their approval.

"Yeah, bowling," Johnny said, "maybe grab a pizza or some burgers first."

So, with our plans made for tomorrow, we dropped Donnie and Walter off first, then Tony and Caleb. Okay, maybe it wasn't the most exciting evening ever, but we'd had fun, and tomorrow sounded even better. Sure, we saw Tony and Caleb almost every day, but it was nice to reconnect with Donnie and Walter.

We drove to Johnny's house then, fixed a sandwich and had some pie, and watched TV with his folks till bedtime. I'd showered at my house that morning, but considering what Johnny and I had planned for later in bed, another shower was in order.

Once his folks had gone to their room, we headed to the bathroom he used and took a shower together. It was hard to keep our hands off each other after being apart for two nights, but somehow we managed. We did help each other dry off, and once we were in Johnny's room we dropped our towels and came together passionately.

As we kissed, pressing our bodies together urgently, I thought about all the sex we'd had in this room. As they say, if the walls could only talk, well...they'd have plenty to say, that was for sure. It was here that we'd fine tuned our love making, here and in my bed that is, and here we were once again, now all grown up, but still as horny as ever.

"Mmm...do you think your folks know what we're up to in here?" I joked, of course they did.

"Nah, they think we're just sleeping," he teased, "Of course they know, and you know what? I don't worry about it anymore. Maybe when I was 15, but not now. They know by now that we're in love and what lovers do. Heck, they still do it too," he laughed.

"Eww...that's a nice visual," I teased, "I still remember catching my mom and dad that time. God, I couldn't get that sight out of my head for a long time. Then I finally realized that it was a good thing that they still loved each other that way. And...then, well...when Mikey came along, I was so glad they still did that stuff," I said blushing.

"I'm glad too, and I'm sure glad they made you," he said kissing my neck in that way that drives me crazy.

"Come on tiger, let's hit the sheets, I may not be able to get you pregnant, but I can sure go through the motions," I laughed.

I made love to Johnny for a long time that night, sawing in and out of his hot tight ass, lost in love, lost in lust, and making up for lost time. When it was Johnny's turn, he seemed especially passionate, taking his time, rimming me slowly, then gently easing into me as we lay face to face.

He bent to kiss me deeply, whispering his love for me as he began to move slowly and gently inside me. Sometimes we liked to have rough sex, fucking we called it, and sometimes we liked to make love, and that night Johnny was making love to me.

He felt so good inside me, so right, so perfect, and I felt tears come to my eyes as I thought about how much this beautiful young man meant to me. He was my world, and I knew without a doubt that if anything ever happened to him I could not go on living. Fortunately for us both, we managed to survive together and are still going at it today.

We slept after Johnny finished making love to me, then woke and sucked each other off, slowly and sensuously, swallowing each other's love offering greedily. We slept again and woke near dawn, then cuddled and kissed, but we soon fell back asleep and didn't wake till Johnny's mom called us to breakfast.

We puttered around the house for a while then drove around and I suggested we stop at Sharpe's and see if Jake was working. As we pulled up in front of the store I noticed that downtown seemed to be alive and bustling, no doubt from shoppers making returns and exchanges of their Christmas treasures, and Sharpe's was no exception.

Jake was busy with some old lady who appeared to be enamored with him, and kept touching him as one might a child. No doubt she saw him as she might her own grandson, or at least I hoped so.

We looked around till he was free, then approached him and he greeted us with a big smile. Being the touchy feely guys we were, we hugged Jake, not caring who saw us, but no one seemed to care, least of all the other clerks who we knew well from our families shopping there.

"You look great," I said sincerely, "are you manager yet?" I teased.

"Nah, but I open and close every day, you'd think I was. I love it though, and everyone here is great, even the customers."

"Yeah, I saw that old lady pawing you earlier. Did she call you sonny?" I teased.

"Oh, her. That's Mrs. Dixon, she lost her husband last year and she's just lonely. She likes to come in and look around and talk to everyone here. She's a sweet old lady."

"And you're a sweet young man," I said in my granny voice, causing him to laugh.

"So, what are you guys doing?"

"Just killing time. Hey, we're going bowling later with the gang, wanna join us?"

"Well, I promised Ronnie I'd hang out with him, but maybe he could come too."

"Yes, perfect," I said, "I was hoping to see him while we were home.
"We're gonna meet at Ken's at 6 and have pizza first. Will that give you time?"

"Yeah, we close at 5 and I'm usually out of here by 5:15. I just need to run home and change."

"Perfect, well...I can see you're busy and the other clerks are looking our way, so...we'll let you go and see you at Ken's later, okay?"

"Yeah, sure. Good to see you guys. Later then," he said heading over to help a lady and a teenage boy.

I nudged Johnny, "He's pretty hot, I bet Jake won't mind helping him out. Maybe measure his inseam," I joked.

"I'd measure something, that's for sure," Johnny said lewdly as we left the store.

"Yeah, like his dick size," I joked once we were outside.

"Yeah, or how deep his hole is," Johnny laughed.

"Johnny, I'm shocked. He's just a child."

"Huh, he's at least 16, maybe 17, he's old enough to have fun."

"Probably has a girlfriend and gets all the pussy he wants," I sighed.

"What a waste," Johnny laughed, and I joined in.

We decided to check out some of our old haunts while we were downtown and hit the Western Auto next. Ron was still there behind the counter, but at first I don't think he recognized us, then suddenly his face brightened and he came out to greet us.

"Hi you guys. In town visiting or did you flunk out of college?" he teased.

"Sadly, yes...we're looking for work. Are you hiring?" I joked.

"I know better than that," he chuckled, "your moms keep me informed, and I know you're both doing quite well and making them proud."

"Yeah, well...it's tough sometimes, but it will be worth it. So, how's business, did you tear it up with Christmas sales?"

"We did great, especially with the Toy Annex, we sold almost every toy by the 23rd. What's left I marked down, and there are some great buys if you're in the market," he chuckled.

"Well, anything a six or seven year old would like?" I said with interest.

Of course there were things young boys would like, and Johnny and I couldn't pass up a bargain, especially when it was for our favorite two boys. To be fair we bought the girls something too, and even had Ron gift wrap them. We'd give them to the little stinkers later, after the new had won off their Christmas gifts.

We thanked Ron and said our goodbyes as I looked around the store one last time. A lot of my childhood had been spent in places like this, looking at the toys and things that interested boys and wishing. My bike had come from WA, and it was the exact one I'd drooled over so many times. I'd given the bike to a kid down the street who's folks couldn't afford one, and I liked to think he was enjoying it as much as I had.

"Thirsty?" I asked as we threw the gifts in the bug bus.

"You read my mind, what would a trip downtown be without a cherry limeade from Cherokee Drug?" Johnny laughed.

We walked across the street to the drug store, which was located next to the Allred theater, and went inside. It was busy, as were most shops that time of day, but we were able to find a seat at the counter. We ordered large cherry limeades and Angie, the lady who'd worked there as long as I could remember visited with us as she made them. She asked about our moms, and school, and filled us in on her family, and I had a warm feeling once again. It was like coming home to family all over again. The people in our lives really meant something, and being from a small town we knew most of them by name or at least reputation.

"God, this is good," Johnny said after taking a sip, "Just the right amount of cherry. They need to learn how to make these back in Tahlequah."

"Yeah, no one does it like Cherokee Drug, or DQ," I added.

"I wonder if Jake and Ronnie would want to come back to Tony and Caleb's house with us tonight. Granny will be asleep by nine," I chuckled, "and we could have some fun."

"I'm pretty sure they'd be happy to have some fun," Johnny laughed, "what did you have in mind, an orgy?"

"Something like that. I know they're younger than us, but they're legal," I laughed.

"Like that ever made a difference," Johnny said, rolling his eyes.

"Well, we have to be responsible adults now," I laughed.

"Oh, we're responsible for a lot of things," he joked, "some good, some risky."

"Anyway, I'm looking forward to seeing Ronnie. I hope he's in better spirits than last time."

"I'm sure it's hard for him, but it will get better with time, just like with me and my sister."

"Yeah, that seems so long ago, but it really wasn't, was it? I can still remember how she used to boss us around," I chuckled, "but toward the end, it was like...like she was nicer or something."

"I think she just had her own things to deal with that we never really knew about. Her and that guy, that guy that killed her...they were into some bad stuff, and I think it was all his fault. She wasn't an angel, but he got her to do things she never would have."

"Yeah, well...he paid the ultimate price, they both did," I observed.

"Yeah, let's talk about something else," Johnny said then and I nodded.

We finished our drinks, tipped Angie a dollar, and said our goodbyes as more people came in to take our place. We walked to McCrory's and checked out the latest albums, and I bought A Santana Album I'd been wanting. There was a marked down bin and for 44 cents, Johnny bought The Strawberry Alarm clock album with Incense and Peppermints, (click to hear it) which we really liked, but the rest of the songs on the album weren't that great. But hey, for 44 cents, how could we complain?

Another group our whole gang liked was, The Zombies, and I'd played my 45 of Time of the Season (click to hear it) so many times I had to replace it. These songs and many others were the soundtrack of our lives, and everyone had one, ours just happened to be the greatest music ever made.

We finally managed to pull ourselves away from the record bin and checked out the rest of the store, then made our purchases and walked back to the bug bus. Simon, who everyone called Si, and who was the husband of one of the clerks at Sharpe's, was chalking tires as we approached and we exchanged hellos. Though parking was free downtown, it was limited to 2 hours, but fortunately we'd only been gone about 90 minutes.

We drove back to my house then, but Mikey had gone with Uncle Joe and Joe Jr. to get haircuts. I was sorry I'd missed that. I remembered Mikey's first haircut and how he cried till I held him on my lap, then he was okay with it. That little guy sure got to me.

I changed and we brushed our teeth and put on fresh deodorant and cologne, told my folks goodbye, and we were off to Ken's Pizza to meet the others.

I saw Caleb's pickup first, then Donnie's, but I didn't see Jake's old Chevy, but it was still early. We went inside and found the guys had pulled some tables together to make room for all of us, and we slipped into our seats. We told them about inviting Jake and Ronnie, and as expected they were as excited about seeing our other friends as we were.

At two minutes till 6, Ronnie led the way inside with Jake right behind him and headed our way. I jumped up and pulled him into a hug while Johnny waited his turn. The others watched us with interest, then decided to follow our lead and exchanged hugs with the two younger boys as well.

It was still early and the place wasn't that busy, but we'd managed to attract some attention with our hug-fest. Which was not to say that anyone seemed alarmed or incensed to see teenage boys hugging in a public place.

We ordered four large pizzas, two pepperoni, one supreme, and a sausage, a pitcher of Pepsi, and one of root beer, and chatted while we waited for our food. Ronnie looked good and seemed genuinely happy to see us. He looked like he'd put on a few pounds, and he'd felt warm and smelled good when I hugged him. He'd always been a good looking kid, kind of skinny most of his life and a tragic soul, and when his mom was killed he'd been very despondent. With the help of Johnny and the others we'd helped him pull out of his depression and I was seeing a different Ronnie today.

"How's work?" I asked when there was a lull in the conversation.

"Oh, I got a new job. I forgot to tell you, I'm working at the bank now."

"What? No way. Which one?"

"First National, I'm a teller in training," he laughed, "but it pays pretty good, and I'll get a raise when I'm done training. Mr. Tilly says I have potential, and if I work real hard I might become a loan officer some day."

"Oh man, that's great. Hey, if I ever need a loan, I'll come see you," I teased.

"Well, hopefully by the time you need one, I'll be a loan officer."

"So, still living with your granny?"

"Uh, no, didn't Jake tell you?"

"Tell me what?"

"Me and Jake have an apartment together down by the park. We split the rent and everything, so it's pretty cheap."

"Wow, that's great. Jake, did you forget to tell us something?" I teased.

"I was going to, then we got busy and you had to go...so, I figured we'd tell you later."

"Well, I think that's great," I said, suddenly having a great idea, "maybe we could stop by after we finish bowling."

"Oh, sure, you're all invited. As long as we don't make too much noise, it's cool," Jake said.

"Yeah, it's a pretty nice place, two bedrooms, and a nice sized living room," Ronnie said, as if he felt the need to imply that he and Jake weren't sharing a room or a bed.

On the jukebox, someone had plugged in Light my Fire by The Doors. I had to stop a moment to play air organ while the others laughed, then Johnny joined me with air guitar while the others sang along. It was a hoot, and no one seemed annoyed by our impromptu concert.

Our pizza came then, and we dug in, enjoying the almost too hot to eat treats, and sipping our sodas to cool our mouths off. We polished off the pizzas in no time flat and slurped down the soda, and Johnny and I insisted we were paying this time. However, the others chipped in for a nice tip for our waitress, a cute girl named Cindy.

I suggested that Ronnie and Jake ride with me and Johnny and we could bring them back here to pick up their car later since it was on the way. Donnie and Walter in Donnie's truck, and Tony and Caleb in his, followed us to the bowling alley which was at the east end of town just past the Sonic.

We were in luck and there were several lanes open, and we chose two side by side and paired up to play doubles, Ronnie and Jake against me and Johnny to start.

None of us were what you'd call professional bowlers, but we had a great time and did a lot of laughing, especially when one of us rolled a gutter ball. Despite having eaten earlier, we were teenage boys, and before long we felt the need to get drinks and snacks. This time Caleb and Tony offered to pay and we didn't protest. Walter and Donnie went with them, and they soon returned with drinks and snacks for us all.

We bowled till around 9:30 then decided we'd had enough, and after dropping Jake and Ronnie off at their car at Ken's, we followed them to their apartment. Tony and Caleb, and Donnie and Walter rode with us in the bug bus so we wouldn't have to take multiple cars, since we didn't know what the parking situation was at Jake and Ronnie's apartment.

I'd seen these apartments near the big park a million times, but I'd never known anyone who lived there, so I'd never been inside one. They looked nice from the outside though, and I was glad the two had found such a nice place to live.

Their apartment was toward the back, and there was plenty of parking across from it, and Johnny pulled the bug bus into a slot and we piled out to join Ronnie and Jake, who had parked just outside the door of their apartment.

Inside I was not surprised to find the place neat and clean. Having known the habits of both boys for quite sometime, I knew they were neither messy or dirty, unless you considered sex dirty, ha ha. The furnishings were clean looking and in good repair, even if they were mismatched.

"Jake's mom and dad gave us some of this stuff, and we bought some at the flea market. Our beds are new though, we bought them at the furniture store," Ronnie said, "well...we're making payments," he laughed.

"It came with appliances and stuff, and we can both cook," Jake added with a chuckle.

"That's great," I said looking around, "What, no TV?"

"Nah, not yet. We're thinking about buying one, but they're not cheap," Jake said. I looked at Johnny, who gave me that look that said, 'are you thinking what I'm thinking?'. "We listen to music and read a lot, or play board games," Jake added.

"And with the park so close, we can walk over there in the evenings. We figured when the weather warms up we can play tennis or take walks," Ronnie said.

"Yeah, so close," I said, "well, it's really nice guys. I'm so happy for you."

"Sorry we don't have more room to sit guys," Jake said, but we can bring in the dining room chairs..."

"Nah, the floor is fine for me and Johnny," I said pulling him down with me. The others found room either on the couch or the floor, and soon we were all comfortably seated.

We talked about school, work, our families, movies we liked, music, and eventually the subject of sex came up. None of us were strangers when it came to physical intimacy, even if Jake and Ronnie were only occasional partners in our games.

It was warm in the apartment, and someone suggested we take off our shirts, and before long our pants followed, shoes and socks came off, and eventually our underwear.

This was the 70s, free love baby, and while Jake put on some music to make love by, the 8 of us shared our bodies in delicious ecstasy. There wasn't any fucking that night, at least not while the six of us were visiting, but who knew what Ronnie and Jake did when they were alone?

We kissed, we jerked, and sucked one another to toe-curling orgasms, at least two as I recall, and not one inch of flesh, no lips, nor cock and balls went untouched.

Around midnight, we said goodbye with hugs all around, Jake and Ronnie now clad only in underwear, the rest of us fully clothed of course.

"Thanks for having us over," I said cheerfully, "now that you guys have a pad, maybe we can gather here again sometime."

"Sure, any time," Jake said, and Ronnie agreed.

As soon as we were in the bug bus, I spoke the words I'd been thinking ever since finding out the two didn't have a TV.

"Hey guys, what do you think about pitching in and buying the guys a house warming gift?"

"Like maybe a TV?" Johnny added, reading my mind once again.

"Hey, that's a great idea," Caleb said, "me and Tony are in."

"Sure," Walter agreed, "I don't have much, would 20 help?"

"Just give what you can afford, we'll cover the rest," I said, "but I want it to be from all of us."

We collected from Donnie and Walter before dropping them off at Ken's parking lot, then discussed with Tony and Caleb what we'd do. Our plan was to go to Jack's TV tomorrow and buy the two a TV, pick up Walter and Donnie later, then swing by and present the two with their gift. We'd invited Caleb and Tony to come with us to purchase the TV, but they said they already had plans for the day, and that they trusted us to choose the right set for the boys. We assured them that we'd do our best and made plans to pick them up around 6 so they could be there when we surprised the two.

I had a really warm feeling inside as I lay in my bed that night, Johnny by my side, and I couldn't wait to see the look on Jake and Ronnie's faces when they saw their surprise.

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

The next day I woke early, too excited to sleep any longer, but I let Johnny sleep while I took a shower and got dressed. By the time I was lacing on my shoes, Johnny was awake and watching me with sleepy eyes.

"Good morning bed head," I teased.

"Good morning. You're up early."

"I know, I just kept thinking about what we're going to do today, and I wanted to get an early start."

"Well, can we at least have breakfast first?" Johnny and his stomach.

"Of course, mom has some oatmeal and pancakes waiting for us."

"In that case, I'd better hurry," he said throwing back the covers to reveal his morning wood."

"Oh, look at that," I said with lust in my voice, "I better go check on breakfast, cause if I hang around here I can't be responsible for what might happen next.."

"Didn't you get enough last night?" Johnny teased, but we both knew full well there was no such thing as enough, or too much, when it came to our love-making.

"Never lover. See you in the kitchen. If you hurry I'll save you some," I teased as I headed out.

Mikey, I discovered, had spent the night at my aunt and uncle's house, and they were going to the park later. The weather was still unseasonably warm, and I knew the kids would enjoy a day out and we'd all benefit from them burning off some of that seemingly endless energy they had.

Johnny appeared looking somewhat better, having even combed his hair, and he laid a hand on my shoulder as he slid into his seat beside me.

"Morning Johnny," mom said. Dad was already at work and for the moment it was just us three, "So what do you guys have planned for today?"

Johnny let me do all the talking at first, then he finally joined in, sounding as excited as I did about the surprise for our friends.

"Oh, that's so thoughtful of you boys. Would you be willing to let your father and I pitch in too? That way you can get them a nice color set, instead of a black and white."

"Well, sure," I said smiling, "they are going to be so surprised."

"What about an antenna?" mom said, have you thought about that?"

"What, oh no...wait, I think I saw an antenna on the roof. Maybe they have one for all the apartments, I'll call the office and find out for sure."

"Well, if not, that's another cost to consider," mom said.

This was becoming more complicated than I'd thought, but I was still determined to go through with it. We ate our breakfast quickly and I excused myself to call the apartment complex office, and got some great news.

"They have a cable hookup and it's free. There are already jacks in the wall, installed there when they put the system in. It's pretty basic, but they can add more channels later if they want."

"Well, that's good news. You know your father and I have been thinking about getting cable for a while now."

"Oh sure, now that I'm out of the house," I teased, "but I'm sure Mikey would enjoy it."

"Do you boys have cable at your house in Tahlequah?"

"No, who has time to watch TV?" I chuckled, "I've watched more TV since I've been home than I did all month there."

"Well, I guess that's a good thing then. You're living life instead of watching it on a tiny screen," she laughed.

"Yeah, well...I'm done. I'm gonna go brush my teeth. You about done Johnny?"

"Yeah, go on. Give me a minute. I'll be right there," he said snarfing down one last pancake. I don't know where that boy put it, but he was a lean mean eating machine back then.

I was washing my face when Johnny wandered into the bathroom and grabbed the toothbrush he kept there for overnights. He was busy for a while brushing his fangs, then he spit, rinsed, and bared his teeth for my approval.

"Looks good babe, go put your shoes on and we'll go. I'm gonna go talk to mom a minute."

"Do you know how much a TV is going to cost?" Mom asked as I joined her in the kitchen.

"Not exactly, couple of hundred I guess?"

"More like 250 to 300, are you sure about this?" she asked.

"Yeah, we took up a collection, and Johnny and I will make up the difference. Uh, and whatever you give us will help too."

"All right, well here's 50 dollars, get them a nice one, okay?" she said handing over the money, "this is from my mad money stash," she laughed, "I've been saving for years, and this is the first time I've actually felt the need to spend any of it."

"Thanks mom," I said giving her a hug, "I don't have to tell you how hard a life Ronnie has had, especially lately, and Jake's wasn't much better. This will really mean a lot to them."

"I know, and I'm happy to help. Would you like me to go with you, give you a woman's perspective?"

"Yeah, that would be great," I said sincerely, "truthfully, I don't have a clue what we'll find."

"Well, first of all, you should decide what brand. Jack's has RCA, but there's Zenith, and Curtis Mathis, and Admiral, which are very good too."

"Oh man, is there one place we can go and see all of those brands?"

"Not here, maybe in bigger cities like Tulsa, but here each dealer is exclusive."

"Well, what do you suggest?"

"We've been doing business with Jack's TV for years, and their service is very good, so maybe we should start there. RCA's are good TV's, and a little less expensive than some of the others."

"Okay, that was where we were planning on going, but I just assumed we'd find what we were looking for there."

"Well, we might," she said just as Johnny joined us."

"Ready?" he said looking at us expectantly.

"Yeah, and good news, mom is going with us."

"Cool," Johnny said, "right this way ma'am, you can ride up front with me and Robert can take the back seat," he laughed.

"Gee thanks," I laughed, "I guess I can stand it this once."

Jack's was located downtown the first time I'd ever been there to buy a 45 rpm record, but over the years his business had grown, and he was now located on Mill in a bigger nicer building.

Traffic on Mill whizzed by us as we parked in front of the store, and I felt a mixture of nervousness and excitement as we climbed out of the bug bus and headed inside.

A young lady in her late 20s or early 30s greeted us at the door and asked if she could help us.

"We're in the market for a TV," mom said, "nothing too big or flashy, something for an apartment."

"Oh, well...we have some nice portables, or a nice console with stand that's on sale this week, for only 299.00," the lady said, leading us to where a dozen or so displays filled a carpeted sales floor.

Later in life, I'd become a bit OCD about comparison shopping, but back then I was like most males and just wanted to get it over with.

"I like this one," mom said checking out the 21" console.

The cabinet was black metal and I figured it weighed a ton, but I knew Johnny and I could handle it between us two, "The price is right," I said looking at the price tag of $250.00. But the stand was another 20 bucks, still the two together was within our budget.

"That's actually last year's model, that's why it's reduced to sell. The same model this year is about 50 dollars higher," the girl said, "he might even be willing to go a little lower if you think that one would work for you."

"Oh, well...why don't you see if he'd take 230 for it," mom said, always eager to bargain.

While the lady went to the back to talk to Jack (yeah, there really was a Jack) mom asked us if we thought this one would work if the price was right.

"It's fine with me," I said shrugging.

"Yeah, looks good to me," Johnny agreed.

"All right, but don't act too anxious, we might be able to get that stand thrown in for free," mom chuckled.

"Good news," the gal said when she returned, "he said yes at 230.

"Oh," mom sighed, "but we'd still need a stand. I'm not sure we can afford that too," she said looking defeated.

"Well, tell you what, how about I sell you the stand for 10 instead of 20? It has a few scratches on it, but it's fine otherwise.

"Boys, what do you think?" mom said giving us a yes with her eyes.

"I guess," I said, trying to do as mom said and not sound too anxious.

"I don't care, whatever you decided is fine by me," Johnny said acting totally disinterested.

"Let me look at it one more time," mom said checking out the controls, flipping through the channels, and scrutinizing the picture.

I thought it looked pretty good myself, actually a better picture than the one on our TV at mom and dad's, but then ours was several years old and TVs had improved during that time.

"All right, we'll take it," mom said at last, and I sighed in relief.

I let mom deal with all the paperwork, then I wrote a check for the whole amount including tax. I'd deposit the cash I had later, but there was more than enough in my account to cover the check I'd just written.

Jack came out to shake our hands and thank us, then helped us load the thing in the van, and surprised us by giving us a brand new stand still in the box.

"Boy will those guys be surprised," I said bubbling over with joy, "remind me to take mom with me any time I need to make any major purchase. Mom, you really worked those guys over."

"Oh, I bet they still made a profit, and besides, Jack knows he has our repair business, and when it's time to buy a new set, he'll most likely get our business there as well."

"Yeah, he's a nice guy," I said, "I remember going down to the old store and buying records when I was just a kid and he was always nice to me. Then when I bought my stereo, he took the time to explain everything to me and helped us carry it to mom's car."

"He's been doing business in this town as long as I can remember," mom said, "and people know and trust him. You don't find that kind of service or reputation in the big cities."

"Mom, to repay you for your help today, how about me and Johnny treat you to lunch later?"

"Well, how could I refuse an invitation like that from two such handsome gentleman?"

We drove back home and hung around till it was time to go to lunch, then took mom to the Spot Cafe, which was one of her and dad's favorite places to eat.

I loved the Swiss steak, and mom had the chicken and noodles, while Johnny had chicken fried steak, which I swear was as big as his head. Despite the big portions we still managed dessert, homemade coconut cream pie, but we were stuffed by the time we'd forked up the last bite.

We laughed and talked as we ate, and I realized it had been a while since I'd really just sat down and visited with my mom. Johnny loved her as much as I did, and it was obvious he was enjoying our time together as much as I was. Mom was positively glowing as she enjoyed our company, and it turned out to be a very pleasant day for the three of us.

Mikey came home around four that day, and Johnny and I entertained him while we waited for dad to get home. When dad arrived, we filled him in on our plans and he offered to chip in as well, but we explained that mom had already given us money, and he didn't press the issue. After all, mom was pretty much in charge of all things financial in our house.

Around 5:30 we drove over to pick up Donnie and Walter, then picked up Tony and Caleb on our way to Jake and Ronnie's. To make sure they'd be home, I had called Jake at work earlier and said we'd be coming by around 6, but didn't say why. He seemed surprised, but didn't question me about the purpose of our visit and said he'd see us then.

Jake's car was in the same parking spot as the night before, and as we piled out of the bug bus, he and Ronnie came to the door and greeted us as we approached.

"Hey guys," Jake said, "what's up?"

"Oh not much," I said grinning, "come with me, I want to show you something," I said leading them to the back of the bug bus.

Johnny opened the back hatch, and voila, there was the TV and the boxed stand.

"What's this, you bought a new TV?" Ronnie said, "nice."

"No, you don't understand," Johnny laughed, "it's for you. A house warming gift from all of us, and Robert's folks helped too."

"What? For us? but...those things are so expensive. I hope you don't think I was hinting when I said we couldn't afford one," Jake sputtered, "I was just explaining why we didn't have one."

"Oh, we know that," I said, "but we're just so happy you two have this cool apartment and we wanted to get you something, and well...a TV just seemed perfect. My mom helped us pick it out, and she got us a really good deal on it. I called the office and found out you already have a cable hookup, and we bought a connecting cable too."

"Oh wow, that's amazing," Ronnie said, "thank you guys, thank you so much," he said near tears.

"Come on guys, lets get this stand set up and we'll carry it inside," I suggested.

Once the stand was assembled and in place, Johnny and Walter carried the TV inside and gently set it down. I connected the cable and plugged it in, and Johnny switched it on, then we moved around in front of it while it warmed up.

When the screen sprang to life with a Dial soap commercial we all clapped and cheered, but none so loud as our two buddies. We hung around a bit longer, but we didn't want to wear out our welcome, and we figured Jake and Ronnie needed some time alone to enjoy their new TV.

They walked us to the bug bus, and after hugs all the way round, we loaded up and drove back to Caleb's. Granny was busy cooking, and when she saw all of us the biggest smile appeared on her face.

"Oh, you boys must stay for supper," she insisted.

"Only if you let us help cook," I said giving her a hug, and she cheerfully agreed.

We had a great time that night, eating granny's delicious cooking, then we played board games till she announced she was going to bed to get her beauty sleep.

Johnny and I stayed till around 10:30, but Donnie and Walter stayed, and later I learned that the four had some sexy fun till way into the night. Group stuff was great, but sometimes Johnny and I just preferred each other's company, and that night we spent at my house, in my bed, reaffirming our love and commitment for one another.

End Chapter 6

Next chapter: The Art Show

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