Tripod Chapter 35

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Tripod - Chapter 35

I arrived home the following day after gymnastics practice and was surprised to find Grandpa David and Great Grandma Esther in the kitchen teaching Asher how to cook.

Mom had decided to work from home. She was concerned about Asher's experience at the police station the day before and didn't want to leave him alone all day.

"And Mama Bernice?" I asked.

"You know your grandma," Esther began, "December's a busy time at the clinic and she couldn't leave anyone waiting to see a doctor. She sends her love."

"Send my love back. What time did you get here?"

"A little after noon," replied David. "After hearing about what happened to Asher at his old school and yesterday, we figured a little extra love from his new grandparents wouldn't hurt."

"Well, something smells really good. What did they teach you, Asher?" I asked.

"We made chicken soup with matzo balls. Can you believe it? I was never allowed to cook before in my old house. That was just for girls. But this was really fun. Alte Bubbe Esther showed me some tricks to make the matzo balls fluffy. Jaime, they're amazing. Like little pillows. Grandpa David and Alte Bubbe Esther just showed up with all of the stuff we'd need and showed me how to do everything," Asher beamed.

"I hope you shared some of the cookies and stuff we bought at He-Brew the other day. I mean everyone should get a reward for their hard work, right?" I added.

"Jaime, please, I'm not some selfish asshole. We shared rugalach and babka, and I even gave them a piece of the hamantaschen. And you know how much I love that."

I had to laugh to myself. They say that cursing in a second language just doesn't have the same emotional charge to it that cursing in your native language does. I'd have to pull Asher aside and explain that "asshole" is probably not a word to throw into everyday conversations with your grandparents.

We sat around and exchanged small talk until Dad walked in just before 7:00 PM. He set a package down in the kitchen, then gave Grandpa David a bear hug and gently embraced his grandma, who, at 93 probably couldn't handle the kind of tight squeezing he'd given to David.

Apparently, Mom had let Dad in on the surprise visit, as the package he'd set down contained an apple pie and a pumpkin pie.

Asher and I set the dining room table and took it upon ourselves to serve the soup to the waiting adults. Given the cold December air, steaming bowls of chicken soup brimming with pieces of chicken, vegetables and soft, fluffy matzo balls were just the thing to fight off the chill.

"Asher's a natural in the kitchen, Jaime," Grandpa David volunteered. "He'll fit in really well around here."

"I can't wait to learn more," Asher smiled. "What's the expression you taught me, Alte Bubbe? `The way to a man's heart is through his stomach?' Well, this cute smile may be enough to get me a boyfriend, but I'm gonna need some other skills to keep him."

Dad and I looked at each other and had to clamp our jaws shut and cover our mouths to keep from bursting out laughing. Mom shot us both a look and we managed to just barely keep it together. Even Great Grandma Esther picked up on the joke and let out a laugh.

After I'd composed myself, a thought came to my mind. "Hey, speaking of other skills, Mom & Dad, I was wondering if you would be OK if I asked Mr. Choi to tutor Asher. He's a great science teacher and I bet he's probably good at math, too."

Mom and Dad looked at each other and both nodded.

"Asher's going to need more help than Braden can give him," Mom said.

Asher's smile instantly disappeared from his face. Mom picked up on it.

"Braden's fine for Algebra, Asher, but you're going to need professional attention. That doesn't mean you can't spend time with him. I know you boys really get along and I don't want to stop that."

Asher regained his composure.

"OK. I'll ask Mr. Choi tomorrow then."

Dad cut everyone slices of the pies.

"These are delicious, Barry, but not as good as Jaime's pies," Esther commented. Everyone nodded. I blushed.

By 8:30, Great Grandma was dozing off. Grandpa David nudged her awake and helped to get her ready to head back down to Hyde Park. We all said our goodbyes and Asher and I finished cleaning up in the kitchen. Just as we'd loaded the last dish into the dishwasher, my phone chimed in my pocket.

Tyler: Operation Bottoms Up is a go. Rents have dinner res at 7:00 in Chi tomorrow. Be here at 6:30. Pizza followed by hide the pepperoni. K?

It had been sent as a group text, so everyone got the invitation at once.

Within ten minutes, Darius, Eddie, Brandon, and I had all replied with various sexually suggestive emojis, followed by laughing emojis.

"What's so funny?" Asher asked.

"Just a chat from Tyler. I'm having dinner with him and the other guys tomorrow."

"Just dinner? Dessert, too?" Asher asked, a twinkle in his eye.

"You really are a fast learner. Maybe dessert, too." I laughed.

"They're nice guys. You're lucky to have friends like that, you know."

"Yeah, I do know," I replied, with my thoughts instantly flashing forward to what might happen to our group after we headed off to college.

I hugged Asher goodnight, then headed upstairs to get a jump on my homework, knowing that I wouldn't have much time to work on anything the following evening.

***

The next morning in Mr. Choi's chemistry class, Eddie and Tyler were noticeably giddy, finding it hard to contain their excitement about our little sex party set for that evening.

"My folks shouldn't be home until around 9:30, so there's no rush. Can't wait to see Brandon work his magic on Darius. That should be fun to watch."

After class, I hung back to have a word with Mr. Choi.

"Hey, Jaime. What's up?"

"I don't think I told you, but remember that kid we met at the Rainbow Center, Asher?"

"Of course. He'd gotten thrown out of his house for being gay. Was living with a foster family in Chicago, right?"

"Well, he's living with us now. He's my new, little brother."

"What??!! Jaime, that's amazing. That's so generous of you and your folks. So, will he be going to school here then?"

"Yeah, he had a really horrible time at his old school. Bullied. Beaten up. It was awful. I think he'll be happy here."

"Well, with you and your friends watching over him, I'm sure he'll have a much easier time fitting in," Mr. Choi said.

"Yeah, I'm not worried about that part, but he's going to need some help catching up academically. He spent most of his life in religious schools that didn't give him that great of an education in other stuff, but he's really smart and wants to learn."

"Yeah, he's what? 15? He's going to have to get some individual tutoring if he expects to graduate in two and a half years."

"Um, Mr. Choi, would you consider tutoring him? I don't know if you do that or if you'd even be interested. My folks said they'd be happy to pay to help get Asher a good education."

"Actually, Jaime, I'd love to. I mean, I'm a first-year teacher. I could use the extra cash. I'm certified to teach high school science and math courses from earth science and algebra all the way up to physics and calculus."

I gave Mr. Choi my parents' numbers so that they could agree on a price and a schedule.

"Hey, Mr. Choi, what are you doing for the holidays?"

"I don't really have anything planned. My friends are headed home to their families and I'm currently single, so...lots of binge-watching and quick stir-fries."

"We usually do a family get-together on Christmas Day," I said, "but we just pick that day because everyone's off from work and school. We're not religious and we don't really celebrate any one holiday and usually do a little Christmas, a little Hanukkah, and some Kwanzaa traditions all at the same time. Would you like to join us? My uncle Noah and his husband Jermaine will be there, too. I think you'd like them. You don't have to decide now. Just let me know."

"I don't need to think about it. That would be amazing. I'd love to," Mr. Choi beamed.

***

"What's up with you guys today?" Seán asked, looking puzzled.

We were five minutes into our lunches at our usual lunch table spot.

"Tyler keeps giggling like a schoolgirl," Seán continued, "Eddie's squirming around in his chair. Brandon, you keep licking your lips and smiling and Jaime, even you are all fidgety. What gives?"

Tyler burst out in nervous laughter and the rest of us followed.

"We're having a little male bonding at my place tonight. Darius is coming over, too. It's the first time that all five of us have been together for a while," Tyler said.

"Male bonding?" Seán rolled his eyes. "Sounds interesting. Connor and I haven't been able to get together in private for a while. His place and mine are off limits."

"What about driving to the park?" Eddie asked.

"That's fine for a quick handjob, but I really want to get naked again with my boo," Seán lamented.

"You guys should come over to my place tonight. We'll be down in the basement."

"That's nice of you to offer, Tyler, but we'd like some privacy. I don't think Connor would feel comfortable..."

"You guys can go up to my room. I'll throw a sheet on the bed and you can head up there. We're gonna order some pizzas and we'll hang out for a little while before we get naked. We do talk about things other than sex, you know," Tyler said.

Eddie, Brandon, and I couldn't hold in our laughter.

"Well, at least sometimes," Tyler laughed.

"Let me talk to Connor, but it sounds tempting. We really need some time together. Thanks, Tyler," Seán said. "What time?"

"6:30. Right after gymnastics practice."

***

By 6:40 PM, Brandon, Tyler, Eddie, Darius, and I were sitting in the living room at Tyler's house. No sign of Seán or Connor. Seán is always obsessively on time.

At 6:45, the doorbell rang. It was the pizza delivery guy, who was actually kind of hot, but that kind of fantasy only happens in bad porn videos, right?

As the pizza guy was turning around to leave, Seán and Connor were heading up the steps.

"I'm soooo sorry we're late." Seán said.

"We were having a little discussion," Connor said rolling his eyes.

"Seán wanted to stay up in Tyler's room all by ourselves, but I said that we're all friends, right? We can hang out with you guys and play, too," he added.

"We decided to compromise," Seán said. We'll be downstairs with you guys, but only play with each other, OK?"

We all nodded.

Then Darius jumped in, "So, I'll finally get a chance to see that legendary ass in all its glory?"

Seán turned deep crimson.

"Seán, Connor, this is my boyfriend Darius," I volunteered.

"Happy for you guys to enjoy the scenery," Connor laughed turning Seán around and pointing at Seán's spectacular rear, "but only I get to climb those mountains."

"Oh. My. God. I can see what all the fuss is about. Seán, you should sell your butt workout online. You'll make a fortune," Darius said.

"I just do the regular gymnastics workouts. I was born this way. My mom used to complain that she could never find pants to fit. She'd always have to buy them two sizes too big, then take the waist in. Thank God for sweatpants with drawstrings, right?"

"Well, let's eat while the pizza's still hot," Tyler said.

You could tell that Seán's butt had thrown another log on the bonfire of sexual desire that had been smoldering all day. Everyone ate quickly, but not in the usual quantities you'd expect from a group of teen guys. No one wanted to get weighed down before the fun began.

After the disposable plates were tossed, Tyler grabbed Eddie's hand and pulled him toward the stairs leading to the basement.

"Let's go boys. I've got a hardon that needs attention," Tyler snarled.

The rest of us didn't need any prompting and followed the leader downstairs. Tyler had already thrown sheets over the sofas and onto the floor. A bottle of lube was placed on a coffee table next to a stash of condoms.

Tyler was usually the one to take the lead and throw off his clothes but out of the blue, Connor grabbed an embarrassed Seán, pulled the drawstring on Seán's sweats, and in one fell swoop they, along with Seán's boxer briefs, were gathered around Seán's ankles. There for the world to see were two, perfect, alabaster hemispheres set just below Seán's beautifully muscled back, his sacral dimples only serving to highlight the porcelain mounds of perfection. Not a pimple nor a hair in sight, sheer gluteal flawlessness.

While Tyler and I had previously seen Seán in the showers at practice, the other guys had not. Eddie, Brandon, and Darius looked at each other and back to Seán, the looks of awe and wonder, mixed with a heavy dose of lust, were easy to read on their faces.

"See, Seán," Tyler began, "you're the star attraction here. Don't be embarrassed. We're all your friends and we love you. Just relax and have fun."

Connor leaned in and planted a kiss on Seán's lips, then pulled him in tighter for a hug. Seán kicked off the sweats and undies, and as he separated from Connor's embrace, he revealed a beautiful, long, thick, cut cock that had grown substantially from what I'd seen in the showers.

"I thought that Jaime was the star of the show," Seán said. "Are the rest of you just gonna stand there staring at my ass or are you gonna get naked, too?"

Well, we didn't need to be told twice. Within a minute, our clothes were in a pile in the corner of the room. None of us had seen Connor naked before. His slim body turned out to be nicely toned and unsurprisingly smooth, given his Asian heritage. His 6" cock was definitely thicker than average and uncut, with a large set of balls hanging low in a hairless sack underneath.

Connor was clearly turned on by what he was seeing and didn't waste any time dropping to his knees to take Seán's cock into his mouth. Seán still looked a little uncomfortable at being the center of attention in what until that moment, had been a strictly private activity for him.

Sensing his unease, but deciding to take a chance, I walked up to Seán and started to massage his shoulders. He seemed to enjoy that, so I took my cue and reached around and started playing with his pencil-eraser nipples. Seán sucked in a breath, my attentions clearly having the right effect. Then, throwing caution to the wind, I leaned in and kissed Seán's neck. I could feel him tense up, so I stopped, but Connor reached up and took a hold of Seán's hand to give him reassurance. I leaned back in and started kissing Seán's neck again and he started to moan.

Then he did something I didn't expect, he reached down and grabbed my dick.

"Jeez, Jaime, how do keep from falling over whenever you get hard?" Seán asked.

We all cracked up. The tension that had permeated the room burst like a balloon. Everyone had been worried about Seán's reaction to the situation but also completely turned on by the action in front of them, with everyone stroking his now-hard dick as they watched.

Darius came over to join me and while I kissed and licked Seán's neck and nibbled on his ear on the right, Darius did the same on the left. Seán now had both of our dicks in his hands and was stroking them while Connor continued to give Seán head.

Tyler walked over and lifted Connor to his feet and gently pushed him into a kiss with Seán, then dropped to his knees to take Seán's cock in his mouth. Whatever inhibitions Seán had once had seemed to be melting away.

No longer happy to sit on the sidelines watching the show, Brandon moved in to put on a show of his own. He pulled Connor away from his kiss with Seán and moved him around to Seán's backside. Seán now had a clear view of Brandon's chiseled body and enormous cock, which Brandon was stroking forcefully.

Connor got back onto his knees and plunged his tongue up Seán's backside. Seán let out what can only be described as a squeal of delight.

Until that night, Seán's only sexual experiences had been with Connor but having Tyler sucking his cock while Connor ate his ass and Darius and I nibbled his neck and tweaked his nips opened up a new world of pleasure for him. The previously shy, prudish kid had never even dreamed that this level of ecstasy existed.

"You like what you see, Seán? You want this huge cock? Think you're ready for the fuck of a lifetime? Bet you can take it all, you stud, and come begging for more," Brandon snarled.

"I-I-I don't know," Seán stammered. "You look really fit and your penis is nice, but I love Connor and I don't want him to get mad."

Connor pulled his tongue out of Seán's ass and said, "It's OK, Seán. Why do you think I wanted you to come down here in the first place? Loosen up and have some fun. I'm OK with Brandon fucking you if you're OK with Jaime fucking me. Then we can go off in a corner and cuddle.

Seán shyly nodded and Branden dove for the lube and condoms, driven to near insanity at the sight of Seán's legendary ass laid bare and ready for the taking.

Brandon wisely decided that Seán wasn't ready for the crazy, gymnastic fuck he'd given me a few weeks earlier, at least not yet, so he gently laid Seán onto a sheet on the carpeted floor then kissed him sweetly on the lips.

"You're gonna love this, but I'm gonna be really gentle to start, OK? If it hurts or if you want me to stop, that's OK. Got it? I'll use lots of lube. Once you're ready, I can pick up the speed."

Seán looked over at Connor, who winked and smiled at his boyfriend. Then Brandon grabbed Seán by the ankles and pushed his legs over his head to expose Sean's pucker.

I grabbed the lube and an XL condom from over by Brandon and got myself ready. Connor was clearly not as nervous as Seán. I suspect he'd had a lot more experience than Seán had had.

I pushed Connor into the downward dog position on the floor with his ass sticking up so I could fuck him from behind. With the two bottoms in position, Connor could lean over Seán to kiss and reassure him as I plowed Connor's ass and Brandon gave Seán a fuck he'd never forget.

Not wanting to get left out of the fun, Eddie and Tyler apparently decided it was time for Darius to have his first DP session. How did I guess? Because I saw each of them lean in and whisper into Darius's ear which brought a sly, crooked smile to Darius's face.

Darius turned around, walked over to me, kissed me hard on the lips, and snatched the lube from my hand.

"Gonna need lots of this. But when have I ever turned down a challenge?" Darius smirked.

Darius walked back and started a three-way kiss with Eddie and Tyler.

By then, Seán's moans had begun to permeate the room as Brandon went to town eating Seán's ass. But that was just the starter. As I started to push into Connor, Brandon, holding onto one of Sean's hands, ever so gently started to push his huge cock into the gymnastics captain.

I could hear Connor whispering to Seán telling him that he loved him and that it was going to feel great.

Brandon and I were synchronized. His cockhead disappeared into Seán just as mine slipped into Connor. Seán grimaced. Connor moaned.

"It's OK, Seán. Take a deep breath and push. It will help you relax," Connor said.

Seán, always one to follow the coach's advice, did as he was told and Brandon slipped another few inches into him. I did the same to Connor. Now both guys were moaning low.

Brandon and I looked at one another and slowly pushed the last few inches into our bottoms.

Seán started to purr.

Connor turned back and said, "I've fantasized about this for months now. I jack off thinking about it all the time. Now fuck me like you mean it."

"You OK, Seán?" Brandon asked, clearly concerned.

"Oh, dear God," Seán moaned, "Don't stop!"

Brandon and I didn't need to be told twice. Within a couple of minutes, the moans and screams of encouragement coming from Seán and Connor grew louder and louder.

Suddenly, Brandon leaned down and scooped Seán up and was ramrodding him the same way he'd done it to me after Thanksgiving. Seán's head lolled from side to side and his eyes rolled back in his head. He was howling like a cat in heat. Brandon's assault on Seán's magnificent butt was unrelenting.

I'd also picked up speed and was piston-fucking Connor, shoving all eleven inches in each time, reaching spots in Connor that I was sure no man had ever touched. Connor's moans were lower. He sounded more like a ghost on Halloween.

"Oh, yeah, Jaime. Fuck yeah!" Connor screamed. "Seán, are you OK?"

"Oh, fuck. Oh, fuck. Ohhhh, fuuuuuck!" Seán moaned, as shot after shot of bright, white cum jetted from his cock onto his face and chest. Brandon's ability to get guys to cum hands-free was amazing.

Figuring that Connor would be turned on by the scene in front of him, I reached around and stroked his cock until his moans reached a fever pitch. I slammed into him balls-deep as he unloaded onto the sheet in front of him, shouting out what I figured to be curse words in Korean.

While all this was going on, Darius had first lowered himself onto Tyler's beer-can-thick dick. After he got used to it, he leaned forward to kiss Tyler and give Eddie a good angle of attack. Eddie squatted down and once his dick was parallel to his boyfriend's, gently pushed against Darius's already stretched anus until it yielded to Eddie's long, black rod. Eddie gingerly slid all the way into Darius. From my angle of view, I could see that Darius was in heaven as he started to move up and down on the two oversized dicks. It didn't take him long to figure out just how to give himself and Tyler & Eddie maximum pleasure. With his strong wrestler's legs, Darius pounded both cocks into him. Eddie had one hand on Darius's shoulder pushing him down harder on the down strokes. His other hand was interlaced with Tyler's as a silent way to communicate their love for each other as they shared these minutes of pleasure.

Over and over again Darius slammed his ass down onto his partners until both Eddie and Tyler started to moan. Darius looked over at me and winked. Then grabbed his cock and blasted his spunk onto Tyler's face and chest. That brought Tyler to a climax, with Eddie close behind.

Darius slowly lifted off of Tyler and Eddie, stood up, and clasping his hands together, pumped them in the air as if he'd just won the state wrestling championship.

I burst out laughing. "Just wait, babe, I think you've got one more match before you can claim the title." I glanced over to Brandon, who had an evil glint in his eye.

All of us took a few minutes to cool off, get a drink and relax to build up strength for round two.

While Connor and Seán moved off to a quiet corner to kiss, cuddle, and talk about what had just happened, Eddie and Tyler decided that a hot sixty-nine was up next for them. Brandon and I moved in on Darius. Brandon lay down on the floor. I draped my legs over Brandon's so that our now-hard dicks stood straight up together. Brandon's and mine together felt like a kilo of cock that Darius was going to attempt to shove up his furry backside. But my man was up for it. With an impish smile, Darius grabbed the lube and slicked up the twin monsters.

Given the position we were lying in, my dick extended a good three inches beyond Brandon's. Darius slipped me inside easily, having already been nicely stretched by Eddie and Tyler. Then Darius slid down so that Brandon's massive head was poised at his hairy pucker. Darius gritted his teeth and let gravity take over as he squatted and let his own body weight push Brandon against his hole until it yielded to the pressure. Willing his hole to relax, Darius took a deep breath and Brandon and I looked on in amazement as both of our cocks slid all the way inside. Darius's eyes went wide for a second as even he needed to adjust to having that much cock up his backside, but his momentary look of pain quickly faded into one of total pleasure.

"Oh, yeah! That's what I needed. Just lay still boys and let an expert ride this horse," Darius screamed.

"I think you mean `horses'," Seán volunteered from across the room.

Facing me, Darius slowly raised himself up so that both dicks were barely still inside him, then he slowly lowered himself until my balls were touching his hole. The process repeated itself with Darius picking up speed on each new cycle until he was slamming down with force and impaling himself on both mammoth cocks as deep as they could go, then jumping up like a rabbit to start the cycle over again.

After a couple of minutes of the awe-inspiring performance, Tyler & Eddie and Seán & Connor stopped what they'd been doing to take in the show and cheer Darius on.

Darius loved the attention and it only inspired him to ride harder. Both Brandon and I were getting close and I started to squirm, trying to hold off the inevitable for as long as I could.

Sensing what was about to happen, Darius grabbed his cock and shot his second load all over my chest and into my open mouth as I came hard in his ass. Brandon wasn't quite ready to cum yet. Darius started to stand up and I pulled my cock out of his butt.

"Not so fast, buddy!" Brandon snarled, and without slipping out of Darius's hole, picked up the wrestler by the waist and started brutally fucking him. Darius loved it.

It didn't take long for Brandon to throw his head back and howl as he unloaded his seed deep into my grateful boyfriend.

Seán and Connor sat there wide-eyed and slack-jawed at the spectacle that had just unfolded before them. Eddie and Tyler just sat there smiling smugly.

"OK, dudes. It's almost 9:00. My folks are gonna be home soon. Let's clean up and head upstairs. It smells like a whorehouse down here and I don't want my folks to figure out what we've been up to."

We gathered up the sheets and threw them into the hamper. Tyler said he'd do the wash the following afternoon. We threw all of the cum-soaked tissues down the toilet, along with a bucketload of spent condoms, then headed upstairs to play video games.

Right on cue at 9:30, Josh and Carol walked into the house to find seven well-mannered young men, finishing off the last of the pizza, discussing our school classes and playing video games.

"Hi, boys," Carol said as she surveyed our faces, "Jeez, you all look like you've just come from running the marathon."

Suddenly, you could hear a pin drop. "You know how competitive we get playing video games, Mom," Tyler said, trying to cover our tracks.

"Hi, Ms. Spiwak. This is Connor Kim. I don't think you've ever met him before," Seán volunteered, trying to divert attention away from the fact that seven teenage guys who usually pay careful attention to their looks, were alarmingly disheveled.

"Hi, Connor. I hope you had fun with the boys while we were out."

"A total pleasure," Connor replied.

Josh responded with a knowing smirk on his face, "Anyhow, we brought back a pie. We thought you boys might like some dessert."

Darius, unable to contain himself, smiled and said, "Thanks anyway but I feel pretty stuffed as it is. Couldn't possibly fit anything else in."

Tyler shot Darius a look, but the rest of us just bit our tongues and headed into the kitchen for a piece of pie.

***

"What would you guys think about heading downtown this afternoon to check out the Christmas decorations and the Christkindelmarkt?" Mom asked.

It was Saturday morning later that week and I really didn't have anything better planned. In my seventeen years on earth, I'd probably seen the decorations and been to the Christmas market at least thirty times.

"Crystal Market. Is that where they sell glass and stuff?" Asher asked.

"Not `Crystal Market,' Asher. It's Christkindelmarkt. It means, `Christ Child Market' in German, but it's not really religious. They sell all sorts of German, Austrian, and Swiss products, plus lots of Christmas decorations and food," Dad said.

"Plus, you'll see hot, blond German guys manning the booths," I smirked.

Asher blushed then laughed, "I guess that sounds like fun."

The Christkindelmarkt happens yearly in Daley Plaza, right in the heart of the Loop, Chicago's downtown. Given the expense of parking in the city, not to mention the traffic, we decided to take the L. We'd had a late breakfast, so we planned to hit the market mid-to-late afternoon while it was still daylight and maybe have a snack there. Then we'd take in the decorations and lights on State Street and Michigan Avenue once the sun set at a little after 4:00 PM. It was chilly, even for December in Chicago, with the temperatures well below freezing, but Chicagoans are a hearty bunch, so we bundled up and headed out.

It's only a block from the Red Line stop at Randolph and State over to Daley Plaza. The plaza takes up half of an entire city block with the office building that contains courtrooms, and city and county offices taking up the other half.

As we neared the plaza, Asher said, "Hey look, there's a giant menorah on the corner."

Menorahs are usually small candelabra that hold nine candles, one candle for each of the eight days that Hanukkah lasts and another candle that's used to light the other candles. Observant Jews have one in their homes and light one candle the first night, then an additional candle on each successive night until all nine candles are lit on the last night. Hanukkah, the Jewish festival of lights, was just a few days away. The giant menorah on the plaza served as a reminder of the upcoming holiday.

Every year, an ultra-orthodox Jewish group sets up the oversized menorah at one corner of the plaza. Hey, if the Christmas market gets the whole plaza, the least the city can do is let Jews put up a menorah on the corner, right?

We spent about an hour walking around the Christkindelmarkt admiring the decorations and European handicrafts but didn't buy anything except a couple of stollen, a kind of sweet pastry.

In one of the little stores that sold Christmas ornaments, Asher started to laugh.

"What are you laughing about?" I asked.

He leaned in to whisper to us, "See those cute German guys standing in the corner over there?"

We glanced over in that direction and nodded.

"They're talking about how dumb these Americans are who pay three times more for these crappy ornaments here than what they cost in Germany at the bargain outlets."

"I didn't know you spoke German," Mom said with a snicker.

"I don't, but Yiddish and German are close enough that I can pretty much understand the conversation."

"Are you boys hungry?" Dad asked.

"Dad, know your target audience. We're teenage boys. We're always hungry. You didn't even have to ask."

"You're right, Jaime. I should have known better," Dad replied.

"Asher, now that you've had bacon, wanna stuff a nice, fat sausage in your mouth?" I chided.

Asher blushed again. "Why not?" he laughed.

We each ordered a different kind of sausage: Currywurst for me, Bratwurst for Asher, Weisswurst for Mom, and Knackwurst for Dad. After we'd bitten into our own sausages, we took bites of the others' food.

"Not as good as bacon," Asher mused, "but really tasty." We all nodded in agreement. By 4:00 PM, daylight was starting to fade. We'd had our fill of Christkindelmarkt and were getting ready to head back to State Street to take in the Christmas lights and store window displays.

As we turned around to leave, Asher stopped dead in his tracks. Mom and Dad almost crashed into him. I turned to see what was going on and noticed that Asher was white as a sheet, his eyes wide in shock.

Two teenage boys, obviously ultra-orthodox Jews judging from their clothing, were standing next to the menorah and attempting to engage passersby.

"Are you OK? What's the matter? Bad memories?" I asked.

Asher took a deep breath, turned away from the menorah, and said, "That kid on the left is my brother."

"Do you want to talk to him?" Mom asked, grabbing Asher's hand to give him courage.

"Of course, I do," Asher said, "but it's complicated. Even if he wants to talk to me, that kid he's with can't see him talk to me. He could get in so much trouble just being seen with me. And what if he doesn't even want to talk to me?"

I could see the wheels spinning in my mother's brain. "Here's what we're going to do," Mom began. "Barry and I are going to go over and talk to the other kid. Barry's going to talk about his bubbe who survived the Holocaust and who makes amazing brisket and potato pancakes. Hold on. Give me a second here."

Mom pulled a sticky note out of her bag and wrote something on it. She handed it to me. It said, "Your brother Asher is in the drugstore across the street. Go buy a drink there." Asher's phone number was also written on the note.

"Jaime, go ask Asher's brother if he can explain Hanukkah to you, then slip him the note. Asher, go wait in the drugstore. If your brother decides not to go, I'll text you, OK?"

Asher was shaking but nodded his head and walked over to the drugstore, his back to the two boys.

As we walked toward the menorah, we realized that the boys were giving out Hanukkah candles to anyone wishing to celebrate the holiday.

Mom and Dad purposely approached the second boy from a direction that would divert his attention away from Asher's brother. I moved in from the opposite direction.

"Hi, I'm Jaime. I always get confused. Do you light the menorah from right to left or left to right?"

The kid's face lit up. Like most people who stand on street corners and want to talk to you about religion, he probably didn't get lots of folks who wanted to stop and engage him in conversation.

"Hymie? Are you Jewish? I'm Yaakov."

"Actually, it's Jaime. J-A-I-M-E. It's Spanish. I'm one-quarter Jewish though. On my dad's side of the family." I reached out and shook his hand, leaving the paper firmly planted in his palm.

A split second after I withdrew my hand, Yaakov looked down and flinched. The color was gone from his face and he swallowed hard. He looked over to his companion and said something in Yiddish, then took off across the street. I walked over to Mom, Dad, and the other boy.

Five minutes later, Asher sent a text to me asking us to meet him in front of the drugstore. Yaakov was crossing the street to return to his spot next to the giant menorah. Once he'd settled back into place, I caught him wiping a tear from his eye. We accepted a couple of packages of Hanukkah candles from him, then he grabbed my hand and looked me straight in the eye, "It was really great to talk to you, Jaime. Happy Hanukkah."

Mom, Dad, and I ran over to meet Asher, who was crying as well.

Mom swept him up in a hug and asked if he was OK.

"Yaakov said he missed me. That everyone did. But Dad said they could never mention my name ever again. I was worse than dead to them. Yaakov said that he lies awake sometimes wondering if I'm OK. If I'm cold or hungry...or worse. He said he's really glad that I've found a family that can love me just the way I am, even if his can't. He said that he'd try to call me sometimes, but that it wasn't easy because he doesn't have a cell, but he'll keep my number. Then he said he loved me and gave me a hug. That's about as good as I could hope for, I guess."

Asher lost it and the tears streamed down his face. He leaned into Mom sobbing. Within a minute, he stood up, took a deep breath, and dried his tears with the tissue that Mom had pulled from her bag.

"Now I'm with the family I was meant to have all along. Let's go see those Christmas lights, OK?"

End -- Chapter 35