Date: Mon, 21 Feb 2005 07:28:22 -0500 From: jhaze Subject: DOOBY rhymes with Scooby Part 20 DOOBY rhymes with Scooby Part 20 By Jamie Haze Zeek was gone to the airport to drop the off Yankees and Carter was busy with Auggie, Jim-Bob and Ryan going over yet more paperwork. James and his brother, Little Zeek were out on the dock feeding the fish, while Dooby, Cory, Stevie and Logan were in the garage looking over the collection of classic cars. After they removed the cover from the biggest lump out there, they discovered an ancient Rolls Royce, and not just a sedan, but a limousine. "Are you guys allowed to drive any of these?" Dooby asked. "Yes sir. Auggie told us that these are our wheels in Florida - at least until we bring the Vets down for the winter." Stevie answered as he sat behind the wheel. "Can you take us shopping in Key West?" "Sure that will be something to do for a few hours. I'll go see if Auggie needs anything and ask if we can go," Logan grinned as he backed away, "I meant ask him if we can take you two kids." "Fuck you, Logan!" Dooby screamed and chased him into the house. Auggie shrugged in response, obviously preoccupied with Carter, Jim-Bob and Ryan, but he stopped them at the door, "Hold on there boys, my treat," he slapped his empty pocket. "TRASKER BOY! Where in Sam Hill are you?" Trasker appeared from the terrace holding an open book. He was covered with oil and slick with running sweat. Auggie beamed at him, "Trasker boy! You readin' a book without bein' beat over the head first!" He reaffirmed his earlier opinion, "Yes sir, yo' sure fell a fir piece from the Bligh family tree. Proud o' yo' son, I purely am!" Trasker blushed. "Say Trasker boy, Logan an' Stevie are fixin' to take Dooby and Cory to town to look around. Why don't yo' go with 'em an' treat 'em on me? Whilst yo' there look aroun' fo' toys an' such yo' boys like." "What kind of toys, Unc?" Auggie thought for a moment, "Well yo' liked playin wi' them fast water beetles at the rented house, get some o' them, an' then yo' goin' divin' yo' need equipment I expect. Then mayhap them TV box game set ups fo' nights an' rainy days?" He paused and found his billfold, "Here yo' need mo' than yo' stole from me, here's plastic. That there's yours, keep it an' don't worry about goin' over no limit. Yo' Trasker boy are now in charge o' recreation an' the sky's the limit. Now get out o' here son, an' let me earn us some money." Trasker blinked rapidly while he ran to the bedroom used as the communal closet to find a pair of shorts, flip-flops and a shirt. His Uncle Auggie called him 'son' twice in less than a minute. He loved his natural father and missed him very much, but his father's highest aspiration in life was about the same as Argyle and Thirsty's, making good safe moonshine and protecting the still's current location from Auggie and the State Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms officers. His father all but ignored him except to protect him as a boy from partners and neighbors, Argyle and Thirsty until he became fast enough and smart enough to avoid their playful advances on his own. Trasker took a quick shower and dressed before going to the garage. There, he found Dooby and Cory arguing over who called shotgun first, while Stevie and Logan were pushing each other at the open driver's side door. They all looked at him when he began laughing at them and realized that he was dressed and they weren't, "I reckon I get to drive on the way down and you guys can fight it out over who drives back." There was an instant, mad scramble to get into the house first. Trasker quickly realized that he made a serious mistake in volunteering to drive the big car when the two couples returned carrying their clothes and piled into the relatively spacious rear seating area so they could play 'Lord of the Manor'. The old limo wasn't air-conditioned so all the windows were down and all four heads had disappeared from his or anyone's view by the time he turned on to Route 1. Heads didn't reappear until they'd almost reached the outskirts of Key West. He complained, "I believe I got me a set of blue balls, boys. I couldn't see ya'll but I heard some serious groans an' slurpin'." Little Logan had ended up sitting between Stevie and Dooby. They looked at each other over his head, "No problem, we've got an emergency service technician right here," Stevie advised with a giggle. Where upon the two manhandled and stuffed a laughing and screaming Logan over the partition into the front seat. The three boys remaining in the back could have been decapitated if somebody manually cranked up the glass partition as they all poked their heads through and watched Logan slither to Trasker as he unsnapped and unzipped his fly. Logan held up Trasker's throbbing leaking erection and without looking up, cautioned, "Now remember, both hands on the wheel at all times and watch where you're, I mean we're, going." He lowered his mouth. Trasker drove with white knuckles and at the last, punctuated his pent up ejaculations with frightening bursts of speed that no one knew the ancient car was capable of. "Thanks Logan," Trasker sighed, "that was a first for me." "Me too, but next time maybe we should do it on the Interstate." Everyone noted that there was no question of 'if' there was going to be a next time, just where. "You nearly drowned me," Logan added, licking his lips clean. Dooby assumed the roll of tour guide since the trip was his idea. He had Trasker park the car in Old Town and they walked. They were all in uniform, flip-flops, shorts, shirts tucked into the back of their waistbands, monogrammed 'Dooby' show baseball caps including their first names stitched in an arch in back and sunglasses. Because of their light eyes, Dooby and Stevie wore their caps properly to further reduce glare while the others went for fashion, meaning backward so their names were like badges above their foreheads. After Dooby saw a third gay couple walking along holding hands, he took Cory's, intertwining their fingers to announce that they were off the market. Stevie and Logan quickly followed their example. Trasker suddenly felt like the fifth wheel and wished that Ryan were there. It would be exciting to hold his hand to declare his love in public for the first time. "Hey, here yo' go again. What about me? Some of these guys are lookin' at me like I'm gonna be their supper," he complained as he followed the two couples. Neither Stevie nor Dooby looked back, they just reached back with their fingers spread. Trasker hurried to join them and they shopped the store windows five abreast. "What are we shopping for Dooby?" Stevie asked. "This trip was your idea." Dooby grinned and turned the group toward a shop that sold beachwear. "This is the one, I knew there had to be one. Auggie said we had to cover up so we will. Those speed suits start cutting me in half as soon as I put one on and there has to be something else more comfortable." No one suggested the obvious solution was for Dooby to wear a larger size. He pointed to the window and glanced down to see Cory's reaction to his idea. The window display consisted of a half dozen sleek or well-defined male torsos each wearing a different style of absolute minimal bathing suit. Cory giggled, "Yeah man, I'm with you, let's go!" They had to break handholds to get into the shop. The clerk had his back to them, "Hi, just look around and holler if you need help." The young man was obviously bored and that was a standard greeting each time the bells on the door jingled. "What should we holler?" Dooby asked. The clerk turned, his mouth dropped open and his eyes bulged. "Hey dude, you better put your hands over your eyeballs before you loose them." The clerk came to his senses, "Oh, I mean I'm sorry for staring, but you have to understand that while we actually sell a lot of suits, we rarely sell them to guys who would actually look stunning in them. You guys on the other hand are straight out of Abercrombie and Fitch." Dooby cut off further praise, "Thanks dude, but we'd have trouble endorsing underwear because we don't wear it." He hooked his thumbs in the front of his shorts and pushed them down to expose his red-gold mound of trimmed pubic hair to prove his point and then left them there. He continued while the clerk stared. "We're looking for something comfortable and just legal," he explained, looked around and pointed, "like maybe that." "Oh yes, our exclusive Tarzan line." The clerk scooted to the table with a mannequin torso dressed in a loincloth that looked like leather. "These are actually made of the finest grade chamois leather." He snickered, "Of course ours are a bit briefer than those worn in the movies and we exposed more hip area too. They didn't sell very well though because everyone thinks leather is heavy, you can't get them wet, and then there's the cost of dry cleaning. But the whole point of chamois is that you can get it wet - even salt water, as long as you rinse it thoroughly in fresh afterward. And they should even be stored damp." The boys surrounded the table. The little suit's waistband was made of finely braided rawhide that was tied on one side of the hip. Cory pulled on the mannequin's bow and the suit dropped. "That's convenient," he observed dryly. Everyone laughed. The clerk blushed briefly and then laughed as well. "Can we try them on?" Dooby asked, already collecting several boxes marked small and medium. "Uh, yes of course. These are also on sale. They're fifty percent off." Trasker eyed the original one hundred-fifty dollar price tag; "Man, that's some savings right there!" he said sarcastically and then pictured his lover wearing one of the suits. "Hey! I have got to get Ryan into one of these, too!" "Yeah, and James and Little Zeek and Carter will be so cute. Did you guys see that movie 'Jungle to Jungle'? Carter's that kid except with more muscle, and Jim-Bob will look so fantastic, he or Christian could be the next Tarzan!" Logan laughed. "Let's get enough for the whole gang, even the rest of the Yankee boys for when they come back down." By then the five were in the changing room that was actually a bathroom. The clerk watched them strip from the open door after he mumbled something about shoplifting and prayed fervently that the door wouldn't jingle signaling another customer while once again his mouth dropped open and his eyes bulged gazing at the five fully tanned young prime meat studs although he only got a fleeting glimpse of Cory's endowments. He managed to squeak out the health law where bathing suits should be tried on over underwear and received considerable laughter for his effort. Cory tied Dooby's waist string in a neat bow and then pulled it to watch the suit drop to the floor so Dooby was once again naked in a split second, "I'm sold," he announced. After they 'tested' each other's suits for dropping speed, they ran back into the store to look at themselves in a big floor length mirror. Dooby raised his front flap and adjusted his cock with a frown before he grinned, "I'll take two I think. This leather liner thing doesn't stretch so I'll cut it out of one suit. No one will know from a distance and maybe the camera won't notice either." Cory moaned, "Mine's tighter than yours for obvious reasons only I can't cut mine out for the same reason." "Try on a medium, maybe the flap is longer, we can always trim up the sides to show the same amount of hip," Dooby suggested. Cory went to the display, found a medium and returned to the mirror. Dooby pulled his bow loose and Cory broke a record slipping his leg into one side while Dooby remained on his knees to tie the waist. Everyone stared at the mirror and grinned because the front was longer and Cory was satisfied. "Holy shit!" the clerk whistled as he stared at Cory, "We should all be so lucky!" Stevie nudged the clerk, "Yes, but the next best alternative for us is getting him to put it where it feels best and what comes out of those oranges isn't OJ." When they left the shop they ended up taking the entire Tarzan display with them after counting heads, including the Yankees as well as Johnnie-Be-Good and Spook. Since Spook's name came up at breakfast, they were determined to get him out of his nondescript baggy clothes at least, match him up with Johnny-Be-Good if they weren't already a couple and include them in the group as a couple. Since Stevie had the most 'street smarts', he adroitly handled all come-ons and blunt offers as they strolled along hand in hand. Whoever ended up on either end carried their sacks of purchases. They had lunch at a beachside hotel restaurant that was almost at the tip of the island. After they finished, Trasker announced that it was time to shop for toys so they headed back to the car. Trasker still had the keys so he unlocked the doors, tossed the keys to Stevie and climbed into the back while laughing his ass off at Stevie and Logan who began a fight about which of them WASN'T going to drive. Logan capitulated after Dooby helped Stevie push the smaller boy into the driver's seat and slammed the door. Poor Logan quickly discovered that the seat adjusted back and forth but not up and down. He could reach the pedals, just by sitting forward, but had to look under the top of the steering wheel to see and at that, still not very well. He managed to drive them to a big dive shop. After parking, Stevie was almost unanimously elected to be their driver for the rest of the day. His was the only dissenting vote, but he accepted his loss with a laugh because it would be a thrill to drive the almost priceless classic car and he could always catch up to what the others did in the back seat after they returned home to Coral Place. The clerk in the dive shop was a diver first and steered them to what he considered to be the best and safest equipment after pointing out that tanks, regulators and personal floatation devices, Scuba equipment, were all together like parachutes. He allowed a moment for that to sink in before Trasker nodded, "I think we want a dozen complete outfits, whatever you think best and dependable. We want a compressor too, to refill the tanks, an' anything else to go with it so we don't have to be runnin' back an' forth." He ticked off the order on his fingers just like his uncle, "Then, we need it all delivered up to our house on Marathon early tomorrow mornin', along with an instructor who can plan to spend the day or until we all know how to handle ourselves. Is that all okay?" he asked as he slid Auggie's American Express Titanium Card across the counter. The young handsome blond clerk, wearing cargo shorts and tank top smiled and offered Trasker his hand, "The name's Eric, I'll deliver the stuff and I'll do the instructing too." He had a thought, "Say is your house on the water?" "Yup, surrounded by the stuff. It's an island, a little key I guess you'd call it. We can learn off the dock, there's about fifteen feet of water at low tide." "Great, how about if I use a dive boat for the delivery, we can get the basics out of the way off the dock and then go out to some shallow reefs and look around for a while." Eric suggested. "Are you gay?" Dooby asked out of nowhere. Eric reddened and frowned, "Not everyone who lives in Key West is gay. I'm not but my two partners are and they're also a couple, does it matter?" Dooby grinned, "Hell yes it matters! You look good enough to eat, but now you won't be a distraction and we can just keep our mind on diving, that's all. Say, is there anything special we need for catching lobster?" Eric shrugged, "A stick, a measuring gauge, gloves and a bag, but lobster season doesn't start until next month." "Can we just catch them and then let them go?" Dooby persisted. "I guess so, but why bother?" "We need some tape for a TV show." Dooby looked into puzzled faces and went into his ever-patient father act, "Well, we need some underwater stuff. What are we going to do, just look at the fish? That will get old like in thirty seconds, but catching lobster or trying to might be good for some laughs." "Hey yeah," Cory agreed. He turned to Eric, "Would you be willing to be our safety and diving consultant for a couple of days? We'll pay you, of course, give your shop some healthy plugs and you'll get your name in the credits." Eric didn't ask any questions or hesitate before he accepted the unusual offer, "You've got a deal." After completing the credit card transaction, he got out a lower Keys nautical chart that included Marathon so Trasker could point out Coral Place. Everyone shook hands with Eric and started out the door. He stopped them with a question, "Say guys, my partners would die to be in on this, is it okay if I bring them along?" Dooby answered while Cory nodded, "Sure, more safety is better. None of us wants to breathe any water." ### By the time they got back to Coral Place or home as they already thought of it, the bus had returned meaning that the boys' high school tutors, originally just Stevie's, were also there. Stevie and Logan's frowns were erased when two very large middle-aged men pounced on Trasker from behind the kitchen door. They held him off the floor and bussed his cheeks with two intentional slobbery kisses before they put him down. Curiously, they didn't grope him and they could have. "Trasker boy!" Thirsty shouted with a laugh before he got serious, "Just so yo' know boy, we on our good behavior from now on. Unc warned us off ya 'cause yo' got yo' a boyfriend now. An' that Ryan boy, he done said some serious shit about killin' our asses if we touch yo' wrong, an' he weren't smilin' no how when he said it." Trasker laughed, "He means it too! What are you two doin' down here? Did Unc find your still?" Both men looked morose. Argyle answered, "Sort of, we dug us a bunker. We was sure we had it made an' then dumb ass here got the fire too hot an' sparks set a fire goin' an burned a hunert acres o' prime timber befo' it got put out. Unc done grounded us here, he up an' said 'fo' the duration', whatever the hell that means." Just then a tall robust black lady walked in the kitchen from the dining room with her arms around James and Little Zeek. She took one look at Thirsty and Argyle, let go of her sons and grabbed a corn broom from the corner to begin flailing the two men. "Yo' Argyle an' Thirsty yo' stay outten MY kitchen 'ceptin' to eat an yo' keep yo' hands off ALL my boys, white one's too, or I be servin' yo', yo' own Rocky Mountain oysters deep fired! NOW GIT!" The men withstood Mattie long enough to hold a whispered conversation with Trasker. He nodded, grinned and found Auggie's cash in his shorts pocket before they fled her broom and tirade while protesting that they lived in the house and how were they supposed to come and go. She shouted to their backs that they better use another door if they wanted to live. After she calmed down she began introducing herself by hugging the air out of each of them equally including Trasker while James and Little Zeek grinned. "This is our mother Matilda, but you can call her Mattie." James supplied needlessly but with pride while Little Zeek nodded. Dooby sidled to the brothers, "You guys know you're naked in front of your mother?" he whispered too loudly. Mattie grinned, "We get that outten the way jus' now. I knows the score as yo' boys say. I seen my sons James an' Zeek an' they bed buddies from the git go, 'cause I wash the sheets." She ignored her sons' efforts to hide under the table. "Now yo' my 'dopted white sons an' I still gonna be washin' the sheets. Understan'?" She didn't give them time to respond before she ordered, "Now yo' boys jus' shuck outten them shorts right where yo' stand! In thirty seconds I won't be haven' to look up to recognize yo, dat's all." "You better do as Momma says unless you want her to strip you," James suggested with his eyes just above the tabletop. "She takes no prisoners," he added. The five intimidated boys dropped their shorts and unconsciously lined up for Mattie's inspection. Her eyes immediately went to Cory, "Lord have mercy! Yo' are a bigin' jus' like James! I'll sure be rememberin' yo'! Now scat all o' yo', I got me some more hungry boys an' a fat man to feed. Supper in an hour." Dooby handed out the new bathing suits in the great room, "Just wait until you guys get these on, they'll blow you away," he assured them. "Where can I find a pair of scissors?" he wondered. Carter disappeared into the study carrying his gifts. He returned in a minute grinning and wearing one of his chamois suits. "Wow, this soft leather sure feels good. Try yours on Jim-Bob," he instructed and watched his lover figure out which leg to slip in between the rawhide and the brief leather liner. He handed Dooby the requested scissors and then dropped to his knees, ready to tie the braided rawhide for Jim-Bob. Auggie raised an eyebrow when he first saw Carter wearing his new Tarzan suit. It was obvious Carter had been working out hard with his lover, Jim-Bob, and was fast becoming his miniature. Carter's muscled body also tended to make him look older, more like Logan or Cory's age, despite the fact that he continued to shave for Jim-Bob. As the rest of the boys donned their suits, Auggie's eyebrow just stayed at full arch. His eyes finally shifted to Dooby, who was by then sitting on a sofa and slowly, very carefully cutting away the most vital part of the suit; the liner that would discreetly contain his package even when he moved about while that was mostly hidden by the flaps fore and aft that provided the illusion that the suit was nothing more than two small pieces of leather. Cory, Stevie, Logan and even Trasker soon crowded around Dooby. Each boy was wearing one of their new little suits while holding the other and waiting for their turn with the scissors. "Dooby boy, what thee Sam Hill are you doin'?" Auggie wondered with a shake of his exasperated head and a slight grin he tried to hide. "The problem with leather is that it doesn't stretch like nylon or Lycra so I'm making room for emergencies," Dooby explained absently while using both hands on the light scissors to cut the chamois while Cory stretched the surprisingly tough thin leather. Auggie sighed, "I ain't even gonna ask." Dooby answered anyway, "You know, emergencies like when one of the guys looks at me a certain way and I know he wants to play, or I do the looking and get a smile back, or I see like Cory going at it with Logan, or." "I git the pitcher." Auggie cut Dooby off. "But jus' don't be thinkin' yo' gonna wear that cut down jobber whilst the cameras is runnin, 'cause yo' ain't. I done tol' yo', no fuzzies." Dooby rushed to pull the modified suit up his legs after telling the others to wait before cutting to see how his looked first. He strode and danced around the room while he bent his body this way and that and finally vaulted over the sofa onto Cory's back with his legs spread to execute a near perfect scissor lock with his thighs closed on his partner's neck. Cory didn't bother to struggle, he just twisted his head around, opened his mouth, bared his teeth and flipped Dooby's front bit of chamois up. Dooby fell over backward on to his shoulders behind the sofa in his haste to get away. Auggie and Ryan both looked to Spook, Scott's cameraman for his opinion. Spook shrugged after lowering a mini-cam from his eye, "We'll see," he said out loud, his first ever public utterance since he joined the group with Johnny-Be-Good, the sound tech, weeks earlier. Johnny had changed into his gift while Spook ignored his. He popped the small cassette from the camera and inserted it in the special VHS holder while Johnny turned on the big screen TV and VCR. Everyone crowded the screen on their hands and knees watching for the smallest exposure as Dooby began to walk, dance and jump around the room on the screen. The guys grinned after the two-minute segment turned to snow. Auggie grabbed the remote, rewound and started forward frame by frame. When snow appeared again he smiled, "Ain't nothin there but shadow in profile an' yo' ain't goin' through all them gyrations on the boat so I reckon we kin try it." He turned to Dooby, who by then was assisting Cory with his suit, "But, ya'll just bring yo' them spares along in case," he warned. "Tomorrow we goin' fishin'!" he giggled like the boys in anticipation. "OOPS!" Trasker intoned, "Sorry Unc, no can do. We got us a mountain o' divin stuff comin' tomorrow by boat along with a guy, a dive instructor who's goin' to give us lessons. Then smart Cory here hired the dude an' his two partners to stick around to show us how to use the stuff an' keep us from drownin' our asses." "Good thinkin'," Auggie congratulated Cory. "I guess we'll fish later. Yo' get some o' them little water beetle boats?" he asked Trasker. "Yup, bought 'em but can't do nothin with 'em until we have some way to get them in an' out of the water though. Maybe that dock guy could rig us up something?" Auggie looked up at Jim-Bob who was then enjoying Carter's inspection of his new Tarzan garb - both visually and more exciting, tactilely. "Carter boy, lay off him fer a minute. Jim-Bob boy would yo' call up that dock guy? See if'n he got somethin' like a small crane to lift little boats in an' outta the water, an' if he do, git him back to put one in fer us on the wall." "You mean like a davit?" Jim-Bob asked while holding Carter's wrists. Auggie shrugged, "Git us one o' them too if it be needful, along with a little crane." Jim-Bob grinned and strode into the study, still holding Carter's wrists. The gang grinned when they heard Carter and Jim-Bob giggling. "CARTER BOY!" Auggie shouted, "Don't make me come in there! I swear them two is plumb worse than all you kids put together." "They have years of lost time to make up for," Stevie giggled, "Carter told us they were both virgins until the day they met last winter. Can you believe that? Almost over the hill before they met." The study was quiet for a minute. Jim-Bob called out, "Hey Auggie, how many boats are we talking about?" Auggie looked to Trasker for the answer, "We got eight, four single an' four, two passenger," Trasker called back. Auggie nudged Trasker, "We're them Tarzan suits costive?" he asked. Trasker hedged, "I got 'em for fifty percent off, but they were still on the steep side considerin' we could have gone down to Discount Auto an' got the makin's for a lot less." "No worry," Auggie shrugged, "at least yo' got 'em down some, an' that's what counts. Yo' did good Son." Trasker knelt so he was close to Auggie, "Yo' know Uncle Auggie, yo' been callin' me son all day. I kinda like the sound o' that." Auggie's eye softened as they met Trasker's, "Me too Son, I was testin' it out. I like it mighty fine too 'cause yo' is in my mind, the onliest one I ever goin' to have." After all the guys exchanged suits Carter pulled Jim-Bob to the center of the room to model his. "Gentlemen, I give you our Tarzan!" he announced while he held Jim-Bob's hand to keep him in place, unaware that the others were ogling his body as well as Jim-Bob's. "Looks to me kinda like it be a draw between yo' boy. Yo' body ain't too shabby yo' own self." Auggie pronounced. He looked at Jim-Bob with a question, "How come yo' askin' about how many boats, we ain't buyin' eight little cranes are we?" "No sir, just one, but they make cradles for Jet Skis with wheels and handles on them like kids' little red wagons so the boats can be pulled out of the way and there's two sizes. I told them to bring along four of each. I hope that was okay." "Yup good thinkin'. Any time yo' buyin' stuff fo' us, don't do no stintin', get the best. Speakin' o' that, is Fishin' Boy outfitted to yer liken?" Auggie wondered. "Supper's on!" Mattie shouted from the dining room, which caused a stampede that included Carter, leaving Jim-Bob alone to follow with Auggie. "Not actually," Jim-Bob resumed the conversation, "that good ole boy that sold you the boat replaced all his good stuff with old. He didn't cheat you, everyone does the same," he hastened to add when he saw Auggie frown. "No one in their right mind would sell their favorite tackle, but we can make do." "Make do? Not!" Auggie shook his head vehemently. "Not on my boat. While the boys is learnin' how to dive, heist on down to a tackle store an' get us what some ever we needin', the best to do whatever kinda fishin' we're wantin' with no excuses like sorry we don't have the stuff onboard." "Okay," Jim-Bob grinned. "But just so you know in advance, I'm like a kid in a candy store when I get near fishing tackle," he warned. Auggie grabbed Jim-Bob's hand to hold him back, "There's somethin' else I been thinkin on. Yo' think I could learn to dive? That be assumin' I kin still swim an' then git my fat ass outten the drink after, gittin' in ain't a problem." Jim-Bob shrugged, "Commercial dive boats sometimes have wide folding steps that go under water three or four feet so all a diver has to do is stand up. Dive boats get all kinds of shapes, sizes and ages who want to try it, see the reefs, just one time in their lives. If you can climb three or four steps, you could get out no problem. It would be good if you could, diving is great exercise. I'm not a certified instructor, but I could teach you assuming we can get you out of the water." Auggie grinned his thanks while his mind was in full gear, "Off the dock, we kin lower my ramp plumb into the water. I kin walk that far with the handrails. Maybe after supper we could go on out there to be seein' if'n I kin still swim?" he asked looking pathetically hopeful. "Sure Auggie, anytime you say." When Auggie rolled to the head of the table he grinned at Mattie sitting uncomfortably at the other end. They'd had a fight as soon as she arrived about where she would eat her meals, in the kitchen alone or with them. Auggie won. He frowned at two empty chairs. "Where at's them two boxes o' rocks? Ain't like 'em to miss no meals," he wondered suspiciously. "Just after the boys got back they ran in and asked to borrow my truck," Jim-Bob answered. Trasker filled his mouth so he couldn't talk, but couldn't hide his grin as he'd studied his plate. Auggie sighed, "Fess up Son, drop the other damn shoe." Trasker hastened to swallow without choking and began to giggle, "They want to fix the old citrus grove irrigation system and needed some supplies so I gave them a few hundred." "Shit-a-Goddamn, they ain't been here but a few hours. How many is a 'few'? Auggie shook his head in amazement. "Fifteen. But," Trasker rushed on, "it will give them something to do." Auggie thought for a minute, "Yup it will an' it won't hurt none to have some 'shine around, it goes plumb good with orange juice to cut it. Since I'm payin' for that there still, I'll just go partners with 'em to keep them boys on the straight an' narrow." Trasker burst out laughing, "Man Unc, you paid for all their stills. Up home they just charged everything to the farm account." Auggie looked pained, "Yo' mean I been tearin' up my own cash all this time?" "Yup, don't you ever look at the bills before you pay them?" "You know I don't. If yo' wasn't off to college I'd give yo' charge o' payin' all the farm bills, it would teach yo' the cost o' stuff an' give yo' some good management experience." Trasker jumped on the opportunity, "I don't start until January because we applied so late, so I could do it, and by then I'd know what was goin' on and could most likely keep doin' it if you really want me to." Auggie frowned at Ryan. The second semester start was a hot button. Ryan shrugged, "I already told you Auggie, the U of G is full. You could build them ten buildings and our boy would still start in the second semester." "I might just build 'em somethin' anyway." Auggie looked up at the ceiling, "Bligh Hall has one nice ring to it. Maybe somethin' to do with audio an' video, maybe like a regular studio with soundstages an' recording studios, call 'em Ryan boy an' see if'n they interested." Auggie finished eating first since he had far less to eat and knew better by then to even ask for seconds. He backed away from the table. "Where you goin' Unc, in such an all fired hurry?" Trasker asked. "Swimmin', gonna try anyways." Without exception, everyone cheered, placed their silverware on their plates and raced from the house after quickly discarding their loincloths. Zeek followed Auggie to the bedroom. "I know I ain't got a swim suit. I got any shorts?" Auggie asked. Zeek reversed course and returned in seconds with the scissors. "Yo' gonna after I find me a pair o' yo long pants. I be choppin' on a pair o' mine too. Yo' know boss this be like old times when we was kids down to de ole millhouse pond." He reminisced with a giggle. Auggie smiled looking off into space while he climbed off his scooter and began stripping, "Yeah man, we never could git us away from there without bumpin' bellies first." Stevie and Dobby had the same thought. They stopped at the winch to lower the ramp into the water after Jim-Bob moved Fishin' Boy further away from the ramp while the others dove in to tread water waiting for Auggie. "How'd you know he was going to use his ramp?" Jim-Bob asked. Dooby shrugged, "It's the only way we can see that he could get back out." Jim-Bob nodded and looked down, "There won't be any wisecracks will there?" he asked and was pleased to see that everyone looked suddenly offended by the question. Trasker answered, "Unc needs all the exercise he can get. In fact, since I have his credit card, I'm plannin' to fill that there Florida room with equipment so he can work out too. He's loosin' weight but not fast enough 'cause he ain't burning enough calories. Maybe you could set him up with some kind of program he can handle?" "I sure will, but don't buy any equipment, we have a room full over at the house that Harold and George gave us. Once that stuff is out of there, Auggie said that's going to be your new classroom so your tutors can keep their skinny butts out of here." With the mention of school he received a round of booing accompanied by middle fingers from Stevie, Logan, James and Little Zeek while Dooby and Cory laughed, splashed them and called them pansies and pussies for having tutors. "Did you mail in your test scores yet Doob?" Stevie quipped while making a zero with his fingers just like Christian did earlier. That comment evoked another Civil War naval battle with the two Yankees seriously out numbered. Everyone stopped when Auggie let out what was perceived to be a classic Rebel yell as he drove his scooter full speed out on to the dock with Zeek running behind him and laughing his butt off. Zeek stopped on the dock as soon as he saw that the water was deep enough, climbed the railing and dove cleanly, surprising everyone watching. He swam strongly alongside the dock, out around Fishin' Boy and when close enough to the boys, paused long enough to dive under and honk anyone within reach. Dooby and James both disappeared, almost together before Zeek surfaced laughing and swam to the submerged ramp. He met Auggie in time to greet him cautiously walking down the ramp with both hands holding the pipe railings. "You better sleep with one eye open tonight, Uncle Zeek!" James shouted and laughed, "Dooby and I are going to get you for that!" he warned. The joking stopped as Auggie nervously reached the end of the ramp in four feet of water. "Here goes boys!" he warned and allowed his gross body to fall forward to begin a slow awkward breast stroke with his head above water at first, until he gained confidence in his ability to swim at all while the boys surrounded him ready to help if necessary. "Goddamn boys I can do it. Don't that beat all though? Damn this here water feels good!" he claimed with a delighted giggle after he rolled to his back and floated to rest, more from nerves than physical strain. When Auggie relaxed, so did the boys. Trasker started the joking, "Man, must be a full moon, the tide came in a foot just like that." He attempted to snap his wet fingers. Dooby contributed, "Hey Auggie, you best not be floating like that when the property tax man comes calling." Auggie laughed, "Sucker that I is, why?" "Because you'll get billed for having an extra island!" Auggie giggled at the joke until he got a mouth full of water for his efforts. He rolled again and started after Dooby and then began treading water since there was no hope of catching him. "Yo' know how as yo' and Cory boy always bunk right beside the bed on my side? Yo' ever think what's goin' to happen to yer skinny Yankee asses when I up an' fall outten the bed tonight?"