Date: Fri, 30 May 2003 16:57:23 -0700 (PDT)
From: rimpigfl <rimpigfl@yahoo.com>
Subject: SUBIC SURRENDER 7

DISCLAIMER: I don't fucking care how old you are. If you like the idea of
two hunky young Marine's getting it on with each other then read on!

By the way, no Marine's were injured or killed in the writing of this story
but that's not true of what's going on in the Middle East or other foreign
places. I would ask your prayers, good thoughts or whatever for all the
Marines serving our country (that's us guys!) around the world.

This is dedicated to every one who has ever served in the USMC - Semper Fi!

SUBIC SURRENDER - Part 7
by RimPig (c) 2003

Mike and I slept for a couple of hours after our little 'fuck-fest'. I woke
up nestled in his arms and smelling his scent. What a wonderful way to wake
up, in the arms of the man that you love more than anything in the world. I
looked at Mike asleep and saw a lot of what I thought he must have looked
like as a little boy. Thinking of that gave my heart a little pang. We
would never have kids, never have a little boy of our own. I know my mother
pooh-poohed the idea of it when I talked to her, but I think there was some
disappointment for her, too. My greatest disappointment is that Mike would
never be a Dad and he would make such a great one!

We couldn't even look at adoption! Florida has the most bigoted, homophobic
legislature in the nation. Florida alone of all 50 states has a law that
forbids gays to adopt children. And this in a state whose foster care
system is totally overburdened with children no one will adopt and whose
child welfare agency - DCF, the Division of Family Services (formerly known
as HRS) - has had scandal after scandal of kids being killed by foster
parents or by their own parents when DCF has put the children back in the
very home that the children were abused in!

So there was no way that Mike and I would ever be able to have a son. I
sighed to myself and got up off the bed, letting Mike sleep. I should have
known better. Before I could get out the door to the little bedroom in the
cottage, I heard Mike's voice.

"Where ya goin'?" he asked, still a little muddled from being asleep.

"I need to go check on Mom to see if she's alright or needs anything." I
said. "Just go back to sleep."

"Nah. I don't like to sleep unless your laying there with me." he said, a
little pouty - like a kid.

I grinned at him.

"I'll be right back. Or you could come with me." I said.

"I'll come with you." he said, sitting up on the side of the bed.

"Mike, are you okay?" I asked.

"Yeah. Why?" he looked at me quizzically.

"Well, not that I mind, but I've noticed that you've been sticking very
close to me. Like you're afraid I'm gonna run off or something." I said.

He didn't say anything, just looked down at his feet. I walked over and sat
down beside him.

"Okay, what's the problem?" I asked.

"I don't want you to think that there's somethin' wrong between us." he
said softly. "It's just that this all takes some gettin' used to. This is
your home, not mine - at least not yet. I really am blown away by how your
parents have taken me in but..." he hesitated.

"But what?" I asked.

"I know this is stupid...but...back in the group home, there would be kids
who got homes and everything was great for a couple of months but then the
responsibility of havin' a kid hits them and suddenly the kid is back at
the group home. I was always glad it didn't happen to me. As much as I
wanted a family, to have one and then be sent back would have destroyed
me." he said.

The impact of what he was saying hit me like a sack of wet cement. My
throat choked up and I reached out and put my arms around him. He leaned
over and rested his head against my shoulder. I reached up and gently
stroked his head.

"You're the only constant in my life, Rick. I've been staying real close to
you because I need to know that you're there." he almost whispered.

"Mike...I understand. Or at least I think I do. This is all stuff from the
past. I promise that my parents mean what they say. You have a family
now...and we're not going to send you back. I'm yours, no matter what. You
know that. We're a part of each other. I love you. Nothing is going to
change that." I said quietly.

"I know all that in my head. It's just down inside, it's still hard for me
to believe. Please don't be mad at me over it." he was almost begging.

"Mike, I'm not mad at you! You stay as close to me as you want, for as long
as you need. I don't mind. Now that I understand what's going on, I will do
anything to help make things easier for you." I said, hugging him tight to
me.

He looked up and our eyes met. I could see so much love coming from his I
choked up again. We kissed deeply and I felt his arms going around me. We
ended laying back on the bed and holding each other while we continued to
kiss. I knew what was happening. This was when Mike was most secure, when
we were in each other's arms.

"We better go see about your Mom." he said softly breaking the kiss.

"We'd better go see about 'our' Mom." I smiled at him.

"Yeah. Our Mom." he smiled.

"Mike, I promise you that you'll see. My Mom and Dad never say anything
they don't mean.  They are the most honest people I know. You know they
never even tried to tell me that Santa Claus brought me toys! They didn't
want to lie to me like that, even when I was little." I said.

"Okay. I give! I'll believe it!" he laughed.

"No. I know it's hard to trust when something happens that you've wanted
all your life and never thought would happen. Remember what you said on the
plane? Your home is where I am. Well, I'm here. And I'm always going to be
here. Just like you, my home will always be where you are."  I said and
then kissed him gently on the mouth.

"Thanks, Rick." he said simply.

"Okay, let's go check on Mom." I said.

We got up from the bed and walked back to the main house, hand in hand. We
found Mom in the kitchen, drinking a cup of tea.

"Mom! You're not supposed to be out of bed!" I exclaimed.

"Rickie, sit down, darling. I'm fine. You have no idea how wonderful it is
to just be home and be able to sit in my own kitchen! I hate hospitals!"
she smiled. "Why don't you get yourself a cup of tea, honey. And get one
for Mike. He looks like he could use one."

I went over the to counter and poured a cup of tea for Mike and me.

"What's wrong, Mike. I know you two haven't been fighting, so it must be
something else." she said.

Mike looked shocked.

"My mother the mind reader! I have to warn you, Mike, her powers of
observation are incredible!  I could never get away with anything growing
up!" I smiled as I set a cup of tea in front of him.

"Mike, I told you that I wanted to be your mother. For that to happen, you
have to trust me. Tell me what's wrong. I promise you, whatever it is, we
can work it out." Mom said.

Mike looked at me and I nodded at him.

"It's not that I'm not grateful, I want you to know that...but...I'm having
some problems...in accepting all this so fast." he finally got out.

"Oh, Mike! Of course you are!" Mom smiled at him. "I would be shocked if
you didn't!"

"You would?" Mike said, his face looking shocked again.

"Of course, sweetie. Now, tell me the truth. Didn't you expect Hank and I
to have a shit fit because you'd turned our son Gay?" she asked.

"Well...yeah." he admitted.

"And you had ever reason to expect that! I'm sure that's the way a lot of
parents would have reacted. You're having trouble to believe that we
didn't. Maybe you're still expecting us to freak out like that." she said
softly. "Mike, I know that this is all different for you and very hard to
believe. I know you've never had a family and to suddenly have one has got
to seem completely unbelievable to you. That's normal, Mike. It's
okay. You'll get used to being loved and accepted."

Mike looked at her with such love and gratitude in his eyes, a look that I
had seen before but always directed at me. It made my heart so glad to see
this!

"Thank you. I was afraid you wouldn't understand." Mike said softly.

"I do understand, Mike. I really do. Let me tell you a secret - something
you can't know because you're not a parent. When somebody loves your child,
you know it and you can't help but love them because of it. I know how much
you love Rickie. And, believe me, Hank and I care very much about you. Not
just for your sake but because we love Rickie. You are the most important
person in his life so we care about you because of how important you are to
him. Do you understand that?" Mom asked him.

"Yeah. I understand it when you put it that way. And I do love him. More
than I could ever say."  Mike said looking first at Mom and then at me.

I reached out my hand and he took it in his and I smiled at him.

"You see, I told you!" I grinned.

"Mike, it's going to take some time to get used to all of this. Don't worry
about it. It will all work out. I promise you." Mom said.

"Thank you...uhh...Mom." Mike said.

Mom smiled at him.

"One of these days, I hope you both become so comfortable that you'll kiss
in front of me." Mom said quietly.

"Oh, that's not a problem!" Mike smiled and leaned towards me as I leaned
toward him.

We kissed gently and my Mom looked on. I have to admit, I was more than a
little bit freaked out about kissing my male lover in front of my Mom! I'd
never kissed a girl in front of her. But once our lips met, I was lost in
Mike so my fears didn't stop me. We pulled back and looked at each other
and then we looked at Mom. She was sitting there with a huge grin on her
face.

"That was truly one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen. I have to
admit that I was curious about what it looked like for two men to kiss."
she said.

"So, was it different?" I asked.

"Yes. It is. I've seen men kiss women but there is a strength when two men
kiss that I didn't expect and a tenderness I didn't expect either. You two
so obviously love each other that I have to tell you, it gives my heart
such joy!" Mom said.

"Really, Mom?" I asked.

"Yes, sweetie. You see, all parents ever really want is for their children
to be happy. The greatest happiness I know is falling in love with someone
who loves you. I have that in my own life with your Dad. In thirty-two
years, I've never doubted his love for me. I think you will be able to look
back when you're my age and say the same thing." Mom said.

"As you always say, Mom, 'from your mouth to Gods' ear!'" I smiled.

At that point, we heard Dad coming in the front door. He walked into the
kitchen and saw the three of us sitting there. He looked at Mom.

"Shouldn't you be in bed?" he asked, his tone showing he was not happy with
what he was seeing.

"Hank, grab a cup of tea and sit down. I'm fine! I'm just sitting here in
my own kitchen enjoying some quality time with my two sons." she said,
obviously not brooking any interference from Dad.

Dad just shrugged to acknowledge he was beaten and went and got a cup of
tea and sat down with us.

"Are you sure you're okay, Rose?" he asked quietly.

"Yes, Hank, I'm fine. Really. I took a nap and I'm really enjoying just
being able to sit in my own kitchen." she said, reaching over and patting
his hand.

Dad covered her hand with his own.

"I just don't want you pushing yourself." he said quietly, still with worry
written all over his face.

"I won't. I promise. But I can't just lay in bed like an invalid. I might
as well be back in the hospital. I promise not to do anything strenuous,
but I can at least make myself a pot of tea." she smiled at him.

"Okay. It's just that you know how I worry about you!" Dad said.

"I know, Hank. Just like I worry about you." she said.

"So!" Dad said, turning to Mike and me. "How are you guys doing?"

"Dad, Mike and I want to know how you and Mom would feel about us moving
into the cottage?  It would give us some more room and all of us some
privacy." I asked.

"Well, it would save having to soundproof your room!" Dad laughed and Mom
looked confused.

"What soundproofing?" Mom asked.

"It's a 'guy thing', honey. Don't worry about it." Dad smiled and patted
her hand.

"Don't give me that shit, Hank! A 'guy thing'! Really!" Mom said, in mock
anger.

"Look, honey, the boys are young and young males tend to make a lot of
noise, that's all." Dad said.

"Hank, I know what young males are like! If you're talking about sex, say
so! I'm not going to be shocked." Mom said.

"I'm not worried about you, honey! I just didn't want to embarrass the
boys, but I see that didn't work!" he said looking at Mike and me who were
both blushing bright shades of red.

"Oh, come on, guys! I'm not naive. I have a very good idea of what happens
between two people who are young and in love! But I think you are
right. The cottage would give you more room and you wouldn't feel like we
were looking over your shoulders all the time." Mom said.

"Yeah, I think it's a good idea. It would give you both a place of your
own. We'll have to do a little cleaning and painting but it shouldn't be a
problem." Dad said.

"Dad, we can do all that. Don't worry about it. We'll take care of
everything." I told him.

And for the next couple of days, that's what Mike and I did. We cleaned and
painted the cottage, getting rid of most of the stuff stored there or
putting it up in the attic of the main house. The cottage, which must have
been built at the same time as the main house, or shortly thereafter, had
hardwood floors. We rented a buffer/waxer and soon the floors were
gleaming. Because both Mike and my favorite color is blue, we painted the
entire cottage a light blue. The baseboards we did in a glossy enamel of
royal blue. We also painted the wall above the fireplace a dark blue. The
kitchen cabinets were white wood so we repainted the doors a royal blue and
the fronts of the cabinets themselves in the same light blue color of the
walls. While we were finishing up the kitchen, two delivery men appeared at
the door of the cottage. They said they had a delivery and Mike and I
wondered what it was.

>From the truck they unloaded a brand new side-by-side refrigerator, a
brand new gas range, a small microwave oven and a dishwasher which they
installed under the kitchen counter. When that was completed, they went
back out to the truck and brought in a 36 inch color television set, a
CD/DVD player with a home theater speaker system along with a wall unit to
house it all.  Needless to say, Mike and I were completely overwhelmed by
this! Mom told me that Dad, himself, had gone out to Sears and bought all
the stuff for us. She told me that he wouldn't say so, but she knew that
this was his 'wedding present' to us.

We opened the box of the wall unit and had it together in about two
hours. Then we set up the speaker system and hooked up the TV and CD/DVD
player. We had a small table with two chairs in the kitchen under a window
that looked out on the pool and the main house. In the living room there
was a comfortable old sofa next to the fireplace, but facing the wall unit,
along with a coffee table that had storage compartments underneath of
it. There were end tables and lamps on each end of the sofa.  In the
bedroom, we had the queen-sized bed along with a dresser and chest of
drawers with night stands and small lamps on each side of the bed. It
wasn't a lot, but it was perfect for us. Neither one of us liked a lot of
clutter around and that couch looked just right for cuddling up on while
watching movies or a roaring fire.

Getting everything together took us all day, but by dinner time, it was
finished and we were going to sleep in the first real 'home of our own'
that night. Mom and Dad came out to see it after dinner. Dad was still
refusing to let Mom do very much and had cooked dinner himself. With Dad
this usually meant one of two things - either spaghetti and meatballs or
steak done on the gas grill on the patio. Since Dad's spaghetti sauce takes
hours to make as he lovingly chops and stirs and nurses it along, it would
have been midnight before dinner would have been ready so we did steaks,
which were just fine with Mike and I. We tend to be major carnivores! We
both love red meat and ate it whenever we got the chance.

Mom and Dad glowed when they saw what we'd done with the cottage. Mom
remarked how masculine it looked. What she meant was there weren't any
frills or bric-a-brac to clutter the place up the way a woman would usually
decorate. While the cottage had it's own cental air conditioning, Dad said
that he get us a couple of ceiling fans for the bedroom and the living room
because there were plenty of times during the year when you could leave the
windows open and just let the fans more air though the house. We later
found this to be very true. We used the fans more than the air conditioning
system, except during the hottest part of the summers.

As we all sat there, Mom and Dad on the couch and Mike and I on the floor,
Mom told us that she had gotten a call from the oncologist that she was to
start chemotherapy in two days. This meant she would have to go to the
hospital for the treatments which would take several hours.  The
side-effects were going to be difficult for her but the doctors felt that
they would be able to knock out the leukemia in a short time. We talked
about how this all was going to happen. The treatments would be every two
days (one day of treatment followed by one day of rest). Dad couldn't take
off all that time from the business so that left either me or Mike or both
of us to deal with getting Mom to and from the hospital.  Finally it was
Mom who looked at all of us and announced what would happen.

"Since I am the center of all this attention, gentlemen, I believe that I
should have the final say."  she began. "Hank, you go run your business and
Rickie, you go with him and learn it. Mike, if he will, can stay here with
me and get me to the hospital and get me home." Mom announced.

"But, honey! What about...you know...if you get sick or something?" Dad
asked.

"I'm sure Mike can handle it. He certainly did the night I learned what
Jack Daniels and Budweiser can do to you if you drink to much of them! Not
only that but, while he's big and strong..." I stopped and smiled at my
lover, "he is just about the gentlest guy you'll ever find."

"Good! Then it's settled! Mike takes care of me until we beat this thing!
What do you say, Mike?" Mom asked him.

Mike leaped to his feet to a strict 'at attention', saluted Mom and boomed
out, "SIR, YES, SIR!".  We all broke out laughing.

When we all calmed down, Dad looked over at Mike. "I told you she was the
commanding officer around here!"

"And you'd best not forget it, either!" Mom laughed.

It was good to see her laugh and enjoy herself. I knew there were some dark
days coming, I just didn't realize how many. Over the next six months, Mom
went for chemotherapy. She lost her hair and got progressively weaker. The
nausea was the worst part, however. Nothing that the doctors gave her
worked. One night Mike and I were laying in bed talking this over.

"Mike, I don't know what the fuck to do! I hate seeing her like this. I
know the doctors are trying to get things under control but they can't seem
to stop the throwing up all the time." I said.

"Rick, can I ask you a question without you gettin' mad?" Mike asked.

"Of course you can! Don't be nuts." I answered, wondering what could be so
'touchy' that he was afraid of upsetting me.

"Mike, did you ever smoke dope? I know you were an athlete and all that and
I know you don't do it now, but did you ever?" Mike asked.

"Well...yeah. A couple of times I did. Mostly at parties. I didn't much
care for it. Mostly I just coughed my head off and got dizzy. Why? Did you
ever?" I asked.

"Yeah. Back in the group home I did. It was okay but I didn't like the idea
of takin' that stuff into my lungs. I guess booze ain't any better but it's
a lot easier to deal with and it's not illegal." Mike said.

"So why did you want to know that?" I asked.

"Because we need to get some marijuana for your mother. It will stop the
nausea and even give her back an appetite." Mike said.

"How do you know that?" I asked him.

"Back in the group home, there was this kid. He got AIDS from turning
tricks on the street when he left home to get away from his father who used
to beat him all the time. He had a lot of trouble from the medications they
gave him. Just like the problems your Mom is having. They gave him grass to
smoke and it stopped his throwing up and he actually put on weight for a
while." Mike said.

"So what happened to him?" I asked.

"He got this kind of pneumonia that only AIDS patients get and he died. He
was only 16! Life isn't very fair." Mike said, and I could hear the intense
sadness in his voice.

"No, it's not." I agreed. "Are you saying that you want me to go get pot
for my Mom?"

"I just thought that maybe you knew someone who you went to school with who
might have a connection or be a connection. That's all." Mike said.

"Well...most of the guys I knew were jocks. Not that a few of them didn't
occasionally smoke at parties like I did but there were no 'heads' among
us." I said, thinking hard over my list of friends.

"Well, it was a thought, anyway." Mike said and snuggled closer to me.

"Wait a minute!" I said, suddenly remembering. "There was Timmy!"

"Who's Timmy?" he asked.

"Timothy Potter. What a prophetic name!" I laughed. "For Timmy, pot just
about became a religion! You'd think he was Rastafarian or something! He
even called it 'the Sacred Herb'!  Anyway, he was the biggest pot head I
ever saw. I don't know how he got away with it but he was stoned at school
all the time. He was brilliant though so he was able to make good grades -
even stoned. Maybe I could find him." I said.

"Yeah, that would be good. I talked with your Mom today about it. She's all
for it if it will help.  She's asked me not to talk about it with your Dad,
though. She thinks he might have a shit-fit about it being illegal and
all." Mike said.

"Don't believe it! Dad's so worried about her, he's liable to do anything
to help. Hey! Wait a minute! I've got an even better idea!" I exclaimed.

"What?"

"Well, I know lots of guys on the construction crews. They all know Dad and
a lot of them know Mom and the one's who do love her! She's always doing
stuff for them, baking cupcakes and brownies for Dad to take to the jobsite
and she always buys presents for their kids on their birthdays and
Christmas. I know that a bunch of them smoke dope because I hear them talk
about it. I'll bet I can get one of them to get it for us - especially if
they know it's for Mom!" I said.

"What about your Dad?" he asked.

"Dad doesn't have to know about it." I said.

"Yeah, I think he really does, Rick. I think it's better that way. Promise
me you'll talk to him first?" Mike said.

"Okay. I promise. If you think that's what I ought to do, I'll do it." I
said.

I rarely if ever said 'no' to Mike about anything. Mostly because he didn't
ever ask me for much, except sex and I would never say 'no' to that! So on
the few times when he asked me to do something, I would. And it usually
turned out that he was right.

"By the way, you and Mom seem to have been talking an awful lot lately." I
said. "Should I be getting jealous here?" I laughed.

"No, you don't need to be jealous. Mom still loves you best." he
grinned. "But, yeah. We have done a lot of talking. She says it helps to
keep her mind off the pain and the nausea. So far she knows just about
everything about my life up until the time we went to Subic. She knows I
won't talk to her about that. She understands that what happened there is
between us. I told her if you wanted to tell her about it that it was all
right with me, but that I wasn't going to be the one to tell her." he said.

"Oh, yeah, right! Like I'm gonna sit down with my Mom and tell her who
wonderful it felt when your huge cock slid up inside my butt for the first
time! No, those memories are mine alone. I'm not sharing them with
anybody!" I said adamantly.

"Hey, babe. It's okay! I don't think she's gonna ask you! I think she'd be
as embarrassed as you'd be." he chuckled.

"Well...she already knows that Subic is where I first realized that I was
in love with you. That's all she really needs to know." I said.

"Sir, yes, sir!" he whispered in my ear and I finally started chuckling,
too. "So you liked my 'huge cock' sliding up your butt, huh?" he asked.

"Yeah, I do. Think that makes me queer for you, Marine?" I grinned.

"Yeah, like a three dollar bill! I think I'll make you my sea-pussy as the
swabbies say." Mike laughed.

"Mmm. That sound nice!" I moaned as I felt Mike's fingers go down and start
playing with my hole.

Mike bred me well and we went to sleep, his cum dripping from my butt and
mine gluing the two of us together. There was not a night that I didn't go
to sleep thanking God for having Mike to sleep with or a morning I didn't
thank God for Mike to wake up with. Of course, some mornings I was
screaming "Oh, God!" but I'm sure he got the message.

The next morning, fulfilling my promise to Mike, I had a talk with Dad. He
was at first somewhat skeptical of the idea of an 'illegal' drug, but I
told him about what Mike had seen in the group home growing up and he
admitted that he was fed up with what the doctors were able to do for Mom,
which was basically nothing. He agreed to me trying to find some pot for
her, but he didn't like the idea of me going to guys who worked for the
company. I told him I didn't see where we had much in the way of choice,
considering that none of us had any other way of getting it. I told him
that I would never tell him who it was we got it from and he agreed to
that.

I went out to one of the job sites and I had a talk with a couple of the
guys who I thought might be able to get hold of some pot. At first they
were very reluctant to even talk about it with me, being the owner's son
and all, but I promised them that Dad was aware of what I was doing and
that he also knew that I would never tell him who had helped get it for
us. I told them all about what was happening to Mom. They knew she had been
sick, but had no idea the seriousness of her condition or how she was
suffering with the chemotherapy. That changed everything! The two guys
promised that they would have some pot for me if I just came back in two
hours.

I left the job site and stopped by the house. Mike wasn't in the cottage,
but I found him in the kitchen making a pot of homemade vegetable soup. It
smelled delicious! He gave me a bowl and we sat at the kitchen table,
talking while I ate.

"How's Mom?" I asked.

"She sleeping, thank God. I don't know, it seems like the treatments are
taking more and more out of her. It was really bad earlier. I didn't think
she was ever going to stop throwing up. Did you talk to your Dad?" he
asked.

"Yes, and Dad's come around. I told you he would. He may not like the idea
of pot, but he'll do anything to help Mom. I went out to one of the job
sites and talked to a couple of the guys. I'm meeting them there in about
an hour and they promised to have some for me. If they do, I'm bringing it
right home so you can give it to her." I said.

"Uhh...wait a minute. How do I give it to her?" he asked.

"Well, she smokes it, of course!" I said.

"Yeah? In what?" he asked.

"What are you talking about. In a joint!" I said.

"Did you ever roll one?" he asked.

"No....did you?" I asked

"No. So what the fuck do we do?" Mike exclaimed.

"You get some rolling papers at the 7-11 and I'll roll the damn joints!"
Mom's voice startled us.

"You shouldn't be out of bed." Mike said.

"Oh don't you start! You sound like Hank! I had to get up, that soup
smelled so good! Did you know he was such a good cook when you married
him?" she asked, looking at me with a grin.

"No, Mom. He was really good at other things but I didn't know about the
cooking!" I laughed as Mike blushed red.

"Oh, how you've gone and embarrassed him. Well...it's okay. He's cute when
he blushes." Mom smiled.

"You've noticed that, too, huh?" I grinned.

"Okay, that's enough out of you two. Now, what do you mean, you'll roll the
joints?" Mike asked.

"My dear Number 2 son, I was rolling joints when you weren't even a gleam
in anybody's eye! I am a child of the 60's - a flower child! I smoked dope,
drank cheap fruit wine and listened to psychedelic music while wearing
tie-dyed clothes and hip hugger jeans. I even had a pair of 'granny
glasses'. Still have them, somewhere. Along with a peace sign, of course!"
she laughed at the memory.

"Mom, you were wearing a peace sign while Dad was in Viet Nam in the
Marines?!" I exclaimed.

"Rickie, I love your father. I have almost since the moment I met him. That
does not mean that I agree with him on everything. I never supported the
war in Viet Nam and after the pain I saw your Dad go through over it, I was
even more convinced that it was a dirty, evil little war. A lot of brave,
beautiful boys - a lot of whom really believed that they were fighting for
our freedom and liberty - died unnecessarily in that damned jungle! Nothing
will change my mind about that.  And I think your Dad doesn't see it as a
'patriotic war' anymore, either. Especially now that all the revelations
have come out from people like McNamara and from Johnson's diaries showing
that they knew there was no way they could win that war and yet they
continued to pour money, resources and American lives down that shit hole
of a country! I hope Johnson burns in hell! To my mind he was nothing but a
mass murderer! He knew that the war was lost and rather than pull our
troops out, he sent more in to be slaughtered." Mom said obviously very
angry still about what had happened so many years ago.

"Mom, why didn't you ever talk to me about this?" I asked.

"Because, it would just upset your Dad. You know he won't talk about what
happened to him over there. He won't even talk to me. However, at a reunion
of his unit, I learned from one of his friends - a guy named Mack - what
really happened. Your Dad's platoon was caught in a VC ambush. The only
one's able to escape were your Dad and his best friend. The best friend was
wounded and couldn't walk. Your Dad carried him twelve miles out of the
jungle and back to their staging area. Unfortunately, your Dad's friend
died a few hours later in your Dad's arms.  He's never gotten over it." Mom
said.

Mack, I knew from my talk with Dad, was one of the two lovers who were
still Dad's friends. I wondered how close a friend the guy that Dad carried
out of the jungle was. Was it possible that Dad had a love relationship
with a guy that to this day he's kept hidden? That was a mind-blowing
thought, but it would answer why Dad seemed to accept me and Mike so
easily.

"I'd better get back to the job site and get the stuff. I'll be back as
soon as I can." I said, rising up and leaning over to gently kiss
Mike. Ever since that first time that Mom asked us to kiss in front of her,
we had lost our inhibitions about it when it was only her there. We still
didn't do it in front of Dad.

When I got to the job site, the guys were there and they handed me a small
plastic zip-loc bag filled with what turned out to be twenty joints,
already rolled. I was very grateful when I saw them because it would save
Mom the trouble of rolling them. I thanked the guys profusely, both for
getting the stuff for us and for rolling it.

"We figured that you probably wouldn't know how to roll a joint so we
brought them already rolled." one of them said.

"What do I owe you guys for this?" I asked reaching for my wallet. The
other one put his hand on my arm, stopping me from doing so.

"For Ms. Rose, nothin'. She's done so much for our kids and she's always
been so good to us, this is our contribution to her getting well." he said.

"Yeah." said the first one. "You just let us know when she's about to run
out and we'll get more if she needs it."

"I really don't know how to thank you!" I said.

"Ain't no reason to. If my momma was sick, I'd damned sure do whatever I
had to, to help her."  the second one said. "Now you get on home and make
sure she has some now. It will take away all that sick feelin' and make her
want to eat."

"Thank you both so much." I said and got back in the truck and drove home.

I thought on the way that I'd better drive carefully. Here I was in a
company truck with enough pot to be considered a 'dealer'! I was never so
happy to get into the driveway as I was that afternoon.

I gave the joints to Mike, who took them into Mom and Dad's room where Mom
was laying down again. She'd tried to eat some soup earlier and the nausea
came back with a vengeance!  While Mike was giving it to her, I called Dad.

"Mission accomplished, Dad." I said when I got him on the phone.

"Is it helping?" Dad asked.

"Mike just took it in to her. I guess we'll know in a little while. I'm
headed back to the office." I said.

"No, just stay there. I'll be home in a little while. Uhh...thanks,
son...for what you did. And thank Mike, too for me." Dad said.

"You can thank him when you get home, Dad." I said.

"Yeah, I will do that." he said and then he hung up the phone.

About half an hour later, Mike came out of Mom's room grinning like he'd
just won a war. I immediately knew that the 'marijuana experiment' had been
successful.

"She's lost all the nausea and she's hungry!" Mike said.

"Thank God! I'm glad all that was worth it!" I said grinning back at him.

He fixed her a bowl of soup on a tray and took it back to her. Then he came
out and we sat in the kitchen talking. Dad came home in a little while and
we told him what had happened. He smiled and headed back to their bedroom
to see her. I took Mike's hand and we headed back to the cottage. The
blinds were all drawn so that we could walk around naked, like we liked to
so we both took our clothes off. Mike sat down on the couch and I went and
put a CD in the system. A great jazz CD and one of our favorites, "BILL
EVANS ALONE". The lyrical strains of the jazz piano set a beautiful
romantic mood as I curled up on the couch in Mike's arms. We started
kissing and before long, we were walking hand in hand to the bedroom to
finish what we'd started.

THE END of Part 7 of SUBIC SURRENDER.

If you like the story, write me at rimpigfl@yahoo.com.

I have a lot of other stories on NIFTY. If you want a complete list, write
me and I'll be glad to send it to you.

RimPig