Tween to Teen Ch 37

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I was awoken from a deep sleep by Johnny tickling my nose with a piece of grass. I snorted and pushed his hand away, but he was determined to wake me, and I finally gave up. As I looked around I could see a few of the others were making an attempt to wake up, but Todd and Sam were already up and had started a fire.

"It's too damn early," I whined.

"It's not that early, it's after 8," Johnny said, "and we need to hit the road as soon as we eat."

"Oh, yeah...I guess," I said, still not convinced. We'd stayed up pretty late out there by the lake with the two new lovers, and I was worn smooth out from fucking around with Johnny.

Caleb finally rose and was off to the bathroom, and the others soon followed. I was last to get to my feet, and by the time I was ready for the bathroom several of the others had returned.

Johnny and I stood side by side and peed, and by then I was starting to wake up some. It had been a great night, even if it had been a tiring one, and I didn't regret a moment of it, especially knowing Johnny and I had helped to bring two friends closer. Closer, as in being boyfriends and having sex.

We cooked bacon and eggs, and made sandwiches on Rainbow bread, and sat around and ate, washing our breakfast down with cans of pop. I think we were all dreading the moment that we had to say goodbye for good, but we had the rest of our trip ahead of us and I figured we'd get over our sorrow quickly once we were on the road. As for the other three, well, they had their lives, and the two new lovers had a lot of things to discover as they worked on their new relationship. I sort of envied them, it all being so fresh and new, but I wouldn't trade what I had with Johnny for all the gold in the world.

It was well after nine by the time we were packed up and ready to roll, and we shook hands all around with our three new friends then watched them as they drove away in a cloud of dust, just as they'd appeared the night before.

"Well Pilgrims, time to hit the dusty trail," Johnny said in the worst John Wayne imitation I'd ever heard, and I was laughing as we piled into the bus.

From the lake it was a quick hop back onto highway 69 and we were off. We still had about 4 or 5 hours of driving to do before we reached Dallas/Ft. Worth, counting a few pit stops along the way, but our spirits were high and excitement coursed through us like an electric current.

We held out till Okmulgee, and pulled in to a Dairy Queen there and had hamburgers, fries and milkshakes, then rolled over to a Sinclair station and filled up, and everyone took a pee.

In the bathroom there was one of those rubber vending machines and Johnny bought one, and pretty soon everyone wanted one. I didn't know what these crazy guys were going to do with all those rubbers, but I finally bought one myself, just for kicks.

We hit the road again, this time with me driving, but I had already warned Johnny that before we got too close to the big city he was taking over, because no way was I going to drive with all those crazy Texans trying to run us over.

He just laughed and said I didn't need to worry, that everybody knew all Texas had was Queers and Steers.

"So, we're adding a few more queers," I laughed.

"Hey, speak for yourself," Tony laughed, "I ain't sure what I am yet. I ain't had a chance to get with a lady yet."

"Well, maybe we can find you a nice little Texas gal," Johnny teased.

"As long as she got big tits and a tight coochie, that's fine," Tony said causing everyone to crack up.

"Bet it wouldn't be as tight as my ass," Caleb quipped.

"No, nothin' that tight," Tony said grinning, and we all cracked up again.

While I drove, the others sang along with the radio, counted VW Beetles, and had a contest to see who could spot the tag that came from the farthest state. Donnie won when he spotted one from Alaska, but Caleb came close with one from Oregon. Most were either Texas or Oklahoma though, and that game got boring pretty fast.

By the time we reached Durant, I was ready to turn the wheel back over to Johnny so we stopped at a drive-in and got something to drink and stretched our legs.

Like most small towns in Oklahoma, and I'd guess most states, there was the usual business district, then the gas stations and fast food places toward the outskirts, and truthfully, one town pretty much looked like another when you got down to it.

I have to admit, about then I was sort of feeling a little homesick, especially after we passed by the high school there and I thought about our own high school back there in Pryor. We only had one more year there, then we'd be moving to yet another small town, but fortunately it was only a short drive from our home and family.

"Big D, here we come," Johnny said as we left the city limits and headed toward the Texas border.

In the 70's Dallas was still a big oil town, as well as being a bustling trade center, and there were lots and lots of tall buildings. The buildings were not the only things that grabbed our attention though, the highways were wide and filled with cars, and everyone seemed to be in a hurry to get where they were going.

Our plan was to find a campground somewhere nearby, but unfortunately we hadn't thought far enough ahead to figure out where that might be, and we drove around for hours trying to find a place. Finally, famished, we stopped at a little restaurant and ate supper as we tried to figure out what to do next.

We even asked the waitress if she knew of a place and she was no help, saying that maybe over by the lake there might be a place, but we didn't' know where the lake was, or what we'd find there if we found it.

We could probably have afforded a motel room, but we weren't sure if anyone would rent a room to a bus full of 17 year olds so we nixed that idea. We found a big store by accident called Kmart, and we just had to stop. We'd heard of big discount stores like this, but of course Pryor had nothing like this and was years away from getting our first Walmart. Back then Kmart was king, before Walmart bulldozed it over, and to us it was about the coolest thing we'd ever seen.

I wished we'd had a lot of money to spend, cause they had things that none of the stores back home had, but we did manage to get a few things to remind us of our trip, plus we bought some more snack food and soda.

It was getting dark by the time we pried ourselves out of that huge Kmart store and we were no closer to finding a place to sleep. It was Tony who finally suggested that we just find a park and stay there for the night. We could sleep in the van or use our sleeping bags, and since no one had a better idea we drove around till we found what we thought was the idea spot.

It was a little park, but it had parking along one side and was surrounded by trees and looked clean and safe. It was near what I considered to be a good neighborhood, so we figured it would be safe there, and anyway there were 7 of us, and there was safety in numbers.

We decided to go ahead and stake out a place while it was still light out, and were happy to find that there was a public bathroom that was actually unlocked. Back then that was pretty common, but in later years as vandalism and sexual solicitation increased, most park bathrooms were locked after a certain time each day.

We washed up as best we could, and laid out our sleeping bags on the ground near the bus. We'd parked at the far end of the lot right against the grass, and from the road our sleeping bags would be hidden.

We were still pretty full from the burgers and stuff we'd eaten earlier, but being teenagers, we were soon ready to eat again. We had bought chips, and cookies, and candy at Kmart, and we brought them out and ate a snack as we talked about our day and what was ahead.

We were tired after our day of driving around, and personally I was a little nervous about being out here in a public park in a strange city. Tony was the only one who didn't act the least bit nervous, but I supposed he'd been through so much in his short life as an orphan that this was a picnic for him. He was tough too, and if there was ever any trouble, I'd be happy to have him at my back.

Of course Johnny was my rock, and as we laid down that night he held me close and I felt safe and warm in his arms.

I guess we'd been asleep about an hour or so when a sound woke me up and I sat up and pulled away from Johnny. If someone was going to catch us sleeping here I didn't want them to see me practically laying on top of my boyfriend.

I shielded my eyes from a bright light and the next thing I knew a cop was walking around the van and shining his light around checking us out. I thought we were in big trouble till he chuckled and said, "I thought so."

"You boys know there's a park curfew of 10 o'clock, right?"

"No sir, we're sorry," I said, coming up out of my stupor quickly.

"We're on our way to the coast and we'd planned to spend the night at a campgrounds but we couldn't find one. It was getting late and we thought it would be all right if we just slept here. We're not hurting anything."

"I know son, but it's the law," he said frowning, but I could see that he didn't really want to kick us out.

"I tell you what, I'm going off duty at midnight and I only live a few miles from here. Why don't you follow me home and you can spend the night at my house?"

I looked at him dumbfounded, but despite the implications of such an offer, I didn't sense anything but good vibes from the man.

"I know what you're thinking," he chuckled, "an older man offering to let some teenage boys stay at his house, but it's not like that. I got a son of my own and a wife, and our house is rather large. There's a rec room in the basement big enough for you boys to lay out your sleeping bags, and it's safe and dry there."

"I...don't know," I said speaking for the rest, "maybe we'll just drive around till it's time to go."

"Nonsense, you need a good night's sleep. Look, you stay right here and I'll go get my son and you can see that I'm being honest with you."

"Well, if it's okay..." I said looking at the others who seemed to be looking to me and Johnny for guidance.

"We'll be here," Johnny said, "we'll pack up our stuff while you're gone."

"Okay, or you can lay down and rest a little, it may be an hour or so till I'm back."

I was too nervous to sleep, but Johnny was soon snoring softly, as were the others. I lay there staring up at the canopy of trees and wondered what my folks would say if they knew we were being booted out of the park by a Dallas cop. I sighed and decided that this was one part of our trip that I wouldn't be sharing with them.

True to his word, the cop returned about an hour later and this time a boy of about 13 or so hopped out of the car and accompanied him to our camp.

"Well, I see you're still here," he chuckled, "this is my son Billy. Billy meet the desperadoes who dared to violate the curfew laws."

"Hi," the kid said blushing and waving his hand, but he had a big grin on his face. I figured this was a big adventure for him, getting to help his dad apprehend some desperadoes.

"I'm Carl, Carl Hudson," he said offering his hand. We each shook solemnly, but I still wasn't sure if we should go off to this stranger's house for the night.

We really hadn't talked about it that much while he was gone, but I sensed the others didn't care one way or the other as long as they got some sleep. Even Johnny seemed okay with it, and in the end I gave in, thinking again, there's safety in numbers.

We followed officer Hudson to what looked like a middle class, brick and siding two story house. It was well kept, but not what you'd call fancy, and I began to relax some when I saw the place.

He led us inside and we were greeted by a Cockerspaniel that Billy called Goldy. She was a beautiful dog and I thought about Snoopy, our dog back home, and got kind of homesick again.

We met Mrs. Hudson next and she had hot chocolate and cookies ready for us at a big dining table in a room off the front foyer. She looked like the typical mom, not glamorous, but pretty in a way that women can be without really trying, and she treated us like we were her own kids. I learned later that she taught third grade at a school nearby, and I guessed she was used to dealing with kids, even teenage ones.

Billy warmed up to us quickly, and was soon blabbing away and asking us if we wanted to see his room, and just to be polite we let him show us.

"Billy while you're giving them the tour, show them the rec room and help them carry in their sleeping bags, and if you want you can sleep down there with them."

Oh God, I thought, that's all we need, a young teenage boy sleeping around a bunch of horny older teens. What if he senses that we're sex crazed and queer for each other? I guessed that meant Johnny and I would be sleeping zipped up in our separate sleeping bags, but it was only one night, and I figured we'd survive.

Billy's room was your typical kid's room, though messier than mine, and he seemed to take great pride in his model care collection, which was something we both had in common. I even had a couple of the same models he had, though I had painted mine different colors.

Next, he led us back downstairs and suggested we grab our sleeping bags now so we wouldn't have to climb the stairs twice. I was still a little wary, but like I said, there was seven of us and only three of them, well four counting Goldy.

The rec room was nothing like I imagined, it ran about half the length of the house and the full width of it, and was nicely paneled, carpeted, and even had a small bathroom tucked into one corner. There was a sort of kitchenette with a fridge and hot plate, and cabinets that I guess held snacks.

There was a couch and a chair, a full size pool table, and a folded up ping pong table against the wall. And most surprising of all was the color TV against one wall facing the couch.

"Wow, this is pretty rad," Caleb said looking around.

"Yeah, my grandpa owned this house, but he died and left it to my mom and dad. He was pretty rich I guess, and we got to keep all the furniture and stuff."

"There's plenty of room for our sleeping bags," I said, "is it okay to move this couch back a little?"

"Sure, I can help," Billy said, and I took a moment to give him a good looking over.

His eyes were brown, and had those little crinkles at the corners that made a kid look cute, and this kid was really cute. His soft looking brown hair crowned his head, and was a little longer than you might think a cop's kid would have. He was wearing grey sweats, but they looked a little small, hugging his body closely, and I could see that his upper body was well defined, and that he had a promising bulge down below. Then he turned to help push the couch and I got a glimpse of his backside, and I almost gasped. He had one of those butts that they call a bubble butt these days, but at that moment the only words I could think of were, perfect, and squeezable.

Fortunately, after we moved the couch, Billy bounded off upstairs to grab his sleeping bag and I cooled down some. Johnny must've noticed my staring, or maybe he was doing some staring of his own, cause he pulled me aside then, "Don't even think it," he laughed, "we don't need a cop after us cause we molested his teenage son."

"I know," I said cuffing him, but I was blushing, "I just like to look."

"He's a hottie," Caleb said raising an eyebrow, but too young for me.

"Shut up, he's not someone's little toy," Tony said sounding angry.

"Whoa, calm down," Caleb said, "we were just teasing. He's a cute boy, and we couldn't help but notice. It's not like we're gonna jump his bones or anything."

"Sorry, a boy like that back at the home, well...he'd be in big trouble if the wrong boys got a hold of him."

"It must've been tough there," Walter said, laying a hand on Tony's shoulder, "but you're one of us now, and you don't have to worry about that stuff any more."

"Hey, you guys," Billy said, interrupting our discussion as he took the stairs two at a time, "I got my sleeping bag."

"Cool," I said, not making eye contact for fear he'd see my interest in him.

"Can we tell ghost stories and stuff?" he asked, sounding far younger than he looked, and it suddenly occurred to me that we didn't even know how old Billy was.

"Uh, how old are you Billy?" I asked at last.

"13, but I'll be 14 in October. How old are you guys?"

He seemed amazed that we were 17, and that Caleb was almost 19, but that didn't slow him down or kill his enthusiasm about having us for the night. I think at that moment my whole attitude toward him changed. No longer was I looking at him with lust, but instead I was looking at him like I did Mikey, my little brother. He was just a kid, and we owed it to him to set a good example for him and treat him nice, just like I'd want someone to treat Mikey.

"Sure, we can tell ghost stories," I said smiling, "you know any good ones Billy?"

We laid out our sleeping bags with Billy in the middle and the rest of us fanned out around him. We slept in our clothes by unspoken agreement, and Billy slept in his sweats, which pretty much made it too warm to zip up, so we just laid out on our sleeping bags.

Billy's ghost story was one we'd all heard before, but I assured him it was scary and he seemed happy. Then Johnny scared the bejeezers out of him by telling one of his original killer ghost stories, and the kid scooted our way till he was almost touching us.

I chuckled at the effect the story had on him, and when it came my time to tell one, I chose to tell one not so scary. I'd been writing a bit lately and had some story ideas that I hadn't put down on paper yet, and I decided to try one out on Billy and the others.

The story was sort of a fantasy-science fiction story about two boys who found themselves in a strange place with unicorns and humans that could change into animals, each having some unique marking that corresponded with their human side. For instance there was a boy named Marcus who had red hair, and his animal side was a squirrel, with hair the same color.

I wove the tail slowly, and was suddenly aware that it had become very quiet in the room. Thinking I'd bored half of them to sleep, I stopped and looked around only to find 7 pair of eyes eagerly waiting for me to begin again.

"Then what happened?" Billy asked sounding excited.

"Yeah, don't stop now," Johnny chuckled.

"Yeah, come on...finish it..." this from Donnie.

"Okay, okay...hold on. You do know I'm making this up as I go along. I mean I had the basic idea in my head, but I haven't written any of it down yet."

"Wait, this is your story? You mean you just thought this up on your own?" Caleb said, sounding amazed.

"Well, yeah...I've been doing some writing lately. I mean if I'm going to study writing as a back up career I need to start getting some things written down."

"That one is good, really good," Gerald said, "I'd read a book like that, and I don't even like reading that much."

"Yeah, it's really good," Billy said wide-eyed, "Is there more?"

So, I continued by popular request, and found the further I went, the clearer the story became to me. I must've droned on for over an hour before I finally put it to rest for the night, and even then the others wanted more.

"I can't go on, not tonight," I said yawning. "Maybe next time we camp out I can add some."

"Yeah, you could add some every time we have a sleepover or camp out."

"Aww, I won't get to hear them," Billy whined.

"Sorry buddy," I said, "but if I ever get it printed I'll send you a copy of the book," I teased.

"Really?" he said perking up, and I didn't have the heart to tell him I was teasing.

"Sure, and I'll even autograph it for you."

The others gave me a sly smile, but didn't say anything, and pretty soon we took turns peeing and then settled down for the night. It was torture laying so close to Johnny, but I was pretty tired and I figured I'd be asleep soon anyway.

I guess I'd been asleep about an hour or so when a sudden sound woke me. It took me a minute to figure out where I was, then in the dim light I looked in the direction of the noise and saw Billy sitting up, looking around like he was as confused as I had been upon wakening.

I sat up then and looked his way and when he noticed he gave me a little wave. It was an odd gesture, but then Billy seemed to do and say a lot of odd things. I'd decided that either Billy was a little immature for his age, or maybe he was a little slow. By slow I don't mean retarded, but today I guess it's what they call learning or behavioral problems, like ADHD, but back then the word slow seemed to encompass any learning or coping behavior.

"You okay buddy?" I asked softly, trying not to wake the others.

He nodded, but he still looked a little disoriented, "Where's my mom and dad?"

"Uh, upstairs?" I said, wondering if he was really okay after all.

"Oh," he said standing up, "I need to go pee," he added, threading his way through the bodies on the floor and heading toward the small bathroom.

I watched him go, concerned about his odd behavior and disorientation, but I certainly wasn't going to follow him into the bathroom to find out what was going on with him.

I heard water hitting the bowl and realized he hadn't closed the door, which wasn't really a big deal, I supposed, but still seemed odd considering he was among strangers.

He returned a few minutes later, but instead of going to his sleeping bag he sat down on the couch which was right next to me and Johnny.

"You sure you're okay?" I asked softly.

"Yeah, but...that story, was it real?"

I almost laughed, but I could tell he was serious and a little nervous, "No, of course not. It's just a silly story I made up."

"I wish it was real," he said softly, "If you could be any animal, what would you be?" he said, going off on another tangent.

"Oh, well...something that could swim really good I guess, maybe a seal or an otter."

"Yeah, that would be neat. I think I'd like to be a monkey," he said grinning.

I did laugh then, "How come? Cause you like bananas?"

"Nah, cause I want to be able to climb trees again. Mom and dad won't let me climb em' any more since...since the accident."

"The accident? Did you fall?"

He nodded and looked ready to cry, "I hurt myself in the head," he said frowning, "that's why I'm not so smart like other kids."

"You seem pretty smart to me," I said, my heart going out to him.

"Really? I ain't that smart in school. I got held back last year cause I was in the hospital so much."

"That's too bad, but you're better now, right?"

"Yeah, at least I can talk and stuff..."

"Can I sit up there with you?"

"Sure," he said grinning and patting the sofa next to him.

I hopped up and sat beside him, and for a minute neither of us spoke, but it was him who broke the silence.

"I wish I was going with you guys to see the ocean. I ain't never seen the ocean."

"Neither have we. It was sort of Tony's idea. He said that he was going to go see the ocean someday and well, I got this idea about all of us going on this trip."

"Rad," Billy said cocking his head and looking like a curious puppy.

"Every year since I was around 11 or so we've had an adventure, me and my friends." I told him about our first camp out, about Roger, omitting any of the personal stuff, about Spavinaw and the flood, the farm, and all the other adventures we'd had, and he hung on every word.

"You guys are lucky," he said when I'd finished.

"Yeah, we are," I said softly, "and you know what? We're lucky to always find nice folks everywhere we go, like you and your family."

He smiled, "I think you're nice too. You don't treat me like I'm stupid."

"You're not stupid," I said laying a hand on his shoulder, "And you're a nice kid, and cute too," I said, then thinking how that might sound, I quickly added, "I bet all the girls are crazy for you."

He frowned, "I don't like girls much," he said, "but dad says I will someday."

I wondered if his dad was right about that, or if he was like Johnny and me, but I certainly wasn't going to dispute his dad the cop.

"He's probably right. Sometimes girls seem kind of weird, but once you figure them out, they're all right."

"Do you have a girlfriend?"

"Well, no...not at the moment. I'm pretty busy and don't have much time for girls."

"But you have time for your friends, right?"

"Well, that's different. You know? A guy always has time for his friends. I bet you have a lot of friends, don't you?"

"Nah, not really," he said looking sad, "but I do have one really good one. His name is Jeff, and sometimes he sleeps over here, or I sleep over at his house, and we have lots of fun."

"That sounds like me and Johnny," I said softly, "we met in first grade and we've been friends ever since. We're closer than brothers really. Are you and Jeff like that?"

"Yeah, we..." he started, then stopped suddenly, and I noticed he was blushing, "I can't say," he muttered.

That rang alarm bells in my head, what was it that he and Jeff did that he couldn't share? Were they really like me and Johnny and closer than close, as in naked buddies?

"Well, some things are private," I said smiling, "and it's okay to have secrets as long as they're not hurting anyone."

"Really? Okay," he said yawning softly, "I'm kinda tired now."

"Okay, why don't you lay back down. I'm gonna go pee, then I'll go back to sleep too."

"Okay," he said leaning in and hugging me quickly before scampering off to his sleeping bag. It was the hug of a little kid, and I was ashamed that I had thought he might be fooling around with his buddy. It was probably just some innocent boy stuff he was talking about, something they figured their parents wouldn't approve of.

When I returned I got another surprise, Billy had drug his sleeping bag over next to mine. He was still wide awake and watching me as I settled into my bag, no doubt wondering if I'd say anything.

"I'm glad you moved closer," I said grinning, "now you can protect me from the dragons," I teased.

"Okay," he giggled, "if you'll protect me from the bears."

"I will buddy, there's safety in numbers you know?"

"Yeah, and right now...I got seven big guys here to keep me safe."

I smiled over at him, but his eyes were closed and he had a blissful look on his face. I watched him until his breathing became even and he slumbered. In sleep his features relaxed and he seemed even cuter than before, a sleeping angel, and I sighed with contentment, satisfied that I had somehow made his life a little better, even if only for one night.

The next morning I awoke with two warm bodies pressed against me. Johnny in front, and my new little buddy Billy behind me. I was humbled that Billy felt safe and trusted me enough for this little act of intimacy. I didn't know how his dad, the cop, would feel about it though, so I untangled myself from him as gently as I could and went to the small bathroom to pee.

As I was coming out Johnny met me and he was grinning, "I see you've made another young friend. He was snuggled up to you like a favorite teddy bear when I woke up earlier."

"Yeah, I found out some things about him last night," I said following Johnny into the bathroom and closing the door behind us, "he fell from a tree and injured himself, I guess a head injury, and it's affected his learning and stuff. I wondered why he acted so young, now I know. I feel really bad for him cause he says he doesn't have many friends now. I wonder if he did before the accident. Kids can be such buttholes when kids are different."

"Well, he seems like a good kid, and I bet he'll eventually make some friends, maybe even find a girlfriend," Johnny said as he emptied his bladder.

"That's another thing, he said he doesn't much like girls. Sound familiar?" I chuckled.

"Well, he's still pretty young, and maybe the accident has something to do with that. Maybe he'll learn to like them later."

"That's what his dad told him. I'd like to talk to his mom and dad about him though. Do you think I'm being too nosy or rude to want to do that?"

"No, I think you're being the sweet and loveable boy that I want to spend the rest of my life with," he said hugging me.

"Hey, wash your hands first," I teased.

"Why? You've had that thing in your mouth before," he chuckled.

"Yeah, and that's fine, but I don't like pee on me."

"Why don't you go see if you can find his folks and talk to them while I get the others up? We need to go find someplace to eat breakfast then hit the road."

"Okay, as usual you have helped me make the right decision," I said, leaning in and kissing him on the lips.

"Mmmm...I wish we had time for more," he said as I pulled away.

"Tonight, I promise," I said heading for the door, "don't want the cop beating down the door," I teased.

I found a surprise waiting for me when I got upstairs, The Hudsons were fixing a massive breakfast, and it didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out who the breakfast was for.

"Good morning," I said as I screeched to a halt before them.

"Good morning, Robert right?" Officer Hudson said. I guess cops were good at remembering names.

"Yes sir, something sure smells good."

"I figured you boys could use a good breakfast before heading off to the ocean," Mrs. Hudson said.

"Yes, ma'am, but we were going to find a cafe or something. You shouldn't have gone to all that trouble."

"Nonsence," Officer Hudson said, "what kind of hosts would we be if we sent you off hungry? I suppose the others are still sleeping?"

"Well, Johnny and I were awake. He's getting the others up, but I sort of wanted to talk to both of you about Billy."

"Billy?" Mrs. Hudson said looking concerned, "what has he done now?"

"No ma'am it's not that, he didn't do anything. In fact he's a very good kid, polite and friendly, and well...it's about his accident."

"OH, he told you about that, did he?" Officer Hudson said frowning, "Why don't you have a seat and we can talk about that."

"Coffee?" Officer Hudson asked and I nodded.

He poured me a cup, and I added sugar and cream, then stirred it while he sank into the chair across from me.

"Billy was always a good kid, kind of rambunctious and full of energy, and nothing scared him. I guess that's why when one of his buddies dared him to climb the big oak tree in the park he saw it as a personal challenge.

He might have succeeded too, except on the way down his shoe got caught in the fork of a tree and he fell, ripping his shoe off and skinning up his leg, and he landed on his head.

His buddies ran to a house near the park and they called it in, and I was there within minutes. He was unconscious when I found him, but he was still breathing, and except for the scrape on his leg there was no apparent injury.

Mrs. Hudson looked ill as she listened to her husband retelling the story and I felt bad for having stirred all of it up again.

"He said he hurt his head. What did he mean?" I said, not willing to let it go yet.

"Like I said, he fell on his head, and he had a concussion and some swelling in his brain. For a while it was touch and go. He was in a coma for two weeks and the docs said he might not ever come out of it, and even if he did he might not be...might not be the same," Officer Hudson said looking down at his coffee cup and wiping at his eyes.

He's our only child, and the thought of him dying or being paralyzed or worse was about the worst thing you could imagine. The other officers on the force were great and even the mayor paid us a visit and kept checking on Billy's condition. The school had a carnival and raised money for Billy's medical bills, but they were piling up fast. Eventually there was a newspaper article written about Billy, and this anonymous donor paid the entire medical bill. We never found out who, but rumours have it that it was the Dallas Cowboy players. I don't know, I guess we never will.

Fortunately Billy came out of the coma, but at first he could barely talk and he had limited motor skills. He got better day by day with therapy, and I thank God he's as good as he is now, but his brain doesn't quite function as well as it used to. He's been having some real problems in school, and his motor skills aren't quite up to snuff. I guess you noticed that he's a little immature for his age, well that's do to the injury too.

"He said he liked me cause I didn't treat him stupid. Do other kids do that?"

The man nodded, "Billy used to have tons of friends, but now he only has one or two. Kids can be so cruel, but I blame that on their folks as much as them. You have to teach kids empathy and kindness, or at least reinforce those things. We lost some friends of our own over this, but we're stronger for it, right honey?"

"Yes, and it's strengthened my faith as well. We did a lot of praying during that time and in fact we had the whole church praying for Billy. I do believe prayers are answered, and Billy is proof of that. He's getting better ever day and meeting nice people like you and you friends gives him and us hope that not everyone is like those people who turned away when we needed them most."

My eyes were wet and I wiped at them and sniffed before speaking, "Billy kind of reminds me of my kid brother Mikey. Oh, he's just a little kid now, but he's sweet and friendly, and me and my buddies take care of him. That's what we did for Billy too. We enjoyed his company and I'm glad we met him...and the two of you. You give us hope, hope that there are nice folks no matter where you go, even in Texas," I said grinning at the last burb.

"Oh, well...for Okies you aren't so bad yourself," Officer Hudson laughed.

We were interrupted then by the arrival of the others, and when Billy saw me he ran up to me and put his arms around my neck, "Robert is my friend now," he said to his folks, "he tells the best stories."

"Well, you tell some pretty scary ones yourself," I said hugging him back, this time without fear of what his dad, the cop, might think.

We had a leisurely breakfast of eggs, bacon, biscuits and gravy, and fried potatoes and was introduced to grits for the first time. I didn't know whether to put salt and pepper on them, or cream and sugar, but I was assured that either was delicious, and so I tried them. It's an acquired taste, but it wouldn't be the last time I ate grits.

The Hudsons, especially Billy, insisted that we swap addresses, and I gave them mine and promised I'd relay any messages to the others. For several years Johnny and I kept in touch with Billy, and we were as proud as his parents when he finally graduated with a 4.0 average. He attended college as well, and followed in his dad's footsteps and joined the Texas Highway Patrol upon graduation.

He did eventually learn to like girls and got married a year or so after joining the THP, and he and his wife had a set of twin boys they named...Robert and Johnny. I liked to think it was in tribute to us and our befriending him at a time when he needed friends the most, but they never let on.

Many times I have looked back on that night warmly as I think about the Hudsons, opening their home to seven teenage boys from a small town in Oklahoma, and then trusting us with their most precious possession, their only son. I like to think that the Hudsons were just nice people, but I think they were also very good judges of character, and that they saw in us the attributes they wanted to instill in their own son. Or maybe, like so many things that have happened to us over the years, it was just fate, or divine intervention.

We left that day with hugs and handshakes all around and the promise to keep in touch, and we kept that promise for many years to come. But as soon as we were in the van our thoughts turned to what was ahead, and the adventure continued.

End of Chapter 37

The boys are in Dallas and still have a ways to go, but gosh they've already had some major adventures and met some really cool folks along the way. Billy and his family have shown the boys that there are good people everywhere (even in Texas) and Robert's interaction with Billy will stay with him for a long time. He is once again reminded of his little brother back home and has bouts of homesickness, but the thrill of the adventure soon puts them to rest.

Next, the adventure continues.

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2-27-20

Kewl Dad

I have updated my story list if you see any missing please let me know.