Benji in Control
by: E Walk
(© 2009-2010 by the Author)
 

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Chapter 6 

Unassuming

When I arrived at Summerhill, something seemed wrong.  Usually the boys were outside when the weather was nice.  Then I noticed the van was missing, and I had a funny feeling in my stomach that something wasn’t right.

I went into the house and Patty was in the kitchen, “Patty where are the boys?”

Patty shrugged her shoulders, “Cole took the boys somewhere as soon as the three older ones got home from school.  He just called and said they would be here in about forty-five minutes.” 

I changed clothes and went to see how the horses were doing.  When I arrived at the stable, Denny, Dan and David were serving as midwives, helping in the delivery of a new foal.  Finally the new arrival was safely born into the world.   Denny looked at me, “It’s a good thing that we weren’t leaving until tomorrow.  This was one of the most complicated births that even I have experienced in the time I’ve been here.  Now Dan and David know what they’re in for.”

Denny came over to where I was standing, “I’m glad the boys weren’t here to see this.  Cole and Collie took the six boys to get them some clothes to take on their vacation.  I’ll talk to you later.  Come on, Dan and Dave, let’s get cleaned up before the others get back.”

I watched as the three brothers were walking toward the trailer and I was thinking, ‘I thank my lucky stars that that Denny, Collie and Patty have been here for us and the boys.’

I was walking toward the house when I saw the van coming toward Summerhill.  I walked to where the van would be parking.  I watched as six young boys piled out of the van.  Each of them had two bags.  Benji came and hugged me as did the other three boys.  Mikey volunteered, “Dad decided that we needed some sandals and some other things to take with us on our vacation.  Him and me were packing this afternoon and he decided that we needed some more clothes, since we won’t have a wash machine at the hotel.  Dad says it’s expensive to get clothes cleaned at a hotel.”

Jimmy added, “Our Daddy and Mommy thought that we should get some new things for our vacation, too.”

I hugged Cole, “Well, Dad, how much did this shopping expedition cost us?”

Cole grinned, “I’ll tell you as soon as I’ve had my lesson in white-balling.”

When we went into the house, Benji looked at me, “Dads, could you help us take the tags off these clothes, so we can wash them before we wear them.  The school nurse says that even new clothes have germs on them and should be washed before you wear them.”

As we were finishing dinner, we saw Cole’s old truck pull up.  Greg and Jordon exited the truck.  Benji went to greet them.  “Hey Biggest Giant, who’s your friend?  He looks like Aunt Karen.”

Jordan grabbed Benji, “I’m your Aunt Karen’s baby brother and I’m here to make sure you don’t hurt the Biggest Giant.  Are we going skinny dipping tonight?”

Benji looked at Jordan, “I will if you will.  Dads, the Biggest Giant’s mean friend wants to know if we can go skinny dipping?”

Karen giggled, “Man, does Benji have you pegged, Jordan.”

Cole stood and shook Jordan‘s hand, “It’s good to see you again, Jordan.  Have you met the rest of my family?”

Jordan smirked, “Dr. Christiansen, embarrassed me today in front my boss.  I take it that I was just attacked by Benji, but I haven’t met the three other good looking gentlemen.”

Man, was Jordan smooth.  He sure knew how to win friends.

Cole introduced the other boys and they went to shake Jordan's hand.  Jordan looked at me, “Dr. Christiansen, I can’t decide which of the four boys I want to take home with me.”

I grinned, “Jordan, I’m afraid that we need all four them here.  You’ll just have to come visit them.  Benji, go see if Dan, David, Jimmy and Johnny want to go swimming with us.”

Cole and I started to take our things to the sink and the boys brought their dishes. Cole rinsed them and put them in the dish washer.  I was surprised when Greg and Jordan brought the last of the things.  Benji returned, “Uncle Denny isn’t going swimming with us, but the rest are.  Uncle Dan is going to bring the wagon in ten minutes.  They’re just finishing the dishes.”

When we arrived at the lake, there was no hesitation on anyone’s part about getting naked.  As usual, Benji was the first to dive into the water from the platform.  Jordan looked at us, “Wow, is he ever smooth.  You should get him into organized swimming.  I’d give my eyeteeth if I could look so good.”

Greg waded into the water but Jordan went to platform and dove in.  Benji swam over to Jordan, “Mr. Jordan, you must be a a swimmer.  We need to teach the Biggest Giant to swim.”

When all twelve of us were in the lake, Jordan swam over to us.  “Dr. C. and Cole, you sure do have some neat sons.  I can’t believe that the six young guys are not intimidated by the male body.  I applaud you for being so open with them.”

I shrugged my shoulders, “We try to be as open as possible with them.  As we told Dave and Dan, we have no problem with the boys seeing naked men, as long as there is nothing sexual happening.  It’s none of my business, but how did you and Greg become friends.”

We were interrupted before Jordan could answer, by Benji, “Dads, what time will we be home tomorrow from the wedding.  The Biggest Giant wants to bring his brothers to go swimming.”

We swam over to the ramp, where Greg was sitting with the three youngest boys.  I answered Benji’s question, “Greg, you certainly may bring your brothers swimming anytime you would like.  But you should probably have an accomplished swimmer with you, such as Jordan.  Benji, I have no idea what time we’ll get back tomorrow.  We’ll have to see what Trent and Cyndi have planned.  Since you and Dad Cole are going to be in the wedding party, we’ll need to stick around until the festivities are over.”

“Guys, we need to be going back to the house, since Jimmy and Johnny are leaving in the morning for their vacation and we’ll need to leave here at eight so we’re in time for Trent’s graduation.”

When we arrived at the house, Benji went to get the guys some cookies and milk before they took their showers.  We were sitting in the kitchen while the guys were eating their snacks.  When the boys had finished their snacks, Benji asked, “Who’s going to come shampoo and condition our hair?”

Cole stood, “I’ll be your slave tonight.  Your Daddy needs to save his energy.”

Greg stood, “Dr. C., thanks for everything.  We’ll see you later.  I need to get Jordan home before he turns back into a leprechaun.  It’s almost impossible to find him when he’s in that state.”

Cole laughed, “He must have a lot of shrinking to do, in some areas, when he turns into a leprechaun.”

Greg giggled, “I’ll never tell.”

When Cole and I were finally in bed and he’d had his lesson in white-balling, he had his head on my shoulder, “I would never have put Greg and Jordan together.  I’m really curious as to how they got together.”

When we arrived at Athens at nine o’clock, we went to where our seats were to be.  We were seated with the Nixon clan and Cindy’s family.  After the graduation ceremony, we went directly to the chapel for a quick rehearsal.  Boy was it quick, since there were four weddings scheduled that afternoon.”

After the rehearsal, we were invited to the luncheon at a private club that was hosted by Rob and Leonora Nixon.

The wedding was scheduled for four o’clock, so we had time to go see the apartment that Cole was going to be staying in when he couldn’t get home, and the boys decided that it would be okay. 

We arrived back at the chapel at 3:30, so Cole and Benji could change into their tuxedos.  The other three boys and I had changed in Cole’s apartment.  We made sure that the boys had gone to the bathroom at the apartment.

We were ushered to our seats by Jeff.  We were seated on the center aisle so the boys could see what was happening.  Mikey was on my lap and Mark and Matt were seated next to the aisle.  When the processional started, Cole came from the side followed by Trent.

The first person down the aisle was the flower girl, Cindy’s niece, who had been in Benji’s class.  She was followed by Benji who was carrying a satin pillow with two rings on it.   When he passed us, he wrinkled his nose to let us know he saw us.  He stood next to Cole.  The maid of honor made her entrance, then the traditional Here Comes The Bride started and everyone stood to watch as Cindy and her Dad came down the aisle.

When everyone was seated, the ceremony began.  It was a simple but very well-done ceremony.  Benji followed the directions as he had practiced earlier.  When the recessional started, the boys were watching as Cole exited with the maid of honor followed by Benji and the flower girl.  When Benji passed us he waved his fingers on his left hand as Cole had done.

We went to the fellowship hall where there was a receiving line.  Benji was standing next to Cole.  I wish I had my camera.  When he saw us, he had a big smile.”

He shook our hands as if we were strangers, but he whispered, “Save some cake for me, guys.”

It was going to be interesting to see what the boys did when they got to Cole.  I was pleased to see that they shook his hand and Mark winked at him.  I thought to myself, ‘I sure am lucky.’

I handed an envelope to Matt and had him take it to the gift table since Cole and I had no idea what to give the newly married couple since they would have almost anything they would need at Fairacres.

The boys and I were joined by Uncle Howie as we went to get our cake and punch.  He grinned, “You must be very proud of your two men.  They certainly look handsome.”

“Uncle Howie, I’m very proud of all five of my men.”

On the way back to Summerhill, the four boys fell asleep which was a rarity.  Cole was driving.  I put my hand on his thigh, “Cole, do you realize how lucky we are to have four beautiful sons?”

Cole nodded, “Douggie, I thank my lucky stars every day for you and the boys.”

When we pulled into Summerhill, Cole’s old truck was there.  As soon as Benji saw it, he asked, “Dads, can we go swimming?”

Cole answered, “Yes, but you need to hang up your good clothes and we can stay only a short time, since we still need to finish packing for your trip, tomorrow.  We also probably need to find something to eat.”

There was no argument and we all made a quick change of clothes and were off in the carts headed for the lake.  When we parked the carts, Dan and David were there with Greg and Jordan and three young boys whom I estimated to probably be about eleven, nine and seven.

When Greg saw us, he had a sheepish grin, “You said we could come swimming anytime, so we decided to take advantage of your offer, since I’m babysitting.”

Benji was in the water faster than greased lightening.  He swam to the three boys, “I guess you’re the Biggest Giant’s brothers.  I’m Benji, and those are my three brothers Mark, Matt and Mikey.  Our two Dads brought us, so we could swim.”

Greg was laughing, Benji and everyone, “These are my three brothers Gary, who is eleven; Grant, who is nine, and Georgie who seven.”

Georgie took exception, “Please call me Gio.”

Benji shook their hands.  Gary asked, “How can you have two Dads?”

I was curious to see how Benji would answer, “We have two Dads because our mother died and now we have two Dads who love us and take care of us.  The Biggest Giant said you couldn’t swim.”

Gio shook his head, “The big guys have been trying to show us how to swim.  It’s really hard.”

Benji looked at his three brothers, “Come on guys, we need to show these guys how easy it is to learn to swim.”

I looked at the young people who were in the lake, “Cole and I are going back to the house.  We need to fix something to eat.  We’ll have a picnic so everyone be there in forty five minutes.”

Gio asked, “Are we invited to the picnic?”

Cole answered, “Of course.”

When we got back to the house, Cole and I went to the kitchen and there was a note from Patty and Karen.  ‘We fixed some potato salad and baked beans that you can have either tonight or tomorrow.  There’s hamburgers and hotdogs in the fridge.  We’ll be back late Monday night.’

When the wagon pulled up, it was a sight to behold.  The seven young guys were laughing and everyone was dressed only in their briefs.  Grant looked at us, “Benji said we didn’t need to put the rest of our clothes on, since there weren’t any women here and we forgot to take towels for us to get dry.”

Cole chuckled, “Guys, you all look fine.  You look as if you had bathing suits on.  We have lots of food, so get ready to eat.  We’ll eat in the picnic area so there will be lots of space for us and you won’t have to get dressed until your briefs dry.”

The seven youngest guys were eating at one table and the six older people were eating at another.  When the seven youngest were eating their watermelon slices, they decided to see who could spit the seeds the furthest.

Greg looked at Cole and me, “Gentlemen, this is the happiest I have seen those three boys in a long time.  My parents are wonderful, but they have had to struggle all their lives to make a go of it and there has never been any money for us to do much fun stuff.  Your sons are so unassuming.”

I looked at Greg, “Why did you say that our sons were unassuming?  I’m not sure what you meant by that.”

Cole put his hand on my arm to tell me to be careful, “Dr. Christiansen, the house that my family lives in isn’t nearly as big as the trailer where Denny and his family live.  There are nine people in our family.  I’m the oldest child and the three guys who are with us are the youngest.  We have three sisters who are in their teens.  All I meant by my comment was that your sons have no idea how lucky they are to have two Dads who are able to take care of them.  I’ve probably upset you.”

“Greg, you haven’t upset me at all.  You and your brothers are welcome here anytime, but I still would like to know how you and Jordan hooked up.  Cole mentioned that he was surprised as well.”

Jordan smirked, “I’m beginning to think that you and Cole are sex fiends.  If you must know, it happened our freshmen year in high school.

Greg was in the shower in the locker room after basketball practice and I went into the shower after swim team practice.  I was at the shower next to his since it was the only one that was open.  For some reason, I slipped and Greg caught me.”

Greg took over.  “When I caught him, it was as if a something passed between us.  We’ve been good friends ever since.”

Jordan resumed the story, “Dr. C. and Cole, I don’t know how much you know about Karen’s and my family.  Our Father is Minister of the First Baptist Church in Harwood, so Greg and I have had to be very discreet.  Our problem has been exacerbated by the fact that I attend the University of Georgia.  I have to be very careful, even though I have a swimming scholarship or my parents will cut off the money lines.”

Dan and Dave had been listening to the conversation.  Dan took a deep breath, “Davey and I thought we had it bad.  It looks as if we all stepped into the bucket at the end of the rainbow when Dr. C. punched that man in the nose at Harwood College for touching his son.”

To be continued...

Editor's Notes: It is very nice to see some of the pieces falling into place.  Greg and Jordan seem to be a very nice couple. I somehow thing that their lives will be a lot better from now on.  I think that anyone who becomes friends with Doug and Cole will have their lives enriched.

I want more chapters.

Darryl AKA The Radio Rancher

Posted: 01/22/10