The Fremont Saga
by: E Walk
(© 2009 by the Author)
 

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Chapter 21 

The Meanest Kid In Town

When we arrived at the Pizza House, Ron and his brother were waiting for us.  I hadn’t met the young boy who appeared to be a little older than Timmy.  Ron started, “Hi everyone, this is my brother Randy.”

Ron introduced everyone and saved me until last, for some reason, “Brian is the person whose paintings we went to see when we went to London.”

No one was prepared for what was going to happen.  Randy started to walk toward me and the next thing I knew I was being kicked on the shin, “That’s what I think of you and your stupid paintings.  They suck.  Ron, I don’t want to be here with these people if their friends with what’s his face.”

Timmy had the funniest look on his face, “Brian, why is he talking and acting like that?  What did we do to him?”

Ron answered, “Timmy, you did nothing to him.  He’s just being his spoiled self.  I’ll make him sit at a table by himself while the rest of us visit.”

Fortunately the restaurant wasn’t busy, so Ron was able to make good on his threat to have Randy sit at a table by himself.  Randy yelled, “Wait till I tell Dad and Mom what you did to me?  Your ass will be grounded for weeks.  I wanted a Supreme personal pan pizza with large coke.”

Timmy looked at Randy, “If you can pay for it, then order it.  We’re not paying so you can act so mean and bossy.  Brian, whose going to pay for the pizza?”

“I guess it’s either you, Tanner or me, since we’re the only ones with any money.”  I had kicked Ron under the table to warn him not to say anything.

“Why don’t we play rock, scissors and paper to see who has to pay for the food.”

Timmy asked, “What is rock, scissors and paper?  I don’t understand.”

Randy came over to the table, “Don’t you know anything, kid?”

He explained the game to Timmy far better than I could have.  Randy said, “When I count to three, you three have to show whether you’re a piece of paper, a pair of scissors or a rock.”

On the first go around, all three of us put out fist signifying that we were rocks.  Timmy asked, “What happens now?”

Randy grinned, “You have to play again.”

Randy whispered something in Timmy’s ear and Timmy nodded.

When Randy counted three, I put out my pointer finger and middle finger signifying that I was scissors.  Tanner had a fist and touched my hand before I could cut Timmy’s hand which signified that he was paper.  Randy gloated, “I guess the hot shot person who thinks he is a painter is buying tonight.”

Ron stood, “Randy, I’m serious.  Either behave or we’re leaving, and when I tell the parents how you behaved, you aren’t going to be able to sit down for days.  Now sit down and be nice.”

My poor debit card was much lighter after I had paid for three large pizzas, a large order of wings and the drinks.  When we walked in the house, Dad laughed, “Timmy, did you eat your food or are you wearing it?”

 

“Daddy, that’s mean.  I’ve never had any of those wing things before and there is no way to eat them without getting messy.  You should see how dirty Randy was.  Ron made him go into the bathroom and get cleaned up before he would let Randy get in his car.  Mother, I promise I didn’t make a mess in your van.  I’ll go take a shower so I don’t make a mess in the house and I’m really pretty tired.  The guys wore me out.”

“Come on Timmy, we’ll take a shower at the same time to save time.  Where are Will and Archie?”

Dad answered, “They departed for Denver to visit some friends,  They’ll be back in time for you game on Tuesday.”

I looked at Tanner and Ricky, “What game and who are we going to be playing?”

Tanner answered, “If you wouldn’t have skipped out of practice, you would have heard that we have to play Papillion LaVista South on Tuesday at four o’clock.  The early game is Westside against Millard West.”

I threw up my hands, “No one ever tells me the important stuff.  At least I won’t have to play against Derek on Tuesday.  Come on, Timmy, I have some paintings to work on.”

I had gotten Timmy out of the shower and made sure he was dry and was shampooing my hair when I heard the bathroom door open.  I figured it was Timmy coming in to brush his teeth or Tanner coming to get ready for bed.  I stepped out of the shower and went to grab my towel and Dad was standing there.

I started to dry my hair and body as if it was an everyday occurrence to have my Dad standing there watching me.  When I finished, I looked at Dad, “Dad, I’m sure you didn’t come to check out my body.  Is there another problem that I’m not aware of?”

“Brian, I want to apologize again for causing what happened last night.   I should know by now that you would never deliberately harm anyone unless they were doing something to someone you loved.”

You said some things at lunch time today that have caused me to do a lot of soul searching.  You’ll understand after we can talk in private this weekend.  Now go to bed.  You’re going to need all the strength you can get for the next week.” 

Dad hugged me even though I was still naked.   I went to blow dry my hair and brush my teeth before I went I went to get ready for bed.

Tanner entered, “Is it safe for me to come in?”

“Of course, you silly goose.  Why wouldn’t it be safe?  Did you expect me to be writhing in a pool of blood in the middle of the bathroom floor?”

“Your Dad was in here a long time and it was scary.  I waited until he left before I came in.”

“First off, Tanner, you seem to forget that he’s your Dad to.  Unless he had asked you to not to come in, you had every right to enter the bathroom.  Get your shower if you're going to take one, and if not, get ready for bed.  All of a sudden, I’m physically and mentally exhausted.”

“Brian, is everyone going to be okay?”

“Tanner, we know that Timmy, you and I are going to be okay.  Mother mentioned that Will and Archie are contemplating having Justin go back to the Chalet in Switzerland and live with them.  I haven’t the foggiest idea what’s going to happen to Ricky.  We need to talk to the parents and find out what might happen to him.”

Tanner hugged me, even though I was still naked, “I still don’t understand why all of a sudden Ricky is staying here.  I didn’t even know that you knew Ricky and all of a sudden he’s staying here.”

“Tanner, let me get some clothes on.  I'll explain why Ricky is here, later.”

Timmy was already asleep when I crawled into bed.  I turned out the light on my night stand and Tanner arrived and did likewise.  Even though I was exhausted, I had a very difficult time because my mind kept revisiting the events of the last twenty-four hours plus or minus a few.

I was awakened the next morning, by Timmy whispering, “Dad, we can’t go running today or at least not right now.  It’s snowing.  It’s getting pretty deep.  We need to go shovel the sidewalks.  I’ve never seen snow before that I can remember.

“Timmy, let’s worry about the sidewalks after breakfast.  Since this is the first snow, it probably won’t last long.  It’ll probably melt before we can even shovel it.  Let’s go start breakfast.”

When Timmy and I arrived in the kitchen, Timmy was looking out the window, “Brian, I don’t think this is going to melt.  Look how the tree branches are hanging down.  I thought snow was light and fluffy.”

I looked out and had to agree, “Timmy, this is going to be a backbreaker.  We should probably eat first, but you don’t have any boots or mittens, so I’ll go see if I can start the snow blower.  Go wake the other guys and have them fix breakfast while I go see if I can keep ahead of the snow.  I don’t think we’re going to be going very far today.”

Fortunately the snow blower started after I gassed it and primed it.  I had the driveway cleared and was starting on the sidewalk when someone was tapping me on the shoulder.  I looked to see who was there, and it was Tanner.  He talked into my ear, “Brian, go eat.  We can help.  You don’t need to do this by yourself.  Your Dad’s boots fit me fine, so I’ll do this while you take a break.  I‘ve already eaten.”

As soon as I had shed my parka, boots and gloves in the entryway because they were rather wet, Ricky was trying them on and announced, “I’ll go help Tanner while you eat.”

As I was eating, the parents and Timmy were watching television with Justin and the two sisters.  The announcer was saying. ‘Ladies and gentlemen, the brunt of the storm is expected to be over by about noon.  There is a warm front moving in from the south that may cause heavy thunderstorms as the two fronts collide.  The good news is that the rain will help make the snow dissipate, but the  collision of the two fronts could produce damaging winds.  The state police have suggested that only essential automotive traffic be on the road until the weather situation has stabilized.’

Timmy started to cry, “How are we going to take Grandmother’s food to her if we can’t drive, since it’s wet?”

I hugged Timmy, “We’ll worry about that when it’s close to lunch time.  We’ll get the food there, even if we have to ride a dog sled to take it.  Now help me do the dishes so I can go relieve one of the guys.”

Justin started to complain, “I feel so useless.  I should be out there helping the guys.”

Dad shook his head no, “Justin that’s not an option.  If you were to go out there, you might reinjure your leg.”

After the kitchen was cleaned, I went to relieve Tanner.  Fortunately I had another coat and another pair of boots in my closet.  The three of us were working and we had cleared the Leavitt’s driveway and sidewalk as well as ours, when the warm front passed through. The skies opened up and it started to rain and the wind started to blow.  Fortunately, the rain stopped and the sun popped from behind the clouds.”

When we entered the kitchen, Tanner, Ricky and I were a little damp to say the least.  I called Timmy, “Timmy, please go get us some dry clothes.   We’ll change in the laundry room so we don’t make a mess in the rest of the house.”

Justin stood, “Come on, Timmy, I’ll help you.  I need to be doing something useful.”

The guys returned with clean underwear, sweat pants, sweat shirts and socks for the three of us.  Timmy shrugged, “I hope these are okay.”

I hugged him, “They’re perfect.”

I closed the door and stripped and took a dry towel from the stack on the dryer and dried my body.  Tanner did the same and even Ricky reluctantly did likewise since Timmy was standing there.  Timmy picked up the clothes we had taken off and put them in washing machine, “Justin, you need to put the soap in and start the machine  since I don’t know what to do.”

After we were dressed, I went to see if I could help Mother with lunch.  Mother explained, “I'm going to slice some ham and everyone can make either a grilled ham and cheese sandwich a plain ham and cheese sandwich.  I think you should grill Grandmother’s for her and make her have some soup with it.  I made some stewed apples which she likes.  Tell her that we’re going to be having spaghetti and meatballs for dinner.”

When I had Grandmother’s lunch ready, I called, “Who's taking us to Grandmother’s house?”

Justin came into the kitchen, “I will, since I haven’t been able to do much else to help this morning.”

“Timmy, bring your new book and you can read to Grandmother while Justin and I finish fixing lunch.”

When we arrived at Grandmother’s condo, her sidewalk and driveway were cleared, so it was easy to get into the condo, kick off our shoes and not make a mess.  Timmy went to sit beside Grandmother so she could help him read his new book. 

Justin and I went to the kitchen and I pulled out two cans of tomato soup.  Here, fix these with milk while I cook the grilled ham and cheese sandwiches.  I dished up the apples and set the table while the sandwiches were starting to cook.  When everything was ready, I sent Justin to get the other two while I started to dish up.  I decided to serve everything on a single plate for each of us. 

Timmy came to help me and whispered, “Grandmother really likes to have her sandwiches cut into four parts.  It’s easier for her to eat that way and doesn’t look so big.”

Being the good grunt that I was, I decided to cut everyone’s sandwich into four parts.  As we were starting to eat, Grandmother pointed to the cupboard, “Timmy, there should be some saltines on the second shelf.  Would you get them, please?   They make it easier to eat the soup.”

Timmy jumped up and went to get the saltines.  We watched as Grandmother finished her bowl of soup while Timmy kept talking about the weather and what we did last night.  When Timmy told her about how Randy was behaving, she chuckled, “I hope you beat him up.  He sounds as if he needs a good spanking.”

Grandmother was slowing down on her sandwich, but she practically inhaled the stewed apples.  Timmy noticed, “Grandmother, I don’t really like apples like this.  If I give you my apples, can I have a piece of your sandwich, so Brian doesn’t yell at me.”

Grandmother pushed her plate toward Timmy, “I’ll help you out, so Brian won’t yell at you.”

Justin kicked me under the table.  I made a fist and put my thumb on my middle finger as if I was going to give him the bird.

He knew what I meant and grinned and shook his head no. 

The outcome of Timmy’s trade with Grandmother was that she ate everything that was on her plate and so did he.

As Justin and I were doing the cleanup, Justin commented, “That was a very clever manipulation job by young Timmy.  Are you sure he’s only eight.”

“Yep, he’s a special one, that’s for sure.”

Justin took a deep breath, “Brian, please promise me you won’t hit me, but I feel as if I need to say what’s on my mind.  After seeing you, Tanner, and Ricky naked this morning when you came in from shoveling, I’m feeling very inadequate in the endowment area.  I’m older than all of you and you’re all bigger than me.”

I decided to be silly, “Oh, so now it’s penis envy is it?”

“Brian, be serious. I’m not going be hitting on any of you guys.  I’ve already told your parents, Mr. Will and Mr. Archie that I would keep my dick in my pants.  Brian, I honestly don’t know if I’m gay, bisexual, asexual or heterosexual.  I just know that being around you people is different from anything that I’ve every experienced.  When that man would use me, it was always in the dark or a darkened room.  Brian, I haven’t been kissed by anyone since my Mother died. I feel so alone.”

Why I did what I did, I’ll never know.  I grabbed Justin and pulled him to me and forcefully started to kiss him and he was starting to respond.  He pulled away, “Brian, why did you have to do that?  I know you don’t love me and beside you were hurting me.”

“What do you mean?  I was hurting you.  I was only showing you what it’s like to be kissed.”

“Brian, my body is still very tender from where that man beat me.  Look at the front of my pants.  Not, only did I get an erection, I prematurely ejaculated.”

“Justin, the Devil made me do it.  I’m sorry if I offended you or hurt you. I’ll get our jackets and you can wear my parka to hide the signs of your problem until you have an opportunity to change.  All I can say is you sure do have a short trigger.”

“Brian, you’re absolutely evil.”

“I’ve been told that before.”

As I was getting our coats, I heard, “Way to go, oh evil Chief Wizard.  What are you going to do next?”

To be continued...

Editor's Notes:  Wow, this chapter really covered a few bases, didn't it. Let's see if we can put it all together. 

First of all, we arrive at the Pizza House.  Randy and Ron were already there.  Randy seems to be a bit of a snotty kid.  I have to wonder what his problem is.  One thing I noticed is that he dislikes Brian right from the get go.  That is unusual.  Randy also seems to be a smart aleck.  I have a feeling that he has feelings of poor self esteem.

Maybe we will learn more in the next chapter.

When the guys got home, Will and Archie had already left to visit some friends in Denver.  Let's see, does that mean we are going to see them somewhere else, sometime?

When Brian finished his shower, his dad wanted to talk to him, and apologize for the way he had treated Brian.  Beau wants to tell Brian his story, some time during the weekend. I hope Brian has the sense to let his dad talk to him without blowing up at Beau.

Brian is still acting a little strangely.  After Justin confessed that he had never been kissed, Brian pulled him close and kissed him.  That actually hurt Justin, a little.  He also got snapped at by Grandpa Nappy.  At least, that's who I think it was. Brian will probably get all upset that even Grandpa Nappy is picking on him.

I think it is going to be Winter pretty soon, if it isn't already.  Now we have had the first snow fall.  Luckily it seems that the weather has taken a turn for the better.  The rain will surely melt most, if not all, of the snow. 

I don't know if I got all the details in there, but I think I covered most of it.  I am certainly ready for more. 

Darryl AKA The Radio Rancher

Posted: 04/30/10