The Mark and the Mole
by: E Walk

(© 2007 by the Author)
 

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Chapter 33
Decisions, Decisions

I was surprised when I got downstairs and the coffee was already made.  I had tried to be very quiet, but Chad was sitting there with his two sleeping sons.  He looked at me, “Dad, I want to get the Iowa City experience out of my life as soon I can.  Would you have any objection if we went to Iowa City today and got the rest of our personal things.  Perhaps I can get Dirk and Kevin to help us.  I just don’t want to interrupt your time with the four little guys.  They are so looking forward to spending time with you and Dad Mike.”

I was almost not sure what to say, but then the words spilled out, “Son, do what you think you need to do.  I can always sign any papers that I need to sign and send them back to Mr. Crouch.  I think you are right that we can’t go back on our promise to the boys.  They need to know that they are as important to us as are you all.”

Chad hugged me, “Dad, I’ll wait and talk to the others when they get up and make the plans.  Have a great day.”

As I was driving to the television station, I was trying to remember what life had been like before we had all of these wonderful young people and children around us.  We sure were leading a boring life.

When I got to work I was concentrating on the work that had to be done, but at the house, things were moving like feet walking over burning coals.  Chad called Dirk and made arrangements for him and his brothers and sister and their fiancés to go with him to Iowa City and then he called Kevin and Kendra to see if they wanted to go. 

He had Jenny call Greg Rodgers to see if he would like to go and there was no hesitation at all, so everyone was going to Iowa City, including Grandmother and Dad leaving only Mike and the four boys at home.   Chad had called Ray and made arrangements for the visit and Judge Yeager and Officer Nelson were going to take care of the boys while the rest collected the personal things that needed to be taken out of the houses.  Chad had even arranged for a Rent a Truck so that they could bring the things back to Des Moines. 

Dad and Grandmother called and reported that the people all worked hard and all of the personal things were out of the houses.  Chad signed the paperwork with the young couple and explained that since he was still a minor, that I needed to sign the papers.  He told them that they were free to move in.  If you find anything that you think we might want, Mr. Crouch knows how to contact me.

Dad and Grandmother made arrangements to return to Iowa City for their closings and to get their household items put into storage.

It was nearly eight o’clock when the contingent arrived back from Iowa City. Chad had Dirk’s brother, Dylan parked the rented truck in the driveway and declared, “Everyone, thanks for your help.  I think we all need to rest.  It has been a long day.”

When Chad, Tim, Jenny, Di and Dee walked into the house with Jon and Mark, it was like the four young guys were waiting to pounce.  Bobby started, “Welcome home everyone, we had a great day with the Dads.  We rode the bumper cars and then we played miniature golf.”

Jason interrupted, “Yeh, I won the golf game and then we went to the bowling alley and Dad Mike blew us away.  I’m sure that he and Dad Doug cheated.”

Billy took over, “After the Dads cheated, they felt so guilty that they took us to Fuddruckers so we could build our own burgers.  Thanks for not making us go to Iowa City.”

Jeremy added, “Yeh, I hope I never see another gun.”

Chad glared at the guys, “Look you twerps, why aren’t you in bed.  Get up the steps and get some rest.  You have to unload the truck tomorrow after we go to church.  We’ll all go with Grandmother tomorrow.”

Tim looked at Chad, “But Grandmother isn’t Catholic.”

Chad shook his head, “The church I went to last week didn’t seem the same as back in Iowa City.  The  people weren’t friendly and the Father looked at me with a look that almost said he was bored with what was happening.  We’ll take Jon and Mark and if they get fussy, I’ll take them out so they don’t disrupt the service.  Now everyone needs to get to bed.”

Chad had spoken and everyone disappeared.  Chad took Jon and Mark into the kitchen and was feeding them cereal when I went to check.  Chad looked at me, “Dad, I thought you had to go to work early again tomorrow.  Go to bed.  Everything is under control.”

Mike and I went upstairs and it was totally quiet,  I think everyone was worn out.  Mike and I took our showers but there was no messing around.  We were both too worn out.

We had crawled into bed naked and the next thing I remember, someone was shaking me, “Dad, it’s time to get up or you’re going to be late for work.”

I looked at the clock and jumped out of bed. 

Chad looked at me and started to laugh, “Nice wood, Dad.  I hope my sons don’t see it anytime soon.  The coffee is started and I’m going back to bed.”

I quickly got ready for work then hurried downstairs and started to get a cup of coffee before I left.  There was a note on the coffee maker, ‘Have a great Dad, we love you.’

As I was driving to the station, all I could think about was that this was Chad’s and his two sons’ fault.  Why else would I be going to work at this ungodly hour on a Sunday morning.

I was to find out later that the rest of the family would be suffering too.  At eight o’clock, Chad went around banging a pot lid with a wooden spoon and had everyone up and getting ready for church.  When they assembled in the kitchen, he fed everyone a warm bagel and whatever they wanted on it along with some fruit.

When they walked into the church, the group was accosted by Dirk and his family.  Everyone had just gotten seated when Frank, Elaine, Kendra and Kevin arrived.  That caused some shifting in seats but the amazing thing was that Mark and Jon didn’t make a sound during the service.

Chad was enthralled by the young pastor.  As Chad was leaving with Dirk, they each were carrying one of the boys.  The pastor looked at Dirk, “Who’s your friend, Dirk?”

Dirk looked at the pastor, “Oh, that’s the Wringer and these are his two sons.”

The pastor was laughing, “So does the Wringer have another name and what might his sons’ names be?”

Chad put down the carrier that Mark was in and shook the young pastor’s hand.  “My name is Chad Walker and these are my sons, Mark and Jon Walker.  I’ll let the rest of my family introduce themselves as the come by.  Pastor Taylor, would you be willing to baptize my sons sometime soon?”

The young man looked at Chad, “Chad, I would be delighted to baptize your two sons.  They would be the first children I have baptized at this church.  I just arrived at this church six weeks ago and the congregation is a little older.  It is so good to see some new young people here.  Maybe we can work together to bring in some more new young people.  Call me when you have time.  Where is the boys’ mother?”

Dirk answered for Chad, “Pastor Taylor, the boys’ mother has gone to a better place.  Chad will tell you about it when he meets with you.  We have taken enough of your time and we have a truck that we need to unload before the slave laborers disappear.”

When I got home, Chad, Dirk and his brothers, Kevin, Tim and Greg were unloading the truck and stacking everything in the garage.   Chad was determined to get the truck back to the rental place before they closed at five o’clock.  Kendra was taking care of the twins.

When the truck was empty Chad approached Mike and me, “Dads, could you please return the truck to the rental place for me?  You'll need to fill the gas tank before you take it back or they will charge you a huge penalty plus the price of the fuel, which I am sure would be much higher than at a normal gas station.  Keep track of how much you spend so I can reimburse you.”

I thought Dad was going to have a stroke, “Chad, listen to me.  I’ll go with the guys to return the truck and pay the bills.  I don’t want you paying for anything.  Remember, there were things from all three houses in the truck so it is not your responsibility to pay for anything.”

Chad glared, “Whatever you say, Granddad, but remember we do have some money and we need to learn to take care of ourselves.”

Dad went with me as Mike drove the rental truck to the gas station and we filled the tank and turned the truck in.  Dad paid the bills and made sure he kept the receipts.

When we got home, Chad accosted me, “Dad, you need to sign these papers, please, so we can get them mailed back to Mr. Crouch in the morning.”

At dinner, Dad announced, “I’m going to Iowa City tomorrow to get Mother’s and my things packed and out of the houses.  I have arranged to have the things separated.  One shipment will come here to the house to fill the new bedrooms and the second will go into storage until the addition is built.  Chad, I’ll take the paperwork to Ray for you while I am there.”

I was surprised at Chad’s reaction.  “Grandmother, perhaps you had better go with Granddad.  I’ll stay home from school and take care of the boys.”

Grandmother reacted immediately, “Chad, you will go to school and we’ll take the boys with us.  I’ll get some of my friends to come to help me, and the boys will be just fine.  We may be late coming back tomorrow night, so Jenny will have to fix dinner.”

Bobby put his head on the table, “Oh no, I can see it now.  We’ll be having soup and sandwiches.”

Dad looked at the children.  “Jenny, you will need to get someone to bring you home, since the guys have baseball practice.”

Chad looked at Dad, “I’ll make sure the children get home.  If the coach doesn’t like it, he can lump it, since I’m going to be playing under duress anyway.  When the weather is nice, the four young guys could walk to and from school if they stuck together.”

Bobby added his two cents, “That’s what we have been trying to tell everyone, but no one listens.  Some of our friends walk even further than we would have to, since we only live four blocks from the school.  There would be a gaggle of people, so nothing is going to happen and we don’t even have to cross any major streets.”

Chad looked at Jenny, “Okay, I’ll meet you immediately after school and then we’ll pick up Di and Dee.  Bobby, your in charge until Jenny and the twins get home.  Tim can let the coaches know that I’ll be back.  What happens if someone gets sick or has an accident?”

Mike looked at Chad, “Son, please think positive instead of negative.  Nothing is going to happen.  Please, just take one thing at a time.  We can’t control everything.”

Chad started to get tears, “Dads, I can’t help being pessimistic.  Too many bad things happened to us before the good things started to happen.  It is still difficult for me especially, to comprehend everything that you and everyone else have done for us.”

After dinner, Chad was looking at the four youngest boys' school folders and told them to show them to Mike and me and have us sign them.  Everything was quiet and then the dam must have broken because all of a sudden Dirk, Kevin, Kendra and Greg appeared.  So much for a quiet evening.

Kevin and Tim were studying in the kitchen, Kendra, Chad and Dirk had Mark and Jon in the dining room studying and Jenny and Greg were working on a project in the den.  Grandmother and Dad had gone to their rooms and we took the four youngest boys to get ready for bed.  While they were having their desert, Kevin and Tim came and sat down with Mike and me.

Kevin started to speak reluctantly, “Uncle Mike and Uncle Doug, how upset would you be if we made love to each other?”

Talk about a time bomb.  Mike recovered first.  “Look guys, you are too young to penetrate each other, because one or both of you could be hurt.  Please guys, I implore you to not engage in that act until you are 18 and then whatever you do is your business.  You are only juniors in high school.  You have a year and a half before you even think about going to college and whatever.  Listen to me and listen to me well, you are going to get yourselves ostracized if you don’t seem to be playing the game while you are in high school.”

Mike looked at me and I took over, “Guys, your fellow high school students can be very cruel.  When you get to college, people couldn't care less for the most part.  Like Mike suggested, play like your average high jocks and chase all of the skirts and you’ll be fine.  What you do otherwise is none of anyone’s business.  There are going to be minutes when you are jealous about something that is happening, but if you truly like each other, you won’t let that come between you.”

I took a deep breath, “Like Mike suggested, anal sex shouldn’t even be an option until after you are graduated from high school.  I realized I was gay when I was 15 and I thought I was in love several times before I met Mike.  But guys, I never let anyone penetrate me until Mike did.  I did so only after we had been seeing each other for over a year and I was twenty three.  Now, do either of you have any questions?”

Kevin looked at us, “Why couldn’t our dads sit down and talk to us like this?”

Mike answered, “Kevin, first your Dad isn’t gay so he is probably having a difficult time accepting the fact that you might be gay and besides he doesn’t understand all that it is involved in being gay.  Think about Tim’s father; while I never met him, I’m guessing that he would have gone totally ape if he even suspected that Tim might even be gay, seeing how he reacted to Chad when he got Jodie pregnant.”

I took over, “Guys, just remember this, and I say it again, if you ever want to talk about anything that is bothering you or if you aren't sure about something, please come to the two of us.  We have had some rough times as we have aged and maybe we can help smooth the way for you.”

The two guys hugged us and I was about to suggest that it was time for the visitors to go home, but Dirk beat me to it, “We’re going to leave now. See you all tomorrow.”

Kendra looked at Jenny, “I’ll bring you, Di and Dee home so the coach won’t yell at the guys.  We’ll see you tomorrow.”

I watched as Chad took his two sons to the bedroom; I realized he was going to give them a bath before he fed them.  I went to help him while Mike locked up. 

As I walked in, I heard Chad say, “Jon, you are going to be a hit with the ladies if what everyone says is true.  Men with big feet have big penises.  You look like yours is going to be as big as Dad Mike’s.”

I couldn’t help myself and started to laugh, “Chad, so instead of singing lullabies to your sons, you talk to them about sex.”

Chad wasn’t deterred, “Dad, I figure that it is very important to hear about sex from a very early age, so that they won’t be blindsided later on.  I plan to be very honest with my two sons.  They need to know that sex isn’t dirty when done correctly.  I don’t want them to make the same mistake that I did.  I don’t care if they are gay or straight.  I want them to realize that that they need to act responsibly.  Now here, dry Jon while give Mark his bath.”

I was drying and getting Jon ready for bed and Chad was talking to Mark, “Don’t worry son, your penis is going to be as big as Jon’s, but I think it is going to be a little thicker, like your Granddad Doug’s.”

That comment floored me, “Wait a minute Chad, I think I resent the fact that you’re telling my grandson about the size of my cock.”

Chad looked at me, “Dad, please use the proper terminology when you are around my sons.  I don’t want them talking about cocks because I’ll never know if they are talking about male chickens or penises.”

Chad had gotten Mark dressed and we went to the kitchen and Chad fixed the boys’ cereal.  Mike came in and he and I started to feed the goldfish.  I looked at Chad, “Son, go take your shower.  We’ll bring the boys up when they finish eating.  Arguing is not an option.  Please do as I asked.”

I was surprised when Chad didn’t even argue.  All he said was, “Whatever, dear Dads.”

When we took the boys to Chad’s room, he was lying there in his briefs reading.  He looked at us, “Thanks Dads.  I was able to blow off a little steam knowing the boys were being taking good care of.”

Mike looked very serious, “Mr. Walker, was the steam white or rather colorless?”

Chad started to laugh, “Doctor Long, I’m not sure, because it went floating down the drain before I could check it out.  The sewer is probably now pregnant.”

We put the boys in their cribs and sat down beside Chad.  Mike looked at Chad, “Son, you are one of the most complex persons I have ever met.  I never know what you are going to come up with.  I am so glad that you can be a teenager some of the time.  It’s time to go to bed and stop worrying about everything and let the adults do the worrying for a change.”

Mike and I both hugged Chad as we left.  As we were leaving, Chad whispered, “Good night Dads, we love you.”  

To be continued...

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Editor's Notes:  One of the things that I love most about E Walk's stories is that all the young people that he brings to our attention, are very smart and they listen to other people's advice.  They don't always agree with what is told to them, and they give their reasons as to why they were doing what they were doing,  Sometimes what they say makes so much sense that it makes the adults stop and think, and in some cases, it may even change the way the adults think about things. 

I have also found that kids, as a rule, will listen to adults, if the adults take the time to explain what the rules are for, and not just throw rules in the faces of the youngsters.  Most kids trust the adults around them unless the adults give them reasons to doubt the sincerity of what they say.

It boils down to the old, “fool me once” bit.  Fantasy and pretending is a fine thing, but a child needs to learn that his parents don't lie to him, because if he catches his parents lying to him, he will begin to have doubts about anything they tell him from then on. Kids are a lot smarter than we adults sometimes give them credit for.  Always remember that they are human beings too, maybe a bit less experienced than we are, but they have the ability to learn and believe me the do learn.

I am not saying that you have to tell them every detail of everything, but if the ask you a question then give them an age appropriate answer, and don't sugar coat it, and by all means, don't make up some cock and bull story that will fall apart the first time they think about it carefully. 

The trouble with making things up is that people can't really be consistent, because they don't remember what they said the last time.  Therefore the continuity goes out the window and the child begins to question what you say from then on. 

Of course I am talking about the silly stories about the stork bringing babies, and things like that. Don't tell them that they can get a girl pregnant by kissing her.  Tell them about the things that can happen if they do certain things, and let them know that as young teens, their hormones are trying very hard, pardon the pun, to control their lives, and that they shouldn't let that happen, and give them good solid reasons that they can understand.

Above all, make sure that you let them know in no uncertain terms that you love them and that your love is unconditional.  They can't possibly do anything that will make you stop loving them.  You might get angry or upset with a particular thing or behavior they do, but you will never stop loving them.  All children and adults, for that matter, need to know that they are loved.

When it comes to punishment for something serious, never punish someone when you are angry. Take a few minutes to calm down before you even think about what the punishment is going to be. 

No one should let anger take control of them. It is a powerful force and can make a person do things that they would never even think of doing under normal circumstances. 

I learned a long time ago that there was a very good reason for my mom saying, “Wait till you father gets here,” instead of punishing me herself. That gave her time to think about it and what she would say to Dad. She had a pretty big temper and if she lost it she could spank pretty darn hard.   He very seldom spanked me. But when he did, it was with calm resolve and with the complete explanation as to why I needed it.  The funny thing was that when he got angry at me for something I did wrong, he would send me in to “Tell Mom what happened,” which I am sure was his version of calming himself down.

So ends another of my mini rants. Funny how I never know one of these things is coming on. I need to get better control of my rant supply and not let it jump out unbidden like that.

This was a great chapter, as are all of E Walk's chapters.

Darryl AKA The Radio Rancher

Posted: 08/29/08