Pinochle
by: E Walk

(© 2007 by the Author)
Editor: Will B
 

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Chapter 33 

  Avoiding Publicity

This is Grant. 

Brian, Ben and I were just returning after having been chased out of the kitchen by Aunt Bea; Jaime and Shamus lit into us.  Jaime spoke for  the two of them, “Guys, please stop trying to take care of everything.  You are going to make it appear as if Shamus and I are shirking our responsibilities.  Ever since you three have arrived, it’ as if we are not domestic help, which we are.”

Ben looked Jaime and Shamus in the eye and pointed his finger, “Balderdash, we think of you both as friends and sons to Uncle Hank and Uncle Rod.  Now chill out, we don’t need to be pampered.  If we weren’t here what would you be doing?”

We didn’t realize it, but Uncle Rod and Uncle Hank had been listening at the door and Uncle Rod spoke up, “Jaime and Shamus, Benji is correct, you need to back off.  Until they do something to embarrass any of us, why worry.  It was the two of you who explained to them about our real relationship, so enjoy your vacation.  Look at it this way, they have no respect for the society here in Britain which is refreshing.  Now let’s figure out what we are going to be doing the rest of the day.”

The phone rang and Brian picked it up, “This is the home of Mr. Rod Cox and Mr. Hank Peters;  how may I direct your call? … Yes, this is Brian. … Oh, hi, Uncle Alistair, how’s Rupert doing after the ordeal? … Oh, so he’s being spoiled.  I’ll tell Uncle Hank and Uncle Rod that you wish to speak to them.”

Uncle Hank and Uncle Rod left and Brian asked, “Okay guys , what do you want to do today? 

Ben looked at me and I shook my head, “Guys, remember I never heard of Great Britain or England until three weeks ago.  I have no idea what is available to see.”

Ben answered, “We haven’t even touched what is to be seen in London and then there is the entire countryside around London.  I guess we could probably go to Oxford University or even Stratford on Avon where Shakespeare lived.”

Ben looked at Jaime and Shamus, “What would you suggest?”

Before they could answer, Uncle Rod and Uncle Hank returned from their phone conversation.  Brian looked at them, “Uncle Rod and Uncle Hank, what do you suggest we do today?  It’s such a nice day and it should be something relaxing after what we experienced this morning.”

Uncle Rod answered, “Gentlemen, that was Minister Smyth on the phone.  He suggested that we might want to get out of London for today.  It seems that some ambitious reporter has gotten wind of what happened at the park this morning and has even obtained some photos of what happened while the incident was occurring.”

“Both Mr. Smyth and The Deputy Minister for Public Affairs have requested that you not make any comments on what happened.  The story is set to be in the afternoon tabloids and they would prefer to control what is told to the public.”

Uncle Hank took over, “Why don’t we go to the beaches at Brighton and spend the day, since it is projected to be very warm?  Surely people won’t be looking for you there.  Why don’t you call your three lady friends and see if they would like to join us?”

Ben and Brian made the calls and not only were the three ladies going to be  going with us; but Ambassador Montoya insisted that Rafael drive the bus and that Shamus accompany us for security purposes.  

Jaime started to laugh, “Well, I guess I know where I stand.”

Uncle Hank shook his head, “That’s not the case at all.  Minister Smyth asked that you contact Matthew and make sure that he doesn’t say anything that could jeopardize the case.  In fact, why don’t you bring Matthew back to spend the evening with us when we go to the football match at Wembley Stadium.  You had better tell Mrs. Proust that we won’t be eating here tonight and that she should go spend some time with her grandchildren.”

This is Brian.

I was concerned, “Uncle Hank and Uncle Rod, I, for one, didn’t pack a swimming suit since I never even thought about going swimming while we were here.”

Shamus could hardly contain himself, “That’s okay Master Brian, we’ll just go to the nude beach and you will be right at home.”

I guess I must have looked funny because Jaime, Shamus, Uncle Rod and Uncle Hank were all laughing.

I was irritated now, “I am not going to go swimming naked when Vicky, Maria and Inga are around.  They would probably all laugh at me after they saw Ben and Grant.”

Shamus came over and put his arms around me, “Oh, Master Brian, if anyone laughs at you, Rafael and I will knock them silly.”

“Wait a minute, if I have to go naked, then so does everyone else, including Uncle Hank and Uncle Rod and especially you and Rafael.  That way everyone’s attention will be diverted away from me.  Everyone will be so startled or laughing so hard that they will forget all about me.  I’ll just cut off a pair of jeans and swim in them.”  I turned and started up the stairs.

This is Ben.

Jaime and Shamus followed Brian up the stairs.

I looked at the two older men, “Uncle Rod and Uncle Hank, Brian is right.  There is no way that Grant and I should be swimming in the nude.  That would only draw attention to us, and I don’t think we need that right now.  We probably should go to a store where we can buy some trunks.”

Uncle Hank laughed, “Yeh, I guess you and Grant might cause a riot.  We can stop at a store in Brighton and get you guys some swimwear.”

Brian and Shamus were coming down the stairs and Brian  was complaining,   “Shamus, these are obscene.  I might as well be nude.”

Shamus was laughing, “Yep, they sure don’t leave much to be imagined.  You’ll probably have all sorts of people clamoring to get close to your body.”

Uncle Hank and Uncle Rod turned to look at Brian.  Uncle Hank let out a loud “Woof.  You’re right Shamus, they sure don’t leave much to the imagination.  Brian, maybe it would be better if we went to the nude beach.”

“Wait a minute, you’re a married man.  You shouldn’t be gawking at my body even if it is beautiful.  Here Ben and Grant, try these on to see if you appear even half way decent.”

Our conversation was interrupted by Aunt Bea.  When she saw Brian standing in just his tight Speedo suit, she stopped, “I think I’m going to faint.  Mr. Peters and Mr. Cox, I’ll take him.  How much are you asking?”

Brian turned bright red, “I’m going to bed.  Everyone is making fun of me.”

Shamus added more salt to the wound, “Master Brian, I’ll come help you.  I’m sure that you will need help peeling those trunks off.”

Brian and Shamus left and Grant and I excused ourselves so we could go try on the shorts that Brian had handed us.  To our relief, they were board shorts and would do nicely as long as we were wearing our jock straps underneath them.

As we were taking the shorts off, I had a sudden urge to take care of Grant’s needs.  We were both naked and I pushed him onto the bed.  “I think Big Knock needs to be taken care of.”

Grant maneuvered his body, “I’ll check on Big Ben  while you are doing that.”

I guess we both needed the release big time because it sure didn’t take long before Grant was filling my mouth with something that was almost like clotted cream.

After we cleaned up the mess that we made, we went downstairs and could hear laughter coming from the kitchen.  We walked in and Uncle Hank and Uncle Rod were having a cup of coffee at the bar and Brian was helping Aunt Bea pack a picnic lunch for us to take to the beach.  When he saw us he stopped, “Well, if it isn’t the creamery boys.”

Before we could respond the doorbell rang and Jaime came back with Vicky, Inga, Maria and Rafael.  Brian looked up, “We’ll be ready in just a sec.  Our lunches are just about ready.”

When the picnic lunch was ready, we all gathered our things and Shamus directed Rafael on how to get to Brighton.  Traffic was horrendous, but we finally made it and were able to find a parking place close to the beach because we were in the embassy’s bus.

As we were walking to the beach, it became apparent that there were a large number of gay people in the area and Brian picked up on it.  “Uncle Hank and Uncle Rod, is this a gay resort?”

Vicky surprised everyone, “Brian, it is a gay friendly town, but it is also the beach where many of the influential people spend their summers.  The gay people will not bother us if we don’t bother them.  You can bet that you, Grant and Ben will be getting a lot of attention.”

Shamus threw up his hands, “So Victoria, you’re saying that Rafael and I are mincemeat?”

“That’s not what I’m saying at all.  Everyone can tell that you are a simple minded Irishman and that Rafael is a dashing young Iberian.  From the way that you two keep touching and looking at each other, it is readily apparent that you have something going between the two of you.  On the other hand, Brian, Ben and Grant have the wholesome country look that will make everyone stop and stare.”

We arrived at the beach and Shamus and Rafael had two large blankets for us to sit on and Uncle Rod rented four beach umbrellas for when we wanted to get out of the sun.  After everything was set up, the six of us of us teenagers went to change.

This is Brian.

While we were changing, two teenagers who I would guess were about sixteen came into the changing area to change.  When they saw Ben and Grant they looked like their eyes were going to pop out of their sockets.  One of the guys looked at me and asked, “Have you ever seen anyone with such big peckers before?”

I didn’t know what to say, so I was very blunt, “If you are talking about my brother and his roommate, I have seen them before.”

The one guy continued, “What do they look like when they get woodies?”

I shook my head, “I haven’t seen them when there penises were in the hardened state, but I’m guessing they would be rather lethal.”

The other teenager looked at me, “You ain’t from around here are you?  You talk like a foreigner.”

I kept my composure, “No, we’re from the United States and are visiting our Uncles for the week.  Now, if you will excuse us, we need to get back to our dates and our uncles.”

As we were walking back to the area that we had staked out, I explained to Ben and Grant what had happened.  As we were approaching our blankets, Vicky looked at me, “Oh, my goodness, Brian couldn’t you have found a brighter color of suits and perhaps one that didn’t reveal everything.  At least Ben and Grant’s stupid baggy shorts makes my mind wonder what it is that they are hiding.”

Uncle Hank shook his finger, “Victoria, wait until I tell your parents how you were talking.  I can’t believe a good upstanding British lady would talk like that.”

Maria and Inga were laughing at me and Inga started, “Hey Bri, I hope those little training pants don’t turn out to be transparent when they get wet or there is going to be a riot on the beach.”

This is Grant.

I could tell that Brian was getting irritated so I yelled, “Last one in the water pays for dinner.”

With that, Brian took off and was in the water before any of the rest of us.  I was surprised when even Uncle Hank and Uncle Rod joined us.  When Brian saw Rafael in his suit he yelled, “Hey everyone look at the Iberian monster; his suit almost doesn’t even cover him.”

With that said, Rafael disappeared and all of a sudden Brian was floundering in the water.  Rafael had pulled Brian’s bathing suit down so he couldn’t even walk.  Brian broke free and adjusted his suit and the war was on.  Brian was joined by the two young guys from the bathhouse who started to manhandle Ben and me while Brian was tormenting Rafael and Shamus.

Brian called out, “Truce, there are too many innocent bystanders around for us to be doing this.  Let’s just swim and have a good time.  I’ll get even when everyone least expects it.”

Vicky and Brian were standing talking to the two older teenagers from the bathhouse when something caught Brian’s eye.  “I’ll be back shortly.  Vicky go tell Ben and Grant that there is a problem.”

Brian took off and swam furiously toward a young boy who was floundering in the water.  The young lad had disappeared and Brian dove and brought him to the surface; he was holding him as he swam to the shore.  Ben helped Brian carry the young boy who appeared to be about eleven to the beach and laid him so they could perform CPR on him. 

Brian was almost in tears as he was doing what he had been taught in  his Red Cross course when he qualified for his life saving badge.   A big crowd had gathered around the guys and the young boy started to sputter, “Get away from me you creeps.  Why are you kissing me?”

Brian wasn’t about to be bad mouthed, “Listen Dog Breath, if you hadn’t gone out so far in the water, we wouldn’t have to put our lips to yours and touch you smelly body.” 

The conversation was interrupted when there were a number of flashes as someone took some pictures.  The young man bounced up and everyone started to applaud.  Both the young boy and Brian were confused.  The young boys’ parents looked at him and admonished, “Philip, you need to thank the young men for saving your life.”

Poor Philip was really confused, but he turned to Brian and Ben, “I guess I am supposed to say thank you.”  He hugged them both and there were some more flashes.

The crowd finally dispersed and Brian and Ben were walking back to the area where we had set up our blankets.   They had no more than sat down than a young gentleman approached them, “Pardon me for interrupting, but I'm Lloyd Stewart from the London Times.  I saw what you young men did and I would like to perhaps write a short story to accompany the photos that I took.  As I said,  I work for the London Times but was spending the day here with my family.”

Ben and Brian looked at Uncle Hank and Uncle Rod and they indicated that they had no objection if the guys talked to the reporter.

The reporter started, “I gather that you are not from around here; could you tell me a little about yourselves and how you happened to be here?”

Brian indicated that Ben should start,  “I am Ben Benson and we are visiting our uncles.  We are from the United States and we are looking forward to seeing as much of your country as we can in the next several days.”

The reported pointed his microphone to Brian, “I saw what you did today when you pulled the young lad out of the ocean.  Tell us a little about yourself, please.”

Brian thought for a minute, “My name is Brian Benson, and I am Ben’s little brother and I do mean little.  I’m 14 years old and have found that your country is very exciting.  We visited Stonehenge on Saturday and today we met some interesting people in the park and now this afternoon here I am  swimming in the English channel saving a young man from drowning.   I’ll probably need to go home to get rested.”

The reporter kept pushing.  He turned to me, “I guess you aren’t related to these young men so are you from around here?”

Everyone was watching me so I knew that I needed to be careful how I answered. “No sir, I am Ben’s college roommate.  We are from the same hometown and I have known Ben all of my life.”

The reporter wasn’t satisfied, “I see that you three handsome men are in the company of three stunning young women.  Are they traveling with you?”

That was more than Brian could handle, “Mr. Stewart, Miss Montoya and Miss Sandberg are friends of  Ben and Grant from school and just happen to be in London and Miss Mason and I met on the plane.  Now if you will excuse us, we need to get back to London since we have tickets to the football game in Wembley Stadium tonight.”

The reporter looked at his watch, “I have tickets for that match also.  Perhaps I’ll see you there.”

Brian rolled his eyes, “Maybe we shouldn’t go to the football match.  I feel like a time bomb is about to explode.” 

To be continued...

 Feedback always welcome:     

Editor’s comments:  Once again Uncle Ed has produced a great chapter (but I’m not surprised.  He always does!) I am wondering if this reporter is all that he seems.  What will happen at the football game?   

Other Editor's notes:

The first thing I want to do is thank Will B. for letting me look over these chapters along with him. I have been following this wonderful story from the very first chapter, and I love it, and even though it is written by E Walk, it wouldn't have been possible if it weren't for Will B's interesting tale. As the story continues to evolve, we learn new and interesting things about the people we have come to love. This, like all the stories from E walk, is a wonderful heartwarming story. I am ready for another chapter any time you have one finished. Thanks for writing it.

Darryl AKA The Radio Rancher 

Posted: 04/18/08