Pinochle
by: E Walk

(© 2007 by the Author)
Editor: Will B
 

The author retains all rights. No reproductions are allowed without the author's consent. Comments are appreciated at...

Chapter 53
Can You Believe?

This is Ben.

When we got back to the house, Brian and J.R. were in the kitchen.  As we were walking in we heard, J.R. say, “Brian, you take care of making the Sloppy Joes and mashed potatoes and I’ll take care of the liver and the vegetable.  You said that the salads were already to go so this should be a breeze.”

Brian looked up as we entered, “Our visitors are both here.  How was your visit with Father Wanamaker?  Are you still going to neuter me?”

J.R. swiveled around as I hugged Brian, “No, we’re not upset with you.  Father Dale laughed when he realized why you made the comment you did.  Now what can we do to help?”

Brian looked at us, “I can’t find any hamburger buns.  Could you maybe go get several packages for the people who don’t like liver and onions.  Wonder Chef, J.R., has everything planned out.  Also could you please pick up three pints of raspberry yogurt?”

I looked at Brian, “Is there anything else you royal chefs might need?”

J.R. looked at us, “Do you suppose you could negotiate a better salary for us?”

Everyone was laughing and I couldn’t think of a smart come back except, “We’ll discuss that when we return from the store.  What are we having for dessert?”

Brian started, “Honestly, guys, you worry too much.  Everything is under control.  Now go get what we need, so you can set the dining room table since everyone else has disappeared.”

On the way to the grocery store, Grant looked at me, “Ben, I think we are going to miss having Brian around.  I still can’t believe how mature he seems and yet sometimes he acts like a young teenager.  I’m having a difficult time trying to figuring him out.”

I started to laugh. “Look Grant, don’t even try to figure Brian out.  He is a very complex person and I think even Dad and Mother don’t fully understand him.  I know I sure don’t.  I don’t think any of the people in London knew exactly how to handle him.  We need to trust him.  Even when he gets a little wild, there is probably a purpose.  He may not always realize what he has done, but if he hadn’t suggested that we talk to Father Dale today, we would never have done that.  I came away from that meeting feeling really good about everything.”

Grant sighed, “As did I, Ben.  It’s as if everything that Brian does or has done so far was for a purpose.”

Our conversation was interrupted because we arrived at the grocery store.  We walked in and Grant grabbed a basket.  He put the basket back and took a cart, “Ben, why don’t we get some things to snack on while we’re traveling.  We can make sandwiches to eat at lunchtime.  We can have a good breakfast and then eat a nice dinner.  I know I don’t have much money and I have no idea what J.R.’s financial situation is.”

I started to say something but stopped remembering the last time we had this conversation.  I shrugged my shoulders, “That sounds cool to me.”

I couldn’t believe how meticulous Grant was.  He checked the apples to see which ones were the firmest and then he examined the oranges.  We picked up some grapes and a some pears that looked really good.  He put a package of baby carrots in the basket.   We stopped in the snack aisle and we looked at the different packages of snacks and then we moved to the drink aisle.  He looked at me, “Ben, find some drinks that are healthy for us while I go find the yogurt and the rolls.”

As Grant left me to decide what drinks to buy, I mumbled, “Yes Lord Grant.”

Grant heard me, “Watch it Mister, or you will have your daily supplement of protein withdrawn.”

The last stop was to buy the things for fixing sandwiches on the way.  We certainly weren’t going to go hungry.  Now all we needed to do was to find a place to sleep at night.

When we got back to the house, Brian started on us, “Well that took long enough.  What did you do go to the bathroom and relieve your anxieties?

Grant was so calm, “No, Lord Brian, we were being frugal and bought things that we could eat for snacks and lunch on our pilgrimage across the central part of the country to the Podunk University.”

Brian was having a difficult time maintaining his composure but he did, “Look you two turkeys, you have been sloughing off while our guest here has worked his fingers to the bone.  Now get your junk food put away so you can help us.”

Everything was ready when the family started to arrive.  At six o’clock  Brian came in and rang a bell.  “Dinner is being served in the pig pen, now.”

Everyone had a bowl of soup in front them, but Brian said a prayer before we sat down.  After the prayer everyone was eating the cold soup and I realized that he had made it with the raspberry yogurt and fresh raspberries.

No one complained and there was lots of conversation.  Brian stood, “Okay ladies, you ate, so clear the table while we serve the rest of the dinner.”

The two girls did as he suggested and Grant and I did as we were told.  We started to carry the food that J.R. and Brian had prepared to the dining room.

They had decided to serve it family style so that everyone could take what they wanted.  I think everyone was surprised when even Morgan took a piece of the liver. 

The food was wonderful and the liver was demolished and we made a good dent in the Sloppy Joe fixings.  The frozen salads were a hit with the people who had never had them before.  Dad looked at Brian, “Well son, that was about the fruitiest dinner I have had in a long time.”

Brian quipped back, “Wait until we get back from swimming when we have the apple strudel that I made.  Don’t worry, I put some extra exlax in it.  We wouldn’t want the guys to get too comfortable on their way to Ithaca.”

J.R. stood, “Don’t anyone move, I have a gift for Mr. and Mrs. Benson for giving me the opportunity to spend the night here.”  We heard him go into the garage.  When he returned he was carrying something wrapped in a sheet.

He handed the package to our mother. She opened it and gasped, “When did Brian pose for this picture?”

J.R. started to laugh, “Brian tried to resist, but after what he did to me, there was no way that I wasn’t going to get revenge.  By the way, Brian, the Dads sent the drawing of me, but told me to make it clear that they wanted it back.  They paid me a $1000.00 for it, so I would have some spending money to buy the things I need when I find some place to live.”

Dad looked at the painting, “J.R., this certainly looks like Brian but there seems to be a part of his body that seems to be out of proportion to the rest of his body.  I can’t decide if it’s the nose or the mouth.  I guess it’s the mouth because it seems to be always getting him in trouble.”

Mother took the painting, “Thank you very much, J.R.  How much do we owe you?”

J.R. looked offended, “Ma’am, it was meant to be a Thank You gift.  I won’t accept any money for it.”

Mother realized she said the wrong thing, “J.R. it’s great, we’ll get it framed and then we will hang it with the portraits of the entire family in our den.  I’m afraid to hang it where just everyone could see it.  Some people might run out of the house screaming if they saw it, and then there others who would be banging on Brian’s door.”

Everyone was looking at Brian and we could tell that he was blushing even with his tan.  He scrunched down in his chair.  Derek decided to join in the ‘Get Brian’ party.  If any of the high school students ever saw it, your house would be a revolving door with people coming to take a peek.”

Brian stood, “That does it.  Derek, you’re sleeping in the bathtub tonight.  Jimbo, you just declared war and I don’t take any prisoners.  Let’s get these dishes done, and then we’re going swimming at Chris’ house.  Chris has the pool ready for us.”

Everyone helped with the cleanup so it was finished in no time.  Brian looked at everyone.  “Go get your swimming suits on and bring a change of clothes so we can change at their house.  That way the cars won’t get wet when we come home.”

Derek looked embarrassed, “People, I didn’t think to bring a swim suit.  I never even suspected that we my might be going swimming.”

Brian held up his hand, “Never fear, Super Jock boy, Super Brian will take care of it.  Come with me.  How about you Jimbo?”

J.R. waved Brian off, “Never fear Super Brian, I anticipated that we might be stopping someplace along the way where we might be able to go swimming, so I came prepared.”

Brian took J.R. and Derek to his room. 

J.R. told us on the way to the Granddads’ house what happened.  Brian shed his clothes and pulled out his yellow bikini, “Jimbo, I suppose you want me to wear this so you can gawk at my body some more?”

J.R. answered, “Gee, it would be more fun if we could swim nude again and play dick tag.  My Dads were still laughing about that last night.”

Derek stopped taking his clothes off, “Wait a minute, if you were swimming nude together, does that mean you’re gay?”

Brian threw up his hands, “Man, when you go to a nude dude ranch, you gotta swim nude.  We’re not like the Jock boys from Westside High who are embarrassed by their endowments.  Now get undressed and let’s see if I have anything that is appropriate for you to wear.  If not, I’ll raid Ben’s stash of clothes.”

Derek finally undressed and Brian made a circle around him, “Jimbo, I’d say he’s about a 6.  What do you think?”

J.R. looked critically at Derek, “He seems a little plumped right now, so I guess I’d score Derek at a 6 ½.”

Brian handed Derek a pair of board shorts, “Here, these will hide your deficiencies and make you look good.  They’ll be so tight on you that everyone will think that you are the pistol packing Daddy of Westside High.”

Derek was getting frustrated and embarrassed, “Look guys, what did I do to you?  I’m a 17 year old virgin.  Am I really that hard to take?”

Brian went and hugged Derek, “Jock boy, we’re just giving you a hard time.  Just make sure that you’re still a virgin when you leave tomorrow.  If Jimbo and I were gay, we would have you on the bed taking advantage of you as we speak.  Now get dressed before they send out a search party to look for us.”

When we were assembled downstairs, Mother and Dad decided that they were going to go watch us swim so we took three vehicles.  Derek and Lauren were alone in his car.  When we got to the Jameson’s house, I think both Derek and J.R. were surprised.  Chris had called some people so there were already people swimming when we arrived.

Brian started to swim right away and challenged Derek to a race.  Derek didn’t know what he was up against.  He probably thought Brian was bluffing but he accepted.  He jumped into the pool, “What are the rules?”

Brian’s mind had to be working overtime, “Okay, here’s what we’re going to do.  We’ll get Jimbo over here to be the judge.  We’ll do twenty five meters of each of the back, breast, and butterfly and freestyle strokes.  We’ll start when Jimbo shouts go.”

Everyone else cleared the pool.  The race started and Derek held his own during the 25 meters of backstroke but he started to fall behind on the breast and by the time he finished the butterfly leg Brian was almost ready to touch the wall as he finished the free leg.  I don’t think anyone was prepared for what was about to happen.  Derek climbed out and walked around the pool to where Brian was standing and yelled, “Okay, cheater now it's my turn to make you look silly.”

Derek pushed Brian into the pool and then dove in and came up behind Brian and started to try to remove his bikini trunks.  Brian evaded his attack and yelled out, “Derek wants to play D. T.;  I need some help.  Grant and I knew what he meant and dove in immediately.  The light went on for J.R. as well and he dove in. 

The four of us surrounded Derek and Brian whispered, “Okay guys, let’s show this guy how to play dick tag in front of all these people.  Let’s depants our Jock boy first.”

Derek was looking a little piqued, “Guys, please don’t do that to me.  Brian, I’m sorry for pushing you in but you made me look like a wimp in front of everyone.  I know that you won the swimming event at the camp but I didn’t think you were that good.  I just now realized that you were trying to make it so Chase could win.”

We were walking to the side of the pool when Derek asked, “Why aren’t you swimming competitively.  Do you swim for the high school team?”

Brian stopped and started to laugh, “Jock boy, I’m a fourteen year old nothing, who is about to enter high school as a freshman.  I’ll be starting school on Thursday and my main interests do not center around playing sports.  I someday hope to be an artist.  I’m going to apply myself to my class work so I can go to college and have something to fall back on if  my being artist doesn’t work out so that I can properly support my family.”

Brian left to talk to Chris and some of their friends, and Derek went to visit with Lauren and her friends.  Lauren was having a great time showing off her new show piece.  Grant, J.R. and I were sitting on the side of the pool.  J.R. said, “Guys, it so great to see how a normal family lives.  It’s not really that much different from my family.”

 I’m not sure where this came from, “J.R., it’s not the make up a family that counts, it’s how they treat and care for each other.  It is very apparent that your two Dads love you as do my parents love us.  Grant’s Dad, made a big sacrifice when he agreed to move to Ithaca to be with us.”

We could see that Dad was getting tired, so I suggested that we get ready to leave.  I couldn’t believe it when no one gave me any flak.  We took turns changing out of our wet suits and made our way back to the house where Brian fed us a piece of apple strudel with ice cream.  Dad and Mother had gone to their room and Brian suggested that we leave the young lovers alone in the family room but he reminded them that the curfew for anyone under the age of 18 was 11 o’clock in the house.”

When Brian, J.R., Grant and I reached the top of the steps, Brian suggested, “Why don’t you take your shower first and J.R. and I can talk about being an artist?  But please make sure you clean up your mess before you leave the shower.”

Grant and I took a quick shower and we went to tell Brian and J.R. that the shower was free.  They were sitting on the floor naked and they were critiquing some of the artworks that Brian had done.  Brian surprised me, “Yeah, I think the best pictures are done when people don’t know what you’re doing and aren’t posing.  At least then I seem to be able to project what they might be thinking in their minds.  I wish you could see some of the pastels I did two weeks ago.”

I knocked and finally the two looked up, “Guys, Grant and I are done with the shower.  J.R., we’ll plan to leave at about 10:00 tomorrow since we still need to pack the car.”

Brian looked at J.R., “Why don’t you go first Jimbo?”

J.R. countered, “Look, I’m not going to do anything to you, and I don’t think you have any interest in me, so why don’t we take a shower together to save time and water?”

They followed us into bathroom and J.R. smirked, “I wonder what Derek would say if he saw your cocks.  He would probably faint.”

We hadn’t heard Derek come into the room.  Derek started to laugh, “I’ll say this for sure; there is a whole lot of meat in this room.  I’m glad we didn’t play dick tag or some people would probably be in the Emergency Room with heart attacks.  Is this entire family weird or what?”

Brian started to bend over from laughing, “No, Derkie, it’s the rest the world that’s weird.  Now get out of your clothes.  Jimbo has proclaimed that we need to save money and time by taking a shower together.  Now move it.”

Grant and I left and Grant was laughing, “I guess we know who’s the strongest type A person is in this house. I can’t imagine what is going to happen next.”

To be continued...

 Feedback always welcome:     

Will’s comments:  I don’t know what’s going to happen next, either, but I bet it will be another wonderful chapter!

Darryl's Comments:  This was a wonderful chapter. I suppose that in the next chapter we will see what happens on the road to Ithaca.  I know the guys will have an interesting time at Cornell. I wonder what Brian will do when Ben and Grant aren't around under foot, so to speak. I suspect that J. R. might decide to move in with Ben and Grant. If he does, I wonder if they will fill him in on their interesting talents, and possibly those of Brian.

Since Brian's abilities are progressing a lot faster than people expected, I wonder if he will be able to move about like Ben and Grant can.  I am sure there will be some more surprises in store for everyone and I hope we find out about them soon.

Darryl AKA The Radio Rancher

Posted: 09/05/08