We Saw Daddy Kissing Santa Claus
by: E Walk
(© 2009 by the Author)
 

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Chapter 28

Why Now?

Just before Brent and Jeremy appeared in their jeans and western shirts, Cowboy whispered, “Stevie, me boy, me thinks this is going to be a fun weekend.  Be prepared for some fireworks.”

As soon as Brent and Jeremy made their appearance, Hank ordered, “Let’s mount up and get to the ranch so we can have some fun.  Steve, you drive.  I need to make a couple of phone calls.”

Hank pulled out cell phone, “Hi Rosa, would it be a problem if we had two extra people for dinner, or do we need to take them out for dinner? … Great, we’ll just feed them some of the horses’ food. … Is Jacob there? … Hey Jake, how’re you feeling.  Do you feel up to a swim tonight after we eat? … Cool, who’s going to relieve Kev? … Good, so Mimi and Dusty are going to stay with Danny until you get there.”

“Look, do me a favor please.  Tell everyone else including Wayne and Justin that there is going to be a swim party at the house on the hill after dinner.  Some of us will be staying there tonight since Kevin, Chris and I are singing at the early service tomorrow in the morning.  See you shortly.”

When Hank put his cell phone away, Brent asked, “Gentlemen, what is going on?  It’s as if you’re plotting something.  Are you planning to hold us for ransom or something?”

Hank turned around, “Brent and Jeremy. I hope you don’t have a blood pressure problem.  If you do, you'd better make sure you take your medication now.”

Jeremy took a deep breath, “Mr. Rodgers, you’re scaring me.  I feel as if I'm being hijacked and I have no clue as to why.”

Fortunately I pulled up in front of the ranch.  We were met by David with the four dogs.  As soon as we got out of the car the dogs started to sniff Brent and Jeremy.

David was excited, “Poppa, Danny just called.  He said to tell you that he ate all his dinner.  He said to tell you that he wants a nice chocolate shake when you come next time.  Grandpa, do I get to go swimming too?”

Hank picked David up, “Look buckaroo, you need to slow down.  You’re beginning to sound like your Poppa.  Why don’t you say hello to Mr. Farway and Mr. Phillips?”

David wiggled down.  The two visitors were surprised when David stuck out his hand, “Hi, I’m David Summers.”

Brent shook David’s hand, “Pleased to meet you David, I’m Brent Farway and this is my friend Jeremy Phillips.  We’re here to do some business with your Poppa.”

David looked at the two of them closely.  He was really studying Brent.  “Nice to met you gentlemen.  Grandma said dinner was almost ready.”

He took Brent and Jeremy’s hand and was leading them toward the house.

Hank looked at me, “Steve, I need a stiff scotch and water.  Check with the others and see what they would like to drink.”  

We went to the living room and I took the drink orders while Hank was fixing the drinks.  Everyone started to filter in.  Chris was missing and I went to see where he was.  He was in the kitchen helping Rosa fix dinner.  When he looked at me, he laughed, “Hi boss, I have to earn my keep somehow.  How come we’re going swimming tonight?”

I laughed, “Rosa, is there anything I can do to help you.”

She laughed, “No, Jacob and Chris did all the work?  Why don’t you have everyone get seated.  Chris and I’ll bring the food while you round up everyone else.”

Hank had introduced everyone except Rosa and Chris.  When everyone was seated Hank looked at the two visitors, “Brent and Jeremy, I'd like to introduce Rosa Murphy and Chris Jenkins.  Rosa and Chris, I’d like to introduce Brent Farway and Jeremy Phillips.”

I watched as Chris shook Brent’s hand and it was as if there was a questioning look on his face.  Rosa broke any tension, “Mr. Phillips, we have enjoyed your movies.”

Jacob started to laugh, “I thought I should recognize you two gentlemen.  Heck Mr. Phillips, Kevin and I dragged our Dad to see all of your movies.  Too bad Dad slept through them.  Mr. Farway, you were the quarterback for the Denver Broncos, weren’t you?”

Cowboy looked around, “Where are … Forget it.  I was going to ask where Tim and Tad were.  I forgot they were invited to their coach’s house for dinner.  Do they know about the swim party tonight?”

Jacob shook his head no, “They had left before I got your call.  Kevin doesn’t know either.

We heard a voice, “What don’t I know?  Hey, what are Mr. Phillips and Mr. Farway doing here?”

Kevin walked up to the two visitors to shake their hands, “Hi, I’m Kevin Michaels and I belong to them.”

“Dad Hank, did you get a chance to see the mess we made at Granddad and Grandma Murphy’s new digs.”

Hank looked at Kevin, “Kev, what wound you up.  Sit your butt down and eat.  No, I haven’t inspected the results of what you guys were doing this morning.  We just now got here.  Are you going to be able to join us for our swim party tonight or do you have a date with Cyndi?”

“What swim party?  Cyndi is in Vegas with her parents to watch her sister compete in the Miss America pageant.  David, Danny wants you to call him.”

As we were finishing eating, Hank looked around the table.  “After you young men have finished the dishes, we’ll leave for the house on the hill.  Kevin, Danny and Chris need to bring their clothes for church in the morning since we are going to spend the night there.  I’ll see if I can get in touch with Tim and Tad in the meantime.”

Chase looked at Hank, “Mr. R., I for one don’t have a swimsuit.  We aren’t going to be skinny dipping are we?”

“It’s just going to be us guys so you can swim in your briefs.  Who knows?  We may decide to go skinny dipping?”

As the guys were clearing the table, Hank pulled out his cell phone and called a number, “Hey Tad, this is Hank. … If you and Tim don’t have dates, we’re going to be having an all male swim party at the house on the hill.  We decided that some of the guys are going to have to wear briefs since we don’t have enough swim suits to go around.”

When Hank closed his cell phone, he looked at the visitors.  “Why don’t we show you around the farms, while everyone is getting ready to go?” 

He turned to the teenagers, “We’ll leave in about 45 minutes.”

Justin and Wayne walked to the barn with us.  Alhambra let the visitors know that he was the boss.  The two visitors were duly  impressed by what they saw.  Hank had Brent and Jeremy give the horses their treats. 

Hank looked at Justin and Wayne, “You two will be joining us tonight won’t you?  I think it would be good if you did.  I wouldn’t want you to miss the fireworks.”

“We’re going to take Brent and Jeremy to the other spread so I can see how much of a mess the guys made when they were working there.”

The two visitors were overwhelmed by what they were seeing when they saw all the horses at the second spread.  Hank explained, you haven’t met David’s parents yet.  They are at the hospital with their other son.  This spread is going to be where they will be living.  Ross and Rosa are going to be living in the apartment here that is just like the one at the other ranch where Wayne and Justin live.  The boys were painting it today.”

After the horses were given their treats, we walked to the apartment and it definitely had a new paint odor.  The two visitors were looking around and I heard, Jeremy say, “Heck this is bigger than the house where I grew up.”

Brent added his fifty cents, “Did you notice that both of the bedrooms have their own bathroom facilities.  We only had one bathroom in our entire house.”

Hank had made his inspection, “We’ll probably be losing our sons because they can make more money painting than we can afford to pay.”

When we got back to the main ranch, Hank looked at me, “Stevie, why don’t you give Brent and Jeremy the keys to the Avalon, so they can have a set of wheels while they are here.”

Brent shook his head, “That won’t be necessary, we’re planning to leave tomorrow.”

Hank snickered, “I think you might change your minds after tonight.”

Everyone was ready to go and fortunately I had some clothes at the house on the hill that I could wear in the morning.  As we were driving to the house on the hill, I flat out asked, “Hank, how are you going to tell Chris and Chase that you think Brent is their biological father?”

He looked at me, “What do you mean?  We’re not going to tell them anything.  They are going to figure it out on their own.  I’m concerned about how Chris might react after what he said to Mrs. Graham.”

When we pulled up to the house, Tim and Tad were already there.  Hank suggested, “Why don’t we all swim in our briefs since it’s just us men.”

No one put up a fight so we made our way to the pool area.  The reaction of Chris, Chase, Brent and Jeremy when they saw the pool  was priceless.  Those of us who had been there before started to remove our clothes.  David was the first person in the pool followed by Kevin and Jacob.  When the others saw what was happening, they soon joined in. 

I was watching to see what the reactions of everyone might be, but no one seem to notice anything yet.  At eight o’clock Hank looked at Kevin and David, “Kevin, why don’t you take Master David to take a shower and get him a snack before he goes to bed.”

David didn’t squabble as he and Kevin went into the changing room and we could hear them talking.  They came out with towels wrapped around their waists.  I watched as Hank whispered something to Kevin.  Kevin got a big grin on his face and nodded yes.

It was approximately 30 minutes later when Kevin came in and announced, “It’s time to play the flying dick game.”

He shed his towel and dove into the pool showing his magnificent body.  Hank immediately shed his briefs and flew through the air displaying his magnificent apparatus.  That was a signal for Jacob, Tad and Tim to do likewise.

Wayne was standing there laughing, “Some people will do anything to draw attention to themselves.  Come on guys, let’s go after them and we can play dick tag.” 

That caused Chris, Chase, Justin and Wayne to enter the water. I joined the growing crowd in the pool.  Kevin and Jacob started to give Brent and Jeremy a difficult time.  “What’s matter are you two hot shots afraid to let us see you little worms.  We promise we won’t laugh or tell the reporters that you have been neutered.”

The two visitors looked at each other and shed their briefs and dove into the water.  Chris climbed out, “I’m not feeling very good.”

I could see tears starting to form in his eyes.  He started toward the dressing room.  Hank and I climbed out and followed him.  He was sitting in the shower room muttering, “Why did he have to come back just now?”

Hank and I sat down beside him and Hank started, “Chris, listen and listen well.  I honestly think that Mr. Farway doesn’t even know that he is your and Chase’s biological father.  He came here to do business with the Michael’s Advertising Agency.  I think you should go confront him and at least listen to his side the story.  You listened to what your biological mother had to say and made your point loud and clear that you probably couldn’t ever really love her.”

Hank wasn’t finished, “Chris, you need to give these people a little slack.  They made mistakes, but you and Chase have landed on your feet, so you can’t let them drag you down again.  You’re are both beautiful young men with very different outlooks on life.  Chris, please just let’s find out your biological father’s side of the story.  Please don’t be embarrassed by anything I do, but we need to prove that you and Chase are Mr. Farway’s sons.”

We both hugged Chris and he looked at us, “Why couldn’t one of you have been my father?”

The three of us walked back to the others who were still in the water.  Hank started to announce, “Gentlemen, we are about to solve the mystery of the century.  “Chris, if you would stand here while I call the next contestant.  Chase Lowery, would please stand here?  Our third contestant is Mr. Brent Farway.  Would you please come and stand between these two handsome young men?”

Hank was hamming it up good.  “I’m going to expose the true meaning of parenthood.  Everyone, please direct your attention to the penis of Mr. Chris Jenkins.  I want you to take notice of the heart shaped birthmark on the left side of his penis.  I direct your attention to the penis of Chase Lowery.  Please notice the heart shaped birthmark on right side of his penis.” 

“Now everyone, I direct your attention to the penis of our third contestant, Mr. Brent Farway.  Please notice that the fact that he has heart shaped mark on the middle of his penis.  I guess he must have split it between his two biological sons.”

Brent turned white and started to slump to the floor.  Chris grabbed him to keep him from falling.  Jeremy jumped out of the pool and grabbed Brent, “Brent are you okay?”

Brent started to regain his color, “How in the world did you figure out that I could be Chase’s and Chris’ father?”

Kevin was laughing, “Mr. Farway, even David thought that you might be the boys’ father.  He asked me when I was getting him ready for bed if you were Chris and Chase’s dad.  He made the observation that you all had the same sad looking eyes.”

I looked at everyone, “I suggest that we get dressed and go into the sitting room and perhaps Mr. Farway can explain his side of the story.  We can just free ball it for tonight since our briefs are all wet.”

We reassembled in the living room and I started the conversation, “Just so everyone knows the playing field, Chris and Chase met their biological mother earlier this week.  She told them what had happened.  Chris and Chase don’t even know this, but they have also met their maternal grandmother.”

“I suggest that we have Chris tell his story first and then Chase can tell his story and how they came to be living with us. That way Mr. Farway will understand why they might have a difficult time accepting the fact that he is indeed their father.

Chris started and told what his life had been like, and Chase had just finished when Jacob put up the ’Time Out’ sign.  I want everyone to go to bed and think about what is and has happened.  I need to know the rest of the story, but I have to go to hospital to relieve Uncle Dusty and Aunt Mimi.  Who’s relieving me in the morning?”

Tim held up his hand, “I am.”

Everyone who was leaving had departed when Kevin came and approached us, “Dads, Chris and I need to go get some food for breakfast.  There is nothing in the refrigerator.  I had a difficult time finding anything for David’s snack.”

Hank got a funny look on his face, “Kevin, there was plenty of things here to eat before we went to the farm for Christmas.  I know that we probably need some fresh milk but how can you say there is nothing to eat.”

The five of us followed Hank to the kitchen.  He looked in the refrigerator and the freezer and the selections were very limited.  He started to open the cabinets and they were relatively bare of food.  Hank stood there looking as if he was at a loss for words, “Guys, I have no idea what’s happening.  Here take my debit card and get some food for breakfast.  There is a grocery store at the bottom of the hill.”

Kevin and Chris had departed and Hank, Brent, Jeremy and I went into the family room to watch the news while we waited for the two guys to return.  Hank turned on the big screen television and the local news was just starting.

The anchorman started, “Here is the latest news from the wire services.  Our own Jennifer Wright has been crowned the new Miss America.  Here is a video of her being crowned and walking the runway to meet her fans.”

I grabbed my throat, “I’m in trouble.  I’ll probably have to bow when I enter my office for sure.  Cynthia will make sure that the mother of Miss America is treated royally.”

Hank started to laugh, “The mother of the new Miss America just happens to be Steve’s administrative assistant and Chris’ boss,  and to make matters worse, Kevin is dating her other daughter.”

Our conversation was interrupted by the return of Kevin and Chris, Kevin walked into the room, “Dad R., do you suppose that maybe you might not embarrass me the next time you send me to the store.  The machine rejected your card because it was out of date.  Chris and I have to go back tomorrow to scrub the floors to pay for the grub we bought.”

“Chris bought some beer so we could get drunk and won’t be able to sing in the morning.  Good night.  Come on Christopher, I’ll put you to bed.”

The two teenagers were going up the stairs and I heard Kevin proclaim.  “We take revenge on the old men in the living room and they will wish they had never been born.  Do you have the powder that will make them scratch the night away.  We need to put it into beds before they see us.”

Brent looked at us. “You two have your hands full with this cast of characters, don’t you?”

Hank laughed, “Don’t blame me.  It’s all Steve’s fault.  Good night gentlemen.  I need to go relax my vocal cords for tomorrow.”

Jeremy was almost doubled over because he was laughing so hard, “And how might you do that Mr. Rodgers.”

I looked at him and smirked, “Mr. Phillips, we don’t kiss and tell.  Good night.”

To be continued...

Editor's Notes: Well it didn't take all that long to let Brent know that he was a father, did it?  I wonder just what is going to happen now that he does know.  Once Chris gets his head around all this new information and he begins to fathom just what is going on, I wonder how he will feel.  And what is Chase thinking right now?

I think things are actually going to work out pretty well.  It will take some time for them to get used to the idea that they are part of a biological family.  Chris and Chase are going to continue to think of Hank and Steve as family.  I don't think anything will break up that relationship.

I do, however, want the next chapter as soon as possible.

Darryl AKA The Radio Rancher

Posted: 02/27/09