Taking Texas By Storm
by: E Walk
(© 2009 by the Author)
 

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Chapter 36

I Don’t Want To Go Home

When I arrived at the house, Brahim's and my vehicles were the only ones in the driveway.  I started to worry about Dr. Roberts and his operation.  When I walked into the house, Allie and Dieter were in the kitchen and so was Mitchell.  He looked at me, “Daddy’s boss, where’s Daddy?”

“Mitchell, I don’t know.  I thought he would be here by now.  He probably had some things he needed to do.  He should be here soon.  Where’s Brahim and Uncle Tom and Grandpa Darryl?”

Allie pointed, “Brahim is on the deck pretending that he’s studying.  He just doesn’t want to get his hands dirty.  Grandpa Darryl is staying in the hospital overnight and Uncle Tom was going to eat with him and come home about eight o’clock.  Go get changed.  Dinner is almost ready.”

I went out on the deck and said hello to Brahim.

He looked at me, “Mitchell has developed a real case of idol worship for Dieter.  He follows Dieter around like a little puppy.”

I frowned, “I’m surprised that he hasn’t attached himself to Allie.”

Brahim laughed, “Mitchell is smart enough that he knows Allie is Mikey’s friend and he wants someone who belongs to just him.  You should have seen Mitchell when Jesse and Tucker were here this afternoon.  It was as if they weren’t supposed to talk to Dieter.”

When I was returning from changing clothes, Rob was there and Mitchell was complaining, “Daddy, I want to stay here with Mister again.  Mikey’s home and you and Mommy will be busy taking care of him.”

Dieter picked Mitch up, “That’s why they need you to be home.  Your daddy and mother need you to help make sure that Mikey doesn’t try to do too much.”

Mitchell asked, “Mister, do I get to come back, tomorrow?”

“That’s up to your Daddy and Mother.”

Rob shook his head no, “Mitchell, we’ve already imposed on Dieter too much.  He’s on vacation.  He didn’t come here to take care of you.”

Dieter tried to deflect any resistance from Mitchell, “Mitchell, I'll give you the phone number so you can call and talk to me if you get too lonely.  Let’s go write the number on a piece of paper.”

“Mister, I don’t know how to make a call.”

Dieter grinned, “I'm sure your Mommy will help you, if you ask nicely.”

Allie asked, “Mr. Sheraton, when will Mikey be returning to school?  It’s kind of boring when he’s not there.”

“Allie, he should be back to school on Monday.  He has an appointment to see Dr. Cochran at nine o’clock on Monday.  She wants to make sure everything is okay from this operation, before she schedules the next one.”

We watched as Mitchell reluctantly departed with his Daddy.  We were just finishing eating when the doorbell rang.  Allie stood; I’ll go see who it is?  It isn’t Uncle Tom, because he would have just walked in.”

Allie called, “Dad, it’s Mr. Bloom and his family.  They’d like to talk to you.” 

I went into the living room and Tom was standing with a lady and two young boys.  Tom motioned to me, “That’s my boss, President Waller.”

“President Waller, I’d like for you to meet my wife, April, and my sons.  The oldest son is Caleb and the younger one is Jeremy.”

I stuck out my hand, “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Bloom.  Caleb and Jeremy, welcome to our house.  The young man who greeted you is my son, Allie.”

Caleb grinned, “We know Allie; we walk home from school with him and his friends, Curtis and Manny.”

Allie motioned, “Caleb and Jeremy, why don’t you come with me?  I think your Daddy wants to talk about boring business.  Let’s go make sure that Dieter and Brahim are doing the dishes right, and then we can go outside and play until the old people finish taking about business.”

April Bloom frowned, “Allie, I resent being referred to as old.”

“Mrs. Bloom, I apologize.  I should have said older people.  You can’t deny that you’re older than Caleb, Jeremy and me.  We’ll see you older people after you're done talking business.”

The Blooms were laughing as Allie left with their sons.  Mr. Bloom frowned, “Katie told me that Allie would steal the boys.”

I shook my head, “Tom and April, I don’t think you came here to talk about Allie stealing your sons.”

Tom answered, “April and I are still in a state of shock over the fact that you offered me the position as your executive vice-president.”

April interrupted, “We were already overwhelmed by Tom having met you and being placed into a position of responsibility so that we could live the lifestyle that we’ve dreamed of.  Quite frankly, President Waller, I'm concerned that Tom will be expected to work all the time and subsequently not have time to spend with the boys.  Are people going to be shooting at Tom like they do you?”

“April, let me assure you that Tom will rarely be required to work overtime.  He can do more in eight hours than some people do in forty.  As far as getting shot, I think that the employees who are remaining at Shell have gotten the word.  They view me as the bad guy, so I’m sure they’ll focus on me.”

Tom asked, “When would I assume the position?  I know this sounds mercenary, but how much will I be making?”

“Tom, if you were to accept the offer, the formal announcement will be made in the morning.  The reason that the appointment needs to be expedited is that both Mr. Odom and I are going to be out of town three days next week, so you would be in charge.  As for the compensation package, I honestly don’t know.  I haven’t had time to delve into the matter, but I’m sure that I can guarantee you that it will be more than double what you’re current salary is, and there will be some extra perks.”

Both Tom and April fell back against the back of the sofa they were sitting on.  Tom took a deep breath, “Ed, it’s unusual to pluck someone that has no management experience and put them into the role of Executive Vice-President.”

“Tom, look at me.  I’m a Petroleum Engineer.  I’ve never had any management experience, and here I am the President of Shell Oil Company.  Tom, if you take the position, we’re bound to make some mistakes, but we would have an excellent staff to keep our backsides covered.  I don’t know how well you’ve gotten to know my other staff members, but I’m sure, from what I’ve observed, they will work as well for you as they have me.”

April chuckled, “So your saying, it will be like the blind leading the blind.”

I sniffed, “We’ll be wearing rose colored glasses, so no one will ever know.  I’m going to let you two talk about the offer that’s on the table, while I go see what the boys are doing.  It’s awfully quiet.  I’ll answer any questions you have when I get back.”

The guys were in the back yard, playing with some of the neighborhood children, and Dieter was talking to Tom and Ted Cochran.  I approached the older guys, “Guess you guys needed some more food?”

Tom answered, “Well, that, too.  We came to see if Dieter wanted to go to the football game on Saturday, but he tells us he's going to be milking cows all weekend.”

I started to laugh, “You city boys have a lot to learn about milking.  It would be difficult to milk the Brangus cows that my parents have.”

Ted snickered, “We’re interested in milking the male stallions,  anyway.”

Thankfully, our conversation was interested by the arrival of Tom and April.  They approached me and Tom looked sheepish.  “President Waller, I appreciate the confidence you have shown in my abilities and I would like to accept your offer.”

I turned to April, “You do realize, that you will be asked to be the official hostess at some functions, since my significant other is of the same sex as me.  The best thing about the offer is that Allie would be available to baby-sit should you need him.”

April grinned, “I’ve already met Brahim, and I understand that he’s going to be extremely busy with the opera, school and the play, when it goes into production.”

I was surprised, “How is it that you’ve met Brahim, when he must be studying?”

April nodded, “I’m a violinist in the Houston symphony.  Brahim is a very talented person.   Caleb and Jeremy, we need to be going.  It's time to start getting ready for bed.”

Caleb complained, “But Mom, we’re having a good time.”

Tom answered, “We have already taken too much of Mr. Waller’s and Allie’s time.  They probably have many things that they need and want to do.  Give Allie a hug and we’ll take off.”

April and Tom both hugged me and I watched them going down the street with the boys each holding one of their parents' hands.  As Allie and I were watching, Uncle Tom arrived.  “Hi Ed and Allie, It’s like a miracle happened.  Darryl can see things clearly for the first time in many years.  Doctor Cochran is pleased and is keeping Darryl in hospital to make sure that no problems develop.  He should be coming home in the morning.  He has a follow up appointment next Monday.  Is it permissible for us to stay here until Monday?”

Allie and I answered in unison, “Why wouldn’t be okay?”

Allie continued, “When you pick Grandpa Darryl up in the morning, check to see if the two of you can go to Dad’s parents’ house with us.  Since it is your first trip to Texas, you would see some things that are very different from here in Houston.  It’s like a whole new world.”

Uncle Tom looked concerned, “Wouldn’t that be imposing on your Grandparents?”

I answered, “Nah, my parents will ignore everyone but Allie, anyway.  I’m sure they won’t mind.  Allie, you are responsible for checking with the Grandparents to make sure that there aren’t other people going to be there.”

Allie and Tom departed for the house, and Dieter came up to me, “Mr. Waller, I don’t think the guys were kidding about liking to play with males.  They asked me if I needed to be serviced before they departed for home.  Why would they think that I might be gay?  Do I act gay?”

I arched my eyebrows, “Dieter, let me assure you that you do not act gay.  As to why Ted and Tom would ask you what they did, you are an extremely handsome young man, and I’m guessing very well put together.  I don’t really know Ted and Tom well enough to know what they had on their minds. I guess I’ll have to find out later what their sexual preferences are.”

Dieter and I walked into the house and I went to find Brahim.  He was in the bedroom, studying, but he was nude.  He looked up at me, “Eddie, I need to have some of my body parts checked to make sure they’re working.  Go take a shower and make plans to dance the night away.”

We danced the early part of the night away.  After we had finished dancing, which was not the variety of dancing you would see on the dance floor, I hugged Brahim.  “We’ll have to try some different strokes the next time we dance.”

Brahim pouted, “What’s the matter, aren’t I a good enough dancer to keep you satisfied, anymore.”

“Brahim, that’s not even funny.  I’ll probably be the first to be unable to keep you satisfied.  I’m going to be gone, Tuesday and Wednesday nights.  Do you think you can hold the fort down while I’m gone?”

Brahim frowned, “Where are you going and whom are you going with?”

“Mr. Odom and I will be going to The Hague for meetings on Wednesday.  It seems ridiculous that we will be gone for a meeting for three days.  I don’t understand why they couldn’t have a teleconference, to save time and money.”

Brahim laughed, “When could they find a suitable time for all their company locations around the world to be available at the same time for a teleconference?  Besides there are many executives who probably welcome the opportunity to get away from their families.  Just make sure you keep your penis in your pants while you’re gone.”

The ride to work on Friday was strange.  Tom was driving and I was trying to mentally map a schedule for the day and an agenda for the staff meeting.  I was a little apprehensive about how some of the staff would react to the announcement that Tom was going to be my Executive Vice-President.

I grabbed my pastry and latte and went to my office. Jackie greeted me, “Tammy isn’t going to be in until later.  She needs to take her sons to a doctor’s appointment.  She said she would be here by eleven.”

“She certainly has adequate sick time.  Jackie, it will be up to you to keep me out of trouble, today.”

Jackie chuckled, “I guess, I’ll have my hands full if what everyone says is true.”

When everyone was settled, I started, “The first order of business is that I am appointing Tom Bloom as my Executive Vice-President, contingent on the approval of the Board of Directors.  Until such time, he will be acting in my place when I’m not available.”

Mr. Odom stood, “We’ll get rid of the temporary appointment this afternoon.  Marlene, call Mrs. Carr, Ms. Sanders, Ms. Crabtree and the other board members who are in the Houston area, and invite them to lunch so they can meet and talk to Mr. Bloom.  Set up a board meeting teleconference for this afternoon at two o’clock.  I’m sure we can get this appointment made permanent by this afternoon.”

After the meeting, Joe stopped to talk, “Ed, you made a wise choice.  I take it that Mr. Odom knew that you had offered the position to Tom?”

“Mr. Odom was here when I offered the position to Tom, Tom didn’t respond to the offer immediately.  He asked for time to talk with his wife, before he answered.  That gave him an A plus in Mr. Odom's book, in addition to the work he has done on the many reports.  We need to go tear apart the technical divisions.”

Joe put up his hand, “Boss, can we put that on hold until next week? We need to sit down and work on the directives for the Warehouse and Receiving areas, before we tackle any other problems.  Have you seen what Carlos is packing between his legs?”

I frowned, “Joe, don’t tell me that you’re looking for some new playmates.  In answer to your questions, I have not seen his penis, but I understand it is rather large.  How did you see it anyhow?   I can’t imagine Carlos flaunting it around.”

Joe grinned, “I saw it quite by accident.  I had to go to the bathroom yesterday and Carlos was in there and was trying to stuff his piece in his briefs.  It was difficult not to notice his endowment.  I wonder how Rico is able to handle the piece.”

I started to chuckle, “If you really want to know, ask the guys.  I’m sure they’ll be willing to share the information, after you and Grant demonstrate the proper techniques of making love.”

After Joe left, I thought, ’I hope this isn’t any indication of how the day is going to go.’  

To be continued...

Editor's Notes: It was nice to get that operation.

I now have cataracts removed from both eyes. My situation was rather complicated.  My Doctor is extremely talented.  She implanted, not only the interocular lenses, but she also put in something called Aneridia Rings. They are used to block the large amount of light that had been seeping in around my pupil. Since I am an Albino, I have little to no pigment in my iris.  My eyes are something like what you would get if you tried to make a camera out of translucent material.

In any case, it worked very well.

Darryl AKA The Radio Rancher

Posted: 07/23/10