The Crew by Hankster

The Crew
by: Hankster

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Chapter 7

Jeff was chatting with Dan and Warren when he realized that he hadn’t seen Randy anywhere. He looked around and saw him standing upright, but in a definite coma like state. He was holding Michelle’s hand and gazing longingly into her eyes. They were about twenty feet away, but even from that distance he could feel the electricity in the air. He knew that look very well. It was the look on his own face when he first saw Jim. It was the look that passed between Jerry and Michael when they first met. It was the look of love.

Michael was standing next to his sister and Randy, holding Liz’s hand. He picked her up and whispered in her ear, “Maybe you should drop the Mr. Costello and call me Uncle Michael.” Liz giggled.

Pastor Paul was chatting with Jerry when he broke away and entered the church. This seemed to be a signal for those not already inside to come in for the service. Randy had never let go of Michelle’s hand since he had extended it to greet her. He led her into the church oblivious to everything. It was a good thing that Michael took charge of Liz. They sat down near the front. Michael placed Liz next to her father. He sat down next to her and Jerry sat down next to him. The Fishers and the rest of the crew sat down in the row behind them.

Soon the organ began to play and the choir took their positions. Paul came out wearing a brand new suit. His hair was newly cut, and to tell the truth, he looked quite dapper and very handsome. The whole congregation could not help but smile and some of them wondered if he had something special in mind today. He asked his flock to turn to a hymn on page 372 of their hymnals. It was written by an unknown composer just a few years ago and nobody had heard it nor were they familiar with it. It would be up to the choir to get them into the melody. It was called ‘Beginnings.’

The choir had never sounded better. They began to sing softly about the birth of love for God and for one another. The melody was ethereal, hauntingly beautiful. “As love grows so does the spirit, and brings us closer to God,” they sang as their voices rose into a crescendo. A few tissues came out to wipe away the tears. Randy handed Michelle his clean handkerchief. Jerry was sobbing like a baby, and Michael could only wonder what was up with him.

Paul rose to speak and the flock expected to hear his usual thoughts on the power of love. Instead he began to explain the importance of baptism. “It was intended to wipe away the original sin of conception,” he opined. “But I don’t believe that an act as beautiful as conception could be sin. When God creates a new life, that is glory of the highest order, never sin. No, I believe that baptism symbolically washes clean our old lives, and brings us into a bright new life in which God is our constant shepherd.”

Jerry’s body was now racked with sobbing and Michael could only put his arm around him in what seemed to be a useless effort to comfort him.

Paul spoke a bit more on the cleansing and healing effects of baptism. Then he paused and smiled at the congregation. “I have a surprise for you this beautiful morning. We have a baptism to perform today.” He raised his voice when he made this announcement and smiled broadly at the congregants. They all looked around expecting to see a new born baby somewhere in the church, but none was present.

“Will Jerry Rubin please come forward,” he called out to Jerry. Jerry stood up with wobbly legs, and virtually ran to the pulpit. He thought that if he walked slower, his legs would buckle out from under him. Michael’s jaw just dropped. For once, he was totally speechless. It was a good thing this was a church and not a court room.

Jerry stood beside Paul who put his arm around him and smiled. Then he looked at the congregation again, spotted the Fishers and said, “Jason and Josie Fisher, Jerry would consider it a great honor if you would stand as his godparents at the portal of his new and wonderful life.” The Fishers were stunned, but managed to find their way to the pulpit. When they got there they embraced Jerry, literally taking his breath away.

The pastor then performed a very non traditional, merely symbolic baptism. When he was through, he too embraced Jerry, and whispered to everyone to stay where they were. He motioned to the organist and she began to play ‘Climb Every Mountain’ from Carousel. The choir began to sing and the congregation joined in. Somewhere half way through the song, Michael could constrain himself no longer. He ran to the altar and enveloped Jerry in a very chaste and manly bear hug. Then all the members of the crew ran up and embraced Jerry in turn.

While hugging Jerry, Ron whispered in his ear, “We’re brothers now. We’ll have to cut out the incest.” Jerry whispered back, “Not on your life. We know certain people who haven’t been stopped by incest.” They broke away from each other smiling.

When the song ended, Paul had to shoo everyone back to their seats. When order was restored, he continued. “As usual we will have refreshments in the social hall after the service. Today, the food has been catered by our own Rosie Kelly and is a gift from our beloved baptismal boy, Jerry Rubin.” The congregation applauded. The choir led them in a final joyous hymn, and Paul bade them all to go in peace and with love in their hearts. He walked to the entrance of the church and greeted everyone as they proceeded to the social hall.

The crew usually went to Rosie’s for lunch after church, but today Rosie brought the lunch to them. There were bowls of mixed salad greens, shrimp salad, tuna salad and chicken salad, an assortment of breads, rolls, and bagels, and fruit salad for dessert. The buffet table was well equipped with plastic plates, bowls and flatware. On a table against the wall there was a cooler full of soft drinks, and two large urns with regular and decaf coffee. Sugar, sweeteners and cream were also in plentiful supply. Jeff and Jim were busy crunching numbers and concluded that this was going to cost Jerry a pretty penny.

That gave Jeff an idea. He went around the room, speaking to all the new friends and buddies he had met here. He was taking a head count of who wanted to go to Joey’s Place for dinner. He made sure that the Fishers had not planned on feeding everyone. Of course, the crew and Michelle were definitely going. Jeff didn’t give the Fishers an opportunity to say no to celebrating their godson’s baptism. Randy couldn’t accept quickly enough for him and Liz (unless he could get a sitter on short notice.) Paul, Dan and Warren also accepted. Jeff called Joey’s place and made a 5:30 reservation for fourteen people. Then he went over to where Joey and Rosie were huddled in conversation. He gave Joey a heads up about the large reservation.

Little by little the congregants left the social hall. Rosie’s cleanup crew arrived and Foster told Randy they were ready to go to the construction site. Michelle grabbed Randy’s hand and said, “Ooh, I can’t wait to see it.” This time he remembered he had a daughter. He picked her up and he, Liz and Michelle headed for Randy’s pickup truck. Ron and Foster went with Ron’s parents, and Paul went with Jeff, Jim, Michael and Jerry. Dan and Warren went in their car.

When they arrived at the cabin, the crew all uttered together, “OMG!” Just as Randy had promised the entire house was closed in. The roof and siding were completed, and from the outside, at least, the cabin not only looked huge, but it looked finished. The crew would have to stop referring to it as a cabin, and refer to it as their country home.

Everyone went inside. The old section had the new heating ducts running along the ceilings. The vents were clearly visible. It was otherwise relatively untouched.

“The ducts will be covered with drywall, and form soffits. We’ll be able to cover them with bric a brac,” Foster explained. They walked into the new wing through the doorless frame. All the studs were in place and the electrical wiring was already installed. The outlets were affixed to the studs.

The new furnace was installed and there was a new circuit breaker in the furnace room.

“The old breaker won’t be needed in the kitchen anymore so we’ll close it up and have more wall space,” Foster explained. He was treating this small addition as one of his major architectural projects. He was so proud and happy at the way it was developing.

Randy added, “After next weekend, you can start picking paint colors and you can start buying new furniture and carpeting.” He was still holding Michelle’s hand, while Michael was holding Liz’s. This prompted the crew, the Fishers and Paul to begin a discussion on decorating and furnishing. Josie let the newbies know that there was a Sears and a Walmart about three miles further up the road past Rosie’s. She suggested that they might want to visit the stores next weekend.

In the meantime Michelle and Randy had walked outside. The sun was bright and had warmed the air considerably. They were gazing deeply into each other’s eyes and were having a deep, very serious conversation. These two definitely had something going on.

Michael interrupted them by telling them that the rest of them were leaving to go back to the Fishers. Michelle said that she was spending the afternoon with Randy and Liz and they would all see them tonight at Joey’s.

The crew hung out at the Fishers all afternoon, and Paul remained with them. Actually he led a lonely life and these people were becoming like a family to him. In the future he would always be welcome to join them in family affairs. Josie kept the coffee pot going, and Rosie had urged everyone to take home some leftovers, so Josie put out some pastries also. The coffee got consumed but nobody ate the pastries. They were saving their appetites for Joey’s.

During the afternoon both Jason and Josie kept coming over to Jerry and hugging him. They had never been godparents before and it was like they wanted to make up for the twenty four years they had missed. As for Paul, this was the first baptism he had performed since he came to the community. He was pretty excited himself. He too kept hugging Jerry, and Michael’s gaydar was going bing, bing, bing. As for Michael, all he could think of was what baptismal gifts he could give the love of his life when they got home tonight. His imagination began to work overtime, and he knew it would be a while before he could stand up without embarrassing himself.

The afternoon passed all too soon. The love and warmth that filled this house made it difficult for everyone to want to leave. Finally Josie announced that it was time to go to Joey’s. The mid autumn sun was setting earlier every day, and it was nearly dark when they got into the cars. Again Ron and Foster went with the Fishers, and Paul went with the rest of the crew,

Joey greeted them with warm handshakes, but he gave Jerry a big hug and a broad smile. Randy and Michelle were there already, but no Liz. Obviously Randy had gotten a sitter. Michael was disappointed. There was a special bond growing between him and Liz, but of course he wasn’t aware of it yet. They were barely seated at the extra long table Joey had provided, when Dan and Warren came in also. Joey assigned two waiters and two bus boys to serve them. The waiters brought over two pitchers of beer, and informed them that the beer was on the house and refills were also part of the gift to Jerry. Joey wanted to give them wine, but he knew the crew well enough by now to know that everybody preferred beer with a barbequed meal. They all thanked Joey profusely as the waiters handed out menus. After the orders were taken, Michael stood up and asked everyone to fill their glasses.

“I want to make a toast,” he said. “Here’s to the handsomest, most wonderful guy in the world. He makes my life a total joy. He’s the reason I get up in the morning and the reason I can rest my head at night. Today he made me the happiest guy in the world, because now I know that we will not only spend this lifetime together, but we’ll be together for all eternity.”

“Here, here!” everyone said as they raised their glasses and sipped the beer. Paul was crying like a baby. He was sitting next to Josie who put her arm around his shoulder and pulled him toward her. Jerry knew that he was mourning for his deceased lover. The hopeless romantic that dwelled within him tried to think of someone appropriate to introduce to Paul. Nobody came to mind immediately.

Ron saw that it was getting late. He wanted to get on the road soon. After all tomorrow was a work day. He asked one of the waiters for the check and was informed that Mr. Simmons had taken care of it. Ron started to object, but Jeff stopped him. “This is our gift to Jerry,” he said. This has been an unbelievable day and Jim and I want to celebrate it with Jerry and Michael. Don’t forget we have known them longer than any of you, and it is truly our pleasure.”

When they got up to leave, Michael thought that he would need a crowbar to separate Randy and his sister, but they surprised him. They did kiss goodbye a little too long, and all the crotch watchers present saw the bulge growing in Randy’s pants so they looked discreetly away. But in the end they separated with a promise to speak to each other shortly.

They all drove to the Fishers. Randy was going to drop Paul off on his way home, and Michelle, Ron and Foster were getting back in the van. It took at least fifteen minutes for all the goodbye hugs and kisses, and Michael saw Paul kiss Jerry on the lips. He vowed to have a talk with Jerry on the matter.

During the trip home, Michelle kept getting text messages from Randy and returning messages to him.

“Disgusting,” Michael said mockingly.

Traffic was light and they made excellent time back to Phoenix. Jeff dropped Ron and Foster off first, and when they said goodnight, Ron couldn’t help but say to Jerry, “I’ll see you at lunch tomorrow, BRO!” But he got so emotional, his voice cracked when he said it.

Michael, Jerry and Michelle were next to be dropped off, and Jeff and Jim couldn’t wait to get home, shower and go to sleep. Go to sleep they did. They were too tired for anything else.

At the Costello/Rubin household things were different. Michael handed Michelle a bag full of cotton balls, and advised her strongly to stuff her ears. He and Jerry went into their room and closed the door. In minutes they were naked in bed. They didn’t give a damn that they hadn’t showered since that morning. Their lips and tongues locked in battle. Their hard as rock erections ground against each other.

“Fuck me, Michael. Fuck me hard. If I don’t feel you inside of me soon, I’ll die and I’ll go to heaven.” Jim added the last phrase in jest, and got Michael giggling. Nevertheless, Michael took the lube off his night table as Jerry got into position. He generously lubed Jerry’s ass and his own cock, and guided himself into Jerry’s waiting well. When Michael was all the way in and Jerry was filled to his satisfaction, Michael leaned forward. His abdomen dry humped Jerry’s eager prick and their lips were locked together in long and tender passionate kisses. They lay that way for a longtime, neither wishing to move and spoil the moment. But after a while nature got the best of them. Michael began to stroke in and out, in and out. While he did that, his fingers found Jerry’s nipples and began to gently pinch them. Michael’s abdomen rubbing Jerry’s cock, and now the tweaking nipples were too much for Jerry. Michael could sense that Jerry was close. He shifted position slightly, knowing that his cock would now graze against Jerry’s prostate. That did it. With a shout that Michelle had to hear, even with her ears stuffed with cotton, Jerry let loose his cum. It smeared between them so that they were nearly stuck together. When Jerry came he involuntarily constricted his ass and that put Michael over the top. He came screaming even louder than Jerry. He had never before experienced such an intense orgasm. He counted at least eight spasms of ejecting semen, before he collapsed on top of Jerry. They lay that way for a long time. Jerry’s hands kept running up and down Michael’s back and cupping and caressing Michael’s bubble butt. Finally, Michael rolled off Jerry, and they fell asleep.

When they got up the next morning, it was later than usual. They showered, shaved, and you know what, as quickly as possible. Once dressed, they went into the kitchen. Michelle had made coffee, put out juice, some bagels, butter and jam, and told them to sit down and eat something before heading out. They gobbled down their breakfasts, each gave her a peck on the cheek, and left for work in separate cars.

As soon as they left the apartment, Michelle went to the phone book and jotted down the numbers of three long distance bus lines, including Greyhound, that were listed in the yellow pages. She called each one and found out where she could get a bus to Lake Henry, the hours of departure and the fares.

Then she took a paper out of her purse. Randy had given her the name and telephone number of a regional hospital located about five miles north of Lake Henry.

She waited until a little past nine AM and called the hospital. She asked for the human resources department. A very pleasant sounding older woman answered the phone, identifying herself as Mrs. Perkins, and asked how she could help. Michelle explained that she was a registered nurse who was hoping to relocate in the vicinity of Lake Henry and wondered if there were any available positions.

“My dear,” Mrs. Perkins said. “We always have a severe nursing shortage since we are in such a rural area. If you are interested I’d be delighted to set up an interview at your earliest convenience. Do you have a résumé?”

“Yes, I most certainly do,” Michelle answered.

“My caller ID indicates that you are calling from Phoenix. Is that correct?”

“Right.”

“When could you be here?” Mrs. Perkins inquired

Michelle checked the bus schedule. “How about tomorrow after lunch?”

“Will one PM be OK with you?”

“Perfect.”

“Don’t forget your résumé,” Mrs. Perkins reminded her.

When she signed off with Mrs. Perkins, Michelle called Randy and told him what time she would arrive the next day. He mumbled something inanely romantic like he’ll be counting the minutes. They made some small talk for a while, neither wanting to hang up, but finally they did.

To be continued...

Posted: 07/11/08