Jacob Finding His Way

By: J.P.G.
(© 2009-2014 by the author)

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

Chapter 97 

Neither of them said a word. They just stood there looking at each other waiting for the other to be the first to break the silence. Which was weird for the two of them because whenever they are together you couldn’t get them to stop talking no matter what you said or did. It took a few minutes, but finally Ethan was the first to break the uncomfortable silence between the two guys. He took a couple steps back, opened the door all the way, and asked Ralph to come in.

The two boys made their way to one of the empty rooms in house. Once there, Ralph sat down on Ethan’s bed and Ethan joined him after he shut the door. For the second time that day neither of them said a word to each other. They sat there in silence looking at the wall in front of them. Ethan didn’t know what to say or how to say what he thinks Ralph needed to hear. Ralph had so many thoughts going on in his mind, he couldn’t think straight.

However it was Ethan once again who broke the silence between the two boys. “Please understand if anything I say comes out wrong I didn’t mean for it to come out that way.” Ethan reached over and grabbed a hold of Ralph’s hand. “No one can say they understand what another is going through unless they themselves have had that kind of hurt in their lives. I haven’t had the hurt in my life that you are suffering from right now. So I won’t sit here and tell you I know what you’re going through because I really don’t.

I can see in your eyes and the way you look that you’re really hurting right now. Not only have you lost your father, but it was you that had to take him to the hospital. It was you that spoke to him last. It was you that held him last. All that has to hurt. You had to go through something that no one our age should ever have to go through. Not just losing a parent, but having to be the one to call the ambulance and become the grown up in order to get your dad to hospital.”

As Ethan talked Ralph kept squeezing Ethan’s hand harder and harder. Each time he squeezed it, Ethan could see the tears rolling down his boyfriends face. They started out as drops, but quickly went to a steady stream rolling down his cheeks. He had no idea if he was saying the wrong thing, but figured to keep going until Ralph pulls away or lashes out at him.

“I met your dad a couple of times and your mother as well. Even though I really didn’t get to know him or hold more than a hi and bye kind of conversation with him, I can say with confidence that he wouldn’t want you sitting here like this. He knows what you’re feeling and how it’s hard on you, but he doesn’t want you blaming yourself, feeling bad for him or anyone else for that matter or you rethinking that day wondering what you could have done different. There wasn’t a thing you could have done different. You did everything right and your dad I know is proud of you. It was just his time to go home and be with those of his family that have left this world before him.”

Everything that Ethan was saying Ralph knew was true. It’s just Ralph couldn’t get it to sink in. His mother, friends and now his boyfriend are telling him almost the same thing, but still he can’t see his way through the fog he’s in. A fog he’s never been in his life, at least not his recent life. When he and his sister was snatched away from their home, he was young, but not too young that he couldn’t understand what was going on and what he was feeling. Almost the same thing he is feeling right now, but over a different time in his life.

Ethan has never had to deal with anything close to what Ralph had to up to the point when they first met, and now this. He couldn’t help but think to himself is this it for the guy he loves. Is this going to be the last thing he’s going to be hurting for a while. Or is there something else out there that’s going to hit him soon. Then almost as if someone had slapped him across the face he remembered about Ralph’s real mother. He really didn’t know what to say, but knew this silence was doing more harm than saying the wrong thing.

Ethan turned to make eye contact with Ralph, but couldn’t. Ralph was looking down at the floor showing no signs of looking up. Slowly with his other hand Ethan reached over and put it under his chin. He held it there for a few seconds to see if Ralph would pull away or slap his hand away. When he didn’t, Ethan gently and very slowly raised his boyfriends head until they were at eye level. Letting go of his hand, he wiped away the tears that were rolling down his face.

“There’s nothing anyone can tell you to make you feel better. Anyone that you talk to will probably say what I or your mothers have said, but none will make the hurt go away. That’s only going to happen in time. How long, no one really knows since each person hurts and comes through a loss like you just had differently.

But you can’t close yourself off. You can’t stop doing what you like doing. You can’t change your life and not live it. That isn’t again what your father wants for you.” Ralph blinked as the last of the tears rolled out of his eyes. “I’m not sitting here trying to tell you to go out and party and forget what happened. No, I’m telling you to live not just for yourself, but for your dad.”

“When did you get so smart?” In a low, scratchy voice Ralph spoke for the first time. “I should be the one talking the way you are, not the other way around. I’ve been to college.” Ethan loved what he just saw make an appearance. Ralph cracked a small smile. Not his normal huge glowing smile, but a smile none the less. “But I’m glad I’m back in high school with you!”

Ralph started to lean over until his head hit Ethan’s shoulder. Together they moved back on the bed until their bodies were against the wall. Once there, at the same time they reached out for the others hand. They fumbled at first, but they did get their hands in each other’s as they sat there in silence thinking about all the craziness that they have been through in the last week or so. Hoping things would get better in the days and weeks to come.

Meanwhile on the Northeast side of town at Fort Bliss Andy Jr. was ending his shift at the gate as an MP when one of the base Command Sergeant Major’s walked up to him. At first when he saw the Sergeant Major walking up to him he didn’t think that he was coming to talk with him. Then when he saw the older gentlemen look up and make eye contact he knew he was the one that he got out of his office to see, which got Andy worried.

“Sergeant Hernandez can you give me a few minutes?” Andy nodded his head knowing he didn’t have any other options because it wasn’t really a question. It was more like an order. “Please walk with me over here.” The Command Sergeant Major pointed to the side, away from the others. “Your battalion commander wants to see you ASAP. So log out of here and head down to battalion staff where he’s waiting for you.”

Andy Jr. said the only thing he could and that was yes sir, right away way sir. He did as he was told and checked out of his post, jumped into his car and made his way to battalion staff. All the way over he couldn’t figure out why he was being ordered to appear in front of his battalion commander. To his knowledge he hadn’t done anything wrong.

All the thoughts that were going through his mind didn’t matter because in a few short minutes the questions he has been asking himself was going to be answered. Andy arrived faster than he thought at battalion staff. He got out of his car and made his way up into the building. As he made that long walk from the parking lot to his battalion commander’s office, he tried to gather his thoughts and emotions. Trying his best not to let his mind get away from him.

Stopping at the door of is Battalion Commander, Andy took a few breaths before knocking. No sooner before his arm fell to his side he heard the colonel invite him in. Nervously Andy turned the knob and walked in. The first thing he saw was the colonel who was sitting behind his desk going through files, which he was sure one of them was his.

The colonel looked up and smiled at Andy as he waved him to come closer. The smile put Andy at ease just little, but since he didn’t know the guy he didn’t know if he always had a smile on his face whenever he talked to his soldier’s. Trying to match his smile, Andy put a smile on his face as he made his way over to the desk.

“Sergeant Andy Hernandez the third?” The Colonel asked as he looked up from the file. Andy immediately answered yes. “Please stand at ease son.” Andy went from the position of attention to at ease and then took a seat when the colonel gave him permission to. “Can I offer you something to drink? I understand you came straight from the gate to my office.”

“No thank you sir, I’m fine.” The colonel didn’t take no for an answer on the drink. “Okay a Pepsi will be fine if you have one.” The Colonel nodded his head as he got up and walked over to his miniature refrigerator. He grabbed out two cold Pepsis and handed one to Andy when he got back to his desk. Andy took the can, opened and took a couple small sips from it.

“The reason I asked to see you today is because I was notified late yesterday afternoon that you have gotten a degree in…” The Colonel started to look through Andy’s record. “Let’s see I understand the degree was in business if I’m not mistaken.” Andy answered yes. “And you minored in two different languages, Spanish and in German, is that correct.” Once again Andy answered yes. “Why didn’t you inform your squad leader or your platoon sergeant that you were going to college and that you received your degree?”

Andy was a little confused about the question. He didn’t know that he was supposed to report up to the change of command when he got his degree. But he knew not to keep his battalion commander waiting for answer, so he said what came to his mind. “Yes sir I just graduated and I was going on Monday to inform my platoon sergeant about my degree since I just got it yesterday.”

The Colonel just nodded as he looked at Andy’s record. “You have no write ups or anything else for that matter in the negative on your record. Your inspections have been excellent. You are certified expert in several weapons. Whenever asked to pull extra duty or train in something that you haven’t been trained in before, you jump at it.” The Colonel looked up from the record and made eye contact with Andy. “That is all excellent. Tell me do you plan to sign up for another tour when this one is over? I believe you have what two and half years left on it?”

“Well sir I haven’t really thought that far ahead. I love being in the army and I’ve done a tour already in Iraqi. Since being back I’ve jumped at every opportunity out there to get trained in all the areas I can. Whenever I’m not training here on the base or on duty, I’m at school getting an education. I plan to go back in the fall and start on another degree. What I don’t know, but if time permits I plan to. So to make a long story short if nothing big changes in my life right now I do plan to sign up for another tour when the time comes.”

“That’s what I like to hear.” The Colonel leaned back in his seat. “We try every chance we get to push our NCO’S to get a college degree. With you I’ve been told no pushing needed to be done. That I like even better. You got your education because you wanted to better yourself, not because you were pushed into it with promises of advancement.

With that said you have got a college degree which makes you eligible to become an officer. Ten or so years ago these kinds of promotions were rare because the soldier would get out, get his and her college degree and then come back in as a commissioned officer. You stayed in and got your degree, which is an amazing accomplishment on top of everything else you are certified in. With what I saw in your record I knew the answer to the question I asked before you gave it to me on you signing for another tour.”

The Colonel leaned forward in his seat with a smile on his face. “I lost my second lieutenant to third platoon. You getting your college degree when you did helps me out a lot. I’m going to promote you to second lieutenant and place you in charge of third platoon. Of course you’re going to have to take a couple classes after the promotion, but after reading your record and hearing you what you had to say I don’t see that being a problem.”

Andy couldn’t help but smile after hearing the news. “I have no problem at all taking any classes you feel I need to take. I’ll make sure to take the classes and pass them with honors. Also I’ll not let you down on the trust you are placing in me by this promotion. I know you could have gone outward and got another officer, but you promoted within.”

“I’m promoting the right guy to the position. I have no doubt about that.” The Colonel grabbed a pen from his desk and signed a couple of areas in Andy’s record before closing it. “I’m going to keep a close eye on you. There’s no doubt in my mind that you’re going to do great things and one day you’re going to have my job, if not make general before you retire.”

That made Andy’s smile a bit bigger. He quickly wiped off the smile when he saw the colonel looking straight at him. Not knowing if it offended him or not, Andy wasn’t going to take a chance. As soon as he wiped the smile off his face, the colonel went over when the promotion was going to take place, when he was going to take the classes and when he was going to take over third platoon. Once he was done, he excused Andy who the minute he walked out of the office, he almost ran to his car. He couldn’t wait to tell his family what had just happened.

Talking about his family, Gloria and Andy Sr. were arriving back from their second honeymoon. They had gone to The Bahamas courtesy of her son and father. They had no plans on a big honeymoon when they were putting together their wedding. They didn’t even have plans for the size of wedding they got once again thanks to her son and father. All they were planning on doing for their honeymoon was getting away for the weekend to Elephant Butte Lake.

Their plans changed when they were presented the package by Al and Jacob the day of their wedding. Both of them didn’t want to accept the gift because they knew how expensive it was, but they knew they couldn’t because it was already paid for. Not only that, neither Jacob or Al would have taken it back. With big smiles on their faces and true gratitude in their hearts, they accepted the vacation, thanked the two that were presenting it and had fun on it.

They didn’t have a dull moment. In fact, they came back needing a vacation from their honeymoon. That’s how busy they kept themselves. And there wouldn’t been a doubt in your mind if you saw them when they returned from their honeymoon that they went somewhere like The Bahamas due to the beautiful tans both of them had. They glowed not only from the tans, but from the love they were feeling for each other. Love that they didn’t feel the first time they got married, which confused them because they both felt they were as much in love if not more the first time.

There were a few things they could point to that were different that might be the cause of their feelings of love for each to seem stronger. The last time around they weren’t nowhere as stable as they are at that moment. Yes they were both in the military, but that couldn’t be compared to their jobs now. Their family was all there at the second wedding. Yes they didn’t have their kids the first time around, but Al wasn’t present nor was most of each other’s family the first time around. And finally the stress wasn’t there that they had the first time around. They had a paid off a home once it was done being built. They had no money issues. There was no bickering back and forth or their drug issues. All and all they were very happy.

That happiness showed when they walked into the doors of the hotel. Even though Jacob and the gang had already moved out a couple days before and they had left for their Spring Break vacation earlier that morning, they were glad to be home. There wasn’t anyone running around or loud noise in the lobby that they were used to, which made them a little gloomy, but they were tired from their trip and all they wanted to do was go up to their room and relax.

As soon as they got to their room they did just that. Not bothering with their suitcases, they put them off to the side and headed to the bed. The moment their heads hit their pillows they were out and didn’t stir again until several hours later. They were so tired an earthquake, a tornado or any other man made noise or act of God would have woken them up.

However it was Gloria who woke up first. She crawled out of bed, doing her best not to disturb Andy. Once out she looked down at her sleeping husband unable to believe that she actually slept during the day. Something she has never done before unless she was sick that is. Still a little stunned she made her way to the bathroom to wash up before sitting down at the table in their room to go over what they had spent while on their honeymoon.

Once she balanced her check book and made sure that every red cent was accounted for, she turned her attention to the suitcases against the wall. After unpacking the clean clothes, she made her way down the hall to the small laundry room off to the side to put several loads to go. Armed with a puzzle book, she sat down and opened it up to start working on the puzzle that she left at, but her mind wouldn’t stop wondering off to other things.

While sitting there as the clothes were in the machines she couldn’t keep her mind from wondering about her kids, mainly Jacob. Even though Jacob likes to think of himself as an adult already, Gloria couldn’t think that way. He was just a junior in high school who in her mind still needed his parents in his life for the next couple of years to show him right from wrong.

Putting aside her puzzle book, Gloria grabbed a flyer off the wall and flipped it over. She started to jot down a few things on it before picking up the phone that was on the wall in the laundry room. A couple calls later she had all the information she needed. Excited about what she came up with, she tossed the clothes from the washer machines into the dryers before making her way back to her room where she found Andy awake sitting on the bed.

He looked over at Gloria when she walked through the door with a confused look on his face. He was worried when he woke up and didn’t find Gloria at his side or nowhere in the room. “Where in the world did you go off to?” Andy spoke in a low concerned voice. “I woke up and didn’t find you in bed or anywhere in the room. I started to get worried and was about to go out looking for you when you walked in the door. Don’t do that again to me! Please…..”

“I’m sorry I should have left you a note that I was down the hall in the laundry room doing a couple of loads.” Gloria interrupted her husband as she sat down next to him on the bed. “It felt weird out there without the kids coming and going. I know we have to get use to the quiet until we move into the new home, but it’s so hard. I felt weird leaving the kids to go on our honeymoon and now that we are back I feel even worse that they’re gone and I didn’t get to see them.”

“I know how you’re feeling!” Andy wrapped his arm around Gloria and pulled her in close. “I feel the same way and I know it’s harder on you since you have been with them since they were born, but our kids are no longer babies. Look at Jr. in the army he’s already gone overseas to a war zone and back. Jacob where do we even begin there. He doesn’t act his age at all, and who can blame him with everything he has already accomplished. The only ones we still have for a couple of years is Marie and Davey, but they are with Jacob having the time of their lives. It’s hard I know, but you need to let them have fun outside our watchful eyes.”

Gloria stayed quiet. She hated it but everything Andy had just said was true. At the same time though she didn’t want to go along with him. All she wanted was to be with all her kids. She has lost out on too many years being there for them and for her older ones Marie and Jacob she knew her time was coming to an end to be the mother she felt she wasn’t for several years.

After several minutes of dead silence Gloria finally found her voice. “Your right, but you know me Andy and there is no way I can let them out of my watchful eyes. I went against my mother instincts when you talked me into letting them go on this trip to Disneyland. You gave me several good reasons why I should go against those instincts, but they are crying out to me right now. I don’t know if it’s because they are in trouble or I just miss them, but they are crying out to me.”

“Gloria I really believe it’s the latter. You just miss them because they have never been away from you or you have been away from them this long.” Andy chuckled. “We have been away from the kids already a week, which the last couple of days of our honeymoon I thought I was going to have to tie you down. Now we’re back and the kids just started their Spring Break vacation away from here. Again I know it’s going to be hard, but you have to let them be. They’ll be back soon.”

Andy could tell he wasn’t getting through to Gloria by the look on her face and he was right. Just as he finished Gloria handed him the flyer that she jolted things down on the back end of it. He looked first at the front end and didn’t understand why his wife would give him an old flyer. Then when he turned it over it made complete sense. He looked it over several times before responding to what she had written down. There was no way he was going to say a word until he read it all.

“Okay so you have been very busy since you woke up. From unpacking our bags. Doing laundry, you also found time to gather all this information.” Andy pointed to the flyer. “We have the money to do this. Without a doubt no one would mind if we did it. However none of that should matter. What should matter is should we do it. It could come off looking bad in so many ways in our kid’s eyes. Do we actually want to deal with their anger when we were trying to do something nice?”

Before Gloria could answer Andy there was a soft knock on the door. They looked at each other with surprised looks on their faces because they thought they were the only ones on their floor. Then whoever was on the other side of the door knocked again, but a little louder they got a response from Andy. He stood up and asked who it was as he walked over to the door. When he heard the familiar voice of his son Andy on the other side a grin formed from ear to ear.

Andy Sr. quickly opened the door and invited his eldest son in. As they hugged each other, Gloria made her way over and took her son into her arms after he and his father were done hugging. After the pleasantries were done, Andy Jr. got right to why he stopped in. He needed to tell someone and because of that his father had to tell him several times to slow down. It took several tries, but Andy Sr. and Gloria not only understood, but they were ecstatic after hearing the news.

At the same time Gloria and Andy Sr. jumped to their feet and went to hug Andy Jr. As they held him they kept saying over and over again how proud they were of him. Neither of them reached that rank when they were in the military, which made Andy Jr. the first of their family to become an officer. An accomplishment any parent would be proud of that one of their children accomplish what they themselves weren’t able to.

“So with this new promotion does it mean that your plans for vacation have changed?” Gloria asked as she let go of her son. She saw the ugly look her husband shot her after she asked through the corner of her eye. “I mean you’ve already bought your plane tickets for yourself and Seth. On top of that you told Jacob and the others that you were going to be there later this evening.”

Andy Jr. walked over to chair by the window and sat down. “None of that has changed.” That got a smile out of Gloria. “Before leaving I spoke with my platoon sergeant and asked him that very question. He informed me since my promotion doesn’t happen until the middle of next month and the classes start after that, nothing has changed as far as my leave. So as of now I’m on leave and don’t have to report back until Tuesday of next week.”

“Good, very good!” Gloria spoke almost in a high pitch voice as she made her way to the chair next to Andy. By the way she was talking and her body language Andy Jr. knew she had something to say that might throw him off his feet. He looked over at his father for some kind of clue, but all he got was a blank look. “There is something that your father and I would like to get your advice on. Let me say everything before you say anything, okay?”

Andy agreed, giving the green light to Gloria to let whatever was on her mind out. Without skipping a beat she did just that. For the second time in less than an hour she told Andy Jr. what she had just finished telling his father before he had knocked on the door. Andy Jr. sat there quietly listening and when his mother gave him the flyer he looked it over before putting it on the table.

“So what do you think?” Gloria threw out the question, but wasn’t ready yet to hear the answer to it. “Your father believes that we should let you boys be alone, and well I don’t.” The look Gloria was getting from her son was disbelief and she didn’t like it. “Don’t get me wrong on what I just said. I trust you guys. Heck after everything that we have been through I really don’t have the right to say much in yours and Jacob’s lives, but Marie and Davey’s I do.

However that doesn’t mean I’m planning on going down there and stopping those two or anyone for that matter on having fun.” Gloria looked at her son with a sad look on her face. “It’s been a week since I have seen you guys and by the time everyone gets back from Disneyland it will be two weeks. I have never been away from you kids for that long.” Gloria mumbled a few words before she was able to be understood again. “I know I need to learn to let go and get used to not seeing you guys for weeks at time, but not yet. You guys are still my babies.”

Even though he and his mother haven’t really had a good son and mother relationship of late, he could understand where his mother was coming from. He could see in her eyes and her body language she truly misses her kids. Each and every single one of them. Now all she wants to do is move heaven and earth to see her kids sooner than later.

“Mom I can see you really missed us while you were gone. If what you have told us is true and you will stick to it, I don’t see why you and dad can’t go up with me and Seth. I’m sure the others wouldn’t mind either…” Andy trailed off as he chuckled. “Well maybe at first they’ll mind but once you show them you are there to have fun and not stop them from having fun, they won’t mind you being there. In fact, they would treasure it for years to come.”

Andy Sr. wasn’t about to be the only nay sayer in the group. He echoed what his son said and that was that they were on their way to Disneyland. Andy Jr. stuck around for a few more minutes making traveling plans with his parents before leaving them alone to pack for the second time in a week. Really a second time in a day, a third time in a week period.

Meanwhile as Andy Sr., Jr. and Gloria were packing, Al was on his way to a meeting from the airport with the CEO of the Angel Corporation. He figured since he had a few hours to kill in El Paso from coming in from Austin, and before heading out to Disneyland, he was going to take care of a few things that were nagging him all week. Things that he knows Jacob was on top of, but wanted to make sure himself they were being done on the time schedule that was set out for them to get done in. A time schedule that Jacob put together and he agreed with.

It didn’t take him long to get from the Airport to Angel Corp. headquarters, or find a parking spot once he was there. When he walked up to the building he wasn’t surprised to find Oscar waiting for him in the lobby since he had phoned ahead. They greeted each other, but didn’t talk business on the way up to Al’s old office. Instead they made small talk so it wasn’t uncomfortable, but that changed quickly the minute they walked into Al’s office.

“Thank you for coming in on a Saturday and meeting with me Oscar!” Al spoke as he sat down behind his desk. Oscar smiled as he sat down saying no problem. “There are a couple of things I need to get with you on before I head out to join my family in California. So I’m not late getting to the airport or we waste anymore of your Saturday than we should, let’s get right to it.”

Oscar agreed. “The first thing I have got a call on is Tom, my grandson’s friend that got hurt badly in that accident and is now in Colorado doing rehab. The first time I got these calls I promised it was going to be taken care and they took my word on that. I left it in your hands to follow up and make sure it was taken care of, but before leaving Austin I get several calls about the same thing that I already had promised was going to be looked after. What’s going on here? I know this is personal to a point, but you said you had no problem handling it.”

“I’m really sorry sir, it just fell through the cracks.” Oscar could see that didn’t make Al happy at all. “I intended on taking care of the problems Tom and David were having up there as soon as we got off the phone that day, but I was pulled into a meeting and then another. By the time I returned back to my office I had completely forgot about what we had talked about until now.”

“This makes me and Jacob look bad. You know as well as I do in order to succeed in business people need to trust us. If we don’t deliver on promises we make, we as a company won’t be trusted. We just can’t have that because whenever we’re trying to make deals and we ask the other side to trust us, they won’t because of bad faith promises we made in the past.

Forget that part for now, what about David and Tom. If I didn’t wire them money before leaving Austin, David wouldn’t have the vehicle he is driving or Tom the treatment he is getting. The insurance company of that fucking trucking company is only paying for a portion of his treatment, Jacob is paying the rest of it. Tom and David don’t know that and will never find out because Jacob doesn’t want them to feel they owe him a thing. He wants them to believe the trucking company is paying for it all. Why, I don’t know, but he wants it that way.”

Al mumbled to himself thinking that Oscar couldn’t understand, but Oscar did. Al wasn’t happy that the trucking company wasn’t paying for the whole treatment. He couldn’t help himself on asking Al why they were refusing to pay for it all. “Simply put it is experimental. They have no problem paying for everything that is a proven method to fix Tom’s injuries, but the course of action Tom, David and his family chose to take didn’t fall under those proven methods.

We threatened to take them back to court and it wasn’t until we called their bluff that they agreed to pay eighty percent of the cost of Tom’s rehabilitation. Leaving Tom and his family to pay twenty, which would have wiped them out of everything he got from the lawsuit and more. Jacob didn’t want that so he stepped in and made a deal to pay for the rest. He also made everyone at that rehab center in Colorado promise to never speak a word of him being involved.”

Not one word Al just said felt good to Oscar. He knew he made a mistake when he didn’t follow through with what he had promised Al he would, but until now he didn’t know how big a mistake it was. The young kid could have been put out on the street because of him not following through, a mistake he plans to not make again if Al doesn’t fire him on the spot.

“Look I know it wasn’t right for me to ask you to do what I asked since it had nothing to do with the job you were hired for. It was a personal issue and for that reason and that reason alone it falls on Jacob and myself. So from this point on you won’t be asked to do things that are personal to Jacob and me or for any one in our family for that matter.”

Al turned away from Oscar. He heard good things about this guy and that is why he pushed for him to get hired, but with what just happened he is thinking he might have made a mistake. Those who he talked to told him that Oscar was dependable on anything that he is handed to deal with. That might be the case running a business, but when it comes down to taking care of something that really has nothing to do with running the business he doesn’t make it a priority.

“Mr. Serna please understand the day we talked there was a lot of things going on here in the office. I was in and out of so many meetings I just forgot. To make matters worse the file in which I jotted all the information down got buried and then filed away with the wrong files.” Oscar took a breath before continuing. “I’m not making excuses because I did mess up, but that is what happened. In the future I promise you it will never happen again.”

“Oscar, do you think Jacob or I are mad with you?” Oscar answered yes. “Sir, neither Jacob nor I have that right. What I asked you to do that day was personal and you weren’t hired to do that. The only reason I asked you to handle it was because it dealt with company funds. I wanted everything to be on the up and up in case we were ever audited. It can never look like Jacob or I are trying to hide money or steal money from our company.

With that said before leaving for vacation Jacob did something that surprised the hell out of me. He went and got a group insurance for all those living in the house, which will cover everything else that the truck company doesn’t pay for Tom.” Al chuckled. “It was a few dollars more for Jacob to get pre-existing conditions covered like Tom’s accident, but he got it done. In the long run it will save us millions. I mean damn he blew me away with the deal he was able to get.”

Al reached down and pulled up his briefcase from the floor. Oscar sat there watching as Al opened his briefcase and pulled out several files. After putting the briefcase back on the floor and going through the files, Al found the one he was looking for and handed it to Oscar. Oscar knew what it was, but his curiosity got the better of him. He wanted to see what deal Jacob was able to hatch out on one of the most expensive items to buy these days, insurance.

At first Oscar couldn’t make heads or tails of what he was reading until he read it a second time and then he saw how Jacob was able to get such a good deal. He isn’t paying a dime in insurance for himself or for anyone in his home for that matter. Instead of looking for the cheapest rate, he looked for an insurance company that needed investors and invested in it.

“Wow, Jacob is learning and learning fast, isn’t he?” Oscar asked as he handed the file back to Al, who pushed it back to him. “Prudential looked like they were in trouble and then they got a silent partner which by the looks of it is Jacob.” Al nodded his head. “Now by owning a good percentage of this insurance company, he’s able to cover all those he wants for pennies on the dollar.”

“Exactly! Like I said when he presented this to me before heading out yesterday I was stunned, but then I thought why I should be stunned, he is blood after all.” Al chuckled. “The reason I’m asking you to keep that copy is so you can go over it and know what’s going on. Jacob and I agreed that since this company has a stake in Prudential we need to switch all of those we offer health insurance over to it and offer it to the rest of our employees.”

“I agree and the sooner the better. We’re paying out of the ass on our part of the health insurance for our employees, and we aren’t paying the whole amount. Our employees that are getting health insurance are paying a part of the cost as well. So I’ll get to work on this first thing Monday and have it ready to be presented to our employees by midweek.”

“Sounds good to me. Now the final thing I need to talk with you before I head out…” Al looked over at the clock on the wall. “Is the other purchase Jacob has made recently Auto Zone? He bought them and put them under the umbrella of the Angel Corp., but neither of you are going to have a real say in the day to day operations of those stores. Jacob gave the stores to Dewayne to run and believes in him that he can do it without supervision. However, I feel at first he has to have supervision because this type of business he has never ran before.”

“Once again I agree with you sir! By not owning the stores straight out, being a franchise, any mistake can cause us to lose the stores at a lot lower price than we paid for them. Even though Jacob might not like it, or Dewayne, he’s going to need supervision at first. I suggest we bring in someone to be Vice President to the Auto Zone stores. That person will report to Dewayne, run things during the day while he’s at school, but can’t make any decisions final. That falls on Dewayne and him only. I believe if we package it like that Jacob and Dewayne will buy it.”

Al leaned back and thought about what Oscar had just presented. “You know I like you’re thinking and will go along with it, but you did misspeak on one thing.” Oscar went over quickly in his mind what he just said and didn’t see where he said anything wrong. “Jacob once again made an excellent deal when he bought Auto Zone. The former owners weren’t under franchise. That is rare to find now a days with chains like that, but it’s true. Jacob was able to keep Auto Zone Corps. Greedy little hands out of it and took over the stores as they stood, privately owned.”

Oscar was confused. When the negotiations were going on one of the things that were going back and forth was franchise. He wasn’t aware that Jacob had gotten a deal that gave him and Dewayne actual ownership of the stores. Companies like Auto Zone, McDonalds and etc. only franchise out their stores so they can come back in later and take them over if they wanted to. Now with the way the deal was made they can’t come in and just take it over.

“Also I know Angel has really nothing to do with the 7-Elevens that Dewayne and Tony own, but with Dewayne moving over to Auto Zone it will leave Tony all alone dealing with 7-Eleven. I can’t have that! We need to figure out a way to get someone over there as well to help out on running things pretty much all the time. Tony isn’t going to be able to give it the attention it needs while he is in high school. He needs to put all his attention into his studies.”

“I thought we had someone over there already.” The name he was trying to remember was right on the tip of his tongue, but he just couldn’t get it out until Al helped him out. Al quickly said yes and reminded Oscar of Joe Moore. “Yes Mr. Moore is the Vice President of operations over already. I say since he is in place already we inform him that he will be pretty much on his own from here on in until either Dewayne or Tony are out of school and can give the stores the attention it needs. I’m sure he’s doing that already anyway.”

“Yes he is, but we have a problem.” Al’s voice got very low and serious. He looked around as if what he is about to say was a state secret and wanted to make sure no one was there to overhear. It confused Oscar, but Oscar didn’t ask any questions. He played along. “I spoke with Major Moore last Wednesday and he gave me some troubling news.”

Al let that sit out there not saying anything else for a few seconds. As each second clicked away, Oscar got more anxious to hear what the Major had said. Finally what seemed like eternity to Oscar Al broke the silence between them. “He informed me why he retired from teaching. It wasn’t what we were led to believe. Not by a long shot.

He was diagnosed with cancer last year. At first he thought he could stay working and fight it, but he quickly found that wouldn’t be possible. Not if he wanted a chance to survive.” Al took a deep breath as he gathered his thoughts. He knew he could say so much before he reached that line that it wasn’t his spot to talk about another’s personal business. Like it or not this was Major Moore’s personal business and both of them have to respect that.

“He was going to retire and fight the cancer. However, all that changed when Jacob went to him and asked him to come and work for Dewayne and Tony as their Vice President of Operations. He informed Jacob about his personal health issues, but Jacob still wanted him. They came to an agreement that they both could live with that resulted in Major Moore coming on board. That agreement doesn’t include him taking on any more responsibilities that he already has, which I understand and can’t blame him. At the end of the day our health is our number one priority.”

“Yes, but I wish we knew about this deal.” Al could hear the frustration in Oscar’s voice. “Jacob makes a lot of good deals and he also makes deals with his heart, which the latter will always come back and kick him in the ass. He has to stop letting his heart make decisions for this company. If he keeps letting his heart lead him he is going to run this company into the ground.”

Oscar got up from his seat and started pacing around his office. “I have seen things since I have been here that I have never seen in any other company I have been involved with. First the eldest goes off and leaves controlling interest of a multibillion dollar company in the hands of a teenager that really has no experience running a lemonade stand, more so a multibillion dollar company.

Second, this young owner is bringing his friends on board. That can’t happen because it is a conflict of interest. No matter how much a person believes that he or she could put their friendships aside and work as boss and employee are just setting themselves up for failure. I have seen several incidents that Jacob should have spoken, written up or even fired one of his friends, but did nothing.

And finally deals by handshake like the one we just finished talking about. Jacob has a big heart and wants to always be the good guy, but as owner he can’t be that person. He has to be the boss and a boss has to be ruthless and mean most of the time. If not, we land up in predicaments like the one we are in right now having to look for another VP of Operations for the 7-Elevens. It was all done with good intentions in mind, but that can’t happen when others are depending on you to keep the doors open that gives them their jobs that pay their bills.”

Al let Oscar rant on, but didn’t like it. Even though some of what he was saying had merit it wasn’t his place. Like it or not that kid that has a big heart is his boss and can fire him at any time. That wouldn’t look good being fired by a seventeen year old high school student. If that ever happens there is no way Oscar could get another job as a CEO in any company out there.

“These deals he makes he needs to clear them with either you or me. I had no idea that he was looking at an insurance company, more so he went ahead and did what he did with Prudential. The musical chairs here with Dewayne and what he is going to head up is wrong. Deals with former teachers that don’t make any sense, friends working here in this office and other places in the company and yes the promise he made to pay Tom’s health care bills. These were all wrong in their own way and if I was brought in on each of them I could have directed Jacob the right direction.” Oscar remembered one thing he didn’t mention which made him chuckle. “Oh let’s not forget inheriting dealerships he not only doesn’t know how to run, but has no one that does…”

“Enough Oscar, enough!” Al yelled as he slammed his fist on his desk. Oscar knew he over stepped when he turned and saw the look on Al’s face. “At first I let you go so you could get everything off of your chest, but you went where you shouldn’t have gone.” Al stood up and pointed to the seat where Oscar was sitting. “This pacing back and forth is getting on my nerves, so why don’t you sit back down before I ask you to leave my office.”

Oscar did as he was told and sat back in his seat. “Now let me make one thing as clear as I can right here and right now. JACOB IS THE OWNER OF ANGEL CORP., NOT YOU! He doesn’t have to clear a damn thing with you if he chooses not to. HE doesn’t have to clear a damn thing with me if he chooses not to. So don’t you stand there in my office saying that he needs to check in with you on every decision before he finalizes it.”

“Sir, with all due respect I wasn’t trying….” Al raised his hand. “I let you go on your little rant, now it’s my turn to talk. Jacob will make whatever decisions or deals he wants to dealing with his company. If those decisions are wrong he needs to learn from them and move on. There will be times he will come to you or me for advice, but the times he doesn’t we need to respect and obey whatever decision he makes. End of story on that topic.

Moving on to the topic about deals between him and Major Moore. Those deals were reached before you came on board, and even if you were on board at the time he has the right to make those deals as owner of this company. His friends working here I don’t see a problem with that. And finally the Tom issue has been dealt with and you had nothing to do with that so don’t bring it up again. Jacob and I had the right to do what we did and didn’t break any laws doing it.

Now I know you were called in at the last minute to meet with me and that alone would anger anyone. So I will blame this outburst on that and forget it ever happened. However, if you ever speak to me like you just did or Jacob, you’re gone. If you ever question your boss’s decision or disrespect your boss in the fashion you did here to today again, you’re gone.

You’re a great and smart man. I respect you and let’s not forget it was I that went and got you, but I won’t be on the receiving end of one of those rants again. You are a perfect fit for this company, but you are going to have to change your thinking on certain things that you are used to having done a certain way. As I told you when I brought you on board here as the CEO you were going to work for Jacob, a seventeen year old high school student. You said you had no problem with that. Has that changed since you sat down and interviewed for this job?”

Not answering right away, Oscar sat there thinking about the question that was asked. Hating what was coming to mind his feelings about having a teenage boss has changed since he interviewed for the position. At first, he didn’t mind or care. He thought a job was a job no matter who was the owner. Now though his thoughts were a little bit different. Having a teenager as a boss is a lot different than having an older person that had experience of life behind him or her.

“This silence speaks volumes to me Mr. Olson!” Hearing Al call him by his last name snapped him out of it. Al hadn’t called him mister, followed by his last name, in a long time. Which by him doing so told him Al was losing patience with him. “Do you have a problem having a seventeen year old as your boss? If so we can fix it so you are no longer uncomfortable and it doesn’t hurt you from moving on from this job. All I need is an answer from you.”

“Mr. Serna I told you from the get go that I was going to be completely honest with you on every matter that we face. The matter before us is no exception.” Oscar for the first time since he could remember was actually nervous. “Jacob is a very smart young man and there is no doubt in my mind as he gets more experience running a business like this he is going to get even smarter. I wouldn’t be surprised ten years from now this company is one of the largest in this country.

With that said let me answer the question you asked. At first when you hired me I had no problem working with a teenager as a boss. I figured a boss was a boss. Then I started working with him and saw how wrong I was. He does things differently than I’m used to. However at the end not only they are not wrong, they make this company money. That tells me I need to learn to change with the times, which I’m more than capable of doing so.

In other words Mr. Serna I have no problem working for your grandson. After these last several months I have learned how he does things and I can work with that. Now the thing I do ask is that I’m kept more in the loop when deals are being done. Like it or not I have a lot of experience that might come in handy to get even a better deal than what’s on the table.”

Al chuckled as he got up from his seat and started heading towards the door. “You are right on that and that is one of the reasons I hired you.” As Al reached the door he turned and looked at Oscar who had gotten up and was making his way to the door as well. “I’ll talk with Jacob and ask him to, or should I say suggest to him to keep you in the loop on the things he is doing. After all you are the CEO and you need to know what is going on before anyone else finds out in this company. I’m sure after talking with Jacob he will open the line of communication with you when he returns.”

Oscar wanted to know how Al was going to present this issue to his grandson, but decided not to ask. One of the first things he learned about Al, and Jacob they don’t bad mouth anyone. They don’t go to another and say he or she was complaining or anything like that. Instead they present things to each other as suggestions and leaves it up to the other to decide how to go forward.

The two men made their way to the elevator making small talk as if nothing had changed, which in both of their minds nothing really had. Al still trusted Oscar, but he wasn’t blind either. After Oscar’s rant he got a wakeup call that the CEO he recommended isn’t a very happy man at that moment. Until he sees that change, he is going to keep a close eye on him. Oscar on the other hand knew he overstepped the mark, but hoped he stopped himself before doing lasting damage. He wants this job to be his last stop before retirement and changing with the times makes that happen, he is willing to do that. As long as he is able to do positive things for the company he is working for.

The two of them bid Farwell to each other once they reached the parking garage. Al got into one of the company vehicles and headed to the hotel. The drive was short since there wasn’t much traffic on the roads and the hotel being close to downtown. As soon as he walked in, he ran into Seth bringing down his luggage to put with the other luggage that was already in the lobby. As he passed the luggage he recognized his daughter’s among the others.

“Hey Seth, my boy! Can you do me a favor and please separate these suitcases please!” Al pointed to his daughters as he looked at Seth. Seth looked down at the luggage but quickly look back up with a confused look on his face that Al caught. “They are my daughters and she just got in from her honeymoon. I don’t want them to take a trip to California when they aren’t needed.”

“Um sir, I was told by Mrs. Gloria to bring them down along with Mr. Andy’s.” Now it was Al that was confused. “She was lugging them to the elevator when I was walking out of my room. I didn’t want her carrying things so heavy so I offered to bring them down.”

“Okay, thanks Seth!” Al put on a smile as he patted Seth on the shoulder on his way to the elevator. He didn’t want to look like he was out of the loop so he didn’t say anymore. Once he got up to his floor he knew he was going to get answers to the questions that were bouncing around in his head. Questions he didn’t want among the many others that he won’t have answers to for a while.

Gloria was waiting for the elevator when the door opened and Al stepped off. Forgetting everything that was going on around them, they hugged each other as if they hadn’t seen each other for years. Neither of them saying a word at first. They just stood there at the banks of elevators in each other’s arms. Both feeling the same thing. Both not wanting to let the other go, but had to.

“It’s good to see you dad!” Gloria spoke first as she let go of her father. “I was told that you were going to head straight from the office to the airport, what happened that changed your plans?” The two of them moved off to the side, away from the elevators so where they weren’t in the way. “I mean I love it that we are able to see each other sooner, but is everything okay?”

“I should be asking you the same question!” Al looked over at his room to see if Virginia was coming out. When he saw the door was closed, he turned his attention back to his daughter. “You just got in from your honeymoon when I walked in I saw your bags downstairs. I didn’t know you and Andy were going with us to California. I thought you guys were going to stay here and take advantage of the peace and quiet that comes with every one gone.”

“We were but I need to see my kids.” Al could tell by the way his daughter was holding herself and the tone of her voice that she was indeed missing her kids. There wasn’t any need for her to explain any further and he stopped her from doing so with a kiss on the forehead. That put Gloria at ease and moved them off of that subject to the subject of when they were leaving.

“We need to get out of here in the next ten minutes if we are going to make it to the airport with the required hour before our plane takes off.” Al said as he looked at his watch. Gloria quickly agreed. “Let me make sure that Virginia has everything under control.” Al was almost shouting as he was making his way towards his room, leaving Gloria at the elevators. “I’ll be right down.”

While Al went to help Virginia, Gloria headed down looking for Andy Sr. who was in the kitchen grabbing himself something to eat. Andy Jr. was up in his room finishing up with his packing and was about to head down to the lobby with his final suitcase where Seth was waiting for them to join him so they could finally leave. He was walking the walls unable to no longer hide his excitement anymore. All he wanted was to go to Disneyland to see Josh’s band.

Although Josh and his band wasn’t going to be there until the end of the week, Seth wanted to get there as of yesterday. He wanted to see Huntley, Josh’s keyboard player who he has hit it off with from the first day he started lessons with him. Something at first he hated that Andy put together for him, but after the first day he couldn’t thank Andy enough.

Seth really wanted things between him and Huntley to be more than just friends and student\ teacher relationship as they are at the present. Even though Huntley hasn’t come right out and admitted that he likes guys instead of girls, there were signs he gives out that Seth caught during their sessions together. Not slap you in the face signs. The signs that Seth has seen you really have to be looking for them in order to catch them. And for that reason and that reason alone is why Seth himself hasn’t come out to Huntley and told him that he was gay and liked him.

Hoping that now that they are going to be in the same place, same hotel, and same floor of that hotel for several days Seth is hoping to take advantage of the situation: spend time outside the student/teacher relationship as friends, and maybe, just maybe more than that. He knows it’s a long shot, but Seth is still hoping by the time they head home from California he will be at a start of a relationship with a guy he really wants to be with.

He was lost in thought of his plans on how he was going to get there that he didn’t hear Andy Jr. walk up behind him. It wasn’t till he heard the dropping of the suitcase that he knew someone else was with him. Quickly he snapped out of it and turned around not knowing that he was sporting one of the largest hard ons he has ever had.

It couldn’t be ignored no matter how hard Andy Jr. tried. It was poking right out there and it would have taken anyone’s attention away from anything they were trying to do or look at. Not meaning to, Andy Jr. chuckled as he took off his Cowboys cap from his head and threw it on Seth’s dick that was standing at attention. The cap hung there as it would have if it was hung on a hat rack.

“I hope whoever you are thinking of likes you as much as you like them.” Andy glanced up and down from Seth’s face to his dick and back as he talked. “Because boy you have a lot of love for whoever it is!” Seth started to turn all shades of red, making Andy feel bad. He walked up to Seth and turned him around so no one else would see what he was sporting. “I hope you know I was just kidding with you. I have been there where you are right now and know it’s hard…”

Once again Andy chuckled. He didn’t mean to, but the wording just didn’t come out right. “I’m so sorry Seth, but come on you have to agree this is a little funny.” Andy gently pushed Seth until he got a response from him, which was a half-smile and him shaking his head. “There you go there is really no reason to be embarrassed over this. We all go through it and really we don’t ever grow out of it. All that happens is we learn how to hide things so no one else catches on.”

“I really didn’t know I actually got hard like that.” Seth looked down at his still hard dick that was poking straight out with Andy’s cap hanging there. “I was thinking of someone that I really like, but don’t know how to move our relationship from a friendship to a relationship. If I screw it up or the feelings are not mutual I could lose everything. That I don’t want to ever happen because at least I could keep what I have and admire them from afar.”

“Nothing in life Seth is a sure thing. Everything is a gamble and the sooner you figure that out, the sooner you’ll get where you want to go. This keeping what you have and admiring from afar is bullshit I know you know that.” Seth shook his head. “There is no way you could be around someone that you like and be able to hold back the feelings you have for that person. There is just no one. So why put yourself through that hell if you don’t have to.

So this is what I suggest for you to do.” Andy walked around so he and Seth were looking at each other. “When you see Huntley again…” Once again Seth turned all shades of red. He had no idea Andy knew it was Huntley he was talking about. “Don’t look so surprised that I knew who you were talking about. I caught on I think the first time you set eyes on him. That’s why I went to Josh and set up what I did for you two. I know you were uncomfortable at first, but I knew also once you two let your guard down things were going to happen, and it did.”

As he thought of what Andy had just said, Seth knew how right he was. The first time he saw Huntley he fell for him, but had no idea if the guy played ball on his side of the fence. It wasn’t until the third time they got together for him to teach him what he could that he dropped a few clues for Seth to pick up on. At first Seth thought he was reading too much into what he was saw, but when Huntley dropped more clues he was certain he wasn’t reading too much into things.

“Anyways back to what I was saying! You can’t be afraid to not react on your feelings because if you do you will never get anywhere in your love life. The worse that can happen here is Huntley gets mad and tries to hit you.” Seth shook his head. “If that happens you don’t have anything to worry about because I will be nearby to stop it from happening. He might land one punch, but no more than that. So you need to go for it because you won’t know if he has the same feelings about you that you have for him. Plus you want that souvenir as well!”

The last part Andy jokingly said got both of them laughing. Something Seth really needed to take the stress off of him of what’s to come. Plus the laughing helped with Seth’s problem. Seth was already embarrassed that Andy caught him with a hard on, he didn’t know what he would have felt if anyone else like Gloria or Al would have caught him with it.

After a few minutes of laughing Seth finally was able to control himself enough to speak. “You’re right and as soon as I can get Huntley away from the others I’m going to do just what you’re recommending me to do.” Seth stopped laughing all together and got very serious. “But please promise me that you will be there when I do this thing. I don’t know what I would or should say if Huntley actually comes after me. I don’t think he will, but I’m not certain of that.”

Just as Gloria and Andy Sr. was in hearing distance Andy Jr. promised Seth that he will be there for him when the time comes and quickly changed the subject. Andy Jr. didn’t change the subject because he feared his parents might react wrong to what they were discussing. That wasn’t the reason. The reason he did was because he knew Seth wasn’t comfortable talking about it himself.

Therefore he quickly picked up a bag and started making his way to the waiting taxis. No sooner had he made it to the taxis, Seth joined him with a couple bags and then Andy Sr. In no time flat, they had all the bags loaded and the only thing they were waiting on was for Al and Virginia who walked out just as Andy Jr. was closing the trunk of one of the taxis.

No business or anything really personal was talked about on the ride to the airport. Most of the conversation was general about what lies ahead of them in California. The only one of them that had been to California, but it was over ten years ago was Al. Because of that they quickly agreed that they couldn’t really make any plans until they got with the others that have been there already for almost a day now and hopefully gotten the lie of the land.

While Al and those with him were on their way to join Jacob and the others were just getting back from Disneyland. After settling in to their rooms and washing up, they all agreed to spend a couple of hours in Disneyland, which none of them regretted. They knew they barely scratched the surface of the place in those two hours, but were thankful they didn’t have to rush or really worry about it since it’s the first day of their week-long vacation.

When they got back to the hotel and gathered for dinner, they were beat. Being that they have been up since the early hours of the morning and they had just tried to take on Disneyland, they didn’t know if they were coming or going by the time they sat down for dinner. Most of them could barely keep their eyes open and didn’t eat much of what they ordered.

Jacob was one of the few that was able to keep his eyes open. He saw how tired everyone else was and felt bad for them. So instead of trying to make them eat what they ordered, he asked the waiter to pack it all up in doggy bags for them to eat later if they woke up and were hungry. Once he paid the bill, they all headed up to their floor and went to their rooms. Several of them didn’t even try to change out of the clothes they were wearing. They barely had enough strength to kick off their shoes and make it to their beds before falling to sleep.

Before Jacob joined Dewayne in their room he checked up on everyone to make sure they were alright. He saved his brother to last so he could spend a little one on one time with him, but fate had other plans. Jeremy was out cold when Jacob walked in, which was good and bad at the same time. Good because Jeremy tired himself out so much that he won’t wake through the night. Bad because Jacob still had to wake him so he could get his older brother to take his medicine.

It took a while, but Jacob was able to get his older brother to stay awake long enough to take his medicine, but the minute he swallowed the last pill, he was out. Jacob made sure there wasn’t anything in his brother’s bed that might hurt him before he pulled off Jeremy’s shoes and changed from what he was wearing to his pajamas. Once he had Jeremy changed and tucked into bed, he walked out making sure the night light from home was on.

When he finally did get to his room, he found Dewayne had fallen asleep. Just like the others, Dewayne had fallen onto the bed and knocked out. Jacob didn’t want his guy to sleep in his jeans and shoes, so he went over and undressed him for bed. Not once did Dewayne stir as Jacob undressed him. Even when Jacob moved him under the covers, he didn’t stir.

Before joining Dewayne, Jacob called down and asked for a wake up in a couple of hours so he could be there when his grandfather and brother arrived. He had no idea that his mother and father were coming, but that wouldn’t have mattered at that point. The clerk set the wakeup call for Jacob and wished him goodnight before hanging up.

Since Jacob was going to be going out in a few hours, he didn’t bother to undress himself. He laid down next to Dewayne and quickly fell asleep. He didn’t wake up again until he heard the phone ringing. As Jacob reached over to pick up the phone he looked at the clock. He couldn’t believe it was time already. To him it felt like he had just closed his yes, but he hadn’t. He had been asleep already for almost three hours, which Jacob wished he had at least one more hour of sleep.

Putting those wishes aside, Jacob thanked the person on the other end of the phone before hanging up. He crawled out of bed and quietly made his way to the bathroom to splash water on his face and comb his hair. Once he finished his business in the bathroom he made his way back to the bed to put on his shoes. As he was tying his laces, he glanced over to his sleeping beauty. All he wanted was to lay back down with his lover and stay there cuddled up with him, but again he had to put those wishes with the ones of wanting more time to sleep and head out.

Before leaving though, he did steal a kiss from Dewayne on his way out. With a smile on his face, Jacob popped his head in Jeremy’s room to make sure he was okay. He found Jeremy the same way he left him, dead to the world. Satisfied that Jeremy wasn’t going to stir, Jacob made his way down to the lobby to greet his grandparents, brother and Seth.

However when he did walk into lobby and saw his grandparents, he got a shock seeing his parents walking behind them. Happy to see his mother and father, Jacob put a smile on his face and walked over to them. Al was glad to see him and didn’t have to go through the front desk and do all the checking in stuff. He was tired and all he wanted was to get to his room and get in a couple hours of sleep before heading into the first day of his vacation.

“Good morning Jacob! Boy, I am glad to see you!” Al said as he pulled his grandson into a hug. Jacob responded with almost word for word greeting back to his grandfather. “You look as tired as we feel! So why don’t we all turn in for the night and talk tomorrow.” Al suggested as Jacob hugged everyone, including Seth. “There’s a few things we need to talk about, but those things will still be there in the morning when we all wake up.”

“Your right!” Jacob quickly responded. “Let this young man take your bags up to the floor.” Jacob pointed to the young bellboy standing off to the side waiting for permission to touch the bags Al and the others were carrying. “You guys look tired and there is no need to strain yourselves when there are young men like this one here to help out.”

None of them objected on letting the bellboy deal with their bags. They handed the young man their bags as they passed him on the way to the elevator. No one really talked on their way up to the floor Jacob rented. They were too tired to put two words together, more so carry on a conversation, which Jacob didn’t mind. He as well just wanted to get back to sleep alongside Dewayne, which he didn’t have to wait too long to happen.

No one had a problem with the rooms they were given or tried to start a conversation once they did get up to their floor. The only ones that Jacob did spend a little more time with was his parents when he showed them their room. They wanted to explain why they came, but Jacob wouldn’t let them. He stopped his mother from trying by explaining to her that she didn’t owe him any explanation. He was their son and that alone is all that was needed to be said. Not surprised with Jacob’s response, Andy Sr. and Gloria respected it and let it go. They wished each other goodnight before stepping into their room, leaving Jacob alone in the hallway, but not for long.

As soon as his parents closed their doors, he did one last check on Jeremy, Jacob quickly made his way to his room. When he walked in he didn’t bother with the lights. He quickly stripped down to his boxer briefs and crawled into bed with Dewayne for the second time. As he dozed off thoughts of what was to come in the week ahead was going through his mind. The last thing he remembered thinking about before knocking out was his good friend’s concert at the end of the week.

To be continued...

WRITER’S CORNER:

{Welcome back one and all to a very long awaited chapter of ‘Jacob Finding His Way’! I know it has been a very long time, since there has been an installment of this saga. It wasn’t because I had given up on the story or I moved onto to my others. No it was just since this story is loosely based off my life and because of that the characters in the story are or were in my life it is a harder story to write now after the passing of some of them. However they may not be here physically, but I know they are here in spirit and kept alive in fiction.

Now let me give you guys an update on an announcement I made about doing a rewrite on this story. I have started the rewrite, but am debating about how I’m going to put it out there. As I have stated in my announcement the rewrite is not going to change the overall story, but it will have a lot more information, corrections and stuff that was never put in the first write of the story.

For example I talked about a couple of my aunts later on in the story, and even then it was general. That will change in the rewrite because many of them did play a big role in my life. Also there were many other characters, or should be said people going in and out of our lives that were never written into the story. For another example when we moved to El Paso from Cheyenne my mother was married to my step father. I’m going to be writing him into the story as well. Plus I will be taking the first chapters out of the person’s point of view and putting it in the story teller point of view and a lot more. Give me your opinion on how should the rewrite be released. Either through publication on something like eBooks or posting on the site. If it is posted on the site my personal site will be the only place you will be able to read the rewrites since where I post my chapters, nifty, it’s hard to get them to change the chapters. If you are successful on doing so, they will put the new one over the old one and put it on top of the posting line, not at the beginning.

Anyways let’s get to why this corner is here, the summation of the chapter. I’m pretty sure many of you came into this chapter expecting to read about Jacob and the others at Disneyland, and you did get a little bit of that at the end, but the chapter wasn’t about that. Instead it brought in characters of this story that haven’t been written about in a while. Characters that needed to be brought in so you my readers know they are still out there.

The chapter picked up where the last one ended with Ralph arriving at Ethan’s home. Ralph is going through hell right night. I know for those that are keeping up with all my stories this plot line might seem similar to one going on in ‘Shadow of My Father’. Trust me I didn’t mean for two similar plots to pop up in two of my stories at the same time, but it happened. And no I’m not running out of things to write about or plot lines. It’s just two sets of characters lost a parent and are going through a rough time dealing with the loss of those parents at the same time.

Both of these sets of characters are not major characters in the two stories, but are needed to keep the stories rounded. Both of them have great boyfriends that are trying to be there for them at this difficult time in their lives. I just hope that Ethan gets Ralph to do what his mother wants him to do and that is go to Disneyland. I agree with her from the last chapter there is no need for him to stick around since he can’t do a thing. When he returns from his vacation is when they’re going to be putting his father to rest. I say if you have a chance to get away for whatever time you should.

From there we jumped over to Gloria and Andy Sr., two we haven’t heard from in a long while. Well since the chapter they got married in. They had just gotten back from their honeymoon and were dead on their feet. However, Gloria missed her children and wanted to see them. So she was able to talk her husband into taking another trip when her eldest son Jr. got home.

Talking about Jr. who knew he was going to college? I certainly didn’t and I’m the author of the story. Well anyway it’s good he furthered his education and is now moving up in the military ranks. When the Hernandez clan returns from California they are going to have something to celebrate. A success one has is something that needs to be celebrated.

Al came into town and went straight to the Angel Corp. office to meet with Oscar. This meeting didn’t go well at all. Oscar got frustrated and showed it. How many of you think he went too far with Al? How many of you thought Al should have fired him on the spot? How many of you think Al should tell Jacob on what happen? Please let me know about your thoughts on that and if I like what direction you want this plot line to go I will write out that direction.

Oh let’s not forget about Seth. To you all that have forgotten let me remind you who he is. Remember chapters ago Andy pulling gate duty and having this poor kid arrested for open warrants. Then he went and helped him by pulling him out of a troubled situation. Well here he is again in love with Huntley, a member in Josh’s band. Hope you all didn’t forget about Andy talking with Josh and setting up for Huntley to help out Seth. Do you guys think these two are going to get together?

Well that is it for this writer’s corner. Come on back for the next installment of this saga because I promise you it is going to be exciting. Besides almost everyone in California already, there are a few that aren’t. Tom and David we will see what is going on with them. There are all those that are in California that will for sure bring a lot of drama into the story. Plus a lot more.

As always I can go on and on about the open plots in the story! If I do that, I can actually write several more chapters. So many plots can take a turn at any time. You might think it is going to go one way, but it lands up going another. Don’t miss anything, or you will be kicking yourself for it. If I missed anything in my summation, my editor will hopefully go over it in his.

There is a so much to answer in the chapters to come. Stick around and keep reading the future chapters, and enjoy! Please email me and let me know how I am doing at jpg@tickiestories.us , Thanks!} I have a home page for you to see what the characters look like or what the places look like. If you want to walk in their shoes, please go to: http://jacobmillertex.com/}

EDITOR’S CORNER:

I hope you didn’t get too confused with some of the characters re-appearing after such a long time, but so many of them have been developed especially in this story and one tends to forget where they fit in. It was good at the end to be reminded of the amount of care that Jeremy requires especially when he is away from his home environment. Who is looking after his little cupid while he is away? That dog is his life so he will be missing her.

Also cupid the dog who’s the one in the story is based on recently gave birth to three gorgeous puppies. I’m happy to report that Cupid the puppies along with her uncles are doing well.

Back to the story and a family reunion not only of family members but friends as well hasn’t happened for a long time so the whole week will I’m sure be lots of fun. I just wish I was there.

Ralph of course is having problems but it looks like Ethan will be able to help him overcome the trauma he is undergoing right now.

Finally will Seth get together with Huntley? Jacob asked a lot of questions in his corner this time and I hope some of you will find the time to answer some if not all of them. I know he looks forward to reading what you have to say just as much as you look forward to what he has written.

Remember all the writing he does is a labor of love and the only reward is your comments.

Hugs Trevor 

Posted: 07/25/14