Keith & Dean

By: Ron Robbins
(© 2011 by the author)
Editor: Frank Perry

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

Chapter 1

An annoying, persistent ringing sound reverberated through the dark still bedroom, waking Dean McCall from his deep sleep. He fumbled blindly in the darkened bedroom as he felt for the telephone. He groggily answered, "Hello."

"I'm sorry to wake you, Dean," Keith Lindstrom said, "but I'm in serious trouble and I need your help."

Dean shook his head as he switched on his bedside lamp, "Christ, it's two o'clock in the morning, Keith."

"Please," Keith pleaded. "You're the only one I can trust. I'm begging you ... if you don't help me; I'm as good as dead."

"Okay, okay! Cool down, dude. Are you on drugs? Because, if you are, I'll beat the shit out of you."

"You know me better than that. I'm not tripping out, this is serious, Dean. I wouldn't be calling you in the middle of the night otherwise."

"Okay ... where are you?"

"I'm home."

"What the hell do you need me for? My God, you have a damn household staff to take care of you. Anyway, where's your watchdog, Bruno?"

"Look, you're wasting valuable time. Can I count on you or not?"

"Okay, okay; I'll leave as soon as I can throw some rags on."

"Dean, don't tell anyone where you're headed, not even your folks."

"Who the hell would I tell at two in the morning? Anyway, my folks are out of town."

"One more thing, buddy, the code has been changed. The new code is 1830. Once you're through the gate, come around to the back entrance. I'll unlock the door and turn off the alarm and the flood lights. Dean, I hate to ask you this, but will you use your bike to get here? I'll explain why after you get here; please hurry."

"You don't want much, do you? It'll take twenty minutes longer by bike to get over to your place."

"It can't be helped. Try not to be spotted and keep off the main roads."

"All right, I'll see you in a half hour."

♦      ♦      ♦      ♦      ♦      ♦

The mansion looked deserted as Dean approached the main gate to the Lindstrom Plantation. No light was seen through any of the windows. Dean rode his bike around to the back and parked it at the rear entrance. The door was unlocked as Keith said. He took the rear service stairs, two at a time, up to the second floor. The light was shining brightly from the open door to Keith's bedroom suite. Dean noticed four large plastic leaf bags in the hall outside the door.

Dean walked into the sitting room and called out to Keith.

"I'm in the bathroom," Keith answered.

"Holy sweet Jesus," Dean exclaimed when he saw Keith. "What in Christ's name happened to you? You look like you went fifteen rounds with Mike Tyson."

Dean was not prepared for what he saw. Keith was completely naked standing in front of the sink. His face was bruised and swollen. His back and buttocks were covered with red and blue welts, as if he had been beaten.

"Thanks for coming, Dean. We've got to load up my van and get out of here," Keith said. "I didn't want to get you involved in this, but I'm too weak to make it on my own. Will you please reach into the bottom of that medicine cabinet and take out one of the 6-inch Ace bandages. I tried to do it myself, but I can't bend over. You're going to have to bind my rib cage; I think they broke a couple of my ribs."

Dean found the bandage and wrapped Keith's ribs. When Keith turned to face him, Dean saw the ugly burn marks around his genital area. "Oh my God, Keith, who did this to you? You're in bad shape, buddy. I'm taking you to the emergency room, pronto!"

"No!!! You'll find a spray can of Dermoplast, and a bottle of pain killers in there," Keith said. "Good, give me two tablets right now and spray the burns in my groin."

Dean did as he was asked. "God that feels better," Keith said. "Now grab several pairs of surgical gloves from the medicine chest and follow me." Keith winced as he walked out of the bathroom.

"Keith, don't you think you should put some clothes on first?"

"Not now, we don't have any time to waste. Anyway, my uncle is the only one in the house and he's out cold until tomorrow." They walked down the hall to his uncle's room. The heavy draperies were drawn. Jeb Lindstrom, Keith's uncle was sprawled out face up on the bed sound asleep. He was dressed in black leather boots, pants and a fancy harness with all kinds of chains and buckles. Dean followed Keith into Jeb's dressing room. The walls were neatly lined with suits, shirts, slacks and racks of shoes. Everything was perfectly in order. Mounted on the wall at the opposite end of the room was a large full-length mirror.

"Dean, put on a pair of those rubber gloves and feel for a button to the right of that fifth shelf, right next to the mirror. Dean found the button and depressed it.

With that, the mirror swung inward revealing a small room. "The light switch is to the right just inside the door," Keith said. One side of the room contained filing cabinets, and the other side was lined with all kinds of leather clothes and S&M gear.

Mounted in the center of the back wall was a large steel door to the walk-in safe. To the right of the door was a computer console with two computers, a laptop and a desktop. Keith booted up the computers and copied the files from the desktop to the laptop.

"This won't take long," Keith said. "While that's running, I need to remove the back-up copies and some important papers out of the safe."

Keith opened the safe and found the folders and the CD's he wanted and handed them to Dean. "Here put these into one of those plastic bags."

Keith locked the safe and checked the computers. "Good, another ten minutes and the files will be copied." He had Dean open the filing cabinets, remove several file folders, and place them into the plastic bag.

Keith returned to the computers and disconnected his laptop from the host computer. Before turning off the main computer, he formatted the hard drive, zapping the entire hard drive. "Pay back is a bitch, uncle," Keith said as he turned off the computer. They left, closing the safe door and the hidden panel and returned to Keith's suite.

"Dean would you please take all the bags downstairs and set them inside the back entrance?" Keith asked. "When you've finished that, come back up and help me dress."

When Dean returned, he found Keith was standing with his back against the wall with his eyes shut. "Keith, are you going to make it? I still think I should take you to see a doctor."

Keith opened his eyes with a pained expression on his face. "If you did that, you would be signing my death warrant. I cannot stay in the State of Mississippi. You've got to help me get out tonight. If you don't, you'll never see me again. If you want that on your conscience, than take me to the hospital and kiss me goodbye."

"Okay, Tiger, we'll do it your way."

Keith let out a sigh of relief, "Grab one of the large suitcases in my dressing room and pack it with some underwear, socks, sweat suits and whatever else you think I'll need. One more thing before you close the bag, take the three folders from the middle drawer of my desk and pack them in the bag as well."

Keith slowly and painfully walked to the bathroom and took a clean terrycloth robe from the rack. He filled his shave kit and returned to the bedroom. "Would you help me on with this robe? I can't raise my arms."

"Jesus, Keith. I can't believe your uncle would allow this to happen to you. Those burns on you testicles and penis are oozing again; I'll give them another shot before we go."

"Thanks, Dean, you're a lifesaver."

After he sprayed him once again, he helped him put the robe on and found a pair of slip-on loafers in the dressing room. "What's next?" he asked.

"My wallet, it's on the night stand. We have one more stop to make, then we're out of here. We'll take the elevator to the basement." Keith switched off the light as he left the suite.

They rode the elevator to the basement. Dean followed Keith into the gym and back to the weight lifting room. He opened the door at the back of the room using the touch pad to the right of the door and walked in.

"Holy Christ," Dean said. "This is a damn torture chamber."

The room was complete with ropes and leather hardnesses dangling from chains from the ceiling. There were leather ankle cuffs bolted into the floor. The same types of restraints were attached to the wall. Directly in the center of the room was a tilt table.

Hanging on the far wall were every type and size of torture device made, from whips, dildos, cock and ball stretchers, tit clamps, electric prods, everything to make a slave's Master happy. Dean noticed the fresh blood in the center wooden table. The tilt table had harness straps and special gadgets attached to it. It looked like something from a Frankenstein movie.

"This is where they tortured you, isn't it?" Dean asked.

Keith nodded his head, "We've got to take all the video tapes out of that filing cabinet," Keith said.

Dean filled five bags and carried them out to the elevator. Keith turned off the lights and closed the door. They rode the elevator to the first floor where Dean moved everything to the back door.

Keith pushed the garage door opener and asked Dean to back his van up to the back door and load the van including Dean's bike. After the van was loaded, Keith walked into the garage and returned with a briefcase in his hand. He set the alarm system and closed the back door to the house. Dean helped him into the van. "Where to," Dean asked?

"To the nearest public telephone, then to the airport," Keith said. When they reached the main road, Keith said, "This is the plan. When you find a telephone, I want you to charter an Air Ambulance to fly me to Emory University Hospital in Atlanta. Ask them to make sure they have a security guard with them as well."

"As soon as that's arranged, you can drive me to the General Aviation terminal at Jackson International Airport. After they load me on the Air Ambulance, you will park this van in the secured parking area and take a cab home.

Tomorrow morning, you can drive back here in your own car and unload the stuff from this van. Take it over to the Airborne Express and have them pack-it up and forward it to me in Atlanta. I am using an alias for now. The name I'm using is Keith Limburg. I've written all the information down for you. Use your name and address as the sender.

After the dust has settled, I would like you to drive the van to Atlanta the first chance you get. This van is special to me and I don't want to leave it around here for my uncle. Will you do this for me?"

"Sure, I'll try to make it this coming weekend. I'll take a couple of days off from Wendy's. Why all the secrecy?"

"My uncle is going to try to find me. He will definitely check out my friends to see if they know anything. He has no clue where I'm headed. That's why I want the van in a safe place until you're ready to drive it to Atlanta."

"After you unload the van, replace the Mississippi license plates with the new Georgia plates. They are hidden under the spare tire in the wheel well along with the registration papers. Everything is registered in the name of Keith Limburg. Bury the Mississippi tags, along with the registration papers."

"Look, Dean, there's a telephone in that rest stop up ahead. Pull in there and make the call to the Air Ambulance service. Tell them my blood type is 'O'."

Dean returned after making the call. "You don't look good at all, Keith, I'm really worried about you."

"I'm feeling much better now that you're with me. What did the Air Ambulance people have to say?"

Dean said, "They have a plane standing by and will be ready to take off in thirty minutes. I told them that you wanted to be flown to Atlanta for treatment, and you would need to see a top notch plastic surgeon. They said they would have on board, a doctor and a medic who can handle any emergency and provide you with the bodyguard you requested. They'll also arrange to have an ambulance standing by when you land to take you to the hospital. I told them you were going to pay for this with a credit card, Keith."

"Dean, you don't know how much your help means to me. I have one last favor to ask. It's going to take a while before I'm back to normal and I don't know anyone in Atlanta. I'm asking you to move up to Atlanta and take care of me until you start Georgia Tech in August. If you agree, I'll pick-up all your expenses and pay you a salary."

"I need someone I can trust. For now just tell your folks, and the people at Wendy's, that Tech lost some of your paperwork and you need to run up to Atlanta to straighten things out. You may as well pack all the things you're taking to Tech and load them in my van. Tell your folks you're going to look for a job while you're in Atlanta, since they know you're going to need a part time job anyway."

"I'll be glad to help you out, Keith, and I'd do it for free if I didn't need the money for college."

"That's why I want to pay you a salary. I need you more than Wendy's does, and the pay will be a hell of a lot better."

"Hey, now you're talking my language, Tiger."

Dean parked in front of the general aviation terminal.

"Open my briefcase," Keith said, "and take out the envelope with your name on it. You'll find five thousand dollars in cash in it. That should take care of all your expenses after taking care of the airfreight charges."

"Take the backup tapes I made and forward them to me in Atlanta, by registered mail. Would you please pull out my wallet from the briefcase and find my American Express card? You'll need that to pay the Air Ambulance people. God, I wish you were coming with me."

"So do I," Dean said. "Let me run into the terminal and check on your aircraft."

He left Keith in the van and walked into the terminal. He returned a few minutes with the Air Ambulance people and the bodyguard. After introducing Keith to Tom Blake, the bodyguard, Dean said, "Before you move Mr. Limburg, he would like to have a few words in private with Tom."

Tom got into the driver's side and closed the door. Five minutes later, Tom got out. "Mr. Limburg is ready to be moved," Tom said. They transferred Keith to a stretcher and wheeled him into the terminal.

Dean locked the car and followed them with Keith's luggage. They wheeled Keith directly to the plane.

The bodyguard took the bags, the computer and briefcase from Dean and stowed them in a small baggage compartment. "I'll take care of everything, Mr. Limburg," Tom said.

They filled out the paperwork, and the pilot took the credit card from Dean and left. A few minutes later the pilot returned, and said, "Everything is in order, Mr. Limburg; we'll be taking off momentarily."

Dean opened Keith's briefcase and replaced his card and wallet. He walked over to Keith and patted his hand. Dean said, "Tom make sure the hospital locks up Mr. Limburg's bags when you arrive. I'm sure Emory has a secure place to take care of that."

Keith said, "Thanks for everything, Dean; you're a life saver. I'll see you in Atlanta this weekend."

Emory University Hospital

"Mister McCall, sorry to have kept you waiting. I'm Doctor Peterson, Keith's doctor; we spoke earlier this week. Let's sit in the doctors' lounge and talk."

They found a quiet corner and sat. "Keith has listed you as his next of kin," Dr. Peterson said. "How are you related to Keith?"

"We are close friends; I'm not a blood relative," Dean said.

"Before I can tell you anything, I would like to see your identification, Mr. McCall."

Dean pulled out his wallet and showed the doctor his driver's license and his GA Tech identification card.

"Keith is still in the intensive care unit and will be for another few days. He had to have emergency kidney surgery two days ago. This is his third major operation in six days. We feel we have stabilized his condition.

"We had to report this case to the DeKalb County Police Department. The Police filed an incident report to cover the hospital and the County. We're required by law to report all cases like this. Of course, there's nothing the police can do about this since the incident took place outside their jurisdiction. However, the report will be on file with the County if Keith decides to press charges. All Keith told us was he was beaten up and he knows who his attackers were.

"Keith has hired the law firm of Hancock, Graceland, & Hancock to representing him. In fact, John Graceland is his personal attorney. He will not allow anyone to talk to Keith without his permission," Dr. Peterson said.

"Doctor, please fill me in on Keith's condition," Dean asked.

"He is still listed in critical condition. Keith is lucky to be alive. If it were not for the skills of the doctor on the Air Ambulance he would not have made it. Keith was bleeding internally when he arrived here. He had a punctured lung, a broken jaw, two badly bruised and inflamed kidneys and a bladder infection."

"He has an inflamed scrotum, swollen testicles, and multiple cigar burns in his groin area. His rectum was such a mess it took the specialist two hours to sew him up. His entire body, including the soles of his feet were injured from the severe beating he received. The beating was a deliberate act of a sadist who inflicted the beatings over a period of several hours."

"According to my colleagues, this is not the first time Keith had been abused, Mr. McCall. They found scar tissue on his wrists and ankles. He looked like the POW I treated in Viet Nam."

"May I see him?" Dean asked.

"Of course; you can sit with him as long as you want. The staff may chase you out from time to time, but I see no reason why you can't stay with him. It's somewhat difficult for him to speak, so don't encourage him to talk. He needs a familiar face around him about now."

"Don't be alarmed by all the tubes and monitoring equipment that are attached to him. Since your are his next of kin, you have a lot to say about what happens to him, more so than his attorney at this point; don't let Mr. Graceland push you around."

"Don't worry, doctor; Keith is my best friend and if I have anything to say about it, no one is going to hurt him, ever again. This shouldn't have happened to a nice guy like Keith. I can only tell you that he's had a tough life ever since his parents were wiped out in an automobile accident five years ago. One question, where are his personal effects?"

"They're locked up in a vault in our security office."

"Good."

"I'm glad you asked," the doctor said; "Keith asked me to give you this envelope when you arrived. Now let me take you in to see Keith." He handed Dean the envelope as they left the doctors' lounge.

The doctor painted a darker picture that necessary, Dean thought. Keith looked like hell, but a lot better than he did the last time he'd seen him. The doctor left him alone with Keith. Dean sat in the chair next to the bed. He reached over and took Keith's hand.

Dean thought to himself, 'I can't believe a guy as nice as Keith could be treated so shamefully. I've always envied him because he had it all; good looks, intelligence, an outgoing personality.'

Even bandaged as he was, Keith was still a handsome young man. He was not tall; about five-ten, with blond, curly hair and green eyes. His face was perfect, with fine chiseled features. He had a trim body, and was broad-shouldered with a narrow waist. Keith could have been tennis pro, if his uncle hadn't stopped him. He was also a medal-winning swimmer.

That was the odd thing; he never noticed any marks on Keith's body before. Not like the ones the doctor described. But, then again, this past summer they didn't swim that much. Last week was the first time he had seen Keith naked for some time and he was surprised to see that he had no hair on his body.

Keith opened his eyes and tried to smile.

"Hi, Tiger," Dean said. "Don't try to talk, just listen. The doc said you had a rough time, but the worst is over. Sorry it took me so long to get here, but that butt head of an uncle of yours was keeping an eye on me. You were right about him. He came to see me the day you left."

"I'm glad I stuck around the airport after you left. I took the stuff over to the airborne freight. They packed up everything and shipped it to the address you gave me. I didn't bother taking a cab home either. I rode my bike back home and slept until it was time to go to work."

"Your Uncle Jeb showed up at Wendy's before closing that night. We talked about everything but you. I asked him to tell you that I was working the weekend and couldn't make it to your pool party."

"I went through our cover story about Tech with the folks and Wendy's. I loaded that pile of junk I call a car and drove it to the airport unloaded my stuff in your van. Then I drove my car to the junk yard. They gave me a hundred bucks for the car and a free ride back to the airport, end of story. The doctor gave me this envelope earlier, should I open it?"

Keith nodded his head, yes. Dean let go of his hand to open the envelope. It contained two sets of keys. One set for Suite-22 at Colony Square Condos with a parking garage card for Colony Square. The other key was for a locker at the security office of the Emory Hospital. He opened the hand written note.

Dean

Rent two safety deposit boxes each at two different banks. Stow all the papers I took from my uncle's safe. You can drop off my suitcases at our apartment. Remove the hard drive from my laptop and lock it in the small apartment safe. Move all your stuff into the apartment and make yourself at home, because that's where we will be living until we find another place. Sorry, it's a one-bedroom suite, but that's all they had available.

Keith.

Dean stuck the envelope in his pocket and took Keith's hand again. "That's fine with me, Tiger," Dean said. "I'm going to stick to you like glue and I'll kill anyone that lay's a hand on you again. I'll take care of everything this morning and be back after lunch."

Keith smiled and squeezed Dean's hand. He whispered, "Thanks." He closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

Dean finished his errands and returned to the hospital by three o'clock. He checked with the charge nurse before seeing Keith. She told him they were moving Keith to a private room on the surgical floor the following morning. She suggested he check with the office for the new room assignment. He returned to the intensive care unit to visit with Keith. He took his hand and felt his forehead.

Keith opened his eyes and smiled. "Feeling any better, handsome?" Dean asked.

"Much better," Keith wrote on his note pad.

"I took care of everything you mentioned in your note," Dean said. "I've moved my stuff into the apartment; it's a great place. It must be costing you a bundle."

"I'm glad," Keith wrote. "It's the best I could do over the Internet. Doc said I could go home in a week."

Dean read the note, "Great; then I can start looking for a job," Dean said.

Keith smiled and shook his head, no.

"Don't worry, Keith, I won't start looking until after I take you home. You get some sleep and I'll be back tomorrow to visit you tomorrow morning. We can discuss our future plans when you can speak again."

♦      ♦      ♦      ♦      ♦      ♦

"The doctor said I can go home tomorrow," Keith said.

"That's great," Dean said. "I'm glad you don't have to keep writing those notes anymore."

"So am I," Keith said; "the doctor said my speech would improve a little every day. It still hurts to move my jaw, but the speech therapist said I'll be back to normal in no time, if I stick with the program."

"Mind if I borrow your newspaper?" Dean asked. "It's time to eyeball the want ads."

"I have a proposition to make you, Dean. The doctor has told me that it will be at least two months before I can do things on my own. Even then, I won't be able to do the marketing, or the ordinary everyday things that must be taken care of. For sure, I can't take a shower unless someone is around to assist me in and out of the tub or shower. If you're willing, I would like to hire you to take care of me until I'm able to take full care of myself. I'll pay you three hundred dollars a week, including your room and board. Promise me you will give it some serious thought before giving me your answer?"

"What's to think about? I'll take the job under one condition — only if you allow me contribute my fare share of the monthly expenses."

"It's a deal," Keith said, "One more thing; it you feel uncomfortable helping me bathe; I'll hire a nursing service to take care of that. I also plan to hire a cleaning service to come in once a week to clean the apartment."

"It doesn't bother me one bit to take care of you. I've had plenty of practice taking care of my younger sister and brother. Furthermore, we don't need a cleaning service either. Save your money. I can take care of that, too. That's nothing new to me. I did the same thing at home every week. I'll bet I can do a better job than any cleaning service you'd hire. It's not a big apartment and it will give me something to do around the place. Don't worry, Tiger, I'll take good care of you."

"Thanks, Dean, you're a good friend."

"By the way, your lawyer called me last night. He wants me to drop by and tell him my side of the story. What do you want me to tell him?" Dean asked.

"Tell him the truth."

"Keith, I don't know the truth. I only know what I saw that night. Maybe someday you'll tell me what happened that night."

"I realize I owe you an explanation, and you shall have it one day; but let me do it in my own time.

"Did I mention that the apartment did not come equipped with linens?" Dean asked. "I went through every closet and cupboard in that apartment looking for bedding, and guess what? Nada. Luckily, Mom had packed some towels and sheets for me. The other day I stopped by the mall and bought a half dozen sets of matched bed linens, mattress pads, pillows, and bath towels. I don't think it's healthy to use another person's pillows. Since you'll be spending a lot of time in bed, I bought you six queen size pillows."

"I don't understand, they said the place was fully equipped," Keith said. "I thought that would include linens."

"I've keep an expense report and the receipt for the five thousand dollars you gave me. I have $3,200 left. Do you want me to deposit it in your bank account?"

"No; you hold on to it for now. Take $1,200 dollars and open up a checking account in your own name. The $1,200 will be your first month's salary."

"What about my share of the rent?"

"Don't worry about that now. We can work that out later. You'll need to establish credit before you can apply for a credit card. Now that you are working for the King Corporation, you will have an income. In a few months you can apply for a credit card. My accounting department will handle your payroll deductions and your expense account. Next week we'll take care of all the paperwork."

"What … or who … is the King Corporation?"

"That is a private corporation that I own that takes care of my business and personal expenses. It's like any other corporation. I have my own administrative staff, my legal eagles, financial consultants, tax experts, actually the whole nine yards. The attorneys who administer my trust set it up for me when my parents died. It was for my own protection. The corporation is the watch dog over my investments and my estate."

"Look, Dean; I'm asking you to be patient with me until I'm mentally and physically able to cope. My main concern right now it to regain my health.  I feel exhausted and drained. It's an effort to stay awake. I'm putting myself in your hands for now. If you do this for me, I promise you will never regret your decision. Be my friend, or brother; I trust your judgment. Do whatever you think is necessary around the apartment. Don't worry about the cost.

"The pantry is empty at the apartment. Why don't you stock up on the essentials and anything else you think we will need? Buy a case of German Moselle and some imported Merlot wines. You might order a case of Jack Daniels and a couple of bottles of Christian Brother's brandy. We may as well enjoy life while we can."

"I'll take care of everything, Tiger."

"Good; I promise I'll tell you everything," Keith said. "Maybe after you hear my story you won't want to stick around."

"I doubt that, unless you committed murder, or are into drugs. Tell me you're not mixed up in anything like that?"

"Of course not," Keith said.

"Then you have nothing to worry about. You know I don't think much of your uncle. You and I have been friends since you moved into Jackson eight years ago. Granted, I didn't like your choice of friends, but that's your business."

"You never mentioned that before," Keith said. "Who didn't you like?"

Dean said, "Norman Thornton, Ken Grant and, Chuck Olson for openers. I could never understand what you saw in them. You're nothing like them. Those three are arrogant, conceited, and downright mean people. You don't know how many times they tried to break-up our friendship.

"You're kidding," Keith said. "How long ago was this?"

"In our freshman year at St. Anthony's Academy," Dean said. "The three of them cornered me one day on my way home from soccer practice. They warned me to stay away from you and proceeded to beat the crap out of me to make their point. That was my first serious warning. Their second warning put me in the hospital for over a week with two broken ribs."

"My folks were afraid that things would get worse if I didn't drop you as a friend. Dad went to the Sheriff's office to make a complaint. The Sheriff told Dad to go ahead and press charges against all three guys, but it wasn't going to do any good. It would be my word against theirs. The Sheriff did question them. The claimed that I got my injuries during practice plays after the school hours."

"After that, Mr. Thornton and Mr. Grant invited Dad out to lunch and told him in a very nice way that their sons may have become too caught up in the game. They apologized for their sons' behavior. They had talked to their sons and assured my father that it wouldn't happen again and hoped my dad and I would forget the incident and not make a case out of it."

"They said they'd like to continue working with my dad and hoped that any student rivalry would not jeopardize that relationship. In other words, play ball or you won't get any more of our business. Naturally, they knew my father depended on their business."

"So that's the reason you stopped coming around and gave me the cold shoulder in school?" Keith asked.

"Right on Tiger."

"I never understood why you dropped me like that. I could not, for the life of me, figure out what went wrong. You really hurt my feelings. Funny thing was, when I brought this up to them they claimed they were as mystified as I was about your attitude. Then after what seemed like an eternity, you became friendly once again as if nothing happened. I could never quite understand why you refused to visit the Plantation if the three musketeers were around. What changed your mind? After all you went through, why did you bother with me again?"

"Because, I took care of your friends. Look Keith I value your friendship, and consider you as my best friend. Yet, at the time I had no choice. It was either your friendship, or my family's well-being that I had to weigh in the balance. I could not allow our friendship to stand in the way of my father making a living."

"Your friends don't fight fair, Keith. If it were just between them and me, I would have won in the battle. I could take care of each of them in a fair fight."

"But why didn't you come and tell me, Dean? We could have worked it out together."

"You're wrong, Keith. It would only have gotten worse. Those guys are spoiled rotten and are used to having things go their way. They're sadists really; they enjoyed beating me up, and furthermore, they liked having that control over us. I'm sure they relished the idea of cutting me out of your life. They're cowards really. They can dish it out when they're together, but they're a bunch of wimps when the tables are turned."

"It took me a while, but with the help of a few of my good friends, I got even. We followed them for months until I knew their routine. I caught each of them alone and gave them a dose of their own medicine. They aren't stupid. They got the message all right, but, they couldn't prove it was me and they weren't about to start talking."

Keith smiled, "I sure wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of your hands in a dark alley. You could snap me in two without any effort at all. You're one big dude, Dean. I'm curious, how tall are you anyway?"

"Six-four and 195-pounds of solid muscle," Dean said smiling.

"That's what I figured," Keith said. "One thing I never understood is why you never went out for football?"

"Don't think I didn't want to; however, the risk of a serious injury was too great. My dad went to college on a football scholarship and to this day is still in pain for the injuries he sustained playing ball. If he doesn't take his medication he can't function.

"My dad is forty-three years old and he has had both hips and both knees replaced. You think I want to be like that when I reach his age. That's why I went out for soccer and participated in the Decathlon.

"I've always wanted to try out for the decathlon like you did," Keith said. "But, my uncle wouldn't allow me."

Dean saw that Keith was beginning to tire. He couldn't keep his eyes open. "Look, Tiger, I think you've had enough talking for one day. I'm going to run along now. I'll see you in the morning."

Keith smiled. "Yeah, I am a little sleepy all of a sudden. Thanks for staying so long."

Dean patted his hand and left.

To be continued...

Posted: 03/30/12