Learning to love Part 2
The new kid
I crawled out of bed and as I passed the hamper, I removed my boxers and threw them in. My morning hardon sprang against my stomach, just below my navel. I hurried into the bathroom to relieve the pressure in my bladder. Maneuvering a rock hard penis into position to take a piss, required a bit of careful aiming and still I managed to piss on the back of the toilet seat before I got it back under control. Finally towards the end of pressure in my bladder, it softened to semi-erect as I finished up. I looked around for something to clean the piss off the seat and saw a box of Pine Sol towelettes. Good ole Connie, never misses a thing, I chuckled. I wiped the seat down, dropped the towel in the bowl, then flushed. I showered, brushed my teeth and finger combed my hair before heading into my bedroom to grab some clothes for the day.
I decided on a pair of Diesel jeans, a Prada polo style shit in navy and a pair of Nike Shocs. After getting dressed and spraying on a touch of A&F Fierce cologne, I felt ready to meet the day. Connie was in the kitchen with my father when I came downstairs. They were sitting at the kitchen counter, my father reading a newspaper and drinking coffee, while Connie was making up some kind of a list. She looked up and saw me enter, "My don't you look handsome this morning, and smelling so good too." She gave me a wink and a smile. My father looked at me from over the top of his paper and raised his eyebrows, and just shook his head.
"Get yourself some breakfast Brent, we'll be leaving in about 15 minutes. Hank's bring the car around." He then addressed Connie and told her that he was taking me with him to Bismarck after the school appointment and to expect us back around 4pm.
"What? Why am I going to Bismarck and I seem to forget being asked if I wanted to go," I said as I looked in the cupboard and found a pack of Pop Tarts. When I turned around to look for where the toaster was, I saw both Connie and my father looking at me, but with vastly different expressions on their faces. Connie's looked scornful and my fathers looked resigned. I gave Connie a "What?" look and she narrowed her eyes as if to say we'd be talking about this later.
"It won't hurt you any to spend a little time with me and I have some business to take care of in the Capitol. There are also some papers that are going to need your signature for your Trust. Now hurry up. I'll meet you out front in 10 minutes." He folded his paper and thanked Connie for the coffee as he left the kitchen for the foyer. I shrugged to myself and popped the tart into the toaster. I opened the frig to get some milk, but remembering the incident from yesterday, I was inclined to go without. I spied a Borden's milk carton and saw that, yes, it was supermarket milk and I grabbed it and turned to Connie.
"Where'd this come from?"
"A cow and don't think we're aren't going to talk about your attitude when you get home this afternoon young man." Connie said.
"Awe Connie, he always thinks he can run my life and it's a little to late for bonding, don't you think?"
"It's never to late until one of you are dead, God forbid! Now hurry up and eat and go meet your father. Your going to be late."
I poured a cup of milk and drank it, then grabbed my tart and a paper towel, to finish my breakfast in the car. As I passed Connie on my way out, I stopped and gave her a kiss on the cheek and told her I was sorry and I'd see her this afternoon. My father was already in the SUV, with Hank behind the wheel. I jumped in the back and Hank headed off for the school. I ate my tart on the way and watched out the window as we made our way into Beulah. I paid more attention to where we were going than I had yesterday. There were a lot of people walking around on the streets, but surprisingly very little car traffic. Definitely not L.A. in the morning. Hank navigated his way through the town and I saw quite a few people wave at him as we passed them on the way. We got to the school in less than 10 minutes.
The school was a surprise. It looked very modern and I thought pretty big for the population of the town. Another surprise was the number of people I saw walking into what I assumed was the office building. I asked Hank why there were so many people going into the building and he said that because school started on Monday, most of the teachers were already at work in the building and that the students I saw were probably members of various student organizations having meetings to prepare for the upcoming school year. Suddenly, all this activity I saw going on caused my stomach muscles to tighten and I could feel the anxiety building up in me. I expected that there would be only a few late registrants here today, not what looked like the entire student body and teaching staff.
Hank parked not far from the entrance to the building and my father got out of the car. Hank turned around to look at me and offered me an encouraging smile. I smiled back, opened my door and got out. My father told Hank that he would call him when we were ready to be picked up and reminded him that we were going to leave for Bismarck when he came to get us. As my father and I began to walk towards the building, a few of the students that were hanging around the doors, turned in our direction, and watched as we approached. I boldly returned their scrutiny, but I was feeling anything but bold at the moment. Most of them were in shorts and t-shirts. All the guys I could see, wore their hair short with gel spiking it. The girls were mostly in jeans and conservative blouses.
As we reached the doors, my father pull on one of them to go in, but just then we heard someone shout, "Hey Billy! Is that you?" My father and I turned in the direction of the shout and saw a man about my fathers age, wearing a cowboy hat, jeans, a long sleeve plaid shirt and cowboy boots, and a teen boy that looked about my age and a carbon copy of the man but much younger, approaching us.
My father took a close look at the man as he got nearer and then said, "Mikey?"
The man smiled real big and as he reached my father, grabbed him in a hug and the two mean started pounding on each others backs. His son, I assume, and I just stood there and watched as our fathers started asking each other a bunch of questions and laughing and trying to answer each in turn. The contrast between the two men's appearances couldn't be more. My father was dressed in a dark blue business suit, a light blue dress shirt and burgundy tie, and carrying a leather briefcase. My father was a very distinguished looking man, with not an ounce of fat on his entire body, thanks to weekly workout sessions and visits to the gym and spa back in L.A. His short, light brown hair, was impeccably styled with gel and not a single thread of gray. He was always clean shaven and had the typical tan most every Californian sported year round from either the sun or tanning booths. His face was flawless, not a wrinkle marred it. He looked like Mr. GQ stepping off the cover of the magazine. The other man looked like he had worked hard his whole life and the toil and strain of every day had left it's mark on him. His stomach hung a bit over the saucer sized belt buckle holding his pants up and his face showed every year of his age.
I took a look at his son and saw that he was pretty well built, probably about an inch shorter than me. He had blonde hair, lighter than mine, and blue eyes with long lashes. A few freckles were sprinkled across the bridge of his nose and as he stood there with a slight smile on his face, watching our fathers, two deep dimples formed in his cheeks. I decided he was cute, in a cowboy kind of way. He looked over in my direction and caught me looking at him and turned his head away quickly and I saw a blush rise in his cheeks.
"I swear, it has to be 20 years or more since the last time I saw you Billy! Why the hell didn't you ever come back to visit?" The man asked my father as they both finally got over their initial reunion. The students that had been congregating near the door, were now all focusing their attention on the scene playing out in front of them.
My dad kind of coughed and replied, "Well you know, uhm, me and dad never really co-existed well together and as time went on, well, it only worsened until we never spoke to each other at all." The man nodded his head at my fathers answer, then he finally focused on me standing there watching them both. "And who is this handsome young man you got with you, as if I couldn't tell. He has enough of you in him. But he sure the hell didn't get those eyes from you!" He came closer to me and extended his hand to me, "Hello son, you must be Billy's boy. Pleasure to meet you." I extended my hand to shake his, but when I did, he scooped me up in a bear hug and it felt like he was going to squeeze the breath out of me. He finally put me back on the ground where my feet could touch. I was blushing as red as an apple, being very much aware of all the other kids watching us. He noticed my blush and laughed heartedly, "So what's your name son?"
"Brent...Brent Stewart, Sir." I stammered out my reply. I then heard one of the girls that was close watching ask, "What did he say his name was?" and a boy replied, "He said Brent."
The man smiled at me and said, "No need to Sir me young man, my name is Mike, Mike Weber." He then turned to see what had become of his own son. "Tommy come over here and meet Brent." Tommy walked forward and we both exchanged greetings. Tommy's face was now almost as red as my own and he kept his eyes looking down as he shuffled his feet, and glancing up every now and then to see what I was doing. His father chuckled at his son and then I heard my father tell Mr. Weber that we had an appointment at 9 am and that we had better get inside. They both shook hands and exchanged telephone numbers with a promise from my father for our families to get together soon for a proper reunion. They both said goodbye and my father told me to come along. As I turned to follow my father, Tommy stopped me with a hand on my arm.
"Are you a sophomore or a junior?" he asked, still not making direct eye contact with me.
"Oh, neither. This is going to be my first year of high school. I'm only a freshman. I turn 14 in two weeks. What about you?" I asked.
He finally looked up at me and with a smile on his face, and those cute dimples, he said, "That's great man, I'm going to be a freshman too. I'm 14 already, my birthday was in June." I told him it was cool that we were both going to be in the same grade and maybe we would have some classes together, then my father called my name and told me to hurry.
"Sorry Tommy, but I gotta go. I'll see you around." We both said bye and I followed after my father through the glass door into the building. I glanced back through the door to where I had left Tommy and saw that he was now surrounded by what looked like every kid that had been hanging out in front of the building. It looked like every one of them was trying to ask him questions and he looked flustered as he was crowded in.
We walked into a glass fronted office to the right of the entrance, where a long counter separated some office desks in the back. Behind the counter was a teenaged girl, who looked up as my father approached. He gave his name and told her that we had a 9 am appointment with the registrar. The girl looked at a page attached to a clipboard and asked my father to please wait a moment, that she would get Mrs. Lang. Soon the girl returned, followed by an elderly woman. When the woman saw my father, a fond look passed between them and she walked around the counter.
"William," she extended both her hands out towards my father and he gently took them in his. "I never thought I would ever see you back in these parts. Welcome home son." She smiled at my father and shook her arms. My father returned the smile and thanked her for her welcome, then turned to me.
"Mrs. Lang, this is my son Brent. He's enrolling today for school. I have his temporary school records from L.A and I have filled out the paperwork Hank picked up for his pre-registration." He placed his briefcase on the counter and retrieved the papers from it.
Mrs. Lang looked over at me while my father got the paperwork. "Hello Brent. Welcome to Beulah. I'm Mrs. Lang, the registrar. While I look over the paperwork with your father, would you please follow Missy there behind the counter and she'll take your photo for your school ID." She then turned to the girl who was waiting, "Missy take Brent and get his school ID made up, then bring him back so he can pick out his electives, we should be ready for him by the time you two finish." Missy asked me to come around the counter and follow her into the back. We walked into a little room with a camera and a desk with a computer on it. The back wall of the room was painted blue and gold and she asked me to stand were two foot prints were etched on the floor. She sat down at the desk with the computer and pushed a couple of keys, then got up and adjusted the camera.
"Ok, Brent. I'm ready to take your picture." She said and looked up at me.
"Ok, I'm ready" I said.
"Well aren't you going to smile?" she asked. "Your too cute not to smile." Of course her saying that made me blush and smile at the same time and I heard the shutter click on the camera. "Perfect!" she smiled at me. "Ok. I need to fill in some information for the database. You can come over here and have a seat next to the desk while we fill this in." I took the proffered seat and she asked me my name, birth date, address and phone number. Then she looked up from the computer at me.
"Ok, hair is blonde, eyes are," she looked at my eyes and hers widened a little bit and she just stared at me. She stared for so long that I started to feel uncomfortable and ducked my head from he gaze. "Oh! I'm sorry, I just never saw anyone with emerald eyes before." She said and I looked at her again. I could see she was blushing a little bit. She cleared he throat and turned back to the computer. "Eyes green, and lets see...ok here we are, weight?"
"165 lbs." I told her
"Height?"
"5 feet 8 inches."
She punched a few more keys on the keyboard and then said, "Ok this last question is optional for you to answer. You don't have to if you don't want. Religion?" I had no problem answering it, so I told her that I was Catholic. She typed in my answer then she must have pressed the enter key because a little machine that resembled a business card reader started up and about 2 minutes later a blue and gold card came out of it. On the card was my picture on the left and my name, grade and student ID number superimposed on the right over a caricature of what I assume was a miner with a pick resting on his shoulder.
She took the card and placed it in a laminating machine. "Do you want a blue or a gold neck cord for you ID?" She asked. I chose blue. She opened a drawer and took out a blue cord with a metal swivel clip on the end. Once the card went through the laminating machine, she looked it over and then punched a rectangular cut out in the top, clipped on the cord and handed it to me. "You have to wear this the whole time you are in school or at any school sponsored function. You must present it to any faculty member who asks for it and if you don't have it displayed at all times while in school or at school functions, you will get detention. It's all explained in the student handbook. If you lose it, come back here to the office as soon as you find out so it can be replaced." She typed a few more keys on the keyboard and then stood up. "Ok, we're all done. We better go back out and see if they are ready for you." I got up from my seat and put the cord over my head and positioned the ID around my neck. "Ok, follow me back out and welcome to BHS, Brent."
"Thanks Missy." She smiled at me and I followed her back out to where my father and Mrs. Lang were having a conversation. Mrs. Lang turned towards us as we approached and as I got close to her, she said, "Let me take a look at your ID." She reached for the card around my neck and gave it close inspection. "Very good, nice work as always Missy." She let go of the card and looked up at me. "Ok Brent, we're all through with the paperwork, all I need from you is to know if you have chosen two electives for this school year?" I told her I had, that I would like to take Spanish I and IT Essentials. She nodded and then went to one of the desks behind the counter and typed some information on a keyboard. The printer started printing out a sheet of paper. When it was finished printing, she came back over and handed it to me.
"Here is your schedule. You have 7 periods each day that are 50 minutes each and a 30 minute lunch break. There are 10 minutes between each class to make it to the next. You have second block lunch, which means 4 classes before lunch instead of just three, which is first block lunch. Your father has paid a lunch fund deposit for when you choose to eat in the cafeteria. Your locker number is there in the corner of your schedule. It is probably a good idea to find it before you leave the building today so you have no problem on Monday." She looked at my father then back at me. "It's a real pleasure having you at our school Brent. I could see from your temporary school records that you were an honor roll student in your last school. I was one of your fathers teachers when he went to high school here in Beulah and it looks like your well on your way to following in his academic footsteps. If you have no questions for me, then we are through with everything for now." She gave me a welcoming smile and waited for my reply.
"Thank you ma'am. I don't have any questions at the moment."
"Very well then, we'll see you for freshman orientation on Monday. It will be in the commons area, there's a school building plan in your handbook that you'll want to make sure you bring on Monday. It had all the classrooms marked on it as well as any other of the facility locations you should need to learn the layout. You both have a lovely weekend, and we'll see you Monday Brent." My father and I both thanked her again, turned and walked out of the office. Waiting for us as we left, was Tommy.
"Hello Mr. Stewart. Hi Brent." He said as he approached us. "Um...I...I was just waiting to see if we got any of the same classes and maybe, well, maybe if you wanted to find your locker, I could help." He blushed and ducked his head, waiting for me to say something.
"That's very thoughtful of you Tommy," my father said. "Brent, why don't you and Tommy go find your locker then meet me out front. I'll call Hank to let him know we're ready to be picked up."
"Ok dad." My father nodded to us both, then walked out the front doors. "Here's my schedule Tommy if you want to take a look at it. Let me see...here it is, my locker is number 435."
Tommy took the schedule I handed him and started reading it. "Wow Brent, your locker should be really close to the cafeteria if I'm not wrong. Come on follow me and we'll look for it." He took me by the arm and started leading me down the hall, away from the office. While he led me, he kept reading my schedule, "I think we might have 3 classes together, but this sucks, you have second block lunch and I have first." There was disappointment in his voice He looked over at me and I shrugged my shoulders, I mean what could I say. I really had no input into my schedule and as far as I was concerned, one lunch block was no different than the other. It would have been cool to know at least one person already who I would share lunch with, but then again, I really didn't know Tommy.
"You want to know something kind of funny?" I asked him.
"Sure, what is it?" He inquired.
"Well, when I lived in California, I grew up with 4 really good friends from the time we were all in diapers. There names were Julian, Cheryl, Stephie and...Tommy." I told him.
"Really? You had a best friend named Tommy? That's so cool." His face brightened up and those cute dimples formed with his smile. "Maybe...well maybe you and I will get to be good friends too." He said in a rush, like saying it fast enough, he avoided stumbling over the words. "You know my dad told me after you guys went into the office, that your dad and mine were best friends all through high school. They even played on the football team together."
That surprised me, not their friendship, but that my father played football in high school. But then it also finally dawned on me, that of course my father had grown up in Beulah as a kid because this is where his father and mother had lived all their lives. I never thought about his having lived here as a kid until just this moment and wondered what kind of feelings he was really having about returning to live in a town that he had escaped from over 20 years ago. It must be even stranger for him, than for me, because I don't have to contend with all of my ghosts of the past showing up to haunt me. I looked over at Tommy and saw that he was expecting a comment from me. "Well Tommy, it looks like we're making a good start. We'll just have to see how things go, but I'm glad we have the opportunity to find out." I gave him smile with my reply and his face lit up and I could tell he was trying to contain his excitement. Damn this boy is cute, but stop thinking about that Brent. You just met this kid. What are you, a horn dog! I mentally chastised myself.
"Look...I thought so, here's your locker and right over there is the cafeteria!" Tommy said and pointed with glee, as he pulled me over to where a locker with the number 435 was stenciled on it. "Your sooo lucky man. Mine's all the way on the other side of the building on the second floor!"
I opened the locker to look inside and it was your typical school locker with a small shelf on top, three Y hooks in the back. "Well, this should be easy to find on Monday, I guess." I said to Tommy. He nodded his head in assent. "Hey, do you know where the commons area is that we have to meet in for orientation on Monday?" I asked.
"Sure, it's just around the corner here, across from the cafeteria." He led me a little further down the hall as it opened up to a wide area, with the cafeteria on the right and a kind of sunken indoor amphitheater with a stage to the left. "All the freshmen have to meet here at 8:45 am on Monday. I can wait for you out front if you want to walk in together on Monday." He looked up at me hopefully.
"That would be great. How about we meet out front at 8:30 am, is that a good time?" I asked.
"That's perfect!" He beamed back.
"Cool, then it's a date. Listen, we better get back, my father and Hank are probably waiting for me by now. We have to drive to Bismarck and my father hates to be late for anything." I explained.
Tommy agreed and we returned to the front of the admin building. Tommy and I walked out together and as we did, a few of the students who were hanging out there waved to Tommy and even called out my name and waved to me. I noticed Missy was no longer in the office, but was in a group of her own out front that had all stopped talking and stared at Tommy and I. Missy waved to me and yelled she'd see me on Monday. I waved back. I saw the SUV with my dad and Hank waiting for me. Tommy followed me over and once again greeted my father and said hello to Hank and called him by name. I opened the back door and as I was getting in Tommy told me bye and he'd be waiting for me on Monday as we agreed. I told him goodbye and confirmed we'd meet up on Monday. I closed the door and Hank pulled away from the curb as Tommy waved bye to us.
The drive to Bismarck was boring and long. Hank turned the radio to a Country music station as we traveled along and I kicked myself for not remembering to bring my iPod. My father made no comment about the choice of music and I noted a few times where he even nodded along with the music as Hank drummed out the beat with his fingers on the steering wheel. I was feeling good about my reception this morning at the high school. I knew it was nothing more than curiosity about the new kid and that would wear off fast, but at least I had met Tommy and even though he was very shy and well acted kind of needy, hell I was feeling needy myself.
As we approached Bismarck, traffic steadily increased on the highway and when the town, no when the CITY, came into view, I sat up and took notice. It wasn't L.A. big, but it was big enough. My father turned and asked me if I was hungry and of course I'm always hungry. Hank drove us to an Olive Garden on N. 14th Street. After we three ate and left the restaurant, Hank drove to U.S. Bank on E. Broadway Avenue. My father told me to come in with him while Hank found a parking space and awaited our return. We met with one of the banks V.P.'s and my father had me sign three documents dealing with my trust fund, one of the bank clerks came in to certify my signature. My father had set up a trust for me when I was born and evidently he had it transferred to N.D. and placed with U.S. Bank. After the documents were certified and the clerk left, another woman came in to where we were and handed my father an envelope. He opened it and pulled out what looked like a platinum credit card. He looked at it, then placed it on the desk, handed me a pen and told me to sign the back of it. I looked at him with my eyebrows raised.
"Sign the back of your card Brent. I opened you a checking account separate from your trust account. Your allowance will be deposited each month into the checking account and you can draw on it with this card." He looked at me still holding the pen for me to take. "Sign right here." I took the pen and signed where he pointed. "$2000 will be transferred into the checking account on the 15th of each month until your 18th birthday, and then $5000 will be transferred into it until you reach 25, at which time your trust fund is available to you." That's all he said, handed me the card, and took his pen back. We each thanked the bank officer and walked out of the bank. I still had the card in my hand and my father noticed it. "Put that away in your wallet Brent before you lose it or misplace it, please." I did as I was told. I was kind of in shock. I mean I never had an allowance before, just anytime I needed something I'd ask my father, he'd give me money, I'd thank him and that was the end of it.
Hank must have been watching for us to exit the bank because we no sooner made it to the curb, and there he was. Once we got in, Hank turned and headed west on Broadway Avenue. About 15 minutes later he turned right off of Broadway into a Cadillac/Mazda dealership. He parked and got out of the SUV and my father opened his door and stepped out. He looked at me sitting in the back and asked if I was going to get out. I was confused and I opened my door and hopped out too. I followed behind Hank and my father as they entered the dealership. The receptionist welcomed us and my father asked to speak with the General Manager. She picked up the phone and her voice came over the PA system, "Mr. W to reception please, Mr. W please come to reception. Thank you." She asked if she could get anyone something to drink and we all declined. I was wondering what was going on and Hank was just standing there with his hands in his pockets with a smile on his face. My father was as stone faced as usual.
We didn't have to wait long before a portly middle aged man in a business suit came to reception and the receptionist introduced him to my father. "My son will be getting his drivers permit this month and his license within 6 months. We would like to see the Mazda RX8's you have on the lot." My father turned and introduced me, "This is my son Brent. Would you please have one of your salespersons show him what you have available." I looked up at my father and unable to control an overload of emotions, tears started forming in my eyes. I turned and ran out of the building. I ran to the SUV and jumped in back and slammed the door. I got in the very back on the bench seat and buried my face in my hands and cried harder than I had ever cried in my life.
Just this morning I had been so mean to him when he said he was taking me to Bismarck with him and I had never really treated him with the kind of respect a son shows his father. He was always so distant and emotionless. His work always took precedence over me and he and my mother were never around when I needed them. Connie was the one who fulfilled that role. My heart felt like it was breaking, thinking about all the times I tried to get them interested in anything I had going on in school that other kid's parents supported them in. They were never available. Now in just a matter of hours, he was doing so much for me I was on overload.
I heard the side door open. I looked and saw it was my father. He saw me all the way in the back and he climbed in and took off his jacket. He removed his tie and unbuttoned the neck of his shirt. He didn't say a word, but simply worked his way back to me, moved me so he could sit down on the seat and then embraced me in his arms and just held me as I cried even harder and clung to him. I felt his hand rubbing the top of my head and the other my back as he rocked me in his arms to sooth and calm my crying. "Brent I want you to listen to me son. You don't have to say anything, just listen to me." His voice was so calming and reassuring, unlike anything I had ever heard coming from him in my life. "I love you more than anything in this world." I cried harder upon hearing those words. His embrace tightened on me. "I've lost 14 years of holding you in my arms. I've spent all my time working to improve my professional life, while my sons life was slipping through my hands." He took his arm from my back and the one that was on my head he moved to my left cheek and placed the other on my right. He moved my head back so he could look me in the face and I saw tears leaking from his eyes. "I don't want to miss another second of your life Brent." He looked me in the eyes and said, his voice constricted from his own emotions. His eyes took on a haunted look and he asked me, "It's not to late for you and me, is it son? I don't want to be my father, Brent."
The look in my fathers eyes as I heard his plea and watched as the tears left moist trails down his perfect face, was overwhelming. I shook my head and could barely whisper to him through my swollen throat. "It's not to late daddy. I love you." He leaned down and kissed me on the lips and said, "I love you son." We sat there in the back of the SUV, both of us crying and hugging each other. My father really loved me and he cared enough about rebuilding our relationship and I felt it in my soul that this was the start of the beginning of my life.
Thanks to those who have commented on Part 1 of Learning to love. I hope you enjoy this installment and I look forward to your continued comments as the story progresses. You may email me at jmedinacorona@gmail.com