The following is a work of fiction and is the property of the author.
If you are looking to get off quick, read something else. This story is presented in serial form and you'll read a lot of background, before you get any mind-blowing sex scenes. If you are bothered by same sex relationships, read no farther.
This is a story about the inter-relationships of males of differing ages. It's a story with some sex, not sex with some story.
Pop
Chapter 13
Christmas this year was different for me than any Christmas since I was a child. The old saying, about seeing the festive holidays through the eyes of a child, had special meaning for all of us this year. Tom and Timmy were our eyes and as they viewed sights and sounds and smells they might have never before experienced, we were all uplifted and basked in the holiday spirit.
Because of Dex's and my lack of experience in preparing for Christmas and the holiday traditions, Brenda took over and co-ordinated us in our arrangements. This did not however start with me wisely approaching her and requesting her help.
"David, what decorating are we doing in here for the holiday season ?" Brenda asked one afternoon about two weeks before Christmas as I passed through the Snack Bar area.
"None." I responded without actually stopping to address the issue. "This is a Health Club, not a winter wonderland.
"Bah, humbug." she called out after me as I entered the elevator and the doors closed. I wasn't in the apartment two minutes before the elevator doors opened again and she came galloping out. I knew there'd come a day I'd regret giving her a personal key to the elevator.
"What's the matter with you ?" she asked as the sped toward me. "Santa forget you one year, or did you just earn a whole stocking full of coal. You got kids now, three of them. Four if you count Dex, six if you count my two cops. You and I are the adults here, so it falls to us to look after these things." I stopped and thought for a minute and she was right. This no longer just involved me, I had a family to think about.
"Well, I don't know what to do." I guess in truth I may have whined that statement. "I'm an old bachelor. What do I know about holiday decorating."
"I'm glad you're man enough to acknowledge at least one of your short comings." she teased letting out a large snicker. "Luckily you have the advantage of having a totally experienced, holiday tradition expert at hand. They are normally referred to as `Mother'." She took a short bow.
"All right, all right." I conceded. "I capitulate to your superior knowledge and experience. Would you be gracious enough to help me ?"
"I thought you'd never ask." She beamed at me with what I could only consider her elfish charm. "Let's get down to the nitty gritty, David. What can you afford ?"
"What do we need to do ?" I asked eyeing her warily.
"You need to decorate the Customer Service area and the Snack Bar area. During `Father and Son Sunday' before Christmas, something special should be done. Up here, we need a nice tree with some nice ornaments. I think I'll bring my Christmas things from home."
"If you do that, what are you going to use ?" I asked.
"I'm all alone, David. I don't need a lot of decorations anymore." she said. "Besides, I'm planning on spending most of my time here with all my boys. I normally do, anyway." I was moved and went over and gave her a hug.
"You know," I told her, "you could move in here with us. We'd all love to have you."
"Are you kidding ?" she screeched at me. "It took me over 25 years to have all my own men out of my house. You'd all drive me crazy. Just imagine having to wade through that much testosterone every day. It would be enough to drown me." There was a pause as both of us chuckled. Her mood turned serious for a moment. "Thanks, David. I'm okay right now as I am. Maybe some day I'll consider it, we'll see." Brenda knew she had a home with us any time she wanted it.
"All right." I told her. "How would a budget of $1500 do ?"
"It would do fine." she responded. "I can decorate the place and spend Christmas in Cancun." Her cackling laugh echoed through the apartment. "I can do it all for $500, so that should leave you some present money. Please note what my sons already know. I will not get your presents for you, so do your own shopping. I suggest you start, NOW."
"I'm way ahead of you." I crowed. "I have everyone looked after except Dex. Any ideas what you give a Personal Trainer/Manager who has a fully equipped gym two floors beneath him ? Oddly enough, as I spoke just now, I had an idea of the perfect present for him."
"Good, then your shopping is almost done." she noted. "I don't wrap for anyone over 20 either, so make sure you have lots of paper and scotch tape." This final statement was yelled at me as she climbed aboard the elevator and closed the doors.
Dex and I sat down with the boys that same evening and helped them prepare their gift lists. It worked out that Billy, when he included his Mom, or Tom, when he included Neil, each had eight gifts they wanted to purchase and Timmy had seven. The subject of money was raised and I pointed out to them I had forgotten about providing them with any allowance since they had arrived for keeping their rooms clean and neat and helping with the household chores. I told each of them they had $200 in their allowance accounts and it was up to them how each allotted their money for the presents they chose.
Much planning and conspiring was done over the next few days and when we went shopping on the weekend, everyone had several carefully guarded bags and parcels in their possession on returning home. I was consulted about appropriate choices for Dex and he received the same questions about me.
"Pop, do you have time to talk with me ?" Billy asked on Friday before we went shopping.
"Come on in, Son." I invited him to enter my office, indicating one of the chairs to seat himself.
"I have a question. I don't know what's the right thing to do," he said, "and I am hoping you will tell me." I waited patiently for him to organize his thoughts. "I know what I really want my Mom to have for Christmas, but it costs $155., which when you add tax leaves only about $30 to buy my other seven gifts. It means I won't be giving much to everyone else. Is that okay ?"
"Billy, the value in a present is not what it costs, but in the thought that prompts it to be given." I counseled him. "Some very thoughtful gifts of little dollar value can mean a lot when they are chosen with love and thoughtfulness. I am certain anyone who you value enough to honour with a gift will appreciate it for the tribute it pays to them."
"It sounds right, Pop, but I just don't want anyone to feel I don't appreciate them, because I really do." he responded.
"May I ask, what it is you want for your Mom which costs so much ?" I inquired. He reached into his shirt pocket and showed me a folded page, torn from a magazine which pictured a special, sheep skin mat for bedridden patients to lay on. It relieved pressure from the bed's surface which caused skin irritations and sores. I knew the Doctors had recommended this particular item, but it was not covered by the insurance plan.
"I'm really very sorry Billy and I apologize most sincerely, but this is exactly what Dex and I got for your Mother." I said. "I had no idea you were planning to and I was there when the Doctors recommended it." His face took on a look of surprise and then one of suspicion. "Seeing as we took your idea, why don't you give us, say $10. or $15. toward it and add your name to the gift tag ? That way you will still have some money left to get her something personal, just from you." He stared into my eyes for a minute, then got up, came over and hugged me.
"I don't know how I got so lucky I ended up here with you." he whispered in my ear, kissed me on the cheek and left my office.
Brenda called for a gathering of the Health Club staff, to be held after Father and Son Sunday. Even now, during this busy season, 10 days before Christmas, we had a massive turnout to the weekly program. When the last of our members had left and the significant others of our staff arrived, the doors were closed and locked and our Staff Party began. Brenda had her own itinerary of activities and the first one was hauling out the decorations she had purchased for the Reception area and the Snack Bar and getting everyone involved in making the place into "a winter wonderland", her words, taken from my remark about decorating. When I say everyone participated, I do mean everyone. Before we were done, I too was up on a ladder hanging icicles from the rafters.
Many hands made for short work and after an hour the Club presented a seasonal decor which would rival any commercial establishment in the city. Everyone came up to the apartment and we had a relaxed time and enjoyed each other's companionship, this being one of the rare times which we all saw each other and weren't on the run to tend to some aspect of the business.
Since we had opened our doors, the staff had changed very little and considerably less than at my other facilities. Theo and Peter had stayed as full-time Personal Trainers and four of the five contract trainers were still with us, all of them working virtually full-time. Business had been good, really good and the staff were 75% of the reason. Dex was 100% of the reason the staff was so excellent. Without officially doing so, he had taken over the Manager's role and relieved me of many of the chores I normally would have dealt with. The staff accepted him as `The Boss' and supported his efforts in every way they could.
During the course of the next two hours as we socialized, Brenda's crew, consisting of Billy, Tom, Timmy, Neil, John and Cliff, all dressed in black slacks and white shirts, presented and served the most excellent buffet dinner I have ever experienced. Roast turkey and duck were featured and every poison which body building fanatics avoid was available. We all pigged out totally and everything was delicious. Many swore they would ingest only bottled water for the next two weeks as they filled their plates with second and third helpings. Brenda advised me later, she had polled all the staff and after questioning them, found they all wanted a meal like Grandma use to make, even if they had to work it off for the next month.
When the Christmas cake and pudding were presented, there was a group groan and at that point several did draw the line on their intake. Many didn't.
"I know some of you will be leaving shortly, so before you go I would like to say a few words." I announced. "First I would like to thank everyone here for being with us. My thanks to our staff for their diligence, loyalty and hard work. You have made this Club a success. My thanks to your wives, girlfriends, boyfriends and husbands, for their patience in tolerating the wild hours we have all put in to get everything moving along."
"I have some envelopes I would like to hand out. These are your Christmas Bonuses which you might not have expected, but you have most certainly earned." Each staff member received an envelope which they opened and found a personal note from me and a cheque ranging from $500. to $1500. "You might like to know the other two facilities in our chain are doing exceptionally well also and each employee in the company has received a Christmas Bonus.
Additionally, I would like to announce the formal appointment of Dexter Hyatt as the official Manager of this facility and the General Manager for all three locations." There were cheers and clapping from the entire group showing a great wealth of support for my guy. Dex was surprised and searched my eyes for confirmation and assurance, which he quickly found.
"The last thing I would like to say is a sincere `Thank you' to Brenda and her Crew for this wonderful gathering and spectacular feast. We will be remembering it for many weeks to come as we all try to work it off." Again a round of applause and congratulatory cheers were extended to Brenda and all our boys.
Being as it was Sunday evening, no one stayed very late and by 10:00 p.m. Cliff and John were on their way out to escort Brenda home with arms full of items, leaving Neil the only one still to go. The older boys were going to circle back and pick him up on their way home. I assume he was going with them for the night.
"A very successful gathering." Dex remarked to me. "Everyone really enjoyed themselves."
"Yeah." I grunted. "Nothing like a thousand bucks to brighten some holiday spirits."
"No, that was just the frosting on the cake." Dex replied. "Everyone would have been satisfied, even if the bonus hadn't appeared. Peter and his wife have been talking about trying to have a baby. That money has pretty well settled the matter. Nine or ten months from now, we'll know if it did." Dex had a big grin on his face.
"And how was your surprise ? I queried.
"I'm not sure you chose the right person." he answered with a frown. "General Manager for three facilities is an awful lot of responsibility. I appreciate the opportunity and will do everything in my power to do what you expect."
"You're the right man, Dex." I assured him. "This job would have been yours, no matter what our personal relationship. I saw the right man for the job, not just the man I love." He smiled at me and his doubts seemed to clear.
Billy plopped down on one side of me and Timmy on the other. Tom and Neil did the same with Dex.
"I would like to again thank you gentlemen for your services this evening." I told them. "You helped make this a very special time for some very special people."
"Does that mean we don't get the money ?" Timmy asked. I could feel everyone's eyes glancing to him and then looking to me.
"Pop," Billy said, "we each get $25 for serving tonight and cleaning up. Brenda said, it was only right that the staff get paid."
"And there's nothing at all wrong with that." I assured them. "You each deserved it and more for your efforts. I think Brenda made an excellent deal to get you to work for that amount."
"Good cause she also said, you would pay us, Pop" Tom announced. "She said, she ran a little over on her original estimate and that we should also tell you, Bah, Humbug'." I thought Dex was going to fall off the couch, he laughed so hard. He eventually did roll onto the floor and lay on his back with his knees pulled up. I just sat and watched him for several minutes, then I took my wallet out of my jacket and paid each of the boys $25, knowing I'd been had by an expert. I gave Neil money for John and Cliff. When I again told them, `Thank you', Dex started to laugh all over again and I thought I could here the echo of Brenda's cackling laugh somewhere off in the distance..
On Wednesday evening, one week from Christmas, our extended family again gathered together for dinner. This time it was pizza, three different topping assortments to meet everyone's tastes. Before dinner, Dex and Cliff took Billy, Tom and Timmy to buy a real Christmas tree.
"I don't support using real trees," Brenda had lectured, "and next year, it will be my 7 foot artificial tree, but seeing as it's already cut down anyway and this is our first Christmas together, I'll relent for this one time only." And so the boys were to experience the decorating of a real tree.
After dinner, Brenda began to unpack the three, large cardboard boxes she had John and Cliff bring over from her house. While she did this, Neil and Billy, with John supervising, put strings and strings of lights on the tree. By the time they finished, Brenda had exposed a multitude of beautiful Christmas tree ornaments. The younger boys were shown how to carefully hang each ornament securely on a branch and space them out, so they could be best displayed. It was not long before all the boys, young and old were searching diligently for the best place for their favourite decorations to hang.
An hour passed without any notice and as the end of the second hour neared, we stood back to admire our work. A glittering treasure stood brilliant, dominating the view from every corner of the apartment. We all sat in silence for at least half an hour just staring at the majesty of the ornamentation. Tom and Timmy were fascinated and the rest of us were equally taken.
"All right everyone, you'll have plenty of evenings to sit and look at the tree and other decorations." Brenda pulled us all from our tranquil contemplation as we stared at the bright glowing objects. "If I thought it would settle you all down this much, I'd fight to keep it there all year round." Her zany cackle followed her into the kitchen area.
Christmas music played in the background as we snacked again on the many treats and refreshments which Brenda had co-ordinated for this decorating party. I know she had gone all out to give the boys as much of a treat as possible. Always in the back of her mind, as with the rest of us, we imagined the lack of festive occasions they had experienced for many years. The smiles on their faces and the twinkle in their eyes told us they were truly joyful of the present and not mired in the past.
Billy was having a rough emotional ride. Every time he allowed himself to enjoy the activities with his new brothers and family, he would retreat in guilt, believing it was wrong for him to be cheerful and have fun while his mother lay in her hospital bed, slowly dying. I knew there was only one person who could release him from his self-imposed mourning and I went in to see Mrs. Horton alone one afternoon while Billy was still at school.
You could tell Mattie Horton had been a feisty little woman throughout her life. A single mother, she had supported and raised her son to be a fine, thoughtful, young man. I shared her confidence in Billy and his potential and we had talked on several occasions about her dreams and wishes for him. The cancer, chemo therapy and radiation treatments had taken a heavy toll on Mattie physically, but she had fought for years, determined to see her son reach maturity.
Mattie was prepared to die. She had taught her son courage and determination. She was secure in the knowledge he was safe, loved and would have a home in which to complete his growth and education. We had talked several times and each time I had seen a marked deterioration in her physical condition.
"I'm going to see the New Year, David." she told me. "I want to wish my son the best for the coming year. It is to be a year of growth and learning for him, not one of mourning. He always wished he had a little brother and now he has two. He must set an example for them to follow."
"He is a great person, Mattie." I assured her. "I am concerned because he is already mourning your loss. I think he believes it wrong to enjoy anything while you lay here. He is feeling guilt whenever he experiences pleasure or happiness."
"Oh no. That is the last thing I want." Mattie responded. "You can't allow that to happen."
"I'm afraid you are the only one who can help him get past it." I told her. We discussed in some detail how she would deal with Billy to help him resolve his inner conflict. I was concerned about the drain on her energy which dealing with Billy might demand, but I noted as we talked about it she seemed revitalized by her determination to help Billy resolve the issues.
I made an excuse to Billy that evening, about not being able to go with him to see Mattie. I offered to drop him off and pick him up later. That was fine with him as he had not spent any time alone with her lately. When I picked him up at the hospital later that evening, he was sullen and very quiet. About halfway home, he finally broke the silence.
"Did you tell Mom I was already mourning her by not allowing myself to enjoy anything, or feel good about things ?" he asked. The question was not hostile, it seemed like he wanted to clarify something.
"Yes, she and I discussed that." I confirmed.
"Did she ever ream me out." he said. "She told me I was being selfish. She said, if she had to lay there on that hospital bed, the least I could do is go out and enjoy life on her behalf. She said, if all I could do was look at sadness, I was no use to her and I should not bother to come to see her anymore. She wanted brightness. She wanted enthusiasm. She wanted to hear the fun and joy I had experienced ,so she could share in it." He turned his head and looked at me. He was on the verge of crying. "She didn't really mean she doesn't want me to come anymore, did she, Pop ?"
"Billy, you know Mattie is dying." He slowly nodded his head as tears ran down his cheeks. "Mattie knows she's dying." He nodded again. "Well, Mattie doesn't want us to mourn her dying, she wants us to celebrate her life. She wants you, most of all, to celebrate it, now while she's still living and also after she's gone." I reached out to him with my free arm and he twisted around, sliding up against me and put his head to my shoulder.
"We all feel terribly bad about what has happened to Mattie and to you. Naturally, you are going to feel worse than all of us. But love makes us strong and your love for Mattie is going to make you strong enough to take joy in the fact Mattie is still here sharing life with us. There will be time for sorrow later and then it will end and we will celebrate her memory. Mattie gains nothing from you denying yourself happy times and fun memories, but she gains everything when you bring those things to her through yourself." Billy had stopped his tears and was listening while watching me intensely.
"You mean I should tell her about decorating the tree and shopping for presents ?" he asked.
"By all means." I enthused. "Let's take some pictures and put them up in her room, tell her who you purchased presents for and what you selected for them. Include her, so she shares your Christmas spirit and feels the pleasures you feel. Tell her about what excites you the most."
"Do you think I could maybe get laid ?" he ventured. "I could get real excited about that." I looked over and saw the big grin on his face.
"I don't think Mattie is expecting quite that much excitement." I told him. "Maybe you better save that to get excited about at some future time. Some far, far, future time." He checked to make sure I was smiling and when he determined I was, he laughed and smiled also.
Mattie knew her son. His attitude and disposition changed from that point on. He allowed himself the enjoyment of the pleasures which came his way and shared that joy not only with his Mother, but also with his new family and friends. His talks with Mattie over the next couple weeks provided him with a sense of permission to love as well and we, his new family members, were the chief benefactors of this freedom. In those two weeks, Billy became our Son and a brother to Tom and Timmy.