Quarterback Keeper: 7
A Cup of Joe
Tony had just stepped out of the shower when he heard knocking on the suite door. When he opened it he saw a smiling Energizer Bunny. Tyler had been awake since 6 a.m. Finally Bill said, "Why don't you go pester Joe and Anthony and let me get some sleep."
Tony couldn't help smiling as he let the boy into the suite. Tyler hadn't noticed that Tony was naked until he stepped in and then wasn't sure what to say or do when seeing his academic adviser wearing only a towel.
"Sorry, Dr. Kesslinger...I..I should have called before coming up. Is Joe here?...I can come back...I'm sorry for bothering you..."
"Hey Tyler, take a breath. I am sure I am not the first or the sexiest man you've ever seen naked."
Anthony went back to drying himself, picking out his clothes, and ignoring Tyler's furtive attempts to check out his professor's athletic body.
"Joe's not here, he had a business breakfast and will meet us at the Art Institute. I see you couldn't entice Bill to join us for a bit of culture."
"No, he said that if he wanted to look at pictures of naked women, he'd go buy a playboy."
"Well I am sure Bill doesn't know, and doesn't actually care, that Hugh Hefner put the first edition featuring Marilyn Monroe together on his kitchen table over in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago." Of course," said Tony as he absent-mindedly arranged his cock and balls, "most people don't actually care about that factoid. Oh well, the hazards of being a history prof."
Tyler was sitting in one of the leather chairs and had a pensive look.
"Earth to Tyler," said Tony.
"Huh"
"Your focus seems to be elsewhere. While I would like to think it is my magnificent manhood that has you in gaga land, I think there is something else on your mind."
Tyler was so distracted that he didn't even bother to blush when Tony joked about being ogled.
"Is Joe rich?"
"What prompted this question?"
"The other day Manuel dropped a check by the apartment and said it was for the store's rent. I didn't know Joe owned the entire building. In fact, Joe owns several buildings in Salt Fork. Then there is all the stuff he's bought me. And this," Tyler gestured to the room, "this can't be cheap. He's paying for my entire vacation. Then you tell me he has a business meeting this morning. I don't get it."
"Okay Tyler, let's go get some breakfast and talk about Joe."
They walked down the street to a Starbucks and grabbed a breakfast sandwich and coffee before finding a seat.
"So, to answer your question: yes, Joe is rich. I don't know how rich, but `very' is the correct adverb. He is a part of the Sinclair Oil family. Most people don't know that because his mother was the Sinclair. Very few people know that Joe has money. Outside of his family, there are people like Bill and me who have known him since college and a few business partners. So Tyler, you need to be very careful with this information. Joe is living the life he wants and if everyone knows about his wealth it will fuck that up."
Tyler thought for a minute and finally asked, "Why?"
"If the question is why is Joe a teacher and coach in a small town rather than living the life he can obviously afford somewhere else? I don't really have the complete answer, but let me explain it like this. We just paid twice as much for a cup of coffee as we would have paid at Matty's Cafe in Salt Fork. Of course, we could get things added to the coffee that we couldn't at Matty's, and some people would say the coffee here is better quality, but do you really notice the difference?"
"Not really, it tastes like coffee to me," said Tyler.
"Yep, me too. I like places like Starbucks because they add variety; however, if you could get your coffee from only one place for the rest of your life, would you choose Starbucks or Matty's."
"I think I would choose Matty's."
"Why?"
"Well, I'd go broke drinking coffee here every day. But also, Matty's is comfortable. I like Matty, and I like the people I meet there."
"Well Tyler, that's our friend, he could be a Caramel Macchiato, but he's more comfortable being just a plain cup of Joe." "As for why he's a high school history teacher and coach, there are two answers to that. I will give you one, but you will have to wait until he's ready to give you the other. The first answer is Joe likes history, he loves baseball, and he cares about kids. The second answer is Brett, but that is all I will say; if you push him about it, he will never tell you."
Tyler sat silently and ate his breakfast. After playing with his napkin for a bit he asked, "What about you and Joe?"
Tony looked Tyler in the eye and said, "Joe and I are best friends for life, emotional and personal confidants when we need one, and for two weeks a year, we are lovers. However, your question is really about you and Joe. I will admit to putting you and Joe in the same woods on the same path, but it is up to each of you whether you walk in the same direction or in opposite directions."
Tyler had lowered his eyes and Tony said, "Look at me Tyler. I think you and Joe have something each other needs and something you can offer to the other. However, if you want a relationship together, each of you have challenges ahead. Your first challenge is to accept that Joe is rich and he doesn't care about money. He doesn't give you things because he expects something in return or to place you into his debt. He gives you things because he sees that you need them, and giving is a part of who he is. Second, you have to stop seeing him as the adult and yourself as the kid. You have to not only act like you are colleagues and equals, but you also have to believe it. The first place to start is not to call him daddy anymore."
"For Joe," said Tony, "The challenge is much greater. He has to allow someone to be in love with Joe Bartlett. Joe and I can love each other because I am in love with my wife. It probably sounds odd that I chose to marry Virginia because Joe would never have let me be in love with him, and Virginia would. Virginia is the center of my life, she is the heart of my family, she defines who I am. Joe could not be that for me. He is fearful of a life nexus with another person."
Tyler again was quiet and then asked, "Is it because of Brett?"
"When the time is right, Joe will answer that question. As for the other part of your question, what about me and Joe? If you are truly Sir Galahad and find the Holy Grail hidden in the heart of Joseph Bartlett, then I, you, and he will sit down and discuss who gets to tap my ass and how often."
Tyler laughed.
Why Didn't You
Tyler was looking at a painting by Ellsworth Kelly titled "Red Yellow Blue White and Black II" when Joe found him and Tony in the Chicago Institute of Art. Tyler has a baffled look on his face.
"What's up champ?" asked Joe.
"I don't get it," said Tyler.
"What don't you get?"
"Why would anyone hang that on the wall and call it art? It's just rectangles of color painted on a canvas. I could do that."
"So, why didn't you, Stinkpot?"
Tyler frowned, "Joe, Tony said I should stop calling you daddy."
"He did, did he?"
"I will make a deal with you. If you stop calling me Stinkpot, I'll stop calling you daddy."
Joe pretended to think it over and then said, "That's a deal.....Little Winney."
Tyler looked at Joe with a sideways expression then said, "Well, thank you very much S..I..R."
"I get it," said a smiling Joe. "That's a deal....Tyler."
About that time Tony walked up. "Ah, `Red Yellow Blue White and Black II' by Ellsworth Kelly: one of my favorite paintings."
"Why do you like it," asked Tyler.
"Well I like it because Ellsworth Kelly had the balls to paint some colored rectangles on a canvas and then charge some rich schuck a butt load of money for it. Hell, he didn't even put a fucking frame around it. Seriously, the guy could have gone down to Sherwin Williams, bought a few pints of paint, and painted that directly on the plaster and had the same picture. The only difference would be that the rich schmuck wouldn't have been able to claim a huge tax deduction for donating it to an art museum."
"Tyler, you can see why Dean Kesslinger will never get an invitation to the premier of the Art Department's Senior Art Show. If this is his level of art appreciation when stone sober, imagine what he would say after three or four glasses of wine. Hell, he'd have some poor art major in tears and ready to switch majors to accounting."
"Okay, Mr. Art Lover, what is your favorite piece? And please don't tell us that it's `American Gothic'." Tyler remembered the stoic old farm couple with the pitchfork standing in front of their house.
"Actually, one of my favorites isn't far away." Joe led them to "Nighthawks" by Edward Hopper. "I like the simplicity and the loneliness of this painting. There is something about an all-night diner at 2 a.m. that I find haunting and yet appealing. You can almost hear the guy say, `Another cup of Joe'."
Tyler and Tony burst into laughter, and Joe wasn't sure what the joke was.
Holy Cow, You're an Asshole!
The guys took the Red Line from the hotel to Wrigley Field. The "L" put Tyler into another level of Energizer Bunnyism. He was totally soaking up the sights, the people, and the experience. The suite was available two hours before the game started, so Joe figured that would give them time to eat, watch batting practice, explore the stadium, and purchase souvenirs before the first pitch.
Just as the Cubs were starting batting practice, the Wrigley staff delivered the food. Joe had requested Italian Beef (the Chicago version of the steak sandwich with hot pepper giardiniera), Chicago dogs, several sides from artery clogging nachos for Bill to a healthier fruits salad for Tony. After eating Bill and Tyler decide to see if they could get some autographs and look for souvenirs leaving Joe and Tony to talk.
"Tyler said you told him to stop calling me daddy. Did you also tell him to stop calling you uncle?"
"Nope, since my sister had only daughters and you seem to be slacking in the procreation department, I figure this is the only way I'm going to get a nephew."
"Fair enough Uncle Tony. What else did you tell him?"
"I told him you are a stubborn old cuss who doesn't know a good thing when he's staring it in the face--or ass."
"So?"
"So, he won't listen to me. He still thinks there's hope for you."
The two watched batting practice in silence until Joe asked, "What else?"
"He asked if you were rich. It seems you tenants have been dropping their rent checks by the apartment."
"Shit, I forgot about that. What did you tell him?"
"I didn't lie."
"I see."
"Like I told you on the train, he's concerned about paying you back. So I told him he had to get over the fact that you have money, that you don't care about it the same way a normal person does, and he would have to get over you buying him things. Basically the Joe 101 lessons I had to learn years ago."
"Did you tell him about Brett?"
"I mentioned his name, but said you would have to be the one to tell him about Brett. I told him not to push you and let you tell the story when you are ready. But my friend, you have to be the one to tell him. I broke the ice on the money for you, but I won't--I can't--with Brett.....Oh, he also asked about you and me."
"Interesting, how did you handle that question?"
"I told him that if something develops between the two of you, the three of us would get together to figure out how to divvy up my ass."
Joe laughed and was reaching to give Tony a kiss when the suite door opened and there was a loud and obnoxious "Howdy Cousin Joe."
In walked Charles and David Sinclair and their wives Mindy and Carrie. "We were all in Chicago doing some business when we heard that you had requested the tickets for tonight's game," said Charles. "Since you were only using four the the 15 seats, I told Davey we couldn't miss the chance to see our only cousin. I hope we aren't making a nuisance of ourselves."
"Not a problem," said Joe lukewarmly, "Have something to eat. There's beer and soda in the fridge. If you want something else to drink, you'll have to go to the club."
"Thank you Joe, but we don't want to eat your dinner," said an embarrassed Mindy.
"Don't think anything of it. I can always request more food if we need it."
"Hey is that Anthony Kesslinger I spy," David said in his joshy good old boy tone. "How ya doing Doc?"
"Davey, it ain't Doc anymore, it's Dean Kesslinger," Charles said. "You know Dean, Davey and I went to O-State, but we just couldn't get Joe-Joe to tag along. Hell, they even offered him a baseball scholarship to play at a really D1 university, but he had to go to NOSU. No hard feelings though, and just to show it Sinclair Oil makes a donation to your little school every year. Ain't that right, Joe-Joe."
"Thank you, we appreciate Sinclair Oil's generous gift," Tony said, noticing Joe beginning to boil.
The door opened again and this time an excited Tyler burst in, "Hey guys, guess what we....."
"Well, well," David said suggestively, "Who's the new boy?" Tony grabbed Joe's arm to stifle the urge to punch his cousin.
Tyler reached out his hand, "Hello, I'm Tyler Simmons. I will be teaching history at Salt Fork this year and helping coach football and baseball."
"I heard you were going back to coaching Joe-Joe," Charles said, "Did they throw Ty in to sweeten the deal?"
"Enough!" screamed a pissed off Mindy Sinclair. "Charles and David, you two can stop acting like complete asses or you can leave. Joe has kindly offered to share the suite and the food with us, and I want to see this game. So Charles Sinclair, unless you want to spend the foreseeable future playing with yourself in the guestroom, you will straighten up and fly right."
David, who was standing behind Carrie was laughing when she reached back, grabbed his balls and said through her teeth, "One more snicker and I put these in my purse and snap it shut."
Charles and David suddenly went from laughing hyenas to timid little mice. For all their swagger Charles and David were the definition of pussy whipped. Plus should either even think of straying, Mindy and Carrie had the meanest pitbull of a divorce attorney in Oklahoma City on speed dial, and neither Charles or David had the foresight to insist on a prenup. Tony chuckled when he remembered the saying that became famous during the Watergate Era, "When you have them by the balls, their hearts and minds will follow."
At first the seating in the outdoor box was segregated, with Charles, David, and their wives on one side of the aisle, and the boys on the other. However, by the third inning there was a gradual, if not grudging, integration, and by the end of the fourth, a casual observer would not have noticed that the evening had started off rocky. Joe and Tony were gracious, Tyler and Bill were too into the experience to care, Mindy and Carrie were natural peace makers, and the Sinclair boys were just good-old-boy... even if they were wearing 500 dollar sport coats and 1200 dollar cowboy boots to a baseball game.
At the beginning of the 6th inning everyone had refilled their plates and returned to their seats except for Joe and Mindy. She said, "You know they are not as big of assholes as you think. You would know that if you attended any of the family functions. Don't pretend you weren't invited; I send those invitations to you registered mail."
"Mindy, there is a big difference between being invited and being wanted."
"Oh Joe, they want you to come. It's just that they don't know how to act around you. You were always the golden boy. You were the better athlete; the smarter kid in school; your grandfather's favorite. I know they were assholes to you when you came out in college. They finally thought you had a vulnerability and they jumped on it. They feel bad for how they treated you."
"Come on Mindy," an incredulous Joe interrupted, "you saw them earlier, how can you say they've changed?"
"Because I have watched them evolve over the years. Just look at them with Tyler."
Joe watched Tyler, who was seated between Charles and David, laughing and cheering with his cousins. "Well, the kid can make friends with anyone," said Joe with a smile, "plus he can't tell the difference between a Irish setter and coyote."
"I bet you didn't know that our third son, Michael, is gay."
"What?! Oops plays for my team. Ouch, sorry I said that."
"Don't think about it, we call him Oops also. You can't have your last kid 10 years after the others and not have a sense of humor. But seriously Joe, Michael could benefit from knowing you. And you won't believe how much having a gay son that you love and cherish can change the way a man things about homosexuality."
"I'm glad that Charles accepted his son. Too many fathers don't"
"Look," said Mindy, "what you saw tonight was the result of a relationship that has been stunted for 35 years. They don't know how to relate to you as an adult so they revert to college frat boys whenever they are around you, or they see you as the guy their father left 20 percent of the company. After spending a fortune to buy out your mother's share of the company, they could never figure out why he turned around an left so much of it to you in his will."
"Yeah, I always thought it was strange that Uncle Joseph left me all those shares and his apartment in Tulsa. Especially with that clause that prevents me from selling any of my shares. I assumed he did it as a kind of poke in the eye to his sons for something they did, or so they would be too focused on fighting with me to turn on each other."
"He left it to you Joe because you're the last Sinclair."
"Huh?"
"Well, this isn't the place for this conversation, but you won't come to the family events so I am just going to tell you."
"You are the last Sinclair. Joseph Sinclair is not Charles' or David's biological father. I am sure all of these years you thought that when you needed a kidney Charles and Davey were being assholes and were really hoping you would die. That's not true. They actually went to be donor matched and that's when they found out."
"So, Charles and David are adopted?"
"Not really."
"What?!"
"When your Aunt Mary died, we moved Joseph to the apartment that he eventually left you. Most of the Sinclair Oil and family archives were donated to the University of Tulsa, but Joseph kept a private family archives in the apartment's library. I'm sure you have seen it."
"I have, but I haven't had the energy, actually the courage, to look at it."
"I kind of became the person assigned to look in on Joseph everyday, so to give myself an excuse to visit so often I started helping him organize those papers. One day, I came across a document that simply said, `I agree to never speak of Joseph and/or Mary Sinclair and our arrangements in exchange for 1000 pounds. Signed John Dryden, shepherd."
Mindy opened a bottle of beer and handed it to Joe and then poured herself a glass of wine. "At first Joseph wouldn't tell me about it, but I finally wore him down. It seems that the men in your branch of the Sinclairs have a genetic condition that increases the changes of a miscarriage. So, after several failed pregnancies he and Mary decided to take drastic action. They started vacationing in Roslin, Midlothian, Scotland: the home of Clan Sinclair. There they found a young man named John Dryden whose family was very similar in stature and appearance to your uncle. He agreed to "stand in" for Joseph. So when two consecutive Septembers John and Mary returned from Scotland expecting, the family joked about the water and the air."
"So, why couldn't Charles or David just tell me why they couldn't give me a kidney."
"By the time they found out the truth, Anthony had already stepped up. Mary was having mental difficulties in her last years and Joseph, Charles, and David decided they needed to protect her. When she died, the rift between you and your cousins was so large it didn't seem like telling you would make a difference, and since you are gay they figured you didn't need to know about the Sinclair curse."
"Hey Mindy and Joe-Joe you're missing a great game," yelled Charles from the outside box. "Yeah, Joe-Joe," added David, "And we like Ty-Ty, you will have to bring him to meet the family, the kids will love him."
Joe looked at Mindy with a smile, "How do you and Carrie put up with those two?"
"Well, they are better than average businessmen with a lot of money, they are good fathers, and they have big shepherd boy cocks."
"What!?"
"No! Nothing like that. Carrie and I have breakfast every Thursday, kind of a Sinclair Anonymous support group, and sometimes we compare notes."
"TMI--TMI!, said Joe. "Why don't you go ahead. I need a moment to think before I go back out there."
Mindy touched Joe's hand and then went to join the gang. Joe watched his friends and his family mingle and enjoy themselves. "Maybe I have kept the parts of my life too separate. It might be time to loosen the tie."
Tyler turned around and waved, "Come on Joe, this is a blast. You're missing all the fun."
"Okay, Ty-Ty. Just hold your.....well whatever you hold." Tyler blushed, everyone else had a good laugh, and Joe was home.
Thank you for reading "Quarterback Keeper." I very much appreciate the comments and words of encouragement I have received from readers. I also have another story, "Tough Love in Kansas City" going on nifty.org. If you would like to be included in updates on my stories, send me an email.
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