Ring in Mine
Kim Terry
I decided to take a break from mainstream writing and do something a little different. Novel number three can wait.
I realized one evening while reading an excellent story by Jack Schaefer called Forever that I would have been willing to buy the book just to support an excellent author. I have read a lot of stories that I have enjoyed. Sadly to say it took a feeling of guilt to power up the PayPal and send a donation. I give to PBS and I spend more time on Nifty that I do watching Mystery.
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Ring in Mine began as a short story back when I was writing children's books. It takes place when personal computers still used green monitors and the video game PONG was cutting edge. Much of it really happened. Some of it is fantasy.
Though there are no adult intimate situations in the first few chapters, I promise I will make up for it as Bobby expands his horizons beyond his strict religious upbringing. If this bothers you don't read it.
I would appreciate hearing from you, the reader. ringinmine@yahoo.com
All rights are reserved to the author except those given to Nifty to publish and archive this work. Please do not repost without permission of the author.
(If there are errors I do apologize up front. I am used to getting things as clean as possible and then the editor takes care of the rest.)
Kim
Ring in Mine Chapter 2
Tuesday I was up early. The day had turned cold and the sky was dark. I hadn't driven a mile before the flakes began to fall. The school was in a high mountain valley community. It was so small it didn't even have a Walmart. Soon the going was slow. I hoped to make it through the canyon and over the pass before they closed it. Our rare warm autumn was over. Winter was finally here and the ski resorts would be celebrating.
Snow was beginning to stick on the roads and the plows hadn't been out to sand. The half hour drive through the canyon took an hour. Listening to the radio I was probably one of the last ones allowed up the canyon without chains or four-wheel drive.
Once through the canyon the roads were wet and slushy but traffic was moving. The two hour drive took four, but I was home and safe for five days. The house was empty when I arrived. Mom and dad wouldn't be home from work for hours yet and my brother, Robert, was in Germany working with the Peace Corp. what parents name their kids Robert and Bobby?
In a lot of ways I missed him. In other ways I didn't. We were typical brothers. At times we were best friends. He was a people user. He could manipulate and control people like an expert. Most of our problems came when I wasn't in the mood to be used.
We had always shared a room. It provided lots of opportunities to see him naked when we were younger. On a family camp out one of the older cousins introduced us to strip poker. Just dirty fun among cousins. More than once we would play strip poker with each other. Sometimes our games even included friends.
As much as we barely tolerated each other at times, I remember times when I would come home from school an emotional wreck. There was more than one bully that rode my case unmercifully. One of the worse was a cousin, Jeremy. He was three years older than me and big, neanderthal big and neanderthal bright. No one but my brother believed me when I complained about the things he did to me. Dad would not hear a negative word said about Jeremy. Those were the times when we were most likely to end up in bed, my head resting on his shoulder, falling asleep feeling safe in my brother's arms.
Once Robert entered jr. high school and started growing pubic hair, he stopped parading around the room naked. It became a game to catch glimpses of my brother. Being two years older than me, he started developing first. His growing manhood fascinated me. I just couldn't get enough of it. My brother was the first time I can remember going to great efforts to see a guy's stuff.
As my brother entered puberty our physical closeness seemed to evaporate. It was something I really missed. Maybe it was because I didn't need it anymore after my Jeremy's family moved away, maybe it was my brother trying to understand himself.
There was only one time after that I can remember sleeping together. My brother was a junior in high school. His best friend had just gotten his driver's license and was ready to party. My parents wouldn't let my brother go out on a school night. The accident was bad. They weren't sure he was going to live. That night my tough big brother asked if he could sleep with me. He kept his boxers on and cuddled up to my naked body, I hadn't changed my exhibitionistic ways. This time the roles were reversed. His head lay on my shoulder. I reassured him, my hand caressing his hair, as he repeated over and over, "It could have been me." As he fell asleep his hand found my balls. I didn't feel awkward. It felt right. I fell asleep happy and loved.
I started my laundry and washed the dishes in the sink. By the time the last load was in the dryer, the kitchen was clean, the house dusted and vacuumed, and the driveway shoveled. I had selfish motivations. Mom worked hard as a lunch lady at the elementary school. I wanted her to spend time with me, not cleaning the house. I put some chicken in the oven and had vegetables ready to cook.
When I heard the front door open I ran like a puppy to its master, giving my mom a big hug. She of course fussed over me.
"Are you eating enough and getting enough sleep?" She asked poking my stomach. "Or are you partying all night?"
"Mom!" I burst out. "Who would invite me to a party?" I was sort of joking but there was a lot of underlying baggage in the comment. Mom's smile slipped for a moment.
"Bobby, you are still taking your meds, aren't you?" She was worried. I reassured her I was taking my depression and anxiety meds. I didn't want to go back there again.
Dad called and said he was on his way home. I started the vegetables. Dinner would be ready for him when he arrived. I was looking forward to spending the next five days with my family. I really loved my parents and grandma and grandpa were coming. It was going to be a perfect holiday. I would spend tomorrow helping mom prepare the Thanksgiving feast. I loved cooking with my mom. She was the one that taught me to love preparing good healthy meals.
Mom and I cuddled up on the couch under her big blanket. Dad sat in his chair. We first watched a game show, followed by an old Doris Day film. It was just like the evenings I grew up loving. Nothing special just spending time together as a family. It was during a commercial break that my perfect holiday turned bleak.
"Bobby, I am glad you are here to help tomorrow. We are going to have a houseful on Thursday. Aunt June and Uncle Ray are bringing their families. It's going to be great having the whole family here." Mom announced.
"Is Jeremy coming?" I asked fearing the answer.
"Of course. Isn't going to be great!" Mom bubbled. "He will be bunking up with you. They are staying for the Black Friday sales."
My heart sank. The day Jeremy's family moved, he still had to get in one more taunt.
"I hope you enjoy your new bike. I made a few improvements." He whispered as he hit me in the gut.
I went into the garage. My bike was gone. I found it two days later in a vacant lot. The rims were bent, the tires slashed and all the cables were cut. I tried to explain to Dad what happened to my bike.
"That's a terrible thing to do blaming Jeremy when he isn't here to defend himself. I told you to keep it locked up." Dad wasn't happy. He ignored the cut bike chain and threw my bike into the dumpster at the park and grounded me for three weeks.
Having too much time to think is not always a good thing. I was staring at the photo from the last family reunion trying to understand Dad's constant support of my cousin over me. After staring at the photo for 15 minutes I finally noticed that Jeremy looked more like my dad than I did. I didn't look like my mom, dad or brother.
I had worked all summer to buy that bike and it was gone. If it hadn't been for Rob spending those last weeks of summer vacation with me it would have been even worse.
Gram offered to replace my bike but my parents put their foot down. Jeremy's slimy way of kissing up to the adults never fooled her.
"Earth to Bobby, what are you thinking?" Dad asked. "I asked you about school. Why don't you ever listen?"
"I was thinking about all the homework I have to get done." I kissed them both and said good night. I wished I had never come home. I closed my door crawled into bed and cried. It would be no use trying to explain what I was feeling to my parents. Maybe I could find a reason to go back to school early.