The following story is a work of gay fiction. If the subject matter is offensive to you or you are too young, please exit now. This story is the property of the owner and may not be reproduced without written permission. See Ch. 1 for copyright information. HUGs. JETjt@aol.com.
EMPIRE
Chapter Thirty-one
Ron and Matt's, Thursday evening
Tyler, Dan and Zack entered the study, moving to the assortment of chairs, tables and accessories near the fireplace. Settling down into the comfortable seating with Tyler sitting next to Zack on the sofa and Dan in an armchair, Tyler looked first at Dan, who gave him a smile of encouragement, then at Zack who was visibly nervous.
"Relax son, we don't bite," Tyler said with a warm smile.
"It's not that," Zack replied with obvious discomfort. "I kinda expected that Ron and Matt would be talking to me. Not that I don't like you or anything like that!" he added quickly.
"It's okay. We've had only a little time to talk and get to know each other. So first I guess I should tell you a bit about me," Tyler said trying to take the spotlight off the youth. "We're all family; Ron and I are real brothers. We had the same father but different mothers. I grew up not knowing who my real father was. When my mother died, I looked for my father, but never found him, and when it was reported that he had died I stopped looking. I was in the security business, in fact the same company that we now own. By pure accident, I was assigned as a bodyguard to Ron who had been wounded in a shooting. We realized our resemblance to each other, and in our talking put two and two together. At one time I was sitting in that same chair where you're now sitting, and nervous as hell, though I was an adult and perfectly capable of taking care of myself. Ron's mother was also dead and there were just the two of us left in the family. To make a long story shorter, Ron officially recognized me as his brother and gave me my share of our father's estate. At that time I took our father's name, Turner, as my own. If you ask me, there is not a better man on this planet than my brother Ron. Since then we have been in business together and have thrown our lot together in our personal lives. We both now have partners, Matt and Dan, and he and Matt have adopted Ronnie, and are in the adoption proceedings with Douglas and will probably adopt Nathan and Carl too. Dan and I have adopted Jerry and have built a new house next door where we're just beginning to move. Now we're here to talk to you about you and what you want."
"That great big house is yours?" Zack asked in astonishment. "I saw it when I was outside roaming around on the paved path."
"Yes, it's ours," confirmed Tyler. "If you'd like we'll take you over there and show it to you later."
"That would be neat," Zack answered. "I thought you just lived in the little house here."
"That's where we're living now, but our new house is sufficiently finished that we're moving this weekend."
"Let me tell you a little about me," Dan said entering the conversation.
"I'm from New York City, and was working in a company called Construction Leasing as an Assistant to the Executive Vice President. Ron bought the company and made my boss the President. I met Ron first, then Tyler shortly after he and Ron found each other. We fell in love and soon decided to become life partners. Right now I'm the Regional Manager for the Western part of the United States for the same company, Construction Leasing that is expanding fast in the West. I guess my story is not as dramatic as Tyler's but that's okay. I just want to say that we are in love with each other and we love our son, Jerry. Tyler and I plan on spending our whole lives together."
"This whole thing up here, is hard for me to believe," Zack said in amazement. "I've hardly known anyone who was gay like me, and here I am surrounded by gay guys, both young and old."
"Hey," Tyler said with a kidding smile, "watch who you're calling old!"
Zack blushed and stammered, "Uh... I guess that didn't come out right, did it?"
"That's okay," Tyler responded. "We know what you meant. We all kid each other here. It's just a sign of our affection for each other."
"You like me?" Zack asked seeming amazed.
"What's not to like?" Tyler kidded, "You don't bite your nails or pee on the floor."
Tyler's approach had Zack's head spinning, but he laughed at Tyler's attempt to keep the conversation humorous.
"Zack," Dan said picking up the lead, "We like you very much and we want you to come and live with us and perhaps even someday becoming our adopted son like Jerry. But we're just getting to know you, and even though we like what we see, we don't know much about you or even if you'd like to live with us."
"Oh, I like you just fine too," Zack quickly replied, then looked down at the floor to avoid eye contact with the two older men. "It's just.... It's just....uh,... I'm not sure that you'd like me if you knew all about me. I'm ...afraid to tell you. You'll throw me away."
"Zack," Tyler said in his most sincere tone of voice, "I'll make you a promise, and I always keep my promises. I promise that we won't judge you nor will we throw you away. Sometimes awful things happen in people's lives. Sometimes those things are their fault, and sometimes they are the fault of others, but it doesn't matter. The past is the past. What's important is now. We only want to know about your past because we need to if we're to become your guardians and maybe later your parents.
"I'm not sure where to begin," Zack said slowly. "My real name is Zachary Taylor. I'm 15 years old, but I'll be 16 tomorrow. When I was a baby I lived with my Mom and Dad with Granny, my mom's mother, `cause my parents were hardly more than kids. My Mom and Dad moved away when I was two, but left me with my Granny. We were poor but I loved her and when I was in fifth grade my Granny died. My Mom and Dad lived in a nearby city and would come to visit me once or twice a year when I lived with Granny. When Granny was gone my folks took me to live with them in Kansas City even though it was plain to see that they didn't want me. It's just that no one else in the family would take me. They lived in a run-down, one bedroom apartment. It had a big storage closet though where I would put down a pad to sleep on at night. My Mom stayed at home but drank a lot and my Dad was gone most of the time traveling on business.
Zack kept his eyes that were filled with shame glued to the floor as he continued.
"When he was gone, she had lots of guys over, but nobody that was nice to me. I learned to keep my mouth shut though cause my Mom said that if I told on her there would be a divorce and we'd have no place to go. She told me I couldn't be home if she was entertaining,' so I mostly would go to the park and sit when she had guys over. She would pull the shade down when she was busy' and put it up when I could come home. Sometimes I would be there all night. Most of the time it wasn't too bad, but in the winter it was too cold so I'd have to sit in the hallway one floor up from where we lived. I got sick a lot and was always tired in school. I think my Dad stayed away on purpose cause when he was home they would yell at each other all the time. My Mom spent any money she got on clothes for herself and having a good time, but she rarely bought food, and my clothes were not much better than rags. The kids made fun of me, so I hated school except that I got free lunches. That was probably good though `cause I rarely got much to eat at home. If I complained about there being no food, my Mom would slap me, so on the weekends when I'd get real hungry I'd hang around dumpsters near restaurants hoping to find something to eat that wasn't too much like garbage."
Tyler, who was sitting next to Zack, put his arm around him as the tears began to flow from the boy's eyes while the story unfolded.
"When I got older," he sobbed, "I would beg or try to find little jobs that people would pay me for. I still hated school, but I went because it was the only way I could be sure of eating. When I could get a little money, or even rarer when my Mother would give me some, I'd go to the charity thrift shops and buy a pair of jeans that someone had outgrown or a shirt or maybe even shoes. That's how I lived. I learned to be tough and to fight, even though I hated it and would take the bad shit rather than fight, if I could."
Zack paused in his story trying to regain his composure. Tyler hugged the boy while Dan stood and walked to a small refrigerator in the hidden bar, returning with a can of coke and some tissues which he handed the youth. Taking a sip of the soft drink, blowing his nose, and clearing his throat, Zack again began to speak.
"Not everybody was mean to me. There was a kindly old man who used to come to the park. Sometimes we'd talk and if he had any money, he'd give me a quarter or a dime. He was poor too and lived with his daughter. I even had a friend once. His name was Jimmy and he was poor like we were. Sometimes at Christmas we'd take an old Christmas tree that someone had thrown away and put it up, and decorate it with paper, wrapping rocks, sticks and stuff with paper to pretend they were presents. When we were both 11 Jimmy got sick and died. I loved him and when he died I wanted to die too."
"All this time I hated my home and my parents. My Dad rarely was home, which was okay with me because I'd hide in my closet if I could, to keep him from hitting me. My mom would sleep until noon or even later and would never work, even though we had only the little money that my father gave her. That and what little she got from those guys she was `entertaining', had to be spent on our tiny rundown apartment and of course clothes for her and for booze. A couple of times they turned off the electricity and when she got some money she made me walk to the power company and pay the bill. She was late with the rent a lot too, and had lots of screaming matches with the landlord. I'm sure they would have thrown us out except that our place was so run down only bums who were no better than us would live there. "
"When I was 12 I discovered that I liked boys. I also found out that men in the park would pay me to have sex with them. I didn't like it, but for the first time in my life I had a little money. I used it to survive, but most of it I saved. One time I was in the park restroom in a toilet stall when someone came into the one next to mine. There was a hole in the partition. I couldn't see the guy but he stood next to the hole and took out his dick, showing it to me. He waved a $10 bill at me, and placed it through the hole. I took it and gave him the best blowjob of his life. When we got through, he went to the sinks and was washing his hands when I came out. It was my Dad!! He took one look at me and started pounding on me, calling me a queer and yelling that I was no longer his son. He said he never wanted to see me again, and made me promise that I'd never tell anyone, nor even tell anyone our last name. After that, when he was coming home, I'd hide in my closet or stay in the park until he was gone."
"Another time my mother found 15 dollars I had in my jeans, that I hadn't remembered to hide. She beat me because I hadn't given it to her. It just made me more determined to save my money until I could run away. It didn't take too long to get the money saved, but then when I was 14 my mother almost got arrested for possession of narcotics. When they raided the apartment she was in, she tried to escape because she knew that they would put her away for a long time. She climbed out of a window onto a fire escape, but lost her balance and fell to the ground where she died. My Dad must have found out `cause he never came home again. The welfare people discovered where we lived though and came and got me. They gave her a free burial because no one that was in the family would admit that we were their relatives. The lady from the shelter and I were the only ones there when they put her in the ground. Afterward they took me away to a shelter while they looked for my Dad, but they never found him. Over the next year I was stuck into three foster care homes but the people there were in it only for the money. I hated those places worse than I hated living at home. At least at home I could do what I wanted as long as I stayed out of the way. In the third place I was sent, the Father would make me have sex with him. I hated it because he was ugly, fat and smelled bad. Somebody must have ratted on him though because they came and took me away. Finally after I was taken from the third place, I decided to run. I had saved up $350 that I managed to keep hidden wherever I went."
Zack again cleared his throat then looking exhausted, asked, ".... Is this getting too long?"
"No son, it's not too long," Tyler answered. "Go on."
"I escaped from the abandoned kids home one night and caught a freight train going west," Zack continued, "I knew that I wanted to go West and South where it was warm, hopefully to California. It took me a week to get this far, then I nearly got caught, but I managed to get away. When I got here I still had $300 left and I met a guy who could get a false ID made for me. I paid him $50 for one that said I was 16 even though I was only 15. I spent half of what I had left on some clothes and got a job working at McDonalds. Needless to say, I didn't go to school and barely scraped by. Fortunately, I found three other guys that lived together and they offered to let me live with them for very little rent. I thought I had it made. I lived there for 4 months and managed to not spend the last $100 I had left. Then the three guys got arrested for burglarizing some place and I was on my own again. I couldn't live in a decent place working for McDonalds, so I tried to find a second job. I didn't make it. I spent some time at a shelter but my money ran out before I could find another place to live. I only had one thing left that I could do: sell my body on the streets."
"You're lucky you didn't get arrested," Tyler commented.
"I guess I hardly had a chance," Zack replied. "I had given up, so the first day I tried it I went right downtown. I only had $10 left out of the money I had saved. I hung out around alleys near the street, keeping a watchful eye out for the cops. It was getting to be late afternoon, so I was hoping to have some luck when the sun went down. After nearly an hour there, a car went by with three guys in it. One of them looked at me with hungry eyes' so I rubbed my crotch and smiled so he knew I was interested. About 10 minutes later the guy came down the alley by himself and walked up to me. We said hello and I asked him if he was looking for some fun. He said sure, but we'd have to find a place where no one would see us'. He said he'd give me $20 for a blowjob. I followed him down the alley to a place behind an old motel where we couldn't be seen. We were in a corner behind an old abandoned car and he reached for my crotch and started rubbing my dick that got hard right away. He unfastened my pants and pushed them down around my knees while I unfastened the zipper of his pants, stuck my hand in, and got him real hard. Just then he grabbed me and his two friends appeared. They held me while one of them searched my pants and took my money. They got mad because I had so little money so they said they'd have some fun, then started slapping me around and punching me. One of them landed his fist on my nose and it started gushing blood. I managed to pull up my pants while they were hitting me, and when I saw an opening I took off running. They caught me by the time I was at the end of the alley. They kicked me and punched me even though we could be seen from the street. That's when Nathan and Carl showed up and took on the guys beating me up. I hardly realized what was happening by then, but only knew that the three left me alone to go after the new guys. I crawled over against a building and watched. Those two guys laid waste to the three guys. In a flash, two of the bad guys were on the ground, one of them out cold, and the third was running away down the alley. Then the cops showed up and captured the guy in the alley and handcuffed all three guys. Carl came over to me. I was scared, but he said not to worry that they wouldn't hurt me, that I was safe. I guess you know the rest."
"Yes, we know," Tyler said. "Carl was right though. Now you're safe."
Zack smiled though his drying tears.
"Do you like it here?" Dan asked softy.
"Are you kidding?" Zack answered with a look of shock on his face. "I'd do anything to stay here. I'd be embarrassed to tell you what I'd do to stay. It would make my past look like I was a saint. You treat your yard guy better than I've ever been treated. I can't believe any of this is true. I can't believe that anyone cares about me. I keep waiting for something bad to happen."
"Would you like to come and live with Dan, Jerry and me?" Tyler asked.
"Yes! Oh yes!" Zack pleaded. "Please! Yes! Please!"
"I guess that means he'd like to," Tyler said winking at Dan.
Dan smiled, rose from his chair and drew Zack to him in a big hug.
"Welcome home son," Dan said as Tyler stood and joined in a group hug.
"Yes. Welcome home," Tyler added.
Copious tears of joy flowed as the two fathers held their new son in their embrace.
When at last they released each other, Zack looked at his two new fathers, and asked, "You won't tell the other guys about me, will you?"
"No son," Tyler promised. "If you want them to know, you'll have to tell them yourself. Just know though, that all the boys here have had a hard life before coming here. You're not alone. Their past is their past too. No one has to say anything they don't want to."
"I'm going to love it here," Zack said with a huge smile, only now really beginning to believe it all. "This is heaven!"
"It beats chopped liver," Tyler agreed with a grin.
Zack looked at his new father with a strange and questioning look trying to understand the analogy.
Tyler saw the expression and laughed.
"Never mind Zack, that's just an old saying and it's not important," he assured their new boy.
15 minutes later, Ron's study.
"Come in Jerry," Tyler said to their young son.
"Zack said you wanted to see me."
"Yes we do," Dan confirmed. "Come on over and sit. We need to talk for a few minutes."
Jerry moved toward the fireplace seating area and took a seat on the sofa next to Tyler.
"What's up?" he asked.
"We've decided to ask Zack to come and live with us and we wanted you to be the first to know."
"Oh," Jerry said without emotion.
"Is there a problem?" Dan asked.
"Well, no I guess not," Jerry said. "It's just that he's been here such a short time and all. He's been pretty secretive about where he's from and why he's not with his parents."
"I think that will pass," Dan said. "He opened up to us quite a bit tonight. He's had a rough life and doesn't quite know what to make of all the nice things we have and the love we share. Give him time and be patient. There are plenty of things in the past of several guys in this house that deserve to be forgotten. You've been lucky. You had your Grandmother Emma who always loved you and cared for you. Then you had us who loved you from the start. Zack and some of the other guys here were not so fortunate. It's hard to love and to trust when you've had little reason to in the past. I hope you'll give Zack more than a fair chance."
"You know I will. He seems like a nice guy," Jerry assessed. "It's just that he's so withdrawn and so quiet. It's hard to get to know him."
"That may be," Tyler said, "but we're hoping you will be able to draw him out gently. You'll be together at the new house in the afternoons when Dan and I are at work. I hope you'll make him feel welcomed and loved. You have a bigger chance to make an impact on him than we do. I know you'll make us proud."
"I'll do my best Dads," Jerry promised.
"One thing you might try is to tell him about yourself and how you came to live with us. I wouldn't expect him to open up right away." Dan advised. "He's suffered a lot of pain. He'll have to learn to trust you first."
"I'll try."
"Okay, that's all we can ask," Dan said with a smile. "Now we're going to take him over to the new place and take a tour. You can come along if you'd like."
"Sure I'll go," Jerry agreed. "Can I drive the golf cart?"
"Yes, I guess," consented Dan with an exaggerated sigh and a smile. "We'll let Zack drive the second one."
"Let's go then," Jerry said as he stood up. " I'll tell Ronnie that we'll be back in a while."
"Good. Let's meet at the cart barn. Will you bring Zack?"
"Sure. Meet you out there in 10 minutes," promised the youth.
"'Cool," Tyler said with a wink as Jerry rushed through the door.
-
-
- 15 minutes later, approaching Tyler and Dan's new house.
-
Zack drove the lead cart heading to the new house with Tyler by his side. As the cart turned off of the old jogging path onto the new one to the nearly finished house it dipped through the wash separating the two properties, climbed the embankment on the other side, and topped a knoll bringing the building into view.
"Wow!" Zack said in amazement, momentarily taking his eyes off the road. "That's your house?"
"No," Tyler corrected, "that's our house."
"I really expected a house like Ron and Matt's," Zack explained. "This one is way different."
"Yes it is," Tyler agreed. "It's by the same architect though, it's just a different style. Dan and I like how it fits into the desert landscape."
"Yeah, look at all the rock work, the sloped roofs and wide walkways! It's really cool!"
"Glad you like it son."
Zack beamed. He liked being called `son'.
"It looks like there are three or four buildings," he observed.
"Actually there are five buildings. The one in the center is what we call the main house'. It has the living and dining areas as well as more formal entertaining facilities. On the left is the owner's wing' as we call it. It has the Master Suite for Dan and I, and two bedroom suites for our two sons. One of them is for you."
Zack smiled even broader.
"To the right of the main house," Tyler continued, "is the guest wing. It has suites for any guests that might stay with us. Behind the main house, separated from the main house by an outside pool deck, is the "recreation wing." It has an inside lap pool, a hot tub, an entertainment theater, a work-out room, a game room, showers and that kind of thing. All the buildings are connected by enclosed breezeways except the garage, which is over the hill, and is reached by an underground tunnel. It has an apartment for a driver if we want one later. That's about it, except for some outside recreation things."
"That's all?" Zack asked in awe. "It's all that Ron's house has and more."
"The important thing is the people who live in it," Tyler said. "It's just a bunch of stone and concrete without a loving family to enjoy it. A house is not a home until there are people living and loving in it."
"Gosh, it must take a lot of time to take care of it," commented Zack. "Of course, I'll help. I don't mind working."
"Thanks Zack, but except for keeping your room presentable, you won't have to do too much. We have a cook, a housekeeper, a maid to help with the cleaning, and a yard man."
"Do they all live here too?" the youth asked.
"No, the housekeeper and the cook live in `the compound,' with the people that take care of Ron and Matt's place. The other people live in town."
"What's a compound?" Zack inquired.
"It's an area on the corner of Ron's property that he developed into a small community for his household employees. It looks like a small cul-de-sac street that has houses and a small park. It also has a security building for the security people."
"Security people? I haven't seen any guards."
"That's because the compound is hidden in its own little valley surrounded by small hills. There are always at least two armed guards on site. They stay in the security building, and watch the property by television and infrared cameras. They also control the gates. Too they have guard dogs that can attack intruders if necessary. We'll go over there tomorrow to let the dogs meet you so they will know you are family. We've done that with all the boys."
"Why do you need guards and dogs and all that?" Zack asked as they pulled up in front of the main house.
Tyler remained seated as he explained.
"We may not act like it, and we try not to, but we have a great deal of money and property. People with money are always the target for people who want to take it from them. The security people allow us to relax at home and not worry about intruders. We'll talk more about that tomorrow," Tyler concluded. "Let's go look at the house."
Friday morning, at a Turner Construction worksite.
It was 10 o'clock when Carl and David ben Sharif took their break. Pete Siegler, their supervisor, had left them with tasks to do and they were well on the way to completing them when it came break time. Carl went to the Honda, returning with a cooler that Mary had furnished with drinks and his lunch. Joining David in a shady spot they had chosen to rest, Carl opened the cooler.
"Would you like something to drink?" Carl asked. "I have Coke, Gatorade and water."
"Thanks, I'll take a Gatorade," David answered.
"Here you go," Carl said handing him the plastic bottle. Taking a coke from the cooler he then sat down beside his friend and work-mate.
"Mmm, that tastes really refreshing," David remarked with a smack of his lips. "Thanks again."
"You're very welcome. ...uh....," Carl stammered as he changed the subject. "I was kinda wondering if you'd like to come up to the house this weekend? You could either stay all weekend or just come up for a visit Saturday and/or Sunday."
"What would we do?" David ben Sharif asked.
"There are lots of things to do. There is a swimming pool, a game room, a tennis court, a basketball court, and even a stable with horses we could ride. The three of us would have a great time."
"That sounds neat," David replied. "I don't understand `three' though. Is Pete coming over too?"
"Nah, it will be you, me and Nathan. Nathan is kinda like my brother, but really he's my boyfriend"
"I'm really confused," David said shaking his head. "Boyfriend? Like you're into guys?"
Carl grinned. "Yep, but only one though: Nathan."
"I...I...never would have guessed," David explained the astonished look on his face.
"Why, because I don't have a limp wrist or act funny? Ha! You should meet the other guys at our house. Some of them make me look like a wimp!"
"Other guys? How many people live with you. I thought you lived at home?"
"Oh I do," Carl answered. "Let's see there's Ron and Matt, they're the `rents. Then there's my brother Ronnie, and of course Nathan that I already told you about. Then, right now, there's Tyler and Dan. Tyler is Ron's brother and Dan is his partner. They have a son Jerry who is Ronnie's boyfriend. Then there is Dan and Tyler's new son, Zack. He's cool too. Tyler, Dan, Jerry and Zack are moving this weekend to their new house next door. We might get roped into helping them some, but that's cool."
"Wow! All of them are fags?" David asked.
Carl looked at David with a stern look before replying with a warning in his voice. "We don't like that term. We're gay or homosexual, except for maybe Zack. I'm not sure about him. Anyway I'll forgive you this time. I'd just prefer that you don't use that word again, if you want to stay friends."
"You want me to come up and stay with you? A bunch of ....gay guys?"
"Sure. Why not? It's not like we're gonna `come on' to you. We're just like anybody else. We have fun and enjoy all the stuff that straight guys do. What we do in our bedrooms is our business, and believe me, you'll have your own room and won't be bunking with anyone if you want to stay overnight."
"I'll have to think about it," David said honestly. "I've never been around gay guys before. I'll let you know after lunch."
"Sounds fine with me," Carl responded. "You'll have a good time, believe me."
"I'll let you know."
"Cool. Let me put away the cooler, and we'll go back to work," Carl said as he arose, grabbing the cooler and heading for his car.
David sat back, his mind still dazzled. These guys are like me?' he thought, but everything I've ever been taught has been that man-to-man sex is wrong, and against the teachings of Islam. How can Carl be so casual about it? I don't understand.'
David closed his eyes and was still deep in thought when Carl returned.
"Up and at `em," Carl commanded. "You can take your nap at lunchtime."
David opened his eyes, stood, and followed his strange friend back to work.
Friday late afternoon, the Ratt's nest.
Carl greeted Ron, Matt, and Nathan as they came into the house from the garage.
"Hi guys," Carl said. "David from work accepted our invitation to come over this weekend. I have to go pick him up at his place right away. I already told Mary to expect another mouth to feed. You want to go with me Nathan?"
"Nah, I'd rather just get out of these work clothes, put on something more comfortable, then kick back for awhile."
"K," Carl responded. "I'll go get him. We should be back in a half-hour or 45 minutes."
"I hope David doesn't mind helping Tyler and Dan move this weekend," Ron commented.
"Nah, I told him about that. He's a good guy and is most willing to help."
"Then he's most welcome," Ron said with a smile. "See ya when you get back."
"Bye then," Carl said with a wave as he disappeared through the same door that the others had just entered."
40 minutes later
The Honda sedan carrying Carl and David passed through the large gates surrounding Ron and Matt's estate, which Carl opened with his opener, and proceeded up the paved drive.
"Where are we going?" David asked. "Are we stopping somewhere on the way to your house?"
"Nope, this is where we live," Carl answered in a matter-of-fact voice.
"I kinda expected a house in a subdivision, packed with a bunch of gay guys," David replied. ".....Holy Shit!" he exclaimed as he caught his first view of the house. "Is that your house?"
"Yep, home sweet home," Carl answered with a sly smile.
"You...you must be rich! What the fuck are you doing working as a laborer?"
"It takes a lot of money to keep this place going," Carl joked.
"I guess so!" David said, dumbfounded. His mind reeled at the things he'd faced today. Not only was Carl gay, everyone he lived with was too, and they were rich as King Midas! Wow!' he thought. I wonder what other surprises are in store for me this day.'
The little car climbed the hill and circled back into the 8 car garage, now filled with family cars, except for the one spot left vacant for Carl's. He pulled into his place, pushed the button to close the garage door and said, "Well here we are. Let's go in and meet the guys."
David grabbed the door handle and got out while Carl pulled David's overnight bag from the back seat and led his friend to the door separating the garage from the house. On entering and passing down a short hallway, the two young men entered the kitchen, finding Ron snacking on a piece of celery.
"Hi Ron," Carl began, "I'd like you to meet David ben Sharif that I told you about. David, this is Ron Turner one of my dads, and the owner of Turner Construction."
"Glad to meet you David," Ron said smiling.
"I--I'm overwhelmed," David stammered truthfully, still in shock from the latest revelation.