Second Chance, Chapter 83
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Second Chance, Chapter 83
Spring break for Eric and Josh coincided with the University of Minnesota and Iowa State and was the week after the one at Bethel where Zac went. All of this was relatively immaterial to the guys except for the fact that Dane and Colt were coming to visit Wade and Roger. Josh and Eric were really excited about seeing their friends again.
Ben hosted the whole bunch for brunch at the country club for his household on Easter, the first Sunday of vacation. He invited Wade, Roger, Ethan, Dane, Colt, Chuck, and Rob as well as Edgar Bassler in addition to Sophia and her children. As long as he was at it, he might just as well make a party of it. In so doing, he could pay back a lot of people who had entertained them recently. And, taking them out instead of hosting something at home would take the pressure off of Scott who seemed always to do more than his share of the housework. He also thought it would be great to introduce their ever-widening circle of friends to each other.
Edgar had news to share. Because of the short news clip on Channel 10 about the arrest of Burt Carpenter, several young men had come forward to inform the police department that they'd been forced into having sex with the man. At least one of the incidents had taken place at the camp where he'd been employed as a counselor at one time. The evidence against the man was mounting by the hour and Edgar sincerely hoped Carpenter would be too old to "get it up" by the time he got out of prison.
Ben gave an update on Lawrence Dickenson, the man who had stabbed him. Dickenson's lawyer was evidently going to pursue a plea of innocent by reason of insanity. While Ben felt the act of going out with the intent of killing people because of their orientation was rather nuts, he didn't want to see the man get off too lightly. He hoped the district attorney would be able to show that the man was following the teachings of a radical church much like the one in Topeka, Kansas. He wanted to make sure it was prosecuted as a hate crime and not a random act by a kook.
During their meal, Dane told the guys that he and Colt didn't know what they were going to do for summer employment. They had had a sure thing going until the builder/remodeler they'd worked for the previous year had gone bankrupt.
"I suppose we could have gone back to janitorial work for the school in Bentonville or lifeguarding at the pool, but Grandma checked and those jobs are already sewed up by high school guys."
Chuck Mason happened to overhear some of the conversation. When he was finished eating, he sought the Johnson boys out.
"Didn't you help Dane's dad in restoring his Victorian house in Bentonville? I remember that it looked perfect from the outside, though I've not been in it. If you're good craftsmen, I might know of a job for you."
"Yeah, we helped and we ARE careful craftsmen," Colt said. "We have before and after pictures of Uncle DJ's place and more from what we did last summer for Conrad Construction. Conrad's was meticulous in their restorations. I think that's why they couldn't survive competitively. No one wants to pay for the hours it takes to do a job right. My notebook is in the car. Let me get it to show you what we can do."
When Colt returned with the tiny laptop, he pulled up the photos in question. Chuck and Robert studied them carefully with appraising eyes. They appeared to be impressed by what they saw.
"You guys do great work! Robert and I are bogged down with trying to restore our house because our jobs aren't allowing us to work on it consistently. If you're free this summer, we could use your help. We ARE willing to pay for perfection." Chuck assured them.
"Awesome!" Dane exclaimed. "I'm sure Wade and Roger would rent us a room in their house."
"Rent, hell; you can stay for free," said Wade who was standing proudly by them. "We'd love to have you guys living with us for the summer."
"Yes we would, and Ethan will be over the top about having his favorite cousins around," Roger added. "Let's go tell him. I think he's helping Nick and Mick entertain Robbie at the moment."
Dane and Colt offered to drive Eric and Josh back home so they could hang out awhile on Sunday afternoon. It would give them a chance to catch up, though they'd done a lot of that by texting and email already.
"So you guys have committed to Minnesota," Dane said on the way.
"Yeah, we hate to leave our attic apartment now that it's all fixed up." Josh answered. "Several other swim team members will be there too. It's hard to break up the old gang. Of course we'd love to be with you guys, but you'll be graduating before we do and moving on. Maybe we could convince you to move up here when you're through with college."
"That's a possibility," Colt agreed. "This is a great city and we have family here. We're also thinking of locating in Madison, Wisconsin. There're a lot of attractions there with the beautiful campus and all. And my mom is there. It's a vibrant place because of the university, but we'd have to find employment first, and the competition for jobs is also pretty fierce."
After an hour or so, Dane and Colt said they must be getting back to Wade and Roger's house by the time Ethan got up from his Sunday afternoon nap. Otherwise, he'd be very unhappy with them. Josh made them promise to come back a few times during the week so that he could begin a portrait of them like he was doing for Isaac and Jay. He enjoyed working with new subjects and was sure that they'd like having the finished piece for their home one day. It was a gift that would remind them of how much their friendship meant.
It was nearing dinner time when the phone rang. Ben was ready to let the answering machine pick it up when he noticed that the call was coming from a police phone.
"Hello, Ben Larson-Brady speaking."
"Sergeant Roy Miller here; I hope I'm not interrupting your meal."
"Not at all, Roy. Is this about that nasty private eye?"
"Indirectly. I have a distraught 16 year old who was one of his victims. He evidently told his parents about what the bastard did to him and now they consider him damaged goods and told him to get out of their house. I know this is presuming on a friendship, but could you put him up for the night. He really needs someplace other than an institution to go to. He's a clean-cut, sweet kid."
"Have you informed DHS about the arrangement so we're not in trouble for harboring a runaway?"
"I told them you might be able to take him and the director will be thrilled if he doesn't have to find housing on the holiday."
"Let me take a quick family vote, but I think you and I already know what the outcome will be."
Ben put the receiver on "mute" and called everyone together. All but Josh and Eric were already migrating toward the kitchen in hopes of getting fed soon. The latter two came down quickly after being summoned on the speaking tube.
"Real quick. There's a teen at the police station who was one of Carpenter's victims. He needs a place to crash. How many vote we take him for the night at least."
All hands went up including Robbie's as he imitated his parents and "uncles."
"It's unanimous, Roy. "When should I come to pick him up?"
"We're on our way. I knew what you guys would do," he chuckled.
Scott quickly added another large pizza to the order he was about to call in. Ben began tearing up lettuce for a tossed salad while the other guys busied themselves cutting up veggies for the salad or adding a leaf to the dining room table and getting out plates and flatware. By the time the doorbell rang, all was set for supper except for the pizza which was, hopefully, on the way.
Roy Miller entered the foyer with a shy young man slightly behind him. He was thin, wiry, as Eric's grandmother would have termed him. He didn't look like he'd be blown away by the first wind, but he looked vulnerable. The streaks on his face were evidence that he'd been crying.
"This is Troy Walton, everyone. I'm going to let you all introduce yourselves to him because other than Ben and Scott, I can't keep this whole clan straight – no pun intended!" he grinned.
Everyone laughed except for Troy who was taken aback by the teasing about orientation. He'd never experienced anyone comfortable enough with the subject to do so.
Each guy gave Troy his name and gave his shoulder a squeeze, afraid to frighten him if they hugged him. Isaac didn't hold back when he came to Troy.
"You're that one I saw on TV," Troy said. "You busted him!"
"Yeah, I did with the help Sergeant Miller and support of this household. Come're, kid. You're safe now," he said as he embraced the boy.
That was all it took to get the waterworks going again. Poor Troy was likely to become dehydrated if this kept up.
"He made me do things," Troy sobbed.
"I know," Isaac assured him.
"I told after I saw you on TV and you said we should."
"I'm sorry I got you in trouble!"
"No, it was the right thing to do. I just shouldn't have told my parents."
"Like I said, you're safe now. Carpenter, your parents, or anyone else isn't going to mess with you. We're a family and we look out for each other. You're our little bro now.
Jay, when we move into the carriage apartment..."
"Yeah, we can give him the other bedroom. He can live with us!" Jay said, reading his boyfriend's mind.
"But you have to sleep in our place tonight," Eric said. "We have a futon that's pretty comfortable and we don't snore like some of these other dudes."
"I need to get back to the station," Sgt. Miller said. "Are you okay being left here, Troy?"
"More than okay! Thanks for making this happen."
The pizza delivery boy came just as the sergeant was taking his leave. Soon everyone was sitting down to eat.
"We're kind of lax about saying `grace' in this house, Troy, but I want to offer a prayer tonight," Scott said. "Gracious God, thank you for Easter and what your son's sacrifice means to us. Thank you for bringing Troy into our lives, and thank you for this food. May it strengthen our bodies and may we use our energies to please you. Amen."
Everyone dug in. Troy had a surprising appetite for a kid of his size. Scott was thankful that he'd ordered as much as he had.
After things were cleaned up, Josh and Eric showed Troy up to their apartment where he could have a shower and go to bed early if he liked. He looked a lot more relaxed in the presence of just two strangers.
"I can't believe your dads were willing to take me into their home without even knowing me," he began. "I could be a bad person. That's hospitality beyond anything I've ever seen."
"We took a family vote and everyone agreed." Josh told him. "There are several guys here whose families threw them out, though some relationships have been repaired to an extent."
"I don't get who all is related to who."
"Well, most of us have the same last name – Larson-Brady. Eric's father is Scott whose surname was Larson. My dad was Ben Brady. They hyphenated the name when they got married and we did the same."
"You're married to each other? Wow! You can't be a lot older than me. Is that even legal?"
"We'll be 18 soon. Our dads signed for us and we got married in Iowa. It's not recognized here, but we are married."
"What about the rest?"
"Rob came to us much like you, only he'd been on the streets for some time. He took the Larson-Brady name and Blake did too when they married. Jay and Isaac are newcomers, but we already feel like they're our brothers. And of course Robbie is our nephew."
"Wow."
"I know; you need a program to keep track of the players."
"What do you think will happen to me?"
"I wouldn't be surprised if you became one more member of this clan. Wasn't there an old TV series about a bunch of generations living together in the Depression? I think their last name was Walton." Eric smiled. "Jay and Isaac have already offered the spare bedroom in the place they'll move into when school is out. I think you might have a permanent home with us. By the way, would you like to take a shower?"
"Yeah, I probably stink. It's been a couple of days."
"Nah, I didn't mean that. But I'll get you a clean towel and sleep shorts and a T to put on if you want."
"That would be great!"
While Eric was doing that, Josh ran down to the second floor bathroom to scrounge for a new toothbrush, a hair pick, and a travel size deodorant which were kept for unexpected guests.
After about 10 minutes, a squeaky-clean Troy emerged. He was happy to be able to clean his teeth properly and style his hair. He took several minutes with the latter despite the fact that he'd soon be going to bed. He wanted to look his best.
"So, do you want to talk about it or try to forget everything?" Josh asked. "I'm sorry; I shouldn't have said anything."
"No, that's cool. I need to get it out. I know I won't feel better until I do. I've already told it all to the police and social worker."
Troy proceeded to tell the whole ordeal of being at the camp where he was supposed to be cured of his "gayness." Burt Carpenter had convinced him that he needed to be fondled and resist the temptation in order to become strong enough to do God's will.
He wasn't surprised when Carpenter jacked him to a raging erection, but he hadn't expected to be raped. After it was over, he was so ashamed to have let it happen that he didn't report the incident. It had happened several times before Burt was transferred to do detective work to catch boys whose morals had lapsed.
By the time Troy had finished, he was crying again. Eric and Josh were too as they sat on either side holding him close. When he finally dried his tears, he smiled slightly.
"Thanks! I feel better. Thanks for being willing to hug me. I needed that more than you know."
"We've had enough experience with other guys in your situation that we do have some idea of what you're going through. Everyone in this house will give you a hug anytime you need one." Eric said.
"You should probably try to get some sleep now," Josh suggested. "We'll make up the futon and you can sleep as long as you want. We'll tiptoe down in the morning and let you sleep."
"Thanks!"
Eric and Josh were not ready to sleep yet, but they retired to the bedroom so as not to disturb their guest. Eric sprawled naked on the bed catching up on his diary while Josh did a few quick figure sketches of him. No matter how often he drew his husband, Josh never tired of studying that body. Those tight buns were giving him a serious hardon!
After he finished the last sketch, Josh leaned over and licked Eric's butt. Eric moaned his appreciation.
"You keep that up and someone's gonna get laid," Eric snickered.
"Sounds like a plan to me," he responded, licking ever closer to Eric's crack.
Eric turned over on his back so that his erection pointed toward the ceiling. Josh wasted no time in taking the tip into his mouth.
Josh stopped long enough to strip down too and soon they were lying in the 69 position. Having their mouths stuffed helped to muffle the sounds they were making.
In the next room, Troy was still awake. He couldn't miss the auditory evidence of what was transpiring in the bedroom. Before he thought about how to clean up after himself, he was flogging his dick. Just as he heard sounds of gasping, he blew his load, catching most of it in his left hand. Now what to do? He knew that if he got up, he'd drip cum on the sheets and rug. His only option was to swallow it. He'd never done that before, but once he tasted it, he wasn't hesitant to finish cleaning the rest up and ingesting it. Mmm, he wondered if all cum tasted the same.
True to their word, the other two got up quietly and went to the second floor bathroom to brush their teeth and shower quickly. By the time they got downstairs, Ben, Blake, and Scott were coming too. Rob was already there feeding everyone's favorite early riser.
"Should we let Troy sleep or should be feed him?" Scott asked. "He doesn't look overfed."
"We told him he could sleep in," Eric answered. "He talked some about what that nasty man did to him and he was exhausted when he got through."
"Sleep it is then," Scott smiled.
Troy came into the kitchen before the rest were done eating. Scott got up to make him fresh, hot waffles.
"I can eat cold cereal," Troy insisted.
"Not in our home, unless that's what you really want. I'm going to put a little meat on your young bones."
"Thanks. I think I'll gain a little now that I'm beginning to get over things."
"Speaking of which," Ben interjected, "I'm going to talk to the social worker about getting you counseling. The guys in this house will always be ready to talk with you about anything. You can bare your soul here. But, you'll still need professional help. We know people who can help and they're safe – unlike Carpenter."
"Thanks," Troy said with a wan smile. "I can't ever thank you enough for taking me in. I hate to be a bother."
"No young man in need of help is ever a bother," Ben said, giving Troy a hug from behind and kissing the top of his head.
Troy squeezed Ben's hands and smiled his response because he couldn't trust his voice at the moment.
Author's notes: I've had the privilege of meeting my editor, Tom, in person this week. He's been on a trip halfway around the world and stopped to see me! We've hiked a bit and had several great conversations.
Tom and David both catch typos and punctuation problems that I often miss.
Thanks to those who emailed this week: Rutabaga, John McD, Jim W, Roger L, Bill K, Wayne P, Jim C, Tom P, Tom A, Vann, Harry T, Paul F, Paul R, and Walt.