Tales from the Ranch

Disclaimer: The following story is a work of fiction. If you are offended by descriptions of homosexual acts or man/man relations, please exit this page.

TALES FROM THE RANCH Copyright8 2002 by Tulsa Driller 7. All rights reserved.

This is a story of men who have two common interests. You will see that they love the land where they live and work, but it is also the story of young men who love other men and their coming of age in a culture of prejudice and misunderstanding. It is a story, which deals with difficult and often disturbing issues but, nonetheless, issues which must be confronted in today's world.

This is a work of fiction and in no way draws on the lives of any specific person or persons. Any similarity to actual persons or events is entirely coincidental. This work is copyrightedc by the author and may not be reproduced in any form without the specific written permission of the author. It is assigned to the Nifty Archives under the terms of their submission agreement but it may not be copied or archived on any other site without the written permission of the author.

There is not much in the way of sex in the first three chapters. I felt it necessary to introduce the main characters and allow you to get acquainted with them before getting them involved in erotic activities.

PLEASE: In a perfect world AIDS doesn't exist. My characters have unprotected sex. I hope you use proper precautions because I'd like you to be around the read the last chapter of this story.

Tales from the Ranch Chapter 3: Dale

Dale stood there, watching Jason leave the barn and thought to himself, 'I have to be careful here, these two boys need someone to talk to and it should be their father doing it.' He was wondering if he should talk to Marty and tell him that it was high time he had "THE TALK" with Jason and Kevin, or if he should stay out of it. Then he remembered that he had gone through this same sort of thing when he was Jason's age, maybe even earlier and had no one to talk to because he lived with his mother and her parents. He never saw his father. His grandfather didn't pay any attention to him, and certainly... most boys can't talk to their mother, of all people, about "growing up". No, he had to find it out the hard way, with much mis-information being passed on by older boys and his close friends.

While thinking this through, he came to the conclusion that for boys being raised on a ranch and attending a public school, they were way behind other boys their ages. Maybe it was because of the community; maybe it was because the boys didn't pal around with some of the wilder kids in school.

He made a decision that he would talk with Marty and tell him that he had two boys who were growing up and needed some facts explained to them.

About this time Parker Morton, or "Mort" as everyone called him, came into the barn and started for his office. Morton was the foreman and general manager of the Bar-W Ranch. He was 58 years old and had been hired by Martin Williamson, Sr. 37 years before. He'd worked his way up from being in charge of the crop planting and harvesting, to herd manager for the cattle, then the horse farm. Ten years ago he was appointed as general manager and had, with permission, changed the way the ranch was managed as it grew in size. When he had gone to work for the Williamson's the ranch was only about 6,000 acres. Now it was almost 3 times that.

"Dale, I need to see you in my office." The ranch office was the third part of the main barn. The first housed the animals that needed to be sheltered and milked. The largest area was a well-equipped workshop where almost any farm repair could be made. It was large enough to drive any of the big tractors and equipment in for servicing. Here they could be torn down, repaired, cleaned and tested before being put back in service.

Some of the equipment on the ranch had been built right in this barn as there were saws, lathes, both gas and electric welders, grinders. Whatever was needed.

Above the shop was a large loft where parts were stored. An inventory was kept on hand of fan belts, air filters, fuel filters, spare hydraulic lines, paint, bolts, almost everything that was needed. Although it was only a few miles to town, it took time to drive there and back, and it always seemed that repairs needed to be made late at night and other times the various equipment dealers were closed. There was a mechanic who took care of most of the routine repairs and maintenance.

There were two rooms in the "office area", one for Mort and the other was used for various things, mostly farm files and herd records. Marty kept many of his records there, but also used the office he shared with his wife in their bedroom suite.

Dale followed Mort to the office. He had always been thankful that Mort had hired him five years ago after he finished Western Junior College. He had hoped to transfer to another school to complete a degree in history, but his mother had fallen ill and died unexpectedly. He wasn't even able to locate his father to tell him about it, although it probably wouldn't have made any difference.

Mort and Dale had known each other for several years. Mort's wife and Dale's mother had worked together at the co-op grain elevator. In fact Dale had been hired as summer help right out of high school, before going to school that fall. Then he came back and worked the next summer, too. He was good help, a cool head and not afraid of hard work or long hours.

So, after the funeral Mort questioned Dale about his plans. Dale told him that he only had six weeks of school to complete his studies, then didn't know what he would be doing as it was too late to try to get a scholarship at a four-year university. And, without the scholarship there would be no further schooling.

Mort asked Dale if he would consider coming to work for the Bar-W on a full-time basis. Dale had no hesitation in accepting the offer. After a year Mort had made him foreman of the field crew, being responsible for the planting and harvesting of the various seed and feed crops. Dale immediately accepted and was grateful for the nice salary increase he was given.

Mort sat down at his desk and motioned Dale to sit in one of the chairs in front of the desk.

"Dale, I want you to know that you have been doing a great job here and want you to know that we are going to be expanding our operation again."

"Thanks for the confidence in me, Mort."

"Well, it's certainly well deserved; your attitude and hard work has attracted the attention of both Martin, Sr. and Marty. They have been reviewing the ranch operation and we're going to be making more changes here. It looks like it's a done deal to acquire about 1,300 acres up the road about 7 miles. This land is pretty much timberland and not cropland, so that won't change anything you are doing right now.

"However, there is another 1,200 acres between the present ranch and the new land that we are dealing for. This land is pretty much pasture land and we'll be moving some cattle up there as soon as the deal is final, probably in about 5 weeks. We think that the lower end of section five is really better suited to farming and crops, so want to get that plowed up and plant soybeans as soon as the cattle are off it. Then next year we'll plant sweet clover for hay.

"I need you to sit down and review the number of acres of the various crops and hay fields we now have and we'll determine what additional equipment and field crews we will need so we don't run too lean. There's nothing worse than having too much help, so we'll depend on seasonal hires for when were are really busy.

"Also, the two fellows you have working for you now have been staying at a motel in town, right?"

"Yeah, the old "Starlight" motel. It doesn't look like much, but it is clean and cheap. Actually, it isn't a motel anymore; ol' Slim Dugan just rents rooms by the week or month. I'll probably be staying there soon as I'm putting Mom's old house on the market. The realtor says it isn't worth much, but thinks he has somebody who's interested."

"This is the other thing I want to talk to you about," said Mort. The Williamson's try to run a first-class operation here, the best equipment and the best help they can employ. Marty wants to build a couple of bunkhouses here on the property for the men to live in. Maybe you can give him and me some ideas about that?"

"What do you mean?" asked Dale.

"He has in mind of building at least two small houses that would have a couple of large bedrooms, two bathrooms and a large common area and kitchen. Nothing fancy, but a perk to the permanent help since you won't have to be paying rent anymore."

Dale was really happy to hear that news. "Gosh Mort, that's wonderful. I wasn't looking forward to living at the Starlight, even though it's clean. Pat Burns thought that someone had damaged the paint on his car while it was sitting in their lot. Michael thought he'd heard people in the parking lot that shouldn't be there. Probably people who go to the two bars on either side of the motel."

Mort continued. "Well, do some thinking about what you'd like to see in a place here on the ranch. We're having a meeting with both Williamson's and their architect and the builder tomorrow morning at 9 a.m. at the main house.

"Thanks, Mort. This is a great place to work. I know a few of the people that work for the Diamond-R and those guys are treated like prison slaves. I have you to thank for seeing to it that I had a job after Mom died and I finished school."

"Dale, you have secured a place here. The Williamson's consider all of the permanent help to be part of their extended family. They know that it's important to hire good, trustworthy, hard-working people and they try to assure you fellows that they appreciate a good, loyal crew. You fellows are paid good wages and a nice place to hang your hat is just another way of showing their appreciation."

With that, Mort stood up, indicating the meeting was over. "I'll see you in the morning. Can you be here in the morning about 8 o'clock? There's a truck coming out from the co-op with feed for the livestock we keep here at the house."

"Sure, Mort. See you in the morning."

A short distance from the barn was another, similar building with stalls for the riding horses, a room for tack and saddles and a room for treating sick animals and outside corrals for confining the two dozen or so horses that the crews used to work the ranch. Those horses were fed grain as well as fresh hay. The farm trucks were also parked in that area.

Dale loved to ride "Tony" as he called the horse he had picked out when he first worked there several years before. Before leaving for the evening, he went to the horse barn, fed the horses and gave each of them a carrot stick.

Life couldn't get any better than this.

Arriving back at his home, he realized that it really was just a place to stay. His real home was on the Bar-W Ranch.

Not one to cook for himself; he opted to order a pizza, then popped a beer open and looked thru the junk mail that had been left, throwing everything away.

There really wasn't much left in the house for him to get rid of. Mostly his few clothes. One didn't need much more than a few pair of Levis and western boots, shirts and underwear. He had his car, an older Mustang that ran well, but looked like it had seen better days. From time to time he had thought about selling it and buying a nice motorcycle. He didn't date and didn't really need a car just to haul himself around.

There were boxes of pictures from his mother's family and of he and his mother while he was growing up. He wondered where his father was. The last time either he or his mother had heard from him was when Dale was 13 years old - almost eleven years ago. Was he even still alive? Dale wondered. Did he really care?

Yeah, he cared. Did he have grandparents who were still alive? Did he have other brothers or sisters? Of course, if he did, they would be half brothers or half sisters. If so, where did they live? What kind of life did they have? Did they know about him? Lots of unanswered questions. The answers really didn't make that much difference to him, but still it bothered him that he didn't have them.

According to his mother, "Jolly Joe" Sullivan had arrived in town as part of the crew who was building the new power plant in Williamsport. At the time Rita Richards was just out of high school and working as a carhop at the A&W Drive-in. Joe and his friends arrived at the drive-in one night after having spent their evening drinking beer and playing pool in the Playmoor Lounge down the road. They were on their way back to the Starlight Motel when they decided they were hungry.

Rita delivered their order and they gave her a certain amount of grief, calling her "Babe", "Honey" or "Toots". She thought Joe was just about the best looking guy she'd ever seen and hung around their car between delivering orders. When they blinked their lights to indicate she could pick up their tray and trash, she was surprised to find that Joe introduced himself and the other two guys, handing her a $5 bill for a tip and said, "I hope I get to see you later." The three guys drove off, laughing and pounding each other on the back.

Rita was stunned. Usually for an order like she had delivered to their car, she would get maybe 75 cents (this was 1965) and maybe a dollar if she were lucky.

The next evening "Jolly Joe" was back at the drive-in by himself and ordered another "burger with everything and onion rings and a large Coke". When she delivered the order, Joe drank a little of the Coke, then poured enough Bourbon in the cup to top it off, stirring it with the straw. He said, "I'm Joe, remember me from last night?"

Of course Rita remembered. The guy who had tipped almost as much as the total order all three had consumed.

"What's your name, honey?"

"Rita Richards," she replied.

"Would you like to go for a ride after you get off work?" Joe asked.

"Un... um... sure," she was hesitant.

"Okay, what time do you get off?"

Rita replied, "This is Friday night, we stay open to midnight, then have to help clean up, so it's usually about 12:30 when they let us go."

"Okay, Rita Richards, I'll be waiting."

This time, when she picked up the tray, there was a $10 bill.

Rita's family had never had anything to be proud of. Her father was a truck driver, gone more than he was home and not there when he was. He spent most of his time at the local pool emporium, generally losing his money and drinking beer. Rita's mother worked as a domestic for a couple of families in Williamsport. Mainly doing laundry, cleaning and some cooking. Once in a while, the country club would hire her to wait tables when one of the regular waitresses didn't show up. Her mother was only 37 years old, but years of hard work and low self-esteem made her look 60!

"Jolly Joe" was a steamfitter and made good money. He had never had any responsibility other than having apprenticed for his trade. He wasn't about to settle down anytime soon and had just one thing on his mind - a good screw - and Rita was the likely candidate.

Joe was back at the drive-in shortly after midnight and sat in his car drinking more bourbon-laced Coke.

When Rita came out, she still had on her uniform which consisted of a low-cut off the shoulders blouse and a mini-skirt that was a good 6 inches above her knees. She looked like a hooker - and although she never had been - it wasn't a foreign idea to her mind. Several of the girls she ran around with had turned more than a few tricks and always had nice clothes.

As she climbed in the car, Joe looked her over with lust in his eyes. He asked her if she wanted something to drink. Although he had cold beer in the car, she opted for a bourbon and Coke like Joe was drinking. That seemed like a "grown up drink" rather than beer.

Joe produced a cup full of ice, a bottle of bourbon and a bottle of Coke. He also had a Lime, which had been cut into four pieces and put that in her drink, which had as much bourbon as Coke.

She took a sip as he handed it to her and watched him fix himself another just like it. That finished, he held his cup up and said, "To Us - You and Me."

Rita giggled and repeated his words, wondering where this was going to lead.

Joe wasted no time in heading to the edge of Williamsport and out to the new power plant. It was on the edge of a lake and he drove to a parking area overlooking the water. It was the middle of June, a moonlit night and was brighter than what it was many nights at 9 p.m.

Joe cut the engine, got out of the car and pulled a blanket out of the trunk. He came around the car, opened the door for Rita and took her hand to help her out. He led her to some flat rocks and spread the blanket out so they could sit down. It was a warm evening and a light breeze. You could almost see to read a book. But reading a book was not what Joe had on his mind - and he didn't need an instruction manual for what was about to happen.

Although Rita was good looking, she'd never had a boyfriend. She "came from the wrong side of the tracks" as far as most of the other kids thought and was just never included in anything they did. That being the case, she lived with her fantasies and a man like Joe Richards was that fantasy.

Joe wasn't shy and Rita had read enough dime-store novels to know what was about to happen. She wasn't opposed to it. She wanted to be away from her parents - she was ashamed of them and Joe was the ticket to get out of Williamsport.

Without asking, Joe leaned over, put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her to him for a kiss. Rita had never been kissed before, but she was a quick study. Within five minutes Joe had her blouse and bra off and his fingers inside her panties. Rita was moaning and already starting to get wet.

Joe couldn't believe his good fortune and took one of Rita's hands, putting it on his crotch. Rita felt his hard tube and shuddered inwardly. This was new territory for sure, but she wasn't going to fight it. Joe started opening the buttons on his shirt and Rita's other hand was feeling his hairy pecs. He popped the buttons on his Levis and the hand immediately reached inside. The kissing increased in intensity and Rita leaned away. Joe took this as a sign to help her out of her skirt and panties. No resistance from Rita.

That accomplished, he shucked his shirt, pulled off his boots and his Levis and briefs followed in short order. Both almost naked in less than 10 minutes. More kissing, feeling each other's tongues swabbing the other's throat. Joe was rubbing Rita's clit and she started moaning, then stiffened up and experienced her very first orgasm.

Breathless, she wasn't sure what had happened, but she wanted more. And she got it. Between Joe leaking precum and her wet cunt, he was able to enter her easily. It wasn't until much later than Joe realized that there had been no resistance. Maybe she wasn't a virgin (she was) but he didn't care. It had never been this easy before.

During the course of the night, Joe got off three times and Rita had several more orgasms both with and without Joe being in her. Finally they fell into an exhaustive sleep and awoke about 4 o'clock. They had sex one more time, and then Rita realized that she was long overdue in getting home.

They pulled their clothes on, got in the car and headed back to Williamsport. Rita extracted a promise from Joe for a date the next night and made him drop her off three houses away from where she lived. Joe turned the lights off and waited until Rita went into her house.

Though she tried to be quiet, Rita's mother, Emily, was sleeping in a chair in their living room and woke up when she came in. She had been waiting for her and was mad.

"Where the hell you been?!" she asked.

Being innocent to the ways of the world, she told her mother the truth. "You remember I told you about the $5 tip I got last night for waiting on 3 fellows in a car; that work for the construction crew at the new power plant?"

"What about it?" she said with a snarl.

"The best looking one came back tonight by himself. Look, he gave me $10 tonight," she said taking the bill out of her clutch bag.

"Ain't you got no smarts? You still didn't answer the question. Where you been?"

"His name's Joe. They call him 'Jolly Joe' and he wanted to go out after I got off work. We went out to the lake and talked."

"Like hell that's all you done! You smell like sex! Did he take advantage of you?"

Rita decided she had better tell the truth. "Oh Maw, it was wonderful. He made me feel so good. I think I'm in love."

"Yeah, I'll tell you about love," her mother shouted. "Did he wear protection?"

"What's protection?"

"God, child. What you talkin' 'bout? Did he wear a rubber? You could have gotten a bad disease. Weren't you thinkin'?"

Rita knew she had a problem on her hands. No one had ever talked to her about sex. All she knew was from reading paperback novels where people fell in love and got married. Those stories didn't say anything about protection.

"No, maw, I don't think so.

Her mother wailed, "Child, what are we gonna do? He coulda' knocked you up! When's the last time you had your period?"

Rita though for a little bit, then said, "About two weeks ago, I reckon."

Her mother came unglued. "You're right in the middle? Say it ain't so... tell me... tell me..."

"Maw, I didn't know 'bout these things. You never told me nothin' 'bout this at all."

"I didn't know you was gonna' run off and be a whore for the first guy who paid attention to you. How many times did you do it? Tell me the truth!!!"

Rita said, "I think four." She started to cry. "But he made me feel so good."

"Well you might not be feelin' so good in a few more months. He probably dumped so much juice in you that you could have a dozen babies."

"Rita panicked. "Maw, this was the first time I've ever been with a man. I can't get pregnant just the first time."

"The Hell you can't. We gotta get you cleaned out, if it already ain't too late."

Her mother wearily got up, telling Rita, "You go in the bathroom. I'll get the bag and you better git down on your knees and pray you don't get pregnant."

Rita went to their tiny bathroom and sat on the stool. Her mother came in shortly carrying an enema bag and a nozzle that wasn't the one used for enemas and carrying a lemon that had been cut in two pieces. "Git your panties off while I mix this up." She proceeded to fill the bag, then squeezed the lemon juice into the bag, attached the hose and shook it up.

"Stick this up your pussy as far as it will go, sit on the pot and I'm gonna squeeze the bag real hard and see if we can get you cleaned out. Rita complied and her mother put her hands around the bag and forced the mixture through the hose and out the nozzle.

When the bag was empty, she refilled it from the cold water tap and repeated the same routine.

"Girl, you better pray you didn't catch a kid off'n him. Lousy good for nutthin' sona bitch he is."

"Maw, Joe's a nice guy. I think I could fall in love with him."

"You might fall for him, but I can tell you that if'n you got pregnant he won't fall for you. He's like all other young men. He wanted a screw and you sold it to him for $15 bucks!!"

By this time Rita was crying her eyes out, she was so humiliated.

Emily told her to go to bed, that they'd discuss this further in the morning.

Rita went to her room and to bed but couldn't sleep. She lay in her bad and thought about how wonderful Joe made her feel and how wonderful his body felt to her. When the sun came up an hour later, her emotions finally gave in to sleep.

About that time Rita's parents got out of bed. Emily went to the kitchen to make coffee and fix a lunch pail while Henry, her father, dressed to go work. He had to load his truck, then drive the big semi 300 miles to the west end of Texas where he'd spend the night, then deadhead to Lubbock, take on a new load of freight and maybe have a full truck to return to Williamsport. It didn't make any difference to him. They paid him by an hour/mileage contract. They were expected to average so many miles per hour, had an allotted time to unload their truck, then reload and drive back to their base.

Henry came to the kitchen just as the coffee finished perking. Fishing a cracked mug out of the cabinet, he turned and asked his wife, "What time did Rita drag herself in?"

"It was a little after four. I went to sleep in the living room so I'd be sure to hear her."

"What excuse did she have? She's never stayed out after work before."

"This young fella' gave her a big tip, then took her out to the lake and screwed their brains out. She doesn't think he wore any protection and swears she didn't know he was supposed to."

"Our little girl grew up in one night."

"That's not the worst of it. She's in the middle, between periods. She could be pregnant. I made her douche twice and sent her to bed."

"She wouldn't be the first girl to get pregnant that way. It happened to us, but not on the first date."

Emily started crying. "But I hoped for more for her. She's always been such a good girl, never caused any trouble, got decent grades in school. I just hoped she'd be able get a good job, maybe leave Williamsport and go to Dallas or Austin and make something out of herself.

"I should have talked to her, but I don't think I know much more than she does."

Henry asked, "Do you think you need to take her to the doctor?"

"He can't do any more for her than I already did. No use payin' him for a call."

"Guess you are right. We'll just have to wait and see."

"Henry, it's almost 6:30. Let me put on a robe and I'll take you to the terminal."

The two-mile drive to the edge of town passed in silence. Henry parked close to the office, picked up his lunch pail, then got out of the car and gave his wife a peck on the cheek. "I should be back in town about 6 tomorrow evening. If I can't get a ride home, I'll call when I get in, okay?"

"Fine. I'll hold supper for you. Drive carefully."

Emily returned home and went back to bed to see if she could recover some of her lost sleep.

Joe returned to the drive-in that evening by himself, hoping that Rita would be willing to go out with him again. Rita avoided his car and got one of the other carhops, Carol, to take his order. Joe tried to pin Carol down and told her he wanted to talk to Rita.

"Hon, this guy over there - Joe - wants to talk to you and won't take no for an answer. He's buggin' me. Go talk to him."

Rita got big tears in her eyes. Carol remembered that Joe had waited for Rita to get off work the night before and they had left together in his car.

"Didn't ya'll go out last night after you got off?" Carol asked.

"Yes."

"What happened? He seems like a nice guy and he's so handsome."

"Oh, Carol, he made me feel so good. I know I shouldn't have, but I let him have his way. It was just like the stories I've been reading."

Carol knew exactly what had happened and knew she couldn't let Rita just walk away from Joe and send him on his way. What girl would do that to someone as nice as he seemed to be?

"Go talk to him, hon. at a time like this, you can't turn him away. He's a nice guy and you don't want to lose him."

So Rita walked over to Joe's car. He was happy to see her and asked if she could go out after she got off. She told him that they were open to midnight again and she would be off as soon as they cleaned up.

Joe drove away and was back a little after midnight. Rita got in the car with him and he said, "How about a bourbon and Coke. That's what I'm drinking."

Rita's answer was, "Joe, we have to talk about last night. What we did was wrong... even if it wasn't the first date. You made me feel so good. I'm confused. Did you wear protection?" She started crying.

Joe reached across the seat and pulled her to him. "Rita, baby... we're good together. You made me feel good and I made you feel good. How could it be wrong?"

Rita cried harder. "Because I might have gotten pregnant. I didn't know that could happen the first time. Maw waited up until I got home. She was mad because I didn't tell her that I was going out. Then she said she could smell sex and made me tell her what happened last night. I'm between periods and she said I could get pregnant. No body ever told me about stuff like that."

"Oh, Rita. You didn't tell me that this wasn't a good time to have sex. I thought since you let me that it was okay and nothing could happen."

"Maw mixed up some stuff and made me douche with it. She told me she hoped it would clean me out, but I won't know for at least two weeks."

Joe was visibly shaken. He said, "Rita I'm going to take you home. Tomorrow I'd like to pick you up and go out where we can sit and talk. I need to think about what you told me." With that he started the car and drove to Rita's house. This time he parked in front and asked for her phone number. She scribbled it on a piece of paper, handed it to him saying, "I hope I'll see you tomorrow afternoon. Good night."

She started to open her door when Joe took her elbow in his hand and asked, "No good night kiss?" Rita leaned over and let him kiss her on the cheek, then got out of the car.

Joe watched her go in the house, and then drove back to the motel. He didn't call her the next afternoon.

Sure enough Rita missed her period. She hoped she was just late, but both she and her mother knew better.

Joe didn't go back to the drive-in and although Rita knew where he was staying, she didn't try to contact him, either.

Six weeks later Rita, her mother and father sat down to talk about what was going to happen. In 1965 girls who got pregnant out of wedlock "disappeared" in polite society. Although the Supreme Court had ruled that abortions were legal the previous year, it was still a chancy procedure, even under sterile conditions - and it was expensive. If her parents had relatives who would take her in during her last three or four months, she could have "gone away to help take care of an ailing aunt." But this option didn't exist for Rita, either.

It was decided that Henry would contact Joe to see if they could talk about Rita's pregnancy. Joe was still working for the construction company and living at the motel.

So, that evening Henry went to the motel office and asked what room Joe was staying in. He realized at that point that none of their family even knew what Joe's last name was. Henry mentioned that he was called "Jolly Joe" and the owner told him he was in room 24, at the end of the court.

Henry knocked on the door. Joe opened it and although they had never seen each other before, he know the man was Rita's father. Henry Richards introduced himself and told Joe he needed to talk to him. Joe was hesitant, but knew what was to be discussed.

"Rita's pregnant, right?"

"Yes, she is. It only takes once if it's the right time."

"I know it won't do any good for me to apologize. I really like her but I don't think I could marry her."

Henry saw red. "You mean you liked a good fuck, but are dodging the responsibility that fuck has caused you?!"

"Something like that."

"How old are you?"

"I'll be 21 in another six weeks."

"I want you to come to the house with me right now and we'll see if we can work this out. Okay?"

Henry got in his car and Joe followed in his, parking on the street in front of the Richards' house.

Emily was looking out the window and saw Henry and Joe heading up the steps and hollered to Rita, "Your Pa's home and he's got that fellow with him."

Rita came out of her room at the time they walked through the front door. She was glad to see Joe and rushed across the room, wrapping her arms around him. She expected him to do likewise but he just stood there, as stiff as a statue.

"Joe, where have you been? I've missed you."

"Sorry, Rita, they've been keeping us busy at the power plant. We have a lot of work to accomplish while the weather is good."

While it was not a pleasant meeting, everyone was wary of the others and what the intentions were, they did find out that Joe's last name was Sullivan and that he was from Abilene, Texas and had worked for this construction crew since he'd graduated from high school two years before. His father was in the Air Force and stationed at Dyess Air Force Base on the outskirts of Abilene.

They made small talk about when the baby was due. Joe was quiet during the visit and said very little. Finally he stood up, saying, "I've got to think about this and I'll get back with you tomorrow evening."

Henry and Rita walked him to the door. Joe didn't offer Rita a hug or even shake hands with Henry; he walked out the door, got in his car and drove down the street.

Emily said, "That's the last we've seen of him."

The next morning Joe packed his few belongings in his car, drove out to the construction site and told his foreman that he had a family emergency and had to leave town immediately. His final paycheck was to be mailed to him at his parent's home in Abilene.

Rita stayed in Williamsport. The family who owned the drive- in felt sorry for her. They owned another restaurant in town and when it became obvious that Rita was pregnant and starting to show, she was offered a job waiting tables at the other place, a bar and grill. There was no gossip about Rita being pregnant. It was just something that happened to girls "from that side of town" and that was that.

The baby was born on March 14th of the following year, 1966. Rita wanted to name him for Joe, but her parents wouldn't hear of it. Emily's father was named Dale and it was suggested that the baby be named after him. So as a compromise, the baby was named Dale Joseph Richards.

When Dale was 13 years old, a man knocked on the door one Sunday afternoon in the spring. Henry answered the door and immediately recognized Joe Sullivan. He was a little heavier but still had his rugged good looks. Henry invited him in and Joe asked to see his son. He had a friend on the construction crew who had let him know about Dale's birth.

Dale was in his bedroom in the basement doing his homework. The boy was a good student, good looking and popular with the kids in his class. He was a good athlete and even at 13 years old he excelled in whatever sport he played.

Henry went to the basement door and called Dale to come upstairs. When Dale got to the top of the stairs he recognized the man whom he resembled. Henry introduced the two, and then said that he was going downtown to look for Rita and Emily. They had gone to play bingo and Henry wasn't sure where it was. He promised Dale and Joe he would bring them back.

After he left, there was an awkward silence. Finally Joe told Dale about his job and where he had been over the last 13 years. He had joined the Navy after leaving Williamsport, serving for 8 years, including a tour in Vietnam. Since that time he had been working for a construction company in Galveston.

He wanted to know about Dale, what his interests were and about athletics and school. Finally after an hour, Joe told Dale that he couldn't stay any longer and had to leave in order to get back to Galveston, as he had to work the next day.

As he started out the door, he gave Dale an envelope with a letter and little book, telling him that he was sorry he hadn't been able to be there for him. The money was to be used for him to go to college. The passbook was for a savings account in Galveston. Joe gave Dale a hug and told him that he hoped he would see him again soon.

When Henry finally located Emily and Rita and they returned to the house, Joe was already gone. They realized that they had no address and didn't know where he worked, except for a construction company in Galveston.

Rita opened the envelope and read the letter. It said that Joe was sorry that he hadn't been able to be around to see Dale grow up, nor had he sent money, as he should have. However, it wasn't too late to help with money for Dale to go to college if he wanted. The passbook was for a savings account that Joe had started 10 years ago and had added $100 to it each month. The account had been closed out and there was a bank draft made out to Rita and Dale for over $15,000.

That was the last time they heard from Joe Sullivan. Henry and Emily died within a few months of each other when Dale was 15. Rita inherited the small house that all had lived in, along with a pile of unpaid medical bills for both of them.

Rita's health was not good; it was found that she had a brain tumor, which caused her problems with her balance, then the loss of the use of her legs. She finally succumbed to death shortly before Dale finished Junior College. He used the last of his college money to pay for care for his mother.

• • • • • Author's Note: This is my first attempt at gay fiction, and the only way I can learn whether or not I should continue is from my readers' feedback. I would appreciate your comments, criticism, suggestions, and anything else that you would care to say. All Email will be answered. If you wish to receive e-mail notification of subsequent postings, please let me know by sending your request to the e-mail address below. Contact me at: tulsadriller7@aol.com

Thanks for the overwhelming response to Chapters 1 and 2. I received positive replies from all over the world. My special thanks to RW, whom I've known for many years and value his suggestions. Also for the proofreading help of Paul Daventon, author of "Turning the Page" found in the "Adult-Friends" section of Nifty. Please read it.