The General's Son Chapter 10 -- Follow the Yellow Brick Road By E Walk (Copyrighted by the author)
There was no way I could go with Chip and Tim to Europe, so we decided to have our Christmas when they returned. My twin nephews kept asking where Chip was. I just took them to bed each night with me until they left for Kansas City with their parents on the 27th. I had to go back to the base to work. Chip and Tim returned on the 30th. I picked them up at the airport and took them to my parents' house, where we had another Christmas. My brother and his wife came back to the farm with the twins.
The twins smothered the two guys. Chip and Tim just hugged them. The guys were really surprised when Ian and Cheryl showed up followed by Alex in the car that he had gotten for Christmas. He had gotten his driver's license on December 23rd. He brought Scott and Tip with him.
Tim was wowed by Alex's Christmas gift from his parents. Chip thought it was cool but his mind was on other things. Alex and Scott looked at me and winked. They knew something that only they and I knew.
On New Year's Day after a big breakfast and a bunch of hugs, we went back to Offutt in caravan. Everyone agreed to meet at our house for some sandwiches and cookies. When we arrived at the house, there was a bunch of gifts under the tree.
I gave the guys all of the boring packages like socks and underwear, and then I threw them each a box that had a message attached. Chip's said, "Follow the Yellow Brick Road." Tim's said, "Somewhere over the Rainbow." Alex, Scott, Tip and Ty had helped me place the trails that led all over the house and wound up in the garage where a six-year-old truck was waiting for Chip. Tim's trail ended up at a four-year-old Honda Accord.
Both guys started rushing at me. I put up my hands and said, "Don't blame me. You had better check to see whom they are from. The guys crawled into their respective vehicles and found the cards that said Happy Birthday from Dad and Mother.
Both guys climbed out of their vehicles stunned. Chip smacked his head and said, "I forgot that this was our birthday."
I looked at them and said, "Yep, now why don't you two ding-dongs get in the house and call your parents? They are expecting your call."
The two guys took off and the rest of us went into the kitchen. I had two ice cream cakes each with 16 candles. People started to arrive and soon there were more than thirty people in the house. Everyone brought gag gifts except my parents who gave the guys each a pair of bibbed overalls and a flannel shirt for when they were at the farm.
Luke and Pete gave them each a straw hat and a pair of sunglasses. Tina gave them foot deodorizer. Finally everyone left and the guys had me alone. Tim surprised me by saying, "It's a good thing Chip found you first or I might consider turning gay. Troy, I love you and I'm so glad that you are my brother-in-law."
Chip put his head on my shoulder. I looked at the two guys and said, "I suggest that we clean up this mess and get ready for bed so we can get your learner's permits tomorrow. I have lined up Tony and Ian to work with you. I don't think my nerves could handle riding around with you. Plus I will be leaving for school on the fourth.
The two guys attacked me. We took our showers and we all crawled into my bed with our briefs on. I left for SOS and Ian and Tony moved in. They took the guys driving and they both made perfect scores on the written tests and the officers who took them for their driving test commended them both.
The guys continued to work hard while I was gone. Tip and the basketball team had done very well reaching the regional finals. Tim and his swim team had done well. He and Scott were both on the free style relay team that came in second at the state competition.
I worked hard at SOS and was the honor graduate. When I got home it was like I had never been gone. I announced that I would be moving back to the BOQ since Ian and Tony had everyone going on high gear. Four guys immediately attacked me.
Ian and Tony said, "We can't handle this pressure any longer. We will be too old to have our own children. The guys have been counting the days until you got back. The twins are worried that you are sick and they want to see their Uncle Troy."
Tony and Ian were like assistant baseball coaches. Tim was the starting shortstop and Ty was starting in left field. The guys had a respectable season. Chip and Tip made the first team of the school golf team but didn't advance to the next round. Scott and Alex had been on the track team.
Tony and Ian had continued with their courses during the time I was gone and they had both done well. I made Tim and Chip take the SATs and the ACTs and they did extremely well. The guys again had perfect grades as did Tip and Ty. Scott and Alex also had very good grades.
I had been assigned to General Davis' office when I returned from school. I was the assistant executive officer but the General and others had me writing speeches for them all the time. Everyone was complimentary about the speeches. Even Colonel Leathers, General Davis' executive officer, never bothered me. It was like everyone had been told hands off.
When school was over Tim and Chip went to spend 30 days with their parents in Europe. The rest of the guys continued to work especially Tip and Ty. Now that they were 16 they could work as many hours as they wanted -- up to 40 hours a week. The people who used the gym were always asking for them to work with them.
Tony, Ian and I took college courses during the summer. I had to finish my work early since I was going to spend the last 10 days with the Millers in Europe before the guys came back to our house. The guys had scheduled a trip to the British Isles for us. My favorite sights turned out to be Stonehenge, The Book of Kells in Dublin, and the museums in London. The Millers made sure that we did not miss anything.
When we got home, we spent every weekend we could at the farm. My parents treated all of us like we were family and the little twins seemed to always be there. They loved their Uncle Chip, Uncle Tim and Uncle Troy.
The guys' junior year started and I made them work hard. They were in advanced placement courses. The guys never complained because I was working as hard as they did. I made the guys take the SATs and ACTs again.
The guys socialized and were very popular, but neither of them found anyone who would make them want to get married.
Tim was selected to the All-State Baseball team. Chip won the state singles tennis championship. Scott and Alex had lost in the doubles final.
Ty was on the second-string all-state football defensive team and Tip was an honorable mention on the state basketball team. All six of our guys had a great junior year. Their grades were outstanding.
Tim and Chip went to Europe for a month at the end of the year and I made the trip for the last ten days. We toured the Scandinavian countries. When we got back, we were extremely busy. Tony and Betsy got married. The only bad part was that somewhere along the line, people found out that I could play the organ so that's what I did for the wedding and they had Ty sing. A big contingent from Offutt attended their wedding.
Tony decided not to reenlist. I convinced him that he should move to the farm. I wanted to build my parents a small house on two acres of the farm. Tony and Betsy jumped at the chance. We worked out all of the details and the deal was settled so they would be living in the farmhouse as soon as my parents' new house was built.
Ian and Cheryl got married, Ian was promoted to Major, and they were assigned to the embassy in Paris. Again, I played the organ, but Ty asked not to sing.
I was promoted to be General Davis' executive officer even though I was a relatively new Captain. That was about to change as I was promoted to Major and selected to go to Air Command and Staff school the next fall after the guys were graduated from high school. In the meantime, I continued to work on my Doctorate degree in Management.
The guys complained that all I ever did was go to class and study.
Right after the guys started their senior year, Tim started to date a really wonderful girl. They had known each other for a number of years but this was the first time they had any classes together. They started to date seriously and Elena started appearing at our house for study sessions one or two nights a week. The two of them always made sure that they were always visible if someone was looking.
It was time for the Homecoming Dance and Elena fixed Chip up with a date. The guys were fretting about what to wear. I suggested that they wear their dark suits with a white shirt and bow tie. That would be much less expensive than renting a tuxedo and they would also be more comfortable all night long. Needless to say, I received no argument.
On Wednesday, I received a call from General Young asking if I would be a chaperone representing the base for the Homecoming Dance. I shook my head, but said, "Sir, I'll call Lauren and see if she will accompany me," I answered.
"Oh by the way the other representative is Colonel Rodgers, Elena's father," General Young said as he hung up.
The General had no more than hung up than Colonel Rodgers called, "This is George Rodgers. I understand that you are also chaperoning the Homecoming Dance. What do you think we should wear?"
"Sir, my guys decided not to rent tuxedoes but they chose instead to wear dark suits with a white shirt and a black bow tie; but since we never get many chances to wear our dress uniforms, I suggest that we wear them since we are going to be representing the base."
I continued, "Now that we know who the Homecoming Queen is, we just need to figure out which one of my guys is going to be the Homecoming King. Why else would they ask a single person to be a chaperone?"
Colonel Rodgers laughed, "No wonder you are General Ryan's Executive Officer. See you Saturday night: perhaps we could all get together for a nice dinner beforehand. Tell the guys to plan on it."
I said nothing to the guys. On Thursday after school Tim came home and said, "I understand you don't trust us, so you decided to chaperone the Homecoming Dance."
"What are you talking about?" Chip asked.
"Elena told me that the boss here is chaperoning the dance with her parents." Tim answered.
"Guys, I didn't exactly volunteer. General Young called and requested that I be one of the chaperones. Captains don't usually go around telling Generals no."
Chip started to say something then it seemed like a light came on, "Well Tim, I guess that means you are the Homecoming King and Elena is the Queen. Why else would a Colonel and his wife and bachelor be asked to be chaperones?"
"Troy is he correct?" Tim asked.
"Guys, I have no idea who the king and queen are for sure. But I would bet my clothes that it is one of you and Elena." I held them both.
I forgot to mention a couple of things about the guys. Tim had been elected the student council president and Chip was elected the senior class president even though he didn't want to run. Tip had gathered the signatures to have him put on the ballot and he won. Tip was his vice president. Scott was Tim's vice president. Ty and Alex absolutely refused to run. Alex wanted to be able to go to the farm whenever he wanted and Ty knew that he had to apply himself to the books.
The guys went to the game on Friday after Tina arrived. We always put her in Chip's room. I went to the game with Maggie. Chip looked around to see if I was there. The game turned out with Bellevue West finally winning by 20-17 over archrival Bellevue East. The important thing was that Ty had returned a punt for a touchdown, caught a pass for another and intercepted three passes. He was awarded the game ball.
The guys came in at 11:30 after dropping their dates off. Chip came in and showered and crawled into bed with me. "Troy, I don't want to be the homecoming king. I don't want people chasing after me. I only want to be with you."
"Chip look at me. Chip, people can chase all they want and undress you as you walk by but they aren't going to do anything with you unless you let them. You are a beautifully developed young man who is also very handsome. I am sure that many of your schoolmates are jealous of how handsome you and Tim are. They probably have a hard time understanding why you both are so unassuming. That makes you both so mysterious in your own ways."
I pulled Chip close and said, "Chip, you need to understand that I fell in love with you because you are who you are. You know what you want and you go after it and almost always succeed. Now give me a hug and kiss and go to sleep."
Saturday morning I had to go to work because we had some dignitaries visiting. I left the guys with the instructions to pick up the corsages and do some grocery shopping and told them to find a nice restaurant for us to go to before the dance.
By the time I had gotten home about 2:00 they had everything completed. It was such a nice afternoon that we went for a run. Afterwards, we showered and dressed. I picked up Lauren and we drove to the Gordons' house, where we met Chip, his date Lori, and Tim. Alex and Tina joined us. The guys had made reservations, but they wouldn't tell us where. We followed Alex, who was driving his parents' van. The Gordons rode with Lauren and me.
It seemed like we were driving to California, but finally we arrived at the restaurant. I had never been there, but Lauren was impressed. We entered the restaurant, called Di Coppia, and we were seated by a maitre de in a tux.
He nodded and said, "Your server tonight is Johan. He will take care of your every need."
Once they were seated, the young man helped put our napkins on our laps. He moved to Mrs. Gordon and asked, "Ma'am what can I bring you from the bar. My source says that you like Martini on the rocks with an onion."
Mrs. Gordon said, "That would be nice. Thank you."
Johan continued, "Colonel Gordon, I understand that you like your scotch on the rocks neat." The Colonel nodded and smiled.
"Miss Lauren, I take it you would like your usual Tom Collins with two cherries and two orange slices. Mr. Nelson, I understand that you are the designated driver so is it water or iced tea?" Johan turned to the six teenagers and said, "Would you like a Shirley Temple or Roy Rodgers. I understand that you two are still wet behind the ears."
He went to get the drinks and his assistant brought warm bread. When the drinks were served, Johan and his assistant served the soup. Alex piped up, "I don't remember ordering any soup. Did I fall asleep or something?"
Johan answered, "You probably fell asleep from the Roy Rodgers. Actually, some of your friends ordered your dinners for you. They said I was to serve you anything that had alcohol in it and cost a lot of money, since three of you are the General's children."
I looked at Johan and said, "Now I place you, Johan. You are assigned to the Rec Center. So I'm guessing Tip and Ty got to you to give us a hard time."
"Guilty as charged sir, they even ordered your meal for you. They wanted to make sure that you would get to the dance on time."
Dinner was exquisite and when the check came Colonel Gordon was going to pay it. I sent him a signal. "Sir, we will all pay our own way. You can't be responsible for all of these hungry beasts."
We split the bill five ways and then left a tip on the table.
Colonel Gordon said, "Johan, I would like to talk with you in my office at 0900 on Monday. Thank you for the wonderful attention tonight."
The guys all stopped and shook hands with Johan and his associate, Ray.
We got back to the high school gymnasium, where the dance was getting started. Tip, Ty, and their dates were greeting everyone as they arrived.
The band started to play and people started to dance. The five of us couples also danced. There was a large crowd, but they were very well behaved. At precisely 9:30, Scott started his emcee assignment. He had everyone laughing. "Ladies and gentlemen on behalf of your homecoming program organizers I would like to thank all of you for coming. There are only five of us on the committee who know who you voted to be this year's royalty. I want to commend everyone who was nominated. Any of you would have been worthy recipients. I think you will all be extremely pleased at how the voting turned out."
"This year's Princess is Lori Stiverson. Would her escort please bring her forward?" Chip took Lori forward and she received her flowers and crown. Now it is time to announce the Homecoming Queen you elected for this year. Would her escort bring Miss Elena Rodgers to the stage?"
Tim took Elena to the stage and she received her flowers and crown. The two boys were standing next to me. Scott and Alex took over like Ying and Yang. "We have no winner in the race for Homecoming King. It was a family affair with the two top people tied in the voting. We had to make a decision so we decided this would be year without a King. Instead we have the year of the two crowned princes. Would our pages Tip Washington and Tyler Jefferson please bring our crowned princes forward?"
Tip came and took Chip and Ty came and got Tim and took them to the platform. Scott and Alex crowned the two guys and stuck a carnation in their pocket. Scott said, "Ladies the royalty of Bellevue West for 2007, Mr. Tim Miller and Miss Elena Gordon and Mr. Chip Miller and Miss Lori Stiverson."
"Don't they make two good looking couples? Now let's watch as they start off the next set." The two couples danced like pros. When the number ended, Chip and Lori came and got Lauren and me and we danced with them as did Colonel and Mrs. Gordon with Tim and Elena.
At the intermission, the principal took the microphone. "I want to thank everyone for coming and being so well behaved. The royalty that was crowned tonight are all good examples of what a good leader is. I commend their parents and relatives. Thank you all for coming and enjoy the rest of the evening."
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