Welcome to Gayberry – 25
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25
They all enjoyed a laugh as the boys were buttoning their shirts. When they got to the high school, they were still a little early so Randy decided to stop in the office of the assistant principal, Will Barrow. He was a handsome young man with a bit of an officious air about him. It had been rumored that he expected to be named head principal before Ben Whaley had been named to the top position. Randy introduced himself and told him that he hoped the principal would be returning in a day or two. Mr. Barrow asked several questions but Randy gave him no information other than the man was assisting the police in a matter. He told him the principal had requested he come by and speak with the young man so he would be in the loop. The arrogant man seemed somewhat irritated that the principal had sent someone to speak to him rather than notifying him directly.
The sheriff told Barrow that he was also taking over the track and field events for the coming weekend. The man indicated that if the sheriff needed access to Coach Thomas's office that Randy should call him directly. The sheriff indicated that he had already been provided keys to the facility by the coach himself and he would not need the assistance. The assistant principal indicated he did not feel it appropriate for the sheriff to have access to school buildings, but the sheriff stated his opinion that it was perfectly appropriate for the chief law enforcement of the town to have access to all school property at all times. Randy left the office with a less than favorable impression of the young man.
The theatre complex was a separate building from the rest of the school. It had its own parking lot and entrances. Randy had only been in the theatre a few times but he had heard it was an exceptionally fine theatre for a high school in a state that did not place great emphasis on the arts.
The group was met at the door of the lobby Mr. Churchill and another man the drama teacher introduced as his best friend, Frankie Blount. Frankie was a handsome beefy man with gray hair sticking out of his button down shirt. He was a big man with a very gregarious personality where Mr. Churchill was small and much quieter.
The lobby of the theatre had obviously been vandalized during the night as there were bright orange and green swastikas spray-painted on the walls along with racial epithets and anti-Semitic messages.
"These goddamned bastards can't even spell the n' word. Dumbasses think it has three g's!" Mr. Blount said as he rolled a pressure washer canister toward the vandalized area. He shook the hands of all of them and took an extra look at the handsome Colonel.
"When did all of this happen? The sheriff asked.
"Michael found it when he came in this morning" the man said. "It's the fourth time in two months he's found this shit all over the walls. Obviously some of the folks in the area don't like our black brothers, our Jewish brothers or any of us homos" he said with a chuckle.
Randy was surprised to hear that comment as the burly Mr. Blount. It had been fairly obvious to the sheriff that the rather effeminate Mr. Churchill probably liked the boys but no one would have guessed that of Mr. Blount, who exuded masculinity.
"I assume you have reported this to my office" the sheriff said. "Why haven't the previous episodes been reported?"
"I have reported all of this up the chain of command" Mr. Churchill said. "I filled out lengthy incident reports as required by the school. I submitted my reports per the chain of command as determined by the administration and the school board I assumed that the information had been forwarded to law enforcement authorities."
"There must be some kind of problem here, Mr. Churchill" the sheriff said. "Law enforcement in this town is only me and my deputy. My deputy is pretty much a complete fucking idiot at times, but he knows better than to let something like this slide."
"Ah, yes, I remember your deputy from the incident the other day with Homer" Mr. Churchill said. "He seems a bit on the vague side, but I can't imagine he would miss something like this, particularly having seen the harsh punishment you inflicted on him."
Mr. Blount chuckled, obviously having been told about the incident during which the sheriff had forced his deputy to strip down and make his ass available to Homer and the drama teacher for hours.
"I think it was the first piece of tail my good buddy had in about 30 years" Mr. Blunt said with a laugh. "That's usually my job and he likes being on the bottom."
It was clear the two men were in some kind of relationship and they made no secret of it.
"You said you went up the chain of command" the sheriff said. "Who did you give those incident reports to?" the sheriff asked.
"As in our manual from the board of education, I completed the reports in a timely manner and submitted them to the assistant principal. The rules say he is to inform the principal and he makes any final decisions on disposition."
"Please know that I will check with my deputy and if he dropped the ball, he will be punished far more harshly than he was the other day. If he is not at fault, I will find out where things went awry. This is unacceptable and the men must be punished."
"Thank you, sheriff, Mr. Churchill said. "Frankie is being his usual dear self and getting it all taken care of. I don't know what I'd do without that man."
"I'd be glad to pitch in" Mark said. "I've done some pressure washin' before and I kind of like it. It builds up my arm muscles."
"I'd be glad to help out too" Jimmy said.
Mr. Blount thanked the boys for agreeing to help out and they took off with the jovial man while the Colonel, Randy and Will followed Michael Churchill to his office just off the lobby. The theatre was really a beautiful, large space. It was obviously fastidiously maintained and all three men were surprised at what a fine building it was. The walls held nicely framed posters which they assumed to be from productions mounted by Mr. Churchill
"That was very kind of those boys to help Frankie" Mr. Churchill said. "I'd bet you he'll have them out of their shirts within ten minutes and, if he can find a way, he'll have them working in their underwear in a half hour. He has an eye for the pretty ones."
All three men laughed as they entered the drama teacher's large office. They all remarked on the extravagance of the facility, right down to the extravagantly furnished office which was several times larger than the principal's office.
"I make no secret of the fact that this theatre and its productions are my pride and joy" Michael said. "I was fortunate enough to be given a lot in life and I find joy in sharing it."
"Ah," the sheriff said. "You're one of `them' Churchills."
"Yes, sheriff," he said with a chuckle. "As a matter of fact I'm the only one of them' Churchills left – at least n these parts. Parents left me the Churchill plantation and all the land that went with it. My friend, Frankie, is one of them Blounts' as in the owners of the Blount plantation, the largest plantation in North Carolina. Both our families were two of the largest growers of tobacco in North Carolina, although we have gotten out of that nasty business now. Frankie and I have been best friends and a lot more since we met on our first day of first grade. We have a very special friendship. He and I moved to New York City after college. He went to graduate school while I began auditioning and had some success on the stage before my father died suddenly and my mother plunged into a deep depression. Frankie and I came back to Gayberry and never had any regrets. We actually married sisters, one of whom is the girls' softball coach at the high school and the other who coaches the girls' soccer team. We have an arrangement which has proven to serve us all very well. Our `girls' will actually be stage managers for our upcoming production, which I am very excited about."
"We are so glad you have agreed to take this on, Michael, if I may call you by your first name" William said.
"Of course you may" he said. "I'd like us all to dispense with formality here."
"When we heard the governor and Mr. Levin would be attending, I told Frankie we will go `balls to the wall" to make this the most fabulous event ever mounted in Gayberry. He is all in on this, as I knew he would be. I can't tell you how amazing it is to have another person who will do anything to make your dreams come true. That is what Frankie does for me."
"I am still in awe of this theatre" the Colonel said. "It is equal to those found in large cities and even finer than some of the theatres in New York City."
"We have spared no expense, colonel, and thank you" he said. "We were fortunate to find a young principal with such strong support for the arts" Michael said. "Of course, there are still challenges, but young Mr. Whaley knows that he will be given anything he needs whether the state provides funds or not. The checkbook is open and the money flows freely here and Principal Whaley appreciates that. Unfortunately, all administrators do not agree and feel that the arts deserve nothing. Some feel that sports programs deserve all the funding. I love sports but I think that balance is good in all things."
"I could not agree more" the Colonel said.
"I think you will be an amazing emcee for the pageant" Michael said. "I can hardly wait to see you in white tie and tails!"
"Unfortunately I did not bring my formal clothes with me to Gayberry" the Colonel said. "One doesn't usually find such an island of refinement in the more rural areas of our great and beautiful country."
"Not a problem at all, colonel" Michael said, waving his hand. "Frankie happens to own the Gayberry Floral and Formal Wear Company. He will be having some of his staff here in about an hour to fit you and all of our escorts."
"Escorts?" the sheriff asked.
"Oh yes" Michael said. "Frankie and I have selected eighteen of the most handsome students here at the high school to escort each of the contestants. They will all be in black tie. They are also coming in for fittings. It will be fun to watch, I can assure you or any of you who are so disposed may get a little hands-on training for fitting boys in tuxedoes. Frankie will be handling that. I have made arrangements for the mayor and both of you gentlemen to be fitted. I think those two boys you have with you would be stunning in tuxedoes if they would like to participate."
"You are really on the ball, Michael," William said. "This is really going to be a big deal."
"You have no idea, William," he said. "This is something Frankie and I have wanted to do for years. I may have mentioned hat our friend, Mr. Haskell is the director of the Miss Mississippi Pageant. He does a fabulous job with it. It's one of the biggest events in the state. Frankie and I attend every year. It's simply fabulous. He is actually loaning us one of his most amazing backdrops. It is a Grecian Garden. Frankie wanted to use it for the crowning, but I think the star curtain will be simple, yet stunning, for that. Our wives will be bringing in a crew from shop class after school today to build a ramp which will extend from the stage to the twentieth row of seats. Frankie has already called some of his friends in the media and we are guaranteed television and press coverage from Raleigh and Charlotte. Just having the governor here made that simple."
"I am so relieved that you have the pageant entirely under control" William said. "I had no idea how much talentwe have in this town. I only wish we could have some kind of video to remember it by."
"Wish no more, my friend" Michael said. "Frankie has just bought a video setup for our auditorium. It is the very newest think from Kodak and we are the first school to have one. It's just a shame we didn't have it didn't earlier. It will also set up surveillance cameras in our lobby so we can catch any vandals who do things like those acts done last night. Our wives are hoping to get that set up by late today while their crews are building the runway."
"That is excellent" the sheriff said. "I'd like to get my hands on those assholes who defaced your beautiful theatre."
"I'd like that too, Michael said. "Especially after seeing the way you punished Deputy Littleflute for arresting Homer and meat the service station."
"I had told that fuckin' deputy to stay away from that place and he just couldn't do it" the sheriff said. "I hope he learned a lesson."
"It really is a coincidence that we happened to be there" Michael said. "One of my students who is a senior had asked me if I knew about the glory hole at the service station. I told him that of course I knew about it and he asked me to take him up there and show him. He is worried about what he'll do when he graduates."
The men looked puzzled at the remark.
"Oh, you gentlemen don't know about our school gloryhole, do you?" he asked.
All three men shook their heads. He had the men follow him out to the lobby where a shirtless Frankie and two shirtless boys were now working on cleaning the walls. He led them through the empty theatre backstage and into a men's bathroom behind the stage. It was a rather large restroom with two stalls. "Take a look" Michael said, pointing into the first stall. Upon peering in, the men saw a round glory hole.
"I'll be damned" William said. "What a perfect place for a glory hole."
"Check out the other stall" Michael said. "
There was also a hole in the next partition.
Believe me," Michael said, "it can get wild in here at lunchtime and right before and after school. I don't think there's a member of a sports team and I know there isn't a theatre student who hasn't either sucked dick or had their dicks sucked in this room. It may be Gayberry's best kept secret, especially considering it's been here since the building was built. The guy who built this theatre put the holes in here while he was still building this very building. The story says he loved servicing his workers all through the work day, whenever they needed it. "
"Who built this theatre, Michael" the sheriff asked.
"Bedford Construction" he answered. "The old man of a sudden heart attack died and his three sons moved away and never came back after graduation but his widow is still in town.Word is she has more money than God but she's never given a penny of the fortune she inherited to the arts. Mr. Bedford was a real salt of the earth kind of guy but that wife. Frankie and I heard the way she talked to him. She treated him horribly and he just took it and never said a bad word about her or anybody else. We think the way that bitch treated him probably was the cause of his heart attack. She was cold as ice. As a matter of fact, she was the first Miss Gayberry."
"Small world" the sheriff said quietly.
When they went back through the lobby, Frankie , Mark and Jimmy were continuing to work, now in only their underwear.
"We're about done, Michael," Frankie said, as they passed.
"Great, sweetie," Michael said. "We need to get the Colonel and those two handsome boys measured for their tuxes before they leave."
"If you can get started on the Colonel, I can give these boys some instructions and let them finish. I'll be there in under five minutes."
Michael led the men back into his office and William and Randy sat down while Michael directed the Colonel to step up to an elevated wooden circle in the center of the room.
"This is something the girls built for Fankie to use when measuring for costumes or, in this case, tuxedoes" Michael said. "If there's anything that marvelous man can't do I haven't found out what it is yet after all these years. Will you be comfortable removing your clothes in front of these other gentlemen, Colonel? Or would you like to use my restroom. I have a changing area in there that we can use if this makes you uncomfortable."
"Not at all, sir," the Colonel assured him. "I think we are all men and we all have the same equipment and while mine is not the largest on this planet, I am not ashamed of anything I possess."
Michael took the Colonel's jacket and folded it, placing it on his desk, as the Colonel undid his cufflinks and began to unbutton his shirt. He smiled at Randy and Will as if he really enjoyed taking off his clothes in front of an audience.
Colonel Watkins, sir," Michael said, "I do believe you may be one of the most handsome men it has ever been my privilege to lay my eyes on."
"Why, thank you kindly, sir," he said. "I am just glad to be able to play some small part in this event and I hope I will not disappoint you or the fine men who have welcomed me into this town."
The colonel removed his pressed white shirt and then his tee shirt, exposing his pits with thick black hair and his hairy chest. He had a patch of dark black hair on his midsection, disappearing into his pants. When he removed his black pants, he revealed muscular legs, thick with dark black hair. He then moved to the raised platform. He hooked his thumbs into the waistband of his white boxer shorts and smiled.
"I can remove these myself, or I welcome a helping hand. Michael moved closer to the man, drinking him in with his eyes. He touched the man's bicep. The Colenel raised his arms, inviting the man to nuzzle his face into his hairy right armpit. Michael ran his hand over the man's hairy upper body, fingering the thick fur on his chest. The Colonel smiled the entire time, enjoying the obvious admiration of Michael, as well as that of the sheriff and William. Michael ran his hands up and down the man's legs before taking the waist of the boxers in his hands, slowly lowering them down his legs and revealing his dark, wild, thick black pubes and his thick, uncut penis, its head covered by a long foreskin.
'There we go, Colonel," the drama teacher trilled, "we have you in your birthday suit so you can be measured for a formal suit. Are you certain you don't mind being naked in front of these men? I can bring in a screen if you'd prefer."
"No, sir, Michael," the Colonel said in his baritone voice. " I think it's a shame men are getting so shy about their bodies these days. I have always believed that we are creatures created by our maker and our maker did not make mistakes. We may come in different shapes and sizes but every human creature shows the beauty of creation."
"I could not agree more" Michael said as he took his tape measure and extended it from the Colonel's ankle to the top of his thigh, just grazing the man's oversized nut sac with his fingers. He then measured the man's waist, letting his fingers run through the thick dark hair around the man's navel and he had him turn around, showing off his bubble but, also covered in very fine black hairs, as he got that measurement. He then moved up and measured the man's neck and his arm length.
"I'd like to take one additional measurement, if you don't mind" Michael said. "It is a matter of my curiosity only and the fact I can't resist having my hands on such a beautiful piece of uncut meat."
"Help yourself, sir," the Colonel said with a smile. "I'd love nothing more than to have you take your time and have fun with my pecker, but I'm afraid I must conserve my essential juices at this time. Perhaps when that situation is resolved, I could return?"
"Of course, Colonel," the man said as he lifted the man's heavy uncut meat, nested in wild, black hair. He weighed the balls in his hand as the Colonel stood unmoving, smiling at him.
The man's cock began to thicken and slowly rise. Michael slowly slid the foreskin back to expose a shiny pinkhead, already glistening with pre-cum. Michael tasted the nectar and said it was among the tastiest he'd ever had.
"You are a very responsive man sexually" Michael said. "You are almost hard already and I haven't even had it in my mouth. Perhaps I better get a hard measurement in case you prove difficult during rehearsals."
"What do you mean, Michael?" William asked.
"I put a lot of money into my productions here" the man explained. "There is competition every time I hold auditions for a show. I have learned that high school boys are easily distracted by young, fragrant puss and I will not let that ruin a production. Once a boy is cast in my shows, he is put in a chastity cage for which I keep the only key until the last performance of the show."
"Ain't that what young Jimmy has on?" the sheriff asked.
"Ah, indeed" Michael said. "I saw that bulge of his and I was almost certain the boy had been locked down. I'll be honest, gentlemen, I have found it increases a boy's attention span like you simply would not believe. It is just uncomfortable enough to remind him it is there and it helps him to focus because he knows if his actions aren't pleasing to the keyholder, it could be permanent. I think they are excellent devices in training young men and I use them very often. I have a drawer full in every size."
"Wow! The sheriff exclaimed.
"Don't the parents ever give you static about locking their boys up.?" William asked.
"Only once did I have a father refuse" Michael said. "His handsome son was one of the most talented kids ever at this school. The student knew if he got the part, he would be caged. When he told his father, the man hit the ceiling. He came in, threatening to tear me from limb to limb. I stood my ground and he made the kid drop out of the show. It is a shame really because the boy had talent. It wasn't three months before he had knocked up his girlfriend and they had to get married. The boy is now working in the local meat packing plant, earning minimum wage, and struggling to support a house full of kids. See, I knew the boy was fucking his little teenage girlfriend and I knew it could be a problem. But the father wasn't having it. Not a happy tale, but a true one. Since then, while fathers may not like it, they go along with it if the kid wants a part badly enough."
As he had been talking, he had been slowly stroking the Colonel's fat meat. It was now fully erect, the fat, pink head glistening with his juice.
"May I have just a taste, sir," Michael asked. "I promise to respect your wishes regarding not attempting to drain your seed, but I cannot resist having just a taste of that beautiful piece of meat."
"Sir, if my seed were not currently obligated to another cause, I would gladly share it with you and, even so, I hope that on another date I might be able to feed you."
Michael smiled and slowly engulfed the Colonel's thick cock all the way into his throat. His nose was pressed against the man's thick pubes and it was obvious the man was contracting his throat muscles as he held the cock in his mouth.
Suddenly they all heard a loud sound of glass shattering. Alarmed, Michael spit out the cock and the Colonel grabbed his underwear. The sheriff and William went running to the main area of the lobby where they saw one of the large pieces of glass had been shattered.
They were immediately alarmed and concerned that Mark, Jimmy, and Fankie might have been injured, but they had apparently been raiding the concession stand for sodas, having just finished their work and they had been thirsty. There was a very large rock in the midst of all the shattered glass, which Frankie carefully retrieved. Attached to the rock with a rubber band was a note. When Frankie removed the rubber band, he opened the note, read it , and handed it to Michael. It was a short message, scrawled in black marker on a piece of notebook paper. It said only, "DEATH TO JEW FAGGOTS!"
The boys, the sheriff, William, and the Colonel were very shaken and upset. Michael and Frankie appeared to take the event in stride.
"Another day, another pane of glass" the man chuckeld. "I have replacements and I can have them installed in a couple of hours."
As they all talked, it turned out this was not an unusual occurrence over the past several months. Frankie and Michael said the notes were usually the same vile stuff about Jews, black people, and homosexuals, using the nasties epithets imaginable. Randy again asked why he had never been informed and Michael again told him that every incident had been reported as he was instructed to do. Randy was not happy.
"If that Goddamned half-brained deputy has just filed these away, the son of a bitch is gone" he said angrily. "This is endangering children and adults and it just ain't fittin' behavior. At least it ain't fittin' in a town where I'm the goddamned sheriff!"
He asked if Michael had kept copies of all the incident reports. The man went to his office and immediately returned with a file containing fourteen meticulously written incident reports. He said he also had copies in his office at home so he said he would not need them returned to him.
"I will get to the bottom of this" he said.
Frankie was already sweeping up broken glass and Mark and Jimmy had pitched in to help.
"Sheriff, would you mind if Mark and me stayed here and helped out Mr. Frankie? Jimmy asked. "We've really liked workin' with him and would like to help him with this job. He's a really good teacher and he told us if we got permission, we could even help out with building the ramp for the runway and the set."
"I could certainly use the help" Frankie said, an arm around each of the boys. "I've also got all the escorts and the Marines coming in for fittings. These guys know how to work and I'd really appreciate the help. We'll make sure they get fed and they may be tired tonight but you can bet they'll be ready for a good night's sleep.
The man was smiling as he had a muscled arm around each boy. His body was completely covered in gray hair and he had heavy gray stubble on his face. He had a bit of a tummy, but he was still a very sexy man who seemed genuinely appreciative of the help the boys had given him.
"I think the sheriff and I can spare our assistants for a few hours" William said. "You guys work hard, be safe, and do whatever you're told to do."
"Yes, sir," both boys said with smiles on their faces.
The Colonel, Randy and Will got into the Buick and William started the car.
"I think those men have everything under control for the pageant" William said. "I think we need to check in with the mayor on his plans for the parade and I think we have to sit down and look at where we are with the organization for the track and field events."
"I think you're right" the sheriff said. "I don't have any idea what plans our esteemed mayor has made for the parade. I'm sure he has planned a new suit for him to wear to meet the mayor but beyond that I don't trust him as far as I can take a shit. We all know the truth" He's an idiot. But, he's a useful idiot and he's our idiot!"
"What if we split up?" William suggested. "I can go over and talk to the mayor and see what he has done. Randy, if you'll go and talk to Principal Whaley. I know Coach Thomas was in charge of the events, but I think he may be the best resource we have for getting a handle on this. After all, Ben is the track team coach and is likely to understand the work Coach Thomas did before his unfortunate incarceration. Colonel, which of us would you like to join?"
"I think my skills may best be used by taking a valise full of my liniment and paying a sales call on the wife of William Walker" he said. "I will admit that drama director's fine handiwork stirred something within me. I was beginning to fill a churning in my nether regions when we were so rudely interrupted. I would like to check in first on your lovely Aunt Flea and Mrs. Bedford, who are busily setting up my shop on main street and then I shall pay my call on Mrs. Walker. If that visit is unsuccessful, I can always do a back up visit as a sort of insurance with the mayor's wife."
Will parked the Buick at the court house and took off on his walk to the mayor's office. The Colonel headed across the street to the store which was being prepared for him and Randy went into the court house, ready to climb up inside his deputy's asshole if he had ignored the incident reports from the drama director at the high school.
When he went into the court house, no one was there except Principal Whaley, who was sitting in the cell, still dressed in only athletic shorts, reading the morning newspaper.
"Good morning, sheriff" he said. "Are Walter and Jeffy all right? Did they sleep all right? Walt isn't used to me not being there with him. We've never spent a night apart. Did they eat their breakfast?"
"Calm down, calm down, Ben," the sheriff said, joining him in the cell and sitting beside him on the cot.
"Them boys of yours is just fine as frog's hair" the sheriff said with a smile. "They slept real good, got up and got all clean and ate a full breakfast cooked by Aunt Flea. They're all safe at school in their classrooms. Your boys is just fine."
"Thank you so much for taking care of them, sheriff," he said. "They're all I have in the world and I just couldn't stand it if..."
His voice trailed off and his eyes got misty. The sheriff put his arm around the man.
"Ben, I can't tell you how soon the wheels are gonna turn, but I'm almost certain this whole thang is gonna be okay" the sheriff said. "In the first place, Peggy ain't been in here to file a complaint so there ain't no charges against you pending. I've talked with her and Betty Jean and their story don't hold no more water than a Dixie cup with a holed in it." I think you're gonna be out of here in time to pick them boys up from school if you have a mind to."
The handsome man's eyes misted as he hugged the sheriff.
"I hope them's tears of joy, Ben, cause I really do think things are gonna be okay."
The young principal composed himself.
"I didn't have no choice but to arrest you and you're technically here as a prisoner. I ain't got no right to ask you for nothin' but I really could use some help straightenin' out this stuff on the field events for Saturday. I'm sure Coach Thomas had a method here but I ain't figured it out. Would you consider takin' a look at it?"
"OF course I will, sheriff," he said. "You've been nothing but kind to me and I appreciate it. You could have slapped me in handcuffs and dragged me out of my house in front of my boys. I know how traumatic that would have been. You've been nothin' but kind and I'll always be indebted to you."
Randy led Ben over to his big desk and they both pulled up chairs. Randy started pulling out the folders he had taken from the field house, but then he saw the file filled with incident reports from Mr. Churchill. He explained to Ben the incident he had witnessed at the school when the rock was thrown through the theatre window. He also told him that the man had reported filing over a dozen serious incident reports. Ben looked totally surprised by the information.
You've never seen any of these reports?" the sheriff asked him.
"With God as my witness, sheriff," he said, "I swear on my boys' lives I have never seen or even heard about these incident or these reports."
"That's some serious stuff, Ben," the sheriff said. "But I believe you. We need to figure out where things broke down."
"We have to do it, sheriff," Ben said. "This kind of stuff is vile and ugly but even more importantly it puts the lives of our students in danger. That means my boys and your boy and every boy and girl in that school. "
Randy watched as the principal spread numerous sheets and graphs out on the big desk and went over the information. He went to the bathroom and checked the new bed and the shower he had recently installed in the room. It then hit him that he hadn't heard from Mr. Lee or Kurt, the plumber and his young assistant who had installed the shower in the jail. He remembered they had been scheduled to install a shower in his home bathroom a couple of days earlier but he had not seen or heard from them. He felt a little irritated as he went back into the office and rang the number for the plumber. Mr. Lee answered the phone and was apologetic. The man said he had left a message with Aunt Flea that his wife was continuing to experience problems with her pregnancy. He had told Aunt Flea that he hoped to be back at work within the next two days and he would start the project as soon as possible. Randy thanked the man and told him that would be fine.
He decided to walk over to the store Aunt Flea and her friend were getting ready to open for the Colonel. As he was just walking out the door as his deputy came in. He confronted the deputy immediately and was assured the man had never seen any of the reports.
"You better be tellin' me the truth, deputy," he said. "If I find out you ain't bein' truthful about this, that little playtime you had with Homer and the drama teacher the other day weren't nothin'. I'll bring in ever goddamn lion and tiger they got up at the Raleigh Zoo to buttfuck you if you ain't tellin' me the truth."
"I swear to God, Randy," the man said, wiping sweat from his forehead. "I ain't never laid my eyes on a single one of these. I swear."
Randy accepted the man's word. He again headed out the door to speak with Aunt Flea but crossed paths with William, returning from the mayor's office.
"That man is a goddamned bona fide complete fucking idiot" William said. "He had arranged for the Gayberry High School Band and the town brass band to march in the parade."
"That's a good start" the sheriff said. "Who else?"
"No one else" Will said. "That was it. He was afraid bands from other towns might sound better than our own and he didn't want that. He is truly an idiot. I stayed calm and suggested we make more calls. We now have fourteen marching bands from across the state, including three from Raleigh who agreed to make the trip when they learned the governor was coming to town."
"Great work, William," the sheriff said.
Well, get this" William said. "I asked if he had arranged to have convertibles provided for all the contestants, Velma Sue, and the former Miss Gayberries who will be attending. I will give him this. He had arranged to have the old float used for the former queens out of storage. It was ratty as hell but I called the school pep squad and they have agreed to fix it up. That will hold all the formers except Velma Sue, who will be doing the crowning and Tara Bedford, who is the original Miss Gayberry. The mayor said she had insisted on having her own convertible. That meant we need a total of twenty one. He had lined up three. His thought was that each one could be used multiple times. Each car would carry a contestant along the route and then circle back and load another one. That would have meant the parade would last over nine hours. He is truly an idiot."
"What did you do?" the sheriff asked.
"I started calling every car dealership we could find. I have lined up all but two" he said. "Once the dealerships found out the governor would be here, they were willing to do anything we asked. "
"That's great" the sheriff said.
"Yes," William said. "All of the bands know where to line up before the parade and where to park their buses. I used the parking lot at the First Baptist Church for that. That is also where the dealerships will bring the convertibles two hours before the parade starts so we can get them decorated."
"Great work, Will," the sheriff said. "That's amazing."
"Sheriff, I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but I couldn't help hearing your conversation" the young principal said. "I just bought a new convertible last week. I let Walter talk me into it because he just loves riding in a car with the top down. I will be glad to have you use it for the parade."
"Thanks, Ben, " Will said. "That is one more item checked off my list.
"I think I could use a fresh cup of coffee" the sheriff said.
He looked at the deputy who then jumped up and headed to the back room to prepare the coffee.
The men enjoyed a hot cup of coffee, as they finished, Ben spoke up.
"Gentlemen, the track and field events are in excellent shape" Principal Ben reported. "Marv has everything organized right down to who will be firing which starting pistols for which events. He even has the numbers all the athletes will organized in a file drawer in his office. I can sit down with you for under half an hour and you will have no problem running everything. He did an amazing job. He really is an amazing, smart guy."
"Ben, why should you sit down and teach us what's going on?" the sheriff asked. "How about if you just step in and do it?"
"I'd love to sheriff," the man said, "but you seem to be forgetting that I am currently incarcerated."
"That fucking bitch and her daughter were lying their asses off. Consider yourself released as of this moment. There will be no charges filed against you, Ben," the sheriff said. "You are released with our blessings and the apologies for the city of Gayberry."
"That isn't necessary, sheriff," Ben said. "I couldn't have been treated more kindly or more fairly. It is I who should apologize for ever letting a crazy, disruptive bitch into my life and the life of a dear friend of mine. It has become abundantly clear to me during the time I've spent here that Peggy Thomas has done nothing but sew dissent, trouble and chaos into my life and the lives of my dear friend and his sons for years. I have been a fool and Marv was a fool to allow that to happen. I fear it may be too late for me to ever make it up to Marv, but I will spend the rest of my days making it up to Mark and Jeffy. That is a promise. I will also get to the bottom of the vandalism at my school. If you would be so kind as to provide me copies of those incident reports, I will get on that as soon as I get home and have a shower to clear my head,"
"Of course, Ben," the sheriff said. "Arney will get them copies made and then he will drive you home in the squad car. Again, I apologize."
"Not necessary, sheriff," he said. "No apology necessary. I feel as if I've made a couple of new friends in all of this. "
That said, he hugged the sheriff and William.
"Ben, I think there's one more thing I should tell you before you leave" the sheriff said. "It may not be too late for you to make things better with Marv. The coach is not at Statesville for good. I arranged with the warden to house him there for three days. I'll be picking him up on Friday and bringin' him back here. The man was out of control and he really was a danger to his family and everyone else the state he was in. It'll be an awful three days up there and I hope he'll learn some valuable lessons. The warden tells me that three days in Hell can completely change a man. Let's hope that's what happens. You and Will are the only people who know this. Even Mark, his own son, don't know."
"Thank you, sheriff," he said. "I've come to terms that it's probably too late for Marv and Me. I loved him from the first day we met and I've loved him every day since. But he couldn't deal with that and we let that evil bitch cause chaos in all of our lives. He's a good man at heart and a beautiful man. I'll always love him but I know I have to leave that alone. I have two boys to raise and I hope Mark and I can establish some kind of relationship."
"You're a very good man, Ben," the sheriff said. "A good man living in a world of assholes has a rough road to hoe" he chuckled.
Arney had made copies of the incident reports for Ben and they were headed for the squad car when the phone rang. Arney went back to answer. As he listened, his face went white.
"What's the matter, deputy?" the sheriff asked. "Who is it?"
The deputy held the phone out to Randy, who took it and identified himself. He listened for a minute without speaking, then he hung up.
"That was Warden Biden from up at Statesville. There's been a riot and the prison is on lockdown. The warden is on his way here" the sheriff said. "He said he'll be here in under two hours and that's all he said."