Shadow of my Father - 31. Chapter 31

Josh, Cesar and Chris kept dozing off as the party went on. At one point, Chris actually put his head on the table and went to sleep. Josh’s head kept falling to the back as his body tried to go to sleep, but each time his head fell to the back he’d wake up.

Daniel Sr. tapped Josh on the shoulder. “Josh you need to get to bed. You are fighting to stay awake and the sleepiness is winning. You have already selected your room, go ahead and go to bed. Chris and Cesar will sleep in one of the guest rooms.”

Josh got up mad with his father a little because he thought that Cesar would be able to stay in his room, not the guest room. Still Josh is way too tired to argue with his father. Also there are too many guests still celebrating with his father. Josh just got up and followed Cesar and Chris to a guest room.

After making sure that Cesar and Chris are fine in their room, Josh headed to his room. At first he got lost trying to find it. He is about to give up when he ran into Jonathan. Jonathan just looked at Josh knowing that he must be lost.

“Josh where are you coming from and where are you going?”

“I can’t find my room. I know that sounds stupid, but this house is a little bigger than I’m used to. I can’t get use to where everything is.”

Jonathan walked up to Josh and grabbed him by the neck. Playfully rubbing the top of Josh’s head, they walked down the hall. Jonathan walked Josh to his room and wished him good night when he left Josh at his door.

Josh walked in toward his bed kicking off his shoes on the way. He’s so tired he just lay down on top of the covers and went right to sleep. He got woken up a couple hours later after hearing weird noises coming from the house.

He got up looking around the dark room. Josh reached over to turn on the lamp on the nightstand next to his bed. He looked around the brighten room and didn’t see anything. He got up, got his suitcase and pulled out a pair of running pants. He changed into his running pants and a t-shirt before getting back into bed.

Cesar and Chris woke up before Josh. They got dressed and just like Josh. They forgot where Josh’s room is at. They look into several rooms, but they were empty. They were about to give up when Jonathan pointed to a door down the hall.

The boys just smiled and walked into Josh’s room to find Josh still asleep. Cesar walked over and started to kiss Josh on the forehead and then his lips. Bringing Josh out of his sleep, Josh returned the kiss with a smile on his face.

They broke the kiss and Josh looked at Chris. “Hey buddy come over here and lay down with me and Cesar on the bed. We need to decide what we are going to do today. I don’t want to just hang around the house.”

Cesar got into the bed first. When Chris started to crawl in, Josh grabbed him. Josh leaned in and kissed him on his forehead. Chris looked into Josh’s eyes and smiled. Before lying next to Cesar, Chris returned the kiss to Josh’s forehead.

The boys just laid there on the bed talking about places to go. Since they don’t know the city at all, they decided to be tourists. Josh got out of the bed jumping around as if he is in a ring ready to box.

“Did you guys hear strange noises coming from the house last night?” Cesar looked at Chris and back over to Josh as if he is crazy! “Come on you guys, I am not saying ghost noises! Noises like the wind passing through the halls. It got loud enough to wake me up. You both know that I am a sound sleeper and it takes a lot to wake me up.”

Once again Cesar looked at Chris and they just shrugged their shoulders. Neither of them heard any noises last night. Josh just dropped the subject as he got grabbed his clothes. He looked at the Cesar and Chris with a wicked grin on his face.

“Too bad you guys are already dressed. I was going to invite you to take a shower with me but not now though since you are ready for the day.” Josh started to laugh as Cesar and Chris threw the pillows from Josh’s bed at him.

As Josh took a shower, Cesar and Chris stayed in his room talking. They started talking about their time with Josh. Chris seems to be opening up to Cesar and isn’t holding anything back from him. Both of the boys know where they stand with Josh. Cesar is the boyfriend and Chris is one of his best friends. Neither of them minded their standing.

The Governor headed into the office at six with only a couple of hours of sleep. The last time he walked into this office, he was a visitor; this time it is his office. Governor Lopez walked over to his desk and sat down. Looking around at the empty office he smiled knowing that soon it will be filled with his personal pictures and other personal touches that will make the office his own!

About an hour later, Rich and Al walked in. They started to discuss the first item on the agenda. They all know that the establishment is going to fight them every inch of the way. They realize that they don’t want to lose control of the government. The government is there and the Governor wants to hand it back to the people.

“I have meeting in about an hour with the leadership in both houses and the Lieutenant Governor. Let me get their pulse and see what we have to work with. I suggest we throw out an olive branch at first. That way we can pass hard legislation down the line.”

“Rich I don’t want to fold on our first piece of legislation out the gate. That will turn off the voters and the establishment is going to think they own us. They know who you are. You’ve got to push the envelope when necessary, but let’s bring in another big gun to fear. That way if they give us problems in the future, they won’t want a call from Al.”

Al just looked at the Governor not understand where he is going with this. “Look Al, I know that you are a straight talker. There is no grey areas with you. When anyone talks with you, they will know what you say is it.

I need you to take this meeting with Rich. Rich will introduce you as part of my staff, but you run the meeting. You be yourself and what I mean by that is simple. You tell them things are going to change and everything we have discussed.”

“I don’t want to be stepping on anyone’s toes here. I have no problem doing that, but as long as Rich has no problem. He set up the meeting. This meeting should be his to run. He is your Chief-Of-Staff. You don’t want to cut his legs from beneath him at the beginning like this sir.”

“Al I agree with the Governor on everything except one thing. I don’t go in and sit down and let you run the meeting. You take this meeting and throw down the law in it. You give them me apologizes that I couldn’t make it, but I got doubled booked. You are the Governor’s left hand man where I am his right hand man.”

Everyone agreed with that tactic and moved on to other business. Ten minutes before the minute, Al excused himself. He walked out of the office and down to the conference room. He stood at the corner to see the leadership walking in not to happy being here on a Saturday morning. Al decided to use their frustration to his favor.

Al walked in and took the head of the table. Everyone looked at Al as if he walked into the wrong room. The Lieutenant Governor even got up and walked up to Al to see if he is lost. Al told him he is where he should be and asked him to take a seat.

“Good morning everyone, my name is Alfred Serna. The Cheif-Of-Staffsends his apologizes, but he got double booked so you got me instead. We will work out these kinks as we move in our entire staff. In the mean time I hope you all work with us as we work out the bugs.”

“We got called in here by the Chief-Of-Staff, not a lower staffer. Once the Cheif-Of-Staff gets his schedule under control, he can call us back.” The democratic leader of the senate stood up and started to walk out.

“You can walk out, but when the press hears that you are unwilling to work with the new Governor, you won’t have any meetings to walk out of. Your voters will pull your from your position before you can explain.”

The Senator turned around and sat back down. That grabbed the others’ attention and the room went quiet. Al pulled out the budget and handed a copy to every one around the table to look at.

“You need to get used to a couple of things here. First, your time running things is over and the voters made that clear at the polls last November. If there was any question about that, it got answered over the last forty eight to seventy two hours. Never have so many people turned out to watch a Governor get sworn in.

Second, the Governor knows how to talk with the press. You can go down any hallway in this office and you will run into a member of the press corps. Once again, not just press from this state, but national press.

And finally, this Governor is not going to bend, fold or step away from what his beliefs. If you value your positions or have eyes for a higher position, it is best to have this Governor as a friend not an enemy. He can make or break any of you right now.

I am not a lower staffer of the Governor’s staff. I am pretty much under the Chief-Of-Staff as far as people the Governor listens to and takes opinions from. I am the man he will call in when he needs any one spanked.”

Everyone around the table just looked at Al. The looks on their faces are looks of disbelief. They can’t believe they are being talked to in this fashion. No one has ever talked to them like this and they don’t like it.

“If the Governor wants any help or backing from either side. He won’t send you again. We are elected officials and we get treated with respect no matter what you think of us. Do not ever walk in here or any room in this town and talk like this.” Now the Republican Leader got up to leave the room.

Al walked out with the Senator and as they passed members of the press corps, Al stopped to introduce himself and talk with them. The Senator turned around and walked back to the conference room and sat down. All that Al said to the few members of the press corps is that they are in a meeting discussing the budget and taxes. They will brief them as soon as the meeting comes to a close. Al walked back into the conference room.

“Look at me and see if I am fooling around here. I have been on this earth a lot longer than any of you have been alive. I lived through harder times then where this nation is at right now. I am not about to have my kids and grandkids live through what I lived. If that means me being cruel, I will do that.

This government belongs to the people and you need to get used to that. Governor Lopez is going to hand it back to them. You all need agree with that or we will pull you kicking and screaming. One way or another, we are going to get there.”

Al sat down and they started going over the budget. Several sections each side had a problem with. Both sides seem to agree with not lowering the taxes. They fought on that point longer than any other.

“You all want the taxes to stay the same or go higher to pay for your pork projects. Those days are gone. If you pass a bill with pork in it, the Governor will veto it. Even if the main bill is his, he will veto it.

He made that perfectly clear during the campaign and yesterday he reiterated it. If a bill doesn’t work for all Texans, it won’t be signed into law. I don’t see how hard it is to understand this concept. We all work for the citizens of this State, not any specific group.”

By eleven, they realized there is no bending with Al. They agreed to take the bill to the floor and support the passing of it. They want to move on and show they are willing to unite behind Governor Lopez. That way when they go out screaming ‘fire’, the press corps will listen to them. Also they feel if this doesn’t work, the Governor will get the blame.

“The Governor wants to work with both sides of the houses. He doesn’t care if you are part of his party or any other party. He is putting aside his party and working for the greater good of the State. Let’s work together and move this State forward. That way when other states look us, they will want to be like us.”

Al got up and thanked everyone for coming. He walked out and back over to the Governor’s office. After telling the Governor and Rich what had happened and the final result, Governor Lopez couldn’t be happier with the outcome.

Once Josh, Cesar and Chris figured out what they are going to do, Josh’s brothers and their friends decided to tag along. Josh didn’t mind, he felt safer in a larger group. They all hopped into a SUV and headed over to the Highland Mall. Josh got told that this is one of the largest malls in Austin.

As they drove up, they couldn’t believe the size of it. It looked like you could fit their Bassett Center Mall inside this mall without a problem. This thing is huge. There is no way they are going to be able to cover the entire mall in one day.

They all agreed as they headed in to stay as a group. They don’t know if anyone is going to recognize them or not. Or they don’t want to get lost and not able to find each other when they are ready to leave.

Although the mall is huge, it basically has the same things that their malls in El Paso have. None of them bought much of anything, due to the prices and just had lunch before heading back home. The loved the mall, and when they come up in the summer, they plan to learn every inch of the mall.

As soon as they got home, they walked into a packed house. Daniel Sr. came home with work. Now the work that he brings home is not just folders and papers. The work is talking with other legislators and his office staff.

Josh, his brothers and friends sat down and had dinner with their grandmother. Daniel couldn’t get away from the meeting he has been in since he got home. After dinner, the boys headed off to watch television. They plan to take it easy for the evening, because they are waking up early in the morning. They heading back home to El Paso to go to school on Monday.

Through the night Josh heard the same weird noises in the house. He couldn’t sleep because of the noises. He just tossed and turned all night long. The couple of times he did doze off, the noises woke him right back up. Josh started thinking that his mind is just playing games with him.

He found out that the house is very old. It housed every Governor since the late eighteen hundreds. Being so old, of course the house is going to creek and moan. It has a history that wants to be told. Josh just wished that the house didn’t want to speak while he wanted to sleep.

The next morning, Josh got up, showered and got dressed before Cesar and Chris walked in. When they walked in, Josh grabbed both of them and threw them on the bed. They wrestled until they got called down to breakfast. All three of them kept their hands in front of them as they headed to the table doing their best to conceal their erections.

Once the got to the table they couldn’t believe that Daniel Sr. is having breakfast with them. All of them thought that he would have gone into the office instead of having breakfast with them. They understand that he has a hard job that everyone is depending on him to work every minute of every day.

“Hey boys, I plan to see you off this morning. I only wish I had more time to spend with you. I wanted to keep you guys here for at least another week but you can’t miss that much class without following behind and losing credit.”

“Dad, which airline are we taking back? Some of them are not very roomy in coach. I want to be able to sleep all the way back. Maybe then my body won’t know that I changed time zones again.”

“What do you mean airline Carlos? The Governor has his own airplane and that is the airplane you guys are flying back in. That is the only way I know that you guys are safe. Trust me when I say this about people. There are some out there that want to do you some harm because of me. They don’t like my politics and they will do what it takes to let me know that they don’t like it.”

Everyone agreed with Daniel Sr. and ate breakfast talking about what they did yesterday. Daniel even got into the conversation. They all agreed that they need more time to visit everything here in Austin. That is what the summer vacation is all about.

Right after breakfast, they loaded the cars with their suitcases. This time they only took one limousine to the airport. The roads are back to normal. No crowds waving them on as they were when they got here a couple of days ago.

When they arrived at the airport, no crowds there to greet them as they got on the plane! It is just the family and friends saying their goodbyes to Daniel Sr. Daniel didn’t want his kids to leave. He is going to miss them a lot. He also knows that it is best this way. Every chance they get, he will go up and see the kids or they will come down.

Grandma Rose, Daniel Jr., Carlos, Josh and Brandon hugged Daniel Sr. with tears rolling down their faces. None of them wanted to leave their father and son. It took a lot for them to let go of their father when it came time.

They all got on the airplane and waved at their father as the plane started to depart. Daniel Sr. stood there watching the airplane take off. He didn’t leave until he couldn’t see the plane anymore. Once that happened, he headed into the office to get to work.

True to his word, Carlos slept all the way home. Josh actually fell asleep on Cesar’s shoulders for a couple of hours. When the plane went through an air pocket, Josh jolted awake. At first he was scared, but he settled down. Cesar calmed Josh down enough so Josh could realize what is going on.

Josh decided not to fall back to sleep, so he started talking with Cesar and Chris. They are both wide awake playing cards. Josh joined in on the next hand. At first they started to talk about everything that went on this weekend, but Josh changed the subject.

“Chris you know what? You are my best friend and I need to help you on something. I should know best because you and I were going out. So that means I should know what you like and dislike. I am going to set out and find you a boyfriend.”

“Oh no, that is okay Josh. I am fine the way I am. When I am ready, I will find my own boyfriend. Thank you, but no thank you.” Chris started to chuckle as he laid down his full house and won the pot of candy.

“Come on Chris, I know you better than you think. You and I are the same in so many ways. You got to have someone to talk with and spend private moments with. Let’s get you a friend and then we will see where that leads to.” Josh tapped Chris on the shoulder as he passed out the cards.

“I will make you a deal Josh. All three of us can make up a secret way of talking about guys that won’t freak out others when we are at school, the mall or just out. We rate guys and try to figure out if they are like us. If they are, we try to find out if they guy is a jerk or not. If everything is okay, I will go out with that guy.”

Josh agreed and Cesar agreed as well. They put the cards down and started making up their own private language with signs and all. Once they landed in El Paso, they had the language all made up. They promised each other that no one else will ever get know their secret language no matter what.

Everyone got off the plane and loaded in the SUV. On the way home, Jonathan had the security guard that is driving drop off everyone at their own houses. As Daniel, Carlos, and Brandon’s friends got out of the SUV, they thanked them for a cool weekend.

The only ones that didn’t get dropped off are Chris and Cesar. Cesar’s father isn’t going to be home, so that is why he didn’t get dropped off. Chris just wanted to stick around for dinner. He is getting attached to Josh and Cesar. They are becoming very good friends.

Once they arrived home, Josh, his brothers and friends ran up to their rooms. They needed to unpack or get ready for school. They just felt good being home. Eventually they know that they are going to have to call the Governor’s Mansion home, but for now they are happy with this home.

Grandma Rose and Isabella cooked dinner and called the boys down. They all ate before heading to the living room to play with their game system. They missed playing with the game system while they were gone.

Jonathan had to pull the boys away from the TV for them to get ready for school. “Cesar I can’t get a hold of your father. It looks like he hasn’t got back from his road trip. You will have to sleep here tonight.

Although the Governor is gone, the same rules apply. You will have to sleep on the other bed in Josh’s room. That is the only way you can sleep in his room. If you guys don’t do that, Cesar will have to sleep in the den on the fold out bed.” Josh and Cesar just nodded their heads in agreement.

“For you Chris, I talked with your parents. They thought you were going to be gone until the end of the week. I have no problems with you sleeping in the room here with Josh and Cesar. You will have to sleep in a sleeping bag.”

“Do you know when the Coach and Ana are coming back? I forgot to call them and let them know that Josh’s father thought it is best to send us back so we didn’t miss too much school.” Chris got up and walked over to Jonathan.

“They had no plans on leaving out of town. They got a call late last night about Ana’s mother ending up in the hospital. They headed over to be with her. They asked if you could stay here for the week. I told them no problem. If they need more time, they will call. Plus they want to talk with you and will call you tomorrow.”

Chris nodded his head as he walked back into the room. Chris hasn’t really met any of Ana’s family, so he is not hurting for the fact that her mother is in the hospital. He doesn’t even know where Ana’s mother lives.

The boys got ready to go to bed when Jonathan walked in with the sleeping bag. Josh and Cesar helped Chris make it as comfortable as possible by putting extra pillows under the sleeping bag for cushion.

“It looks like I have the two guys that mean the world to me for the week. Cesar, I don’t think your father is going to come back until the end of the week. You told your father that we were going to be gone for the entire week.”

“You are probably right on that Josh. I am fine with that. I like spending my time here anyways. It is way too boring at my house. At least here I have you and your brothers. There is never a boring moment in this house!”

Josh, Cesar and Chris talked themselves to sleep. The last thing Josh remembered before falling to sleep is Cesar coming over and kissing him goodnight. Josh is out for the count and there is nothing that will wake him up.

The next morning, the boys got ready for school, ate breakfast at the house before heading to school for their second serving of breakfast. They walked into the cafeteria and everyone stopped what they are doing and looked at Josh. Josh looked at Cesar and Chris as if he is asking them if there is something wrong.

They grabbed their breakfast and headed to their table. Eric, Bernice and the others welcomed them back with smiles and a million questions. Before they could even answer one question, they had several more questions out there to answer.

“Look you need to tell us how it was being up there! Josh, your father is now in charge of this State. Do you feel any different than you felt when you left that Thursday? Do you think people are going to treat you any different? Do you…..”

“Hold Eric, hold with all those questions. Let me answer one at a time or I will never answer any of them. For a while I think people are going to treat me different. Just like they did when my father first won the election! They will loose interest and move on.

I feel the same as I did on Thursday. My father made it clear to us that we are no different than anyone else. He just got hired to do a job for four years. In four years he is going to have to go back and ask for the people to rehire him again.

As far as being there, it was damn cool! That city is so huge. The mall let me tell you this much; none of our malls come close to the mall we went to on Saturday. There is so much to do; we will need the entire summer to do it.”

Josh, Cesar and Chris sat there talking about everything from the plane ride when they left to the plane ride home. They didn’t leave anything out. Eric, Bernice and the others sat there listening, hanging on every word they said.

The bell rang and still Josh, Cesar and Chris kept talking as they headed to their first period class. They finally stopped talking when the tardy bell rang and the teacher started taking roll call.

Every so often, Eric would throw Josh a note asking him more questions about the trip. Almost at the end of class, the teacher caught Josh and Eric trading notes. Mr. Shredder got up and took the note from them and read it.

Mr. Shredder knelt between the two boys. “Josh you are back I am glad that your father is the Governor. We need a young man in there, not those old decaying mummies. With that said, you can’t be doing this in class. I won’t let you get away with things that I do not let others do. Do I make myself clear on this, gentlemen?”

Josh and Eric nodded their heads in agreement. Mr. Shredder got up and handed Josh the note. He walked back up to his desk. The other classmates stared at Josh and Eric until Mr. Shredder asked them to pay attention to their assignment.

Most of the morning went about the same. In each of Josh’s classes his classmates just stared at him. Josh walked into third period happy that there is only one hour before lunch. He can’t wait to get out of the spotlight.

The teacher took roll call and then surprised Josh. “As you all know, we just swore in our new Governor. One of your classmates actually was present in the front row through it all. Since you missed two days Josh, you can make it up by taking the class through the day.”

Josh got up from his seat and walked to the front of the class. He knew this was going to happen because of it being a history class and all. He took a breath and just looked around the class to see if he could get himself out of it, but he didn’t find a way.

Josh started with the meeting between his father and now the former Governor and ended it with the party at the Mansion. Just like his friends during breakfast, his classmates were hanging on every word that Josh said.

The teacher got up and grabbed Josh as he started to head to the back. He let go of the Josh when Jonathan stood up and walked up front. Paying no attention to Jonathan, the teacher turned to the class and started speaking.

“Ok everyone, I am pretty sure you have questions for Josh. I am also pretty sure Josh wouldn’t mind answering those questions for you. So go ahead and ask Josh anything that comes to mind.”

That didn’t sit well with Jonathan. He decided not to embarrass Josh or his teacher in front of his classmates. He will wait until after class to make it clear to Josh’s history teacher not to ever do this again. From the touching to making Josh stand in front of the class when the other students don’t have to do the same thing.

Josh never got a chance to sit down again during class. Everyone asked several questions, making Josh very uncomfortable. He doesn’t like being put on the spot like this and even more so not being prepared for it! If his instructor would have told him the day before he left that he is going to have to this when he came back, he would been prepared for it.

As the bell rang, Jonathan told his detail go ahead and stay with Josh. He will catch up after he deals with a couple of things. Eric grabbed Josh’s things as he walked out. He stopped Josh as he headed down to get his stuff. Eric handed him his backpack and they walked out to grab so lunch.

“Mr. Fields could please join me with Principal Michaels for a few minutes?” Jonathan talked in a low voice where no one could hear him except for Mr. Fields.

Mr. Fields didn’t object he locked up his classroom before walking down to Principal Michael’s office. Neither of them said a word to each other. Mr. Fields thinks that he is in the right and Jonathan thinks he is in the right. The only one that is going to be able to get to the bottom of this is Principal Michaels.

They walked into the principal’s office, told the secretary that they needed to speak with Principal Michaels. She picked up the phone and in less than a minute later she told both of them that they can go back and speak with the principal.

Both of them walked into the office and waited for Principle Michaels to ask them to take a sit. Once Principal Michaels did, they just sat there. Principal Michaels finally gave up and just jumped into it.

“You asked to speak with me, so what is it? If it is nothing important, I should head out and walk the halls like I do. So just say what you came here to say or get out of my office. Either way I am happy!”

“Principal Michaels, my name is Jonathan Carter, the head of Josh’s security detail. With respect to the Governor and to your school, I waited till after class to bring this up.” Jonathan just looked at Principal Michaels trying to measure him up.

“Mr. Carter my patience is running out. Speak your peace so I can either agree or disagree. But just say it already Mr. Carter!”

“Mr. Fields made Josh go in front of the class and talk about his trip to Austin. He didn’t allow him to sit down for the entire period allowing the other students to ask question after question about what Josh did and how it was being there.”

“I don’t see a problem with that at all Mr. Carter. Mr. Fields is Josh’s history teacher and he can do that with his students. If Josh didn’t object to going up there, I don’t see where this should be in front of me.”

“That is the problem Principle Michaels. Josh was not given the choice to say yes or no. Mr. Fields told Josh that since he missed several days of school, he needs to do this. He doesn’t ask any of the other students to get in front of the class after missing several days of school. I have been with Josh since his father got elected. There have been students that have missed more than the days that Josh missed in a row.”

“Mr. Fields why did you make Josh stand in front of the class for the entire period? You have not made any of your other students do the same thing. Are your singling out Josh for who his father is Mr. Fields?”

“Yes I am and let me tell you why. Like you said earlier, I am his history teacher. History happened last week and Josh was there. He should share his insights with the class. This is the first time in my life I have had a student that their father or mother got sworn into a high position like Josh’s father did.”

“Look I don’t see a problem at all what Mr. Fields did. To make sure there is no problems in the future. Mr. Fields you are not allowed to single out Josh for anything that his father is doing. Treat Josh as a normal student and I believe this won’t happen again.”

Principal Michaels got up to leave the office when Jonathan spoke up. “I don’t agree with your decision here sir and I will be phoning the Governor as soon as I leave here. I won’t only tell him about this but also about Mr. Fields grabbing a hold of Josh’s arm when he headed to take his seat! Governor Lopez is going to call you, trust me on that.”

Principal Michaels turned around and sat back behind his desk. He didn’t look to happy at all. One thing Principal Michaels does know is the power that a Governor has. That power he doesn’t want it pointed to him in the negative manner.

“Mr. Fields did you grab a hold of Josh’s arm when he tried to take a seat?” Principal Michaels now showing frustration in his voice!

“Yes, but I didn’t do it to do harm. I wanted him to stay up front after he told us about that day. I had questions and I knew his classmates must have questions as well. I just wanted them to be able to ask Josh the questions they had on their minds.”

“I made it very clear to all of my staff that touching a student in any way isn’t allowed. I don’t care if it is Josh or another student. Grabbing the arm of a student is against district policy. You know that because you helped revise the policies Mr. Fields.

You are great teacher and have been around these halls a lot longer than most of us. You turned down this job because you wanted to stay in the classroom. That is how I got the job instead of you. What in the world were you thinking?”

Mr. Fields didn’t answer Principal Michaels. Principal Michaels got up from his desk and looked out his office window. He knows what he needs to do, but he respects Mr. Fields so much. It is making it very hard for him to do what he needs to do.

“Mr. Carter, what are you asking of me to do? I don’t want a call from the Governor. At the same time I want to keep Mr. Fields where he is until he can retire. He has earned that by giving so many of his years to educating our youth.” Principal Michaels turned around looking like he is holding back tears.

“Mr. Fields was my history teacher when I went through high school. It was because of him I decided to be an educator. He made class so interesting, I wanted to come to school every day. You don’t find that many teachers like that out there.” Principal Michaels said sitting back down in his chair.

“I don’t want Josh being treated any differently than any of the other students in his classes. Governor Lopez spoke with you and his teacher to make sure he could pull his kid out of school for a couple of days. None of them told the Governor that they will have to do this or that in return.

Plus, he can’t touch Josh in anyway. If he does that, I won’t hold back. I will order my detail to pull him out. I am not saying that Mr. Fields meant harm to Josh, but now that his father is Governor, I can’t assume anything but that when one touches him. If I don’t do that, I will be without a job.”

Principal Michaels assured Jonathan that he will take care of it. Out of respect to Mr. Fields, he preferred to do any disciplinary action in private. He also assured Jonathan that he will speak with all of the Governor’s kids’ teachers. He will make it clear that make up homework is the only thing they can ask of them for missing those days. Jonathan agreed and left Mr. Fields and Principal Michaels in the office.

Josh and Cesar left the group to spend time alone with each other. The questions started to get to Josh. He knew that this was going to happen; he just thought he could handle it. Now he sees that he needs to get away from everyone in order to catch his breath.

Josh and Cesar walked around the school to a staircase that kids normally don’t hang out at. Cesar went up a couple of stairs sat down and Josh sat down on the stair below between Cesar’s legs. Cesar started to rub Josh’s shoulder as they sat there in silence.

“Hey Cesar, I love that you are able to spend the week with me. You don’t know how much having you with me means. I just need to know something. You are okay with Chris being around so much and the way I am with him?”

“Josh, I know you are my boyfriend. I know that I have you now. I also know that Chris is your ex as well. But I am secure in our relationship that when Chris is an around I am not worried. You can be yourself with him. Kissing him on the forehead or wrestling with him is okay with me.

Let me tell you why.” Cesar started to tickle Josh under his arms. “I have your lips, your love and your heart. As you have my lips, heart and love. There is nothing that will change that between us. I have you and you have me for all time.”

Josh turned around to look into Cesar’s face. Cesar leaned down and started to kiss Josh on the lips. Josh reached out with his hands and wrapped them around Cesar’s head pulling him even more into the kiss!

Just then, they heard voices. They broke the kiss and looked out to see who it is yelling obscene words at them. Josh knew who it was before they even looked. Elizabeth with a couple of her friends are standing on the sidewalk yelling.

“Come on now, you guys need to be doing that faggot shit in your home if at all. We shouldn’t have to be forced to see this sinful stuff. You guys are scum and I hope you get hit or shot or someone takes you out of your misery soon. That way you can go to hell where people like you two belong.”

Josh and Cesar got up as Elizabeth continued yelling out hateful words to them. At first they were just going to walk away, but Josh stopped. He turned around and walked over to Elizabeth and her friends. He got right up into her face.

“You’re one hateful bitch. If I am going to hell, I will be seeing you there. You think that you are going to heaven, you better think again. There is no why the gates of heaven are going to open for your skanky ass. You are one fucking bitch and I hope your friends take off their blinders and throw you to the curb where you belong.”

All of a sudden Elizabeth slapped Josh on the face. Once Elizabeth did that, the security detail reacted. They surrounded Josh and pulled Elizabeth back. They pulled Josh away as Jonathan walked up to see what is going on.

They briefed Jonathan on what happened. Jonathan can’t believe that they allowed Elizabeth so close to Josh as they did. She is on a list of names of people to watch out for and that are not to be in contact with Josh or the family in anyway.

Not wanting to cause a scene, Jonathan told the detail he will speak with them in private when they get back to the residence. For now he is going to let it go. He walked up to Elizabeth and her friends.

“I am not going to give you the benefit of the doubt.” Elizabeth and her friends tried to explain their side of the story. “Shut up all of you! I don’t want to hear anything you have to say. I am deciding right now what to do with you four.

One thing is for sure that I am going to do is do whatever it takes to have you expelled from this school. There is no question about that. I can’t have you around any longer as a threat to Josh. You have been a thorn on my side and I am going to get rid of you.”

Jonathan walked away from Elizabeth and her friends. They just stood there in complete silence. Elizabeth realized that she went too far once again. This security guy looks like he is a man of his word. If he goes and demands for her to be expelled, Principal Michaels will do it without question.

The first day back in session since the newly sworn in Governor took office, the State House of Texas put Governor Lopez’s budget bill on the floor. The day before, a day after speaking with Al, the Democrat and Republican leaders spoke with each State Senator and Congressman making sure they had them speaking with one voice.

The Republican Party took to the floor denouncing the budget bill, threatening to kill the bill before it even has a chance for an up and down vote. They charged that the Governor is taking on old ways on pushing a bill through by twisting arms to get it done.

Before one Democrat could get up and speak, both houses broke for lunch. Governor Lopez not happy with the outcome of the morning events and he called in Rich and Al for a private meeting. Al wanted to leave to go back home, but postponed his trip.

Both Rich and Al walked over to the Governor’s office together. Knowing what the meeting is all about, they didn’t say a word to each other. As they walked to Barbara’s desk, she told them to go straight in.

“Gentleman I know you have heard in one way or another what the Republican legislators are doing on the floor. I thought we had the full backing of both parties. The first day back, on our actual first day of work for the voters that put me here, we are getting slammed and the bill is dead on arrival.”

“Governor we should have handled it differently, I know that. Maybe we threw Al in the deep end without knowing if he could swim. Let me pull the bill and settle any ruffled feathers. That way we can put the bill back on the floor in a couple of weeks.”

“Okay I hear your opinion Rich, but what about you Al? Do you agree with Rich and we should save face and pull the bill now and wait for another day to fight this battle?”

“With all due respect to my good friend Rich here, I don’t agree. You came here to Austin to make change. You can’t run the first minute you run into a wall. You didn’t bring me on board for my tact either. You knew what I was going to do that day.

They are just flexing their muscle in hopes you do this very thing. They want you to call them up, plead with them and then change your bill to suit them. They are afraid of losing hold on the state. They are going to fight you and hope they win right off the bat. If they do that, then they own you for the next four years.”

“Al how do you know that? Are you seeing what the Governor and I are seeing? There is not one Republican on our side. Governor Lopez is a Republican. If his can’t even get his party on his side, there is no way the Democrats are going to back us. Let’s lick our wounds now and live to fight another day.”

“Governor, listen to me please; do not give in on this tactic. I have been a registered Democrat all my life. Not once have I supported a Republican until I met you. You are a new breed of politician. You want to bring the values back that seem to be all but lost. If you give in now; you won’t be alive, politically, to fight another day.”

Governor Lopez walked around his desk and leaned against it. He looked at Rich and Al thinking of his choices. He knows deep down inside him, he can’t surrender his first fight. There is no way he is going to be able to govern after that.

“I agree with both of you, but I need to go with my gut. I have never walked away from a fight and I am not about to start now. If my own party wants a fight, I will take them on. Leave the bill on the floor and reach out to the Democrats. Do not make one call to a Republican. Let’s get all Democrats on board and shame the Republicans back to doing the right thing for the state of Texas.”

Rich and Al walked back to their offices. They picked up their phones and started calling the Democrats. By the time lunch hour ended, Rich and Al got a hold of every Democrat. Due to the limited time they had, they left the phone calls unsure of the outcome.

The House got called back in order. The very first Democrat to take the floor started to slam the Republican Party for threatening to kill the bill. Going point by point down the bill, Democrat after Democrat took the floor. One after another they threw their support behind the Governor and the budget bill.

By the end of the day, the Republicans grabbed any microphone they could get their message out. Trying to save face they back-paddled so quickly, leaving the Republican Party leadership out to dry.

As the Houses called adjourned for the day, the Governor asked to speak with the entire Democratic State Caucus. The Governor made his way to the State House to speak with them all at once.

Governor Lopez drove up to the State House and walked in with reporter’s yelling out questions to him and camera’s flashing. Although he was here just last Friday, this is going to be his first time on the floor of the State Senate.

As Governor Lopez walked through the front doors, the Democrat leadership met him. They shook hands and spoke a little as they walked to the Senate Floor. The doors opened and everyone stood up as the Governor walked to the podium.

Since it isn’t the complete Senate and House, they didn’t call it in order. The Governor walked behind the podium and looked out to those he thought were going to be his enemy, but have landed up being his allies.

“Thank each and every one of you for what you did here today. Not only here in Texas, but around the nation we have the political world in a tailspin. I am a Republican Governor that got the backing of the Democratic Caucus on his first day.”

The doors opened and the Republican Caucus walked in and took their seats. The Governor stopped speaking to allow the chamber to calm down. Once everyone took their seats and the chamber settled down, the Governor started speaking.

“Many of you looked at me when I threw my hat into the ring for this position. You thought there is no way the people of this State are going to elect me. I have no political back ground to speak of. My family went into a tailspin with my divorce and then my wife tried to kill her son.

I didn’t come here to Austin thinking things are going to be handed to me. I am going to have to work for everything every minute of everyday while I am here. I am fine with that. I don’t want things done blindly because of my party affiliation.

Speak your mind and say why you don’t support what I do. Don’t just go along with it because you are part of my party. Don’t go along with it because you want to keep this Governorship in the hands of the Republican Party in four years. Do it because it is the right bill to pass for the people of our State.

Look I am not going to preach up here. The campaigning is done and now it is time to work. I am the Governor of Texas, but not the Governor of the Republican Party. I will do what is best for all of Texas and nothing less than that.

Today I am very grateful for the Democratic members for supporting me, helping push my first bill through its first hurdle! I know I have a long ways to go before I get it on my desk to sign. I won’t forget those that help me get the work done. All of us are going to need to go back to the voters for our seats. I don’t care about party. I care that the work gets done now and not later and to the benefit of every citizen of Texas.”

As Governor Lopez started to walk from the podium, the chamber broke into applause. Both sides of the chamber stood up and clapped as the Governor shook hands with the leadership. Working his way out, everyone tried to shake his hand. The Governor shook every hand he could as he walked out of the chamber.

On the way out, the press corps wanted a statement, but Governor Lopez just waved at them. Rich wanted the Governor to use this opportunity to kick those that tried to kill their first bill getting to the floor for debate. Governor Lopez took the higher road and just got back into limousine.

“Governor you should have talked to the press. You have our party exactly where we want them at. Let’s not loose this opportunity to make it clear to them that we have the support of the people behind us.” Rich leaned over as he spoke to the Governor.

“Rich, let them lick their wounds. They got handed a defeat today that will be hard to come back from. I won’t kick them while they’re down. I came here not to be that guy. Those days are over and it is time to lead by example.

They know that we have the people behind us. Why do you think they tried what they tried here today? When it is all said and done, we will have our own caucus behind us. Now I have the Democratic Caucus behind us as well.

We are going to unite this State under one common goal. Once the elections are over, it is time to step away from campaigning and get to work for all Texans. Let’s get back to our offices and get to work on our next piece of legislation.”

Rich agreed with the Governor. He sat back in his seat and thought how much they can get done if the Governor can pull it off and actually get both sides to come together and work towards the common goals. So much can be done in the Governors first term.

After school, Josh, Cesar and Chris walked to Josh’s house. Jonathan wanted Josh and his brothers to stop walking to and from school and use the SUV, but they wanted to be as normal as possible. They didn’t want to drive up to school in a convoy of armored cars.

As soon as they got home, they headed straight to the kitchen for a snack. They found the snack already on the table when they walked into the kitchen. Grandma Rose and Isabella are already busily at work preparing dinner.

They headed up to Josh’s room as soon as they finished eating. Before anything else, they got busy with their homework. Because they missed several days last week, they had a lot of makeup homework to get done.

By the time they got called down to dinner, they still had homework left to do. Knowing that Grandma Rose doesn’t like it when you are late for a meal, they put down their books. They headed to the bathroom, washed up and went down for dinner.

Finally by seven, they got all their homework done. Chris got called down to speak with Coach and Ana, leaving Josh and Cesar alone. They turned and smiled at each other. Josh got up and locked the bedroom door and ran back to the bed.

“You got me so horny at lunch today; I had a hard time the rest of the afternoon keeping my dick under control. You are so awesome Josh; I can’t stand being away from you during the day. I wish that…..”

Josh put his finger over Cesar’s lips. “We don’t have that much time. I love you so much Cesar and I do miss you all day as well. I can’t wait until lunch and after school. So let me see if I can’t take care of that problem down there.”

Josh grabbed a hold of Cesar’s dick through his jeans. Without objecting, Josh unzipped Cesar’s pants. He reached in and pulled Cesar’s hard dick out. Teasing the head of the dick by licking around it, Josh just took the entire dick into his mouth.

The very minute Cesar felt the back of Josh’s throat with his dick, he started to moan. Josh started bobbing up and down on Cesar’s dick, savoring the sweet taste of Cesar’s pre-cum. Josh can’t get enough of that nectar.

He reached up and started to undo Cesar’s belt and pants. Josh let Cesar’s dick slip out of his mouth so he could pull off his jeans and underwear. Dropping the jeans to Cesar’s ankles, Josh went back between Cesar’s legs. He picked up Cesar’s dick and started to suck on it again.

He pulled it out of his mouth and started licking down the side of Cesar’s dick. Gently picking up one of Cesar’s balls in his mouth, Josh started to suck on it. As he let it go, Josh put the other ball in his mouth. This just drove Cesar crazy; he started to grab at the edges of the mattress.

Josh let go of Cesar’s ball sack and went back to work on his dick. Within minutes Cesar started to whisper to Josh that he is about to shoot, but Josh didn’t break stride. He just prepared himself for the fireworks.

“I am not kidding Josh, I am going to cum, I am! Please Josh, I am going to cum.” Cesar tried to lean forward, but he couldn’t.

Cesar started to cum into Josh’s mouth. Josh swallowed every bit of Cesar’s cum not letting a single drop out of his mouth. The first couple of shots hit the back of Josh’s throat so hard it almost made Josh gag but he took it and swallowed it all.

Once Josh felt that he had sucked Cesar dry, he let Cesar’s dick slip out of his mouth. He got up from the floor and lay down on the bed next to Cesar. Cesar, still with his eyes closed, was breathing hard. Josh rolled to his side and leaned in to kiss Cesar on the lips.

Cesar rolled on top of Josh with his pants still at his ankles. He broke the kiss with Josh and dropped to his knees between Josh’s legs. Seeing the outline of Josh’s dick through his jeans, his mouth started to water.

He reached over to start undoing Josh’s pants. Unlike Josh, Cesar can’t pull Josh’s dick through his zipper. He doesn’t have a zipper because he is wearing the 501’s that Cesar loves so much on Josh. Those 501’s hug every part of Josh’s legs, thighs and butt just right!

Pulling Josh’s pants and underwear down, Cesar grabbed Josh’s dick. He licked the head a couple of times before going down to Josh’s balls. Just like Josh did, Cesar sucked Josh’s balls very gently one at a time.

After thoroughly driving Josh up the wall, Cesar stopped sucking on Josh’s balls and went back to work on his dick. He put Josh’s entire dick in his mouth all at once. Not wanting Josh to cum to fast, he started sucking Josh as slow as he could.

See that isn’t working. Josh is getting close. Cesar started to suck on Josh’s dick at a faster speed causing Josh to moan even louder! Josh realizes he is getting too loud; he covered his face with a pillow.

Just as Josh got close to cumming, he pulled the pillow off of his face and warned Cesar. Cesar pulled Josh’s dick out of his mouth. He started to jerk him off. Already knowing the signs when Josh is about to shoot, Cesar waited for the impending flood.

Josh started to shoot and Cesar wrapped his lips back around Josh’s dick. Only losing the first shot of cum, Cesar swallowed the rest of Josh’s cum. Not wanting to lose anymore, Cesar sucked Josh dry. Once he did, he let Josh’s dick slip out of his mouth.

Cesar got up and looked down at Josh on the bed. Josh opened his eyes to see Cesar leaning in. Josh got ready for their lips to touch, but instead. Cesar started to lick the cum from his forehead and eye brows. Once Cesar cleaned Josh of all his cum, he fell on his back on the bed next to Josh.

Both of them were still trying to catch their breaths and they laid on the bed in silence. They got pulled out of their post orgasmic trance as someone played with the door handle. Josh and Cesar jumped up from the bed and pulled up their underwear and jeans. They quickly tried to get rid of all proof they just gave each other blow jobs, Chris stood on the outside of the door knocking to come in.

“Come on you guys, this isn’t funny. Let me in, I am tired and I want to go to bed. Come on, let me in you guys,” Chris whined.

Josh looked in the mirror to make sure there isn’t any telltale evidence on his face or anywhere else. Cesar stood behind him doing the same thing. They looked around the room one last time and felt it looks the same as it did when Chris left.

Josh went to open the door as Cesar jumped into his bed. Chris walked in and looked a Josh as he walked over to his bed. He the looked over to Cesar and knew that he interrupted them. Chris can smell the sex in the air.

“I’m so sorry for not realizing why the door is locked. From now on if I walk up here and find the door locked, I will go back down until you guys come down. If you want I can leave you guys alone to finish up.” Chris stood at the door looking at both Josh and Cesar.

“No, that is okay Chris. We should have told you that we wanted to be alone. From now on we will communicate better so this doesn’t happen again. In fact out of respect to you, we won’t be together while you are with us. We’ll just all hang as buddies.”

“Josh you don’t have to do that on my account. I know you and don’t forget that. We are friends and you guys should be able to be with each other no matter if I am here or not. You need to get comfortable being around me. I won’t get mad or storm out.”

Josh got up from his bed and pulled Chris into the room. He closed the door behind Chris before heading back to his bed. Chris walked over and sat down on the floor with his back against Josh’s bed.

They started talking about what happened during school today. They couldn’t believe all their classmates wanting to know everything about their trip. They wouldn’t stop asking about what they did and saw. One thing Josh, Cesar and Chris agreed on is that they hope it won’t be the same again tomorrow like it was today.

Just like the night before, Josh and Cesar helped Chris get his sleeping bag arranged. Josh looked at Chris and felt bad that he has to sleep on the floor like that. He got up and headed out of the room without saying a word. He returned a few minutes later with the mattress from the fold out bed from the couch in the den.

Chris tossed everything to Cesar as Josh put the mattress on the floor between the two beds. As Chris prepared his bed, Josh took a shower then Cesar followed. Finally Chris took his last. Josh turned off the light and crawled into his bed.

They talked until all three fell asleep. Josh being the last one to fall asleep looked into the dark where Chris and Cesar are sleeping. Hearing the soft breathing coming from both of them, Josh couldn’t help but think how lucky he is.

He and Chris salvaged a friendship in spite their breakup; a friendship that can only grow stronger with time! Josh realizes that he and Chris are going to be very good friends for a very long time to come.

His attention switched from the friendship he is building with Chris to Cesar. What a guy Josh thought. Josh knows that if he would have been straight and broken up with a girl and started dating Elizabeth there is no way she would allow his ex anywhere near him. Such is not the case with Cesar. He is totally different.

As Josh started to doze off he thought on how lucky he is having found Cesar. There is no way there is anyone else is like him out there. He tried to keep himself awake so he can think of Cesar but sleep over. He turned onto his side where the last thing he saw before finally falling asleep is Cesar’s form in the dark in the bed on the other side of the room.

TO BE CONTINUED……………….

WRITER’S CORNER:

{Okay everyone I tried to fit a lot in this chapter. There is so much going on in this story. I wanted to bring in all the plots I could, but I just couldn’t get Patrick and Frank included along with Bernice and Eric really didn’t appear in this chapter. Still a lot got covered.

I brought the boys back from Austin quicker than I wanted to. I originally had planned to keep them over there in Austin for a week. The truth is I don’t know much about Austin, so I decided to bring them back with only one day out and about at the mall.

We flipped back and forth from Austin and El Paso once the boys returned. That is how the chapters in the future are going to be written. This is a coming of age story, but with a political twist in it. You will see Daniel a lot in the chapters dealing with the issues that face him as Governor along with Josh, his brother and friends going through high school.

Al from “Jacob Finding His Way” will be popping up in this story and Jacob may make some cameo appearances. Al is a political advisor and he is going to do arm twisting when it needs to be done like he did in this chapter. He is there to keep the Governor focused and on point. Too many times once a person is sworn in, he or she and their staff get into the everyday routine and they forget how and why they got there. Al is going to be the outsider keeping Daniel on the right track. Al won’t be smothered with the daily grind.

You read two scenes of Daniel in this chapter. First one was when Al spoke with the leadership and the second was when Daniel had to deal with his own party trying to keep control. Now Daniel didn’t fold and won this one in the end but I wonder if this will this happen all the time. He has his own party to battle and anyone else that wants to jump aboard the band wagon. I really hope Daniel is able to stay true to his promises and not fold on any of them.

Josh returned to school with everyone wanting to know how it is being the son of the Governor. Even his history teacher wanted him to talk about it. Even if Josh wasn’t the son of the Governor, a teacher can’t put their hands on a student in anyway. Do you think that Jonathan took it too far? Will Principal Michaels hold it against Josh and make it hard on him? We found out that Mr. Fields has been around for a very long time.

Talking about someone that doesn’t want to let it go, Elizabeth is back. It looks like her friends are now following her on her way of thinking. Do you think she bit more off then she could chew? By slapping Josh again, will Jonathan make sure she is no longer attending El Paso High? If so, will it make things better or worse dealing with Elizabeth?

Chris seems to be growing up. He and Josh are getting close, but in a different way. They can kiss each other on the forehead and wrestle without any of them thinking it is going to go further than a friendship. Chris doesn’t want help to find a boyfriend, but that isn’t going to stop Josh and Cesar looking for one anyway. Chris is a teenager with hormones.

Cesar is great as well. He understands that Josh is going to have Chris around as a friend. He isn’t threatened by that. He knows that he has Josh and nothing is going to change that. He has pretty clearly told Josh that. This is a relationship that is going to last the test of time. Both Josh and Cesar are very strong individuals.

So much going in as I said in this story! In the chapters to come Patrick and Frank are going to return. Eric and Bernice are going to return as well and get even closer than where we left off with them. Martha isn’t over and done with yet. She is still out there and needs to be resolved one way or another. I can go on and on, but you guys know what I am saying. There is no need for me to say it.

Oh what the heck I am going to say it again. So many open plots and so many more plots to come in this story. I love the political scenes a lot and I hope I am not offending anyone with them. Keep in mind it is only a story and I am trying my best not to preach my beliefs. Please stay tuned and I promise that you guys won’t regret opening every new chapter.

I could stay here all day long, with all the open plots already in this story, but I won’t. I warn you though! Do not skip a chapter, or you will be lost. There is a so much to answer in the chapters to come. Keep reading the future chapters, and enjoy! Please email me and let me know how I am doing at jacobmillertex@aol.com, Thanks!}

EDITOR’S CORNER:

Daniel got thrown in the deep end of a very cold pool on his first day of the new job. He found all the wolves out of their dens on the prowl and up to no good. They had to test the new man in charge. They found out real fast what he’s made of. I don’t know if the old guard was surprised or not. They shouldn’t have been. They knew who and what Daniel is when they tapped him to run. His campaign statements were clear and concise. Did they really expect a man of his background to fold under their pressure? If so, they woefully miscalculated.
Like Jacob, I wonder when Daniel will lose one….and I can’t imagine he won’t. It will be interesting to see how his demeanor works with a defeat.

Jacob said it all when it comes to the Josh, Cesar and Chris triumvirate. All is in good balance, Chris is maturing into his own and Josh and Cesar feed him with self assurance as he is on that quest.

Cesar isn’t jealous of Chris’ presence and Josh’s affection toward Chris. Cesar is self assured and knows his place in Josh’s heart and mind. He has no worries, therefore there is no jealousy. In my travels down the “highway of life” I have found that jealousy is much less an issue in gay life than in hetero life. What has to be in play to defuse jealousy is absolute honesty and candor; those two attributes fostering trust. If two men are in a good relationship, jealousy never needs to be factor. Now, there are always those that nurture drama…..and the drama fires are wonderfully fueled by jealousy! I can see heads nodding as you read this ! Enough said on this, I think.

Remember that authors and editors pay is in the form of e-mails from the readers. Your input can substantially influence an author and what direction a story goes. Jacob your thoughts, comments and suggestions are important. Constructive criticism is also welcome. As is customary in this genre, flames will be quietly ignored.

Let Jacob hear from you !

Until next time,
“Daddy” Rick