Mental Games - 7. Happy Holidays

Before Adam and Mike began soliciting donations, they drove down to the homeless shelter first, so they could discuss their idea with the person in charge. The shelter was located in a former school building and the school's main office now served as the reception area. After entering the building, Adam and Mike made their way to the office and talked to the woman working there. They explained why they'd come and asked if they could speak with her boss. She made a quick phone call and told her superior what the boys wanted, before asking if he would be willing to see them now. He came right out of the old principal's office, which he was now using, and greeted them warmly, since he understood they were there to offer their assistance with doing some fund raising.

"Hi, I'm Don Schulz. I'm the director," he stated as he vigorously shook their hands. "I think what you intend to do is wonderful and it will help the shelter out tremendously."

Mr. Schulz then gave them a tour of the building and explained how many clients he expected would be there for Christmas. It was sad for Adam and Mike to think that this was where these people would be spending their holidays, but it was better than being out on the street in the cold.

As he showed the boys around, Mr. Schultz explained that the old kitchen, the serving area and former cafeteria were still used for the same purposes. He then told them the gym was used to run various activities to help keep the homeless active and advised them how the rest of the building was set up.

"The old classrooms on the left side of the first floor are set aside for family groups, since we attempt to keep families together, but we also try to give each family their own room whenever possible and not put them in with another family group," he explained. "The families also have the ability to lock the room with a deadbolt from the inside at night for added protection and to keep others from going in uninvited. These families are here for a variety of reasons, all of which are financially based. They include the loss of employment, which could be for a variety of reasons, houses that have ended up in foreclosure, so they no longer have a place to live, and major illnesses that have wiped out their bank accounts, to name a few. The saddest part is that the majority of the families that we deal with have young children who seem to suffer most of all.

"The rooms on the right side of the hallway are where we house the lone woman, as well as the younger kids without parents and female teenagers that seek our help," he continued. "Each room is laid out like a dormitory and set up with multiple cots that can accommodate several unrelated individuals. When these individuals first sign in with us, they are given fresh bedding to use, which they can exchange once a week for clean items. There are also secure individual storage bins in each room that can be used to hold their personal belongings, and we will supply them with a padlock for it if they request one. This group has an assortment of stories for why they are here as well, from being thrown out by their parents or significant other, running away from abusive situations, former addicts trying to recover, a few are suffering from mental illness and had nowhere else to go, and a few are trying to escape after being forced into the sex trade industry.

"The second floor is where the lone men and older teenage boys are housed. For the most part we try to keep them away from the family groups, lone women and other teens to avoid problems," Mr. Schultz continued. "They are here for a variety of reasons as well, similar to the other groups. We've also had some armed forces veterans who were dealing with PTSD or suffering from various service related injuries and couldn't get help elsewhere. You will also find former addicts, the mentally ill and those that have just hit a rough stretch in their lives in this group too.

"There are security cameras located at either end of the hallway on both floors and we have a couple of security guards who work the overnight shift. They are here to keep an eye on the monitors to make sure no one is in an area where he doesn't belong and that there are no problems during this period, when most of the clients are asleep. That's basically everything in a nutshell."

Mr. Schultz then continued to lead the boys around so they could see everything up close and personal, as well as giving them a chance to meet some of the staff and volunteers. Those individuals were all busy doing various chores in the different areas, ranging from fixing meals, doing laundry, cleaning the public areas or merely making their rounds to ensure that things were running smoothly. As soon as Adam and Mike finished the tour, they thanked Mr. Schultz for his kind assistance and for showing them around, before they told him they would be back after they finished collecting donations.

Now that Mike and Adam had the director's approval and support, as well as a better understanding the situation, an idea about what was needed and a rough count of how many people they should plan on being there, they returned home. Almost as soon as they got back, the boys took out their list and began calling the various groups and businesses to make their initial contact and set up an appointment. Upon reaching someone at each place, they would first request the name of the person who was authorized to make the decision about a possible contribution and then Adam would ask to speak with that person. From that point on, it varied as to how each organization or business handled their request, but the following will give examples of the various conversations Adam had.

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"Elks Lodge. How may I assist you?" the voice answering the phone greeted.

"Hello, my name is Adam Washburn and I'm seeking donations for the local homeless shelter for the holidays," Adam began. "Who from your organization should I speak to about this?"

"That would be our Exalted Ruler, John Demming," the voice replied.

"Is he available so I can speak with him now?" Adam followed.

"I'll have to see. Just one second and I'll page him to see if he can come to the phone," the voice replied.

About a minute later, another voice answered. "John Demming, Exalted Ruler here."

"Mr. Demming, my name is Adam Walsh and I'm seeking donations for the local homeless shelter so the people running it will be able to do something special for the unfortunate souls staying there for Christmas. I would really appreciate a donation from your organization, so how much may I put the Elks Lodge down for?"

After requesting some other information and getting more details from Adam, Mr. Demming agreed to provide a donation and told Adam the monetary amount his organization would pledge. Before the call ended, though, Mr. Demming offered another suggestion as well.

"If you would give me some time to arrange it, I might be able to increase that amount for you. I will notify our members about what you are planning to do and will ask them to make personal donations as well. I will take care of collecting the money from them and then you can pick it all up at the same time," he agreed.

"That would be wonderful," Adam quickly confirmed. "Would a week be long enough for you to arrange that?"

"Why don't we make it ten days," Mr. Demming replied, and then he made an appointment for Adam to stop by to collect the donation from him.

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Even though the different fraternal groups tended to make their donations in cash, the grocery stores Adam contacted worked things differently. "Publix. How can I help you?"

"May I speak with the store manager please?" Adam responded.

"Would you please hold so I can connect you," the woman said, and then an advertisement about Publix played over the earpiece while Adam waited.

"This is Jerry Nichols," the man answered a few seconds later and Adam went on to give him the same pitch he gave the others.

"I'd be willing to give you a gift card that can be used in the store to purchase whatever the shelter might need for the meals. Would that be sufficient?" Mr. Nichols asked.

"That will work just fine," Adam agreed, before making arrangements to stop by the store to pick it up.

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Then there was the third type of contribution, for those businesses that were planning to use the donation as a tax write off. "Thank you for calling the Law Offices of Lieberman, Golding and Morgan. How may I direct you call," the receptionist answered and Adam explained what he needed and asked whom he should speak to. "That would be Mr. Lieberman, the senior partner," she replied. "If you'll please hold, I'll see if he's available."

Adam spent the next few moments listening to typical elevator music while on hold, until a man took his call. "Abe Lieberman. How may I assist you?" the voice asked. Adam once again stated the reason he was calling and then received Mr. Lieberman's response. "I will see to it that a check is cut and made out to the homeless shelter," he agreed. "I will leave it in an envelope with the receptionist and you may pick it up from her at your convenience."

After thanking the man, Adam was pleased with the way things were working out. He and Mike would use the cash donations to purchase the gifts they would distribute to those at the shelter, while giving the gift cards from the grocery stores and the checks to the shelter to cover the other expenses. This should allow them to do everything he and Mike wanted, so now they just had to determine what gifts would be most beneficial to those staying there.

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Once Adam and Mike had picked up the various donations, they stopped by the shelter and gave the director the checks and gifts cards to use for the meals. Adam told him he expected these to be used to provide above average meals for those staying at the shelter on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. Adam emphasized that these meals should be as close as possible to what an average American family might enjoy on those special days, including desserts.

As Adam and Mike were driving home afterward, they made another quick decision. On those four days they would return to the shelter so they could help serve the meals. This would allow them to make sure the staff had used the money as requested, as well as being able to see how the homeless reacted to this additional treat. As soon as they went inside, Adam phoned the director again and let him know about their intentions. He also used the call to get the times the meals would be served. Although this would cut into their family time over the holidays, both boys felt it was important to see this through.

After that had been taken care of, Adam and Mike realized they were now totally psyched and couldn't wait for Christmas Eve to get here. They were now just as excited about the idea of doing this as they had been when they were kids and eager for Christmas to arrive. Back then they were anticipating getting presents, but this time they were excited about giving to others and providing them with a little something special for the holiday.

On Christmas Eve, Adam dressed in a Santa suit, stuffed with pillows and complete with a white wig, beard and moustache, while Mike dressed up as one of the elves, a rather large elf at that. When the boys had first told Adam’s parents about their plans for the homeless shelter, George and Rita suggested they would like to join them in doing this. Mike and Adam thought it was a great idea, so once they were all ready, they all got into the family car and George drove them to the shelter.

They arrived early so they could help to set up and volunteered to carry the various items out to the serving line. They put the pans with the cooked food in the warming table, while the pans containing the other items were set directly on the counter. Adam and Mike were more than pleased when they saw the meal the staff had prepared and it certainly met their requirements, as well as their approval. Once everything was in place, one of the staff members opened the door to the serving area and those lined up for the meal began to filter inside.

The staff took care of serving the turkey and dressing, so Adam dished out the yams, while Mike doled out the cranberry sauce, Rita handled the salad and rolls, and George gave each person a slice of either pumpkin or apple pie, whichever they preferred. The four of them also tried to spread a little holiday cheer by wishing each person a 'Merry Christmas' when filling their tray. Most of those in line were very grateful and responded in kind, but there were a few who were less than gracious. A couple of them even snarled when they were greeted in this manner, which caused Adam to conclude that some people were never satisfied and they obviously couldn't please everyone.

Once all of the people had been served, Mike and Adam lined up by the door leading out of the cafeteria so they could hand out the gifts as everyone left. The director had one of the staff stand nearby to assist them, since he was worried some of the clientele might try to take advantage of the situation, especially considering the boys weren't used to dealing with them. Dean was the staff member selected for this duty, not only because he was huge, but he had also handled many difficult situations in the past. He kept his eyes open and made sure Adam and Mike had no problems as they handed out the gifts to those currently staying at the shelter.

“Merry Christmas. This present is for you,” Adam would tell each one as he handed him an envelope. Each gift was identical, so everyone got the same thing. At the same time, Mike handed each person a felt Christmas stocking that contained an assortment of candy that had been donated by Walmart and Target.

“What did you get?” Dean asked the first person, once he’d opened the envelope. Dean was eager to see if this was just some lame publicity stunt or if the boys were actually doing something substantial for those staying there.

“There’s a bus pass and a Visa gift card!” the surprised recipient exclaimed.

“Yes, the bus pass is so you can get to any store you choose and then you can use the gift card to buy whatever you want or need for Christmas,” Adam explained. The boys felt this was the best way to make sure everyone got something they would appreciate.

Nearly everyone thanked the boys for their thoughtfulness and generosity when they received their gift, although there were a couple of people that still didn’t appear to be very happy. For the most part, though, it was well received and a nice surprise. It was seldom these people were shown this degree of kindness and support from anyone other than the staff, so they were eager to express their gratitude for it.

After seeing how most of the recipients reacted to receiving their gifts, it gave the boys a wonderful feeling of satisfaction. They were very pleased they had been responsible for making these people smile and feel good about themselves, at least for a little while. Obviously, it didn’t happen very often for these poor souls, especially since they had found themselves in their current situation.

When the family returned home later, Rita was the first one to speak. "Well that was fun and I'm glad we did it."

"Yes, I can hardly wait to go back there tomorrow afternoon and do it all again," George agreed while they all silently acknowledged that this was turning out to be one of the most rewarding and satisfying Holiday Seasons any of them had ever enjoyed.

When the boys went upstairs to go to bed, both of them were still riding high on the euphoric feeling they experienced from what they had just done. Mike followed Adam to his room and then closed the door behind him. "I still feel in the giving mood, so you're going to get an early Christmas present," he announced, once they were alone.

Adam immediately broke into a huge grin and began taking off his clothes as quickly as he could without ripping anything. Once he was completely naked, Mike started off by kissing him with all the passion and tenderness he felt at this moment. He loved Adam more than life and wanted to prove it to him through his actions.

After they had kissed for a couple of minutes, Mike moved down to Adam's neck and began to kiss, lick and suck on the skin, as Adam reacted to the intense sensations that it brought. Slowly, Mike inched his way lower, until he reached one of Adam's nipples and then he started to tease it with his tongue, before gently nipping at the erect nub with his teeth. After he'd done that for a while, he began sucking on Adam's breast like a nursing infant and this caused Adam to moan in pure ecstasy, After repeating the process on the other side, Mike started the slow journey of running his tongue and lips down the center of Adam's chest, as he kissed the skin and moved closer to Adam's navel. When he reached that slight depression, Mike let his tongue dart playfully in and out of it, as Adam began to squirm around beneath him.

Just as Adam was expecting his lover to attack his penis, Mike bypassed that area completely and moved down to Adam's inner thighs. Once there, he began kissing and licking the delicate skin, as he move toward Adam's scrotum. After running his tongue over the entire surface of that fleshy sac, Mike nipped and tugged playfully on it until he slurped one of the watery orbs contained within into his mouth. Then, he gently sucked and toyed with Adam's testicle for several seconds, before doing the same thing to the other one.

When he was satisfied he had paid enough attention to that area, Mike lifted his head and slowly worked his way higher, until he finally reached Adam's quivering pole. Nearly as soon as Adam felt Mike's tongue running along the outer surface of his penis, his hips started to instinctively buck up and down in tortured delight, as he anticipated what was to come next. It had been a few days since he and Mike had done this, so he could hardly wait until Mike finally reached the mushroom head. After teasing Adam with his tongue for a little while longer, Mike lowered his mouth over Adam's throbbing shaft and let his head drop down until his lips were resting against Adam's pubic mound.

Mike heard Adam gasp when he closed his mouth around Adam's penis and began to work his tongue and lips over its sensitive surface. Then, Mike started bobbing his head up and down over it, like the bouncing woodpecker on the antique toothpick holder. Every time Mike lowered his head, Adam would thrust his hips upward and then relax again as Mike pulled away. At that moment, Mike was the Master playing a delicate and lovely tune on a very fine and precious instrument. When at last they reached the crescendo, Adam thrust his penis as far into Mike's throat as it would go, as the final chords of this delicate and explosive performance played out. It was a work truly worthy of the greatest maestros - Bach, Beethoven and Mozart, as Adam's body collapsed onto the sheet, completely spent and exhausted.

As Mike reluctantly pulled away from Adam's wilting penis, he lifted up and turned his head to admire his lover, as Adam reveled in the intense feelings of afterglow. All Mike could see was the head of an angel lying on the pillow, because Adam's face was glowing and as radiant as any image ever created to depict one of those heavenly creatures. Not even the most marvelous canvases or sculptures ever meticulously crafted by the most talented artist would have been able to compare. DaVincI, Michelangelo, Donatello, Botticelli and Raphael all paled in comparison and were incapable of rendering an equal to the perfection Mike beheld beside him. He was completely in love with Adam.

As soon as Adam had recovered from his mind-blowing orgasm, he sat up, wrapped his arms around Mike's neck and began to kiss him passionately again. His mouth darted all over Mike's face, like the suction cups on the tentacles of an octopus or giant squid, and it was more than obvious that he had enjoyed what Mike had done.

"Merry Christmas, sweetie," Mike breathlessly uttered when he saw that Adam was beginning to focus on him again. "I hope you enjoyed your present."

"Merry Christmas, babe," Adam countered, "and I most certainly did, but now it's time for me to give you my gift. I want you to make love to me and I want to feel you inside me. It's been too long since we've done that."

"Only if we can do it so there's no possibility of me injuring your arm or legs in the process," Mike countered, as he flashed Adam a loving and concerned glare.

"I know how we can do it then, but let me get you hard first," Adam announced as he began removing Mike's clothing too, because he was intent on doing this.

Adam then began to manipulate Mike's penis and bent over so he could suck on it until it was erect. Once he felt Mike was ready, Adam positioned his body so his butt was hanging slightly off the side of the mattress, while Mike stood on the floor next to him. Mike didn't need a roadmap to figure out what was going on, so he reached into the nightstand beside Adam's bed, grabbed a condom and began to put it on. Then, he grabbed the lube and applied a generous portion to himself, before doing the same to Adam's backside.

Once they were both ready, Mike slowly inched his way closer until the head of his penis was touching Adam's pulsing hole. Adam was trembling with excitement, since he wanted to do this so badly. Mike slowly began to lean his weight against Adam until his helmet pushed past the resilient ring. Then, Mike continued to exert more pressure, so his shaft began to slide farther into Adam, until Adam's thighs were resting against Mike's chest and his calves were laying on top of Mike's shoulders. Over the next several minutes, Mike worked into a nice, steady rhythm, as his penis slid in and out of Adam's love canal. Mike would pull back until only the bulbous head was still inside Adam, and then he would thrust it as deeply as it would go again, until his thighs slapped against Adam's butt cheeks.

After continuing the process for many minutes, Mike slowly picked up his pace and eventually began to feel the tingling sensations building deep within his gut. This signaled the fact that his juices were now reaching the boiling point and would soon begin rising up the slender tubes until they burst from the tiny slit at the tip. This caused Mike to pick up his pace a little more, but not too much, since he didn't want this wonderful feeling to end too soon. Eventually, Mike increased his pace again and began to aggressively pound into his lover's butt. Adam was moaning loudly now, as his head lolled from side-to-side and his eyes rolled back in their sockets, while also starting to glaze over. Mike knew this meant Adam was enjoying it as much as he was, so he picked up the pace for the final time and began his sprint toward the finish line.

After a few more thrusts, Mike drove into Adam one final time and then froze in place, as his semen shot up the tubes and filled the condom within Adam with his man seed. Then, Mike thrust a few additional times, thus completing the act and draining the last of his juices. Mike had to force himself to remain upright and not collapse on top of Adam after he'd ejaculated, since he knew his weight might injure Adam. After swaying precariously for another minute or two, Mike began to pull out of Adam's well used chute, but this caused Adam to react and shout out.

"No, leave it in me a little while longer!" he whined, as he eyes shot open and he pleaded with Mike to relent. "It's been too long and I didn't realize how much I'd missed this."

Mike stopped immediately and looked Adam in the eye, as he did what his lover wanted. Unfortunately for Adam, nature was working against them, because Mike's penis eventually deflated back to its flaccid state and involuntarily retracted from its temporary home.

"Merry Christmas again, my love," Mike told Adam as he gave him another kiss, and then they cleaned up quickly, before climbing into Adam's bed together. After getting comfortable, the pair cuddled together and clung to each other as they drifted off to sleep.

When they woke up the next morning, they went downstairs and exchanged gifts with Adam's parents first, before Rita fixed everyone a huge and delicious breakfast. After they ate, Mike and Adam excused themselves and went to call Mike's parents, so they could wish them a Merry Christmas too.

Since Adam had first been injured, Mike had spoken with his parents on a regular basis. Even after Adam had returned home, the two of them had several more phone conversations with Mike's mom and dad, but they hadn't actually spent any time with them. It was the reason why the boys had agreed to spend most of the following summer at Mike's house, to make up for not seeing them for such a long time.

Mike's parents had been very good about understanding the reasons why Mike wanted to be with Adam, while his father also indicated that he and his wife had been dealing with some issues of their own, so it actually worked out and wasn't a major problem. Although Mike had pressed his father for more details about the issues they had been dealing with, his dad wouldn't discuss the topic further. Eventually, Mike relented and let the subject drop.

After they had all cleaned up and gotten dressed, the boys joined Adam's parents and watched some of the Christmas parade on TV. They did this until it was time to head back to the homeless shelter to serve the next meal. The staff had done another wonderful job and there was plenty of food to go around, so those partaking of this above average meal were more than grateful again.

After they returned home later, Mike and Adam spent the rest of the day and most of the following week watching basketball and football games on TV with Adam's dad. George enjoying spending this time with them, and Rita would join them from time to time, although she wasn't nearly as big a sports fan as the other three. However, the boys managed to spend some special time with her too, since they didn't want her to feel ignored or unloved.

They all returned to the homeless shelter at the end of the week so they could serve the meal on New Year's Eve. This was done early enough in the evening that they still had enough time to get ready and go out later, so they could bring in the New Year together. When they returned home after doing that, Mike and Adam switched roles from what they had done on Christmas Eve, as Adam orally serviced Mike first, before Mike asked Adam to make love to him.

The New Year's Day meal went much the same as the others, but it was still rewarding for each of them to see the smiles of appreciation for the special meal. This time they also went around after the meal was served and chatted with those who were willing to speak with them and found out a little more about their individual circumstances. Some of those stories took a great toll on them personally, since they could totally empathize with how these people had found themselves in this situation, but it was especially difficult when children were involved. Seeing the looks on the kids' faces made Adam and Mike both wish they could have done more for the youngest members of the crowd, so they decided that next year they would see if they could do even more for whatever youngsters were there at the time.

When they returned home, they spent the rest of the day enjoying the football games with George, but they also felt grateful that they had each other. They were also grateful that they weren't as bad off as those they'd spent time with over the holidays and prayed they would never be placed in that position.