Mental Games - 31. Another Summer Comes to an End

The Washburns and Bermans got up early on Saturday morning, ready to make the trip home. After they loaded the rest of their things into the van, they checked the cabin one final time to make sure it looked as good as when they arrived and that they had left nothing behind. They didn't eat breakfast before they left, since they didn't want another mess to clean up afterward, and opted to stop and eat on the way back instead. As they were locking the cabin door and preparing to get in their vehicles, the Kritzers came over to say goodbye.

"We're going to miss all of you," Megan stated, before going around and giving each of them a hug. Her eyes were moist as she did this and it was obvious she was doing her best not to burst into tears.

"It's like we're being taken away from our family," Jack stated next and the boys thought he almost looked as if he was ready to start crying too. Even so, Jack went around and hugged everyone as well.

"I certainly won't forget any of you," Melinda added as she looked around. "Every time I use the Landeez, I'll think about all of you." Since she couldn't come to them, everyone went over and hugged her instead.

"I'll never forget or be able to repay you for all you've done for my wife, children and myself," Jim concluded, as he hugged the women and shook hands with the men.

"We'll never forget any of you either," George stated, speaking for the entire group. "We've enjoyed our time with you as well and look forward to doing this again next year."

George and Rita then hopped in the middle seat of the van, as Dave and Judy took their places in the front, since Dave was going to drive the first leg of the trip. Mike and Adam lingered behind a little longer, so they could say goodbye to each of the Kritzers again, before they followed their parents lead and hopped in the car, with Mike doing the driving.

After they dropped the key off at the real estate office, the families stopped at the diner nearby and had a quick breakfast, before they started out again. After that, they only stopped for gas on the way back, plus another stop for a midday snack and to change drivers, and then they drove the rest of the way to the Washburn's house. George and Rita offered to have Dave and Judy stay over so they could rest up before driving home, but they declined the offer. Dave said he had been able to take a nap while George had been driving and he and his wife wanted to get home, so they'd have Sunday to rest up and get ready for work on Monday.

Although the others were a little disappointed, they said goodbye to the Bermans. Mike and Adam told them they'd be driving down the following day, because they were going to use tonight to say goodbye to Adam's parents. Dave and Judy said they understood, as Judy kissed both boys and gave them a hug and then Dave gave each one a hug as well. Then they went outside, and with the help of the boys, moved their things from the van to the car so they could get started. They waved out the windows at the others as they drove away.

Once the Bermans had disappeared from sight, the boys helped Adam's parents unload the van and carried everything into the house. After they finished unpacking and putting everything away, they all cleaned up quickly and then went out to have dinner. During the meal, the boys said their goodbyes too, since they'd be leaving early in the morning.

"We've had a great time with you and I really appreciate everything you've done for us," Mike told George and Rita after they'd ordered. "Besides getting a great boyfriend, I wound up with a really great second set of parents too."

"Awww, that's so sweet," Rita gushed after hearing Mike's comment. "And we think we're just as lucky that Adam found you and we love you just as much as we love him."

"Maybe more," Adam joked as he glanced around the table.

"Just on occasion," George teased, "but most of the time we love you both the same."

The conversation stopped shortly after that exchange, because their meals were delivered and they took timeout to eat. George had ordered a bottle of wine for them to share with the meal, since he wanted to use it to acknowledge how proud he was of both boys for what they had done for the Kritzers. He was also using it as a special goodbye, since the boys would be leaving in the morning.

"I find it somewhat difficult to express how proud I am, I mean we are, of the two of you for the way you conducted yourselves at the lake. Your concern and empathy for Melinda was very touching and bore great results, but I was even more impressed by how much you did for Jack and Megan. Even though you were concerned about us as well, since you thought you were depriving us of the time we could be spending together, none of us felt neglected. Dave, Judy, Rita and I were just extremely impressed by what you were doing and how much it impacted the Kritzers."

Mike and Adam were left speechless for a few seconds, but then they thanked George and Rita for their understanding and kind words of praise. Then, the boys subtly switched the discussion to other topics.

When they returned to the house after they finished their meal, they spent a little more time together, but since they were all tired, they didn't stay up very long before they turned in as well. Mike and Adam were a little sad that this was their last night there, since they had enjoyed their time with Adam's parents, but they were also looking forward to being at Mike's house again.

The boys got up early the next morning and quickly loaded up the car. Rita made them wait and eat the breakfast she'd prepared for them first, before they started out. The boys were happy to honor her wishes and stuffed themselves, then they both hugged and kissed Rita, before shaking hands with George, but then they hugged him as well.

Once they were on the road again, the boys started talking about their last year in school. Things would be a lot different once this academic year ended, since Mike would hopefully be working and Adam would be starting his residency. They hoped they'd be able to do this in the same city, so they could live together, although neither one of them expected that they'd have much free time.

"I've been told to expect to work 80 hours a week or more during my residency," Adam informed Mike. "That barely leaves enough time to sleep."

"And I won't be doing much better," Mike responded. "I've been told that a first year associate would probably have to work a minimum of 60 hours a week starting out, especially if he wanted to get noticed and make a name for himself. That won't leave much time for us to spend with each other. Just promise me that we will do whatever it takes to make the best of it."

"You have my word," Adam quickly agreed.

When the boys got to Mike's house, Dave and Judy greeted them warmly and helped them bring their belongings inside. Then, they sat and chatted for a while, mostly about what else the boys might want to do while they were there, before they left to go back to college. Mike and Adam told Mike's parents they didn't have to do much and they'd be happy just spending time with them.

When the boys got on their computers later, they discovered they already had emails from Jack and Megan. It looked as it the kids hadn't wasted any time before contacting them again. The emails, however, were primarily just thank you notes.

'Hi big brothers,' the emails began, since the kids had sent Mike and Adam the same one. 'We just wanted to thank you both for all the stuff you did for us and for getting the Landeez for our mom. She made Dad take us to the park this morning so she could see how it worked there. Mom is also talking to Dad about other stuff we can do now, since she can get around a lot better. We can't believe how much difference this is making and how happy Mom is now. Even Dad told us to thank you too. We can't wait to see you again, but we'll keep in touch. Love from your little brother and sister, Jack and Megan.'

Mike and Adam were thrilled with the things they read and pleased that the kids thought of them as big brothers. They thought this probably stemmed from Jack's comment before they left that it was like they were being torn away from their family, so the boys quickly sent back a reply.

'Hi little brother and sister. Adam and I enjoyed the time we got to spend with you and the things we did together. Just keep your clothes on until we get together again. Hehehe I'm not sure what next summer will be like, but we'll try to plan some different stuff we can do and we're really glad that your mom is enjoying the Landeez so much. Adam says he's glad he was able to get the money so he could get it for her. Take it easy and stay out of trouble. Your big brothers, Adam and Mike.' As soon as they sent their response, the boys hoped the kids weren't having too rough a time dealing with the separation.

Mike's parents were working during the week, so the boys had plenty of time to themselves. They used some of it to be intimate, but they also used some of it to work on making up a list of places for Adam to contact about the contributions for the Mission, once he returned to college. Mike also took Adam around to show him more of the area and to see if they could find any of Mike's friends from when he was growing up.

The first weekend was pretty laid back too and they spent it with Mike's parents. They all went to see a movie together on Saturday and then they had a cookout on Sunday, but it was just the four of them. They also spent time discussing what else the boys might want to do before it was time to leave and offered some suggestions, but Judy had one idea she really wanted to do and the boys quickly agreed it would be fine with them too. Now that she had their approval, Judy said she would make the arrangements.

During the week, the boys were running around doing a bunch of different things when they decided to go to the mall. As they were pulling into the parking lot, they were suddenly cut off by another car and the woman driver seemed to be in a really big hurry. Adam directed Mike to follow her, since Mike was driving, because Adam wanted to make sure she didn't cause an accident. The woman hurriedly pulled into a parking space as far away from the mall as she could find, got out the car and started walking very fast toward the mall entrance. She was obviously in a hurry, but the boys figured she must work there, considering where she parked.

As she was hurrying away from them, Adam noticed movement in her car. He wasn't sure if she might have left a pet or something else inside, but it concerned him, since it was such a hot day. He told Mike to pull up beside her car and that's when he noticed a small child, only a few months old, strapped into the car seat in the back. Immediately, Adam took note of the license plate number and mentally tried to make contact with the woman, just as she was about to enter the mall.

'To the lady driving the silver Toyota Camry, license plate number VAT-8357, you've left your child in the car. I'll give you five minutes to get back here before I smash one of your windows to get the baby out!'

In less than a minute, the boys spotted the same woman frantically running toward them. She had a look of pure horror plastered across her face as she approached them.

"I have no idea how you made that announcement, but thank you! I can't believe I forgot that I'd left my daughter in the car," she gasped revealing her panic. "I was running behind and knew I'd be late for work, so I guess worrying about that made me forget all about dropping her off at the sitter's house. You probably just saved my daughter's life, because I'm scheduled to work an 8-hour shift."

She was telling the boys this as she was unlocking the car door and checking on her child and then she looked back at the boys again. "I'll have to call in to work now and let them know I'll be late, because I got here and forgot to drop my daughter off with the sitter on the way in. I know my manager won't be happy about this, so I'm not sure if I'll still have a job when I get back, but at least I'll still have my daughter. I really can't believe I would have left her out here all day if you hadn't contacted me."

The boys were happy about how this had turned out, especially that she believed she had heard an announcement over the mall P.A. system issuing the warning about her baby. At least Adam had been able to mentally reach her, because he wasn't sure how close he had to be to someone in order for him to contact them that way. In this case, he concentrated really hard and had projected his thoughts like he was screaming, and obviously it worked. If not, he and Mike would have had to break into the car to save the child that way.

"I'm glad you noticed something moving in her car," Mike told Adam as the woman was driving away. "If you hadn't, I'm afraid we would have been hearing a news report later today stating that a child had died after being left in a hot car."

"Yes, I'm glad I spotted that too, but I thought it was probably just a pet at the time," Adam confessed. "I can't believe she forgot her child was in there, but I'm sure she wouldn't have been able to live with herself if something had happened to the baby. Seeing she had to park so far away from the building, which employees of the various businesses are told to do, I'm not sure if someone else would have spotted the child in time to save her."

"Luckily, she had Adam to the rescue," Mike added, as Adam made a face. He was about to say something in response, but then he decided to keep his mouth shut and merely let the subject drop.

As they were walking around the mall later, Adam wished he had asked the lady where she worked. If he had, he might have been able to give her manager a suggestion that he shouldn't fire her. Unfortunately, he couldn't do that now.

The boys spent the time going around the mall and stopping at the places as they'd planned. They were just discussing if they should go see a movie next when Adam spotted the woman again. Curious, he walked up to her to see how she'd made out.

"I take it you didn't get fired and are heading in to work," he stated as he approached.

"No, I definitely got fired," she snapped back, obviously upset. "I was just told to come in and sign my termination notice and to let them know where I wanted my last paycheck sent."

"I'm very sorry to hear that," Adam replied, as she took off again.

"Let's follow her and maybe I can do something to help her," he told Mike and then the two of them set off following her through the mall.

It turned out the woman worked at Macy's, so Adam watched as she made her way through the store. He followed behind her, but not too closely, until he saw her go into one of the offices in the back. That's when he began to mentally project his thoughts.

'To the store manager or human resource person at Macy's Department Store, don't fire the woman just because she had to go back to drop her child off with the babysitter. She almost made a terrible mistake trying to get to work on time and it nearly cost her child's life, so don't make her lose her job for choosing her child over work. Accept it was an unfortunate mistake, but don't fire her!'

After Adam sent the message, he and Mike stood on the other side of a display and watched the office door. About ten minutes later, the woman came out again, but since she was smiling, Adam figured his message had been heeded. Therefore, he and Mike slipped out of the store and headed toward the cinema.

"That was a really good thing you just did," Mike told him as they were waiting for the movie to begin.

"How do you know what I did?" Adam demanded. "I never told you what I was planning to do, just that I wanted to see if I could help."

"Come on, I know you," Mike shot back. "As soon as you asked that lady if she'd been fired and found out she had, I had a pretty good idea what you were going to do. You must have told her manager not to fire her, because she was smiling when she came out of the office again. I don't think she would have been doing that if she was still fired."

"Ok, so maybe you're right, but I couldn't see her lose her job and then not be able to support her daughter," Adam replied giving in.

"Like I said, it was a really good thing you just did," Mike repeated.

After the movie ended, the boys took their packages and headed back to Mike's house. They didn't say anything to Dave or Judy about what had happened at the mall, but Judy told them she had finalized plans for the upcoming weekend. The boys merely thanked her and indicated they looked forward to doing it with her and Dave.

The next day, Mike and Adam hung out with some of Mike's old friends from high school. Adam was pleased that no one made any comments about him and Mike being together, although he thought one of the guys kept giving him dirty looks. Since the guy didn't say anything though, Adam opted to ignore him. Later, however, he asked Mike about it.

"I had a feeling Robbie didn't like me too much," Adam began. "I felt if looks could kill, then I'd be dead from the looks Robbie was giving me."

"You might be right, but it may not be for the reason you think," Mike told him. "I'd bet it was because you have an uncanny resemblance to someone we went to school with and it's a person Robbie couldn't stand. You may have been getting looks that were actually meant for the other guy."

"So you don't think he dislikes me or that we're together," Adam pressed, since he wasn't sure.

"I doubt it, otherwise he wouldn't have stuck around," Mike pointed out. "I think that every time he looked up and saw you, it just reminded him of that old feud he'd had with the other guy and then he just reacted subconsciously."

"I hope you're right," Adam responded.

Saturday evening, the boys dressed in short-sleeve shirts and slacks to go with Dave and Judy to see a local production of 'Chicago'. This was the activity Rita had talked to them about and then made plans to attend, because she liked musicals. They stopped for dinner at a nice restaurant on the way there, and then they went to the theater where the production was being staged.

The musical 'Chicago' is about corruption in the prohibition-era criminal justice system in that city and starts out with the song, 'All That Jazz'. During the time period the musical was set in, many women had been arrested for killing their lovers or husbands, and since the juries back then were all men, the good looking women were often found not guilty. This musical was about two women, Roxie and Velma, who were both accused of the crime of killing different men, but they were also reveling in the celebrity their cases were bringing them.

The musical was fun, the music delightful and everyone had a good time watching it, even Dave. The boys thanked Rita for arranging this outing for them and told her they'd enjoyed it. That seemed enough to make her happy.

The next week passed by quickly for the boys, even though they didn't really do very much. They hung out with some of Mike's friends again, but they also checked the websites for their colleges to see when they should head back to campus. They also spent some time making sure they had everything they would need to take with them when they left. They still had another week left with Mike's parents, but they didn't want to leave everything until the last minute and then find out they'd forgotten something.

During the week, Adam also got another email from Jack. Adam thought this was strange, since they'd already received an email from the kids, but this one was addressed to just him. He decided to see what Jack wanted.

'Adam, there's something I have to ask you, but I don't want you to tell anyone. I trust you and know you'll be honest with me, so here's my problem. Since I've been home, the area around my cock itches really bad and I think there may also be something crawling around down there. Do you think I picked something up when I was with Rachel? When she first got us both naked, she started rubbing her pussy up against my cock until I got hard, and then she jerked me off. Later, she had me stroke and finger her pussy too. What do you think I have and what should I do? I guess you can tell Mike too, because I trust him like I do you, but don't tell anyone else. Please write back soon. Jack'

It didn't take much thought to figure out that is sounded as if Jack had picked up a case of pubic lice from Rachel. He got Mike and showed him the email too, since Jack had given him permission.

"I guess we missed some of the action that day," Mike joked. "From what Jack says, it must have been when Rachel gave him the crabs."

"Yeah, you're probably right, " Adam agreed, and then he carefully began composing his response to Jack's email.

'Jack, from what you've told me, it sounds like you've picked up pubic lice, or crabs, from your time with Rachel. I'm sure you're hoping to take care of this by yourself and not let your parents know what's going on. I'll do my best to help, but if this doesn't work, then you may have to tell them eventually, so they can take you to see a doctor. I also hope Megan didn't pick up the same thing from Paul or Ken. I believe Paul, Ken and Rachel were all sexually active with each other, so she may have picked those up too. You should mention to her what happened to you and ask her to check herself, no matter how embarrassing it may be for both of you.

'First of all, if you've got the money to pay for it, go to a drug store and buy RID. That can be used to treat both head lice and pubic lice, but follow the directions carefully and do exactly what it says. Until you get it though, check and see if there is any baby powder in the house. Sometimes women use it on their skin. If you find some, sprinkle a whole lot on your pubic area. The powder may be enough to clog up the spiracles (breathing holes) on the lice and suffocate some of them until you get the RID, but you have to get and use that too. You might even want to shave off your pubic hair, since that's where the lice like to live, but I'm not sure if that might cause you problems when you start school, if you have to explain why you're hairless to the other guys.

'You will also have to make sure the clothing you've worn and your bedding is all washed in hot water and then dried in the dryer too, to kill any others or the nits and eggs. You should probably keep your clothes in a garbage bag that you can tie shut until you can wash them. You should probably also do the same with your bedding before you wash it. Just put a sheet over your mattress and another one over you, since it's still warm out, and then change them every couple of days. By keeping your clothes in the garbage bags and keeping them shut up, you can wait to wash them and I hope you can do that without rousing suspicions. Good luck and I hope this works. Let me know how it turns out. Adam'

Adam knew this was a serious problem for Jack, and hopefully he'd be able to take care of it on his own. Adam also hoped Jack would learn that he had to be careful when selecting a sexual partner in the future, so he didn't find himself in a similar, or even worse problem later.

For the rest of the night, Adam kept reliving and visualizing what he and Mike had seen Jack and Megan doing in the woods that day. He could see all of the kids clearly in his mind's eye, down to the last detail, and that scene kept playing out over and over again in his brain. He was able to visualize every inch of Jack, Paul and Ken's penises, as well as Megan's breasts and vagina. Although the last two didn't do anything for him, the thought of the three penises had Adam highly aroused.

Seeing this had made Adam so horny, he and Mike made love that night and Adam was much more aggressive than usual. It may have had something to do with the fact that Adam continued to visualize the other boys while he was making love with Mike, but this made him feel guilty too. He truly loved Mike and didn't understand why these other images kept popping into this mind. Adam wasn't sure if Mike had figured out the reason why he was so into this tonight, but if he had he never said anything. They both totally enjoyed the sexual release and then cuddled together, with both of them sleeping very well for the rest of the night.

On the following weekend they went to the County Fair with Mike's parents, just like they had done the previous year. They had been there for a while and were walking along the midway, checking out the activities and various booths when suddenly there was a very loud explosion. Automatically, people began to panic, as they screamed and began running toward the parking lot. When Adam notice some of those people were either falling or being pushed to the ground and then the people behind them were either tripping or running over them, he realized he had to act. In order to limit the number of those getting hurt, he immediately sent out a very forceful mental message.

'All of you STOP! You must slow down before someone gets killed. This isn't a terrorist attack and what you heard was merely the result of an accident. No one will get injured or killed unless you continue to act foolishly and trample each other while trying to get away.' Adam didn't really know for sure if it had just been an accident, but he had told the others this to calm them down, although he suspected this was not a likely place for a terrorist to target.

Eventually, most of the people began to slow to a walk, while others stopped completely. That was except for those that had already had too much to drink. As Adam had discovered previously, he had a difficult time getting through to them, since the alcohol seemed to interfere with his telepathic message. Fortunately, however, enough people reacted to his warning, so only a handful of people were injured badly, but no one was killed.

Once the police and fire department got there, it was discovered that one of the generators used by a food vendor had overheated and exploded. It appeared to be a random accident and there was no evidence that anyone had tampered with the device, so Adam's first hunch had been correct.

As soon as they were alone where no one else could hear them, Mike asked Adam a question. "Since I kind of heard it too, I take it you were responsible for stopping the stampede to the parking lot that nearly trampled more people than the 'Running of the Bulls' in Pamplona?"

"Yes, I was afraid someone was going to get killed," Adam answered and then his face took on a look of shock. "Do you think your parents heard it too?"

"I'm sure they did, but I believe they just thought someone was saying that over a sound system," Mike countered. "I don't feel they would ever think of it as a mental communication."

"So you don't think they recognized my voice?" Adam demanded, still looking concerned.

"It doesn't come across as your voice, just a mental message," Mike responded. "I wouldn't have known it was you either, except I know about your ability and figured it out."

"Good! I was worried about that," Adam stated, while breathing a sigh of relief.

Mike, Adam and Mike's parents decided to stay at the fair after the excitement had died down, even though many others had left instead. It appeared they had either had enough excitement for the day or they weren't taking the chance that it was some kind of an attack. The important thing was that no one was in the area of the generator when it blew up, so no one was injured. That was partially due to the fact that the generator was out in back of the booths, away from the public, so the damage was relegated to just a few of the makeshift structures. Luckily, they had used plywood to form the backs of the booths when putting them up and this helped minimize the damage, although someone still had to put out a small fire with an extinguisher.

On Sunday they had another cookout with Mike's parents, because it was going to be the last thing they'd be doing together before the boys left. Mike and Adam were planning on taking off the following Friday to go back to their campuses and Dave and Judy would be working in between, so this was their farewell activity. Even though the boys were sad to be leaving, they were also looking forward to starting their final year in college. After that, they'd be able to start putting all of their many years of education to work for them as they started their careers.