Secrets 2: Looking Through Different Eyes - 27. Chapter 27 S2

Chapter 27 – A Boat, Gators, and Sunshine

Seeing Devin and I had gone to bed early the previous night, it didn’t bother us when we heard Grandma and Grandpa moving around in the kitchen the next morning. That’s because we had to sleep in the living room last night, since my grandparents’ house only had one extra bedroom, which my parents were using.

Devin and I could smell the pot of coffee that Grandpa was brewing, while Grandma was bustling around the kitchen getting things ready so she could fix breakfast. She didn’t actually start making anything, though, because she was waiting for my mom and dad to wake up so we could all sit down together.

“I’m sorry we didn’t have another room for you boys to stay in, so I hope you got a good night’s sleep,” Grandma said after we’d started eating.

“Yeah, we slept fine,” I replied.

“It’s not the first time we’ve had to sleep on the floor or ground,” Devin replied. “Sometimes when we have company at the cabin, I let them use my room and Mac and I sleep on the floor in the living room, on top of a bear skin. My grandfather also took us on a fishing trip during spring break and there wasn’t a cabin or any beds available, so we had to sleep on the ground in tents.”

“I did know that, but as long as you boys didn’t mind or have any problems, then I guess it worked out all right,” she replied, and then she shifted gears. “I want all of you to know that I washed the clothes you wanted for the week, but they’re still out on the line. I didn’t have a chance to take them down yesterday before we left to go out with Linda’s family, and it was too late to take them down when we got back last night.”

“Let me take them down then, Helen,” my mom offered. “It’s the least I can do since you wouldn’t let me help with breakfast.”

“Why don’t we do it together? It will go much faster that way, and then I’ll wash the clothes you wore last night so you’ll have those as well.”

After Mom and Grandma brought the clothes inside, Mom, Devin, and I folded them so we could put them in our suitcases. We left two sets of clothes out, though, one that we’ll wear today and another for when we leave tomorrow. While Grandma was busy washing the clothes that we wore yesterday and last night, Devin and I washed the breakfast dishes.

As soon as the load in the washing machine had finished, Mom helped Grandma hang the clothes on the line to dry, and Devin and I finished cleaning up the kitchen. When those things were taken care of, Dad, Devin, and I spent time with Grandpa.

As soon as we sat down, Grandpa asked Devin and me a whole lot of questions about college and what we hoped to do when we graduated. After we answered all of his questions, he asked Dad how his job was going, and after that we watched a Little League World Series game on TV.

“If you haven’t watched any of the Little League World Series games before, then you’re going to be amazed by how good these kids are,” he explained. “They’re all twelve-years-old or younger and each one is very talented. You’ll be amazed as you watch them play, because they all have skills that far exceed what you’d expect to find with kids that age. In fact, I believe some of them are just about ready to play minor league ball.”

“Aw, come on,” Devin protested. “They wouldn’t be able to play minor league ball if they’re only twelve or younger.”

“Maybe not, but I think they’re good enough to do it.”

Even though we had watched other Little League World Series games before, we were still flabbergasted by some of the plays those kids managed to pull off. They were all really good, but some of them were truly outstanding.

When Mom and Grandma finished working on the laundry, they began fixing lunch, and when it was ready they called us to come eat. As we were eating, Grandma made an announcement.

“While you were at Disney World, Gary arranged for us to meet up with one of his friends this afternoon. The guy owns a boat and he’s offered to take us out for a ride around Lake Harris.”

“How far away is the lake?” Dad wanted to know.

“Lake Harris is about 60 miles from here and we’ll have to make a stop before we get there, so we’d better get a move on” Grandpa answered. “I already purchased plenty of beer for the adults and soda and flavored water for anyone who wants those things. They’re in the refrigerator right now, so we’ll just have to put them in the cooler, and then we’ll pick up some ice along the way to keep the drinks cold while we’re on the boat.”

“And what type of boat are we talking about?” Dad followed.

“He owns a Sea Ray 370 Sundancer that he uses to take his friends fishing, waterskiing, and swimming in the lake, but sometimes they just enjoy a leisurely ride around the lake instead.”

“Is his boat big enough for all of us?”

“Yes, it’s just under 40 feet (12 m) long and has enough room for the six of us, along with him and his wife. He’s also willing to do whatever we choose for the rest of the day.”

“Damn, that boat must have cost him a huge chunk of change,” my dad stated. “Those boats aren’t exactly cheap.”

“Don’t worry about him, because he had a great job before he retired, so he was able to put away more than enough for their golden years, including buying his little toy. So, what exactly are you all up for? Do you want to go swimming, waterskiing, or just take a ride around the lake?”

“Aren’t there alligators and water snakes everywhere there’s water in Florida?” my mom asked.

“Yes, my friend says there are some alligators there as well, but they usually stay in one area of the lake. He’s told me that he and his friends have gone swimming in the lake plenty of times before and they’ve never had any problems with alligators. He says it’s perfectly safe, as long as you’re not doing it too close to the shore or near the area where the gators usually hang out.”

“I still don’t think any of us should go swimming,” my mom replied, “so maybe a nice leisurely ride around the lake will suffice.”

“Mom, we’re not little kids any longer and Devin and I want to swim. It will be another hot day and that will be a great way to cool off and have a little fun.”

She hesitated briefly before she responded. “Ok, but I’ll stay on the boat and watch when you two are in the water, just to make sure no alligators or snakes come near you.”

“Ok, you can do that if you want, but you’d have more fun hanging out and chatting with Grandpa’s friends.”

After we finished eating, Devin and I offered to do the dishes again, and while we were doing that, Dad and Grandpa took the beer, soda, and water out of the refrigerator and put them in a large cooler. And as we were busy doing those things, Mom and Grandma went outside to check on the laundry.

As soon as we completed those tasks, everyone went to change. After Devin and I had put on our swimsuits and a t-shirt, we slipped into our flip-flops and carried the cooler out to the SUV, and then we had to wait until the others were ready to leave.

As we set off on this little venture, Grandpa directed Dad on the best route to get there, and he also told him where to stop so they could buy a couple of bags of ice. As soon as they’d purchased those items, they spread the ice over the drinks before we continued the trip to the lake.

As we got closer, Grandpa told dad when to turn down the private road that led to the dock where his friend’s boat was moored. And when we finally arrived there, he took time to introduce us to his friends before we boarded the boat.

“Everyone, this is my friend, Don Weiss, and his wife, Emily, and this is my son, Mike, his wife, Cindy, my grandson, Mickey, and his good friend, Devin.”

We all shook hands with them and thanked the Weiss’ for inviting us, and then Don spotted the cooler.

“And what’s in there?” he inquired.

“Just some liquid refreshments,” Grandpa answered, “because I knew it would be hot out today and we’d need to stay hydrated.”

“Good idea, so come aboard. Have you decided what you want to do while you’re here?”

“Yes, the boys want to go swimming,” my dad answered, “but my wife and mother just want to take a nice leisurely ride around the lake.”

“Ok, we can do both of those things.”

After he gave us a quick tour of the boat, we sat down in the seats located at the center of the boat, while Don and his wife sat in the two chairs in the cockpit. That was located just in front of where we were sitting, and Don started the engine. This caused the boat to purr to life, and then it slowly began to move before gradually picking up speed.

As we began making our way around the lake, I noticed Don was keeping the boat at least 30 yards (27.5 m) away from the shore, and I wanted to ask him about that when I got a chance. However, right now I was too busy enjoying the gentle breeze that was created as the boat glided through the water, while I was also focusing on the scenery surrounding the lake as we passed by.

When we got to the opposite side of the lake, we came upon some unusual items sticking out of the water, so I decided it was a good time to ask Don a few questions.

“Hey, what are those things?” I wanted to know as I pointed at the items in question.

“Those are hazard buoys and they indicate we need to avoid that area.”

“How can you tell they’re hazard buoys?”

“Well, there are different types of buoys and each one looks different. Hazard buoys are white with orange diamonds on opposite sides of the buoy. There are also two orange bands going around the buoy, one above and one below the two diamonds.”

“Why do we have to avoid that area?”

“It’s too shallow for boats to travel over, since there’s a ledge that juts out in that area. We’d get stuck if we tried to go there, and we might even damage the boat if we came in contact with the ledge.”

“Is that why you’ve been keeping at least 30 yards (27.5 m) from the shore?”

“Yes, it’s dangerous if you get too close to the shore, because in some areas the slope of the land as it enters the water leaves it dangerously close to the surface. That means you have to keep your boat away from the shore or else you’ll get stuck.”

“Isn’t it like that in all areas?”

“No, in some of the other locations, like here, there might be a ledge that juts out even farther into the water, and it might extend into areas that you’d normally assume was safe. That’s why they place warning buoys where that is the case, so people will avoid striking it or getting stuck on the ledge.”

“Yeah, I imagine it might be easy to forget those things are out here, especially when you’ve got friends on the boat and they keep asking you questions.” He laughed.

“If you’re in control of the boat, then you’d better be paying attention to what you’re doing. If not, then you should bring the boat to a stop to avoid getting involved in those types of accidents. In other places the shoreline drops off more abruptly, and that’s typically where someone will build a dock. That way, the water will be deep enough for people to steer their boats in close to the dock, and that’s where they will moor or launch their boats, just as we did.”

“So, basically you just have to watch out for the warning buoys.”

“Yes, you have to watch out for the buoys, and if you notice plants sticking up out of the water, it’s another indication that there is land somewhere below them, so you should avoid those areas as well.”

“Doesn’t that happen all around the lake?”

“To some extent, but it’s much more obvious in places like the one we just passed, because of how far out into the lake the ledge extends. The shore is more overgrown as well, so that lets you know the area is not desirable for boaters.”

I was about to say something else when I heard my mom scream. When I turned to see what was wrong, she was pointing at the area we’d just been talking about.

“See, there are alligators here,” she shouted while pointing toward the shore. “There’s no way that you, or anyone else, should be swimming in this lake.” She was looking directly at me and Devin as she said that.

I noticed Don shaking his head out of the corner of my eye, and that told me he thought my mom was overreacting. He merely kept going and we probably traveled about another mile around the lake when he suddenly veered the boat toward the middle of the lake. When he eventually came to a stop, He looked at Devin and me and spoke.

“This looks like a good place to swim, if you still want to do that.” I had a feeling he thought we might have changed our minds after witnessing my mom’s reaction when she saw the alligators, so we emphatically let him know that wasn’t the case.

“Yeah, we definitely want to swim,” Devin and I replied in unison.

“But we just saw that there are alligators around here,” my mom protested. “So, I don’t think anyone should be swimming in this lake.”

“Yes, there are alligators in the area,” Don responded, “but as you saw they’re preoccupied with sunning themselves on the shore at this time of day. When they hunt, they prefer to do it at dusk and dawn, and they also prefer to hunt closer to the shore. If by chance there were any alligators out here, the sound of the boat’s engine would have scared them away, and besides they tend to avoid humans.”

“I still don’t think the boys should go swimming,” she insisted.

“They’ll be fine. My friends and I have swum in this area many times and we’ve never had any problems.”

“And Devin and I are going to do this,” I stated firmly while looking directly at my mom.

“Then I’m going to stand here and watch for alligators, just in case.”

Devin and I took off our t-shirts and flip-flops and walked to the rear of the boat. We then made our way out onto the dive platform at the aft so we could jump into the lake. While we were swimming and enjoying ourselves, the others appeared to be having a drink, chatting, and getting to know each other better, except for my mom. She was standing at the rear of the boat on self-appointed guard duty, in order to protect us from a gator attack.

Devin and I were having a blast as we frolicked about in the water. We splashed each other and engaged in some horseplay, but then I noticed that Devin’s attitude was gradually beginning to change. I had no idea what had caused his unexpected change, but Devin now seemed to be on edge and kept staring into the water, like he was looking for something. His actions may have been caused by my mom’s over zealous reaction after seeing the alligators sunning themselves, as well as her protests about not wanting us to swim in the lake. Or it might have been the result of the research we’d done about this area before coming on the trip.

You see, after we left the cabin and got back to my house, we read many articles about gators in Florida, including the one about the young boy who’d been killed by a gator while at Disney World. That incident happened in August of 2016, but he might have been recalling the article now and that’s what was affecting him. I was still thinking about this when he suddenly came over to me and spoke.

“Try not to react, so you won’t alarm your mom, but there’s a large gator below us. It was swimming around below us, but it’s come to a stop, so I’m worried about what it might be up to. I want you to splash around like we were doing earlier, but keep an eye on the area below you as well. And while you’re doing that and holding the gator’s attention, I’m going to sneak up on it and encourage it to leave.”

“Shouldn’t we just get on the boat until it leaves?”

“Let me try this first, but keep an eye on it while you’re splashing around, just in case it decides to attack or if I need help. If it tries to attack, then you should punch it as hard as you can on the snout, because that’s its most sensitive area.”

“It’s also where all its teeth are. So, you’re saying I’m the bait?”

“No, you’re the distraction.”

Before I had a chance to say anything else, he dove under the water and disappeared from sight. I was concerned about what he was up to, but I had to keep an eye on the gator, in case it decided to attack. It was still lingering down below me, but I couldn’t see any sign of Devin. He had been gone for a really long time, and something had happened far below me, but I couldn’t see what it was. There was too much mud kicked up in the scuffle, so I was beginning to worry about Devin when he suddenly reappeared next to me.

“What happened?” I asked. “I couldn’t see much once the gator started kicking up the mud with its tail. When that happened, I nearly screamed, because I thought it had attacked you.”

“Actually, I attacked it, but I’ll explain later. Let’s get out of the water for now.”

I agreed and we climbed back on board the boat, grabbed a drink, and rejoined the others. About twenty minutes later, Don decided it was time to resume our cruise, so he and Emily moved back to the cockpit and started the engine. The boat slowly began to move and gradually gained speed as we resumed our trip around the lake.

The breeze created by the boat moving over the water felt good to everyone onboard and helped to counteract the effect of the high temperature caused by the sun’s rays. This continued until we got back to the dock, and as soon as Don secured the boat, we thanked him and Emily again as we disembarked.

Devin and I carried the cooler as we headed back to the SUV, and once everyone was in their seats, Dad started the engine and we began the ride back to my grandparents’ house.

“What if I fire up the grill when we get back and we’ll have hot dogs and hamburgers for supper?” Grandpa asked during the ride.

“And we can stop at the grocery store on the way to the house,” Grandma added, “so I can pick up some of their salads to go with those things. I’ll grab some hot dog and hamburger buns as well.”

“It sounds like a terrific idea,” Dad responded for all of us.

We had a wonderful time during the cookout that evening, and while my parents and grandparents were busy talking, Devin pulled me aside for a private chat.

“I know you’re still curious about what happened earlier, so I’ll try to explain it to you. We’d been in the water for quite a while when I noticed something moving below us. At first I thought it was just a school of fish, but then I realized it was a large gator instead, and that’s when I mentioned it to you.”

“But how could the gator stay down there for so long?”

“Don’t you remember reading the article that mentioned a large gator can stay submerged for up to 45 minutes? That one was only down there for about 35 minutes before I got to it, and that’s when I realized it was a large, male alligator that had been hanging out in the deep water below us.”

“I thought Don said the boat’s engines would scare the gators away.”

“They probably did at first, but the engines had been off for a while before we actually went in the water, so it obviously wasn’t a factor any longer. I also have a feeling that our splashing about in the lake must have attracted the gator’s attention.”

“So, what did you do after you left me splashing around as bait?”

“I’d read in one of those articles that male gators prefer deeper water because they like to attack from below, so I was afraid it was about to attack us. In order to keep that from happening, I swam up beside the gator and avoided its tail so I could jam my thumbs into its eyes. I didn’t do it hard enough to blind it, but I wanted to make it difficult for the gator to see very well so it couldn’t attack us. That caused the gator to immediately spin around in my direction to defend itself, while also swishing its tail and kicking up the mud.”

“What did you do when it spun around to attack you?”

“It couldn’t see very well at that point, and I’d already transition my arms to make them considerably stronger, so I punched it in the snout as hard as I could. That wasn’t easy to do, even with my much stronger arms, because of the water resistance, but I hit it hard enough to make an impression. As I told you earlier, I knew that hitting it on the snout was its most sensitive area, and it definitely got the gator’s attention, because it began to swim away. The last time I saw it, the gator was swimming in the opposite direction and heading up to the surface as it made its way back to shore.”

“I thought gators didn’t attack this early in the day.”

“They usually don’t, so maybe this gator was so old that it was doing the same thing as many elderly people and going out for an early bird special.”

“That’s not funny.”

“Maybe not, but I thought I’d try to lighten the mood with a bit of humor. Come on, you really didn’t have to worry, because I took care of the problem for us. I warned you about it before I left so you’d be ready in case it tried to attack. I just didn’t want your mom to overhear our conversation, because then she’d be screaming and even more hyper than she already was.”

“That was probably a wise move.”

After the cookout ended, Devin and I did the cleanup again, and then we all went to bed early. We’d be driving to Tampa first thing in the morning so we could catch our flight back to Colorado before noon. Even if we didn’t want to admit it, our vacation had come to an end.

After walking up the next morning, we had breakfast with my grandparents first, and then we all thanked them multiple times for their hospitality and everything they’d done for us. After we finished doing that, each of us gave Grandma a kiss and Grandpa a hug before loading into the SUV for the drive to the Tampa airport.

The flight back to Colorado went smoothly, although it was a lot more somber than the flight to either Missouri or Florida. That was due to the fact that we knew our vacation was over and we’d soon be returning to work or school. It was kind of a let down after the past couple of weeks, even though Devin and I were actually looking forward to resuming our studies and returning to campus.

During the flight, Devin and I hatched a scheme concerning how we were going to announce our plans about the following summer to my parents. However, we didn’t say anything to them about it during the flight or even after we landed. Once we were on the ground, we simply made our way to the baggage claim area, retrieved our luggage, and headed home. We waited until we were in the house and my parents were relaxing before we sprung the first part of the plan on them.

“Devin and I were considering staying in Fort Collins and fixing our own Thanksgiving dinner this year, because we’ll have a lot of work to do for our classes before Christmas. Then, we decided it would be better if we came home for Thanksgiving and we’ll spend some time working on our schoolwork before and after Thanksgiving dinner.”

“So, that’s what you two were whispering about on the plane,” my mom replied.

“Yeah, it was. We both enjoyed spending the Thanksgiving weekend with our families last year, so we thought we should do it again this year. We know it will create a hassle with our schoolwork, but if we spend time working on those things while we’re home, it shouldn’t be too bad when we get back to campus. No matter how difficult it is for us, we feel we’ll be able to handle any problems that arise, even if it takes a little more effort on our part.”

Even though I wasn’t about to admit it to them, I thought spending Thanksgiving and Christmas at home would lessen any negative reactions they might have when I told them about our summer plans. I realized my mom and dad wouldn’t be happy when they learned that we wouldn’t be home for most of the summer again, and we might not be able to go on vacation with them either. That would depend on how long it took us to dig through the rubble and what we discovered on the other side, and if we couldn’t make it back, then maybe this would appease them in advance.

“You know, it will be even better if we all celebrated Thanksgiving together,” I added, “so would you mind if Devin asked his parents to join us?”

“No, we wouldn’t mind at all and I think it’s a wonderful idea,” my mom responded. “None of your grandparents will be joining us this year, so Aaron and Doris can use the spare bedroom while they’re here.”

“Great, and that way Devin and I will be able to spend time with all of you before we have to return to campus.”

Later, after we went up to my bedroom so Devin could help me pack my things, I asked a question.

“Seeing you brought everything with you and left it in your SUV while we were on vacation, I take it that you’re not going back home before we leave for college.”

“No, I’m not, and my parents agreed with my decision. They felt it would be an unnecessary trip, since we wouldn’t be able to spend very much time together.”

“Then how are you going to tell your parents about our plans for Thanksgiving? It’s not like you can call them at the cabin and tell them what we want to do.”

“I know, but I can call my dad at work to tell him, and if I can’t reach him there, Gramps and Pops will be coming to Fort Collins this fall to go to a couple of football games with us, so I’ll just explain it to them. Then one of them can tell my mom and dad about it and Dad can call me when he gets a chance. I’m sure they won’t mind doing it or that we’re going to have Thanksgiving at your house this year.”

“Oh, that’s right! You usually have Thanksgiving with Gramps, Pops, and their wives.”

“Yeah, we normally do, but the four of them can have Thanksgiving without us this year. I’m sure they won’t mind having it at one of their houses without us.”

“I kind of wish we could invite them here as well, but we wouldn’t have enough room for everyone.”

“I know, and they won’t mind because they’ll still be able to celebrate the holiday with each other.”

“Ok, I hope they won’t feel slighted that we’re not inviting them.”

“Nah, they won’t, so don’t worry about it.”

My dad offered to take us out to eat that evening, seeing my mom didn’t feel like preparing a meal. He figured this way she’d be happy and then they could both focus on getting ready for work the following day.

While we were upstairs getting ready to go out with them, Devin and I made another decision. Since we weren’t planning on leaving for college until Wednesday, we thought we’d utilize the time while my parents were at work by washing his new clothes that my other grandparents shipped for us. That way, everything would be clean before we headed to Fort Collins and we’d be able to load it all into his SUV prior to Wednesday as well.

After we got back from eating supper, my mom and dad chose to turn in early, but Devin and I decided to stay up a little longer. When we eventually went upstairs to get ready for bed, Devin had something he wanted to ask me.

“Do you want me to transition into Ben when we make love?”

“Hell no! I was hesitant about doing the other stuff with him because he’s my cousin, so I certainly don’t want to make love with him.”

“But you’ll know it’s not him and it’s just me, even though I will look like him.”

“I know, but I’ll be looking at his face, not yours, and that will make it very awkward. Just be yourself, because I prefer making love with you. You can make yourself taller while you’re doing it, if that will make you fell better, and if you want, I’ll transition into Ben so you can make love to him.”

“Ok, let’s do those things then.”

He eagerly grew another six inches (15 cm) and adjusted his other body proportions appropriately. I wasn’t surprised that doing it this way boosted his ego and self-confidence, but it also turned him into a sexual madman. After observing his reaction, I knew he might prefer doing it this way from now on, rather than transitioning into someone else. And when I transitioned into Ben for him, it increased his sexual aggressiveness another notch.

When we finished making love, I transitioned back into myself, and then I reminded Devin to transition back to his normal appearance before we went to shower. I was afraid that one of my parents might be up for some reason and I didn’t want them to see Devin walking around with his increased size, because that would lead to questions we didn’t want to answer. That’s because there was no way Devin would be able to explain away his enormous growth spurt without having to inform them about his secret.

After we finished up in the bathroom, we headed back to my room, and as we were getting into bed, he made a comment. “I’m really glad you suggested that I just increase my size this time, instead of me transitioning into someone else. Maybe we’ll just do it like that from now on. And I appreciate that you agreed to transition into Ben for me this time.”

“I’m ok if you want to do it that way, as long as you don’t forget to transition back after we finish making love, but don’t expect me to transition into Ben again. That was a one time gift for you.”

“Yeah, I know, although I was hoping you might change your mind.”

We then cuddled together as we fell asleep, satisfied with how things were working out.