Jacob Finding His Way - 59. Chapter 59

It seemed like a revolving door of people coming in and out of Jacob’s room. As soon as Officer Jackson left, Dr. Whitmore walked in. Dewayne sat up in his seat thinking that Dr. Whitmore was coming to deliver bad news, because of the look on his face. After greeting Jacob and Dewayne, the doctor got down to the reason he was there.

“Jacob the normal stay in the hospital for a transplant is between four to seven days. It all depends on how quickly the new kidney starts to produce urine and how often it does. The kidney you got started to produce urine the evening of the transplant, which is very good. So all we have been looking at is if the kidney is producing the urine on regular intervals, which again, it is.

So I will be releasing you from the hospital tomorrow morning as long as there are no complications through the night, which I don’t see that happening. I also have been wrestling with myself on what to give you as far as medicine. I have several to choose from, but many are a cocktail of sorts and that’s what worries me. You are already on medicine that you will more than likely be taking for the rest of your life.

After giving it some thought and seeing how good you are on taking the other medicine, I am going to put you on a cocktail. This cocktail will involve three pills, taken daily, which are tacrolimus, mycophenolate and prednisone. As long as you take these meds, I don’t think you'll have any problems in the future.”

“Wow, I can’t believe that I am leaving the hospital so soon! I thought I was going to be stuck in here at least two weeks, if not more. Thank you for everything Dr. Whitmore, I really do mean it. There is no way I am going to ever be able to repay you for everything you have done for me.”

“Jacob you should know by now there is nothing I wouldn’t do to make sure you stay healthy. We have gone through a lot in these last couple of years. Not to sound mean, I do hope this is the last time I have to deal with you under the knife. It just bothers me when I see such a strong young man sick.

Keep in mind though, I will be seeing you at least once a month until we are sure that there are no problems with your new kidney. You are strong guy Jacob, but not invincible. So take this and learn that you can’t get into fights or miss use your body in any way. You take very good care of yourself and you will live to be a very old man.”

Dr. Whitmore shook Dewayne’s and Jacob’s hand as he left. Neither of the boys said a word at first. They sat there thinking of the good news that Dr. Whitmore just delivered. Without a doubt, Jacob knew that he would be going home tomorrow morning and back to school on Monday; back to a normal life.

The rest of the day, Jacob and Dewayne talked about what they would like to do when Jacob gets home. They ended up not deciding on anything for now. When Jacob gets home, they would play the wait and see game. If he was up to doing stuff, they would do whatever Jacob was able to do strength wise.

Before Jacob new it, Al, Gloria, Andy and Marie showed up. Once they settled down, Jacob told them the news they received earlier in the afternoon. Just like Jacob and Dewayne, no one could believe that Jacob was getting out as soon as he was. Putting that aside, they made plans on how tomorrow morning was going to happen. Since Dewayne was going to stay the night, he would bring him home. Later in the afternoon, they would gather at the house and celebrate Tony becoming part of the family and Jacob’s coming home.

Soon after Gloria, Andy and Marie left, the gang walked in. This time Jacob let Dewayne deliver the news to the guys. Once they heard, they jumped up high fiving Jacob. When Chase high fived Jacob, he could see that there was something weighing on Chase’s mind. For now, Jacob decided to leave it alone. Once he was home, he would talk with Chase and see if he could help his best friend with whatever was bothering him.

Knowing that they didn't have that much time, they planned for tomorrow’s party. Jacob could see that Tony looked uncomfortable about the whole thing. As he glanced at Tony and Chase, Jacob couldn’t help but wonder if there is something in the water at the house or school, that was making these two think too much, about whatever was bothering them.

“Tony, this party tomorrow is long overdue. First, we had the trip up to see Joey, then me being in the hospital. The party tomorrow isn’t for me; it is to welcome you into the family. You know that we have wanted to do this since you officially became part of the family. So UNCLE Tony, cheer up and tell us what you’d like in your party.”

Everyone started laughing and calling Tony, Uncle Tony. That not only got Tony in a happy mood, but got Chase talking and fooling around with the guys too. When they left to go home, Jacob could hear them talking all the way down the hall. Even when they were at the elevators, Jacob could hear them playing around.

After the guys left, Jacob and Dewayne watched television for an hour or so before turning it off for the night. The moment Dewayne crawled into bed with Jacob he fell asleep. Since all that Jacob had been doing all day long, for three days, was sleep, he didn’t feel tired at all. He only turned off the television because he saw Dewayne was nodding off to sleep as they watched it.

Trying to force himself to sleep, Jacob gave up and got out of bed as slowly and as quietly as was possible. As he walked out into the hallway, Jacob made sure nothing of his backside was showing. He walked over to the elevator and pushed the down button. While waiting for the elevator, Jacob looked around to see where the nurses were, but couldn't see them.

He got on the elevator and pushed floor three as the doors shut. Less than a minute later, the doors opened again and Jacob got out of the elevator. Just like on his floor, the nurses were nowhere to be found! Jacob looked on the wall to see what direction he needed to go, to get to Alex’s room.

Jacob thought that Matt or Franseca would be there, but he found Alex alone. As he walked in, Jacob could hear Alex snoring softly. Since he had come this far, Jacob decided to at least sit with his friend for a while; at least until he got tired enough that he could fall asleep in his own bed.

Taking a seat, Jacob noticed that Alex’s blanket had fallen on the floor. Confused as to why Alex wasn't awake trying to cover himself with the blanket in this cold room, Jacob bent down and grabbed the blanket. As he covered Alex, he could see Alex’s chest and stomach since he was sleeping in his boxers only. Jacob just stared at the area where the bandage was.

Lifting his shirt, Jacob compared both areas. Leaving no doubt in his mind, Alex had been cut in the same area that he had. Jacob dropped his shirt and covered Alex just as the nurse walked in to check on Alex. Jacob looked over at the nurse and hoped that she wouldn't send him back to his room.

“Young man you shouldn’t be here, visiting hours are over. So you need to leave so my patient can get some rest.” The nurse saw Jacob pull up his shirt and saw that Jacob was the one that got the kidney. “Oh I am sorry; I didn’t know that you were the one who got his kidney. You can stay, but not too long. Just like my patient, you need to get back to your room to get some rest.”

Jacob nodded his head in agreement, as he sat down. He looked at Alex as he slept, not understanding why Alex never told him that he was the one who donated the kidney. If it wasn’t for Alex, he would more than likely have been waiting for a kidney right now, not going home. Jacob grabbed a hold of Alex’s hand and held it tight.

With Jacob holding onto his hand, Alex woke up. At first Alex thought it is already morning and that Matt had returned. But when he focused on the figure sitting in the chair next to his bed, he knew it wasn’t morning or Matt. The room was way too dark and the figure was taller and thinner than Matt. Finally, after a few seconds of looking, Alex realized that it was Jacob.

“Hey there Jacob, I didn’t know it was you sitting there. I thought it was Matt, because he and my mother are the only ones that hold my hand like that.” He looked at Jacob’s face and saw the tears rolling down his cheeks. “You shouldn’t worry about me Jacob, I'm fine, it's you, that we need to worry about. You just went through major surgery.”

“I understand you went through major surgery as well.” Jacob trying to get control of himself, but couldn’t. “Why didn’t you tell me you were the one donating the kidney? I had to hear it from a nurse I didn't even know. I would have liked the chance to talk you out of taking such a big risk. If I failed at that, I would have liked to have shared a room with the guy giving me another chance at life. We could have gotten well together and gone home together.

“That is exactly why I didn’t tell you Jacob. I didn’t want you to try and talk me out of it or think that you owed me anything for it. In fact, no matter what I do for you Jacob, I will never be able to repay you for all that you have done for me. So please stop crying, I am fine and will be going home, hopefully tomorrow, as long as I don’t open my stitches again.”

Jacob leaned in a little closer to Alex. “Listen Alex, there isn’t a thing that you owe me. What happened in the past is just that, the past. We didn’t know each other back then and over time, we have gotten to know each other. Everything you have right now, from your freedom, to the business, is there because you have earned it. So I don’t want to hear anymore that you owe me! We are FAMILY, and family does things for each other.”

“Thank you Jacob and no matter what you think now, I was a complete ass when we didn’t know each other. I'm grateful that you are a bigger man than I was and came to my defense when things looked gloomy. From now on, I won’t say that I owe you anymore, but between you and me, I do. I love you Jacob, because you are the brother that I never had.”

Jacob and Alex hugged each other. After getting over the emotional part of their talk, Alex made Jacob promise him that he wouldn't tell the other guys that it was him that donated the kidney. He did let Jacob know who knew, but no one else was to know.

“By the way, I think somehow your grandfather found out. He came down several times to visit with me when he thought I was asleep. One of the times, I could hear him whisper to me, but couldn’t catch what he was saying. He also talked with me days before the surgery. He let me know in his own subtle way how thankful he was.”

“That's my grandfather for you. Some that know him, but don’t really know him, they think he's a no nonsense kind of guy. He is totally no nonsense when it comes to running the business and the work that he does for the Governor. But he is fair and will always give people a chance and a second chance and a third chance before he gives up on them. So if he knows, he will be there for you. You will know that, when things that don’t look too good all of a sudden do.”

They sat there talking until the nurse from Jacob’s floor came down to get him. When she walked in angry with Jacob, Jacob and Alex started to laugh. Not to be mean to the nurse, they just thought it was funny that she was this angry for Jacob being down there. Never before had either of them seen a nurse this angry!

Jacob got up and hugged Alex and kissed him on the cheek before leaving his room. All the way up to Jacob’s room, Jacob tried to tell the nurse that he was visiting the guy that donated the kidney to him. No matter what Jacob said, the nurse wouldn’t smile. She didn’t leave Jacob’s room until she saw him in bed.

The whole time that Jacob was gone, Dewayne didn’t wake up. Jacob felt bad that his boyfriend was so beat that he didn’t even move once. He settled in, wrapped his arms around his Dewayne, kissed him on the lips and went to sleep. Jacob didn’t wake up again until he felt someone shaking him.

It took a while for Jacob to focus, but he saw Dewayne smiling back down at him as he held several bags from McDonalds. Jacob jumped up, rubbed his hands together as he smiled at Dewayne. He was already tired of hospital food.

“You read my mind handsome! Ever since I woke up from the surgery, I’ve had this hunger I couldn't seem to satisfy. I was glad when Dr. Whitmore moved me off of the liquid diet, but still, the food they serve here isn't enough. So I hope you brought enough food to feed an army.”

Dewayne laughed as he pulled out two breakfasts deluxe from the bags. Taking the top off of one, he placed it in front of Jacob and then he took the top off of his. In no time flat, Jacob ate the entire deluxe. Dewayne thought that Jacob was going to eat the packaging that the meal came in!

Right when Dewayne opened his mouth to talk, Dr. Whitmore walked in. Both of them looked at Dr. Whitmore and couldn’t figure out what was going on. Normally you could read Dr. Whitmore, but not this morning. There was nothing the boys could read from Dr. Whitmore’s face, nothing.

“Jacob I've had a complaint from the evening staff about you. When I got it, I thought they had the wrong patient, but they said the complaint was about you. I understand you went out for a little walk last night.” Jacob nodded his head up and down. “I don’t see anything wrong with that. Those nurses need to get a life if they are complaining about that.

Everything is still a go as far as getting you out of here this morning. Your vitals are really good and I don’t see any reason to keep you here. So, let me get your paperwork done and Alex’s as well. That way you two can leave together. I can also go home and have a weekend with my wife!”

Dr. Whitmore winked at Jacob as he put the clipboard back on the foot of the bed. As he walked out, Jacob looked at Dewayne with a big smile on his face. Then it hit him. Where were the clothes that he was wearing when he came in here on Wednesday? Since he has woken up from the surgery, he hadn't thought about his clothes.”

“Um, Dewayne….” Dewayne interrupted Jacob. “I know what you are going to ask me Jacob and I have it covered. When you went into surgery, I took your clothes. Not really knowing when you were coming home, I carried a set of clothes for you in the truck. I brought the clothes up when I went out to get us breakfast.

Now, I would like to know where you went last night. I didn’t even know that you left. That means I must have been dead to the world when you got out of the bed. Or you were just that sneaky, that I didn’t feel you getting out of bed.”

“All I was doing was tossing and turning when we went to bed last night. I didn’t want to wake you up, so I decided to go and visit with Alex. He has been here the entire time that I have and not once have I gone down there to say hello. So I went down and we talked until the nurse came down there to drag me back up to my room.”

Dewayne couldn’t help himself; he started laughing. In his mind, he saw Jacob sitting in Alex’s room and the nurse walking in grabbing him by the ear and dragging him all the way back to his room. It would have been a funny sight if that actually happened.

“Well I hope Alex was given the good news when Franseca or Matt was here. That way he has some clothes to put on. If not, he will be riding with us, naked, all the way home Jacob. Every now and then, I have wondered how Alex looks without clothes. Not that I like him, but I have never seen a cholo naked before. The tattoos they have should be a site to see.”

It didn’t bother Jacob at all that Dewayne has wondered how Alex looked naked. He has wondered that as well and got some of the answer last night when he saw Alex in bed without the covers. Jacob also knew that he has Dewayne and there was no one on this green earth that could take Dewayne away from him.

The nurse brought Jacob out of his thoughts when she came in and started to unhook the IV lines. When she pulled the IV out of his arm, Jacob knew for sure he was going home. After she left, Jacob got up, got dressed and sat back down on the bed. Dewayne crawled beside Jacob and they sat there on the bed together watching television.

Alex walked in dressed in street clothes and joined Jacob and Dewayne watching TV. “Hey, I heard that you slipped getting an x-ray the other day and pulled out your stitches. I hope they stitched you back up good, because we don’t want you to get that wound infected again. One time is one too many to come back into the hospital for that.”

“Yeah they stitched me back up okay, Dewayne. I thought I could be independent, but the drugs from the surgery hadn’t left my body yet. To be honest with you I am glad that is all that I did. When I fell, I could have hit my head on the machine or really hard on the floor. Of course, Dr. Whitmore rushed in and took care of me.”

“I knew someone was talking about me because my ears are ringing.” Dr. Whitmore walked in with a nurse. “Well I have you guys all ready to go and I don’t want to see you guys back here in the hospital for ANY reason again! Here you go, your prescriptions, you both need to fill them today so you can start taking the meds.”

Dr. Whitmore handed the prescriptions to Jacob and Alex while the nurse asked Alex for his insurance. Alex looked embarrassed when he told her that he didn’t have any. Then the nurse didn’t make things better when she kept asking Alex how he planned to pay for his stay there in the hospital.

“If he needs to pay for it now, I will take care of the bill.” Jacob interrupted the nurse as she pressed Alex for an answer. “There is no need to give my friend the third degree like that. So give me the bill and tell me where to go and pay it!”

“Well the cashier’s office is closed on the weekends, so we will need to send you the bill. Once you receive the bill, please submit payment as soon as you can. That way we can mark this young man’s account paid.”

“You know I don’t understand you accounting people at all. When you walked in here, you knew he didn’t have insurance. I think you did what you did because you love belittling people because you have the power to do so. Send the damn bill in the mail and it will get paid the minute I get it.”

The nurse asked for Jacob’s information, but Jacob directed her to his paper work. All the information she needs is on that. Dr. Whitmore stepped up and asked the nurse to leave the room. He wasn’t happy with the way she handled things, but didn’t deal with her in front of Jacob, Dewayne and Alex.

“You guys are all set, so get on out of here and enjoy your weekend. Don’t worry about the bill; I will get everything handled over here Jacob. Just go home, relax and don’t do anything that will pull out your stitches. Either of you!” Dr. Whitmore looked at Alex. “Mainly you Alex, you know what I am talking about young man. You behave yourself and I shouldn’t see you again before your normal visits.”

The boys thanked Dr. Whitmore and shook his hand before walking to the elevator. When they got out of the hospital, they headed over to Walgreens to get their prescriptions filled and then home. Dewayne kept Alex looking at magazines while Jacob paid for Alex’s meds. Jacob made a mental note to get Alex on his company insurance so he was covered. As a matter of fact, he extended that thought to Franseca and Alex’s brothers. They should be covered as employees. That was an oversight, that Jacob would correct.

When they got home, Al, Virginia, Tony, Franseca and Alex’s little brothers were waiting at the door to greet them. After hugging and greeting each other, they walked into the kitchen where Franseca had a small snack prepared for them. As they ate, Jacob and Alex talked about how good it was to be out of the hospital.

Immediately after they finished eating, it seemed that everyone was back to business as usual. Al asked to speak with Jacob in the study while the others went to get ready for the party. Pretty much everything had been set up, so there was no need for them to help in that area. Tony tried to hide his excitement about the party, but everyone could see right through him. He could barely keep himself from jumping around.

“Jacob I know you just got home, but I need to talk with you about a couple of things before everyone gets here.” Al sat down in the chair next to Jacob. “I understand you offered the training position to your instructor that just retired from teaching ROTC. I have no problem with that, but are you sure? You and he didn’t see eye to eye on things while he was your instructor. If you guys can’t get along, it will be hard.”

“Grandpa, he is very good guy that needs something to do. It isn’t that hard to train people to work in our stores. While we set up the training floor with cash registers, grills and everything else, Major Moore can be at the stores learning first hand. He will get trained by the store managers before he trains new employees.”

“Again, I have no problem with that at all Jacob, but I understand he will be doing all the training for our company as well as Dewayne’s and Tony’s. He has never worked this kind of job before and we are asking him to train others to do so. It's kind of like the blind leading the blind here. I hope you see where I am coming from Jacob.”

“I do grandpa and I did give it thought before asking him. No matter who we put in this position, they won’t know everything about our stores. That is why we will send him off to train in the stores before he trains new employees. He will get certified to train in the area of training others to sell alcohol and cigarettes. I know that the trainer for the company needs to be certified in that area in order to certify others to sell that stuff. But no matter who we chose for this position, they would need to go through the same thing.

Also, you and I both know we are having problems with the management staff already. We can’t take one of them and put them into this position. As far as the Seven Elevens are concerned, they don’t have a person for that position. So having everything on one floor and using one trainer will save both companies money. His salary will be split between the two companies and any other trainers we hire.”

“Don’t get me wrong, it is very cost efficient doing it this way. Since you got Dewayne on board with this and I got Tony, the training department will be run by Major Moore. I just wanted to get your thinking on why you went this way with that position. Good job and you keep showing me that you won’t have a problem taking over when you do.

Let’s talk about the visit you got from Officer Jackson yesterday. First, I'm sorry that he talked with you before I had a chance to tell you what’s going on. He told me that at first, you didn’t like the idea, but eventually you saw the reasoning behind it.

You have to understand after what happened in the last couple of weeks why I am doing what I am doing. There are crazy people out there that will do whatever they can to make quick money. That includes kidnapping you and holding you for ransom. Also, those places like where Joey was at are in business and out there still. There’s so much evil in this world I want to make sure you and the rest of my family are protected from it.”

“Grandpa there is no need to explain why you did what you did as far as the security goes. I know when you do things; it's for the right reasons. So again, don’t worry grandpa. I will help as much as I can to make sure things run smoothly. I know at times I can be a hassle and more than likely you are getting all your white hair because of me!”

“No these white hairs are your mother’s fault! You're a great kid Jacob. Every chance I get, I tell people about the great grandson I have. They all think I'm lying, because there couldn't be a person like you, but I don’t care what they think. I know you are the person I tell everyone you are.” Al got choked up as he talked. “Let’s stop this talking and get out there and get ready for the party.”

Jacob looked in on Jeremy as he headed up to his room. He found Jeremy sitting in the middle of his room, on the floor, playing with Cupid. Although Cupid was Jacob’s dog, Jacob didn't mind that Jeremy had her all the time. With Cupid with Jeremy, it kept both of them from getting lonely.

Before leaving, Jacob popped in and greeted his brother. Jeremy jumped up from the floor and ran to Jacob. Not knowing his own strength, Jeremy pushed Jacob down to the floor as he grabbed hold of him in a hug. Jacob hugged Jeremy back and didn’t mind landing on the floor. He knew that Jeremy didn't know any better. Jeremy, in his own way, was showing Jacob how much he missed him and he loved him.

After spending time with Jeremy, Jacob headed to his room. He liked the fact that now when he lies down beside Dewayne, he didn't have to worry about connecting himself to any machines. In fact, the machine was no longer on the bedside table. Jacob looked around but gave up, figuring that the hospital came down and picked it up already. There were so many other people out there that need the machine as much as he did.

Gloria, Andy Sr. and Marie arrived before anyone else. They walked in without knocking and called out for anyone. No one answered, so Gloria and Andy decided to go and see how far the construction had gone. They were hoping that it was close to being done so that they could move into the new house.

As they walked to the back door, they couldn’t believe that the back door was gone. In its place was a long hallway leading to Franseca’s part of the house. Gloria walked down the hall and stopped halfway to look out the windows. Across the yard was another long hallway like this, which meant that the hallway must lead to her part of the house. She turned around and pulled Andy back down to the kitchen.

“What's going on Gloria? I thought you wanted to go and see how our house was?” Andy felt like an idiot chasing after his soon to be wife.

“That hallway more than likely goes to Franseca’s part of the house. Didn’t you see the hallway on the other side of the yard? I think that hallway is connected to dad’s kitchen. Like the hallway we were just walking down is connected to Jacob’s kitchen. Since there's no map of this place, we're just guessing where we are going.”

Andy looked closer at the kitchen and realized that he must have been blind when he walked through it before. The kitchen was double the size than it was before. The construction workers joined the two kitchens together to make one. All new appliances and a huge table where there once was the other kitchen.

“Hold on Gloria, look they have joined the two kitchens together already. We don’t have to walk around the house to get to dad’s kitchen. All we have to do is walk across the kitchen to the other hallway. Man, what they have done in here is really nice. I like the island here in the middle and everything else. I don't know who created this but I can tell you, it's a one of a kind kitchen.”

“I didn’t even notice that the work had gone this far. Now I am wondering what else they have done between the two main houses. Did they join the dining rooms and living rooms together? Since it is one house now, it does make sense to do that.”

Before looking at the rest of the main house, Gloria and Andy walked down the hallway that connected the house they were going to be living in, to Al’s house. Just like the other hallway, it had windows all the way down to look into the yard, with a door in the middle of the hallway that lead into the yard. On the other side of the hall, there were not as many windows. Gloria figured they didn’t put as many windows on that side because this side of the hall is facing the neighbors.

As they walked into their part of the house, they couldn’t believe how nice it looked. Everything had been redone from top to bottom. Brand new floors in the kitchen and bathroom, and brand new carpet in the rest of the house! It’s the exact carpet she chose and wanted in her other house. The kitchen counters and cabinets were brand new and in the living room were the built-in book cases that she had asked for, but didn’t think her dad was going to put in. All in all, the house was exactly as she wanted it!

“I can’t believe my dad and son did this for us. They were listening to me when we sat down and I told them what I would like in the house. Every single thing I asked for, I got. There is no way I am going to move out of this house ever!” Gloria kept saying the same thing repeatedly as she walked from room to room.

“Your son and dad really love you Gloria. It shouldn’t have taken this house to show you that. They have stood behind you no matter how much hell you put them through. Now that you see that Jake and Al don’t care about the past, you can leave the past in the past as well. We have a chance here to start out new, from marriage to a new house. I suggest we take this chance and make things completely work in our family.”

Gloria walked up to Andy and hugged him. She started crying into his shoulders realizing that what Andy was saying was the truth. She had been a total bitch, and now she needed to show everyone that she wasn't that person. Not because of the house, but because no matter what she has done to her family in the past, they did stick by her.

“Let’s head back to the main house and see what else has changed. This house is so huge now, I can actually get lost in it.” Gloria wiped her face as she laughed at what Andy just said. “There is no doubt that things are going to be a lot better from here on out. We are going to be living in a house that is full of love and a hell of a lot of energy.”

“That is true and that will get some time to adjust to. Even when I had all of the kids at the house, it didn't compare to the amount of people that live in this house. At the same time Andy, I know I am going to love the hustle and bustle of this place. It will keep me young, not only at heart but on the outside as well.”

Al looked up from the table to see his daughter and son walking in. “I see you guys took a look at your part of the house already. All the construction work is finally done and boy, let me tell you it's about time! I threatened to hold back payment to the damn contractor I hired to do the work because they were so far behind schedule. Not wanting to lose a huge payday they assigned several work crews to get them caught up and finish ahead of schedule for the bonus.”

“Dad the house looks beautiful! The work you guys did will definitely, make this house one of a kind. Not just on this block, or this town, but I can say in this state. People from all around would love to have a house like this. Just don’t sell your blue prints to anyone to copy this beautiful place.”

“Trust me sweetheart, there is no way the blue prints of this house will be sold. We will be living in a house that no one else lives in. All these new houses look exactly the same and I think that’s sad. Where is the imagination and creativity with our country today? Everything from houses, to stores and all the way to cars look like they come off of an assembly line. They build them as fast as they can and move on to the next project.”

Just then, the doorbell rang and before anyone could get up to answer the door, they heard Marie yelling that she would get it. That caused everyone to wonder why she wanted to answer the door. So they got up and walked out to see who she had invited to the party.

Gloria surprised Al and Andy when she didn’t react the way they thought she would when the young man walked in. Andy honestly thought that he was going to have to hold Gloria back when she saw Greg. Instead, Gloria walked down and greeted Greg as if there wasn't a past between them. As Marie closed the door, they door bell rang again. When Marie reopened it, she didn’t recognize the couple at the door.

“Come on in Major Moore, it is so good to see that you were able to make it.” Al walked up and extended his hand for Major Moore to shake. “This beautiful young lady at your side must be your daughter. Hi, my name is Al, what is your name?”

Major Moore’s wife laughed as Al paid her the complement. “You are so sweet, but you know that I and not so young as to be Joe’s daughter, I am his wife. It's nice to meet you Al and my name is Shanita Moore.”

“Well it is an honor to meet you Mrs. Moore and I was not just saying that you look young, because you do. Welcome, both of you, to our house. You better grab a seat now before all the boys get back from work. Once they get here, there will be nowhere to sit.”

“Please Al I keep asking you and Jacob to call me Joe and please call my wife Shanita.” Al nodded his head in agreement to Joe’s request. “We are honored to be here. Thank you for inviting us to this get together. I understand Jacob is doing well and he is actually out of the hospital already?”

“Yes he is, but right now he is up stairs resting. Although everything went well, Jacob does need to rest after a surgery like he went through. No matter what he thinks, he isn’t superman. He needs to rest and get his strength back before returning to school on Monday. You know as well as I do that there's a lot of work for him to catch up on.”

Joe agreed with Al as they walked into the den. As Joe talked with Al and Andy, Shanita joined Gloria and Franseca in the kitchen. Both groups talked about different things and that is why they went into different rooms. None of them wanted to talk over the others as they talked to each other.

No matter what Jacob did, he couldn’t get himself to fall asleep. Right when he gave up, Dewayne woke up. Jacob looked at his handsome boyfriend, who was smiling back at him. Jacob turned to his side, as did Dewayne and they just laid there looking at each other. Dewayne moved his right hand and started to caress Jacob’s cheek.

“You don’t know how badly I want to make love with you right now. You are so handsome I can barely keep my hands off of you anytime we are together.” Dewayne leaned and kissed Jacob on the lips. “It's good to have you back home. When you are healed, we are going to make love until we can’t do it anymore.”

“We will make love all day and night long until our dicks fall off.” Both of them started to laugh. “Really we are going to be together like we have never been before. But in the mean time, we can cuddle and just be together with each other. Just having you beside me is enough to satisfy me for now.”

They started to make out when someone started to knock on the door. Jacob begged Dewayne to ignore it, but the person at the door didn’t stop knocking. It got to the point; neither Jacob nor Dewayne could put the knocking out of their mind. They stopped making out and yelled at the same time. The door opened and Chase popped his head in.

“Am I bothering you guys?” Jacob looked at Dewayne and back at Chase and shook his head no. “I am sorry for barging in like this, but I wanted to welcome Jacob back home. It hasn’t been the same with out my best friend around. I hope you never end back up in the hospital for any reason.”

“Thank you my friend, that means a lot to me. Why don’t you come in and talk with me while I get ready for the party? I need to know what I missed since I have been gone. So sit and start talking. Don’t leave one single thing out Chase! You know that I know when you are not telling me the truth.”

Chase laughed as he sat down in the chair. As Jacob got ready, Chase went through the days that Jacob missed. He told Jacob about what was been going on at school. Then he talked about Ethan. As Chase talked about Ethan, Jacob saw a look in his eyes that he hadn't seen in a long time. Not since he was dating Linda that is.

“Chase, Ethan sounds like a really cool guy. I am glad that you invited him over today. If he comes, I want to meet him. It seems that he will fit right in with our group. Plus you need to remind me when I see Carlos again to thank him for helping Ethan out. He didn’t need to do what he did, but I am grateful that he did.”

Jacob didn’t want to push Chase for anymore information. He saw something that Chase was trying really hard to hide, but he wouldn't call Chase on it. When Chase was ready to talk about it, Jacob knew that he would. Until then, he would be there for his best friend.

While Jacob and Dewayne took a shower, Chase kept talking. Every so often, he peeked in to see how Jacob and Dewayne were together. The way he saw Jacob and Dewayne together, he realized they loved each other completely. This was something he’s never had with any woman, and that included Linda.

“So Chase tell me what you think is going to happen downstairs. I know we discussed this party yesterday, but at the same time, I know you guys. You guys change plans every minute. So there is no way the party is anywhere close to what we had discussed.”

“First, Major Moore and his wife are here along with Colonel May, I think that is his name, just got here. Those are guests that I didn’t even know were coming. I hope they don’t drag the party down because of their up tightness. From what I have seen of Major Moore, he looks like he's always up tight; like he had something stuck up his ass.”

Jacob’s imagination got away from him when Chased said that. He thought of Major Moore walking around the school with a broomstick stuck up his ass. If that was true, it could explain a lot of how Major Moore was. But now Jacob knew the truth and that popped in his mind, causing him to stop laughing.

“Give Major Moore a chance. If you do, you will see he is really a nice guy. Just like me, he has health issues. I won’t say anything because it's not my place to talk about it. So for me you guys, please treat him as part of our family.”

“You have a deal Jacob!” Dewayne said trying to change the direction the conversation was heading as fast as he could.

“Okay, well we found out the party had pretty much been put together by your grandpa so we had no chance to put our two cents in! As soon as we get down there, we'll all find out what kind of party it is.” Chase slapped Jacob on the shoulder as he walked out of the bedroom.

Jacob and Dewayne followed Chase out and down to the den where it seemed all the guys were gathering. As Jacob went around the room shaking hands with everyone, he introduced Dewayne to those that had not met him yet. Every time Jacob introduced Dewayne to a person that hadn't met him, Jacob would say I would like you to meet my handsome boyfriend, which made Dewayne turn all shades of red.

Soon after Jacob, Dewayne and Chase sat down, the man of he hour walked in, Tony. Al got up and introduced Tony with pride to everyone as his son, not adopted son, his son. Just like Dewayne, Tony turned all shades of red each time Al introduced him. Dewayne couldn’t help but think that Jacob’s family surely knew how to make people feel great.

“Okay everyone, since most of the guests have arrived, I say we should move this party outside to our newly constructed inside pool. It is heated and it’s indoors unless we open the roof to let the sun in, but trust me I have no plans to open the roof. It's still winter out there and I don’t want anyone that decides to swim catch a cold.”

At the same time, everyone got up and followed Al to the back yard. They walked out and sat down with whomever they came with. While everyone got comfortable, Al pushed a button and the floor started to open up, causing everyone to get up and look at the pool. At the same time, Al pushed another button which caused another area of the floor to open up and a grill rose into position.

Joe and Jacob joined Al at the grill to help him get started. Franseca, Virginia and Gloria went back to the kitchen to put together everything for the guys to cook on the grill. It didn’t take long before everyone started to relax and have a good time. Besides Jacob and Alex, everyone else changed out of their clothes and into swimming suits and jumped into the pool. Jacob sat down on a lawn chair and watched the others fooling around in the pool.

Even Dewayne joined the others, which Jacob didn’t mind. He wanted Dewayne to feel that he couldn't join the others because of him. It didn’t take long for the food to get done and for Al to bring the hungry teens to the table.

Once they sat down with their plates full of food, they all looked over at Al. Al kept looking over at the phone as if he was expecting a phone call. Just when it looked liked Al was about to give up on the call, it rang. Grabbing the cordless, Al answered the phone, said a few words and then put the phone on speaker.

“Here at this table are my family, extended family and close personal friends of our family. I would have liked it if all of my family could be here today, but one of my grandsons couldn’t make it. Although he isn’t around this table, he is with us on the phone right now. Everyone, say hello to Andy Jr.”

All at once, everyone yelled out their greetings to Andy. “Andy we miss you and hope you can come home very soon. This place isn’t the same without you around. So do what you feel you need to do there in the Army, and then get back home safe to us.”

“I love you grandpa and everyone at the table. Trust me; a day doesn’t pass without me thinking of everyone there. There are nights that I keep up my squad with stories of my crazy family and they think I am making it all up. They can’t believe there is a family like us that care so much about each other.”

“This party has been in the making for weeks now. A couple things came up, causing me to delay the party. Now that there is nothing huge happening, I am glad that you all have made it. The young man sitting at my side is a very brilliant young man. When I first met him, I knew and still know he is going to do things in his life that will change the world, as we know it, and I am not just saying that.

I am glad to now say he is part of this family, my youngest son, Tony.” The table broke into applause as Tony got up from his seat. “Now our family is one person bigger, it is also stronger with Tony part of it. So welcome son, and please enjoy this night because it’s yours to enjoy.

The boys started to chant over and over again “Uncle Tony”, causing Tony to turn all shades of red again. Al picked up the phone to talk with Andy, which told everyone else that he was done with the speech. They all dug in, talking in their little groups. After Al finished talking with Andy, he handed the phone to Gloria, then Gloria handed the phone to Andy and then to Marie. As soon as Marie finished talking with her brother, she handed the phone to her other brother Jacob.

“Hey little bro, I am glad to hear that you made it out of surgery okay and back home. When I heard that you were sick and then landed in the hospital I couldn’t think straight. When grandpa called me and told me that you came out of it okay, I was able to breathe again. Please stop making the hospital your second home.”

“I have no plans to ever step foot back into any hospital. They had to drag me back over there to get the tests done. So you can see that I don’t want to make the hospital a home away from home. How is everything there for you Andy? Just like you, I really miss having my big brother around.”

Andy told Jacob how basic training went and now how they were stationed at their temporary bases until they got assigned into their field. He made it clear that he didn’t think basic training was going to be that hard until he actually did. Jacob laughed and teased Andy, that when they saw him again he would be nothing but muscle.

“Jacob do me a favor and please take care of yourself. Don’t get into anymore fights at school or anywhere else for that matter. Now that mom is moving in, your hands are going to be full with her around a lot more. I don’t know what was going through your mind, when you bought her a house so close to you. If I was in your shoes, I would have moved her to another town.”

“I know that you and mom don’t see eye to eye, but she is good deep down inside. She is trying to change and maybe when you get home you will see a brand new mom. I love you Andy and you come back to us. Don’t you do anything crazy over there that will get you hurt or killed for that matter. Just come home so you can start working in the family business where you belong.”

Andy and Jacob spoke for a couple more minutes before they hung up. Jacob rejoined the others at the table right when dessert was being served. That was the one thing you couldn't pull Jacob away from, dessert. He had a really bad sweet tooth and would eat anything that was made out of sugar if you put it in front of him.

As the party returned back to the pool area, Jacob started to walk over to join the others, but he heard the doorbell. He walked over and answered the door trying to figure out who might be standing at the front door. The minute Jacob saw the kid standing there at his front door, he knew who he was.

“You must be Ethan, Chase has told me all about you.” Jacob extended his hand and Ethan shook it. “We thought that maybe you got lost or decided not to come after all. Anyways that doesn’t matter, you're here now. So come on back, everyone is in the back yard around the pool.”

Ethan didn’t say much of anything but yes or no as they walked to the back yard. First he couldn’t believe the size of the house and secondly he didn’t know that it was going to be a pool party. When they walked out, Chase jumped out of the pool and ran up to Ethan.

“Ethan you made it, that's cool. I can see that you met Jacob already.” Ethan nodded his head in agreement. “Well let me introduce you to everyone you haven’t met yet. Everyone here is cool and you have nothing to worry about.”

While Chase introduced Ethan to those that he hadn't met, Jacob took off his shoes and socks to sit at the side of the pool. Dewayne swam up between Jacob’s legs and placed a hand on each of Jacob’s legs. He reached up and pulled Jacob down so they could kiss each other.

“You are as handsome as ever standing there with water all over your body. That is hot and causing me to have a problem below in my jeans.” Dewayne placed his right hand over Jacob’s dick and smiled. “Now you are not making anything better for me. There are guests here that don’t want to see me pop a boner!”

“Trust me they will think it’s hot like I do.” Dewayne kept massaging Jacob’s dick through his jeans, making Jacob’s dick to start leaking pre-cum. “I really want to have you, but I will muster up all my energy to hold off until you get better. So you’d better get better really soon, or I can’t be held responsible for what I’ll do with you.”

Jacob leaned down and kissed Dewayne. They stayed there in the pool in that position for over an hour. No matter how much Jacob asked Dewayne to join the others playing chicken or volleyball, he wouldn’t leave Jacob’s side. They watched the others play and kept score whenever they got into a game of volleyball.

As it got late, people started to leave. By ten, the only ones left in the house were those that live there and Ethan. They got out of the pool and changed into dry clothes before going into the TV room. Just like the other rooms in the house, the TV room was remodeled. The wall between that room and study got knocked down to make a huge room, with a big screen TV with surround sound, of course.

Those that had a significant others, sat together. Leaving Chase and Ethan as the odd men out, so they sat in chairs to watch the movie. By midnight, Jacob could barely keep his eyes open, Dewayne finally helped Jacob up to his feet and half carried him up the stairs to bed. When they got to their room, Jacob could barely keep himself awake to strip down to his boxers and fall into bed.

Dewayne changed Jacob’s bandage before he crawled into bed with him. After pulling the covers over them, Dewayne moved as close as he could to Jacob and wrapped his arms around him. He kissed Jacob several times on the lips before falling asleep himself. Neither of them woke up until late morning on Sunday.

The group just hung out at the house all day Sunday. They did help Franseca and Virginia clean up the mess from the party, but other than that, they pretty much plopped their butts in front of the television all day long. The only time they got up was to eat, use the bathroom or to get something to drink and snack on in between meals.

Around one, Ethan stopped in and joined them. Jacob couldn’t help but wonder if Ethan was wearing the same clothes that he was wearing the day before. He couldn't see anyone owning more than one pair of overalls. But Jacob decided not to say anything for the fear it might run off their new friend if he did.

Even Marie and Greg showed up. They sat together on the floor and from where Jacob sat, he could see that their relationship has blossomed since the last time he paid attention to them. They were doing more than just holding hands. They were making out more and more in front of others no matter who was around.

By eight, Al walked in telling everyone they need to get ready for school. Marie tried to talk Jacob into letting her stay at the house and when she didn’t win with Jacob she tried Al. Just like Jacob, Al told her that it wasn't their decision to make. If Gloria says it was okay, then she could stay. Marie knew that their mother wasn't going to give her permission, so she gave up asking.

Dewayne played taxi and took Marie, Greg and Ethan home. Chase went with Dewayne telling everyone to keep Dewayne company on his way dropping everyone off. But that wasn’t the real reason at all that he wanted to go. The whole time Chase talked with Ethan as they dropped everyone else off first. When they got to Ethan’s house, Chase got out and talked a little longer with him before shaking his hand.

On the way back, Dewayne and Chase talked about Jacob returning to school. Dewayne’s main concern was to make sure that Loraine and her boyfriend were not going to make trouble for Jacob. When Chase promised Dewayne that he would keep an eye on Jacob no matter what, Dewayne dropped the subject.

The next morning, every met in the kitchen for breakfast like normal. As they started to head to Jacob’s truck, Chase asked Jacob if they could stop and pick up Ethan on the way to school. Jacob didn’t object, but thought to himself that it would have been nice if Chase would have asked him the night before about this. He let it go when Dewayne walked up and kissed him goodbye.

“No matter what Jacob, you promise me that you are going to be careful at school today. You can’t do anything that might reopen your stitches or get you hurt. Just go to class and stay away from the nasty bitch that has it out for you.”

Jacob kissed Dewayne several times on the lips. “I love it when you worry about me like you do. There is no way I am going to go near trouble, no matter if it jumps in front of me. I am going to heal so I have some of this very soon.”

Jacob grabbed Dewayne’s right butt cheek and held it as they kissed one last time. Not wanting to, Jacob let go of Dewayne’s nice butt. He joined the others and headed to school. As promised, they picked Ethan up on the way. More and more as Ethan hung out with Chase and the others, he was opening up to them.

Getting back into the groove of things, as soon as Jacob finished eating, he headed to the ROTC building. Chase walked with Jacob as he promised and left Jacob when he walked into the building. Jacob felt weird about having an escort like that, but knew that they would stop worrying about him once they saw that there was no longer a threat.

Not knowing what was in store for him, Jacob walked over to the outer office to see how much work he had fallen behind on. Although the XO took over some of his duties, most of what he did the XO had no idea how to do. He knew that his in box is going to be filled with work that would keep him busy for a couple of days.

As he sat down in the desk in the outer office, the door leading into the inner office opened up, startling Jacob. He looked to see who the new senior instructor was. To his surprise, the sergeant that taught at Austin High School walked out. A first they looked at each other before the sergeant spoke up.

“It's good to see you back Jacob. We heard that you got rushed into surgery last Wednesday. There was no question that you would be returning, but we didn’t think you would be back this soon.”

Another voice yelled from the office, a voice that Jacob recognized. “Is Jacob out there? If so, tell him to come on in.”

Jacob got up from the desk and walked into the office. When he saw Colonel Pigeon sitting behind Major Moore’s desk, it looked weird to him! His attention switched when he saw Loraine sitting there in the office as well. He froze, not knowing what he should do. Jacob thought that he was never going to see Loraine again, but there she was.

“Jacob come on in please and take a seat. I am glad that you are here so where Loraine doesn’t have to wait for your decision. She is asking us to let her come back to the program after Major Moore removed her from it. As I was explaining to her that decision isn’t mine; it’s yours to make since you are the battalion commander.”

“Sir with all do respect shouldn’t the decision be left to the battalion staff. Jacob and I have a history and that history isn’t good. Ever since he knocked me out as battalion commander, he has been after me. He got his way when he got the unarmed drill team taken away from me.”

“Let me make this clear here and now to both of you. This is a program that is not a democracy. The higher classes get promoted into leadership positions because they have earned them. We, as instructors, give the cadets the tools to lead and once we hand those tools over, we stand back and let the cadets run the program. We never step in unless we see a wrong decision being made.

With that said, Jacob here is the battalion commander. He makes the decisions like these, not his battalion staff. That staff is there to run their position and report to him. He doesn’t go to them for permission on anything. If I ever have a battalion commander or a leader in any position that asks for permission from their lower ranking officers, I will remove that cadet form that position. Again this is not a democracy!

I don’t care about the personal problems you two have. Leave that baggage at the door. Jacob, Loraine wants top come back to the program and feels that she didn’t deserve the demotion that she got. I told her that you would make the decision and let me know. Do you need time or can you give me your answer now.”

“Colonel Pigeon, Loraine got demoted to the rank because of her actions throughout the year. If I made the wrong decision on the demotion, Colonel May would have not signed off on the demotion. So as far as the demotion is concerned, it is a closed matter.

Moving onto the subject of her being kicked out of the program, that decision was Major Moore’s, not mine. She got her boyfriend to jump me. He made it clear that he would not stop hitting me until I gave back Loraine her position. I agree with Major Moore’s decision when he removed her from the program. She went too far and broke several rules along the way.”

“Loraine, I have your file and Major Moore wrote in detail why he removed you from the program. If Jacob would have disagreed with Major Moore, I would have gone with his decision. Since Jacob doesn’t disagree with Major Moore’s decision, I will go along with that decision. I know you don’t like it, but it is final.

You might have once been a good cadet, but something went wrong along the way. Major Moore saw something in you and gave you more chances than he should have. I respect the man so much, but those days are gone. Rules and protocols are in place for a reason and no one should think they are allowed to break those rules. So Loraine, go down to your counselor and have him or her put you into another class.”

Loraine got up and stomped out of the office. “I don’t think that is the last we are going to see of her. With what I have heard about her and seen right now in person, she is not going to go away quietly. Doesn’t she know that every instructor in the program knows what she did spying on other drill teams and recording them?”

“To be honest with you I don’t think she actually cares. If she did, she would not have asked what she asked. Anyways she will let others know that I do not allow the rules to even be bent, much less broken.” Colonel Pigeon turned from Sergeant Byers and looked at Jacob. “If she comes around the building or you for that matter let me know. In my opinion, for what she did, she should have been expelled, not suspended.”

“Yes sir, but I don’t see her bothering me or coming around the program anymore. Before she thought she had Major Moore in her pocket, and she wore that out. There is only so much a person can do for another before he or she has to cut ties with that person. She took advantage of Major Moore, and her luck ran out.”

“Well I know you just got back to school and don’t want to hit you with all the changes I have done since I took over. You know how I run the program because you started out in my program. I am fair, but I won’t allow some of the things that have been going on here to continue. Like I said those days are over.

It doesn’t matter to me if the cadet is on a team or not, if he or she is the right person for the position, that person will get the position. I want to win, but not at the cost of not teaching you guys the right way. We teach values and leadership so you can use that leadership and values in your life no matter if you go into the military or the private sector. Lead by example and if you can’t do that or get caught with your hand in the cookie jar, you're out.”

Jacob just looked at Colonel Pigeon, not saying a word. “I know I don’t have to worry about you Jacob. I gave a bigger speech like this to my classes last Thursday. I just summed it up so if you are asked if I gave you the same speech, you can say yes without lying to who ever asks. So let’s move and you brief me on where we stand as far as the program here. I have seen a lot, but I like to hear it from those that are out there.”

Jacob, Colonel Pigeon and Sergeant Byers sat in the office until the first bell rang going over where everything stood. As far as the classes were concern, they were exactly where all ROTC classes are supposed to be at this point in the year. But the other things that were different from battalion to battalion were what Colonel Pigeon wanted to get briefed on and Jacob took him through everything.

“Jacob, it looks like I really don’t have my work cut out for me here. When Colonel May asked if I would take over this battalion, I knew that I wouldn’t. You instituted many of the things that we are now using brigade wide. Stuff we should have been using for a long time, but no one ever stood up and asked why things in the schools were not being run like the Army, like you did.

As far as the teams are concern, I don’t plan to change a thing about them. The teams here have a tradition, a tradition I plan to keep. So you can inform the drill team commanders that they have nothing to worry about as far as changes. I still want to win state, Ysleta and the Final Drill Meet.”

“Yeah, but there are a few more drill meets we are scheduled to attend between those three. I will get the schedule to you before lunch so you can see the kind of schedule Major Moore had for the teams here at this school. He loved this battalion and wanted the cadets in this battalion to show that they are the ones to beat. That included going to every drill meet we could throughout the year.”

“There is nothing I am going to change as far the tradition of this battalion. If the teams attend twenty meets or fifty meets a year that will stay the same. You ensured that when you got each of the school sponsors to pay for all these extra items. There is still a lot we need to go over, but not now. Jacob, go and take it easy and I will see you here during lunch. You and I will look at the teams and see if they are where they should be.”

“Thank you sir and I am glad that you are here. Although many would say that Major Moore was a dick, I got to know him. He had his moments, but I respect the man. He did a lot for this battalion while he was here.

With that said, if anyone that can come in and take over this battalion I believe you are that one. I know I have not met the others out there, but I respect you sir without question. You are now our senior army instructor and I will follow your orders. Just like Major Moore, I will never question what you ask of me or anyone in this battalion.”

Jacob got up and shook Colonel Pigeon’s hands. Unlike the first time he met Colonel Pigeon, Jacob was more confident in himself. That first day he found the Colonel behind his desk, in his office. Jacob felt that Colonel Pigeon was a giant. He still felt like a giant to Jacob, but at the same time Jacob felt he had grown a lot since their first meeting. Apart from what he had gone through in his private life, the other part had been under Major Moore. He learned all the good and bad aspects of being a leader from him.

TO BE CONTINUED…………

WRITER’S CORNER:

{Another filled chapter of Jacob’s and I hope you all enjoyed reading it. This story is easy for me to write because of the characters in it. They are not one sided characters. It seems that everyone that has read this story knows them. Or at least has someone in their life that one of the characters reminds them of that person.

Now I moved this chapter a long and got Jacob out of the hospital. To those that research if that is possible or are in the medical field, I made sure I didn’t make it unbelievable that Jacob could get out in four days after surgery. Since he had no complications and his new kidney is working just fine, he got out in the four days.

Before leaving the hospital Jacob found out who his donor was. Although he didn’t go up to see Alex because he thought it was Alex that donated the kidney. He went up to be at a friend’s bed side. Also Jacob couldn’t sleep. Now the nurse screwed up by telling Jacob it was Alex that donated the kidney.

It was an emotional moment between Jacob and Alex. I really do believe this seals their friendship for life. They were already going to be friends for life, but by what Alex did move him to the level of Chase in Jacob’s world. Chase is like a brother to Jacob and now Jacob feels the same about Alex.

Now don’t think anything major is going to change between Jacob and Alex. Jacob is going to honor Alex’s request and not tell anyone. Alex did this out of the goodness of his heart, not expecting anything in return for it. The friendship will be really strong, but no money or special favors will come into play.

Finally the party to welcome Tony into the family happened in this chapter. Just like Al said, so many things came up that caused them to keep postponing the party. I really believe that Tony needed this because of the kind of life he has had. With him now part of Al’s and Jacob’s family, things are going to be a lot better for Tony.

Gloria and Andy Sr. looked around and saw that the house is ready for them to move in. As well it looks like Gloria finally is seeing what everyone has been telling her for a while now. Jacob and everyone in her family haven’t given up on her. They love her and no matter what she has done, they stand behind her. I really hope she can change and not make anymore trouble for Jacob and the others. Look at what she did when Greg showed up, which I believe is a positive step.

I know it looked weird with Major Moore and Colonel May showing up for that party. Now that Major Moore is no longer Jacob’s instructor, you will see him around in the family functions. He is going to take the job and Jacob and he are going to build even a stronger friendship between them.

Colonel Pigeon now in charge is a good thing for all concerned. Maybe things are going to run smoother. Although Major Moore was a dick at times, he had a reason for his madness. Under his leadership, Newman High School ROTC teams were unbeaten. They became the team to beat and that is something Colonel Pigeon is going to have to continue. Sometimes taking the laidback approach won’t work. Look at the Dallas Cowboys of the 2010 season. They have the talent, but no leadership to lead that talent. That is how they got to one and seven mid way in the season. I hope under Colonel May the teams at Newman don’t go that direction.

I know I still haven’t cleared up what is going on with Chase. More than likely it will happen in the next chapter. We need to learn more about Ethan and where he stands as far as his sexual orientation. Who knows, he could be like Chase, straight. Those answers and more dealing with that plot will open and be answered in the next chapter.

We finally got to hear from Andy Jr. in this chapter. Although we didn’t get to see him, we know he is doing well. In the chapters to come Andy will come home either for a visit or get stationed at Fort Bliss. I also felt a need to close off the construction work to the house plot. It is done and now that plot won’t be talked about again.

As always I can go on and on about the open plots in the story! If I do that, I can actually write several more chapters. There are so many plots that can take a turn at anytime. You might think it is going to go one way, but is lands up going another. Do not miss out on anything, or you will be kicking yourself for it.

I keep saying over and over again don’t forget about Chase. He will be spending time between two of my stories. I am giving that away, but look for him in “Beneath the Mask”. He is going to come back full and what is happening in his life will stun you.

There is a so much to answer in the chapters to come. Stick around and 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:

I’m so glad that Jacob had no complications with the transplant that that the donated kidney kicked in. I hope that in the next couple weeks and months that he starts to feel great, full of energy and he and Dewayne can “get to it” as far as their intimate life is concerned. I want to see their intimate life grow and enhance their relationship as it should. It’s high time that they have a normal love life!

I’m glad that Jacob, by whatever means, found out that Alex was his kidney doner. With the situation, being so close in everyday life, Jacob needed to know. I think that the conversation about the subject between Alex and Jacob having been interrupted by the nurse will have to be completed at some future point. Jacob needs to hear, in detail, Alex’s mindset in having decided to donate his kidney. Yes, Alex’s selfless act will forge a bond between the two guys and their families that will be deep and lifelong.

Ok…both Jacob and Dewayne are curious about seeing Alex in all his natural glory. No, it’s not sexual desire, but a deep curiosity. Now that the pool is done, there might come a time when the “boys” all skinny dip at some point. That would give (us the readers) a chance to get a full physical description of each of the guys. We could then form a better mental image of each character that would extend to enhance the perceptions during the love scenes. (OK..was that hint to the author subtle enough? )

I’m actually starting to believe that Gloria is beginning to “get it”. She has been on the receiving end of ‘unconditional love’ that she should have been giving to her kids and family all the way along. Perhaps she can learn the concept and apply it to her life. The benefits are so great when unconditional love is present. Andy Sr. is the focal point in her changing her ways and perceptions. I’m glad he is in her life and that he turned out to be a positive influence and that he had no hidden agendas.
I’m glad Greg and Marie are still together and that their relationship is deepening. It’s encouraging to see a good result come from something that was evil in its intent in the beginning.

I hooted with Tony getting flustered over being called “Uncle Tony”. That was positively hilarious ! Tony is still young and I will enjoy watching him grow into a strong personality of his own under Al and Jacob’s influence.

I was pleased to hear from Andy Jr. I have been wondering how he’s getting along and what changes the military life has made to him. I know that his family was dead set against him joining up, but I suspect we are going to find him to be a much more solid and grounded man when he does get back with the family in everyday life.

I’m anxious to see what role Ethan is going to play in the larger scheme of things. His family is, seemingly, poor. Perhaps his parents can find a job with one of the family businesses. They are going to need managers for both McDonalds and Seven-Eleven locations. I also wonder what Ethan’s sexual orientation is. I’ll be watching both stories to see how this plays out! Oh, and what a total hottie he sounds like. I want to “see” more!

Until next time,

“Daddy” Rick