Grump - 5. Chapter 5: Hand in Hand

Grump

Chapter Five: Hand in Hand

"Sam, would you care to explain what happened today at the Mall?" Peter asked. They were all seated at the kitchen table. Sally to the left of Peter, Sam on his right and Tom and Jeff across the table.

"Why should I explain? I don't hear you explaining. I don't hear you explaining fucking nothing."

"Alright. I guess for me this all started about four years ago."

"Wait a minute. Am I going to have to listen to your whole life story? I don't think so."

"Sam, you should remember what I said at the Mall. And I gave you first chance to speak. So?"

"Please do continue Peter, I'm all yours, you have proven that havn't you?" No one could glare like Sam.

"Four years ago my mother was sick. Well, she was dying. She had maybe a month left. I was already mourning her; I was so lost in grief. I was crying all the time. I was crying when Jeff found me. He just sat down beside me and hugged me. But it felt like so much more than a hug. His embrace calmed me, I could breathe for the first time in months. And then Jeff kissed me. It felt like it touched my soul. I felt healed. And I had something like a revelation. I knew I was going to take Jeff home with me and ask him to hug my mother. And that's what I did. My mother was sitting up in her room. I explained to her that I had brought home a special friend, someone that I loved and I wanted her to meet him. My mother smiled and said this was the nicest thing that had happened to her in a long time. She would love to meet my friend. So I asked Jeff to come in and I made introductions. Then Jeff offered his hand to my mother. They just looked at each other and held hands. After about five minutes, Jeff let go. My mother was crying and Jeff was crying. My mother said she was glad that Jeff had come, but she felt she needed a nap. My mother had nothing but bad days, yet the next day she said she felt better and Jeff came over again and visited with her. Jeff came to my house every day for the next month. My mother improved more every day. Her doctors called it spontaneous remission. I called it Jeff."

"From the day I met Jeff, my life changed. And strange is a mild word to describe it. Sally was my best friend then. But I now had Jeff also. And soon I could see that Sally and Jeff had become friends too. Then there was Tom."

"I had known Tom for several years. He was like a bully that couldn't actually hurt anyone. It was mostly his size that worried people, anyway. But I was finding myself drawn to him and I would find ways to talk to him more and more. Then a day of reckoning came for Tom. He had been coerced to join a kind of bully mafia. The bigger bullies demanded money from smaller bullies, who took money from their classmates. The problem? Tom has never taken money from anyone, ever. And for his failure to pay up, the bigger bullies were going to teach him a lession. How to get the little guy to pay up. I had been looking for Tom to talk to him like always when I found them. Three hugh guys were trying to force Tom to eat a dog turd. I don't know where the will came from. What I did. I wanted to knock the shit out of those guys. I was mad, angry beyond control. I screamed at them thinking to surprise them and Tom and I could run for it. But that didn't happen. What happened was all three guys groaned like they were in agony and bend over double. They hit the ground one after the other and groaned more holding their middles. Then you could smell it. All of them crapped in their pants."

Peter looked at the others, then at Tom. He was smiling from ear to ear. Tom had told Peter "I love you" the first time that day. Maybe not the best of places. But love is love even with the scent of shit in the air.

"So many unusual things have happened since then. Some little, some big. All strange and without explanations. I have been drawn more and more to you Sam for one thing. And my relationships with Sally, Jeff and Tom have grown in ways we could never have imagined. But the events of today take the cake. I'm not sure we can survive this level of strangeness."

Peter held his hand out to Sally asking for reassurance, understanding, love, forgiveness, so many things. Sally took his hand and nodded then turned to Jeff and offered her hand to him. Jeff nodded to Sally and Peter and offered his other hand to Tom. Tom took Jeff's hand and turned to Sam.

"Listen Tarzan, I'm not much for hand holding, okay?"

"Cut the crap, Sam. We have all seen behind your mask. Why not drop the disguise you project too. You are one hot dude and I am going to hold your hand every chance I get. So put it there partner." Tom held out his hand and dared Sam not to take it.

Sam took Tom's hand and grumbled. Then looked at Peter. "I guess you like all this hand holding too." Peter held out his hand and Sam took it in his.

Bam! A rocket thru the milky way! Roller Coaster to Hell Ride.

Evermore was a large subdivison. It was once all part of the Evermore Estate. In fact the Evermore mansion still stood in the center of the development. The builders thought the Evermore's would eventually sell, but they never did.

"Honored One, you have succeeded; the circle is aflame."

"Yes, yes Bugeye, but the circle is only conceived. What fruit will it give birth to is the test to come.